A step into the future

Sorry for the delay.

This chapter has a lot going on in terms of lore and speculation from the Mcs side, so a lot of talk and thinking.

Hopefully, it came out well, my head went on and on to make this damned chapter.

Even if it came out badly, it won't affect the future much.

As per usual, that's me and bye.

------------

Join my Discord!

//discord.gg/zpAgtPBAMK

If you wish to support this series, take a look at my P@treon.

//www.p@treon.com/join/AbadomWriter?

And if you are bored, remember to check my other Novels.

(Including the one on my other account, its called: Azimuth: The Elden Throne

You can also find it by searching for my other account: Follower_of_Abadom)

-----------

.

.

.

---------------

/CRANK!/

'Philip opened the final hatch with a strong pull, the last seal of the chamber where the fuel rods of the Magmatic forge were stored before being melted and their energy extracted…'

'A process perfected over 1000 years ago, yet lost due to the degradation of time.'

'Now, in an attempt to recover it, talents of the future gathered together and recreated this wondrous machine that powered the cogs of Ancient civilizations…'

'Yet even then, it was only a fraction of its former power...'

/BLAST!/

/SHAAAAAA!/

"URG?!"

'Now, Philip felt it on his skin, the power of this ancient piece of machinery…'

'Hot air blew onto his face at incredible speeds!'

I'm burning alive!

'His hair instantly caught on fire, and his clothes had long been thrown away, leaving his bare skin unprotected.'

'Philip had nothing that could resist this intense heat apart from his skin, an achievement to be proud of, to be stronger than most metals, yet at the same time, he cursed his own lack of preparations.'

My magic destabilized, this isn't good!

'As he felt the intensity of over 4 thousand degrees of pure brutal heat blasting onto his face and now unprotected shiny balls, he realized a single mistake could cost him everything!'

"WHAT DO I DO NOW?!" He asked Tredis inside the mental world loudly

'The Dwarf immediately replied as he raised his hands, pointing at several sections in rapid succession:'

"The rods! See those cylinders?! Just unplug the metal cap and it'll fall!"

"Just by everything sacred in this world, don't let it fall into the adjacent chamber!"

'The inner chambers of the reactor were divided into two sections, like two crucibles atop each other.'

'The upper section contained many hanging tubes made of an unidentifiable material, while the bottom section was full to the brim in a strange bluish-red mixture of metals emanating extreme levels of thermal radiation.'

/BURN!/

/SIZZLE!/

"I'M TRYING!" Philip exclaimed as he moved his hand

I feel as if my spirit is crumbling to ash!

'The crucible of fire bubbled from time to time, spewing hot molten metal onto his skin, burning it immediately.'

This won't do, I won't be able to remove all at this rate.

"HUPP!"

'Breathing deeply, almost charring his lungs, he pressed on!'

/BLAST!/

'Philip's body exploded in blue light, flames covering his skin and face.'

*Armament!*

Not enough!

'With his deep breath, his throat uttered a single sound:'

"Mul!"

/Tremble!/

'Philip spoke the word of power, and the air shook in understanding.'

'He wasn't done.'

"Qah!"

/Tremble!/

/CREAK!!/

'A second word, and the molten metal started to reverberate, the metal creaked as if under the most extremes of stress.'

"What are you doing?!"

Some sort of incantation?! I told him to not do anything like that!

"Diiv!"

/TREMBLE!/

*Strength, Armor, Wyrm.*

'Dragon Aspect.'

/FWOOSH!/

'The inner power granted by his Soul and blood, hidden beneath his mortal flesh.'

'His blue armor changed, reacting to the call of a strange power.'

'Fusing together, something new formed.'

'Perhaps it had been waiting for this moment, as today was the first time Philip had used both at the same time, a cry of wind echoed within the furnace.'

'Like in the legends, Dragons were often associated with the strongest of fires, and like them, Philip would be baptized by a hellish flame.'

"!!"

'As his armor made of flowing flames changed, metallic scales grew in it, forming unique patterns throughout it.'

'A pair of ethereal wings formed on his back, a small but sturdy pair of horns manifested above his head, not connected, yet somehow, following his head movements.'

'Just like before when his true aspect was brought forwards forcibly, he now called it.'

