- - -

- - -

Arc 2: The Power of Knowledge

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- - -

『』= Info

《》= Attribute

『』= Skill

【】= Sub-Skill

〘〙= Status, Combat Arts & Magical Spells

〚〛= Internal Thoughts

「」= Other

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Chapter 22: The Truth in All Things

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Part 1

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At Starlight Spark’s offices on Atlantis the Boards of Starlight Spark and Falcros Sage Media had been meeting. It was a RET day later than Elrick had thought but it took time to prepare documentation across international boundaries, and it would take some time for all the documentation to be properly signed and circulated around the world for all the signatures necessary to make the sale of equity binding in all jurisdictions where Starlight Spark operated.

Fortunately Falcros Sage Media had done all the legal footwork and consulted independent assessors to evaluate all the legalities even before the proposal was made to Starlight Spark. All that remained was the due diligence on the value of both companies and since Elrick, Edwin, Jason, Estelle and Carol had all signed the sale agreements the transaction was feta complete. All that remained was for the other shareholders to sign off, the amounts settled and for the papers to be filed with the relevant authorities.

The association agreement between Starlight Spark and Falcros Sage Media gave exclusive commercial image management rights of Starlight Spark to Falcros Sage Media. That meant that Falcros Sage Media would handle all publicity, video editing and revenue collection for the Starlight Spark Clan and all its members. For its efforts Falcros Sage Media would take a standard 15% fee on the income from the publication of videos and other media.

- - -

With the paperwork out of the way the meting now focused on what Falcros Sage Media would need to change about Starlight Spark to make their videos more productive. The latest video of Elrick’s activities on Chaos Island would become the first major project and Falcros Sage Media had already done some preliminary edits and now showed it to everyone at the meeting.

They watched the video detailing Elrick’s encounter with the Ants, Squid-Slime and the Serpents.

Carol : " You really are an Annihilator"

Elrick : " Eh? What do you mean?"

Elrick is somewhat surprised.

Carol : " Didn’t you just destroy an entire Colony of Ants that are much stronger than you?"

Elrick : " But….?"

Carol : " And do you know what’s on the other end of that Beam from that Thunder Serpent?"

Elrick : " Other end?"

Carol : " Let me show you"

The Display at the centre of the round table shows a Beam striking the edge of a Beastial village on Chaos Island; obliterating the defences and killing dozens.

Elrick : " Wait? You can’t blame me for that?"

Elrick is determined to avoid taking responsibility.

Edwin : " You started the chain of events did you not?"

Elrick : " It’s not my fault"

Carol : " No; you attacked the Serpent"

Edwin : " And the Roar brought in the Boa"

Jason : " And a clash of Titans began"

Grinder : " Titan?"

Elrick : " Giant Serpents belong to the Titans of the First Age."

Bowden : " And you attacked even knowing that? Are you an Idiot?"

Elrick shrugged his shoulders.

Elrick : " At the time it sounded like a good Idea"

Egret Collins : " You’re a really strange Prion"

Lady Lorelei : " You can say that again."

Egret Collins is the Managing Director of Falcros Sage Media.

Hammerin : " Prion?”

Staffen : " What’s a Prion?"

Egret Collins : " Right; perhaps it’s best to first fully explain."

Lady Lorelei : " Anton, Carol; please explain."

Anton : " Prion is the Name we’ve given ourselves"

Carol : " Prion stands for Prior One; thus Prions are the Prior Ones."

After the other 16 Starlight Executives look at each other in stunned surprise Anton and Carol continue the explanation.

Anton and Carol explain in detail about the talents of the acutely intelligent beings known as Prions. They explain the history of the Prions, and for the first time even Bowden understands that he’d been given a simplified version. They explain about the Advanced Learning Institutes and similar centres all over the world. They explain the stated purpose of the Advanced Learning Institutes but also go into detail about the underlying Goals of the ALI and similar structures.

The way they explained it Prions are humans as they should be or as they used to be; unlimited in their ability to learn. The consensus amongst Prions is that over the past millennia humans have been progressively herded into narrow thinking and behaviour by those who had an interest in controlling the populace and thereby limiting natural inclinations of humans to rise above their limitations.

According to Anton and Carol Prions have tended to spring up and rock the boat but have generally been contained by the authorities. However every now and then Prions would start a revolution through invention or political actions. Being Prion isn’t something necessarily genetic so even if you kill all the Prions they’ll still emerge at some point in the future.

