BXBX NOVEL Chapter 81 (LXXXI) Departure
"Seraphin... Krige, you sly dog..." Zayin muttered, stroking his beard, lost in thought as his aura slowly receded and everyone present sighed in relief. After a long pause, he announced, "Fortune has smiled upon us... It seems we\'ve missed one... We cannot let him slip through our fingers as we did Shayla!"
"Perfect! I won\'t have to drop my vendetta against the boy now!" Imperia huffed, crossing her arms underneath her massive chest and leaning back into her chair.
"Now, Imperia... We can\'t kill the boy!" Viscardi sighed, shaking his head.
"No one said anything about killing him, just maiming him a little!" She smirked, covering her mouth as Xoltu burst into laughter.
"I love this side of you, Imperia!" He chuckled.
"No, Imperia, you shall leave the boy alone..." Zayin declared, "Xoltu, investigate the boy and his current dealings, I want to know everything!"
***
A few weeks passed in the blink of an as Jackson returned to God\'s Tower a few times, looking for Sera while farming materials on La Décima Isla, but she never returned.
He had received food explicitly designed for Spirit Beasts and had begun their training during the material farming, studying about raising Spirit Beasts while they killed the Hollows and Beasts. Meanwhile, everyone else had prepared to leave Duskgate.
Khione and Umbra grew rapidly thanks to the food that Natane provided Jackson. Initially, she had to rely on her War Forme so the two could take on a singular beast together while Jackson distracted the rest of the group.
Eventually, they were both strong enough to take entire groups, allowing Jackson to read up and studied the Skill Book on Spirit Beastmastery while they farmed the materials.
Natane had been provided funds to acquire a few Skillbooks, a couple Lava Striders, a carriage, along with tents, a complete set of camping equipment, accommodations for six, and rations to make a two-week trip.
Amelia and August were commissioned to create a new set of lightweight equipment and blueprints to go along with the different materials being dropped by the monsters on the Tenth Floor.
Megan had gathered everything she could into a bag and moved into Overgeared. Jackson had handed her the Skillbooks and told her to start practicing.
Alijah, with the help of Megan and Tara Le Doux, contracted Saint Mary\'s Orphanage to permanently provide five orphans employment at Overgeared.
Abigail, Bella, and Jolie immediately took the two boys and one girl and began mentoring them on how to complete the blueprints and what materials to use.
Alijah took the remaining two girls, showing them how to open and close the store, balance the income and expenses, what suppliers needed to be paid and what the prices were, and finally, how, where, and when to deposit the credits into an account she had set up through The Climber\'s Association.
Jackson had provided her additional funds for a direct line of communication between Alijah and her new subordinates. He smiled as she quickly delegated loading responsibilities as Megan spoke with the coachman, their newest employee, a mutant known as Ziq.
Following the emergence of God\'s Towers and the invasion of Beasts centuries prior, new diseases were introduced to humanity, introducing a mutation amongst the humans that had turned them into the living dead.
Unlike the mindless brain-crazed zombies that the media often portrayed them to be, a mutant\'s personality was the same as before they were afflicted with the illness.
Mutants were heavily discriminated against when the first wave struck humanity, often murdered on the spot being mistaken for a beast. They hid amongst humankind for hundreds of years before they declared war.
Unfortunately, they were defeated and discriminated against further as they suffered the consequences, and their entire race was enslaved by The Climber\'s Association.
Over the next century, many would escape and live amongst the barbarians in The Wilds, but dozens of generations would never see freedom.
Ziq was tending to the Lava Striders, giant feathered reptiles resembling ostriches, a popular choice amongst travelers due to their ability to traverse any terrain and their endurance.
Everyone had gathered, piling into the carriage as they set off from the North Gate. Their destination was the Haven of the North, Ashbourne, nestled in the center of an expansive desert known as The Barrens that connected the east and the west.
Jackson wanted to head North and set up another branch of Overgeared before making his next move. Ashbourne was a vast city built next to an even larger lake in the middle of the desert. It was one of the major hubs on Terra due to its unique location and resources.
The Barrens was a harsh environment with even more vicious inhabitants. Dozens of high-level insectoid beasts from different hives nested across the desert, creating a magnet for powerful Climbers.
He had room to breathe, thanks to the facade they left in Duskgate, but it wouldn\'t be long before it was discovered they were gone. He had a small contingency plan in place, and it would only buy them some additional time, but only a little.
It would be ideal if he could have them running around in circles, but he would need to weave a few layers between the outside world and himself if he wanted to completely disappear off their radar.
"Megan..." He said to that end, leaning close and pulling her closer as her face flushed red, whispering into her ear.
"What?!?" She shouted, jumping to her feet and jostling the carriage and everyone on it. Jackson grabbed her collar, jerking her back to her seat and shushing her.
"Quiet!!" He seethed and glared at her, smiling weakly at the rest of the women in the carriage as he pulled her closer, looking at her softly, "I need the help of someone I know won\'t betray me for anything... The only person I could think of was you; will you do it, please? For me..?"
Megan\'s face grew redder as she fainted, her brain overloaded in agreement as Jackson\'s eyes went wide and grabbed her, fanning her face rapidly.