Parting and Underground
Geiger Dole and his son appeared to be completely cordial towards strong individuals, and Leylin only responded with a smile.
âAttention! Attention! You have now entered Port Elias! This area is under the protection of the mighty master of the void, the Flapwing, the Dignitary of the Asak Continent: the almighty Nefarious Filthbird! We advise that you abide by the Portâs rules, lest you suffer the wrath of the Portâs guardians and the Supremeâs punishment!â A mechanical voice transmitted the message onto the ship, carrying a trace of a threat with it. Geiger Dole, however, was evidently used to this and did not react.
After all, the port was being protected by a powerful Dignitary, so they could only follow the rules.
âThe Nefarious Filthbird?! Asak Continentâs Dignitary?!â Leylinâs eyes flickered slightly as he looked towards the top of the Port and saw a giant statue of a bird atop an enormous mountain.
âIsnât this place near the Hail Continent? How can the Dignitary of another continent spread its influence all the way here? Unlessâ¦â Many ideas ran through Leylinâs mind. On the surface, however, Leylin was calm and collected as he followed Geiger Dole off the ship and into the docks.
There was a flood of people on the ground, and the clamour in the place was spectacular. Even the air in the region seemed to be sizzling slightly. The fishy smell of sea trade, the odour of livestock and other assorted scents blended into a stench that could make anyone feel nauseous. Even Leylinâs brow creased a little in response.
*Crash! Crash!* A huge mechanical arm rumbled monotonously, grabbing goods from the holds and decks of the ships and transporting them down. At the end of the endlessly operating transport belt was a gigantic body and, and next to it were tall and very muscular humanoids. They shouted as they transported the boxes of raw goods away. From time to time, the urging and condemning of a yardmaster could be heard.
If they used extraordinary magical power, the entire process could be sped up considerably. However, without even considering whether that would be cost-effective, why would those extraordinarily powerful people condescend to perform such menial tasks?
âMister, your ship was confirmed to be an ancient type 3 model, accompanied by a huge life form of rank 5 physical status. You will need to payâ¦â At this moment, a flexible-looking giant octopus that was holding a notebook, a fountain pen, and other such tools arrived in front of Geiger Dole.
âI know, I know!â Geiger Dole waved his hand, throwing a little black bag to the octopus. Furthermore, Leylin saw Geiger Dole stuff a pink pearl into one of the octopusâ tentacle suckers. The pearl disappeared in a wink and Leylin was left speechless. Apparently, no matter what era it was, this sort of thing was unavoidable.
âAlright then, Mister Geiger Dole, Mister Geiger! I shall take my leave first.â
As soon as Geiger Dole finished his procedures, Leylin bid them farewell with a smile and, shortly after his figure disappeared into the bustling crowd.
Geiger Dole and Geiger looked in Leylinâs direction, and they couldnât help but covertly exchange spiritual undulations with each other for a while.
âMister Ley left just like that?â Geiger still couldnât resign himself to this.
âCheer up, son!â Geiger Doleâs spiritual undulations were transmitted over, âEven without our help Mister Ley had enough strength to arrive at the continent by himself. It was only a matter of time. Furthermore, we have already benefited a lot from the Thornback Ironwhale he gave us, so we shouldnât make too many unreasonable demands. Fair trade and complying with the law, that is what our almighty senior, the Trialâs Eye, has taught us. We must follow his doctrine thoroughly.
âYes, youâre right, Lord Father.â Geigerâs vertical eye showed his low spirits, as did his tendrils. âHowever, I still feel like itâs a pityâ¦.â
âLord Leyâs departure is actually good for us!â There was still a trace of dignity in Geiger Doleâs large vertical eyes.
âWhat do you mean?â Geiger didnât seem to understand.
âI am afraid the secret Mister Ley carries isnât a small matter. Although I havenât made in-depth contact with him, Iâm already near the bottleneck of the Elder Stage, and even with my spiritual sight Mister Ley was still shrouded in fog. Occasionally, his aura makes me feel oppression and fear that not even the Elders can generate.â
Geiger Dole still seemed to have some lingering fear, âIf such a person were to have an outburst and attack us, it would be a disaster to the fleet and the entire Eden Trading Company! Now, however, he decided to leave us of his own accord. Since weâre still on friendly terms, itâs good for both parties.â
âSo thatâs the case! Mister Ley was actually this powerful?â Geiger looked at his father. Suddenly, he became aware that there was still a lot of things left for him to learn.
â¦â¦
âA.I. Chip, whatâs the progress on the data collection?â Leylin leisurely strolled around the streets while secretly communicating with the A.I. Chip.