'Philip never learned this Shout, however, it came to him naturally, a mix of memories he once made and received.'

'Amidst this was a single Dwarf, observing this entire phenomenon with extreme confusion and anger!'

"What did you do? You almost made everything go to shit!..."

'Was he to blame though? Considering everything that was at stake...'

"Shut up… Just let me do my things." Philip said slowly, not from within the mental world, but on the outside through his body

'Philip's tone was rough, raspy, his throat was dry, and his eyes were scalding… While Philip within the mental world remained silent and unresponsive.'

'He wasn't in the mood to trash talk.'

"..."

I said too much.

'And Tredis saw this, opting to remain silent.'

'He lost a bit of his composure when he saw Philip scream as in the first place, he wasn't in his right state of mind, everything happened so fast…'

'Stressed was the last word to describe his mental state right now.'

'So he opened his eyes wide to capture every single moment of Philip's performance.'

...

/Extend…/

"!"

It's much better but... It's still carving away...

I barely had enough time to get used to my new abilities and this happens!

'As Philip's hand moved, he looked below, the flowing metal, just a few meters away from his hand…'

'His mental power acting as a barrier, his magic trying its best to cool him down, his Armament protecting his body, and his Shout enhancing his body, he barely managed to resist the heat.'

'Everything was acting together, yet he felt like dying even though the temperature up there was much cooler than directly in the core.'

'Only God knew how it would feel were he to fall...'

'Don't even mention his other abilities, in his current state, he can barely make use of them, at most, he can use Armament's flame control to divert any hot flame and alleviate his already terrible condition.'

/GRAB!/

I have no time to dilly-dally, hush hush!

/TSSS!/

"URG!"

'His hand grasped the metal rod, and immediately, he felt excruciating pain.'

'But he grit his teeth, and pulled the rod out following the orders of the Dwarf.'

'And immediately after he was done…'

"Huh?! Where did you put it?!"

The rod vanished!

"I stored it in my subspace." Philip said roughly within the mental world

"That's dangerous, its high heat could…"

"Forget about the technicalities, just focus on making this process faster."

"... This shitty situation!... FINE!"

"If you want to go faster, I have a way!"

"Tell me then!" Philip spoke as he furrowed his brows

The temperature is increasing…

I can't even sweat anymore.

"It's even simpler than before."

"All of the rods are connected to a mechanism up above, if you disconnect its support joints, everything will fall down at the same time and you won't need to remove one rod at a time."

"Supports?... Fuck!" Philip said as he noticed a crucial problem

"Exactly Philip… If you go with that… You might have to fully enter the reactor."

"!!"

'The way Philip was right now was simple.'

'After removing several layers of seals, he stood in front of a hole overlooking the upper chamber of the inner Reactor.'

'If he put his arm inside, he could reach most of the rods with no problem, he might have to get on his tiptoes, but it was feasible…'

'However, to get to the base of the mechanism, he would have to reach the inner ceiling of the Upper Chamber, and his arms weren't long enough.'

'This meant…'

"Getting inside…"

There's too little space for me to move in, and even if I got inside… I would roast in a matter of a minute.

The inner walls of this shit must be... If I touch my elbow there it'll instantly cook.

"Staring won't change anything." He stated as he looked at the Dwarf

"That's right, we don't have much time, soon enough the coolant will make its way here, it's been a little bit over half a second if the time's right." Tredis spoke as he crossed his arms

'No matter how fast he focused and slowed down time around him with his thoughts, his body was still burning.'

'So with a resolute step…'

/Swoosh!/

'He got inside.'

/TSSSSSSSSSSSSS!/

"You're a real crazy son of a…"

/BLOOP!/

'Barely had Tredis spoken, Philip already removed one of the protected screws in a feat of extreme speed.'

"..."

How did he...

"Three more." Philip stated as he reactivated Ripper mode

'With this Skill, his body became much faster, but so did his energy consumption.'

/TSSSS!/

'He grit his teeth as his entire body bent.'

'In order to fit in this tight space, he had to bend his back as he hung by clutching onto the rods.'

'He also had to bend his legs, leaving them hanging would only make them close to the patch of Hell beneath him.'

/BLOOP!/

"The second one."

My fingers...

'As the second screw fell onto the magma pool, like a monkey, he moved to the third one as he clutched onto the hanging fuel rods.'

