80 – Visit!
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PART 1 – 4 Queens & Madness!
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Kaleria was in her office, minding her own business and the business of thousands of other people, planning how to bring Skarla to her knees. How to hurt her to the point where she begged for mercy.
Kaleria's eyes held an intense perverse flame that made her hand-picked secretaries tremble with fear.
There are a total of four secretaries who serve her, all of whom are her husband's concubines and have one or two children by him. Kaleria doesn't care, because they are only here because of her and because they are capable; betraying or harming her is a death sentence and they all know it.
His beloved children of imperial blood are hostages that Kaleria would not hesitate to use.
In Kaleria's past life, these four women were giants. Married to incompetent or minimally competent lords, they somehow shone so brightly, making their husbands prosper.
Unfortunately, their husbands took all the credit, leaving them with practically nothing and forcing them to work themselves to death. There were many other incredible women, but back then she wasn't gathering talents or information as accurately as she does now.
She knows of some geniuses who will emerge in the future, but she doesn't know if they will be born yet, she has already lost around 50 prodigies because of her changing the past and that number is only increasing.
To prevent these four from marrying those incompetent trash, she used her husband to trap them, turning them into concubines. Needless to say, their parents were thrilled when the proposal was made.
The four of them know that they are only here to serve Kaleria. If they want attention or privileges from Lucius, they have to go through her first. Lucius understands that his wife is a star that shines brightly, creating an even bigger shadow that covers everyone.
If he ended up interfering in the hierarchy of Kaleria's subordinates, he would suffer. Kaleria could do things that would damage her image or many of her allies. She has immense control over the politics of the empire and all the nobles.
She is the puppet master and the entire upper echelon of the empire follows her strings.
Now, what do these four do? They've been trained and raised to Level 11, with most of their points used for INT and WIS. With greater cerebral capacity and abilities that help in various intellectual areas, they deal with a variety of subjects, it could be said that the power they each possess is almost equivalent to the power of a Duke.
One is in charge of the spies who investigate the dirt of various nobles, gathering such blackmail material. Only she has complete access to this information, the other three have no right to know anything more than the basics in order to plan.
The next one does the same, only instead of nobles, she takes care of the military. Every officer from the highest to the lowest rank, talented and outstanding soldiers, merits stolen or given without real justification.
Then there's the one that manages the information collected from the empire's shadows, a unit of female assassins and spies modified through alchemy, equivalent to the Shadows of Veremor. If the two above are unable to obtain certain detailed information, these shadows are sent in.
Finally, there is the one who receives the information of the three above, more than most, but not everything. She controls the image of the empire and covers up a lot of dirt to use as blackmail.
She controls the rumors, gets rid of whoever Kaleria orders her to get rid of, destroying public opinion and making the empire look as good as possible.
Finally, there's Kaleria, who receives all the information from the 4. Those who know them call them the 4 Queens.
And the 4 Queens are scared. Kaleria has been gloomy and short-tempered in recent weeks, and they understand that it's because of Skarla.
Ever since she came to prominence in Seahorse, Kaleria has been losing control of the situation.
The Demon Invasion, something she had personally foreseen. Her goal, in addition to showing enormous financial support against the demons, was to minimize interference from other nobles and the imperial army itself.
Kaleria had it all planned out. She would show the empire's financial support, while slightly reducing manpower, spreading rumors about the damage, driving away mercenaries and adventurers.
She would gradually make the Duchy of Veremor suffer huge losses. Only then would she help and take advantage to conquer the Krugar Mountains.
Kaleria also planned to use the Invasion of the North that would take place shortly afterwards, in the midst of the Demon Invasion that was expected to last a few more years.
But Skarla showed up and with her big dick, fucked up their plans in the literal sense. Seducing and conquering Letiphia, something that never happened in her past life, she defeated a Legendary Demon who would have caused the death of some of Letiphia's children, leaving her shaken and fragile.
Kaleria had everything planned, but Skarla fucked up all her plans and ended the Demon Invasion at an inconceivable speed. Two events followed, the strange strengthening of the various churches around the world and the Invasion of the North.
