World Seal, Ch 15: Silver Line in the Stars (Patreon)

The foundation of Silverguard shook as the cheers of the Silver Nagas rose into the Void. Their eyes were fixed on Sam.

He sent a wave of astral energy flooding across the island, which made the enchantments blaze in response. Streams of light shot upward in a massive fountain and exploded in the Void, making stars rain down in every direction.

The hisses of the Silver Army surged in response, like the endless waves of a shining ocean.

An army of 300 Fourth Evolution Silver Nagas was a sight to behold.

Before, they’d had vestiges of lower-tier classes, mixed professions, and odd choices forced by circumstance when he wasn’t around to help, but now they glowed with power. They had completely transformed.

As Sam let the celebration continued, he gave them a smile and turned his attention to their classes. He had some idea of what they’d received from their Fourth Evolutions, but now he was seeing it in reality.

With all they’d accomplished, from fighting the Vos’Rekan, to helping the World Core with Flaws, to following him to Aster Fall, he’d known they were going to do well in this Evolution, but even he couldn’t help but be shocked at what he saw.

He analyzed Sleset first, taking in the changes.

Sleset Henke. Silver Naga. Level 400. First Fang of the Silver Lord (Legendary)-Scaled General of the Silver Army.

Sleset originally had a Deep Hunter-Ensigiled Sorcerer class and subclass. His subclass had been rarer than his Deep Hunter class, which was one of the standard hunter, warrior, and mage variants among the nagas.

First Fang of the Silver Lord was a powerful commander class, one that combined racial Naga traits with melee and magic. That wasn’t an easy thing to create. It came down to his concept. Now that Sam saw it, he knew what Sleset had chosen.

His concept had been entirely on serving Sam’s right hand.

Or in this case, as his right Fang.

And as commander of the Silver Army. He’d rebuilt his subclass around that idea. The sorcerer abilities with magic had been redesigned and incorporated into his main class abilities, in a way that wasn’t that different from what Sam had done.

The traces of the lost bandit Sleset had once been had long ago been polished away from his scales and were nowhere to be seen in his new Evolution. His scales glowed with silver and emerald light, making him look like he was carved from serpentine gemstone and precious metals.

The silver lightning bolts on his cheeks and the half crown on his skull blazed with energy, glowing more brightly than they ever had before, and now a new aura radiated out from him, one that promised a sharp edge.

He still had his old abilities as a Deep Hunter and an Ensigiled Sorcerer, but First Fang of the Silver Lord came with new command abilities to help him govern the Silver Army, to direct their efforts, and to lead them into battle, as well as powerful attacks of his own.

Most importantly, since he’d modeled his concept on Sam, he’d taken the idea of being his follower to the extreme. His class came with the ability to gather the Blessing of Silver Stars and channel it into unique attacks and defenses, most of which pertained to the entire army that followed him.

Even if Sam wasn’t around, with the blood connection that made him a Silver Naga he had the ability to generate a small amount of astral energy and use it in the same way to power his abilities. The drop of blood that Sam had given him was still there, acting like a catalyst.

If he ever broke his Oath, that blood would shatter and cripple his abilities, but he clearly had no fear of that.

Sam looked down at him, trying to decide if he approved, but after a moment he just chuckled. He should have known the naga would do something crazy like this. He’d always been Sam’s most loyal follower.

Now he’d basically created his own Paladin class to prove it.

It wasn’t even that far off from the core concept of a Paladin, at least a naga version of one. The oathblood had given him increased attributes, elemental abilities, regeneration, and a powerful blessing in combat.

The most significant change was how his class was using the oathblood as a power source, something that Sam hadn’t considered. He’d thought the changes were one and done after Sleset absorbed it in the past, but apparently it was still there, like a thread of energy Sleset could draw on.

Sam glanced up at the Will of the Path and then nodded. He didn’t need to ask to know that the Will had helped out. This degree of change wasn’t possible before the Fourth Evolution, but as Sam had seen in his own development a concept could completely recreate your basic nature.

Sleset had rebuilt himself to take full advantage of the oathblood. Perhaps it was what he’d always intended.

Sam had a feeling that if he asked, he’d learn this type of change was memorialized in the nagas’ history of their ancient Oathlords, the Great Coiling Serpents that had gone extinct.

By following them, they remodeled themselves in their image.

