Tinaver was living in a time of prosperity.
The streets buzzed with activity, commerce flourished, the heart of the Kingdom of Gaia was there like nowhere else.
Rygar, despite not being as involved in the government as in the founding days, still kept up with the changes from time to time.
He had learned recently that, across the Continent, several cities had established themselves as capital centers, hubs of administration, trade and culture.
But Tinaver was still the brightest jewel.
Gustav had adapted very well to his position as nominal King.
With Prime Minister Peikak and other competent advisors at his side, the Kingdom was stable and prosperous.
Militarily, the Iron Legion was an incomparable force, and the Combat Temple continued training new elites for the armies.
On the technical and magical side, Star Rise Academy and the Dwarven Forge led the advances.
With the Continent now unified under Gaia's banner, the economy was also skyrocketing, merchants of different races crossed borders, and even art and culture flourished.
But, naturally, such a vast territory would never be free of problems.
Among them, the most annoying at the moment were the fanatic remnants of Milis.
Those who remained nowadays had reorganized in secret, calling themselves the True Order.
They were slippery as rats, infiltrating small villages and towns, exploiting weak points and spreading chaos in the name of their Saint Milis.
The Kingdom of Gaia did not fear direct confrontation, but dealing with a cowardly and deceitful organization was truly exhausting.
To make things worse, these fanatics seemed to possess some kind of hidden magic engraved in their hearts, a suicide spell that activated only by will.
That made any attempt at interrogation almost impossible.
Up to that moment, little was known about their true hierarchy.
Naturally, none of them dared approach capitals like Tinaver.
At least, in theory.
---
Rygar was flying over the city with a rare smile of satisfaction.
Its buildings were complex, detailed and characteristic of many races.
The streets were busy and cheerful.
Gradually, the city was becoming like the old Milishion — once considered the most beautiful city in the world.
With his Demon Eye, Rygar scanned the surroundings.
He observed every detail, with his enhanced senses he overheard trivial conversations in the streets, followed the rhythm of hammers in the forges and the sound of mages training in practice fields.
Everything seemed as it should be.
Although... he saw one thing out of place.
Otherwise, he was pleased; he gradually descended toward the Star Rise Academy campus.
The Magical Barrier that covered the entire institution affected him in no way; after all, he himself had created it.
He landed softly next to a bench, where an old human was calmly reading a book.
Around, the campus was full of students who, upon noticing the presence of the Beast God, became excited. Many ran to tell their peers that Rygar was there.
"Hey!" Rygar greeted casually, raising one hand in a friendly gesture.
The old man lifted his eyes from his reading, and his expression changed immediately to pure terror.
"Y-you…!"
A sinister smile appeared on Rygar's face.
"So I was right. Would you like to meet Saint Milis in person?"
The old man's heart raced. He knew he had been exposed.
Without hesitation, he activated the hidden magic in his chest — the suicidal spell that awaited only the trigger.
But he made a mistake; he was using common methods, in front of the Beast God.
"Disturb." Rygar spoke casually, pointing his finger.
The magic dissolved instantly, nullified with ease.
The fanatic widened his eyes, stunned to still be alive.
Desperate, he grabbed a knife beside him and tried to cut his own throat.
But before he could complete the movement, Rygar's nail moved imperceptibly. In the blink of an eye, the old man's four limbs were severed.
"Uuughhaaah!" he screamed, spitting saliva and hatred, trying to thrash uselessly.
Still, he tried to bite his tongue.
But he realized an invisible Barrier enveloped his mouth, preventing the act. His teeth clacked against each other to no avail.
The old man's gaze was full of fury and fanaticism. He didn't even need to speak. He was clearly a blind follower of Milis.
Rygar sighed internally. It was a shame he didn't have time to hunt these pigs personally.
Well, that was exactly why he had trained subordinates; he didn't have time for such nonsense.
He wasn't here for that, but while observing the city he had felt an incongruity about that old man, and decided to investigate just in case.
It was then that a young swordsman, looking about fifteen or sixteen years old, ran to the spot, alarmed by the scene.
Rygar pointed to the mutilated prisoner with nonchalance.
"Hey, kid. That man is from that shit called the True Order. Take him to your superior and make sure he's interrogated properly."
The boy answered immediately:
"Y-yes, sir!"
With that settled, Rygar flew off again, heading toward the familiar presences of Godbard and Rufus inside the Academy.
In a few seconds, he flew through the Academy, and arrived at the place.
Even before opening the door, he heard an argument:
"No, no, no! The Anchor Model can't have a rigid structure in that part! Most of the swordsmen who'll use it are fast and need free movement!"
"That's nonsense! How can we implement magical augmentation if we don't have magic circuits in that part?! It'll lose its best advantage!"
The door opened and Rygar entered a large room, lit by magic crystals embedded in the walls.
The environment had dwarves, humans and even an elf arguing in small groups, scribbling formulas or testing armor prototypes.
Each person there had been handpicked by Rygar.
Access to the Hatvindr Armor project required passing this trust test.
