18,405 Modern Era, 8 years ago /// Land of Abundances, the 7th Grand Sector – Tellabeth
The 7th Grand Sector, a realm known for its diverse abundance of resources and prosperous trade. It is a realm credited for being the centre of trade both among mundane people and supernaturals of all tiers. Despite its affluent "global" economy, it is also filled with greed, lust, gluttony and corruption, both literally and metaphorically. The Land of Abundances was, among all realms, the one that was most plagued by the Corruption, and was swarming with countless Demons and Devils who masked themselves using the faces of humans, infesting every corner of the world with their vile existences.
Tellabeth, though, was not so severe in its populace of Demonic creatures. Despite being a large city, it had far less than even a hundred thousandth of its population affected by the Corruption in any way. It was a peaceful town built next to a large coral reef and had a rich artistic and historical heritage passed down through many monarchies through the years. Its architecture was breath-taking, being beautiful both on the inside and the outside, allowing its residents to admire it at all times.
Grisha Benett, though, was currently too stressed to admire the architecture of her modest apartment. She was currently pacing around her room, fidgeting with her long chestnut coloured hair.
Ahh. How am I going to do this? I can't afford to delay any further! She could not afford to act at the moment either. She was an Ascender, a mid-tier supernatural who was currently preparing to advance to Master and become a high-tier supernatural. But she was now facing the problem of having a vacant wallet. She could not afford the ingredients she needed.
Suddenly she stopped, curling her lips into a beautiful smile, 'Grisha!' She yelled, referring not to herself, but instead, her teacher. 'Yes! That'll work. Even if she doesn't help me directly, she'll definitely give me some ideas!'
Grisha ran to her bedroom, closing the door behind her and beginning to change. Picking out a beige button-down shirt and light brown skirt, she topped her outfit off with a brown suede leather jacket. She did not put on makeup, as she was confident in her natural beauty.
She then began to prepare her daily equipment, firstly picking up her notebook and some pens, followed by her wallet, a waterskin and finally some well-sating snacks in case her short visit turned into something longer. She then wrote down a list of things she needed on a sheet of paper and placed all of them into a leather purse and left through the door.
Instantly, she was hit with the outside warmth, the change in temperature causing her to flinch slightly. She quickly locked the door behind her and began to walk down the street towards her teacher Grisha's house.
Perhaps I shouldn't have worn a jacket… She moaned inwardly but felt too lazy to change go back and change her clothes.
She walked unhurriedly, listening to her boots clacking against the stone road while looking around her environment, specifically at the Tellabeth architecture (which resembled Mediterranean architecture), appreciating its beauty even after walking the same route dozens of times.
As Grisha made it to the main road leading down to her teacher's house, subconsciously acknowledging the increase in vegetation as she got closer.
Finally, Grisha made it in front of a mid-sized mansion covered in innumerable plants and vines which worked together in creating a mysterious yet tranquil overgrown aesthetic which calmed her mind.
She opened the black metal gate and began to walk towards the mansion's entrance. As she did so, the flora surrounding the forecourt seemed to react to her presence, with trees shaking their leaves and flowers turning to face her slightly. Grisha walked up to the door, taking a slight peek at the sign above the door which read "Grisha Hill", and knocked on the door unceremoniously.
After a short wait, the door opened, revealing a short old woman who stood at around 1.52 metres, even shorter than Grisha's own height of 1.65 metres. The woman had braided her voluminous hair behind her head, which still surprised Grisha to this day.
How does she braid her hair like that when she's the only one living here? And she's old! She would never say such things out loud, though. 'Hello, Miss Hill,' Grisha said to the old woman, 'how have you been recently?'
The old woman frowned slightly and spoke, 'What is it with you and your courteous speech? Just call me Grisha for God's sake, even Old Grisha is better! And don't tell me it's because of your journalism; I've met many of your kind before.'
They stood silent for a second before Old Grisha's gaze softened and the two began laughing.
'Come in', Old Grisha said between her laughs.
