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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 24: Fad and Fanfare

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Part 1

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With the Highest Resolve he can muster Elrick continued to dig the coalface of the mountain, and with his bare hands he dug into the hardened rock to liberate the precious ores that consumed his existence. Elrick had abandoned everything but the mining of the rare minerals he desperately desired. Nothing mattered except for the advancement of the 『Mining』 Skill, 『Appraisal Magic』 and the【Alchemy Magic】needed to compact the Ores for storage.

Elrick had long since abandoned all semblance of reason and singularly focused his mind on mining. The only time he wasn’t doing something related to the mining is the hour a day he spent outside his capsule to run for 40 minutes on the treadmill, eat for 10 minutes, take a shit for 5 minutes and shower for 5 minutes. Oh how Elrick wished that he didn’t have to spend even this hour out of his Pod, but it was convenient in that it gave his Realm Eternal body time to rest from the arduous labour he put it through.

What precipitated Elrick’s current state of mind was the revelation that Augmented Intelligence could be achieved by implanting a Realm Eternal Class 4 Golem Core into the brain of a Realm Eternal avatar. Weeks later Elrick’s discovery had left him in despair because amongst all the users who could afford the Class 4 Golem Core implant he was the only one without one; that’s because he’s on Chaos Island. Elrick was missing all the benefits of his discovery and he had to trust the Executives of Starlight Spark since they had all received a Class 4 Golem Core.

As it relates to Realm Eternal implanting a Class 4 Golem Core has the effect of accelerating EXP gain in 《Awareness》, 《Observation》, 《Knowledge》, 《Wisdom》and 《Intelligence》; multiplying Exp gain by 2 to 5 times the normal rate depending on circumstances and situation. It wasn’t just the Class 4 Golem Core that gave enhancements; a Class 2 and 3 Golem Core gave a significant improvement in analysis; raising aforementioned 《Attributes》 by a multiplicative Exp gain factor of up to 2.

Therefore; rather than wallow in self-pity Elrick decided to bury himself in mountains of labour. Thanks to the outlet for his frustration Elrick had done more mining in month than the months before. Elrick didn’t care that his physical 《Attributes》 were growing at a rapid pace and that his use of【Alchemy Magic】was likely increasing his related 《Attributes》 because to even stop to consider such things would remind him of the gap the others had created.

Fortunately it wasn’t all bad news Starlight Spark’s Ranger Cavalries were all fitted with Class 2 Golem Cores; improving both physical and magical abilities. Thus the biggest impact in implanting Golem Cores is not with Class 4 Golem Cores but with Class 2 Golem Cores. That is because even a Class 2 Golem Cores is capable of computational speeds reaching at least 15 teraflops; making them a thousand times faster than the average personal computer (PC).

Thus the months of endless toil continued for Elrick; helpfully distracting him from his frustrations and providing him an outlet for his irritations.

- - -

As expected the world didn’t stand still while Elrick was hacking away at a rock-face, and progress was being made in nearly every field. Equipped with Class 4 Golem Cores in Realm Eternal coupled with Memory Imprints the Executives of Starlight Spark possessed an intellect far beyond that of a Prion. Elrick could leave the running of Starlight Spark in their capable hands; leaving them to make the best judgments money can buy. The effects of Golem Core Implants were far greater on the natives of Realm Eternal.

Up till now Adonites were reticent to consider mangling their brains with a Golem Core Implant in the hope of gaining obscure intellectual advantages, but as the Atlantians clamoured to get even a Class 1 Golem Core Implant the locals took notice. Natives quickly realized the benefits of even the smallest Golem Core Implant; being able to do perfect arithmetic, a database of knowledge, but most importantly is the Wireless Connectivity to the Class 6&7 Golems that run most towns and cities on Ado.

