Chương 144: Fix-it Ryland

The following few days had everyone coming to terms with the rather disastrous field trip to the Crypts. Reactions to it were wildly different among all the contingents, and even within the contingents too, naturally. Most of the foreigners were more or less aghast at everything that had happened at the Crypts.

The official answer from Rhel was forced to corroborate with what Ryland had revealed already—the Dreadlich had been attempting to possess others through soul manipulation via the Crypts' mana conduits, and Ryland himself was the main reason the monster had stopped. The ensuing battle had destroyed a tremendous area of the Crypts themselves, leading to its evacuation by the priests and priestesses. None of the recent dead were being taken there while Rhel figured out how best to go about handling the matter.

For the admission that the Dreadlich had been active in the Crypts had naturally made everyone wary of what else might be down there. Politically, Rhel was suffering backlash. None of the students or Academs were privy to it, of course, but official communication had arrived from the various Realms Rhel had invited. It wasn't good. Ryland heard Mage Knight Ophelia storming away towards the Rhellian administrative quarter in the city of Avorhel they were currently in.

She was accompanied by the other Mage Knights and the lone Sentinel who had come in to safeguard the contingent from Arcoryx. Forget the official condemning communique from Androvia and Vyrd, they were even more incensed about it all. In a similar fashion, Jure and Kuldor were both furious that their prized youths had been placed in grave danger by Rhel's ignorance and callousness. Ryland had even heard rumours that one or both academies might just pull out of the exchange semester.

The only thing that stopped them was the Rhellian Institute's determination to ensure that their experience on Rhel wasn't utterly horrible. Ryland was quite certain that they were overdoing themselves a bit, but considering how he had been treated by their Demiurge, his sympathy was on short supply. Firstly, the institute had massaged the credit arrangements so that the foreign students had a lot more freedom in what classes they could pick.

It had already been rather free, but certain restrictions such as age- and academic-year-gates had been lifted, as well as things like pre- or corequisites. Then there were all the extracurricular opportunities the institute had opened up. The various clubs and societies were going out of their way to accommodate the Arcoryx, Eviliyen, and Shorn students. There were also events they were starting to put up. Plays about the Realmbreaker Wars, exhibitions for Rhellian art, and of course, all the talks and seminars.

Ryland's favourite was a food festival with all the various delicacies that Rhel boasted. He and Acrypha had a nice time seeing Viren try some of the special food on offer, such as the grilled minor sand worms and sliced flytrap jaws.

"How much of a chance do you think he'll catch something, sir?" Acrypha asked Ryland after Viren had spat out fish that he had proclaimed to be utterly raw, much to the displeasure of the poor stall-keeper. Both of them were currently glaring at Acrypha, one for making fun of the situation and the other for insinuating the food was indeed bad.

"I say ninety-five percent." Ryland declined to state any chances and just paid the stall keeper enough money to be satisfied before they got going. Besides all that, there were other ways the Rhellian Institute was favouring the foreign students. Certificates for the various courses they completed, more field trips closer at hand that presented no troubles, and Ryland also occasionally thought he noticed favourable treatment from the Rhellian Academs towards the foreigners.

And his perspective was that of a sub-Academ. Not an actual student. How much more was it for them? Clearly, the pressures from outside had really gotten to the Rhellian administration. Not that Rhel could make everything peachy all the time. On the very rare occasion, Ryland caught the Rhellian students acting sour and dour, likely due to the preferential treatment that their non-Rhellian peers were receiving. He even heard about arguments once or twice. But it never turned into anything major.

Not after the incident at the Crypts. The Rhellians were being extra careful now. It also made Ryland wonder just how much the Demiurge was paying attention to the institute. After all, Ryland himself was here. … could there be one of the members of the Flourinus Order here too? He had no way of telling how likely that was, but he was determined to remain careful. For the sake of the students, at least.

Almost a month after the incident at the Crypts, Ryland got wind that Rhellian authorities had finally decided to do something about its destroyed state.

"They're fixing it?" Ryland asked.

"Indeed," Sir Bruten said.

"The Rhellians have decided to rebuild the broken areas and reopen the rest to the clergy for the time being. Supposedly, they are better prepared to deal with any negative fallouts and the like, though how exactly beats me." The Mage Knights had invited Ryland to have dinner with them. It had taken them some time, but they had finally come around to aligning their schedules and whatnot so that they could spend an evening together.