Once inside, they sat down in the living room, which was also covered in plants, and waited for a few seconds, listening to the chirping birds outside.
Old Grisha spoke first, 'Why are you here now? I doubt you're here to ask for a date with that boy, Balid.'
Grisha groaned loudly and rolled her eyes, 'You met one handsome dude ten months ago, and you keep telling me about how I'd like him even though I'm not interested! Why must you be like this?' Balid was supposedly a top-tier supernatural that Old Grisha had met ten months ago at a gathering held by another top-tier supernatural. Grisha said that she was not interested, but Old Grisha kept nagging her about the man even though he was 13 years older! Not that she saw that as a problem, but she had to try everything she could to make the old woman stop teasing her.
'Well-' Grisha cut her off, 'Don't tell me, that not what I'm here for,' she took a deep breath, 'I need money.'
'For advancement?'
'Yes.'
'I'm not giving you money.'
Damn it! 'Do you have any suggestions on what I could do to get money?'
'Grand Emporium.' Old Grisha replied as if it explained everything.
'What am I meant to do there? I don't have money to buy anything, and I don't have anything to sell either.'
Old Grisha sighed, 'You're a journalist, are you not? Just go there and write about it, I'm sure your readers would love that. I'll even send you there myself!' Old Grisha chuckled to herself.
Grisha's mind fell into chaos for a moment before returning to clarity.
Oh yeah. Wait! Not oh yeah! 'Old Grisha, do you have any idea how many people have documented their experiences I the Grand Emporium? Nobody cares about those anymo-' Old Grisha cut her off, 'But how many of them documented the upper tiers?'
Grisha's mind once again fell into chaos. 'I'm not a high-tier supernatural, I can't go higher than floor 80, which isn't very exciting.'
Old Grisha shook her head with a smirk, holding out her hand towards the circular skylight on her right side. Instantly, vines began to grow from the skylight towards her hand, travelling over a dozen metres in a few seconds. When the vines got to her hand, they quickly grew into a white rose which seemed to freeze, its petals turning into jade. Old Grisha plucked the flower and the vines quickly retracted. She placed the jade rose on the glass table in front of them with a clink.
Grisha swiftly recovered from her shock – she had long gotten used to the antics that the descendants of Sephyriel seemed to share – and reached towards the flower, picking it up first before asking its purpose.
'What is this?'
'My symbol.' She replied succinctly, 'Hold it and the emporium will let you up to floor 130.'
Grisha quickly got up, walked around the table and hugged the old woman tightly, which Old Grisha returned twice as tightly, making Grisha struggle for breath. After a few seconds, they let go, and Old Grisha got up, walking towards her greenhouse which lay in the large room behind her.
'Follow,' she said, 'I'll send you there now.'
Grisha followed.
…
Somewhere in the 8th Grand Sector.
'GET UP YOU-'
The furious might of Tharol Onryth's voice caused Balid to literally jump out of his bed, letting out a manly yelp. Seeing the scene, all of Tharol's anger seemed to disappear as the dwarf suddenly began to slap his knees in laughter.
Balid stared at Tharol with wide eyes filled to the brim with indignation. Bastard. He thought.
Instantly, Tharol's laughter stopped and the dwarf once again seemed to stare daggers into Balid's skull.
'Say what now, maggot?' Tharol said in a deep voice.
F#ck me. How does he always know?
'Stop manifesting slander about your master Tal-Sur, I've got a job for you.'
Balid, barely recovering from his shock, replied as he got up, 'A-alright. What is it?'
'Go down to the Grand Emporium and get five kilos of Solar Gold.'
Balid, who had walked to the other side of his bed, stopped and began to stare in disbelief. Go down? Go down? The Grand Emporium is in a different Grand Sector! How am I meant to 'go down' to the Grand Emporium?
'Use your gateway.'
'My-m-my gateway?' Balid's disbelief was practically spilling from his soul in tangible pitifulness. 'It can barely teleport me a hundred metres and you expect me to use it for dimensional travel?!'
'Should've worked harder, maggot.'