Among other things, Sleset had even gained a Bolstered Regeneration aura ability as part of the class, which would enhance the army’s regeneration whenever he was around, so he had some of a Paladin’s typical healing abilities.

When Sam looked around at the rest of the nagas, he couldn’t help but feel the same mix of pride and shock.

Every single one of the nagas had a main class that was Legendary.

His attention turned to the two remaining captains, Ajoa and Juai. Everyone was Level 400, so he only looked at their classes.

Blade Hunter of the Silver Lord (Legendary)-Scaled Captain of the Silver Army.

Venom Strider of the Silver Lord (Legendary)-Scaled Captain of the Silver Army.

After them, the classes of other nagas sprang into his awareness.

Ardent Flame Warrior of the Silver Lord (Legendary)-Scaled Sergeant of the Silver Army.

Dark Coiled Warrior of the Silver Lord (Legendary)-Scaled Sergeant of the Silver Army.

Crushing Earthweaver of the Silver Lord (Legendary)-Scaled Soldier of the Silver Army.

Hurricane Archer of the Silver Lord (Legendary)-Scaled Soldier of the Silver Army.

For those who had previously had an element-based class, it was no longer a simple one. One of the Fire mages was now a Violent Flame Magus of the Silver Lord and a Lightning sorcerer was a Storm Sorcerer of the Silver Lord.

Every single one of them had a Legendary main class with the name “of the Silver Lord.”

Like Sleset, it meant the concept they had based their entire Fourth Evolution on...was their belief in him as their Oathlord. That was why pride was the strongest of the emotions he felt as he looked at them.

Their classes differed and many of them had followed a similar path to what they’d done before, which was natural, but their abilities had all received a vast upgrade.

Most importantly, their choice to make it a class “of the Silver Lord” gave it sharp improvements and was what raised the tier to Legendary.

Legendary classes were similar in strength to Heroic ones, but focused on a very specific set of circumstances. In their case, it was following Sam. That tier and their concept also elevated their abilities.

Concepts of venom, runes, scales, twining serpents, blades, fangs, elements, darkness, healing, and more radiated from them.

Many of their class titles included names like Warrior of the Silver Lord, Oathblade of the Silver Lord, Honor Guard of the Oathlord, Scaled Protector of the Silver Lord, and Champion of the Silver Lord.

As he looked at them one by one, taking in all that they had become and their shining eyes as they cheered, he felt a sense of duty to make sure that they reached even greater heights.

He had to return their faith.

Along with that, there was also a trace of exasperation that was mixed with humor. He was again reminded of how straightforward the nagas’ view of the world was.

To them, swearing their oath to him was the most important thing, followed by killing anything that bothered him. It was how they saw the world.

Simple and straightforward.

One day, he would try to offer them a more stable world, but at least Aster Fall and Silverguard were better than what they’d had before, even with the threat of the Vos’Rekan. Here, they were already like nobles, not that they paid any attention to it.

After he recovered from seeing their main classes, he turned his attention to the matching subclasses they’d all taken. The Legendary classes would have been shocking enough on their own, but on top of that every single one of them had taken their ranks in the Silver Army as their subclass.

They’d clearly had it planned out in advance.

Creating a military structure for them was an idea he’d considered, and he’d heard of subclasses being used for it before, but he hadn’t known the best way to bring it out. From the self-satisfied gleam in the Will of the Path’s avatar, he knew exactly how this one had happened.

Analyzing their abilities told him that those subclasses came with large benefits when they were fighting together. All of them had a passive ability to support joint attacks, defend each other, stabilize group formations, share their mana, and more. Many of the main classes also came with area-effect abilities that bolstered their fellows.

The Scaled aspect of the class was on full display.

Each of the nagas was like a scale that overlapped with the others, making a defense that was stronger as more joined in. The layered effect of all those abilities was exponential.

Even he might have trouble tearing apart their defenses when they were all together.

With this evolution, the Silver Army had turned into a massive steel plate. Anyone who was foolish enough to kick it would shatter their foot. Then the rest of their body would follow as the nagas tore them to pieces.

And knowing them, they’d ask for seconds.

The delight burning in their eyes as they waited for his command told him how pleased they were with the changes.

