Zack walked up to Kaya discreetly grabbing her by the waist.
"Be nice she clearly didn't mean it like that." Zack relayed.
After calming down Kaya remembered how quiet Vanessa was during dinner. Looking over at the nervous girl trying so hard to yank her hood down Kaya felt bad. She walked up to Vannessa carefully.
"Sorry I get je-jealous easy," Kaya muttered.
Vannesa let her hood up a little glancing out carefully to see Zack unbothered by her actions, and Kaya with an embarrassed expression. Zack gave her a warm smile, and she slowly released her hood. Vanessa was still too embarrassed to make eye contact, but it was an improvement.
"It's just a phenomenal discovery, and I wanted to take notes. Then I got distracted by that glow in his eyes," Vannessa murmured.
Kaya looked over to see what Vanessa meant. It wasn't too often that Zack would have his angelic form displayed, and it was always during the heat of battle. With more pressing matters at hand, she never took the time to admire its beauty. The divine light covering his body was drawing Kaya in, and she understood the reason for Vanessa's fascination. Zack could feel his form gathering attention and briefly hid his wings.
"We should start the tour," Zack stated.
They walked into the city as Zack was leading them to a house prepared for their worker, and the fields designated for the guild's use. As they were walking through the city Shen could sense the overwhelming power radiating from the direction of the forge. As they approached the house Vannessa was surprised to see how many fields they were given.
"Are all the buildings constructed with mana?" Shen investigated glancing at the houses.
"Majority of them are, but some have started building normal ones. Have you decided on someone to oversee the fields?" Zack asked.
"I have one request for this deal to work. You asked for discretion on the effects of the land, but we should take it further than that. I don't want anyone from the guild to know the location of this place, and the best way to do this is to put the training grounds somewhere hidden on the property. That way the gateway will lead them to the training grounds only. This way if anyone decides to defect they couldn't pose you, or your people any problems" Shen replied.
"We aren't too worried about the security matters, but I see your point," Zack stated.
"Vanessa will be the one overseeing the operations here. She could make the best use of these fields and is also a member of our circle. This way if you need to discuss anything important you can reach us directly." Shen told Zack.
As they discussed the terms of the deal and went over the equipment they prepared Zack as he showed them around. Eden was much more lively than the last time Vanessa visited. She was excited to be working in a new place with so many mysteries but was nervous seeing all the new people. When they approached the training ground Ren ran up to greet them.
"Nice to see you again," Ren smirked at Vanessa.
Vanessa gave a nervous wave while Shen examined those training. It was the perfect size for a duel, but he was curious about their strength. Shen nodded at Vanessa as she walked into an empty training area activating the barrier.
Vanessa's staff began to glow as she conjured her familiar. All the nearby trainees couldn't help but stop to observe. The amount of mana radiating from the tiger was hard to ignore after all. She walked out of the barrier as the tiger waited patiently for her orders. Vanessa glanced at Zack waiting for permission.
"They have all been reinforced with Enochian glyphs to increase the warding. Feel free to test it thoroughly." Zack smiled.
"Blanka roar," Vanessa ordered pointing her staff at the roof of the barrier.
The white fur began to crackle with lightning as the inside of the barrier became a storm with Blanka as the epicenter. When Blanka roared a loud sound of thunder rang through Eden as a beam of lightning slowly gathered in its mouth.
Everyone nearby was distracted from their training as a powerful blast rapidly gathered in the familiar's mouth, and when it was released the inside of the barrier was engulfed in lightning. The barrier was glowing immensely, and Blanka could no longer be seen, but when the attack settled the barrier held firm. Vanessa tapped her staff to the ground as Blanka slowly dissipated and retracted into the gem.
"Impressive work. We found some of these glyphs inscribed in ruins, but we couldn't comprehend them." Shen stated.
"I would show you, but the person who trained me expressed extreme caution in teaching others," Zack replied.
"That's understandable such power in the wrong hands could be dreadful. Where did you have in mind for the training grounds?" Shen asked.
"You said you wanted the location a secret so underground would probably be ideal," Zack replied as his wings appeared.
Zack closed his eyes sensing the earth beneath them. He formed the earth orb in his hands as it sank into the ground. A rumble was felt through the training grounds as everyone watched in anticipation, but when it stopped they saw nothing as the orb returned. Then Zack disappeared with a flutter and returned a few minutes later.
"I made a substantial chamber for cultivating, and it's connected to this core," Zack told Shen handing him an array core.
"We should probably check back in with the others soon," Kaya stated as glanced up at the sun.
"We have everything we need so if you have something to return I won't keep you. Vannessa has several rings with all the items you requested." Shen told Zack.
"You two might wanna see this first," Zack replied leading them to the garden.
When the group walked into the garden the kids were already meditating once more. Observing the training the children are doing Shen was impressed. All of them showed promise, and after sensing his surroundings he understood why. Shen looked over at the divine tree walking up to it and examining it closely.
"I knew it wasn't magic altering the land. A place like this shouldn't exist on the mortal plane. Even as we speak it's slowly spreading its influence deeper into the land." Shen announced.
"Does that mean it's bad?" Kaya investigated.
"Not at all just very unusual," Shen replied removing his hand.
"Where did it come from?" Vannesa asked.
"It's been here since I was born. A few of my comrades say it's connected to my grace, and with my experience today I no longer doubt it." Zack replied.
"I see. How would you feel about running some experiments with me?" Vanessa inquired.
Kaya seemed upset about this question and wanted to know what kind of experiments. Before the question was asked a powerful aura swept the area from the training grounds and with it a spine-tingling howl. Zack looked off towards the training grounds feeling an enormous bloodlust being released and took off towards it with the others behind him.