《Overpowered Wizard》
Chapter 1: Not Crazy
Zarian was sitting on a bench at a major Miami mall. The ce was all sparkling glitz, in-season m, and neutral colors. Each store front shone with wares that attracted the flurry of passing people ignoring him.
The delicious smells from the food vendors the next floor above had his empty stomach growling. When he looked down between his darkness-inked arms, the polished floor reflected a scruffy ck face and kinky ck hair that hadn¡¯t seen care in a while.
The passing mall shoppers spoke of mundane topics, unable to sense what he could sense.
The local sports team was losing like usual. Elections were around the corner, riling everyone up. Fake celebrity gossip. The economy was hard. A new pair of shoes from a popr brand cost as much as a paycheck, but people bought them anyway.
There were more banal topics than Zarian cared for. His focus was on something vitally important.
Magic. Actual magic.
It hummed, rippled, and pulsated from the center of the koi pond near the elevators across from him. Everyone kept walking past it without recognizing they were in the presence of the supernatural.
Between him and the koi pond was an open floor where promoters had set up a stand for a popr rum drink. He was tempted to steal a bottle and have a big swig or two. He could use a little liquid courage while attempting something that should be impossible.
Zarian grimaced. I¡¯ve been doing the impossible for a year.It was a good thing the Marines had kicked him out when they did. He would¡¯ve preferred not having a bad discharge, but it was around then the magic powers showed up.
Instead of being poked and prodded in a sterileboratory, Zarian was out in the open, dressed in wet, ratty clothes, with duct tape keeping his shoes together. He smelled like the Miami streets on a heavy rain day.
He wasn¡¯t a fan of the literal down-to-earth living. But he had a lot to do the past year instead of finding a job and living under a roof.
He¡¯d focused on practicing his magic powers. And he¡¯d done so without the government knowing they had a superhuman on the streets.
He¡¯d also worked on being a good older brother to the ghost who was iming to be his sister.
¡°You got this, Big Bro. Just like in the dreams. Go touch that magic thingy and see what happens!¡± Ariana cheered, sitting on the bench beside him.
¡°Dreams are dreams for a reason. I¡¯ll get thrown into jail again if it¡¯s really just a dream.¡± Zarian didn¡¯t want to raise his hopes too high.
Ariana was too bubbly to put up with that. ¡°Don¡¯t let it be a dream. You have magic. Make it a reality!¡±
Zarian chuckled at her cheesy motivational words.
Ariana was way more put-together than him while she acted like a perpetual four-year-old child. She had on pearly white shoes. A flowery skirt covered in sparkles. And she had her hair tied into braided pigtails.
She was like a doll always dressed in her Sunday best, while Zarian looked like a public menace who crawled out of the sewers. At the very least, she was a good little sister who kept him from being lonely, even if she was the primary source of his problems.
She¡¯d manifested into his life when Zarian was eight years old and learning to make friends at school. The friends faded fast, but Ariana had always stayed nearby, except for when he needed his obvious privacy.
Zarian had long practiced speaking to her without looking at her. He would speak from the side of his mouth in a low tone, which he¡¯d thought was sneaky enough.
The sharp looks from passing mall shoppers suggested otherwise. He¡¯d received the same looks when he started making too many mistakes in the Marines.
He¡¯d always tried being considerate to people around him. His little sister understood that nobody other than him could see or hear her. She understood he should ignore her, especially in public.
Yet Zarian had a hard time doing that. She was adorable and sweet, after all.
He could, however, acknowledge she was probably an untreated issue with his psyche. Drugs and therapy could make her go away. Then Zarian might be a functional member of society.
Zarian shook his head, putting aside what was logical and safe. He turned to his little sister fully. ¡°Alright, fine, let¡¯s go all out. I¡¯ll hate myself if we miss what could be the opportunity of a lifetime.¡±
Zarian ignored the many concerned looks or dirty res from mall shoppers. He squinted toward the humming magic in the center of the koi pond. ¡°The dreams from the past couple of nights kept pointing to this. It all has to mean something, or my psychotic breakdown is imminent.¡±
The nearest mall shoppers hurried away after overhearing Zarian.
From the corner of his vision, he noticed a squad of cops positioned from two angles on the floor with him. A few other authorities covered the nearest esctors and the elevator.
Wow, the mall didn¡¯t even bother with in-house security. They went with the local police directly.
Ariana balled her little fists and puffed her cheeks, angered by the show of force drawing a around Zarian. Since she was perpetually four years old, the act didn¡¯t lose its cuteness factor over the years.
He was tempted to send her away before the potential violence started, but the determinedly cute expression on her face suggested she wouldn¡¯t be easily swayed.
¡°You got this, Big Bro!¡± Ariana shouted, pumping her arms up and down, little fists held tight. ¡°You practiced for a whole year. You¡¯re the strongest, and nobody can beat the strongest! Not these mundane weaklings!¡±
Zarian nodded to her cheers, ignoring the strange phrasing toward the end. He looked up and noticed the mall shoppers clearing out faster, sensing danger on the horizon. Retail workers looked out from the entrances of their stores. The rum promoters looked around in concern.
One of their young show girls started to put away the rum bottles.
Zarian sighed, disgruntled. ¡°This is going to be so embarrassing if all of this was made up in my head.¡±
Heart hammering, Zarian reached out with one arm, calloused fingers aimed at the rum promoters.
¡°He¡¯s raising a weapon!¡± A police officer shouted.
The screaming started.
¡°Freeze or we will shoot!¡±
The screaming grew louder. Innocent bystanders threw themselves to the ground or ran for their lives.
The winding, inky darkness around his arm shifted forward. More darkness flowed out from the short sleeve of his pitted shirt and piled up onto his outstretched hand. More and more darkness gathered until it built up as a bulging dark orb surrounding his hand.
The police hesitated. The mall quieted. No more squeaky footwear scuffing across the shiny floors. No more pointless conversations circling around the same unimportant concerns.
No more mundane humanity.
For the first time since ever, people saw Zarian for what he truly was. They saw what he was doing with the inky darkness on his arm and the bulging dark ball growing from his hand. They saw something eerie, unbelievable, utterly impossible.
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Magic.
Then the melon sized dark orb shot out fast, like an arrow, while staying tethered to his hand, stretching. The dark magic caught the bottle a rum promoter girl was holding while staring like a deer caught in headlights.
She shrieked, letting go of the bottle, which was nice of her. The long tendril of pure darkness snapped back to Zarian with his prize.
He lost some of the dark material. He could feel it slipping away, getting vaporized by the mall lights.
It took a lot of concentration to gather and store quality darkness. Mere shadows wouldn¡¯t work out well enough. Not when he needed to do magic quickly.
The shiny, industrial mall was not a good ce to pull off these stunts.
Oh well.
Zarian bounced off the bench, twisted off the cap from his newly stolen drink, and took a big swig. He let out a loud whoop as he swaggered toward the koi pond, drawn by the humming, dreamy, pulsating magic at the center.
Random bystanders went back to screaming. The police maneuvered fast and aggressively, setting their sectors of fire while trying to avoid shooting their own or the civilians.
Zarian hoped he had enough time to get to his goal before they had a clear shot.
A roaring st from a pistol going off dashed away his hopes. Even after his stint in the Marines, he nearly flinched from the sound.
Without ear protection, a pistol shooting indoors sounded louder than what the media depicted. It was also easy to miss a target while panicking or shooting on the move.
He felt the first bullet zip past his back. Then another shot zipped close to him. Then another and another.
Zarian wanted to duck for cover and avoid the open space around the koi pond. He went against his instincts for self-preservation when he felt the swirling magic from the pond thump with sudden urgency.
It felt unstable.
It felt like it was going to disappear if he didn¡¯t reach it in time.
Poignant questions came to mind.
Should he risk getting shot for the chance of something impossible and dreamy?
Or should he copse to the ground and hope for mercy from a bunch of panicky police?
If they didn¡¯t kill him on the spot, he was destined for Area 51 or worse. He had no doubts about that.
Zarian picked up the pace while draining more from the rum bottle. He tossed the half-emptied bottle behind him as the liquor burned a trail to his gut.
Somehow, he kept everything inside. Even with his hammering heart and queasy stomach.
More gunfire red, roared, and sent supersonic lead snapping through the air around Zarian. They kept missing, and he kept moving.
¡°Go, Big Bro! Go all out!¡± Ariana frolicked behind him,pletely fine.
Bullets snapped into her and phased out the other side with nothing to show for it. Nothing mundane could harm her.
Zarian¡¯s annoyance boiled up anyway. Being the big brother came with a protective attitude, regardless of his little sister being an untouchable ghost.
When he reached the koi pond, instead of hopping in with a forward lunge, he twisted around and dove backwards.
He extended both arms and let the darkness gush out. Watching it go was extraordinary. But feeling it was something else.
The darkness he¡¯d gathered had weight to it. Like the depths of their ck, lightless substance went further than anything he could imagine.
They also felt homey to him, as if they were family.
And they shot out with a lot of force.
The darkness flew as blunt javelins from his arms. A dozen of them. When they passed by mall lights, the illumination dimmed and curved.
The dense, dark conjurations seemed to have an effect against the lights, which was another weird quirk among many that Zarian was still trying to understand.
It didn¡¯t matter at this point. All his answers were on the other side of the strange magic humming from the center of the koi pond.
Shooting out all of those dark javelins sent him skipping across the koi pond like a well-thrown stone. His javelinsnded in a bursting barrage on contact with the police.
Each hit struck like getting tackled by a three-hundred pound American lineman, who was sprinting at full speed.
Zarian gawked, mouth hanging open, as his dark magic sent grown men with guns flying off their feet. Then he lost momentum and hit the water with a big ssh, koi fish scurrying away from his dirty body and the ruckus surrounding him.
The gunfire died down. Police and bystanders shouted and screamed. He twisted around, rose to his knees, and hacked up some water.
Feeling woozy from the rush, the rum, and theck of proper nutrition, Zarian needed a second to get his bearings. He muttered, ¡°I¡¯m really not crazy,¡± a few times before he recognized his position.
Hended in front of the magic thing that had beckoned him through his dreams the past couple of nights.
¡°It¡¯s there, it¡¯s there,¡± Ariana said in awe, standing on the water¡¯s surface behind him.
Now that he was here, Zarian felt the pond magic more acutely. It was definitely weird. Like he was getting drawn by a weak riptide to somewhere unknown.
The full current of the pond magic was getting blocked off. He couldn¡¯t see what the magic wasposed of nor what kept it plugged up. He had no idea how any of this worked.
But his dreams had led him and Ariana here, making him act rashly, as if he was going to miss out if he didn¡¯t take this chance.
Is it some sort of mythical ley line? Zarian thought of all the mystical mambo jumbo he¡¯d read whenever he could get ess to the inte.
He wished he wasn¡¯t in such a rush or he would¡¯ve enjoyed the moment.
An actual ley line sat patiently in the most modernized mall around. Nothing human or human-made could sense it but him.
I¡¯m not crazy. Zarian smiled.
More gunfire roared, the shooting starting up again. Bullets snapped around him. He felt a sharp punch through his right back shoulder and got a concerning reality call.
Most people would¡¯ve screamed or fallen down from the pain of getting shot.
Not Zarian.
As his back shoulder red with pain and bled, he clenched his jaw and ducked down to make his body a smaller target.
He focused past the pain. He focused on his magic, connecting with the remaining darkness he kept stored.
He sent the inky darkness down his legs, through the koi pond¡¯s bottom, and up into a crisscrossing cage of spikes.
He couldn¡¯t form a dome. His dark magic liked to form into straight shapes with reach: tendrils, spears, spikes, stuff like that.
A cage of spikes was good enough.
Bullets from most pistols could rip through car doors, dry walls, plenty of furniture, and still kill humans. But against Zarian¡¯s magic barrier of crisscrossing dark spikes, the bullets might as well be stic pellets.
The killer rounds ricocheted away and endangered the shooters themselves or fell in crumpled drops into the water.
Zarian felt like a god.
A tired, wheezing, thoroughly soaked god with his blood draining out. But a god nheless.
He wasn¡¯t crazy.
His magic could affect the physical world.
Of course, he¡¯d seen it do so when he used it for tricks at the behest of his little sister. Or when he¡¯dmitted to the old school superhero training at a ghetto junkyard with nobody around.
He¡¯d grown proficient at wielding darkness from the year of practice. He¡¯d seen how it could plow through hard obstacles that would¡¯ve stopped the strongest humans.
He had magic.
He had fucking magic! And he was the only one to have it.
Why? How? What was this all leading to?
The koi pond ley line could hold the answers to his questions. Because there was more to Zarian¡¯s strangeness than his dark powers.
There was Ariana. There was his weird upbringing in foster care. There was his name, Darkrun, which felt branded to him in a way that no paperwork or mortal person could change.
He was Zarian Darkrun, brother to Ariana Darkrun, and he wanted answers to his weird-as-hell origins and impossible powers.
Feeling mighty awesome and ignoring his perilous injury, Zarian split his attention between maintaining the dark spike barrier and reaching out to the ley line. He pushed with a thought, which felt magical on its own even if nobody could see it.
Zarian was ready to fight tooth and nail to yank the ley line open and ess what lurked behind it. That didn¡¯t end up being necessary.
The moment he touched it with a press of his mystical will, Zarian felt no resistance. The koi pond ley line let his desires pass through, opening wide.
Zarian watched, jaw dropping, as a portal bloomed into existence. It was dark and strong. And it was sucking up everything into its howling depths like a miniature ck hole.
Zarian was right in front of the portal. The only thing keeping him rooted was the darkness he tethered to his ankles and the spike barrier around him.
Everything else fell into the hungry maw of the portal. Gallons of water. Thrashing koi fish. And more, which kept surprising Zarian. He watched as a police officer whirled head-over-heels through the air and toward the portal.
¡°You can see it!?¡± Zarian blurted out at the screaming, bbering man.
Zarian wanted to reconfirm again that this was all real.
Before he received an answer, the cop made contact with the dark portal. The man wasn¡¯t simply flushed into its depths. He disappeared the moment his iling body touched the hole to somewhere beyond.
That looks dangerous, Zarian thought. I might¡¯ve unleashed something that¡¯ll destroy the mall. Maybe even all of Florida and beyond.
Whoops.
Chapter 2: Honored Outsider
Zarian was about to gather his remaining darkness and try to escape away from the wild ck portal. When he turned to check on Ariana, he found her stepping calmly through the chaos of twisting water, thrashing koi fish, and screaming people flying to what could be their doom.
Zarian shook his head at his ghostly little sister. What was she thinking? She should get away. Yet, she ignored what should bemon sense in favor of getting up close to the portal.
Her braided pigtails wavered toward the swirling dark pit. So did the rest of her body, barely holding on to this side of the world.
What happened to ghostly little sisters when a void-like phenomenon ate them? Zarian didn¡¯t want to find out.
¡°Ariana, what are you doing?!¡± Zarian shouted.
¡°Heading for the portal, Big Bro,¡± she said with a grave weight that was beyond her childish appearance. ¡°We don¡¯t belong in this weak, mundane world. We belong on the other side. At least for now.¡±
¡°What¡¯s over there? How do you know that?!¡± Zarian watched a screaming mall shopper fly into the portal.
She disappeared with her shopping bags.
There in one moment.Gone in the next.
Zarian¡¯s heart was practically in his throat as he shouted himself hoarse. ¡°The dreams didn¡¯t tell us about what¡¯s on the other side!¡±
Ariana turned back to him and smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s go on an adventure and see. It¡¯s going to be okay. Just like always. Trust me.¡±
Zarian watched her, waiting to see if she would step into the portal and disappear. She didn¡¯t. She waited patiently for him.
He was both relieved and horrified. He always wondered if Ariana was a weird break in his psyche that drugs and therapy could treat. If she was fake, then he was actually crazy, even with magic.
That would be devastating. They had thirteen years ofughter and tears, hard times and visceral excitement.
She was the only family he knew, and that familial bond was strong, like well-forged steel.
She¡¯d been encouraging.
She¡¯d been practically perfect.
She had to exist. If so, then there was another slight worry. Tiny. Infinitesimal, even.
He still had to ask while facing down an apocalyptic scenario.
¡°Ariana, you¡¯re not a demon are you?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t, like, y a long game of getting me to this point, so I¡¯ll doom Florida and the rest of world, right?¡±
She smiled at him, holding her silence. She looked lovely and bubbly like always. Zarian felt like he wanted to protect her instead of using her of apocalyptic evil.
More screaming people tumbled past him and Ariana. More blood leaked out of his body from the gunshot wound. He was getting more tired now. All the chaos, violence, and bad nutrition were draining.
¡°Fuck it.¡± Zarian dropped the dark spike wall from around him.
He didn¡¯t bother regathering his fading darkness. That was going to be a pain to load upter.
Oh well, he had bigger concerns. Like getting lifted off his feet and yanked into a portal to the unknown.
Thest thing he saw was Ariana¡¯s upturned face as she watched him flip into the portal. The look on her face was slightly different. Just slightly.
Zarian¡¯s concerns deepened. Because inside of Ariana¡¯s eyes was a glint of crazy glee. Truly, they were family. They were crazy together.
He hit the portal. Everything went dark for him. And ultra weird. Like he was getting stretched out into the longest piece of human taffy without physically feeling it.
Time seemed to stop. Motion was a concept that didn¡¯t exist in simple observable terms here. Space was infinite and finite.
He should be dead. Or at least unconscious. But he was still alive and aware.
His mind interpreted it all while unable to feel, speak, taste, hear, smell, or do anything. Most people would¡¯ve found that hellish to endure, or they would¡¯vepletely zonked out.
Zarian, however, found it normal. Once he put aside the panic and settled into the journey to the unknown, it even felt like a pleasant reprieve.
It helped that the journey was happening inside high quality darkness. The deepest and densest kind. Since it was his favorite element, he liked its crushing hold on him.
Better yet, he could sense the depths of this portal magic far better than before. There was more to it than just darkness. Like it had a few unique twists or ingredients to make it all possible.
What could all that be?
They felt ¡ familiar. Natural. He kept trying to break it down, but the answers kept slipping out of reach. He was right on the cusp of grasping it all.
He snapped back into reality before he could unravel the secrets of the portal. He mmed chest first into a stone floor. Hard. The air whooshed out of his lungs.
His chin dribbled off the stone floor, whacking his jaw and the rest of his head with thumping pain. He was still bleeding from the gun wound inside his upper back. And he wasn¡¯t alone.
Zarian heard other people shouting and screaming in front of him. He pushed up a little, blinking rapidly to clear his blurry vision.
A strong, desperate hand grabbed him by his bushy, tangled hair. The assaulter, a police officer, shoved Zarian¡¯s face back into the stone floor, smashing his cheek. Then the officer pushed a hot pistol barrel into his face.
¡°What the fuck did you do? Where the hell are we?¡± shouted the cop, voice breaking.
Before Zarian could speak, the cop¡¯s knee mmed down onto the small of Zarian¡¯s back. The air he¡¯d struggled to take in rushed back out.
Zarian sputtered and gasped. He tried to think as the cop screamed down at him while yanking even harder on his hair, his scalp burning.
Zarian wanted to say he had no idea where they were. He wanted to say he hadn¡¯t meant for any of theseplications.
He didn¡¯t get the chance. He was still gasping for air when a strange thing urred, popping up in his vision.
A blue box appeared in front of Zarian¡¯s face. Like a notification. It even came with a soft ¡®ding¡¯ in the corner of his head. It wasn¡¯t a sound that was heard by the ear. It was more internal, a part of his mind.
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The blue notification read as if it came from a genderless and artificial speaker:
¡°Hello,¡± Zarian mumbled hoarsely.
Another notification popped over the weing one.
That was ominous. Shocking, even. Zarian¡¯s mind felt like it was crawling and racing at the same time.
With a gun still to his face, he nced past the cooling barrel and at the man holding him hostage. The panicked cop was staring at something in the air that only he could see.
Are we all seeing our own blue notification boxes?
Zarian wondered if all the blue notifications were doing the weird glitchy thing. Was there a problem with the integrationmencing?
There was another weird thing happening. Zarian¡¯s reactions.
I¡¯m handling this pretty well, Zarian realized. Then again, I¡¯ve been ying with actual magic for almost two years when nobody else can. I think. Maybe.
Another blue notification appeared over thest.
A red notification popped up with one big bold word written in white.
Zarian felt rising excitement instead of fear. He was growing more thrilled even while having a gun shoved into his face. Then the hype grew further with more red notification boxes appearing, oveying the past ones.
¡°What the fuck is this? Is this some sick virtual reality game? Who paid you to pull this stunt off, asshole?¡± The cop yanked Zarian¡¯s head around and ced more weight on his back.
He winced at the pain, but his enthusiasm remained undaunted. He wanted more notifications. He was practically starving for them.
He had no idea that any of this would happen.
But he felt like he was meant for this.
The Infinita Star System seemed to be on his side. It gave him a new notification to feel even more excited about. The notification came out gold this time around.
Zarian had too many questions. But he was delirious, starved, suffering blood loss, and having his hair yanked near the scalp with a pistol barrel and a twitchy trigger finger in his face. He couldn¡¯t focus on any one thing until he forced himself to take a painful breath, hold on to that pain, and clear his head.
Two things came to mind.
It would be nice if I get a little more info about my origins.And where is Arianna?
Zarian needed to get his feet under him, then take another breather and look around. First, the panicked cop had to get the hell off of him.
Zarian felt around for his familiar darkness. To his surprise, he felt a greater connection to the darkness in his surroundings. Stranger yet, when he called on the darkness, unfamiliar hieroglyphic symbols shed through his mind.
Something clicked inside of him like the press of a button.
With a flex of his will, darkness pooled under his palm rapidly. Before it became too noticeable, Zarian flipped over his hand and shot up a dark bar of thick darkness. He struck the handgun directly with a force that was both surprising to Zarian and the cop.
The pistol fired. Zarian¡¯s hearing went out, reced by a painful ringing. He clenched his jaw when the flesh on the back of his skull flew off from a bullet scraping across his head.
If the shot was a few more inches to the left, then the back of Zarian¡¯s head would¡¯ve been blown out. His luck was pushing past the point of breaking now.
Lucky or not, I can¡¯t die now. That¡¯s a hell naw from me. Zarian pushed aside his pain, the weariness, and the shock of everything happening at once.
He scrambled from under the surprised cop who was already falling over, his gun arm swinging wide after getting shoved hard by the dark beam. He was shouting about his gun hand hurting, barely able to keep hold of his weapon.
The cop was still armed and dangerous.
There was barely any light here. Only some scraps of illumination, with the shadows circling around the light sources and the darkness waiting hungrily further out. Zarian and the man who nearly blew out the back of his head were in one of those dark zones.
The strange hieroglyphic symbols shed through his mind again. The button-like click resonated inside of him once more. He felt something uniquely orderly and powerful, giving him a firm push to do as he pleased, as if he was getting a helpful assist from something bigger than him.
He gathered a straight bar of darkness as long as a pipe and mmed it down on the gunman¡¯s shoulder. Zarian felt the crunch underneath the weighty blunt hit.
The arm holding the gun flopped to the side uselessly after getting popped out of the shoulder socket. The gun fell fully with a dull tter, barely audible to Zarian¡¯s ears while they were still ringing.
The man cried out hoarsely, holding his injured arm. Zarian might¡¯ve done more damage than pop the arm out of the shoulder. But at least he neutralized one shooter.
He turned in time to see the other cops who¡¯d entered the dark portal along with a bunch of randos.
People were paying attention after the gunshot. Zarian counted three pistols leveled at him.
There were no more weaponized authorities than that. The rest were a handful of civvies and some flopping koi fish entangling with some weird gunk pooling in the middle of the dark stone room.
Hell, Zarian had seen nobody else drop in after him. There was no roaring portal or anything now. It was just him and the people who¡¯d got sucked in first.
Looks like we have ourselves a Mexican Standoff, Zarian thought, even though everyone else was aiming at him. A real Mexican Standoff would have everyone against each other.
Worse yet, they were close enough to hit him urately this time.
¡°Do you wipe up or do you wipe down?¡± Zarian asked, his hearing returning quicker than normal.
The police red at him. One man asked, ¡°What the hell are you talking about, psycho?¡±
¡°An older Marine once told me, depending on which direction you wipe, you might have shitty balls. So, do you have shitty balls?¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t wait for them to respond as he covertly pooled darkness under him. He deepened its depths and density. It was far easier than ever before.
He shot three dark beams from in front of his feet, likences of the deepest abyss.
The guns fired, roaring, shing. Bullets flew, snapping by with sonic speed. One bullet clipped him on the hip. Another dug away some meat from his left arm.
Zarian was feeling awful even with the adrenaline. He stayed on his feet and watched his magic work.
Three dark beamsnded on three chests and struck the police officers harder than Zarian had expected. For dozens of feet. They hit the stone floor with a hard finality that suggested they wouldn¡¯t be getting up for a while.
Just to be on the safe side, Zarian reached out with four tendrils of darkness that snapped out faster than ever before. He gathered all the guns and piled them on the floor behind him.
Then Zarian copsed to the ground with a phlegmy wheeze. He coughed into his fist, enduring the pain of having bullet wounds all over his body. Blood leaked from everywhere, which made it a wonder how he was still alive and functional.
¡°What the hell did you do? Where are we? You won¡¯t get away with this,¡± yammered the officer who had his shoulder broken. ¡°And get this blue crap out of my face!¡±
Zarian ignored him and the others for now. He looked around for Ariana. She was still nowhere to be found.
He paid attention to the new notifications he felt piled up in his head. The soft dinging sound they made wasn¡¯t too distracting and helped as a reminder to check. As soon as he willed for the notifications to show up, they appeared in front of his face.
The boxes were still gold.
Despite the pain of bleeding out alive, Zarian¡¯s face lit up with a crooked smile. Call him a simple man, but he liked how the System made him feel special with gold notifications.
It was like getting the VIP treatment.
He¡¯d never had that before. And things were only getting better.
Zarianughed giddily as a whole golden profile appeared before him. His heart rate picked up. Chills ran down his spine. He might bleed out soon. He didn¡¯t care.
He did what the notification told him.
Behold.
<>Origins: Zarian Darkrun, 21-yr-old Human, Honored Outsider.Level: 10ss: (Please Select)Traits: Dark Affinity (Rare), Overpower (Epic).Alpha Skills (1/3): Straight Darkness (Level 5).Willpower: 21Strength: 15Agility: 14Wonder: 22Mysticism: 75Free: 50Achievements: Honored Outsider (Unopened).<>
Chapter 3: Why Him?
While Zarian was ignoring his bloody problems and feeling hyped over his golden advancement, his former high school peer was doing all he could not to piss himself. The former peer¡¯s name was Jack Masters.
He was the one who¡¯d called mall authorities on Zarian prior to the shooting, chaos, and portal madness.
Jack had warned them of a ¡®dangerous, deranged, and likely armed¡¯ man sitting on a bench across from the koi pond. Jack had reported as many details as possible to urge the police to move in quicker.
He had tried his best to be equally tolerant of everyone. But past issues didn¡¯t make Jack tolerant of the mentally ill. They were likely to be violent and do horrible things, in Jack¡¯s experience.
He remembered how Zarian would mutter to himself during ss back in high school. He remembered how Zarian attacked other people like a raving maniac ¨C though there were rumors saying that Zarian had only attacked his bullies in self-defense.
He bit off a guy¡¯s ear like a Mike Tyson wannabe. That¡¯s the actions of a crazy man, not someone rational defending themselves.
Jack had stayed as far away from Zarian as possible. He¡¯d started doing that ever since he first heard Zarian whisper to his dead little sister that nobody else could see.
What was her name?
¡°Ariana,e out and see this!¡± Zarian yelled, sounding as deranged as usual.Hearing him like that made Jack flinch where hey belly down, arms covering his head.
A few droplets of piss leaked out and stained his expensive pants.
This is my favorite brand, Jack realized before pushing that thought aside.
He was still grasping at straws, trying to make sense of the unbelievable things he¡¯d seen.
Zarian had shot out a dark tentacle from his hand back at the mall. Gunfire had ensued, which had Jack pinned in the corner close to the elevator behind the koi pond. Then a powerful suction had snatched Jack off the floor and dropped him into a dark, cave-like room.
From there, he¡¯d watched Zarian shoot more dark beams like he was a viin straight out of a fantasy novel or movie. As a concept, it should¡¯ve beenical or silly. Jack had never seen something so horrifying in his life.
That couldn¡¯t be actual magic. There was no way. Because why would Zarian of all people have those powers?
Yet, the dark beams had sent grown men off their feet. Zarian had defeated them without weapons, only magic.
Not without injury, though.
It was dark here, with only a few light sources. Despite theck of clear vision, Jack was sure that Zarian had been shot. Possibly in multiple ces. If only someone couldnd a final hit on the mad man.
If only I weren¡¯t hallucinating about blue notifications and a profile, Jack thought.
What the heck was this madness? He was Level 1, apparently. And he had an ¡ alpha skill?
It even came with a description:
Jack looked up shakily at Zarian. The mad man was sitting down, not moving, doing God knows what.
Quickly, Jack resummoned his profile with a thought. He examined his ¡®stats¡¯ ¨C which he could hardly believe were real ¨C and noticed that his Wonder stat was higher than the others.
Why was that?
What was Wonder?
He waited for answers from the so-called System. But he received no exnations.
Was 9 points in Wonder enough to do anything to Zarian?
¡°Ariana, if you don¡¯te out, I¡¯m going to choose my ss without you!¡± Zarian shouted hoarsely before letting loose some wet coughs and a groan. ¡°Then you¡¯ll regret it!¡±
He sounded weak even while shouting. Even with all of his magic power.
If Zarian could use magic, couldn¡¯t Jack do the same now? Why should someone as crazy and dangerous as Zarian be the only one to use his powers?
Jack trusted himself to have magic if it existed. Someone had to stop Zarian before he did even worse damage.
Removing his hands from over his head, Jack initiated his n. He calmed his shaking body with a few deep breaths, in and out, in and out. He pushed his hand forward toward Zarian¡¯s seated body.
The distance wasn¡¯t too far. Only about forty feet. Jack had a good eye for hitting at range ever since he¡¯d yed little league baseball.
He was not good enough for D1, but he was good enough for chucking a decent fast ball urately. Or in this case, shoot actual magic to kill a dangerous man.
You need to go down! Jack gritted his teeth and willed for the magic, Star Bolt, to work.
To his ever-growing surprise, the alpha skill answered his request. He felt a click inside of him, like the press of a mystical button.
He saw weird alien symbols sh through his mind, overworking his brain, making it throb. He didn¡¯t get why he was hurting when it was a Level 1 skill.
Was that because hecked enough energy or whatever?
The throbbing headache stopped mattering when a literal spark of starlight formed in Jack¡¯s palm. The light pushed back the darkness despite its small size.
The growing Star Bolt shone with hope, faith, and Wonder.
Jack was amazed. He was a true believer now.
And he was about to die when a pony-size creature thrashed across the ground in his direction. He noticed its moving bulk from the corner of his vision and turned to see a gaping maw filled with teeth aiming for his flesh.
Jack jerked his star-lit palm around.
He fired his shot. And missed.
His one skill streaked across the cavernous room and over a pool of dark ichor that was filled with more of therge monsters. The Star Bolt sted the far wall with a solid burst, spraying sparks and rock chips like a grenade going off.
It was amazing. It would¡¯ve beaten the monster back if it hadnded on flesh instead of stone. It would¡¯ve been nice to charge another one if Jack had the time and energy.
I¡¯m dead, Jack thought.
The monster lunged into the air. It plummeted down on Jack. He froze. He screamed.
Before he met his doom, dark beams struck the slimy monster¡¯s side, all direct hits. The streams of jetting darkness pushed with a force that was palpable, making Jack feel oppressed under a heavy, invisible weight.
The monster¡¯s momentum reversed and mmed down somewhere behind Jack.
¡°Ah, wait, I should¡¯ve struck with the pointy ends, not the blunt ends,¡± Zarian said, slurring his words. ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m not doing so great.¡±
¡°Are you for real, Darkrun? You caused this mess, and now you¡¯reining? You¡¯re so out of pocket I want to shoot you myself,¡± said a familiar dark-skinned woman.
Despite her threat, she sounded way too calm about the situation they were in.
She grabbed hold of another woman¡¯s hand, one of the show girls who worked for the rum promoters. She was the same girl who had her bottle snatched away by Zarian.
This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Jack watched the two women run from the slimy, coiling monsters. They stopped behind Zarian, who was still sitting down.
The guns are over there. Jack scrambled to his feet, his headache giving him some trouble, but not enough to stop him. It faded away a little at a time, making it easier for him to concentrate and move.
He lunged over one of the police officers. They were still struggling to get up after Zarian had taken them down.
Jack wasn¡¯t going to help them. They¡¯d failed their duty to protect and serve. If the monsters ate them, that was their fault.
Breathing in relief, he joined the others who got on the side of the man who caused all of this trouble.
Other than the familiar ck woman and the rum promoter girl, there was the addition of a middle-aged woman clutching half-a-dozen shopping bags and a skinny retailer worker guy.
None of them went for the pile of pistols that was near the maniac. Jack thought of them as idiots as he tried to circle around the strange gathering and get at the guns.
Something snake-like lunged from the darkness under him. It snatched him by the wrist and made him squeal.
¡°Jack Masters? Yeah, that¡¯s you.¡± Zarian flicked a single finger, beckoning Jack.
The dark tendril pulled Jack over into a stumble, its power undeniable. He nearly burst into pathetic apologies about calling the police and trying to kill him, but Zarian kept talking.
¡°You should¡¯ve pitched more baseballs, dude. I swore you would¡¯ve made it to D1. But I guess it¡¯s a good thing you¡¯re here. I need you to aim my hand. Blood loss is getting to me, and I¡¯m still in the middle of selecting my ss.¡±
Jack couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. Zarian hadn¡¯t realized Jack had tried sting him with Star Bolt earlier.
Well, Jack wasn¡¯t going to tell him.
¡°I don¡¯t know what those big wormy things are, but they look scary. It¡¯s a good thing I¡¯m scarier.¡± Zarianughed wetly before letting loose a fit of coughs.
Now that Jack had an up close look. The man ¡ looked rough. Very rough.
He¡¯d gone into the Marines and gotten kicked out, which was thest thing Jack heard about his former school peer before today. Jack wondered why the Marines would let go of a magical super viin?
How were they here? How was any of this possible?
Then Jack noticed one monster thrashing toward a vulnerable police officer. The man was struggling to crawl away.
Jack still didn¡¯t want to help.
What if touching Zarian was a trap? What if the maniac bit off his ear? Jack didn¡¯t want to sacrifice anything, not for a failed police officer.
¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± The ck woman brushed past Jack and dropped to a knee beside Zarian. ¡°Gods damn you, boy, why are you so much freaking trouble? I can¡¯t go anywhere without wondering what stupidity you¡¯re gonna get into next.¡±
¡°Oh hey, Sergeant Washington,¡± Zarian slurred. ¡°Fancy meeting you here.¡±
Jack jolted with sudden realization. The ck woman was the military recruiter who¡¯d shown up at their high school senior year.
She¡¯d recruited Zarian into the Marines.
What was this twisted fate? How did this happen?
Jack gawked as Sergeant Washington sat in a stable shooting position and treated Zarian¡¯s arm like a rifle. She rested her cheek on his triceps and aimed down the limb and past his outstretched fingers. Then she squeezed his biceps firmly.
Instead of the boisterous bang of gunfire, a silent and weighty bar of darkness shot forth. It was scarier when it made no noise while packing so much power.
The dark beam speared through the monster that nearly bit into one of the downed policemen. The creature thrashed aside, missing the man by a few inches.
Monster blood sprayed about, spilling on the officer. Jack heard a stifled gasp from someone behind him. He was gasping for air himself.
¡°My aim was off,¡± Sergeant Washington said. ¡°Let¡¯s try that again with a double-tap.¡±
She squeezed Zarian¡¯s biceps twice and fired two short, dark beams, one after the other. She obliterated the monster¡¯s skull, tossing up gore, brains, and eyeballs.
¡°It¡¯s a fish,¡± said the retailer worker guy. ¡°It¡¯s a koi fish, but a big and mean one.¡±
¡°How did it get like that?¡± said the rum promoter girl with a strong Hispanic ent.
¡°Someone fucking help me!¡± shouted one of the downed policemen. That was the most he could do.
¡°Someone should go help them before they get eaten by the, eh, koi fish,¡± urged the rum promoter girl.
Nobody moved, especially not Jack. Instead, he nced at the guns. The rum promoter and retail worker followed his gaze, probably thinking the same thing.
Jack hesitated. He had his energy back. The headache was gone.
He could fire another Star Bolt. It was powerful. Maybe it could be as powerful as Zarian¡¯s dark beams.
Wouldn¡¯t his skill improve if he used it more? Just like how it worked in a video game?
This was actual magic. Wonderful magic. It would be more powerful than a gun if he leveled it up, right?
Zarian was the perfect example, which Jack realized with horror and disgust.
Sergeant Washington was picking off the monster-turned koi fish with ease. Zarian was a reliable weapon, shooting pointy dark beams whenever his recruiter squeezed his biceps.
She pushed the shooting pace to a five-shot volley with a pause in between. She and Zarian sted the koi monsters into gory bits before the giant fish could reach the downed policemen.
It was a terrifying disy of power.
Zarian wasn¡¯t even paying that much attention. He was letting someone else aim and signal when to fire. Sergeant Washington handled that like a pro.
¡°How are you doing that? How are you so brave?¡± asked the rum promoter girl, which was the same question Jack was wondering.
¡°I¡¯m cheating. I got this alpha skill called Tranquil Thoughts, Level 2. It calms me down and makes me think clearly. Or I¡¯ll lose my shit like the rest of you,¡± Sergeant Washington exined. ¡°Is that what¡¯s happening now? We¡¯re in a video game? All because of this impulsive boy? God, you annoy me so much, Darkrun.¡±
¡°My bad, Sergeant.¡± Zarian let out a bloody chuckle that made the others shiver. ¡°I might¡¯ve screwed up a lot. But I got good news. I know what I¡¯m picking for my ss.¡±
¡°Does this look like high school to you?¡± Sergeant Washington snapped at him, while still shooting at the monsters.
Jack couldn¡¯t believe the gall of this woman during an absolute massacre. Yet, Zarian kept chuckling, not bothered at all.
¡°Video game term, Sergeant. It means I¡¯m picking a magical battle role to beat the monsters better.¡±
¡°Sorcerer?¡± asked the retailer worker guy.
¡°Oh, I get it. This is a role y. This is all make-believe. It¡¯s like the VR stuff and brain chips, right?¡± asked the rum promoter girl.
Jack was having a hard time with the tonal whish. There was death, macabre, and screaming monsters ahead. Yet the surrounding discussion was more suitable at a convention for nerds.
¡°Not sorcerer. And this is not make believe,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll show you. You can stop shooting now, Sergeant.¡±
The recruiter hesitated for a second before backing off of Zarian¡¯s arm. She strode to the pile of pistols, picked one, then emptied the rest of their magazines and cleared the bullets. She shoved the mags into the thin waistline of her jeans.
She probably needed the gun and bullets more than Jack. He¡¯d never shot a gun before. He was still sad she took control of one and hogged all the ammunition.
Meanwhile, Zarian staggered to his feet like a drunk.
Wait, he is drunk, isn¡¯t he? He¡¯d taken a bottle from the rum promoter girl when all of this madness started.
Jack couldn¡¯t believe he was standing behind this guy now.
Zarian lurch toward the remaining monsters. There were far fewer now. Sergeant Washington had done a good job wiping out half of them with Zarian¡¯s power.
Jack red.
Why wasn¡¯t Zarian affected by overuse?
¡°Yeah, no, I¡¯m not going to,¡± Sergeant Washington muttered to no one in particr.
¡°Not going to what?¡± Jack asked.
The military recruiter looked grimly at the back of Zarian¡¯s bleeding head. Her hand gripped the pistol firmly while it pointed at the floor, finger off the trigger.
Jack understood what she meant now. He disliked the woman even further.
She had a golden opportunity, and she was squandering it. Yes, she could wait for Zarian to finish the koi monsters then take advantage. But how could she call herself a Marine and not aim to take down a dangerous disgrace?
It has to be me, Jack thought. Zarian has to have a limit. He can¡¯t shoot all of that magic forever. He¡¯s barely able to stay standing.
¡°Ariana, I¡¯m worried about you. You¡¯re not responding or showing up anywhere. If you really were a figment of my imagination, that¡¯s going to hurt,¡± Zarian said aloud. ¡°You know how many people wrote me off as crazy. I¡¯m not crazy. Don¡¯t make me look crazy.¡±
Jack looked dead in the recruiter¡¯s eye. Aren¡¯t you seeing how insane that is?
Sergeant Washington ignored Jack¡¯s re with a stony expression. She was not a good woman, that was for sure, or she wouldn¡¯t have gotten Zarian into the Marines somehow.
¡°When do we go home?¡± asked the rum promoter girl.
¡°We¡¯re in an isekai,¡± said the retail worker guy. ¡°I don¡¯t think we get to go home. I¡¯m Wally, by the way.¡±
¡°Hannah,¡± said the meek-looking, middle-aged woman still clinging to her shopping bags. She was all the way in the back.
¡°Bianca,¡± said the rum promoter girl. She was a natural blond beauty and should be far away from these horrors.
Jack muttered his name while Sergeant Washington grunted out ¡°Naomi.¡± They fell into an ufortable silence as Zarian faced off against the remaining koi monsters.
One of the koi monsters stood bigger than the rest with a greater amount of bulk. It looked like a serpentine dragon rising out of the eerie muck that was covering all the monsters.
Maybe the creature might be strong enough to kill Zarian.
Wait, no, if that happens, who would kill it? Jack wanted to shout in frustration.
He also wanted a new pair of pants. It felt ufortably wet, distracting him even with death and horror happening in front of him.
Then things became weird when arge, chain-wrapped book phased out of Zarian¡¯s torso and floated in the air beside him. The chains rattled so hauntingly they drove the fear of evil into Jack¡¯s soul.
The chain bindings on the big ck book pulled away from its thick face. The covers swung open. Ghastly ck lights shone from the rapidly flipping pages.
What the fuck was that? What ss did he choose? Jack checked his profile and saw he didn¡¯t have the option to choose a ss.
Was it because he was Level 1?
What level was Zarian?
And seriously, why him?
Chapter 4: Title Drop
Why do I have so many ss options? Zarian was barely conscious of what was happening. He was on his feet because of his Willpower.
He felt like he was about to fall over and kick the bucket soon. He stayed up because the people he¡¯d yanked into this cavernous room would die if he didn¡¯t take responsibility.
It didn¡¯t take him long to believe it was his duty to protect them. Even the police who had shot him. He had no hard feelings toward them, really.
He¡¯d done some freaky stuff at the mall that would¡¯ve scared anybody. He was self-aware enough to acknowledge that. He had to be self-aware to be somewhat functional.
Or maybe that was another weird quality of his.
Self-awareness hadn¡¯t done him much good before, but he could change things around now. Especially with his ss selection.
He¡¯d shorten the list of over a hundred ss options to a few. So many varied between different brands of warrior, rogue, cleric, and more.
There was a Death Squire ss. There was a Blood Reaper ss. There were ss-types for Wan, Alchemist, Murderer, Assassin, Executioner, Torturer, Soldier, Jailer, Wanderer, Vagrant, Studier, Portal Jumper, Void Dancer, and more.
There were mundane sounding sses. There were super special sses that seemed cool. It was a lot to take in, and he didn¡¯t have time to examine them all.Thankfully, he found one that fit his fancy early on the list. He kept thinking of it as he zoomed down to the bottom and back up multiple times.
There were a few other epic sses. But none of them suited him like the ck Wizard Apprentice.
Anything below epic gave fewer stats, even if they sounded cool like Portal Jumper and Void Dancer, which were rare sses. They probably had strong skills.
But Zarian liked the idea of being an epic wizard with a fancy spellbook.
No, not a spellbook. It¡¯s called a grimoire. That sounded even better.
There was one legendary ss, which seemed major. It gave more stat points than ck Wizard Apprentice.
Zarian didn¡¯t like the sound of the ss or the skill. The legendary ss didn¡¯t evene with a rare trait, whatever that could be.
He had little time to scrutinize things because he was dying from blood loss. He needed something to help stop that.
Picking ck Wizard Apprentice was probably a Hail Mary judgment call. He figured the epic wizard ss might have a fix-me-up type of spell if he was lucky enough.
He locked in his choice with a push of his will, which he found really cool. There was no need to nt chips in his brain. The magic system, or System, did it automatically.
A new notification confirmed the addition of the new ss. He also felt the update, like someone uploading new codes or runes into his soul. He shivered from the sensation, nearly tripping over.
Did having a profile and being connected to the Star System make him part magic machine now? Even with the fleshy bits?
Or was the magic so advanced here it was almost Sci-Fi? Maybe it was sufficiently advanced science that became magic-like.
Either way, this was all rad.
I¡¯m getting too distracted by all these scattered thoughts.
Where was Ariana?
Ugh, he was going to give her a good scolding the next time she showed up. For now, he needed to save the people who probably wanted him dead.
It¡¯s my screw up. I¡¯ll fix it.
Zarian didn¡¯t even bother looking at the skill description for the Grimoire of ck Arts 101. He felt it in his soul-attached profile and pressed the inner button to activate the skill.
A sh of runic text scrawled across his mind¡¯s eye.
The runes were deep, vast,plex, and almost iprehensible. He felt energy drain out of him. He was gging a lot now.
The book came out with a big rattle of chains like a wraith exiting its container, which was him. The covers spread open, and the pages flipped in a blur.
The book glowed an eerie ck light before shifting to the bloody red spectrum. Zarian could barely focus, but somehow he could make heads and tails of the magic geometric shapes and hieroglyphic scribbles of an unfamiliarnguage.
¡°Oh, that¡¯s straight up gruesome,¡± Zarian muttered before shruggingzily with his better shoulder. ¡°But a man¡¯s gotta do what man¡¯s gotta do.¡±
The koi fish monsters slithered toward him. There were ten of them left, with a bigger koi fish in the back acting like a mini-boss.
Zarian stopped at the edge of the murky, oily liquid that the koi fish sshed around in. He sighed tiredly as he forced himself to think through a few actions.
First, he dumped 30 Free points into Mysticism, 10 Free points into Wonder, and 10 Free points into Willpower. While raising Mysticism felt like the smartest move, his gut instincts told him to raise up Wonder and Willpower as well.
Just like that, he felt more focused and ready. He didn¡¯t feel so close to death anymore. And he was swelling with a new inner power as the koi fishunched their attack.
Hemanded the darkness to spring into a wall of pikes in front of him. It happened so fast the speed of the formation nearly shocked Zarian.
The koi fish monsters thrust themselves onto the pointy ends with their monstrous bulk. They were even more surprised than him.
He was going to smile when a few more monsters mmed into the backs of their brethren. The jarring impacts did the unexpected. The long, dark spears snapped.
Zarian had made them too long and thin without enough density. Now the monsters were lunging down at him.
Zarian cursed as he dropped to the floor and quickly manipted more lines of darkness. Thick bars criss-crossed inches above his body from both sides.
The koi monsters mmed down with a heavy force, bending the dark bars inward, threatening to crush Zarian. He wished he put points into Strength. He was too weak to push back physically.
Things looked bad until the blood of the perforated monsters dripped through the gaps. Loads of it. It was pouring all over him.
The chained grimoire was lying next to him. Zarian hadn¡¯t done his research on the consequences of its use, but he evoked his first ever spell: Bloody Lifesteal.
The spell pages glowed a malignant and vampiric red. The blood touching Zarian glowed the same foreboding color.
Then Zarian felt renewed energy uplift his entire sense of life. He felt further away from death than ever.
He felt like he could live forever. He felt like he could drain life from the blood of his enemies, or anyone he deemed his enemies, nonstop.
It was a rush.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
It was insanely intoxicating.
It was a new drug.
Zarian crushed that pleasurable high with Willpower. He had enough to refocus on his situation. The dark bars continued to buckle under the hill of crushing koi monsters. It was time to get squirrelly and escape.
Feeling more lively, Zarian twisted around and belly crawled through a gap above his head.
A koi monster lunged down and scraped some flesh off the shoulder. Zarian hissed out a curse and raised his hand, shooting out a dense jet of sharp darkness.
He punched out the brains from the monster that bit him before he crawled the rest of the way out.
He made it just in time. The dark bars holding up the monsters copsed. He avoided getting crushed beneath the bulky monster hill by a few feet.
The danger at his back remained. The ones on top thrashed free and resumed the chase.
They were toote to stop him, however.
Zarian was up on his feet now, and he was more aware.
He had his second wind and enough magic.
¡°Sorry for what happened to you,¡± Zarian said, sliding to a stop before spinning around with arms raised. The koi fish lunged at him again.
He struck them back with rapid fire javelins of the densest and sharpest kind.
It was an incredible disy of power. Like he was a heavy caliber machine gun. Each puncture wound tore out so much flesh from the monsters, it almost seemedical if there wasn¡¯t so much blood and gore.
By the time Zarian felt like he was gassing his reserves, he¡¯d ughtered all the koi monsters, including the big one. He tore that one apart the most until it stopped moving.
Then all was still.
Silence filled the cave. Nobody spoke. Zarian only heard the pulsating beat of his hammering heart and the blood racing through his ears.
His floating, soul bound grimoire rattled as it shut closed and phased back into his body. Zarian lowered his twitchy hands and smiled, soaking in the momentous victory.
Then the closest police officer pulled out a taser while still on the ground and shot Zarian with it.
The taser stung somewhat. But it wasn¡¯t enough to drop him. Not anymore. He weathered the shock for long enough to pull the prongs out of him.
¡°Do that again and I¡¯m not saving you from the next monster attack.¡± Zarian stuck a thumb back at the monsters.
¡°This is your fault!¡± shouted the cop.
¡°Yeah, and?¡± Zarian still stuck his thumb at the dead monster corpses.
The cop shook his head beforeying back, groaning in pain, his eyes looking about in bewilderment. The other police officers were doing the same.
Zarian had struck them so hard they still couldn¡¯t move. He¡¯d definitely broken some ribs.
One man was coughing up blood. He sounded like he was struggling to breathe.
¡°Can someone help that guy?¡± Zarian pointed. ¡°I need a break.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll help him, sir,¡± Sergeant Naomi Washington offered.
Zarian looked hard at her, puzzled. Naomi wore a serious, no-nonsense face, which suggested he was better off epting the ¡®sir¡¯ designation than fighting her about it.
It made him itch to be called a ¡®sir¡¯ when he was an enlisted man, but she was clearly doing it for a reason.
¡°Yeah, cool, much appreciated. I got to examine some things. You all work together for now. I¡¯ll be over there. Oh, and stay away from this evil-looking gunk here. It¡¯s like dark radioactive waste, but magical. That¡¯s what transformed the koi fish into monsters, I bet.¡±
While he had a short stint in the Marines, he learned enough to lead people. He wasn¡¯t always the best at it, but he had a decent time leading subordinates before having his ranks taken, kicking him down to private.
Wow, thinking of that brought back some heavy emotions.
He almost wished things had gone differently. Oh well. He had magic powers and was in another world now.
He was closer to tracking down his origins more than ever before.
I took a bunch of losses to get here, but I¡¯m here.
There were plenty of bright sides. He wasn¡¯t dying of blood loss. He was still bleeding a little and covered everywhere in crusted blood, yeah, but the wounds that would¡¯ve killed him earlier had sealed up mostly.
He¡¯d gotten lucky with Bloody Lifesteal as his first spell from the grimoire.
Too bad the bullet lodged in his back right shoulder was still in there. That sucked. A lot. He could feel it when he shifted his right shoulder around.
Note to self: Lifesteal helps with securing life, not fixing my pains. Miniscule difference, but still a difference.
Zarian walked over to the nearest wall and sat against it. He closed his eyes and chilled out.
He was back to feeling weary, but he wasn¡¯t as far gone as before. He probably looked even more crazy to the others, but he couldn¡¯t care about that right now.
Ariana was gone.
He was in a new environment, the Infinita Star System, which called him an Honored Outsider. It sounded like he wasn¡¯t in the old Sr System anymore, let alone Earth.
Zarian had literally ripped open a hole in spacetime and flung him, some koi fish, and ten other people across the universe. Or into another universe.
Yeah, he caused the isekai.
Suck it, Truck-kun.
Since nobody had followed in after Zarian, he assumed the portal had closed up once he went through. Earth was safe on the other side.
Unless Ariana waited for me to go through so she could take over Earth, Zarian thought, feeling crummy.
He was better off pushing forward and examining the new magic stuff made avable to him. Then he could go on an actual adventure.
Ariana would either show up or not. Hopefully, she was just ying hide-and-seek. Or maybe she wasn¡¯t. Maybe this was goodbye.
Zarian shoved his feelings deep down. He was no stranger to people abandoning him.
pping his hands quietly, Zarian forced himself to smile, eyes opened. ¡°Back to the magic powers.¡±
Yes, he had those. He also had new notifications to examine. Those might be important, so he pulled them up with a whim.
They were still golden.
He enjoyed seeing the gold boxes a lot. That VIP feeling made him feel warm inside.
Zarian reached the end of the notifications, surprised by all he¡¯d aplished. He also felt disappointed that he didn¡¯t choose his third skill in time for it to get some levels.
He was still shaky about what the evil alignment meant. He was also unsure how his current levelpared to when he unleashed his powers in public view at the mall. The chaos of the past ten to twenty minutes had blurred the differences.
I definitely feel different. I feel way healthier and stronger than before. If I had a reference point, I can tell the difference easier.
Before he dove deeper into his profile, he noticed one civilian talking excitedly. Zarian caught traces of the conversation surrounding blue boxes and levels.
Ah, I¡¯m going to have to check with them about all of that, Zarian figured.
He was pretty sure Sergeant Washington mentioned having a skill. Zarian could¡¯ve sworn someone conjured a shooting star that hit the wall.
He didn¡¯t know who ¨C he had been dazed at the time ¨C but that was another useful skill. He wondered what their sses were.
When he looked at the nearest civilian ¨C or survivor ¨C he stared a little harder this time. Something inside of him flipped like a switch. Then a golden box hovered over the person¡¯s head ¨C the woman holding onto her shopping bags.
That looked like the major parts of her profile. If all of that was true, why was her level so low?
After some thought, Zarian figured it was because she was a normal Outsider instead of an Honored Outsider like him.
Could the others see each other¡¯s levels and skills, or was that special to him?
Zarian checked his traits. He had a fewpared to thest time he saw his profile. And he could read all of their powers.
Yeah, Dark Affinity made sense. It was thematic with him. And he¡¯d guessed right when he distributed stats earlier on which to focus on.
Mysticism was probably his most important stat, while Willpower and Wonder served as good supportive pirs.
He had no idea what those stats truly meant. They wouldn¡¯t exin themselves. But if his Dark Affinity liked them, he would like them, too.
He wished the Dark Affinity would exin a little more about what ¡®aura¡¯ meant. Was that the magic energy fueling his powers?
Aura, huh? Not mana?
Zarian let it sit for now and moved on.
Now that was a badass trait. Probably the only reason he could ovee a bunch of giant koi monsters. His magical abilities came with an overkill switch he could turn on whenever he wanted.
He needed to test the Overpower trait to see how fast it could switch from boosting stats to boosting a single skill. Pairing this with the grimoire skill would be devastating, honestly.
Bingo bango, this one was the reason he saw Hannah¡¯s info. He had gotten the Identify trait from epting the Dark Wizard Apprentice ss.
It was likely that the others didn¡¯t have this trait, only him. And it was a rare trait, which sounded highly valuable.
In fact, the epic trait Overpower was probably higher in value than a rare trait.
He was an overpowered wizard.
Yeah, it sounded cheesy to call himself that. He couldn¡¯t help it, though. This was everything he wanted, plus more.
Excited, he turned toward where Ariana would usually stand. He wanted to tell her about all the great news so far.
She wasn¡¯t at his side, however. She was still nowhere to be seen.
Zarian forced himself to move on. He had his current skills to look over along with a new skill choice.
He also had that unopened achievement. What would that get him?
Chapter 5: More Gains
A new gold notification popped into Zarian¡¯s awareness. Before he digested what it meant fully, shouts and screams sounded off from the group.
They were all standing close in a circle while looking down. At their feet was a police officer. He wasn¡¯t moving anymore.
Oh, uh, I didn¡¯t expect him to die from a blunt strike.
Then again, Zarian had officially be overpowered.
Even blunt strikes could be deadly on anyone lower level than him. The dead man might¡¯ve had broken ribs and terrible internal bleeding.
Zarian didn¡¯t have the emotional bandwidth to deal with that directly. Not right now.
Instead, he used Identify on everyone and noticed one of the remaining police officers had Basic Healing as their best alpha skill. Zarian gawked at the huge idiot.
¡°You, the big one, Gilbert, you have a healing power. Look at your profile. It¡¯s right there. All you have to do is will it to work, and you¡¯ll feel a button get pressed inside of you. Make sure everyone is okay, so nobody else dies.¡± Zarian got the words out quickly so he could go back to his own power up review.
The police officer he addressed gaped at him dumbly. Thankfully, Sergeant Washington stepped in and took control of the situation.She had everyone check their profiles and speak aloud their skills so she could get an inventory. A man had died because some people weren¡¯t adapting fast enough.
Yes, Zarian was the reason for the man¡¯s death.
In a fight between a gunman and a wizard, the wizard survived, Zarian thought. And I will continue to survive no matter what.
Even with the game-like System, death seemed like a brutal reality.
Killing monsters hadn¡¯t registered the violent nature of this new world with Zarian right away. But a man¡¯s death was a real deal. And Zarian had survived without even reading the descriptions in his skills.
That would exin why his darkness always came out as staffs, spears, or tendrils. Weird, but fairly workable.
There wasn¡¯t much else to it other than finding time to practice and study. At the very least, he¡¯d practiced Straight Darkness for nearly two years. He was proficient in that skill.
How hard could studying a thick grimoire of ck wizardry be? Couldn¡¯t be that difficult. He¡¯d learned Bloody Lifesteal on the fly.
As for choosing a new skill. The list was much simpler this timepared to having over a hundred options for selecting a ss.
Zarian figured being a wizard apprentice meant he got little outside of utility skills and a soul bound grimoire. Without Straight Darkness, he would¡¯ve had a harder time fighting the koi monsters.
He would¡¯ve been dead.
Dark Staff seemed like the most useful skill. It would enhance Straight Darkness, making his biggest offensive skill even more overpowered. It would also enhance his ck wizardry.
Dark Staff started with the highest level as well. Did that mean it was more tailored for him?
The next skill down in level was Evil Wand. But its description of the evil alignment wasn¡¯t a draw.
Dark Staff seemed like the most superior choice. It was the smartest choice.
Zarian chose the Parasite Cloak instead. That one sounded cooler and reminded him of the Venom symbiote from Marvel Comics.
Who in their right mind would turn that down?
Excited, Zarian pressed the quasi button inside him and activated his new skill. When he saw the magic symbols and text in his head, they seemed hungry, carnivorous, chaotic, and horrifying.
Then the skill exploded out from his back in a horizontal geyser of blood-like and leathery tendrils. His shirt ripped off, leaving him bare-chested.
Zarian remained unharmed, but everyone else was reacting with screams and stares of horror. Even the tough-as-nails Sergeant Washington looked shaken, her Tranquil Mind reaching its limit.
Unbothered, Zarian waved them down. He was perfectly fine, enjoying the show as the parasite twisted around. Tangled threads of flesh and bone encircled him for an oddly intimate embrace.
The parasite was truly a sentient cloak. It was a hideous and grotesque cloak that quivered and glistened wetly unless it assumed a harder leathery appearance, but still a sentient cloak nheless.
It even came with a dry, leathery hood.
¡°Everyone, meet Para, my newest skill. She¡¯s a parasitic flesh-eating cloak. And she has an appetite,¡± Zarian said as Para vibrated around his body gently, sweetly even.
¡°H, Para, me ma Bianca,¡± the rum promoter greeted in Spanish, done with her screaming.
The others looked at her questioningly.
She looked back in confusion. ¡°What? Maybe Para won¡¯t eat me if she gets to know me. I¡¯ll even teach her Spanish.¡±
Zarian had to admit that Bianca was kind of ditzy in a quirky way. The others didn¡¯t seem to appreciate that about the Latina. He kept the ball rolling.
¡°I¡¯ll feed her the koi monsters. I¡¯m almost done looking over some stuff, too. Be ready to move because there is only one way out.¡±
Zarian left it at that before standing up and walking to the nearest monster corpses. Para pped dramatically behind him, the cloak flowing in a wavering current of fleshy threads and glints of ivory.
Para knew the assignment without Zarian having to ask her, defying thews of physics. Gravity? What was gravity? Only the rule of cool existed with Para.
Almost like Spawn¡¯s cape.
Once Zarian drew close enough to a monster corpse, Para stopped being dramatic and regal. She lunged around him and all over the meal.
Bony, razor-sharp teeth grew from the fleshy threads. Multiple mouths, some likempreys, formed and opened wide from her material.
She wolfed down on the koi fish, taking big, loud bites that tore off chunks and cracked bone. She gulped up the flesh without adding on any weight somehow, stayingfortable for him to wear.
Zarian watched as his cloak devoured one koi monster whole. That thing was the size of a cow. Then the Parasite Cloak grabbed a second and feasted.
The way Para ate brought to question why the skill scaled with Willpower.
Zarianmanded Para to stop and felt some resistance, but not much. Para stopped, even if disgruntled about it.
Still, that was concerning. Willpower was officially his second most important stat to keep updated, right behind Mysticism. Wonder fell in third ce.
He willed for Para to keep eating. No resistance, she pigged out. There were a good amount of corpses to go through.
Zarian nned to stop her after ten when he heard a soft ding and received a new gold notification:
Stolen novel; please report.
Okay then! So the System could do quests and dole out rewards. It sounded like a no brainer except for a few issues.
The dead police officer counted as a corpse. That had to get ¡ cleaned away toplete the quest.
Also, Zarian reasoned killing an officer wasn¡¯t the ¡®transgression¡¯ or crime the System was referring to. That meant they really needed to get out of here, because they weren¡¯t supposed to be here.
The quest is hinting at something bad that¡¯s going to happen. If Zarian stopped the corpse-eating and rushed everyone to leave, maybe they could avoid the trouble.
Zarian went after the extra experience. He willed for Para to eat faster! The living cloak quivered with some concern, almost questioning him until her gluttony won out.
She ate, ate, ate.
This is horrifying and gross, but I¡¯m just running with it anyway. The stat points in Willpower were helpful.
Para tore up the corpses with a ravenous speed and hunger. Zarian had to run to keep up as Para yanked him around, swerving hard to avoid the dark liquid contaminants on the ground.
Meanwhile, he focused on thest item on his profile review: the Honored Outsider achievement. He willed it to open. Gold notifications popped up.
Please don¡¯t die an unworthy death? That is so weird to tell a guy. And what¡¯s so worrisome about my origins? What are my origins really, System?
Before Zarian could ponder further, thick chains appeared around his neck. A heavy, solid weight smacked into his bare chest.
Zarian looked down at a big gold medallion with intricate engravings swirling on its surface. It also had seven different colored gems embedded around the edges.
He used his Identify trait for more info.
Seriously, what are these connections in my origins where you have to give me a divine item like this?!
Zarian wondered if he had a secret bloodline or if he originated from something simr to Krypton. The only issue with that was how he had sketchy evil-looking magic instead of heroic powers of perfect heroism. His mysterious parents could¡¯ve been Voldemort and Maleficent, for all he knew.
Am I the evil version of Harry Potter?
He had chosen an evil aligned ss. He didn¡¯t feel particrly evil. Maybe just a little more sketchy, if anything.
Who were his real parents? Did they know he was here? Why did they abandon him to live a suck-ass life?
Where was Ariana?
¡°The review¡¯s over,¡± Zarian muttered, fixing his attention elsewhere: the group.
Para had finished eating up all the monster corpses. Her appetite had settled a while ago, but Zarian had urged her to keep eating.
She felt more invigorated now, even if a little bloated. She wavered around him weightlessly, all flesh, bone, and teeth, with plenty of gaps that would give anyone with a phobia of holes a heart attack.
With his leather hood on, darkening his features, he looked like an eldritch horror walking through the dark depths of their subterranean starter area. The only bright thing on him was the gold medallion dangling against his chest.
***
Staff Sergeant Naomi Washington had stopped her celebration of her new rank when she spotted Zarian at the mall, looking downright terrible. He wasn¡¯t the only recruit she¡¯d known who washed out of the Marines and became a homeless veteran.
She¡¯d tried reaching out to them twice now. One hadmitted suicide. The other had nearly assaulted her.
She¡¯d been burned like this before, inside and outside of the Marines.
Still, she had wanted to reach out to Zarian, anyway. She¡¯d gotten him into the Marines even though she knew he was a little off. He¡¯d put up a good front, but she was quick to see past it.
More importantly, she¡¯d known he was a desperate seventeen-year-old back then. He¡¯d needed something to do after high school.
She¡¯d done the paperwork. She¡¯d coached him on how to get past boot camp and beyond. She¡¯d ignored the red gs.
Now she was standing over a dead man Zarian had killed. A police officer, of all things. While stuck in a dark cavernous room with minimum light.
Naomi couldn¡¯t believe she¡¯d grabbed hold of Zarian¡¯s arm and used him like a magic rifle to shoot at monsters ¨C koi fish corrupted, to be exact. Now she was doing her best to organize the others and keep track of their magical powers.
What the fuck?
This was crazy.
But she had to adapt and ovee it all anyway.
It had to be this way, because Zarian was their greatest asset regardless of him being a horrific monster.
Naomi was thankful for her skill. It made her clear-headed and aware of options she would¡¯ve missed under normal conditions.
Tranquil Mind leveled up again. Thank God, because the way Zarian was walking up briskly after his monster attire ate up the dead koi monsters was nightmarish. The leather hood darkening his face and the flowing cloak of flesh and teeth was nearly too much.
The big gold medallion on his bare chest would¡¯ve looked gaudy on anyone else. On Zarian, it made him look more powerful and beyond all of them.
Naomi leaned on her skill more even though it made her feel cold and tired. The drawback had felt worse earlier, but she¡¯d leveled up six times from the defeat of the koi fish corrupted.
The parasitic cloak reached toward them. It ¨C or she ¨C looked like she wanted to eat them just like the koi fish.
The others panicked. Naomi¡¯s gun hand shook. Most people would¡¯ve shot at Zarian on the spot.
Naomi took the calmest approach. She asked, ¡°What are you doing, sir?¡±
Zarian stumbled awkwardly, reminding Naomi of how dorky he could be. That hadn¡¯t changed.
The threads of his many-mouthed cloak stopped close to her. The flesh-like threads wavered around Naomi, touching her gently. Para, the cloak, gave off a subtle scent of leather and bacon.
Naomi would¡¯ve screamed if she hadn¡¯t been the chillest person there. Thankfully, she¡¯d taken all the magazines, bullets, and gun belts for herself.
The cops weren¡¯t happy about that, but investing 30 points in Willpower, Strength, and Agility made it easy for her to overpower them. All thanks to Wally¡¯s geeky knowledge. He¡¯d set her straight with this magic gaming nonsense.
Naomi doubted she could physically overpower Zarian. Not with Para hanging out like a prey-trapping spider web that pretended to be a fashion statement.
¡°We need to go. I got a side quest to clear out the bodies. But the way it¡¯s written makes me think we have somethinging our way,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°Para can take in objects. Like a bag of holding. She won¡¯t eat this guy. That way, we can take him somewhere to bury him.¡±
Naomi rxed a little after that exnation. Zarian was powerful, monstrous, and foolish, but he was still an earnest young man.
That was good to see. Her recent decision to jockey for the right-hand woman position felt even more important.
Zarian could be a colossal idiot sometimes. He was terrible at handling problems that cropped up with people on the peripherals. And he was intensely focused on his own issues: like finding his make-believe sister, Ariana.
Is she make-believe?
No, no, no. That wasn¡¯t Naomi¡¯s concern right now. Keeping the others from acting out was her focus.
All the cops were a danger to themselves and the others. Along with the kid who wet his pants, Jack.
Naomi didn¡¯t like Jack¡¯s vibe. Not one bit.
¡°Yes, that sounds like a n,¡± Naomi said. ¡°Make sure Para doesn¡¯t eat the body, please. You¡¯ll have to lead us in case of danger, sir.¡±
¡°Like hell I¡¯ll let him desecrate Ken¡¯s body! He has a kid in college, dammit!¡± yelled one of three remaining police officers.
They were healed up now because of the big dumb one with the Basic Healing skill. Still toote for Ken.
The one yelling had the Super Punch skill.
Naomi took the calmest approach. She shoved the man softly on the shoulder and threw him off his feet. She barely had to try.
Abination of her heightened Strength and Agility caught him off guard. That sent him on a tumble across the floor without hurting him too badly.
Now his hatred turned to her.
Naomi was fine with that. She was used to being a bitch.
It was better she took their hatred instead of Zarian, really. She knew him well enough that she could speak in his stead, too.
¡°He¡¯s taking the corpse. That¡¯s what he¡¯s going to do. And there¡¯s nothing we can do about that but follow his orders. You hear me?¡± Naomi put some bass into her voice with the whip-crack of military authority.
¡°He killed Keh,¡± grunted a different police officer, who Naomi was wary of.
That one had the Command skill. He didn¡¯t speak often, but Naomi pressed the button for her Tranquil Mind even harder. She wanted the mental defense just in case.
¡°It happened duringbat,¡± Naomi said, avoiding the phrase ¡®self-defense.¡¯ It wouldn¡¯t work here. ¡°We¡¯re not inbat with each other anymore. We¡¯re in a hostile and alien environment with elements that could turn us into monsters or throw more monsters at us. And we need to move out together and get a scope of the situation, maybe find locals for a better exnation.¡±
The cops fell silent. They weren¡¯t pleased, but they had nothing more to say.
The one she¡¯d knocked to the ground received a helping hand from his friends. Then they closed ranks and became their own clique, an ind of blue.
Fine with Naomi. They were off the corpse.
Zarian¡¯s cloak, Para, flowed around Naomi and wrapped up the dead body. Para slurped it off the ground and into her fleshy mass.
The man-shaped bulge disappeared inside her.
¡°Para has him now. She¡¯s being careful,¡± Zarian exined.
¡°Gracias, Para,¡± Bianca chirped.
Everybody ignored her except for Para. The living cloak waved a fleshy, bone-tipped tendril back at Bianca. It looked like a friendly gesture.
Naomi took note of that: I should acknowledge Para more.
¡°My quest isplete. Got some new levels. Cool, cool,¡± Zarian said, straight forward and unbothered.
Naomi wanted to sigh at his idiocy, but then she noticed Zarian looking at her directly. She saw his lower face from under the darkness of his hood. He mouthed the word ¡®thanks.¡¯
Maybe he¡¯s not that clueless, Naomi thought. The position for the right-hand woman was definitely hers.
The others ¨C the cops, most likely ¨C might¡¯ve thought of her as an amoral brown-noser. They were probably disgusted with her being a Marine.
They could kiss her ass. Naomi didn¡¯t care.
She¡¯d grown up rough. She¡¯d done all she could to separate herself from her past life by joining the military.
She would do anything to seed. And she was still willing to stick her neck out for others at the risk of herself.
She still felt responsible for Zarian.
Did I do enough to help him? Is this all happening because I didn¡¯t reach out when he got kicked out?
If she had failed him in any major way, she could make up for that while looking out for her own interests.
Chapter 6: Corrupt and Die
Things were in working order because of Sergeant Washington handling the group with an iron grip. Or was she a Staff Sergeant now?
It had been a while since he¡¯dst seen her.
She still intimidated Zarian a little with her no nonsense personality.
At least she looked great and was still the same gung-ho woman who always had his back. She¡¯d helped him get into the Marines despite his issues, after all.
I¡¯m definitely power-leveling her first. Zarian was now Level 15. His Parasite Cloak had leveled up from 1 to 3. The experience from the side quest was greater than he¡¯d originally thought.
He noticed Para showing off more range and control. He wondered if skill levels influenced the scaling with stats. What other benefits did leveling up a skill provide?
He also had 25 points in his Free stat waiting for him to invest.
Dump or nah?
Zarian had a lot of questions.Like what the hell did the Wonder stat do? It was the only one he couldn¡¯t guesstimate.
Was Wonder for luck? Was it for divine aid? Was it for intelligence? Wisdom? Wanderlust?
Naturally, he needed to find an expert or a local just like what Naomi had said.
They needed to find a town. That was the case with most isekai scenarios. The people who arrived in another world would go to the nearest sign of civilization and get some answers.
He hoped that would happen without a hitch as he headed toward the only exit. Naomi followed behind him while looking over her shoulder at the others.
The civilians grouped up together behind Naomi. The boys in blue walked solemnly in the back, keeping some distance.
Zarian gave them all a cursory nce before he focused on what was ahead. Para would protect his back ¨C she¡¯d shrank down into a more leathery and normal cloak form.
Less stylish, more subtle.
¡°Watch that puddle of ooze there,¡± Zarian pointed to the side.
¡°Um, what is that ooze exactly, sir?¡± asked Wally, the only guy geekier than Zarian.
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°Can¡¯t you tell by looking at it just like you did with us?¡± Wally insisted.
Zarian felt his neck heat up with embarrassment. Then he said, ¡°I was testing you,¡± and used Identify on the ooze.
¡°Hm, well, since you can¡¯t see with your own eyes I shall exin,¡± Zarian said, making himself sound official and stuffy. ¡°A scary goddess came to the Star System as a baby twenty years ago and cried a bunch. Her tears corrupted others and spread secretly all over the ce. Touch it at your own risk.¡±
¡°Holy cow, really?¡± Wally blurted. ¡°That sounds mythical as heck.¡±
¡°He¡¯s fucking with us,¡± grumbled a cop. ¡°He has to be. There¡¯s no way.¡±
¡°What happened to the goddess?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°When do I go home?¡± Hannah asked in a shaky voice.
Zarian didn¡¯t have any suitable responses for them right now. On their way to the exit, he noticed something walking toward them from within the tunnel. It was as short as a little child.
¡°Ariana?¡± Zarian called before realizing something was wrong.
The childish thing bolted straight at him like a ball out of a cannon. It seemed deadlier than anything he¡¯d seen yet.
There was no time for a warning. Zarian surged forward a few steps. His Parasite Cloak responded even faster, whirling, shifting, solidifying into a nted shield in front of him.
The iing figure deflected off his makeshift meat shield. The force was heavy. Para soaked most of the hit while the rest shook Zarian up.
He would¡¯ve stumbled if Para hadn¡¯t thrown down bone stakes into the floor for stabilization. That was great at first until Zarian and Para unraveled and tried to locate the attacker.
The shifty figure was dashing straight at the cops in the back. Zarian couldn¡¯t aim his hand fast enough to shoot a dark beam or anything.
With a growl, he manipted the darkness closest to the cops. He felt some difficulty since the conjuring was further away, but not enough to stop him.
A wall of dark spikes thrust upward between the cops and the shifty attacker. The spikes were quick, wild, poorly aimed. They were still a good enough deterrent.
The wall was too tall, though. The attacker bounced off the shafts and turned toward Zarian, Naomi, and the civvies.
The moment it stood still to look at them, Zarian used Identify.
Oh, damn, it¡¯s a dark-type versus dark-type battle, Zarian figured.
The goblin probably invested in the Agility stat. The thing certainly looked like a corrupted goblin, too.
Its wiry body was masculine while standing a little under five feet tall. The arms were long, reaching down with w-tipped fingers past its knobby knees. Big ears reached out from a conical-shaped head filled with overgrown teeth. Its flesh was the color of oil, and its ck, soulless eyes were wide-open portals filled with depraved hunger.
Then the goblin spoke in a garblednguage that the Identify trait tranted for Zarian: ¡°I¡¯m going to rip you apart and defile your corpses. Then serve your dirty limbs to the ve Cook for good eating, transgressors.¡±
¡°It said a bunch of nasty things. And apparently there¡¯s an enved cook.¡± Zarian used the conversation to charge up darkness in his hand.
Palm thrusting forward, he pressed the skill button and shot out projectiles of Straight Darkness. He even switched on the Overpower trait to boost his skill.
The projectiles were short and quick, much like crossbow bolts. But they had way more weight, way more density, and could probably smash rock to pieces.
The goblin showed off its own alpha skill: Shadow Rush. The creature melted into his element as a humanoid blob, embodying shadows, and sped ahead as fast as a bolt.
For a split-second, Zarian feared the goblin could move past his dark bolts with no damage.
Then his overpowered nature shone true once again. The bolts connected solidly. They ripped the goblin out of its Shadow Rush.
The creature screamed, his arm torn off.
Dark blood sttered onto the stone floor as the goblin staggered to the side. The Level 22 Marauder was an easy shot now.
¡°Naomi, shoot it,¡± Zarian said.
With no hesitation, Naomi raised her pistol and pumped nine mil rounds into the goblin. She took chunks off its torso and head.
She emptied an entire magazine, performed a speed reload while the goblin stood stunned, and emptied another magazine into its face before the monster fell over.
Naomi turned to Zarian, her confusion clear. It took her nearly thirty pistol rounds for her to finish the goblin.
He could¡¯ve finished the goblin with one more dark bolt.
¡°I want you stronger,¡± Zarian said simply.
¡°Thank you, sir,¡± Naomi replied, militant and grateful.
Zarian received no level ups. That was fine, because Naomi had gained a new personal level, putting her at Level 8.
Two more and she might receive her ss options, including new skills and maybe a trait or two.
¡°Could I get some help to level up?¡± Wally asked shamelessly. ¡°My skill can empower me physically.¡±
Without answering, Zarian had Para store the goblin body away instead of eating it. She was still full from her prior meal.
He thought about Wally¡¯s request while stepping closer to the tunnel and peering into the darkness. There was barely any light.
After concentrating for a few seconds, the darkness became more clear to Zarian. His affinity was probably the culprit, granting him dark vision.
Zarian noticed no further enemiesing down the tunnel. Still, he was wary. How bad would things get if they faced down multiple fast-as-hell goblins in a corridor?
Should I dump points into Agility?
This novel''s true home is a different tform. Support the author by finding it there.
Ugh, he was hoping to min-max on Mysticism, Willpower, and maybe Wonder. He was strong enough, wasn¡¯t he?
¡°Where are you putting your stats?¡± Zarian asked openly.
¡°Willpower, Agility, Strength,¡± Naomi answered.
¡°I was nning Agility and Strength,¡± Wally said. ¡°To take advantage of Basic Empowerment. I¡¯d prefer the more magical approach, but I¡¯ll hulk things out if I have to.¡±
¡°You¡¯re acting weird,¡± Zarian said toward Wally, inching into the tunnel.
¡°Oh, sorry, I¡¯m doing all I can not to freak out. I mean, I¡¯ve always dreamed about this. I just wish it was a nicer isekai,¡± Wally said. ¡°Then again, I still wouldn¡¯t go back to working in retail. That¡¯s more soul crushing.¡±
¡°Fucking nerd,¡± mumbled a police officer.
¡°I need more help to understand all of this,¡± Bianca admitted.
¡°I want to go home,¡± Hannah mumbled.
Jack and the other police officers remained silent.
Zarian and Naomi shared a look of understanding. Or maybe Zarian was hoping she understood him.
These guys were a lot to handle, and Naomi had to do the bulk of the social work for Zarian. Meanwhile, he wondered if facing down goblins corrupted by the Shadowfell Tears would mean he should expect traps.
Growing up poor without video games and nobody but Ariana as his closest confidant shaped Zarian into reading bargain-bin paperbacks. Loads of them.
While inside of the Marines, he had a more stable inte connection and the good fortune of consuming Japanese and Americanics. Some of that included a lot of portal fantasies into magical worlds with or without game mechanics.
He¡¯d even yed a few online fantasy games with simr setups. So he had extensive wisdom in this sort of situation.
So would the corrupted goblins of the Infinita Star System set traps?
¡°Para, can you help me?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°You might get hurt.¡±
The Parasite Cloak waved a tendril up and down that seemed like a nod to Zarian. Para wanted to help. Zarian turned to the others.
¡°Para¡¯s going to check for traps, right?¡± Wally said, sounding excited. ¡°You¡¯re a nerd just like me for knowing that.¡±
Zarian humored him. ¡°Yeah, I am.¡±
Naomi addressed the other girls. ¡°We will help you, okay? Just bear with us while we deal with hostile creatures.¡±
For the first time in a while, Jack spoke up. ¡°There¡¯s trained professionals in the back who can help you. Why not put the police in front to lead the way.¡±
Zarian frowned under the darkness of his hood.
Okay, that¡¯s a weird way to put it when we all know I¡¯m more powerful. Hell, even the police officers weren¡¯t so happy about how Jack spun that statement.
Jack seemed a little out of it, so nobody should me him for the weird phrasing.
Before Zarian answered, Naomi cut in. ¡°Let¡¯s get going before anyone acts dumb, sir.¡±
Jack looked like he was sucking on a lemon. Zarian didn¡¯t bother checking on the cops¡¯ reaction again. He nodded at Naomi before facing forward.
Para unraveled into long strings of flesh and stretched ahead. She reached farther than Zarian had expected. With threads as thin as hair strands, she felt out the tunnel for traps.
¡°Ariana, are you seeing this?¡± Zarian asked, amazed by his Parasite Cloak. He was so d he chose it.
¡°Whose Ariana?¡± Wally asked.
Jack shushed at him.
Zarian stepped forward at a slow pace, giving Para time to clear sections of the tunnel. Everyone followed in three cliques: Naomi behind Zarian, the civvies followed second, and the police.
After a few minutes of trap clearing, Zarian answered Wally¡¯s question. ¡°She¡¯s my little sister. I figured she was a ghost since nobody can see or hear her other than me. But she might¡¯ve been a figment of my imagination since she disappeared the moment I entered that portal.¡±
A few minutester, Bianca spoke up. ¡°Maybe her spirit couldn¡¯t go through with us. Or it¡¯s elsewhere.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Zarian said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter now. Para found a trap on the floor.¡±
The Parasite Cloak pointed a long bony spine down at a patch of the floor ahead. Zarian looked closer and noticed a rough, discolored square that differed from the rest of the tunnel floor.
It was a bonafide trap.
He directed Naomi and Wally toe up carefully and look. Naomi nodded with a grim expression. Wally looked like he was going to geek out from the thrill of crawling a trapden tunnel.
Zarian was still sad about Ariana, but the visceral danger of facing goblin traps kept him focused. He quietly exined to the others how goblin traps were like the traps in the jungles of the Vietnam War.
Wally went a step further talking about spike pits, falling logs covered in spikes, and other horrible traps that might have goblin feces on them. Bianca and Hannah grew more terrified.
Thankfully, he wasn¡¯t too loud, but he was distracting. Naomi pressed her finger to his lips for him to shut up.
Wally looked a little flustered from that and stopped talking. He looked at Naomi a lot more for her approval or something.
Poor bastard. Naomi ate the hearts of men for breakfast.
After getting past multiple traps safely, they reached the end of the tunnel and found an open doorway to the right. Inside was a roughly hewn stone staircase going up. Para was so good as a scout her threads had already checked it out. All was clear.
¡°I can barely see,¡± Naomi said. ¡°The lighting here is terrible.¡±
¡°I can try my skill and light it up,¡± Bianca said.
¡°That¡¯s a bad idea in the dark,¡± Naomi replied. ¡°We¡¯ll all get severely blinded.¡±
Zarian wondered if he would get blinded the worst because of his Dark Affinity. If the System ran with Pokemon-style rules, he wouldn¡¯t want to face strong light-types.
Slow and steady, Zarian entered the staircase. Naomi followed. The others were trailing in when Para quivered hard against Zarian¡¯s back, giving him the creeps.
That had to be a warning.
Para quickly spooled her threads back into the whole of her cloak body. Zarian wrapped his arm around Naomi¡¯s waist and pulled her close to his side.
He ced his hand on Wally¡¯s chest and pushed him back into the others. They exited the staircase back the way they came before a handful of goblins entered the staircase from the top.
Zarian didn¡¯t know how many were there, but there was definitely more than one. He ced his hand on Naomi¡¯s gun and pushed it down, signifying that she shouldn¡¯t shoot.
Bullets were too weak. And too loud.
They needed a new solution. The others need weapons.
Zarian thought quickly on his feet. He willed for an answer and something oundish came to mind.
The goblins walked lower down the staircase, drawing closer.
There was a faint sconce light on the wall over the staircase. The sconce light shone just enough for Zarian to gesture at the people he wanted for the next encounter. When it was time to start, Zarian was sure things would fall apart from the jump.
Surprisingly, Bianca did as Zarian wanted. She closed her eyes and walked inside the staircase while the goblins were leaving thestnding.
Zarian closed his eyes. He still saw light through his eyelids. It was bright and painful, all from Bianca¡¯s Searing sh skill. Her light filled up the staircase and shone through the open entrance.
A gaggle of goblins screamed in pain and rage. While Zarian blinked the spots out of his eyes, Para flowed into the staircase and wrapped around Bianca.
The Parasite Cloak pulled the ditzy but bravetina out of the staircase.
Then Naomi and Wally stood in front of the entrance in open view. The goblins tried to focus on them while still heavily blinded.
Zarian used them as distractions while he forced the darkness on the staircase floor to spring up as spikes. They felt weak and brittle in the aftermath of Bianca¡¯s powerful sh, but the spikes screwed up the goblins anyway.
He hit them with more and more spikes rising from the floor, sttering blood across the bottom of the staircase. The goblins screamed in pain, their legs torn up.
Once he stopped and cleared out the spikes, Naomi stepped forward with the new weapon in her hand, a dark sword. Zarian had made the weapon out of solidified darkness set in nearly straight and sharpened lines. Wally had the same weapon in his hands.
Naomi was higher in level than Wally, so she struck first. Zarian watched as she chopped at goblin heads savagely.
Then Wally joined, his skill activated, empowering him. He struck as hard as Naomi.
To avoid goblin retaliations, Zarian conjured dark tendrils from the floor to hold down all five monsters. Once he had them pinned, the fight was mostly over.
Something about Zarian¡¯s darkness overpowered the goblins¡¯ Shadow Rush skill. None of the goblins could escape even if they wanted to flee. Their deaths would make him and his group stronger. That was a must.
¡°I can¡¯t believe this!¡± Wally said, thrilled by the bloodybat. ¡°I¡¯m really living my dream!¡± His mouth was running fast as he split goblin skulls with multiple swings. ¡°I¡¯m ying goblins with magic.¡±
¡°Stop running your mouth and focus, Wally,¡± Naomi snapped at him while she worked on her goblins.
Wally didn¡¯t hear her. ¡°I¡¯m not a freaking loser!¡±
Zarian wanted to tell Wally to quiet down as well. As crazy as Zarian was, he was used to being oundish. Wally seemed like he would lose too much focusing out of his shell right now.
Then the worst happened. A goblin snapped free from the tendril holding it down.
Shocked, Zarian used his Identify trait on the lone goblin. It wasn¡¯t a Marauder. It was a Rampager, with an alpha skill called Shadow Strength.
The goblin¡¯s body shifted with bulging shadow muscles that ignored the damage on its legs. Zarian conjured more tendrils to restrain it.
The goblin hopped away from the reaching tendrils. Itnded on Wally while the retail worker was chopping down at a different goblin,ughing the whole time,pletely unaware of the danger.
¡°Wally!¡± Zarian tried to warn as the goblin smashed the guy¡¯s head into bloody bits.
A dozen dark bolts shredded the strong goblin up a split secondter. A few of those bolts tore off chunks from Wally¡¯s body by ident.
¡°Fuck!¡± Naomi cussed after killing thest goblin, unable to stay calm. She yelled down at Wally¡¯s corpse. ¡°Fucking god damn it, boy! Your stupid ass got yourself killed!¡±
Zarian grimaced as the others looked into the massacre at the staircase bottom. Their eyes were on Wally¡¯s corpse.
Before anyone could say a thing, the police officer with the Super Punch lunged at Zarian¡¯s side.
Para smacked him into the wall. He crumpled into the floor like a sack of potatoes. The police officer with Basic Healing ran to his friend and used his power.
¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing. Stand down and let us take over,¡± said the officer with the Command skill.
Zarian grimaced, feeling its effect slithering into his brain, trying to Command him against his will. Before he did anything, Naomi stormed out of the staircase, looking meaner than ever.
She was Level 10 now, while the officers were all Level 1 still. Her hand caught the one with the Command skill by the neck and lifted him up like he weighed nothing.
Everyone watched, horrified and intimidated, as Zarian held his silence and let Naomi do what she did best.
¡°Don¡¯t use that skill on the sir ever again or I will make you regret it,¡± Naomi demanded, cold and steely.
¡°We can help each other,¡± said the officer with Basic Healing. ¡°We have to help each other through this nightmare.¡±
Naomi ignored the healer, staying focused on the officer with the Command skill. ¡°Do we have an understanding? If not, I will consider you hostile to our survival.¡±
The man wheezed and struggled, unable to shake off Naomi¡¯s overt Strength. Zarian did nothing to help, knowing Naomi was being the bad guy for him. It was screwed up, but it was better this way.
Nobody would want to face his anger.
Before the man suffered too much or died, Naomi released him. He copsed into a fetal position at her feet, gasping and coughing before saying, ¡°Yes,¡± in a hoarse cough.
Zarian grimaced at his messy group before looking at Wally¡¯s battered, headless corpse lying amid the goblins. Bianca was sobbing, having a full-on breakdown. Hannah looked even more pale than before, clearly traumatized.
And Jack was ring a hole through Zarian¡¯s head.
¡°It¡¯s dangerous,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I¡¯ll fight anything in our way. But I can¡¯t guarantee your safety anymore.¡±
¡°I still want to get stronger, sir,¡± Naomi said, ring at everyone else, measuring their worth and finding them allcking.
It was a good thing Zarian was really in charge. Naomi could be too harsh sometimes.
¡°Me too,¡± Jack grunted. ¡°As long as we¡¯re more careful in the next encounter.¡±
¡°That could¡¯ve been me. What was I thinking going first? That could¡¯ve been me.¡± Bianca sobbed, rocking back and forth. Hannah wrapped her arms around her, offering a shoulder to cry on, holding back her own tears as well.
¡°Let us help,¡± muttered the police officer with the Super Punch skill.
Zarian was tempted to say no, but reconsidered. Things had looked good until he realized his mistake toote. He hadn¡¯t used Identify on all the goblins. He¡¯d assumed they all had the same skill.
Thus, someone had died under his watch.
Zarian refused to make the same mistake again.
Chapter 7: Parasite Lifesteal
Zarian armed everyone with dark swords except himself. For the sake of simplicity, each sword was the same copy. They were long enough for added reach without being detrimental in tunnels and enclosed spaces.
Zarian figured everyone had to be more careful with the potential fights toe. Wally¡¯s death kept them all grounded about the reality of their situation.
Para was their best problem-solver right now. She was a good meat shield. She could scout. She acted quickly, could strike in multiple ways, and scaled with Willpower and meat.
Zarian was Level 16 after the goblin takedown. He dumped his Free points on his best stats. Mysticism received 15 points. Willpower received 10 points. Wonder received 5 points.
He was inclined to think Wonder helped with perceiving the unnatural. Maybe even touching on extraordinary circumstances and luck.
Or it was the stat for faith. The police officer with Basic Healing scaled with Wonder. Maybe more Wonder would¡¯ve helped Zarian save Wally before he met his demise.
If not Wonder, I¡¯ll grow Agility to be faster on the draw next time.
Now his stats looked like this:
Willpower: 51Strength: 15Agility: 14Wonder: 37Mysticism: 135
The growth in stats, especially Mysticism, relieved the pressure on him by a lot. Maintaining the dark swords for everyone wasn¡¯t easy.
Para ate the goblin corpses to refuel herself. Then she stored away Wally¡¯s body and cleaned up the scene on the bottom staircase, leaving it spotless.
Being transgressors seemed to be a big deal here. Zarian figured it was best to leave less evidence of their kills whenever possible.
Zarian sat near the staircase entrance with his grimoire cracked open. Naomi and the police officers coached the others into basic weapon swinging techniques.
They treated the swords like a fusion between batons and machetes. Zarian was pretty sure that was wrong, but he¡¯d never done martial arts with swords before.
Instead of trying it out, he focused on studying the pages in his soul bound grimoire. It didn¡¯t seem to offer much more than what he already had, though.
No matter where he flipped, the heavy symbols and scribbles remained indecipherable to him. His Identify trait wouldn¡¯t work on any single line or shape.
His personal level was probably too low. Or he needed to raise the grimoire¡¯s skill level. It could be abination of both to ess more spells.
It was unfortunate that Bloody Lifesteal wasn¡¯t that offensive.
¡°Or am I looking at it wrong?¡± Zarian rubbed his hand over a scrap of Para. ¡°You¡¯re a part of me, aren¡¯t you? Yeah, you are. Hmm.¡±
Zarian pondered for a little while. He tracked the aura flowing inside of him.
For now, he was okay. He could feel it ticking down slowly. Thankfully, having more Mysticism seemed to increase recovery of the magical substance.
The great news was how the consistent practice helped Straight Darkness grow. His best alpha skill was bing more refined.
Zarian felt confident in maintaining the shape of the eight dark swords. Even when members of the group moved under the weak sconce lights, Zarian kept his swords sharp and hard.
Naomi broke away from the others to join him. She stood attentively, waiting for his acknowledgement.
That was weird of her. She used to terrorize him when he was a recruit. She¡¯d once tracked him down at a former trap house in the hood and made him run sprints with her in the early hours.
Maybe she really cares about me, Zarian thought.
He couldn¡¯t be sure. But it felt like that. Or she was her own brand of crazy and would do anything to survive.
It was unfortunate he¡¯d dragged her into a fight against corruption and goblins. But he was inwardly happy he had someone trustworthy backing him.
He would strip the flesh off anyone¡¯s bones if they hurt her.
¡°Yes, Sergeant Washington?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°It¡¯s Staff Sergeant.¡± Naomi shifted awkwardly. ¡°I ranked upst week. But that doesn¡¯t matter here. Let¡¯s go with Naomi, if that serves you, sir.¡±
¡°Uh, sure, I can work with that.¡± Zarian tilted his hooded head. ¡°Anything else, Naomi?¡±
¡°I went through the list. I had thirty options. Three of them are rare, and also the best. Can I have your help with choosing?¡±
Zarian nodded, patting the stone floor by him. Para was keeping watch of the staircase and the doorway at the top. She would warn them if another wave of goblins appeared.
Naomi took a seat beside him. ¡°The police officers are thirsty, by the way. Hannah and Jack, too. Bianca says she¡¯s alright, but she¡¯s probably lying. I feel it a little, but not as much as the others.¡±
¡°You have the most stats in Strength and Agility. Either stat or both could improve your physical condition overall.¡± Zarian gave Naomi a half smile she could see under his hood. He kept his own needs to himself.
He¡¯d been ignoring his thirst and hunger the whole time. He had the benefit of more physical stats than normal. But not by much.
¡°Would those monsters have water?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°The ve Cook might,¡± Zarian said. ¡°A cook would have water. Boiled, too. Now, let¡¯s look at your options.¡±
She told him her top three choices. They looked something like this:
Choice one:
Two:
Three:
¡°Damn,¡± Zarian said.
Naomi sighed. ¡°Exactly my point, sir. I didn¡¯t get enough of ¡ Wally¡¯s expertise when I should¡¯ve. But I got the gist during his fastest rant. This life-and-death game requires some strategy. The points I receive can decide what stats and powers be stronger down the road. But once I choose, I¡¯m picking a specialty. And specialties aren¡¯t perfect for every situation.¡±
¡°You¡¯re right about that.¡± He had his own concerns for being an extremely dark and evil-aligned edge lord of the Infinita Star System.
It looked like one of Naomi¡¯s options would make her evil aligned, too. Zarian wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted her to go down that road. Although, it could be nice to have another evil presence other than him.
¡°Can I exin my thought process?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°I¡¯ll listen,¡± Zarian offered.
He was interested in how a non-nerd would handle this. Zarian had his biases, but people outside of geeky niche cultures could offer unique insights.
¡°Each ss is rare, which is better than the rest. Each of these sses offers different approaches that can help in the here and now.¡± Naomi lowered her voice. ¡°One, the Battle Psion Initiate makes me think it deals with PSYOPs and mental shit. I can probably do some crazy stuff to people¡¯s minds.¡±
Naomi jerked her head at the police with the Command skill.
Zarian wondered if she would turn those powers on anyone else, like him. He wasn¡¯t sure. But he wouldn¡¯t deny Naomi going after that ss.
She carried on: ¡°Or two, I pick the Holy Maiden Trainee and nab that Holy Ray skill. Big issue with that is the stats don¡¯t go with what I¡¯ve been pumping up so far. I¡¯ve ignored Wonder and Mysticism. Now I¡¯ll need those to catch up if I go all holy. I¡¯m gonna guess that Holy Ray scales with those and it¡¯lle out weak otherwise. Am I right?¡±
¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡±
Naomi smiled in relief at Zarian¡¯s answer. It was a nice and human look on her, a crack in her normal tough act. Zarian¡¯s trust deepened as she spoke further, sounding more excited, like a fledgling gamer.
¡°Third, I get three choices in skills with the Earth Destroyer Junior. Look all around us. Earth. Outside is going to be more earth on the ground. I won¡¯t ever run out. It¡¯s weird that it¡¯s evil aligned, but I¡¯m no princess either way, so I don¡¯t mind dancing with that devil.¡±
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Naomi sighed, shoulders cking. ¡°See my dilemma, sir? But I¡¯m not one forying out problems without solutions.¡±
¡°What do you have for me?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Well, if I look at the option of getting a rare trait, that might be major for me. So that eliminates Earth Destroyer Junior. If I think about building up what I started so I can get a major advantage, likepound interest, Holy Maiden Trainee can¡¯t be the one.¡±
Zarian nodded slowly. He was thinking the same thing.
If Naomi wanted to be as strong as possible, she had to lean into the min-max principle.
Yes, it was possible for her to recover in theter levels if she shifted stat priorities. But there might not be ater if she couldn¡¯t survive the trial right above them.
Zarian moved his face close to hers.
She leaned even closer, cheek to cheek, lips to ear.
¡°Don¡¯t fuck with my head, Naomi,¡± Zarian grunted. ¡°Unless I tell you to, or you give me a fair warning. If you do fuck with my head, it better be for a good reason.¡±
It was a simple demand with a lot of weight.
Naomi gulped audibly. Then she whispered back into his ear. ¡°I thought about that. I¡¯m going for a ss with potential powers that screws with people¡¯s heads, including yours. So, yeah, I¡¯ll be extra careful and keep you updated. Thank you for trusting me ¡ Zarian.¡±
She sounded like she wanted to say more. But she kept it at that. She was waiting for his permission.
¡°Get the Battle Psion Initiate,¡± he told her.
She selected the ss. Then she picked her skill before telling him about the new additions.
She had a rare trait called Psionic Affinity, and her new skill was called Mind Spike. She could drive a horrible, brain-damaging migraine into an observable target that was fairly close to her. The closer, the better.
Both of her new abilities scaled with Willpower.
¡°I lost the nerves,¡± Naomi muttered.
¡°You had an option for influencing others and didn¡¯t choose it?¡± Zarian whispered.
¡°I thought about how people won¡¯t trust me if they knew I had that skill,¡± Naomi said, ring at the guy with the Command skill. ¡°I couldn¡¯t risk it in case we have to get friendly with locals.¡±
Zarian stood up and offered his hand to Naomi to help her stand. Once she was on her feet, he said, ¡°You¡¯re already intimidating enough.¡±
Naomi flinched back.
Zarian thought little of it and looked past Naomi. The rest of the group was ready to move on. Now that he was informed, they did look thirsty.
Bianca was calmer, the dark sword steady in her hands. That was a good sign after her sobbing episode from earlier.
¡°No more deaths, please,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You can hate me as much as you want, but now we really need each other to survive.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t need us,¡± Jack said.
Zarian shrugged. ¡°Maybe, maybe not. You all have uniquely quirky skills that are useful for different situations. And as your resident wizard, I¡¯m into magic of all sorts. Even the smallest power can be super useful in the right situation.¡±
¡°Like Dungeons and Dragons?¡± Hannah asked demurely.
Everyone nced at her in surprise.
She was a woman in her early thirties. She didn¡¯t look like the type to y a nerdy tabletop game whatsoever. Only now did Zarian notice she¡¯d dropped her shopping bags a while ago.
¡°My ex-husband used to love those games. He tried to get me into them. I wouldn¡¯t have minded if his friends weren¡¯t, um, hard to be around,¡± Hannah exined.
Zarian nodded. ¡°Nerd culture can be intense. Or smelly. Anyway, let¡¯s get going. We need to find what the goblins call a ve Cook. Maybe they will have water.¡±
Everyone¡¯s eyes gleamed with thirst at the mention of water. The importance of that revealed a notification above all of their heads.
It was blue instead of gold, which made sense if it was addressing a group:
¡°That¡¯s that quest thing you mentioned?¡± asked Mark, the officer with the Super Punch skill. Zarian had broken his shoulder earlier, but now it was mostly healed. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re in some little kid¡¯s psychotic fantasy game. What did you kidnap us into?¡±
¡°Wally liked it. And Wally died to it. Shut up and follow me.¡± Zarian turned away and strode inside the staircase.
Para had scouted ahead for a while now. There were no signs of iing enemies. Zarian took the short, uneven steps four at a time.
He wasn¡¯t a tall man, only five-foot-nine, but the goblins made him feel big with these stairs. He reached the top and entered a more well-lit hallway.
The floor and walls were still made of stone, but it looked better than the floor below.
There were two directions to choose from, left or right.
Zarian reached into Naomi¡¯s gun belts and stole a bullet. He hid his hands behind his back, swapped the bullet around, then held out his closed fists to Naomi.
She picked left. The bullet was there.
Zarian took the group down the leftward direction from the stairs.
He caught a look from the police officers. They were either amazed or horrified by his ster decision-making trick.
It worked out well enough after Para found two traps and a small group of goblinster on. The monsters were in a garage-size room filled with piles of trashy stuff.
The darkness was weaker on this floor with the increased illumination. That was fine, because Zarian had a new idea.
Grimoire in hand, he evoked Bloody Lifesteal. His focus split between channeling the gruesome spell and eight dark swords.
He grunted in pain, his head throbbing, his aura draining. He still kept the magic flowing.
Zarian strode into the rubbish room, catching the goblins¡¯ attention with the glowing red light from the grimoire. They were slow to react to Para as sheunched the bulk of the attack.
The Parasite Cape had already infiltrated the room and piles of trash with threads of her flesh. Her threads sprung rapidly around the goblins like steel wires, slicing into their limbs, binding them quickly.
Bloody Lifesteal went into effect through Para, draining their life energy and feeding Zarian, dimming his headache and giving him a hell of a high. More parasitic flesh entangled the goblins,tching onto them with teeth and spurs of bone.
Pushing the gruesome factor, Para dug needle-thin wires into the flesh of the goblins as if she was going to consume them from the inside out. Or do way, way worse than that.
Before Zarian secured total victory, the goblins responded after the element of surprise came and went.
Four goblins used Shadow Rush to slip away from Para¡¯s hold. Four others used Shadow Strength, bulking up with shaded muscles.
Bianca revealed herself from behind Zarian, one hand holding a dark sword. The other hand raised to direct her Searing sh skill. She wore a brave face as she risked her life again to y her part.
Zarian was d to see it, but God, did her skill hurt. Zarian felt his inner darkness roiled from Bianca¡¯s searing light. His flesh felt a little sunburnt, like he was developing a rapid rash that would ke and itch like hell.
The damage wasn¡¯tsting since Bianca was low level, but she was going to be a pain for him once she grew stronger.
The pain was worth the reward. All the goblins with Shadow Rush turned solid again, surprised and hurt. They screamed even more than when Para had them.
The goblins with Shadow Strength stumbled and lost some of their might, but they proved more durable as they stumbled forward on a blinded attack.
Thankfully for Zarian, Para wasn¡¯t blinded and kept entangling and draining the life out of the goblins. The goblins with Shadow Strength slowed down heavily, and Zarian recovered faster.
He saw the dark sword in Bianca¡¯s hand was still there.
It was a little ragged from the Searing sh, but enough remained for Zarian to fix it up. Its edge became sharp again.
Naomi stepped into the room. She muttered her skill as she pointed at her primary targets, the agile goblins. ¡°Mind Spike, Mind Spike, Mind Spike, Mind Spike.¡±
The goblins dropped to the floor, holding their heads, screaming in pain from brain-hemorrhaging migraines. They would have a hard time using their alpha skill to rush around.
Naomi grabbed Bianca and guided her forward to team up on a single goblin. She helped the young woman with expert patience while hyper attentive to danger.
Zarian looked over his shoulder. ¡°Come and get these levels.¡±
Jack swept in first, followed by the police officers. Hannah shuffled insidest.
By then, Para had chewed through the strong goblins. She looped her threads in and out of their bodies. It was horrifying to see, like watching dozens to a hundred long and thin worms wriggle in and out of humanoid creatures.
It looked like Para killed faster from inside the targets. She seemed to enjoy the horror-show this way. She purred against Zarian¡¯s back with each death of the strong goblins.
Thebination of Parasite Cloak and Bloody Lifesteal, while Zarian had his stats empowered by the Overpower trait, was, well, overpowered. Zarian controlled the entire scenario with some help from the others and fed kills to his group.
Naomi and Bianca killed two agile goblins together. Jack and the officers worked hard to kill one agile goblin.
Zarian wrapped up the final goblin with his parasite and mmed it into the wall.
¡°Where¡¯s the ve Cook?¡± he asked, using Identify to trante the goblins¡¯ words.
¡°Kill you, kill you, kill you. I¡¯ll fuck your corpse, stupid, tasty human! I¡¯ll find your family, corrupt them, then eat them alive!¡± The goblin raved madly, spitting and thrashing.
Zarian asked it questions a few more times while Para sliced, drilled, and wormed into the goblin¡¯s flesh. It didn¡¯t seem to care or understand its situation. It kept promising obscene acts of violence.
Were all goblins like this, or was this the corruptive work of the Shadowfell Tears?
His growing curiosity almost wanted to see a human example.
¡°Hannah,¡± Zarian called.
¡°I¡¯m not like you. I¡¯m not strong enough,¡± she said.
¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± Zarian ced his hand gently on her sword hand.
He guided her sword to the goblin¡¯s neck. He gently urged her and she did the rest, shoving the tip harder and harder because of herck of Strength. Eventually, she gouged out the goblin¡¯s throat and spilled enough blood until it died.
¡°My family had a farm when I was growing up,¡± Hannah said shakily, staring with eyes wide at what she¡¯d done. ¡°Mama made me get chickens and kill them from time to time to eat. This feels different.¡±
¡°The goblins are way worse than chickens.¡± Zarian let Para store the body instead of eating it.
She could save it as a snack forter.
¡°Did you get anything from that monster?¡± Jack demanded from Zarian.
¡°No.¡±
¡°My bad, sir,¡± Naomi said.
Everyone looked at her in surprise for apologizing. Zarian figured she was ming herself for not grabbing a mind controlling skill.
The other option was having Lincoln use his Command skill.
Zarian wasn¡¯t sure if he trusted any of the police officers yet.
¡°We¡¯re stronger now,¡± Mark bragged after catching Zarian¡¯s gaze.
Zarian identified their low levels. ¡°Good for you.¡±
Zarian was now Level 17. All three skills had leveled up. Straight Darkness, Level 7. Grimoire of ck Magic 101, Level 4. Parasite Cloak, Level 4.
He invested 5 Free points into Agility.
Naomi had mentioned her reaction time was far quicker than before the integration to the System. That sounded like something Agility would improve.
There goes my perfect min-max build.
Oh well, better reaction times mighte in handy forter.
Zarian looked around.
The trash in the room looked like a mix of rusted odds-and-ends and garbage. No serviceable weapons remained, just snapped swords, broken shields, heavily dented armors, and splintered spears.
He used Identify and received a bunch of details frommon items with no magical effects. Yup, all trash.
¡°Back to the side quest,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t trust using anything here.¡±
¡°Um, Zarian, sir, your book is glowing,¡± Bianca pointed out.
¡°It does that,¡± Zarian said dismissively before ncing at the flipped open pages.
There was, in fact, a glow. It was not red or ck. The grimoire was open to a new section where the pages emitted a ghastly ck, green light. Zarian read some of it and found that they made sense.
¡°Oh, wow,¡± Zarian said.
¡°What is it?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°Necromancy.¡±
Chapter 8: Stand on Business
Zarian felt his heart thumping as he studied the grimoire for a new spell.
The geometric symbols were stamping themselves into his brain. The runic text was telling a story about the first necromancers and the use of bones, which was vividly illustrated in his imagination.
Once Zarian reached a threshold for learning a new spell, the grimoire was more than eager to dump the knowledge on him.
Apparently, there were different schools of necromancy. His grimoire preferred skeletal necromancy.
Raising skeletons was reliant on both Mysticism and Wonder stats. The discipline cost more aura to animate undead without flesh, but magical skeletons were more robust and adaptable.
Zarian¡¯s Agility stat was barely going to see any more new stats from here on. Strength might as well not exist unless he could gain points from Strength training directly.
I have to admit this is an interesting set of game-like mechanics. The System doesn¡¯t favor generalists that much. Or maybe Zarian was the type to optimize as best he could.
This was his first time having actual power. Real, formidable, no nonsense power. He wanted to push it higher. Grow stronger. Advanced his grimoire, his dark magic, and all of his abilities.
¡°This is awesome,¡± Zarian said.¡°Wally had the same attitude before you let him die,¡± Jack muttered while kicking around stuff in the rubbish room.
Naomi moved with surprising speed. Zarian willed for Para to stop her, but the Parasite Cloak dyed herself by a split second. That gave Naomi enough time to nt her foot on Jack¡¯s back and push.
Jack flew all the way through the open door and tumbled across the hall. He shouted in pain and frustration, picked himself up, and ran inside with violent rage and a bright white spark in his palm.
Zarian didn¡¯t like that spell in Jack¡¯s hand right now, not when there weren¡¯t monsters to kill.
The alpha skill felt like a more offensive and dangerous version of Bianca¡¯s Searing sh. It had a more impressive name: Star Bolt.
Unfortunately for Jack, aiming that skill at Naomi sealed his fate.
Zarian shot a blunt bolt of darkness from under Para¡¯s cloak. The darkness there was deep because he kept it darkened. It was easier to ess and shoot out on the fly.
The dark boltnded on Jack¡¯s arm with a sickening crunch.
The Star Bolt skill sputtered as Jack¡¯s arm hung the wrong way at the forearm. He copsed with a silent scream, sweat and tears running down his reddened face.
The room darkened. An oppressive force choked the air. Zarian raised from his seat with Para¡¯s help.
The cloak spread into webs of wavering flesh and quivering bone around the entire room. nkets of flesh formed widemprey mouths. Thick strands unraveled into needle-like strings, ready to sew in and out.
The leather hood covered Zarian¡¯s head. The darkness covering his face deepened until it was impossible to see his expression. There was nothing but a ck void inside his hood.
Zarian was angry. Angry like the time he bit off someone¡¯s ear or fought his NCO for hazing. Then fought his Staff NCO for normalizing the hazing.
He snapped at Naomi first, his voice booming with a dark depth that made the air shake. ¡°Just because I like you doesn¡¯t mean you have to get physically violent with every asshole. Use your words first, Naomi. I expect better from you.¡±
Naomi took the ass-chewing with impable bearing. She even stood at Parade Rest for him, hands behind her back, feet spread. ¡°Yes, sir. My bad, sir.¡±
¡°As for you.¡± Zarian red down at Jack, his former high school peer. ¡°Let Gilbert heal you. Then you can go.¡±
Jack gaped up at Zarian. ¡°Why?¡±
¡°Because I do like her, and I y favorites. And you¡¯ve been giving me too many hostile vibes for no reason. The police, I can understand, so I¡¯m more patient with them. You ¡ well ¡ I don¡¯t give a fuck anymore.¡±
As parasitic strands hung down from the ceiling or slithered along the ground close to everyone, Zarian¡¯s cked-out face lowered to Jack¡¯s level. What he saw in that pit of darkness under Zarian¡¯s hood put the fear of Darkrun into him.
Zarian growled. ¡°Get healed. And go.¡±
¡°Yes, sir!¡± Jack squealed.
Satisfied, Zarian lifted into the air, held by Para, like a king of spiders.
He turned to the police officers, sensing some growing tension from them.
¡°We¡¯ll go with him,¡± said Lincoln, the one with the Command skill.
The other police officers looked at him questioningly, but didn¡¯t dare speak out against him.
Zarian recognized they were all being stupid. Maybe thirst was driving them against each other. A part of him still wanted to make up for having yanked them into this new world of danger and death.
He wanted to be kind. But there were certain people who mistook kindness for weakness. He couldn¡¯t let that happen, or the people who truly deserved his kindness would get less of what they deserved.
And since he was the man with the biggest stick, Zarian had to stand on business, ten toes down.
Or he would look like a bitch.
¡°Fine then,¡± Zarian said deeply, knowing he was cosigning on their likely deaths. ¡°Do you want your friend¡¯s corpse?¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Lincoln grunted. ¡°Before you turn him into a monster.¡±
Para dumped the corpse at the feet of the policemen. Mark had the most Strength out of the police and held up their dead friend easily. Gilbert healed Jack while shaking his head at the exchange.
Naomi remained standing at Parade Rest. And Bianca and Hannah were in the corner, staying outside of the confrontation. The strands of Para near them were soft and kind, more of a friendly deterrent instead of a threat to the innocent women.
Zarian withdrew the parasitic flesh and slid back his hood, revealing his displeasure with a scowl. He looked at Bianca and Hannah.
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¡°We¡¯re staying with you, if that¡¯s okay with you, Senor Zarian?¡± Bianca blurted.
Mark looked like he wanted to say something smart, but he kept his mouth shut around Zarian for once. Jack healed up and the four of them strode out with one dead man carried on a shoulder.
Not even two minutester, Zarian heard them shouting and dying further down the hall, around the corner. He beckoned Naomi to apany him and strode out.
***
Jack wanted to get stronger and put down Zarian himself. He had to do it. There was no if¡¯s or but¡¯s. Especially after all the humiliation, pain, and suffering he¡¯d gone through.
Worst yet, all the women stayed with that lunatic! They¡¯d chosen a dangerous, dark magic thug over people who were trained to protect and serve.
And that damn military woman caused all of this!
Jack knew that evil woman had wanted this situation to transpire exactly this way. So what if she¡¯d gotten a p on the wrist? She had mind controlling powers. She could manipte Zarian and pretty much take over.
¡°She¡¯d nned this,¡± Jack muttered to the others.
¡°I thought the same thing,¡± Lincoln said confidently, with a voice that made Jack want to listen. ¡°But it¡¯s more dangerous with them than on our own. They don¡¯t like for us to get stronger. Especially that psycho whore.¡±
Jack shook his head, and the other men agreed or kept their thoughts to themselves. The healer kept looking back like he wanted to change his mind. Jack scowled further. Having the healer was a huge boon, and Jack refused for Zarian to have the women and the healer.
Before they could figure out their next move, they saw movement ahead.
Then Mark had his head ripped off. One of the corrupted goblins had got to him and nobody could react in time.
What were their levels? In the twenties? But how could they be so fast and so strong?
They¡¯d beaten the goblins just earlier ¡
When they had Zarian protecting them.
Jack turned and sprinted as Lincoln and Gilbert tried to fight off one goblin. He heard Gilbert cry out and hit the wall with a sickening crunch.
He heard Lincoln shouting at the goblin to stop followed by the thwack of a baton on skull. Lincoln kept yelling orders empowered by his Command skill.
Jack turned the corner on a T-section when he heard Lincoln gargle like he was choking on blood. His body hit the ground somewhere back around the corner, out of sight with the other bodies.
Now there was only Jack, and he was still too far from the trash room to make it safely. How could one goblin take them down?
What was Zarian¡¯s level and stats?
Was he really that powerful?
Jack knew he would not make it. He felt his back tense up for a killing blow from the goblin.
Then he saw Zarian strode out into the hall with Naomi, the parasitic cloak wavering around them with web-like strands, like a tattered g in the wind.
Zarian aimed his hand at Jack.
Jack dropped to his knees to beg for mercy even though this was Zarian¡¯s chance to remove him and have total control. Instead, a barrage of dark bolts sailed in a volley over Jack as he crumpled into the fetal position.
He looked back and saw the goblin had burst apart into a stter of limbs, flesh, and blood. Not just one goblin suffered this horror of a dark attack, either. An entire squad of goblins was rushing down the hallway, ignoring Jack in favor of Zarian.
Other than three goblins getting turned into chunks, the rest adapted. They flowed quickly, showing their obvious investment in Agility, as they dodged around Zarian¡¯s torrent of dark bolts.
Jack watched in horror as a few goblins used a new skill, their mouths outstretched. They vomited a congealed ball of stomach bile that flew as fast as the dark bolts.
Para¡¯s nightmarish body closed up all her gaps and formed a thick, meaty covering in front of Zarian and Naomi. Bile shots sttered against the parasitic wall, burning and hissing.
Zarian¡¯s attacks slowed.
The goblins were nearly upon them.
Then an entire row of dark bars shot upward from the floor. Each bar was as thick as Jack¡¯s arm, with gaps in between.
The goblins mmed so hard into the bars, Jack thought they¡¯d break. They held however, and Naomi took over from there.
Goblins dropped back, screeching in pain while clutching their heads. Some of them raged on the spot and thumped their own fellows.
Naomi kept using Mind Spike until most of the goblins backed off. Then the dark bars dropped, and Para ensnared the goblins.
Zarian¡¯s soul-chained grimoire hovered by his body, glowing with a bloody red light. Then the webbing from Para glowed red as fleshy threads, strings, wires, bone slivers, and more. The crimson Parasite Cloak sliced, ripped, and chewed chunks from inside and outside of the goblins.
The cloak was the most horrifying and troublesome disy of Zarian¡¯s power for Jack. Every time the Parasite Cloak rampaged, Jack felt like he was witnessing something so evil and grotesque it belonged in one of the most diabolical sections of hell.
Some goblins used their Shadow Strength to break free of thinner threads. Naomi pacified them with Mind Spikes. She didn¡¯t seem to g even though she was pushing her skill a lot. Even while in danger, Jack felt envious of her having a ss and new abilities that made her so much stronger.
And she was taking full advantage of Zarian¡¯s care for her, like the favored dark warrior of a hellish king.
The evil wizard himself reformed a dark sword for Naomi. But this one was bigger, longer, and heftier. It was like a ymore.
Naomi took the dark ymore and tested how far she could raise it before touching the ceiling. Then she strode forward and executed goblins left and right.
The goblins could barely fight back while entangled, bloodied, drained of life, and getting their minds vited. And that dark ymore was probably the strongest and sharpest de Zarian had formed yet.
Seeing that weapon was almost awe-inspiring for Jack. If only it had gone to someone else.
Naomi became a wild woman, frenzied and unforgiving. She chopped off heads, split skulls, sliced torsos in halves. She stayed in the middle of the hall, able to reach any goblin to her left and right like a death-dealing warrior. She kept cutting them down, stepping over or onto their corpses, uncaring of the guts and brain matter sshing on her. Then she reached the end of her bloody march of death.
All the goblins were dead.
Naomi threw her head back and cried out, ¡°Ooh rah!¡± like a crazed, blood-thirsty Marine.
Zarian replied with a more subtle and proud, ¡°Rah.¡±
And Jack got to his feet and turned away. Maybe they would ept him back if he groveled. Naomi looked like the type who enjoyed broken men kissing the ground at her feet.
Jack refused. He was sweaty. Dirty. Scuffed up. Tired. Thirsty. And hungry. He was in an alien, hellish ce, far away from home.
He was receiving constant humiliation by a societal reject who had caused all of Jack¡¯s current misery.
I must get stronger. I must pay them back for this.
Jack turned the corner and walked over the policemen¡¯s corpses. Then he heard a wheezing gasp and noticed Gilbert, the healer, was still alive.
Gilbert was one of the most important people here. He¡¯d fixed Jack¡¯s arm, taking it from a snapped forearm to being straight again even though that had tired him out. Now he was self-healing.
¡°Help me get back to them,¡± Gilbert said hoarsely. ¡°Forget pride. I¡¯ll get in line. I¡¯ll do anything to live.¡±
Something inside of Jack broke. He wondered if this was how his mother had felt when she used the searing hot clothing iron on Jack¡¯s lower back. She¡¯d wanted to press the demons out of him like pressing out a wrinkle.
The incident happened when he was six, just old enough to have a doctor exin that his mother needed to stay in a padded room and receive lots of prescriptions. The doctor had exined she snapped.
Jack felt a snap in Gilbert¡¯s neck before he withdrew his hands. He watched the light fade from the healer¡¯s eyes as tears fell down the man¡¯s cheeks.
Then Jack got up and ran away before Zarian and Naomi turned the corner.
He kept running and running and running for a long time until he found a spare room to stop. He was lost now. He was alone.
But he wasn¡¯t exactly out of luck. In the corner was a treasure chest, mostly wood with metal edges holding it together. It was something you would see in a fantasy game. It obviously didn¡¯t belong here from how well-kept it looked.
Jack flipped it open and found an interesting item with a note written on luxurious paper: Blessed Mage Bracer. Enhances magic shots that scale with Wonder or Mysticism.
Jack copsed to the floor with the shiny, white, and silver bracer hugged to his chest.
It was for this reason he ced primary attention on Wonder. It would see him through just like how his faith wanted to purge the wickedly insane from the world.
A sense of Wonder would help him solo and rise. Then he would make Naomi pay and overpower Zarian.
Chapter 9: Necromancy Study
Gilbert would¡¯ve been permanently dead if he hadn¡¯t arrived in the Infinita Star System with an Umon trait: Extra Life.
It only extended his life a little longer after death. So even when he was technically dead, his life energy persisted for a time.
He remained conscious inside his dead body, unable to move, breathe, blink, or do anything. It would¡¯ve been a nightmare if he didn¡¯t have ess to Basic Healing, which was harder to use in this state.
Pressing that quasi button inside him to activate the alpha skill felt less tangible. He threw all he had at it, forcing whatever little spirit and life energy he had left to help him. He prayed, too.
Gilbert was in a race against time. He needed to repair the damage to his spinal cord and jump-start his heart. Severe brain damage was imminent the longer he went without breathing.
There was nearby movement. Could that be more goblins? Jack? Or actual help? He couldn¡¯t tell.
His perception was dull. But he could still sense stuff around him. Maybe not through his body. But through his Extra Life trait. He hoped for salvation, just like before.
His dad had once told him he should¡¯ve died in a fishing ident when he ended up under the water.
In fact, he had died. But after receiving some CPR, he¡¯de back to life on the bank, vomiting up water.People in his hometown in upstate Florida would run with that story for a long while every time he was in town. They¡¯d bring it up now and then at church events.
Who would¡¯ve thought that event could trante to a life-saving power in this god forsaken world?
Gilbert would¡¯ve pondered on that longer if he didn¡¯te back to life with a shock, gasping, pissing, sobbing like a baby even though he was a big six-foot-three man, who liked to lift weights and do outdoor activities and barbecue on the weekends. Dying and reviving in a hellish ce could break a man, truly.
¡°Whoa,¡± said a familiar voice.
It came from the suspect someone had reported on for Gilbert and his fellow officers to remove from the mall¡¯s premise. Everything had gone wrong when it should¡¯ve been routine.
Now the suspect was standing over him, hood on, face shrouded in darkness.
Worse yet, that she-devil was standing slightly behind him.
Gilbert didn¡¯t know who was more monstrous. The guy who used evil magic. Or the female Marine without morals.
¡°Please, take me back,¡± Gilbert pleaded, throwing aside all of his limited pride.
Zarian turned to the amoral Marine. ¡°What do you think?¡±
Gilbert¡¯s hopes dimmed. He could sense the young wizard was the more reasonable of the two. The woman, who was closer to Gilbert¡¯s age, looked down at Gilbert like she was preparing to step on a bug.
¡°He has that healing touch. I¡¯m okay with giving him another chance as long as he goes along to get along,¡± she said.
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m thinking the same.¡± Zarian pulled his hood off, scruffy and youthful face, and reached down, offering his hand.
You could tell a lot about a man based on their hand. Zarian¡¯s offered hand was rough, dirty, and hadn¡¯t seen better days in a long time.
Gilbert took his hand like it was the Lord¡¯s hand leading him to salvation. Then he felt surprising Strength from Zarian, yanking Gilbert off the floor and up to his feet.
It was unfair how Gilbert¡¯s time in the gym was thwarted by gamey points and a nerd¡¯s wet dream called the System.
A few seconds barely passed before Gilbert nearly copsed, still weak from his ordeal. The parasitic cloak-thing moved its flesh and bone tentacles all over him, holding him up.
Gilbert tried not to shudder.
¡°Para will keep your friends safe,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I see Jack isn¡¯t here.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t like that one,¡± Naomi grouched.
Zarian let out a sigh. ¡°Leave him. He¡¯s not our concern.¡±
Gilbert shuddered at hearing them mention Jack. His memory of his death at Jack¡¯s hands shed clear with sharp, snappy details. He rubbed across his neck, shuddering again.
Should he tell them how Jack broke his neck? But the way Zarian was acting like Jack wasn¡¯t a problem was telling. The male suspect with evil ck magic was too powerful for anyone to stop.
Even so, Jack had done the unthinkable and attempted to murder a police officer directly. Zarian was a problem. Naomi was ruthless. But Jack was a true criminal.
¡°He snapped my neck,¡± Gilbert admitted.
¡°Who? Jack?¡± Zarian looked surprised.
Gilbert nodded shakily.
¡°Sir!¡± Naomi grunted. ¡°Permission to hunt him down?¡±
¡°Hunt, no. But if wee across him ¡ I won¡¯t hold you back,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Come on. I need to finish studying the necromancy spell and have that down pat. Then we need to find that ve Cook and get some water. I¡¯m getting he thirsty.¡±
If Zarian was he thirsty, then Gilbert would call his thirst extra hellish. Coming back from the dead because of his Extra Life and Basic Healing didn¡¯t relieve him of much difort.
In fact, maybe it would¡¯ve been nicer to stay dead.
***
With Gilbert saved, Zarian assessed the damage after the hallway showdown.
Lincoln had his jaw ripped off and a big dent in his chest. Mark had died after getting savagely beheaded.
Zarian¡¯s gaze lingered on Mark while under the weak sconce light. Mark had been the only ck cop. He¡¯d given Zarian the most trouble, too.
Seeing him dead like that didn¡¯t leave Zarian with a positive impression. Mark and Lincoln could¡¯ve avoided this fate if they had stayed and worked with Zarian.
When Zarian looked at Naomi, he saw her expression was unreadable. Stone cold, giving nothing away.
Am I the scary one or is she?
Naomi was truly intimidating.
Para had already feasted and stored away some of the goblin corpses. She still had plenty of room for a few bodies to keep in her fleshy dimensional storage.
Now Zarian had to bury Wally, Keh, Mark, and Lincoln.
Would he have to bury Jack once they found him?
That depends¡ Zarian left it at that.
He looked Gilbert up and down while Para used flesh and bone tentacles to keep the healer up. He was thest cop standing. Big guy, too. He looked like he could easily toss around hay bales and men Zarian¡¯s size.
Gilbert was only Level 3, though.
Naomi could crush him ¨C she was Level 14 now.
At Level 19, Zarian didn¡¯t even register Gilbert as a threat. Hell, all of Zarian¡¯s skills had leveled up, Straight Darkness leading the pack at Level 8 now.
Concentrating on a dark ymore for Naomi worked out really well, Zarian thought.
Naomi, thankfully, was both strong enough and fast enough to handle upfront battles because of her stat choices and rapid growth. Her ss was very useful, too, as long as she avoided gassing herself out.
She was a good battle partner for Zarian. However, the budding wizard couldn¡¯t stop at using only Naomi¡¯s abilities.
Gilbert could freaking revive from the dead.
How had he done that? Was that part of his Basic Healing skill?
Did Bianca and Hannah have little interesting tricks with their abilities that Zarian hadn¡¯t delved into yet?
He was a wizard, after all. He wanted to see more magic work in concert. In fact, he should pay more attention to Hannah¡¯s Basic Enchantment.
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As for Gilbert¡¯s rise from the dead act¡
Zarian looked up at the big man for a long while.
Gilbert lowered his head under the wizard¡¯s intense gaze. Gilbert lowered even further when Naomi looked at him.
I think he¡¯s the nicer cop. Gilbert had that small-town feel to him. He¡¯d been less outspokenpared to the others, even though he could star in an action movie with his size and standard good looks.
¡°Did you level up some?¡± Zarian asked.
Gilbert nodded. ¡°Basic Healing went up.¡±
¡°Was that the only reason you survived?¡± Zarian asked.
Gilbert shifted ufortably.
Naomi let out a sigh that sounded intimidating, and Gilbert caved.
The big man said, ¡°I have an umon trait, Extra Life. I¡¯m still conscious even after death. But not for long. I had to fix myself before my death was final.¡±
¡°You¡¯ll make for a great tank,¡± Zarian said, before turning back to return to the rubbish room.
¡°What does it mean to be a tank? I¡¯ve never gotten into that gamer stuff,¡± Gilbert asked Naomi carefully, still acting wary of her.
¡°Me neither, but I imagine you¡¯ll want to toughen up fast. Who knows when we¡¯ll throw you in that fire to soak up hits for the sir,¡± Naomi said inly.
Zarian winced from being called ¡®the sir.¡¯ They needed a better designation for his role as the leader.
He didn¡¯t want to be the one to bring it up. That felt uncool.
Zarian turned into the rubbish room and received a Searing sh directly. He threw himself backwards and shouted in surprise.
¡°Gahhhhh DAMMIT, Bianca!¡±
He heard her incessant cries, apologies, and sobs. Just in time, too, because Para nearly freaked out and went berserk.
It was a good thing Zarian had raised his Willpower to 50. Having solid Willpower helped wrangle Para down when she was mad.
He waited to recover from the Searing sh while using it as a research opportunity. All the darkness he had on him, especially under his fleshy cloak, had weakened severely. Bianca¡¯s strangely strong skill was worse when he hadn¡¯t prepared for the sh.
There was nosting damage, only the sensation of being sunburnt, which was a quick fix. And Bianca couldn¡¯t use that skill more than once in a fight. But damn, was it an effective skill, even with her at a lower level.
I need defenses against light types, Zarian thought. I need those badly.
It didn¡¯t take too long to fully recover. Bianca was crying her heart out and slobbering over anyone she couldtch onto, as she kept apologizing profusely to Zarian about the idental Searing sh.
She and Hannah were scared when Zarian and Naomi had gone away, leaving them behind.
Zarian was going to apologize, but Naomi cut in first: ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be so scared if you weren¡¯t so weak. We can¡¯t rely on Zarian all the time. So stop being dead weight and get ready to work harder.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll do whatever you want,¡± Gilbert said, sitting tiredly on a busted chest flipped upside down.
¡°Yes, yes, yes! I¡¯ll work hard! Don¡¯t kick me out, por favor, please!¡± Bianca raved, teary-eyed.
¡°Can you help me with my skill, sir?¡± Hannah asked Zarian.
He smiled. ¡°I was thinking about that. But let me get a vote first.¡±
He scanned the room, meeting everyone¡¯s eyes. ¡°There¡¯s two options. We can wait and give me time to learn necromancy and do some tests. Or we push for water.¡±
At the mention of water, everyone¡¯s eyes gleamed.
Naomi held herposure the best. Her Strength and Agility stats were the highest, so her body was more optimized. But even she could suffer from thirst.
Zarian was seriously thirsty. He¡¯d been through a lot, after all. Stealing life energy could only do so much.
Gilbert, Bianca, and Hannah looked downright desperate for water.
¡°Would having that necromancy spell make things easier?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°It¡¯s skeletal based. But maybe the minions I make will remember their past life and lead us to the ve Cook,¡± Zarian offered.
¡°I think that¡¯s the better choice,¡± Naomi said.
¡°I agree,¡± Gilbert said. Bianca and Hannah muttered in agreement when they were obviously in need of water now.
Zarian went to work.
The necromancy section had more pages and information than the blood section. It turned out that necromancy wasplex. It was the maniption of the dead, reverting the absence of life in favor of raising an antithesis to the natural order.
Zarian wouldn¡¯t be creating a new life. Instead, he would animate what had been and twist it for his own needs.
The pages went into greater depth on bone-necromancy and why this was preferred by the grimoire. Theck of flesh removed a majority of weaknesses.
Skeletons were surprisingly durable. They could get up and put themselves back together after repeated hits.
They didn¡¯t smell or spread disease, which was an immense problem with necromancy sometimes. The author hated how modern necromancy could lead to uncontrolled outbreaks and gues if the undead flesh wasn¡¯t preserved correctly.
Apparently, a lot ofzy necromancers would tend to cut corners and cause unnecessary sickness while trying to use necromancy for cheapbor.
Working with whole bodies was a lot easier, apparently. A whole body kept more of its prior existence and a touch of former magic, which cut the costs of raising the dead.
Animating skeletons cost a lot more, especially if you wanted to make them powerful and unique. It took extra magic to make the skeletons move around with weight and power.
Despite the tradeoff, the adaptability of skeletons was a major draw. Working with baseline skeletons could lead to subtypes in their advancement.
Zarian could make his skeletons evolve magically if they had proficient exposure to certain elements or magical enhancements.
I can have undead pokemon battles with my skelly boys and girls.
Zarian grinned.
Okay, I¡¯m game. I don¡¯t care if it costs more. I want lightning skeletons. Fire skeletons. Ice skeletons. All the skeleton types.
Zarian finished thest bit of the necromancy section, which came with a memorization test. The grimoire served as the test taker. He only had to think to answer, and the grimoire would make a record of his choices.
He passed the test with a B, which was good enough. Then thest necromancy pages revealed themselves with a dramatic flip and sh of green light.
He received a congratting certificate for going down the path of skeletal necromancy. Hooray. This was way better than getting a high school degree.
He was now considered a novice necromancer, a sub-type of wizard. And he unlocked the necromancy spell of his grimoire.
Zarian had to hold in the shout of glee that wanted toe out. He didn¡¯t just get a badass spell, he also gained some insight into the Wonder stat.
It was practically luck, faith, and spiritual perception rolled into one. With raising skeletons, faith was part of the process.
It was a little like doing the work of a god to y with life or death. Could it be said that leveling up in the Star System is a path to godhood?
With just one question, Zarian had more bundling up in his head. But he was too thirsty and hungry to sit with these vital thoughts. It was time to do some testing.
Zarian used Para¡¯s help to get to his feet. Naomi turned from her vignt watch near him and nodded. She¡¯d been there the whole time, securing his safety.
Gilbert was sitting in one corner by himself, looking haunted. Bianca and Hannah were practically inseparable now,miserating together.
¡°Okay, everyone, I passed my necromancy test,¡± Zarian said.
¡°There was a test?¡± Gilbert blurted out. ¡°Who tested you?¡±
¡°The grimoire,¡± Zarian answered inly.
¡°Man, I can¡¯t wrap my head around any of this stuff.¡± Gilbert looked intellectually broken.
¡°Before I y dark god, can I have your attention, Hannah?¡± Zarian called. Then he added, ¡°Please.¡±
Everyone looked at him like being polite wasn¡¯t his thing. Zarian had no reason not to be polite when people were polite with him. And he was in a good mood.
Hannah walked up with Bianca clinging from behind. Zarian held out his hand in front of her, palm up. Then he slowly gathered the darkness into his open hand and formed it into a knife.
He could¡¯ve done it faster, but he wanted the weapon conjuring to happen with an emphasis. Hannah looked like she was impacted by the disy, growing more tense from anticipation.
¡°Can you use your skill on this?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°I think so. The skill says it could work on most objects. So far, I can enchant for Reinforcement.¡±
Zarian tilted his head. ¡°It could do more than one enchantment?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Show me the reinforced one.¡±
Hannah aimed her hands over the dark knife and squinted her eyes.
A pale glow shone from her down-turned palms. The glow turned into runic symbols, circles, pentagrams, and hieroglyphs.
None of that was immediately recognizable to Zarian, not at first nce. When he used his Identify trait, it gave him .
Then the magic symbols settled on the dark knife. Zarian pulled it away slowly and looked it up and down.
Amazing.
He could feel its solidity as if it was its own object. His concentration lessened considerably. He barely had to think about it to keep it formed.
Hannah¡¯s Basic Enchantment skill could make Zarian¡¯s talent for dark weapons a ton easier. It was likeyering one¡¯s inherent magical ability over another to act as a force multiplier.
Even if Hannah¡¯s abilities weren¡¯t as damaging as Zarian¡¯s, he found her powers to be incredible. In fact, her powers could sometimes be the most vital depending on the situation and how she grew.
This is magic. It¡¯s simple, but really cool. And if she works on it, she¡¯ll be more advanced and do all sorts of things.
She could help make his skeletons into different elemental types or make them tougher and stronger. Though, that depended on some factors.
Did skeletons count as objects? They weren¡¯t alive, technically. They were reanimated dead. That was an object, wasn¡¯t it?
More importantly, would the System let Zarian get away with that level of magicyering and force-multiplying? He wouldn¡¯t be a true wizard if he didn¡¯t try.
Nheless, he needed to keep the older woman close. He needed her to grow strong.
¡°Hannah, you¡¯re amazing,¡± Zarian said.
The thirty-year-old woman stumbled back in surprise. Even under the dirt and grime, there was a bit of red showing on her cheeks. Bianca cheered for her, making it a big deal.
Zarian was moving on, turning to Naomi with a big smile. Then his smile dropped when he noticed Naomi¡¯s expression was on the verge of being upset.
¡°Something wrong?¡±
Naomi wiped the look off her face and shrugged. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just tired, sir. I¡¯m gonna take a seat, if that¡¯s okay. I can use some time off my tired, beaten feet.¡±
Zarian nodded, and Naomi took a seat in the corner. She hadn¡¯t given herself time to rx at all, had she? She should¡¯ve mentioned that earlier.
Frowning, Zarian turned and noticed Gilbert¡¯s gaze.
¡°What?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°You should apologize.¡±
¡°What? Why?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t think about it. Say sorry. But not now. Do itter. Trust me.¡± Then Gilbert held up two fingers and mouthed aloud, ¡°Twice divorced.¡±
Zarian looked at Gilbert as if he was crazy. Then he shrugged and moved outside the rubbish room. Right when he entered the hallway, he realized his mistake. But it was toote to go back now. Necromancy came first.
Chapter 10: Skeleton Parade
¡°Well, that¡¯s just interesting,¡± Zarian said, raising five out of six goblin skeletons. He¡¯d prepared for an eighty to sixty percent failure rate since skeletons were harder to raise than fleshy undead.
Instead of a high failure chance, he had a high sess rate.
His reanimated goblin skeletons rose and stripped off their flesh like throwing aside their clothes. Skin, muscle, tendons, organs, everything sloughed off like goopy, melted ice cream.
Whatever still clung, they tore off easily with boney fingers.
Some blood remained on their white frames, but no flesh. Not even their eyeballs or their long ears.
Five rictus grins with long fangs looked at Zarian, waiting for his orders.
He used his Identify trait on all of them and received the same info.
¡°Most of the goblins had a variance of levels between 20 and 25. But each of the skeleton versions came out at Level 18. The book hadn¡¯t exined that part in detail,¡± Zarian said, wanting to hear his own thoughts aloud.
Nobody would dare call him crazy for that here. Not with the presentpany, at least.Para vibrated a patch of the cloak against his back, pointing something out in the four o¡¯ clock direction. The vibration wasn¡¯t urgent, but Zarian appreciated the heads up.
He rolled his aching right shoulder where a bullet remained. He turned to see Gilbert standing in the doorway.
Gilbert looked with wide eyes at Zarian and the goblin skeletons. His attention shifted more and more toward the act of ungodliness as the animated creatures acted out randomly by doing goblin things while having no orders.
They pushed at each other, pped each other around, and even went as far as stealing rib bones from each other. They spoke nonguage or anything, showing that they were voiceless things, but notpletely silent.
Most of their actions came with the slightlyical and disturbing rattling sound outside of any overt impacts. Gilbert looked more disturbed than amused as the goblin skeletons yed.
¡°They¡¯re adorable little guys, aren¡¯t they?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Um, uh, well, if that¡¯s what you think.¡± Gilbert swallowed dryly. He licked his dried lips with a dry tongue. ¡°Sorry, I just wanted to make sure of something.¡±
Zarian¡¯s hood was down, so he gave Gilbert a questioning gaze the big man could see.
Gilbert sighed heavily. ¡°I was hoping you wouldn¡¯t do necromancy with Ken and the others.¡±
¡°Huh? No. Why would I? I said I¡¯ll bury them, didn¡¯t I?¡±
Gilbert nodded his head rapidly. ¡°Yeah, yeah, you did. Sorry. Just all out of sorts. Not thinking straight.¡±
¡°Hm. Well, before you go. How about this to cheer you up?¡± Zarian turned to a lone goblin skeleton leaning against the wall, looking standoffish. That one didn¡¯t want to y like the other four. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m going to call you ¡ Loner. Do you know where the ve Cook is?¡±
Loner stood at attention, little head held high. The others stopped fooling around and watched Zarian intently. They reminded him of obedient dogs who waited on their master¡¯s orders.
Maybe I¡¯m a little crazy to think they¡¯re adorable this way, Zarian thought.
He wished Ariana was here. She would agree with him.
Loner looked back down the hall before turning back to Zarian and nodding his skull. The standoffish skeleton knew where to go to find the ve Cook.
For reconfirmation, Zarian asked all the skeletons the same question. They all nodded.
Bingo bango, they were in business.
¡°Thank God,¡± Gilbert praised.
¡°Could be more than just a god in the System,¡± Zarian said under his breath.
He brushed past Gilbert and entered the rubbish room. He made a beeline to Naomi and knelt in front of her before she could get up and act all Marine-like.
¡°I don¡¯t know what I did to upset you, but please ept my apology. I really liked what you did with the dark ymore. You are badass, beautiful, and a great battle partner. So if I¡¯m being dumb, just let me know, okay?¡±
Naomi¡¯s face was bright with shock and embarrassment. Her mood seemed to worsen when Bianca let out a squeal and kept saying too many confusing girly things in Spanglish.
Naomi couldn¡¯t even speak, so Zarian grabbed her hand with both of his.
¡°I forgot to say thank you, didn¡¯t I? I thought I did but I don¡¯t mind repeating. Thank you. You had my back from the start when you had enough reasons to hate me. Now I¡¯m going to conduct a few more tests with Hannah, and then we¡¯ll go get some water. I¡¯ll like you to fight some more if you¡¯re able.¡±
¡°I¡¯m able, sir!¡± Naomi shouted.
Zarian smiled. ¡°Cool.¡±
He turned to Hannah while Naomi remained seated. It looked like Naomi needed more time to recover.
Bianca was all over her, with her squeaky, Half-Spanish, Half-English, girl talk. Zarian left that alone.
He took Hannah out into the hallway. The four yful goblin skeletons were in the middle of dogpiling each other.
¡°Oh, God!¡± Hannah stumbled back.
¡°I know, right? It¡¯s horrifying, but I can¡¯t stop watching them,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°Look at them go. It¡¯s like watching a cartoon in real life.¡±
¡°Separate, guys,¡± Zarian ordered.
They had to wait for the goblin skeletons to untangle themselves. Para helped with her flesh and bone tentacles, unclipping goblin skeletons from each other.
¡°First things first. Can I use multiple spells from the grimoire?¡± Zarian turned to the spellbook bobbing next to him, its thick chains connecting the bound skill to his soul.
With a whim, the grimoire flipped to the Bloody Lifesteal pages. Nothing happened.
He began evoking the blood spell, and the skeletons dropped to the floor in neat piles. The bone piles weren¡¯t all the same, but they were obviously unnatural where they dropped.
Zarian flipped to the necromancy pages and evoked Raising Advancing Skeletons. The spell raised each skeleton perfectly.
The process was almost instantpared to when they first separated from their old flesh.
¡°Okay, that confirms that. Only one spell at a time while using the grimoire,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I understand from a rule-maker standpoint why that has to be a weakness. I might earn an unlimited supply of spells in the future. It wouldn¡¯t be fair if I can use them all willy-nilly.¡±
Zarian would probably try to break that rule eventually.
¡°You¡¯ll have to think ahead of which spell you¡¯re using,¡± Hannah said shakily. ¡°I believe your red blood spell works well with Para while catching and hurting monsters. Without that, it¡¯ll be harder for those ¡ weaker than you ¡ to fight.¡±
¡°I agree,¡± Zarian said. ¡°On the other hand, with these undead gobos, I don¡¯t need much help. That¡¯s the grand appeal of necromancy.¡±
Hannah and Gilbert fell into a chilly silence.
Zarian smirked. ¡°But I¡¯m a wizard apprentice, not a one-trick necromancer. I like toyer up all the magic abilities I can. Hannah, do me a favor and use Basic Enhancement on that good skelly over there. His name is Loner. I think they¡¯re all guys. I can tell the more I look at them.¡±
The standoffish goblin skeleton was back to leaning against the wall. He waited with boney arms crossed over his ivory ribcage.
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Hannah shuffled forward shyly. She greeted Loner with a hello.
The standoffish goblin red at her with his empty eye sockets and rictus grin. His fangs were as long as her pinky.
Hannah took a deep breath before activating her skill. She aimed her palm over Loner¡¯s face, emitting a soft glow that turned into some runic symbols, geometric patterns, and hieroglyphs.
Zarian watched closely with Identify activated. Again, the runes slipped from hisplete understanding. But he memorized a few before they faded into Loner.
The goblin skeleton jolted upright. He flexed his bony hands, turned to the wall, and punched it.
He struck like a hammer and sent down a scattering of stone chips. Then Loner turned and showed off his fist. Not a bone out of ce.
¡°Groovy,¡± Zarian said, grinning from ear-to-ear.
The other goblin skeletons grew excited and crowded around Hannah, their bones rattling about. The poor woman was doing everything she could not to scream.
¡°Back off,¡± Zarian ordered, his voice cracking, his throat drying. Ugh, thirsty.
The skeletons listened right away.
¡°Gilbert, get everyone,¡± Zarian said.
The big man disappeared into the doorway. Soon, everyone was out in the hall.
Naomi was back at Zarian¡¯s side with an expressionless face. Bianca was now entwined with Hannah. Gilbert looked over everyone from his lofty height.
¡°We have two more options,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Bloody option or skelly option. Do we want to fight anything in our way to the ve Cook and give our weakest members leveling opportunities? Or do we let the skeletons fight for us and let them level up?¡±
¡°Eh, it would be best to be stronger, yeah?¡± Bianca mumbled. ¡°But ¡ I¡¯m barely holding it together. I¡¯m not doing so well, Senor Zarian.¡±
¡°I need water and food, please and sorry,¡± Hannah said demurely.
¡°I¡¯ll push if I have to,¡± Gilbert offered.
¡°No.¡± Zarian shook his head. ¡°You three wait back and conserve your energy. There will be more leveling chancester. Time for the skeleton parade to y. Plus Naomi.¡±
¡°Okay, then let me enchant them. And if you give them all dark weapons, I¡¯ll enchant those, too,¡± Hannah offered.
¡°Wouldn¡¯t that drain you?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yes ¡ but I just received a quest from the System. It¡¯ll give me increased experience for the work.¡±
By the time Hannah finished, she was practically dragging her feet. But she leveled up to Level 5 and her Basic Enchantment was at a higher level, too.
She¡¯d learned a new enchantment as well: Sharper.
All the skeletons were reinforced. All of their dark swords were sharpened.
Naomi received a medium-sized straight sword. Her weapon received the reinforcement enchantment.
Without further ado, Loner led the way. Parasite threads and hairs reached out even further ahead to scout. Loner took care of pointing out traps, and Para searched for enemies.
Two skeletons guarded the rear. Two stayed at Naomi¡¯s side.
¡°I have little helpers now,¡± she said, smirking.
¡°Technically, minions,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Are we the viins?¡±
¡°Well, no, but minions sound better than helpers.¡±
Naomi chuckled, sounding lively and excited. The skeletons click their teeth rapidly like chattering jaws tough with her.
Zarian gave the signal to stop after feeling a serious vibration from Para. He checked their six o¡¯ clock before ordering one skelly from the rear to move upfront.
Naomi and her minions joined Loner and the extra skelly. The five of them formed a V-shaped formation.
Barely a few seconds passed after the group was set when a bunch of goblins appeared from around the corner and charged down the hall at them. Somehow, they had advanced warning and were prepared.
They even had weapons this time. The armaments were rusted, chipped, and barely serviceable, but their additionplicated matters.
A skelly took a crossbow bolt to the head and fell on its back. From there, Zarian knew this was far more dangerous than any prior encounter.
¡°Drop,¡± Zarian ordered.
Naomi and the skeletons fell in sync,ying on their bellies. Zarian pushed his hands forward tensely like he was facing great resistance.
Then the tension broke free and a volley of heavy dark bolts flew forward. The dark bolts soared silently over the prone frontal fighters and ripped chunks out of the first wave of goblins.
Six fell dead.
Others kept going, screaming wrathfully. A new goblin type barreled closer while holding old tower shields filled with holes ¨C Bruisers, Best Alpha Skill: Shadow Armor.
Behind the bruisers, energetic goblins bounced from floor to wall to ceiling and back while preparing to spit globs of acidic vomit. They were Spitters, Best Alpha Skill: Shadow Stomach.
The spitters hurled volleys from behind the running bruisers. Zarian growled as he worked defense and offense.
He covered himself and the weaker humans with his Parasite Cloak. He raised a wall of dark spikes facing forward like a palisade in front of Naomi and the four upfront skeletons. And he slung forward another volley of dense dark bolts.
He got in a third volley after the second and broke up the charge, killing their momentum, before they mmed into the spiked palisade with a pile of bodies. Rushing goblins stabbed themselves into the sharpened staves. Muscr goblins tried to tear the palisade apart.
Nothing could break through immediately. Zarian¡¯s side had a window to breathe and strike back.
¡°Attack,¡± Zarian ordered.
Naomi and the skeletons got to work. Enchanted dark swords cut with a silent and sharpened edge, hacking off reaching limbs and splitting wrathful faces like splitting cantaloupes. As the skeletons killed goblins, Zarian heard the soft ¡®ding¡¯ in his head reporting their sess.
He imagined that they shared experience gains, most going to the goblins while some trickled to the novice necromancer. That would be a smart design of the System, especially since the skeletons could advance and evolve.
Things looked alright at first with the fight. Zarian was taxed with offense and defense, and there was the chaos of blood, death, and crazed goblins screaming insults in theirnguage, but the battle was holding steady for now. The biggest issue, however, was the dark palisade breaking more and more, faster and faster.
Hannah showed up to do the dumbest and bravest thing ever, running around the extra cover Para provided and rushing ahead of Zarian. She slid to a stop on her knees at the front lines. She used her enchanting skill to reinforce the palisade, easing the burden on Zarian by a lot.
A spitter lunged onto the sharpened staves and stabbed itself, ignoring its own injury to get a shot at Hannah. Nobody else could help her other than Zarian.
He had already walked in to drag her out.
Para blocked the acidic bile shot with a thick strip of flesh. Naomi dashed over the palisade¡¯s blunted backside and beheaded the spitter with a single sword swing.
¡°I¡¯m sorry. That was stupid. But I was afraid what would happen if that wall broke,¡± Hannah bbered. ¡°Bianca and Gilbert would¡¯ve stopped me, but I have a little extra in Agility than them and slipped away.¡±
Zarian handed her off to Gilbert and looked back to see a skeleton get dismantled by a strong goblin through a hole in the palisade. Even with it reinforced, there were growing chinks in their defense.
Zarian sted the strong goblin¡¯s head apart with a dark bolt. He directed the skeleton in the rear to fight up front. He sent more dark bolts flying, picking off targets that were on the verge of breaking past the line.
¡°Can¡¯t you make more skeletons?¡± Bianca asked from behind.
Zarian wanted to, but his focus was scattered. He was spending so much aura he was afraid he would hit his limit and get them all killed.
¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± Zarian evoked the skeleton spell on the freshly dead on the palisade and raised six more skeletons.
Their flesh and organs fell off. They untangled themselves from the wall and got to their feet on the wall or in front of it. Then Zarian formed dark des for them before they attacked their formerrades, the still living corrupted goblins.
Yeah, he was hitting the limit. He felt pulled in a bunch of directions. The constant outflow of magic was unraveling him.
But Zarian didn¡¯t dare stop. His side was winning. They were close to their goal. And this was a huge battle with loads of experience to earn.
So he pushed himself. Everyone else was doing the same, which had him doubling down.
He wasmander, leader, and battle wizard. He could see the grand potential of his group like augments of himself, especially Naomi.
He watched Naomi cut down goblins one after another like a mad woman. She was both graceful and ruthless, brazen and beautiful. She had a vicious smile on her face, bing one with the battle, unleashing her true self.
Zarian could see she was born for this life, as if she was always meant to live in the Infinita Star System. He was happy to see that despite how burdened he felt supporting everything, despite Wally and the others¡¯ deaths.
Then Naomi made a mistake and had her side shed open. Arcs of crimson blossomed from the gory wound. She hit the ground like a sack.
Two skeletons brought her back as she bled profusely. Gilbert went to work on her and removed the threat of death. She would be okay.
Zarian still felt tilted.
¡°Bianca, give us your best sh,¡± Zarian demanded.
¡°Yes, sir!¡± Bianca prepared her skill. It gathered in between her palms like a miniature sr re about to go off.
Zarian dropped all of his dark conjurings. He flipped the pages on the grimoire and evoked the Bloody Lifesteal spell.
Then Bianca turned the hallway all searing white and painful. She blinded him along with the corrupted goblins.
That was okay. He didn¡¯t need to see, and he didn¡¯t need to concentrate too hard while in pain.
He walked forward and lent control to Para.
The parasite went on a rampage. Buffs from the Bloody Lifesteal spell and the Overpower trait kept her in motion, kept her dominant, and kept Zarian alright in the eye of a goblin-shredding storm.
By the time Zarian could see again, the battle was over, and he was covered with blood and strings of wet flesh. Parapped the mess off with tongue-like tendrils.
She quivered, purring all over him. She enjoyed it a lot when he let her go wild.
Looking back, Zarian saw the Parasite Cloak had left a massacre of the remaining goblins. There were separate limbs and half-chewed heads. There were torsos filled with holes and flesh-flowers peeled off the bones until they looked like they were blossoming.
Para had made art out of the goblins.
Zarian nodded before flipping through his floating grimoire and evoking the skeleton spell.
Ten gobo skeletons rose from the mess. One hadn¡¯t made it, remaining thoroughly broken. Most of them were Level 20 now.
Loner was Level 21.
How long would it take for them to advance and evolve?
Naomi had reached Level 18. Even the weaker members had new levels. It was good that everyone had grown, Zarian most of all, now Level 23.
But none of that mattered when Zarian heard a scratchy, feminine voice crooning around the bend of the hallway. He heard a me crackling. He heard something sizzling like fat on a hot pan.
Something was put to boil. A knifended with a thunk, thunk, thunk on a cutting board, slicing up something meaty.
He heard pouring liquid falling with a cool ssh.
¡°We made it,¡± Zarian croaked, throat parched, belly rumbling. ¡°The ve Cook is just around the corner.¡±
Chapter 11: Slave Cook
Zarian handed the medallion to Naomi, the item shining under the faint sconce lights. Its seven gems and intricate engravings drew the eye. Its solid weight meant it was real and worth more than anyone could imagine.
It was a divine item, after all.
¡°Have it joined with your soul,¡± Zarian ordered. ¡°With this, you get a second shot. Once a week.¡±
Naomi looked hard into Zarian¡¯s eyes. ¡°Sir, no.¡±
¡°Naomi, you¡¯re my friend and the closest to me other than Ariana. And you already know I don¡¯t have many people in my life who care for me. So shut up and take this into your soul.¡±
¡°Wow, that would be so romantic if you didn¡¯t call her a friend,¡± Bianca said.
Everyone ignored her, Zarian especially. He was a mess of a human being. He¡¯d been through a lot.
Yet, he could still care about others anyway. So he wanted Naomi safer, because she was risking her life being the upfront warrior while helping him.
He was strong enough to protect himself, and he could always get stronger. He shouldn¡¯t need the medallion. And if he died, then that was his own fault for either being too dumb or too weak.Naomi epted the medallion. She frowned at her side, where she¡¯d taken a deadly hit. The wound had mostly healed except for a fleshy scar.
She mumbled thanks to Zarian, then she turned to thank Gilbert once again.
Everyone was gathered in the middle of the massacre. The ve Cook was around the corner, but Zarian wanted to look through the goblin gear before they finally settled down.
Everyone was tired. Bianca and Hannah looked toward the ve Cook¡¯s location like miserable children. Gilbert distracted himself by piling together some decent stuff on a clean enough spot. Ten goblin skeletons helped him.
¡°I think this is the best of the stuff, chief,¡± Gilbert said, wiping his brow free of sweat with his muscled forearm.
Zarian nodded before looking at the skeletons. ¡°I¡¯m dismissing you for now. See you next time, Loner and everyone.¡±
Loner and the skeletons rattled around as their way of saying farewell. Then Zarian closed the Grimoire of ck Magic 101.
The skeletons fell into neat piles that Para swept up and stored inside her pocket dimension. The spectral chains wrapped the grimoire up and drew it into his soul for safekeeping.
Zarian felt relieved. His ragged aura could use the reprieve from staying on constantly. He¡¯d really stretched himself thin. But that came with benefits he wanted to ponder onter.
First, he examined the spoils of war.
There were a few swords that could use some sharpening. There were a few wooden shields that only had a couple chips and dents in them. There were even axes, war hammers, maces, and even spiked gauntlets.
Only one was umon:
¡°Bianca, congrats. You get to have a magic sword,¡± Zarian said, giving it to Para, who handed it off directly.
¡°Oh, yay, gracias. I¡¯ll need to shop for a matching bag.¡±
Zarian shook his head at her. She was so ridiculous. She took the sword without asking about the freaking magic.
¡°What¡¯s the magic on it?¡± Hannah asked for Bianca.
¡°Here, try it on me. Activate it. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±
Bianca turned the falchion this way and that before looking in confusion at Zarian. He told her to push her will on it to turn it on.
Behold, the sword flickered brightly, and Zarian felt distracted and annoyed.
¡°Woo, a rave sword! Party with the ve Cook!¡± Bianca cheered.
This girl is a real wild card, Zarian thought, gobsmacked by Bianca¡¯s flippy, ditzy attitude.
¡°Chief, we¡¯re losing it,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°If she¡¯s cracked, maybe I¡¯ll crack, too.¡±
Zarian wanted to call them weak. He¡¯d gone hungry and thirsty plenty of times. He turned back to sifting through the best junk and handed stuff off.
A shield and mace pair went to Gilbert. Hannah received a buckler shield and short spear. Naomi took a backup sword in case any of the dark des failed.
Then Zarian selected a few more spares as backup for Para to store in her pocket dimension. She still had room because of her level ups.
She was full to the brim with meat, too. She wouldn¡¯t partake in whatever the ve Cook offered, for now.
¡°So, what if the ve Cook is dicing up humans and serving them piping hot?¡± Zarian gave the group a ragged grin. ¡°That¡¯ll suck, won¡¯t it?¡±
¡°Can I stick you with my new shiny sword?¡± Bianca returned a tight smile.
Zarian chuckled and turned to Naomi for her toe to his defense. She was looking elsewhere, pretending that she hadn¡¯t heard a thing.
¡°You can only push women so far, Senor Zarian. We have a secret girly cabal for a reason.¡± Bianca waved her sword at him while it remained off.
¡°First one there gets first dibs,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Oh, me!¡± Bianca dashed off.
¡°You sure she shouldn¡¯t get the medallion? She just volunteered to be the taste tester.¡± Naomi sighed as everyone strode over at a calmer pace behind Bianca.
Para had already scouted the way forward and deemed things safe enough. She was truly the best parasite a man could ask for.
As for Naomi¡¯s question¡
¡°Mm, nah. She¡¯s the type that kinda has that funny plot armor vibe. Maybe the System might favor her, especially if Wonder is her highest stat,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Um,e again? Funny plot armor? The System favoring? The hell¡¯s all that supposed to mean in this godless ce?¡± Gilbert asked.
This narrative has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
¡°I¡¯m curious as well,¡± Hannah added softly.
Zarian chuckled dryly. ¡°Just random stuff I think up. Sometimes it hits me from somewhere so far out of pocket it¡¯s unbelievable. Don¡¯t think too hard about it. I¡¯m a certified weirdo, y¡¯know?¡±
¡°Whatever you say, chief,¡± Gilbert replied.
¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡±
Zarian was undoubtedly delirious from weariness, thirst, and hunger. Thankfully, he was good at acting functional during times like these. Or so he hoped.
When he stumbled a little on thest length to the ve Cook, Para assisted him, like he was a puppet getting held up by strings. A little creepy, sure, but Para meant well.
¡°Bianca stopped at the doorway,¡± Naomi pointed out. ¡°Either she¡¯s not entirely dumb or there¡¯s something worth¡ whoa.¡±
¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Not the best phrasing, but yes,¡± Hannah murmured.
Zarian straightened up and moved ahead of everyone. He stopped a few inches in front of Bianca, the toes of his taped-up sneakers hanging over the edge of the first step.
From here, he had a wide view of the entire room. It was far different from anything he¡¯d seen so far in the Infinita Star System.
It was the biggest kitchen Zarian had evere across, almost as wide-open as an entire apartment. It also had plenty of height where several people could stand on each other¡¯s shoulders before touching the ceiling.
The magic sconces on the walls emitted a soft bluish green light, brighter than the weak light sources Zarian had seen in the halls while feeling less bothersome to his Dark Affinity. The light gave the entire kitchen an enchanting, ethereal vibe. Like something from a painted fantasy picture book.
The walls were neat, clean, and covered in hanging pots, pans, and utensils. They had spaces carved into the stone that served as shelves.
ncing around, even up high, Zarian saw even more pots, jars, sacks, and other objects containing an overflow of ingredients. Spices, herbs, roots, mushrooms, and more stuff he didn¡¯t recognize.
On the furthest walls were wooden chests. Each one had glowing bluish-white engravings. Beside that was a basin filled with flowing water from a pipe in the wall. The basin had a lip where the overflow entered another basin built with a drainage.
The water looked crystal clear like it came from a fresh underground spring, almost perfect for drinking.
Seeing all that beautiful water was triggering. Something primal crawled up from Zarian¡¯s throat and came out as a croak. He heard simr sounds from the others.
Still, Zarian waited to take in more of the kitchen. He examined the massive cauldron set against the leftmost wall. It was beside what looked like a medieval oven that also worked as a furnace and had a stovetoppartment attached to the oven¡¯s side. More ingredients gleamed under the magic sconce lights, set on stone shelves above the boiling stew and sizzling meat in a wide pan.
There were tables and chairs at the center of the room for dining. And between the dining area and the main cooking implements was a long stone ind with cooking boards, more utensils, a hand-pump faucet with a sink, and more runic engravings with glowing symbols.
There were plenty more little things to see. Zarian could learn a lot about a ce that someone cared for and filled with little knick knacks over the years.
He¡¯d never had much to im in his life. So looking at other people¡¯s stuff was always interesting.
Staying put to examine it all grew difficult for Zarian while enduring the onught of delicious smells mming at him repeatedly. He felt like he was going to fall into a stupor or go into a ravenous rampage to get something to drink or eat.
A heavy knife mmed down into a cooking board with a final thunk. A weary sigh reached out to Zarian and his group over the sound of crackling mes and hissing steam rising into the glowing air vents in the ceiling.
Then a pair of little feet plodded from the kitchen ind to a spot a few feet away from the steps leading down onto the kitchen floor.
A goblin stood in the way between Zarian and salvation.
This one looked female based on the slight difference in ratio between her hips and her shoulders. But even those proportions were slightly off since goblins had a more unique anatomypared to humans.
She also seemed more sturdy than prior goblins. She was more well-kept, too. Her big, purple-white bush of hair was straightened into a mohawk up front before it transitioned into a long braid that reached down to the back of her knees.
Her skin was green like a summer leaf. Her eyes were wide, yellow, and cat-like with almond-shaped irises. Her ears were even bigger than the past goblins, like baby palm leaves, and they shifted up and down at curious angles.
She was wearing a stained apron and some cloth wraps underneath. Still primal-looking, but at least she was more put together.
Zarian couldn¡¯t criticize. He was bare chested and covered in grime. In the looks department, the goblin was interesting. More importantly, she didn¡¯t fly into a murderous rage against them.
Though there was one concerning detail. When Zarian tried to use Identify on her, this happened:
That could only mean one thing. The goblin was way higher in level than any other goblin they¡¯d faced. Or she was more powerful than Zarian.
¡°Using Identify without asking can be rude in many ces,¡± the goblin woman said in English, her scratchy voice matching the crooning Zarian had heard earlier. ¡°Some can feel it as an invasive scan through their aura. Others look for how your eyes squint if they can¡¯t feel it. I do both.¡±
¡°Oh, uh, my bad,¡± Zarian said.
¡°It could speak,¡± Gilbert mumbled.
¡°She,¡± Bianca corrected.
¡°Sir, do we fight?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°Fighting me would be a bad idea, newbies,¡± said the goblin.
Zarian could feel Naomi getting into an aggressive stance without even looking at her. She was the only one with high enough physical stats to shrug off the thirst and hunger.
Zarian felt some rising annoyance.
Without looking, he reached behind him and grabbed Naomi by the back of her neck. He squeezed like he was dealing with a temperamental dog.
He scolded her: ¡°Chill out, Naomi. Don¡¯t waste what I just gave you, okay?¡±
¡°Yes, sir.¡±
¡°We¡¯re being rude, aren¡¯t we?¡± Hannah piped up with careful boldness. ¡°Please forgive us. We¡¯re thirsty, hungry, and have been attacked constantly since we¡¯vee here. And this is our first time finding anyone who¡¯ll speak to us civilly despite ¡ obvious differences.¡±
¡°That would make sense for you to be attacked. This is an evil territory. Other than the human with the strange cloak, the rest of you don¡¯t feel evil.¡± The goblin looked them up and down like a wide-eyed cat. ¡°That¡¯s okay. The kitchen is mostly a neutral sanctuary. And I¡¯m not that evil to turn you away, anyway.¡±
She turned back and plodded over to the kitchen ind. ¡°Take a seat at the tables. Let me clean my hands. I¡¯ll serve you drinks and food.¡±
¡°How much?¡± Zarian asked, slowly releasing Naomi once he felt she was calmer.
For some reason, she didn¡¯t seem to mind the handsy treatment. At least from him.
¡°Let me know if my food tastes good, and that¡¯s payment enough. I also have bedrolls so you can rest. I heard you fighting the others, and since you¡¯re alive, it looks like you worked hard to get here.¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t take a step down just yet. He watched the little four-foot goblin use a step stool to reach the hand-pump and sink. She was much tinier than the other goblins, even if she seemed strangely sturdy or more rocksteady. Was that how they were supposed to look without corruption?
She pumped a few times to pour water from the faucet and wash her hands. She even used a bar of soap.
¡°I¡¯m going to have ¡ a lot of questions,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I apologize ahead of time if that annoys you.¡±
Her big ears tilted up.
Yeah, she was very, very cat-like.
¡°Hm, well, I may or may not answer all of your questions. It depends. For now, I¡¯ll tell you this. My name is Foodie. I¡¯m a Level 37 Strong Cook Prodigy. I¡¯m the daughter of a goblin champion, one of the few to make it past Level 200. I like to cook. And I like to read about new ces with different ways to cook. Let me cook for you.¡±
Level 200?! If Zarian didn¡¯t respect the measure of Foodie before, he certainly did now. He barely registered her request to cook for him and the others, his mind racing to other points of interest.
¡°Why aren¡¯t you corrupted like the others?¡± Zarian blurted out, ignoring the urge to run down to the dining table. He could hear Bianca whining and Gilbert groaning.
Foodie stopped and blinked up at them slowly, once again, very much like a cat. Then she turned back to rinsing her hands thoroughly before she said, ¡°Because they are weak and I am strong.¡±
Seriously, was it that simple? Zarian still hesitated.
Foodie didn¡¯t look up again. ¡°Ah, I think I know why you¡¯re not moving. Guests should have time to wash their hands. I¡¯ve nearly forgotten. Come here to the sink and wash your hands first. I¡¯ll pump the water for you.¡±
Finally, Zarian gave in.
He took the first step down into the picturesque kitchen and diner. He felt a strange shift in the air. He felt safer somehow.
Smiling, he said, ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±
Chapter 12: Let Her Cook
Zarian had a mug of water filled with ice cubes tipped to his mouth. He chugged away while looking up at the group notification.
His personal level went up to 24. Naomi gained a level. Bianca, Hannah, and Gilbert gained two levels, drawing them closer to choosing sses.
Hannah was the closest at Level 9. The side quest she¡¯d received for her enchanting pushed her up the levels quickly. It was as if the System wanted Hannah to get a ss and show off some stronger abilities dealing with runes.
Zarian was excited to see that. Despite the horrors they¡¯d faced, Zarian enjoyed seeing the growth and the exploration of magic. He was a much different personpared to who he was half a day ago.
He was kind of living the dream,pleting quests and finding unique locations that looked like illustrations from a fantasy book.
Then he suffered a mild brain freeze and felt his stomach stricken from taking in too much cold water. Zarian mmed his mug down and coughed into his fist.
¡°Don¡¯t drink too fast if you haven¡¯t had water for a while,¡± Foodie said. ¡°Especially you, with the cloak. You don¡¯t seem like you have a lot of Strength or vitality to you.¡±
She was back at the counter to chop up what looked like roots. Everything would be ready in twenty minutes, she¡¯d mentioned.
Zarian and the others sat at a dining table close to the doorway they¡¯d taken to get here. Other than their mugs of ice and water, they had three wooden pitchers filled with more to share between them.Foodie had promised to provide them beer, too. It was locally made with enough magic to make it an umon drink.
That sounded fantastic to Zarian even though he was more of a rum drinker, but beggars couldn¡¯t be choosers. More importantly, he was extremely curious about everything that Foodie knew.
¡°How can you tell all that about me?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°The way you move. Next to the human woman who stays close to you, I can see she¡¯s strong and graceful. You aren¡¯t. You¡¯re a magic type, aren¡¯t you?¡± Foodie asked.
¡°You can use Identify if you want,¡± Zarian offered.
Foodie looked up from what she was doing, and Zarian felt a strange, invasive tingle. A pop-up notification followed the creepy feeling:
Oh, so that¡¯s why it¡¯s rude, Zarian realized. He nced at the others, noticing the frown on Naomi¡¯s face.
Bianca, Hannah, and Gilbert didn¡¯t feel the Identify at work from Foodie. Maybe that was a consequence of having fewer levels, aura, or whatever.
Foodie hummed. ¡°You¡¯re all Outsiders. So many in one ce, how very, very rare. And you, with the cloak, you¡¯re a wizard. You must be very talented with Mysticism, I imagine. I¡¯m not very good at that. I¡¯m more Strength-focused with Wonder as my secondary. It helps with my cooking.¡±
Zarian found it curious that outsiders were rare. Apparently, having five of them in her kitchen was an even bigger deal. Did that mean outsiders were valuable in the Infinita Star System? If that was the case, then being an Honored Outsider was probably huge.
¡°Thanks for thepliment,¡± Zarian replied. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m all about Mysticism, second to that is Willpower or Wonder.¡±
¡°Mmm-hmmm.¡± Foodie nodded.
¡°Your kitchen is a big ce. You¡¯re the only one working here?¡± Gilbert asked as Foodie plodded off to the side.
She grabbed a pole off the wall. It had a hook on top for catching out-of-reach items.
¡°Before I answer, can you answer how you all got here? That will tell me what¡¯s useful for you to know,¡± Foodie said inly, going back to the stove with a bag of dried leaves.
She tossed them into the stew. Then, with her bare hand, she opened a tted panel in front of the oven and looked inside,pletely ignoring the air-wavering heat.
Watching her work was enchanting. She was a little thing with big ears, all green with cat-like mannerisms and eyes. But the more Zarian watched her, the more he noticed that her presence was strong and solid, fitting for her ss.
He could tell she was handling everything around her carefully. Without care, she might break her own stuff. How did a little goblin get so strong? Was it because of her dad?
¡°I opened a portal from our world to the Infinita Star System,¡± Zarian exined, answering her question after some thought. ¡°We ended up on the floor below this one where there were puddles and ponds of Shadowfell Tears. We, uh, had to fight some corrupted fish. Then we encountered goblins who were corrupted. We went from one fight to the next until we found you. We lost some people along the way.¡±
¡°But wepleted a quest to get here!¡± Bianca chirped, grasping for positives.
¡°Yes, you really are Outsiders,¡± the goblin said. ¡°And the wizard is an Honored Outsider.¡±
Four pairs of eyes turned to Zarian. There were a lot of little things about him he hadn¡¯t mentioned. But thepany here was decent, so Zarian didn¡¯t mind for that stuff toe out now.
¡°I¡¯m built different,¡± he said. ¡°I also have something major in my origins. It gets me some special treatment from the System. At least for now.¡±
¡°You took a bottle from my hand with your ck tentacle,¡± Bianca pointed out.
¡°Oh, yeah, I¡¯ve been ying with magic for almost a year now. Before I got kicked out of the Marines for ¡ insubordination,¡± Zarian said.
Naomi stiffened a little but didn¡¯t say anything.
¡°I can¡¯t believe you were a freaking Marine,¡± Gilbert said, shaking his head. ¡°Then again, I guess it makes some sense based on how...¡±
¡°On how what?¡± Zarian raised an eyebrow.
¡°Gung-ho, chief. How gung-ho you are.¡±
¡°You really had magic before all of this started?¡± Hannah asked, steering the conversation to somewhere more important. ¡°How is that possible?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. Arianna showed up when I was eight. Then the dark magic happened almost a year ago. I¡¯ve been involved with supernatural stuff for a while, and I was the only one I know to have that happen,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°Nobody else would believe me. But now here we are. In another world where it¡¯s normal to have magic.¡±
¡°This is true. It is normal to have magic here in Infinita,¡± Foodie said from on her stepdder,dle in hand while stirring the stew. ¡°Even the food will have some magic to it. At least when I cook.¡±
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.
¡°It¡¯s safe to eat, right?¡± Naomi asked, receiving some res from Bianca and Gilbert. Zarian understood that Naomi wanted to double-check.
¡°I will give you a three course meal starting with the stew, followed by the steaks, and then the sweet bread I made. Does that sound okay with you all?¡± Foodie asked.
¡°Can I hug you?¡± Bianca asked.
Crackling mes filled the silence. Then Foodie said, ¡°Maybe another time.¡±
¡°You hear that? Another time. We just have to let her cook, guys,¡± Bianca cheered.
¡°Can we go back to that craziness about the portal?¡± Gilbert asked, wiping away the excess drool from his mouth. ¡°Did you really do that, chief? And why in a mall of all godforsaken ces?¡±
¡°And can you bring us back?¡± Hannah asked quickly.
¡°I had dreams leading me there. The portal was dormant, waiting to be activated. I just had to reach it and make the magic happen. Then the rest was history.¡± Zarian poured more iced water from the pitcher into the cup. ¡°Maybe when we get some sleep, I¡¯ll dream of another portal. But I doubt it. Things are different here. We¡¯re part of the Star System, and Ariana¡¯s gone for some reason.¡±
¡°Ariana¡¯s real, isn¡¯t she?¡± Naomi asked gingerly.
Zarian nodded. ¡°Yeah, Ariana is real. I just don¡¯t get why she¡¯s gone now. Is it true that her spirit couldn¡¯t pass through? That doesn¡¯t make sense. She told me we belong here. She made it sound like she would be here.¡±
¡°Or she lied,¡± Gilbert said.
Bianca pped him on the shoulder.
Zarian didn¡¯t respond.
¡°The food is almost done.¡± Food ced thedle down.
Hannah massaged her temples. ¡°We¡¯re in another world. Because of a portal that you opened in a mall. We have magic powers because of a game-like System. But there are dangerous monsters who are corrupted because of those Shadowfell Tears. What are we going to do if we can¡¯t go back home? Is this our life now?¡±
Hannah struck a nerve. Bianca burst into tears and stifled sobs. Gilbert hunched over the dining table tensely, fists balled tight.
Zarian and Naomi were the least affected, which made sense for Zarian but not so much for Naomi. Did she like being here instead of back in their old world?
Zarian had more questions for Foodie. But the mood was sour, and he felt like he was the me.
Well, he honestly was the me. He had bodies stored away inside of Para¡¯s pocket dimension that he had to bury when they reached a safe enough spot outside.
¡°The meal is ready,¡± Foodie said, which were the most wonderful four words Zarian could hear.
Foodie set everything up with an extra perk to her little steps. In front of the five Outsiders, they all had a bowl of brown stew, a te of crispy brown meat zed in sauce and sprinkled with seasoning, and fluffy golden bread covered in a sheen of honey-smelling ze.
Then, to top it off, Foodie carried over a small barrel with a cork at the top. She removed the cork easily, set down some new mugs, and poured a dark liquid into each. It had a dry but slightly fruity smell.
They didn¡¯t wait. They didn¡¯t even concern themselves with any of the stuff being poisoned. Zarian and the others felt a desperate need to eat, drink, and feel moreplete.
The moment Zarian ced a spoonful of stew into his mouth, he felt tingles travel through his entire body. Everywhere.
Someone moaned like they were having an orgasm. It took a second for Zarian to recognize that it was Hannah.
Bianca burst into tears again. She scooped more stew into her mouth, barely swallowing it fast enough before taking in another spoonful as tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.
Gilbert rattled the table with his fisting down between each bite.
¡°Wow,¡± Naomi said around a full mouth.
Foodie¡¯s stew was good. It was so, so good. It had a burst of vors without being overwhelming. It flowed smoothly with a few finely diced chunks you could chew on for more vor. It was meaty while having unfamiliar vegetables that were arresting.
It could have poison, and Zarian would die with a happy belly.
This is so dumb. But let me be lucky for once. He had enough points in Wonder to have some good luck.
Naomi was the first person to get through the stew and reach the te of crispy steak. Zarian¡¯s hunger spiked, watching Naomi sink her teeth into the steak for the first bite and rip through it like a wolf on a fresh kill.
She moaned in girlish delight, nearly melting on the spot. Gilbert got to his steaks next. Then the others finished their stews. Zarian spent a little longer savoring his.
He¡¯d been eating out of garbage until this point. If it wasn¡¯t for his levels or the System or whatever, he might¡¯ve died from vor overload.
Eventually, he moved on to the meat and discovered a new pleasure like no other. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, with just enough juice to make it extra savory.
Everyone was taking their time now.
Zarian was almost full. He set the tter of meat aside and delighted in the sweet bread next.
He nearly jolted out of his seat. The bread was the tastiest desert he¡¯d ever had. The sugar was almost too much even though he could tell there wasn¡¯t a heavy amount. The quality of the sugar was way above normal.
Without thinking, Zarian took a sip of the beer next. Whoa. Wow. Zarian couldn¡¯t believe how good the beer tasted. It was almost too magical. Did she make the beer herself?
Would it be obscene to marry the cook? Even if all Zarian wanted was her cooking and cat-like mannerisms?
¡°Can we be friends?¡± Zarian asked.
Foodie blinked slowly at him while standing off to the side. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m a ve, and ves don¡¯t have friends.¡±
And just like that, all the joy Zarian and the others felt from eating this scrumptious meal lost its luster. They didn¡¯t stop eating, but they weren¡¯t as enthusiastic now.
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Hannah said after using a piece of cloth to wipe her mouth. ¡°We came here for water and food because we heard there was a ve Cook. You¡¯re serving us with no payment because you¡¯re enved.¡±
¡°That¡¯s part of the reason I¡¯m serving you. I don¡¯t have to since I¡¯m not your ve, exactly. But you all seem to like my cooking a lot, so that¡¯s payment enough,¡± Foodie said.
¡°Can we free her?¡± Gilbert turned to Zarian.
¡°We don¡¯t know what we¡¯re getting into,¡± Naomi said, sounding uncertain.
¡°Free my friend, Foodie!¡± Bianca cried out.
¡°I agree with Naomi. We know nothing.¡± Hannah sighed.
Zarian sighed along with her. Everyone turned to him. There was more food in front of him, but he was so full he couldn¡¯t eat like the others. He sipped slowly on the delicious beer.
Then he said, ¡°I need a nap. We all do. Are we really okay here?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve already turned on the sanctuary¡¯s defenses. For the next twenty-four hours, you are safe here. The goblins who fell to corruption will be repelled one way or another, especially if they want to risk my anger,¡± Foodie exined, walking off to the side and opening one of her storage chests.
¡°You¡¯re their ve, but they wouldn¡¯t want to risk angering you?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°I¡¯m only a ve to one goblin, my mother. She rules as chieftess above us in a castle that once belonged to orcs. She has me branded with a ve mark. She was the one who led our tribe here to be corrupted by Evil Goddess Shadowfell after my father died.¡±
Foodieid out five bed rolls. ¡°They thought they¡¯ll be stronger if they can survive the corruption. They all fell to it one way or another. My mother pretends she¡¯s not corrupted, but she partially is. I¡¯m the only exception. I became stronger alone, and then I became my mother¡¯s ve.¡±
There was a lull filled by the dull crackling of the oven¡¯s fire.
¡°So, we¡¯re freeing her, right, my friends?¡± Bianca asked, breaking the lull.
¡°I¡¯m going to get some shut eye,¡± Zarian dered, standing up from the table slowly.
The beer was hitting hard. He needed Para¡¯s help to keep him stable, her tendrils pushing him along, keeping him upright.
¡°You can rest. Then I¡¯ll serve you another meal when you wake up. After that, I can tell you how to escape from here,¡± Foodie said.
Zarian stopped and turned back. ¡°Oh, yeah?¡±
Everyone¡¯s attention sharpened if it hadn¡¯t already.
Foodie carried on. ¡°Castle Grimrock has many tunnels and caverns attached to it. Based on your levels, you can go through the White Spider Dungeon and make it out alright. Then you¡¯ll get to the surface and be on your way to human territory west of here. You¡¯ll know west if you watch the Corma Star and the Star Core¡¯s arc falling in a certain direction. Where it falls is west. Go that way through Bramble Wolf Forest, and you¡¯ll find a town with other humans. They should have all that you need to help you.¡±
There was a lot of information to keep track of with her directions. So much of it sounded fantastic, like straight out of a fantasy novel or online game.
The good food, unique magic kitchen setting, and the conversation with a powerful goblin were all a part of one bigfy vibe. Zarian¡¯s need for sleep grew even stronger than his curiosity.
¡°Like I said, I¡¯m getting some shut eye.¡± Zarian fell onto a bed roll. He didn¡¯t bother covering up. ¡°Then we can figure out how to break you free.¡±
¡°Why?¡± Foodie asked.
¡°Nobody who cooks so freaking good should stay enved to their evil mother. If you want to pay us back for helping you, then you can cook for us wherever we go on our adventures.¡±
With that said, Zarian fell asleep.
Chapter 13: Morning Feast
Zarian woke up from a dreamless sleep and kept his eyes closed. He didn¡¯t move much at first, enjoying the luxury of being alive, warm, and not starving.
He slowly wriggled his fingers and toes, and he shifted around bit by bit. Some of his pains remained, like the bullet lodged into his back right shoulder, and other chronic problems.
He hadn¡¯t received any healing from Gilbert. Not yet, at least. And Bloody Lifesteal didn¡¯t help further than needed, leaving scars and aches.
If he asked Gilbert to help cut the bullet out and heal him up, Gilbert would probably do it. But Zarian kept letting that request slide into the background. He was very good at ignoring his own pain.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. The blurriness in his vision passed quickly. Looking around, he didn¡¯t find Ariana.
He saw Bianca and Hannahying close, their bedrolls right next to each other. Bianca was curled up while sucking on her thumb.
Hannah slept perfectly on her back, one loose fist on her chest. Her other hand was on Bianca¡¯s head.
She must¡¯ve soothed the younger woman before falling asleep.
Gilbert was on the other side of Zarian, sleeping on his side. He was snoring like a rumbling truck. The rest of the group was so tired that Gilbert¡¯s snores couldn¡¯t disturb them.Rising to a seat, Zarian found Naomi sitting up on her bedroll in the far corner. She had sacks filled with dried goods piled behind her back and had a good view of the entire room and the doorway.
She was also fast asleep.
¡°She tried to keep watch,¡± Foodie said from her stepdder near the stove. She cracked eggs into a bowl and whisked it with a mix of chopped meat and veggies. ¡°But she was too tired to stay up for long. Not after all that you¡¯d done. And not when you ate my food.¡±
Foodie poured the eggs into a hot pan.
Zarian¡¯s mouth watered from the sizzling sound and delicious smells. He noticed other ingredients stacked on the kitchen ind. They were going to have a hearty breakfast.
¡°Did youce the food with anything?¡± Zarian asked casually, unbothered. Para the Parasite Cloak was keeping constant security. She was acting passively now, so things must be fine.
¡°Other than my magic?¡± Foodie asked. ¡°No, I don¡¯t like poisoning anyone I want to feed. It¡¯s a bad habit for a cook. Instead, I used a skill for your benefit.¡±
¡°Really?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°You arrived two days ago and leveled up all the way to 24. That is very, very fast. So fast, your vitality hasn¡¯t caught up to your level yet. You would¡¯ve lost out without me. My food should help with that.¡±
Zarian sat up straighter, surprised. He didn¡¯t know leveling up too fast came with consequences.
Foodie descended from the stepdder and went to grab something from the kitchen ind. When she returned to the stove, a troubling thought came to Zarian¡¯s mind.
¡°We slept for over twenty-four hours, didn¡¯t we?¡± he asked.
He didn¡¯t feel safe in the sanctuary anymore.
Foodie pointed over to the door with a big kitchen knife. Zarian had to crawl forward and off his bedroll to see.
Rivulets of dark blood had dried on the steps. In the corner outside of the sanctuary, all the way against the wall, Zarian saw a pile of bodies.
Foodie had killed a bunch of corrupted goblins while Zarian and the others were asleep.
Without waking them up.
Holy fucking shit.
¡°Why?¡± Zarian asked, amazed by all Foodie had done for them.
Hadn¡¯t she said she was evil? Even if only a little? She¡¯d done so much while having no obligations toward five human Outsiders.
Foodie hesitated, her big, broad ears tilting all the way up. Then she looked over her shoulder and at Zarian. Her eyes seemed to stare into his soul.
¡°I liked the way you reacted when you ate my food. It was nice to see. So I don¡¯t care if Mother will punish me. I won¡¯t let you die to weak goblins.¡± Foodie went back to cooking.
Zarian watched her for a while as he thought over her words.
Foodie was a particr character, and kind of maic in her own way. Zarian felt something toward her. Admiration? Respect? Appreciation?
Whatever it was, Zarian was very, very well rested and able to think. He could see that he¡¯d taken a lot of risks up to this point.
They¡¯d trusted a total stranger ¨C a goblin ¨C to not only serve them drink and food but take care of them while they rested. And Foodie had done that for two days.
Zarian wanted to make the most out of this.
¡°Vitality? Is it life energy?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Vitality is ayer between aura and life energy. Life energy protects your soul and keeps it tethered to your body. It can also help with your body, but it¡¯s not that efficient for that. Life energy usually shrinks with time unless you adventure up the levels and reach ascension. Or there¡¯s magic involved.¡±
So that¡¯s why Bloody Lifesteal is umon instead of being higher. It¡¯s an enormous waste of energy when I¡¯m using it for physical healing.
That confirmed his earlier observations of why he didn¡¯t get healed all the way. Bloody Lifesteal was better for securing life. Actual healing affected vitality, which affected the body.
Zarian felt a little cheated by his only self-preservation skill. Then again, if he thought about it from an offensive perspective, it was badass he could drain the energy that kept a person¡¯s soul in their body.
Also, what the heck was ascension?
Foodie carried on as she cooked. ¡°Vitality is the energy that helps you endure the rigors of adventures, keeps you fit and on the move, and helps you stay awake on long stretches of restless work, and quickens your healing even without a healer if given enough time to rest. Some adventurers call it your constitution, endurance, or health. It¡¯s all of those things. It grows with levels, but it grows the most if you earn your levels from hard experiences.¡±
Zarian nodded along with the exnation. Vitality¡¯s design was an interesting game mechanic. There were no obvious stats for what sounded like health points. It was more organic and invisible.
