Chapter 463

However, the issue here was that this new pathway was quite difficult to traverse for a normal person. Just like how Darius had to manually feel out the routes for the Order element since he didn't dare cast any spell of that element, he was also using his Luck to guide him.

Miranda was also crucial to this, as she was connected to Darius' mind, so she could see the magical network her father was traversing. The AI could then use her superior computing abilities to calculate all the combinations and routes before suggesting the most likely one.

Darius would then move though there, and if his Spiritual Senses from his Grandmaster stage Luck gave him a warning or radiated satisfaction, he would know that he was on the right route. Miranda would then pick up from there and restart the calculations and so on.

If was difficult for the Order element since it was a very high and powerful element, but for whatever he would end up calling the opposite of the Spirit element, it was only an advanced element at best, so the ease was noticeable.

Finding the route was just a matter of time basically with the resources Darius had on hand. Compared to traditional Faustians who had only themselves to find the routes for elements, the reincarnator was really spoiled.

It just made him subtly respect his predecessors even more. To brave that hazardous network without any real guidance but your own gut... he didn't even want to think about how many Awakened in Faust had died over the millennia from the backlash after taking a wrong route.

Miranda estimated their progress to have been 5% after two days of meditation in the cabin. Xela and Gunner had been doing their own things in this time, relaxing mostly.

Seeing that they were comfortable, Darius smiled and took out the Desert King Turban. It was a reddish-gold roll of silk that was meant to be tied in the sultan style. Darius did just that and felt a strange energy spread throughout his body once he completed the tie.

He assessed it and discovered a sand-colored stream of energy flowing through his body. In fact, both he and Miranda assessed that to be more than just a form of energy, it was likely a form of law.

That was due to what they knew of the turban's effects and the fact that Darius himself felt an imperceptible connection to the sand beneath his feet. However, this connection was faint, as true control would only be granted to the next Desert King, not the one wearing his turban.

Right now, the only effect it granted Darius was immunity to Ludo's weather. However, his current Endurance made him somewhat immune to it already. Or rather than immune, it should be said that he was so incredibly resistant that it practically posed no effect.

The same went for Gunner and Xela.

Darius also sensed that the headwear was leading him to a certain location. He guessed that it would be the Test of Mettle trial's location, which was stipulated to be at the exact center of the continent.

The Divine Oasis they were in was located in the far east and the turban was pointing him west, so that should be somewhat true. Since he was still more or less focused on unlocking this new element first and foremost, he did not rush off to take the test.

After all, it would not run away. It had been there since before Darius could even fathom and would likely continue to be there till Faust's end. Even if it decided to lock itself for eternity tomorrow for whatever reason, it was not something that was crucial to Darius.

As one would say, it was a 'side quest' and an unimportant one at that. He had more pressing matters, like unlocking this new element. This would also qualify as 'side quest', but its relative value to him was much higher.

Darius proceeded to spend another four days working on it tirelessly, but his total progress advanced to 15%. He had experienced it before, but trying to find the pathways for an element, even with the tools he had at hand, was a time-consuming thing.

It was different from using a spell. Whenever a mage cast one, passing through those avenues was almost instant - at least for people like him - so one would notice. It was like passing through a road network for the first time and not knowing where anyone led, while trying to cross two states.

Darius could only stop here as he had something else to work on. He got Gunner and Xela to get ready, as their little vacation was over and it was time to get to work once more.

The Branded Servant Duo complied immediately and were beside Darius in minutes. He then teleported the group towards the center of the continent. He wanted to leave seeds of Miranda here for her to begin a subtle takeover while no one was looking.

After all, Ludo was seen as a Desert Continent with little to no value. They had great mineral resources here, far better than any other continent, but extracting them here was such a tiresome job that no one wanted to bother.

Of course, powerhouses could ignore the conditions and extract what they wanted, but why would they do that? They'd rather just force/contract someone else to get it or pay for it themselves.

This lack of respect and attention given to Ludo was exactly what Darius was looking for. On Fallon, his attempts to spread would be met with great resistance as he neared the more powerful kingdoms and empires, as no one would let unidentified foreign equipment be set up in their borders.

Once Miranda built enough forces using the resources of Pokterr and Ludo, which just so happened to be metal-rich continents with unique resources in that regard, there would be no force that could contest with him.