Kaleria wanted to use the north to clean out various nobles; she herself sent her assassins to take care of countless useless nobles who no longer served the empire. Skarla again caused trouble, annihilating some of the main forces in the north, discovering their strategies and more.
The worst thing about it was that Skarla was so active, it gave many nobles time to breathe and realize some inconsistencies, knowing that many nobles were not killed because of the northerners, but because of unknown assassins.
2 major events, detailed planning, all destroyed by Skarla who has taken Krugar for himself, is changing the entire structure of the continent with Banks, paper money, this garbage called democracy and so on.
And most recently, her ability to fuck up the entire continent, bringing in forces from several other continents to interfere.
Kaleria isn't the only one frustrated and furious, the 4 Queens also think that Skarla is a huge problem.
And what's more problematic is that Skarla has forged strong relations with the Elven Kingdom and the Jarletia Kingdom. The Khalifa Adehir apparently fell in love with Skarla, giving her all sorts of gifts and allowing her suggestions.
Today the Jarletia Kingdom, which Kaleria had interfered with in recent years, killing the previous Khalifa to make it look like a disease, killing other heirs and putting the most incompetent in power.
Her plan was for Jarletia to simply crumble and be easier to conquer in a few years. She herself has several spies in Jarletia, but again Skarla interfered.
While she has to try her best to manipulate various sources to reach Khalifa, Skarla sends letters, he reads and accepts everything.
Today Jarletia is beginning to prosper. Her plans to reduce trade and the circulation of money are falling apart. Most of the spies becoming useless.
All this frustrates the 5, who have spent years planning meticulously, sleepless nights to make everything perfect. Skarla comes and destroys everything.
...
AAAAAAARGH!!!
CRACK! BANG! BANG!
An enraged scream, followed by thumps and items being thrown.
“SKARLA! YOU SLUT! FILTHY, WORTHLESS BITCH! HOW DARE YOU! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!” - A crazed Kaleria ran around the office.
It was the first time in her life that she had lost control. Everyone inside left and the Emperor, who had heard the commotion, came in, just listening.
“HOW DID YOU GET THAT BASTARD PREGNANT? SHE COULDN'T HAVE CHILDREN AND YOU GO AND GET THAT OLD BITCH PREGNANT?!” - Kaleria was tearing her hair out in frustration.
She had just received word from her spies. Grisaliel visited Krugar and a few moments later it was officially announced that she was pregnant.
“It doesn't make sense! It doesn't make any fucking sense! That tramp already has 4 children, High-elfs can't have more than 4 children! AAAAAHH!!!” - Kaleria punched the wall, not caring that she had hurt her own wrist, she slammed her forehead into the wall, snarling, trembling and anger clashing with her rationality.
“How do you keep doing this?! You make the impossible look easy! I have to kill you! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!”
While Kaleria was going crazy, Skarla was hugging Viper in the 'Full Nelson' position and violently destroying her pussy, with that perfect face deforming in the midst of the brutal ecstasy blowing her brains out.
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PART 2 – Visit!
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In Krugar, weeks have passed since the arrival of the Queen of the Elves, who has still not returned to her kingdom.
Grisaliel Divine'Wood's pregnancy was announced, and the person who got her pregnant is none other than Skarla Verona, the ruler of the Krugar Nation.
The news shook the entire continent, but not only that, other nearby continents paid close attention as soon as they heard the news. A High-Elf had been impregnated by a human... a High-Elf who had already reached the limits of children in her life.
Many were interested, including the High-Elfs as soon as they heard the news.
And today, a day that was supposed to be ordinary like any other, became extraordinary. The whole mountain was enveloped in a mystical and powerful energy, the crops getting healthier and the process that would have taken months taking place in a few minutes.
Coming from the south, a figure flew in the sky and its exhaled energy covered the mountains and much of the surrounding area. All the vegetation rejoiced at its presence and leaping into the sky, intercepting this figure that had suddenly come, was Skarla.