It also sounded like he needed to be careful with how he power-leveled himself and the others. If they had too easy of a time, they would die easier in high level fights.
¡°Is it possible to sense vitality?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Certain sses, skills, and traits can,¡± Foodie exined. ¡°I can sense vitality since it¡¯s part of my ss as a Strong Cook Prodigy. I can also sense your aura. But that¡¯s not part of my ss. That¡¯s a trait I learned from my father.¡±
¡°What¡¯s aura?¡±
¡°The sum of your stats.¡± Foodie threw what looked like bacon into a pan. An even louder sizzle filled the kitchen. ¡°The more stats you have, the more aura you have. With aura, you can empower many of your skills or use it for spells, enchantments, and more. You have arge amount of aura at your level, wizard.¡±
¡°Thanks, Foodie, and also I apologize if my questions are dull and basic. Can you tell me more about the basic profile info?¡±
¡°Your apology is unnecessary.¡± Foodie stopped what she was doing. She turned to give him an expressionless stare that made Zarian freeze.
Then, slowly, she went back to cooking. Zarian rxed as Foodie spoke: ¡°You are an Outsider, and an honored one at that. I¡¯ve never read or heard about an Honored Outsider before. Yet, here you are in Shadowfell territory, so even if you are a newbie, I think it will be wise to help. Now listen closely so I don¡¯t repeat myself.¡±
¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±
¡°Your ss is based on paths one can follow as they adventure and ascend the worlds. There are many paths, but it is up to your actions and achievements to make the most of your ss.
¡°Traits are based on you, sometimes the result of sses, and sometimes the results of extreme changes or logical progression. All traits, even those that seem negative like a debuff, exist because they are tailored to you.
¡°Skills can sometimes be tailored to you or tailored to the ss. While traits are more permanent and hard to evolve, skills are more dynamic and level up just so they can advance and improve. Not all skills are equal. Some are higher quality than others. Some can advance into higher qualities if they don¡¯t start that way. This is important to keep in mind, because a skill that seems weak and simple can grow and advance to be strongter on.¡±
¡°Yes, I see, thank you.¡± Zarian imagined his skills were powerful and high in quality.
The others had skills that might not be powerful now but could grow into something strongerter, like Hannah¡¯s Basic Enchantment or Gilbert¡¯s Basic Healing.
Another example was Searing sh, Bianca¡¯s skill, which wasn¡¯t basic. That thing was a strong skill, higher in quality than what the others started with. That could mean Bianca had a hidden talent inside her.
Naomi seemed to be in the middle, and it was hard to judge her since she had a ss that granted her a unique skill like Mind Spike. Naomi had made herself powerful through aggression and attitude.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
She¡¯d taken Zarian¡¯s help first, springing her up in levels. So Zarian couldn¡¯t judge if Naomi was talented or she was an extreme workhorse who made herself talented. Nheless, she was an interesting case just like the others.
Seeing them grow and advance will be interesting, Zarian thought with a smile.
After enough time passed from what wasst said, Foodie carried on: ¡°As for stats. Willpower is for concentration, defense of mind, defense of spirit, applying your mental and spiritual will, and more. Strength is for brawn, hitting power, toughness, and more. Agility is for speed, dexterity, quickness of mind, grace, and more. Wonder is for luck, faith, perception of the unnatural, great hidden power, increasing aura potency, and many more things. Then there is Mysticism, your favored stat, I imagine. Mysticism is for control of magic, magical ingenuity, regenerating aura, and plenty more.¡±
Foodie let out a soft, scratchy sigh. ¡°The nature of stats are regardless of how certain abilities or enchantments scale with them or how certain sses prefer certain stats. Each stat has greater depth than you can imagine as a newbie.¡±
Zarian nodded. ¡°Yeah, well, I can work with the basics for now. This confirms a lot. All of those stats sound important, but sses are built on minimizing waste and maximizing potential.¡±
¡°This is sometimes true. But all stats must rise eventually. Unless you can ovee weaknesses created by ignoring certain stats for too long.¡±
¡°Okay, alright, I think I¡¯ll wait on the others before we continue,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Again, thank you.¡±
¡°Okay.¡± Foodie continued cooking.
Zarian smiled, enjoying the serenity despite everything that had happened. Foodie had exined so much he was still chewing on it all. And there was still more!
The wealth of information was great to hear until Zarian realized he and the others hadn¡¯t mentioned their names. That was rude of them, wasn¡¯t it? Thankfully, everyone else was finally starting to rouse from sleep.
Naomi jolted awake and jumped to her feet.
Bianca and Hannah slowly shifted into consciousness, with Bianca letting out a few soft sobs. Hannah froze up, eyes wide, searching for danger like any frightened person.
Gilbert grumbled at first before he stood to his tall height and looked ready for a fight. He wasn¡¯t too eager to fight, based on the fear in his eyes, but he prepared anyway.
Zarian took his time to observe them. More so now than before. These people would be working alongside him for a while, and he wanted to know all of their physical details by heart.
Naomi was ck with brown eyes and ck hair like him. She was very in shape, eye-catching even. Her expressions and attitude came across as dangerous and cold, however. Sometimes even merciless.
Gilbert and Bianca were both white with a tan and straw-yellow hair. However, Gilbert had the ssic blue-eyed look, while Bianca had yellowish amber eyes. Gilbert was a big man with a small-town charm. Bianca was a natural beauty with a Latina ir.
Lastly, there was Hannah, pale white, brown-eyed with brte hair, and the oldest and most meek-looking woman of the group. She came across as more mature while also reserved at times, but there was something bold hidden inside of her.
¡°Everyone,¡± Zarian called, ¡°tell Foodie your name and thank her for the food and her hospitality.¡±
Zarian went first. Despite some reluctance, the others followed his example. Greetingspleted, he caught them up on what Foodie had told him so far. He wanted to keep his people engaged and to not think heavily about the horrors they¡¯d faced.
Of course, there was no hiding how vulnerable they had been while they slept. They saw the goblin corpses piled in the corner outside of the kitchen.
Naomi¡¯s dark skin became a few shades lighter on her face, her surprise clear. Gilbert and Hannah had a simr look, if not paler.
¡°You¡¯re so nice, Foodie,¡± Bianca said, pushing past the grim wake up call. ¡°You¡¯re the first nice person we¡¯ve met here.¡±
The goblin¡¯s ears went up and down. Then she slowly turned to Bianca and said, ¡°If that¡¯s what you think, then I won¡¯t tell you otherwise.¡±
Is she really aligned with evil? Zarian wondered. But she said she¡¯s not that evil, so maybe it¡¯s because she lives in an evil territory that she¡¯s evil aligned.
Her ss, Strong Cook Prodigy, didn¡¯t evoke the idea of evil alignment. Zarian was curious, but the moral alignment thing was not the most pressing question now.
Their time was limited, wasn¡¯t it? There was no way Foodie could ughter the other goblins without facing consequences from her mother, right? Zarian had nearly overlooked the danger because of the wealth of information Foodie provided.
¡°What should I ask next?¡± Zarian murmured.
There were too many questions. Zarian took some time to sort through them all in his head, and everyone was polite enough to wait. By the time he had his leading questions, breakfast was served.
Everyone gathered at the table again. Foodie stood off to the side, little hands on her hips. She watched them like a curious green-skinned cat.
They had scrambled eggs on toasted bread covered in light herbs and seasoning. They had fat chunky bacon strips that had been cooked into a fine but chewy crisp. They had bowls of oats with berry-like fruits Zarian had never seen before. They also had pitchers of cold milk and a sweet smelling juice.
Of course, there was more water since sleeping for so long would leave them dehydrated.
¡°What¡¯s the payment for this feast?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°I want to know your ns before you leave. Then I would like to test your wizardry, Zarian,¡± Foodie requested.
Everyone looked worried at hearing that except for Zarian, who smiled. His admiration of Foodie went up.
¡°Alright, that works for me. Let¡¯s eat,¡± Zarian said.
The breakfast was a delight. This time around, everyone ate a little slower. They savored the meal like it could be theirst.
Bianca only sobbed once. Gilbert¡¯srge frame leaned over his food like he wanted to hug it. Naomi and Hannah were more reserved, but they couldn¡¯t hide their enjoyment that much.
Zarian felt like he was having a feast fit for a king as he finished his eggs-on-toast, chomped down a piece of juicy bacon, then followed it up with a hearty swig of delicious and pulpy juice. With every swallow, Zarian felt like he was way greater than the man he was before Foodie¡¯s kitchen.
The System even acknowledged it.
Zarian stopped eating. So did the others. They all burst into telling each other how much they¡¯d grown.
Everyone was talking over each other until Naomi pped her hand on the table. Zarian spoke first once they hushed down. Then they went one by one from there.
Zarian had grown the least, with a total of 18 new points. Naomi had grown the most, with 26 new points. Bianca, Hannah, and Gilbert had each gained 20 new points.
¡°Good, I figured that would happen,¡± Foodie said. ¡°You¡¯vee from outside the Star System, plunged directly into danger. Somehow, you¡¯ve defeated enemies with significant higher levels and more time here. And you¡¯ve had my food to help you grow. Your vitality will still need more time to settle in. But your stats and aura can easily keep up if you¡¯re going to push at the pace you¡¯re going now.¡±
¡°Will this happen each time we go out for hard quests and adventures, thene back to rest?¡± Zarian asked eagerly.
Foodie snorted softly. ¡°With me, it can. A strong cook is essential for that type of growth. You¡¯ll need to eat the meat of powerful and unique monsters, however. And have vegetables and spices from rare magical ces.¡±
Foodie nodded to her own words, and the Outsiders nodded along as she spoke.
¡°I gave you my best stock that I¡¯ve gathered when Mother lets me go on my runs. You¡¯re very fortunate to havee at the time you did, since it was all fresh and workable with my abilities.¡±
¡°Thank you for that. Like, seriously, thank you,¡± Zarian said.
The others followed his example, Bianca especially. She looked like she wanted to throw a hug around Foodie even if it might get her killed.
Zarian moved on to his next question: ¡°What is the Infinita Star System?¡±
The others settled down to listen as they sipped from mugs filled with juice, milk, or water. Zarian wanted his entire attention on Foodie¡¯s exnation and didn¡¯t bother to have anything in hand.
Foodie tilted her head to her left and then to her right. Once she straightened her head, she seemed to have an answer ready.
¡°It is the yground of the System, the seven Evil Gods, and seven Good Gods. It is a game of power. The strong rise, and depending on their alignment and factions, they earn favors, boons, achievements, treasures, stats, new abilities, and more.¡±
Foodie went over to a low hanging shelf, grabbed a dried root, and chewed on it. Once she swallowed, she continued.
¡°The weak live under the strong, and earn little to nothing. But anyone can rise if they push themselves, take risks, or find extreme fortune.¡±
Foodie munched through another root. She took her time to chew on her snack and her own thoughts before speaking again.
¡°We¡¯re on one of the starter worlds right now. Ours is Corma, the World of Castles and Caverns. It is fit for those between Level 1 and Level 100. Above that, I¡¯m not sure. Father didn¡¯t leave many notes about the next world above. All I know is you must adventure and ascend as the best way to keep growing. Or you¡¯ll stagnate and hit a limit.¡±
Zarian nodded along with the worldly info. It wasn¡¯tplete, but it painted a decent picture on the basic level.
The Infinita Star System sounded like a widespread, multi-world game that distributed more power to the strong as long as they worked hard, took risks, or got lucky. Those who showed the most talent by leveling up would receive rewards from the System or the fourteen gods in charge. The weak could rise as well, but without great power or luck, they would fall easier than the strong.
Seven gods represented a good alignment. Seven gods represented an evil alignment, which no doubt included the Shadowfell Goddess. Then there were various smaller factions that came with a host of boons or issues.
Zarian imagined this would make for one hell of an MMO.
¡°What is good and evil in the Infinita Star System?¡± Zarian asked next.
Foodie answered: ¡°Good is order. Evil is chaos. Good follows lots of rules or suffers. Evil doesn¡¯t have many rules and suffers.¡± Foodie chewed on another piece of root. ¡°I¡¯m evil for being a goblin. I can gain more favors by acting under the will of one of the Evil Gods. We¡¯re in the territory of Evil Goddess Shadowfell, who is considered the least evil of the Evil Gods.¡±
¡°Really?¡± Zarian asked.
Foodie nodded. ¡°She¡¯ll show mercy to the weak. And she¡¯ll praise the strong. But her power is avable to everyone who is on the side of evil. Sometimes you¡¯ll earn her favor even when you¡¯re neutral.¡±
Foodie looked up at the ceiling and said in a low voice, ¡°Only a few can handle it, especially the Shadowfell Tears. It¡¯s interesting that you were down in the Shadowfell pools when you arrived and hadn¡¯t been corrupted. I figure it¡¯s because of your origins as Outsiders, so the Star System protected you.¡±
Zarian hummed. The more he learned, the more he realized there were invisible forces that the System kept out of sight.
This entire magical fantasy universe was a far bigger and moreplex game than just crawling through underground floors and facing down intensely insane goblins.
Also, the Shadowfell Goddess sounded interesting, if very careless. Maybe that was the reason she was an Evil Goddess. She didn¡¯t care about how damaging her own tears could be.
She¡¯s a messy girl.
It was kind of wild and fantastic to think about. Somewhere out there a woman could cry and turn creatures into more monstrous versions of themselves.
¡°I read she arrived as a baby twenty years ago,¡± Zarian said.
¡°It is now Mid Summer, 1532 of the Dark Era,¡± Foodie said. ¡°Shadowfell arrived in the Early Autumn of 1512, some years after the Sixth Divine War of the Dark Era. Many Masters, Champions, Paragons, and even Heroes have perished. The throne of the Adventurer King remains empty to this day. Four gods died in thest war, and three gods took their ce as expected.¡±
Foodie turned to look into the fire crackling in the oven. ¡°Gods, heroes, kings, queens, these are reced by adventurers who rise in the Infinita Star System. That¡¯s what the books I¡¯ve read say. But there¡¯s one exception everyone knows of.¡±
¡°Shadowfell Goddess?¡± Zarian guessed.
¡°Yes, Shadowfell. She¡¯s the only exception. She was a goddess as a baby. She¡¯s our age, far younger than all the others, and far too different,¡± Foodie exined. ¡°It is said she¡¯s so powerful most gods fear her, Good and Evil. Well, except for one. But that one is best not mentioned by his direct name, lest you risk rousing from his slumber the First Destroyer, the First Evil King.¡±
Foodie waited, but nobody piped up. Not even Zarian. There was a lot to take in, even for a geek like him.
¡°Excuse me, I need some time to, uh, take this all in,¡± Gilbert piped up. ¡°Sorry.¡±
¡°Same,¡± Hannah added. ¡°This is a lot.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s take a quick five, guys,¡± Zarian said, standing up from the table. He wandered around and looked closer at different parts of the kitchen. Naomi followed him like a shadow.
Time was not on their side. He might as well have a closer look at the magical kitchen while he could.
Chapter 14: He’s Powerful
As Zarian and Naomi wandered around the kitchen, Gilbert, Bianca, and Hannah spoke in hushed murmurs. Zarian didn¡¯t bother to strain his hearing to listen in on them.
He imagined they were more religious. Hearing all of that stuff about gods and goddesses, champions and heroes who were practically demigods, and some slumbering jerk called the First Destroyer Evil King whatever, well, all of that was probably a lot for their old world sensibilities.
Zarian stopped by the storage chests with the glowing symbols. Now that he had a closer look, the symbols were like the runes from Hannah¡¯s enchantments.
He nced at Naomi as she stood to his right and slightly behind him. ¡°What do you think?¡±
¡°It¡¯s like going up the military ranks,¡± Naomi said. ¡°But this time, the ranks here are levels. And the levels give you actual power. Vitality makes you hardier. Stats grow your capabilities, making you superhuman. We get more of this invisible magic energy called aura when our stats grow.
¡°With aura, we can use all sorts of magic. Then we can effectively cut down an enemy force that would¡¯ve been impossible to defeat back on Earth. Not without millions of dors¡¯ worth of military hardware. And this is just the start, sir. The goblin girl, Foodie, said her dad reached the Level 200s and was a Champion. That sounds mighty powerful.¡±
¡°This is just the start, huh?¡± Zarian slowly nodded. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re excited. I can even see it on your face.¡±
Naomi¡¯s eyes were lit with thrill, a half smile forming. She was discovering a new side of herself, apparently, and she was clearly loving it.
She didn¡¯t even try to hide her expression from him. She smiled a little more, in fact.¡°Yeah, I am. The Marines have nothing like this. Our old world has nothing like this.¡± Naomi licked her lips. ¡°Maybe I can be so powerful I can beat anybody.¡±
¡°Even me?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± Naomi shifted from side to side slightly. ¡°Maybe if I work hard enough and you ck off.¡±
¡°Hm, scary. I¡¯ll have to avoid cking off. You¡¯ll step all over me if I be weaker than you.¡±
¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t,¡± Naomi grunted, obviously flustered.
Zarian chuckled. ¡°Yeah, well, we¡¯ll see. I don¡¯t want to ck off, anyway. I want to get stronger here since it sounds very necessary. But more importantly ¡ I want to explore. I want to see what more the Star System offers. I want more skills and spells. And ¡ I want to find Ariana.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll help you find her.¡±
¡°Thank you.¡±
After the five minutes were up, everyone reconvened at the dining table. Zarian asked the next most pivotal questions.
¡°How much time do we have before your mother retaliates? How strong is she?¡± Zarian asked Foodie.
¡°Sooner thanter. And she is strong enough where I can¡¯t use Identify on her. Maybe in the Level 50s. Maybe more. She¡¯s also able to hide her vitality and aura. Since she¡¯s advancing a warlock ss, she¡¯s probably buffing her abilities with a pact from some sort of entity.¡±
Foodie¡¯s ears lowered to her shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know what entity that can be. Might be faerie, but I doubt it. Might be a demon, but Shadowfell has no demon servants. It could be Shadowfell herself who is her backer, but that might not be the case. If it is, my mother isn¡¯t as pathetic as I would prefer to think.¡±
¡°Now hold your horses,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°You just described to us that ¡ a twenty-something girl came into the Star System and became a ¡ big deal ¡ with a snap of her baby fingers. And that if we want to free you, we have to face your evil and powerful warlock mom when she might, might, have your evil idol on speed dial?¡±
Foodie blinked. ¡°Shadowfell is not an idol, she is a goddess. And yes.¡±
Gilbert sighed. ¡°We¡¯re barking up a tall tree here.¡±
¡°Your phrasing is strange, Newbie Gilbert, but I think I understand your worries. Shadowfell won¡¯t do much if you defeat those she favored unless you¡¯re too far into the good alignment,¡± Foodie exined, before turning to Zarian. ¡°And if you¡¯re evil aligned, then you¡¯ll earn her favor more.¡±
She never mentioned how she could tell I¡¯m on the evil side, Zarian thought. ck Wizard Apprentice did sound evil, but Foodie acted like she felt Zarian¡¯s alignment regardless. Clearly, she had plenty of things in her profile that helped her. More than what Zarian had.
¡°Okay, I got a n,¡± Zarian said. ¡°We¡¯re leaving for the White Spider Dungeon. We¡¯re going to head for the human town. We¡¯ll get stronger. Build our foundations. Get some better magic items. Then wee back and rescue Foodie.¡±
¡°Thank God you¡¯re being sensible,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Which god?¡± Foodie asked. ¡°Be careful about thanking them if you don¡¯t mean it. You can draw their attention for the wrong reasons or at the wrong moment. And if your Wonder isn¡¯t high enough, they can orchestrate terrible events for you.¡±
¡°Well, if you¡¯re strong like you said, Foodie, maybe Shadowfell likes you a lot. But your mother is in the way, stealing all of your shine like jealous moms be. So saving you should make Shadowfell cool with us,¡± Bianca said.
¡°That¡¯s an interesting way to put it,¡± Foodie said. ¡°Unfortunately, we¡¯re almost out of time now. You should go before Mother arrives to punish me.¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t want to leave. There were more questions he had. There was so much he could learn from Foodie. But he could also learn a lot from the town west of here.
Still, Foodie seemed like the way better option for massively interesting lore and info dumps.
¡°Okay, we¡¯ll go. But first, you wanted to test my wizardry? Do we have time for that?¡± Zarian asked.
Foodie gave him an interesting expression. Her ears shifted until they were horizontal with her head. Her eyes closed until they were half-lidded.
Then she smirked.
¡°Do you have conjurings that can hold a solid shape?¡± she asked.
Zarian¡¯s face lit up with a cocky grin. ¡°Yeah, I do. And so far, they haven¡¯t been beaten.¡±
¡°We shall see.¡±
Zarian moved from the dining area to a clear spot closer to the stairs. After thinking about what he should form, he settled on an object.
So far, all of his experiences and maniption of darkness had him think up new ideas on the spot. But now that he was hydrated, well-fed, and well-rested, he had a deeper understanding of all that he¡¯d achieved.
He hadn¡¯t just shaped his darkness skill all willy-nilly. He¡¯d intensified it using his affinity. He¡¯d deepened its density, its integrity, and its weight. He¡¯d gone further with Straight Darkness than any dark maniptions back on Earth.
And he had the stats to back it up once he gave everything 5 Free Points. This was the one time it felt okay to spread the love equally, especially after listening to Foodie.
He had to specialize as a wizard, but it was still nice to have a solid superhuman base in everything. It made him feel better, less frail. And now that he knew there were other ways to grow stats, he could keep that in mind to cover weaknesses, like eating more of Foodie¡¯s cooking once she was free.
He hadn¡¯t noticed before because of the fight for survival, but now he could feel the changes from the new stats once they were invested.
He felt his muscles strengthening once he finally fed points into Strength. He felt the tendons in his joints and his own sense of bnce grow from feeding Agility.
His mind hardened with a boost to Willpower. His sense of Wonder became more profound. He had more faith that things would be alright.
And, of course, his Mysticism was grander, more fine tuned, more intricate. It remained his highest stat at 170 points.
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¡°Straight Darkness: Pir,¡± Zarian said, as if evoking an incantation.
He¡¯d noticed the others had sometimes said their skills aloud. He had thought little of it until he tried it himself now. He even added a modifying phrase at the end as he pressed the inner quasi button and saw the skill runes sh through his mind.
The runes looked a little different.
The effect felt stronger. Much stronger.
Immediately, streaks of darkness streamed across the ground from wherever the magic sconce light shone the weakest. Most of the darkness came from the hallway outside and streamed down the steps or slipped out from the gaps in the enchanted storage boxes.
The darkness arrived quickly, too, and formed into a three-foot thick column in front of Zarian within a second. Zarian didn¡¯t stop there, of course. He kept gathering dark streams into his pir. He made it denser, and denser, and denser some more.
He increased the density as far as it could go until he hit a limit. Then he looked around the straight column with perfect square corners and smiled at Foodie.
The four-foot goblin cook held a butcher¡¯s knife that was nearly as big as her. If she had been a human child, the handle would¡¯ve been toorge for her hand. But goblins had longer fingers and big hands, and Foodie wasn¡¯t an exception.
¡°Hm,¡± Foodie said. ¡°Form a second one.¡±
¡°No fucking way,¡± Naomi muttered.
¡°Is this safe?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°Can I root for Foodie? Sorry, Zarian, but I want to adopt her as my little sister for the great cooking,¡± Bianca said. ¡°And she reminds me of a cat.¡±
¡°Should I use my enchantments?¡± Hannah asked.
Zarian ignored them in favor of forming a second pir in front of thest. He pushed himself to make it as dense as possible. He strained his Mysticism to have two thick and straight obstructions that should stop just about anything.
Maybe even a few tank rounds and heavy missiles.
¡°Okay, that¡¯s good enough,¡± Foodie said. ¡°I will show you two things before you leave. The first is my Aura Ignition.¡±
Suddenly, a zing force erupted from around Foodie. The atmosphere within the kitchen became oppressive, and Zarian found it hard to breathe. The others were struggling not to copse from their seats since they had fewer stats, less aura.
¡°Second, I will make you a tasty meal.¡±
Foodie erupted with a single step like a miniature bomb. A pressure wave passed over Zarian and nearly knocked him down and broke his concentration.
He endured as he stumbled back and glimpsed at something fast and green moving like a streak through the air. The streaking green projectile morphed back into Foodie as she skidded to a stop in front of him.
Behind her, both pirs crumbled into dark motes after getting sliced in two neat halves each. Zarian gawked, mouth hanging open, as the strongest and sturdiest version of his spell fell apart.
Then he noticed the butcher¡¯s knife pressed against his neck. The de nicked him and drew a trickle of blood.
The oppressive atmosphere faded, and Zarian found himself able to breathe again, but he didn¡¯t dare move. He looked past the massive knife and into Foodie¡¯s upturned eyes.
The powerful goblin gave nothing away. Zarian wondered what she saw in him.
Did she see heart-hammering fear?
What about wild, uncontroble mania?
Or maybe an insatiable thrill and wondrous curiosity?
¡°Sir?¡± Naomi called with steel in her voice. The others jumped to their feet after getting knocked down and watched the interaction warily.
¡°You¡¯re not the first adventurers toe to my kitchen,¡± Foodie said. ¡°Others have imed they would defeat my mother and free me so I can serve them food on further adventures. It makes sense. My ss is beyond rare. Beyond epic. I am legendary. I am worth an entire kingdom.¡±
¡°I see,¡± Zarian said, his face twitching, unable to keep the smile off his face. ¡°What happened to those adventurers?¡±
¡°Some I¡¯ve turned away. Others I¡¯ve defeated to break their spirits. A few I¡¯ve killed, cooked, and eaten. They were not of high quality but they were tasty meals,¡± Foodie said.
¡°Please, please, please tell me we didn¡¯t eat people,¡± Bianca said.
¡°That¡¯s not a concern right now,¡± Naomi muttered.
¡°I might throw up,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°If the chief dies, we¡¯re cooked.¡±
¡°You didn¡¯t feed us people, Foodie. And you will not kill us and eat us,¡± Zarian dered. ¡°Because you see potential in us, right?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t feed you humans. I fed you high quality monster meat and rare ingredients from outside of Castle Grimrock.¡± Foodie lowered the butcher¡¯s knife. ¡°I see potential in you, Zarian. And a little in Naomi. I can tell she is a hard worker. The other three ¡ are weak still. I don¡¯t like weak people who think they¡¯re strong. Mother tortures them the worst. It is better for me to eat them. Their deaths are quick, and their flesh is soft and chewy.¡±
Zarian wiped the blood off his neck with a thumb and sucked on it. ¡°Nah, we¡¯ll win. We can¡¯t afford not to. You¡¯re legendary and worth an entire kingdom. I can¡¯t turn away from this, especially after what you¡¯ve done for us.¡±
Foodie turned away. ¡°The Infinita Star System is simple. But what is possible is vast and deep. By the time you alle back, if you choose toe back, you must at least achieve the first stage of Aura Ignition.
¡°You must figure out how to learn it on your own. If not, then I will kill you and eat you all to save you from being tortured by my mother. Now go unless you wish for me to cook you all up as my breakfast now.¡±
Foodie reached a storage box, flipped the lid open, and grabbed something from inside. She held up a scroll. A tendril from Para snatched it out of her hand rudely.
Zarian could feel Para¡¯s anger. He¡¯d held the Parasite Cloak back during the disy. But there wouldn¡¯t be any point for his parasite to get involved.
Hell, even with Para watching over them, their lives were in Foodie¡¯s goblin hands. Foodie wasn¡¯t just Level 37 with a legendary ss. She had abilities she¡¯d trained deeply andpetently that delve into the System¡¯s deeper mechanics.
Goblins were naturally a weak race in fantasy stories. Zarian figured without the corruption, facing the evil goblins here would¡¯ve been a cake walk.
Foodie was the exception.
She¡¯s like a hidden away master character. She¡¯s a little evil, but she means well by it.
Zarian led his group up the steps as he unrolled the scroll. An illustrated map revealed the maze-likeyout of their current floor. The map had instructions written in English that exined what Foodie had told them two meals ago.
Zarian let everyone else pass him up the stairs before stopping on the edge between the hallway and the kitchen. He could feel Foodie¡¯s deadly gaze pierce through him. He felt like steak under the butcher¡¯s knife. She even licked the corner of her lips and looked at him hungrily.
He held his ground and smiled back at her.
¡°Thank you again. For the food. For letting us rest. For believing in us and showing off some of your real power.¡± Zarianughed. ¡°You¡¯re cool. I want you to join us. We¡¯ll be back with Aura Ignition and more, way more. You will be free, Foodie.¡±
The goblin of small size and incredible strength stared at him long and hard. ¡°We shall see, Zarian Darkrun.¡±
Nodding, he gave her a wave then got the hell out of there before Foodie changed her mind. His Parasite Cloak picked up and stored away a few goblin corpses to eat while on the go.
***
Half an hourter, Foodie sat kneeling in front of the steps as her mother entered the kitchen.
Her sanctuary became dark and suffocating. However, it didn¡¯t bother Foodie much.
Evil mutterings and demonic cries sounded from the shadows. Foodie had heard them all before.
Foodie did as she was told since the brand on her back wouldn¡¯t let her deny her mother¡¯s direct orders. She stripped down until she was naked and stood with legs wide and arms stretched out.
Fiendish warlock energy shaped like whipsshed at Foodie¡¯s body, but she didn¡¯t cry.
Foodie was nine years old, a young adult in goblin years. She¡¯d suffered this treatment since she was five, and she¡¯d turned away or eaten adventurers about a dozen times so far.
Many adventurer parties had hoped to defeat the goblin warlock in control of Castle Grimrock by sneaking through the lower levels. Many had ended up in Foodie¡¯s kitchen, and some ended up in her belly.
Life had once been nicer when her father became a champion, and had sired many children with her mother. Life worsened when father had died in the worlds above, and before Foodie knew it, mother had fallen into depravity.
Shadowfell¡¯s Tears were only meant for the few who were truly strong, consuming it instead of letting it consume them. Foodie had consumed the corruption because it was meant for her.
She was now blessed enough to surpass her father¡¯s legacy. But her mother had gotten in the way before Foodie could. They had loved each other once, but now mother was a husk of her former self.
¡°You only get to live because you¡¯re my treasure. But don¡¯t forget I can kill you any time I want,¡± Mother said nastily.
¡°Try it.¡± Foodie looked her in the eye.
The older goblin backed down and changed subjects. ¡°Tell me all you know about the adventurers.¡±
Foodie told her everything she knew, which was a long list of useless details she¡¯d memorized. She yammered how they¡¯d smelled, how they¡¯d acted in foolish ways, and some of the stupid things they¡¯d said, and her opinions on all of those details no matter how small and frivolous.
She kept yammering and yammering about everything that was unimportant. Mother lost her corrupted patience and told her to shut up.
They continued theshing until Mother grew bored. Then she ordered Foodie to make her a delicious meal and to not hurt the other goblins.
Foodie and her mother both knew the orders weren¡¯t irond unless they were immediate and pertaining to Mother alone. She would get her delicious meals. But the corrupted goblins wouldn¡¯t stay safe from Foodie for long.
Granted, murdering her brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts, inws, friends, friends of friends, and so on was better than letting the goblins she once knew rot from untreated corruption. They weren¡¯t themselves anymore. They were shadows of the Green Hop Explorers ¨C the first Corma tribe of united ns to produce a Goblin Champion, a rarity among the many worlds of Infinita.
On a positive note, Foodie could consume corrupted flesh just fine. And corrupted goblins were tasty when you cooked them right. They were tastier than the talented adventurers who might be strong enough to free her.
Foodie watched her mother leave. She ignored her usual suffering and smiled at her second best knifeying on the counter.
Zarian hadn¡¯t noticed how the de heavily chipped from meeting his pirs. That shouldn¡¯t have happened while Foodie used the second stage of Aura Ignition and her Thematic Concept.
¡°He¡¯s powerful for a newbie,¡± she said, her smile growing. ¡°How much stronger would he be if I cook every day for his adventurer party?¡±
Chapter 15: A Devilish Deal
¡°Why does it say decide the fate of the ve Cook?¡± Bianca asked, looking up. They all were. The quest notification for the entire group hovered over their heads.
The group had reached a break in the wall depicted on the map. Incredibly, they hadn¡¯t encountered any corrupted goblin patrols.
The map¡¯s notes and directions were neat and easy to follow, leading them down small, rarely used passageways and alternate routes away from the main paths. From this break in the wall, they would leave behind Castle Grimrock¡¯s basement levels and travel through the actual caverns.
The System had delivered a group notification over all of their heads at the border ofunching into a new adventure. It was as if the System chose the perfect time to hammer home what they¡¯d started.
Or was it more like what Zarian had decided for the group?
¡°If we take control of what¡¯s enving Foodie, we can be her masters,¡± Hannah said, matter-of-fact.
¡°I know you¡¯re just answering Bianca¡¯s question, but that sounds a little disgusting when you say it just like that,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Agreed,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Downright creepy, Hannah,¡± Zarian added.Hannah rubbed the bridge of her nose with her free hand. The other hand tightened around her short spear. Her buckler shield was strapped to her back.
¡°After that disy from her, I¡¯m a little conflicted about releasing her from her bond,¡± Hannah said. ¡°She openly admitted to killing and eating people. She could use us to get free before we suffer the same fate.¡±
¡°She¡¯s using us for sure,¡± Zarian said. ¡°And we¡¯ll use her right back. But I think she likes us. If we free her, she won¡¯t eat us.¡±
¡°She likes you,¡± Bianca said. ¡°Some of us are too weak for her to like unless it¡¯s part of her stew. But I must say this ¡ her cooking is so good I wonder how well she¡¯ll make me taste.¡±
¡°Bianca,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°Shut up.¡±
¡°You guys won¡¯t be weak for long,¡± Zarian said, stepping through the broken down threshold between Grimrock and a cavern going westward. ¡°Come on, guys. Did you see how badass that Aura Ignition turned out? It¡¯s like she became Super Saiyan. We have to figure out how to get like that before we rescue her.¡±
¡°I need that in my life,¡± Naomi admitted. ¡°It¡¯s like she became much stronger instantly. Did she even need to do that when she was Level 37?¡±
Zarian wondered if he would¡¯ve stopped Foodie¡¯s attack under normal conditions without her Aura Ignition. The answer was probably yes.
She had to cheat to get past his Straight Darkness conjurings. Zarian felt proud of himself without saying it aloud. The others seemed like they needed more encouragement.
¡°She used her Aura Ignition thingy to inspire us, right?¡± Bianca asked, ignoring Naomi¡¯s res. ¡°Because it scared me, honestly. What if I can¡¯t do that? What if I¡¯m too weak? I was joking earlier about how I¡¯ll taste. I really don¡¯t want Foodie to eat us.¡±
¡°She won¡¯t,¡± Zarian said.
Hannah threw her hands up, frustrated. ¡°What makes you so confident to say that? She said it herself that she¡¯s evil. She could be toying with us for her amusement. Or have we forgotten the story about Hansel and Gretel? We¡¯re in a fantasy game world, right? Folktales can exist here.¡±
She was speaking with more assertiveness than usual. It was surprising to hear all of that. And she kept going.
¡°It was reckless how you put yourself out to get killed, Zarian. As game-like and fantastic as this all is, our deaths are real. Without you, we¡¯re dead.¡±
¡°That doesn¡¯t always stick if you have enough time,¡± said Gilbert in light of his umon trait, Extra Life.
Hannah sighed in annoyance at him. ¡°Well, we have little choice now. I don¡¯t like how the quest says we¡¯ll be looked at unfavorably if we stray from this. I¡¯ll just ept that my life isn¡¯t my own, as per usual.¡±
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Zarian stopped and turned to face the others. ¡°Just this one time, follow me all the way. It might end up being a crap idea and get us killed. But just believe in me for this one. When it works out on the other side, then I¡¯ll owe you all big time.¡±
Zarian leaned toward them, holding nothing back as he spoke with conviction. ¡°You need me to get you a castle? I will. You need lots and lots of gold or whatever? I¡¯ll get it. You want to marry a kind and beautiful elf? I¡¯ll find those elves and y matchmaker. Whatever it is, I¡¯ll do it. Until then, ride with me, okay?¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Naomi said immediately.
The others hesitated until Bianca blurted, ¡°Handsome, kind, beautiful elf husband, is that what¡¯s on sale? Well, I guess we all need something to die for. Sign me up, Senor Zarian!¡±
¡°I¡¯ll need time to think about that favor, chief, but okay,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°I feel like this is signing a deal with the Devil,¡± Hannah said.
¡°I¡¯m evil aligned, yes, but I mean well.¡± Zarian spread his arms in a showman-like fashion, meeting Hannah¡¯s judgmental gaze.
The middle-aged woman nced away, frowning. ¡°I don¡¯t see the point of trying to bribe us. We¡¯re under your power already. By saying yes, then I¡¯m given no room toin much. I¡¯ll have to bear whatever consequencesnd on me for this, even if most of the faultes from you.¡±
Hannah sighed. ¡°For someone who seems reckless and simple, you¡¯re a lot more clever and devilish than you let on.¡±
¡°So is that a yes?¡± Zarian waggled his eyebrow.
¡°It¡¯s a yes.¡±
And that was that. They were a ride-and-die group until the Grimrock quest waspleted. Maybe they would stay together after that. Or maybe they would go their separate ways once they established some footing in the World of Castles and Caverns.
Zarian turned around to face the dark cavern and splitting tunnels. The new area was rough, uneven, and filled with foot hazards or weird dips in the ceiling you could hit your head on.
There were no magic sconces here. Only pure darkness.
He could see through it, if only a little. His Dark Affinity helped in that regard. But the others were relying on the tiny light shining through the hole in the castle wall behind them.
¡°Bianca, you¡¯re up,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Hm, uh? Oh! Yeah, totally. One Searing sh,ing right up.¡±
¡°No! Use your sword, Bianca!¡±
¡°Oh!¡± Bianca revealed her falchion and used the strobe light magic effect, which annoyed the hell out of Zarian. ¡°Hehe, haha, look at me. Rave party, woo!¡±
Zarian wondered how big of an apology he would owe the elf who would be Bianca¡¯s future husband. Then Zarian decided that wasn¡¯t his problem, that was the future husband¡¯s problem.
Hours after Bianca learned to use her sword as a consistent light, it urred to Zarian and the rest of the group ¨C or maybe calling themselves a ¡®party¡¯ was the more appropriate phrase ¨C that they had packed no provisions.
Naomi and Gilbert were mortified by this huge oversight. Zarian wasn¡¯t as bothered, since cool superpower disys from Foodie had upied their attention more.
Thankfully, the route exined on the map had key points for essing fresh water. They could also hunt the critters that lived in the caverns. There were more neat notes on the back of the map exining what was edible and what wasn¡¯t.
There was one millipede in particr with stripes that tasted good even when uncooked. It was also nutritious and magical enough to restore their vitality while on the move, so they wouldn¡¯t have to sleep as much and cover ground faster.
Even better, it was easy to find the magic millipede around the water spots. The other options were cavern mushrooms, which was sometimes a gamble. Under the untrained eye, they could ingest a poison mushroom that would kill them in thirty minutes or twenty-four hourster.
Zarian hadn¡¯t thought about it earlier, but it looked like the Infinita Star System ran on seasons and a simr sense of time like the old world. They had twenty-four-hour days and sixty minutes in an hour. They had four seasons, and apparently they were halfway into the summer of the Year 1532 of the Dark Era.
Why is the Dark Era called that?
There were plenty more questions that came to Zarian¡¯s mind. He wondered what the Star Core was made of. Was it like Earth¡¯s Sun? Or was it somethingpletely different and magical?
Hadn¡¯t Foodie mentioned another star? Cormar¡¯s Star? There was a lot to think back on, and so much happened in a rush or as a dump.
As Zarian pondered about different facets of Infinita and their current starter world, he grew more excited to see the outside. At least when it was nighttime. He wasn¡¯t sure if he would enjoy being outside in the daytime.
He openly talked about his spur-of-the-moment thoughts and some questions he wanted to ask when they met up with other denizens of Corma. Zarian knew he could be annoying when he was chatty, but his party mates either listened to Bianca babble randomly or listened to him.
Hannah engaged Zarian now and then with her intellectual side, but sometimes she would fall into a sullen silence. Gilbert wouldn¡¯t say it, but he gave off signals where he wanted both Zarian and Bianca to shut up. This was more prevalent when any talk about gods or goddesses came up.
Naomi would find random things to distract Zarian with. Like alien bugs. Or a new mushroom that might or might not be poisonous. Or by reminding him to read the next spell section in his grimoire.
Other than spell study, Zarian used Identify on every new critter, fungi, or mysterious thing he saw. The creatures here that weren¡¯t major threats seemed to stay at Level 1. Things that couldn¡¯t be ssified as living were inlymon or umon if they had a hint of magic. Zarian used Para to collect some stuff forter. Maybe he could craft stuff.
Wizards could craft, couldn¡¯t they? Zarian didn¡¯t see why they couldn¡¯t. Of course, he was assuming the System had a crafting element like most fantasy games.
He knew he shouldn¡¯t assume. He shouldn¡¯t. But he couldn¡¯t help but theorize and let his brain whirr in anticipation. At least Naomi shared some of his excitement. They were two Marines on an expedition for more power and to secure a critical asset of legendary worth, after all.
And everybody knew they shouldn¡¯t get in the way of Marines and their mission. Or they would be taught the hard way.
Chapter 16: Hater
There were fuzzy spiders the size of Zarian¡¯s head that had Level 1 in their profile info. Most of them would crawl away when the party walked near them. They were harmless. Bianca stifled a scream each time she saw them.
Zarian found more interest in the living slimes that rolled across the ground at a snail¡¯s pace. Those things were also Level 1.
Zarian, Bianca, Hannah, and even Gilbert watched the slime roll around. The slime picked up small rotten scraps of a dead critter and ingested it inside of its see-through body.
¡°We should watch the ceilings more closely,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Is it normal for these creatures to drop on their prey from above?¡± Hannah asked, showing her inquisitive side for this asion instead of being depressed and silent.
Apparently, she had been an engineer in Florida after leaving her family¡¯s farm in bama. She¡¯d married a rich man who had been nice at first before she found out he cheated on her with another woman from his Dungeons and Dragon games. She¡¯d won the alimony in the divorce.
¡°They¡¯ve got the tendency to do so from what I know back on Earth,¡± Zarian exined, poking and prodding the slimy outer membrane. Touching it left a tingle on his finger. ¡°This Level 1 slime doesn¡¯t look like a danger, but ¡ what if we enter a dangerous area and the creatures be stronger and deadlier? Hell, we¡¯re heading to a dungeon. That¡¯s going to have monsters for sure.¡±
Hannah sighed deeply, probably thinking of her husband¡¯s Dungeon and Dragons hobby. Everybody left that alone as Hannah went back to being sullenly silent.
Zarian¡¯s interests remained on the slime. He found it curious that some of these creatures didn¡¯t have alpha skills. The slime¡¯s info read like this:Perhaps the slime was so weak it didn¡¯t have as many detailspared to stronger creatures. Did it have a trait? Would that trait include how the slime moved around and digested food?
Maybe the slime¡¯s anatomy was its own while having the profile and stats of the System. Just like how the System didn¡¯t report on all the functional parts of a human, which weremon.
Zarian had an inkling the System focused more of its attention on things that were umon and above. The System also had the tendency to hide deeper mechanics.
Aura Ignition, Aura Ignition, Aura Ignition.
Zarian couldn¡¯t get that anime-like power out of his head. It was distracting. He already had a hard enough time studying the next viewable pages in his grimoire.
Thetest section had something to do with a special type of fire. A few anecdotes about the special fire mentioned how wizards had fallen to those with dense vitalities.
Apparently, high vitality could mitigate even Bloody Lifesteal, snuffing its primary thirst for life energy.
This unique fire spell was the answer to high vitality. It caused the most damage to vitality and lowered the threshold to take a tanky enemy¡¯s life.
It couldn¡¯t kill directly, however. It didn¡¯t even burn flesh or cause any pain.
The only significant warning about this special fire was how it sapped the stamina out of its victims. Since vitality covered health and stamina, an enemy might notice a loss of their endurance and try to remove the fire.
Even then, this spell sounded insidious.
This was the best spell for taking down high-leveled bosses without them knowing it. The only problem was that learning the special fire spell was moreplex than the past two spells.
It was a strange element. It was the creation of some mad wizard long ago and should¡¯ve stayed forgotten. The runes and symbols involved were intellectually deep, almost like studying chemistry.
The added difficulty made sense. This new spell was the key pir of being a ck wizard, a boss killer, a tank destroyer, a heavy damager. It would probably look cool, too. It might have an aesthetic that Zarian wouldn¡¯t find anywhere else, not normally.
It still wasn¡¯t as cool as seeing Foodie¡¯s Aura Ignition in action.
Zarian felt crummy for acting like a childish nerd. He wished Wally was still alive. Then Zarian would have someone else to geek out with.
He wished Ariana was here.
¡°What¡¯s with the long face, sir?¡± Naomi asked.
The party was taking a break at a new water site. Bianca kept the lights on, which was getting easier for her with practice.
Her use of aura had tightened while channeling it through the Lighthouse Falchion. There were mirror crystals, too. The water site, which was an open cave with a glistening pool at one side, shone with bright reflective lights.
The ce looked all sparkly and magical.
At their feet were the cracked open carapaces of the millipedes Foodie had rmended. The little critters were the size of Gilbert¡¯s arm and had peach fuzz on their carapaces. They had cute faces if you looked at them from an angle.
Bianca had once cried as they caught them, cracked them open, and ate the delicious meat inside. It had taken some time for the hunger to set in before Bianca ate her first magic, vitality rich millipede.
They¡¯d eaten plenty since the firsts. Now Bianca ate them like a savage, without remorse.
Foodie was right about them being tasty.
Zarian stared at the broken millipede shells before looking up at Naomi. ¡°I got people killed.¡±
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¡°Yeah, you did.¡± Clearly, Naomi wasn¡¯t the type to sugarcoat.
Zarian nodded. ¡°But all I can think about is the fun stuff.¡±
¡°That¡¯s what makes you an idiot,¡± Naomi said. ¡°But that¡¯s what makes you amazing, too.¡±
Zarian chuckled. ¡°We took a colossal risk with Foodie, didn¡¯t we?¡±
¡°We could¡¯ve been in the shithouse, yeah, but we made it through alright.¡± Naomi shrugged. ¡°If you think about it, she¡¯s a colossal asset. Worth a whole kingdom. So the risk matches the potential reward. And that damn little green girly and her big-ass ears can fucking cook.¡±
Zarianughed, and Naomi chuckled.
For however long it took, since it was hard to track time in this deep, twisty, cavernous ce, Zarian and his party traveled. The map directions told them to take the right most tunnels.
No matter what, it would twist, loop, and curve in the right direction they needed to go. The biggest threats had turned out to be slimes dropping from the ceiling, but they were all Level 1.
Bianca nearly killed herself when one got into her screaming mouth and started choking her. Para used some thin tendrils to clear it out. That was a close call that taught them to look up more carefully.
In what felt like weeks of rugged but peaceful cave adventuring, they reached a new location.
Zarian felt it as soon as he crossed a certain threshold. So did the others. They then saw an entrance to a grand, almost coliseum-like structure where there should be more caverns and tunnels.
The structure didn¡¯t belong. It didn¡¯t seem naturally built as part of the surroundings.
A System notification appeared for all of them to see:
¡°We¡¯ve made it,¡± Zarian said, smiling with excitement. ¡°So who¡¯s ready for their first dungeon crawl?¡±
***
As Zarian¡¯s party prepared to crawl the White Spider Dungeon, Jack had nearly died multiple times for however long he¡¯d been in the godforsaken lower floors of Castle Grimrock. Of course, Jack didn¡¯t know the name of his location, nor did he know Zarian had left.
Jack was truly on his own now. Without Zarian, Jack had quickly learned leveling up and surviving on his own was almost too hard.
Fortunately for Jack, it wasn¡¯tpletely impossible.
He¡¯d crept everywhere, slowly, carefully, and strained his hearing. He¡¯d crawled into nooks covered in bugs that bit hard and left him itchy, bloody, and miserable.
He¡¯d taken a risk on some strange growths in the wall that were moist. They looked like spongy moss. He sucked water from them.
He¡¯d suffered some stomach problems but avoided having major diarrhea, or that would¡¯ve killed him. He¡¯d ditched his clothes, found a dead goblin, and bathed in its blood to mask his scent.
He¡¯d eaten the goblin¡¯s flesh to survive.
Eventually, he¡¯d found his first living prey. A scuffle between goblins had left one alone and injured.
Jack had ensured everything was perfect before he sted the goblin in the back of the head with Star Bolt empowered by the Blessed Mage Bracer.
The goblin had fallen over with a smoking dent in its head. It had remained alive still.
Another bolt had finished the goblin off and gave Jack two levels. He¡¯d dumped them into Agility and Wonder.
That was how he¡¯d lived. He¡¯d be less a human and more a scavenger. He¡¯d be one with this maze-like ce.
He¡¯d learned the patterns of the goblin patrols and used every trick to hide and scurry around them.
They were way stronger and faster than him. But they weren¡¯t smart. They were loud and crass. They were undisciplined and vile. He picked them off and grew his power the hard way, on his own while living on the wire¡¯s edge.
Eventually, Jack reached Level 10. When that happened, he stood victoriously over histest kill and was drinking in the moment.
He¡¯d eaten the flesh of these horrific monsters and drank their blood to survive. He¡¯d fought off waves of sickness with the Wonder of faith alone.
Jack believed himself to be chosen. That was the only exnation that any of this could be possible. He had to be the one true hero!
Before he opened up his ss selection, he heard a scratchy crooning. Then he noticed the scent of cooked food.
Jack blinked once and ended up down the steps from a doorway leading into a magic underground kitchen. It was big and spacious. It had rock shelves filled with ingredients, pots, pans, utensils, and all sorts he¡¯d find in a major kitchen with a medieval twist. And it had dining tables and chairs.
Then Jack noticed the little goblin looking up at him.
He¡¯d made a huge mistake. He¡¯d lost concentration for one moment and let the weaker parts of himself take over.
His first temptation was to kill the goblin. He stopped himself when he noticed the goblin was smaller and greener than the ones he¡¯d ambushed, killed, and eaten. It was also wearing an apron over some rags that covered her groin and chest.
The ve Cook, Jack realized, making the connection before he did something dire.
He nced up at the basin that refilled itself with fresh water pouring from a pipe in the wall.
Jack heard a whimper. It was a weak sound. It wasing from him.
¡°My name is Foodie, and I¡¯m known as the ve Cook if you haven¡¯t heard already,¡± Foodie said, confirming Jack¡¯s suspicions. ¡°You look like you¡¯ve been barely surviving on your own. Come, let me wash your hands. Then I will feed you and let you rest here. As payment, you will tell me how you¡¯ve survived.¡±
¡°My hatred,¡± Jack croaked, using his voice for the first time in a while. ¡°It kept me alive. It helped me survive.¡±
¡°Who is it you hate?¡±
¡°Zarian Darkrun.¡±
It hadn¡¯t taken Jack long to realize Naomi was merely a symptom of the disease. Killing the source was worth more of his attention. Then he would have his way with Naomiter if she still lived.
Jack continued: ¡°I must overpower him. I must be stronger so I can annihte him. Then eradicate anything infected by his influence.¡±
Foodie plodded over to a stepdder and moved it over to a sink with a hand pump. ¡°Is that so? Do you consider this Zarian Darkrun powerful?¡±
Jack walked dreamily over to the sink and let the goblin girl pump water over his hands. Shethered them with a bar of soap. She washed his hands thoroughly for him.
It took everything for Jack to not shove her aside and drink directly from the faucet. But something wondrous told him he should not upset the ve Cook.
He¡¯d listened to his Wonder stat for long enough to know it wouldn¡¯t lead him astray unless he fell to weakness. Which was why he spoke openly about his true desires. It felt right with his sense of Wonder.
¡°Zarian is a monster. He¡¯ll cause mass deaths, irreparable damages, and lead people astray. He needs to be stopped. I¡¯ll stop him,¡± he dered.
Once Foodie dried his hands off with cloth, she led Jack to a seat at a dining table. A minuteter, Jack found a mug of iced water in front of him.
Foodie instructed him to sip slowly. The first sip was a taste of heaven. He did as he was told and drained it a little at a time, savoring it all.
¡°You¡¯re weak right now, and you remind me of my mother,¡± Foodie said. ¡°But your hatred is real. With enough of that emotion, maybe you¡¯ll be stronger than Zarian. That¡¯ll depend on what ss you choose.¡±
¡°The Star System must give me the best one. It has to,¡± Jack said with conviction.
He went into his ss selection. And immediately found something perfect. It was beyond his hopes and dreams.
Chapter 17: White Spider Dungeon
Gilbert wanted to believe that all of this madness was part of God¡¯s n, the one from the original world who started with a capital G. He believed this desperately. But damn did it feel like joining up with Zarian and taking his orders was letting a horse run buck wild in a small diner.
Sometimes Gilbert had to catch himself from acting as a proper twenty-nine-year-old man with the urge to wrangle a young twenty-one-year-old knucklehead. Who wouldn¡¯t want to while listening to Zarian Darkrun?
At least Zarian was a far better sport than most people Gilbert had met. For someone with his background, Zarian had a more forgiving and straight forward vibe that even Gilbert found impressive.
Yes, Zarian was the me for multiple horrific deaths and man-ughters.
But Gilbert could only hold a grudge for so long while being under a powerful person¡¯s protection.
Naomi was the one to be wary of. She enjoyed having power and getting even, and she didn¡¯t hide it.
So far, Gilbert hade to agreeable terms with Naomi. But once in a while, when Zarian wasn¡¯t looking, Naomi would watch Gilbert like a hawk watching a rabbit.
Maybe she should turn those eyes back to their party chief, boss, leader, senior, or whatever.
Because Zarian¡¯s asionalckadaisical attitude and youthful spirit was a danger to himself and everyone else at the worst of times.The ve Cook situation could¡¯ve ended with them all chopped up, served up as sirloin, and dumped in a goblin¡¯s shitter after an intimate trip through an intestinal tract.
They now had to finish a main quest against evil corrupted goblins and a horrific mother who was the reason the ve Cook was a ve. That sounded like walking into a crime syndicate¡¯s main headquarters with nothing but a badge and a prayer.
Now they were in a strange ce called a dungeon with more wazoo magic. They were here after what felt like weeks of trekking through a cavern system on a diet of sediment-heavy water and bug meat.
Yeah, Gilbert wanted to think the Big Capital G was testing him. And for his faith, he would be rewarded.
¡°Bianca, Hannah, do you two still believe in the one God from the home front?¡± Gilbert asked as his fellowpanions looked around.
It was the three of them after a trap somehow triggered and had dropped dividing walls made of ridiculously hardened web.
Zarian and Naomi weren¡¯t on their side of the trap walls. That was the bad news.
The good news was having mini-maps in the corner of their vision. It faded away when they weren¡¯t directly interacting with it. But whenever they needed it, the mini-map was there.
¡°I have aplicated rtion with faith. Being here makes it all the moreplicated for me,¡± Hannah said, looking uneasily at their surroundings.
The White Spider Dungeon was very unlike the cavern system. The ceiling was tall and unnaturally uniformed with concave domes and webbed engravings.
Every surface was slightly sticky and colored different shades of white. Spider-like ornaments covered the walls or marked the floors. Fluted columns flowed in perfect arrangements down the halls and on every corner where Gilbert could see a new bend or hallway.
¡°I was a strict catholic until I approached spiritual matters with a more open mind,¡± Bianca said, readying her shy sword even though she didn¡¯t really know how to swing one properly.
She was really their most offensive option ¨C which didn¡¯t amount to significant damage. Her Searing sh was just severely distracting for anything unprepared.
Gilbert readied his heater shield and mace, which were bothmon items and without magic. At least they were practical and simple to understand.
Hannah readied her buckler shield and short spear, also practical and easy to understand.
¡°We¡¯re going to be alright, my friends,¡± Bianca said, pointing off to the side. ¡°Loner¡¯s with us.¡±
Gilbert nearly jumped when he heard a slight rattle. He turned and saw Loner leaning against the wall.
Zarian¡¯s bone necromancy still scared the bejesus out of Gilbert. It wasn¡¯t right for the dead to rise again, especially with how they shedded their flesh like stepping out of clothing.
But at least the goblin skeleton was on their side.
Gilbert nodded at Loner in acknowledgement. The creature looked back at Gilbert with its eyeless sockets and fanged rictus grin.
¡°Loner, will you help us?¡± Hannah asked.
Loner shrugged, the bones making a gentle rattling sound.
¡°That doesn¡¯t leave us with much confidence,¡± Hannah added.
¡°Zarian said we should learn to fight without him too much and level up ourselves the hard way. All because of that vitality stuff. I still don¡¯t get it though,¡± Bianca said.
Gilbert half understood it himself. Before they¡¯d fully delved into the White Spider Dungeon, Zarian made a surprising choice. They went with the mini-map option with the consequence of reduced experience.
Zarian had exined his reasoning that it was a bad idea to level up too fast for now. They also needed to endure more rigors and raise the amount of vitality they gained with each level up.
Apparently, fast and easy leveling, or power-leveling, came with a sneaky consequence. That sort of cheap growth in the Infinita Star System would create fragile adventurers if they ¡®cheated¡¯ the System too much.
It sounded like Gilbert was in for some sweat, blood, and tears.
¡°We can wait here for Zarian and Naomi to circle around to us,¡± Hannah offered.
That sounded like a good idea to Gilbert.
¡°No, we shouldn¡¯t,¡± Bianca said, surprising both Gilbert and Hannah.
Bianca was a pretty thing. Instead of holding a sword for war, she should lead a yoga ss or make smoothies or model for photos. She looked like a soft hipster new age type of girl and acted all ditzy Latina most of the time.
Yet, she said, ¡°Zarian wants us to get tough so we can be harder to kill. Well, I¡¯ve seen too much death, and it¡¯s all icky. I don¡¯t want to be killed before I get to see some nice fantasy stuff. Like princess gowns and royal balls.¡±
Her logic was weird, but her spirit was rock solid.
Gilbert sighed and moved forward, taking the spot ahead of thedies. He had the bigger shield, after all, and less of a risk of dying permanently.
¡°Then let¡¯s go find some stupid trouble,¡± he muttered.
He took a couple of steps and stopped when he heard some subtle rattles. Loner moved up front and pointed at himself before making a walking motion with two fingers. He mimed something like an explosion.
Or like a trapping going off.
¡°Ah, I get it,¡± Hannah said, quicker on the draw. ¡°Thank you, Loner.¡±
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The skeleton nodded before leading the way carefully.
When the undead goblins wanted to, they could get real quiet. Gilbert and the girls followed Loner¡¯s example, moving quietly, stepping where he stepped, stopping when he stopped.
Soft white sconces shone with light down from the ceiling. Because of the dungeon lights, they could see plenty fine here, way better than back in the caves and tunnels. But the light also made the shadows look deep and menacing.
Gilbert could feel his heart pounding and hear the girls¡¯ shaky breaths. asionally, he heard the skin-crawling scratches of many hairy legs moving about out of sight.
Loner stopped and pointed up at a strange spot in the ceiling where the shadows were too dark. The skeleton stepped back and gestured, his balled fist punching his other skeletal hand.
Gilbert checked the mini-map and saw a red dot where Loner had pointed.
Here it goes!
¡°We got ourselves a bogie,¡± Gilbert announced.
He let his police training kick him into overdrive, blood rushing, heart-hammering. He raised the heater shield like he would a riot shield, although he had to make adjusts since it wasn¡¯t see-through. He held the mace like he would a baton, which also required adjustments.
Bianca took a deep breath. Hannah quickly enchanted their gear. She was faster with that skill of hers now. If only it came with more offense, then she wouldn¡¯t have to risk her life fighting upfront.
Weck the proper training, Gilbert thought, not for the first time.
A white spider the height of a giant dog and many times wider fell from the ceiling on a long thread of webbing. Unlike the name of the dungeon, it was more ck than white. Its beady eyes, however, were white, almost like they had cataract grown over.
Bianca screamed out to the good Lord like she was ready to jump back into the Christianity wagon. Hannah shook like a leaf beside while preparing her battle instruments. Gilbert remembered how he¡¯d poured all of his fear into rage and faced down his worse challenges.
Then there was no more time to prepare. The spider dashed to their front, closing the distance fast, and kicked its legs forward almost rapid-fire like.
Gilbert soaked a kick with his shield and nearly flew off his feet. Hannah lost her footing and rolled backwards, spear dropping from her hand. Bianca started shing her fancy magic sword in a panic.
Surprisingly, it worked. The spider slunk back away from the shing lights. Bianca kept at it, giving Gilbert time to get his weight and bnce under him.
Then he did the damndest thing. He charged right into the face of the nasty, giant critter.
He soaked another hard kick from the spider with his shield. The impact struck weaker than thest one. Gilbert was a big man in motion now.
He endured another hard thunk against his shield, feeling it through his shoulder, and clenched his jaw as he kept plowing forward until he smashed into the spider¡¯s face with a shield bash. The creature stumbled back while scratching at Gilbert¡¯s shield with its fangs, and Gilbert roared in return as he shoved the spider at an angle toward the nearest wall to crush the monster.
No shot.
The spider simply walked up the wall backward.
¡°No!¡± Gilbert shouted, pulling back the shield a little and swinging forward his mace. The riot training paid off. The mace mmed with reinforced weight into the spider¡¯s milky white eyes.
If the creature could scream, it would. It still stumbled on its way up the wall backward.
Hannah rushed in, having recovered herposure and weapon. She thrust her spear forward where Gilbert had struck. The sharpened point slid into the monster¡¯s face easily and blood spurted out.
Bianca was taking the left side and hacking her light-flickering de at the legs. Her technique was piss-poor, but the enchantments Hannah hadid on their weapons did most of the work.
That still wasn¡¯t enough to stop the spider from ascending up the wall and nearly out of reach.
¡°God dammit, let us get our own win!¡± Gilbert threw down his weapons and lunged up with all of his Strength.
To his surprise, his Strength was significant enough to send him flying higher than an NBA yer. The big man reached the spider and grabbed onto a leg.
The fuzz on its body prickled like sharp grass des on a freshly cutwn, but significantly tougher. His hands took some nicks, but his Basic Healing helped with that fast.
Gilbert put all of his fear and rage into dragging this thing back down even while it tried to kick him off. Gilbert kicked, too, knocking at another leg.
When kicking at the spider legs didn¡¯t work, he stomped his feet against the wall and yanked down with all of his might. He felt something pop in his back. But he had the spider going down. Along with him.
Gilbertnded with a crunch on his shoulder and had the wind knocked out of him. He would¡¯ve wailed if he had any air in his lungs as the spider scrambled all over him.
¡°Searing sh!¡± Bianca called out as forewarning.
Gilbert closed his eyes and threw his forearm over his face as an extra measure. The sh still got to him, but it did worse to the spider.
The creature stumbled around and struck down on Gilbert with its spider feet, pummeling him pretty good. He was still conscious, still alive. He could still fight.
Battered but not beaten, Gilbert crawled out from under the spider on his own terms, even while dragging himself with one arm.
He got some space before he stood, grabbed his mace, and joined the girls. Together they worked like absolute savages, beating, stabbing, and cutting down the monster for the next couple of minutes until it finally died.
Gilbert gasped for air, bent over with his hands on his knees. Hannah and Bianca were sitting on either side of him, their backs to his legs.
Basic Healing flowed with physical contact. They caught their breath while Gilbert¡¯s healing ability took the edge off, replenishing their vitality.
¡°Any levels?¡± Gilbert asked hoarsely.
Bianca and Hannah shook their heads. Nobody had leveled up even after all that struggle against a Level 17 monster.
Damn it all, was the mini-map worth it?
What was Zarian thinking when he¡¯d made that decision for them?
¡°I don¡¯t think we appreciate Zarian enough,¡± Hannah said.
¡°I¡¯m feeling damn unappreciative for not getting a level, true,¡± Gilbert muttered.
¡°No, think about it. That was our first time fighting without him.¡±
Damn it, damn it, damn it. Hannah had a point. Gilbert hated to admit it, even to himself. Then Bianca drove the point home even further.
¡°That was only Level 17? We killed way stronger back at Castle Grimrock,¡± Bianca said. ¡°Wow, Zarian is really, really strong. And we¡¯re really, really weak.¡±
Gilbert caught his breath and straightened up. He looked over at the monster¡¯s corpse. It was all cut up, bashed up, poked to hell, and now lying on its back with legs curled in death.
How long would it take before fights like these became easier? How long until Gilbert could bash these things down and keep on trucking from one enemy to another?
¡°Y¡¯all are healed now. Let¡¯s get going,¡± Gilbert grunted. ¡°If we¡¯re going to live in the shadow of the valley of death, we better show them we fear no evil.¡±
¡°Unless it¡¯s Zarian.¡± Hannah stood with a sigh.
¡°Mm, I wonder what he¡¯s up to,¡± Bianca said, getting back to her feet.
***
While the weakest party members learned teamwork and more humility, Zarian was entangled halfway into a spider cocoon elsewhere in the White Spider Dungeon.
Only his legs were entangled, really. The rest of him was free while he hung upside down from the ceiling. He was doing some light meditation with his arms crossed over his chest.
He would¡¯ve had a harder time if it wasn¡¯t for Para. Yes, the spiders had him halfway caught, but his Parasite Cloak had them entangled in return.
The fight between Para and multiple spiders in the high teens and early twenties in level was interesting.
Para whipped outshing tendrils tipped with bone spurs, spikes, and teeth. She sprouted an array ofmprey mouths and jagged maws from the ends of her material. She shifted from flesh to bone rapidly, staying flexible in some ces, and hard in others.
She tore up the spiders one after another. Zarian wasn¡¯t sure if this would help him build up his vitality.
Breaking his meditation, he split part of his focus on his minimap while the fight served as background noise.
He had it wide open so he could track the blue dots moving around on their own.
He counted four together toward the western part of the dungeon. That should be Gilbert, Bianca, Hannah, and one of the skeletons.
He saw another five moving quickly up the middle of the dungeon. That was definitely Naomi and four minions assigned to her.
Five other skeletons waited under Zarian while he hung upside down, Para covering for them.
¡°I should work on using two spells at once,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Is it a limitation of the System? Or is it a limitation of the mind? Which one can I break first?¡±
Zarian went back to meditating with his grimoire floating next to him, chained directly to his soul. After some time, he diverted his attention to his book of spells.
He imagined the skeleton spell running while evoking the lifesteal spell. He stopped when the skeleton spell faltered. He reset his concentration, then tried again.
He kept failing and failing. He kept trying and trying. He had no breakthroughs yet, but that was fine. Zarian was patient, and the White Spider Dungeon was the perfect ce to practice.
Then, for just a split second difference, he felt his magical attention diverge. A little more power streamed into the lifesteal spell before the skeleton spell began to falter and he had to reset quickly.
Zarian smiled. ¡°So it was a weakness of the mind. Sweet. I can break that any day, any time.¡±
He went back to practicing.
The skeletons below watched the dangling wizard silently. Then they looked around at the massacre Para made of the attacking spiders. With a shrug of their boney shoulders, the goblin skeletons started kicking around little web balls.
When the web balls burst open, baby spiders flowed out and quickly died under the skeletons¡¯ stomps. Then the skeletons grabbed another web sac of baby spiders and kicked it around like a ser ball.
Chapter 18: Fight And Strut
Gilbert wondered how long this dungeon journey wouldst until Zarian was satisfied. Then he shook that thought out of his head before looking up to see Loner gesturing for them to follow again.
A few minutester, Gilbert saw two red dots on the mini-map.
One spider rushed them from the start.
Loner dashed forward andnded a single punch that sent the spider skittering back like a bull rammed into it. The goblin skeleton didn¡¯t let up on the bony fist-pummeling until he turned the spider¡¯s face and torso into mush.
The second spider crept forward more carefully. Loner turned his back on the monster and walked past Gilbert and the girls. He thrust a bony thumb back at the second spider before turning about and leaning coolly against the wall.
Loner remained behind and rxed while Gilbert led the girls into another haphazard charge.
They suffered some hits ¨C Bianca had her leg kicked and her foot twisted the wrong way. By the time Gilbert and Hannah had the spider pinned and battered, Bianca reentered the fight, hopping on one foot, sword shing and hacking. She kept screaming about a handsome elf husband and wearing dresses to royal balls.
They defeated another Level 17 stalker. No level up
Gilbert wasn¡¯t sure if this dungeon crawl was a bright idea without more experience. He wanted to see the numbers rise for all this effort.He didn¡¯tin, though. He healed up their trio of a party, waited for them all to catch their breath, then pushed on.
Next up came three spiders. This time, Loner distracted two by alternating between them with punches.
Gilbert and the girls fought the third spider with better coordination than thest two fights. Gilbert also recognized the monsters¡¯bative patterns now. Hannah called out before thrusting spear. Bianca kept her Searing sh ready for the right moment before they initiated aplete takedown.
The spider died with no one getting injured. Then they immediately crashed down on one of the two remaining spiders and killed it. Loner kept the other upied and screwed that spider¡¯s day royally.
Loner finished thest one, and Gilbert focused on healing.
Hannah refreshed the enchantments. Things were looking good until Bianca shouted in warning about red dots on the mini-map.
Five enemies were scuttling in their direction fast.
¡°We can¡¯t,¡± Hannah gasped.
¡°We can!¡± Bianca screamed.
¡°Lord, if this is the end, then so be it,¡± Gilbert grunted, rushing forward.
The girls chased after him. Without even having to hear the warning, Gilbert closed his eyes and covered his face with his shield.
¡°Searing sh!¡±
The world became white. Then Gilbert crashed full-tilt with all his weight and speed into a spider.
He felt the spider¡¯s face crunch as his shoulder popped out of the socket from behind the shield. Gilbert roared before he doubled-up on the shield bash and popped his shoulder back in ce, his Basic Healing kicking in.
He was still a little blinded from Bianca¡¯s Searing sh, but the blurry shape in front of him was big enough for his mace tond on something.
Bianca and Loner were the only ones unaffected by Searing sh. She could avoid the nitty, gritty upfront fighting and hack at the spider¡¯s legs on his shield side. Hannah only joined when she had better vision, then she thrust her spear at the spider to help drive it to its death.
They turned rapidly to their second spider before it could recover from the sh. Bianca did the damndest thing and shouted ¡°Searing sh!¡± for the second time.
She¡¯d never done that before. Her skill was so potent she couldn¡¯t normally use it more than once in a major fight. She must¡¯ve leveled up the skill or improved on something.
Gilbert barely covered his face in time before the world turned searing white. His shield ram clipped the next spider¡¯s legs instead of the main body and barreled the creature over.
Unfortunately, he tripped over it and got all tangled up. Once he knew the spider was under him, Gilbert grabbed onto its sharp hairs and shield bashed down at its fanged face.
¡°Gonna help Loner!¡± Bianca shouted, dashing by.
¡°Give me five seconds, Gilbert!¡± Hannah said, still recovering from the second sh.
Gilbert might not have five seconds, but he kept mming his shield down like his Extra Life depended on it.
The monster kept thrashing and trying to buck him off. But it was disorientated and in apromised position, stuck on its back.
Everything was softer on its belly, easier to break and squish. The mouth parts turned into minced mush before Hannah ran in and thrust the thing dead with her sharpened spear.
¡°If you can get it on its back, the belly is easier to damage!¡± Gilbert shouted, untangling himself from the curled up legs.
Hannah helped him out. Together, they turned and found Bianca stumbling backward, holding her side with a hand.
Gilbert saw something awful and bloody under her hand as she waved her shing sword around to ward away the third spider. Worse yet, there were still more spiders after the third when Gilbert was already tired. Hannah looked miserable, yet she set her face to a determined expression anyway.
Let¡¯s go do God¡¯s work, Gilbert thought.
The two ran in at the same time and gave the spider hell. Bianca had some breathing room to circle around and hack at the spider¡¯s back legs. Then Gilbert tucked down and trucked forward, ramming his shield into the spider¡¯s leg joints before pushing with all his Strength to flip it over.
Hannah shoved her spear into its mouth. Bianca hacked at the legs from one side, while Gilbert bashed at them from the other with his mace. They closed in on the belly once they disabled the legs.
The third spider died.
With no break, Gilbert and the girls hit the fourth spider. The humans were slow, bloodied, and lethargic. Bianca had bite wounds on her side. She needed healing badly.
Yet, she kept pushing. She said those two words of hers with some emphasis:
¡°Searing sh!¡±
This time, Gilbert twisted around and covered his face with his shield and his forearm. He was still blinded a little, but less so than before. Hannah had followed his example. While the spiders suffered severe blindness, the trio banded against the fourth and beat down on it like savages.
Technique went out the window.
They just struck and struck and struck until the thing was dead.
Loner watched them, the fifth spiderying dead behind him. The encounter ended with a delirious cry that may or may not havee from Gilbert.
Bianca fell over. Gilbert crashed down next to her, hands over her wounded side. He used his Basic Healing.
The spider bite became a nonissue.
The poison remained a problem. It kept coursing through her body, leaving its damaging mark throughout her flesh.
Bianca¡¯s face was as red as blood as she suffered. Gilbert kept her alive through it all, pumping his Basic Healing even while he felt wrung out.
Something had to give, and that turned out to be the poison. Bianca sweated some of it out. She vomited the rest to the side. Gilbert looked down in disgust at the bloody vomit and tiny chunks of congealed poison.
This was some hardcore shit.
¡°I¡¯m alive,¡± Bianca said, coughing and sputtering.
¡°This is hell,¡± Hannah said.
¡°I leveled up, personally and with my healing,¡± Gilbert muttered. ¡°I finally got some fucking levels.¡±
¡°Same,¡± Bianca moaned.
¡°I can choose a ss now,¡± Hannah added.
Gilbert felt chills down his spine. Bianca looked horrible, but she sat upright and wide-eyed.
sses were game changers. Depending on what Hannah picked, she could go from a magical mortal to a magical beast of a woman. Just like Naomi.
This content has been uwfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
¡°I¡¯m checking my options. It¡¯s ¡ extensive. There¡¯s an epic ss that caught my eye. However, it looks like more of a utility support ss. Runic Enchantress Novice.¡±
¡°Do you like it?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°Yes,¡± Hannah said. ¡°I¡¯ll receive one umon trait and one rare trait. My Basic Enchantment will change to Enchantment. And I¡¯ll have two skill choices, but I doubt any of them will be verybat oriented.¡±
Gilbert groaned. They needed morebat stuff. But an epic ss like that sounded like a good fit for Hannah.
Bianca, despite her condition, said the most logical thing. ¡°What do you mean it won¡¯t be verybat oriented? Zarian called you amazing. He loves your enchanting. Why not do more of the same, but way better with an epic ss?¡±
Gilbert looked at his weapons. They held up damn well because of Hannah¡¯s Basic Enchantment. How better would they be when she had an epic ss to back it?
¡°Yeah, what Bianca said. Make that ss count,¡± Gilbert drawled.
Hannah picked the Runic Enchantress Novice ss. Gilbert and the girls rested while Loner watched over them. Gilbert provided more healing once he recovered his aura.
Hannah took some time to get a handle on her new traits and skills. They sounded brainy andplicated.
Once she was ready, Hannahid some runes on Gilbert¡¯s mace and lit it on fire. He didn¡¯t even feel the heat, but Hannah swore it would work as a major weakness against the spiders.
Next, Hannah tinkered with Bianca¡¯s magic shy sword and said it could now give light-damage on contact.
¡°Zarian was right. You are awesome,¡± Gilbert said, feeling like a young boy again.
He was never a geek growing up, more of a jock or yboy. But even he had once thought it was cool to wield ming weapons.
Then Bianca activated her sword, and it shone with a contained intensity clinging to the de. It looked like a curved lightsaber now.
Gilbert¡¯s fire mace felt less impressive. He didn¡¯t let that drag down his rising mood.
In fact, Gilbert felt a new fire burn in his gut. I want to get my ss!
The next spiders Gilbert and the girls met received a way harder and badder beating than the spiders before them. Gilbert and the girls still took some licks of their own, but they bounced back faster and with more vigor.
As things improved, Gilbert started to wonder if he and the girls could catch up to Naomi. She wouldn¡¯t be able to y all high and mighty over the three of them anymore if they were all on the same level.
What about catching up to Zarian?
Gilbert couldn¡¯t imagine it.
Naomi was more within reach. She needed Zarian¡¯s help just like everybody else. Hell, Gilbert imagined she was taking things slowly and leaning on her skeleton minions way more if she was on her own.
***
Naomi realized a few hours into the spider dungeon exercise that punching the monsters in the heads while using Mind Spike did way more damage. She theorized that the direct transfer of psychic energy to the target eliminated waste and increased killing potency.
Or maybe the Star System was a freak and liked to reward daring actions.
Naomi didn¡¯t care enough to dig further into the how and why. She was having funmitting full-tilt to the insanity.
She ran up the wall and kicked into a backflip over a charging spider. The creature extended its legs up on the wall, raising up to follow her ascent and downward arc.
When Naominded behind the spider, she bolted at it with more speed than her pre-system body could ever fathom.
The spiders had a bad habit of staying in one spot while rotating around. They also liked to lift their legs up and bare their fangs before springing into attack, as if to make her hesitate with fear alone.
Naomiughed in their faces and punched them right in their milky white eyes.
Her Mind Spike struck one hundred percent. The spider didn¡¯t scream, but Naomi imagined it would if it could talk as the spider¡¯s brain melted inside of its head.
Then Naomi followed up with another punch toplete the one-twobo down the middle. Another burst of brain-viting energy turned the insides of the spider¡¯s head into bloody mush.
Just like that, it copsed. Naomi was already on the move as another spider lunged at her from behind.
She jumped into a cartwheel, which should¡¯ve been impractical. But her body was strong and quick, mighty and light. She stuck thending perfectly like a superhuman gymnast even though she had never trained gymnastics.
She didn¡¯t feel the same fear as she would before. Having so much Willpower protected her emotions, her ego, her mentality. Especially when she had Tranquil Mind activated.
Sometimes she didn¡¯t even need it.
She was the perfect killer. She was Zarian¡¯s right-hand woman. She admired the young man even if he was an insufferable idiot sometimes.
He valued her toughness, her wildness, her loyalty. He valued how she was a bit of a freak with a mean streak a mile long when given a reason to go on the attack.
She really was a devil dog, his devil dog.
Hell, her nature showed with how her minions acted around her. The skeletons did nothing but distract the extra spiders. They gave her plenty of time to dash, lunge, flip around, and punch spider brains into bloody goop.
Whomp! Mind Spike!
Whomp! Mind Spike!
Whomp! Mind Spike!
She still had her pistol, gun belt, and extra magazines. She hadn¡¯t felt the need to draw them for a while now. Chances were, they wouldn¡¯t do very well against these monsters.
Her body and abilities were deadlier than a gun.
Her fists were bloody, the skin scraped raw. Her arms hurt from the impacts on hard monster carapaces. Her body was on fire from moving constantly.
Sometimes she would take too many risks ande out with some mean scrapes. She had no healer. She bled red like any human. Still, she punched. Still, she kept killing.
She only took breaks where it was obvious her aura ran low. That was a pain because it took her a while to recover. Shecked heavily in the Mysticism stat, relying more on Willpower, Strength, and Agility. The skeletons became more useful during her breaks when she needed to recover aura.
Then she was back to the action.
When she leveled up, she stopped to celebrate with a little saucy dance, her hips swinging! That one felt deserved. Hell, her two skills had gone up in levels, too.
Tranquil Mind had been a good friend, especially when she learned to flicker it on and off. Mind Spike was her hero even if it meant her fists were growing numb from repeat impacts.
Saving her fists from further abuse, Naomi threw out kicks she¡¯d learned from kickboxing lessons a while ago. It wasn¡¯t as sharp and crisp as her punches. It was riskier, too.
But her kicksnded harder.
Sometimes, it delivered one-shot kills with her Mind Spike. The greater the risk, the greater the reward.
She treated the giant spiders like the bugs they were and squashed them under her. That remained the case until someone new interrupted her pest control work and celebratory dances.
¡°My dear, you have to be the most dashing human I¡¯ve seen at your level,¡± said a suave, smooth, deep voice to Naomi¡¯s left.
She whirled around, bloody fists raised. Her shoes were gone, torn apart after all they¡¯d gone through.
She¡¯d clenched her toes in anticipation of kicking someone in the head and sting their brains out of their ears and nostrils. Her minions gathered around her, ready to support.
She waited as a man walked out from a shadowy side passage. He was different from any man or creature Naomi had ever seen.
He had a presence about him that was ¡ powerful. The atmosphere felt a little suffocating, even. Her breathing became a struggle.
Naomi relied on her Tranquil Mind even more.
¡°It¡¯s okay. I understand your reactions. You haven¡¯t seen my kind before, I imagine.¡± The strange, monstrous man bowed. ¡°My name is Ekri the Tailor, and I am a fine tailor.¡±
¡°You have eight eyes, spider fangs, and a spider¡¯s butt,¡± Naomi said, matter-of-fact. ¡°If you¡¯re a tailor, call me the Star Core Queen.¡±
¡°Oh, ho, ho! I may have fangs, but you are the one who bites the hardest, my dear.¡±
Ekri spread six arms wide. He had pale white skin, from what Naomi could tell based on the color of his face and hands.
The rest of him was dressed all dapper in a three-piece suit and polished shoes. Somehow, his outfit worked out well with his six arms. Behind him, the coat split where a miniature web-maker extended like a ballooned-up tail.
¡°What ¡ are you?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°A drider, my dear, of the evil alignment, fortunately and unfortunately.¡± Ekri moved his hands into a blur and suddenly conjured a thick rope swing made of spiderwebs attached to the ceiling.
He satfortably, legs crossed at the knee, one foot pushing him back and forth idly. He folded his six hands on his knee and smiled at her.
¡°I¡¯m busy killing your cousins.¡± Naomi shifted aggressively. ¡°You got a problem with that or what?¡±
¡°Well, they¡¯re very distant cousins attached to the System¡¯s machinations, the dungeons, I mean. And besides, they only have half my charm and none of the looks, so I don¡¯t me you. Though you must humor me before I let you continue.¡±
Ekri swung back and forth on his makeshift spider web swing.
Naomi tensed up even more. Her minions braced themselves.
With a huff, she asked, ¡°What do you want?¡±
¡°I wish to see you strut,¡± Ekri said. ¡°Just imagine, would you, that I fashioned you an unbelievable dress. One that would capture your dynamic likeness, your wild entricities, your primal urges. Imagine, would you, the perfect dress made for you. Or for someone you fancy that would love to see it on you.¡±
Naomi chewed on what he was saying. Then she barked out with augh.
This situation was ridiculous.
Her nerves were stretched taut even with the Tranquil Mind skill, so theugh was warranted to ease her up. She felt even bolder now while at a clear disadvantage.
¡°What if I don¡¯t?¡±
¡°Well, I¡¯ll do the usual evil thing and turn you into a pretty dress. My client in Castle Grimrock pays extra for that sort of thing even though I find it such a bore.¡±
Naomi froze for a split second, not out of fear but realization. If she¡¯d heard correctly, Ekri¡¯s client at Castle Grimrock could be one of two people. Either Foodie or the Grimrock Warlock.
Foodie didn¡¯t strike Naomi as the dress-up doll type.
So it had to be the wicked mother.
¡°You got yourself a deal if you can tell me more about this client of yours,¡± Naomi said, ignoring the threat of bing a dress. All she could think about was gaining more ground on the main quest, their big future operation to kill a warlock and free a legendary cook. ¡°Fair warning, I¡¯ve never done much runway modeling. I¡¯m more of a military woman.¡±
¡°Great! Start with your standard march. Then I shall coach you. In fact, consider this as free training. You¡¯ll be surprised by how well the art of stylish walking trantes to murder andbat. Now, let us begin!¡±
Ekri pped his hands like he was turning on the lights and signaling the start of an act. The spotlight was on Naomi, so she yed her role.
Naomi marched for Ekri the Tailor without interruptions. When he saw enough, he coached her on walking with more style.
Her strides gradually changed into something so goofy and extravagant, Naomi struggled. For the first time in a while, Naomi felt embarrassed while others were watching.
The skeletons couldn¡¯t talk. Yet she felt their empty eye sockets judging her. They better not rattle up a tale and tattle to Zarian and the others. Or Naomi would turn their bones into broth.
I¡¯m just making myself all goofy to help with the main quest. This has nothing to do with me wanting to have a killer walk that¡¯ll make Bianca jealous and steal more attention my way. No siree! This ain¡¯t no ego thing. This is all for the cause! And look, I¡¯m getting better at this!
Naomi caught one minionughing in her direction. She ran over and kicked him so hard she knocked his head off. Then she ran back to strutting like a peacock as Ekri coached her further.
The minions didn¡¯tugh in her direction again.
She kept monitoring them periodically. As long as the skeletons were standing, Zarian was fine. He was probably having an easier time than her and the other party members.
Chapter 19: Self-Lobotomy
¡°Hit me with the raaaaaah! Ahhhhhhhh! Yaaaaaah!¡± Zarian shouted, followed by other nearly unintelligible phrases as he slowly split his mental bandwidth to channel two spells at the same time.
The human mind, at least at his level, wasn¡¯t made for this. Not without the System¡¯s help.
The System allowed for multiple skills to function at the same time. It didn¡¯t assist much with Zarian¡¯s multi-spell attempts.
Zarian didn¡¯t care and kept risking permanent brain damage anyway. He felt like he was close to a breakthrough. He just needed to keep pushing.
He saw the runic symbols staying strong for the skeleton spell in his mind¡¯s eye. The runic symbols for the lifesteal spell flickered on and off, fighting to stay active.
He caught the sensation of an energy ¨C his aura ¨C streaming out of sync, more so than usual. He noticed the strand of aura breaking and reforming on beat with the lifesteal symbols turning on and off in his brain.
Just when Zarian thought he might have a breakthrough, his brain felt like it blew some fuses. Thankfully, he was back on his feet while Para and his skeletons protected him, but that was where his luck ended.
His body went ck, and he nearly crashed backward. Para folded some fleshy material under him and turned it solid ¨C she became a simple chair with a backrest.
Zarian nearly nked out before snapping himself back to a semnce of focus. But, oh, did it hurt! It was absolute hell.He¡¯d justmitted self-lobotomy, and he now had to pay the price until he reconnected with Gilbert.
At the very least, he could keep the skeleton spell going still. It took a lot of painful concentration.
Blood poured down his nostrils in a strong, consistent flow. He felt around his nose to check for any brain chunks. Nothing yet.
His vision was terrible. The lights were brighter and more distracting. Everything was fuzzier. He was in terrible shape.
Perfect, now the real training could begin.
¡°Para, everyone, let me do more of the fighting now,¡± Zarian said. ¡°With this, I¡¯ll earn my next level up.¡±
Para vibrated with uncertainty. The skeletons rattled with a note of uncertainty as well. They were concerned, but they didn¡¯t contradict his orders.
Zarian stood to his feet woozily. He stalked down the hallway in search of enemy spiders.
His condition persisted. His fuzzy vision made everything harder to see unless it was in shade or darkness. He could see things clearer in the dark, but the magic sconce light dominated mostly.
It was good he had a crystal clear mini-map in the corner of his vision. It was worth its weight in gold right now.
Para vibrated urgently against his chest in the two o¡¯ clock direction. Zarian barely formed a dark pir in time to block a projectile. It sshed on the dark surface and made a dangerous hissing sound.
Ah, this was a new type of spider. Thest ones shot web balls, which had entangled him once. This one shot acid.
Good, he could deal with deadly projectile fights. A few training exercises from his stint as a Marine Infantryman tranted to a battle like this.
Zarian formed another straight pir a dozen feet to his left. It was a distraction as he leaned to the right from behind his current cover. He knew the general area of the shooter because of his minimap. He thrust his palm forward.
A dense shotgun volley of dark darts peppered the spider shooter¡¯s location. Zarian heard the wet and sloppy burst of spider meat getting sttered. A gold notification confirmed the kill:
.
He didn¡¯t linger out from behind cover for too long, and good thing, too.
More hissing volleys of acidic projectiles crashed against his position. He studied the minimap and saw new red dots closing in. The red dot he peppered with a spray of dark darts turned gray with a red ¡®X¡¯ over it, signifying a dead enemy.
Three new shooters edged closer to the other side of the dead spider. The shooters took turns spitting acid and covering for each other.
Zarian noticed his pir was losing its integrity from the constant volley of attacks. Enough hits would break through and dissolve it.
¡°Should I cheese this?¡± Zarian asked himself deliriously. ¡°Nah, let me think on my feet even with a busted-ass brain.¡±
He kept watch of the minimap. The spiders closed in as a group instead of spreading out to attack from different angles. Zarian let the first intrusive thought be reality.
From the spider¡¯s perspective, they had the human with the strange fleshy cloak pinned behind temporary cover.
The skeletons stayed on the sides, closer to the walls and out of the way. If the spiders moved from the center of the hallway, the skeletons might attack them. With three spiders together, they could shoot one by one consistently in a deadly stream of projectile attacks.
The situation took a sudden change when the human with the monstrous cloak of flesh, bones, andmprey mouths lunged out from his disintegrating cover. He didn¡¯t go left or right. He went up.
Zarian shot into the air off of a fast-rising pir of darkness. He went so high he would¡¯ve hit the ceiling if Para hadn¡¯t fanned out the cloak. The added air resistance slowed him down and stabilized him as he aimed at the grouped up spiders.
¡°Die motherfucker, die motherfucker, die!¡± Zarian shouted, releasing a hail-storm of long, dark bullets like he was a machine gunner.
The stream of dark bullets shed through one spider and split it in half. He chopped off multiple legs of the second spider and sent it barreling to its side.
The third spider stood its ground and returned fire before taking the hail of dark bullets to its face. By sheer luck, or Para¡¯s mico-interventions, the hissing acid shot missed him by a few inches to his left.
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That would¡¯ve left more than a mark if it hadnded.
Zarian glided to the ground with Para¡¯s help. He noticed thest remaining spider scrambling around with only four legs.
Another intrusive thought came to mind and found no resistance.
Zarian raised his hand and gathered darkness from the floor, up his body, and onto his palm. A straight edge sprouted upward with a slight curve ¨C like a giant katana or nodachi found in eastern fantasy.
It reached seven feet in length before Zarian tightened his grip around the roughly straight handle and sliced down. Despite its thinness, the giant nodachi was immensely dense.
Zarian¡¯s shoulder hurt as he used all of his Strength and his control over darkness to cut through the remaining spider. He even left a cut on the floor.
¡°Nice!¡± Zarianughed until the severe migraine made him shut up.
The pain throbbed from terrible to nightmarish and back. During the rush ofbat, he¡¯d ignored it. With everything falling still, he was back to a slow and painful mental death.
Zarian raised his seven-foot nodachi from the floor and onto his shoulder. It was a little weird to control. By having a good hold on it like a melee weapon, he felt less of his skill at work, forcing him to use up a majority of his limited Strength.
In other words, the System was forcing him to get physical if he wanted to y with a giant sword.
Zarian grinned like a madman, his lower face smearedpletely with his blood. ¡°Hey, what if I can train up my Strength and Agility this way?¡±
If he were to train physically with heavy swords and eat Foodie¡¯s meals, then he could gain some physical stats without using points from his level ups.
Of course, that would eat up time he could better spend in perfecting his wizardry.
As of now, there wasn¡¯t much for Zarian to do with a self-lobotomized brain. At most, he could train up his Straight Darkness while maintaining the skeleton spell at the same time.
So it was all working out, at least in his opinion.
Zarian expanded the mini-map. He found four blue dots that were likely Gilbert, Bianca, Hannah, and Loner.
They could see each other¡¯s blue dots far across the dungeon. They couldn¡¯t see enemy red dots unless they closed the distance by a set amount.
Zarian found it curious that Naomi and her minions had remained in the same spot for a while. It was too painful to think long on that with a self-inflicted lobotomy. At the very least, they were blue and alive.
He set a course for Gilbert. Para scouted ahead with thin threads and thinner hairs of flesh. She directed him around traps regardless of his fussing that he could probably use those for training.
Para didn¡¯t listen to him, and Zarian didn¡¯t have the mental capability to fight her on it. His skeleton guard followed in the back, covering their rear.
Para warned of more threats, more shooters. Zarian checked the mini-map. He saw eight spiders scuttling in his direction.
Then his attention shifted to something more interesting. Something yellow appeared north of him, down a side passage.
Zarian loped in that direction, surprising Para and the skeletons. They followed him into a dark and narrow passageway.
His ankle caught on a spider thread ced at ankle height. Panels in the ceiling peeled open. Dark pipes pointed down at him.
Para vibrated in rage and worry as a rushing liquid poured down from the pipes.
Zarian barely gave it much mind, running on pure instinct. He flicked his free hand up and conjured a t and dense board of darkness nted down toward the way they came.
The liquid hit the dense board and followed the downward slope to the floor behind Zarian just when the spiders scuttled into the narrow passageway. The liquid sshed onto the legs, faces, and bellies of the monsters.
Zarian found the treasure chest while sounds of thrashing, acidic hissing, and torturous death resonated from behind him. The dark board he¡¯d summoned wouldn¡¯tst long. A few heavy hits would break through it as the acid ate it away.
One spider smashed through, but it sumbed to the hissing acid before it could reach Zarian¡¯s back.
The System notified him of eight defeated spider monsters, all in thete 20s in level. Zarian shrugged before flipping open the treasure chest and looking inside.
Zarian was a happy camper. He hadn¡¯t known if the Infinita Star System liked to dole out random treasure chests or loot boxes like a video game.
Now he was sure this was part of the adventuring experience, just like how dungeons felt like alternate dimensions grafted into the world¡¯s normal reality.
That was a lot to ponder on, of course, which did Zarian no favors.
With no thoughts, only instincts and whims, Zarian exchanged his shredded hobo shoes for the new boots. They were ck with white ents and a cool spidery design where theces would be.
Instead of him having toce them up, the mid-shin boots secured themselves and readjusted magically, bing a perfectly snug fit.
Zarian hopped up and turned to see his skeletons panicking. The liquid had stopped pouring from the trap pipes above. But the oozing and hissing acid was spreading in their direction.
Half-melted spider bodies clogged the way in and out, at least when moving on the floor. Zarian smiled as he walked to his left and ced his foot on the wall. Then he ced his other foot on the wall and felt his entire body go tense.
Just because he could walk on the wall didn¡¯t mean gravity stopped having an effect. The soles of his boots stuck, but that was it.
He was still holding the big nodachi, too, so that added some weight on him. Zarian gritted his teeth as he muscled his way across the wall and over the acid spill and melted spider bodies.
As for his skeletons, he conjured a simple bridge leading up and over. The skeletons made it out just fine. They gave him strange looks while he was huffing and puffing, trying to stay perfectly horizontal on the wall with the dense nodachi.
¡°I will be ¡ the strongest overpowered wizard!¡± Zarian dered, all heart and no brains.
The skeletons shook their skulls at him. Eventually, Zarian went back to the ground and continued his trek to find Gilbert and the girls. Or he did whatever he fancied the moment the urges came and he had spiders to fight.
For some reason, Zarian pantomimed being a big-sword warrior. It wasn¡¯t easy, and Para mostly helped him by shifting his limbs around and keeping him bnced with strings of flesh attached to the ceiling or walls, almost like a puppet.
Zarian directed where to go and swing, forming pirs, bridges, and panels along the way. Para assisted, and the skeletons rattled up a cheer for him as he soared through the air and chopped his seven-foot nodachi through another spider, this one Level 30.
¡°Whoa, damn, I¡¯m gassing,¡± Zarian said, out-of-breath.
All of that physical movement with a tall and dense sword was tiring. Para had to take more control of him to keep him upright instead of falling face first like an idiot.
At least he¡¯d leveled up to 25 and invested his points. All of his skills went up, too. Straight Darkness was at Level 9. Grimoire of ck Magic 101 was at Level 7. And Parasite Cloak was at Level 8.
¡°I think it¡¯s time we link up with my healer.¡± Zarian looked at the mini-map. ¡°Oh, whoops, I went in the wrong direction.¡±
He¡¯d moved past Gilbert and the girls. They were further down and to his left. He¡¯d gone up and to the right, which was the northwest section of the dungeon.
Naomi and her minions remained in the same spot, doing whatever they were doing while staying alive.
Zarian had a single bright idea of going back and finding Gilbert. Then he noticed several yellow dots behind a unique infrastructure ahead of him.
He looked around and found himself in arge lobby-like area. In front of him were twin, ck wooden doors with arge white spider painted on them.
A gold notification popped up:
¡°Wait, no, I shouldn¡¯t. I need to get my brain healed first,¡± Zarian said while pushing on the doors.
Para vibrated against his back like she was sighing in defeat. She followed her host like any good parasitic cloak would. The goblin skeletons followed just the same, shaking their skulls silently.
Chapter 20: Dance of Death
Zarian found himself in a more extravagant atrium that hyped up the themes of the White Spider Dungeon. There was no doorway behind him. It was as if he was repositioned by magic the moment he¡¯d stepped into the boss¡¯s room.
Thankfully, his Parasite Cloak and the goblin skeletons were with him.
The concave ceiling was higher. It was covered in a glistening array of crystal webs that shone mainly white with tiny hints of other vibrate hues. It was like an entire universe shaped into aplex web. Beneath that was a circr tform floating above pitch-ck darkness.
Several curved bridges connected the central tform to the outer walkway circling along the wall of the immense atrium. Every fifty feet around the wall, Zarian saw fuzzy statues that appeared to be a spider carved from stone.
Thankfully, most of the lighting here was dim, leaning more toward darkness and gravitas than clear spotlighting. So he could see some details here and there.
There was one beaming ray of light shining down at the giant boss monster sitting on a cushioned throne made of webs, skeletons, and rusted loot. The boss had the face of a woman and the body of a spider. She waspletely pale white with a shapely face, tinum hair, and sparkly body.
Her face was beautiful, while her eyes were closed.
Then she opened all eight eyes around the upper-half of her face. Her puffy lips peeled to reveal her spider-like fangs. Her jaws stretched open further in monstrous delight, revealing more fangs.
Then the boss rose from her webbed throne of corpses and loot, reaching ten feet in height with spider legs that reached out twenty feet in all directions.Zarian grinned from ear to ear and waved his free hand in greeting.
Reiki of the White Silk Dancers tilted her head to the side, acidic drool leaking from her fanged mouth.
She raised a front leg and copied the motion, waving at Zarian in return. He barely caught the motion through his fuzzy vision but he was certain she was waving. She was pleasantly polite for a horrific monster.
¡°So, Reiki, I see I¡¯m getting the Dark Souls treatment,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Does thate with music?¡±
¡°Of course!¡± Zarianughed as he walked up an arched bridge to reach the tform.
Most wizards would¡¯ve stayed on the outer walkway, shooting their shots from afar. Zarian might¡¯ve taken that approach, too, if he hadn¡¯t been mostly brain dead.
The logical approach could go kick rocks. Nothing could stop his pounding heart and inmed spirit from going wild. He wanted his first boss fight up close and personal.
The System yed thematic music from the darkness below and from the countless dewy lights above. The music was loud enough to have a grand effect on the mood, but not too loud to be distracting.
Hell, it sounded like Zarian and Reiki had their own orchestra that changed the tempo, melody, and beat ording to their actions. This was building up to be a real fine shindig of a boss battle.
Zarian reached the main tform. It was three hundred feet wide. There was plenty of space to move around.
Grinning, he moved forward at a jogging pace, straight to Reiki. His body burned from the past exertion leading up to this point. Zarian didn¡¯t care and kept pushing himself.
Behind him, Para wavered like a tattered g in the wind, long, loose, and seemingly unimportant. His floating grimoire shone with a ghastly green light, dragged through the air behind him by spectral chains bound to his soul.
A little further back, the skeletons rattled as they followed his lead.
As Zarian reached the halfway point between him and the boss, he secured his hood over his head before he fixed a tight grip on the handle of his seven-foot nodachi.
The music quieted.
Then the bass dropped.
Reiki turned herrge body around with the grace of an actual dancer. She bnced on one leg, kicking out the others as she pirouetted. Bright white magic ¨C her aura, perhaps ¨C flowed behind her spider legs in curving streams before she mmed back down with a thunder p.
A solid wave of concussive energy flowed along the ground. Zarian ran straight at it while forming a rising slope of dense darkness in front of him.
He ran up the dark slope as the concussive wave obliterated it from under his feet. He lunged over in the nick of time, his Parasite Cloak fluttering behind him.
Meanwhile, his skeletons threw themselves into the air to hop over. Three of them made it. Two scattered away into smashed pieces with the magic shock wave. They wouldn¡¯t be able to recover from that.
Zarian fell to the floor off bnced. Parasite tendrils pped down and straightened him up while Zarian refocused his fuzzy vision on the boss and recognized her spiraling again, performing another dance.
When she refaced him, a sharp white glow covered the ends of all her spider legs.
Reiki kicked out her legs and sent bolts of magic one after another. They whooshed through the air like dense missiles, with thread-like sparks trailing, glistening brightly with beauty and deadliness.
Zarian tucked and dove to the side. His parasite cloak moved with a frenzy, pping down a dozen tendrils and shifting the main cloak tightly around him.
Without hitting the ground directly, Zarian rolled like a tumbleweed of tentacles, bone-spurs, and streams of parasitic flesh.
The Parasite Cloak kept him rolling and dodging to the right or to the left in zig-zag patterns, avoiding the dangerous bolts that struck like wall-busting rockets. Each one exploded with a p of thunder and a burst of sharp mystical energy.
Zarian rolled past all the sts and continued his run on his feet with the Parasite Cloak more active. One of his skeletons fell to the bombardment, ending up annihted.
Two skeletons remained to back him up.
Reiki didn¡¯t have enough time for another magic dance. Instead, she scuttled backward for more space while making a hoarse, windy sound from her throat. Her main body expanded as she filled herself with more and more air.
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Zarian skidded to a stop on one knee. His skeletons tumbled to a rattling stop behind him while he nted his free hand down. No thoughts, all heart, Zarian roared as he gathered, condensed, and erected arge amount of darkness in record time.
He formed a nted wall right before Reiki breathed out a howling torrent of web. Her attack struck with so much force and weight, a single rope-like strand could stter pre-system humans as if they were bugs.
Zarian clenched his jaw as his wall endured the heavy torrent. Some of the magic webbing rebounded into the air and fell with heavyshing thuds.
The moment the attack stopped, Zarian ran out from cover and closed the distance even further. The boss had backed up to the edge of her throne and no more.
Apparently, she preferred ying at range like a traditional wizard herself.
Now that was ironic.
Her eight pale eyes looked intensely at Zarian¡¯s oing form. Then Reiki¡¯s eyes shone with a shing, rainbow-like light.
The vibrant light spiraled in her eyes, having some powerful effect on Zarian as he looked into her gaze. He felt the urge to stop and offer his body as a feast to Reiki.
His seven-foot nodachi chopped onto her face with a heavy, bloody thunk. He struck so hard the dense weapon vibrated in his grip and made his arms hurt.
Reiki¡¯stest power failed, leaving her screeching, white blood spurting fast from the ugly gash across her face. She seemed more surprised that it failed than the fact that she took some serious head damage.
Granted, Zarian was all heart, no thoughts. He couldn¡¯t see that well anyway, so the spiraling rainbow gaze couldn¡¯t mesmerize him fully. He also had arge amount of Willpower at his level, so that helped.
He would¡¯ve done more damage if he had more Strength. Then again, he could practice manipting the weapon with his magic instead of relying on his physical prowess. Regardless of the System¡¯s melee penalty, Zarian pushed to use magic while he fought the boss.
Now this was truly a Dark Souls moment as the orchestral music in the background raised and lowered, sped up and slowed down, giving a textured experience to Zarian throwing himself full-tilt at Reiki¡¯s face with his Parasite Cloak¡¯s help.
Meanwhile, his two remaining skeletons moved around on the nks before lunging onto the silk-making abdomen. The skeletonstched on and climbed up on the boss from behind.
While the skeletons worked on climbing on the dungeon boss, Zarian and Reiki danced the dance of death.
The initial shock and damage from the sword sh didn¡¯t slow Reika down much. She regained herposure and moved with a deadly grace, kicking at Zarian, darting out of range of his nodachi swings and thrusts, and responding in kind with a special brand of spider monster martial arts.
Then Reiki turned it up a notch by showing off even more advanced battle techniques. When Zarian lunged in with an ill-advised thrust, she swung in a leg against the t side of his de and parried the entire weapon.
The Parasite Cloak worked double to support Zarian¡¯s movements with tendril pushes off the ground while attacking with boneced swings. Para kept filling in the gaps that stopped Reiki from pouncing when Zarian needed time to recover from a melee mistake.
As for the wizard himself, he was beyond gassed. His Strength was crumbling. His Agility was faltering. His vision was turning fuzzier.
He couldn¡¯t feel the pain in his skull anymore. Zarian was mostly gone, but he still had a beating heart and a deeply rooted refusal to stop in his spirit.
He readjusted to Reika¡¯s tactics through sheer instinct. He willed for his Parasite Cloak to wrap a few threads around his hands and the handle of the nodachi. They became more singr, more like aplete entity, adding more power and speed to his swings.
Meanwhile, the skeletons reached their goal ¨C Reiki¡¯s face ¨C and went on a rampage while tangled up in her hair. They punched and wed at her eyes, disrupting her concentration.
Zarian felt for an opportunity and went for it. He crouched down while a rapidly growing slope sprouted up from under his feet and rose at an angle, shifting into an arcing bridge.
The Parasite Cloak wrapped the front of the bridge with tendrils, securing Zarian as he used the magic in his Surface Walker Boots to glue his feet in ce. As he rose above Reiki on his bridge of darkness, he torqued at the hips and swung a big sh from behind and down to his left.
He nearly broke his arms. His wrists felt like they were about to snap. He felt a few fingers twist the wrong way.
He still held onto the seven-foot nodachi as it hacked through three spider legs and left a nasty cut on the fourth. Reiki screamed as she tumbled to the side, thrashing about.
The music kept rising and rising to its climax.
Zarian dismissed the nted dark bridge andnded softly with Para¡¯s help next to Reiki¡¯s thrashing body. The Dungeon Boss twisted around, ramming her face onto the floor to remove the two skeletons holding on by sheer grit. The impacts weren¡¯t hard enough as the skeletons kept attacking to avenge their fallenrades.
¡°Dance of the Final Web Entombment,¡± Zarian said, speaking more from the soul than the mind. ¡°Without your legs, you can¡¯t use that skill, can you? If you¡¯re able to revive yourself, we should run this back so you can show it to me. I bet it¡¯s a beautiful skill.¡±
Reiki stopped fighting after hearing those words. ¡°Yes, I revive, then encore,¡± she hissed in agreement. ¡°Encore.¡±
¡°Encore,¡± Zarian repeated, before shooting up into the air on a rising dark pir.
His Parasite Cloak pped and fluttered, expanding so wide the cloak¡¯s shadow swallowed up Reiki¡¯s body.
The skeletons untangled themselves from Reiki¡¯s hair and dashed off as Zarian dipped the seven-foot nodachi under his cloak¡¯s shadow.
He lengthened the weapon. He made it denser, thicker, and a little wider.
Reiki smiled, face-smeared with her own blood. She sucked in a deep, hoarse breath, then breathed out a thin but quick webbed torrent at the falling monster of a wizard.
The music reached its crescendo.
Zarian dove head first at the torrent before twisting and rolling mid air. His Parasite Cloak ripped apart into a fleshy, festooned explosion of tendrils and whips, smacking loose ends off of the torrent and diverting Zarian at the same time.
He rotated through the air in a storm of whips, a fifteen-foot nodachi held by him and Para. Together, they swung the immense and dense sword around from behind him like a windmilling de.
Reiki¡¯s head flew off with a fountain of blood bursting free from the body. The head thumped, rolled, and smacked to a stop at the base of her throne.
Zarian dropped the nodachi, letting it fade off into dark motes. He hurtled toward the ground without Para¡¯s help since she burned up a lot of fuel in the boss fight.
Thankfully, his two skeletons waited with arms raised to catch him from below. Once caught, they set him on his feet.
He broke free of their bony grasp and walked like he was the undead himself. He stumbled and tripped a few times, but remained upright on his way to the throne.
He grabbed Reiki¡¯s hair and dragged her head up onto the sticky throne. Ignoring his broken fingers, fractured arm bones, and torn ligaments, he ced the head on top of the seat before tumbling down the throne.
His skeletons caught him again, and this time he didn¡¯t break away.
¡°Thanks, boys, and thanks, Para,¡± Zarian said before he aimed a bloody smile up at Reiki¡¯s head. ¡°And thanks, Reika, for my first boss fight. I can barely see a thing, but you still look nice on your throne. Let¡¯s dance again! Encore, encore!¡±
Reiki¡¯s lifeless, bodiless head looked down at Zarian with a dead gaze. Then a glint of recognition and life shone through. The head¡¯s lower face shifted.
Reiki gave Zarian a bright and monstrous smile.
The music closed out.
Zarian nearly copsed, eyes closing for a few seconds. When he opened his eyes again, he wasn¡¯t in the arena anymore. He had no idea where he was now.
That didn¡¯t matter muchpared to the dangerous darkness encroaching around his vision. The type of darkness that might end him once and for all.
Before he faced his fate, he looked over and saw three treasure chests waiting for him to open up. He received a few gold notifications, too.
SSS! You didn¡¯t strive for perfection. You didn¡¯t even fight like a wizard should! Instead, you put on a marvelous performance! You¡¯ve engaged Reiki like nobody has in a solo battle ¨C or dance ¨C against her while at a lower level. BRAVO!>SSS Dance with White Silk Reiki (Unopened)!>
Chapter 21: Naomi’s Anger
Naomi felt like she was having a strange and secret affair with a man-spider while he twirled her around and gave her pointers on her ballroom dancing. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder how they¡¯d went from teaching her stylish walking to this fancy fantasy tango.
Naomi figured this was the price she had to pay to support Zarian and her party¡¯s main quest, oveing the Grimrock Warlock and securing the legendary critical asset, Foodie.
Sacrifices had to be made.
Then again, Ekri the Tailor could be ying with her. Maybe he enjoyed toying with his food with all these extravagant moves, working up an appetite before he feasted.
Or maybe he was another one of those fantastic weirdos. It was interesting how quirky these special fantasy folks seemed to act when going on adventures in another world.
This was probably Zarian¡¯s fault somehow. Naomi didn¡¯t know why, but ming him seemed best.
Meanwhile, Ekri yammered on, gassing her up with tteringpliments.
¡°Yes, yes, perfect. Step there. Step here. Feel for how I lead you. Don¡¯t anticipate. Let yourself flow, encouraging your partner, making him or her feel they are in total control. Let them see your beauty, like the petals of a rose. Let them see your shine, like the polish of a pearl. Let them see the surface, and not what dangers lurk underneath!¡±
¡°You¡¯re falling in love with me or what?¡± Naomi asked with a drawl, which she might¡¯ve picked up from Gilbert¡¯s North Floridian ways or Hannah when her bamian roots peaked through. The English became weirder when Bianca had infected Naomi with her Spanglish.Gilbert¡¯s ent was more interesting, since it was a refusal to conform to Miamian practices. He had that small-town redneck energy to him. His ent had a stickiness that lingered. And it helped get one¡¯s point across.
Give it a few more days and battles together, and Naomi would ease up on watching Gilbert carefully. She just wanted to be doubly sure that he wouldn¡¯t try anything funny to betray Zarian.
¡°You¡¯re distracted, dear!¡± Ekri called out.
Naomi corrected her ¡®malfunction,¡¯ which was one of those funny Marine phrases that called out someone for screwing up.
She directed a frown up at the tall drider¡¯s face. All six of his hands held her gentlemanly at different points as they moved around.
He had her where he wanted her. What would he do once the dance ended and he had to fork over his end of the bargain?
In the background, Naomi heard crunches and squishes. Her skeletal minions were beating down another curious spider that wandered into her private dance session with an evil-looking fellow in a nice three-piece suit.
Finally, Ekri the Tailor moved Naomi into a twirl, flourish, and dip to finish the routine. She tried not to let that get to her, but she had to admit Ekri was smooth.
Zarian should learn a thing or two from the drider, but not more than that. Ekri had too much of that silky and sticky charm that could lead to some real bad trouble, case in point:
¡°As for your question about me falling in love. Hahaha. Me? Fall in love? Well, if there¡¯s anyone who could warm my icy heart, perhaps it would be you and your enchanting grace and deadliness. But no, no, I cannot love again. That wound still bleeds, my dear.¡±
Naomi softened her stance toward the tailor, going for a different approach. ¡°Look, all that coaching was interesting. Can¡¯t say if it¡¯ll help meter or not in a System bent on game logic and fights. But I agreed because you¡¯ll tell me about your client.¡±
¡°Ah, yes, yes, I didn¡¯t let that slip my mind. Forgive me if I gave that impression.¡± Ekri straightened his tie, which was big, poofy, and different from ties back on Earth.
There were many little details that made his suit uniquepared to Earthling fashion. Naomi wondered what the fashion sense in this world and across Infinita would look like.
Ekri folded all six arms behind his back. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you much or I may rue some disapproval from certain gods. But I can say that the Grimrock Warlock is a worried goblin woman. Corrupted beyond belief, yes, but she retains some semnce of her prior mental faculties. She puts on a good front, but deep down I can taste it.¡±
¡°Taste what?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°Deep and disgusting insecurity, her biggest weakness. Which makes her a wonderful customer, I must admit! I make her feel pretty with my tailored crafts, and she pays me from the old treasury the orcs left stocked up in Grimrock.¡± Ekri looked away in a seemingly random direction. ¡°And I get to pay the White Spider Dungeon a visit, which is quite the bonus when I¡¯m far from home.¡±
Naomi had two paths of inquiry. She could dig for more about the Grimrock Warlock. Or she could dig further into Ekri the Tailor.
She went for the more interesting option ¨C something Zarian would do: ¡°What¡¯s so special about this dungeon other than it sharing some features with you?¡±
¡°Ah, well, there¡¯s plenty special!¡± Ekri cheered with renewed spirit. ¡°For example, the origins of this dungeon came from the cavern city nation, Carrowmore, far north of here under the Coldboot Castle Mountains! Carrowmore is my home city and primary hub of business.¡±
Ekri the Tailor flicked out a business card made of some fancy material. It had a magic presence to it that made Naomi¡¯s fingers tingle when he passed the card to her hand.
He continued, all six hands moving with enthusiasm. ¡°It¡¯s quite the ce. Socially, it¡¯s the best city for a night out across all thends of the Walled Continent. Of course, it¡¯s preferable when you¡¯re in the higher levels, especially when you¡¯ve achieved your first ss advancement and shed the newbie stink off of you.¡±
Ekri spread his arms wide. ¡°From there, you¡¯ll have lots to do in and out and around and even above Carrowmore. You can break into the Level 100s if you¡¯re truly and extremely talented. A majority of our Level 100s ascend through Carrowmore, in fact, at least on this continent.¡±
Ekri leaned close, one hand to his fanged mouth. He whispered, ¡°Beware, however, for the underground city nation is built on foundations made of corpses. Corpses so plentiful it is said that the entire bedrock beneath Carrowmore and the castle mountains of Coldboot are nothing but corpses.¡±
Naomi used her Tranquil Mind at max power to keep from shivering. The pressure from Ekri¡¯s higher level came down hard on her. She didn¡¯t need the Identify trait to know he was seventy or eighty levels above her. Maybe more.
She felt like a fly caught on a web. Then the pressure pulled back, and she took a slow breath through her gritted teeth. Somehow, she was still alive.
Why was Ekri being so nice to her when he was evil?
What would Zarian do against this madness? He would probably say something stupid and revealing, wouldn¡¯t he? Maybe being illogical was logical in this crazy ce. Worrying about operational security seemed too mundane here, too safe.
¡°We¡¯re heading to a town west of here,¡± Naomi asked, pausing, before taking another Zarian-like gamble. ¡°Then we might head back this way to pay the Grimrock Warlock a visit.¡±
Ekri looked at her with a smile that scared her deep down. Even Tranquil Mind couldn¡¯t help her much now.
¡°I rmend, my dear, you reach Level 40, and get your first ss advancement out of the way. You can do so by heading further west of Bramblevale, which is the castle town you¡¯re seeking, and hit the dungeons there. Get to Level 50 in the next couple of years or so if you¡¯re truly talented and forget about the Grimrock Warlock. Instead,e see me in Carrowmore. Write to me first, so I¡¯ll prepare for you and extend the best wee to you and your party you¡¯ll see in my home city.¡±
The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Naomi sucked in air fast before regaining herposure. She tossed aside the Zarian-like way of doing things and went with the old tactic. Shemitted to being herself, bold and hardcore.
She stomped up to Ekri and grabbed him by the tie. She pulled to see if he woulde down to her or if she would have to get on her tippy toes. Surprisingly, he bent down to her, making things easier.
¡°We have our own ns, and we¡¯remitted. Clearly, you have your own ns, and you¡¯remitted. The next time you¡¯ll see me and mine, maybe you¡¯ll recognize our ns are better and get with the program,¡± Naomi grouched.
¡°And what program is that, my dear?¡±
¡°We¡¯re the best around, and you¡¯ll want to keep me and my friends happy. Especially Sir Zarian Darkrun,¡± Naomi imed.
¡°Sir Zarian ¡ Darkrun?¡± Ekri questioned. ¡°You¡¯re mentioning his name without even letting me hear yours.¡±
¡°He¡¯s the type who¡¯ll have his name spread far for all the wrong and right reasons. You can thank meter for the heads up. As for my name ¡ maybe next time.¡±
Naomi gave Ekri a fierce smile.
¡°Well ¡ I knew there was a reason I didn¡¯t slice off your flesh and make you into a dress.¡± Ekri gave her a monstrous grin, all fangs. ¡°I like it better when your type is more mature and certain of themselves.¡±
Ekri slipped out of her grip somehow, forcing her into a stumble. Naomi looked to the side to find him straightening his tie and his suit. She held his card with a tight but careful grip and watched him walk down the hall.
Then he stopped and turned his head slightly in her direction. ¡°Did you get to taste Foodie¡¯s cooking?¡±
¡°Damn straight we did. Best I¡¯ve ever had.¡± Naomi gave Ekri the Tailor her most cocky grin. ¡°Can¡¯t wait to have more.¡±
Ekri slowly nodded before turning away. ¡°Interesting. Curious. Iprehensible, even. I must pray to Hisscreep as soon as I can to keep these threads of fate between us strong. I shall expect more from you the next time we walk and dance, my dear Star Core Queen.¡±
Ekri walked off and disappeared around the corner. With him gone, Naomi allowed herself to copse to the floor. She was covered in cold sweat and had chills running down her spine.
She didn¡¯t know how she survived, because that thing, Ekri the Tailor, was so powerful he would¡¯ve killed her instantly if they were to fight here and now. Naomi didn¡¯t have many special senses other than what she could feel through Psionic Affinity, and what she felt made her feel like a bug.
He¡¯s definitely more dangerous than Foodie! Naomi shivered even more.
Ekri didn¡¯t even show off any extra powers. He barely showed much of anything and had Naomi beat with sheer presence alone.
At least she learned a lot more about this world. Carrowmore, underground city nation. Right under the Coldbooth Castle Mountains. And the currentndmass they were on was called the Walled Continent.
It all sounded fantastical to her. Naomi¡¯s imagination struggled to see it illustrated in her head.
¡°I need to get stronger,¡± Naomi said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be shivering at someone¡¯s mercy even if they¡¯re being nice.¡±
She rather make others shiver and hope for her kindness. Maybe that wasn¡¯t nice of her, but Naomi was just being real with herself. She wasn¡¯t the nicest person, and she had her own vices, but so were a lot of people.
What was wrong with a gal wanting a lot of power and being able to decide the fates of others?
Zarian would help me get there, wouldn¡¯t he?
Hence why Naomi was so fiercely loyal to him. Zarian would give the world if he could, just because he vibed with you and you vibed with him. If only his personality weren¡¯t so boldly infectious and weird.
Naomiughed, letting her nerves melt away.
Her minions gathered around her. They offered their skeletal hands and waited on her like little gentlemen. Naomi felt touched by the gesture and let herself be a little dainty for once, taking their help to get back on her feet.
Then a big blue notification appeared in her face with a soft ¡®ding¡¯ ringing in her head.
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Naomi shouted, grabbing onto her goblin skeletons with both arms. They hugged her back before their surroundings blurred, shifted, then snapped back to focus.
Naomi stumbled when she felt soft plush rug fibers under her soles. She looked around and found a fancy room with more fluted columns.
The ceiling was t instead of concave and featured a big chandelier glistening with countless gems. Lined up against one wall was cold cut food. Mainly sandwiches with no vegetable variety, all bread and meat. Against another wall were pitchers, barrels, and mugs.
Naomi heard a bunch of rattling behind her. Her minions left her side and joined up with two more.
They were gathered around Zarian who was lying on his back, all bloodied in the face.
Naomi panicked, her heart pounding. She lunged into a baseball slide on her knees, nearly bowling over the skeletons to reach Zarian.
Her fingers checked his neck for a pulse. She leaned down and waited to feel his breath on her cheek.
All of it was faint.
Naomi used her Psionic Affinity to check for brain activity. She barely got much back except for what felt like some sort of magical activity, like channeling a spell.
His grimoire was floating next to him, shining with green light while chained directly to his soul.
¡°Even when you¡¯re knocked out, you¡¯re using a spell,¡± Naomi said, feeling downright shocked and impressed. ¡°You kept your necromancy going for the rest of us, didn¡¯t you? Man, you¡¯re an idiot. Have you thought about turning it on and off to protect yourself?¡±
No response.
The skeletons rattled in a worrying way.
Naomi shouted, ¡°Gilbert, dammit, where are you?!¡±
¡°Here, here, we just got here!¡± Gilbert shouted from behind Naomi as she noticed the others appearing in the banquet room.
Theynded from nowhere with a solid thump. They looked horrible while covered in blood that belonged to the monsters and themselves. Loner was with them, and even he had some chips and breaks in his skeletal body.
However, the way they moved toward her felt off. They had an ¡ edge to them. It was way more than Naomi had ever seen from them.
Gilbert wasn¡¯t too surprising. He was a cop. But Hannah? Bianca?
Those two felt more dangerous now. Bianca looked less like amb and more like a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing.
Naomi let the little details slide and made room for big Gilbert. He thumped down onto his knees and pressed his hand to Zarian¡¯s chest. His eyes widened.
¡°He should be dead,¡± he said faintly.
¡°It¡¯s that bad?¡± Bianca asked, worried.
¡°Yeah, it¡¯s that bad. Most of my healing is going to his head. The damage is so severe I¡¯m pushing to the extremes of my Basic Healing. What could¡¯ve done this to him?¡± Gilbert wondered, looking at Naomi.
She shook her head. She held Ekri¡¯s card in her palm, fingers wrapped fully around to keep it out of sight for now.
A tendril from the Parasite Cloak lifted from beside Zarian and waved at them all.
¡°Hey, Para, good girl. You must¡¯ve helped Zarian a lot, didn¡¯t you?¡± Bianca asked.
Para motioned her tendril up and down a couple of times. Naomi figured Para had helped Zarian more than they could imagine.
¡°Thank you,¡± Naomi blurted.
Para reached over and patted Naomi on the head kindly, and Naomi epted the gesture. After meeting Ekri, she had a lot of humble pie to chew through before she could drink straight from the fountain of ambition.
Unfortunately for Naomi, seeing Zarian in such a bad state made all that humble pie taste even worse. He was the cornerstone of her wish to be scarily strong. Without him ¡ Naomi wasn¡¯t so sure.
¡°Can any of you pinpoint how this happened?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°Was it because of the dungeon boss?¡±
Para turned her tendril to the skeletons that had appeared with Zarian. Zarian¡¯s skeleton guards looked at each other before pointing at the man himself. Para slowly raised her tendril up and down, nodding, before pointing the tip down at Zarian.
The room fell into a deep silence. Naomi broke it. ¡°Are you telling me ¡ he nearly died of severe brain damage ¡ because he did this to himself?¡±
Para and the skeletons nodded.
Naomi turned to Gilbert. ¡°Whatever you do, save up a little aura juice after Zarian wakes up. He¡¯s going to need it when I¡¯m done with him.¡±
Bianca leaned over to Hannah. ¡°Do you think I can convince Naomi to hold back until I ask Zarian about my ss selection?¡±
Hannah took a long look at Naomi. Then she shook her head.
Bianca pouted. ¡°Please don¡¯t hurt Zarian too badly. I want his help to select my ss! It¡¯s important. Oh, and we have to check with him before we open those treasure chests over there. Then you can hurt him!¡±
Bianca pointed to another part of the wall Naomi hadn¡¯t examined. Indeed, there were three treasure chests waiting there.
She didn¡¯t give a damn about them, which was clear on her pissed off face.
¡°Or we¡¯ll just wait for when he recovers from another near death experience,¡± Bianca mumbled.
Gilbert shook his head at their unconscious party leader. ¡°Don¡¯t wake up, chief. It ain¡¯t worth it.¡±
Fortunately and unfortunately, Zarian returned to full consciousness with a healed brain. He barely got to say anything before he faced a terrifying force: Naomi¡¯s anger.
Chapter 22: Some Good Gains
After facing Naomi¡¯s anger, Zarian had Para guide everyone to a bathroom with a working sink, toilet, and shower. They washed their hands, cleaned off their faces, and picked off pieces of flesh and chitin from their bodies.
Then they dove into the food and drinks in the banquet room. The food was cold, but it tasted good after having bug-meat for a long while. It was nothing like Foodie¡¯s cooking, of course.
Bianca burst into tears and made an oath to be stronger just so they could free Foodie and have more of her cooking. Zarian and the others understood the sentiment very well.
They grewfortable sitting around a dining table and talking about their experiences in the White Spider Dungeon.
They hadn¡¯t known exactly what they would face before going into a dungeon. Granted, they were sorely missing key information as outsiders, and the lore from Foodie had only scratched the surface. So Zarian was d that the dungeon crawl had worked out the way it did.
¡°The System yed music for you? While in a life and death match with a giant spider monster? Who was the boss of this ce? It yed MUSIC!?¡± Gilbert was struggling toprehend the gamey nature of the dungeon. ¡°That¡¯s just downright silly!¡±
¡°Not as silly as this fool giving himself magical lobotomy and calling it training,¡± Naomi grouched before tearing apart into another sandwich, as if she wanted the meal to hurt while she ate.
Zarian shook his head at her, chuckling. Damn, that woman was intimidating.
She held me up and shook me for ten minutes straight. While giving me a Marine-style ass chewing.At the very least, Zarian could recall bits and pieces of all that happened. His memory was foggy during the more routine dungeon crawl and mob fights, but the boss fight itself remained mostly crystal clear to him.
He owed Reiki another dance, which he mentioned aloud, holding nothing back.
¡°Zarian, we haven¡¯t known each other long, but it¡¯s been long enough.¡± Bianca gave him a small smile and ced her hand on his. ¡°I don¡¯t rmend pursuing a big spider monsterdy even if she has some nice dance moves. Are you ready to handle hundreds or thousands of spider babies?¡±
Hannah broke out into arge fit ofughter, which was so uncharacteristic, Gilbert even erupted into a hearty bellow. It was contagious, affecting Bianca soon enough before Naomi let out a few chuckles.
Zarian grinned at them, enjoying the ambiance despite the horrors they¡¯d suffered.
Then Naomi shifted the mood by tossing out the card she¡¯d been holding in her hand for a while now.
It slid to a stop closer to Zarian and revealed some information, like a business card would. The text was in fine calligraphy on good quality paper.
Ekri the TailorSilk Felt Delights - Tailor ShopWhite Silk District - Carrowmore¡®Look your best for every adventure. It could be yourst.¡¯
Naomi exined her encounter with a scarily powerful man-spider ¨C a different take on drider in the Infinita Star System. Zarian and the others listened intently. Maybe the others might¡¯ve noticed, or maybe not, but there were a couple of details that felt a little too vague in Naomi¡¯s story.
Zarian had a hard time imagining Naomi and Ekri just sitting and talking and nothing else. He was a little curious if there was more that Naomi wasn¡¯t revealing, since Ekri sounded fairly entric, but he didn¡¯t press her on it.
¡°This is the second time we¡¯ve met unfathomably powerful creatures in the evil alignment,¡± Hannah said. ¡°This is the second time we¡¯ve survived these encounters when we should be dead.¡±
¡°Is evil really evil here?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°Evil can take any shape or form,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°I know we¡¯re in a gamey, fantasy setting with these level ups and stats. But true evil isn¡¯t always overt. The Devil can be the most patient creature there is when he wants to cause havoc.¡±
¡°I¡¯m evil,¡± Zarian said, ¡°and yet I¡¯m just doing my thing.¡±
The others, except for Naomi, seemed to struggle with Zarian¡¯s ¡®evil¡¯ im.
Naomi looked intensely into Zarian¡¯s eyes before ncing down at Ekri¡¯s calling card.
¡°I didn¡¯t get as much out of him as I should¡¯ve, but if the Grimrock Warlock is as vain and troubled as he makes her sound, maybe we can use that,¡± Naomi said. ¡°Insecurity can work in all sorts of ways.¡±
¡°It¡¯s pretty simple to me.¡± Bianca took a sip from her mug. ¡°Once the father passed, the mother lost it. Then she saw her daughter was following in her father¡¯s footsteps and was probably going to do way better than her. So the mother had a freak out from worry, envy, jealousy, all the above. She had all her goblins corrupted at Grimrock, then she enved Foodie to keep her there forever.¡±
Zarian and the others gawked at Bianca.
¡°What? It¡¯ll make for a good Telenov,¡± Bianca said. ¡°So, obviously, her greatest weakness is Foodie. Maybe her second greatest weakness is feeling old and ugly and on the verge of death, like most older women. No offense, Hannah.¡±
¡°I¡¯m only thirty,¡± Hannah said.
¡°Yes, yes, senorita, you¡¯re so young.¡± Bianca smiled brightly.
Hannah looked like she wanted to kill Bianca, and Zarian didn¡¯t me her.
As for the insecurity weakness of the Grimrock Warlock, Zarian didn¡¯t think the info seemed to change much of anything.
Granted, maybe the point wasn¡¯t to gain some secret weapon that would solve all of their issues. Maybe the point was having a psychological weapon in their back pocket that could get into the minds of their future enemy.
Their conversations carried on for a few hours, flowing from one topic to another. Zarian talked in length about his grimoire experiments to dual-cast spells, which led to his ill-advised lobotomy training, and then the fight with Reiki.
The others were amazed how his Honored Outsider status could provide some extra perks from the System. That and he had the attention of the gods.
Shadowfell was a known element prior to entering the dungeon, but now they knew for sure she was paying attention to them, or to Zarian, at least. That was a little nerve whacking. Her own tears could twist creatures into bigger monsters than they were already.
The outsiders seemed immune to that. What if Shadowfell tried to remove their immunity or do worse?
Hisscreep was a new factor, one of the other Evil Gods. Naomi mentioned how Ekri prayed to that god, so maybe Hisscreep was popr among spider folks.
Then there were Purgehunt and Purehome, a god and goddess of good. They¡¯d disapprove of Zarian¡¯s actions against the boss. Maybe they didn¡¯t like how he won or became friends with Reiki toward the end.
¡°The lore in the Infinita Star System is crazy,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Because those are some badass names that tell you a lot about them. How much you¡¯ll bet that Purgehunt and Purehome are married?¡±
It wasn¡¯t much of a bet. They could all draw to that conclusion and guesstimate that those two might be the most puritanical of the gods. Zarian having their disapproval concerned Hannah and Gilbert the most, even though the big man admitted he didn¡¯t think they were true capital G ¡®gods,¡¯ but magical idols iming as such.
Bianca waved it off. ¡°It¡¯s whatever, right? Evil is not exactly super evil here. So maybe good isn¡¯t exactly super good here.¡±
¡°Ahem,¡± Hannah coughed into her fist.
Bianca¡¯s expression turned wooden.
¡°Ahem,¡± Hannah coughed into her fist again.
Zarian looked between the two women. He nced at Gilbert, but he was paying attention to something in the corner.
¡°So, Zarian, we haven¡¯t known each other long, but I think it¡¯s been long enough.¡± Bianca smiled nervously.
¡°What is it?¡±
She told him the ss she wanted to pick. It was called Light Bringer Child, an epic ss that would change Searing sh to Searing sh Array and provide one umon trait and one rare trait along with two skills of her choice. It sounded great to Zarian until she mentioned how it was aligned with good.
¡°Well, I want to say congrats to you guys even if I¡¯m repeating myself,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I¡¯m d you went all out and grew so much.¡±
¡°It was only a few levels,¡± Gilbert muttered as the only one who didn¡¯t have a ss or an option to select one yet. He was Level 9.
¡°The hard work and new attitude matters more,¡± Zarian said.
¡°The new attitude especially.¡± Naomi sipped from her mug. ¡°The moment you all appeared here, you looked more like killers. And based on your stories, you three really pushed it.¡±
¡°Would¡¯ve been nice to have more experience and more levels, but the minimap saved our bacon a bunch, so I can¡¯tin,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°And I won¡¯tin if you want me to choose a rare neutral type!¡± Bianca said.
This tale has been uwfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
¡°Choose the epic ss. It sounds like a good fit for you, pun intended.¡± Zarian chuckled.
¡°Oh, thank god, Shadowfell, or whoever. I really wanted it.¡± Before anyone could correct Bianca on who she should thank, she selected the epic ss.
Zarian watched her flinch in her chair and take in a sharp breath. Then she slunk back and zoned out, now focused on picking her new skills and looking over her information.
Meanwhile, Zarian felt something from her that ¡ wasn¡¯t exactly to his liking. She felt more strict now, more controlling, more oppressive.
She felt like a potential enemy.
Bianca blinked rapidly a few times. Then she focused sharply on Zarian and stared him down. Her gaze held an intensity in it that was almost triggering.
She frowned at him.
Zarian held a neutral expression on his face.
¡°Interesting,¡± Hannah said, breaking the silence. ¡°Now that we have one good aligned and one evil aligned, we can see the dynamics y out.¡±
¡°It feels like you¡¯re going to throw me in the mmer, Bianca,¡± Zarian said. ¡°What did I do to deserve your judgment?¡±
¡°It feels like you¡¯re going to burn down a church and take candy from a baby,¡± Bianca replied. ¡°I need to stay vignt, just to be sure.¡±
Zarian blinked. ¡°I have taken candy from a baby once when I was five. I guess I¡¯m guilty as charged.¡±
Bianca red at him for a while before breaking into a fit of giggles and waving it off. ¡°Okay, so it feels like there¡¯s this big, evil presence across from me. But once I get past that, it bes ¡ normal-ish. Still all dark and evil, but I can get used to it.¡±
¡°Same, but from the other side of the coin,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°She¡¯s a do-gooder, and it¡¯s kind of over the top and way too strict. But as long as she lets me be, we can coexist. It¡¯s definitely a little trippy when everything was fine earlier.¡±
Gilbert let out a big whoop of a breath. ¡°Okay, well, this good and evil alignment stuff has a major effect on us. I¡¯m definitely sticking to neutral, because I thought you two were going to fight like cats and dogs, and I don¡¯t want any of that nonsense messing with me.¡±
¡°This is still troubling,¡± Hannah said. ¡°I don¡¯t know how advanced Infinita¡¯s societies are in the humanities, but if it¡¯s truly based on medieval fantasy, many people would murder and torture for the most ridiculous reasons. To have these two morally opposing forcespelling their sides to want to fight each other is social maniption of the grandest order. Almost like a chess game between those who im ¡®good¡¯ and those who im ¡®evil¡¯.¡±
¡°What¡¯s the end goal?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°It doesn¡¯t have to have an end goal,¡± Zarian said, grabbing another sandwich. ¡°As long as the gods or whoever is in control remain in control, they can perpetuate this as long as they want.¡±
¡°You think so?¡± Hannah asked.
Zarian shrugged, took a bite from the sandwich, and swallowed. ¡°Yeah, I think so. It¡¯s just like how our old world operates. People up top are doing all they can to control the people at the bottom. Making them choose sides and work against each other blinds them to what¡¯s above.¡±
¡°Foodie said that gods have died from the Sixth Divine War of this era,¡± Hannah said.
¡°I didn¡¯t say they can¡¯t be petty and self-destructive. And you just said it, the ¡®Sixth¡¯ Divine War, which means this had happened multiple times. I don¡¯t need to be a genius to think we¡¯re pieces on a board between egomaniacs.¡±
Zarian chewed on his sandwich some more before speaking again.
¡°Granted, I like this version of the board betterpared to the old one. I have powerful magic that I can grow. Maybe I¡¯ll get to smack a god or two down the road.¡±
¡°Zarian, you¡¯re so sphemous. So bad,¡± Bianca said, shaking her head with a smile. ¡°Still kind of cool, though. No amount of goodness in me can blind me to that.¡±
¡°Okay, this is getting too deep and weird and Anti-Christ for me. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this, but let¡¯s go back to the silly magic game stuff,¡± Gilbert suggested.
Zarian and the others agreed, although Hannah looked like she wanted to dive deeper into the morals and philosophies and stakes. The big picture stuff.
She was the most curious about how all of this worked overall with the System. Zarian was curious, too, but down-to-earth magic stuff was really fun and hard to deny.
He led everyone to the magic chests waiting in the corner and flipped them open one after the other without ceremony. Bianca looked at him like he stole tithe from a church and made out with a nun.
Apparently, he should¡¯ve been more ceremonious with the treasures.
I¡¯m going to enjoy being evil if Bianca keeps giving me those hrious do-gooder expressions. Zarian smiled at her, and she shook her head and gave him a tut-tut.
Inside one treasure chest, they found what looked like a shrunken tower shield. Zarian pulled it out, and the shield expanded to its full size. Apparently, the treasure chests used warped spatial magic to contain any sort of loot.
Nice.
Zarian tried to take the chest into Para¡¯s dimensional storage, but the object resisted, staying welded to the floor. Damn, the System had thought ahead of Zarian¡¯s cheesy attempt.
Other clever people must¡¯ve tried this trick and did so much irreparable damage the System patched it.
The disappointment didn¡¯tst for long. Zarian took out all the items from the three treasure chests. It was a nice haul.
¡°This one¡¯s yours, Gilbert,¡± Zarian said, after exining its info.
¡°Thanks chief.¡±
The next set of loot was a long-sleeve top and bottom with armored tes attached to silky material:
¡°I find it curious that this scaling mechanic is involved in so many areas of our new lives,¡± Hannah said. ¡°Is it because as we grow stronger, our abilities and equipment can keep up with us until we find better recements?¡±
¡°Or if you have a really strong stat, you can min-max your way into being a menace with the right abilities and gear,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I like designs like these. The System encourages unique styles by rewarding specialities instead of generalists. Everyone¡¯s going to have a weakness. Everyone¡¯s going to have advantages. Makes it more fun that way.¡±
Bianca opened and closed her mouth, uncertain of what she had to say.
¡°Yes, Bianca, this means you¡¯re my biggest weakness right now.¡± Zarian smiled at her. ¡°I¡¯ll adapt and ovee. It¡¯ll be good for me. With your help, maybe I can get better at dealing with you tyrants of light.¡±
¡°Hmph! Well, if you think you can handle it, I¡¯ll sh you whenever!¡± Bianca dered.
¡°Pause,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°Whose the suit going to?¡±
Everyone looked interested. Their current clothing was nothing more than dirty rags.
¡°Hannah,¡± Zarian dered, passing it to her.
A few envious res went in her direction. Hannah looked at Zarian with eyes wide with surprise.
He shrugged back at her. She was the only one who hadn¡¯t gotten a magic item yet. She needed the most protection, too. She¡¯d chosen a utility ss to support the entire party instead of choosing a ss that would¡¯ve improved her direct fighting capabilities.
¡°Thank you ¡ Zarian,¡± Hannah said. ¡°You¡¯re, um, too kind.¡±
Zarian waved her off and moved onto the next.
¡°Gilbert, it must be your birthday. Here¡¯s another one for you,¡± Zarian said charmingly.
¡°Evil,¡± Bianca whispered, eyes narrowed.
The big guy looked nervously at the spider-shaped amulet held by a thick, silky rope dangling from Zarian¡¯s hand. He looked at Zarian as if waiting for a trap to spring.
¡°I¡¯m getting way too much, chief,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Nonsense!¡± Zarian leaned closer and patted Gilbert¡¯s muscr arm. ¡°Look at you. Big. Strong-looking. And the way you like to fight up front is admirable. Yes ¡ yes ¡ you truly are my tank.¡±
Zarian forced the amulet onto Gilbert as the big man held his head low. With that out of the way, Zarian told the others to rest up.
They were going to run the White Spider Dungeon again as a full group. He even nned to have them see Reika.
They took turns showering, Bianca going first since she was the youngest. When Zarian and others heard her shout in pure glee about the high pressure and temperature control runes, they had another round of drinks.
¡°Sir, let me help you with your hair next time,¡± Naomi said from across the bunk room they were sharing.
Zarian and Gilbert took one side while thedies took the other. There was a pull curtain in the middle of the room to separate the sexes, which was a thoughtful addition from the dungeon.
¡°Oh, good idea! Want to do our hair, Hannah?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°I¡¯m honestly terrible at that. I¡¯ve always paid heavily at my salon.¡±
¡°I did a lot of odd jobs all over and hair is one of them. We¡¯ll work it out together.¡±
¡°I can do my own,¡± Gilbert grunted.
¡°Should I take your silence as a no, sir?¡± Naomi asked stiffly.
¡°Sorry, I was just thinking of thest time I had my hair taken care of. Been a while, y¡¯know? So, the answer is yes, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±
Eventually, the others fell asleep except Zarian, who remained awake and deep in thought. A lot of incredible things happened over the course of a day. And there was more waiting for them, which had Zarian both excited and bothered.
Ariana should be here, experiencing it all with him. Thinking of her was the reason Zarian hesitated in opening his achievement.
He felt a part of himself was missing after years of Ariana being there during the few good times and the many bad times.
She¡¯s somewhere out there. Once I find her, I¡¯ll tell her everything in detail.
Feeling a little better, Zarian moved his attention toward a new addition to his profile other than the achievement. The new part of his profile had shown up during the boss fight. He still had the notification for it.
He pulled it up:
Zarian smiled. There was a lot to like about the Star System. Being able to advance skills after proficient use was a fun feature.
Unfortunately, all progress was lost once the skill was altered or changed under a ss selection.
Hannah¡¯s Basic Enchantment sacrificed all of its levels to get Enchantment, Level 1. Bianca¡¯s Searing sh suffered the same consequence when it became Searing sh Array, Level 1.
However, their new skills were probably more advanced than the old versions. It was a win overall.
Personal Level 40 would introduce them to their first ss advancement selection. Zarian wondered if any of his current skills would get reced. Or would he get new skills added to his profile?
¡°What happens when you max out your alpha skill section?¡± Zarian asked under his breath, staring up at the ceiling. All he heard in response was Gilbert¡¯s rumbling snores.
Moving on, Zarian finally opened up his newest achievement.
SSS Dance with White Silk Reiki (Epic): Your performance with Reiki drew the direct attention of the gods even while still a newbie. With this epic achievement, you are granted a new skill: Summon Spectral Spiders!>
Amazed, Zarian pulled up his entire profile to see how much he¡¯d grown in the Infinita Star System.
<>Origins: Zarian Darkrun, 21 yr-old Human, Honored Outsider.ss: Dark Wizard Apprentice (Epic).Level: 27Alignment: Evil +1Traits: Dark Affinity (Rare), Overpower (Epic), Identify (Rare).Alpha Skills (3/3): Straight Darkness +1 (Level 10), Grimoire of Dark Arts 101 (Level 7), Parasite Cloak (Level 9).Beta Skills (1/12): Summon Spectral Spiders (Level 1).Willpower: 84Strength: 22Agility: 30Wonder: 53Mysticism: 190Free: 0Achievements: Honored Outsider (Divine), SSS Dance with White Silk Reika (Epic).Spells: Bloody Lifesteal (Umon), Raise Advancing Skeletons (Rare).<>
Chapter 23: Dungeon Reruns
Zarian acted with a more rxed attitude at the start of the next dungeon run. He made sure everyone stuck together this time around. After the craziness of thest day, he gave the party a chance to settle into a slower but more thorough groove.
This was a temporary state, because there was a maddening degree of new things to y with. There were Hannah¡¯s new runic abilities and Bianca¡¯s shy new powers. Naomi had be a psionic kickboxer, which was interesting to incorporate into their party battle rotation and budding tactics.
Zarian was also being patient because of Gilbert. The big man kept looking over his shoulder nervously, catching Zarian¡¯s wide-open gaze.
¡°Tank, tank, tank, tank,¡± Zarian moaned like a zombie.
Gilbert shuddered before looking forward in search of more dungeon monsters to devastate. Zarian¡¯s party was having an easier timepared to yesterday when they first walked these alien and magical hallways filled with violent spiders.
This wasn¡¯t because of Zarian, his seven remaining skeletons, or Naomi.
This was because Gilbert, Bianca, and Hannah were simply way better than the people they were prior. The new sses were an immense help, yes, but their mentalities were worth even more.
They struck at spiders with more aggression and teamwork. Seeing that warmed Zarian¡¯s evil aligned heart.
Things got a little boring as he walked at the back, not doing much. During the biggest lull periods, Zarian studied the special fire spell pages. He even checked out a new avable spell section. It was moreplex than the special fire section.
It had something to do with ¡ gravity ¡ but a weird and destructive version of it. It almost made Zarian want to shudder, so he went back to studying the fire spell.
Thankfully, Zarian could maintain his skeleton spell and study diligently at the same time. His self-inflicted lobotomy might¡¯ve had a positive effect for working with spells, after all.
He wouldn¡¯t do it again.
Not without some way to keep Naomi off his back.
¡°Whoa, hey, I did it! I¡¯m Level 10!¡± Gilbert shouted in the middle of a fight. ¡°But damn, did it take a long time!¡±
¡°Naomi, skeletons, please take over,¡± Zarian ordered.
The psion and skeletal goblins rushed ahead into a skirmish against stalkers, soldiers, and shooters. They easily dominated the spiders, especially with how the skeletons benefited from Hannah¡¯s newest enchantment: Reinforcement +1.
The skeletons could take a beating and keep trucking through better than before.
Gilbert, Bianca, and Hannah ran back with beaming smiles. Gilbert looked more like a big kid, excited for a gift he¡¯d wanted for a while.
Zarian didn¡¯t me him.
They had a penalty for rerunning the dungeon crawl so soon. They gained less experience, fewer rewards, and no minimap.
They¡¯d been wandering around for a while, going up and down the corridors while leaving marks to avoid backtracking. Eventually, they would find the boss door again.
Gilbert had to go through hell to get to Level 10, which happened at the perfect time. So perfect, Zarian burst into madughter, the type an evil viin would make.
¡°Hehehahahahahahahaha!¡±
Gilbert lost some of his cheer.
¡°Evil,¡± Bianca hissed under her breath.
Hannah sighed. ¡°I knew it. He¡¯s been too quiet and inactive all day. Prepare for the worst.¡±
¡°It¡¯s going to be okay, everyone. It¡¯s all going to be okay. Now, Gilbert, what¡¯s your best choice?¡± Zarian rubbed his hands together.
¡°Thank God, it¡¯s neutral,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°It¡¯s also epic.¡±
¡°Another one, huh?¡± Zarian hummed. He could finally bring up an idea he had after seeing not one, not two, but three epic sses in his party other than him. ¡°Foodie really tipped things in our favor.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡± Hannah asked sharply.
Zarian looked past them as Naomi flipped through the air and struck a spider with a killer kick to its head. Her Mind Spike, tactics, and grace was much deadlier now. She eradicated spiders faster than an entire squad of skeletons.
It was unfortunate she didn¡¯t pick her ss after they¡¯d met Foodie.
Zarian exined his reasoning: ¡°Foodie¡¯s entire presence was a huge game changer for us. Maybe it was her cooking and the stats she gave us. Maybe it was the lore. Maybe it was getting us involved in a main quest. Whatever it was, meeting her while you guys were sub Level 10 was a sign for the System to give you bigger and better sses. That¡¯s my theory.¡±
¡°I see,¡± Hannah murmured.
¡°No amount of evil can stop me from loving our new friend, Foodie,¡± Bianca dered.
¡°Well, whether or not it¡¯s thanks to her, you guys are getting what¡¯s called a War Healer Trainee from me.¡± Gilbert chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s funny. I wanted to be a doctor a while ago. But I doubted I was smart enough for it and did what my old man wanted, joining up with the boys in blue. I don¡¯t know if the System is throwing my choices back at my face or if it¡¯s giving me another chance.¡±
Zarian nodded along, seeing how this was an important moment for Gilbert. Once the big man selected the ss and picked up his new abilities, Zarian unleashed the sleeping demon inside.
He walked over onto the spider side, Para batting the monsters away from him. Then he turned around and faced the other four.
¡°Heroes!¡± Zarian shouted grandly. ¡°You have the misfortune of facing me and my monsters while you all are so weak! Prepare to suffer!¡±
¡°EVIL!¡± Bianca screamed with a little too much enthusiasm.
The others sighed as Zarian threw a giant, dark wrench into their dungeon crawl rerun. It might¡¯ve seemed intimidating, even.
Then Zarian suffered a Mind Spike from a distance. He stumbled back, wincing from the pain, blood leaking down one nostril.
¡°So that¡¯s what it feels like,¡± Zarian muttered.
¡°I hit you with a mild one,¡± Naomi said, juking around lunging spiders. ¡°Should I turn it up?¡±
¡°Sure,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to work the hardest from now on, Naomi. Harder than me and everyone else with epic sses.¡±
Naomi didn¡¯t respond as she rushed straight at Zarian. Para swung out her tendrils in Naomi¡¯s way, forcing her to divert and try to nk around.
Meanwhile, Zarian ducked behind an enormous spider before Bianca hit him with her Searing sh Array. She could conjure multiple orbs of light and shoot them out with more uracy and less waste.
She was trigger-happy with that new skill of hers, especially when aiming at Zarian.
Hannah wasn¡¯t a big upfront threat, but he had to prepare to face whatever she engineered for an advantage with her runic abilities. Gilbert was a wildcard because Zarian hadn¡¯t waited to hear about his new powers.
Maybe they might impress him.
Naomi kept trying to get in his face. Abination of parasitic tendrils and darkness pirs kept Naomi back.
There was a dy between Mind Spikes on the same target. It became a game of keep-away so that Zarian could avoid the stronger versions of her psychic power.
¡°I¡¯ll work my butt off, sir,¡± Naomi said, while chasing him down. ¡°I¡¯m not unfamiliar with having to climb my way up at a disadvantage. And that builds character, I reckon. I¡¯m going to need that if I want to be strong.¡±
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
¡°Good,¡± Zarian said, before taking another distant Mind Spike to the head.
He handled it better this time. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of the self-inflicted lobotomy or if Naomi was holding back.
Either way, his party got into the game of fighting him and the spiders in one big mosh pit of a magic battle. Zarian yed the long game to see them use their abilities.
The biggest issue was their coordination with so many moving elements. Gilbert, Hannah, and Bianca knew how to work well together. Naomi, however, didn¡¯t know how to work with them. She got in their way, and they got in her way, while Zarian kept leveraging the pressure on them.
The skeletons stayed out of it mostly except for corralling the spiders. Once Zarian saw enough, he moved in for the proverbial kill.
He knocked out Hannah and Bianca first. Gilbert went down next after getting thrashed into a wall by a blunt beam of darkness.
Then it became a one-on-one between him and Naomi, which pushed him further to the extremes with each periodic Mind Spike.
He realized her power disrupted his focus because it could happen at random. That was worse than consistent brain pain.
He could adapt and ovee if it was consistent, but when Naomi used feints or waited longer than usual, the difficulty grew for Zarian.
Shended a good kick to the side of his ribs, then she added a Mind Spike that could¡¯ve neutralized him if she was going all out. For a one-trick pony, that trick was devastating when pushed to its extremes.
Unfortunately for her, she sacrificed her own safety and suffered a grab and m from his cloak. Para didn¡¯t like the Mind Spikes and made it known by softening Naomi until she went unconscious.
Zarian stood in the middle of the hallway, filled with unconscious humans and dead spider monsters. His skeletons rattled and pped while on the sidelines, having watched the whole thing.
Zarian chuckled hoarsely while holding his side. Yeah, Naomi had broken a few ribs. ¡°Perfect. This is my party. Once I get them to my level, maybe we¡¯ll be overpowered together.¡±
He would be the most overpowered, of course. But having a party who could back him, elevate him, and keep up with him was well worth the time to develop them.
¡°Let¡¯s wake them up, heal up, and throw them at Reiki next.¡±
A few hourster, Zarian and his party were in the grand boss atrium. He was sitting on a makeshift leather chair with a high back, all formed from Para¡¯s shapeshifting flesh. Next to him, his skeletons sat, legs crossed, bodies rattling with excitement.
They were watching a gentle but painful beat down of the party via the boss monster.
Zarian hadn¡¯t known if Reiki would listen to his request when he reentered her room with the others. It all came down to how much Reiki liked Zarian.
Apparently, she liked him well enough. She handled his party members gently, even if it meant suffering Naomi¡¯s brutal punches, kicks, and Mind Spikes.
Reiki handled them so well Zarian could look away andmit some time to studying or practicing dual-casting. The pain and difficulty were still there, but he was doing better than yesterday.
He stopped when he hit the threshold on his pain tolerance that would¡¯ve led to self-lobotomy again. Instead of risking Naomi¡¯s anger, he switched his focus to the quirky problem of alpha skills and beta skills.
His newest skill, Summon Spectral Spiders, was in the alpha skill section now. After some earlier testing, Zarian now knew beta skills were much harder to use.
Either the System gave beta skills a debuff, or the System gave alpha skills a major buff. It was more likely thetter than the former, where the System gave assistance on alpha skills.
Here was the kicker: alpha skills and beta skills could swap around.
Zarian tried it earlier by exchanging his Straight Darkness +1 with Summon Spectral Spiders. Just like that, he had an easier time using the new spider skill, producing dozens of ghostly, translucent spiders, each the size of his palm.
When he tried to use the beta version of Straight Darkness +1, the difficulty was impressive. His darkness was nowhere near potent as it would be in the alpha skill section.
I can still use it, Zarian thought, conjuring a de of darkness into his hand. It¡¯s harder, yes, but it¡¯s not impossible.
It was more draining and more focus-intensive using beta skills.
Zarian imagined most adventurers wouldn¡¯t even dare to use their beta skills duringbat. Maybe they would swap them in and out with alpha skills during lull periods, or maybe they reserved beta skills for secondary uses.
Can I switch skills around duringbat?
Zarian stood up. He ran into the middle of the fight and told everyone to ignore him. He tried to switch his darkness and spider skills again. It wouldn¡¯t work.
He ran out of the fight and returned to sitting next to the audience of skeletons, Para back to her role as a grand leathery chair. Zarian tried switching his skills around again and again.
It worked, which meant this involved a proximity limit instead of a general situational limit. As long as he could get to a rtively safe spot, he could swap around alpha and beta skills.
With a chuckle, Zarian propped his ankle onto his knee and leaned back. He returned Straight Darkness +1 to its alpha position. He concentrated on summoning some spiders and maintaining them while keeping his skeletons upright.
The exercise burned his brain up, but it was a good burn.
¡°Enough,¡± Reiki hissed.
She knocked down Gilbert, Bianca, and Hannah in rapid session. She struck Naomi with a small torrent of web and bound her to the floor. Then the boss turned her monstrous human-like face to Zarian and grinned widely. ¡°Final Dance! Final Dance!¡±
¡°Okay, but can you teach us some of your moves and give us pointers the next time around? You¡¯re a savvy fighter for a big spider boss monster, y¡¯know?¡± Zarian stood from his parasite chair and smiled shamelessly.
He liked Reiki, and he was going to use her for everything she could offer. Reiki didn¡¯t seem to mind.
¡°Yes!¡±
¡°Then I¡¯ll give you my best.¡±
Zarian ordered the skeletons to break Naomi free and take everyone to his side. Then he dismissed the skeletons and returned his grimoire to his soul. He dismissed the spectral spiders hanging about. He drew in all the nearby darkness and prepared himself.
Reiki began her dance. It matched the boss battle music, or the music matched her. Her movements were graceful, joyful, and mesmerizing despite her monstrous body.
Then she sprung into the air, whirling round and round before stopping at a hover. Glowing bands of magic spread from her body and reshaped themselves into balls of mystical web. Then the web balls grew and grew, bing as big as her body.
¡°Dance of the Final Web Entombment!¡± Reiki sang.
Zarian smirked. ¡°Straight Darkness: de Artillery.¡±
Reiki made it rain a meteor shower of webbed entombment. None of it reached Zarian or his party.
He sent up a torrent ofrge, highly dense, dark des. He cut down her Dance of the Final Web Entombment. He cut down Reiki far faster than their first battle.
Afterward, Zarian and his party returned to the rest area. They ate, drank, cleaned up, andmitted to some deeper self-maintenance. Bianca and Hannah arranged their hair into braids. Naomi twisted her hair into locks in a short time because of her many points in Agility, then she worked on Zarian.
Everyone else stopped to stare when they saw Zarian all cleaned up after Naomi¡¯s help.
¡°You look like a frat boy without the beard,¡± Zarian said to Gilbert after the big man finished shaving with a sharpened dark knife.
¡°You look like you¡¯re still in high school, chief,¡± Gilbert retorted.
¡°Don¡¯t ruin this, Gilbert!¡± Bianca shouted. ¡°He¡¯s perfectly handsome and mature.¡±
Zarian tried not to let Bianca¡¯spliments get to him. She was a do-gooder, after all. But the smile on his face refused to go away. He thanked Naomi again for her help.
They took turns cleaning their ragged clothing and using a me-coated weapon enchanted by Hannah for drying. Then they went to bed in the bunk room. The next morning, they had breakfast and discussed the nuances of their abilities and how to better make them all work together.
The food and drinks were always stocked. The dungeon didn¡¯t run out. Once they were ready, they reran the dungeon again.
They reran it again on the next day.
On the following days, they reran it again and again.
The experience was low. They earned no new rewards.
But the practice was worth it, especially when Reiki mentored them. She would barely speak, but she got her point across anyway.
Somehow, Reiki had knowledge from some distant past, which probably had something to do with Carrowmore, and used that to teach Zarian¡¯s party how to move and swing weapons. Naomi took to Reiki¡¯s lessons the best when it came down to footwork and magic kickboxing. Bianca enjoyed the sword y a lot.
Zarian, Gilbert, and Hannah saw some overall improvements in their techniques ¨C Zarian learned how edge alignment mattered when swinging a sword made of metal or darkness. His cuts came out cleaner and easier under Reiki¡¯s tutge, leveraging the 30 points he had in Agility.
Then Reiki ordered Zarian and Naomi to dance together. Why? She wouldn¡¯t say. It was a little awkward at first, but after all the help Reiki had given them, they couldn¡¯t say no.
Thankfully, Naomi was a superb dancer. She made Zarian look good even when he barely knew what he was doing. If it wasn¡¯t for the points in Agility, he would look like a total buffoon. Naomi didn¡¯t seem to care and enjoyed the dance with him.
When Bianca yanked Hannah and Gilbert into the impromptu dance session, things became more rxed and humorous from there. The teasing was endless, especially from Bianca.
Of course, Zarian returned the favor by summoning a spectral spider to dance on the back of her head. He had to run away afterward when Bianca turned to chasing and shing him a bunch.
On theirst day in the White Spider Dungeon, there were two unique changes.
Zarian and his party members received an update from the System:
Zarian had gained the most with 5 new points. Everyone else had 4 new points.
They celebrated that morning even though they would¡¯ve gotten more if Foodie had been cooking for them.
Naomi tried to hide it, but it was clear she was the most upset. She needed more stat points to keep up with the epic sses of the others. She needed double the amount, even.
The next curious change was with Reiki. She was acting strangely when they entered her boss room.
There was no boss battle music ying this time.
The ruler of the dungeon was gazing over the edge of her tform. When Zarian and his party joined Reiki¡¯s side, she pointed a spider leg down into the darkness and looked intently at Zarian.
Without question, Zarian jumped down, shocking his party and making Reiki smile broadly. After a minute of descending, with Para acting as a simple parachute, Zarian hit the next floor below.
A pearl-shaped sphere waited on a pedestal in the middle of the subterranean space, pushing away the darkness with a soft white glow. The sphere emitted a pulsating beat like a heart.
Zarian drew closer until he was in front of the sphere. It was the size of his head and gave off an inviting heat.
A gold notification appeared in front of him with a soft ¡®ding.¡¯
Chapter 24: Castles and Caverns
Weeks after crawling the White Spider Dungeon, Zarian and his party saw daylight for the first time sinceing to Infinita. They were following the bend of a tunnel when a crack of light illuminated a rock wall in front of them.
The entire party stopped to stare at the light. Bianca barely held back a sob.
Zarian let out a disagreeable growl. He fled back into the dark embrace of the tunnel, almost like a vampire.
Bianca tried to coax him out into the ursed light. Progress was slow since she couldn¡¯t help from teasing him a little.
Naomi took the direct approach and tossed Zarian over her shoulder. She stopped while he was fussing and wriggling about, giving him a chance to break away if he truly wanted to. When he went still and epted his fate, she walked him out onto the surface before putting him down. The betrayal hurt, but not as much as being outside and under the sun.
It burns.
Zarian had never known such misery until now. He couldn¡¯t even see because the light was so bright and painful for his eyes.
It burns, and I hate it. But fine, I¡¯ll endure.
It took a while for Zarian¡¯s vision to adjust, and for him to get used to the touch of the alien suns. His skin prickled and itched for minutes even while under the Parasite Cloak.Gilbert¡¯s Healing Force reached out and helped him with the irritation of being sunburnt. In return, Zarian thanked him, even if the words came out disgruntled.
Eventually, the initial shock faded. The bright sunlight became a little more bearable. His Dark Affinity adjusted, even if it felt heavily oppressed.
The view was actually worth seeing once Zarian¡¯s vision improved. He needed his hood up with darkness gathered around his face and the rest of his body, but he still came around to thinking positively from the sight.
The inhabitants of Corma weren¡¯t lying when they called their home the World of Castles and Caverns. The cavern part was evident after so much time spent underground. The castle part, however, was unbelievable, breathtaking, and beyond simple imagination.
Thends were fused with parts of many castles. Or the parts of many castles were fused with thends.
Parapet walls rose and dipped along the natural curves of thendscape. Lush, viridian trees sprouted from within vine covered towers with gaps between the ancient stone structures. There were gate walls, curtain walls, and even earthy bridges arching over winding creeks flowing from valley to valley, sometimes in circles like moats.
Every direction Zarian looked, he saw the parts of various castles fused with thend. Hell, he even saw it looking back at the hillside with the cave they came out of. The rising hills looked like a row of vine-tangled, bush-covered, verdant fortresses dropped onto each other.
The loose rocks that had fallen free were rectangr stone blocks a castle or fortress would normally be made of. Zarian shuffled to the side and crouched over one block, trying to discern if it was man-made or if it was naturally urring per the rules of the world.
Zarian couldn¡¯t tell. But he saw a microcosm of life on the stone block that lived in the moist and shaded parts away from the sun. It was like how small creatures and lifeforms would live back in the old world.
He spotted something a little bigger scrambling close. It was a lizard-like beast with hard, stone skin. The creature looked like a grounded dragon, honestly.
Zarian used Identify.
The little stone drake tilted its head and watched Zarian carefully. One of Para¡¯s fleshy strands reached for it, scaring off the lizard before she could catch it.
Zarian shook his head under the dense darkness of his hood. When he turned, the motion was slow and careful while his body was covered under the Parasite Cloak.
¡°Jesus, chief, you don¡¯t fit the setting!¡± Gilbert shouted in surprise.
¡°You look like an eldritch horror, if I¡¯m to be honest with you,¡± Hannah said.
¡°I see nothing different other than you hiding your face and body.¡± Bianca pouted.
¡°The clouds are blocky.¡± Naomi pointed up.
Zarian looked up along with the others, putting aside his appearance and gazing far out into the expanse of another world¡¯s sky.
Indeed, the clouds were blocky. Some were fused together, almost like white, fluffy tetris pieces.
The blocky clouds drifted slowly, like any cloud from their old world. But instead of taking random shapes, they purposely conformed to Corma¡¯s surface aesthetics.
¡°The World of Castles and Caverns,¡± Zarian said, amazed. ¡°How do people live when their world is like this?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s assume that through the happenstance of magic, Corma has always been this way,¡± Hannah said in a schrly tone with a slight bamian ent. ¡°We can assume that if the humans of the surface prefer to live on the surface, they could mine for stone from the present castles or renovate what¡¯s set for them already.¡±
¡°They would have to knock some of these walls down. tten a few these hills of stone and earth there. That¡¯s a lot ofbor.¡± Gilbert pointed about as he spoke.
¡°Why?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°For agriculture,¡± Gilbert answered.
¡°We don¡¯t know how they conduct their agriculture,¡± Hannah said. ¡°They might grow them straight out of stone and eat the fruits after a week¡¯s time. They have magic, and magic changes everything we¡¯ve learned from our old world.¡±
Gilbert was stumped after hearing that. They had no idea how anything worked in a world where thend was fused or made of various castle sections.
Zarian wondered if living in the caverns was simpler. Then again, the city nation up north where Ekri the Tailor lived was probably grandiose and far out of touch with what Zarian and his fellow outsiders would know.
¡°Other than the fact that they really have two suns, I like it,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Two suns?¡± Gilbert shaded his eyes with a hand to look.
¡°Si, dos soles. Foodie said one is the Corma Star and the other is the Star Core. Two suns,¡± Bianca said, staring directly into the light.
Naomi sighed. ¡°Can¡¯t say if I¡¯m surprised or not. All this magic business is a doozy when trying to make sense of it.¡±
¡°I hope we have a reasonable amount of moons,¡± Hannah said. ¡°And if there are more than a few, let¡¯s hope they¡¯re spread around the and are at a distance away.¡±
¡°Why?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°This world would have some strong tides along with other unpredictable phenomenons,¡± Hannah exined. ¡°Unless magic defends itpletely from the consequences of nature. But I¡¯m not sure all the physicalws are eliminated since we¡¯re still under the effects of gravity.¡±
Gilbert shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s why the Big G on the home front made our world the way it is, so we can avoid this nonsense. The false idols of this ce need to be more sensible.¡±
Everybody sighed at Gilbert¡¯s refusal to acknowledge the gods of Infinita. He¡¯d double down on his beliefs ever since getting his ss and rerunning crawls through the White Spider Dungeon.
Zarian found it impressive that a man coulde to another world, get shown a whole new way of life that wasn¡¯t possible before, and still think their old world was more magical because of his belief.
This narrative has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Now that¡¯s what you call faith.
¡°What if it¡¯s t, guys?¡± Bianca asked.
Zarian and the others made a silent agreement to ignore that question and start wandering forward. Bianca repeated herself a couple of times before she finally got the message and left the t world idea alone.
Without the tunnels and simple cave systems to follow, Zarian felt a little lost regarding which way to go. He drifted in the direction the cave mouth faced, but at a slower pace for now. He wanted to get a feel of thend, and everyone else seemed to want the same.
Various paths with cobble stone paving or in dirt wound past fields of grass. Low to high protective walls acted as broken barriers along the sides with room on top to stand on.
Sometimes there would be no walls or any castle parts, but when he stepped into an empty field, he felt a hard, stony floor under him. After some thought, he figured this would¡¯ve been the castle courtyard. He became more sure of that when he found old and shattered columns on the edges of the empty field, all of which were covered in vines and moss.
When Zarian focused on the object, a notification informed him he wasn¡¯t looking at anything special. He checked a couple of other items and got what he¡¯d expected.
An ancient block was an ancient block, andmon quality,cking in magic. An ancient wall was an ancient wall andmon quality,cking in magic.
¡°Common,¡± Zarian said.
¡°In quality or rarity?¡± Hannah asked, very interested in what he observed using his Identify trait.
¡°Both, really. But I think the System checks for quality.¡±
¡°It makes sense that it¡¯s amon part of the world. But that also means it¡¯s without much magic, am I right?¡±
¡°Maybe not without magic, but it¡¯s so insignificant you won¡¯t draw anything out of it unless you have a power for controlling blocks.¡±
Hannah extended a hand toward a block about three feet wide and two feet tall. A pale glow shone from her hand and shaped into runes.
In no time at all, she applied one of her runes and lit the surface of the block on fire. She watched the mes until it snuffed out on its own, leaving some scorch marks.
¡°It contains a little aura,¡± Hannah informed. ¡°Or the mes would¡¯ve died outpletely. But the aura it contains isn¡¯trge. This is a natural part of the world, I believe.¡±
Most of Hannah¡¯s runes drained aura from a user or an item to stay powered on for a limited time. Using an enchantment on a random object that wasmon would use up any trace of aura they had, which she¡¯d shown by applying her me Coat on the block.
Nobody was manipting the surroundingnd. Not from what they could tell.
Zarian moved his hand forward, and his Parasite Cloak shifted with him to keep him covered from the ¡®suns.¡¯ He rubbed his hand over the soot-covered surface of the stone block Hannah had burned.
It felt real.
It wasn¡¯t a dream.
He still felt the heat under his palm from Hannah¡¯s enchantment.
¡°It¡¯s all real,¡± Zarian said. ¡°We¡¯re not crazy.¡±
They wandered a little while longer, taking in the strange, alienndscape around them. At some point, they noticed the arc of the suns heading toward the horizon and figured that was west based on the instructions on Foodie¡¯s map. They found an old road of dirt and cobblestones that would take them west.
Then Zarian found the perfect spot to the right of the road that didn¡¯t have any stone blocks or hard structures in the way. It was a seemingly natural plot of dirt, weeds, ferns, and wildflowers between a low parapet wall and a dark river coursing around some stony, tree-covered hillocks.
¡°There,¡± Zarian said. ¡°We can bury them there.¡±
¡°That¡¯s a nice choice,¡± Bianca said, before pointing over to the side at a short tower. ¡°Look, it even has a statue to look over them.¡±
True to her words, a statue held vigil in the tower¡¯s shade. Zarian hadn¡¯t noticed it at first, which was a little weird.
The statue was covered in vines and wild green nt growths. Dapples of sunlight beamed through the nearest branches andnded on its helm and shoulders.
Zarian was going to ignore it at first. Instead, he used Identify. He didn¡¯t expect much until he received an rming notification:
¡°Ready up!¡± Zarian shouted, taking a few steps back. Immediately, Hannah joined his side to act as another pair of eyes.
An array of abilities and powers activated.
Gilbert¡¯s hardened silk tower shield flipped out from the bracer on his forearm. He pulled out his mace from the weapon belt on his waist.
Bianca drew her Lighthouse Falchion with a flourish and conjured beads of light around her. They appeared much faster under the sun than they had while in the caves.
Naomi stepped forward with nothing in hand and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s looking to get smashed into the dirt?¡±
The statue Zarian couldn¡¯t Identify shifted with a loud crack. Then it shifted again with another loud crack. It shifted faster and became more mobile through a series of cracks that loosened up the joints of its hard body.
The statue snapped free of the vines and nt life that had grown over its body from years of stillness. Then its stone gauntlets raised arge sword before turning to face them with a helmet-covered face.
Sparks of pale blue appeared in the visor where the eyes should be.
¡°I don¡¯t know what level it is or what its best alpha skill would be,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I can¡¯t use Identify on it.¡±
Naomi lost some steam from hearing that. Anything Zarian couldn¡¯t identify was likely stronger than him.
Is it stronger than Foodie? Zarian¡¯s cloak fanned out without revealing much of his body. The darkness under the cloak was deep, dense, and unwilling to give way to the sunlight.
Making a snap judgment call, Zarian fired a beta dark bolt at the knight¡¯s head. The projectile struck, barely affecting the stone creature.
It did, however, leave a considerable scar on its helmet. Stone chips fell in front of the stone knight¡¯s boots as it began an intimidating march toward Zarian¡¯s party.
¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned,¡± Gilbert said, looking over his shield. ¡°I can¡¯t recall when a nasty monster didn¡¯t fall to a single solid strike from you, chief.¡±
¡°Did you notice the damage?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Barely much of that from what I saw.¡±
¡°It¡¯s still beatable.¡±
Other than Naomi, the rest of the party seemed doubtful. To give them some more confidence, Zarian summoned his Grimoire of ck Magic 101.
The cover flipped open, pages flipping quickly, and a ghastly green light shone forth. From under his cloak, piles of bones fell with a tter before Zarian used the Raise Advancing Skeletons spell.
Loner and the boys, now Level 24, assembled their skeletal frames quickly. Without having to ask them, Zarian watched his seven goblin skeletons charge at the knight with reckless abandon.
The stone knight¡¯s eyes shed a bright blue. A blue aura covered therge stone sword. With one wide swing, the stone knight swept through the goblin skeletons. The sword¡¯s magic reached further than the physical object and struck with a dynamic force that kicked up a strong gale-force wind.
Loner and two other skeletons ducked under the quick and powerful swing just in time. The other four flew off in scattered pieces, toote to dodge.
The stone knight¡¯s body emitted a blue sh before it lunged with an explosive step, blue energy sting out from behind its body fot extra propulsion. With the stone knight surpassing eight feet in height, seeing something sorge and heavy move so fast was intimidating for most of Zarian¡¯s party members.
Fortunately and unfortunately, the stone knight targeted Loner alone with a forward stomp.
Zarian intervened with a barrage of dark bolts smashing into the knight¡¯s front. He chipped the surface and slowed its attack enough for Loner to roll out of the way.
The stone knight crashed down with a heavy force that would¡¯ve sttered a human. The ground buckled and groaned. Blocks from a nearby wall fell loose in a tter.
Loner circled around with the other two upright skeletons. Meanwhile, the four skeletons that suffered the knight¡¯s first attack finished reassembling themselves. They returned to the fight.
Zarian¡¯s party watched for a little while as the skeletons struggled and suffered a bone-cracking beating. Then Zarian felt satisfied by what he saw. He asked with a slightly dark voice resounding from the darkness under his hood, ¡°Ready?¡±
¡°Mind Spike is useless against it, but I¡¯ll go,¡± Naomi grunted. The dark skinned military woman red at the knight like she wanted to hit it with a bomb.
¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Gilbert grumbled with a drawl. The big blue-eyed man stood ready with his shield raised.
¡°I¡¯ll do my best!¡± Bianca raised her shining sword. The Latina tried to hide the fear in her amber eyes.
¡°If you can slow it down or stop it from moving, I can bring it down,¡± Hannah dered. The mousy bamian maintained her schrly bearing even while up against a tough enemy. ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough with my Weakness Scanner and Rune Scan.¡±
The Weakness Scanner was Hannah¡¯s umon trait, great for noticing the faults in others or in the environment. Rune Scan was a skill that allowed Hannah to see into other enchantments and understand runes better.
Hearing her confidence, Zarian figured the stone statue was a creature that Hannah¡¯s abilities were best suited for.
¡°I¡¯ve already started slowing it down for you,¡± Zarian said, smiling under the dense darkness of his hood. ¡°The spectral spiders are on the case.¡±
As if to prove his point, Zarian¡¯s spiders revealed themselves while crawling around the stone knight¡¯s body. Like little spider ghosts, they were mainly translucent and hard to observe unless the spiders made themselves noticeable.
Each spider was Level 19 and physically weak. They made up for their fragility with numbers and tactics.
The spiders covered the statue in numerous webbing strands. The webbing didn¡¯t seem to have an effect at first, then after a few minutes, the statue struggled to move while covered in thick strands of spider webbing. As another bonus, the spiders dove their ghostly fangs into the statue¡¯s flesh to poison its aura and weaken it. That didn¡¯t seem as effective, but the spiders were doing all they could.
¡°You know how to take down a tall as heck bully?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Call the cops?¡± Gilbert asked sarcastically.
¡°Go for the legs,¡± Naomi led the way first
¡°Vamos! Let¡¯s hit the baddie low!¡± Bianca cheered, shaking off her fear. She fell in behind Naomi and Gilbert, the three heading first.
Zarian walked after them, Hannah by his side.
Chapter 25: Burial Service
This was a dangerous fight, and Zarian was a little nervous. Several members of his party were still too weak for his liking.
Hannah, Gilbert, and Bianca were only Level 15. Naomi was better off at Level 23. And Zarian was Level 27 while unable to Identify the Stone Knight.
Worse yet, Zarian left Straight Darkness +1 in his beta skill section, weakening it considerably instead of swapping it into the alpha skill section. This was not a smart gamble, but he wanted to try anyway.
Knowing this, Zarian didn¡¯t let up on the wizardry fire support. The moment Naomi entered the stone knight¡¯s magic sword range, Zarian¡¯s cloak opened wide down the middle.
For anyone looking at him straight on, they would see nothing of his body beneath the Parasite Cloak, onlyplete darkness. From the darkness, dense bolts, javelins, and beams flew forth like a barrage of mini artillery support.
Zarian kept shooting at a consistent volume, breaking up the rhythm with different versions of his Straight Darkness +1. The bolts chipped away at the stone knight¡¯s arms. The beams pushed against its sword. The javelins were an in-between,nding with enough weight and frequency to keep the knight distracted.
The magic webbing the spectral spiders hadid tore apart around the upper body, but that was okay. The spiders put all of their focus on wrapping up the legs and making the knight struggle to take a step.
Even under all of that assault, the knight still swung a strong magic blow for Naomi¡¯s head.
She leaned back and slid under the sweeping blue magic cut. Then, with the high Strength and Agility of her profile, she pushed back up and kicked her foot hard and straight at the side of the knight¡¯s knee.The stone knight barely budged. The creature was already whirling its de around to take a swing down at Gilbert.
Zarian growled and intensified the bombardment. The bolts, javelins, and beamsnded with even more weight.
Stone chips and fragments flew free from the knight¡¯s front in raining sprays. The stone knight¡¯srge sword remained unbroken, shing down at Gilbert, cutting straight through him ¨C or through the image of him.
Instead of crashing through a solid shield and breaking the man behind it, the stone knight shed through an illusion of Gilbert conjured from one of Bianca¡¯s new skills ¨C Close Refraction.
The real Gilbert charged past the danger poised by the sword and rammed his shield into the same knee Naomi hit. Again, the knight barely budged. Gilbert bounced off and followed in Naomi¡¯s wake, circling around to outnk.
Bianca didn¡¯t enter sword swinging range. She used her Searing sh Array skill from afar. She shot focused cones of burning light at the stone knight¡¯s face.
Despite not having real eyes, the creature seemed somewhat affected. Its pale blue eyes red at Bianca. Then its entire body glowed blue, indicating its next attack. The stone knight charged directly at her with an explosive lunge.
Everyone behind the stone statue hunkered down behind Gilbert and his shield to keep from flying away.
The stone knight moved faster than Bianca could on her feet. With the distance closed, the stone knight crashed down with a ground-rumbling stomp and thrust its sword at Bianca¡¯s torso.
The ditzy and youthful girl smiled, facing death head on before using another one of her new skills at thest second ¨C Light Step.
Bianca became a figure of light particles and zipped to the side. For that moment, not much could harm Bianca. She couldn¡¯t do much while in that form either. It was still a useful skill when she was in a pinch, avoiding total damage and creating some space again.
Better yet, her well-timed dodge surprised the enemy. The stone knightnded so heavily from the missed thrust, it was slow to recover its bnce.
¡°Time for you to go down,¡± Zarian said, walking straight up to its front.
The Parasite Cloak extended its ends as bone-tipped tendrils and strips of wavering flesh. The darkness deepened inside the hood and down the middle of the cloak.
From those darkened depths, an even bigger assault of dense projectiles came out. The up-tempo attack battered the stone knight¡¯s front so badly Zarian deformed it.
The knight lost its former, intimidating glory, as if a toddler had sketched it.
¡°Please don¡¯t wreck it too badly,¡± Hannah requested. ¡°I want to study it.¡±
¡°Sure, sure,¡± Zarian grunted, pushing himself.
It wasn¡¯t easy to deliver so many hard hits with the beta version of a skill. He was up against his maxed limit, and he still wasn¡¯t sure if that was enough against the stone knight.
Thankfully, he had reliablerades on his side.
Naomi, Gilbert, and his skeletons ran in from behind. The remaining spectral spiders on the stone knight kept wrapping its legs up with more spider web.
Zarian kept pouring out hard dark volleys on the stone knight¡¯s front until the inevitable happened. The charging group smashed into the back of the knight¡¯s legs, tackling below the knees.
¡°Roll out of the way!¡± Gilbert warned.
Everyone scrambled from under the heavy knight. They barely made it out in time as it crashed down, tripped backward by abination of one group chopping low while Zarian struck high.
From there, things became easier. Zarian summoned more spectral spiders. The little guys worked fast to bind the stone knight to the ground.
¡°I¡¯m going in,¡± Hannah said, rushing forward.
A dark beam flew over her shoulder, throwing her off her feet from the sheer force.
Zariannded his beam on the knight¡¯s sword, deflecting it away from Hannah. The spiders worked doubly fast to bind the sword arm to the ground.
Hannah tumbled and rolled next to the knight¡¯s shoulder.
She lunged at its face, uncaring of the way the creature red at her with cold blue eyes. Her hands glowed with pale light, geometric shapes, and hieroglyphic text.
The knight struggled against its web bindings, ripping some of it away. Zarian¡¯s nerves grew taut while Hannah stayed in a dangerous position.
¡°Hannah, watch out!¡± Gilbert warned as the knight started to rise.
¡°Got it!¡± she said, finishing her work.
The knight froze. Its pale blue eyes faded away, leaving a lifeless and deformed visage. It was stuck in a position where it sat up with the push of its sword arm, the other arm closing around Hannah.
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Its hand was an inch away from crushing the back of her skull. Zarian couldn¡¯t believe he held himself back instead of pulling Hannah out of there.
¡°What the fuck?¡± Gilbert cussed. ¡°That was way too close. Hannah, you could¡¯ve died!¡±
¡°Check the notification,¡± Hannah said.
Zarian checked everyone¡¯s levels. The gains were considerable. Hannah, Gilbert, and Bianca went up by three levels. Naomi and the skeletons all went up by two. Zarian went up by two as well.
The spectral spiders didn¡¯t gain levels through experience. They would grow more capable once Zarian loaded up points in Mysticism.
The defeat of the Lost knight was a hell of haul for Zarian¡¯s party, especially when it was only one enemy.
If I wasn¡¯t here, that one enemy could¡¯ve killed the entire party. Without Zarian¡¯s overwhelming power, the knight¡¯s high toughness and magic would¡¯ve been too much for the party. It was definitely a different breed of monster, or maybe it had a higher quality ss.
Gilbert lost some of his righteous anger, enjoying the sweet gains of well-earned levels and stats instead of scolding Hannah for nearly killing herself. Besides, nobody truly came out worse for wear other than the skeletons.
Good thing they have Reinforcement +1 Enchantment, Zarian thought, letting out a tense sigh.
Hell, he was shaking a little underneath Para¡¯s cloak. Nobody could see it because of the darkness and Para¡¯s wavering movements, making him seempletely unaffected and stoic.
In truth, Zarian feared the worse could¡¯ve happened for gambling with the lives of his party.
¡°That was nice. Other than it being very tough, it didn¡¯t seem that hard.¡± Bianca hopped on the webbed-up chest of the golem.
¡°I think its toughness, Strength, and magic de was the reason it was out of reach of my Identify,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°Anyway, you wanted it mostly preserve, right, Hannah? Why¡¯s that?¡±
¡°What do you see using Identify?¡± Hannah asked.
Zarian checked:
¡°Other than it being a weaker variant than other golems, its description matches its name. It¡¯s been wandering while lost and away from home. Apparently, its ability to fight, and the runes used to make it function, are astonishing for this era. Maybe it¡¯s made of lost magic from a begotten era or whatever.¡±
¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I¡¯m getting from studying its runes,¡± Hannah exined. ¡°I saw more when it was upright and active, but even while down, I can see a few still lingering under my scan. And some of those runes ¡ describe a map.¡±
Zarian and the others became more interested in hearing that.
¡°I¡¯ll need some time to get what I can down to memory,¡± Hannah admitted.
¡°The spectral spiders can help. Tell them what you learn, and they¡¯ll spin you a web, writing it all down. Short words, please.¡± Zarian nodded as two dozen spiders appeared on the knight¡¯s chest, around Bianca and Hannah.
¡°I really don¡¯t like it when they do that,¡± Bianca admitted.
¡°Thank you for loaning them to me,¡± Hannah said. ¡°Can you do me one more favor? Can I borrow the dungeon core? I want to check a few things.¡±
Zarian had no problem with that. From the darkness under his cloak, Para¡¯s tendrils pulled out the White Spider Dungeon Core from her dimensional storage and extended the head-size pearl to Hannah, its surface shining under the twin suns.
Once Zarian had taken the dungeon core weeks ago, the entire dungeon faded into the pearly sphere. The White Spider Dungeon was no longer in the caverns on the way to Grimock. It was with Zarian¡¯s party.
Hannah thanked Zarian and Para before she was consumed with her work, studying the golem and the core together. Bianca lowered into a cross-legged seat on the knight¡¯s chest, keeping Hannahpany while looking around at the alienndscape and blue sky of block-shaped clouds.
The spectral spiders skittered around yfully as they waited on Hannah. A few went off to scout the nearby area, turning translucent and stealthy.
Zarian turned to Gilbert, Naomi, and the skeletons. ¡°So, ready to dig some graves and burn some bodies?¡±
¡°Graves, yes, but why are we burning?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°To prevent the chance of them rising from the grave. The grimoire told me unintentional risings can happen with undisciplined necromancy, especially if the corpses are still fleshy. We¡¯ll get Hannah to use her fire runes once the graves and bodies are set.¡±
¡°Oh, okay, I guess that makes sense. Thanks.¡± Gilbert sounded less like his usual self.
Zarian handed him a shovel he¡¯d picked up from the sub-floors under Castle Grimrock. The man didn¡¯t notice Zarian and Naomi standing back, leaving him and the skeletons to dig into the soft earth. It was clear that Gilbert wasmitted to doing the work.
Because of their levels and stats, it didn¡¯t take long for Gilbert and the skeletons to dig up multiple graves. He¡¯d ended up breaking the shovel along the way, so he used a dark shovel provided by Zarian for the finishing touches.
Even without the Reinforcement +1 Enchantment, the dark shovel held up under the strain.
Hannah stopped her studying to join them for the burial service, Bianca following along. One by one, Paray their dead.
Keh went first. Then Mark and Lincoln. Finally, theyy Wally.
Seeing them all ced into their graves, still warm and bloody from being petrified in Para¡¯s storage dimension, Zarian found it curious that he didn¡¯t feel as sad as he¡¯d expected.
He still felt somewhat guilty. But he wasn¡¯t depressed or sullen or dispirited.
Maybe that was screwed up.
Or maybe he was moving on, naturally or unnaturally. The evil +1 alignment could be at fault.
Whatever was the reason, Zarian felt a little sorry for Gilbert who looked haunted at the sight of his buddies in their graves.
¡°Why?¡± Gilbert asked hoarsely.
¡°I wanted out of the old world,¡± Zarian answered. ¡°You were all yanked along by ident.¡±
There was no anger from Gilbert. No disapproval. There was plenty of silence as the suns lowered toward the horizon. Then Gilbert let out a heavy sigh.
¡°Maybe things could¡¯ve been different if we didn¡¯t jump the gun. Well, what¡¯s done is done.¡± Gilbert nodded.
¡°Sorry, Wally,¡± Naomi said, directing her attention toward the dead retail worker who¡¯d wanted to be an isekai hero.
¡°Rest well, everyone, and root for us when you can,¡± Bianca said.
Hannah had nothing to say and waited for her cue. Receiving a nod from Zarian, she went into each grave and lit the bodies directly.
The goblin skeletons had piled in burnable fuel from the surrounding vegetation. Whatever magic the bodies, wood, and leaves contained would act as kindling before the mes roared to life on their own naturally.
Four fire pits crackled and burned, smoke rising into the sky. The survivors of Zarian¡¯s portal incident watched the ming ceremony for some time.
Then Hannah went back to studying the golem and the dungeon core, with Bianca keeping herpany.
Naomi went off to exercise ¨C other than the novelty of seeing the surface, Naomi would usually spend hours of the day training her body plus more.
Zarian and Gilbert remained side by side as the mes kept cackling. The smell of burning flesh wasn¡¯t much fun.
¡°Sorry,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Same,¡± Zarian replied.
¡°Thanks, too. For the burial.¡±
¡°It¡¯s the least I can do. Let Loner and the skeletons know when to pile dirt on them,¡± Zarian told Gilbert.