Elrick’s attempt to gain an advantage through an「OverSkill」 and a Golem Core Implant had triggered a technological revolution that seem well on its way to changing the Arello Galaxy. The nobles of Ado were initially disgusted by the enthusiastic embrace of Golem Core Implants by the Atlantians until Ado commoners joined the frenzy. At that point the Nobility realized the commoners would quickly become orders of magnitudes more intelligent than the Nobility.

It was already too late to restrict Golem Core Implants to the Nobility since Atlantians commoners were getting them with the blessing of the Asgard Continental Republic (ACR). The only thing the Nobility across the world of Ado could do is equip the best optimal Golem Core Implant; the Class 4 Golem Cores. The High Nobility all cross Ado would curse the name Elrick Starlight under their breaths for starting a revolution that would see their authority greatly curtailed for fear of the ire of a newly intelligent commoner class.

The commoners were already decrying the excesses of the elitist nobility and in a number of Ado countries political organizations were subsidizing Class 4 Golem Core Implants for local commoner politicians and Class 1&2 Golem Core Implants for ordinary members of political organizations. The Churches had been amongst the first to give Golem Core Implants to their Priesthood and that spurred the faithful to go out and get Golem Core Implants of their own.

In just a few months the face of Ado had irrevocably been changed and the person blamed for starting the chain reaction is Elrick Starlight. In the real world Elrick had gained some fame as the smart guy who found a way to make anyone smart through Realm Eternal Golem Core Implants, but in Realm Eternal Elrick had become a Transformative Figure. Commoners everywhere spoke of Elrick as the Atlantian commoner Hero; Saviour of Vhon, Liberator of Commoners Everywhere and Enlightener.

Elrick himself was surprised to discover that he had gained the titles Saviour of Vhon, Liberator of Commoners Everywhere and Enlightener. Elrick had predicted the demand for Golem Core Implants and before Lorelei made the announcements he ordered Grinder to borrow 200,000 Gold from Cobalt City banks to buy 2000 Class 4 Golem Cores which Starlight Spark later sold for 175 to 257 gold coins each netting Starlight some 225,000 gold; all made possible by the fact that Golem Cores are precision equipment that can’t be easily mass produced. The other Nova Clans got in on the action and collectively gained 124,000 Gold Coins in profit.

Ordinarily the Class 4 Golem Cores are used for high-end attendant Golems for the rich and there aren’t that many on the market. Therefore Starlight Spark’s purchase of 2000 Class 4 Golem Cores essentially stripped the market of 28% of the total supply of Class 4 Golem Cores and it would take months for new cores to hit the market. There were plenty of Class 5 Golem Cores on the market because of their military applications but not the one in demand. Starlight had enough money to close the books on all its debts.

The demand for Class 4 Golem Cores got so high that all existing Class 4 Golem Cores installed on high-end attendant Golems were refurbished with new programming and sold for high prices on the open market. The stripping of cores from high-end attendant Golems finally released some 4 million Class 4 Golem Cores into the market which allowed the Price for a Class 4 Golem Core to stabilize at 140 Gold Coins. With a reasonable amount of Cores now available the rush abated. The high-end attendant Golems that had been passed down from generation to generation as heirlooms would stand still for a while since their masters appropriated their Class 4 Golem Core for other purposes.

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The Golem Core Fad created an unexpected Political problem for Eastal; they had imprisoned the unexpectedly popular person responsible for starting the Golem Core Fad. The problem for the Light Elves of the High Mountains of Eastal is that the commoners on Ado had started to Identify with Elrick and that meant that the ones who had imprisoned Elrick face severe criticism. To make things worse the status of Elrick Starlight had changed so rapidly that even though he was technically an agent of the Eastal Security Agency Eastal would have limited control over Elrick given that he’s now a Sacred Acolyte; an apparently highly ranking Atlantian.

