Chapter 532: The New Revolutionaries of Krysal

Since the group was moving at normal speeds, Kai had plenty of time to examine them. They were all native Krysali, former miners based on the visible scars, yet they didn't look as welcoming as the previous crowds.

What still puzzled him were their outfits: they resembled the old rags from the mines, yet the fabric itself wasn't the foul hides he remembered. Their apparent ragged edges were symmetrical as well, and tailored... had the old miners' outfit become a sort of uniform? They seemed to wear that identity, along with their unhidden scars, as a badge of honor.

"Kai Clanless!" The men and women gave him a strange sort of fist to chest salute that he didn't remember. "Krystal needs heroes of the revolution now more than ever."

"Well, you have three of them here," Kai gestured vaguely at his wives. "It sounds like we'll have a difficult time in the incursion. We plan to help, but we're still figuring out where we can help most."

The man who had spoken first shifted oddly and an older woman spoke up. "We may face hard times, but no harder than the revolution. We came to meet you because we're afraid the elites have not told you the full truth about Krysal's current state."

A tingle went up Kai's spine. He believed in the Frontier elites overall, but it was true that they favored the bigger picture over the individual, and there had been that Krysali noble among them. Given the merchant-controlled system of the past, it made sense that the majority of the representatives would have been nobles, and no one could completely set aside their past.

Had Aeglien been a noble? He didn't have the scars of a miner, but he also hadn't behaved much like a crystallier. Kai shoved such issues out of his mind to focus on the miners in front of him.

"Go on," Kai said, "what is the full truth?"

"Krysal is growing," the lead man said, "but we haven't been able to eradicate all of the rot. There are still some nobles seeking to regain their power, and worse, there are merchants who want to buy back control with their wealth. Some of them fled to Goralia or the Elemental Nations, where they can reach back into Krysal."

"They're undermining everything we're trying to build," another of the miners explained. "Our new nation should give cultivation crystals to the miners who bled and fought for them, but the nobles are still grabbing some for themselves, seeking to rebuild the crystallier system."

"And you can't do anything about this?" Kai asked.

"They always work through proxies, avoiding any direct blame. But whenever there are difficulties, the merchants sow doubt and step forward, pretending that the solution is a return to the old ways. Unless they're rooted out, they'll continue to undermine us."

"I see." Kai frowned as he looked over the group. "What about Krainuun? Why can't he take action to prevent unfairness?"

That got a surprisingly equivocal response, the group shifting and glancing at one another. Eventually it was a young man who spoke - very young. He had a miner's scars, but if he had fought in the revolution, he would have been a child.

"Krainuun has never taken wealth for himself," the boy said, almost reluctantly, "but he still thinks too much like a merchant."

"He's done a lot of good," another added, "but he goes too far with his laws. Trying to put regulations on everything."

"But sometimes not far enough," the first man said. "We could have targeted the merchants from the beginning and eradicated them before they could regain their power."

Kai listened to the group as they threw out their opinions and then questioned them on a few specifics. It seemed that they had a positive impression of Cragrila and Nirka from the war, but their recent absence made them less relevant. That left just one other revolutionary...

"What about Maggle?" Kai asked.

"He's still a proper miner," one of them said. "A merchant struck a boy and Maggle almost took his head off."

"But he's getting soft," another objected. "He's made life too easy for himself."

"Aye, maybe, but he still has the revolutionary fire in him."

"If I want to act here," Kai said, "I'll need allies. Unfortunately, I need to visit Irun next, so I won't be able to move now. Please gather all the military intelligence you can, and meanwhile find Maggle and send him over? We'll need to gather all our allies again."

That seemed to barely satisfy them enough for the time being and, after Kai refused to start another revolution right then, they headed off the rooftop. Kai watched them go, his neutral expression struggling with a frown. If only Krysal could be a simple, easy situation... he really needed to talk to Krainuun.

"So are you going to run off and start a secondary revolution?" Omilaena asked.

"I don't like this." Kai sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Did they give you the impression...?"

When he looked toward his wives, he saw that they wouldn't need convincing: they were watching him with concern. Zae Zin Nim spoke quietly, "You are not... sympathetic to them?"

"Seems like they haven't reordered society so much as flipped around who's on top," Kai said, thinking about how Untariin of Cuulisi had been blocked from advancement. "Maybe some merchants are still trying to regain their old power, but some of what they said sounds like purges. The point was supposed to be giving everyone an equal chance, not prosecuting people from mercantile families."

