Chapter 305 - Interlude: Ancestral Founder 2 (Patreon)

A/N - Will post a chapter Saturday to make up for missing Thursday.

The introduction of Abyx brought Vynn out of his own little world where only he and Mierna existed. He mentally shook himself and gazed at the other two companions walking up next to them: a young man by the name of Jierl and a young lady named Kimdra. With the addition of the other four, they had a full Party.

Vynn and the others weren’t worried about filling all the roles usually found in a full Party as they had that covered with just the four of them. Refinux was their vanguard, crafting all of his and the other’s gear himself. Brenton was their Healer, proficient in both Magical and Skill-based healing. Dierdin was their heavy damage dealer, able to use heavy two-handed weapons, dextrous single-handed weapons, quick precision weapons, and ranged weapons all equally. Vynn rounded them out by being their Caster, both for damage and crowd control.

There was a reason they were a group of four that never had to add any additional people to their team. Mierna’s team, on the other hand, was just missing a competent Caster, but it looked like they picked one up before heading to The Center.

Mierna was capable of using offensive Magic like any competent Caster, but she focused on healing. She had a special understanding of Light that she incorporated into her other Affinities geared towards Healing and was the best Healing Mage Vynn had ever even heard of, regardless of Tier, relative to her own strength.

Jierl was their vanguard, but he was more of an evasion build than Refinux. If they only needed one vanguard for a particular situation, Refinux would take that role and Jierl was perfectly capable of switching to damage and crowd control. The nature of their expedition would most likely necessitate a second dedicated vanguard, though.

Kimdra was mostly ranged with her longbow and many Skills that enhanced her power and precision. What made her standout, though, wasn’t her ability to hit long distance targets, but her ability to engage enemies in close-quarters combat while still wielding her bow. Her arrows acted as an off-hand weapon in her hands if need be, able to control the flow of the fight with her bow while striking precisely at openings with an arrow in her off-hand.

Vynn didn’t know anything about Abyx, but process of elimination placed him as his counterpart in their Party of four. The young man came off friendly enough, but Vynn kept an eye on him as they all interacted with each other. He didn’t show anything overt, but he got the sense that he was trying to get closer to Mierna.

Vynn had never acknowledged how he felt about Mierna, not even openly to himself, so he didn’t have any legitimate excuse to try and ward Abyx off from interacting with her however he did. It didn’t seem like he was swooping in on her or anything, but Vynn was suspicious.

His three friends watched him with smirks on their faces while he, Mierna, and Abyx all seemed oblivious to the tangled web forming. Mierna had never shown any romantic interest in anyone before, so Vynn had always thought, subconsciously, that there was no hurry to place himself in her sights in that way.

The appearance of Abyx set off alarm bells in the back of his mind, and he was starting to admit the way he felt a little, at least to himself.

The eight Party members caught up with each other to what they’d all been up to since they’d last met, adding Abyx to the conversation to build a rapport with the newest member. They would all need to understand each others’ personalities and capabilities if they were to go on a decade-long expedition in a hostile foreign Realm.

The Party made their way to the Grand Transport formation in the center of The Center. They brought out their first class tickets and were escorted inside. The difference between the classes of tickets was mainly entry and exit timing. They could show up and be escorted to their little spot at will while those with lower, cheaper tickets would have to wait.

Inside the formation, there were thousands of cordoned off pockets for people to stand. There was enough room in each one for dozens of people. Each pocket connected to a different Realm. Not all of them were hostile, either. Abyx had explained that he had arrived at the Veridical Realm through the Grand Transport a decade ago himself.

“So you’re from the Abyssal Realm?” Vynn queried as they walked toward their destination.

“Yup,” Abyx confirmed. “The main reason I teamed up with Mierna, Jierl, and Kimdra was because of their choice to Adventure in a Demon Realm.”

“Yeah, I’d heard that the Abyssal Realm was originally a Demon Realm we’d conquered a long time ago,” Brenton chimed in. “I’d only heard rumors, though, so that’s all true?”

Abyx nodded his head.

“Yeah, it’s been civilized for thousands of years, but it took tens of thousands of years to drive the demons out. The main thing is that I’m adapted to the unique flavor of ambient Mana found in a Demon Realm, like every other native of the Abyssal Realm, so that’ll make things easier for me.