As if Eastal’s circumstances weren’t bad enough when they attempted to further reduce Elrick’s sentence their efforts were blocked by the other Elven Races, the Dwarfs and the Midgard. It would seem that the other members of the ACR Federation were likely trying to block Eastal’s attempts to carry favour with the now famous Atlantian High Elf of Light. It was evident that upon Elrick’s release the others would attempt to entice him away from the High Elves of Light; after-all Atlantians could change their race.

To most High Elves of Light their leaders had somehow managed to antagonize one of the more powerful Atlantians; a High Elf of Light that should have been an asset could become their ruin. However Lord Elron the king of the High Elves of Light was not as worried as his attendants and the Eastal High Council; Lord Elron had seen into Elrick’s soul and was convinced that as long as Eastal treated him openly, honestly and fairly Eastal would retain Elrick’s loyalty. Lord Elron believed that all Eastal needed to do was not interfere with the Objectives of Starlight Spark and maintain an Honest relationship with Elrick.

Lord Elron’s assessment of Elrick was correct because Elrick now identified himself as a High-Elf of Light wholeheartedly; at least while he was in Realm Eternal. Elrick had vowed to atone for his mistakes and honour the trust and faith Lord Elron had shown him; Lord Elron had recognized him and that held value to the once broken Elrick. Also Elrick was well aware that there would be all kinds of people clamouring to take advantage of his somewhat enviable position.

Therefore the Eastal Security Agency set about designing a mission for Elrick that would benefit both Elrick and Eastal. The ESA found its answer in Norfork; a town in the Kent kingdom 41km from the City of Forkland and 425km north of the Capital Kentridge. The town of Norfork serves as the primary supply centre for the Border garrison some 60km north in time of emergency but now it was experiencing an outbreak of disease; some suspected that polluted water sources had somehow weakened the immune systems of the citizens of Norfork.

With the country of Kent experiencing multiple crises from all over the country they hardly had the resources to spare to send out a team of healers and investigators to deal with the problems affecting Norfork, and if worst came to worst the Border Garrison could be supplied from the city of Forkland. To the country the town of Norfork would have to endure and survive on its own for the time being. Norfork had been crippled by the Vampire attack months ago and hardly had any resources to muster a response to the illness.

ESA mission planners were already aware that Starlight Spark was employing Atlantian High-Elves of Light as healers and so they designed a mission where Elrick would lead a team of at least 2 Raid Groups of High-Elves of Light to Norfork on an unsolicited aid mission since Norfork was in no position to pay for the dispatch of healers from all the way across the continent; even if they are novice healers. ESA mission planners believed that this act would exult the virtues of High-Elves of Light to the common people and in some way help to redeem their image.

The ESA would use Elrick’s ESA Badge which had its own Tracking Inter-Dimensional Pocket to intercept and reroute Elrick’s transfer from Chaos Island to brief him on his first mission as a junior operative of the ESA.

- - -

As the day of his release neared Elrick began going over the details of his plans.

First he had instructed Grinder and Bowden to use the cash windfall he had created for Starlight Spark to hire more people and bring The Second Mechanized Cavalry, The Third Air Cavalry, The Fourth Expeditionary Cavalry and The Fifth Special Operations Cavalry to at least 8 legions per Cavalry. That meant hiring 6X4X320 = 7,680 people, and Bowden decided to Hire 8 legions for the First Ranger Cavalry in order to bring it to Full Strength of 16X320 = 5,120 people making an additional 2,000 crafters necessary.

Thus 14800 new people had been hired and they would all require Pods. Buying the 14800 unwanted REM-Sleep Pods before information about Golem Core implants went public required Real world cash so an additional $75 million loan was received from the Private Banks with existing agreements with Starlight Spark. The used pods were settled at an average price of $4,150 because of the need to buy them quickly totalling $64.42 million. The additional $55 million in annual salaries was manageable for the now larger Starlight Spark.

