The Fourth Realm (The Ten Realms Book 4) Read online

  The Fourth Realm

  Ten Realms Book 4

  By: Michael Chatfield

  Chapter: Internal Burning Pill

  Erik was in one of the private rooms of the Alva Healing House. In one hand, he held the Internal Burning pill. It had red cracks running through it and faint embers seemed to gather around it.

  In his other hand, he held a simple looking, curved dagger.

  He let out a breath and looked up at the IVs that were hooked up to his arms. He opened the taps on them, allowing the stamina and healing potions to flow through the tubes and into his veins.

  Erik took a deep breath. The Mana in the room moved with him as he prepared his Simple Heal spell.

  Erik threw the pill into his mouth and stabbed the dagger into his left calf. He had already cleaned the area and covered it in Wraith’s Touch.

  The pill burned its way down his throat, reaching his stomach, where it unleashed powerful and very concentrated Fire-attribute Mana inside his body.

  Fire attribute flames compounded the effect as power was released into his very bones over time, the two of them creating a synergistic effect.

  The potions entering his body went to work as Erik used his healing spell, causing the Mana around him to burst into motion with the full might of a Mana King.

  His body began to glow red from the Fire-Mana inside him. The blue-concentrated Mana in Alva appeared around him, the blue surrounding the red but not mixing. Erik’s Mana channels started to glow with the concentrated power within.

  Rugrat was the only other person in the room. Erik sat cross-legged on the stone floor, circulating Mana into his Simple Heal. His face twitched in pain as he was burned from the inside out by the powerful Fire-attribute Mana.

  It burned through his body, destroying blood, tissues, and more. It was as if a fire elemental had been created within his body that had no choice but to destroy Erik’s body, even as he tried to save himself.

  Erik pulled the blade out from his leg, a thread of fear filling his mind. Erik laughed coldly.

  Maybe today is the day I die. There was an odd sort of calm that came with that thought. He had no regrets, he had done all he could and wanted to do.

  But if I will die this day the reaper better come prepared for a fight!

  He forced himself through the ordeal. He was already committed and there was nothing he could do but deal with his decision. He grit his teeth, changing from Simple Heal to Focused Heal. He pulled out a needle filled with a powerful healing potion, gripping it in his hand, ready at a moment’s notice.

  A rumbling noise came from within Erik’s body as the power from the pill and the damage from the destructive Fire-attribute was being overcome by Eriks focused heal. It was like a good burn from working out, only much, much faster.

  He cried out as his body was rapidly rebuilt. The Fire-attribute Mana was within his body but it was being forcibly healed, his magic repairing the damage already done.

  Another wave of Fire-attribute Mana was pulsed out from the pill in his body, reaching farther than the wave before.

  His entire body was suffused with fire mana, slowly it was adapting, instead of acting like oil and water, his body was adapting incorporating the fire mana his very tissues were consumed and infused with the Fire-attribute Mana. His skin took on a red and dry appearance. Where his skin cracked, yellow-looking blood escaped his body.

  His eyes seemed to be glowing with a deep-red flame as the heat around him increased.

  From his bones, muscles, skin, tissues and down all the way to his marrow, his entire body was bathed in Fire-attribute Mana. The pill continued to send out wave after wave of Fire-attributed destruction while he healed the newly fire tempered flesh and bone.

  Erik’s body grew with the amount of power within his body, forcibly increasing his height. The Fire Mana seeped into his muscles and bones, changing them irrevocably to be longer, tougher and heavily resistant to fire.

  Erik’s mind had moved past the pain, it was no longer the focus, it was a drive. The burning was so intense that he felt that if he were to move his body, he would turn to ash.

  Rugrat had put his hands on Erik some time ago and was healing him. He took a needle from his storage ring and injected it directly into Erik’s body. Then he called in other healers. Seeing Erik’s appearance, the other healers couldn’t help but pause before they put their thoughts away and used their healing spells.

  Erik’s mind was fighting against the pain, focusing on breathing and casting his spell. His entire existence focused on these two things; everything else was background noise.

  Another round of deep rumbling noises came from within Erik’s body. Popping noises could be heard as Erik’s bones, which had been refined, impurities burned away looking like polished marble as it’s density had only increased with the mutative effects of the Fire-attribute Mana running through his system. The cuts across his skin closed, the red and yellow-looking blood within his veins became a healthier, darker red and his blood grew thicker, as if turning from water to syrup. Erik’s heartbeat sounded out in the room, stronger and more powerful than ever. He shed his old skin, his new skin unblemished, with no signs of the damage from before.

  His muscles were more defined, packed with explosive power.

  Erik let out a breath through his nose, expelling the heat, causing the air to distort, making the healers sweat from being in such close proximity of the hot breath.

  The healers continued to heal Erik. The Fire Mana that had ruined his body turned from toxin to tonic, as it purged out impurities that Erik hadn’t been able to draw out with poison.

  His entire body had been purified by the Fire-attribute Mana.