Mostly to congratulate Ryland for his efforts and express their gratitude at protecting everyone when they hadn't been present. Ryland had waved it off, of course. It was just the right thing to do. The normal thing. No thanks necessary. He had still accepted an invitation to free food, naturally.

"Why do you look like that, Ryland?" Ophelia asked with a suspicious squint.

"Look like what?" Ryland asked.

"Like the revelation that they're fixing the Crypts has suddenly given you a terrific idea." The other Mage Knight was looking intently at him too. Hmm. Maybe his face had been a bit more expressive than he had thought it would be.

"Oh, it's nothing," Ryland said.

"Merely a casual moment of indulging my imagination." His companions looked curiously at him, but Ryland evaded it all and just enjoyed the dinner. The next day, he got going. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"Sub-Academ!" The priestess at the gates of the Crypts stared at him in a mixture of wonder, awe, and no small amount of fear.

"What are you doing here? Is everything alright? Is there something I might assist you with?"

"Oh, nothing really," Ryland said.

"Rather, I thought I could be of use instead."" You wished to be of use? How exactly, sub-Academ? And—" The priestess suddenly shook her head. There was a sudden, marked shift in her attitude. A lot more coolness entered her tone.

"No. No, no. Forgive me, please. It seems I was forgetting myself. There is absolutely no need for you to expend your energy and efforts for us here, " It was strange how they were treating him a moment ago, and now, things had changed yet again. Almost as if the Glyph of Unity had needed a moment to recalibrate and readjust itself. Almost like Mavar himself might have been paying attention. It didn't concern Ryland, so he pushed it out of his mind. Instead, he focused on why exactly he was here.

"Actually, you and yours are the ones who don't need to go to any great lengths," Ryland said.

"I can save you a great deal of energy and resources if you would simply allow me to enact one spell. Perhaps I can speak with the mage in charge of reconstruction?" The priestess was very clearly very reluctant to comply just then, but Ryland didn't relent easily. It also took a while for the mage in-charge to appear. Ryland didn't take it as any sort of disrespect.

After all, he was an unknown quantity who had arrived out of nowhere, saying he could be of so much use while the rest of them sat back, relaxed, and started sipping their favourite drinks. If that didn't sound like a scam, Ryland wasn't sure what did. Hmm. Maybe Ryland needed to work on his presentation a little better. Wait, hadn't he already thought about that recently?

"You're saying you can just… fix everything?" the mage asked dubiously. He was trying hard to remain polite, but even that was a far cry from the vitriol of Mavar's retinue.

"I can prove it," Ryland said.

"Do you want me to demonstrate?" The mage looked like he actually wanted to yell at Ryland to stop wasting his time. He did appear very much like a no-nonsense person. His clothes were practical, his face sporting an unkempt beard, his hands and legs covered in thick construction gear etched with Inscriptions. It would make a great deal of sense if he just turned around and told Ryland to sod off. However, he reined in any such impulses and just nodded for his unintended guest to proceed.

So, Ryland showed his magic. By the time the little display of sorcery was done, the Construction Mage had his hat in his hands, his eyes wide and expression threatening to morph into one of pleading.

"That was… incredible, Archmage Ryland," he said. Ryland raised a hand to forestall his title-calling.

"Please. I'm no Archmage. I am still working towards my degree, you see."

"But this sort of magic…"

"Now, will you allow me to rebuild the Crypts, please?"

"I'm not certain I could stop you even if I wanted to, in all honesty."

"Nonsense. You are the mage in charge. You have every right to decide as you see fit. There may be more reasons even I can't see that might make it prudent for me to not intervene. Of course, I'm hoping that isn't the case, but you would know best." The mage quickly nodded and moved backwards, as though to lead Ryland to where he needed to be.

"Not at all. Please, follow me, if you would be so kind. I know you said you don't require repayment, but it would be highly remiss of me to accept any work from anyone without any sort of remuneration."

"Perhaps you can answer some of my questions once I'm done."

"I might not have all the answers you seek, but I'll do my best." The man appeared to be going through such a hodgepodge of emotions, Ryland didn't press him about anything just yet. That could come later. Once he had accepted reality a little better. Right now, his mind was already warring with disbelief, potential misgivings, doubt, and the realization that he was facing a huge opportunity. They couldn't go there directly.

Even if the Construction Mage believed in Ryland, there were other things to take care of first. First, he had to move out everyone already at the site, while also ensuring that most of the equipment was pulled away as well. Ryland offered to do all that too, but on this point, the mage was adamant about being allowed to take care of it. It took a while, but nowhere near as long as Ryland had feared.