The Second instruction was the hiring of 5,000 local soldiers to complete the requirement for a peerage rank of Clan Chiefs 「20,000 Clansman and 5,000 Soldiers」. With the hiring of new employees for Starlight Spark the Starlight Spark Clan in Realm eternal would exceed the requirement for its chief to gain Nobility should he hire the necessary complement of soldiers. The necessary complement of soldiers is designed to control the Nobles with sufficient wealth to own an army and at the same time lessen the City’s military burden.

Every City requires a certain number of soldiers; depending on country and city population. Cobalt City has a requirement of 3.5% of population. Every Noble residing within a particular city has to contribute to the soldier requirement based on their peerage rank. High Nobility has no obligation to provide soldiers for a territory that belongs to another High Noble but Nobility with a necessary complement of soldiers must make the soldiers available to the host territory should there be an emergency.

Outside of emergencies Nobility with the necessary complement of soldiers conducts periodic subjugations of monsters, bandits and demons as part of their duties. The Noble pays the salaries of the necessary complement of soldiers and the City covers the cost of every deployment it requires of the Force. In most Cities the vast number of such necessary complement of soldiers belongs to Knights, but in frontier garrison Cities the bulk is provided by Lairds and Chiefs; usually with associated clan mercenaries.

Cobalt city is no exception in this regard and hosts 200,000 soldiers from the Commonwealth, 200,000 of its own soldiers and the rest of the required 700,000 soldiers are provided by the Nobility. Having a little over 300,000 soldiers sounds like a problematic situation for a city as it relates to the public security but most of the nobility’s soldiers can hardly be compared with the soldiers from the Commonwealth or the City’s own soldiers in training, skill and power. But more importantly the soldiers are mostly local commoners given simple training to be able to serve the noble.

The 5,000 soldiers hired by Bowden had simply passed the 25 day soldier training course provided by the soldiers from the Commonwealth. Elrick hadn’t needed the soldiers hired by starlight to be elites who have an HP higher than 50,000 since this was all for the purpose of securing a Noble Rank for Elrick. Thus the 5,000 Cobalt City Starlight Brigade was composed of 15 to 17 year old boys and girls eager to make their way in the world for 1 gold coin a month.

Bowden personally assured the parents of these teenagers that the Cobalt City Starlight Brigade wouldn’t see frontline combat unless ordered by the city; that meant Starlight Spark wouldn’t use the Cobalt City Starlight Brigade for its own purposes. Bowden assured the parents that even when subjugation missions are ordered at least 2 of Starlight Spark’s Cavalries would provide escort. What Starlight Spark promised the parents was that the Cobalt City Starlight Brigade would primarily be consigned to support. The eager kids may not like it but Starlight Spark’s Cavalries would handle most of the fighting.

For starters the Cobalt City Starlight Brigade would handle the training of Starlight Spark’s new members since the average HP in the Cobalt City Starlight Brigade was 8,000 making them much stronger than the Atlantians. Bowden was delighted to see the teens awestruck when he took the Cobalt City Starlight Brigade and new members of Starlight Cavalries on manoeuvres to properly observe the combined Arms drills of Starlight Spark’s First Ranger Cavalry. From that moment onwards the teens understood that Starlight Spark is not reliant on the battle prowess of individuals but the power of an Army.

The members of the Cobalt City Starlight Brigade gave no further protest about being delegated to support knowing full well that until Starlight Spark could properly equip them they would add little in the way of fighting power. However Starlight Spark properly trained all the new people for 15 hours of every day. And the locals having a higher starting base quickly saw the rapid rise of their stats and they knew that the day they were ordered on a subjugation mission they would be more of an asset and less of a burden. By breaking the Cobalt City Starlight Brigade into legions they could accompany the legions of the Starlight Cavalries on resource gathering operations and lend support with Rifles and Bows to the Starlight Cavalry Frontlines.

