Ebony's Fable

The Goddess of War has an entire race of ants under her command. At this point, all of them of her specific race were her direct descendants. The genes and bloodline of a God flowed in their race, diluted as they may be.

“So, we would appreciate all the help we can get.” Mallory ended off with a bow together with Hector. She did go on more about what they were facing but Ning Xin probably wasn’t listening fully and he absorbed the information like a story.

“I’ll have to decline.” At the moment, neither Ebony nor Ning Xin was feeling any motivation to accept the invitation from the Royal cousins. They were not exactly patriotic. He wasn’t attached to this world, although he wasn’t exactly attached to Earth either.

“I don’t mind dropping by.” The masked lady countered.

‘Hmm? Didn’t she dislike insect-type monsters?’ Ebony assumed from her earlier reaction that she had enough of insects.

“May I know why?” Mallory might not have expected any rejection for a monster hunt, knowing them.

“It’s none of my business,” Ebony replied without using any of his communication skills.

That seemed to shock the Royal cousins.

“What do you mean!? It’s not like you don’t stand to benefit. Millions. There are tens of millions of them killed every single day and you’re already a Grandmaster. As a mage, you’d benefit even more!” Hector argued.

Hector couldn’t get any Class levels and the gain in skill levels was more gradual and limited. But as a freshly evolved Grandmaster, both of them could gain a lot.

When it came to ants, it was a numbers game. Hector probably wasn’t exaggerating when he said tens of millions of ants were killed every day.

The Crown Princess was privy to a lot of information but she was still young and not given every bit of responsibility. The Ant Goddess of War was one of the strongest forces across the numerous worlds. Maybe not the top individual fighter, but with their race’s propagation ability they had a huge quantitative advantage.

If they weren’t deceived by their family, this particular race of ants had hundreds of thousands of planets under their control. Their numbers had so many zeroes they probably didn’t even know how many kin they had.

However, it was known that other than the one Goddess of War. It or She had another 2 kin that reached Godhood as well. Under them were 20 Demi-Gods of the same race. The information meant nothing to Ebony.

The only information that mattered to him was that only the Saints of their race were considered…family. The rest was just kin. Nobody knew how many of these ants there were.

They were an extremely weak race. If a human’s parents were strong and had a physique, their child had a certain chance of having the same physique, weakened. Their grandchild had an even smaller chance. For these ants, it barely mattered if they were descendants of a God if they were like…a million generations away. Depending on how old the race was and how fast they propagated.

The so-called Saints supposedly had the intelligence of a 6-year-old human. The one that decided Elva was food was a triplet of this ‘Saints’.

They were exceedingly simple and predictable.

Their thought process of when to attack and when to retreat was also exceedingly easy to read.

As long as these Saints thought they would gain more from this worldly conquest, they would continue sending their kin to feed. Even breaking even in energy input and output would be alright for them. Only when they noticed that the death rate was higher than their birth rate would they think ‘Okay, time to look for other food.’

The consensus was that as long as they didn’t touch these weak Saints, they wouldn’t receive any involvement from the Goddess of War, her sisters or their Demi-Gods. They had too many children to care for but the moment a single Saint was a casualty they could say goodbye to their world.

Complaint?

Elva didn’t have that many allies from other worlds. Their diplomatic scene wasn’t fully ironed out yet. It also wouldn’t matter, no matter how many allies they got they would all fall the same way. It wouldn’t even take 0.0001% of the Goddess of War’s forces.

“I’m only one person, you won’t be missing out on much,” Ebony spoke truthfully. He honestly thought they were grossly overestimating him if they thought he could help them against millions or billions of ants spilling through a portal.

These Ants were the reason why in the past few years, or past decades, there were problems with sewers across the entire continent.

The Ants were doing reconnaissance to check and estimate how much food Elva was worth and how much forces they had to play around with. From the looks of it, the Saints deemed the Capital to be the only one worth their time and effort. And that they could spend millions of kin every day but still profit.

