Roy's eyes widened. "People have been in Arcana for that long? Since the time of Alexander the Great!?" His grip trembled as despair sank in deeper. Here he thought things couldn't get worse, and now she was telling him the first entries had arrived 2000 years ago.
Vera chuckled at his shaken visage. This was the most emotion he had shown all day. She quickly tried consoling him. "To be precise, Arcana is an ether plane and isn't bound by the mortal realm's laws of time or space. Alexander the Great was brought here along with the others while on their deathbeds. To us on Earth they have been dead for thousands of years, but to them it has only been 500 years."
Pursing her lips into a smile, she continued, "And remember, I said Alexander the Great III. The originals are long since dead. The ones alive are their descendants… well, that's the case here. I'm not sure about the rest."
Roy shook his head in doubt. "Are you kidding me? I've been in Arcana for a mere two days, and from the effect of ether on my body I can tell I'm getting younger. Mind you, I am only 23. I'm sure it would have been more obvious in regards to them. They wouldn't die so easily."
"Indeed, you are right. But mistake not now for then. Remember, I said Arcana was severely premature then. Even when I arrived four months ago, I know how tough it was before I could get to level 10. Ether was scarce, beasts were even rarer, special functions locked, and all progress was slow as a crawl. I can imagine it was worse 500 years ago."
Fiddling with her locks, she continued, "Besides, your worries shouldn't be on the Sovereigns. They have long since been at the top of the food chain and can't bother to be concerned with small fries like us. Instead, we should be on the watch for smaller tyrants."
Sigh! Roy rubbed his forehead as though hoping to banish the incoming headache. These were the troubles of Lords. Not only were they to be in a rush to level up, they had to grow their territory, face calamities, and still fend against other Lords — not to talk of all the politics that would be involved…
Vera just observed his expression silently, with slight amusement. To her, this was a phase she had long passed through on her early arrival, so she just wanted to see how he would react. Besides, she was planning on enlisting him into their alliance. He had to be a qualified leader for that.
"Sigh, leave tomorrow's troubles for tomorrow me. Anyways, now that you gave all this information, I can imagine your intentions are more than being nice. So out with it — what do you want." Roy was a straightforward man. He didn't have space to add more to his plate. It was enough that he was preparing for Variants. If other Lords wanted to pit themselves against him…
His eyes glinted a cold sheen. He wasn't a fool. He understood the meaning of the fact that he was the only being in the whole of Arcana who could access tactical weapons. And one of the redeeming factors of such weapons was that numbers and strength mattered little in the face of overwhelming firepower. How strong was a Lord? Could they withstand a missile? If they could, would that be the same for a nuke?
Adding to the fact that ether-made weapons were naturally more potent and more deadly than their Earth counterparts — an example being the grenade explosion which wiped out a whole horde of beasts — factoring this, one could imagine the danger of a missile. Indeed, if anything, his enemies ought to be worried!
Vera, on the other hand, was astonished. He just dissolved the pressure like that? Interesting. He must have something in his cards that makes him confident… sigh, before such a big shot I naturally have to grab his legs.
She was a cunning individual, a professional stockbroker before her sudden early ascent. So naturally, she had sharp eyes for a reliable investment. Adding to the abilities that she acquired from her First Class Order of Trade, it was safe to say before her eyes Roy was a sitting goldmine.
She let out an enchanting smile, her eyes glistening, and in an amiable tone she replied, "You jest. Treat the info as a show of good grace from my part. At least that should make up for the disappointing actions of earlier."
Just then the heavy doors opened slowly behind Roy as a troop of chefs marched in, wheeling all sorts of delicacies and drinks.
Seeing this, Vera added, "Let's leave our business for later and enjoy a hearty meal. After this, we can get down to the main topic of your invite."
Roy honestly was about to object, but a mouth-watering fragrance wafted into his nostrils. Since the past two days, though the coffee, donuts, and sandwiches were heavenly snacks, that was all they were — snacks. Compared to such glistening, steaming meals, humans would always prefer the latter.
He gulped greedily. Rejecting food is rude, and I'm not rude… he recited inwardly, swallowing back his initial objection as he obediently sat still, his eyes trailing the incoming feast.
Very soon he was served. A full delicacy sat before him, his choices ranging from a massive bowl of pearly white rice to a golden brown soup of what seemed to be meat broth. His eyes lingered on the meat for a while. After all, in Arcana the only way to get a beast carcass instead of drops required rare hunting abilities.
The choices of meals sprawled before him. He hesitated no more, grabbing the utensils before him. He dug in, and a familiar eutrophic feeling washed through his soul, even more intense than before.
It took every bit of willpower he had not to moan in pleasure. How could meat taste so great?
Why was the flavor so profound?
Tender, juicy, a soothing but explosive flavor to taste. The more he chewed, the more he found it hard to swallow. Why should he deprive his taste buds of such pleasure?
After reluctantly gulping it down in a bit, he reached for the rice, dipping it in sauce, and slowly inserted it into his mouth… His eyes reddened as he forcefully held back a dam of tears threatening to burst. How… how could rice taste so good?
This sauce… this was a divine legacy come to life. Though spicy, he didn't mind the heat. In fact, his brain was so caught up in the pleasure brought by the flavor it totally ignored this fact.
As his eyes roamed through the lineup of food, each looking more heavenly than the last, he swallowed hard. This would be a tough battle in maintaining his composure…
Meanwhile, on the other end, Vera smiled, her cheeks resting on her palms, a mesmerizing smile gracing her lips. After this, I'm sure he would be a lot more interested in an alliance.