A New World, an immersive game experience

Eldrian returned to ANW two hours later than normal. Shocking several dwarves as he appeared in the middle of the street.

"Sorry, sorry..." apologizing, he quickly headed to the gate, greeting Ingvar and telling Elizabeth to meet up at the next fort. Stating that he would meet them there.

It was, more or less, a shorter route for him from here than returning to Kynigo and the going to the fort. Plus, it saved him a handful of gold coins. After all, he couldn't exactly be trusted to fuel the teleportation array. The mages responsible for the arrays would lose their heads if they allowed that.

—

"Why were you late?" Elizabeth asked upon meeting up with Eldrian.

"I had an intruder." Eldrian replied shortly. Since Theas was in the group, he couldn't talk openly about things.

"""Are you okay?""" Elizabeth and the others asked.

"Yeah, she didn't seem to want to hurt me, but... she was part of Miracle."

The group gasped. "How did they find you?"

"I'm still not sure they did. She did, somehow? Even made it through my arrays without even picking up that they were there."

"I-is that even possible?"

"Apparently," Eldrian shrugged, "I lost her somewhere in the mountains, but she was persistent." Changing the topic, Eldrian continued, "Right, so things should move more or less the same as last time. We can talk later. We need to finish this so we can start with preparing for the flood."

Indeed, things moved smoothly. Eldrian experimented with the spell formations in his soul, finding it truly easy to use. It almost felt like accessing the ability of an item.

Eldrian even went a bit wild, which everyone appreciated since it meant far fewer undead chased Judith—with her new stick.

—

A few days passed quickly. To Eldrian, it was quite a peaceful time. To Elizabeth and the others, it was undoubtedly the opposite.

Sofiera and Evale had decided that it would be best to take the undead threat on promptly. They sent elite squads to delay their movement inwards, during which Sofiera helped Eldrian in the formation of the towers and forts. Solvi also joined once she returned from Ganalin after sorting her affairs.

The structures were simple, hardened dirt buildings. The forts had a large moat outward where spiked and traps would be added later. And a large inner space for camps.

The towers were made to allow connection of the walls with little difficulty and at locations with a good view of the surroundings.

A large part of the military was busy deforesting Pyknos for wood to build said walls. The army mages would form the foundation of the walls and create moats, the rest will be built with a ton of killed trees.

Eldrian sadly never received confirmation of Old Sword's safety in the afterlife. Which of course was no help for Vivian's emotional state, and while possible, Eldrian did not wish to lie to her.

It might be painful, but he did not wish to break her trust. Even if it would soothe her grief.

In her turmoil, she had joined the... no; she had rushed towards the undead in a rage without a care. Eldrian let her be, understanding this was her method of dealing with the pain and unknown. He wasn't worried. With her unique power, the undead were powerless before her.

It seemed best to let her vent until they either got good news; or the pain lessened.

"This is simpler than I thought it would be." Sofiera commented as the trio finished another fort. With their help, things had approximately doubled in pace. They already finished a series of structures from KN (Kyno Northeast) to GE (Ganalin Eastern).

They were now focused with the line towards Pyknos Fort. From there, they would then move west again to finish that side towards Ganalin, connecting it with defenses the dwarfs would add in the mountains.

Thereafter, they would focus on where Evale was stationed. Thanks to the wide plains and the city's active stalling of the undead, things seemed rather optimistic.

"Well, I'm not crazy enough to think we need to make actual forts." Eldrian said, replying to Sofiera's comment.

"Indeed, this plan is quite appropriate. It is more like preparing the foundations speedily so we won't be caught without our Akro."

'I-interesting phrase...' Eldrian recalled that the cape covering a centaur's horse half, almost like pants, was called an Akro. 'Is that their version of with their pants down?'

"But will this be enough?" Solvi asked. The trio were already on the move to the next location where a tower would be constructed.

After a bit of back and forth, they had decided to only make the tower foundation two stories tall. A wooden addition would be added for a total height of three stories. This allowed more to be made with less mana, and thus massively sped up the construction. Besides, a massive tower wouldn't make too big a difference in the plains.

They could always revisit things later to increase the size. Speed was currently paramount.

"The point was never to have this be an impenetrable wall. It is only meant to keep the wandering undead out of the region." Sofiera replied before Eldrian could. "The idea is simple, insane, and brilliant.

"We will focus the cannons at the forts and towers, and if time permits, spread it even through the wall."

"Of course. And Sofiera, are you going to help Eldrian in claiming the lost fort?" Solvi asked. She was glad that Eldrian had thought of it before she had brought it up. It showed he was aware of the danger he presented when training or experimenting.

"Depending on the situation." Sofiera paused, "Though, I do fear hitting the hornets' nest."

"I think it is about time we do." Eldrian countered, "If we have finished the regional wall, they will find it quite difficult to invade again."

"That is true, but if they gather their elites... I doubt the kingdom will be able to give us much support."

'Truly, this seems to be a constant problem. Not enough skilled personal... but the situation should be the same for the vampires after their losses.'

"We still have the dwarves, at least. Boran has promised his support should the undead move with strength. After all, they don't want to become an island."

"Indeed, though I am impressed they agreed." Sofiera smiled, stealing a glance at Eldrian.

"He was truly impressive!" Solvi smiled and slapped Eldrian's shoulder with a laugh. "I heard he showed them his power and had the nobles quivering in their boots!"

"That isn't quite—"

"Oh my, I can just imagine it. Indeed, Eldrian, you never cease to amaze."

"Hey, wait! Don't—"

"Indeed, he is a bag of surprises. Has he shown you his runic magic?" Solvi asked Sofiera.

"Yes, it is a brilliant idea. But I fear I am too old to change my ways."

"Come now, you aren't that old!"

"My eightieth birthday was a few years ago now." Sofiera smiled as she thought of this. "I'm afraid I'm past the age of change."

"What are you talking about!? That's still so young! You have at least another hundred years in front of you."

"Perhaps..." Sofiera smiled, but she wasn't about to abandon her years of training for something new and flashy. Runic magic, it had its uses, but it wasn't perfect. The same held true for dynamic casting, and unlike Myropsis, Sofiera had little confidence in unlocking its secrets.

After all, Myropsis was in her twenties and already Tier 6. 'Whereas I only reached Tier 7 in my eighties. Her future is much brighter, as expected of a duke's daughter.'

Sofiera didn't feel envious. Instead, she felt proud to have mentored the girl for a while. She considered Myropsis a close friend and a pupil. Eldrian was a more complicated topic, but she wanted to call him a friend, too.

The joking continued until they reached their next target. With Eldrian feeling complicated about being the butt of over half the jokes, and how they talked about age.

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