Chapter 451 Expanded
It was quite hard for Nial to come to terms with the fact that his overall foundation was actually on par with the Late God of Darkness if not even higher.
However, upon thinking about it with a calmer heart and mind, Nial figured that he possessed all powers of Damian, though a bit weaker, in addition to an Innate ability and five evolved and linked abilities.
Even if his innate mana talent as a human was supposed to be weaker than Damian's, it was quite obvious that the external support of the absorbed Titan heart, the Symbol of Life, and the Fairies' Blessing made a huge impact as well.
'I had many precious encounters, didn't I?' Nial thought with a smug expression on his face. They were still jumping through space using the Teleportation Device. It was not long before they would reach the Forest of Life, and he would see his father once again!
Less than half an hour later, Nial stored the Teleportation Device in his spatial ring. He expanded his range of perception using his Mana Sense and a small amount of mana.
The range in which he could visualize everything to a certain extent crossed 100 kilometers, which was more than enough to find out where everyone he knew was located.
'Mathias and Sabrina are still not back, and Dad is with the Royal Princess…doesn't she pay way too much attention to my dad?' Nial figured out everything important in no time. He couldn't perceive Master Crevian right now but he knew that the Old Elf was doing fine, so there was no need to worry about him.
After circulating mana through his body, Nial dashed toward the Forest of Life. He chose to visit his father first. There were a few things that intrigued him, especially the reports from the Onyx Association and the Orion Artisan Guild about what had happened in the last few months, but they could wait for a few more hours.
'I can, at least, inform Melheim, I guess,' Nial thought and he made a small detour to the recently established shelter. He knew that the shelter had been constructed a few months ago, but its name was still a mystery to him. And that was perfectly fine!
Nial reached the plot where his organizations were built to flourish and an expression of satisfaction replaced his confusion.
Both the Onyx Association and the Orion Artisan Guild were thriving well. More buildings had been added and Nial could clearly sense the presence of close to a hundred thousand Originals. That was quite shocking because Nial hadn't expected such a terrific number.
Yet, even more astonishing was the fact that Originals of other races seemed to have joined the Onyx association and the Orion Artisan Guild as well.
That didn't really make sense because the humans of Jundra were neither the best Runiciers, Alchemists, and Blacksmiths, nor the strongest combatants.
Even if Nial didn't know the exact rank of the strongest human on Jundra, he was pretty sure that it was, at most, at the Deux rank. As for their talent as Runiciers, it was safe to assume that most new Runiciers were only able to create Tier-0 runic armaments, at most.
Even that would be great enough for Nial to be satisfied with the progress of his Artisans.
Nonetheless, for other races, who had a history with mana and runic constellations of millennia if not nearly an eternity, Nial couldn't understand their reasons for joining his organizations.
'I can figure out everything necessary in the future. There is no need to stress myself,' Nial calmed himself easily and he diverted his attention. Melheim Zorn had been the strongest and most trustworthy Original when Nial had still been in the Forest of Life.
That was also why he had appointed him as the Guild leader of the Orion Artisan Guild and the Vice-President of the Onyx Association when he left. Nial was merely the leader who would oversee things from the shadows either way as it made things much easier for him.
If he could avoid the bothersome attention that would be given to him upon returning as Guild Leader and President, Nial would gladly keep that aspect of his identity a secret.
'There are, at least, five foreign races I've never heard about, and the number of humans increased drastically as well. As for their mana, it has been trained and strengthened with the use of special Martial Art, and Spellcraft techniques.
Looks like other races have taken a keen interest in the humans of Jundra. Being able to bind five abilities is quite unique, after all!' Nial figured while turning into a shadow that passed through the building.
He appeared in the office that had belonged to him before he left, and the sound of a chair falling over resounded through the room just a moment later.
Melheim Zorn had been leaning over a stash of paper a moment earlier when he sensed some familiar, yet far stronger, mana. He instinctively jumped up to greet Nial with a welcoming smile.
"Nial, you're back!!" Melheim exclaimed in a voice that was much louder than he expected from himself.
Nial raised an eyebrow at the excessive enthusiasm of the Ranked Original, but he didn't mind it.
"I am back, but I will visit my father soon. Please prepare all necessary reports, and give me a list of prostheses I have to make for the new members. There should be a big stockpile of pending requests of prostheses to make by now," He ordered, pointing out a few things he wanted to have done.
"I hope you guys carefully read through the application forms of our members before taking them in so I can take a look at all of them when I have the time. We have a bunch of unique new members, after all, haven't we?" Nial smiled when he finished his question but Melheim Zorn's earlier excitement evaporated.
His smile faltered and it looked like black rings were forming under his eyes.
'Thankfully I found a few meticulous secretaries, otherwise, Nial would probably kick me out of this place right at this moment,' Melheim thought, wiping away the sweat that had formed on his temples.
Nial knew that he was asking for quite a bit right now but it was essential for him to find out what exactly had changed and the reason for the members of the foreign races to join his organizations.
There had to be something amiss and reading the application form and reports would give him some insights.
"I'm off then, and I will probably come back in a few hours," Nial announced after a few seconds of silence.
Melheim Zorn bowed to Nial who merged with the shadows below him. He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, leaving the human Original in a stupor.
"I could tell that he became stronger…but what the hell is that?" Melheim clutched his chest after he lifted his head when he sensed the faint fluctuations of dark energy that were released as Nial turned one with the shadows.
He realized that Nial's strength and control of his powers exceeded his by far. A child much younger than him had attained power Melheim couldn't even imagine receiving.
However, that was something he could have expected. Nial was the one to have helped him regain his sight in a manner that was not supposed to be possible. He had created a near-identical replica of an eyeball using runic constellations, providing him with provisional sight.
Melheim knew that Nial would improve the runic eyes whenever his knowledge and skills as a Runicier would improve and the middle-aged man's heart fluttered at the thought of further improved sight.
He clenched his fist and tried to control the surge of emotions that swept through him as he blinked his eyes to stop the daydreaming.
'I should get to work, otherwise, I might displease Nial…I really shouldn't do that!' Melheim Zorn thought, returning to work a mere second later. He was determined to leave no stone unturned to please his master.
While Melheim returned to work with more motivation than ever before, Nial made his way back to the Forest of Life.
He had picked up the Little Oracle and Ryu from where he had left them before talking to Melheim and he slowly made his way through the new shelter.
Lots of attention was pulled toward him because of the Little Oracle's otherworldly beautiful appearance.
No one had ever seen such a beautiful young girl, but that was not all.
After all, there was a charismatic young man holding the otherworldly beautiful young girl's hand, and a fluffy monster youngling was lying on his shoulder.
Just what was going on?