“I feel like I’ve gained enough experience outside of a Realm with miasma in it, and to round out my Life Experience, I wanted to head to a Realm that actively produced miasma.”

“Is there anything special about miasma?” Dierdin asked. “What does that mean, exactly.”

“It’s hard to explain. It’s like background noise. You don’t really notice it, but it’s there, and you can find it if you concentrate enough. It basically makes you more aggressive; not necessarily hostile or malicious, just aggressive. The Abyssal Realm doesn’t actively produce miasma anymore, so the effects are muted, and having spent a decade away from it, it’s pretty much been purged from my system.

“I’ve heard from my seniors that purging miasma and then experiencing elevated levels in an active Demon Realm will help me gain more control over how it affects me.”

“Was it a problem before?” Vynn asked, genuinely curious.

“No, I wouldn’t say it was a problem,” Abyx denied. “Sure I used to be quicker to confrontation, but that’s about it. The main thing about mastering the ambient miasma is that It’ll be easier to incorporate it into my Affinities. It’s not really an Affinity itself, so I can’t just Meditate on it and improve my abilities with it. I have to wrestle with it to master it.”

“And he’s able to synergize quite well with my combat capabilities,” Mierna spoke up. “There’s something about the duality between his darker-bent Affinities and mine based around Light. He’s plenty effective on his own, but I can more easily join the combat as a damage dealer by combining Spells with his Mana.”

“It’s been a joy to interweave my Mana with yours,” Abyx said with a smile.

Vynn frowned a little at the statement. On the surface, there was nothing wrong with it, but it sounded a bit off. He didn’t have to look at his friends to know that they were glancing at him and possibly smirking.

“It has, hasn’t it?” Mierna replied with her own smile, completely oblivious to the undertones of Abyx’s statement.

The Party of eight were escorted to their teleport circle inside the Grand Transport. The very center wasn’t a teleport circle, but it held a connection to the Divine Realm. The portals found nearest to the center were Realms where the average ambient Mana was more concentrated than others. The inner ring held Realms that one had to be Tier 6 just to survive at the lowest Regions. The outermost ring led to Realms that might have one Tier 5 Region. Most didn’t even have that, existing entirely at or below Tier 4.

The Veridical Realm, if one was traveling to it from another Realm, would be found somewhere in the middle, just like the Abyssal Realm. The Realm Vynn and his companions were heading to was a couple of rings closer to the center than their own. The Demon Realm they were traveling to had a higher average Mana density. They could expect to not find any Regions below Tier 3, and the Grand Transport would connect in one of these lower Regions because of the hostility of the Realm. This also meant there was no direct connection to the Divine Realm.

Like Vynn’s friends had predicted, they were over an hour early. Considering they had first class tickets and could have arrived at will and been escorted to their destination, they were truly very early. Vynn didn’t mind, though. The Party of eight just continued to catch up until it was finally time to move on.

The first indication that the Grand Transport was powering up was the severance from the outside world. Eventually, no more people were allowed in or out, and everyone using the Grand Transport were safely within their own little bubbles. Tens of thousands of people waited patiently for the Divine Emissaries to activate the formation.

The ambient Mana began ramping up; slowly at first, then with ever increasing speed. The connection to the Divine Realm filtered Divine Mana into the runes covering the formation, further altering the ambient Mana density. It was hard for Vynn to describe the difference. It wasn’t like it was just more Mana. There was a unique flavor to the Divine Mana that he’d never felt before.

He tried to Sense it with his Skills and Affinities, but it was beyond his abilities. He could just grasp that there was a difference, but he couldn’t parse it in any meaningful way.

One day, he determined to himself.

The formations begane to shine with light. Before long, Vynn had to close his eyes to the blinding glow, then his world felt like it was turned inside out. He had vertigo as he felt like he was falling down, up, and sideways all at once. Despite feeling like he was being pulled in every direction at once, it wasn’t uncomfortable. It didn’t feel like he was being pulled apart or anything. It was an incredibly strange sensation.

Just as fast as it had arrived, it disappeared. With it, the light shining through his closed eyes turned dark. He opened his eyes and still had sunspots in his vision, but he could look around and see that they were now mostly alone in a barren field.

