Leveling up the World (Chapter 873) (Patreon)

Black tendrils split the air, filling the sky with void droplets.

Spark, Dallion thought, slashing through them with a line attack. Spark filled his entire body to the point that any void that came less than a foot near would be instantly vaporized.

A glowing line of destruction flew down until it slammed into the ground, creating a large fissure. Unfortunately, the real target he was aiming at had managed to evade the attack.

Maybe exert a bit of restraint, dear boy? Adzorg asked from within Dallion’s realm.

“It’s the wilderness,” Dallion replied, following up with a series of point attacks. While he was fighting a chainling—and a rather annoying one at that—in his mind, the enemy was someone greater. The emperor, the nymph empress, even Grym were a lot stronger. If he were to take them on, he’d have to reach their level at least.

Patches of ground exploded, drilled by the force of his attacks. The chainling tried to take advantage of the situation and hurl any and all debris at his attacker, but just as it was doing so, a cluster of aether chains emerged from a spontaneous void circle, grabbing into its black form like snakes. Dozens of mouths appeared near the affected area as the black entity tried to bite the bonds off, yet it was already too late.

“Got you!” Dallion did a final point attack with his harpsisword. The layer of water that had surrounded it flew forward like an arrow, piercing the silhouette of void and disintegrating it on the spot. Moments later, the only trace of the chainling was the destruction caused by the fight.

Well, at least there’s no denying you’ve become more precise, Adzorg said. Still a bit wasteful. You could have won without causing all this damage.

Technically, the old mage was right, yet not exactly. As much as Dallion didn’t like it, the precision Adzorg was referring to would have taken more energy that what he’d spent. That was the problem with focus. Even now, after all this time, it remained a greater problem that Dallion wanted to admit. The next time he leveled up, he was going to have to focus more on his perception trait.

“Is it normal to have such a big one here?” he asked as he looked down.

Sadly, it’s normal, Vihrogon replied. With all the forces focused on the lines between the three great powers, no one is focusing on the wilderness. It was the same last time.

By the looks of it, things were even worse. Arthurows’ attempt to conquer Nerosal had resulted in a large number of chainlings being destroyed. That had created a false sense of security. Now, years later, enough of them had gathered once more, forced to pack together due to the war fronts. The imperial legions or even the cloud forts could easily deal with them, but in a time of war, that wasn’t their priority, so the beasts were allowed to roam the wilderness once more. The only reason there weren’t many more of them was because the creatures steal feared hunts. As the war continued, more and more of them would grow balder, especially due to Dallion’s open invitation to the hunters.

It’s never simple. He sighed internally.

Taking one quick look over the area just to be sure that there weren’t any chainrings missing, Dallion continued his flight to Arlerla. A large part of the previously established trade routes remained destroyed since the internal provincial conflict, but thankfully there were no more chainlings.

Dallion kept on flying through the night and half of the next morning. Then, finally, the city became visible on the horizon.

In many aspects, Arlerla could be called “just another city.” Majestic in its own way, it was nothing like Lanitol or even Nerosal. Smaller, yet almost packed, it was a better example of a well-organized modern city like those on Earth. The structures were bulkier and taller, with a lot less natural space between them. A complex infrastructure ensured that all parts of the city were accessible and easily reachable. It was similar to what Dallion would have done if he had enough inhabitants to create a city.

Funnily enough, this was the first time he was there. At first, he had the opportunity, but not the time. Then—the time and not the opportunity. During his stay at the Academy, he had had neither.

Thinking strategically again? Vihrogon asked in a disapproving tone.

“Hardly,” Dallion lied. It was a city, after all, and it would be reckless if he didn’t give the notion at least some thought. “I’m just here to see some old friends.”

Hopefully, they still consider you one.

There didn’t seem to be any reaction as Dallion neared the city. The gate guards, although awakened, were unable to see through his invisibility illusion. With everything going on, he’d have expected for Arlerla to have at least a few mages.

