Book 4. Chapter 29: Heart of the World

Book 4. Chapter 29: Heart of the World

With the HQ node placed, they now had a countdown timer for it to be setup within 48 hours. It was to Jakes surprise that the Ravenwolf Tribe had in fact built up a fair amount of Contribution Points, and so he did not need to spend many of his own getting it setup. In five days, the portal linking the three locations would be ready.

Apparently, Valtor was already harassing Timone, micromanaging the Ravenwolf Tribe. There were dozens of preparations for the new HQ to be constructed without a hitch, but defense was an important component. In theory, Tartarus could try to stop the HQs creation.

The five days would be just in time for the World Tree Seed to arrive. Thousands of the previous Gaias servants would flood to Harmony Peaks, taking over the defense. Alliance Nodes were being taken across the world of Highlands, and Vesuvius people were back on their trek to hunt for reptilian allies and head off the betrayers.

Morwens people and Warriors Brotherhood were heading to the coasts, and soon the Ravenwolf Tribe would be doing the same. It was time to win back their territory, and push Tartarus back.

But first, it was time for them to go meet the Heart of the World, and see if there was something they could do for it. They went along with Aisling and Dahlia as their guides, Timone and the rest opting to stay above ground for now, to work with Valtor and lead the Clans in their efforts for now.

As they wandered inside, Jake could feel the thick auril being drawn into the cave. Harmony Peaks vitality was high, because this cave was here drawing in auril from what was likely the entire Northern Hemisphere, somehow.

Jake was riding on Bloodberris battlements, which she extended for Dahlia to ride; her sitting across from Jake. Fhesiah, Ophelia, and Aisling flew slightly ahead of them, talking.

So, there was a scavenger hunt going on, and I found one of the targets out on a balcony. I decided it would be devilish of me to lure Jake for a bit of fun out there.New novel chapters are published on

Aisling snorted. No way! That sounds like this one time, where I tricked Timone into thinking the kids had class. We were right behind nothing more than a curtain, when

Tanda sighed. I dont want to hear about that, Aisling!

Aisling shrugged. I knew we wouldnt get caught, but Timone didnt. It was extra exciting! You didnt even know!

Tanda frowned. But now I do! I dont want to hear about you getting it on just feet away from us!

Aisling frowned. Why not? That was how your clan-sister Tina was made. It was a special day!

Tanda groaned and Fhesiah chuckled, and Jake knew she was getting all sorts of ideas from this conversation.

Considering at Tier 2 her illusions would be completely out of control, he wasnt sure how to feel about this.

She looked back and gave him a wide smile. You have a lot to look forward to, Jake. Were going to have so much fun, you have no idea!

Berri was talking to Dahlia, and once again the conversation was not all that favorable.

Wow, youve had 18 children? Thats wonderful. I want at least that many. That way, my children can play offense and defense in baseball! Do you play games with your kids?

Dahlia nodded. We play lots of games together. We also like to sing and dance, but plenty grow wanting to become warriors, and start their own Clan.

Berri and Blood went on about their training of their baseball teams, and how even the adults were joining along in the fun, and taking advantage with the training.

Tanda eventually landed in Jakes lap with a groan. Aisling keeps teasing me. How do you put up with it, Mom?

Dahlia chuckled, as she looked on at Tanda fondly. You just cant let her get under your skin. Shell move on to other targets if you arent as fun to tease. Either that, or just play along with her. Aisling is fun to be around. What about you, son-in-law? You look a little green at all this talk of children.

The number is just a bit daunting. I think most humans would gawk at twenty kids per mate? I think Id have trouble remembering their names at that point.

She smiled at him. You dont need to worry about the trouble of all the children, your mates will take care of that. Beastkin men just get all the fun parts, and focus on protecting and providing for the family. For us, the names come easily as we hear their song. Of course, therell be enough mates to help with even that for you, too. Then, once you have some older children, they help the family and clan too. Family is not a burden, it is a tremendous gift.

Tanda was now leaning heavily into Jake, and if wolves could purr, he just knew she would be. He was scratching her ears, and the frustration just drained out of her.

Jake replied, I get that, but its just hard for me to imagine. Human families are hardly ever over ten within their immediate family, and my generation has had most families shrink to one or two as being the majority. Anyway, I do know these two especially are going to be wonderful mothers.

Ophelia floated nearby and added, Valkyries are not incredibly fertile. It may be many years between children for me, when we start trying.

Dahlia frowned. Then she said something about Oran, and preparing to call Cernunnos. She will send more taint to the stem, for us to clear more for our efforts. Rest, and she will begin shortly.

They all began to drink mana water, preparing for expending their mana once more. Jake looked around the room with his [Arcane Eye]. He could see that this location was where leylines met, a sort of nexus for magical energy. Then, the auril was extremely dense. Perhaps, if he had a way to pull into this or harness it for himself

Jake summoned Oran, his song joining Dahlia, Tanda, and Aislings. Dahlia looked at it with a smile. Thats Oran, then? He very much feels like Cernunnos himself. His song feels like a heroic beast Ive met, so perhaps an offspring. I may have met this ones parent.

