The Arcane Emperor

Chapter 183: An Invitation of the Elements

Just as he was about to go, Rainer stopped himself. Elelaria’s lectures and lessons had been good for something. While he didn’t care about the personal ramifications, he did wonder if he might be causing a large issue for the people he’d technically be defending from the Zan.

If only by association, the Zan might decide he was too difficult a target and take out their anger on them. That would sour any fun he might have. And he hardly wanted to be responsible for the safety of some strangers.

Nothing Elelaria had told him made him really care any more than before about personal politics, but he at least had the knowledge of how to not make things worse for others. He may not always lean towards heroics but inflicting cruelty on the innocent was not a life goal either.

Fortunately, it seemed like they were not too happy and traded some choice words. If there was to be consequences, the grave was already dug. No one would complain if he dug it a little deeper.

He removed the mirth from his expression, put on his best say-another-word-I-don’t-like-and-I’ll-kill-you look, and ignored the pleading face Elelaria gave him. Vanishing with a Void-walk, he appeared in front of both groups.

Very quickly the entire room turned to look at him as things quieted. A frigid mien slowly spread from Rainer as he stared at the Zan envoy. Not daring to meet his glance, whatever word was on her tongue left it and, after getting a short look at him, she appeared somewhere between petrified and aroused.

“Is there a problem?” he asked, a subtle [Void Presence] weaving throughout the entire room before rapidly intensifying in pressure. And an even subtler [Soul Presence] pressured her Soul.

“N-no,” the High Elf stumbled out after nearly ten seconds. The once elegant Zan Envoy with centuries of experience now seemed to be no more than a scared girl being scolded by a parent.

“Do you need help finding open seats?” he then asked, his voice somehow sounding kind and friendly yet giving off the exact opposite impression.

It was only a few moments later the many powerful 2nd Tiers in the room realized their stunned silence and slowly continued their own conversations. Though they were notably far quieter and far less interested in their previous talks. Assuming they remembered them at all.

“Th-Th-” She paused her stutter as she cleared her throat and did her best to ignore the gnawing sense of fear that only seemed to grow stronger and stronger. The world slowly closed in around her. Why was she so cold? That she didn’t sense the slightest bit of magic only made it worse. What sort of creature was he? “Thank you for your concern, we can find our s-seats on our own.”

“We are starting soon,” he reminded with a ‘friendly’ smile, before instantly returning to his own seat behind the podium. Unfortunately, the magical quietness of [Void-walking] meant most people wouldn’t think he teleported, but rather moved incredibly fast. Given it probably wasn’t best to overchallenge Tor’s authority, it might be for the best.

Surprisingly enough, Elelaria looked pleased with the way he handled it.

Feeling far more relaxed after watching a Zan High Elf many centuries his senior nearly pee herself, Rainer sat back to enjoy the auction and all the money he was about to make. He, of course, was only thinking of the magic and knowledge he could buy in the City of Wealth. And if he could find anything useful for a certain Fairy’s Trial.

Rainer did his best not to yawn as the auction had yet to start. He may not actually experience sleepiness that often anymore but boredom still existed. Elelaria was laying it on pretty thick about the Enchanter’s Guild. And no one seemed annoyed with it either. He guessed in a place where personal power usually didn’t matter, the type of people gathered here would be more interested in this type of stuff. Then again, his idea of introducing the Enchanter’s Guild would be to say “We are the Enchanter’s Guild,” so perhaps he wasn’t the best judge on this.

He wasn’t strictly against grandiose actions but rather saved them for more magic related things or personal entertainment.

The party to be held afterwards, in this same large hall, was likely something these people lived for. Elelaria seemed far happier than when he had seen her last in the Mana-Filled world. Good for her. She deserved at least that for all she helped him with, no matter her motives.

Rainer frowned as the bids for the first armor set came in. It was one of the weaker ones, and they were completely honest about that. Yet the price was already at 200 Tors in counting…

What was going on? While the Trial set was a bit special, especially as it worked seamlessly together, it shouldn’t be worth this much. In fact, it basically counted as a single Enchanted item when considering issues with compatibility with others. The total Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution bonus of 35 was impressive, specifically for a Tier 1, but...

But a City like this should have no lack of Trial and Dungeon rewards. They shouldn’t be this starved for enchanted items. And while his display earlier likely impressed at least one person, he still remained in the 2nd Tier. What made his display so impressive in the first place was because Tor’s Divine Presence would either directly prevent or call [Priest]s to intervene with any offensive action. An offensive action like applying [Void Presence] to a room. Which meant no one understood why they were wary of Rainer. They would sooner believe he was simply a powerful and naturally frightening figure then believe that Tor’s Divine Presence had failed.

So then… were they showing good will towards the Guild itself?

Rainer smiled. The Enchanters under his wing had earned that good will. Several of them were even here tonight. He quickly hid his expression as he attracted numerous glances from the audience, mostly women but a couple men and unidentifiables too.