  His Body Like Stone was merely the foundation. The process of tempering his body through flames had further ignited his inner potential and continued his journey to progress into the higher levels of Body Cultivation.

  As soon as the strain on his body was relieved, he passed out.

  As he rested, the other healers continued to heal him, curing the hidden injuries within his body that had been left after taking the tempering pill.

  “Well, looks like that’s one way to temper your body,” concluded Rugrat. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. He stepped back after putting Erik in his bed. Rugrat’s legs shook from the power he had channeled through his body and the stress of knowing his friend’s life was in his hands.

  As Erik slept, Rugrat noticed Erik’s body continued to go through changes. The Fire-attribute Mana that had destroyed his body was no longer the raging Fire Elemental from before. It had been destroying his body but with the help of the healers and Rugrat, Erik’s body had been able to withstand the destructive forces of the Fire-attribute Mana. Erik had now taken the power of the Fire attribute for his own.

  Erik’s Strength had reached new heights. His resistance toward Fire-attribute Mana was now incredible. Normal flames wouldn’t be able to harm him anymore. He could exist in places filled with Fire-attribute Mana more easily now as well. Even purifying Fire-attribute Mana and storing it in his body was now possible.

  Mana Gathering cultivators looked to purify, compress, and then control Mana of all attributes, increasing the strength of their Mana channels and their mental capabilities so that they could handle different attribute Mana without being destroyed from within. Body cultivators on the other hand didn’t manipulate the different types of Mana. They tempered their bodies, taking in different attribute Mana by going to different lands filled with concentrated Mana and phenomena. They walked into volcanoes, into cold tundra, braved places of distorted space, mountains of lightning and skies of tempest winds. Step b
y step, they walked into lands that would kill others, all in a hope to increase their Strength. One wrong step and they could be crippled or killed.

  ***

  Erik woke up some time later. A nearby healer came over immediately.

  “How did it go?” Erik asked, as he used Simple Organic Scan to look through his body. He could see that his body had gone through a powerful change.

  “The effects of the pill were resolved,” The healer responded. Then they paused, taking time to gain the confidence to ask their question, “Were you able to increase your Body Cultivation?”

  Erik opened up his notifications.

  ==========

  Your base stats have increased!

  ==========

  Stamina +1

  Strength +1

  Agility +1

  Stamina Regeneration +1

  ==========

  “So little?” Erik pondered as he opened up his active quests.

  ==========

  Quest: Body Cultivation 2

  ==========

  The path of cultivating one’s body is not easy. To stand at the top, one must forge their own path forward.

  ==========

  Requirements:

  Reach Body Like Iron Level

  ==========

  Rewards:

  +6 to Strength

  +6 to Agility

  +6 to Stamina

  +10 to Stamina Regeneration

  +1,000,000 EXP

  ==========

  “Looks like reaching Body Like Iron will not be an easy task,” Erik sighed to himself.

  Still, he opened up his character sheet and took a look at the changes there.

  ==========

  Name: Erik West

  ==========

  Level: 32

  ==========

  Race: Human

  ==========

  Titles:

  From the Grave II

  Mana King

  Dungeon Master II

  Reverse Alchemist

  Poison Body

  ==========

  Strength: (Base 27) +39

  ==========

  660

  ==========

  Agility: (Base 20) +41

  ==========

  335

  ==========

  Stamina: (Base 30) +9

  ==========

  585

  ==========

  Mana: (Base 6) +35

  ==========

  410

  ==========

  Mana Regeneration (Base 10) +40

  26.50/s

  ==========

  Stamina Regeneration: (Base 28) +33

  13.20/s

  ==========

  Erik closed his notifications and then closed his eyes, feeling for the changes in his body. When he leveled up, the power of the Ten Realms would enter his body, modifying it. When he was able to temper his own body it wasn’t the strength of the Ten Realms but his own personal Strength that increased. It took time getting used to the changes in his stats when he leveled up, as if he were using a new tool but when his base stats increased, it only took a few moments to adjust.

  It was like how a marksman could pick up any gun and be decent with it, just as a layman could do the same. Yet a marksman would be able to quickly acclimate to the new weapon, improving their effectiveness with it faster than the layman.

  Erik checked himself once more before he started to pull out the IVs.

  he healer who was tending to him asked, “Sir?”

  “Looks like it works,” Erik responded, “but the pill by itself won’t be enough.” Erik got up, a frown on his face. His next ideas to complete his Fire tempering were a lot more drastic. “How long have I been out for?”

  “Just one day,” the healer replied.

  “Then there’s still plenty of work to be done, Thank you for your help.” Erik told the healer watching him. He then headed out of the healing house and toward the academy.

  Chapter: Sockets

  Rugrat was hammering away at a piece of metal. When they had returned from the Third Realm, Rugrat threw himself into smithing but training their troops had taken over and he had needed to put smithing to the side.