'Oh my gah-' Balid felt like he was about to cry as his face twisted in distraught. He threw himself down on the bed, just to jump out of it again to dodge Tharol's fist, which was aimed awfully close to Balid's manhood.
'OKAY! OKAY! Fine. I'll try, but if it doesn't work, I'll use your one.' Balid said.
'No.' Tharol replied, shattering Balid's hopes before mending them with another gracious word, 'Maybe.'
'Thank you teacher!' Balid still felt like he was about to cry.
'No problem.'
Balid was about to turn around and ask Tharol a question before his memory came to his aid.
He said I needed to start working with more difficult materials last week, right? I guess that's why he's sending me there.
Although Solar Gold was an extremely expensive supernatural metal, Balid had saved up enough to but tonnes of it. Still hurts though. I could buy three large mansions with that money.
…
7th Grand Sector, outside the Grand Emporium.
Grisha suddenly materialised in a silent, mostly empty bar.
'Grisha?' A middle-aged woman's voice was heard.
Grisha suddenly turned around to see Rafferty, the owner of the bar.
'Hey, Rafferty, I'm just heading to the Grand Emporium for some journalism.' This was not the first time Grisha had come to the Grand Emporium, but it was her first tome coming alone.
'Oh, alright then.' Rafferty said, tucking her whitening auburn hair behind her ear and continuing to work.
Grisha walked out of the bar and was suddenly met with the sea.
A nice change of temperature. She thought, breathing the fresh air into her lungs and slowly exhaling as she turned to her left and began to walk down the road.
She could see the Grand Emporium in the distance. Although it was almost 2 kilometres away, it was impossible to miss the titanic building. The Grand Emporium was built in the Dark Ages hundreds of thousands of years ago by a spirit with the Magnate Authority. It was a huge, thick tower that was almost two and a half kilometres tall and one kilometre wide at the base, thinning until around 600 metres at the highest commercial floor, which was floor 140. The tower rose with a spiralling pattern on the outside, with there being two floor tall 'gates' present onwards from floor 25, allowing flying mounts and Soaring Vessels to enter. (The Grand Emporium appears similar to the mythical Tower of Babel.)
Speaking of which, Grisha couldn't help but be amazed at the sheer number of Soaring Vessels that were in the sky. Soaring Vessels were supernatural vehicles that were shaped similar to ketches, and were capable of flight, carrying countless tonnes of goods across vast distances.
…
Entrance to the Grand Emporium.
Grisha walked through the entrance of the Grand Emporium, which was a stone archway around 8 metres wide and 14 metres tall.
Inside the Grand Emporium, the aesthetic and ambiance found in the environment shifted entirely. Unlike the bright, sunny external environment, inside the Grand Emporium was filled with warmer colours and more low-key lighting, creating a comfortable environment designed to make everyone feel safe and relaxed.
Grisha's ears were assaulted with countless sounds, from haggling merchants to questioning customers, all the way to caged beasts. The sounds made her uncomfortable at first, but her hearing adjusted quickly, and the bustling noise of the emporium was no longer deafening.
Simultaneously, her hunger and her sense of smell were being seduced by the countless spices and the aroma of myriad dishes which mixed together in the vast, closed streets of the Grand Emporium. If not for the wonders of sorcery, everyone in the emporium would have certainly ended up suffocating from the lack of clean air.
There were thousands of people in front of Grisha, so she had to squeeze past multiple groups of people to continue onwards. She saw all kinds of people, gradabilan (humans), elegabilan (elves), behegabilan (giants), some Ashdbilan (ashkin), other human species and even Assabilan (fairies) which was surprising to Grisha, as far she knew, fairies were classified as beasts! She did not see so many meregabilan (dwarves) though.
Probably because they're too short to see.
After walking around forty metres into the titanic structure, Grisha entered what looked to be a wide alleyway with a door at the end of it. There was no guard at the door, the Grannd Emporium did not need guards to have a 0% crime rate after all, the Constitution Tome would make it impossible to commit crimes.
