Lin watches as the dragon flies off without even telling him where to find Alysara or Kayafe.

“I guess she doesn’t mind me staying for a while,” Lin mutters. 

If she wanted him gone as soon as possible, she would have pointed him in the right direction to minimize his time spent here.

There are many islands in view, and he doesn’t even know where to begin, but that’s not much of an issue. There has to be at least one person who knows of Alysara since she had a few world messages.

Lin flies forward, using his Mind Bond to shield himself from the unreasonable heat. He’ll have better chances of meeting people who know of Alysara further in, where more connected cities and towns should be. All that he sees so far are villages of roughly two to three hundred people so this must be the disconnected rural areas of this Nexus.

The further he moves toward the center of the Nexus, the more he gets a feeling of being watched, but it’s unlike anything he’s felt before, like a phantom feeling he’s experiencing secondhand. It’s possible, no, probable that the dragon is watching from far away or something.

Lin pays no further mind to it and looks for a larger settlement, but its just villages and islands as far as the eye can see. 

“It must be an archipelago,” Lin thinks aloud.

If there are only islands, then that will explain the spread out population density. If anything, he can just fly down to one of the villages and ask where the nearest city is. However, that thought is immediately forgotten as Lin notices a flying boat descending to a distant village.

How in the world are they powering that thing? Lin wonders. The idea for a flying contraption has been around for hundreds of years, and at least one is proposed to the Emperor every year for funding, but the primary issue is how to power the enchantments.

The Empire does have one working airship, but to fly the damned thing requires dozens of trained people working in coordination. It was made when funding was granted to a proposed design but given that every Oathbound has some means to fly with their own power, and the fact it’s easier to train a platoon for some sort of flying skill, it’s just not worth it.

“They must have some means to get around the inherent problems,” Lin mutters, a hand on his chin as he thinks.

Lin flies to that village to get a closer look at the airship. He can ask for Alysara or where a city is while he is there, so he’s completing three tasks with this visit.

He touches down softly on the docks, drawing looks from everyone in the vicinity. The first thing he notices is that there are only women, which is strange. He also feels five perceptive presences which track back to random people in the crowd and in nearby buildings.

So they don’t regulate perceptive skills; they must be peaceful people, or trusting. 

There are pros and cons to regulating, not regulating, or outright banning non-state-approved people with perceptive skills, but for safety, most do at least regulate them. The primary reason is to make it harder for foreign spies and keep people safe from prying into protected areas that can harm or even kill with retaliatory items. Of course, no kingdom is dumb enough to have no one with perceptive skills since its use is vital in warfare.

After the initial shock, Lin feels fear from the Runalymo women, and they retreat out of sight.

Not what I was expecting.

Honestly, Lin didn’t know what to expect. Most lesser people treat humans with fear, but he thought that being so far away, they wouldn’t react the same way. Still, it’s not the worst reaction he’s gotten; it’s more like they are afraid of what they don’t know, which is a reasonable reaction. Either that or they passed down stories of the barbarian kings, but the chances of that being the case is incredibly low after ten thousand years.

The best thing to do in this situation is to wait patiently until someone approaches him, and let the curiosity of the natives show that he doesn’t mean any harm. This brings back memories of the first time he met with a tribe of lesser beings. He had stood on the edge of the tribe for three days before someone approached him.

A few people peek out from around the corner, and he manages to [Analyze] one of them, who shows as a Major tier craftsman. For a race that starts at Minor, the lowest tier, achieving Major at what appears to be a thirty-year-old adult is commendable; that’s only twenty years considering most get their first evolution at ten years old. 

There is a chance he just [Analyzed] a prodigy, but he wouldn’t bet on it. There are outliers, gifted children, who get an evolution at five years of age, but those are quite rare, and it’s better to assume this society has found optimal evolution paths for their profession.

Looking around, Lin sees a village dedicated to the arts. Everything, even the walls of some buildings, are tastefully decorated, and he picks out several depictions of Myrou, the Spirit goddess of beauty and craftsmanship. Worship isn’t banned in the Empire, but it isn’t encouraged either, which makes it rare. Most people who grow up in the integration program are not taught to worship any being, so the few religious people come from outside the Empire.

So far, Lin hasn’t seen any violent tendencies, contrary to their Fylox cousins, which makes these Runalymo candidates for direct integration into the Empire, much like the Goblin monks. The one thing that may pose a problem is environmental adaptation. Clearly, these people have grown used to this heat which may make normal climates uncomfortable for them.

