Bordered between rich forests to the North, a wide river to the South, a mountain to the East, and a huge lake to the West, Sil Alari's main source of income was fishing, trading natural resources, and mining gold from many gold mines scattered across the kingdom. Many coveted the gold mines over the past decades. Still, none succeeded in taking the mines from the elven royal family of Sil Alari. In addition to the gold mines, many rare ore mines scattered across the kingdom, such as Stantine, Kronor, and Lagrine. Stantine was primarily used in building lightweight airships. For example, the airship of Tanulia Valren was built with Stantine as well as the hunter guardian armors. The metal had an affinity for runes like none other. Hence, placing runes on the metal was much easier than on other metals.
Sil Alari had perfect tropical paradise weather, contributing to the kingdom's beauty. The kingdom was one of the prettiest kingdoms in the whole world with elegance; small, hidden ponds, gorgeous flower fields, and small, playful waterfalls were just a sliver of the majesty Sil Alari has to offer. Normally, a kingdom like Sil Alari would be cherished by foreigners and tourists. However, Sil Alari had the lowest tourist visit because of the elves' cold nature towards foreigners. The Alarians felt foreigners would hurt their kingdom's prestige and attractiveness.
As a result, Sil Alari had unbending laws and law enforcement. Any crime committed inside the border by whether an alarian or a foreigner, mostly they would be thrown into a mountain prison or killed on the spot by beheading. Sil Alari's crime rate was almost one percent due to its strict laws and punishments.
This was also reflected in the kingdom's flag, which had three vertical stripes and a circle in dark pink and bronze. Their coat of arms was animal teeth on a hexagon, symbolizing their ruthlessness.
Sil Alari had three cities, each ruled by an elven duke. Michael's destination, the Aqua Palace, was built in the city of Allen Alari, named after an ancestor of King Lyklor Alari. Allen Alari was a military city with barracks and a military shipyard. The entire city was surrounded by thick walls.
The ruler of Allen Alari, Duke Ailas Alari, King Lyklor Alari's cousin, resided in the most fortified forts in the entire kingdom, which could be seen from anywhere in the city. The elves and dwarves built the castle atop a mountain with a beautiful ocean backdrop behind them.
Michael, Gaya, and Eve stepped into a dimly lit room where they noticed two guards sleeping peacefully. The two guards wore pale red robes, symbolizing their roots in House Rottgard.
With a flick of her wrist, Gaya took out a dagger to cut their throats in their sleep. However, Michael stopped her,
"Let them be," Michael opened the window slowly to jump outside instead of killing them. The trio landed between two buildings built with gray brick stones. The sun was still on the horizon, slowly rising to light the dark alleyways. Michael quickly removed his mask and put on his usual black robes before walking out of the dark alley and stepping onto the street.
Considering it was still early in the morning, the streets weren't as crowded as one would expect. Rather, only the early birds walked out of their homes to start their days. Most of them were elves. The air itself smelled rich and sweet, just like the elves.
"This way," Eve and Gaya said at the same time and looked at each other, smiling.
"You lead the way," Eve told Gaya before taking out a healing potion.
"You'll be alright. We are close to the cure," Michael patted Eve on the back as Gaya walked forward, leading them to the Aqua Palace. The elves on the streets threw a cold glance at the trio, showing their irritation towards humans and foreigners.
"Fucking elves," Gaya suppressed her anger and cursed them in a low-pitched voice. She rarely muffled her voice, yet even Gaya didn't dare to offend the elves, knowing the rules and punishments. The streets were brightly lit with blue street lamps. Many were put out since the sun has risen on the horizon.
"How far is it?" Michael asked, walking on the streets straight as an arrow. While following Gaya, Michael noticed the castle atop the mountain in the distance. Looking at the castle, he couldn't help imagining a castle of his own. But, at the moment, he just sighed and followed Michael without noticing Eve's gaze on him.
Michael had a hard time believing Gaya when she said there was no poor in Awor until he noticed the elegant buildings on either side of the street. He had seen at least fifty elves, and none of them looked slightly poor. Instead, they looked like the nobles in Elon, even the elf carrying a bucket full of bread.
He just walked behind Gaya, observing his surroundings and breathing the rich sweet air. To be honest, It felt like he had stepped into another world. The palace screamed fantasy and grandeur with all the marble buildings, elves, and glowing runes on the walls. Moreover, the concentration of arch energy was so thick that he almost wished he could cultivate like others.