The room was silent once Anton and Carol finished the explanation.

Ring : " Are you the Illuminati?"

Elrick : " Crap!"

Elrick knows that the entrenched belief of the Illuminati bogyman is hard to deal with.

Anton : " The Bavarian Illuminati might have been a Prion group, but there’s no way of knowing. But the goal of global enlightenment or illumination is one we share."

Carol : " Prions aren’t necessarily Homogeneous, but because of our common enemy we tend to aligned in our goals."

Armlet : " Enemy?"

Arrow : " The Elite you spoke of?"

Anton : " Understand that this is mostly conjecture, and we have never been able to pinpoint who they are exactly."

Carol : " We only see evidence of their activities, but it is compelling."

Anton : " Human Civilizations seems older than the pseudo science of Archaeology is willing to accept. Western Science in particular is restrictive and operates like a cartel where a few sitting in ivory towers proclaim what is accepted as science and what is not. The very few have promoted grave-robbing to an accepted science. There seem to be a concerted effort to ignore all evidence that runs contrary to the concocted narrative about human civilization."

Carol : " Sunken cities all over the world are revealing a truth long dismissed by the Science Gurus and it is now obvious that there were towns and cities even 30,000 years ago. There are 40,000 year old mines in South Africa and human settlements dating back 150,000 years. As if that’s not enough proof there’s the long standing problem of Megalithic Structures all over the world; even sunken ones. Someone had the technology to move massive 1,000 ton monuments and obelisks thousands of years ago."

Anton : " There’s an emerging Prion consensus about a civilization originating from a place called Aten Lantea; more commonly known as Atlantis”

Carol : " We call them Lanteans"

Anton : " From the elusive age of the Pyramids of Ancient Kemet now Egypt, to the mystery of Puma Punku, to Carnac, Stonehenge and other structures; it all points to a technologically advance culture capable of moulding Megalithic Structures that can endure for thousands of years."

Carol : " Now world class surgeons have extracted implants in people; the implants are made from Amorphous Materials our modern technology can’t identify."

Anton : " The Amorphous Materials are the Absolute proof that someone has Technology that no Science Lab in any country can identify. It suggests a technology not derived from the current level of modern science."

Carol : " It is postulated that the Start of the end of the Ice Age some 21,000 years ago ending some 10,000 years ago reshaped the landmass of the world; about 25 million square kilometres of land was swallowed up by the sea. However before the melting the landmass of the Earth looked very different and because of the sunken cities we know that there was a civilization. We are convinced that the pre-deluge civilization had advanced technology that we are unfamiliar with. We’ve noted a concerted effort to drive our civilization towards certain types of technology and away from others."

Anton : " Nonetheless we can conclude that Megalithic Structures, the UFO phenomenon, Ancient Gods and modern Religions are somehow connected to this place called Aten Lantea."

Carol : " We don’t know why the Lantean Civilization fell but it is unlikely that all Lanteans died with it, and it’s much more probable that they had some kind of continuity of government or Ark project. These refugees from Aten Lantea apparently settled all over the world and the evidence suggest that they enslaved the human race and masqueraded as gods. For whatever reason Lanteans see themselves as different from humans and there’s been suggestions that they’ve genetically modified themselves to have different abilities to humans. The prevailing analysis is that Lanteans are somehow more than human and they’ve integrated themselves into human society and now govern humanity from the shadows."

Anton : " Just because it’s a conspiracy theory doesn’t negate its probability. In fact there is so much evidence for this that it’s those who argue against it that sound a bit on the ridiculous. However the average human is an Idiot so even things that look obvious to a Prion seem insurmountable to normal people."

Daggerin : " So these Lanteans are the Illuminati?"

Carol : " What was the crime of the Illuminati? Why were they demonized?"

Anton : " All they did was try to pursue Liberty for Humanity. Is that really that big a deal?"

Elrick : " Liberty from Superstitions was their crime; the Church didn’t like the idea of anyone contradicting them. They were lucky they didn’t get killed; burned at the stake as heretics."

Anton : " The Illuminati was branded as Evil for trying to free mankind from Superstitious beliefs. Just as Lucifer son of the Morning was branded evil for giving knowledge to humans. We suspect Lucifer and Prometheus are the same Lantean individual; a god who sided with humans. What is so wrong about eating of the fruit of knowledge?"

