Rising god-Chapter 120: Information Agency & Trust

What kind of organization wielded a seventh-star mage as a mere team leader? In Solaris, the seventh star crowned the heads of ancient families, their sun’s rank etched into centuries of legacy.

’He’s hiding his strength,’ Baines thought, his gaze piercing the team leader’s calm facade. Perhaps it was his magic sharpening his senses, or the nearness of grandmaster status, but Baines saw through the subtle tells.

This display clarified much. There were countless strong people in the world, not limited to what he could see in Solaris.

If Baines had learned compromise with a future enemy the hard way, now he was learning to tread even more cautiously. Yet, he didn’t want to dwell on potential or future enemies when he already had loads of them.

His eyes drifted to the sky destroyer, its skeletal frame looming in the warehouse’s heart. Two hundred meters of raw potential, its silhouette echoed the blueprints Eye had shown him. It was like seeing Darkan’s ancestor in flesh. Even now, when it was still inactive, he could feel the threat over him.

Baines leaped onto a platform beside the ship, his hand brushing its cold, rune-etched surface.

[SCANNING...]

Eye’s interface hummed, projecting faint streams of data as it scanned the vessel.

"What do you think?" Shuphern asked, trailing close, his voice tinged with pride.

"I didn’t expect you’d come this far," Baines admitted, his tone measured. "So, what’s missing?"

Shuphern sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That’s the issue. It’s nearly complete, but it doesn’t work."

Eye’s analysis flickered into view.

[DENSITY OF METAL USED IS INAPPROPRIATE, CORE REACTOR IS UNRESPONSIVE, AND SHIP’S FIREPOWER IS LIMITED].

’So they are close and at the same time, they aren’t.’ Baines mused and thought of what he could do. It was the same with the blueprint; the same issues hadn’t been resolved. ’Honestly, just making the core responsive would let the ship function; however, its performance might even be less than the Sun destroyer.’

"The problem’s in the core," he said, moving toward the ship’s interior.

"What do you mean?" Shuphern exchanged a glance with the team leader, then hurried after him.

They passed through a gauntlet of verifications, runes pulsing, scanners humming, and a final mana signature from Shuphern’s ring and the core chamber opened, a vast room bathed in the eerie glow of a massive blue mana crystal suspended at its center.

Cylinders lined the walls, their surfaces etched with intricate runes, humming softly as they balanced the core’s energy. Wires wove like veins, connecting to panels that pulsed with faint light.

To Baines’ surprise, the setup wasn’t alien; he found himself actually not confused. He understood that the large glowing orb was a mana crystal core. He also understood the functions of the cylinders as balancers, each with their uses, where they connected, and ultimately, through Eye, he recognized the problem.

Yet something was off.

"How did you find this place?" Shuphern panted, catching up.

Baines ignored him, circling the core. "How many elder rune matrices are there?"

Shuphern froze, startled. Baines had only studied magic engineering for two months, how did he know such terms? Adjusting his glasses, Shuphern slipped into researcher mode. "Four elder matrices. The dragonheart engine is stable, and the bound Astral core seems functional."

"If you have a dragonheart engine and a mana core, why add a bound Astral core?" Baines asked, his fingers tracing a stabilizer crystal. "Wait—field stabilizer crystals, mirror ink matrix..." His voice trailed off as he turned to Shuphern, shock dawning.

"Y-You understand?" Shuphern’s eyes widened, mirroring Baines’ astonishment.

"A vessel that can deploy a domain, huh?" Baines muttered. He hadn’t seen this in the blueprint, but that was the implication of what they were creating. That was the reason the ship was unresponsive.

The team leader stiffened, his discomfort palpable. He didn’t like how Baines just figured out their goal at just one glance.

-Shuphern, stop him.

"Uh, Jin, our session’s over," Shuphern stammered, forcing a smile. "We’ve... realized the faults and would work on it."

Baines glanced at him, then at the team leader’s tense posture. Without a word, he turned and left. ’Eye, store this place’s coordinates.’

...

"Jin, I hope you’re not offended," Shuphern said sheepishly as they returned to the Moon Tower, the forest’s shadows lengthening around them.

Baines remained silent.

"But how did you know all that?" Shuphern pressed, undeterred. "Didn’t you only spend about two months learning about magic engineering, and you’re spotting mirror ink matrices?"

Baines let the question hang, the vessel’s hum fading as they faded into the distance. The journey back was silent, with Shuphern’s sighs as the only sound. But he still had unanswered questions. ’Wait, how did he realize I would have begun making a ship?’ He was certain he had spoken like someone who didn’t have a start line. Until they arrived, Shurphern couldn’t find his answer.

At the Moon Tower’s gates, Mark approached, his armor glinting under the pale light. "Sir," he greeted.

"You’re here?" Baines said, startled. The last time he saw him was months ago. A part of him thought he ran away.

"Yes, sir. We’ve been well," Mark replied, his tone even. He and the guards assigned to Baines had long accepted his indifference and the fact that he didn’t care about them.

The last incident—when Baines had left them behind—proved it, and maybe the worst part was that they couldn’t do anything. They could only hope their value would increase.

"I’ll see you later," Shuphern said, waving as he headed to the dorm, his steps hurried.

"The Orion Assembly wishes to meet regarding your requests," Mark said.

After collecting the lists of materials from Shuphern, he found an Orion spy disguised as a helper in the tower. The spy was shocked at how Baines had found him, and acted as if it was normal. That was how he passed it on.

"Did they say they can’t fulfill them?"

"No, sir. They only asked to meet."

"Then why bother me?" He frowned and dismissed Mark as he moved back to the tower.

The Orion Assembly had anticipated this, so before he reached his quarters, they were there. A veiled woman stood, her cloak shimmering faintly with protective runes. "Sir Jin, a pleasure to meet again," she said, her voice smooth but guarded.

"Can you not fulfill my requests?" Baines asked, cutting to the point.

"It’s not that," she replied. "The materials you requested are vast in quantity. Transporting them risks suspicion."

’So it isn’t safe for transporting, huh?’ Baines thought about it for a moment. After resolving to move cautiously, he couldn’t move recklessly. No, it wasn’t an option.

Then an idea sparked. ’If this is difficult for them, then they should be able to handle the internet.’ If physical materials are tricky, they should handle information. The Orion Assembly, masters of secrets and information, could surely manage a global communication network—the internet.

Since it was their expertise, they should be able to manage.

"I’ll address the materials later, but in the meantime, try and find this for me," he said, pulling out the construct golem housing Eye’s duplicate.

’Construct, only reveal matters concerning the internet, and put the rest as confidential. If they try to ask further, tell me, and if they try to tamper, just self-destroy.’

[UNDERSTOOD]

The veiled woman showed confusion at what she was seeing.

"This construct will explain my next request and guide you. I’ll cover all costs. Can I trust you?" His voice carried little hope, his eyes searching hers for deceit.

The woman’s veil hid her expression, her mind racing at the sight of the golem. After a long pause, she nodded. "Yes, you can trust me."

[TRUTH DETECTION: 95%]

Baines studied her for a moment, then turned away.

’Time to return to Ashenfall.’

The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆novelkiss