Grasping his plan in full and determined not to jeopardize it, Kiara made sure not to show any reaction. Then, without a word, she let herself drop onto her rear, landing directly on a pile of gold coins that jingled loudly beneath her.
"Clink."
[Party extraction annulled as a member of the party has moved.]
A moment later, Mikael followed her lead and sat down on a different mound of coins scattered across the floor. Almost instantly, a new notification blinked into existence before their eyes.
[Party extraction will begin in five minutes. Do not move.]
And so, with time to spare and nothing urgent to do, the two of them began chatting casually as if they weren't sitting in the heart of the most secure vault of the Great Dwarven Empire. Their posture was relaxed, their voices light. They didn't look like criminals in the middle of a high-stakes heist—they looked like a couple having a laid-back conversation in their living room.
The dwarven emperor and his advisor watched this surreal scene in stunned silence. Neither dared to interrupt, and for several long minutes, they simply observed the two terrifying intruders.
Then, in an instant, the humans vanished in a flash of light.
The emperor and the advisor were left frozen in place, not daring to move. Deep down, both feared this might be a trick—a test to see whether they'd act rashly in the absence of their captors. The fear of retribution kept them paralyzed, too afraid to make a mistake.
But as the minutes passed… and then turned into nearly an hour, that fear began to fade. It slowly gave way to disbelief—then cautious hope. Could it be? Were they truly gone?
Moving carefully, the two dwarves finally began walking toward the main vault's exit. Only when the heavy doors sealed behind them did they allow themselves to breathe again. A long, exhausted sigh escaped their lips, the kind that came not from relief alone, but from having survived what felt like a divine punishment.
Within the next few hours, word of what had occurred spread like wildfire. The truth behind the sudden activation of Inner Morndural's defensive systems—and the heist that struck at the very heart of the Great Dwarven Empire—unleashed a tidal wave of chaos and speculation across the world of Kazramar.
***
While the world reeled in shock at the breaking news, the two culprits behind it all—Mikael and Kiara—were entirely unbothered. Having successfully returned from Kazramar, they were now back in their apartment.
There, joined by Amelia and Lyra, the group settled into a focused discussion centered around The Do's and Don'ts Before Reaching the Spiritual Foundation Realm. The conversation aimed to create a concrete plan for the road ahead—one built not only on the advice detailed in the book, but also on the deeper understanding Mikael provided through his own first-hand experiences navigating the Akashic Records Universe.
During the time Mikael and Kiara had spent in the world of Kalzamar, Amelia and Lyra had already finished reading the guide written by the Carefree Immortal. Expecting Mikael and Kiara to return quickly, they were surprised when things took longer than anticipated. After a brief exchange through the party system's messaging function, they learned that he and Kiara would be delayed. Unwilling to remain idle, the two girls decided to make use of the extra time by reading Diron's Landscape and Cultivation Beginning.
Thanks to that additional reading, the conversation they had once the group was reunited turned out to be remarkably productive. All four had a solid foundation on the subject at hand—except for Kiara. Aside from listening attentively to Mikael's explanations when he spoke about his time in the Records, she hadn't shown much interest in the reading material. Not that she minded. In her mind, simply trusting Mikael's decisions was more than enough. Problem solved—at least in her mind.
But Mikael didn't quite share that opinion, and after some convincing, she agreed to read all three books. After all, being ignorant in a 'world' as dangerous as the Akashic Records Universe could easily become a death sentence, so taking the time to increase their knowledge was imperative.
In this way, the conversation between the four of them continued as they established a clear path forward, consisting of the following four parts:
1: First of all, Mikael needed to reach Military Rank 3. At the moment, he was losing twelve years of lifespan per month, which drastically reduced the time they had to grow stronger—essentially cutting it by a factor of twelve. So reducing, or ideally removing, this problem was of paramount importance.
Currently, with his Military Rank 2, he could spend 20,000 LP per month to stop the 'decay' entirely. Their reasoning was that if he reached the next Military Rank, the cost would drop significantly again, allowing him to spend fewer LP monthly to preserve his lifespan.
That alone would give them a lot more time to train, grow stronger, and push themselves toward their limits. Fortunately, for reasons unknown—and which the Records refused to explain—only Mikael was subject to this kind of penalty. They assumed it might be related to the fact that he came from an 'Origin World', but they weren't sure.
