Leveling up the World

Chapter 948: The Seventh Conqueror

Jeremy and Tiallia looked at each other. It was safe to assume that talking about their past experiences might come with the respective punishment, but discussing general notions had to be alright. After all, Simon had done a lot of the talking and he hadn’t been punished by the Moons.

“Five against a Moon,” Tiallia said. “Have you prophesized the outcome?”

“It gets difficult when dealing with deities. Dallion was only part divine, and he was still able to mess up things. It took a lot of effort to pin him down in one flow of events.” The archbishop’s left eyebrow twitched. “Oh, and I’ll need all your Moonstones.”

“Here we go again.” Jeremy sighed, as even his dragon snorted in disgust.

“Let me correct that,” the archbishop quickly added. “I need to see your Moonstones. I know you’ve been keeping a few for a rainy day. You’ll still get to do that. I just want to see the types you have.”

“You mean he doesn’t even have the full emblem?” Jeremy’s pity turned into anger. “What the hell are we talking about, then? If we had the entire set, we—”

“Would have done nothing,” Simon’s tone suddenly became as hard as diamond. “I gave up my chance. You surrendered the moment the Red Moon asked if you wanted to go through. The rest,” he glanced at Tiallia and Pan, “have already used up their chance. This isn’t like a low-level trial. You only get to use the shortcut once. Dal’s the only one who can turn the key, so show what Moonstones you have.”

Here it was. The first in a chain of moments of truth that would lead to one of them becoming a Moon. Simon had hinted there was a high chance that Dallion would succeed. That wasn’t much of an assurance, but it was, supposedly, better than the alternative.

Tiallia extended her hand, palm up. Three rough purple gems emerged.

The slightest of frowns appeared on Simon’s face. Whatever he was searching for, this wasn’t it.

“Don’t look at me,” Jeremy said, before the question was ever asked. “Dal already cleaned out my piggybank. Whatever I had, he’s got it now.”

“I see...” The regret in Simon’s voice was palpable. Extremely slowly, he reached out into the air, as if to grab something. As he did, a large blue gem materialized. It was as big as a fist, emanating divine power.

“You kept one unconsumed?” Jeremy asked. “Didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Astreza’s Sapphire,” the archbishop said, holding it with such tightness one would think it was a part of him. “The first Moonstone I was given. It was never meant to be used...”

That was an unexpected twist. It seemed that when Simon had said that there were enough for a full set, he had included himself in the calculation. There was no telling how many had passed through his hands: thousands at the very least, possibly a lot more. And all that time, he had still managed to keep the first untouched.

“Here.” He went to Dallion and reluctantly shoved it into his hands. “Now you have enough to complete it.”

“I guess we wait till his condition wears off,” the nymphs said. “Any bright ideas on how to spend the time?”

“Maybe stop your armies fighting,” Dallion couldn’t keep himself from saying.

“That?” the nymph split into a dozen instances, looking at the distant ocean with half of them. “The order was given. Just some people are too enthusiastic for their own good. It’ll be over soon, one way or another.”

Mages, Dallion thought.

“As you said, we’re the two strongest,” Tiallia added with a vicious smile. “And taking you on will be a lot safer than taking on seven Moons.”

A blink of an eye later, Dallion and his group were the only ones standing on the mountain peak. Jeremy and his dragon had transformed back into air, and the body of the nymph had transformed into water.

Water copy, Dallion thought. He did wonder that Tiallia had arrived so unprotected compared to the emperor. How come you didn’t catch that, Harp?

I did, the harpsisword guardian replied. But I didn’t think it mattered.

That could be argued, but in the grand scope of things, it had the same result as if she had been there. Real or not, those were the nymph’s words, and she had agreed to the plan. Now all that Dallion had to do was deliver.

The first thing Dallion did when he got back to Alliance was go to sleep. Close to five hours remained before he could enter the awakened realms. During that time, he could use a brief respite. He held on to a faint hope that he might have another Moon dream, but that didn’t occur. He still had a dream of sorts, but it had a completely different visitor.

Dallion found himself back at the peak of the mountain, only this time he was alone. All seven Moons were visible in the sky, just above the sun setting beneath the horizon.

“Aren’t you setting the wrong way?” Dallion wondered. He was lucid enough to suspect that this was a dream, yet was still fascinated how real it felt.

“It’s so you can pay attention,” a voice said nearby.

Calmly, Dallion turned to his right. A slime was standing there. The form made it impossible to distinguish this specimen from any other member of its species. The bouquet of emotions in his voice, though, was rather unique.

“Pan?” Dallion asked.

“Sorry for visiting like this, but there’s something you must know.”

Dallion nodded. He wasn’t aware that copyettes could enter dreams, though at the same time found it perfectly normal.

“Simon already knows a way out. He was the first to bring anyone out of the banished land. Even during my time, the concept was unthinkable. That’s why he’s so eager for you to go.”

“He’ll help me bring back the dryad?” Dallion asked. His surroundings had changed, turning to the archbishop’s island. The smell of the ocean filled the air, along with the relaxing sound of crashing waves.

“He didn’t gather everyone in order to win. He gathered you in order to lose. Anyone who challenges a Moon and fails is banished along with their entire race. If the entire party fails, everyone will be cast into the banished realm. Only Simon will be able to return, after which he’ll bring back only those he wants.”

Sneaky was one way to describe the plan. Despite not being able to feel anger or fear in the dream, Dallion acknowledged the machination. As plans went, it was rather smart. If the Moon challenge succeeded, Simon would become a Moon, same as everyone else. If it failed, only he got to repopulate the world with those he saw fit. Even if the challenge didn’t take place, there was a fifty-fifty chance that the archbishop would end up victorious. Dallion was the one perceived as a threat and that was who Jeremy and Tiallia would target. In doing so, they’d become weaker and potentially turn on each other, leaving Simon in a good position to mop things up.

“He’s smart,” Dallion admitted.

“Not the word I’d use,” Pan took a step forward, stopping at one of the massive trees that had surrounded them. “He’ll probably offer to help you in the summoning process. Don’t trust him.”

“I don’t need to trust him. I already know how to bring the dryad here.”

The dream abruptly ended.