"Almost there! Remove that last screw and take everything with you, from there you just need to seal the lids again and we can go break that fucker's face!"

"I'm... Working... On... IT!"

These screws are taking every ounce of my fucking strength.

I can clearly tell they were placed here with the help of industrial machines, but I have to remove them by hand.

I could try moving everything with the help of Magic, telekinesis, teleportation, and other tricks… But…

Remember what I mentioned before about casting speed, if I were to try and rely on magic to move everything, I wouldn't be able to even cast a proper spell on time.

Even then, I can already tell what would happen.

The first one would be too weak to remove them, teleportation wouldn't work, and amidst this heat, I can't properly grasp their coordinates, if I do it wrong, I might forcibly move a chunk of this machine's hull, or just cause a fucking mess.

As for the other tricks… Once again, the heat would mess with the positioning of everything…

And this is under the assumption I can cast magic properly while my body is roasted… Ha…

'He didn't even have the energy to laugh.'

/BLOOP!/

'The third screw fell, but Philip's hands were already half burnt.'

'He couldn't cast healing magic, it wouldn't do a thing at his current speed.'

'By the time its effects started to kick in, he would've died already.'

"You can do it!"

'The only thing to help him was the old Dwarf screaming inside his head, encouraging him.'

"URG!"

/CRACK!/

"WHY IS EVERYTHING SO DAMN TIGHT?! MOVE GODDAMMIT!" He exclaimed as he clutched onto the screw

"For them to not interfere with the reactor's processes, we had to minimize the total space and complexity of the mechanism of the fuel injection while also accounting for all of the extreme conditions they would experience inside the reactor, as such…"

"I DON'T CARE!"

"..."

/CRUNK… CRUNK…/

'Slowly, he spun the cork… However, he realized he couldn't hold it anymore, so he...'

/CRACK!/

"?!"

'Just when he was about to use brute force… The entire machine fell off!'

"WHAT?! HE'S COMPLETELY INSANE!" Tredis screamed

He manually had all fuel rods deposited? Does he want to die that much?!

"..."

'But Philip tried to remain calm…'

'As his body fell to a pit of doom, being pushed by an extremely heavy metallic mechanism, most would think this was the end.'

'Even if he escaped, if the fuel rods fell onto the bottom chamber, they would immediately start to react and release their energy.'

'Everything would go boom soon after.'

'However, his plan was to remove them from the beginning, it was a bit sudden, but he already recovered his bearings.'

'The speed of gravity pulling down his body couldn't be slower to his eyes, he had almost infinite time to think, if it wasn't for the pain he felt on his back.'

'So he first tried to store the gigantic metal object inside his inventory, not his storage tool, neither his Class inventory…'

'He directly opened a subspace with Magic!'

'It does sound complicated, but if it's a subspace that only needs to exist for a few fractions of a second… It was more than good enough!'

/CRUN.../

'Space vibrated, and a dark shadow materialized in the air, and Philip pushed the mechanism inside.'

/FWOOSH!/

'With the massive weight out of his chest, he turned into a smoke cloud, rushing out of the reactor chamber and kicking all of the door seals shut with a bang!'

/CLANG!/

/SIZZLE…/

'Following that, he took out all of the fuel rods and shoved them on the ground, the metallic ground melted slightly due to the heat, sizzling slightly as it caved in…'

"Y-You did it… Not very classy but who cares?! You did it kid!!"

"N-Not yet…" Philip replied with a tired expression

'His body and mind were exhausted, he took several potions from who knew where and drank it all up, almost chewing the glass with it.'

"Let's end this and find out what happened." He mumbled as he looked at the ground

I can't feel anything...

"Yes… Don't worry about the fuel rods, they'll slowly cool down… Albeit they'll likely be unusable now… URG! I CURSE YOU JAMAI!!!"

That's months' worth of budget! NO! YEARS!

'While the Dwarf cursed his fate, Philip vanished as he looked at the control room from the insulated glass.'

…

/Later…/

/Thud!/

'Philip dropped a body on the ground, the body of a man clad in a white scientist suit…'

'It was of course, Jamai, the perpetrator of this mess.'

"..."

He's also being controlled, and as such... I couldn't vent my damn anger!