2: The second part of the plan was the most time-consuming, and it consisted of growing stronger.
There wasn't a detailed explanation for this part, since there were many different ways they could improve. The main goal was to remain at this stage for as long as needed while maximizing every parameter mentioned by the Carefree Immortal. That meant pushing all their stats, cores, class, skills and more to the limit.
3: With the new strength acquired during part two, the four of them would then take on military missions until they each had enough LP to purchase the Evolution System.
4: The final part consisted of, once the three previous stages were completed, entering the Akashic Records Universe. After that, they would see how things went and develop a more detailed plan based on what they encountered.
"I think that this would be a pretty solid plan of action," said Amelia.
The three others agreed with her. After all, while the plan looked simple on the surface, it had actually been crafted after a relatively long discussion, where they carefully took many factors into account.
Now that the conversation had come to an end, Mikael turned his attention to another matter—one he had been quietly keeping in mind throughout the discussion. He still needed to craft new aura and mana generators for the girls and for himself. Thanks to the higher-quality materials now at his disposal and the fact that his understanding of array theory had improved—albeit slightly—he was in a much better position than before. Even though he hadn't specialized in arrays or focused deeply on them, his knowledge had still progressed beyond what it had been when he had forged his own generator.
Taking those points into account, he felt reasonably confident that he could now create devices that surpassed his current one. It wouldn't just be a replacement; it would be a real improvement for himself and for Amelia and as for the others it would be a novelty.
With those considerations circling in his thoughts, Mikael stood up from the couch and calmly said, "Before anything else, there's something I want to take care of. I'll be in my room."
But just as he was about to walk away, Lyra's voice suddenly called out, firmer than usual and completely devoid of her characteristic shyness. "Shouldn't reaching Military Rank 3 come first? Every month that passes costs you a year of lifespan. It can add up quickly if you're not careful… so shouldn't that be your top priority?"
Mikael paused mid-step, her words freezing him in place. He could clearly sense her worry, and was about to respond and reassure her, but before he could even open his mouth, Amelia's voice joined in, carrying a quiet but undeniable concern. "She's right, you know."
"I share their opinion as well, darling," Kiara added, surprisingly siding with the girls. "Even if there's something you want to focus on right now, it can wait until after you've reached Military Rank 3. That way, you won't have the constant weight of your dwindling lifespan hanging over your shoulders."
Touched by the concern in all their voices, Mikael felt a sudden warmth spread through his chest. "I understand where you're all coming from, truly. But don't worry—what I need to take care of won't take more than a couple of days. Right after that, I'll go and earn that Military Rank 3, I promise. And even if I do lose another year of lifespan, going from 22/94 to 22/93 doesn't make a real difference in the grand scheme of things. I'm also confident we'll eventually find a way to extend our lifespans, so it's not that urgent."
Amelia and Kiara, seeing the reasoning in his words, exchanged a glance and appeared to relent. They didn't look entirely reassured, but they accepted his logic.
Lyra, however, remained unmoved. Her eyes held a quiet fire as she replied, "Even then, it's still better not to take that risk!" she insisted, her tone more forceful than usual.
Mikael's brow lifted slightly in surprise. Her reaction was unlike her—bold, unfiltered. But as he looked into her eyes and saw the depth of her concern, any sense of surprise gave way to tenderness. He stepped toward her, his expression softening. "I truly understand how you feel, Lyra… but this is something I need to do. It won't take long. Can you trust me on this?"
There was a moment of silence. Lyra hesitated, visibly torn, before finally giving him a small nod of agreement.
"Thank you, love," he murmured, closing the remaining distance between them. He leaned in and placed a gentle, affectionate kiss on her pink lips.
Lyra blinked in surprise, but only for a second. Then, without a word, she returned the kiss with growing intensity, letting her lips speak the emotions her voice could not—her love, her worry, and her silent plea for him to be careful.
They remained connected for a few lingering seconds, savoring the closeness, before slowly drawing apart.
"I'll go now," Mikael said softly.
Lyra gave another small nod, her cheeks now tinged with a deeper shade of red.
With the girls' concerns, and especially Lyra's, now soothed—if only slightly—Mikael turned away and made his way toward the bedroom. His mind was already shifting gears, reviewing the sequence of steps required to begin the crafting process.
Author Note:
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