MINOR WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 5%

The closer Dallion got to the “lock tongue” the more aggressive the bladerers became. Splitting into over two hundred instances, Dallion still couldn’t avoid all wounds. For the moment he’d only received a few, but without spellcraft or familiars they were stacking up. By his rough estimates, two-thirds were enough for the next realm. That means he could only get hit three times more.

Why such a focus on combat? He wondered.

Thanks to the mage Academy it was easy to instantly determine what skills one had without any trials. The reason had to be to keep leeches from freely joining in. Almost everyone in the imperial capital was considered special in one way or another. Receiving a quick trip to level twenty through the aid of echoes and high-level awakening altars tended to eliminate any amount of effort. An organization that was based on skills had to make sure that its members used them adequately.

Twisting in the air, Dallion propelled himself off a bladerer, heading towards the side of the metal cliff. Markers danced in front of him, indicating where to strike to form a foothold. In seventy-eight instances, Dallion did, and in seventy-eight instances he succeeded.

Almost there.

MINOR WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 5%

A blade hit his calf right at the moment he was about to burst into instances again. That was highly unfortunate, though acceptable, as long as he didn’t receive another.

It was so annoying not to be able to combine crafting with combat skills, but Dallion put up with it. Dancing up the vertical cliff surface, he swung his hammer, using it to thread through the metal while avoiding the rain of blades that surrounded him.

Dallion’s instances kept on getting hit faster and faster, yet never enough for him to suffer more wounds. The portal was less than twenty feet away—enough for one leap, using athletics and acrobatic skills. Without them, Dallion was forced to spend four more seconds using his expected approach. The moment he did, the reality of the realm was instantly replaced by a new one.

You are in the land of DOOR.

The DOOR’s destiny has already been fulfilled.

“Another sphere item?” Dallion wondered. “That’s too much for a coincidence,”

Onda had mentioned a while back that it was possible for Dallion to learn sphere and world item forging. Clearly, someone in the empire had beaten him to it.

The new realm was once again made of metal, but instead of cliffs, it had massive clusters of pipes spread in all directions in-between mountains of gears.

An interesting composition, Adzorg said.

“Not much. It’s the inside of the lock mechanism.”

The sky was completely absent in the realm, replaced by dull shimmering greyness. Without a doubt, that had to be the protective surface layer of the door.

Dallion took a few steps forward. A metal plaque was clearly visible twenty feet away, placed prominently on one of the metal pipes. Three names were etched on it in a very formal-looking font: Clark, Tamin, and Assetion.

Two of the names didn’t mean a thing, and as for the third—there wasn’t a person in the entire world that didn’t know it.

“Does that mean anything to anyone?” Dallion asked, sliding his finger along the plague.

Other than the obvious, not particularly, Adzorg reluctantly admitted. I suspect they were the remaining founding members back when the Order was created.

“Clark and Assetion,” Dallion repeated. Thinking back to all the historical scrolls and poems he’d read, there was no mention of them. The fact that he was able to read them even now meant they hadn’t been banished.

Maybe part of the test was to make gear suitable for combat using those skills, dear boy?

“Makes sense.” Dallion’s forging vision made it apparent that the inside of the plaque was wedged into the frame, rather than attached. Using his fingernails, he attempted to pull out the corner. The plaque gave in, allowing itself to be taken out.

On the back, something else was inscribed. More specifically, a sketch was carved into the sheet of metal, indicating what spots on the door to press, and in what order, to get it to open.

The details matched what Dallion remembered, but still it seemed a bit too easy.

That’s an unexpected stroke of luck, Adzorg commented. How did you think of checking there?

“I don’t know…” Dallion turned the plague around. “I just had a feeling.”

It was said that there was no such thing as a coincidence or a free lunch. Dallion tended to agree. Returning the plaque to its place, he set off to explore the domain.

Hour after hour, he walked, split into a hundred instances, ready at any point to engage an unseen enemy. None appeared.

After half a day, Dallion found one of the energy sources. It was, as he expected, a large cube-shaped mana crystal, though nowhere as impressive as the Moonstones.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

From what he could determine, thanks to his scholar skills, the lock followed the well-established magnetic lock mechanism back on Earth. A correct “keypad” combination would activate a spell, allowing both parts of the door to slide to the side. In theory, there was no reason for Dallion not to leave and try the plaque instructions. The thought of having to go through the bladerers again made him spend a bit more time in the realm.

With the power source located, it was a simple matter of following the “pipe” connection to the nearest gear mountain. From close by, they seemed even taller than before, rising all the way almost to the sky itself.

So, that’s where I press, Dallion told himself.

Each mountain was an input device. Exploring the inner workings of one of them, let alone all, would likely take days, if not weeks. That was more time than Dallion was willing to dedicate, which was why he returned to the magic cube.

Doesn’t seem like you to give up, the old mage remarked.

“I’m not.” Dallion went to the part in the base from which the pipes were heading out. “Just using the skills required.”

Summoning his hammer, he carved out sections of both pipes, revealing inner cores of sun gold. Dallion would have felt a lot better if he was able to see the actual magic threads, but maybe that was the purpose of the limitation. Nonetheless, he summoned several ingots of sun gold and forged them into a very long and curved bar.

What are you planning to do, dear boy? Adzorg didn’t sound certain.

Dallion summoned two blocks of wood which he carved into a rudimentary handle that he placed in the middle of the bar.

“Hopefully, get out of here.” Holding the piece of metal by the wooden handle, he lowered it until both sides came into contact with the sun gold of the tubes.

ESCAPE TRIGGERED

If you wish to leave the realm, smash the window

A green rectangle popped up.

So, I was right. Dallion did just that.

Reality swarmed around him, returning him to the common room of the Zodiac building. To his great relief, both sides of the metal door slid to the side, opening the way forward.