'Philip breathed deeply...'

I can see now… This 'game'.

'Philip's forehead started to tense.'

Deranged motherfucker, wait till I get my hands on you.

'For the first time ever since he came to this world, Philip felt absolute anger towards a particular person, he had felt many things so far, however, this was the first time he wanted to gut someone so much.'

"In any case… It's over now." He said as he closed his eyes

'In order to preserve the mind of the Dwarf scientist, the moment he captured Jamai and deactivated the machine, he also severed the mental connection between them, allowing the Dwarf to go back to his body and perceive the world through his old and worn out eyes.'

'Though he could already tell, the Dwarf was likely alright.'

'And while he stabilized the situation, Philip threw Jamai's body onto the ground, sitting down on a chair as he rested, his body smoking due to lingering heat, and so did the chair.'

'In fact, his body was still so hot it left burnt marks all across Jamai's face and everywhere he touched.'

/Alarm… Alarm… Alarm…/

'Of course, the emergency alerts continued to beep loudly for a cacophony of reasons.'

'One of them being the big ass hole in the wall Philip did as he dug his way to this room.'

'The emergency control room was built far yet not far from the Reactor room, to reach there, he normally would have to pass through a series of security checks and blocks.'

'By grabbing the credentials of the head scientist, Tredis, he managed to bypass most of those, even catching up with the guards the dwarf sent after Jamai previously.'

'He was truly running around with everything he had…'

'Eventually, the last door between him and the "madman" couldn't be opened, so in a fit of anger, he just smashed it apart, albeit at the cost of his entire right hand that fractured.'

'Already damaged and weakened due to the heat, this severe nonsensical blow was everything it needed for it to crumble apart...'

'His body full of burns of various degrees, his hands even showing bone in some areas, together with other varying injuries, he finally had some time to sit down and enjoy the massive pain that now assaulted his body.'

"I can't... Believe... I'm in this state... Without even fighting a damn bastard." He said in a raspy tone, his voice almost wheezing as he spoke

To prove that even with my strength, conventional traps can still kill, and a well-planned ambush could end me if the enemy exploited my priorities and those I care for.

Another lesson to carry forward... Though realistic speaking, even if I fall inside a Volcano, I should be fine for the most part.

It should be hard for anyone to replicate these levels of heat.

'He pulled out a cloak to cover his body while also changing his Class back to his first one, the Old Hunter.'

'Albeit now mostly obsolete, it boasted the highest degree of natural bodily regeneration, that when coupled with his other means, made for quite the fast recovery.'

'At least enough for him to stabilize, as using Magic from the Restoration School would cover the rest of his injuries, but to use that, he had to go back to his third Class...'

'Or did he?...'

"Phew… Sigh…"

I look like a monster.

'Looking at his reflection in the shiny metallic wall, Philip couldn't help but grunt in disgust and dissatisfaction.'

'All of his body hair had vanished, leaving behind a bald man covered in a cloak, and even then, his face was full to the brim with burn scars, with his lips having vanished.'

'At least those were not as severe as the burn marks on his fingers.'

"I swear, I'll shove one of those fuel rods up his ass when I find him." He proclaimed with a dark expression as he looked down

'For now, it seemed everything had ended "well", with this little game having been foiled before it even began…'

'Philip wondered about the intentions of the culprit, but he knew there was no point in going after the man.'

'If he had any shred of sanity left, by now, he would've been far away from the city, enjoying the seeds of conflict he just planted, perhaps awaiting his eventual victory.'

'It was important to note that from the moment he rushed inside of the laboratory to now, less than 3 minutes had passed.'

'Philip swore he would find this soulless madman…'

"..."

/Step step step!/

'Hearing the sounds of people approaching them, likely the few guards this place had, Philip grunted once more, grabbing a mask from his inventory to hide his facial features.'

'He was too embarrassed to face people in his current state, he didn't even know how he was going to explain this to Viera and the others…'

'For now, he had to settle everything and make sure the Dwarf could go back to his work as soon as possible, and this time, he would make sure to be ready for everything…'

'And so would Tredis.'

…

/Half a day later…/

'In the dead of the night, a cloaked man jumped over a metal fence, rushing inside a dark Manor…'

'Like a cat, he jumped on several statues and stone engravings, making his way to the third floor before entering an open window.'

