The death of the twelfth Eduard Cleaver brought no scream. No final monologue. No dramatic explosion of gore.
The loud sound of the guns were simply followed by a heavy, unnatural silence. Eduard Cleaver the Dead turned into ash and disappeared into nothingness. Then... the world began to shake.
The walls of the desolate mansion trembled. And then, they dissolved. The tilted floor liquefied into black sludge. And the air seemed to vibrate with the wild frequency of a massive earthquake.
Jack stood firm. Beside him, Reina's hand instinctively moved around his arm. Aella also moved close and grabbed his coat sleeve. Her eyes went wide. But her expression was surprisingly calm.
Rune, the fairy guide, pulsed with a frantic glow of green and gold. Signaling the rapid collapse of the localized reality was not exactly a bad thing. And she was right...
In a blink, the oppressive ceiling of the haunted manor was gone. Replaced by the open, slightly overcast sky of Grandmoon Island. They were back at Grancho's ruined ranch.
Jack looked around. The ritual circle on the ground no longer glowed with a sickly, malevolent light. The air there still smelled of dry earth and rotting wood. But the eeriness of the place was mostly gone.
"It's over, right?" Reina asked softly. Her voice carried a hint of relief. She tucked a strand of long black hair behind her ear and looked at the center of the circle.
There, right in the middle, was a jagged, pulsing object. It looked like a shard of greenish glass. Clear, but obviously cracked. It was very likely... the [Crystal Grassland Shard].
Jack stepped forward. The information panel flickered to life in his vision as he activated his [Eyes of Judgement]. It was indeed the crystal. But, it seemed to be significantly damaged.
He reached down and touched the cold surface of the [Crystal Grassland Shard].
The moment his skin made contact, the shard broke into tiny pieces. It shattered into a cloud of iridescent dust that rushed into Jack's arms. The sensation was like touching a cold water on a hot day. Refreshing...
And, right at the moment, the system notification struck...
[DAMAGED OBJECT OF POWER DISCOVERED!]
[COMPATIBLE POWER DETECTED: MYTHICAL MIRROR REALM]
[ANALYZING SPATIAL FOLD...]
[FUSING SPATIAL EXPANSION... 100%]
[MODIFYING MYTHICAL MIRROR REALM ABILITY...]
[SUCCESS! MIRROR MANSION ACQUIRES GRASSLAND RANCH EXPANSION!]
Jack stood still for a moment. Absorbing the data. He could faintly feel the design of the Mirror Mansion of his [Mythical Mirror Realm] shift and grow.
The luxurious estate hidden within the mirror dimension had already possessed a small orchard at its backyard before. Now, it felt like the backyard had expanded to a much greater size. And there were several building appeared there.
"What was that, Dear?" Reina asked. Noticing the way the shard shattered and entered Jack's arm.
"An impressive gift for the Mirror Dimension." Jack said. A faint smirk was playing on his lips. "Should just consider it a practical compensation for our trouble. Let's go and see the results."
He reached into his [Spatial Bag] and pulled out a plain hand mirror. Jack activated his [Mythical Mirror Realm] power, and the surface of the mirror instantly rippled like water.
He grabbed both Reina and Aella. Pulling them into the ripples. And, in the next heartbeat, the ruins of Grancho's ranch were gone.
They now stood on the familiar back porch of the Mirror Mansion. The Orchard, filled with its shimmering, mystical fruit trees, was right in front of them.
Before, outside the orchard was the thick impenetrable mist. The mysterious void of unformed space. But this time, beyond the Orchard, there was now a wide pasture land.
"Wow!" Aella whispered. Stepping off the porch.
The expansion was massive. A fence of white, polished wood stretched out into a seemingly endless sea of vibrant green grass. The sky above perfectly copied the slightly overcast afternoon sky of the outside world.
Jack notices four huge buildings near the outer edge of the orchard.
The first one is a massive stable built from dark wood and reinforced with brass steam-fittings. It could definitely accommodate at least fifty horses quite well.
Further out were two enormous barns and a large, fenced-in chicken coop. The former was in the similar style to the stable, while the latter looked more like a miniature palace for birds.
Jack walked toward the stable. His boots thumped on the soft, lush grass. He entered the stable and looked around.
"About fifty starlight horses can be kept here, Dear." Reina commented. "More than enough for our crew's land mounts."
"Can we now go to the Enchanted Pastures and bought some horses?" Aella asked eagerly.
"We can, but we won't." Jack responded. "Let's stay on schedule and purchase the mounts and livestock later, after the tournament."
"That's the best." Reina said. "We can take everyone here and have them pick the mount they like the most. It'll save us the trouble of any of them complaining about it later."
"Indeed. We'll populate this place later." Jack decided. "The tournament is the priority at the moment. Let's spend just a couple more days in Marevale before going to Sweetmoon."
...
They did spend two more days in the town. They spent these days exploring the whole town. Surprisingly, they found two more 'hidden ranches' with supernatural level livestocks other than the Enchanred Pastures. They were the 'Emerald Ranch' and the 'Mystical Spring'.