Skin as white as milk, long pointed ears, pure white silky hair, a tall and slender physique, a beautiful and stoic face, on her head a crown of white and silver vines.
In front of Skarla stands a 1st Generation High-Elf, who, having only just been born, already started at Level 10 and as he matured, he came close to the Legendary level and centuries of training placed him among the best of the Legends.
After millennia living in these lands, a being who retains immense knowledge and power, each year lived is only an addition to his enormous life that seems eternal.
“So you're the fifth partner?” - In a low, calm voice he spoke, Skarla felt calm, even in front of someone so monstrously powerful, she was unusually calm and relaxed.
“You... aren't her cousin or brother, are you perhaps... Grisaliel's father?” - Skarla thought it was absurd.
“Yes.” - He smiled. - “My daughter hasn't told me who I am, she doesn't have the ability to mention my name, but I'm Cellus, the first and only Patriarch of the Divine'Wood.”
“It's an honor to meet someone so eternal.” - Skarla clasped her hands together in a typical Murim greeting.
“I don't sense submission in your actions, even bowing, showing a gesture of only respect, curious, I don't think I've ever seen a mortal bow without showing submission, it seems I can still learn things at this age.” - Cellus laughed.
“Patriarch!” - A second figure appeared in the air, Grisaliel was late, but she arrived.
“Hello, my dear. Your cousin received the message and passed it on to me, so I came ahead to see the only fifth partner in person. I see it's true.” - Cellus looked intensely at Grisaliel, feeling the seed forming.
“Curious, I've never seen or felt such a unique seed before. Its complexity, I believe, surpasses any 2nd Generation, almost on a par with someone from the 1st Generation.” - Cellus moved closer, looking at Grisaliel's chest, but what he sees is the perfect path of magic in this world, the complexity of each strand of what is forming in that heart.
“You too are quite unique. A power that far surpasses your level, attributes that make no sense, especially at your age. A soul that smells of a long life, with power that almost rivals some fifth cycle millenarians. I never expected to see anything in a human.” - Her eyes shone in appreciation.
“I don't think it's good for us to keep talking in the skies, what do you say we go inside?” - Skarla said smiling and Cellus nodded. - “Lead the way.”
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PART 3 – A long talk!
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“The emissary of the great mother, it's absurd to believe that she talks to a human, but I really feel something that I can't explain. Today has been the most interesting day of my last 2,000 years.” - Cellus laughed in the face of so many surprises.
“Your [Martial Arts] allow you to connect with nature, a deeper connection than we can imagine. Do you have any guesses as to why you can communicate with the Great Mother and High-elves like me are unable to, apart from sensing her intentions?”
Skarla smiled. - “Cultivation through martial arts aims at enlightenment, a unique state in which you abandon what is worldly, some call it Nirvana, there may be other names. But the point is that just as a farmer cultivates his crops, a martial artist, my kind of course, does the same, only with our bodies. We use our understanding of the world to improve ourselves as a whole.”
“The more we understand of nature, the more of it we receive and can use. I simply possess a strong soul and a magnificent bond with nature, all of which culminates in this closeness.” - Skarla smiled as she finished her answer.
“Intriguing. I think I understand the reason for talking to the great mother. We High Elves are born of the Mother Tree, we are born knowing instinctively, but we have never really sought to understand or study it, because we see it as disrespectful. But I never thought that maybe our great mother really wanted us to communicate with her and here you are, someone who respects and understands her, we just respect and idolize her, we never think of understanding her deeply, because we see ourselves as unworthy of such a privilege.”
Skarla raised an eyebrow. - “That's the dumbest point of view I've ever seen.”
“Oh, why do you think that?” - Cellus laughed curiously.
“What mother or father wouldn't want to communicate with their children and tell them how much they love them and are proud of them? I, as a mother, would feel very hurt if my children couldn't or, in your case, wouldn't talk to me.” - Skarla said sincerely, her words hitting Cellus in a profound way.
