Unfortunately, even as I arrived at the door of my home, the challenge was yet to be over. On the contrary, it was just starting.
Luckily, once I managed to draw close, the presence of the main material plane was intense enough that I didn’t need to be afraid of getting lost again, so I let the connection with the ship — one of many that I could sense, using some kind of magical dock that was far bigger than the other planes — fade away, and let myself float freely at the dimension.
That removed the risk of immediately getting caught by the Eternals, but still left two problems.
First, the intense strength of the planar border, which was far stronger than any fragmented planes I had come across. I could possibly manage against it, but it wouldn’t be a simple challenge. But that wasn’t the most significant challenge.
No, that honor went to the elemental beings floating around the plane, fighting to penetrate through the dimensional barrier, with a density that shocked me. Even with the detection in Primordial Aether being hampered, I was still able to push forward recklessly.
That was not a confrontation I wanted to have … because, unlike the other beings, elementals looked rather an at ease with the Primordial Aether, not sharing the fragility of the other being. An interesting aspect of their behavior.
I circled the plane, looking for an opportunity. I could have tried to dodge the elementals, which seemed sustainable since they didn’t notice my presence, but I didn’t dare to just push through the planar border. I still remembered just how easy was for me to be detected in that light plane, and I didn’t want to risk something more.
The opportunity I was seeking, I found a day later. Several elementals, rushed through yet another breach, allowing me to slip through the breached border.
And, the moment I slipped through the border, I felt a connection between me and the System. Admittedly, it felt like it came from a seed, one that was long buried in me.
It was the system, trying to make a connection … yet, I could sense that it was the ordinary System and not my unique one.
“A bit late, buddy,” I thought mockingly even as I suppressed that connection, having absolutely no idea to connect with it. Even now, it was a complicated connection for me … but luckily, after everything, I had the ability to block it easily.
Yet, I let that seed alive, because there was a chance the System could still detect me without that seed. I remembered my cute dragon only being safe under the darkness ward.
The magical yet hopeless struggle of the elementals around us gave me a good idea about potential risks. Of course, there was a chance that it wouldn’t be the case … but then there was a chance that there would be.
I left the elementals to their desperate struggle and teleported away.
After one jump, I paused, and started meditating, trying to detect the location of my girls … only to have another failure. I could feel their presence, and the fact that they were alive, but that was the extent of my ability. I was not able to detect anything else.
A troubling detail.
“It seems that the disconnect with the System will impair me more than I feared,” I murmured. “Luckily, I still have my beacons.”
Unfortunately, that was not entirely without a challenge either. The main material plane was huge, far bigger than I had even given credit. Even when I was completely on the plane, I wasn’t able to sense my beacons properly. They were a distant lump at a faraway distance.
I slipped into the Aether plane, which, after the horrible challenge of Primordial Aether, felt like a holiday. It was even smoother than the Aether of the fragmented planes, though with absolutely no hint of mana, unlike the others.
The slow yet efficient suction of the System was rather obvious. I continued to travel, ignoring the temptation of stopping for some sightseeing. Even with my near-infinite mana — as I was still able to easily break down Aether — I didn’t want to take any risk.
Yet, soon, I became glad for that decision for another reason. The closer I got, the more distinct the presence of my beacons started to get. Yet, as I drew closer, I noticed the absence of some particular beacons.
Which I had left at Silver Spires.
I felt tense. Admittedly, the only reason I wasn’t panicking was that I could feel the existence of my girls in my soul, preventing me from coming to some unfortunate conclusions about their state of living.
After a long travel, I finally managed to find Silver Spires … or, at least, what was left of them.
The first thing I noticed was the ragged nature of the area. The towers, famous for their unique color, had been damaged. Half of them were destroyed — which included the tower of the headmistress — and the rest had suffered some significant damage, enough to turn them into ruins.
Just in case, I decided to walk the rest of the distance rather than risking teleportation, even to one of the safe houses I created, and instead decided to walk the rest of the distance, a little magical field around me enough to hide me from the monsters that surrounded me.
As I got closer, I could see more details. Unlike the towers, the walls were mostly intact, and manned by a surprising number of guards, defending the school against the monsters.
However, that didn’t fill me with confidence, not when I got close enough to notice their uniforms, which were not the distinct style of the guards of the Silver Spire.
They were wearing the colors of the royal family.
“What the hell had happened there?” I murmured as I approached, feeling tense. I had been confident that the girls would have been enough to handle the mess that they were facing, and seeing the evidence otherwise was not good news.
Still, turning and leaving was not one of the considerations. Even if the girls were not there anymore, the location offered me the best opportunity to find a clue about what had happened. Before I arrived, I found a caravan moving toward the broken school, and slipped inside, casting an illusion to blend.
It was temporary, of course, as I couldn’t be sure if there was someone competent in illusions at the walls. Not to mention, with the constant draining effect of the System, it was far harder to establish a convincing illusion, and I didn’t want to take the risk.
So, I stole a bunch of clothes even as I listened to the gossip, trying to understand what had happened.
What I learned was useful. Apparently, there had been a war at Silver Spires two months ago, with the Royal family sieging the place to punish them for hosting the Princess. I had no doubt that it was a bullshit excuse, as I doubted the princes could mobilize enough to take the place down while it was defended by my girls.
I had no doubt that the Eternals played a big role.
Yet, I didn’t despair, because it was not the extent of the gossip. No, instead, they were still gossiping about how lucky they would have been to somehow catch one of the several women who were being searched.
A list that included all of my girls without exception … though how they learned the name of my sexy dragon was a mystery. Things probably had gone worse than I expected. Still, the fact that the search was active was enough to give me even more hope about their relative comfort. They were still on the run, at least.
Of course, that left me with a difficult mission to search and discover the truth of the issue, a monumental task … thankfully, not impossible.
I didn’t have much trouble sneaking into the school, once again using one of the secret passages rather than using the main entrance, and my knowledge of the walls was useful. And, just like that, I was back in Silver Spires, where everything started.
Ready to find my targets.
Rather than acting immediately, however, I started to observe my surroundings.
The search wouldn’t start easy, not when I was surrounded by an army of unfamiliar faces. Worse, from the way people were moving, I could see that they were stronger than I expected … with their stats far higher than the old state.
If they were wearing fancy clothes, I would have expected them to be a part of the royal family. But, no, they were clearly taking weaker positions. Which meant their origin was dubious. The Eternals were my best guess…
The search wouldn’t be easy indeed…
{Strength: 45 Charisma: 45
Precision: 45 Perception: 45
Agility: 45 Manipulation: 45
Speed: 45 Intelligence: 45
Endurance: 60 Wisdom: 45}
{Purified Divine Spark: 32920}
{Pseudo-HP: 1103 Mana: 2410}
{ADDITIONAL SPARKS
Light - Chosen 7.4
Nature - Chosen 10}
{MINIONS
GODDESSES
Elven Goddess}
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