When Jack departed with the Themisphere, Aurebor, and Verremor's armies from Lorethion, his human age reached 22 months. His Limitless Potential increased to rank 14. At this rank, the race skill gave him HP +4500, Stamina and MP +390, and all attributes except luck +14.
It would take them several days to cross the Shylvan region. The armies marching from Hydrurond should arrive at Liguritudum's border before they did but they shouldn't be that far behind. Though those armies departed much earlier, those armies spent time building a supply line.
As for them, their marching speed was not slow due to two factors. Firstly, Jack's Runestone of Marching boosted the entire army's marching speed. Secondly, all the siege weapons were placed inside the mobile fortress, thus these slow-moving engines didn't slow the army.
Jack spent most of the time inside the mobile fortress during the march. He trained his mana manipulation during his free time.
Whenever he trained to use his mana to protect his mind, he felt a certain prickling. This feeling had become stronger lately. He asked Domon and Grace if they had this sensation when they trained but they told Jack they didn't. He didn't understand why this was unique to him, but he was intrigued by the sensation.
As the sensation grew stronger, he even felt as if the Mana was trying to communicate back to him, which was unlike anything he had experienced before. He understood that Mana was a kind of sentient energy, but interaction with Mana was always one-sided. A mana manipulator sent a series of commands and the Mana responded. That's why he was intrigued by what he was feeling.
As he delved further into this feeling, he had the idea that Mana was trying to fuse with him. He had this kind of idea because he had the same sensation when he tried to imitate the mana when infiltrating the Chalice of Blood. Only this time, it felt like the other way around.
He didn't sense that Mana was doing anything ominous like trying to infiltrate his body or anything. Mana wasn't good or evil. That's why he didn't try to stop whatever was happening. He even helped with the process. He didn't know what would happen with this bonding process, but he didn't believe it was dangerous.
When he had the time, he went to tell Domon his thoughts about what he experienced. Domon said he didn't understand. In the real world, Mana was called Chi and there was no precedent about Chi doing what Jack said he was experiencing.
Jack wondered if this had anything to do with his talent, Mana Affinity. He summoned Elayne and asked her since she had the same talent. Elayne said she didn't experience what Jack was experiencing. Jack thought perhaps it was because she had not reached the level of mastery as him.
In any case, he continued assisting the bonding process, if that was what it truly was.
Jack received reports from the other fronts during the march. He knew the battle at the inner sea had ended with victory on their side. Today, he received another call from John.
"Hi, I want to tell you that I've been using that legendary artifact you gave me," John said.
"Who have you been using it on?" Jack asked. He then remembered he read a report about Gridhacker being apprehended. "Is it on Gridhacker?" He asked.
"That's correct," John answered. "The Mind Breaker has a short duration of only one minute, so I need several sessions to get sufficient information. I've been using it to interrogate him these past few days."
"So, do you know for sure where Jeanny and the others are held?"
"I do. They are in Dritzuut, Liguritudum's capital. They are imprisoned under the palace's dungeon."
"Then our guess is correct. We will have to defeat Liguritudum to save them."
"I got good news from the interrogation," John said. "Master hasn't fused with any of the three's divine treasures."
"He hasn't? Why?"
"His machine to extract the divine treasure was broken. It can't be repaired because it is an alien entity. Gridhacker said Master will be using another method to extract the divine treasures."
"What other method?" Jack asked.
"Unfortunately, Gridhacker isn't privy to this. It seems that Master didn't trust his people enough to let them know his overall plan. Smart man, I must say. All Gridhacker knows is that Master wants to capture everyone who has the divine treasures before using his secret method. This means he will want to capture you alive."
Jack thought about the last battle with Master at Messephyria. No wonder he didn't see Master using any fire or ice divine powers. This was indeed good news, but not knowing what Master's method was is still troubling. He didn't worry about it too much. As long as he didn't get caught, it should be all right.
"I tried finding out who might know about Master's secret method from Gridhacker," John resumed. "He cannot be sure, but he said the most likely people to know are my mother and Spring Crown."
"I guess your mother should be inside Dritzuut. Does Gridhacker know where Spring Crown is currently? I believe that guy got sent to a lot of missions. If he is away from the army and we know his location, we can get a jump on him and probably capture him. Then, we can interrogate him using the Mind Breaker."
"I have the same thought. When I asked Gridhacker about Spring Crown, I learned surprising news. Spring Crown had rebelled against Master. During the siege in Messephyria, Spring Crown sneaked back to World Maker's guild headquarters and tried breaking Jeanny and the others out. Unfortunately, Master returned in time and foiled his plan. Spring Crown and the three were captured. They were moved to Dritzuut Palace and held there since."
"Really?" Jack asked. This did come as a surprise. He thought back to when Master suddenly left the battlefield. He was still confused about Master's action then. Now, he knew the reason.
He never thought of Spring Crown as an evil person. He was glad that the gamer finally decided to leave Master. He believed his grandfather would be glad to hear the news. Domon had a high opinion of Spring Crown. Too bad Spring Crown's attempt had failed and he ended up getting imprisoned as well. This added another person to save when they took down Dritzuut.