¡°Got it, chief.¡±
Zarian wandered off to find a spot to study his grimoire. He was getting closer to fully learning the special fire spell. He also had a few notifications he wanted to check out.
Straight Darkness +1 had leveled up twice, now Level 12. It looked like cing skills in the beta section didn¡¯t limit their experience gains. In fact, it might help grow them from the extra exertion to use them.
Second, his Grimoire of ck Magic 101 had leveled up.
Zarian smiled under the deep darkness of his hood. These two distinct changes to his grimoire skill hadrge implications for him going forward.
He could evoke learned spells without summoning the grimoire, making it harder for enemies to recognize he was a wizard.
His learning speed was faster. Acquiring the next spell and the spell after that would be easier.
Zarian dove into his grimoire to test thatst change. It was amazing. The difference felt like night and day.
Give it another week or less and he would have the special fire spell down pat. Then he could tackle the intimidating and destructive gravity spell.
Chapter 26: Narcissist Dream
Zarian¡¯s party had scaled rabbit on a campfire near the corpse of the lost knight. The scaled rabbit was called a ragon, and it could breathe a puff of fire like a little fuzzy dragon.
The meat tasted surprisingly good, with a little spicy kick that was natural, no seasoning needed.
The best part was the size of the ragon. It was asrge as a turkey and provided plenty of meat for everyone.
Zarian chewed on his portion while sitting against the lost knight¡¯s leg. Naomi was doing sit-ups in front of him. Hannah remained close to the knight¡¯s head, dungeon core in hand, still deep in study. She hadn¡¯t stopped studying, which left Bianca with the job of feeding her ragon meat.
Gilbert sat on the other side of the campfire, looking into the mes. ¡°You think they got some crazy fish here?¡±
Zarian slowly looked away from the merlot-colored sunset and examined the man across the wavering mes of the campfire. ¡°Are you going to catch some if they do?¡±
¡°Me and the boys used to fish when our schedules aligned. We¡¯d go out into the blue with coolers and have our fishing poles out while waiting around, getting drunk.¡± Gilbert chuckled. ¡°I wonder if the fish here is so crazy you need to be superman to reel them up.¡±
¡°Maybe we¡¯ll reel up a hydra,¡± Zarian said.
¡°If we get strong enough, then we can make a hydra look like a little fish,¡± Naomi said in between reps of sit-ups.¡°Do you know what a hydra is?¡± Zarian asked.
Naomi paused her work out. She looked like a woman struggling to grasp for a hidden answer. Then, instead of admitting her ignorance, she went back to doing more sit-ups.
The men chuckled as they watched her exercise, then Gilbert said, ¡°You gonna drive yourself crazy doing that all the time. Can¡¯t say if you¡¯ll do more harm than good since I got the Healing Force, but even a gym rat like me loves some rest time.¡±
¡°I want to get stronger,¡± Naomi replied.
¡°Atta girl,¡± Zarian praised.
Gilbert shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll join you in the morning. Let me just enjoy the night and dream of small pleasures. Like beer. I can really use more beer. And an enchanted fishing rod. I can ask that of Hannah, right? When she¡¯s not being a busy rune genius or whatever?¡±
¡°Depends on her busy schedule,¡± Bianca said, smirking. ¡°I¡¯ll try booking you for an appointment on a Monday morning.¡±
There was a round of chuckles from Bianca¡¯s joke.
Rxing further after the meal, Gilberty down on the grass near the campfire. Naomi kept working out, and Zarian studied from the pages of his grimoire. Every now and then, Zarian looked up, feeling happier as night chased away the day.
The stars looked marvelous. They actually shone like jewels in the Infinita Star System, while looking like the type of stars that children would think of when singing ¡®Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.¡¯
Growing up in Miami, and spending his limited time in the military stationed stateside, Zarian hadn¡¯t seen what the universe beyond the old world could look like when there was minimum light pollution.
Here in Corma, a world of super medieval high fantasy made real, there was no light pollution to block the view. Zarian saw more than he could ever imagine.
Three moons appeared spaced apart from each other, one pale white, one burning orange, and one deep blue.
Hannah¡¯s astrophysical concerns were put to rest earlier when they¡¯d spotted other moons during the day. It seemed like high tides wouldn¡¯t be a massive issue in Corma if the number of moons around the world bnced each other out. Or maybe it was all magic and never a concern on the first ce.
Now that it was night, Zarian feltfortable enough to pull back his hood. The moonlight wasn¡¯t too much of a bother. The stars werefortablepanions of the infinite dark.
Theck of true darknesspared to being underground wasn¡¯t preferable, but it was way better than what Zarian would get from daytime hours.
Naomi paused her workout and asked, ¡°Was your Straight Darkness in the beta skill section during the fight with the lost knight?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°God dammit, sir.¡± Naomi flipped over andmitted to push-ups.
Zarian chuckled. Now that he thought about it, he must¡¯vee across as unreasonably powerful to the others.
Even under daylight, with his main skill handicapped, he¡¯d acted as a dominating force. He¡¯d kept the stone knight distracted and damaged while the others scrambled around in the shadow of two titans.
Yeah, he was overpowered.
However, there was room for improvement.
¡°I should¡¯ve asked Hannah to enchant a dark beam or two for more damage,¡± Zarian admitted. ¡°She was there beside me. I could¡¯ve kept up the suppressive attack while using her for extra oomph. That was a missed opportunity.¡±
Even with all the practice in the White Spider Dungeon, Zarian and his party members were still figuring out ways toyer their powers and expertise to achieve new ways of murder.
Granted, they had never faced such a tough enemy before.
The fight would¡¯ve been easier if Straight Darkness +1 was in the alpha skill section, but I¡¯ll probably grow the skill faster if it stays in the beta skill section.
Naomi sighed aloud. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking we could¡¯ve done that better. I should¡¯ve asked for enchanted weapons, two maces, probably, when I realized my Mind Spike wouldn¡¯t work. I didn¡¯t even bother asking Gilbert for his Adrenaline Jolt.¡±
¡°It works best on the first person I apply it on during an encounter,¡± Gilbert mumbled, still lying down on the other side of the campfire. ¡°I figured it¡¯s the type of thing you save when you have an advantage.¡±
Gilbert¡¯s abilities were everything Zarian could hope for from a supportive tank. The war healer¡¯s Shield Mastery and Health Affinity traits along with his Healing Force, Adrenaline Jolt, and Tranquilizer Touch skills were so good together, Zarian could see Gilbert bing a highly valued party member with time.
Gilbert¡¯s major issue was managing all of his abilities for himself and for the group while serving as their lead tank.
¡°Sometimes you need that boost from the start to get the advantage,¡± Naomi argued. ¡°You can¡¯t justzy-foot it early and think you can turn it onter. Or you¡¯ll get killed first.¡±
¡°Of course you would think that, you freaking jar-head-ass, crayon-eating, Neanderthal-born Marine,¡± Gilbert grumbled, unafraid.
¡°At least I can shoot worth a damn.¡± Naomi shifted to one-arm push-ups and flipped a middle finger at Gilbert.
Zarian snickered while the two had their most friendly interaction with each other. It was nice to see Naomi wasn¡¯t acting aggressively toward Gilbert anymore and that Gilbert was rxed enough to exchange little insults.
Looking back at the night sky, Zarian noticed something unique that wasn¡¯t twinkling stars and colorful moons. He sawrge spherical ovals with tiny glints of light surrounding them. After some further observation, he couldn¡¯t figure out what those lit up ovals were.
¡°It¡¯s so pretty isn¡¯t it?¡± Bianca asked from her seat on the lost knight¡¯s chest.
¡°The night sky? Yeah, it is. The stars actually twinkle. The moons are big and magical looking. And there are those oval stuff in between all of that.¡±
s,¡± Bianca said.
¡°What?¡±
¡°Those are others. The oval shape is the sunlight on one side of the nearests. I can tell based on the light shining on them, or that¡¯s what my Light Affinity tells me.¡±
Zarian looked over at Bianca.
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The young Latina sat with legs crossed, arms in herp, face upturned to the night sky. She didn¡¯t seem so bothered by the loss of daylight, but then again, her whole schtick was about bringing together light of any kind.
She¡¯d seemed fairly functional even while in the cave, although theck of other light sources seemed to cost her more aura. The daylight hours would make her a beast once she could start snowballing in levels.
Now, she looked like a simple girl enjoying a campfire hangout under a magical starry night.
¡°Sometimes, in the mountains of Cuba, you can see many stars,¡± Bianca said. ¡°But the stars here are closer. More intimate. They fill me with hope. What about you?¡±
Zarian took his time to answer. The moral rivalry between Bianca and him, good and evil, had settled down into a mundane routine now. Still, he could feel the moral tension between them rise again as Bianca prodded at him curiously.
¡°The stars look nice,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I think I prefer the void overall, since I once heard stars are dead things reaching out with theirst light. At least with the darkness, it¡¯s a constant that¡¯ll never go away or would oust the shining of the light.¡±
¡°Hm, that¡¯s bleak,¡± Bianca said. ¡°You¡¯re too bleak. Be merry, like me, evil-doer.¡±
She flicked tiny motes of light close to his head. Zarian drew on his leathery hood before they shed at his face.
Growling, he threw a soft, oval-shaped blob of darkness thatnded with the force of a thrown pillow. With some weight to it. Bianca took it to the face and fell on her side with a whine.
Thus, the war of light and darkness renewed. Zarian hurledzy dark ovals at Bianca, and she returned fire with minor shes of searing light. This went on until Hannah snapped at them both like a pissed-off mom.
¡°Can you at least tell us what you¡¯re learning?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°In the morning, I will. Just let me concentrate.¡± Hannah said no more.
Zarian and Bianca exchanged nces before shrugging at each other.
Bianca bid him a goodnight andy down in a curled position on top of the knight.
Zarian studied from his grimoire until Naomi finally finished her work out and spent the next half hour stretching in front of him.
¡°You can sleep, y¡¯know?¡± Zarian said. ¡°The skeletons and spiders will keep watch. Para, too.¡±
A tendril from the Parasite Cloak gave a friendly wave to Naomi. The battle psion waved back before looking up at the starry,-filled night.
¡°I¡¯d never asked this when we first met, but what would you call your original neighborhood, Zarian?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°I¡¯m an Opa-Locka girl.¡±
¡°Little Haiti for me. The part that hasn¡¯t been gentrified yet.¡±
Naomi smiled. ¡°So, we¡¯re both from the hood.¡±
¡°In one way or another.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think a girl like me is ever supposed to experience stuff like this.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t see why. You adapted to it fast.¡±
¡°It¡¯s either I adapt and be useful or be aplete pain in the ass.¡±
¡°I thought it was both.¡±
Naomi snorted and called him an idiot under her breath. Then she said, ¡°I hope we find Ariana.¡±
Zarian nodded, not saying another word. After a long stretch of silence with the crackling mes filling the void, Naomiy down and went to sleep.
Zarian turned his ear toward the knight¡¯s head and heard two distinct sounds of slumbering breaths: Bianca and Hannah were asleep. Across the campfire, Gilbert was snoring like a rumbling engine, as usual.
¡°Loner, you¡¯re in charge of the other skeletons and the spectral spiders,¡± Zarian said, before lying down for the night.
The skeletons were used to doing around-the-clock patrols. He should probably increase their numbers, but he wanted Loner and the current skeletons to advance first. He felt they were almost there.
It was a little weird not needing the grimoire out of his body while still able to keep a spell going. His ability to channel a power or two while asleep was something he could do that the others couldn¡¯t.
Maybe what he¡¯d done to his brain from the self-lobotomy incident could keep a portion of his consciousness active while the other part could rest. Whatever it was, Zarian and the others could sleep while Para, the skeletons, and the spectral spiders guarded them.
It didn¡¯t take long for Zarian to drift off. But unlike past dreams that were filled with violent mayhem, ridiculous premises, or a few things that would be inappropriate in real life, Zarian found himself back at the mall with the koi fish pond in front of him.
Without knowing what he would find, he turned to his right and saw the one person he¡¯d been looking for the most.
¡°Hello, Big Bro,¡± Ariana greeted.
She was still perpetually four years old while dressed in her Sunday best. She looked like a doll, while he still looked like a public menace, but many times worse.
Well, at least his face and hair were a little tidier now.
Before Zarian said anything, he remembered thest image of her before they separated. He recalled the crazy glee that glinted in her eyes, as if she was a creature of madness herself.
He still threw his arms around her, hugging her tight. Dream or not, he was d he could see her and hold her.
Ariana didn¡¯t reciprocate right away. She froze up, as if surprised by his brotherly affection, then she slowly hugged him back.
¡°You idiot!¡± Zarian scolded, breaking the hug before rubbing his knuckles into the top of Ariana¡¯s head. He¡¯d never gotten to do this before, so now was the time to do all the big brother things he owed Ariana. ¡°You absolute idiot! What was that? The whole disappearance act? And being a mystery?¡±
Ariana looked surprised by his change in attitude. Did she not expect for him to scold her while giving her a noogie in a dream? What was wrong?
He pulled back his noogie to hear what she had to say.
Ariana smoothened her face faster than any four-year-old child should be able to. She spoke in a mature tone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I haven¡¯t been very forting. You must have a lot of questions. I won¡¯t be able to answer them all, but I can start by saying the obvious. Yes, it was me who orchestrated for you to be here in the Infinita Star System. I knew ahead about the inactive portal. I gave you the dreams. I wanted you here.¡±
Zarian had his suspicions, but now they were confirmed. Ariana was a little mastermind of a ghostly, dream-tampering little girl. That was very freaky to know, and upsetting.
In fact, Zarian even felt even angrier with her.
He bopped her on the head with the top of his knuckles. It was a light hit, nothing major.
Ariana looked gobsmacked, as if nobody had ever given her a proper scolding.
Zarian frowned down at her. ¡°You could¡¯ve told me straight up instead of ying me like a fiddle. What else? You¡¯re not really four years old and not my real little sister? Are you a demon or devil? Am I a part of some evil, sinister n?¡±
Ariana struggled to answer. ¡°Would you believe all I want is for you to be here just to see what happens?¡±
Zarian looked long and hard at her. ¡°So you¡¯re just curious?¡±
¡°Among other things.¡±
¡°Why then the little sister act?¡±
¡°Because it¡¯s enjoyable for me. And you¡¯re a good Big Bro. There is no malice there. I enjoy being your little sister.¡±
¡°Are you really Ariana?¡±
¡°I am.¡±
Zarian squinted his eyes. ¡°Are you really a Darkrun?¡±
She didn¡¯t answer.
She could¡¯ve easily said no. Now Zarian¡¯s suspicions were thrown off. Why wouldn¡¯t she say no?
Zarian tried to look back at the times Ariana had imed to be a Darkrun like him. It had never felt like a lie.
It should¡¯ve been an obvious lie. The name Darkrun had a sort of metaphysical weight to it that put a dense and gravitational shadow on everything.
He repeated himself. ¡°Are you Ariana Darkrun?¡±
She looked away and into the koi pond. ¡°I wanted to connect with you through this dream so you¡¯ll know that I¡¯m safe and well. You don¡¯t have to worry about me, and you can have your adventures. I¡¯m sorry for the trouble I¡¯ve caused you, and I¡¯ll understand if you want nothing to do with me. Just know I¡¯ll be watching when I can, and that I¡¯ll be cheering you on, as always.¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t know what to say to that.
Ariana smiled, bright and childish. ¡°Your adventures are so fun. And I¡¯m d you picked a ss that suits you the best. Though, it¡¯s surprising you aren¡¯t going solo. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d burden yourself with mundane weaklings when you can find more powerful, if not temporary allies.¡±
Zarian shifted his stance, hands on hips. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I want a party with other people I dragged in with me if they will do the work?¡±
¡°You can be so much stronger and grow way faster without them.¡±
Zarianughed. ¡°Of course I can! But where¡¯s the fun in that?¡±
Ariana looked confused again. Zarian shook his head at his quote-unquote little sister. She was still clueless at times, so as her quote-unquote big brother, he humored her.
¡°Yes, I can go further, move faster, be stronger if I do things on my own. I can totally demolish them without trying if they ever try to fight me seriously. I can journey across thends, gain more treasures for myself, and maybe have a princess or two fall in love with me, then fly off onto the next adventure nonstop.¡±
Ariana giggled at that before asking, ¡°So why don¡¯t you?¡±
Zarian crouched down, hands braced on his legs, getting closer to Ariana¡¯s eye level. ¡°Because the powerful can do whatever the fuck they want and still help others who are deserving.¡±
Ariana looked confused.
Zarian exined. ¡°I can go fast or I can go slow. I can be single-minded or I can keep my horizons open. I can hunt down my goals like an emotionless machine or meander around a little while chatting up quirky locals. I can celebrate nothing but myself or I can celebrate with others even if it¡¯s not all about me. I can do whatever the fuck I want because I¡¯m powerful, and I choose to spend my power enjoying the fantasy highs of my new life while helping others figure out that they can be powerful, too.¡±
That was the true meaning of being an overpowered wizard. Zarian could do whatever he wanted, and what he wanted was growing at his own pace while helping others grow to their full potential.
He knew about the cliche of being the singr hero and having all the power focused on him. Then everyone and everything had no choice but to worship the ground he walked on or hate him because he held all the power.
He knew how addicting that could be. He¡¯d read stories about that power-trip of a solo journey plenty of times. He¡¯d imagined it plenty of times.
He also knew how lonely that could be if it yed out realistically. He knew he could be one of those people who sacrificed the warmth of being around others for the cold and sharpened pleasure of absolute power and violent thrills.
He could be a solo asshole.
Or a sociopathic tyrant.
But Zarian figured those who were truly powerful ¨C or even overpowered ¨C could have their cake and eat it, because why the fuck not?
He could have the singr power.
And the power of friendship.
Without being an absolute asshole.
Without being a cold, joyless, and empty junkie of a narcissist.
Chapter 27: Earnings and Dungeons
¡°Wow, I think I¡¯ve misjudged you, Big Bro.¡± Ariana turned away. ¡°I will contemte on your words for they are grand and inspiring. Thank you for sharing them with me. We shall talk again another time when I¡¯m able.¡±
¡°Whoa, whoa, where are you going?¡± Zarian questioned. ¡°We just linked up again! And you have a lot more to exin!¡±
¡°I know! I¡¯m sorry! But I must go.¡± Ariana crashed into him and gave him a tight hug with her short, four-year-old arms. ¡°Continue showing me your way of being powerful while having powerful bonds. I will continue cheering you on, as always.¡±
Before Zarian could stop her, Ariana faded away. The dream lost its coherency. Then Zarian was gently nudged into consciousness by Para¡¯s threads, waking him up to a cobalt blue morning before sunrise.
The campfire was mostly smoke, ash, and a few orange glints of dying embers. Everyone was still asleep except for Naomi. She was doing early morning stretches and a light warm up.
Another day in the Infinita Star System had arrived. It came with an interesting gold notification meant for Zarian.
Zarian smiled, thinking of his dream and the addition of a new trait. He wondered what he should bring up first as he watched Naomi twist her body into several flexible poses.
¡°Hey, you know how you can disrupt my magic with your Mind Spike?¡± Zarian asked.
Before the new trait, if Naominded her skill perfectly, then she could cancel out his spells and mess with his abilities. Para hated that the most, since it screwed with her connection to Zarian.¡°Good morning, sir, and yes, I know.¡± Naomi smiled a little, which Zarian could easily see in the cobalt blue morning.
Zarian told her about his new rare trait, Aura Channeler.
Naomi stopped smiling.
Zarian held back augh. He didn¡¯t want to wake up the others just yet.
¡°I was going to say I¡¯ve grown and earned +1 in Strength and +1 in Agility,¡± Naomi admitted quietly.
Zarian lost some of his humor and felt a little guilty. Before he could say anything, Naomi waved him off.
She wasn¡¯t the type who wanted pity. She was more interested in the chase, if anything.
She bounced back from the mild upset, looking more motivated to keep up her insane training routine.
If it wasn¡¯t for me, would you be a lonely junkie of a narcissist, Naomi?
She probably would.
I¡¯ll have to stay stronger than you to keep you a little humble. Or you¡¯ll go off the deep end if the power gets to your head.
Maybe that reflected poorly on Naomi, but nobody here was a saint. Except maybe Bianca, but that was a big maybe.
Once he felt fully awake, Zarian joined Naomi for stretches and a warm up.
Morning sunrise peeked over the eastern horizon, turning the sky into shades of fiery orange and honey gold. Blocky clouds gathered in heavier clumps, like Jenga stacks climbing higher into the sky.
Zarian felt distraught as he enjoyed the sight of morning and detested the feeling of daylight smothering the cool embrace of the dark night. Before the others woke up fully, Zarian covered himself fully with the Parasite Cloak, the darkness under his hood bing deep and near-imprable.
Then he positioned himself over the next person to likely wake up.
Three.
Two.
One.
¡°Oh, God, dammit! I don¡¯t want you standing over me like that when I¡¯m waking, chief!¡± Gilbert roared.
Zarian snickered darkly before he backed off, leaving Gilbert shaking with his hand over his heart. He rxed a few secondster. He must¡¯ve used a small dose of his tranquilizer skill to take the edge off.
Thanks to Gilbert¡¯s hollering, everyone was fully awake and prepared for Naomi¡¯s killer morning exercise program. There were no exemptions. Everyone had to partake during the first part.
Then they fell off based on tiers of fitness, which depended on their points in Strength and Agility for the most part.
Hannah and Bianca were the first to drop after Naomi made sure they were thoroughly destroyed. Zarian and Gilbert fell off next, though Zarian cheated with Para¡¯s help so he could keep up with Gilbert, who had solid physical stats and his Adrenaline Jolt skill.
Once Naomi was on her own, she picked up the pace for herself. The others cooked and ate breakfast based on what the spectral spiders and skeletons foundst night ¨C a small basilisk with an avian¡¯s head and reptilian tail.
¡°The lost knight came from a dungeon,¡± Hannah informed the party. ¡°A powerful and unique dungeon. One that¡¯s like a kingdom unto itself and might live by different rulespared to the White Spider Dungeon. Oh, and I¡¯m three levels higher now frompleting a special side quest based on this discovery. I have an achievement, too.¡±
Naomi tripped over own legs, surprised by the news. She was more than agile enough to flip out of the fall andnd back squarely on her feet. She ended her personal training early and joined them for breakfast, her eyes on Hannah.
¡°Nice work, Hannah,¡± Zarian praised.
The thirty-year-old straightened in her seat and smiled. ¡°Sorry for being snappy yesterday. I was consumed with the work. It¡¯s incredible how this ss of mine can feel so useful depending on the situation. But I digress. The point I want to make is I need a better understanding of our geography. Then I can take us to a unique dungeon nobody has touched since the start of the Dark Era. Maybe for over two thousand years.¡±
Gilbert looked at Hannah like she grew another head. ¡°And you learned all that by staring at a dead statue and a big ol¡¯ pearl the size of a basketball?¡±
Speaking of the dungeon core, Hannah smirked at the magical object sitting next to her before passing the core to Para¡¯s tendrils for safekeeping.
¡°Side note, you can nt that somewhere,¡± Hannah said. ¡°The dungeon core is like a seed that you can pick up and move to grow anywhere. Where you nt it, I¡¯m not sure. But I imagine the White Spider Dungeon would like a ce where it can acquire better meals or material to mature further.¡±
¡°Are you listening to what you¡¯re saying?¡± Gilbert asked, wide-eyed. ¡°You¡¯re talking about growing a ce that pumps out man-eating monsters.¡±
¡°It seems more like a farm to me,¡± Naomi said.
¡°That¡¯s the gamer term for it, if you didn¡¯t know. To farm monsters. That might turn out useful,¡± Zarian said. ¡°If not for us, maybe we can turn a profit selling safe dungeon crawls to other adventurers.¡±
¡°Oh, we need money! I forgot about that!¡± Bianca shouted. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t pay rent! I¡¯m going to get kicked out back at home.¡±
Everyone had a pause from thinking about home and what they would lose. Zarian gave them time to settle their thoughts before he moved on:
¡°So, we have the White Spider Dungeon, and now we potentially have the Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you guys, but I feel like we are aplishing a lot in a short time. Ignoring the weeks of journey between the action and adventuring.¡±
¡°Ekri mentioned there are other dungeons further west of Bramblevale,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Can we get to town and have a hot shower and a change of clothes first before crawling more dungeons? And, maybe, rx a teensy, teensy bit?¡± Bianca asked. ¡°Hmm, Senor Zarian? Hmmmm?!¡±
Bianca gave him a demanding look, her eyes shining with zealous light.
Zarianughed it off while under his Parasite Cloak and his unwavering darkness. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s focus on getting to Bramblevale. Now, before you tell us about your achievement, I got my own news.¡±
Zarian told them about the new trait. He received the reactions he was expecting: congrats, envy, and intellectual interest.
¡°I want that trait!¡± Bianca demanded.
¡°Keep channeling your magic.¡±
¡°But it¡¯s costly, and you know I scale mainly with Wonder, not Mysticism.¡±
Wonder could give skills a big bang for smaller stat points. But Wonder-based abilities cost more aura.
On the flip side, Mysticism was not only the foundation for magic like Zarian¡¯s and Hannah¡¯s, but Mysticism helped with aura recovery. Bianca wasn¡¯t wrong about how much harder she had itpared to Zarian when using magic consistently.
This tale has been uwfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
¡°No excuses. Just leave some aura juice for potential fights.¡± Zarian chuckled. ¡°Who knows? Maybe you¡¯ll figure out Aura Ignition before me.¡±
Zarian and the others were nowhere near figuring out how Aura Ignition worked. It was another thing among many objectives they had to work on for their main quest.
¡°I¡¯ll try!¡±
¡°Before you go, Hannah, I¡¯ll admit I earned a few points this morning,¡± Naomi said. ¡°It ain¡¯t much, but I think that¡¯s proof in the pudding that my extra training isn¡¯t for nothing.¡±
¡°How much?¡± Gilbert asked.
Naomi red at him. ¡°They were +1 for Strength and +1 for Agility.¡±
¡°I guess that¡¯s something.¡±
¡°Keep it up, Naomi!¡± Bianca cheered, two thumbs up.
¡°Exactly, keep it up. As for Hannah, what¡¯s the achievement?¡± Zarian asked, nodding at their resident enchantress.
As Hannah exined while opening her achievement, Zarian imagined what the notifications would look like:
Once Hannah finished, a notification for the entire party appeared overhead:
¡°Guys, a quest like that is going to require a strong party,¡± Zarian said, his heart thumping in excitement as Hannah¡¯s new rewards appeared next to her. ¡°We all need to be over Level 40. Maybe even further than that. We¡¯ll need to grind some more.¡±
Gilbert gawked at the big, two-foot wide ball of smooth marble stoneying next to Hannah.
The enchantress¡¯s eyes moved with the frantess of a young girl. She rubbed her hand over the roller golem¡¯s surface while picking up a single gauntlet of heavy leather and metal tes simr in color to the golem.
¡°They both use kic energy for force and propulsion while also being easy for me to alter. And theye with other unique features,¡± Hannah said with rising excitement. ¡°I can honestly contribute to the fights now. Oh, wow, I can¡¯t believe this is happening.¡±
While d for Hannah, Zarian didn¡¯t miss the desperate thrill in her voice about how she could contribute to fights. He hadn¡¯t realized that was a concern for her.
Before he could respond, Naomi extended some words of surprising kindness.
¡°You were always able to contribute. Not everybody¡¯s meant for direct ground fighting. We need brainiacs like you to see things from different angles. It¡¯s good you got something that can hit worth a damn, but don¡¯t forget where you shine best, Hannah,¡± Naomi said.
¡°What Naomi said,¡± Zarian added.
¡°Yeah, exactly! Who else could do what you do?¡± Bianca threw her arms around Hannah. ¡°You¡¯re already awesome!¡±
They cheered Hannah on to where she nearly teared up. Bianca was cheering for her the most to see her cry.
Bianca had a weird thing for crying and had openly admitted she wanted to catch everyone¡¯s tears, which was even more weird.
Thankfully, Zarian was there to peel Bianca away to do some elemental practice ¨C light versus dark ¨C and work on each other¡¯s strengths and weaknesses.
Naomi invited Gilbert for another physical training session with her, which he epted with more enthusiasm. Maybe Zarian¡¯s, Hannah¡¯s, and even Naomi¡¯s new growth motivated him to do more.
Hannah took her time testing out her new golem and gauntlet. The smooth, two-foot-wide ball of stone rolled after her obediently as runic symbols glowed across its entire surface. More runic symbols glowed from the tes on Hannah¡¯s gauntlet.
She looked like a kid ying with her new favorite toys.
When it came down to training with Bianca, there were two aspects. The first aspect was range battle and tactics. The second aspect was up close fighting and tricks.
Zarian was better at the range stuff, while Bianca showed budding talent for up close fighting when using her sword.
Obviously, Zarian had to hold back while applying proficient pressure to make Bianca work. He benefited by enduring painful shes and learning how to adapt and out-think around Bianca¡¯s illusive style.
More importantly, he felt the difference Aura Channeler made.
If Zarian before was a hose pouring normally from one open end, he now felt like a sophisticated nozzle, able to spray the same amount of water harder and farther, while switching to different settings easier.
It was so easy the beta version of Straight Darkness +1 took on a huge qualitative jump in efficiency, which enabled him to do more despite the beta debuff.
¡°This isn¡¯t fair! I¡¯m already feeling drained against you when it¡¯s daylight!¡± Biancained, moving frantically around dark projectiles sent out by Zarian.
¡°Cry some more, do-gooder!¡± Zarian cackled evilly as he kept throwing oblong blobs of darkness at her. The non-lethal projectiles flowed in a constant stream from the opening of his cloak.
For kicks and giggles, he shot soft dark beams from his face like shooting ck eyesers. Bianca didn¡¯t seem to appreciate that when she took solid blows that knocked the air out of her.
Because of his overwhelming advantage, Zarian didn¡¯tin when she struck him with the equivalent of a miniature sr re. She made his skin want to scream even while under his Parasite Cloak.
He doubled down with another stream of nonlethal bolts to flow with the first. Bianca repaid him back with solid swordy when they switched from range attacks to close quarters.
Reiki had taught Bianca well, but he didn¡¯t make it easy for the Light Bringer Child.
When they both received enough punishment, they called for Gilbert to extend his Healing Force and fix them up. Then they went right back to it. More often than not, Bianca had her butt handed to her, sometimes with her face eating dirt.
It was for the best, honestly. She had a ss that was elusive and shy. She could avoid most dangers, but the ones she couldn¡¯t avoid might end her.
Zarian wanted to toughen her up for those deadly moments. The extra padding in vitality could be the difference between life or death.
The suns rose higher into the sky, and by the time they reached mid morning, Zarian¡¯s party was ready to move on with their journey to Bramblevale. Despite the ursed daylight, Zarian was in a good mood.
He had eaten a hearty breakfast. The levels and powers of hispanions had progressed considerably on their first two days out of the caverns.
They had a major side quest to find a secret dungeon nobody had touched for over two thousand years. It felt like they were going in the right direction to grow strong enough to backtrack and rescue Foodie.
Everyone¡¯s motivation was sky high. And the rollingndscape of castle parts, verdant forests, and wildflowers gave them an amazing presentation of the World of Castles and Caverns.
They walked across earthy bridges arched above winding river-moats. They walked through blocky hills made of gate towers and fortress keeps, the tunnels and side passages filled with roots dangling from the ceiling and carpets of mushrooms.
They passed by towers made of stone blocks and thick, veiny trees with healthy green crowns and strange, magical birds tweeting from their branches. They explored wild gardens filled with vibrant flowers, giant hedges, and ancient garden statues that didn¡¯t move.
They found plenty of quirky and sometimes harmless wildlife, which were the type of beasts only known in fantasy, unless they were beyond imagination.
This was their life for the next couple of days, growing more familiar with Corma¡¯s inherent nature.
Naomi enjoyed the trip by doing ridiculous workouts on castle walls or on top of leafy towers, sometimes with big stone blocks held over her head. Hannah found thendscape less marvelouspared to her obsession with her new gauntlet and the golem that rolled along with them.
Gilbert kept wondering aloud about having an enchanted fishing rod and trying his hand at catching something from the river-moats while having stocks of beer stuffed in the Parasite Cloak. Bianca would sometimes run off to frolic through the fields before using her searing shes to turn away hungry beasts who saw her as easy prey.
Para ate many of those hungry beasts. The skeletons acted like yful goblins when they were off duty. The spectral spiders skittered all over the ce, popping up here and there to show off new bugs or shiny pebbles caught in their near-translucent webs.
Bianca was starting to like the spectral spider more and would sometimes teach them silly dances from the old world.
Zarian switched between studying the special fire spell and taking in thendscape as they traveled further west. Ever since that dream with Ariana, he found himself going about things at a slower pace outside of morning training.
He still hadn¡¯t told the others about the dream. He wanted to think over Ariana¡¯s strange manners and changes a little further, because there was more to the dream conversation than her admitting to lying and manipting him.
She¡¯s a Darkrun.
There was no doubt about it.
She was his actual sister. He knew that was true deep down in his soul.
And she was in this world.
She¡¯s from this world.
She¡¯d invited him to this world just so she could watch his adventures and learn from him. So if the part about them being family wasn¡¯t a lie, then didn¡¯t that mean somewhere out there Ariana was alive and well while able to watch him from afar?
If that was the case, how would Zarian go about finding her? And did he want to find her?
She¡¯d lied to him.
But it didn¡¯t feel like she did it for malicious reasons. It felt more like she was being ignorant or a little stupid.
So even if she was a tricky little sister, she clearly needed a big brother like him to set her straight.
Granted, that depended on if she would let him. There was a significant chance of the real Ariana being a powerful person, especially if she grew up in the Infinita Star System.
If she grew up here, would she know the truth about my origins? Would my parents be here?
Zarian grimaced under the dense darkness of his hood. How do I exin all of this to the others?
He still didn¡¯t know Ariana¡¯s true nature. The others might find that a little too scary. She¡¯d manipted the events that led them here and caused multiple deaths, after all.
Why do I have aplicated family when I barely know them other than Ariana.
Zarian frowned, shaking his head and rotating his shoulders around. He paused when he felt a snag from the bullet lodged in his back right shoulder.
He¡¯d forgotten about that thing. It didn¡¯t bother him too much. It couldn¡¯t hurt him since he had a healthy amount of vitality for a wizard at his level. Maybe more than the usual wizard. Still, it was about time he removed it, wasn¡¯t it?
¡°Gilbert, can you do me a favor?¡± Zarian called as the party traveled through another tunnel inside a blocky hill made of multiple verdant fortresses fused together.
Before reaching the tunnel, they had the pleasure of walking through a wild courtyard garden filled with giant butterflies. Everybody was in a pleasant mood after seeing that, so asking for that favor now should go without a hitch.
Their dead were buried.
The hatchet was buried.
¡°What¡¯s up, chief?¡± Gilbert replied.
Before Zarian could ask, voices from up ahead caught his attention. The entire party stopped. Everyone probably had the same heart-pounding feeling that Zarian had.
The voices sounded recognizable, if a little distinct. They sounded like they spoke English at the end of the tunnel.
A split secondter, Zarian saw one of his spectral spiders skittering down the tunnel in his direction.
He scooped it off the floor and waited for it tomunicate through interpretive spider dances. Because of the spectral spider skill, he could understand what it was saying.
¡°Humans. Lots of them. They¡¯re armed and prepared for a fight.¡± Zarian looked around at his party. ¡°It might be too dangerous to meet them without further observation.¡±
Before anyone could provide their thoughts, a confident and young voice bellowed from the end of the tunnel:
¡°What sort of fiends wait in ambush inside of a tunnel? If you serve on the side of good, thene out and show yourselves! If not, then we have apany of the finest fighting men across all the Walled Continent, and we will meet you fiercely with de, arrow, and skill!¡±
I guess we¡¯ll get to see what happens with me being evil +1 around medieval fantasy humans. Zarian looked away from the tunnel exit and to his most vital party member right now.
¡°Bianca,¡± Zarian called smoothly. ¡°It¡¯s your time to shine.¡±
Chapter 28: Meet the Locals
Let¡¯s y this carefully, Zarian thought, as his party put two and two together after he dered it was Bianca¡¯s time to shine.
Before anyone could voice their dissent, Zarian slunk backward. He turned off his skeleton spell, leaving Para to gather up all the piles of bones.
Then Zarian made himself look a little smaller, a little more feeble, and a little more like his old self. He returned to the version of himself who had begged or did the most menial ofbors for scraps after getting kicked out of the Marines.
Wow, it¡¯s weird acting this way again. It doesn¡¯t fit me anymore. But let¡¯s see if I can pull it off for the first meeting with local humans.
¡°Bianca, y the party leader,¡± Zarian ordered. ¡°Naomi, be yourself, but toward Bianca. Hannah, Gilbert, be naturals. And I¡¯ll y the weakest and most sorry member.¡±
Hannah shot out a question ahead of the others: ¡°What if they have the Identify trait?¡±
¡°If they do, then I¡¯ll deal with that. If they don¡¯t, then at least we¡¯ll be positioned. Now, go. It¡¯s going to be fun. I swear.¡±
¡°Okay!¡± Bianca chirped, going full tilt with Zarian¡¯s dodgy n.
Gilbert and Hannah shared a concerned look. Naomi wasn¡¯t pleased by this whatsoever, frowning the whole time.Bianca moved to the tunnel exit, a bulb of light shining on her features.
¡°Hello, hello, please don¡¯t swing your swords or shoot your arrows! I¡¯m just an adventurer, adventuring with my party, doing adventurous things!¡± Bianca sang while using her umon trait, Shining Trust.
The more cheerful and bright Bianca acted, the more trust she could garner from others who were unaware of the trait.
¡°Quiet your bbering, woman! Being an adventurer is ouwed in the Eternal Garden Kingdom! Are you daft or are you foreign?¡± bellowed the male voice at the exit of the tunnel.
Zarian knew they were at a disadvantage, but he didn¡¯t think they would start off this roughly. Then again, Bianca¡¯s Shining Trust must¡¯ve worked, because the speaker was trying to hush Bianca before she made more of a fool of herself.
¡°Ah, lo siento, I¡¯m sorry, we¡¯re not from around here. In fact, we¡¯re from another world. We¡¯re from Florida, the, eh, World of Swamps and Princesses!¡±
Bianca kept going, striding confidently out of the tunnel. The others followed her, prepared for a fight in case things went south.
Zarian drifted forward from the back, staying in the tunnel¡¯s darkness, making himself a little more inconspicuous. He surveyed everything with his own eyes from under the dense darkness of his leather hood.
The confident speaker and the armed men behind him were indeed human. They all looked like the average Caucasians with brown, ck, or yellow hair.
Most of the local humans had youthful features and clean-shaven faces except for the speaker and some other important-looking men. Honestly, even the speaker looked young despite the bushy mustache he was sporting.
The men were decently armored in mostly leathers with a few metal pieces such as vambraces, greaves, and a breastte each. All of them had simple metal and leather helmets that they strapped to their hip if it wasn¡¯t on their heads.
Each man carried on him a medium-length sword along with a bow-and-arrow set or a full-length poleaxe. There were at least two hundred of them, and as Zarian used Identify on the nearest ones, their information surprised him.
¡
And so on and so forth. Many of the soldiers had the same ss that lookedmon in quality, which meant they would only get 2 extra points per level outside of free points.
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Their alpha skills varied little outside of five to six basic buffs or strikes except for the one or two oddly unique skills that were still basic, lesser, or somewhat weak for their level.
The only bigger exception was the young man with the mustache who was addressing Bianca and two other men with higher statusespared to the regr foot soldiers. Zarian used Identify on all three, starting with the one furthest in the back and ending with the one who was talking to Bianca.
These three were more interesting while closer to Zarian¡¯s level. They did not feel powerful, however.
Zarian doubted their sses were rare because they each shared the same ss as cadets. But he didn¡¯t think they could bemon like the foot soldiers, so he ced them as umon, which gave them 3 extra stat points per level.
Zarian was vastly more powerful than them. He trusted Naomi could make their heads explode with a punch each. Bianca, Hannah, and Gilbert could mop up the rest of the soldiers if the numbers were more favorable.
Fighting hundreds of humans was out of reach for them right now. There was the morality part, but Zarian wanted to think if it came down to it, they would massacre their way through at least a fourth of them while making a run for it.
Hm, oh, that¡¯s aggressive.
Zarian wondered if the evil +1 alignment was having some influence on him. It didn¡¯t help there was too much do-gooder energy in the army camp. Most of the soldiers seemed neutral, but the goodness in the air was still thick.
Rnd and his officers were obviously good aligned, which made Zarian¡¯s mood feel a little sour toward them.
This is why I better take a backseat on the social front and let Bianca handle that. This world might be a ce where most humans prefer good alignment.
There were other details about the camp Zarian wanted to survey, but the crux of the problem was finally being addressed ¨C Zarian himself.
Rnd shifted his attention from Bianca and the others to the obvious evil-doer lurking in the shadows of the tunnel¡¯s exit.
Zarian, not wanting to be impolite, attempted to greet Rnd. Instead of lifting his hand out from the darkness of his cloak, Zarian had the Parasite Cloak raise a bone-tipped tentacle and wave as an introduction.
¡°And that is our amazingly friendly and nuanced party member, Zarian Darkrun!¡± Bianca said with a bright and enthusiastic marketer attitude she must¡¯ve learned as a rum promoter. ¡°He¡¯s been such a big help for us while we¡¯ve been lost in Corma. Goblins. Spiders. Golems. He helped us fight them all even though he¡¯s not very strong when looked at under a bright light.¡±
Zarian thought Bianca was doing her best while trying not to lie too heavily. He would¡¯ve preferred if she just called him weak and be done with it.
Maybe Naomi¡¯s killer re steered Bianca away frommitting fully to the lie.
¡°Men, raise your arms!¡± Rnd shouted.
¡°Wait, no, he¡¯s not bad! He¡¯s on our side!¡± Bianca waved her hands frantically.
¡°I¡¯ve yet to meet an evil-doer who¡¯s on the side of good, or he wouldn¡¯t be evil! Humans aren¡¯t born evil. He could¡¯ve chosen to be good!¡±
Rnd¡¯s logic wasn¡¯t exactly wrong.
Zarian could¡¯ve chosen anything other than an evil aligned ss. But nothing suited him better than the epic ck Wizard Apprentice ss.
Rnd didn¡¯t seem to care about the nuances. ¡°You can¡¯t tell me he hasn¡¯t infected you with his wickedness already. Just look at what he¡¯s done to her!¡±
Rnd readied his sword in one hand while pointing his free hand at ¡
¡
¡
¡ Naomi.
As the nearest men armed themselves with bows, arrows, and poleaxes, Zarian¡¯s party fell gravely quiet.
It was as if they all collectively wondered if Rnd was pointing out something that they weren¡¯t seeing. Or if he was pointing out something that he shouldn¡¯t point out under the current context.
Rnd roared on with unfiltered boldness:
¡°My dear, on my name and honor as Rnd of Wood, a rising Low Rose Noble, I will find you a priest to cleanse the filthy taint from your skin and make you pure once more!¡±
Bianca screamed. ¡°Ah! Wait! No! That¡¯s not right, Rnd! That¡¯s her skin color! She¡¯s ck!¡±
¡°How terrible and heinous! Did that fiend in the tunnel do that to you? Leaving your entire person ckened with no way to cure it? I shall make him undo the curse or end him rightly under witness of Purgehunt, Purehome, Lovewar, and the other good gods!¡±
Despite the serious threat to Zarian¡¯s life, Gilbert broke out into a howling fit ofughter, his palm to his face. Hannah covered her own face from second-hand embarrassment.
Naomi looked like she was about to strip Rnd of his own skin and force it down his throat.
¡°Would it be easier if I handed myself over and showed you I¡¯m a friend?¡± Zarian asked smoothly, his voice resonating from the darkness of his hood.
Before Rnd and his men could react grotesquely, Bianca took advantage of the idea Zarian tossed out there. She even conjured some lights and miniature shes to pull attention back to herself, surprising the soldiers and making them fall back out of wariness.
¡°He said he¡¯ll hand himself over! He¡¯s not putting up a fight whatsoever! He may be evil aligned, but he¡¯s not evil in heart, and I can say this without a doubt that he¡¯s a friend. Or do you not trust me when I¡¯m as good as you?¡± Bianca pointed at Rnd¡¯s chest, taking a more assertive stance.
¡°You are obviously foreign. You said it yourself. We know not of this world called Florida. Why would a ce of swamps hold princesses if they are not witches? And the mannerism of your speech and entricities are odd. So how can I believe you when I see obvious evil at work¨C¡± Rnd waved his hand at Naomi ¡°¨Cwhile you vouch for the evil one hiding in the tunnel!¡±
Chapter 29: They Suck
Things weren¡¯t looking good. Rnd was a do-gooder idiot, and this world or continent didn¡¯t have ck people.
Zarian wondered when the killing would begin, but held back for a little longer. He wanted to believe his party could help him in these hard social interactions.
It would get boring if he answered all of his problems with only violence. The violence would feel less special.
¡°Rnd, we don¡¯t have time to debate this. We must head back to Bramblevale on the double now that we¡¯ve scouted this far without engaging the gnolls!¡± said another Garden Officer Cadet, the one with the Paralysis Dust skill.
¡°Alright, alright, I think I can step in and give y¡¯all a helping hand.¡± Gilbert patted Bianca on the shoulder as he spoke with a drawl. ¡°Why not put him in cuffs and under watch? We¡¯re all on our way to Bramblevale to rest and rx and get some info about thend. Can we travel with you if our scary friend over there is kept under guard?¡±
Zarian wondered how Gilbert felt putting forth the ¡®jail¡¯ option. It wasn¡¯t a bad idea, though. It didn¡¯t bother Zarian because he was certain he could break free of any cuff or jail as he was now.
¡°I hate this,¡± Naomi grumbled.
¡°It¡¯s what he wants,¡± Hannah reminded her, her gauntlet-d hand behind the small of her back. The roller golem was waiting behind her, too.
Bianca looked distressed by the turn of events before leaning fully into Gilbert¡¯s suggestion. ¡°If you¡¯re so unnerved by an innocent and harmless friend, then at least let him show you he¡¯s nothing to fear. And maybe we can even help you with any gnoll problems along the way.¡±¡°Must I remind you adventurers aren¡¯t allowed in the Eternal Garden Kingdom?¡± Rnd growled while lowering his sword.
He was listening to them. The proposal wasn¡¯t without merit.
¡°Can you include us as temporary conscripts of your unit, officer?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°Well, yes, I can, but you¡¯ll¨C¡±
¡°Then there¡¯s no problem. You can do the paperwork when we get to Bramblevale. I¡¯ll be expecting field rations for all of us. And I want to see where and how Zarian will be contained,¡± Naomi demanded with a whip-crack authority in her voice. ¡°Once he¡¯s contained, I mustn¡¯t have to exin he won¡¯t be harmed, do I, officer? You won¡¯t dishonor yourself by attacking a man who did you no harm under witness of gods, would you? Or are you not good?¡±
Rnd lost some nerve. He wasn¡¯t a small man. He stood a head taller than her, but Naomi¡¯s palpable force of will was undeniable.
¡°Yeah, what she said!¡± Bianca added with a shining cheer.
¡°Okay, okay, I seem to understand the situation better. Let¡¯s go about this with your ¡ suggestions.¡± Rnd¡¯s hard stance copsed, agreeing to their terms despite his position of authority and the obvious numeral advantage of his army unit.
Zarian wasn¡¯t sure how Naomi enforced her will so easilypared to Bianca¡¯s attempts, but maybe there was more to Naomi¡¯s high Willpower than she let on. Or she was so intimidating she should get a trait for that.
¡°My trait didn¡¯t work like I wanted,¡± Bianca murmured when Rnd walked away, leaving his foot soldiers with orders to watch Zarian¡¯s party.
¡°It did and didn¡¯t,¡± Gilbert drawled. ¡°You screwed up by making us out to be foreigners, so Rnd went on guard. But I think things worked out anyway because it didn¡¯t break out into a fight.¡±
¡°You want to give me your eyes, boy?¡± Naomi asked, ring at the nearest foot soldier gawking at her. ¡°The way you have those eyes glued on me makes me think you want to give them up.¡±
The foot soldier took a few steps back and whispered loudly to hisrades. They called Naomi a ¡®ck she-devil¡¯ or ¡®evil-touched woman¡¯ or ¡®tainted one.¡¯
Naomi sighed, one hand on her hip, the other hand balled into a loose fist. ¡°This is going to get old fast,¡± she grunted.
¡°Just me me,¡± Zarian offered.
¡°No, sir. Not for this one.¡±
The others didn¡¯t know what to say. Gilbert looked a little sorry forughing earlier.
Thankfully, a man carrying a box appeared to hurry things along. He set the box down and flipped it open, showing thick cuffs that could fit the wrists and forearms. They had a single key hole in the middle with visible runes that glowed with a dull gray blue color.
¡°Come forward, evil one, and get a hold of these on you. The Basic Lawkeep Aura Cuffs can strip you of fifteen levels of aura. If all you are is Level 15, then you¡¯ll feel like your old Level 1 self again.¡± The foot soldier squinted at Zarian. ¡°Say, what level are you?¡±
¡°A level of power that¡¯ll change as soon as I put these on.¡±
Zarian walked out of the tunnel exit and heard the gathered soldiers gasp at the full sight of him. They would see the dense darkness hiding his face under his hood. They wouldn¡¯t see much else as his Parasite Cloak reached to the ground, hiding his body along with his stride.
From the outer perspective, it would look like he was gliding across the cobbled ground to reach the box with the special cuffs. The men watching him shook with fright or red with anger, hands tight around their weapons.
Zarian saw the cuffs were already open and ready to ept him.
¡°I¡¯ll put them on for you,¡± said the grunt.
¡°I got it.¡± Zarian had Para seize the cuffs with her tentacles. A dozen men jumped in rm while others readied for a fight.
Zarian ignored them and stuck his arms out in the open. He grimaced at the direct touch of twin sunlight. Para pped the cuffs on him, locking them, and he noted the changes in his aura.
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It felt like he lost five levels worth of natural aura. He could recover that plus a little more with his Overpower trait.
Is that it? That¡¯s disappointing.
Zarian had expected better. Or maybe his Aura Channeler trait was that strong. These poor bastards had no idea he could screw up their day at any time
Holding his cuffed arms in front of him, he watched the soldiers smile and cajole. They celebrated as if they caught a great evil viin themselves.
¡°We don¡¯t have special jail wagons to waste on you, evil one,¡± spat a young soldier named Herold. ¡°And we¡¯re low on field rations until we get back to Bramblevale, so yourpanions get served first before you, if anything remains.¡±
¡°I would prefer that. I¡¯ve gone hungry plenty of times before, so I¡¯ll be okay,¡± Zarian said smoothly. ¡°They, on the other hand, are still growing and in much more need than me.¡±
¡°Why not hunt from thend?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°That¡¯s the property of the Eternal Garden King, and under the witness of Good God Kingsblood, we shan¡¯t be taking what¡¯s belonging to a king and a god and their picked Rose Nobles,¡± Herold said.
¡°Oh.¡±
¡°Now stop your nickering and go over there to that kart where you can get proper gear. You all look terrible and unsuited for real soldiering with your fancy and uwful adventurer ways. If the gnolls attack, expect to get thrown in first as conscripts ought to be. You uwful adventurers from the World of Swamps and Princess look soft to me, only good enough to feed them evil, murderous mutts.¡±
Herold gave them all a nastyugh.
Zarian wondered if Herold wouldugh if he had parasitic strings running through his flesh.
Para quivered subtly, her bloodlust and hunger rising.
Zarian let the entertaining thought run its course before pushing it aside. Herold was a nobody. He didn¡¯t matter.
The officers ced twenty men on guard around Zarian as the soldiers picked up their stuff and cleared out their camp. At all times, Naomi made sure one party member stayed close with Zarian and monitored the soldiers serving as his ¡®guards.¡¯
Hannah took up that role since she wasn¡¯t interested in anymon gear. She also liked the extra space afforded to Zarian inside a circle of guards, making it easier for her to experiment with her Roller Golem and Runic Gauntlet.
Naomi and the others were upied by back-and-forth talks with the young officers ¨C Naomi pretty much took the lead role while Bianca used her Shining Trust to enhance Naomi¡¯s demands and arguments.
Gilbert stood as the big muscr man that he was and as a healer ¨C which shook the entire army unit when Gilbert let that out. The soldierscked a healer, strangely enough, so Gilbert¡¯s value along with the rest of Zarian¡¯s party shot up.
Herold and his adventurer-hating nonsense were nowhere to be seen or heard from now.
We should probably lead with us having a healer the next time my evil alignment causes social issues, Zarian thought. Good to know now.
¡°What game are you ying, Zarian?¡± Hannah asked under her breath as thete afternoon turned darker.
¡°Crouching tiger, hidden dragon.¡±
¡°That feels risky to me, but I get it. The moral alignments will make everything harder. So you have to ¡®hide¡¯ yourself in in sight.¡± Hannah grimaced. ¡°I will fight them with everything I have if they harm you, okay? You more than earn that from me.¡±
Zarian smiled, feeling warm inside. ¡°Just be prepared in case the gnolls attack.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve only yed a little of the tabletop game. I don¡¯t know what those are.¡±
¡°It¡¯ll be some sort of monster that tries to hit humans with crude weapons and eat them at the same time. Maybe it¡¯ll look like a hyena-man, maybe not.¡± Zarian chuckled as he nced around at his ring of guards.
They kept trying to hide their curious gazes of Zarian, the Roller Golem, and Hannah. Zarian imagined the stares for Naomi were much worse. He¡¯d already caught a few staring hard at her backside.
These guys had seen little outside of their usual day-to-day. They were sheltered soldierspared to the diverse and modernized background of Zarian¡¯s party.
There were also no women among the soldiers.
Zarian¡¯s female party members must¡¯ve noticed that from the getgo. Hence Hannah staying close to him while the others had Gilbert nearby.
Yeah, sure, Naomi would be fine, but better safe than sorry.
We have a lot to learn and watch out for in this world.
At the very least, there was plenty for Zarian to examine now. Despite the obvious issues and dangers, it was still amazing to see actual humans from another world.
The soldiers moved differently, spoke archaically, harkening to old English, and used weird animals as beasts of burden to haul their carts. The cart pullers looked like six-legged oxen with six horns curled out from their heads.
They were called Hill-Striding Hexaox, and they were at most Level 15. They kept snorting and shuffling away from Zarian¡¯s position, the beasts bellowing at him in warning.
That might be Para¡¯s fault. The hexaox sensed the unnatural predator among them.
Zarian gave the Parasite Cloak mental promises to feed herter as he kept looking around. Not all the supply carts had hexaoxen pulling them. A few dozen of the soldiers took turns pulling carts where they werecking a beast of burden.
These guys feel inferior for the best fighting men across all the Walled Continent, Zarian noted.
The soldiers were all young, most of them several years younger than Zarian. And the officers sound like they were trying to wrangle the army unit like herding children while talking from a position of weakness or uncertainty the longer Naomi, Bianca, and Gilbert dug into them.
I bet Naomi is finding all of this disgusting as a hardcore Marine. Bianca¡¯s doing her best. And Gilbert¡¯s probably the most cool headed one.
Zarian saw it all as fascinating, even while cuffed and under constant watch from soldiers who would stab him in the back if given the chance. He could overpower them, but the real question he wanted answered was how well they could fight.
They¡¯d grown up here in the Infinita Star System. They probably could swing their swords and adapt to encounters better than Zarian¡¯s party even if they were technically weaker at an individual basis.
Though, his confidence in their potential abilities waned as Zarian listened to them further. They talked about their fears, frustrations, and vices openly and loudly, paying more attention to conversations than their environment.
Having fears made sense, especially when Zarian overheard there were monsters in the mid to high Level 30s called Forest Wulvers in the northern parts of Bramble Wolf Forest. Apparently, those monsters were ferocious killers and gluttons without mercy.
They sounded like a fun fight for Zarian, but he understood how scary those would be to weaker men.
If they¡¯re so worried, shouldn¡¯t they pay closer attention to their environment?
Zarian felt annoyed with their inattentiveness.
Hours into their force march to Bramblevale, they reached the Bramble Wolf Forest. It was on the eve of sunset when the army entered the big, fortified tree line.
The gnolls chose that moment to unleash their attack, which was unsurprising for Zarian. That was a suitable spot to set up an ambush. All the young officers and their subordinates reacted a few steps too slowly, strangely enough.
Now Zarian was left with a choice to make.
Should I help? Or should I observe?
One of his guards copsed with a hideous arrow wreath of thorns running through his skull. Zarian looked left and right as the fighting pushed the soldiers even further on the back foot.
Oh ¡ they suck. They really, really suck.
Chapter 30: Gnoll-Slaying
Zarian knew the basic doctrines of warfare. He had to since he¡¯d spent time as an infantryman in the Marines, even if it was for a short stint.
He hadn¡¯t seen livebat as a Marine Infantryman. Still, he¡¯d done enough studying and training to get the gist of how war fighters ¨C the Marines especially ¨C should establish dominance in the theater of war.
A fighting force needed to either have overwhelming firepower that others would consider overkill. Or the fighting force needed to enforce their will on the enemy through purposeful aggression, sometimes to an unreasonable degree, to knock the enemy off bnce and keep them reactive instead of active.
A reactive enemy was more predictable than an active enemy.
The soldiers of the Eternal Garden Kingdom had neither the overwhelming firepower nor the purposeful aggression. They had numbers on their side based on what Zarian could tell as enemy arrows rained down from slits in the towered trees on the right and left of their path.
With the shadows growing longer between burning orange rays of the setting sun, he guessed there were thirty to forty shooters in the tree towers. Then he looked ahead of their path and spotted huge, furry, and frenzied figures that looked like hyena-men. There were about ten of those that fought on the ground with barbaric clubs covered in spikes andrge swords carved out of bone.
The soldiers had a four-to-one advantage against the gnolls. But the gnolls were absolute savages.
They werebining superior positioning, the element of surprise, and absolute aggression to wreck the garden soldiers in the first exchange ofbat.
Barely half a minute went by and at least thirty soldiers died with two dozen others injured. It was like watching a gang of children face off against a smaller gang of wild dogs, and the children were getting mauled and brought down.I can¡¯t stand idly by and observe, Zarian realized. I don¡¯t really care for them, especially when they want me dead, but this is just sad.
Besides, Hannah looked like she wanted to jump in and help. The other party members were in the thick of fighting at this point.
¡°Come, Hannah, let¡¯s take the towered tree on the left,¡± Zarian said, after receiving a quick dance from a spectral spider reporting on Naomi, Gilbert, and Bianca.
Those three were going for the towered tree on the right to dismantle the gnolls¡¯ arrow-shooting superiority. Thankfully, the spectral spiders were adapting quickly to the problem and have already started dismantling traps in the right towered tree.
The spectral spiders even thought ahead to send members into the left towered tree. They were already dismantling traps for Zarian and Hannah.
The Summon Spectral Spiders skill was a highly versatile and intelligent power. It was probably high in quality, most likely rare. Its next advancement would be interesting to see.
Having the spectral spiders roll the red carpet treatment for his party put Zarian in a good mood. Even when surrounded by violent deaths and screams of injured young men crying for their friends and family at home.
There were no guards remaining around Zarian. They were in the thick of the fighting by this point.
The big and heavy gnolls fought so ferociously the officers struggled to keep a brave enough line of soldiers to hold at the front. Other soldiers took up their bows and arrows and shot back at the gnoll archers at the top of the towered trees. They weren¡¯t doing so well, but at least they were providing pressure on the enemy archers.
Zarian moved at a brisk walking pace with Hannah and the Roller Golem behind him. His Parasite Cloak swung out tendrils of flesh and bone to bat aside arrows flying down at them. The gnolls¡¯ attention on him wasn¡¯t so bad since the garden soldiers were at least trying to fight back.
But the longer he moved in a straight line while remaining unbothered by the fierce and bloody fighting, the more attention he gained. Even the garden soldiers looked perplexed as he strode casually past them. Eventually, one of the gnolls fighting on the ground split off and ran straight at him and hispanions.
Zarian used Identify:
The gnoll stood at least eight feet tall with cordial muscles that rippled with strength on a stooped, bent-over frame. It had spotted hyena-like features, milky white eyes, yellowed teeth, and a foul air that stank of rotten flesh and feces fuming from its mangy fur.
Other than the loincloth, it wore nes, bracelets, and even anklets on its brawny arms and digitigrade legs. All of its jewelry held trophies from those it had killed: teeth, fingers, ears, or pieces of rib bone.
It was a horrible creature that wanted nothing more than to batter and break its victims with the big, one-sided bone sword it held up with a single wed hand.
Oh, sweet, something perfect for my special fire spell that I haven¡¯t finished learning yet. Zarian kept his walking pace and direction the same, only turning his head. Show me how tough your vitality is, won¡¯t you?
Zarian shot a blunt beam of darkness straight into the gnoll¡¯s gut and stopped its charge. The berserker stumbled back, its surprise clear on its bestial face from feeling the force of Zarian¡¯s magic.
Meanwhile, Zarian had a good idea of how much padding the creature had after that test shot.
Just to be sure, he shot the gnoll a few more times on its chest, arms, legs, and even groin. He forced it to stumble back while holding its big bone sword defensively to ward away attacks.
¡°Not bad. It¡¯s pretty tough, but not as tough as the lost knight,¡± Zarianmented. ¡°Try hitting it with Roller, Hannah. See if you can kill it with one shot, or I will.¡±
¡°Yes, sir.¡±
Hannah reached out with her gauntlet-d hand. Runic symbols shed bright pale blue from both the gauntlet and the surface of the two-foot-wide ball of marble-like stone.
Roller Golem released a pulse of kic force into the ground, striking down with a heavy thump and jumping to Hannah¡¯s outstretched hand.
Zarian watched in amusement as Hannah¡¯s gauntlet captured the Roller Golem while negating its obvious weight. Then she swiveled around and aimed the heavy stone ball at the berserker. She took a few seconds to apply some runes, giving the berserk a chance to roar in rage and charge forward.
¡°Go, go, Roller,¡± Hannah said under her breath as Zarian slid behind her before she finished her magical artillery preparations.
The force from Roller¡¯sunch didn¡¯t affect her or Zarian who hid behind her. Instead, the shockwave pushed outward in every other direction. The ground in front of her rippled, and the cobble stones and dirt shuddered. Twigs, foliage, and dust flew with a roaring whoosh.
Roller turned the berserker¡¯s bone sword into ivory splinters and smashed the gnoll¡¯s face into a stter of gore.
The Roller flew in a downward arc and crashed near the other berserkers. It kept rolling, striking a berserker¡¯s legs, knocking it down, and turning to roll over them.
¡°It¡¯s on autopilot, set to disruption and killing of enemy units,¡± Hannah exined, smiling at her rampaging golem. ¡°It¡¯s incredible. Like sophisticated intelligence that uses magical runes for coding instead of any programmingnguage from the old world.¡±
Zarian nodded as he led them into the base of the towered tree. A spectral spider revealed itself and gave a report with its dance: the traps were cleared, the enemies were ounted for.
It was tower climbing time, and Zarian could already hear the gnolls running down from the top of their fortification to meet him on his rise.
¡°I¡¯ll hurt them, and you kill them, Hannah. Can you handle that with your gauntlet?¡± Zarian asked, finding a set of ancient stone steps covered in roots and vines.
It was nice and mostly dark here. A few blood-red rays of sunset beamed through gaps in the walls.
Hannah picked up a twig and used an enchantment to turn it into a magical light torch. She raised it over her head while staying behind Zarian, then she said, ¡°I¡¯ll try, but sending off Roller like that took a big bite out of my aura.¡±
¡°Then try to shoot between the eyes with the least amount of power needed for a kill. Now here theye.¡±
Two gnolls came crashing down the stone steps, appearing smaller but quicker than the berserker version. They were six feet tall, much skinnier and mangier than the berserkers. They had Tribal Archer Grunt as their sses, Level 25 and Level 24, but they armed themselves with bone hatchets for melee fighting.
Zarian figured the other gnoll archers would be weaker in levels than the berserkers while still posing great dangers to most soldiers and adventurers. They weren¡¯t much of a danger to Zarian when he was ready for them.
The Parasite Cloak ensnared them, catching them by the ankles with tough leather lines covered in sharpened bone shards. She wrapped them up with more thin threads that were as tough as steel wires, slicing into their mangy fur and flesh.
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The more they thrashed and tried to fight, the more Para entangled them, cutting, slicing, and digging to the bone. Then Para spread her strands like long, flexible needles through their bodies. That was when the real screaming started, their voices bouncing off the walls of the towered tree.
Hannah moved carefully around them and aimed down the palm of her gauntlet. Her face was stony, business-like, and pinched with focus. She emitted a sharp kic bolt straight through the eye, one after the other.
¡°Go ahead and eat, Para,¡± Zarian said, pressing his elbow to Hannah¡¯s back to guide her up the steps beside him, the aura cuffs remainingtched onto his arms. Their suppressive effect made the fighting more interesting for Zarian.
The Parasite Cloak dragged her meals along from behind, chewing, gulping, drinking, slurping, indulging herself. Zarian didn¡¯t feel the drag or weight, since the living cloak could offset any inconvenience for him. She was a superb cloak.
More footsteps thumped down the steps from above. The gnoll archers yipped and growled with promises of bloody savagery. They even spoke limited English, their words reserved as a chant for something ¨C or someone ¨C they revered.
¡°Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!¡± chanted the horde of gnolls.
¡°Zarian, a thin line of darkness from here to here, please,¡± Hannah requested, pointing from one staircase wall to the other.
Without question, he delivered, then watched her ce a quick enchantment on the thin dark line.
The gnolls were on them a secondter. Four of them this time. Zarian took a cautious few steps back with Hannah retreating with him.
He prepared some dark tactics to bar downhill momentum of the rushing gnolls¡¯. Unfortunately, one of the gnolls moved faster than Zarian had expected, abusing a speed boost skill.
Zarian saw a blur of spotted, mangy fur with teeth and an axe nearly on him.
Then the blurry form split around him and Hannah and sttered against the walls, blood spraying everywhere. The other gnolls behind the first suffered simr fates, splitting at the torso or losing their head, their downhill momentum used against them when they ran into the line of darkness Hannah had enchanted.
Zarian formed dark tentacles to clear the body parts out of their way.
¡°Brutal, Hannah,¡± Zarianplimented.
¡°I¡¯m growing more familiar with how the Star System operates. I¡¯m almost scared of who I¡¯ll be when I think of more efficient ways to remove animated and/or living problems of all sorts.¡±
¡°I¡¯m interested to see that as long as you don¡¯t hurt yourself in the long run. That¡¯s more my speed.¡±
¡°I suppose, Zarian, I suppose.¡±
They continued upward, entering a floor that had dismantled traps lying all over. Spectral spiders saluted them as the two outsiders kept their upward march. Another spectral spider appeared around the bend of the stairway wall and waved its legs frantically in warning.
Zarian stopped as an arrow covered in thorns passed inches by his face, ricocheted off the wall, and struck Hannah¡¯s side.
Sucking in a sharp breath, he examined the damage. Hannah was fine, if not bruised.
Her medium spider armor resisted stabbing damage, which included arrows, and it had the Reinforcement +1 enchantment on top.
Still, Zarian felt a little annoyed at the close call and was d Para finished eating and was happy to spread her threads ahead. She caught some living prey and gave a vibrating purr, saying that it was okay to continue upward.
Zarian activated his Bloody Lifesteal spell while the grimoire remained inside of him, filling the next floor with crimson light from the blood spill unleashed by Para¡¯s flesh-eating threads and tendrils. The gnolls screamed in horror as parasitic strings and threads ripped the flesh off their bones while their life drained into Zarian, which gave him quite the high.
Hannah moved with a quick, ruthless stride and put a sharp kic hole through each of the gnolls¡¯ skulls. She looked a little more cold, a little more apathetic, after taking a solid hit to her ribs.
The dead eye gaze on her face reminded Zarian of a woman wiping a dirty mess off the counter tops with a sanitizing napkin. The gnolls were nothing but a mess for Hannah to wipe away.
¡°Let¡¯s go faster,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Yes, sir,¡± Hannah replied.
Zarian¡¯s Parasite Cloak took on the form of an eldritch spider with tentacles made from flesh, bones, and teeth. Para snapped out threads and tendrils to tether to the ceiling of bark and stone. She wriggled her feelers into the gaps in the wall where the fading light of dying day still beamed through.
More and more of herself extended, ensnared, and built a moving web of tangled flesh while keeping Zarian¡¯s body cloaked. Then Zarian half-crawled, half-slithered, half-swung up the next set of stairs, with Hannah running in pursuit.
Less than ten archers remained. Zarian and Para steamrolled over the ones that tried to rush them from the top of the stairs.
The gnolls screamed as a storm of bone-tipped whips, toothy tendrils, and ded strands tore across their bodies and stripped pounds of flesh and fur off their bones. They were barely standing before Hannah hit them with the equivalent of a pure energy icepick to each of their heads.
Zarian found five remaining gnolls. Each one was Level 30. They shifted fast and carefully around Para¡¯s reaching limbs and spurs of bone. Arrows soared in return despite the limited space and time.
The Parasite Cloak withdrew and hardened around Zarian¡¯s body, soaking all the hits for him. Changing tactics, Zarian withdrew Para¡¯s flesh even more and let her be an indomitable wall of leather wrapped around him.
The daylight finally died out like a snuffed me. Darkness swallowed the top of the tower except for a soft light emitted from the twig Hannah held in her free hand. She waited on thest steps of the staircase.
Zarian let out a deep and foreboding sigh. He pulled back his hood and revealed his face.
The gnolls growled, one speaking ahead of the others: ¡°Your bloody death will honor the best god, Kill.¡±
¡°Kill! Kill! Kill!¡± chanted the other gnolls.
¡°I don¡¯t serve a god or goddess. None of them gave me a decent enough deal to represent them. At least not yet.¡± Zarian shrugged. ¡°So your death will only serve my whims. And my current whim is feeding more levels to my brilliant enchantress.¡±
¡°We will eat her!¡± replied the lead archer.
Zarian shook his head. ¡°No, you won¡¯t.¡±
The gnolls had quick and dexterous alpha skills. They were much faster than Zarian in a foot race. Their vitality was higher than his even if the archers weren¡¯t frontal fighters. They already had their bows up and their arrows drawn. And he still had on the handcuffs that suppressed his aura.
By most means, he was at their mercy.
The Honored Outsider filled the entire room with dark spikes rising from the floor and falling from the ceiling. It happened so brutally fast the archers didn¡¯t have time to maneuver to the stairs. The arrow slits were too narrow for them to escape through.
Theirst attacks struck Para¡¯s hardened leather without leaving too much damage except for one arrow that had some solid power to it. That one knocked the air out of Zarian, throwing him back to bounce off the stem of a dark spike.
¡°Are they all dead?¡± Hannah asked.
Zarian wheezed a little before he let out a chuckle. Beyond him, the sounds of painful groaning and raspy breaths from the gnolls answered Hannah¡¯s question. It wasn¡¯t easy, but Zarian managed to puncture all the gnolls without killing them.
He slowly disengaged the spikes and dropped the quickly bleeding bodies on the floor.
¡°I¡¯ll need some heavy training to make up for these quick levels, Zarian,¡± Hannah said, cold and analytical. ¡°I appreciate the privilege of your support, of course.¡±
She killed them off one by one, executioner style. The way she held the shining twig before releasing a spike of kic energy made her look like a merciless phantom of death drifting through the darkness.
When she reached thest gnoll, it sputtered fearfully, breaking the usual savage character of the gnolls.
¡°Wait, please, I don¡¯t want to die,¡± the gnoll said, gasping for air. ¡°I¡¯ll serve you. I¡¯ll kill for you. Let me live, please, my mistress.¡±
The angles of lighting from the twig shrouded Hannah¡¯s eyes in darkness, making her appear unreadable and scary. She raised her gauntlet without uttering a response.
The gnoll screamed for mercy.
Hannah sted its brains out.
Zarian couldn¡¯t help but smile the whole time, feeling warm inside. He was very proud of Hannah and her growth.
Turning away, he looked out the arrow slit and saw the other towered tree the gnolls upied had gone still. There was a broken hole in the wall with a thick branch sticking out, and standing on it, high above the cobbled forest floor, was Naomi.
She jumped off the branch and dove toward the berserkers still fighting below. Zarian held his breath until he noticed the near-translucent lines of spectral spider webs working for Naomi like a bungee cord.
With her momentum killed, she broke free of the webs and gave thest berserkers down below a fight for their lives. Roller was still rolling into the enemy¡¯s legs, breaking digitigrade joints and bones, acting as a great assistant for a magic ball-shaped golem.
¡°We¡¯re winning,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Will we take control of the soldiers?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think these children are very much capable of leading themselves. Someone must¡¯ve sent out the most ipetent unit, or the Eternal Garden Kingdom wouldn¡¯t exist.¡±
¡°Take control, huh?¡± Zarian raised his cuffed arms. ¡°Nah, we won¡¯t take control. We¡¯ll ¡ make suggestions.¡±
He felt Hannah staring at him in confusion. He turned to look at her fully, waiting for her to speak her mind.
¡°My blood is running high, and I¡¯m filled with adrenaline. So what I say next might note from a rational mind. But I think if we want to make it to Bramblevale with fewer casualties, we should drop the pretense and simplymandeer their unit.¡±
¡°No,¡± Zarian said.
Hannah let out a frustrated sigh. ¡°You can crush them even with that thing on you. I can see how the aura cuffs are stressed to its limits, straining to contain a fraction of your power. You are practically a demigodpared to the rest of us ¡ why are you ying by their rules?¡±
Damn, Hannah, you¡¯ve be a little authoritarian really quick. The Star System had truly worked wonders on the formerly meek woman. Or was that his fault?
Or was Hannah always capable of this and didn¡¯t have the right outlet until now?
Zarianughed, thinking back to his conversation with Ariana. He was d that he¡¯d acted to help the soldiers instead of standing back. He would¡¯ve looked like a hypocrite if he hadn¡¯t helped.
Even if they were jerks, they hadn¡¯t done enough bad to deserveplete eradication like the gnolls. Even if he could take over, he had no reason to assume that much responsibility. He wanted to direct his focus on more personal matters.
¡°Honestly, Hannah, I don¡¯t have a grand strategy.¡± Zarian shrugged. ¡°I just find it amusing to y pretend.¡±
¡°You are a devil, Zarian Darkrun. And I feel like I¡¯m bing one of your sinners.¡±
Zarian¡¯s smile grew even wider. ¡°Isn¡¯t it fun?¡±
Hannah didn¡¯t answer.
She didn¡¯t say no.
Zarian led them down the stairs while Para picked up a few corpses and items to store away forter. After some thought, Zarian said, ¡°y your role. You did all the killing. And I was just there as your support, barely scraping by. They¡¯ll listen to you all far more now. And that¡¯s without them feeling taken advantage of because you and the others are their gnoll-ying heroes.¡±
Hannah was probably fuming at this point.
Zarian hadn¡¯t exactly lied. Hannah had done all the killing, and gained a heap of levels because of that. She could im to be the hero of the left towered tree even though most of the credit should go to him.
He stopped at the bottom floor near the exit. ¡°Remember what I said? Crouching tiger, hidden dragon? Maybe it¡¯s unnecessary and everything will work out fine while I get a chuckle here and there. Or maybe you¡¯ll think of me as a genius when it turns out I was right to hide and wait.¡±
¡°You¡¯re relying on luck.¡±
¡°It¡¯s called Wonder in this universe, Hannah. Gotta get with the program. Now, go on. Head held high. Atta girl. The soldiers already look like they want to worship the ground you walk on. Own it, Hannah. Own it.¡±
Chapter 31: Force Monk
Zarian had his hood up, his cloak covering his body to hide his features from the surrounding soldiers. Bright blue magic torches shone with a quiet, vibrating hum around the former battlegrounds, pushing away the surrounding dark better than normal mes. That helped illuminate the young soldiers as they groaned, shouted, and worked in a frenzy to sort through the wreckage, the living, and the dead.
Eerie creatures hooted, hissed, and croaked from the stony forest, which was home to nighttime beasts stalking about, some with a taste for human flesh. The soldiers feared what other dangers the forest might contain while Zarian wanted to revel under the curtain of night.
With his face hidden from all observers, he let himself grin as he examined the levels of his party.
Bianca was at the lowest end, Level 23. Hannah was Level 24.
Gilbert was Level 25, which must¡¯vee from killing gnolls andpleting his own side quest. He was busy ying field medic now, healing as many people as possible.
Oh, look, he went up to Level 26. Apparently, saving lives gave experience, too. Maybe not as much as taking lives, but there were a lot of grievously injured soldiersying about.
Naomi was Level 27, two levels away from Zarian. She stood on the corpse of thest defeated gnoll, the strongest berserker the enemy had. Blood and brain chunks oozed from the openings in the gnolls¡¯ head.
She looked mighty and victorious despite the scrapes and bruises she¡¯d suffered. She stood proudly on her conquest while looking down at the only officer alive, Rnd, the one who¡¯d greeted them first.
Rnd seemed to have moved past the issue with her ¡®evil skin¡¯ and saw Naomi for what she was: a savage and heroic killer, one of ¡®four¡¯ saviors his soldiers could look up to.This is perfect. If we leverage this moment with Rnd, he could help us out in town. That¡¯ll get us past some of the awkwardness of being foreigners. It was unfortunate that young men had died from this incident, but Zarian was more focused on the positives.
He wanted to join them and watch how everything proceeded from the back. But when a spectral spider scampered in front of him, making erratic gestures of warning, he knew he was needed elsewhere.
The spectral spider was one of a selective group he¡¯d sent out far to scout forward, watch their rear, and stay observant of their nks during the attack. Now that he knew Officer Rnd and his soldiers were ipetent youthscking proper training, he wanted to do more in the background to save them from another ambush.
The spectral spider¡¯s informative dance sent chills down Zarian¡¯s spine. There was one remaining gnoll enemy, and it felt ferociously strong to the spectral spider, far stronger than the strongest berserker.
Zarian summoned a new spectral spider and told it to give a webbed message to Naomi: ¡®I¡¯ll be back.¡¯
He turned away and became one with the night, his Darkness Affinity maximized. Everybody lost track of him, which wasn¡¯t hard since they weren¡¯t focused on him.
He walked off the path and headed in the direction the scouting spectral spider pointed out to him
Leaving behind the others left Zarian with an odd feeling of regret, like he was breaking away from his usual routine. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time, nor thest. He¡¯d gone on a solo adventure in the White Spider Dungeon, although that came about because of trap walls separating them.
This was the first time he voluntarily stepped away.
Would that bother them? It was bothering him, but Zarian figured moments like these were necessary. There woulde times when he had to go solo for a little while.
The others are strong enough now. They can handle enemies above their level. At least most of them can. I might have to work on Bianca a little more, but other than that they can lean on each other if I¡¯m not with them. It wouldn¡¯t be good if I¡¯m always being a helicopter all the time.
It wouldn¡¯t be good if he became too rxed about his own development, too. He could¡¯ve finished studying the special fire spell by now. But the urgency wasn¡¯t quite there.
He had felt little urgency except for when he first arrived in the Infinita Star System. He was so powerful that he¡¯d handicapped his own brain and used the opposite of a wizard¡¯s style just to make a boss fight with Reiki more interesting.
Being powerful is wonderful, Zarian thought. I can face down foes who would¡¯ve normally squashed adventurers at my level. I can demand respect when I¡¯ve never demanded respect before. I can even y pretend and hide my true strength just because I can.
These were all wonderful benefits of being overpowered at his level. However, Zarian also knew there were forces many times stronger than him. There had to be.
Or he wouldn¡¯t feel so thrilled by the prospect of saving Foodie and making her a part of his party once the Grimrock Warlock was defeated. He wouldn¡¯t be thrilled to reach the first ss advancement, grind up some levels, hit up the Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon, and then pay that tailor a visit in Carrowmore.
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He did feel mild about learning the power politics involved in the Eternal Garden Kingdom and understood why they send out young men to die. Maybe he would have to dethrone the king or pull off some other exceptional feat, which he wouldn¡¯t mind doing if it wasn¡¯t too much of a hassle that was out of his way.
Doing that among all the other things on his list would mean he¡¯d face bigger and greater challenges. He would face creatures that would truly test his mettle.
I will have my cake and eat it, too.
He would see his party be stronger and stronger. He would still push himself to be the strongest of all.
I know you¡¯re sprinting to catch me, Naomi. And to be honest with you, I¡¯m d you are. But I¡¯ve got an ego, too. I won¡¯t let you catch me easily. That¡¯ll be embarrassing with the head start I have on you.
Zarian stepped out from the tree line surrounding a field of tall wild flowers, piles of stone blocks, and small hills of smashed forts. The moons were out now, shining white, orange, and blue in the dark expanse of twinkling stars and half-lits.
With a long and calming breath, Zarian let his abilities unwound and stretch out.
The Grimoire of ck Magic 102 phased out of his body, spectral chains rattling, as the covers spread open and the pages flipped on their own. The Parasite Cloak stretched out for nearly three dozen feet behind him and to the sides. The cloak pped against the wind, looking like a tattered g of flesh with gruesome gaps, strings of leather, and lines of ivory bone appearing across Para¡¯s form.
The darkest shades around Zarian became darker and denser. All traces of the night¡¯s light were consumed in those heavy dark spots, as if he alone was a singrity that would feast on all of reality.
The aura cuffs remained on his arms.
His Straight Darkness +1 remained in the beta skill section.
With this, Zarian figured he could push himself. Either he would find victory. Or he would face defeat and death.
A gnoll wearing torn-up monk clothing sat on the biggest hill of broken forts in the middle of the field, with a river-moat circling around his seat. The gnoll looked with wide-open and frenzied eyes at Zarian¡¯s striding form.
This gnoll was bigger than the archers, but smaller than the berserkers. It was also better groomed while wearing jewelry made of leather strings with no other additions. Its ¨C or his ¨C other item of note was a gourd he lifted to his fanged mouth, pouring its liquid contents down his gullet messily.
Once the gnoll finished drinking, he lowered his drink and let out a satisfied sigh. Then, with a booming voice, he yelled, ¡°You¡¯ve killed my promising little brothers! They¡¯ve killed thousands of their own brothers and sisters so they could have this hunt!¡±
The gnoll shook his head, emotions running high as he snarled. ¡°We¡¯ve spared your viges and farms. We¡¯ve yed by human rules and sent you a written paper with our intentions. Why did you stop the hunt? Does the Eternal Garden Kingdom want to war with the Blood Prairie Savages instead of letting us hunt?¡±
Zarian took his time to sort his thoughts based on the new info he received. As much as he liked to y things with a humorous bent, this sounded pretty serious.
At the very least, the gnoll sitting on the hill of broken forts didn¡¯t rush him. The gnoll seemed to expect a wise answer or apology.
Eventually, Zarian had the perfect response:
¡°Because I do what I want.¡±
Not bothering to hear the gnoll¡¯s reply, he formed a ten-foot javelin of dense darkness. He shot it straight at the gnoll and watched the javelin pierce the distance in a blink without making much of a sound.
The creature expediently tied his gourd to his waist while swinging his free fist. He deflected the dark javelin with a sting force that sounded like someone striking a gong. The gnoll stood to his full height at seven feet, and Zarian tried to use his Identify trait on him.
¡°I felt what you did, so I will tell you this before you die,¡± growled the gnoll. ¡°I¡¯m Level 41. My advanced ss is rare! I¡¯m a Force Monk, and I will kill you!¡±
By the time the Force Monk finished his deration, Zarian formed a dozen long javelins that were denser than the first. He sent them flying in an adjustable salvo, one after another, tracking how the Level 41 moved and defended himself.
The Force Monk solved all his problems by punching the javelins head on. He deflected each javelin with greater sts of explosive punches. He even threw kicks with his punches, sometimes in unison, when Zarian threw two javelins at the same time.
The Force Monkunched from the top of his hill of rubble like a missile. He kicked across the distance in the blink of an eye. If Zarian hadn¡¯t been ready, the monk would¡¯ve caught him.
Instead, the wizard fled away, using the Parasite Cloak to swing him to safety while shetched onto arge pir of stone blocks. Zarian sent smaller, quicker projectiles in scattered shots at the monk as he struck like a bomb where Zarian had once stood. The nearest stone-bark trees swayed and groaned, the earth shaking from the impact.
¡°Do not run! Face your death!¡± The monk sprinted out of the crater and from under the volleys of dark projectiles with impressive speed.
He cocked back his palm, then thrust it forward, releasing a torrent of pure force.
With the help of his Parasite Cloak, Zarian zipped out of the way of the force torrent. He avoided the second force torrent by half a foot.
He felt the threads from the Parasite Cloak tear asunder when the monk targeted Para this time around.
Disconnected from theirst tether, Zarian flipped freely through the air, making him an easier target. The Force Monk howled like a frenzied beast andunched upward with another flying mega kick.
It might¡¯ve looked like an easy shot at first until Zarianunched a powerful dark beam torrent of his own ¨C dense, oppressive, and ck like the depths of the abyss.
The monk¡¯s flying kick and Zarian¡¯s dark beam collided.
The monk sliced upward through the beam regardless of its power. The kicknded, breaking the Parasite Cloak¡¯s meaty defense, and hitting with such force Zarian¡¯s ribs broke and put him in a world of hurt he hadn¡¯t felt in a while.
Zarian even vomited, sending chunks of hisst meal into the monk¡¯s face.
But that was it.
The kick wasn¡¯t a kill shot.
Too much of Zarian¡¯s dark beam had softened the blow.
Now Zarian had the monk where he wanted him. The wizard struck with a second powerful dark beam he¡¯d charged up already.
Chapter 32: Black Fire
The amount of concentration it took to fire one powerful dark beam while charging up a second in secret was so enormous, Zarian overworked his aura channels, making his brain feel like it was unraveling. It didn¡¯t help that he had two handicaps, the aura cuffs and his Straight Darkness +1 in the beta skill section.
He still had the glorious view of the monk¡¯s eyes widening in surprise before getting struck down from the air. The beam smashed monk into the earth with a ground shaking thump and kept pummeling him until Zarian needed to let up just to breathe a strangled breath.
Battered but useable, his Parasite Cloak formed into a parachute that gently set him down on the ground.
Zarian gasped and sputtered, his torso a volcano of erupting pain. He could barely stand, his legs wobbly.
He fought through the pain. He clenched his jaw, grinning and bearing it. He focused his vision on his grimoire and did some quick reading.
Meanwhile, Para dropped off the goblin skeletons from the cloak. Zarian raised them up from piles of bones to their held-together necromancy forms. He also summoned a hundred spectral spiders.
¡°You dare read in the middle of a battle, spell caster!¡± roared the monk, beat up, but alive. The vitality he had must be ridiculously high. ¡°Your books won¡¯t save you! I will snap your limbs! I will rip out your heart! I will honor the dead and pray in tribute to Evil God Kill, the best god!¡±
Zarian kept reading while coughing up blood. His skeletons and spectral spiders ran boldly at the Force Monk.
Nobody couldnd a hit or a bite on him. He punched out shockwaves of force that scattered the skeletons and obliterated the spiders.Loner remained mostly upright by rolling out of the way. A few spectral spiders held on tightly to the inside of his ribcage for dear life. The other skeletons tried to reassemble themselves when they fell to the monk¡¯s attacks, but the gnoll caught on.
He sent more shockwaves at the bone piles and smashed the fallen goblin skeletons into ivory splinters.
Loner remained thest skeleton standing.
Zarian sighed with a raspy voice and mmed his grimoire shut with a thought. The spectral chains rattled once before the grimoire phased back into his body in a ghostly manner.
¡°Sorry, I should¡¯ve been better prepared,¡± Zarian said, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. ¡°Your friends shouldn¡¯t have perished like that, Loner.¡±
The lone goblin skeleton shrugged. He nced back at Zarian, gave him a nod, and stepped from between the wizard and the monk.
The gnoll monk growled. ¡°When you die, I will report to the tribe. Then we will attack the Eternal Garden Kingdom without mercy. All of your men will be eaten, your children made into toys, and your women defiled. Evil God Kill will watch proudly from on his throne of death!¡±
Zarian raised his cuffed arms. Threads from the Parasite Cloak reached into the keyhole in the middle of the heavy restraints. Para fussed around with the lock mechanism, and, with a heavy clunk, freed him.
He sighed with relief. He regained his usual power on top of having the Overpowered trait. His aura shot up considerably.
¡°Good game,¡± Zarian said, before hurling denser javelins faster and harder than ever before.
The monk¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, dodging instead of deflecting. The sheer force of the javelins passing nearly yanked him off bnced, the air rippling in the wake of the powerful projectiles.
The gnoll barely flipped backwards in time before sharp spikes thrust up from the deep shadows on the floor. Hended on top of arge stone block lit under the three-moon night, palm cocked back before thrusting forward to shoot a powerful force torrent.
Zarian¡¯s newest dark beam smashed into the force torrent. He pumped more power, more force, more density into his dark beam and crushed the monk¡¯s force torrent.
Again, the monk¡¯s eyes shot wide with surprise before flipping out of the way of Zarian¡¯s attack. The monk kicked his legs behind him, releasing a force st from his feet. He careened forward like a ball out of a cannon and flipped into another powerful flying kick.
A dense, dark pir rose from the ground and blocked the monk¡¯s kick with a resounding crack and thump. Most of the pir dissolved away, but some of it remained, with Zarian standing unharmed behind the crumbling pir.
The monk looked on with his hyena-like mouth agape, gobsmacked by the incredible disy of magical prowess. He reacted too slowly when a fast and needle-thin spike of darkness attacked from behind. The thin spike pierced his back shoulder and ran halfway through.
The gnoll howled angrily, arm raised, then he split the dark spike with a forceful hand chop. Doing so was costly for the monk because he was distracted.
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¡°ck Fire.¡± Zarian gave life to his new spell while the monk¡¯s attention had diverted away.
Hand extended, ck and gray embers bloomed into existence from Zarian¡¯s palm before erupting into a furious but quiet gout that rushed forth to consume the monk in his entirety.
While his attention had diverted to the spike, the monk hadn¡¯t remained inattentive for long. He replied to the ck Fire spell with a desperate kick of force, swiping it away and forcing the wizard to respond.
Zarian hunkered down inside a suit made from his Parasite Cloak while bound to the field by stakes of bone.
Para lost more of her material, suffering to defend her master, and Zarian felt the shockwave pass through him even when Para soaked most of it up. Sharp, burning pain from his broken ribs reminded him he didn¡¯t have long. The pain nearly sent him down to his knees.
Barely able to stay upright, Zarian pushed past the pain as Para peeled off of him. He shot a new attack: a dark beam wreathed in ck Fire.
The monk didn¡¯t have any adequate defenses while caught in an awkward position after throwing that desperate kick. The ck-med dark beam struck home and crushed the monk into the stone-littered ground.
The ck-med dark beam pushed the monk through block after block until he crashed into one that was too hard for both the monk and the wizard to move.
Zarian poured more darkness and ck mes on the monk, holding nothing back. He crushed the monk against the immovable stone block with an unrelenting force that pulped flesh, broke bone, and burned away vitality at an increasing rate.
Hurry, Zarian thought hazily as he kept exhausting his aura with the heavy dark beam and ck Fire.
Hurry up and die. Blood was pouring out of his mouth as waves of nauseating pain struck him again and again from his busted torso.
Hurry up and fucking die! Zarian took his rage and poured even more aura into his attack. The dark beam and ck Fire grew evenrger, more wrathful, more damaging, hitting with a roar that resonated far and scared all the local beasts and shook up the nearest stone trees like they were suffering from a relentless storm.
The huge, immovable stone block shattered, pulverized under the epic power of the ck Wizard Apprentice.
A deluge of gold notifications appeared, starting with the one Zarian wanted to see the most, his magic output winding down. After that, he went through all the gold boxes.
Caught up on notifications, Zarian cut off his overwhelming beam fully. The ck mes sputtered out without vitality to feast on. The silence was loud until he realized the meaning behind the first notification and the defeat of the Gnoll Force Monk.
¡°Bastard,¡± Zarian groaned. ¡°You weren¡¯t Level 41, you were Level 47. What was the point of lying about that? To make me think I have a fighting chance instead of running?¡±
I would¡¯ve switched Straight Darkness from beta to alpha if I had known.
He should¡¯ve done that before entering the battle grounds. He should¡¯ve hurried up with ck Fire before this fight. Now Loner was thest goblin skeleton, and he¡¯d only gained one level from this.
Yeah, fuck me, I got too cocky. Now my ribs are broken. They hurt so much I¡¯m ready to ck out.
He wasn¡¯t in the mind frame to appreciate the other notifications. Not at this moment, at least.
Zarian nearly fell over, but something stopped him. When he looked down at himself, he noticed little threads piercing his body.
Para was running more threads through him now, wrapping him up from the outside going in.
The sensation wasn¡¯t painful, but he was highly aware of her spreading everywhere, like a parasitic root system. Then his own pain lessened considerably.
¡°Para, what did you get for your advancement?¡± Zarian brought up the upgraded skill.
Zarian beamed with a bloody grin before feeling parasitic threads invading up his neck and down his limbs. The threads crawled all over, showing under his skin like tree roots under soil.
The parasitic threads even wormed in and out of his eyelids and over the surface of his eyeballs. They reached every part of his flesh, even his scalp.
Once they covered him thoroughly from the inside, the threads concealed themselves, merging with him seamlessly at the obvious ces, but not everywhere. If someone looked closely, they might see parasitic threads worming under the skin of his neck.
Zarian ¡ felt greater. More whole. But there was a burning, insatiable, almost torturous hole inside of him. It howled from within him, feverishly so.
The hole needed to be filled with something tasty. It needed a lot of tasty things to fill it, or Zarian would suffer.
¡°WE are HUNGRY!¡± growled Zarian, voicing his and Para¡¯s appetite.
He let the cloak eat her fill of the gnoll monk¡¯s crushed remains. Once satisfied, the hunger abated, but not by much. He needed food for himself, which led Zarian to staggering back the way he came to regroup with the others.
They better give up as many rations as possible. Or Zarian would tear through the fortified forest like a ravenous wolf, breaking all the rules and providing all the disrespect to the Good Gods.
Purgehunt, Kingsblood, whoever the fuck, they could all suck it! The hunger was no joke!
Where was Foodie when he needed her cooking?
Chapter 33: Grimrock Dealings
While Zarian dealt with hunger worse than he¡¯d ever felt before, Jack Masters ran out of goblins to ughter on the subterranean floors of Castle Grimrock.
Jack hadn¡¯t expected this to be a problem.
At first, he¡¯d taken his time practicing his new ss and leveling up, avoidingrge groups by singling goblins out. When facing his prey, he¡¯d acted like a scavenger with legendary potential and ambushed lone goblins after they wounded themselves from in-house fights.
To Jack, it was more important to rise and survive than to take unnecessary risks. How else would he face the man he was meant to kill if he died off too early?
Once Jack grew more confident, he¡¯d singled out the goblins who stood as themest and fought them head on. Then he¡¯d fought against two goblins at the same time.
He¡¯d increased the difficulty by fighting against three. He¡¯d stopped upping the ante at five goblins, working up a good routine for a while.
He¡¯d eventually fought over a dozen goblins lying in wait to ambush him.
He should¡¯ve died. Instead, he¡¯d thrived. He¡¯d gone on a rampage from there, sting apart scores of goblins with his star crossed hatred.
He¡¯d imagined each goblin¡¯s death as the man he would overpower and kill. He¡¯d purged the subterranean floors of the dark, tainted, and corrupted goblins with a zing fury.He¡¯d gotten so used to massacring the goblins he¡¯d lost track of time and lost sight of leveling up efficiently. He¡¯d grown far too strong for the goblins to give meaningful experience and run into a wall at Level 24.
Then the goblins stopped showing up, hence his current dilemma.
At least he wasn¡¯t alone with his problems. Whenever he needed a break from life-and-death goblin ying, he went to see the one ¡®evil¡¯ goblin he could tolerate.
Jack entered the ve Cook¡¯s kitchen to seek her wise counsel on how to continue his quest to grow powerful and destroy his sworn enemy. As always, the kitchen was a mystical sanctuary filled with food, herbs, refreshments, water, and even sweet beer.
The proprietor had mentioned going on runs to keep the ce stocked, but Jack had never seen what the mystical kitchen looked like when Foodie wasn¡¯t there. It felt like she had to be there when he needed proper sustenance and rest after long days of the grind.
There was always the sound of something sizzling on a pan or boiling in the pot. Or the sounds of the crackling mes from the oven and the heavy thunk of arge butcher knife striking on a cutting board, parting the flesh of meat or the bodies of vegetables.
Then there were the smells that hijacked Jack¡¯s senses and took him far away from the pain and brutality he¡¯d experienced, making him imagine a friendlier world without blood and vengeance.
At least for a moment.
Then Jack snapped out of it and saw things for how they were.
Foodie acted like a proper Non-yable Character in a game. Easily predictable. Almost friendly, even if she reminded Jack of a stoic cat.
Jack didn¡¯t like cats. They weren¡¯t as obedient as dogs. But he made an exception for Foodie ¨C even if she was so evil her presence made Jack¡¯s good aligned nature feel on edge.
That would go away after the first ten minutes or so while around her. Still, the difort served as a reminder that the ve Cook was evil just like Zarian.
Setting aside his singr focus to overpower and kill Zarian Darkrun, Jack looked at Foodie while washing his hands. She was working on a new meal with expertise that would make the most famous five-star chefs back in the old world beg for her tutge.
She¡¯d always mentioned how she was only feeding him her lowest stock. Yet her powers over stat growth were masterful.
He¡¯d earned new stats at least twice now,ting an extra ten stat points overall because of Foodie¡¯s magical cookingbined with his own efforts.
Surely, that was incredible, regardless of her insistence on giving him her worst meals. Jack could hardly believe that. It all tasted so amazing and would put him in a proper stupor for resting safely on a bedroll.
Jack sat at the table and examined Foodie¡¯s back as she flipped over some meat on the pan. Her ears raised up slowly from down to up, signaling that she was more likely to listen if he wanted to start a conversation.
¡°I ran out of Goblin Corrupted to kill,¡± Jack exined. ¡°They had been plentiful, then they stopped appearing.¡±
¡°Mother doesn¡¯t see the point in feeding you weak goblins anymore.¡± Foodie shifted from one stepdder to the next and went to stir around today¡¯s stew.
The smell wafting from the stew almost reminded Jack of something fishy. He hadn¡¯t known she could cook fish. Where had she gone to get that?
No, don¡¯t focus on that. Focus on her words. Jack shook his head and recalled what she had just said. The blood in his veins chilled, his eyes widening.
¡°Your mother? I believe you¡¯ve once told me she¡¯s the Grimrock Warlock,¡± Jack said.
Foodie nodded without looking back. ¡°That would be her. She knows you¡¯re here. She doesn¡¯t feel the need to stop you after I told her what I know about you.¡±
Jack hesitated for a second, and in that hesitation he realized how he¡¯d allowed himself to grow too soft around Foodie.
Yes, the food was delicious.
Yes, her abilities to encourage extra stat growth was phenomenal.
But Jack was the Star Crossed Hater, and his hatred needed to remain pure, sometimes cold, sometimes hot, but never satisfied or hesitant.
This ce is its own trap, Jack realized. Like a honey pot. Like the carrot and the stick.
Jack stopped hesitating.
He let his hatred flow pure, unfiltered.
He rose from his seat at the dining area. His Star Affinity and Destroyer of Evil traits empowered him while he activated all four of his skills.
He charged a Star Bolt in one hand and conjured his Star Sword in the other hand. He prepared his White Immtion Shield to go off when an enemy attack drew close. Hisst skill, Star Crossed Judgment, was in his beta section, since it wasn¡¯t immediately useful.
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He gave it some aura to make Foodie feel unnerved.
¡°I let you live because I find you useful, ve Cook!¡± Jack shouted, his voice booming while backed by Star Crossed Judgment. ¡°Don¡¯t take my kindness for weakness or I will destroy you. Now tell me everything you told the Grimrock Warlock.¡±
Foodie didn¡¯t turn around. She didn¡¯t stop or freeze. She shifted from one stepdder to another to continue cooking.
Then she casually stepped down to the kitchen floor, picked up her stepdder, and took it to the kitchen ind where she had chopped vegetables and herbs waiting for her.
¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± Jack roared.
Foodie ced the stepdder down and climbed to the top. She gathered the ingredients together before pausing, ears moving up and down as she went into deep thought.
She muttered to herself about needing another spice before climbing down the stepdder and going off to the side to look through her supplies on the shelves. She tapped her foot and let out a scratchy hum, which was another one of her rare but unique quirks. She liked to croon and perform wordless songs while she cooked.
Jack snapped, letting his hatred fly as a white, sparkling bolt of captured star light. It packed the power of a high-explosive missile.
The Star Bolt streaked across the limited space of the kitchen while Foodie held a jar of crushed spices, a sack of herbs, and more ingredients in her hands.
The entire kitchen shed with an air-shaking red light.
The Star Bolt stopped inches from hitting Foodie, the entire kitchen quaking. Then a loud roar like beast awakening resounded from all around Jack, making him fear for his life for the first time in a while.
Meanwhile, his powerful and destructive Star Bolt whirled into itself before getting snuffed away, leaving smoke and nothing more.
¡°You aren¡¯t very smart for a vengeful and hateful human,¡± Foodie said, walking casually back to her cooking station with her ingredients. ¡°The sanctuary¡¯s safety measures are engaged. I told you how you¡¯re safe here for twenty-four hours when the sanctuary is activated. As the owner of the sanctuary, I¡¯m protected as well. I have the option of rejecting you.¡±
¡°I just want to know what you¡¯ve told the Grimrock Warlock!¡± Jack¡¯s heart pounded as he felt an encroaching pressure surrounding him.
He pointed his sword at Foodie and watched the magic saber run into an invisible wall, unable to cut through while sending sparks flying back at him.
¡°Don¡¯t piss me off, Foodie, or you¡¯ll regret it!¡± Jack warned, not really believing himself.
¡°You really do remind me of my mother,¡± Foodie said, now back in front of the stew.
She sprinkled in new ingredients as she stirred. Then she shifted to the other stepdder and removed the meat from off the stove top.
¡°Well, maybe you will get along with her,¡± Foodie said. ¡°She wants Zarian Darkrun dead. She¡¯ll even work with you to make that happen.¡±
Jack froze, dumbfounded. It was hard toe to grips with a potential offer from an evil warlock that would help him defeat his sworn enemy.
His heart of hatred saw it as an opportunity, overriding the more logical mind. If the Grimrock Warlock could provide for him, strengthen him, make it easier to defeat his sworn enemy, why wouldn¡¯t he ept?
In the end, it was all for the greater good.
¡°You¡¯re not even asking why she would offer that.¡± Foodie stopped for the first time to look at Jack. ¡°Your hatred is certainly pure. But I¡¯ve made a mistake.¡±
¡°What mistake?¡± Jack asked nervously.
He was caught in an invisible cage. If Foodie used the sanctuary¡¯s power to end him, could he fight that?
¡°I thought helping you would be normal. Hatred. Vengeance. The singr focus for absolute power and strength. These are universal regardless of being good or evil. Perhaps it means more for evil, especially. Yet, after I examined your growth, I find it ¡ pathetic.¡±
Foodie shook her head, the long braid hanging behind her swaying with the motion. ¡°It was only for a short while, but I¡¯ve met someone else I found more worthy of my attention. I wish for him toe back and take me from this ce, and in return, I will serve him and his friends with my best cooking.¡±
Foodie sighed. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t talk about this aloud. It makes the wait harder. It is painful to be evil and to have hope for something more positive. The Good Goddess Hopnd can make hope extra torturous for those in the evil alignment.¡±
The more she talked, the angrier Jack felt. The angrier Jack felt, the more he saw sparkling white around his vision.
It had never urred to him to ask who hade to the kitchen before him. It had never urred to him to ask if he was getting the lowest and less desirable portions of her food stock, then who had gotten the best of her food?
Jack didn¡¯t want to know.
But he had to ask.
¡°Who is it? Who¡¯s making you talk like that? Who is it that¡¯s getting your best food and making you smile like that?¡±
Foodie reached up and touched her face. She traced her ws over her little smile. Her ears went up and down, her eyes wide with surprise. Then she let out an uncharacteristic chuckle before grabbing the stew pot with one bare hand and taking it off the stove.
¡°Who else but Zarian Darkrun?¡± she replied.
Jack saw nothing but white, like he was in an imprable field of stars. He didn¡¯t care if the sanctuary¡¯s defenses were in his way. All he wanted was to destroy the infection set here by his sworn enemy.
And for a split second, the entire sanctuary shuddered, as if Jack¡¯s destructive fury had taken it by surprise and nearly blew out whatever enchantments made it work.
Then Jack woke up with a killer headache.
His body hurt all over, covered in bruises, cuts, and burns. When he tried to sit up, he stopped as an overwhelming pain passed through him.
He had fractures, breaks, tears, and many internal injuries. But he was alive, and he was outside of Foodie¡¯s kitchen.
The white hot rage returned.
Jack dragged his beaten body to the kitchen. He couldn¡¯t let Zarian¡¯s presence overtake treasures like Foodie and the mystical kitchen sanctuary.
If Jack couldn¡¯t have them, then he would make sure Zarian couldn¡¯t either ¨C he would destroy Foodie and her kitchen. But when he tried to pass through the doorway and get down the steps, an invisible force rebuffed him.
He tried and tried, but he kept getting thrown back.
¡°Foodie!¡± Jack shouted. ¡°I won¡¯t forgive this betrayal! You will pay for this! You know Zarian is off limits! How can you do this to me? We could¡¯ve been friends!¡±
Foodie ignored him as she set a table up for a meal.
Jack felt a sliver of emotional distress. He didn¡¯t ¡®love¡¯ Foodie or anything as ridiculous as that. But her food and her offer of rest at the sanctuary were the few bright sides that contrasted all the darkness and pain of leveling up and murdering monsters alone.
Jack recognized the emotional attachment and med it solely on Foodie for making this horrible trap.
Then he let his rage consume him. This was Zarian¡¯s fault. It was all his fault!
He¡¯d infected Foodie before Jack could set her straight. Zarian had poisoned the well and salted the earth, leaving nothing good and sacred.
¡°Foodie,¡± Jack called. ¡°I wille back stronger. I will destroy this poisoned ce. I will purify you from Zarian¡¯s evil influence. This isn¡¯t over.¡±
The little goblin finished setting up her meal and climbed onto the seat, her little feet kicking back and forth with plenty of space to spare from the floor. She lowered her head and ears and closed her eyes.
She prayed openly to the Shadowfell Goddess. Then she had a meal alone.
And ignored Jack.
As if he meant nothing to her.
Jack watched from the outside for longer than he cared to track. Then he dragged himself down the hallway, his vision fading in and out, his pain increasing.
If the other goblins found him, this would be their best chance to kill him.
One did find him. But he remained alive.
She was unlike any goblin he¡¯d seen before. She was tall, pushing past six feet. She was dressed maturely in an intricately tailored purple and silver gown matched by a pair of tall, dark heels. Her skin was dark green, close to the ck of the Corrupted, while still having hints of her original hue.
Her face reminded Jack of Foodie, but she smiled more often and had wrinkles that her makeup couldn¡¯t hide.
¡°I hear you have immense hatred for what could be a troublesome pest,¡± said the Grimrock Warlock. ¡°And you¡¯ve run afoul of my misguided and woeful daughter. Let use to an understanding.¡±
¡°An understanding?¡± Jack groaned, looking up from the ground before her.
¡°The pest ¡ is a mutual enemy. And my daughter is a precious, precious treasure who needs to remain under ¡®our¡¯ control. What do you say, Jack Masters?¡±
¡°Will you help me be stronger so I can kill him?¡±
¡°Oh, human, I¡¯ll do better than that. I¡¯ll help you learn how to defeat adventurers all on your own. I have knowledge of hunting grounds and the many ways to beat other pesky humans. You¡¯ll be so prepared, Zarian Darkrun will beg for your mercy before you end him.¡±
Jack struck a deal with the warlock of Castle Grimrock.
Chapter 34: Fractured Mind
¡°So, I think we¡¯ve started a war,¡± Zarian said, after wolfing down part of the cooked meat of arge beast he¡¯d hunted in the forest.
His party was there, sitting around the campfire. A spectral spider had beckoned them to leave the soldier camp and meet Zarian deeper into the dark fortified forest. The others were still waiting for the meat to cook all the way through.
Zarian couldn¡¯t wait. He tore off another b while it was still dripping, the meat thinly seared at the very least. He sunk his teeth into it ravenously, feasting with the nature of a beast.
He dominated the meal like it was a life and death match between his hunger and the drippy food in his hands. It felt like he was going to die if he didn¡¯t fill up the hole inside of him, so he feasted and feasted, tearing away another piece when the first wasn¡¯t enough.
Then, finally, the hunger subsided and Zarian felt a little more human.
No, I¡¯m more than human.
He felt superhuman. He felt more robust and powerful, his muscles flexing with inner parasitic power.
He didn¡¯t feel like a dainty wizard anymore.
From his throat, he let out a satisfied and inhuman growl. Then he gave the others a bloody smile from across the campfire.None of them batted an eye, which was a little disappointing. They¡¯d grown used to his strangeness.
Zarian carried on: ¡°So, yeah, someone, the king perhaps, had meant for the soldier kids to die to the gnolls as part of some fucked up peace treaty between the kingdom and the tribe.¡±
Zarian leaned back against a log while Para used a thin needle of bone like a toothpick for him. She picked at his teeth as he spoke on:
¡°We, of course, didn¡¯t let that happen. We killed the hunters, and I wrecked the Gnoll Force Monk, who might¡¯ve been the overseer and messenger for the tribe. But, uh, they¡¯ll probably wonder what the heck is happening when they don¡¯t hear anything for a while.¡±
Zarian had already given them the gist of the fight. He¡¯d withheld how he sped-read the ck Fire section while the skeletons sacrificed themselves for him.
That screw up was too embarrassing for him to share. And the way Naomi had looked up to him, absorbed by the details of the fight, kept him from speaking aloud the blunder.
Naomi was angry that he¡¯d left them with little warning. But she wasn¡¯t as angry as Zarian would¡¯ve expected.
They had an interesting rtionship where she was super loyal to the point of putting him on a pedestal while also being the only person who could tear him a new one for when he was a colossal idiot. It was an interesting bncing act, and right now, Zarian didn¡¯t want to distract from what was most important.
And I can scold myself for this one. Zarian nced over at Loner who stood outside of the warmth of the campfire. I could¡¯ve won faster if I had finished the ck Fire section earlier. I let myself procrastinate because I¡¯m so overpowered at my level, it¡¯s easy to ck off.
Loner¡¯s friends were gone because of him.
Things could¡¯ve gone worse if the goblin skeletons hadn¡¯t sacrificed for him. Granted, he would¡¯ve done scarily well if he¡¯d removed the aura cuffs and switched Straight Darkness +1 to the alpha skill section before the fight.
While Zarian was upset with his mistakes, he was also amazed by how far he could push himself even while disadvantaged.
Can I fight someone who¡¯s in the Level 50s if I go all out while in the Low 30s?
That was a scary prospect.
He wasn¡¯t just fighting their ss, stats, and levels. He was also fighting their years spent growing and rising in the Infinita Star System. He¡¯d have to ovee the power disparity and their wisdom and extra stat growth they umted over the years.
At least he had a benchmark, which wasn¡¯t satisfying. He would prefer to push higher than a twenty-level difference. He was also certain that there were different ¡®qualities¡¯ of opponents.
The lost stone knight had served as a tough enemy who could soak a lot of damage and continue fighting. But the monk was also tanky, quick, and could punch out shockwaves, which had proven more dangerous for Zarian.
The knight would¡¯ve been a bigger problem than the monk if it was in the mid forties in level and had a ss advancement.
Yeah, there are enemy types who will be weaker or stronger even at the same level. One might have more stats, traits, skills, while the other doesn¡¯t.
It was safe to say that Zarian could fight enemies between ten to twenty levels above him. The closer to his level, the safer.
¡°Was your Straight Darkness in your beta skill section?¡± Naomi asked, breaking the long silence filled by the crackling mes and sizzling meat.
Zarian froze. Then he said, ¡°Yeah, it was.¡±
Naomi reached up and rubbed the bridge of her nose. ¡°I¡¯m going to let this one go, sir. For this one time. Okay? We have more important things to worry about.¡±
Zarian let out a sigh of relief.
¡°I¡¯m sorry about the other skeletons,¡± Hannah said. ¡°I just figured out an enchantment that lets me double up on runes. I could¡¯ve enchanted them with Reinforcement +1 and another enchantment.¡±
Zarian looked over at Loner. The goblin skeleton looked into the dark, his arms folded over his ivory ribcage.
¡°Loner needs a refresh, if you don¡¯t mind. I think Reinforcement +1 and Amplify Force will suit him.¡±
¡°Amplify Force +1.¡± Hannah said with a small smile, patting her gauntleted hand on the Roller Golem beside her. ¡°I¡¯ve advanced a lottely thanks to my, um, new toys.¡±
¡°Not the best phrasing, but go on and speak your mind,¡± Gilbert drawled, taking out a knife to cut free a piece of meat from the campfire food. ¡°As for this screwed up situation we¡¯ve gotten ourselves into ¡ how can we get ourselves out of it? Do we have to just leave?¡±
¡°But we told Rnd we¡¯ll help as his foreign advisors,¡± Bianca said, wiggling her fingers over the campfire.
She captured some firelight and spun it into a single shiny ball. She kept at it before palming the ball of firelight into one palm.
Then she shot an intense and focused sh into her empty palm while diffusing it simultaneously. She¡¯d been doing that for a while now, and she failed more often than not, which had the skin of her free hand burnt and in need of Gilbert¡¯s Healing Force.
Gilbert looked miserable, more pale than usual. At some point, all of that healing drained more than just his aura. It affected his vitality, as if he had to borrow pieces of himself to help make others whole again.
He¡¯d done a lot of that to save soldiers who would¡¯ve died otherwise. Healing Force fixed vitality mainly, but it could secure someone¡¯s gging life energy as well.
More importantly, vitality could regenerate just like Health Points in a video game, especially with enough food and rest. So Gilbert would be fine. He didn¡¯tin much about healing Bianca, since she wasmitting to some painful but important training for herself.
Nobody was truly idle ¨C Hannah kept sneaking in runic study during lulls in the conversation. Naomi was using one arm to hold above her head a boulder that would¡¯ve crushed a handful of men t.
Zarian enjoyed seeing consistent training and study from his party. They motivated him. I¡¯m going to put some serious study time on the next spell, the weirdo gravity one.
He wished he could hop to that right now, but he was the party leader. He needed to steer his people through a rocky political situation that could turn out bloody.
¡°You guys know I¡¯m evil +1, but I like to uphold meaningful promises.¡± Zarian held out a hand to one of his spectral spiders and picked it up. He watched its near-translucent body dance around while filled with firelight like a living ss figurine.
He said, ¡°If we told Rnd we¡¯ll advise him, we¡¯ll do that, for a time. And for a fee.¡±
¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, we will get paid,¡± Naomi grunted. ¡°Ain¡¯t no way I¡¯m letting us show up to town all broke after all we¡¯ve done.¡±
¡°Amen to that, sister,¡± Gilbert drawled before having another bite of food.
¡°Acting as advisors won¡¯t be forever,¡± Hannah added. ¡°It¡¯s a temporary arrangement while also an opportunity to learn more about the Eternal Garden Kingdom. From what I¡¯ve heard so far, they¡¯re usually a defensive force, patrolling their main walls and staying within the kingdom¡¯s more guarded inner boundaries. This unit is young in age and level. Normally, most units have soldiers between Level 25 to Level 35 with officers in the early Level 40s.¡±
¡°They sent their youth as sacrifices,¡± Naomi said darkly.
She switched the boulder from one hand to the other above her head. She turned slightly, mouth open, and epted a cut of the meal from Bianca¡¯s hands.
Naomi chewed and swallowed before she continued: ¡°Can¡¯t say if our old world is perfect, but they wouldn¡¯t do something so stupidly tant.¡±
¡°Eh, it depends. But yeah, that¡¯s screwed up regardless of worlds and universes.¡± Zarian held up multiple spectral spiders, as they had a dance party on his outstretched arms. ¡°Still, we probably sparked something. So ¡ we either get to town, get what we need, and get out of dodge. Or we hang around for a little while and see whates out of it.¡±
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¡°Will the kingdom attack us?¡± Gilbert asked.
Everyone looked at him sharply.
Gilbert shrugged. ¡°Might be a possibility.¡±
¡°Yeah, no, that¡¯s nothing I¡¯m interested in,¡± Naomi said. ¡°I¡¯m not strong enough to take down a kingdom. Not yet.¡±
Zarianughed before shaking off the spiders. They skittered away, fading from view. ¡°I say we hit town and find what we need for the Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon.¡±
¡°Yes, I agree,¡± Hannah said, ¡°after we give some decent advice to Rnd and his soldiers. It wouldn¡¯t sit right with me when you, Naomi, and Gilbert could be a big help to them.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯m evil. But the other two, yeah,¡± Zarian said.
Naomi and Gilbert agreed.
That was that. Zarian¡¯s party would advise the young soldiers, arrive at Bramblevale, get paid, enjoy some R&R, get all the information and gear they needed for their next adventure, and leave. They weren¡¯t beholden to the fate of one kingdom.
From a pragmatic viewpoint, they had to keep moving to stay on track with their own goals, especially their main quest to save Foodie ¨C who was worth an entire kingdom, maybe more than the Eternal Garden Kingdom.
Bianca sighed unhappily. ¡°I don¡¯t like it. It¡¯s ¡ not good.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll stop and help the little people in need when we can. How about that?¡± Zarian offered.
¡°Well, I guess that works for me. I care about the little people more, anyway.¡±
Zarian shifted the conversation before Bianca changed her mind. She was the only good aligned person of the party, and regardless of his opposing views, Zarian didn¡¯t want to suppress her alignment.
He only wanted to manage it in a more beneficial way.
Talking about the gains and epiphanies was the easiest way to keep their campfire hangout from getting burdened by the political stakes. Honestly, it was the most important aspect of the night.
Zarian felt like a giddy kid as he heard Naomi, Gilbert, and Bianca¡¯s version of the battle of the two towered trees. They¡¯d faced more pushback than him and Hannah, and would¡¯ve died if it wasn¡¯t for Gilbert¡¯s tanking support, Naomi¡¯s psychic aggression, and Bianca¡¯s shy trickery.
¡°You three work well together,¡± Hannah admitted. ¡°I was practically walking through a field of bleeding bodies, picking off what Zarian leaves me, which was all of them.¡±
¡°That depends on when Naomi doesn¡¯t go gung-ho and run forward like a maniac,¡± Gilbert grumbled. ¡°Or when Bianca doesn¡¯t keep shing everyone.¡±
¡°Keep up,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Sorry!¡± Bianca chirped.
Zarianughed as insults flew across the campfire before they settled on the nitty gritty of their growth. Everyone was vastly stronger than they were before reaching the surface. Their skills had grown fast.
Other than Zarian and Naomi, who had already advanced their skills, the other three were at the cusp of seeing their skills advanced. Zarian felt relieved that his party was more likely to survive without him having to hover over them constantly.
Of course, his growth was the most ster. He¡¯d broken into the low thirties, now Level 33. He had the ck Fire spell under his belt, which could help dominate fights even more.
In fact, the ck Fire spell paired well with Gilbert¡¯s Healing Force ¨C the War Healer Trainee could deny healing of a single target with his Healing Force set to ¡®cancel,¡¯ which helped against high vitality targets who could regenerate.
¡°Damn, Gilbert, you are an all-around good tank and support for us,¡± Zarian admitted.
Gilbert took his time to answer, looking into the campfire. ¡°I don¡¯t want to make the same mistake I did with Keh.¡±
The mood soured a little, but Gilbert didn¡¯t let it stay that way. ¡°Enough about me. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s got powers out the wazoo. Now you got buffed up by Para and you can cast multiple spells when you couldn¡¯t before.¡±
Zarian jolted in his seat, nearly throwing himself off the forest floor. His log seat tumbled away after his backside smacked into it.
He had to remind himself that his body was more resilient and physically capable than before. He wasn¡¯t Naomi or Gilbert¡¯s equal in Strength ¨C Naomi now had 70 in Strength, Gilbert had 62 in Strength, and Zarian had 24 in Strength.
But Zarian still felt like a powerhouse because of his Overpower traitbined with the parasitic threads enhancing his body.
It was almost peculiar that Parasite Cloak +1 used a distinctnguage in the first advancement instead of the usual stats, but that was a curiosity for another day. Zarian¡¯s heart was pounding fast after what Gilbert had said.
¡°Whoa, chief, whoa! Am I not supposed to toss the praise your way or something?¡± Gilbert held up his hands.
Zarian reached down and hoisted the big man off the forest floor. His Parasite Cloak snapped and wavered dynamically around the campfire hangout.
¡°Did you say I could multicast spells?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I said? What? You didn¡¯t notice! You used the ck Fire thing while Loner was still upright.¡±
Zarian dropped Gilbert, and the big mannded with a thump. He grumbled under his breath as Zarian stalked around the campfire.
Naomi watched their party leader like a hawk. Bianca and Hannah looked up, concerned and interested.
Zarian¡¯s bewildered gazended on Loner. Then Zarian stretched out his hand and called upon his newest spell.
He felt resistance, but it wasn¡¯t terrible. His mind¡¯s eye split and envisioned two different spells from the grimoire. He felt his aura split down different channels that he was in charge of, not the System.
ck and gray embers flicked into existence and covered his stretched out hand.
Zarian gawked at the spell before bringing up his profile to look for a new trait. That meant one of two things.
Either this power was separate from the System.
Or he¡¯d created his own trait, and the System hadn¡¯t made it official yet.
Am I the creator of my power? Does the System dig up what¡¯s potentially inside of us and then present it as abilities listed on our profile for easier use?
Zarian looked at Gilbert. He was the only one outside of Zarian who had a strange supernatural quirk from the old world.
The Extra Life trait resulted from Gilbert¡¯s prior specialness, just like how Zarian¡¯s Straight Darkness had shown up before the Advanced Integration.
¡°Guys, if we work hard enough, we can make our own powers,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Just think about that for the rest of the night.¡±
All conversations ended there, each one having their own council with themselves. The next morning, Zarian was greeted by a notification that wasn¡¯t exactly what he¡¯d expected.
¡°But how does all that lead to me ¡ wait a minute.¡± Zarian got to his feet, shaking off his grogginess and ignoring his peckish hunger.
He found Loner hanging out by himself. Then he extended his hand and conjured the ck Fire spell.
Just like before, he split his mind¡¯s eye between two different disciplines of spellcraft runes. However, he paid closer attention to his aura around him.
He could honestly feel it flow inside and outside of him in a constant cycle. Part of his aura split off and fed into his cracked brain, enhancing his splintered visualization to support two spells.
He¡¯d never created a new ability to cast multiple spells. He¡¯d basically rewired his own brain to support his visualization of multiple runic symbols while controlling his aura to boost his unique mind.
Hell, he could feel the effect it had on him. His brain felt like it was sitting calmly in an abyss, the pieces held together while it fractured to multicast powerful ck magic spells from a soulbound grimoire.
¡°Your eyes,¡± said a feminine voice to his side.
He twisted around and noticed Naomi watching him.
¡°What about them?¡± he asked.
¡°They¡¯re usually brown. Now they¡¯re pitch ck. The type of ck that¡¯s so dark it feels like I¡¯ll fall into them and get lost. Forever.¡±
Zarian nodded slowly before ending the ck Fire spell and releasing his maniption of aura. All of this would require extensive testing. This might lead to unlocking Aura Ignition.
¡°I have good news.¡± Naomi shifted from side to side nervously.
What the hell? Zarian had to stop himself from gawking at her. You don¡¯t get nervous. It¡¯s so creepy. Cute, but creepy.
¡°What is it?¡± he asked.
¡°I¡¯ve earned a trait of my own,¡± she blurted out, looking relieved. ¡°It¡¯s called Physical Phenom, and it does what it sounds like, making everything about my body better. It¡¯s only umon, but it¡¯s something, right? I also got 2 more stat points in Strength.¡±
Zarian smiled broadly. ¡°Atta girl, I¡¯m proud.¡±
Naomi nodded and walked away stiffly. He watched her go before turning to face the early dawn.
Zarian forgot about his detest of the daylight and only thought of the endless possibilities.
Aura Channeler made it so he could do more of the same with less effort. Enemies who could disrupt aura and other people¡¯s abilities would find that hard to pull off with him.
Basic Aura Maniption made it so that he could control aura in unique ways outside of his abilities. For example, he used a separate aura channel to empower his cracked brain so he could visualize the multicast.
Fractured Mind was the System¡¯s acknowledgment of his umon way of thinking.
Theck of direct multicast support had to mean it was a hard rule the System stood by with most wizards ¨C unless the wizard had undergone self-lobotomy to get past that hard rule. Thus, the System ended up notifying him of a few things he¡¯d gained by ident, circumventing the hard rule.
He cheated the System by having a screwed up head.
¡°I almost feel like I should thank any god on my side,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Which is basically Shadowfell, it seems like.¡±
He¡¯d mentioned to his partyst night how the gods approved or disapproved of him again, but the conversation over the gods¡¯ involvement was brushed aside forter. So far, Shadowfell was two for two of approving Zarian.
So Zarian threw a bone her way. ¡°Yeah, okay, I¡¯ll give you some appreciation, even though you are kind of messy. Thanks, Shadowfell, and System, for approving of my overpowered growth and not nerfing mepletely.¡±
A weird shadow passed over him from behind. He turned to look and saw nothing unusual, only the blocky verdant forest and the light from the rising sun.
Zarian¡¯s cloak slowly crawled around the outside of his body and shielded him from the sun. When he amplified the darkness of his hood, Zarian noticed the aura channels linking Dark Affinity to reality, which deepened the shadows under his hood and cloak.
He watched how he only needed a tiny, tiny amount of aura to bend the world of physics andws to his whim.
Zarian ran around the forest like a headless chicken, testing out anything that came to his Fractured Mind. He didn¡¯t care what it was as along as it felt feasible.
Yes, he even ran fully into a blocky tree and tried to condense aura in front of him to stop the collision.
That ended up as a failure followed by a visit to the local War Healer Trainee.
Zarian ran into the blocky tree again, but this time he flooded his body intensely with aura.
He visited the War Healer Trainee once more after that failed.
Then he was back to running around, trying to make aura do things outside of his abilities. He hadn¡¯t figured out anything new yet, but he enjoyed sensing his aura roll, weave, and somersault inside and outside him. Heughed and jumped around like a wild man beast having fun in the forest.
Off to the side, his party watched while following their morning routine and having breakfast.
¡°There¡¯s dark and evil forces around him,¡± Bianca said while warming up meat with her Searing Light shes. ¡°But he¡¯s acting adorable and having fun. He makes me feel conflicted sometimes.¡±
¡°He¡¯s got a new power, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Naomi said, working up a sweat with deep squats with arge boulder held over her head.
¡°I need coffee if this is going to be more of a thing,¡± Gilbert said, sending out his Healing Force when Zarian ran into something again. ¡°Hannah, you think they have coffee in Bramblevale?¡±
Hannah was tinkering with some runes on her Roller Golem, only looking up when Zarian ran nearby. ¡°Maybe we can pray to a friendly god to have it delivered directly.¡±
Gilbert frowned. ¡°No. I must stay strong.¡±
Zarian zipped by the party again, roaring like a creature who was half man, half animal.
Gilbert¡¯s frown deepened. For a split second, he looked weak enough to break his spiritual beliefs from the old world. He withstood against the temptation, however, even at the sacrifice of his limited sanity.
Chapter 35: Copying Skills
Zarian knew he was acting crazy, but the recent power ups reminded him why he¡¯d made a scene in the mall and opened a portal to another world. He wanted to y with magic and grow his dark powers further to new heights. He wanted to live in a ce like the Infinita Star System where he could go wild.
It was stupid of Ariana to have resorted to lies and maniption. She could¡¯ve told the truth from the start. It wouldn¡¯t have changed anything. Zarian would¡¯ve gone full-tilt into that portal.
A small part of him felt a dull and distant sense of guilt for the deaths. Then that feeling faded once more, promising to grow more dull and distant.
His attention veered toward a new idea using his Fractured Mind and rare aura traits.
Zarian lunged upward off the power of his reinforced legs and with a push of the flesh tendrils from his cloak. Combining both sent him up far higher than he¡¯d expected, clearing three stories in a single bound.
He struck feet first on the side of a blocky tower with tree branches poking out through the gaps, activating his Surface Walker Boots. His parasite-fused body had no trouble standing horizontal despite the pull of gravity. He felt like a true vampire as he walked upward on the shaded side and paid attention to how his aura interacted with his boots.
He could almost perceive how they weaved into the runic patterns set on the boots, but his vision of runes outside of his own abilities was foggy at best. He¡¯d tried watching Hannah work to see if he could learn runes using his Identify trait, but they never stuck.
With aura maniption, things felt a little easier. As long as his aura was engaged, he could almost map out the symbols, even if it was fuzzy and unclear.
Further study was needed. But that was forter. Right now, he had another idea for kicks and giggles. He thickened and reinforced the darkness under his hood and cloak by pouring more aura through his Dark Affinity.Zarian expected he could influence darkness outside of straight lines because of his affinity. Aura Channeler and Basic Aura Maniption made it easier for him to brute force past the System limitations.
He hadn¡¯t figured out how to use his aura maniption to do things outside of his current abilities. But he could definitely do more with his current abilities than ever before, or at the very least, he could do more with less struggle far easier.
The darkness under his cloak grew so dense it was almost crushing for him. He had a hard time walking up the tree now because of the metaphysical weight
He crossed the point where physics got heavily involved and gave the darkness actual weight that affected him. He soon felt the consequence of physics-weighted darkness when he stepped on a loose spot.
A piece of stone gave way from the wall, and Zarian careened down the tree¡¯s side.
Zarian thought about shifting the darkness under his cloak into a light cushion. He would¡¯ve second-guessed himself under normal conditions and used the usual ways to save himself: Para the Parasite Cloak.
One part of his Fractured Mind said ¡®No balls¡¯ to the other part of his Fractured Mind. After that, hemitted all the way, applying his aura traits as quickly as he could during a six-story fall near terminal velocity.
¡°You pain in the ass!¡± Naomi shouted, running in to catch him from underneath.
Her mouth opened and closed in surprise. The cushion of darkness under the cloak softened the catch for them both. It felt like Zariannded in her arms while strapped with the softest pillows.
It didn¡¯tst long since this wasn¡¯t the original use for Dark Affinity, and he was stretching it way out of context. It cost him much of his aura to do, so the extra fluffy darkness dispersed away once he stopped focusing on it.
¡°My hero,¡± Zarian said, chuckling darkly.
Naomi struggled on what to say next. A few awkward secondster, she noticed she still had Zarian in her arms and promptly set him down on his feet.
She opened her mouth, ready for a Marine-style ass-chewing, but Zarian cut her off by squeezing in close.
He reached out from the darkness of his cloak and took her hand. Then he pulled it under his cloak and pressed her hand against his chest.
¡°What are you doing?¡± Naomi asked with a stony expression.
¡°Feeling your aura flow and seeing what happens when I interact with it. My new traits are Fractured Mind, umon, and Basic Aura Maniption, rare. I didn¡¯t get the multicast spell I wanted. Instead, I tore up my brain and discovered aura control.¡±
Naomi was stumped at what to say. Her expressions shifted from worry to anger to worry again and then something more subtle.
She looked at him with a concerned gaze in her brown eyes and asked, ¡°Are you okay, Zarian?¡±
He looked up and let the darkness fade from around his lower face. ¡°I¡¯m okay. I¡¯m ying around now, but I¡¯ll have a handle on it once I get the power up jitters out of me. Want to know the cool thing I just discovered?¡±
Naomi hesitated before falling for the bait. She loved being in the Infinita Star System herself.
Zarian closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
Hell, his lungs felt stronger because of the parasitic threads. A stronger body could lead to a stronger mind, making it easier to handle his Fractured Mind once he focused on a singr objective: Naomi¡¯s aura.
It differed from his aura. He had a dark and weighty aura while hers felt squishy and electric, far from what he¡¯d expected out of Naomi.
Her aura had a psychic feel to it, centered on her brain and Willpower. The electrical pulses represented how the brain used neurons to send signals via electrochemistry. That was the major difference at first touch.
When he delved deeper, he noticed sparks of aura ring and shes of runic symbols appearing and disappearing. The further he tried to look, the fuzzier they seemed, not meant for him to grasp.
Still, he could tell one of her abilities was highly active.
He pushed a thread of his own aura into her aura.
¡°Whoa, whoa, that¡¯s weird,¡± Naomi said.
Zarian pulled back. ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s my aura maniption? What did it feel like?¡±
¡°It felt almost spiritual, or beyond spiritual. Maybe more mystical than I¡¯m used to. I felt a sort of magic that went beyond what I usually feel when I use my abilities.¡±
¡°That¡¯s you responding to my aura inside of yours.¡± A troubling thought bounced through the fractured spaces of his mind. He cursed under his breath before saying, ¡°Fuck, sorry, should¡¯ve asked for permission. This is going to be ¡ invasive. Can you use one of your abilities and let me test something?¡±
¡°Go ahead, I trust you.¡±
Zarian hesitated because Naomi meant what she said one hundred percent. The loyalty from her was something else.
Pushing ahead, Zarian threaded a strand of his aura into hers. Naomi shivered from the mystical burrowing before settling down as he worked. He reached the active symbols and tried to interact with them.
¡°Hm, whoa. That¡¯s my Tranquil Mind +1, sir,¡± Naomi informed.
Her Tranquil Mind helped her remain calm in stressful situations and see things more clearly than normal. The +1 Advancement made it possible for her to remove mental debuffs on whim, which was a precious ability.
Zarian wasn¡¯t certain what he could do other than brush his aura strand against it and feel the fuzzy skill runes. Could he trace her skill runes and learn her power for himself?
No, Zarian didn¡¯t think it was that easy.
Or maybe it was.
While one strand traced over her Tranquil Mind +1, Zarian tried to replicate her ability simrly inside of him.
At first, nothing happened as his aura deformed when he tried to twist it into shapes matching Naomi¡¯s skill runes. Then, with the help of his Fractured Mind, he learned to separate the process.
One part of his mind slowly traced Naomi¡¯s runes again and again. It was aplicated process with geometric shapes and hieroglyphic symbols.
Another part of his mind replicated the skill runes piece by piece. Zarian had to close his eyes, slow his breathing, and focus more than ever before. Then ¡ the impossible happened.
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¡°I¡¯ve copied your skill. It¡¯s in my beta section now.¡±
¡°You¡¯re messing with me.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not. I have a copy of Tranquil Mind. But it¡¯s Level 0. I think I can only get the weakest version since it¡¯s missing some parts. I don¡¯t even think I can level it up.¡±
He might not need levels to benefit with his aura traits and a high enough Willpower.
He felt Tranquil Mind¡¯s subtle effects now. His Fractured Mind felt smoother and more natural. There was more peace and rity.
Yeah, he could work with this just fine, Level 0 or not.
¡°Give me something in return,¡± Naomi requested.
¡°Well, let¡¯s see. Straight Darkness?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not sure if this would even work. And what would I do with a Level 0 version of that skill?¡±
Fair point. It would be more of a detriment than help. Level 0 of his skills wouldn¡¯t suit Naomi without the proper support. And he couldn¡¯t see her traits as visibly as he could see her skills.
The same went for his own traits. He could push on them with aura maniption, but they were extremely fuzzy and somewhat too entrenched for him to trace or mess with.
¡°How about a Level 0 version of Adrenaline Jolt? That one scales with Agility, doesn¡¯t it?¡±
¡°Yeah, it does.¡±
They called Gilbert over.
¡°Hey, y¡¯all, we need to get back to the soldier camp before theye seeking us out and thinking we¡¯re doing weird ¡ things ¡ in the forest.¡±
Gilbert looked at Zarian standing with the middle of his cloak parted while Naomi had her hand pressed where his chest should be. The darkness was too deep for them to see her hand.
¡°Gilbert, give me your hand,¡± Zarian ordered.
¡°Give him the hand,¡± Naomi demanded as well.
Gilbert sighed and reached into the darkness under Zarian¡¯s cloak. Immediately, Zarian could tell Gilbert had a vastly different aura.
His aura was lively, hale, and filled with such health it could¡¯ve been a good example of vitality if it wasn¡¯t aura. Still, Zarian could see Gilbert¡¯s aura matched thr man well ¨C almost like a healthy bull filled with life.
He asked for Gilbert¡¯s permission and exined the process of his aura weaving into Gilbert¡¯s. The big man gave Zarian his consent, bracing himself for the weird sensations toe.
¡°Activate Adrenaline Jolt so I can see it better,¡± Zarian requested.
Gilbert shot himself with magic adrenaline and looked about ready to run off and achieve ster feats of physical prowess. His skill showed up clearly, and it was another set ofplex geometric symbols and hieroglyphic text.
Zarian decided to first copy it over from Gilbert to himself to make the process of transfers easier.
This one worked under a different philosophy and stressed Zarian¡¯s ability to trace and transfer like he was cramming for a biology test. Level 0 Tranquil Mind plus Fractured Mind helped a ton, decreasing mistakes made and speeding up improvements.
Eventually, he seeded.
¡°No freaking way. You can copy skills now?¡± Gilbert¡¯s mouth fell open, eyes wide.
¡°I¡¯m going to see if I can transfer those copies to ¡ huh. That was easy.¡±
¡°I have it! I have it!¡± Naomi shouted. ¡°I even unlocked the beta section. It went straight there. And ¡ yeah ¡ I can¡¯t switch it into my alpha skills, so what you say about it being basic and stuck at Level 0 might be true. I can still use it, but it¡¯s nowhere near as good as my real skills.¡±
That made sense to Zarian. It was a grafted Level 0 skill swapped around by a wizard. He wasn¡¯t the System itself.
In fact, he wouldn¡¯t suggest for them to rely on Level 0s unless they had no other options, or they wanted to use them for small benefits. Before Gilbert uttered another word, Zarian transferred Tranquil Mind to him.
¡°That¡¯s mighty nice and all, but you know I don¡¯t have the highest Willpower around, right? I won¡¯t get much from a Level 0 skill like Tranquil Mind. And I need to spend my aura wisely.¡±
¡°Better to have it when you need it than to not have it,¡± Zarian said, shrugging. ¡°Excuse me, as I transfer these two quality-of-life skills to everyone.¡±
He gave the Level 0 skills to Hannah and Bianca. Then he tried to copy their skills. He ran into a few snags right away.
Hannah¡¯s skills were hugelyplicated and fuzzed out so much they were unintelligible to him. Bianca¡¯s skills were blocked off by a wall of goodness that didn¡¯t like his evil darkness invading in her aura space.
Disappointed, but not deterred, Zarian went back to Gilbert and tried to copy his other skills. Healing Force was way too fuzzy and out of reach. Tranquilizer Touch kept failing on him. It just wouldn¡¯t stick.
¡°I think I can only get one skill from one person that isn¡¯t tooplicated or blocked off by an alignment,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°At least for now.¡±
¡°Shoot, really?¡± Naomi frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t think my Mind Spike would¡¯ve been better?¡±
¡°I think Tranquil Mind is what I need most,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°With that skill plus a dose of Adrenaline Jolt, I¡¯ll feel really nice.¡±
¡°High speed?¡± Naomi started.
¡°Low drag!¡± Zarian finished.
Gilbert shook his head at the Marines. ¡°Come on. This freaky wizardry magic stuff is fun and all, but let¡¯s go check on those kids before they get too antsy.¡±
¡°He¡¯s using the tranquil skill. He sounds way too calm,¡± Zarian said.
¡°It¡¯s a reliable skill,¡± Naomi admitted. ¡°Beta Level 0 or not, it¡¯s a rxer.¡±
Zarian nodded. ¡°Well, while you guys stay rxed around the traumatized child soldiers, I¡¯m going on a forest excursion with Bianca.¡±
Naomi, Gilbert, and Hannah ¨C who was nearby with her Roller Golem ¨C turned to Bianca, who was minding her own business. Even Loner, who stayed leaned up against a tree, straightened up and nced over at Bianca.
Noticing their stares, Bianca fidgeted. ¡°Que paso?¡± What happened?
¡°Shoot a searing sh st in that direction!¡± Zarian pointed up and far away from him.
With no hesitation, Bianca gathered bulbs of mini sr res around her. She had two dozen glinting bulbs before she drew them into her palms,pressed them together, and pushed her hands forward in the direction Zarian indicated.
She shot a quick, searing beam that scorched the surfaces of a few stony trees.
That was arge show of her power, and Zarian immediately noticed her aura drop, even from a distance. It was a faint feeling, but he could sense it better now after having connected his aura with hers earlier.
While he couldn¡¯t trace and copy her skills, he noticed another thing he could do with aura maniption. He stayed outside of arm¡¯s reach from Bianca and shaped his aura into a miniature bridge to connect with hers ¨C her aura reminded him of the heavens opening up on a sunny bright day with a rainbow in the sky.
He didn¡¯t like it much. He felt sparks of difort from touching auras with her. He felt her good alignment trying to burn him out, and his evil alignment trying to corrupt her.
He pushed through anyway as Bianca shuddered, then Zarian released control.
Bianca¡¯s aura ate his aura.
It was horrifying. Zarian felt a chunk of his darkened aura get ripped away. He felt itsst moments getting churned, purified, and reabsorbed into Bianca¡¯s aura.
She was none the wiser until Bianca jumped into the air and shrieked in Spanish. She immediately calmed down, making some decent use of her Level 0 Tranquil Mind while examining herself.
¡°I feel like my magic took in something icky before filling up with aura all the way to the top.¡± Bianca looked at Zarian in amazement. ¡°You can feed me your aura?¡±
¡°Ironically, it¡¯s easier with you. The others don¡¯t have opposing aura¡¯s and alignments. So my aura slides through them mainly and absorbs slower.¡±
¡°When have you been testing that?¡± Hannah asked, surprised.
¡°While we were messing around with skill copies,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°You guys kept nibbling at my aura. Bianca straight up wolfs it down after purifying it. Naomi has a moderate dark appetite. Gilbert is indifferent but epting to small amounts. And Hannah, you¡¯re a picky eater, like your aura is trying to understand every bite of mine at a slow pace. By the way, your aura looks like a bunch of puzzle pieces in the shape of indecipherable runes rearranging themselves.¡±
Hannah opened and closed her mouth, not sure what to say to that. Zarian went on to tell everyone what their aura seemed like: brainy electric neurons for Naomi, vigorously healthy bull for Gilbert, and a heavenly rainbow sky for Bianca. Hannah¡¯s could be summed up as a runic jigsaw puzzle.
Zarian¡¯s was a darkened void, of course.
¡°Anyway, I¡¯m taking Bianca with me to do some forest training. By the time shees back, she¡¯s going to be ourser cannon.¡± Tentacles from the Parasite Cloak ensnared Bianca¡¯s body and lifted her off the forest floor.
¡°See youter, guys,¡± Bianca said nervously.
Zarian hunkered down, pushed his aura to the soles of his boots, then sted the ground with a dense outpour of Straight Darkness +1. The twin torrents of darkness came out as more of a soft jettison than a solid beam.
Bianca screamed as she and Zarian rocketed away into the air with a whoosh. The verdant leaves, blocky forest towers, and reaching brown branches blurred past them as Zarian sent them into a looping spiral.
He howled andughed the whole time as Bianca screamed and sobbed.
Remaining down below, Naomi, Gilbert, and Hannah watched Zarian disappear with Bianca. Once their party leader¡¯s howling, bestial, and darkughter faded with Bianca¡¯s tearful sobbing, Naomi turned toward the camp of soldiers and started her way there.
¡°I¡¯m still a little slow on what just happened,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°Am I still asleep and dreaming?¡±
Naomi snapped her fingers and sent a red line of magic into Gilbert. The Level 0 Adrenaline Jolt perked the big man up a little.
¡°Okay, point taken,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°I¡¯m a little jealous,¡± Hannah admitted. ¡°I would rather do spontaneous forest training and learn more about Zarian¡¯s new abilities than deal with the sheltered medieval children.¡±
¡°You weren¡¯t there in our tower, Hannah, but Bianca struggled a little,¡± Naomi said from over her shoulder, continuing her march. ¡°It felt like she had to ¡®dim¡¯ herself while me and Gilbert went in to bring the ruckus. So, it¡¯s Bianca¡¯s turn to get worked over by the sir and feel special.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what she¡¯s feeling,¡± Gilbert said, following Naomi.
Hannah followed third with her golem and the lone goblin skeleton on either side of her. ¡°I¡¯m d I can tell what you said was strictly innocent, Gilbert.¡±
¡°Oh,e on, get your mind out of the gutter! And Naomi started it!¡±
Naomi looked back with a nk face. ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m a perfect angel, unlike a dirty sinner like you.¡±
Gilbert hit her with a bigger Adrenaline Jolt, which had Naomi bouncing all over the ce. He soon regretted it when she snatched him off his feet and ran around with him held over her head.
Fortunately, he had his Tranquilizer Touch.
Then he regretted using that skill when he had to carry Naomi the rest of the way to the soldiers. It wasn¡¯t untilter when Gilbert realized Naomi could¡¯ve dampened his tranquilizer skill with her abilities.
He¡¯d carried her for no reason.
Chapter 36: Evil Forest Wulvers
Zarian¡¯s entire body was on fire, the enjoyable kind. His mind was lit like a cluster of stars. He hadn¡¯t eaten breakfast on purpose, allowing the unreasonable hunger to build up inside of him.
It was a new tool for him to test and explore.
For most of his life, Zarian¡¯s hunger had tired him, hurt him, and made his development as a person difficult. When he was in the Marines, he¡¯d eaten as quickly and as much as he could. He¡¯d wanted to make up for the years ofck.
He¡¯d loved the chow hall for letting him eat as much as he wanted, which became a regrettable loss when the Marines kicked him out.
For the first time in his life, Zarian chose to weaponize his hunger. He sharpened it with abination of Tranquil Mind and Adrenaline Jolt. He benefited significantly from the Level 0 skills because of his rare aura traits, channeler and maniption.
Adrenaline Jolt needed more attention because it scaled with his Agility stat, which was much lower than his Willpower that Tranquil Mind scaled with. That was no problem. He tweaked the bnce between the two Level 0 skills to get the right amount.
Once perfected, Zarian felt like he was greased lightning on the edge of a sharpened knife. He had rity and intensity supporting his Fractured Mind, going further than what most people would think was possible for someone who should be broken.
He could observe and act toward things with more ingenuity and snappiness than ever before.
He was zooming hardcore.Hence why he daringly flew around thick branches and the stony trunks of towered trees like a death-seeking daredevil. He kept funneling power into the twin jets of darkness sting from his feet with enough force to make the wind roar around him.
Bianca¡¯s screams quieted until they went into another curvy, spiraling, seemingly impossible flight maneuver a jet fighter might find troubling.
They weren¡¯t moving at jet speeds, of course.
Not yet, at least.
At some point, Zarian let go of the exhrating flight thrills and softened up the ride, for Bianca¡¯s sake.
Para¡¯s tendrils unraveled from around Bianca while they went on a slow dive. Zarian waited for gravity to pull Bianca down into his arms, catching her shivering body.
From there, they entered a stable flight, the Parasite Cloak spreading wide into leathery wings with a bony frame, almost simr to a dragon-shaped glider.
Zarian provided the thrust with jets of darkness from his legs. He readjusted the levels of his tranquility and adrenaline until he was in the perfect heightened state of calm.
¡°Zarian, we¡¯re flying,¡± Bianca said in between hups, face covered in tears and snot. ¡°And it doesn¡¯t feel scary anymore.¡±
¡°My bad, I was riding on all sorts of highs,¡± Zarian said, ignoring the brightness of the aging morning. He tried to consider the view from Bianca¡¯s point.
The forest dirt and cobble floor was a hundred feet below them. Their flight took them through leafy gaps between tall and thick tree branches or around the stone-covered bark of towered trees.
When they moved clear of a forest line, they soared a little higher and watched uneven hillocks of fortresses, courtyard fields of wildflowers, and unkempt gardens roll underneath them.
¡°So this is what Lois feels in Superman¡¯s arms, except it¡¯s the evil Superman,¡± Bianca said, sniffling. ¡°It¡¯s kinda fun when it¡¯s not scary.¡±
Zarian smiled from under the darkness of his hood.
With his arms exposed while holding onto the do-gooder, it took more effort to shroud himself in darkness and keep out the sunlight. Still, the effort was worth Bianca¡¯s enjoyment and curiosity.
¡°Also, why did you pick me?¡± Bianca asked. ¡°Is it really forser cannons?¡±
¡°That, and I want to see if I can push you to get a new trait and more levels. I think outside of me, you have the potential to deliver the most damage to arge group of enemies.¡±
¡°No way! Naomi¡¯s so tough and fierce, and her Mind Spike +1 can affect multiple targets now. Gilbert can heal while fighting, and he endures damage that¡¯ll kill me. Hannah¡¯s got her new toys, and she¡¯s super, super smart.¡±
Bianca fidgeted with her hands. ¡°Isn¡¯t that okay that I¡¯m just shy? The others can do more than me. I¡¯m not that smart, either. And you¡¯re all better than me. I just want to support you guys.¡±
Zarian¡¯s smile turned fiercer. ¡°As the one person who can probably hurt me as much as Naomi or more, I can¡¯t ept that for you. I can envision you doing great things, Bianca.¡±
¡°Even when I¡¯m good, and you¡¯re evil?¡±
¡°Who else is going to bnce me out? Absolute power without checks corrupts absolutely. I¡¯ll probably do evil things here and there, but I do have to think thrice because of you. I don¡¯t want my actions to hurt you unless I have no choice, and if thates to be, you¡¯ll be there to make me own up to it.¡±
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¡°Nobody ever cared about my opinions so much before,¡± Bianca murmured. ¡°I¡¯m too dumb for that.¡±
¡°Yet, you¡¯re one of the bravest people I¡¯ve seen. Braver than some Marines I used to know.¡± Zarian tensed a little. ¡°Whoever kept saying you¡¯re dumb doesn¡¯t understand that people think in different ways. They can go fuck themselves.¡±
They left it at that.
They flew for hours. The suns crawled across the sky. Thendscape shifted from thick, verdant forests, to hills, to fields of castle parts, and to everything intermingled in a natural chaos that was stunning.
Then, finally, they heard a howl, amotion worthy of their time. They found the thing Zarian was looking for by going into the northern parts of Bramble Wolf Forest.
They found wulvers.
Zarian used Identify and exined to Bianca everything he saw.
The wulvers looked like gnolls, but more wolfish than hyena-like. They ran swiftly on all fours while having humanoid arms and digitigrade legs, which they used to their advantage to fight upright like most humanoids.
The wulvers were smaller than gnolls, standing a little less than six feet, which was around Zarian¡¯s height when upright. But they had a frenzied savageness to them that was monstrous, merciless, and terrible for the forest creatures that lived here.
The wulvers were attacking dire wolves. The dire wolves looked like the blown-up versions of the usual canines, reaching up to six feet at their shoulders. Despite the size difference, the wulvers were tearing apart the dire wolves.
There was a ten-level difference between the two sides. Worst yet, the wulvers were the aggressors. The pack of dire wolves fought to defend a hillock of broken fortresses covered in bushes and small, rooty trees.
Zarian stayed in the sky, soaring in a circle. He made it rain spectral spiders who used their translucent threads like parachutes.
While the stealthy paratroopers made theirnding, Bianca pointed out something that summed up the battle fairly well.
A dire wolf pup poked its head out from a stone window at the top of the hillock. The dire pup cried out in fright as another adult dire wolf copsed to the ground because of its heavy wounds.
The monstrous wulvers looked like they were getting closer to eradicating the dire wolvespletely. First with the adults. Then they would wipe out the pups.
¡°It¡¯s evil!¡± Bianca dered.
¡°It might be a natural part of the forest,¡± Zarian said, before realizing he was wrong. His Fractured Mind went in a different direction based on the context of Bianca¡¯s deration. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re feeling out their evil alignment.¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t notice evil overtly. He was evil, so the evil alignment felt natural to him. Bianca, however, noticed right away.
¡°Yeah, the wulvers are evil! And the dire wolves are neutral. This isn¡¯t a natural battle. And look, the monsters are having fun hurting the dire wolves even when they can¡¯t fight anymore! Zarian, we have to go now!¡±
It was more ideal to watch the battle proceed and strike in the aftermath. The spectral spiders could take their timeying traps and binding the monsters. Bianca would be safer that way since the wulvers were mid to high 30s in level and a great danger to her.
Besides, having to mitigate damage to the dire wolvesplicated everything, especially when Bianca¡¯s best skill affected a wide range. Going down now wasn¡¯t the most optimal choice.
¡°Okay, let¡¯s go,¡± Zarian said, throwing the smart thing aside.
He¡¯d brought Bianca here to grow. He refused to block her progress even if she was being a happy-go-lucky do-gooder.
He had enough power to make up for that.
The Parasite Cloak folded, and they dropped from the sky at bomb diving speeds. Bianca didn¡¯t cry at all. She tensed up in his arms, ready for the fight, searing light gathering in her palms.
She left her sword sheathed in the weapon belt they¡¯d taken off the soldiers. She must¡¯ve known her melee fighting would do her no good against ferocious monsters ten levels above her.
Zarian¡¯s hunger peaked as his cloak spread wide, killing the momentum of their drop and casting a deep shadow on the hillockbatants. From the darkness under his widespread cloak, a hundred dark bolts flew out and struck over a dozen wulvers.
The monsters cried out as the flesh-pulping, bone-breaking, and painful hits knocked them down. Just like that, Zarian halted their momentum and ceased the eradication of the dire wolves.
Now it was time to let Bianca y.
Zariannded with Bianca on the line between the invasive wulvers and the pack of dire wolves. He ced Bianca down on a cleared stone block. He could already feel her aura roil aggressively.
She was pushing her Searing sh Array to its limit.
Meanwhile, Zarian turned away and looked at the bloodied and hurt dire wolves.
They looked back at him warily. Some growled, bearing fangs. He ignored their threats and used Para¡¯s tendrils to grab one of their wounded. He carefully moved the wounded dire wolf up to the higher shelf of fortified stone the pack was was defending.
They¡¯d been forced to retreat up to the entrance where their young pups hid, which worked out well for Zarian and Bianca. The Outsiders had higher ground here, at least above the invasive wulvers.
The dire wolf pack watched without attacking him, showing some intelligence. They stopped growling, and Bianca fired her biggest sh yet.
The daylight didn¡¯t matter. In fact, it contributed to Bianca¡¯s power. Her sh scorched the fur and flesh of six wulvers standing in ane in front of her.
The other wulvers to the left and right of Bianca¡¯s torrent of searing light suffered peripheral damage and were blinded. Bianca had a stroke of luck on the positioning, too, because nothing but invasive wulvers and corpses remained in front of her ferocious attack.
The wulvers howled, tripped backward, or swung their ws in a frenzy. The ones most affected rolled and tumbled with smoking fur and flesh, wing at themselves savagely.
A few others howled with magic in their voices, piercing into Zarian¡¯s mind and making him freeze up, bing more vulnerable to counterattacks. Abilities that affected the mind directly, like Naomi¡¯s, were a reminder to Zarian that he had his own list of vulnerabilities.
For now, at least.
Chapter 37: Save The Cute Puppies
If it was anyone else the wulvers frozen with a mind-invading magic howl, the wulvers would¡¯ve torn through the pair of Outsiders and finished their genocide of the dire wolf pack. But Zarian was here, and he had a decent solution to the mind-paralyzing problem.
Adrenaline Jolt.
He boosted the Level 0 skill with his aura traits and brushed off the mind-invading paralysis. Then he sent a red line of arcane adrenaline into Bianca, but not too much.
She had her own version of the Level 0 skill. Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind kept track of that to avoid the lethargy bacsh, especially while in the heat of battle.
Freed from the mind-invading paralysis, Bianca prepared anotherrge, searing sh st. She didn¡¯t even wait to see if Zarian would feed her aura ¨C she¡¯d assumed correctly.
Zarian bridged the gap between their auras, sending her some of his for her to purify and consume. She needed time to charge up though, and the wulvers on the wings moved to pounce, sniffing out the humans while still blinded.
Zarian beat them back with blunt bolts of darkness. He had the high ground and easy vision.
He spread his Parasite Cloak wide, as well, darkening the shadow it produced while thete-afternoon suns beamed against his back.
Bianca¡¯s light shone bright even with Zarian¡¯s darkness behind her. She kept collecting motes of sunlight from above or produced her own from her aura.After the wulvers shook off the dying dark bolts, they looked up and faced Bianca¡¯s searing sh torrent again. This one hit with even more oomph.
Bianca screamed as she pushed her palms forward, using her all. Zarian smelled the air burning as a torrent of light, which was nearly as intense as aser beam, caught more of the wulvers.
Bianca fried them a little deeper this time. Their fur burned offpletely. Their flesh burst as boiling blood spilled from open wounds. Little trees, roots, vines, and stone-clinging moss burned and smoldered with them on the hillside.
Bianca wasn¡¯t strictly all sh and m anymore. She was pushing herself to be the reckoning of light and goodness as the wulvers suffered a pain like no other.
Zarian smiled darkly, finding the justice of his single do-gooder fitting. The monsters wanted to torture others, so they got to feel the same treatment.
¡°I¡¯m going to try again!¡± Bianca shouted.
¡°Let me make it a little easier. They look like they might run.¡± Zarian raised one hand and lit it on fire with ck and gray mes.
Now here was the fun part:
Prior to earning Fractured Mind and Basic Aura Maniption, Zarian merged ck Fire with Straight Darkness +1 purely off of effort alone, especially with his darkness skill being in the beta section.
Yes, the new traits had been baking inside of him already, but they were iplete at the time. So he didn¡¯t truly have their full benefits against the Gnoll Force Monkst night.
He had to muscle his way past some hard coded limits of the System to achieve victory over the monk.
That wasn¡¯t a problem anymore because of aura maniption and his mindset.
Zarian had a way easier time casting and controlling his newest spell, ck Fire. He made it rain dozens and dozens of ck bolts and lit them on fire with ck and gray mes.
He struck each wulver. The mes spread rapidly to consume their limited vitality. They had little left after all the damage Bianca hady upon them, with more on the way.
Zarian was sure that if he used Bloody Lifesteal, the wulvers would die without vitality to regenerate their bodies and life energy to secure their souls. It was tempting to try. He held back, however, and watched Bianca push herself to further heights.
¡°Holy shit.¡± Zarian¡¯s ckened eyes widened at Bianca¡¯s growing range of power as she showed off her crazy side. Amused, Zarian smiled sharply. ¡°Go, go, Bianca.¡±
The former rum promoter, now Light Bringer Child, intensified her next salvo of Searing sh Array. The light she absorbed from the suns raced into both hands. Her aura was lit with so much power as she charged up that it affected the physical world.
Her blond hair wavered up and around her head. Her skin glowed with a bright golden white light. More golden white light beamed from her eyes and her mouth. She let out a soft hum that rose in volume, crescendoing into a full-on scream of righteous wrath.
¡°I WILL SAVE THE CUTE PUPPIES!¡± Bianca screamed, thrusting her hands forward, pouring everything out at two ovepping angles.
Theser-like sh beams eradicated the flesh from the bones of the wulvers. It was like watching a group of monsters meeting their end to a nuclear st, but more magical. Their scorched bones fell back down the hillock of forts, ttering as they went.
Unfortunately, she missed a few who had run away already, but her kill count was pretty nice.
Zarian chuckled as he extended a finger and aimed it like a gun. He manipted his darkness to gather at the tip as he sighted one of the fleeing targets.
¡°Bang.¡±
He turned a wulver¡¯s head into bloody mist and bone bits spraying over the base of the hillock. Its body tumbled and flopped like a sack of muscled meat.
¡°Bang.¡±
He hit one straight through the back and created a hole soically big he could stick his head through it. Flesh, rib fragments, and parts of its spine, heart, and lungs sttered the stones underneath as it fell dead.
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¡°Huh, I forgot to ask. Is shooting them while they run away evil to you?¡± Zarian asked, lining up his next shot.
Bianca was sitting on a piece of stone, shivering, covered in sweat, looking down at her burnt hands. She nced up and thought about the question seriously.
¡°They are evil, and I¡¯ve witnessed them conduct evil, so I don¡¯t feel the need to extend mercy to them. Keep going, por favor.¡± Please.
Zarian hit the second-tost in the base of its back and bisected it from the sheer force of the shot. The wulver¡¯s upper body spiraled through the air like it was more of a dummy than a real living and breathing creature.
¡°Thatst one is running fast. Going to be a hard shot.¡± He said squinted.
Zarian prepared a single javelin of dense darkness, raising it above his head with a palm under its shaft. He focused his Fractured Mind, slicked with tranquility, intensified with adrenaline, and casually threw the big javelin forward once its density peaked.
He missed the wulver.
That was fine. The javelin struck a nearby hill of blocky stones and sted it apart with so much meteoric force he sent heavy stone fragments flying in all directions.
Normally, the wulvers had high enough vitality that they could survive the crushing strike of a flying stone block. But after suffering under Bianca¡¯s searing sh torrents and having the rest of its vitality eaten up by the ck Fire spell, thest wulver became a pulp of minced flesh and broken bones under the flying debris.
Zarian was powerful enough where he didn¡¯t need to always hit directly to make an impact.
Zarian wondered what led to his spectral spiders gaining a level. He looked back and saw the spiders interacting with the dire wolf pack by patching up their wounds with webbing.
They sealed the bleeding and used branches and twigs to set broken bones straight. They used silly dances to entertain the puppies looking out from their hiding holes and arched windows.
¡°You all are the most helpful spiders I¡¯ve seen.¡± Zarian shook his head in disbelief. ¡°How are we looking, Bianca?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve gained four levels personally, and I now have Searing sh Array +1,¡± Bianca said, with a peaceful smile on her face. ¡°I can intensify the light for increased damage, especially when I gather from other light sources.¡±
Zarian weakened the darkness under his hood so Bianca could see his proud smile. Then the System appeared to add its input.
¡°What does your alignment say about that?¡± Zarian gestured toward the shared quest.
¡°It¡¯s troubling.¡± Bianca frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can kill the wulver puppies if they have them.¡±
¡°You won¡¯t have to.¡±
¡°Zarian,¡± Bianca whined softly. ¡°That¡¯s so dark and bleak.¡±
¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m here for.¡±
Bianca fixed him with a hard look. Before she mustered up whatever she wanted to say, a dire wolf padded carefully around Zarian and toward Bianca.
The wolf kept its head low, sniffing, looking left and right carefully, before closing the distance on Bianca all the way. Then the wolf licked over Bianca¡¯s wounded hands.
Zarian waited for the magic to happen. Gradually, Bianca¡¯s hands healed under the soft licks before Zarian said, ¡°That¡¯s their healer. It¡¯s returning the favor for our help.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Bianca dered.
¡°The quest?¡±
¡°The everything.¡±
¡°You sure?¡±
¡°Being good, Zarian, doesn¡¯t mean being nice in the face of true evil. And I don¡¯t want to hide behind you when I can do the work, right? So ¡ I¡¯ll do it.¡±
¡°Gonna kill babies, huh? That¡¯s hardcore, Bianca.¡±
¡°You said I¡¯m braver than some Marines. I want to live up to that, papi.¡±
Zarian froze.
Bianca¡¯s eyes shot wide open.
After an awkward silence, Bianca broke into a fit of giggles and waved it all off. ¡°Let¡¯s keep that between us? I know how people can take that weirdly.¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯re from Florida. You can be you if that feels natural. In fact, we should all probably learn Spanish. Since this world and possibly the other worlds in the Star System might have English as amonnguage, we could use Spanish when we¡¯re around strangers and want to keep stuff within the party.¡±
Bianca brightened from hearing that. After all, Spanish speakers, or anyone with their ownnguage, always appreciated when you spoke the same back or made the attempt, at least. Zarian knew that from growing up in the streets of Miami.
The Dire Wolf Pack Healer finished fixing up Bianca¡¯s hands. Zarian used the meat of a crispy wulver to feed his own ravenous hunger while Para ate her fill of the remaining burnt corpses. Bianca reserved her appetite for something less humanoid they would huntter.
They waited on the spectral spiders to frolic and dance around with the pups before he sent them on a recon mission to find the wulvers¡¯ main den. Then they bid the dire wolves a farewell before Zarian scooped up Bianca into his arms.
They lifted off on twin jets of darkness. Para spread the cloak wide into wings once they reached a good enough altitude.
¡°We¡¯ll use the wolf pack as a meetup point with the spectral spiders every hour or so. Either they¡¯ll find the wulvers or we will. From there, we¡¯re going to work on some close quarters fighting,¡± Zarian exined.
¡°I hope we find them soon before sunset.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll attack in the morning if that happens.¡±
Bianca looked into his darkened face with surprise. ¡°But you¡¯ll be stronger in the dark.¡±
¡°Again, this outing isn¡¯t entirely about me. This is about you. You should be significantly stronger when we see the others.¡±
Bianca nodded before asking, ¡°Did you get new levels?¡±
¡°Other than one for the spectral spiders, no.¡±
¡°But you did a lot of work!¡±
¡°It wasn¡¯t hard enough for me, and I¡¯m higher in levels. I talked with Hannah about this before, and she agrees with me. I think level ups happen based on a couple of factors. Difficulty. Nuance. Facing challenges higher than you. Or significant differences in level and power. Just like growing vitality, I don¡¯t think levels are a static sub-system within the Star System.¡±
¡°How do you know?¡±
¡°Think of the soldiers. They¡¯re trained for wall defending. They¡¯ve lived in the Star System far longer than us even if they¡¯re younger. We¡¯re surpassing their levels in months when they took years to get where they are. And you know why?¡±
Bianca pursed her lips to think. ¡°They¡¯re not Outsiders?¡±
Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind sputtered a little. Despite his organized scatter-brain thinking, he¡¯d missed that factor.
Being Outsiders came with hidden benefits from the System such as not getting corrupted by Shadowfell Tears. They could have an experience boost, too, but Zarian doubted that.
¡°I think it has more to do with us being more aggressive while they¡¯re more passive. We¡¯re facing tougher challenges while they face challenges more appropriate to their levels or lower. But you might have a point that us being Outsiders could give us an experience boost.¡±
¡°Hm, maybe, maybe not! But do you think I¡¯ll be so strong I¡¯ll ¡ be scary?¡± Bianca giggled as if she couldn¡¯t imagine anyone would fear her growing power.
Zarian crackled like a viin, and Bianca looked at him nervously, unable to perceive the depraved depths of his Fractured Mind. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Making Bianca so scary that people would run away screaming from her was too amusing.
Chapter 38: Let’s Go Kill Babies
There was no sign of the monster den while Zarian and Bianca flew around in the air. At least not from close to the dire wolf pack.
Their hopes picked up when they saw a squad of spectral spiders waiting near the dire wolf pack. By then, the intelligent beasts have grown ustomed to seeing the Outsiderse and go near their den.
Adults and pups watched from on top of a shattered fortress grafted into their blocky hillock. Nightfall arrived and the spectral spiders exined what they saw through amunicative dance that Zarian could understand.
The invasive monsters were to the northeast, not that far away. Their monster den was immersed in strange,nd-altering magic. The eeriend magic felt threatening and voracious to the spectral spiders, which sounded like the perfect ce for cruel and evil monsters like the wulvers to im as their den.
The spiders hadn¡¯t delved too deep in fear of being found out. But once they¡¯d seen the invasive wulvers, they came rushing back here to make a report.
¡°Oh, you guys are so cute and outstanding.¡± Bianca scooped up the sessful scouts and hugged them. It was a little funny how she grew to like them despite how much she¡¯d once feared them.
The spectral spiders reciprocated by providing an entertaining dance circling around their campfire. Bianca cooed and pped to their dance, acting more like a girl living in her favorite fantasy picture book.
An adult dire wolf stalked down from the hill of crumbled fortresses and waited outside of the firelight¡¯s edge. Zarian waved his hand for the dire wolf toe forward, and just as he thought, the intelligent beast recognized the gesture.
Once it drew close and sat near the fire, Zarian could tell the dire wolf was old. Most of its fur was patchy, gray with age, and the skin underneath had rough scars. It was also the strongest at Level 29.¡°You will hunt wulvers?¡± asked the dire wolf, using an ability to speak English. Despite being in another world and universe, English seemed like themonnguage here, at least in the Walled Continent of Corma.
¡°We will y the wulvers in their den,¡± Zarian said.
¡°What do you want?¡± The dire wolf sniffed. ¡°You are evil. And evil wants.¡±
Zarian pointed at Bianca, who looked at the conversation with frank amazement. This was like watching a Studio Ghibli movie for the first time, but in real life.
¡°To make her stronger,¡± Zarian said.
The dire wolf sniffs at Bianca. ¡°She is good. She hunts evil. Why do you help her?¡±
¡°Because we¡¯re friends!¡± Bianca cheered.
¡°Good and evil? Friends? This is strange. Yet, you hunt monsters and help pack. We bring food, so you¡¯ll be strong for the hunt.¡± The elder dire wolf looked back and yipped at its pack.
A pair of dire wolves came trotting up with dead beasts held by their jaws. They dropped them near the fire.
The elder wolf dipped its head at them. ¡°Eat your fill. Be strong. Hunt monsters. The pack gives thanks to you, evil one, good one.¡±
Zarian nodded, getting more out of the conversation than food and acknowledgement. He¡¯d carefully manipted his aura to weave into the elder wolf¡¯s aura to see how far he could take it.
He stopped before touching one of the elder¡¯s fuzzy skills and pulled out just as carefully. It was easier to manipte aura with Tranquil Mind and a touch of Adrenaline Jolt.
Satisfied, he stopped experimenting with his aura and turned to the meal, his ravenous hunger peaking. Para skinned and prepared the meat. Bianca used her Searing sh Array +1 to gather firelight and cook the meat with magic, doing a fast job.
Then Zarian feasted like a wolf himself, tearing the meat apart. The dire wolves watched curiously and brought them more caught beasts to feed the Parasite Cloak.
Later on, the pups came down from their den to y with the spectral spiders. The adult wolves watched, and the humans enjoyed a magical night with the friendly beasts of the forest.
The next morning, Zarian woke up with no new gains. It wasn¡¯t surprising, but he felt a little disappointed after so much rapid growth. As for Bianca, she looked distraught when she received no growth, no earnings.
¡°Give it time,¡± Zarian encouraged. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a big hit once we aplish this side quest.¡±
¡°I have to go all the way, don¡¯t I? No backing out. I have tomit to the highest good. My good.¡±
Bianca looked up the hillock where the dire wolves lived. A few were stalking about under the pre-dawn morning and looking back down at them.
A few pups came out and barked cutely, as if to cheer on the pair of good and evil Outsiders.
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going all the way.¡± Bianca wore a determined face, eyes shing with light.
¡°Let¡¯s go kill babies.¡± Zarian grinned like a sinister viin, his eyes turning void-like ck.
¡°Wulvers! We¡¯re killing evil wulvers! To save the cute magical puppies!¡± Bianca added quickly.
Zarian collected as many spectral spiders as he could carry. He didn¡¯t like dismissing them unless it was necessary.
Thankfully, they weren¡¯t too big and could hitch a ride on the Parasite Cloak.
With Bianca in his arms, heunched into the air as the morning sky lightened up. By the time they neared the wulvers¡¯ main grounds, the tip of the twin suns bathed their backs.
¡°Wow,¡± Bianca said. ¡°The morning ¡ and the sunrise ¡ so beautiful. It fills me with hope.¡±
Zarian was going to make a joke, but his Fractured Mind stopped him in his tracks. The way Bianca had spoken about the morning sunrise and hope sounded important.
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He waited, and his patience was rewarded.
¡°No matter how dark life can be, there¡¯s always a new dawn,¡± Bianca said.
She didn¡¯t notice it at the time, but Zarian¡¯s entire body shivered from those words. The darkness he held close to him shivered as well.
Is this what you call an epiphany?
It was cheesy. Very, very cheesy.
But why did it hit Zarian so hard? And why did her goodness feel ¡ stronger?
Zarian paid closer attention because it wasn¡¯t just important for Bianca to grow. It was also important to learn what made do-gooders special.
¡°Are we ready?¡± Bianca asked, sounding way too calm and determined.
Who the hell are you now? Did that epiphany make that much of a difference? Is this the power of good? Zarian found it both interesting and scary, which wasn¡¯t hard with a multifaceted mind like his.
¡°Yeah, we¡¯re ready. Let¡¯s go,¡± he said nonchntly.
They lowered their attitude and entered the section of the forest that seemed unnaturally dark. In fact, the eeriness of the changes prompted a notification from the System:
¡°Lair, huh? I¡¯m guessing since it¡¯s not a dungeon, no dungeon core. But if we eliminate the boss of the wulvers or enough of the wulvers themselves, maybe that¡¯ll break the hold they have here,¡± Zarian said.
¡°We have to remove all the wulvers at whatever the cost. A mini-map would help us catch them, si? If it¡¯s okay with you, Zarian, I vote for the mini-map.¡± Bianca¡¯s determination shone brightly through her eyes and around her body.
Her goodness felt heavier.
It would¡¯ve been scarier if they weren¡¯t on the same side, and if Zarian wasn¡¯t so interested in seeing how far Bianca could push her good alignment. Zarian didn¡¯t feel an extra power from being evil +1, but he would sometimes think in more cunning and conniving ways.
Could the good alignment give straight up power boosts?
Of course, goodness would get a straight up cheat power up!
Further observation was needed. That sort of fluctuation in power had never happened before, not with Bianca.
Then again, Zarian and his party hadn¡¯t given Bianca time to do more outside of support. Yesterday was her first time truly killing enemies with her sh skill.
How far could a determined Bianca push herself today?
¡°We¡¯ll go with the mini-map option,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Besides, there¡¯s no doubt we¡¯ll get some solid and well-earned levels from this. We¡¯re clearing a wholeir andpleting the side quest backing it.¡±
They hit the misty, cold forest floor with a softnding, Zarian¡¯s cloak contracting close behind him. Crooked trees, their stone blocks ckened and piled at the base, arched over them like the skeletons of murderous demons.
The air was cooler, and it smelled of rotten flesh and old blood. Dawn light struggled to reach through the darkened forest top and shine past the curling fingers of mist.
A few sunbeams broke through anyway. That was enough for Bianca to reach with her Light Affinity trait and pull light onto herself.
For this one, Zarian pulled his hood down and showed his face. He formed a seven-foot nodachi out of darkness. It was harder, denser, and sharper than the previous version.
The System tried to enforce its penalty on him. It didn¡¯t stick as well as before because of his aura maniption.
Zarian had a far easier time controlling his sword swings and thrusts mystically than physically. Still, there was a portion of his control that wascking because his Strength just wasn¡¯t there yet.
It¡¯s close. The Parasite Cloak +1 is helping me a lot with its threads reinforcing my body. But I can use a little more.
He couldn¡¯t afford to waste too many Free points on Strength and Agility. More and more of his attention was needed in Mysticism, Willpower, and Wonder.
He also couldn¡¯tmit to crazy training like Naomi to build his physical stats. He could only join in partially. Being a wizard required a lot of study.
Still, there had to be a solution for him to override the melee weapon penalty. After thinking on it for a while, a new ludicrous idea came to exist in his Fractured Mind. Zarian smirked when he realized he was going to be a menace to almost everyone.
When we get back to the soldier camp, I¡¯m going to be the most bullshit wizard ever.
For now, he endured the slight melee penalty. He would fix it soon enough.
Bianca kept gathering more motes of light from the lonely dawn beams breaking through the darkened, misty wulverir. While she worked on that, Zarian opened a channel of aura between him and her.
He focused on upholding the link even at the cost of feeding her less in one go. That way, he kept her aura topped at a consistent rate, which came with a horrifying feeling.
Her aura of heavenly light and arced rainbows kept munching on his dark aura without mercy. Being evil came with some diforts here and there, Zarian supposed. At the very least, he and his party would benefit once Bianca grew further into her power.
The spectral spiders scuttled up rotten, barren trunks to reach the skeletal branches above. They stayed together in one group. They weren¡¯t needed for scouting right now and could act as backup support.
Para wavered the cloak around from behind Zarian, dramatic as always. He rested the seven-foot nodachi on his shoulder and waited.
Half an hourter, the first enemy showed up.
Zarian moved ahead of Bianca¡¯s radiant form to face the iing red dot. He used Identify as soon as the wulver broke through the thorny foliage and brambles.
Zarian found it interesting how the wulvers had different identities inside theirpared to outside.
Outside, they were called forest wulvers. Here in their, it felt like their true identities appeared as invasive wulvers, which Zarian had thought of them the whole time, coincidentally.
While having these musings wasn¡¯t appropriate in a fight, Zarian¡¯sbination of traits and skills made it as simple as breathing and walking. He already had his nodachi swinging in a decisive downward cut while lit by his ck Fire spell.
The zing dark de met the invasive wulver¡¯s outstretched ws. The nodachi hacked through them all.
Zarian kept the zing de going. He struck with a meaty, bone-snapping chop through the vicle and into the ribcage.
Para¡¯s tendrils and bone stakes struck the earth behind Zarian like support pirs. She kept him in ce against the wulver¡¯s flying momentum.
Zarian grunted as he jerked his head aside from a spray of blood vomiting out of the wulver¡¯s mouth. He jerked his head backward when the creature snapped its bloody teeth close to his face. It refused to quit even with a sword halfway through its chest, ck mes stripping thest of its vitality.
A dime-sizedser burned a hole through the wulver¡¯s head. The sh-fried brain made popping and sizzling sounds inside its skull, the creature dying on the spot.
Para¡¯s tendrils yanked the creature off the zing dark sword. Without vitality, the ck and gray mes covering the corpse snuffed away quietly, leaving a fresh corpse with a split torso, chopped-off ws, and one smoldering hole in its head.
¡°Is this cheating?¡± Bianca asked from behind Zarian.
He turned to look at her and winced from the abundance of good aligned light.
She was lit up like the most obnoxious Christmas tree around, using up more of his aura to keep over a hundred tiny suns ofpressed dawn light prepared. The tiny suns revolved around her like she was the center of her own universe.
¡°There¡¯s no cheating when fighting absolute evil, is there?¡± Zarian replied.
Bianca furrowed her shining brow in thought before shrugging. ¡°Eh, yeah, that¡¯s true. Let¡¯s go kill them all.¡±
Chapter 39: Relentless Gauntlet
Zarian focused his fractured attention between the aura link to keep Bianca fueled and fighting at the front like an off-brand warrior. It didn¡¯t take long before he realized his current physicality wasn¡¯t truly enough.
He needed more of Para¡¯s direct help to reinforce his body.
The cloak behind his back became more conservative, less dramatic, less active. Parasitic threads crawled over Zarian¡¯s body, gripping him like a bodysuit, covering him from the head down as Para synced her entire being with his will.
As a tradeoff, he lost the flexibility of mid-ranged tentacles, tendrils, and bone spikes. In return, he gained a major close quarters body boost and added armor, all dark red leather and white ivory bone tes, like an eldritch blood knight.
The parasitic change-up was worth it.
He swung his seven-foot nodachi with more oomph and for more devastation. The ck and gray mes wavered more fiercely across the dense de like a zing, vitality-eating g, hurling out more motes of ck Fire in the wake of each quick and heavy swing.
He chopped a wulver in half at the waist, intestines unraveling everywhere. It was barely alive as the ck Fire spell consumed the dregs of its vitality and left it with nothing to secure its life energy.
Bianca struck its head with a searingser just to make doubly sure it died. She turned andbined a dozen mini suns into one palm-sized beam and burned a hole through a charging wulver¡¯s chest.
It still kept running at her, so Zarian intervened, swerving around and striking low, hacking off a leg with ck Fire spreading rapidly over flesh and fur to finish the job. Bianca was already turning to shoot more searingsers to their rear, then to their left, and then to their right.She wasn¡¯t as fast as an automated defense turret. But she was working her way up there as hard as she could.
Wulvers came running from all directions. The red dots on the mini-map barely served as much of a warning before they appeared. Thankfully, most of them came charging from the front and meeting the armored wizard head on.
Zarian marched with Bianca toward the next rare sunbeam that broke through the darkenedir. From there, Bianca could reload on miniature suns as they fought a relentless gauntlet from all sides.
And what a bloody, howling gauntlet it was. Way more intense than fighting the spiders. Way, way more.
Zarian used all the helpful lessons Reiki had given him about sword fighting. He shifted his footing while his bnce stayed centered under him. He kept his edge alignment in mind with each powerful cut, using Para¡¯s help to assist him.
He didn¡¯t dance much, choosing a more steady footing at the cost of taking w strikes and hits to the living armor. Para held up, and Zarian traded back. He swung with so much force and weight he bisected three wulvers in one cut.
He could get away with being a little t-footed and simple when he and Para dished out big enough strikes. Still, it was a hell of an experience while encased in living armor, getting rushed and wed at from all over, responding to each red dot closing fast on the minimap in the corner of his vision.
Multiple times, Zarian felt tempted to escape into the air or overpower the monsters as a wizard. Multiple times, he refused to take the easy way out and chose the harder, bloodier, bone-splitting, savage path.
And that stubborn choice was because of Bianca.
She was doing scary well.
Bianca moved with a calm, subtle grace with way better footing than him. She relied on her alpha skills to throw attacking wulvers off their aim.
She became a flurry of lights whisking away from danger with Light Step. She eluded lunging wulvers when they attacked a near-perfect illusion made by her Close Refraction.
Then she pumped them full of srsers. Her aim had improved. She hit the weak spots that would drill past the vitality bar and burn away their lives. Zarian found wulver corpses with aser hole running through one eye, their skulls smoldering from within as boiled brain bits bubbled out.
Bianca was merciless, and Zarian loved to seeing. But this gauntlet wasn¡¯t letting up at all. He was getting battered more while holding against advancing wulvers that funneled in mainly from the front.
¡°I don¡¯t think this quest was meant for two people!¡± Zarian shouted above the growling and howling wulvers.
Bianca didn¡¯t respond. He didn¡¯t me her. She was in the zone. She couldn¡¯t afford to utter a word as she danced the dance of death while trying to get in kills within one to two shots.
One mistake could lead to a terrible fate for Bianca. And Zarian would be the one to me. He could make this so much easier for them both. He could overpower all the rushing wulvers.
Show me more of your cheesy goodness, Bianca, Zarian demanded internally. Show me how scary you could be when you kill for the greater good.
Zarian yed a dangerous game with Bianca¡¯s life, waiting for the next revtion, hoping to see how far she could push it. The wulvers didn¡¯t lighten up. Instead, their onrush of attacks intensified even further.
Zarian lost track of the kills and focused on hacking whatever snarling, wing, furry monster rushed and battered him with a maddening frenzy. The fighting became more brutal and barbaric, and at some point, Zarian let go of perfect technique andshed out with gauntlet-d punches or a skull bash with the butt of his sword.
It became too much for him even with Para¡¯s help.
Finally, Zarian caved, throwing out quick and heavy bolts at distant wulversing in hot on the heels of their charging brethren. He was an overpowered wizard first and foremost, and even he had his limits.
If he was stressed, he couldn¡¯t imagine how Bianca was feeling.
¡°Bianca, girl, are you still with me?!¡± Zarian yelled back, sending forth a scatter shot of dark bolts covered in ck Fire. Once he turned enough of the frontal attackers into minced meat, he risked looking back, eyes widening in surprise.
Bianca was covered in blood. Her own blood. But she was upright and still fighting. Even though she hadn¡¯t remained unscathed from the charging wulvers, none of her current injuries could bring her down.
She wasn¡¯t bothering to use her arms anymore. And she stepped like she was dancing, evading around wulvers with the graceful movements Reiki had taught her, movements Bianca had refined with consistent practice.
Hell, she was moving better than ever before while in the middle of the howling, blood-frenzied storm.
The difference between Bianca before and Bianca now was how quick and efficient she stepped even if she looked like she was performing in a ballroom. And she did so without giving herself much time to react to anything.
She couldn¡¯t have thought about what she was doing. She had to rely on instinct or Wonder. And more importantly, with every near-dodge granting her a sliver of room with the least amount of margin for error, she made it rain shysers in a near-constant salvo.
She fused the littlepressed suns she¡¯d gathered from lone sunbeams with her own aura of light, maximizing speed and fuel efficiency. Zarian could barely grasp how Bianca kept this up, because even with his aura helping to fuel her, she was smashing through limits that should¡¯ve stopped her. Then he put two and two together.
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Her Wonder stat plus being a do-gooder were the factors that stood out most. She was riding on suicidal do-gooder energy, and Zarian could feel it the moment he looked closer. She felt like a bonfire of good alignment that made Zarian more ufortable, like she would burn him to the bone for being evil.
She would¡¯ve died if I wasn¡¯t here. There¡¯s no doubt about it. But since I¡¯m here to keep her fuel, she¡¯ll keep shining as bright as she can.
Zarian wanted to see Bianca shine brighter and brighter.
Then his ambition took a hit the moment Bianca suffered a nasty sh across her side. She fell into a tumble she couldn¡¯t recover from gracefully.
Zarian stopped ying around and unleashed a barrage of dark bolts in all directions.
He turned the nearest wulvers into chunks of meat and raining stters of gore. The wulvers a little further out fell in flesh piles, limbs ripped off, heads sted off. The spreading ck Fire eliminated their vitality and made it easier for them to die as their life leaked out through their severe wounds.
Then, beyond that, Zarian¡¯s attack struck the nearest skeletal trees and knocked a few of them down. They crashed with roaring, splintering booms that shook the ck, cobbled ground and resounded far across the invasive wulver¡¯sir.
All was still afterward.
¡°Fuck,¡± Zarian cussed, dismissing his nodachi. ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck. That was close. I yed that way too close.¡±
He pulled Bianca free from the piles of gore that had buried her. Her wounds looked bad, but not as bad as he¡¯d feared. She would live long enough for Zarian to get her help.
Bianca looked dizzily into his face and smiled.
¡°I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t keep up with you,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to disappoint you, papi. Please don¡¯t be mad.¡±
Zarian opened and closed his mouth. Even his Fractured Mind struggled on what to say. After a few deep breaths filled with heavy coppery scents, he fixed his face with a big grin, the eldritch blood helmet peeling away from his head.
¡°Are you kidding, Bianca? I¡¯m stupid proud of you. Those monsters were ten levels above you, rushing down from everywhere. And you kept fighting and fighting no matter what. And you looked amazing all the way through.¡±
¡°You¡¯re amazing.¡±
¡°No, you are.¡±
¡°No, you are.¡±
Zarian tossed his head back andughed.
A wulver lunged out from the nk to attack while the two were busy lightening the mood. A spike of darkness shot up from the mist-shrouded and gore-covered floor and sheared the monster in two.
Bianca leaned into him, letting herself be weak with his support. ¡°You can finish the wulvers off without me.¡±
¡°No, we¡¯re finishing this together. We¡¯re in air, not a dungeon. I don¡¯t think they have dungeon magic to alter their reality.¡±
¡°What does that mean?¡±
¡°We can leave ande back to finish the job.¡±
Bianca¡¯s mouth formed into an ¡®O¡¯ in surprise. Zarian didn¡¯t know why she looked so shocked.
Did she not think he would use tactical retreat so they coulde back healthier and with a greater advantage?
He could act like an ambitious idiot, yes, but he wasn¡¯t without some sense. Besides, Zarian had gained a lot already.
He¡¯d gone from Level 33 to Level 35. His skill levels rose except for the Level 0s. He saw the truth behind good alignment and how it gave the most bullshit, straight up power-up for anyone who felt determined enough (or suicidal enough) to face down evil.
He was thankful to Bianca for showing him that. If he hadn¡¯t seen that, he could¡¯ve remained ignorant and caught blindsided in the future battles toe.
As for Bianca, she¡¯d grown another four levels despite the reduced experience, which was damn impressive. She was Level 30 now. Better yet, all of her skills had advanced, which she exined excitedly, pushing past her dizziness to share.
She could now damage enemies while using Light Step +1. Her Close Refraction reverted to Level 1 and changed to Refraction, losing levels while gaining a whole qualitative upgrade.
Her new Refraction skill affected the light over herself, others, and/or the environment. Thus, inviting her to y with more elusive creativity if she stuck to using that for tricks.
She might change approaches now that she¡¯d touched on the path of monster eradication.
Zarian and Bianca flew out of the Invasive Wulver Lair, leaving the spectral spiders to conduct recon. They went straight back to the dire wolf¡¯s den.
Three wolf healers worked on Bianca. As the dire wolves hunted and brought them food, Zarian exined to the elder dire wolf what had happened on their first foray into wulvers¡¯ territory.
