I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm
I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 80

A lot of time had passed in my domain since Mr. Flippers and I started our archery competitions, so much so that there were only a few minutes left before the battle phase would officially conclude. Despite this, my eyes weren't on the timer, nor on the portal in the arctic north, but rather they were locked onto a small village in the southern mudflats, otherwise disconnected from the focus of the occasion. 

Spin. Spin. Spin.

My eyes swirled in circles, following the rotating object on my screen.

 "What a legend..."

The object on my screen was a basic wheel, on which sat a lump of wet clay being molded by a random woman. Contrary to my awestruck expression, this invention had been around in my realm for quite some time after being created by none other than my late Oracle. 

After returning to the mudflats to practice steadying his shaky hands using pottery, he eventually created this simple tool to help him turn the clay. Although I was referring to it as a wheel, it was a bit difficult to really classify it as one; it consisted of a circular wooden plate balancing upon a wooden pole that was driven into the ground. A simple, rounded stone was used as an axle between the pole and the plate, which allowed the plate to spin with minimum friction. It was a major advancement, but not something that could be translated to much else with the current technology. Metalworking would be needed at a minimum before actual axles required to use the wheels for things like transportation could be manufactured. 

"Even after everything else Ruglace managed to do before the portal opened, he still gave one final advancement before he left..."

I shouldn't have been too surprised that he continued his legacy. Although his body suffered greatly from the poison, it wasn't as though his creative mind had vanished; he still had nearly two-thirds of his life remaining- there was no way he'd make no progress during that time.  

Sadly, despite Ruglace living a full life in terms of achievements, he did not fully make it to the end of the battle phase and passed away nearly two decades ago. I could only presume the poison had shaved off some years, but Ruglace personally didn't seem to mind. By that point, even his children had long been gone, and he was ready to move on. 

Even though he was ready to go, that didn't make things much easier on me.

I still miss him...

I had a while to process his passing, yet thoughts of my Oracle always entered my mind whenever I spotted his creations on my screen, whether they were the wheel, the wall, or any of the homes he designed. 

"Squawk!"

But I couldn't let myself go back into mourning- there was no time for that anymore.

"Fine, I'll switch it to the portal," I sighed, looking back at the penguin chugging along in a miniature train he built a few years back that followed winding tracks around my domain.

It was actually surprisingly easy to build, resembling a sort of kids' ride at an amusement park. The Trethewick steam engine we developed for the archery course was perfectly suited for such a task; all that really had to be done was modify it to spin four conical wheels, create a frame, and lay down tracks. Now, Mr. Flippers seemed to pass the time by continuously altering the track, which now had a rather large drop out of one of his ice palaces' windows.

I'm glad he's having fun, but having to clear smoke and steam from the domain is a bit annoying. Speaking of which, it's already getting a bit stuffy in here...

As I switched the screen to show the portal up north, I looked toward the smoke floating around the domain, while picturing the carbon dioxide breaking apart into its individual carbon and oxygen atoms. My domain creation quickly activated, nearly effortlessly completing the task and leaving a few small piles of solid carbon dust on my floor.

I'll sweep that up later and toss it back into the fuel tank.

What I was doing was essentially reversing the combustion reaction and using divinity to reform the carbon into its pure form. It was a process that used pure carbon basically as an intermediary; the engines were practically powered by divinity.

While I did previously attempt to use hydrogen as the intermediary, its water vapor product, in combination with the steam-based engine, left my domain unbearably humid, so I quickly switched back to using condensed carbon. I simply preferred dealing with the light carbon dust rather than the thick humidity that soaked everything whenever I had to condense it to reuse.

I shook my head, shaking off the dark dust that had floated down onto my hair.

"Maybe I should try to make some sort of carbon filter on the exhaust..."

Random ideas floated through my mind as I waited for the portal's red hue to fade, having gone unseen by all but my eyes since Ruglace's escape centuries ago. Of course, these thoughts were immediately interrupted by the sound of tiny train carts rattling behind me.