Floating to the ground, Dallion removed his invisibility spell and continued forward. His sudden appearance created a commotion at the main gate. He could see messengers run about as fast as their body and reaction traits would allow. Meanwhile, others prepped their crossbows, aiming them straight at him.

“So much for trusting an imperial,” Dallion said beneath his breath.

You have to admit that an imperial appearing alone in the wilderness unannounced could be seen as somewhat suspicious, dear boy.

That was true, although in the back of his mind, Dallion had hoped that news of his exploits had reached this far.

The actual domain was miles away from the city, just beyond the crop fields. Seeing them unprotected would have seemed foolish at some point, but knowing a thing or two about the powers of domain rulers, Dallion didn’t see it as an issue—walls could always be erected at the blink of an eye.

Straightening his clothes with a quick spell, Dallion crossed the threshold. The moment he did, an overseer dressed in black emerged before him. This much was expected, yet there was a part of it that wasn’t.

“Gloria?” Dallion almost felt like taking a step back.

He had strongly suspected that the main reason Falkner’s father had accepted her into the family was because he wanted an overseer. Seeing her as one, though, was a whole different matter.

“Hello, Dal.” The woman said with a reserved smile. “You seem a bit different.”

“Look who’s talking.” Her blond hair and pale completion contrasted with the obligatory black clothes she was wearing. “I never thought you’d become an overseer.”

Dallion took a step forward, half expecting her to stop him. To some degree, being sent away was preferable—it would delay another inevitable decision he had to make. If there was one thing that he had learned to go through the awakening trials so far, it was that delaying decisions always came at a price. Also, if he were to become a domain ruler, he had to learn to impose his will on others.

“I take it, I'm welcome again?” he asked with a smile. “To the city, I mean.”

“Of course you are, Count Elazni.” Gloria bowed. “You are related to the imperial family, after all.”

Stepping to the side, the overseer let him continue on.

“I wasn’t sure how official you wanted this, so I’ve arranged for an incognito visit,” the woman followed behind. “If you want all the bells and whistles, I could arrange that.”

“Incognito is fine. I’m just here to see you and Falkner.”

“And the old count?”

“Just you and Falkner,” Dallion repeated.

As the two approached the gate, Dallion could hear the whispers of the local plants and guardians. Haven’t seen an empath before they were curious, discussing the matter between themselves.

This place has a lot of dryad guardians, Dallion thought.

It’s a curse, Vihrogon sighed. Since we’re the more social ones, we gather in clusters.

“How was the wedding?” Dallion asked casually.

“As big as you might imagine. The beloved heir of the city bringing a platinum blonde of lesser standing, you could imagine the shock for some.”

“It didn’t take long for them to accept you, I see.”

“It wasn’t that difficult, given that I only had to convince one person.”

“He who controls the limiting echoes controls everyone else,” Dallion said with a note of bitterness.

“Sadly so. Given that grandpa raised me to serve as a bargaining chip, I made a deal. He’d have his overseer, but only if he accepted our union.”

Dallion nodded. It was obvious she had taken the worse end. The life of an overseer was long and difficult. Even if Falkner became the overseer, she’d outlive him, never changing. Then again, at least she was better off than her great aunt.

An air of curiosity filled the city as Dallion made his way to the palace, escorted by the overseer. Even if Gloria had made sure not to announce his arrival, the attention he was getting stirred up things a lot. The same went double for all the guardians who now were openly attempting conversations with him, despite being politely ignored.

“Not a bad deal, I guess,” Dallion tried to sound supportive.

“Thanks, that was only half of the deal.”

Once they entered the palace, Dallion saw exactly what she had in mind. Normally, overseers weren’t allowed to enter the home of the city ruler without a specific reason. Not only wasn’t that true for Gloria, but she was still regarded as the heir’s wife. And that wasn’t all.

“Inella.” The overseer turned to one of the awakened maids. “Please bring them. I like to introduce an old friend.”

