As night fell, Tang Yin needed to take a break.
“Just a few more hours. Just a bit more.” He said, as they sat down for dinner that night.
“It was ‘just a few hours’ from the very start!” Mindy gritted her teeth, trying her best to put up with the pain from her leg.
At least she still had both legs, though one had been badly injured. Wulfgar had flat out lost both of his in the battle against the Tier 5. Mindy had cauterized the remaining stumps, but he still looked to be in extremely bad condition and might not survive the night.
They could try to bring him back… but the mission was too important. The Rift had to be sealed, no matter the cost.
Even if it meant locking Remian out.
“Hurry back, Remian!” Mindy whispered into the night. “Hurry back!”
***
But Remian was too caught up in studying to hurry anywhere. He was dabbling into architecture now and learning about structural support, stress and tension.
Afterw
As the week passed, Xiao Yan graduated from Grade 3 Formations with flying colors. Remian qualified as a Class 6 Psionic on top of studying everything else he was interested in, especially Biotech. He even relented and dabbled a bit in magic and mana control. After a short converation with Xiao Yan who came to visit, he also took some time to study formations and arrays that she spoke about. Then he dove into runes and inscriptions. Then he even tried to study Chaos Magic, but the many differing theories and schools on that were too confusing and he soon gave up. “I’m nowhere near ready for that!” By the time two weeks were up and Remian’s sentence was fully served, Xiao Yan was about ready to take the tests for Grade 4 formations, and Remian himself was halfway to Class 7 as a Psionic. As the Sentence was coming to an end, the Conglomerate Judge called the Corpoman privately. “Is it wise, sir? This man paid us only 20,000 Black, and we paid him salvage fees of 9,500 Black. This is
“Are you sure we’re not on my world?” Xiao Yan asked, suspiciously. “Yes, I’m pretty sure.” Remian said, pointing. “Your world doesn’t have airships from the Deutero company.” “But it looks the same.” Xiao Yan said, with some disappointment. “People are still people, and dirt is still dirt.” With a short laugh, Remian turned toward the nearby town. “Come on. I’ll get in contact with my family first, and then bring you around to see other kinds of people and places.” *** At that time, Mindy, George and the others were having a bad day. As the sky turned red and the sun began to set upon the day and the sons of man alike, the weary defenders of Dragon Lake heard once more the horns of war. With earth-shaking roars, the colossal titans they battled stood tall, casting long shadows upon the land. Nine Tier-8 Emperor-class Spectres surrounded by the countless forces of their kind. On their own side, the Emperors and Great Dragons ha
Thankfully, Deutero banks were far more available than his friends and family. Within minutes of reaching the local branch, Remian was able to access his account. “F-fifty three million lir?!” Remian gaped. “Is that a lot?” Xiao Yan asked dubiously. “If you’re low on cash, I still have a few herbs we might be able to sell…” “It’s a lot! It’s a huge lot more than I expected!” Remian cut in hastily. “I knew I was getting income from the Industrial Zone and Mindy’s shipyards and everything but it’s way more than I thought…” How long had he been gone? About a month? Something like that? That was actually Tim’s fault more than Mindy’s, but let’s not tell Remian his rise in income was primarily the responsibility of Fal’Herim’s Underground King. Especially do not tell him that Tim’s factories had all but stolen Arnold’s Light Frame designs and were mass-producing them using them, and selling them to select customers in Fal’Herim at exaggerat
Word spread very quickly. “Remian’s back!” one guy exclaimed. “Remian’s back? Aww, blast it. I thought I finally had a chance with Phoebe…” Another moped. “In your dreams!” “Who’s Remian?” a confused newcomer asked. “Remian is back!” the shout rang out through the camp. “Awoo!” An enthusiastic wolfcat joined the hue and cry, just for the heck of it. Phoebe dashed out of the medical tent, a syringe still in her hand. She tugged off her facemask. “He’s back?!” Seeing her unmasked face, somebody tripped over flat and even ground, landing almost facefirst into a pile of Wild poop. “Ugaah!” “Ow!” Someone else walked into a pillar, knocking an innocent tent down. “UWOO!!!” Somebody else stepped on a bear’s tail. There was a brief moment as startled man and angry bear looked deep into each others eyes and then the man ran around screaming as he was chased by the bear for the next three minutes. *** Mindy barged in at that point. She didn’t mean to barge in, really. She actually wa
