C41- The Werga Mountains (1)

Corvin was eating lunch on his own on a bench near the Ghetam Lake while watching the forest that was starting to gain it's green colour back. A cold breeze carried the scent of flowers to his nose.

'Ugh... It is cold toda- Wait, flowers didn't bloom yet right?'

Snapping him out of his thoughts was a cute voice coming from his right.

"Are you cold?"

Corvin turned his head towards the voice. In front of him was a slightly older girl with golden hair and yellow eyes, smiling at him with her mesmerizingly beautiful face. The wind blew from her side one more time and carried the same flower scent to his nose again while she struggled to keep her flutering hair in check.

"Amy?"

"Can I sit next to you?"

"Sure, feel free.", he said and scooted to the left to give her more space to sit.

As he was staring at her sit next to him absentmindedly, a pigeon flew towards him and stole his sandwich from his hand.

"Huh?... HEY! GIVE IT BACK!!", he shouted at the bird, but didn't want to bother getting it back since he might cause the bird to crash to the ground. But he did entertain the idea for a second.

"Pfft! A-are you okay, Corvin?"

Corvin stared at Amy who was barely containing her laughter with the shock of betrayal. Amy who noticed his expression wanted to laugh again, but she suppressed it and showed him the container she carried.

"I can pff- I can share my food if you want pfft."

Well, she tried to suppress her laugh.

"Sigh~, You don't need to. It was my third one afte-"

Groowl~

While he was talking, Amy brought the container to his nose and the smell of food caused his stomach to accept her offer before his mind could refuse it.

"...I-I guess I will take it. Thank you Amy."

"No problem, no problem. I made this one for you anyways. Feel free to eat it all."

"You did?"

As Corvin started to eat the chicken rice inside, Amy added.

"I heard all gym rats ate this so I thought of making some for you."

Corvin's smile disappeared.

"Did that idiot tell you this?"

Amy answered with a smile.

"Yes~"

"That bas-"

"Cough! That's rude..."

"Why isn't he leaving me alone and just flirting with Clair?! Right as we finally found free time after two months as well! He will pay, I will make him pay!"

Amy giggled at Corvin blowing small jokes out of proportion as usual.

"You three were always gone for the last month, what are you guys doing?"

"Huh? Oh, right. We were so busy we forgot to spend time with you, sorry."

"It's okay. I made friends here as well."

"Right. How is life here? Could you adapt well?"

"Yes, I have no problems."

"Are you sure? No noble kids are bothering you, are they? I used to get stared at as well."

"You don't anymore?"

"Well... I think someone saw me testing the gun because some people think I am a dangerous pyromaniac... Well, it's okay since Noah can manage to calm down the rumours somewhat."

"Giggle~, I also don't have issues with nobles, since I was one you know?"

"Oh, right..."

Corvin felt bad about the topic coming to her family and his face darkened. Seeing this, Amy smiled and said.

"Don't look like that Corvin. I am over their deaths already, and it's all thanks-"

Her face came close to his face and.

-!

"-to you. So don't be sad.", she said and got up from the bench.

She made a full turn with a playful smile and added.

"Thank you again!", and left.

Corvin looked at her leave in a daze while touching his cheek where he could still feel the softness and warmth of her small kiss. As he watched her leave while blushing slightly, he didn't notice her bright red ears because of the small pain of guilt that pricked his heart.

'Please... stop...'

*****

Two days later, the four were meeting in Noah's dorm. The main topic of conversation was of course, saltpeter. Clair was holding a paper in her hands and said while reading the letter she got from her dad yesterday.

"Right. According to my dad, saltpeter can be found in caves... with bats in it. Huh?"

"Hmm... I saw bats in the village before, so we can probably find one in the Werga mountains, right. Is that why he contacted master?"

"Maybe. But I wish he told us about this sooner. Well, anyways. He also wrote about an alternative called nitre and how to look for it as well... Oh, but he says we would need to start testing mixture ratios again if we want to use it."

"Then we can look for it if we can't find a bat cave, right?"

"Oh! Weren't there a colossus that came from a cave in those mountains as well?", asked Corvin.

"! Yes... Nine years ago... That m-monster, and th-then the south...", Noah started to murmur on his own. He started sweating and had a horrified expression while looking down.

"Noah? Are you okay? Why do you look so scared? If you want, you can stay here and not come to the mountains...", asked Corvin worriedly.

"-! A-Aa~h, I just had a bad dream and remembered that, I am okay! I can come to the mountains no problem. R-Right! Amy, do you want to come with us?"

'Dream? Come on, come up with a better lie, man. Who do you think you are fooling?'

Corvin decided to not voice this thought and let Noah change the subject. He wanted to give Noah time until he could tell his secrets, since he also kept a lot of secrets himself.