Looking at the Airship, Lin notices that it is designed differently from the one in the Empire. It has a big sail over it with three rows of wings folded to the side, and there is a tailfin. It is made to float on water, too, whereas the one in the Empire is made to land on ground.

The Airship has clearly been optimised which suggests these people have had it for quite some time now. Instead of having two wings out to the side to lift it, it appears that the one stretched above provides lift, making it much easier to lift. That must mean the small wings folded to the side are made to move the airship forward, quite ingenious.

The sails themselves are enchanted mana silk, but that’s not the most surprising part; the enchantments seem to be woven into the very mana silk itself! This shows a mastery of enchanting far superior to anything Lin has seen, and he has seen the best in the known world.

Looking closer, the craftsmanship of the Runalymo shows mastery of craftsmanship on a societal level, one that could afford to dedicate everything to their craft for thousands of years. The Runalymo show a level of competency equal to the master smiths of the palace! That isn’t to say the skill level is the same, but with practice, they can easily match them.

This seems to be the average skill level for the Runalymo, so what can he expect to see from the best?

Lin is broken out of his musing by the presence of an approaching mind, only this mind feels very similar to his other minds from [Unlimited Minds], and it is approaching from above.

Lin looks up to see an exceptionally beautiful young woman with long, flowing, royal blue and gold-tipped hair. She is very voluptuous, dressed in a masterfully made and decorated two-piece dress, wearing eye wraps, and jewelry. She has large ears, much like the Runalymo in this village, but what sets her apart is her five tails and colorful wings.

A mind mage? Is she using [Mental Image] to conjure an illusory body? She looks almost too young to be so powerful but she has the same color hair as Kayafe from the portrait in the Emperor’s Treasury, is she related to her? That might explain some things.

[Analyze] doesn’t show anything, but the body looks entirely real, which suggests a high Bond level. She could have a level two thousand Bond and likely higher. She has a flying skill but apparently not a mind-based one like his own. If she is that high level in her Bond, then why not just use her Bond to fly?

“News spreads fast,” Lin mutters, noting that he hasn’t yet noticed any perceptive presence from this newcomer. 

She couldn’t have seen him arriving, since he hasn’t felt any mental or perceptive presence from her, and assuming her eyewraps isn’t some sort of sight-enhancing item, she wouldn’t have seen him, so these people must have someone capable of long-range communication, or technology capable of it.

The illusion touches down, and the wings vanish into motes of light.

“Greetings!” Lin says politely, turning his words into pure meaning with his Bond. “I am Oathbound Lin, and I come in peace.”

The woman doesn’t show any surprise or hostility, which he hopes is a good sign, but one never knows with mind mages. There’s also something bothering him, and with the help of a little [Thought Acceleration] with three minds, he finally realizes why.

I can’t feel her mental presence nor even Bond Resonance with her or her illusion!

He can feel her mind, but nothing to indicate she is using her mind to ‘feel’ her surroundings. Just how is she seeing him? Does she really have a Mind Bond?

It’s enough to raise the hair on his neck. He is Oathbound Lin, Captain of Counter-Intelligence, the best the Empire has when it comes to detecting scryers, and she shouldn’t be able to see him without using some form of scrying.

“I am Alysara” The woman introduces herself. “I assume you’ve come to meet me?”

Lin’s stomach tightens, and he draws in a breath. 

She is definitely scrying me. Why can I not feel her perceptive presence? Is she that skilled?

A mind mage and a scryer in one; no doubt she is a dedicated and powerful spy able to hold her own even against the best counterintelligence, but what kind of environment would produce someone like that? Perhaps Lin may need to re-evaluate the Runalymo if there’s conflict he isn’t aware of yet.

There is no doubt Alysara can lower her perceptive pressure, something Lin has only encountered three times before but is she lowering it so much he can’t even feel her perceptive pressure, or is it something that completely removes it?

That’s what that feeling was!

Lin suddenly realizes the feeling of being watched was from her! Lin redoubles his efforts to feel and track her perception, gaining levels in his counterintelligence skills, but her perceptive pressure is so weak that his brutish efforts break the perceptive vectors making his tracking efforts impossible with his current technique. Normally one has to treat low perceptive pressure delicately, but her perceptive pressure is so low he can’t even track it without using enough force to break the vectors. Perhaps there is a better technique to it, but he doesn’t have the time to practice.

I was sent to test her skill and didn’t even realize the test had already begun.

“Yes, we wish to hire you to spy on one of our enemies.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

I examine the human in front of me. He is a tall man with short hair and a goatee style beard. He has a herculean build and wears plate armor that looks more like a work of art made to personify power and prestige. 