“Rather impressive,” Unnie said, astonishment overflowing in her voice. “You’re the first I’ve seen to open it in this fashion.”

“What can I say?” Dallion moved his hand off the door frame. “I like to be unique.”

“You undoubtedly are.” The woman gestured, inviting him to continue forward. “After you, please.”

Soaking in the attention he was getting from the common room members, and a healthy degree of envious emanations, Dallion continued forward. The new hall was half as big as the previous one, but noticeably superior. In terms of comparison, it was like walking from a four-star hotel to a luxury five-star establishment. The furniture was a lot more “modern”, crafted with precision and diligence out of the rarest materials the world had to offer. In addition to large paintings covering the walls, there were a number of full-size statues of past members of the Order, along with weapons on display.

“Is Count Pilih a member?” Dallion slid the limiting artifact off his finger and handed it to Unnie. “He has a room with a similar arrangement.”

“The current one? No. I believe his grandfather was the last active member. It’s possible that he brought the current count as a child.”

Good to know they allow family members, Dallion thought as he looked around. One thing immediately caught his attention. A short distance away, secured within a glass case, was an unmistakable mobile phone. It was old—probably from the early two thousands—but definitely from Earth.

Anything you can say about that, Adzorg? Dallion asked.

Don’t look at me, dear boy. I’d have taken action if I knew it was here.

“Who made that?” Dallion pointed at the phone.

“Oh, one of our marvels. I’m not exactly sure. Some say it might have been constructed by a past emperor himself. It’s one of our older items, yet that doesn’t make it any less fascinating than any of the new additions.”

You can say that again.

“Before you’re officially welcome to the uncommon room, there’s a small formality.” The woman reached into her pocket and took out a small kaleidervristo device. “Please hold this, if you would.”

That explained why no copyette had managed to infiltrate the Order of the Twelve Suns. Despite the place screaming snobbish cult, the people were vigilant and had a very good idea of what they were doing.

“Certainly.” Dallion took the device with his right hand. “Afraid I might turn out to be a chainling?” he asked casually.

“Of course not.” The intonation of the woman’s voice shifted, indicating she was likely lying. “It’s one of the old traditions that remain.” Without asking, she took the kaleidervristo from his hand and put it away again.

“I see. So, where’s the next trial?”

A number of doors were visible in the room, yet none of them appeared particularly special. Thinking that might be part of the trial, Dallion carefully followed the magic threads within each of them, searching for differences. As far as he could see, there weren’t any.

“You want to continue right away?” Unnie sounded surprised.

“Is there a reason I couldn’t?”

“No… it’s just…” She paused for. There was no telling what skills she was using, but it took less than a moment for her to regain her composure. “Please excuse me,” she added with a smile. “You just caught me by surprise. Usually, members who’ve made it this far choose to celebrate the occasion. Although all our members fulfill the requirements for entry, not everyone has the experience of proceeding to the inner sanctum on their first go. It’s been known to take years for someone to reach the uncommon room, and twice that long to move on from it. This way, please.”

The woman led the way to a normal-looking door at the far end of the room. Try as hard as he might, Dallion was still unable to see any indication that this was “the” door. As far as he was concerned, a strong draft was enough to break it open.

“I take it the same rules apply?” Dallion asked. “Use all four rare skills to open the door without breaking it?”

“Maybe when the Order was initially established,” Unnie let out a chuckle. “All you need to do is open the door without touching it or using any common or uncommon skill.”

“Just that?” Dallion looked at her.

“Just that.”

The temptation to wrap his hand in a piece of clothing and open the door was tremendous. It would be good for a laugh, but after putting so many things on hold just to get here, Dallion decided not to risk it.

Hello, door, Dallion said, using his empathy trait.

My word! The door guardian replied in a distinctly British accent. As I live and breathe. I didn’t expect to see a new empath since my owner built me all those centuries ago.

Yes, I heard there aren’t many of us nowadays.

Sadly true. Back in my youth, I remember the room was filled with empath ladies and gentlemen. We used to lead charming conversations all the time, discussing the issues of the world, philosophy, and architecture.

In truth, it had been a while since Dallion had a proper conversation with a guardian. As cliché as it was, he hardly had time for the little guardians. Most of his interactions were with area guardians, or items on enemies.

I can emphasize, Dallion said. Any chance you can open up and let me in?

Ah, but of course. I should better do that, shouldn’t I? The door creaked open. And do pass by for a chat sometime. That would be absolutely smashing.

I’ll do my best. Dallion couldn’t help but smile.

“Is that good enough?” he looked at Unnie. Technically, one could argue that he hadn’t used a skill, but it was close enough and also followed the rules as they were given to him.

“More than enough, sir,” the woman replied.

“Sir?” He gave her a strange look.

“You are a member of the inner sanctum, sir—an honor I have yet to be privy to.”

“I see.” That explained her reluctance to have Dallion move along. Most likely, she felt slightly humiliated by the fact. “Thank you for being my guide, then.”

“My absolute pleasure, sir.” A spark of pride resonated from within her. “If at any point you require further assistance, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

“Sure.” Out of habit, Dallion cast a spell to levitate an inch above the floor, then flew into the next room.

The chamber was simultaneously the smallest and largest he had seen so far. The room itself was average in size, made entirely of stone. Thanks to the layers of magic symbols on the walls, it created the impression of being the size of a town overlooking waterfalls on three sides. Aether plants and creatures filled the vast, brightly lit walls of marble, while humanoid aether golems tended to the members present carrying moon platinum platters full of refreshments.

It was not the room itself that left Dallion speechless, but one of the people in it.

“It was about time you got here, cousin,” Tors Elazni said from a throne-like chair. “I thought you’d never manage.”