Chapter 50

Ska’dur sat brooding on his porch, a beer mug in his hand. His gaze was on the clouds, yet he only saw the smile Yara wore during their meeting a few hours ago. That old crone was utterly delighted he finally decided to join her faction. No doubt she was already brainstorming ways to use him to her advantage.

Even now, joining Yara’s war chariot left Ska’dur feeling complicated. Certainly, while she was benevolent to her subjects, she was too conniving for his tastes. The fake wars she staged with the orcs and demons irked him the most. No matter what the Innate government said publically, Ska’dur knew they were simply using the orcs and demons as a whetstone to train their armies – all at Yara’s command.

But, Ska’dur couldn’t deny she was capable. If what she said was true about the factions in the Grandsky Realm, picking her was his best choice. Plus, many of his friends were leaders of the Innate Nation, and he couldn’t bear the thought of becoming their enemy.

Ska’dur finished his drink and resumed crafting his daughter’s equipment. Rhea was currently ignoring him, no doubt because of his recent decision. He understood what she was upset about, but understanding and agreeing were two different matters. It was naïve to think you could ascend to the top by relying on yourself.

A few hours passed as an exquisite chest piece made from monster hide came into shape under Ska’dur’s meticulous handiwork. Making a set of Mythic grade equipment was no big deal to him, as his blacksmithing skill had reached level 500 around three centuries ago.

Thinking of all his level 500 skills made Ska’dur recall the quest he received from the System when the Innate Dimension unexpectedly closed.

[Quest: Trapped But Not Forgotten]

Description: As the Innate Dimension’s greatest warrior, you have acquired this quest as compensation for the gateway’s forced closing.

Content: Create and level skills until the gateway reopens.

Reward: Undetermined. Based on the quality of created skills and the number of skills that reach level 500.

According to the quest, the Innate Dimension wasn’t supposed to have closed, locking them in here like rats. Ska’dur’s momentum was overwhelming when the gateway opened, and it was supposed to be his destiny to set out to a bigger world – the Grandsky Realm. But the fight between Elaine and Sloth ruined everything. Somehow, the gateway closed at the end of their fight.

Over the following years, Ska’dur developed every aspect of himself to the limit, waiting for that fateful day. As of today, he created 17 skills and brought over 200 skills to level 500. More importantly, he merged 10 of his legacy skills into something that should only belong in the Grandsky realm: a Transcendent skill.

‘Life Energy’ was the quintessence of Ska’durs efforts over the past 500 years and his greatest pride, besides Rhea. It contained all his insights regarding skills, stats, the body, and the mind. Even the System agreed.

Title: Prodigal Skill Technician

Description: Gives +10% effectiveness to all primary stats. Granted by creating a Transcendent grade skill.

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Markus led Keith through a highly restricted complex adjacent to a military base. The roads were extremely wide, at least a hundred feet across, while the buildings were simple but massive white rectangular blocks with no flair or style. The only thing of note was the gargantuan hangar doors that spanned across the front of the buildings.

Many people were hard at work, either offloading crates from Mana-powered vehicles or moving packages here and there. The entire operation consisted of several thousand people. Thankfully, the roads were wide enough that Markus and Keith could stay out of their way.

As Keith scrutinized the crates everyone was carrying, he said to his father, “I’m surprised we had to pass so many security checkpoints just to see some warehouses.”

Markus chuckled and said, “I’m guessing all you see are some ugly buildings, but what I see is the lifeblood of our nation.”

Keith rolled his eyes, prepared for his father to go into another one of his majestic speeches about civilization. That was one thing Keith learned about his father: the man was a bit of a die-hard supporter when it came to his country. To Keith’s relief, Markus simply looked over to the building at their side. “We’re here. Warehouse 13.”

Father and son walked up to a door next to the hangar. When Markus pressed a card against the array scanner, the door opened with a beep. Before stepping inside, Markus glanced at Keith and asked, “Do you know who the biggest hoarders in the world are?”

“Me?” Keith responded with a smirk.

“You wish.” Markus laughed as he stepped through the door. Keith’s eyes widened in shock when he followed in. The warehouse was several times larger than what appeared from the outside, which meant it had a space expansion array installed. Keith had never heard of space expansion arrays enlarging a building of this size. Just the daily Mana cost was frightening to think about.

What Keith found more absurd was the excessive quantity of packages neatly stacked up to the ceiling from the front to the back. At least a hundred thousand crates were sitting in this warehouse alone. At this time, Markus continued with a solemn expresssion, “Remember Keith, while mighty, a nation consumes and produces a tremendous amount of resources. Its livelihood depends on whether it has what it needs to provide for its people. That is what these warehouses contain: the accumulation of a billion people across generations.”

Keith was awed as he walked over to a sealed crate. “Can I see what’s inside?”

“Sure.” Markus used the same keycard as before to unlock the crate. Bronze ingot after bronze ingot lay neatly stacked on top of one another, filling the crate to the brim. Keith quickly counted and found 1,000 Mythic grade bronze ingots in this crate alone. He looked up at the tall rack in front of him, which contained thousands of similar crates.

Gasping, Keith asked, “Are they all bronze ingots?”

“No,” Markus shook his head. “Warehouse 13 contains stockpiles of every metal the Innate Dimension can produce. From ores to ingots, it has it all.”

“Then what about the other warehouses?”

Markus shared what the other 23 warehouses contained, from arrays to monster eggs and herbs to potions. In total, the warehouses held everything the Innate Nation needed to survive. More importantly, for war.