Parting and Underground
Geiger Dole and his son appeared to be completely cordial towards strong individuals, and Leylin only responded with a smile.
“Attention! Attention! You have now entered Port Elias! This area is under the protection of the mighty master of the void, the Flapwing, the Dignitary of the Asak Continent: the almighty Nefarious Filthbird! We advise that you abide by the Port’s rules, lest you suffer the wrath of the Port’s guardians and the Supreme’s punishment!” A mechanical voice transmitted the message onto the ship, carrying a trace of a threat with it. Geiger Dole, however, was evidently used to this and did not react.
After all, the port was being protected by a powerful Dignitary, so they could only follow the rules.
“The Nefarious Filthbird?! Asak Continent’s Dignitary?!” Leylin’s eyes flickered slightly as he looked towards the top of the Port and saw a giant statue of a bird atop an enormous mountain.
“Isn’t this place near the Hail Continent? How can the Dignitary of another continent spread its influence all the way here? Unless…” Many ideas ran through Leylin’s mind. On the surface, however, Leylin was calm and collected as he followed Geiger Dole off the ship and into the docks.
There was a flood of people on the ground, and the clamour in the place was spectacular. Even the air in the region seemed to be sizzling slightly. The fishy smell of sea trade, the odour of livestock and other assorted scents blended into a stench that could make anyone feel nauseous. Even Leylin’s brow creased a little in response.
*Crash! Crash!* A huge mechanical arm rumbled monotonously, grabbing goods from the holds and decks of the ships and transporting them down. At the end of the endlessly operating transport belt was a gigantic body and, and next to it were tall and very muscular humanoids. They shouted as they transported the boxes of raw goods away. From time to time, the urging and condemning of a yardmaster could be heard.
If they used extraordinary magical power, the entire process could be sped up considerably. However, without even considering whether that would be cost-effective, why would those extraordinarily powerful people condescend to perform such menial tasks?
“Mister, your ship was confirmed to be an ancient type 3 model, accompanied by a huge life form of rank 5 physical status. You will need to pay…” At this moment, a flexible-looking giant octopus that was holding a notebook, a fountain pen, and other such tools arrived in front of Geiger Dole.
“I know, I know!” Geiger Dole waved his hand, throwing a little black bag to the octopus. Furthermore, Leylin saw Geiger Dole stuff a pink pearl into one of the octopus’ tentacle suckers. The pearl disappeared in a wink and Leylin was left speechless. Apparently, no matter what era it was, this sort of thing was unavoidable.
“Alright then, Mister Geiger Dole, Mister Geiger! I shall take my leave first.”
As soon as Geiger Dole finished his procedures, Leylin bid them farewell with a smile and, shortly after his figure disappeared into the bustling crowd.
Geiger Dole and Geiger looked in Leylin’s direction, and they couldn’t help but covertly exchange spiritual undulations with each other for a while.
“Mister Ley left just like that?” Geiger still couldn’t resign himself to this.
“Cheer up, son!” Geiger Dole’s spiritual undulations were transmitted over, “Even without our help Mister Ley had enough strength to arrive at the continent by himself. It was only a matter of time. Furthermore, we have already benefited a lot from the Thornback Ironwhale he gave us, so we shouldn’t make too many unreasonable demands. Fair trade and complying with the law, that is what our almighty senior, the Trial’s Eye, has taught us. We must follow his doctrine thoroughly.
“Yes, you’re right, Lord Father.” Geiger’s vertical eye showed his low spirits, as did his tendrils. “However, I still feel like it’s a pity....”
“Lord Ley’s departure is actually good for us!” There was still a trace of dignity in Geiger Dole’s large vertical eyes.
“What do you mean?” Geiger didn’t seem to understand.
“I am afraid the secret Mister Ley carries isn’t a small matter. Although I haven’t made in-depth contact with him, I’m already near the bottleneck of the Elder Stage, and even with my spiritual sight Mister Ley was still shrouded in fog. Occasionally, his aura makes me feel oppression and fear that not even the Elders can generate.”
Geiger Dole still seemed to have some lingering fear, ”If such a person were to have an outburst and attack us, it would be a disaster to the fleet and the entire Eden Trading Company! Now, however, he decided to leave us of his own accord. Since we’re still on friendly terms, it’s good for both parties.”
“So that’s the case! Mister Ley was actually this powerful?” Geiger looked at his father. Suddenly, he became aware that there was still a lot of things left for him to learn.
……
‘A.I. Chip, what’s the progress on the data collection?’ Leylin leisurely strolled around the streets while secretly communicating with the A.I. Chip.
