Priam started running before he realized Esmée was struggling to keep up. The young woman wasn’t slow, but the attribute difference was massive. He slowed his pace and signaled to Jasmine, who was watching them from the cliff top, to follow. His subordinate jumped, and Priam's eyes widened montarily before he rembered she wouldn't die from a fall that high.
The sand gave way to a carpet of leaves, different from those in Elysium. The climate and the trees reminded him of the Caribbean. Priam guided Esmée through the mahoganies, courbarils, and palm trees while tracking Kazuki with his aether perception and his sense of sll.
The hoplite champion had left no visible trace on the ground but hadn’t accounted for the aether particles he naturally produced or his scent. In Elysium, this was almost negligible, but in Valaryth, the foreign energy stood out against the natural energy—sothing the keenest natives would undoubtedly notice.
A hundred ters inland, Priam, Esmée, and Jasmine, who had just caught up, stopped behind Kazuki. The hoplite was kneeling and observing the ground closely.
“This is the fourth ti I’ve seen these kinds of tracks,” the warrior said, pointing to two marks on the ground. “All similar but not identical.”
The rivals understood the ssage: different creatures of the sa species had passed through here.
Priam approached and frowned upon seeing actual holes. The marks were about thirty centiters long and ten deep. One didn’t need to be a tracker to spot such imprints.
“The front marks are caused by claws,” Priam noted. “Is that why you think they’re draconic creatures?”
“That and my bloodline.” The hoplite offered no further explanation, and Priam didn’t press.
“It’s hard to be sure, but judging by the lack of scent, I’d say these are at least a week old,” said Jasmine.
“Not much older, since the leaves that have fallen in haven’t started decomposing yet,” Kazuki remarked. “Given the soil’s resistance, the depth of the tracks, and the distance from the landing site—about a hundred ters from here—I would say the creature that jumped here has a strength over two thousand.”
“That’s a lot,” Esmée said, opening her grimoire. “They don’t have our System, so their attributes must be balanced, or their bodies would break down.”
Having a strength of two thousand and a constitution of five hundred was a good way to die stupidly by jumping too high or crashing into a wall. System users had resistances, skills, and Talents to offset their imbalances, but the natives did not.
“That doesn’t surprise much,” Priam said. “The first ti I ca here, I heard a howl from a city and dove into the water to escape the creature. My instinct told that staying behind ant certain death. Later, the Rehms confird they avoid the shore.”
“So it’s a dangerous place.”
“I detect no enemies within at least a kiloter,” Esmée declared. “There are animals, but nothing hostile or powerful.”
“That’s good, but they can return anyti,” Kazuki warned. “First, we shall protect the rift. I don’t have access to the Sun Shop here, do you?”
Priam’s attention turned to his interface.
Sun Shop
Error. Only a mber of the Royalty or the holder of the World Key can invoke this function in a non-integrated world.
“Damn. Valaryth isn’t part of the Universe of the Seven, which limits the System.” Priam forced himself to breathe, trying to dispel his frustration. He had planned to use his Sun points to facilitate their settlent, and his plan was already falling apart.
“We’ll have to build the defenses ourselves.” Kazuki frowned.
“I can buy the blueprints and materials,” Priam suggested. “It’s slower than summoning the structures directly, but it’s possible.”
“Possible but dangerous.” Kazuki pointed at the deep tracks. “No visible tracks before these: this creature is stealthy. If it’s hostile, the builders could die before even seeing it.”
“I could monitor the surroundings,” Esmée offered. “Mutating the Moon Wyrm egg will only take part of my attention. In exchange, I would like to go through my Tribulations in this world, if that’s okay with you?”
“That sounds fair,” Priam agreed.
“Good. However, without knowing the creature’s characteristics, I’m not sure I can contain it.”
“I’ll handle that,” Jasmine intervened. Priam nodded. His quest for draconic trophies would likely take him far, preventing him from defending the outpost himself.
“Don’t forget about and a few hoplites willing to explore this world. Now, we have our defenders, but we lack builders. Alain is an excellent constructor, but he can’t do everything alone.”
“I’d feel bad exploiting my father,” Priam admitted, smiling. “Why not hire artisans from Elysium with the Sun Shop? Ymir is a good recruit.”
“He’s cool,” Jasmine confird. “He even makes nice vegetarian dishes with Blueberry.”
Priam's smile wavered. The inhabitants of Oasis were getting to know each other while he trained alone. Sotis, despite his obsession, he missed the idle loafing and friendly conversations.