The elder wolf, who Zarian confirmed to be female with a closer inspection, nodded her head. ¡°Wulvers are monsters. They breed in strange ways. They spread sickness in the forest. They do not respect the forest. They kill for pleasure. They hurt for pleasure. They eat wastefully for pleasure. You must hunt all wulvers, evil hunter, good hunter.¡±
¡°We will,¡± Zarian said. ¡°They won¡¯t breed new wulvers overnight, will they?¡±
¡°They grow fast. But not overnight fast.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll rest for today and hit theirir again tomorrow. I have a good feeling that we¡¯ll be able to finish with this second push.¡±
The next morning, Zarian earned +1 Strength after he woke up. Then Bianca woke up with a major growth. When she exined it to Zarian, he imagined her extraordinary changes as notifications like these:
¡°Damn, Bianca,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Still no Aura Ignition, but I think we¡¯re getting close.¡±
Bianca sat cross-legged, back straight, almost like she was meditating as the dawn light pierced through a horizon heavy with tetris-like clouds. She nodded slowly to the revtion of her changes before casting a beaming smile Zarian¡¯s way.
Her good +1 pulsated. Zarian¡¯s evil +1 roiled in difort, which he mped down on.
He felt more of his own aggression aimed in Bianca¡¯s way, but he refused to let the alignments mess with his judgments. It was just like what Bianca had said. They were friends. They were good and evil working together.
¡°It feels good being more good,¡± Bianca said. ¡°I feel so sure of myself. I feel secure. Death even seems ¡ less of a worry. If I can help those little puppies up there, then I¡¯ll even wee it.¡±
¡°No,¡± Zarian said, almost growling. ¡°Don¡¯t forget this is so you cane back so freaking strong the others will beg me for the next one-on-one training session. No suicidal stunts.¡±
That was another reason to dislike do-gooders, even as friends. They had too much selflessness. Though Zarian could admit he was acting a little hypocritical.
He¡¯d pushed her hard yesterday and could¡¯ve lost her.
Let¡¯s be smarter today.
¡°I¡¯m proud of your growth either way. Finishing the wulvers is just par for the course. You won¡¯t die. We¡¯ll do this as routine,¡± he dered.
He nned to y as a more effective defense wizard ¨C dark spikes, palisades, ming bolts, the usual. That way, he could hold back the full tide of the wulvers and let Bianca practice her new abilities under calmer conditions.
¡°I know. I understand. I¡¯m just less afraid. More at peace, even.¡± Bianca beamed a brighter smile at him. ¡°Besides, it¡¯ll be a shame to leave you now. I think my goodness has a purpose while around you.¡±
Zarian looked her up and down, suspicious. ¡°Yeah?¡±
¡°It¡¯s more than just keeping you in check. It¡¯s for us to be in bnce. With bnce, good and evil are a way of life. That¡¯s us. That¡¯s our party. So I must be good, and you must be evil, and that¡¯s more than okay.¡±
Zarian slowly nodded, trying not to cringe. Yeah, he could be cheesy, but clearly good aligned folks were way cheesier than him.
At the very least, Bianca confirmed she wouldn¡¯t throw her life away for no reason. She was with him for the long run.
¡°Yeah, sure, ready tomit more wulver genocide?¡± he asked.
¡°Oh, yes, let¡¯s! It¡¯ll be good!¡±
Zarian nodded and picked her up. As they flew off, his mood settled on being both wary and eager.
Wary, because Bianca¡¯s abilities made him feel naturally nervous. It was like holding close a potential bomb of goodness fused with his fundamental weakness: light.
Despite that, he was still eager. Maybe more eager than nervous. He wanted to see how much damage Bianca could dish out against their enemies with her new traits.
The way the Infinita Star System worked, involving traits, skills, spells, runes, and even alignments, deeply intrigued Zarian. He wanted to explore all the magic potential and profile builds with each of his party members.
Bianca¡¯s switch from tricky support to being a huge damage dealer scratched a nice itch inside of him. He was the type who loved to optimize and push someone he liked to be their best.
It made sense to him. He needed the best people inside his party topliment him and keep up with him. And maybe even push him to be better.
Zarian grinned. Look at me, Infinita, as I take one of your do-gooders and make her myser cannon.
They flew over the blocky forest for another day of monster murdering. However, as soon as the area holding their came within sight, Zarian knew something was wrong.
The forest section that contained their ¡ it looked healthy. Way too healthy.
What the hell?
Chapter 40: So I Crashed Out
A war party of gnolls had killed the remaining wulversst night. Zarian could hardly believe the news while his remaining spectral spiders danced to tell the story.
Not all of them made it out of the massacre alive ¨C a few powerful gnolls had noticed them and hunted them down for sport. In the end, only five spectral spiders survived out of the hundred he¡¯d left yesterday.
Only one spider could tell the story decently after risking its life to watch the entire wulverir massacre. Zarian watched every frantic movement of its dance.
There was plenty of proof.
The quest notification said the job was done:
Zarian didn¡¯t receive another level. Bianca earned one, reaching Level 31. She looked satisfied while Zarian felt despondent, angered, and cheated.
He looked up at the twin-star sunshine beaming down at the healing section of the forest. He spotted new leafy green growths breaking through the ckened sickness that had once reigned supreme here.
¡°Are there any corpses left?¡± Zarian asked.The spider answered no. The gnolls had taken everything.
Zarian had missed out on a chance to raise new skeletons out of the wulver bodies. Granted, he¡¯d wanted to reserve that for the boss and its strongest wulvers. He¡¯d thought he would get his pick of the litter after clearing their.
Zarian balled his trembling hands into tight, shaky fists. He felt very cheated. For himself, and for Bianca especially.
He wanted to see Bianca¡¯s new abilities in action. Abination of Lesser Smite, Aura Charge, and her budding good +1 alignment would¡¯ve led to a greater massacre.
They would¡¯ve had a far easierir run than yesterday. He would¡¯ve seen more examples of good alignment¡¯s inherent cheat power. And they could¡¯ve gotten a nice bonus reward or something at the end.
Maybe even loot from a treasure chest or a new achievement.
¡°You¡¯re upset,¡± Bianca said.
¡°The gnolls did that on purpose,¡± Zarian muttered. ¡°I have no idea how, but I know deep down they took their to spite us. And it makes me sick to my stomach.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not so upset,¡± Bianca admitted. ¡°The wulvers are gone. The forest will be happier. The dire wolf puppies will grow strong and healthy.¡±
Zarian grimaced at Bianca¡¯s optimism and found it too sickly sweet for him right now. He wanted to see her drill moreser beams through wulver skulls and hear their brains pop like deep-fried popcorn.
After today, they might be in town for a while, doing mundane things before setting off for a bigger adventure. How long would he have to wait for theser cannon action?
After kicking at the loam-covered cobblestones under his boots, Zarian dialed up Tranquil Mind to help him rx and think clearer. He didn¡¯t want to, but it was for the best.
That way, he could better question what the gnolls were trying to prove by eliminating the wulvers first.
Zarian¡¯s eyes widened, his body tensing.
¡°What is it?¡± Bianca asked sharply, ready for action.
He scooped her up into his arms without asking and prepared tounch when a strange thing caught his attention. There was a dark treasure chest in the middle of the path behind him when it hadn¡¯t been there before.
A shadowy haze wafted off the treasure chest¡¯s frame, and a feeling of a grand shadow consuming them, along with the forest and all the world, pressed down on Zarian. For Bianca, her new confidence shattered, and she looked up gasping, her body shaking in his arms as she became panicky and uncertain.
Her good alignment dimmed and became unimportant.
Zarian held back from shivering or showing any emotion. He held Bianca to his chest and crept to the hazy, shadowy, evil treasure chest.
Para¡¯s tendrils moved forward and flipped the chest open carefully, slowly. The hinges made a loud creaking sound before the topnded backward with a heavy, ground-rumbling thunk.
Inside were two items.
There was a written note using divine quality paper.
And a big can of coffee, which wasmon in quality.
Zarian easily switched Bianca to one arm and reached in, his hand brushing on the ck, velvety felt lining the interior of the treasure chest. It pulsated with powerful magic. Again, he wanted to shiver, but he held back. He felt it was important to show no emotion or reaction.
He picked up the note and read it aloud. He felt a huge, authoritative, and godly impression of the evil goddess speaking directly over his words. She sounded as dark and somber as her name suggested:
Dear Zarian Darkrun and Companions,I find you impressive. I will give unto you these boons:When faced with your next impossible challenge, im the name Ekri the Tailor as a friend of yours. It will help you in the short term until you find a more permanent solution. Second, enjoy the coffee. This world doesn¡¯t have such.Do not let Gilbert McDonald have any of the coffee, if you will. He will know why.With care,The one known as Young Corrupter, Sorrowful Child, The Evil Goddess Shadowfell.
¡°We shouldn¡¯t, Zarian!¡± Bianca whined. ¡°That¡¯s so freaking evil. It¡¯s obviously a trap. We should leave all of this alone.¡±
Zarian shrugged, feeling a twinge from the bullet in his back right shoulder. He ignored it. ¡°Toote, Bianca. Shadowfell approved of me twice. And I gave her my thanks already.¡±
Zarian slipped the divine note into Para¡¯s pocket dimension for safekeeping. The business card from Ekri the Tailor was in there.
He grabbed the can of coffee next. It was from a popr brand back in the old world. Somehow, the Evil Goddess Shadowfell had gotten it, just so she could give it as one of two boons.
Now that was a power move ¨C Shadowfell chose a coffee brand they all would know.
With a nod, he packed the coffee away the same way he had done with the divine note. Then he let out a long but controlled breath before refastening his hold on Bianca with both arms and ensuring thest spectral spiders hitched a ride on his cloak.
He shot into the sky on twin jets of darkness.
¡°Zarian, what does this mean?¡± Bianca asked, still worried.
¡°It means we¡¯re almost, if not all the way, under the Shadowfell camp,¡± Zarian said. ¡°We fell through a portal where her corruptive tears gathered. We crawled our way through her territory while meeting her worshipers. And now she¡¯s leaving us treats. Yeah, she¡¯s sliding into the role of our benefactor.¡±
Bianca moaned like that was a horrible turn of events.
Zarian wasn¡¯t unhappy with the turn of events, only wary.
He was worried about the gnolls more than anything. Still, his Fractured Mind ran through an exhaustive list of what having an evil goddess benefactor could mean in the short term and long term. How much would they gain in service to Shadowfell and how much would they lose?
Does it have to be in service to her? Could it be more of a mutual partnership?
Zarian had joined the armed forces and ced himself in a position to serve once before. That experience hadn¡¯t worked out well for him. Why should he fullymit to serving under another faceless entity, regardless of their size and power?
Granted, Shadowfell was far grander than joining a mere mortal military branch. What were the Marines to a world-shaking goddess? Little gnats with Fourth of July poppers? Did that mean he was religious now for acknowledging the divine?
Would he have to listen to Gilbert¡¯s old world tirades?
Zarian had always been agnostic, never big on religion, but never one to disprove spirituality. He believed in what could be tested and proven, but he also believed there was more beyond him and many other mortals. He hadn¡¯t given himself time to do a deep dive on that stuff. The best he could do was focus on direct and tangible things.
For some reason, Ekri the Tailor¡¯s name would help against the next impossible challenge. When would that happen? And why?
Did it have anything to do with the gnolls?
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¡°Ekri the Tailor,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Why Naomi¡¯s spider-man friend? Is he going to make us magic clothing?¡± Bianca wondered aloud, her legs kicking idly despite the looming problems. ¡°Will a dress from him defeat the impossible challenge? Can I get the dress without the impossible challenge?¡±
Zarian caught himself wondering if he preferred Crusader Bianca or Normal Bianca. Then again, at least she was openly admitting her concerns. He was trying to keep his concerns hidden behind darkness and a hooded cloak covering his features.
¡°Don¡¯t know. We¡¯ll see,¡± he answered.
Zarian flew hard and fast. Bianca didn¡¯tin while in his arms. He was on an angle for where he thought the soldiers would be after the past couple of days.
They didn¡¯t cross paths with the dire wolves again. That seemed to dim Bianca¡¯s mood a bit, but she didn¡¯t let that slow Zarian down. Linking up with their party and making sure they were okay was more important.
¡°Don¡¯t forget,¡± Zarian grunted as they closed the distance to where their party would be. ¡°I won¡¯t always be there to feed you more aura. You¡¯ll have to manage your magic fuel better.¡±
¡°Oh, yeah, I honestly forgot about that.¡± Bianca frowned. ¡°It is a lot easier with your help. I burn through my aura fast.¡±
¡°Mind the pun, but look on the bright side. You can dole out way more damage now. Learn to be efficient with it, and losing aura will be less of a problem.¡±
¡°I wanted Aura Channeler, not Aura Charge.¡±
Zarian sighed at the young woman and let theint go.
He was pretty sure those traits were enormously rare in rarity, let alone high in quality. Anything that could control or enhance aura had a huge effect on what seemed like the biggest source of personal power in the Star System. Maybe this would lead to figuring out Aura Ignition.
Even though Bianca was acting bratty, Zarian figured she appreciated the new abilities a lot.
Honestly, he should be the oneining. His impulsive wizard side wanted to see the new magic work with the best test subjects around ¨C monsters that deserved to have a genocide happen to them.
He figured monsters were unnatural challenges created more by the System or other godly factors unlike the more natural residents of the world, beasts, humans, and humanoids. Some monsters were dungeon-made, but not all of them.
Setting aside his musings, Zarian corrected his course once he found the link between him and Loner. He¡¯d kept the Raise Advancing Skeletons spell going the whole time even from a sizable distance.
The link between him and his skeleton had felt faint and hard to track while far away. Now closer, Zarian knew where to go exactly to find the soldiers and his party. He was catching up with them during the daylight hours, so it would be easier to give the others a heads up to avoid scaring the soldiers.
If only things would go ording to n today.
¡°You willnd. Or you will die,¡± resounded a grouchy voice from the forest below. There was power in that voice. More than enough to make Zarian feel shivers down his spine.
¡°Bianca,¡± Zarian called.
¡°Yes?¡± she asked nervously.
¡°Whatever you do, let me y my role as the evil one. Don¡¯t interrupt. Don¡¯t disagree. Just stay silent, okay?¡± Zarian lowered into a clearing in the forest. He touched down and set Bianca beside him. ¡°Do you agree?¡±
¡°Si, papi.¡±
Zarian took that as confirmation and nodded. He turned and watched gnolls stalk out of the shaded forest and into the clearing. They looked vastly different from the gnolls he¡¯d seen so far.
They were more powerful, taller, and elderly.
It took him a while to realize the strange round growths on their chests were their breasts. They had two more sets than a human¡¯s pair. The gnolls barely wore much to cover them other than fur and long braids or locks of hair draping down their bodies.
¡°We are the elders of the Blood Prairie Savages,¡± said the lead elder gnoll. ¡°You¡¯ve interrupted the hunt for our most promising young and killed a rising rare monk. You aren¡¯t amon human, we are sure of this. Yet, you don¡¯t seem like a noble human of the kingdom. Are you acting in service of the Eternal Garden Kingdom? Or are you acting in service of yourself?¡±
¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask me while I was up north dealing with wulvers?¡± Zarian questioned in return.
The lead elder gave him a monstrous smile. ¡°That¡¯s our raiders having fun. Wulvers make for good sport. The raiders wait for our orders to attack the kingdom¡¯s fortress farms and towns and ughter the humans. We will do so if your answers do not suffice.¡±
Zarian was not in a favorable position. The gnolls were responding way faster than he¡¯d predicted. They were aware of him being the problem instead of the soldiers themselves.
How could that be?
Either they had a more sophisticated spywork or ¡
¡°Kill told you,¡± Zarian grunted.
¡°Evil God Kill favors us.¡± The lead elder kept smiling.
Of course. Of freaking course.
The gods were meddling.
Well, one god had meddled. And one goddess had responded in kind, which Zarian could see was still kind of meddlesome.
Since they weren¡¯t inbat yet, Zarian made some quick preparations with his profile and his mentality. At this point, he and Bianca were pretty much dead. There was no surviving this if things yed out normally.
Even if they survived, Zarian had an inkling survival would cost them more than he wanted to give if everything yed out as expected. So, he went with the only y that mattered.
Heughed darkly. ¡°Heh heh heh. Ha ha ha ha! Good, I wanted Kill to tell you.¡±
Zarian lowered his hood to show his face despite the painful touch of sunlight, his eyes two pits of darkness. He gave them a smug, viinous, egotistical sneer.
Then, on a whim, he had his Parasite Cloak shift into a cushioned chair with a tall back and armrests. Spikes and teeth sprouted from above his head before he sat down. He crossed one ankle over his knee, propping his leg up, andzed about infort before beckoning for Bianca with his finger to stand beside him.
She took it a step further by sitting on the parasite armrest, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a flick of her hand, and smiling haughtily. She even used her new Refraction skill to bend the sunlight above them and shroud Zarian in dramatic darkness, adding extra ir.
Zarian nearly lost his concentration because he didn¡¯t expect that from Bianca. She knew the assignment like she was born for it, apparently. Since she was going to ride the crazy train with him all the way, then he really had to y his role hardcore.
¡°All ording to my n,¡± Zarian said mysteriously.
The elder gnolls lost their smugness. Clearly, they were the smartest, wisest, and oldest of their tribe. They were all women and massively built, standing up to nine or ten feet. They were a collective force that could turn Zarian and Bianca into minced meat in a few seconds. Maybe in less time than that.
But they weren¡¯t as brazen as their younger and weaker gnolls. They didn¡¯t get to their position without being a little thoughtful.
¡°What n?¡± asked the lead elder suspiciously.
¡°For you toe to me. For isn¡¯t it part of your god¡¯s nature for me to kill all my enemies? Your young gnolls attacked. I killed them. But I didn¡¯t kill them to anger you. I did it because I wanted to show you that your youngsters are still too weak. And you don¡¯t have much time before¡¡±
Zarian paused, his hand to his mouth in thought. Then he lowered his hand and shook his head. ¡°Maybe I shouldn¡¯t tell you.¡±
¡°Tell us!¡± barked the lead elder gnoll, her voice booming with such power it swayed the treetops. Zarian waited for them to calm a little, and for the elder gnolls to tense in anticipation.
¡°The Grimrock Warlock is preparing for war. And thinks the Blood Prairie Savages are weak. I was there, having a meal, when I learned of this. I didn¡¯t think it was true until I came across your young and killed them all. The Grimrock Warlock might have a case.¡±
The lead elder snorted. ¡°That corrupted goblin is only in the Level 60s when we¡¯re in the Level 80s!¡±
¡°When was thest time you saw her?¡± Zarian shot back.
The elder didn¡¯t answer right away. Clearly, it had been years. Things could¡¯ve changed.
¡°You¡¯ve grown soft. And you¡¯re losing a grand opportunity. Whymit to treaties with humans when you can go to war against the goblins who think you weak and dumb? Why not ughter them? Then Castle Grimrock and all its treasures will be yours. You can demand from the humans triple or quadruple the tributes for your stronger and richer young!¡±
Zarian held up four fingers as emphasis.
Despite the age and wisdom of the gnoll elders, they were still simple creatures. They were both savage and greedy while interested in the growth of their young. Hell, they even oh¡¯d and awed from hearing his im!
Zarian could nearly see the light bulbs shing in their heads as their eyes glimmered. Had nobody thought of invading Castle Grimrock before or were they just set with doing the same thing again and again?
Once the elders regained theirposure, the one elder at the front smiled vilely. ¡°This is an interesting idea. So interesting ¡ we will take it after we kill you.¡±
¡°I¡¯m disappointed. You¡¯re missing out on an even bigger opportunity.¡± Zarian clucked his tongue. ¡°I can make some of your rising gnolls better killers. I can make your tribe better. Here, taste a ¡®fraction¡¯ of my power.¡±
He hit the lead gnoll with his biggest attack, which he¡¯d built up since the start of the conversation. He¡¯d used multiple abilities in concert to make it happen: the alpha version of Straight Darkness +1, Basic Aura Maniption, Aura Channeler, ck Fire, Tranquil Mind, Adrenaline Jolt, Fractured Mind, and, of course, his Overpower trait.
He cast his attack from the darkness under his seat since it was deeper and darker while Bianca refracted the sunlight. She enhanced the mood and enhanced Zarian¡¯s darkness. Thus, heunched a highly dense rod with a sharpened point covered in ck and gray mes, which was the strongest attack he¡¯d ever made.
The ming dark rod punctured the lead gnoll¡¯s chest as her eyes opened wide with shock. With nothing to keep her grounded, the attack sent the Level 80-somethimg flying off her feet. The initial impact struck the entire area with a shockwave so powerful, Bianca tumbled backward off the armrest of Zarian¡¯s parasite chair.
The lead gnoll disappeared from view faster than Zarian could track. The nearest tree tops swayed heavily. The stone on their walled trunks fell loose in a mighty cascade, crashing down like the world was falling apart all around them.
Even the ground where the rod had struck the lead gnoll became barren. The impact carved away much of the topyer. Dust, grit, and debris flew into the faces of the other gnolls as they stumbled about.
Then all became still except for a distant boom of something heavynding in the forest quite far away. That was followed by the distinct groaning, pounding, splintering fall of towered trees also at a distance.
Finally, all became still in this section of the Bramble Wolf Forest.
Zarian snorted in the aftermath.
¡°Hm, good. She¡¯s decent for someone in the Level 80s. To have survived one of my ¡®weakest¡¯ attacks means you show promise,¡± Zarian said, while Bianca retook her seat on the armrest. ¡°You¡¯ve passed my test. I shall give some of your rising gnolls special instructions to make them better killers. The rest will prepare for war against Castle Grimrock.¡±
A few minutester, the lead gnoll returned from her flight andnding. The elders had a huddle. Then the lead gnoll rubbed at the ckened dent in the middle of her chest and turned fully to Zarian.
¡°We will need time to think about your offer. We will let our tribe know to end hostilities until we have a better understanding,¡± she said, sounding subdued.
¡°Fine then. You may go.¡± Zarian waved them away.
The elder gnolls left. They took with them the threat of raiding the kingdom. For now, at least.
Zarian waited on his throne with Bianca keeping her position on his armrest. Some timeter, once the coast was cleared, he copsed out of his chair, gasping for air.
¡°Oh shit, I didn¡¯t think that would work,¡± Zarian grunted.
Bianca cried, falling onto the floor, throwing a tantrum. ¡°ZARIAN, YOU¡¯RE CRAZY!¡±
¡°I KNOW!¡± Zarian sat up. ¡°I know, I know, I know.¡±
Bianca sat up, shaking both fists at him. ¡°What about Ekri the Tailor? Why didn¡¯t you mention him? That could¡¯ve fixed everything!¡±
Zarian shook his head as Para returned to her usual form as a cloak. ¡°Bianca! I have a Fractured Mind! I thought we were dead, so I crashed out!¡±
¡°Nooo, Zarian, noooo!¡± Bianca was letting it all out with her screaming, but she stopped when they both received a shared notification popping up in a blue box above their heads. The System had given them an achievement.
It was legendary.
Chapter 41: Heroes and Gods
Before Zarian could examine his rewards, he had to admit he was damn lucky few people had the Identify trait. If the gnoll elders could use Identify like him and Foodie, they would¡¯ve known he was bluffing them.
Then he and Bianca would¡¯ve died.
Who would¡¯ve thought he could use his overpowered nature to outwit enemies that should outright kill him? He would have to keep that in the back pocket forter down the road. Or he would have to get much, much stronger.
At least I got to test out how far I can push Straight Darkness with my current stack of abilities. Hell, I still have room for more power if I say the skill aloud and add a modifier.
Zarian nced at the fallen piles of stone and the fallen green leaves and branches littering the area. He looked down at the barren ground he¡¯d scarred on impact with the lead elder of the Blood Prairie Savages.
Yeah, that¡¯s impressive. I can knock down castle walls and bring down entire buildings. Let¡¯s enjoy that and the new achievement instead of worrying about how I¡¯m supposed to train a bunch of savage gnolls if they seek me out as their mentor.
Sometimes Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind was both a gift and a curse. At the very least, he had an achievement to look at:
¡°Okay, alright, I think the ¡®crashed out¡¯ choice was a good one. We¡¯re getting rewarded for it. Now, Bianca, we both get one choice, so let¡¯s be sure we pick wisely,¡± Zarian said, giddy and relieved.
The legendary achievement was going to make up for everything that they might¡¯veplicated for themselves, so much so that Zarian needed time to sort through it allter. Rewards made him feel happy, and these three epic items and two skill choices seemed curated for them.
Zarian smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s start from the top. Ready?¡±
¡°Hm, que paso? I didn¡¯t hear you.¡± She was back on her feet as a sh of vibrant green, sunny yellow, lily white, and other flowery colors appeared on her body, sparkling, dazzling, reshaping and solidifying to fit her shape. She giggled and spun around until the colors formed into an exquisite dress.
It was clear to everyone, even after roughing for a while on their adventures, that Bianca was a pretty young woman. As pretty or prettier than most women from Miami. So even while covered in grime, blood, andyers of adventure gunk, the dressplimented her tenfold.
Zarian didn¡¯t care. ¡°Gaaaah dammit, Bianca!¡±
The Light Bringer Child stood her ground with eyes shining zealously, her magical dress flowing and glimmering with myriad flowery colors, silk threads, countless gems, and petals circling the hem at the top, entuating her shoulders and chest.
The look on her face was dangerous. It was less about physical harm, and more about trespassing on grounds that didn¡¯t belong to Zarian.
Thinking quickly on his feet, he muttered, ¡°But what if I wanted the dress?¡±
¡°Did you ¡ really want ¡ the pretty dress?¡± Bianca¡¯s eyes shed brighter with more zealous craze. ¡°If you want it ¡ I¡¯ll give it to you. Okay?!¡±
Bianca looked like she was going to bite him. The light shining through her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Zarian shrugged, before muttering, ¡°That dress bettere with some good enchantments.¡±
¡°I feel enchanting.¡± Bianca twirled around and around like a mad woman. She even sang softly to herself in Spanish, which his Identify trait tranted mostly to her being the prettiest princess across all the World of Castles and Caverns.
Zarian shook his head at her. He wasn¡¯t going to press her any further on the rash decision.
To be fair, something inside of her might¡¯ve broken and reassembled into a crazier and more genocidal version of her former self, especially after these past few days dealing with evil wulvers. Since Zarian had the umon trait of a Fractured Mind, he didn¡¯t have enough grounds to judge her ¡ at least not aloud.
¡°I¡¯ll tell you what the other options are as I look,¡± Zarian said.
¡°I¡¯m a pretty princess!¡± Bianca replied.
Zarian sighed, shook his head, and perked himself up at the prospect of new loot and abilities. Even if they only had onest choice left, he could glean a lot from the options.
Option One:
Zarian felt a squeezing sensation around his heart. It took him some time to realize he was upset from only having one selection choice. He couldn¡¯t see what each enchantment meant, but he could specte.
Eternal Repair probably meant the armor would recover from damage consistently, if not forever. Woond Camouge would conceal the armor and wearer in the forest with magic. Thornmail sounded like abination of thorns and mail armor, so Zarian imagined the armor would strike back while defending the wearer.
Forest Perception sounded like a sensory boost while in the forest, and Trail Strider sounded like a boost to agility. The scaling was interesting, splitting with Agility and Wonder, which were major stats for Bianca.
Zarian looked over as Bianca spun around and frolicked in her magic flower dress. He checked the next option.
Option Two:
¡°Bianca! Stand still and let me Identify your dress!¡± Zarian yelled.
¡°Okay!¡±
Once again, Option Two:
Zarian repeated what he saw.
He barely finished before Bianca used an enchantment on a whim and stepped onto the edge of a field. Her next step happened after she rapidly slid across the field for two dozen feet.
The same thing happened on the following step. Sheughed as she yed around. The tail of her flowery, gem-heavy, colorful dress fluttered around as she used Field Stride for longer or shorter steps, zipping around the field quickly.
Zarian figured the dress was a decent choice and more fitting for Bianca, after all. The new additions of Nature¡¯s Embrace and Corpse Bloom sounded interesting, especially thetter.
What could Bianca do to corpses with that enchantment?
Also, the lore drops behind these things were interesting. It felt like he was getting snippets of the kingdom they were about to visit, even if it was only the ancient history of the kingdom.
The elves weren¡¯t ruling over the Eternal Garden Kingdom anymore. The humans were. The orcs weren¡¯t at Castle Grimrock anymore, the corrupted goblins were.
Option Three:
Bianca used her Field Stride tounch herself off the grass and ferns. Shended on a stone block behind Zarian with the grace of an elven princess as her dress fluttered while still covering the important parts.
She was missing shoes to go with the elven dress. Zarian wasn¡¯t going to say anything or she might drag him into a shoe-shopping spreeter.
¡°Are you going to pick the crown?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°It would make things easier, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Zarian mused aloud. ¡°I¡¯ll be able to hide my evil nature.¡±
¡°Yup!¡±
¡°It¡¯ll also let me mind control people.¡±
Bianca lost some of her good cheer. Then she smiled radiantly. ¡°Mind control for the greater good!¡±
Zarian doubted there were many cases where mind control was considered ¡®good.¡¯ That was a reach ¨C even he knew that as the resident evil guy.
He didn¡¯t correct Bianca, however. At least he knew he could get a free pass with her if he ever wanted to use mind control.
Zarian checked thest two options quickly. They were skills and had shorter descriptions. He felt upset once again after he finished reading them.
Option Four:
Option Five:
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it¡¯s taken without the author¡¯s consent. Report it.
Zarian informed Bianca of the skills, taking his time regarding the Sunflower Helper. She nodded with an undaunted smile.
Yeah, she had no regrets and no thoughts beyond wearing the dress of an ancient elven princess.
Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t judge much. Not when he already knew his choice: Grimoire of the Dread Mire Gator.
While the Sunflower Helper would¡¯ve been an amazing skill for supporting light or dark abilities, Zarian¡¯s heart was already set on anything grimoire rted.
Hell, that crown would¡¯ve helped immensely and kept my evil alignment hidden. But I would rather focus on having more spells.
Zarian was a wizard, and a wizard wouldn¡¯t turn away from having another grimoire unless it was a terrible one. He would think twice about grabbing a grimoire using light spells ¡ unless they were evil light spells that could coexist with darkness somehow.
Either way, Zarian would rather face the consequences of being evil while under the sun than give up on an interesting grimoire from a legendary achievement.
The selection window closed out. Zarian felt a new internal upgrade and a change to his profile. The System hooked him up, and when he checked, he found the new skill in his beta section.
Now he had a tough choice to make. What skills should be alpha or beta?
Straight Darkness +1 had benefited hugely from the ¡®crashed out¡¯ choice and grew from Level 16 to Level 23. It felt extremely powerful to Zarian. Far more powerful than what was necessary. It was hogging a spot in the alpha section other leveling skills could use.
He should shove the new soulbound grimoire in there, but he couldn¡¯t overlook that Summon Spectral Spiders had advanced. The advancement happened when the spectral spiders retold the events ofst night. Zarian hadn¡¯t taken a deeper look at the changes until now.
Zarian reread the new version of the spectral spider skill multiple times. Then he resummoned his spiders, keeping them in the beta section. They seemed more fragile, appearing at Level 14.
At the very least, their translucency and stealth were greater than before. He also noticed glimmering links, the phantom threadwork, that connected all of them with him and each other automatically, even when he summoned a new batch.
More phantom threads appeared, never tangling, always connected no matter the number or how they skittered around. He stopped at twenty and watched them move about slowly, checking their immediate surroundings or looking up at him.
He gave them no orders, so the spiders crawled away to explore. Zarian waited for them to spread before he concentrated on his skill.
His view of Bianca sashaying on the stone block split. He saw her normally and saw the world from a different perspective closer to the ground.
The on-ground perspective zoomed past des of grass taller than his head and swerved around a titanic stone block lodged into the earth. It stopped in the shade of some shrubbery where lowly bugs crawled about, all Level 1s.
Then he, or it, or them, lunged onto the bugs, sinking his-their fangs into one, breaking past the thin shell and liquifying the internal flesh with venom. He could feel-taste the bug melting already, bing the perfect meal.
Zarian pulled out of the voyeuristic perspective, his vision solely on Bianca still dancing in her elven princess dress. He hadn¡¯t noticed until now that the outer gear, such as her sword belt and Lighthouse Falchion, had remained on the outside of the dress.
What had happened to the rags from before?
When he searched, he noticed they were on the ground.
The System had undressed Bianca before dressing her up in one smooth and dazzling magical girl sequence. For some reason, that struck Zarian as weird.
Bianca didn¡¯t seem to mind, nor did she notice Zarian¡¯s puzzlement after getting a very personal view of a spectral spider¡¯s daily life. He could still taste the vivid memory of the bug¡¯s shell and the gooey internals inside. That was going to stay with him for a while.
Worse yet, he was growing hungry because of his wild appetite.
Yeah, okay, I¡¯m moving the new grimoire into the alpha section. Zarian figured he could effectively use the spiders as a spy andmswork even while it was in the beta section.
They wouldn¡¯t see direct fighting anymore, which should be okay for them. He could consistently grow them by having them collect intel secretly. That was the perfect thing for a guy like him to have while heading into a popted and good aligned ce.
Is the System looking out for me?
That would be awfully nice and convenient.
¡°I¡¯m done,¡± Zarian said once he swapped around his skills.
He looked over at Bianca and saw that she was calmer now. The giddy craziness was still in her eyes, but she wasn¡¯t acting out anymore.
Still, Zarian frowned. ¡°You progressed a lot more than I expected. Don¡¯t overshadow the others too much.¡±
Bianca shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t n to. I want to go back to supporting them.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°It¡¯s awesome that I can deliver real damage. But it¡¯s like you said, my abilities can be costly. I think it¡¯s better that I support while saving my heavy damage for when it¡¯s really needed.¡±
Zarian opened and closed his mouth. A section of his Fraction Mindbed through her words and concluded that she had a strong point.
It would be more efficient if she held back and focused on supporting while saving the bigser for priority targets. It would also be more surprising and devastating that way against meaner enemies while keeping the emphasis on the party working as a team.
That was everything Zarian wanted in the end. But in his single-mindedness to help Bianca grow, he¡¯d pushed her further than expected.
The epic dress was the cherry on top to crown how dangerous Bianca had be along with the potential to grow more powerful ¨C at least when they were in a forest environment. Or if there were corpses around.
We¡¯ll have to test that Corpse Bloom powerter.
¡°That¡¯s a good way to look at things. If it was anyone else, they would¡¯ve been more selfish, Bianca,¡± Zarian said.
¡°You aren¡¯t selfish.¡±
¡°I¡¯m selfish in my own way.¡±
Bianca hopped over to him and looked down into his eyes. She was taller and had an attention-grabbing presence, although thetter didn¡¯t always show very well with how she acted.
This time, she seemed more mature as she set her hands on his shoulders.
¡°Even if you¡¯re selfish, you¡¯re selfish in a way that isn¡¯t too bad. A bit messy, but you mean well. Which is why I¡¯m your friend, and I have your back.¡±
Zarian felt a twinge in his core and an awkward fluttering in his gut. Then, his bestial hunger kicked up again and reminded him he needed to eat many times more than a man his size should.
His stomach growled fiercely to hurry things along.
¡°Thanks, Bianca,¡± he said, patting her on the arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go find the others. I¡¯m sure they have plenty to tell us about, and we can tell them plenty about our wolf-versus-wulver adventure.¡±
¡°Yeah!¡±
Ready to set off, Zarian scooped Bianca into his arms. He hesitated when he realized he was touching an ancient elven dress worn by a young Cuban woman in a super high fantasy world.
It was moments like these that reminded him he¡¯d left Florida behind through a portal of his own making. He was living the life he always dreamed about. It was frankly amazing to consider.
¡°Ah, I know that look. You¡¯re feeling the Wonder of it all!¡± Bianca sang, with her arms waving, her legs kicking, acting all happy against his chest.
Zarian shook his head at the silly young woman. The hood of the Parasite Cloak slid up on its own. Deep, impregnable darkness covered his face once again.
He hunkered down, ready tounch, but another series of notifications appeared.
¡¡
Before Zarian could reply, Bianca¡¯s goodness erupted in his arms and threw him back off his feet. He struck the ground hard, cracking a few pieces of stone and digging a small crater to lie in.
He groaned before looking up and seeing Para¡¯s tentacles catching Bianca¡¯s arm, yanking it aside. A dime-sizeser sliced past Zarian¡¯s hooded head and drilled a hole into the ground.
¡°Wait, wait, no, you¡¯re Zarian. You¡¯re my friend. Sorry, sorry, lo siento, sorry.¡± Bianca kept apologizing while Zarian wrestled with his vengeful, dark feelings.
He kept those viinous and evil feelings bound under his control, having an easier time than Bianca. He¡¯d only gone up to evil +2 while Bianca had jumped to good +3.
Nheless, he could feel the weight of Bianca¡¯s goodness. The badness inside of him wanted toe out and eliminate her goodness forever.
Zarian hissed, breathing deep, in and out. I¡¯m not evil. I¡¯m evil aligned. Evil is a tool. Whatever cunning, dastardly, crazy thing that I can dig up from the darkness is not to be used on my friends or allies. Only on my enemies.
His evil +2 simmered down a little. But its presence lurked underneath the surface, waiting for a chance.
Zarian now had a solid idea what it meant to be evil. If good alignment felt empowered while taking on difficult and suicidal tasks, evil alignment felt more creative in how to approach problems, near or far.
So ites down to that, huh? Good is powerful. Evil is intelligent.
The alignments were simple, if not stereotypical. Granted, Zarian could appreciate how that simplicity had proven itself both detrimental and awe-inspiring.
Zarian stood smoothly from the floor whilepletely at ease. ¡°Shall we go?¡±
¡°Maybe not yet. I¡¯m still dealing with this thing. It¡¯s insane. But it feels so good.¡± Bianca hung weakly in Para¡¯s tentacle grasp.
Zarianmanded Para to let her go, making Bianca stumble a little, mostly from shock. She looked both scared of herself and eager to eradicate the evil in front of her.
¡°We¡¯re friends,¡± he said.
¡°We¡¯re out of bnce. I¡¯m good +3 now,¡± she said.
¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. We make our own decisions.¡± Zarian offered his hand. ¡°We¡¯re friends. Good and evil. Perfectly bnced in our party. No matter what.¡±
The corner of Bianca¡¯s mouth twitched, her eyes shing on and off with searing light. Then, finally, she reached over and grasped his hand shakily.
He gave her a small bop on the forehead with the knuckles of his free hand, surprising her. She nearly freaked out and sted him again, but she kept herself contained at thest second. Her confusion was evident.
¡°That was for knocking me into the ground. And for nearly putting aser through my eye. Now we¡¯re even,¡± he exined.
With that, Biancaughed. She contained her overwhelming goodness further before she hopped into his arms again.
Once secured, they flew off. Their diverging alignments settled down with more time and found some measure of peace.
Still, Zarian knew he was holding a dangerous woman in his arms. She was the perfect weapon of goodness, able to help him or kill him in equal measure. She wasn¡¯t stronger than him, far from it, but she was still deadly.
For some reason, he didn¡¯t feel any fear or worry.
He merely needed to be smart while improving himself and the others. He needed to control his alignment and not let his alignment control him. It was a tool, a dangerous and powerful tool, but a tool nheless.
Granted, there were some trouble spots.
Isn¡¯t it foolish to have a check against your power? A part of his Fractured Mind hissed like a snake. What does it matter if power corrupts absolutely? As long as it¡¯s your power, that¡¯s all that matters.
¡°Fuck off,¡± Zarian muttered.
Bianca looked at him questioningly.
¡°I¡¯m talking to myself. A part of my evil aligned mind wants to be a jerk. I won¡¯t let that happen.¡± Zarian smiled fiercely. ¡°I have a little sister to raise, and she¡¯s watching me closely. I¡¯m going to be the best Big Bro anyone can ever have.¡±
¡°Ariana? She¡¯s watching? How do you know?¡± Bianca asked.
Zarian didn¡¯t answer. He could tell her and the others once the party linked up again and traded some major info.
Hopefully, the others ¨C Hannah, at the very least ¨C would¡¯ve learned more about the gods from Rnd and his soldiers by now. Then Zarian could learn as much as possible before reaching Bramblevale.
I¡¯m going to have to change my approach. The gods are being meddlesome. I don¡¯t think being subtle is going to work anymore.
He would have to do the opposite and move in unexpected ways. Then he could be meddlesome in return, like a true Florida Man.
The gods and their peons better watch it or they gonna learn the meaning of ¡®fuck around and find out.¡¯
Chapter 42: Be Not Afraid
Gilbert was on guard duty while thedies bathed and cleaned up in a crystal clear pond behind him. The trio were further ahead of the soldiers¡¯ march, left of the path the young men were taking to reach Bramblevale.
While thedies had a solid ten minutes to bathe before Rnd¡¯s young soldiers passed by, Gilbert wanted to make sure he steered away any entrepreneurial scouts. Those young soldiers hadn¡¯t felt the touch of a woman outside of their own mother let alone seen a vige girl naked in all of their years.
Gilbert wouldn¡¯t know what that was like. It sounded terrible to him.
By the time he realized he¡¯d liked girls and puberty was in full swing, he was already entangled with them behind his pop¡¯s barn. Or in the back of the old beat-up pickup truck with a mattress that had some kinks in the springs that dug into his back or knees, depending on the position.
So, yeah, Gilbert was on guard duty and staying focused. It was either he stood here to steer away the young peepers or Naomi would kill the poor kids.
Gilbert didn¡¯t me the young fes, but he didn¡¯t admit that aloud. He¡¯d grown wiser over the years, and being the second oldest of the party made him feel older than he ought to.
¡°When I was younger, I would¡¯ve given anything to see a piece of Naomi,¡± Gilbert drawled, sighing. ¡°Weird, huh? That woman will literally kill you with a look. But that¡¯s my problem. I always did get drawn toward danger. You get me, huh? Loner?¡±
Ah, yeah, Gilbert wasn¡¯t alone.
For the past couple of days, while the chief was having a ¡®private session¡¯ with Bianca, the goblin skeleton remained in the woods outside the peripherals of the soldiers. Loner could be stealthy when he wanted to be, especially when Hannah used enchantments like Quiet or Blend.Loner did the same old thing as expected. He leaned coolly against a trunk that was a few trees over to Gilbert¡¯s right and had his ivory arms crossed over his ribcage. Hearing Gilbert¡¯s drawl, Loner slowly turned his empty sockets and rictus grin in Gilbert¡¯s direction and gave his standoffish re.
That was enough of an answer with Loner.
For Gilbert, it was plenty.
¡°Yeah, Loner, I used to be reckless and full of heart. By the time I ran the circuit all around my town, everybody knew.¡± Gilbert yawned and recrossed his aching arms. They were sore from today¡¯s workout with Naomi.
Sometimes, he wouldn¡¯t use the Healing Force just so he could remind himself of difort and soreness. He always liked the soreness after a nice big workout.
¡°A few of the dads in my hometown wanted to shoot my back full of birdshot. Things ended up bad enough that I had to skip out of town and stay with an aunt down in South Florida. Somewhere along the way, I got serious, became a cop, and did an ok job of being a cop while still picking the worst women to marry.¡±
Loner kept ring at him, which was enough of a response.
¡°They were hot though, my ex-wives. The first was mean as hell. The other was as wild as a fox. In the end, I got burnt by both.¡± Gilbert sighed as he looked dead into the skeleton¡¯s eyeless sockets.
Loner gave him a slow shrug with a little bone rattle to go with it.
Gilbert smiled at that despite a bit of the heart acheing up. Loner was decentpany, but he didn¡¯tpare to the men Gilbert had worked with.
Keh would¡¯ve talked Gilbert¡¯s ear off for the hundredth time about how to make a marriage sessful and picking the right woman. Mark would¡¯ve talked derogatorily about women to where Gilbert would want to punch the guy. Lincoln would¡¯ve talked about how he had another date and one-night stand with a smoking hot narcissist.
They weren¡¯t the best of men.
But Gilbert had known them well enough for a while.
Now he had to keep moving forward and making something out of this fantasy life of his. He couldn¡¯t trust going back home to Florida. To be fair, other than a job and mortgage and some distant family, he didn¡¯t have too many pressing reasons to return outside of not facing corrupted monsters and killers and to regain certainforts.
He mostly wanted hisforts, like a fishing rod and a day off.
¡°How about we hit up a joint that has some ¡ entertainment for men ¡ when we finally reach civilization. I know, I know, that¡¯s the sinner in me talking, but a man can only be strong for so long.¡±
¡°Are you saying you want to go to a brothel?¡± asked a voice that came from Loner¡¯s direction.
That couldn¡¯t have been the taciturn goblin skeleton. Still, hearing that voice nearly spooked the bejeezus out of Gilbert until he recognized who it came from.
¡°Chief!¡± Gilbert called.
¡°Sir!¡± Naomi came running like the wind while covered in nothing but a nket they¡¯d taken from the soldiers. She held the thing with only one hand, and it stuck close to her wet skin.
¡°Heavens, almighty, woman! Put on something more appropriate! You don¡¯t think all your exercising will impact others?¡± Gilbert shouted, turning away.
He was old enough to know there were boundaries you shouldn¡¯t cross with the people you work closely with. He hoped the chief was conscious of that.
Then again, Gilbert sensed that Zarian was too clueless to do anything with the power of his position.
¡°We really need new clothes don¡¯t we?¡± asked Zarian, still ying the disembodied voice act.
It didn¡¯t help that his voice sounded from around Loner. Did he have the power to speak through his skeletons now?
Why not?
Gilbert figured Zarian could do practically everything. It almost made Gilbert question why he needed a party when Zarian was practically a one-man army.
If he really is training Bianca, what is the point of that? Bianca has a great spirit, but she¡¯s got a long way to go before she¡¯s as fierce as Naomi or has Hannah¡¯s deadly smarts.
Gilbert had the advantage of being able to heal rapidly with reduced chances of a permanent death, so he could fight consistently.
Other than providing some great distractions and blinding people painfully, Gilbert wondered what more could Bianca achieve if the ¡®private session¡¯ with Zarian was strictly work rted.
Naomi red down at Loner, who kept leaning coolly against his tree, not bothered whatsoever. Naomi was the same way, ignoring how she made the nket wet and tight around her form, her backside to Gilbert, forcing him to keep looking away and staying strong.
¡°Ah, I get it, you¡¯re speaking through your spectral spider,¡± Naomi said, surprisingly cheerful, like she solved a hard puzzle. ¡°I can feel these tiny sparks, their little brains I think, working when you speak.¡±
¡°That¡¯s my girl. I was wondering if someone would figure it out. Take a look around you,¡± the chief said, his voice multiplying from above, below, and on all sides.
Gilbert scanned the stony forest around them and saw glimmering, shimmering forms of spiders smaller than his hand. They quickly faded in and out of view, bing harder to spot than ever before.
There were dozens of them in the branches and on the moss-covered block piles. There was even one on Gilbert¡¯s left shoulder.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t let them peek, and they just got there. Bianca and I are above you guys, by the way. We¡¯re thinking about doing a shy, go big or go home entrance. Bianca has some entric ideas, and I¡¯m in a funky mood.¡±
Gilbert liked nothing he just heard in that spiel. What the hell happened out there? Why was Biancaing up with entric ideas? What had made the chief have a funky mood?
¡°Hey, maybe you should make anding near the pond so we can work this out together. Iron out the kinks first, before we make waves.¡± Gilbert sounded like a wise big brother to his own ears, hoping that would work on Zarian.
¡°Go big or go home if you¡¯re not a punk,¡± Naomi said, instigating.
¡°I¡¯m interested to see how much Bianca has changed.¡± Hannah strode up with her Roller Golem at her side.
She was dressed more appropriately in the smallest set of soldier clothing. They still didn¡¯t fit her very well.
She tossed a tunic, pair of pants, and pair of boots at Naomi, who stripped down and dressed up rapidly.
Gilbert had nearly turned to look, stopping at thest split second. That was a close one. Way too close.
When he finally looked back, Naomi was more appropriately dressed. Gilbert let the younger, eager part of him calm the hell down and remember Naomi as the ¡®Walking Death¡¯ she was.
Now, about this madness of making a big, troublesome entrance.
¡°Chief,e on. We gotta slow down a little and prep up for our time in town. You ain¡¯t got a clue of all the things we¡¯ve dug up while being so-called advisors,¡± Gilbert argued. ¡°Come on down now and let¡¯s be peaceful. Let these tired and traumatized boys carry their dead to town. Let¡¯s leave the rest of this march uneventful.¡±
That all sounded reasonable. How could anyone argue against that?
Gilbert noticed Hannah shifting sides, looking more reasonable. Naomi remained full steam ahead, which was to be expected.
Zarian didn¡¯t respond through his spectral spiders, obviously thinking about it all. He had to see to reason. Gilbert had faith.
¡°What¡¯s that above us? Is that a harpy? A winged drake? A monster?¡± shouted a young soldier at the head of their march.
The soldiers were caught up to Gilbert and thedies and were just over yonder from the pond. They were shouting up a storm, drawing swords from their scabbards with a rough hiss or drawing arrows on bows with a subtle croak.
Naomi was already running ahead. Gilbert and Loner kept Hannah and Rollerpany as they left behind the pond.
They trampled through bushes, ran across piles of stone blocks, and even did some ninja-like parkour, diving through gaping stone windows and leaping over a fallen draw bridge that copsed into a short creek.
Then Gilbert, Loner, Hannah, and Roller ¨C who used kic force to keep up on every hop ¨C stumbled to a stop on the side of the major cobblestone path. Naomi was already there, looking up. They followed the battle psion¡¯s gaze and saw a hugely ridiculous disy.
Bianca was descending gracefully from the air while framed by brilliant stalks of captured light. She had a glowing halo above her head and concentrated beams shooting out from her sides like she had multiple wings.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Gilbert couldn¡¯t be sure if she was lowering down because she could fly or if she had invisible spider webs holding her for the wire-flying act.
Regardless of how she was pulling off this stunt, the act was mesmerizing. She wore a dress that only existed in fantasy, billowing in the air tastefully, while covered in gems and colors that reminded Gilbert of a bountiful field of flowers. She looked like a girl born of angelic royalty from an old Irish fable or something even more imaginative.
¡°Hey, Hannah,¡± called Naomi.
¡°Yes, Naomi,¡± replied Hannah.
¡°I¡¯m very jealous.¡±
¡°I am, too.¡±
Both women nodded at each other, and just like that, they formed a pact set against Bianca. Gilbert didn¡¯t think they¡¯d meant anything serious about it. But he wasn¡¯t going to intervene.
Instead, he observed the effect Bianca had on the soldiers. She was bewitching even while she was covered inyers of adventure gunk.
Gilbert imagined with that dress and her natural good-looks she would¡¯ve been too much for the young soldiers if she had cleaned up in the crystal clear pond first.
Then she spoke with a power that shook Gilbert and the others up to their core. Something about her had a supernatural, maic, otherworldly impact that went beyond gamified abilities.
¡°Be not afraid!¡± Bianca dered.
Gilbert frowned. ¡°Oh, hell no.¡±
¡°I have the approval of the gods!¡± Bianca carried on, her bare feet touching the ground daintily. ¡°Do not question the approval of the gods, or you go against the force of goodness itself!¡±
The soldiers looked cowed, easily bent to Bianca¡¯s will faster than Gilbert had expected. They didn¡¯t look like they would ever question her again.
¡°I must be the judge of that!¡± Rnd dered. ¡°You¡¯ve disappeared with the repulsive and evil creature you im as your own! How can you im to have the approval of the gods when you were out gallivanting with the essence of viiny?¡±
¡°Then let me show you.¡± Bianca¡¯s eyes lit up like a mini searing sh.
A radiant, beautiful, and scary smile beamed from her face. Then she burst apart into a thousand motes of light and reassembled in a blink in front of the officer.
Bianca ced her hand on Rnd¡¯s shoulder before the officer could do a thing. She released a pulse of that mysterious and spooky power that gave Gilbert shivers.
It was a power that went beyond the basics of the System. This new power felt like an experience that Gilbert, his father, his pastor, his neighbors, and everyone that was a good Christian would call ¡ divine.
It can¡¯t be. Not in this world, Gilbert thought immediately, clenching his jaw. He tensed up as he watched Rnd buckle under Bianca¡¯s hand.
¡°You¡¯re good aligned, yes?¡± Bianca asked, standing over the kneeling Rnd.
¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± Rnd shouted, his body shivering, barely able to keep his head up.
¡°I¡¯m good +3.¡±
The entire army unit froze. Then they all dropped to their knees.
Gilbert looked at them all with wide eyes. Why did being good +3 matter that much?
He checked with Naomi and Hannah, who were keeping up their jealous pact while clearly interested in how any of this was possible.
How did Bianca learn to wield goodness itself? What the heck happened to the silly Latina they¡¯d grown fond of despite her ditziest moments?
¡°Yes, see, I¡¯m a high level of good.¡± Bianca¡¯s voice thrummed with more of her +3 alignment power. ¡°So, don¡¯t question me when I say my friend is to be weed and treated well. Or you¡¯ll upset me. Okay?¡±
¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. I¡¯m nowhere near your level of goodness! I don¡¯t deserve to question the likes of you!¡± Rnd shouted.
The nearest soldiers nodded rapidly.
¡°Okay, then! Zarian, they¡¯re going to be nice now!¡± Bianca yelled up.
Gilbert looked into the sky and saw a hazy and dark outline. It would¡¯ve been easy to mistake it for a buzzard until it plummeted to the ground fast.
Then with a pping expansion of her leathery, patchwork wings, Para the Parasite Cloak slowed Zarian¡¯s descent. Hended like an evil version of Batman, but more horrifying. A palpable and sinister force oozed from his presence.
Then the evil feeling faded, leaving a figure cloaked in reddish, tannish, brownish leather that could¡¯ve been mistaken as dried human skin if Gilbert hadn¡¯t known better.
The darkness under Zarian¡¯s hood was imprable, like a solid void that would consume someone¡¯s soul if they stared into it for too long. Nothing else about his body was visible.
The weight of his presence alone was dangerous.
He wasn¡¯t hiding himself anymore.
¡°Hello, everyone,¡± Zarian said, sounding suave, dark, and sinister. ¡°I¡¯m a friendly, evil aligned wizard. You¡¯re all safe around me. You can trust me.¡±
¡°Yes, exactly, trust him!¡± Bianca said, her eyes shining, her voice backed by the power of her goodness. ¡°It¡¯s because of him I¡¯m good +3 after killing wulvers.¡±
¡°The wulvers? Is that what you said? You¡¯ve killed them?¡± Rnd was practically out of breath, sweating profusely, as he groveled in front of Bianca and Zarian.
¡°We¡¯ve also turned back a gnoll raiding party and saved your kingdom!¡± Bianca dered.
¡°A gnoll raiding party?! Saved our kingdom?!¡± Rnd shouted.
Gilbert couldn¡¯t help but find this all sad as the youngds kept ying to Zarian and Bianca¡¯s tune. God almighty, why were the youngest of them so reckless?
Zarian, twenty-one. Bianca, neen. Dark. Light. Evil. Good. Andplete and utter trouble together
¡°Alright, alright, are you two satisfied?¡± Gilbert asked, walking into the middle of the mess, hoping to break it up.
¡°But I want them to praise my dress,¡± Bianca said.
¡°It¡¯s beautiful, ma¡¯am!¡± Rnd said quickly.
The other soldiers chimed in:
¡°You¡¯re so pretty!¡±
¡°You¡¯re like an angel!¡±
¡°Please marry me!¡±
¡°May I touch you?¡±
Bianca nodded to the praises, smiling. ¡°Thank you. The dress came from an elven princess. And no, you can¡¯t touch. That¡¯s a little creepy, and you¡¯re not a handsome elf.¡±
Rnd paled. ¡°Did you say elven princess? Which elven princess?¡±
Zarian answered: ¡°The one who was known as the princess of war when the elven lords warred with the orcs of Castle Grimrock.¡±
Before Gilbert could butt in again, Rnd was moaning, shaking, stumbling to his feet. He shuffled close to Bianca, stopped, jerked away, then assumed a position outside of arm¡¯s distance and looked her dress up and down and at odd angles.
¡°They can¡¯t be serious,¡± Gilbert muttered. ¡°When did y¡¯all meet elves to get an elven dress?¡±
¡°We¡¯ll tell youter,¡± Zarian said, with a hint of dark amusement.
Rnd shouted, lost to the mania. ¡°This is the dress. The fabled dress. The one from the children¡¯s stories I¡¯ve learned. I¡¯ve even seen it in a painting owned by Bramblevale Lord Cassian of Paxton! This is the dress!¡±
¡°I ain¡¯t heard of no dress, Lord Rnd. What¡¯s it supposed to mean?¡± asked a soldier.
¡°It means we need to show the utmost respect to our guests.¡± Rnd held his hands together and lowered his head, smiling greasily even with his mustache. ¡°Sorry, sorry, I should¡¯ve known you all were very important guests of the kingdom. From Florida, the World of Swamps and Princesses! Of course, of course, you said that. And I¡¯ve mistakenly ridiculed you. My goodness, I¡¯m in the presence of royalty. You are a princess with an entourage, Princess Bianca!¡±
Bianca held her head up haughtily.
Gilbert sensed a jealous atmosphere growing stronger behind him, sending shivers down his spine. Ignoring that, he red down at the biggest troublemaker of them all, Zarian.
The chief¡¯s face remained hidden behind the imprable darkness of his hood. But Gilbert could tell he was having a lot of fun.
¡°Can we get a move on? These guys need to get home and bury their dead,¡± Gilbert grouched.
¡°How can you say that to a princess of good +3?!¡± Rnd shrilled.
Gilbert nearly smacked the young man, but held back in the end. He gave Bianca a no nonsense re.
Bianca¡¯s glowing goodness dimmed a little as she looked properly ashamed under Gilbert¡¯s heavy gaze. She¡¯d gone let herself have a power trip, and Gilbert wasn¡¯t going to help her when Naomi and Hannah raked her over the coals a little.
¡°Gilbert¡¯s right. You all need to keep on the march while Bianca and I get a proper wash. We¡¯ve been roughing it for a while even before killing wulvers and dealing with gnoll raiders,¡± Zarian said, sounding more amenable and with some sense.
¡°No need!¡± shouted Rnd. ¡°I have a buildable man-sized bath. We can ce it on one cart and wrap it in curtains. Any man here who gazes upon your visage while you luxuriate will have their eyes removed. We¡¯ll heat the baths if you prefer.¡±
Rnd kept rubbing his hands together sleazily, eager to serve.
Bianca looked even more eager to be pampered. Then she nced past Gilbert and fully saw the otherdies of their party. Her expression dropped into a distraught one, which Gilbert found was appropriate.
¡°No, thank you,¡± Bianca said, demurely. ¡°I¡¯ll take the pond bath. I¡¯ll have a proper bath once we¡¯re in town. Like everyone else.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll take the hot transportable bath,¡± Zarian said, ¡°and a cart to myself. I really don¡¯t feel like walking anymore and could use the special treatment.¡±
Nobody questioned him or went against him. Bianca hadpletely crushed any dissent or rudeness about the presence of evil among the soldiers.
Gilbert felt off about all of that. These boys had to empty one of their carts and find space when all of them were already overburdened.
¡°This cart only has bodies. Do you want me to save them for your burial?¡± Zarian pointed at a cart getting pulled by the alien oxen of this world. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll show you.¡±
Para¡¯s tentacles, tendrils, and feelers reached out and slurped up all the bodies. They were gone before anyone could stop Zarian.
¡°I have them secured in a pocket dimension for objects,¡± he said ¡°Go ahead and clean this cart and set it up for me. I¡¯ll be back. I¡¯m starving, and your rations aren¡¯t enough.¡±
¡°Um, sir, the forest of the king is not for us to hunt,¡± Rnd said.
¡°Of course, it¡¯s not for us to hunt. Nobody unimportant is hunting in that forest. So there¡¯s no reason to make a report, correct?¡±
Rnd looked like he was learning to read between the lines for the first time. ¡°Yes, of course, there¡¯s no reason to make a report,¡± Rnd said.
Gilbert palmed his face at the wanton abuse of power. Hadn¡¯t Zarian wanted to be more careful and subtle at first? Weren¡¯t they supposed to be advisors instead of a princess and her entourage?
Gilbert wondered what the hell happened out there to change his mind.
Zarian ran off. Then he returned and threw something at Bianca that looked like a can of ¡ no, it couldn¡¯t be.
¡°Bianca, what¡¯s that?¡± Naomi gasped, breaking her silent pact of jealousy.
¡°Is that what I think it is?¡± Hannah asked next.
Bianca beamed a bright smile, literally, and ran over to the girls with the impossible thing in her hands. She passed it to them, letting Naomi and Hannah touch it.
Gilbert slowly ambled up, unable to believe what he was seeing.
It was ¡ a can of coffee ¡ from a popr brand.
Gilbert reached out to touch it. Bianca pped him lightly on his hand. She shooed him away.
Gilbert blinked dumbly at her.
¡°You can¡¯t have it,¡± she said.
Gilbert felt like she stabbed him in the chest. He asked: ¡°Why can¡¯t I have it?¡±
¡°Because that¡¯s what Goddess Shadowfell said. I¡¯m not a fan of her evil ways, but she might be our benefactor or whatever. Which reminds me, we might need to shop around for a good god to bnce our party¡¯s alignment. Zarian and I are reps of evil and good, so our benefactors should be the same.¡±
¡°Um, run that back. I can¡¯t have the coffee because of Shadowfell? The messy ¡®idol¡¯ with the corruptive tears? That Shadowfell?¡± Gilbert ignored the frightened looks of the nearby soldiers.
They didn¡¯t matter anymore. The coffee mattered.
¡°Yup, that¡¯s the one. She¡¯s impressed with us and gave us this as a boon.¡± Bianca nodded seriously.
¡°She¡¯s okay with me,¡± Naomi said.
¡°I would like to have a chat with her, directly, if that¡¯s possible,¡± Hannah said. ¡°Can you imagine how fascinating a conversation it would be to talk to a goddess of her young age, presented with all of that power as a baby from the start?¡±
¡°Yeah, sure, so, who wants to make the coffee?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°I¡¯ll do it for my girl besties, right?¡± Bianca cheered.
¡°Yeah, yeah. All is forgiven. Now answer me this. How strong are you? Do you think you can beat me in a fight?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°What was the most critical part of your development?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°What was Zarian like as he trained you privately? Was he gentle? Or did he push you hard?¡±
Bianca told them everything as she worked on making them coffee, using whatever they had avable ¨C which meant taking what the soldiers had and mixing that with magic.
Gilbert stood outside of their girlish and sinful covenant. He felt cold even though it waste afternoon in Late Summer.
There was coffee right there. Right freaking there. And he couldn¡¯t touch it because it came from a twenty-year-old false goddess of evil.
He couldn¡¯t even pay much attention to the valuable conversation. He walked away instead and found a cart to lean up against.
Loner walked over, ignoring the gawking soldiers, and leaned next to Gilbert. The goblin skeleton gave the healer his usual eyeless re and rictus grin.
¡°Thanks, bud. I appreciate it,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°At least I have my faith.¡±
¡°I won¡¯t judge you if you break it,¡± said Zarian¡¯s voice, floating from Gilbert¡¯s shoulder.
¡°God, dammit, chief!¡± Gilbert jumped, his heart hammering.
He patted around on his shoulder, but he felt nothing. The ghostly thing was either untouchable right now or gone.
He imagined Zarian out in the forest, acting like a hungry beast while having augh. All while spying on them from the trees or up close with no one knowing.
That was straight up horrifying.
Then Gilbert smelled the scent of coffee. The girls had that thing going quick. They sounded happier,ughing, cheering, enjoying themselves with a caffeinated drink from the old world.
Gilbert nearly broke. But he held fast to his faith.
He stayed strong.
Loner red up at him for a long while. Then the goblin skeleton shook his head, as if in pity.
Chapter 43: Private Bath
For the sake of Rnd¡¯s upright andw-abiding nature, Zarian hunted down a medium-sized beast and dragged its carcass around the camp the soldiers had set up for the night. He found his party, had Para prepare the meal, and waited for Bianca to cook it.
Everyone from the party had a piece. Zarian ate the biggest chunks, sharing some with Para. By then, the cart with the bath was prepared for him.
For a long while, Zarian had wondered what would happen if he turned off the Parasite Cloak. Would everything in Para¡¯s dimensional storagee rushing out? Could he turn it off or switch it from alpha to beta?
Before he dove into the water, he walked away from everyone and took some time to talk to Para directly, making his intentions known.
She was a good girl, loyal to a fault, even if she could act a little unruly sometimes. Still, she did what she could to support Zarian, even at the risk of taking damage for him.
A man couldn¡¯t ask better from a parasitic article of clothing. Once he had Para¡¯s consent, he tried to turn her off in a small de away from the camp.
Nothing happened. The System denied the shut off for the Parasite Cloak. Zarian emptied her pocket dimension carefully.
He set aside corpses, old gear from Castle Grimrock, a few odds and ends. There wasn¡¯t as much as he would think after nearly two months of adventuring.
Hell, they still had spare goblin bodies. He was tempted to turn those into advancing skeletons, but held off. He wanted to see what happened to Loner first once he advanced.Zarian attempted to turn Para off again and seeded. The cloak slurped into his back and disappeared. A presence in his mind winked away, which he hadn¡¯t realized was a prominent feature until now.
His body lost its extra physicality and felt more frail, more vulnerable. Zarian shivered, hating the weakness and theck of Para¡¯s presence.
Was she a clutch?
Or was she a major part of what he was now? A wizard of evil +2.
Looking up into the night sky with a grimace, Zarian wondered if he pushed the line too much with the soldiers. Then he shook his head. The gods were meddling, and they hadn¡¯t even reached Bramblevale yet.
The meager and careful route didn¡¯t feel viable anymore.
¡°We¡¯re better off being oundish and upfront,¡± Zarian said. ¡°If we¡¯re going to be anyone¡¯s target, we can at least set the bullseye where we want it.¡±
The gods were meddling.
Zarian would meddle back.
He reactivated the Parasite Cloak while it was a beta skill. Para felt brain dead and too weak. He switched her back to being an alpha skill, making her better, and swept all the dropped items back in Para¡¯s pocket dimension.
As they returned to camp, Para contracted until she was nearly as thin as a scarf. The hood remained, but it had patchy holes in it, making it more breathable with airflow.
Zarian didn¡¯t bother with modesty and tossed every old scrap of clothing off. The Surface Walker Boots were already in the pocket dimension.
The soldiers had heated the bath to near boiling, steam wavering over the surface of the tub.
One soldier informed him there was a runic device at the bottom of the tub that would grant him temperature control with a touch and his magical whim. The soldier exined quickly, and once he saw Zarian was satisfied, he fled away.
He doesn¡¯t have the skills I want, Zarian thought, watching the soldier flee before looking around.
He spotted soldiers with the type of skills he wanted for himself and for the party. I wonder if I should go after them now or wait to see if I can find the better versions.
The soldiers had basic skills. Knowing that there were higher quality skills, Zarian could aim for the more advanced versions. If he was going to stack up on some Level 0s, he might as well get the best of those.
Zarian mbered into the cart and jumped inside a tub that could fit his entire party. The curtain was on a hoop held up by metal bars attached to the tub¡¯s sides. Para used a tendril to slide the curtain around for his privacy.
Zarian sighed as he felt the water¡¯s heat seep into his body. He felt around for the runic device at the bottom of the tub with his foot and raised the heat a little further.
It would¡¯ve felt nicer if he¡¯d kept Para deactivated and assumed a weaker body. But he preferred having the parasitic threads interwoven with him, reinforcing him, eliminating excess weakness.
At the very least, the bath was everything he could ask for, and it came with a scrubber. No oils or scents or soap, which was fine. The hot water and scrubber worked perfectly.
Zarian cleaned himself off, and Para filtered out the dirt and gunk with makeshift scoopers at the end of her tentacles. She tossed them over the sides and kept the tub from getting too dirty.
Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
After he cleaned up mostly, he tried to rx a little further, if notpletely.
I can¡¯t rx all the way.
Something was always on.
The spell for necromancy remained active.
The Spectral Spider Network was active, which was still tricky to fully utilize. He could tap into the senses of different spiders at any time. But switching feeds or having multiple viewpoints was still maddening, even for his Fractured Mind.
He could keep a pulse on multiple spectral spiders without looking too closely, however. If he received a specific alert through thework, then he could inspect things more directly. That was the best he could do right now.
He had fifty of them scurrying inside the camp, outside the camp, and further beyond, scouting and spying. He rotated between a set of ten every few minutes when he wanted to keep a light touch on their general situation.
When he grew bored, he took a deeper dive.
It was frightening how he could easily watch and listen to others without them knowing, like a real voyeur. All the soldiers remained unaware, so he had some fun listening to their candid conversations.
They mostly talked about women and drinking and fooling around. Zarian chuckled from his tub at the simrities between a young Marine from the old world and a young soldier in a magic world.
Other than spooking Gilbert for the fun of it, Zarian made sure his party was aware of his spectral spiders being nearby. Keeping that secret from them would break cohesion and trust.
Zarian could feel his evil nature trying to convince him otherwise. He shut that down right away. The party¡¯s confidence in him was more important than evil paranoia.
Trust issues aside, the Spectral Spider Network was a huge boon, and it had already grown to Level 2. Maybe the growth wasn¡¯t as fast as usual, and maybe he would get more range and efficiency if the spiderwork was an alpha skill, but as of now, it served its purpose excellently.
¡°Okay, thework spiders are good,¡± Zarian mumbled, arms outstretched on the tub¡¯s rim. He kicked his legs gradually up and down in front of him. ¡°What¡¯s new? Are we all updated with each other? What do we need to do next?¡±
Starting with the new stuff: Bianca had a major evolution in quality, shooting into the second most powerful person in the party. Zarian¡¯s investment in her hadn¡¯t gone to waste, and he saw Bianca flourish in new ways.
She had good +3, which had a palpable force that could scare the shit out of people and demand respect. Zarian could still beat her if it came down to a fight between them, but he would rather avoid that.
She says she wants to y support for the others, but will she really stick with that? Zarian wondered. Time will tell because her almighty princess disy with the soldiers suggested she¡¯s bing a star.
What would the party look like working around Bianca?
Zarian struggled to imagine that even with his Fractured Minds.
Yeah, he really hoped Bianca followed through as supportive. Her taking a hard battle lead didn¡¯t suit her even with the extra power. Gilbert and Naomi needed to be upfront.
¡°I need to work with Gilbert next.¡±
He didn¡¯t see any grand weaknesses with Gilbert. The guy was rock solid for his role. Maybe his only problem was not being crazy ambitious.
¡°Healer. Tank. Support. Yeah, that¡¯s very valuable and without too many weaknesses.¡±
Zarian would have to think about what to pressure Gilbert with or wait for something to push the man over the edge. Then that would be the perfect time to see what Gilbert could really do when he was properly motivated.
Naomi was jealous. Even Zarian could see that. Hannah wanted his attention to exchange info and discoveries, which Zarian was eager about as well.
So far, he needed to tell everyone about Ariana. He needed to tell them about the crazy bluff and deal he¡¯d set up with the gnolls, which might lead to a whole war with Castle Grimrock in the near future.
¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯ve saved an entire kingdom,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I¡¯m literally a hero, and I haven¡¯t even set foot in the kingdom.¡±
That was kind of crazy.
He didn¡¯t feel like a hero. He¡¯d chosen the ¡®crash out¡¯ option because if it failed, at least he would be satisfied with the ridiculousness of the y. But it had worked, and now he was an advisor to rising gnolls and a hero to a kingdom that would hate him.
What the hell?
Zarian cracked a grin. ¡°The looks on those elder gnolls¡¯ faces were priceless. Totally worth it.¡±
He¡¯d faced a group of elder gnolls in the Level 80s while he was in the Level 30s. They had him totally outmatched, outgunned, pretty much dead, and he¡¯d overpowered them. He¡¯d scared them
That should¡¯ve been impossible.
¡°You watching little sister?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°Your Big Bro will always find a way.¡±
She didn¡¯t respond.
Once everyone in his party was updated with each other, Zarian figured staying in Bramblevale for a while would be good for them. They could try milking their connection with Rnd for all it was worth.
Rnd had called himself a Low Rose Noble. That should mean something not so poor, right?
Zarian wondered what it would be like to have a mansion with enough big rooms and amon area for his party. When he imagined the kitchen, he envisioned Foodie already working on the next meal, the pantry, shelves, fridges, all stocked.
¡°Yeah, what¡¯s next hasn¡¯t changed. We¡¯ll rest in Bramblevale, gather information about thend, then hit the Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon. Once we¡¯re in the Level 60s, we¡¯ll head for Castle Grimrock to y the warlock and free Foodie.¡±
It sounded simple, yet Zarian figured there would beplications. If so, then he imagined his party would be strong enough to handle those.
And if they couldn¡¯t, he would figure things out. After all, he¡¯d grown a lot so far based on how his profile looked now:
<>Origins: Zarian Darkrun, 21 yr-old Human, Honored Outsider.Level: 35ss: Dark Wizard Apprentice (Epic).Alignment: Evil +2Traits: Dark Affinity (Rare), Overpower (Epic), Identify (Rare), Aura Channeler (Rare), Fractured Mind (Umon), Basic Aura Maniption (Rare).Alpha Skills (3/3): Grimoire of Dark Arts 102 (Level 13), Parasite Cloak +1 (Level 13), Grimoire of the Dread Mire Gator (Level 5).Beta Skills (4/12): Spectral Spiders Network (Level 2), Straight Darkness +1 (Level 23), Tranquil Mind (Level 0), Adrenaline Jolt (Level 0).Willpower: 112Strength: 25Agility: 30Wonder: 64Mysticism: 234Free: 0Achievements: Honored Outsider (Divine), SSS Dance with White Silk Reiki (Epic), Heroes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom (Legendary).Spells: Bloody Lifesteal (Umon), Raise Advancing Skeletons (Rare), ck Fire (Rare).<>
Chapter 44: Campfire Coffee
Zarian found his party in the woods away from the soldiers. They had their own campfire going.
Gilbert still looked despondent after not getting any coffee. Bianca, Naomi, and Hannah were sitting close, being surprisingly girly.
Zarian even caught a sh of Naomi¡¯s smile as they gossiped quickly in hushed voices. Thedies paused when they saw him step out of the darkness of the woods to join them.
The campfire was set in a small stone ruin with no roof, only some lonesome arched doorways covered in vines. They¡¯d picked a crater in the stone floor for the campfire and had extra nkets and bedrolls stuffed behind them forfort.
Now that Zarian thought about it, the soldiers would have extra gearying about after losing so many of their own.
¡°Good evening, sir,¡± Naomi greeted, and the other girls followed her example.
¡°Evening,¡± Gilbert muttered.
Zarian nodded back.
¡°We saved you some.¡± Naomi held up a mug of dark coffee. It was warm after waiting by the campfire.Zarian used a parasite tendril to take it from Naomi¡¯s hand and transfer it to his. He took a sip and felt the familiar buzz of caffeine.
Wow, this was good. It hit the spot. Even Para felt it.
With a small swagger, he walked over to Gilbert and offered the mug.
¡°I¡¯m not supposed to get any,¡± the healer muttered.
¡°I don¡¯t care. I won¡¯t let you suffer alone.¡± Zarian gave the girls¡¯ a curious nce. ¡°That was screwed up, doing that to Gilbert.¡±
The girls chuckled. Hannah hid her smile behind her hand. Bianca beamed light from her face with her grin. Naomi smirked.
¡°It¡¯s safer when you do it,¡± Naomi said. ¡°We can¡¯t predict how an evil goddess would feel if any of us do it. But if it¡¯s you, it¡¯s most likely okay.¡±
¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Zarian asked, arching a brow.
Bianca answered: ¡°Other than she approved of you first, it all boiled down to this. The goddess is a big girl. We¡¯re down-to-earth girls. And you¡¯re a guy. You have more leeway than us girls.¡±
Zarian felt more confused. None of them were ¡®down-to-earth.¡¯
¡°With time, you¡¯ll understand,¡± Gilbert said, taking the mug shakily. He took a loud sip, nearly moaning, before sipping again and again until he finally handed it back. ¡°Thank you, chief, thank you.¡±
Zarian looked up and waited. No lightning bolts. No angry thunder. Nothing but the dark night and hooting beasts.
The blocky cloud cover was heavy tonight, which Zarian foundfortable. Hence him having his hood down while wearing loose-fitted clothing he¡¯d taken from the soldiers.
¡°Ariana ¡ is from this world,¡± Zarian said. ¡°My little sister manipted the events for me to be here. She¡¯s no ghost. She actually exists. She¡¯s from here, from the Infinita Star System.¡±
¡°How?¡± Hannah asked. She was the best at drilling him with the right questions.
¡°Dreams. She made me dream of the portal. And she reached out to me in another dream when we left the cave and reached the surface.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°To see what I would do, which I think is her being honest. Maybe to an extent. Maybe there¡¯s more involved than she had revealed.¡±
¡°If she¡¯d lied once, twice, thrice, she¡¯s likely to lie again and again,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Agreed,¡± Naomi added.
¡°Would you still love her despite that?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°I can¡¯t help but love her. She¡¯s my little sister. The bane of my existence. But the one that¡¯s been there the longest.¡± Zarian smiled at the fire. ¡°And because I love her, I¡¯m going to find her regardless of how truly powerful she is and give her a scolding. She¡¯s been a bad girl. Her actions, my actions, they¡¯ve led to serious consequences. So, yeah, I¡¯ll scold her.¡±
¡°That¡¯s it? Scold her?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°That¡¯s the start of it. I can¡¯t say what else I¡¯ll do from there. I do believe she¡¯s highly powerful. She orchestrated a lot for this to happen.¡±
¡°Could she be working for Shadowfell?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°That would exin why we ended up in Shadowfell territory and why the evil goddess approves of me so quickly,¡± Zarian answered. ¡°Huh, that gives me more of a reason to ept Shadowfell as a benefactor. It¡¯s honestly the quickest way to get more info about my sister.¡±
There was, of course, another possibility. Ariana could be the Shadowfell Goddess. Zarian was sure that some of the people in his party might be considering that.
He didn¡¯t say it aloud because he wasn¡¯t sure himself. Having a big evil goddess as a little sister was ludicrous.
More importantly ¡ Ariana wasn¡¯t a big crier. She¡¯d always cheered him on, mainly. It didn¡¯t seem to fit her personality for Zarain, but he could be wrong.
Drifting from his thoughts to the present moment, Zarian noticed that the campfire chat fell silent.
It was easy to see they all had mixed feelings about acting in ¡®service¡¯ or as a ¡®partner¡¯ of an evil goddess. Zarian pulled out the divine note Shadowfell had written for him and passed it around for everyone to read and feel.
When they returned it back to him, he saw their mostly predictable reactions
Hannah was fascinated.
Naomi looked ambitious.
Bianca was holding back her good +3 and being sensible.
Gilbert looked distraught.
Zarian smiled softly. ¡°We¡¯re not hitched up with her yet. Bianca wants to have her pick of the good gods and goddesses. So far, it looks like Lovewar is leading. With that said, the gods have meddled a lot, and I¡¯m not too happy about that. I don¡¯t even know the lore behind any of them.¡±
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
¡°We have a decent idea behind the good gods from what Rnd and his soldiers¡¯ said, at least,¡± Hannah admitted.
¡°They¡¯re tight lipped about the evil gods, all scared that they¡¯ll get cursed or bring ruin,¡± Naomi added.
¡°Well, I take what information you guys dug up. Then we can consolidate what we know about our gains. Stats. Traits. Runes. Advancements. I have a whole new grimoire, in fact. I don¡¯t think we have to build from the ground up, but with so many fast changes we need to get used to the dynamics again.¡±
¡°I still want to support you all!¡± Bianca said quickly. ¡°With the option to hit something nasty with aser when we need it.¡±
¡°Okay, Miss ¡®Be Not Afraid,¡¯¡± Naomi threw in Bianca¡¯s direction.
¡°I thought it fit!¡± Bianca wailed.
Hannah chuckled. ¡°We haven¡¯t been idle ourselves, especially Naomi. She¡¯s gained three new stat points and a trait, while I¡¯ve gained one for willpower and learned some new enchantments.¡±
There was an awkward pause where Gilbert¡¯s chance to mention his gains came up. When nothing came around, Naomi quickly covered for Gilbert, which was surprisingly nice of her.
¡°High Intimidation,¡± Naomi said. ¡°Umon. That¡¯s my new trait.¡±
Zarian looked at Naomi.
She looked back.
Their eyes held each other for a long time.
Zarian cracked a grin and was about to roar withughter. Naomi grouched, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare,¡± and the threat of her words had little prickly sensations crawl over his brain and give his primal flight-or-fight reactions a kick.
¡°Before we get into in-depth ability talks and optimization, I have to admit the enchantments on that dress have me slightly stumped.¡± Hannah nodded toward Bianca. ¡°The elven enchantments are strange and more, how do I say, flowery in a sense. It¡¯s harder to scan.¡±
Zarian smiled grimly. ¡°I have to remember whole short stories from the Grimoire of the Dread Mire Gator. With each short story is a facet to one continuous spellbo.¡±
¡°Continuous spellbo?¡± Hannah and the others perked up, even Gilbert.
¡°Yeah, the entire grimoire is based on one multi-spell sequence. It even says so in the forward. When all is said and done, I¡¯ll have aplete swampy gator.¡±
There was a long silence filled by the crackling mes.
¡°You¡¯re telling me, out of all the wazoo magic and rewards, you got a book on making a magic gator,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°I thought we entered fantasynd to be in fantasy, but you just can¡¯t let old Florida go, can you?¡±
Zarian shrugged. ¡°We¡¯re a princess, an evil guy, and foreigners from the World of Swamps and Princesses. We got the princess. Now we have to bring the swamp.¡±
With that said, the party hunkered down. Zarian had some spectral spiders turn solid and dance around the campfire as a mild entertainment.
Hannah started things off by going over what she, Naomi, and Gilbert had learned about the Eternal Garden Kingdom, Bramblevale, and the issues with the nation. There were plenty:
Powerful bandits were running amok in Bramblevale. Deadly tensions with nobles in their capital city were boiling over. Fortress viges were getting ravaged by a powerful wolf dragon. The economy in Bramblevale and themunities surrounding it had suffered a recent crash.
Basically, they were going into a sticky situation. Ironically, that made Zarian chuckle. The evil +2 hummed sweetly, more obediently, whispering how there was an opportunity in misfortune. There was also an opportunity to have fun.
He kept a close watch on his evil +2, but he wouldn¡¯t deny that the instability was better for him.
After all that political and problematic mumbo jumbo, Hannah talked about the good gods, which Zarian filed away to review forter. In return, he ran through the list of evil gods he saw when they gave their approvals and disapprovals, starting with Shadowfell and stopping at ¡ The Dragon.
For some reason, even thinking of ¡ The Dragon ¡ gave a foreboding feeling. The atmosphere around the campfire felt uneasy.
All at once, they all decided not to mention ¡ The Dragon ¡ for now at least. Moving on, they discussed the strange gnoll situation and how Zarian had to train their rising gnolls, like the Force Monk he¡¯d fought.
At the very least, he both started and solved a war. And now they had a potential fighting force to pit against Castle Grimrock. Who would¡¯ve thought Zarian could make a bunch of savage hyena-like humanoids fight for him?
Nobody.
Nobody would¡¯ve thought that.
The night grewte when they finally reached the part they were more or less excited for, insights into their magic abilities with new facets or realizations on how they could work together inyers or in separate parts.
This was the fun part for all of them, which ced Zarian mostly in the center. Other times, he shared the center with Bianca because of her new status as the second most powerful.
Still, she assured the others she was interested in supporting. They tossed around theories, even the ones that changed up the status quo, which was engaging for everybody even if some of their theories were ludicrous.
Like who would expect to see Zarian serve as a dedicated tank?
That was downright silly.
Gilbert evenughed at that idea.
The past couple of days had seen them split up. They might split up again, depending on how Bramblevale treated them. But they were a party with one overpowered wizard leading them, and despite their different levels of growth, they were bing a strong enough party to hang with the wizard.
It took them hours before they finished and went to bed. Zarian stayed up a littleter than the rest, getting in some quick study time with his grimoire.
The stories were thick andplicated, using highly archaic English. It was going to take some rereads to get the folktale spells down perfectly.
¡°Sir?¡± Naomi called softly from her bedroll.
¡°Yes?¡± Zarian replied.
¡°Nothing ¡.¡±
Zarian smiled. ¡°You¡¯re doing fine, Naomi. Keep it up. You won¡¯t fall behind. I won¡¯t allow it.¡±
Naomi was the only one with a rare ss among adventurers with epic sses. Zarian didn¡¯t me her for feeling concerned with her progress, despite all of her hard work and consistent stat growth.
Naomi didn¡¯t reply, but Zarian sensed she was more at ease, falling asleep for sure now. He closed the grimoire and traced his fingers over its thick, scaled cover. He touched the gator teeth running down the spine.
It was a hideous and monstrous thing. He loved it.
Bramblevale, here wee.
Zarian went to sleep. Then his eyes snapped open, and he found himself in a room he¡¯d never seen before.
It had to be the room of a major geek, because there were anime figurines, video game posters, and nerdy references everywhere. Whoever owned the room had a full rack of gaming consoles and a built-up PC.
He found Ariana sitting on the bed. The nket featured one of the greatest characters in action animation: Goku.
Ariana smiled at him. ¡°You¡¯re full of surprises, Big Bro. How you handled the gnoll elders was so unexpected, it disturbed many of the gods. That was awesome!¡±
Zarian smirked a little. ¡°Yeah, sure, I guess nobody should underestimate me.¡±
¡°Indeed, that¡¯s true. If only that ster moment wasn¡¯t dimmed by the gods¡¯ actions and the trappings of the current alignments.¡±
¡°You¡¯re speaking in a mature tone, Ariana. That makes me think you¡¯re scheming.¡± Zarian squinted at her, still smiling. ¡°Give it to me straight. What¡¯s in that little crooked noggin¡¯ of yours?¡±
¡°You alone are the Honored Outsider.¡± Ariana bounced up and down on the bed. ¡°Almost everyone must y by the rules, especially those at the bottom. Even the gods y by the rules. They all rise. They all fall. Then they get reced, and the cycle renews. And when the cycle bes too overburdened, too old, then the te is wiped clean. Nothing truly changes. Everything is aligned to y the game as per routine. Yet, you alone are the Honored Outsider.¡±
Zarian watched her bounce up and down. Instead of speaking, he took in what she was saying. The more he thought about it with his Fractured Mind, the more he wondered why he was truly called that.
Why was he the Honored Outsider?
He knew his strange start in the Infinita Star System had something to do with his origins. He remembered how the System had to request authorization or ess above the universe. Then he was told not to die an unworthy death or to avoid death altogether.
Perhaps he really was the child of something big and major. Maybe he was created by some powerful entity as a weird experiment. Or maybe he was in a padded room, his sanity gone from the world, his mind recing reality with multifaceted fantasy.
Zarian chuckled, doubting thatst part. Instead, he challenged his mature little sister.
¡°Maybe it has nothing to do with me,¡± Zarian said, ¡°and everything to do with what came before me.¡±
Ariana stopped bouncing and looked directly at him. Her eyes darkened. The geeky room darkened. Even her voice came out darkened, with a hint of something ferocious.
¡°You alone are the Honored Outsider.¡±
The dream ended.
Chapter 45: Bramblevale Frontier
¡°Bramblevale, finally!¡± Zarian pumped his fists into the air, his Parasite Cloak pping dramatically in cheer behind him.
Together, he and Para scared the nearest soldiers. The outburst was uncharacteristic of him.
For thest three days of the journey, he¡¯d acted like a dark and mysterious wraith. He would move around the formation of soldiers from within and outside, at least when he was in their view.
¡°Well, not yet, Lord Zarian,¡± said a soldier, who held his head down while addressing him.
The soldier then realized his mistake of correcting someone ¡®superior¡¯ to him. He blurted flustered apologies while shaking like a leaf.
¡°Rx, rx. If I¡¯m wrong, I¡¯m wrong. Now tell me, what are we looking at?¡± Zarian asked, smooth and kind, with just a touch of sinister darkness in his voice.
¡°That would be the lookout fortress,¡± exined a different soldier. ¡°We have multiple around Bramblevale. They stand between the wilds and savagends and act as forewarning. Between the lookout fortresses and Central Bramblevale are the farm vige fortresses.¡±
A different soldier drifted in carefully: ¡°Bramblevale is quite built up. It¡¯s a frontier location. It¡¯s always been a contested point from past eras, back when elves and orcs used to war here. Though, it¡¯s a little safering from the eastpared to what¡¯s up north, but still, you¡¯ll find our fortresses quite hard and sturdy, ready for any challenge.¡±
¡°Any challenge, aye?¡± Zarian chuckled.He nodded at the uneasy soldiers and thanked them for the info. Then he stepped ahead and examined the lookout fortress himself.
The World of Castles and Caverns continued to live up to its name.
The lookout fortress wasn¡¯t a simple medieval ce with tiny little walls. It didn¡¯t have buildings that would catch fire if a pyromaniac looked in their direction.
No, it was quite the opposite. The humans living on the frontier stayed behind immense walls that were sturdy, stony, and built like they could withstand a war band of ten thousand angry, juiced-up green boys with tusks for teeth.
Turning about, Zarian saw there was no random block of stone left in the green fields and tall grass nking the dirt road they walked on. The builders from long ago must¡¯ve taken all the stone as part of constructing the fortress. All that remained other than the tall grass and fields of flower were sparse bushes and trees.
They didn¡¯t even leave cobblestones or any grounds with hard foundations, like a courtyard. Zarian didn¡¯t me them. Behind those massive walls were stone towers that stood even higher while surrounded by more stone dwellings.
In a world with themes surrounding castles and caverns, why not take advantage of that?
Curious still, Zarian let his intrusive thoughts win. Heunched into the air ¨C scaring the hell out of the nearest soldiers ¨C and flew up on twin jets of darkness.
He rocketed upward until he reached an altitude that was higher than the tallest construction, then he entered a hover. He judged the wall to be one hundred feet above leveled ground, but based on the higher foundations the fortress sat on, the wall was truly seventy-five feet in height.
The tallest tower was a little over one hundred feet. Each of the towers was made thick. With metal bars covering the windows. He could see faces looking out from the top of the towers as fingers pointed his way.
Zarian smiled under the darkness of his hood as he kept looking around. He saw crowds of people, mainly soldiers, milling about in an orderly hurry that reminded him of being on a military base. That was thest trivial thing he examined before his attention was glued to the magical siege engines covered in glowing runes on the ramparts and stone roofs.
He wondered if those ballistas could pierce tank armor from the old world. It probably could with all the magic infused into them.
¡°Yeah, this is high fantasy to the max.¡± Zarian chuckled, ignoring the shouts of warning from below.
Then he noticed something glowing on the wall before realizing his life might be in danger. An enchanted ballista flew in a fast streak from the nearest rampart section, tracing a blue aura across the air in the wink of an eye.
The speed and power of the ballista promised to deliver in credible damage. It could most definitely take down arge beast in the Level 40s or even make a Level 50 think twice.
Zarian sted the enchanted ballista out of the air with a quick dark bolt. It was a close thing. He barely struck in time before the ballistanded.
Undeterred, he kept sightseeing from high above. They kept shooting magic ballista at him, which became a dangerous game that worked on his anti-projectile and anti-air defense.
He soon realized that Straight Darkness +1 wasn¡¯t the best for defense against projectiles while in the air. It was easy now because of how he could overpower most challenges, but anything serious could probably get past that. He also didn¡¯t want Para to soak the damage directly ¨C a ballista projectile could still pack a punch.
Finally, Zarian lowered from the air, having arrived at a shocking realization.
He was weaker in the air than he was on the ground. It was easier to build defenses on the ground and hold a position, which was probably true for most people, but it was still a surprising thought for him. That and his swampy gator magic liked the ground better.
Most fights are ground based, thankfully.
Zariannded on a boulder Naomi was carrying over her head. She used it as a weight while doing walking lunges next to the marching soldiers, ignoring all of their gawking.
¡°Is that you causing trouble like usual?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t be me if I wasn¡¯t,¡± Zarian answered.
¡°You¡¯re a damn troublemaker, and someone ought to get you in line, Lord Zarian.¡±
He could hear the humor in her voice when she called him ¡®lord.¡¯ He grinned under the darkness of his cloak while trying to hold back augh.
Because of the soldiers¡¯ perception of Bianca as a princess from a distantnd, especially after she¡¯d washed up and became more presentable with the elven dress, everybody in the party was associated with high nobility.
Bianca was Princess Bianca. Behind that was Lord Zarian, Lord Gilbert, Lady Naomi, and Lady Hannah.
Even after four days and three nights of this treatment, Zarian and the others couldn¡¯t help but want tough. They were Floridians. Nobody from Florida would consider themselves royalty ¡ except for Bianca. She loved it.
At the very least, the past couple of days had seen them getting into afortable groove. They had plenty of time to iron out new kinks ¨C especially with Bianca¡¯s weird cement as both an excellent support and surprising powerhouse.
Better yet, Hannah had recently discovered how to turn the Roller Golem into an aura recharge station. She¡¯d advanced a few of her enchantments so they could run longer, which benefited Loner a lot. The goblin skeleton was spending more time with Hannah as her runic test dummy.
That was good, because there was a lot to do around Bramblevale before they set off for the Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon, and every manner of improvement was important.
¡°Lady Bianca, Lord Zarian, I need your help, please!¡± Rnd ran from the front of the formation to the middle where Zarian¡¯s party hung out around the cart he¡¯d taken for himself. ¡°The Fortress Commander¡¯s soldiers are riding out aggressively and they are not responding to our signals for peaceful passage.¡±
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
¡°Do I need to stop my workout to help?¡± Naomi asked from under the boulder.
¡°Nah, Bianca got this.¡± Zarian hopped off the boulder and hit the ground in a crouch.
He looked back, impressed by Naomi¡¯s growth in Strength.
Surprisingly, her body didn¡¯t be bulky like a bodybuilder, which was probably because she would do crazy fast sprints to bnce out the weightlifting. She still looked dynamic and powerful, that was for sure. Her stat growth was making up for her having a rare ss in a party full of epic sses.
¡°Go on and deal with your problems, or are you trying to make me shy with all that staring, milord?¡± Naomi shot at him.
¡°You look great.¡± Zarian walked away. He ignored the gasps of frightened soldiers as the loud thump of a boulder striking the ground resounded behind him.
He found Rnd huffing and puffing from stress. Next to the frightened officer, Bianca radiated under the morning light like the princess she masqueraded as.
Zarian watched as her dress glittered, changed colors, and seemed to bloom. The suns traveled higher from the dawn horizon and into mid morning.
The young soldiers stopped. Rnd led Zarian and Hannah to the front.
The men running out from the lookout fortress to meet them came to a halt. A self-important guy stood at the front. His armor looked better than everyone else, with a rose-like plume on top of his shiny helmet.
Zarian used Identify:
¡°Rnd of Wood, you¡¯ve returned from your scouting mission against the gnolls,¡± said the gruff, gray-haired man with wrinkles around his face.
He had arge war hammer in his hand. He looked about ready to use it while looking from the nervous Rnd to the foreigners.
¡°Yes, we¡¯ve sessfully dealt with the gnolls, Lord Archibald!¡± Rnd lowered his head in deference to a more superior noble. ¡°The people beside me are the reason we¡¯ve survived. They are heroes, in fact!¡±
¡°Heroes? Are you daft?! You¡¯ve brought evil to our doorsteps!¡± Archibald grouched.
The men behind Archibald readied their weapons and magic. There were a hundred of them, fewer than Rnd¡¯s side. But Archibald¡¯s men were ten levels stronger than Rnd¡¯s soldiers and over a dozen years older.
With age came more opportunities for Archibald¡¯s side to have grown their stats, even if infrequently. They looked mean-enough to crush and demolish their own.
¡°Wait, Lord Archibald, let me exin!¡± Rnd shrilled.
Archibald wasn¡¯t having any of it. ¡°This was your first mission to prove yourself as a blooming rose of the kingdom! Instead, you¡¯ve sacrificed not only your men to the gnolls for your own survival, but you¡¯ve brought an evil mongrel to our good kingdom! I will have you stripped of your nobility and in here along with your men!¡±
¡°There must be some other way to work this out, milord!¡± Rnd pleaded.
Archibald grouched: ¡°Your only option is to flee back whence you came! I will report you as dishonorable deserters, but it is better that than facing the righteous justice of the Eternal Garden.¡±
Zarian shook his head, tired of this conversation. It was time to take control of the situation and be overt.
¡°Princess Bianca, do the thing,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Lay down your arms and be not afraid!¡± Bianca emitted a light so bright she nearly outdid the suns.
Better yet, she directed all of that bright, eye-searing light directly at Archibald¡¯s side.
Zarian watched with grim satisfaction as Archibald and his men shouted in rm or outright screamed from getting the ¡®ssic¡¯ searing sh treatment. It was so much better seeing it happen to others.
Bianca didn¡¯t stop there of course. She walked up briskly to Archibald¡¯s face while he recovered the fastest of his men.
He growled and raised his hammer, ready to strike down Bianca.
¡°Beware, if you strike me, you strike good +3,¡± she said.
¡°You lie!¡± he shouted, bringing down his hammer.
He had more levels, more years, and possibly more stats from his own progression. But he had nothing on Bianca.
Still, he tried to defy the power of her goodness. His hammer grew to the width of a tree trunk and came crashing down onto Bianca¡¯s head.
He hit an illusion. It didn¡¯t seem to stop him from wanting to strike the earth and cause havoc.
Maybe that would¡¯ve been the case if the patch of road Archibald and his soldiers stood on hadn¡¯t turned swampy and unstable under their feet. Archibald sshed himself and his nearest soldiers as the Oak Hammer Smash collided with a mire that hadn¡¯t been there a split second before.
The pages of Zarian¡¯s new grimoire flipped next to his face, the book hovering over his shoulder.
He felt something heavy, ancient, and ghastly looming over his head and further behind him. If he looked back, he would see nothing. Nobody could see the lurking phantom while Zarian used a spell from the Grimoire of the Dread Mire Gator.
But they could certainly feel its weight and the high humidity in the air. They could smell something that belonged in a swamp while it stalked invisibly among them. Everybody could tell it was massive, bigger than what a hundred men could face, and its presence grew stronger when Zarian used a spell from the new soulbound grimoire.
So far, he¡¯d learned one spell from the folktale style book of spells. Learning folktale spells differedpared to how he¡¯d learned spells from the ck magic grimoire. The ck Fire spell had required him to learn more about magic chemistry through symbols and runes.
The first spell from the dread mire gator covered the story of the man-swallowing quagmire. It spoke of how quagmire was cursed, how every king and army had fallen to their doom in the quagmire, and how the quagmire was home to the evil gator.
Zarian saw it for himself now. Archibald¡¯s soldiers kept sliding, falling, and sinking into the boggy, quicksand-like manifestation of Zarian¡¯s folktale spell.
Bianca reappeared next to the struggling Archibald, standing perfectly on the quagmire like an ethereal being. She fit the image while in her elven dress and going barefoot ¨C she didn¡¯t want to dishonor the dress wearing in footwear.
Her eyes shone with brilliant light. More light glowed from her body, making her seem even more otherworldly. Her smile was as radiant as the suns. Her dress fluttered like a curtain of flowers caught by the wind.
¡°You will let these young men return home. You will grant us safe passage. You will not harm my friend regardless of his evil alignment. This is the will of good +3,¡± Bianca demanded.
She pulsated with high crusader energy.
Archibald tried to argue.
But he wasn¡¯t good enough. Bianca¡¯s crusader energy rolled over him. He could still try to fight her, but it was easy for everyone to see he was struggling with that prospect.
Archibald had the good alignment, too, but a lesser version. And it seemed like people of good alignment had a strong urge to adhere to order and hierarchy. This was probably worse for the local humanspared to the Outsiders who¡¯d grown up differently.
The struggling man sinking into the Quagmire Pit thought twice about who he was messing with. He looked up at Bianca¡¯s radiant form and epic dress and seemed to realize he was outmatched, regardless of level.
¡°How?¡± Archibald asked shakily. ¡°Nobody in the kingdom, not even the king, has a level of goodness that high!¡±
Zarian couldn¡¯t help but break out into evilughter. The type ofughter that scared all the normies around him. It scared Rnd greatly, and it made Archibald angry.
They couldn¡¯t do a thing, however, because Biancaughed along with Zarian. She sounded morous, good, and sunnypared to his sinister, evil, and darkughter.
Thankfully, she was good +3 while Zarian was evil +2. Herughter had more weight and covered for him. Archibald¡¯s sense of goodness wanted to listen to Bianca more than he wanted to execute evil.
Archibald and his men gave up and let them go. Zarian found it funny looking back at them as Archibald¡¯s soldiers gawked at the rest of his party members.
Hannah hadn¡¯t looked up from her study of the White Spider Dungeon Core, which was apparently precious and worth a heavy amount of gold. Roller and Loner kept herpany while she sat at the back of Zarian¡¯sfort cart.
Gilbert was training with random young soldiers. He¡¯d gotten more invested in coaching the youngsters and seemed to relish being a ¡®big brother¡¯ type to them.
Then he would let them take hard swings at him, even to the point of injury, before he healed up and kept sparring with them and trading pointers. He¡¯d even gained a stat point in Strength, which was reassuring for Zarian.
And, like always, Naomi was training like a madwoman. She was now runningps around the formation of Rnd¡¯s marching soldiers, back to holding her massive boulder above her head.
With the drama out of the way, Zarian returned to his spot on top of Naomi¡¯s boulder. His presence forced her to hold the big rock with more stability so she didn¡¯t rock him off ¨C which was good for her core muscles.
She didn¡¯tin much and seemed to appreciate hispany during her exercise.
Zarian lounged on his side as Naomi ran beneath him. He flipped through his dread gator grimoire, deeply invested in the next story about rising teeth belonging to an unidentifiable monster living in the quagmire.
The second folktale built on the foundations of the first folktale. Unfortunately, to ess the next spell required him to remember a moreplicated folktale story with bigger words, and he had to know it perfectly.
Still, he kept at it, not bothered by any mistakes along the way as he learned. Now and then, he did find himself distracted.
A part of his Fractured Mind contemted what skills he should steal. Because he saw the better versions of what he wanted from the older, more veteran foot soldiers.
Why go for the basic stuff when I can go for the more advanced ones?
There could be more options waiting for him at Central Bramblevale.
Chapter 46: Knock Knock
This again? Either they really don¡¯t like having evil humans around or they really wanted Rnd¡¯s soldiers sacrificed to the gnolls. Or maybe it¡¯s both.
Zarian looked up at their third challenge of the day.
First there was Lord Archibald at the lookout fortress. Then there was another lord at the farming vige fortress.
Now, after reaching Central Bramblevale, the sunset shining orange and red behind the massive walls and tall stone towers, Zarian¡¯s party and Rnd¡¯s soldiers were ready to call it a night.
But Central Bramblevale was lit up brightly with huge magic torches along the ramparts and on the rooftops of thick towers. Thousands of men, armed with a plethora of weapons and skills, looked coldly down at Zarian¡¯s and Rnd¡¯s group two thousand feet away from the gate. A vast assortment of siege weapons pointed in their direction.
Bramblevale Lord Cassian of Paxton was the highest power in this part of the frontier. All the nobles of Central Bramblevale, the local fortress farming viges, and the adjacent fortress lookouts listened to him. He was a cousin of the Eternal Garden King, apparently.
Among the rankings of Rose Nobles, Lord Cassian was considered a High Rose, which was a big deal. Archibald and the farming vige lord were considered Mid Roses, which granted them moderate levels of power and luxuries.
Rnd was a Low Rose, which was looked down on as trashy nobles who achieved nobility recently. Rnd and others like him weren¡¯t born into nobility. They had to work their way up through great deeds, by buyingnd, or by being an army officer.
People below trashy Low Roses were servants of the nobles and royals or licensed merchants and tradesmen. The Eternal Garden Kingdom ran on something simr to a feudal system since the start of the Dark Era. They had 1500 years of practice in stepping on those at the bottom.Zarian wasn¡¯t a fan, but he wasn¡¯t here to lead a revolution. He was here to set up his party¡¯s foundations and aplish some tasks that would lead to Foodie¡¯s freedom.
Still, a part of Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind found it interesting how he was more focused on the freedom of one little goblin instead of the freedom and equity of an entire poption of humans held down by tyrannical nobles.
Is that because I¡¯m evil +2 or is that because I¡¯m weird?
Zarian wasn¡¯t sure.
But he had little time to contemte that as Lord Cassian boomed from the ramparts above the main gate. The king¡¯s cousin used some magic or enchanted device for his voice to carry across thousands of feet of distance.
¡°Rnd of Wood, you¡¯ve brought great shame to your people!¡± roared Lord Cassian. ¡°Instead of fighting for the security and safety of the Eternal Garden Kingdom, you¡¯ve secured your own safety by sacrificing young men to the hunger of gnolls, made deals with great evil, and spread lies of false goodness above that of the king¡¯s!¡±
Lord Cassian was on a roll, and he wouldn¡¯t let anyone speak their side. ¡°I denounce you in front of all the nobles and the people who serve to see our beautiful kingdom reign gloriously under the light of our good gods!¡±
Zarian¡¯s party was standing around him at the front of the formation. Rnd was there as well. He looked distraught and beaten,cking the do-gooder enthusiasm he¡¯d shown when they first met.
He was only twenty, after all, a year younger than Zarian. The other soldiers were still in their teens.
¡°Zarian,¡± Bianca called from behind him. ¡°How can they be good and lie so much?¡±
Zarian took his time to think about it. ¡°Maybe good and evil aren¡¯t so straightforward as we think. Just like how I¡¯m evil, but I still help people now and then.¡±
¡°We can talk philosophyter. The stinking politician on the wall has us where he wants us. He ain¡¯t shooting just yet, but he might start shooting soon.¡± Naomi sounded like she was ready to storm the beaches of Normandy. ¡°What are we doing now, sir?¡±
¡°What are we doing, you say? Hm. Hopefully not much. We will seeter. It¡¯s time I make a trade,¡± Zarian said.
¡°A trade?¡± Rnd raised his head. ¡°What trade? Lord Cassian would see us dead once he ordered the siege weapons to fire down at us! Is it me that must be traded? What have I done wrong?¡±
Rnd gripped his head. He was freaking out. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what this is all about? Why do they keep saying I¡¯ve sacrificed my men to feed the gnolls? All I¡¯ve wanted to do is serve the kingdom and be the best Rose Noble I can be!¡±
Rnd looked like he was about to break. His eyes stuck to Zarian, as if he wanted toy all of his problems at the ck wizard¡¯s feet.
Rnd wouldn¡¯t be exactly wrong if he did. A lot of this was Zarian¡¯s fault, good and bad.
¡°There are two options,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Either I hit them so hard they think twice. Or I make a trade.¡±
¡°Hit them,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Can we choose a third option?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°Can I try being the third option?¡± Bianca offered. ¡°Maybe if I¡¯m fast enough, I can reach Lord Cassian in time and convince him to stand down.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re ready to solo an army, Bianca,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Good +3 can only carry you so far.¡±
¡°Maybe one day I will be,¡± Bianca murmured.
Gilbert took his time, stroking his chin. ¡°Every now and then, chief, you give something up to gain more back. Yeah, you could do a whole heap of damage and massacre these people, but then what? We need rest. We need to research. We need some time to settle down before we go hard on the next adventure.¡±
Gilbert ced his hand on Zarian¡¯s shoulder, all big brother like. ¡°I know this is a lot to ask, but let¡¯s avoid the bloodshed. For now.¡±
Zarian looked up at Gilbert and felt surprised. For this once, Gilbert¡¯s argument actually had an effect. Huh ¡ is this what it¡¯s like to have a wiser big brother?
Zarian felt ¡ weird about that. Granted, Gilbert had undergone some changes the past couple of days, bing more enthusiastic, more in tune with the world.
Ever since he¡¯d started working with the young soldiers, Gilbert became more lively.
Weird. So weird.
Zarian decided to follow Gilbert¡¯s advice, which wasn¡¯t much of apromise, anyway. He¡¯d been working up to this for the past couple of days.
This was the perfect time to unleash an unexpected twist on the so-called do-gooders of a good aligned human kingdom.
¡°Hey, Lovewar, you want to be the other godly benefactor?¡± Zarian asked casually. ¡°Here¡¯s your test. Help us get into that town peacefully regardless of how much of a dick Lord Cassian is.¡±
¡°Impossible!¡± Rnd shouted, tossing aside all pretense of being subordinate to them. Even his soldiers looked at Zarian¡¯s party as crazy, suicidal, mad people.
Rnd roared: ¡°Lovewar can¡¯t support you! Not against her own people. We are at a loss, and the best we can do is flee from here. The only reason Lord Cassian hasn¡¯t shot down at us is to see us run into the forest instead of wasting precious siege ammunition.¡±
Zarian chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re supposed to finish being ughtered by the gnolls as a sacrifice of the kingdom.¡±
¡°What?¡± Rnd was bbergasted.
¡°You are sacrifices. The Mid Roses and High Roses know it. They want to chase you away so you can finish being sacrificed. That¡¯s why there was so much posturing.¡±
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Zarian pulled back his hood as the sunset deepened, and the shadows grew longer. He revealed his face, his sharp smile, and void-like eyes.
Rnd and his nearest soldiers shuddered.
Zarian continued: ¡°They don¡¯t know we¡¯ve dealt with that problem already. And they don¡¯t know that we have a legendary achievement calling Bianca and me Heroes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom.¡±
¡°But that still doesn¡¯t mean Good Goddess Lovewar will answer to your beck and call,¡± Rnd said, deted.
¡°Let¡¯s see if I got the charisma for it.¡± Zarianughed, striding forward, his parasitic cloak pping dramatically behind him.
He didn¡¯t care if people thought everything he¡¯d achieved and could do was unlikely, against the rules, or even impossible. He was a Darkrun, and by the power of his name, he was the type to make the impossible possible.
¡°So, how about it, Lovewar?¡± Zarian called out, arms spread. ¡°You¡¯ll have to share space with Shadowfell, but looking at how our party is uniquely made, it only makes sense. Or do you want to give this up? Because next on my list is Serveserf, since he sounds like a chill god.¡±
There were seven good gods.
Purgehunt and Purehome were the oldest among the good gods.
The Purgehunt God was all about purging and hunting monsters. The Purehome Goddess was all about purity and sanctity of a home.
Anything that didn¡¯t belong under Purgehunt and Purehome¡¯s ssical good grace needed to be removed. No matter what Zarian did, they would hate him and want him eradicated.
Lawkeep was a stickler for rules, and Zarian was a little too anti-rules for them to work together.
Hopnd was the type that wanted to provide belief and faith to everyone, even when faced with horrible acts of evil. Sometimes, she even provided hope for those on the other side of good.
The problem with her was how addicting hope could be, which would be disastrous for Bianca. Hopnd could be more dangerous than Purgehunt and Purehome, which made Zarian wary of that goddess.
Serveserf lived up to his name as a god who was down with the people. Unfortunately, he was considered the weakest god, so nobody really took him seriously other than the downtrodden.
Zarian liked Serveserf¡¯s vibe anyway, since he came from downtrodden origins.
Kingsblood was an asshole, enough said.
Then there was Lovewar. From what Zarian had heard so far, she lived up to her name. She was also imed to be ¡ uniquely differentpared to most good gods. Some soldiers would joke how Lovewar was mostly good while partially evil.
¡°On my count of three!¡± roared Lord Cassian.
¡°I¡¯m killing Lord Cassian in two,¡± Zarian said. ¡°So, you got one second to respond, Lovewar.¡±
¡°One,¡± Zarian and Cassian said at the same time.
Before they reached two, a shining treasure chest appeared with a m in front of Zarian, and the reality of the world tilted. The fundamental nature of the world¡¯s magic became lesser. Something greater, higher, bigger made itself known.
The thunder of a million swords shing with a million shields resonated across Central Bramblevale and beyond. The whistling of ten million arrows swishing through the air resounded next. The roar of a hundred million men shouting, dying, screaming, crying while surrounded by the chaos of war reached every ear and shook the earth.
The presence of Lovewar pressed upon the entire area, and almost every man fell to their knees.
Except for Zarian and his party.
They remained standing, unaffected.
The divine treasure chest pulsated with an inviting glow. Zarian swaggered up to it and flipped the lid open.
He reached in and picked up a divine note written by the goddess herself. He read it aloud for everyone to hear, his voice oveid by a divine and feminine voice.
Hey!Thanks for choosing me! This is exciting! You¡¯re stirring up things that¡¯ve stagnated down there for so long I find it pathetic.So, yeah, I¡¯ll stop them from being a bother to you for now. It won¡¯tst for long, but it¡¯ll get you inside long enough to do what you gotta do.All I ask is if you can, y¡¯know, whip up a civil war for me. Civil wars are fun, yeah? YEAH!The Eternal Garden Kingdom, as it is right now, is freakingme! I hate it!So please please please start a civil war once you¡¯re done with your stuff in Bramblevale and about to leave. I¡¯ll love that a lot!You don¡¯t even have to be all political about it. When you¡¯re ready to get your evil hands bloody, and I know you do, don¡¯t deny it, someone will give you a list of bastard nobles to kill before you go.Then everything will fall into ce from there ¡ well, maybe. It depends. You¡¯ll probably have to deal with the other gods and their followers trying to get in the way.They don¡¯t like me too much. I¡¯m just too REAL for some of them.Again, thanks for choosing me! And I¡¯m on decent terms with Shadowfell anyway. I think she¡¯s weird and too somber. And she should stop reading so much trashy tragedy romances! But she kinda matches my energy for some reason. So, this works out!With love and war,The one known as Battle Queen, Passion de, The Good Goddess Lovewar!
Zarian chuckled, finding the enthusiasm in Lovewar¡¯s divine message to be perfectly on point with him. He was d Hannah had done the research, and that Lovewar had approved him the second most behind Shadowfell.
Meanwhile, all the siege weapons lost their mystical glow and stopped working. Cassian lost his voice and valor.
The giant drawbridge covering the main gate dropped over the massive moat surrounding Central Bramblevale. Heavy chains and gears turned on their own, pulling up the gate, allowing ess to Zarian¡¯s people regardless of mortal concerns.
Zarian turned around and looked back at his party, Rnd, and his soldiers.
¡°I think I might¡¯ve found a new religion,¡± Naomi said, nodding in satisfaction. ¡°Lovewar Goddess, huh? I like her.¡±
¡°Can we start the civil war after I get what I need from their library?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°We¡¯re bnced! We¡¯re bnced!¡± Bianca twirled around, her beautiful elven dress flowing with her.
¡°I feel like I screwed up somehow,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°I should¡¯ve kept my mouth shut. What was I thinking? Me? Trying to be reasonable in an unreasonable world? God, help me.¡±
¡°You¡¯re going to start a civil war?¡± Rnd asked, pale in the face.
¡°You want to go against the will of Lovewar?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°For a kingdom who tried to sacrifice you and your men to gnolls?¡±
Rnd struggled to find anything to say back.
¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯m impossible. You¡¯re around a guy who has two goddesses sending him direct messages.¡± Zarian howled withughter, all evil and sinister.
A gold notification specific to him appeared, which led to even moreughter. Because it just made everything all the better.
He wasn¡¯t holding anything back. He wasn¡¯t hiding right now. He was boldly knocking on the door, and the System recognized that.
Zarian didn¡¯t even think about it for long. He turned and pointed at three of his people one by one. ¡°Hannah, five levels. Gilbert, three levels. Naomi, two levels.¡±
Just like that, they all hit Level 29.
Hannah stumbled, nearly falling over, a moan escaping her before she covered her mouth. She shivered, struggling to speak, while the others adjusted to their new levels. Finally, Hannah found her voice.
¡°How?¡± she asked.
¡°Divine achievement,¡± Zarian said. ¡°The System gave me levels I can distribute. And they¡¯re high value levels, so you get the maxed growth in vitality with each, I guess.¡±
Rnd let out a strangled cry.
Zarian chuckled. ¡°Awesome, right?¡±
Naomi walked over and punched him on his shoulder.
¡°Ow! What was that for?¡±
Naomi nodded. ¡°I thought you became a god. Unless you¡¯re trying to trick us.¡±
Zarian shook his head at the silly woman. Bianca cheered for everyone¡¯s new levels while Gilbert kept gawking about, trying to make sense of it all with his old world faith.
Rnd and his soldiers were burnt out, barely able to keep up. Zarian shrugged and led the way forward, uncontested as Lovewar¡¯s divine presence remained hanging over them all.
Zarian and hispanions strolled across the drawbridge and into Central Bramblevale. A young woman rushed across a clearedne, introduced herself as an acolyte of Lovewar, and led them to their lodgings.
Zarian nearly had a heart attack from the sheer joy of seeing a nice manor in a spaciouspound with plenty of rooms and baths. The manor even came with people ready to serve them. The grassywn outside had enough space for Rnd and his soldiers to camp.
Then, after washing up, Zarian¡¯s party had dinner, a round of drinks, and went to bed for the night while still under Lovewar¡¯s divine protection. The sanctuary might notst for too long, but for tonight, they were untouchable.
Zarian dreamed pleasantly of eating delicious food made by the Strong Cook Prodigy. Strangely, while he ate his endless fill, he was also watching arrogant nobles drown or get eaten up in a bottomless quagmire.
He noticed a small presence in his dream. Ariana was sitting at the dining table with her little legs kicking. She smiled at him.
¡°Keep going, Big Bro,¡± Ariana said. ¡°You keep throwing off predictions. The lords and gods are struggling to get ahead of you and move their pieces into ce. I love it.¡±
¡°You haven¡¯t seen anything yet.¡± Zarian reached over and patted her head. Since this was a dream, his hands were clean, no crumb or grease stuck to them. ¡°I¡¯m just getting started.¡±
Ariana giggled, letting go of her mature attitude, acting like his little baby sister again. Damn, she was so adorable.
Regardless of her secrets and hidden power and godly connections, Zarian liked his role as her big brother. And as the big brother, he had to be the best at whatever he did.
If only the dream stayed like this. The mood changed when Ariana said, ¡°I wonder how long it¡¯ll take before you actually break something.¡±
Zarian paused. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what I¡¯m doing already?¡±
¡°You alone are the Honored Outsider.¡±
The dream ended.
Chapter 47: Morning Luxury
On an Early Autumn morning, Zarian woke up in luxury. He woke up in bliss. He woke up wanting to cry with joy.
For the first time in a long time, Zarian woke up in an actual bed.
It was a big andfy bed, too!
It was so soft and splendid, Zarian wanted to focus on enjoying his bed and put aside how his dream ended. He would analyze itter. He had a lot on his te, like enjoying high quality clean sheets, fluffy pillows, aforter, and a painted ceiling over his head.
Eyes fluttering open, vision clearing, Zarian smiled up at the illustration on the ceiling. Someone had painted it with an artistic eye and creative hand depicting the starry,-heavy cosmos of Infinita.
Eyes fluttering a little more, Zarian stretched his limbs, wriggled his fingers and toes, and slowly sat up.
Para unraveled from around his neck and shoulders in her smallest form, which made her look like a crossbreed between a cloak and a scarf. She was perpetually rooted to his upper back unless he deactivated the spell, and Zarian saw no point in doing that.
After all, Para protected him while he slept. The Parasite Cloak took very little aura to keep active, especially when she was passive.
¡°I can¡¯t believe it,¡± Zarian said, ncing around. ¡°Four walls, a roof, and a bed. What more can a man ask for?¡±Well, there was plenty more.
He could smell the hint of breakfast getting cooked somewhere outside of his bedroom and down the hall. He could hear the others rousing, making noise, Bianca screaming like a rooster, as per usual.
That sounded like her happy scream. She was probably enjoying the luxuries of the stone mansion even more than him.
After roughing it for over two months with these people, Zarian knew most of their usual habits by now. Then again, he hadn¡¯t seen what they were like under more stable and homey conditions.
¡°Yeah, I guess there is more a man can ask for, huh, Para?¡± Zarian directed to his loyal parasite.
The cloak quivered affectionately in response, though it had an edge to it. She grew little bone spines and poked him around the shoulders.
She was growing hungry.
He felt the same because of the +1 advancement to Parasite Cloak. With Para fused deeper with him, he had an increase in resilience and physicality at the cost of having a much greater appetite.
He wasn¡¯t at peak hunger just yet, thankfully. Same for Para. They could wait a little longer.
Zarian nced around. Other than the painted ceiling of Infinita¡¯s starry cosmos, there was one window covered by stained ss that had a dark tint made perfect for him. With the rising autumn sun beaming through, the room didn¡¯t light up by much. The window was also stained with more starry, cosmic designs.
He had a big wardrobe dresser, a sturdy wooden desk, a small dining table for when he wanted meals alone in his room, and another section that was like a mini-living room outside of the border of his bedroom.
The huge luxury bedroom came with a separate bathroom, which was very nice. But the mansion had something even better that Zarian wanted to check out first in the morning.
Zarian threw off his covers and jumped to his feet. He stopped to roll around his right shoulder, feeling the crushed bullet in his back.
He rubbed his feet around on the furry pelts covering the stone floor, then he padded toward the heavy door on the other side of the mini living room attachment.
Para reached out with tendrils to grab two robes and today¡¯s clothes from the wardrobe. She draped one robe over Zarian¡¯s body. Then she flicked another tendril forward, opening and closing the door for him.
¡°Thanks, Para,¡± Zarian said, before turning to see a few people waiting in the hall for him. ¡°Good morning, you two.¡±
Loner was there as per usual, leaning against the wall with bony arms crossed. He nodded his skull in greeting to the necromancer who maintained him twenty-four hours a day.
Naomi stood in a rxed parade rest, also leaning against the stone wall. She straightened a bit and said, ¡°Good morning, sir. We didn¡¯t take the time yesterday since we were in a rush forforts, but would you like me to handle your hair before breakfast?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll like that. Thanks.¡±
They weren¡¯t exercising or doing anything major this morning. Zarian wanted them to rx and enjoy theforts of having a mansion with plenty of rooms.
That didn¡¯t mean it was a total break day. They had a lot to do, and Zarian had ns for tonight, but until then, this morning served as an extension of the night before.
¡°You want a wash for your bones, Loner?¡± Zarian asked as the three of them walked down the long hallways.
The magic sconce lights were set to half dim levels. That way, they wouldn¡¯t bother Zarian much. There were paintings on the walls and long, fuzzy rugs on the floor. There were plenty of banners, too.
Out in the more public spaces, everything represented Lovewar.
Loner gave him a nonchnt and umitted shrug, and Zarian took that as answer enough before stopping near themunal spa. He looked up at an illustration depicting Good Goddess Lovewar standing in a pose with a spear and shield.
¡°She looks like she¡¯ll have millions of followers on social media,¡± Naomi drawled. ¡°Is that supposed to be bikini armor? She doesn¡¯t have to do all that just to get the boys riled up for war.¡±
¡°She¡¯s definitely motivational.¡± Zarian turned and gave Naomi a cheeky smile. ¡°You could rock bikini armor yourself. Maybe even give Lovewar somepetition.¡±
She snorted. ¡°Don¡¯t you try that with me. Don¡¯t forget that you start looking cute when you¡¯re all cleaned up. Maybe we should put you in bikini armor.¡±
¡°Did someone say Zarian in bikini armor?!¡± Bianca came running from around the corner.
She was breathing a little too hard, her eyes shing. She looked at Zarian in an ufortable way and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±
¡°Girl, you once said you would love to see Zarian in a dress.¡± Naomi scoffed.
¡°Ahh! Don¡¯t say that aloud! What if he wants my pretty elven dress?¡±
¡°Okay, this is getting weird! Let¡¯s just get our morning spa on!¡± Zarian moved forward, parasite tendrils reaching ahead and shoving the heavy double doors aside.
He heard a rattle of bones right beside him, Loner walking even faster to brush past him. The skeleton¡¯s eyeless sockets scanned the huge spa area, as if in desperate search for a spot to lean against where he could stay out of the way.
He would find a spot. Eventually. The spa area was big enough for over a hundred people.
Wisps of steam rose from the giant heated pool in the middle. Frosty mist whirled from the four side pools surrounding the hot pool. The side pools offered cold bath remedies, which was a quirky feature in Zarian¡¯s opinion.
There were stalls with closed doors and showering instruments they could control using runic devices to the right side. On the left side were seating and table stations for massages and pampering of all sorts.
A dozen women stood in different stations around the spa area. They wore green and brown robes that were made to get wet and dry quickly. They also wore crimson sashes with a spear and shield emblem in the middle around their waists.
Their hair was twisted into braids and pressed against the scalp while under a green head scarf. They held their hands in front of them and greeted the new arrivals at once.
¡°Good morning, Princess Bianca, Lord Zarian, Lady Naomi!¡±
Zarian waved and said good morning back before his attention shifted to someone already slouching on the edge of the heated pool. Zarian padded over, the floors already mopped of excess spills, and stopped to look down at Gilbert.
The big man looked up with a big, drunken smile. There was a small cask of beer on a trolly next to him. Zarian wondered how much was left inside.
The war healer raised his mug for a toast. ¡°Ain¡¯t it our fearless and scary leader in the flesh! Top of the morning to you!¡±
¡°Good morning, big guy. Starting the morning strong, huh?¡±
¡°Of course I am!¡± Gilbert tipped his mug back and guzzled down more than a few sips.
A spa servant walked in briskly and took his empty mug. She used a nozzle on the side of the cask to refill it with more fizzy beer. The stream wasing out slow. The cask might be close to empty now.
¡°Does Healing Force help with alcohol?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Mostly if it does actual damage or it¡¯ll be a slow recovery! But screw that! There¡¯s no damage here. Only a good time!¡± Gilbert shouted heartily.
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¡°I¡¯m d to see you¡¯re finally having fun, man.¡±
¡°Never in my life have I ever lived like this. And thedies! Gosh, thedies! Why are they all so beautiful?¡± Gilbert tossed a flirty look at some of the women working the spa.
The spa servants cracked a smile or giggled.
Gilbert chuckled. ¡°If I was still the reckless young man I was earlier, boy oh boy, you might¡¯ve seen something inappropriate by now. But we just got here, so I don¡¯t want to ruin anything.¡±
Gilbert took back his mug and thanked the young woman who refilled it for him with a flirty smile. Then he looked over at Naomi and Bianca as the women prepared to use the showers.
He looked away, making a yful groaning sound, as if he saw something horrific.
¡°It¡¯s only our party members,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Yes. Great people. Amazing, really. But I¡¯ve smelled their fart long enough to know which is which. Let a man enjoy the luxury of not knowing the mysteries behind a beautiful chick, or two, or three, or whatever.¡± Gilbert looked over at spa servants again and winked.
They giggled andughed.
Zarian shook his head at the silly older man.
Granted, Zarian felt the same things that Gilbert felt, even if a little muted. But they weren¡¯t as important to Zarianpared to everything else.
Like learning new spells. Or ensuring his people were growing and getting taken care of. Or making ns that could derail an entire region in a new world while grappling with powers far greater than him.
Zarian had his priorities set. He¡¯d alsoe from a background where he was at the bottom of the totem pole. Most women wouldn¡¯t have dared to be in his presence, at least the ones he¡¯d known growing up.
Those conditions might¡¯ve screwed him up a bit. Still, Zarian didn¡¯t see any issues of focusing on everything else outside of romance. Besides, friendship worked well enough for him, at least for now.
¡°How may we serve you, Lord Zarian?¡± asked a pretty and petite spa girl.
She had garden green eyes and freckles over her face. She looked very healthy and well fed. And her attitude was genuine despite his evil alignment.
Yes, he held back his alignment as much as possible. Just like Bianca, he had some influence over how much could ooze out into the environment and affect others.
Additionally, neutral humans were less likely to feel the difference, but the Parasite Cloak wavering like a tattered g of reddish tanned skin was a big give away. At the very least, she must¡¯ve learned of it after all themotionst night.
Herck of concern and theck of concern from the other servants of the mansion drew his curiosity.
¡°You aren¡¯t afraid?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m evil aligned, you know?¡±
¡°The Good Goddess Lovewar shares with you the exceptional might of her power. We are servants to her first before we are servants to you, and as Lovewar Acolytes, we shall not discriminate regardless of origins as long as you aid in Lovewar¡¯s efforts.¡±
¡°Even when she¡¯s a good goddess? Even when you¡¯re living in a good aligned kingdom?¡± Zarian already had his own ideas about the alignments, but it was interesting to hear from the locals themselves.
¡°As long as the overall good of Lovewar progresses, then all means will be sought and encouraged,¡± the acolyte said with adamant belief. ¡°Even the use of evil can serve a greater good. If not, you wouldn¡¯t be here, would you, having this fine conversation?¡±
Fair point, fair point. Though, he wondered what the girl would think if she knew Zarian had pressured Lovewar into being his party¡¯s benefactor.
He didn¡¯t think he gave the goddess enough time to pull him into her ns adequately. She was probably adapting like any war general worth their salt.
Additionally, it helped that all the servants at the mansion were neutral, which was both strange and weed.
Bianca was a lot already, but at least they were friends.
Rnd was pacified and pretty much under Zarian¡¯s protection.
Any more do-gooders outside of that would be bothersome if Zarian didn¡¯t get the time to know them.
Satisfied by the acolyte¡¯s pragmatic outlook, Zarian moved on to his next interest and asked, ¡°Can I use Identify on you?¡±
¡°Identify? My, that¡¯s a rare skill! I might¡¯ve glimpsed it once in one of our war books.¡±
Heart pounding, Zarian stepped closer to the freckled, green-eye girl, spooking her a little. ¡°You have a book of skills?¡±
¡°Yes, sir, we do. We keep records of skills, spells, runes, and many more means of magic. As Lovewar Acolytes, information is the ammunition we can use to conduct loving negotiations or violent warfare. That and ensuringmunication channels remain essible at all times.¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t take the time to really question everythingst night. The journey to get here had been long and hard and required fantastical action ¨C such as summoning the help of a major goddess of the Infinita Star System.
But now that he had proper rest, he could see there was so much more that he didn¡¯t know, down to the nitty gritty of what the gods and their servants strived for based on their thematic names.
Of course, Lovewar would be savvy about keeping records and making preparations. It¡¯s in her name, which has multiple meanings.
He chose a pretty good benefactor on the good side. Yet, why was Ariana still expecting him to do something even greater?
What was he supposed to break? He didn¡¯t have enough information to break anything.
Setting aside the strangeness of everything, Zarian used Identify.
Zarian jerked back, surprised. ¡°Where¡¯s your alpha skill? I have no skills from the Star System.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have one, milord.¡±
He twisted around and used Identify on the nearest girls.
What the fuck?! They¡¯re only a few levels above a basic ass slime!
It had never urred to him that humans of Infinita started off with nothing. That would mean they had no major magical help until they reached Level 10, differing them from Outsiders who entered the Star System with an alpha skill already.
¡°How do you level up?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°By living and working, milord. We rue experience that way here in the Eternal Garden Kingdom. If you¡¯re not slouching, then a well-aged woman will be Level 5 by age eighteen, maybe even further along if they¡¯ve found themselves truly worthy work or have the grace to be picked.¡±
Amabel nced over at the stalls where Naomi and Bianca showered. Then, in a lower voice, she said, ¡°I can¡¯t imagine how Princess Bianca and Lady Naomi can survive outside the walls.¡±
Zarian was very confused.
Why couldn¡¯t Bianca and Naomi survive?
They¡¯d worked hard to make it. Granted, they had an alpha skill at Level 1, so Zarian conceded they had a bigger advantage than the local humans, who started out with nothing but stats.
But surely they could solve that by working together and killing things. How could they not?
Feeling strangely frustrated, Zarian changed the subject to another curious point.
¡°How old are you, Amabel?¡±
The acolyte smiled. ¡°If you will allow me this fun, milord, may I ask you to guess how old you think I am?¡±
Zarian was guessing eighteen based on her shape and maturity. He said as much.
Amabel giggled. ¡°I¡¯m fourteen, milord. I just became a woman when I first bled a year ago. All the servants of this mansion are around my age, in fact. Maybe a little younger or older, but not by much.¡±
¡°Gawd dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit!¡± Gilbert shouted, spitting beer from his mouth.
One of the spa servants came running over with a rag to help clean up.
Gilbert yelled at her. ¡°No, darn it. Get back! Get your jailbait-ass back!¡±
The spa girls looked in confusion at him.
A tentacle from Para reached out, the sight of which spooking the spa girls a little. The parasite tentacle took the rag gently from the girl and used it to help clean up Gilbert who was still muttering madly to himself.
¡°I was told Bramblevale was going through hard times, but you look very ¡ healthy,¡± Zarian said. ¡°We didn¡¯t get a good look outside to be honest.¡±
¡°We¡¯re lucky here as acolytes. We¡¯re well fed and well taken care of. We¡¯re also the best of women with good growth. The best are fed and taken care of, after all. Right,dies?¡±
¡°The best flowers will grow and be picked! The weeds are found and pruned! And the old will wilt and die unless they are truly eternal!¡± they all said, matching each other with the same cadence.
They sounded as if those words were drilled into them from an early age.
Zarian felt a little strange.
There were times when he¡¯d nearly fallen in with the wrong groups in desperation to survive. Those groups ¨C sometimes street gangs, sometimes religious zealots ¨C had always given the same type of vibe.
Hell, the Marines acted the same way. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Humans were the type to turn any group activity into something deeper, moremunal, more familial, by making it tribal.
Some of those tribal traits be so deep and active they be the pirs of a cult.
He was getting strange cultish vibes here. But for this once, he decided not to press any further.
¡°Thank you for answering my questions, Amabel,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I should shower up quickly before Naomi loses her patience. She¡¯s going to handle my hair.¡±
¡°Oh, can some of us watch! We¡¯ve never taken care of hair like yours! The experience might even help us level up faster!¡± Amabel¡¯s eyes glimmered with hope and desperate need.
Zarian saw the same from the other spa servants.
¡°You don¡¯t need them for anything, do you, Gilbert?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Take them!¡±
Zarian looked over to Loner who was sitting in the cold bath pool. ¡°What about you, Loner?¡±
The girls looked at the necromancy construct nervously. Obviously, they did their best not to discriminate, but Zarian didn¡¯t me them for being afraid of a creature they had never seen before.
Loner shook his head. He was fine in his cold bath.
Zarian waved his hand and invited the young girls to follow and watch. It made sense that they wouldn¡¯t know what to do with his and Naomi¡¯s hair.
Curly, kinky hair worked in different wayspared to straight hair.
He showered up quickly, then he tossed on a robe made for being wet and sat on a square chair with no back. Naomi entered his stall and picked through the hair products they had until she found something satisfying enough.
The spa girls oohed and awed. It was a little weird having so much attention, especially of the female persuasion. But the girls soon became background noise as Zarian thought over the most telling factors about the Lovewar Acolytes.
They had the benefit of being considered ¡®the best¡¯ and could eat and live healthily in the mansion devoted to those under Lovewar¡¯s benefit. There were no men, not even a young one.
¡°Naomi,¡± Zarian called softly, only loud enough for her to hear.
¡°Yes, sir?¡±
¡°The vibes are weird.¡±
¡°I knew that from the get go.¡±
¡°Yeah?¡±
¡°The vibes were off the moment we met Rnd and his soldiers,¡± Naomi said. ¡°Getting here just confirms it for me.¡±
Zarian wasn¡¯t sure what Naomi knew that he didn¡¯t. ¡°Should I ask you or will I understand with more observation?¡±
¡°You¡¯ll get it soon if you keep your eyes and ears open. Or I can tell you now.¡±
Zarian decided to wait for further observations. He wanted to figure it out for himself, especially if Naomi had already figured it out.
The biggest clues so far was that Rnd and his young soldiers were linked with the cultish nature of Amabel and the young girls. It had to be the way the kingdom groomed their young.
The Lovewar Goddess wants to start a civil war for a reason. She might seem ¡ hyper and passionate ¡ but Lovewar doesn¡¯te across as a stupid, murdersome brute.
Maybe he would figure out the strangeness more once he had a better look around Central Bramblevale.
I¡¯ll keep my eyes and ears open.
With that, Zarian leaned back into Naomi¡¯s caring hands. She worked with his hair skillfully while under the curious gaze of the local girls.
His hair had grown longer the past two months. This was the first time he¡¯d let it grow instead of shaving it off.
The girls liked it, Naomi and Bianca especially. With their encouragement, Zarian let his hair stay long as Naomi styled it into something that fit his features.
Meanwhile, Bianca tried to convince him to wear bikini armor. He shut that down real quick.
Chapter 48: Safety Nudge
Chapter 48: Safety Nudge
Zarian hadn¡¯t noticed until now that he had readjusted his walking speed and other physical movements while in the mansion. When he paid more attention to the mansion¡¯s servants, he noticed how slow and uncoordinated they were. They weren¡¯t oafs, but theycked the grace of someone with plenty in Agility.
They also seemed very ¡®delicate¡¯ to him. They were like very tiny and vulnerable babies teenagers.
Maybe even worse than that. Like freshly born kittens. The girls¡¯ck in levels was messing with Zarian¡¯s perception of them.
Everyone in his party had seamlessly changed their movements just like him while around the weaker humans. He doubted they noticed unless it was Naomi.
Anything physical was the type of thing she would look out for.
He figured he might as well ask as they left behind the spa. The men were dressed in casual beige shirts and brown trousers with loafers. The women were dressed in billowy and loose beige dresses with sandals.
Loner stayed behind. He seemed to enjoy being in the cold bath.
¡°So you noticed it, too,¡± Naomi said, responding to his inquiry. ¡°Yeah, I felt it right away when we got into the mansion. It felt like a nudge to slow down and y soft.¡±
¡°A nudge from where?¡± Bianca asked.¡°I don¡¯t like this ce anymore,¡± Gilbert muttered, despondent.
¡°I think that¡¯s the System guiding us to be careful around people who are much lower level than us,¡± Zarian exined, skipping past Gilbert¡¯s moodiness. ¡°It¡¯s like a subtle safety check. We¡¯re not restricted or nerfed, I think, but we¡¯re dialed down for the setting.¡±
Naomi punched through the stone wall, surprising Bianca and Gilbert. She caved in a section that was asrge as a man¡¯s torso. Then she examined the knuckles of her hand and saw there was no damage to herself.
¡°Yeah, it¡¯s easy to wreck stuff here,¡± Naomi confirmed.
A young acolyte ran over after overhearing themotion. She looked startled at Naomi, took a second to rpose herself, then asked, ¡°Mdy, is there any terrible trouble with the wall? Has it offended you so?¡±
¡°Uh, no, I was just hitting first, thinkingst,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Jarhead.¡± Gilbert coughed into his fist.
Naomi shot him a quick re, shook her head, and looked a little apologetic toward the flustered servant. ¡°It won¡¯t happen again.¡±
¡°Well, if there¡¯s ever a portion of the wall that offends you, we shall fix it for you!¡± The acolyte lingered, making things awkward, before she hiked up the lower end of her robe and fled away, probably to tell someone about the wall.
¡°Note to self: I shouldn¡¯t punch walls or these girls will work themselves to death,¡± Naomi muttered.
¡°I don¡¯t think you need a note for that. It should be obvious,¡± Gilbert drawled.
¡°What if Lovewar gets mad?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°I doubt she¡¯ll mind. Maybe. I don¡¯t know. Just leave me alone. I had a dumb Marine moment, okay? It happens.¡± Naomi shrugged. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t mind the System¡¯s influence. Makes it easier than trying to control myself all the time.¡±
¡°Are you sure this influence isn¡¯t a problem?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°Nah, it isn¡¯t.¡± Zarian shook his head. ¡°As long as we can use our full power when we need it, I don¡¯t see why we don¡¯t let the System help. How annoying would it be if we¡¯re in the Level 100s and we have to control all our actions very, very carefully around people who are below Level 10? Without the System¡¯s assistance?¡±
Bianca and Gilbert seemed to struggle to imagine that.
Naomi frowned. ¡°Yeah, no, give me that assistance. I¡¯ll be so annoyed I might flick the first person to get smart with me into oblivion.¡±
¡°Or the next wall.¡± Zarian shook his head at his fellow Marine. ¡°I know I can be a lot to handle, but sometimes it¡¯s a miracle you can be handled.¡±
Naomi glowered at him, dialing up her High Intimidation trait. A different acolyte was dusting some vases down the hall when she squeaked in rm and fell to the floor, her body shivering in great fear.
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Naomi eased up on her trait before it could do much to Zarian. She sighed before walking over to help the fallen girl back to her feet and apologize.
Yeah ¡ they needed to be extra careful here.
They reached the dining area as servants carriedrge tters and trolleys of food back and forth through the doors leading to the kitchen area. The ce was less magical than Foodie¡¯s kitchen and dining set up under Castle Grimrock, but it was bigger, more spacious.
The room had a long dining table with fancy high-back chairs. There were servants standing at attention around the room, and they all looked happy to greet them.
¡°Good morning, Princess Bianca, Lord Zarian, Lady Naomi, and Lord Gilbert!¡±
Zarian wanted to smile and greet them back. Unfortunately, the dining area¡¯s brightness was a hindrance to his mood.
The windows were open with no stained ss to block out the air flow and views of the surrounding gardens and neatly cutwns. The natural autumn light of the Corma Star and Star Core beamed through without obstruction.
Zarian covered himself under his parasitic hood and cloak. He thickened the darkness under hisyers, making it imprable to light.
The servant girls stumbled back in shock, showing some concern, before ncing about in question. They were a different grouppared to the workers fromst night. They probably missed the detail about his sensitivities to light.
¡°He doesn¡¯t like the brightness of a sunny day.¡± Hannah was already at the dining table.
She had one hand holding up a half-eaten muffin. The other hand was holding up some documents. There was a mountain trove of files, journals, books, and more stacked next to her on the table.
¡°We can cover them for you, Lord Zarian!¡± a servant shouted frantically, slightly afraid.
¡°No, don¡¯t. It¡¯s a pleasant view, isn¡¯t it? Autumn days always did look nice.¡± His voice came out a little darker and more sinister while he was cloaked up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Let¡¯s just have breakfast. Thank you for your concern.¡±
The girls were still a little worried or frightened. But they did as they were instructed by Head Alcolyte Lora and got to work.
Zarian watched as one pulled a chair out for him and he thanked her as she seated him. The only one who didn¡¯t ept their help was Gilbert, who wasn¡¯t adjusting very well now that he knew they were very well-fed teenagers.
¡°I know which three skills you should go for,¡± Hannah said. ¡°And I know how you can get them while clearing out one of our objectives.¡±
¡°I thought we weren¡¯t going to talk about work untilter,¡± Biancained.
¡°Work is fun,¡± Zarian said in return. ¡°I see you¡¯ve alreadybed through some of their books.¡±
¡°Lovewar Acolytes keep impressive records. I¡¯m astonished by the quality and penmanship. I can¡¯t imagine teenage girls from our old world evermitting to this much work.¡±
¡°They aren¡¯t so distracted here,¡± Naomi said gruffly.
¡°Any records on the dungeon we¡¯re after,¡± Zarian said.
¡°No, not here. I¡¯ll need ess to their Bramblevale Library. It¡¯s right under the control of Lord Cassian and a noble family called the Hemlocks. So, it¡¯s too hostile for me to conduct research on that right now.¡± Hannah tipped her mug to her lips and took her time to enjoy the vor of her drink. ¡°Other than that, they have records of all the dungeons east of here and of major activities of note. They have records of people of interest, monsters, beasts, logistical supplies being carted back and forth, and more.¡±
¡°They sound like detectives,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°They¡¯re good at gathering information, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Hannah said. ¡°I was talking to Head Acolyte Lora about how much just a few pieces of information costs. And they say the costs can be high, which keeps their coffers filled. But now that we¡¯re in a particr situation under Lovewar¡¯s protection, all information housed under Lovewar has been cut off.¡±
Zarian and Naomi shared a look. They both knew how bad that could be for anyone who was reliant on Lovewar¡¯s ster info gathering.
Even Gilbert had a clue. ¡°Oh, yeah, we¡¯re stirring up trouble, alright.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t care! Breakfast and luxury first. Workter!¡± Bianca¡¯s eyes shed demandingly.
Zarian grabbed a muffin off a tter and threw it at Bianca¡¯s head. She took a knife and, with a simple wave of her hand, sliced the muffin in two pieces that flew past her face.
¡°You could¡¯ve at least caught it with your mouth,¡± Zarian said.
¡°I wanted to be cool.¡±
Zarian thought about taking the muffin pieces off the floor. The floor was clean enough to eat off.
It was sad to let that food go to waste. Thankfully, Para felt his mood and reached out with her tendrils.
¡°No,¡± Naomi barked.
Para froze.
¡°It¡¯s a waste,¡± Zarian said.
¡°I said ¡®no,¡¯ sir.¡± She waved her hand at the tters and abundance of food in front of them. ¡°Eat the fresh stuff.¡±
One girl cleaned up the dropped muffin pieces.
He wanted to frown. But his stomach grumbled loudly and triggered his beast-like urges.
Zarian feasted on the scrumptious breakfast.
There were trolleys of fresh meat ced behind him that were left uncooked. Para reached out with tentacles covered inmprey mouths and feasted on the uncooked meat, crunching up the bones with more manners than usual. She was trying to be conscious of the young girls.
The Lovewar Acolytes watched in horror.
¡°Yeah, I know. That¡¯s the leader of our party,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Perhaps that¡¯s why adventuring is illegal,¡± one girl said. ¡°How ¡ extremely unique and unsuited for us.¡±
¡°That¡¯s why we must stay inside the walls and grow into proper flowers,¡± another girl said.
¡°The best flowers will be picked,¡± said a third girl.
Zarian was too busy eating to pay those words much mind.
Once he finished up, he talked business with Hannah while skipping over the more sensitive information while in a public ce. By the time he left the dining area to study his grimoire, he had a better idea of what he was doing tonight and who wasing with him.
Chapter 49: Gear Up, Roll Out
Chapter 49: Gear Up, Roll Out
Hourster, Zarian was in his room, sitting at his heavy study desk. The dread gator grimoire was open in front of him.
It waste into the afternoon, getting close to dark. The room¡¯s illumination was dimmed down to an eptable level that was enjoyable for him.
Because of his Dark Affinity, he didn¡¯t need much light to see. He¡¯d been here for a while, rereading the same folktale for the second part of onerge multi-spellbo. He reread the folktale in its entirety after countless times.
He closed the grimoire and ran through the first folktale spell through his Fractured Mind. It started with the ghoulish quagmire where people would meet a terrible fate once they fall in and sink like dropping into quicksand.
He hurried onto the next folktale spell where those who remained alive on the quagmire¡¯s surface invited the hidden jaws of the quagmire¡¯s resident, a creature of dread and nightmarish intent. Once it sought to snap up its prey, there was barely any dy before the invisible jaws closed and demolished the caught victims.
The second spell required an even longer retelling of the next tale, and the easiest way to do that was to have his Fractured Mind go over different parts at the same time. Each part ended in a sequence thatpleted the story of the second spell chronologically.
Usually, Zarian would make a mistake toward the end because the folktale used more archaic and harder words. This time he pulled it off and felt a click inside of him, followed by the upload of new runes into his profile and a soft notifying ¡®ding.¡¯
¡°Yes! I got it!¡±
Zarian threw himself backward too hard with his parasitic body. The chair was heavy and well-built for weaker humans. Against him, it didn¡¯t stand a chance.The legs underneath splintered. The seat fell and tossed Zarian off.
With decent enough grace, he rolled out of the fall andnded cat-like on his feet. He ignored the broken chairying on the floor and brought up the new spell.
¡°Oh, yeah, that¡¯s going to be fun. Sucks that the preparation is killer.¡±
It was for this reason Zarian had forced himself to learn without Tranquil Mind and Adrenaline Jolt. He figured by learning some spells with Fractured Mind alone, it would be many times easier to use them in a fight once he fixed himself up with some Level 0 support.
Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have time to test the spell now. He needed to go out for tonight¡¯s operation.
¡°Maybe we¡¯ll get to use it out in the field,¡± Zarian said, speaking to no one in particr.
Loner wasn¡¯t in the room, nor was he outside the door. He was off patrolling the mansion.
Zarian could feel the goblin skeleton moving about the estate. Hopefully, he was rattling his bones as he walked to give the acolytes some fair warning.
Zarian imagined acolytes getting scared halfway to death otherwise. Those girls are so weak they would probably die from fright.
Para vibrated merrily against his back, catching his attention. She formed a tentacle before unraveling and twisting it to form five long fingers with bony ws.
She held out her weird hand toward Zarian.
Was this her attempt to give him a celebratory high five?
Zarian connected his hand with Para¡¯s hand. The Parasite Cloak vibrated with more eagerness, which led to himughing aloud.
¡°I know most people are horrified by you, Para, but you¡¯re truly the best cloak a man could have. You¡¯ve been helping me out for a while now.¡± He reached over his shoulder and patted the main part of Para¡¯s body that connected to him. ¡°If I haven¡¯t said this enough, sorry about that. I just want you to know I¡¯m thankful to have you.¡±
Para purred. She was thrilled to hear his thanks. She even went as far as making a more verbal sound.
Zarian listened closely.
Para kept vibrating around. Then she extended a stalk of flesh and formed a strangemprey mouth at the end. It made an eerie, grating, whaling sound that someone else might confuse as demonic.
But it was Para¡¯s first time making a verbal sound.
¡°Did you create vocal chords so you can talk?¡± Zarian asked.
Para wailed again, which sounded like a yes.
¡°Atta girl, you¡¯re really growing up. Keep at it, okay? It¡¯s time for me to suit up and kick ass.¡±
Para moved her mouth-tentacle up and down before fusing it back to the rest of the fleshy, leathery cloak.
Zarian absorbed the grimoire back into his soul. The phantom presence of the lurking predator faded away, taking away the scent of the cursed mire.
He left his room and headed for Hannah¡¯s.
There were multiple objectives. Some were personal for Zarian and critical for the party.
The first objective was to acquire three skills that should elevate everyone physically. That might lead to crossing off another objective on their list.
Zarian imagined by the time they were done with Central Bramblevale they would all be in the Level 40s or higher. They would get their First ss Advancement here before going out into the wilds again.
Thinking of that excited him. It also put him under a time crunch.
Would they get more out of their advancements if they figure out Aura Ignition before then? If Zarian couldn¡¯t do that, then could he at least learn the gravity spell before advancing?
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He wanted his profile as strong as possible before he advanced.
Learning the gravity spell will require Tranquil Mind and Adrenaline Jolt turned on.
Zarian knew he would have a better chance of learning if his party holed up in the Lovewar Mansion for a while. They couldn¡¯t, unfortunately.
The supplies wouldn¡¯tst long enough.
¡°You look excited,¡± Gilbert said. He was waiting outside of Hannah¡¯s door, arms folded over his big chest.
¡°Buddy cop adventure, buddy cop adventure, buddy cop adventure.¡± Zarian shot a cheeky grin Gilbert¡¯s way.
The police officer frowned. ¡°This ain¡¯t got nothing to do with being a cop. We¡¯re just looking to steal skills for our benefit.¡±
¡°Is it really stealing if we¡¯re taking from the bandits holed up in Central Bramblevale?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°Or would they be considered local crime lords? Funny, isn¡¯t it? Are those guys more okay than me because they¡¯re neutral? Or is it because they pay people gold to look the other way? Would that gold be considered useful for the greater good, making it okay?¡±
Gilbert didn¡¯t answer.
Hannah opened the door to her room and poked her head out. ¡°Hold those thoughts. I¡¯m done with the prototypes. I hope you appreciate how hard it is toy more long-term enchantments. Multiple of them, in fact.¡±
¡°Did studying Bianca¡¯s dress help?¡± Zarian walked into Hannah¡¯s room after she waved them inside.
The ce was a mess. There was a pile of spare clothing, medium armor, and even te armor in the middle of the floor.
Hannah had a giant mountain range of documents piled up near her study desk and across the wall. The air was filled with static from active runic magic at work.
¡°Bianca¡¯s dress is still a mystery to me. It¡¯s no help at the moment, which is frustrating because I can¡¯t seem to do what I want.¡± Hanah huffed. ¡°It¡¯s like I can see the logical conclusion, but the magic work to get it down is still beyond me. Maybe I need more Mysticism. Or maybe I need more Wonder for inspiration. Or I need to advance once I reach Level 40. Either way, you¡¯re getting subpar work instead of what I envisioned to give you.¡±
Hannah waved toward her workbench, which was next to her study desk. She had different devices that helped with enchanting stacked on the shelves. Roller was in the corner, humming away, ready to dispense extra aura to anybody who touched the golem.
Half the items on Hannah¡¯s workbench came from magic gear Zarian and Gilbert owned. The other half weremon gear Hannah had enchanted. Zarian used Identify and saw how far Hannah had pushed her enchanting.
¡°You should be easier on yourself. You did great,¡± heplimented.
Hannah shrugged. ¡°The next versions will be better.¡±
Zarian and Gilbert dressed down before putting on the enchanted gear.
Hannah looked away before saying, ¡°It¡¯s going to be dangerous out there. Don¡¯t get hurt, you two. We have most of the city against us.¡±
¡°The Big G got us,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°Well, maybe me. I don¡¯t know about the chief.¡±
Zarian smirked as he slid into his upgraded Surface Walker Boots. He shimmied into a pair of trousers and into a long-sleeve shirt with a hole in the back for the Parasite Cloak. Then he and Gilbert helped each other with the back straps to their metal breasttes, the only hard piece of protection on them.
Gilbert slid a silky bracer onto his left arm, followed by an amulet on his neck. Then he grabbed a thick wooden rod with metal ridges embedded at the end, a war club.
It looked like the perfect weapon for a former cop, now healer of war.
Zarian used his Basic Aura Maniption to feel out the runes in each of their gear while feeding his outfit aura. Yeah, this was Hannah¡¯s best work yet.
The gear wasyered with advanced enchantments for Reinforcement, Amplify Force, Quiet, Blend, and a new one called Recharge ¨C this one increased aura recovery just like how Roller could.
¡°Get back before sunrise. The enchantments will stop working by then unless you overload them with too much stress too often.¡± Hannah passed a document to Para.
The Parasite Cloak stored it in her dimensional storage. The document would contain the location and some notes for tonight¡¯s operation.
¡°We¡¯ll be home early, no worries. Thanks, Hannah, you¡¯re awesome,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Sure, yes, now go. I¡¯ll expect a detailed retelling of how it all went once you¡¯re back.¡±
Zarian and Gilbert left Hannah¡¯s room. They caught Naomi and Bianca waiting for them in the lobby area.
Loner was there, too.
Zarian turned off the necromancy spell for the first time in a while and collected Loner¡¯s pile of bones into the cloak¡¯s storage. Tonight, if things worked out well enough, Loner might see some action.
¡°Rnd wants to see you,¡± Naomi informed.
¡°Is he keeping his soldiers in line?¡± Zarian asked.
Because of some weird social norms, the soldiers couldn¡¯t enter the mansion where there were women, especially those of high status like the acolytes. The acolytes had to work shifts to haul supplies out in front of the back door where the soldiers could pick them up.
¡°He better or I¡¯ll keep them in line,¡± Naomi grunted.
¡°And if that doesn¡¯t work, I will!¡± Bianca said, eyes shing.
¡°I think they¡¯ll give an arm and leg for any feminine attention at this point,¡± Gilbert drawled.
¡°Why does he want to see me?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°He seems like a man who¡¯s going through a crisis of faith. He¡¯s a firm believer in how the kingdom does things even though he has sufficient evidence that suggests the kingdom doesn¡¯t care for him anymore,¡± Naomi exined.
Zarian created a few more spectral spiders and sent them out to watch key areas the soldiers might ess.
The acolytes were practically baby kittens to him now and were doing their best to providefort and valuable information to him and his party, despite all the trouble. Zarian wanted to ensure their safety no matter what.
¡°Monitor him, please. And the rest of his soldiers especially. The girls here are defenseless. We don¡¯t need any of those young men to go crazy and snap.¡±
Gilbert paled, all color gone from his face.
It took Zarian a second for his Fraction Mind to realize his mistake.
Back in Castle Grimrock, Jack had snapped Gilbert¡¯s neck. That would¡¯ve been the end for Gilbert if it wasn¡¯t for his Extra Life trait.
Zarian tried to apologize, but Gilbert was already turning away. He stormed out the front doors.
¡°Bianca, set up a sh for us!¡± Zarian ordered, rushing out behind Gilbert. ¡°Operation Skill Steal is a go.¡±
Outside was a shimmering barrier that surrounded the mansion¡¯s entire perimeter. Beyond that was an army of soldiers shooting at the barrier with spells and arcane siege weapons.
They weren¡¯t as active nowpared tost night. But they remained consistent in trying to bring the barrier Lovewar had set down around the mansion.
Gods could deliver two boons for every distinct event or campaign. Their boons go out to the people they most favor in suchrge-scale situations.
Lovewar had used up her boons for Zarian, getting his party into the city with no resistance and setting a long-term barrier around the mansion. Only Zarian¡¯s party members, the acolytes, and allies could move through the barrier freely.
The power of the goddess was clear. Nobody could break through. But Zarian¡¯s party was still under a time crunch.
Their food supply wouldn¡¯tst long. And any meddlesome god could get involved with boons delivered upon their own chosen followers.
Any time now, someone with a god boon could try to break down the barrier.
There didn¡¯t seem to be anybody in Central Bramblevale who had a boon to spare right now. But that could change if Lord Cassian called for outside help.
Leaving the mansion behind, Zarian let his evil alignment unfurl. His cunning and conniving nature enhanced his Fractured Mind. Investing aura into Tranquil Mind and Adrenaline Jolt made him feel calm and quick-witted at the same time.
He caught up with Gilbert before Bianca unleashed a huge sh. She went as far as bending the light around Zarian and Gilbert. They remained unaffected.
The soldiers barricading the way screamed in pain from having their eyes seared by the powerful light. Bianca hadn¡¯t held back much.
Zarian and Gilbert walked through the dibobted army line. Nobody could stop them. The soldiers were crying and falling all over each other, horribly blinded.
The wizard and the healer entered the central city of stone walls and great towers. It was just starting to rain, too.
Tonight was going to be an interesting one.
Chapter 50: Healer
Chapter 50: Healer
The rainfall was heavy. But the flooding was light. Unlike Miami, Central Bramblevale figured out how to funnel water off their stone streets using a proper storm drain system.
Zarian could hear the roar of flowing water through the storm drain openings he and Gilbert passed as they made their way to their destination. He also heard shouts from rushing soldiers running about in search of the ¡®viins¡¯ who had invaded their city.
They were having a hard time noticing Zarian and Gilbert because of the enchanted gear camouging their presence. Yeah, Hannah had done a good job, even if she believed she was limited.
At the very least, Zarian¡¯s Dark Affinity helped cover them even further. They were unnoticeable to the soldiers on the lookout.
Eventually, the ck wizard and the war healer left behind the soldiers. They entered a new district of Central Bramblevale. It was livelier here, filled with stone towers festooned with banners and gs thrusting into the rainy sky. Magic lights lit up the main streets.
It looked magical and beyond what Zarian knew of a simple medieval town. There wererge stores and restaurants constructedpletely out of stone. There was even a park with an intricate garden maze and an enormous fountain in the middle. It would¡¯ve been a nice ce to walk through and enjoy.
But Zarian and Gilbert were wanted men. And there were a bunch of miserable beggars everywhere.
Zarian stopped to look at them all, feeling a rise of difort. It hadn¡¯t been too long since he was like them, poor and hungry and wet.
¡°My bad for walking out like that,¡± Gilbert apologized.They were standing in the mouth of an alley, engulfed byyers of dark shadows Zarian was manipting. Before them was a lit up public street. Scores of people passed them even while under the rain.
Zarian barely heard the apology as he looked over the beggars. A lot of them were older women or young men with obvious disabilities, missing arms, legs, and many injuries they¡¯d earned frombat.
Zarian kept looking and finding the same issue. The women were middle-aged, while the disabled men were mostly in their twenties.
The people passing by them, ignoring the beggars, were well-dressed and preppy men, some young, many old. The men had an air of affluence around them, but they weren¡¯t the majority of the crowd. The gangs of young women following the affluent men were the majority.
Gilbert rubbed his hand behind his neck. ¡°If I ever see that bastard Jack again ¡ I swear I¡¯ll ¡¡± Gilbert trailed off as he noticed something was wrong with Zarian. ¡°Chief?¡±
¡°I get it now. It¡¯s not just a kingdom of harems.¡± Zarian turned to Gilbert and looked up, his face still shrouded under his hood. ¡°It¡¯s a kingdom of bastards.¡±
Gilbert looked around. Zarian waited for the man to realize what was wrong by examining the present situation.
¡°Why are all these young guys left injured?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°They¡¯ve served as soldiers and didn¡¯t die from their injuries. Instead of getting them the help of a proper healer, the kingdom left them to fend for themselves.¡± Zarian¡¯s voice became a dark growl. ¡°They throw away their veterans after sending off a bunch of young men to fight and die for them. Or to be sacrificed as tributes.¡±
¡°With the young men gone, and the women left within the walls, it¡¯s one hell of a way to make a mess of your own poption,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°What for?¡±
¡°For control? Whatever else for? That¡¯s why adventuring is ouwed. The women can¡¯t do anything about that until they get a ss and some skills at Level 10. And the men are indoctrinated early, so their ss and skills are shaped for the purposes of the kingdom.¡±
¡°Was it always like this?¡±
¡°This used to be a kingdom of elves. They aren¡¯t here. I don¡¯t know why. Maybe the elves and orcs wiped each other out. But what¡¯s left over is this.¡± Zarian shook his head. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s get the operation done with. We¡¯re not here to be heroes.¡±
Gilbert had something he wanted to say, but Zarian turned away quickly, his cloak sweeping around behind him. He stuck to the alleyways and away from the main streets, only getting small glimpses of the wider and more public areas whenever he crossed a junction.
Gilbert followed silently behind him, but the journey wasn¡¯t without locals getting in the way.
There were more sick, disabled, and miserable people in the alleys they¡¯d crossed through. Zarian tensed, trying not to think about how he had once been the same. He looked up at the rainy sky and considered taking the aerial route.
¡°Hold up, chief,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°Just hold up.¡±
Zarian stopped, his evil alignment whispering to him. The thoughts that came to mind were heinous.
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Jaw clenched, Zarian crushed his evil alignment, squeezing tight until itplied. He watched Gilbert crouch in front of a child with legs bent at odd angles.
¡°Do you have food, milord?¡± asked the young boy.
¡°Not on me right now.¡± Gilbert held his free hand down. ¡°But I can do this much for you.¡±
Zarian felt the Healing Force skill activate. It was a curious ability to watch ¨C most of it came out as magic until it transitioned into something else that Zarian couldn¡¯t quite grasp.
Gilbert had exined the other end of Healing Force was the health-based portion of vitality, something Gilbert could sense better than Zarian.
The boy was Level 1. He had little vitality. Gilbert used a very light touch of his Healing Force and fixed the boy¡¯s legs almost instantly. The power of Healing Force went so far as fixing many of the boy¡¯s ailments, making him whole and healthy.
¡°There. It might take a while to teach yourself to walk or run. But the practice will be worth it,¡± Gilbert exined, standing up.
The boy stared down at his perfect legs, unable to say a word. The nearest beggars looked with wide eyes as well.
Before they kicked up amotion, Gilbert waved his hand around and pushed out some more of his Healing Force. The highest level was a discarded soldier at Level 12. He was missing an arm and a leg.
Gilbert took longer to regrow those parts. Other than that, everyone else was below Level 10.
Gilbert healed away their sicknesses, their aches, their pains, their disfigurements. He replenished their vitality as much as their weaker bodies could take.
He couldn¡¯t take away their age. That had more to do with their limited life energy. But he invigorated them and buffed the health protection that vitality provided, even if their low levels handled a small amount.
Zarian couldn¡¯t see it. But he could tell based on how energetic the beggars looked after Gilbert finished his healing work.
It was frankly astonishing.
It¡¯s so easy to take these powers for granted. How many people from the old world would beg for a healing power like Gilbert¡¯s? How many lives could be saved? Gilbert¡¯s literally a walking superhero even if his ss was a healer of war.
Granted, having a war healer like Gilbert on your side was nearly as big as a divine boon. Zarian imagined any military unit would¡¯ve desperately held onto him to the point of keeping him locked up.
Before the beggars acted out too abruptly, Zarian used a pulse of his evil alignment to scare them and keep back. They fell silent and cowered. Once they calmed down, Zarian pulled back his alignment and sighed aloud.
As precious as this moment was, Zarian had to be the bad guy a little.
He started off by saying, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have.¡±
¡°Chief,e on. I can¡¯t just look away.¡±
¡°I know. I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t.¡±
Zarian used his Spectral Spider Network to plot a route that had the least amount of beggars. He didn¡¯t pick routes that had no beggars, because he didn¡¯t want to take away Gilbert¡¯s right to help. Notpletely.
Zarian just wanted to mitigate any chances of their enemies using the beggars against them. The evil alignment gave him tips on how to do evil and how to defend against the cunning actions of others as well.
It was like ying a long and nefarious game of chess. He didn¡¯t know who his major opponents were most of the time, but Zarian was ying the game for sure.
They continued by foot. Gilbert healed people on the go. Zarian monitored the healer¡¯s aura and figured Gilbert would have enough to contribute to the operation. The Recharge enchantment Hannah had packed into their gear was paying off considerably.
¡°I used to be like them,¡± Zarian said as they drew closer to their destination.
They entered a new district that was worse off than thest. There were fewer beggars and more seedy types.
Gilbert hardened up like a cop would, his grip tensing around his war club.
¡°So I¡¯m d you helped even if it wasn¡¯t the right time to do so,¡± Zarian said. ¡°It was also good to see how powerful your skill is for those weaker than us.¡±
¡°If I¡¯m in the Level 100s, you think I can just wave my hand and heal a thousand people like that?¡± Gilbert asked.
Zarian smirked under the darkness of his hood. ¡°You¡¯ll have to get to the Level 100s first. But once you do, maybe you¡¯ll be strong enough to heal an entire city of people in one go. You can do a lot of honest good once you have the power to back it.¡±
Just like that, something inside of Gilbert lit up.
It wasn¡¯t anything magical. Zarian noticed the change by the way the big man straightened. His blue eyes looked forward with a steely gaze.
Gilbert looked like a man on a mission.
Like any person, Gilbert needed a reason to move mountains and build bastions. The reason didn¡¯t need to beplex.
Zarian recognized Gilbert wanted to help people. Despite what happened at the mall and the inter-party conflict under Castle Grimrock, Gilbert had be a cop to protect and serve.
Fighting and killing and growing didn¡¯t move him as much as being able to do good by people who were in need.
Seeing the change in Gilbert¡¯s attitude excited Zarian. Even if it meant they would be a charity here and there, doling out free healings, what mattered more was igniting some genuine passion in a pivotal member of the party.
Some people might not care for charities. Those were people who were short-sighted and didn¡¯t realize how much favor and influence a helping hand could receive as they provided.
Especially when passionate people were involved.
Zarian and Gilbert reached their destination.
¡°I thought this ce was supposed to be good,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Most people are neutral,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Calling the kingdom good is old fashion marketing.¡±
¡°Sounds like propaganda to me,¡± Gilbert muttered, gritting his teeth.
Because of the Lovewar Acolyte¡¯s extensive research and information recording, Zarian not only knew where to find the three skills he wanted, he could also cross off an objective. It was even better when the System recognized what was about to happen.
Chapter 51: Bandit Greeting
Chapter 51: Bandit Greeting
While Zarian and Gilbert stalked forward from the shadows, banditsughed and cajoled. They tossed around poor and defenseless beggars as if they were mere toys.
For the bandits, the beggars were light and easy to handle, all low in level.
As for the beggars, the bandits were rough and abusive monsters, leaving the beggars covered in bruises with each throw.
The bandits would go as far as overthrowing the beggars or moving aside on purpose just to watch their victims fall on the wet, uneven ground where there were multiple hazards. It was obvious to see the area was worse offpared to the more popted districts.
Potholes and craters covered the ground. Nearby walls had crumbled into piles of rubble. The nearest stone structures were as big as warehouses or factories, and must¡¯ve served as such a while ago, before the bandits took over the ruins of what remained.
There were well over a hundred of the bandits. Maybe more spread out in the nooks and crannies Zarian hadn¡¯t found with his Spectral Spider Network.
He linked up to only a handful of spiders at a time, switching between a set every so often, pushing his Fractured Mind to the limit, while also paying attention to what was in front of him.
There was no doubt in Zarian¡¯s mind that he was evil aligned. He was the controlled type of evil, polite, and concerned, and maybe chaotic for his enemies. But still of evil alignment.
The bandits, however, were in scum.Pirs of soft darkness rose into the air. Zarian caught each of the beggars before they hit the ground ornded in the bandits¡¯ rough hands again.
Three of them were older women. One was a young boy with a sickly, frail body. With a flex of Zarian¡¯s will, the pirs bent forward and back before tossing the people toward him and Gilbert.
Para¡¯s tentacles caught all the victims gently and set them down. Gilbert released a wave of Healing Force, fixing them all up. The young boy became healthy.
¡°Run,¡± Zarian growled.
The beggars fled.
¡°And who the heck are you supposed to be? Don¡¯t you know who you¡¯re messing with? We¡¯re so strong the Bramblevale Lord wouldn¡¯t mess with us!¡± shouted one bandit, raising a long sword.
A dozen bandits swaggered forward. Some were young. Some were old. They were all male and confident.
Zarian noticed the thirteenth bandit slinking off behind a dpidated wall. Because of the heavy rain, the other bandits in the area wouldn¡¯t hear the stirringmotion, not yet at least.
The thirteenth started running to raise the rm ¨C he was the weakest, only Level 16.
Six invisible spectral spiders used their arcane webbing to catch him and wrap him up quickly. They webbed his mouth before he could say a thing, leaving him thrashing in a crater flooded with water.
Before he could wriggle free, the spectral spiders covered the flooded crater with their arcane webbing, sealing his fate while out of sight of everyone else.
Gilbert looked dead straight into the talker¡¯s face. There were a few magic lights shining around. Other than that, everyone was shrouded in deep shadows.
Gilbert probably looked like a bear of a man while most of the local humans were Zarian¡¯s height or shorter. Gilbert was a big man with a big stick among little people with big egos.
¡°I was an officer of thew,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°Now I¡¯m just a man who follows the will of my God. And that God says don¡¯t spare the rod.¡±
¡°Which one is that? Ain¡¯t none of them gonna do anything for us bastards in the rain!¡± shouted the bandit with the long sword. ¡°You think the power of good can stop us from killing you?¡±
Zarian used Identify on the bandit and the others. None of them sensed it.
¡
How unfortunate. All of them were former soldiers. They had particr skills that came from the Foot Soldier Grunt ss, a neutral alignment one.
They were defectors before they became bandits. Zarian needed actual bandits ¨C they had the skills he wanted.
¡°I don¡¯t need any of them. Do what you must,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I¡¯ll pick out the ones I want from the chaos.¡±
¡°Fuck this. Kill them!¡± Wymond, the talkative soldier-turned-bandit, waved his sword forward.
Another bandit used his Hasten skill and rushed ahead of the others. He thrust a knife into Gilbert¡¯s stomach before the war healer could react.
The de touched the shirt below the breastte and bounced off with an immense counter force.
Hannah¡¯sbination of Reinforcement and Amplify Force covered the gear with mini reflective shielding. As long as they had enough aura or that the enchantments weren¡¯t overly stressed, they could walk through most blows that weren¡¯t heavily supernatural.
The man with the Hasten skill lost his footing, shocked by Gilbert¡¯s invulnerability. That was all the war healer needed before cracking aside the bandit¡¯s head with the war club.
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In one hit, Gilbert burst it apart like a bat smashing a melon.
¡°You fuckers have no idea how much pent up shit I got stored up from years of policing bullshit and seeing criminals get away Scott free. You have no idea!¡± Gilbert rushed forward, juicing himself up with Adrenaline Jolt, his skin reddening with surging blood, his body bulging with extra power, physicality, and tension.
Another man struck him on the shoulder with a mace, the blow deflecting away. Some of the force transferred over and sent Gilbert into a slight stumble. Gilbert grinned fiercely as his amulet activated.
A toxic haze unfurled from the amulet and engulfed the nearest men around him. They coughed, convulsed, and cried out as the poison did its grim work.
That gave Gilbert time to set his feet and swing again. He smashed another man¡¯s head aside, knocking him down.
Not a one-hit kill. Some men probably had decent enough vitality to withstand critical blows from mundane strikes.
That wouldn¡¯t stop Gilbert from going club happy. He set his feet again and swung once more for the fences.
He struck a critical hit on a third man¡¯s head and sent skull bits and brain chunks flying. Now Gilbert had momentum. He wasmitted.
He saw all the bandits as baseball bats, leaving Gilbert as the batter.
Zarian didn¡¯t intervene until he saw Wymond try to slink away. That wouldn¡¯t do.
With a p of his cloak, a pile of bones ttered to the floor. From those bones, Loner reassembled himself and rose to his full height.
He wasn¡¯t a tall creature ¨C a few inches shy of five feet, to be exact ¨C but his presence sent the fear of evil into the nearest enemies.
¡°That one talked a lot, Loner,¡± Zarian said, pointing out Wymond. ¡°Show him how to shut up.¡±
Loner red at the talkative bandit with eyeless sockets and a rictus grin.
Wymond tried to sprint away and escape down an alleyway. Bars of darkness rose in front of him, and he bounced off hard. He turned and went for the nearest hole in the wall.
A blunt pole of darkness struck out and shoved Wymond back into the open area. Hended in a flooded crater, scrambled out onto his feet, and found Loner standing in front of him.
A skeletal fist clocked Wymond in the jaw and sent him crashing down. Loner, despite being Level 27, benefited directly from Hannah¡¯s enchantments, especially Reinforcement + Amplify Force.
The goblin skeleton jumped onto Wymond and beat his head in. Each strike drummed Wymond¡¯s skull against the stone ground until the bandit¡¯s vitality couldn¡¯t hold up anymore.
The rain water washed away the blood off Loner¡¯s skeletal knuckles. The goblin skeleton looked over at Gilbert, who was still engaged in some thick fighting.
The poison haze affecting the bandits was getting watered down by the rain. That was okay for Gilbert, who stormed through them like a man with a vendetta.
The sound of his war club striking skull and flesh echoed off the walls.
¡°Don¡¯t forget to use your Tranquilizer Touch,¡± Zarian reminded him.
¡°Will do, chief!¡±
With some loud ps to a few bandit¡¯s faces, Gilbert dropped the men he struck with Tranquilizer Touch. It worked best against those who were already weakened or softened up.
Then Gilbert refastened both hands on his war club and swung around to cave in the skull of another bandit. Once the corpse fell, the first fight with the bandits ended.
Gilbert huffed and swallowed air, his arms shaky, his eyes wide. He was still pumped up from Adrenaline Jolt, keeping him jumpy, twitchy, ready. He searched for enemies and found none, at least not nearby.
Then he looked hard at the ones still alive, the unconscious bandits.
¡°I don¡¯t think ¡ I can kill an unconscious man.¡± Gilbert left it at that.
¡°Good job. You did well. Now you just have to prepare for the next fight. We have another group heading our way.¡± Zarian steered hispanion¡¯s attention gently.
This was delicate work. Gilbert had just massacred a bunch of men on his own, the most killing of human lives he¡¯d ever seen andmitted. Cop or not, this was a shocking development for any man.
Zarian directed him with a soft but firm voice of authority. ¡°Loner, Gilbert, head forward. I think this group will have someone with the skill I want.¡±
Gilbert looked wide-eyed at Zarian for a split second before he nodded and headed into the ruined warehouse. Loner followed him.
It was even darker there than outside. Fewer magic lights shone through the openings in the walls as rain water poured through.
Zarian remained outside for now, deciding over the fates of the knocked out and still-breathing bandits.
Obviously, his evil alignment wanted him to do what his mind interpreted as the ¡®pragmatic¡¯ thing. Personally, as long as they were down and out of the way, they stopped mattering.
However, Zarian had glimpsed at some of the horrible things they were doing to make money outside of smuggling and threatening people. They weren¡¯t just interrupting the bandits¡¯ operation. They were also saving lives.
Zarian slid his hood off to reveal his face. He summoned the dread gator grimoire. The scaly book with gator teeth running down the spine phased out of his body and hovered over his shoulder. A massive, swampy, invisible presence lurked behind him, always out of view.
¡°I don¡¯t think Gilbert needs more motivation,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Nothing personal, but you need to go.¡±
He snapped his fingers. Dark spikes thrust up to end thest remaining bandits.
Zarian walked through a doorway with doors hanging off the hinges. He heard the grunts and shouts of fighting up ahead.
He watched Loner roll out of the way of a powerful hammer strike. He saw Gilbert fly off his feet after taking a mean hit to the chest that was too strong for even Hannah¡¯s enchantments to defend against.
Gilbertnded hard with a ssh to the left of Zarian. He was still alive even with a dented breastte. He would heal soon.
Zarian zeroed in on one of his targets.
There you are.
Interestingly, the bandit was under neutral alignment.
Was that because the bandit ss was always neutral? Or did they have options? Was it because it was an umon ss at best?
Lame. They could get away with a lot because they¡¯re neutral.
Granted, they didn¡¯t get the benefits of either alignments.
Good had power ups. Evil had cunning and genius.
The bandits staying neutral let them operate easier inside the walls. But they were mere stepping stonespared to Zarian.
Maybe they need a higher ss of bandit to get evil alignment. Zarian figured they needed a crime boss ss or something simr. Still, the alignments were looking less like actual moralpasses and more like different forces of opposing views and backgrounds with magical effects.
¡°You think you can mess with the Bramblevale Bandits when even the lord kisses our ass!¡± Havard roared. ¡°You¡¯ve messed up!¡±
Havard swung around a ball and chain over his head. It whirred heavily through the air, promising to deliver a bone crushing, wall smashing blow.
Zarian walked forward, casting Quagmire Pit. Within a second, the stone ground behind Havard turned into a swampy quicksand that slurped down the two dozen men backing him.
They cussed and shouted in surprise, many of them iling around to make a futile escape. A few on the edges grabbed onto solid ground and pulled themselves up.
The rest suffered the second part of the multi-spellbo: Dread Mire Bite.
Invisible jaws with teeth the size of men snapped up from the quagmire pit faster than anyone could react. Magic swamp water, quagmire mud, limbs, torso, and gore flew everywhere in a wide stter.
Havard let his ball and chain il to the side, stumbling forward, unable to stop himself from looking back. Most of the men he¡¯d brought with him rained down in a deluge of viscera.
Just as quickly as the dreadful bite appeared, it disappeared. Leaving a bloody mess.
The soft ¡®ding¡¯ of a notification in Zarian¡¯s head tempted him to look at the results. He was pleased by what he saw.
Chapter 52: Blood and Guts
Chapter 52: Blood and Guts
¡°What the hell?! What the hell was that?!¡± shouted Havard, horrified by the sudden deaths and sttered remains of his men. Some were crying out, still alive, having only been caught on the edges of the massive bite.
It would¡¯ve been a mercy for them to have died instantly to the bite.
Unfortunately, Zarian couldn¡¯t repeat the second part of the multi-spell folktalebo again. It all had to stream from beginning to end or he had to reset.
The quagmire disappeared, returning the floor to stone.
Zarian didn¡¯t bother using the spell again. He walked briskly forward while the bandits were still reeling from the sudden mass deaths.
¡°Gilbert, Loner, keep the others off me,¡± Zarian said over his shoulder.
¡°It was you, wasn¡¯t it? You bastard! Do us all a favor and die!¡± Havard swung the heavy metal ball around on his chain. He hurled the ball hard, aiming to crush Zarian¡¯s head.
A pir of darkness rose next to Zarian and deflected the heavy ball away. Two spikes thrusting from the floor crossed over each other, trapping the ball and chain as it tangled up with the dark conjurings.
Havard let go of his weapon. He lunged at Zarian and reached out with both hands like the mighty paws of a predator.Another pair of dark spikes rose and pierced both of his arms. The man cried out as he was held up in a crucified position. No amount of struggle could help him escape.
¡°Zarian, isn¡¯t that pushing it?¡± Gilbert asked, shaken.
¡°They¡¯re human traffickers and the worst type of men,¡± Zarian said, grabbing Havard by the throat.
¡°Say no more.¡± Gilbert joined Loner to mop up the surviving bandits.
¡°You won¡¯t get away with this! Our boss is Level 50!¡± Havard spat.
¡°Good, the rest of you are too weak to entertain me,¡± Zarian said, thrusting his aura into Havard¡¯s aura, wrecking havoc along the way of finding his best alpha skill.
Havard tried to fight, but he couldn¡¯t break free of Zarian¡¯s dark spikes. The more he struggled, the easier it was for Zarian to trace over the runes to his best alpha skill and copy it into his profile.
It took a couple of tries since this was a skill of higher than normal quality. But the effort was worth it once Zarian seeded.
¡°That¡¯s one.¡± Zarian grinned as he activated the new Level 0 spell. He felt a partial boost to his Strength, but that wasn¡¯t enough for him.
He shoved aura into the skill to ovee the handicap. He felt his muscles bulge with new power, stacking on top of his parasite-fused body and Adrenaline Jolt.
He felt like he could flip a car over with no effort. Now it was time to test his new Strength on a living subject. He released Havard from the double spike crucifixion, letting the man drop in front of him.
With a grunt, Havard lifted to his slightly taller height and forced his bloody hands to ball into big knobby fists. His Willful Might empowered him despite the holes in his forearms.
He threw an angry, defiant punch at Zarian¡¯s face. He was a touch too slow, however. His Agility was less than Zarian¡¯s Agility, and Havard didn¡¯t have a parasitic body, either.
Havard whiffed the punch by an inch, and Zarian countered with a punch to the man¡¯s chest. Zarian¡¯s knucklesnded with a loud thump.
The Bandit Bruiser crashed backward. A rib or two might¡¯ve broken from the hit, but it wasn¡¯t good enough to keep Havard down.
He had decent vitality for a bandit. He¡¯d earned his levels the hard way. Thankfully, Zarian had a solution for that problem.
Zarian pointed his palm forward. He doused Havard with ck Fire, wiping away his vitality.
They traded blows again. Havard moved even slower this time, drained of extra vitality while struggling to breathe. He missed big time on thistest punch.
Zarian¡¯s fist plowed through Havard¡¯s skull and sent chunks flying everywhere. The moment his body fell over headless, the ck and gray mes winked away.
Gilbert and Loner were standing off to the side, having finished with their fights. Zarian nced between them and then back down at his blood fist, which had punched a man¡¯s head apart.
¡°Two more to go,¡± Zarian said, walking forward.
¡°Don¡¯t you want skills that make Mysticism better?¡± Gilbert fell behind Zarian. Loner trailed in the back.
¡°Those don¡¯t exist as far as I know. Instead of making Mysticism better, they¡¯re just mystical skills with unique effects. Even then, those are still rare. The most impressive thing I¡¯ve seen here was the guy who can turn invisible.¡±
¡°Why not grab that?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to spread too thin. Not for me or for you guys. If you all can learn to stack abilities like me, then these physical skills will push you head and shoulders above thepetition.¡±
Gilbert grimaced as they turned a corner in the demolished warehouse. ¡°Still Level 0 skills.¡±
¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m going for some with decent quality.¡± Zarian gave him a cheeky grin. ¡°You can also try to learn Basic Aura Maniption like me. Fair warning, though. I had to break my brain first before the System gave it to me.¡±
Gilbert shuddered a little. Their conversation ended when another group of bandits rushed at them from all sides. They¡¯d set up an ambush prior, surrounding Zarian, Gilbert, and Loner with fifty men.
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Hundreds of dark spikes thrust upward from the ground, crisscrossing in a circle around Zarian and hispanions. The dark spike barriers held against a few magic bolts, arrows, rocks the size of a man¡¯s head, and other projectiles. The bandits assaulted the dark spikes with an uncontrolled fury, breaking the thinnest ones and no more.
Zarian scanned the fifty men as the bandits stormed at them from all sides. He found one waiting in the back. He was the next target.
¡°We¡¯re going to rip out your guts and feed them to the dogs, you cunts!¡± shouted Maximus.
¡°That¡¯s rude. We just want to give you quick deaths. With maybe a little pain along the way.¡± Zarian cast the Quagmire Pit once again.
He made it bigger, wider, as far as it could go with him and hispanions at the center. He caught the rushing bandits before they could escape, and they all tumbled into the muddy, quicksand-like mire.
The bandits struggled and fought to free themselves from the mire. Only a few had the skill, physicality, or luck to find a way out.
Gilbert and Loner remained unaffected, standing on the surface.
Once Zarian dropped the wall of crisscrossing spikes, Loner ran over to the nearest thrashing bandit and kicked his head multiple times until his cranium broke. Gilbert walked across the surface carefully until he found his confidence.
¡°I was always fantastic at Whack-A-Mole!¡± Gilbert shouted, raising and swinging his war club, leaning into the mania instead of shying from it.
He sttered heads with almost every hit. He put all of his size and Strength into the hits to obliterate each bandit he came across in one, two, or three strikes if they were truly tough enough to withstand Gilbert beyond the first strike.
Gilbert was going to grow from this. Of course, Zarian received solid experience because of the quagmire helping.
¡°Move it. This spell has a hefty cost at this size,¡± Zarian said over his shoulder, walking down Maximus.
The speedster moved with everything he had to get closer to the edge of the quagmire. The spell kept slurping him down as he used his Wondrous Speed skill.
When Maximus nearly reached the edge, a dozen spectral spiders appeared, spraying him with arcane webbing that glowed a very subtle and hard-to-see blue in the dark.
The spiders were too weak to fight the man directly, and that was okay. Their webbing gummed up his movements and slowed him down drastically.
Now Maximus had to fight the magic webbing and the quagmire if he wanted to escape. It looked like he didn¡¯t have the Strength for all of that.
Zarian walked up and reached down for Maximus¡¯s head. He snatched him by the skull, applying serious pressure with his new Willful Might skill.
Maximus screamed as Zarian stopped short of crushing the man¡¯s skull. This one had little in the vitality department, apparently.
¡°Give me your skill.¡± Zarian prated his aura into Maximus¡¯s aura.
The more the speedster fought, the easier it became for Zarian to trace the alpha skill and copy it into his profile. Sometimes Maximus went limp, fuzzing out his skill. Zarian shook the man hard to snap him back into action until Zarian seeded.
¡°You wouldn¡¯t think bandits would have interesting skills like these.¡± Zarian chuckled whilebining Willful Might and Wondrous speed together with his other abilities.
He felt even faster than ever before. And maybe a touch luckier.
With little effort, he yanked the screaming Maximus out of the quagmire and threw him backward. The Bandit Robbert hit the middle of the pit with a heavy ssh, sinking fast.
By then, Gilbert and Loner had stepped onto dry ground. They engaged in some fights against the men who¡¯ve escaped the pit.
Zarian walked off the pit.
A split secondter, the Dread Mire Bite activated. Invisible, lightning-fast jaws erupted from the quagmire, the jaws matching its size and chomping on everyone who remained in the pit, alive or dead.
Geysers of blood, tons of gore, and crushed body parts rained in another deluge nearly as thick as the heavy rain pouring through the gaps in the ceiling. The carnage was sorge it painted the walls and the ceilings with a fresh coat of crimson and giblets. There were plenty of intestines for any stray dogs to eatter.
The surviving bandits screamed in horror at the brutal sight. Para quivered in excitement and reached out with a dozen tentacles and tendrils. She snatched up the raining limbs and heads before feasting without restraint.
Since she wasn¡¯t doing much other than watching Zarian¡¯s back, he let her eat and bulk up. When she bulked up, a small amount of that buff transferred through the parasitic threads fused with Zarian.
Zarian grew a little stronger and faster. He felt strangely merry. This was his first time killing humans on purpose, and he was unbothered.
Maybe that was the Marine in him. He couldn¡¯t me everything on his evil alignment. Or maybe he should.
Either way, he was bing a huge fan of the dread gator folktale spells. It took some set up and slow enemies, but the results were fantastic, leaving some big impressions.
What was a wizard without having an impression?
¡°It¡¯s raining blood and guts! Oh, it¡¯s raining blood and guts!¡± Zarian sang, kicking aside a dismembered limb. ¡°I don¡¯t know the lyrics to the rest of this song, but I assure you it¡¯s raining blood and guts, oh!¡±
¡°What the fuck is your problem?!¡± screamed a bandit on the ground, missing both legs and one arm. He was one of the unfortunate victims of the Dread Mire Bite who didn¡¯t die instantly.
