Though slightly surprised that he had got it correctly on his first try, Valyr soon felt a hint of excitement bubbling up within him after understanding the implications of Nila's current situation.
"Since you're connected to this from the outside world… does that mean you know what's going on in Veldanyr at the moment?" he asked.
Nila nodded in response. "I have no idea what's exactly going on there since I'm in another planet at the moment, but I am up to date with the major happenings."
Listening to her words, Valyr felt a bit of worry from the first part of Nila's statement, though that soon turned into relief by the time she got to the end.
"Do you have an idea on what's happening between the orcs and the humans, then?" Valyr looked at her with a hint of expectation. "Has the skirmish between them escalated?"
"I'm afraid so."
Closing her eyes for a bit, Nila nodded at Valyr as she let out a low sigh.
"The skirmish between the two races have expanded to include multiple kingdoms from both sides," said Nila.
"According to the information I've received, the Meltierre and the Khagarax Empire are about to make a move pretty soon."
At those words, a downcast expression briefly appeared on Valyr's face as he wryly smiled. "Is that so?"
Getting a nod from Nila in response to his question, the young man went silent for a bit, only to let out a long and drawn-out sigh not long after.
'Well, it's not like the humans would lose out that easily,' thought Valyr to himself as he shrugged it off.
'It would only become truly troublesome once the elves are involved.'
Deciding to push the pessimistic news he got from Nila to the side, Valyr decided to ask for more information regarding Nila's connection to the image.
"Do you know where your image is currently located?"
"It used to be in the Gates of Awakening," replied Nila, only to clarify herself soon after seeing Valyr's somewhat confused expression.
"Well, it still is, but now the Gates of Awakening is inside an inheritance of sorts, judging by the spatial and temporal energies I'm getting."
"Do those energies affect the connection in any way?" asked the young man. "After all, a day in this inheritance is equivalent to two weeks on Veldanyr."
Nila shook her head to and fro. "Much less than you'd think. Just need to infuse a bit more mana and some Concept Energy into it."
Briefly widening his eyes at the mention of Concept Energy, Valyr soon moved onto the next question he had in mind.
"Since the Gates of Awakening is now part of the Four Pillars' Inheritance, do you have an idea of how many people are in the inheritance at the moment?"
"Only if I've come across them," said Nila, only to recall a certain memory a moment later.
"Now that I think about it, I fought against a guy that has a unique Intent of the Blade earlier. Is he also in the inheritance just like you?"
Faintly chuckling at the thought of Hal fighting against Nila, Valyr nodded.
"Yeah, there are three more people in the inheritance besides us two, but they don't have much to do with forging or combat."
Nila nodded in understanding. "I see. So the Gates of Awakening has become part of the Four Pillars' Inheritance, huh."
"The Gates of Enlightenment as well, actually." Valyr corrected her.
"Well, to be more specific, the entire Triad Gates is part of the Four Pillars' Inheritance."
"Really now?" Nila looked at Valyr with slightly widened eyes. "Now that's something I wasn't expecting to hear."
Realizing that the two of them had become too engrossed in their conversation, forgetting their current task at hand, the two looked at each other with wry smiles before returning to their respective workshops.
"So, any other questions regarding my connection that you might have in mind?" Making use of the mana arms she had conjured to speed up some parts of her upgrade process, Nila glanced at the young man as she threw him a question.
Taking a look at the progress his mana arms had done while he was talking with Nila, Valyr nodded in satisfaction as he now took the lead in the upgrade process.
While doing so, he went silent for a bit before eventually shifting her gaze towards her, allowing [Zen] to bring out all of the questions he had related to the matter.
"Say…" Valyr looked at her with a serious expression. "Do any of the opponents I've fought earlier have the same connection as you?"
In response, Nila made an odd expression as she gestured with one of her hands.
"Eh… some do, some don't," she said in a slightly unsure tone. "However, the majority of those who have a memory image in this place definitely have a memory extension."
"After all, only memory extensions are used during the final sub-trial of the Trial of Nine Stars," Nila added.
"It's to make the final fights more authentic… or so they say."
"Is that so…" Nodding in understanding, Valyr returned his attention on the anvil for a bit, making sure that the general process was correct before allowing his mana arms to take action.
Seeing that the next step of the process was going smoothly, the young man faintly smiled before throwing another question at Nila.
"I don't know if you know this, but…"
"Do you think Arcaelus also has a memory extension in this place?"
"Arcaelus…" Nila murmured to herself as the gears in her mind slowly began to turn.
"Wait… Arcaelus Sachondeis?"
In response, Valyr slowly nodded.
Surprised as to why the young man would utter such a name, Nila asked Valyr for more information.
With that, Valyr explained about how he had seen the two of them in the same memory regarding the Eternal Flame.
Naturally, he also talked about how Arcaelus was the opponent he fought against before she appeared as his opponent.
After hearing all of that, Nila went silent for a bit, prompting Valyr to feel a hint of worry after seeing her be silent for so long.
Fortunately, after about half an hour or so, she showed life once more, looking at the young man with a grin.
Chuckling, she replied, "Just found out that he does have a memory extension. He also told me that you've done a great job getting this far in the Gates of Awakening."
"Eh…?" Hearing her response, Valyr looked back at Nila with puzzlement written all over his face. "How did you…"
"How did I find out?" Seeing Valyr's confusion, Nila let out a chuckle out of amusement.
"Well… how could I not if Arcaelus and I are currently on the same planet?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"In any case, I think we've strayed away from our original topic for long enough."
"It's time to tell you what you really want to know."
