The night peacefully passed and like most other people Zilan soundly slept. Of course, just like anyone else he naturally only closed his eyes once all one thousand six hundred and thirty nine protective inscriptions had been activated. This was standard procedure for any race that had been hunted and persecuted for countless years. In fact, in the future the number one thousand six hundred and thirty nine would become the universal lucky number for all endangered species…cough…okay enough of that.
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An – This will not be part of the final book, just having some fun is all :p
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As usual, the yellow sun rose from the East on time and as the first rays of sunlight came through the window and hit Zilan, his eyes responded by trembling twice before widely opening.
“Ah~ Yesterday I taught an Alchemy class and today I’ll be attending a Fire Guardian lesson.” He sighed. “Too bad all of the explanations on cultivation are specifically meant for Beasts making them mostly useless for me but if I dare to miss any one of them, I risk some sort of punishment. Oh well, I still have time before I have to report, might as well roam around for a bit.”
After making up his mind, Zilan skilfully rolled out of the bed and headed towards the bathroom. Washing his face expectedly came with the side effect of having his entire body transform however, now used to it, he calmly freshened up. Surprisingly, before he could dry his face with a towel, half of his right wing suddenly came to life and just like a child would, it playfully rubbed itself all over him, even ruffing up his hair.
“Enough playing, go back.” Rebuked Zilan.
Feeling wronged, the wing crept back, turning into the peculiar brand once again.
“Luckily I have the specially made suit otherwise, who knows what manner of trouble this guy would cause.” He thought.
The armoured robe that resembled maroon leather, quickly and for obvious reasons became Zilan’s defining feature. Of course, the fact that it looked strange as well as covered pretty much his entire body was not due to a design flaw. In truth, the suit itself could be more than considered a treasure in its own right. After all, its main job was not to keep Zilan safe from water contamination as that would be overkill. Its true purpose was in reality to restrain the two otherworldly wings on his back from acting recklessly or in much simpler terms, restricting their freedom. A task that was much harder accomplished than its description gave credit.
So then what is the origin of the suit? Well, Hihi kept mum about that however, he did mention when gifting the suit to Zilan that it was crafted using the scales from a very powerful Dragon. Hihi also went on to say a lot of other things, including the fact that the suit would allow him to slowly progress through the adolescent stage of Spring Dragon-hood without encountering any mishaps along the way.
An example of this could be seen from when Zilan first adorned the suit. He was still at his former much lesser height as well as had yet to undergo any transformation whatsoever but as can be seen currently, the changes on his body were definitely not few and if Hihi’s words are to be trusted, the suit will continue to guide his body through the transformations until he reaches the stage where he is half a step into adulthood. At that point Zilan wondered, “What will I look like?”
……..
Quickly dressing up, Zilan routinely put on his hood as well as all the gloves, shoes and accessories he had prepared. He also did a check up to make sure there was no part of his body except his face that was left bare otherwise the consequences might affect his plan.
Speaking of the plan, it had slightly changed ever since he went through little Red’s ‘test’. Initially, he had placed standing out as his first goal and to a degree that goal still remained today but the methods with which he would use to become the shining star of the Association no longer included the using of the fact that he was ‘the son of a Dragon’, at least not unless it was absolutely necessary.
Why is this so? It isn’t that difficult to understand to be honest.
To some extent he had already achieved the first goal since the people who ought to know about his lineage already knew about it. Little Red and Old Blue were most definitely not low in the pecking order therefore since they knew of his ‘secret’, it was more likely for them to inform the Chairman about his existence than any Elder. Of course, his performance in the test alone wouldn’t be enough to guarantee that they contact the Chairman. However, if he remained mysterious, that is to say, not reveal his identity to the world but instead by using other means, was able to shock an awe the masses then those two people would be forced to question his true purpose as well as his reasons for concealing himself. When that happens, it is more than likely that he will be questioned by them and at that time it is also highly possible that the Chairman will be in attendance.
Needless to say, this was all speculation on his part but then again so were many other things Zilan had been able to accomplish. From his very cultivation all the way to his plan for revenge, everything was simply theory and probabilities yet here he stood today. Why mess with a working formula now?
Making his way out of the house and onto the street, Zilan grabbed his Bronze sector badge and sent some of his energy into it.
Immediately after, a three dimensional map of the entire Alchemy Association came into view in his mind.
The first time he had seen this map, he obviously was impressed but not as much as when he began learning about the places illustrated on the map.
