Docking went far smoother than Erin expected. Not only did they enter this majestic building without any stops, the escorting ships even continued guiding Erin's starship until it reached an appropriately-sized dock.
Throughout the starship, all of the beastmen were speechless. This was a core-homeplanet! For people from the outer realm, this was a place that was extraordinarily hard to see; let alone visit. Images and information about it were restricted even in the inner realm.
Even Winslow couldn't wrap his mind around this situation.
Once the starship was secured on the docks, there were even hundreds of well-dressed beastmen attendants waiting at the edges of the starship's docking platform. They were prepared to formally receive the personage on this starship. Everyone saw this before Erin cut off the internal life-video feed.
As Erin and Winslow were leaving the starship together, Winslow had everyone else stay behind on purpose. Although they were people of the Ursidae Tribe, as people from the outer realm, their status wasn't high enough to openly walk inside of the core-homeplanet. Hierarchy was strict in the tribe. To avoid issues, staying inside the starship was the best option for the time being. Erin also had Aura stay on the starship as a precaution.
Winslow planned to make arrangements for his people before coming back. While there were a few disagreeing voices, they were quickly put in their place by the majority. Nobody wanted to get implicated.
While many of the attendees were surprised by the appearance of a human, they hid this shock quickly. To them, the only humans that traveled around the Beastman Universe were merchants. Based on the size of this starship, it was very possible that this human was representing a merchant fleet.
Orders quickly came from above. The attendants were notified to guide these people to the highest guestroom. Their appearance caught the attention of the higher-ups in the tribe.
The attendants relayed this news to Erin and Winslow.
Winslow was especially excited. The highest guestrooms on any of the tribe's planets were always reserved for the most esteemed guests. Even on his now destroyed planet, the most magnificent building in their capital city was actually built with resources sent from the main tribe. It was created with the sole purpose of serving visiting tribal officials or valuable guests. At that time, if Erin didn't offer Winslow to talk on his starship, Winslow would have brought Erin to that building.
Once they reached a high-speed elevator, it didn't take long for the two of them to reach the highest floor. The attendants continued to guide them until they opened the doors of an incredibly large room. The walls and ceiling were all made of clear crystal-glass. Because it was night-time on this side of the planet, it felt like they were on a platform floating in the night sky. The attendants stayed outside these doors as Erin and Winslow basked in the unexpected view.
There were warm lights at the center of the room. The only seats in this room were next to these lights. Each seat looked like it was crafted out of only the most comfortable materials possible.
Aside from several empty seats, there was one large beastman sitting at the backmost seat. Since this seat was facing the entrance, he saw Erin and Winslow at the open door and smiled.
"Please, do come and take a seat." The large beastman motioned both of them to sit down. Erin and Winslow walked over and took their seats promptly. The doors behind them closed gently.
As Erin was walking entered, the orb dangling off his waist was the first thing that caught the eyes of this large beastman. He didn't let his attention move from this orb until Erin finally sat down.
"Greetings to the both of you. I am Chieftain Morack of the Morack Family." Chieftain Morack introduced himself.
Although Erin didn't react much to this, Winslow was trying his very best to hold his jaw back from falling. It would be unsightly for him to act impolitely in front of such an important figure!
Winslow's Branch from the Morack's outer-homeplanet was an extremely distant branch. Instead of a planet, their main base was just a city inside the now destroyed outer-homeplanet.
Even Winslow's planet was nowhere near qualified to be an outer-homeplanet. That title was limited to only the top planets in the outer realm. If it wasn't limited by such conditions, there would be thousands upon thousands of outer-homeplanets for each Family in the Ursidae Tribe.
The person before him was one of the ultimate rulers of the Ursidae Tribe! So long as it was inside the Morack Family's territory, he had the final say. This was regardless of realm. The outer, inner, and core realms of the tribe were all within his full range of power.
"It is a great honor to meet you, Chieftain Morack. I am Winslow Ursidae." Winslow politely introduced himself. The Ursidae surname was the most common one in the entire tribe. Many Branch's had this surname. Only the main tribe had distinctly powerful surnames because the main tribe was composed of the seven Chieftain Families.
"Greetings, I am Erin Dawn." Erin was more concise and neutral with his introduction.
Chieftain Morack nodded at Winslow before focusing his eyes on Erin.
"My apologies for the lacking reception. When I was notified about your starship's arrival, I thought one of my High Elders returned after acquiring an unusual starship."
"When you docked and exited your ship, my subordinates were very surprised to see a human taking the lead instead. When I was notified of this, I presumed it was a human merchant backed by one of my High Elders. We're in dire need of supplies, hence why I quickly called you to this meeting room." Chieftain Morack smiled.
"However, it seems I am mistaken again." Chieftain Morack cautiously scanned Erin from head to toe. "I did not expect an esteemed figure to grace my planet."
Although Erin was confused by Chieftain Morack's words, he didn't let any of this confusion show on his face. Rather, he started probing the situation instead.
"While I do appreciate your kind words, I do not think of myself as someone so high and mighty." Erin lightly laughed. "..I wonder why you were led to that?"