Cellus contemplated, closing his eyes, and his memories went back to when he was a father for the first time. A curious and joyful feeling, he was proud that his great mother had blessed his child, but that was it.
His memories went back to the mortal races who live only a few decades or centuries, which is nothing more than a speck of dust in his eyes. But he contemplated the family ties of parents with their children, they tend to have more feelings and show them, a right that those who are mortal possess.
Cellus contemplated that in the context of mortals, he had never been a real father, perhaps a wild animal that only reproduced by instinct. He laughed at such thoughts.
“Thank you for your words, you've made me think a lot.” - Cellus laughed, then noticed that it was already dark. - “Look at that, I got so pensive I lost track of time.”
“I must admit that was rather unusual, spending two days contemplating your own thoughts.” - Skarla said calmly.
“Two days? It was certainly a short reflection, it usually takes me weeks or months when it happens.” - Cellus smiled slightly. - “I think it's because I don't fully understand the depth of fatherhood, in the end, you and I are from different cultures and our concepts of fatherhood are very different.”
“Indeed, but I must remind you that the world we live in doesn't care about culture, it's an impartial being who loves everyone unconditionally, who knows everything. Certainly the world is influenced by the masses, as the mortal races are the most numerous and develop strong feelings towards their children, the world that sees everyone as its beloved children certainly ends up having a greater love than anyone here can understand.”
Cellus smiled, looking out of the window at the night sky. - “A curious point of view, and looking at it from a wider angle, I realize it's true. The world around us shapes us, but it seems that our great mother also shapes her children, because in the end it's a two-way learning, children learn from their parents and the other way around.”
Standing up, he looked out, contemplating his life choices, shaping his thoughts. Time passed, but he focused on himself, his thoughts.
Days became weeks.
Skarla stayed by his side much of the time, doing her work in the office and also meditating a lot, waiting for him to come out of his trance.
As for waking him up? There's no reason for that, she's not stupid enough to shorten the length of stay of a High-Elf from her lands.
The thing is, just by Cellus being here, he's already solving his nation's food problems. Leslye is overjoyed and a massive sum of money has been saved.
Why would she wake Cellus up in advance, shortening his stay in his lands? That would only be harmful.
Needless to say, Cellus' presence resulted in many powerful individuals requesting a meeting, as they wanted to invite him to visit their lands. Of course, Skarla refused, but let Grisaliel take care of it, as he is her father after all.
It was only after two long months that Cellus regained his senses, and his smile was kinder.
“I see you have the patience of an elf.” - He said calmly.
“Patience is part of martial arts, because through meditation, you contemplate yourself, your faults and qualities, the world, people, philosophies of life and much more. Everything reflects on my martial arts and not having patience is harmful. In the end, haste is the enemy of perfection.” - Skarla smiled and with a wave of her hand, she moved tea items to the table. - “Would you like a cup?”
“I'd be delighted.” - Cellus smiled and sat back down. Skarla calmly prepared everything and showed Cellus what her martial arts were all about.
With fluid and perfect movements, she heated the water for the tea, slowly added her favorite spices, as well as a few personal touches, something only she is capable of.
Cellus didn't see the beautiful movements, but he was admiring them, for him, this was no different from a masterpiece. The flow of magical energy... no, that can't be called magic, it's something natural, something that only High-Elfs should be able to manifest.
The meticulous control, the ability to ignore the laws of the system, which is incapable of measuring your real abilities in this area. Cellus contemplates this and is filled with admiration.
Then like a golden stream, he saw the result of this masterpiece being poured into his cup, the teapot being gently set down.
Cellus gently and quite elegantly held the cup, bringing it to his soft lips, smelling its fragrance that tantalized his senses, his soul vibrating with joy.
He took a light sip, even though it was hot, he felt a coolness, the liquid flowing down his throat was like a ripple throughout his being, traveling through his body and spirit, organizing his being and relaxing him.
A single sip brought enormous benefits, he smiled happily, that was incredible. - “I apologize for not complimenting you, it's just that in all my life, I don't think there's a right term to describe what I'm feeling right now.”
