After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

The Research Center’s Toolmaker Department thought of combining the advantages of both aether letter and the aether board, which was possible after they studied the visible arrays they could find there, but also because of Kalfene’s talent.

Such an upgrade wasn’t easy to achieve, even if one were made aware of the arrays. This was indicative of Kalfene’s abilities, and it was no wonder he was also a C-class toolmaker when he was relatively young.

It was still a prototype for now, as there were still a lot of things to improve on.

For example, there were still limitations in a way that they still couldn’t decide connections arbitrarily, but now a ’group connection’ was allowed, where in a group of three to five aether letters (depending on Kalfene’s success rate that day, hinted to be affected by his chocolate intake) could be connected to each other.

One message could be sent to any or all of the others, at the discretion of the sender. There was no option to choose among the connected letters though. If one sent a message with this new kind of aether letter, it would send to every other letter in that batch, as well.

They were also working on adding a passcode of sorts, as anyone who held the letters could still access it, whether to read or transmit messages through it. It wouldn’t do if an enemy managed to steal one and confuse four others, right?

It was just one of the many ’for improvements’ they had lined up, and Kalfene, after just doing the same thing over and over in Bleuelle, felt like he was a newbie again in his passion.

Many of the first captains had a copy of the improved aether letter, so Eagle’s single message was sent to all the Guard Stations, especially those in the Outer gates.

They doubted a timed bomb was used in this case because they had to make sure all elders were there and in position. This meant that it was detonated by someone right before it exploded, and they should still be in the territory.

The effects of Alterra’s fast communication were exhibited here, and a moment later, all the gates were closed.

Those outside would be let in later, but they’d stay in what used to be the quarantine zone (as used during the fire plague) for separate interviews and oath-taking. During the time of war, anyone not willing to take an acceptable oath would not be allowed in at all.

The gates closed down, and scores of people complained. This sight was what Xon and a few other spies saw.

”Damn, they closed it,” Xon, a dark-haired middle-aged man, looked darkly at the gates. ”They’re annoyingly fast.”

”Tsk. Feiro’s already in prison, now it’s just us.”

Feiro was the one who handled the bomb, a level 36 Fire user. He had to be near the bomb when it detonated.

The bomb needed a high-level fire user’s flame because only they could precisely ignite a dwarven bomb from a distance. The guy was also sent to prison as soon as someone was hurt.

As for Xon, he was Feiro’s partner and was supposed to be the backup in case one of the elders avoided the attack.

He ran straight to the gates after confirming all the elders were in place, but this damned place reacted way faster than any of them expected.

They were too fast to react! It hadn’t even been a minute!

How’d they do it?

He looked at Vlan next to him. Vlan was a Level 39 ability user and one of the people who inherited psychological skills.

It was a relatively old man with a gentle and serene face, but everyone in-the-know knew how twisted he was.

He looked like a pious person who wouldn’t be able to kill anyone, but, in reality, he could convince—and had done so, often just for fun—people to kill themselves.

Some were unwitting victims, befriending him because he looked like a nice old man. The next thing they knew, that person had suffered a horrible fate, seemingly at their own hands.

It was how he approached and got close to the victims. He just had to avoid the interior sentries. There were plenty of ways to do this if they were alert and aware enough.

Anyway, Xon was stuck because he was the backup, the one who fixed things if the plan wasn’t executed properly.

”What’s your excuse?” he asked, wondering why this man was still here. He was having the creeps with him, and he disliked it.

Vlan’s face was gentle as always, but it made Xon’s skin crawl. ”My powers work best when I am within the area of my victims. They could not snap out of it before the bomb went off.”

The effects of his ability would linger for a while, but he knew one of the elders also had psychological powers, so he didn’t have a choice but to play it safe.

Not to mention the items and technology available, this place was teeming with talents; it was both annoying and made people greedy.

No wonder their Lord was so willing to support Valov in this. Balthazar promised to give this one as a subsidiary to their Hassen City, and they already saw Alterra as their own property.

Xon tutted, his sharp eyes glaring at the damned guards along the gates. They could try to escape over the walls, but the sentries could be operated on manually, and it would be difficult to guard with their backs facing them.

Not to mention, seeing as how this place reacted, there could be powerhouses laying wait around there. They could not afford to get caught at this juncture!

”Let us hide, for now.”

At this point, according to the patterns they had researched, various guards would go around and definitely interview people above level 30 who were not familiar to them.

It was best to find a good place to hide until the war officially began. In which case, they could start attacking these people from behind.

They always liked people’s reactions when they realized strong enemies were among them. It was why whenever one of Hassen’s subsidiaries requested help (for a massive fee, of course), Xon and the rest of them would always volunteer.

But, first of all, where would they hide?