"... Why did you want me to watch the portal if you're gonna be riding around on that thing? Can you even see the screen when it turns?"

"Squawk~"

"I really think sitting with me is way easier than spinning around every turn- oh!"

A blue glow from the crystal ball on my desk quickly caught my attention. After answering, I spoke again.

"Yo! How's everything going, Julia?"

"I'm doing fine, I'm just excited for this battle phase to be over. Seriously, we've been stuck in our domains for way too long," her voice paused, replaced by a small sigh, "Finally getting these invaders out of my realm will be nice, too."

"Yeah, I'm sure. They've been annoying you for way too long," I nodded.

The situation in her realm was pretty interesting. After the fight near her temple decimated the invading army, the enemy Oracle actually ended up fleeing back into its original realm, yet even after this retreat, random amphibian lifeforms continued trickling into her domain. Julia eventually ended up sending her Oracle and a small army to set up near the portal to stop it. 

It was nothing crazy; most invaders immediately retreated back into the portal upon seeing the force waiting on the other side. Her Oracle mainly focused on teaching the other elves wind magic, while the other elves handled the actual portal guarding. 

Despite the flow of amphibians being stopped, it wasn't as though everything went back to normal- there were still thousands of them squatting both in the invader buffer zone and on the shores of random areas of her realm. She did send her Oracle to deal with them, but these missions were mainly unsuccessful; the amphibians simply rushed into the water and swam away before anything could be done, then immediately returned once the army went elsewhere.

"I'm just glad I was able to eventually limit them to the invader buffer zone, since my elves aren't living there, anyway. It's just a pain having to constantly keep an eye out to make sure they're not trying to sneak back onto the main continent."

"Luckily, they'll be out of your realm in about-" I glanced over at the countdown on one of my monitors, "twenty-eight seconds! I'm just gonna go right back to the Academy once the portal closes, so I'll meet you there."

"Okay~ I'll see you soon, Jacob!"

"I'll see you soon, Julia!"

With a smile, I ended the call and watched as the portal's red glow soon vanished on my screen, leaving behind the carved, stone pillars that marked its previous boundaries. 

I think that's the first time I've ever actually watched it disappear... it sort of looked like how the screen of an old TV would turn off.

Pushing those comments to the back of my mind, I turned to look at Mr. Flippers, who was hopping out of the slowly moving train.

"What'd you think, Mr. Flippers? Was it worth the wait?"

"Squawk!"

He nodded with a big smile.

"... You missed it on a turn, didn't you?"

"S-squawk..."

His feigned excited expression cracked, and he quickly looked down to avoid my gaze.

I couldn't help but sigh, "I literally warned you and everything."

"Squawk!"

"Whatever," I waved my hand to dismiss his rebuttal, "You ready to head out?"

"Squawk~"

I gently picked up the tiny penguin after he hopped over to me.

"Julia finally taught us how to make the domain brighter, so we shouldn't need to close our eyes for too long this time," I grinned, "I'd recommend you still do it just in case, though."

"Squawk!"

Mr. Flippers tightly closed his eyes at my suggestion, deepening my smile.

"Alright, let's do this! Transport to the- huh?"

Just before I went to finish the chant and close my eyes, I noticed the crystal ball on my desk glow once more.

"Squawk?" the penguin hesitantly opened his eyes and looked at me with his head tilted.

"Uhhh... hang on, one sec."

Carrying the penguin over to my desk, I curiously answered the call.

"H-hey Julia. What h-"

"JACOB!" her sudden shout made us flinch, "THEY'RE NOT GONE!"

"Huh? Not gone... do you mean-"

"YES! THE INVADERS ARE STILL HERE!"

"What? The sheep instructor definitely said they teleport out once the battle phase ends, right?"

"Yes, she did!" Julia groaned.

"Maybe it just takes a bit? We can try asking Tatton once we're back," I proposed, but it didn't seem as though she was listening.

"All I'm saying is that I'm going to super seriously punch someone if those things are still in my realm when I get back."

"Don't punch Tatton- he's cool."

