Book 4, Chapter 105 (1/2)

Resisting Temptation

As he thought back to their long conversation, Richard’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. Was Ferlyn telling him that there was a cost to the abnormal ceremonies? Was there a price he didn’t know about?

He suddenly fell into thought, pondering the issue for the first time. The Eternal Dragon’s basest principle was equal exchange. If he was being given such good options all the time, what cost did that have?

And who bore that cost?

The priestesses of the Eternal Dragon used the power of time to grow their abilities. This was a power that could only be obtained from divine grace. This was why they cared so much about sacrifices all the time. Flowsand! She was sacrificing the grace she would get!

Richard felt his mind jolt. Memories of Ferlyn asking him to grant her some divine grace flooded into his mind, and his damned blessing of wisdom finally kicked in.

Fortunately, he still planned to make two more sacrifices. This time there was no choice to give her some grace, so he chose to fortify the passage to Faelor again; the cost dropped down to 6,000 gold. This was something even planes that had been governed for ten years in Norland time normally wouldn’t have. Those like the Forest Plane and Rosie Plane had been fortified over centuries, sometimes even millennia to achieve their present cost.

He opened up the chest and heaved the beast head onto the pedestal, chanting the familiar words of the ceremony once more. However, this time he didn’t care for the coordinates of the Rosie Plane. Nobody knew how those coordinates had been erased from the Church, not even the Emperor nor the Church were forthcoming with answers. The chances of finding the coordinates from a ceremony were very bleak as well. Before he had no other priorities, but now he did.

As the timeforce twined around it, the large beast head melted into specks of light that disappeared into the void. A massive surge of power poured down from above, yielding more grace than even the devil skull from Gaton.

This time, a total of five options had appeared for him to choose from. Amongst them were a bloodline ability, further strengthening of the passage to Faelor, and even a strengthening of his body by timeforce. The Distribute Grace blessing was present as well, but what shocked him was the symbol of a small floating cloud!

Anyone who planned to hold high-level sacrificial ceremonies to the Eternal Dragon would know of this mark. It held the coordinates of another foreign plane! This blessing was priceless; even the simplest of elemental planes had great value. Planar coordinates were immeasurably rare in sacrificial ceremonies.

An irresistible temptation flooded his heart, the devil in his soul whispering for him to take the gamble. So long as he managed to get the broodmother and his followers out of Faelor, it would be no issue for him to tear into a foreign plane. A successful expedition would guarantee at least 200,000 gold per month of plane time; if the plane was as fast as the Forest Plane or Faelor, it would be amplified to a great extent!

There were definitely some disadvantages to working on too many planes at the same time. One’s attention would be divided, slowing their progress and leeching their resources until the new planes were stabilised. Gaton was a prime example of this problem; he had to leave five of his thirteen behind to hold onto his many planes because they hadn’t stabilised yet.

However, these coordinates would easily be worth 30 million gold in a transaction; the same as everything in Beye’s chest. He could just sell these coordinates for thrice the returns. Couldn’t he dedicate one of the offerings he received then to Flowsand instead?

By the time he snapped out of it, Richard found his hand only centimetres away from the floating cloud. Even the smartest of people wouldn’t think twice before choosing that option. However, he pulled back his hand like lightning, breaking out into a cold sweat. How long would it take to find three more top-tier offerings? Would the option to distribute his grace even appear then? If he missed the chance this time, would there be another chance?