Zarian blinked down at the injured bandit. ¡°No problem, really. I¡¯m just enjoying myself.¡±
The bandit cussed at him. Para used her tendrils, tentacles,mprey mouths, bone hooks, and even a serrated hacksaw on the rude bandit.
While she had her fun, Zarian looked over his notifications.
Zarian snapped his head aside with surprising speed as a magic bolt passed by his face. He pointed his finger and shot a bandit between the eyes with a dark bullet.
¡°I got a new achievement!¡± Zarian called out. ¡°It¡¯s called Junior Manughterer!¡±
Gilbert finished beating a man to death before turning to address the announcement. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that just fitting! What¡¯s next, genocidal maniac? Or how about murder-crazed psycho-bro?¡±
¡°You okay, Gilbert?¡±
¡°I¡¯m flipping great, chief! Absolutely great! There¡¯s nothing damaged or damned about me!¡±
¡°Cool! Keep up the good work.¡± Zarian turned back to the achievement. Before he opened it, something new caught his attention. It was something he¡¯d been waiting for.
¡°There it is!¡± Zarian shouted. ¡°Hell yeah!¡±
He felt very proud without realizing what Loner¡¯s new abilities could do. Then he felt a strange stifling in the link between Loner and him.
Following his magical instinct, Zarian ended the spell Raise Advancing Skeletons.
Loner remained upright. He was Self-Sufficient, living up to his new trait.
Zarian also felt he could purposefully turn off Loner if necessary, dropping him into a pile of bones. He didn¡¯t, of course. Not while Loner was busy killing bandits.
But other than that, Zarian didn¡¯t need to keep the necromancy spell running anymore. At least for Loner.
¡°Yes!¡± Zarian roared. Now he could really have some fun.
Chapter 53: Demon Arisen
Chapter 53: Demon Arisen
Zarian¡¯s mind was lit with possibilities. What spells should hebine now that he had two spell slots he could run at the same time? Or would those be considered concentration slots?
The answer came to him from the darkest and most depraved part of his Fractured Mind. It was half evil, and half him being creative.
¡°It¡¯s dark as heck in here, but I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s a big evil smile on your face, chief,¡± Gilbert pointed out. ¡°What¡¯s going on in that noggin¡¯ of yours?¡±
The surviving bandits of the ambush were dead. Gilbert had leveled up twice now, hitting Level 31. Zarian hadn¡¯t leveled up yet, but he figured he was close to hitting Level 36.
Zarian didn¡¯t answer andughed like a maniac.
Para joined in on the fun, unraveling into threads, tendrils, and tentacles of leathery flesh and slivers of bone. She wavered and snapped out like a long, ragged, eldritch g behind her host¡¯s back.
She made him look extra dramatic as he guffawed.
¡°Woo!¡± Zarian pumped his fists, feeling the added might and speed of his new Level 0 skills.
He zipped over from one side of hispanions, then to the other side.Gilbert turned about in confusion to keep track of him. ¡°Calm down, chief! You¡¯re acting looney again! This ain¡¯t appropriate with all of these dead men.¡±
Zarian slid to a stop in a puddle of water and blood. He looked about at the messy section of the factory and shrugged. He didn¡¯t care for them. He didn¡¯t even bother turning them into advancing skeletons.
Then again, they could work as distractions as long as they get destroyed. He wanted his two spell concentrations for something fun.
He looked over at Loner. The goblin skeleton was studying himself. He had changed little except for when he activated his new skill. Then all the runes Hannah hadid on his body glowed with pale white and bluish colors.
Zarian turned toward thetest challenge. An army of one hundred bandits was sweeping in from the next buildings over. His Spectral Spider Network was keeping tabs on therge mob about to swarm their position.
Before he coulde up with a more serious strategy to offset the numbers, a new idea bloomed in Zarian¡¯s fractured mind. Wouldn¡¯t Loner¡¯s new skill, Enhance Runes, work perfectly for just about any rune?
Could it enhance the runes of certain spells? Could it enhance the runes the System used for skills and recorded abilities?
Zarian doubted it. The System wouldn¡¯t let something so broken fall so easily into his hands.
Still, he wanted it. He shouldn¡¯t load up so many skills into his limited beta section, but he couldn¡¯t stop himself from trying to copy the skill.
¡°Dammit, System!¡± Zarian raised a fist and shook it toward the ceiling. That was the first time in a while he¡¯d felt annoyed toward the System.
¡°Chief?¡± Gilbert called with a serious tone. ¡°Come down to the ground with the rest of us simple men. What¡¯s the next move? I¡¯m pushing Tranquil Mind and my Willpower as far as I can take it.¡±
Zarian could see that Gilbert was stressed. Maybe the gruesome bandit deaths were chipping away too much from his consciousness.
Well, they had one more skill to nab before the operation was over. Then this side quest would be done.
¡°We¡¯re up against one hundred men.¡± Zarian walked away from the advancing wall of armed bandits. ¡°And they have some serious skills. All real bandits this time, I think.¡±
From what he could tell through the Spectral Spider Network, these bandits were the most armed and magical he¡¯d seen yet. Some lit themselves on fire. Others had magic electricity sparking between their hands. A few controlled the nearest piles of stone and conjured bridges overrge potholes and craters. Some rode on twisting rivers of water.
It was almost tempting to fill up his beta section with different elemental magic. But that would defeat the purpose of the operation.
He needed skills that synergized with the body and offered a backup n when all else failed. He wanted to improve the chances of someone like Hannah surviving the most dangerous encounters if her runic abilities failed her.
I¡¯m here to make sure Hannah could punch skulls and survive a hundred foot fall.
And if Zarian could punch giants and survive the strikes of titans when magic somehow failed him, all the better. Besides, he didn¡¯t like the idea of diluting his ss as a ck Wizard Apprentice with basic elementary junk.
¡°It¡¯s too much for you to fight upfront,¡± Zarian said seriously.
Gilbert flicked his arm to the side. The silky bracer on his arm expanded into a big, boxy shield.
¡°They have fire and lightning,¡± Zarian said.
Gilbert paused as they walked over some rubble. ¡°Can you get rid of those guys?¡±
¡°Sure. Let me lead them around with bread crumbs.¡± Zarian waved his hand and used Raise Advancing Skeletons.
Thirty skeletons rose out of their fleshy shells. They ripped off their faces and scalped themselves free of their hair. They reached between their oozing rib cages and pulled out their useless organs.
The skeletons shook off the weakness of their flesh. They became loyal creatures of ivory bone, slick with blood and rain water.
They all turned out Level 24.
Loner red up at them. Then he hopped onto a pile of rubble so he could stand taller than the human skeletons.
Gilbert shook his head at the mess the skeletons made dumping their human flesh. Zarian hoped the war healer could endure the bloody mayhem and stress a little longer.
¡°All of you human skeletons, go out with a fight. Hit. Scare. Make a bunch of rattling noise. Lead them down this path toward the factory over there. It¡¯s okay if you get destroyed.¡±
The skeletons gave all thumbs up. Then they turned and ran toward the bandit army, rattling the whole way.
A few minutester, Zarian heard bandits shouting in rm and fear through the heavy rain. The skeletons had reached them.
Zarian imagined under the low illumination of faint magic lights, the skeletons and their rattling bodies must¡¯ve sounded horrifying. Zarian hoped the skeletons jumped out of the shadows for the ssic haunted house scare.
Thanks to his Spectral Spider Network, he watched a couple of pstick moments that were worth reying on a highlight reel. One skeleton scared a group of bandits so badly they threw a fireball that was too close and blew themselves up.
Now that was a ssic magical blunder if Zarian had ever seen one.
While the human skeletons threw a wrench into the bandits¡¯ march, Zarian set up with hispanions in a new section of the impoverished district. They found a factory filled with rusted runic devices that wouldn¡¯t work anymore.
It looked like they used magic to run conveyor belts, which were highly industrial for a medieval-like kingdom. More importantly, it had multiple floors and crumbling supports.
Ten minutester, a man burst through the old factory with a skull gripped in his hand. He squeezed his grip and crushed the skull, destroying thest of the raised skeletons.
Zarian watched while draped in deep darkness in the middle of the factor.
He used Identify on the man.
¡°I felt that, you little gnat!¡± The skull-crushing man bellowed.
He walked in with nearly fifty men following him inside. The other fifty surrounded the factory from all sides.
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¡°Who are you? What makes you think you can mess with the Bramblevale Bandits without facing consequences? The lord of this entire township wouldn¡¯t even dare. Do you have any idea of who we¡¯re connected with?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Zarian¡¯s voice reverberated from every dark corner, surrounding the bandits. ¡°Are you the leader here? And do you have the skill Mystic Toughness?¡±
The one Zarian couldn¡¯t Identify bent back and guffawed. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious? Are you one of those old bounty hunting adventurers who can¡¯t let me go? You¡¯ve tracked me down because you heard of my unbeatable skill? Well, it¡¯s true, I have Mystic Toughness, and you¡¯ll soon realize why nobody can beat Dax the Unbeatable!¡±
Dax looked around at his men. ¡°Torch this ce!¡±
The bandits with fire and electricity skills lit themselves up. They emitted gouts of fire or strings of electrical bolts in multiple directions. They hit the walls or the equipment themselves.
Sparks flew everywhere. mes built up. The shadows danced. Zarian let the finicky and weak light reveal him standing in the middle.
Dax roared, pointing ahead. ¡°Get him!¡±
The more physical bandits howled and rushed forward. Some used speed boosting skills. Others lunged across the factory in one powerful bound. Zarian scanned them, using Identify, and saw that most of them were in the mid 30s or early 40s in level.
¡°RAH! Come get some!¡± Zarian roared, reaching out with one hand.
Darkness coiled up his body and down his extended arm faster than the eye could blink. A man rushing at him with a knife ran neck first into the tip of Zarian¡¯s seven-foot nodachi.
The thin, super dense de of darkness felt lighter and easier to use than ever for Zarian. It only took him a simple flick to eviscerate most of the bandit¡¯s neck, the head hanging by a string of flesh as blood fountained out from the gory wound.
Meanwhile, another speedster tried to jump at Zarian from behind.
Para snapped out a bone tendril and plunged it deep into the bandit¡¯s chest, catching him off guard while he was overlymitted. Before the man could even scream, Para turned the tendril into a tube.
She slurped the man¡¯s innards into herself. She drank him empty like a thirsty child slurping from a juice pouch.
She tossed aside the ragged husk of a corpse. A dozen tendrils and tentacles covered inmprey mouths, bone spines, hooks, hacksaws, and more snaked and wavered in the air behind Zarian, covering his back.
That gave the bandits pause.
Then Zarian gave them more to think about when he lit himself and Para on fire with ck and gray mes. Then he pushed it further with an inner red glow shining through their united flesh.
Together, Zarian and Para looked like a demon arisen from the most violent depths of hell.
¡°What the fuck are you?!¡± shouted a frightened bandit.
¡°A ck wizard!¡± Zarian shot forward, bing a blur of movement while swinging his nodachi wide.
He aimed for the slowest bandits. The sharpened edge of his dense, dark de swept around horizontal and at waist height.
He sliced through a dozen men, bisecting them all in one go.
The upper half of their bodies flipped through the air. ck Fire stripped them of vitality. Bloody Lifesteal drained their life energy straight into Zarian.
He felt as high as a kite. Life energy was a drug. Combining that with his Fractured Mind, Adrenaline Jolt, Willful Might, Wondrous Speed and many other abilities, especially the Overpower trait, was more extraordinary than the fight itself.
The fight was inly gruesome and shockingly one-sided. Anyone who was too strong for him to hit directly, he outpaced them and hacked them in two.
Anyone who was too fast for him to catch directly, he let Para set up snares and tripwires to bring them down. Sometimes, Para let the ones she caught live after ripping out their tendons. She used their screams to hurt the bandits¡¯ Willpower, a ssic move in psychological warfare.
The bandits lost their nerve. They hesitated. Zarian and Para had an easier time bringing them down that way, eliminating their numeral advantage, letting Zarian focus on fighting.
He brought down the dense de. He split men from shoulder to hip so smoothly it was like slicing through warm loaves of bread. He swerved around their attacks while Para entangled and shredded the fast ones, sometimes using their own bandits as screaming meat shields. Together, they cut down and tore apart bandit after bandit,ying upon them the fury of their dark and gruesome powers.
Zarian was close to breaking thempletely.
¡°All of you, get in here! Rush him now!¡± Dax roared.
The remaining bandits crashed into the factory. They abandoned the thought of keeping him penned. They used ranged tactics and more coordination against him.
Zarian ducked under a fireball. The projectile exploded behind him, washing him in warm light. He noticed a bandit aiming his palm at him and slid out of the way, moving just in time to avoid a bolt of electricity.
His feet touched a puddle of water, his first mistake. Someone turned the water into a trip hazard and sent Zarian tumbling around fast. He wasn¡¯t used to moving this fast and with so much power.
Zarian gritted his teeth as he lost control for a second. Para pped around her tendrils and tentacles, snatching some of the old runic assembly machines to bring Zarian to a stop.
For a second, Zarian was vulnerable while regaining hisposure. Another bandit appeared in that window of opportunity, swinging around a huge log of wood with all of his skill-enhanced Strength.
Para was too stretched out to offer proper defense, so Zarian manipted the darkness close to his body, thickening it, reinforcing it, making it as hard as he could with the limited time he had. Para raised some pieces of flesh as quickly as she could to help dampen the blow. The enchantments on Zarian¡¯s gear turned on for max effect.
None of it could stop the oing hit fromnding like an avnche.
The enchantments blew out, overstressed. Zarian felt his shoulder explode into fragments. His ribs crunched inward, ripping up his organs and turning his innards into pudding. His neck whipped to one side and then the other, the spine nearly dislocating. He felt his brain thrash around hard inside of his skull from the huge collision to his body.
The tendrils holding onto nearby machinery ripped away with metal chunks as Zarian flew off. He sailed around like a battered rag doll. He hit a wall, burst it apart, and kept skipping across the flooded floor until he rolled through a garage size doorway and slid to a stop.
¡°I fucking got him, boss! I got that stupid ck wizard!¡± shouted the man with the smashed log.
¡°You¡¯re getting a raise for that, Tiny!¡± Dax shouted back.
Numerous men ran over to look at the damage Tiny had wrought to Zarian. Their pounding feet slowed until they came to a stop. Dax was at the front with Tiny, the one who struck down Zarian.
In front of them was nothing but flood water and rubble. There was no sign of the bodynding there. Not even a droplet of blood. Zarian was gone from sight, but he was not gone from this world.
Zarian¡¯s voice resonated from everywhere inside of the old factory. It sounded like a wheezy, wet cough. Then the wheezy coughing becameughter that was half drowning in blood.
¡°Come out and face us!¡± Dax roared.
Instead of that, spears of quiet and highly dense darkness shot through the factory. They flew past the bandits with so much force, their passing tossed men off their feet.
Each spear struck a part of the factory with boulder-shattering hits, but none of the bandits themselves suffered such a fate. When the volley of attacks ended, everyone could hear an unmistakable groaning, followed by the copse of the surrounding walls and the floors above them.
Zarian was already outside by the time the multistory factory copsed on Dax and his bandits. Some bandits made it out in time. Most didn¡¯t.
Zarian smiled ghoulishly while thest of his life drained away nonstop. He didn¡¯t have enough vitality to heal. Tiny had crushed that with his log swing. The only thing keeping him alive was surplus life energy from Bloody Lifesteal.
He sat on a throne made from Para, counting down the seconds.
Gilbert showed up from his hiding spot the next building over, rushing like a man on a mission. He sent his Healing Force ahead of him and engulfed Zarian¡¯s busted body with the skill.
Immediately, Zarian felt more secure with living. His vitality was revived and kicked into rapid recovery mode while under Gilbert¡¯s care.
Zarian¡¯s neck healed. His rib cage popped and snapped back into ce, making a crackling noise. His punctured organs patched themselves up. His shoulder returned to its former shape.
Everything that was broken became whole. Yet, the Healing Force didn¡¯t stop there. The bullet that had stayed lodged in his back shoulder shot out of him, the wound sealing up.
All of Zarian¡¯s scars disappeared.
Before the bullet fell lost somewhere, Para caught it with a thread.
She dropped the bullet in Zarian¡¯s raised palm. He looked down at it in wonder before passing it back to Para for her to keep in her pocket dimension.
¡°God almighty, Zarian, you nearly died!¡± Gilbert shouted, huffing, pale in the face. He turned around and looked wide-eyed at the destruction. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just st them apart with your Straight Darkness from the start?¡±
¡°It wouldn¡¯t have been challenging enough.¡± Zarian turned and spat aside some loose blood. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have earned solid vitality with my new levels.¡±
¡°Still, there¡¯s a difference between a challenge and asking for a death wish. You¡¯re a wizard, remember? I¡¯m smart enough to know they aren¡¯t made to be that tough!¡±
¡°For now, I¡¯m not.¡± Zarian smiled fiercely, letting go of the near death experience.
It wasn¡¯t the first time. It wouldn¡¯t be thest. He stood up from his parasitic throne.
Just in time, too. There were still plenty of survivors.
They were hurt and beat down severely. But they still had some fight in them.
Zarian scanned the surviving bandits quickly and noticed only one bandit with a detrimental skill that could hurt Gilbert. He decided not to shoot that one with a dark bullet.
Gilbert should learn to handle some unfavorable adversity. He also had Loner¡¯s help as backup.
The Self-Sufficient skeleton walked over to Zarian and reached up to tap him on the head with his knuckles. It wasn¡¯t a hard hit, but Zarian feigned as if he was hurt anyway.
¡°What¡¯s that for?¡± Zarian asked, rubbing at his head.
Loner shook his skull at the wizard and faced the remaining enemies. Gilbert heaved a heavy sigh, resting his war club on his shoulder. The rain kept pounding down on them.
¡°I¡¯m going to rip out your heart and give it up to my boss,¡± said Dax. He stood at the front, huffing and puffing with rage. He was a big guy, too. Nearly as tall as Gilbert, while much wider, like a true hog of a man, especially now that he was shirtless, revealing a canvass of scars over his muscled flesh.
¡°The name is Zarian Darkrun,¡± said the ck Wizard Apprentice. ¡°If any of you live after today, tell your boss I live by a code. It¡¯s quite simple. ¡®Fuck around and find out.¡¯¡±
¡°Let me find out then, gaaaaaaaaah!¡± Dax stomped his foot forward and roared.
His muscles tensed. His body bulged with new vigor. The energy in the air snapped, crackled, popped, and moved with a frenzy.
Before Zarian grasped what was happening fully, the atmosphere felt stifled, pinched, and drained before Dax released a burst of energy. A wave of force sent Zarian reeling as he felt the bonfire of power surrounding Dax.
Zarian knew that power.
He dreamed and obsessed over that power.
Aura Ignition.
Chapter 54: Dax the Unbeatable
Chapter 54: Dax the Unbeatable
Zarian struck first with a powerful dark javelin. Dax lunged out of the way with inches to spare, his aura crackling and sparking around him while it was aze.
The javelinnded with enough force to toss aside tons of rubble and throw some of the surviving bandits into the air. The eruptive force didn¡¯t bother Dax much at all.
¡°Deal with the peons. Dax is mine!¡± Zarian sprinted at an angle to the side. He left Gilbert and Loner on their own against over thirty bandits.
¡°Any man who runs, I¡¯ll track down personally!¡± Dax shouted at his underlings. Then he sprinted off to the side, mirroring Zarian¡¯s angle.
Before they collided, Zarian yelled, ¡°How does Aura Ignition work? I can barely grasp it!¡±
Dax said nothing.
He lunged into the air and cocked both of his hands back. Then he swung them forward for a powerful, air-bursting thunder p.
A condensed sound wave rolled over the rubble, the puddles of water, and nearest walls. The wave sted them in Zarian¡¯s direction. Some of the debris flew at deadly speeds.
This time, Zarian didn¡¯t leave himself open to powerful attacks. He formed two pirs.One for him to kick off and stop his momentum. The other to defend against the magic thunder p.
Thetter grew strong and dense quickly. Zarian made the big dense pir as tough as he could in an instant.
To Dax¡¯s chagrin, the pir ousted their surroundings. The thunder wave sted off the pir¡¯s face but couldn¡¯t ovee itpletely. Everything else around Zarian was swept away with the wave.
Zarian didn¡¯t stay hiding behind his cover for long, juking back before Dax crashed straight through the pir. The rampaging bandit went ape shit from there. He lunged and lunged, wing and grasping, barreling forward like a beast, trying all he could to catch and smash Zarian into the wet ground.
Dax¡¯s aura continued to spark and crackle around him, infusing him with an enormous power that intensified the atmosphere, pressuring Zarian. Even Dax¡¯s mad roars came packed with such force they shook up Zarian¡¯s head and deafened him some.
Dax didn¡¯t care about anything in his way. He didn¡¯t care about the pirs, spikes, and staves Zarian conjured and threw at the angry man. Dax smashed through them all like an unstoppable train.
It was all glorious.
Zarian wanted to see more. He wanted to know the difference between Dax at his base power and Dax under Aura Ignition.
Did it affect the stats? Did it affect everything? What were the consequences of using it?
Because of Fractured Mind and his other abilities, Zarian could pile up as many questions as he wanted in his head while concentrating on the fight. He used Wondrous Speed and Para¡¯s help to stay out of harm¡¯s way for as long as he could manage it.
The Parasite Cloakshed out with tentacles to yank him out of danger or send him into a rapid swerve out of direct danger. Dax fell inches away from snatching Zarian by a limb or the breastte multiple times, sometimes getting as close as a hairbreadth.
¡°Stopughing!¡± Dax roared in his face.
Zarian hadn¡¯t known he wasughing. That ruined his focus a little. Dax drew even closer than before. The bandit¡¯s fingers flicked across Zarian¡¯s breastte with some force.
That was just enough for Zarian to trip up. Para missed her next tentacle grab.
Dax smiled as he lunged at Zarian¡¯s vulnerable form, the wizard skipping backward off the flooded floor like a skipping stone. Dax lost his smile when Zarian revealed his surprise.
The wizard hit the bandit with ¨C not one, not two, but three ¨C dark beams he¡¯d charged up and held in wait this whole time.
Dax roared and roared, but he couldn¡¯t do a damn thing as the wizard smashed him into the foundations of the warehouse they¡¯d crashed into. Then the triple dark beam attackbined into one big and dense beam that dug a furrow across the floor and broke into the storm drains below.
Zarian lost his smile. ¡°Wait, no, I don¡¯t want to lose him just yet.¡±
He dove underground.
All the light was gone now except for what little could shine through the hole above. Zarian saw perfectly in the dark. Thus, he felt disappointed when he found Dax struggling to get back to his feet.
The man didn¡¯t look good. He was all beat up now. His Aura Ignition was gone.
Did he run out of juice already? Howe? Was this the consequence of Aura Ignition? Deep exhaustion?
What else was there?
Also, now that Zarian thought about it, the quality of Dax¡¯s Aura Ignition didn¡¯t seem as potent as the one Foodie showed him. Foodie¡¯s version of Aura Ignition was better even while she had a lower level than Dax.
¡°How did you learn it?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°Who taught it to you?¡±
Dax chuckled wetly. He spat blood to the side. ¡°I¡¯m not telling you.¡±
Zarian hit the man in the chest with a blunted dark bolt.
Dax stumbled backward, grunting. If it was any other man, they would¡¯ve had their chest caved in. Dax¡¯s Mystic Toughness skill was as solid as Zarian hoped.
It was hard to focus on that when there was something even juicer dangling in front of him.
¡°Tell me,¡± Zarian ordered.
¡°No,¡± Dax spat.
Blunted dark bolts rained down on Dax. They came from the front, the sides, the back. The ones Zarian formed close to him packed a bigger punch.
Dax stumbled in all directions, rocked by a consistent barrage of attacks. The ones from the front staggered him backwards the most.
Zarian stopped the attacks just when Dax crashed down to his knees. Rain water sluiced past them with a powerful tug. They were both soaked to the bone.
¡°You¡¯re a real tough guy,¡± Zarian said.
¡°And you¡¯re an asshole,¡± Dax replied.
¡°That¡¯s riching from you.¡±
¡°Let me guess. You don¡¯t approve of how we make business here. But guess what? That¡¯s just how it is. Good? Evil? It¡¯s all a sham! Two sides of the same coin! And that coin purchases the flesh,bor, and suffering of all men! So what if I benefit?! If it ain¡¯t me, it¡¯s gonna be somebody else!¡±
Dax leered up at Zarian. ¡°It¡¯ll be you next, won¡¯t it? I don¡¯t have to be good or evil to tell you¡¯re deep in the ck with the evil side. You get those crazy thoughts in your head, right? Whispering to you on how to do things for the best results. I could¡¯ve been like you, but I stayed neutral. I didn¡¯t want to be evil¡¯s fuck toy.¡±
The neutral alignment couldn¡¯t directly feel good or evil unless it was overt. Zarian had kept his evil alignment mostly covert.
But now that Dax had pointed it out, Zarian let the evil alignment unfurl from out of him.
Stolen from its rightful ce, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The bandit leader shook. His eyes widened as the evil alignment suffocated the storm drain passage they were in. The darkness became viler, colder, more malicious.
The glint of light behind Zarian faded out. All that remained was the roaring water and the creeping monster of darkness and evil that had Dax kneeling.
¡°Go on. Do your worst,¡± Dax taunted, trembling fists clenched.
Zarian cast a small Quagmire Pit under one of Dax¡¯s legs. Right after that, he called up the Dread Mire Bite.
Since the quagmire was small, the snapping jaws didn¡¯t do as much damage. But they were still ferocious enough to tear into Dax¡¯s leg and have the man howling in pain.
With Dax distracted, Zarian slipped his aura into Dax¡¯s aura. He worked faster than ever before. With more care, too. He didn¡¯t want to give Dax any warning that he was messing around inside of his aura.
Someone who had Aura Ignition would be in tune with their aura. What if Dax had a way to block out Zarian¡¯s maniption?
Since the bandit leader was focused on his bitten leg, he wouldn¡¯t notice anything amiss if Zarian made any mistakes. That was a good thing, because this skill was moreplex than thest ones. It was a much higher quality of a skill, which would produce a more powerful Level 0 copy.
Zarian worked as fast and efficiently as he could. He still made mistakes. He still had to repeat the process. But he kept going until he finally got thest part to seal Operation Skill Steal.
Zarian looped a string of aura into the Level 0 skill. He froze as a wave of Mysticism epassed his flesh. He felt sturdier, much sturdier.
The parasitic threads inside of him quivered with thrill. Para waved the cloak behind him, rejoicing in his change. She could feel every bit, after all.
It wasn¡¯t Aura Ignition. But it was almost the next best thing.
Willful Strength. Wondrous Speed. Mystic Toughness.
With these three copied skills, Zarian felt like the most bullshit wizard anyone could ever face. Once he copied them over to the others, his party could perform above and beyond, even against the most grave of future challenges.
There were more notifications waiting for Zarian. Gilbert and Loner were doing well to mop up the remaining bandits.
Zarian was d he¡¯d dropped an entire building on them first, making them softer for hispanions to steamroll over. Gilbert should grow decently from this.
¡°I think I¡¯m done here,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I¡¯ll learn Aura Ignition without you. You¡¯ve shown me a lot that I¡¯ll need to contemteter.¡±
¡°Alright, kill me then.¡± Dax lifted his chin.
¡°Thanks for the good fight. That was fun.¡± Zarian reformed his dense sword of darkness.
He lit the de with ck Fire and Bloody Lifesteal. A red glow pulsated from around the sword, infused with ck and gray mes.
Zarian prepared to swing.
Dax exploded forward with a single-leg lunge. His hand reached for Zarian¡¯s neck.
Bars of darkness mmed down between them, stopping Dax short. His fingers wed inches away from touching Zarian, the bandit leader roaring the whole time.
¡°My boss will kill you!¡± Dax roared.
¡°Not unless I kill him first.¡±
The bars squeezed in on Dax, trapping his arm and neck. He tried to pull away as Zarian moved to the side and held up the nodachi.
Then, with one smooth and powerful cut using his enhanced physicality and the mysticism of darkness, Zarian executed the bandit leader.
When Zarian returned to the surface, he found Gilbert and Loner sitting among the ruins of another smashed and sted apart building. There were dead bandits strewn all around them. Gilbert looked beat up. He was out of aura.
His gear had lost all of its enchantments after being overstressed. The breastte was gone, and the rest of his clothing was reduced to mere scraps. His war club was gone, tossed aside after getting snapped into splinters.
Zarian looked around with his own eyes and the eyes of his Spectral Spider Network. He nodded in satisfaction.
The Bramblevale Bandits weren¡¯t wholly destroyed. However, their main headquarters was here in Central Bramblevale. They were wrecked as power yers.
That would probably send ripples throughout the Bramblevale township region and affect the bottom line of the mysterious bosses. They would know Zarian had done it. They would know of the ck wizard called Darkrun.
Good.
¡°I got all three.¡± He smiled.
¡°I¡¯m Level 33 now.¡± Gilbert shook his head. ¡°Damn. I didn¡¯t know I could fight like that. I have to give Naomi credit, her Tranquil Mind skill really helped take a bit of the edge off.¡±
¡°Even as a Level 0 skill?¡±
¡°It ain¡¯t much. But I made the most out of it. Sometimes that little bit can help, y¡¯know? It made me mindful of the Willpower stat, at least.¡±
¡°Good, because thetest Level 0 skills are split between all the stats. You¡¯ll like them. They¡¯ll make you even tankier and stronger. Faster, too. Naomi¡¯s going to be a beast with these. So will Bianca.¡±
¡°Hannah?¡±
¡°I think she¡¯ll be able to punch a man¡¯s skull apart easier.¡±
Gilbert roared withughter. ¡°Is that the bar now? Punch a man¡¯s skull like busting a pinata?¡±
Zarian gave him a cheeky grin, letting the glow of a nearby magic light shine on his face. Some of his evil alignment oozed out.
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the bar. Even Hannah should be able to get her hands dirty if she wants.¡±
Gilbert lost his smile. He shook his head. ¡°Chief, your evilness is showing.¡±
¡°Oh,e on! Let me enjoy this!¡±
¡°Chief! Pull back on the evil. God almighty.¡±
¡°Boo. No fun.¡± Zarian frowned, before grinning again. ¡°I¡¯ll get Hannah to enchant us some fishing rods¨C¡±
¡°Lord, I¡¯m sorry, but this one cannot be saved. I suppose it¡¯s a testament of my patience to witness his evil with my own eyes and ears, unable to do a damn thing about it. I¡¯ll pray over it ¡ as we¡¯re fishing and boozing.¡±
Zarian shook his head at the man of faith. It was so easy to twist them around. It was damn fortunate he had a decent handle on the evil alignment.
If it could stay at evil +2, then he could incorporate it better for the long run. Then again, the gods had shown they could be meddlesome.
A new notification popped up overhead:
Zarian nodded as he received another notification.
Gilbert was now Level 34.
Loner was Level 31 now.
¡°Skills?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°All advanced to +1, chief.¡± Gilbert smiled.
¡°Good man.¡±
¡°How about you?¡±
Zarian held up two fingers. ¡°I¡¯m this much away from the first ss advancement. However, I will not choose it until all of you catch up. So ¡ don¡¯t keep me waiting for long.¡±
¡°Roger that!¡±
He could also use the opportunity to raise his skills and get the gravity spell. That might lead to more rewards with his advancement.
¡°Let¡¯s get going. We¡¯re out of time.¡± Zarian willed for parasite tentacles to wrap around Gilbert and Loner.
¡°Uh, can we walk?¡±
¡°I¡¯m watching the soldiers close in around us through the Spectral Spider Network. And I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯ve burned through enough aura where I¡¯d like to sit down and recover.¡±
¡°Go on and take the wheel!¡±
Zarian shot into the air with hispanions. Gilbert tried not to scream. Loner remained silent the whole way. Zarian spiraled through the air with them, barely able to control himself without proper aerodynamics.
It was still a lot of fun as he zipped by stone towers and over rooftops with parapets. He soared over streets that were active with people of affluence and above alleyways where the destitute huddled together for warmth
He sent a message ahead using a spectral spider he left in the mansion. Bianca created a distraction by casting a bright searing sh in the opposite direction of where Zarian, Gilbert, and Loner flew.
The soldiers responded hard in the direction of the distraction. Before anyone noticed, two Floridians and a skeleton slipped back into the barrier.
Zarian copied all three new skills over to the rest of his party members. He watched them move about like true superhumans. Some more than others based on which skills matched up well with their stats.
They were going to need a lot of practice to use their skills in concert or to switch between them on different asions. But from what Zarian could tell, they were physically more capable than ever.
They even tested Hannah when Zarian dumped a random corpse and raised it as a skeleton dummy with a Reinforcement enchantment. She punched through the skull with no effort and sent its head flying in ivory pieces across the polished lobby floor.
The acolytes serving as an audience pped in apuse. Their eyes glimmered with amazement at Hannah and the others.
Their approval was nice, but it wasn¡¯t the cherry on top. Zarian could let his physical stats fall behind for a long while now. He didn¡¯t have to worry about those as much anymore.
For the next dozen, two dozen, maybe three dozen levels, he nned to put 2 Free points in Wonder and 3 Free points in Mysticism per a level. Because of his ss as the ck Wizard Apprentice, he automatically gained +2 Willpower and +3 Mysticism per a level.
In summary, he was looking at +2 Willpower, +2 Wonder, and +6 Mysticism per level from now on. Of course, this didn¡¯t ount for any new points he¡¯d gained upon his first ss advancement.
Maybe when he reached Level 60 he would reassess from there.
His mentality, fortune, and magical potential were going to skyrocket. Most of his abilities scaled well or partially with those main three stats.
The only nonoptimal part of his profile was how Adrenaline Jolt scaled with Agility only. Zarian figured he would fix thatter or keep pushing aura maniption to make it work for him.
Chapter 55: Watch Me Blow Up
Chapter 55: Watch Me Blow Up
Twenty-five hours after Operation Skill Steal, Zarian found himself frustrated while sitting at his study desk. It was dark out in the early morning hours. If he listened closely, he could hear the asional siege st getting repelled off the Lovewar Dome.
There were a few hours to burn before Operation Domination began. But that wasn¡¯t Zarian¡¯s focus.
Aura Ignition was still beyond his capabilities to grasp.
In fact, having observed and felt the nature of Dax¡¯s Aura Ignition the night before might¡¯ve made things worse once he ruminated on everything he learned. Zarian now had a working theory of what led to Aura Ignition, which was upsetting, since it required some advanced science to conceptualize the theory.
Zarian was a geek, but not exactly the nerdiest of nerds. In fact, he was a B or C student back in his formative school years. He was pretty sure the guys who¡¯d aced everything in academics would runps around him if they had his opportunities.
Well, a lot of those guys had stable homes and at least one caring parent.
Zarian had grown up in foster care and ran a gauntlet through different vors of bad foster situations. It had been hard for him to focus in school while he worried, stressed, or raged about things happening on the home front. That and he¡¯d run off a few times and only show up at school.
He¡¯d honestly needed Ariana¡¯s help to look at other students¡¯ test sheets and feed him answers back in his school days. Passing those tests kept him from failing.
This is actually the first time outside of the Marines where I¡¯m somewhere stable and I can focus on studying for something.He had the finished concept of Aura Ignition in mind, at the very least. It was a shame that his theory of what led to Aura Ignition might make it unattainable for him.
There was one way to test it, though.
He needed someone willing to be his guinea pig. That person would be most suitable for Aura Ignition.
He hadn¡¯t worked up the courage to ask that person yet. So he¡¯d thrown everything he could into learning the gravity spell next.
At longst, he was fullymitted. Yes, learning the third folktale spell to the dread gator grimoire would be technically easier. But he¡¯d put off the gravity spell for too long.
Unfortunately, even with Fractured Mind, Tranquil Mind, Adrenaline Jolt, Overpower, and the ck magic grimoire¡¯s advancement that made studying its contents easier ¨C he was still struggling to get through the thick, obtuse, abstract, magic quantum-theorizing, and hellishly freaky nature of the gravity spell.
He also had a dumb moment.
Out of curiosity, he¡¯d flipped through the gravity spell section. He¡¯d kept going until he hit the end of the ck magic grimoire.
The gravity spell took up close to ny percent of the grimoire¡¯s pages. He hadn¡¯t realized there was an end to the grimoire after the gravity spell. The gravity spell was the ultimate page hogger.
¡°This is fucked.¡±
Zarian leaned back in his new study chair and massaged his fingers around his face. The ghastly phantom chains attached to his soul swayed while the grimoirey on the study desk in front of him.
¡°Is this a legendary spell or something above? It better be. Do I really have to remember all of this just to mess with gravity?¡±
Was there a test at the end?
Zarian leaned forward and flipped through the pages by hand. He reached the end again.
The symbols and text refused to yield their secrets, obscuring his ability to read or Identify. He had to go over the required reading material, graphs, the impossible geometric illustrations, and the rest of the contents before getting ess to the end.
For the first time, Zarian gave a prayer to both of his divine benefactors: Shadowfell and Lovewar. He folded his hands in front of him, elbows on the table, forehead against his thumbs.
Please don¡¯t let there be a test at the end of this. Please.
The goddesses didn¡¯t respond.
Nobodyforted him.
They couldn¡¯t help him here.
The gods ¡ are truly useless.
Zarian reabsorbed his grimoire back into his soul. He left his room and wandered about the hallways of the mansion. He stopped to stare at paintings of the smiling and confident Lovewar Goddess.
Each of his party members was certain of this fact. Lovewar was a freak of a goddess.
¡°Why do you have different versions of bikini armor? And nothing else?¡± Zarian shook his head and moved on.
During these hours, the acolytes kept a skeleton crew going in case Zarian¡¯s party needed anything. They even had security patrols to warn of any intruders or fires. Outside of that, they¡¯d mostly hung out in the kitchen.
Zarian avoided the kitchen since they were in the middle of girl talk. A few of his spectral spiders stayed near them, keeping watch unless the girls needed privacy for moments that were personal to them.
Even while evil +2, Zarian had lines he wouldn¡¯t cross. They were cute and beautiful girls from a visual sense. But they were truly baby kittens to Zarian based on how young and vulnerable they were. His Spectral Spider Network kept a tight watch only when necessary.
I¡¯m not as smart and perfect as some people, but at least I have morals.
Some of those nerds from high school would¡¯ve crossed so many lines they would deserve to have their necks grabbed and wrung. A few jocks, too. Hell, there were a lot of guys and girls Zarian knew he wouldn¡¯t trust with his power.
How many people would abuse what I have and absolutely terrorize those who are innocent and defenseless?
Zarian¡¯s evil alignment held the answer. It was kind of bleak. He took it with a grain of salt and distracted himself with a few notifications fromst night. The achievement was interesting.
The achievement wasn¡¯t the best Zarian had earned. The implications, however, were interesting.
How many achievements were out there that gave more stats?
Having an extra +10 Willpower was nothing to scoff at. Zarian was surprised by how generous that was. It made all the abilities he had that scaled with Willpower jump up in power by a considerable bit.
Am I going to tell Naomi?
Why shouldn¡¯t he?
She can go off the handle sometimes. Worse than me.
His evil nature twisted in on itself to exin both why he should and why he shouldn¡¯t. And how to best go about this to keep a tight leash on Naomi and others. The evil +2 alignment was a control freak.
Zarian wanted to do what he did best: be honest. Besides, he was going to ask a big favor out of Naomi.
He found her in Gilbert¡¯s room with the door opened. Their conversation was a hushed one, but if he waited outside of the door and focused, then he would catch what they were saying. Or he could send a spectral spider inside.
He knocked on the wall outside to announce his presence.
Gilbert answered. ¡°Is that you, chief? I can tell by the darkness in the air. Come on in. Mi casa, su casa, and all that.¡±
Zarian smirked and stepped inside.
Gilbert¡¯s room was simr to Zarian¡¯s except Gilbert had more of a warrior aesthetic. There were axes, long swords, and great swords hanging on the walls. They looked more like show pieces and their edges were dull.
¡°Good morning, sir,¡± Naomi greeted.
¡°Good morning.¡± Zarian nodded at her before taking in Gilbert.
The man looked rough. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, wearing nothing but briefs. His face looked haggard like he was in the middle of a hangover. The skin around his eyes was dark. And he was twitchy.
Gilbert put on his best lopsided smile. ¡°I came out with 2 stats in Strength and 1 in Willpower. And I got a new trait. It¡¯s the damnedest thing.¡±
¡°Nice. I gained an extra point in Strength. What¡¯s the new trait?¡±
¡°Berserk Vitality, rare.¡± Gilbert heaved a sigh. ¡°The lower my vitality, the harder I hit. My healing abilities also get stronger. Lump that in with how Healing Force +1 can reach out further and overcharge the vitality of those I heal and ¡ yeah, I¡¯m fit to be in the thick of fighting more often while keeping everyone upright.¡±
Zarian had to admit that was a unique set up. It sounded like a crossbreed between a berserker and a healer. The more upfront and damaged Gilbert could get, the more the war healer could essentially keep his allies up on their feet regardless of injuries. Even from a distance.
¡°Adrenaline Jolt +1 leaves out the bad side effects. And Tranquilizer Touch +1 leaves a trap that extends the skill to anyone who touches the victim who¡¯s not an ally,¡± Gilbert exined. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m a mixed bag of tricks. Is this how those big online games work?¡±
¡°I wouldn¡¯t know,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Honestly, your build is more tailored as an actual war healer than anything I¡¯ve seen in games,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°It literally has no drawbacks other than yourck of an incredible fighting skill. So you can¡¯t mow your way through squads of men all at once. Nor can you take down something big and tough. But you aren¡¯t squishy, and you can help fight while keeping others alive. It¡¯s a good build.¡±
¡°Yeah, well, I definitely can fight.¡± Gilbert lost the semnce of a smile. ¡°I killed so many men the night before. I killed them even when they asked for mercy. I think ¡ I crossed a line I didn¡¯t know I had.¡±
So this is why Naomi¡¯s here.
She¡¯d sensed something was wrong with Gilbert and went to check up on him. That was nice of her.
Zarian held back on saying anything. He had to check himself since evil +2 gave too many convincing ideas.
This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Naomi, however, remained neutral. Her words woulde straight from the gut.
¡°It happens. We all cross lines we didn¡¯t know about. Then we figure out what to do on the other side,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Is this it?¡± Gilbert asked. ¡°Murdering men for more power?¡±
¡°No,¡± Naomi said. ¡°You cleaned up a problem the authorities let fester while we¡¯re in the middle of a violent campaign. I won¡¯t say if what you did was wrong or right. But I will say what you did helped many people who couldn¡¯t help themselves. Didn¡¯t it?¡±
¡°Human trafficking and the worst of men, right?¡± Gilbert directed the question to Zarian.
The wizard nodded. Their actions stopped the Bramblevale Bandit¡¯s heinous business practices.
Would someone else take their ce? Most likely. But nobody would for a while. The power vacuum left in the massacre¡¯s wake wasrge.
Zarian imagined some people were scared to attract his attention next.
¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯m going to take my time cleaning up before I see y¡¯all head out for the next operation. Thanks for checking in on me.¡± Gilbert waved them off.
Zarian and Naomi nodded before leaving the room. Zarian led the way, and Naomi followed like a shadow.
¡°I think he¡¯ll ovee it,¡± Naomi said. ¡°He talked about it. That¡¯s usually key. Now that it¡¯s out instead of being held in, he¡¯ll get past it. He¡¯ll be stronger from it.¡±
She sounded like she had a lot of faith in Gilbert. She didn¡¯t seem like the type, but she really cared for the people she worked with.
¡°You¡¯ve ever killed a man?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to when I was a kid.¡± She paused before continuing. ¡°It was personal. I missed my opportunity when he died of a heart attack.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve never gotten deployed while I was infantry. But I¡¯ve imagined it. Prepared for it. Technically, Keh was the first. But that wasn¡¯t premeditated. As for the bandits? I slept well after all of that.¡±
He looked back and saw her smirking. He was already smiling when she said, ¡°Killing bandits is how you sleep easier at night, huh? I guess we all have our ways to cope.¡±
While throwing a couple of zingers and dark jokes at each other, Zarian and Naomi entered the lobby area. It was wide and spacious. The front doors were shut closed, and so was the back door leading to the camped soldiers.
Zarian had his conversation with Rnd earlier. Things seemed okay for now. The officer was a nervous-wreck, but he put that frantic energy into keeping his men in line.
Zarian had applied no pressure when he¡¯d told Rnd, ¡°If you need help with your men, I can leave an impression.¡±
Rnd had turned down the offer. He was extra motivated now.
Meanwhile, Head Acolyte Lora was trying to keep a tight grip on her own girls. They were curious, like all sheltered kittens. Some acolytes had even attempted to talk to the soldiers through the back windows.
The tension around the manor was thick enough for Zarian to smell it.
This is nearly as bad as high school.
And the food supply was dropping fast.
¡°Hello, Lord Zarian, Lady Naomi, may I help in any way?¡± asked the acolyte on lobby duty.
Zarian thought for a second before he answered. ¡°Yes, you can. I need you to move into that hallway. We¡¯re about to have a spar. I¡¯d like for you to stay safe so we can concentrate.¡±
The acolyte hurried out of the lobby.
Before Zarian could properly turn and face Naomi, he noticed a sucker punch careening for his jaw. The game was on, and Naomi pulled a dirty move with a vicious, man-eating smile on her face.
Zarian smiled back as he dodged the punch and retreated to create space. A kick with his name on it missed him by a hair and hurled about a great rush of air from the force of Naomi¡¯s attack.
He set his stance, fists raised to eye level, legs bent to keep his center of gravity under him, his bnce sturdy, while tipping his weight slightly forward on the balls of his feet. Unlike Naomi, Zarian still had to work with the basics.
Prior to the Infinita Star System, all Zarian had in martial training was the stuff the Marines had taught him. It was the most basic of basic moves.
He¡¯d gotten through life by being ferocious, which he learned from dealing with bullies. Never let up or they would beat you down with no regard to your own life.
Months of fantastical adventure, fights, and training with the same people had changed some of those rudimentary basics. The stuff that White Silk Reiki had taught him shifted under Naomi¡¯s tutge, merging with a budding martial style Zarian was constructing that would serve as a back up to his back up and surprise future opponents.
Despite all of that, Zarian knew one thing for sure whenever he sparred with Naomi.
He was about to get his ass kicked.
And he was going to love it.
Naomi was as wild as she was technically skilled. She didn¡¯t sit back and wait for an opening to show itself. She rushed forward to create openings and exploit an opponent who failed to fend off her pressure.
Zarian shifted and curled up his right arm to deflect a fast jab. He stepped and pivoted out of the way of a straight power punch.
His counter hook came over the top. Fast. Powerful. Tough. His new Level 0 skills juiced up his parasitic body like nothing had ever done before.
If it was anyone else, attacking like this might¡¯ve killed them. But Naomi was perfectly suitable to take it.
Instead of dodging, Naomi turned her head with the punch. She let it nce off her cheek while spinning her entire body with the utmost grace to swing around a fast backhand.
Zarian hardened his guard to absorb the hit. It was a hard one. It would¡¯ve rocked him off his feet if he had remained a frail wizard. He wasn¡¯t anymore. He was strong, fast, and tough now.
The hit was still an immense one. A loud crack resonated across the lobby and throughout the mansion. The chandeliers above trembled. A few nearby vases fell and shattered on the floor. One of the framed illustrations of Lovewar came crashing down.
Zarian spoke through his Spectral Spider Network to let everyone know he and Naomi were sparring in the lobby. He got out the words while stumbling back, bobbing, weaving, and blocking a flurry of aggressive but smartly ced blows.
Then he found his opening and hit Naomi with a big upper cut to the gut. That one took the air out of her and gave him a gratifying wheeze.
By most ounts, that would¡¯ve stopped most people.
But Naomi was Zarian¡¯s right hand woman for a reason.
She moved past her pain and seized his arm, throwing herself onto him with her legs ensnaring the upper portions of his body. Just like that, Naomi had a flying armbar, at least at first.
She quickly transitioned into a squeezer hold that was halfway into a standing triangle choke. Her thighs mped together to crush Zarian¡¯s shoulder against his neck and chin, cutting off air flow and blood cirction.
It wouldn¡¯t have done much other than make Zarian ufortable in the old world. However, because of their stats and abilities, Naomi could literally crush a man with the press of her thighs alone.
Zarian¡¯s toughness lessened the threat of being crushed by Naomi and made it a more drawn out affair. He had enough time to secure his other hand on the waist of Naomi¡¯s pants, bend back, then snap downward for a power m.
It was at that moment where experience triumphed over raw power. Naomi readjusted at thest second and stole Zarian¡¯s momentum for herself. She flipped him onto the floor instead of getting mmed.
Now she had the arm bar for sure while they settled into the crater they hammered into the lobby floor, shaking the foundations of the mansion.
¡°Tap,¡± she demanded.
Zarian raised his free hand and flipped the middle finger at her.
Naomi snapped his arm like a twig. She unraveled herself from his broken limb and sat with legs crossed by hisid out body.
¡°I¡¯m so d that the more vitality you have, the higher your pain threshold,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize until recently that we don¡¯t feel pain as much as we used to. I thought that was mainly Willpower, and that does contribute, but I think Vitality ys a part as well.¡±
¡°You¡¯re unfair,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be saying that?¡± Zarian chuckled, still lying down.
He didn¡¯t dare move or his broken arm mighte out worse. He could still feel pain, after all. But it wasn¡¯t enough to make him cry like a baby.
¡°You¡¯re very unfair. Look at what we¡¯ve just done. Wepeted physically at a pretty much even level when you¡¯re the apparent magical wizard guy. It¡¯s a little concerning.¡±
Naomi frowned.
Zarian lost his humor, surprised to see that expression on her face. Now that he was listening, it really sounded like she was bothered.
Naomi hesitated before asking, ¡°Am I obsolete, sir?¡±
¡°Aura Ignition,¡± Zarian said.
The sudden switch in conversation surprised her slightly. ¡°What about it?¡±
¡°You¡¯re the best one for it. You can learn it the easiest, in fact.¡±
Naomi¡¯s eyes lit up with hunger. Her ambition ran hot. She looked like she was going to jump him at the chance of more power.
While he had her attention, Zarian threw in a sidebar. ¡°Also, I got a new achievement called Junior Manughterer. When you find it appropriate, kill a bunch of men in a rtively short time. It gives +10 Willpower.¡±
¡°You held that back until now because you were worried I¡¯ll go murder-happy, didn¡¯t you?¡±
¡°Yeah, kinda.¡±
¡°So ¡ is there another group of scummy bandits in Central Bramblevale?¡±
Zarian let out a chuckle that was soon interrupted when Gilbert¡¯s Healing Force +1 made an arrival. Zarian felt it when a warm and helpful energy washed over his body and concentrated on his broken arm.
After a minute, the arm was back to normal, as if it had never been broken. In fact, he felt even more invigorated now even after Gilbert¡¯s skill faded off.
¡°Gilbert¡¯s still in his room, by the way,¡± Zarian said.
Naomi slowly nodded. ¡°Everyone has it better than me. Maybe I should¡¯ve picked a different ss or waited.¡±
¡°So, Aura Ignition.¡±
¡°Yeah, that thing Foodie showed us. Tell me. What do I do to make it work for me?¡±
¡°You have to copse your aura with an implosion. All of it. And in that split second before your recovery kicks in, the outside aura fills you up like a vacuum and ignites. Might cost you part of your vitality. Don¡¯t know for sure. But that¡¯s what I think happens at the ignition part. You have to do a reverse explosion going inward.¡±
Naomi looked down at Zarian with a nk face.
He kept going. ¡°That¡¯s why the atmosphere or the air feels pressured. And that¡¯s why there¡¯s pushback in the form of a shockwave.¡±
He sat up. He was excited now. His Fractured Mind felt lit up in all the right ways as he exined: ¡°The implosion pulls in so much aura from the outside, it bes condensed around everything near the ignition. The shockwave is the blowback of a sessful Aura Ignition releasing excess aura back into the environment. From there, ites down to having the focus, or Willpower, of maintaining it, which I imagine is hard as hell. But I think the hardest part is the ignition part. It has to be done without your personal aura recovering, leaving aplete and utter vacuum inside of you.¡±
¡°I have the lowest amount of Mysticism in the party,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Exactly. You have the lowest aura recovery rate. And you have high Willpower, which you¡¯ll need for your concentration.¡± Zarian gave her a guilty smile.
He scooted closer to Naomi until their faces were close. ¡°So ¡ uh ¡ will you blow yourself up in reverse? And let me watch?¡±
Naomi looked straight into his eyes with an even more nk expression. Then a slow smile crept across her face.
¡°Yeah, sure, you can watch me blow up. Anything else to fit your fancy?¡±
¡°I want to put my aura in your aura once you¡¯re ignited.¡±
¡°Get me dinner first, won¡¯t you?¡±
***
While Zarian and Naomi came to an agreement on Aura Ignition tests and observations, a gaggle of acolytes watched them from the safety of the hallway attached to the lobby. They were intelligent girls, well fed, and well taken care of.
They had an enormous wealth of information gathered and filed away as per their duties under Lovewar. They¡¯d done some reading of the material, some of which were shocking and tititing, some of which were as dry as peeling potatoes.
But they were sheltered girls nheless. They were still uncertain of the world beyond the walls. Still unsure to question how they were groomed to be weak and pitiful despite evidence that was critical of the kingdom¡¯s way of life.
¡°Is that how they do it outside the wall?¡± asked one acolyte.
¡°How daring. How dangerous. You¡¯re not supposed to harm the picker. Is she also of evil alignment?¡±
¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. I believe humans outside of our own world vary in skin pigmentation. So Lord Zarian and Lady Naomi¡¯s skin color are naturally that way, like others from the World of Swamps and Princesses.¡±
¡°ck, is it? How curious. Their hair, even more so.¡±
¡°He¡¯s smiling at her even though she broke his arm. Perhaps ck humans enjoy having such ¡ dominant women to pick from.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s how it should be. It goes against what we¡¯re taught in the kingdom.¡±
¡°The kingdom is not above Lovewar. And Lovewar is the most dominant of women. And we are her acolytes.¡±
¡°This is true. But it¡¯s still hard to go against what we¡¯re taught. Are we supposed to change? What if we¡¯re weeds and must be pruned?¡±
¡°Then we should be very tough weeds. We have the information. There are ways to gain more levels faster than what we¡¯re doing now.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve been talking to the soldiers.¡±
All the other girls hushed thest speaker. But the daring rule breaker kept going.
¡°This is important. One of them said they gang up on beasts around their level and beat on it as part of their soldier training. Then they do the same thing all the way up to Level 10. It takes a while. But if we must choose Lovewar over the kingdom, then we better be very tough weeds.¡±
¡°Are there any soldiers who may help us? The Head Acolyte says they¡¯re unrefined and unsuitable. They¡¯re soldiers, not pickers. They¡¯re a danger to us.¡±
¡°Lord Rnd¡¯s a picker.¡±
¡°He¡¯s a Low Rose Noble. We should aim for Mid Rose, shouldn¡¯t we?¡±
¡°Does it matter? If we can be strong like Lady Naomi. We can choose who picks us.¡±
¡°We can impress a picker with our battle prowess, can¡¯t we? Nobles would like that, wouldn¡¯t they?¡± The acolytes fell silent as they watched Zarian and Naomi chatfortably with each other.
¡°Maybe it¡¯s not about who picks us. But it¡¯s about being able to standfortably with who we wish to love and fight alongside. As we are now, we¡¯re weak and defenseless. We have no choice. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if we can choose and defend ourselves, just like Lady Naomi?¡±
¡°Does that mean I can talk to the soldier boy with the funny jokes? He¡¯s no picker, but I¡¯ll pick him.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll have to get stronger to be pickers.¡±
With these conversations, the acolytes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom started to change their ways. Little by little, they left behind the teachings of their youth and looked toward the harsh but exciting nature of free love and warfare.
Chapter 56: Morning Domination
Chapter 56: Morning Domination
It was another Early Autumn morning. The fortress town of Central Bramblevale stirred awake, slowly, carefully. It was as if all the townspeople were letting go of an uneasy breath after the past couple of nights.
After all, the destruction of the Bramblevale Bandits had sent waves across the city.
The underworld was in shambles. Multiple deals tied with the Bramblevale Bandits fell through, disrupting low-level scoundrels and major power yers who were connected. Smaller gangs were already fighting each other to take over, but their bloody cloak-and-dagger battles hurt everyone involved.
The night before was mostly quiet on the surface except for the asional siege weapon sting against the unyielding barrier guarding the Wicked Viins of the East. None of the average well-to-do nobles of Central Bramblevale were bothered unless they had shady deals in the dark.
Under the new morning, youngdies working as news sellers patrolled the streets, spreading the word of the Bramblevale Lord while offering reading material for coin:
¡°Conduct your business in a hurry and inform the nearest guard or soldier if you see anything suspicious! Read more about it here!¡±
¡°Remember to start your mornings praying to the Good Gods and turn away from the temptation of evil! If you¡¯re truly a good believer, purchase this paper!¡±
¡°The Eternal Capital is aware of the Wicked Viins of the East! Do not worry! The White Roses are on their way to end them once and for all! Get the exciting news here first!¡±
Some of the townsfolk listened and bought their papers. Others went about their day as the market squares came to life. Vendors put out their wares and hawked about their sales like their lives depended on it.Once again, they¡¯d shed their prices. Once again, they faced fierce economic downturns and theck of buyers.
Potential customers shook their heads and hurried by the desperate vendors. It was getting closer to the time the Bramblevale Lord expected his taxes. The enforcers of those taxes were a few degrees better than bandits.
¡°Wait, wait, I don¡¯t have to pay until next week!¡± shouted an old cabbage merchant with a bum leg.
He was one of the rare few males who wasn¡¯t a noble but could hold a merchant license. That came with expectations.
¡°You haven¡¯t paid what you owedst time. So we¡¯vee to collect early.¡± A man with a reedy voice twirled the end of his pencil-thin mustache. ¡°And the Bramblevale Lord wants it with interest!¡±
The Tax Collector Probationer had twenty men in the level 30s with him, all Tax Enforcer Starters. It was a powerful show of force in Central Bramblevale.
The tax collector and tax enforcers were all good aligned. Their sses were closely tied with Good God Lawkeep. For there were few rules in all of existence that were more true than these:
Everyone had a death waiting for them.
And taxes must be paid.
¡°But, but, it¡¯s too high! I can barely make enough, good sir. And times have grown harshtely. They say the gnolls might attack at any time!¡± The old cabbage seller had tears in his eyes as he tried to plead his case.
His corner of a local market wasn¡¯t a lonely one. But every man and woman quickly looked away while passing near themotion. Some children stopped to watch. A concerned gaggle of well-dressed women shooed the children away.
There was nobody willing to help him.
Well, except for one person.
¡°I don¡¯t mind paying taxes,¡± said a dark voice from the nearest alley. ¡°It¡¯s like a contract between the people and the government. We work hard. You tax us and use that money to provide benefits. We make use of those benefits. But ¡ I don¡¯t like it when the government abuses the people and calls it good.¡±
There was a sinister chill in that voice. It had an unnerving effect that crawled down everyone¡¯s spines.
The old cabbage seller, the tax collector, the tax enforcers, and everyone else in the vicinity stared into the unusually dark alley. They were like deers searching for the wolf prowling in their midst.
Then, slowly, they all saw a person fade into existence with a casual stride.
He was unlike any humanoid creature they¡¯d ever seen. He stood like a man. He walked like a man. He even dressed like a noble man, wearing a dapper suit, tie, proper pants, and polished shoes.
His face was clean and without a mustache, appearing handsome and youthful. His hair was strange and very coiled, yes, but it could be a wig and part of a performance.
Outside of that, he was something abnormally alien.
His skin was dark.
His eyes were two voids. Like the lightless bottom of a pit. His smile was white and sharp. And hanging from his back was a cloak that didn¡¯t match his dark and dapper suit.
The cloak was leathery, patchy, and filled with odd and horrific designs. There were teeth sticking out from one side. Slivers of bone quills quivered from another side.
The cloak moved on its own with no wind to stir it. Sometimes it would split and unravel, turning into thin threads, then splitting even further into near invisible hairs that reached out everywhere.
The cloak quivered in a lively way that was beyond uncanny for an article of clothing. Every person serving as a witness would feel less like a person and more like a prey animal once they sighted the nightmarish cloak.
¡°Hello, my name is Zarian Darkrun, and I¡¯m a little lost. I¡¯m looking for the Central Bramblevale Keep.¡± The horrific man slid his hands into his pants pocket, a rude gesture, but it was fitting for someone as horrific as him.
His smile turned sharper as he spoke further. ¡°Hey, old man. Can you lend me some directions? I¡¯ll even pay you for the trouble. You can keep the cabbages. They¡¯re ¡ uh ¡ moldy.¡±
¡°Kill him!¡± The tax collector shrilled.
The tax enforcers rushed the nightmarish Zarian Darkrun. They used skills that empowered themselves overall, increased their speed, and even manipted metal.
Five ran to the left. Five ran to the right.
Ten formed a line and hurled forward metal balls the size of marbles with air-cracking speed. That would¡¯ve been more than enough to tear apart a single foe.
The metal balls passed straight through the evil-doer with no effect. The enforcers stumbled in surprise as the illusion faded away.
Then a feminine figure jumped down from the nearest stone roof andnded behind five of the enforcers on the right.
The new arrival was a stunning but alien woman of ster physique and dark skin. She wore an even darker dress that was skin-tight and stood with an impable bnce on high-heeled shoes.
She moved like a whirlwind. Before anyone could stop her, all five enforcers on the right crumpled to the ground or flew off their feet.
The remaining enforcers were preparing to fight her when another woman appeared in a sh of brilliant light.
She was an astonishing vision of beauty adorned in a glimmering, colorful, enchanting dress that reminded viewers of elven princesses of past eras. She smiled radiantly, almost blinding everyone with her joyous expression, and drew attention to herself that forced the enforcers to hesitate.
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The dark-skinned woman with the dynamic physic took advantage. She flipped through the air rapidly andnded with a stone-cracking thump behind the enforcers on the left.
With fast and blurring movements that made her look like a dark gale force wind, she deftly brutalized them like thest five. The enforcers crashed down after getting swept off their feet or sent into a tumble,ying them t.
For most people watching, the action happened so fast, so violently, it was hardly believable. They¡¯d never seen anyone capable of fighting the enforcers and winning.
¡°Why are you staring?¡± the tax collector shouted at the remaining ten enforcers. ¡°Throw everything you have at them! Everything!¡±
The enforcers prepared tounch another destructive metal volley. Before they did, their own shadows darkened.
The shadows became akin to lightless pits before shooting up ten blunt poles from between the enforcers¡¯ feet. The poles all struck directly into the groins of the enforcers andunched them into the air for a short but hard flight.
The tax collector looked about as all twenty meny defeated around him. He wasn¡¯t the only one gawking. All around the courtyard, vendors, nobles, groups of women, and beggars were all watching. Additionally, a patrol of soldiers had just arrived and caught the tail end of themotion.
¡°Heh heh heh. Ha ha ha.¡±
A creepy and daunting voice resonated from the incredibly dark alley with augh so sinister it made everyone in the courtyard shiver except for the two beautiful but dangerous women. For the second time, the monstrous viin named Zarian Darkrun walked out of the alley.
It wasn¡¯t an illusion this time. This one was the authentic version.
He stopped next to the old cabbage seller and the tax collector.
¡°So, where¡¯s the Bramblevale Keep? I want to pay Lord Cassian a visit.¡± His void for eyes turned from the tax collector to the cabbage seller.
¡°He¡¯s down this very road, milord.¡± The cabbage seller pointed behind him.
There was indeed a road that looked big and wide. It was the central street of Central Bramblevale.
It wouldn¡¯t be hard to believe that going down that road would take someone straight to the center. Then they would find the Bramblevale Keep, which held the office of the town¡¯s lord.
¡°You will be hanged for aiding a viin, you old fool!¡± snapped the tax collector.
Lord Zarian Darkrun moved with blurring speed, and the tax collector flew off his feet and mmed down on the stone street like a sack of potatoes. Bloody teeth ttered across the street with some spittle.
¡°Aw, dang, I got his slobber on my new shoes.¡± The viinous lord frowned.
¡°Allow me, milord!¡± The cabbage seller hobbled as fast as he could to clean off the shoe, which must¡¯ve kicked the tax collector faster than anyone could clearly see.
His life, as well as everyone¡¯s in the courtyard, could depend on satisfying the viin.
¡°No, don¡¯t. I¡¯ll live. Why don¡¯t you leave this ce? It¡¯s going to be quite an active morning.¡± Lord Zarian Darkrun caught the cabbage seller gently by the crook of his arm and guided him to the side.
He was surprisingly helpful, despite looking like an incarnation of evil. The Darkrun Lord even slid whole gold coins into the cabbage seller¡¯s hands, which the old man deftly and wisely hid into a secret pocket in his clothing.
¡°It¡¯s so nice to help someone in need. I hope someone buys all your cabbages and you¡¯ll be well taken care of, senor!¡± The radiant woman in the colorful dress patted him on the head and left him with a sense offort and security.
It was like being graced by an angel.
¡°Can we stop ying around and get on with Operation Domination?¡± asked the fierce and dynamic ck woman.
She was both a thrilling and frightening sight. Almost like a she-devil. Only the strongest or craziest of men could ever get near such a tempting but dangerous beauty and survive to tell the tale.
¡°Sure thing, sure thing. Just do your best. I know your part in this operation is very difficult,¡± said Lord Darkrun with the casual ir only the rich and powerful could have.
Was the viin born from royalty in some wicked and evil kingdom to the east? Not only was the cabbage seller paid enough to survive for quite a number of months, but he had the best gossip in his friend group. He couldn¡¯t wait for the next meeting. Everyone was going to be envious.
¡°All we¡¯re doing is walking and escorting,¡± grouched the dark one.
¡°While making Senor Zarian look good! Piece of cake, really,¡± said the radiant one.
¡°Oh, look, the soldiers are charging at us. Onward, we go,dies.¡± Lord Darkrun stepped ahead, his hands still in his pockets.
Perhaps the evil royalty of the east preferred their hands in their pockets. It was strange to think about, especially since the cabbage seller had never heard of any evil kingdom to the east, only the infamous castle mountains of Castle Grimrock.
Perhaps Lord Darkrun and his escorts came from further east. Nheless, their activities here were stirring up an even biggermotion now.
The square turned into a riot of panic. People screamed as they hurried to get aside the ensuing conflict. Market stalls came crashing down when humans with more levels and stats ran through them, uncaring of the destruction and damage to vendors¡¯mon quality wares.
¡°Move in a hurried and orderly manner or suffer my wrath,¡± Lord Zarian Darkrun threatened.
Somehow, despite the shining light of the morning, the power of his evil alignment reached every soul who heard him. Even the soldiers lost their nerve, stumbling from a fast charge into a moderate approach. That was the touch of palpable, bone chilling, heart-seizing evil, the likes of which most have never faced in the kingdom.
The Wicked Viins of the (Far) East were possibly worse than a gnoll invasion. And they were on their way to see the Bramblevale Lord at his keep. While the cabbage seller was thankful for their aid, most others would see them asplete and utter threats, such as the Garden Officer at the front of the approaching soldiers.
¡°We must stop them! Don¡¯t be afraid of his evil!¡± shouted the lone officer in charge. He had a sworn duty to defend the township and kingdom against any major threat. ¡°If we slow them down here, reinforcements will be on the way!¡±
They had fifty men with them now. The Garden Officer was Level 41, which was powerful here. Behind him were Foot Soldier Grunts in the Level 30s. They held poleaxes with expertise borne from years of training, so they knew very well how to use them.
The soldiers renewed their courage and closed the distance with a thunderous charge, shaking off the evil threat from earlier.
The evil-doer himself looked up at the morning sun beaming down. He did nothing overt while the women nking him to his right and left stood like seductresses of thrilling danger and radiant mor.
¡°It¡¯s a nice day,¡± the Darkrun Lord said, hands still in his pockets, ¡°for domination.¡±
The shadows under the three viins darkened. Then volleys of rapid fire bolts flew from under their feet.
The Garden Officer shifted to the side and swung his poleaxe. Heavy bark and sharp thorns covered the weapon.
The officer¡¯s alpha skill had smashed and torn apart many opponents and powers, and he saw no reason it couldn¡¯t do so now.
One dark bolt obliterated the skill¡¯s conjuring and the pole axe at once. The force of the impact was nearly too much for any man to endure.
The Garden Officer ended up jerked around, barely avoiding a direct hit himself. His men didn¡¯t share in his fortune as the bolts struck almost all of them directly.
The Garden Officer tumbled and rolled as nearly fifty men sailed backward, crashing, rolling, falling into a crushed heap with their breasttes dented and bones broken.
Most, if not all, of them remained alive. But most stayed down, either unconscious, or in too much pain to do anything.
When the officer rose, he only had four remaining men still capable of fighting. When he looked at the viins, they were calmly strolling past them.
The women walked with a refined grace that could steal a man¡¯s breath. The monster with the frayed and nightmarish leather cloak strolled while between his stunning female escorts, his hands still in his pockets, a small and uncaring smile on his face.
The officer drew his sword. He covered it in his skill of heavy bark and sharp thorns. Then the officer shouted with noble gantry: ¡°Purgehunt, see me vanquish this monster!¡±
He lunged at the back of the greatest human viin Bramblevale had ever witnessed.
As he attacked, the officer carried in his heart the glorious stories he¡¯d heard from childhood. Stories of how good men vanquished heinous evil. He envisioned Good God Purgehunt filling him with a mighty monster-ying boon to defeat a major threat to Central Bramblevale and perhaps the rest of the Eternal Garden Kingdom.
The ragged nightmare cloak caught the officer¡¯s arms with its leathery tendrils.
Before the officer could pull away, the cloak lifted him and mmed him down onto the stone pavement. Then it lifted him and mmed him down again and again, leaving cracks and divots.
When death seemed assured, the cloak stopped. It left the officer in a bloody, smashed up heap.
He remained alive, which was strangely unfortunate.
Outside of his bodily pain, his pride was deeply wounded. It would¡¯ve been better if the viins had killed him outright.
Instead, the officer was left to live with his broken men, as if they were nothing but mere nuisances to be swatted down and ignored. They continued their existence as examples to be made to anyone who thought they could resist outright domination of Central Bramblevale.
¡°Someone ¡ please ¡ stop that horrible man,¡± prayed the officer before he fell unconscious.
He dreamed of having many wives he carefully picked like a bouquet of flowers. He dreamed of arge home and the luxuries of being a High Rose one day, recognized by all the good gods with many boons raining down on him. He dreamed of all the happiness the Eternal Garden provided.
As for the old cabbage seller watching from the side lines, the event had left a grand impression on him and the others nearby. Someone asked, ¡°I wonder if they would get Lord Cassian to lower taxes.¡±
The old cabbage seller wondered the same thing before he secretly prayed to Evil God Goldhound.
That was the nice thing about being neutral. It felt okay to pray to both as long as nobody said it aloud.
Though, he wouldn¡¯t know if it was also possible to pray to both sides regardless of being good or evil. He was a mere cabbage seller trying to live the rest of his limited life without much of a fuss. Let the bold and brash figure out the rest.
Chapter 57: Walk of Domination
Chapter 57: Walk of Domination
Zarian wondered if he should put his Level 23 Straight Darkness +1 back in the beta skill section. Even while walking openly in the day, enduring the bothersome shine of the morning suns, he was still ridiculously overpoweredpared to these people.
It felt like he was beating on children. Even the Level 40s felt too weak for him now.
¡°No,¡± Naomi said.
¡°No to what?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°You were thinking about making yourself weaker to make this more of a challenge. I¡¯m telling you no. This isn¡¯t supposed to be a challenge. This is Operation Domination.¡±
Naomi looked like a deadly phenom. The dress was tight, sleek, and killer on her body. She only applied a lightyer of makeup to make her face pop. She owned the angry look as she walked with a strut that unted the shape of her body.
Ready to step on any enemy, she moved with superiority next to Zarian¡¯s right.
¡°I agree with Naomi. It¡¯s safer this way if you¡¯re in absolute control. If not, we might kill people when we don¡¯t intend to. Please, papi, dominate them for the greater good.¡±
Bianca had blossomed from the past days of luxuriating at the mansion. It was almost surprising how much of a difference it made. She was both radiant because of her abilities and because of her personality and easy-going beauty.The morous elven dress made her seem unreal as she sauntered next to Zarian¡¯s left.
¡°Yeah, you¡¯re both right. I guess I¡¯ve gotten too deep into having a thrill-seeking habit.¡±
Zarian was dressed up fancier than what he¡¯d worn as a service uniform back in the Marines. He¡¯d never gone to high school prom or any fancy event that required a nice suit and tie. He¡¯d gone to his graduation in street clothes, ignoring the sneers and ridicules of his high school peers.
They¡¯d called him Bargain Bin Zarian once upon a time.
Now he was wearing a fancy and expensive suit and tie. He¡¯d made some adjustments cutting small slits in the back for Para to reweave herself into a proper cloak, but other than that, Zarian felt dapper.
It was a striking look on him, honestly.
Sleek, dark, and with some renaissance style frills on the front shirt and sleeves. Lastly, there was a small pin with three roses ced on the left side of his suit jacket¡¯s chest.
It was the mark of a High Rose.
¡°Head Acolyte Lora and Hannah make for a dynamic duo in this symbolic political stuff.¡±
Zarian was speaking casually, acting bored, but in truth he was keeping busy enough. There was more to this than just walking down the central road to the Bramblevale Keep and making a scene.
His alpha section had another interesting additionpared to the usual: Spectral Spider Network.
Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind was lit with a far-reaching and extensive surveince system tracking multiple sites. The spiderwork worked brilliantly and far easier as an alpha skill than it did as a beta skill.
He could view half a dozen visual feeds at once without getting confused. He could increase that to a dozen if he wanted. He didn¡¯t have to since he could feel when his spectral spiders wanted his direct attention through thework.
That worked out way better for him. The spectral spiders were more responsive to his whims. Each one had bumped up from Level 14 to Level 23 because of his growth in Mysticism. Everything about them was sharper, faster, stronger, and stealthier.
¡°Sitrep?¡± Naomi asked. That was military lingo for requesting a situation report.
¡°The city¡¯s defenders are slow to our change up,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°We have four major units my spectral spiders have found so far:
¡°Unit one, the soldiers at the barricade around the Lovewar Mansion are just getting news of us now. They¡¯re having trouble deciding on how to maintain the barricade and send forces our way.
¡°Unit two, the guard garrison is responding the fastest at the cost of abandoning their posts. They¡¯ll try to cut us off in a few minutes.
¡°Unit three, theirrgest patrol of soldiers is chasing us from behind.
¡°Unit four, their strongest guards are forming up at the keep.
¡°I¡¯m also tracking multiple other agents who might y as wildcard factors.¡±
Zarian performed a thorough sweep through the spiderwork. Yeah, his sitrep was on the money.
¡°What are those wildcards?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°Street gangs who want to make a name for themselves and random nobles with some fighting experience.¡±
Zarian looked ahead as the morning popce carried on with their day, mostly ignorant of what was happening. The news of Zarian¡¯s domination was spreading, but it wasn¡¯t spreading as fast as he¡¯d hoped.
Well-dressed men and gaggles of good-looking women slowed or paused their usual activities to turn and stare. They gawked at the obvious foreigners among them.
Zarian and Naomi looked straight ahead, ignoring them. Bianca smiled and waved radiantly, adding a perky skip to her steps.
Sometimes Bianca let slip a pulse of goodness that ced people at ease while doing the opposite to Zarian. It didn¡¯t help that he was exposing himself to sunlight.
It didn¡¯t damage him.
But it did aggravate him a little.
The things I do to leave an impression like a proper wizard.
Zarian decided to let the people see him and hispanions before the operation became especially busy. They were in a pleasant part of the town, too.
Statues depicting famous warriors and gods from past eras stood on the corners. Colorful murals of grand battles covered some of the walls.
There were loads of gardens. Some small. Somerge. Each one had a fountain to entuate their beauty and draw people to stroll about. The water spraying from the center pieces caught the morning light and glistened like droplets of jewels.
Since it was Early Autumn, the nt life was shedding their greenness and changing colors. At some point, the central road transitioned into a forested park with thick but squat round towers covered in red, orange, and yellow leaves.
Zarian smelled a lot of beer and ale in the air. Apparently, people would drink at any time in this world. Theycked coffee, but it was always happy time.
The townspeople moved about at ease except for when they noticed Zarian¡¯spany and stopped to stare. A gaggle of children kicking around a ball came to a stop in front of Zarian.
Their jaws dropped as they gawked up at him, Naomi, and Bianca.
¡°Go along, cuties. It¡¯s about to get dangerous soon.¡± Bianca turned to Zarian. ¡°Can you please do the thing?¡±
¡°For the greater good, huh?¡± Zarian shook his head. ¡°Fine.¡±
He let out a pulse of his evil alignment and spoke in a chilling voice, ¡°Run away or my evil magic will get you, booga booga wooga.¡±
The children screamed. The nearest townsfolk screamed. Chaos erupted. With a sigh, Zarian added, ¡°Be more orderly with your running, or I¡¯ll booga booga wooga harder.¡±
They moved about in a panicked but more orderly fashion.
Bianca nodded in satisfaction, beaming a bright smile.
Naomi scoffed. ¡°You good and evil types are so dramatic.¡±
Zarian smiled as a majority of the forested street cleared. He watched word spread a little faster up ahead and the street sections leading to the Bramblevale Keep cleared up gradually.
Good, because his first actual speed bump appeared as three hundred men rushing across the city with an all-out sprint. They were going to turn at the four-way section up ahead without slowing down much.
¡°Three, two, one¡¡± Zarian counted down.
He smiled as spectral spiders lifted the thick and near-invisible arcane webbing they created in the way of the charging guards. The spiders quickly stered it to the stone buildings on either side of the road leading leftward and reinforced their trap as fast as they could.
They finished right before forty men ran shin-first into the webbing and tripped over it in one epic crash and tumble of superhuman bodies.
The men behind them were too slow to react and tripped as well, tumbling over their fellows. The men after that didn¡¯t know what was happening and were still too slow to react and tripped just like the ones before them.
Finally, the fourth wave of men came to a stumbling stop. In front of them, theirpanions struggled to untangle themselves from each other and get ready to fight.
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Zarian and his escorts walked by without looking at them. Before a man could point, shout, or utter a word, their shadows darkened.
A dozen blunted poles shot up and knocked a dozen men into the sky. Then two dozen dark poles formed from more darkened shadows and sent even more men flying skyward and crashing down in a heap of muscle, weaponry, and armor.
They didn¡¯t just rain down to the ground, either. They fell upon theirrades, adding to the confusion and pandemonium. By the time Zarian sent a hundred men flying up and crashing down, an officer wised up.
¡°Move if you see your shadow darken unnaturally!¡± shouted the wise officer.
A secondter, the officer¡¯s own shadow darkened. He jumped out of the way, and for a miraculous moment, it seemed like his shadow would be free from the dark conjuration.
That didn¡¯te to be, however. A string of darkness remained attached to his shadow.
While that was discouraging, the move to dodge seemed like the right one. The dark spot on the ground weakened slightly while out of cover and under the full light of the suns.
¡°If you keep on the move, you¡¯ll weaken his power of darkness!¡± The wise officer shouted, ecstatic.
The slightly weakened dark spot burst apart into a dozen small bolts flying in all directions. The same happened to all the shadows Zarian had darkened regardless of the guard force moving aside or staying put.
Each one blew up like andmine. Small, blunt, oblong bolts flew everywhere, causing havoc, hammering the guards short of killing them. Most, if not all, of the victims could do nothing but endure or seek their own luck through the maelstrom of darkened shadow eruptions.
A hundred men fell battered and bruised. Another hundred endured the chaos after having been thrust into the air and hurtled to the ground. Thest one hundred watched as Zarian¡¯spany continued across the four-way and on their way to the Bramblevale Keep.
¡°Down this alley. We¡¯ll ambush them!¡± someone said. ¡°Follow me now or you¡¯ll get hanged for insubordination!¡±
The voice wasn¡¯t recognizable to any of the nearest soldiers or officers. But the person spoke with a sharp authority that scared them.
They rushed into the alleyway, leaving behind the shine of the sun. It was shadowy here. In fact, it was darker than usual.
Then one man asked, ¡°Who was it that ordered us down here?¡±
¡°Who else but the spider who makes the web for the flies?¡± said an invisible voice.
The shadows darkened. Then blunted poles lunged at them from all sides. The poles attacked from the floor and the walls. There was no escape.
Thest one hundred men were pummeled into submission. Zarian watched them copse in a somewhat broken heap through his spiderwork.
¡°That¡¯s three hundred men,¡± Zarian said through his own mouth. ¡°I just beat three hundred men with my hands in my pockets.¡±
¡°I should¡¯ve known I would work under such a turd,¡± Naomi said, smiling sharply.
¡°What? Why would you call him that?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°It¡¯s a joke among us Marines,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°In the Marines, it¡¯s frowned upon to have your hands in your pockets. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s cold. You¡¯ll get in trouble.¡±
¡°Oh.¡± Bianca frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t usually wear clothes with pockets.¡±
¡°It¡¯s disturbing that you¡¯re technically stronger than me,¡± Naomi grouched.
¡°That¡¯s okay! We¡¯re friends anyway!¡± Bianca cheered.
Zarian turned around and walked backward. The patrol of a hundred men running at them from the rear was only a few streets down. They would be easy to put down. But he didn¡¯t want to use the same tricks.
He racked his Fractured Mind for an appropriate way to deal with them nonlethally.
Then he came up with something so ridiculous he wasn¡¯t sure if it was possible. He went for it anyway.
Zarian took a big and slow inward breath.
The nearest shadows darkened. They raced across the ground and streaked up Zarian¡¯s legs. They slipped up his body and drained into his mouth.
The longer he inhaled, the faster and more numerous the dark streaks appeared as he took in more and more. At the apex of his inward breath, the streaking darkness covered the street around them like rushing oil, defying the sr light of the Corma Star and Star Core.
Then Zarian breathed out a big beam of darkness.
It was the least destructive of attacks. It was all size and motion,cking the hardiness and deadliness of his usual Straight Darkness tactics.
It was still a big beam of darkness that was wider than a man was tall. When it struck the patrol of a hundred men, the dark beam thrashed them off their feet and hosed them backwards like they were caught in a powerful current.
By turning his head slightly to the left and the right, Zarian¡¯s dark breath beam washed away all one hundred men and sent them scattered backwards, mming across the stone floor, into the walls, or through fields and hedges of various gardens. One man flew through a fountain and obliterated the centerpiece before crashing down in a painful heap.
Shutting his mouth, Zarian cut off the beam and let the remaining darkness dissipate. He nodded in satisfaction and smoothly turned back around to face toward their destination.
His hands remained in his pockets.
Naomi looked back at the wreckage her party leader left. A smile cracked across her normally cold and harsh expression. She erupted intoughter, hand over her eyes, the other on his shoulder.
For this once, she let it go. She let out her devilish side, like any Marine who enjoyed the pure insanity of chaos. She sounded like a witch while sheughed so openly, scaring anyone who was looking out from a nearby shelter.
¡°How¡¯s your aura holding up, Zarian?¡± Bianca asked after Naomi calmed down.
¡°Eh, it¡¯s doing alright. Hannah stuffed three Recharge enchantments into the suit. My Mysticism is at 252 for the base amount. Thanks to my Overpower trait, it¡¯s hitting 315 when I want to recover faster.¡±
The best part was how fast he could switch from boosting his stats to boosting a single skill. Sometimes it was better to boost that single skill ¨C like Straight Darkness +1 ¨C for the best results.
Sometimes, it was better to boost all of his stats with Overpower for a good spread of extra juice and to increase his aura amount. If he really wanted to push it, he could do micro switches in the middle of a maneuver for the best of both worlds.
¡°It helps that I have Aura Channeler and Aura Maniption as well. I¡¯m not maintaining a spell like Raise Advancing Skeletons right now. I can put all my focus on my best skill. I¡¯m jacked up like crazy with how much I could efficiently put out to overwhelm people.¡±
Zarian yawned.
¡°It¡¯s boring, though. I¡¯m d we¡¯re doing this in the morning or it¡¯ll be too pitiful.¡±
Bianca reached over and gave him a hug. It was sickly sweet and filled with terrible goodness.
Zarian appreciated it anyway. He knew Bianca meant well. She was encouraging him to stay the course with Operation Domination.
¡°Sitrep?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°They peeled away half of their soldiers at the barricade. They¡¯re going to bolster their defenses at the keep with two thousand men. Leading that are a hundred of their strongest people. That actually might give me a challenge.¡±
Zarian nced to his left, past Bianca. ¡°See that empty storefront over there. It¡¯s a local city gang. Hm. That¡¯s interesting. These types are evil. So there really are evil humans in the kingdom.¡±
They had sses called Urban Murderer, Urban Torturer, and even Urban Defiler. There was one who differed from the rest. He was an Infernal Demonologist and looked the part with his ragged robe and jewelry of human bones.
It was a good thing Zarian could use Identify through his spiders. Better yet, none of the evil men could sense the ability scanning them.
It was a small group. Only twenty. But the way they conducted themselves made them look like experts at their nefarious crafts. They were a cut above themon soldiers and umon bandits. Their sses might be rare, especially the Infernal Demonologist.
They were hiding in wait inside the empty storefront across a small park filled with flowers and pruned bushes. Their ambush might¡¯ve spelled trouble if Zarian¡¯s Spectral Spider Network hadn¡¯t found them first.
Bianca¡¯s eyes shed with zealous light after hearing Zarian¡¯s sitrep. She whipped her head around as her entire being glimmered and glowed.
The brighter she became, the more morous and colorful her dress looked. She was still walking barefoot. They still hadn¡¯t found the right shoes for her elven dress. Fortunately for Bianca, the Lovewar Acolytes were very good at providing enchanted pedicures, keeping every aspect of her nearly as wless as she was deadly.
¡°Can I ¡ go?¡± Bianca was breathing deeply now.
¡°Should I go with her?¡± Naomi asked.
Zarian reached behind him and pulled out the Lighthouse Falchion from his cloak¡¯s pocket dimension. He tossed it to Bianca who grabbed it and drew the de in one smooth motion.
Next, he grabbed out of storage a pair of dark leather gauntlets and shinguards Hannah had enchanted. Naomi removed her heeled shoes and traded them for the gauntlets and shinguards, slipping them on and tightening the straps in record time.
Zarian nodded. ¡°Yes, the both of you go. Bianca, remember to conserve your power, support, and pick your shots for max effect. Naomi, give them hell. Try not to get hurt. Operation Domination looks less like a domination if any of us get damaged.¡±
¡°Understood,¡± Naomi said.
Bianca nodded rapidly. ¡°Dale! Let¡¯s do this thing!¡±
Zarian kept walking forward, but at a slower pace, as thedies broke away and headed straight for the den of evil humans. He could see the excitement in both of them.
Bianca wanted to wipe away evil. Naomi wanted to push herself to outdo Bianca, the second most powerful of Zarian¡¯s party.
To be on the safe side, he covered the area with spectral spiders. He double-checked the alpha skills of the murderous gang.
Two spectral spiders, one for each woman, crawled up to their shoulders and told them what to watch out for. This would be an interesting fight to watch so Zarian couldpare himself to others of the evil alignment.
At the same time, a portion of his Fractured Mind wondered how he would break through a blockade with over two thousand men being led by the town¡¯s strongest one hundred guards.
Another part of his Fractured Mind flicked through his Spectral Spider Network and caught sight of a dozen nobles ganging up on a tavern¡¯s rooftop up ahead. They were setting up an ambush.
They were all aligned with good, and they seemed more experienced even if they weren¡¯t serving in the kingdom¡¯s military. A few of them might¡¯ve been prior army men.
Zarian chuckled as he kept track of multiple events at the same time. He opened up channels to speak to the distinguished gents.
¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be sittingzily and reading the newspaper while your wives cook and clean?¡± Zarian asked through a spectral spider.
The creature remained invisible and intangible to them.
The gang of silver foxes jolted in surprise. They prepared an interesting array of skills.
One man charged up a green and leafy ball of magic in his hands. Another man formed a long, leafy thorn that served as a sword. Several others unsheathed their own swords and invigorated themselves with physical skills.
The one who seemed to be the leader wore a medieval top hat and a monocle. He controlled a nearby tree branch to sit back on and was the only one Zarian wasn¡¯t able to use Identify on.
The monocle man revealed a smoking pipe with leaves at the end and lit it with a square runic lighter. He took in some drafts before exhaling a long cloud of smoke.
¡°What is it you want, viin?¡± asked the monocle man.
¡°To stop hostilities and for my party of adventurers to do what we need and leave,¡± Zarian answered.
¡°You wish to stop hostilities by acting as an invading force?¡± The monocle man chuckled. ¡°I say, boy, you have a strange way of doing things. I suppose you¡¯ll live to your calling.¡±
¡°Your kingdom sacrifices young men to your savage neighbors and turns a blind eye to those suffering on the streets. Some of which are veterans of your fights.¡±
¡°That is their purpose in the grand scheme of a good, functioning society. We¡¯ve stood strong for fifteen hundred years just like this while in the Dark Era of all things. That¡¯s a testament of what¡¯s proper and longsting.¡±
¡°Wow, you guys are warped. Okay, how about this? You have men in your society with sses like Urban Torturer and Urban Defiler. You even have a demon guy. Seems like nasty stuff. My girls are going to wipe them out. Can we break bread over that while I exin how it¡¯s in Bramblevale¡¯s best interest to let me do what I want?¡±
The other men shook in surprise and disgust at the mentioning of the city¡¯s most evil criminals. The monocle man continued to smoke his pipe peacefully while sitting on the tree branch.
¡°Those are some heinous men, yes. No matter how bright good shines, evil will fester in the smallest of shadows. However, it matters not if your party of illegal adventurers consumes the criminals of our society. We must stop you here for the sake of our Eternal Garden.¡±
¡°Okay, you chose the ¡®find out¡¯ option,¡± Zarian said. ¡°When I¡¯m done, I¡¯m taking your monocle and your top hat. I can¡¯t be a good viin without those.¡±
Chapter 58: Naomi vs Bianca
Chapter 58: Naomi vs Bianca
Naomi found it exciting and annoying to work beside Bianca. The young woman had a crybaby and happy-go-lucky presence at the start of their adventures in the Infinita. Now Bianca was channeling the force of good +3 while equipped with powerful light abilities that could impact every battle.
The morous Light Bringer Child made Naomi feel insecure.
It sucked that the battle psion had to train more than the others. She couldn¡¯t give herself much time to rx. Every day was an uphill battle to keep up with the epic sses.
Worse yet, Zarian chose her to figure out Aura Ignition.
That damn power was something he wanted to figure out for himself. Ironically, his high-Mysticism and aura-efficient build was anti-ignition. Naomi had the best shot of pulling it off.
Yeah, that was a lot of pressure.
He¡¯s not choosing me out of pity. Naomi wanted to believe he was choosing her because she was capable.
Besides, every time Naomi felt insecure, she buckled down on what she did best.
Embrace the suck and grind!She looked at the uing fight as another opportunity to work her ass off and push past her limits.
She nced over to the morous and taller young woman who shone like the sun next to her. Naomi used her Psionic Affinity to get a general read of Bianca¡¯s surface mood and thoughts.
Bianca wasser focused.
Since Naomi was neutral, she wasn¡¯t sensitive to the alignments like Zarian and Bianca. Still, she could feel it when it was overtly palpable.
Bianca was barely holding back her alignment. It radiated from under her skin and elven dress.
I can¡¯t believe Bianca scares me a little.
Naomi wanted tough as the twodies sauntered across the park. Autumn-colored leaves crinkled under their feet. It was a cool and beautiful day, too. Perfect for an open walk in a flora vista filled with gardens and fountains.
They weren¡¯t going to hide themselves. They moved straight ahead confidently. Because of the information Zarian passed on through the Spectral Spider Network, they had a good idea of what they were facing.
¡°Can I say something?¡± Bianca asked, her brain activity changing to nervousness.
That nearly took Naomi off guard. She nced at the storefront as an evil human creeped through the doorway to take a peek at the two women.
That one was an Urban Defiler, best alpha skill: Defilement Strike.
There were six of those types. They all had a disgusting nature to them. The defiler peeping through the door giggled like a loon, licking his lips in Naomi and Bianca¡¯s direction.
Naomi held back the urge to run over and punch the disgusting man. She nced at Bianca from the side of her eye.
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°You wouldn¡¯t hate me if I tried to match you, would you? I just don¡¯t want you to be mad if I hog your space or anything.¡±
Again, Naomi wanted tough. In the hierarchy of power, Naomi should be asking Bianca to spare her some kills.
Why was it going the other way around if Bianca was the second most powerful in the party?
¡°If you want to take over, I won¡¯t stop you. You¡¯re the second best.¡± Naomi tried to ignore the ache in her chest as she said that.
¡°I don¡¯t think I am. Notpared to how much work you put in.¡±
¡°Does it matter? I only have a rare ss.¡±
Bianca stopped and grabbed Naomi¡¯s hand. What the heck was she doing?
Naomi was surprised as they stopped in the street. Now they were making a scene, and the Urban Defilers were slowly swaggering out the side door.
¡°Grab them. Bring them here. We¡¯ll have our fun indoors and leave an example to that guy,¡± said a gruff voice from inside the store.
Bianca ignored them. For some reason, Naomi did the same, looking up into the radiant sun-yellow eyes of the taller, younger, and more morous woman.
¡°Let¡¯s do this side-by-side. You¡¯ll see how amazing you are. I thought having all the power I have would mean I¡¯m really second best. But that¡¯s not true. I¡¯ve seen how you train, Naomi. You¡¯re ¡ so awesome I need all my powers to keep up.¡±
Naomi couldn¡¯t take this. Not right now. She had switches in her brain for a reason.
This type of conversation was best reserved behind closed doors and out of sight. Then Naomi would let herself be a little girly, a little vulnerable.
Right now, she was trying to hone her killer mindset. If it wasn¡¯t for Tranquil Mind +1, she would¡¯ve gotten thrownpletely for a loop. It was no secret to Naomi that the Star System chose her first skill as Tranquil Mind because of her own problems with handling her wild emotions.
Bianca had no switches or changes. She was herself almost all the time. And she was doing this because she had enormous power.
¡°Ugh, you piss me off!¡± Naomi gently removed Bianca¡¯s hands off of her. ¡°Fine then, side-by-side. Let¡¯s see who¡¯s really the second best, huh?¡±
¡°Don¡¯tpetedies! You¡¯re equally worthy of being ¡ defiled!¡± The defiler at the front jumped up and down like a giddy freak.
The six of them drew closer with knives and spiked clubs out. They all wore ragged clothing that smelled horrible. Their faces were covered in dark streaks. When they smiled, most of their teeth were stained brown and rotten.
The one at the front kept on yakking like an excitable troll. ¡°Evil Goddess Sinfeast will be pleased after we¡¯re done with you. Very, very pleased!¡±
Naomi tightened the straps on both of her gauntlets. She rolled her neck around. Then she said, ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡±
Bianca hit the six defilers with a near-instant searing sh.
She barely had to charge and prepare. She merely pulled in streams of bright sunlight quickly, then released it in bursts of magic photons directed into the defilers¡¯ eyes.
All six men screamed, caught off guard, reacting predictably. They swung at anything near them, triggering their alpha skills.
Naomi noted how their Defilement Strike coated their weapons in a disgusting brown and yellow magic energy. Getting hit by that could lead to some serious poisoning or worse.
She also noticed the air around them bing ufortable, gross, and distracting. That might¡¯ve been an area-of-effect skill or direct mental skill.
The defilers probably had traits that strengthened them by being freaks of defilement. Naomi made note of it all while tracking their surface brain waves through her Psionic Affinity trait.
By the time Naomi finished her initial observations, Bianca gathered six shining orbs of concentrated light around her. Bianca smiled serenely as she directed more light as intense high beams into the faces of the defilers, keeping them blinded and disorientated, as she charged her deadlysers.
If Naomi didn¡¯t act fast enough, then Bianca would hit them all with ease and score the first kills. Oneser per head. Then that would be six dead. All without having to lift a pretty finger.
Oh, hell no.
Naomi gave herself a Level 0 shot of Adrenaline Jolt for a physical boost, regardless of how small, and bolted ahead with an explosive lunge. Her bare feet smashed craters into the street as she sprinted.
She tensed her punching arm, cocked her fist back, and focused Mind Spike +1 into the tips of her knuckles. Her Tranquil Mind +1 pushed aside their area-of-effect skill, letting her focus to her fullest as she charged forward unburdened.
¡°We will make you more beautiful!¡± The lead defiler lunged forward, uncaring of hisck of vision.
He swung his defilement-coated knife in many wild arcs. He grinnedsciviously, licking his brown teeth, before opening his mouth to utter more nonsense.
He missed widely on Naomi, and she hit him with a big haymaker punch to the face.
Boom. His head exploded.
Brown teeth, skull bits, and brain matter sprayed everywhere after the one hit kill. Some of it sttered on Naomi¡¯s side as she rushed past the headless corpse.
She swerved toward her second target, a defiler with a crooked spiked club.
She heard the sizzling, air-popping zing of aser searing through the air and running through a defiler¡¯s skull. She heard the brain turn into boiling popcorn.
Naomi grunted as she mmed her foot down with a street-shuddering quake. She stopped her momentum to avoid a defiled club swing. She heard anotherser go off.
Bianca took her second kill right after the first.
Naomi watched the club get out of her way. She lunged into a flying knee up the jaw and transferred Mind Spike¡¯s power into the strike.
The skull didn¡¯t explode. Naomi¡¯s heart nearly seized until she saw the notification of defeating her second target.
He had a solid base of vitality that prevented the head explosion effect. However, her Mind Spike was still too much for his brain and limited life energy.
Bianca put anotherser through someone¡¯s skull.
She was up three kills.
Naomi was at two kills.
No, no!
Naomi used the defiler she struck with a knee-strike as a tform. She flipped herself over for an overhead axe heel kick.
Thest defiler was hunkered down, shouting insults, swiping a rusted sword covered in defilement energy from a low angle. Because of Bianca¡¯s intense light and refined control, Naomi was practically invisible as she brought her heel down on top of his vulnerable head.
The skull burst under her foot, but her heel didn¡¯t stop there. She had so much momentum, speed, and forceing down she crushed the corpse into the ground and formed a crater.
By the time the street stopped shaking, Naomi had to shake her foot free from the crumbled ribcage of the man she ttened under her. She was disgusted, happy, and amazed.
She could literally crush men under her.
¡°Nice.¡± Bianca dimmed her light show.
She fired off herst threesers at the door. The evil humans ducked back into the store just in time before Bianca¡¯ssers cut through the stone around the door and left serious scorch marks.
¡°You could¡¯ve slipped in a fourth shot on thest one.¡± Naomi wiped her foot across the cobblestone street.
¡°That would¡¯ve been dangerous. You were already moving to get him.¡±
¡°Hm. Okay. How¡¯s your aura?¡±
¡°Okay. Want to see Corpse Bloom?¡±
¡°Sure.¡± Naomi monitored the door while Bianca used an enchantment from her epic dress.
In half a minute, Naomi heard flesh tearing and bones snapping. Then six shambling forms stepped past her and toward the door.
They looked like a humanoid assembly of nts fused with bloody skeletons and strings of muscle. They had flowers for heads blooming out of eye sockets, mouths, and ears. Their roots were entangled with the remaining organs.
The ones missing skulls had the biggest flowers blooming from their necks.
¡°Aren¡¯t they pretty? And they¡¯re good aligned. They hunt for evil directly to spread their seed,¡± Bianca exined.
¡°Doesn¡¯t that include Zarian?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°Well, yeah, but I¡¯ll take care of them before that bes a problem. So, yay, good zombies!¡±
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Again, Naomi found some of this evil and good alignment stuff downright strange and crazy. Granted, she had to admit she was a little jealous that Bianca had an elven princess dress that could raise a walking corpse garden out of her defeated enemies.
And they call that the greater good?
Naomi wanted to snort when she suddenly realized an issue.
Hey, wait a minute.
Weren¡¯t theypeting?
¡°You little sneaky witch!¡± Naomi hissed.
¡°Sorry!¡± Bianca smiled innocently. It had a hint of goodness to it.
Naomi would¡¯ve felt inclined to ept the apology if it wasn¡¯t for Tranquil Mind +1. She growled and turned to run while Bianca frolicked from behind.
Naomi kicked off the opposite wall, sting a hole through it, and hurled herself into the store. She entered a melee between eight Urban Murderers and Bianca¡¯s six flower zombies.
Thankfully, the murderers were winning. Their best alpha skills were Blood Gush Strike, Murderous Gaze, or Murdersome Frenzy.
The frenzy skill was the most popr. Four murderers attacked like rabid animals with knives, a short sword, or their hands.
Coming down from her dynamic entrance, Naomi tucked and rolled. Shended on her feet and used a ranged Mind Spike on a murderer next to her.
She stopped him before he wrapped her neck with a steel garrote. Blood gushed down his nostrils as he flinched away, his brain ravaged by her skill.
In the split second it took him to refocus, Naomi rose out of her crouch. She knocked his teeth free with an uppercut, driving a second Mind Spike into his head.
That did the trick. His brains squirted through every hole in his head.
She whirled around fast with a roundhouse kick. She knocked away a thrusting knife with the shin pad on her leg.
Hannah had doubled up on the amazing Reinforcement and Amplify Force enchantmentbination for Naomi¡¯s leather kickboxing gear. Kicking a knife out of a man¡¯s hand and breaking the hand simultaneously was a perfectly capable tactic.
The thwarted knifer lost his footing and staggered to the side. That left him exposed to another straight back kick, her heel to his cheek. Boom, headshot.
Naomi was ahead. She had five kills now.
Bianca entered the room as a flurry of lights using her Light Step +1. Touching any of the lights could hurt an enemy, while keeping Bianca practically untouchable.
It was a costly skill, but when she swept around the entire room, affecting the remaining six murderers, she swayed the advantage of the fight for her flower zombies. They were too weak to kill the evil humans. But they had them entangled and distracted.
Naomi was rushing for her sixth kill when Bianca reformed into her less ethereal form, her glimmering, flowery, colorful dress fluttering in the wake of her graceful movements. Bianca swung the Lighthouse Falchion like it was an extension of her soul while she pirouetted through the room.
The altered de hummed with intense light as it sliced off one man¡¯s head, leaving scorch marks where the flesh had been parted. Then Bianca lopped off the top of another murderer¡¯s skull a split secondter as her zombies dragged at the murderers, pulling them toward Bianca¡¯s dance of illuminated death.
Naomi nabbed her sixth kill.
Bianca took her sixth as well.
Naomi kicked off the wall for the seventh.
Toote. Bianca hacked through the man¡¯s face with a bright swing. The top of his skull fell off, trailing with smoke.
One more murderer remained, and he¡¯d just freed himself from the flower zombie by destroying it. He raised two hooked swords and roared with a frenzied force.
Naomi roared back, pushing her High Intimidation trait along with a ranged Mind Spike. The murderer hesitated. Naomi reached down and snatched up a knife before throwing it across the room. The knife sunk into the murderer¡¯s skull before Bianca¡¯s sword beheaded him.
¡°Oh, you got him before I did.¡± Bianca pouted a little.
Naomi savored that look. Not for long, though. A burst of nefarious energy erupted from behind her,ing from down a hallway leading to the back rooms.
¡°Watch out, Naomi!¡± Bianca warned.
Naomi felt horrific and insane brain activity sparking up from behind her as she turned to see what wasing. A man oozing strange and otherworldly energy down his body like streams of mist rushed out of the back rooms.
The energy was hateful red and sickly yellow. It zed out from his eyes as he howled like a lunatic.
Naomi hit him with a strong Mind Spike from a distance. Blood poured from the man¡¯s nostrils, but he kept blitzing forward. The juiced up Urban Torturer didn¡¯t care.
If Naomi was the same woman beforeing to Central Bramblevale, then she would¡¯ve been caught outright. However, Zarian¡¯s foresight in grabbing three adventure-essential skills made a deadly confrontation like this more manageable.
Better yet, nobody but Naomi truly understood how powerful Willful Might, Wondrous Speed, and Mystic Toughness worked as abination. Each skill covered three major facets that athletes and warriors from the old world sought in their livelihoods. Even though the skills were in the beta section and Level 0, Naomi knew how tobine all three with her Physical Phenom trait for the best effect.
She ducked under the torturer¡¯s weapon, which were three ws extending from a handle. They snipped the air above her head with a scant room to spare, but now there was an easy opening for a counter.
Naomi mmed her fist into his chest, felt the bones in his ribcage break, and drove her arm forward with all of her power, her feet nted heavily. The man folded like a sheet of paper over her arm, blood vomiting out of his mouth in a great torrent.
Naomi threw him back whence he came.
Hended down the hallway with a rag doll flop and roll. There was a moment of stillness. Then the torturer pushed himself back up, his head lolling around with a crimson grin aimed back at Naomi.
¡°They¡¯ve got the demon¡¯s vitality infused with them now,¡± said a man at the back of the hall. He stood with four more Urban Torturers in front of him.
The torturers oozed more red and yellow energy that felt chaotic and wrong to even Naomi. The man hiding behind them wore ragged robes and jewelry made of human bones, and he had more of that evil red and yellow energy glowing around him, infused with his aura no doubt.
Obviously, he was the Infernal Demonologist.
¡°You, girl in ck, you aren¡¯t evil. It¡¯s a shame. You would¡¯ve been weed in our most free and enterprising alignment. Perhaps we can make an arrangement with my god if you kill the wench behind you.¡±
The demonologist spoke with a vile charm. He was trying to invade her head with an ability.
No shot.
Naomi¡¯s Tranquil Mind +1 thwarted the attempt. She didn¡¯t bother even pretending. She was more concerned by the palpable force of goodness behind her.
¡°Bianca, wait,¡± Naomi said without looking back. ¡°Let me clear the hall. I like my chances, and it¡¯ll make for a good workout. After I take out the torturers, the demon guy is yours.¡±
¡°Bueno. Okay.¡± Bianca¡¯s voice mmed against Naomi¡¯s back and sent shivers down her spine.
The torturers froze despite having been turned into demonic puppets. Clearly, they felt like little fishpared to a big fish like Bianca.
It sucks how much you¡¯ve grownpared to me, Naomi thought. But it¡¯s nice seeing you making people scared, Bianca.
The demonologist looked the most worried. ¡°What level is her good alignment?¡±
¡°Higher than the king¡¯s.¡± Naomi gave her best cocky smile to the evil men.
Thepetition ended now. All she cared for was maximizing the training opportunity that was apparent to her. That and she wanted to see what Bianca would do when she got her hands on the demon guy.
¡°Kill them!¡± the demonologist shouted.
The torturers roared with inhuman voices. The one Naomi had punched down flopped to his feet and ran with a wobble, vomiting blood with each step.
The torturers had two prominent alpha skills: Sadistic Strike or Masochist Drain. Their strikes hurt a lot, and they gained power through causing pain. Naomi imagined they would even get high off their own pain, especially with them turned into demon sock puppets.
Naomi stepped further into the hallway as it filled with evil red and yellow mist. She balled her hands into tight fists and tensed the muscles in her legs. She readied herself as the first torturer dove at her mindlessly.
He swung his wing weapon in a wide arc for her face.
She grabbed his wrist, whipped him around her, and punched his elbow. It snapped backward, hanging uselessly when she let go and punched his head into the wall.
The stone blocks caved.
The head remained somewhat put together even with blood leaking from everywhere. Naomi bent backwards and stomped her foot into his head for a final crunch.
She copied a move Ekri the Tailor had taught her as the second torturer swiped at her with his ws.
Naomi bent backward even further and avoided the attack. She clenched the edge of the crater with the toes of her raised leg and yanked herself up, core muscles engaged. She caught the second torturer with an unexpected hook thrown from an awkward angle.
He mmed into the wall next to the headless corpse of the first.
Naomi kicked back and avoided a downward swipe from the third torturer. She bounced off the wall behind her and punched the third torturer t on his face. He crashed into the second, ttening both against the wall.
The fourth and fifth tried to jump at her together, one over the other. Naomi bobbed, weaved, and hit the lower one with an uppercut. She dug her fist into the fourth¡¯s gut and threw both men into the ceiling off one arm.
When a torturer she punched into the wall tried to get at her, she triple-jabbed him to a halt. She stepped back and watched as the torturers she sent into the ceiling crashed down on their fellow.
From there, Naomi coordinated a hallway beat down like no other. She switched from one man to the next, fists pummeling flesh, feet stomping on limbs. The walls crumbled as she hammered both sides with new craters and holes with such vicious force the entire building and its neighbors shook.
Naomi didn¡¯t pay the structural damages much mind. She was in the zone. She was loving the heart-thumping, skull-breaking, intense action.
The torturers soaked the beatings because of the demonic energy juicing up their vitality. They kept trying to fight her, desperate to make her body sing with pain.
They could try. She refused to let them. They were her living dummies. All she wanted to do was push herself past her limits and give them more than they could handle.
Finally, thest one fell like a broken sack of meat and bones while Naomi stood victorious. All of their heads were smashed to smithereens, their bodies crumpled, their limbs snapped. Blood, brain chunks, and skull fragments coated from most surfaces in the demolished hallway.
The building groaned like it was about to copse. Naomi had worked so hard she struck the area like a miniature earthquake.
¡°My gods,¡± the demonologist said in astonishment. ¡°How incredible. I have seen no person, let alone a woman, able to fight against such odds before. Your talent is wasted as a neutral. Be one with evil! I can push you to further heights! My research will strengthen you. You¡¯ll be stronger than that tyrant behind you!¡±
Naomi shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve already got a man who¡¯ll make me stronger. You aren¡¯t him.¡±
She backed out of the hallway and moved to the side. It was then she noticed a painful sting on her shoulder now that she was falling from thebat high. A torturer hadnded a blow and left his mark. She¡¯d failed her part in this mission of remaining untouched and dominant.
Naomi put aside her disappointment in herself and stood at attention.
Bianca stepped forward with a serene and focused gaze. Dozens of tiny but intense motes of light swirled around her.
There was less of a radiance shining through her body. But she looked like a powerful force of nature anyway. So much so, the blood and carnage had left no mark on her.
¡°You think I¡¯m weak because I can use others to do my bidding?¡± The demonologist spat. ¡°You have no idea what it takes to outsmart the fools of this kingdom and exist as evil! I¡¯ve worked for my power. You are far too young and stupid for me to be cowed by you.¡±
The demonologist prepared an infernal ability, an attack no doubt. Red and yellow magic swirled in ghastly streams between his palms while raised before his chest. The streams condensed into a pulsating ball of demonic energy before he pushed it out as a deadly beam.
Biancabined a dozen motes into one bright orb and shot forth a brilliantser against the demonic beam. She didn¡¯t bat any of her long eyshes as her radiant attack destroyed the demonic attack.
With a shout of surprise, the man shifted to the side and saved his life at thest second, but not without sacrifice. His right arm fell in smoking cinders, Bianca¡¯s radiant beam burning a hole in the wall behind him.
The demonologist lost his nerve. He nced at the exit near him. He dove toward it, but he was too slow.
Bianca¡¯s highest stats were Wonder and Agility. When she used Light Step +1 with Wondrous Speed, she became a flurry of streaking lights that closed the distance and reassembled so fast even Naomi found that unnerving.
Bianca reappeared in the flesh in front of the demonologist, lording her taller height, and caught him by the throat. Shecked in the Willpower and Strength stats, but Naomi imagined the demonologist had little Strength anyway, nor would he have Willful Might.
Bianca took full advantage of the Level 0 skill. She mmed the demonologist into the wall. The man choked and struggled, unable to break free from her hand.
¡°I¡¯m angry,¡± Bianca said. ¡°You made Naomi sad.¡±
Naomi was shocked to hear that. Was Bianca referring to the scratch on her shoulder?
Yeah, it was a shame she¡¯d gotten caught and made herself look less dominant. But Bianca didn¡¯t have to be angry for her.
Before Naomi could say anything, Bianca pushed her remaining motes of light against the demonologist¡¯s body. She nted them on his face, chest, arms, and legs.
Then she released them from their condensed forms.
The motes erupted into balls of miniature suns, each the size of a beach ball. The demonic man¡¯s screaming died out fast.
After the bright lights faded, Naomi saw a scorched skeleton remain where the demonologist had once stood. Behind that was a hole where Bianca had vaporized the wall.
The burnt skeleton crumbled.
Bianca walked back out of the demolished hall with a satisfied smile. ¡°Hm, I wasted more aura than I should¡¯ve. You think if I ask Zarian, he would help me replenish?¡±
Naomi took a second to calm down with the help of her Tranquil Mind. Then, with a sigh, she said, ¡°He can answer for himself, can¡¯t he?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll replenish you, Bianca. I¡¯m going to need you for thest part, anyway.¡± Zarian¡¯s voice transmitted from around them like an inte system. ¡°Outstanding fight, by the way. Those guys were tougher than the soldiers and in the Level 40s. I imagine choosing the evil alignment in a kingdom that¡¯s supposed to be good aligned means they¡¯re better than normal.¡±
¡°Sorry, sir, I took an injury,¡± Naomi said, still feeling crummy.
¡°Well, that isn¡¯t ideal. But I enjoyed watching how you fought and held your ground. That was badass, Naomi. You get my full appreciation for the show.¡±
Naomi would like to think she was above praise. Still, she couldn¡¯t help from feeling happy when it came from Zarian.
¡°Also, Bianca, you wasted more aura than necessary. You could¡¯ve used less for yourst kills.¡±
¡°I know, papi, but I wanted to see if I can keep up with Naomi.¡± Bianca swiped her hand across her brow. ¡°She¡¯s really strong and fast. I¡¯ll need more practice.¡±
¡°Hm. Yeah. Well. Good job, anyway. Nowe out. I¡¯m bored after beating up a bunch of grandpas.¡±
¡°Zarian, no! Not the abuelos!¡± Bianca went running out.
Then she ran back in and shot rays of light at her remaining flower zombies, obliterating them. She ran back out again.
Naomi shook her head. Sometimes, the members of her party could be a lot to handle.
At the very least, her skill levels went up, and she was now Level 33. Fighting those torturers while they had demonic juice running through their veins had given her extra experience.
Still not enough. I need to push further. Go harder. If I want to keep up.
Naomi couldn¡¯t stop the grind-style mindset from running through her head. It was worse now knowing she had to perform Aura Ignition in the next couple of days or risk disappointing Zarian.
Why can¡¯t I function without pressure?
Naomi wasn¡¯t sure. It was a good thing she had Tranquil Mind + 1. It was also a good thing Zarian was such a goofball, too.
He caught her off guard when they reunited with him on the central road.
¡°So, what do you think?¡± Zarian smiled with a monocle over his right eye and a strange top hat on his head.
Behind him was a pile of elderly men covered in bruises. They were still alive, if barely. The nearby street had suffered magical damages, but not as much as it would¡¯ve if Zarian hadn¡¯t dominated.
¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± Bianca said. ¡°You¡¯re trying to be old and wrinkly. Don¡¯t. Be your truly handsome self.¡± Then she added in a small voice, ¡°With bikini armor.¡±
Zarian ignored thatst part and turned to Naomi.
The battle psion stared at the monocle for a long while. As she searched for the right words, Para used her threads to clean the blood and gore off Naomi¡¯s body.
¡°Thanks, Para.¡± Naomi nodded at the Parasite Cloak. Then she looked back at the monocle for a little while longer. Finally, she said, ¡°I can get used to it.¡±
In the end, Zarian ditched the weird hat. He kept the monocle over his right eye. He looked better without the hat.
Such a silly idiot, Naomi thought, while trying not to smile.
Chapter 59: White Rose
Chapter 59: White Rose
Operation Domination was shaping up to be an interesting event for Zarian. He¡¯d fought the town¡¯s upper crust of good aligned fighters and saw what his most powerful girls could do as a duo. He¡¯d also paid close attention to how the evil humans conducted themselves.
In Zarian¡¯s opinion, the kingdom¡¯s evil underbelly wasn¡¯t that impressive.
Yes, the evil humans had seemed stronger and scarier than the soldiers and guards. They must¡¯ve been cunning to exist in Central Bramblevale without getting wiped out.
But once Naomi and Bianca had them outmatched, the evil humans weren¡¯t quick enough in adapting and trying different tactics. Theycked flexibility except for the demonologist.
Was it because theycked a militant education? They hadn¡¯t exactly selected sses that were suited for proper battles. Maybe it was because the evil humans hadn¡¯t dealt with strong adventurers like Zarian and his party before.
Zarian pondered on the situation regarding other evil humans for a little while, wondering if he should expand his spider surveince and search the underground. Then he focused on adjusting his new monocle. It had some quirky enchantments.
The monocle was a nice trophy after sparing the lives of the foolish old men. Zarian figured there were plenty of cases where he would want the zoom function. Of course, having Bianca as a teammate meant he would enjoy the dimming function for just in case purposes.
Thest part was even more unique. He figured the Sophisticated Monocle was useful for anyone who¡¯d lost something and couldn¡¯t remember where they put it.I have my Spectral Spider Network for all of that. Honestly, this thing is a little redundant.
Maybe he could sell it to an old man who might need it more than him.
Or I keep it as a fashion statement while looking wiser than I truly am.
The monocle was not the only gain.
He¡¯d earned some significant level ups and a new achievement.
Wow. That¡¯s better than the Junior Manughterer.
There were achievements for killing and non-killing. The non-killing route seemed to reward more. Zarian¡¯s points in Wonder shot up from 70 to 90 points.
The difference was significant. His magical skills would hit with more oomph, especially for critical damage. He felt more perceptive of things around him, not just magic. He felt luckier and more certain of himself.
With his Overpower trait, his aura even felt chunkier.
He would have to inform everyone of this achievement when they were behind closed doors, especially the members who relied on the Wonder stat. Honestly, they should get as many achievements as they could even if they had to mow through a bunch of men during genocidal runs or pacifist runs.
¡°So, how are we getting past the blockade at the keep?¡± Naomi asked, pulling Zarian out of his thoughts.
Zarian checked through his Spectral Spider Network to see if the situation remained the same.
It hadn¡¯t.
There were now three thousand soldiers defending the Bramblevale Keep. At the center of the blockade were their best fighting men, who were too high in level for Zarian to Identify.
Thete morning was transitioning toward noon now. Slow, blocky tetris-shaped clouds crawled across the wide blue sky. A gust blew through, rustling the autumn-colored branches of the many trees and hedges grown to dress the town. The shadows shrank away as the suns crawled closer to their zenith.
It was at this point where Zarian would be his weakest even with Straight Darkness +1 in the alpha skill section. He would have to apply his overpowered nature with some cunning that required a y on light and dark.
Hence why Bianca was here. They weren¡¯t just opposites. They could elevate each other, too.
Zarian thought about his ns to get past the blockade as they entered another major market square. It was empty of people.
Wares, foods, and many other items remained, some having been dropped to ground during the haste of fleeing townsfolk. A pack of dogs moved about to make off like bandits along with some birds. There were a few soldiers acting as scouts while hopping from rooftop to rooftop with movement skills.
Zarian ignored the scouts in favor of looking past Naomi, who was mostly cleaned up because of Para¡¯s efforts. Naomi and Bianca turned to follow his gaze as an elderly man dressed in all white walked out of the alley to their right.
Zarian couldn¡¯t use Identify on the man in white. More importantly, the elderly man had a presence about him that was palpable, good, and confident.
The man in white reminded Zarian of facing the elder gnolls, although he wasn¡¯t sure if the man in white was as strong as them. Most likely not. Even so, he could be a far more dangerous threat.
Zarian pulled his hands out of his pockets and flexed his fingers.
Naomi raised her gauntlet-d fists.
Bianca prepared a few motes of light. She wasn¡¯t quite replenished yet from eating Zarian¡¯s aura, but she had plenty enough to assist.
Zarian waited, adjusting his monocle with a free hand. He used the monocle to show off anything dangerous on the stranger¡¯s person.
The monocle acted like an augmented reality device and used blue highlights to draw attention to the stranger¡¯s sword, gloves, and the pin featuring a white rose on the left breast pocket of his suit.
Zarian paid more attention to the elegant silver sword fastened to the old man¡¯s sword belt, which Zarian couldn¡¯t Identify even with the monocle¡¯s help. At the very least, the man in white hadn¡¯t drawn it yet.
The stranger came to a stop two dozen feet away. He held his hands behind the small of his back. He had a plethora of deep wrinkles on his face, which crinkled as he smiled.
¡°I see you haven¡¯t killed nary a townsfolk in this troublesome operation of yours, which begs a question,¡± the old man said. ¡°What is it you want, children?¡±
¡°To tell the Bramblevale Lord to stop being an asshole. I don¡¯t care if adventurers are illegal or if you have problems with your borders. I have my own business to conduct.¡± Zarian jabbed a thumb back in the direction whence his party came. ¡°I¡¯m only making an example for you all to see I¡¯m capable of doing worse. Of course, everyone should know that.¡±
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¡°The Bramblevale Bandits have met their end indeed.¡± The old man chuckled dryly. ¡°It is a shame that it wasn¡¯t done by a truly good hand. Oh, how easy it is topromise just to keep the peace.¡±
¡°Is sacrificing two hundred men to gnolls part of that peacekeeping stance?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°How can you call me evil when your kingdom is doing that?¡±
¡°It¡¯s terrible, isn¡¯t it?¡± The old man nodded, agreeing with Zarian, which was a surprise. ¡°There aren¡¯t many in the kingdom who have it in them for critical thinking. The ability to deduce that there is a wrongness around them is beyond them for it is their day-to-day lives that concerns them most. Yet, here we are with the opportunity to test ourselves as men and we cannot rise to the asion because it¡¯s ufortable to risk the stability of our way of life.¡±
Zarian took a few seconds to digest what the old man was saying. Bianca beat him to the punch with a shriek.
¡°Oh my goodness, you¡¯re an actual good, good person!¡± Bianca bounced, pped, and emitted minor shes in celebration. ¡°It¡¯s been kind of sadtely. I was wondering if these alignments are fake news or whatever.¡±
¡°My dear ¡ how high is your good alignment?¡± The old man asked.
Zarian held up a hand to keep Bianca from answering. Thankfully, she followed his lead and kept her mouth shut. He appreciated that a lot.
Regardless of their differences in alignment, Bianca still followed him.
¡°Who are you?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°If you don¡¯t know, I¡¯m Zarian Darkrun. To my right is Naomi Washington. To my left is Bianca Garcia. We¡¯re from Florida, the World of Swamps and Princesses.¡±
The old man nodded before straightening his body and taking on a more dignified stance. ¡°It is a pleasure to be acquainted with you despite the dire circumstances. I¡¯m Arnold of Ambrose, White Rose of Serveserf, Seventh Guardian of the Eternal Garden Kingdom. I¡¯m considered the weakest, unfortunately, so I appreciate you not sting through these old bones of mine and granting me a humble audience for your attention.¡±
¡°Why would I st at you and not talk? I have no problems with my elders.¡±
¡°The man whose monocle you¡¯ve taken wasn¡¯t given much consideration.¡±
¡°He was one of those people who enjoyed theforts of their day-to-day lives while ignoring the plight of those beneath him,¡± Zarian said. ¡°And he tried to stab me with very sharp tree branches.¡±
¡°Fair, fair.¡± Arnold nodded. ¡°Now that we¡¯re acquainted on the most surface of levels, can I convince you to let me handle things from here? I¡¯m sure we can settle this dispute amicably.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± Naomi grouched. ¡°Operation Domination is supposed toy down thew for us. Do we really want gramps to steal our thunder? And can we really trust him just because he seems hip with the struggle?¡±
¡°No, wait, I really have a good feeling about this,¡± Bianca pleaded. ¡°I know we haven¡¯t had the best examples of good alignment, but I think Senor Arnold is actually an upright and swell guy. Look at him. He¡¯s all so happy and friendly. I trust him.¡±
¡°Are you sure that¡¯s not the good alignment getting to you?¡± Naomi used.
¡°Oh,e on! I¡¯m in control of it. I know when to use it and when not to!¡± Bianca huffed.
¡°Why do you want to help us?¡± Zarian asked Arnold.
¡°I don¡¯t wish to see anyone innocent dragged into unnecessary fighting. And you¡¯ve conducted yourselves quite well under the current circumstances. You¡¯ve ended the Bramblevale Bandits. You¡¯ve avoided taking the lives of the townsfolk and moved in a way that was considerate of those weaker than yourselves. You¡¯ve eliminated those heinous miscreants who feasted upon the weak and defenseless.¡±
As Arnold rattled off their deeds, even Zarian was impressed by how it all sounded. Zarian and his party had aplished a lot, and Arnold still had more to say.
¡°You have the Good Goddess Lovewar backing you, who my god finds spirited and honest, even to a fault. You¡¯ve also saved those young soldiers from the most terrible fate of being sacrificed, even if it could lead to grave trouble down the road. Perhaps it is what¡¯s best for our kingdom to face.¡±
¡°You won¡¯t,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Pardon me? What do you mean?¡±
¡°You won¡¯t face any grave trouble down the road. Not from the gnolls, at least. They won¡¯t attack. I¡¯ve dealt with that.¡±
Bianca¡¯s eyes shed as she fidgeted next to Zarian. With a sigh, he gestured for her to talk.
¡°We¡¯re Heroes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom! Well, specifically me and Zarian. But, yeah, we convinced the gnolls not to attack!¡± Bianca kept shing lights above their heads like a silent fireworks disy.
Zarian didn¡¯t like it much, but he didn¡¯t deny her the fun. Besides, she was making good use of her Shining Trust trait on top of her high goodness. He also appreciated how she skipped over the darker parts of Zarian¡¯s negotiation with the gnolls.
¡°Part of this operation of ours was to kick ass, march up those steps, and let the Bramblevale Lord hear a piece of our mind. Then p him with that news.¡± Naomi crossed her arms in front of her chest. ¡°But there it goes. The cat¡¯s out of the bag. Now you know.¡±
Arnold looked at them for a long time. He centered his gaze on Bianca. ¡°Is this true?¡±
Bianca huffed, releasing a pulse of powerful goodness. She bent her good alignment around Zarian and Naomi and had it crash into Arnold like a wave, forcing the White Rose to stumble back.
¡°Serveserf, oh god of the downtrodden, what was that?¡± Arnold was shocked.
Zarian smiled sharply. ¡°That ¡ is good +3. We¡¯ve mentioned it to the past fortress lords. I guess they¡¯re keeping that information to themselves.¡±
Arnold bowed three times, one hand over his heart, the other behind his lower back. ¡°I¡¯m only good +1 myself. The strongest and oldest of us, the White Rose of Purehome, is only good +2. The king is only good aligned, and I have quite the misgivings about that.¡±
¡°Is that so?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yes, it is so. But that¡¯s a conversation best had behind closed doors. Nheless, to face someone far above our good alignment at such a young age ¡ with that elven dress of all things ¡ and to hear that you are truly heroes of our kingdom ¡ then my dear children I must humbly beg for your forgiveness for how us ignoramuses have treated you.¡±
Zarian¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. Bianca looked like she was going to burst into glee.
Naomi tilted her head. ¡°Huh, that¡¯s a first.¡±
Arnold continued: ¡°Please, allow this mere old man of the Ambrose Family be of service to you. The Eternal Garden Kingdom may have lost its luster, but there are those like me who wish to see it beautified for the better.¡±
Zarian wasn¡¯t sure. This was an unexpected turn of events. Was this due to him and Bianca having high points in Wonder?
Did an extra 20 points make that big of a difference to turn the situation around?
His evil alignment wanted him to turn down the offer and continue with Operation Domination as nned. His Fractured Mind could see many ways for things to backfire if they trusted Arnold to help them.
The System came around with a side quest just to weigh on his decision.
¡°Zarian! Papi! Zarian! Papi!¡± Bianca bounced all over the ce to his left. ¡°Dale! Let¡¯s do it!¡±
Naomi frowned at the group notification. She let out a sigh. ¡°I wanted to see how far you can push it, sir. I¡¯ll frankly be disappointed by the diplomatic option.¡±
Zarian thought about it. Then he smiled. ¡°There will be plenty of times in the future where you¡¯ll see me push it over the edge.¡±
He reached over and patted Naomi¡¯s back, and she subtly rxed from the gesture. Then he added, ¡°But for this once, I want to see if good can actually be good.¡±
Zarian turned to the White Rose of Serveserf and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t mind me being evil?¡±
¡°Even evil can serve the greater good.¡± Arnold gave him a quirky smile.
¡°Blegh. I¡¯m only serving the interests of myself and my party.¡±
¡°Of course, of course, young man! Now, shall I lead the way?¡± Arnold bowed up and down again before waving his arms forward.
There¡¯s no way this doesn¡¯t end up as another fight, Zarian thought.
He wasn¡¯t usually this cynical. But he was under the re of twin sunlight. There was a bunch of goodness flinging all over the ce.
Also, it was hard to believe in someone like a White Rose, who was the pinnacle fighting force of the Eternal Garden Kingdom. There were only seven of them, one for each of the seven good gods.
Zarian had read up on them using the information gathered at the Lovewar Mansion. The White Roses were almost the equivalent of the elder gnolls.
I don¡¯t think they¡¯re as strong directly. Those gnolls have more fight in them, especially with how they¡¯re raised to kill all the time.
He examined the old man¡¯s back as Arnold of Ambrose escorted them down the rest of the way to Bramblevale Keep.
Can I take him in a fight?
Maybe.
Zarian imagined Arnold and the other White Roses were in the Level 70s based on all that he knew.
Zarian was Level 38, not even armed with his first ss advancement. He could fight multiple men in their Level 50s. He hadn¡¯t tested himself against anything in the Level 60s yet.
I sent a powerful enemy in the Level 80s flying with my best attack. I should be able to handle something in the Level 60s if I¡¯m not dumb about it.
A fair fight against someone in the Level 70s might be pushing his luck. He would want his first ss advancement before that fight.
Zarian chuckled, shaking his head. He let go of thepetitive thoughts. There were more important matters. Such as seeing if Arnold could live up to his word.
Could the good alignment of this world actually be good and reasonable?
Chapter 60: Grandest and Strangest
Chapter 60: Grandest and Strangest
The Bramblevale Keep was a monumental construction. It was as wide as a stadium and as tall as a skyscraper. It had six sides and a hexagonal design. The steps leading up its elevated foundation had twenty-foot tall greenery going down each of the edges of the hexagon. The grounds around the keep were spacious, with manicured grass and stone pavementbined in checkered patterns.
Now that Zarian was looking up at the keep from the bottom, he didn¡¯t think three thousand men were enough to barricade the massive structure. However, three thousand men were enough to cover the one major door leading inside.
That door was already barred with magic. Zarian examined the walls, using the telescope and highlighting features of his Sophisticated Monocle.
The windows were narrow slits. They had enough space for airflow, and that was it.
He felt an immense amount of aura channeling through the Bramblevale Keep¡¯s walls. The entire structure was enchanted to impede forceful invasions.
It had so much power running through its runic veins that even Zarian felt uncertain he could break through. At least during the day time.
Maybe if he had waited until night time then he wouldn¡¯t be uncertain.
¡°Yes, I know. This is quite a mighty statement of power, defense, and extravagant tax spending, taking from the meager earnings of serfs and poor vendors to protect those who are already well-protected.¡± Arnold chuckled while stooped over slightly, his hands behind his back, looking like an old and frail man.
Zarian knew that age yed a factor even if a person was in the Level 70s or 80s. They could only evade the dwindling of their life energy if they ascend to the higher worlds.Thus, the old man in white had a small amount of life energy left. Zarian could kill him by just using Bloody Lifesteal to drain that amount, if he could draw blood.
¡°My boy! The look in your eyes makes these frail bones of mine shiver with fright.¡± Arnold shook while under Zarian¡¯s darkened gaze.
Zarian adjusted his monocle, the gesture lending him more time to think. ¡°I can¡¯t help it. I¡¯m wondering what¡¯s the best way to kill you. Just in case.¡±
¡°Zarian, stop that!¡± Bianca shook her head before turning to the elderly man in white. ¡°Please forgive him. He can be so bleak sometimes. But other times he¡¯s fun and chipper. It might be the suns. Do you want me to help shade you?¡±
Bianca turned to Zarian expectantly.
I feel like she¡¯s mothering me now. And Naomi was giving him and Bianca weird looks.
¡°No, thanks. Let me endure the tyranny of the suns.¡± Zarian sighed before setting his re on Arnold. ¡°I won¡¯t harm you if you don¡¯t give me any reasons for it. I¡¯m just curious about how I can beat you.¡±
¡°Oh, I know! I¡¯m only jesting while I work up the nerves to face my own people. I was never good at handling so many in a crowd. Besides, the youngdy who shares your characteristics has the same challenging look in her eyes as well. My, I think she¡¯s even more ambitious than you!¡±
Arnoldughed it off like it was all good fun.
Zarian didn¡¯t even bother looking back at Naomi. Arnold hadn¡¯t spoken a lie, at least for now.
Zarian chuckled. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t me Naomi. I have advantages. She¡¯s working from the bottom up. Now, let¡¯s proceed with the demonstration. Show us what the White Rose of Serveserf could do.¡±
¡°Oh, my, I feel a tad bit pressured now. I hope I don¡¯t bring embarrassment to my family and to my sworn god. Ah, well, I guess this old man will do his best. Wait here, children, and let me open the door.¡±
Zarian did as he was told. Well, somewhat. He had a spectral spider waiting on the White Rose¡¯s shoulder. He had other spectral spiders milling in the area.
They couldn¡¯t break into the keep, unfortunately. The monumental structure had solid defenses that even kept out ghostly crawlers that specialized in stealth and spy work.
Clearly, the Bramblevale Lord hadn¡¯t spared any expense for his own protection.
¡°Ladies, you both have a spectral spider on your shoulder. They¡¯ll transmit all conversations around the White Rose for us to hear,¡± Zarian whispered.
Naomi and Bianca nodded. The trio waited outside of the square, staying in the slim shadow of an expensive-looking bank.
There were a few random townsfolk nearby who were looking out from nearby windows of public buildings. Zarian kept track of all the scouts spying on him and thedies as well.
A few of the scouts looked eager to strike. The ones who made a move that looked too aggressive suffered a sudden blunt shadow pole to their heads, knocking them out.
Through the Spectral Spider Network and his telescopic vision, Zarian watched Arnold of Ambrose walk briskly toward the steps. The longer he walked, the faster he moved, until his pace became as fast as a sprint while he still looked like he was walking.
It was a weird thing to see from a distance. Zarian figured that style of walk resulted from having many points in Agility.
Arnold made the act of walking look like gliding.
He was smooth for an old man, too.
Reaching the steps, he stopped in front of the barricade. Three thousand men stood in his way. They formed up with three hundred men a row for ten rows.
They condensed most of their numbers in front of therge double doors leading into the Bramblevale Keep. Taking the center were a hundred men that Zarian couldn¡¯t Identify.
Because of the distance, he couldn¡¯t quite get a feel of them. Not directly. Through his spectral spiders, he could feel that the one hundred strongest guards weren¡¯t easy pushovers.
He was sure each of them was in the Level 50s. If the White Rose failed, Zarian would have to rely on some cunning to break through like he originally nned.
What can an old man serving as the representative of Serveserf really do? Zarian wondered.
Well, Arnold had called himself the seventh and weakest of the White Roses. That had elicited little confidence in Zarian.
I¡¯ll get mentally prepared for when he fails.
¡°Hello my dear countrymen, I¡¯m Arnold of Ambrose, White Rose of Serveserf, Seventh Guardian of the Eternal Garden Kingdom,¡± Arnold greeted. ¡°I was in the region when I caught wind of this fiasco we¡¯ve found ourselves in. As the closest White Rose, I figured it is best I weigh in on what¡¯s happening here and bring us toward a peaceful solution as best as I can.¡±
The leader of the barricade was a well-dressed thug, in Zarian¡¯s opinion. He was young, and possibly talented, while exuding more power than the next strongest men beside him, which could mean he was in the high Level 50s or Low 60s.
The thuggish guard shed a cocky grin down at the older White Rose and spoke aloud arrogantly:
¡°The weakest White Rose in our humble town? Well, it¡¯s a pleasure to have you, sir!¡± said the arrogant guard. ¡°But I do believe your status here is questionable. We¡¯ve received scout reports that you¡¯ve failed your duties to not only eliminate the uwful adventurers, but you¡¯ve also agreed to escort them here.¡±
¡°Failed? Never. Escort? Yes, certainly. I¡¯vee to the conclusion that we¡¯re in the presence of heroes! They should be weed! And their adventurer status should be waived! That is within thews of the Eternal Garden Kingdom.¡±
The White Rose sounded certain of that, so there had to be truth to the im. Certainws could be waived, which would give Zarian and his party the legality to do what they needed with less harassment.
Arnold carried on: ¡°The acting lord in charge, especially a High Rose, may waive the illegality of their adventurer status via Writ of eptable Adventurism and include them as Important Foreign Nobility with a few signatures. So there is no further problem to be had. All we must do is have a conversation that will illuminate how we¡¯ve been mistaken.¡±
Arnold let out a cheerfulugh.
The arrogant guard reached to the side and took a man¡¯s javelin. With a quick and powerful flick, heunched it like a bolt out of a crossbow.
It would¡¯ve hit Arnold straight in the chest if the White Rose didn¡¯t raise his hand and smack aside the javelin. His gloves glimmered on impact before returning to normal. The javelin sunk deep into a grassy spot behind him.
The arrogant guard roared: ¡°We¡¯re not letting you or those viins in! Per the orders of the Bramblevale Lord, we¡¯ll guard this keep with our lives! Now run off you weak White Rose, or you¡¯ll suffer the consequence of facing the best fighting men in all the Eternal Garden Kingdom!¡±
¡°Are you sure about this young man?¡± Arnold removed his white gloves and stuffed them into his breast pocket.
His hands were old, wrinkly, and rough with callouses.
He had a lot of scars.
Arnold gripped the handle of his silver sword with loose fingers. ¡°You must understand that I¡¯m serving under forces mightier than even the Bramblevale Lord. In fact, I find the High Rose leading this town region to becking. The way you are acting is a consequence of Lord Cassian¡¯s failures as a proper leader, regardless of his familial ties to the royal family, and thus what may happen next will reflect even more poorly on him.¡±
Arnold sighed as he straightened his back. ¡°Are you sure about taking this stance?¡±
¡°Prepare your arms and magic, my men!¡± roared the cocky guard. ¡°We have the numbers! The White Rose of Serveserf is weak! We¡¯ll crush him and make ourselves greater than the Seventh White Rose!¡±
Zarian sighed as he flexed his hands. He nced over at his girls. ¡°Let¡¯s go help that old fool.¡±
¡°I¡¯m ready, sir.¡± Naomi nodded.
Bianca did nothing but smile. ¡°Have faith.¡±
Zarian frowned at Bianca before looking back with his direct telescopic vision. The scene looked terrible for Arnold while thousands of men prepared to put him down regardless of his status as a White Rose.
Clearly, there was internal strife in the kingdom, and Arnold wasn¡¯t on the side of what was popr with these men in power. The arrogant guard seemed confident that he could strike at a Guardian of the Eternal Garden Kingdom and not face any consequences.
That stopped being the case when the arrogant guard lost his head.
Literally.
Zarian¡¯s eyes widened as the head tumbled from between the guard¡¯s shoulders. No blood spilled. Not even a little squirt.
In fact, the arrogant guard was still trying to talk trash even without a voice box. He hadn¡¯t realized his head had fallen until he hit the steps and rolled down with a metallic tink.
Arnold had his sword out.
It was unlike any sword Zarian had ever seen.
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The de was shifting liquid, white silver in color, and shiny under the beaming light of the twin suns. It flowed with its own miniature current along the curved edge and the shifty spine.
By the time the lead guard¡¯s head stopped rolling, Zarian saw hardened silver had covered the neck as the body toppled over. Hell, there looked to be growths forming from the silver metal.
They almost looked like ¡ flowers.
¡°Well, that¡¯s quite a shame. I suppose I¡¯ll have to exercise my right as a White Rose to put down such an unruly insurrection.¡± Arnold frowned, seeming to pity the death of the thuggish and cocky guard. ¡°A mutiny such as this by our own fighting men saddens me, so I will strike you all down with a heavy heart and a quick hand, if I must. Unless, of course, youy down your arms and magic here and now.¡±
Arnold sounded hopeful the remaining men would give up.
His sword remained in hand nheless.
¡°Attack!¡± roared another guard in the Level 50s.
The entire blockade lit up with magic abilities apanied by a thousand raining projectiles. Green bolts filled with razor sharp leaves. Conjured thorns. Torrents of splinters. Lunging vines. A few rays of light that were like Bianca¡¯s abilities. And more. Which was all followed by enchanted bolts, arrows, javelins, and even heavy metal balls tossed by their strongest men.
Zarian watched, fascinated, as Arnold dealt with the bombardment by using the simplest and most overlooked tactic. He moved forward and slipped past a gap through the barrage.
Behind Arnold was a trail of liquid silver with metallic flowers growing in his wake, most getting destroyed under the barrage. That was a fine price to pay while Arnold waltzed through the Level 50s and shed them apart with his liquid metal sword.
Every cut swung out sweeping arcs and flying crescents of silver that hacked through half a dozen to a dozen men at once. They tried to fight him. But they were so packed up against each other, the Level 50s got in their way while someone much greater and better than them hacked them apart.
It was like watching an adult defeat a bunch of toddlers who couldn¡¯t coordinate together or impact the fight individually. All while Arnold looked like he was smoothly walking with a ballroom style grace, one arm behind his back, the other swinging his sword with powerful, blindingly fast cuts that remained both unpredictable and perfectly ced where he could logically do the most damage and avoid taking damage to himself.
It was like watching a maestro at work. Someone who truly perfected his craft despite whatever limitations he¡¯d faced. Truly, this was a White Rose.
It¡¯s sad he and the others might be weaker than the gnoll elders. Zarian shook away the downer thought and focused on the wondrous disy as it came to a quick and violent end.
Arnold finished killing a hundred men regardless of their magic abilities and reached the heavy doors. He knocked on it and the doors lost their powerful defensive enchantments and swung open. Then Arnold turned toward the bloodless massacre he¡¯d created.
He¡¯d only killed the Level 50s, the ones in charge. Their bodies flopped in separate parts down the steps. Silver flowers bloomed from where the magic metal sword had cut.
After a minute of stunned silence, where the remaining men gawked in disbelief, a mesmerizing field of metallic flowers grew from the deaths of the Level 50s. It looked like Arnold hadid out a wide trail of silver flowers down the steps for Zarian and thedies to walk up to reach the front entrance.
Zarian led the girls forward across the wide open courtyard space. He reached the steps where silver flowers waited. They covered the corpses, heads, and limbs so thoroughly the remains of the dead Level 50s were nothing but lumps left on the steps of silver flowers.
Zarian climbed up among the silver flowers while thedies followed. Nobody remaining in the barricade attempted to stop them. They just watched in horror and shock, wordless, after seeing the violent yet beautiful mastery of the Seventh Guardian of the Eternal Garden Kingdom.
¡°Damn, old man,¡± Zarian said after reaching the front entrance. ¡°You had me going there. I thought I would have to intervene on your behalf.¡±
Zarian looked back at the beautiful massacre. ¡°Are you sure that was a good idea? That could¡¯ve weakened the defense of the town.¡±
¡°They believed themselves above the authority of a White Rose,¡± Arnold said. Then he quietly added, ¡°And they believed themselves untouchable, among other things.¡±
Naomi looked Arnold up and down, arms crossed. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re hip. I might start liking you if you can teach me some stuff.¡±
¡°I think I¡¯m the only one disappointed now.¡± Bianca pouted. ¡°I really thought we¡¯ll get through with no deaths among the guards and soldiers.¡±
Zarian couldn¡¯t help but snicker.
Arnold bowed in front of Bianca. ¡°Forgive me, mdy. But the nature of your heroic status and your level of goodness requires the surest of measures. I can¡¯t let my countrymen continue their dishonorable acts before you and your party without retribution. It is better if I be the hand who must strike in your favor when dealing with matters of our kingdom, if you may.¡±
It¡¯s also a clever way to shift this situation from ¡®hostile invasion of illegal adventurers¡¯ to an event where a ¡®White Rose puts down mutiny and corruption,¡¯ Zarian thought.
Arnold of Ambrose was a shrewd old man.
Zarian was starting to like him. Even his evil alignment was impressed by Arnold. Although the evil alignment felt even more wary about the cunning of the old man. Zarian figured it was smart to be wary.
¡°Yeah, okay, this is definitely a surefire way to leave an impression on this frontier town who¡¯ve gotten too big-headed to think they can deny the authority of their superior.¡± Naomi nodded, looking very satisfied. ¡°Granted, it¡¯s in our favor. So I¡¯m very pleased. Operation Domination hasn¡¯t gotten dropped off a cliff just yet.¡±
¡°Yeah, well, Arnold, I appreciate this.¡± Zarian leaned close to the White Rose. ¡°I would really like it if you teach some of your moves to mypanions even if you don¡¯t want to teach me.¡±
Arnold shivered before he straightened himself, fixed his tie, fixed his sword belt ¨C the sword back in its scabbard ¨C and assumed a stooped stance with his hands behind his back. ¡°You are high in evil, aren¡¯t you?¡±
Zarian smiled coldly, not answering.
¡°Well,e along now. The young guards and soldiers can sort themselves out. I imagine there¡¯ll be a lot of new promotionsing along. Hopefully, we¡¯ll have more open-minded men among the new leadership.¡±
Arnold led Zarian¡¯s party through a massive lobby area with a verdant garden design and many water fountains. Ethereal magic lights shone from sconces on the walls. More lights shone from the ceiling.
He led them past an enormous staircase filled with switchbacks rising all the way up. Zarian, Naomi, and Bianca craned their heads back to stare into the shining void of the hollowed out middle of the keep. They could see the topmost ceiling from down on the bottom floor.
All the rooms were against the heavy walls with at least a hundred levels of walkways flowing around the inner walls of the keep. Not everything was uniformed based on how some walkways were shaped differently than others or had more space pushed toward the centerpared to other floors with thinner walkways.
¡°For security reasons, they turn off the magic lift. During emergencies, a White Rose can override the turn off switch.¡± Arnold ced his hand against a section of the wall covered in leafy vines and nts.
The wall peeled aside and revealed a huge circr tform.
Zarian felt the magic at work with his Basic Aura Maniption. The enchanters and engineers of this ce had done a decent job. He really needed to take Hannah here for a tour so she could just scan everything.
Then again, from what Hannah had told him in preparations of heading into the Bramblevale Main Library, the library was supposedly even more impressive than the Bramblevale Keep. Many nobles, especially the biggest noble family, had poured resources into the library for reasons that even the Lovewar Acolyte¡¯s informationwork couldn¡¯t figure out.
Zarian did all he could to watch and map out things with his aura maniption. He had spiders back at the mansion jot things down using arcane webbing for Hannah to examine.
Arnold used a runic podium with a magic hologram disy at the center to activate the elevator tform. It hummed with gravity magic, which Zarian could recognize because of his studies of the gravity spell in his ck magic grimoire. He frantically traced over as many foreign runes as he could and tried to memorize them with his Fractured Mind.
The elevator moved at a good speed, but there was plenty of time for Zarian to pull out his Grimoire of ck Magic 102. He flipped through some gravity pages he¡¯d gone over and went a few pages ahead to match up what he was seeing live. Before the elevator trip ended, he felt like he made a big breakthrough and could get past a section he¡¯d gotten stuck on.
He¡¯d reached 25%pletion of the gravity spell. He still had a long way to go. But he had more momentum now than when he¡¯d started.
¡°Learned something?¡± Arnold asked.
¡°Yeah, I did! This elevator ride was great,¡± Zarian said, thrilled.
¡°Oh, my. He¡¯s actually adorable when he¡¯s not brooding murder. Reminds me of my dear great grandson when he was young. Ho, ho, ho.¡± Arnoldughed.
¡°Yes, yes, I agree! He¡¯s adorable and handsome,¡± Biancaughed as well.
¡°He¡¯s cool.¡± Naomi kept a neutral expression.
Zarian felt a little embarrassed by his prior outburst and their reactions. They had no idea how hard it was to be a wizard while having a Fractured Mind that wanted to y with many ideas.
Thankfully, Para wouldn¡¯tugh at him. Instead, she patted his head with one of her flesh arms that ended with five long, veiny, and red fingers. She even formed a mouth tendril with a voice box and emitted a long celebratory wail.
¡°That¡¯s Para saying congrats,¡± Zarian tranted.
¡°Para, can you try to say Bianca for me!¡± The Light Bringer Child asked.
Para tried. She still couldn¡¯t get it. It sounded like the bellow of a dying animal getting assimted with a hungry parasite.
¡°I get it. English is hard. Zarian and the others keep putting off our promised Spanish lessons. Let¡¯s try, Para. H, me ma Para.¡±
Para tried. It sounded like a walrus and an elephant making love with a dumpster truck while stuck in a giant grinder.
Bianca remained undeterred and kept trying to teach Para Spanish. The tform slowed to a stop. The doors to their destined floor swooshed open.
Arnold watched the eldritch Spanish interaction for a few seconds with a funny look on his face before turning away. He led them down a hallway filled with expensive and luxurious items. The hall was wide, too. They were on the top floor, so it probably had the most spacious sections.
That was proven true when they turned a corner and entered a reception area as big as an atrium and led to somerge meeting rooms and the office of the Bramblevale Lord. There were also some bestial stone golems that looked like overgrown chia pets lying in wait.
Zarian couldn¡¯t Identify them. He prepared to fight, but Arnold waved his hand. The chia pet golems turned away and went to lounge around elsewhere.
¡°We have a good escort for once,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Yeah,¡± Naomi agreed.
¡°Yay for semi-diplomacy with a hint of genocide!¡± Bianca¡¯s enthusiasm was unstoppable.
Para wailed in agreement.
Arnold continued forward. He pressed his hands on a set of double doors. The protection runes turned off at his touch. He shoved the doors out of his way and raised a hand to block a magic bolt thrown at his face.
Bramblevale Lord Cassian of Paxan, cousin of the king, was yelling from behind a massive wooden desk in a room filled with green nts and indoor water disys. Zarian¡¯s focus was less on the lord¡¯s words and more on Arnold¡¯s fascinating actions.
Arnold walked in with brisk steps. He moved around the wooden desk and pped Cassian with the back of his hand, sending the man tumbling down.
Arnold picked up Cassian and threw the man into the desk, keeping him pinned chest down.
Arnold spoke over the other man¡¯s disagreeable words. ¡°Now, milord. You¡¯re going to act reasonable and give these young people your ear. Then you¡¯re going to follow through with their requests andpensate them for their troubles. In fact, what you have to offer is barely enough for their service, but what you will give will be earnest and reputable.¡±
Arnold released the Bramblevale Lord and waited for his response. Cassian looked red in the face and ready to argue until he turned blue.
The Bramblevale Lord, a High Rose and cousin to the king, earned himself another backhand to the face. Before he fell back, Arnold grabbed him by the tie, pulled him close, and gave him a third backhand that resounded loudly across the room.
Then Arnold tossed Cassian back onto his desk, leaving the man dazed, and not willing to argue anymore. After Cassian regained some semnce of focus, he slowly slid back and sat on the edge of his chair.
¡°Nay.¡± Arnold kicked the chair out from under the Bramblevale Lord and had the man fall. ¡°You will stand. They shall sit if they choose to. For you do not represent yourself fittingly as a good aligned lord of High Rose status. And you are in the presence of Heroes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom with one among them a good +3, which you should¡¯ve known by now.¡±
¡°It can¡¯t be true,¡± Cassian muttered.
¡°Bianca, do the thing.¡± Zarian hadn¡¯t stopped grinned since the moment Arnold took charge like a white-suited pimp.
The Light Bringer Child sent a pulse of goodness +3 outward. She bent it around Zarian and Naomi, leaving them unaffected.
Arnold stumbled a little. Cassian tumbled backward as if a heavenly shockwave struck him. The man squirmed against the wall, looking sweaty, desperate, uneasy, and very much in pain.
¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°That¡¯s the consequence of betraying your good alignment,¡± Arnold said. ¡°There are different ways to be good. Just like there are different ways to use evil. But good must stay within a more narrow and consistent path, for that is the way of good. It¡¯s clear that our dear Bramblevale Lord has knowinglymitted too many acts that strayed from what is the most basic and orderly of good.¡±
Arnold waved down at the gasping man. ¡°Now in the presence of good +3, he¡¯s having quite a bacsh. This is unique to the good alignment, but it requires a level of goodness like Lady Bianca¡¯s to trigger such. Thest person with good +3 died to the gnolls long ago, and there hasn¡¯t been one until you all arrived.¡±
Arnold shook his head before settling his gaze on Zarian. ¡°I don¡¯t think evil has such an issue, but evil doesn¡¯t truly have a dynamic increase in powerpared to good. Only more cunning and fear mongering, I suppose.¡±
¡°If I meet someone with higher evil than me, I¡¯ll deal with that somehow. Here and now, I want to watch this thing.¡± Zarian¡¯s excitement rose. ¡°From up close.¡±
¡°I won¡¯t stop you. But I must admit. You are very disturbing for a well-behaved fellow.¡± Arnold chuckled.
Zarian shrugged before he hurried around the desk. He crouched down next to the gasping and squirming Bramblevale Lord.
The guy looked like he was paying for whatever sins he¡¯dmitted in the dark, such as the ones that allowed the Bramblevale Bandits to exist. Oh, yeah, he was suffering a lot.
Zarian¡¯s smile couldn¡¯t get any wider. Thankfully, Naomi was a freak like him. Zarian looked back and saw a big creepy smile on her face. She shared in his weird fixation as they watched Cassian suffer for his sins.
¡°You guys are being weird,¡± Bianca whined.
¡°Shush, do-gooder,¡± Naomi said, chuckling. ¡°We¡¯re having fun over here.¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Zarian and Para hissed in unison.
Arnold watched the entire interaction with a gleam in his eye. Then he murmured, ¡°My, it¡¯s always quite a story when there is a party of talented adventurers around. But these children might be the grandest and strangest I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±
Chapter 61: A Mistake
Chapter 61: A Mistake
It waste afternoon. The suns torched the sky of blocky clouds reddish as they neared the finale of their daily arc. The moons and stars trailed in, chasing away the dying tyranny of the twin suns.
Zarian was outside the Bramblevale Keep¡¯s front entrance with thedies. He was looking down at a small rectangr case he¡¯d taken as a trophy from Lord Cassian¡¯s desk.
He looked up when a group notification appeared.
Zarian leveled up from 38 to 39. He was one more away from reaching his first ss advancement.
Looking over, he saw Naomi was now Level 35. Bianca was now Level 34.
This had turned out to be a fruitful event for them, especially for Naomi. Maybe if she was fortunate enough, she would wake up with new stats tomorrow morning. Maybe she would even get a new trait.
Zarian nodded in satisfaction before looking back down at the case he¡¯d stolen. The case was made from green wood with red rose patterns on the front and back.
He popped it open and smiled down at eight tightly rolled cigars waiting inside. Zarian¡¯s smile grew wider when he used Identify and exined to thedies what he saw:
¡°I don¡¯t have much Agility but I¡¯m willing to lose some.¡± Zarian looked at the girls.
Naomi didn¡¯t have to say a word. She was all in. Bianca looked unsure. Maybe she would buckle once they peer pressured her.
¡°Smoking isn¡¯t good for your health,¡± Bianca said, cringing.
Zarian and Naomi shared a look. They shook their heads at the young woman. Zarian removed a magic cigar before shutting the case and putting it in Para¡¯s pocket dimension.
He used a de of sharpened darkness to cut off the front end before having Bianca use her abilities to light it up.
Zarian suckled for a few puffs until the burning end could maintain itself just fine. Then the trio walked down the steps covered in metallic silver flowers while the remnants of the former barricade was left in mostly discarded ruins.
Zarian and Naomi passed the cigar between them, enjoying the soothing and confidence-raising effects despite the Agility-debuff.
Bianca frowned at them before turning up her nose. ¡°A princess mustn¡¯t smoke.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t give a damn if I be queen of bumble-fuck-all. This is some good stuff here,¡± Naomi said between swirling gray puffs. ¡°Would¡¯ve been better if I had it with whiskey at night and coffee in the morning.¡±
¡°We still have more coffee in the can. We¡¯ll make some tomorrow morning.¡± Zarian blew out a long draft when it was his turn.
He stopped when they reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to look back. The sunset was behind the keep and drew a vast shadow going forward.
Zarian luxuriated in the shadow even though it wasn¡¯t exactly darkness just yet. He scanned the field of silver metal flowers and noted the lumps where the bodies of the Level 50s remained.
¡°He¡¯s not that strong,¡± Naomi said. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s really strong upfront. But he¡¯s definitely skillful. He¡¯s got that old man wisdom, extra stats from all the years he lived and trained, and the right abilities to cut down a hundred men without taking a hit. Yeah, he¡¯s skillful. But I think you can break him, sir.¡±
Zarian shrugged. ¡°He¡¯s the weakest of the seven. I guess he has to fight smart.¡±
Bianca frowned at the smoking pair. ¡°Should we really call him the ¡®weakest¡¯ or describe him as not strong when he could kill us? Well, he can certainly kill me. I don¡¯t think good +3 can stop him after the initial shock.¡±
¡°Think rtively, Bianca. If things work out as we like, we¡¯ll get closer to his level. Then we¡¯ll have a real measurement of our abilitiespared to his,¡± Zarian said.
¡°I think Zarian can take him out now,¡± Naomi boasted.
He shook his head at the instigating woman. ¡°Stop hyping me up. You¡¯re going to get me in trouble.¡±
Naomi responded with a mischievous smile. She was a naughty, naughty woman when the mood struck her.
Bianca huffed. ¡°Well, there are six other White Roses. I¡¯m d everything worked out, but Arnold gave me a feeling that we aren¡¯t exactly safe just yet. What if the White Rose of Purgehunt or Purehome shows up and goes after you, Zarian?¡±
Hours earlier, Zarian and thedies had waited for Cassian to recover from sinning too heavily while good aligned. Then they¡¯d ironed out the legality of their statuses and the many rewards Cassian needed to pass onto the Heroes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom.
Of course, Zarian and Naomi pushed for everything they could get plus more. Way more. They¡¯d left that meeting room like bandits who robbed the crown¡¯s heirlooms and rare treasures, leaving a very defeated Cassian and amused Arnold, thetter staying behind to have further talks with the Bramblevale Lord.
Before they left, they¡¯d even convinced the Bramblevale Lord to lower taxes for the lesser ss and turn his gold-hungry attention to his more well-to-do Mid and High Roses. Zarian imagined the old man whose monocle he¡¯d stolen was in for quite the surprise.
That pleased the ck wizard greatly. He¡¯d never thought he could get into politics and make huge sweeping changes across a district within a few days. All because he could use smartly applied violence and had a growing supply of powerful connections.
Zarian shook his head free of his musings and considered Bianca¡¯s concerns. There was more behind her downer mood than what she was saying. It made him feel curious.
¡°I don¡¯t know about the other White Roses. We¡¯ll have to ask Arnold when he pays us a visit again. For now, we keep moving forward. Next up, the manor. Then tomorrow morning it¡¯s me and Hannah at the library.¡±
Before Bianca turned away, Zarian reached out and grabbed her hand. He pulled slightly, feeling the powerful pulse of her Light Affinity and good alignment inside of her.
Bianca¡¯s shining amber eyes focused intensely into his dark, void-like eyes. The monocle remained the only thing between their faces.
¡°Sorry,¡± Zarian said.
Bianca flinched. ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to apologize.¡±
¡°It was Cassian¡¯s torment, wasn¡¯t it? That bothered you more than you let on.¡±
Bianca tensed for a few seconds before loosening up and dipping her head down. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that was right or wrong. I ¡ tortured him. Just because I¡¯m supposed to be very good. More good than everybody in the kingdom. That¡¯s ¡ too much, isn¡¯t it?¡±
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For the first time, Bianca stifled a cry and held her bearing like a mature woman. ¡°I just want to be a pretty and happy girl in a nice fantasy, helping people and stopping really bad, evil people and monsters. But we just walked away after forcing someone to do what we wanted because he was very scared of me hurting him more.¡±
Then, in a small voice, Bianca said, ¡°Killing is one thing, but torture is a little too much of an ick for me. No bueno.¡±
¡°We can talk about thister,¡± Naomi said.
¡°You sure?¡± Zarian looked between Naomi and Bianca. Then he thought: Of course, Naomi would¡¯ve caught on and tried to downy it.
¡°Please don¡¯t be disappointed in me, papi,¡± Bianca murmured, head lowering.
He let go of her hand and patted her shoulder. Para reached out with multiple veiny hands and patted Bianca on her head and back.
Zarian held the smoking cigar in the corner of his mouth as he spoke: ¡°I can¡¯t be disappointed, Bianca. You did great today. And you¡¯re so awesome you make the Eternal Garden King soundme inparison. But if you want to talk about itter, my door¡¯s always open.¡±
Zarian gracefully extracted himself, not wanting to intrude any further. Sometimes, his evil alignment gave him some solid, if somewhat twisted, advice.
He had a powerful leadership position. Bianca and Naomi were simr in how they wanted to please him or receive his approval. That also meant he had to take care of how he handled them ¨C unless he wanted to abuse his position.
He obviously didn¡¯t want that.
Ironically, it was better that Naomi take on the troop morale stuff than him. He still made the offer because he wanted to be there if someone needed him. But if it turned out talking to Naomi was easier, then so be it.
They carried on in silence for the most part.
Zarian and Naomi enjoyed the cigar between them. Bianca walked with less cheer and friendliness, but she still made the effort to wave at gawking townsfolking out of their shelters.
The market squares came to life, even if only for people to sort out their stuff from the wreckage that had urred during the rush and panic. There were still markets that operatedter in the dark, too.
Zarian heard some bawdy songs from singing bards working at the taverns in the busier districts. The beggars were out in full force as well, asking for any scraps anyone might have to offer them. The townsfolk, at least those closer to the bottom, were less charitable after today¡¯s events.
Suddenly, Zarian drifted off to the side. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t do this,¡± he grunted around the cigar, smoke trailing past his head.
Naomi and Bianca followed him. If they were curious about what he was doing, they kept that to themselves.
With the setting of the sun, the darkness grew bolder. The public sconce lights activated. Some flickered with difficulty, revealing their age and faults. Some failed outright when Zarian neared them as if a heavy darkness snuffed them out.
A tavern set inside a stone building like any other had a sign promising excellent soup that would invigorate anyone.
A few townsfolk were out sitting at the tables on the front patio. When they saw Zarian heading their way, they stood and evacuated from the area.
Zarian walked into the tavern, and all noise and movement came to a halt. People gawked at him, and he ignored most of them and turned to some soldiers and guards on R-&-R. They straightened up, their anger clear on their faces. They were itching for a fight.
¡°A round of drinks for everybody. And empty your entire stock of soup for the beggars behind your building,¡± Zarian demanded. ¡°There are too many starving children.¡±
¡°That¡¯ll cost quite the coin, milord.¡± The man working behind the counter shook like a leaf.
Zarian smiled sharply. ¡°I know it does. Put it on the Bramblevale Lord¡¯s tab. If he doesn¡¯t pay you, then I¡¯ll make sure he does. Consider it a charity effort for the locals who are suffering the most during these harsh times.¡±
¡°I¡¯m the one most suffering after the shit you¡¯ve stirred, having a hundred of the highest officers in.¡± One guard stood bravely ahead of the other guards and soldiers. He had his hand on his sword while more than willing to speak his mind. ¡°How¡¯d you do it? How¡¯d you turn a White Rose against us like that, viin?¡±
Bianca sighed, preparing to step forward. Zarian held up his hand to stop her. She shouldn¡¯t have to cover for him all the time.
Yes, it was easy to use her good +3 alignment whenever Zarian faced an inconvenience. But that obviously came with a risk of backfiring. It wouldn¡¯t do for Bianca to lose confidence in herself and be uncertain of their goals.
In other words, it was best to be careful with the goodie-two-shoes. They could be a delicate sort.
Zarian wasn¡¯t the type to be morally delicate. ¡°Fight me.¡±
The guards and soldiers leaned back in surprise and uncertainty. The talkative one lost some nerve.
Then he doubled down: ¡°You fight me, you¡¯re fighting all of us!¡±
The other off-duty guards and soldiers looked unsure. But they ced their hands on their weapons anyway.
Zarian chuckled darkly. ¡°I¡¯ve already fought all of you. You¡¯re pathetic. I¡¯ve spared your lives because it felt like fighting mere children. But if I must embarrass you again, I will.¡±
The interior lights lost their luster. The dark corners grew darker. The shadows deepened and stretched. A palpable force overcame the entire tavern space, infused with a darkness that was heavy and thick, smothering the light further.
Then Zarian drew more darkness from outside, especially from the alleys. They slid over the walls, along the floor, up the steps, through the windows and swirled around the tavern, scaring everyone.
Zarian held back on using his evil +2. That might be too much for them. Besides, he didn¡¯t need it with this disy.
A random patron shouted. ¡°Just let the evil bastard pay for our drinks and feed the beggars! Who are you to stop that when you can¡¯t fight worth a damn?!¡±
Once one patron started, another joined in. ¡°Just leave him alone, okay! I don¡¯t want to be caught up with your problems when you can¡¯t defend our people, let alone yourselves.¡±
More patrons made their voices heard.
¡°Silence.¡± Zarian didn¡¯t even have to speak loudly. His voice was clear, sharp. ¡°Leave your town¡¯s fighters alone. Unless any of you can fight more than you can run your mouths.¡±
The patrons fell silent.
The fighting men lost some more of their nerve, surprised by Zarian¡¯s defense of them. Now they weren¡¯t very sure of the obvious evil in front of them. They looked like they needed an out to save face.
¡°The rest of these fighting men¡¯s drinks are on me. Consider it a constion prize for trying.¡± Zarian flipped a gold coin through the air.
The barkeep working behind the counter caught the coin. He stashed it away in one smooth motion.
Zarian let the natural light shine through, the heavy darkness receding. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to feed the beggars in the lot behind you. And any others whoe along. I will know if you fail to do so.¡±
He finished the cigar and flicked the remains into an ashtray before turning away fully. Para the Parasite Cloak pped dramatically behind him, as expected. Naomi walked with a strut to his right. Bianca walked morously to his left.
Once they walked out, a huge collective sigh resounded from inside the tavern from everyone there.
¡°Thank you for doing that,¡± Bianca said with rising enthusiasm.
¡°It wasn¡¯t for you,¡± Zarian said. ¡°There really were a lot of starving kids. More than I can look away from.¡±
¡°Still, thank you.¡± Bianca beamed a smile at him.
¡°If there are so many kids, why isn¡¯t the military raising them up like Spartans?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°Or are they just girls?¡±
¡°Boys and girls.¡± Zarian waited a second before continuing. ¡°They¡¯re the undesirables.¡±
¡°What do you mean by undesirables?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°Ah, I see.¡± Naomi looked across from Zarian to Bianca. ¡°They¡¯re the ones people would¡¯ve tossed off a cliff or left in the woods during the olden days.¡±
Bianca furrowed her brow and pouted in deep thought. After a few seconds, she finally realized what that all meant.
¡°O, m, gee, Zarian, you¡¯re the best!¡± Bianca cheered. Now her mood was really glowing with glee.
Zarian figured doing more charity work when Bianca, or hell, Gilbert, felt bad would help lighten their moods during downer moments. Or maybe he should actually take those Spanish lessons more seriously and give Gilbert that fishing day off.
A part of his Fractured Mind stored away means to support the party¡¯s morale forter. He wasn¡¯t happy about what he¡¯d done for the undesirable children and the disy he made. His evil alignment was shouting at him in rm.
¡°That was a mistake,¡± Zarian said.
¡°How?¡± Bianca was once again confused.
¡°Hm, I see.¡± Naomi caught on right away.
¡°Why are you guys being so cryptic? Ugh!¡±
Zarian sighed. ¡°We¡¯ll have a few more errands before we leave. Apparently, I do care about others.¡±
He also cared about how others would perceive his kindness and target it as ¡®a weakness¡¯ of his. Regardless of how vile and conniving the evil alignment could be, evil +2 was very aware of many pitfalls or maneuvers he or his would-be enemies could fall into. Evil +2 was especially great at predicting what lesser evil-doers would do if they thought they saw an opening at getting to Zarian.
Chapter 62: Minor Crash Out
Chapter 62: Minor Crash Out
They arrived at the mansion as heroes. While the barrier remained, it became evident to everyone that Zarian, Naomi, and Bianca had seeded when the blockade ended.
The blockade soldiers had removed themselves from the premise around the barrier before Zarian and thedies returned. The neighbors staying in the other mansions and personal towers hadn¡¯t returned fully, especially when there were damages made by the soldiers, but that wasn¡¯t much of a concern to everyone staying in the Lovewar Mansion.
They had drinks pouring freely from thest of their supplies. They had celebrations in full swing, with an obvious divide between the genders. The Lovewar Acolytes stayed indoors, passing drink and food through the backdoors and open windows to the soldiers outside.
Zarian, Naomi, and Bianca found Gilbert roaring drunk while outside knocking back drinks with Rnd. Zarian had to stop once he touched the manicuredwn to rpose himself while the normally conservative Rnd acted out and partied like a mad man.
Naomi squeezed Zarian¡¯s biceps. Bianca tossed a quick hug around him. Then bothdies left his side to link up with Hannah who was sitting halfway in an open window while journaling some notes with a feather pen. She looked up and smiled at Naomi and Bianca before seeing Zarian and waving.
Zarian and Para waved back, though he was a little miffed. Naomi and Bianca had left him with the announcement duty.
Makes sense. I¡¯m the leader. He did wear the big pants in his party of adventurers.
Still, he would¡¯ve preferred leaning on Bianca¡¯s Shining Trust trait for the announcement. He glowered at them. Thedies smiled and waved back.
Whatever.Zarian wasn¡¯t a shy person, after all. Better yet, it was dark out. While the city had its magic lights on, the universe of the Infinita Star System twinkled and glowed above with myriad stars. Yes, that meant the dark was weaker, but not by much. The view was worth it.
¡°Para, get the Head Acolyte and Garden Officer to join me in the pavilion.¡± Zarian stepped into the pavilion while strands from the Parasite Cloak reached out.
They caught Rnd and Lora and reeled both of them away from what they were doing. Rnd was too drunk to fuss. Lora was panicking as she was pulled out of the mansion and onto thewn filled with men.
Once the two were beside him, left in different states of puzzlement and bewilderment, Zarian began the show.
¡°Ladies, Lords, Ie humbly before you to exin some significant changes to your statuses.¡±
Zarian slipped his hands in his pockets, a rude gesture, but it wasn¡¯t exactly out of sorts for him.
¡°I¡¯ll start by saying I¡¯m serious that you¡¯redies and lords. All of you are now Low Rose Nobles except for these two. They¡¯re Mid Rose Nobles.¡±
Zarian tilted his head to the right at Rnd, then to the left at Lora. There was some silence before. But now there was absolute silence and stillness.
¡°Yes, that means you can all havends within the Bramblevale region. This extends to all the Lovewar Acolytes who are outside of the mansion, too. At least the ones working in the Bramblevale region. Where will we find all thatnd? I have an idea where. So that leads to my next point. Prepare to leave. We¡¯re heading far north to the tip of the kingdom in the next week or so.¡±
¡°I¡¯m a Mid Rose now?¡± Rnd said, astonished. ¡°And we¡¯re going north fornd? Isn¡¯t the wolf dragon problem north?¡±
Zarian smiled at the drunk and bewildered Rnd.
¡°Milord! How can we bedies if we aren¡¯t picked?¡± Lora said seriously. ¡°Does that mean we¡¯re all picked by you?¡±
Zarian sighed. He nced over at the gaggle of girls leaning out of a big window. He gave them a deadpan look. ¡°Can you get the Head Acolyte caught up on your ¡ self reeducation?¡±
¡°Yes, milord!¡± shouted an acolyte. It was Amabel from the spa area.
Another acolyte chimed in. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t mind if you pick all of us as long as you can afford us, milord!¡±
The acolytes around the silly one shushed her. Many other acolytes giggled while the Head Acolyte, now Lady Lora, looked about in disbelief. Clearly, she was clueless of the quiet revolution the lesser acolytes were leading at full swing.
¡°Am I really a Mid Rose Noble?¡± Rnd asked. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I deserve it.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t. But you will earn it. You¡¯re falling under some new High Rose Nobles who¡¯ll have you work to pay off your debt.¡± Zarian sneered. ¡°Me and my party. We¡¯re honorable nobles of the Eternal Garden Kingdom now, and of the highest nobility.¡±
It wasn¡¯t official. The king had the final say on the paperwork.
Zarian pretended it was a sure thing even if it wasn¡¯t. It was all semantics to him. All that mattered was that he had legality and high social status that would make tomorrow¡¯s operation somewhat easier.
In fact, he had the Bramblevale Main Library under surveince through his Spectral Spider Network right now. Both Cassian and Arnold had warned that the family in charge of the library were as elitist and exclusive as theye, almost rivals to the royal family.
Zarian didn¡¯t care. He would deal with the Hemlock Family one way or another.
Nheless, that was tomorrow¡¯s problem.
Tonight, they celebrated.
¡°Don¡¯t look so scared, Rnd of Wood! You¡¯re not a trashy Low Rose Noble anymore!¡± Zarian cheered. ¡°You can even create your own private military unit and acquire better gear and whatnot. The kingdom will have to pay you more for it!¡±
¡°But we¡¯re trashy Low Rose Nobles,¡± said a soldier.
¡°But you¡¯re not mere soldiers anymore! You can ownnd and decide your fates ¡ somewhat. I¡¯ll give you the options of what you get to decide.¡± Zarian turned to the acolytes. ¡°And you can freely move and choose who you want for yourselves. And you can learnbat more freely ¡ while also helping me out if I ever need some favors.¡±
¡°Learningbat? Maidens of the Eternal Garden Kingdom? Perhaps such a barbaric act is eptable in the World of Swamps and Princesses, but our women are of the ¡ er ¡ um.¡± The soldier who was speaking unwisely shivered, his skin breaking out into excess sweat.
He looked up with a pale face and saw Naomi¡¯s eyes ring straight through him. Her High Intimidation trait stopped him from finishing his words.
¡°Well, as your High Rose Lord, you¡¯re all too weak and worthless for my liking. The newly anointed soldier lords will train thedies ¡ safely ¡ and let them choose whatever sses they want at Level 10 that¡¯s useful as Noble Lovewar Acolytes. And when this is aplished, you may learn some secrets from me that might affect your Level 40 First ss Advancement and make you much, much stronger.¡±
Everybody¡¯s eyes glimmered from hearing that. That should motivate them to take all of this seriously.
¡°I guess that¡¯s the end of that. Now, vamos, all of you, let¡¯s drink and celebrate!¡± Zarian used his Dark Affinity trait to make the lights flicker.
The creepy move elicited some thrill from the soldiers and acolytes. Then the event became even racier when the acolytes bravely stepped out on thewn to engage the soldiers in direct conversation.
Zarian slunk away, leaving a befuddled Rnd and panicked Lora to figure things out as the Mid Roses. It felt nice being a high-statused boss and letting the managers clean up the mess.
He found his party in the kitchen. It was a wide and more industrial area, with multiple stoves and ovens. It felt cozier than being in the formal dining room.
They had plenty of drinks and food to share, especially when Zarian and Para¡¯s appetite peaked. After the wizard and cloak duo finished consuming their hefty fill, Zarian swaggered over and leaned against the cabs next to Hannah who was nursing a beer without studying for once.
¡°Will it really just be us two tomorrow?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°It¡¯s your turn getting some special time spent with me.¡± Zarian waggled his eyebrows.
¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s supposed to make me more confident or hesitant.¡±
¡°Oh,e on, don¡¯t we always have a good time?¡± Zarian turned to the others.
Gilbert stuffed his face with a fruit pie instead of answering. Naomi thought about it before nodding. Bianca gave him two thumbs up.
Para turned a tendril into a fleshy, veiny hand for a high five. When Zarian connected, Para let out a howl that sounded like a stretched out, ¡°Yeah!¡±
¡°She¡¯s speaking! But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s Spanish.¡± Bianca pouted.
¡°Oh, yeah, that reminds me. I did say we¡¯ll learn Spanish,¡± Zarian admitted.
Bianca nodded eagerly.
¡°Oh,e on, can¡¯t we celebrate the victory without any more training.¡± Gilbert groaned childishly.
¡°We ought to start soon in case we want to hold conversations that nobody can understand in the next couple of months,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Hey, System, upload me a Spanish fluency trait! Yeah? No? You¡¯reme, System!¡± Gilbert shook a frothing mug up at the ceiling without spilling his drink.
¡°If you do decide to teach this Spanish of yours to an attentive audience,¡± said the familiar voice of an old man, ¡°may I sit in and learn? It¡¯s always fascinating to learn differentnguages. Keeps me sharp in my graying years.¡±
¡°Whoa, who the heck?¡± Gilbert held his mug of beer behind him.
The war healer extended his left arm forward and flipped out the Hardened Silk Tower Shield from the bracer on his forearm. He looked like he was ready to fight tooth and nail to protect his mug of beer.
¡°Rx, it¡¯s our new friend, the White Rose of Serveserf, Seventh Guardian, seventh strongest of the kingdom,¡± Zarian announced. ¡°Come on in, Arnold of Ambrose.¡±
The old man in white with the silver sword walked into the kitchen. He performed a wless bow that elicited a giggle from Bianca. Naomi waved in greeting. Gilbert watched the man with blinking eyes, obviously confused. Hannah studied him curiously.
¡°Say, chief, ain¡¯t a White Rose supposed to be a big evil-ying person?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°Yes,¡± Zarian answered.
¡°So, what¡¯s going on here?¡± Gilbert waved his mug in Arnold¡¯s direction and then in Zarian¡¯s direction.
Zarian chuckled and gestured with his hand for Arnold to speak.
¡°I¡¯vee to a reasonable conclusion that you adventurers are to be weed. After all, you¡¯ve saved the kingdom from the gnolls. You¡¯ve done many incredible deeds while under hostile threat. And you¡¯ve avoided harm to the innocent, which is quite rare, believe me. So, I used what remained of my shrinking intellect to reason that you are swell fellows and could use my support.¡±
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¡°He gave us the superb VIP treatment, and he pimp-pped the Bramblevale Lord for us,¡± Naomi added.
¡°Oh, okay. Nice!¡± Gilbert raised his mug to Arnold. ¡°Yeah, brother, have yourself a drink and join in on the Spanish lessons.¡±
¡°Which includes lessons of your fighting moves,¡± Zarian said eagerly. He let his greedy side creep out with a hint of evil. Only a hint.
¡°Ho, ho, ho. You drive a hard bargain, Lord Zarian. I suppose it could do you some good. I don¡¯t know if my fighting techniques can stand against the techniques and abilities of the White Roses of Purgehunt and Purehome, however. Or let alone the White Rose of Lovewar, but that one is always off to some distant battle on foreignnds.¡±
Zarian and his party snapped to a sharp focus. Zarian was d to see it from the others. They knew when to dial in on very important, life-and-death info. Especially when Zarian might be up against some significant odds.
¡°Are you willing to tell us more? Especially about the ones who im Purgehunt and Purehome as their gods?¡±
¡°First, may I know about your levels?¡± Arnold asked innocently.
¡°I¡¯m in the Level 50s. The rest of them are in the Level 40s,¡± Zarian lied.
Arnold nodded with grace. He didn¡¯t bother trying to get the truth out of Bianca, which would¡¯ve been a faux pas.
¡°Honestly, I take your for the Level 60s, Lord Zarian,¡± Arnold said. ¡°Certainly a Tier 3 Threat.¡±
¡°Tiers?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°May I?¡± Hannah seemed to have the answers. When they gestured for her to have the floor, she spoke of things she¡¯d researched:
¡°It¡¯s clear that some adventurers or creatures at the same level or at most ten levels close to each other can differ greatly in power. In fact, they may share the same quality of ss and still differ in power. In that regard, there are tiers.¡±
¡°Interesting,¡± Zarianmented. ¡°Please, go on.¡±
¡°Tier 1 are those who are standard for their level, ss quality, abilities. It¡¯s an even match, and most people are Tier 1s. Thus, they prefer to fight those who are weaker than them. Tier 2 is above standard for their level. They¡¯re talented. They still must work hard against certain odds, but they can hit above their normal range. Tier 3 is an immense threat that goes beyond their level, ss quality, and range of power by arge degree. They are giants among men.¡±
¡°Then there are Tier 4s. Which is reserved for divine beings or world bosses,¡± Arnold added.
¡°I ¡ didn¡¯t know that.¡± Hannah looked shocked. ¡°I¡¯ve read through a lot of the most important documents and records going back for centuries. The Acolytes would¡¯ve had that as vitally important information.¡±
¡°Divine beings? As if there are more than just the fourteen good and evil gods?¡± Zarian lurched from the cabs and took a step toward Arnold. ¡°My friend, White Rose of Serveserf, please tell us more.¡±
Arnold held the cards now. Zarian expected him to negotiate for some favors.
Instead, the old man smiled, removed his white gloves, and grabbed a mug. He poured himself a drink from the beer cask and leaned against a kitchen ind before taking a small sip.
Zarian and the others studied the heavy scar tissue covering Arnold¡¯s hands.
The man clearly had stories.
But tonight wasn¡¯t the night for learning personal things about Arnold of Ambrose, unless he wanted to share willingly. Instead, he fed Zarian and his party¡¯s curiosity.
¡°Such information is not to be spread among those seen as holding a lesser status of power. There¡¯s not just the range of power ¨C who is strongest and most likely to win. You must consider your status as well, which will enable you to ess more information, more secrets. You¡¯ll barely get through the doors as you are now as High Rose Nobles, but as Heroes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom, they must entertain you, the Hemlock Family.¡±
Arnold sipped his drink before continuing: ¡°As for there being other divine beings ¡ indeed, it is true. They exist. And they are ¡ nightmarish creatures. Many of us know them as ¡ regressors. The only equivalents are world bosses. The Tier 4s, regardless of their levels unless they are extremely low, can leave such devastation that we often deliver offerings to appease them. This is in hopes they¡¯ll spare our kingdom during the System¡¯s most tyrannical and horrific of events.¡±
Arnold lost some of his cool grandpa vibe. For a flicker of a moment, he reminded Zarian of a shell-shocked old man who¡¯d fought in the jungles of Vietnam.
¡°Sometimes, the divine beings and the world bosses don¡¯t care. For them, they are given some range to y in this lesser world. Thus, they have their fun, even if it costs hundreds of thousands to millions of lives. We are but mere toys. Or crops for the reaping. It is known ¡ at least for the past three eras ¡ that nobody in Corma has defeated such creatures.¡±
¡°When was thest time those types showed up?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°When I was a mere boy.¡± Arnold looked down at the hand holding his mug. The beer was spilling. His hand was shaking. ¡°It was covered up as a strange phenomenon of the weather. But I saw the truth of the creature. It looked like multiple wind vortexesbined strangely. But it was in fact a giant man made of roaring wind. And heughed as he scoured my hometown like a child kicking at ants in an anthill. Heughed andughed and called us worthless and pathetic.¡±
Naomi was the first one to react, striding across the kitchen. She ced a hand on Arnold¡¯s shoulder, then with a cocky grin, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill a world boss. Or a divine being. One or the other. Hell, I¡¯ll kill that bastard made of roaring wind. He sounds like he deserves it.¡±
Arnold gawked at the brazen woman.
¡°You know how I¡¯m going to do it?¡± Naomi pointed back at Zarian. ¡°Because it¡¯ll tickle him pink when I do. I¡¯m not very strong. In fact, I think the others will outgrow me. But I¡¯m going to work so hard I¡¯ll catch up anyway. It¡¯s either that or I¡¯ll die trying. So ¡ I¡¯m going to p the tornado man in the face, punch the brains out of moving mountains, and teach these regressor world bosses or whoever not to y with the lives of people trying to mind their own business.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll probably kill a few here and there.¡± Zarian faked a yawn into his hand. ¡°But they sound like distant problems. Can you tell us more about the White Roses of Purgehunt and Purehome?¡±
Arnold looked at them with wide-eyed shock. Then he burst into a fit of giggles that led to a racking cough. Naomi patted his back gently while Zarian and the others looked concerned that the old man¡¯s life energy was nearly at an end. Thankfully, Arnold pulled through and recovered himself.
He smiled amicably at all of them. His eyesnded on Naomist. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever quit, youngdy. You have a rare and all-consuming fire in you that¡¯ll ovee any weakness. I hope you stay true and turn that hungry ambition on those who toy with the lives of the meek.¡±
¡°Damn straight I will.¡±
Arnold scanned them all again, nodding in approval at Gilbert, Bianca, and Hannah. His eyesnded on Zarianst, who was poisedzily against the wall.
¡°I¡¯ve always found the truly talented to be difficult individuals to be around. They have so much power that they tend tock the drive to see ite to fruition.¡± Arnold chuckled. ¡°Yet, I feel as if you¡¯re ¡ more driven than you let on. If thepanions you keep are an extension of you, then you are truly destined for great things. Thus, it¡¯ll be an honor if I can pass to them, and perhaps yourself, some knowledge, and even a few trade secrets, to make you even sharper and greater for the future battles toe.¡±
Zarian tried not to let his excitement show. This was absolutely perfect. While it would¡¯ve been better to have lessons and secrets passed down from a more powerful White Rose, there was one key factor that made learning from Arnold of Ambrose something that would be fruitful.
He was a skillful, skillful man. Zarian could tell he was the ¡°Naomi-type¡± of a person, despite his humble and elderly attitude. Arnold had worked hard to be the Seventh Guardian of the Eternal Garden Kingdom, and that sort of work ethic could elevate those who had talent.
It would also work wonders on Naomi, who was downying herself more than she realized. Bianca wasn¡¯t lying earlier when she said Naomi was a beast to keep up with.
But Zarian wasn¡¯t going to correct her. It wasn¡¯t nice ¡ but Naomi wasn¡¯t always a nice girl, so a bit of negative reinforcement was good for her to keep her sprinting and oveing obstacles.
Additionally, they could cross-reference the information they learned from Foodie, Ekri the Tailor, and the Lovewar Acolytes with what Arnold knew. The Sixth Divine War. The empty throne of the Adventurer King. Carrowmore and Coldbooth.
There was a lot to sift through and delve into, and Zarian was interested in the shiny big picture of it all. That way, he could know what spots were worth checking out on his partys¡¯ journey to adventure and ascend in the Infinita Star System.
¡°Now, where shall I begin? Purgehunt and Purehome, hm?¡± Arnold asked musingly.
As everyone prepared for Arnold¡¯s exnations of the greatest fighters of the Eternal Garden Kingdom, something caught Zarian¡¯s attention through his Spectral Spider Network. The skill was still in his alpha section, making him sensitive to alerts from his surveying, scouting, and spying spiders.
A creature who shouldn¡¯t be here or within the walls of a human civilization fell from the dark sky. They passed through the barrier andnded with a heavy thump.
Arnold perked up suddenly, turning slightly toward the new and troublesome arrival. Zarian was using his evil +2 to wipe away all normal reactions, such as panic, out of his body. He leaned on Tranquil Mind as he quickly thought of a solution.
¡°Arnold, you know what? I bet you¡¯re a man of fine taste!¡± Zarian said cheerfully.
The change in his demeanor received weird looks from the others who were unaware of the troubleing their way. Zarian had to work fast.
¡°Say, we have these amazing girls outside. But they¡¯re sheltered girls and uncertain of who they want to spend their time with. In fact, the young men outside don¡¯t really know what they¡¯re doing. How about we guide, or, er, match make! Loosen up a little. We¡¯ll figure out the case with those ¡®bad¡¯ White Rosester.¡±
Zarian ran his mouth using a portion of his Fractured Mind. He smoothly walked to Arnold¡¯s side and tried to guide him out one of two doors leading in and out of the kitchen. Nobody interrupted him. Better yet, Naomi was the quickest to join Zarian and tried to guide the White Rose of Serveserf out.
¡°Yeah, what he said. Let¡¯s have some fun. That¡¯s a good way to know each other before we talk business. And you¡¯ve helped us a bunch. We ought to pay you back first.¡±
Arnoldughed heartily despite the fragility of his life. He resisted their assistance to leave the kitchen and waved them off.
