The Arcane Emperor

Chapter 86 Changing of the Guard

Rainer sat at the back of the ship, the vessel moving faster than expected with magic clearly coming from the ship's captain. The waters themselves seemed to desire for this ship to reach its intended destination.

[Merfolk, Female, Master of Flow(2nd)lvl 12, Water Mage lvl 19]

[Title: Melder of Tides]

As he briefly looked back at the beautiful Merfolk responsible for this, Rainer wondered how important this Ambassador was to command such a person as her ship captain. Said ambassador currently slept, Moon Elves apparently being a nocturnal race. So rather than meeting her first thing in the morning, it had been prior to bed that they left the port from her perspective.

Gunthar was currently checking out their rooms below deck. Though, Rainer had little doubt that the undead was playing with Tiamat by now.

"Luna?" Rainer asked, having had something on his mind in relation to the Fairy.

"Hmm?" the Fairy answered, slightly muffled by his clothing before she managed to pop her head out.

"You know even if we weren't together, you could still stay with me."

"That doesn't make sense," the sleepy Fairy responded quite reasonably.

"I mean...even if we weren't dating, you'd be welcome to stay with me." He realized he never really questioned Luna's presence from the same angle as Kara's. And judging by the look on Luna's face, he suddenly realized he was probably better off not ever questioning it. This moment marked the first time she ever looked at him like he was a moron.

"Luna will go back to sleep now. Clearly, Rainer can only be this silly in a dream."

"That's right. Only in a dream..." he said, quite embarrassed.

"Maybe I shouldn't have eaten that funny looking fruit," Rainer heard Luna mumble to herself as she slipped back to sleep. He wanted to ask what fruit and from where, but decided to leave her to her dreams.

With the emptiness of the sea before him, the [Archon] pondered on their destination. Neutral City stood as the one point on the coast that wasn't owned by the Tarainien Empire. Though less on the shore than on the top of a cliff overhanging the water. Three founding clans served as both the leaders and its primary military force. One being the Blood Moon elves, another of the Hammerfell Dwarves, and the final one being the Lamia of the Everlasting Grove.

The original three founding heads also functioned as the city's deterrent against the Tarainien Empire, at least if Liandra's half-mumbled explanation on any of this could be taken for the truth.

That presented an opportunity…

Rainer thought to himself. When it came to allies for his Academy, Neutral City did not seem like a bad place to start. And given their races, he had an easy gift from his supposed homeland.

More importantly, each of the clans belonged to at least a slightly-magical race. When it came to said races, Rainer had something many of them would kill for if they knew about it: Body Enchantments.

He, of course, still needed to think on some combination of high cost materials beyond just Mana Crystals so he wouldn't end up being requested to outfit armies. But so long as he offered free labor, something that would be quite the gift from an enchanter, it would be a powerful bargaining chip that would also cement his status as a far Northern Lord Magus. After all, unless you were Rainer, this wasn't something learned without years of training and outside help.

Rainer did have some thoughts on working up to the actual political ruling body, but he knew his own limits. He was more liable to punch a politician in the face rather than convince him or her of anything. To do something like that properly would require his own politician to negotiate for him, something he'd known he'd need since he truly thought of his Academy.

Sarah...might actually prove to be a good choice for that. That seemed to be within her interests, and he'd certainly bring it up to her, but that would still take years of training and likely studying under someone with actual experience. Given her current residence, she was in a decent position to learn. But, in the end, he still needed to broach the topic with her and see if it was something she'd actually enjoy. He'd also need to find a person she'd be learning under, preferably someone who would also work for himself in the meantime.

Starting diplomatic relations right with the Founding Heads was currently his best option, and he had an in with them right on this ship. With his Charisma aiding him, he thought he had a decent shot. Not that he had any plans to seduce anyone, but everything socially was easier when you had a better appearance.

Rainer experienced it himself when he used all his free-time from [Sleep Learning] to pick up weightlifting in high-school. That specifically, unfortunately, didn't help too much with his original goal but, oddly, being muscular made him quite popular with guys.

