CHAPTER 89: THE POCKET REALM

In the chambers of the king, Edgar Regelak was reveling in the aroma and sweetness of the fine wine on his table. Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The doors opened and a guard entered inside and bowed as he spoke. "Your highness. Prime minister Vorthane wishes for your audience."

"Oh! Absolutely. Let him inside." he excitedly stood up putting the glass of wine back on the table.

As the guard left, a tall and handsome man, probably in his thirties but looking so young that people would mistake him for a teenager came inside. he had long black braided hair, a sharp jawline and beautiful light brown eyes. There were two gold earrings dangling from his earlobe and he was in a tight fit full sleeves black robe with intricate and lustrous gold engravings.

"Your highness." He bowed as he greeted Edgar.

"Vorthane! Thank god you’re here. It was too boring to drink alone. Come, let us have a drink." Edgar held his arms excitedly, lifted him up and moved towards the table asking him to join him too.

"I apologize your highness, but there is too much work left for your birthday celebration event and also a lot of arrangements are to be made for the tournament. I came to take your stamp on these papers." He showed the papers as he moved his hands forward.

Edgar sighed and took a seat as worry took over his expression.

"I don’t know Vorthane. Is it really alright to use these young children for our benefit? They are the future of our kingdom."

"You are their king your highness. They have an obligation to serve you and put their lives on the line for you and the kingdom."

A few months back, inside the mana stone dungeon, which is the main mana stone extraction site for the kingdom, while excavating, a new tunnel appeared inside which led to the discovery of a portal, which they guessed to be the main site from where the beasts in the dungeon came from.

After a detail study of the portal, it was found that no one older than twenty years of age could enter. When a team of young new recruits explored inside, they realized this to be a pocket realm, a world of its own separated by time and space. They then brought back a glowing blue ice lily with them.

When the alchemist took a look, they were shocked to see this lily in front of them. According to them, this was a flower from the ancient times and thought to have gone extinct. This was the hundred years old ’cryo lily’, known to extend life and rejuvenate the body, being the greatest elixir to live more.

When a potion was made out of it and tested on an eighty years old man, his hunched back straightened and he started walking normal again, he felt strength again in his body as if he had returned to his young days.

Edgar was shocked seeing the effects, he invested everything for more and more expeditions, but never was the lily found again. just then Vorthane came to Edgar. He yielded results and brought five more lilies out from the pocket realm. Edgar was ecstatic as he made him the prime minister and gave all the responsibilities of the expedition to him.

Using the potions, Edgar felt rejuvenated, he was drinking and dancing again. His young queens were starting to get satisfied as his performance in the bed improved. His life was back on track again, he was even thinking of bringing another young queen.

But greed knows no bounds, Edgar started to think, what if he could become young again, he could be back to the old days, eat, drink, make love and enjoy the kingliness. And when this desire of his reached Vorthane, he brought out some ancient records where it was written about the existence of a thousand year cryo lily, which was said to bring back one’s youth and give immortality.

Thus began Edgar’s intense craze for the flower, but even months of expedition didn’t yield results as the pocket realm was endless, it was not possible for a small team of few soldiers to explore in such a short time, it could take years.

Vorthane came up with the idea of arranging a tournament, using the young participants to search for the lily, hasten the process in return for a small price as a reward.

Edgar was hesitant at first but slowly he started changing his mind and finally gave his approval to proceed. And now the tournament was near, but he still had some doubts about it.

"Can the soldiers really not enter in that pocket realm?" Edgar asked.

"We tried many a times your highness. No one above the age of twenty can enter. Or else there would have been no need for this tournament at all?" Vorthane said in a serious tone.

Edgar sighed in helplessness. "What if the young children lose their lives inside the realm. I would be branded as the most cruel and selfish king ever."

"The team of young new recruit soldiers that have explored a part of the realm encountered just a few beasts, and that too mostly the killer class."

"Worry not your highness. Everything will go smoothly." he said to assure the king and slowly moved near him and crouched down to his ears.

"Don’t you want to become young again your highness, drink wine all day, make love to your queens, be the attractive and handsome king again?" Vorthane whisperingly said the words near Edgar’s ears as red mana flowed out of his fingers and seeped inside Edgar through his temples.

Edgar’s pupils dilated, his lids half closed and a wide smile spread on his face. "I do...handsome...and young...more young...and beautiful wives..." he murmured in a low voice as if he was in a dream.

"Stamp your sigil here your highness, and everything your desire will come one step closer."

Edgar removed the ring with the sigil of the king and dipped it on the red ink in a small bowl on the table and stamped the papers.

"Now enjoy your sweet drink and take a nice and deep nap your highness."

Edgar picked the glass of wine gulped the wine down his throat at once, moved to the bed, lied down and with his eyes closed went to sleep.

Vorthane stopped channeling mana, he rolled the papers and put them inside his robe. A wide grin spread on his face and he walked out of the room, leaving a drunk and sleeping King behind.