Opening the door, Grisha was met with a long staircase which spiralled around the entire Grand Emporium, leading further up and inwards in accordance with the structure's boundaries.
Simultaneously, the jade flower attached to her breast pocket began to emit a subtle glow.
As Grisha began to climb the stairs, her sense of space was instantly confused, and she could sense that her speed and the space around her weren't acting in accordance with each other.
Neat. She thought. They used sorcery here too; every step I take is comparable to a dozen. Considering that every floor of the Grand Emporium was 15 metres tall, when added onto the layers between each floor, climbing would have been a nightmare if not for spatial manipulation.
…
Leo had simply been walking around the Grand Emporium with no particular purpose when he decided to go to the higher floors and get some food.
'Damn it!' Leo cursed, but nobody heard him as he was surrounded by a loud crowd of people, all of whom were trying to go up the stairs. 'I really had to choose the busiest day, didn't I?'
While he walked back towards the exit with a sullen expression, he happened to notice a very beautiful woman walking into an alleyway. She seemed to be confident in her actions, which confused Leo.
I thought there was nothing in those alleyways… What is she doing?
Curious, Leo followed behind her and saw her enter through a doorway into what seemed like a staircase.
That's a thing?! Leo was shocked, quickly approaching the door and beginning to open it.
When he began to turn the doorknob, his hand suddenly began to shake, giving him a feeling of being crushed.
'What the he-' his silent question was cut off by a foreign thought.
"Constitution Tome, Laws of the Grand Emporium, chapter…" Leo's face twisted in confusion and frustration at the random chain of thought that felt like it was forced into his mind as he continued opening the door and stepped inside… or at least tried to.
Instantly, his entire body felt exhausted and his leg which he had extended into the staircase began to throb in pain. 'Gah!' Leo groaned as he instinctively tried to bring his foot down, straight onto the staircase.
'Woah!' Leo was abruptly thrown backwards by an invisible force, sliding across the floor to the entrance of the alleyway. He lay on the ground, giving up completely and deciding to go home to rest.
"-entering prohibited places without meeting the required criteria/conditions will be punished with…" The Constitution Tome, however, continued to educate him on the laws of the Grand Emporium.
…
A few minutes later, Grisha ended up on floor 115, as she had decided to make her way up the layers as she documented what she saw.
The upper floors had colder colours compared to the lower floors, with more blues, greys and whites than anything else. It created a serious atmosphere that contrasted greatly against the warm, comfortable feel of the lower commercial floors.
She pulled out her notebook and a pen and began to write as she walked around.
The first thing that could be noticed was that there were far less people up here than at the bottom floor. At the bottom, one could look forward and see thousands of people, but up here there were less than one hundred. This was to be expected of course, as high-tier supernaturals were incomparably rarer than mundane people.
The next thing she noticed was the sounds. While the bottom floors had sounded deafening, up here it was fairly tame, with the only sounds being the clangour of blacksmiths, small conversations between supernaturals and, of course, haggling.
She also heard some arguments.
'Steal? How could I steal in here? If I'd stolen that my hand would have fallen from my wrist already!'
'Ugh! You're so difficult to work with! Just admit you took it!'
'I did not! You probably dropped it-'
She was too far away to hear them now. A woman had been accusing a man of stealing something, while the man denied the accusations, using the supernatural punishment that would have befallen him had he committed a crime to defend himself.
Another thing she realised was the change in the atmosphere. Everyone up here was a high-tier supernatural, and so Grisha naturally felt weak and vulnerable next to them. A few of them looked over as she walked, a few handsome men and some beautiful women. At first, they seemed confused as to how a mid-tier supernatural had gotten this high, but they turned away after seeing the jade rose.
Hmm… There are barely any food shops here. That was another realisation that Grisha could explain using common sense. Down at the lower floors, people usually went to do some simple shopping or just to visit, so it was obvious that there would be many restaurants and places that sold food. Up here though, every being who came here knew exactly what they wanted, and none of it involved sandwiches. The only food items that Grisha could see were shops that sold alchemy and potion-making ingredients.