Brought out of the ruminations of his hard work only making him more popular among men, Rainer focused on something he considered far more important: Absolute Dominion.

With both [Void Presence] and [Arcane Presence] stuck at level 9 and him having a general idea how to advance to the next level, it made them the perfect thing to train outside of [Sleep Learning]. That, and their basically-zero cost apart from his own attention. Even more so, the armed version, which eventually dissipated on its own after being unleashed, didn't even require that.

Carefully avoiding disrupting the ship crew, Rainer's eyes sharpened as a wave of pressure extended outwards across the sea. His armed [Arcane Presence] activated. Any fish fled, and any monster even thinking of approaching the ship ran from miles and miles away. They all knew themselves to be in the presence of a predator far beyond them.

Rainer gently reached towards [Arcanium Detection] as he tried to apply not only the weight of his pool of Arcane Power, but the weight of the Arcanium to the pressure. Just the same as the miniscule portion of the Divinity, which tried to stop his [Absolute Rebirth], leveraged power from another place.

Chaos. A strange duality of ordered chaos, it was the only thing he could describe the Arcanium with. A veritable storm that sought to sweep away his will into its deep waters. It was painful to even peer into, unlike the Void. While it wasn't exactly calm, the Void welcomed him in detection. And [Void Call] certainly welcomed its targets into its permanent and all-consuming embrace.

But he lacked the same bonus for the Void that he had for the Arcane, so [Arcane Presence] became first in the list. Rainer shook his head, the first attempt failing. He summoned up the vivid memory of the Divinity's presence and went on again and again. Used to this type of repetition, hours passed unnoticed as Rainer dove entirely into his task, trusting Gunthar to warn him of danger with [Soul Detection].

With an assistance from his [Archon] class and his own ideas of letting his mind drift with the chaos of the Arcanium rather than fight it, Rainer's picture of the Arcanium grew a tad clearer, the pain far less vivid.

[Arcanium Detection has reached level 2]

[Experience gained: 0.3%]

Switching gears and hoping for some inspiration from the duality of skills he was trying to level, Rainer went with [Void Presence] next. With his knowledge from [Arcane Presence Armament] as well as his various Void spells and Void Body Enchantment, it was easy enough to piece together a [Void Presence Armament] Runic formula in just a few minutes.

[Spell gained: Void Presence Armament lvl 1/10]

Different from the weighty and crushing presence of [Arcane Presence], [Void Presence] appeared to be more mental than physical. The world around its target seemed to shrink and sought to consume everything within its grasp.

Though thankfully for the crew, Rainer aimed it out towards the water as before.

Reaching with [Void Detection] and recalling his uses of [Void Call], Rainer tried to advance this presence in the same way. With [Void Detection] being far easier to use than its Arcane counterpart, Rainer's mind had some wiggle room. Beyond just trying to meld [Void Detection], he wielded [Void Manipulation] and [Void Mastery] as he tried to connect [Void Presence] to more than just himself but the very Void.

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Unbeknownst to him, the ship slowed, the air became stale, and the water seemed to lose its vibrant colors as the world took on an unnatural stillness and greyness. Rainer felt himself just inches away from bringing the pressure of the Void itself forth, but unable to cross the last gap, he suddenly realized he had gone through quite a bit of Mana with [Void Manipulation] and nearly all his Void Will with [Void Mastery].

Letting out a sigh, Rainer went back to his [Arcane Presence] as he tried to recreate what just happened with the Void part for this one.

As the sun was a few hours from setting, Rainer found his concentration interrupted.

"L-Lord Magus, the Lady Ambassador inquires if you would join her for breakfast," the voice said with a slight quake in it.

Rainer nodded his head as his [Arcane Presence] abruptly vanished.

"Tell her I would be happy to and shall be there shortly," Rainer said, hiding his own headache from peering into the Arcanium.

Noticing the crew seemed a bit nervous about something, he decided to show off a bit. [Void-walking], Rainer appeared directly behind the guard. The tier 2 Moon Elf nearly ran into the unnoticed man as he turned around.