The taint then bubbled up through the roots, the taint in the room becoming even more palpable than before. The leaves quickly darkened, the prismatic lights given off disappearing. Jake quickly shifted to the [Runebound State: Saint] he had devised, embodying Berri.

He could tell that the stem would not last long unless they healed it, so he had each of the girls cycle their heals into the plant, trying to monitor for efficiency. From what he could tell, Ophelias [Sacrificial Flames: Renewal] was the most efficient, especially with his [Saint] state carrying over to her.

He allowed Tanda and Oran to push their auril into her to heal her body when using the sacrificial spell, and for her to pull on Jakes mana with energy sharing to continually cast it. Berri, Fhesiah, and Blood all worked to make a simple [Group Runic Healing] spell, pushing their [Purifying Flames] into it when Ophelia couldnt keep up with it.

As far as Jake could tell, they were mostly keeping up with the taint. It seemed that Cernunnos daughter was sending enough for them to maintain or keep up with for now.

Jake retrieved his enchanting materials from his [Storage Bracelet]. He had often taken to carrying a good portion of them, since he would often work on enchanting things in Bloodberris carriage to be more efficient with his time. However, he wasnt really sure what material would work best for his purposes. What he really wanted to make was a [Mana Font].

Much like how Cultivators couldnt just force infinite amounts of Qi to become their own by just sitting in the densest of environments, mana users had similar restrictions. Their soul drew energies from the void at a mostly-fixed pace, and the higher density of mana in the environment hardly increased this beyond a certain point. It was slightly different for Jake, because he had a core, and the [Mana Siphon] or [Energy Vortex] skill.

This drew in even more, but there was still a limit primarily, too much mana drawn in would harm Jakes body and soul. Too much mana for him to handle would be a detriment, and the Framework mostly kept or protected them from taking in too much. It was only by drinking mana potions or drinking too much mana water that he could exceed this.

Higher Tier mages would have more powerful souls and able to have more mana, but the largest improvement would be stronger mana control. By taking control of dense mana within the environment, they could use less of their own mana to cast spells.

Jake could do this too, but to a smaller degree. Mana in Tier 1 worlds simply wasnt dense enough. Even if it was, Jakes Tier 1 [Mana Control] skill wouldnt be strong enough to draw in enough of it from his smaller zone of control.

The mana font would need to solve both of these problems. It would need to draw in mana from a larger area, and condense it into a smaller one for Jake to take control of. Doing this, he just might be able to improve his mana core, besides.

Of course, the girls were privy to Jakes thoughts, and were mostly up to speed with his thinking. What about you, Fhesiah? Could you build a formation in here to draw in more Auril, more mana? More energies?

She hummed, as she looked around, inspecting her area with her [Divine Sense]. She sighed. I think 48 hours is really stretching it, but I think I can make it happen. I will focus on bringing energies into this room, and you can focus on condensing it. I think that should work well enough?

Jake nodded. He wasnt sure if he could make one that could solve both problems in such a short period. He wasnt even sure it could be done within this Tier.

In the game he played, tools such as the mana font were only available near the end-game. What Tier that would be, he had no idea. If it was just condensing what was within the room already, he thought he could manage it.

He had several empty spell rods, and he worked with some quick experiments. This drew on mana quite a bit, but he thought he had something mostly working in just a few minutes, if he infused his own mana into it.

Jake went back to focusing on aiding in the healing and restoring mana, the mana and auril users. As much as he wanted to experiment more, hed be able to do ten times the work in his lab in the same amount of time. He did think about what materials he could use and what kind of layout he could create.

Meanwhile, Fhesiah did work on drawing the master formation that the numerous in the surrounding area would connect to. This way, the drawing of energies would begin shortly. The heart of the worlds stem already did this to an extent, but her formation would amplify this greatly.

Just as the group were starting to get a bit sick, despite their conservative pacing, the taint reduced down to normal levels. The prismatic sheen on the plant returned, the taint back to the way it was before they started.

Dahlia smiled, as the group ended their connection. Thats it for now. It looks like that was about 5% of what remains! That was a major effort. That was decades worth of healing in one go, she cant thank you enough. This should give her enough leeway for two days from now, allowing her to come here. Rest, and prepare.

Thinking that it would only take twenty days at that pace was extremely positive for Jake, and he could tell Tandas family felt the same way, their smiles beaming.

Berri motioned for Jake to hop on her carriage. Lets go back. Tanda cant wait to get Jake alone!

Tanda blushed. W-We waited a long time, is all. For a beastkin, it was like an eternity!

Fhesiah nodded. Too true. Brock sealed the deal on two girls to Jakes one. Its like hes not even trying to find more mates!

Jake groaned as he hopped into the carriage, Dahlia joining with a smile. He had tried, but found that he couldnt actually form his Refuge portal at this location. They would need to head closer to the Alliance Node, before he could make his portal.

They would head to the exit, and then Jakes family would rest and prepare for healing the world. Of course, there was one more thing that they wanted to enjoy first.