"Finally, I'm back." Philip whispered as he took out his cloak

'His body now healed to a considerable state and with a pair of decent clothes, the only thing that made him stand out was his lack of hair.'

"Indeed you are… What happened to you?!"

'From the shadows of the room, the outline of a grotesque creature stood, watching him with a pair of amber eyes like a sleep paralysis demon.'

'It quickly transformed, and in the blink of an eye, a pocket watch appeared atop a table under the faint moonlight.'

"It's a long… Long fucking story…" Philip said tiredly as he took out his mask

"I guess you found that danger you were looking for, and since you're like this, I bet it was quite tough?... Pfft…"

'Laplabe tried to be serious, but he couldn't, Philip's current look was damn funny!'

"Don't laugh, don't make fun of my damn pain and misfortune." Philip grunted as he sat down on a chair

My skin's starting to fall off...

'His previous skin was already charred, so under his fast regeneration, a new layer formed under the dead one, as such, he was like a snake with his entire body peeling off...'

"Need some help?"

"No."

'In order to make sure he didn't leave any weaknesses behind, Philip left Laplabe in the Manor to watch over everything.'

'As a Mimic with a great range of experiences, if he wanted to, Laplabe could fool Philip's senses and hide, ambushing even him, perhaps killing him with a single shot like most Mimics should.'

'And so he did, hiding in the shadows, Laplabe watched, waiting for him to return.'

'After all, the girl within the Manor might very well become his dead friend's disciple, the one he desired so much...'

'He couldn't let any harm befall her.'

"How's the situation?" He asked deeply

'Just because Philip returned, it didn't mean everything was over.'

'If he had to, Laplabe would make use of the items within the storage space to help him overcome his challenges, and that would be done without hesitation.'

'Philip had been the one chosen to carry on the legacy, and in a sense, he was his superior... Though he would never say it out loud.'

"Give me something for pain, tissue healing, scars, and a damn lotion for hair growth…" Philip mumbled as he scratched his nose

"I do have a decent potion that covers the first three, as for the lotion… PFFT!"

"Yeah yeah, it's funny, I know, but please, I want to avoid unnecessary confusion…" Philip said with a light smile

I never thought I would have to care about hair loss...

"I do have it, hair loss is a common problem, there are things to help even a bald man recover hair, much less help a young lad quicken his own hair's growth."

/Shine…/

'The golden orb inventory tool shone, indicating Laplabe had started to search for the items inside.'

'As for Philip, he rested his head on the wall, thinking.'

With this, Tredis has completely and utterly cut all connections with any other force outside of me, so in a sense, I guess this was good enough for me to completely take over his operations.

Only thing left now is dealing with that gang…

What the girl from the Azul Family said was correct, there was indeed danger… And massive it was.

If we take she was correct so far and extend that to the rest of the things she said… Then this matter has become that much more complicated.

The person that was looking for me must be part of this hidden force pulling the strings from the dark, he might've started to search for me based on the trouble I caused a few days ago…

"...Who was he?"

Until I figure that out, I can't guarantee Tredis safety, who knows if they'll do that again?

This time, he created this "Stage" for me, his own game where I was nothing but a character performing for his entertainment.

Next time, what if he decides to just go for it?

I can't prevent anyone from being controlled, that would be paranoic, there are many ways people can be manipulated, and albeit those that can do such things would rarely interfere with the common folk, this situation was by no means normal.

To make sure that doesn't happen, I'll have to invest even more on him and raise all forms of defenses in the laboratory.

Also…

"..."

I'll completely eradicate those thugs and dig out his identity from there.

Regardless of it all, I'll surely spend a lot of money…

To keep all of the scientists, I gave Tredis a "white card". The authority for him to spend as much money as he needs.

Repairing and restarting the machine should take a while, but even if he has to increase each scientist's pay by 10 times, he has to finish this project before the 4-month deadline.

Because he'll be coming with me, if he wants to or not.

In the end, I don't care how much I spend, the money I got was supposed to last only for this trip, and even if Dae expects me to keep a portion of it, the true haul was the collection of items from the Principals…

Even though it's a lot of money I got from the Chains organization… I can't be frugal about it.