“The Hero of Nerosal, milady?” The servant looked at Dallion as if he were a living legend. Sadly, Dallion could tell by her emotions that she found him lacking.

“Today he’s just an old friend.” Gloria didn’t bother hiding her smile.

With a nod, the maid quickly disappeared along the corridor.

“And here I was hoping to avoid the local nobility,” Dallion sighed.

“We all must make sacrifices. Come on, Fal is waiting.”

To Dallion’s relief, he was led up the stairs to the south wing of the palace. It was all very elegant, if modest. Three-dimensional paintings covered the walls—a combination of paintings and painted wooden reliefs. The landscapes were impressive, but the portraits had an uncanny valley effect that made it clear why the style hadn’t caught on elsewhere in the empire.

Dallion expected to be led to a study, but to his surprise Falkner was waiting for him in the training area. The hall was wide, filled with various weapons and even more marble statues. In too many ways it was similar to his awakened training hall. A faint smell of sweat was still present, suggesting that the noble had been training up to a few hours ago.

“Dallion,” he said with a reserved smile. “Glad to finally welcome you to my home.”

Seems I’m not the only one thinking about politics. “Hi, Falkner,” Dallion approached. “You’re not going to challenge me to a fight, I hope?”

“Hardly. There’s no way I could stand my ground against a count.”

And still, you’re a domain ruler. The man had grown a lot since the two had seen each other. Lean and muscular, he was now half a head taller than Dallion with broad shoulders and a stern expression.

“I have already apologized regarding the wedding invitation.” Gloria went beside her husband, quickly smoothing any ripples before they could happen. “As expected, he was very understanding.”

“The least I could do after causing you so much problems,” Dallion let out a polite laugh. “You seem to be doing well. After seeing Nerosal… I had concerns.”

“You can talk freely now,” Gloria interrupted. “I’ve isolated the room.”

“I really just came to see you,” Dallion said, using his music skill to add calm into his voice. “Someone told me not to waste the opportunity since there’s no telling when I would have another.”

“That sounds like Veil.”

“It was Veil.”

For a moment, the overseer’s smile faded.

“I asked him to become my overseer, and he agreed.” Dallion went straight to the point. “It’ll be official in a week or so.”

“So, you got him.” There was a note of sadness in her voice. “And here I was hoping that he’d be able to avoid that…”

“Apparently, it wasn’t in the cards. The fourth gate hit him hard.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

There was a moment of silence. Everyone had a pretty good idea what the topic of conversation would be, but no one wanted to start it. Ultimately, Dallion decided to do just that.

“Changes are on the way,” Dallion said. “They’ll be soon and they’ll be sudden.”

“Arlara is just a small city. We don’t have a direct effect on the war,” Falkner said, choosing his words carefully. “I doubt the changes will affect us anytime soon.”

“True, but it all depends on how fast the nymphs advance. The Alliance of Stone and Steel is already having difficulties, if they crack, the empire will have to pick up the slack even this far south.”

Dallion was taking a big risk sharing that. He could safely assume that both Falkner and Gloria were aware of the subtext. As much as it seemed that he was asking them to be ready to support the empire, he was actually asking them to personally support him. No doubt they couldn’t imagine him going against the emperor himself—no noble could—but they could perfectly accept the birth of a new archduke.

“The south has never been particularly influential,” Falkner mused out loud. “Especially after all the latest developments.”

“That’s only because people failed to see its real significance. On its own, it might not be much, but if one were to expand to the east, the value would grow.”

“You’re planning to—”

There was a knock on the door, interrupting the conversation. Gloria immediately returned the room to its normal state and used her overseer abilities to open the door.

Two maids entered the room, each carrying a bundled-up baby of approximately half a year of age.

“Perfect timing, Inella,” Gloria smiled. “Dal, I’d like you to see my children: Dallion and Veil, named after the two people who saved my life, along with my husband.”