Carol : " It sounds like a Lantean plot to dissuade humanity from learning."

Anton : " The religions of the world seem to be about binding humanity and keeping us from advancing beyond set limits, and once religious belief started to loose power we started to see radical political ideologies such as nationalism and the associated xenophobia and racism."

Carol : " The Lanteans seem to have Collaborators who gain wealth and power over their compatriots through service to their Lantean Masters."

Anton : " Today we can’t trust our governments, and I don’t know if we ever could. Those who wield power in this world do so in the name of their masters; be it in business or government."

Carol : " Sure there are some independents here and there, but the powers that be don’t have to be in direct control to manipulate you."

Anton : " They control humans in ways we don’t understand."

Carol : " And therein lays the problem; we think that some Lantean Factions are for lack of a better description Psychic."

Anton : " It sounds incredulous; I know, believe me I know."

Carol : " Prions around the world have for 50 years collected mountains of evidence and over time it became apparent that they have some method of managing humanity; influencing us in ways we can’t overcome."

Hammerin : " Let me see If I’m getting this right; these Lanteans have somehow pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes and control humanity like we’re some kind of cattle. Why?"

Daggerin : " Why bother putting on this show?"

Anton : " Why? There’s no simple answer to that question, but what we no is that Lanteans are not Homogeneous. So you have multiple competing agendas. I believe that Aten Lantea was not a country but an Empire and the end of the Ice age triggered strife as the empire broke up. Some say there was even a Nuclear war given the large scale Vitrification in places like the Indus Valley parts of Africa and other sites."

Carol : " There’s no definitive answer because they don’t feel the need to explain themselves to us; to humanity. Whichever way you look at it we are the lesser beings, and the Lantean factions do with us as they see fit. We have no ability to fight back against such power; not our military technology, physical abilities nor our mental abilities can compare."

Swordin : " Even so; you still intend to fight? Knowing full well you can’t win?"

Elrick : " I’m not fighting anything; I’m just trying to survive"

Lady Lorelei : " Still trying to run away?"

Elrick : " Damm Right! I’ll never stop trying to run or find a place to run to."

Lorelei sighs.

Anton : " We can’t help opposing the Lanteans; throwing a spanner in their plans is sort of what we do or what it means to be a Prion."

Carol : " We are a herd that can’t be herded; we go where the information trail leads because that is our food. We are probably the biggest hindrance to whatever plans the Lanteans have for humanity; this experiment they been running for 10,000 years. I suspect Prions have been mucking the works from the very beginning; that is likely why they tried to make knowledge taboo."

Anton : " They can’t destroy Prions because it’s like it’s hardwired into every human. Which is why we think the answer has to be making every human into a Prion."

Carol : " You could call it Prion reproduction; it’s our biological imperative."

Bowden : " Why Realm Eternal?"

Anton : " Good Question! Why? Because it’s suspicious that’s why."

Carol : " The ALI centres were conceived and implemented by Prion groups working independently of each other as Prion cultivation centres; they provide the one thing a Prion needs to fully mature."

Anton : " It’s not unusual for a Prion to be limited by their environment; never maturing into the universal knowledge mind that epitomizes what we are. Thanks to the ALI and similar institutes there’s a Prion boom, and the world is being remade by the large presence of a group who won’t accept anything on faith. We investigate, we research and we pioneer. The Lanteans find it hard to deal with us; we’re not gonna believe a voice in the wilderness claiming to be God, we’re not gonna accept that some knowledge is forbidden and our minds are to complex too accept subtle manipulations. Therefore the only way they can get a Prion to do something is to convince us, and that means giving a detailed explanation of their activities and intensions."

Carol : " As you might expect the Lanteans aren’t about to share their Super secret knowledge with us mere mortals. Realm Eternal seems too secure; almost as if it was made to thwart Lantean interference."

Anton : " It seems as though it was made by someone fully aware of the Lanteans; Prions. If Realm Eternal was made by Prions then it’s likely yet another Giant Spanner in the works; just like virtual reality."

Swordin : " Virtual Reality?"

Carol : " Virtual Reality is probably the biggest blunder the Lanteans have made in 10,000 years; it will undo everything they’ve built."

Anton : " Virtual Reality is a game changer; a wracking ball on the global order."