Perhaps he should avoid the after party…

The bidding continued onwards and upwards, capping out at an even 300 Tors, from the Zan party. He wondered what they would think once they learned who he was.

He remembered how calm Zan-Lan had been for most of it and how open with information he was. Maybe he should do as expected and trade the 3rd Tier for resources? He doubted a 3rd Tier came cheap. It wasn’t like their side having another 3rd Tier would matter. Especially if he played a little prank on them and brought Zan-Lan to the City of Wealth.

Unless they forked out an exorbitant amount to Arthemtor himself, Zan-Lan would be effectively marooned here. He doubted they could easily use their own resources to teleport a 3rd Tier from such a far away plane. And there wasn’t much left from them to gain from keeping Zan-Lan around.

With a goal in mind, it looked like Rainer would be staying here till the end after all.

Rainer stalked over to the Zan group as the auction ended, and food and entertainment was brought out. The values of the sets only grew as they got better. With the final of the 17 drawing 1,100 Tors. He knew this price would definitely not remain so high, not even near it, but it was a fantastic start and spoke of a great future as they expanded their offerings.

He casually mentioned his plan to Frederick during dinner, along with Kara, Luna, and a few others. His steps froze half-way to reaching the Zan group. Cold sweat dripped down Rainer’s back. He really hadn’t thought this through. A simple mention of this plan to his grandfather had gotten him a proper scolding.

The Mana-Well. How could he forget such an important factor? The moment the Zan connected this Enchanter’s Guild to Alvra, even though the logic was flawed as it was technically from Nalmar, they would instantly and correctly assume where the Mana-Well had gone. No longer would the ‘large source of Mana-Crystals’ lie have any plausibility in their minds.

Underestimating such a foe was not a wise decision.

But now he was stuck in an awkward spot. The leader of the Zan party had seen him walking over to her, and was now meeting him herself.

What was he supposed to say?

“Guildmaster,” she greeted him with a elegant bow. It was far more masculine and downright military than expected, but Rainer wasn’t one to quibble over cultural differences. The knowledge of who he was became available after a mention of him by Elelaria.

“Ambassador Nera,” he said politely. Their group had given him quite a bit of money. And it wasn’t like he hated all the Zan.

Did they even truly need to be enemies just because his first encounter with them was negative?

Rainer inwardly nodded. They did need to be enemies. The Mana-Well meant there was no other option. The Enchanter’s Guild had been infamous enough on Alvra that the Zan would learn of it sooner or later. Not to mention he doubted he’d easily get along with a multi-planet empire known for wiping out or subjugating the natives of the worlds they conquered.

But until they learned of it, he’d happily take their money. Perhaps once he was strong enough, and taking back the Mana-Well was impossible, they’d let it go. But by then their differences may be irrevocable. He wasn’t giving up Alvra any time soon. Not to mention they were clearly terrible with secrets. How long until every organization with world traveling abilities knew he had the Mana-Well?

“It was truly a lovely auction. I’m glad to have been here to participate,” she said, fear still lingering in her voice, though it seemed his Charisma overcame most of it.

“That it was. I came to see if our best customer would be interested in custom orders,” he said, quickly thinking up an excuse for why he sought her out. With how bright her eyes lit up, he wondered if this was the best thing to say without checking with Elelaria first. Oh well. It was their plan to eventually offer it anyways.

“I would be honored.”

It wasn’t long after Rainer sent Ambassador Nera off to Elelaria—who, after a few moments of conversation with the High Elf, had given him a proper glare—that he met the Order of the Elements who had attended the Auction. They hadn’t been stingy either.

Rainer raised an eyebrow at the person leading the way to him. It was that desk clerk who ignored him.

“Guildmaster,” she bowed, now filled with elegance rather than any sort of depression or laziness. It was an impressive transformation.

They traded some pleasantries and then she offered him a strange token.

“The [Priest]s of Arthemtor will accept this and will personally guide you to the plane where the Guild headquarters are at. We hope when you have time, you might send an Ambassador to visit us. I’m sure there are many things we might work together on,” Valerie said.

“I’ll be happy to visit,” Rainer said, surprising her that he’d take her offer directly. He didn’t particularly feel insulted by the earlier occurrence, as he was mostly having fun with it, so he saw no reason to make things hard for her. They chatted a little longer before he decided to leave this party. While neither Luna or Kara would care if he danced with some of the women looking at him like a piece of meat, he didn’t think their dance would be anything resembling innocent.

“Was it not a bit too early, young miss, to invite him until they bring out more of their items? This may be hundreds of years of work, which means their Guild isn’t really that valuable.”

Valerie glanced at her new minder before explaining the earlier event with this man. Her previous minder had gotten in trouble along with her for the last event, so she had a new one for the time being until the man was done with his punishment duty. They were both blamed for insulting the man who could teleport under the Divine Presence of Tor.