"No, I wouldn't punch him," Julia dismissed.

"... Then are you going to punch the sheep instructor?"

"And get crushed?" she questioned.

"Good point," memories of the two squashed Seedlings from the last class period flashed through my mind, "... Then who-"

Julia interrupted me before I could finish, "I remember there being someone who suggested I leave the invaders alone in the first place..."

"Ah-"

Her voice had an icy chill that sent shivers down my spine. I took a step back from the crystal ball almost reflexively, as if dodging her anger like it was a green beam.

"N-now, hang on a second, Julia. We can talk about this-"

"I'll see you at the Academy, Jacob."

The crystal's glow faded with that ominous goodbye; I met Mr. Flippers' gaze in my arms.

"Squawk... squawk?"

"Well, of course you're ready to leave- you don't have to worry about getting punched!"

A loud groan escaped my lips.

Seriously, why didn't they teleport out!? I can't even blame her for being mad at me, but it still wasn't even my fault!

Despite my internal grumbling, I was left with no other option other than swallowing my complaints

I looked back down at the penguin in my arms.

"Close your tiny penguin eyes; it's time for us to head out. It sounds like I'll need to keep mine open this time so I don't get whacked."

"Squawk~"

The penguin's eyes shut tightly, yet my impending doom masked my smile.

"Transport to the Academy! Ugh-"

Even with my domain being brighter than before, the brightness of the Academy made me wince and forced my eyes into a squint. Through the flares of light, I could make out dozens of silhouette-like shapes with an equal number of voices sounding around the giant room.

Suddenly, I shifted my body just as a small fist brushed past my shoulder.

"Did you really have to dodge that? I wasn't going to hit you for real-  it was only going to be a tap!"

"Oops, my bad. My body just moved on its own there."

Likely due to my domain being slightly brighter, my eyes were already starting to adjust, and the elf girl's pouting face could soon be made out between the blobs of light. 

"So you're not mad then?" I hesitantly asked.

"I am, but not at you... aside from you dodging right now," she muttered that last part before continuing, "I'm just angry that we were lied to about this! Seriously, why would the Academy tell us that they get teleported out when they don't!?"

Although she was still fuming, I could feel the tension leave my body upon realizing the anger wasn't being directed at me.

"Hopefully it's just something that has a little delay. I guess we won't know for sure until we ask, though," I spoke.

Julia only groaned, looking toward the stage, "Yeah, but with a line this long that'll take... you're hugging me?"

Before I knew it, I was holding Julia between my arms.

"Oh, sorry. My body moved on its own again."

"Right..."

Although she rolled her eyes, she gave me a faint smile and leaned her head on my shoulder.

"I missed you, Julia."

The words whispered out of my mouth, and her blonde hair filled half of my vision. 

"I missed you too, Jacob."

A comfortable air enveloped us for a few moments as she returned the hug, yet the embrace was broken by a grumpy squawk between our chests, followed by six mechanical arms extending and pushing us apart.

"Oops-"

Julia took a step back, revealing the penguin previously squished between us with tightly closed eyes. 

"Sorry, little one!" she quickly apologized with a red face, before giving me another pout, "Why didn't you put him down before you hugged me!?"

"I told you, I wasn't thinking- my body just moved on its own."

Julia sighed at my excuse, looking at the penguin, "Are you okay?"

"Squawk. Squawk squawk squawk!"

Wow!

"Yes, I know we did this before, but you don't have to put it so harshly!"

"Um..." She turned to me, "What did he say?"

"... He said he's fine," I answered, avoiding her gaze.

This answer was obviously looked at with skepticism, "Then why are his eyes closed so tightly?"

"Oh, it's just way brighter here than in our domain; he doesn't wanna hurt his eyes," I patted his head with my free hand, "You can probably open them now, Mr. Flippers." 

"Squawk~"

Julia tilted her head as the penguin finally opened his eyes, following one more angry squawk, and looked around the Academy in a squint.

"I thought you said you figured out how to make your domain brighter?"