  As he trained Alva’s military, he had mentally worked on new ideas and plans. Sending messages to Tan Xue and Taran, they had taken on different projects he had thought of. Ater he had seen more of the Ten Realms, he had a number of ideas that they hadn’t considered before. He had talked to Julilah and Qin about formations as well. When he had five seconds of free time, he had read through books that he’d borrowed from the library. Then, he helped Erik with increasing his Body Cultivation.

  Now finally, he was able to get into the smithy once again. Though this time it was not the smithy from before but a tier-three smithy, complete with testing rooms, massive refineries and several different furnaces and smelting areas that people could use to draw out their skill to its fullest. Rugrat’s mobile smithy was decent. It was an Apprentice-level smithy and wouldn’t reduce one’s ability to forge powerful items but it wouldn’t help either. Only Journeyman-level smithies and higher had the capability to increase one’s smithing ability.

  The simplest workspaces were Apprentice-classed. Before, there had been Novice-grade work areas that could slightly decrease a person’s smithing ability, leaving them with a worse final product. but, These had been mostly abandoned by the time of the smith’s upgrade.

  Now, there was an Expert-level smithing room and five Journeyman smithing rooms, along with twenty Apprentice-level smithing rooms.

  From the flames, to the tools and flames the different rooms saw a jump in grade. The Journeyman-level smithing rooms had powerful flames that could deal with all Mortal-level metals and a few Earth-grade metals without needing extra help from the smiths.

  The Expert-level flames could melt Earth and low-level Sky metals easily, other lower grade flames would need a catalyst or enhancers that might reduce the quality of the flame and the forge later on. The tools that were supplied by the higher level forges could not only deal with these high-octane flames but excel and remain unaffected by the increase in power and hardness of the various metals.

  There were also formations in the smiths that concentrated Mana, increasing one’s Mana Regeneration rate, as well as passive formations that increased one’s smithing ability. These formations helped to remove distractions and put the smith in the best possible mental state while they were working.

  The new formations were only located in the Journeyman and higher workshops. If one was an Apprentice, then they would get a ten percent increase in smithing ability in the Journeyman-level smithing rooms and twenty percent when they were in the Expert-level rooms. A person at the Journeyman level would only get a five percent increase in smithing ability in the Journeyman smithing rooms and a ten percent increase in the Expert-level rooms. This didn’t sound like much but it increased the ease with which one might reach a state of enlightenment and how long they could maintain it.

  With this bonus, people at the cusp of a breakthrough would sell their soul to get even an hour in the Expert-level smithing room.

  Clear rules had needed to be put in place to regulate each different forges’ schedule. Preference was given to the council members, then the department heads, followed by those with the highest ranked skill level, descending downward through the skill levels so that the time in the Expert-smithing room wouldn’t ever be wasted.

  Rugrat co-ruled Alva, so he could have demanded use of the Expert-level smithing room but instead he had taken a Journeyman-level room. Tan Xue was trying to break through from Journeyman to Expert. As the department head, she didn’t have to care about lessons too much, instead passing on insights to the teachers and focusing on improving her own skills.

  Though at the moment, she was nowhere near the forges, spending her time with the formation workshop people. Her problem wasn’t her smithing skill; her problem lay in her skill with formations. Jo
urneyman-level weapons or armor were those that had one innate effect and a formation or enchantment. Her enchantments were simple, allowing them to be Journeyman weapons but they were still on the weaker side of Journeyman.

  An Expert-class smith needed to pull out two innate effects from their crafted weapon along with the space for two enchantments and the ability to bind to a single person. . She could bring out the two innate effects with difficulty but she wasn’t sure how to complete the two enchantments and the binding ability. So, she had turned from smithing to formations and spending her time talking to Qin and Julilah to increase her knowledge. She didn’t need to know all of the secrets to formation making but the general knowledge would allow her to alter how she made her weapons, so that they would be able to hold two enchantments.

  A person in the First Realm with an Expert-level piece of armor or weapon could rise to power, dominating in the First Realm. Even people from the Fifth and Sixth Realms would be tempted by Expert-level gear.

  Rugrat, seeing the struggles that Tan Xue was facing and knowing his own weakness in formations, had come up with a new idea.

  Rugrat hammered down on the metal. It hummed with his resonating blow, the red-hot metal singing. Rugrat had a grin on his face at seeing the metal bend to his will, turning from ingot to tool.

  It was something he thought he would never see again after his crippling injury. He had been sure he would never feel the heat on his face or the Mana that boiled in the air and rushed through his veins. It was like jumping out of a plane or being a teenager racing around in a car. The rush of creation was definitely Rugrat’s drug of choice. Maybe it was a close second, after beer.

  Rugrat put his hammer away, picking up the iron bar and forming a Mana blade. Pieces of metal fell from what he was holding, hissing as they touched the floor.

  Rugrat didn’t notice, completely focused on his work the Journeyman room’s higher mana content and the Heart Calming pills that Erik had passed him turned him into a machine as he worked.

  His movements were like a work of art. The rough form transformed in his hands, changing from a rigid piece of metal to the back of a gauntlet. It took him less than a minute as he finished that step and quenched the metal.