Stormforge (Rise To Omniscience Book 5) Read online

  “As of right now, there are only two ways we can succeed. The first would be to kill the Pinnacle King, and the second would be to somehow convince the other kingdoms to join us in an alliance and put an end to his reign. Do you agree with those statements?”

  “Yes,” Morgan replied.

  No matter how he looked at it, he could see no other way for them to succeed either.

  “I’m glad you agree because I’m going to have to ask you to do something you won’t like.”

  From the tone of her voice, Morgan could already tell it was going to be something bad. Something he really, really wouldn’t like.

  “You want me to leave, don’t you?” he asked, already seeing where this was going.

  “Yes,” Katherine replied, not sugarcoating it at all, for which he was grateful. “You are the North’s most powerful weapon, and only you can convince the others to join us. Right now, they’re staying out of the fighting, shoring up their defenses.

  “The only reason they’re not joining us is fear. They’re afraid that no matter what we do, we can’t defeat the Pinnacle King. We need to show them they’re wrong, that we can win, and to do that, we’re going to need you to convince them that there’s hope.”

  “I don’t want to go,” Morgan said flatly. “I’m needed here. Without me, you’ll be down a powerful fighter. Losses during our past battles were bad, but without me around, they’ll be at least 30% worse. That’s a lot of people, Katherine. A lot.”

  “Can you defeat the Pinnacle King as you are now?” she asked, turning to look him in the eye. “Because if you can honestly tell me right now that you can do it, I won’t make you leave.”

  Morgan stared back, wanting nothing more than to look away from those piercing violet eyes of hers. Her eyes seemed to bore down into his very soul and bear witness to all within. He wanted to say yes, that he could defeat the Pinnacle King, but he knew the truth. Powerful as he was, he was no match for the beast.

  A Pinnacle beast ten ranks below him would be a challenge right now, and one he might not even be able to pull off alone. The Pinnacle King, who they were estimating to be around rank 55 right now, would annihilate him without even having to try. Using his reiki, he was effectively a supermage in beast form and highly intelligent to boot. In other words, he was a better and more powerful version of Morgan, which was exactly how he’d been designed.

  “No,” Morgan answered, finally looking away. “I can’t.”

  It shamed him to admit as much, but he wasn’t going to lie to her.

  Katherine reached out then, taking one of his hands in hers and clasping it tightly.

  “Then go out and help our kingdom in the way it matters most. We need allies if we’re to survive, and you are the only one who can get them.”

  Morgan hesitated for only a moment after that, before slowly nodding and sealing his fate.

  7

  They spoke for a few more minutes, ironing out the details of Morgan’s travel, factoring in his speed and how long it should take him to return. With the Pinnacle King locking down portals in their area, they’d be limited to travel over land, or in Morgan’s case, through the air. Fast as he was, portals would be greatly missed.

  “How many portal scrolls do we have?” Morgan asked once they’d finished going over the details.

  “A dozen that we can spare,” Katherine replied.

  While portal travel was impossible in their area, it wouldn’t be the same for those in other kingdoms. They weren’t sure how close the portals would get them to the North, but it would cut out a lot of travel time for those in further kingdoms.

  “So, if I can get all four of them to agree, that would be three each?” Morgan asked, already thinking that it wouldn’t be nearly enough.

  “We know that the West has scrolls of their own and can theorize that the South does as well. So, it would be six each for the East and Central.”

  “I don’t like this,” Morgan said once again. “Even at my fastest, the entire trip will take me at least ten days, and that’s not accounting for the time I’ll need to stop in each kingdom to try and convince them.”

  “It’ll probably be around two weeks,” Katherine replied. “You’re not factoring in any time to sleep in those calculations, and we’ll need you to stay fresh.”

  Morgan wanted to argue. He could probably go the entire trip without sleep, but Katherine was right. If he returned at the end of such a long flight without having slept, it would greatly impact his ability to fight. He was now wishing that he would have invested his points into flight instead of getting a new skill, as the extra speed would really have come in handy right about now.

  “Alright,” he replied, letting out a long sigh. “I’ll go tell Sarah to pack up and…” He trailed off as Katherine shook her head.

  “I need Sarah to stay here. We can afford to lose one powerful fighter but not two.”

  Morgan winced when he heard that. No matter what, when, or where, he’d always gone with Sarah. In fact, ever since they’d left City Four together nearly two years ago, they hadn’t left each other’s sides for more than a few hours.

  “Sarah’s much better at this diplomacy stuff than I am,” he tried to protest.

  “We need her here,” Katherine insisted. “You’re strong and you can be pretty convincing when you need to be.”

  “She’s not going to be happy about it,” Morgan said, trying one last tactic.

  “Let me deal with her,” Katherine replied.

  “I’m guessing I’ll have to leave without seeing her then,” Morgan said resignedly.

  He knew that if he told her he was leaving like she’d wanted him to all along, she’d insist on coming with. If Sarah was good at anything, it was being persuasive. Even though they’d been fighting, Morgan still didn’t feel too good about just up and leaving. It didn’t sit right with him.

  “I really hope you know what you’re doing,” Morgan said, looking her in the eye.