Upon hearing that he was coming from the Dragon Empire, Remian’s parents both gave him shopping lists. “School supplies?” Remian blinked. “You want me to bring books and stationery from the Dragon Empire?” “Yes, we’re almost at the point of scribbling on leaves here.” Lisa Vin’s voice came back patiently over the communications crystal. “School, huh.” Remian thought for a bit. “Dad, Mom, there’s some stuff I’d like everyone to learn. I think we should make some changes to the school and the learning systems.” “Great. Let’s have a meeting when you get back.” Damien Vin’s voice replied. “Just hurry back, all right? I don’t think your Mom or Phoebe can stand to wait much longer.” Phoebe, it seems, had become a lot closer to his parents while he was away. With a rueful half-smile, Remian finally ended the call and put down the communications crystal. His hand had been holding it so long, it felt numb. Then, looking at the crystal, Remian s
The Song Clan estate was more like a separate town than a housing compound. It had its own shops, its own hospital, and several restaurants all of whom were open to the public at the entrance plaza. It also had its own school, its own library, and its own herb farms, among other things, which were not open to the public. In between what was open to public and what was not (sometimes physically) was the Song Estate Security Force. The captain of that security force was a grizzled veteran named Song Han. This was the guy Song Chen told Remian to look for. He eyed them with a frown. “Oh? What brings you to the Song Estate Security Center? You’re not just running in here from the rain, are you?” “I rather like the rain, actually.” Remian mused. “It’s like it has its own thrumming melody.” There was a short pause. Then, a small smile appeared on Song Han’s face. “Well, then, it seems little Song Chen has been making friends.” “How did you know it was Song Chen?” Remian marveled. “Does
Three hours after landing, reuniting and chatting with his parents and Phoebe, Remian finally sat down with George for a serious conversation. “You want me to plant… what?” George stared blankly. “These. They’re the seeds of Lenisu Vines. They’ll take about three years or so to mature before we can harvest Lenisu Bulbs.” Remian looked at him seriously. “These Bulbs are extremely important, George. I honestly believe they are the future of our world.” “Are they good to eat?” George asked doubtfully. “Or some sort of medicine?” “Better. They’re an energy source, like mana crystals.” George gaped. “We can grow mana crystals?!” “Not exactly. They produce electricity, not mana. Think of them as super-lemons.” “What do lemons have to do with electricity?” “Uh… someday, I’ll have to show you with a couple of wires. Just don’t try it with Lenisu Bulbs; you’ll die.” “But these… these are alien plants, aren’t they? Can they even survive on this world? Can they survive competing with the
“Tim, I’ve brought him.” Mandy told Tim over the comms the next day. “He’s here.” “Professor Marakovichi, I presume?” Tim said politely. “Pleasure to meet you. We were hoping to consult you on a little project in the Wildlands…” “What sort of project?” “We want to develop a society that doesn’t rely on magic.” Professor Marakovichi choked. *** While Tim was dragging the unsuspecting Marakovichi into the maelstrom of change that Remian and George were floundering in, Aren, Zana, Taj and Nadia were setting about expanding the Kara-Goth settlement all the way to the Amber Gorge and the Misty Mountains. Since they now enjoyed peace with the Wilds and the Spectres were beaten back, they figured they didn’t actually all need to squeeze into underground quarters any more and could quite feasibly spread towns all across Shadowflash Fief. In fact, Aren went so far as to consult Lockjaw and Bright to see whether they would allow human se