His armor is magical, and judging by how much magic there is, it is probably Legendary tier. Aside from that he has three other legendary tier items: his sword, necklace, and belt. He has five exalted items: two rings, an earring, a dagger, and his shield. He also has several other, lower-tier and enchanted items attached to his armor.

I do not dare [Analyze] him or his gear since I felt him trying to track me, and considering my growth since my first encounter with Klaman, he is much better than him. Klaman doesn’t seem like he can even feel my perception – or maybe he’s not trying since he wants me as his empress – so this just shows how powerful Lin is.

He doesn’t show any hostile intentions, and I don’t think Safyr would let him in if he did, so I can trust that he at least won’t do anything while in the Nexus, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility of him trying to lure me out of the Nexus.

“Hire me?” I ask. This wasn’t something I expected, but to be honest, nothing about him was what I expected. I expected a language barrier, but then he does something, so I somehow understand him… kinda. It’s not that I am understanding any language, but rather understanding the meaning behind the words he is speaking.

“Yes, we know they are preparing to attack, but that’s all we know. Our own forces are weakened, and we need to know everything we can in order to prevent the deaths of hundreds of thousands of lives.”

I suppose it’s only to be expected they seek help elsewhere where their own forces lack since almost ten years ago, the Oathbound suffered huge losses against cannibals. It was hard to forget with the exceptional amount of world messages and that the superstorm followed soon after. They are probably still recovering from that themselves, even though there’s a few world messages every year about someone completing the Oathbound Tournament. At best, they’ve only recovered half their forces.

“What exactly am I expected to do? Who and where is the target? And, what are you willing to pay?” I cross my arms, projecting a resolute stance.

Lin isn’t fazed and answers.

“All we want is for you to spy in, around, and below their land and report what you see to us. We know they have very powerful retaliations, so you will have everything we have to offer in ways of defending you. I will personally defend you from any mind mages that may detect you. As for our enemy, they are dwarves who live mostly underground and specialize in soul spells. They are notorious for raiding villages around their land for souls that they use to fuel their machines.”

Lin pauses for a moment before an image of a map enters my mind, showing where the dwarves are relative to the Nexus.

“It is quite far away, and we will offer you enough protection to fend off a dragon while you get in a position where you are close enough to spy on the dwarves. As for pay—”

“Hold on, you want me to leave with you?” I ask.

In hindsight, it’s obvious why; most don’t have the absurd range I do. However, that is a form of protection I can leverage, plus I have my Dryads grace staff and Library that I can use as proxies in case of retaliations. If anything were to track me, I have developed a few techniques to counter or, at least, stall them for me to gather enough information on their location safely.

Regardless, I am not comfortable entrusting my safety to these guys on their terms. It’s too easy for them to set up an ambush and kidnap me or something like that. I want safety on my own terms with my own allies. Lin can help, but I want Yrania there too.

“How else are you going to spy on the dwarves?” Lin asks.

“Let's talk about payment first before I answer that” I won’t give away any information if I don’t have to.

“Name your price, then.” Lin says

Money isn’t an issue for them then. I muse.

The first thing I need to ask myself is why should I even bother helping them? Their problems aren’t my own. I suppose it all boils down to what I can gain from them, the problem is, I don’t know what they have. Everything I want, I can pretty much make or earn for myself. I suppose I can ask for rare materials, a kingdom with dozens of legendary beings shouldn’t have too much trouble getting their hands on some, but there’s probably more valuable things I can ask of them. Knowledge is very valuable, so perhaps I can ask him to help me improve my mental-based skills, or I can ask if they have any rare breakthroughs for perception skills. Maybe I can ask for favors that I can cash in later, but that depends on how honorable they are.

“Not only might I discover some plot against your kingdom, but I will also be gathering information on their cities, military, economy, infrastructure, important people, and more; that is a lot of benefit you stand to gain, so I propose that each city and other important location be paid for,”

“Naturally, if it is within our power, you will have what you ask. If you worry that we won’t pay, then I will swear upon an Oathstone which will impose severe punishments if the oath is broken” Lin summons an oval gem steeped in justice essence and magic from his storage ring.

Oathstone
(Exalted)
This stone, made by the Emperor of Humanity, will enforce all Oaths spoken when held by the speaker. Any specific punishment can be asked so long as it is enforceable.

“What manner of punishments do you take for breaking an Oath?” I ask.

“The most common is death, or wealth. Even legendary beings like myself can’t resist an imposed death forced by an Oathstone. As for wealth, any collateral stated will be teleported to you no matter how far away you are. Technically the Oathstone takes power by the Oathtaker, which is why it can kill even legendary beings, despite it not being a legendary tier item. And I suppose there is a limit to what it can do, but that entirely depends on how strong the Oathtaker is.”

