The island that once radiated dense mana now lay silent, and utterly lifeless. The last traces of mana essence had vanished, leaving behind nothing but multiple craters, and a faint metallic tang of blood in the air.
A few minutes after Arthur and his group left, a tear in the sky appeared above the floating island, and three streaks of light descended from it, slamming into the cracked ground hard enough to split the ground further. When the light faded, three figures stood there, tall and imposing. They were in their humanoid form, but their presence was unmistakably draconic.
Each of them carried an aura that would make anyone with low willpower cower in their presence, and all three of these dragons possessed strength comparable to an Archmage.
The one in front had silvery-blue hair tied loosely behind his head, he had sharp violet eyes that seemed to pierce through space itself. His expression was cold and prideful, the kind of pride that came naturally to a dragon who had never once been defeated.
He was Prince Roderic of the Azure Fang, the second heir of Dravareth, one of the three Dragon Kingdoms.
He took a slow breath, his gaze sweeping the hollow crater in front of him. The mana-saturated rocks beneath his boots still contained faint traces of mana essence, indicating what once had been here. "The mana essence…" he muttered, voice heavy with restrained fury. "It's gone. Not even the essence crystals are left behind."
The dragon standing behind him, a broad-shouldered one with obsidian horns curling backward, knelt slightly. "Prince Roderic, I sense the aura of Princess Selene here. Perhaps she was the one who took it."
Roderic's eyes narrowed. His lips curled into something between a sneer and a smirk. "Selene, huh? Always one step ahead." His tone darkened as he added, "It doesn't matter. She'll eventually fall into my grasp. But we must get that mana essence from her before we exit the Ancient Realm. If it reaches the old king's hands…" He clenched his jaw. "We can forget about it."
The third dragon, lean and feminine-looking with pale silver hair, tilted his head. "Prince… her father already offered her hand to you for marriage. Why not wait? You could simply demand a portion of the mana essence from him."
Roderic turned to him slowly, amusement flickering in his eyes as he replied. "Do you truly think her father has any say in the matter? The one who decides isn't her father. It's King Theros, her great-grandfather."
At that name, the other two dragons stiffened. The Dragon King of Eldraheim, Theros the Eternal, was known for his strength and his ruthlessness.
"And I don't think," Roderic continued, "that old fossil would part with even a single drop of mana essence. Not even if I married his favorite great-granddaughter."
The first dragon hesitated. "Then what do we do, Your Highness? Should we really attack her? If word reaches King Theros…"
Roderic cut him off with a scoff. "What would he do? Our kingdom is stronger than Eldraheim now. Even if they declared war, they wouldn't win… not this time."
A tense silence followed, broken only by the sound of their breathing.
The two dragons exchanged glances and finally nodded. "Understood, Your Highness."
"Good," Roderic said simply, his smirk returning. He turned his gaze toward the horizon. "She can't have gone far. Find her, I want that mana essence, all of it."
The dragon with the curved horns closed his eyes, an unknown glowing faintly across his temple. "I can faintly sense her trail. The spatial residue left by her magic… is faint, but still traceable. She's heading north." They couldn't pinpoint her exact location but the dragon had specialized spells that helped in tracking. So, they were able to get the general direction of Selene.
"Then that's where we will go," Roderic said, his voice low but sharp. "Let's make sure the princess realizes that her treasures belong to her future husband."
The dragons spread their wings and took off towards north in synchronized flight, as the air cracked in their wake.
…
Six hours later
Arthur's group flew above the scattered clouds that drifted lazily through the skies of the pocket dimension and the strange floating archipelagos, chunks of land wrapped in mist which were scattered throughout the pocket dimension.
Finally, after travelling for more than six hours they saw a massive island, easily several times larger than any they had come across so far. Its surface was covered with mist, and they were only able to see what was in it properly by crossing the layer of mist, the island's ground was covered with trees that bore fruits, and flowers the size of a basin. It looked less like a wild place and more like a divine orchard, a paradise untouched by time.
Finn whistled. "Holy hell. This looks like something out of a myth."
Eva nodded, and said with her eyes wide. "And those fruits… they're emitting pure mana. I believe they are extremely precious."
Selene, who was beside Arthur, narrowed her eyes slightly. "Be cautious, sometimes these beautiful orchards usually come with danger. As it doesn't appear to be natural, it has an owner, so there could be defensive measures to protect it."
Arthur nodded faintly. "Yeah. I was thinking the same."
They descended slowly and landed near the edge of the island. The air was warm, rich with the scent of fruit and soil, but there was tension in the atmosphere, a silent unease that everyone could feel.