'Closing his eyes, Philip unknowingly found himself going into a light nap, forcing Laplabe to apply the potions and lotions on his own…'

'And so, the danger was supposedly dealt with, the meltdown of a reactor that threatened to kill everyone.'

'What better way to end his first week in this incredible city?'

…

/One week later…/

"You sure about this? This just doesn't look right…" Laplabe questioned as he stared at Philip from afar

It looks like some sort of ritual… The kind that is banned.

I didn't think he was into magic, then he showed me magic, and now he shows me this?...

My headache is increasing.

/Light…/

'Inside his workshop in an adjacent room made for this exact purpose, Philip stood beside a complex array of purple-red inscriptions and altars, holding onto an orb that glowed with magical runes…'

'Wearing a long dark robe that gleamed from time to time, he stood in the darkness, whispering something unintelligible.'

'With each whisper, the runes reverberated with light...'

'It all looked extremely eerie, as if he was about to sacrifice a virgin for a demon…'

"... I'm 90% sure of this." Philip said with confidence as he placed the ball atop a unique Altar

"The other 10% cover the small chance of failure and for that, they are also protected by the things I made these past few days."

"So things should go just fine."

'Focused, Philip thought for a moment before starting his Conjuration Ritual, his hands moved in the air, drawing magical sigils that rose into the center of the room and hung there...'

'As he did this, he thought about what he did so far...'

Just like the first one, this week was extremely busy.

Ever since the incident with the Forge, I ran around the place trying to figure out if there was any underlying danger, just in case her prediction covered more than that.

It's not like she's a prophet... Unless she is one...

Regardless, in case the enemy had more than one plan going on, I had to sniff it out, for my own safety more than anything else.

Thanks to a lot of medicinal items and thick clothes, I managed to hide my condition from Viera and the others just long enough for them to not suspect anything.

And to help with that, since I had to investigate things, things just kind of fell together as I had to leave the Manor for long periods of time.

Of course, moving around while being hurt didn't help with my recovery, but I had to move.

And even after a week, I still feel that there's loose skin in my ass...

/COUGH!.../

"My throat's all sore..."

"You sure you can go on with your... Ritual?"

"I said I'm okay, my raspy throat won't affect the result of this shit."

Otherwise, a Lich would never be able to cast magic.

Anyway...

My first target was the Conjunction, I spent 3 full days investigating them while I did my other things, only to realize it had been a waste of time.

Because I already know who was the culprit… Or at least, I have a guess.

The Elves.

Going back to the two girls I met, I already determined that it's very likely for them to be related to the Elven Heroes, mostly due to the words of the Dragon.

I say related because it's not like being a Hero is the only way to be 'weird'.

Whenever Heroes come, the chances of them leaving behind their bloodlines is high, the chances of that increase when they are being pushed to do so by everyone else.

They could be descendants as well… Inheriting their powers, I know of a few Families in the Human empire that do have a Heroic Lineage, the Azul Family being one of those, albeit her lineage is a bit more on the neglected side.

In their case, long ago a man from their lineage met a girl, this girl ended up being the daughter of a Hero, no one knew of her existence since the Hero in question died without mentioning her at all, but when they did, her importance rose to the sky...

For a time at least.

Still, the Dragon's words are one thing, so how did I connect those two strange beauties to this event?

Well… Simply put, they didn't come on their own, they had an extra member.

From my short interaction with them, I knew that they had at least one more member.

And also, after the incident, they vanished, not even leaving a letter…

Upon further investigations, I found out they had used a teleportation device back to the far North through official means, literally at the same time the Furnace was going critical…

And after asking some people… They told me that they were… In a hurry.

Now that is coincidental, why would a group of Elves start running from the city at that time?

Especially when they wanted to meet with me?

This could be connected to how they cut our meeting short and postponed it, perhaps that was them preparing to cause all that trouble.

That wasn't all.

I tracked the traces the culprit left behind, he wasn't careful about that at all, and bet where that led me?

Straight to their Inn... And an abandoned apartment... One that had a lingering smell of perfume, the same one they used.

However, if they truly are behind this… Why would they be here in the first place?...

Even then, why risk so much?... For what?

Their plans and action so far seem to conflict with everything I thought they were after…

By the way, they acted and the clues left behind, it makes me feel there is some sort of... Conflict between them.

