Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Chapter 244: Anrosh

Sect Leader

She looked at Ryun, seeing how he shifted his weight back. He always did that when he wanted to avoid speaking.

You made me a promise, she said simply. The last time you went away you said that we will discuss our options when you came back. Youve been back for a week.

Ryun nodded. I did, and You know that I want her back as much as you do. Her sister owes me service and I do not think that Nayra would stay away if it was her choice. But, I am one man against an unknown number.

You promised, Anrosh said again.

He sighed. And I will fulfill that promise, I do not think that I am ready yet.

None of this was new, they had this conversation a hundred times over the years. She understood and agreed with him. The only thing that they knew for certain was that someone had taken Nayra, someone that had looked similar enough to have some familial relationship to her. Anrosh remembered the mans blood red hair, the same as Nayras, the use of fire spoke a lot too. Anrosh knew some things about Nayras family, she had told her things. Which was why she knew that they were a large family with a lot of powerful people. She did know that Ryun alone couldnt just go and rescue her, just as she knew that they couldnt take Twilight Melody Sects warriors against them. But with every passing day she lost more and more hope.

At first, Anrosh had hoped that Nayra would find some way to send a message back, or even escape. She had to believe that she was held against her will; anything else would be too hard to think about. They knew that she was alive because Ryun could sense both Nayra and her sister somewhere far in the South where her home was supposed to be. They didnt know anything else, that far away the only thing that Ryun could tell was that they were alive. He only got a general direction, but at least she knew that she still lived.

The deal for trade of weapons that they had with the faction that Nayra had belonged before coming to their side had not been honored. The shipments had stopped coming around the same time the events in the core took place. Nor had they seen any of their people snooping around, and they had looked hard for them.

She didnt even know a lot about what happened with Nayra, she hadnt known rather. It had taken her a while to remember the fight, to remember Nayras protests to the man that had killed their warriors and nearly killed Anrosh.

Ereclaw had died as well, though they didnt know if his immortality had triggered. Ryun said that it wasnt something that they could check, although he still had the bond perks that he had gained. They just didnt know if that meant something. They just didnt have the knowledge about contracts such as theirs, and they had no way of finding out. The only people that could know where in the core, and that place was filled with war and death. But if her immortality had triggered, perhaps his had too.

When Anrosh had woken up on the cold stone on top of a mountain with only Ryun next to her, she had remembered only pain and the stench of burning flesh. She had been in pain for months after that. She didnt remember much of the trip back to the sect. She had gone between blissful and painless unconsciousness and the agony that were the few moments of wakefulness. She remembered Ryun talking a few times, but not what about. The first time she had woken up and felt a tiny bit better was in a cave, with Ryuns item placed near her.

Over the next few weeks she had gotten better. But the first real moment of wakefulness was when she was back in the sect. She still remembered Kri crying next to her bed. That alone was a big reason as to why she hadnt pushed Ryun to go after Nayra. She had nearly left her daughter an orphan, despite being an immortal. They all needed to get much stronger.

She had lost most of her powers for a long time. The Framework was tied to the body and the soul, and both of hers had been gravely injured. Even now she still wasnt back to full form. Her leg was still aching and limping. And she did not feel like she had the full access to all of her stats just yet. But she could feel that she was recovering faster now.

We cant wait forever, Anrosh said after a few seconds of silence.

Ryun nodded gravely.

Then, she heard a shuffle behind her and a tsking sound.

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Ive told you before, Anrosh turned to see Tali get to her feet. Her face had a lot less scarring now. Her eyes had regrown, and her hair looked fuller. One eye was still milky white, while the other was the dark gray in color. You are still thinking about this all wrong.

Anrosh grimaced, she knew that Talis experience with the Third Iteration was substantial. She wouldve been more open to listening if the woman wasnt so difficult. She very rarely spoke plainly, and when she did, she kept things back. Her advice was sound, but ultimately there was a reason why they hadnt listened to it.

They do not have much love for the people living in the Settled Territories, Anrosh said.

Everyone hates everyone else in the Infinite Realm, we thrive on conflict. They might still hold grudges, but they have bigger issues to deal with now.

From what Ryun had learned, the Dome that was opened was at the edge of the Third Iterations territory. They, of course, didnt know what was happening there. But Tali seemed to think that they were certainly in trouble.

Everyone wants something, Tali said. Find something valuable that they will want, and trade it for you Sect Leader. No need to fight.

If only it was that easy, Anrosh said. We do not have the wealth to buy something that might interest a faction of the size that Nayras family has.

