Early the next morning, Arthur woke up to the sound of knocking. Slightly groggy, he released a trace of golden aura to refresh himself.
"Come in."
With a light creak, the study room's door open as Myrddin stepped inside.
"Goodmorning, Chief Arthur."
Arthur smiled, "good morning, Myrddin. Is everything alright?"
Myrddin returned Arthur's smile. "Ah, yes, everything is sublime, everyone has gathered for breakfast, and I came to inform you that if you sleep any longer, you will miss it."
"Thank you. You know it's okay to call me Arthur."
After a slight pause, Myrddin chuckled," as you wish, Arthur."
Stepping in the Village Hall with Myrddin, the smell of roasted meat, greeted Arthur's nose. It would seem that the colonial group had prepared themselves quite well for their journey. Regardless, Myrddin and Arthur sat down and enjoyed breakfast with everyone.
After breakfast, everyone began heading to their respective areas. But before they left, Myrddin distributed some essential copper tools, herbs, wheat, and corn seeds he had found in a small warehouse on the side of the Village Hall. To sate their curiosity and something about asserting dominance over the local beasts. Aegon, Luna, and Cal had already left to explore the small forests within the valley.
While Myrddin and Arthur stepped outside, a gentle breeze swept through the valley, refreshing and invigorating everyone.
Looking at the endless grass and occasional areas of forestry, Arthur couldn't help but feel excited about the future. There was so much potential to utilize. Unknowing to him, a bright smile was plastered on his face, for after all today would officially be the day he took a step towards his goal.
Myrddin, who stood beside him, noticed his smile and couldn't help but smile in turn. He truly believed that they would be able to bring this village to the zenith of this world. Though it wouldn't be easy, it was what made it so worthwhile.
While enjoying the scenery, Myrddin and Arthur discussed their goal for the day. Though Arthur had acquired an extensive amount of knowledge on setting up a settlement, he lacked the experience needed to utilize it optimally. With tacit understanding, he chose to be the one with the ideas while Myrddin became the one to best implement those ideas. This way, they to could utilize their strengths more efficiently.
As for their goal for the day, it was to visit the mountains. Though the Legacy Crystal had given an overview of their capabilities, it was still better to know what they were working with.
To be more efficient, they planned to visit Mount Militum first, then circle around and end with Mount Prometheus.
As they walked to the left side of the valley, they soon noticed a 7-meter arch at the base of Mount Militum. Hastening their steps, they quickly reached the arch. Built into the mountain, the arch itself had a golden sheen while various blue runes graced its outline. Within it was a water-like obscure film that occasionally rippled.
Stepping through the arch, a momentary water-like tension greeted the duo as they appeared in Mount Militum. Immediately their knees buckled as a strong gravitational pull welcomed them. After a moment of adjustment, both Arthur and Myrddin looked up only to be wowed.
Within Mount Militum, every terrain imaginable was present, from endless flat plains to thick marshes to soaring peaks, everything was present. With so many terrains present, one would think it would be a chaotic sight, but they couldn't be more wrong. Valleys meticulously turned into hills, while hills gradiently turned into mountains. From beaches to deserts to mesas to canyons. Everything seemed to have been beautifully painted by a fastidious master painter. At this moment, the word beautiful felt like an understatement.
As Arthur and Myrddin began to walk through the world, they quickly noticed that they were expending more energy than usual. However, it was quickly restored by the incredibly dense energy particles in the world. Another thing they noticed was that as they proceeded deeper in the world, the gravitational pull they felt also increased.
After an hour of exploration, the duo couldn't help but agree with the Legacy Crystal's statement that this world was the most optimal place for military training. Presently, the world was empty since Siegfried and his men were currently helping out Ahmotep with construction matters.
Leaving the Mount Militum, Arthur and Myrddin proceed to Mount Metallum.
While Mount Militum is exceptionally diverse, Mount Metallum was overly simple. When the duo entered, apart from a few pits, endless mountain ranges was what hailed them. Though simple, it was still quite a beautiful sight. As they endless mountain range danced and turned in the world, its snow-capped peaks gave off a deep and pure feeling. As for the few pits that adorned its earth, they were situated in a way that when someone looked at them, they couldn't help but be mesmerized by their seemingly endless descent.
