A New World, an immersive game experience

After finally completing the design they handed it over to Thesolis along with detailed notes. Even a Tier 1 runesmith should be able to engrave the runes they had used and forming the frame did not even require that you were a Tiered blacksmith.

The material also was not expensive, with the raw cost coming to just a few silver. It was actually affordable, though maybe not for the average farmer. Or rather, not for the average crops.

With the elemental focal array, magical plants could be cultivated which would make this a most profitable investment. The Protii of elemental focals were easy to acquire as it is already widely used in farming, and the Rilpai could be made by one without any training. They just had to follow the instructions and work carefully.

They had given it to Thesolis since neither of them wanted to be bothered with distribution and sales. They hadn't done this for profit, but rather because they were both curious and wanted to help where they could.

"Have you been practicing magic recently?" Eldrian asked, worried that his friend might be targeted.

"Not since you disappeared. Though I have continued to sharpen my alchemy skills and now also learned how to make arrays." Erik replied, looking towards Akarui who was running between the farms.

From time to time she would stop and look at one of the plants with worry. Upon seeing this the people around already understood that something was wrong with the plants so they would quickly come and ask her what was wrong. Then with her guidance, the entire tray of plants would soon start to grow at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Watching this Eldrian paused, uncertain if he should ask. In the end, he decided to at least give the option to Erik. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Taurtania, right?" Erik looked towards the sky, deep in contemplation. "So Myropsis is from Taurtania... Who would have guessed? Her parents must have been really angry that she hadn't visited when being in the city."

"Yeah, it seemed like her dad didn't want to leave it up to her again." Eldrian didn't understand why she had refrained from at least saying hi, perhaps she was afraid they wouldn't allow her to leave once she returned?

"I forgot, you were in Taurtania before coming here to help, right?"

"Yeah," Erik nodded, "I made a name for myself selling potions. Thanks to what Zamia had taught me and my linkage with this dryad ability I am able to make potions that are one Tier more effective than normal. Plus Akarui can find the most amazing plants in the most common of places."

"Are you the only dryad player who could feel what the plants around you felt?" Eldrian suddenly thought of his bloodline and wondered if Erik was a unique case or if this was something that all dryads were capable of.

"I never asked. Things were so chaotic that I didn't really take time to consider much of anything other than how to keep Akarui safe." Erik smiled as he watched her play and guide the helpers, she did not even realize that it wasn't a game.

"If I do go, I want us to enjoy the journey," Erik said.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's not teleport. That's no fun. I know that the world is chaotic, but if we let that rule our lives then we won't be able to enjoy our lives. It is our lives, it is for us to decide how to spend them. Not for the chaos of the world."

"Won't that-"

"Yes, if we go by carriage the journey would take over a week. Possibly two or three. Most of the terrain is decent and the roads in the eastern side of the kingdom are still well maintained. It should be a smooth journey."

"Just a long one..." Looked at his map, at the scale, and then at the roads. Eldrian estimated they would need to cross close to 2000 kilometers to reach Taurtania.

If they could travel by river from Verest it might be slightly shorter and faster. But that would also bring them closer to the front lines, while it would still be over 500 kilometers, Eldrian understood well now that such a distance was not much to the orcs.

He suspected that if he truly tried he might be able to cross such a distance in less than a day after his recent power-ups. Actually, he suspected it wouldn't even take him all of daylight. Though, he was unsure if he would require to take breaks or not. He had yet to push himself to his limits, this was only what he felt.

"When are you planning to leave?" Erik asked.

"What day is it?"

"Tuesday."

"Then let's make it Friday."

With that settled, the two talked a bit more. A bit about the lever activation device they had made, more about what they should prepare for the journey. And a little about Miracle.

"Are you still planning a big reveal?"

"I don't see any other options. If I don't I will always need to hide, and if they stumbled upon magic and misused it..." Eldrian replied.

"Yeah, it sucks. At least your sister seems fine."

"Did you talk to her?"

"No, we can't risk it. But I've visited the campus a few times, unlike you, I am still enrolled. I saw her there, she seemed to be doing well."

"Thanks..." Until hearing this Eldrian hadn't even realized how worried he had been. This made him all the more resolute to bring everything to light. 'But before I do, I need to find a way to protect Jen, and mom and dad...'

"Do you want me to add fuel to the fire?"

"What fire?"

"Did you forget or did Elizabeth not tell you?" Erik asked, "Nevermind, she and the others have been pressing Miracle for answers on when we were all kicked from the game. They are demanding reparations and also trying to pressure Miracle to reveal their ability to monitor people secretly."

"Jeez, that's brave of her."

"Yeah, but for now Miracle hasn't let anything slip. Though they also haven't given any answers. Their lack of response is pissing off more and more players. Have you checked the guild status recently?"

"You're in the guild?"

"Seriously?!" Erik didn't know what to do with this friend of his. Sighing, he told Eldrian to check their current member numbers.

"When did we pass a hundred members?"

"That was like a week ago. The more noise she made on the forums the more the guild started catching people's eyes. Unlike most guilds, we are on the front lines and actually fighting the invasion. The guilds in the empires are basically only getting training missions."

"Theirs is more controlled, but there is nowhere near the number of quests that we get. The situation is the same for more guilds formed by players outside of the empires. But we are standing out far more, it is just that the cost to get here is extremely expensive to most players."

"Isn't it just a handful of gold?"

"Handful? Don't you remember that I needed close to a hundred to get here from Vruntis? Though in the end things turned out differently."

"Oh, right..." Eldrian had completely forgotten, and indeed the cost was too much for most players to bear.

This was why Elizabeth would actually help them in getting here, for now, most of the cost was being born by the guild itself. But the kingdom was slowly becoming more and more willing to invest in getting more Chosen on the field of battle. Only this was not quite the right time for them to spend so much on maybes.

"What about Vivian?" Erik asked.

"I haven't asked her yet. I don't want to pressure her."

Erik nodded, "Any idea what caused her to lose all that weight?"

"Breakthrough..."

"I see."

As the conversation died down Eldrian left to go talk to Ceph. He found his friend on the inner walls. Staring out at the fields, many of which were still not recultivated.

"What's up?" Eldrian asked as he took a seat next to Ceph in one of the many embrasures (the gap between the merlons).

"Just thinking," Ceph replied.

"About?"

"If I should press to become stronger, or run and hide."

"Can you elaborate?"

"Sure, might help me come to a decision saying it aloud," Ceph replied, taking a deep breath and sorting out his own thoughts and emotions.

"Alicorns and most magical beasts and creatures are different from you humans, elves, dwarves, and the rest. We naturally grow stronger with age, normally we will reach Tier 4 upon turning twenty- which is considered our teens. This is why I aged so quickly during the time that you were gone."

"And Tier 5?"

"Fifty, adulthood."

"I see your dilemma."

"Yeah, after Tier 5 there isn't any more physical growth. But I have already lost my childhood, I don't want to lose my teens and young adult life too."

After a few seconds, Ceph turned to Eldrian, "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"What can I say? It is terrible that you have to even think of sacrificing your youth... Sadly, this is part of the world. Many people can never have a childhood, many are forced to be mature far before it would be considered normal."

"The world isn't kind, and I can't tell you what is right or wrong. I can only say that I will support you with whatever you decide."

AN: A big thanks to everyone who continues to support the story by simply reading on Web, voting for the story, or sharing comments. It is all greatly appreciated.