And obviously, he would never hand over the secrets of Skollvindr to outsiders, not even to these guys.
Only close friends and direct subordinates like Rufus or Godbard could help him with that.
In the center of the room were Rufus and Godbard.
Rufus, despite being only fifteen, already had a thick, well-kept beard, typical of dwarves.
Constant coexistence with Godbard had hardened him, making him blunt, sarcastic and impetuous.
Godbard, with brown hair, kept his stubborn and temperamental manner.
Still, the closeness between the two was visible; they had lived together so long they already argued like father and son.
Except they would never admit losing a logic dispute to each other.
Noticing Rygar's entrance, the groups of scholars stopped almost immediately to bow or greet him with respect.
But Rufus and Godbard were so absorbed in their quarrel they didn't even notice.
"The circuit is not necessary in the Anchor Model, look at the design again!" Rufus said, pointing to the sheets spread on the table.
"And what does it matter?!" Godbard retorted, slamming his palm on the table hard.
"We can improve that part if we want! This will give the magical augmentation option in this model too!"
Rufus ground his teeth.
"Old fool! You just want to stick your hand in this project to leave your mark! Why would a fast swordsman need magical augmentation? That's only for the Siphon Model!"
Rygar finally approached.
"I believe Rufus is right this time. The creators had plenty of time to analyze this. They must be correct in their suggestions."
Rufus clung to that support with all his strength.
"See, you old man?! Argue with the Godslayer now—" Rufus cut off the phrase as he turned and noticed who was behind him.
"W-wait… Leader?!"
Only then did Godbard also turn.
"Ah, fuck…!"
Both bowed at the same time, stumbling over apologies and pointing fingers at each other:
"We didn't notice your arrival because that idiot—"
"He was the one screaming like an orangutan, I couldn't—"
Rygar chuckled softly. As always, dwarves were direct. It was an honesty he appreciated.
"Don't worry," he said, raising one hand to interrupt.
"In any case, let's take a look at the Magic Word. You said it was ready?"
They finally remembered why Rygar was there.
"Ah! Yes, yes!" Godbard said, scratching his neck. "Let's go!"
The three of them walked together down a side corridor, chatting along the way.
"Hahaha, you really are a genius, Leader, for thinking of an update like this for the communication device!" Godbard commented. "Sometimes I think your title should be Technology God, rather than Beast God!"
Rygar just smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
He decided not to tell many people about the Future Guide, and Godbard and Rufus were not among the few who knew.
Although the two dwarves often wondered where he suddenly pulled these complex knowledges and projects from, they never asked for answers.
After all, the Beast God had always been a well of incomprehensible feats, one after another.
The Magic Word, yes, had some merit of his from the future — but only after decades and with the help of many others.
Soon they arrived at the testing room.
And immediately they were greeted by a strange phrase.
"Test, test! I'm wearing my great-aunt Niede's lucky lace panties, can you hear me?" Brightstone's voice echoed.
The three froze.
A few seconds later, a woman who was a researcher hurried in from another room and shouted in astonishment:
"What?! You said you're wearing your great-aunt Niede's lucky lace panties?!"
Brightstone burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! That's right! Perfect, it's working!
He then turned and, only then, noticed the presence of the newcomers. His face opened into a smug smile.
"Hoho! You finally arrived! Honestly, I'm tempted to steal your credit here!"
It was obvious he was selectively ignoring the content of his own test words.
Rygar sighed deeply, with the patience of someone who already knew that insolent dwarf well.
Steal it, if you want. But don't blame me if you attract public outrage.
"Heh, we'll see." Brightstone murmured before approaching and handing over the device.
Rygar extended his hand and received the Magic Word.
The weight of the small artifact felt the same.
But the new device looked different.
It was rectangular, made of polished silver and with the Beast God's symbol engraved on its surface, a little more than a centimeter thick.
Despite the simplicity of its shape, it was very complex inside.
In its writing interface, there were several translation options for different languages, and even a direct calling function.
There was no automatic voice translator, but even so, its usefulness far surpassed the old model.
It was almost as convenient as an Earth smartphone, at least regarding written communication and audio calls.
There was one important limitation: all devices could only communicate within the same magical wave system.
That meant they needed to be manufactured to the same standard so conversations between different groups could happen without failures.
Rygar tested every function.
Oldgar's leftover project was very convenient.
It was still a challenge to apply the theory and make it practical, but, compared to unraveling everything from scratch, it seemed quite simple.
Having confirmed its operation, Rygar pulled out two more projects. One was relatively simpler, but the other... would require much more.
"You did a great job developing this device," he praised, looking at Rufus, Brightstone and Godbard.
"But we have much more ahead."
Then he tossed the new projects under the table, several sheets covered with drafts, theories and calculations.
They were notes that mixed his ideas with the records left in the Future Guide.
The first project detailed the method for practical implementation of Teleportation Circles, something that would revolutionize transportation across the world.
The second was still an incomplete sketch.
It was a prototype of a Spatial Storage Pocket.
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