[Beep! Collecting data on the outside world… 79 new species were discovered… 34 species match information on the database, 25 unknown. 20 species are completely foreign organisms.] The A.I. Chip’s reply was lightning quick, and it projected a great amount of data in front of Leylin.
In ancient times, the Magus World was incomparably powerful and had taken over many worlds. Ancient Magi had even made contact with the Purgatory World, which meant that it was possible to find the descriptions of some lifeforms in the large amount of ancient data that the A.I. Chip had collated.
Leylin opened an image at random and, from the picture, a ball of thick black mist that did not have a fixed form emerged. This was a member of an alien tribe he had seen earlier.
[Blackmist Clan, a semi-elemental lifeform. Enjoys living in environments full of darkness particles, suspected to be native to the Shadow World. In ancient times they had migrated to many other worlds, and there are currently 12 subspecies that have been discovered.]
The many passersby on the street did not make a fuss over the appearance of the ball of black mist, so they were clearly accustomed to it.
In addition to the Black Mist Clan, Leylin had discovered many ancient tribes that were recorded in the ancient books and even some completely unknown creatures. All these existences lived harmoniously and prosperously in Port Elias.
Different tribes had different lifestyles. This could cause some contradictions and disrupt harmony, especially for those kinds of dark existences at these docks, but Leylin didn’t notice any intense conflicts or fights. It was clear that they were under strong suppression.
‘In terms of biodiversity and number of special species, the Purgatory World has probably surpassed the Magus World…’ Leylin’s expression was slightly grave.
Just the power of laws that the Purgatory World’s seven dignitaries possessed was enough to crush the surface Magus World. If not for the Magus World’s World Will suppressing foreign laws to a terrifying degree, perhaps it would already have been conquered by powerful beings from other worlds.
‘No. I’m afraid the World Will’s suppression wouldn’t be enough to deter the Snake Dowager and the others,’ Leylin stroked his chin, ‘Even if they’ve been suppressed, entities that wield laws can very easily deal with Rank 6 Breaking Dawn Monarchs. Only creatures of equal rank could make them worry… Could it be that there are some rank 7 or greater Magi from ancient times still in the Magus World?’
‘Perhaps they are hiding in a secret location and have become enough of a formidable force to intimidate other worlds. No! It they were on the surface, no matter how low a profile they kept, rumors of these entities would have spread, unless… they are underground!’ Leylin’s eyes suddenly lit up.
The Magus World still had a deep and vast subterranean world. Even the powerful Magi from ancient times had only explored and discovered seven layers of this underground world.
Going into the subterranean world was too dangerous even for the ancient Magi. If an Abyssal Matriarch-ranked existence appeared in the seven layers of the subterranean world, it was enough to rival the strongest Law Magi. Therefore, ancient magi were not able to completely control the subterranean world they had discovered.
If it was like this within the seven layers then how about even deeper underground? Leylin suddenly felt somewhat fortunate, the underground of the Magus World was indeed deep and no one knew what terrifying existences or shocking secrets were hidden there.
He had boldly cooperated with the Lyas family to develop the underground, and as expected it was a sensible decision. Otherwise, if they attracted the attention of some powerful existence, let alone Magi who wielded laws, even with the assistance of the strongest Breaking Dawn Monarchs there would be no profit left for him and Eam to make. All the influence would be taken over by others, and it would be working for nothing.
This outcome was something he could never accept.
‘Although the probability of the power of laws appearing in the first layer of the subterranean world was small, there would definitely be Magi on the level of Breaking Dawn! Then there was that King Arthur who had established the Arthur Empire. He had to be a Breaking Dawn Magus, and could even be a powerhouse among the rank 6 Magi!’
Leylin’s eyes twinkled without end, ‘Boldly exploring the subterranean world, even if only the first layer, is truly an irrational thing to do before reaching rank 6.’
With this thought, Leylin couldn’t help recalling that Thorned Thunderbird Warlock clan’s elder- Eam Lyas.
Perhaps Eam was indeed making preparations to explore the subterranean world, and was waiting for Leylin to return?
However, right now it was impossible for Leylin to return in the short term, and the earlier treaty was merely an agreement of intentions. The most crucial point was that Leylin had not agreed on a specific time to explore the subterranean world with Eam. Thus, it could not be said that he was violating the contract.
‘I’ll have to ask you to wait a bit longer, Eam. Wait for me to advance to Breaking Dawn, then I will definitely go and fulfil our agreement!’ The corners of Leylin’s mouth curved into a smile.