Due to the speedy and large-scale construction work always taking place in the forward base, Greem had never once returned to it and found things quiet or idle.
There was always something. And that something grew even more intense today when he returned with the spoils from the battle.
Keoghan was of course the reason and the happiest to see him, his demeanor unusually lively as he waved his arms to and fro directing the patrolling voodoo beasts to receive the bound gifts.
One living spellbreaker knight and five witcher knights shuffled obediently under the watch of multiple winged dragons, the creatures beating their wide and fleshy wings as they hovered over the defeated group and corralled them into the Adept's butcher shop.
Their fates were exactly as you'd expect.
Nodding at the uninterrupted and proper proceedings taking place, Keoghan diverted his attention from the fresh batch of materials and walked over to Greem, bringing with him an air of blood, both old and fresh.
"Great job. Really. Lord Sarubo just mentioned you now. He's definitely paying attention to you," he said, the approval in his tone genuine as he patted Greem's shoulder.
While Keoghan gushed over his Lord taking note of one of them (the low level guys) the person he'd come to congratulate was having an entirely different reaction than he expected.
Greem's inward caution did not match his outward surprise.
The Sixth Grade Adept's constant but forgettable presence was something he'd kept on the forefront of his mind since they first arrived here.
According to the Adept himself and the direct clan members, all of his attention was on the battle with the plane and unravelling its laws.
Yet, just now he'd been informed that the seemingly "busy" Lord had been paying attention to him this whole time and even had the time to comment.
It was a good thing Greem didn't believe Lord Sarubo and Keoghan from the jump and ordered his behavior as such, never once using his essence crafting abilities within the confines of base.
Because while anything related to his reincarnation and essences couldn't be gleaned from his mind or soul, the special magics granted by the Essence of the Crafter worked by twisting this multiverse's fundamental laws to its whims.
Using them directly near a being that had ascended to godhood by studying and mastering said laws was like tying a loudspeaker to his back and blasting his secrets out at max volume.
When that happened, his soul would most likely be searched from top to bottom by the Adept, and though the latter wouldn't find anything Greem didn't want him to find, enslavement would most likely follow.
And Greem's current defenses against such attacks and ensnaring methods only worked up to Beginner Second Grade. They would be of no help in stopping Lord Sarubo from making him his bitch.
Keeping up the facade of surprise, Greem glanced at the growing stone tower encircled by flying robots and shifted his gaze to Keoghan. "I thought…" he said, nodding his head in the tower's direction and making circular motions with his index finger.
"Don't worry about it. The Lord's power is unfathomable."
"That it is…" Greem barely intoned, trailing off before he recalled something and perked up. "Any news about the plane's resources?"
"Early probes and divinations have shown us a few things. So far, those that have been marked with strategic value are white-starred alocasias, fire-dragon and royal-blood herbs, seasoul stars, spacestones, and breeding flowers."
Again with a feign of surprise, this time his voice conveying it as well, Greem blurted out, "Spacestones and breeding flowers? Here?"
Spacestones were something he desperately wanted to get a hold of, as he envisioned the materials solving the issue of power for his enchantments and artifacts.
He was barely getting by with life force.
According to what he knew prior to coming here and from stuff he'd read from books, the stones were a high-tier, linchpin resource strictly regulated and controlled by higher ranked Adepts.
If he somehow ended up with one of them right now and Lord Sarubo found out about it, the higher ranked Adept would simply take it and even punish him if he put up the slightest resistance.
As their names suggested, these stones were spatial matter and laws given solid form such that even regular humans could grab and handle them like any ordinary rock.
They had a lot of easily deducible uses such as their integral roles in the creation of spatial artifacts, separate alternate dimensions, and rooms and spaces that were larger on the inside.
However, the role they played in construction of ultra-long distance teleportation arrays is what they were most known for, not only in Lethon, but in the rest of the wide multiverse.
By including just one of these stones, even a tiny one, in such an array, a clan, group, or whoever owned it would incur little to no cost in powering and maintaining it. Magic crystals wouldn't be necessary.
Due to its spatial characteristics and innate connection to the sea of chaos, the stone would draw in the endless energy from there and feed it into the formation, saving a clan from burning deep trench holes in their pockets to support its function.
It had to be known that not even the Sarubo clan had a spacestone. All the costs that went into financing this war and the preparations were incurred by their accrued wealth and their founder.
Hence, it went without saying the discovery of the magical chaos stones had elevated the worth of this plane tremendously. Same went for the breeding flowers, their function being exactly what they were named.
Because every Adept's advancement was a radical shift from baseline humanity—in a biological and spiritual sense—something that deepened the more powerful they got, their ability to procreate went the opposite direction and experienced a massive nosedive.
Second Grade in particular marked the cutoff point.
When a high grade male and female in this category engaged in intercourse, it was a near impossibility for them to conceive offspring, their warped genetics unable to create new life, much less human life.
