An Owl's Rise

"Yes, we discovered the entrance guarded by magical constructs deep in the Forest of Giants. It appeared to have been undisturbed for quite some time. Likely the beasts in the forests were not strong enough to beat the guards and no people had wandered into the depths of the woods to discover it. But you say there is another entrance?" Evelyn said, cocking her head to the side.

"To think you would find something so valuable and not even no what it is." Lucia said with a sigh. "Yes, there is another entrance. It is quite famous in fact. Several wars have been fought over access to the domain that could easily be considered the greatest in history. Currently the Ultak Empire has control over it and only allows those from high-ranking families that show great talent to enter. Just rumors about the innumerable treasures that can be found inside make everyone long for access to the domain of the Verdant Warlord."

At first Evelyn was surprised to hear about the other entrance, but it made a certain inconsistency they had discovered make sense.

'No wonder we did not find any evidence of that group of humans entering through the gate in the Forest of Giants. They must have come in through the other one. Still, the Ultak empire huh.'

It had not been at the forefront of Evelyn's mind since she had other more pressing things to worry about, but she distinctly remembered that Mason had been born to one of the top-ranking families in the Ultak Empire. The heavenly flame she currently possessed used to belong to them until Mason had stolen it for her.

At some point she had planned to pay his family a visit and try to find out what had happened to Mason. In his diary he had mentioned that his fate was still not completely clear. He was either going to die at the hands of his pursuers or reach the top level of this world and ascend to the realm lay beyond it.

Unfortunately, he had hinted that the possibility of his death seemed much higher, and if his family had killed him, Evelyn felt she would need to pay them back.

'I still don't know what become of my brother yet. Either way though, I will find him again no matter how high I have to climb or who I have to knock down.' Evelyn thought, steeling her resolve to peruse her ultimate goal no matter what.

Still, for the time being she had other fish to fry. The Tyrannis Union was an ever-present threat and enemy that she would have to face if she wanted to move forward.

"Speaking of the Verdant Warlord's domain, we actually did encounter a group of humans while we were exploring it. Do you happen to recognize any of these crests Lucia?" Rehni said, pulling out the emblems they had taken off the group of people they fought for control of the Verdant Warlord's Domain.

Lucia took each of the emblems and looked them over.

As she did, when she came to the one that the woman Evelyn fought possessed, she frowned.

"I don't claim to be an expert, but I do know that this crest belongs to the imperial family of the Ultak Empire. Whoever you took this from was likely part of the main family. I just hope that they do not find out that you guys are the ones that killed the owner of this emblem. Otherwise, we are going to have another of the world's superpowers after you." Lucia said with a chuckle.

However, the individuals in question did not find their magnetism for trouble to be quite so laughable.

"No need to be too worried. You killed these people in a dangerous domain outside of normal reality. As long as none of you go shouting out into the world about ending the brightest prodigies of the Ultak Empire, no one should find out." 

Thanks to Lucia's reassurance, Evelyn, Bylur, Rehni, Aralee, and Verrader let out a collective sigh of relief. The last thing they needed was another group of unfathomable power actively looking to kill them.

"Now, tell me more about the Verdant Warlord's Domain. One hears all manner of rumors, but I want to know what it is actually like." Lucia said, her eyes practically sparkling with anticipation.

Understanding that they were not going to go any further with planning while Lucia was like this, Evelyn indulged her and took the lead, relaying what she and her companions had encountered within the domain.

Once she had finished, Lucia wore an eager expression like a kid that had just learned about a new and bigger candy store than anything they had ever been to before.

"I suppose that your enthusiasm means that our course is set." Evelyn said.

Right now, she and her companions were limited in what they could do. But once they reached the tyrant rank their options would open up drastically. Not only would they be much more powerful, but they could infiltrate human society more easily once they attained humanoid forms.

Normally it would take several years if not several decades of steady progress to break out of the awakened rank, but Evelyn and her team had found some of the most valuable resources in the world that had already helped them grow rapidly.

Of course, they had fought hard and nearly died several times for the power and resources they had amassed.

It was their culmination of experience and willingness to throw themselves into danger for greater strength that had gotten them to where they were.

"Yes, I believe that heading to the Verdant Warlord's Domain to beef ourselves up is the correct first move." Lucia said, trying to calm down and look stoic.

Nevertheless, the swaying of her tail made it impossible for her to hide her excitement. Likely she never thought that a chance to visit the legendary domain would ever present itself to her.