"Lead the way."

The stunned Moon Elf got his bearings quickly enough and did just that. Rainer noticed his display didn't help any and he wondered what exactly they were nervous about that even having someone capable of teleporting so easily in the Dragon Isle's couldn't ease. Was it himself, or rather was it something that appeared far stronger than him? Rainer headed below deck finding himself oddly excited to face whatever threat they feared.

Entering the lavishly designed room, Rainer saw the currently unveiled ambassador.

"A pleasure, Lord Magus. I apologize for my lack of introduction earlier, I had been quite tired. I am Elelarea of the Blood Moon. If you wish, you may call me Ele, Lord Magus."

"Rainer Nvos, and just Rainer shall do," he replied, waiting for her to sit back down at the dining table. He couldn't recognize anything on the table, apart from the primary meal, the ever-popular meat of the Fenrar City Dungeon boss. An unseen flash of [Arcane Sight] went across his eyes as he determined that there was nothing magical within the food. Even if there was, he doubted he'd come across anything as strong as the Fae poison, but better safe than sorry.

They were mostly quiet as they both ate, Rainer more so genuinely enjoying the food, and Ele letting him focus on that.

"I must say, I was quite surprised at having my guard changed at the last minute," she commented after a few minutes.

"I have been wanting to visit your city for quite some time, and I have no qualms with protecting a lady such as yourself on the way there."

"I quite happily accepted the change. As strong as any of the Wolf King's inheritors are, I find you more impressive. Though… I feel that is not your only motivation?"

Rainer had little interest and equally little experience in playing coy, so he decided to state his goal.

"I wish to enter into a relationship with the Neutral City. I've brought with me an offer from my homeland. My hope is with this to meet with the Founding Heads or leaders of the city."

"And what is that exactly? Your offer?"

"Enchantments of the body."

For the first time, Rainer noted Ele's face had been anything but carefully constructed to display a certain emotion. Her eyes opening wide had most certainly not been on purpose. Perhaps she had some knowledge of the Fae? He had used his own [Acting] skill from the start, and carefully used it to hide the smirk that wished to emerge on his face.

"If our journey goes well, I see no reason as to why I cannot pass along your intentions to the Founding Heads. Though, whether or not they grant a meeting is not within my power," she said, recovering quickly from her shock.

"Perhaps you might personally serve as a demonstration as well?" Rainer asked, "I do not mind fronting the materials for the enchantment in this case."

He planned on having her unconscious for it, while he still thought over the ingredients he'd claim it needed in the future. Though, he didn't know the taboos of either her race or really of any society in this world. Was someone seeing even just her midriff while not being her intended or husband considered committing a high crime? Or was it the opposite or even something more normal in between where he'd have the same permissions as a doctor would.

"I shall take your most generous offer into consideration…" she said, almost seeming as if she didn't fully believe him, "So then, Bard of Violets, shall we entertain the crew this fine night?" Elelarea asked.

Rainer's face cramped for a brief moment at the distaste for that name. It wasn't as if he truly needed to hide his identity, it was more of a habit than anything else, but he certainly didn't enjoy that moniker.

"So finally I got through that [Acting] skill of yours," the Moon Elf laughed lightly, "Though, I do not rescind my offer."

"As long as you can give me a new nickname, I'll play any song with you," Rainer responded.

"You know I have been curious since I've found out…"

"About?"

"Where do you find the time to be such a powerful mage and yet be capable of playing such music?"

"Magic is magic," he responded noncommittally. His music was heavily based in magic after all.

"What about where you learned [Aldori Elvish]. Though, given some strange words, I can only assume it's a translation magic of some sort...both would be equally impressive."

Had she switched to that from [Imperial Standard] earlier?

"The ways of beyond the Forbidden North are a mystery to many," Rainer did his best to deflect his uniqueness to his supposed homeland.

"That they are."

"Well then, I should take my leave since we're done with the meal. I am a guard afterall."

"How diligent you are. I feel safe already. I'll be out later after some work for our duet."