¡°No, no, no! I mustn¡¯t be frivolous with the time we have now. You adventurers are on the cusp of aplishing the most important of matters. The Hemlock Family¡¯s library tomorrow, aye? And leading a noble expedition north to face the rampaging wolf dragons by next week¡¯s time? Come now! The task to have you taught by this old man is quite a tall order!¡±
Zarian thought of using force, but decided against it. His spectral spiders failed to distract or turn away the neer. The best he could do was y damage control and hope for the best.
¡°Are you sure you need the teachings of such a weakling?¡± a gruff, barely feminine voice asked from behind the kitchen doors on the side of the dining area.
Hearing that voice again, Zarian¡¯s heart raced from the memory of thinking himself dead when he¡¯d crashed out. Thankfully, he had the evil alignment to help him remain cool. He shifted smoothly to an all-knowing and insufferable role, as if he¡¯d always been this way.
¡°It took you long enough to reveal yourself. Did you really need that much time to think about my offer?¡± Zarian scoffed as he assumed a spot against the cabs. ¡°Come in, you mangy creature. And do think twice before you upset me.¡±
Threads of the Parasite Cloak sneaked around the kitchen. They reached up and entwined into thick tendrils near everyone except Bianca.
The tendrils pressed firmly against Arnold¡¯s chest while he had his eyes locked on the doorway where the bestial voice had originated from. His scarred hand was on the silver sword.
A dirty, furry hand with sharp ws reached in through the top. It wasrger than a bear¡¯s paw. Then another hand reached in and snatched the other side of the door frame.
With a twist and wriggle, the immense gnoll elder slipped into the kitchen, forced to stoop down further than her usual ten-foot height, her long mangy locks for hair dragging on the floor.
She crept in all the way, leaving a trail of foul stains on the ceiling. Her dirty tribal rags barely covered her three pairs of breasts, her modesty mostly reliant on her fur. Jewelry made from her kills hung from her limbs and her neck.
¡°Children,¡± Arnold called, steel in his voice. ¡°Am I under an illusion?¡±
¡°No,¡± Bianca squeaked.
¡°What do you have for me?¡± Zarian asked, keeping his attention on the gnoll elder.
¡°I bring news, oh powerful one.¡± The gnoll elderughed like a hyena would. Her predatory eyes scanned the kitchen, eating up everyone except Zarian. ¡°Though, we aren¡¯t as acquainted as we should be for one who will train our rising gnolls to be better killers. We should fix that one night.¡±
¡°Pause,¡± Gilbert said before chugging from his mug of beer. Then he went to a spare beer cask and poured himself more. ¡°Okay, continue.¡±
¡°What does she mean by ¡®we aren¡¯t as acquainted as we should be?¡¯¡± Arnold sounded like he was going to choke and die on the spot.
Zarian kept ignoring him as the gnoll elder spoke further.
¡°Know me as Ezda, the Alpha Gnoll Elder. And know that you are now one of us, a gnoll elder,¡± Ezda dered.
Zarian heard a soft but urgent ¡®ding¡¯ in the back of his head. He didn¡¯t bother looking right now.
Ezda smiled her rotten fangs at him. ¡°We will expect great results before we proceed with our other ns.¡±
¡°What other ns?¡± Arnold demanded.
Zarian prepared his best alpha skill. The shadows in the room darkened. The floor became pitch ck like oil. The air became darker. He was ready to crash out if necessary.
Ezda snickered dastardly in Arnold¡¯s direction before saying, ¡°White Rose of Serveserf, you killed my favorite sons and grandsons years ago.¡±
¡°You¡¯ve eaten my brothers alive, Alpha Elder Ezda, you horrid savage!¡± the White Rose spat.
The tension in the kitchen was so thick Zarian doubted anyone could cut through itpletely. He needed to get these two out of here without them fighting.
He was a little stumped on how to do that and maintain a good rtionship with Arnold of Ambrose. His evil +2 relied on the type of cunning that was too treacherous.
¡°Is it a bad time to mention I need to use thedies¡¯ room?¡± Bianca squeaked. ¡°You know how with more levels and vitality we canst longer without doing normal human stuff? I haven¡¯t used thedies¡¯ room for a long time and I should go do that before I have an ident in my pretty, pretty dress, por favor.¡±
There was a long silence, and Bianca was left to wriggle in difort as she waited. Gilbert kept chugging beer and refilling his mug when it was empty. Naomi stood ready to fight. Hannah watched with wide eyes.
Zarian hoped his Wonder stat would prevail for him.
Finally, Ezda broke the tense silence with another hyena-likeugh. Then she nodded her head at Zarian.
¡°My fellow elder of the Blood Prairie Savages, I shall take my leave. We will reconvene when you leave behind the kingdom of prey and tributes.¡± Ezda moved to go out the way she came.
Zarian nearly felt relieved. Nearly. Instead, he caught sight of Arnold about tosh out, losing himself to old rage.
Everything became chaotic and messy from there, forcing Zarian to have a ¡®minor crash out¡¯ moment by ejecting Ezda whence she came: the sky.
By the time it all ended, Naomi and Hannah had tofort a hysterical Bianca because she pissed herself while still wearing the elven princess dress. Gilbert found an undestroyed cask of beer and began to empty it directly from the tap to his mouth.
Zarian was left with a major headache that kept him up for the rest of the night. He came to realize politics wasn¡¯t simply badass action and big baller moves all the time.
He actually had to think a little more.
Chapter 63: Operation Library
Chapter 63: Operation Library
It was a breezy and cool autumn morning, and Zarian was in the kitchen. The morning suns had broken past the dawn horizon, bathing Central Bramblevale with their cheerful light. Heavy, blocky clouds, stacked over each other like Jenga towers, crawled across the sky at a brisk pace.
The wind picked up and whistled loudly through the kitchen. A few autumn-colored leaves blew through unobstructed. Nothing much could stop them while a big hole in the wall and ceiling and multiple floors above left the way between the mansion roof and the kitchen uncovered.
It was under thisrge structural hazard where Zarian stared into the sky. He had a mug of coffee in his hands and dark circles around his dark eyes.
Last night, he had to eject Ezda the Gnoll Alpha Elder out of the mansion. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t resist him much, which made her exit much easier on the mansion or the conflict would have risked destroying the entire building.
Still, that wasn¡¯t the only damage. To his right was more magical damage where a vertical metal crescent had shed through multiple walls and left silver flowers and vines in its wake.
Last night, Zarian had to evict White Rose Arnold of Ambrose from the mansion after the old man lost his cool and attacked Ezda on neutral grounds. The old man had left with a dark look on his face that might¡¯ve meant rtions between him and Zarian¡¯s party were ruined.
Ezda, of course, hadn¡¯t cared and took the forced exit with grace, as if she¡¯d prepared for it. Why wouldn¡¯t she?
After all, she¡¯d sneaked past the patrolling soldiers. She¡¯d sneaked past the guards on the wall. She¡¯d enjoyed a free pass through the Lovewar barrier since she was technically an ally, just like Arnold.
I need to get those rowdy gnolls under control. Zarian shook his head and returned to looking through the ceiling and the passing cloud cover and golden autumn morning. The coffee¡¯s getting lukewarm.He took a sip and frowned. It wasn¡¯t hitting as it should. Maybe it needed more magic. Or maybe he should reheat it.
¡°Yeah, no, I¡¯m just going to roll with it.¡± Zarian shrugged and took another lukewarm sip. ¡°It is what it is.¡±
There was nothing he could do about what happenedst night and how that pissed off their best ally in the Eternal Garden Kingdom. Besides, Zarian came out with a rather cool achievement from the event.
Zarian felt the glee of having a new trait and the disappointment that he couldn¡¯t copy it to someone else who would benefit from it greatly. He drank from his lukewarm coffee and chuckled at the gifts that kept on giving because of his prior unorthodox actions.
As of recently, especially with the earnings from this new achievement, Zarian¡¯s stats looked monstrous at the base amount:
Willpower: 130Strength: 36Agility: 40Wonder: 92Mysticism: 258
When he used his Overpower trait for the 25% increase, his stats looked like this:
Willpower: 163Strength: 45Agility: 50Wonder: 115Mysticism: 323
Zarian was way stronger and faster than any wizard should be at his level. His Parasite Cloak +1 body reinforcementbined with Adrenaline Jolt, Willful Might, Wondrous Speed, Mystic Toughness came with results that were greater than the sum of their parts. Especially when he could bypass the Level 0 beta weakness with Aura Channeler and Basic Aura Maniption.
¡°I¡¯mplete and utter bullshit,¡± Zarian said, before having another sip of his lukewarm coffee. ¡°Hm. Then I have no choice. For the next conflict, I¡¯ll y more of a supportive role. It¡¯s tempting to keep rolling forward, but I¡¯m not just in this for myself.¡±
I don¡¯t want to be alone again, Zarian thought before feeling shaken and disturbed.
He hadn¡¯t had a thought like that in a long while. He hadn¡¯t beenpletely alone since he was eight, before Ariana had shown up in his life.
Where was Ariana?
¡°Are you okay, Zarian?¡± Hannah asked from behind him.
She¡¯d been there for a while, watching him. Or more like studying him.
Zarian took another sip of the lukewarm drink. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m okay. You know how it is? Sworn enemies seeing each other in our kitchen with enough power to wipe out the mansion and several other mansions nearby. And here we are, trying to keep the peace.¡±
He squinted through the gaping hole above his head. ¡°Do I have to fix that? No, wait, I can make the soldiers fix it. They all owe us. Nice, nice. Got anything for me, Hannah?¡±
He turned to see her shake her head. Not out of disagreement. It was more of an acknowledgement of their strange circumstances.
¡°Naomi¡¯s not able to say this right now because of your outrageous growth spree,¡± Hannah said. ¡°But she¡¯s gained some new stats and a new trait.¡±
Zarian smiled, his heart picking up with excitement. He hadn¡¯t realized he was worried about how fast he was growingpared to the others.
There was still a glimmer of hope. Not all was lost. They wouldn¡¯t be so estranged from each other that they were forced to go their separate ways.
They don¡¯t need to be as strong as me. Just strong enough, please.
Hannah carried on: ¡°It¡¯s a rare trait. Juggernaut Hitter. It sounds like it¡¯ll do just exactly as it says. Naomi could hit forrgely more damage than what¡¯s normal for her. But she has to take care of her own vitality.¡±
Zarian nodded. ¡°That¡¯s not bad. She and Gilbert would have reasons to work well together, since they both have sacrificial traits with considerable benefits.¡± Then Zarian squinted at Hannah, smirking. ¡°There¡¯s more, isn¡¯t there?¡±
Hannah nodded, brown locks wavering. ¡°I¡¯ve gained +2 in Willpower and a new trait. It¡¯s umon, but useful. Swift Research. It does what it sounds like, increasing my research speed and ability to find the right information I¡¯m looking for, which extends to my enchanting work as well. Oh, and all of my growable skills are at +1, and I¡¯ve gained a level from the sheer effort I¡¯ve put in doing, well, research.¡±
¡°Damn, Hannah. The System really does like you.¡± Zarian drained the rest of his coffee and gave Hannah a high five. Para reached out with a veiny hand and gave Hannah a high five as well.
Then Para said, ¡°Atta girl,¡± like she was a bellowing monster living at the bottom of a deep well. And she sounded hungry and horrifyingly evil.
Granted, Zarian was hungry, too. He had rested littlest night after the fiasco of sworn enemies nearly shing in the kitchen. Theck of rest raised his appetite by arge degree.
¡°Let¡¯s eat and get going, Hannah. I think we might be approaching the point where we¡¯ve overstayed our wee in Central Bramblevale. Let¡¯s make sure we aplish everything we want from here.¡±
Zarian turned to see food left for him on a trolly cart and on the kitchen ind. The acolyte cooks kept working at their stations, somewhat nervous, but holding up better than Zarian would¡¯ve expected.
They were also higher in levels. In fact, a bunch of acolytes had leveled up once or even twice. Noticing that, Zarian had an interesting thought: Is being exposed by all the craziness we bring getting them some new levels?
Wow, was Zarian and his party a free experience event?
Seriously, that was crazy to think about while having breakfast.
Hannah had a small but nutritious meal. Zarian and Para pigged out as per usual.
Afterward, they cleaned up before throwing on fresh clothing and gear. Hannah refreshed the enchantments in another one of Zarian¡¯s dapper suits. Then Zarian told Rnd to have his soldiers fix up the holes above the kitchen somehow. It should keep them busy.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences elsewhere.
On their way exiting the barrier, Zarian found a line of injured soldiers receiving healing from Gilbert. There were hundreds of them, all of which had suffered to Zarian yesterday during Operation Domination.
Gilbert looked beat up, covered in bruises, which intensified his Healing Force +1. Naomi was standing over him, arms crossed.
She nodded at Zarian and Hannah.
They waved back as they exited the Lovewar Barrier that remained around thepound. They went on their way uncontested by the soldiers, leaving Zarian time to feel out the changes to his gear¡¯s runes. Hanna had gone as far as altering the enchantment on the monocle.
Instead of having telescopic, light-dimming, and search functions, it now worked inversely on Zarian¡¯s vision and brain. He could beam out a magic holographic disy of what he saw from the Spectral Spider Network for others to view. This was one of many fascinating alterations and upgrades Hannah had worked on by herself.
Granted, if things worked out at the main library, then maybe all of their preparation wouldn¡¯t be necessary. Zarian and Hannah doubted that and were ready for things to go south just in case.
Still, it was an enjoyable morning. Cloudy, too, with more shadows waiting everywhere, too
Zarian liked it when there was cloud cover. It was the day¡¯s attempt to copy what the night could achieve effortlessly.
Zarian smiled, letting go of the stress ofst night. He nced over at Hannah and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Roller?¡±
¡°On my hip.¡±
He looked down and saw a smooth orb the size of a base ball sitting in a cozy pouch on Hannah¡¯s handy-dandy runic belt. Looking up and down with a more keen eye, Zarian realized she was dressed like a medieval mechanic.
She was wearing archaic overalls with a leather apron with multiple pockets stuffed with runic devices. She had on a leather helmet with a pair of goggles over that. Her Runic Gauntlet was on her right hand, while the other hand was covered in a smaller and finer protective glove. Her thick boots hit with a noisy thud, rattling the devices on her person,pared to Zarian¡¯s silky smooth and dapper gait.
They looked like a pair of oddballs, receiving many stares from the townsfolk or a bunch of res from the patrolling guards. The mood in the air was hesitant, uncertain, untrusting, and frightful.
The onesing out in the morning who didn¡¯t work as fighting men were busy souls or desperate ones. They cleared out of Zarian and Hannah¡¯s way with hurried steps.
The vendors and store workers hid behind their business fronts, each man and woman praying to their gods that the sanctioned evil one and his oddpanion wouldn¡¯t turn toward them.
Zarian left them alone, at least for now, as he and Hannah walked through multiple autumn-colored parks and various market squares. They took a narrow street going toward the main library and followed up some stone steps leading up to an arched bridge fixed above a waterway.
They walked near a cemetery for the well-to-do between two tall stone towers with dark and aged stones. There were fewer people here except for some unsavory types and daring men with means to defend themselves.
Nobody bothered Zarian and Hannah, and he didn¡¯t bother anyone else.
They reached the area outside the library¡¯s perimeter without issue. They both came to a stop for ast-minute check with their gear and themselves. Hannah needed it more than Zarian, of course.
¡°I¡¯m getting tense,¡± Hannah admitted.
¡°I don¡¯t know what to do,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Should I be your tank? Seems obvious. But ¡ I¡¯m kind of overpowered for the setting. Huh, just trying to figure out a way to make this more ¡ interesting ¡ is stressing me out.¡±
Hannah bit the edge of her lip. She turned to Zarian fully. ¡°Let me ¡ take the lead. As you said in the kitchen. Maybe it would do for you to take a step back and support.¡±
¡°Hm. Yeah. I¡¯ll need to focus on something major if I¡¯m doing that.¡±
¡°Study the third spell in your dread mire grimoire. I know you¡¯re making headway through your gravity spell, but I¡¯m sure you can get the third dread mire spell sooner and return to the gravity one.¡± Hannah smiled. ¡°I imagine getting to the third stage of the folktalebo magic would be entertaining enough.¡±
¡°Yes, it would, honestly. That¡¯ll tie up a lot of my focus. Still, how do you want me to support you?¡±
Hannah revealed a smooth, ck, and oblong runic device that looked like a river stone. She activated its holographic feature. It had a list of code words Hannah would use to request support from Zarian.
Zarian could see she¡¯d thought about this ahead of time, and the list of code words and responses almost made Zarian seem like heavy artillery. It also included maneuvers where she could enchant his conjurings before she sent the order to fire for effect.
Zarianughed. ¡°Hannah, you crazy woman, you. You¡¯re making me out to be a weapon of mass destruction here. That¡¯s nuts.¡±
¡°We¡¯re going up against the Hemlock Family, the richest nobles of the kingdom, perhaps even richer than the royal family. Their library is infamous for its secrets and for its dark history. Not even the White Roses dare face the Hemlocks for their library could contain information that traces back for multiple eras.¡±
Hannah put on an icy demeanor. The same one she¡¯d worn when she pushed a kic spike through the skull of a gnoll who was begging for mercy. She looked extra scary this way, despite being a mousy brte.
¡°They will help us with our search for the Forgotten Kingdom,¡± Hannah said. ¡°Or we will take a less diplomatic approach.¡±
¡°Are you sure?¡±
¡°Yes, Zarian, I¡¯m sure. This is a universe of power. To have might makes one right.¡± Hannah breathed deeply. ¡°I don¡¯t have your might. But I¡¯d like to use it as best I can.¡±
¡°Yes, good, okay, I like this.¡± Zarian let himself fall into his new role as he walked around Hannah.
The Parasite Cloak wavered and snapped dynamically, all tattered, grim, and shaped like a perforated g made of leathery flesh and quivering bones.
Then Para shaped a portion of herself into a veiny arm with thin fingers. She patted Hannah on the head as Zarian said, ¡°Go on, take control, Hannah. I¡¯m your hammer. Make good use of me.¡±
Hannah chuckled. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll make good use of you.¡±
Her cheeks turned scarlet with embarrassment and thrill. She was leaning into a new persona. Or perhaps this persona had always been inside of her, waiting toe out.
Despite Hannah being neutral, for a flicker of a moment, Zarian could¡¯ve sworn there was the potential for evil in her. Yet, she didn¡¯t feel like a threat. She felt like someone who wanted to use him properly for maximum effect while unloading the burden of leadership and doing the hard things.
Thus, Zarian allowed himself a moment to take a step back and rx. Even his evil alignment wanted to coax this new, bold, and eager side of Hannah toe out further. It could only benefit them.
And if Hannah got a little too out of line ¡
They could always throw Bianca at her. Not to fight, of course. But for Bianca¡¯s sickly sweet, goodie-two-shoe influence.
For now, Zarian let Hannah take the lead.
***
Hannah was in charge. She felt it the moment her dark deity of a party leader stepped behind her, bing an immense shadow, a colossus of power lurking under a charming but sinister facade. For the first time in her life, she truly felt like the one making the big decisions, even though she knew she wasn¡¯t that powerful upfront.
But her potential was brilliant.
Her potential was so immense it was staggering.
Hannah was brimming with so much potential she could hardly believe it. Thest time she¡¯d felt she had great potential to make waves was when she graduated from university and was on her way to living her dream. Back then, she was no longer a stinky farmer in nowhere bama and was then a hot shot engineer ready to have an impact on aerospace designs.
That hadn¡¯t turned out to be the case.
Somehow, along the way, she¡¯d ended up working in administration for the real engineers. Somehow, along the way, she¡¯d married the wrong man because he flew first ss and was geeky just like her.
She¡¯d figured this was different enough from being a farm girl in bama with little to no genuine prospects.
So she¡¯d ignored the red gs. The abuse, the narcissism, the gas-lighting, the works. She¡¯d won the alimony.
But she¡¯d gone on depressed for the next two years. She¡¯d pissed away the money on donations, alcohol, and useless things. Her house was filled with shopping bags and unopened gifts she¡¯d purchased for herself.
She couldn¡¯t go back home. She¡¯d burned that bridge. She had no other real friends and had found herself mostly alone. And she couldn¡¯t bring herself to date again.
Worse yet, he¡¯d moved on with another brte, but younger and prettier. Last time she¡¯d stalked his social media, she saw they looked happy.
She¡¯d thought about ending it all.
Instead, she¡¯d gone shopping again.
Then the mall portal incident happened.
The koi fish.
The corrupted goblins and divine tears of Evil Goddess Shadowfell.
The man-eating and resplendent cook named Foodie.
The White Spider Dungeon where Hannah had learned to push through difort and really try her best. She¡¯d chosen enchantress more for herself because she envisioned the potential in the ss even if it wasn¡¯t a directbat ss.
Then the rest was history.
Now in front of the mysterious and dark library of the Hemlock Family, Hannah felt alive like never before. And she had a demigod trailing behind her.
There was no doubt in Hannah¡¯s mind that Zarian was beyond human. He was too ster at doing amazing things with extraordinary power that made the rest of them feel inadequate at the best of times.
Hannah was d she¡¯d chosen enchantress. It helped in different areas outside of justbat, which Zarian dominated easily.
Hannah thought Naomi was insane to think she could one day catch up to the demigod. Bianca had her own specialness as the good +3 of the group. Gilbert was coping with it all in his own way along with being a valuable healer.
Hannah had it on her busy to-do list to make Gilbert that enchanted fishing rod.
They weren¡¯t the people Hannah thought she¡¯de around to liking. But as the days turned to weeks, and the weeks turned to months, she saw herself staying with them more and more as they adventured thends and ascended the levels.
Like some adult version of a found family made of Floridians.
She still had no idea what she would want from Zarian when theypleted their main quest. Maybe she would think of something by then. For now, she had a Forgotten Kingdom to find, regardless of the treacherous power and dark rumors surrounding the Hemlock Family.
Hannah turned back to Zarian. ¡°Here, keep this notation device on you. If you can study the hologram¡¯s list ofmands before we¨C¡±
¡°Done.¡± The demigod slipped the device into his cloak where a pocket dimension waited.
Hannah watched the frenzied, hungry, dimensional runes sh within the parasitic and living magic of Para. The Parasite Cloak had few weaknesses Hannah could scan. And just like its murderous and tattered appearance, the runes of the cloak were horrifying and eldritch.
Both alive and not alive.
Both fiendish and weing.
Para was inside nearly every part of Zarian¡¯s body, threading herself like silk and needles, sometimes moving like worms with a runic sequence that was iprehensible to Hannah still. One of these days, Hannah would understand Para¡¯s eldritch, non-euclidean nature and perhaps recreate her.
Perhaps that was foolish. But Hannah didn¡¯t care.
She was a magical engineer, and her potential demanded she achieve beyond her mortal limits. Maybe even do better than what the gods could imagine.
With a sigh and head shake, Hannah brought herself down to earth. She focused, which smoothened her facial expression.
Her ex-husband had told her plenty of times she looked a little too cold and scary when she was focused. Hannah had been self-conscious of that a time ago. Not anymore.
¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Hannah said.
¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±
Hannah felt a shiver go down her spine, but she didn¡¯t let it show on his face. It was so annoying when he did that, ying pretend with the mortals. Worse yet, the demigod¡¯s yfulness really made her feel more powerful than she truly was.
She had to be careful of that. She was most likely the ¡®squishiest¡¯ of the party without her enchantments.
She didn¡¯t correct him, of course. She did her best to own this temporary lead position as they embarked on Operation Library.
Chapter 64: Hemlock Reception
Chapter 64: Hemlock Reception
Hannah¡¯s prior research was focused on key points in Central Bramblevale¡¯s history as part of the frontier for the Eternal Garden Kingdom. The information she delved into went back to the previous two eras, the Restart Era, and the Adventure Era, before settling into the Dark Era.
Central Bramblevale became more prominent in the Restart Era when it was first a fortress for invading orcs. The elves had driven them out and reimed their ancestralnds and turned back the green tide in the same time period.
Somewhere along the way, during the end of the Restart Era and the start of the Adventure Era, the elves and orcs faced a cataclysm that hadn¡¯t quite wiped them out, but certainly pushed them out before the humans had taken over in the aftermath. Afterst night, Hannah was certain that a Tier 4 Event had struck, either triggered by a world boss of the Star System or some monstrous regressor going on a rampage.
Hannah was certain the Forgotten Kingdom was involved somehow, although it might not have been made forgotten during that cataclysm. The Forgotten Kingdom might¡¯ve fallen some time during the Adventure Era, centuries before the Dark Era began.
Hannah had an easier time conducting her research thanks to the Star Core having a simple 360-day, 12-months-a-year time tracking subsystem, which helped convince Hannah that Infinita was a very close sibling or cousin of the old universe. The spacetime fabric keeping them separate must be thin, but such thoughts weren¡¯t so pivotal right now until Hannah figured out how to punch through dimensions using runes and enchanting.
Setting aside extreme magic astrophysics, Hannah kept note of key dates where the Hemlock Family had made major donations or grand political moves to influence events around Central Bramblevale. The Lovewar informationwork went back for many years even if they weren¡¯t as sophisticated as they were today, and that informationwork kept a close watch on the Hemlocks.
Back in Mid Spring, 1492 of the Dark Era, the Hemlock Family paid for a mercenary force of gnolls to help defend Central Bramblevale from raiding humans from a different kingdom. In Early Autumn, 1377 of the Dark Era, the Hemlock Family backed a coup that deposed the Bramblevale Lord of the time, someone who¡¯d been an aggressive opponent of the secrecy surrounding the library. The king hadn¡¯t involved himself despite the gross loss of a key High Rose figure.
In Late January, 1214 of the Dark Era, the Hemlock Family paid tribute to gnoll tribes to ignore the library while they raided Bramblevale and other frontier town regions. The library remainedpletely untouched while everything else was demolished.
At that time, the Hemlock Family helped rebuild Bramblevale with low-interest loans andter on sold those loans to the highest bidders, making well over what they¡¯d paid. Now they were rumored to have many times the money than the current royal family¡¯s treasury.There were more examples of the library and the Hemlock Family remaining unscathed over the centuries while others suffered. It had never mattered if it was their own people or apletely different race encroaching on their business.
The Hemlock always won in the end.
It was now Early Autumn, 1532 of the Dark Era. Hannah was striding up to the front gates of the Bramblevale Main Library, also known as the Hemlock Library, her mind abuzz with what she¡¯d researched and what she was about to do. An immense darkness followed behind her, but she was both cool on the inside and cold on the outside.
Passing nobles of mid or high status looked at them with varying degrees of disgust, anger, or bewilderment. Some nobles looked amused or interested in the presence of the foreign Floridians.
Keeping her lips sealed for now, Hannah knew she still couldn¡¯t shake the bamian ent that bled through her speech. But how were the Cormians supposed to know the difference between a true Floridian and a transnt?
She stopped to take in the view of the library.
Whereas the rest of Central Bramblevale reminded her more of the Renaissance style fused with super medieval fantasy, the Hemlock Library reminded her of more high fantasy gothic architecture.
On the eaves of their rooftops, they had gargoyles that were lit up with passive runes for watching and preparing tounch attacks. Their perimeter fence had sharpened tips with metal bars twisted in a corkscrew fashion.
The stone material was dark, close to ck, with stained mosaic-covered windows depicting howling figures caught in thorny and constricting vines. The massive front doors had more passive golems pretending to be statues: lions the size of elephants, dragons the size of whales, and even chimeras that stood on their hind legs and could look over a three-story building.
¡°Are you lost, mdy?¡± asked a young male noble.
He had a three-rose pin on his breast pocket. He had a dainty air to him, definitely not the type to shovel feed in the pens or sit on a stool with a sore back and sore forearms while milking the cows.
If Hannah had remained the younger and more sheltered woman she once was, she would have blushed and struggled to speak. Instead, she brushed past the young man and continued her climb up the towering, dark steps.
¡°How rude. Is that how they teach brutish women to act in so-called Florida?¡± asked the young, foolish noble.
Theck of tact caught up to himter when he seemed to realize he was endangering himself, his eyes swiveling toward the dark presence trailing Hannah.
The demigod was invested in his Grimoire of the Dread Mire Gator at the moment. He followed after Hannah like a shadow, not truly paying attention except for things of importance.
His Spectral Spider Network would upy some of his fractured attention while he studied, and with that leathery and toothy book open, an invisible and swampy titan followed, leaving a trail of predatory musk that bled into the atmosphere.
Everybody behind the Floridians could feel the ghoulish predator¡¯s presence especially. Fortunately for the rude noble, Zarian remained upied.
Para, however, had nothing to do and was keen to help. She even practiced her new humanoid hand with a surprising maneuver that nearly broke Hannah out of her cold focus.
Para hit the young and foolish noble with a backhanded p!
Where had she learned that from? Hannah wondered. Para is very impressionable. So are many of Zarian¡¯s summon-type abilities, the spiders more so. We should be careful about what they learn from us.
Hannah had a few thoughts on potential possibilities while the rude and childish noble tumbled down the steps. He should have enough stats to protect him from a broken neck or severe injury. Still, it was clear he¡¯de out worse for wear afternding at the bottom.
¡°Gracias, Para,¡± Hannah said.
¡°De nada!¡± Para moaned with a haunting, whale-like voice that sent the nearest nobles scrambling backward.
She was getting better at being more intelligible, and she could even talk in Spanish or English. As silly and overly emotional as Bianca could be, at the best of times, her approach to engaging Para in a friendly manner was probably the most genius thing she¡¯d done.
A sociable Parasite Cloak was a very agreeable one to work with.
Zarian continued his wizardry studies, undisturbed. He stopped when Hannah stopped. He moved when she moved. He followed like any shadow, but one of heavy darkness.
Hannah and herpanions passed through the doors. She ignored the many onlookers of a rich status. Nobody would ignore them, of course.
¡°My, you all must be new here! I can assure you that you won¡¯t get lost with my help. No need to thank me at all!¡± Another noble, this time a young woman, lunged in Hannah¡¯s way, eager for her attention.
This time, Hannah activated an enchantment on her gauntlet that created a wall of solidified force where she pointed. Having it formed diagonally, she moved her arm to the side and sent the young woman stumbling out of the way.
That should¡¯ve been an obvious sign to leave things alone.
¡°You think you can waltz in here and get what you want from the Hemlocks without support? We¡¯ve been at it for hundreds of years, you foreign bumpkin!¡± the girl hissed, raising her voice a little louder than the hushed conversations around them.
Hannah strode onward without response.
The girl became even more irritable. She turned toward the studying demigod and sneered. ¡°Milord, surely you can find betterpany than a lowly tool-woman?¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t respond. The grimoire mattered more.
The response came from Para, who hit the foolish girl with another backhanded p!
Then Para went a little further by wagging a veiny finger down at the young noble girl lying dazed on the polished floor.
A round of gasps and hurried murmurs circled around the room.
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Hannah felt a bit more dominant, a bit more in control, and her demigod continued to back her with his silent but colossal presence. She would¡¯ve smiled if she wasn¡¯t focused on the tall receptionist working behind a massive desk.
The lobby area didn¡¯t have any books. It had a cafe-style bar on one side. It had multiple meeting rooms down the hallway to the right.
Bluish light shone down from the gothic chandeliers hanging from above. Hannah quickly noted the small statues shaped like harpies and other avian beasts. Each one was another golem in wait of activation.
Hannah kept going with a confident stride and reached the reception desk. All eyes were on her as she stood in front of a Hemlock.
¡°Lady Rhea Hemlock, I¡¯m Lady Hannah Townhouse from Florida, the World of Swamps and Princesses.¡± Hannah turned and waved her hand toward the demigod. ¡°This is Lord Zarian Darkrun, who is busy studying. As of now, I speak for our party and for him, so my words have his approval.¡±
Hannah might have the sudden status of a High Rose, but she was not knownpared to Zarian and the others. She was nobody outside of a paper.
Zarian, however, was the most important man in the Bramblevale region. That was both fortunate and unfortunate for Hannah. She would look like a stepping block for anyone ambitious who wanted to get to Zarian.
The bamian-turned-Floridian prepared her teeth and fangs. She kept her mind sharp as she looked up at Rhea Hemlock.
The tall, raven-haired, and graceful woman adorned in a ck and violet dress was one of the fresher faces of her infamous family. She was well known for working the reception desk and having an authority that even a White Rose would find impressive.
She had the Hemlock¡¯s famous angled nose, which gave her an expression that seemed like she was always looking down at others. Here, with Hannah being the shortest of her party, just a few inches above five feet, Rhea had an easy time looking down from across the reception desk.
Hannah looked up coldly.
¡°What is that Lord Darkrun wants at our illustrious library?¡± Rhea asked.
¡°We¡¯ll want ess to your inner sanctum, please.¡± Hannah didn¡¯t bat an eye, ignoring the gasps and mutters from behind her. ¡°We¡¯re on an important quest, and it seems that your library will contain the information we need.¡±
Rhea smiled down at them both. She only had to wait before the surrounding nobles voiced some dissent. It all boiled down to how Hannah¡¯s party shouldn¡¯t have the right to ess the inner sanctum of the library when nobody else could.
¡°Will you force your way if we say no?¡± Rhea asked.
Hannah sensed all the golems in the room slowly activating. They were halfway ready tounch their attack if Hannah even breathed the wrong way.
It would be easier if we forced our way, Hannah thought. However, that would rely on Zarian a little too much. It isn¡¯t the time for us to go hog wild yet.
Hannah believed ¡®might makes right,¡¯ but she also believed that coulde in different forms. Sometimes a fist would do. Or sometimes a few bold statements wouldnd better.
¡°We don¡¯t need to. You¡¯ll let us in,¡± Hannah said.
There was a small round ofughter. The loud, whip-crack p of the Parasite Cloak quieted the audience.
¡°Oh, and why¡¯s that?¡± Rhea said, undaunted.
¡°I¡¯ve discovered means to ess the Forgotten Kingdom, and it¡¯s here through the knowledge gathered by your family where I¡¯ll ascertain some more usable information. If that¡¯s not the case, then we shall leave and I will find somewhere else with the knowledge I canpile with.¡±
Then Hannahmitted a cheap trick that would work at a car dealership. She turned away as if to make for the exit.
Rhea didn¡¯t stop her.
When the demigod turned to follow Hannah like a shadow, Rhea finally took the bait.
¡°Wait.¡±
A round of gasps and mutters circled around the reception area. Someone spilled their drink from the bar area.
Hannah felt like the main female heroines in those time-disced shows who had to use modern means to ovee medieval challenges. Her pounding heart and feelings of thrill didn¡¯t match her cold expression, however.
She turned around and looked back expectantly.
Rhea maintained an impable bearing. She kept looking down her angled nose toward Hannah even with the added space.
¡°How have youe by this information for the Forgotten Kingdom?¡± asked Rhea, searching for a lie.
¡°Does everyone know that all the statues they¡¯ve passed are your murderous golems waiting to switch on and kill those who aren¡¯t a Hemlock?¡± Hannah pointed up at the halfway activated golems clinging to the edges of the ceiling. ¡°They¡¯re decently strong. But they¡¯re nowhere as significantpared to the golems of the Forgotten Kingdom. Despite the mystery surrounding its disappearance in the Adventure Era, I¡¯m sure one Forgotten Kingdom Golem could destroy all the golems you have here.¡±
Hannah slowly looked down while the nobles looked up nervously or back at the doors where the immense golems waited. Matching Rhea¡¯s stony gaze, Hannah continued:
¡°It¡¯s in my nature to see deeper into runes andplex enchanting. I can see into the forgotten secrets that would make all of your creations look rudimentary at best.¡±
The silence was loud.
The tension was high.
The sole demigod in the room flipped to another page in the grimoire with a casual turn of his hand.
¡°Come with me,¡± Rhea said. ¡°I shall grant you passage to our most inner sanctum. Of course, we will expect some of your knowledge to be shared with us. It will be a very profitable venture for everyone involved.¡±
The nearest nobles scrambled in Hannah¡¯s direction. Even the girl who Para had pped looked desperate to seize this opportunity.
Hannah had no idea what possessed them to risk life and limb to get in with her and herpanions or to learn about the secrets of the Hemlock Library, but it definitely yed out like those dramatic shows. Maybe more so than what Hannah had prepared for.
People did say that art could reflect life.
Nheless, these nobles were starved of whatever was missing in their lives despite their fortune and opportunities. They looked like they wanted to feast on Hannah directly and suck more fortune and opportunities out of her.
Hannah was feeling a rollercoaster of emotions and froze up on the spot, overwhelmed by her sess and ying out a silly fantasy she had only seen in fictional dramas. She was thankful Para was there, shoving aside raving nobles begging for a chance to join her, to be granted audience inside the Hemlock¡¯s inner sanctum.
Then Hannah regained herposure and did the most logical thing. She aimed her gauntlet down at an angle and fired off force waves that reflected off the floor. She sent desperate nobles flying away in heaps and created a wide space around herpanions.
Rhea watched the whole thing with cold amusement. Then, with a wave of her arm, the Hemlock Receptionist parted a thick set of expensive curtains and revealed an archaic round door behind the reception desk.
There were a pair of golem knights that were smaller and simpler than the Lost Knight of the Forgotten Kingdom.
The Hemlock Golem Knights activated, red orbs shining from the visors. They stomped forward, holding clubs, their presence a warning to the desperate nobles who had no chance against their might.
¡°The more essible library is on the first floor and the floors above,¡± Rhea exined. ¡°Our inner sanctum is below. Please, go on.¡±
Hannah rushed in before things became more violent. As much as she found the nobles annoying and in much need of a Para-p or force waveunch, she didn¡¯t want them losing their lives.
Nobody would act like that at their young ages unless they were under pressure from their family. Hannah saw that the older nobles waited back and spoke quietly intomunicative devices to make their reports and kick up the rumor mill.
She¡¯d given them a lot of information. She made herself an important asset. She had to move quickly.
She stepped into the ustrophobic stairway with dim sconce lights that led downward for a distance so far she couldn¡¯t see the end. Once Zarian stepped inside, Rhea closed the door behind them, leaving her assistant receptionists with the work of calming the rabble the mad nobles had be.
Hannah led the way downward. Rhea walked casually from the back.
¡°There is indeed information about the Forgotten Kingdom here. But it is iplete. We know of its general location. But we don¡¯t know how to ess such a ce. If you¡¯ve noticed our golems, then you¡¯ll know the knowledge contained in the Forgotten Kingdom, or what¡¯s left there, could further golem research and many more ventures beyond what we¡¯re capable now.¡±
Rhea had a more dreamy and charming tone to her voice now. Maybe Hannah could connect with the woman despite the nebulous history of the Hemlock Family.
¡°I¡¯m curious how far their enchanting diverges from others. I can learn a lot there,¡± Hannah admitted.
Rhea chuckled. ¡°Indeed, a lot can be learned, a lot can be gained. Such knowledge would prove not only astronomically valuable, but one could say that the entire Walled Continent would be up for the taking by whoever has control of the secrets of the Forgotten Kingdom.¡±
¡°I agree.¡± Hannah nodded.
She could hear her potential singing inside of her. Her imagination ran high. The Forgotten Kingdom would make it so that Hannah was truly gifted in her own way, able to keep up with the others.
Even as a supportive ss, she could make herself a demigoddess with the right knowledge and resources applied efficiently. Hannah couldn¡¯t help but imagine that with some excitement and whimsy.
¡°Then you must understand that we¡¯ll use whatever means to have that knowledge.¡± Rhea¡¯s voice sounded more distant.
Hannah¡¯s heart seized. She stopped and looked past her distracted demigod and saw Rhea standing further up the steps.
The Hemlock woman ced her hand on a section of the wall near the dimmest sconce light. She pushed on a button that triggered a set of runes that were so small while inactive, Hannah had overlooked them.
The steps beneath her copsed. The floor became unbelievably slick with magic. Hannah fell and slid down.
Her demigod fell along with her. She didn¡¯t bother screaming, although she was shaking with fright. Keeping her calm with the help of Level 0 Tranquil Mind, she looked up to Zarian to see his reactions.
He kept reading his grimoire, casually flipping through the pages, unperturbed by the slide to the unknown. If he was okay with the sudden turn in events, then Hannah had less to worry about.
Still, she didn¡¯t like how fast they were sliding down.
¡°D-ramp, soft, charge,¡± Hannah ordered.
¡°Your will is mymand,¡± he said teasingly.
The shadows darkened and converged. They slid under Hannah and Zarian far faster than their fall.
¡°Engage,¡± Hannah said.
A soft ramp rose in front of them. Hannah hit it and slowed down immediately as she passed through its soft, sma-like body.
Zarian slowed down as well after passing through. They picked up speed again. Hannah made the same request multiple times, stopping and going before deciding on another action.
¡°Our shoes have the Surface Walker enchantment,¡± Hannah said.
¡°They do. But do we really want to walk the rest of the way?¡± Zarian asked.
Hannah let it be. The slide would get them to their destination faster. She ordered for more soft ramps just in case.
After a while, they made a lightnding on a solid smooth floor. The way up behind them shut close. There was no going back now.
Other than feeling disappointed from not seeing the obvious trap, Hannah was alright. So was her demigod. He flipped through another page in his grimoire.
Before she could take in their new surroundings, Hannah looked up at a group notification. She found that it all made sense.
Chapter 65: Crawl or Raid
Chapter 65: Crawl or Raid
Hannah worked up the nerve to turn to Zarian and admit that she¡¯d made a dumb mistake and he should take over. Obviously, she was too weak to lead an expedition against a Rare Level 40 Dungeon.
She figured shecked the potential. Or the ability to make her potential greater than the Devouring Librarian Dungeon.
The words tasted bitter in her mouth, and she couldn¡¯t even recall what she was saying exactly. It all came down to thinking it was best to fall under Zarian¡¯s leadership again. He was younger, yes, but he was powerful, clever, and her superior.
¡°No,¡± said the demigod. ¡°You¡¯re more than capable enough. Learn from your mistakes and push forward.¡±
That was that. Zarian had spoken.
Now she had to figure things out from here.
Hannah dumped all her misgivings and cleared her thoughts. She couldn¡¯t, however, control her anxiety. That was okay. Difort and fear triggered the nervous system and tapped into the flight and fight response. With a low dose of Level 0 Adrenaline Jolt, she juiced herself further and used her Level 0 Tranquil Mind to focus on finding solutions quickly.
First, she observed the starter area.
It was a simple stone room. There were moldy booksying on the ground in separate spots. A few had their pages torn out. There were some sheets of paper lying about that had ancient, intelligible writing that was faded.These few odds and ends were likely conjurings of the dungeon as per its interior design. The light sources came from soft,mp-shaped sconces merged into the wall. The air was filled with the scent of old books. This ce was ancient.
There were no enemies. Not yet, at least.
She scanned for runes, weaknesses, traps. The dungeon was loaded withplex secrets and obscuring enchantments. Some spots had obscurants that were worn down. She could pierce through with some effort.
For now, there were no obvious dangers. She triple-checked just in case.
Once satisfied, Hannah turned to preparations.
She went for the simplest means to bolster her chances in clearing the dungeon. She turned to Zarian and made her requests.
He flipped to another page in his grimoire, still reading while listening to her. His smile widened. ¡°Good idea. It¡¯s about time we improve our numbers.¡±
With a p of the Parasite Cloak, Zarian dropped ten corpses. One reassembled himself right away.
Loner stood upright with his usual angry re and fanged rictus grin. Hannah smiled because she knew Loner liked her.
She offered her hand. Loner looked at it.
Then he gave her a polite handshake.
Greetings aside, he nced around at the starter area before moving to the nearest wall. He leaned against it, bony arms crossed over his ribcage, and watched the one exit leading into a stone hallway.
As for the rest of the corpses, Hannah watched with bated breath as Zarian animated them with his Raise Advancing Skeletons spell. A nefarious dark green tint infused the air around the would-be skeletons.
There were three gnoll bodies, four human bodies, and another two goblins. They all stood up and shedded their flesh like stepping out of clothing. It was a wet and sloppy process. Most of the flesh remained warm and bloody, picked up from the moment they¡¯d died.
Para didn¡¯t let their flesh go to waste. She reached out with hungering threads and tendrils, sweeping flesh off the floor quickly before she cleaned off the remaining flesh that clung to their skeletal bodies. She didn¡¯t stop until they were bone white and ready to serve.
¡°Their levels?¡± Hannah asked Zarian.
¡°All Level 25.¡±
¡°Yes, so that confirms one of my theories.¡± Hannah nodded before freezing when she felt the demigod¡¯s attention on her. She exined: ¡°Their base levelse from a percentage of your Mysticism. I believe with the Overpower trait, your Mysticism is at 323. Regardless of their prior levels, your skeletons gain their levels from 80% of your Mysticism divided by 10 and rounded up to whole numbers.¡±
¡°I used the necromancy spell while the ck magic grimoire was in the beta skill section,¡± Zarian admitted. ¡°But I¡¯m ovepensating using Aura Channeler and Basic Aura Maniption, so it would mostly eliminate the beta debuff.¡±
¡°Is that for the skeletons¡¯ starting levels?¡±
¡°No, it was to ensure a near 100% sess rate of raising them.¡±
¡°Ah, I see. Well, now you know. I guess it¡¯s a simr case for the spectral spiders, but they can only grow with your Mysticism while the skeletons have a starting level based on your Mysticism.¡±
Zarian smiled and thanked her before calling forth more aid. Spectral spiders turned visible on her body, Zarian¡¯s body, on the skeletons, and around the room.
Hannah counted a hundred of them.
¡°How¡¯s thework signal outside?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°Unclear, all static. Dimensional interference, I imagine,¡± Zarian replied.
Hannah nodded. She¡¯d figured that would happen. The pressure on her shoulders increased. They wouldn¡¯t want to stay too long in the dungeon.
¡°Come out, Roller. You¡¯re our recharge station.¡± Hannah removed the Roller Golem from the pouch she kept him in. She¡¯d thought of him as male just recently, and that seemed to suit Roller.
She dropped the ball-shaped golem.
With a pulse of kic force, he cushioned his fall andnded with a small tink. Then he expanded to his usual two-foot-wide and marble like shape.
Hannah pulled out ten different runic devices, each oblong, smooth, and as long as her hand. They were all linked to her own runicwork. Thework was based on Roller and controlled by an enchanting system she designed into the Runic Gauntlet.
She instructed the nine newest skeletons to space out in a line in front of her. Then she ced one keyed device at each of their feet before cing down one for Loner.
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With a flick of her gauntleted hand and activation of the Enchantment +1 skill, she loaded up all the skeletons with Reinforcement +2.
Pale runes whirled in a rush around each skeleton before transitioning to a whitish-blue glow that settled on their bones. The skeletons marveled at their changes, their bodies rattling with each movement.
The spectral spiders remained visible, dancing about around the room as Hannah worked. She applied the secondyer of runes, which came with Rune Attachment +1. That allowed her to attach two more enchantments.
She preferred the use of Amplified Force +2, which paired very well with Reinforcement +2. Then, for the third and final enchantment, she customized each skeleton based on new runes she¡¯d studied back in the Lovewar Mansion.
How she found the time to conduct heavy research and study, even with her new Swift Research trait, she had no idea. But she¡¯d prepared for this.
Loner had the vibration rune. The two other goblin skeletons had the light and dark runes, one element for each. The three gnoll skeletons had fire, wind, and frost. The four human skeletons had might, haste, blend, and warp.
Hannah stood back and marveled at the ten skeletons.
One exuded light while another was draped in darkness, which she dubbed as Glowy and Darko. One was covered in embers, his frame ckened, which she dubbed mer. One was covered in whirling mini cyclones in his ribcage, which she dubbed Windy. One was covered in a sheen of frost, which she dubbed Icicle.
Then she dubbed the rest as Mighty, Hasty, Blender, and Warper ¨C thest one made the space around him wrinkly. It was best not to use Warper much. He cost way too much aura even with Zarian¡¯s aura supply, aura recovery, and the aura recovery support from Roller.
Still, there was no better ce than here to test a strange space-warping rune while having sacrificial skeletons.
It¡¯s better if they all advanced, Hannah thought.Then they would have unique skeletons like Loner, who handled his runes with more potency.
Loner looked down at his skeletal fist as it vibrated rapidly. He turned to the wall, his runic frame shing with enhanced power, then he threw a punch that struck like a miniature thunderp and left a crater in the aftermath.
Loner nodded in satisfaction.
The goblin skeletons pped.
The gnoll skeletons didn¡¯t look impressed. They seemed like they wanted to challenge Loner.
The human skeletons stood off to the side, mostly waiting for orders.
Hannah nodded at all of them. ¡°I hope you all know I could¡¯ve fitted one more enchantment. But I don¡¯t want to overdo the aura drain. So, please work with what you have. Be mindful of how your enchantments can cost a lot for Zarian, especially you, Warper.¡±
The human skeleton, Warper, rattled nervously, pointing at himself, as if saying, ¡®Who, me?¡¯
The other skeletons, except for Loner, gave him suspicious looks. It was if they thought he would drain too much of their supply of aura.
Warper turned away.
¡°Okay, onest thing.¡± Hannah nodded at the spectral spiders gathering her rune devices and returning them to her. She stuffed them back into her many pockets. ¡°Zarian?¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°The dungeon core, please.¡±
He chuckled. ¡°Interesting.¡±
Para took out the dungeon core from her pocket dimension and handed it over. Hannah scanned it before she made some alterations.
What she was doing wouldn¡¯t have been possible if it wasn¡¯t for the core¡¯s self awareness. It wanted Hannah to use her Rune Alteration +1 skill on it.
Using all her best abilities for the task at hand, Hannah unlocked a secret power in the dungeon core.
Then she let it go.
The core floated in the air while glowing in a pale light.
Zarian stopped reading to watch, clearly impressed. All the skeletons, even Loner, were interested in the core¡¯s mystical disy. The spectral spiders formed a dancing circle rotating underneath the core.
After a while, the core exuded more light before taking on an immense shape that filled up the starter area. Hannah backed up. The spectral spiders scrambled to the far corners.
The light solidified into graceful spider legs, a spider body, a feminine pale face, and tinum white hair that fell like a waterfall. The monstrous spider woman had a serene and restful expression before she opened all eight of her pale eyes.
Reiki of the White Silk Dancers looked down at Hannah and gave a monstrous fanged smile.
¡°Hannah,¡± Reiki hissed in greeting. Then she turned around. ¡°Zarian.¡±
¡°Reiki, hello.¡± Zarian sported a big grin before looking at Hannah. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you would do that.¡±
Hannah was breathing hard from the excitement and exertion of theplex work it took to prepare for the dungeon crawl. She soaked in the extra aura Roller sent out in waves, helping to replenish what she¡¯d spent. With these preparations out of the way, they should be ready now.
The System interjected with something Hannah had never seen before. She¡¯d only heard about it from Zarian.
Another red notification popped up.
¡°Um, Zarian, I think I did something I wasn¡¯t supposed to,¡± Hannah said nervously.
¡°Must we say it?¡± he asked, before both he and Para said, ¡°Atta girl,¡± together in one monstrous voice.
¡°Oh, please, no!¡± Hannah shouted.
All the skeletons rattled in nervousness except for Loner. The Runic Enforcer charged up vibration magic into his fists, as if he was going to punch the notification and save Reiki.
The spider boss didn¡¯t look bothered. She raised her head, epting her fate.
Hannah wanted to scream. Instead, she held it in and watched Zarian act. He hopped on Reiki¡¯s back and wrapped her up with the Parasite Cloak.
He looked up defiantly at the red notification and said, ¡°No, System. You destroy Reiki, and I¡¯ll do something you¡¯ll regret. Remember, I alone am the Honored Outsider.¡±
Hannah thought of Zarian as a demigod, but right now she was doubtful. He was still closer to mortal than god. The System could destroy him.
Then Hannah saw another amazing sight.
The System replied with a gold notification box:
Hannah was bbergasted. She¡¯d known about the gold notifications. She¡¯d known that Zarian was treated especially well by the Star System.
But seeing was believing, and she couldn¡¯t wrap her mind around it all that instant. Instead, she turned and watched Reiki transform into a smaller and more humanoid form. Zarian ended up dropping off of her by the time she was done.
¡°Hm, weaker, but okay,¡± Reiki said, standing as a tall woman with three pairs of arms and a single pair of legs.
She had a miniature spider¡¯s abdomen sticking out from the small of her back, spinnerette tip at the ready. She was also naked, but she didn¡¯t have the anatomy of a human. Instead, she had a feminine insectoid figure while pushing several inches above six feet.
Her hair was beautiful and long, reaching down to her knees. Somehow, even with the eight pale eyes and face of spider fangs and mandibles, she looked more pristine and morous than most humans.
She reminded Hannah of the drider Naomi had described, Ekri the Tailor. But feminine and alluring.
Hannah, the skeletons, and the spectral spiders marveled at Reiki¡¯s humanoid form. The spiders did their dance in several concentric circles around the dungeon boss. It was as if they were worshiping a spider deity, and Reiki seemed to enjoy being the center of attention.
Zarian chuckled as he nced over at Hannah, who was slowly recovering from her stupefied state. He asked, ¡°Are we ready to crawl a Rare Level 40 Dungeon now?¡±
¡°Is this a crawl?¡± Hannah asked, looking at the many assets at her disposal. She didn¡¯t realize she would have this much help. And other than Roller, these summons truly came from Zarian.
¡°Or is this a raid?¡± Hannah added.
¡°Does it matter?¡±
No, it didn¡¯t.
Chapter 66: Bookworms
Chapter 66: Bookworms
Hannah hadn¡¯t noticed until she was looking down the hallway that she¡¯d leveled up from 30 to 33. And she¡¯d done so without a side quest. She¡¯d gained three levels of experience from merely being part of a spectacr, world-changing event.
Hannah could hardly believe it. Hell, she could hardly believe the part she¡¯d yed in all of this.
I messed with something I shouldn¡¯t have. Reiki could¡¯ve been destroyed.
Thankfully, she had a demigod with gold notifications backing her.
Zarian forced the Star System to patch a new set of rules into Corma instead of letting Reiki get destroyed.
Hannah allowed herself to shudder from the close call and obvious power Zarian had. She felt very mortal right now.
She used her Level 0 Tranquil Mind skill and pushed aside useless thoughts. She sharpened her focus.
She gave out orders. Sharp. Direct. No nonsense. Perhaps she sounded too cold, but nobody disagreed or argued like a self-important engineer would.
She added a ¡®thank you¡¯ at the end just in case and looked back to see Reiki smirking at her, many arms crossed, with one hand propping her chin on her palm. Hannah didn¡¯t dare order the dungeon boss around, letting Reiki decide when to interject or not.Twenty spectral spiders faded from view and moved into the hallway to scout ahead.
Hannah kept the goblin skeletons ¨C Loner, Glowy, and Darko ¨C close to her. The gnoll skeletons ¨C mer, Windy, and Icicle ¨C moved up as the vanguards. She left the human skeletons ¨C Mighty, Hasty, Blender, and Warper ¨C as backup next to Zarian, Roller, and Reiki.
Para wrapped a few strands and thin tendrils around Hannah. None of that impeded Hannah¡¯s movement. It seemed like the Parasite Cloak wanted to cling close for safety measures.
Hannah appreciated the gesture and thanked Para.
¡°Zarian, visual from scouts, please?¡± Hannah requested.
He activated the magic hologram feature of his monocle and revealed a portion of his fractured world connected to the Spectral Spider Network. The magic holographic disy moved with blurring motion from a low angle, a spider¡¯s eye view, of the hallway ahead.
Hannah watched as the spectral spiders scurried stealthily, stopped to check the area for traps, then continued on their way.
She looked up for Zarian¡¯s reaction and realized he was only paying enough attention to activate the monocle and disy what the scouts were seeing.
There was a spectral spider on his shoulder. He was reading through its eyes as he flipped to a new page in his grimoire.
Something on the livestream spider hologram caught Hannah¡¯s attention. The scouts noticed movement in a new room with two exits, one to the right and left.
There were more books lying on the floor. Some in thick piles about knee high.
Hannah waited, and so did the spectral spider scouts. Nothing shifted again, but she could¡¯ve sworn she and the spiders had seen something.
¡°Alright, let¡¯s move,¡± Hannah said.
The gnoll vanguard led the way. The elemental magic of mer, Windy, and Icicle crackled, whirled, and crinkled as they moved their rattling bones.
Hannah felt like she was in arge, otherworldly crawl, like Dungeons and Dragons, but even more fantastical. It was a good thing she liked to stay focused or she would¡¯ve lost herself in the whimsy of it all.
She searched for any traps that the spiders might¡¯ve missed.
The dungeon¡¯s obscurants tried to block her Rune Scan +1 skill and Weakness Scanner trait. In most sections, the obscurant was mighty, but not impossible to pass.
She pierced through the weak points. She didn¡¯t find anything.
¡°Halt,¡± Hannah said.
The gnoll skeletons stopped short of entering the next room where they might¡¯ve seen suspicious movement among the piles of books. It looked less like a library, and more like a ruin of left behind reading material that nobody could decipher.
¡°Windy, here.¡± Hannah tossed him a pyramid shaped runic device the size of her palm. ¡°Push your element into it.¡±
The gnoll skeleton did as he was told. The little pyramid shook with his element.
The runic device had two major enchantments: absorb and burst. She called it the Co-opt Bomb.
Each bomb was rare quality and had cost plenty of materials from the supplies she¡¯d ransacked at the Lovewar Mansion. They had war manuals and other sophisticated teaching materials that Hannah had read in order to make them. She had to take up sculpting and learn how to craft some of these things out of pieces of aura-sensitive stone.
Again, Hannah wasn¡¯t sure how she found the time, but she did.
Hannah had the bright idea of turning to Zarian before kicking things off. ¡°Can you Identify anything?¡±
Zarian snickered. ¡°I already have. It won¡¯t show through the hologram, unfortunately. But here are the deets.¡±
There were five dungeon monsters, all described as this:
Hannah crouched down to look past the trio of gnoll skeleton legs and search for movement. The bookworms had hid themselves well among the piles.
Ugh, it¡¯ll take too much time to re-alter the monocle¡¯s runes for that highlight feature. Hannah wished she¡¯d kept that. I¡¯ll fix itter.
She checked her person. She¡¯d brought a considerable amount of Co-Opt Bombs. Should she go for the overkill option?
Yes.
She passed a Co-Opt Bomb to Icicle. The gnoll skeleton charged it up with his frost element. Hannah looked back at Reiki, who encouraged her to go on with a wave of a few hands.
¡°Three, two, one, throw,¡± Hannah said.
Windy and Icicle chucked their Co-Opt Bombs into the room. After a minor dy, the bombs burst with a surprising force that shocked even Hannah.
The wind bomb whirled around the room, intermingling with the frost bomb that tore at the books with ice needles. Hundreds of books lifted away from the floor, thrown into a spiral that shredded them apart. Hannah hid behind her skeletons as ripped up covers and separate pages blew into their hallway.
After a while, the elemental bombing settled down, and five torn up and angry monsters reared up like massive snakes. They were made from stacks of booksbined by the spines and fused by the covers, forming serpentine bodies that were thirty feet long as their pages flipped to make aggressive hissing noises.
The bookworms¡¯ heads glowed with an ethereal and ghastly light. Then they shot pale orbs into the gnoll skeletons¡¯ skulls.
The bookworms¡¯ counter attack had done ¡ nothing. The gnolls rattled, crackled, whirred, and crinkled in confusion from the weak response of the monsters.
¡°Give me fifty spectral spiders, arcane web them!¡± Hannah ordered, pushing her advantage.
The spectral spiders rushed in and shot out their arcane webbing. They had plenty of time, too. The massive bookworms were sluggish after the double wind-frost bombing. Now their movements were even more restricted as the spectral spiders finished webbing them up from up top.
¡°Go, gnolls,¡± Hannah ordered.
mer, Windy, and Icicle crashed into the first bookworm. The level difference and rare quality seemed to matter less. Not when the bookworm was up against a trio of skeletons that had Reinforcement +2, Amplify Force +2, and their own individual elements of fire, wind, and frost.
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Their skeletal barrage of punches released forceful impacts that sounded like gunfire, with an elemental dischargeyered on top. The gnoll skeletons scorched, scattered, and frosted the first bookworm, leaving it massacred.
The gnolls turned to the second, ganging up on it before attacking the third, then the fourth, and finally the fifth for a sweep around the room. By the time the gnolls finished, the bookworms were all defeated, their bodies torn apart at the waist, the upper portions hanging from magical webbing glowing slightly blue.
The room was covered in steam now.
Zarian informed her that all the gnoll skeletons had leveled up from 25 to 26.
No traps had been activated. Hannah imagined most rooms would have either monster fights or traps. Though that could change as they crawl deeper into the ancient dungeon.
¡°Good job, mer, Windy, Icicle. I¡¯m proud.¡± Hannah nodded.
The gnoll skeletons jigged about as if they were trying tough like they normally would when they were alive. Their elemental bodies crackled, whirred, and crinkled as their bones rattled.
It was hard to believe that Hannah had killed these creatures.
Now they served her and Zarian.
Such a strange and quirky turn of events. Dark, too, but Hannah wasn¡¯t so heavily bent out of shape by the morality of necromancy.
Hannah turned to the other skeletons. ¡°I think simplicity works best. Let¡¯s have mer, Windy, and Icicle do most of thebat going forward and level them up first. In this ce, we¡¯re likely to get them and all the rest of you to advance into your higher forms with enough time.¡±
Loner nodded. The other skeletons rattled in excitement at the prospect of leveling and advancing. Even Para formed leathery hands to p for them.
White Silk Reiki sauntered over to the rightmost exit. She pointed a few hands down the hallway. She was gesturing at where they should go.
¡°How do you know?¡± Hannah asked.
Reiki smiled and gestured for Hannah to figure it out.
The enchantress looked around the room. Her gaze lingered on the hanging uppermost portions of the bookworms¡¯ corpses.
She noted how three book worms hung closer to the rightmost exit. One hung closer to the back wall. Only one defended the leftmost exit.
¡°I see,¡± Hannah said. ¡°By staging three monsters at the rightmost exit, any crawlers who run are being subtly pushed by the dungeon to go a certain direction. Since this is a death trap the Hemlock Family had operated for centuries, I imagine the results of choosing the wrong exit could be fatalistic or a colossal waste of time, which is also fatalistic.¡±
Reiki nodded, satisfied by Hannah¡¯s answer. The humanoid dungeon boss sauntered back to Zarian¡¯s side with visible spectral spiders that hopped and danced around her. Roller waited obediently as he kept filling the nearby vicinity with extra aura.
Hannah ordered the spectral spiders to search the room. She dug around and scanned for anything valuable. She even tried reading some books.
All of it was useless.
This was clearly just a room for monsters.
They moved on. Twenty spectral spiders scouted ahead, going down the rightmost hallway. They moved carefully while Hannah watched through the monocle-conjured visual disy tapped into Zarian¡¯s visuals.
The spiders showed their expertise as they noticed a dark stone step that was out of ce. They phased halfway into the floor, but not all the way, finding resistance.
Still, they searched deep enough, and all the spiders seemed to agree that the strange stone step was a trigger. They marked it with arcane webbing that glowed a subtle blue, easy to spot.
With the trap found, the spiders continued.
They found a new room with a simr setup, but bigger. There were two exits. The floor was covered in piles and piles of books, some of which reaching up to Hannah¡¯s waist. They looked like hills to the miniature spectral spiders.
There was some movement. A few books shifted strangely. Some pages flipped with no wind. Hannah looked at Zarian, and he answered without her having to ask.
There were eighteen bookworms ranging from Level 28 to Level 33.
Hannah was surprised. The jump in difficulty was ridiculous.
Did they take the right route? Had Reiki led Hannah astray?
That wouldn¡¯t make sense. Reiki was on their side. Hannah wondered if they should backtrack to check the other hallway.
No, it¡¯s best to trust Reiki.
Hannah realized they couldn¡¯t go too slowly just to be thorough.
What if this dungeon took longer than a day toplete?
Zarian had supplies of water and food in the cloak¡¯s pocket dimension. But Zarian and Para could eat a lot. They hadn¡¯t packed enough for what could be a multi-day trip.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
They hit the next room with five Co-Opt Bombs. Two using wind. Three using fire.
The bookworms were not pleased whatsoever as they reared up, their covers smoking, their pages crinkling from the heat. They thrashed about and released a burst of suppressive magic that sounded like massive books being mmed shut.
Some bookworms freed themselves from the mes. Others still had some embers creeping along their edges.
Hannah noted how the smoke seemed to phase through the ceiling. The mes didn¡¯t spread as far as they should in a dusty and dry environment. She even noticed certain dungeon runes activating to keep the fire contained.
The option to burn monsters without heavy consequence was certainly avable.
¡°All spiders, web them. All skeletons go on the attack. There¡¯s no point in holding back.¡±
Hannah strode out at the front. Her posse of skeletons came rushing out from behind her.
Originally, she¡¯d wanted to level them up one set at a time. But the jump in difficulty nixed that n. So, she adapted.
A massive bookworm towered over her, its cover and pages still smoldering. An ethereal and ghastly glow appeared around its head.
Hannah raised her gauntlet faster than the bookworm could fire its Mind Scribble skill. A longnce of kic energy pierced its head and sent the monster reeling back.
She saw movement from the corner of her eye and turned to face it. Another bookworm slithered fast across the roasted, book-heavy floor to tackle her.
A few arcane web strands caught the rushing bookworm, slowing it down, but not by much. Hannah extended her gauntlet and released a shotgun st of kic force, stopping the bookworm in its tracks.
She heard a buzzing thunderp to her right and saw Loner streaking through the air like a rocket out of a cannon. He tackled the bookworm that had failed to tackle Hannah.
Loner¡¯s bones glowed with his skill, Enhance Runes. Every part of him that was reinforced, amplified, and covered in vibration magic intensified.
With one skeletal punch, he blew apart the bookworm. He sent its many pages scattering far across the room.
Hannah watched for too long in amazement before noticing another more subtle bookworm trying to get the jump on her from behind. Arcane webbing slowed it down considerably, giving Hannah a small time window to move.
She leaned on her 51 points in Agility and the Level 0 Wondrous Speed skill. She moved so fast it was almost dizzying as she fully dodged the bookworm¡¯s lunge attack and had plenty of room to spare.
She aimed her gauntlet and blew up its head, defeating the monster. More indecipherable pages scattered about.
Scanning the room, she liked what she saw. The skeletons worked in two teams.
The goblins and gnolls worked together.
The humans stuck together.
They took down a bookworm each, using gang tactics to speed up the killing. That left the spectral spiders with the task of slowing down the excess bookworms with arcane webbing.
It was a dizzying, fast-paced, roaring battle, and Hannah was in the thick of it. She twisted around to see the skeletons¡¯ growing aplishments before twisting back to bookworms trying to crash into her or use their Mind Scribbles on her head.
Incredibly, she stayed a step ahead of getting harmed. She found herself eliminating monsters at the same pace with Loner and the two groups of skeletons.
She even caught sight of Warper, the one with the most expensive runic setup, and saw that he was merely sliding around attacks, providing distractions, and hitting back with simple punches. The way he avoided hits ¨C as if warping around them ¨C was curious, and wasn¡¯t asrge of a drain as Hannah had feared.
Warper was definitely talented at defensive tactics, at least. His warp rune required further study.
The battle ended. Hannah¡¯s side won with her in the center of the aftermath.
How miraculous.
Hannah managed four kills on her own. Loner achieved five kills. The human skeleton group managed four kills. The gob-gnoll alliance achieved five kills.
Maybe I should spare myself the Adrenaline Jolt. Hannah¡¯s heart was racing. Her excitement was sky high.
She hadn¡¯t gained a level, but Zarian informed her all the skeletons had grown. The skeletons even had yful rivalries between the two major groups, the gob-gnoll alliance and the human federation.
Loner, of course, leaned against the wall coolly, staying out of it.
¡°Okay. Another choice. Which hallway this time?¡± Hannah looked around the room and saw chaos.
There was still smoke and some embers here and there. Bookworm bodiesy everywhere, disced from where they originally had waited. It was a mess.
Hannah tried to search for hints on which way they should go. The dungeon didn¡¯t give away its secrets easily. Both exits looked valid.
¡°Reiki?¡± Hannah requested.
The White Spider Dungeon Boss gave Hannah a pretty smirk. She sauntered by, patting Hannah on her helmet. Then she stood by the rightmost exit.
How does she know?
Hannah waited for an exnation.
Reiki shrugged. She knew what she knew. Maybe there was a reason why dungeon bosses from different dungeons shouldn¡¯t crawl in another dungeon.
The System didn¡¯t patch this exploit correctly, did it?
Hannah couldn¡¯t believe it. The almighty and universal machine-like god of Infinita had done a rushed job that left exploitable holes.
What more will we discover as we crawl?
Hannah looked over to Zarian who leaned coolly next to Loner. The demigod was backtracking on some pages and frowning. The third folktale spell of the dread mire gator must¡¯ve been more difficult than originally thought.
Still, his presence was afort.
Looking down at her incredible gauntlet and the supply of runic devices she had in her pockets, Hannah clenched her hands into fists with a sudden rise of determination.
Alright, Reiki was a cheat in the System. Hannah wasn¡¯t against exploiting that. This was a life-and-death game, after all, and Hannah wanted to win for keeps.
What would happen if they conquered the Devouring Librarian Dungeon? Nobody had done that before based on her records. Wouldn¡¯t that mean all the guarded secrets of the Hemlock Family and dungeon would belong to Hannah¡¯s party?
That would be a pleasant start to Hannah¡¯s vengeance. First, take away what the Hemlock¡¯s valued most. Second, have that dyed appointment with Lady Rhea Hemlock and show her the error of her ways.
¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡±
Chapter 67: Insufferable Devil
Chapter 67: Insufferable Devil
The dungeon crawl sped up. Hannah relied on the advancing skeletons and spectral spiders more. She hadn¡¯t exploited hermand list for Zarian¡¯s heavy artillery support just yet.
She saved the big guns forter.
Zarian remained just fine and always willing to help. When he wasn¡¯t needed, he studied in the background. The spider scouts found multiple traps and marked them each with a glowing x made of blue arcane webbing.
Hannah scanned each marked trap. She broke their runic makeup into simpleponents and sifted for information that would tell her what the traps were made for. Then she disabled them for safety.
The traps centered on ssic game-designs: pitfalls, wall spikes, falling ceiling, arrowunchers, sweeping wall des, guillotines, and more. Hannah scanned so many traps she¡¯d learned a couple of new runes out of the experience.
Beyond the trapped hallways were more fights with bookworms. Hannah and the others had a personal system going that spared her from wasting more Co-Opt Bombs.
Instead, she crept near the edge of the new room filled with bookworms. She changed her gauntlet settings from kic force to force lightning.
Holding onto her gauntlet¡¯s back with her other hand, Hannah let it rip, unleashing controlled coils and arcs of lightning in branching torrents where she pointed her palm. She swept left and right, eliciting painful rustles from the bookworms, lighting them on fire and electrocuting them in equal measure.
The opening salvo filled thetest challenge room with the scent of burning pages and covers. The dungeon¡¯s anti-fire procedures kicked in to control the zes.She counted down to a predictable time before lunging back into the hallway and getting behind the skeletons. The spectral spidersunched their web-ensnaring gueri warfare tactics, and the skeletons charged in with immense confidence.
After so many of these fights, they didn¡¯t fear the bookworms having more numbers and a higher quality than them. They were called advancing skeletons for a reason. Not only do they level up and advance on their own, they could also learn and adapt to new tactics.
¡°There¡¯s a lot more this time,¡± Hannah said.
They¡¯d counted over forty in the room. The space was big enough to hold them all. Hannah had to sweep the force lightning fast to cover as many bookworms as she could.
All the spectral spiders sprayed their arcane webbing to cut off half of the room. It wasn¡¯t a longsting solution, but it was the best they could do. Hannah worked fast, running with her gauntlet raised, her aura draining away.
The force lightning was an aura guzzler and highly, highly wasteful. But it was a bookworm-yer, especially when they were now between Level 35 to 40.
The high, crackling whine and multi-stalk force lightning pulsed from the palm of her gauntlet and tore through a bookworm, its smoldering pages bursting everywhere. The tip of her force lightning struck the head of another bookworm and sted it apart.
A different bookworm moved quickly to intercept her from the side.
Loner was already there before she was halfway turned, his arms pumping in a volley of punches. Each punch ended with forceful shockwaves that thrashed the bookworm apart.
Hannah shut off the force lightning and looked around while catching her breath. She saw mer, Windy, and Icicle facing three bookworms, one for each skeleton. Glowy and Darko paired up against one bookworm.
When she looked to the other side of the room, she saw Mighty was finishing one bookworm. Hasty moved quickly to divert the attention of two bookworms. Warper kept sliding past attacks. And Blender was camouged with the background beforeunching a surprise attack on a bookworm from behind.
They were all upied.
¡°There are still too many enemy monsters.¡± Hannah turned to observe more bookworms bursting through the barrier of arcane webbing the spectral spiders had set up.
Her side was about to get overrun. It looked like Hannah had to call in the big guns.
Then, to Hanna¡¯s surprise, Reiki joined the fight.
She pirouetted with the grace of a ballerina. Her six arms raised in different elegant poses. She performed more spirals on the tips of her feet as pale, web-like magic swirled with the movements of her limbs. Then she extended her arms forward, concentrated her magic, and sent forth forceful and sticky bolts.
The web bolts struck with enough force to rock back bookworms and coat them with heavy webbing, gluing them up.
Reiki didn¡¯t let up on the dance. She unleashed more web bolt volleys. She pushed back a dozen bookworms while the spectral spiders kept spraying down more arcane webbing. With theirbined efforts, the spiders kept Hannah and the skeletons from getting overwhelmed.
¡°Loner, help finish that side. I¡¯ll help over here. Then we all push!¡± Hannah ordered, her heart pounding in her ears.
She rushed to her left as Loner rocketed in the opposite direction.
Hannah set her gauntlet to the kic force mode. She dashed between Glowy and Darko and struck their bookworm in the head with a powerful kic force spike.
It was a kill steal, yes, but Hannah had momentum now as she dashed onto the back of a slithering bookworm and ran up its spine.
Reaching the top of her impromptu run route, she hopped off its head and flipped through the air. She pointed her gauntlet like a miniature cannon, her other hand gripping the back for support.
She blew out the bookworm¡¯s paperback face and sent smoking pages flying everywhere.
Before shended, she felt a snag. She noticed the leathery harness Para had formed around her body was assisting her. Para helped hernd softly before Hannah raced off and defeated another bookworm.
Hannah and Loner eased the pressure. Now all the skeletons could rush forward into the other side of therge room.
¡°Thank you, Reiki!¡± Hannah shouted.
The White Spider Dungeon Boss waved her off.
Hannah couldn¡¯t help but give thanks.
If there was one thing that Zarian had rubbed off on her that she genuinely liked, it was his propensity for politeness, even when faced with unreasonable pushback. That might seem surprisinging from him, but it was part of his duality as an individual.
Since she was in the middle of intensebat, and things were going well enough, Hannah was feeling very thankful so far. Reiki had both slowed and damaged the bookworms in the back half of therge room. The spectral spiders kept applying more arcane webbing to slow them further.
It looked like Hannah¡¯s side would have an easy sweep.
Then the dungeon threw the proverbial wrench into her ns. Something new appeared from under a stack of books. Hannah slowed her approach while the skeletons rushed ahead to engage more bookworms.
She scanned for weaknesses as a new skeleton ¨C a dungeon skeleton ¨C shook free from theyers of cobwebs and dust that clung to its raggedy form. It looked rickety and poorly held together by its own necromancy. It wore an ancient robe riddled with holes, suggesting that it had been around for a long time.
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In one bony hand, the dungeon skeleton held ancient, yellowed papers with faded ink. In the other bony hand, it held a glowing sk with purple contents that bubbled dangerously.
The skeleton turned to Hannah, gaped at her, then threw its ss sk of mysterious contents. Hannah shifted her gauntlet¡¯s setting before the skeleton finished its throw, and she conjured a force wall between her and the sk.
The sk crashed into the force wall and released hissing and noxious looking smoke that fanned out and covered a small area. When it cleared, Hannah saw the results.
The piles of books affected looked more ¡ papery. Even the spot of the stone floor that was showing looked papery. The skeleton had tried to turn her flesh and bones into paper.
Hannah found that creepy.
¡°Zarian, what is it?¡± Hannah asked over the roar of fighting.
Zarian informed her:
Hannah switched the setting on her gauntlet. She looked up and saw the book skeleton rushing her with surprising speed.
Its skeleton body oozed with more of that Paper Alchemy substance. It ran with arms wide open for a transmutation embrace.
She waited before juking to the side. The book skeleton overshot her and stumbled to a stop over some books.
When the book skeleton turned, it took a gout of force incendiary to the face, turning it into an instant ze. The book skeleton shook so violently, the rattling sounded more terrible and scary than the roar of forceful mes.
It was an extreme answer to a Level 42 problem, but Hannah didn¡¯t want to take any risks. She only cut off the mes once she received the notification of the monster¡¯s defeat.
She quickly backed away as the hungry mes jumped from dry book to dry book. But it didn¡¯t spread far. The dungeon¡¯s nature suppressed out-of-control mes.
Hannah¡¯s pounding heart slowed down a little now that the surprise monster was gone. She turned to watch the rest of the fight proceed only to discover another book skeleton lunging from under the piles. She didn¡¯t bother handling this alone.
Instead, she used a kic push to shove the monster backward before it could throw its sk. It tumbled onto its back. Hannah formed a kic wall to pin the creature, but not for long, since it had enough monstrous Strength that pushed her back steadily from under the kic wall.
That was okay. She had time now. She could call in the big guns.
¡°D-Beam, Charge, L-Palm.¡±
Hannah raised her left hand. Pure darkness gathered in her palm by the power of another¡¯s will ¨C Zarian¡¯s. She had no idea how much or how powerful it woulde out. She only pointed and enchanted the dark charge with her favorites, Reinforcement +2 and Amplify Force +2.
¡°Release.¡±
She removed the kic wall before the dark beam struck with so much force Hannah stumbled off her feet. The beam ended on a short but impactful note, throwing heaps of books everywhere, most of it away from Hannah.
Sitting up in a daze, Hannah searched for the remains of the book skeleton. She couldn¡¯t find it. She checked her notifications. She¡¯d defeated the book skeleton.
¡°It¡¯s about time we tried that live,¡± Zarian said, still in the hallway they¡¯de from.
Hannah looked down at her left hand covered in a thinner glove. Her fingers were still tingling.
Thatbination attack was far more powerful than Hannah had imagined. She was covered in goosebumps after having a touch of Zarian¡¯s power shared with her.
¡°Again,¡± Hannah said, her heart skipping a beat. She couldn¡¯t believe how she was acting. There was no denying it. This was fun. ¡°Let¡¯s try that again.¡±
Hannah stood with Para¡¯s assistance. She found a few more remaining book worms, such as one in the far corner.
¡°D-Bolt, Charge, L-Palm.¡±
She aimed her left hand as another dark conjuration passed into her palm like a divine boon. Once she enchanted it, she was ready.
¡°Release.¡±
The recoil sent her back a few steps. She looked past that and saw the immediate results. The bookworm was scattered far apart, and there was an enormous crater in the stone wall.
Hannah went for the D-Boltmand again. She raised her left hand with the enchanted conjuration. She lined up her aim on three bookworms and ordered for the release.
Bang. All three went down in one go.
The battle ended with Loner pummeling thest bookworm.
Hannah looked down at her left palm and soaked in the moment. Yeah, it felt good using Zarian¡¯s power.
She wasn¡¯t so prideful like Naomi. She didn¡¯t have Bianca¡¯s shining specialness. Unlike the other girls, Hannah felt like she was more of a scavenger, researcher, and journey woman of the runic trade.
It wasn¡¯t righteous.
But the potential was amazing.
¡°Anything of worth?¡± Hannah asked as the summons kicked around and checked the room for valuables. ¡°Then let¡¯s move on.¡±
¡°Nay, let¡¯s take a break,¡± Zarian said with a yawn.
¡°I can keep going,¡± Hannah said.
¡°Take a break.¡±
That was that. Hannah found a pile of books and sat down. In no time, Para passed her a waterskin and some hot food in a wooden box, both remaining fresh after staying inside her pocket dimension.
Hannah drank and ate her fill. She watched Zarian go through several food boxes while Para feasted on corpses she had stored in her pocket dimension.
¡°Level 36, huh?¡± Zarian said.
Hannah blinked, stupefied. He hadn¡¯t spoken so directly in a while. How long had they been down here? Had it been hours already? Days?
¡°I¡¯ve lost track of time.¡± Hannah shook her head slowly. ¡°This fighting and leading business is intense.¡±
¡°You¡¯re good at it,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Makes sense. You¡¯re not a traditional fighter.¡±
¡°Shouldn¡¯t Naomi or Gilbert be better at it than me?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°Naomi¡¯s fixing to be the most powerful woman in a new world. Gilbert has too many concerns as healer, tank, and support. Bianca¡¯s Bianca. Other than me, you¡¯re the one who has a clear vision of things and an appreciation for what¡¯s outside of the battle craze.¡±
Zarian chuckled, giving her an impish smile. He had an off brand, unusual, yet arresting charm to him that was eerily alluring.
Hannah always wanted to hear his thoughts because of that maic darkness of his and the hidden cleverness lurking behind the smiling and foolish guises. Granted, he had his idiotic moments, which invited rebuttals and debates, too.
¡°By the way, don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t see you run up a monster¡¯s spine and flip off its head to shoot it in the face.¡± Heughed some more. ¡°I guess we all get the battle craze in our own ways.¡±
Hannah¡¯s face felt hot. She could hardly believe she¡¯d done that. Embarrassed, but not undaunted, she steered the conversation to something more productive.
¡°Will the dungeon get more difficult with its variable challenges now?¡± Hannah asked.
Zarian looked over at Reiki. She sat with the skeletons and the dancing spiders. Roller waited in the middle, still sending out waves of aura for boosted recovery.
Reiki caught Zarian¡¯s gaze. She frowned at him before looking at one of the exits. Her frown was upsetting for Hannah.
¡°Yeah, it¡¯s going to get much harder,¡± Zarian said.
¡°We¡¯ve fought so much already.¡±
¡°That was the warm up.¡±
¡°Okay, I see why we needed the break.¡± Hannah sighed. ¡°I wonder how many more monster variants live in the dungeon.¡±
¡°Plenty more, I reckon,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I¡¯m still in the thick of studying the third dread mire folktale. But I¡¯m going to pay a bit more attention to you, okay? Just in case.¡±
Hannah wanted to feel relieved. Instead, she felt a hint of disappointment in herself. Wasn¡¯t that vexing? Nobles would give up their babies for the right to have Zarian¡¯s more attentive care.
It was one thing to use his power. It was another thing to be so weak that he had to pay more attention to protect her.
¡°I understand,¡± Hannah said.
Zarian shuffled over and pressed his side against hers. ¡°You¡¯re still the lead, you know? Push all the way to the end of the dungeon, Hannah. Fight the boss, even. I¡¯m just here to support you with overwhelming power whenever you need it.¡±
Hannah rxed into his side. Shey her head on his shoulder.
She knew Zarian was a troublesome man. There was no stopping him when he set his mind to do something, even if it meant others would be caught in his wake.
Hannah had never surfed before, but she imagined following Zarian was like being on an immense wave, wondering when you would wipe out or make it out on the other side.
Granted, she wanted to be a wave maker as well.
¡°I¡¯ve always wanted this,¡± Hannah said. ¡°To make big changes. To be more than a farm girl. To construct something major. And make fantastic discoveries. I want to have an immense impact on the lives of many.¡±
¡°Why not be a goddess?¡± Zarian asked.
Hannah took a long time to respond. ¡°It can¡¯t be that easy.¡±
¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. If it¡¯s what you wish, I¡¯ll make it so you can get there.¡±
Hannah held her mouth shut. She wasn¡¯t ready to admit what she wanted as her wish. If Zarian was like the genie out of the bottle, then she needed to consider that wish carefully.
¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±
¡°Wait, maybe I was wrong. There can be a greater wish you want deep down. Ah, of course. I know what it is.¡± Zarian nodded profoundly.
Hannah held her breath.
Could Zarian truly see into her deepest desires? Could he know things that even Hannah didn¡¯t know about herself? What could it be?
Hannah waited tensely for Zarian¡¯s wise insight.
Zarian grinned. ¡°You want an elf husband, too!¡±
Hannah shoved Zarian away with most of her might. He rolled off dramatically while howling with wickedughter.
Ugh, he could be such an insufferable devil of a demigod.
Chapter 68: The Last Room
Chapter 68: The Last Room
The traps were the easiest part of the dungeon. They were all reliant on runes. Hannah took joy in dismantling them as they traveled through the tunnels and entered new roomsden with monsters.
The walk between monster rooms had be a routine that helped Hannah get into the flow.
For the most part, the beginning always remained the same. The monsters wouldn¡¯t engage first. They would let the crawlers kick things off. It was through increasing difficulty and the appearance of new, tougher monsters that made this deadly game more variable.
Bookworms maxed out at Level 40 with several skills to watch out for. Commonly, they used Mind Scribbles. But sometimes they would use other skills called Bookmark Dart and Paper Cut.
Those skills didn¡¯t sound intimidating until Hannah suffered a close call from a rushing bookworm. The monster used Paper Cut while she was under assault by another bookworm shooting a volley of Bookmark Darts.
Her highly resistant gear protected her, but she still felt the danger of their attacks and had a brief fear of being shed apart or punctured by magical bookmarks. She retaliated in kind, of course, with sharp pulses of kic force, turning the bookworms into hundreds to thousands of shredded books and pages.
Other than that, Hannah¡¯s parade of oddities steamrolled over the bookworms and treated them as the grunts they were. Since there were so many, it was easy to gain experience and levels off of them.
The book skeletons were the next tier of challenges and proved more noteworthy. They didn¡¯t always hide under piles of books, especially when Hannah¡¯s group entered monster rooms that held more varieties in designs.
At some point, the monster rooms transitioned into cozy-looking settings with rugs covering the floor beneath the piles of discarded, unintelligible books.There weremps lit with actual mes in the corners. There were even bookshelves against the walls. The ceiling lifted higher above their heads, dangling chandeliers that were round, wooden, and ssical. The new room would¡¯ve been more enchanting if it wasn¡¯t huge and spacious.
Obviously, bookworms rose to their full heights once Hannah and her parade of oddities kicked things off. She was running low on Co-Opt Bombs at this point, but Hannah didn¡¯t stress that since there were many other means.
She focused on any surprises that might jump out, which were the book skeletons. They revealed themselves to be higher in level now, around Level 44. The book skeletons threatened Zarian¡¯s skeletons with reality warping alchemy that was more dangerous than the name of their skills would suggest.
Hannah had the solution.
¡°D-Bolt, Six Charges, L-Palm.¡±
Hannah obliterated one book skeleton that phased out of a bookcase. The dark bolt obliterated the bookcase as well. Splinters of bone and wood flew everywhere.
She swiveled around fast and turned to dust a second book skeleton that tried to use its Paper Alchemy on one of Zarian¡¯s skeletons from behind. She turned and released a third charge of dark bolt, eliminating a third book skeleton along with several book worms.
Whenever she shot one, Zarian already gathered another in a dense ball on her palm. It almost felt automatic. She barely had to wait as he delivered his boon again and again, securing the safety of their forces while they removed the monster grunts.
Only after the book skeletons were eliminated, Hannah stepped forward and got some personal kills with her own abilities. They cleared out the room fast.
Things changed again on their way to the next room. Hannah first noticed it based on theplexity of a trap while walking through the hallway.
It was a double trap, which would trigger a sequence to force a wary crawler to move backward away from a pitfall. Then the unsuspecting crawler would fall to a more hidden trap that would drop several guillotines from the ceiling.
Hannah disabled their runic enchantments and recorded them.
The next room featured a new creature: mimics. The mimics hid in in sight as plush seats that Hannah would¡¯ve sat on for a cozy reading session.
The monster room looked better than thest. There were still piles of books on the floor, but they looked neater and newer, even with the unintelligible text.
The ce smelled of subtle incense. The shelves looked nicer. The room had a more enchanting andfortable draw that made anyone want to rx, especially with how inviting the mimics looked as seats.
Hannah asked for their info.
Zarian answered.
Hannah gathered a count of the bookworms and library mimics. She made some judgment calls on the likely locations the book skeletons would hide.
The odds were ufortable. She was running a little ragged after so many fights in a short time period.
Her vitality ¨C the energy that defended her body from excess harm, helped her recover rapidly from injury, and fed into her stamina ¨C must¡¯ve been beaten up from the excessive strain ofbat.
¡°I can keep going.¡± Hannah used more Co-Opt Bombs, driving her supply to its lowest point.
The skeletons charged them up and hurled out bombs for fire, wind, frost, vibration, and warp. Twisting me tornados scorched the mimics and revealed them as horrendous monsters with serrated teeth and long tongues. Shooting shards and shockwaves knocked the book skeletons out of their hiding ces while destroying multiple bookshelves. The warp bombs sent the bookworms flying through air regardless of physics.
The explosions sent the monsters into a frenzy, ticking them off and leaving most of them damaged. Hannah then reached behind her and had Roller lunge with a kic jump into her hand.
She maneuvered it around awkwardly and took the lead before sting the round, two-foot-wide golem like a ball out of a cannon. Roller smashed apart a mimic, obliterated several bookworms, and turned the bones of a book skeleton to dust. Then Roller collided with the back wall and rebounded at a new angle with a pulse of kic force.
¡°D-Pir, Hard, Close Front.¡±
Hannah watched a dark pir rise in front of her and cover their way into the room as Roller bounced around and smashed into monsters. She counted down the seconds before Roller¡¯s currentmand ended to conserve aura.
Then Hannah requested for the pir to fall. Roller had done his job well.
The skeletons, spiders, and Reiki rushed out for battle. They overcame a few surprise ambushes by the book skeletons and put down a mimic that had more vitality than most.
Once the battle ended, Hannah breathed hard. Her body felt weary. The strain was considerable. This was far more advanced than the fighting back in the White Spider Dungeon. It was taxing on the mind, too.
But the rewards were real. Maybe not anything upfront. But the experience gains were immense. There was enough for all the skeletons, as well as herself, to grow consistently.
Better yet, all the skeletons had advanced after thistest battle.
Zarian gave her the rundown:
Loner, Goblin Skeleton, Level 40 Runic Enforcer, Best Alpha Skill: Enhance Runes.
mer, Gnoll Skeleton, Level 37 Runic Burner, Best Alpha Skill: ze Control.
Windy, Gnoll Skeleton, Level 37 Runic Typhoon, Best Alpha Skill: Gale Power.
Icicle, Gnoll Skeleton, Level 37 Runic Freezer, Best Alpha Skill: Frost Range.
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Mighty, Human Skeleton, Level 36 Runic Lifter, Best Alpha Skill: Strong Crush.
Hasty, Human Skeleton, Level 36 Runic Runner, Best Alpha Skill: Speed Hype.
Blender, Human Skeleton, Level 35 Runic Stalker, Best Alpha Skill: Habitat Stealth.
Warper, Human Skeleton, Level 35 Runic Spacer, Best Alpha Skill: Spatial Blink.
Glowy, Goblin Skeleton, Level 35 Runic Showman, Best Alpha Skill: Enhance Light.
Darko, Goblin Skeleton, Level 35 Runic Stalker, Best Alpha Skill: Enhance Dark.
Better yet, they all had the Self Sufficient trait now. They could run for a long time on their own by absorbing ambient aura.
Hannah caught a small shift that looked like reliefing from Zarian. She figured keeping the necromancy spell running for so long wasn¡¯t that hard for him, but it took away one of his concentration slots for spells.
Neither he nor Hannah wanted more than this, either. A squad of specialized skeletons that could grow quickly together was more appealing than an army of skeletons that would serve as mere fodder to enemies.
¡°Good job, everyone. You did well.¡± Hannah smiled at the skeletons as she walked by them and refreshed their enchantments individually.
Their new skills all differed from each other based on their experiences. However, they still depended on her enchantments to make the most out of their new abilities.
mer lobbed a ball of fire up and down. His ckened bones streaked with red and orange embers glowed with excitement.
Icicle froze the floor under him while spreading the effect outward. Mighty hugged the corpse of a mimic and turned it into a mush. Hasty kept dashing all over the ce with more speed.
Blender was nowhere to be seen unless Hannah used her Rune Scan +1. The others celebrated their advancement with disys of their increased prowess and new Self Sufficient trait.
From above,tched onto the remaining chandeliers or dangling from arcane webs stuck to the ceiling, a hundred spectral spiders waved their legs as part of the celebration.
¡°You deserve a good job as well,¡± Zarian teased, looking up from his book. ¡°Level 39 now. You¡¯ve done good work, Hannah. You¡¯ve worked for those levels, too.¡±
Hannah wasn¡¯t sure about that. But her body said otherwise. She could really use a nap. But she wanted to keep pushing. She wanted to see an end to this dungeon so they could reconnect with the others outside.
Their time here was especially limited because of Zarian¡¯s appetite. There were only a few meals left, and they were for Hannah.
Zarian was growing hungry.
Para was eating old corpses from her pocket dimension. The monsters weren¡¯t edible. Even the mimics¡¯ bodies, which spurted out bony limbs, teeth, and a tongue made of threads, weren¡¯t something Para would like to eat.
¡°Onto the next?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°Maybe we should take a nap.¡± Zarian pointed at the sofa that remained unaffected by the battle. ¡°That¡¯s as good a spot as any. You can catch some Z¡¯s that way.¡±
¡°You¡¯re growing hungry.¡± Hannah ced her hand on his shoulder.
¡°I¡¯m almost done with the new dread mire gator spell. The third spell is one hell of a way to rock an army.¡± Zarian licked the front of his teeth. ¡°After that, I¡¯ll return to working on the gravity spell.¡±
Hannah was surprised. She¡¯d thought he would want to jump into fights against the next round of monsters. He¡¯d been studying for a long time, hadn¡¯t he? Wouldn¡¯t he want a break?
Zarian waggled his brow. ¡°You¡¯re doing your best. So, I¡¯ll do my best in return.¡±
Hannah nodded. Perhaps he had a point. He needed to study hard to ovee the sheer difficulty of the gravity spell.
It sounded like a monstrous spell that would have her feeling daunted if she had the talent for wizardry. Meanwhile, she was ying the role of ferocious adventurer, crawler, battler, cutting her teeth in a gauntlet of monsters.
¡°Perhaps I should get some sleep. Take some of my meals if you must.¡± Hannah turned toward thefy sofa.
The moment shey down, she felt weary. Her vitality was more tattered than she¡¯d thought. That could¡¯ve been dangerous.
Lack of rest would make it easier for her to suffer permanent injury and risk death. As she drifted off, a thought urred to her. She mumbled it aloud:
¡°Wait, Zarian, you should be past Level 40. Please tell me you didn¡¯t wait like you said.¡± Hannah would hate for him to miss out on experience and levels.
Zarian¡¯s face grew fuzzier as she drifted closer to sleep. She could barely see his smile as he said, ¡°Sleep well, Hannah.¡±
Indeed, she slept well. When she woke up, Zarian presented her with breakfast and a waterskin. They were running low on water. They really should pack up more emergency supplies in case of sudden-dungeon scenarios like these.
Hannah went into the hallway they came from, rearmed a pitfall trap, and conducted her business into the pit. Thankfully, they had toiletry in Para¡¯s pocket dimension. When she returned, she took a good look at Zarian.
He looked bad.
He was starving.
¡°There is the option of deactivating Para,¡± Hannah said grimly.
The Parasite Cloak didn¡¯t object.
¡°Nah. Para¡¯s gonna stay active in the alpha section forever,¡± Zarian said.
The cloak quivered affectionately and hugged her host with threads and tendrils. She looked alright and must¡¯ve fed healthily on corpses they had stored.
Hannah scanned the room and saw it was empty of their skeletons.
Without having to ask, Zarian¡¯s cloak pped and released various piles of bones. Each skeletal pile had distinct qualities that foretold which were which, such as how one pile had bones that looked like charcoal and embers or how another pile had bones that glowed with a consistent light.
Zarian raised his advancing skeletons. They all stood ready with enchantments still fresh and fully powered.
Hannah faced them all, and they looked to her for instruction. When she searched past them, she saw Reiki rousing from a webbed hammock, spectral spiders flickering in and out view as they scuttled off her body.
The summoned dungeon boss yawned into multiple hands before sauntering forward to join them. She hadn¡¯t gained a level. She couldn¡¯t grow normally, which was simr to the spectral spiders.
Hannah nodded at everyone. ¡°We¡¯re going to finish this crawl today. Zarian is suffering from starvation. We have to pick up the pace.¡±
Everyone nodded. The spectral spiders appeared from all over and performed a one-legged salute.
Hannah took a deep breath and steadied herself with her Level 0 Tranquil Mind. She performed some light stretches and warm-ups Naomi had drilled into her.
Then they started things off with the usual scouting led by the spiders. That was when Hannah realized things had changed drastically.
The next hallway Reiki pointed toward had no traps. Instead, it transitioned from its usual stone design into a more formal, aristocratic setting.
There were framed illustrations on the walls, vases on marble shelves coated in dust, and a frayed rug on the floor. More frayed furnishings, such as banners draping down from the upper walls and ancient curtains covering blocked windows, adorned the hallway further ahead.
At some point, the spectral spiders¡¯ journey stretched further than Hannah felt wasfortable. She decided for everyone to move forward.
Zarian focused on reading his ck magic book to conquer the impregnable gravity spell. Hannah scanned for weaknesses and traps. The obscuring enchantments were stronger here. But so was Hannah, herself.
Yet, she couldn¡¯t find anything. Thus, for some hours, they went on a long journey down a nonstop aristocratic hallway.
Hannah was fearing the worst ¨C such as a loop situation ¨C when the scouts found an exit. She picked up the pace with her parade of oddities until they reached the forward scouts and saw with their own eyes ¨C orck of eyes ¨C that they¡¯d reached thest room.
There was no doubt of that.
Hannah saw the dungeon core in the far distance, shining like a star floating high in the air.
In front of her boots, there was a staircase leading down into an immense maze of tall bookcases. Hannah would¡¯ve suspected the best way was over if it wasn¡¯t for the floating paper sheets waiting in the air.
They were trip mines with a variety of effects that were surprising to Hannah. Most were using abination of spatial and dimensional magic that gave Hannah shivers.
It would be a terrible idea to fly over the maze. It was also a bad idea to enter the maze without reconnaissance. Or more information.
Hannahmitted to the thing she¡¯d dreaded since starting this crawl. She picked up the same style books she saw everywhere, sat on the steps, and deciphered their unintelligible text by cross-referencing everything within their pages.
There were five books in all. They had appeared everywhere no matter what was inside of the monster rooms Hannah and the others conquered.
Each of these distinct style books had the same print in all of their endless copies. The clues were pretty obvious. The only problem was that Hannah had to make sense of the senseless text using all five books.
She had to find the pattern and ¡ oh ¡ she could sort of see it now.
Each book contained iplete lines. Hannah matched up the iplete lines between all the books. She found which books should pair with each other in specific orders that changed every five pages before going back to the start of the order on the twenty-fifth page. She used a runic device for journaling and produced a text written in anothernguage.
Then she cheated by using Zarian¡¯s Identify trait to trante that text.
She came out with directions for a safe and quick passage through the maze. They had to take the roundabout way and based the timing of their movement on the sound of a loudly dropped book.
The sound would ur once they step foot into the maze and would repeat itself every ten minutes to inform them of a shift in the maze¡¯s design and how they should adapt to that shift.
¡°No wonder nobody survived being sacrificed to this ce,¡± Zarian said, rousing from his gravity spell study. ¡°The Hemlock Family and their dungeon went all out to make sure there were only losers.¡±
¡°Not today,¡± Hannah said.
Reiki chuckled before repeating the phrase: ¡°Not today.¡±
Then Para joined in: ¡°Not today.¡±
Hannah nodded in agreement. ¡°Come, everyone. Let¡¯s end this farce and get what we came for. Then get Zarian fed.¡±
Reiki and Para cheered: ¡°Yeah!¡±
The skeletons rattled. The spiders swung on their webs and frolicked. Zarian followed in the back with Roller. The wizard looked keen to have a meal.
Chapter 69: The Lore Eater
Chapter 69: The Lore Eater
Hannah looked up at the newest notifications to appear.
¡°Yes, please.¡± Hannah didn¡¯t care too much about the orchestral soundtrack.
Zarian would like it, at the very least.
She, however, was frankly in shock.
After having a breezy walk through the library maze, hearing distant monsters roaming, some of which they hadn¡¯t fought before, Hannah was prepared to face the worst. The boss of the Devouring Librarian Dungeon was horrifying, certainly the worst thing she¡¯d ever seen.
That wasn¡¯t the most shocking part. The design of the boss arena was a great equalizer to the challenge, which surprised Hannah the most.
Still, she couldn¡¯t only focus on the arena¡¯s hidden mechanisms. The entire arena was an elevated stage that overlooked the maze. True to the recent notifications, there was no going back down the stairs and reentering the maze, even if Hannah would like more time for preparation.Countless sheets of paper barred the way back with more of that wormy and warped magic. More of the same surrounded the perimeter of the stage. There was nowhere else to go now.
The dungeon core floated above while lit by magic spotlights beaming from the far rafters. It hung like a judge to the event that was unfolding.
¡°For this one, Hannah, I¡¯d like to involve myself more,¡± Zarian said. ¡°It¡¯s more Dark Souls than even the fight with Reiki. No offense.¡±
Reiki didn¡¯t look offended. Instead, she looked determined. Her many spider eyes looked hungrily at theirtest and greatest foe.
The skeletons spread out while staying near the staircase. Roller waited patiently for a new directive, and the spectral spiders were heading out while invisible and intangible.
Hannah took the position at the front. She was stuck between two worlds. The design of the boss arena was a great equalizer that favored Hannah. But the boss itself was a nightmare like no other.
The boss unraveled from around itself three dozen tentacles and feelers attached to an immense dark blue ball of flesh. The creature squirmed from its slumber slowly, barely fazed by the presence of its would-be killers. Why would anything faze it when it was the size of several hot air balloons fully inted?
Worse yet, the creature pulsed with magic that sent it rising off the arena floor, spiralingzily at first, eyes slowly opening to behold the sacrificial challengers of its twisted game. Its dozens of yellowish eyes rolled in their sockets. A mouth filled with giant ivory teeth and fangs opened sorge it could eat an entire public bus.
Then the creature¡¯s round face scrunched with hunger and malice in their direction.
Zarian used Identify and said aloud what he saw:
The Lore Eater roared, angered by Zarian¡¯s Identify. Not everyone felt it, but the Lore Eater certainly did. Its gaze swept over all of them wrathfully.
The music turned menacing, gothic, and dark as the Lore Eater slowly centered his focus on Hannah. Something magical reached for her, invading her.
Then she felt another magical force sweep in, this one more familiar. There was a crackle, pop, and strange jolts inside and outside of her, making Hannah shiver. It was like two forces held a miniature battle inside her aura.
¡°No, no, no.¡± Zarian wagged a finger at the monstrous boss. ¡°You don¡¯t get to do that with my enchantress.¡±
Before Hannah could ask what Zarian had prevented, the Lore Eater bellowed. It had a voluminous voice that reminded her of a jet engine trying to speak.
¡°Worthless trash!¡± The dungeon boss shouted. ¡°I am the unbeatable Lore Eater, keeper of secrets, ruler of all knowledge I¡¯ve consumed from the minds and souls of those who dare trespass in my dungeon! You cannot prevent me from undoing you!¡±
¡°Hannah, tell him ¡®We don¡¯t care. We¡¯re taking everything you got with interest,¡¯¡± Zarian advised.
Hannah repeated his words loudly, stayingmitted even if she felt silly. She was unsurprised by the boss¡¯s response.
¡°You crass and thoughtless wench! You¡¯ve invaded my inner sanctum without proper offering and brought another dungeon boss who does not serve me! For this, I curse you! For this, I will devour you! For this, I will use your knowledge to bring torment to all who you love and hold dear!¡±
Hannah tensed up, doing her best not to shiver. She could feel the raw power of the dungeon boss pressing down on her. Being that it was a rare Level 57 creature while also intelligent made this battle even scarier.
However, she didn¡¯t let her fear cloud her judgment. The demigod behind her was much scarier. And she knew he was ready to go.
¡°Zarian, dear, can you serve as my fighter?¡± Hannah paused, making a quick judgment call. ¡°Try to keep to a Tier 2 range of power so you can derive some fun from this. I¡¯m sure you can kill this creature in one hit otherwise.¡±
In Hannah¡¯s opinion, Zarian¡¯s true power was somewhere between Tier 3 and Tier 4. He was monstrous and capable of widespread destruction. The more he grew, the more he would have to learn to hold backpared to everyone else around his level, unless he wanted to annihte all challenges.
Zarian was also the type to get bored without challenges.
She risked looking away from the dungeon boss. She saw a sharp smile split across Zarian¡¯s face before he said, ¡°Nah, it would take seven hits, maybe six at the lowest. Still, that would be too fast. Let¡¯s draw this out.¡±
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He was downying himself. She knew Zarian had selected his Level 40 First ss Advancement. She was certain he was vastly more powerful now.
She couldn¡¯t ask because it would be rude, in a sense, since he was concealing it for a reason. Maybe he was waiting for her to hit Level 40 before revealing the truth.
I will get there with this boss fight!
Zarian bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. He shifted ahead of Hannah, his cloak pping dramatically with no wind.
Watching him, ast-minute idea came to Hannah¡¯s mind. She made the request, and Zarian provided her with more powerful boons. Nine dark swords appeared in each of the skeletons¡¯ hands except for Loner.
Hannah quickly pushed her Enchantment +1 skill to affect each sword. Doing it this way spent aura quickly and inefficiently while not using runic devices as mediums. She relied on speed since the pre-battle time window was drawing to a close.
She gave each sword a set of runes that reinforced, sharpened, and made them elementally conducive. Dark swords held by mer and others lit up, crackled, and whirred with their respective elements. The result fused multiple abilities together to enhance the battle abilities of the advancing skeletons.
It was a bit selfish to pull more power from Zarian while asking him to handicap himself. But Hannah was inclined to think Zarian could handle all that just fine.
He didn¡¯tin. He winked back at her instead, showing nothing but confidence.
The boss watched all of this with hate roiling in its many-eyed gaze. Its tentacles snapped around while on beat with the threatening music. ¡°You dare think yourselves capable of defeating me! Let me disabuse you of such worthless thoughts, you imbeciles!¡±
The pre-battle time window ended.
Time to fight.
¡°Go, go, Zarian!¡± Hannah shouted as the music spiked with intensity and tempo.
Zarian shot forward with a ferocity that was powerful, his Parasite Cloak fluttering like a tattered and murderous eldritch g. His steps erased the distance fast, almost in a bestial manner, as he moved with a forward tilt that had him dashing in low.
He looked like a blurred out human streak of ck and red zooming across the arena floor.
The boss arena was wider than a stadium. For Zarian, it might as well be a trip across the street.
Hannah held out her hand and gestured for everyone else to hold back. Reiki, Loner, and the other skeletons looked eager to fight. Thankfully, they waited as Hannah watched the first exchange ofbat.
The Lore Eater traded away insults for an array of magic that charged up in its gaping maw. Hannah felt her heart clench as different colored orbs shed, glimmered, and pulsated in a wide elemental variety. Then the Lore Eater¡¯s attack came down at Zarian as a continuous volley of beams.
Red hot fire. Yellow and thunderous lightning. Dark blue ice. Gray and fast wind. Purple and mysterious mist. Glimmering ss. Conjured rock. Relentless melted steel. Bright light. And so much more.
Hannah could barely tell them apart as the vibrant multi-beam-assault mmed onto the floor with an arena-shaking quake. The music rose with tititing glee to match the roaring torrent of multi-cast spells.
Hannah nearly fell over from the powerful shaking, but Reiki caught her. Loner and Roller rode out the vibrations well enough while the other skeletons fell and tripped over each other.
Regaining herposure, Hannah lowered her goggles over her eyes to eliminate the excess light and see smaller details from further away. She noticed a flying figure swooping around the boss¡¯s nk and away from the multi-spell cataclysm sting into the floor.
The aerial figure was Zarian, and Hannah wasn¡¯t the only one to notice.
Multiple yellow eyes rolled in their sockets as the boss kept track of the daring wizard. Whipping tentacles, some nearly as thick as railroad cars, glowed with haunting purple magic.
The boss kept sting out its torrent of numerous spells, spiraling in the direction Zarian flew to catch him in the magical uproar. Meanwhile, the Lore Eater¡¯s giant tentacles whipped and snapped like rapid thunderps at Zarian to smack him down from the air.
Hannah trembled as she watched Zarian and Para swoop around, juke aside, and stay a split second ahead of the boss. The room for error was so small Hannah wanted to shout and tell Zarian to go all out. She held back because there was a point that Zarian was making.
He shouldn¡¯t have to do it all by himself. I¡¯m capable! She just needed to prove it.
Hannah pushed Level 0 Tranquil Mind for all it was worth. She watched Zarian move like a jet fighter around the boss¡¯s incredible attacks. She flinched when Zarian showed signs of imperfection. A tentacle whip clipped the wings formed out of the Parasite Cloak and sent him spiraling.
He brushed the edge of the boss¡¯s roaring torrent of multi-cast spells. He suffered burning, freezing, electrocution, and more. But he didn¡¯t fallpletely.
He corrected himself to go on his own offensive, skimming past the roaring torrent of spells, and past the relentless thunder cracks of snapping tentacles. He shed a deep gouge across the boss¡¯s face and several eyes with a curved de of darkness that was fifteen feet long.
He struck right when the music took a dramatic turn, like a rallying cry in favor of a man facing a horrible titan. The dungeon boss shut its mouth, cutting off the multi-spell beams, and jerked back in pain.
The Lore Eater snapped out tentacles in a desperate frenzy that was even wilder and faster than before. Now the battle began in earnest as Zarian took on the brunt of soloing the boss and holding its attention.
The boss wouldn¡¯t pay attention to what Hannah was doing until it was toote.
¡°Okay, let¡¯s go,¡± Hannah said. ¡°Loner, Reiki, provide Zarian back up at a distance. Use this, Loner.¡±
She tossed him a prototype device that was more likely to fail than seed. It looked like a thick, oblong piece of ssy obsidian covered in pale-blue runes while as long as a man¡¯s forearm.
When Loner held it by the thicker end, it was easy to think of it as a wand. It was more like a focus medium, if anything.
¡°Aim and shoot with that. It¡¯ll fail you two out of three times. Keep trying anyway,¡± Hannah exined.
Loner nodded.
Reiki shed a savage spider grin on her pretty, many-eyed face. She gave a nod before patting Loner on the back.
The two ran toward the fight at a slower pace than Zarian. They didn¡¯t need to join the melee.
Loner aimed the runic wand and seeded on his first attempt, shooting a powerful vibrating bolt at the boss monster. Reiki pranced and spiraled with her steps, conjuring her magic to shoot bolts of web and force. They struck the side of the boss.
The damage wasn¡¯t heavy. But every bit helped. They stayed mobile, too, avoiding a singr beam shot back in retaliation at them. Then they repeated their efforts to serve as a distant distraction, easing the burden on Zarian.
Hannah looked up further and saw the fight between Zarian and the boss maneuvering around the arena, Loner and Reiki trailing at range. Now the boss battle was more frantic and messy, with the music changing erratically to serve as a perfect match.
The Lore Eater snapped its immense jaws for a killer bite. It whirled around in a cyclone maneuver that swung its many tentacles fast and hard. It shot out salvos of elementary spell beams. The boss even warped the surrounding air with a force that was dangerous and maniptive.
Zarian swooped, juked, and shed his giant sword through it all. Twin jets of darkness thrust from his feet while the Parasite Cloak served as his wings.
Even during the brightest moments when the Lore Eater released a great barrage of spells, Zarian remained ahead by the skin of his teeth, pushing the tempo, keeping the immense dungeon boss stressed.
Hills of piled books, towering bookcases filled with giant volumes, and interesting treasures that had lost their luster over the many centuries dominated the Lore Eater¡¯s space. None of that interested Hannahpared to the hidden objects of power set around the boss arena like traps waiting to be sprung.
¡°Let¡¯s do our part,¡± Hannah said, leading the skeletons and Roller.
The Lore Eater had no idea how bad it was for Hannah to be here. If Zarian was the overpowered wizard, then Hannah was the greatest weakness to dungeon bosses like the Lore Eater.
Chapter 70: It Will Learn
Chapter 70: It Will Learn
Hannah ran to the nearest hidden object of power while apanied by nine skeletons and her Roller Golem. She kept the dynamic fight in the corner of her eye.
She pushed down the feeling of guilt that she was using Zarian. He was risking his life and holding himself back against an enemy that could kill him.
It took a certain type of mindset that was beyond selfless. Zarian was truly a demigod, in Hannah¡¯s belief, and a crazy one at that.
In fact, she could hear his howls ofughter entwined with the roars of the angry dungeon boss. In the middle of it all, the dramatic music tied it all together.
Hannah skidded to a stop in front of one of the hidden trap doors. It was next to a set of furniture that looked like it was made for humans.
She turned to mer and told the Runic Burner to lob fireballs at all the furniture. In no time, the furniture rose as roaring mimics, with their bodies smoldering under intense mes.
¡°Destroy them while I work, skeletons,¡± Hannah ordered.
Roller stayed by her side. The skeletons split off, their enchanted dark swords raised. They attacked the exposed mimics with ferocity and expertise. The arena floor shook violently as the boss fight continued in the background.
Hannah focused on the nearly impossible task under her. It was a simple structure hidden under the boss arena floor. But the rune-work enchanted into the structure was soplicated Hannah was nearly stunned.She would¡¯ve found herself ill-equipped if she hadn¡¯t studied the Golem Lost Knight of the Forgotten Kingdom and the White Spider Dungeon core.
Hannah took a deep breath and dove all the way in. Because of the new levels in Enchantment +1 and Rune Alteration +1, she could work faster and from further away.
She used Rune Scan +1 to get a surface reading. Then she pulled out some runic devices to improve her efficiency, reach, and touch.
Roller directed his aura recovery service straight into her and provided her excess power. She also had more aura recovery enchantments ced into her gear for extreme asions like these.
With all of that excess aura at her fingertips, Hannah pushed, sifted, isted various enchantments, broke them down to theirponents, then went even further and further to their base runic makeup. Then she went even further than that to make out every piece of every rune she could.
She found runes she¡¯d never seen before. She quickly cross-referenced them with everything she¡¯d studied and researched up to this time.
It was almost too much. She hadn¡¯t been an enchantress for long enough. This was far more difficult and taxing than she had imagined.
Still, Hannah pushed herself. Because Zarian believed in her. He¡¯d spent so much of his time and energy supporting her. She wanted to show him and the others how much further she could push her enchantress ss. She wanted to make it so they needed not worry when she wasn¡¯t always involved inbat.
I¡¯ve bypassed thews of the universe. I¡¯ve summoned Reiki here when I shouldn¡¯t have.I have the secrets of a Forgotten Kingdom at my fingertips. I just need to push for more.
Hannah shuddered before letting out a hoarseugh. Blood leaked down her nostrils as she overclocked her brain to keep track of the enormous dump of runic information and enchanting work she was doing all at once.
Aura poured in and out of her like she was a major medium of magic herself, less a human, and more a connector of what was and what could be.
One day, I¡¯ll be a goddess of enchantments. I¡¯ll create worlds from mere magic code. I¡¯ll create life by putting together runes. One day, I¡¯ll be overpowered, too.
That was a long way from now. At the very least, she would kill a boss many times stronger than her.
¡°Done,¡± Hannah said, eyes watery, head throbbing, blood pouring fast from her nostrils.
She could barely get to her feet when the arena shook so hard she was tossed back down again.
¡°Please be okay, everyone. Sorry for the wait,¡± Hannah said.
First, she looked around. She was taken aback to see the skeletons were still fighting. The mimics had grownrger in numbers. They came running as sofas, footrests, tables, treasure chests, and more.
She watched the human skeleton Mighty sh his enchanted dark sword at a charging table-mimic and split it in half. She looked up as the gnoll skeleton Windy soared through the air and whipped out crescents of sharpened gales with each rapid sword swing.
Behind her, the human skeleton Warper stood guard, the air around his sword flickering strangely as if the weapon would blink out of reality. Whenever a mimic collided against his sword while the weapon blinked, the mimic fell with part of its body sliced perfectly.
Hannah looked past them and saw most of the boss arena was annihted. She caught Reiki running with Loner while numerous spells rained down from above. The spell-siege crashed with a meteoric force that could¡¯ve demolished multiple city blocks and wiped away neighborhoods back in the old world as the Lore Eater went on a rampage.
Yet, despite all of that raw power, the boss was covered in gruesome gashes. Half of its tentacles looked like they had met the business end of a blender and were left useless on the floor. Most of its eyes were shed apart, leaving its face bloody with purple ichor dripping in constant streams.
From what Hannah could tell, Zarian had given the boss hell. But he hadn¡¯te out of the fight unscathed.
Zarian was kneeling on the floor behind some dark pirs. He was covered in gruesome wounds that worried Hannah greatly. The Parasite Cloak was in ruins, far worse than Hannah had ever seen.
Thankfully, he was still cognizant of the situation and the others. He conjured more dark pirs to defend Loner and Reiki from the meteor shower of elemental sts.
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As blood leaked down Zarian¡¯s body, with him breathing hard, forced to wait out the destructive barrage apanied by a symphony of music that elevated every moment, Hannah could hardly believe the length Zarian would go just so he could make the fight interesting. Or maybe this was less about himself and more about his promise to support her.
Hannah felt deeply touched despite the circumstances.
The Lore Eater had none of her appreciation for Zarian.
¡°I¡¯m finished with you! Face the wrath of my knowledge! For I have the power to destroy kingdoms right this very moment.¡±
The Lore Eater stopped raining elemental meteors. He reached out with his remaining tentacles and pointed them toward all four devices hidden in the corners of the arena.
The mimics stopped their relentless assault and scurried away. The monsters feared what was toe.
The skeletons turned to Hannah. She gave them strange orders without exining her reasoning. ¡°Go hunt after the mimics. Kill as many as you can to power level yourselves.¡±
The skeletons nodded and chased the minions. With so many helpful abilitiesyered on top of them, the nine skeletons showed promise of how ferociously strong and dominant they would be as they continued advancing.
Hannah watched the goblin skeleton Glowy swing out arcs of intense light to sh apart mimic limbs. She saw the goblin skeleton Darko m his sword down with a dark density that crushed and chopped apart the mimic under his de.
The human skeleton Hasty moved his dark sword so fast he left dozens to over a hundred cuts on mimics before they died. The other skeletons maximized their advantages and came away with dynamic results.
Hannah smiled as they rampaged. She turned away from the rising obelisk near her as it pushed up from a trap door opening.
The dungeon boss rose higher into the air. Its blood fell in great clumpy heaps. Hannah walked through the bloody rainfall as four obelisks of doom continued to rise from the trap doors in the arena and tower over the grounded adventurers.
She nced to the side and saw Reiki and Loner ring up at the out-of-reach dungeon boss. The duo then looked over at Hannah and ran to her side. They walked together to join Zarian. He was still kneeling on the floor, looking up along with them.
He met Hannah¡¯s eyes and quirked his eyebrow.
She answered his silent question. ¡°The battle is over.¡±
¡°Nobody told the boss that,¡± Zarian said.
Hannah gave him a bloody smile. ¡°It will learn.¡±
¡°With this, I¡¯m the god of knowledge and destruction!¡± Devoxklix the Lore Eater reached out with its magic to touch the obelisks of immense runic power.
Each obelisk had enchantments that stored, enhanced, and provided an array of spell power that could potentially destroy all of Central Bramblevale.
The funny thing about runic devices like that was the hazard of facing arge setback depending on any malfunction that could ur. Hannah, of course, could¡¯ve just stopped the obelisks from working by short circuiting the one she¡¯d manipted.
Looking down at Zarian¡¯s bleeding form, she was d she went the extra mile. She looked up as the obelisks denied Devoxklix¡¯s request.
Instead, the other three redirected power to the one Hannah had altered. Since the obelisks were all united in a singr runicwork, Hannah had only needed to hack one of the doomsday devices to get the desired effect.
¡°What have you done?!¡± shouted the Lore Eater.
The boss received no answer. Only the sound of orchestral music reaching its peak and a green-tinged beam of destruction shaking the air with a roar, pouring straight from the obelisk Hannah had taken over.
The dungeon boss burst apart like dynamite in a pinata.
Hannah turned her face upward and spread her arms. She smiled under the results of hertest and greatest work.
Hot and steamy gore sttered down everywhere in clumps or waterfalls. Hannah got some of it up her nose, but she didn¡¯t let that distract her from soaking in the moment.
Then, as the cherry on top, she heard Zarian¡¯s praise. ¡°Atta girl, I¡¯m proud.¡±
Okay, she had to admit, that always felt good to hear from him. Regardless of him being nine years younger than her, Hannah couldn¡¯t deny the feeling of wanting to do right by a demigod like him.
Which was why she had to hold on to the lead position a little longer. She had to set things straight with the Hemlock Family, or at least with Lady Rhea Hemlock. Until then, there were notifications, rewards, and ¡
¡°Hey, Hannah, look at Reiki.¡± Zarian pointed.
Hannah turned. She ignored the horror of the damaged arena flooded by gore and flesh, all of it quite steaming warm. Para was feasting on some of it, building herself back up.
With the music gone, the sound of the Parasite Cloak¡¯s eating habits was on full disy. That soon faded to background noise for Hannah as she watched Reiki of the White Silk Dancers walk over to where the dungeon core descended.
Hannah didn¡¯t move or speak. Zarian kept kneeling,fortable with his position. The two watched with open fascination as Reiki grabbed the pearly dungeon core.
It was the size of a human head and pulsated with an alluring warmth. Reiki stared at the core¡¯s surface for a few minutes, doing nothing, until finally she made a decision.
She bit the core. Her fangs passed through its surface like it was breaking through flesh. The reality of the dungeon flickered and faded from around them.
Reiki kept feasting until all the Devouring Librarian Core was gone, fully devoured. The dungeon disappeared from around them, leaving them in a wide cavern system.
Nothing remained as evidence of their adventure except for their party of many summons and three radiant treasure chests. Before Hannah could ask Reiki questions, the dungeon boss fell over and curled into the fetal position, six arms wrapped around her legs.
She faded out of view and left behind her own dungeon core.
¡°Reiki, the core, whatever ¡ they¡¯re evolving,¡± Zarian exined.
Hannah used her Rune Scan +1 and was nearly floored. Zarian was right. The core was going through an upgrade or metamorphosis.
The process was immense andplex. There were too many runes to track, some of which were far more advanced than Hannah could understand right now.
¡°Would that mean she¡¯ll keep the knowledge and abilities of the former Devouring Librarian Dungeon?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°Can¡¯t say. Can you tell?¡±
Hannah pushed herself to see as deep as she could. She caught sight of certain runes in the flurry that gave her the answer they sought.
¡°Yes, she¡¯s changing into something simr to the librarian dungeon, but fused with spiders. If we are truly fortunate, Reiki and the core will keep the secrets of the Hemlock Family and their dungeon. We only need to give Reiki¡¯s core time to finish processing.¡±
¡°Cool.¡± Zarian stood as tendrils from the Parasite Cloak reached for the core.
¡°Wait, it won¡¯t do to ce the core in the pocket dimension. It could freeze the process.¡±
¡°You hear that, Para. We have to hold the core like holding a baby dragon egg, but the spider version.¡±
¡°Bueno!¡± Para wrapped up the core with maternal care.
Hannah wasn¡¯t sure how she could tell the Parasite Cloak was acting maternal. Hannah just knew.
Seeing all the skeletons gather around curiously like the core was a favored child of their family made the circumstance even more ridiculous. Then the spectral spiders reappeared all around them and performed their dance of victory.
Hannah broke out into a fit of giggles. Then she coughed into her fist and felt some dizzinesse over her.
She was still recovering from the work she¡¯d done on the obelisks. The oue had looked simple, but the stress she¡¯d gone through to set it up was incredible.
Did I really kill that boss monster? She could hardly believe it now that the dungeon was gone. She wasn¡¯t sure if she was ready to even look at her notifications.
She was certainly Level 40 now.
Zarian helped her refocus on the here and now by gesturing at the three treasure chests. ¡°Will you do the honors?¡±
Hannah would be d to.
Chapter 71: First Class Advancement
Chapter 71: First ss Advancement
Hannah looked down at the three treasure chests waiting to be opened. They glowed with an allure that invited all desires, imaginations, and greed. They stood outpared to the rocky cavern floor and the surrounding darkness.
The only lights came from the treasure chests and the most elemental skeletons ¨C mostly Glowy. Hannah patted her hands together and looked back at the others.
The skeletons gave her all thumbs up, and the spectral spiders saluted. Feeling emboldened, Hannah flipped open all the treasure chests, one by one.
The lids swung on their well-oiled hinges with no sound except for the final thunks at the end. She heard a ding from two out of the three treasure chests.
The first two emitted an ethereal light that was enchanting and wondrous. Thest one held nothing special other than a leather-bound journal.
The journal was probably the thing Hannah was looking for most. She did, however, have a few new notifications to sort through on top of everything else.
Hannah checked the glowing treasure chests and found their bottoms empty. Their contents were in her notifications. She grabbed the journal, flipped the lid back up to shut the chest closed, and sat on it.
Zarian sat back on his rapidly formed parasite throne. He looked better than he did moments ago.
He had arge amount of vitality now, didn¡¯t he? He could self-regenerate from his wounds at a good pace, especially now that they were resting.¡°Can I go over my notifications with you?¡± Hannah asked.
He waved for her to go on.
Hannah essed her notifications and spoke aloud.
She had a deluge of messages from the system detailing how she¡¯d ¡®defeated¡¯ various monster mimics. Those happened automatically based on either assisting or killing.
By having supplied the skeletons a plethora of enchantments to make them a fierce fighting force, Hannah constantly gained some credit for their kills even if the experience wasn¡¯t major.
Still, everything counted, hence her breaking into Level 40 before she even received the notification for defeating the dungeon boss.
Hannah paused there and looked at Zarian intently. He looked back with an unreadable expression.
Deep down, Hannah hoped Zarian hadn¡¯t waited and already selected his ss. While he hadn¡¯t been very active except for the boss battle, he would¡¯ve gained a considerable amount for being a colossal presence of logistical support and heavy power. He shouldn¡¯t miss out on all that experience.
¡°Something got you held up?¡± Zarian shed her a smile while holding the evolving dungeon core in one hand.
¡°No, I¡¯m just soaking in the moment.¡± Hannah continued with the other important notifications.
SSS! You divided and conquered. One held the attention of the immensely powerful Lore Eater while throwing aside wizardly prowess and picking up the sword like a magic warrior ¨C once again! The other took advantage of a weak rune firewall that Lore Eater should¡¯ve fixed ages ago. Ster work, truly. BRAVO!>SSS Genius Beyond the Lore Eater (Unopened)!>
¡°May I?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°It looks like this is ours to share.¡±
¡°Go for it.¡±
<SSS Genius Beyond the Lore Eater (Epic): For many centuries, the Lore Eater has consumed the minds of those who¡¯ve fallen into its dungeon. So why not do the same in your own unique ways? With this epic achievement, you are both granted new traits: Lore Eater.>
¡°FUCK YEAH!¡± Zarian jumped andnded feet first on the armrests of his parasitic throne. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! Holy shit, Hannah, this is amazing!¡±
This was worth the treasury of a kingdom. Hannah couldn¡¯t believe it.
They hade here for additional information on the Forgotten Kingdom. They were already walking out with means to snatch key information from others. And they could now enhance their intellectual pursuits far further than before.
This was perfect for them both.
Hannah needed time to regain herposure. She wasn¡¯t the outwardly emotional sort like Bianca, but she could still get overwhelmed.
She was especially thrilled for Zarian. The epic Lore Eater trait would make it vastly easier for him to study the difficult gravity spell along with others.
Hannah swallowed a sob before rposing herself and smiling wide enough for it to hurt. ¡°Wow, that ¡ that was unexpected. I didn¡¯t think we can get traits from boss battles.¡±
¡°Fuck yes!¡± Zarian pumped one fist into the air while his other arm held onto Reiki¡¯s dungeon core. He pointed a finger at Hannah. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you, we might not have gotten that achievement! Turning the boss monster¡¯s own hidden trap against it for the explosive finish is definitely worthy of something awesome.¡±
He bounced from one armrest to the other while holding Reiki¡¯s core above his head. ¡°This was why I held back. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll get the best results by overpowering everything, not in the first encounter with a boss battle, at least. So having you here to y that boss with an unusual move unlocked the SSS rating and epic achievement.¡±
Hannah opened and closed her mouth.
All the skeletons ¨C except Loner ¨C jumped around and rattled in joy around Hannah and Zarian. Loner gave two thumbs up. The spectral spiders danced all over.
Para waved around loose tendrils and made the bone spines on the back of the throne quiver. Para even reached out with a veiny hand and patted Hannah on the head.
It took a lot for Hannah not to cry. There would be plenty of tearsing from Bianca once Hannah retold this to the other women with all the feelings she¡¯d felt.
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Again, she focused on regaining herposure. She smiled politely at the celebrating summons and flicked through more of her notifications.
She skipped the ss advancement for now and focused on the treasures. To her surprise, she was given some interesting choices. She exined them aloud to Zarian.
Hannah fell silent and waited.
¡°Well, hm, isn¡¯t that interesting? Must be a tough choice figuring out who gets what.¡± He gave her a nk look.
Hannah chuckled and mentally selected Zarian. She passed the Summon Wizard Hat skill to him and kept the Summon Cube Maker for herself.
She felt the familiar upload of new runes to her profile. The same happened when she and Zarian had received the epic Lore Eater trait. They were now greater than they were before with these new abilities.
And yet, there was still more!
She looked down at the leather-bound journal in her hand and tapped it on her thigh. She extended her gauntleted hand and summoned the Cube Maker.
It was the size of a Rubik¡¯s Cube while all brown with gray edges. There was one small hole in the front.
Curious, Hannah pointed the Cube Maker at a section of the floor next to her. The soul-bound item turned on with a suction sound that reminded Hannah of an industrial vacuum.
In no time, a cubic hole that was three feet deep, wide, and long appeared where she pointed. The Cube Maker finished after sucking up dirt, rock, and sediment into the hole.
Hannah felt an informative connection with the skill and knew she had plenty of room for storing more material. It wasn¡¯t unlimited, but the more she grew the skill, the more space she would have.
She could also vaguely tell that the cube maker used unique rules that went against mostws of physics. Despite the magical nature of the Infinita Star System, it did follow certainws Hannah knew from back in the old world. The cube maker could do unusual things regardless of the naturalws.
¡°I love it,¡± Hannah said, cradling the cube maker to her chest. ¡°I don¡¯t clearly know what more it could do. But I love it.¡±
¡°Good. Because I¡¯m not trading with you. No take backs.¡±
Hannah looked up, her eyes widening. The Wizard Hat was bigger than she¡¯d expected. The brim reached out far in all directions and drooped down, covering Zarian¡¯s face.
The cone portion was bent and crooked. If it wasn¡¯t for how thick and solid the material looked, Hannah would¡¯ve mistaken it for something Zarian picked up at a cheap discount store.
¡°Hey there.¡± Zarian tipped the front of the brim up and revealed the monocle was back on his face. He¡¯d stored it away during the boss fight. He looked older and wiser with it back on.
Para integrated herself with the hat. Almost instantly, the skill item transformed from a bargain bin apparel to a more sinister and eldritch-style wizard hat.
Not only that, but Hannah could feel the immensity and motion of Zarian¡¯s dark aura. With that hat, Zarian¡¯s mystical abilities were even more potent.
Hannah quickly realized that this venture had pushed Zarian closer toward full-on god-shing status.
Well, let me take a step closer to getting there as well.
¡°I¡¯m going to look at my ss advancement now,¡± Hannah said.
She opened up the list. She found a hundred options now. She saw the new version of her old ss.
Runic Enchantress Novice had the logical upgrade simply called Runic Enchantress. It was in third ce underneath two legendary ss choices that had Hannah¡¯s heart racing.
Hannah took some deep breaths. She looked shakily at her second choice.
Hannah wasn¡¯t sure if she could handle the evil alignment. However, based on what Zarian had told her, the evil alignment came with the perk of boosted intelligence. That could be helpful, along with having 3 skill choices.
Hannah quickly scanned through her other options. There were multiple variants of sorceress, mage, wizard, architect, and other interesting sses. Most were rare or umon. A few others were epic.
Only one was legendary while most fitting for her, and that was Runic Engineer. Still, she hesitated. What if she was being too impulsive and not seeing something better?
Hannah told Zarian her concerns.
She felt like a troubled woman begging for the wisdom of some eldritch wizard king as he sat on his parasite throne. He lounged loosely in his seat, one leg propped up on an armrest, the core nestled in the crook of his arm and body. He tipped the brim of his hat upward with his hand as he met her eyes with his void-like gaze.
¡°You know yourself. Do you think you can handle the evil alignment? And are you really going to turn down two epic traits and two additional stat points?¡± Zarian questioned. ¡°Granted, you¡¯ll miss out on new skills. But do you need more than what you have now?¡±
Hannah selected Runic Engineer.
She gasped as she felt the System uploading her advancement into her body, like shooting runes straight into her veins.
She felt like she was shedding her past self. She was bing more of an adventurer aiming to travel far, solveplex problems with violence or guile, and ascend the worlds of the Infinita Star System.
She felt very distant from the woman she once was. She felt much better, more capable, more dangerous.
She felt amazing.
And she had two new epic traits plus some other quirks of the System. She looked at the new quirks first.
The new alpha skill slots were an immense boon. The new beta skill slots, not so much, but they were appreciated.
She swapped her Summon Cube Maker from the beta skill section to the alpha skill section. She could tell it was considerably more powerful now.
It really is important to achieve great things in the Star System. An additionally free point might not seem like much now, but Hannah imagined it would stack up incredibly over time.
Hannah ran the math quickly. From now on, she would grow by +2 Willpower, +1 Agility, +1 Wonder, +3 Mysticism, +6 Free per level.
Thebination of having a legendary ss and an additional free point for being exceptional was beyond anything she could hope for. She saw it in action when the System delivered the reduced experience it kept stored up.
She quickly distributed her points. Then she finished her report to Zarian by checking on the new epic traits.
How much more ridiculous could this get?
¡°Zarian,¡± Hannah called.
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°Am I ¡ powerful?¡± she asked delicately.
¡°As the legendary Runic Engineer, I believe so. I¡¯m not sure if there are many who are willing to risk their life adventuring while doing what you do on the fly.¡± Zarian rolled his head around, his parasitic hat tilting in odd and creepy ways. ¡°Wee to the club, Hannah. You¡¯ll need to learn how to hold back more or you¡¯ll crush all the little people at your feet.¡±
Hannah looked down. Her boots were dirty but whole. She imagined all the little people she could step on.
She wasn¡¯t someone others could push around easily anymore.
It was probably a good thing she would never see her ex-husband again.
¡°So, Hannah, what now?¡± Zarian asked, smirking.
He still refused to give away his own changes and advancements. Hannah held back from asking even though she really wanted to. She imagined he would make the revtion once they reunited with the other party members.
Right now, it was still her rodeo.
¡°Zarian, let¡¯s go pay Rhea Hemlock a visit.¡± Hannah stood, the journal still in hand. The treasure chests disappeared. ¡°Oh, and let¡¯s make a stop at that bar and get you fed.¡±
¡°I want to give you a big and happy hug now.¡±
Hannah chuckled. ¡°Save that forter. I want to make sure I earn it.¡±
Zarian blinked at her with his void-like eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve already earned it. But if you need the extra motivation of knowing you have a big, happy hug from me, okay, we¡¯ll save it in the bank. Just don¡¯t let Bianca know. She¡¯ll demand more hugs.¡±
Chapter 72: Your Will Is My Command
Chapter 72: Your Will Is My Command
For the next hour, Hannah found the peace of exploring a cavern system under the city an interesting and weed diversion.
She and Zarian had spent three days crawling through the Devouring Librarian Dungeon. Thest battles were mighty, epic, and draining. She¡¯d nearly torn her mind apart to sabotage the obelisks.
Now her spirit was renewed. She had new toys to y with. She couldn¡¯t stop from using her cube maker skill.
She pointed at a spot and drained material rapidly into the skill item¡¯s mouth. Just like that, she formed a square ditch that was six feet deep, nine feet wide, and twelve feet long.
Upon her whim, the Cube Maker reversed its suction mode to unload and create. Quickly and surely, Hannah started to form a bridge over the ditch.
She watched as little stone cubes spat out from the skill item¡¯s mouth. The little cubes assembled into steps going up, and then into a stone ne, and finally into steps going down again on the other side of the ditch she¡¯d created.
The cube maker could work from a distance, but not too far. It was faster when she moved with it in hand.
The only part that bothered her was how she couldn¡¯t mess with the cube maker directly using her runic abilities. The System wouldn¡¯t allow the adventurer or ¡®yer¡¯ of its Star System to mess around with the actual system runes.
One day, I¡¯ll dig into you, Star System.Hannah knew these aspirations of grandeur were borderline crazy. But months of being around Zarian and the other Floridians had left their mark on her. She¡¯d also spent a lot of time on the research grind before she led a ughter of a rare dungeon.
Looking up from her fun, Hannah saw a group of spectral spiders flickering in and out of view. The spectral spiders were quick and efficient explorers and all connected to each other. They led their parade of oddities through the cavern system with expert ease.
The only light sources came from Glowy and mer. They illuminated the dark corners and revealed lifeless stone and nothing more.
Hannah imagined that centuries with the dungeon dominating this space eliminated any natural cavern ecosystems that would¡¯ve existed. With the dungeon gone, more natural magical life could exist here.
They stopped at a wall. A group of spectral spiders appeared in front of Hannah¡¯s face. They pointed their legs up.
With little thought, Hannah raised her foot and walked vertically up the wall. While her Strength was the lowest in the party, she had enough for basic superhuman maneuvers, and she had the Level 0 Willful Might skill.
She could keep herself stabilized during the vertical walk up the wall. The Surface Walker enchantments she¡¯d copied from Zarian¡¯s old boots served them well.
¡°Oh, you think I¡¯m carrying you all?¡± Zarian asked.
Hannah looked back.
Zarian looked more like an eldritch spellcaster than ever, having menacing fangs and wicked spines growing out of the wizard hat¡¯s brim. The conical top had a mouth with a tongue-like tendril licking at the air. Para the Parasite Cloak wavered behind him like a tattered g while keeping her ragged material out of reach of the skeletons.
¡°Climb, youzies,¡± Zarian told the skeletons. ¡°You¡¯re going to be the best of the best. The special forces. The ones who go behind enemy lines and do what no other necromantic creature can do but you. Now get up here before I unleash my inner Drill Instructor all the way!¡±
The skeletons shook their heads like they were getting overworked and underpaid.
Loner lunged into the wall. He stabbed his hands and feet into the rock and scaled up. The other skeletons followed his example, some better than others.
Blender had it the easiest. His blending ability merged his body with surfaces, which camouged him and made him good at maneuvering around. Other skeletons who struggled, such as Warper, had arcane webbing sent down by the spectral spiders to help them up.
Together, Hannah¡¯s oddities reached the corner of the cavern ceiling. The spectral spiders pointed at a crack in the wall. Zarian exined the way back to the mansion was through this section of stone blocking their way.
Hannah smiled as she aimed and activated her cube maker. It was set on material gathering and nothing more.
She silently sucked up stone, grit, and sediment into her brown and gray skill item. She created a square tunnel while directing the cube maker¡¯s suction with a thought as well as waving her hand around in circle motions to ensure the tunnel kept its perfect shape.
The process was pleasing to her, and she hadn¡¯t even tried enchanting any cubes or formations yet.
They broke through the wall after a solid minute of tunnel digging.
Hannah looked around at avishly furnished hallway. There were ss cases containing treasured items such as ancient books of bygone eras.
It was dark now based on what Hannah could see through the nearest ss-covered window. The library would be closed except for a select few guests or members of the Hemlock Family who upied the meeting rooms.
Hannah felt a sharp rise of runic power behind her. It was alert. Aggressive. She didn¡¯t even have to use her Rune Scan +1 to know the enchanted creature was going to attack.
She didn¡¯t run. She didn¡¯t bother dodging. Because why should she? The attacker couldn¡¯tpare to the runic power of the advancing skeletons.
She turned to see Hasty sh his dark sword through a stone gremlin.
The human skeleton was a Level 42 Runic Runner and had ten levels over the stone gremlin.
Four more stone gremlins barreled down the hallway. They were small, ugly, and quick things while also packing a lot of weight. Having one of them run into a person could break ribs.
Hannah wasn¡¯t so squishy anymore at her level, not after the first advancement.
Besides, Hasty was much faster than the gremlins. He stepped through them with blurring movement, swinging his enchanted dark sword even faster. The Runic Runner left the four stone gremlins falling into sliced pieces.
Hasty flourished his sword around. He gestured slowly to slide his sword into an invisible sheath while posing with his back to the others.
The other skeletons shook their heads, unimpressed.
¡°What was that noise?¡± A man stepped out of the nearby meeting room. Hannah didn¡¯t recognize him, but he seemed to recognize her. ¡°What are you doing here? Lady Rhea has cast you down into the bowels of the dungeon! You shouldn¡¯t be here!¡±
¡°The dungeon didn¡¯t survive us,¡± Hannah said.
¡°I must tell thedy!¡± The man made a move to run.
He was slow. His power was unimpressive. Hannah felt like she was looking at a gangly child even though he looked older than her.
She walked over while he was trying to run. She cut him off easily. Then she grabbed his defenseless neck and threw him into the wall.
When he mmed into it, another man came out of the meeting room. He shouted in rm. Hannah called for the spectral spiders.
They flickered into view from all over the walls, ceiling, and hall disys, with spinnerets at the ready. They shot out their arcane webbing and wrapped up the second man.
Then the spectral spiders swept into the meeting room where Hannah heard others shouting and screaming. She took a quick look inside. None of them were Lady Rhea.
¡°Who are you looking for? What do you want? We¡¯ll give you anything,¡± a desperate noble woman asked, wrapped in glowing blue webs.
¡°Lady Rhea,¡± Hannah said.
The hostages fell silent.
Hannah looked over them coldly. They all seemed small and weak to her even if she was shorter than most of them. None of them had reached their first ss advancement even though she spotted two elderly nobles.
Hannah wondered if it was fear orcency that stopped them from pushing to advance their first ss.
They have the resources. Why stay weak?
Hannah found them pathetic.
Maybe that was harsh of her to think. But she couldn¡¯t excuse them when they could be greater and stronger and chose not to.
¡°Boop.¡± Zarian poked her in the cheek.
Hannah pulled out of her train of thoughts and looked at him in bewilderment.
¡°You got some scary thoughts running through your head. I can tell. While I don¡¯t mind, I felt like I should temper it just a teensy bit.¡±
¡°They¡¯re pathetic,¡± Hannah said, holding nothing back.
¡°Yes, that may be true, but would you have gotten so far as you are now without me?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°Even they, despite their riches, don¡¯t have me.¡±
Hannah was annoyed. That wasn¡¯t sound logic. They might not have an incredible demigod like Zarian, but surely they could¡¯ve pushed themselves to at least reach Level 40.
For this asion, she didn¡¯t see his point.
¡°Oh, wow, you can be a little cold. I¡¯ll have to monitor that. Right now, it¡¯s not a problem. Screw these guys, right? But you¡¯re neutral, not evil. Don¡¯t lose sight of being even keel.¡±
Hannah sighed. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. However, I can do this at least.¡±
She walked over and grabbed one man. He shouted and begged for mercy as Hannah ced her hand on his head and concentrated.
She didn¡¯t have Zarian¡¯s aura maniption. But she could still feel her puzzling, ticking, structural aura through her Runic Affinity.
She connected with the epic Lore Eater trait and dug into the man¡¯s mind with a fiendish hunger that wanted knowledge. It wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience for her victim, but it wasn¡¯t a long one. She found what she was looking for plus more and tore it away from the man.
¡°That ¡ can be abused in so many ways.¡± Hannah looked down at her hand.
This book is hosted on another tform. Read the official version and support the author¡¯s work.
The new knowledge was affixing to her mind. She could feel its ragged edges after she consumed it from the man¡¯s mind.
She looked over at Zarian. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right. Maybe I should be more conscious.¡±
Heughed. ¡°That dude just shit himself. Now we get the pleasure of smelling that. So, yeah, maybe give them the option to tell you before you eat the information from their heads. I mean, I can chew through all of their heads without even touching them, honestly. Imagine how shitty and pissy this room would get?¡±
The hostages screamed and struggled with their arcane webbing bonds. Hannah watched them for a few seconds and nodded.
Zarian¡¯s right. I must ¡ practice restraint.
It didn¡¯t seem fair that he was doing this to her after what the Hemlock Family and Lady Rhea had done. But Hannah figured Zarian was nipping in the bud a problem that could grow out of controlter.
Power was addicting and easy to abuse.
I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t choose to be evil aligned. I don¡¯t think I can handle it as well as Zarian.
Zarian was a way better evil-doer than most people gave him credit for. He was much kinder than he ought to be.
That kindness was a source of power more than it was a weakness. Or he would ensure to put down those who thought of it as a weakness.
¡°Thank you. For that.¡± Hannah nodded, ignoring the screaming and begging nobles. ¡°How embarrassing. I¡¯m thirty, and I¡¯m already drunk off power.¡±
¡°It¡¯s because you didn¡¯t go through an edgy goth phase. Once you know how to wield the darkness, you¡¯lle to understand yourself better.¡± Zarian turned away. ¡°However, that doesn¡¯t mean I shouldn¡¯t be petty for you.¡±
Hannah shivered as Zarian¡¯s dark aura swept around the entire room. All the nobles screamed and shouted in horror. They thrashed about, held down by arcane webbing, as their eyes rolled into their skulls.
They all urinated and defecated on themselves as Zarian stripped away some of their memories and knowledge. He took whatever he wanted, before leaving them alive to deal with the consequences.
Hannah was stunned. Then she slowly shook her head. Ah, yes, Zarian could be cruel, too. However, the punishment was more than justified.
Zarian chuckled. ¡°Come on. Lady Rhea sent her golem strike force. It¡¯s time to watch a badass montage of skeletons versus golems.¡±
Leaving behind the soiled nobles, Hannah followed Zarian out of the conference room and back into the hallway. Spectral spiders blinked in and out of view before goingpletely ghost around them.
Ten skeletons stood in the hallway as a stampede of golems charged them. The odds were in the favor of Hannah¡¯s side. But that wasn¡¯t satisfying enough.
So Hannah moved to a spot between the gnoll skeleton Icicle and the human skeleton Warper. The Level 41 Runic Freezer and Level 41 Runic Spacer nced at Hannah in question.
Hannah faced a menagerie of golem creatures, from the monstrous golems that guarded the front doors to the golems that watched from on top of chandeliers and ledges set near the ceiling. More and more of them rushed at Hannah¡¯s side of the hallway.
Hannah reached out with one hand. She felt for all the runes with her Runic Affinity and scanned them with her own eyes. She felt her new runic traits buff her epically.
Then she targeted the biggest of the golems from a distance and forcefully altered their enchantments. She couldn¡¯t shut them down. But she could dibobte their carefully made, runic nature and send them tumbling and falling into each other.
The golems¡¯ charge crashed into a messy heap. A few broke their limbs and suffered fissuring cracks as they smashed down on each other. Now they were stuck, at least for the seconds that counted.
¡°Go.¡± Hannah stepped back, and the skeletons rushed forward.
After a while, all the skeletons ensured not a golem survived. They massacred every one of the enemy constructs.
¡°Damn, Hannah. Nice.¡± Zarian pped from behind. Para was holding the dungeon core. She formed extra hands to p as well.
They entered the lobby area. Hannah pointed at the shut bar area. ¡°Zarian, eat. Skeletons, go stand or sit down. I¡¯ll handle things from here.¡±
¡°Oh hell yeah, finally!¡±
Zarian ran over to the bar. He crashed through the wall like a truck. In no time, Hannah could hear him feasting, sounding more akin to a beast than a man. He must¡¯ve been hungry for quite some time.
The skeletons took seats at the dining tables or stood about. They watched Hannah as she walked up a wall. Then she walked along the ceiling.
After a minute of fiddling around with some defensive enchantments, she shut them off before she used the cube maker to remove the ceiling and the floor above.
Arge chair, desk, and woman fell through the hole.
Impressively, Lady Rhea Hemlock didn¡¯t scream. But she did crash down hard, which sent her tumbling as her desk exploded into splinters.
Hannah dropped from the ceiling andnded perfectly in a crouch. She put away the cube maker, returning it to her soul. She unstrapped her Runic Gauntlet, removed it off her hand, and strapped it to her belt next to the pouch that held her shrunken Roller Golem.
She walked over to Lady Rhea as the woman stumbled to her feet while shaking off her daze. Even now, Lady Rhea assumed a position of power, lording her tall height while looking down with an angled nose.
Just when Hannah reached her, Lady Rhea regathered her wits and recognized who was in front of her. The Hemlock Receptionist and chief representative of her family had something stinging to say on the tip of her tongue. She was activating all the runic devices on her person, too.
Hannah short circuited all of Rhea¡¯s runic devices for a second. Then she buried her fist into Rhea¡¯s gut and knocked the woman to the floor.
Rhea gasped and sputtered while she tried to stagger back to her feet.
Hannah let her get up before kicking Rhea¡¯s legs from under her and sending the noble woman down to the floor again. Then Hannah swung her foot and dug the toe of her boot into Rhea¡¯s ribs and sent the woman¡¯s entire body flying before falling into a roll across the lobby area.
Fortunately and unfortunately, Rhea was in the Level 40s. Unlike the others, the Hemlock Rep had pushed herself to advance her ss.
Hannah could feel it like how she could feel who was weaker and who was stronger. Maybe that was a consequence of the Wonder stat, which helped perceive the supernatural.
Thus, Hannah knew she could hit Rhea decently without breaking the woman too early. Hannah also knew they weren¡¯t of the same caliber.
Hannah was more powerful. More capable. More monstrous.
Hannah was legendary, and Rhea was of a lower quality.
Rhea scrambled to her feet. She lifted her hand and fired a simple magic bolt. It was quick, but her movements were telegraphed, and Hannah was faster.
Hannah easily stepped out of the way, reached Rhea¡¯s side, and buried another fist to the noble woman¡¯s ribs. The Hemlock Receptionist bent low enough for Hannah to cock back her arm and swing a big p to Rhea¡¯s face.
The p from Hannah¡¯s palm to Rhea¡¯s cheek resounded across the library as the Hemlock woman crashed down.
Hannah waited.
Lady Rhea Hemlock gasped and sputtered. Her hair was everywhere, with strands matted to her sweaty and bloody face.
By all means, she should stay down and curl up into the fetal position and ept her fate. Instead, Lady Rhea pushed off the ground and stood wobbly to her full height.
She looked down at Hannah defiantly, as if ready to face her end proudly.
¡°Give me a reason not to kill you,¡± Hannah demanded.
Rhea swayed from side to side. She couldn¡¯t think straight. She took too long.
Hannah grabbed the woman by her hair and yanked her down. Lady Rhea fell to her knees. She tried to get up, but Hannah pressed her boot onto the Hemlock woman¡¯s thigh and forced her back to kneeling.
Hannah stepped back and waited.
Lady Rhea didn¡¯t try to get up again.
The proud and arrogant noble heaved a breath before saying, ¡°Our resources are yours.¡±
¡°To what extent?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°We devote ourselves to the pursuit of forgotten knowledge, especially that of the fabled Forgotten Kingdom. That has always been our mission. That is the burden I carry passed down to me by my ancestors. I will not excuse our practices, but it is wholly our sole mission, to have ess and to save the records that are most treasured and forgotten.¡±
Lady Rhea lifted her head and looked up into Hannah¡¯s eyes.
¡°You¡¯ve defeated the dungeon and taken its core, haven¡¯t you?¡± Lady Rhea said. ¡°You may find this surprising, but we do have a protocol for that. Especially for someone like you.¡±
¡°You¡¯ve aimed to kill us. I¡¯m still not convinced of why I shouldn¡¯t kill you and put an end to the rest of the Hemlock Family.¡±
Lady Rhea gave Hannah a bloody smile. ¡°Do you really think anyone else would have the gal to face you like this? After you¡¯ve beaten them bloody and dragged them about? I may not be a good woman, but I¡¯m not a weak one. Do you want someone weak to provide the resources we have?¡±
Hannah thought over it.
¡°No. You¡¯ll do.¡±
Hannah kicked Lady Rhea in the chest, cracking a few ribs, and sent the woman flying and skidding across the floor. Before she could get up, Hannah walked over and ced the sole of her boot on the noble woman¡¯s chest.
¡°In the World of Swamps and Princesses, we have a saying. ¡®Fuck around and find out.¡¯ I¡¯m letting you learn this now so you¡¯ll know what will happen the next time you cross me.¡±
¡°Yes, Lady Hannah Townhouse. Your will ¡ is mymand.¡± Rhea wheezed under Hannah¡¯s boot.
Finally, the Runic Engineer backed off fully.
Lady Rhea stayed down. The woman was defeated in the mental and spiritual sense. No matter how strong she¡¯d imed to be, she was a proud woman, and Hannah had sufficiently broken Rhea¡¯s pride.
¡°You have what you need to find it, correct? The Forgotten Kingdom?¡± Rhea asked, her voice breaking.
¡°That¡¯s for us to know, and for you to wait to hear.¡±
¡°Yes ¡ mdy.¡±
Hannah turned and saw the skeletons, spectral spiders, and even Zarian watching her weirdly. She swept a strand of brown locks from her face and looked toward the exit.
Once they went outside, they found it was raining.
Zarian pulled out a rectangr case. He opened it and extracted a cigar. Once he cut off one end, he had mer light it for him.
He puffed on it a few times to ensure it was burning correctly before letting out a draft. Then he passed the cigar to Hannah who took it with a shaky hand.
Hannah blinked in confusion at her hand as it trembled. Then she suckled on the cigar and enjoyed its effects.
After a few drafts, she asked, ¡°Did I do the correct thing?¡±
¡°Interesting phrase. Not right. But correct, you say?¡± Zarian chuckled as he took his turn to puff on the cigar. He looked up at the rain. The droplets patted on the wide brim of his parasitic wizard hat. ¡°Pragmatically speaking, yes. You did the correct thing. I can already imagine what to use them for.¡±
¡°Oh?¡±
¡°They can help us remove some undesirables. The types that our lovely and passionate benefactor wants removed.¡± Zarian chuckled.
Hannah understood what he was saying. Through the Hemlocks, they could order for the assassination of key figures. Thus, a civil war would spark and lead to the results the Good Goddess Lovewar wanted.
Hannah hadn¡¯t thought of that.
Honestly, she simply didn¡¯t want to kill Rhea in the end. Hannah had wanted vengeance, no doubt, but she couldn¡¯t get over how Rhea stood her ground and was clearly devoted to her family¡¯s vocation and pursuit of knowledge.
It felt like it would be a shame to snuff that out. Hannah was even d that Rhea had stood her ground a little, which made the beating more satisfying before Hannah spared the woman.
Of course, Hannah would have to stand by her words if Rhea and the Hemlock Family tried to pull another fast one. There would be no forgiveness. Only subjugation or destruction.
¡°I¡¯ve never done something like that,¡± Hannah said. ¡°I¡¯ve never done anything like this. I¡¯m not who I was before the portal, before you and the Star System.¡±
Hannah dragged more smoke from the cigar. She nced around at the self-sufficient skeletons and the spectral spiders hanging about in view. She looked out into a dark, stone city, its tall towers barely visible as they scraped at the belly of the rain clouds.
She saw magic sconces keeping alight the more public and well-to-do streets and districts. She saw the darkness shrouding the undesirable areas.
It all looked whimsical to her. She could see herself walking out in the lit areas and in the dark areas. She didn¡¯t feel threatened by much anymore, at least not here.
¡°I¡¯m done, Zarian,¡± Hannah said. ¡°I need a shower and lots and lots of sleep. And maybe some pampering. Maybe if the acolytes haven¡¯tpletely packed it all up, I¡¯ll spend half a day in the spa. Can you take over again?¡±
She looked up at Zarian¡¯s darkened face under his wide eldritch hat. She saw his white and sharp smile, like she was in the presence of a monster from the void.
Most people would¡¯ve found that scary.
Hannah, however, found itforting. She leaned into him as he swung his arms around and hugged her tight.
It was nice. Wonderful. And very much needed. She melted on the spot. She let herself soften up.
She even allowed herself toin. ¡°Would it kill you to quit the suspense and tell me what you selected for your first ss advancement?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s catch up with the others first. We can share together.¡±
¡°What is there to share other than our growth?¡±
Hannah pushed against him lightly, letting herself act bratty. She hadn¡¯t done this in a long time. She would die in embarrassment if the other girls saw her whining like this.
She doubted Zarian would tell. This side of her would be their secret, for now at least.
¡°Come on, Zarian. Tell me, please. Pretty please?¡±
He patted her leather helmet, which was easy for him based on how short Hannah was.
¡°Just wait a little longer, okay? I reconnected with the spectral spiders I left out here. Apparently, Naomi, Gilbert, and Bianca had gone on their own ill-advised adventure. And Bianca has her first ss advancement.¡±
Hannah rushed them back to the mansion. Anyone else out in the rainy night wasn¡¯t wrong to feel scared or rmed when they came across Hannah and her parade of oddities.
There was her, all dirty and dressed like a medieval mechanic. There was Zarian¡¯s horrifying appearance while being followed by ten uniquely powerful skeletons. And there was Para, with part of her cloak wavering dramatically while holding the most valuable dungeon core in all the Walled Continent and beyond.
Yeah, it was better if Zarian stayed on top of this. Hannah wasn¡¯t insane enough. Nonstop craziness was his specialty.
Chapter 73: Back in Charge
Chapter 73: Back in Charge
Zarian was back in charge.
He¡¯d felt it the moment Hannah epted his hug and pleaded for him to take the lead like usual. Other than her acting cute and bratty, which was fairly unexpected, Zarian had felt a shift in the atmosphere from that switch in roles. He couldn¡¯t describe what it was exactly, but he tried anyway.
Did we have ¡ a character switch? Like in a Japanese RPG?
Zarian didn¡¯t think deeply about it. Such thoughts were too freaky and meta for his own Fractured Mind.
Instead, he focused on the gains!
Glorious, wonderful, splendid gains!
Zarian and Hannah rushed through the rainy streets of Central Bramblevale. Para the Parasite Cloak fluttered behind them while also carrying the most important dungeon core around. Ten skeletons ran with them in a loose formation that was still battle ready, each skeleton still armed with enchanted dark swords.
That was one heck of a dungeon crawl, Zarian thought, holding in how profoundly impressed he was by Hannah. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s the appropriate amount of praise I should give her. She has no idea how far she¡¯s grown.
She could do scarily powerful things that Zarian couldn¡¯t do. She was truly a genius in her ss as the Runic Engineer. Zarian felt he hit the jackpot, and all he had to do was continue nurturing this genius woman.He couldn¡¯t wait to tell everyone about all of their advancements. Hell, he even had secrets of the Hemlock Family he could make use of if they were ever in a pinch. The reach of that family went further than the Eternal Garden Kingdom, apparently.
At some point, Zarian and Hannah didn¡¯t bother moving like normal people. Why should they when their footwear had the Surface Walker enchantment?
Hannah sped up using her Agility and Wondrous Speed. Zarian did the same, matching her speed.
They ran up slick walls, leaving the skeletons to maneuver on their own somehow. Some skeletons ran through the alleys and streets. Others lunged through the air with creative uses of their unique abilities.
Loner and Hasty kept up the easiest.
Hannah let out a little shriek as she vaulted over a wide street. She windmilled her arms and legs as she cleared the space like a proper superhuman.
Zarianpleted the vault with more grace and ease. He even had his hands in his pocket.
¡°Must you show off?¡± Hannah asked,nding with no break in her stride.
¡°I have to. For it¡¯s my duty to keep you guys looking up to me.¡± Zarian chuckled. ¡°Ah, yes, I can imagine you all getting more powerful, thinking you can nip at the ankles of a giant. Gotta remind you who¡¯s boss.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not Naomi.¡±
¡°Well, yes, but I wouldn¡¯t be me without showing off.¡±
Hannah snorted while on their next impressive vault. Multiple alleys, squat shanty homes sequestered behindrger stone structures, curving canals, and stubby towers passed underneath them both.
Zarian watched the grounded skeletons use parkour moves to get past all the obstacles in their way. Thankfully, they had spectral spiders with them in case they got lost.
Zarian, Hannah, the skeletons, and the spiders left behind the main residential and business districts. They hit the road running between the richer area that held multiple mansions. Most of them were empty except for a few mansions upied by other good gods.
Fortunately, Purgehunt and Purehome weren¡¯t a big presence in Central Bramblevale. Instead, there were the acolytes for Lawkeep and Hopnd nearby, but they left Lovewar¡¯s business alone.
Zarian and Hannah were passing by the perimeter near Hopnd¡¯s mansion, just close enough to hear the weird chanting and vocal praises and shrieks. There weren¡¯t many things that bothered Zarian, but Hopnd¡¯s super cultish vibes were creepy.
¡°I¡¯m d we didn¡¯t choose Hopnd as a benefactor,¡± Hannah admitted.
¡°Same. The more I learn about her. The more she freaks me out,¡± Zarian said.
¡°That¡¯s troubling.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s stay out of Hopnd¡¯s direct business.¡±
¡°Agreed.¡±
Looking back, Zarian saw thest straggling skeletons catching up. They pretended to bend over and breathe hard while throwing furtive res at Zarian and Hannah.
Together, they reached the Lovewar Mansion perimeter and passed through the barrier. Nothing seemed broken. But the ce did feel less lively. Zarian noticed the lobby area was empty and more bare than thest time he saw it.
Zarian turned to the skeletons. ¡°You guys hang out or explore. Make sure to rattle your bones so people know you¡¯re around. The acolytes are so low in level they might die in fright if you¡¯re not careful.¡±
Loner and the other skeletons nodded. Zarian turned his attention to the biggest creepers of them all: goblin skeleton Darko and human skeleton Blender. The Level 40 Runic Voyager and the Level 40 Runic Stalker had a tendency to move as the quietest and stealthiest among the skeletons.
¡°Loner, if the others scare an acolyte to death or cause too much trouble, I¡¯m ming you.¡± It was unfair to do that to Loner, but Zarian figured that was the goblin skeleton¡¯s problem.
Loner was the strongest as the Level 44 Runic Enforcer.
The longeststing skeleton slowly panned around and gave all of his subordinate skeletons a scary re. The gnoll skeleton mer shifted assertively and looked down on Loner.
mer was a Level 43 Runic Burner, only one level below Loner.
Loner pointed through the front door.
Stolen story; please report.
mer nodded.
¡°What are they doing?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°Prison rules. They need to decide who¡¯s the top skeleton,¡± Zarian exined.
As Loner, mer, and the other skeletons filed out the front. A Lovewar Acolyte walked into the lobby area and jolted in surprise. Zarian turned to observe Hannah¡¯s reaction.
The Runic Engineer was still adjusting to her newfound power over others. Thebination of having a legendary ss, more stats, more abilities, and seeding on her first ss advancement as an exceptional adventurer put her way, way above weaker mortals.
Hannah had the cold habit of studying others as if they were something she could break down. And the poor acolyte could feel it as Hannah¡¯s intense power swept over the girl. Then, without Zarian having to break in, Hannah pulled back and restrained herself.
Good, good, Hannah¡¯s being mindful. Zarian was d Hannah didn¡¯t select an evil aligned ss. She was still a caring and concerned person, for the most part. But there was a switch to her that was now more prominent after crawling the Devouring Librarian Dungeon.
¡°Hey, we¡¯re back!¡± Zarian cheered with a wave.
¡°Um, oh, is that you, Lord Zarian? I couldn¡¯t recognize you with the ¡ interesting thing on your head,¡± said the shivering girl. ¡°Is that a hat?¡±
¡°It¡¯s my new wizard hat! I figured it¡¯ll go well with the monocle.¡±
There were other factors that might¡¯ve yed a part in the girl struggling to recognize him. Hannah hadn¡¯t noticed it much yet, but that was because she was familiar with him.
¡°Are Lord Zarian and Lady Hannah back?¡± asked another acolyte from down the hall.
Other young feminine voices called out. Before they entered the lobby, Zarian put away his new hat. The skill item faded into his body where it belonged.
It was a wonderful new addition.
And stupidly overpowered cheat.
Absolutely ridiculous. But nowhere as ridiculous as the other abilities Zarian had gained recently. The urge to exin the depth of his growth was a strong one. He was d he waited when he heard some more familiar voices.
¡°Zarian, Hannah!¡± Naomi blitzed them from the other hallway.
Zarian found a pair of arms wrapped around him, his feet off the ground. He activated his Level 0 Mystic Toughness, and it was still a struggle to endure Naomi¡¯s newfound Strength. She hadn¡¯t even advanced her ss yet.
Did she gain another trait while Zarian was gone?
¡°Naomi, I believe you¡¯re going to crush him,¡± Hannah said.
¡°We have a healer. But, yeah, sure, my bad.¡± Naomi ced him down.
Before Zarian caught his breath fully, an intelligible shriek pierced the night. Bianca flew out from the hallway Naomi hade out of.
Bianca looked even more radiant than before and swept up Hannah in a hug. Then she quicklytched onto Zarian. She was still bouncing up and down while holding onto Zarian when Gilbert came strolling out of the hallway.
¡°Well, ain¡¯t this a touching reunion,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°And I¡¯m even sober for this one. How long until the chief makes me want to grab a drink?¡±
¡°Put aside your troubling alcoholism. We have a ssic school yard fight outside.¡± Zarian pointed out the front door.
¡°Oh, lemme see.¡± Naomi zipped outside.
Zarian led the others out. He noticed the acolytes gathering near the front door while staying inside. He saw rain-drenched soldiers looking from around the corner outside of the mansion.
¡°Who the heck are these guys?¡± Gilbert squinted at the skeletons.
Zarian pointed them out. ¡°Glowy, Darko, Blender¡¯s the smudgy one there, then there¡¯s Warper, Hasty, Mighty, Icicle, Windy, and that steamy one is mer. He¡¯s challenging Loner.¡±
¡°I love their names. Very creative,¡± Bianca said.
¡°They definitely have names the chief would pick,¡± Gilbert drawled.
¡°Hey! That wasn¡¯t me this time. Those were all Hannah¡¯s choices.¡±
They all looked at Hannah. She ignored them in favor of watching the showdown, which was the best excuse anyone could have.
Everyone focused as mer made a vast disy of fire zing off of his ck and orange bones. Across from the Level 43 Runic Burner, Loner stood calmly, bony white arms held across his ribcage, runic symbols pulsating rhythmically on his skeletal frame.
¡°Go, Loner!¡± Bianca shrilled and exuded a bright radiance from her body. ¡°I only know you, and I think you¡¯re the coolest.¡±
mer rushed forward with a burst of fire. When it looked like he would go at Loner straight on, he shifted directions with an explosive and steamy step.
mer redirected to the left. Then he redirected to the right. The quick zigzag patterns ended with mer lunging at Loner from the nk with both skeletal palms filled with spiraling fire.
Loner moved with blurring speed and struck mer with a backhanded punch. A heavy vibrational thunderp sent mer down into the wetwn like a careening meteorite. Because of Reinforcement +2 and Amplify Force +2, most of the damage was lessened and redirected.
mer was slow at getting free of the soggy crater. Loner joined him instead of waiting.
Loner struck the gnoll skeleton with a punch that sounded like an artillery cannon. Then he hit mer with another punch and another punch, burying him in the soggy mud.
Loner only let up when mer stayed put.
Loner jumped out of the crater, leaving mer to crawl out, looking as battered as a gnoll skeleton could. The Runic Enforcer looked down at mer while he was still on all fours, his ckened frame mostly put out except for a few glowing orange streaks that sent steam curling up under the rain.
Loner offered a hand.
mer looked at it and shook his head. The gnoll skeleton stood up on his own, wobbling along the way to his full height. He looked down at the shorter goblin skeleton, then nodded his head in eptance of Loner¡¯s position as the top skeleton.
Zarian started off with a slow p, and everybody else followed. They gave the skeletons a round of apuse. Loner looked at them before turning away as if embarrassed by all the attention.
¡°Is this what we¡¯ll see more of when we leave Central Bramblevale?¡± asked an acolyte.
¡°It¡¯s so violent and incredible. I feel as if I¡¯ll be turned into minced meat the moment we leave the wall,¡± said another acolyte.
¡°Maybe we shouldn¡¯t turn against what we¡¯re taught. Maybe we should stay as perfect maidens, flowers to be picked,¡± said a third acolyte.
¡°I¡¯m a little scared, honestly,¡± admitted a fourth.
More of the same statements of fear and worry circled among the acolytes. There were still those who were excited to leave Central Bramblevale. But a majority were getting cold feet.
Bianca turned to the acolytes, and they all hushed up.
Zarian watched Bianca closely, picking out the small but profound details of Bianca¡¯s changes. She seemed more regal, energetic, and alluring. All the acolytes were under her charm without Bianca even having to try.
¡°We can¡¯t say you¡¯ll stay safe all the time. I¡¯ve seen someone die from a mistake,¡± Bianca admitted.
Zarian nodded.
¡°But we¡¯re going to try our best to help you. Because we¡¯re bing powerful, and it¡¯ll be nice to see you more capable since you¡¯ve been great to us. It¡¯ll be scary. And you might face plenty of danger. But when youe out on the other side, knowing you¡¯re stronger than before, you¡¯ll know you can keep going.¡±
Bianca¡¯s words were simple but true. Her Shining Trust worked well with the radiance she exuded from her body. Just like that, she had all the acolytes eating off her pretty hands.
The acolytes cheered and thanked Lady Bianca for renewing their confidence before Head Acolyte Lora showed up and dismissed them. Officer Cadet Rnd did the same with his soldiers.
Looking back, Zarian saw Loner was having a silent conversation with the other skeletons. Zarian figured now that they were outside of the dungeon, the skeletons could get to know each other more and establish some order among themselves.
Zarian liked to see that, which was why he preferred the small unit approach with his necromancy. Because of Hannah¡¯s abilities as the legendary Runic Engineer, investing in a squad of undead who were the most advanced around would provide more fruit than raising an army of fodder.
Now, let¡¯s get to the fun bits.
Zarian turned and looked each troublemaker in the eye. ¡°So, whose bright idea was it to destroy Central Bramblevale¡¯s underworld while I was gone?¡±
Chapter 74: Zarian’s Six Options
Chapter 74: Zarian¡¯s Six Options
Zarian watched as Naomi and Gilbert kept their mouths shut, which was wise of them. Bianca, of course, didn¡¯t sense the tension in the air.
She bounced giddily and threw her hand up. ¡°Surprise! It was my idea!¡±
Then Bianca furrowed her brow. ¡°Wait, how did you know? You¡¯ve been gone for three days! Naomi was about to take on the entire Hemlock Family.¡±
¡°I really was,¡± Naomi admitted.
¡°I was tracking a few gangs and underworld groups with spectral spiders. Then me and Hannah got tossed as a sacrifice into a Rare Level 40 Dungeon, but once we got back, I saw through my spiders that you¡¯ve left the underworld filled with crushed or charred corpses.¡±
¡°You were in a Rare Level 40 Dungeon?¡± Naomi blurted out. ¡°No fair!¡±
¡°Naomi, rx girl, rx. Let me speak before Bianca messes this up.¡± Gilbert sighed, his hand massaging the bridge of his nose. ¡°This all started because Bianca was worried over some bad hombres aiming to hurt the beggars you¡¯ve helped.¡±
Zarian wanted to scold them for doing something that would throw the entire alignment ecosystem out of whack. But he hesitated.
His evil alignment wanted him to correct them for thinking they could act without his say. That would¡¯ve been too controlling, of course. Zarian hated the idea of being a micromanager just as much as he hated the NCOs who¡¯d done that to him back in the Marines.A strong party should be able to divide and conquer. Still, the damage he was still learning about through his spectral spiders was immense.
¡°You might¡¯ve gone a little too far,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Ah, eh, but it was to help the beggars, right?¡± Bianca¡¯s body pulsated with an intense light that forced Zarian to wince.
Seeing that, she panicked and restricted her show of power. ¡°Oh, sorry, sorry. Lo siento. I went evil-ying crazy once we found them. And Naomi and Gilbert were forced to keep up because of me.¡±
Bianca fidgeted with her fingers. ¡°It was supposed to be a surprise for you. To leave a message so they won¡¯t hurt the people we help. And so you can do good things for others and not have to worry.¡±
Bianca looked away. ¡°They were so horrible. So I just kept going. And we killed a lot and a lot until we couldn¡¯t find any more. And we helped a bunch of people, too!¡±
Zarian nodded slowly. His spectral spiders were still scurrying about as quickly as they could. But it looked like Bianca¡¯s words rang true.
There were bloody or burnt corpses where thugs, criminals, and evil viins congregated in the subterranean areas beneath the streets. There were secret ck markets down there that made use of natural caverns, tunnels, and even the storm drainage system.
Zarian kept looking through his spectral spiders to grasp the scope of the massacre. But he also saw the empty cages and empty pits that had once held innocent people or tortured beasts forced into cruel games.
The people and beasts were free. The games were gone. He saw empty torture chambers and empty markets that were for selling humans. Those were inactive now. Bianca¡¯s ill-advised crusade had saved plenty of victims.
The few people his spectral spiders found were random scavengers trying to survive. With the ck market cleared out, there wasn¡¯t anyone there who could kick them around or snatch them up for something gruesome.
In fact, there were more beggars moving in. They were cleaning up the ce.
Zarian let out a heavy breath.
Bianca shifted nervously. Naomi waited patiently. Gilbert looked like he wanted to get a drink.
Zarian watched them for a long while before letting out a hearty chuckle. He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head.
¡°Damn, guys, that has to be the nicest and most extreme thing anyone has ever done for me,¡± Zarian admitted. ¡°You went on genocide just because I was worried that my kindness would be taken for weakness.¡±
¡°You¡¯re not angry?¡± Bianca asked. ¡°I killed a lot of evil aligned people. Like, a lot, a lot. None of them were as nice as you, and it was kind of fun, but still ¡¡±
¡°I think I¡¯m an unusual human on the evil aligned side. I¡¯m aware of evil serving best as a tool instead of letting it consume me. So I bet some of those guys deserved it.¡±
Zarian shrugged.
¡°Still, there will be trouble for doing that,¡± Hannah interjected.
She was holding the leather journal in her hands now instead of keeping it in one of her pockets. It was one of the three treasures they¡¯d taken from the Devouring Library Dungeon.
She rubbed along the journal¡¯s edges while deep in thought before saying, ¡°It¡¯s one thing to take out a single group of viins. It¡¯s another to eradicate all the viinous groups. Which is ¡ hard to believe even as I say it.¡±
¡°My spectral spiders are still finding corpses down there,¡± Zarian said. ¡°If not all of them, you definitely removed most of them.¡±
¡°Not all of them were that high in level,¡± Gilbert admitted. ¡°After taking out some of their best fighters, things became drastically easy from there. Too easy. Ugh, I need a drink.¡±
¡°The big lug was the one who found them,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Oh, don¡¯t heap that on me! The moment Bianca spoke up about it, you instigated. You are a horrible, horrible instigator!¡± Gilbert pointed.
Naomi shrugged. ¡°All I did was be myself. You all know what I¡¯m like. There were enemies. And I killed them.¡± She smiled. ¡°Now we¡¯re all stronger. Gilbert¡¯s Level 38. I¡¯m Level 39. And this golden child here¡¡±
¡°Level 41,¡± Bianca admitted. ¡°I already chose it. I¡¯m ¡ I¡¯m ¡ a Light Princess!¡±
¡°Legendary?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yes!¡± Bianca looked like she wanted to reach out and hug someone.
Zarian gave her the perfect person. ¡°Hannah¡¯s legendary, too. Runic Engineer.¡±
¡°Yes!¡± Bianca squealed, wrapping Hannah up in a hug.
The much shorter Runic Engineer couldn¡¯t escape the lengthy and fast grasp of the Light Princess. Bianca spouted out a string of celebratory Spanish as she swept the older woman off her feet and whirled her around.
As Bianca worked out her feverish energy, Zarian noticed Naomi staring at him hardcore. He smiled back pleasantly. The Battle Psion Initiate squinted, her face pinched with intensity.
Zarian turned toward the front entrance. ¡°Come on, guys, Gilbert looks like he¡¯s desperate for a drink. Did they fix the hole above the kitchen? Let¡¯s hang out there. You can retell me how the underworld genocide went down before we go over all our changes.¡±
¡°What are you?¡± Naomi blurted out.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.
Ignoring her question, Zarian walked down the hallway leading to the kitchen. He saw the hole was patched up roughly. There were no leaks, so the soldiers had done a decent enough job.
There were a few acolytes hanging about. They excused themselves and left the kitchen for Zarian and his party to take over.
Gilbert got out a cast of beer and some mugs. Everyone had their mugs filled as they sat around the kitchen and went over everything.
Zarian, of course, waited to gost as he sipped slowly from his drink. Para continued to hold on to Reiki¡¯s dungeon core, which garnered a few looks from Bianca, Noami, and Gilbert. Zarian said nothing until he heard their ount of the story.
It went down like this:
Bianca was in the spa area, getting an enchanted pedicure, when she¡¯d felt bad about Zarian¡¯s reluctance to help the beggars. Enchanted pedicure finished, she¡¯d gone out to find Naomi and Gilbert, who was still doling out healing to injured soldiers affected by Operation Domination.
Bianca had told them the problem. Then she¡¯d offered a solution.
Before anyone could think about it for long, Naomi had instigated. Gilbert had figured he could put his police experience to good use and dig around.
Just like that, the trio had gone on their own adventure. They¡¯d interviewed some beggars, who were knowledgeable of what wicked things happened out of sight and the source of them. Gilbert had repaid them with free healing.
Then the trio had followed the trail of clues until they found a cistern under an abandoned factory that led to an underground ck market. They¡¯d given themselves a break and had a pic. Once Gilbert was ready to go, they¡¯d delved under the surface.
The killing had started the moment Bianca came across an evil-doer doing reprehensible evil things. There were more neutral types than evil-doers, but Bianca had some righteous momentum going, and her good +3 had charged her up to the zenith.
Gilbert and Naomi had fallen in step with Bianca regardless of the odds. They¡¯d faced some dangerous and evil aligned enemies ¨C they¡¯d even defeated a few Level 50s through teamwork and some painful sacrifices on Gilbert¡¯s part as the tank ¨C and they¡¯d steamrolled over everyone else while building up experience and levels.
¡°By the time we were done, Bianca had her first ss advancement,¡± Gilbert finished. ¡°Those two have the Junior Manughterer Achievement, by the way. I got the Reliable Tank achievement. And the Mass Healer Achievement.¡±
¡°Nice!¡± Zarian said.
¡°I got another achievement,¡± Naomi admitted. ¡°Barehanded Enthusiasts.¡±
¡°I got the Crusader Annihtion achievement!¡± Bianca¡¯s eye shed with zealous glee.
Zarian couldn¡¯t stop from grinning. He felt like a kid as his party exined their achievements and extra gains.
Yeah, sure, there would probably be some repercussions for eliminating the underground. Even Zarian¡¯s evil alignment was concerned by the problems that woulde.
But the growth of his party was exemry. That mattered the most to him in the end.
¡°Alright, alright, we¡¯ve really done well. Wow. I¡¯m proud. I¡¯m extremely proud.¡± Zarian nodded. ¡°Hit me with the specifics. Then, once you three are finished, Hannah will go. Then I¡¯ll gost.¡±
Naomi had achieved another new trait called Little Giant. It was a rare one and raised her Strength immensely as long as she focused on physical activities more than magic. Other than that, she and Gilbert had some more stat points added in when they woke up this morning.
Bianca hadn¡¯t gained anything extra, not after she¡¯d advanced.
As the legendary Light Princess, she now had one epic trait, one umon trait, two new skills, and an additional +2 in Wonder. She also had an additional +1 in Free for being exceptional.
Just like Hannah, Bianca unlocked two new slots for her alpha skills and three new slots for beta skills. All of her main ss skills were in her alpha section: Searing sh Array +1, Light Step +1, Refraction +1, Light Construction, and Shining Mark.
Zarian liked the design behind thosest two. Bianca could now create hard light projections and leave an obvious mark on targets that she could sense and follow no matter where they run.
Her new traits, the epic Wondrous Princess Regality raised her Wonder stat by 100% for being a princess. And her new umon trait, Feathery Grace, made her even lighter on her feet.
¡°I really want to be legendary,¡± Naomi said.
¡°You¡¯ll get there,¡± Gilbert encouraged.
Zarian smiled behind his beer. The two of them have be better friendstely, despite how their rtionship started.
Putting the feel-good aspects aside, Zarian nodded at Bianca. ¡°You are such a stereotype you looped around to being a special snowke. Congrats, you are a legendary princess.¡±
Bianca let loose a celebratory scream that was too loud and excited for the time of the night. But who was going to tell the Level 41 Light Princess that?
Once Bianca settled down, Hannah retold what had happened on the crawl through the Devouring Library Dungeon. Zarian held back a chuckle as Bianca, Naomi, and Gilbert fell silent and were sucked into the story.
Their eyes flew wide at hearing how Hannah took the lead position before getting tricked by Lady Rhea and then having Zarian tell the System to back off to save Reiki from destruction. Gilbert was outright bbergasted at that part.
Naomi looked hungry and ambitious. Bianca looked between Hannah and the core held in Para¡¯s makeshift arms.
Hannah continued the story without interruption, going over the boss battle and how she¡¯d taken over the obelisks, and finishing up with beating Rhea and crushing her pride as a Hemlock until she became subservient.
There was a long silence.
Then Naomi said, ¡°Damn, Hannah. I didn¡¯t know you were a gangster like that.¡±
Hannah took a slow sip of beer from her mug. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t have fucked around.¡±
¡°Oh, my!¡± Bianca traded looks with Gilbert.
Naomi cracked a grin. ¡°Alright, nice. Your story is way better than ours. We just fought assholes. So tell us what you guys got?¡±
Hannah told them about their gains, such as the epic Lore Eater trait, the skills from the treasure chests, and then her own changes as the legendary Runic Engineer. By the time she was done, Naomi looked even more hyped.
¡°Let me get legendary, let me get legendary, please let me get legendary,¡± Naomi grumbled.
¡°You¡¯ll get there, woman. Just hold your horses.¡± Gilbert took anotherrge gulp of his beer. Then he poured himself a refill.
¡°Congrats, Hannah!¡± Bianca cheered.
Hannah nodded. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ve certainlye out changed from the experience. Better yet, if Rhea and the Hemlock Family remain honest, then their vast reach and resources are ours to use in the Eternal Garden Kingdom and perhaps beyond. If they don¡¯t betray us.¡±
¡°I doubt it,¡± Naomi said. ¡°This Rhea person sounds like she¡¯s pragmatic, even if she¡¯s a bitch. That and clearing out the underbelly of Central Bramblevale and taking their ancient dungeon is going to send a message to everyone. They don¡¯t want to mess with us.¡±
¡°Hm, yes, I suppose the ramifications of our actions can be used to our advantage,¡± Hannah admitted. ¡°We¡¯ve aplished a lot in the short time we¡¯ve been here. It¡¯s almost scary how fast and how far we¡¯ve gone.¡±
¡°They shouldn¡¯t let Floridians into fantasynd,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Nah, me the sir.¡± Naomi shed a sharp smile at Zarian. Everyone focused on him.
Alright, alright, I¡¯ve made them wait long enough.
¡°I¡¯m only Level 45, by the way,¡± Zarian admitted.
¡°What, really?¡± Hannah was shocked. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be further along.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t reach my first ss advancement until thest few monster rooms. Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯ve been mostly inactive, even if I¡¯ve supplied the skeletons and provided you my support. Most of the experience would go to everyone else. Thus, I took longer to hit Level 40 after we started the crawl.¡±
¡°But what about when I gained three levels because of the System Alert? You forced the System to deliver a hasty patch, and I grew from that.¡± Hannah sounded upset.
¡°You started it by pulling Reiki out of the core. All I did was intervene. Besides, who said I didn¡¯t gain experience? I probably did, but it wasn¡¯t enough to move the needle then.¡±
¡°Ah ¡ I see. Well. It¡¯s weird that I¡¯ve gotten so close to you.¡± Hannah left it at that.
Zarian paused to go over his memories while putting aside the knowledge he¡¯d eaten from members of the Hemlock Family. Thankfully, his Fractured Mind was good atpartmentalizing and sorting. He found the exact details he wanted.
¡°These were my best options out of hundreds of sses I could¡¯ve picked during the re-select.¡±
One:
Two:
Three:
Four:
Five:
Six:
Once that was all listed, Zarian looked into everyone¡¯s eyes. He took a sip of his drink before cing it down on the counter and asked:
¡°So, which one did I pick?¡±
Chapter 75: Zarian’s Class Advancement
Chapter 75: Zarian¡¯s ss Advancement
Zarian watched as the kitchen exploded into a meta-gaming affair, everyone else debating and questioning which ss he¡¯d picked. This was why he¡¯d held back from telling Hannah. It was fun to see how everyone would react and how they would debate each other to figure out his most likely choice.
Things becamepetitive, too. Naomi wanted to win.
Zarian lounged back in his seat on the kitchen counter as he sipped more from his delicious beer. The shouting was growing louder in volume at this point. He couldn¡¯t help but giggle like an evil maniac.
Ah, yes, this was perfect.
Finally, Bianca took charge of silencing everyone with a pulse of goodness and the weight of her Level 41 advancement. At the very least, she was careful not to push that on Zarian. He was d she was mindful of him, even if it meant she¡¯d led ill-advised genocides.
¡°Okay, let¡¯s say my idea of the Wizard Knight ss isn¡¯t a strong one. I know. Sorry. But still. Wizard Knight sounds hot,¡± Bianca admitted. ¡°Look at him. He¡¯s gotten all muscle-ytely because of the training and food. Zarian could totally pull off the Wizard Knight look.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not Wizard Knight, Bianca. Just drop it,¡± Gilbert grunted.
¡°Please, please, please be a Wizard Knight!¡± Bianca pleaded, hands sped.
¡°Are you stuck on Wizard Knight because he¡¯ll lose the evil alignment?¡± Hannah used.¡°What? No!¡± Bianca wriggled nervously in her corner of the kitchen. She let out a disagreeable puff. ¡°It would be cute, y¡¯know, with me being a princess and him being a knight.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not legendary,¡± Naomi said. ¡°That¡¯s pretty much saying you¡¯ll keep your beat-up car instead of getting a new hot rod you¡¯ve earned through blood, sweat, and tears.¡±
¡°Okay, fine, I give up. Goodbye, sweet knight.¡± Bianca let out a quick sob, wiped her face free of a lone tear, and went back to being upbeat and merry.
Has she gotten more ¡ insane? Zarian wondered. She was still good +3. Maybe the new ss was getting to her. I should really keep a closer eye on Bianca. If you leave this girl alone for too long, she¡¯ll spark an entire world war or something crazy.
Zarian was crazy. But his craziness was tempered by a dash of wariness. Bianca was unfiltered craziness on a magic ecstasy ride.
With her choice of Wizard Knight out of the running, things were getting to the good part.
¡°What else are we eliminating?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°Other than Wizard Knight?¡± Naomi shot Bianca a re before she continued. ¡°ck Wizard, because it¡¯s in and not legendary. And Magnificent Martyr. You can get the fuck out with that self-sacrifice, goodie-two-shoes bullshit.¡±
Naomi looked at Bianca again.
The Light Princess shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t like that one either. It doesn¡¯t fit Zarian. He¡¯s our bad boy.¡±
Zarian covered his face with a palm to hide his smile. The kitchen fell into silence for a little while as everyone thought about thest three options.
¡°It¡¯s not the Eldritch Wizard,¡± Hannah said. ¡°While Para is strange and eldritch in some ways, she hasn¡¯t changed while in the dungeon. I imagine getting Eldritch Wizard would develop her further into a more high-quality creature. While that would be both interesting and more terrifying, who knows what it would¡¯ve done to Para.¡±
¡°She looks the same to me.¡± Gilbert raised his mug in a toast to Para.
The Parasite Cloak waved a fleshy hand back.
¡°So that leaves us with Devil Wizard and Madness Wizard,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Quick, repeat them for me,¡± Gilbert requested.
OR:
Naomi, Hannah, Bianca, and Gilbert shared a look. Zarian felt a strange tingle down his spine as they all turned to him at once.
¡°Madness Wizard,¡± they all said.
¡°What?! Really? You had me figured out that quick?!¡± Zarianined.
