Gaius was only in the perimeter of the Gate leading towards Elachron and he was already close to fainting from the amount of mana gushing in him. He couldn't hear, see or feel anything, and yet, he could feel his body floating in the open sea. He was about to drown when fresh oxygen suddenly came into his body. His vision cleared up and he could see Emersyn looking worriedly at him.
"I'm okay," Gaius said as he collapsed on the floor of the training ground in the Heath Duchy.
"Hmm… I think I have to give you a dose of my blood."
"Pardon?"
"I gave my blood to Draven, and he adapted fine in my world. So, I figured out that you would too."
"... how will I even take your blood?"
"Pfft. Are you thinking of drinking my blood? No, I will just prick your finger, then prick mine and it'll be easy after that. I just needed to transfer a fraction of my blood in your bloodstream, and the rest, you need to work hard yourself to get used to our atmosphere. As I see in your body, you don't even have the required minimum amount of mana. Even the fetuses of my world are stronger than you. You didn't have any more capacity to grow stronger, so this is the only way for you to work under me in my world. Is that understood?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, give me your left hand."
Gaius reached out his left hand and opened his eyes wide as he watched the process of Emersyn pricking his ring finger, pricking her own finger and the blood suddenly moved on its own and got sucked inside his body. He felt something strong invading his body and he almost collapsed. He could only hear the ringing in his ears and couldn't register what Emersyn was saying. The invasion of her blood into his heart was slow. He could feel his body slowly accepting it. It strengthened the beat of his heart and he could feel his bloodstream expand as the nutrients he consumed were efficiently distributed in his body. It was hard taking it all in, but he managed it at the end. Once he felt his body calm down, he heaved a sigh and kneeled down before Emersyn.
"I owe you… my… life, my Lord."
"Don't bother. Just go to your room and rest. Tomorrow, training will start. I will have Chu Yubin oversee your physical training and Draven for your education as an aide. They will report to me what your progress has been and I will check up on you a few times a week if I can help it, of course. You need to learn fast since our empire is expanding fast," with that, Emersyn opened up a portal to Elachron and disappeared through the portal.
Gaius didn't stand up despite the object of his gratitude went away and kowtowed a few more times before standing up. His eyes held determination, and his wobbly legs took him to his room before he lost consciousness once his head hit his soft pillow.
He dreamed something that night. He was in a battlefield with countless demons coming out of the Gate in Lasirion. Those around him died under their numbers and he was left with no choice but to retreat back to his sturdy castle. It was a stronghold recently built for invasions and for the protection of the King. However, even that was invaded. They were trapped in a sturdy room with Alaric Heath and another person. The situation became hopeless as darkness invaded their vision. Gaius couldn't tell if it really happened or not because it was too vivid. Then, for some reason, a woman appeared before him as she came out of the dark recesses of the room. Her silverish-white hair was tied into a messy bun and her marbled eyes of red and silver gazed at him. She smiled and reached out her hands. Everything was black besides her. Her calloused hands held his delicate ones and covered it with warmth. With that warmth, his eyes let out fat tears as it trickled down his cheeks. He didn't know that all he needed was a savior in his life. One that would protect him from emotional and physical harm. One that would hold his hands even when he felt like giving up and close to destroying the world with his pen.
Gaius was glad and relieved that what he needed was Chang Xiuying… no, Emersyn Lachlan all along. Now, his heart contained more joy of serving her next to her over the colonization of an unknown world, and more to come. He just knew that her sovereignty won't be stopped with just one world. He also knew… that whatever she would do… it would succeed. That was how big his faith in Emersyn had become.
***
"Okay, take a break for ten minutes," Chu Yubin said as he disabled the portal that was activated in the training ground.
Gaius, who had only been working on paperworks ever since he became a king, was exhausted beyond relief. He couldn't help but feel numb because of the intensity of the training his instructor gave him. He won't stop because Chu Yubin already explained that the world of Elachron was really dangerous and that one small mistake would take your life away. However, he remembered that they were here because of a mission to acquire monster delicacies to supply their world. How come they were needed to train this hard?