Ebony wasn’t so interested because of how pathetically weak Hector described them to be. It took 10 King-ranked Ants to beat a single, random race of Grandmaster Wolf in the wilds of Elva and even then, 9 out 10 of them would die in the process.

The real reason was that he wasn’t in his strongest state. Every bit of Will recovered was spent on experimenting with his Arsenal and his Model. Without it, he wouldn’t be able to pull off a useful Domain in battle.

Ebony knew it was supposedly hard to level up one’s Class. Even now, he was level 301 and Ning Xin was 303 after she almost burned down a floor in the Ruins of Verdant Decay. But he was already aware of how fast they were compared to the average or even the fastest Imperial.

The problem was skill levels. It was far harder to gain, a sentiment only shared by people at the table and other privileged. He’d come across enough soldiers at level 300 to be able to tell that they mostly had tier 2 skills near 450 by the time they hit level 300. When Ebony reached level 300, most of his skills were lagging.

A single level gave them stats and base stats were good to have and all but not as important to him as skill levels and tiers. Even if he’d level at a high speed once again, he would have to add his stats gradually to allow his body and brain to handle the stress of higher stats. The body physically changes when stats are added and takes time to fully come into effect.

Contesting weak creatures honestly didn’t do much for skill levels, it might barely be better than his experimentation for refinements or mutations. He needed something that could force him to use 100% or exceed his current abilities, not slicing down pests with a single arm swing or blasting them apart with a kick.

If he was in a rush to train, he would’ve found a way to go back to the Apex Apes and find the Grandmasters whose powers skyrocketed. He had only beat the Masters of their race and their capabilities other than pure strength did increase after they evolved.

“You’re underestimating the impact a single mage can make. Not to mention, you don’t have high downtime. The artillery mages have to stop for days to weeks to charge up.”

“If no one in Tidal sensed anything, the situation must be kept well under wraps.” Ebony was able to make sense of why the borders were less guarded than they assumed it would be.

The Empire had all their military power against these ants rather than some Trolls. Once the borders had just enough strength to defend themselves, the Archduke of Dwarves just ran back to fight these ants instead. The only Archducal family present against the Trolls were the Elves at First Tide.

Ebony even asked why the Elves who were good mages up against Trolls instead of the Ants like they suggested but it seemed like the Dwarves were so enraged that an unknown amount of Elva’s metals were already eaten by the metal-eating ants.

Fortunately, they seemed to only have 3 portals open. One representing each Saint Ant. He was more impressed they had portal technology than the fact these ants ate metals. It was their tried and true tactic to open a portal underground and eat up whatever they could while giving the races above ground an ambush by the millions at the same time.

The Empire was lucky their magical advancements allowed them to spot the portal and they noticed the sewer damage fast enough. Fighting underground also suited the Ants far more but the Empire wasn’t about to let the Ants reign free and take all their natural resources so they had no choice but to go underground to stop them at their roots.

The fact that Hector and Mallory could return also told him, the situation was pretty much under control.

“We’re not killing them fast enough. Youths like us are sent up to invite people who can keep their mouths shut about some world-ending danger.” Hector leaned back and unbuttoned his stuffy-looking shirt.

Their need for good materials for armour was likely also because of the wars going on. Hence, why Ebony was able to profit more from the mammoth bone sale.

It was honestly something many people would sign up for. Weak, high-level creatures that were more plentiful than the clouds in the sky. The Empire’s average level probably already risen by a few levels in just the past few months.

The only issue was that the Empire supposedly hadn’t managed to build an outpost for mages to dish out spells safely from. Every time a structure was built, it would be torn down within minutes. Navin was barely holding up a fort further away than he’d like. Their Ant opponents were tossing lives to tie down the hastily built defensive magic towers.