It was a little annoying, honestly. He¡¯d thought they would debate between Devil Wizard and Madness Wizard a little longer. He¡¯d figured the added +2 Wonder stat that the Madness Wizard delivered would throw them off. How did they know?
Naomi had the answer. ¡°It sounds like you.¡±
¡°While the +2 Wonder is a strange selection, it¡¯s not far off from your build. And we all know how extremely useful Wonder can be. It touches on so many facets such as supernatural perception, faith, luck, and so on,¡± Hannah exined.
¡°That new skill, Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Prince, sounds like something you¡¯ll get instead of the whole sinful destruction one,¡± Gilbert added.
¡°I really wanted Wizard Knight, but Madness Wizard was my second choice,¡± Bianca said.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
¡°Again, it sounds like you,¡± Naomi repeated.
Zarian opened and closed his mouth.
His throat felt a little constricted. He felt weird. Off, even. Maybe a tad weak. There were stinging sensations in the corner of his eyes. Why was that?
Zarian had a strange ache inside of his chest. The eerie and surprising sensations only became worse because everyone was noticing his silence. Finally, Zarian realized what was happening.
Am I being emotional?
Why?
He refused to break down and cry. His evil alignment wouldn¡¯t allow it, and Zarian himself wouldn¡¯t want that either. But he was certainly affected. He didn¡¯t get why until he thought back about how Naomi had kept saying, ¡®It sounds like you.¡¯
They really know me.
They¡¯d gone on a genocide for him.
Hannah had shown more of herself during and after the dungeon crawl. She¡¯d always checked in on him and asked for his approval on things.
These people liked him. They trusted him. They followed him, believed in him, and cared about his well-being despite his issues and all the problems surrounding him.
They were a step away from being as good to him as Ariana at this point. Which was amazing to think about because they hadn¡¯t been around each other for long.
If it was only Naomi, it would¡¯ve made sense. But Bianca and Hannah? Even Gilbert?
Bianca moved slowly from across the kitchen and joined his side. ¡°It¡¯s okay to cry.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not crying.¡±
¡°You can cry on my shoulder.¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Please cry. I want to see you cry.¡±
Zarian snorted andughed. He wiped his eyes, and the stinging went away. ¡°You are so fucking weird, Bianca.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you hide your tears from me! Let them fall free on my shoulder! They¡¯re so precious!¡±
Bianca sparked a y-fight over Zarian¡¯s tears for the next couple of minutes as the others watched and drank. The duo of good and evil, the Light Princess and the Madness Wizard, wrestled back and forth across the kitchen counter, which showed that Bianca had learned some moves from Naomi.
Still, she ended up in a triangle choke with her head and arm caught between Zarian¡¯s thighs. If it wasn¡¯t for the System¡¯s casual suppression of their stats and abilities, they would¡¯ve destroyed the kitchen easily.
Once Bianca finally gave up. Zarian admitted to some of his gains from selecting the Madness Wizard. Starting with histest soul bound skill:
¡°When did you learn that?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°While you were asleep,¡± Zarian said cheekily.
¡°Can you bring others?¡± Naomi asked, excited.
¡°It might not be safe. I haven¡¯t tried it yet. But I can tell that the spells from the mad voidling prince are really hard on the mind, if they¡¯re not like mine.¡±
¡°No, thanks.¡± Gilbert chugged from his mug before having another refill.
Zarian shook his head at the other man. ¡°There¡¯s a bunch of other quirky things I have now.¡±
Choosing the Madness Wizard had given him two new rare traits:
¡°So you¡¯re really going to invest more in the Wonder stat?¡± Bianca remained sitting on the counter next to him, bumping shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s awesome just like Hannah said, isn¡¯t it?¡±
Zarian nodded. ¡°Yeah, well, it¡¯s a worthy investment. But I¡¯m most likely going to throw more Free points into Mysticism.¡±
¡°For the aura recovery, I imagine,¡± Hannah said.
¡°For our aura recovery.¡± Zarian chuckled. ¡°I imagine you¡¯re all wondering why I¡¯ve emphasized that. Just hold on. I got two more major things. I have the third spell from the dread mire gator.¡±
¡°I like it.¡± Naomi shed a mean smile.
¡°Does that sonic damage and mental trauma have anything to do with your singing, chief?¡± Gilbert asked with a drawl.
All thedies refocused on Zarian with strange looks. He felt like he was under the microscope now. Obviously, nobody gave him more scrutiny than Bianca.
¡°Singing?¡± Bianca¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°You were singing?¡±
¡°So, onto the next thing!¡± Zarian shouted.
Thatst part redirected the flow of the conversation away from Zarian¡¯s singing to how the System had deemed his actions as outstanding. Unlike Zarian, Bianca and Hannah had only received exceptional and an additional +1 Free Point.
It made sense, though, since Zarian had done quite a lot.
Bianca seemed satisfied. Hannah epted that with grace. And Zarian was pleased.
Henceforth from Level 40, Zarian gained +2 Willpower, +2 Wonder, +3 Mysticism, +7 free per level.
¡°Okay, everyone, I need you to open your mouths now,¡± Zarian said. ¡°This is for one of two treats I have for you.¡±
¡°No,¡± Gilbert t out said.
¡°Okay, Bianca, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Upright posture. Don¡¯t forget to smile. The money shot is important.¡± Bianca lowered from the counter and got on her knees.
Everybody gawked at her. Even Zarian. Then Naomi let out a big sigh and started lowering down as well. At that point, Zarian finally realized where the mistake wasing from.
He waved his arms frantically to stop them. ¡°No, no, no! That¡¯s not what I meant. It¡¯s for Spectral Spider Network +1! Here, let me exin.¡±
¡°Oh! So you want to shove the little guys into our mouths. Ah. I see.¡± Bianca nodded slowly. Then she slowly shook her head. ¡°No bueno, no bueno.¡±
¡°Can¡¯t you have them phase through our skulls directly?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°Are you hearing the wordsing out of your mouth?¡± Gilbert said in Hannah¡¯s direction. ¡°Ghost spiders. In our minds? That¡¯s pushing it a little.¡±
¡°Spider me up, sir,¡± Naomi demanded. ¡°I¡¯ll take it in my mouth.¡±
¡°Pause.¡± Gilbert chugged his beer. He refilled the mug. ¡°Okay, continue.¡±
Chapter 76: Too OP
Chapter 76: Too OP
Zarian signaled for one of his spectral spiders to appear on Naomi¡¯s shoulder. The spider admitted a pale blue and white glow, like an actual ghost. Even while visible, they were still see-through.
The spider gave Naomi a friendly wave with its foreleg.
She gave it a wave with her finger before the spider crawled into her mouth, wriggling past her full lips and disappearing inside. Naomi shivered and twitched.
Then her eyes rolled up, showing white, before rolling back to normal. She blinked rapidly as a phantom thread linked her mind to thework.
For the next half minute, Zarian looked through Naomi¡¯s eyes. He heard what she heard. Felt what she felt. He looked across the kitchen at his actual body, like seeing a mirror, but the mirror wasn¡¯t doing what he ¨C Naomi ¨C was doing.
Then he pulled back and invited Naomi to see through his eyes and feel and sense what he felt and sensed. He could feel her presence looking through him until she resorted back to relying on her own senses.
Before Naomi could say anything, Zarian directed the spider in her brain to link with another spider in thework.
Naomi was taken aback but quickly adapted as she looked through the eyes of a spectral spider. Zarian waited to see if she would ¡®flip channels¡¯ and the moment it happened, he allowed it.
It wasn¡¯t an automatic sequence. She needed his approval to see through a unique set of eyes on the Spectral Spider Network +1. The only thing she could do on her own was return to her own body and senses.¡°May I?¡± Hannah asked.
Zarian fed her a spectral spider and linked Hannah into thework. She adapted quickly, pinging him with requests to switch from one viewpoint to another viewpoint rapidly.
Then, at some point, Naomi pinged a request for ess to Hannah. Zarian epted and joined in.
Hannah perked up. ¡°Oh, okay, I can feel you both looking through me. Hm. Interesting. I can even tell who¡¯s who slightly. One of you, Naomi, is quite aggressive and sparky. The other, Zarian, isrge and dark.¡±
¡°Okay, now here¡¯s when things get really interesting.¡± Zarian manipted his aura and pushed it down two threads of thework.
One extra aura strand went to Naomi. The other extra aura strand went to Hannah.
He waited with bated breath to see if they went in correctly.
¡°Oh, that¡¯s nice. More aura,¡± Hannah admitted.
¡°Yup, I feel it.¡±
¡°Now we¡¯re in business. Through thework, I can feed you guys more aura directly.¡± This would make it easier for him to deal with Bianca¡¯s aura, which liked to chomp on and purify Zarian¡¯s aura. ¡°Of course, we won¡¯t always need that. And I can turn the spectral spiders passive in your heads. See, look.¡±
Once the mind-riding spectral spiders went passive, the link between them faded but didn¡¯t go away outright. Zarian could turn it on at any time.
Besides, the link had to persist for the spectral spider to persist. Without him, the spiders would truly die after enough timepletely disconnected from him.
¡°Okay! I¡¯m ready. I¡¯ll do it.¡± Bianca put on a determined face.
Zarian fed her a spectral spider. She gagged a little until it crawled up into her mind. It took a few minutes for her to get orientated and to test the aura delivery through thework.
Just like he¡¯d hoped, he could bypass her good alignment defenses.
¡°Do I have to eat it?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°No. I just figured it¡¯ll be less creepy.¡±
¡°What¡¯s the other option?¡±
¡°What Hannah said earlier.¡±
Zarian showed everyone by having a spectral spider drop on Gilbert¡¯s head. The little creature shook about before phasing straight through the top of Gilbert¡¯s skull.
There was no damage, but the way Gilbert shook and cussed suggested that having a spectral spider burrow directly into the skull was an ufortable feeling.
Oh well, he didn¡¯t want to take it in the mouth like thedies. So Zarian put one through his head directly.
Once Gilbert was orientated to thework and proved as another positive case study of receiving direct aura from Zarian, his and Bianca¡¯s spectral spiders went into passive mode.
¡°Onest thing. Give me your consent, everyone,¡± Zarian requested.
They gave him their consent.
Zarian resummoned his wizard hat. Then one by one, without having to touch them, he copied the skill into their profiles using pure aura maniption.
The best part was seeing how everyone¡¯s wizard hats diverged.
Gilbert¡¯s wizard hat was gray and looked more stylized for a cowboy.
Naomi¡¯s wizard hat was smaller and tilted with a sharp ck point, almost like a witch.
Bianca¡¯s wizard hat was radiant gold and white with feathers.
Hannah¡¯s wizard hat was harder, with a dome on the top that reminded Zarian of a construction hat.
¡°Wee to the dark moh wizard gang.¡± Zarian chuckled.
¡°Is that a meme? I don¡¯t get it. I was never good at memes.¡± Bianca grabbed a silver tter and brightened the room to look at her reflection. ¡°Does it look pretty on me? I think it looks pretty. Does this make me a princess wizard?¡±
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¡°What are we supposed to do with these?¡± Gilbert asked, flicking a finger at the brim of his cowboy wizard hat. ¡°I mean, mine looks better than the rest of y¡¯alls, but it¡¯s still Level 0, and I don¡¯t cast spells.¡±
¡°Aura,¡± Hannah said, sounding amazed. ¡°We can move and manipte and work with our auras better with these hats. That¡¯s why you copied them into all of us. Zarian, that¡¯s ¡ brilliant.¡±
¡°Yup. I¡¯ll need something from you as a trade off. Can I have your Rune Alteration skill?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yes, of course, it¡¯s yours.¡±
Zarian barely had to try because of Lore Eater and his wizard hat. He was truly the most bullshit wizard in all thends, if not the entire world.
I told the System to screw off instead of letting it destroy Reiki.
Maybe he was the most bullshit wizard in all of Infinita. At least at his level.
¡°Perfect,¡± Zarian purred. ¡°Yeah, this is good. Really good.¡±
¡°Can you copy your skills into the skeletons?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°No, I can¡¯t. It¡¯s because they¡¯re technically a part of me. The System blocks the attempt.¡±
Hannah nodded before giving Zarian a curious look over her beer mug. She asked, ¡°What do you n to do with Rune Alteration?¡±
Zarian waggled his eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯m a wizard. What do you think I¡¯ll do?¡±
¡°Fair enough. Have fun. And thank you, Zarian, for everything,¡± Hannah added.
A round of thanks flowed in his direction. Gilbert raised his mug in another toast. Bianca burst into tears and hugged him. Naomi punched him softly on the shoulder.
Zarian felt all warm and happy.
Eventually, all the excitement of their changes, stories of epic confrontations, and tales of ridiculously irresponsible genocides were past them. Zarian, Bianca, and Hannah were on the other side of the first ss achievement. Noami and Gilbert were up next.
The night waste.
Gilbert went to bed drunk. Bianca and Hannah left the kitchen together. Naomi stayed behind for a little while.
¡°I¡¯ve been messing around with Aura Ignition,¡± Naomi admitted. ¡°Trying to make it implode and what not. It¡¯s hard. I can¡¯t feel my aura like you. But I get this sense that if I keep pulling in, crushing myself, squeezing down more and more like I¡¯m just going to suck it all in, I can feel the pressure squeezing in tight. And it kind of hurts. Then when I let go, I expand and I feel like my whole aura stuff wants to rip away.¡±
¡°Yeah, that sounds like you¡¯re on the road to Aura Ignition.¡± Zarian stroked his chin. ¡°I don¡¯t advise doing it on your own. We¡¯ll need to talk to an expert. I should go find Arnold wherever he¡¯s hiding himself.¡±
¡°He¡¯s hiding?¡± Naomi raised an eyebrow.
¡°My spectral spiders haven¡¯t found him. He¡¯s probably roomed up in the Bramblevale Keep.¡±
¡°Well, I¡¯ll do some light practice. Nothing crazy. I think I¡¯m on the right path. But I won¡¯t push too hard just in case, okay? Now that I have my own wizard hat, I guess it should be easier.¡± Naomi chuckled as she flicked at her witch-like hat.
Zarian reached up to grab the front of his hat and tip it down toward Naomi. She patted Zarian on the shoulder, patted Para¡¯s material, then she patted Reiki¡¯s dungeon core.
Naomi went off to bed, leaving Zarian alone.
He stayed in the kitchen for a while, nursing hisst beer. Then he put it aside and moved with a swagger through the quiet and dark hallways of the mansion.
He didn¡¯t feel like sleeping just yet despite staying up for over three days. There was onest thing he hadn¡¯t told the party. Something so significant and scary, Zarian wasn¡¯t sure how to approach it.
¡°I¡¯m going to need something to restrain myself somehow,¡± he mumbled. ¡°Straight Darkness +2 is too OP.¡±
Zarian shook his head at the +2 advancement. It didn¡¯t matter that his Straight Darkness was in the beta section. It was too strong.
He¡¯d found it difficult to hold it back during theter parts of the dungeon crawl. By sheer effort, he¡¯d ensured that Hannah did most of the work instead of him.
¡°Oh, the cost of being overpowered. What do I do with it when everything around me is a sandcastle?¡± Zarian shook his head. ¡°Would I even face decent challenges anymore?¡±
The hype over his growth was fun. Seeing everyone¡¯s reactions was fun. Maybe he should enjoy having the biggest gun and let it be.
He could always learn to use his spells more along with Para. The nuke option should work as a nuke, right?
While Straight Darkness was Zarian¡¯s favorite personal skill, if the skill was troublesome because it was too powerful for the setting, then he should learn to use other parts of his profile. He had a lot to take advantage of, after all.
¡°You know ¡ Para ¡ you¡¯re a living weapon.¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Para growled.
She was still holding onto the core. But that wasn¡¯t much of a handicap for her.
With a jerk, she formed a rip in the parasitic material of her tattered body. She twisted, reshaped, and erged a portion of herself and formed arge bone sword simr to a ymore.
The handle fell into Zarian¡¯s hand with a thin thread connected to Para¡¯s being. The thread wrapped smoothly around his arm as Zarian swung the bone ymore around.
¡°Yeah, this will do,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But we can get more creative than this, can¡¯t we?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
For a couple of hours, Zarian and Para tried out different ideas. The cloak was malleable. Para¡¯s threads could stretch, reshape, and be anything fleshy or hard.
The wizard hat helped tremendously, which shifted and changed based on Para¡¯s new shape. The hat would be bone-like and armored when Para armored up Zarian. Or the hat would be fiendish and leathery when Para assumed a medium armored form.
Zarian summoned his Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Prince from his soul. The book appeared from a portal in his chest and came to a hovering stop.
The cover was a ck metal that emitted vibrating waves that shook the surrounding air. When the pages flipped open, each one was metallic.
The creator of the grimoire had engraved the runes, symbols, and non-euclidean geometries with force and dried blood. It was very much a book that no sane person should read without having their sanity torn to shreds.
Zarian was the Madness Wizard, and the Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Prince suited him well.
He should get some sleep. He needed it. He¡¯d been up for days. But he had to clean up the leftovers of Bianca, Naomi, and Gilbert¡¯s mess.
¡°It was one thing to knock off the Bramblevale Bandits and some overeager evil gangs,¡± Zarian said. ¡°It¡¯s another thing to take them all out. I don¡¯t think they realized that¡¯s making an enemy with the evil gods.¡±
For the sake of his party, he would convince the evil gods to leave things alone. Hopefully, Shadowfell was still on his side.
Zarian took a quick nce at his entire profile. He was satisfied by what he saw. Then he cast the Void Step spell.
The air wobbled weirdly around him. He felt the urge to stride forward a few paces. He followed the instinct and entered the void.
It was time for a quick solo adventure into Central Bramblevale¡¯s underworld.
***
<>Origins: Zarian Darkrun, 21 yr-old Human, Honored Outsider.Level: 45ss: Madness Wizard (Legendary)Alignment: Evil +2Traits: Dark Affinity (Rare), Overpower (Epic), Identify (Rare), Aura Channeler (Rare), Fractured Mind (Umon), Basic Aura Maniption (Rare), Frenzy Zone (Umon), Uncanny Valley Effect (Rare), Void Mysticism (Rare), Lore Eater (Epic)Alpha Skills (5/5): Parasite Cloak +1 (Level 18), Spectral Spider Network +1 (Level 15), Grimoire of ck Magic 102 (Level 17), Grimoire of the Dread Mire Gator (Level 9), Grimoire of the Mad Void Prince (Level 1)Beta Skills (8/15): Straight Darkness +2 (Level 25), Summon Wizard Hat (Level 5), Tranquil Mind (Level 0), Adrenaline Jolt (Level 0), Willful Might (Level 0), Wondrous Speed (Level 0), Mystic Toughness (Level 0), Rune Alteration (Level 0)Willpower: 142 (178)Strength: 36 (45)Agility: 40 (50)Wonder: 127 (159)Mysticism: 291 (364)Free: 0Achievements: Honored Outsider (Divine), SSS Dance with White Silk Reiki (Epic), Heroes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom (Legendary), Divine Knock Knock (Divine), Junior Manughterer (Umon), initial Pacifist Gauntlet (Rare), First Human Gnoll Elder of Corma (Epic), SSS Genius Beyond the Lore Eater (Epic)Spells: Bloody Lifesteal (Umon), Raise Advancing Skeletons (Rare), ck Fire (Rare), Quagmire Pit (Umon), Dread Mire Bite (Rare), Dread Mire Bellow (Epic), Void Step (Epic)<>
Chapter 77: Won’t You Let Me In?
Chapter 77: Won¡¯t You Let Me In?
Yeah, I¡¯m tired, Zarian thought as he passed through the void.
He was all healed up now. The wounds from the dungeon boss had faded away with time and some subtle healing from Gilbert.
But vitality was one part health and another part stamina.
Zarian hadn¡¯t given himself adequate rest since the night he¡¯d blown a hole through the mansion¡¯s roof from the kitchen. He could feel the weariness, and that would affect his vitality.
I can still kick ass.
Something out there in the endless darkness watched him. Zarian felt it and more. His awareness kept expanding. Rapidly, too. Then he noticed other watchers turning to him.
One of those watchers grew too curious and moved toward him.
Zarian looked in its direction. There was a saying he knew. Something about being careful when staring into the abyss.
Well, Zarian downright red. The curious creature stopped in its tracks and turned away.I have no idea what that was, but it damn sure didn¡¯t like it when I looked back.
The trip through the void ended before Zarian could get a better feel of the endless abyss. He stepped into a wet, stone room a hundred feet below the streets of Central Bramblevale.
The lingering effects of Void Step faded, taking with it the wrinkles shimmering in the air. Upon his whim, the ck, metallic, and alien Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Prince disappeared into a dark portal and returned to his soul.
The room was messy. It was clearly a ce for underground denizens to throw together broken items that someone might find useful and fix up one day. There weren¡¯t many weapons.
Zarian knew anyone desperate for a weapon could grab and sharpen anything close to an edge. Back in the old world, it was surprising how many ways you could kill a man.
But in the Infinita Star System, the amount of ways Zarian could die was shrinking.
He stepped out of the storage room and entered a paved subterranean floor. There were rows of thick columns holding up tons of rock, earth, and stone above his head. Thick streams of water flowed behind the walls and underneath grates.
He found corpses drowning in puddles of old blood and water. Giant rats the size of the average dog feasted on the corpses that still had meat on their bones.
One giant rat turned toward him.
The creature shuddered, turning its head this way and that. The beast couldn¡¯t make out Zarian¡¯s form as he walked by.
From its view, he looked shifty, uncanny, otherworldly, and creepy. So much so that the giant rat backed away with a frightened squeal.
Zarian was keeping most of his power under restraint, but the Uncanny Valley Effect worked like a charm.
Para saw a free meal and snatched up the giant rats. She killed them quickly to silence their squealing before she ate her fill.
She was still carrying the dungeon core, which had Zarian wondering if he should¡¯ve left that back at the mansion. It was toote now.
Does that count as child endangerment? Zarian wondered. Or would that be core endangerment?
These things were precious. But there weren¡¯t any real viins left who¡¯d try him for the core. Well, at least not the ones roaming out in the open.
After walking for a while, Zarian found mainly scavengers and beggars sifting through the wreckage and making off with some decent loot. They froze like prey in the presence of a stalking predator, Zarian passing by them smoothly.
He walked through various subterranean floors and down some old staircases. He was taking his time. He knew thest evil remnants of the underworld were recollecting themselves before he showed up fully.
Finally, he arrived at their territory in one of the ck markets. The ce must¡¯ve been messy before Bianca, Naomi, and Gilbert ran through it.
Zarian saw signs of wet decay that were crushed by crusading violence. Where there should¡¯ve been stalls selling illegal ck market items, instead there were ruins.
Shanty buildings had fallen into disarray. Corpses wereying strewn about.
A great majority had faced eradication to Bianca¡¯s light and good +3.
Their flesh was charred. The ck bones remained.
There were more beggars here. Zarian smoothly walked past them.
A bony, ratty child was pulling the boot off a corpse. She seeded only to stumble backward and collide against Zarian¡¯s front.
¡°Hey, hey! This is my boot! I got it first!¡± the little girl growled, trying to make herself sound feral and intimidating.
¡°Cute,¡± Zarian said, his voice deepened, his face darkened under his monstrous wizard hat.
When the girl turned and looked up, she saw a man who seemed to have crawled from the deepest depths under Central Bramblevale. His cloak shifted, wavered, and quivered, while holding a head-sized pearl between several veiny arms with weird alien fingers. The edges of the cloak formed spikes of bone and more sweeping tentacles.
¡°You can have my boot.¡± The girl held it up. ¡°If you¡¯re gonna kill me, make it quick.¡±
¡°Keep the boot. And your life.¡± Zarian walked around the little child. He moved a few paces further before stopping. ¡°Are you hurt anywhere?¡±
¡°Sometimes I cough blood. But I¡¯ll be alright. Street rats grow tough, that¡¯s what my friends say.¡±
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¡°Indeed, we do.¡±
The girl¡¯s beady eyes widened. ¡°You were a street rat?¡±
¡°Still am, depending. But I can make the nobles grovel when I want.¡± Zarian looked over his shoulder. ¡°If you haven¡¯t heard, I¡¯m Lord Zarian Darkrun. My party and some friends intend to leave in the next few days. Before then, if you and your friends want free healing,e see us at the Lovewar Mansion.¡±
The girl looked gobsmacked. Then her expression shifted, her face squishing together as she squinted at him, her suspicions raised. She clutched the boot like she was going to run for it.
¡°That sounds nice. But whenever they say there¡¯ll be free healing. We disappear.¡±
¡°Ah, yeah. I understand.¡± Zarian looked away. ¡°I can¡¯t convince you that this one is real. You¡¯ll have to believe me.¡±
Taking a nce through his spectral spiders, he saw that some of the evil remnants that remained were staging themselves. He looked back at the little girl.
¡°Free healing. Free food, too. For anyone who shows. We¡¯re limited, of course, so firste, first served. That¡¯s my final offer.¡± Zarian walked away, leaving the girl and the nearby beggars stunned.
There was something freeing about dishing out acts of kindness without a care in the world. His evil alignment was snapping at him because of graver consequences that could rear their ugly heads on the horizon.
But Bianca¡¯s genocide, hoping to free Zarian of his worries, was touching even if it was kind of idiotic.
Let¡¯s see if we can be amicable about this.
Zarian reached a blocky stone building that looked like a miniature keep. It was squat and unimpressivepared to the keep of the Bramblevale Lord, but Zarian didn¡¯t me the underworld folks for not keeping up with the Joneses.
¡°Hello! I¡¯vee to talk to the Evil Gods. Won¡¯t you let me in? I swear it¡¯s a quick trip, and you may live afterward.¡±
No response.
¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t let me in?¡±
Still no response.
He walked up to the front door. They must¡¯ve reced the old one recently because the door was clean and sturdy, with no rust. The hinges were also new.
The door even had a Reinforcement enchantment. Zarian had traced out enough of Hannah¡¯s enchantments to read the basic ones with his aura maniption.
¡°Thanks, Hannah, for letting me copy your skill.¡±
Zarian used his Level 0 Rune Alteration skill to scramble the enchantment on the door. He didn¡¯t have Hannah¡¯s know-how on how to change itpletely. He just wanted to make an extreme mess until the runes broke and the enchantment failed.
He would¡¯ve had a harder time if it wasn¡¯t a basic enchantment.
Enchantment out of the way, Zarian kicked in the steel door like it was made of aluminum. The hinges ripped away with the crumpled door, throwing chunks of stone into the hallway. The dented b of metal bounced and ttered to a stop.
The nearest beggars scrambled away except for the girl with the boot. She stayed put and kept watching him. He monitored her through the spectral spiders lurking in the vicinity.
Zarian took one step inside. He faced a bloody fireball flying at his face.
Now that was more like it.
He snapped awake and threw a punch.
Normally, a wizard would¡¯ve had their hand blown up, with the rest of their body charred. However, Zarian had his hand covered in parasitic bone armor while benefiting from multiple abilities that raised his physicality, especially his toughness.
The bloody fireball couldn¡¯t survive him. The explosion in the hallway roared and shook the building.
The girl with the boot stumbled to the floor. Spectral spiders skittered in full view, distracting her with a dance before they webbed her up and pulled her away from danger.
¡°You think you cane to our ce and do whatever you want?¡± shouted a woman deeper down in the hallway. ¡°I pray to Evil God The Dragon, you bastard! You shouldn¡¯t dare mess with me if you know what¡¯s right for you.¡±
Even while boasting her im, her voice shivered at the mention of The Dragon. Zarian gave her another reason to shiver. He rushed through the smoke and mes like a freight train.
Parasitic bone armor covered up his body and hardened wizard hat, which had spiny edges growing from the brim. The dungeon core remained held tight in a cage-like basket on his back.
The Level 58 Infernal Witch threw another bloody fireball while backpedaling fast, eyes flown wide. She screamed and cussed as Zarian kept chasing her down like a relentless monster.
The fireball had no effect. Zarian dodged it this time, letting the infernal projectile st a part of the hallway into smithereens behind him. In the next few steps, his hand caught her by the neck.
The witch choked and gagged. She changed tactics and shoved her hands into his armored chest. With a pulse of powerful magic, she washed Zarian in a bloody, infernal ze, turning his armor into a smolder.
Para endured and protected the core.
Zarian kept trucking forward regardless.
They entered a T-section with a m, the witch to the opposing wall. She was tough enough to survive the experience while her body creates a crater. The impact rocked the building. Her zing spell cut off, and Para rapidly shedded her burnt parts and reced it with new leathery flesh and bone armor.
The witch¡¯s face turned deathly purple, her eyes rolling into her skull as he choked her.
Zarian let go when another man charged him from the left. The new attacker was a Level 55 Man Butcher. He held two heavy cleavers in his hands, each weapon radiating an evil and bloody force.
He wasn¡¯t a tall man, but the Man Butcher was built like a miniature hulk, his shirtless torso rippling with intense might as he swung his heavy cleavers with a frenzy.
Zarian retreated lightly, staying shifty. The Man Butcher missed his first swings wide and hacked into the stone wall above the Infernal Witch¡¯s head. She sat in the crater, gasping for air, and the Man Butcher gave chase as Zarian summoned his grimoires.
One grimoire phased out of him like a phantom with ghoulish chains that rattles between the covers and his soul. Another grimoire with gator teeth and a lurking, invisible presence phased out of him and moved at a hover above his shoulder. Then thest grimoire appeared through a dark portal with a metallic hum and stayed in orbit around him.
The Man Butcher remained unimpressed and lunged with explosive speed. Both cleavers chopped down from above. Zarian slid to a stop and cast his spells.
He stepped in and out of the void with one quick stride, making the air wrinkle strangely as he moved. He ended up behind the Man Butcher, and the overmitted warrior crashed down hard, exposing himself to retaliation.
Zarian extended parasitic ws from all his armored fingers. He lit both hands with ck Fire and Bloody Lifesteal. The ck, gray, and crimson glow traced through the air as he shed the Man Butcher apart.
Zarian felt the high of stealing someone¡¯s life as their vitality burned away quickly. The Man Butcher had his back carved up before he turned around and swung both cleavers in a helicopter maneuver.
He hit nothing but wrinkled air. Zarian stepped in and out of the void and ended up behind Man Butcher once again. This time, he cast his spells even faster.
Quagmire Pit.
Dread Mire Bite.
The Man Butcher dropped into a small pit that sucked him down to the shins. He tripped forward andnded on his knees, one of his legs pulling out just in time. That was the end of his luck.
The invisible jaws of the dread mire predator sunk its teeth into the Man Butcher¡¯s remaining leg. The bone snapped. The flesh tore apart under the mighty pressure.
The Man Butcher screamed and screamed, but Zarian still had more for him.
Fists cocked, Zarian punched down and clocked the man on the jaw. The Man Butcher crashed against the corner of the wall, tried to push up, and found Zarian¡¯s boot smashing into his face.
The Man Butcher tried to get up again, raising a cleaver. Zarian extended some longer parasitic ws and shed them across the Man Butcher¡¯s arm.
Zarian formed a long dirk knife from the tip of his parasitic boot and kicked that into the Man Butcher¡¯s side. Blood sttered against the wall and across the floor.
The Man Butcher kept fighting, so Zarianmitted further, sheathing the des, and crashing down with all of his weight and power to thump the Man Butcher with a knee to the head.
A few heavy, bone-ted kneester, the Man Butcher stayed down.
Chapter 78: Ten Assassins
Chapter 78: Ten Assassins
Zarian left the Man Butcher alive, wiping away his ck Fire spell.
The Man Butcher could still die from the leg wound. Zarian left just enough vitality for the hardcore warrior to have a chance at surviving.
Back on his feet, Zarian returned to the T-section. He walked past the Infernal Witch, who stayed put in her crater, rubbing the handprint around her neck. Her dark eyes set in the sunken hollows of her sockets rotated to follow his heavy march.
Zarian stopped. The Infernal Witch quivered in deep fear.
¡°I don¡¯t think The Dragon is the type to care much,¡± Zarian said, his back still turned to her.
He waited patiently for her to answer.
¡°He¡¯s the strongest of all the gods,¡± the witch said hoarsely. ¡°He¡¯ll give me more power one day. I¡¯ll stay ¡ faithful.¡±
Curious, Zarian turned to look at the witch fully. ¡°What made you choose evil?¡±
She looked at him for a long time. Then she asked, ¡°What made you?¡±¡°I liked the ss I saw. I didn¡¯t care that it was evil aligned.¡±
The witch shifted in the crater but made no further aggressive moves. She took a long look at him. ¡°It promised me a way out. And to be in charge. I took it. It¡¯s better than waiting around to die as a reject.¡±
¡°Reject, huh?¡± Zarian looked over at the Man Butcherying down and bleeding in the other hallway. ¡°You had to have done something out of the ordinary to get to Level 10 and have some evil options.¡±
¡°Yeah, well, the noble bastards deserved it.¡± The witch spat. ¡°What about you? You think you¡¯re different from us? Just because you have a good aligned monster on your side?¡±
¡°She¡¯s a princess, not a monster,¡± Zarian corrected.
The witch shrunk into herself, as if waiting for the final blow. None came. Not from him.
¡°I am different from you. There¡¯s no doubt about it.¡± Zarian shrugged. ¡°But, frankly, too much good has been done here already. I¡¯m just here to have a chat with your gods.¡±
¡°Our gods,¡± the witch muttered.
¡°If that¡¯s what you believe.¡± Zarian chuckled darkly as he walked away
He turned the corner. Went all the way down. He found five men waiting for him around the next corner.
They all had the Urban Assassin ss, mid to high Level 50s. They dressed in dark red robes with cowls covering their lower faces. All of them were bald, with ragged scars etched into their heads.
¡°Your people have done too much damage here,¡± the lead assassin said, a Level 59. ¡°You¡¯ve angered quite a number of nobles, too. You¡¯ve upset the Evil Gods. And you¡¯ve earned the attention of the Bramblevale Assassin Order.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t have to die,¡± Zarian replied. ¡°I¡¯m just here to talk to your gods.¡±
¡°They will have no mercy on your soul. And we¡¯ve already received our payment for your death.¡± The assassins prepared to fight. ¡°Once you die, we will kill all of your friends.¡±
Zarian thought hard on if he wanted to cheat. He could easily end this with Straight Darkness +2. But if he chose that option, he would get bored and sleepy. He needed to stay awake without relying too heavily on Level 0 Adrenaline Jolt. He didn¡¯t want the lethargy effect to hit him at a bad time.
¡°Okay, let¡¯s do this the hard way.¡± Zarian hunkered down like a bestial man.
He flicked his arms out to the sides and extended flesh-tearing bone ws from the parasitic armor. The brim of his wizard hat changed into two hardened shells that split apart at the middle. They almost seemed like mandibles set ready to mp forward. Spikes grew from his elbows and knees. His grimoires floated around him in orbit to him and his power.
This time, he was going for the kill.
The assassins shifted to the attack. The moment they moved to intercept him, their entire game n fell to ruin. Zarian¡¯s form shifted, warbled, and deformed in strange ways to their perceptions.
Worse yet, Zarian knew himself as the most dominant person here. Enough so for him to sink his metaphysical fangs into each assassin¡¯s mind and tear away chunks of what they were seeing, thinking, and nning within the microseconds of conflict. He sampled on all of those surface thoughts while also leaving holes in their minds.
Combining the Uncanny Valley Effect and Lore Eater traits made Zarian a truly terrifying entity to face. The assassins¡¯ own minds failed them in key moments, ruining theirprehension and coordination, while driving the fear of the Madness Wizard into them.
Then, as the cherry on top, Zarian stopped giving a fuck and entered the Frenzy Zone. His toughness and vitality rose. He pumped aura into his many abilities that buffed his physicality even further. Then the hallway assassination fight erupted into a frantic mess as five more assassins burst out of hiding from the back rooms and rushed Zarian from behind.
Ten assassins.
One Madness Wizard.
A single hallway with some basic enchantments holding it together.
Go.
The assassins from behind struck first. They attacked with long knives, hatchets, short swords, and metal ws. They pushed past their eerie fear of the unknown, of the shifty and monstrous wizard, and dove their weapons into wrinkled air and shadows.
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The assassins from the front and the back nearly shed with each other. They were confused, disturbed, but quick to fall on their instincts regardless of the nibbling bites on the surface of their thoughts.
They turned around in search. There was no need. Zarian reached them first.
Armored arms with long, hooked ws punched through a stone wall. ck and gray mes with an inner crimson light shone from the wing hands as they seized an assassin¡¯s head and pulled.
The assassin screamed as his head crashed into the ragged hole before his screaming ended. A headless corpse fell.
An assassin threw an alchemical grenade into the hole. A secondter, it exploded in a show of deadly sparks. The others moved to the door leading to the room.
The sound of bone and flesh being torn apart sounded from behind them as Zarian reappeared from wrinkled air, already ripping apart his second assassin and then a third.
The others changed course to catch him. They still couldn¡¯t.
Two of them fell into a leg-slurping pit. The others tried to stop, but their knowledge of the pit disappeared from their minds as soon as they saw it. Instincts helped them above all else, but not before another assassin fell into the pit.
Then the invisible jaws of a predator snapped upward from the pit. Three assassins turned into mulch and bloody body parts. The remaining four staggered back, shocked by the sudden deaths, horrified by the holes in their memories.
The nightmare only continued as the predator of the pit became a little more visible, showing patches of gray and green scales, before an enormous bellow resounded with so much power the four remaining assassins flew off their feet, tossed by the shockwave.
This time, they screamed and thrashed. They even fought each other, all of their assassination training stripped from them as they suffered mental trauma like no other.
One assassin broke away from the others and scrambled to his feet. He faced a walking entity with mandibles on the front of his wizard hat.
Zarian grabbed the brim and swept the hat around like a Mortal Kombat character, the mandibles snapping shut and sending the assassins¡¯ head flying. He let go of the wizard hat, and Para reeled the shifted apparel back onto his head using threads of tethered flesh.
Another assassin hurled out knife-like bolts as he screamed. They struck Zarian¡¯s armored hide and deflected off.
Zarian walked through each of the assassin¡¯s projectiles until they were face to face, Zarian¡¯s wed hand on the assassin¡¯s chest. He ripped out the man¡¯s heart and squeezed it into a pulp.
The second-tost assassin lunged to escape down the other direction of the hallway.
¡°Get over here.¡± Zarian extended his arm and whipped out a bone-tipped parasite chord.
It punctured the fleeing assassin¡¯s back andtched on with growing quivers and hooks. Zarian yanked the man all the way back. Sprouting a bone de from his forearm, Zarian stabbed the man in the back, then Zarian stabbed again and again, depleting his vitality until the assassin expired.
One assassin remained. The lead assassin, Level 59.
¡°What are you?!¡± the lead assassin shouted, holding a long knife and short sword. ¡°I can sense the level of my targets. You¡¯re below mine! How can you be so powerful?¡±
¡°Because I do what I want.¡±
Zarian ran at the assassin like an unstoppable juggernaut.
However, this assassin wasn¡¯t so easily susceptible to all of Zarian¡¯s tricks. The assassin dodged aside and struck back with blurring speed.
He stabbed his knife into a gap in Zarian¡¯s armpit and drew blood while leaving considerable damage. His sword nearly struck the neck, but Para readjusted quickly enough to form a gorget, deflecting the de.
The assassin whirled around Zarian¡¯s back with magical speed. When Zarian turned to face him, the assassin hooked a finger on his cowl and lowered it to spew a poisonous substance into Zarian¡¯s face.
The assassin did so while retreating backward, staying fast and slick and ahead of the juggernaut of a Madness Wizard.
The smartest thing would be to use Void Step again to catch the Level 59 Urban Assassin.
But Zarian was truly frenzied.
He was beyond sanity. Beyond reason. He wanted to get the assassin and put him down with his own wed hands. So he ran harder and faster, pumping heaps of aura into Wondrous Speed.
When that wasn¡¯t enough, he pumped heaps of aura into Willful Might, too, boosting the power of his steps to send him forward like a sprinting hulk.
Zarian ignored the hissing poison that burned and sapped at his stamina in equal measure. He rushed the panicked assassin to the end of the hall.
Thest assassin kicked off the back wall at another T-section and had arge enough lead to slip away.
Arcane webbing lifted from the floor and caught the assassin¡¯s ankle. The spectral spiders appeared to throw up a salute before disappearing and scattering away.
The assassin tumbled and lost his advantage, and Zarian bounded into the T-section wall and stomped both feet against it.
The wall was thicker and more foundational, not giving waypletely except for Zarian¡¯s body forming a big crater.
With incredible speed, he wed along the wall like some monstrous spider man before throwing himself with a bestial lunge onto the assassin¡¯s back. The fleeing man was doing all he could to run, but he found more arcane webbing entangling his limbs before he could escape.
Zarian crashed into his back and tore thest assassin apart.
A minuteter, Zarian rxed from his frenzied state. He used Para¡¯s help to remove the poison, then he looked over his new gains, especially the stuff regarding his dread gator grimoire skill. It was interesting that the name changed but it retained its levels, almost simr to the ck magic grimoire.
While Para feasted on the best corpses, he gave his thanks to the spectral spiders. They flickered into view to provide a victory dance, then disappeared from view.
Zarian continued his merry way back to where he was going. He turned the corner again and forced open a rusted door.
He ignored the rot and decay. He ignored the sticky dry blood on the floor and the buzzing insectoid beasts flying and crawling everywhere.
He stood between the altars of the Evil Gods. The dungeon core shone like arge pearl in the parasite basket on his back. It remained perfectly fine, still evolving.
The Lovewar Goddess had her own altar in a chapel outside the Lovewar Mansion. It was to the back. Zarian avoided it because there were too many good alignment vibes emitting from the Lovewar Chapel. He might try to push through and pay her altar a visit anyway.
For now, he had an audience with the Evil Gods.
¡°Alright,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I don¡¯t know you guyspletely. And you might not know mepletely. Or maybe you do if you¡¯re a fan like Shadowfell. But I need you all to answer me. Can we brush past what happened here? Or are we going to have problems? Because if we have problems, best believe I will find solutions. One way or another.¡±
Chapter 79: Fuck Off
Chapter 79: Fuck Off
There were seven Evil Gods.
Zarian was already in a partnership with one of them, Shadowfell, who was known as the great slothful and somber evil. The goddess was a vast power of inevitability, tragedy, corruption, and self-death.
Despite her young age, everybody knew her as possibly the third or second most powerful of all the good and evil gods.
She could be Zarian¡¯s sister, Ariana, but he doubted it.
Then there were the other evil gods:
Hisscreep.
Sinfeast.
Goldhound.
Sickspread.Kill.
And, finally, the most terrible and powerful god, the First Evil King, the First Destroyer, The Dragon.
If Zarian¡¯s party was staged in a city or nation that subscribed to the evil alignment, the altar of the evil gods would be more pronounced. Since Zarian¡¯s party was currently in a quote-unquote ¡®good aligned¡¯ kingdom, the presence of the evil alignment remained underground.
Could the good aligned forces eradicate them from every corner?
Perhaps.
However, based on everything Zarian had experienced, researched, and observed so far, he¡¯d concluded that everybody was making use of both alignments. The divide between good and evil, order and chaos, wasn¡¯t so clear cut as it seemed.
Good aligned nobles were dibble-dabbling in using evil for their own aims, or for what they imed was ¡®the greater good.¡¯
Yes, that was contradictory.
But there were opportunities and flexibility in contradiction. Zarian couldn¡¯t attempt to do good things while part of the evil alignment without the contradictions.
In a twisted way, it was beneficial that the alignments had some blurriness to them. Most people and creatures might not know that. But those who knew could maximize the power of both alignments for the best effect.
Of course, that came with costs.
And Zarian could feel it in the altar room. The presence of the gods was on him. His evil alignment was tied to them. Their influence could dictate how much further they could push his evil, regardless of his say so.
As of now, Zarian would prefer to stay as evil +2, but he couldn¡¯t control that. The evil gods were in control, and they kept that part of the System obscured and out of mortal reach.
Thus, they could dictate who or what rose in the alignments. Yes, part of the alignment subsystem required great deeds of good or evil. Every time Zarian or Bianca rose, that was because of something immense they¡¯d aplished. But they couldn¡¯t decide for themselves.
They had no freedom in that part of their adventure.
Thus, the gods could meddle as much as they wanted. In fact, Zarian was certain that the good gods had their sights set on Bianca to use her as a weapon.
This was why Zarian lived by the code ¡®fuck around and find out¡¯ for a reason. Somehow, someway, he would meddle back if the gods crossed the line with him and his party.
For now, he wanted to overturn the worst oues possible with the evil alignment. He fixed his attention first to the altar of The Dragon. Might as well get the big guy out of the way.
¡°The Dragon, do we have problems?¡± Zarian asked.
The dirty, rot-filled, and divine room had sections for each of the Evil Gods. The Dragon, obviously, took up an entire wall section for himself.
His altar was also bigger than the others, with tapestries and framed paintings depicting fire-breathing dragons. There were gold coins left in a small pile along with a dead herd animal that looked like a goat with three eyes and multiple sets of horns.
There were drake skins, bones, and teeth stacked on some stone blocks. Some incense was burning from a bowl, the smoke wafting upward in calm, curvy streams. The ground under the altar was scorched, too, more of divine magical touch than something by a mortal¡¯s hand.
Zarian braced himself. Out of all the evil gods, The Dragon was the one that was the most dangerous, the most mighty. It was the original overpowered creature of the Infinita Star System, and Zarian had to give some due respect to that.
The minutes ticked by.
The Dragon didn¡¯t respond.
Zarian let out a slow breath, and so did the other gods from their altars.
Apparently, Evil God The Dragon was always in hibernation. Or he would rouse and eat worlds and stars to feed his insatiable hunger. Then he would go into hibernation again and dream of terrible things.
There were legends saying that the most terrible creatures were dragons born from the wicked imaginations of Evil God The Dragon.
¡°Alright, you¡¯re asleep. No problem. Next up, Kill?¡± Zarian asked.
The altar of Evil God Kill was a simple knife stuck in a hunk of flesh that looked like a man¡¯s delimbed and headless torso. Blood bled out in constant streams from the wounds and stained the floor beneath. Insectoid beasts swarmed around the bleeding flesh and filled the stone room with their buzzing noise. When the god spoke, the buzzing flowed with his voice, hiding the edge of a de that lived perpetually in Kill¡¯s entire existence.
¡°We have problems, Zarian Darkrun,¡± Kill said from his altar.
¡°Okay. I¡¯m going to hold off on you. Because I sense some tension there. Let me check with everyone else first and get back to you.¡±
¡°You will die a terrible death, and so will all of your friends,¡± threatened the murdersome god of evil.
Zarian ignored the threat and turned to the next altar. He grimaced at the representation of Sickspread.
The altar was made of feces, a small humanoid corpse, and many more disgusting and revolting things. This was the type of evil goddess Zarian would rather avoid, so it would be a serious issue if Sickspread had problems. Ironically, her voice sounded sweet and invitingpared to her foul and loathsome altar.
¡°Do not interfere in the towns west from here,¡± Sickspread said.
¡°I have no intentions of going west as of now,¡± Zarian said simply.
¡°Then I shall overlook your folly here, sweetie.¡±
That was that.
Zarian nodded and turned to an empty, raggedy treasure chest. That was about it with Evil God Goldhound.
¡°Give me the dungeon core!¡± roared Goldhound, who had a doggish bark in his voice.
¡°No,¡± Zarian said inly.
There was a tense silence. Then Goldhound said, ¡°Give me gold.¡±
Zarian urged Para to extend her tendrils. She dropped some gold coins they¡¯d taken from the Lovewar Mansion¡¯s coffers. They poured a hefty price from the pocket dimension and into the treasure chest. The coins disappeared the moment it touched the bottom. Then Zarian stopped Para when he felt he¡¯d paid enough.
¡°I want more,¡± Goldhound demanded.
¡°No,¡± Zarian said.
The greediest evil god grumbled for a little while. Then he said, ¡°Fine then. We have no problems, as you say. Don¡¯t cross me again.¡±
Moving on, the Sinfeast altar was simr in the style of The Dragon, but more mortal and hellish. There were framed paintings depicting individuals giving in to various sins. Their painted faces were stuck with expressions of ecstasy and tragedy as they enjoyed and suffered the consequences of their sins.
There was one painting that stood above all the others. A wolf was feasting on many sinners who were stuck between enjoyment and suffering in a constant cycle.
The wolf¡¯s face was the most horrifying. It was nearly humanoid while showing absolute glee.
¡°Zarian Darkrun, what an interesting creature you are,¡± Sinfeast said, with a voice that was feminine, while holding a hint of masculinity.
Sinfeast was a trap of a god. If nobody knew better, it was easy to mistake him for a goddess, which was something Sinfeast enjoyed among other heinous things.
¡°Do we have problems?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Now, now, let¡¯s not be hasty. You have our attention. Few can gather the gods like this so easily, especially at your low level.¡±
¡°Do we have problems?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t believe in such negativities. And why so brusque? Can¡¯t we get to know each other a bit more? I really like your style. I think if we coborate, we can do wonderful things together, honey.¡±
Zarian sighed.
It was time to up the ante.
¡°Look, I can be dumb, but I¡¯m not so dumb that I can¡¯t make some predictions. I¡¯m a hot item in the market. However you guys do your godly business, it¡¯s clear ying games with lowly mortals on thee up helps you in the long game.¡±
Sinfeast tried to cut in.
¡°Shut up. I¡¯m not done,¡± Zarian snapped. Then he continued. ¡°With that established, I know I have some leverage here. And I¡¯m already partners with one Evil God. What is that you can say that¡¯ll convince me otherwise, Sinfeast?¡±
¡°Ha ha ha ha. How vile. How disrespectful. How grotesque. My, my, my, oh me, you¡¯re feisty! I¡¯ll love to bend you over and make you purr, my dear Darkrun.¡±
Zarian gave the altar of Sinfeast a hard look. ¡°I think, Sinfeast, there¡¯s no helping this. I dere that we absolutely have problems. Fuck off.¡±
The pressure of the gods increased. He was in their house, close to focal points of their power, which allowed him to talk to them directly, but that also meant he was epting a more direct approach to their power outside of boons.
In a sense, he had ced himself at their mercy.
Sinfeast peeled back the horror of his power. He crashed into Zarian with the ecstasy and disgust of sin, a mind-breakingbination.
Every sinful, pitiful, wrong thing Zarian had done came back to him like hellish wolves tearing andpping freely at his existence. His vitality was no help here. His aura couldn¡¯t stop it.
This was a direct strike to his life energy, which was getting shredded away. The power of Sinfeast burrowed deep and fast, nearing the point of touching Zarian¡¯s soul. Sinfeastughed all the while, toying with the Madness Wizard, doing to Zarian the things that would break most men.
Yet, Zarian withstood. He red at the altar as if he was looking into the eyes of the evil god himself. Sinfeast onlyughed at this act of defiance.
¡°My little boy toy, I¡¯ll have so much fun with your soul. We¡¯ll be well acquainted for the thousands and thousands and thousands of years toe,¡± mocked Sinfeast.
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The power of Sinfeast drew ever closer to having Zarian¡¯s soul. Nobody intervened, not even Shadowfell.
Incredibly, that was fine with Zarian. This was his battle. He was not exactly helpless.
¡°I alone am the Honored Outsider.¡±
Zarian cast Void Step.
He took one step and broke free of the god¡¯s maniptions.
In the void, Sinfeast had no power. Zarian couldn¡¯t stay there for long since he wasn¡¯t going far, which was perfectly fine.
Zarian popped in and out of reality, the air wrinkling around him. He ced himself at the mercy of the gods again, but he had a n.
Before Sinfeast could try anything else, Zarian surged forward with thin tendrils whipping out from his hands. He seized Sinfeast¡¯s altar, every piece, and pulled it close.
¡°If I ever catch you outside, Sinfeast, I won¡¯t spare the rod,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Oh, please, punish me with all you have! I¡¯ve been around longer than most gods for a reason, dear Darkrun! I¡¯ll make you my bitch!¡±
Sinfeast attempted to use his invasive power again.
Zarian cast Void Step once more and dumped arge amount of aura into the spell. He took the altar, along with a portion of Sinfeast into the void, and released all of it.
The darkness was forever in the void. It was silent and without air. It was an empty ce where only the creatures of the deep abyss could live. And in that endless abyss, a part of Sinfeast screamed and died, cut off from its host, left at mercy to the creatures of the void.
Zarian left the altar behind to return back to reality, which cost him even more aura. It was almost too much as he crashed down into the altar room.
Clearly, he found a loophole where he could take significant items into the void, including items of a god, and leave them there. That was probably a gray area to exploit.
Zarian imagined if he tried that with people, they would pop back into reality with him regardless of letting them go. The System would pull them back. But the trip into the void would surely do damage.
The System recognized that with rewards, regardless of how ridiculous the maneuver.
Zarian must¡¯ve gotten the new levels for giving Sinfeast a hard time.
That¡¯s one god I really want to beat the shit out of.
Zarian shuddered as echoes of Sinfeast¡¯s power passed through him. Thankfully, he had Fractured Mind topartmentalize the absolute mind-fuck of having Evil God Sinfeast invade his existence and brush close to his soul.
His life energy felt ragged, too, and he might¡¯ve lost some years in his life. It was a damn good thing he had his first spell, Bloody Lifesteal. He could replenish his life energy with that.
It took Zarian a minute to regain hisposure. Then he was back on both feet before he noticed an ominous atmosphere filling the room.
¡°You¡¯ve harmed Sinfeast,¡± said Hisscreep.
The altar of the most buggy evil god was a simple skull with a many-legged creepy crawler moving about in and out of the openings. It was a centipede type of insect beast, and it looked creepy, too, which made sense to Zarian.
Centipedes looked like the type of creatures that would be a nightmarish monster temte most universes would have. Despite the creep factor, Hisscreep had a strangely serene and inviting voice.
¡°He was being a jerk,¡± Zarian said.
¡°It is not often someone of your level can harm a god,¡± Hisscreep said. ¡°While I¡¯m not satisfied with all of your actions, I don¡¯t like Sinfeast very much and find him terrible. For that, I have no problems with you. However, I would prefer it if you were more ¡ involved with the evil alignment.¡±
¡°Only if it serves my goals.¡± Zarian smiled sharply. ¡°Good, evil, it doesn¡¯t matter. As long as it serves what I want, I¡¯ll do whatever.¡±
¡°Hm, is that so? Then answer this. You are heading to Carrowmore, yes?¡± Hisscreep asked.
¡°That¡¯s on the list.¡±
¡°I will watch closely when your party is there, if you make it there.¡± The evil god hummed. ¡°You¡¯ll make for a curious case. What will you do in an evil city nation like Carrowmore? It is the strongest in all the World of Castles and Caverns. It is the most infamous of cities in the many lesser worlds, in fact.¡±
¡°Other than murder everyone who thinks they can mess with us?¡± Zarian shrugged. ¡°I like to keep my options open. Who knows? Maybe we¡¯ll have a party around a bonfire and sing Kumbaya. We could do some real soul healing for a lot of the evil aligned folks.¡±
¡°Amusing.¡± Hisscreep sounded like he was done with the conversation. But he caught Zarian off guard when he continued. ¡°Take care of that dungeon core. Take care of Reiki of the White Silk Dancers.¡±
Zarian responded with a little more tact this time. ¡°Yes, sir.¡±
Hisscreep left the conversation.
Zarian turned to the altar of Shadowfell. He hesitated to think about how to approach her.
The altar room was mainly empty now, with just Zarian, Shadowfell, and Kill. The other gods stopped being present once Zarian had found a solution to their problems, especially with throwing the altar of Sinfeast into the void.
Unfortunately, the murdersome evil god couldn¡¯t wait any further. He interrupted with a vengeance.
¡°Die,¡± growled Kill.
The air rippled and screamed as reality tore apart near the Kill altar. A rip in the world appeared and howled like going through a wind tunnel.
A leg wearing a niceced-up shoe extended through the rip and took a step into the altar room. Then the rest of the person came through the ragged portal, revealing a drider in a dark green and red three-piece suit.
Eight dark eyes focused on Zarian with curiosity and killer intent. With a flick of six hands, multiple knives appeared in the drider¡¯s hands.
It didn¡¯t take long for Zarian to know the drider was powerful. More powerful than the White Roses and the Gnoll Elders.
Could Zarian kill the drider?
Maybe if he had enough time and a lucky shot. But as a wizard enclosed in a small space, his best winning strategy was to use Void Step and run away.
But that would beme.
¡°Hello, I¡¯m Dikir the Assassin. I will be killing you today,¡± said the drider, with a polite and gentlemanly voice.
¡°Hello, Dikir, I¡¯m Zarian Darkrun. Before you attempt to kill me, I must say you have a nice suit,¡± Zarian replied, standing rxed while unarmored.
Dikir nodded, his eyes glimmering with humor. ¡°Thank you. Your mixture of a tattered cloak, the monstrous hat, and your own suit is interesting and unique. It is a shame that I must kill you, or you might find some poprity in the streets of Carrowmore.¡±
¡°Oh, well, I¡¯m nning to go there soon. In fact, my friends and I have an invitation.¡±
Dikir quirked his head to the side. ¡°Who invited you?¡±
Zarian reached behind him slowly. Para passed a small item into his hand from her pocket dimension. With a flick, Zarian threw the card.
Dikir put away one knife and caught the card in a blurring motion Zarian couldn¡¯t track fully. The assassin was clearly the fastest creature Zarian had ever seen.
But the way Dikir stiffened, all of his eight eyes widening as he examined the card, was even more notable. The assassin was clearly bewildered.
After a minute of awkward silence, Dikir promptly walked over to Zarian and gave the card back. Then the drider pivoted on his heels and returned whence he came through the ragged portal. Once he was gone, the portal sealed up, and the reality of the altar room returned to being stable again.
Zarian looked down at the card Naomi had received from her mysterious spider friend. He felt over its high quality material with a thumb and reread its fancy text:
Ekri the TailorSilk Felt Delights - Tailor ShopWhite Silk District - Carrowmore¡®Look your best for every adventure. It could be yourst.¡¯
¡°Huh, I actually got to use the name drop this time.¡±
Zarian put the card back in Para¡¯s pocket dimension. He nced over at Shadowfell¡¯s altar. He wondered how she was reacting to this.
He would¡¯ve asked, but Kill wasn¡¯t done with being an ass just yet. The murdersome evil god interrupted Zarian and Shadowfell once again.
¡°Die, die, die!¡± Kill grouched from his altar.
Zarian felt a bloodthirsty, heinous, and genocidal power sweep around him. However, instead of attacking Zarian directly, Kill¡¯s power surged out of the altar room.
It flowed elsewhere, toward someone else.
By the time Zarian¡¯s spectral spiders caught sight of the recipient of Kill¡¯s power, the Madness Wizard realized what was truly happening. Kill was using his boons.
The evil god had used one to bring in a drider assassin from Carrowmore. Now the evil god was empowering someone beyond their levels.
The Man Butcher roared with inhuman power. The divine boon of a murdersome god filled every part of the savage warrior¡¯s flesh.
The Man Butcher would surely die afterward, but that didn¡¯t seem to matter. He had power that was so destructive it could cause immense damage, deaths, and tragedy across the underground and on the surface before Kill¡¯s boon ran its course.
There were still plenty of beggars, along with the little boot girl, who was near enough that they would suffer the Man Butcher¡¯s wrath. Unless Zarian held his ground and ignored the easy way out by using Void Step.
Zarian swapped his dread mire hell gator and dark magic grimoires from the alpha section to the beta section. He swapped his Summoned Wizard Hat and Straight Darkness +2 from the beta section to the alpha section.
By then, the Man Butcher was running through the walls on a nigh unstoppable collision course for Zarian and the altar room. Again, the best and most logical move would be to Void Step out of there.
Zarian still held his ground and spoke a skill incantation:
¡°Straight Darkness: One Shot One Kill.¡±
With barely no time to charge, Zarian poured as much aura as quickly as he could into a dark projectile between his hands. He used every aura-based ability he had to speed up the process.
He wasn¡¯t truly ready when the Man Butcher burst into the altar room like a runaway train. Chunks of the wall flew faster than the divinely empowered warrior could run, bashing off Zarian¡¯s body.
The Madness Wizard endured. He went as far as setting the killing field, too, to encapste the ensuing destruction toe.
Dark pirs rose in a tight circle around them.
The Man Butcher brought down his cleavers.
Zarian released his attack and struck the empowered warrior dead in the chest with the densest and strongest dark bolt ever formed.
The impact was enormous.
Zarian had some defense against his own attacks as a spell caster, but there was a limit to how far the System would protect him from the consequences of his own actions. He broke past that threshold easily and was sted back hard.
Para denied her initial instincts to protect him. Instead, she covered up the dungeon core, which was perfectly okay with Zarian.
That would be Zarian¡¯s first priority, anyway, leaving the host of the Parasite Cloak to survive his own attack. All of his prior efforts to toughen himself up would have toe to y here. The only unfortunate part was that he hadn¡¯t slept for over four days. Vitality was one part health and one part stamina, and his depleted stamina dragged down his vitality.
His spine cracked against a darkness pir he ced behind him. His muscles ripped. His organs ruptured. The wizard hat, thankfully, was just hard enough to save his head from busting open at the back. He still felt the jarring impact through his skull anyway, suffering a heavy concussion to go with the whish.
When hended back down, the remains of the squat hideout of evil copsed. Most of his dark pirs fell to ruin. Despite the pain and confusion, Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind prioritized his safety and the integrity of certain altars. He kept casting Straight Darkness +2.
Evil God Kill kept screaming ¡°die, die, die¡± as arge chunk of rubble crushed his altar. The other altars remained fine throughout the roaring mess, especially Shadowfell¡¯s altar.
By the time everything settled down. The hideout was entirely demolished.
Para caught the nearest edges above and used strings and tendrils of flesh to pull up Zarian¡¯s ruined body. His vitality did its best to patch up the worst injuries, saving him from bleeding out badly. But it could only do so much without outside help.
He wouldn¡¯t die soon, at least. He just had to use Para¡¯s help to puppet his screwed up body around. They took their time figuring out how to make it work.
Then Para jerked and staggered Zarian¡¯s body over to Shadowfell¡¯s altar. He spat some blood to the side. Then he nced at his notifications.
¡°Oh, yeah. That¡¯s that good, good stuff. Fuck me for nearly dying again. But fuck it, I¡¯ll snort those gains if I could.¡±
Zarianughed wheezily, still in pain. He didn¡¯t care. That was twice he¡¯d told the gods to fuck off. All within a short time.
He grinned like a loon as he distributed his free points before he finally turned his attention to thest altar.
¡°Alright, now with thoseme asses out of the way, it¡¯s time for the main conversation.¡±
The Shadowfell altar was a thick, dark tome held on a short, dark stone pedestal. On the ground in front of the pedestal, a bowl filled with Shadowfell Tears waited. It remained perfectly pristine while surrounded by rubble.
Zarian took a seat on a throne made from Para. The pearly core fell gently into hisp, remaining whole and unharmed, Reiki and her dungeon still evolving.
¡°Hi,¡± he said.
The air quivered. A somber, sultry, and pleasantly dark voice responded. ¡°Hello, Zarian Darkrun.¡±
She sounded like dark chocte and silky dark sheets. She sounded like dark, stormy nights and heavy rain on a metal rooftop. She sounded tragic, but weing.
She sounded like the ultimate goth chick of a goddess.
¡°You¡¯re not Ariana,¡± he said, smiling.
¡°No, I am not.¡±
¡°But you know who she is, don¡¯t you?¡±
¡°I will not say.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°I will not say.¡±
He squinted. His smile sharpened. ¡°Ariana¡¯s a big deal, isn¡¯t she? Is it just you who knows? Do the other gods know? Where¡¯s Ariana?¡±
¡°I will not say.¡±
Zarian huffed, blood speckling his lips. He turned to the side and spat out more of his crimson essence. Then he slouched wearily on his throne, the dungeon core adjusting slightly on hisp.
¡°Well ¡ I¡¯ll figure out Ariana¡¯s caseter. Do we have a thing or something, Shadowfell?¡±
¡°I will not say. But ¡¡±
He raised an eyebrow. ¡°But?¡±
¡°I will say my first name. You may call me ¡ Luciana ¡ if you will.¡±
¡°Then call me Zarian. It¡¯s a pleasure to be well met, Luciana.¡±
Her voice passed through him in dark, mysterious, and maic waves. It was like standing on a slick cliff at night, looking down at the heavy waves crashing back and forth, and having a feeling to take the plunge and end it all forever.
¡°The pleasure is all mine, Zarian.¡±
Chapter 80: We’re Friends Now 1
Chapter 80: We¡¯re Friends Now 1
Being in the presence of Luciana Shadowfell, the Young Corrupter, the Sorrowful Child, was interesting.
She wasn¡¯t like the other gods. She had arge and shadowy presence while also feeling strangely inviting.
Maybe Zarian was naturally drawn to her more than the others. Maybe that was why Ariana wanted Zarian to open the portal leading to Shadowfell territory, because Zarian and the young goddess naturally vibed well together.
My little sister is a mastermind of the highest degree.
Was Ariana on the evil alignment side?
Probably.
That was going to be tricky to navigate once he found her. Zarian loved his little sister, but if she was truly evil, then he would have to correct her on some things. She had shown signs of being idiotic and maniptive already, so he had his work cut out for him.
It¡¯s tough being a responsible big brother, Zarian thought as he lounged as a broken mess on his throne. Oh, well, at least Ariana¡¯s stupid maniption led me to meeting Luciana.
¡°I think I like you,¡± Zarian said with a bloody wheeze.He was still all screwed up, barely held together by the dregs of his vitality and parasitic strings. Spectral spiders appeared over his body, the little ghosts scurrying everywhere while applying arcane webbing.
They sealed up any open wounds and bound any broken parts. It was probably a bad idea to stay weak and wounded while sharing a space with the altar of Sickspread, too. Zarian risked it anyway.
Luciana took a while to respond. ¡°Do you really like me?¡±
¡°You have a deep gothic theme and you¡¯ve been tackling adversity since you were a baby. And we¡¯re around the same age, with you being a year younger. What¡¯s not to like?¡±
¡°A gothic theme, you say? And adversity? Hm. It¡¯s rare that anyone would recognize the troubles of my position.¡±
¡°So I¡¯m not the only one who recognized it, huh?¡± Zarian grinned.
Luciana let out a soft, somberugh. ¡°I¡¯m not the best at conversations. If you push for information I can¡¯t provide, I will repeat ¡®I will not say¡¯ until you grow annoyed with me and eventually leave.¡±
¡°I will leave.¡± Zarian felt the air grow tense. The Shadowfell Tears bubbled in the bowl and spilled over a little. He continued his point: ¡°But I won¡¯t leave because I¡¯m annoyed with you. I have to check on a bunch of things before we leave Central Bramblevale for North Crown Peak.¡±
North Crown Peak was technically a lookout fortress that was part of the Bramblevale region. However, it was the most northern area of the Eternal Garden Kingdom to the northeast. It was supposedly more well-fortified than even Central Bramblevale.
North Crown Peak was in charge of protecting severalmunities of walled viges, which were its own mini farming viges. There were the horrors of gnoll raiders and other evil creatures living in the Blood Prairies even further north of North Crown Peak. There was a range of stone forests and hills such as the Wolf Dragon Den to the northwest where, unsurprisingly, the wolf dragon reigned supreme.
¡°We¡¯ll be out of Central Bramblevale and on our way to ying the wolf dragon,¡± Zarian boasted. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be exciting? My first dragon hunting quest. That¡¯s the stuff of legends.¡±
¡°Dragons are the stuff of legends for a reason,¡± Luciana said with a somber warning edged into her voice.
¡°Okay, so it¡¯s legendary in quality. And up there in level. We¡¯ll win.¡±
Luciana didn¡¯t respond for a while. Zarian wondered if his cockiness was chasing the somber goddess away.
Should he pull back a little?
He didn¡¯t want to. He¡¯d suffered the invasive power of Sinfeast and would have to carry the mental scars for the rest of his life. He¡¯d turned aside two boons of Kill and survived to tell the tale.
If she doesn¡¯t like me being me, then it is what it is.
Zarian wouldn¡¯t sweat it.
Maybe he would feel a tad sad.
But he would move on, some way, somehow.
¡°Your tenacious nature ¡ it is infectious,¡± Luciana said darkly, with a hint of amusement. Then her voice dipped into sorrow. ¡°I¡¯m almost tempted to be tenacious, too. But it is difficult. And I prefer not to be a bother, if I can.¡±
¡°What do you want to do?¡± Zarian had Para pull him up in his seat. He was interested in hearing the goddess¡¯s problem. Maybe he could help.
¡°I have a troublesome ¡ acquaintance.¡±
¡°Lovewar.¡±
¡°You didn¡¯t have to say it aloud like that. It is embarrassing. I shouldn¡¯t associate so closely with her. She is good, after all. But she invites herself anyway regardless of our diverging alignments. She is irritating. Yet, I don¡¯t mind her. In fact, there are times I find her presence a weed contrast to my own.¡±
Zarian chuckled. ¡°What¡¯s the problem, then?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know if I should tell her I wee herpany aloud. It has gone unsaid, and I fear she¡¯ll draw away thinking I dislike her when that isn¡¯t the case.¡±
¡°Well, get her a divine sword or something. I bet Lovewar would like that. Then you don¡¯t have to say anything. She¡¯ll understand through the gift.¡±
¡°It can¡¯t be that simple.¡±
Zarian thought back to all the illustrations of Lovewar posing in bikini armor and holding a mighty weapon.
Yeah, it was that simple.
He hadn¡¯t expected the conversation to go in this direction with Shadowfell, but he was d the goddess was confiding in him about her personal affairs. It also offered more insight of how the lines between good and evil blurred despite how the alignments appeared on the surface.
¡°I¡¯m d I have you two as my benefactors, since you¡¯re both friends already,¡± Zarian said.
Luciana hesitated. ¡°It is too forward to say we¡¯re friends, isn¡¯t it? I wasn¡¯t sent to Infinita to make friends.¡±
Zarian had Para lift him up more. Parasitic tendrils readjusted the evolving dungeon core in hisp.
Luciana¡¯sst statement was a curious one. Was she aware of outer factors beyond the Star System?
Zarian tried to go the roundabout way of fishing for info. Which wasn¡¯t hard, since he was curious about everything regarding his evil benefactor.
¡°So ¡ you were dropped into the Infinita Star System as a baby. And now you¡¯re twenty years old and in charge of your part in the evil alignment. Must¡¯ve been crazy.¡±
Luciana took her time. She spoke slowly, haltingly at first. Her voice was still a major draw. A temptress of darkness, corruption, and the weed end. But there was an inherent awkwardness that was unique to her, humanizing her godly goth chick vibes.
¡°I found it all sad. I was separated from the warmth of family and left to fend for myself with a dubious mission. I was quite aware as a baby. Because of my inherent power, I was ced in a position where I¡¯m on level with other divine beings.¡±
She had to deal with the same type of creatures who traumatized Arnold long ago? The Tier 4, kingdom-destroying, and godly entities might have their own unique profiles hooked up to the Star System.
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If not, then those types must have a stupid amount of stats that would warp the lesser world to their wills. Zarian imagined thousands or maybe tens of thousands of stats. Maybe even hundreds of thousands.
Doesn¡¯t that make Foodie more and more important?
The little goblin¡¯s legendary ability to promote stat growth through her food really was worth more than a kingdom. Perhaps with time, Foodie could be worth more than a lesser world. Eating her food while leveling up could be the difference between being under the tyranny of Tier 4 divine beings and world bosses or not.
Luciana had more to say: ¡°Many went after me to im me or take my life. I killed many of them. And if I didn¡¯t kill them, I gave them reasons to let me be. Then, when I was three, the Star System decided I will stand as a major goddess of evil.¡±
Luciana sighed deeply. Her power swept through the ruins of the evil hideout, flowing out with her breath.
¡°I do little of the work you would think a goddess would do. Many wish for my power, too, and that can be quite troublesome. Yet nobody questions the source of my tears.¡±
¡°You like crying, don¡¯t you?¡± Zarian pointed out.
¡°How do you know that?¡±
Zarian thought of his silly party member, Bianca. Oh crap, Bianca and Luciana should never meet as long as I can help it.
The corruptive tears Luciana would shed with Bianca egging the goddess on would cause ceaseless damage to Infinita.
The things I do to save the universe. Look at me, a real evil hero.
¡°I just figured you were a big crier. You find beauty in the sadness and the inevitability of the end. Death. Darkness. Depression. You live in it. So where others might avoid tragedy, you ept it. But that doesn¡¯t mean you don¡¯t have your own struggles that hurt you deep down. You probably wish to be reunited with your family, so there¡¯s that, too.¡±
¡°Wow ¡ how do you know all of this?¡±
Zarian used Para¡¯s help to shrug. ¡°I can vibe with that. In fact, I can feel the same way. I just deal with it differently.¡±
¡°Interesting. Very interesting. You truly keep me on the edge. I find this overwhelming, yet alluring.¡± Luciana sounded breathless and eager. ¡°You are another one, Zarian. You are one who is too good to be true. When you appeared in my territory, I couldn¡¯t believe it.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°I find that I like you as well. It was instantaneous for me. But to like someone so quickly is troubling, for I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a temporary fancy, or if there¡¯s truth in my adoration of you. There are other factors, but they don¡¯t truly weigh on whether you can truly connect or not.¡±
Zarian took a long time to respond to that. Luciana was good at waiting and respecting the depths of silence. Her presence wasfortable.
Zarian could almost imagine that they could sit in silence and let all conversations die and still enjoy each other¡¯spany. Yeah, he liked her. And she liked him, too.
¡°Do you want to be friends?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be too troublesome? Are you sure you¡¯ll want my friendship? I would understand if you would prefer some measure of separation from me with our partnership.¡±
¡°Nah, let¡¯s be friends.¡±
¡°How forward of you. You¡¯re like Lovewar. I haven¡¯t seen her in person in quite some time, in fact. I believe she¡¯s busy hunting Goldhound for what he¡¯d stolen from her. But I¡¯m sure she will have much to say about you when she invades my space again. I will have a gift prepared, as you said.¡±
Zarian was enjoying the turn of the conversation so much he nearly lost track of fishing for important information. He didn¡¯t like the idea of hamstringing the vibe, however.
He let the deep lore stuff go. It felt more important to keep the flow and dark vibes going with Luciana than to get all his serious questions answered this instant.
¡°So, are we friends now?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Hm. I suppose there is no stopping it. You are inevitable in your personality and charisma. I shall ept this vow of friendship. We are now ¡ friends.¡±
A baseball-sized ball made of opaque ss fell into Zarian¡¯sp. It clinked against the head-sized dungeon core.
Zarian used Identify on the new item.
¡°Oh, hell yeah. Luciana, can you help me patch through to Foodieter?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°I can do so now. She¡¯s looking at a mirror in her personal chambers and preparing for her day.¡±
Oh, it¡¯s already morning?
That was a reminder that he¡¯d been up for nearly four or five days now.
¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡±
The milky surface of the Supreme Crystal Ball spiraled. For a moment, Zarian saw a dark figure flicker across the ball¡¯s surface.
He could¡¯ve sworn the figure was feminine, and perhaps irresistibly beautiful, but he wasn¡¯t able to capture her full features. At least he had a vague idea of what Luciana Shadowfell looked like in person.
He was already grinning in anticipation of a more familiar face when Foodie appeared in the crystal ball next. Yellow slitted eyes. Big leafy green ears. Arge mane of pale purple hair running over her head, and a long braid over her shoulder.
Yup! It was Foodie! Both of her ears were up. Her eyes were wide open like a surprised cat.
She was dressed in a slip of a brown nightgown. Despite some of her inhuman features, she looked adorable.
Zarian had the urge to scratch behind her ear. Instead, he gave Foodie a bloody smile through the crystal ball.
¡°Zarian Darkrun, you are in my mirror,¡± Foodie said matter-of-factly.
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m using a divine crystal ball. My friend, Shadowfell, is connecting us right now.¡±
¡°Zarian Darkrun, you are saying unbelievable things.¡± Foodie sounded stilted. Uh oh, did he break her that fast?
¡°Okay, damn, how do I exin all of this? Ugh. So we¡¯re in Bramblevale after dealing with all sorts of bullshit. And we¡¯re nearly at the end of our time in Central Bramblevale but my party, Naomi, Bianca, Gilbert, and Hannah have been involved in loads of major quests, fights, and unlocking hidden secrets here and there as I lead the way, of course. Well, sometimes.¡±
Zarian chuckled as he thought of Bianca¡¯s bright idea to lead a genocide on the evil alignment in the Bramblevale underworld. He picked up where he left off:
¡°While Hannah and I dealt with a Rare Level 40 dungeon hidden in the city¡¯s library, Bianca, Naomi, and Gilbert ughtered a bunch of evil humans in the underground underworld. I had toe down and talk to the evil gods. The Dragon didn¡¯t respond. I¡¯ve convinced Sickspread, Goldhound, and Hisscreep to leave things alone. I had to fight Sinfeast and Kill. Now I¡¯m hanging out with Shadowfell, and she apparently likes me. And I like her, too. So we¡¯re friends now.¡±
Foodie¡¯s ears were still up. Her eyes were still wide and alert. After a minute of silence, Foodie responded.
¡°Zarian Darkrun, let me cook for you.¡±
¡°You will! I swear you will, Foodie! We¡¯re on our way to kill a wolf dragon and unlock the secrets of the Forgotten Kingdom dungeon.¡±
¡°The Forgotten Kingdom? My father has written about it in his journals. But neither he nor our ancestors of the Green Hop Explorers have found the Forgotten Kingdom. You¡¯ve located it?¡±
¡°That would be my party member, Hannah Townhouse, who found it. You know? One of the weak humans you thought would serve better as a meal? Yeah, well, she¡¯s a Level 42 Runic Engineer, legendary by the way.¡±
Foodie took a deep breath. ¡°Let me cook for you and her.¡±
¡°Remember Bianca, the silly girl who liked to cry a lot? She¡¯s a legendary Level 41 Light Princess, and good +3.¡±
¡°Good +3?!¡± Foodie shrieked, jolting back. Something broke under her. She fell, then she popped right back into view. ¡°And you¡¯re still friends?¡±
¡°She calls me papi now and then. So, yeah, we¡¯re still in a party together.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll cook for you all!¡±
Zarian burst into a roar ofughter. He hadn¡¯t even gotten to his legendary status, but it needed not be mentioned. He could tell Foodie was overwhelmed by everything that he was dropping on her. Things only got worse for the poor goblin when her eyes lifted upward and she visibly shivered.
¡°You¡¯ve said the Evil Goddess Shadowfell is connecting us?¡± Foodie was breathing through her mouth.
¡°Yeah, we¡¯re friends. I did say that multiple times.¡±
¡°Your friend, Evil Goddess Shadowfell, is paying attention to us? Directly?¡± Foodie sounded faint.
¡°What? Don¡¯t you have an altar for her? Can¡¯t you talk to her directly?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve never heard her voice before. We pray to her. She¡¯s never responded. This is the nature of the gods. And you¡¯ve talked to six of the Evil Gods. And you¡¯ve fought Sinfeast and Kill! You¡¯ve fought gods?!¡±
Zarian was trying to hold in his giddiness. Mostly because it was hurting him to get all excited because of his wrecked body.
Still, Foodie¡¯s reaction was the greatest ever. He hadn¡¯t even expected such a reaction, and now he was enjoying it as much as he enjoyed her food.
¡°I have a good rtionship with Lovewar, by the way. She likes my vibe. Hell, I think Serveserf would get along with me, too, if I can find Arnold and get him to listen to me.¡±
¡°You have rtions with good gods, too? Zarian Darkrun, that is dangerous.¡±
He waggled his brow. ¡°Have you seen me? I¡¯m a dangerous and daring man, Foodie. I have to be so I can save you from your awful mother and make you my legendary cook.¡±
Foodie fell silent.
Zarian¡¯s heart raced.
He blurted out, ¡°What is it? What happened?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not a legendary cook anymore.¡±
¡°What are you?¡±
¡°I¡¯m mythical. I¡¯m the Indomitable Cook, Level 45. Mother has allowed me to hunt bigger and more dangerous creatures. For a heavy price, of course.¡±
Zarian¡¯s excitement struck a peak, settled, then rose again. Foodie had a mythical ss? And it was called the Indomitable Cook?
That sounded so badass and powerful, Zarian imagined the stat growth from eating her food would be insane. He nearly missed out on the price factor Foodie mumbled at the end.
¡°Foodie, how¡¯s everything going over there?¡± he asked.
Her ears slowly lowered. ¡°We are to kill you.¡±
¡°You mean you and your mother?¡±
¡°Me ¡ and Jack Masters.¡±
Chapter 81: We’re Friends Now 2
Chapter 81: We¡¯re Friends Now 2
For longer than Zarian could recall, he sat there in silence as he thought about the implications of Jack still being alive. Zarian wasn¡¯t exactly angry. He wasn¡¯t entirely upset. He was, however, a little bothered.
That crazy guy, a former peer from highschool of all things, should¡¯ve died in Castle Grimrock. Instead, Jack was alive, and he was working with Foodie to kill Zarian.
It didn¡¯t take long for the Madness Wizard to connect the dots. He soon realized Jack had the help of the Grimrock Warlock, the evil mother.
¡°Do you have to report this conversation to your mother?¡± Zarian asked quickly.
¡°Yes,¡± Foodie said. ¡°She¡¯s renewed my ve mark. It¡¯s more powerful and controlling than ever before.¡±
¡°Fuck,¡± Zarian cussed. ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck.¡±
Asckadaisical as Zarian could act, this was a serious matter. He¡¯d given away so much that he wanted to punch himself right now.
He wondered what Luciana was thinking of all of this. They were officially friends, but she was also the goddess of the corrupted goblins holding Castle Grimrock.
He imagined she had to y impartially in matters such as these. Still, he could try bringing the goddess into this.¡°Can you do anything, Luciana?¡±
The Evil Goddess Shadowfell spoke in an alluring and somber tone. Foodie shivered as she heard her goddess for the first time.
¡°I will not.¡±
¡°Okay, I won¡¯t push.¡±
Strangely, Zarian wasn¡¯t bothered by that response. Friendship with a divine entity like Shadowfell meant he had to appreciate her impartial nature regarding evil-on-evil conflict, especially under her house.
Maybe if it was against anyone else, Shadowfell would do something.
¡°Okay, so I can¡¯t tell you much more than this. Fuck me. Why wasn¡¯t I thinking?¡±
He was tired. Beat up. He¡¯d fought the evil gods at their altars. He¡¯d ovee impossible feats. He was riding high on the highs while he hadn¡¯t cared about what he was saying. It couldn¡¯t be helped.
Once Zarian thought that over, he noted his mistake and moved on. He questioned what it would mean for the Grimlock Warlock and Jack Masters to know about his party and their sesses.
They don¡¯t know about Gilbert and Naomi¡¯s advancements. Those two hadn¡¯t advanced yet, although Gilbert might advance soon if Zarian¡¯s charity idea came to fruition. Even if they know about the wolf dragon and Forgotten Kingdom, are Jack and the warlock willing to risk leaving their fortifications to challenge us?
¡°Wait, what¡¯s Jack¡¯s ss?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°He¡¯s the Star Crossed Hater,¡± Foodie said. ¡°He¡¯s currently Level 37. He¡¯s hunted various adventurers from across the Stone Sea River east of Castle Grimrock. That¡¯s the opposite of where you are. Many adventurers from the small kingdoms across the river havee for the riches my mother hoards that the orcs left behind. And Jack has sharpened himself, fighting them solo for the eventuality of facing you.¡±
¡°Legendary?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Once he gets his first ss advancement, he might get mythical.¡±
¡°I agree.¡±
Zarian slowly nodded. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine him as much of a threat to me. You¡¯re more of a threat if you fight me seriously.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
The two looked at each other. Zarian wanted to reach into the crystal ball and pat Foodie on the head. He wanted to tell her everything would be alright.
Despite how tough she¡¯d acted when they initially meant, Foodie looked more open and emotionally raw now. He could see the fragility behind her tough facade. She could only be strong for so long, despite all of her mythical power.
¡°Foodie, I need you to hold on. We¡¯re going to tackle some quests and head back your way soon, okay?¡± Zarian grinned confidently. ¡°We¡¯ll have the rare super weapons of the Forgotten Kingdom with us. Your mother will be doomed!¡±
¡°Doomed!¡± Foodie chirped. ¡°Ah, sorry. That¡¯s a strange tic as a goblin. Strong, evil words make us goblins want to repeat them when we¡¯re excited or emotional.¡±
¡°Doomed!¡± he repeated.
¡°Doomed!¡±
Zarianughed despite the pain of his busted body. The fragility behind Foodie¡¯s demeanor faded. She even giggled along with him.
It was unfortunate that they would have to end the call. This would probably be theirst conversation for a while.
¡°Can you tell me as much as you can before we go?¡± Zarian asked.
She did her best. Throwing everything she could at Zarian. She talked about various defensive measures and weaknesses in the main fortresses and walls at the top of the Castle Grimrock Mountains.
She exined how the caverns and subterranean floors were actually lead-ins to major traps in the bowels of the castle, which had killed or captured all adventurers who¡¯d sought her mother¡¯s death and the treasures. The best way to ovee Castle Grimrock was also considered the more daring way, which was directly over the top.
Foodie had also talked extensively about Jack, his powers, and his obsession with killing his sworn enemy. Yeah, Zarian could clearly see that Jack had lost all of his marbles. When Foodie spoke of her mother, Zarian had to correct Foodie on something she was misinformed about.
¡°My mother isn¡¯t in the Level 50s?¡± Foodie blinked, her ears lowering. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then much of my information could be wrong. I¡¯m restricted from certain sections of Castle Grimrock, and Mother only tells me so much.¡±
If that was the case, then Zarian would have to take everything Foodie said with a grain of salt. He wanted to think that the Grimrock Warlock was in the Level 70s. The gnoll elders should be able to defeat her if they could get to her, but Foodie¡¯s mother came across as very cunning. She might even be higher than normal in the evil alignment as well.
There was no point in asking Shadowfell. The goddess wouldn¡¯t say.
¡°I need to go, Zarian,¡± Foodie mumbled.
¡°You don¡¯t have to resist telling them what you know. In fact, tell this to Jack. He¡¯s a nobody to me. Hell, I don¡¯t even care to fight him. If anything, Naomi would wreck him for me.¡±
¡°He won¡¯t like that.¡± Foodie smiled. ¡°If I¡¯m forced to exin what happened here, then I will tell Jack that.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t get hurt, Foodie.¡±
¡°I¡¯d like to see them try. Farewell for now ¡ Zarian.¡±
¡°Farewell.¡±
Zarian and Foodie shared a look that said everything. They were truly amicable and connected. She was a friend, even if her mother forced her to go after Zarian¡¯s life.
The Madness Wizard figured he¡¯d make himself strong enough to keep Foodie contained until the Grimrock Warlock was in.
The call ended. The crystal ball returned to being a milky white orb. Zarian stored it away in Para¡¯s pocket dimension.
He lounged on his throne, his stomach growling fiercely. He really needed to eat. He really, really needed to rest.
¡°Are you not angry with me?¡± Luciana asked through her altar.
¡°No.¡± Zarian shook his head slowly. ¡°Friendship also means I won¡¯t push you to intervene in things that make you ufortable. I¡¯ll deal with it.¡±
¡°The fall of the Green Hop Explorers and what happened to them is part of my evil nature, Zarian. I didn¡¯t care to help. I allowed it all to happen. Then I shed a few tears over the tragedy and let it be.¡±
¡°Do you feel bad?¡±
¡°I always do.¡±
¡°Heh. You¡¯re an interesting character, Luciana Shadowfell. Well, this conversation has revealed a lot to me. The gods are incredibly monstrous. You¡¯re busy doing countless things across the universe while having this conversation aren¡¯t you?¡±
After a few seconds of silence, Luciana answered: ¡°Yes. This is the capabilities of us true gods. Universal omniscience, plus more. It¡¯s a part of the System that¡¯s special to us. However, I am devoting more attention to you than all the other lesser worlds and more.¡±
¡°Oh yeah?¡±
¡°Yes. For I¡¯m invested in you. And I find you impressive. And I like you.¡±
¡°Ah, yes, you¡¯ve said that you found me impressive in your letter. Thanks for the boons, by the way.¡±
¡°Once you leave for the North Crown Peak, I will deliver upon you more boons. I suppose you¡¯ll like more coffee, yes?¡±
¡°Very much so.¡± Zarian wanted to ask how she¡¯d gotten the coffee from the old world but held back. He would get his answers with time. Building a rtionship mattered more.
Luciana let out a brief chuckle. The area rippled with her somber but genuineughter. Zarian wondered if she wasughing for him or if she was genuinelyughing because he made herugh.
Despite his terrible condition and the situation with Jack Masters, Zarian¡¯s mood remained high. Things only grew better when he felt a significant ping from one of his spectral spiders spying on the Bramblevale Keep.
He looked through the spiders¡¯ eyes. He saw Arnold of Ambrose on an early morning walk.
Bingo bango, we¡¯re getting somewhere.
¡°I have a charity effort to wrangle together, so I need to head off for now, Luciana.¡±
¡°Charity?¡±
¡°Yeah. It¡¯s when you do free things for others.¡±
¡°How strange.¡±
¡°Watch and learn. Maybe you might like it. Or maybe it¡¯s too troublesome, so you can live vicariously through me, if that¡¯s what you want.¡±
¡°I would like that very much. Thank you for your consideration, Zarian. I will watch closely as your benefactor and ¡ friend.¡±
¡°Later gator.¡±
¡°Later gator? Is that a saying? Can I still say farewell? Um, farewell!¡±
Zarian chuckled at the obvious confusion in the air from the goddess. Yeah, Luciana was a fun character, even if she was mainly an awkward downer.
Now it was time to make like a tree and leave.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.
His throne transformed into bone tes and spidery legs and rose upward.
Para still had Zarian all strung up like a puppet. But instead of relying on nearby rubble, she moved about with long spider legs, keeping Zarian inches off the ground. She held the evolving dungeon core on the top of her body where all the legs merged.
Para was jittery and jerky at first until she formed more legs ¨C up to twelve ¨C then she spread them out further and arched them higher. Zarian remained in the middle as a puppet on Para¡¯s strings.
They lumbered away from the rubble and reached the staring beggars gathered in a crowd in the far corner. Half of them fled away into the dark tunnels and staircases of the underground. Others waited with bated breath.
At the front stood the little boot girl and the Infernal Witch.
Turning toward the Infernal Witch, Zarian¡¯s body and head lolled from side to side under Para¡¯s yful maniptions. Para even moved the threads infused with his body, making his face twitch as he smiled.
¡°Congrats,¡± he said wheezily. ¡°You¡¯re thest evil aligned person in Central Bramblevale. What are you going to do?¡±
¡°Make noble bastards suffer,¡± said the Infernal Witch.
¡°Perfect! That¡¯s the right answer.¡± Para slowly turned Zarian¡¯s body toward the little boot girl. Then Para dipped him forward and pulled his limbs up. His head lolled to the girl¡¯s eye level. ¡°So, are you going toe to the Lovewar Mansion for free food and healing?¡±
¡°You¡¯re scary. I should say no,¡± she said. ¡°But if you do have free food and healing, then I don¡¯t want to miss it. I¡¯ll let some others know.¡±
¡°Good, good, good. If it helps, I¡¯m using you guys to level up a friend of mine. He¡¯s the healer with the free healing, and he¡¯s almost at his first ss advancement.¡±
The little boot girl nodded slowly. She examined his busted body.
¡°Yeah, I know. I need some healing for myself. But I¡¯ll get there soon enough. Got a few errands to run. Later gators.¡±
¡°What gator?¡± the Infernal Witch asked.
Zarianughed like a bloody lunatic before casting Void Step. Para¡¯s massive spider legs moved in and out of the void, the air wrinkling as morning mist swirled about. The dawn sunbeams struggled to break through, but there was enough light to notice his shrouded form and giant spider carrier.
Immediately, a woman screamed. Then other women and men screamed as Para¡¯s giant and bony spider legs strung along Zarian¡¯s broken body.
He found Arnold of Ambrose around the corner. The White Rose of Serve Serf prepared to swing his liquid silver sword when he hesitated and looked closer at Zarian¡¯s horrifying form.
¡°Lord Zarian Darkrun?¡± Arnold asked.
¡°I¡¯m the one!¡± Zarian jiggered about on Para¡¯s flesh strings, his limbs flopping painfully foredic effect.
Arnold opened and closed his mouth repeatedly. His eyes were opened wider than Zarian had ever seen from the elderly man.
Some people might even think that Para hadpletely taken over Zarian and was the true personality behind the Darkrun body.
That was silly, of course.
Para was his friend.
Still, the reactions, high-pitched screaming, and overall panic were funny. The thick misty morning effect and gray blocky clouds added to the mood.
Zarian soaked it all in. Arnold was still trying to regain hisposure and was frankly taking too long.
¡°Hey, so quick update, Bianca, my good +3 friend, went on an ill-advised genocide of the underground evil alignment,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Uh, yes, I¡¯ve heard reports of such. I was working on the paperwork for the deaths of the leading guards at the time. I¡¯m preparing to deal with the eventual bacsh of Lady Bianca¡¯s actions.¡± Arnold¡¯s wrinkles deepened with his frustration.
Apparently, he was highly aware of bad things happening when the alignments went out of whack. It was a good thing he had a concerned adventurer like Zarian around.
¡°First, it¡¯s Princess Bianca! And don¡¯t worry! I had a chat with all the Evil Gods. Only two of them, Sinfeast and Kill, had problems. So I gave them the boot. The others won¡¯t seek retribution.¡±
Arnold blinked and shook his head. ¡°Good God Serveserf, bless me with patience. What did you do, my young lord?¡±
¡°I checked with The Dragon and he didn¡¯t respond. Sickspread doesn¡¯t want me to help the towns out west. Hint. Hint. Maybe something sick is spreading west. Other than that, I paid off Goldhound. Hisscreep is kind of cool. Sinfeast got the boot hardcore. I defeated two boons of Kill.¡±
¡°Two boons! You¡¯ve defeated two boons of the most murdersome god!¡± Arnold was truly taken aback.
¡°Yup. Now don¡¯t interrupt me. I was just going to say Shadowfell is chill and kind ofzy. She will not do much of anything other than cry because she feels like it. But I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll spread her corruption much here, so be d that Central Bramblevale won¡¯t be used as her Kleenex.¡±
Arnold slowly shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll, uh, have to confirm this. Perhaps I can have an answer from my god if he¡¯s willing to check with Hisscreep. The two of them have an odd butsting rtionship.¡±
Oh! So there¡¯s more than one pairing between good and evil.
To Zarian, the pairing between Serveserf and Hisscreep sounded like two chummy butpetitive old dudes with different philosophies. They would debate often while ying chess at the park that all the old dudes go to.
¡°If what you say is true, Lord Zarian, then you are to bemended even further for all you¡¯ve done.¡± Arnold sighed. ¡°And I owe you an apology.¡±
¡°Shove off with your apology! Instead, get a food drive going!¡±
¡°Food drive?¡± Arnold¡¯s eyes glimmered.
¡°We¡¯re going to feed as many beggars as we can. And give them free healing. All before we leave.¡±
¡°You¡¯ll need the food to support such an effort. Yes. I see. Coming to me with this is perfect. I¡¯ll have it done.¡±
The White Rose of Serveserf looked more animated and chipper now. After all, his god was the type who looked after the downtrodden and the poor. Who else was better at helping get a charity organized than Arnold?
¡°Sweet! I need to head off now. You should talk to Hannah and Gilbert at the mansion over the food drive beggar stuff. I¡¯ll probably be unresponsive for a while. Oh, and onest thing before I forget. You know what Aura Ignition is? No, don¡¯t answer. Of course you do. I want you to help Naomi with her Aura Ignition.¡±
Before Arnold could respond, Zarian cast Void Step once more. Para carried him through like a giant mutant spider.
They ended up behind the Lovewar Mansion and among the camped soldiers.The screaming, shouting, and attempts to take up arms started as expected.
Zarian cackled like a maniac as he dangled from Para¡¯s strings. He threw out some viinous phrases while Para extended tentacles and pped around soldiers here and there who tried to attack without recognizing who or what they were attacking.
¡°Stop it, you fools! That¡¯s Lord Zarian and Lady Para!¡± shouted Rnd of Wood.
¡°H!¡± Para said with a monstrous voice.
The soldiers settled down. But not by much. Not all of them were deeply familiar with Zarian, so the Uncanny Valley Effect was in y a little.
Rnd stepped up while trying to hold in his fear and horror at Zarian and Para¡¯s monstrous disy.
¡°How may we assist you, milord?¡±
¡°Is everything prepared for our journey to North Crown Peak?¡±
¡°Yes, sir.¡±
¡°Good. You¡¯ll be needed by Gilbert, Hannah, and Arnold of Ambrose soon for a charity.¡±
¡°A charity?¡±
¡°It¡¯s when we do things for free for those who are less fortunate.¡±
¡°Why would anyone do such things?¡± Rnd was bbergasted.
¡°Because there are hidden benefits. And it¡¯s fun.¡± Zarian chuckled. ¡°Nobody can stop me from doing what I want, and what I want to do is have a charity. Are you going to stop me?¡±
Para maneuvered his strings until Zarian was dangled sideways, limbs all loose, head lolling. The bloody smile on Zarian¡¯s face twitched with withering threads under the flesh.
¡°No, milord. I dare not stop you. Nor would any man.¡± Rnd looked back at his noble soldiers.
They all shook their heads. Rnd returned his gaze to the creeping horror that was the broken Madness Wizard and his transformed Parasite Cloak.
¡°Good, now if you excuse me, I¡¯m going to have a quick chat with Lovewar in her chapel.¡± Zarian turned away.
Rnd choked on air. So did some other soldiers. They should get that checked out. They were bbering and sputtering, unable to say anything intelligible.
It almost sounded like they wanted to stop Zarian.
It was toote. Para squeezed into the chapel through the front entrance with Zarian in tow.
Immediately, Para hated being there. She was weaker. Zarian also felt weaker and more drained. His wounds sealed by arcane webbing throbbed with pain and leaked blood.
Little by little, Zarian and Para lowered to the floor. The divine power of the Lovewar Goddess ttened them.
¡°Lord Zarian! What are you doing here?¡± That was Head Acolyte Lora speaking. The young woman fretted over him. ¡°Oh no, my lord, you can¡¯t be here. Um, shall I help you out?¡±
¡°Nay.¡±
Zarian used his Parasitic Cloak to wrap up his limbs further. Together, Zarian and Para crawled through the front lobby of the chapel. They dragged their bloody body while the dungeon core remained bound to Zarian¡¯s back by a few strands.
They passed through the threshold that led into the nave. There were no pews. Just a stone floor and an array of shiny weapons on the walls. At the front was a Grecian sofa, a pitcher of alcohol set on a stone block, and multiple weapons of wary out in front of the altar.
¡°Yo, Lovewar!¡± Zarian called.
Good Goddess Lovewar responded with style.
Zarian heard the shing of thousands of weapons meeting shields. He heard the shouts of countless men at war. There were the unified voices of many women singing stridently like amazons on a march. Then the powerful and energetic voice of Lovewar came through, sounding like an attractive tomboy:
¡°Darkrun! You¡¯re a mess! You should¡¯ve given me a heads up or I would¡¯ve dialed back on the goodness. I had some annoying stuff going on up here in godnd that had me distracted.¡±
The crushing pressure of the Lovewar Chapel faded. Zarian could breathe easier. Para reformed her spider legs, albeit smaller, and lifted Zarian up.
¡°I had a conversation with the evil gods. They were cool, unconcerned, or in weird. I had to kick Sinfeast and Kill¡¯s ass.¡±
¡°It¡¯s always those two who get on my nerves the most. That and freaking Goldhound! Actually, I think I hate Goldhound the most! I swear I¡¯ll kill him next time I catch him.¡±
¡°Yeah, cool, okay, if you want the deets on how it went down, talk to Shadowfell. She likes your presence even when you¡¯re being pushy. She doesn¡¯t mind as much as it seems.¡±
¡°What? Really? I can be a little much sometimes. But she¡¯s the only one who feels like she¡¯ll listen to me when I go off on my rants. I can get all descriptive about my conquests and the other gods aren¡¯t as cool as her. But, yeah, if she actually doesn¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll go bug her more. Thanks! Also, I¡¯ve noticed you and your party have been busy.¡±
Lovewar took a deep, climatic breath before saying, ¡°My little brother of war, you are a hell of an adventurer.¡±
Zarian shivered at being called ¡®little brother.¡¯
He didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. So he kept going as normal.
¡°Yeah, I know. We can talk more about itter. But I think I¡¯m on the verge of dying from exhaustion andck of vitality. Also, Sinfeast did some bad shit to my life energy before I gave him the boot.¡±
¡°I really need to know how that went down. I¡¯m going to bug Shadowfell so hard.¡±
¡°Wait, wait, let¡¯s stop getting sidetracked. I really have an important reason to be here. Answer me this. Are the good gods going to turn Bianca against me?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Okay, thank you. I imagine you¡¯ll give your disapproval, yes?¡±
¡°Of course! Anything beyond +3 at the newbie levels is ridiculous. She¡¯s got plenty to make a difference. And that¡¯s what I wanted when we did that push earlier. But now I can tell Purgehunt and the others are scheming, since they¡¯re keeping me out. I don¡¯t think Serveserf is involved or scheming much of anything. He¡¯s always more of an outsider.¡±
¡°By the way, I don¡¯t like the gods meddling too much.¡±
Lovewar sighed. ¡°That¡¯s just how it goes, little brother. You have your ways of getting to power. But we big, omniscient, and advanced beings have serious hook ups with the Star System. Once you trigger something we can influence, most of us will get involved, and you¡¯re doing too many incredible things for us not to go in and tip the scales. All the gods are paying more attention to Corma than they usually would.¡±
Zarian imagined the gods were paying more attention because of him and his party. Maybe they¡¯d truly done too much.
Lovewar continued: ¡°I know that¡¯s all frustrating. I found it frustrating too when I was on thee up. But do your time. Grind your way up. And maybe you¡¯ll be the one who gets to mess with others far under you.¡±
¡°I¡¯m guessing the only way to avoid your influence is to stay neutral,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Yeah, well, somewhat. Even then, we have our ways of influencing stuff even if we can¡¯t get to neutral types directly. I know that sounds bad, but that¡¯s how it is.¡±
Zarian held back a curse since he wanted to be polite with his good aligned benefactor. Lovewar was answering some important questions that he¡¯d suspected already. Now he had her godly confirmation, which ced his paranoia and evil alignment in ord.
Incredibly, the good gods didn¡¯t strike with Bianca when she¡¯d led a genocide of the underground. But they might have leverage to meddle againter on.
I¡¯ll deal with it when it bes a problem.
At the very least, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised.
¡°Okay, cool. Thest thing I have to say is we¡¯ll get the thing you want done through a proxy. Meanwhile, the Lovewar Acolytes here will being along with us.¡±
¡°Much appreciated. Once things pop off, my little girls in Bramblevale won¡¯t be well prepared. At least not the ones with you. I have others who are more than prepared deeper in the Eternal Garden Kingdom. Again, you don¡¯t have to involve yourselves any further. I just need that spark to light the fire.¡±
¡°Good to go. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me ¡ I¡¯m literally dying of exhaustion.¡±
¡°Oh, yeah, that sucks! I¡¯ve already used up my boons for you. But once you¡¯re on your way out of Central Bramblevale, I¡¯ll have boons reloaded. I¡¯ll say this though. Don¡¯t linger too long. Troublesome people are heading your way.¡±
¡°Let theme.¡± Zarian cast Void Step, and the spell failed.
¡°Sorry, bud. You¡¯re going to have to cast that outside.¡±
¡°I do all I can for you, Lovewar, and this is how you treat me? You do know I¡¯m Shadowfell¡¯s first friend, right? I have a major influence with her. She¡¯ll cry if she knows how you¡¯ve mistreated me.¡±
¡°Wait,e on, all you gotta do is go outside.¡±
¡°Oh, Shadowfell! Lovewar has been so cruel!¡±
¡°Hey, fine, here, little brother. I¡¯ll open up a little for you. Dang cretin.¡±
Zarian cast Void Step again and seeded. He crashed into the kitchen. There was screaming. He reigned in all of his abilities and overt power to keep from giving the acolytes heart attacks.
Thankfully, none of them fell over and died. They might even get levels out of the experience.
There was more shouting. He vaguely recognized Gilbert¡¯s voice and felt a healing force enter his body. He recognized other vague shapes. The closest looked like Naomi.
Zarian felt a little worried. What if she thought he¡¯d gone off and done something dumb to nearly get killed again?
I should really stop doing this dramatic near death stuff.
Maybe he would learn to stop after a well-deserved rest.
Chapter 82: Have Faith 1
Chapter 82: Have Faith 1
Zarian was in another dream, but more nightmarish than usual. Sinfeast was back, and Zarian had both hands wrapped tight around the deplorable god¡¯s neck. He squeezed his grip and shook the god back and forth, smashing the back of the evil god¡¯s head against the alleyway wall.
Blurry vehicles passed by on the street outside the alley, like a moving pastel picture of the urban sprawl Zarian knew as a beggar back in the old world. Blurry figures walked by in a hurry. Nobody cared about Zarian strangling a horrific, vile, invasive, and wicked god.
Nobody cared that Zarian was losing.
The evil god had no recognizable features that denounced him as man or woman. Sometimes he was more of a wolf. Sometimes he was more of a fox. He switched between being in and fleshy to bestial and furry, and sometimes something in the middle.
But no matter what, Zarian could tell it was Sinfeast by the stupid, lecherous smile on the evil god¡¯s face. And no matter how much Zarian throttled the sinful god by the neck, it felt like Zarian was getting throttled and hurt even more so.
Zarian bashed the god¡¯s head into the alley wall again. In return, Zarian felt a hard knock against the back of his head and nearly fell over. Remaining on top, Zarian squeezed his grip on the god¡¯s throat even tighter and kept throttling Sinfeast. In return, terrible bruise marks darkened around Zarian¡¯s neck.
Zarian couldn¡¯t breathe, but he kept strangling and shaking Sinfeast. The godughed, licked his lips, and blew kisses at him, infuriating Zarian even further. Zarian couldn¡¯t stop himself frommitting outright violence, and Sinfeast enjoyed every moment.
The god even talked. ¡°Hurt me more, daddy, hurt me more!¡±
Zarian wanted to growl, but he couldn¡¯t because of the force around his throat. He was feeling weaker, more drained. He felt like he was the one being put down violently.Then a new and more prominent presence made herself known.
¡°You insignificant tick. You dare trespass on what¡¯s mine? You have no idea what you¡¯re desecrating!¡±
Ariana walked into the scene with a stride that was dominant and angry. She still looked like a four year old dressed in her Sunday best. Her pearly white shoes and sparkly dress shone perfectly in the blurry dream alleyway. But for a moment, she exuded a presence that wasrger, more imposing, more monstrous.
Still, Zarian couldn¡¯t help but see her as his adorable little sister. She shouldn¡¯t be here in the presence of this ugly violence, especially with something like Sinfeast near.
But the way she spoke and moved said otherwise.
And the way Sinfeast locked up like a deer stuck in headlights was even more telling.
¡°The next time I wake. Perhaps I will destroy you forever,¡± Ariana growled.
The evil god stopped smiling. His amorphous features solidified into a wolfish, hairless man. Horror shone fully through the god¡¯s face, his entire features bing pale.
He was screaming when Ariana flicked her finger into his face and sent him away, straight out of Zarian¡¯s dreams. With the horrid god gone, Zarian copsed to his side, worn out and depleted.
He really wasn¡¯t going to get much rest, was he?
¡°I¡¯m going to be Sinfeast¡¯s biggest hater,¡± Zarian announced. ¡°Nobody will hate Sinfeast more than me.¡±
Ariana slowly nodded, with a scowl on her young and adorable face. ¡°I harbor plenty of hate as well, Big Bro. We can be haters together.¡±
¡°I¡¯m the number one hater, though.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll be d to be your number two.¡±
Good, good, that felt proper. Zarian reached over and patted Ariana¡¯s leg weakly. ¡°Thanks.¡±
Ariana crouched down to rub her little hand over his shoulder. The gesture made him feel better.
¡°I should apologize for not being here sooner,¡± Ariana said.
¡°No apology needed.¡±
¡°Still, I¡¯m sorry, Big Bro.¡± Ariana grumbled as four-year-olds would before saying, ¡°Sinfeast is quite a tricky pest. You¡¯ve harmed him and embarrassed him in front of all the evil gods, weakening his position. He will have a vendetta against you, and despite what you did with his altar, he has you marked.¡±
¡°Oh, nice, we¡¯ll be dreaming of each other from now on. This universe can only handle two freaks of nature, and I¡¯m the better freak.¡±
¡°He won¡¯t bother your dreams. I¡¯ll make sure of that. But he¡¯ll try to invade you in other ways when you least expect it. Beware of anyone who tries to evoke him or use a symbol of Sinfeast. Stay away from his altars unless you¡¯re prepared.¡±
He nodded along to her wise advice, appreciating every bit. Still, he couldn¡¯t see himself turning away from any opportunity to kick Sinfeast and his followers in the crotch if the chance showed itself.
¡°When I hate, I¡¯ll make sure my hatred wins.¡± Zarian pushed up into a seat against the alley wall.
He reached over and pulled Ariana into him, hugging her close. She settled in a seat next to him. She felt warm. She felt real.
¡°What are you?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Something powerful,¡± she answered.
¡°You¡¯re still Ariana Darkrun, right? Of course you are. You¡¯re my little sister.¡±
She chuckled softly. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Ariana Darkrun. I¡¯m your little sister. Though you might not be happy with the truth of my full identity. I¡¯m d Luciana didn¡¯t tell you. I¡¯m not ready just yet.¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t push. At least she reconfirmed she was what she said she was, which rang true to him. She was part of the Darkrun family.
Clearly, she was a more powerful member of the Darkrun Family. He felt like the truth of their origins woulde out on its own. Just had to wait for it.
Zarian gripped her gently by her chin and tilted her face up. He looked long into her eyes. He caught traces of curiosity, stress, uncertainty, and many more things hidden behind that youthful facade.
It seemed to Zarian that Ariana had a lot on her te. If she was truly powerful, then that meant she had plenty of responsibilities.
¡°Again, thanks for your help.¡± He released her chin and patted her head. ¡°I really just wanted to rest.¡±
¡°You deserve it.¡± She sounded happy. ¡°You¡¯ve done incredible things. I¡¯ve been watching. I¡¯m very impressed.¡±
¡°Did I break the thing you wanted?¡±
¡°Not yet.¡±
¡°Dammit,¡± Zarian groaned.
Ariana giggled. ¡°Why are you disappointed? If you adventure and ascend up into the next worlds above, you¡¯ll expand your existence and longevity. We have nothing but time with your incredible upward trajectory.¡±
¡°Yeah, well, I can¡¯t really think of the future when I¡¯m constantly tackling amazing things left and right. And despite all of that, I¡¯m still clueless about your whole shtick about me being the only Honored Outsider. Can you me me for feeling crazy over it?¡±
Zarian waved his arm about as he ranted.
¡°What is it other than being OP for my level that makes me special? Is it our origins? Does the System fear you so it wants to make me happy? What¡¯s the big deal?¡±.
Ariana took her time to answer. ¡°It is hard to exin. I just know that you can do something nobody else can. It¡¯s inside of you. The System knew this as well once it realized you¡¯re like me. Maybe ¡ you might be greater than me.¡±
Zarian had a hard time believing that. Ariana had walked her four-year-old projected self into his dream and flicked away Sinfeast like the evil god was a mere ant.
Zarian had no idea what Ariana¡¯s true form could be, but he believed her to be extraordinarily powerful. She gave off the right vibes for it.
Luciana was probably serving under Ariana, wasn¡¯t she?
Zarian decided to put the issue aside forter. Something else caught his attention. Arianna¡¯s attention turned in the same direction.
The dream transitioned away from the blurry and pastel background. They entered a void-like space, a ce in between dreams, and in front of them was a bubble.
In that bubble, they watched Naomi sit alone, legs crossed, deep into meditation. She had on the witch-like version of the wizard hat, a Level 0 skill Zarian had copied into her profile.
Itcked the potency of the real skill. Still, Naomi was making use of her hat, plus everything else she had while trying to manipte aura inside and outside of her. Zarian could feel it, and he knew Ariana could feel it as well. Naomi had drawn them both as an audience because of her maniptions.
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She moved the aura like tidal waves going outward and inward while matching her breathing. When she breathed in, the aura swept in closer. When she breathed out, the aura moved outward with her breath.
It was strange to watch since she didn¡¯t have a strong aura maniption ability. Instead, it seemed like she was moving the aura based on pure determination, leveraging her Willpower and her hat.
There could be more to it than that. Zarian extended all of his senses, especially through the Wonder stat, and felt Naomi was tapping into her Psionic Affinity.
Interestingly, she was making up for herck of aura maniption by overclocking her mental abilities. Zarian had an inkling that psychic abilities were a great equalizer. Naomi could tap into the inherent abilities inside her while also able to affect others more directly than most magic abilities.
Right now, Naomi was turning her psionics all the way inward to make up for what shecked.
Even if she didn¡¯t have those abilities, Zarian imagined controlling aura was inherent to all creatures if they have an aura. But having traits and stats that dealt with aura more directly made it way easier.
In other words, Naomi was doing what she did best. She was brute forcing her way through a problem. She was fighting against her weaknesses and making the most of what little she had.
¡°I find your friend Naomi a curious case,¡± Ariana admitted. ¡°The others are clearly talented, perhaps even gifted. Not as gifted as you, but gifted enough. Naomi, however, isn¡¯t gifted. Not in the way it matters. She shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±
Zarian nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve had the same thoughts. All she has going for her is a crazy hard work ethic and unbreakable discipline.¡±
¡°You do know that¡¯s not enough, right? Without talent. Without powerful origins of blood. Without inherent gifts, she¡¯ll inevitably meet her limit.¡± Ariana sighed wearily. ¡°It might be cruel to give this woman too much hope. Perhaps the best course is to help her reach a sufficient level and make sure she isfortable once she eventually hits her limit.¡±
¡°No.¡±
Ariana shook her head. ¡°Your enemies will target your weakest links. She¡¯s one. You are powerful, Big Bro. But what is shepared to the behemoths who are close to your equal?¡±
Zarian grinned. ¡°She¡¯s a jarhead-ass, crayon-eating, stupid-as-hell Marine. With someone like her, all you have to do is have faith.¡±
Ariana snorted. She was about to retort when the bubble showing Naomi twisted and warped. The aura turned violent, roiling with so much movement it was disturbing the dream bubble.
Hell, even Zarian felt the urge to step back. He held his ground and grinned widely.
Ariana¡¯s eyes flew open, her jaw dropping.
An outward burst of aura rushed from Naomi¡¯s body in an enormous wave. The walls of her room shuddered. The chair at her study desk scattered into pieces. The rug under her frayed apart.
The bubble expanded close to the breaking point. Before their view of Naomi popped, the expanding aura reversed course and rushed inward. It was flowing toward the bonfire Naomi became to keep her fueled.
Naomi screamed as rushing aura filled her up with more and more, more than her body would normally hold. A bonfire of hazy blue-green aura phased out from her flesh and flickered over her body. Her veins pulsated with more of the ethereal energy. Her screaming came to an end as Naomi struggled to get to her feet while maintaining her Aura Ignition.
Ariana spoke with amazement clear in her voice. ¡°Aura Ignition/First Stage. It¡¯s an epic quality trait. At this stage, your aura is infused with your body, driving up your physicality to incredible degrees. It is meant for true warriors who don¡¯t rely on Mysticism, although that¡¯s one of the most favored stats of the Star System.¡±
Zarian nodded. ¡°Go on.¡±
¡°You¡¯ll make it even more optimal if you don¡¯t rely on Wonder, either, but having low Wonder is considered insane. Without the extra perception and luck, you¡¯re relying on Willpower to trigger the ignition and to keep from tearing apart.¡±
Arian blew out a puff of air.
¡°Perhaps you can increase your chances by having aura maniption abilities, but gaining those traits or skills usually requires some investment in Wonder or arge amount of Mysticism for that.¡±
¡°Naomi doesn¡¯t have much in her Wonder or Mysticism. She¡¯s all invested in Willpower, Strength, and Agility.¡±
¡°How idiotic and foolish. It¡¯s optimal. But it¡¯s dangerous for someone so mortal.¡± Despite the disapproving words, Ariana sounded impressed by Naomi. ¡°Well, she will have immense power in her Aura Ignition even at the first stage.¡±
¡°What are the stages?¡±
¡°Second Stage allows you to unleash greater Aura Ignition techniques based on your abilities. It is like how you use incantations with skills as a wizard, but for the warrior. Though, those techniques must require the use of the body more than the use of magic. Third Stage allows you to better stabilize Aura Ignition for a longer output. Fourth Stage warps reality to the demands of your body and ignition techniques. And nobody has reached the fifth stage, but it is theorized to be possible and godly.¡±
¡°You still believe hard work isn¡¯t enough?¡± Zarian asked, smirking.
Ariana furrowed her little brow. ¡°Perhaps hard work and having someone to help you can make all the difference. Still, her Aura Ignition is wild and unstable. You know once it depletes she not only willck aura but she must suffer through an aura recovery debuff and physical debuff until she has adequate rest, especially at the first stage. Aura Ignition should only be used as ast, desperate measure in a fight, or you¡¯ll be vulnerable afterward.¡±
Ah, so that¡¯s the real kicker, Zarian thought. I think I¡¯vee to terms with not getting Aura Ignition. This certainly confirms it for me.
He was on the path of a wizard. Aura Ignition wasn¡¯t truly suitable for him.
Zarian figured Foodie had told them all to get Aura Ignition because that was the best thing she knew. The mythical goblin cook knew a lot from all that her father had passed down to her, but she was clearly inexperienced in other ways.
How old is Foodie?
In fantasy, goblins didn¡¯t live long.
Foodie might not even be half of Zarian¡¯s age.
Oh, shit. She¡¯s a real kid, isn¡¯t she?
Zarian was pulled out of his thoughts when Naomi lost control of Aura Ignition. Her body tore apart in a couple of ces. She copsed to the ground, soaked in blood and sweat, clearly in pain.
Seeing that worried Zarian deeply. He forgot he was still dreaming and tried to rush into the viewing bubble, but the bubble pushed away until he stopped.
Ariana remained beside him without taking a single step somehow.
Together, the Darkrun brother and sister watched as Naomi rolled over onto her back andughed. The woman was insane. Despite her wounds, she was enjoying herself. She achieved something a mortal woman like her should¡¯ve failed. Instead, she survived.
Zarian shook his head at her. Then an errant thought struck him.
Wait, did she get advice from Arnold before she tried that on her own?
What if she hadn¡¯t?
¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how it feels when someone you care about does stupid stuff.¡±
Zarian huffed in anger. He was tempted to grab Naomi and shake her around while giving her a Marine-style ass chewing. Granted, he would be a hypocrite. But at least it would feel good to give her the shaking and yelling.
¡°Ugh, it sucks to get shown the other side of the coin.¡±
Ariana was watching him now, clearly amused. ¡°You¡¯ve proven me wrong.¡±
¡°Did I?¡±
Ariana waved toward the bubble with Naomi.
Gilbert, Bianca, and Hannah were rushing into the room. A few secondster, Arnold was there while holding a hot pan of food.
Was the White Rose cooking something in the kitchen for the charity? Was that happening already? Now that Zarian was paying closer attention to key details, he noticed everybody was dressed in more casual clothing
Zarian couldn¡¯t hear the conversation that ensued, but it looked like Arnold was confirming some details and admonishing Naomi in equal measure. That gave Zarian a better measure of the situation either way. Arnold had given Naomi advice on Aura Ignition, and she went off to figure out the rest.
Ugh, I¡¯ll let her off the hook for this one.
Thankfully, she had the divine medallion that gave her a free revival once a week. That woman needed it. She was just as big of a death-facing thrill seeker as Zarian.
¡°You need more rest,¡± Ariana said.
¡°I¡¯m going to miss my charity thing, aren¡¯t I?¡±
She swayed her head from side to side, her pigtails wavering.
She wasn¡¯t sure, but Zarian imagined he would miss out in the end, which was unfortunate. He had pushed himself a lot for multiple days and nights straight, so there was no denying him the rest he needed. Maybe when he grew further, he wouldn¡¯t need as much rest.
Well, other than Naomi seeding on Aura Ignition, it looked like the others were doing well. They also looked bright and happy, Gilbert especially. The man nearly shone as bright as Bianca when he could help people in need. He was also sober, too, which was a good sign.
Things were going well.
¡°I wanted the charity for everybody to feel like they¡¯re making a difference,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Is that so?¡± Ariana responded.
¡°It is very much so.¡± Zarian ced his hands on his hips and looked up into the void. ¡°Do you ever get the feeling that all you do is work and toil and hurt? Maybe you¡¯re hurting yourself or hurting others? Well, most people might not realize there¡¯s another way to live, and the act of being of service and helping others even if you don¡¯t have to can be rewarding in itself.¡±
¡°There are those who do that right now. They worship the gods, their nobles, their lords, and act in service of them.¡±
¡°No, Ariana. I¡¯m not talking about that type of service. I¡¯m talking about service going from the top to the bottom without needing much in return. Even if all you can provide is a hot meal and somefort, you can see the actual impact you have on someone who needs a little support.¡±
Zarian turned and smiled down at his little sister.
¡°We¡¯re not trying to save the world or the universe. Maybe we¡¯ll kill a few world bosses and divine beings here and there, especially Sinfeast, and maybe we¡¯ll prevent hugely destructive events, but that¡¯s not the primary goal. The primary goal is to adventure, show off our magic, and grow.¡±
Zarian rubbed the back of his neck. He never realized he had so much to say.
¡°Sometimes part of that adventure is helping with what¡¯s in front of us. Sometimes we show off our magic by kicking in the teeth of every asshole who thinks they¡¯re untouchable. And the growing part is simple. We want to see how far we can take ourselves. Pushing beyond mortal limits. Pushing each other if we can.¡±
He watched the others leave behind the room. Then the viewing bubble turned dark and faded away. All that remained was the surrounding void.
He wasfortable here. Ariana wasfortable here, too.
¡°Most won¡¯t think like you,¡± Ariana said. ¡°It can be seen as a weakness, your kindness.¡±
¡°Ha! I know! I know it¡¯s looked at as a weakness. And I don¡¯t give a fuck, anyway! Because if your kindness is that big of a weakness, then you¡¯re a weak bitch, anyway!¡±
Ariana opened and closed her mouth. She fell silent, but it was obvious that she wanted to hear more.
Zarian kept rolling. ¡°If you have enough power, can you really say you can¡¯t make a difference? Even if the difference is providing some aid andfort to others when it¡¯s not a big deal? I¡¯ve heard from so many people that no matter what you do, everything will go back to being the same. People will constantly suffer. The rich would get richer. The cycle of misery would repeat itself, and the few in power would step on the meek beneath their feet.¡±
Zarian nodded.
¡°I also know that just because I¡¯ve eaten trash and I¡¯ve been meek, that doesn¡¯t mean I have to care about anybody else. In fact, I should be the most selfish person here.¡±
¡°But?¡± Ariana asked softly.
¡°I¡¯m built different.¡± Zarian paced in a slow circle around Ariana. ¡°Every asshole who looks down on the meek for being weak. Every asshole who thinks nothing can be changed and pushes out this nonsense that nothing can be done. Every asshole who is only self absorbed with their own whims and can¡¯t extend a helping hand, regardless of how small, just because it¡¯s a slight inconvenience. Every asshole who lives for a narcissistic, society-destroying, soul-crushing existence and thinks to themselves that¡¯s how life is supposed to be. They can all get fucked.¡±
¡°Why?¡± Ariana asked.
¡°Because I¡¯m in a fight with those assholes. And I¡¯m on my own with what I can do that¡¯s different from everyone else. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone like me. And that¡¯ll bring haters. But that¡¯s okay. You ain¡¯t doing anything worth a damn if you don¡¯t have haters.¡±
Zarian took a deep breath and said, ¡°You already know the words. I don¡¯t need to repeat myself here.¡±
The dream ended.
Chapter 83: Have Faith 2
Chapter 83: Have Faith 2
Zarian woke up and immediately knew it was night time. He rolled out of his bed and checked his body. Everything was working fine and back in order. Hell, he looked pretty good, honestly.
Had he put on more weight in muscle?
It wasn¡¯t much. But it was noticeable.
When he looked over to the side, he saw Para was still holding onto the dungeon core, and Reiki was still evolving. He smiled at his Parasite Cloak and patted her material. Para extended a tentacle and patted him on the head in return.
Next, he looked at notification waiting for him:
¡°Seriously, System? That puts me at 39 Strength. You couldn¡¯t squeeze out one more for me?¡± Zarian shook his head.
He knew he sounded ungrateful, but it was a little annoying to fall short of 40. His Agility was at 40 stat points. It would be nice for his Strength and Agility to match.
¡°Thanks, anyway.¡±Zarian used the private bathroom to shower and clean up. His ce was empty except for the very bare essentials. Everything else was packed up.
Zarian dressed in a loose shirt, pair of pants, and a pair of simple shoes. He had on his monocle, but no wizard hat this time around.
He went out of his room and found Loner leaning against the wall, his bony arms crossed over his ribcage. The other skeletons were spread out elsewhere, but Loner decided to hang around close to Zarian¡¯s bedroom like usual.
¡°How are you, Loner?¡± Zarian asked.
The goblin skeleton shrugged.
¡°You¡¯re just chillin like a viin as per usual, huh?¡±
Loner shrugged again.
Chuckling, Zarian nodded and turned down the hallway. Loner followed, skeletal body rattling the entire way. They were on their way to the kitchen when Zarian heard music ying.
He turned toward a backdoor leading out into thewn behind the mansion. Strange, he hadn¡¯t noticed there were so many people out back.
He checked on his spectral spiders, and they were all looking elsewhere. When they noticed his presence, they looked around everywhere but the backyard.
Zarian had to step out to get a look for himself. He saw there were more people here than the soldiers. He smelled the scent of tasty food and saw tables with spreads of edible delights. He saw multiple casks of beers stacked over each other, their the taps ready to pour into an awaiting mug. When he looked back at the people, there was a mixture of acolytes, soldiers, and well-dressed strangers.
But the strangers were very weak. He didn¡¯t even use Identify and he could tell. So they couldn¡¯t be nobles. He looked over to Loner who was walking off to find a corner to lean against, leaving Zarian to figure things out on his own.
Why does it feel like my summons are misguiding me on purpose?
Was this their attempt at a surprise?
Looking back to the event, he still didn¡¯t recognize any of the dressed up ones until he saw a familiar girl in a pretty dress. She had on rugged boots instead of proper dress shoes.
It was the little boot girl from the underground, and she was running around with other children while looking back. She ran into him again, bounced off, then looked up.
¡°Who are you?¡± asked the little boot girl.
¡°The one who invited you.¡± Zarian chuckled. ¡°I guess they had you cleaned up and given fresh clothes on top of the other stuff. Nice. I didn¡¯t even think of that.¡±
¡°Oh, you¡¯re him. Your skin is weird and dark. Is that because you¡¯re evil? I like your face, though. It¡¯s nice.¡±
¡°You have a talent for being annoying and adorable at the same time.¡± He flicked her forehead softly, and as she whined, he talked over her. ¡°I¡¯m from a different world. There are different skin colorations than what¡¯s present in Corma.¡±
¡°Is that because of magic?¡±
Zarian chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. I¡¯m what¡¯s known as a Floridian, and so are my friends. Anyway, are you having fun with this shindig that¡¯s happening because of me?¡±
¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fun. I¡¯m all healed because of the nice healer man. And I¡¯m so full I can throw up. But one boy said this is all going to go away once you leave. So we all say ¡®What¡¯s the point?¡¯¡±
¡°Do you feel a little stronger and more capable?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°Just maybe you¡¯ll make the most out of it. If you don¡¯t, then I can¡¯t help with that. Or maybe I can if Ie by again. Just try your best in the meantime.¡±
¡°Mm, okay. That old White Rose says there¡¯ll be a new orphanage soon. And it¡¯ll teach stuff so we can do special work and earn enough to be Low Roses. Can you imagine? Me, a noble? Can¡¯t be a flower and get picked, I guess. It¡¯s not even happening here. We¡¯ll have to go elsewhere, somewhere safer, he says. Maybe I¡¯ll try my best there.¡±
Arnold must know that the civil war will happen and is trying to move those he can help.
Zarian hadn¡¯t told the man directly. But it wouldn¡¯t surprise Zarian if Lovewar had given Serveserf a heads up. After all, the White rose of Serveserf was here instead of the White Rose of Lovewar, who was probably getting staged for the civil war toe.
¡°Exactly. Try your best. Run off now. Go have fun. Or I¡¯ll curse you with my evil.¡±
He let his evil alignment brush gently over the little boot girl and her gaggle of friends while using a touch of his Uncanny Valley. The kids shrieked and ran away, some of themughing while also frightened.
Zarian chuckled. He would make a killing if he ever had a haunted house business. Maybe he could mix it with a coffee shop.
This world didn¡¯t have coffee. He should ask Luciana for coffee beans. Getting haunted before having a coffee sounded like a winning strategy.
Putting aside his musings, Zarian walked around. People had already taken note of him, since his Parasite Cloak and the dungeon core were easy giveaways.
He didn¡¯t mind the attention as he listened to some bardic music yed by a few talented fellows at the center of the shindig. He plucked up whatever he found tasty from the food tables and poured himself a drink. Then he slid into the dark background and watched everything proceed as he wolfed down food like a ravenous monster.
They all looked ¡ happy.
Eager. Thrilled. Surprised. Uncertain. And willing.
He overheard conversations of newly anointed noble soldiers giving out business ideas to stir up the economy. Some soldiers would want some hands to help as serfs.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The feudal stuff was still iffy, but at least the new nobles were putting forth ideals of payment, room, food, andforts. The new nobledies, acolytes of Lovewar, were more forward-thinking and sharing ideas about a school system.
It was nice to hear. Zarian figured he wasn¡¯t here to change everything, but he was clearly having an impact holding a charity event like this. In an environment of giving, people were more open to express kindness and do more acts closer to altruism.
Zarian stayed out of all the positive conversations while he feasted and drank. Thankfully, everyone at the event recognized he wanted some alone time to fill his stomach.
He was just finishing up when his spectral spiders found someone outside of the perimeter. With no hesitation, he cast Void Step twice. Once to grab up food from the tables and stack it on arge tter. He took someone¡¯s mug from their hands since it was already filled.
Then the second Void Step took him to a lone side street between mansions where the Infernal Witch lurked. She was clearly curious about the event Zarian was holding.
Seeing his sudden appearance, she jolted back, her hands raised to use an ability. Zarian waved her down before offering some food. The witch gawked at the offering.
¡°What¡¯s this for?¡±
¡°We¡¯re the only evil ones around. I figured you¡¯re okay enough for me to share this with you.¡±
¡°Yeah, well, there has to be an angle,¡± the witch hissed. ¡°It ain¡¯t evil without an angle.¡±
¡°What if I told you that there isn¡¯t much of an angle than to just share?¡± Zarian stepped closer. ¡°Besides, evil is only a tool and nothing more.¡±
¡°It is not a mere tool! Evil is a way of life. It is a devotion to fight against that which is so-called good. And we all know good isn¡¯t good. We all know good is unfair. At least with evil, it¡¯s upfront about how it¡¯s going to hurt. But you¡¯ll grow smart and powerful from it.¡±
¡°It¡¯s a tool just like anything else. You should control it instead of letting it control you.¡± Zarian waved the tter around. ¡°Are you going to take the food or not?¡±
The Infernal Witch looked up at his face, then down at the tter. She slowly took it from his hands. She sat against the wall and scooped food into her mouth fast while looking at him suspiciously.
¡°Why aren¡¯t you good aligned?¡± she asked. ¡°You¡¯ll benefit more from that, won¡¯t you?¡±
Zarian chuckled. ¡°Evil suits me better. The good alignment has some restrictions that are concerning. With evil, I can do all the good I want and still have the smarts of evil at my disposal when I need it.¡±
¡°Why would the evil gods support that when you contradict our nature?¡±
Zarian wondered if he should tell her that some of the major gods of good and evil have amicable rtionships with each other. The specifics surrounding the rtionships of Shadowfell and Lovewar or Serveserf and Hisscreep were lost to lesser mortals.
However, Zarian imagined they could separate business and friendship somehow. Just like how he had to separate his friendship and partnership with Luciana.
¡°I¡¯m going back to the party,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Take care of yourself, Evelyn.¡±
¡°Oh, bastard, you used Identify on me. How did I not notice? You know that¡¯s rude!¡± she shouted.
Zarian chuckled as he cast Void Step and returned to the party. He stopped where he left his beer. Someone was waiting for him.
Naomi.
¡°Hey,¡± Zarian said.
Naomi smiled, cocky and beautiful, assertive and daring. ¡°I¡¯m Level 42, and I¡¯ve gotten the first stage of Aura Ignition.¡±
¡°Oh,,. Congrats, congrats. You¡¯re really bing the badass we all knew you would be.¡±
She sauntered around him in a dress that was morous and showy, hugging tight to her best features. She stopped at his side. ¡°Gilbert¡¯s Level 41, by the way.¡±
Zarian sighed with relief. They all had their first advancements. He was tempted to use Identify on her to see what changed, but he wanted her to tell him. Naomi was drawing it out, and Zarian figured this was her being petty about how he¡¯d drawn it out earlier.
¡°Gilbert¡¯s legendary. He¡¯s a Knighted Healer.¡±
¡°Fancy. I guess we have a knight now. Bianca¡¯s happy ain¡¯t she?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
There was a pause. Naomi hesitated. Then, with a sigh, she said, ¡°I¡¯m only epic. Rumble Psion. My other options were trash. I had one legendary that would forgo what I¡¯ve built toward.¡±
She sounded down. Zarian ced his hand on the back of her neck and rubbed around with his thumb. She leaned into it for a little while.
Then Naomi brightened. ¡°I got outstanding.¡±
¡°Outstanding?¡±
¡°I get +7 Free points per level now.¡±
¡°Nice! God damn good job.¡± Zarian nodded, thrilled. ¡°Gilbert?¡±
¡°Exceptional.¡±
That meant Zarian and Naomi were the only ones the System had deemed outstanding. However, Naomi was still one point behind Bianca, Hannah, and Gilbert, while two points behind Zarian. She would have to work harder than everyone else to make up for it.
Hell, out of everyone, Foodie¡¯s mythical cooking would probably serve Naomi the best. The two of them now shared the power of Aura Ignition.
Oh, yeah, I¡¯ll have to tell everybody about the Castle Grimrock issue.
He also had twenty high value levels to distribute. He was tempted to dole them out now. But there was also the option of waiting until they made the most out of the Level 40s and 50s by getting levels from their next adventure.
There was no rule against holding onto the high value levels untilter, right?
I could use it on myself and shoot up to Level 73.
Zarianughed at that thought. If he did that, then he wouldn¡¯t be fighting much for a little while. He would be too OP for the area.
Granted, he would then focus more on studying his grimoires and doing other side activities. He would have to wait for his party members to catch up to him however long that would take, which could take some serious time, honestly.
¡°Hey, get out of your head.¡± Naomi shot him a sharp look.
¡°Yeah, yeah, so congrattions, again! You¡¯re going to make the most out of Rumble Psion, no doubt. With that said, is it time for me to get yelled at for nearly dying again?¡± Zarian asked.
Come on, do it. I¡¯m totally going to yell back. You nearly killed yourself with Aura Ignition.
Naomi fell silent for a while. Then she said, ¡°If I can be there to fight for you, take the hits for you, I¡¯ll do it. If I have to die for you, I¡¯ll do it.¡±
Zarian lost his edge and waspletely taken aback. ¡°Whoa, wait. Chill out, Naomi. Where is thising from?¡±
¡°From the heart, Zarian. From what we are. We¡¯ll take the bullet for the people we care about any day of the week. I¡¯m upset I wasn¡¯t there when you left again. I¡¯m upset that I¡¯m struggling to keep up at times and no matter what I do, I still feel behind.¡±
Naomi sighed deeply, her hand over her chest. Then she smiled a little. ¡°In spite of all of that, I¡¯ll keep on struggling no matter what because I don¡¯t have an ounce of quit in me. So, no, I will not yell at you. I just want you to know I¡¯ll fight and die for you, because I know you¡¯re always ready to fight and die for me.¡±
Zarian was stunned. He shouldn¡¯t be. Naomi was quoting what Marines would do for each other.
The best fighting force in the old world wasn¡¯t just a bunch of savages. They were a band of brothers and sisters who would die for each other in any conflict.
But what Naomi was saying felt deeper and more personal. They were Marines and Floridians, but they were more than the sum of their parts, too.
Looking into Naomi¡¯s eyes, Zarian saw her tenacity and her passion. He saw more of her spirit.
Yeah, you got what it takes, Zarian thought. You can go the distance.
Naomi took his hand. ¡°Come dance with me. It¡¯s ourst night in this ce. Who knows how it¡¯ll look afterward. But tonight, we celebrate.¡±
Zarian couldn¡¯t resist. Not when Naomi had told him so much. Not when she was being different and open to him. She had him caught.
So they ended up in the middle of the dance where the music was loudest.
Zarian saw Bianca whirling around and making a shy fool of herself. He saw Gilbert and Arnold knocking back drinks. Both men were having a good time and seemed like the best of buddies now. He saw Hannah sitting in the corner, reading something, being a studious introvert, while still having a drink in hand.
Then Zarian looked back into Naomi¡¯s face. She guided his hand to her hip. She took his other hand smoothly into hers, their fingers intertwined.
Para extended a tentacle and deposited the dungeon core onto Hannah¡¯sp. The Runic Engineer¡¯s attention veered from her reading material to the evolving object of massive interest.
Para curled her tattered material around Zarian and Naomi. The Parasite Cloak kept them close and cozy as they danced.
¡°I fought assassins, gave a god the boot, and made another god look like an amateur twice,¡± Zarian blurted out.
¡°Yeah? Arnold was telling us you did some crazy stuff down underground, cleaning up what we didn¡¯t finish.¡± Naomi sucked her teeth yfully. ¡°One of these nights I¡¯ll run off and do my own solo adventure. And I won¡¯t tell you for days just to see you suffer from curiosity.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t.¡±
¡°Howe?¡±
¡°My spider is in your brain. I¡¯ll know where you¡¯ll go. I¡¯ll learn it all.¡±
Naomi snorted. ¡°You idiot.¡± She leaned her head on his shoulder. ¡°But I guess you¡¯re my idiot.¡±
Zarian felt warm inside. He felt warm where Naomi touched and held. He leaned into her. Para wrapped them up closer.
Tonight filled itself with enchanting festivities and great memories.
Tomorrow would be the dawn of a new adventure.
Chapter 84: Good Morning
Chapter 84: Good Morning
Zarian and Naomi were sitting side by side on the kitchen counter, their shoulders leaned up against each other. They were trading boot camp stories andughing at the hrious or embarrassing moments they¡¯d faced during their formative months as basic Marines.
There wasn¡¯t anything left in the kitchen. Everything was packed up, sold, or donated to a new charitable effort Arnold of Ambrose was setting up.
Zarian rubbed his hand over the fancy marble counter as he and Naomi had afortable lull in the conversation. Golden dawn light peaked through the windows in the gray, hazy morning. Another day arrived, and both Marines could hear the greatmotion of soldiers, acolytes, and friends stirring to action.
Thankfully, everything they needed for the caravan journey north was already prepared. The noble soldiers only needed to hitch up wagons to the hexaoxen and travel drakes, thetter beingrge, scaly beasts of burden who were sometimes easier to work with.
Apparently, there was no such thing as horses in this world. At least not the type that the Floridians would know.
¡°I thought you wanted to avoid all of this responsibility,¡± Naomi said, knocking her shoulder into his.
¡°I was a boy then. Now, as a man who can carry mountains on my shoulders, I don¡¯t mind as much. It¡¯s a new game to y.¡±
¡°Yeah?¡±
¡°Can I get a perfect score by keeping them all alive? At least until it¡¯s time to part ways.¡±¡°That¡¯s one heck of an escort mission.¡±
¡°In video games, people tend to hate escort missions. I can probably make it easier. Though it¡¯lle at a cost.¡±
Naomi turned and moved her face close to his. ¡°What¡¯s the cost?¡±
¡°I got a new divine achievement I¡¯ve kept to myself. I get to distribute a whopping twenty high value levels to anyone. I was holding back because I wonder if you guys would want to work for your levels on your own. Or take the boost?¡±
¡°Do you n to give yourself any?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t really need them at the moment.¡±
¡°What would you do if you took all of them?¡±
Zarian rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll focus more on studying my grimoires. Maybe work on side projects while you guys grind to catch up. But who knows how long that¡¯ll take.¡±
¡°You can always just hunt for bigger and greater challenges, no?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°Ah, there it is. I could. Then the gap between us will be so huge it¡¯ll feel like an ordion. Or rush hour traffic in Miami. Stop and go. Stop and go.¡± Zarian shook his head. ¡°I know everyone¡¯s in a rush. I should be, too, with the mounting challenges. But I refuse to leave my party behind. If I take the extra levels, I¡¯ll wait for you guys. Maybe I¡¯ll open up a store or something in the meantime.¡±
¡°You make it sound like you can start up a store lickety split or that we¡¯ll take forever to catch up.¡± Naomi growled with a cocky smile. ¡°I won¡¯t let you chill out for that long.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll see. For now, I¡¯m holding onto these. Maybe we¡¯ll use themter for emergency cases.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± Naomi extended her hand and forced the air to spiral around in front of her palm using her new Psychokinesis skill. She could move stuff around from afar or up close. The closer, the better. She also had two other skills called Overclock and Earth-Sky Meditation.
Zarian liked both of them. They suited Naomi very well.
Overclock was simr to Adrenaline Jolt but more internal for Naomi, boosting her mind and body. Earth-Sky Meditation required Naomi to calm her body and find tranquility, then she could boost her Wonder and Mysticism.
All her new skills, plus her gains in traits and stats as the epic Rumble Psion would¡¯ve ced her as the second most powerful easily if it wasn¡¯t for Bianca¡¯s legendary profile as the Light Princess and her good +3 alignment.
If Naomi had the good alignment and could get it to +1 at the very least, she would¡¯ve had Bianca beaten for sure.
It seemed like a tie between the two now.
¡°This is fun.¡± Naomi smiled as she sent motes of dust swirling in a cyclone. They glinted in the golden dawn light beaming through the empty kitchen.
¡°I¡¯m d you like it.¡± Zarian nodded. ¡°I think it¡¯s fun, too.¡±
He watched her y with her Psychokinesis. She made another mini dust cyclone. Then shebined the first and the second into a bigger cyclone and moved it over Zarian¡¯s head.
She yed a game of ¡®I¡¯m Not Touching You¡¯ like an annoying brat until Zarian concentrated on his aura with pure maniption. He condensed a chunk until his aura became visibly dark in the air. Then he shoved it against her dust cyclone and disrupted it.
Naomi¡¯s mouth opened in surprise. ¡°That wasn¡¯t Straight Darkness.¡±
¡°Nope. Pure aura maniption and Dark Affinity. Get wrecked.¡±
¡°No fair!¡± She lunged at him. They shed softly, their limbs entwining, hands grappling for position and holds.
Zarian fended her off, but Naomi was tenacious, pushing his head against the wall and cranking his neck awkwardly. They thrashed about on the counter until they rolled off and fell to the floor, causing some minor damage here and there, but nothing too immense.
Zarian didn¡¯t even bother trying to out-muscle her and focused more on technique. Naomi¡¯s growth made her so physically strong it was like grappling with a miniature giant.
She could win outright if she wanted, but she kept giving him opportunities to fight back. Since she didn¡¯t press down on him too hard, he found an opening to flip her over. He mounted her. She remained under him.
¡°When did you start ying soft?¡± Zarian questioned.
Naomi hesitated. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be mean all the time, not to you or my, um, friends.¡±
Naomi sounded like she was struggling with her genuine emotions.
Zarian gasped. I always knew she liked everybody, but now she¡¯s verbalizing it more. When did Naomi be so cute?
The Rumble Psion squinted up at him. Instead of shoving him off, she looked away with a pout. ¡°Don¡¯t make a big deal of it, okay? I¡¯m just ¡ easing up ¡ because it¡¯s you.¡±
He held back from teasing. Instead, he got off of her and offered her his hand, and she took it gracefully. He helped her up and took a moment to look her over.
Despite theirfortable attitude with theing morning, they were both dressed for a new chapter in their Star System life. Their sleek adventure-ready outfits, the Wolf Dragon Hunters, were epic and tailored for them.
Hannah had made the Wolf Dragon Hunters herself, pushing her capabilities as a budding crafter while maximizing her abilities as the legendary Runic Engineer in a small amount of time. The outfits were brown and green leather bodysuits. No metal tes needed.
Hannah hadyered her best enchantments using the advanced versions of Amplify Force, Reinforcement, Might, Haste, Blend, Quiet, and Recharge for each wearer. She even took the time to make a version that diverged between men and women, just for the sake of vanity.
Naomi¡¯s version showed off her legs between her boots and the mid-thigh covering. Zarian¡¯s version showed off his arms between the gauntlets and his leather pauldrons. Hannah¡¯s enchantments covered every part of the body regardless of their skin being exposed as long as they wore each piece of the Wolf Dragon Hunter.
¡°I feel like I¡¯m going to a convention.¡± Naomi turned about slowly to show off. ¡°Nice fit, though. It¡¯sfortable all over. Mypliments to Hannah for considering how I¡¯m shaped.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know how she can¡¯t consider it.¡± Zarian snorted. ¡°Your butt is big.¡±
She kicked at him lightly, which would¡¯ve put him through the wall if itnded. Thankfully, it was a slow kick that gave him plenty of time to sidle out of the way.
He ran into Gilbert, the big man striding in. Gilbert wore his Wolf Dragon Hunter suit like he was some barbaric prince from a savagend. He¡¯d even let his beard grow out, which gave him a more rugged look, which worked well with his cowboy-like wizard hat.
¡°Stop all your fooling around, you two. I¡¯m not going to be the only one wrangling around these knucklehead youngsters. They¡¯re all tripping over each other like excited pups and kittens, barely knowing what to do with themselves.¡±
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Despite the disapproval in Gilbert¡¯s tone, Zarian could tell the man was in a good mood. He¡¯d helped a lot of people yesterday, which leveled him up and pushed his Healing Force +1 skill up to the twenties.
Gilbert could heal from further out and with more potency. That and his legendary Knighted Healer ss came with some excellent abilities that suited him very well.
¡°Is this where the party¡¯s at?¡± Bianca swept into the room.
Her elven princess dress glittered, fluttered, and dazzled like usual. She was still bare-foot, strangely, but she recently purchased an alchemy vial from an apothecary.
The alchemy potion should make it easier to protect and maintain her feet. There wouldn¡¯t be many enchanted pedicures on the road to North Crown Peak, at least not for the next week.
¡°Do you mean party as in our group or actual party? Because we had a partyst night, Bianca. You were tipsy enough to sing merengue or something of the sort,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°I¡¯m still struggling with rolling the R¡¯s by the way.¡±
¡°Oh, yeah, well, we can fix that on the road. Oh, can you ¡?¡± Bianca trailed off.
Gilbert rolled his eyes before sending a thick pulse of healing into Bianca. It was inefficient to use his Healing Force +1 for anything other than healing bodily injuries and buffing up the health of someone¡¯s vitality.
Still, Gilbert could help with poisons and even perk someone up a little outside of direct healing.
¡°Ah, nice, nice. I¡¯m very thankful. You are the best knight a princess can ever have.¡± Bianca turned about. She smiled at Naomi, and the other woman looked away. Bianca gave Naomi some weird stares before slowly turning away to look out the doors. ¡°Where¡¯s Hannah? She knows to meet us here. It¡¯s practically tradition.¡±
Zarian was going to say that Hannah was on her way with Arnold, but something caught his attention elsewhere in the town. He had his Spectral Spider Network +1 spread far across Central Bramblevale, beneath the town, on the town rooftops, and even beyond the town walls.
As long as he kept the spectral spider skill in his alpha section, he could send them further out and stay connected with them. So when he received an urgent ping from a spectral spider, he traced the alert to its origins and saw through the senses of the spectral spider calling him.
The main gate to Central Bramblevale was opening. The drawbridge was already down, connecting thend on the other side of the massive moat outside.
The guards and soldiers stood aside as mist rushed through the gate and obscured vision of who or what wasing in. The morning was slightly misty already, but today promised to be a bright and clear er.
The iing mist entering through the main gate shouldn¡¯t be so thick, nor should it move so fast while maintaining its consistency.
The spectral spider couldn¡¯t see what was lurking inside. It couldn¡¯t even hear any noise from the rushing mist. Everything inside of it waspletely obscured.
That was magic at work.
Zarian flipped his focus to another spectral spider observing from the ledge of a stone tower. He saw the mist take an unnatural turn down a street and continue its rushing movement.
¡°Everyone, I need you to see something. I¡¯m activating your mind spiders,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Still creepy, but okay,¡± Gilbert said.
Zarian activated the spiders in each of his party member¡¯s heads. He directed each person to follow his lead.
They had to volunteer to go where he wanted them sensory wise. They all epted and saw through another spectral spider that was still ahead of the rushing mist.
The spider was on a street that led to the mansions, specifically the ones that housed acolytes and had chapels in worship of the gods. The mist wasing straight toward the Lovewar Mansion.
Zarian shifted from the spectral spider to Hannah. He invited the others, cramming into Hannah¡¯s head. She was standing in front of Arnold, who looked concerned down at Hannah as she readjusted from the sensory movements of multiple people, as well as herself.
Then Zarian pushed even further for more ess to Hannah¡¯s brain. She had to ept, and when she did, he spoke through her while using her mouth and voice.
¡°Arnold, real quick, this is me, Zarian. Don¡¯t give me that funny look. This is serious. Do you know anyone who controls mist and canpletely conceal themselves and others inside of it while running through the streets?¡± Zarian asked.
Arnold¡¯s eyes flew open. He pivoted on his heels and moved with fast strides for the way out front. Hannah followed as Arnold spoke.
¡°That would be the White Rose of Kingsblood! If he¡¯s here, then he¡¯s bringing the White Roses of Purehome and Purgehunt with him, along with the Royal Guards.¡±
Hannah took control of her mouth for a moment. ¡°That isn¡¯t in the reports I¡¯ve read unless the kingdom has kept this power very secretive.¡±
They knew of Arnold and the ones for Purehome and Purgehunt at least. The other White Roses, such as the one for Kingsblood, were more secretive.
Zarian took over again and spoke through Hannah¡¯s mouth. ¡°I imagine Arnold would know more than us.¡±
Arnold nodded. ¡°Yes, well, the White Rose of Kingsblood wouldn¡¯t allow many to live and know of this ability. This is the type of maneuver where they¡¯ll rush your defenses and take you by surprise.¡±
¡°What can you tell us?¡± Zarian asked, still speaking through Hannah.
¡°They¡¯ll have fifty Royal Guards at most, but best believe they aren¡¯t just guards, they¡¯re the best fighting force the kingdom has who aren¡¯t White Roses. They won¡¯t hold anything back. If they break your barrier, they¡¯ll kill everyone.¡±
¡°Can you fight?¡± Zarian asked through Hannah¡¯s mouth.
¡°I must fight. We both know this kingdom is going to meet its end soon. I will stand with you even if this is the end of my days as a White Rose.¡± The corner of Arnold¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Oh, but I must admit it burns to fight alongside a gnoll elder.¡±
Zarian would¡¯veughed if the situation wasn¡¯t serious. Someone was going to ruin his perfect escort game, and it hadn¡¯t even started! He stayed focused. ¡°Who can you fight?¡±
¡°The White Rose of Kingsblood is the Sixth Guardian. He always bested me by the slimmest of margins.¡±
¡°Then make good use of my gift. I¡¯ll take on the White Roses of Purehome and Purgehunt. Naomi, Bianca, Gilbert, Hannah, and the skelly boys will fight the Royal Guard.¡±
¡°Wait, what? You can¡¯t be serious! That¡¯s too much!¡± Arnold shouted.
Zarian didn¡¯t bother exining anymore. He retracted himself from Hannah, and so did the others. Everyone was on the move to leave the mansion now.
Para extended through the slits in the back of Zarian¡¯s bodysuit and reached farther behind him. Like always, she appeared as his powerful, monstrous, and leathery cloak.
He kept the hood down. He was unafraid of the light these days, and he had a more appropriate head attire.
Summoning his wizard hat instead, Zarian felt itnd snuggly over his head, its wide brim shading his face in deep darkness. He wore his monocle next, which had its enchantment changed once more.
It still made him look wiser and older, but it also enhanced his vision acuity to a high degree, making it easier to notice small details and see through blinding effects.
Zarian, his party, and Arnold congregated outside. Soldiers, acolytes, and their friends fromst night were making final preparations with the wagons and the animals before saying farewell. Under the rising sun, these people had no idea their own kingdom¡¯s elite forces were rushing in to wipe them all out.
Making some snap judgment calls, Zarian distributed the high value levels. He gave Arnold five levels. He gave each party member two levels. Then he heaped on seven levels for himself.
Zarian dumped all of his Free points into Mysticism, pushing it all the way to 420 at the base amount. It was 525 with the Overpower trait.
¡°My lords anddies, good morning!¡± Rnd said cheerily.
Zarian smiled. ¡°It is a good morning, isn¡¯t it? Perfect for kicking jerks and gods in the crotch so they know who¡¯s boss.¡±
¡°Uh, what?¡± Rnd looked like Zarian took a piss in his morning oats.
That was okay. The young man didn¡¯t need to understand just yet. But he could provide a service by holding onto something precious.
Zarian reached over and grabbed the dungeon core Hannah was still holding onto. He passed it into Rnd¡¯s hands and gave the young Garden Officer Cadet a meaningful look.
¡°I will protect it with my life,¡± Rnd said.
Zarian nodded before he stepped ahead of the others, turned on his heels, and gave them a sharp two-finger salute with a confident smile. The others replied in their own ways.
Gilbert tipped his hat at Zarian before he used his new Summon Spirit Steed skill andunched onto the back of a majestic eight-legged horse called a Sleipnir.
Gilbert yipped and hee-hawed. His massive and powerful steed reared up into the air and kicked its many legs. Then Gilbert reached down and took Hannah¡¯s hand, helping her get on the back of his steed as his co-rider. Hannah summoned her hard hat before they rode away fast on the Sleipnir.
Naomi summoned her witch hat. She rushed forward, patted Zarian on the shoulder, and then sprinted straight toward the action. She moved with the power of a mini She-Hulk, the earth quaking with each footfall.
Summoning her feathery wizard hat, Bianca touched grass with her bare foot and zipped forward. She gave Zarian two Spanish-style kisses, one for each cheek. Then she sped away in a flurry of lights and elven grace, following behind Naomi.
Behind them, Zarian¡¯s ten skeletons dashed forth. They made no rattling noises as they stalked toward the iing mist. They all had their own enchanted weapons Hannah had provided, plus their usual enchantments. Loner and Hasty were up at the front of the skeletal charge.
¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Arnold asked, incredulous.
¡°Yes, very much so,¡± Zarian answered.
¡°My lords, what is the matter? Are we still in trouble with the local forces?¡± Rnd asked, cradling the dungeon core like it was his child. Head Acolyte Lora was standing next to him, and she was just as concerned.
More soldiers, acolytes, and innocent bystanders looked bewildered at the ensuing conflict. Their pack animals bellowed or hissed, both types of beasts able to sense something was wrong. Granted, most of them could see Zarian¡¯s party and the skeletons rushing at the iing mist that barreled up the street.
¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong, Rnd. Just clearing some obstacles. You and the others will be fine,¡± Zarian said. ¡°And Arnold, I¡¯m feeling very sure of myself. Do make sure to beat the Kingsblood Rose, okay? I¡¯ll be ashamed of you if you can¡¯t do that much with all the help you¡¯re getting from me, a gnoll elder.¡±
¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare bring such dishonor,¡± Arnold said resolutely.
¡°FOUL EVIL!¡± roared an unfamiliar man from the other side of the barrier.
¡°Oh, that¡¯s my cue.¡± Zarian summoned his grimoires before he cast Void Step.
Meanwhile, the man who¡¯d yelled lunged into the air with a super jump, breaking free of the rushing mist. The man was dressed simrly to Arnold, wearing a white suit with white gloves and a white rose pin.
Instead of a liquid metal sword, the attacking White Rose held up a long javelin of white mes that burned with an intensity that was beyond epic, beyond legendary, and could only be divine.
He was wielding an ability infused with a god-given boon, and he pointed the tip of his ming white javelin at the barrier and all the people staged behind it.
Noble soldiers, wishful acolytes, and new friends alike looked up to see their oing doom at the hands of dogmatic good and its merciless persecution of evil and innocents alike. The angry White Rose only needed to sling his arm forward and let the divinely influenced javelin do the rest.
¡°FACE THY JUDGMENT AND BE SCOURED BY THE POWER OF PURGEHUNT!¡±
¡°You can Purgehunt these nuts,¡± Zarian said, stepping out of the void midair.
He fell in a casual arc in front of the White Rose of Purgehunt. In Zarian¡¯s hand was an orb of darkness he¡¯d created in the void. He let it go as a void-enhanced dark bolt, ramming into the chest of the Purgehunt Rose.
Chapter 85: Warming Up
Chapter 85: Warming Up
Zarian hadn¡¯t lived a great life before the Infinita Star System.
He¡¯d grown up in the worst end of the foster care program. He¡¯d existed as an outcast at school. He¡¯d left the Marines with a bad conduct discharge. He¡¯d lived on the streets for a while, with a little sister only he could see while his dark magic was emerging, all of which could¡¯ve been made up or part of his craziness.
Months after opening a portal to another world, Zarian was having the time of his life. He was a legendary Level 60 Madness Wizard, jam-packed with aura circting inside and outside of his body. His mysticism was outrageously high, greater than the rest of his statsbined.
Mysticism enhanced the control of magic. It heightened magical ingenuity. It quickened the regeneration of aura. His Aura Channeler and Basic Aura Maniption traits worked better when he had higher Mysticism, enabling him to apply more of the brute force method with his aura.
Hell, he even had Void Mysticism, a trait that elevated void-based abilities by partially scaling with Mysticism. Void abilities mainly scaled with Wonder, so even there, Zarian¡¯s Mysticism was king.
Not all of his abilities were optimized to run on Mysticism.
Adrenaline Jolt was the worst offender as a skill that only scaled with Agility, and it was already weakened as a Level 0 beta skill. But Zarian had aura maniption, and in a roundabout way, he could push all of his skills to their limit by having a huge foundation in Mysticism.
Would he always choose Mysticism over everything else?
Not always.He could use more points in Willpower and Wonder. Those two stats were key in multiple areas in his build. But for today, Zarian was gung ho to y up the mystical side to his profile.
After all, he had Straight Darkness +2 in his alpha section this time around. The alpha section also included Parasite Cloak +1, Spectral Spider Network +1, Summon Wizard Hat +1, and Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Prince for a maximum of five alpha skills.
His other skills, Grimoire of ck Magic 102, Grimoire of the Dread Mire Hell Gator, Tranquil Mind, Adrenaline Jolt, Willful Might, Wondrous Speed, Mystic Toughness, Rune Alteration, were in the beta section. They served as supportive abilities, even if some of them were Level 0s. He could boost them all with his aura maniption.
Thus, he was living up to his im as the most bullshit wizard across thends. And on this very morning, despite theck of darkness, he felt like he¡¯d unshackled himself.
He felt like Goku when he removed his weighted clothing in a tournament fight against Tien. Sometimes it was easy to forget how stupidly powerful he was without restraints.
Zarian was quickly reminded of his overpowered nature when he watched a man who was older, higher in level, and more experienced than him take a void-enhanced dark bolt to the chest and get sted out of the sky.
The Purgehunt Rose plummeted like a streaking meteor toward a poorer and emptier district far across town, which Zarian had aimed for on purpose.
The initial impact of the bolt colliding with the antagonistic White Rose sent waves of thunderous force through the air. The Lovewar Barrier shimmered and rippled in the face of the eruption. The mist below billowed and ttened from the gale force windsing down.
Para the Parasite Cloak shifted and fanned out like wings, catching the explosive air waves to send Zarian corkscrewing around before entering a smooth glide during his descent. He had his hand on his face as heughed the whole time.
It was too bright and golden in the morning for such augh. But he sounded like a viin stalking through the night, his presence dimming the glory of a new day.
The twin suns seemed less impactfulpared to the dark shadow he cast upon the fighters below. Perhaps not physically, but definitely in the moral sense, at least when affecting the guys who weren¡¯t on Zarian¡¯s side.
The White Rose of Purehome tried to wrap a spherical barrier around Zarian from all sides. The solidified magic sphere closed in quickly to crush him into a pulp.
It was still too slow as Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind ran through the alien symbols and runes of the Void Step spell. He cast it right on time and took a quick and direct exit back to the street, leaving him uncrushed.
¡°Let me take a closer look at things just in case,¡± Zarian said merrily, hands in his leg pockets, which were convenient andfy.
Hannah hadn¡¯t skipped out on anything when she designed the Wolf Dragon Hunter suits. The pockets had quality felt-lining, too.
The White Rose of Purgehunt was still alive. He was a tough guy. But he was no spring chicken, so he didn¡¯t bounce back just yet.
That gave Zarian time to see the cmity his party of Floridians and skeletons brought to the table against the Royal Guard. Zarian was also there to act as a deterrent to the White Rose of Purehome by throwing a constant volley of thunderous dark bolts at the barrier-user so his people could do their work.
Already, the mist around the main area of fighting was clearing, which meant Arnold of Ambrose was doing his job of giving the White Rose of Kingsblood a hard time. The breaking of the mist, at least in some spots, was important for one of Zarian¡¯s key party members as they fought the kingdom¡¯s most elite fighting force below the White Roses.
The Royal Guards were in the high Level 50s. They were armored like knights of fantasy with a mix of oiled leather and polished steel. They wore an insignia of a golden rose on their breastte. They each wielded halberds as their chief weapons whileing equipped with swords and knives as backup.
They didn¡¯t use special abilities like the White Roses. But their knightly abilities came with rare-quality power and well-practiced technique drilled into them for years. By all means, they should be the better of the Outsiders who¡¯d only known this world for a few months.
But the Outsiders were simply stronger and more spectacr. Their legendary sses, and even their one epic ss, were leaps and bounds better than the rare sses of the Royal Guards.
Additionally, all of the Level 0 skills Zarian had copied into their profiles made them greater than the sum of their parts. They were faster, mightier, and tougher than they should be, even if only a little bit more than the norm. But that was more than enough to make a difference plus everything else they had in their advantage.
Bianca made the Royal Guards look like they were ten levels below her andplete amateurs. The Level 43 Light Princess took on six of them on her own. All at once.
Her many-colored elven dress fluttered and glimmered in the wake of her speedy movements as she reached up and caught the shining morning light breaking through the weakening mist. She pulled away streams and bands of honey-gold light as she frolicked around, between pockets of magic mist and murderous men, which was an image that Zarian thought deserved to be illustrated in arge and fancy painting.
The Royal Guards rushed her with explosive movements. Halberds swung in and thrust toward her body as each attacker leveraged their superhuman speed and strength.
They all struck with so much force they would easily crush boulders or smash down fortified walls. They could shake an entire hillside, let alone the street, with those hits. But all of their blows passed through nothing but mist, air, and an illusion of light.
Bianca reappeared behind two of the Royal Guards. In her hands, currents of morning light bent into solid forms until she held twin light sabers, both curved with a hard and hot edge, one for each hand.
With a flourish, she pivoted about, her twin sabers shing. She cut through the enchanted armor of the Royal Guards. Her attacks weren¡¯t instant deaths, but the way she had the injured men backpedaling, their armor melting where they she had cut them, gave reason for Zarian to believe Bianca could dominate just fine.
The same was said for Gilbert and Hannah, who turned out to be a surprisingly excellent duo while around each other. Gilbertunched off his eight-legged steed and crashed into a Royal Guard with his Hardened Silk Tower Shield. Hended in a position to defend the back of Icicle, the gnoll skeleton Runic Freezer.
The more Gilbert fought in the defense of others while working with his steed, the more dynamic and incredible the Knighted Healer could be. Better yet, his Sleipnir matched his physicality and kicked and stomped at the Royal Guard with a bestial aggression.
Still, the Royal Guards had more years of experience than him and his steed. They could still overwhelm him if they could surround him.
But the Royal Guards had other problems, one of which was Hannah, as she purposefully hacked the enchantments of their armor and twisted their runes against the Royal Guards. She made it harder for them to move. She made their weapons weaker. She made every enemy who used an enchantment in her vicinity be more vulnerable.
Better yet, that wasn¡¯t the most dangerous part about her now. She¡¯d picked up a lot from crawling the Devouring Librarian Dungeon, such as learning to shoot a destructive green-tinted beam from her Runic Gauntlet.
Hannah achieved the first kill before the rest of the party by striking a man in his exposed face where his helmet didn¡¯t cover. She stripped him of his vitality so fast the skin and flesh weren¡¯t done melting off his skull before the corpse dropped.
Naomi came in second by a close margin. It took her a few seconds to pummel a Royal Guard into the cobblestone with raining punches that shook up the street.
By the time she finished and faced other Royal Guards with their halberds swinging down at her like guillotines, she left the ttened tin can armor and mushy remains in a deep crater.
This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
¡°Hannah got the first kill,¡± Zarian said casually through a spectral spider on Naomi¡¯s shoulder.
He was still walking around while shooting heavy dark bolts at the White Rose of Purehome. He figured he had enough time to instigate a little and see the results.
Zarian wasn¡¯t disappointed.
¡°DAMMIT!¡± Naomi roared, letting go of her calm.
She turned her frustration inward while constructing a wall of force around her body with her Psychokinesis skill. She condensed it, hardened it, until she had a barrier lined along the edges of her body, matching with some enchantments on her Wolf Dragon Hunter suit, doubling up on her defense.
That way, when the Royal Guards hammered and hacked at her with their halberds, thebination of psionic energy and advanced enchantments knocked away their blows and kept her unharmed.
Still, the Royal Guards kept mming their halberds at her with so much force the street rocked and Naomi sunk downward. They hammered and hammered until they broke the street underneath and fell into the storm drain and underground tunnels below, creating arge pitfall.
A few secondster, the sound of an implosion resonated from the pitfall. Aura rushed outward and inward in a split second¡¯s time.
Zarian paid sharp attention to the magnificence of Naomi¡¯s foolhardy but optimal Aura Ignition/First Stage. The epic trait flooded her body with rapid streams of aura that wanted to tear her apart. But until she fell under the pressure, the first stage of Aura Ignition boosted her physicality to incredible heights.
The Royal Guards who¡¯d fallen into the pit with her, trapping themselves with a beast of a woman, screamed like they were facing an enormous monster. Their voices were drowned out by Naomi¡¯s roar as she went berserk on them.
Each of her strikes shook the entire street and the nearest walls and foundations of the mansionpounds in the area. Every screaming man stuck underground with her faced a armor-ttening, flesh-sttering death.
The nearest Royal Guards to the carnage were losing confidence, losing discipline behind their formation, and losing theirrades rapidly, which was not only the fault of Zarian¡¯s party members, the four Floridians who stuck with him.
The skeletons, led by Loner, were doing their part to tip the scales by ganging up on individual Royal Guards.
Unlike the Floridians, the skeletons didn¡¯t portray themselves as the strongest of their ss around. Instead, they focused on being efficient and monstrous, attacking any gap in the Royal Guards¡¯ armor while beating on them with all of their various abilities.
Mighty used his enchanted Strength to grapple a Royal Guard down while mer poured elemental embers into the man¡¯s face. Glowy shed Royal Guards with searing light while other skeletons attacked from behind, using team-based tactics.
Loner was the only skeleton who attacked with his own power in direct one-on-one situations with Royal Guards, which were almost even except for Loner having the benefit of Hannah¡¯s wide-reaching enchanting on the field.
Inevitably, the Royal Guards fell to Hannah¡¯s maniptions of their own runes while Loner¡¯s enchantments rose in effectiveness as he pummeled his foes with huge vibrating blows.
Not everything was perfect for Zarian¡¯s party. Bianca couldn¡¯t avoid every hit from the experienced Royal Guards. Hannah suffered blows that threw her off her feet and sent her tumbling around like a rag doll. Naomi was tearing herself apart while maintaining her Aura Ignition and hitting way too far above her own toughness. And, of course, Gilbert took the greatest amount of punishment as he charged into the Royal Guards like he had a death wish.
That worked out perfectly fine, because the more Gilbert rued damage, the mightier his Strength and healing grew. He fixed up the others lickety split and capitalized on another new skill of his: Sacrificial Blow.
Gilbert punched a Royal Guard so hard the breastte folded inward and the man flew backward as quick as a fast ball.
The Sacrificial Blow skill grew stronger the more Gilbert invested his own health into the skill or took damage while exchanging a blow.
The only thing Gilbert was missing was a proper weapon. None of Hannah¡¯s enchantments could take advantage of Gilbert¡¯s unique build just yet. But at least Gilbert was finding his groove and keeping the party healthy regardless of mistakes made.
Even with all of that, there were still a few too many Royal Guards for Zarian¡¯s liking. The enemy even had a healer on their side, which mitigated some of the damage and deaths they would¡¯ve suffered faster.
While Zarian¡¯s party was talented and amazing, the Royal Guards had just enough experience and numbers on their side to push for their own luck and turn things around. Hence, why Zarian waited for the turning point where one or two Royal Guards could catch his people off guard and dismantle them.
¡°First, their healer,¡± Zarian said.
Zarian pointed his finger and shot the healer of the Royal Guards through his armor with a dark bullet. He hit the healer¡¯s heart and sent the dark bullet bursting out the back of the man¡¯s armor.
Healer, eliminated.
Zarian then turned and shot another Royal Guard in the forehead, making his entire head explode along with his helmet. That guy had a special skill for swinging out magic crescents from a distance. He¡¯d struck Hannah a few too many times for Zarian¡¯s liking and nearly lopped her head off.
Crescent man, eliminated.
Zarian shot two more Royal Guards because they were acting too smart and looking for opportunities to strike down Bianca from behind. Then Zarian gave one Royal Guard the upward spike treatment before he could swing an extremely powerful blow to Gilbert¡¯s neck and behead his party¡¯s main healer.
Smarty pants one, smarty pants two, and the would-be beheader, all eliminated.
Zarian was about to kill another one when Naomi veered with a sudden turn and flew in like a streakinget covered in ming and crackling greenish blue aura. She hit Zarian¡¯s next target so hard his entire body burst apart like someone taking a hammer to a watermelon.
Naomi kept barreling around like crazy. Not always urate. Definitely a little out of control. But she was making a tremendous impact. She ensured there was no recovering or rallying of the Royal Guards.
So much so, she cleared more of the mist through the sheer force of her wild rampage. She allowed more morning light to beam down. And with more light, Bianca seriously started to snow ball now, wielding her dual light sabers and chargedser beams. She sliced deeper and hotter through Royal Guards with a swing of her sabers, and she shot the ones who tried to escape her with intense beams of light that either killed them instantly or had them screaming in pain before they died.
All of that was quite scary since Bianca was a bare-foot princess on the street. She wasn¡¯t even using the enchantments of her fancy dress.
Granted, it was scary for others. For Zarian, it was all quite glorious.
¡°Okay, they don¡¯t need me any further. I don¡¯t even have to supply them with extra aura.¡± Feeling proud with his party¡¯s impressive showing, Zarian turned to the White Rose of Purehome he kept pinned with a constant assault of heavy dark bolts
He hadn¡¯t stopped streaming out heavy dark bolts the moment he¡¯de down to watch over his party and help with a few troublesome spots here and there.
He also wanted to see how Arnold was doing against the White Rose of Kingsblood, and it looked like the honorable old man was having a dandy time, shing out arcs of silver crescents and leaving behind silver fields in his wake.
A different, more contemptible old man cussed angrily while trying to hit and strangle Arnold with streams of controlled mist. Arnold wouldn¡¯t let that happen and kept hounding the White Rose of Kingsblood.
Clearly, there was some bad blood between the two old men, and Arnold was getting the better of his rival.
Now that Zarian thought about it, he imagined the Good God Serveserf would be opposed to the Good God Kingsblood based on the people they represented. Regardless of them being on the side of good and order, it wouldn¡¯t be a stretch that Serveserf and Kingsblood were rivals.
Zarian didn¡¯t always care about the gods, and in many ways, he disliked some of their practices. But he did find the nature of the game and the alignments interesting the further he dove into it.
But those were considerations for another time. He should spend most of his Fractured Mind on the fight, such as turning his full attention to the Purehome Rose.
¡°Isn¡¯t this just fun? This is the type of stuff you see in movies or anime that makes you wonder what it would be like to be in the middle of it.¡± Zarian chuckled. ¡°Apparently, when you have enough power and battlefield awareness, it¡¯s like the most adrenaline filled amusement park you can be in. But more violent, bloody, and magical.¡±
¡°The wicked madness you speak of shall not taint me, evil one. I have the power of Purehome, and she will deliver upon me boons so I can destroy you, miscreant,¡± grunted the White Rose of Purehome from behind his magic barriers.
¡°You have no idea how many mortals and gods are gunning to destroy me, dude.¡± Zarian jerked a thumb behind him. ¡°Such as the tool bag falling in.¡±
¡°BE PURGED, FOUL EVIL!¡± Shouted the White Rose of Purgehunt, falling back into the picture with a super leap at Zarian¡¯s back.
The Purgehunt Rose held his javelin more like arge ming sword now. His entire body was wreathed in mes while buffed up with extra muscr might. He must¡¯ve taken a second boon to enhance both his ming power and his physicality, because he was falling down hard on Zarian.
Meanwhile, the sound of a divine woman¡¯s voice sang down from the heavens. All the nearby homes trembled. Zarian felt oppressed, crushed down on, and suffocated, but he stood his ground and endured.
The Purehome Rose glowed with an ethereal light as he received a divine boon. He pushed his barrier forward with renewed vigor and sent it as a hammering wave flying toward Zarian¡¯s body.
With a flying barriering at his front and a ming sword falling at his back, Zarian looked like he was stuck between death and more death, at least from a different point of view. From Zarian¡¯s view, things were getting more interesting.
He hooked his thumbs into his leg pockets as a dark pir rose in front of the flying barrier and a dark beam shot up at an angle from Zarian¡¯s feet.
The dark pir and the flying barrier collided with the force of a destructive bomb, obliterating the street section, knocking down the nearest walls, and sending Royal Guards and skeletons tumbling off their feet. The skeletons recovered the fastest even if they had to reassemble themselves.
The dark beam and ming sword collided, and the sword remained mighty while cutting through the dark beam for a split second, but then the sword fell short of touching Zarian¡¯s head. The dark beam became the victor of the struggle and sent the Purgehunt Rose flying off like a streakinget once again.
He wouldn¡¯t fall alone this time around as Zarian cast Void Step twice.
The first cast ced him in front of the shocked Purehome Rose. Zarian grabbed the strongest guardian of the Eternal Garden Kingdom by the neck with a grip so intense the thin barrier close to the man¡¯s neck crackled under Zarian¡¯s grasp.
The second cast of Void Step took Zarian and the Purehome Rose on a ride through the void, where the emptiness and eternal darkness ravaged the body and sanity of the Purehome Rose until they both reentered regr reality.
Just as Zarian had predicted, a power that was far beyond their mortal limits kept him from leaving the Purehome Rose in the void, forcing them both to exit together.
That had to be the Star System enforcing certain limits.
Zarian didn¡¯t mind, because he had other ns for the Purehome Rose. One of them was to disconnect him from his goddess¡¯s influence for a split second. Then, with the second cast of Void Step, they caught up to the Purgehunt Rose.
Zarian grinned wolfishly in the deep shade under his wide-brimmed wizard hat. He shot Straight Darkness from the soles of his boots. His Parasite Cloak wavered like a huge tattered g as he choke-mmed the Purehome Rose into the Purgehunt Rose while they were still midair.
The moment they made contact, Zarian condensed his aura with his Dark Affinity and entrapped them in a heavy sphere of darkness that sent them all careening down into the poorer and emptier district for a meteoric double body m. The entire area trembled from the force, and nearby abandoned factories and warehouses crumbled or made groaning noises as part of their supports and walls copsed.
Zarian cast Void Step a third time to exit the cater he¡¯d hammered both White Roses through. Para formed a throne of flesh, spines, and jagged teeth. He sat down and crossed his ankle over his knee while he propped his elbow on the armrest, chin on palm. His grimoires hovered around him, each book of spells exuding palpable power that foretold of their capabilities.
Zarianughed as he boasted aloud.
¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll let you recover and call on your gods again if you can. It¡¯ll be a shame to end this early when I just finished warming up.¡±
Chapter 86: Overkill
Chapter 86: Overkill
¡°You know how bad this would¡¯ve gotten if you attacked at night,¡± Zarian said, while waiting for the White Roses of Purgehunt and Purehome to recover and prepare for the next round. Zarian yammered away with little to no concern: ¡°It¡¯s morning. I¡¯m bathed in sunlight. I have to burn aura to conjure darkness when I don¡¯t have enough nearby. This is your best opportunity to kill me up here on the surface.¡±
A few minutes had gone by while he sat on his throne and let the enemy White Roses figure things out with themselves and their gods. The distant fighting between his party and the Royal Guards had winded down.
News sh.
His party had won.
The duel between Arnold of Ambrose and the White Rose of Kingsblood was finishing up with a dramaticst stand and crossing of des. A part of Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind watched through his spectral spiders as Arnold sliced off the head of his rival and imed victory as a representative of Serveserf.
Zarian chuckled as Naomi¡¯s Aura Ignition petered out, leaving her to fall down face first. She was covered in a wide array of injuries from broken hands, bruises, cuts, and more that were mostly self-inflicted.
Gilbert¡¯s Healing Force +1 was working on patching her up. Though the healing process wasn¡¯t without some pain.
That didn¡¯t seem to bother Naomi much. She rolled over with a big smile beaming from her face and heart-throbbing thrill glinting from her eyes.
Leaning back into his throne, Zarian shook his head at the sight of his murderhobo of a Rumble Psion. Granted, he shouldn¡¯t be the one to judge. He was literally giving two of the most dangerous men in the kingdom time to set themselves straight and game n.¡°I¡¯m getting cocky again, aren¡¯t I, Para?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°No!¡± said the parasite throne, with a voice that sounded like a flesh-chewing monster.
¡°Are you sure?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
¡°Why are you sure?¡±
¡°y with food. y is fun. Fun is tasty. Food is more tasty!¡± exined Para, her fiendish words holding a kernel of truth.
¡°Yeah, I suppose you¡¯re right. ying with your food would lead to relishing the experience more. Well, in this case, it¡¯s really your food.¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
Chuckling, Zarian noted how far Para had advanced in conversations. Part of that was a consequence of higher Willpower. Another part of Para¡¯s advancement was that the Parasite Cloak +1 was up to Level 21 while staying as a permanent fixture in his alpha section.
The next skill upgrade happened at Level 25.
Hm. What would Para get next?
¡°The hardest thing to do would be to use you for this fight, Para. That might bump you up a few skill levels, but you don¡¯t really scale with my Mysticism. So against these guys, you¡¯re at a disadvantage. But you know what? Maybe we can try to make it happen if we¡¯re creative enough.¡±
¡°Yes!¡± responded Para.
It was time to get the ball rolling again anyway. Zarian had been spying through his spectral spiders the whole time to keep track of the White Roses. They were finishing up their own nning in the darkness of the storm drains.
Hell, if he focused a little more, he could feel them in the darkness down there. Instead of acting on that, he waited for the eventual ¡®surprise attack¡¯ from under him.
Let¡¯s go.
Zarian and Para rolled out of the way of a thirty-foot crescent sh of white heat rising from the underground.
As the Madness Wizard skidded across the floor and entered a shaded spot under a crooked wall and broken ceiling, his cloak transformed. Para became four wicked insectoid bone scythes that arced around from his back.
As a bonus, Zarian gave each scythe a de insert of darkness. It was like sticking a sharpened razor de to a shaving handle, but many times bigger.
Once Para fixed each dark de along the bottom edge and beyond the tip of her scythes, the parasite ran the scythes together and made intimidating sharpening sounds.
¡°Fun!¡± roared Para.
¡°Alright, Darius, Rickard, I really want to see you try.¡± Zarian grinned as both men catapulted out of the crater and mmed down on leveled ground across from him.
Darius, the White Rose of Purgehunt, stumbled in surprise that the Madness Wizard knew his name. Zarian also knew his ss was a Level 71 Burning Guardian, and that Darius¡¯s best alpha skill was the White me Weapon.
Rickard, the White Rose of Purehome, held his bearing better. Rickard was a Level 78 Barrier Guardian, and his best alpha skill was Barrier Force.
¡°How did he use Identify without us knowing?!¡± shouted Darius.
¡°It¡¯s possible to scan us without our notice while we¡¯re under duress,¡± answered Rickard. ¡°Keep your wits about you, Darius. He¡¯s a terrible fiend. But he¡¯s a foolhardy one. We¡¯ll outmatch him soon.¡±
Darius growled as he gripped his ming weapon tightly, transforming it from a sword to a long spear. His muscr form was still rippling with grand might and toughness, like a true warrior made for upfront conflict in the middle of a ze. He had the military look, too, with buzz cut gray hair, steely eyes, and a permanent scowl.
Darius reminded Zarian of senior leadership from the Marines. The ones he didn¡¯t like. The same could be said for the other man.
Rickard acted with a cooler headpared to hispanion, and he looked better off, too, if only a little scuffed up while having some bruising around his neck. He wore a mixture of te armor and robes. He held no weapon because his barriers were the only weapons he truly needed, at least before facing Zarian.
Rickard also had grayish hair and was probably somewhere between Darius and Arnold¡¯s ages, older than the former and younger than thetter. As of now, Rickard was the older and wiser man between the pair as the White Roses faced Zarian and Para.
¡°Answer me this,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Why sacrifice your own young men to the gnolls? That¡¯s not good.¡±
¡°We don¡¯t answer to you!¡± Darius shouted.
¡°You think you alone can fight the gnolls? Or control them?¡± Rickard asked. ¡°They have countless numbers in their horde. They could overrun a kingdom filled with innocents and there wouldn¡¯t be enough guards, soldiers, or White Roses to stop them. And their elders are some of the strongest creatures in this region of the Walled Continent. You should know this, evil one, so what game are you ying?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you get the report?¡± Zarian tilted his head to the side. ¡°My party stopped the gnolls. They won¡¯t attack. I¡¯m literally a Hero of the Eternal Garden Kingdom, and my friend is a princess with good +3. Here, I¡¯ll give you this chance to stand down if you¡¯ve got some sense.¡±
Darius growled.
Rickard¡¯s face grew darker. ¡°And there lies the problem. Whatever manner of deal you struck with the gnolls serves you and not our kingdom and gods. It matters not if you¡¯re a hero, if you have a princess, and if she¡¯s good +3. You are a disruption to order and the ruling powers, and we cannot allow evil to reign supreme in such a way.¡±
Zarian sighed.
Technically, he¡¯s got a smidgen of a point. I¡¯m a gnoll elder now. And I did bargain that I¡¯ll make their rising gnolls stronger and help them be more fortified and scarier so they could dominate the region further. So ¡ he¡¯s not entirely wrong.
Of course, Zarian wasn¡¯t going to admit that, nor would he admit that he would work out the gnoll situation further down the road. Instead, he shrugged at the White Roses.
¡°It¡¯s always a shame that these fights are born from such prejudiced notions instead of being learning opportunities that can lead to diverse friendships.¡± Zarian sighed miserably. Then he fixed his face with a sharp smile. ¡°Oh well, I guess I¡¯ll have my fun killing you. And if your corpses survive, I¡¯ll feed them to Para.¡±
¡°Feed me!¡± roared the scythes arced from around Zarian¡¯s back. All four stretched forward in anticipation of slicing, dicing, and feasting.
The fight was on, and the White Roses struck hard.
Rickard flung a marble-sized barrier at sonic speeds toward Zarian¡¯s front. If it wasn¡¯t for his enhanced vision provided by the updated monocle, Zarian would¡¯ve missed thepressed white me trapped inside the mini-barrier ball.
Even without the monocle, he¡¯d spied on them and knew what wasing.
A dark pir rose in front of the marble, and a destructive explosion of white mes sted the pir to smithereens.
Zarian and Para suffered no damage by backing away. Their backside smashed through a wall without slowing them down.
Through the furious white explosion, Darius lunged with his long spear thrusting forward. The white mes from the explosion circled around his thrust and shot ahead as an intense, super heated beam.
Para dug a scythe into the ground and redirected her host in a new direction, dodging the white hot beam by a few feet. Darius¡¯s attack sliced through multiple walls and buildings behind them. Walls of roaring white mes rose in the aftermath of unrestrained annihtion and fury.
Before the wizard and his parasite moved far, arge barrier appeared halfpleted in front of them. Then multiple marbles containing morepact white mes flew in at the nks of the wizard and parasite.
Zarian cast Void Step to slip away from the explosive trap and enter the secure darkness of the storm drain. The surface above rocked and bucked from the immense explosions that would¡¯ve left some harsh damage on him if he hadn¡¯t fled.
He waited as both Darius and Rickard turned about quickly to look for him, not finding him anywhere on the surface. Zarian continued to wait another few seconds to raise the tension and disrupt the rhythm of the fight before using Void Step again.
The air wrinkled as Zarian appeared to stride into a gap between Darius and Rickard, both men pivoting as they sensed the magic at work. Darius moved faster with his divine ming spear extending as it swung around.
Zarian vaulted himself over the swing with a short jettison of darkness from his heels. Hended in front of Darius before the Burning Guardian readjusted.
Zarian smiled wolfishly in the darkness under his wide-brimmed hat, and Para went to town, scything, stabbing, cutting, going absolutely savage. She ravaged the chest, gut, arms, legs, and even the head of the White Rose of Purgehunt in a rapid blender of bloody attacks.
If that wasn¡¯t bad enough already, Zarian had the Bloody Lifesteal spell activated. Each drop of Darius¡¯s blood touching Para¡¯s scythes fed life energy straight into Zarian, which was one hell of a high. It was also a nice way to shore up Zarian¡¯s raggedy life energy after what Sinfeast had done to him.
Too bad Zarian couldn¡¯t stay there for long. He had to cast Void Step again to avoid the volley of explosive marbles thrown by Rickard from behind. Again, Zarian stepped down into the storm drain as the upper level rocked with multiple eruptions.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Darius remained alive even after getting hacked up badly by Para and damaged by friendly-explosions. The ming man was one of the toughest enemies Zarian had ever fought. Still, the Burning Guardian wasn¡¯t looking too good.
Zarian waited in the dark to let Rickard turn and search for him. The Barrier Guardian would see the Madness Wizard was nowhere to be found, while having to expect an attack from any angle.
The man had lost his cool. His only partner was screwed up and barely hanging in the fight. The power of their gods wasn¡¯t enough to stop the Madness Wizard and his Parasite Cloak.
Zarian¡¯s domination of them was growing, and because of that, he could unleash the effects of his epic Lore Eater trait. He cast Void Step once more and appeared to Rickard¡¯s right. Then Zarian used Lore Eater to its full extent.
He chomped away at Rickard¡¯s surface memories and observations as things happened. Zarian¡¯s trick wouldn¡¯t hold mustard for long, but itsted long enough. Rickard waspletely unaware of the Madness Wizard standing next to him.
Rickard was also unaware of the fence of pirs Zarian raised around him before the Madness Wizard released a supercharged dark bolt from the void. The bolt squeezed through a gap in the fence before Zarian closed that up and ducked away.
The resulting eruption from the sheer impact obliterated the pirs and the ground underneath, with Rickard at the center. The entire area rocked as more nearby walls and foundational supports crumbled, sending buildings crashing down.
Zarian didn¡¯t get away unscathed. His own explosive impact had sent him tumbling across the broken warehouse grounds.
Para stuck her scythes into the ground to help her host get up onto his feet and stabilize him.
After thanking Para, Zarian looked ahead and saw a massive crater where the Barrier Guardian had stood.
Impressively, Rickard wasn¡¯t dead yet. More importantly, Darius was making a bloody charge straight at Zarian once again.
It looked more suicidal this time based on how there were tongues of white mes shooting out from every wound and opening in Darius¡¯s body. His veins shone with zing white mes. More white mes roared out from his mouth, his nostrils, his ears, and even his eyes as they burst apart with boiling blood, smoke, and fire.