The third instruction Elrick gave to the Executives of Starlight Spark was to prepare Festival to celebrate his return from Chaos Island. Elrick insisted that it had to be a big occasion full of Fad and Fanfare. The reason for the Fad and Fanfare was simple; Elrick had become famous and people would show up to witness his return. And it was likely that the nobility acting as proxies for continentals already new about the approximate date of his return and would likely make their move on him at that point.

The approach could be peaceful or hostile depending on the amount of pressure the noble experienced from their principals. Either way Elrick preferred to avoid a complicated situation where his responses could be detrimental to Starlight Spark’s financial position. Grinder could always claim that he’s simply the manager to avoid such troublesome situations but Elrick is the Clan Chief and escape would not be so easy. Elrick formally gaining the Noble peerage rank of Clan Chief is designed to limit the amount of trouble the nobles can cause him.

By becoming recognized as a Commonwealth Noble with the peerage rank of Clan Chief Starlight Spark gains the protection of the Commonwealth and limits the amount of pressure nobles can exert on Starlight Spark. As a side benefit Elrick being recognized as a Commonwealth Noble it allows Eastal to openly associate with Elrick, and that means that it becomes easier for Eastal to protect him from the other Nobles as well as other continentals. Therefore making a spectacle gives Elrick precious time and space to manoeuvre.

Thankfully Grinder’s negotiations with the city went well and Starlight Spark committed to buying 4,500 Gold Coins worth of 10 Copper coins food and 5 of the cheap 5 copper coin alcoholic beverages per individual from restaurants near the Teleport Tower; sufficient for 1,285,714 people. Starlight Spark intended to spend another 2,500 gold coins providing food and beverages from its own crafters. The event is intended to bring the commoners onto the street thus preventing the Nobles from having their way.

For its part the Cobalt City government offered to send Prince Carlen Azure heir of Duke Ellis Azure to bestow the Commonwealth Noble peerage rank of Clan Chief upon Elrick in front of the expected Audience. Upon hearing this news the Elrick that had been wearing an angry expression for months was replaced by an excited Elrick dreaming of another geek-fest in honour. Now in high spirits Elrick could hardly contain himself as he waited for the day to arrive.

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Part 2

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Before long the moment had come and Elrick’s eyes watered with tears as he saw the Magic Circle in-front of him.

Elrick : " At long last; FREEDOM! "

Elrick hurriedly carried over the one Magic Chest that no longer bad room in the Bags of Holding over to the Magic Circle.

When Elrick reached the Magic Circle a sys tem message appeared.

~ Ding! ~

『Bifröst Realm Keys!』

Click to choose destination:

•

Ado 〘Authorized〙: Destination = Cobalt City.

•

ERS Elron 〘Authorized〙: The Eastal Realm Ship ERS Elron has requested your presence and all necessary permissions have been given.

Place your hand on the designated Bifröst Realm Key to begin Teleportation.

For a moment Elrick was a bit puzzled as to what to do but he then chose to click on ERS Elron.

- - -

Just touching the Realm Key instantaneously transferred Elrick aboard the ERS Elron. Before Elrick was a room that had to be at-least a kilometre in length and width, and knowing that he was aboard a StarShip made it all the more wondrous. He looked around the seemingly empty room in awe and excitement; like a child in a candy store.

Then Elrick noticed the figure that had been observing him.

Dir Orlin : " Welcome aboard the Elron; Flagship of the Eastal Fleet."

Elrick quickly straightened up and gave a military salute.

Elrick : " Ah; Sir!"

Dir Orlin : " The others called this ship a vanity project because it consumed 25% of Eastal’s budget for 20 years but it proved its worth in the last battle by being the only one capable of braking through the Spatial Distortion Fields near Vampira."

Elrick : " Vampira; sir?"

Dir Orlin : " The Vampire world; one of several."

Elrick : " I see; so it’s a powerful ship."

Dir Orlin : " It’s a Fortress Ship meant to support a fleet. And at 55km in length and 10kn in diameter it’s a rather big target for anyone capable of withstanding the barrage of its thousands of weapons."