"I did, but it's a bit more complicated than that..."

It all started during one of our casual conversations while trapped in our domains, where she mentioned that she used a rune that was on her desk ever since she first became a Seedling to change the light level inside it. Obviously, mine was runeless- the only things on my domain when I first appeared were my four monitors, a mouse, and a keyboard.

Even so, this got me thinking.

I know that the devices in our domains should take after things that we're most familiar with, but the Academy wouldn't give some functionalities only to certain Seedlings, right? 

With this belief in my mind, I began going through the monitors until I found something that resembled a settings menu- in which there was a brightness option. I could still remember how excited I was to finally find it, yet this excitement was immediately dampened upon realizing that the brightness slider controlled both the brightness level of my domain and of my monitors.

Why couldn't they just make it two separate ones!? If I even make my domain slightly more than dim, I get blinded by four freaking monitors anytime I sit at my desk!

I could've simply turned up the brightness to adjust myself before coming to the Academy, but I was honestly just way too lazy and eager to get out of my domain to bother with doing it- even at the risk of getting punched. 

As I went to explain all of this to her, however, I felt a flipper tap against my arm.

"Hm? What is it... oh."

I followed his flipper that pointed into the crowd, only to quickly make eye contact with a familiar toad glaring at me from further up the line. Apparently waiting for me to notice him, the toad disregarded his position in line and stomped toward me, absolutely fuming in anger.

"YOU CHEATER!"

His shout effortlessly drew the attention of those in the back half of the line.

"H-hey, lumpy! Fancy meeting you here-"

"Screee!" His shout rang out as he stopped a few feet in front of me, "Do you think I will let you taunt me after pulling that trick!?"

Are we really doing this?

I sighed, "You were the one who attacked me, how could I have played a trick?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID, PUTTING YOUR PORTAL IN ICE!" he fumed, loud enough for the shout to echo off the room's walls.

Shoot!

I wanted to stop him, but it was too late. The nearby creatures all stared at me, following his words, but the toad just continued.

"I KILLED YOUR ORACLE WHEN YOU FOUGHT ON MY GROUND! I WOULD HAVE DESTROYED YOU IF YOU PLAYED FAIR."

Well, he survived...

I wasn't going to correct him, though. The toad was already within arm's length of me, yet he kept going.

"It was not hard, you know. I just had to gather my army in the water where they had plenty of food to eat and wait until after your puny Oracle did his pathetic little jump to send them all rushing in. DID YOU THINK I WOULD LET YOU MAKE A MOCKERY OF MY REALM!?"

Just as the toad went to swing at me, a sudden burst of energy emerged from the stage. Before my eyes could even register what happened, a thick metallic chain wrapped around the toad's wrist and bound it tightly in its swinging position.

"That's enough,"

A familiar voice, calm yet firm, loudly spoke. My eyes followed the chain back to Tatton, where it appeared to emerge from one of his dark sleeves.

With the audience hall enveloped in a stunned silence, he continued, staring directly at the toad.

"This is your warning. Return to your spot in line, or you will receive an appropriate punishment."

Fearful, yet clearly dissatisfied, the Seedling nodded, after which the chains immediately released and hastily retreated back onto the stage and into Tatton's sleeve.

After giving me one final glare, the toad stomped back to his spot without looking back.

Well... that was something.

It took a few moments before the crowd began to settle back into conversations, but despite the confrontation being seemingly finished, the damage had already been done. I could already tell by the expressions on the dozens of creatures around me, as well as some of the whispers that I was hearing, that many had made a mental note about the arctic condition in my invader buffer zone. 

What a pain. How the heck am I going to get people to attack me now?

"Ugh..."

I knew it would get exposed eventually, but seeing it happen after only the third battle phase left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Are you okay, Jacob?" Julia asked me hesitantly.

"Yeah..." I answered, contrary to my thoughts, "That dude would get along well with Levon, though."

Even with my dismissal, Julia continued looking at me with eyes of concern, "But now all of these people know about-"

"Yes... I know," I sighed, cutting her off, "It's not hopeless, though. It's not like everyone is in line now, and I guess there's always the chance that someone will get put against me randomly."

