Chapter 115

"I would like to establish a simple partnership. I'm aware you supply all the auction houses across the two nations, and right now your just waiting for winter to begin working again. I could set up training grounds for your templars, and dedicate fields to your alchemy division." Zack declared.

"We are indeed waiting for spring, but our current fields are more than sufficient...Housing plants so far away would be too tedious." Vannesa muttered from the cover of her hood.

"We don't even use all of our training grounds now. It's just not practical." Nico sighed looking towards Mephisto.

Zack smiled retrieving a pouch of ten platinum coins. He opened it retrieving two from it before storing it again. Zack reached his hand out opening it before the two.

"I can change your mind with five minutes, and if you're not satisfied with the results you each receive one." Zack declared.

Both of them were high-ranking members of the mages guild, but that was more money than either had held. It was quadruple their auction winnings from today, and it would be their own personal wealth. Vannesa's eyes lit up at the number of research projects she could complete with such funding.

"I'll take you up on that right away!" Vannesa shouted as her hood fell back revealing her tomato face.

Zack found a room with ample space quickly getting to work. The array was an obvious one, but they still waited patiently. Nico was still unsure about Zack's declaration. He never saw a platinum coin before and was unsure of its authenticity.

"Zack supplied all the special items on today's auction. I handed the coins to him myself." Mephisto smirked at Nico.

'He did say it was his partner.'

Zack finished his array placing the core inside as a gold light appeared on the stones. When they saw this light all of them became puzzled, and Nico examined it carefully. Zack walked into the center gesturing the others to join him. Mephisto stepped forward without hesitation, and Vanessa promptly followed.

"There's nothing in this city that could change my mind. I hope you didn't have plans for that money." Nico smiled walking in as Zack activated it.

As their surroundings changed the first thing they noticed was the drastic change in temperature. Looking up the surroundings were completely different from Blackreach. They were outside the walls of Eden looking around in disbelief. Five sentries swiftly descended the walls with weapons at the ready.

All of the sentries were programmed to respond to unknown powers especially if they were substantial. Nico drew his greatsword, and the sentries swiftly disarmed him binding Nico tightly. They were all blown away by how swiftly they responded, and at the magic radiating from their weapons. Zack raised his hand as they released Nico helping him from the ground.

"Sorry, they react to hostile intentions. They were only checking the perimeter to an unknown source appearing. The directives they were programmed with were very clear, and wouldn't have harmed you." Zack reassured.

The sentries scaled up the sides of the wall with ease returning to their patrol routes. Looking up Nico realized the heavy fortifications and vasts amount of mana radiating from the land.

'Are we at a dungeon? No...The power isn't affecting the body negatively.' Nico glanced at Zack.

"These are meant to be in elven ruins, and you programmed them?" Vanessa investigated the sentries carefully.

"One of my companions programmed them. Let's head inside they are waiting for us to eat after all." Zack replied opening the gate.

"What is this place?" Nico asked while returning his weapon to his back.

"This is Eden, and it's my home," Zack replied.

After the shock from the guards faded, they realized how unique the place was. There were fields filled with crops, and it was the dead of winter. They were transported somewhere unknown in an instant, and Vanessa now realized the value of such a proposal.

"Anything grown here produces larger yields, and over double the speed," Zack announced as they continued.

Nico was indeed surprised by such a place but still wasn't satisfied. Zack could sense this calling forward some of the kids running around. Ashleigh came running up to hug him, and then politely greeted the others.

"How long have we been training?" Zack asked.

"Almost a month." Ashleigh smiled.

"Can you guys show him your progress?" Zack requested.

Ashleigh nodded placing her hands out as a trickle of lightning began forming at the center. The other kids training with Kaya attempted the same with a variety of elements appearing, but Ashleigh's was still superior. Nico saw this and was fascinated by such quick results at the start of training, especially for children.

"Someone expel a large amount of mana and attempt to recover from your surroundings, and feel free to cultivate while you're at it." Zack requested glancing at the three.

Vanessa stepped forward as she poured mana into her staff. Engravings on the wood began to shimmer, and the emerald began to shine as mana gathered inside the emerald. She pointed the staff into the air as a stream of green light filled the sky. From it, a massive hawk of pure mana appeared soaring across the sky. As it began flapping its wings powerful winds swept the skies above Eden.

Zack was impressed with the power of Vanessa's familiar. Using creation magic was difficult enough, but by the bird's actions, it almost appeared sentient. To pull magic like this off required immense skill, and focus even Zack was still learning to perfect this. When Zack created his dragons he needed to focus to control them, but Vanessa was watching their reactions.

'How is she doing that?' Zack pondered while examining Vanessa.

Vanessa tapped the bottom of her staff on the ground as the winds dissipated, and it dove down landing behind her. The inside of the emerald had lightning crackling in it, and at the center of it appeared a shadowy figure.

From the staff, Vanessa conjured a second familiar as a large white tiger appeared in the air. It landed on the ground roaring as white lightning coursed through its fur and fangs. Vannesa placed her hand out as the tiger walked underneath it. She stroked its head as it laid down on the ground before her. Vannesa lifted her staff as the two familiars dissipated, and flowed back into the emerald. All the kids began cheering seeing her technique, and some were still stuck in awe.

"Your skills are impressive."Zack complimented.

Hearing the compliment Vanessa pulled the hood down to obscure her face and sat down to recover her mana. Once her eyes were closed mana began swirling around her violently as she quickly refilled her reservoirs. The effects of the land were amplified by the full moon, but Vanessa knew it was more than that.

Nico couldn't deny the city was encased in powerful mana, and seeing his comrades' speedy recovery he admitted defeat. Nico followed her lead wanting to feel its effects first hand. With little effort, he began absorbing vast amounts of mana from the land.

Nico opened his eyes from a surge of pain and was struggling to catch his breath. He was an expert mage making cultivating mana a breeze, but in his attempt to stress test his surroundings he strained his meridians. He underestimated the levels of mana present and paid for it dearly. Nico retrieved a potion from his ring chugging it rapidly trying to mend the damage.

'It would take hours to gather this much at home. Why is there so much mana here, and how is this possible?'