"I look forward to it."

As she watched the powerful mage leave her room, Ele let out a sigh of relief. Her decision to play it more casual than usual had not horribly backfired. She considered herself as having a good read on people, but you never knew when you sat across the table from someone like him where they drew the line between friendly conversation and tearing off your head.

But that was what made it so much fun.

The eerie presence from earlier above deck was gone. With it went likely any monsters within leagues of them as well so she supposed it had been for that purpose. With the Tarainien Empire fully aware of the aged states of two of the three founding heads, and subsequently them being less active in defending ships, they had upped their raids and support of slavers and pirates. It was all secretive of course, but no one really questioned where the raiders got their support.

She was quite glad to have such a mage guarding them. As strong as Alaya Fenrar was - and that particular Wolfkin had quite the history hunting even the stronger groups of slavers and pirates - she doubted the Wolfkin compared to a Mage who could duel with her father. Now that information from her agent who witnessed the fight had been quite the reveal. And, after all, the strength of a mage lay in groups and never in such circumstances,

She had little doubt he couldn't have quickly killed even the man called in certain channels as the Aura Zombie, for his impossible tenacity, had he had someone to take the heat off him. Based on the description of the fight she had been given, the moment said mage had even a moment's freedom he had nearly done just that.

That he proved quite skilled in magically altered music made it all the better.

When the Wolf King had suggested a change in guard, she had been quite irritated. All her work in getting an envoy from the Wolf King went out the window in that one moment. She could have reasonably demanded Alaya remain her guard, but that would have ruined the whole original purpose and make her intentions far too obvious.

Whether the alternative proved to be better, she'd have to wait and see. It was more than possible her father would be severely displeased she didn't come back with a relative of the Wolf King. Or, that she chanced upon something more valuable.

"I'm surprised you're so okay with your man traveling with that Moon Elf," Alaya said, slightly panting. The two had just finished a spar, and she had been quite surprised how strong the 1st Tier Kara was.

"Why?" Kara asked. She would say it was because Alaya didn't know that Luna was with Rainer, but that was less an assurance and more of a negative. The Fairy would probably cite the Moon Elf as perfect for Rainer because of variety. No, Kara was assured because Rainer spent weeks around impossibly beautiful Fae who were deeply attracted to him and viewed it as more of an annoyance than anything else. To the point where, rather than inciting any jealousy, it was hugely entertaining watching him deal with it.

"She isn't the most reserved of people."

Kara shrugged, "I trust him, even if he wasn't coming back here most nights," It wasn't as if she had an alternative choice, in any case.

"Coming back here?" Alaya asked, confused.

"Oh? You didn't know. He's teleporting back here whenever he can," It wasn't really a secret, and, if anything, she knew Rainer planned to use it as part of his reputation. A man who could go anywhere he pleased at any time was quite a frightening thing to have as an enemy.

Alaya stared back at Kara stunned, having not been aware of that 'little' detail.

Already below deck after his meal, Rainer checked on Gunthar. He was most certainly not just interested in playing with Tiamat like his Sun Elf friend, no...he was just seeing that everything was alright with the rooms.

Walking to the back of the deck, Rainer found the two rooms allotted to them. His, that Gunthar currently sat in, was about as lavish as Ele's was. There were also already fruits and other similar assortments, that weren't dependent on being cooked, prepared.

Gunthar, as Rainer expected, played with Tiamat. Said Dragon stood in her full four foot length on Rainer's bed. Gunthar stood a bit farther away, arms stretched out as if making to catch her. It was, of course, not necessary in the slightest as Tiamat had already developed quite the resistance as a Dragon, even as a baby one.

Tiamat flapped her wings, gathering magic. It flowed through her body with her blood. Just like Rainer's when he used [Eldritch Flight]. The difference being with Tiamat's failures she was nowhere near as consistent. She'd use the spell properly and moments later lose her grasp on it. No fault of her own, being only two or so months old.

Rainer started to float in the background, keeping in the mind that the ship was also moving. It wouldn't matter for short term flight, but anything longer than a moment or two and you'd have problems.

