Fitzroy took a sip of his tea and leaned back as the warm sensation traveled from his throat to his stomach. He'd just finished going through a mountain of documents and finally got a minute to relax.
"The work is treating you well, I see." Davene entered the room with a stack of documents under her arm.
Fitzroy still had a relaxed attitude. "How that kid convinced me to do so much work for a province that isn't even my own is beyond me. But I've already said yes, so I'll do my best. This kid runs a tight ship. Everything is documented and accounted for. Even things I deem insignificant got recorded with great care."
"Well, Xasha can't get all the credit when it comes to that part. He shares it with his wife and mother if I should split justice correctly. They all enacted policies that brought great prosperity to the province."
"You sure seem to like it here. There is one thing bothering me. I have read several reports that mention different mana veins in different locations. Just how many mana veins are within this territory?" Fitzroy asked lazily.
"I'm not sure. I don't think about it that much as the mana is the same no matter where we are. But the last I checked, I think it was around nine hundred or so. Seventy-two of which are S rank, and the rest varies. At that point, the territory was amid expanding, so that number might have increased. By how much, I'm unsure, but I can find out for you."
Fitzroy spent out the tea he was drinking in shock. "This kid controls over ten times more S rank mana veins than I do? We really have been frogs in a well. Just thinking of all the wars we fought and how many good people died to protect a handful of mana veins when dozens lied to the south, ready for the taking."
Davene took a seat in front of Fitzroy. "well, it wasn't for the taking, as you put it. I think only Xasha could make use of these mana veins. Without his magic devices and rune language, we would have to forget about these mana veins even if we knew about them."
Fitzroy shook his head. "You are right. That boy is something special. After this excursion, I'm sure the number of mana veins will double, if not triple."
"Well, the main army left a week ago. They should have reached the Great Divide fours days ago, which means they have been installing Magic Towers for four days. If the mana outside the Great Divide is any stronger than that of Sutherland, we should start feeling the difference over the next few day- Ow... ouch. Something's wrong."
Fitzroy panicked and rushed to Davene's side." Dav, talk to me. What's going on?"
"The... mana.... it's." Fitzroy realized the density of the surrounding Imperium had increased several-fold. The cultivators who have never had this much Imperium inside their bodies were now suffering. The sheer volume overwhelmed their meridians and veins.
While this was good for them in the long run, until their bodies get used to the sensation. They will have to endure excruciating pain, especially those of the younger generation.
"Roy." the two Supreme elders walked into the office. "The province is a mess. Everyone is suffering from mana overload all at once. Some are even seriously injured."
"I Know but, what can we do? There are so many people inside this place we can't reach them all, can we?" Fitzroy said helplessly.
"Ca.. call... Mila, she can help," Davene spoke through gritted teeth.
Fitzroy knew that name. He had met her several times before and knew she was Xasha's second in enchantment. He tried to connect with her through his Ecko. "I know why you're calling, but I can't help. All the mana pools are full and overflowing. There is nowhere for the mana to go. The people will have to endure it. This will be practice for what's to come."
"What's to come?" Fitzroy questioned.
"Think about it, the army has only been in the wilderness for four days. They can build a Magic Tower in about an hour. If we place a Magic Tower every thousand miles. Even if they worked twenty-four hours a day, they could only have colonized a hundred thousand miles outside of the Great Divide. If we can't handle this much, how will we withstand what's to come in a month?" Mila's words cut like a sword inside Fitzroy's heart.
It was true, it's a great opportunity all they had to endure and activate their breathing techniques to make the most of the situation. Fitzroy sent out a continent-wide notice for everyone to activate their breathing techniques and absorb the mana instead of letting it run rampant in their bodies.
Soon, a sight so bizarre that Fitzroy would not believe it happened if he had not witnessed it himself occurred. An entire province of nearly forty billion people all activated their breathing techniques at the same time.
This phenomenon caused the entire atmosphere to change. Fitzroy could feel the Imperium in the air ebbing and flowing with the collective inhales and exhales.
"I can't believe this is the world we grew up in. Is one man responsible for all this?" Elder Ice Age ran his hand through his white hair in disbelief.
Fitzroy and Eruption chuckled amongst themselves as they stayed afar and watched everything happening below with interest. As time passed, bodies adapted to the increased Imperium, and people began to slowly recover.
The city started up again as more people recovered. They took care of those who were seriously injured. Everyone had nervous smiles on their faces. Despite the pain they had just been through, the outcome was quite desirable. They could feel that they had gotten stronger. A few cultivators broke through bottlenecks and transcended realms.
However, no one had calmed down. Fitzroy sent another announcement out. That was just the first wave. Each time the army colonized an area with stronger Imperium, the Imperium within the province will increase, and their bodies will need to adjust again.
For them, the pain was only beginning. However, Mila and her team were hard at work setting up a trickle system. If she succeeded, there would be discomfort, but their bodies would not go into shock. She was also modifying the etchings on the Magic Towers to curb the berserk nature of the Imperium, allowing for smoother assimilation into everyone's bodies.
A day later, the entire Stardust Province was quiet. Over 90% of the population was in retreat, meditating and allowing their bodies to get used to the new environment.
The people inside Stardust Province weren't the only ones adjusting. Xasha stood with Ari and Liza, Ari's Gold Raiders deputy leader. In front of them was a basin covered in fog. The fog was Imperium. The potency was so high that all the Imperium in Sutherland could only add up to a fraction of the Imperium in this place.
"What would we even call something like this?" Liza asked. Like the others, she had just recovered from the initial shock and was now adopting.
Neither Xasha nor Ari knew what to say. They knew it was a mana vein, but just how powerful was it?
Ari called for Xandria, who showed up yawning lazily as if she had been sleeping. Which led Xasha to question whether or not remnant spirits needed sleep. As the situation is pressing, Xasha had no time to worry about such things. Places like these aren't just happened upon, nor do these places remain ownerless.
"Xan, what is this place?" Ari asked impatiently.