Elrick : " Ah; As expected of Elves of Light."

Dir Orlin : " In any case I asked you here because we’ve designed a mission for you; one that is rather urgent."

Elrick grew uncomfortable fearing that this might interfere with his welcome party on Cobalt City.

Elrick : " How urgent sir?"

Dir Orlin : " Don’t worry it’s not immediate; just that you’ll have to leave Cobalt City in the next 10 days. Also you have to acquire 【Light Magic】 and be proficient enough to restore 《Endurance》, 《Durability》,《Strength》 and 《Vitality》."

Elrick gave Director Orlin a worried look.

Elrick : " Sir; isn’t Healing Magic a bit hard to use?"

Dir Orlin : " I see your 《Sensitivity》 attribute hasn’t grown buy much; you can’t produce Divine Light without it. Healing; strangely enough requires empathy. You can’t heal without feeling; you have to sympathize. That’s why potions are so prominent; because most people have no problem healing themselves but can’t manage a single spell for a complete stranger. Nonetheless I must ask you to care; to feel compassion and sympathy for complete strangers. That is part of what it means to be Elf of Light."

Elrick : " I see; I’ll do my best to be more open to feelings."

Dir Orlin : " Good; use this party you’re going to as a way to open yourself up to people. Let yourself be swept-up in the emotions of the moment and it will start a path to your soul."

Elrick : " I can do that sir"

Elrick looked a bit more optimistic than he did a moment ago.

Dir Orlin : " Now; about your mission. Your rise in popularity has resulted in a political backlash for Eastal for imprisoning you on Chaos Island. We’ve taken a major hit with the ordinary people; the ones referred to as commoners. Eastal has royalty but were too few to have a Nobility Class so we can’t fully appreciate the social stratification on an intimate level. Your mission is designed to rehabilitate our image in the eyes of normal people."

Elrick : " What am I supposed to do?"

Dir Orlin : " The mission is more like a request for your Clan. ESA mission planners are aware that Starlight Spark is employing Atlantian High-Elves of Light as healers and so they designed a mission where you would lead a team of at least 2 Raid Groups of High-Elves of Light to Norfork on an unsolicited aid mission since Norfork is in no position to pay for the dispatch of healers; even if they are novice healers. ESA mission planners believe that the act of High-Elves of Light moved by the suffering of the innocent and moved to aid them will remind everyone of the virtues of High-Elves of Light and in particular as it relates to the common people. While it may in some way help to redeem the image of the High-Elves of Light the greater priority is the tactical significance of Norfork as a supply centre for Kent’s Border Garrison. What lies on the other side of the border is a vassal state of Norse Island. Eastal believes that left unchecked the bigotry of the Human Supremacist Northman of Norse Island will spread to countries weekend by the Vampire Attack. The worst case scenario is an all out war with Beastial Federation and the Half-Elf Kingdom that is the Celestial Forest; which would invariably draw in the Vale Kingdom. With such forces arrayed against Norse Island its northern ally the Eldritch Human Republic won’t sit idly by so you can expect a number of Nuclear weapons to go of in the mix. That’s 5 of the most powerful Grandeur Countries; when the great powers go to war so do their vassals. Everything hinges on Kent maintaining its status as the Seventh Power that occupies the centre. If Kent shows signs of weakness things could get very complicated very quickly. This is your mission Agent Elrick Starlight.”

~ Ding! ~

『Operation Elven Light!』

Mission of mercy:

•

Take at least 2 Raid Groups of High-Elves of Light to Norfork.

•

Perform as much free Healing as possible in the name of the High-Elves of Light

•

Accept no payment or Gratuity for the Healing Service you Provide.

•

Investigate the Source of the Outbreak and if it’s discovered alert the local authorities.

•

You are Authorized 7,000 Gold Coins for your expenses.

『Do you Accept?』

Elrick : " Yes!"