Presently, George and his men were building a mine shaft at the base of one of the mountains. According to him, when he used [metal talk], he found out that the mountain was rich in iron and copper ores. With those ores in hand, some essential tools and structures could be produced.
While George busied himself with his mineshaft, Sophronicus and his men were at one of the pits. With a sub-skill from his primary ability [petra'form], [petra' sense], he found that the hole was rich in limestone, granite, and fieldstone. After finding a stable base, he and his men would begin constructing a quarry.
Nodding in satisfaction at their current progress, Arthur and Myrddin proceeded to leave and head to Mount Villam.
On their way, they passed by Tubal and his men, helping Ahmotep's crew construct a temporary forge. Whereas Siegfried and his men were helping Gifford create a temporary lumber mill. According to their words, they should be done in around three hours; then, they will proceed to stock up on resources for the construction of homes tomorrow.
After chatting with them for a while, Arthur and Myrddin began an hour-long trek to Mount Villam. Along the way, they took a moment to admire the sizeable sparkling lake at the center of the valley. Silently, the lake was named Lake Avalon.
As they walked, Arthur talked about his experience with the Old Man, including his grueling training and his polymathic education. Whereas Myrddin spoke about his childhood and the interesting lessons he learned thus far in his life. From Myrddin, Arthur also learned that unlike the others whose current cultivation was at the Lunar Seed stage in order for their people to determine the effects the frontier had on cultivation. As for Myrddin himself, he had suffered from cultivation deviation, which promptly dropped him from his peak to the Lunar Seed. And this was all due to him having pushed his [foresight] ability too far. Regardless, as long as he persevered, he would one day regain what he had lost. Continuing with their walk, Arthur and Myrddin learned a lot about each other. Thus creating a bond that would lead them to one of the greatest friendships to grace the land of Pandora.
Upon entering Mount Villam, all the duo could see was an endless stretch of fertile plains neighboring some wetlands, lakes, and rivers.
Presently, Norman and his assistants were reclaiming some land for agriculture. Noticing Arthur and Myrddin's appearance, he approached and greeted.
"Hello, Chief Arthur and Sir Myrddin."
"Hello Norman," the duo responded in unison.
"Is everything going well," Arthur asked.
"Indeed, we should have running plantation by the end of the day," Norman said with a smile.
After a slight pause, his eyes lit up as though he remembered something.
"I have discovered something that might interest both of you."
Myrddin raised an eyebrow," oh, do tell."
"Come, come," Norman beckoned as he led them to a slight distance from the reclamation site.
As they reached the destination, Myrddin and Arthur both had a confused look on their faces. Before them were simple berry bushes.
Seeing their confused faces, Norman began to explain. "On our way here, my assistants and I discovered a berry bush and decided to pluck a few berries as a light morning snack. When we reached Mount Villam, one of them accidentally dropped a berry, which was immediately swallowed by the ground. We thought nothing of it, but within an hour, we were immediately shocked. We already know of the accelerated plant growth in this space, but what shocked us wasn't that, but the berries it produced. Out of curiosity, we each tried one, only to be astounded. When consumed, our fatigue began to wash away, and not only that, as an ability-user, it also replenished my celestial energy. Though this space phenomenal, to be able to create something so miraculous..."
Myrddin couldn't help but gasp because in his original home though energy restoration pills existed, they were incredibly rare. However, now such a thing was naturally created and in abundance. Though they wouldn't restore all of a person's energy, with continuous consumption, it should make up for it. With how quickly it produced, they will be able to supply everyone. Since this was the beginning part of their settlement, there was much work to do, meaning a significant amount of energy spent and fatigue built up. With this berry, the growth speed of the village would receive a substantial boost. This was simply a gift from heaven.
After discussing with Norman to grow these bushes in abundance and to test other plants, Arthur and Myrddin left Mount Villam in smiles as they headed to Mount Herba.