Now, they had three sources they could use to populate the newly integrated ranch in the Mirror Mansion. Marevale truly deserved its fame as the town of the ranches.
On the third morning, they set out for Sweetmoon City.
Jack didn't have any desire to spend too much time on the road. Thus, he pulled his steamrune hoverboard again and summoned the [Lightning Hoverbike] to be used by Reina and Aella.
"Hop on, Love! You too, Kid!" Jack said. Nodding to the bike. "Let's try to reach Sweetmoon before sunset."
Reina immediately took the handlebars. Aella was sitting securely behind her. They were ready to go.
Jack kicked his hoverboard into the air. With a subtle hiss of steam and a faint crackle of electricity, he set out. Reina immediately followed. Soon, they blurred into motion.
The shortcut journey to Sweetmoon took them through the foothills of the western part of the Northcoast Mountains. The scenery was breathtaking. Jagged cliffs of granite that seemed to glow in the sunlight, and dense forests of dark-green-leafed trees.
Because they were using transport that could fly, they bypassed the mountain passes. Ignoring the winding route that would have taken land-based vehicles days to navigate.
By mid-afternoon, Sweetmoon City came into view.
If Grandmoon City was a testament to the brutal efficiency of the Industrial Revolution, Sweetmoon was its romantic, artistic cousin. The city was built along the shores of a massive, crystal-clear lake. One that reflected the towering Northcoast Mountains like a giant silver mirror.
The city didn't have the towering chimneys and soot-stained brick of Grandmoon. Instead, Sweetmoon featured white stone villas, terraced gardens, and bridges made of delicate, reinforced glass.
Steam power was present here. But it was quieter. More refined. There were steam-driven fountains that played music through brass pipes. And there were small, automated steam gondolas drifted lazily across the lake.
"It's beautiful." Aella said. Leaning over Reina's shoulder as they slowed down near the city gates.
"It's indeed much better than Grandmoon. But it's very crowded." Jack corrected. Looking at the sheer volume of people in the city.
It did seem that the Battle Moon Tournament had drawn every seeker of fame, fortune, power, and entertainment from... everywhere. The streets, even outside the city gate, were packed.
And Jack could see that the crowd was not just normal people. There were transcendent beings everywhere. Eldritch knights in polished plate armor, primal sorcerers in various attires, steamrune engineers with mechanical equipment, and strange mercenaries with scars that told stories of a dozen battles.
Jack stored their vehicles. They moved through the streets toward the inner district. They didn't bother to search for the rest of their crew. Jack could feel from his [Mark and Summon] special power that they hadn't reached the city yet.
Inside the city, the streets teemed with activities. Merchants were hawking their wares from colorful stalls. Musicians were playing lively tunes on street corners. And there were general murmurs of conversation everywhere. It was clear that the upcoming Battle Moon Tournament was drawing crowds from far and wide.
"Too crowded." Reina observed, scanning the bustling roads. "Finding accommodation might be quite difficult here."
Jack has already made a similar preliminary assessment too. He nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Let's try to check some inns first."
They attempted several inns and guesthouses. Each door they approached bore a prominent 'NO VACANCY' sign. The proprietors were harried and apologetic. They explained that every room in their buildings had been booked solid for weeks, sometimes months, in anticipation of the tournament.
Jack, however, was not easily deterred. He eventually found a single, solitary room available. It was in one of the most expensive hotels in Sweetmoon. A grand establishment with an ornate, gilded lobby and liveried staff.
The room itself, however, was a modest single-bed affair. Clearly meant for one person. It was exorbitantly priced. A blatant gouging of desperate travelers. But it was available.
"This is all they have, huh?" Jack observed the room. Holding up the key. "One room, one bed."
Reina looked at the key and at the single bed in the luxurious but small room. She then glanced at Aella. "Well, that's not too ideal for the three of us."
"It doesn't matter." Jack replied. Unconcerned. The inconvenience was trivial. "We'll just use it as a base. For sleeping, we have other options."
He took out a hand mirror from his [Spatial Bag]. Reina and Aella immediately understood. They didn't need to sleep in the small, cramped room.
They had the entire Mirror Mansion in the mirror pocket dimension for that. The hotel room was merely a legal anchor for them to exist in the city... without being harassed by the watch for loitering.
After checking in, they headed back out. The sun was beginning to dip toward the mountains. Casting long, golden shadows over the city.
"Let's scout the Grand Arena." Jack suggested. "That's where the tournament will be held."
...
The Sweetmoon Grand Arena was a colossal structure built into the side of a natural cliff. It was visible even from a distance. A semi-recessed stadium that used the natural acoustics of the mountain to amplify the sounds of combat.
As they rounded a corner, they saw it. The entrance to the Grand Arena. It was a massive, and incredibly eye-catching entrance gate.
But it was not the grand gate itself that caught their attention. It was the chaos unfolding almost directly in front of it. Near what appeared to be the tournament registration booth.
It was... a mass brawl.
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