Draven, who was patiently waiting on the side, interjected, "Well… the monsters that we acquired from all over the other worlds evolved and now, they were too strong because of the abundant mana we have. Plus… our Lord's mana all over the planet is the strongest and it has infinite capacity. Our Lord suggested that she would lessen the mana she was releasing in Elachron, but we refused. After all, her mana is what makes us safe and warm. We knew that the greatest being in our world was there to save us whenever we needed her help. Anyway, we won't stop acquiring monsters. After this, our colonization will reach the sea. My Lord said that she sensed powerful beings hiding in the ocean depth and strong ones lurking near the surface. After we finish acquiring monsters for our land, we will go to the depths then. However… we still haven't learned the things that we should learn with machines for the ocean depths expedition. There are only a few of our men working on it, and we plan to increase our workers and researchers stationed there."
Gaius was dumbfounded.
"That was also my reaction when I first heard of it from my Lord and from Sir Isidore. We will have a lot to do, so you have to learn faster and get stronger faster. Our Lord is already so busy, but she seems to be enjoying her work more than us as she can complete a lot of tasks and still do things she wants to do."
"I understand," Gaius nodded. "I will be of help to my Lord."
"That's a great conviction, Sir Gaius."
Draven drilled information after information into Gaius' head in his breaks in between his training. He wasn't let go until night came. Unexpectedly, there was steaming hot food on the table of his room. He was so surprised that he forgot the exhaustion of his body and brain. There was no one around and there weren't any servants that he met when he was on his way here. He shrugged and dragged his tired body towards the table. There were steaks with melting butter on top of it and two whole bowls of rice. Then, there was a beverage that gleamed red under the light of his room. He thought that he remembered something about someone serving him a special liquid from different fruits that were grown in Elachron. Draven told him that the drink was very effective for muscles, bones, and blood growth. Oh, now he also remembered that he would be served something to boost the mana inside his body to grow. He could feel the care that Emersyn has been giving to him. He put his hand on his chest and swore once more to serve his Lord with all his being.
He had a satisfying sleep and woke up energetic. He stretched his body for a start and began to meditate to feel his mana. Chu Yubin said that he needed to feel and control the mana inside him freely. Absolute authority. After he did his morning routine with joy, he went down to the training ground and saw Chu Yubin and Draven arranging a table with plates of food on it.
"Good morning, Sir Gaius," Draven greeted as he pulled a chair for him.
"Yo. You better finish all these since our Lord cooked it. Though, if you can't finish it, then we will happily finish it for you."
Gaius immediately sat down and gorged on the food before him and didn't leave any leftovers. The plates were licked clean and the pitcher of that beverage he drank last night. After that, he trained and learned until it became night again. The same routine happened for a week and Gaius could feel that the rate of his progress increased. However, when he was exhausted that night of the eighth day of his training, he suddenly felt something from the outside of the castle in the Heath Duchy. He forced himself to stand up from his bed and stretched. He released a hot breath and opened the window of his room. The crisp winter air of the Duchy penetrated through his nostrils. He jumped from his window and landed on the snowy ground with a small crunch. His muscles took the impact of his landing well and he was impressed. He quietly melted the snow where he would be stepping and approached where he felt the disturbances. He could see torches from where he was and a group of people wandering around the castle.
"Is this really the castle of Duke Heath?"
"I don't know either. We have been seeing castles all around the Duchy. We already raided each one of them, but they were all empty."
Their clothes were certainly worn differently than the people here. It was a poor attempt to blend into the citizens of Lasirion. These people… must have been informed about the reward in killing Gaius, the former King. Renove must have also stated an order to capture or kill Alec Oulran. He immediately went into the back entrance of the castle and ran towards the front door where he could sense Chu Yubin and Draven waiting to ambush the intruders.
"Sir," Gaius called cautiously.
"Oh, you can already sense other people's presence from your room? That's progress. I need to increase the intensity of your training once again."
"Sir Yubin…," Gaius resentfully said.
"It's all for your own good. You want to serve our Lord, right?"
"I… I understand that!"