"Haha, surely you jest." Chieftain Morack chuckled. "When I was a rebellious young beastman, I did my fair share of travels in the Elfen Universe. Aside from the human merchants, I've actually fought alongside human mercenaries before."
"While you were walking in, I recognized the orb hanging off your waist. My memories are quite clear. Only the strongest of those mercenaries had those orbs." Chieftain Morack glanced down at Erin's waist. "Since you didn't try to hide it, may I presume that you've come here as a representative? Which human mercenary group are you from?"
The outbreak of war in this side of the Beastman Universe was no secret. The Ursidae Tribe was merely one out of many tribes who were under attack by the Planetoids. Due to this, many mercenaries directed their attention here because, to them, war was profitable. High-risks simply came with the job.
"I came here with my own personal intentions. I hope that doesn't disappoint you." Erin spoke the truth. While he was aware of the merchants, he didn't even know that there were human mercenaries too.
Erin and Aura entered this space with the intentions of finding a unique planet. Since they ran out of luck, Erin also wanted to make arrangements to return to his original universe in case all else failed. This back-up plan has been bothering him since day one. He didn't know where to start.
Now that this chieftain gave him a very useful clue, Erin felt very reassured. It seems like the mercenaries in the Elfen Universe are somehow connected to the Imperial Academy of his universe. That was far better than no clues at all.
"Oh? Personal intentions?" Chieftain Morack wasn't someone to beat around the bush. He didn't mind that Erin wasn't willing to share his background.
"I would like to trade for a high-grade star map." Erin got right to the point.
Erin's request was something that even Winslow wasn't aware of. A hint of curiosity glimmered through Winslow's eyes for a short moment. Even though Winslow hid these emotions quickly, Chieftain Morack still noticed.
On the other hand, Chieftain Morack didn't know what to make of this situation.
"Wouldn't someone like you already have a detailed star map? It's very possible that your personal star map's information exceeds my own." Chieftain Morack asked sincerely. Although he was probing, he didn't intend on making it obvious. Even the strongest mercenaries wouldn't travel unprepared.
Erin was no fool. He found out through Winslow that although the stone trinket was a common star map, the data in it was officiated by the Morack Family.
Back when Winslow's planet's dimensional gate was still working, and prior to the attack, Winslow had shortly visited his Branch's city in the Morack outer-homeplanet. While he was there, he updated the information on the trinket. This updated trinket was the one he gave Erin.
Because his own star maps didn't work, Erin guessed that this information was probably within the Morack Family's own databases. He needed a star map trinket with the qualifications to access these details.
"I would like a high grade star map officiated by your Family." Erin clarified.
Chieftain raised his eyebrows. He didn't know what to make of this.
"Sir Erin, a star map of that level would have many details regarding my Family's own territory. We are currently in a hot war with the Planetoids. Isn't such a request inappropriate?" Chieftain Morack stated his concerns. This was no light matter. Even though Erin was backed by one of his High Elders, this request was not very reasonable.
"I have no ulterior motives." Erin realized that he was being misunderstood. He took out the stone trinket that Winslow gave him previously and activated it. He inputted the coordinates and a notification popped up detailing it as classified information.
Erin turned the star map display around so that Chieftain Morack could see this. He used his spiritual energy to adjust the display while hiding the coordinates from view.
"I need the star map to access this information." Erin clarified.
Chieftain Morack glanced at the stone trinket first before staring at the display. The classified information notice was very obvious because the letters were bold and in a Cardinal Red color.
Seeing the color of this notice, Chieftain Morack smiled before bursting into a light fit of laughter. Erin wasn't aware that these notices were color-coded. From the chieftain's perspective, there was only one notice with this particular color.
Confused, Erin and Winslow glanced at each other before looking back at Chieftain Morack.
After a few more seconds, Chieftain Morack's laughter finally dimmed down. "Based on what I see, even in higher graded star maps, that information won't be available at all."
Erin frowned because he could tell that Chieftain Morack was being honest.
The chieftain stared silently at Erin for a few moments before finally speaking again.
"The information you want isn't impossible to acquire though." Chieftain Morack spoke solemnly. Just because it wasn't in higher grade star maps, doesn't mean he didn't have this information at all.
"It's just that.. Why should I trust you?"
Erin understood that this was a tipping point in the conversation. He lifted his hand and started gathering spiritual energy. There were hints of lightning in it. This was an innate ability he learned after practicing a lot with Aura.
The chieftain didn't even react to this. It would be a joke if he felt threatened by the energy Erin was gathering. It was so weak that the chieftain could blow it out with a mere breath. He was waiting for Erin to make his intentions clear.
"Are you familiar with blessings?" Erin suddenly asked the chieftain.
Chieftain Morack wasn't a fool. The term 'blessings' was an obvious hint.
He could see the intricacies of this energy. There was nothing inside of it that could cause him any harm.
"I believe that many of your people refer to this as Dragon's Grace." Erin continued.
The free time Erin spent training with the Aura on the starship didn't go to waste. On a single target, the ability was easier than breathing. It's just that, for Erin, a few simultaneous targets were his limit. In comparison, Aura was able to cast it on tens of thousands of targets in mere seconds. Despite this, Erin's control of this particular energy was still enough to grab the chieftain's full attention.