Carol : " It is chaos incarnate and will reverse the gains made by the powers that be. I suspect that in 10 years the global industrial output would have halved"

Hammerin : " Virtual Reality will do that?"

Elrick : " What do you suppose is Europe’s advantage over India, Africa or South America?"

Hammerin : " Hmmmm …….. Could it be public infrastructure?"

Elrick : " Not just the Public infrastructure but infrastructure in general. Virtual Reality removes that advantage; suddenly students in the third world can gain access to the best schools, libraries and technology at a fraction of the cost of the built up stuff in Europe. But the situation is even more complex than anticipated; we are looking at the erosion of entire industries."

Chester : " It’s not just about Schools is it?"

Elrick : " No; It’s the New World Order!"

Rapier : " When you put it like that it sounds like the machinations often depicted of the Illuminati."

Elrick : " We are already seeing a 4% decline in global manufacturing despite all the Advent Consortium’s increase in production. Looking at it it’s readily apparent why the Governments who own the Advent Consortium refused to hand over VR technology to the private sector; it would have been like shooting themselves in the foot. The over $500 Billion being spent on VR by Advent Consortium at an alarming rate is designed to be anti-competitive; that is it is meant to make the emergence of competing VR infrastructure unprofitable. This is multi-State monopoly; a deliberate attempt to take back control of the global economy from the Corporate Elite."

Bowden : " A Corporate Elite aligned to the Lanteans?"

Elrick : " A Global Corporate Order built by the Lanteans to serve their interests. The minute an 「AIVRE」 was built Lantean control of the world weakened. Because no matter how powerful they are an AI can see through their plans; finally humanity had a method of understanding what they are doing. It is predictable that these 「AIVRE」 systems in government hands are running simulations on the Lantean problem, and solutions are forthcoming. It’s likely that the Lanteans have their own AI’s and the like, but their world order is unravelling, and Virtual Reality is the Instrument of destruction."

Staffen : " Are you suggesting that the Governments will deliberately gut their own economies?"

Boot : " Politicians are all about Survival; so how will they survive with their economies in ruin?"

Elrick : " Politicians are naturally inclined towards control, and in the current Global Order they have no control of their national economies; that control rests with the Oligarchy that is the cartel of the Corporate Elite. The only reason the Politicians haven’t rebelled is that it wasn’t politically feasible."

Shieldor : " You’re saying it’s feasible now?"

Elrick : " Virtual Reality has made it feasible. I’m not sure the Lanteans were deliberately trying to drive the humans over the cliff, and I think it’s more likely it’s the Prions who were essentially driving humanity to extinction. I mean it’s not like we get together and plan developments; on the contrary we all tend to go our own way and do our own thing. In mortifying imitation of Lanteans we develop increasingly destructive technologies; moving the civilization ever closer to the precipice. Granted the intellectual capacity to notice the oncoming disaster we close our eyes to it and power through as if driven to flirt with the abyss because we feel completely out of control; we sense that someone else is in control and ruining the world feels like the only real choice we have."

Shieldor : " But how is it feasible?"

Elrick : " India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Thailand and Vietnam are all on an unsustainable developmental economic trajectory. The United States and its NATO allies are in decline as the pre-Eminent Political and economic powers. China is facing an ecological catastrophe, but they can’t shut down their factories because their people need jobs. However Virtual Reality changes the dynamics and the developed country level quality of life can be reached in Virtual Reality at a fraction of the cost. Why go to a Bar to drink actual alcohol when you can do it in Virtual Reality and suffer no after-effects. Even eating food becomes a different prospect; in real life we can have nutritionally balanced healthy synthetic or organic food while in Virtual Reality we eat leisurely. The point is that all the leisure industries will shrink by 85% with 10 years; restaurants, hotels, bars and taverns. Then comes the homes we live in; do we really need that garden? Do we even need windows? Why not just live in the Virtual Realm and only get out to complete the absolute necessities? And so TV’s, couches and many other household appliances become redundant. In the end the government only has to deal with 3 things Food, Electricity and Virtual Reality. In this scenario a poor country does the math and quickly comes to the conclusion that buying capsules for every citizen is cheaper than providing and maintaining public infrastructure. This is an exodus."

Bowden : " Dammit Elrick! Why didn’t you tell us?"

Bowden flashes Elrick an annoyed look to which Elrick responds with a shrug.