  “Do you trust me?” Katherine asked.

  Letting out another sigh, Morgan nodded.

  “Good,” Katherine said, the smile returning to her face.

  She then reached out, her forearm vanishing as though into thin air. When she pulled it back, she held a small leather bag and a bundle of scrolls, which she dropped onto the bed.

  “I see you came prepared,” Morgan said dryly as she pulled another, larger pack, dropping that next to the first bundle.

  “I am a queen, after all,” Katherine replied. “It pays to be prepared.”

  This was the last thing he’d wanted to do this morning, but it looked like he had little choice in the matter. Katherine had come prepared. Her visit last night, as well as her overnight stay, now made a lot more sense to him. It would have been nice if she’d simply come as a friend to help him relax and spend some time together, but in times like these, she was a ruler first and a friend second.

  “Let’s just hope this is all worth it,” Morgan said as he rose from the bed to prepare for his trip.

  Katherine rose with him, placing a hand on his shoulder and leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. It was a lingering kiss, one that was a little too long for someone who was just a friend, but Morgan let it pass without comment. When she stood back, releasing his shoulder, he could see just the barest trace of moisture in her eyes.

  “Take care of yourself, Morgan. The world is a treacherous place, and even the skies won’t be entirely safe. Whatever you do, come back. Alive.”

  Morgan nodded, watching Katherine’s back as she opened a portal, most likely to her own room so no one would see her leave. Her room was about as far as she could get now with a portal, due to the Pinnacle King’s interference. She turned once before entering and gave him a sad smile. Then, she walked through, the portal snapping closed behind her, leaving him alone once more.

  He stood next to his bed for a few long moments, not moving, not thinking. Simply staring at the spot where she’d vanished. Though Katherine had
likely left him a communication amulet, he knew that hers was the last friendly face he’d see for at least the next two weeks. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on his own, and though he was still in a castle, inside a city full of people, he suddenly felt very much alone.

  After a few more minutes of standing around, Morgan finally roused himself and began to get dressed. No point in sulking around. Besides, he knew that the longer he lingered, the bigger the chance that Sarah would come looking. It wasn’t likely, as she hadn’t been coming around in the mornings, but there was always the off chance.

  It didn’t take him long to don his armor, the heavy clothes making him sweat in the warm room. Although he was uncomfortable now, he knew he’d be grateful for them once he left. Next, he decided to take a few moments to take stock of his inventory.

  Opening one bag, he found it full of glittering platinum coins, each denoted with a stamped 10 in the center. This meant that they were each the equivalent worth of ten platinum or ten thousand gold. He wasn’t sure why Katherine would think he needed this much money but figured she must have packed it for a good reason.

  Next, he checked the bundle of scrolls, each of which was rolled around a glass vial of glowing blue mana. To activate the portal, Morgan knew that the condensed mana would need to be poured across the parchment to activate the scripts. It would be a lot more stable and effective with reiki, but seeing as he was the only one who could produce it, they were forced to use an alternative.

  Morgan had actually done a bit of portal travel where Sarah had painted the symbols on his arms to use him as a base instead of parchment. He would never do that again though, knowing just how much of a risk it was, both to him and anyone traveling through at the time. And seeing as they didn’t have many people to make portal scrolls, this was all they had on hand.

  Opening the larger pack, Morgan noted rations, water, some changes of clothes, the communication amulet he’d been expecting, as well as half a dozen other travel necessities. There was also another roll of parchment, that when opened, revealed itself to be information on the rulers of the other four kingdoms, as well as their aides.

  There was one other item in there as well, a beast zone key with the numbers 22 - 41 inscribed on its surface. This Morgan recognized to be a staged zone key, which meant there were multiple levels. The reason this had been packed was obvious. When one reached the last stage in a zone like this, the portal guarded by the last Matriarch or Patriarch – or Arc as he and Sarah had begun calling them – would be able to transport them anywhere.

  The reason they didn’t use something like this right away, was because the numbers on the zone keys had become extremely unreliable ever since Samuel had removed the level limit on their world, and seeing as the god was now dead, there was no one to change it back. Traveling through this beast zone would be a last resort. If there were some emergency that demanded his return immediately to the North, this would be his ticket back.

  Morgan slid the key back into the bag, packing the portal scrolls in as well. He secured the money pouch in an inner pocket, and then slung the pack over his shoulder. He then headed to the window, pulling up the latch on the shutters and opening them wide. A blast of icy cold air gusted into the room, immediately lowering the temperature by a good ten degrees.

  The entire world was covered in frost for as far as the eye could see. The tops of the buildings blanketed in snow, the sea of white stretching far into the distance and well past the walls until disappearing over the horizon. The early-morning sun glittered off the snow, making it sparkle with the light of a million diamonds.

  This city was only just waking up, a few small dots moving about the streets, stoking fires and preparing for the day ahead. This was going to be a very lonely couple of weeks, Morgan realized as he watched the city come awake. He knew he shouldn’t linger too much longer as he might be spotted leaving the city, and if word got out that he wasn’t around, the Pinnacle King might feel secure in committing a larger force to attack City Eleven.