As if the culprit moved alone, for his own curiosity, and that is even more confusing.

The amount of derangement someone needs to have to put an entire city at risk for their own selfish goals...

Regardless… To understand it all, I have to ignore and put some details aside, this one is one of them.

Going back to their reasons for being here… I can't think of much apart from myself..

Though… This raises questions…

Did they realize I was too a Hero, and thus wanted to eliminate me? That doesn't fit, if it was that, then they would've attacked me on sight, or at least, I would've felt something.

If they did, since when?

However, if not for that then what? It can't possibly be due to the Academy, no one knows of that.

So… The only thing left were my actions against the criminal organization and my involvement with the Dwarf called Tredis…

Unless I'm to go as far back as to the slaves I saved, could they have a spy that reported my general direction and they connected the dots?...

'Philip thought about this over and over again during the past week.'

If I start to think the Elven Empire is behind this, and considering the future and how it would happen with the War… It falls into place.

The truth of this matter just forms from the scattered pieces…

From the beginning, the Dwarves weren't responsible for their own destruction.

If everything I think is correct, then it's like this…

The Elven empire saw potential in this research, how did they come across it?... I don't know, but somewhere along the line, they must've learned about it.

If I use the time the Pyke family started to invest in Tredis, then it's a minimum of 8 years.

They monopolized the research funds, yet, instead of revealing themselves, they hid behind a curtain…

By using a proxy from the Human Kingdom to take the blame, the Pyke Family, and making an organization that they can easily discard later… The Conjunction.

However, their role here is actually darker than it seems.

If you add everything together, from the beginning, what the ruling Elven party wants is... War, especially the First prince, someone who sees other species as interferences for the rise of the Elven race.

I can't tell if he is specifically behind this, it might even be strange to think a mere prince can move Heroes… But it fits.

He controlled the Dwarf and made him develop one of the most important things for Dwarven culture… Why?

To get their support in the War, to have a leading role in negotiations.

However, this couldn't have been the end of his plan, it seems too simple, the Heroes being here pointing towards something else.

Throughout the development of this machine, he made sure the Dwarf got an increasing hate for humankind, why? How?

Well, there were simply too many incidents where his anger was brought forward due to Human intervention for this to be normal.

Like how his investors seemingly tried to make his job harder for no apparent reason.

And as even the Conjunction was composed of mostly Humans and no other species.

The people that got on his ass, the people that captured his pregnant wife, the boy that hit his son, the superiors that kept pulling his nerves... Were all Human.

If I hadn't been here, his wife and child wouldn't even be alive, he might've been falling into endless despair while his superiors kept pressing him for results.

The Elven Prince pushed them against him to drive him into a corner…

In the end, this would lead him to becoming volatile, it's the only way, either that or a completely broken personality.

By the time the Dwarves came into the picture... By the time he finished his research and got recognized by them, they would've likely agreed to join the War against Humans, and even though the schematics for the forge were enticing, I don't think this would've been enough for that.

I'm sure they have many other plans to entice multiple races, once again going back to the slaves at the border, something that had been going on for decades.

Amidst the slaves present in the last batch were important members of some of the Dwarven clans, nothing big, but as Dae said, that event was supposed to be a spark.

It would be a series of infuriating things that would then be stacked "coincidentally" eventually leading to an all out war where it's everyone vs humans.

The collective will of 'justice' put against the villainous mankind.

Not saying Humans are guilty-free, I'm sure most of the compelling arguments those races have against us are... Correct.

But using such stereotypical and generalizing arguments to justify racial purging isn't "justice."

Even if someone sees that something is wrong, how can they stop this massive tsunami? Better ride it to the end and reap the rewards…

Then again, justice is relative as victory is justice, history is written by those that live, cry all you want in hell, you aren't Asura or Kratos to climb back from Hell and punch God.

Back to the idea...

Unfortunately, or perhaps according to the plan, midway through this, the Dwarf scientist got pressed down, and ended up blowing himself up with likely over 90% of his race.

I'm sure that after losing his family and the pressure of politics and his decaying sanity, he might've just felt that it was enough…

As such, the Elven empire made use of the Dwarves, and when their uses vanished…

Boom... Perfectly convenient.