You have a High Ranker now, all kinds of doors should be open to you, Tali nodded in Ryuns direction.

Ive said it before, Ryun added with a hard tone to his voice. I will not be looking to trade with people that kidnapped one of mine and an oath breaker.

And then there was the second reason why they didnt try anything else. Anrosh sighed, Ryun had gotten better over the last few years, but some things never changed. He had his own views on honor and obligation, despite him saying that he didnt understand sect laws, he had something very similar to it.

Tali shrugged. Then you will die.

I just need to be powerful enough that fighting me will cost them more than they would gain by keeping me from Nayra.

And what if she doesnt want to come back? Tali asked.

She is a prisoner, Anrosh answered immediately and with certainty. She had no doubts about that.

Tali gave her a look that almost seemed pitying, but Anrosh had learned to ignore the old crone. She thought herself more knowledgeable than she truly was.

A bit more time Anrosh, Ryun said at the end.

She closed her eyes and then nodded. Her own frustrations had led her to ask him again, despite knowing the answer beforehand.

She sighed. Fine. Come, I need to talk with you about a few more things, with a glance at Tali she added. In private.

The demasi woman rolled her eyes and turned around, walking back to the item in the center of the room. Then, the two of them walked out, Ryun adjusting his pace to match her limping gait.

Anrosh stood in the center of the training yard, her armor protecting her body. She held kagehime in one hand and her shield in the other. The armor was something that she had purchased a bit over a year ago, a legendary armor that increased her strength and endurance, and had an extra effect that allowed her to absorb a solid chunk of incoming damage.

It was pale green in color and made out of metal plates that overlapped one another. It was a full plate armor, which she was accustomed to using by now, despite not being able to utilize it to its fullest quite yet.

Six of her opponents surrounded her, their spears raised and ready. They were all Heavenly Realm Cultivators on the main Path of the Spearman, the same path that Eerv used to follow as his secondary. They were old members of the sect that had been there for the Black Viper Sect time. Their advancements had been recent, but they were all solid fighters.

They attacked her in a coordinated effort, their spears extending forward seeking to catch her off-guard. She activated Defensive Stance and saw their attacks coming. She evaluated which of their attacks was the strongest and moved, using her [Deflect] to push away the strongest of the attacks. With one attack blocked she moved forward as Qi moved through her body. {Arctic Onslaught} increased her strength but she still felt sluggish. Thankfully, she was faster than her opponents. She pivoted and evaded one strike while she used |Greater Block| to catch the other. Kagehime lashed out with a Fighters Strike and she cut the shoulder of one of her opponents.

Through her |Greater Threat Sense| and |Greater Echo Sense| she sensed the attack coming behind her and so she turned raising her shield to block it. She placed her foot to the side and felt it gave out as a sharp pain lanced through it. She grimaced and missed the block, the spear caught her in the shoulder, and she lost her balance, tumbling to the ground.

She remained on the floor for a long few second, just trying to get her breathing under control. The bout hadnt even been that long and yet she was winded. She knew that she needed to take it slow, to let herself recover fully but She couldnt just spend every waking moment in that small room with Tali. She would go insane.

Sect Leader? A voice from one of her warriors interrupted her thoughts and she pushed herself to her knees then up on her feet. Im fine, set up for one more.

She needed to keep practicing and fighting while injured was good training.

A while later Anrosh sat in her office, a pile of papers on one side and an equally large pile on the other side. Across from her in a chair sat her fellow Sect Leader, Embesh, now a Peak Heavenly Realm Cultivator. The man had achieved his realm all on his own, an achievement to be sure. There were two more Sect Leaders that had been given the position out of necessity. The Twilight Melody Sect now held 17 territories, a lot more than what they had before, they needed people to help manage all of it. Though, Embesh and Anrosh remained the first and second among equals.

The sect had expanded in many different directions, they produced their own weapons now, they had a thriving trading economy with the neighboring sects and even sent caravans toward the core. They had opportunities that came with having a High Ranker as a Sect Head. Sects wanted to interact with them, build relationships.

They were lucky enough that there were no High Ranker level people in their vicinity who could threaten them. Sure, some had numbers and if a few of them conspired together there was no chance for the Twilight Melody Sect to fight them off. But Ryuns reputation was enough to hold everyone back. Rumors about him and the Spear of Sorrows holding off an entire horde of soul reaping monsters had spread. And he did have a suitably impressive title, few wanted to try and take out someone who was called the Undying Void. Plus, Ryun had put an end to a few conflicts in their neighborhood in the usual manner. With overwhelming force.