No other Parties had joined them from their Grand Formation, but it looked like several Parties from other Realms had also chosen this Realm as their destination. Vynn could see at least five other full Parties also looking around from where they had suddenly appeared.

“Alright, let’s get going,” Mierna said, stepping out of the formation.. Vynn and the others shared a look, nodded, and followed after.

—

Visually, the new Demon Realm they found themselves in would have been similar to what they were used to. The biggest difference was the sky was red. The sun in the sky was a dark red orb that bore down heat on them regardless of the ambient temperature. If they were in a freezing environment, the sun rays would still make them sweat.

The moon didn’t offer silver light to see the night by, either. The moon was a dark maroon, giving very little light to see by night. They quickly found that traveling at night was a bad idea as they just couldn’t see enough. It wasn’t more dangerous outside of the higher Tier Regions, but they got lost more than once as they traveled about.

The Grand Formation was located in a Tier 3 Region that was basically lifeless. That wasn’t to say there was no life, but there were no monsters or beasts found anywhere. There was no active campaign to try and conquer this Demon Realm like they had done with the Abyssal Realm, but there were still volunteer contingents that kept the Region clear for new arrivals and prevent any sabotage, whether deliberate or accidental.

The Party quickly left the lower Regions and headed straight for a Tier 6 Region. The miasma that Abyx had described didn’t seem to have much of an effect on their personalities that Vynn could see, though he could admit to himself that he felt more impatient whenever they had a task ahead of them. They basically rushed through all the lower Regions, not even stopping to check out any of the Dungeons they passed.

To be fair, any rewards they could get from the lower Dungeons would be less than marginal. It would be a drop in the ocean compared to the Stats, Skills, Affinity Levels, and gear they had. It was most likely the sense of impatience that pushed them past any of the Tier 5 Dungeons, though, as those would at least give them a bit of a reward for successfully clearing them.

There were no human outposts in the Demon Realm at all. It was fully hostile. That didn’t mean all monsters and beasts were bloodthirsty and after them, but there were no safe havens to retreat to. It was a unique experience where they were jumping into the depths with no lifeline. The Life Experience was considerably greater with the System recognizing that fact.

Each Realm had their own System, but the Grand Transport was more than a teleportation circle. It created a web where everyone could connect directly back to their home Realms and still retain the full benefits of their System. There were myths and legends about a time before the formations, and everyone had to struggle with little to no access to their System while they were exploring other Realms.

Vynn had even heard whispers of whispers, myths of myths of a time before the System.

He didn’t know if there was any truth to it, and he had never seen any direct evidence or anyone mentioning it directly. It was more that there were certain stories where one could read between the lines, but even those stories were smaller stories found within other legends.

Vynn never put much thought into it, not even in a hostile Realm, as they all had access to their own Systems. Maybe if they somehow made it to a Realm that wasn’t connected via the Grand Transport one day, they could experiment, but he didn’t feel the need to do such a thing.

The Party started really Adventuring once they reached the closest Tier 6 Region. They were going to be here for a decade, and they would have to make several trips all the way back to the Grand Transport each time they wanted some downtime, so the Tier 6 Regions were going to be their main hunting grounds.

They swept through the fist Region, engaging in combat with the local demonic flora and fauna. They delved the Dungeons and cleared them in systematic fashion. They didn’t farm any of the Dungeons or spawning areas, always pushing to find new experiences for their Class evolutions.

Mierna and Abyx hadn’t been wrong about their synergy. Mierna was more effective in combat than Vynn had ever seen her before. She had a smile of delight each time she was able to meaningfully contribute to their battles. She was always ready and able to Heal anyone who needed it, but with Brenton also in the Party as a main Healer, she was able to focus more on dishing out damage.

Vynn was jealous that he didn’t share the same kind of synergy with Mierna, but Abyx didn’t seem to take advantage of the situation that Vynn could see. Mierna was also still completely willing to practice Meditation and other Mana exercises with Vynn in the evenings. Vynn sometimes found Abyx looking at him when he thought Vynn wouldn’t notice.

There were no conflicts among the Party members, even with the addition of Abyx, and despite Vynn’s suspicions of Abyx’s motives toward Mierna, they actually became fast friends. Vynn had tremendous respect for the other young man’s capabilities as a Caster, and Abyx had returned the sentiment.