  He looked back to his room one last time, noting the glowing red rods in the fireplace and the soft, fluffy armchair. He was going to miss it here, that was for sure.

  Morgan turned then, stepping out onto the windowsill and breathing in the frigid morning air. He could scent another snowstorm on its way, though he’d be long gone by the time it hit. He hesitated only a moment longer before leaping out into the open air, freefalling a dozen yards before catching himself with his flight and rocketing off to the northeast.

  According to Katherine, Queen Le’vine would be the easiest to convince, so he should start there and circle around to the South, West, and finally Central Kingdoms before returning back. The trip would cover over twenty-thousand miles, but it should be doable in two weeks if he only slept two to three hours a night.

  His RP regen would ensure he never ran out as it was higher than the cost of flight per second. If he didn’t run into any real trouble on the way, this trip should be a smooth ride. Nothing ever went to plan, though, so Morgan knew that when he had the chance, he’d need to speed up his progress with his Maximum Might, the only skill that stacked with others.

  The skill would give him a flat 20% increase to all his attributes, as well as increase the potency of his skills. An increase like that would move him from traveling at 140 ft per second to 168, or 114 miles per hour, versus his regular 95. He could incorporate the Supersonic aspect to his flight if needed, but since the cooldown on that was so long, he’d keep it in reserve in case of an emergency.

  Morgan took a deep breath as he accelerated, feeling the air growing colder and colder as he did. He knew he’d be feeling numb soon, though that wouldn’t actually be as dangerous as one might expect. Ever since advancing, his body was made of tougher stuff than the average human, not to mention that he was over rank 50.

  Taking a tight loop in the air, Morgan got one last look at the castle, now already a couple of miles away. Tall and covered in snow, the large building stood out with its many spires and crenellations. He could only hope that it would all still be here when he returned.

  8

  “What do you mean, he’s gone?”

  “I mean exactly that,” Katherine replied, keeping her tone calm and her expression neutral.

  Sarah stood before her in her private office, predictably enraged by the fact that Morgan had gone off without telling her.

  “You made him do this, didn’t you?” Sarah said after a few moments of silence. “And you didn’t let him come see me before he left.”

  “Correct,” Katherine said. “And your reaction right now is exactly why I didn’t tell you.”

  Sarah ground her teeth together as she tried to remain calm. For months now, she’d been trying to get Morgan to leave, and in one night, Katherine had managed to convince him to do so, and without her, to boot. The rational part of her mind wanted to know why, but right now, she wasn’t feeling particularly rational.

  “Where are you going?” Katherine asked as Sarah whirled and began marching toward the door.

  “I’m going after him, duh!” she replied.

  “You’ll never be able to catch up with him,” Katherine called after her, but Sarah ignored her, storming out of the office and into the empty corridor.

  She stood there for a few moments, fuming, then took off at a jog toward the castle’s exit. She and Morgan had stuck together through thick and thin, and even though they weren’t getting along that well now, she’d never imagined he’d agree to just up and leave. The rational explanation was that Katherine had somehow beguiled him into doing something using her charm and good looks.

  There was a time when Sarah wouldn’t have needed to worry about that, but with him and Katherine spending so much time together, it was only natural that something like this would happen. Sarah knew she was partly to blame for driving him away, but she still couldn’t help but feel that if the Queen wasn’t around, Morgan would already have caved and left these do
omed people to their fates.

  Sarah dashed out of the open castle doors and out into the frigid morning air. It was only then that she realized that she had absolutely no idea where Morgan had gone.

  “You ready to talk like rational adults yet?”

  Sarah whirled to see Katherine standing behind her, arms crossed beneath her chest.

  “Go to hell!” Sarah yelled, whirling once more and dashing away.

  She knew she was acting childish at this point but every time she saw the beautiful and perfectly composed Queen of the North, it annoyed her to no end. Her breath steamed as she ran, swerving through the streets and narrowly avoiding bumping into people. She could feel Katherine following her and knew that no matter how fast she ran, she wouldn’t be able to escape the more powerful super.

  Still, she ran on, swerving between buildings in a vain attempt to shake her pursuit. She pushed herself to run faster, pumping her legs for all she was worth. Lungs burning and eyes streaming, Sarah approached the wall. The monstrous construct of stone, frozen mud, and ice loomed above her.

  Not a problem, she thought, reaching for her core and using Condense Water. Water and ice flowed around her as she ran, and when she felt she had enough, she wrapped it around her waist. Then, using the gathered water, she propelled herself upward, the streaming liquid carrying her body to the top of the towering wall where she landed lightly.

  Sarah paused for a moment, chest heaving as she stared out over the vast plane of snow and ice, looking for any trace of Morgan. She wasn’t even sure what she was looking for, as Morgan would have been traveling by air. Perhaps she was hoping to see a spec on the horizon, signaling his location.

  All she saw were the remnants of yesterday’s battle, the corpses of twisted beasts and patches of red and brown where blood had been spilled. There was a light click of boots on stone as Katherine stepped out onto the wall, having used a portal to get up rather than jumping, though Sarah knew she could very well have jumped without the use of a skill.