“It’s settled then,” Kazuki declared. “Are you going to oversee the construction of the defenses?”
“My Tribulations force to focus on my progression... and I think it’s the sa for you.” All the rivals nodded. “Do you think Hyshana...?”
Kazuki shook his head. “With the tribes and our rivals prowling, my wife can’t manage the defenses of both Oasis and Valaryth. To be honest, defending Oasis is an opportunity for her, which explains her enthusiasm, but building an outpost here won’t interest her.”
Priam nodded, slightly disappointed. Hyshana was doing a great job in Oasis, and he trusted her. However, the hoplite wasn’t under his command; she was an ally, and he respected her choices.
“Nevertheless, she won’t refuse to fight alongside us in case of an invasion,” the hoplite added. “My friends are her friends.”
“Thank you,” Priam replied, looking his rival in the eyes. The hoplite didn’t have his immortality but was willing to risk his life to help him. “I hope you know you can count on too.”
“I do.”
A solemn and brotherly silence fell, soon broken by Jasmine.
“Why not ask Alain to oversee the construction? He was an architect, right?”
“My father can easily handle building an outpost around the rift with a crew of experts, but the administrative work—scheduling patrols with the hoplites, managing resources, or even setting up als... Well, he’s capable, but he’d make mistakes.”
On Earth, a mistake could have serious consequences, but here, it was almost a certainty. Priam was reluctant to take that risk.
“Myuri could help.”
Priam turned to Esmée. “How so?”
“Because of their racial Talent, the bastards of the royal family are trained to be secretaries,” the princess explained. “In practice, they often manage the Empire’s projects—under a man’s supervision, of course.” A sneer twisted Esmée’s lips. “She could easily assist Alain and his team in building these defenses by managing the materials, buying what’s needed, or liaising with the hoplites and Oasis.”
Priam hesitated before turning to Jasmine. “I don’t know her well. What do you think?”
“She’s a quiet girl who doesn’t want to be a burden. I know she helps Rose a lot and sotis Alain too. She won’t be lost.”
Priam considered the proposal. The Empyrean royal family had the gift of influencing the world to favor their endeavors. With Muyri as the administrator, most obstacles that could slow a project would resolve themselves.
“Very well. Jasmine, find my father and then talk to Muyri about this position. If she’s interested, have her see today. Kazuki…”
“I’ll see which hoplites are interested in this world. Then I’ll start mapping it.”
“Perfect. It’s ti to establish an outpost in this new world!”
The rift shimred as Priam crossed it. He had entrusted the Moon Wyrm egg to Esmée so she could begin the preparations for its mutation. In a few days, he would have a holy guardian and face a choice: sacrifice the beast to temper his body or keep it to guard Oasis.
Deep down, he already knew what he would choose.
Looking up at Valaryth’s single sun, the young man smiled. The omnipresence of the Necromoon annoyed him, and he was glad to see a world free from its influence.
A seagull cried high in the sky. Watching the bird fly inland, Priam had an idea. I should have a few minutes before Myuri arrives…
Drawing thermal energy from the matter within his Domain, he converted it to kinetic energy and took off. A few seconds later, he caught up with the seagull, which screeched in outrage. Laughing, Priam overtook it and ascended.
Just before reaching the first clouds, Priam stopped to gaze at the blue world stretching below him. Small islands dotted the ocean to the horizon, which curved slightly, revealing Valaryth as a planet. His rift was at the southern tip of a huge island’s peninsula. Seeing this, Priam ntally thanked the System.
The rift’s location was easily defensible from land by blocking off the peninsula. The geography gave Priam a wild idea he couldn’t shake. His musings were interrupted by movent.
About twenty kiloters north of his position, the ruins of a city were surrounded by forest. Squinting, Priam saw several black dots rising above them. A fraction of a second later, he cursed, realizing winged creatures had spotted him and were hunting him down. Gaining so altitude gave him an unparalleled view but also made him a target.
Diving towards the rift to avoid attracting more attention, Priam saw Myuri and Jasmine erging from it. Muttering another curse, the warrior adjusted his trajectory. Flying east, he skimd the water, checking that the creatures were still pursuing him. They were.
Suppressing a smile, Priam landed a few kiloters away on an isolated sandbank. Prosse appeared in his hand as the flying creatures approached, roaring their impatience. Their shrill cries annoyed him, but a thought cald the Ace.
“Soon, you’ll have a good reason to scream.”
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