Causing chaos across the entire continent, the exact world that would benefit the current War-oriented mindset of the First Prince.

The First Prince is someone that sees the value in all species, as such, he knows who needs to be eliminated and why… Who needs to be kept alive and why… And how…

The Human kingdom is surely pretty strong, so by pitting them against everyone else, he can make sure to waste everyone's forces.

It's scary to think all of this is somewhat connected, and that it succeeded in some way in an alternated timeline.

However! I refuse to believe he predicted even the explosions, if he did… I'll have to drop the hat to him, I have nothing but respect for such a psychopathic mastermind.

Though it doesn't mean I agree with his methods because at the end of the day, when he eliminated everyone that stood against his Empire, he fell into madness upon realizing there was no one else in the world to save his own Empire from doom.

All Heroes had been killed, there was no more salvation… No more space for Legends to rise, the world was ending...

For all of this convoluted scheme to work, it would mean the Elves are much more aware of everything than most think, as a lot of information is necessary to move so precisely.

Though they could also be employing the information network of third parties such as the Chains, it's not like they lack the funding to do so...

"Phew..."

This is… The situation I formed after investigating.

As for those thugs? They're already 5 feet under.

During my days of investigation, someone went and wiped them out, and I'm pretty sure it was done by the Street Palace, the other underworld organization… The one they were fighting as a front.

Perhaps they realized they had lost their backing… Perhaps the Street Palace is also backed by them, a hidden piece meant to clean everything once it was over…

Truly, I think I'm overthinking, yet... I would like to believe that to be the case.

"Sigh…"

"Are you okay? This seems a bit taxing."

He keeps exhaling... His injuries are far from healing, he shouldn't push himself so hard.

"I'm mostly fine, I'm not doing this due to my injuries."

Albeit a ritual like this would require several mages… I'm more than good enough to cover several at once!

[Name: Philip Vinten

Race: Human/Dragonborn

Level: 79

Magicka Talent -> 78

Abilities:

War Call Lv2

Tyranny of Wealth Lv1

Berserk Rush LvMax(10)

Focus LvMax(10)

Magicka Lagoon Well Lv4

Skills:

Resist Elements Lv12

Mediation of two sides Lv1

Conjure Daedra Merchant Lv8

Iron Stomach Lv12

Devilish tongue LvMax(10)

Study LvMax(10)

…

Traits:

Dragon Blood

]

{Mage -> Illusion: 2-35; Conjuration: 1-82; Destruction: 27; Restoration: 4-22; Alteration: 4-05

In-Between: Enchanting: 1-69

Warrior -> Smithing: 2-06; Heavy Armor: 26; Block: 23; Two-Handed: 27; One-Handed: 41

In-Between: Archery: 20

Thief -> Light Armor: 21; Sneak: 65; Lockpicking: 89; Pickpocket: 22; Speech: 1-96

In-Between: Alchemy: 1-92}

'After a whole week, his efforts weren't in vain as his Skill Levels shot up!'

'All of his Magic Skills increased with the exception of the Destruction school, as per obvious, he barely left his workshop during this time…'

'His Enchanting rose greatly together with his Smithing ability and Alchemy.'

'Even his Speech rose slightly.'

'But the greatest growth was definitely by far done by the Schools of Restoration and Alteration… For obvious reasons.'

'To restore his broken body, it took a lot of effort, even while doing something else, Philip would try to use his Magicka for something else, dual tasking.'

'While Alteration was necessary for the processing of materials.'

"Almost done."

'Fully focusing on what lay in front of him, Philip started the late stages of his Spell!'

"I almost forgot about it." He said lightly

'Opening his Class inventory, he took out a few items…'

Diadem of the Savant and the Ring of the Erudite, are magical items of great value for any mage.

Together with these finely crafted clothes, I'm wearing, and the rings on my hands…

"I can fully say I'm over-geared."

Though I used all of my Soul gems to reach my current state, the sole reason why I stopped my training…

In any case, it's time.

"*&@!^%#$@..."

'He started to say something in a strange language, and the runes on the ground resonated…'

…

.

.

.

Notes

(Images?)

I'm sure one of those images will appease you, if so, tell me, which one was your favorite and why?

As always, I accept ideas for images.

I'll come with more images next week as per usual, peace.