Chương 110: Dealing With Problems

The Glyph in question turned out to be more powerful than he was expecting. Like most Glyphs that he ended up creating from his pieces, this one branded itself into reality and shone with the light of a small star, flooding the room with pressurized power that in most cases would have been terribly difficult to suppress. But Ryland didn't find any difficulty. His manasoul reached out to the Glyph, integrating it with all the other incredible magic that he possessed, turning it into a fiery knot of pure magic.

[Achievement Recognized: Glyphic Ascension You have converted a piece of yourself, imbued with the power of red chaos, into a Glyph now integrated with your manasoul. Rank up from Mithril [35] to Mithril [39]. Reward: Glyph of Dissolution [Tier 25].] Ryland arched an eyebrow at the reward. That was not just surprising, it was almost alarming.

"Devas," he said.

"What Realm did you find this piece on?"

"Realm 83, master. Velcross."

"Hmm." That explained things. Somewhat. Velcross was a difficult Realm even in the best of times. While he recalled Devas stating that he would embark on a profound saga to raise his own power by questing for all of Ryland's pieces strewn throughout the cosmos, Ryland hadn't figured the Turnalian would end up at Velcross of all places. It made sense that a world on the verge of planetary destruction would grant a piece that resulted in a Glyph of Dissolution.

"Terrible state of affairs there, if I do say so myself," Devas said with a disappointed shake of his head.

"Couldn't even stay there for one night straight. How they allowed an entire Realm to turn apocalyptic is beyond me."

"Apocalyptic?" Viren asked with wide eyes. Ryland sighed.

"It is unfortunate. The acts of a Calamity on a different Realm unleashed devastation that spread through the cosmos, resulting in the destruction of a second Realm—Velcross. Of course, that destruction doesn't happen instantly, so I assume Devas still found some time to retrieve a strand of my hair." It didn't seem like Viren's eyes could grow any wider, but clearly, that was a mistaken assumption.

"You retrieved a piece of Ryland from a destroyed planet, sir?" Ryland felt the oddest sensation of wrongness at hearing Viren call Devas sir. He tried to deliberate whether it was a strange form of jealousy, but upon inspection, he found that wasn't the case. Rather, it was just extremely odd to hear one of the oddest people he had ever encountered referred to so formally.

"Please, don't call me sir, Pupil of the Realmbreaker," Devas said.

"We mustn't offend He Who Shatters Reality." Despite saying all that, Devas puffed out his chest self-importantly.

"But I appreciate your forthrightness about the matter. It was indeed one of my greatest exploits. I had to fend off Infernals, and—" Ryland cleared his throat. Devas quickly bowed and retreated.

"Apologies, master. I didn't mean to intrude. I was merely explaining what I had been up to, for I don't intend to remain here any longer than I must. This Grand Frame is unseemly." Viren blinked.

"Unseemly? What did it do?"

"Well, it's quite suppressing, you see. Although, I think you will see far better when you've reached the true echelons of power. I was only here in search of Castle Ryland, and finding it swamped by the Living Mana that seems to be outrageously powerful on this planet, I couldn't just abandon it."" Castle Ryland?"

"Ah, yes. You see—" Ryland cleared his throat again. Devas quickly stopped himself, realizing he was letting his mouth run away from him again. Good thing too, for Ryland might as well cast a Glyph of Banishment on the fellow if he kept going on and on.

"It was my old residence," Ryland said.

"As we started winning the Realmbreaker Wars, Androvia saw fit to reward my endeavours by granting me nobility. With it came land, of course, as well as other resources I could use to construct my own little fiefdom, so to speak."

"So you built your own castle, sir?" Viren asked.

"It was a hobby more than anything." The memories hit him harder than he had expected, so he had to pause for a moment.

"And the fulfilment of a final request. From my parents."

"Oh, I see."

"Bless them," Devas said, solemn as a grieving priest.

"Bless them for birthing the Realmbreaker. Bless them for making him the man he is today, the god he is to me!" Ryland cut in before the Turnalian could start a sermon.

"Please go and meet Xyke." Since Devas was clearly intent on being useful instead of going about his own business, Ryland might as well put him to work.