Skarla smiled, sipping her tea. - “For a martial artist, everything is training and a source of self-improvement, from killing, hunting, hiding, skinning a slaughtered animal and, of course, the simple act of making tea.”
Cellus listened with great interest.
“You could say that a martial artist doesn't cultivate to understand the world, but rather to understand the complexity of the universe itself.”
Cellus smiled, understanding what he meant.
“Your martial arts are so incredible that they make me envy you. Is there perhaps some way I can learn more about this magnificent path?”
Skarla smiled. - “Of course there is. Even if I avoid teaching strangers, we're technically family, so I see no reason not to teach you a little.”
“Oh, shame on you.” - Cellus laughed. - “I was so impressed by your words and deeds that I forgot why we met.”
“We're in no hurry.” - Skarla smiled, which made Cellus laugh a little louder.
“I don't think I need any more convincing. Skarla, you will have my support and that of the entire Divine'Wood Family. This child will be born and welcomed by the great mother, no one will interfere, not even the Queen. But if the Mother Tree refuses, there is nothing to be done.” - Cellus got straight to the point, for someone who had lost more than two months in thought, he was direct.
“I'm grateful for your support. But could I ask you for a favor?” - Skarla started to change the subject.
Cellus smiled. - “Of course, as we're family, I'd be more than happy to help.”
Skarla smiled in response and said. - “I have a wife, her name is Calah, an Undine who ended up using alchemy to modify herself.”
“Hmm, I think I know the problem. Pregnancy, right?” - Cellus interrupted and Skarla nodded.
“She got pregnant, but unfortunately our baby was lost. I don't wish it to happen again and I don't think she can bear to lose another child. I've been studying Grisaliel in relation to the seed that is our child, I want to understand how it works and perhaps do the same with Calah. I can bear the whole cost of vitality on my own.” - Skarla said seriously.
“I understand your pain, but I don't think it's possible. We High Elves are more magical than biological beings, so our purest children are born from seeds that our great mother twins. For you mortals, such a process is impossible and perhaps more harmful.” - Cellus replied calmly.
“I understand the complications, but if it is possible to create something strong enough to withstand the problems that alchemy has brought to your body, it will be more than enough and I don't mind the cost.” - Skarla was determined.
Cellus smiled and said. - “Bring the young woman here, I'll see if I can help without having to go in that direction.”
Skarla ordered someone to bring Calah, while saying. - “If, unfortunately, we can't find a solution in that direction, we'll have to wait until she undergoes a metamorphosis.”
“Metamorphosis? Similar to the process that butterflies and other insects go through?” - Cellus was curious, Skarla nodded and explained the process.
Cellus was intrigued, never expecting that mortals could go through something like this. - “I see, so if she goes through the metamorphosis, all the defects in her body will be cured and she'll certainly be able to get pregnant.”
...
“You asked for me?” - Calah arrived, rather curious as to why she had been called, but she had long since lost her lively and gentle countenance, there were still traces of it, but she had matured a lot since the incident.
“Meet...” - Skarla tried to speak, but was unable.
“I'm Cellus Divine'Wood, Grisaliel's father.” - Cellus introduced himself, Skarla frowned. - “Don't be upset, speaking the name of certain individuals of my level is not something others can do lightly, for our names carry power. You don't have what it takes to speak it.”
Calah blinked.
“Okay... my love, he'll take a look at your body, see if it's capable of solving our problem.” - Skarla smiled gently and Calah shivered, her eyes shining.
Cellus smiled at that look. - “Do I need to undress? Of course I do.” - She was about to get naked. - “No need.” - Cellus waved his hand as he smiled.
Calah only had to stand still, Cellus observing the energy in her body, the foundations of her life, the modifications.
“I see you used some Ligature Root for the base.” - Cellus said calmly. Calah thought and said. - “I remember, yes, I used 5 grams.”
“Ligature Root is very common in modifications through alchemy, however its side effect if not properly restricted, results in a 'Bizarre Mutation' and it seems you didn't use enough to suppress such side effects.”