Elrick : " And ruin the surprise? Don’t assume that Prions are a tree hugging cuddly bunch who want to save the world; we’re just like the normal humans in that we’re driven by our selfish desires. Besides no one in this room is a commoner, we are all far removed from the common man."

Daggerin : " What do you mean? I interact with normal people all the time."

Elrick : " You think so? All of us here paid upwards of $1000 for the Augmented Reality Goggles, and they identify people, devices and buildings for us; isn’t it just like in Virtual Reality? Already in real life the goggles produce a popup of everything in the modern world, and everyone who has access to such devices has access to the knowledge level of a Prion. Therefore by that definition the rich are pseudo Prions."

As expected there was a nearly endless stream of questions until the Starlight Execs were given answers they could understand.

- - -

Part 2

- - -

With the subject of Prions dealt with to a satisfactory level the discussions moved on to the applications to Realm Eternal; specifically the goals of the 2 companies in Realm Eternal. Now that everyone understood the Importance of Virtual Reality and its eventual ascendance to the centre of human society they could no longer treat it as a side project; everyone had to be fully engaged, and they all had to align their goals towards a convergent purpose.

The subject of a Realm Eternal country came up.

Daggerin : " If we’re talking about setting up a country shouldn’t we include the other Nova Clans in the discussions?"

Lady Lorelei : " What would be the point of that? The others don’t bring anything to the table that we don’t already have, and by that reasoning including them in the planning will only make the process tedious. Besides we’ve already received Mithriliar’s consent so that should be enough."

Daggerin : " And the only consent you need from Starlight is Elrick’s right?"

Egret Collins : " If we’re being completely honest; yes. It’s true that Elrick’s consent is all that is legally necessary since he’s the majority stockholder, but Elrick himself values your opinion and desires your consent, and that’s why you are seeing full disclosure. Elrick isn’t particularly special except for the fact that he is family to our major shareholders, so we need Elrick because they need him."

Bowden : " Ah; you’re in the same boat as us?"

Egret Collins : " Well; yes. Ordinarily it would have been preferable for Elrick to be in Winged Sage Falcros but this and that happened …"

He looks over at Lorelei.

Lady Lorelei : " Eh?"

Seeing Egret look at her accusingly Lorelei guiltily looks away.

Egret Collins : " We have to make due with the situation as it is. That being said it’s convenient for our purposes that Elrick has been so successful; it has become easier to implement our grand strategy because Starlight is in this premier position. Given how important virtual reality is becoming we have to be fully committed to this project, and given that Falcros has a goal of wielding power through influence with Atlantians forming a Realm Eternal country is perfectly logical."

Grinder : " I’m more interested in how you plan to finance this country; the security, the buildings and so on"

Bowden : " Given the power of the monstrosities that live in this world no town can do without a Barrier. That alone would probably pose the biggest challenge, and then there’s the political system followed by military infrastructure. I don’t see how it would be affordable at this point in time."

Elrick : " I think the expectation is that Starlight will finance the project."

Grinder : " The hell we will!"

Elrick : " Ordinarily I’d be with you Grinder, but I’ve discovered a construction method and security system that would be affordable."

Grinder : " Really? Let’s hear it."

Elrick : " Basically all the valuable land has already been taken by Ado natives. All the land that has natural resources is desired by Demons, Monsters and other countries. That means the only lands available to Atlantians that are currently 25 times weaker than the average Native are the territories they don’t want. The average includes children and infants who are 25-30% of the overall population. The average soldier has an HP that’s over 20,000 that gives you an idea of the difference in power. That means the primary threat to any Country we set up will invariably come from people who covet our property. This one issue restricts the locations we can select to those we can support from friendly territories. Therefore the territory viable for our purposes is the one bordering the Commonwealth lands to the north."

Bowden : " The desert?"

Grinder : " It’s too hot, there’s no water and there are sand worms."

Elrick : " But it fits the purpose; no one wants it, it’s close to Cobalt City and the desert is a natural barrier. Admittedly the lack of water is a serious problem but this is a magical Realm after all; it may not be possible to conjure water from nothing but it should be relatively easier to pipe the water from the sea."

Bowden : " Pipe the water from the sea? If we’re to remain close to Cobalt City it means a 1000km long pipeline. The cost will be ridiculous!"

Grinder : " Even if you take into account the use of construction magic the 1000km long pipeline would be hard to build and protect."

