Moving past Vivian, who was struggling internally with what Eldrian had said, Eldrian indicated for Ceph to follow him. The once innocent childish Alicorn, now a mature almost distant teenager. Eldrian still did not understand how, though he could guess with ease the why.


    "Sorry that I haven''t had time to catch up."


    "It''s okay." Ceph replied, "Why did you want to talk in private, and why not just for a telepathic link?"


    "Because I feel we''re no longer as close. I did not want to force a link." Eldrian paused and looked at the scar across Ceph''s corbone, sticking out just slightly from under his clothes.


    "It was from a ghoul."


    Eldrian nodded, there wasn''t much else he could think of that would leave a scar on Cephaphyr, on an Alicorn- maybe a demon. "How bad was it?"


    Ceph looked at him slightly confused.


    "I''ve felt the torment it can put you under. Are you okay?"


    "It was long ago," Ceph replied, and Eldrian decided to not push more. There was no need to open the old wound.


    "Are you going to join the mission?"


    "Was there ever a question?"


    "Maybe not, but I''ve been thinking that you might be able to help massively with the farming."


    Ceph looked at Eldrian like he was crazy, and sure, part of Eldrian agreed. Ceph was certainly a force to be reckoned with, especially with their forces having constantly grown weaker and weaker. Ceph was one of the few who had grown substantially stronger in these past months.


    "I know, soundsme and maybe even dumb. But it honestly might be a far bigger deal than just being at the fight since we don''t expect any problems, and if there are and Evale can''t handle it then I doubt any of us can.''


    "Plus, if we need you or you need me we can still summon each other."


    "Still..."


    "It''s up to you, but before you decide please talk with Therdul. Maybe you will find that it is more interesting than you think."


    ...


    After an hour, Ja had finally gone through everyone. Now only forty people remained, all of whom were Tier 4 with a few Tier 5''s even in the mix.


    Taking lead, Eldrian quickly shared the locations of the hordes with the yers. A few went ahead to scout while everyone else got ready. Eldrian also made use of his handy position as mayor to secure proper weapons and armor for everyone, yers and NPCs alike. While it was a mixed bag of Tier 1 to 4 magic items, all the items were magic items.


    Therdul, to his dismay, had to stay behind and watch as everyone got an upgrade. Eldrian promising him that he would get his chance didn''t feel great when it was happening right before his eyes.


    In the end, Ceph had decided to help with the farming initiative.? Being able to talk with Ceph at least somewhat soothed Therdul as he quickly dived into all the nts that would be avable to them and the possibilities of using magic to enhance their growth.


    The idea was truly fascinating to the dwarf, normally he would keep his real life and the game world separate. But this topic, of adding magic to vertical farming, simply fascinated him too much to even try to keep his cool.


    Eldrian had also asked Erik to join them instead of joining the mission and Erik had no problem with it. He actually preferred if he could stay off of the battlefield, having seen more than enough bloodshed for his entire life. Akarui was also fascinated by the idea and wanted to learn more.


    A part of Eldrian also wished he could join, certain that the theory was going to be fascinating. However, he understood that the farming could wait a bit longer. He also didn''t have anything to offer from the start, at least Eldrian didn''t think what he could offer no one else could.


    Just before leaving Eldrian had also pulled Erik off to the side and filled him in on everything that had happened.


    "Are you okay?" Erik asked his question clearly not about Eldrian''s physical condition.


    "It was a bummer, but I''m fine."


    "Are you though? Are you sure you aren''t diving into work so you don''t have to process this?"


    "I''ve killed before."


    Erik kept looking Eldrian in the eyes, slowly breaking through his barriers.


    "Right, your right. It''s different, this time I wasn''t in a rage... But I''m really fine."


    "Or your just suppressing it. I''ve seen many people sumb to trauma after being healed. Magic can do many things, but healing the mind is not one of them."


    "My mind''s fine, working optimally in fact."


    Erik''s stare quickly got on Eldrian''s nerves again, shaking it off Eldrian shifted the topic. "Can I ask you to somehow get in contact with Jen?"


    "Secretly? That will be hard, I''m certain I''m being monitored."


    Eldrian nodded, previously there hadn''t been much focus on Erik. But if there was a spy in the city and they learned of his abilities, Akarui''s special talent, or just how close the two were. The chances that there was now far more emphasis on Erik was almost certain.


    Racking his brain for a secret method to contact Jen that would not appear like the two actually trying tomunicate, Eldrian thought of the cafe she had liked. Where they had met up the first few times after he settled in.


    "There was this neat little cafe that she liked earlier this year. You might be able to run into her there."


    "Won''t that-"


    "Yeah, you can''t talk or anything, but if you can somehow give her a note. Maybe hide it under a cup or ask a waiter to hand it to her after you leave?"


    "I''ll see what I can do. What do you want me to say?"


    "Tell her that I will be gone for a while. And if she runs into any trouble to contact you. I haven''t activated the friendslist part of the interface, not sure if it is safe."


    "I''ll contact you through Ceph, you two have that bond still, right?"


    Eldrian nodded, sighing with relief internally. At least this way Jen would stay informed and she would also have someone she could rely on.


    While Eldrian didn''t like pulling Erik into this mess, he didn''t have much of a different choice.


    Relieved, Eldrian was able to put his focus back onto the mission. After leaving the city, he walked up to Ilmadia. Due to the siege, there was still ack of domestic animals. Which meant they had to walk.


    Curious if she was able to do anything with the manual and runic casting, Eldrian asked. The answer was disappointing but also partly relieving. It being harder meant magic should not move to Earth too quickly.


    "I see, you couldn''t use runes to cast spells?"


    "Yes, but I think we can," Ilmadia replied. "I just haven''t been able, I can''t guide my mana well enough. Though, I think I am getting close to the point where I can attempt it."


    AN: I hope everyone is safe with all the chaos going on in the world.