“There was that? In the books I own, it's said that Binding Root serves mainly to be a stabilizer in modification potions that tend to be permanent.” - Calah said calmly.
“That is indeed the case, but it seems that your study base is not complete. Ligature Root is also known as Bizarreness Root, I studied it myself at the time of its discovery, I saw some High-Elfs transforming into aberrant beings because of it.”
“Is it that serious?” - Calah bit his lip.
“Mutations are, but your case isn't. I believe you've focused on suppressing your species' limitation about living far from the sea, right?” - Cellus scratched his chin.
“Yes. I wanted to live on land, it was amazing and apart from that... I don't regret the choices I made.” - Calah smiled.
“I have no doubts about that. Your condition isn't irreversible, but can I be honest?” - Cellus smiled and Calah replied. - “Please!”
“Skarla told me about this metamorphosis. I think it's best for you to try to achieve it, because not only will you get the benefits of the mutation, but all your defects will be cured. I can, of course, help you reverse the effect of what you've taken, but you'll go back to being an ordinary Undine.” - Cellus said calmly.
Calah thought and looked at Skarla. - “What do you think?”
“It's not my choice, it's yours.” - Skarla replied. - “Whether it's the beautiful Calah with tentacles instead of hair or not, it doesn't matter.” - Her smile was gentle and full of love.
Calah bit her lip, a difficult decision. Achieving metamorphosis seemed impossible compared to how the last one had affected him.
Silence took over, Calah growled and sighed. - “I'll wait. Even if I wanted to have a child, I'll wait. I don't think it will be fair on the child I've lost if I decide to go back on my decisions now. I knew about the possible complications, I did everything to prevent what happened. I need to wait, so whether it's 10, 20 or even 100 years, I hope you'll be patient.” - She looked at Skarla and smiled with tears in her eyes.
Skarla hugged her, Cellus smiled and disappeared to meet his daughter.
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PART 4 – The Invention!
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Cellus had noticed something unique about this place, but it seemed to be hidden, protected by something. He wanted to look for it and realized that it was underground, in a structure located on the highest mountain.
It's still under construction, he notes. But he senses a massive density of magical energy, the whole mountain being filled with energy and undergoing changes that would take centuries or millennia.
Cellus admires this and waits. Food or water is not something he needs, it's been so long since he's had a meal that he can't remember. Nature feeds him, because after all, he is of the 1st Generation, his body is more magical than biological.
“I see you've noticed.” - Skarla appeared beside him.
“I almost didn't notice, your method of protecting what's there is incredible. I only noticed the strangeness because the quality of the mountains was absurdly high compared to the rest. A drastic change that was made artificially, because if it were natural, the whole environment would have changed too, not just the mountains.” - Cellus said calmly.
“It's something I created some time ago, I'm still researching and looking for ways to use it, do you want to see?” - Skarla smiled and Cellus would never refuse something like that.
Guiding him, Skarla led him to the structure that is just a sketch of her residence. She had already made sure that these mountains were deeded and owned by the Verona Family.
When Cellus entered the territory of the mountains, he noticed the change more drastically. For the sake of comparison, let's move away from history and into the game Minecraft. It's like when you're between two biomes, a snowy one and a plain, it starts raining on the plain and snowing in the snowy area.
A drastic change of biome, not at all natural. If it were natural, the whole environment outside that “biome” would be affected in some way, making the change more subtle, as so much energy cannot accumulate.
Of course, this influences the surroundings outside the mountains, but because of the methods used, most of the energy is concentrated here and little leaks out.
...
Skarla led Cellus to a space that she had personally opened up, practicing her Martial Arts of the Metal element, with the support of some Earth Mages. A large space lies inside the mountain.
“The interior reminds me of some ancient Dwarf Kingdoms. These little ones love living underground, closer to the earth and the metals they love so much. We both worship the same entity, but we have entirely different views.” - Cellus said with a smile, noticing that the concepts that influenced that delicious and magnificent tea also permeated the whole place.