One of the Saints was an Ant Queen specialised at propagating their numbers. The other two sisters were bodyguards whose descendants had tougher exoskeletons from the metals they consumed. Their kin were mindless creatures until they were Kings with the barest of intelligence. Only after they evolved into Emperors did they receive a vast reformation and did they close up the gap with other creatures of the same rank.

The Saints themselves supposedly underwent some indoctrination that instilled survival instincts in them. They were weak enough that Elcra could threaten their lives and strongly followed the same tactics they’ve always used. So, they did not show themselves and were past the portal.

The portals they’ve opened were nearby which honestly made it easier for the Empire. But they were rather unsure how many Ants slipped away and dug deeper to hunt for their metals. The only thing telling them otherwise was the sheer number they’ve been dispatching every day and that they no longer receive any sewer damage reports.

“So, you’re getting pushed back as we speak. And Navin’s barriers aren’t holding up forever.” Ebony summarised the words they didn’t say.

“What about the Emperor guy?” Ning Xin asked.

“He’s on the way but he’s…not the best against these opponents with his current state.”

“How far away is it and how long does it take to get there?” Ebony did not like it but they seemed desperate and he remembered that people were supposed to help friends in need. He did think they were friends.

‘What a boring benefit…her grandmother exaggerated didn’t she? Then again, I’ll take whatever I can. This is good too, sooner is better than later and if I can level up like…50 times, the stats would honestly help with my training.’ Ebony pumped himself up. No matter how menial or boring the chore sounded like, experience was experience.

He was just slightly disappointed that this was supposed to be the great benefit they’d been preparing for. But he couldn’t deny it came at a good time. At least he’ll stand a better chance the next time those misty silhouettes who used Mandates came to find him. He might not be physically locked down to Tidal but it did feel that way and that thought was enough to motivate him.

“Not that far, it’s a three-day’s trip down. Near a few mana ore mining sites.”

Ebony’s mood was slightly dampened. Moving underground usually meant there was a limit to how fast he could travel, even if he moved fast he might still take about the same time.

Ning Xin probably noticed how he wanted to spend more time figuring out sound and gravity magic spell refinements together with his Arsenal and Model skill and twitch her ear to signal him for a private conversation.

Despite his magic, she still leaned in to whisper into his ears.

“That’s usually something I would think of first.” Her breath tickled and made his ears hot but he was more entranced by her words. Now his mind couldn’t get off the tests she suggested. It was time to train. ‘She’s right…endless experience, experiments and…data.’

“What can I say, I’ve been around you lo- some time.” She backed off and cleared her throat.

‘It’s like I forgot I was in a rush, did tranquillity take away my sense of urgency? Why was I so disappointed with Ants as opponents? They’re awesome.’ Ebony’s mind raced with the possibilities and opportunities for fast growth. The only thing keeping him out of a trance might be his unbearably warm ears.

“Okay, but not immediately. I’ll be ready in a week or two.” Ebony couldn’t wait but his preparations weren't complete.

“I’ll go with you two first.” Ning Xin had always been impatient and she didn’t share his initial rejection of pest control.

“No, actually a week or two is perfect. We’re also here to welcome Uncle Oplot back, he hasn’t shown himself in public for a couple of years.” Mallory referred to the strongest individual on the planet as an uncle.

“There’ll be a public walk down, the event’s to instil more confidence in the Empire,” Hector told them the plans to make the return public and how knights had to be dispatched to handle the crowd. It would only be in the Central District from the inner wall’s gate to the Guardian Knights training ground.

Hector had to go off to meet some friends while Mallory shooed him away with a glance. Body language was pretty amazing when a glance was enough for him to tell that it was time for the ladies to chat.

‘I want more tea though…’

“Please come again! I could keep a seat open for you if you have any preference?” The waitress was kind enough to tell him that they could reserve a spot for him.

It was a quiet spot that not many knew about, Ebony thanked her for the consideration and made sure to order the teas he hadn’t tried together with other limited desserts. He was pleasantly surprised that their menu changed every day of the year and cycled by the year.