It meant that they were pretty safe. The only issues they had were with the few scouting parties from the sects in the core that didnt really care enough to investigate who they were trying to bully.

So, how are things? Anrosh asked.

Well enough, Ive managed to grow a new kind of fruit that grants a one-time permanent bonus to heat resistance to whoever eats it. It is a small bonus, barely 1%, but Ive gotten a title which means that it is a unique strain, Embesh said.

Anrosh immediately thought about what they could do with that. Everything that gave such bonuses usually worked once, or it lost effectiveness the more one consumed articles of the same type. Even if his new fruit gave the bonus once, it was valuable.

How much can you make?

I have one tree for now, it needs constant cultivating so I cant do more than that for now. The first batch had around a dozen fruits and I dont expect the next one for about a year at least. Though I can try and encourage the tree to grow more fruits and maybe increase the bonus slightly, Embesh added.

Anrosh thought about it. Embesh was a Farmer at heart, his Path dedicated to improving plants. Unlike a Classer, he couldnt just use perks that encouraged growth or that instantly made a plant bear fruit. Instead, he had to constantly feed a plant and nurture it with his Qi. Using techniques just didnt have the same versatility as what a Classer was capable of. Still, Embesh could be more precise on a smaller scale.

Even a dozen of them can be sold for quite a profit, Anrosh said, already trying to figure out how much something like that could be worth. She would need to check the auction for similar items and see how all of it would work.

Of course, Ill keep 20% of the yield though, I need to see how I can improve them and perhaps I can grow more trees if I can teach my students how to do it.

No problem, Anrosh said.

I got another title, Embesh added. A faction based one, Pioneer: Twilight Melody Sect.

Anrosh raised an eyebrow, then smiled and pulled out a piece of paper from a drawer.

What were the requirements and rewards? She asked.

To do something that no one else in my faction accomplished in my field, and I gained +30 to all stats and 150 000 Greater Essence.

Anrosh wrote it down next to all the other faction titles that they had unlocked. Their sect had advanced over the last three years two. They were finally a faction of sufficient size that they had faction-based titles. Anrosh herself had a few, but it had served most to help push their population forward. They could issue faction quests now through the interface, as long as they followed the Frameworks rules. The quests had to be sufficiently challenging to count, there was no way to game the system.

Good, for now focus on getting a larger yield of the fruit. Having specialty goods to trade will help us a lot, Anrosh told him. The Twilight Sect was growing, but most of what they earned they put back into it. Building forts and walls at the edges of their territories. Ryun wanted them ready to defend against any threat, though both of them knew what he really wanted to protect against. He did not have faith in the core factions to take care of the monster horde that was in the Tournament City. And if Anrosh was honest, neither did she. The core powers had allowed the enemy to grow and entrench just so they could fight their wars. Nothing that they had done in the past three years instilled any kind of confidence in her.

In the end, they would have to worry about themselves.

As the day turned into night, Anrosh forced herself away from the never-ending reports and documents to be signed. Running a sect had always been a tricky issue for her. But with her injuries, there was little else that she could do that would be useful. So, any time that she didnt spend in the soul healing room, she spent in her office working.

She stood from her chair and made her way through the mansion to her room. The guards bowed as she passed, but she barely noticed them, she was too tired. Somehow, she managed to remove her clothes and then fall on the bed, grabbing the sheets and pulling them over herself more out of habit than the fact that she was cold.

But despite her tiredness, her mind didnt want to let her go quite yet. Her thoughts turned to Nayra, the same as they did every night. She missed having her near her, feeling her touch, hearing her voice. She cursed herself for being too weak, for failing to stop her kidnapper. Intellectually, she knew that it wasnt her fault, there was little that she couldve done against someone who was that strong and probably a lot older than her. Yet she spent time with Ryun, she knew that age did not always correlate power.

When she was a young girl, she had dreamed about being a powerful Cultivator. Someone like High Rankers, who could fight anyone. Whose very name was feared and respected. The more time passed, the more she realized that she would never be that.

She knew that her role would never be that. She was a leader, yes, she had the respect of her sect. The people had followed her despite her injuries, which made her feel confident. But she hated having to rely on someone else to do the things that she couldnt. If she was powerful enough, she wouldve already gone after Narya. The fact that Ryun with all of his power and arrogance was hesitating only served to make her more worried.

She didnt doubt his word. He would go after Narya and they would find her. But a tiny part of her worried that Nayra had decided to stay where she was instead of returning. She tried to push her mind away from such unproductive thoughts, but she failed as they kept coming.

Filled with worries her mind slowly drifted into sleep.