"You're worried about someone attacking you? I'll happily fill that role."

"What?"

I turned around and ended up standing face to face with the creature who made the declaration behind me. At first glance, I figured she must be some sort of harpy with her brown, feathery wings, but that classification didn't feel quite right. I wasn't sure whether or not my brain was drawing an imaginary connection, yet she sort of bore a resemblance to an owl. 

"Why do you seem so shocked?" the creature shrugged, "Your Oracle got killed by that frog of all people. It sounds to me like your lifeforms are hiding behind a shield of ice. Apparently, no one has been able to get through that cold and tear into their weak flesh... that won't be a problem for us. Our feathers are pretty warm, you see."

The Seedling opened her wings in a seemingly friendly manner, yet her eyes gleamed with the look of a predator staring at prey.

"W-well, I guess I'll be facing you next time then," I replied, ignoring the penguin mimicking her by similarly spreading his wings in my arms. 

Dangit. This is a terrible matchup.

Not only did the creature claim to fare well in the cold, but it could seemingly also fly.

What was even the point of having Ruglace build that wall? 

A groan of displeasure slipped through my lips as I turned back to face the stage.

"Hey, Jacob," Julia whispered to me, concern plastered on her face, "Your humans don't have bows yet, right? Will you be able to defend against sirins?" 

I answered in a similar volume, "I'm not too concerned with that. My humans have rope and stuff now, I'm sure they'll figure out bows before the next battle phase starts. She's a sirin, though? I don't think I even know what that is."

"It's a type of creature known from myths in my world- kind of like ogres and humans. She doesn't exactly fit the description I know about, though... her actual body seems mostly human between her neck and kneecaps. Maybe she's something else or like a hybrid?"

As Julia described, my potential next matchup looked mostly human, with the only exceptions being the talons below her kneecaps, large feathered wings attached to her arms, and random other feathers fluffing up her body, legs, and head. 

Yeah, definitely closer to a harpy.

"I'm not too sure. I guess not everything fits what we know perfectly," I shrugged, "I don't think we've ever talked about it, but isn't it kind of weird how we have stories of most of the other Seedlings here? I mean, you're an elf, and there are a ton of stories about them back on Earth."

Julia tilted her head, "Now that you mention it, it is a bit odd..."

The two of us passed the time theorizing about it while we waited our turn in line, but we were unable to find anything to lock onto. Eventually, the discussion was cut short as we reached the stage.

"Do you want to-"

"Nope. Ladies first!" I cut Julia off with a smile and gestured for her to get on stage.

Despite rolling her eyes, the elf trotted up the small stairs and turned toward Tatton.

"Congratulations on your Tier III victory," the robed figure smiled, "It is well deserved. Please open the chest on your left to receive your prize."

"Thank you," Julia said, but paused, "Before I open it, there is something I need to ask you. We were told that the invaders would get teleported out of our realms once the battle phase ends, but they are still in mine-"

Picking up on her question, Tatton interrupted, "Yes, the invaders get removed the moment the portal closes. They were removed from your realm."

Julia looked at him, puzzled, "No, they were definitely still in my realm once it closed."

Tatton shook his head, "The invaders were removed. You're probably seeing their descendants."

"... What?"

Julia's gaze turned fierce- an expression I've never seen her wear before. The tone of her question was cold enough to make my realm's arctic region feel like a tropical paradise by comparison. 

Tatton himself seemed to be unaffected by the tension and simply further clarified what he said, "The removal process only happens to those who were born in the invading realm. Lifeforms born in your realm are counted as your inhabitants."

Although he stated this as if it were an obvious fact, the shocked expressions he saw on our faces when he glanced over at us made him pause.

"... It sounds as though Sky did not clarify that."

""SHE DID NOT!""

He only sighed and shook his head at our combined shout, "That woman never fully explains these sorts of things. I apologize for the confusion- I will bring it up with the Flower Box."