Within Mount Herba, only one word could describe it – unique. It contained three main zones themed in red, green, and blue. The red zone was suited for herbs that flourished in scorching environments. In contrast, the green zone was more acclimated for milder herbs, and blue zone catered to the herbs suited to be grown in colder climates. Interestingly, when someone stepped into either of the extreme zones, they weren't affected by its effects in any way whatsoever. Its effects directly applied to the herbs that cultivated within the respective regions. Similar to Mount Villam, the accelerated time effect didn't affect the world but the growth of the plants instead. However, there was a problem.
Walking up to a frustrated Elizabeth, Arthur politely tapped her on her shoulder," What seems to be wrong, Ms. Greenleaf."
Slightly surprised by the appearance of Arthur and Myrddin, Elizabeth took a deep breath before she began. "It's these herbs, they are completely different from what they are supposed to be. From their molecular structure to their natural energy, everything about them apart from their appearance is different."
"Oh, interesting," stepping up to the select herbs that lined the ground, Arthur picked one up and activated [omniscient eyes], thoroughly scanning the herb.
Stepping back up, he turned to Elizabeth, "it seems that each of them has been evolved. But this works in our benefit because I actually know the effects and composition of these herbs."
As surprise shone in Elizabeth and Myrddin's eyes, they couldn't help but as at the same time, "you do?"
"Yes, with my unique eyes technique, I can easily see through and come up with their effects based on my knowledge of herbology. I shall prepare a compendium for you."
As his words fell, the halo around Arthur's sapphire eyes grew more prominent as it scanned the mini-world, absorbing all the herbs traits into his mind.
Due to not being able to do anything for the day, Myrddin suggested for Elizabeth to examine the energy berries in Mount Villam. With her [molecular analysis], there was hope that she might be able to find out how the spaces modified flora. Nevertheless, upon hearing that such a berry exists, Elizabeth's green eyes brightened as she raced with her assistants to Mount Villam.
Following their trip to Mount Herba, Arthur and Myrddin headed to the central mountain of the valley, Mount Prometheus.
As they entered, they couldn't help but freeze in shock. Mount Prometheus was nothing like the other worlds they had been in prior. Like an incredibly futuristic laboratory, pristine dark grey floors layered the incredibly sizeable circular space. Moving on from the floor, a sleek white counter encompassed the outline of the room, giving off a beautiful sheen. Beyond that, however, was complete darkness, which compliment it's the circular space's aesthetic. At the center of the room, was a floating white circular table with a small hollow middle, which was projecting blue particles in a diamond shape that occasionally moved. Around it currently was Marie and her five assistants, each with a floating white table before them. Noticeably there was a slightly transparent blue display projected before them as they stared at rows of runes in a hopeless attempt to understand them.
As Myrddin and Arthur appeared, the floating particles at the center of the room vibrated slightly as a robotic voice sounded. "Greetings, master."
Surprised, Arthur and Myrddin made their way up to Marie and the particles.
"Um, who might you be?" Asked Arthur.
"My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. You can call me Jarvis for short. I am the virtual supervisor of this space."
"Very nice to meet you, Jarvis."
"Likewise, master."
Greeting Marie and co, Arthur then looked at what they were staring at so intently. Confused, Arthur asked Marie why she was studying those runes so intently, after they were merely basic runes.
Suprised, Marie explained that runes were incredibly rare, and only select few have access to them - runemasters. Even then, the amount they had access to was minimal. To be able to learn from them was what many aspiring youths yearned for.
It was then Arthur's turn to be surprised because he had spent most of his life learning and inscribing them without any difficulty. Noting that the knowledge wasn't as ubiquitous as he thought, Arthur offered to create a compendium for Marie to study. It would be significantly more efficient than trying to comprehend everything from scratch.
Before the left, the group also learned that the runes inlaid on Jarvis' floating platform were controls. With them, one can create floating platforms within the circular area or in the dark area outside the main area to simulate and experiment as one wished. As for the accelerated time effect, it could be freely adjusted with its current max ratio of 7:1. For every seven days inside was a day outside. As the settlement grew, so would its effect.
Concluding their visitation, Myrddin and Arthur left Mount Prometheus to discuss future plans.
Around night time, everyone gathered and had dinner together and peacefully went to sleep.