“Sorry, that beats the dwarf kingdoms.” - He corrected himself, liking what he's seeing and feeling.
The flow of energy in this place is so contained and fluid, breathing here makes you feel healthier, calmer and more focused. Cellus compared it to living in the Holy Land of the Elves. Your house has the World Tree and the power it exudes is something this place can't match.
But if such a place were built in his home... Cellus became ambitious, longing for it. It's been a long time since he's felt ambition.
Skarla didn't answer and just guided him to a large metal door. Cellus sensed the wonder behind it. When Skarla moved it, showing that even for her it was heavy.
A door full of mechanisms that only she can open, because as well as immense physical strength, energy must also be injected into certain sequences.
And when the first crack appeared, Cellus's eyes widened at the absurd amount of magical power, the quality of which was surreal; he even thought that there might be a young World Tree in this place.
Finally able to enter, he saw an enormous machine that is unknown to its designer, but the magical power is being absorbed, concentrated, purified and spread. It is strengthening and feeding all the mountains, it even seems to generate magical energy.
“What's that?” - Cellus didn't understand.
“I call it the World Reactor. But what's at its center is the Heart of the World. I created it by accident and caused some problems, but now it has become a source of unlimited energy that I use mainly to refuel my nation's main functions.” - Skarla said calmly.
“That's impressive. How does it work? I can't see.” - Her eyes shone with a fierce thirst for knowledge.
“I developed it through my martial arts. In martial arts it's possible to create something called a Dantian, a Core where the energy we cultivate is stored.” - Skarla calmly showed her Dantian, which is golden and has traces of various powerful and pure elements.
Cellus admired it, it's certainly unique.
“Unfortunately, that's something you're born with or create through a lot of luck. I'm the second case, my children are the first, since they came from me and inherited the Dantian. But my wives and disciples don't have it, so I wanted to change that, I tried. I wanted to create an artificial Dantian that could be implemented in their bodies, but in the end I created something inconceivable and almost brought disaster to this world.”
“Disaster... I see, the cosmic presence from years ago was your doing?” - Cellus narrowed his eyes.
“I admit it was the most foolish thing I've ever done in my life.” - Skarla laughed and Cellus laughed too, he touched the reactor.
“I feel that the concepts behind it resemble the Mother Tree.” - Cellus said calmly.
“I've never seen it, but from the books I've read and what your daughter has told me, it's likely that the Heart of the World, as I call it, is partly similar to how the World Tree is supposed to work. But that's something created by a mortal, the World Tree... was created by the world.” - Skarla laughed.
Cellus nodded. - “Have you thought about fusing it with a tree? If you want, I could get a seed from the Tree of Life.”
Skarla scratched her chin, looking rather interested. The “Tree of Life” is a subspecies of the “World Tree”, inferior but equally sacred and powerful.
It is capable of generating the “Fruits of Life” which, for the High Elves, don't change much in their lives, but for others, increase their life expectancy by decades to centuries. The financing of most elven nations comes from the sale of these fruits.
And as far as anyone knows, the quantity of seeds is almost unlimited, except that they can't be easily planted. It turns out that it takes 100 years for a Tree of Life to grow and in the process it will devour all the vitality in the soil, then it will take 500 to mature and begin to bear fruit, finally, after 600 years since it was planted, it will begin to revitalize the soil in which it lives, making it tens to hundreds of times more prosperous than before, becoming the perfect home for Elves and Fairies.
“A tempting offer, I believe that the Heart of the World would indeed be able to supply the necessary energy, but isn't a High-elf required to keep the Tree of Life? Isn't it a mandatory law?” - Skarla scratched her chin, for Grisaliel has his own Tree of Life.
“It is indeed a mandatory law to have a High-elf in charge of matters relating to the Tree of Life. I could send some of my children or grandchildren here, I wouldn't interfere in your affairs, that's for sure.” - He smiled.