Some evenings, instead of either one of them searching out Mierna for Magical training, they would pick each others’ brains and work together to improve themselves. Vynn and Abyx quickly formed a unique bond that Vynn didn’t even share with his three original Party members, though there was always that little kernel in the back of his mind about Abyx’s intentions toward Mierna.

The Party worked well together, clearing many Dungeons and finding many natural treasures throughout various Tier 6 Regions. They made several trips back to the Grand Formation over the course of the decade-long expedition, but their morale remained high even with the increased stress levels.

Things changed subtly one night, though. After clearing a particularly difficult Dungeon, the Party members made camp right next to the portal close to the top of a tall hill. It wasn’t large enough to be a mountain, but it offered a great view of the surrounding area.

Vynn collapsed like the rest of them after setting up their wards, but something woke him half-way through the evening. He didn’t know what had woke him up as none of the wards were going off, and none of the others were awake, either. After a quick glance around, though, he noticed two empty tents around their campfire. Mierna and Abyx were both missing.

Vynn left the protection of the wards, drawn to the top of the hill by something he didn’t understand. There, clear against the backdrop of the sky on one of the only nights that offered any visible light due to the moon hanging low in the sky, he saw Mierna and Abyx standing facing each other, holding hands.

Vynn felt his stomach drop, and he turned to head back to his tent. His insides were in turmoil, and he didn’t know what to do. He just felt a tearing ache in the center of his being. He had long admitted his feelings for Mierna to himself, but he had also built a strong relationship with Abyx. They were practically like brothers at this point.

What do I do? The question reverberated in his mind over and over, until sleep took him once more.

—

“... And Vynn and his friends traveled to various Local Groups, conquering their Tier 6 Regions and the Dungeons they held,” Ameliyn said. “Nobody knows exactly which path the Party took. It wouldn’t really matter today, anyway, as the lands would have changed beyond recognition from that time. The Dungeons they delved would have long since been reclaimed by the Realm and new ones spawned in their place.

“Either way they built a solid foundation for their Tier 6 Classes. There aren’t clear records of why they didn’t Ascend right away, but it’s a good thing for the rest of us living today that they didn’t.

“I’ll end the lesson here with just the prologue, but next time I’ll tell you about the Grand Realm War where they became the heroes of the Realm. It’s unlikely they would have survived if they hadn’t built such a solid foundation, and it’s unlikely our Realm itself would have survived if they had Ascended and left it defenseless.”

“Fascinating,” Kefira said, eyes shining from the tale spun by Ameliyn.

She had shown up a little after Ameliyn had gotten started to join her fiance in his lesson. She found it important to understand his background just as much as he had grown to understand hers. She hadn’t told them she was coming, though, so that’s why Ameliyn hadn’t waited for her. She had surprised them by just showing up to sit next to Reivyn and listen.

“We don’t have any myths or legends about Heroes of the Realm, much less a Grand Realm War here in Wispan,” Kefira said.

“It happened over a million years ago,” Ameliyn said, shaking her head. “And while it definitely had an impact on this place geographically - remember the desolate sands in Drallo? - it probably didn’t have as much of a personal impact on the people.

“Our entire empire was founded by one of the heroes, after all.”

“That makes sense. Wow, a million years ago and you still have records of it.”

“Like I said, personally important. The records we do have, though, are probably not entirely true, to be fair. Either way, it’s good to at least have a semblance of our roots.”

“I agree,” Reivyn nodded his head. “Do we know the names of Vynn’s companions? I noticed you didn’t particularly mention them.”

“Sadly, no,” Ameliyn shook her head. “We’ve pretty much only preserved the myth surrounding Vynn himself. The records might exist somewhere. They might have their own descendants somewhere else in the Realm. Who knows, maybe we’ll find them one day.”

“Maybe. I sure would like to get a more complete picture.”

“That was much more worth our time than we thought,” Kailey said.

“We’ve received sufficient inspiration from the tale of our ancestor,” Riley added. “So…”

“If you’ll excuse us…”

“We have some work to do before we go out with Reivyn and Kefira.”

“Sure,” Reivyn nodded. “Take your time. We’ll be here, waiting for you.”

Kefira smiled at Reivyn and squeezed his hand. She hadn’t originally been part of the plans for the day, but Reivyn could tell she was happy at her casual inclusion to their itinerary.