“Congratulations, my Silver Nagas,” he said as he nodded to them in recognition. He didn’t hide his smile. “Today, we celebrate, and tomorrow, we fight! Now let the clan drums echo from the Void of heaven. Shake the stars and tell them who you are!”

With that encouragement, the island exploded into even wilder rejoicing and the nagas’ hisses were like ceaseless ocean waves drowning out everything.

The beats of their tails against the stones joined in with gongs and giant drums that they pulled out, each of them made from great beasts that they’d hunted in the past.

Waves of pulsing, primal music cascaded from the walls of Silverguard.

With a chuckle, Sam clapped his hands and joined in. Each clap sent a massive wave of astral energy tearing through the Void to explode above Silverguard.

As the nagas got into their celebration, the drumbeats became louder and wilder, warring with each other and the massive gongs. Each beat challenged the dancers to greater heights.

In that chaos, Sam felt at home.

But he also had work to do.

He left an image of himself there to accompany the nagas, one constructed out of starlight and astral energy that looked similar in some ways to the Will of the Path, and then he disappeared, heading to the highest point of Silverguard.

As soon as he arrived, he spent a short while creating new avatars and replacing the current ones on Silverguard. He also sent a replacement out to meet the old one in the Void. It would take a few days before he could reclaim the current one.

Even though he’d just created two avatars before his evolution, the new ones would be better. He made sure that they were as strong as possible, and that they had all the attributes and abilities they could handle, including Dimensional Stabilization, which was the real reason he was recreating them.

The only ability he left solely for his main body was Stellar Conversion. That one was dangerous for Aster Fall, even at 60% of his strength. Even in a passive state, it exerted a strong dimensional force, as was normal for the Fourth Evolution.

Now that he had Dimensional Stabilization, he had a lot more confidence in using his strength on Aster Fall and inside the World Seal. It also improved his affinity with Asenya’s energy. He could worry less about damaging it while he searched for her.

Even if he went back to Aster Fall with his main body, as long as he was careful, he should be fine. He would just have to maintain the stability of the dimensional energy around him.

As soon as these avatars got back, he planned to send the first one through his portal to look for Asenya. There was no time to waste. The rest could continue working on Silverguard and the Moonlight relic.

When the avatars were sent out, he looked down from the peak to where the nagas were celebrating. Seeing them made his shoulders relax a bit.

It was still a while before the reinforcements the Astral Guardian summoned should arrive, but now that the Silver Army was stronger, things would be better. Just seeing their ranks would be a strong deterrence, even if he wasn’t here.

The reinforcements would arrive and see that someone had beaten them here and then they should take a step back. If they were foolish enough to try and take over, the Silver Army would be here to set them straight.

An army of 300 Fourth Evolution Legendary classes in a unified military was something that only the High Nine civilizations in the settled galaxy could boast of. Seeing it in front of them would make them treat everything here with more respect.

More than that, the Silver Army was an enormous boost in reputation for Aster Fall and Silverguard. Given that the reinforcements were from the High Nine, they would know that better than anyone.

The Level 399s who arrived here after the Conclave of the Moons would probably also tremble when they saw the nagas. It would drive home the difference between Aster Fall and the wider galaxy and remind them to be polite.

Overall, it should help to keep the peace.

If any Fifth Evolution enemy dared to approach Aster Fall, unless they were on the same level as the Vos’Rekan, while they could still cause trouble they would be much less of a threat.

The Silver Army was enough to deal with most Fifth Evolution enemies, especially ones that were only in the early or middle levels, even if they came in a small group.

It might take several dozen of the Nagas to match up to one Fifth Evolution enemy, but they could do it.

The main thing would be to keep any visitors from disturbing the World Seal.

Now that the nagas were Level 400, they wouldn’t be able to get close to it either. They would have to be a line of defense out here in the Void.

The silver line in the stars.

Sam nodded in approval as he sent more explosions to join in the celebration and then he turned to his other work.

First, he dealt with the last level’s worth of attribute points that he’d gained for reaching 400 and quickly tossed the free points into Charisma. It added a little bit, but it didn’t change anything significant.

Then he turned his attention to the guardian’s life gem that was burning on the highest tower nearby. The sapphire-hued gemstone was gleaming with a dull light as mana and traces of aura from the Void poured into it.

All around it was the spell formation he’d created to help it recover.

He couldn’t use pure essence to help the guardian recover, but traces of aura were key to provide the guardian the necessary vitality, as well as Aura Regeneration, which is what he’d infused this enchantment with.