Tiamat glanced at him and with a small 'hmph' breathed air out of her nostrils. Mistaking Rainer's attempt at helping her as a taunt, she put an extraordinary effort into her next flight. She jumped off the bed, bypassing Gunthar entirely, and flew in a circle around him, before the effects of flying over a moving object made themselves known. Success had been known for only a moment when Rainer Void-walked to catch her.

"You had that huh? Who's a good girl?" Rainer said, scratching underneath the not-so-little dragon's chin in his arms. She tried to continue being angry at him but found herself shrinking to a smaller size and enjoying her master's presence.

As Rainer viewed what was undoubtedly a touch of jealousy from Gunthar's undead visage, no matter how impossible that was. Then he felt another source of the emotion coming from his shoulder. The rune on his shoulder glowed in heat and soon after a serpent escaped. Jor immediately went into a small size and floated in front of Rainer.

"I fly well too," Rainer heard the monotone voice of Jor, though for the first time outloud.

The serpent wasn't the same as in the past. Its violet scales now seemed fully corporeal, and its body had a trace of divinity laced in throughout it. A pool of Miasma and Arcane seemingly functioned as this being's core and existence as it lacked any other organs. At least from what Rainer's [Arcane Revelation] covered eyes could gather.

"Very well," Rainer responded, hiding his surprise at Jor's changes. The feeling of Divinity was unmistakable even if it was tiny. The rest had seemingly been consumed to produce the changes in the arcane-mixed Serpent. There was no doubt in Rainer that this was a being of power beyond its unique consuming abilities. [Appraisal], however, still showed the usual [Unknown].

Rainer handed Tiamat into Gunthar's waiting arms, said dragon not even voicing a complaint as she enjoyed the scratching that came from the bony hands of Gunthar most of all.

Jor took the opportunity to wrap around Rainer's arm, his head now staring out above his hand at Rainer. Seeing the serpent slowly lift his head higher and higher as if 'hinting' at something, Rainer put him out of misery and finally conceded in scratching under his chin as well.

Unlike Tiamat who could alter the softness of her scales with her magic, Rainer intellectually knew Jor's scales were as hard as steel. And yet in terms of touch they were just as pleasant, if not a bit more. Not that he'd ever admit it to the small eldritch being. Jor preened with pride and eventually moved, wrapping around Rainer's neck and snaking up around to the top of his head, resting there.

"Is everything in order?" Rainer finally asked.

"Apart from your magic practice earlier, Sorcerer, there are no issues. I see you've made progress on one of your presence spells?" Gunthar asked. He momentarily wondered if the presence he felt earlier was worse than even the increase of gravity from his more physical magic.

"What do you mean... I aimed it away from the ship."

"Not successfully it seems," Gunthar laughed.

"I suppose I'll have to find something else to do during the day," Rainer mumbled. Presence skills were relatively benign, so normally there'd be no issue even if he used a living target for practice. But if the crew had been so on edge earlier because of him, rather than despite him, then that wasn't an option.

"Why don't you just return to the palace?" Gunthar asked.

"I suppose I might as well. Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything."

"Call you? I'm afraid you overestimate the strength of my non-existent Vocal Chords" Gunthar said, confused. How would his voice reach Rainer? Did he add a feature to the Familiar Bond or [Soul Trace] magic?

"Contact me with the Familiar Bond I mean," Rainer corrected, "Jor, you mind heading back inside for now?" He then got the general sense that the serpent was unwilling to do that though he would if Rainer truly needed it. Jor had been stuck inside the rune, and whatever was in there for most of his short life, so Rainer found it hard to say no to the serpent's request.

"On second thought, Gunthar, we should discuss our plans for once we get to the city."

Gunthar instantly read the emotions of the pouting serpent on Rainer's head and nodded in agreement.

"A fine thought, Sorcerer."

"I'll be back in a few hours," He still had the promised meeting with Ele, though she never gave him a specific time, "Call m- Contact me if someone comes to the door for me."

"I shall do as such, Sorcerer."