A system message informed him that his status as an operative has been up dated and 7,000 Gold Coins has been deposited into his Bank Account.

Dir Orlin : " Make sure to activate your ESA Badge because it also functions as a Level 7 Telepathic Barrier. As your superior in this agency it doesn’t work on me but it is sufficient to protect you from most prying minds."

Elrick : " Oh?"

Elrick hastily activates his ESA Badge.

Dir Orlin : " Now; About the Magical Heritage you seem so fixated on. You’re in luck."

Elrick : " Eh? You know someone who might be interested in selling their Magical Heritage?"

Dir Orlin : " It just so happens that there is someone in the city of Forkland where you’ll teleport in that is in need of money and might be willing to sell you his Magical Heritage; provided you can afford it."

Elrick : " I do have the ores to sell."

Dir Orlin : " Its 500 years of Magical Knowledge and the minimum price is likely 15,000 gold coins. Baron Johan Embril is the grandson of one of our former operatives, and he’s lost his 4 villages to the small creature attack; the town near Forkland is all he has left. It would ease our hearts to give him some legitimate reprieve."

Elrick : " Baron; must own 「1 Town and 4 Villages」."

Dir Orlin : " Since High-Elves of Light are primarily Crafters we can buy the ores you’ve gathered at fair market prices if you agree to meet with Baron Johan Embril and make a good faith attempt to buy his Magical Heritage."

Elrick carefully considered his options and accepted.

Elrick : " I’ll see Lord Johan Embril; Baron of Embril. We’ll see if we can work something out."

Dir Orlin : " Thank you; you’re a good kid."

Elrick : " Thanks"

Director Orlin was visibly relieved and Elrick looked away slightly embarrassed by the praise.

A number of people wearing Elven Golem Armour showed-up and asked Elrick to show him his cargo. At first they smiled wryly when they saw the makeshift cargo holds Elrick had made by destroying nearly all his items combined with ant carapaces, but they smiled happily when they saw the Oriculcum Isotopes Elrick had brought. Then they got serious as they began evaluating everything; including the value of the minerals in the items Elrick destroyed to make the cargo holds.

Director Orlin noticed Elrick gleefully looking at the Elven Golem Armour.

Dir Orlin : " Interested?"

Elrick : " Ah? Yes sir"

Dir Orlin : " Those are our Level 5 Military Grade Golem Armour. Unfortunately our Level 3 and 4 are training Golem Armours orientated to magic therefore inferior to similar Military Grade Golem Armour. So they offer a third of protection of the normal Level 3&4 Military Grade Golem Armour."

Elrick : " I see; how much?"

Dir Orlin : " The Level 3 Training Elven Golem Armour retails at 4,500 Gold Coins. You’re probably better off with standard Dwarf made Level 3 Military Grade Golem Armour.”

Elrick : " I’ll take it"

Dir Orlin : " Eh?"

Elrick : " I can overlay elemental Armour for additional protection so it’ll be fine for now. And …"

Elrick is interrupted by the assessors transferring data to Director Orlin.

Dir Orlin : " Looks like they’re finished; everything you have comes to 47,258 gold coins."

Elrick is dumbfounded.

Elrick : " Really?"

Dir Orlin : " It’s mostly the Oriculcum; more than have of the value here is the Oriculcum."

Elrick : " T-T-Then I’ll by 2 Training Elven Golem Armours."

Dir Orlin : " Already planning something are we?"

Elrick : " Yes sir; useful on the upcoming mission."

Director Orlin gave Elrick a knowing smile.

It didn’t take long for the Armours to be delivered and for Elrick to be paid the balance of what remained from the selling of his ores. And after cleaning up in a nearby shower he put on the Level 3 Training Elven Golem Armour which gave him the feeling that everything was as it should be.

Elrick was now ready to leave.

Dir Orlin : " May the spirits carry you safely on your journeys."

