Leveling up the World

Chapter 765: Twenty-Seven Sightings

PERSONAL AWAKENING

Orange clouds floated on a purple sky. There had been a time when Dallion would have found such a sight breathtaking, or at the very least remarkable. Now, it was just another day in his realm. Sitting at the top of Ondas tower, Dallion stared into the distance.

Hey, old man! the teen nymph shouted. Youre messing up the look!

If there was one person whose arrogance had grown along with Dallions it was Onda. The hammer guardian had always seen himself as a genius and, thanks to the Moonstone in the realm, his opinion of himself had grown even further.

Youve no idea how much time and skill it took to get it right!

Funny. Up to today, Dallion hadnt minded the attitude. In fact, he hadnt even noticed it.

I need some assistance, he said, glancing down.

At the comment, the guardian froze. There was a spark of emotions within him that was quickly subdued.

She said not to encourage you, Onda whispered.

Harp? Dallion split into a few instances and looked around. I wont be doing anything reckless, he said with a sigh. Its forging related.

Forging? The guardian didnt sound convinced.

A while back, you said that there are more complicated things than crafting metals. I want to learn magic crafting.

Magic crafting? Onda shivered slightly while saying the magic word.

Whatever the proper term is. I know you can do it, so

Cant. The guardian quickly interrupted. She said no magic.

Seriously? Dallion grumbled. Harp! he shouted in the direction of the harpsiswords tower.

Other than a few waves, there was no reaction. Harp was determined not to meddle in his development, and that included not helping him with anything magic related, at least for the time being. After what had happened in Lanitol, Dallion would have thought that hed be given a pass for reasonable requests. Apparently, that wasnt the case.

In all honesty, his request wasnt exactly safe or random. The thought of challenging the archdukes son had made him remember the duel theyd had back in Nerosal, including the origami weapons the noble had used. Creating such a weapon would be very beneficial in more ways than one. For one thing, Dallion was considering upgrading Luxs home. Having the firebird follow him about like a bladebow with kaleidervisto sights was starting to get bothersome.

What about enchanting? Dallion asked. Ive already done that many times.

The nymph shook his head.

That was temporary.

Maintaining his calm exterior, Dallion waited for a short while longer, then left his realm. The first thing he felt was a wave of air hitting him in the face. Moments later, his senses returned to normal.

Normally, entering a realm while flying wasnt the best of ideas, but it didnt count while on a cloud fort. Initially, Dallion had wanted to avoid the fuss, but when the squad of furies within the cloud had offered to take them, the choice was made for him.

Aware of their emotions, he knew that the offer was extended mostly because of Diroh. While guard furies assisted mages, they rarely went out of their way to catch up to one mid flight. The rumors of her being royalty must have spread.

You can rest a bit, the fury told Dallion. He was a seasoned veteran who didnt have time for all the rank bullshit. We wont reach the Academy till tomorrow.

How nice of them, Dallion thought and sat up.

The fury on guard was newfar younger than the previous one, tasked with keeping the cloud stable. Everyone else, Diroh included, was gone.

Wheres everyone? Dallion cracked his back. Sleeping on war clouds wasnt as comfortable as people assumed it would be.

Your novice was escorted into the building, battle apprentice, the fury replied, using Dallions standard title. All your things were moved to your room as well.

And the furies?

They were sent out on another cloud. Katka ordered that we leave you to sleep undisturbed, so

I get the picture.

Dallion cast a spell, rising up from the cloud. Without a word of thanks, he floated straight to Katkas room on the upper floor of the building, then went inside. The magic symbols on the walls glowed brighter as he passed. Recognizing him as belonging here, they remained in their present state.

The moment he flew in, the room widened, increasing tenfold in size. This wasnt normal. Katka wasnt a fan of modifications, preferring to keep things as they were. Ironically, that made many of the Academy mages see her as a snob. In their eyes, illusions werent good enough for her, since she resorted to getting the actual physical thing and bringing it here.

The current modification spell had turned the room into a modern Earth corporate office. There was lots of space, full of desks, cheap plants, water coolers and a glass walled meeting room at the far side. Looking closely, Dallion saw four figures gathered there.

Just great, he thought.

The archmage was present along with Katka. The other two were silhouettes made of cloud matter and water, respectively. That meant that the entire Shimmering Circle had gathered to discuss something. Since Dallion had joined, there had been only one similar meeting. Back then, the woman Dallion had seen in Gassils memory fragment had also been there, even if no one had formally introduced her to him. There were a few more instances in which she had taken shape to discuss something with Katka. As for the last member, he remained completely unknown. Dallion was aware of his existence, but nothing more.

Dal, the archmages voice echoed throughout the room, as if he were using loudspeakers. Join us.

Taking a deep breath, Dallion made his way to the door of the meeting room and went inside. The conference table was large enough to hold eight people. The seat next to Katka was left free, indicating he was supposed to take it.

This must be important. Dallion said, using his magic vision in an attempt to see the people behind the constructs. He was able to see the magic threads connecting the forms to invisible portals, but not what lay beyond. First time I see everyone gathered.

The sharp look the archmage gave him quickly told Dallion to tone down the humor.

We heard what happened down south, the man said. What are your dealings with the Order?

You know I cant tell you that, Dallion said calmly. Moon vows and all that.

Convenient.

What I can say is that the Azures tried to take out the archduke. There was a moments pause. And myself.

You were targeted? Katka asked, more surprised than intrigued.

I guess Grym is still mad at me for last time. They managed to put echoes in a lot of the people at the banquet. Most of them were normies, but there were a few awakened as well as the local mage.

We know, the archmage said. Would have been nice to bring one of them alive for questioning.

Wasnt my fault. The archduke absorbed all the evidence. I did manage to get the mages robe, though. If theres anything to be learned, Ill find it.

Such a marvelous ability, the cloud woman said. Sometimes you make me envious.

Thats not why I called for this, the archmage hissed. A messenger arrived from the emperor himself. The vortex gleam that was spotted not too long ago wasnt the only one. As it turns out, its only a drop in the bucket. There have been twenty-seven confirmed sightings, but unlike the last one, the levels are much higher.