With the breeding flowers however, they could brew a potion that when ingested by both parties, would guarantee a conception that saw a mix of their respective talents merged perfectly.
Regarding the child's species or appearance, that was inconsequential. So long as the infant had the talent to become an Adept and continue their parent's legacy, everything else could go to hell.
Greem couldn't help but imagine himself and Mary and many of their unprotected sexcapades. In fact, it wasn't just many… it was all of them.
Not once had both of them mentioned or even thought that oh "a baby can result from this."
Suddenly, cold sweat went down his back and he swallowed, gaining some empathy for all those "idiots" he criticized for doing exactly what he did with Mary and ending up with children of their own.
He always berated them heavily, wondering how it was possible for someone with a working brain to make such an easily preventable mistake.
Turns out great sex sometimes generates random intelligence debuffs.
Quickly calming down, he exchanged a few more words with Keoghan and deployed his wings, ascending with a few flaps and flying in the direction of Blue Hillock City.
Mary wasn't pregnant. That, he was sure of.
Maybe when they were still Pseudo Adepts it could have happened, but it didn't. Now that they were both Adepts however, that "could have" was now a one in a million chance.
He had nothing to worry about.
Why then couldn't he help but imagine it… Mary with her belly swollen in a thin flowy dress, red most likely, relaxing in a serene environment as she cradled her bump and looked at it with love.
He shook himself and blinked, breaking out of the daze and returning to reality above the forest speeding by. He chuckled to himself, nearly breaking out into full blown laughter.
'What is happening to me?' he wondered, wishing his lover was here right now so they could talk about it. There was no one else he'd rather be near him right now.
Reminding himself that they'd be reunited soon, he tore his mind away from the topic (with great difficulty) and retrieved his mask from storage before slipping it on, cranking his booster's gears at the same time.
Despite the dangers associated with using the crafting powers in the sensory range of the "busy" Lord Sarubo, there was no issue using artifacts that had been infused with their effects.
Almost everything Greem had clinging to him had been fashioned using the crafter abilities after all, and they didn't register on Lord Sarubo's "law radar."
It was actually one of the things explained when he first received and ingested the essence.
Using a storage ring crafted with Spatial magic wasn't the same as taking a gem or a container and infusing the same magic into it.
The former was a degenerated use of it that interacted with the laws in no shape or form, like the various common spells in the world the powerful magics came from, Tortus.
Meanwhile, the process of imbuing it into a material to shift its properties or give it new one(s) was an active and direct manipulation of the very fabric of reality.
His brazen use of artifacts created with the Age of God's magic, hence, would not attract any undue attention just because he used them in the creation process.
Rather, his possession of them and the powers they displayed is what would turn heads and draw eyes.
So with no fear whatsoever, he leveraged the mask's abilities to protect his face and angled his wings down in a triangle shape, cranking the rocket pack's thrust to the highest he'd ever tested it.
BOOM!
He sliced through the distance like a knife, a violent and visible ripple tearing through the air where'd just been as a shockwave cone of unstable wind trailed him and howled in his wake.
☀☀☀
The first batch of Adepts had only been in the Knight's plane for two weeks. Another two of these weeks needed to pass before the next batch could be summoned to reinforce the first.
At least… that's what Greem and his group believed.
Four days after he joined Mary in her city and 14 days after their arrival in this plane, both of them received a message from Keoghan and Second Grade Lord Fügen. Yes, that Fügen.
Turns out they'd all been deceived, and quite purposefully from the looks of it. Sixth Grade Adept Lord Sarubo had summoned the second batch of Adepts a whole two weeks before the allotted time.
And they were all clan members.
Lord Fügen's message to the couple was an order to assist the two First Grades he was sending over. They were to help them take over the city completely by handing over any assets they'd turned, and also aid in securing the remaining ones.
It went without saying the message was more for Mary than Greem… and she was not happy about it.
Having some idea of the events about to unfold though, he wasn't the least bit concerned. If those Adepts thought they could bully his lover, someone who titled herself "Bloody Queen," they were in for a wild ride.
He chucked his communication talisman into his storage ring and looked down at the mop of crimson curls by his side, smiling at her nonchalant reaction to the message, her own talisman discarded on the stone floor.
Leaning back on the army of pillows and bed rest behind him, he shook his head and locked his hands behind his head, his mind awash with thoughts on the future.
A month hadn't even passed, yet he'd grown tired of the planar war. He debated whether even coming was a good idea. Why didn't he simply run away with Mary after they both advanced?
With their strength and his essence abilities, they had more than a good chance of making it as wandering Adepts.
Then he remembered why; the spacestones, the runic power system, the potential subordinates, and the reward the original Greem got for performing outstandingly in the war.
He wanted all these things… and his time here and participation in the war was the sacrifice to obtain them.
Nodding to himself internally, his right eyebrow shot up suddenly and he looked at the mess of hair to his right, smirking at the smooth hand that had snaked its way between his legs.
Turns out she wasn't asleep after all.
****
Author's note:
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