Rainer vanished after checking on Kara with a [Void Seer], Luna in tow. He reappeared through the Void behind a resting Kara.

"Boo." He spoke right in Kara's wolven ear. Kara jumped as her tail tensed but halfway through, she relaxed.

"Are you going to do that everytime," Kara said, slightly blushing.

"After that reaction? I kind of have to don't I?"

Kara's head fell, "I figured as much. Why are you back early?"

"You're not happy to see me?" Rainer asked in faux hurt.

"No."

Rainer winced a bit. He knew she wasn't completely serious but still mentally decided to jump scare his sister instead of Kara from now on. Don't scare anyone at all? That seemed a waste of his hard earned tier 7 spell.

"How's the training going?" Rainer asked, noting Kara was by herself in the training room.

"It's surprisingly similar to how I unleashed my Demonic Transformation for the first time."

"Which part?" Rainer asked confused.

"I meant, the feeling they describe, not so much anything else. Changing my Wolfkin Aura to the golden one of my bloodline, I mean. I can already feel the shift, it shouldn't be hard for me to use my past experience to push it forward. I can probably practice it in [Sleep Learning] and unlock it soon. Becoming an Aural Existence like Ymir and Alaya however…there isn't enough information."

"Do you know why exactly Ymir is being so tight-lipped about that?" Rainer asked, taking a seat on the floor with Kara doing the same across from him. No matter how interested he was in this, he found himself more distracted by the light sheen of sweat across her skin. The clothes she was wearing for training didn't cover much.

"A law of the Royal Family. They Soul-bound themselves to never spread the key information on becoming an Aural Existence. It's a ritual of Soul and Aura dating back to the first Wolf King who founded the country, so while they can technically break it they'd have their Aura forcibly stripped and likely their lives."

Rainer could understand why, when the major powers of the Dragon Isles were all Aura users. Such a secret could be one of the most valuable in the whole archipelago.

"So what do you know about it?"

"Very carefully infuse my Aura into my muscles and bones after my training. That was all he could offer…"

Rainer momentarily thought back to the two Aural Existences he knew. He had examined both with [Arcane Revelation], so he knew full well the differences between the two. Alaya was the equivalent of paying a three year old to throw a rubber basketball and calling her a professional basketball player. It was technically correct, but no one would actually consider said toddler as such. It was the same with Alaya.

With Ymir, he couldn't tell where the Aura began and the man ended. With Alaya, however, it seemed almost stored throughout her body rather than intertwined like with her father.

Muscles and bones…

Rainer pondered. That wasn't the case with the royal Wolfkin duo, as they had Aura everywhere without exception, including their brains.

In fact, that it was so heavily interwoven in their brains and yet seemingly gave no mental improvements beyond improved healing gave Rainer a theory as to how one became an Aural Existence. That, and the fact they lived on this weird mountain in the first place.

"We can talk about it later," Rainer said, not wanting to speak out his theories, "Don't try to start the process before then."

"I'll focus on what I can do for now."

"How's it going by the way, with Ymir?"

"I don't see him often, but I suppose that makes our short time easier. No awkward pauses or lack of conversation. He asks about my mother a lot though, subtly or seemingly as an afterthought, but it's easy to tell he wants to know more."

"Your mom ever say why she left him?"

Kara shook her head, "She barely said anything about him at all."

"You know…" Rainer started speaking, just now realizing he could Void-walk to Kara's mother, "We could visit her some time."

"Really?" Kara asked, surprised.

"We'd have to be careful, and make sure not to surprise her and cause any misunderstandings. After all, being captured by a Mage is one of the worst case scenarios, yeah?"

Kara hugged him with a giggle. "Thank you. But we'll have to be careful for more reasons than that. I had left in the first place because they were unable to hide me safely. If any Demons aside from my mother somehow knew I was there, even after we already left, it could mean trouble…"

"We'll plan it out. In any case, it makes her an easy marker for when you need to take your Trial," Rainer offered.

"And I still have plenty training left before that."

"I'll help with what I can."