To elaborate, the entire north side of the map, where the ceremonial ground is located, was covered in a white haze and transportation by use of voids to that place was essentially impossible without permission from the higher ups.
The other areas on the other hand were in full view.
The Eastern region of the Association was a place specifically designed and restricted to Alchemists. The class Zilan taught was also held in one of the buildings in this area however, that was not all it had offer.
Various establishments and shops could be found in the Alchemist only area for example, the school for apprentices, restaurants, ingredients stores, Alchemy isolation chambers and an abnormal number of libraries each owned by different organisations/Alchemists and the books sold there were among the most expensive commodities in the entire Association. Of course, it wouldn’t be an Alchemist friendly area without a gigantic square where the distinguished amongst the Alchemists could enlighten their comrades on the intricacies of refinement or as Zilan referred to it, a good place to show off. These were just a few places within the Eastern region, which was fittingly named Alchemy plaza.
The Western region of the Association was similar to the Eastern region in only one aspect that was, it was restricted solely to the Fire Guardians. Everything else about it was completely different.
The terrain was one thing that stuck out like a sore thumb. Some areas were rough and dry, some snowy or covered in ice, others had good drainage as well as had flourishing forests, there was even a small desert and a large lake that was surrounded with swamps. All of this could be seen in the Western region and much like other things in the Alchemy Association, it was all mostly artificial but at the same time accurate in fulfilling its purpose. Which was? To effectively and efficiently train a number of ferocious warriors that could thrive in every environment.
The Western region also known as Guardians gate also had establishments of its own but unlike the Alchemy Plaza, all of them were owned or possessed by the Association itself. These establishments include places like, gravity chambers, illusion chambers, Enlightenment enclosures as well as a myriad of other interesting training facilities. It went without saying that the cost of using these establishments was sky high, and gold was not accepted in the Alchemy Association thus relying on outside help was taken out of the equation.
Mystic grains were the currency and they functioned as a form of contribution points. That is to say, any contribution to the Association either through the completion of a mission or through passing a test or anything else the Association decides to reward would be compensated with Mystic grains.
Lastly but certainly not least were the Southern and Central regions.
The Southern region although permitted members to enter also had its own restrictions since it was after all, the personal area of the Elders.
As for the Central region, it was undoubtedly the largest region in the Alchemy Association and it just so happened to be where the Purple Heart, Two flames camp was located. In fact, all camps as well as member living spaces were located in the Central region.
This region of the Association was where all members ‘associated’ with one another. It was open to all including the Elders and all professions however, it was also considered one of the most dangerous places in the Alchemy Association.
This was because of certain terms as well as rules that were put in place along with the introduction of ‘camps’.
Naturally for something to grow stronger and surpass another thing, a weaker party has to exist and the best way to figure out the difference in strengths between camps was to give them the freedom to do battle. In this way, certain areas of the Central region were closed off from void transportation or escape thus camps could wage war in these vast plains/valleys or mountains etc, whenever they wished. Obviously, there were many rules that came into play to govern this whole process so that it retained some moniker of fairness but in the end the principal remained the same, ‘it was a place for conflict and interaction.’
As expected there were safe areas where members could interact without fear but there were also zones where attacking of another was justified and allowed. There were even hundreds of challenge platforms in certain parts of the region where grudges could be settled. Arenas for special challenges and other events that attracted large audiences were also a part of the vast Central region.
In essence the Eastern region/ Alchemy Plaza was a place of sophisticated learning, the West/ Guardians Gate was a strict military training ground, the North was a closed off zone, the South was the Elders domain and the Central region was simply chaotic as the entire Beast world was.
Important announcement ;
I will continue to release a chapter a day for a while as we get back into the groove of things. If you would like to read chapters in advance without having to wait days, then please feel free to check out my patreon page. Regardless of the amount you will get access up to chapter 100 however, after that only those who’ve pledged $3 or more will get to see the chapters in advance. (https://www.patreon.com/emeraldragon)
Finally, I would like to announce the launching of my twitter account. I’ve been using social media for a while for personal use but I’ve always shied away from using it as a platform to communicate with my readers…(don’t really know why) However, that has now changed! I will be using twitter to interact with my followers on a daily basis and not just have the usual, “chapter updates and then silence”. No! Through memes, gifs and well tweets I will strive to not only entertain but actually interact and converse…but as you know, one can’t talk to themselves at least not without having a mental problem so please follow me as we move on with our journey.
Your humble author,
emeraldragon.