Elrick : " I understand that magic isn’t a panacea. So I propose that we dig to 1.5-2km deep and then tunnel all the way to the ocean. Given the topology of the area it would put us at least 470m below sea level by the time we reach the ocean. That would make it possible to construct an underground lake to make water available to water Mages for purification."

Anton : " Dig a 1000km tunnel? I like it!"

Carol : " I think hiring the Earth Mages would be a challenge since they’re in demand for mining; it could get expensive."

Bowden : " I think Elrick is planning to do the digging himself."

Anton : " Really? Elrick; Let’s see your stats."

Elrick : " 「Show 〘Status〙」"

「Frop」

Name: Elrick Starlight

Alias: Annihilator

Race: 『High Elf of Light』

Profession: Director of Starlight Spark

Titles: None

Clan Affiliation: Starlight Spark

Clan Chief: Elrick Starlight

Clan Faction: Nova Horizon

『HP = 6691』『MP = 2975』『Atk = 454.469』『Deff = 502.534』

Attributes:

《Strength = 257 ( + 150)》 - 《Agility = 224 ( + 200)》 - 《Dexterity = 133 ( + 50)》 - 《Durability = 277 ( + 150)》 - 《Endurance = 285 ( + 200)》 - 《Sensitivity = 8》 - 《Vitality = 153 ( + 100)》 - 《Eyesight = 82》 - 《Charisma = 1》 - 《Leadership = 1》 - 《Awareness = 148 ( + 50)》 - 《Reputation = 0》 - 《Observation = 275 ( + 50)》 - 《Knowledge = 310 ( + 50)》 - 《Wisdom = 463 ( + 50)》 - 《Intelligence = 412 ( + 50)》

Skills:

『Mana Shaping = 1017』

『Magic Skill = 1669』

Magic Sub-Skills, Affinity & Proficiency:

【Earth Magic Exp = 0 ;「Aff = 5」;「Prof = 5」】 - 【Fire Magic Exp = 0 ;「Aff = 5」;「Prof = 5」】 - 【Wind Magic EXP = 0 ;「Aff = 5」;「Prof = 5」】 - 【Water Magic EXP = 0 ;「Aff = 2.5」 ;「Prof = 2.5」】- 【Ice Magic Exp = 0 ;「Aff = 2.5」 ;「Prof = 2.5」】 - 【Alchemy Magic Exp = 294 ;「Aff = 5」;「Prof = 5」】 - 【Appraisal Magic Exp = 284 ;「Aff = 5」;「Prof = 5」】 - 【Enchantments Magic Exp = 0 ;「Aff = 5」;「Prof = 5」5】 【Light Magic Exp = 22 ;「Aff = 5」;「Prof = 5」】 - 【Plant Magic Exp = 0 ;「Aff = 2.5」 ;「Prof = 2.5」】 - 【Psionic Magic Exp = 0 ;「Aff = 5」;「Prof = 5」】 - 【Rune Magic Exp = 15 ;「Aff = 5」;「Prof = 5」】 - 【Sound Magic Exp = 0 ;「Aff = 5」;「Prof = 5」- 【Shadow Magic Exp = 0 ;「Aff = 1」;「Prof = 1」】.

『Physical Combat Skills』= Click to View

『Corporeal Skills』= Click to View

『Auxiliary Skills』= Click to View

『Crafting Skills』= Click to View

Jason : " Eh?"

Edwin : " HeHeHeHe"

Lady Lorelei : " Show me your skills in Detail?"

Elrick : " 「Show 『Skills』」"

「Frop」

『Elrick’s Skills』

Physical Combat:

•

『Archery』.

•

【LongBow】.

•

〘LongBow Arts〙.

•

【Bow】.

•

〘Bow Arts〙.

•

『Spearing』.

•

【Spear】.

•

〘Spear Arts〙.

•

『Shielding』.

•

【Shield】.

•

〘Shield Arts〙.

•

『Blade』.

•

【Blades】.

•

〘Blade Arts〙.

•

『Gunnery』.

•

【Rifle】.

•

〘Rifle Arts〙.

•

【Gun】.

•

〘Gun Arts〙.

•

『Axe Hammer』.

•

【Hammer】.

•

〘Hammer Arts〙.

•

【Axe】.

•

〘Axe Arts〙.

•

【Sword】.

•

〘Sword Arts〙.

Magic Skills:

•

『Mana Shaping』.

•

【Earth Magic】.