"We have something very important to discuss. Specifically, regarding Bloodline Soul Glyphs." Devas bowed low again.

"I will try to find the Glyphmaster, master."

"The Glyphmaster?" Viren asked, eyes widening yet again.

"Indeed! Master is a well-known friend of the Glyphmaster of the Cosmos. Is that not divine? Is that not sublime?" Viren certainly appeared to think so, going by his goggling expression, though he didn't quite express it vocally the way Devas was doing. Hmm. Maybe Ryland ought to take Viren along with him to visit Xyke. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"I think for now we should all get some rest," Ryland said.

"It has been a long day. I believe we could all use some time to ourselves to let our minds recover." Viren nodded.

"Yes, I should rest up before tomorrow. Big day."

"Indeed. Even if I don't come with you, I do hope you and Acrypha and the others enjoy your day."

"Thanks, sir. I think we're going to have a lot of fun. But what about your castle, sir?"

"Yes, yes!" Devas said, clearly very happy that someone other than him had taken a keen interest in Ryland.

"What about the castle? What about Castle Ryland?" Ryland deliberated. He hadn't visited it in centuries now. Perhaps people had already started making use of it, or some other lord had moved in, or something else. But that was all before the Living Mana had moved in and claimed the entire area. With it gone now, however, the castle was likely free again. So it could be worth checking out at some point. Ryland had nothing there but memories. But even those were worth revisiting at times.

"Maybe I'll take you there, Viren," Ryland said with a smile.

"Before we leave for the academy."

"That sounds fantastic!"

"Oh, can I go? Can I—" Ryland cast a Glyph of Banishment on Devas. The trip went better than Acrypha had expected. The Excursion Club might have ostensibly been about dealing with various dangerous magical phenomena that academy students should be able to handle, but they were going on excursions. Those tended to take the form of glorified field trips, so it was natural the club would learn how to make the most of it. Acrypha appreciated it all, really.

They had taken her to the towers, which had been appropriately magical even after all this while. There was a small manabeast menagerie too, and that had been nice. She had been expecting it to be filled with sad creatures trapped in cages, but it had been more like a preservatory, where kind Beast Mages were handling an ecosystem that supported the manabeasts. And then the port had been rather refreshing too. So much so that she had requested to remain there even as the others were leaving.

The refreshing sea breeze, the endless horizon, the distant ships moving like toys. And the endless dream of freedom. It would be so easy to just… leave. She didn't lack for money. The resolve was there. The ships were ready to take her, because even if they balked at her age at first, her bearing, her nobility and, most importantly, her wealth would soon open the path forward she needed. Because yes, she still needed to get away from them all. She had to be free, had to ensure that she wasn't a danger.

For even now, her manasoul was sizzling. Revolting. Nearly refusing control. All the time she had been travelling through Gildharbour with the others, Acrypha couldn't relax, no matter where they went. The Living Mana was inside her. It could come out at any time. What if it emerged at the slightest hint that she needed assistance, going on to take actions that put others in danger even while keeping Acrypha technically safe? So, she found herself getting aboard one of the ships.

The barque was one of the larger ones in the harbour, with a rather noble name of Elegant Crest. Every step up towards it made her legs feel weighted down with lead. But after some time, after a few moments that felt hazier than anything else in her life, Acrypha was on board. She was next to the railings, minutes away from the ship taking off.

"This is right," she murmured.

"This is for the best." She knew where the ship was headed. Once it arrived at Steeple, she could then hire a carriage to take her to Philharmony lands. Her home. She could figure things out there. Stay away from people until she had learned actual control. Depending on others would just leave too much up to chance. Even if the "others" included Ryland. She couldn't afford it. Even now, she couldn't let her parents down.

Their spirits would writhe in agony if she let an innocent person come to harm because of her own failures. Acrypha did her best to ignore the pang in her heart as the ship got ready to move. Sailor Mages called out warnings and commands. Passengers looked excited to finally get going. A few people spared her a glance or two, but most ignored her entirely. She was just a girl with her parents somewhere on board. Wrapping her summoned cloak around her to hide the academy robes was working wonders.

A splash sounded nearby. Acrypha thought that someone might have dropped something so ignored it. It was all she could do to keep her roiling mind stable. Then thumps ascended from the starboard side of the ship. She blinked, then stared aghast as Viren climbed up over the railings, before landing with a slip onto her relatively lonely deck.

"What in all the Calamity-cursed Realms are you doing here, Viren?" Acrypha asked. She couldn't stop staring at how he looked like he had drowned, dripping water all over the deck the Sailor Mages had cleaned up not that long ago. He spat out some water and wiped some more off his face and hair.

"Stopping you from doing something stupid. If I knew giving you space would lead to something like this…"

"You're a stowaway."" That's the issue you see with all this?"

"Viren—" His stupid sudden appearance wasn't helping her stupid mind get back on track.

"How did you even get on board?" He grinned, showing her his hands. A Glyph shone right on his palms and fingertips. They weren't Inscribed, just acting their magic very close to his skin.

"I learned the Glyph of Traction a little while ago. Got some on my shoe soles too." Acrypha just shook her head.

"I'm going to knock you out and then throw you overboard."" What?"

"That's the rules. That's what you do with stowaways. The ship has already started moving. If you don't pay, you're not supposed to be enjoying." Viren stared at her like she had gone mad.

"That is not the issue here, Acrypha. You're the one running away from everyone because you're a stupid little coward."" What?" Viren almost looked triumphant. Maybe because he had pulled out the same kind of reaction from her that the knocking him out statement had done so from him.

"Yes. You're a coward. Because you think running away from a fight is the best decision instead of standing and fighting." He scowled.

"And I thought I saw hero material in you." Her fingers flexed and Acrypha had to resist the urge to strangle him.

"I'm serious, Viren. Go back the way you came, or I'm going to make sure the sailors know you're a stowaway."

"What in the Realms are they going to do when they learn you're a runaway from the academy?" It was Acrypha's turn to look triumphant. She thrust a hand into her robes and pulled out a fistful of crisp notes.

"You should learn that money speaks a lot louder than words."

"Great Gods, I hate nobles!" Then he sneezed, which led to a scowl.

"I really hate them." A small part of Acrypha realized that he had gone through all that trouble for her. A slightly bigger part of her was reprimanding her for acting so harshly when he was doing this all for her sake. In a roundabout way, that was. But most of her was belligerently pointing out that he was doing what he thought was right for her, ignoring her wishes and intentions, refusing to respect her feelings on the matter. Acrypha wouldn't let that stand.

"A hero?" she snapped.

"I'd rather not be a weakling, thanks." The moment the words left her stupid mouth, her heart started pounding madly like it wanted to choke her with her own blood vessels. Deservedly so, maybe.

"Hey!" one of the Sailor Mages had finally come over, looking at the two of them with suspicion.

"What are you two doing? And you, boy. Why are you wet?" Neither Acrypha nor Viren took their eyes off each other, even though Acrypha could feel her panic being mirrored by Viren's own. And as if things weren't insane enough already, a rift tore open right next to them, depositing a gigantic hound with a starry pelt. The Sailor Mage cried out in fear and ran off, calling for assistance. Both Viren and Acrypha had whirled around. Viren's manasoul was clearly flaming alive.

"What in the blasted Realms is that?" Acrypha was struggling with her own. She was not about to let it emerge. The guardians would cause a terrible mess, especially when she was on a relatively crowded ship. She couldn't let that happen. Better to let the monstrous manabeast eat her than to allow her magic out and cause untold chaos.

"Fate—determined," the monstrous hound said.

"It can talk!" Viren said, retreating in shock. The giant hound ignored him and stared straight at Acrypha.

"Vestige—found. Thief—located. Warning—sent."

"Warning?" Viren asked.

"And thief…" His eyes widened as he rounded on Acrypha, whose mind was slowly starting to go blank.

"I don't know what it's talking about," she said.

"What did you do, Acrypha?" Viren asked with growing horror." I said I don't know!" And then another rift cracked open, the one her mind had been dreading the moment she had seen the massive manabeast pop out of one. Because both of them had been the exact same style. Black edged with cracks of gold. Marionys Ryland arrived.