‘I’ll find a bookstore and stock up.’

Since he was dismissed, he decided to go to the Mage Association’s main branch. Unlike the Quest Hall which copy-pasted every single one of their buildings, every branch of the Mage Association tends to be slightly different. The rumours were that it depended on who or what type of mage the Branch Lead was.

Sadly, there were few ice mages but that was fine. He was looking towards arcane magic and if he was lucky, any excerpts on Will would be great too.

The main branch was an entire campus with a lot of restricted areas. He might have accidentally Flickered onto one or two of these areas when they toured their neighbourhood. As the civilised person he was, he left but was pretty sure he alarmed some of the more perceptive ones with his residual essence.

Fortunately, it didn’t bite him back and no one stopped or said anything about his trespassing.

“May I know where the library is?” He went to the administrative office meant for the public. Just like the Quest Hall, there were requests specific for the Mage Association.

The bespectacled boy pointed to his right.

‘I assume that means the building there.’

When Ebony got there, he realised his access was extremely limited as a Second-Order mage. ‘Should I take their test again? I mean, if I can see what books they have on gravity magic I can share a few ice spells in exchange. No time like the present.’

He went to look for the person to ask to upgrade his official rank. He didn’t care about what Order they recognised him as but the books were more than good enough as a reason. Although just having the official rank or badge wouldn’t allow him to read everything he could also use his spells as a trade.

‘That’s troublesome. They don’t have testers for fourth-order mages present. Third is fine but I have to wait for 5 days. How do they categorise how many contribution points my spell book is worth if they don’t have many ice mages? Oh well, I’ll throw in my refined version of tier-one Icebody Enhancement. Maybe it’s worthless since there are so few ice mages. Then I’ll submit my tier 2 mana compression with my footnotes, which should be universally good for all mages and I don’t see any books on mana compression in the section I have access to. Guess I can check the request board too.’

Ebony could have gone home to get his books but it was a trip that took a couple of hours so he just bought a new book nearby and printed another copy by hand. He had to slow down so he didn’t burn the pages with friction or dry out his pen.

It was only less than a century ago that this knowledge and books became as accessible as it was today. As long as one proved they were a mage of capability, they weren’t fully disconnected from magic. It was a lot easier for new generation mages to get started and no longer as hereditary or passed down from master to disciple.

They even had a board of academics that judged how much a spell was worth. His submission would take some time before the results came in but he was fine with that since he needed to wait for the retest of his Order.

‘That was a bust, time to look for other books. Oh, I know that actor, and that one too.’ Ebony noticed a few celebrities. Actors that he’d seen on the memory lights, movies.

He wondered if he would ask for an autograph if he ever saw his or Ning Xin’s favourite actor but autographs might not be a thing on Elva.

While he was thinking that, the celebrities he saw were walking up towards him. It was a rare, green-haired man and silver-haired lady who acted in some film about sailing and being washed up on some mysterious island. If the movie wasn’t a complete lie, the man’s mana was poisonous while the lady was a specialised silver mage. It was odd but it was a branch of metal magic but her spells and manipulation of the metal were more often in the form of liquid.

“It’s rude to poke your senses around.” The man crossed his arms in front of Ebony who stood before the request board.

“And?” Ebony hadn’t even looked in their direction, they were just in his peripheral vision but were probably referring to the fact that he was watching everyone within his mana sense. Excluding the many rooms and buildings that shut out mana sense.

The man was being unreasonable, this was the Mage Association. The entire area had a higher mana density than their surroundings.

If Ebony was trying to spy on people, he would’ve spread his mana for a higher definition look than rely on the ambient mana. The actor was simply asking a mage to close his eyes.

He didn’t know why or where the temper was coming from but the green-haired actor pulled his collar and made creases on his white shirt. So it pulled his attention away from the request board and he returned the eye contact with the shorter man.