Sure, the Undead armies and Insect armies were Unlivable grade apocalypse, since both fed on their opponent's living and dead to grow stronger. They knew no fatigue and could fight attrition wars with ease.

But a metal army was above that, a true Unfathomable grade apocalypse. They had all the power of modern technology, as well as the benefits of the two previous races. What was worse was that destroying a metal army soldier was pointless.

They could just grab the scrap back and reuse it to build a new unit. Of course, this kind of army had the weakness of needing to be manufactured, so its main weaknesses were the lack of energy source, metal resource inflow, and safeguarded factories.

Cut any of these three off and the army would be rendered numb. However, it was usually impossible to do so, and Undead/Insect armies were far easier to deal with. Their killing rate and adaptability was nowhere near AI-driven machines either.

In fact, Insect armies and Undead armies were only dangerous to civilizations without magic and set in the Victorian era and before that. An Insect army or Undead army would be useless in the modern era due to the many weapons and efficient information systems to track them down.

A metal army though, would be 150% dangerous to a modern era world with weapons. To an ancient civilization without tech, a metal army was just the end, period. It would truly be unfathomable, as they would not even be able to comprehend what they were fighting against.

This was also the case for Faust. In fact, in the entirety of Faust, the only ones who would be able to understand how the army worked would be those from Gravitas.

That was why the technology-adept continent was definitely on Darius' hitlist, regardless of how they felt about it. He had no plans to compromise or seek peace. There could be only one person with a monopoly on neo-modern technology, and that would be him.

Whatever the case, Darius soon landed in the area with the richest mine on Ludo. He was standing on a rocky outcrop with Gunner and Xela behind him. From their vantage point, they could gaze at the valley where the mine was located and see how busy it was.

One could see an efficient mining town set up, with most of those working being of dark skin tones. The Ludoians did most of the hard labor as they were attuned to the continent's temperature and had hardy bodies.

The ones who owned the mine were foreign forces that had set up a web of interest in this mining town, coming from all over the world.

Of course, Darius was not here to kill them all and claim the mine for himself. That would be counterintuitive to his purpose in subtly and slowly building a force. Rather, he was here to learn more about the mining situation on the entire continent and acquire some resources for Miranda to begin work.

Darius also had the location of other mines that were completely undiscovered, so he would set her up there. However, he had obviously run out of mineral resources for Miranda to build worker bots.

Author's Note: I have a lot to say, but adding too much would be a problem, so I'll try to summarize and be concise.

Recently, there has been a lack of chapters from Guild Wars and Darius Supreme. This isn't because of writer's block or any real crisis, but something more banal.

Basically, as I said in chapter 61 of Guild Wars - which explained my reasons for going premium on my first novel - writing/authorship is the equivalent of being unemployed where I come from. You tell anyone you're an author and they look at you with hidden disdain and pity.

So I set a goal for myself to reach 100,000 Ghs and invest it in a Treasury Bill (for those who don't know what that is, it's a government bond) which is probably the equivalent of - what was at the time of me setting the goal - $20,000.

This can be seen as the bare minimum to start my life and lay a financial foundation. I recently reached that goal thanks to the popularity of Guild Wars especially. You guys have never given up on this novel, which puts me to shame tbh.

So I bought the bond and set it to renew the principal every term, which means I have a perpetual investment, as government bonds are about the safest you can get (literally unless your government collapses).

Now, how is this a problem? Well, you see I was able to persist precisely because I had that amount set as a goal. I was able to manage writing GW and DS at the same time because I knew what I wanted and I was working toward it.

So the problem is, now that I've reached the goal, I'm in a bit of a slump.

To make it more concise, I am in a situation that is equivalent to an applicant who had spent a year studying for a university entrance exam, and had just written the exam.

I was tense and focused on studying and succeeding and now that the big day is over, I am unwinding and finding it a bit hard to study again.

Why am I saying this? I don't plan to put anything on hiatus really, or pause any of my novels. I did that once and did not enjoy it.

I just want to bring you up to speed on my current status.

To answer the question of: When will things get back to normal?

Think of it like this. Using the above example, I have completed the exam and am awaiting enrollment. So once the school year begins, I will re-adjust and acquire a new goal.