"Hey, old mighty one. Where have you been to? Thaergood said you were absent for a few days," Jack asked Darmos.
"Do I have to always be in this palace? I thought he was glad that I wasn't here to bother him," Darmos said. "To answer your question, I went back to my place to take some things."
"What things?" Jack asked.
"Honestly, I never thought that hanging around here is going to be a long-term thing, but I guess it's not that bad. Among the things I picked up is the water from my lake. I mix that water into the lake next to your guild headquarters. That should increase the grade of that lake and its fish. Now, I can enjoy that lake properly."
"Pick up water? How the hell do you do that?" Jack asked.
"Everyone has their secret, little Jack. You should be thankful I improved the grade of that lake. The tiny dragon turtle living inside will experience better growth due to the improved environment. You can't expect it to stay cooped up inside its cave and just rely on the ice mana site, do you? Growing monsters need a large and quality space to move around to stay healthy. Thanks to me, it now has it."
"I see. I guess I have to thank you then," Jack said.
"You should. But despite my kindness, that dragon turtle is still rude. It still hid inside its cave when I entered the lake."
"Yeah. I wonder why," Jack said. "Well, I am going to sleep. See you."
Darmos harrumphed for a reply.
*
The next morning, Jack teleported to Heavenly Citadel with Grace.
Domon told Jack to come to the Space-Time Chamber. Jack first went to the guild hall because Jeanny wanted to meet him. She was going out on a quest so she couldn't stay long. Paytowin, Tip, and Captain Whitebeard were also in the hall.
"How is your trip to the Council of Elpo?" Jack asked Jeanny and Paytowin.
"It's a good trip. We were made to wait outside the entrance for a few days, but once the faction's representatives came out and sensed Hope's sanctification within us, we were invited in."
"We were treated with a feast and they showed us around the place," Paytowin added with excitement. "The faction was built at the center of a constellation of floating islands. A very beautiful place. The islands themselves were home to a minor race, the eaglefolk. They were humans with eagle heads and large eagle wings on their backs."
"These eaglefolks live together with the people of the Council of Elpo," Jeanny said. "They normally stop anyone from going near the faction, but they also sense Hope's sanctification in us so they let us pass."
"We don't need to worry about Master attacking that place," Paytowin informed.
"Why is that?" Jack asked.
"The place is full of crazily powerful natives. Most of them have levels 80 to 90," Paytowin said. "Their upper echelons are all mythical grades above level 90. There were even a few who were eternal grades."
"Do you remember the first native we laid eyes on during the tutorial period?" Jeanny asked. "The one who opened the portal into this game world."
"Honuren?" Jack asked.
"Yes, that one. He is Hope's second-in-command. With Hope gone, he is now the top guy in the faction," Jeanny answered.
"And he is a level 99 eternal," Paytowin said.
"Wow! So powerful?!" Jack exclaimed. "Hey, this makes me think. Since all the players who have Hope's sanctification are in Themisphere, maybe we can persuade them to move their base into this country?"
"Forget it. We have already tried," Paytowin said.
"They share their God's strong belief in neutrality. They won't take any side in the world's struggle," Jeanny said. "We give them our warning. They were fairly surprised when we told them about the divine heritage. Honuren can sense Hope's essence inside the altar once he knows it is there. He thanked us and ensured no one would disturb the heritage. Even if Master attacks with an overwhelming number, they have a counter. As the leader of divine factions, they have a beacon that can summon the other divine factions."
"That's right. With so many powerful natives and such a protective device in place, there is no way Master can get the divine heritage," Paytowin said. "As gratitude, they treated us with another feast and let us use their facilities for a few days. Jeanny and I got a lot of mana cores from those facilities. All in all, we had a really good time there."
"What about you and Grace? How did it go with the Council of Charites?" Jeanny asked.
"We, uh… We also have a good time… We were welcomed. We were invited to participate in their games, which we played rather well, but we had to cut it short and not play until the final. They were so happy with us now they've decided to move their base to Themisphere," Jack said with a grin.
Grace and Peniel were shaking their heads vigorously behind Jack. Jeanny and Paytowin were confused about what to make of all that.
"Well, anyway, Paytowin and I have to go for another quest," Jeanny said. "Here is your stuff. I better give them to you now before you run off again to God knows where."
Jeanny gave Jack three technique books she had copied. Books that contained the Field of Swords, the Ghost Sword, and the Lightning Mine.
"Before you leave, do you mind copying another one?" While grinning, Jack handed Jeanny the Magic Clone technique book.
Jeanny shook her head. "You are lucky we got plenty of mana cores during our trip to the Council of Elpo," she said.
She copied the book on the spot and returned the original to Jack.
"Thank you!" Jack exclaimed.
Without further ado, he learned the skills from those four technique books.
*
Field of Swords, level 1/20 (Active skill, range, requires swords)
Conjures swordlights in a ten-meter radius area around the user. Each swordlight dealt 100% light damage.
30% chance to cause Bleed.
Cooldown: 30 minutes.
Stamina: 250
*
Ghost Sword, level 1/20 (Active skill, melee, requires sword)
Turns the equipped swords incorporeal. Swords will bypass all obstacles and deal 100% soul damage when passing through targets. Ignore all defensive stats.
30% chance to cause Weakness.
Swords can no longer be used to parry attacks.
Duration: 10 seconds.
Cooldown: 1 hour.
Stamina: 200.
*
Lightning Mine, level 1/20 (Active spell, range, requires magic weapon)
Create 1 lightning orb that discharges lightning which deals 100% lightning damage each second to everything within a 5-meter radius.
Each lightning attack has a 1% chance to inflict Paralyze.
Range: 80 meters.
Duration: 30 seconds
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Mana: 150
*
Magic Clone, level 1/20 (Active spell).
Creates an identical clone to the caster.
Duration: 3 minutes.
Cooldown: 3 hours
Mana: 200
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