The Empyreal Gem Master

And this was only a single aspect of what they increased.

When it came to the damage and area of effect from utilizing Ice Wave actively at this moment…he would need Beasts of Corruption to see just how terrifying the capabilities of having Six Gem Sockets active were.

Six Gem Sockets.

It effectively made him a Six-Link Gem Master, and not a single soul knew.

Even more ridiculous was that if he could get his hands on a higher tier Main Ability Gem, the rest of the Sockets on his Enneagram may just light up.

If and when such a time came…

HUUM!

The sound of a deep horn could be heard as the Airship crossed over the tall wall of the City of Carthage.

Alexander took Claire’s hand and led her up the rest of the stairs, coming onto the third deck where Gem Masters with bows only gazed at them on the periphery of their eyes before they remained gazing outside like hawks.

Heavy winds battered onto their bodies as this third deck held many openings, but from it…they could see the City of Carthage they were leaving behind.

A vast wall stretching out circling so far that one couldn’t see its end.

Countless small houses and huts in the periphery near the Walls of Carthage, but they progressively became bigger and taller as they went toward the center of the city.

Of course, the weaker and poorer Gem Masters that did not risk their lives going through Expeditions lived closer to the Wall of Carthage, while the more powerful and richer Gem Masters held abodes deeper in.

Even now as their Airship climbed over the tall reinforced wall that Alexander remembered was raised from materials found within Breaches, they could see an archway of metal gates opening and closing that led out of the City and into a rough road that branched out into multiple directions.

From these reinforced gates that had to be opened one after another for one to enter or leave, other Gem Masters either walked out in parties or carriages pulled by horses and moved towards other locations.

Crowds of many were not going too far away, as a few dozen miles away from the City of Carthage, Alexander could see something that had appeared a few years ago.

A Breach.

A Breach that towered to the skies and looked like a massive tear in space- as if someone had looked at the skies and earth and simply tore a hole through it.

One couldn’t call it a portal as when you looked at it directly, you could already see a different world within it!

This was a Tier 3 Breach that had appeared near the City of Carthage years ago, thousands of Beasts of Corruption erupting from it that the Gem Masters of the Asmodeus Bloodline fought against.

After heavy losses and sacrifices, all emerging Beasts of Corruption were cleared as Gem Masters gained control of the Breach, and they set up camp and defensive lines outside of the massive Breach and within it- beginning to explore inside it deeper and eliminating any Beasts of Corruption they came across.

This was a Tier 3 Breach that held powerful Tier 3 Beasts of Corruption as the weakest, so the Awakened Expedition that Alexander and Claire were a part of...would not be delving into something like this.

There was another Breach further away from the City of Carthage that their forces had also gained control over- a Tier 1 Breach that only ever held Tier 1 and a few Tier 2 Beasts of Corruption.

Relatively safe- especially if they were being escorted by veteran Three-Link Gem Masters!

But as Alexander stated at the distant fading City of Carthage and the rich movements of people within that made it work, his eyes couldn’t peel away from the Breach close to it.

The tear in space that looked like it was leading into another World entirely.

There were a lot of theories regarding Breaches, with some of them stating that they could be gateways to other worlds.

But some Breaches were small and could be explored by those powerful within a few days, while other Breaches had not been fully explored even now after years had passed.

They were a curse, as well as a blessing.

Within, Primal Life Gems to awaken more humans to become Gem Masters could be found.

Ability Gems. Unknown Metals and Ore that could be used to enact Fortresses. Bodies of Beasts of Corruption that could be broken down to make weapons or armaments.

As he looked at the fading tear of the skies and earth in the distance, the voice of Claire rang out beside him.

"The Tier 3 Breach termed the Den of Corruption. Every day, Father receives reports of a Gem Master or two that have fallen to Beasts of Corruption within from the rare appearence of Tier 4 Beasts. But we keep going again and again. They have to reinforce the defensive lines both within it and outside of it, they have to continue mining for more Ore and Gems to sustain our City. It is…"

She didn’t finish her words.

She spoke of the reality of Gem Masters whose lives were unpredictable.

Each one could die within days of their journey, while some lived for years.

Even they didn’t know what the future held.

It was only after the City of Carthage was a distant blip in the distance, along with the Tier 3 Breach slowly coming out of sight, that Alexander looked away.

Their airship floated far above the earth below, and one could see mountain ranges that were filled with trees…that had no leaves.

Seeing them made one think of death as a distance below them, there used to be a running river that stretched out for hundreds of miles into the Northern Sea.

But at this moment, that river was dry.

In their world…In the world of Ephesus, rain had been a rarity for decades now!