Thanks to the hunt, he now had some more items that would be extremely useful here.

A wave of his hand brought out dozens of Surgeflame Elemental cores, which he began to arrange around the life gem at key points of the spell formation. Each of them was a golden and red sphere that burned with internal radiance.

All of them were also at the Fourth Evolution. He didn’t have any at the Fifth, which would have really helped the Crystal Flame Elemental recover, but these would help.

It didn’t take him long to integrate a supporting enchantment into the one that was already here and to place the cores around the lifegem. Before long, the cores resembled golden stars in a sphere around it.

Some of them hung in the air above it, some to the sides, and some were embedded into the spell structure carved into the stone pillar that held the gem. When he was finished, he stepped back and examined it for flaws.

Then he sent a wave of aura through the enchantment that made it hum to life. Gentle wisps of flame began to rise from the dozens of elemental cores and flow toward the life gem.

As they touched it, they turned sapphire blue and disappeared. The gem glowed faintly in response.

The interior of the gem was like looking into a deep ocean of crystal flame, one that had no beginning and no end. Ceaseless waves and tempests spun inside. As the energy of the elemental cores flowed in, the movement of the energy increased.

He double checked everything again and then he gave the life gem a nod. Hopefully, that would help. The guardian had thought it would take a century or longer for his body to reform, but with enough support, it should happen a lot sooner.

The old elemental hadn’t factored in Aura Regeneration or Sam’s other abilities.

A message from the Titan Star that he’d gained a level in Aura Forging made him look at his status sheet for those. All the work on Silverguard and the relic had given them steep gains.

Aura Forger, Level 419.

Elemental Smith, Level 407.

Essence Scribe, Level 402.

They were all over his own level still since whenever he forged in the Void, he didn’t get bonus experience from the World Core, but they were closer than they’d been in the past.

The relic was a divine artifact, which meant working on it was good experience. Silverguard was also near the top end of Heroic. His creations tended to push the boundary of that tier anyway, especially once he fired up an astral forge.

Perhaps one day, he could turn this fortress into a true divine artifact, but to do that, he would need certain materials that were very hard to find.

Right now, however, it was time to work on his more personal artifacts, and to do that, he needed a new forge. He glanced over the support enchantment one more time and then he teleported back to the peak of Silverguard.

Moments later, the chaos winds howled around him as he called on the elements of the Void. Streams of shining stone and flame began to spin through the dark.

Dimensional energy also thundered out around him, and elements poured in from distant spaces as he reached out to the other layers of the Void that were normally hidden. They’d been hard for him to reach before, but now they were just a hands-breadth away.

Streams of elemental energy poured in from every direction, some of them from thin air. To onlookers, the origin point seemed like they were coming from a pool of silver energy, but in reality it was a dimensional portal.

Slowly, a new Titan Hall began to take shape. Shining columns of white astral stone shone against the dark. At the far end, as always, there was a space for a massive forge.

This would be the strongest one he’d ever built.

Some time later, his new Titan Hall was complete.

The forge at the end burned with a massive column of silver flame, shining like a column of starlight against the Void beyond.

When it was done, he sat down on the familiar stone seat at the center and put his hands on the arm rests. Then he looked out into the Void. From here, he could see across the entire system, as well as farther out into the distance, as far as his Titan eyes could reach.

He could also sense everything that was happening on Silverguard. Every inch of the island was within range of his aura, which was twice as large as it had been before his evolution.

The upgrade of Astral Focus to Heroic also meant that his perception was both more profound and more refined. His touch was lighter, but he saw more deeply.

With a single breath, he scanned everything on Silverguard, from the enchantments down to the rough Vos’Rekan stone that made up the foundation. Then he began adjusting things, pulling some parts into better alignment and refining others.

He’d already done a lot of work on the fortress, but since his perception was better than before, he could see potential flaws more clearly now. It didn’t take long before he wrapped up his work with a satisfied nod.

Then he looked down at his hand, where he began to gather a sphere of silver flame. It was different than before his evolution. The energy spinning in his grasp had a power to it that had never been there before. It crackled with potential.

He let it build until there was a small but brilliant sun in his hand, one that held over 10,000 points of essence. It was enough energy to flatten the Hastern residence all over again, or to eradicate a mountain.

