Edward didn’t wait in front of the door for Cornelius to finish his talk, knowing politicians, such conversations could probably last for hours. Edward couldn’t waste his time, especially since he was worried about Agripin’s situation, they wouldn’t be able to stop a variant monster able to use aura.

Edward directly sent a message to Cornelius through telepathy. He wasn’t very confident in his ability yet, so he kept the message simple. It’s Edward. I’m in front of your office. I need to talk. This is important. He was able to observe in real-time, as Cornelius was able to keep a poker face before sending his guests away. The guard keeping watch over the door was looking at Edward and Leyla with curiosity since they just stood there and hadn’t asked anything yet. That is until the door he was guarding opened on its own.

Cornelius’ guests left, seemingly miffed from having their talk interrupted, but seeing Edward in the corridor, they understood that something important must be going on. Edward had been behind all the recent developments in Gobéliard, and nobody would underestimate him in the city.

Cornelius invited them in, noticing the presence of Leyla as well. “You wanted to talk about something important?” he asked.

“Yes, the Harpies are dealt with but that is not the important point. I discovered the reason the monsters are growing more numerous,” he declared his voice serious. Edward showed them the Harpy’s egg piece, which had been able to absorb mana. He told them his reasoning on how the monsters were feeding on mana, explaining that the mana density must be increasing all over the world.

“That’s why I would be glad if you could have scholars checking this theory. This surge is unlike the others, if scholars could link this increase in mana with a known phenomenon and if they could predict what was happening, we would be able to know what is waiting for us and prepare accordingly. Besides the Harpies had a variant able to send aura blades. The city walls won’t be able to hold against such an offense. The city defenses need to be reinforced.” Edward added.

Cornelius and Leyla listened to him grimly.

“I remember reading about such a hypothesis. Some scholars have found astrological events that match with the forty-two years circle of the surges. I will inquire with the local erudite to see if they noticed anything abnormal about it.” Cornelius proposed.

“You said that aura blades can cut through any material, but they can still clash against each other. To me, it feels as if an immaterial barrier would be more suitable to block them. The block runes are more appropriate than the durability ones in this case. Also, if mana density is truly increasing, it will only reinforce the runes that also feed on mana. The walls can be reinforced by both block runes and durability ones. Though several tokens will have to be dispensed to enable people to go through the block rune barrier.” Leyla explained her plan for the city’s defenses.

Cornelius and Edward were impressed by how Leyla found an immediate solution to their problem.

“Great idea. However, upgrading all of the city walls with runes will take some time. I propose that you create the implementation plan and let the others engrave the runes. Those runes are already becoming common knowledge, there is no need for secrecy anymore and your time will be more valuable spent on new ways to implement rune technology.” Edward told Leyla.

Leyla shrugged, “That works for me. I’m not eager to do boring repetitive work anyway. Also, could you give me this egg piece? The way it is able to absorb mana to generate more of itself intrigues me. If I could replicate the process, I could make a self-repairing artifact. It could even be added to the city walls later on.”

Cornelius was left speechless. He shook his head. “We are living in unprecedented times. I don’t remember hearing about such a massive surge in monsters. And at the same time, you managed to not only topple Gobéliard’s current powers, but you are also revolutionizing the city by implementing and normalizing runes usage.”

The three of them continued to chat for some more time, exchanging ideas and adjusting the details of implementation. The assets that had been seized from the Vega family would finance the renovation of the city defenses for now. Once everything was settled, everyone knowing what he/she had to do, Edward left. He needed some time to rest and meditate before leaving for Agripin.

Although he did great work in Gobéliard, participating in three monsters’ expeditions, he didn’t have the time to go on vacation. Agripin’s situation was unknown, and the sooner the inhabitants were sent to Gobéliard, the better. If monsters continued to grow more numerous and stronger, Agripin wouldn’t be able to defend itself, and Edward couldn’t be everywhere at the same time. It was more efficient to gather everybody in the same place. Besides, even if Edward left, Gobéliard would still have two predators left to defend itself.

