We have eighty-three elves captured. The rest either fled or died in battle. What do you want us to do with them?" Kaldrek reported once the fighting was over and another base had been added to Thalionâs growing list of residences.
As for what he wanted to do with the elves. Wasnât it obvious?
"Well, I might have been merciful, but after they killed the human slaves they had captured in the most gruesome way possible, I say we use them to charge the pillar. Letting them go just so they can regroup and prey on humans again doesnât sound like a good alternative," Thalion said in a cold voice. He truly didnât care about the fate of these elves. They had checked all the boxes to be classified as fertilizer for his path, and Thalion wouldnât blink an eye at torturing these creatures to death if it made him stronger.
"Okay, Iâll get them in line. The orcs are almost all dead anyway. Just a question: how long do you want to keep this torture business with the black pillar going? Because⊠well, people are really starting to get afraid of it. If the orc casualties hadnât been so high, we wouldnât even have people volunteering to electrocute them," Kaldrek asked, unsure how to phrase the concern.
"Hmm⊠I donât know yet. Maybe until the middle or end of next week. I really need it as powerful as possible," Thalion said after thinking it over. He had no idea how long it would take to absorb the black pillar after shrinking it, but he didnât want to risk doing it on the last day, just in case he messed something up and arrived half-dead on New Earth.
"Alright, that will upset a lot of people, but weâve got plenty of space now with the extra bases. Also, I think a lot of our fighters harbor some real hatred for the arrogant elves, especially the slaves we managed to free," Kaldrek said. It was obvious he didnât like the fear pillar, but that was understandable.
"I guess youâll go back to crafting until the grand treasure becomes accessible," Kaldrek guessed. Thalion nodded, but then something caught his attention.
"What do you mean, âaccessibleâ? Is it already visible?" Thalion asked curiously. He had thought it would teleport in, or that some secret passage would open when the timer hit zero.
"Yes. Itâs a shining golden orb hanging under the ceiling of a massive chamber. Right now, itâs protected by an invisible shield that will probably vanish once the timer runs out," Kaldrek explained, a little caught off guard. "I thought you already knew. It was discovered a while ago."
"No, I hadnât heard about it. But Iâll take a look when itâs ready. Until then, Iâm off to craft," Thalion said with a wink before making his way to the skyship with the portal that led home.
The others were still busy distributing the loot from the elves, but Thalion wasnât interested. He already had everything he needed.
The days until the treasureâs release passed quickly. Thalion made great progress on both armor and sword. The runes were complete, and he only needed to get new materials from the system shop for the final process. After that, heâd just add the crystals for power, and everything should workâassuming it didnât explode. There would still be plenty of testing with blood control to do, but that could wait. He didnât have time to redo it anyway.
This wasnât his only progress. He had also learned ten new runes from the Leviathanâs tentacles. Over twenty alchemists had worked day and night in multiple shifts to uncover that knowledge. A few runes were still missing, but Thalion was confident they would figure them out. The current ones all revolved around controlling the flow of water and enhancing water-based skills.
Thalion wasnât yet sure how to align them around the Tidecaller Serpentâs body for maximum effect. For now, he leaned toward adding runes that drew from environmental mana and directed the water around him. In theory, that would give him a constant buff. He just needed to find a way to charge them. Until now, all his runes had been crystal-powered, but as the Tidecaller Serpent, he had no such crystal and he couldnât exactly craft armor for that form.
There was also no water elemental he could fuse with, and he doubted one would even synergize that well. He was already a water mage, and his form wasnât that complex, so an elemental wouldnât add much. Maybe a coral elemental, like the ones crabs sometimes had growing on their shells? No, that probably wouldnât look good, and it wasnât practical anyway.
He was more of a mage in the Tidecaller Serpent form than anything else. If he wanted it to matter, heâd need to find a way to upgrade it, big time.
And that was far from the only thing on Thalionâs mind.
He still had Kaelâs item that would add one additional affinity to the Sanguis Impera. That wasnât the most impressive part, anyone could start body-tempering with almost any affinity, but the ability to consume that affinity and grow stronger, just as the Sanguis Impera did with blood, was very powerful.
Thalion was still torn between light and fire affinity. They were the best choices because both required vast amounts of available energy to cultivate: light was present for half the day, and fire was always linked to his bloodline. A plant that could snack endlessly on fire should grow rapidly. At least, that was Thalionâs current reasoning.
Before the tutorial ended, he would have to make a choice. For now, his focus was on the massive treasure waiting for him and perhaps later, a discussion with the systemâs voice about its workings and future events.
Thalion quickly made his way through the city toward the portal that led to the skyship hovering before the palace. The palace loomed like a mountain in the desert, shimmering as though made entirely of gold or at least something that looked like it. Whatever the material was, it was surely far more durable than Earthâs gold.
âTook you long enough. Jakob, Jack, and Josh canât stand guard forever,â Annie said the moment he stepped out of the portal.
âWait, why do they need to stand guard?â Thalion asked, a little confused. Would anyone really try to steal the treasure? His men were everywhere. How could a thief even get close? Oh⊠right. The escape tokens. It was, in fact, a very wise decision to keep others away.
âJust to be safe. Also, Jack always says that trust is good, but control enforced by threats of death works best,â Annie said with amusement.
Both of them jumped off the skyship and headed toward the entrance gate. The gate alone towered fifty meters high, and the entire palace rose several kilometers into the sky. It was almost certainly reinforced with spatial manipulation. The inside was bound to be far larger than the outside.
Annie surfed forward on a river of water she had summoned, while Thalion used his telekinetic dash. He had trouble maintaining a normal pace, shooting ahead far too quickly. Unable to control the skill properly, he was forced to stop and wait for Annie to catch up. She gave him a strange look as she approached.
âWhatâs with your skills? I noticed the same thing in the recording of your fight against the elven leader. You look completely uncoordinated, like you canât control them,â Annie asked, looking worried and a little perplexed.
âNo, that was all part of the plan. I was feinting weakness so I could cut off her hand with the spatial ring and take the escape token. And I wasnât that clumsy. The elf was just extremely skilled and graceful,â Thalion replied quickly, trying to cover himself. He didnât want the workers hauling treasure behind him to know anything about his true strength or worse, his current limitations. Annie still looked skeptical but let the matter drop.
Together they passed through countless corridors and stairways until they reached a massive chamber at least five hundred meters wide. Thalionâs eyes immediately locked onto the golden orb floating in the center, just four meters above the ground.
Josh, Jack, and Jakobâthe three Jsâstood around it, looking bored. No other survivors from his base were anywhere near.
âTook you some time. Can you tell us what this golden orb does? It doesnât look solid to me,â Jakob exclaimed excitedly.
He wasnât wrong. The orb didnât look like solid matter at all. It resembled a miniature sun, radiating light but no heat. It wasnât painful to look at, either. Thalion couldnât sense its aura, though it weighed on him in some intangible way.
Greed overcame him. He shot forward and touched the orb.
The instant he did, it vanished and a notification appeared on his status screen.
âDid you put it in your spatial ring, or did it just teleport away?â Jack asked, eyes wide.
âNo⊠it seems to have activated. I got the bonusâŠâ Thalion said while scanning his status.
You have earned a ticket for the System Shop, granting access to the Faithchanging Section
One item is included with this entrance
If you die, the ticket will pass to your killer
âHah, looks like Iâll have to wait for the System Shop to claim my reward. Thank you all for keeping watch, itâs much appreciated,â Thalion said.
The Faithchanging Section sounded promising, and he couldnât help but wonder what kind of items awaited.