As they approached the orchard, they realized they weren't alone. Dozens of explorers were gathered nearby, elves, humans, demi-humans and even a few demons, all standing around the trees without making a move. The scene was odd, as not one person was picking anything from the trees.
Arthur frowned and approached the nearest group along with Finn, which seemed to be led by an elf with short silver hair and calm green eyes.
"Excuse me," Arthur began, his tone was polite but curious. "Why's everyone just… standing here? Are the fruits poisoned or something?"
The elf turned towards him, sighing heavily. "I wish that were the problem," he said. "No… these fruits are untouchable. Every tree is covered by an invisible shield, and no one can get through it. Even Archmages tried and failed."
Finn raised an eyebrow. "Wait, seriously? Archmages couldn't break a barrier?"
The elf chuckled humorlessly. "You think we didn't try? If you came a few hours ago, there were more than twenty Archmages and grandmasters here. They combined their attacks, tried arrays, everything. But there was not even a scratch left on the tree. Most gave up and went deeper into the island."
Arthur frowned, glancing around at the thousands of radiant fruit-bearing trees that stretched across the island. It was a goldmine of resources, if only they could access it.
"Thanks," Arthur said. "Appreciate the info."
The elf nodded wearily. "If you figure out a way, you'll be richer than kings."
Arthur walked back to his group and relayed what he'd learned.
Finn groaned. "Look at all those trees, it's like they are just sitting there, and taunting us."
Sophia folded her arms. "It's probably a test. This entire realm feels designed to test our strength and wit."
Leon nodded hearing what Sophia had just said. "Probably… There must be a way to take those fruits."
Arthur thought of something and then said, "Stay here. I'll take a look at it myself."
He approached one of the trees that wasn't surrounded by people, a tall willowy plant with golden fruits that emitted a sweet scent. As he neared it, he felt a resistance as his fingertips met something solid like pushing against a wall made out of glass, but one that was invisible, yet impenetrable.
He circled around the tree slowly, scanning it from every angle. The barrier wrapped the entire plant like a perfect dome. Even his enhanced senses couldn't trace a flaw or opening.
Arthur sighed and muttered, "Alright… let's see if it works."
He reached out with his mana, trying to probe the structure of the barrier. But the instant he did, his mana rebounded, scattering everywhere without even causing a ripple on the barrier.
He frowned deeper and contacted the Guardian AI with a thought.
'Scan the barrier. For a full-spectrum sweep.'
A few seconds passed before the AI replied,
[Analysis Complete. The energy field contains no detectable frequency patterns or structural weaknesses.]
Arthur sighed, rubbing his chin. 'Even you can't detect it… it must be rune-based, then.'
[Affirmative Commander, there's a high possibility of it being constructed using high level runes. I suggest further rune decryption from the Codice to expand analysis accuracy.]
Arthur nodded. 'Noted.'
Still, he wasn't done testing. As a last try, he drew his fist back and punched with all of his strength. The air around him warped violently as his punch hit the invisible wall.
A thunderous boom echoed across the clearing attracting the attention of everyone present nearby, while scattering dust and sending ripples through the ground. The trees trembled slightly, but the barrier didn't even flicker.
Finn shouted from behind, "So… any luck, Mr. Overpowered?"
Arthur turned his head slightly, giving him a flat look. "Yeah. I confirmed it's indestructible at our level."
Finn sighed. "Ah. What a waste, then."
Selene walked closer, examining the untouched barrier. Her fingers brushed the invisible surface, and her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "It's not a simple barrier. I can feel it rejecting my mana. Almost like it's waiting for a specific key."
Arthur nodded. "Yeah. Something, or someone has built it for a purpose. Until we fulfill them, it would be useless to try and pry them open."
The group exchanged glances, a mix of curiosity and disappointment.
Arthur finally straightened up, brushing off his hands. "Alright. We should not waste more time here. If the others went deeper, that's probably where the method to acquire these fruits lies."
Finn groaned, "We're just leaving these behind? Do you know how painful that is for a man who's broke?"
Leon shook his head in exasperation, "You really consider yourself broke even with all those resources you have with you."
"Yes," Finn said as if proud of his mindset. "We should always be humble in our approach."
"Humph." Sophia scoffed, "Just say you are a miser." Finn glared at her and the two again started to bicker.
The group chuckled lightly as Arthur motioned for them to follow. Together, they left the orchard, heading deeper into the heart of the massive floating island, unaware that three dragons were already closing the distance between them, tracking their trail through the dense clouds.
The game was changing. And this time, it wasn't treasure waiting for them… but tribulations.
***
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