Galaxy's First Ruler

[WARNING]

[WARNING]

[…

Warning: Dreamer HP has fallen to less than 10% of Max HP

Warning: Dreamer SP has fallen to less than 10% of Max SP

Warning: The effectiveness of all Potions would be limited to 50%

…]

Aldrich eyed the blinking warnings as the searing heat burned within his body.

Flesh regenerated, the broken bones twisted and turned, and the darkness towards his left side vanished. His left eye reappeared with a popping sound, and he could feel his HP going up by seconds. 

Aldrich remembered what Earl Drago had told him. A single drop of Volcanic-Blood Amplifier potion was enough to heal the most grievous wounds of even a Count. Much less needed to be said about the missing body parts of a mere Viscount. Only this kind of potion could have the potency to heal him entirely even with limited effectiveness.

Aldrich clenched and unclenched his fists and let out a hot breath of air. He eyed the Pillar of Footprints in his hand, which had completely returned to its solid form. The image of a black bull shined on its surface and there was a golden, ethereal halo surrounding it. Aldrich could have survived the devastating explosion even without using the Pillar. But then his injuries wouldn't be just limited to missing flesh and broken bones.

The most disastrous and troubling thing about this self-destruct, which had made even Aldrich feel helpless, was Mana. This outburst of a Dreamer wasn't just fire, shockwaves, and other elements. Uncountable quantity of Mana was in its every part, condensed to an incredible degree. And the sheer presence of this fact made Aldrich's Banish skill unusable to protect himself against it.

Banishing a Law first required complete mastery over it. Even if Aldrich could banish fire or most of the explosion's common elements, he couldn't banish the core of the self-destruction, Mana.

For just a moment, Aldrich had even thought of using the Almighty Push to scatter the Mana. It would have easily made him untouchable by the explosion. But like the Skill Intimidation, both of his Rumok's Push and Pull were burst types. They were like a switch, having only two options, on and off. Even though Aldrich could momentarily push Mana's explosion away, he couldn't maintain it for minutes without ever stopping.

"The next time this happens, I will unequip you."

Aldrich spoke out loud, but there was no one around him. He turned around and stared at his shadow. As seconds became minute, Aldrich narrowed his eyes and harrumphed.

"Humph! The audacity… ABSOLUTE PULL!"

Aldrich reached out with his hand and used the Rumok. If he hadn't known about the existence within his shadow, he wouldn't be able to pull it out. But unfortunately for Sha, Aldrich knew.

Sha came rushing out of the Shadow, and Aldrich canceled the pull. Her face had become almost purple as if she was about to vomit. And in her hands, there was a gray cylindrical tube. It seemed the moment Aldrich got thrown out of the Shadow World, Sha had used Shadow Blink to retrieve Shu from the Recordless, who was holding the tube.

Bleh!!!

Not able to hold it within anymore, Sha belched a mass of black liquid out of her mouth. As the slimy liquid fell on the glassy earth, shining with blue Mana particles, it turned into black shadowy vapors and merged into Sha's body. Her eyes became watery from nauseated feelings, which Aldrich could sense in his mind, and a deep sorrow overtook her heart.

"Daddy… I… I…"

"Don't stutter."

Sha lifted her head and Aldrich's white eyes met the blues on her face. There was anger in Aldrich's eyes, but this anger was like a boat in a depthless ocean of calmness. Whenever Aldrich wanted, he could topple this boat, or if he wanted he could show it the grandest sunset of its life. For now, this anger was for Sha and her deed, which had cost him an investigation and an opportunity to learn something new.

"Daddy… I am… Sorry… Sniff!"

As the sorry came out of Sha's mouth, her head dropped and by the end, she had already started to cry. Aldrich shook his head and put his hand on her head. As he ruffled her hair, he whispered.

"You knew this could let us know something about Shu, right? And now one end of the rope has vanished from our reach."

Aldrich knew that Sha's action of throwing him out of the Shadow World was nothing but a psychological barrier. And if he were to let go of it doing nothing about it, it would become an impassable bridge for Sha. The best way to handle these situations would be to intermix harsh admonishments along with gentle reasoning. Only by this way Aldrich could make sure that Sha would try to break her limits next time. Instead of just subjecting herself to the constraints of the Shadow World.

As expected, upon Aldrich's mention of Shu, Sha tightened her grip on the gray metallic tube. Without looking up, Sha nodded and wiped her tears away. A smile came upon Aldrich's face, and he tapped Sha's head.

"Good girl."

"Hehe… Sha… good."

An ear-to-ear smile also came upon Sha's face and she turned to a mask. Aldrich caught the gray tube as the mask came upon his face by itself. He gave a look to the deep crater and only one thing remained which had occupied his mind.

"My money…"

Even if Aldrich were to shout out loud, running naked in the streets, who would believe that he was as rich as an Earl's House for a few minutes. Having an Earl Mana core was a clear-cut sign of the strength of an ancient House having an Earl-ranked Head. Aldrich didn't know the whereabouts of the undead Robert and the FIR when the Count turned into a huge blue candle. But he knew nothing could have survived that explosion, much less the Mana cores which were nothing but solidified Mana.

If Aldrich had to make a guess, the moment the explosion had come in contact with the Mana cores in the FIR, they would have become a part of it. He didn't have the time to search the area of the explosion, inch by inch, but he could find out the FIR's fate through another method.

Aldrich extended his hands out and a deep voice came out of his mouth.

"From the ashes of my Dreams… ARISE!"

Space rippled, and an ethereal Darkness materialized in front of Aldrich. And ripping the darkness came out a bald Dreamer wearing a red jacket. This Dreamer was Viscount Robert.

From the experiments, before stepping out of Swordfish, Aldrich had already confirmed that if he called out the same undead twice in a row, then they would have their memories intact. These memories weren't of their lives, but of their revival. As soon as life came into Robert's eyes, he pounded at Aldrich's feet and bawled out.

"Oh! The Sin! The Sin! My Lord, punch my bald head and kick me in the balls. Oh! I have lost the money…"

Sigh!

Aldrich sighed as he snapped his fingers, and the Viscount vanished. He tapped the mask on his face with his knuckles and said.

"Let the Swordfish out. It's time to attend a ceremony."