She continued to rise the floors, documenting everything that she thought could be used as content.
On floor 122, she encountered something that seemed to confuse her slightly.
They don't seal them shut? She was talking about the shop called 'Truth Seller Branyd' which sold many different kinds of books. These books even included high and top-tier Skill Sequence Guidebooks which could be sold for more than entire castles. Despite their value, the Skill Sequence Guidebooks were simply left out in the open with their lid shut and a small "do not read" sticker on their covers.
There are rules against that as well? Probably the rule about private establishment rules. She thought. But still! If one of these books happened to leave the store, even on accident, this extremely valuable knowledge would be public! They probably have rules against them as well…uhh… moving on!
On floor 129, Grisha encountered an amusing situation.
'FIFTY MEGA-OKKRA FOR EACH GRAM? ARE YOU F#CKING JOKING?'
Two men were arguing about the price of a metal called Solar Gold, which Grisha assumed was very valuable as each gram of it was worth fifty tonnes of gold (£5.65 billion). At higher tier supernatural transactions, values more figurative than literal, as nobody simply had fifty tonnes of gold lying around. The currencies that were used were also only used for supernatural transactions to prevent the mundane international market from crashing in hours to days.
'THIS IS TOP QUALITY SOLAR GOLD YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!'
'SO WHAT? YOU'RE STILL-'
The seller appeared to be a middle-aged man who stood at around 1.77 metres. His hair appeared to be balding and his belly seemed bloated. His appearance looked unkempt.
The buyer seemed to be the exact opposite, a handsome man in his prime who stood at around 1.85 centimetres. He had medium length curly brown hair, and he had a stubble that had recently been shaved.
Suddenly, the seller spoke, '-WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FISHBRAIN?'
Hehehe, fishbrain.
Instantly, the buyer and the seller turned toward her. Her heart skipped a beat in embarrassment and instantly started racing as she realised that she had spoken the words aloud without noticing. She quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment as her face reddened.
In front of such a handsome man as well… don't think about it! My self-esteem will be ruined the more I think about it… She spoke inwardly this time.
The buyer then sighed, turned to the seller and spoke calmly but more seriously, '45, take it or leave it Red.'
The seller – Red – thought for a moment, then sighed and spoke in a mocking tone, 'Fine, wait here, "Earth Piercer" Balid, I'll get you your s#*t'
Grisha was left in disbelief at the words she was hearing. Balid? That Balid? Thinking back, the man did appear to be similar to what Old Grisha had described to her.
Red had bought the Solar Gold and Balid was now putting them in some kind of dimensional storage item. Red went back to his shop and closed the door.
Maybe I should have listened to her after all… Balid was way better looking than she had thought.
Balid seemed to sense her gaze as he turned his head towards her while putting the Solar Gold in his bag.
'What?' He asked.
Only then did Grisha realise that she had been staring straight at him. Her mind quickly ran through every possible reply that she could give to Balid.
Why is she looking at me like that? Do I know her? Does she know me? Balid, still oblivious, started to think about who this girl might be, eventually remembering a small conversation he had with another Interim after gaining his Nature Trait. She looks kinda similar to that girl that Old Grisha described…
'You're Balid Tal-Sur.'
'You're Grisha Benett'
They spoke at the same time, flinching ever so slightly at the unexpected interaction.
What is it with these 7th Grand Sector blokes and naming each other after the opposite gender? First the boy named Alice and now the two Grishas… Balid lampooned.
'W-what are you doing here?' Grisha managed to stammer out.
Balid stared with a deadpan expression, 'Me?' Balid's reflected utter confusion at the question. 'I'm a top-tier supernatural, why are you surprised that I'm here? The question is why are you here? You're only an Ascender.' His eyes fell down to her jacket's breast pocket, directly at the white jade rose.
Oh yeah. Grisha realised how stupid her question was. 'W-well, I was preparing to advance to Master before realising that I ran out of money, so, using Old Grisha's symbol, I came here to document the upper tiers of the Grand Emporium. I'm a journalist after all.'