"After we deal with everything, we should stay here for some time and cultivate," Michael said to Gaya.
"You know if you want to cultivate, you should rent the Aqua Garden," Eve informed them as she used to cultivate in the Aqua Garden. As the name suggested, it was a gigantic garden with a high concentration of Arch and Celestial energy. There were several private cabins built in the garden for cultivation. One could rent these cabins according to their preference and cultivate if they had wealth. Of course, the cabins were categorized into several categories such as lotus, lily, jasmine, and green leaf. The lotus cabin was the costliest, while the green leaf was the cheapest. But the cheapest green leaf cabin would cost 40,000 gold coins for two days.
Although Michael didn't need any energy concentrated places like others, he wanted to give Gaya the best place to get stronger. With his 40% boost from the system, Gaya could break through to the Soul Refining Stage in a few weeks if she stayed here.
"Oh right…" Gaya dragged her words.
Unlike Eve, Michael felt something was amiss. But he couldn't ask her in front of Eve. So Michael just pretended not to notice anything and followed her behind in silence. Almost fifteen minutes later, they turned left in the street and reached the pier, where Michael noticed several boats of various sizes docked.
The ocean breeze swept across his face as the sight of the rising sun on the horizon captivated his mind. Then, for a few moments, he just leaned against the railings and watched the sunrise and the majestic lotus-shaped glass building on a tiny island. The glass building was a peak of architectural beauty and mastery. The golden sun rays illuminated the building and made it look like a giant lotus floating on the ocean.
"Sorry to disturb your sightseeing, but we are in a rush," Gaya flicked his ears, snapping him back to reality.
"I'll go rent a boat," Gaya turned around and went to the line of boats adjacent to the long wooden pier. While Gaya was hiring a boat, Eve joined Michael in sightseeing. It was more like resting her body than sightseeing. She wanted to lean against the rail to regain some strength.
"How are you doing?" Michael asked,
"Better than the most, I guess," Eve took a deep breath. Michael could see the dark circles under her eyes and the paleness of her skin. Her condition was worsening by the minute; if it wasn't for the healing potion, she would have lost consciousness.
"It's gonna be alright. We go to the Aqua Palace, buy everything I need to brew the cure and cure everyone. Easy as that," Michael smiled.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I have the formula and knowledge. I'm not bragging, but I am better than all your heavenly alchemists. It's only a matter of time before I get to the six-star level. I know it's hard to believe until you see the cure in action but have some faith,"
"Why do you think I'm here? I have faith in you Ghost, even though we barely know each other,"
"We went through life or death battles Eve,"
"Not sure about the second one. That was an outright massacre. You will be a god walking among mortals with the potion of yours. You killed Fusion Stage cultivators like they were nothing. Becareful Ghost, many would literally kill you to have a power like that,"
"Won't you and Voldigards protect me?" Michael grinned again as Eve sighed.
"In case you haven't noticed, Voldigards are in need of protection. However, I will do my best to help you however I can. We still have some connections in Yeserius,"
Michael really appreciated Eve. Even when they were down, she agreed to help him. People like them would be hard to find. Besides, Voldigards reminded Michael of the Sunrise sect. When he first met Claire and the elders in the heaven's gate competition, they were the weakest sect on the continent. But nowadays, the Sunrise sect was on its way to rivaling the three big sects themselves.
So it was only a matter of time before Voldigards regained their former glory with the help of Michael. At first, it would look like Michael helping them but in the future, they would be one of his strongest allies in Awor.
"When we have the cure in our hands, we can play gods in your kingdom Eve,"
"You really are something," Eve chuckled after hearing his words. For now, she just wanted to cure her family more than anything. contemporary romance
"Let's go," Finally, Gaya finished negotiating and came to their side.
Eve emptied another healing potion before following Gaya behind to a row boat big enough to hold four people, including the skipper, who was a brawny human.
"Welcome aboard," the man said in a thick voice and expressionless face when Gaya slowly stepped into the boat. Next, she helped Eve get on board, and lastly, Michael.
"Next stop, the Aqua Palace" Gaya rubbed her palms together, showing her excitement. In a few days, they would earn millions by selling the cure throughout Thera.
done.co