Apparently, there were protocols in place that ensured that the builders, architects, technicians, and other mages would all be able to evacuate within minutes in case something went wrong, such as an unforeseen collapse. They wouldn't want anyone buried, after all. Once they were done, it was finally time for Ryland to begin. Of course, they didn't walk all the way. The moment the Construction Mage had started walking, Ryland stopped him.

By the time they appeared on the other side of Ryland's rift, the man couldn't stop gawking.

"Alright," Ryland said as they stood on a bunch of rocks "floating" out of a rift high above the area Pious had destroyed.

"Let's begin, shall we? [Recreation]." The spell drew on the very essence of Ryland's manasoul, making it flare and surge against the restraints he had placed on it. His Soul Glyph of Time was at the centre of the spell circle, calling upon the very flow of time to restore the affected area. In moments, Ryland's powerful magic was in place. A dome of rippling blue and white energy with a hint of opalescence covered enough area to house a dozen Rhellian Institutes. Within that dome, time reversed.

Mountains reconstructed themselves. The tunnels of the Crypts reformed through their depths, as did the pockets, rooms, and entire apartments.

"Are you really rebuilding everything at once?" the Construction Mage asked, staring incredulously at what was going on far beneath them. Ryland nodded.

"That would be the most efficient, yes."

"Efficient. Yes." The man apparently lost the ability to speak as he continued gawking at the magical blue glow flooding the mountain range. At times, he leaned over so much, Ryland was tempted to haul him back before he fell. But it wouldn't really matter if he tipped over. Ryland could just bring him back with a rift. When it was all done, when the blue magic finally faded, the man's expression morphed yet again.

It went from pure awe to all smiles, a wide grin blooming on his face as he took in the handiwork of Ryland's magic. At the way the Crypts were back to their usual state. At how everything was fixed again. With no effort from the Construction Mage at all.

"This is unbelievable," he said.

"Do you have any idea, sir, how I'm going to explain this to anyone? Who would ever believe that some unknown mage arrived from nowhere and just returned the Crypts to what they're supposed to be?"

"Everyone. Once you bring them to this exact location, of course." The Construction Mage continued shaking his head, still seemingly refusing to believe what his own eyes beheld. Ryland waited as the man took his time just absorbing the incredulity before him—or rather, beneath him. The Construction Mage went on to make several calls, using the Glyph of Communication Inscribed on his work gloves.

"Sorry, sir," he said, eventually turning back to face Ryland.

"I just needed others to actually witness this… impossibility. Uh, sorry for calling it that. But you understand, right? It's so hard to believe everything is just… fixed. Like a miracle." Ryland smiled to show he didn't mind. He had been called a miracle-worker before.

"Take your time. Just remember our little deal, once you're done."

"Oh, I am done. You have my entire attention. I'm willing to do whatever you wish, sir, answer anything you might want to ask." Ryland nodded. Then he turned, looking over the direction the mountain range expanded away from them. Farther away from the generally populated lands.

"The Continental Icedrift is still in place far to the southeast, yes?" The Construction Mage was momentarily taken aback by the direction of Ryland's questioning, but if he thought it weird, he didn't mention it.

"Yes, sir. It starts small from the foot of the Afterlife Ranges, then expands out to cover the entire southeastern continent, yes."

"And is it still true that the only things existing there are the occasional expeditions that venture out for reconnaissance and other purposes?"

"That's as far as we know for certain, yes. But there's a new purpose to the expeditions across the ice, sir."

"Oh?"

"Yes. We're looking for the Hand of Freedom. They're rumoured to be there as well." Ryland frowned. The Hand of Freedom. A separatist group that explicitly rejected the rule of the Demiurge. It didn't make much sense. Why was Mavar allowing it to exist in this manner? What was he playing at? It was hard to fathom that he was unable to end it. But maybe things had changed enough over the centuries to make it a possibility.

Or, as was evidenced by the fact that Pious had headed in that direction, the Flourinus Order was involved. Ryland spoke with the Construction Mage a little more, asking about a few different things regarding the state of Rhel he wasn't quite sure on. Eventually though, he took his leave, returning to his room at the institute. A letter was awaiting him there. It had come with the official envelope of the Rhellian Institute. His eyebrows went up on their own as he read the missive.

Apparently, the Rhellians wanted to hold an award ceremony for him. Hmm.