She hadn’t even come here with the purpose of apologizing to this man. It was merely a task given to her. Wasn’t he from the ‘Arcane Order’, not an Enchanter’s Guild? But of course she recognized the walking work of art that was the Enchanter’s Guildmaster as the man she had snubbed earlier.

It was why she pushed harder to leave a good impression and spent more than planned at the auction. She doubted this Guild or its Master was simple, and she also believed that their claims of having a vast source of Mana Crystals, with Enchanters to match, was entirely true.

“I hope you are right, miss.”

Valerie grimaced. If she got in trouble twice for actions involving the same man she’d get her revenge for sure.

“I know so,” she said, filled with confidence only on the outside.

Now focusing on his main body, Rainer thought over the offer the newest member of the Enchanter’s Guild had made.

Jean and his Familiar were certainly a force to be reckoned with. And it wasn’t long before he had asked Rainer to help him find and transport him to some of the better Rank 3 Dungeons.

“You want to take Lilia with you?” Rainer repeated, thinking it over himself. Getting the girl extra attribute points wouldn’t hurt. Though in her circumstances, she only had a singular semi-rare class related to her Soul talent. And truly, didn’t have access to all that many classes in general. But it would be a good start. Especially since putting points in say, Affinity, would mean her Soul would grow stronger. Not to mention if the talented girl could unlock a specifically Soul related attribute. Normally, running through Dungeons wasn’t the best idea for leveling a Tier 1. The experience gains weren’t all that impressive for the risk. Even with 14 experienced Tier 1 Dungeon goers by your side. Just the after effects of a fight might kill a more ordinary girl like Lilia. But if Yami was as strong as she seemed...

“I would guard her with my life,” Jean responded. With such a heavy debt hanging over him, how could he not take the chance to help his savior even indirectly? To run his Savior’s apprentice through Dungeons would be his honor.

Rainer glanced over to his Familiar rather than at the boy.

“If you wouldn’t mind letting me test both your strength at night, than I’d be quite happy if you could take her,” Rainer said, “I’ll give you and her the best Trial sets we’ve made too, just in case. You can keep your set as a gift.” Along with his own two tattoos to Lilia. Though just to be safe, he’d put in more defensive techniques rather than offensive. Controlling a blast of Arcane or a call of the Void was hardly an easy task, even with the amazing item.

The boy beamed at him before getting strangely depressed.

“What’s wrong?” Rainer asked.

“Ah, well, R-Rainer,” Jean said, still having trouble calling him so familiarly, “you’ve done so much for me, and now you are giving me such a valuable item as well…” Not to mention that just a few weeks in the [Sleep Learning] space had been incredible for Jean and his Familiar. There were many skills relating to borrowing Yami’s power he simply couldn’t use freely. Especially the transformative ones, lest he do permanent damage to either himself or her.

“It’s just a set for a Tier 2 Trial,” Rainer said, waving off his concern.

“Thank you,” Jean said and just looked at the retreating figure of his Savior with even more awe. He had seen just how strong those sets were. To think his Savior would try to make him feel better by pretending they weren’t anything special. He was truly blessed to have met this man.

Rainer and his party stood before the Magic-based Rank 6 Dungeon. The information on it was freely available, especially given their connections with the Seven Emperors; of the Human side of the world at least.

The rewards wouldn’t be the greatest, but a couple of Rainer’s party, after selecting new classes following the previous Dungeon, had only the last levels to go. Running through this place, several times if needed, was really their only option.

In fact, Aura users with level 25 classes weren’t too uncommon on this world. For the given sake of how uncommon Aura users in the 2nd Tier, with two high level 2nd Tier classes, were in the first place. But even so, the total Tier 3s among Humans had thus far remained at seven.

The original 15 were the most talented Aura users of a couple generations combined, so perhaps it wasn’t too strange they managed it. Most importantly, because they were all aided by incredible Dungeon rewards given for being the first to defeat a Rank 6 Dungeon. In fact, were it not for several of Ren’s own rewards being destroyed during his Trial, Rainer might not have been able to threaten him so easily.

But it hadn’t been that long since their beating of the rank 6 Dungeon for the first time, so perhaps Tier 3 users would show up eventually. But he personally doubted it. The Zan had far too few 3rd Tiers for it to be such an easy task. Seven was already an abnormally high amount for a world of this level and population from what he learned from Zan-Lan.

Perhaps the Mages who had beaten the very Dungeon they were about to enter were only using their longer life spans to wait as long as possible. And then this world may very well gain it’s next set of 3rd Tiers. Or another testament to the difficulty of the Trial if they all fail.

With a step forward, Rainer entered into the portal, his party at his side with the exception of Kara. No one wanted to chance what would happen to a Demon who lost access to Aura. Kara would have to wait until Rainer visited this place and saw if he could recreate the Aura suppression in [Sleep Learning].

Rainer grinned at the world that appeared before them.