Balid looked like he suddenly had an epiphany. 'Ohhh. I get that, being broke is inevitable for almost every supernatural. You need to take every chance you get to make money or else you'll end up being a vagabond someday.'
'Yeah.' Grisha chuckled.
'Alright then, I'll uhh, see you later I guess.' Said Balid, preparing to leave.
At that moment, Grisha had a ridiculous idea. 'Balid?' She called out.
'What?'
'Could you uhm… let me interview you? About your experiences as a supernatural, I mean.'
Balid stared at her for a while then spoke, 'Well, I gotta-' wait a second… I don't want to go back to Tharol! '-never mind, sure.'
Grisha cheered inwardly. Success!
'We should probably go somewhere better though; upper floors suck for socialising. I know a guy down in floor 7 that makes diabolically good food, you want to go there?'
'Sure.' Grisha said. Wait… this seems an awful lot like… She got rid of the thought as quickly as she came up with it.
…
7th floor of the Grand Emporium, outside of a restaurant called 'Tonio's Appetite'.
Balid had brought Grisha to a large restaurant with a cozy, naturalistic ambiance with a humble yet ornate appearance that made Grisha feel like a noble. They were sitting on fluffy sofas with a wooden table in front of them when a man dressed in a tuxedo walked up to them. The tuxedos contrasted against the rest of the restaurant, making it easy for people to notice the waiters.
'Sir Balid, we are honoured to have you with us today.' The man replied in a polite and professional tone.
Balid smiled as he replied, 'Hello Hugo, you already know what I want.'
'Large pizza with dry-cured sausage slices and cheese crust, along with…' Waiter Hugo murmured under his breath as he wrote down the order before turning to Grisha. 'And what will you be having madam?'
'I'll get the…' Grisha paused when she saw the prices.
Balid rolled his eyes and spoke, 'Don't worry, I'll pay for everything. This is less than pocket change for me.'
'Then I'll get the lamb chops with garlic bread and lemonade.'
After the waiter left, Grisha wasted no time in beginning to ask Balid some questions.
'So, any major events that happened in your life recently?'
'Uhm… I fought a Devil Duke to death like a year ago to obtain my Nature Trait.'
Grisha's eyes sparkled as she asked with a wide, joyous grin, 'Could you explain it to me?'
Balid was left speechless for a moment. Damn, she's adorable… wait, focus. 'Uhm… so it all started when one of my sponsors, Parsifal, told me-'
'Parsifal? Parsifal the Great?' Grisha practically jumped onto the table towards Balid.
'Y-yes?' Balid replied, slightly shocked by Grisha's reaction. Why the hell did she jump on the table? Wait… Parsifal is quite a big deal historically, no wonder she's ecstatic.
Grisha sat down with a hum as she told Balid to continue. I hit the jackpot! I get to learn new things, interview a top-tier supernatural for free, write a guaranteed trending article, and I get to eat great food, all paid for by a handsome man! This day literally could not get any better!
'Yeah, so, Parsifal told me that there was a Power Nature with an Innate Trait in the Nadir (Southern Shaded Continent) …'
Southern Sha- I was wrong, this can get better! Much, much better!
They sat and talked for roughly 15 minutes with Grisha constantly giggling and humming while listening to Balid talk, while Balid spoke constantly while admiring Grisha's appearance.
'So yeah, I didn't actually kill the Devil Duke of Might, but that dumb ape actually killed itself. I did end up getting the Power Nature in the end.'
'What was it?'
'What was what?'
'The Innate- no, now it should be Nature Trait, right? What is its ability?'
'Well, the first thing it can do is make things that I touch weaker. For example, I'm able to touch a rock and make it more brittle or touch some metal and snap it in half. The second thing I can do is temporarily remove properties from things, like making elastic objects stiffen up, making smooth objects less slippery etc.'
'Interesting' Grisha said, clearly amazed at the possibilities that the supernatural world holds.
Around that time, their food arrived and they began to eat. Grisha did not need to tuck her hair behind her ears as she had recently gotten bangs, while Balid's hair had a middle part, meaning that he did not have any problems either.