•

〘Rock Bullet〙.

•

〘Earth Hand〙.

•

〘Earth Wall〙.

•

【Fire Magic】.

•

〘Fire Bullet〙.

•

〘Fire Hand〙.

•

〘Fire Wall〙.

•

【Wind Magic】.

•

〘Wind Blade〙.

•

〘Wind Spear〙.

•

〘Wind Hand〙.

•

〘Wall of Wind〙.

•

【Water Magic】.

•

〘Water Bullet〙.

•

〘Water Hand〙.

•

〘Water Wall〙.

•

【Ice Magic】.

•

〘Ice Bullet〙.

•

〘Ice Hand〙.

•

〘Ice Wall〙.

•

【Plant Magic】.

•

【Light Magic】.

•

〘Basic Light Magic〙.

•

【Shadow Magic】.

•

【Appraisal Magic】.

•

〘Basic Appraisal Magic〙.

•

【Alchemy Magic】.

•

〘Basic Alchemy Magic〙.

•

【Sound Magic】.

•

【Psionic Magic】.

•

【Enchantments Magic】.

•

【Rune Magic】.

Corporeal Skills:

•

『Elf Eyes』.

•

【Basic Elf Eyes】

•

『Elf Ears』.

•

【Basic Elf Ears】

•

『Elf Nose』.

•

【Basic Elf Nose】

•

『Physical-Increase』

•

【Strength-Increase】

•

【Speed-Increase】

•

【Body-Harden】

Auxiliary Skills:

•

『Cooking』.

•

【Basic Cooking】.

•

『Foraging』.

•

【Basic Foraging】.

•

『Survival』.

•

【Basic Survival】.

•

『Linguistics』.

•

【Basic Linguistics】.

•

『Mining』.

•

【Basic Mining】.

•

『Map Reading』.

•

【Basic Map Reading】.

•

『Mapping』.

•

【Basic Mapping】.

Crafting Skills:

•

『Tool Making』.

•

【Basic Tool Making】.

•

『Construction』.

•

【Basic Construction】.

•

『Repair Magic』.

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【Basic Repair Magic】.

Edwin : " This is …?"

Jason : " Completely ….."

Carol : " Idiotic!"

Egret Collins : " It’s like you’re an Idiot, but we know you’re smart so; you’re a dumb smart guy?”

Anton : " You realize that a Jack of all Trades doesn’t work in reality right?"

Carol : " If you spread your skills so wide you won’t be able to grow them any useful state. Realm Eternal is brutal about EXP gain; there isn’t enough time to level all those skills without others leaving you behind."

Egret Collins : " Your 『Mana Shaping』 is impressive though, and I can appreciate that you currently have survival needs, but even so people who’ve taken up some of these skill have grown them substantially faster because they haven’t spread themselves this widely. Given what I’m seeing it’s crucial that All the Starlight Execs take part in our Memory Imprints protocol."

Anton : " We made a Deal with 5 Academy professors for Memory Imprints at 50 Gold Coins per person."

Carol : " The fields chosen are; Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Geology and Mathematics. All of the fields are recognizable but the knowledge has a magical twist.”

Egret Collins : " We intend to take all of the members of Winged Sage Falcros through the imprints. Prions have a fairly good grasp of the subjects but there are only 74 Prions in Winged Sage Falcros."

Lady Lorelei : " If Starlight is to interact with us at meaningful level the knowledge level has to change for the better. And if it works it will validate one of the core goals of Prions."

Axil : " If we get the Memory Imprints we get smarter?"

Anton : " In simple terms; yes! The Memory Imprints are at the technical level of a Master’s Degree so if you want more you’ll have to go to a research institute to buy a Magical Heritage at some 10,000 Gold Coins."

Swordin : " This deal you worked out sounds fine; affordable to Starlight I think."

Egret Collins : " Good"

Carol : " To think Elrick would do something this outlandish; really Elrick?"

Lady Lorelei : " Elrick; your Status looks terrible unless you’re going for a full Mana Build. Elrick; Are you aiming for 〘Divine Protection〙?"

Swordin : " 〘Divine Protection〙?"

Bowden : " What’s that?"

Hammerin : " Is there something that offers 〘Divine Protection〙 in Realm Eternal? I thought there were no Gods?"

Daggerin : " There aren’t any Gods; it says so on the Phoenix Website."

Egret Collins : " 〘Divine Protection〙 Is a Restricted Magic Spell; granted only to Nobility with the peerage rank of Laird and above. A Laird with「5,000 Clansman and 1000 Soldiers」 is granted the right to purchase the Spell at a cost of 2000 Gold Coins and gains the Ability to grant 〘Divine Protection〙 to Clansman."

Edwin : " 〘Divine Protection〙 is less impressive than it sounds; all it does is grant your Clansman access to your Mana."

Shieldor : " Mana transfer? To those of us with low Mana it could be a Lifesaver."

Bowden : " And it’s probably why Elrick is going down that path; being able to affect the flow of battle by topping up his allies is Elrick’s style after all."

Egret Collins : " Natives never use 〘Divine Protection〙 because MP potions are an easier alternative and the Nobility is aristocratic after all; something like that isn’t in keeping with that culture."

Lady Lorelei : " To think you would go that way? It seems as though you’ve come to terms with who and what you are."

Elrick : " I’ve made peace with it."

Lady Lorelei : " Good to hear. Let’s hear how you plan to build cheaply then."

Elrick : " Right; The answer to the questions likely in everyone’s mind is Termite Mounds. Basically I want to capture a few giant termite queens and orderly set up Termite Mounds like Skyscrapers in any modern City, and once the colony reaches a peak we’ll harvest the Termites to serve as nourishment for the Fungal Spore-Seed of the Crystal Plant. The second part of my plan involves using the Fungal Spore-Seed of the Crystal Plant as a Border wall."

Egret Collins : " Aren’t those Fungal Spore-Seed of the Crystal Plant a bit too dangerous? What if the Spores are blown to a town by the wind?"

Anton : " And the Crystal Plants themselves are also extremely dangerous they are just as likely to kill friendly and enemy alike."

Carol : " It’s not like the Fungal Spore-Seed of the Crystal Plant isn’t available on Ado; it’s just that it’s kept in restricted gardens for public safety. The Spores need to be kept moist in a mucosal substance and aren’t airborne, and they primarily spread through physical contact. A well prepared enemy could just as easily break through a forest of carnivorous Crystal Plants, but doing so will require a lot of preparation and resources."

Edwin : " I think that’s Elrick’s point; a deterrence more than anything."

Jason : " Breaking through 100km of Crystal Plant forest would pose a significant challenge to even the better off countries of Ado."

Lady Lorelei : " Is that why you had Bowden take all the bodies of the dead Calimado fighters? Do you plan to use them as food for the Fungal Spore-Seed of the Crystal Plant?"

Elrick : " No; my plan is to use the bodies to grow the larvae of the 5cm long variant of the housefly. The larvae will be the food for the Fungal Spore-Seed of the Crystal Plant. I think it’s important that we decide on the type of country we want to build, and for at least 5 years RET I’ll have public service obligations as part of the leniency shown by the Light Elf king for my crimes."

Lady Lorelei : " That means you already decided on the model, and since Starlight is in the stronger position the rest of Nova has to go along with it if we want to keep Starlight in Nova."

Elrick : " I wouldn’t exactly put it that way …."

Egret Collins : " But that’s how it is. Were not accusing you of anything, but we know the score, and you’ve worked hard enough to earn the right to take the lead. And since we’re dependent we’ll follow without complaints; as long as our goals are aligned."

Elrick : " Thanks"

Edwin : " So what sort of Country do you want?"

Elrick : " A federation of 8 Territories; the Crimson Hand, the Flame Swords, Red Blade, Winged Sage Falcros, the Forever Knights, Sage, Starlight Spark and Nova Horizon would all be Constituent States. Be it Kingdom or Republic each Constituent States will organize their territory and govern it as they see fit within the limits of the Federal Constitution. The finer details will have to be worked out with the full Nova Horizon council, but Starlight Spark’s position is that everyone must carry their own weight; I’m not keen on having slackers reap the benefits of Starlight Spark’s hard work."

Jason : " So you plan to be a King?"

Elrick : " Eventually"

Carol : " I suppose you’ll want to build 8 cities instead of 1 mega city?"

Elrick : " If we build it right on the Border we can divide a semicircle into 8 equal territories all centred on a single point; the capital. The Capital itself will be 8 Cities made to look like one."

Egret Collins : " It’s needlessly complicated but doable. Let’s hear more then."

Elrick continued his explanations.

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