"Glad to see you have your head on straight," Omilaena said. "Personally, I'm inclined to just leave their problems to them, but I might not be able to do my experiments without their politics getting in the way."

"I want to talk to Krainuun first. He might have warned me about this when we last met, so I'm sure he'll have a clear view of everything."

They talked about potential issues for a while, but it wasn't long before they were interrupted by an arm popping up over the side of the roof. It was followed by muttered curses, then a familiar unshaven face appeared as Maggle heaved himself over the side.

"How the fuck does everyone just hop so high?" Maggle muttered more curses under his breath as he got to his feet. He had put on a bit of weight, but at least some of that was muscle. While the man groused, Kai took a look at his soul.

<

Name: Maggle of N District

Total Power: 252

Crystal Cultivation: 5902 (106)

Acid Cultivation: 317 (26)

Physique Level: E-5 (95)

Soul Level: 5 (25)

>

Maggle had just reached 250 Power, which was past where Kai had last seen him when he'd departed and far beyond the man stuck at 99 who Kai had initially met. Eventually Maggle finished his complaining and turned to them, beaming an uneven smile.

"Kai motherfucking Clanless!" Maggle grabbed him with a rough hug, practically trying to strangle him. "Goddamn, they said you got strong, but this is crazy shit! What kinds of crystals have you been snorting? At least I hope that's the hole they've gone in."

"It's been a long time," Kai said, instinctively chuckling as he pulled the man back. "Maybe we can get a drink later and tell the full story. But what about you, what have you been doing?"

"Well, that's a story and a half. Most of it me being so knuckle-headed that I ruin anything good going for me. Turns out, it's really easy to charm women as a hero of the revolution, harder to keep them once they get to know me."

Maggle cackled at his own expense while he looked over the other two... and he took his time with it. Zae Zin Nim bristled and withdrew on herself, while Omilaena playfully put a hand on her hip.

"You didn't even wait for us to look away before ogling us?" she asked.

"Can you blame me?" Maggle grinned shamelessly. "That body should be registered as a lethal weapon! And you... I seem to remember you being a different color before, but you're looking good. Are you gray all over?"

Omilaena shifted in front of Zae Zin Nim, partially blocking her or possibly holding her back. "Are you ugly all over?" she shot back.

"Pretty much!" Maggle at least had the sense to back away from the murder in Zae Zin Nim's expression to turn to Kai. "I remember the three of you running off together... don't tell me you're all still-"

"We're married," Kai said. He didn't think there was any real animosity in Maggle's leering, the older man just had absolutely no filters.

"Goddamn! You are a lucky, lucky man."

"And what does that mean? Are you saying you'd have sex with my wives?"

"If they'd let me, fuck yes I would." Maggle scratched his unshaven jaw. "Not that I'm leaving you out, big man. Did you get even taller and more muscular? Okay, at some point you have to say that's enough and leave some muscle for the rest of us, but I guess if you got bigger all over, there'd be no complaints."

"No more of this," Zae Zin Nim said sternly. "We need information about Krysal."

"Aye, aye." Maggle took a step back, raising both hands. "I hear you've been talking to some of the others, and we need to talk too. But if you're waiting, I thought that I might take you over to the Acidarium."

"The what?"

"We've kept working on acid cultivation, you remember? They want to meet you - all three of you - and ask some questions. Oh, and Yurwa is there, of course, with Gundle. Not a little boy any more, since he shot up once he started getting some food in him. Actually there are a whole lot of things we need to catch up on..."

"We have some people to introduce you to," Kai said. "New trainees who could use some crystal cultivation, if you can arrange that."

"Oh, aye, I can hook them up." Maggle started to move away, then froze mid-step and pivoted back to them. "But, uh, you caused a bit of a stir, if you didn't notice. If we go back out there, we might get mobbed by happy crowds, and while there are some positives, that can also be, uh..."

"I have prepared for this." Zae Zin Nim touched the spatial bracelet in her sleeve and revealed a crystal vessel, basically indistinguishable from the others flying around Yulthens. "We should be able to travel undisturbed."

"Hot damn, you folks always have your act together. I forget my shoes half the time."

As they climbed into the crystal ship, Kai putting himself between Maggle and the women, he found an odd smile on his face. It was good to see Maggle again, particularly after an entire continent of stern cultivators, and he was looking forward to meeting the others after so many years.

But it seemed like his return to Krysal wasn't going to be simple.