The pizza dough was crusted at the bottom, allowing Balid to eat the slices without the cheese falling off. The cheese mixed with the juice from the tomato and pepper sauce, becoming soft and stretchy, making Balid use his incisors to sever the cheese from continuing to pull. The softness of the cheese more than once caused the toppings to slide straight off, but Balid managed to prevent it. The ashy taste of the crust combined with the cheese's salty undertaste to make a completely different flavour comparable to secondary dish.
Grisha dug into the lamb chops directly after tasting them for the first time, picking them up messily using her hands, pouring the sauce on top of them instead of bothering to dip, and biting them straight off the bone. The meat was tender and easy to bite or chew, easily coming off the bone at the slightest pull that Grisha made.
The lemonade on the other hand was refreshing beyond compare. The cold liquid was especially more appetising after swallowing the warm lamb chops, cooling her insides and making her muscles relax. It was slightly sourer than it was sweet, but the two tastes combined together to make a drink that made Grisha refill over and over.
After around 20 minutes of eating (and trying to explain tastes in writing), the two were finally done with their feast and prepared to depart.
'Balid?' Grisha tried to get Balid's attention.
'Yo.' Balid answered.
'Want to meet up again sometime?'
'Hmm… if Tharol lets me then sure.'
'Alright then, see you later.' Grisha waved goodbye, receiving a short gesture from Balid.
…
Grisha Hill's Greenhouse.
Over a dozen vines suddenly began to move at normally impossible speeds, coming together to construct a circular gateway against the glass wall. The inner part of the gateway then began to warp, making colours, images and space blend together and twist in a mesmerising way.
By the time Grisha returned to Tellabeth it was already evening, and Old Grisha had been waiting for her.
'You're smiling so wide Grisha! Was your date really that nice?'
Grisha froze. 'Date? What date?'
'The one with Balid of course!'
'H-how do you know about-' Grisha's eyes widened, 'the jade rose!'
Old Grisha let out a hearty laugh, 'Asking for a second date as well, huh? I didn't know you were such an opportunist!'
Oh God. Old Grisha is never going to let me hear the end of this.
…
Somewhere in the 8th Grand Sector.
Balid materialised at the centre of a large circle of runes that were carved on the ground. Before he could even get a chance to breathe-
'BALID!' Tharol's voice boomed throughout the large cavern, his explosive tone echoing on its walls. Balid flinched. 'You better marry that girl, or I'll never let you repay the time you have wasted!'
S#*t. Balid thought, not even bothering to address Tharol telling him to marry Grisha. How does he even know about her?
'Come to the forge and set out that Solar Gold you've bought! I swear to God if those ingots aren't covered in reddish orange lustre, I'll dye them red with your blood!'
It would be a few very long weeks for Balid.
…
Somewhere in the 7th Grand Sector.
'Dennis! Dennis! Dennis! Den-'
'Shut the hell up Debra!'
'Grisha Benett released a new article about the upper and top floors of the Grand Emporium!'
'I don't ca- wait, what?'
'It's true! She even interviewed a top-tier supernatural!'
'WHAT?! REALL-'
'IT DOESN'T JUST END THERE! The article even describes the supernatural's fight against the Devil Duke of Might and how he killed it all alone!'
'Did you buy the article?'
'…'
'What?'
'What do you think?'
…
7 days later. Tellabeth, Grisha Benett's house.
Grisha carefully poured the glowing white liquid into a small insulating glass bottle, making sure not to spill a single drop. The liquid would have been clear if not for the countless grains swirling around inside of the bottle constantly. The swirling grains suddenly ceased once Grisha placed the cork on the bottle.
It stopped! It really does work. Grisha was overjoyed. Old Grisha had given her this bottle, telling her that as long as the cork was in place, the liquid inside would be frozen in time.
'Alright, now I just need to prepare a ritual so that I don't die mid advancement.'
She already had an idea as to what she would do. Her advancement ritual was going to be documenting a battle between top-tier supernaturals!
The End