“Thank you, but for now, my lands need this more than the Tree of Life.” - Skarla showed him a machine attached to the reactor, she pressed a button and a slight vibration occurred.
Cellus watched as perfect, shiny bluish spheres emerged from a tube. 8 of them in all.
Picking one up, he saw the pure, dense energy. - “A Mana Core, I think that's one of the best I've ever seen in my life.”
“It's not perfect yet.” - Skarla said, patting the machine. - “This machine still wastes 1/3 of the energy and there's room for more, the problem is that it's still an experimental invention, there's a lot of room for improvement.”
Cellus laughed. - “If you were an elf, you'd be scary.”
“I'm scary without being one.” - Skarla winked as she smiled.
“What exactly is that used for?” - Cellus was curious.
“At the moment it's for simple functions. An electricity supply center is being created in the center, which will work to improve the quality of life of the citizens. The cores are batteries, each capable of supplying the territory for five days.” - Skarla said calmly.
“But it will soon decrease, because we are making connections with the whole territory and with constant expansion, energy expenditure will increase. But we're talking about street lighting, machines capable of extending the shelf life of food, machines that facilitate the supply of water, gas and much more.”
“Besides...” - Skarla stopped talking and decided to show him, leaving the reactor room, closing it and leading him into a large engineering laboratory.
She pointed to a vehicle. - “That's a mechanical chariot, it moves by itself, it's easy to move and its price will be relatively cheap. It will run on magic and a fuel called gasoline.”
Cellus looked at the gasoline. - “That sounds familiar, but I don't remember it being so transparent.”
“This is purified petroleum, most people call it Black Water, Devil's Spit, among other names. It's mainly used to inflame and throw at enemies in wars.” - Skarla said calmly.
“And you turned an article of war into something so useful?” - Cellus looked impressed.
“This is even more flammable and it's toxic, so don't try to smell it too much.” - Skarla warned as she saw him almost make a normal reaction, Cellus laughed and still sniffed. - “But in relation to your question, everything is useful, you just need to know how or where to use it.”
Cellus smiled.
“Do you even have any use for oil? With the amount of territory the elves have, surely you have lands full of wells.”
“In fact, we have hundreds of trillions of liters in storage.” - His words shocked Skarla. - “We have no use for oil as you call it, but we're not throwaways and we can't let it taint the lands we live on or our seas, so we collect and store it, because we'll never waste anything from the great mother.”
Skarla blinked and laughed. - “I'm literally struggling to collect a few thousand liters a day, you have trillions in storage.”
“It could be more. Do you want it?” - Cellus shrugged.
“Of course I do, but I can't. It would destabilize the economy I'm developing.”
“In fact, I've read a lot of reports about your actions, my daughter talks about you a lot. I thought it was interesting what you're trying to do on this continent and if you prosper as much as you hope, other continents may follow.” - His tone was calm.
“I don't see any problems with that. But even though I want oil so badly, I understand that it's not worth receiving such a gift disguised as a curse. I'm creating an economic base with Jarletia, on the premise of them being the main suppliers of oil and gasoline. If I were to receive so much from outside, it would affect them and could create unnecessary enmity, as well as hugely affecting the economy by reducing the amount of money earned.”
If you receive so much oil for free, it obviously won't affect you at the moment, as cars have not yet been made available to the public and the use of gasoline is limited. But it won't be long before it's implemented and if Krugar has so much oil, they'll naturally have to sell it very cheaply, perhaps for half or even 1/3 of the price it was supposed to be initially.
In the end, demand will push the price up. But having too much product, more than the demand, results in a lower price.
And gasoline doesn't stay useful forever, it loses its shelf life after a few months, depending on the storage method it can last from 6 to 12 months, of course, with magic it's possible to increase this.
The important thing is that you'll get less than you wanted.
“Father-in-law, what do you think of an innovative business method that is sure to make huge profits for your family and your entire race?” - Skarla smiled like the capitalist she is.
Cellus raised an eyebrow, curious and knowing it had something to do with oil.
=== [NOTE] ===
This is the last official chapter before Time-skip.