A surge of will combined with a clear vision as he shaped it into what he wanted.

The flames in his hand rippled like a mighty wind was pressing them down, and then they changed. They condensed, swiftly shrinking down to a tablet that was nine inches tall and four inches wide.

It looked like silver crystal and was completely transparent as if it was made of some rare gemstone. It was also about half an inch thick and had a solid weight that was similar to steel.

He studied the tablet for a while, examining it with all of his senses, and then a brief smile appeared. The analysis of it told most of the story.

Silver Crystal Plate (Heroic-Tier Material).

[Blank magical material. An extremely high-quality item that could be inscribed by the right enchanter or scribe. It may have other uses as well.]

It was similar in design to the single-use magical artifact plates he’d created before, like the escape artifacts he’d made on the Path of Stars.

Dense material like this could hold a very powerful enchantment, more than most beast materials, but in other respects, it was basically the same as a scroll.

Among other things, this plate held a significant weight of dimensional energy inside. It could be turned into a spatial artifact or to an explosion that would tear open a dimensional rift, depending on how he used it.

He took the plate between his hands and with a quick flex, he snapped it into two halves. Silver flames sprang up around his hands and swallowed the fragments, swiftly breaking them back down into energy.

Instead of giving that energy to him, however, it entered the silver flames. They surged higher as they absorbed it, and their color became more intense and vibrant.

It wasn’t enough energy to make them really change, but by the time they were done, they towered a dozen feet high, creating two columns above his hands where the fragments had been.

They were denser than normal, and the weight of the tablet was distributed throughout them. If he wanted to, he could spread that weight out or shift it into another dimension, but he didn’t worry about that for now.

The important thing was that the energy he’d infused into the tablet was still there in his flames.

A spell structure formed in his mind, one that he would normally inscribe onto a scroll. It hung there in crystalline perfection. Then he imbued it into the energy of the pillar on the right, merging the two together.

It took a moment as he held the complete framework in his mind, as well as a new image of a scroll, but then the flames began to change. The pillar shrank, condensing into a thousand runes that began to spiral around an increasingly small area.

The gleaming symbols of an interlocking enchantment appeared next, swiftly lacing itself together as it copied the structure.

A moment later, the pillar had changed into a silver scroll that was engraved with the exact spell structure from his mind. It floated in front of him as he examined it to make sure the enchantment was correct, and then he snapped his fingers.

Instantly, the scroll rolled itself up and disappeared into his spatial bracelet. There, he examined it again and his smile grew larger.

It was a real scroll.

He’d had decades of practice at creating astral ice from the Void and enchanting it into golems, but this was the first time he’d ever created a scroll from nothing, symbols and all. He could have created a tablet made of astral ice and then inscribed it, but creating a complete scroll was new.

And within an instant at that.

Among other things, Stellar Conversion increased his ability to materialize energy, enabling things like this. If he gave it enough energy, the things he could create would be impressive.

It was tempting to go and test out the full power of Stellar Conversion, to let his flames grow endlessly and upgrade themselves by tearing apart other material and energy, and then to see what he could create from the result, but that side of the ability was destructive.

For now, it would have to wait. He would use it when he needed to.

As time passed, he continued experimenting with the new ability, creating scrolls, tablets, and more, including some simpler enchanted items. It took a lot of energy to compress the complete crafting process into an instant, but it was possible now.

Eventually, this might be a good way to create a golem, which would let him rebuild his construct forces more quickly than he’d expected, but he would have to get more used to it first. The enchantments on a golem were much more complex than on a spell scroll and they had to interlock with delicate precision.

When he was satisfied with the initial work, he infused the energy from the flames around him into the stones of his hall and then he stood up, his attention turning to the forge at the far end.

The pillar of silver flame was a dozen times more powerful than the forge he’d created at the Moonlight Relic. The Void resonated around it, roaring with dimensional force and elemental resonance.

He stretched and then he reached into his spatial bracelet, pulling out two twisted fragments of metal, followed by a storm of materials, which began to swirl around him like comets around a star.

He looked down at the fragments on his hand as old memories ran through his mind. These fragments were all that was left of his bracers after the fight with the Vos’Rekan.

It was time to recreate them and to improve his Cloak of Frozen Stars.

And this time, he was going to incorporate the Fragments of the Primal Void.