Julia opened her mouth to say something, but Tatton interrupted before she could.

"We are short on time; there are a lot of others waiting to claim the results of this battle phase. Please claim your prize for now, you and Jacob can visit my office later if you want to further discuss this." 

Left with no other choice, Julia reluctantly moved over to the leftward chest and slowly lifted its lid. A blindingly bright yellow glow immediately poured out from the chest at its first crack. Despite the brightness, I kept my eyes forward, not wanting to look away.

"No way..."

With wide eyes, Julia reached inside the chest before slowly raising her arm with a large bow in hand.

"Wow!"

The bow was absolutely stunning and seemed to be crafted with some unknown and sleek materials. It was mostly white, with vibrant green patches on its tips connected by winding green lines reminiscent of vines. Aside from the weapon's beauty, I was immediately captivated by the raw sense of power emanating from it.

She actually got it!

"It appears you have received your divine weapon," Tatton noted, writing down something on his paper as the elf carefully examined her prize, "Congratulations once again. As a reminder, divine weapons are permitted in the Academy; however, the use of them outside the training grounds is prohibited. While there is no time to analyze its abilities, I trust that you will wield them wisely."

"Thank you... I will see you in your office soon."

With a glow in her eyes that seemed to mask her previous fury, Julia walked back down the stairs, gripping her bow. As she passed by me, she finally cracked a large smile.

"That's two bows in a row for prizes," I teased as she walked by.

Bonk.

"Ow."

She lightly tapped the top of my head with the tip of the bow after my tease.

I continued anyway, still smiling as I rubbed my head with my free hand. "Congrats, though, Julia! You finally got your divine weapon!"

"Thank you, Jacob," she smiled, "It's your turn to get one now!"

"Sounds good to me!" I glanced down at the penguin in my arms as I made my way up the staircase, "You think you can get us a divine weapon with your penguin luck?"

"Squawk!"

"That's what I like to hear!"

Now fully on the stage, I turned toward Tatton who was sitting on his desk.

"Yo, Tatton! Long time no see."

"Indeed, it has been a while, Jacob. It seems to me that you've taken my advice, but we can talk more about that in my office if you care to join me," he proposed.

I glanced over the leaderboard plastered behind him while he spoke.

As expected, Julia was now up to 4 points thanks to her win, while I took the full lead with my 10 points gained from three Tier III defensive victories and one bonus Tier I counterattacking win thanks to Uunga. 

Levon is up to 5 points, Ferguson has 2 points, and Alishia has... 6? Wow, she's tougher than I gave her credit for.

"Sure," I accepted, since I was already planning to go, "Let's get this prize first, though~"

I plopped Mr. Flippers in front of the left chest as I said this.

"Of course. Congratulations on your Tier III victory, Jacob; please go ahead and claim your prize when you are ready."

My heart was starting to beat pretty heavily now.

As Mr. Flippers placed his flippers on the chest's lid, I looked back at Tatton.

"You said the chance of getting a divine weapon is boosted now, right?"

He nodded, "Correct. The odds of getting a divine weapon from a Tier III prize are increased early in the competition. Their power can sway entire battle phases- the Founder thinks it's best for Seedlings to get them quickly."

Although there was more I wanted to ask, I quickly focused back on the chest as Mr. Flippers began lifting it. 

"The odds are in your favor, Mr. Flippers! Get me a gun or a sword or a third cool thing!"

"Squawk~"

With one last squawk, the penguin flung open the chest; the three of us watched intensely at the light shining brightly inside.

"W-what? Red?"

"S-squawk?"

Mr. Flippers and I stared at each other as a mix of emotions swirled through my chest. With trembling hands, I picked up the small orb inside, roughly the size of a baseball- a double helix seemed to be engraved on its curve.

"Congratulations once again, Jacob. It seems you received a Mutation Orb."

I turned to Tatton in shock, yet his tone had a hint of joyful curiosity mixed with every word.

"You have the power to upgrade or change something about your lifeforms. I look forward to seeing how you use it."