Eyebrows raised, Chieftain Morack didn't expect that this human mercenary was also a Dragon Rider! This was rather unprecedented.
He also noticed that Winslow looked unsurprised by Erin's question. This made the chieftain curious. He quietly scanned Winslow with his eyes and finally noticed the lingering aura around him. Even as a powerful figure, very few people could detect this aura unless they purposely searched for it. Only the casters could easily sense it without any efforts.
After confirming the authenticity of Winslow's aura, Chieftain Morack could sense that this aura was pure. This was a trait from order-inclined dragons. He was more willing to trust Erin because of this.
"Interesting.." Chieftain Morack changed his attitude after confirming things with his own eyes. If there were any issues, he would have chosen to end the discussion instead.
Now that things have reached this point, Erin openly casted Dragon's Grace.
The chieftain didn't stop him at all. In fact, he was anticipating the outcome.
The moment it hit, Erin could see a light green aura emitting from the chieftain.
"..It seems you want to trust me?" Erin chuckled.
Listening to this, Winslow smiled for a moment. He quickly hid his emotions when he saw the chieftain sneak a small frown at him.
"The rumors regarding Dragon Riders are not to be taken for granted. I trust their character."
Chieftain Morack glanced back at Erin and answered. In reality, if he detected a chaos-inclined aura from Winslow, he would have acted differently. While he didn't want to offend Erin, he would probably do everything in his power to quietly kick Erin and Winslow off his planet while coincidentally revoking the insignias on their starship.
He only acted this way because order-inclined dragons were not only morally righteous, but they were also rewarding. As long as the help they received got them closer to their goals, they wouldn't be stingy with their rewards.
Chieftain Morack saw this as an opportunity. The information Erin wanted was useless to him. From the Cardinal Red color on the notice, he already knew the place Erin was talking about. Chieftain Morack already tried going to those there multiple times before; only to come back empty handed each time.
"You don't even need to hide the coordinates anymore." Chieftain Morack took out a small trinket. The shape was virtually identical to the one in Erin's hand. Rather than stone, the one in the chieftain's hand was made of a high-end crystal.
He activated it and made the necessary inputs before showing his map's display to Erin. "Since I am willing to trust you a little, I can tell you confidently that I know the place you're referring to."
Erin recognized these coordinates instantly. It was identical!
"I chanced upon this place less than four months ago. It was impossible not to notice it because of how close it was to this planet. Although I tried exploring it myself, every attempt ended with nothing gained." Chieftain Morack sighed. With no return, his failures cost him precious time, money, and resources.
'Wasn't that around the same time I arrived in this universe?' Erin thought to himself. This seemed far too coincidental.
"If that wasn't bad enough, it seems the information got leaked by someone in my inner circle. Because of my repeated attempts, the other chieftains became very curious."
"When they found out that this mysterious place was literally next to my core homeplanet, they were bold enough to request entry. They actually wanted to send their armies into my family's core territory!" Chieftain Morack spat out his frustrations. He knew that the other chieftains wanted to help him 'guard' the nearby spatial channel because it was close to this mysterious place.
Very few things could attract the attention of the tribe's chieftains. Once they found something potentially good, every one of them wanted a share.
"Even though I don't know why you want this information, that isn't my business. I'll leave you to your own devices." Chieftain Morack generously added.
He wasn't stupid enough to offend a strong mercenary who was also a Dragon Rider. With increasing threats on the outside and inside of the tribe, the last thing he needed was another powerful enemy.
"The only thing I care about is if you're willing to acquire this information at the right price." Now that he finally got an opportunity to recoup his losses, he was going to take it.
"I appreciate your straight-forwardness." Erin let out a genuine smile. He saw Chieftain Morack's green aura turn a small shade darker. This was all the proof he needed. Since he wanted to make friends, Erin would happily oblige.
With a flick, Erin took out a crystal from one of his dimension treasures. Neither the chieftain nor Winslow seemed surprised by the dimension treasure. However, the crystals in Erin's hand made them go wide-eyed.
"..Grade 9 Dimensional Crystal?!" He couldn't hide his emotions. Even as a chieftain, one of these crystals was already a huge windfall!
Erin was actually probing the situation by only taking out one. He didn't know how these were valued in the Beastman Universe. He took this out specifically because he remembered there was a dimensional gate on Winslow's planet. This meant that the Beastman Universe was no stranger to dimensional energy.
Seeing this reaction, Erin felt like this trade will go a lot smoother than he expected.
"You're extraordinarily generous." Chieftain Morack took out a small unbound crystal trinket and handed it to Erin.
Erin smiled and handed the dimensional crystal to him in exchange. He didn't care if he overpaid because good-will was generated from this trade. The both of them were very satisfied.
Erin openly activated the crystal trinket and inputted the coordinates in front of everyone. He didn't care if Winslow saw this information since he was loyal. The chieftain already knew about it too. Hence there was no need to hide anything.
When the information popped up, Erin read through all the details quickly. He finally understood why his star maps were insufficient.
It was because these coordinates appeared in a parallel space that was inside of a Dimensional Rift! The information contained the location and details of this rift!