"Can I? Is it okay if I do? Won't I be a burden?", asked Amy while looking at everyone.

"No, you won't. I want you to come as well, I don't want to be the only girl in the group.", answered Clair.

"Then I am also coming!"

"Great, then we all need to prepare. Noah, make a painting that repels bugs please. Clair, make clothes that stops bugs please. Amy, make a poison that kills bugs please. I will work on making an area of wind that stops bugs from coming with magic as well.", said Corvin after nodding his head at Amy's response.

"Wait, why are we all working on the same thing?", asked Noah.

"Well... If we prepare that much, I think we can stop like... at least half of the mosquitoes that will come for us."

"Only half?"

Corvin stared at Noah with a traumatized face that gave chills to anyone who looked at it.

"Be glad that it's only spring and not winter, Noah..."

"I-Is it that bad?"

Corvin only stared at him silently. Everyone in the room started to regret their decision to search for that cave.

"Well, I am joking of course, winter just ended so it should be okay. But Amy should make bug poison in any case."

"I-I will make the strongest one.", said Amy solemnly.

The four talked about their preparations and after finishing their discussion, they hung out for little longer and then left to their dorms.

*****

The man worked on his powers with the help of a proffessional. He understood the nature of his unusual power. He had the power to change the natural shape of the land.

He trained his powers until he was able to create a small hill the size of a house or a lake of similar size. He could permanently change the shape of the planet.

"It doesn't disappear! Truly marvelous talent! As expected of His Highness!"

He was praised by the professional who came to teach him. The people who were informed of the true nature of his powers were told to keep it a secret, and he explained it to the others as matter magic talent.

It would create too many enemies if the true nature of his powers were to be publicized. He was advised to keep his powers a secret by his loyal general.

But the man had something else he cared more about.

He could finally take a peek at the thing that bothered him when he obained his powers. He sat down on his bed at night, when nothing would disturb him. And he focused on his powers.

At first, he could sense the land of the city around him with deatils. He could see the gaps created by man-made buildings. He could tell where the walls of the castle ended by the diffrence in the soil underneath it.

And he tried to sense more with his powers. His breathing became heavier as he got tired more and more while using his powers to their extent. But he didn't stop or take a break. He continued.

The area of land he was sensing increased, while the details he could sense decreased. He wasn't powerful enough to afford details yet. So he just focused on increasing the area he could sense.

When he covered the entire Empire, the details he could sense were so low that the giant mountains of the south looked like smooth pyramids with not even a crack on them.

But he didn't stop there. He went further and forced his power to sense the entire planet. The scope of the thing he was trying was so grand that his nose started to bleed and his eyes became bloodshot. But he covered the entire planet. The details he could sense were so low that he couldn't even feel where the land ended and where the oceans started. All he could feel was the general spherical shape of the planet.

But as he sensed his planet, he also sensed another one. He caught the glimpse of another planet. The moment he did, he understood why it bothered him. The planet he peeked at had a name. He didn't know why he could learn the name, but he did. It was 'Terra'. And Terra, didn't exist.

The planet he sensed was a planet that wasn't inside this universe. He felt it almost like an instinct. The universe he was in, was inside that planet, not the other way around.

The place his powers came from. The person or people that created this universe along with him. They were more than the various gods the people of this planet worshipped. The gods of their planet were less than bugs for them, no, even less. Almost nothing for them. 

This entire universe was like a zoo that was created for the entertainment of those people. The Empire he ruled, the people inside that Empire. All his ambitions, dreams and achievements. All of them were created for the joy of those people.

So the man got angry. He was furious, and his pride didn't allow him to stay as a mere toy. 

After passing out for a couple of days for exhausting himself while trying to take a peek at Terra, he woke up and immediately called his men.

He had decided. He didn't want to stay as the toy of the people of Terra, so he decided to break free.

It almost felt like fate. He gained a mysterious power from somewhere. A power that broke every understanding of magic the people of this place had. And the knowledge of what was outside. The people of Terra, outside of their universe.

He believed he had gained one of the powers of the people of Terra, and he decided to break free from the zoo. He was going to conquer this planet he was on, and raise the biggest army in history. And train his powers to be able to invade Terra.

"Everyone is present, Your Highness."

He told his most trusted men about Terra, without telling about the fact that Terra is outside the universe. Then he ordered his men to raise the Imperial Army, and get it ready for attack.

"The first target will be the Kingdom of Septen. That's where my plan will start. Do your best for the honour of the Altus Empire."

His men bowed and left. After everyone left, the man, Terry Altus, the current Emperor of the Altus Empire, looked outside the window of the castle and muttered.

"This is just the start..."