[Beep! Collecting data on the outside world⦠79 new species were discovered⦠34 species match information on the database, 25 unknown. 20 species are completely foreign organisms.] The A.I. Chipâs reply was lightning quick, and it projected a great amount of data in front of Leylin.
In ancient times, the Magus World was incomparably powerful and had taken over many worlds. Ancient Magi had even made contact with the Purgatory World, which meant that it was possible to find the descriptions of some lifeforms in the large amount of ancient data that the A.I. Chip had collated.
Leylin opened an image at random and, from the picture, a ball of thick black mist that did not have a fixed form emerged. This was a member of an alien tribe he had seen earlier.
[Blackmist Clan, a semi-elemental lifeform. Enjoys living in environments full of darkness particles, suspected to be native to the Shadow World. In ancient times they had migrated to many other worlds, and there are currently 12 subspecies that have been discovered.]
The many passersby on the street did not make a fuss over the appearance of the ball of black mist, so they were clearly accustomed to it.
In addition to the Black Mist Clan, Leylin had discovered many ancient tribes that were recorded in the ancient books and even some completely unknown creatures. All these existences lived harmoniously and prosperously in Port Elias.
Different tribes had different lifestyles. This could cause some contradictions and disrupt harmony, especially for those kinds of dark existences at these docks, but Leylin didnât notice any intense conflicts or fights. It was clear that they were under strong suppression.
âIn terms of biodiversity and number of special species, the Purgatory World has probably surpassed the Magus Worldâ¦â Leylinâs expression was slightly grave.
Just the power of laws that the Purgatory Worldâs seven dignitaries possessed was enough to crush the surface Magus World. If not for the Magus Worldâs World Will suppressing foreign laws to a terrifying degree, perhaps it would already have been conquered by powerful beings from other worlds.
âNo. Iâm afraid the World Willâs suppression wouldnât be enough to deter the Snake Dowager and the others,â Leylin stroked his chin, âEven if theyâve been suppressed, entities that wield laws can very easily deal with Rank 6 Breaking Dawn Monarchs. Only creatures of equal rank could make them worry⦠Could it be that there are some rank 7 or greater Magi from ancient times still in the Magus World?â
âPerhaps they are hiding in a secret location and have become enough of a formidable force to intimidate other worlds. No! It they were on the surface, no matter how low a profile they kept, rumors of these entities would have spread, unless⦠they are underground!â Leylinâs eyes suddenly lit up.
The Magus World still had a deep and vast subterranean world. Even the powerful Magi from ancient times had only explored and discovered seven layers of this underground world.
Going into the subterranean world was too dangerous even for the ancient Magi. If an Abyssal Matriarch-ranked existence appeared in the seven layers of the subterranean world, it was enough to rival the strongest Law Magi. Therefore, ancient magi were not able to completely control the subterranean world they had discovered.
If it was like this within the seven layers then how about even deeper underground? Leylin suddenly felt somewhat fortunate, the underground of the Magus World was indeed deep and no one knew what terrifying existences or shocking secrets were hidden there.
He had boldly cooperated with the Lyas family to develop the underground, and as expected it was a sensible decision. Otherwise, if they attracted the attention of some powerful existence, let alone Magi who wielded laws, even with the assistance of the strongest Breaking Dawn Monarchs there would be no profit left for him and Eam to make. All the influence would be taken over by others, and it would be working for nothing.
This outcome was something he could never accept.
âAlthough the probability of the power of laws appearing in the first layer of the subterranean world was small, there would definitely be Magi on the level of Breaking Dawn! Then there was that King Arthur who had established the Arthur Empire. He had to be a Breaking Dawn Magus, and could even be a powerhouse among the rank 6 Magi!â
Leylinâs eyes twinkled without end, âBoldly exploring the subterranean world, even if only the first layer, is truly an irrational thing to do before reaching rank 6.â
With this thought, Leylin couldnât help recalling that Thorned Thunderbird Warlock clanâs elder- Eam Lyas.
Perhaps Eam was indeed making preparations to explore the subterranean world, and was waiting for Leylin to return?
However, right now it was impossible for Leylin to return in the short term, and the earlier treaty was merely an agreement of intentions. The most crucial point was that Leylin had not agreed on a specific time to explore the subterranean world with Eam. Thus, it could not be said that he was violating the contract.
âIâll have to ask you to wait a bit longer, Eam. Wait for me to advance to Breaking Dawn, then I will definitely go and fulfil our agreement!â The corners of Leylinâs mouth curved into a smile.