“I see. Then, in that case, I want my safety guaranteed, that you won't betray me in any way, and that you’ll ensure payment is made as soon as you reasonably can. Also, if I want to stop for any reason, then you won’t question me and escort me back here. If you fail to do any of these, you will relinquish three magic items, with at least one of them being legendary Tier.”

“May I know your full name? It’s needed for the oath.”

“Just Alysara”

Runalymo don’t use family names, never needed one since everybody kinda knows everybody.

“I assume, then, that you are the one with the Saintess of Mana and Magic title?” Lin asks.

“That’s right,” I nod.

“That’s even better for strengthening the Oath,” Lin says before channeling mana into the Oathstone, which is burned away to fuel the magic. “I promise, upon my sword, shield, and barrier ring, that I will guarantee the safety of the Saintess of Mana and Magic, Alysara, so long as it is within my power, to make reasonable effort to ensure full payment is made as soon as is reasonable, and that that should she wish to end the mission early that no question is asked and she be returned to her home. Payment is to be equal to or less than the value of information given, which is to be determined between Alysara or a representative of her and a representative of the Empire chosen by an Oathbound or the Emperor. Payment will be granted for the completion of the initial mission of finding out the threat the dwarves are planning against the Alaxan Empire, scouting cities, important locations, notable people, and other notable information the Empire may want to know.”

Upon finishing his oath, I see the built-up magic wrap around Lin, signifying that the Oath has successfully been made.

“So, do you have ways of scrying from here?” Lin asks. Returning back to the topic before we talked about payment and the Oathstone.

In hindsight, I should have kept my mouth shut, but I can play this off as me being concerned about being kidnaped, or I can say I have a range-boosting item in my possession. However, I think lying would just make things worse if he has some way to see through lies, and my concern is real so I wouldn’t be lying about that.

“I was unsure if the mission was just a ploy to get me away from the safety of the Nexus,” I say.

Lin is silent for a second too long. “I see; I can understand that.”

He has a Mind Bond, just like Yrania, so he may know that I am trying to hide something. No, he definitely knows, but he doesn’t know what. In any case, it’s natural for me to keep things hidden from somebody I barely know.

I will have a clone be escorted to get ‘in range’ but I will remain where I am just in case, I also want Yrania to help protect me, since I still don’t entirely trust Lin.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Soul Lord Derval Ahlinor wrestles with the Earth Elemental, imposing his will upon its soul. Four other Soul Lords stand by him, helping him subdue the legendary being, the last one needed to finally break the weakened Alaxan Empire.

The High King had decreed that now is the time to strike and that each king of the five pillars send one of their enslaved Earth Elementals to attack the Humans. This attack is a gambit; if it fails, they will lose five Earth Elementals that they use to produce metals and other resources, but if they win, then their strongest rival will be destroyed.

“Look at them struggle with it!” one of five other Soul Lords taunt, “Copper Pillar, weak as always!”

The other group wears iron bands on their arms, showing that they are from Iron Pillar, the second strongest state. Of course, that doesn’t mean much; a Soul Lord is a Soul Lord, they are all of equal power. Those guys are just acting tough with no merit behind their words. 

A Pillar’s power is judged by how many Soul Lords they have, which correlates to how many Legendary Beings they can enslave. Copper Pillar has twenty-three, and it takes roughly five Soul Lords to subdue an Elemental, but only two to maintain control over one. Iron Pillar has thirty-nine Soul Lords and Gold Pillar, the strongest at forty-two Soul Lords. The weakest Pillar, Ironically named after the strongest alloy, Adamantine, only has twelve Soul Lords.

Derval finally manages to suppress his Elemental and lets two other Soul Lords maintain control. With control of the Elemental changed, the Lord Commander of the Grand Army addresses everybody

“Alright, men!” he shouts. “Now is the time to march toward Alaxan and destroy our enemies once and for all!” 

The men cheer as drummers start beating their instruments. Five battalions, one from each of the pillars, march forward as the earth shifts around them. Metallic stomping echoes through the earthen cavity from the thousands of machines, each burning with ghostly green and blue from the soul furnaces. Above the five Earth Elementals float as metallic spheres, reshaping the earth around them. 

Walking at the front of each battalion are a total of twenty-five Soul Lords, each a powerful Legendary Being in their own right, and while each one may not compare to an Oathbound, they can’t fight the overwhelming force of the Dwarven Grand Army.