Sitting cross-legged on his bed in his room, Edward closed his eyes. He focused on the mana around him, slowly draining it into his body. His frequent fights let him grow his aura and blood essence, but his accelerated perception was relying on mana. If he wanted to keep control of his movements while in an accelerated state, he had to keep a balance between his mana and blood essence. Which meant spending more time in meditation assimilating mana. Edward wondered if it was an effect of his imagination after his discovery, but he felt as if the mana density was slightly superior to when he had first discovered how to absorb mana.

He didn’t spend the whole night in meditation, still allowing himself some much-needed sleep. Not knowing what was waiting for him at Agripin he had to be rested before leaving. In the morning he had the same breakfast as the day before when he had left to exterminate the Harpies. Wait a minute. Did I skip both lunch and dinner, yesterday? I didn’t even feel hungry. That’s crazy. I really hope one day Leyla can create a ring of holding. I would be able to store snacks when I’m leaving. While I’m at Agripin I will have to visit the Damkinan’s library if I can, see if they have anything about space manipulation.

I shouldn’t worry too much about the world’s increase in mana for now. This is not something I can deal with. All I can do is use this information to my advantage, and try to grow stronger at the same pace as the monsters. As long as my growth is not slower than the monsters’ increase, I should be able to take care of myself.

Edward went to see Leyla before leaving. Before letting him go, she actually hugged him, telling him to be cautious. Edward froze in surprise before hugging her back. The embrace lasted for a few seconds, then Leyla let him go. As he left, Leyla’s face was stuck inside his mind, he could picture her big brown eyes looking at him with concern as he was leaving. His heartbeat increased, and he couldn’t help but smile blissfully. I think I’m in love. And she is liking me as well. I have to tell her how I feel. I will do it first thing after evacuating the Agripin inhabitants. For the rest of the day, Edward felt warmth in his chest.

It is only when he was already deep into Vipin’s Forest that he focused on his surroundings. He was pulled out of his thoughts when his aura senses pick up fast movements in proximity. Edward was walking on the dirt road crossing through the forest. The sky wasn’t dark yet, but due to the nearby tall trees, the surroundings started to darken. The path was supposed to be safe but between the Bloodmaws and Leyla’s tales of wolves’ attacks, it didn’t seem to be the case anymore.

Indeed, now that Edward was paying more attention, he realized that his aura was sensing several wolves running alongside him in the undergrowth, already building a circle around him to cut out all of his escape paths. Edward shook his head, suppressing a laugh. Not to mention the fact that he could teleport, he already had been able to kill a wolf when he was still but a normal human. Now that he was at the predator level, those wolves weren’t more dangerous than hamsters to him.

He stopped in his tracks, letting the wolves emerge from their hideout all around him. Their eyes were glowing, and they began to growl savagely at him. Edward sighed. “Seriously, if there wasn’t this monster surge, I would simply let you go. You are not worth my time. But as things are, I can’t allow you to leave, otherwise, only more of you will keep coming. I need to clean the way so that Agripin villagers can travel safely to Gobéliard.”

He took a step forward, leaving a deep imprint in the dirt and propelling himself forward to the closest wolf on his path. He didn’t even use his acceleration, relying only on his body enhancements. The wolf was too slow to react and was slain in one hit. Edward didn’t let the chance for the other to run away. It wasn’t that he enjoyed slaughtering monsters unable to defend themselves, but the path had to be secured. Most of Agripin’s villagers were normal humans. It was only recently that the guards were able to grow to the awaken level. Letting those monsters live would only bring more trouble.

In less than a minute all the wolves were turned into corpses. Edward absorbed their blood essence, even though it didn’t bring him much benefice. He watched the result of the slaughter, the dirt muddied by blood, and wolves’ bodies staying near the path or even directly on it. I remember Adrian telling me that monsters didn’t dare roam on the path before because they saw it as an awaken territory. If I could deter monsters from crossing this path, it would help me greatly to move civilians safely. Edward left the path to cut some wood, the few young saplings that manage to survive under the shadow of their elders, or directly branches from mature trees.

With his dagger he easily cut into the wood, shaping those wood pieces as stakes. He inserted them on the border of the path at the regular interval before putting the wolves’ bodies on it. He stopped to admire the result. I hope this is enough. It certainly shows a clear message. Edward nodded his head in appreciation before continuing on his way, picking up the pace now that he was no longer distracted.