Elrick : " Wait sir; I’m gonna need some protection for my clan from the Nobles."

Dir Orlin : " I’ll have something put together; it should arrive shortly after you."

Elrick : " Thank you sir"

Dir Orlin : " Good luck son"

Elrick vanished as the teleport system whisked him away.

Two figures emerge from the Shadow Magic that had previously concealed them; much to Director Orlin’s surprise.

Lord Alron : " That one is very peculiar."

Dir Orlin : " Ah; My Lord Alron, My Lord Elron?"

Lord Alron : " Director Orlin; when I Heard from the Svartalfheim Security Agency that you were planning to bring the Famous Elrick Starlight aboard the Eastal Flagship I wanted to take a look."

Lord Elron : " I just wanted to confirm that I made the right choice."

Dir Orlin : " Majesties; Elrick has proven more capable than we anticipated."

Lord Alron : " You know Eragon; that guy isn’t the sort you can control; he’s too influential for that."

Lord Elron : " I know; that’s why I want to make him an ally."

Lord Alron : " So influence over control; then it’ll be fine. Besides the revolution he started should be more than helpful in turning things around."

Dir Orlin : " The Phoenix Consortium neglected to tell us that there existed such things as Prions; the ACR was completely unprepared for beings who possess the equivalent of a Magical Heritage."

Lord Alron : " I don’t think we would have truly believed them."

Lord Elron : " Yeah; they are fascinating creatures these Atlantians. Anyway; shouldn’t we get going?"

Dir Orlin : " Going where your majesty?"

Lord Elron : " The whole reason the ERS Elron is here is to take us to Curela"

Dir Orlin : " Curela? The ruined world? Why?"

Lord Alron : " Scouting teams picked up traces of what they believe is Fey Magic. Ancients made Elves by combining Human, Fey and Ancient genetics. The Gaal are proof that the Fey are real as the Gaal themselves are a type of Guardian Fey. Legends portray them as Beastials with more pronounced beast features, but the on thing that is consisted in all the stories is that their magic is of a high quality. We must try and make an alliance with them."

Moments later the ERS Elron Vanished into Hyperspace.

- - -

Part 3

- - -

What awaited Elrick when he reached Cobalt City was a spectacle beyond his imagination; thousands upon thousands of people had already gathered near the Teleport Tower. Stalls catering food, drink and items were arranged in rows similar to folk festivals. The atmosphere was jovial with wide smiles on people’s faces as they looked to be enamoured by the conversations with their friends and families. The sight cause Elrick’s eyes to water a little; it had been a very long time since he’d been in the company of such happy people.

It took a moment for Starlight Spark’s officials to notice Elrick since people were constantly arriving and leaving through the teleport but once they noticed Elrick heard a loud booming voice.

“WELCOME BACK TO Cobalt City Elrick Starlight!”

Then loud music started playing as the hired Bards sprang to life with their songs.

All over the place Elrick could hear people saying “The Event is starting” and “It’s the Event” “It’s the Event”.

Slowly eyes from all over the place were finding the conspicuous Elrick in Golden Elven Golem Armour.

The best description of normal Golem Armour is that it sort of looks like Marvel Studio’s Iron Man Armour. In contrast Elven Golem Armour looks more Crystalline making the searching eyes able to quickly located Elrick.

First Elrick raised his left had and coolly flashed the victory sign much to the delight of the crowds. Then he raised a victory sign with both arms reaching for the sky in full excitement sending the crowds into a loud and thunderous cheer. Who ever was controlling the event chose that moment to release massive daytime fireworks into the sky sending the excitement in the crowds to ecstatic fever pitch of screams and shouts that likely echoed throughout the City.

Kids were running around all over the place and Elrick could see that the Drinks from Starlight Stalls started flowing like water. The party was now in full swing and he could see that he was being ushered to the other Nova Horizon Chiefs and Executives.

Elrick : " It’s good to be Back."

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