¡°WITNESS ME, PURGEHUNT!¡± Darius roared before his voice box turned to cinders.
Darius gained a sudden boost of speed and power, increasing the heat and potency of his mes. His intention was known, but a force that was far above them interjected itself.
Zarian felt like he was getting drawn into a climactic murder-suicide that had his name on it. It was by far the most tant abuse of divine powers Zarian had seen yet. Nobody should be able to survive something like this, not when the gods were really trying to push their weight, even from a cosmic distance.
Instead of resisting, Zarian braced himself and charged forward. He cast Void Step prematurely with no intention of escaping, blinking in and out mid stride. He had a new weapon that was perfect for the asion.
A void-made nodachi.
He hacked the seven-foot sword down with all of his Strength and Agility, taking full advantage of numerous abilities he¡¯d gained and stolen.
The void nodachi entered Darius by the crown of his skull, sliced through the middle of his angry face, continued its journey through his neck, down through his chest, while treating the sternum like it was made from a loaf of bread, then carrying on down through the midsection, groin, and out between the legs.
Because of Darius¡¯s momentum, both halves of his body passed Zarian with a horrendously hot white congration spraying out from the sliced sides. Zarian and Para came out burnt up as Darius¡¯s two halves flew beyond them and struck the wall of an old warehouse.
Then, with little to no preamble, Darius¡¯s remains exploded. The explosions had so much terrific force, Zarian was forced to stumble forward.
Para used all four scythes on the ground to keep them from getting flung around as their backside was scorched up. Zarian¡¯s Wolf Dragon Hunter suit would need some repairster.
Thankfully, he didn¡¯t look back, since it would be improper to look back at an explosion. All the ssic action movies from the old world had taught him that.
He also had a nice notification popping up in gold waiting for him.
Zarian held off on distributing stats. He turned to where Rickard sat cross-legged while looking worse off than ever.
Rickard ced himself in a barrier with his eyes closed. He didn¡¯t seem phased at all by the death of hispanion. Instead, Rickard had something else in mind that required some sort of meditative maneuver.
Zarian was wondering what Rickard was doing when he felt a weird shift in the aura near his face.
He jerked his head back and saw a near-translucent barrier appear where half his head had been. He felt the same strange phenomenon near his left shoulder and jerked out of the way.
Another barrier appeared, which would¡¯ve cut into his shoulder if he hadn¡¯t moved a split second prior.
Eyes widening, Zarian realized what Rickard was doing. The tricky Barrier Guardian was forcing Zarian to pay close attention to his aura and dodge away from barrier conjurations before they fully formed and hacked into his flesh.
If it wasn¡¯t for Basic Aura Maniption and the high amounts of points invested in Mysticism, Zarian might¡¯ve gotten caught outright. Granted, he was probably a little luckier and more perceptive than most wizards, since he had a solid chunk of points invested in Wonder, too.
For now, he juked and dodged and ran around as barriers kept forming where his body had been a split-second ago. They kept aiming to cut into his legs, torso, and head especially.
Clearly, Rickard had his own heightened sensory abilities that allowed him to track Zarian without looking. He¡¯d shored up his mind so Zarian¡¯s Lore Eater trait couldn¡¯t scoop away information and memories as easily now.
To test Rickard¡¯s main barrier, Zarian threw a decently strong dark bolt and saw another probleme up. Multiple barriers formed in the way of the main barrier protecting Rickard. The dark bolt couldn¡¯t break past.
Up next, Zarian reshaped his void nodachi into a void javelin and threw that instead. He found better sess, but Rickard survived it with more barriers wrapped over each other and in front of him.
The defense was nearly imprable, and the man clearly had the help of Good Goddess Purehome. Worse yet, Purehome sounded like the type who would be a defensive expert, so Rickard was at his greatest as he concentrated on defense while trying to form barriers inside Zarian¡¯s body.
¡°Okay, let¡¯s try this!¡± Zarian cast all three spells he¡¯d learned from his Grimoire of the Dread Mire Hell Gator.
First came a body-slurping bog that was covered in noxious hell mes. Second came the jaws of the invisible predator that lurked in the bog, snapping viciously over Rickard and his bubble of safety. Third was the Dread Mire Bellow, which resounded like a bomb and had the effect of traumatizing victims.
Zarian smiled viciously as Rickard waited in his barrier and endured the destructivebo of ancient folktale magic. In the aftermath, Zarian lost his smile.
Rickard survived. The Barrier Guardian had to stop harassing Zarian and concentrate all of his magic on defense, which nearly broke down after the Dread Mire Bellow. Still, Rickard and his faith in Good Goddess Purehome saw him through to the end.
Another notable detail was his alignment being good +2, the second highest in the entire kingdom. After Zarian¡¯stest failed move, Rickard squeezed out every bit of cheat juice from his goodness and raised the effectiveness of his barriers, which put him at a growing advantage.
His defense was bing impregnable the longer he withstood Zarian¡¯s attacks.
Seeing that, Zarian slowed to a stop and thought about how he¡¯d wanted to end this. Para sharpened her scythes, but Zarian didn¡¯t see her attacks as the solution.
He had to run around again even faster when more barriers tried to form inside his body. They appeared with greater swiftness and subtlety now, trying to cut into his brain, heart, limbs, and even his groin.
Zarian kept running until an idea came to his Fractured Mind, which was something he¡¯d wanted to try out not so long ago. Zarian cast Void Step before Rickard ripped him apart with flesh-seeking barriers.
This time around, Zarian went farther out and exited the void next to his party.
¡°H, did you win already?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°The White Rose of Purehome is ying turtle, and he actually has a good shell. Want to team up with me?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Sure! Are we going to do ourbo thing?¡±
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking.¡±
¡°Whatbo thing?¡± Gilbert asked while he was rubbing around the neck and face of his eight-legged horse. ¡°Oh, and do you want some healing? You look like you made love to a me thrower, chief.¡±
¡°Yeah, sure, I won¡¯t turn down free healing. And thebo thing is something Bianca and I can do as light and dark.¡± Zarian nodded at the Light Princess.
Bianca performed a funny dance in her excitement. A dozen spectral spiders appeared around her feet and danced with her.
Hannah perked up while sitting on an expanded Roller, the evolving dungeon core in herp. All ten skeletons were gathered around her, with Glowy and Darko paying the most attention.
Naomi was sitting in a cross-legged position when she opened an eye, interrupting her Earth-Sky Meditation. She was still in the middle of healing and resting from the strain of Aura Ignition/First Stage.
¡°You don¡¯t need help,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Maybe you¡¯re right, but it¡¯s always good to practice with friends when you have the chance.¡±
Naomi nodded and went back to her meditation.
As Gilbert healed up Zarian, Bianca strode upward on steps made of hard light. She waved her hands in the air above Zarian dramatically. Then she used her Refraction skill to split the light and create absolute darkness in a tower over the Madness Wizard.
There were many ways to capture darkness. One way was how Bianca¡¯s control of light, ironically, allowed her to create zones of darkness. And these zones were pure as the void, since Bianca was specifically moving all light out of a specific space.
It was an interesting effect, which made Zarian realize the old Sunflower Helper skill would¡¯ve been a redundant choice. They both were better off having chosen what they wanted. That was nice to know, as Zarian yanked all the darkness Bianca created into his hand as a condensed javelin.
Bianca created another zone of peerless darkness for Zarian, and once again, he condensed it into his javelin, which grew heavier and denser with each addition. After the tenth time, Zarian gestured for Bianca to stop with his free hand.
The javelin was heavy. Oh, so heavy.
He took his time to aim using his monocle¡¯s scope-like features while triangting the exact coordinates with his spectral spiders. Then he lit the super dark javelin with ck Fire.
¡°Wait,¡± Hannah said.
Zarian froze.
The Runic Engineer pointed her palm and cast multiple advanced enchantments on the super dark javelin. Thus, the conjured weapon became the enchanted super dark javelin in Zarian¡¯s hand.
Hell, the ck and gray mes coating its immensely dense form seemed to snap with more ferocity, hungering for vitality. This thing was a weapon of mass destruction.
And if that wasn¡¯t scary enough, it technically had the blessing of Princess Bianca, whose alignment was good +3, the highest in the kingdom.
¡°You¡¯re good to go,¡± Hannah said.
¡°Send it!¡± Bianca chirped.
¡°I can¡¯t help but think this is overkill and it might backfire somehow,¡± Gilbert said, his trusty steed snorting in agreement.
¡°Oh, yeah.¡± Bianca frowned. ¡°Maybe send it softly?¡±
¡°I would say screw it all, but I didn¡¯t contribute,¡± Naomi muttered, breaking her meditation again.
She sounded upset, since shecked utility with her battle-focused profile, or she would¡¯ve thrown her hat in on making the enchanted super dark javelin. Zarian didn¡¯t me her. But he couldn¡¯t truly pity her.
She had Aura Ignition.
More importantly, he was well aware of the immense danger of this conjured and heavilyyered weapon. I better keep in mind the potential coteral damage.
This was the reason he held the big fight in the old stomping grounds of the destroyed Bramblevale Bandits. Most, if not all, the beggars had moved out ore overst night to the charity event. The poorer district was perfect for destructive maneuvers and big anime fights.
The moment Zarianunched the enchanted super dark javelin forward, he cast Void Step. He walked out of the void further beyond Rickard¡¯s location and at the end of the poorer and emptier district.
A notification popped up, but he couldn¡¯t look at it as he hunkered down and raised his hand like a catcher. He watched multiple buildings explode, their walls, innards, and ruins tumbling in the wake of utter destruction created by the zooming javelin.
Zarian growled as he intercepted the javelin¡¯s flight path with pure magical will and sent it curving upward. He could¡¯ve attempted to catch it, but that thing was so powerful he would¡¯ve torn himself apart.
He was left to endure all the tumbling and flying debris trailing after the javelin. Thankfully, his Mystic Toughness and his other defensive abilities helped him out. Para helped, too, by dropping her scythes and transforming into a wall of imprable bone.
While he couldn¡¯t see directly because of the cascade of flying debris and Para¡¯s protection, he used a distant spectral spider to watch the javelin skim past a tower and fly over rooftops. Then the javelin took out some portion of the ramparts on top of the big wall.
Afterward, the javelin winked away in the far distant sky, never to be seen again.
Maybe it would dissolve after some time or destroy an entire hill uponnding. Zarian didn¡¯t know, and he didn¡¯t bother to take any further action or responsibility.
Instead, he came to a sudden conclusion.
¡°Let¡¯s get the hell out of here. We¡¯ve overstayed our wee.¡±
¡°Food!¡± Para roared.
¡°Okay, okay, we¡¯ll check to see if there¡¯s anything left of the White Rose and grab up Royal Guards on the way out. Then let¡¯s get the hell out of here!¡± Zarian dered as he checked histest notifications.
He paused when he realized he came away with a hell of a haul, which was part of the reason he held off from killing the White Roses automatically. Because of the extended battle, all of his skills that weren¡¯t Level 0 went up.
One of them advanced.
Chapter 87: Farewell
Chapter 87: Farewell
Zarian made sure Para had a taste of the scraps Rickard had left behind. There wasn¡¯t much, yet the Parasite Cloak enjoyed every bite. Then Para ate her fill of the Royal Guards while Zarian said farewell to everyone who wanted to see them off, which were mainly the beggars.
Everyone other than Zarian¡¯s party acted queasy and disturbed from the loud flesh-tearing, bone-cracking sounds of Para feasting, but Zarian didn¡¯t let that dampen the asion. He understood the weakness of normies. They couldn¡¯t be med for not appreciating the splendor of a parasite munching on the bodies of his enemies.
Besides, everyone had survived on his side. His party had grown stronger with new personal levels and skill levels. They all looked more experienced, more capable, and more understanding of each other¡¯s new abilities and new tricks.
When Para finished eating, Zarian stored away as many decent corpses as he could get in the cloak¡¯s pocket dimension. It was a good idea to stock up now, just in case. He took some time for himself and sat in a wagon before feeding his own voracious appetite after a big battle.
Naomi was napping in one of twofort wagons reserved for Zarian¡¯s party. Hannah held onto the dungeon core as it continued to evolve. She slipped into the crafting wagon organized for her.
Bianca was bouncing and frolicking around the caravan with a bunch of spectral spiders riding on the hem of her dress. Gilbert rode on his eight-legged steed while working with Rnd and Lora to get their people moving out of Central Bramblevale and into the wilds.
Zarian rxed with a big meaty leg of poultry in one hand while waving at the people saying goodbye.
He saw the little boot girl and her friends waving the hardest from the front. He caught sight of the Infernal Witch ring in the shadow of an alley before she nodded at him and turned to stalk away.
Zarian nodded in return before looking back up the road leading to the mansions. He watched the Lovewar Barrier fade away, its purposepleted.When the caravan turned a corner, they left behind friendly faces and entered a more barren street where guards and soldiers watched with hostile intent. Of course, they kept their mouths shut and their weapons and magic to themselves.
Zarian watched them in return with a cheeky grin, since he knew they couldn¡¯t do a god-damn thing.
He¡¯d defeated their strongest guardians.
He¡¯d broken the power held here by their lord and their gods.
He had powerful agents, such as the Hemlock Family, who were going to carry out the favor he owed Lovewar.
It all looked great for him. However, this would alle as a sacrifice to his official status. He wouldn¡¯t get to be a true High Rose Noble of the Eternal Garden Kingdom, and the nobility status of everyone in the caravan wouldn¡¯t stick either.
They were without nobles, and they were pariahs of the kingdom.
Zarian didn¡¯t care. He had the noble status papers signed by Lord Cassian. And Zarian could make for a convincing liar if needed where they were going.
As they neared the main gate, Zarian saw Arnold quickly catch up to the side of his wagon. They weren¡¯t moving that fast, but the White Rose of Serveserf would¡¯ve easily run them down regardless.
¡°Level 74, huh?¡± Zarian said from over the side of the wagon. ¡°Congrats.¡±
Arnold chuckled. ¡°I didn¡¯t even feel you using any means to scan me.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve gotten better at being subtle.¡±
Arnold took a gander toward the demolished district where Zarian had fought Rickard, Darius, and the former Bramblevale Bandits. While Arnold made a solid point without saying a word, Zarian acted oblivious and above it all.
Zarian was a Madness Wizard. How could he live up to his legendary ss without some unsubtle destruction?
¡°While your means can be questionable, you certainly live up to having a character that is powerful and good at heart,¡± Arnold said. ¡°The perfect example of using evil for the greater good.¡±
¡°Nah, I wouldn¡¯t say I use ¡®evil for the greater good.¡¯ While that¡¯s a politically correct saying, I¡¯m more of a person who chooses to do good with the great power of evil.¡±
Arnoldughed. ¡°I suppose that holds some measure of truth. You¡¯ve left yourself irreproachable in your philosophies, to be fair. You¡¯ve won a battle against the kingdom¡¯s greatest powers and ensured there were no casualties regarding the innocent. You¡¯ve even delivered upon me a gift that could¡¯ve earned you a fortune. Each of those levels was highly valued and worth an incredible amount. Are you certain about what you¡¯ve given me?¡±
Zarian finished his meal and let Para lick around his fingers and face with little tongue-like tendrils. She left not a crumb or spot of grease.
Then he lounged further back in his corner of the wagon, which was made of strong wood and some enchantments that smoothened the ride whenever a wheel struck a bump in the road despite theck of proper suspension systems.
Each wagon had a resilient tarp for an overhead covering and some arched wooden frames bent over the top. Zarian¡¯s wagon had no tarp above, leaving it open to the sunny day.
The tarp was folded into a seat under him.
The suns didn¡¯t bother him much anymore as long as he kept a thinyer of darkness between him and the light. Thus, he could have afortable ride and lounge about and act all slothfully.
He took his time to reply to Arnold¡¯s question about the certainty of his actions regarding the levels that could¡¯ve Zarian a fortune or sped up his own growth. The answer was simple.
¡°I do what I want.¡±
Arnold stumbled from hearing that. Then the old man broke into a howl ofughter before bending over and suffering a bad coughing fit.
Seeing him suffer some bad coughs reminded Zarian of Arnold¡¯s old age and dwindling life energy. The man wasn¡¯t far off from ascension if he could make it to Level 100, which Zarian knew as the level for the second ss advancement as well.
¡°You should grind your way up to Level 100,¡± Zarian said.
Arnold waved him off. ¡°I¡¯ve let go of such smoldering ambitions a long time ago. You and your friends are better off getting there than me. Instead, I¡¯d like to spend more time helping those in need.¡±
Arnold straightened up, his hands behind the small of his back. They were getting closer to the gate. Arnold spoke softly, but clearly.
¡°This kingdom always had its problems. But those problems have grown more despicable and selfish these past recent years. I knew things woulde to a head a while ago. Especially when they ouwed adventurers. The kingdom was cannibalizing itself to maintain control while fighting multiple battles on different fronts.¡±
¡°Mm,¡± Zarian hummed.
He had a vague idea of the other fights and wars the Eternal Garden Kingdom had in various locations. The gnolls weren¡¯t their only concern. Which was why the deaths of three White Roses in Central Bramblevale were going to spell doom for the current regime.
Lovewar was probablyughing and dancing up there in godnd, because her investment in Zarian was going to pay off big. Well, big was rtive in a lesser world.
For someone like Lovewar who dominated as one of the fourteen major gods of Infinita, the strongest and most influential beings of the Star System, Zarian imagined what happened here was small in the grand scheme of things.
Granted, in a game of adventure and ascension, every investment in the smaller worlds can make huge returns in therger worlds, and those huge returns can benefit or hurt the gods depending on how they roll the dice.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Evil God Sinfeast, for example, rolled badly on Zarian. Even Kill didn¡¯t have it as badpared to Sinfeast, at least in Zarian¡¯s view. But that tale of promised vengeance was not something Zarian was going to ruminate on while talking to a friend.
¡°Would the kingdom get overtaken by another?¡± Zarian asked.
Arnold sighed. ¡°I pray not. I hope the people ready for a change will rise to the asion from within our borders.¡±
¡°Such a loyalist,¡± Zarian teased.
¡°Go easy on this old man, for it is hard to change. However, I will do my best. I can¡¯t consider myself as a White Rose anymore. But I¡¯m still the Silver Guardian, and I need not be a guardian of the royal family of Golden Roses to be a guardian of the people.¡±
¡°The Silver Guardian of Serveserf, huh?¡± Zarian nodded. ¡°Has a nice ring to it. I guess I can¡¯t convince you with my evil ways to be a bit more selfish, can I?¡±
Arnold looked up and down the caravan with a glimmer in the corner of his eye.
There was Zarian¡¯s party, whichprised five Floridians. There were the ten runic skeletons who were on guard around the caravan.
There were one hundred and thirty-three disenfranchised young men. Then there were one hundred and fifty-six acolytes of Lovewar, whose numbers had blown up recently when acolytes from all around Central Bramblevale came out of hiding and joined the caravan.
All the young women rode in the wagons with the food and supplies. All the young men walked and tried to act dignified and ready for the road while under more female attention than they¡¯d received all their life.
Almost all of them were in their teens. Many were between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Hell, Rnd was the only one who was twenty, while Lora was seventeen.
They were practically a gathering of two hundred and eighty-nine puppies and kittens. Bright eyed. Bushy tailed. Uncertain of the future. Completely at the mercy of Zarian¡¯s party and the elements that waited beyond.
The young men and women hadn¡¯t even realized how ostracized and unattached they were from the mechanisms of the kingdom. Not yet, at least.
Zarian had eavesdropped through his spectral spiders in plenty of conversations about how most of them didn¡¯t have good reasons to return to families. Most of them were orphans. Rnd had a family, but they sounded toxic.
¡°You say you wish to convince me to be more selfish, aye?¡± Arnold chuckled as he took another gander up and down the caravan. ¡°But how can I follow such sound advice when you aren¡¯t following it?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s in my nature to be contradicting and unpredictable?¡± Zarian chuckled. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m not one to abandon children in need when I¡¯ve put enough time to care for them, or when they¡¯ve put enough time to care for me. We¡¯ll train them up a bit and find them a new home to settle into at North Crown Peak.¡±
¡°After you clear out the wolf dragon infestation I imagine.¡±
¡°Yes, after clearing that out.¡±
Arnold nodded. ¡°North Crown Peak is quite separated from the politics of Central Bramblevale and the other town regions surrounding the capital. It should be its own town, really.¡±
¡°But politics.¡±
¡°Yes, politics.¡±
¡°What are the people like up there?¡±
¡°Thorny. Brusque. If you have a short temper, they¡¯ll make it shorter. But people of the North Crown Peak fortress andmunities are honest and direct folks. They have to be since that region has seen constant threat from gnolls and other monstrosities. It¡¯s also thest stop within human territory for any who seek the pilgrimage to more ¡ exotic locations.¡±
¡°Carrowmore and the Coldboot CastleMountains?¡± Zarian mentioned.
¡°Ah, yes, Carrowmore. That¡¯s quite a far journey to reach across the Walled Continent. A perilous journey, even.¡± Arnold sounded subdued. ¡°Despite that, it¡¯s still a wonder that the driders and their city filled with savage races haven¡¯te down to take over.¡±
¡°Maybe the driders and folks of Carrowmore see nothing of value here.¡±
Arnold winced at hearing that. Zarian didn¡¯t apologize, though he did feel a little regretful at how blunt that sounded. Thankfully, Arnold took it well enough on the chin.
¡°I think Carrowmore is particr about keeping interests to itself and conducting trade deals that favor Carrowmore. The Eternal Garden Kingdom is many things, but it won¡¯t endorse public trades andmerce with an evil territory. Of course, that¡¯s on the surface.¡±
¡°Of course.¡±
¡°Politics aside, I¡¯ve heard grand legends and fantastical things born from such a bed of evil, many of which sounded too miraculous to me. I¡¯ve heard that they y music at odd hours and dance in fantastical enchanted wardrobes. I¡¯ve heard their greatest leaders, the Carrowmore Barons, are all dancers and that the greatest assassins of the entire worlde from that cavernous city. I¡¯ve even heard they hold a tournament every thousand years.¡±
Zarian jerked up in his seat. ¡°Did you say tournament?¡±
¡°Yes, the Carrowmore Millennium Tournament.¡± Arnold hummed. ¡°Hm, if I¡¯m not mistaken, we might draw close to that time once again. The fables of old once said thest tournament happened in the 500s of the Dark Era, and it¡¯s currently Year 1532 of the Dark Era. If the fables are true, then the tournament can happen at any time this century. Perhaps even in this decade.¡±
Zarian was trying to contain the crazedughter that wanted toe out. There was no way that he might realize one of his biggest dreams. He couldn¡¯t believe it. But Arnold kept on talking about the tournament.
¡°It¡¯s supposedly an interesting event where the greatest fighters across all of Corma would arrive in Carrowmore for the tournament. Imagine creatures who¡¯ve never touched this continent in over a thousand years only appearing just to partake in a battle like no other, perhaps the most pivotal battles across all the lesser worlds.¡±
Arnold sighed wistfully. Then he spoke in a darker tone.
¡°Such a thing, if it is to exist, could bring about attention from the heavens. The type of attention that would ¡ well ¡ spell disaster.¡±
Ah, yes.
World Events. World Bosses. Divine Beings. Regressors. The Star System could throw down something so horrifically powerful it could wipe out cities andugh off the countless attacks of low-level mortals.
Zarian doubted the Star System would stack so many pivotal events all at once. The tournament, by itself, sounded major enough, especially when it happened only every thousand years.
¡°Perhaps others like you, foreigners or ¡ Outsiders ¡ would appear at the tournament,¡± Arnold said with a smirk.
Zarian caught the old man¡¯s gaze. Clearly, Arnold knew something was off with the Floridians.
From what Zarian and Hannah had gathered so far, Outsiders were exceptional beings favored by the Star System. That was the main reason they¡¯d all started with abilities at Level 1, while others didn¡¯t when they were born in Infinita.
The biggest Outsider example was Shadowfell herself, which could also exin why Corrupted Tears wouldn¡¯t affect Zarian and other Outsiders.
Without acknowledging Arnold¡¯s point, Zarian wondered what would happen if he met other Outsiders from the old world at Carrowmore. If the thousand-year tournament was such a big deal that it could draw fighters from around the world, from other lesser worlds, and have more Outsiders congregate, then there was only one thing Zarian had to do about that.
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m signing up for that tournament.¡±
There were no ifs.
No buts.
Zarian wanted to fight in the tournament. He couldn¡¯t live his new life in the Infinita Star System and not take part in the infamous tournament trope. It was practically dangling right in front of him.
And we have an invitation to Carrowmore already.
Feeling thrilled, Zarian had to settle down his own racing heart and realize there were things that needed doing before the trip to Carrowmore.
Making sure his young puppies and kittens were toughened up and settled down was close to his priorities now. ying the wolf dragons and their horde was up there, too.
By that point, his party should be ready to do one of two things, attack Castle Grimrock and save Foodie, or go explore the Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon, and then go to Castle Grimrock and save Foodie.
I¡¯m starting to think taking out the Grimrock Warlock and saving Foodie is going to take priority over the dungeon. It would also be nice to have a mythical cook like Foodie on their adventures going forward, keeping them fed with delicious food while increasing stat growth.
¡°You seem to have many ns in mind, milord,¡± Arnold said as the caravan started passing through the main gate.
¡°Yes, many ns.¡± Zarian sighed. ¡°We shall be busy. But that¡¯s the nature of our lives. Or at least that¡¯s the nature of the life I like to live. Eat wonderful food. Make new friends. Drink and celebrate at whimsical taverns. Train, fight, and level up to our heart¡¯s desires. And ¡ spread a little kindness here and there.¡±
Arnold chuckled. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you choose the good alignment?¡±
¡°Because evil suits me better.¡± Zarian smiled wolfishly. ¡°After all ¡ evil is merely a tool. It isn¡¯t in control of me. I¡¯m in control of it.¡±
Arnold nodded. ¡°Wiser words have never been said by someone so young. I hope those wise words continue to hold true for years and years toe.¡±
The Silver Guardian of Serveserf smiled up at the sky. Then he turned that weing smile to Zarian. ¡°I¡¯ll wish you and yourpanions safe travels. I hope to hear of your many exploits. And I hope the next time youe down this direction, you¡¯ll see thesting impacts of a brave new kingdom who cares for the people.¡±
Before Zarian could say anything, Arnold held up a hand. He had more to say.
¡°I must also give you my apologies for not spending more time training your people, but I¡¯ve left many tips and manuals with them. Sword training manuals for Princess Bianca and the scraps of knowledge that are known of Aura Ignition for Lady Naomi. Plus some more. I hope it all serves you and your party well, Lord Zarian Darkrun.¡±
Zarian was stuck on what to say. He felt a hitch in his throat and a twinge in his chest. He almost wanted to convince the old man toe along with them and join his merry band. Zarian didn¡¯t, of course, because he had immense respect for a man who was resolute about serving others.
Zarian put aside his feelings and smiled. ¡°That¡¯ll do, Arnold of Ambrose. That¡¯ll certainly do.¡±
Zarian reached over and sped forearms with the Silver Guardian of Serveserf. It was a firm and warm shake of friendship and farewells.
Then they broke away and Arnold of Ambrose stopped at the gate while Zarian and the rest of the caravan rolled across the drawbridge over the wide moat. The caravan hit the dirty cobblestone road that curved between tall fields of grass, colorful flowers, and rolling hills under a big blue sky filled with blocky clouds.
Zarian leaned over the sides of his wagon and spotted Arnold as a distant and small figure at the gate. Then the Silver Guardian of Serveserf turned away and went back to conduct his business as the best example of local good.
Chapter 88: Whoops 1
Chapter 88: Whoops 1
Tournament arc! Tournament arc! Tournament arc!
Zarian¡¯s thoughts ran rampant with the same thing on repeat. His Fractured Mind was no help when every segment was overrun. He wanted to join the tournament. He wanted to do it within the next year or two. If not, he might ascend from Corma and miss out.
Unless he waited for it.
¡°Gah! There¡¯s nothing I can do about that right now.¡± Zariany back.
He had the wagon¡¯s tarp cover folded under him. Para folded up behind his back and head as an extra cushion that was a little spongy and bumpy in some ces, but stillfortable.
Obviously, he could use Tranquil Mind to settle down his thoughts. But he didn¡¯t want to do that. He wasn¡¯t even using Adrenaline Jolt right now. He was just naturally hyped up.
Who could me him? He had the best fight of his life so far.
The walls of Central Bramblevale were fading into the distance behind the caravan. Above his head, the morning suns crossed closer to the peak of the sky where blocky clouds driftedzily.
There was a nice autumn breeze blowing in from the east, from Bramble Wolf Forest and the Grimrock Castle Mountains, thetter being home to his goblin friend, Foodie. Thinking of her enved situation and the fragility behind her indomitable act cooled Zarian¡¯s excitement, but the embers still smoldered in his chest.I¡¯ve done a lot, honestly.
Zarian nced down at his damaged suit and remembered he needed to hand this over to Hannah. He didn¡¯t get to it right away as he recollected all that had happened so far. And a lot had happened.
Zarian and ten others fell into the subterranean floors of Castle Grimrock, fought off corrupted koi fish, fought off corrupted goblins, and had some deaths because of disagreements and the pressure of their dangerous new environment.
After getting sent off by Foodie with loads of new information, they¡¯d crawled the White Spider Dungeon multiple times, took Reiki and her core, reached the surface of Corma, the World of Castles and Caverns, found a golem, received a major side quest for the Forgotten Kingdom, met up with Rnd¡¯s young and misguided sacrificialpany of soldiers, ran into gnolls, and entered Bramblevale where they ran multiple operations within a short time.
They¡¯d ughtered gangsters and bandits. They¡¯d dominated the local guards and soldiers while earning the trust and aid of a good friend, Arnold of Ambrose. They¡¯d taken the crooked Bramblevale Lord down a few pegs, Zarian had be a gnoll elder, and then they dominated the Hemlock Family and turned them into vassals after conquering their Devouring Library Dungeon.
Now they were on their way to North Crown Peak after Zarian and his friends took out the best fighters of the kingdom. There were a lot of other little details in between all of that, but, for the most part, they¡¯d achieved a lot.
Zarian let all of his feats in the past few months sink in. It was kind of hard to believe while watching the blocky clouds crawl by slowly.
He felt like he should take a minor break. Maybe he deserved a nap before he shifted gears. But then his heart rate picked up. His mind shed through memories of thest couple of weeks.
¡°Did I really sing that song?¡± Zarian asked.
Maybe it was best he let that fade from memory.
¡°What was the song?¡± Bianca¡¯s head popped over the wagon side.
For this once, she actually caught Zarian off guard. He¡¯d let his awareness drop while thinking back on everything that happened. Plus, Bianca could be sneaky when she shifted the light to hide herself.
Zarian didn¡¯t let himself react much. He merely shifted a little and turned his head to her. ¡°A song in your imagination.¡±
¡°Hm. I think you sang a song and I want to hear it.¡±
¡°You¡¯re in a chipper mood. I figured you¡¯d lose steam after killing other good aligned folks.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t like their way of doing good or keeping order. They were going to kill our new friends fromst night, like Gilbert¡¯s girl.¡±
Zarian straightened up. ¡°Gilbert¡¯s girl?¡±
Bianca giggled mischievously with a manicured hand held in front of her smile. ¡°I¡¯m still pumped after the fight, so how about we do some sparring to help with that? Then maybe I can tell you about Gilbert slipping awayst night with a mysterious woman.¡±
Zarian squinted at the Light Princess. He should be above this nonsense.
Gilbert¡¯s business was his business. Even though it was well known that the guy had desperately wanted some action for a while.
Thinking back tost night, he remembered seeing Bianca and Gilbert hanging out while wandering off thepound. But after that, he¡¯d lost track of them. He hadn¡¯t made a big deal of it since he knew they were alive and well, and they returned just fine this morning.
¡°You helped him,¡± Zarian used.
¡°Dale! Let¡¯s spar,¡± Bianca demanded.
Jumping over the side, Zarian hit the ground with a quiet thump. The Parasite Cloak pped behind him dramatically while shifting forms from bony quills, jagged teeth, veiny hands,shing tongues, reaching scythes, and many more.
Nearby soldiers and acolytes cowered or watched in frightened awe as the Madness Wizard and the Light Princess walked off the road and entered the field nearby. They moved in the same direction and at the same pace as the caravan.
¡°Can I use my Field Stride enchantment? I love that one the most with the dress,¡± Bianca asked.
¡°Sure. Let¡¯s go semi hard. Maybe a little less than that until we find a good range. Dull edges for close quartersbat and soft sts for range.¡±
¡°Are you going to use spells?¡±
¡°Mm. No. Para might jump in, however. Light versus dark, okay?¡±
¡°Okay!¡±
Bianca raised her hands and formed two sabers made from hard light. She conjured them faster and with a more crisp design than before.
Interestingly enough, one saber was much shorter than the other. She noticed Zarian¡¯s attention to the quirky design.
¡°Two swords of the same length get in the way of each other,¡± Bianca exined. ¡°I read that in the training manuals given to us by Senor Ambrose. I didn¡¯t take it seriously until I had some issues with the Royal Guards.¡±
¡°You seemed mostly fine to me.¡± Zarian reached down into the shadow under him.
He darkened the shadow with a flex of his mystical will. The straight handle of a sword rose from the darkness and into his grip.
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Zarian pulled up a nodachi with an upward rise and flick forward since it was a ridiculously long weapon.
Bianca smirked. ¡°You do know seven feet is too long for a sword. It¡¯s too long for me, and I¡¯m taller than you.¡±
Zarian looked around at the idyllic location and blocky clouds in the blue sky. He spotted two of the daytime moons passing over while the two suns continued their arc toward the western horizon.
¡°I¡¯m in a fantasynd, Bianca. Shut up and spar with me.¡± Zarian paused and rethought thatst statement. ¡°Actually, spar and give me the deets.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll see!¡±
Bianca took one step to the side and zipped across the field. She took another step and zipped toward Zarian¡¯s side fast enough to blur her outline.
Her longer sword swung up for a cut at his shoulder. She missed by a hairbreadth as Zarian dodged away, propelled by mini jets of darkness shooting across the ground from his feet. He scooted hard in the other direction and created enough space to spiral around his overly long nodachi at Bianca¡¯s waist.
The attack didn¡¯t stick, which Zarian knew would happen before Bianca burst into a frenzy of lights. The lights rbined into her on the other side of Zarian¡¯s sword. She shed her shorter de at his ribcage.
Instead of scoring a hit, she found resistance, Para flicking out a dull scythe from over Zarian¡¯s shoulder. The scythe hacked at Bianca¡¯s head at the cost of Zarian taking a blow to the ribs, which would¡¯ve been a good trade.
Unfortunately, Bianca canceled her own attack. She used her longer saber to defend against Para¡¯s scythe. Then Bianca held her ground, not backing off very much even as Zarian swung around his nodachi with a powerful windmill strike.
Beaming a smile, Bianca performed a slick micro shift back and to the side with her dress¡¯s Field Stride enchantment. The nodachi missed. Zarian and Para couldn¡¯t adjust in time, and Zarian took a solid hit on the shoulder.
Because of their supernatural vitality, a round wouldn¡¯t end until the victornded several severe strikes or a critical one that would normally kill them in a real fight.
The high caliber prowess at disy wouldn¡¯t have been possible if it wasn¡¯t for the Star System. Regardless of theirck of experience and short time in Infinita, having stats and abilities was a huge game changer.
In fact, it would¡¯ve normally taken years of training to master sword fighting. But having enough points and abilities that boost Agility or Wonder could effectively cut that down.
Bianca was obviously making good use of her stat points in Agility and Wonder. She also had a talent for moving gracefully and striking with swords.
She should get a sword fighting trait eventually. Maybe she would get a very special version with enough time and practice. As of now, Bianca was a great sword-fighting partner.
Zarian hunkered down and ignored the shoulder hit, since he was technically a tough-as-hell wizard. He rushed Bianca with a shoulder check. Para unleashed a quick flurry of scythe attacks.
Bianca danced her way out and around quickly, her bare feet sliding fast around the grass as she sought a different opening. That was something Zarian was hoping for as he pivoted and swung his nodachi with deceptive speed and technique.
He definitely wasn¡¯t Bianca¡¯s equal in sword fighting, but he could lean on his evil alignment to out-think her. In this exchange, he had her if she tried to back off.
Bianca did the opposite and leaned into the powerful swing, using her longer de to intercept Zarian¡¯s power cut while thrusting her shorter sword into Zarian¡¯s face.
The time it took for Zarian¡¯s sword to smash into her sword was equal to how long it took for Bianca to put her de into the side of Zarian¡¯s head before Para stopped her.
The blow wasn¡¯t actually lethal. Their des were dull. But that would count as Bianca¡¯s victory, although it wouldn¡¯t look like it from an outsider¡¯s perspective.
Zarian still had momentum in his swing. He smashed Bianca off her feet and sent her tumbling back. That drew gasps and shouts of shock from the crowd as they watched a princess get forced to the ground.
That didn¡¯t phase Bianca much as she popped back to her feet with renewed grace and tried to walk it off. She rotated her hand, the same one she¡¯d used to block Zarian¡¯s heavy attack with her sword.
¡°I think we make for a good show,¡± Zarian said, nodding toward the wide-eyed audience.
The nearest soldiers were watching with amazement. The acolytes cheered or talked loudly in excitement from the spar.
They¡¯d missed out on the nitty gritty details of the White Rose fight because of the mist and chaos. But now that Zarian and Bianca were safely sparring, it was easier to disy their prowess.
Zarian also imagined that he and Bianca must¡¯ve looked incredibly fast and powerful to the audience, especially to the low level acolytes.
Bianca smiled and waved. Many of the acolytes waved back. One swooned at the Light Princess¡¯s attention. The soldiers had their eyes on Zarian, but they were still hesitant to show their favor to the evil Madness Wizard.
¡°So,st night, Gilbert was very drunk. And he wanted my help.¡± Bianca prepared for the next round.
Zarian raised his sword while Para arched one dull scythe threateningly. ¡°Go on.¡±
¡°He was in need. But the acolytes are too young. And he couldn¡¯t see himself with any of the women at the party since they were too weak. He asked me to do my thing and help him slip away into the city because he thought it would be embarrassing if you watched the whole time.¡±
Zarian chuckled as the both of them crossed des. Dark versus light. Good versus evil. They shed and moved at speeds that were superhuman.
Bianca maneuvered with the utmost grace as her glimmering, colorful dress fluttered in the wake of her enchanted bare-foot strides. Zarian held his ground with a confident sturdiness until he released explosive bursts of darkness that jetted him across the field.
Zarian swung his sword with heavy and wide movements while Para¡¯s scythe shed around to cover his backside. Bianca used her sabers to cover different distances while targeting small openings, throwing in the asional Light Step to mix up her movements.
From an outsider¡¯s perspective, the spar between dark and light, between a wizard and a princess, was the stuff of legends, rising beyond the imaginations of the audience. The soldiers and acolytes cheered, while Zarian and Bianca gossipped, which led to a conclusion that was both horrific and hrious.
¡°I know who that woman is,¡± Zarian blurted out between sword exchanges.
¡°She¡¯s so evil, but Gilbert kept flirting anyway. And she kept taking it and flirting back. I was just there to make sure nothing bad happened. She mentioned how you spared her life. Then one thing led to another, and I just waited outside and then Gilbert came out happier¡¡±
¡°Gilbert slept with the Infernal Witch,¡± Zarian said, almost in disbelief. ¡°Gilbert slept with a witch.¡±
¡°Si, he slept with a witch.¡±
¡°Oh. My. Christian God.¡±
Several rounds had passed at this point with Bianca winning most of them. Zarian managed to improve his techniques against a fast and natural swordswoman like Bianca.
¡°Thanks for this most wonderful gift, Bianca,¡± Zarian said with a hint of evil in his voice.
¡°I had to tell somebody. Hannah and Naomi don¡¯t know, so I figured it¡¯ll be you. If you want to return the favor, you can tell me if you did anything more interesting than talkingst night.¡± Bianca grinned widely.
¡°Okay, you¡¯ve won most of the close quarter spars. Time to switch to long range sparring.¡±
¡°Oh, yeah, that.¡± Bianca lost her smile.
Zarian stopped losing and went back to dominating. While Bianca was a sharp shooter with hersers. She couldn¡¯t outdo Zarian¡¯s overwhelming volleys of dark bolts, dark javelins, dark beams, and dark bullets.
Her best bet was to keep maneuvering around and picking her shots when she had an opening. But she wouldn¡¯t get much of an easy opportunity to set up urate shots when Zarian kept the pressure on her.
Still, it was a good practice session for her, making her better prepared against overwhelming projectiles. She didn¡¯t even bother using her Searing sh Array as an actual sh, which meant she wanted the challenge.
As for Zarian¡¯s growth in close quarters, he figured he had plenty of tricks tobine with his sword y, so it wasn¡¯t necessary for him to be good at it.
Still, he enjoyed practicing with Bianca just to take advantage of how quickly they could learn because of their growing stats and abilities.
Once they finished sparring and gossiping, Zarian took Bianca to the side for a more serious conversation. He kept his voice down as he passed along a warning.
¡°Do not do too much good anymore, Bianca.¡±
¡°Zarian, you know I like doing good things.¡±
Zarian shook his head. ¡°You have to hold off until Level 100. Lovewar told me the other good gods are conspiring except for Serveserf. If you do too much good, they might push you over the edge.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll control myself. I won¡¯t let it take over me. But please understand if bad things happen in front of me, I¡¯m going to respond.¡±
Zarian looked at her for a long while. Was that the good +3 talking? Or was that Bianca talking? Was there a difference now? Bianca had to be in control if she could tolerate Gilbert sleeping with an evil witchst night.
Maybe she can ovee whatever the good gods try to do.
¡°Alright, well, you have my warning.¡± Zarian turned away. ¡°But if you fail, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll think of something.¡±
¡°I won¡¯t fail you,¡± Bianca said resolutely.
Perhaps you won¡¯t. But I¡¯m evil, and I need to n for the worst-case scenarios just in case.
Chapter 89: Whoops 2
Chapter 89: Whoops 2
Leaving Bianca to consider his warning, Zarian went over to the crafting wagon. He found Hannah sitting on a bench and diligently journaling as she looked intently into Reiki¡¯s dungeon core.
Instead of inquiring about Hannah¡¯s new hobbies, he realized he hadn¡¯t fully informed everyone of the situation at Castle Grimrock. Thinking over that, he made use of his Spectral Spider Network and sent everyone a ping. Once they all responded, he pulled them into his head except for Hannah and talked aloud.
¡°I got some major news. I haven¡¯t mentioned this yet but I figured now is the right time. During my meeting with the evil gods, I¡¯ve settled disputes through negotiations or the tried-and-true method, violence. Evil Gods Sinfeast and Kill are definitely our enemies. Hisscreep might be an ally and seems to have a close connection to Reiki of the White Silk Dancers. Beyond that, I had a pleasant chat with Shadowfell through her altar.¡±
Zarian was keeping aware of everyone through his other spectral spiders.
He watched Gilbert jerk in surprise while sitting on his steed. Naomi pushed up from her napping position to a seat in the wagon. Bianca skipped around all excited, her mood rising again. Hannah shifted to the edge of her seat as she ced the dungeon core aside.
He really had their attention now.
¡°Shadowfell, apparently, is the biggest and most tragic goth goddess girl ever. I like her, though. And she likes me. So we¡¯re friends now. Also, if you had Shadowfell as Ariana on your raffle ticket, you were wrong.¡±
Bianca let out a string of Spanish that detailed her disappointment. Zarian barely caught half of it without using Identify to trante. He carried on.
¡°Ariana remains a mystery, but I think Shadowfell is connected with her somehow. She won¡¯t say, but I¡¯m sure of it. Anyway, Shadowfell is pretty nice, if really slothful and messy.¡±Gilbert snorted.
Zarian continued. ¡°After we became friends, I received a new achievement and divine item for that. It¡¯s a crystal ball that could connect to any reflective surface with the help of a god. We can also call Shadowfell through it.¡±
Zarian soaked in the stunned and amazed expressions from his party before pushing forward. ¡°I used it to call Foodie through her mirror while she was getting ready for the morning. She¡¯s not doing so hot. Apparently, her ve mark is stricter now. She¡¯s part of a plot to kill me. And she¡¯s getting forced by her mother to help my biggest hater, Jack Masters.¡±
Zarian waited as everyone reacted in semi-predictable ways. Gilbert gripped the mane of his eight-legged horse and clenched his jaw. Hannah wore a nk face, withdrawing into herself. Bianca frowned. Naomi looked like she wanted to run all the way to Castle Grimrock and finish what they¡¯d started.
Zarian didn¡¯t hold back on exining the rest, such as how Jack was learning to kill adventurers while growing his legendary ss, the Star Crossed Hater, and he could end up being mythical along with Foodie, who was the Indomitable Cook.
They also couldn¡¯t be sure of the Grimrock Warlock¡¯s level and of the defenses the Castle Grimrock fortress contained other than knowing it was better to attack from over the top than through the subterranean floors. He also went over how Foodie wished to cook for all of them and she looked more fragile than when theyst saw her.
¡°I suggest we push back the Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon forter,¡± Hannah said. ¡°I know how to ess it now. There are several locations that would lead us there. But the case of Foodie¡¯s rescue and Jack¡¯s destruction is more time sensitive.¡±
Zarian prodded at Gilbert¡¯s connection and let the Knighted Healer speak through him: ¡°I only care about saving Foodie. Jack ¡ I don¡¯t give a damn about that bastard.¡±
Naomi spoke through Zarian next. ¡°I care. Thanks for the vote of confidence that I can beat Jack, sir. That¡¯s a tall order, since he¡¯ll be mythical and I¡¯ll be stuck at epic quality.¡±
Bianca was next to use Zarian as a medium. ¡°Do you think you can hold off Foodie without killing her, Zarian?¡±
Zarian spoke with his own mouth. ¡°I can and will. Maybe this is premature, but let¡¯s say we get the ideal conditions. I hold off Foodie. Naomi deals with Jack. Then Bianca, Hannah, and Gilbert go after the Grimrock Warlock. If nothing messes that up, that means we¡¯ll need to be as strong as we can before hitting Castle Grimrock.¡±
¡°The wolf dragons,¡± Hannah said. ¡°If there¡¯s enough monsters to fight there, we can certainly raise our levels and ourbat readiness.¡±
¡°Exactly,¡± Zarian said.
With nothing more to add, Zarian sent everybody back to their own heads. He kept the spiders active in their minds in case they wanted to look around or speak with one another using the Spectral Spider Network.
Meanwhile, Zarian stripped out of his Wolf Dragon Hunter suit and tossed on some casual clothing he had stored in Para¡¯s pocket dimension. Hannah took the damaged suit to work onter.
The crafting wagon had an enchanted tanning rack, a work desk for magic sewing, chiseling, engraving, carpentry, and more. Hannah had found the time to learn multiple disciplines on top of exploring new facets of her Runic Engineer abilities. Somehow, she still found the time to study the makeup of the evolving dungeon core. She was busy all the time, but at least she was enjoying herself.
¡°How¡¯s Lore Eater been treating you?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Everything I can ever dream of plus more,¡± Hannah said, sounding satisfied. ¡°My learning speed skyrocketed. It¡¯s astounding. I can also retain most of what I learned. And if I can¡¯t quite remember something, I can almost dig into my memory and pull forth what I¡¯ve gone over much easier.¡±
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¡°I haven¡¯t used it yet outside ofbat. I¡¯ve eaten surface observations and thoughts to make enemies blind to me. Works like a charm.¡±
¡°Oh, that¡¯s a creative use of the trait. Impressive, Zarian. Well, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll speed through most of your grimoires when you get to studying again. If I were you, I would get as many as I can out of the voidling one. Then finish up the gator one.¡±
¡°And then the gravity spell of the ck magic grimoire. Yeah, that¡¯s what I was thinking.¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t want to admit that even with Lore Eater¡¯s help, the gravity spell would still end up as an unwieldy and immense beast to learn. But at least the time it would take to learn it was drastically cut down because of the epic trait.
¡°nning on making some cool magic gizmos?¡± Zarian looked over at a rack filled with various runic devices.
From what he knew, most runic devicese from certain magical stones and minerals that were conducive to different effects. There was one stone that was neutral that could conduct many elements, too.
The neutral stone wasn¡¯t as effective as having a single stone that focused on one element, like having fire stone and fire minerals invested in a runic device for fire.
As of now, Hannah was working with neutral elemental materials. They came with weaker effects, but near endless possibilities for variety.
¡°I have too many ideas after all that I¡¯ve researched,¡± Hannah said with a glimmer of excitement in her eyes. ¡°You might have to drag me out for monster hunts if I get too caught up in this wagon. I can still level up here, but I imagine not as fast as I would if I¡¯m crafting and fighting.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll make sure you eat and sleep, too.¡±
¡°Please don¡¯t send Bianca.¡±
Zarian was totally going to send Bianca to ensure Hannah took care of herself. There was nobody better for that than Bianca.
Before he left, he rubbed his hand over Reiki¡¯s dungeon core, then he hopped out of the crafting wagon. He looked over at Gilbert who rode on his steed like a cowboy overlooking a herd.
Gilbert tipped his cowboy wizard hat in Zarian¡¯s direction, and the Madness Wizard tipped his hat in return. He stopped short of blurting out anything to do with one-night stands and the Infernal Witch.
Truly, Gilbert had suffered enough. Or maybe he hadn¡¯t. He wasn¡¯t drinking much, and he seemed more rxed.
In some way, my sparing of the Infernal Witch was like doing a solid for a bro, Zarian thought. I should take credit for that.
But not now.
He would hold on to this one for when it was most needed.
Zarian hopped into the wagon next to Naomi. She was back toying down and resting. This wagon had the cover propped up, shading them from the suns, which made it easier for Zarian to rx.
He was going to take the night shift while the other party members rotated around on shifts depending on when they wanted to sleep and be awake. Since Zarian hadn¡¯t restedst night, he figured he better get some sleep now.
¡°I felt it,¡± Naomi said from her side of the wagon. She rolled over while readjusting some pillows and nkets.
¡°Felt what?¡±
¡°The disturbance in your mind.¡±
¡°Through your Psionic Affinity?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Sinfeast did a number on me.¡±
Naomi took a deep breath in and out. ¡°I want to destroy him for you.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t.¡± Zarian chuckled darkly. ¡°I¡¯m Sinfeast¡¯s number one hater.¡±
¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll do this for now.¡± Naomi scooted over to Zarian¡¯s spot where hey. She pped her hand on his forehead.
¡°Now what?¡± he asked.
¡°Wait for it.¡±
Zarian waited until he felt a sense of tranquility passing from Naomi to him. He felt it strongly through thework as well, but he also felt it through the connection of her hand on his forehead.
That was her Tranquil Mind at work with the addition of Psionic Affinity reaching out.
If he paid close attention with his aura maniption, he could feel sparks of psionic activity through her aura as she worked on him. It differed from when he used his Level 0 Tranquil Mind. When it came from the original skill, from Naomi, the tranquility was more potent and reassuring.
¡°This is nice,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Thanks.¡±
He fell asleep. His dreams were shapeless and forgettable. There was one sharp moment when Ariana walked through his dreams. But she didn¡¯t stay for long. She came and went, letting him rest.
It would¡¯ve been a nice slumber if something jarring didn¡¯t disturb him from his sleep.
Zarian snapped awake before rushing out of the wagon and hitting the cobblestone ground. He scanned the area and saw it was sunset.
There were more wild blocks in the fields nking the road, which meant they were truly going through the wilds between Central Bramblevale and North Crown Peak.
Zarian checked through his spectral spiders, but none of them could see anything definite at a low elevation. They had to crawl around and find the nearest blocky hill or search from on top of the wagons to survey thendscape.
Then one spectral spider saw something strange on the western horizon and directed Zarian¡¯s vision there.
He invited the others to see through the same spider as arge humanoid figure stood shaded in front of the setting suns. The creature roared with the voice of a giant and moved like one, too.
The soldiers and acolytes were panicking.
Zarian and his party united on the side of the caravan and faced the iing giant. They had several skeletons positioned nearby, while others covered the caravan from all sides.
¡°So, we¡¯re going to kill it?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°Most likely, yes, but that¡¯s not one hundred percent,¡± Zarian said. ¡°It¡¯s yelling something.¡±
Indeed, the giant was roaring out words that were barely intelligible.
¡°Maybe it¡¯s calling out for a challenge like everybody in this crazy ce,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°I¡¯ll be around if any of you knuckleheads need healing.¡±
Did the Infernal Witch heal your desperation? Zarian thought to himself before refocusing on the iing giant. It¡¯s really hard not to mess with Gilbert right now. Bianca has more restraint than I¡¯ve given her credit for.
Out loud, Zarian said, ¡°Let me send over some spectral spiders. Now that they¡¯re in the Level 40s, they can move pretty fast.¡±
He sent a scouting group. A few minutester, the spiders drew close enough to hear the giant clearly and see more details. Zarian invited his party members to observe through the spider scouts before he realized the problem.
The monstrous giant yelled, ¡°My home! Someone destroyed my home! Who destroyed my home? Who did it!¡±
Zarian looked through the eyes of a spectral spider standing on a tall pile of debris and saw a massive crater behind the giant. If there had been a home fit for a giant there, something obliterated it, and Zarian knew what it was.
The enchanted super dark javelin hadnded here and destroyed the giant¡¯s home.
¡°Whoops.¡±
Chapter 90: Giant Montage 1
¡°Hey, there big guy, what happened here?¡± Zarian asked, flying into the scene with the wailing giant.
Bianca zipped in across the grassy field and around ancient stone columns beneath him, ready to provide Zarian back up. The extra precaution was necessary.
The giant was one hundred feet tall with massive stony arms and thick legs that ended with wide and round feet. Two long and curved ivory tusks thrusted out from the sides of his jaw, each as thick as tree trunks.
He had big floppy ears like an elephant. And he even had a prehensile tail that snapped about with a thunderous whip crack that could smash stone. Most of his stony body was covered in moss, short shrubbery, and other nt growth. He was an immense and intimidating thing to face, but at the very least, he was of neutral alignment.
The giant turned his gaze to Zarian, who floated in front of his face. The eyes were gray and held a spark of intelligence. Zarian wanted to assume that the giant was a male, but he could be wrong. Maybe giant anatomy worked differently at their immense sizes.
¡°I had a nice home!¡± The giant pointed at the massive crater behind him where Zarian¡¯s enchanted super dark javelin hadnded. ¡°Then I woke up, and it was gone! Something destroyed my home!¡±
Zarian nodded along with a frown. He even gripped his chin with one hand and removed his hat with the other, cing it against his chest. He let the sunset light touch his face even if it bothered him a smidge. He wanted the giant to see that he was taking this unfortunate situation seriously.
¡°I¡¯m sorry that happened to you. Whoever did this must¡¯ve been a horrible, horrible person! In fact, I hate that person! I hope we can teach that person a lesson!¡± Zarian imed.¡°Yeah!¡± roared the giant, whose voice was louder than jet engines. It was so loud that Zarian struggled to keep from wincing or covering his ears. The giant kept yelling. ¡°I want to meet the person who did this. I¡¯ll turn their bones to dust. I¡¯ll stomp on them again and again. I¡¯ll make sure that horrible person pays!¡±
The stone giant heaved a heavy and stormy breath that nearly blew Zarian back. This creature was unfathomably powerful and even Zarian had his doubts of wanting to face the giant head on. After all, the giant survived his home being obliterated by one of Zarian¡¯s strongest attacks.
There¡¯s always a bigger fish.
¡°You know, I think I have a solution,¡± Zarian said, ncing down at Bianca.
She was tipping her feathery wizard hat down and hiding her face. The way her body kept shuddering, with her shoulders pinched together, almost made it seem like she wasughing.
Worse yet, the others were tapping into various spiders or into Zarian¡¯s head to observe things up close. He could sense them all having augh through thework.
Laugh now, but watch me work my evil magic.
¡°You have a soul potion? I don¡¯t need a soul potion,¡± the giant said.
¡°No, no, not soul potion, a solution. I have a way to fix your problem.¡±
Zarian added more thrust to the dark jets shooting from his feet and rose above the giant¡¯s head. The Parasite Cloak fanned out wide with spines along the edges, making Zarian look both scary and majestic as he faced the setting suns.
¡°How?¡± asked the giant.
¡°Well, I¡¯m an adventurer. And so are my friends. How about we fix your home? And if you want to pay us back and get your revenge, you cane with us for a short while.¡±
¡°Adventurers? Fix home? Pay back with revenge? I¡¯m confused. Exin more.¡±
¡°You know what adventurers are, yes?¡±
¡°Well, yes. Adventurers always want to kill me. So I squash them and sprinkle their bones across the earth to make the nts grow.¡±
¡°Oh. Erm.¡± Zarian paused to think before finding a brilliant response. ¡°You¡¯ve met the bad adventurers. We¡¯re the good adventurers, which has nothing to do with alignments. We¡¯re just in better.¡±
Bianca turned awaypletely and crouched down. Her body continued to shudder like she was trying not to break out into howlingughter. Somewhere in the distance, Gilbert wasughing like a loon.
¡°I hate bad adventurers!¡± roared the giant.
¡°Exactly, I do, too! So let me show you what good adventurers, regardless of alignments, can do for you. Then you can pay us back and get your revenge.¡±
¡°How do I pay you back and get my revenge?¡±
¡°It¡¯s quite easy. The reason your home is destroyed ¡ is because of the wolf dragons!¡±
¡°The wolf dragons?¡±
¡°Yes! The wolf dragons! They¡¯re the ones to me!¡±
¡°Grr!¡± The giant stomped his foot and rocked the earth. The impact was so heavy, Bianca was tossed off her feet. ¡°I hate dragons! Now I hate the wolf dragons even more!¡±
¡°Exactly. We have a job to take care of the wolf dragons. But it doesn¡¯t stop there.¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t?¡±
¡°No, my friend, no. The plot goes deeper. Don¡¯t you know the Grimrock Warlock made an unfair rule. Such a rule that affects you, and is super unfair. Do you know what that rule is, my friend?¡±
The giant blinked slowly. ¡°What did the Grimrock Warlock do?¡±
Zarian waited to add to the suspense before answering. ¡°The Grimrock Warlock made a rule that giants can¡¯t have nice homes! So the Grimrock Warlock sent the wolf dragons to destroy your home while you were asleep! It¡¯s all their fault!¡±
¡°Grr!¡± The giant snarled and threw an overlyrge tantrum.
He stomped his heavy and wide feet, shaking up the earth beneath him. He waved his massive arms with so much power he conjured gale force winds.
Zarian could feel the Strength of the giant through his sheer movement. Zarian knew right away he wouldn¡¯t want to get punched by this guy. At least not at his current level.
Then the giant calmed down and heaved a heavy breath. ¡°Will you help me? Can you build me a new home? Take me to the wolf dragons? And then take me to see the Grimrock Warlock?¡±
¡°Wow, that¡¯s asking for a lot.¡± Zarian sighed dramatically, ying as if the giant¡¯s requests were a burden. ¡°You really need a lot of help, huh?¡±
The giant smashed his hands together with so much force Zarian and Para had to course correct their hover. They kept their altitude above the giant¡¯s head as the massive creature pleaded and shook hisbined hands.
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¡°Oh, please help me! You¡¯re the only good adventurer I got! I need a new home. And I need to teach the wolf dragons and the Grimrock Warlock a lesson! Giants deserve to have homes while we sleep!¡±
¡°You know what? I¡¯m convinced! You¡¯re right! Giants do deserve to have homes! Alright, pal, we¡¯ll help you. My name¡¯s Lord Zarian Darkrun. The girl at your feet is Princess Bianca Garcia. My friends are also lords anddies, and one of them, Lady Hannah Townhouse, can fix you up with a new home in a jiffy.¡±
¡°Hooray! The good adventurers will help me!¡±
¡°Regardless of alignments,¡± Zarian added as the giant cheered and pumped his massive, stony fists into the air.
Momentster, Zarian and Bianca reunited with Naomi, Gilbert, Hannah, and Loner. The lead skeleton included himself in the huddle while the other skeletons kept watch around the caravan.
The caravan of humans were setting up camp for the night, with the soldiers sleeping on the ground and the acolytes sleeping in the wagons. It wouldn¡¯t stay like that for long, especially once the new day arrived, but for tonight, Zarian let the acolytes have things easy.
More importantly, he had a big new friend to keep satisfied.
¡°So, Hannah,¡± Zarian said.
¡°You¡¯re really pushing it,¡± Hannah replied with a small smirk.
¡°Is that the power of evil? Just hoodwinking a big poor fe? That¡¯s just in terrible, chief.¡± Gilbert shook his head while having another hearty chuckle. ¡°I think I¡¯m following the biggest trouble-making con man I¡¯ve ever met.¡±
It was not yet time to throw the controversial witch sleepover at Gilbert, so Zarian smiled tightly and let Gilbert live unashamed for now. Instead, Zarian nced over at Naomi. She was eyeing the distant giant fiercely.
¡°His name¡¯s Stony, by the way,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Is he strong?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°Strong enough that I don¡¯t want to fight him as I am now,¡± Zarian admitted.
¡°Mm, okay.¡± She still kept squinting at Stony, sizing the giant up, before looking away with a huff.
¡°So, we¡¯re the GOOD adventurers, guys,¡± Bianca said with squeaky cheer. ¡°And as the GOOD adventurers, we¡¯re going to help our new friend and take him along for some of our next adventures. Won¡¯t it be great? It has to be, since we¡¯re all the GOOD adventurers!¡±
Bianca turned her beaming smile to Zarian.
The Madness Wizard pretended not to see it as he watched Hannah pull out a journal. She used a stencil to scribble quickly on two nk pages. In a minute¡¯s time, she finished her sketch and showed everyone her draft.
¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t think we¡¯re in the business of giving giants the five-star hotel special.¡± Gilbert shifted from side-to-side, his hands on his hips. ¡°When are we getting the same special treatment?¡±
¡°There is no special treatment. It¡¯s mainly a stone dwelling with no furnishing,¡± Hannah exined. ¡°I just figured if I¡¯m going to do some construction, I might as well go all the way. In fact, I¡¯ve just received a side quest, a rare one, too. I¡¯ll get some good levels out of this for myself and for my cube maker skill.¡±
¡°Do you need any major help?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Bianca¡¯s ability to create hard light would be nice, since we¡¯ll be working in the dark. I¡¯m sorry if that¡¯ll be a drain on you, Bianca.¡±
¡°That¡¯s okay. It¡¯ll be good practice to make light with my aura,¡± Bianca said.
¡°Is Stony safe to be around?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°He¡¯s cool. Be nice. If you guys want to hang out and do some constructing, go for it. I¡¯ll stay in camp and keep watch while studying my grimoires,¡± Zarian said.
¡°You know what? I¡¯m going to take you up on that offer. It¡¯s about time we do something a little different from the usual murdersome affair.¡± Gilbert sounded excited about the project and looked over Hannah¡¯s sketch again. The others seemed just as enthusiastic.
¡°You think the giant will let me test my Strength on him?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°If you ask nicely. And do it safely,¡± Bianca said.
¡°I¡¯m game.¡±
Zarian waved them off. ¡°Go on, you reckless kids. Have fun building a castle for a giant in the dark. Oh, and don¡¯t get crushed under step.¡±
They joked around for a little while longer before finally departing to build a castle for a giant. Hannah left the dungeon core in Para¡¯s tendrils. Loner nodded before going back to patrol around the caravan and hold guard like the other skeletons.
Watching his party go, Zarian found it incredible that they had the right variation of sses to solve unique situations.
He could hardly believe he talked a giant intoing along on their adventure. They probably didn¡¯t need Stony against the wolf dragons ¡ but for the invasion of Castle Grimrock, who knew.
Thankfully, there was no stat for intellect. Only the Wonder stat provided some wisdom, but it was clear to Zarian that the giant focused mainly on Strength. Or maybe he didn¡¯t have many options but to invest in Strength.
Could it be that as he grows the System would invest points into Stony¡¯s Strength regardless of anything else?
That would make sense, which would mean certain creatures would have more or fewer points in various stats than others depending on their racial features. They would also have unique traits of their own, most likely. Hell, certain creatures might not even have free points.
¡°I should dig into a bestiary or something,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Butter. Tonight, I will study my grimoires while everyone else goofs off.¡±
Was Zarian a little sad that he couldn¡¯t help make a giant home after he destroyed the first?
Yes.
There was a price to be paid for being a wizard. He needed some alone time to study while the others had fun doing something unique. At the very least, he could pat himself on the back for diverting disaster and setting up a more positive oue.
Zarian picked a grassy spot near a wagon holding the youngest of acolytes. Coincidently, a group of the youngest soldiers was camping around a fire next to that wagon.
Para shapeshifted into a throne of bone spines and jagged teeth. He slouched back with his chin propped by his fist, the elbow on the armrest, while cing the ankle of one leg on his knee.
The acolytes and soldiers fell silent in his presence. They watched him like curious kittens and pups, many of which were too scared or shy to say anything. Then one girl mbered out of her wagon and walked over daintily.
Zarian recognized her. ¡°Hey, Amabel, may I use Identify?¡±
¡°Go ahead, milord.¡±
¡°Well, look at that. You¡¯re three levels higher than the first time I¡¯ve seen you.¡± Zarian chuckled.
¡°It¡¯s been quite the asion these past few weeks. I¡¯ve even had a side quest like other acolytes where we must do our best to pack up and be in a hurry.¡±
¡°The Star System is pretty useful when it doles out its side quests.¡±
¡°It is a blessing. And so are you and the others of your party, milord. Your presence has brought a whirlwind of change for us, and now we may achieve our sses much earlier than expected.¡±
Amabel sounded happy, though with a little restraint. Zarian waited to see if she had more to say, and indeed she did.
¡°Though, I must wonder what will you have us do that¡¯ll make us more ¡ prepared for life outside of the wall.¡± Amabel looked around queasily. ¡°It¡¯s so dark here. And when it¡¯s not quiet, it can get loud and scary. I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s an entire giant all the way over there, and you¡¯ve talked to it!¡±
Amabel pointed in the direction where Stony and Zarian¡¯s party were making a house fit for a giant. Amabel¡¯s mouth opened and closed, as if she could hardly still believe what was happening.
Then she found her wits about her and continued speaking her piece. ¡°Milord, I don¡¯t think I can ever be as incredible as you or Princess Bianca or Lady Naomi. I¡¯m but a mere woman, no longer a flower to be picked, regardless of any paper saying I¡¯m a noble. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m fit for this.¡±
¡°You probably aren¡¯t. But I¡¯ll like to help you achieve some personal power so you have a fighting chance. You¡¯re too much of a child as you are now. And it¡¯s the job of an adult to guide children.¡±
¡°But I¡¯ve been told I¡¯m of age the moment I bled.¡±
¡°That may be so before leaving the wall. Now you get to have a soft reset. You¡¯ll see tomorrow morning. By the time this week ends, you¡¯ll curse my name along with the others. Maybe Lady Naomi¡¯s more so.¡±
Amabel stumbled back in shock. ¡°I¡¯ll never!¡±
¡°Go on to bed. You¡¯ll need the rest.¡±
Amabel did as she was told and left Zarian on his throne. He waited to see if anybody else wanted toe up and talk. He had expected Rnd would, but the young man was keeping to his own counsel.
Zarian checked the perimeter through his Spectral Spider Network before he devoted part of his attention to studying. In his hands, he held the Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Exile, its metallic pages turned to the second spell, which would¡¯ve been a mind-melting read.
The instructions and study material of the voidling grimoire weren¡¯t based on grounded math and science. No, it wanted to bring Zarian deeper into non-euclidean dimensions and unwieldy theories of the void and what might exist and not exist at the same time.
Even with Lore Eater, the information Zarian had to ingest was almost off-putting, as it included the ramblings of a mad man who was once a prince before getting exiled and having to survive on his own until he foundrades. But in the void, the most important aspect wasn¡¯t just being able to traverse, but being able to have dominion.
By the time a new morning arrived, Zarian achieved sess in learning the next spell in the Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Exile. It wasn¡¯t exactly something to get excited over, but at least it was a new step toward void wizardry.
Chapter 91: Giant Montage 2
Chapter 91: Giant Montage 2
¡°I would¡¯ve preferred a cool void beam or something,¡± Zarian said after looking over the new spell in his profile. ¡°Man, is it me or I don¡¯t get anything direct from these wizard spells?¡±
Almost all of them were situational, even the gator one. Granted, it made the use of spells interesting when he had to think on his feet about how to best implement them.
It wasn¡¯t like he was hurting to have a direct damage spell. What was a lightning spell going to do for him, really? How could thatpete against what he could already do with Straight Darkness +2?
Shutting his grimoire, Zarian put aside his ruminations and smiled darkly as the show began.
¡°Get up! Get up! Get your asses up and into that field!¡± Naomi shouted, her voice booming with some bass to it.
Zarian chuckled as he continued sitting on his throne. He slouched back and closed his eyes before remembering his time in the Marines. He used his spectral spiders to keep watch.
Naomi was letting her inner drill instructore out, which she would¡¯ve done if she hadn¡¯t be a recruiter. Honestly, she would¡¯ve made for a terrifying drill instructor.
The soldiers adapted quickly. They were all properly scared of Naomi and had some idea of her monstrous Strength.
The acolytes, of course, were extremely slow and unprepared. They stumbled, tripped, and became tangled with each other as they rushed out of the wagons and formed up on the field.There were plenty more acolytes than the soldiers, but after taking a while to organize, they did a decent job of creating a formation. The young girls, of course, were shaking with the right amount of fear.
¡°Is this supposed to be a slumber party?¡± Naomi grouched. ¡°Change into your training uniform! Now!¡± She turned a re toward the soldiers. ¡°If I catch any of you peeping, I will pluck out your eyeballs and eat them near your ears.¡±
She let her High Intimidation trait loose as she threatened the soldiers. A few of them squawked out in surprise before turning away from the panicking acolytes.
The girls moved their fastest, which was rtive to them, and changed out of their nightwear to wear more appropriate training attire. It took them a while, but Naomi exercised patience until more of the acolytes gathered in the formation.
Then Naomi ran around like a rabid dog on the loose, hounding some of the slowest girls to the point of making them cry. At the very least, they cried while standing in formation. Once Naomi was satisfied, she took her position in front of the would-be trainees.
¡°Good morningdies and gentlemen, I will be your instructor, Lady Instructor Washington. For the next week, until we arrive at North Crown Peak, your ass is mine. You will train. You will kill things we find out in the field. You will learn how to survive. You will grow your levels. You will not pick a ss until you¡¯ve had a discussion with me, Lora, and Rnd.¡±
Naomi looked over at the other two who nodded in return from the front of the male and female formations. After their receiving acknowledgement, Naomi continued.
¡°You don¡¯t necessarily need to get a battle ss. But you will need to get the best ss you can get, even if it might not be your immediate favorite.¡±
Naomi paced from one side of the formations then to the other. What was a slow stride for her must¡¯ve looked fast for the trainees, especially the acolytes.
¡°Many of you have that decisioning up soon when you reach Level 10. The rest of you who are far off from Level 40 will have plenty of time to think about what you want. It¡¯s unlikely you¡¯ll get there before North Crown Peak, but you¡¯ll be a different man and woman regardless. Am I clear?¡±
¡°Yes, mdy!¡±
¡°No. You will address me as Lady Instructor Washington when we¡¯re training.¡±
¡°Yes, Lady Instructor Washington!¡±
Naomi nodded in satisfaction. She reached down where arge boulder was mostly buried into the earth. With an easy bear hug, she pulled it out of the dirt and flipped it over until it settled on her hands while held above her head. Zarianughed while all the acolytes and soldiers gawked, eyes wide open.
Naomi continued. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get to it. Soldiers. Run. Fast. And don¡¯t stop until I tell you. Acolytes. Follow my example. No, you won¡¯t need a boulder thisrge. Get a decent block of stone that you can handle. There¡¯s plenty everywhere. Don¡¯t make me wait or I¡¯ll get mad!¡±
Zarian watched Naomi¡¯s fantasy boot camp go on for a little while. They¡¯d discussed this some time ago in private. She even had different programs in mind to help the acolytes and the soldiers separately.
The acolytes simply needed to get over the hump and hit Level 10, but they also needed to get their hands dirty and to be made tougher. The soldiers needed to grow their stats with more difficult training than they¡¯d ever gotten.
It was a lot of work to track the needs of over two hundred youngsters, but Naomi had the Willpower, Strength, and Agility for it. She ran everywhere while speaking aloud all the time, and she was never without a giant boulder held up above her head.
She¡¯d even kept up the pressure as they broke down camp and prepped the wagons to continue the journey. Today, the acolytes would learn to march alongside the wagons until they became tired enough.
Zarian suspected when the acolytes woke up tomorrow morning, sore and tired, they would all get a nice dump in stats. They had plenty of food to go around for two weeks to help with that.
They wouldn¡¯t grow as fastpared to someone eating the best of Foodie¡¯s cooking, but at least it was a start in the right direction. By the time Zarian¡¯s party left them, they should have enough of a base to defend themselves.
Zarian took to the sky. An autumn morning breeze blew past. There was more cloud cover today, so the morning light was dimmer.
Para still held onto the dungeon core as they flew closer to the giant¡¯s new home. Flying about, Zarian marveled at the size and speed of its construction.
Hannah must¡¯ve worked nonstop with her cube maker to absorb materials and ce down blocks that worked using their own mystical rules. She created a castle-like home that was taller than the giant and featured more interior space.
When Zarian flew through a window, he saw the home went down into the earth with a sunken floor. Thankfully, Hannah had constructed the foundations to be water tight. She even built a chimney with a firece.
Zarian was impressed, and so was the giant.
¡°This home is better! Much better!¡± cheered the giant. He was sitting on the steps with his enormous hands pping down on his knee.
Hannah, Gilbert, and Bianca were standing on a mini tower made of cubic blocks in front of the giant. Zarian dropped in behind them.
This novel¡¯s true home is a different tform. Support the author by finding it there.
¡°Okay, you really are a genius. How¡¯d you manage all of this so fast without extra aura from me?¡± he asked Hannah.
¡°I was almost tempted to ask,¡± Hannah admitted. ¡°But I altered Roller to help me recharge faster and ced down multiple recharge stations. I¡¯ve grown quite a bit from this. I¡¯m now Level 54, and Summon Cube Maker is now Cube Maker Magic.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
Hannah raised a hand and formed a cube of stone in her palm. ¡°Really, really. I¡¯m the cube maker now, and it is amazing. I can do easy enchantments on them. Almost instantly.¡±
She lit the cube on fire. Zarian waited to see if it would burn out, but the me Coat enchantment held strong.
Using his aura maniption, he realized there was a potent amount of aura inside of the cubes. He checked the cube tower below them and found lots more of the stuff.
¡°This isn¡¯t your aura?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°I think the skill takes in materials and aura simultaneously, infusing the cubes with the aura for me. All without too much cost to myself other than the burden it takes to create immense works like these.¡± Hannah waved her arm at the massive giant¡¯s home.
It was kind of barren under closer inspection, but Stony seemed happy.
Zarian was happy, too. He was happy to capitalize. ¡°See, Stony! Anything is possible when you have the help of us good adventurers, regardless of alignments! Are you ready to get vengeance on the wolf dragons and the Grimrock Warlock who destroyed your first home!¡±
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m ready!¡±
And off they went, continuing their journey to North Crown Peak.
Zarian spent most of his time sleeping during the day, reading at night, and doing some sparring with Bianca, Naomi, and some others.
He joined the training exercises when the acolytes needed live specimens to kill so they could get their hands bloody while working toward Level 10. Once they started hitting Level 10, he joined in as part of a council to advise the acolytes.
Battle Maiden Starter seemed to be a popr choice that kepting up, all umon quality. There was also a ss called Adaptable Physician Novice that sounded like a good pick for any acolyte who wanted to deal with medicine, which was another umon pick.
There were more such as Physical Therapist Beginner or Logistics Manager Assistant or even War Spy Trainee. Thest one was a rare quality ss that only a few acolytes found waiting for them.
Amabel and Lora were two of the few acolytes who had War Spy Trainee in their ss selection. Their alpha skill gave them invisibility, and they had a unique range of traits that either heightened their senses, made them good at handling des, or made them better actors.
Honestly, it was a lot of fun to see how the local humans could grow and change. They still got five free points like the Outsiders, but the biggest difference was theck of a starting skill.
Zarian had the unique opportunity to watch the acolytes readjust to their changes. Even if all they picked was an umon ss, that was above the normal poption who had strictlymon sses.
Hell, now that Zarian was so invested in the acolytes¡¯ growth, he didn¡¯t have manyparisons regarding those withmon sses except for the soldiers. Rnd¡¯s Garden Officer Cadet ss was only umon, so it wouldn¡¯t be long until the acolytes surpassed the soldiers unless the soldiers kept working hard, never cking off, to eke out more stat points.
Of course, Naomi didn¡¯t let off on the acolytes either. Much of their training surrounded spear fighting for simplicity¡¯s sake, shooting bows and arrows, getting familiar with survival, using teamwork in battles, and then practicing their skills to help each other.
The soldiers, Zarian¡¯s party, or the skeletons would watch over the acolytes especially closely while they learned to hunt and kill beasts. There were injuries, but Gilbert fixed those up. Other than a few close calls of near death, everyone was carrying on alive and well with plenty of improvement to go around.
Stony was having a grand time watching all of this happen as he lumbered a few hundred feet off the road. He was a mighty creature, and a little slow, but the giant had splendid vision, apparently, so he liked to cheer everyone on from afar as they trained.
He only ate nt matter, especially hard and stony trees, so there were no concerns about him going hungry or digging into their food supply. Sometimes, Zarian would nt his throne on Stony¡¯s shoulder as they moved, letting the giant talk to him while he studied his grimoires.
¡°This is the first time humans are friends instead of attacking me,¡± Stony said.
¡°Not many humans are as good as me, regardless of alignments,¡± Zarian said with a chuckle.
¡°You¡¯re the most good human ever, Lord Zarian!¡±
Ignoring his evil alignment, Zarian enjoyed the praise and kept chewing through the pages of his grimoires. Lore Eater was a big help, but he was pushing himself hard to finish the gator grimoire, learn one more spell from the voidling grimoire, and then get back to working on the gravity spell before reaching North Crown Peak.
On the night before reaching the territory surrounding North Crown Peak, a spectral spider caught sight of a dangerous presence stalking through the dark and warned Zarian. Recognizing what it was, he left his usual spot in the middle of the wagons and camps and went out to meet the figure.
¡°I¡¯ve been expecting your rising gnolls, not a gnoll elder,¡± Zarian said.
The ten-foot tall gnoll elder stalked forward with a confident swagger. As always, she was filthy, smelly, and smiling like she was going to burst out into hyena-likeughter. She drew close enough to tower over Zarian, blocking two of the moons shining from the starry sky. Then she stooped over and ced her muzzle filled with rotten fanged teeth close to Zarian¡¯s face.
He held his ground as he looked up calmly.
¡°You must rid yourself of the chewy, soft meat,¡± Ezda said. ¡°Our rising gnolls are still young. Fresh from the prairie pits and bloodletting. They will not know how to control themselves around such delicious prey. Perhaps it would be best for you toe to us so you can see for yourself, Elder Zarian.¡±
Zarian tilted his head. ¡°Perhaps not. I can always teach them directly with the soft humans nearby. I don¡¯t mind making them more disciplined.¡±
¡°Just like how you taught the kingdom of their weakness?¡± Ezdaughed softly. ¡°You¡¯ve removed three White Roses and left the garden crippled. Are these more examples of your teaching?¡±
¡°Kill told you?¡±
¡°No, strangely.¡± Ezda cocked her head aside. ¡°We¡¯ve received a message from ¡ the other side.¡±
Zarian thought about it quickly. He went with the most wild guess. ¡°Lovewar?¡±
Ezda growled deeply. ¡°It is disturbing to have her presence involved with us. We don¡¯t understand her aims, and it displeases Kill. But our great god will not act against her. In fact, our great god says you must be killed.¡±
Zarian wasn¡¯t sure where this was going. He didn¡¯t react and yed the silent card, which ced the ball back in Ezda¡¯s court to carry the conversation.
Ezda shifted ufortably, showing a hint of hesitation. ¡°We are waiting to see what happens. Kill isn¡¯t always knowledgeable about the way of things in a lesser world.¡±
You know your own god is an idiot, and yet you put up with it, Zarian thought. I don¡¯t know if I should be wary of your own intelligence or think of you as weasels for using a god when it¡¯s convenient and ignoring him when he¡¯s inconvenient.
Then again, Zarian didn¡¯t care for Kill, so if the murdersome god continued to persist as a tool, then so be it. Zarian also had to admit it was a little funny that Kill¡¯s own worshipers knew the god could be a colossal idiot and had to temper certain expectations.
That left Zarian in an interesting position as he pieced a few things together.
¡°You¡¯re being awfully helpful, Elder Ezda,¡± Zarian said.
¡°You are a curiosity, Elder Zarian,¡± Ezda replied. ¡°You¡¯ve left an impression on me. And that impression resonates louder and louder as you impact our world. It will be wise to watch further instead of antagonize. All of us are curious to see how you handle the wolf dragons.¡±
¡°I have a giant,¡± Zarian said.
¡°And the wolf dragons are dragons.¡± Ezda backed away, receding into the tall grass. ¡°And you¡¯ve arrived toote.¡±
¡°Toote?¡±
¡°Where there are dragons, there will be kobolds. And the kobolds are worse than the dragons. Worse than us, even.¡±
¡°How much worse?¡±
¡°Kobolds don¡¯t negotiate. They have dragon blood in their veins. All that matters is conquest and dragon supremacy, as willed by the First Evil King, the First Destroyer.¡± Ezda let out a hyena-likeugh before fading awaypletely with somest words. ¡°Have fun, Elder Zarian.¡±
Some timeter, Zarian and the caravan reached the southern edges of North Crown Peak. They found a walled vige.
Everyone that should¡¯ve been inside was gone. There were no signs of survivors. All that remained was the blood that coated nearly every broken surface and chewed up body parts. A few spectral spiders found an effigy made of human parts and a strange text written in blood on a standing wall.
Zarian used Identify to trante the text.
<The wolf dragons reign supreme. The wolf kobolds will spread over thends. Be our food! Be our toys! Be our ves! This is the way of The Dragon!>
¡°Everyone,¡± Zarian said in a dark and somber voice. ¡°I think we¡¯ve arrived toote. North Crown Peak has fallen. And we¡¯re all that stands against the wolf dragons.¡±
Chapter 92: Regional Event
Zarian adjusted the cor of his repaired Wolf Dragon Hunter suit. He looked around the destruction of the walled vige, stepping over puddles of blood, separated limbs, w marks, and more signs of the savage violence that had swept across a home for local humans.
When he looked further ahead, he saw a gaping hole in the northern wall. In front of that were piles of knocked over stone caked in blood.
The air was thick with buzzing carrion insects. Avian beasts circled around in the air, their wings beating like a low rumbling thunder.
Despite their low levels, the pests were bold enough to fly close to someone and peck at the remains on the ground, unless it was Zarian. The insects and the birds left him alone.
The smell of rot and decay was heavy. Many of the acolytes lost some nerve or suffered nausea while a few soldiers looked about in horror. Zarian kept his features darkened, and his emotions in check, though he didn¡¯t me anyone for feeling unnerved or distraught.
After walking around for half an hour, Zarian had reasons to believe there were definitely no survivors. He returned to the effigy in the middle of the town¡¯s square where a market ce and park had once stood as the central meeting point of the vige. All that remained was ruins, desecration, and the signs of desperate fighting against a relentless and inevitable force.
¡°Zarian,¡± Bianca called sternly. She was standing in front of the effigy, her hard light sabers in hand. Little bulbs of light circled furiously around her in a cyclone.
¡°No wolf dragons or kobolds sighted in the nearby area,¡± Zarian said. ¡°The spectral spiders are scrambling fast to the north, the north east, east, the north west, and west from this very location. This is the most southern vige in North Crown Peak. If they haven¡¯t found anything yet, then the enemy force hasn¡¯t seen us yet.¡±
¡°What are we going to do?¡± Bianca asked.¡°We need to leave.¡± Gilbert looked back at the mortified group of soldiers and acolytes who¡¯d followed them in. Most of them waited outside of the wall with Stony and nine skeletons watching over them.
Loner was the only skeleton patrolling within the vige walls.
Gilbert held his cowboy hat to his chest. ¡°We came to help with a monster hunt. This is looking like an outright war barreling down on the kingdom. As horrible as this sounds, we have to leave and think of somewhere else to relocate these kids.¡±
¡°There¡¯s no better ce than here to toughen them up,¡± Naomi said, arms crossed.
She was looking into the side of a home that had its wall sted down. There were bodies in there that were mutted to the point of being unrecognizable. Something had eaten half of them and left what remained.
¡°You know what I¡¯m thinking, sir.¡± Naomi tipped her witch hat back and looked over at Zarian. ¡°We hunker down. Set up defenses. And we go hunting.¡±
¡°I agree with Naomi. We can¡¯t leave this ce. Not after seeing this.¡± Bianca¡¯s grip tensed around the handles of her hard light sabers. The flurry of lights orbiting her spun faster. ¡°This is horrible. This is the type of evil that must be cleansed.¡±
Her good +3 pulsated and made the surrounding air heavier. The nearest soldiers and acolytes wobbled, with a few backing away to rejoin the others outside of the walls. The ones who remained watched with wide-eyes and pale faces.
¡°Maybe we can fight, but this is way above their level,¡± Gilbert argued. ¡°It isn¡¯t just us we have to consider. Do we have enough food? Hell, can we even find water that hasn¡¯t been turned putrid around here? All I smell is rot. We¡¯re risking these children¡¯s lives if we don¡¯t settle them somewhere else.¡±
¡°We have forty wagons, fifty beasts, five Floridians, ten skeletons, one giant, one hundred and thirty-three soldiers, and one hundred and fifty-six acolytes,¡± Zarian said while looking up at the sky.
It was cloudy today, which would¡¯ve normally improved his mood, but he felt nothing. There were too many squawking and pping birds in the air and annoying insects buzzing about even if they kept out of his way.
He continued where he left off. ¡°Overall, that¡¯s three hundred and fifty-five living creatures to care for. We have enough food for another week, maybe two, if we stretch it. We only have enough water for one more day.¡±
¡°We can find water going back where we came,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Hannah, can you make an enchantment for purifying water?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yes,¡± Hannah answered.
¡°Are you willing to sacrifice the lives of these children if we get overrun?¡± Gilbert asked, not backing down.
¡°I haven¡¯t made my decision yet, but whether we stay or go, I need you all to know this. None of these children will get sacrificed. None of them will die,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Not when I have kids under my watch and leadership. I won¡¯t allow it.¡±
Gilbert hesitated to respond to that.
Naomi took over. ¡°We need to get stronger for Castle Grimrock. This is our best chance.¡±
¡°We can¡¯t go back.¡± The flurry of lights and Bianca¡¯s swords shone brighter.
¡°What does the Star System say?¡± Hannah asked.
She¡¯d kept mostly to herself with her Roller Golem at her side. In her hand, she tossed up and down a cube of stone the size of her palm. In the crook of her other arm, she held the evolving core against her side.
¡°Funny, I was thinking the same thing,¡± Zarian said. ¡°What do you have for us, Star System?¡±
There was no response.
Zarian wasn¡¯t convinced by that. He formed a pir of darkness beneath him and rose slowly into the air.
From behind him, the Parasite Cloak shifted and snapped, wed and cawed, sniped and raked, and reformed and transformed over and over and over again. The cloak stretched out far behind him and waved like a giant, monstrous g of many predatory forms.
Para was hungry, but she knew not to eat from the dead here. She would save her appetite for the living who were more deserving of her teeth, needles, hacksaws, scythes, and more.
¡°Let me repeat myself,¡± Zarian said smoothly. ¡°What do you have for us, Star System? If you have nothing, then I¡¯m going to take Gilbert¡¯s side and move the kids elsewhere. We¡¯lle back and finish the job ourselves.¡±
¡°Please, let me win this one,¡± Gilbert muttered.
A momentter, a notification appeared over the entire vige. Gilbert didn¡¯t win this one, not when the System offered something too irresistible to turn down, even despite the trouble.
¡°This is not what I expected,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But it¡¯s a pretty decent offer.¡±
¡°Well, there you have it. Even more of a reason to make ourselves at home,¡± Naomi said. ¡°What better way to ensure the kiddos can survive on their own than to make them grow fast and hard here?¡±
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.
¡°We can¡¯t be serious, right?¡± Gilbert pointed up at Zarian. ¡°You¡¯re no puppet of the System, chief. We don¡¯t have to follow through with this.¡±
¡°Puppet, no?¡± Zarian responded. ¡°But I don¡¯t mind the Star System when itys out incentives like these. Besides, we have friends like Arnold and some others who live in the Eternal Garden Kingdom. I suppose we can do them a favor and protect them while they deal with their civil war.¡±
Zarian turned about on his pir of darkness and looked down at everyone. ¡°I suppose we have a guild now, as temporary as that is. What shall we call it?¡±
¡°Ride-or-Die,¡± Naomi said.
¡°I like it,¡± Zarian admitted. ¡°We¡¯re the Ride-Or-Die Guild now, even if it¡¯s temporary.¡±
¡°Fuck it. I give up. I guess we¡¯re just going to do this thing,¡± Gilbert grumbled.
¡°While your concern for the children is amiable, Gilbert, I¡¯m more concerned about the gamified nature of this regional event,¡± Hannah said. ¡°I may be wrong here, but for an event like this to be structured into certified parts, that would mean our enemies are going to be made aware of this event if they haven¡¯t been made aware already. In other words, wouldn¡¯t this mean the Star System is ying both sides of the field?¡±
¡°Huh, that¡¯s actually a good point.¡± Zarian checked through the Spectral Spider Network.
The spiders have traveled for miles now in all directions, even south just to keep a watch of their backside. They hadn¡¯t found the wolf dragons and wolf kobolds yet.
Instead, the spiders found many signs of the enemy¡¯s passing in the form of demolished fields, ruined viges, and water sources that had been made undrinkable. There were few corpses that remained whole, the rest had been gruesomely torn apart in gory disys.
¡°I¡¯m not finding them. They must¡¯ve pulled back far. Or they could¡¯ve holed up in the main fortress further north,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°Nheless, it¡¯s best we y this as if they¡¯re aware of our position here. This works in our favor, in a sense. If we¡¯re going to set up a proper siege warfare for the System, they¡¯re going to y by the rules of the game as well.¡±
¡°How do you know that?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°The wolf dragons are actual monsters,¡± Hannah exined. ¡°And monsters aren¡¯t as naturalpared to beasts and sapient creatures such as humans or even the gnolls. The Star System has more influence on the monsters, and if the monsters hold their position to y along with the game, the wolf kobolds will probably do the same. I believe I¡¯ve read somewhere that kobolds idolize dragons while worshiping the First Evil King. So they¡¯ll hold back as long as the monsters themselves would.¡±
¡°Also, I imagine kobolds would want mythical rewards from the Star System if they y along,¡± Zarian said.
¡°That¡¯s a lot of guesswork without much proof to me,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°But this is the damn Star System we¡¯re talking about, and I imagine ain¡¯t nobody out here trying to go against it all willy-nilly. And you all probably know more than me. Still a shit situation.¡±
¡°Thank you,¡± Zarian said.
Gilbert cocked his head to the side. ¡°For what?¡±
¡°For not rolling over and staying silent,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I appreciate it.¡±
¡°Yeah, well, I wouldn¡¯t be me if I agreed to everything. Someone has to ground us crazy-ass Floridians.¡± Gilbert shook his head before muttering. ¡°But it ain¡¯t like I¡¯m going anywhere. So let¡¯s have ourselves a god damn medieval mo.¡±
The dark pir under Zarian lowered into the ground. Everyone was turned toward him except for Bianca. She was still ring at the effigy.
Zarian waited for her as she finally threw her flurry of lights forward and burned the effigy to ash. Then she marched over to join the leaders of the temporary Ride-or-Die Guild. Zarian looked past his fellow Outsiders and found Rnd and Lora standing hesitantly ahead of the soldiers and acolytes.
¡°Well, what are you waiting for?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°Come on over here. We have a siege to n for.¡±
***
The set up for the main defenses hinged on Stony and Hannah. Stony was a Level 105 Wall Crusher Master, which was appropriately suited for knocking down the current walls around the vige and leaving the rubble for Hannah to vacuum up with her cube maker skill.
That wasn¡¯t enough for Hannah, though, so she rode on Stony¡¯s shoulder as the giant escorted her to neighboring viges and knocked down their walls and structures for Hannah to vacuum up. By the time they returned and got to work on walling their fort, the suns were setting.
Hannah was going to have to work fast and hard throughout the night. But she was getting paid back with extra experience and high value levels.
Zarian wanted to have a private chuckle when he remembered the time Hannah felt insecure about her support-based ss. Look how important she ended up being.
While Stony and Hannah worked on the defenses, Naomi, Rnd, and Lora led the soldiers and acolytes in cleaning up the vige and finding all usable food items and containers with drinkable liquids.
Not everything waspletely ruined, and the acolytes were good at scavenging from various homes, shops, and vendor stalls. The soldiers carried out the remaining body parts and buried them far enough south where they wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Zarian let them drink their fill of water and eat as much food as necessary as they worked and cleaned up the vige.
Gilbert took some soldiers to establish a stable to keep their beasts. The ox-like beasts andrge ground drakes might serve as extra meat for when times were lean, but Zarian had ns to deal with the food and water issues. That depended on if he wanted to spend the best resources they had now or wait forter.
He wasn¡¯t sure just yet and kept pondering as he walked around and supervised the fortification effort. He was also paying attention to the spectral spiders who scouted out the way north. They found the kobolds.
Zarian had guessed right that they would gather at the main fortress, but he hadn¡¯t realized how heavy their numbers would be. There were too many of them to count. And from what he could observe through the spiders, the kobolds were indeed holding their position while making preparations for tomorrow¡¯s battle.
¡°We can end this right away,¡± Bianca said, following Zarian around like a shadow. ¡°You can do it, Zarian. Go straight to the heart of the wolf dragons and kill them all.¡±
¡°No,¡± Zarian said.
Bianca huffed in aggravation. ¡°What happened here needs to be avenged.¡±
Zarian stopped and turned to the Light Princess, who kept radiating an intense glow to bleed off the anger inside. He¡¯d never seen Bianca so aggressive before.
He wouldn¡¯t have minded if it wasn¡¯t for the machinations and plots the good gods were cooking up in the background. Zarian took his time to answer as Bianca red down into his darkened face.
¡°They will be avenged. But we¡¯re going to do so while building up the children,¡± Zarian exined softly. ¡°We¡¯ve started something by taking responsibility for these youngsters. It¡¯s not enough for me to just fly off and protect them from all the horrors and evils of their world and the wider universe of Infinita.¡±
Zarian looked to the side as soldiers and acolytes ran about, working together, moving frantically while trying to keep the obvious fear they felt in control. ¡°When we do a job, I want it done the best way we can do it. And the best way we can do the job is to see the game topletion. The Star System is giving us what we want from the ashes of ruin, so there¡¯s no reason to turn this down and go against the game. Not yet, at least.¡±
Zarian turned away to watch the suns set. In the distance, he saw Stony scooping up huge ditches further out of the perimeter. Hannah was already moving fast and cing down cubic blocks of stone for the new walls. The unified sounds of tons of dirt being shoveled up while Hannah popped into ce cubes that followed their own magical rules was an interesting background noise.
¡°Is that your evil alignment talking?¡± Bianca used, eyes shing.
Zarian frowned and held his tongue, choosing not to respond.
After enough time, Bianca realized her mistake. Her light dimmed, and so did her self-righteous attitude. She looked down at her bare feet. They were dirty and covered in kes of blood. She grimaced at the mess before letting out a sigh.
¡°Lo siento. I¡¯m sorry. Maybe I should be the one using myself of letting my good alignment talk ahead of my mind.¡± She looked up and met Zarian¡¯s gaze.
¡°You did let your good alignment talk ahead of your mind,¡± Zarian said firmly, then with a softer touch, he added, ¡°You don¡¯t really know what my evil alignment is telling me.¡±
¡°Should I ask?¡±
¡°It says to dangle the kids as bait, and when the wolf dragons and kobolds are distracted gobbling them up, I¡¯ll hit them all with my most impactful magic,¡± Zarian said. ¡°There are various versions of that idea along with something simr to what you are saying. So do keep in mind I¡¯m dealing with myself and dealing with you.¡±
Bianca shrank back a bit. Maybe hisst words came out with a little too much bite, but he wanted Bianca to understand how serious it was to use him of his alignment taking over.
For the most part, Zarian wanted to believe he had a tight control over it. So if he was acting a little tense in response, then the usation truly struck a nerve, and he was letting Bianca know it.
She nodded and apologized a couple of times more. She looked and sounded genuinely sorry. Zarian reached up and patted her shoulder.
¡°Don¡¯t let your good alignment take over, Bianca. Try to resist,¡± Zarian said.
¡°It¡¯s hard sometimes. It feels better to give in,¡± Bianca muttered.
¡°Try your best, okay?¡±
Bianca threw her arms around him and hugged him close. That was answer enough, so he hugged her back.
In the old world, something like this wouldn¡¯t have ever happened. Zarian and Bianca came from two different walks of life and would¡¯ve never concerned themselves over the other. But here in Infinita, after all they¡¯d faced together, they were the closest of friends.
Even when they disagreed, they remained friends.
¡°I will help you no matter what,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I won¡¯t let them win if they try something with you.¡±
¡°Thank you,¡± Bianca said.
Slowly, they separated. Bianca looked calmer now and in more control of herself. How long that wouldst, Zarian didn¡¯t know, but at least she was trying.
Moving on, Zarian said, ¡°I¡¯m going to use three boons before morning arrives, two from Lovewar and one from Shadowfell.¡±
Bianca epted the change of conversation gracefully. ¡°What boons will you ask for? And are you sure you want to use those so early?¡±
Before Zarian could exin, he felt an emergency ping from Hannah through the Spectral Spider Network. Immediately, he wrapped his arm around Bianca¡¯s waist and cast Void Step to reach Hannah¡¯s location.
Because of the recent advancement to the Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Exile, it was safe to take friends through the void for a quick trip. When Zarian and Bianca stepped out from the wrinkle in the air, they found Stony looming hugely above, with Hannah holding Reiki¡¯s dungeon core out to them.
¡°It happened,¡± Hannah said breathlessly.
¡°What happened?¡± Bianca asked.
Zarian answered. ¡°The dungeon core finished evolving. We can nt her now.¡±
Chapter 93: Dungeon Master
Chapter 93: Dungeon Master
Zarian walked to the center of the Ride-or-Die Fort, where a market ce had once existed for the local humans before the kobolds attacked. Now all the broken vendor stalls were gone.
The soldiers had carried away the dead remains and debris while acolytes helped with mopping up, so it was a more sanitary and neat ce, just about perfect for cing down a dungeon core.
Para formed a scoop to dig up a deep enough hole before Zarian ced the core down. Then Para pushed the loose dirt and stone fragments over the core and covered it.
Looking up, Zarian saw nightfall had arrived.
Stony the giant was still busy digging up ditches further out around the fort. Hannah was zooming, working nonstop, as she built fortified walls based on ns she¡¯d drafted and shared with Zarian. Watching her go was like watching a game of Minecraft from an outsider¡¯s perspective.
Turning around, Zarian heard Naomi shouting for the soldiers and acolytes to set up lights. She called out to Loner and the skeletons to stay extra vignt in case of dangerous beastsing in to scavenge from the dead or the living.
The remains of the vigers weren¡¯t much good for any uncontrolled necromancy, so it was safe for the soldiers to bury them deep into the ground further south.
As soldiers and acolytes put up torches to push away the encroaching dark under a cloudy night, Zarian felt a rumble under his boots. He backed away a few steps as stone and dirt sank down into a slope before forming a staircase.
The staircase widened and sank further into the earth before reaching a smooth stone floor. Reality shifted. A burst of aura blew out from the dungeon entrance. Two fluted columns formed, nking the main doorway, before everything became still.A few nearby soldiers and acolytes stopped what they were doing to gawk at the magical event. None of them had seen a dungeon before. None of them knew dungeons could move around and get nted wherever.
The soldiers and acolytes were further shocked when a public notification appeared in gold for Zarian and everyone else to see.
Without having to ask, the Star System listed what each option meant. Zarian appreciated the disclosure, since there were many spots in the Star System that went unexined.
<Crawl (Option 1): You enter the dungeon to challenge its monsters and traps and earn rewards. Your blood, sweat, and expense of aura is payment enough. Your death is a luxury for the dungeon to feast on.>
¡°Three. Two. One,¡± Zarian counted down before hearing another soft ¡®ding¡¯ inside his head. He couldn¡¯t help but smile as the soldiers and acolytes gossiped and spected behind him.
Zarian dumped all of his points into Mysticism. He was going to need every bit of Mysticism he could get for what he had nned, so this achievement was close to the most perfect thing as of now.
¡°I choose option three, please,¡± Zarian said.
There was a slight tremor that passed under everyone¡¯s feet. Zarian noticed the local reality shift a little more. The surrounding aura near Zarian and possibly around the entire fort became denser, much denser. That would certainly increase aura recovery for everyone.
Another public notification appeared over everyone¡¯s heads.
¡°A dungeon that¡¯s made a part of a fort?¡± a soldier questioned from behind Zarian. ¡°Can we truly rely on monsters from a dungeon? What if these so-called resources are traps?¡±
¡°Can we even rely on ourselves?¡± an acolyte asked. ¡°I¡¯m only a Level 12 Logistics Manager Assistant. I¡¯m barely much of a fighter. I¡¯m barely keeping up.¡±
¡°Lord Zarian says he¡¯ll ensure all of us will survive from this and grow stronger,¡± another acolyte said. ¡°We just have to put our faith into him, for he is chosen by Lovewar.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll do all I can. But I think it¡¯s foolish to think all of us will survive this. The Floridians will, but the rest of us better make peace with our gods,¡± a different soldier grumbled.
Zarian chuckled as he slowly turned toward the peanut gallery. He addressed thest soldier who had spoken.
¡°Are you calling me a liar?¡±
They all hushed up and stood straight like Naomi had taught when an authority figure addressed them. Then one soldier found his voice, even if it was a shaky and squeaky one.
¡°We aren¡¯t as strong as you, milord!¡± the soldier squawked.
¡°Maybe you¡¯re right. Maybe you¡¯ll never be as strong as me. But that¡¯s okay. I¡¯m strong enough for all of us.¡± Zarian cackled. His Parasite Cloak fanned out into different horrifying forms that struck fear into everybody nearby. ¡°We will have a grand siege, and nobody will die. And when you be old and gray with grandkids, you¡¯ll tell them the story of Lord Zarian Darkrun and his impossible, Ride-or-Die promise.¡±
Silence had befallen the square. Zarian watched them. And the children watched him in return. He saw the quiver in their eyes, and that told him everything he needed to know.
They still doubted him.
He could tell.
But that didn¡¯t matter much as he turned away and stepped down into the staircase. He entered the dungeon¡¯s mouth, and he felt a deeper shift in reality through his aura, like stepping through heavy curtains on a stage to transition from one ce to somewhere else far different.
He foundvish and fluffy carpeting under his boots. He looked up and saw soft illumination glowing from bluish-white sconces set high on the fluted columns. He saw a reception desk in front of rows and rows of giant bookcases holding an endless amount of books.
Spider-like creatures lurked and crawled around the bookcases, mostly out of direct vision, though they weren¡¯t his primary interest. Zarian looked away from the empty reception desk and turned to a dining area that reminded Zarian of a proper cafe.
Then he heard a hiss followed by one of the most amazing smells Zarian could enjoy in life. He walked over to the cafe counter as a woman with six arms worked with a runic device that used ground-up beans and hot water to brew something dark and delicious.
The woman turned around and smiled with pretty lips before they parted and revealed a set of spider-like fangs. She held out a mug of the dark brew over the counter, and Zarian grasped it with both hands before taking a small sip.
Yup, this was the stuff.
¡°How?¡± Zarian asked.
Reiki waved her hands toward the library-like dungeon and its spider monster upants. It didn¡¯t take long for Zarian to figure out what her gesturing was saying.
The library had a book on coffee. The dungeon could replicate that as amon or umon item.
Before Zarian could say anything more, he noticed monstrous spiders drawing near with items in their hands.
They held crates filled with waterskins, all of them filled to capacity. They even held food items that were fresh to eat, such as meats, cheeses, and even fruits. They held a variety of supplies, ranging from nkets to quivers filled with umon arrows, all of which were usable for the guild.
The spiders were bigger than when Zarian hadst seen them, now the size of minivans with long reaching legs. They also had insectoid arms extending from their fronts, right under their faces filled with pale eyes and monstrous spider mouths.
They held out the offered items for him to see, and with a nod, Zarian gave them his approval. The spiders went out to deliver the much needed resources to the fort.
¡°I should go exin what¡¯s going on before the kiddos have a heart attack,¡± Zarian said.
Reiki graced him with a nod and close-mouthed smile.
He took his mug of coffee, turned to leave, stopped, and came back. ¡°Can you make four more mugs of these? Please and thank you.¡±
Reiki turned away and went back to brewing.
Zarian shook his head, chuckling. He couldn¡¯t believe that the Hemlock Family had the knowledge and capabilities of replicating coffee, and they didn¡¯t take advantage of it.
Oh well, what was their loss was Zarian¡¯s gain.
He would have to find the time to introduce the splendors of coffee to this world, sooner orter. Maybe he would start with a test group, such as the soldiers and acolytes.
¡°Maybe coffee¡¯s a bit too strong as a start. How about hot chocte?¡± Zarian asked, as he climbed out of the dungeon entrance to the sound of screaming and shouting.
He made it up the stairs. Para used her tentacles to p aside a few arrows shot at the helpful dungeon spiders.
¡°Cease fire! Cease fire! These helpful spiders are bringing you some supplies. Look and see!¡± Zarian pointed at the storage crates.
These weren¡¯t enough to feed over three hundred mouths, but Zarian imagined there would be plenty moreing out, so their food and water supply wouldn¡¯t be a major problem.
¡°Milord, you are never without surprises, are you?¡± a familiar acolyte asked. She wasn¡¯t visible to the eye until she ended her Invisibility skill.
¡°Well, Amabel, I wouldn¡¯t be able to deliver upon you miracle after miracle if I weren¡¯t filled with surprises,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°Now don¡¯t do my spider friends a disservice and just stand around. Have the logistic acolytese over and deal with these. It¡¯ll be good for their levels.¡±
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.
¡°Yes, milord!¡±
As Amabel and some other acolytes ran off, Zarian turned to see the spider monsters shimmying and jiggering about. They hesitated when they noticed his gaze, but then they went back to dancing for a few seconds longer. When they were about to stop, over fifty spectral spiders appeared.
¡°Uh oh,¡± Zarian said.
¡°What¡¯s the matter, milord?¡± a soldier asked. ¡°Have the dungeon spiders disrespected the spectral ones in any way?¡±
¡°Disrespected? Not really. But they¡¯re two gangs meeting for the first time. There¡¯s only one way this could end.¡±
The spectral spiders broke out into impressive dance routines. While they were small, they were numerous, coordinated, and capable of pulling off agile tricks. Of course, the prowess of the much smaller dancers did not put off the dungeon spiders.
The much bigger spiders showed off moves of their own that nobody, not even Zarian, had seen. While the spectral spiders were talented, the dungeon spiders must¡¯ve had secret books and manuals detailing impressive dance moves.
The spectral spiders didn¡¯t back off and worked fiercely topete against the dungeon spiders. Eventually, when the entire fort went into a standstill except for Hannah, all because everybody wasing over to watch the spider dance off, Zarian had to break it up so they could all get back to work.
Why do I feel like the dance war between the dungeon spiders and the spectral spiders is only beginning?
Zarian shook his head, amused, before he turned to a wide-eyed soldier and told him to make sure everyone knew not to attack the dungeon or her monsters.
After that, Zarian went off to tell his fellow Floridians about the dungeon-made cafe and the coffee it could brew. That lifted their spirits, Gilbert¡¯s especially. The main wall and fortifications were looking good as Hannah worked expediently. Stony kept digging massive ditches around the Ride-or-Die Fort.
Naomi was taking time to herself to get into the zone and prepare for the iing war. Zarian watched her move and stretch and meditate, and she didn¡¯t seem to mind his presence one bit.
Then Zarian ended up on top of apleted section of the wall that was facing north. He finished the remaining coffee in his mug as a chilly autumn breeze blew past and made his Parasite Cloak flutter a little.
The clouds were still a heavy presence above his head, and more importantly, he could smell the oing rain. There would be lots and lots of rain, from what he could tell.
¡°I wonder what¡¯s the end goal of this event,¡± Zarian said. ¡°What are you trying to make happen, System? This is the stuff of legends and myths. Heroes are made from events like these.¡±
There was no response.
¡°I just want you to know I appreciate the opportunity, but I¡¯m not entirely dumb. I can be overpowered and dumb sometimes, but I have my moments of being careful and shrewd, too.¡±
The System didn¡¯t respond.
Chuckling, he said, ¡°You know I can go out there andpletely wipe out thepetition. But that¡¯s not what I want to do. So, I find it suspicious that you¡¯ll give me something I want exactly in a context that¡¯s bigger and more epic than it should¡¯ve been.¡±
Zarian shook his head. ¡°Here I am, rambling nonsense. Acting all paranoid. Or maybe I¡¯m not paranoid. Because either you want me to leave it all behind and grow too fast for anyone to catch up. Or you¡¯re going to make Bianca have her big hero moment and lose herself to the good alignment.¡±
After a moment longer of silence, he shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s not how things are going to y out. You should know by now that I won¡¯t make the same mistakes. I won¡¯t let another Wally die. I won¡¯t let another Jack happen. I will have my cake and eat it, too, and nothing will stop me. I¡¯ll have it all.¡±
***
The morning came, and so did the rain. Zarian was enjoying his third mug of coffee with a bit of alcohol mixed in while he sat on the north-facing wall and read from the Grimoire of ck Magic 102. He had nothing else to read since he¡¯d maxed out the spells in the Grimoire of the Dread Mire Hell Gator and the Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Exile.
All that remained was the unwieldy, mind-boggling, and arbitrary study material that made up the gravity spell, which remained hard even with the help of his Tranquil Mind, Adrenaline Jolt, and Lore Eater traits.
Well, at least he was halfway through. He only had another fifty percent before he could call upon a spell that was most likely divine.
Zarian shut his grimoire, the spectral chains rattling between the covers and his soul. He rose from his throne as all of his grimoires hovered, orbited, or rattled along with his movements.
He looked up at the slow and heavy rainfall and smiled at the change of weather. Theck of sunlight deepened the depths of the shadows and darkened the darkest corners of the Ride-or-Die Fort.
Next to him, Rnd shivered as he gripped a bow and arrow in his hands. He was already using a skill that entwined the arrow with grasping vines, having it prepared for the eventual conflict toe.
Zarian turned to watch him for a time, and slowly Rnd turned to meet Zarian¡¯s void-like eyes and the deep shroud covering his face under his wide-brimmed wizard hat.
¡°I never imagined this would be my life when I first drew my sword against you,¡± Rnd admitted. ¡°I came from a family that was just below nobility, scrambling to rise above the rabble, and I was already a bastard son with something to prove. But I was nothing more than a pawn, a fool, and here I am, being more of the same before I must face my doom at the hands of dragon-worshiping monstrosities.¡±
Zarian would¡¯ve rolled his eyes at the melodrama if he had a little less respect for Rnd. Despite everything, the man had stuck through with all of Zarian¡¯s ns after saving the remaining young soldiers from being sacrificed to gnolls.
He couldn¡¯t me Rnd for being scared. After all, Zarian had exined in detail what they were facing when the wolf kobolds and wolf dragonsunched their attack.
Thousands and thousands of kobolds.
¡°It¡¯s going to be alright,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You¡¯ll grow old and gray one day.¡±
Rnd snorted. ¡°If you say so, milord.¡±
¡°Believe in me, and I¡¯ll find a way for us all.¡± Zarian turned north as the rain kept pounding down. ¡°If not me, believe in the fact that we have a giant.¡±
Rnd looked past the Madness Wizard and set his eyes on the massive giant who now had a mini-house away from home. Stony was the gatekeeper, and the gate had nothing in its way but Stony himself. Anything that wanted to get past Stony only had to run down a walled-inne that was two hundred feet long and fifty feet wide.
The walls themselves, which were impressively tough because of cube physics, stood seventy-five feet tall and circled around the entire fort. There were even cubic towers Hannah had built to look over the walls from each of the four corners while soldiers and acolytes set up on the ramparts, most of them staging in the direction facing north.
At some pointst night, Zarian had to feed Hannah extra aura to keep her going. She¡¯d needed so much aura that the natural aura boost from the supportive dungeon wasn¡¯t enough.
The cost was well worth the benefits, since Hannah was now Level 57, and her Cube Maker Magic skill had advanced to Cube Maker Magic +1, which reduced the cost of the skill by a drastic amount. Hannah was both a legendary Runic Engineer and a living fortress maker, which was bing a big deal, honestly.
¡°I¡¯m tired, Lord Zarian,¡± Stony said from his gate house. He even had a roof to keep him out of the rain, unlike everyone else. ¡°Can I take a nap for a little while?¡±
¡°Yeah, sure, you¡¯re not needed for now,¡± Zarian said.
Rnd and the nearest soldiers and acolytes gawked at the Madness Wizard. None of them said a thing because there wasn¡¯t any point in reasoning with a man they all deemed to be impossible to predict.
Instead, they listened to the rumbling snores of the Level 105 Wall Crusher Master, whose voice resounded for miles. If the kobolds hadn¡¯t known they were here already, they would know for sure.
¡°Did you know we can be masters when we hit Level 100, depending on if you¡¯re good enough?¡± Zarian asked Rnd.
¡°Is that why Stony¡¯s ss has the ¡®master¡¯ included?¡±
¡°Yup. At the Level 100s is the master rank. At the Level 200s is the Champion rank. At the Level 300s is the Paragon Rank. At the Level 400s is the Heroes and Viins rank. And at the Level 500s and beyond is the god rank. From there, it¡¯s apetition to either take the throne of the Adventurer King or be one of the fourteen major gods.¡±
Rnd nodded along. ¡°This is all information from Lovewar?¡±
¡°Lady Hannah told me a bunch about it. Corma is mainly for anything below Level 100 with a few who are a little above Level 100. The next world above after ascension is for Level 100 to 300. The next world after that is Level 300 and above. Can you believe that after we ascend twice, I¡¯ll get to punch a god in the face directly?¡±
¡°Milord, that¡¯s sphemous!¡± Rnd shook his head. ¡°At this point, I¡¯m sure the gods will know of you and have ns to obliterate you directly the moment you arrive.¡±
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll have ns. But I¡¯m going to eat some hearty meals and go on some fun quests. And I won¡¯t be alone. So the gods can n all they want, but I¡¯ll be on my way up there when I¡¯m good and ready. Hell, even if I hit Level 100, I might not ascend just yet. There¡¯s a tournament in Carrowmore, and I¡¯m not missing it.¡±
The more Zarian talked, the more Rnd shook his head. The young twenty-year-old local man was a simple guy who had wanted nothing more than to rise up the ranks of nobility and have a harem of women to fawn over him.
Now Rnd was here, suffering the mad ramblings of Zarian Darkrun, standing wet in the rain with hundreds of other young men and women, as they waited for the dark forces of wolf kobolds and their idolized wolf dragons to make an appearance and attempt to massacre them all. This was Rnd¡¯s current destiny.
For a moment, Rnd looked like he might¡¯ve preferred dying on the day the gnolls had attacked his unpreparedpany of sacrificial young men.
It was toote now. Zarian had saved their lives, and now they were a part of histest game, which was preparing to start as Zarian, Rnd, and everyone else watched the endless tide of kobolds appear on the northern horizon.
¡°Oh, my good gods, there are so many,¡± Rnd said.
¡°We¡¯re dead, we¡¯re absolutely dead,¡± another soldier said.
¡°I think I¡¯m going to cry,¡± an acolyte said.
¡°It¡¯s toote now. I¡¯vemitted. If I die, I¡¯ll be secured under Lovewar¡¯s grace,¡± a different acolyte said.
Zarian shook his head and looked back as dungeon spiders crawled up the walls with crates filled with fresh food, waterskins, and hot chocte. The soldiers and acolytes have grown ustomed to the dungeon spiders quickly since they kept providing fresh and delicious food, with water always on hand.
The hot chocte was a new sugary drink that none of the children had tasted before, so Zarian held his silence as he watched Rnd and the others take a sip and perk up instantly.
¡°My goodness! What is this delicious delicacy?¡± Rnd asked.
¡°That is hot chocte, a lost knowledge that only the Dancing Librarian Dungeon knows, which is owned by me as the master.¡± Zarian leaned close against Rnd, the Parasite Cloak wrapping aroundfortably. ¡°Do a good job, and you and all the boys and girls will get more hot chocte, with maybe a little something extra that us Floridians enjoy drinking.¡±
¡°Yes, well, I do certainly feel a bit more invigorated now.¡± Rnd pulled away and shouted aloud to the others. ¡°Come now, my fellow lords anddies! We are the bastard sons and daughters of our kingdom, and here we are, ready to make a stand and raise ourselves up to live a better tomorrow!¡±
¡°For the Floridians who¡¯ve saved our lives!¡± cheered one soldier.
¡°For Lovewar, who has chosen the Floridians!¡± cheered an acolyte.
¡°For hot chocte! My new love and pick! I¡¯ll stay Ride-or-Die for that!¡± cheered another acolyte, and many of the soldiers and acolytes agreed with her.
¡°Cheers!¡± they all shouted.
¡°Screw the hot chocte! When do I get my enchanted fishing rod and an actual day off?!¡± Gilbert roared from further down the wall. His steed neighed loudly along with him.
There was a pause. Then the soldiers and acolytes cheered again, just because.
The young men and women enjoyed their hot chocte. They listened to the loud rumbling snores of their fellow giant and gatekeeper.
Then, half an hourter, they saw carrion birds pping through the rain. They heard the screeches, roars, and caws from a menagerie of scaly creatures of the evil alignment.
They watched a dark tide sweep closer across thend north of them like an unstoppable wave that moved and shifted and broke at random spurts as parts of the loose enemy formation rushed ahead of the others.
Stretching from horizon to horizon, thousands of kobolds attacked with ws, chipped swords, warped spears with rusty spread heads, shields riddled with holes, and any other odd thing they had in hand. They looked like rabid dogs fused with carnivorous reptiles, their humanoid bodies falling a little short of five feet for the smallest of them, but the way they moved with primal confidence made their short height seem like a negligible factor.
The good mood of the soldiers and acolytes dropped away like they¡¯d fallen into an endless abyss. Zarianughed, of course, because he couldn¡¯t help but find it a little funny.
The soldiers and acolytes were scared of a bunch of Level 15 kobolds, some over, some under, but a majority of them around Level 15.
Granted, there were thousands of those Level 15s.
The acolytes were a few levels above Level 10. The soldiers were mainly around Level 20, or maybe a few levels above that.
They could easily get mobbed, beaten down, and overwhelmed by tens or hundreds of kobolds. So facing off against five thousand kobolds around Level 15 for the first round seemed preposterous.
Zarian hopped into the air with the Strength of his physicality alone. Hended over two hundred feet away from where he jumped and settled on the rooftop of Stony¡¯s gatehouse.
Arms folded across his chest, Zarian waited as his Parasite Cloak stretched out and grew to itsrgest size, bing a massive and monstrous g that snipped, snarled, shed, wed, and chomped at the air behind him.
The rain kept pounding.
And the earth rumbled with ten thousand feet, all rushing at them like a dark tsunami wave.
¡°Bianca, do your thing,¡± Zarian ordered.
The Light Princess shot into the sky like fireworks. She entered a hover three hundred feet in the air. Then she let free her anger with a searing sh aimed down at the charging kobold army, catching them unaware.
The hardest part was directing all of that light through the rainfall. But Bianca was just angry enough to make a solid first impression, especially with her good +3 power.
The timing was perfect. The searing sh blinded many of the kobolds. They didn¡¯t see the simple but deadly trap waiting for them.
Hundreds of kobolds fell to their doom as they ran straight into the ditches Stony had dug up yesterday. At the bottom of the ditches, wooden spikes and arcane webbing waited, all of which the spectral spiders had set up overnight.
The Wolf Dragon Siege of North Crown Peak, a Mythical Regional Event that could decide the fate of an entire kingdom, began.
Chapter 94: First Wave 1
Chapter 94: First Wave 1
Zarian remembered times in the barracks when one Marine would set up nights for drinking and watching epic fantasy movies. There was a lot of booze, of course, and hours spent marathoning Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, the Chronicles of Narnia, and so on.
In those movies, he remembered how the heroes were cornered, their backs pressed against the wall, while the enemy forces seemed too big and scary and ruthless for anyone to fight.
He¡¯d even felt dread for some of his favorite characters even though he knew the heroes usually made it out in the end, or he thought he knew. There were a few surprises here and there, which was why those big budgeted and chaotic battles were some of his favorites.
The suspense had always sucked him in deep. And even if he¡¯d already watched the movie and seen the epic battle, he¡¯d go back online to re-watch it just so he could catch anything he¡¯d missed the first time.
The first battle of the Wolf Dragon Invasion, a Mythical Regional Event, was both exhrating and anticlimactic at the same time. Most of the exhration came from Zarian living vicariously through the actions and reactions of the young soldiers and acolytes.
The young men and women were panicking, mumbling the first thoughts that came to mind, or praying aloud to their gods as they stood on the ramparts facing the horde of kobolds. Their hands shook wildly, making it a struggle to keep hold of the umon bows and arrows the dungeon had given them.
Each armament had their own minor enchantments for easier shooting and more pration. That should give the acolytes some confidence in using bows and arrows even if they were still novices.
But their confidence, even after having tasted the hot chocte, was washing away with the heavy rain as the kobolds drew ever closer. Since the kobolds weren¡¯t in range just yet, the young soldiers and acolytes had to wait, and as they waited, the fearpounded.
One acolyte nearly broke away from formation.Naomi¡¯s High Intimidation trait red up, and the acolyte who was about to run stopped and turned back to her position. The girl cried as her friends barely held it together next to her.
Zarian observed all of this through his Spectral Spider Network.
He had hundreds of spiders spread around the fort, most of them along the north wall, but he also had spiders keeping a lookout on the nks and the rear. It was through the spiders that Zarian had his vicarious enjoyments, enough so that he wanted to ask Reiki if she had a book on making popcorn.
He couldn¡¯t move from his position on top of the gatehouse roof, unfortunately. Because not only did the soldiers and acolytes pray to their gods, they looked back to Zarian with furtive nces.
Some were angry, looking for an easy scapegoat to me. That would be him.
Others looked to him for confidence and bravery, and they might find that with how he stood in the heavy rain with arms crossed, his Parasite Cloak stretched out far behind him like a huge, tattered, and monstrous g.
Or they looked at him because they thought he was scarier than the kobolds, and they would be right to think so. It turned out the kobolds were so pathetic their charge broke apart far easier than Zarian had expected.
He had spectral spiders on the battlefield as well. They scrambled quickly to the wall while staying invisible in their ghost forms, keeping ahead of the kobold¡¯s halting and sluggish advance.
Zarian had expected he would lose some of them by mere happenstance, but that wasn¡¯t the case at all. Everything was perfectly fine, and Zarian¡¯s disappointment in the kobolds, at least for the first wave, was growing immeasurable.
Five hundred fell to the ditches and died instantly on the spikes waiting at the bottom in the first minute. Zarian found that strange at first, even though he had ordered Bianca to blind them, but he figured they would tread with more care.
Instead, the kobolds kept barreling forward. They did slow down, but only because they kept falling for the ditches in front of them or because they tripped and bumped into each other.
Things would¡¯ve been easier for the kobolds if they corrected themselves and got some semnce of order. They didn¡¯t. They became more savage, more mad, and more chaotic.
The kobolds struck at each other with their old and trashy weapons in random spurts of self-destructive anger. They shoved forward, continuing their reckless assault and falling into giant ditches filled with webbing and spikes.
There was more webbing that waited on the muddy floor outside the ditches, too. Zarian¡¯s spectral spiders had ced those down between the ditches to trip kobolds who were smart enough ¨C or lucky enough ¨C to avoid the spiked pitfall traps.
When the kobolds hit the surface-webbing trip-wires, they came crashing down in bunches. Enough of them piled up where the kobolds behind them broke like a river in front of a boulder and split off to the sides.
If the piles were big enough, then the kobolds streaming around slipped down the edges of the ditches and impaled themselves on the spikes below or became entangled with the webbing at the bottom. With the heavy rain, the threat of drowning in mud and water became a reality for the kobolds stuck on arcane webbing at the bottom of the ditches.
By the time the kobolds started getting closer to the desired arrow-shooting range, nearly a thousand of them fell dead in the ditches. Once the ditches filled up enough for kobolds to run over their own dyingrades, they barreled forward and ¡ fell into more ditches!
Zarian shook his head while getting a live tally of deaths contributed to him. The System updated the number in a notification box in the corner of his vision.
There was a reason Stony had the right to take a nap. The giant had dug a lot of deep and wide ditches around the fort, and all the ditches were staggered. It was nearly impossible for the kobolds to keep a proper charge going without killing themselves in their haste.
That¡¯s literally a fifth of the wave, and it hasn¡¯t even been ten minutes yet. I haven¡¯t even done anything but stand here and look cool.
Even with the experience-boost from the Mythical Regional Event, Zarian doubted he was getting much experience. If the Star System had a parameter for doling out experience based on difficulty factors, and that parameter was on a sliding scale going up and down, then Zarian was getting the most bottom-of-the-barrel experience, if he was getting any experience at all.
Being Level 64 was nice-and-all, but he wouldn¡¯t grow much by taking out thousands of severely weak enemies. Hence why he was living vicariously through the kiddos.
His disappointment in the kobolds couldn¡¯t sour his mood too much, not when the soldiers and the acolytes had some interesting takes.
¡°My good gods, be with me on this hallowed day, for we face the endless horde of evil!¡± shouted a scared soldier.
¡°I think I just wet myself,¡± an acolyte said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell with all the rain. But if it¡¯s warm, then that must be me. If I die on this day, will that be the way I¡¯m remembered? For adding to the wetness of my gear?¡±
¡°Look at them. They¡¯re a brutal lot,¡± a different soldier said, his grip shaking around his bow and arrow. ¡°They just keep going no matter what. I can even smell them through the rain, and we¡¯re all the way up here when they¡¯re down there. The blood and flesh of their victims are still rotting on their weapons!¡±
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
¡°Is this my punishment for leaving the garden? I should¡¯ve waited like a good flower to be picked! Why did I choose this barbaric life? What¡¯s powerpared tofort?¡± an acolyte cried.
¡°Can I kiss you? I don¡¯t want to die without ever feeling the kiss of a beautiful flower like you,¡± one soldier said to an acolyte next to him.
Before the acolyte could reply, Naomi¡¯s High Intimidation red up again. Zarian almost wanted to wince, but he understood why Naomi had to be a major cock blocker.
The romance could wait forter. The war needed fighting now.
The surviving kobolds finally wised up and moved in zig-zagging streams around the ditches. They also learned to slow down whenever an arcane trip-wire appeared.
The kobolds who had fallen to the trapped webbing became stepping stones for their brethren and were crushed to death for the sake of the siege attack.
They sped up a little, but not by much, since they had to move like they were in an old school game of snake ¨C Stony had truly done a good job of digging the ditches staggered, so there were no straight lines toward the wall. In a way, the defenses had forced the kobolds to be more organized, flowing in seven streams of fur, scales, and old armor.
Unfortunately, this level of organization would be their undoing, as the kobolds were finally well within the preferred shooting range.
¡°DRAW!¡± Naomi shouted.
Hundreds of bow strings were stretched taut, their arrows pulled back as the bows flexed against the tension.
¡°AIM!¡± Naomi shouted.
Despite their terror of the advancing kobolds, the soldiers and acolytes feared their Lady Instructor Washington more, especially the acolytes. Naomi had trained them a little harder, so most of them stopped with their shaking andining and firmed up their grip on their bow and arrow as they aimed. Zarian held his breath in anticipation of their week-long build up to this moment.
¡°FIRE!¡± Naomi ordered.
Two hundred and eighty-nine arrows shot forth, slicing through the rain, all of them concentrated on the kobolds leading the seven lines streaming around the ditches. Zarian watched through various spectral spiders for a multiple point-of-view experience, and he wasn¡¯t disappointed.
Even basic arrow-shooting was fun to watch as they sunk deep into the kobolds like pins through a pincushion. He watched kobolds have their heads punched through, their chests riddled, their limbs punctured and made useless.
Lots of blood stter mixed with the rain. Then the pile-up began, blocking off the streams or slowing them down.
Naomi didn¡¯t give the soldiers and acolytes time to think or react. She sped up the pace of her orders while staying on rhythm. ¡°DRAW! AIM! FIRE!¡±
The kiddos followed through and fired another volley. They struck down at the kobolds who were trying to mber over the top of their pin-cushioned dead only to suffer the same fate.
Arrows nted themselves in their skulls, broke through fur and scales on their toros, and sent others scrambling back and crying out before they stumbled off to the sides and fell dramatically in the yawning ditches.
A few kobolds with bows and arrows staged themselves behind their piles of dead and tried to take pot shots at the shooters on the walls. It was the best counter-offensive move Zarian had seen from them, and would¡¯ve been mildly threatening if it wasn¡¯t for the boon he¡¯d already asked from Lovewar.
An anti-air barrier flickered into existence, shimmering with gold and white divine power. The retaliatory arrows bounced off and fell uselessly to the ground outside the northern wall.
Naomi kept shouting, ¡°DRAW! AIM! FIRE!¡±
The soldiers and the acolytes kept drawing, aiming, and firing arrows without thinking, only doing asmanded by their fearsome Lady Instructor Washington.
Things were working out so well a new problem appeared. They¡¯d killed enough kobolds at the head of the streams that the many kobolds behind them couldn¡¯t progress forward. The pace of the siege turned out even more sluggish.
Naomi didn¡¯t let that slow the youngsters down. They had way too many measures tobat moments like these, some of which Naomi had already expected, showing the brilliance of her militant mind.
¡°Switch bows!¡± Naomi ordered.
They had two types of bows at their disposal as gifts from the dungeon. There was the medium long bow, which required some decent amount of Strength to draw and enough Agility to aim urately.
Then there were the long-distance bows that required even more Strength to draw back. The soldiers had the Strength for the long-distance bows. Many of the acolytes had to struggle to shoot one arrow from the bigger bows in the time it took the soldiers to shoot two.
Naomi didn¡¯t give a fuck.
She wanted everyone to shoot the more powerful bows. If the acolytes had to suffer stinging fingers and sore backs in the effort, then so be it.
At the very least, Gilbert rode his steed at a trotting pace behind the firing line. He gave out small but potent doses of Adrenaline Jolt to each of the acolytes, perking them up radically.
Zarian watched from multiple point-of-views as the long-range arrow fire rained down at a consistent pace.
Naomi kept shouting, ¡°DRAW! AIM! FIRE!¡±
The soldiers and acolytes kept following through without having enough time to think or realize what they were doing.
And the kobolds died by the bucket loads at a steady rate. Now they were stuck with too many behind them to retreat, too many ditches around them to moveterally, and too many dead in front of them to keep up forward progress.
On the first day of the siege, the kobolds never made it to the wall.
Once more than half of their numbers died, they had the wise idea of retreating more aggressively, which went against what Elder Edza had told Zarian. Regardless of their infamy, their alignment, and the gods they worshiped, every intelligent creature had a breaking point where they wanted to preserve their own lives.
Even the gnolls, despite their savage reputation, had breaking points. They wouldn¡¯t want to cross the wrong enemy and risk annihtion.
The wolf kobolds were the same way, but they were still dumb and couldn¡¯t retreat properly in a mess of ditches and dead bodies.
Naomi kept yelling, ¡°DRAW! AIM! FIRE!¡±
The soldiers and acolytes kept making it rain long-range arrows on the panicking, stuck, and confused kobolds.
Zarian observed it all with a near-omniscient presence.
He listened to the twang of the bow strings when released. He heard the whistle of arrows cutting through the dull roar of the heavy rain. He took in the sounds of kobolds dropping and struggling in the bloody mud amid corpses before the arrows struck with heavy, flesh-sinking, armor-prating thunks.
The kobolds screamed, cussed, and even fought among themselves, turning their rage on their nearest brethren before they fell to their doom under another shower of arrows. Then, finally, the kobolds broke away properly once the ones at the back realized their first attempt at the siege was unsalvageable and they all needed to reverse course.
It took them a while before they faded from direct vision.
In the end, Zarian estimated close to four thousand kobolds had died. Around seventeen hundred had died in the ditches. The rest had died to the efforts of the soldiers and acolytes.
This would¡¯ve been the time most warring armies would celebrate, but Naomi was ruthless.
¡°What are you waiting for?¡± She barked out. ¡°Get down the stairs and out to the battlefield! You think all of this equipment and foodes from thin air? We have a dungeon to feed!¡±
She was being pragmatic. She had to move them all fast before the realization and emotions got to them, the acolytes especially.
Zarian waited, arms crossed, cloak extended behind him like a g, as Naomi moved at a frenzied pace around the soldiers and acolytes to keep them on the move.
¡°Stony, shift over and let our people out past you,¡± Zarian said through a spectral spider in the giant¡¯s ear.
¡°Hm? Oh. Okay.¡± The giant shifted, causing a small rumbling quake. Now the way out was clear.
Obviously, there were too many dead for them to take in at once or even on a couple of trips. Thus, most of the spectral spiders went to work ahead of the soldiers and acolytes.
Despite their small size, the spectral spiders were all Level 46 now based on Zarian¡¯s overpowered Mysticism. They could all haul around a body or several behind them on strings of arcane webbing.
More importantly, Loner and the other runic skeletons went out to make sure the kobolds were really dead. There were some still withering about in the mud.
Hell, there were so many still clinging to life that they had the Ride-or-Die Guild outnumbered. There was a lot to cover. Zarian decided to make things easier.
He uncrossed his arms.
The Parasite Cloak pped with more force, sounding like a muffled thunderp.
Taking in a deep breath, Zarian pushed his hands forward, fingers arched, palms rotating up toward the rainy sky.
The spectral chains rattled. The Grimoire of ck Magic 102 hovered to a spot above his hands, the pages already turned to the appropriate spell while shining with a ghastly ck and green light.
Zarian flooded his brain with aura. He pushed and pushed his Fractured Mind to divide itself multiple times, over and over again.
With each fractured piece, he copied the knowledge of bone necromancy and saw many versions of the same symbols and text scrolling through his head.
It was one thing to cast multiple different spells, but it was another thing to cast the same spell in one vast array of wizardry might.
The grimoire emitted a far-reaching ck and green sh that illuminated the bellies of the heavy rain clouds above. Zarian roared out the name of his spell as the finishing touch and linchpin to this mighty work:
¡°Raise Advancing Skeletons!¡±
Chapter 95: First Wave 2
Chapter 95: First Wave 2
Five hundred skeletons rose from the muck just when the soldiers and the acolytes reached the end of thene for the gate.
The young men and women all came to a bumbling stop and watched the skeletons shed their useless flesh, pluck out left-over organs from inside their rib cages, and strip themselves of lingering muscles and tendons until they were all bone white, the rain washing away the blood.
¡°Finish off the survivors among the kobolds and help get the corpses to the dungeon!¡± Zarian ordered.
The skeletons nodded at once and turned to do their grim task.
At this point, even Naomi couldn¡¯t bring herself to push the young people any harder. They needed time to recover after seeing Zarian¡¯s mightiest work of spellcraft yet.
That was fine because it gave Zarian¡¯s new skeletons time to stab to death the remaining kobolds with their own weapons. The skeletons even dove upon the survivors and strangled their former brethren with their bony hands. The empty eye sockets and rictus grins of the new skeletons gave no remorse to their former kin as they ughtered them mercilessly.
When the skeletons finished, Zarian looked over at the total tally.
Still no level up. Zarian chuckled. He supposed that was fair or too many high-level monsters, intelligent or not, would run around and wipe out low-level civilizations just to grind up their levels easier.With the enemypletely wiped out, everyone worked quickly to drag corpses through the gap in the entrance, right under the crook of Stony¡¯s knee. There, the dungeon spiders took the corpses and passed them along a conveyor line with their insectoid hands.
While the dungeon could fully recover by absorbing ambient aura from the surroundingnd outside of the fort, it was faster to throw in fresh material for it to feast on.
Zarian didn¡¯t need to be a genius to figure that out, especially with how eagerly the dungeon spiders worked with the fresh bodies. He was sure Reiki would smile from the offering to her dungeon.
Zarian chuckled. ¡°Nobody can¡¯t say I¡¯m a bad Dungeon Master.¡±
Finally, after some hours of bloody and gruesome logistics, they removed a majority of the corpses from the battlefield. The Dancing Librarian Dungeon was well fed, now able to produce even more supplies for the Ride-or-Die Fort along with greaterforts, such as easy-to-build pavilions and spacious tents and magicmp posts that lit up the fort while running on only a small amount of aura.
As for the extra skeletons, Zarian left them out on the battlefield as piles of bones buried in the mud.
¡°Good job, everyone,¡± Naomi said to the formation of soldiers and acolytes. They were standing at the center of the nicely lit and refurbished fort. ¡°Take the night off and enjoy your gains. Make sure to ce your Free Points where you need them most. Eat as much food as you want and sleep well.¡±
The acolytes and soldiers looked at her wide-eyed, unable to believe that Lady Instructor Washington was being nice to them.
Naomi knew well enough when to dial it up and when to dial it down. They had no idea that she was actually very proud of them, almost like a mother.
¡°And if you¡¯re going to sneak around, try to be subtle about it,¡± Gilbert said with a chuckle. ¡°Then again, just know Lord Zarian over here will be watching. There¡¯s an invisible spider somewhere near all of us.¡±
The wide-eyed stares only grew wider. Zarian didn¡¯t say anything. He just stood coolly with his arms crossed. He did let the darkness under his wizard hat lighten so they could see his all-knowing smirk.
¡°We have another battle tomorrow, everyone. It¡¯s going to be harder than today. But we¡¯re doing great!¡± Bianca gave them all thumbs up and a bright smile, uplifting all of their spirits with her Shining Trust and her princess ways.
She was as peachy as anyone could be after seeing thousands of evil creatures die.
¡°If there are any issues you¡¯ve found with the fortifications, let me know. I did make everything in a rush,¡± Hannah said, sounding well-rested. She had slept during most of the siege just like Stony.
Nobody had anything to say, so Hannah left it at that.
All attention fell on Zarian.
¡°Did anyone die?¡± he asked.
No response.
¡°Huh, funny that. Nobody¡¯s dead. And it looks like everyone¡¯s above Level 20 now and making way through the early Level 30s. I wonder how that happened.¡±
Still no response. But he caught a few soldiers and acolytes smiling or looking away in embarrassment. Zarian¡¯s smirk grew into a grin.
¡°That¡¯s what I thought. You¡¯re dismissed. Let¡¯s get back to it tomorrow.¡±
The soldiers and acolytes scrambled away as an excited rush of teens who were both tired and animated from today¡¯s gruesome work. There was no real trauma to be found, not when they had levels, stats, and Free Points to distribute. Not when they had thought themselves dead and were still alive to face another day.
Zarian scrolled through his notifications where a deration waited.
¡°Reiki and beer?¡± Zarian asked his fellow Floridians.
¡°I¡¯m down,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Same!¡± Bianca cheered.
¡°Actually, I want to go over some things with Naomi,¡± Hannah said. ¡°Maybe we can join you afterward.¡±
¡°Sure thing,¡± Zarian said.
The Runic Engineer and Rumble Psion went off to talk about improvements for their fortifications. Zarian liked how they were already thinking ahead even though the kobolds hadn¡¯t even touched the walls today.
Hells, they still had three boons waiting to be used, one more from Lovewar, and two more from Shadowfell. Zarian wasn¡¯t sure if they were necessary when they had the ground and the air covered from most attacks, but the wolf kobolds and wolf dragons might have some surprises they¡¯d kept hidden.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Zarian, Gilbert, and Bianca went down into the Dancing Librarian Dungeon and had drinks in Reiki¡¯s cafe, which also worked as a bar. Their host was gracious and mysterious as always.
Zarian liked to watch her tip-toe around in her humanoid form. Sometimes she would perform a pose or yful gesture that was alluring and smooth, hinting at a past from long ago that was tied to Carrowmore.
¡°I think Reiki used to be a leader or someone important to Carrowmore,¡± Zarian said, while sitting at a round table with Gilbert and Bianca.
¡°I love the way she moves,¡± Bianca said dreamily.
¡°How¡¯d she end up as a big ol¡¯ boss of a dungeon?¡± Gilbert asked in between sips of his beer. ¡°Hell, why was she ced near Castle Grimrock then?¡±
¡°Ekri the Tailor,¡± Bianca said. ¡°He¡¯ll have the answers, I bet.¡±
¡°Naomi¡¯s spider friend, huh?¡± Gilbert nodded sagely. ¡°Well, there¡¯s no doubt that Carrowmore is in our future. But the more the anticipation builds, the more I expect it to wow my socks off.¡±
¡°Same,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But let¡¯s think less of that and more of the now. We have good dungeon-made beer and a Mythical Regional Event to win.¡±
Later on, Naomi and Hannah arrived.
¡°The kids aren¡¯t fucking around as much as I thought they would,¡± Naomi said, taking a seat at the round table, Reiki sweeping around gracefully to ce down mugs for Naomi and Hannah. Soon enough, Reiki arrived with tters of hot food for them to feast on, especially Zarian.
¡°Most of them are all sleeping soundly,¡± Hannah said in between bites of food. ¡°From what Naomi told me, the kobolds weren¡¯t adequately prepared. It¡¯s good to know we had better preparations, or maybe we¡¯ve overprepared. However, I don¡¯t trust today¡¯s showing as an urate depiction of the situation going forward.¡±
¡°It can¡¯t be,¡± Zarian said. ¡°The wolf dragons hadn¡¯t revealed themselves fully. Despite that, we have to admit we¡¯re a hell of a strong party. And I think all our abilities leveraged in the right way made a big first impression.¡±
¡°We have freaking boons from the heavens,¡± Naomi said after a sip from her mug. ¡°We have a giant whose Level 105, master rank. We have a rare Level 40 dungeon that¡¯s set to keep us supplied with gear, arms, andforts. I don¡¯t see us losing.¡±
¡°No, I don¡¯t see it either.¡± Zarian hummed after filling his monstrous appetite. ¡°Losing isn¡¯t a factor. It¡¯s how much we can gain from this that matters. We also have to consider the overall uplift of the guild for us to gain the most by the end.¡±
¡°It¡¯s measured by the group instead of the individuals, yes,¡± Hannah said. ¡°If we can push these children higher than anyone has ever pushed them before, that would be very favorable. But what will this event reward us that¡¯s so pivotal?¡±
Zarian hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Don¡¯t know. We¡¯re not in need of money after raiding Lovewar¡¯s coffers. I don¡¯t know if we need any cool gear. Hannah¡¯s got us covered. Maybe more stats, but that would be a littleme for something like a Mythical Regional Event. I hope it¡¯s not more levels, or I would be disappointed. We have plenty to do that¡¯ll get us more levels naturally.¡±
Nobody could think of what the event would give them if they achieved high marks in their goals. They didn¡¯t let that drag down the mood as they drank, ate some sweet snacks Reiki offered as dessert, and watched random dungeon spiders move about among the immense bookcases.
When it becamete enough, they went outside the dungeon to their own sleeping quarters to rest. Zarian did some more studying of the gravity spell before catching a few hours of shuteye.
Ariana came by for a quick dream visit. She left him with a cryptic message.
¡°I think something incredible is going to happen soon.¡±
She wouldn¡¯t exin any further.
The next morning, the Ride-or-Die Guild prepared to face the wolf kobolds again. This time around, there was no rain or cloud cover.
The twin suns shone down on a bright autumn morning while today¡¯s challenge was looking more impressive. They might need a little more help from their leading Floridians.
Eleven thousand kobolds moved like a living carpet of evil intent. The horde mainlyprised kobolds in the teens of level just like yesterday.
However, now there were taller and stronger kobolds in the Level 20s that acted like sergeants. There were more intelligent kobolds barking orders in the Level 30s. Those seemed like low-ranking officers.
Zarian noticed special kobolds with unique abilities in the Level 40s. Those might be the more specialized fighters in their horde and could kill dozens of soldiers and acolytes if given the chance to scale up the walls.
There were so many kobolds they couldn¡¯t all rush down at the front of the fortress. Several thousand attacked from the sides as well, which was even more dangerous. The specialized kobolds could aim to infiltrate where there was the least resistance.
¡°Naomi, to the eastern wall,¡± Zarian ordered. ¡°Bianca, to the western wall. I¡¯ll keep watch on the southern wall, just in case. Kill them all.¡±
¡°ROLAND, take charge!¡± Naomi yelled.
¡°Yes, Lady Instructor Washington!¡±
Naomi nodded before she ran off to fight on the eastern wall. She wouldn¡¯t be entirely alone, since Zarian directed a heavy presence of spectral spiders to stay close to her. While they weren¡¯t fighters, the spectral spiders were great at tying up and slowing down enemy units.
They were suited for Naomi¡¯s style, and with the help of her Earth-Sky Meditation skill, she could always stop and recover.
Granted, it was still risky to send her off like that, but it had to be done. At least she wouldn¡¯t have to fight on the ground. They had other ways to wreck kobolds from a distance.
Bianca, on the other hand, would be perfectly fine. She beamed a bright and intense smile before she soared away in a flurry of sparkling lights. She had so much power packed into her as good +3, she could eradicate scores of kobolds without too many issues.
She had the high Wonder stat and abilities for it.
Zarian still sent half his skeletons as backup for her: Glowy, Hasty, Warper, Windy, and mer.
Zarian would rather be safe than sorry, although he was more likely to lose the skeletons than the Light Princess if they weren¡¯t careful.
That shouldn¡¯t be a problem as long as they stayed on the wall. As long as Bianca stayed good +3.
¡°I still don¡¯t like the odds,¡± Zarian muttered.
Two thousand to the east.
Two thousand to the west.
Seven thousand barreling down at their front.
And there were kobolds in the Level 40s with special sses lurking in the horde.
Yeah, no, this was problematic. Zarian had reasons to be concerned, but he didn¡¯t let that show.
Just like yesterday, he had his arms folded across his chest while the Parasite Cloak pped dramatically in its biggest and most monstrous form. He exuded nothing but confidence on the outside, and that worked too well on the soldiers and acolytes.
¡°There¡¯s no stopping us now! They can throw a hundred thousand at us and our Floridian Lords and Ladies won¡¯t bat an eye!¡± a soldier shouted.
I don¡¯t think we can take on a hundred thousand, Zarian thought.
¡°Can you imagine how much we¡¯ll grow today? Maybe we¡¯ll all be in the Level 30s and on our way to Level 40! I never thought such a thing was possible, but anything is possible in the Ride-or-Die Guild!¡± an acolyte cheered.
Hold it now, my excitable girl. The leveling speed slows down drastically as you go up, Zarian thought.
¡°We¡¯ll never lose! We¡¯ll defeat thousands and thousands more! We¡¯ll even defeat millions if we have to!¡± a different soldier shouted.
Millions?! Zarian was struggling to keep his thoughts to himself.
¡°Lord Zarian Darkrun says we¡¯ll live to be gray and old after this! All we must do is believe in him!¡± an acolyte cheered.
¡°Lord Zarian! Lord Zarian! Lord Zarian!¡± the young men and women cried out.
¡°Woo, Ride-or-Die!¡± someone screamed.
The Madness Wizard wanted to groan from embarrassment. This was his fault. He¡¯d given them a little too much confidence.
They didn¡¯t even care how the kobolds wereying down wooden bridges over the ditches to keep funneling forward in numerous streams. The pace the kobolds pushed, despite therger size of today¡¯s battle, was much faster than yesterday.
The wolf dragons are still holding back, but all these kobolds might actually threaten my side of the game.
Zarian shook his head before he nced up at the suns with some mild disinterest.
¡°I would¡¯ve preferred the weather from yesterday,¡± he said, ¡°but fine, I¡¯ll y big bad dark magician even when it¡¯s bright out.¡±
Chapter 96: Dragon Slayer 1
Chapter 96: Dragon yer 1
On the eastern wall, Zarian used his Spectral Spider Network +1 to watch the Rumble Psion move to her mostly solo position. He could sense everything through the multiple spiders staged in the area or by observing through Naomi herself, granting him the ultimate vicarious view.
Notably, one of the changes to the fortifications fromst night were tforms on the ramparts that hung past the wall¡¯s edge. That way, it was easier to attack enemies scrambling up the walls from the sides while others attacked from directly above.
The militant and dynamic ck woman stood on one of those tforms. She overlooked two thousand kobolds sweeping around to outnk the Ride-or-Die Guild from the east. Among the kobolds¡¯ numbers, there was a disproportionate amount in the Level 40s with unique sses.
Just like the main force barreling down from the north, the eastern attackers used wooden bridgesid over the ditches to make their way across quickly. Seeing Naomi by herself, the leading kobolds pointed up andughed at her.
¡°Is that a human woman?¡± snarled a kobold in the Level 30s. ¡°It is! It is! Get up the wall and get her! We will make her scream!¡±
¡°Get her! Get her! Get her!¡± chanted the kobolds in the Level 20s.
¡°Make her scream! Make her scream!¡± chanted more of the lower kobolds.
Zarian felt sparks of Naomi¡¯s disgust resonate through her and slightly into him. But only for a brief moment. Then all that remained was a cool and calcted rage, followed by a strong current of malicious intent.
Unfortunately for the kobolds, Naomi had the right armaments staged for her to respond with violence instead of words.Melon-sized iron balls, umon quality.
Each one had a simple enchantment. They provide a bigger impact onnding. It wasn¡¯t an insane boost, but the bigger the impact, the bigger the damage.
They didn¡¯t have cannons to load the iron balls into, unfortunately. That was tooplicated for Hannah to make on a short notice. However, they did have someone who was suited to act like a cannon.
Naomi scooped up one of the iron balls from arge crate nearly as tall as her. She walked over to the tform¡¯s edge and nted a foot on the crion block.
From every angle where a spectral spider lurked, as well as from Naomi¡¯s view-point, Zarian observed how she juiced herself up with all of her abilities and cocked back the melon-sized iron ball.
Psionic Affinity, Physical Phenom, Juggernaut Hitter, Little Giant, Tranquil Mind, Overclock, Psychokinesis, Adrenaline Jolt, Willful Might, Wondrous Speed, Mystic Toughness, and even Summon Wizard Hat. Her little witch hat rested crookedly on the back of her head.
She used almost every viable trait and skill while pushing her three best stats, Willpower, Strength, and Agility. Thus, her body flooded with psychic power, physical power, and the heightened and willful control of both.
Then she threw her first iron ball. By the time it left her hand, the throw emitted a whooping shockwave that sounded like a howitzer cannon from a modern artillery battery.
The iron ball blurred out of sight before striking the nearest bridge that three dozen kobolds were crossing to get over a ditch. She struck so hard she hit the bottom of the ditch with an explosive thump and sent kobolds flying, their bodies crushed and mangled.
A geyser of mud, blood, and loosened spikes rose in the fallen bridge¡¯s ce before the debris and bodies rained down. The kobolds on the eastern front lost their humor.
The explosive attack slowed their rush forward. They were so shocked they staggered about in confusion. With their hesitation, Naomi pushed her High Intimidation trait to the max.
Every kobold who looked up at her visage came away with greater fear. Better yet, Naomi didn¡¯t even have to move from her position to collect another melon-sized iron ball.
The spectral spiders brought another to her.
Without looking away, she reached down and grabbed the ball from the spiders and hoisted it up over her shoulder. Then she cocked back and repeated the action again.
Another shockwave whooped aloud. Another bridge burst apart, flinging kobolds, alive or dead, as geysers of mud, spikes, and crushed bodies rose before raining down.
Naomi picked up the pace. Now she really sounded like a salvo of artillery cannons. She was the hammer, and the kobolds were the nails.
Opposite of Naomi¡¯s artillery hammering of the eastern kobolds, Bianca radiated like she was the third sun of Corma. She had with her the human skeleton Glowy, a Level 43 Runic Showman.
Glowy was more helpful than Windy, mer, Hasty, and Warper. Glowy had the Enhance Light skill, making Bianca¡¯s light abilities even stronger while she siphoned light from the suns and empowered herself with good +3.
Windy, Hasty, and Warper were rattling with uncontrolled fear while staying close. mer crossed his burnt arms in front of his rib cage to act like he wasn¡¯t scared. They could feel the deadly immensity of Bianca¡¯s power.
Glowy didn¡¯t seem to care and waspletely at the whims of the Light Princess. The skeleton was happy to lend more and more of his skill to make Bianca stronger despite the real threat of being close to a good +3 monster of a young woman.
Thankfully, Bianca epted their aid and presence gracefully. She directed the excess light into a basketball-size miniature sun hovering above her head. Despite its size, it was so bright it shone upon most of the ramparts and the ground floor of their fort.
Zarian felt Bianca¡¯s tion, glee, and hint of crusader madness. She was deep in the folds of good alignment, but at least she directed it everywhere else other than against Zarian.
The kobolds didn¡¯t seem to understand Zarian and his skeleton¡¯s wariness. One kobold in the Level 30s yelled out while jabbing a decently made spear toward the Light Princess.
¡°Don¡¯t let her scare you! She¡¯s nothing but all sh! If she makes us blind, then we go slow and still reach the wall!¡± the kobold leader said.
The kobolds in the Level 20s and below chanted. ¡°All sh! All sh! Reach the wall! Reach the wall!¡±
Bianca deigned them with a smile.
Then she unleashed her charged-up attack like she was the gates of the shining heavens opening up and sending down a smiting beam. A searing brightser radiated instantly between the miniature sun above Bianca¡¯s head and the moist ground below.
All the moisture close by steamed away and raised a wavering wall of haze. The same happened on the ground as the beam struck close to the kobolds before readjusting in angle and direction.
The moment it touched the kobolds, theybust into boiling flesh, ming furs, and overcooked organs exploding out of orifices.
Bianca¡¯s beam of radiance and good +3 sliced around at a casual but consistent pace, hounding the panicking and screaming kobolds.
She set their bridges on fire while cutting straight through them and copsing them into the ditches. She followed thergest group of runners who were trying to move in zigzagging patterns between the staggered ditches.
With a quick pass up and down their lines, she burnt them up, though she didn¡¯t always kill them immediately because of how fast she moved her smiting beam around. The survivors fell screaming and writhing in the dried mud, their muscles stiffening from being overcooked as they struggled to breathe through liquidated lungs.
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While the beam was small and had a lot of ground to cover, Bianca could keep it going this way. She had the help of her Light Affinity, Lesser Smite, Aura Charge, Wondrous Princess Regality, Searing sh Array, Refraction, Tranquil Mind, Adrenaline Jolt, Wondrous Speed, and Summon Wizard hat. Thest skill topped her head off with a feathery fedora as a bonus.
Additionally, her Wonder stat was the highest among everybody in the Ride-or-Die Guild, higher than even Zarian¡¯s. Having the good +3 alignment and Glowy¡¯s Enhance Light skill were overkill, but Bianca was clearly not someone who wanted to hold back while having a politically correct genocide.
Zarian felt her giddiness and joy as she went smite-happy on the kobolds who were trying to take the western part of the fortress.
Was it kind of messed up? Maybe. But who was Zarian to judge? The stronger or more OP his party members became, the happier he felt.
He only hoped things between him and Bianca could stay this way. And if they couldn¡¯t, he would figure things out. Granted, he already had some ideas of what he would do, but that was neither here nor there.
Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind could wander sometimes when he wasn¡¯t too focused. He didn¡¯t need much focus to cause mayhem and destruction against an inferior force, hence why he split his mind in four parts.
One part watched over Naomi. Another part watched over Bianca. The third part watched their rear. Thest part orchestrated the destruction of the northern forces of seven thousand rushing down at the front of their defenses.
The real challenge was to break the main attack without overshadowing his young soldiers and acolytes too much.
First, Zarian uncrossed his arms.
By now, the soldiers and acolytes were busy drawing and firing the heavy bows. None of them noticed his small shifts until his Parasite Cloak pped like a muffled thunderp.
One teenager looked back and told their nearestrades. Then more looked back in awe and thrill. To them, Zarian uncrossing his arms meant he was going to work more of his dark wizardry miracles.
While their adoration and praise were nice, they were getting too distracted. They needed to kill more.
¡°Rnd,¡± Zarian grunted.
¡°Keep shooting, you lot! Don¡¯t disappoint our lords anddies!¡± Rnd shouted.
The Garden Officer Cadetcked Naomi¡¯s High Intimidation, but at least he got his point across. The soldiers and acolytes refocused on shooting their arrows, getting kills, and grinding up their levels. They also provided an adequate distraction for when Zarian cast a spell through his Grimoire of ck Magic 102.
A great sh of ghastly dark green light shone from over the gatehouse¡¯s rooftop.
Two hundred and fifty skeletons rose from the mud where Zarian had left themst night.
He didn¡¯t need more than that because each skeleton was Level 46 and many times stronger than most of the kobolds. They were still basic skeletons, but they attacked with a frenzy that crushed one kobold per blow.
They punched through skulls. They kicked rib bones into smithereens. They used discarded weapons against the kobolds. More importantly, the skeletons recognized the bridges as problems and jumped at them.
With only a few strikes, the skeletons clobbered the bridges into splinters. They sent heaps of kobolds falling into the yawning ditches and the spike pits at the bottom.
The skeletons came out okay, able to separate themselves from the spikes with no problem. They maneuvered past the arcane webbing without getting entangled as kobolds bled out like ughtered pigs while webbed down.
Still, that wasn¡¯t enough to slow the advancing kobolds adequately. Zarian was tempted to make it rain down dark javelins, but that would cheese the game too much.
Holding back is honestly challenging. And kind of frustrating.
This was the reason he didn¡¯t want to grow too fast or he would have to contend with his own power being too much. The spirit of the event was to raise his own guild, as temporary as it was.
But the damn wolf kobolds threw too many forces and wildcard factors at them. It was getting harder to battle within reasonable margins that were decently challenging without getting out of control.
It felt more like Zarian was waiting for the other shoe to drop while trying not to pull the trigger too heavily.
Then he got angry with himself when he realized he was being dumb. He was a wizard. He had a vast variety of spells that could help.
He only needed to get creative.
The evil alignment nagged at him like always. It wanted him to go all out, to use outright destruction, to crush the will of everyone, friend or foe, and subjugate them all. It wanted him to be the narcissistic asshole.
Zarian refused.
I¡¯m in control. I¡¯m more than my power. I¡¯m more than the evil alignment. I¡¯m a wizard!
Zarianunched into the air with a p of his massive Parasite Cloak. With another p, Para transformed into great leathery wings simr to a dragon.
Twin jets of darkness shot from Zarian¡¯s feet for thrust. He drew a gigantic shadow over the north wall, over the soldiers and acolytes, catching their attention of admiration and thrill once again, making Rnd¡¯s job harder.
Then Zarian was past the safety of the anti-air barrier. The kobolds in the Level 40s unleashed their long-range attacks.
ming javelins punched up into the sky, followed by ice spears, acid bolts, sonic orbs, and even heavily thrown stones. More and more ranged attacksunched hard into the sky, most missing widely.
A few drew close to hitting until Para shifted her wings and maneuvered Zarian out of the way. She was in control of flight maneuvers while Zarian concentrated purely on spellcraft with his Fractured Mind.
The basic skeletons he had down on the battlefield were now engaged in melee fights with kobolds in the Level 40s. More kobolds drew close to the walledne leading toward the gatehouse, which might get Stony involved if the kobolds reach him.
Zarian would rather not have the giant involved too much, not unless there was no choice, since that would make a low-level game like this too easy.
Zarian grunted as he put emotion and aura into the first folktale spell from the Grimoire of the Dread Mire Hell Gator. He turned the ground into a quicksand-like pit that reached farther out than any he conjured before.
Then he doubled it with another Quagmire Pit next to the first.
A thousand kobolds fell with a ssh and a struggle in the conjoined pits, blocking their chance of reaching thene. They cried out as they fought to free themselves from the swampy pitfall, but most who were far from the edges wouldn¡¯t be able to escape.
The more they thrashed, the more the doubled Quagmire Pit slurped them down. The kobold advance slowed further, but that wasn¡¯t enough for Zarian.
One more. I can do one more.
So far, Zarian had only shown he could use two spells simultaneously. Spells worked differentlypared to skills. They seemed to rely more on the user to cast them with little help from the System, unlike alpha skills or even beta skills. But with enough aura and a masochistic attitude, Zarian figured this was the perfect time to break his mortal limits even further.
Zarian circled a heavier amount of aura through his Fractured Mind. He maintained the Raise Advancing Skeletons spell. He maintained the doubled Quagmire Pit spell.
Then he pushed himself like never before to use a third spell simultaneously. Zarian felt his limits crush down on his own mind. He hesitated for a scant moment. Then he smashed through head first with a mind-tearing roar!
Hands out-stretched, he lit them on fire. ck and gray mes zed around his hands and up his arms.
As blood leaked down his nostrils, Zarian pushed against the boundaries of the System, his Fractured Mind feeling like it was on the verge of ripping. He maintained the other spells while intensifying his ck Fire spell.
Then he gathered the ck and gray mes into a small bead between his shaky palms before unleashing a massive torrent that was as thick as a human man was tall. The massive gout darkened the sunny morning and doused the battlefield beneath him in ck Fire.
The ck and gray mes didn¡¯t cling to much of anything that was inanimate. It didn¡¯t even care about aura.
The moment the ck and gray mes touched a living creature with vitality, the mestched on and wouldn¡¯t let go, not without superior magical force to wash it away. None of the kobolds had the right stuff to fend off Zarian¡¯s ck Fire.
The ming gout rained down uncontested with a huge and mystical downpour, covering thousands upon thousands in ck and gray mes. The shocking disy of wizardry power stunned everyone bearing witness, as if they were watching the act of a dark god.
Before they coulde to grips with Zarian¡¯s actions fully, he cut off the ck Fire spell. He even cut off the double Quagmire Pits. As the ground returned to normal, the kobolds that were still alive rose to the surface, along with their dead.
Zarian and Para spiraled downward from the air before the Parasite Cloak folded her wings and returned to her usual form. Zariannded in a crouch in front of Stony¡¯s seated form. He wiped away the blood from under his nose and let out a satisfied sigh.
¡°Three different spells at the same time,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Nice.¡±
Who said I can¡¯t still grow and challenge myself? He thought with a chuckle.
¡°Need any help, milord?¡± Stony asked.
The Level 105 Wall Crusher Master made for a convenient doorman and doorway. His gigantic body plugged up the obvious way in. Any other gaps past him were easily filled with stone cubes from Hannah¡¯s cube maker skill.
Zarian thought about it, then shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re doing a great job as the door to the gatehouse, Stony. Keep it up.¡±
¡°Yes, milord!¡±
¡°Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me. I¡¯m going to go on a mini frenzy.¡± Zarian walked toward the kobolds who were making their way down thene.
Chapter 97: Dragon Slayer 2
Chapter 97: Dragon yer 2
The kobolds had reached the wall for the first time in this Mythical Regional Event. Now, the fighting would be a little more dangerous for the young soldiers and acolytes.
However, Zarian and his people weren¡¯t without tricks.
The strange physics of the fortress walls resisted damage and healed from breaks on their own. Enough applied force would break through, but Hannah¡¯s magical cubic fortifications were tougher than anything normally made by the kingdom without some source of higher quality stone.
Too bad Hannah hadn¡¯t the time toy her enchantments on every cube or they would¡¯ve been even more impervious. Maybe next time.
As of now, the kobolds were struggling to get a proper hold of the magic cube-made walls. w marks faded away with time. Only their strongest could resist the cube¡¯s self-repair and scramble up.
But their strongest were only in the Level 40s, and a gang of spectral spiders could make their attempts futile with arcane webbing and smartly dropped iron balls.
Loner and Mighty stood on the ramparts left of the gatehousene. Darko, Icicle, and Blender waited on the ramparts to the right of thene.
They chipped in to deal with tenacious Level 40s by throwing down more iron balls or shooting shards of ice, at least in Icicle¡¯s case. If that wasn¡¯t enough, any Level 40 who drew ufortably close to the top had to face Hannah.
She aimed down her Runic Gauntlet and unleashed a quick destructive beam. The Level 40s stopped being a problem the moment a destructive beam touched them.Gilbert gave Hannah a ride on his eight-legged horse to quicken the response to rising Level 40s. All of their efforts, along with the soldiers and acolytes shooting arrows nonstop, forced the kobolds to funnel toward the only reasonable entrance they could take.
Two hundred feet long.
Fifty feet wide.
With nobody else in their way but the Madness Wizard.
Well, there was a giant behind him. But Stony wasn¡¯t the one who¡¯d doused them in ck Fire.
Zarian smiled as the kobolds sluggishly funneled toward him. The ck and gray mes were painless. They left no damage. The kobolds grew familiar with them without realizing the true danger of the mes.
Bit by bit, the ck Fire disappeared.
Once they ate away all the vitality they could get, the ck Fire didn¡¯t have much of a purpose anymore and snuffed out. Stripped of their vitality, thousands of kobolds heavedbored breaths and moved with weary muscles.
They had no more vital energy for their stamina. They had no more vital energy for their health and recovery. They had to rely on their bodies and whatever points they put into Strength and Agility.
The face of the horde ran sloppily at the Madness Wizard. In return, he walked forward as his Parasite Cloak scythed through them like a whirring blender, his Bloody Lifesteal spell activated.
Zarian enjoyed the greatest high ever as Parashed out with ded tentacles, curved bone swords, lengthy axes, dozens and dozens of scythes, hallowed needle-point tubes, countlessmprey mouths, numerous arms with extendable ws at the end of alien fingers, and new forms that looked like gaping wolf-mouths and predatory beaks.
In the middle of the chaos of blood, gore, and uncanny death, Zarian strode at a casual but unstoppable pace. Every stter of blood glowed from the use of his Bloody Lifesteal spell, which shone so brightly it reddened the air within the walledne. And all Zarian had to do was step forward in a straight line down the middle.
Even when the kobolds threw magic at him, Para pped aside their ranged attacks and kept up her attack of a hundred transformed limbs of death. She even went as far as shooting out tough strings and hooks into kobolds, using their bodies as puppets to distract other kobolds. She kept them alive too, for more psychological damage.
Or just because she was having fun ying with living meat dolls.
Either way, things were looking good.
While Zarian was getting a majority of the kills ¨C again ¨C the enemy force was pacified once more. The soldiers and acolytes could attack without worry and rack up kills for themselves.
Because of how distracting the Bloody Lifesteal spell could be, he dropped it in favor of more focus. He kept a near-omniscient view of the entire event from multiple ces, which was easier now that he was only strolling as Paramitted to a bloodbath.
He slowed down a little to give the kobolds a chance to flee. The ones closest to him scrambled against more of their brethren who were pushing into the contestedne to the giant gatehouse.
The walls were painted with so much blood, everything was coated red as body parts floated in the rising crimson flood. From their view, Zarian was the eye of ravenous death. He was more of a wolf than their wolf dragon idols. He was their doom.
And he wasughing.
Yeah, okay, I¡¯m so stupid OP, I think this Mythical Regional Event is going to end up looking like a joke because of me.
Zarian let himself have a moment to gloat.
Then everything fell to shit when an actual wolf dragon appeared.
Not from the northern front.
Not from the east, where Naomi kept pitching artillery cannon balls. And not even from the unguarded south.
The wolf dragon barreled across thends from the west at a speed that was so fast Zarian would¡¯ve missed it if it wasn¡¯t for its massive size. He barely had time to even use Identify through his spectral spider as the sixty-foot tall and over two hundred-foot long serpentine creature lunged onto the rampart with its massive maw gaping wide open to take a bite of Bianca.
¡°NO!¡±
Zarian exploded out of the walledne with so much force he demolished the cubic floor and left a crater. He hit a high enough altitude and used Para¡¯s help to redirect his body to point west. Then he shot more dark jets from his feet and rocketed toward Bianca¡¯s wall.
He was toote.
Hasty and Glowy lost their torsos to the Destructive Death Bite and wouldn¡¯t rise again.
mer and Windy couldn¡¯t act fast enough to slow down the wolf dragon nor damage it much. The wolf dragon was already dashing away after taking a huge chunk of the rampart with its bite.
Warper tried to jump onto the wolf dragon and missed.
Zarian saw the creature circling around the walls with blurring speed, going from the west and to the north. He saw it turn its attention to a portion of the wall where Amabel and some other acolytes stood.
He stopped panicking. He went cold and zeroed his focus.
One shot.
One kill.
He prepared a javelin.
But someonended their hit before he could.
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A torrent of light shot out of the wolf dragon¡¯s belly and stopped it mid-lunge before the monster snatched away Amabel and others. The massive creature crashed against the wall, shaking soldiers and acolytes alike. Spectral spiders hopped to action to secure the young men and women with arcane webbing.
Zariannded heavily on the edge of a tform overlooking the thrashing monster as the torrent of light became a giant de.
The giant light de hacked from low to high as steaming hot innards spilled out from the wound. Zarian held back as he watched Bianca burst out from inside of the wolf dragon¡¯s belly with a battle cry, her amber hair slick red with blood while her dress came out crimson-free and still as colorful and radiant as gemstones in a lush field.
The Light Princess somersaulted, kicked off the wall and returned to battle against the wolf dragon, whose wound was slowly but surely healing.
¡°Keep shooting arrows at the kobolds,¡± Zarian told the onlookers.
¡°Yes, milord,¡± Amabel said. The others did as told. But she hesitated before asking, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to help her?¡±
¡°No,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Because I¡¯m curious about a few things. Now shoo. Keep grinding up your levels.¡±
Amabel bobbed her head up and down. She went back to shooting arrows.
Meanwhile, the Light Princess dashed around the bloody field using her Field Stride enchantment. She raised zombies using her Corpse Bloom enchantment. The flower zombies were mere distractions as the wolf dragon lunged and juked with extraordinary Agility that was beyond its incredible size.
Now that Zarian had a better look at it, he could see that its name matched its appearance, like someone fused a wolf with a great wingless serpent.
Its ferocious set of jaws and flicking fork tongue was the stuff of nightmares. Its body of bristling fur and silver metallic scales moved like one powerful muscle in sync with all of its limbs. Its vitality must¡¯ve been way high, because even with its innards dragging along the ground, the creature remained nimble and vicious.
Bianca, however, was just as vicious while more nimble.
She was unrelenting and inevitable.
She shed searing light in the wolf dragon¡¯s eyes. She dashed around at blitzing speeds and shed at the tendons to the wolf dragon¡¯s legs. She brought it crashing down and avoided its wild thrashes and Destructive Death Bite.
After some time, Zarian realized Bianca had escaped death by diving into the wolf dragon¡¯s throat before its skillpletely annihted her.
Just as he realized that, Bianca proved his theory true when she used her Light Step skill and became a flurry of fast moving photon particles rushing down the wolf dragon¡¯s throat. She avoided annihtion once again while going for a more intimate solution to ying a legendary monster.
Zarian kept track of her with the spectral spider in her mind this time around. He lived vicariously through Bianca as she carved her way through flesh, gristle, and bone. She ripped and tore apart organs. She reached the heart and went into a stabbing frenzy.
The wolf dragon howled and vomited blood. It entered a destructive fury that barreled over its own kobolds, crushing them under its tumbling body. It struck against the wall in its clumsy effort to rid itself of the pain from inside.
The spectral spiders on the ramparts ensured nobody on their side fell off as the wolf dragon kept suffering and rolling about. The Level 40 kobolds who were trying to climb up the wall got knocked off because of their own idol.
The only thing keeping it alive, which prolonged its torment, was its massive vitality. Clearly, as a high-quality monster, the wolf dragon wouldn¡¯t suffer death easily. It kept healing the damage to its heart, and Bianca kept shing away at it savagely until she finally put away the swords.
Bianca charged up one big, bright attack. Then she made the wolf dragon¡¯s chest glow like an x-ray illustration before it exploded with a bright eruption.
Bianca hit the ground with a little less grace than usual, having pushed herself to the limit. Behind her, the massive wolf dragon staggered left and right with a gaping, steaming cavity where its torso should be.
Even then, its vitality was trying to heal the wound. It was a race against time. How much life energy did the wolf dragon have to withstand total death? Could its vitality repair enough damage to secure its life?
Zarian prepared the appropriate spell.
Bianca turned to watch while in the shadow of the legendary wolf dragon. Then she came up with the bright idea not to leave things to chance.
She stretched her arms into the sky. She focused her aura and intent on forming a hard light construction above the wolf dragon. It was immense and bright. It looked like a guillotine de with an oblique angle.
Bianca dropped her arms.
Down came the guillotine.
And down came the wolf dragon¡¯s head.
Zarian doubted it had enough vital health energy to save it from that maneuver, and he was right to think so. The body of the wolf dragon, the first of the legendary monsters of this Mythical Regional Event, crashed down dead.
Bianca stood victorious in front of the gaping maw and lolled tongue of the beheaded face. More and more blood poured over the ravaged field from the neck of the wolf dragon¡¯s body. Nearby kobolds screamed, cried, and called out for a full retreat.
They didn¡¯t concern Zarian anymore.
He didn¡¯t bother focusing on anywhere else.
Nearly all of his attention was on Bianca.
Her back was still to the wall and him.
He noticed her twitch a little.
¡°Ah, so it finally happened,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Isn¡¯t Princess Bianca amazing, milord!¡± Amabel cheered. ¡°Surely, you could¡¯ve destroyed a wolf dragon or two yourself. But it looks to me that all of you Floridians are massively capable.¡±
Zarian reached over and ced his hand on Amabel¡¯s head. She froze from the friendly gesture as Zarian gave her a couple of head pats.
¡°You¡¯re a cute kid, Amabel. I hope you grow up to be a real finedy.¡±
Amabel burst into nervous giggles. She leaned into the head pats. ¡°Well, of course, milord. I¡¯ll be even finer if I have a real fine man who I can pick. Or one who¡¯ll pick me.¡±
She looked up at him with kitty cat eyes.
Zarian didn¡¯t pay it much mind as he kept watching Bianca. She still didn¡¯t turn toward the wall. She still wouldn¡¯t look up at him.
¡°Well, Amabel, if today¡¯s myst day among the living, I¡¯m sorry for any broken promises,¡± Zarian said.
¡°What? Huh? I don¡¯t understand what you mean, milord?¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t exin himself further as he retracted his hand. He jumped over the edge to the surprise and confused shouts of the young men and women of his temporary guild.
The Parasite Cloak fluttered against the wind before fanning out widely and catching some air. Then the Madness Wizard touched the ground behind the Light Princess.
He used his Identify trait.
He tried to look inside Bianca¡¯s head only to find his ess blocked and the spectral spider crawling out of her skull. The little guy fell to the ground dead.
Zarian slowly nodded. ¡°Got anything special, aye, dragon-ying princess?¡±
¡°First Corma Dragon yer in Many Years,¡± Bianca answered tly. ¡°It¡¯s a legendary achievement and gave me +10 Wonder and a new epic trait, Oveer.¡±
Zarian whistled impressively.
¡°Why didn¡¯t you intervene?¡± she asked.
Zarian chuckled. ¡°I wanted to see if you can do it. Look how far you¡¯vee. You were constantly crying when we first started against corrupted koi fish and goblins. Now you¡¯re ying dragons. I¡¯m proud, Bianca.¡±
¡°You shouldn¡¯t be.¡±
There was a lull in the conversation filled by the sounds of an immense battle. Then Zarian finally asked, ¡°How high is it now?¡±
¡°High.¡± Bianca tilted her head slightly. She still faced away from him as she exined. ¡°It was a vote that included all the good gods. Lovewar and Serveserf disapproved. Lawkeep, Hopnd, Kingsblood, Purehome, and Purgehunt approved.¡±
¡°Those five are definitely on my godly naughty list,¡± he said. ¡°And I¡¯m going to check it twice.¡±
Bianca shook her head. ¡°This is not the time for jokes, Zarian. I¡¯m good +5 now.¡±
¡°Jokes or no jokes ¡ this ¡ is going to be interesting.¡±
For a moment, he felt sad. He felt a thousand instances sh past him. A thousand hopes and dreams. Then he let go of the sadness and felt merry.
He spread his arms instead, as if he was weing Bianca for a hug. That was not the case. Instead, he let his evil alignment unfurl as an oozing +2 entity. He let his darkness deepen around him. And he spoke in a terrifying voice.
¡°Come now. Let me have it. I won¡¯t hate you for it. I¡¯ll oust everything you have to throw at me and give you a challenge like nobody else.¡±
Bianca shuddered. She was still faced away from him. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say that. You¡¯re not only evil, you¡¯re the man who ruined the life I would¡¯ve lived back in the old world.¡±
Zarian lowered his arms. ¡°Oh, yeah?¡±
¡°Oh, yeah. You took that rum bottle from me with your evil magic and stole me away. I won¡¯t get to talk to my cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles ever again because I¡¯m here. I won¡¯t get to visit my parents¡¯ grave again. You¡¯ve taken all of that from me, and I ignored that because it was the easiest thing to do.¡±
Bianca raised a hand and curled it into a loose fist. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the elf husband. I¡¯m no real princess outside of this game. I made myself all silly to hide the pain I felt every day. And I me you for it all.¡±
Zarian slowly nodded. ¡°Well, I apologize. And I¡¯ll apologize again and again if I must. Because I¡¯m your friend.¡±
Bianca shuddered once more. She didn¡¯t respond. She didn¡¯t say they weren¡¯t friends, however, even if she hated him right now.
Zarian smirked. ¡°But other than that, I can only care so much about what¡¯s in the past. What matters more to me is the here and now. So, what¡¯s it going to be, Bianca?¡±
She turned around, her eyes shing while filled with tears. ¡°You say what¡¯s it going to be, papi? I say it¡¯s going to be me killing you.¡±
Zarian grinned. ¡°Dale, mami! Give me your all!¡±
Chapter 98: Zarian Dies 1
Chapter 98: Zarian Dies 1
The pre-fight talk with Bianca was both personal and necessary. Zarian used the time wisely to decide on his alpha skill loadout before the verbal exchange ended. Because of the genuine threat posed by Bianca with good +5, he figured it was best to use his greatest stuff up front.
That included the Parasite Cloak +1, Spectral Spider Network +1, Straight Darkness +2, Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Exile, and Summon Wizard Hat +1.
Having Straight Darkness +2 in the alpha skill section might seem like overkill. But he was facing the most powerful version of Bianca he¡¯d seen yet. It would be the height of stupidity to underestimate her.
That didn¡¯t mean he would leave out the skills in his beta section.
In fact, he had something special in store for Bianca with one of his beta skills in mind. Other than that, he needed his chosen five in the alpha section for their ster utility.
He would be in a world of hurt without them in top tier shape.
Under the bright twin suns with the scent of blood and smoke in the air, Bianca hit him with the ssic sh at the start of their battle. Zarian knew that would happen. But she timed it perfectly ¨C right when he finished saying ¡®Give me your all!¡¯ ¨C and before he could cast Void Step.
However, she was a split-second too slow to follow up with a more serious attack. He strode through the void and came out of wrinkled air ahead of the retreating kobolds and far from the fort.
He figured he might as well kill two birds with one stone.¡°Look! Look! It¡¯s the bad magic one!¡± yelled a kobold.
¡°He¡¯s blocking our way! Kill him!¡± yelled another kobold.
Zarian chuckled at what he heard. He couldn¡¯t see the kobolds directly. His main eyes were severely burnt.
Granted, he didn¡¯t need them.
He had his spectral spiders that he was tossing around in the area. He also had Basic Aura Maniption, which was a rare trait for a reason.
It didn¡¯t naturally lend him vision. Instead, he had to move his aura around actively to touch the surrounding aura. There were auras in all things, especially in those who leveled up and rued stats, which grew their aura.
Through aura maniption, he pushed his sensory horizons to the limit and felt out everything close by. He kept pushing to feel out the rushing kobolds who were pointing their weapons at him or casting ranged attacks filled with unique elements infused with their aura.
Para swatted aside javelins, elemental bolts, and arrows while Zarian focused deeper.
He used part of his Fractured Mind for seeing through aura maniption alone. Another part of his Fractured Mind used his spectral spiders to observe a flurry of rushing lights blitzing through the retreating kobolds.
It was a ughter.
When one of those little lights passed through a kobold, it burned them up instantly, leaving a crispy and ravaged corpse. Bianca¡¯s Light Step +1 with good +5 was scary, especially against the weaker kobolds.
She looked like a horrific and heavenly weapon cast down to scour the world of nonbelievers and anyone associated with evil. And she was gunning for Zarian because her Shining Mark skill was on him.
No matter where he went, she would find him. Worse yet, her Shining Mark dimmed the effectiveness of his own darkness.
It was sometimes surprising how little utility skills could end up being detrimental. He had to remember that Bianca didn¡¯te naturally into being a powerhouse, either. She¡¯d started her journey in the Infinita Star System as mainly a support type of adventurer.
Zarian, despite his troubles, couldn¡¯t help but smile at that. He loved how far they could push utility types. He loved how far Bianca was pushing him to get creative and unleash some unusual powers and tricks.
¡°There was once a Quagmire Pit that swallowed many a soul,¡± Zarian chanted, bringing to life the folktales of the Grimoire of the Dread Mire Hell Gator. The spells came to exist one by one, following abo-based string. ¡°In that Quagmire Pit were invisible jaws that snapped apart flesh and bone with a Dread Mire Bite. But the predator wanted more and more and gave all who could hear a warning with its Dread Mire Bellow.¡±
Two Quagmire Pits formed and merged into one. They weren¡¯t asrge as they would be if the gator grimoire was in the alpha section. Regardless of that, he pushed the spells as hard as he could.
The unified pits swallowed up hundreds of kobolds. The surface trembled and sshed with kobolds trying to escape, their attempts mostly futile, especially when an enormous pair of invisible jaws snapped up.
Blood and gore geysered up and rained down in a sluicing crimson fall. So many died from that one spell that the remaining kobolds tripped and fell back while under the huge red deluge.
Then the blood-coated jaws snapped open and released an eruptive bellow. A solidified sonic wave smashed the nearest kobolds into a messy tumble and had them screaming in traumatic terror.
Even Bianca¡¯s flurry of lights couldn¡¯t deny the power of the bellow.
The sonic wave forced her back into her human form. She tumbled along with the kobolds,nding in puddles of blood and gore as the sky finished raining down limbs and viscera.
The mental trauma from listening to the bellow wouldn¡¯t stick to Bianca while she had her uber goodness buff. That was okay. Zarian just wanted her to stop while he finished hisbo.
¡°Now it¡¯s time to leave the pit and reveal yourself!¡± Zarian shouted with conviction and maddened glee. ¡°With this folktale, I summon the great infernal predator, Dread Mire Hell Gator!¡±
This version of the Dread Mire Hell Gator woulde out smaller because of the beta debuff. But nobody would deny it could make an impact when it arrived with a volcanic showing.
The hell gator burst out of the pit while covered in oily hell mes that were red and yellow. It had six eyes that glowed with intense and malevolent fury. All its teeth in its massive jaws were huge, many times bigger than most men were tall. And it ran on six legs while over a thousand feet long from its snout to its tail.
Seeing such an immense and powerful creature had the remaining kobolds screaming, falling over each other, begging for mercy.
The hell gator showed them no mercy. The hell gator crashed down with a ground trembling quake, stomped over groups of kobolds like they were bugs, and charged forward with a rumbling sprint.
Its head twisted sideways while rushing down for an earth-scraping chomp on Bianca¡¯s position. Its teeth shed apart and punctured every kobold between the Dread Mire Hell Gator and the Light Princess.
Zarian held his breath as Bianca did the expected thing ¨C she used her Light Step +1 again. She dove into the ming hell gator¡¯s throat to avoid its massive bite.
Zarian sensed the hell gator facing some difficulty. Bianca was going on a rampage inside its body.
But unlike the wolf dragon, the hell gator was an infernal entity. Its body was filled with scorching mes and boiling blood. Bianca was going to have a hard time while inside of there.
Still, the hell gator thrashed about in pain, feet stomping, giant tail mming, jaws snapping. The earth shuddered and rolled with impacts from the hell gator¡¯s thrashing. More kobolds died in the wake of the hell gator. Bianca kept tearing the thousand-foot long monstrosity from the inside while enduring the hellish heat roiling furiously around her.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.
¡°That should upy her for some time, Para,¡± Zarian said. ¡°And she doesn¡¯t have too much aura left, even with her good +5. Once we wear her down enough, we can finish her.¡±
Para didn¡¯t respond. She wasn¡¯t eager to fight Bianca. The cloak pped with less dramatic ir than usual.
Zarian chuckled while beams of deadly light punctured the hell gator from the inside out. Bianca was putting up an incredible fight. Still, Zarian had enough time to fit in a conversation and some more preparations.
¡°Think of it like this, Para,¡± Zarian said. ¡°If we¡¯re really Bianca¡¯s friends, we¡¯ll fight back until she can¡¯t fight anymore. Then ¡ we¡¯ll make a change somehow. We will not lose our friend.¡±
Para perked up a little more after hearing that. Bianca was the first person other than Zarian to acknowledge the Parasite Cloak as a person.
Maybe it was strange for a parasitic, flesh-eating entity to care, but it was also strange for that entity to learn Spanish and befriend others. Para cared about Bianca and would fight to save a friend.
With Para onboard, Zarian turned his focus to his own dark powers, Dark Affinity especially. He was in a race against time as the Dread Mire Hell Gator lost some of its aggressiveness and slowed down heavily.
The creature vomited out boiling blood from its massive jaws. Parts of its body turned to stone and cracked in many ces, like heavy stone falling off a mountain side.
Then the monstrous and fierce entity, Zarian¡¯s biggest summon to date, craned back and let out a painful bellow before a massive st of light erupted from inside of its chest.
Bianca demolished the hell gator. She flew free from its body and left the dead hell gator in crumbled piles of brimstone and sulfur.
Biancanded nearby with a stumble. Her body was burnt in many ces, but she was no stranger to pain. Her elven dress was still holding together despite some severe damage.
The Light Princess looked up with a scowl, searing light beaming from her eyes. In both hands, she held twin sabers of bright light. Orbs of light swirled around her, each packed with great smiting power, all enhanced by good +5.
Zarian snapped his fingers and used his Raise Advancing Skeletons spell. A hundred skeletons rose from the mud and blood, from the flesh and gore. They raked their bare skeletal fingers toward Bianca¡¯s body like a scene out of a horror movie.
The Light Princess didn¡¯t respond until thest second. Then she became a blurring figure of sweeping light and searingsers. She eradicated the skeletons as easily as one could breathe.
Even after suffering through the bowels of the hell gator, Bianca kept exuding exceptionalbat prowess. She showed an immense power that scoured the battlefield of skeletons and the still-living kobolds caught in the wake between two mortal titans of light and dark.
Zarian observed her through his aura maniption and the distant spectral spiders watching from various angles. He would soon have to rely more on the former than thetter, as Bianca drew closer and closer.
She cleared through most of his rushed summons, the basic skeletons barely slowing her down.
That was fine. Zarian had all he needed now. The real preparations wereplete.
¡°Let¡¯s go, Para.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Para roared while reshaped into theirtest fighting suit.
She had Zarian covered in bone-like armor, with threads of flesh fused between the gaps. She turned the cloak behind his back into two big bestial arms that ended in thick fists with bone-ted knuckles. Zarian had simr knuckle-tes on the bone gauntlets made from Para¡¯s body.
His wizard hat had shifted and fused with the carapace-like armor to further cover his head. He had the look of a big, heavy, juggernaut wizard now.
Of course, that wasn¡¯t enough to stop this current version of Bianca. This was just the under armor to the deep and dense concentration of darkness Zarian had ced over each part of himself and Para.
This was how Dark Affinity and some creative use of Straight Darkness +2 came into y as he worked in and reinforced lines and tes of the armor with intensely dense darkness.
Then, as the finishing piece, Zarian cast thest spell he¡¯d learned from the Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Exile, which was in his alpha skill section for this very reason: Void Layer.
Void Layerbined with Dark Affinity, Straight Darkness +2, and the armored version of his Parasite Cloak +1 was a cheat powerbination.
He had the best of many worlds like this. The density of his darkness held weight while the emptiness of the void made his darkness more absorbent against offensive elements. The parasite armor and big knuckles were heavier and able to hold up under the power of the void and darkness.
Better yet, because of his Void Mysticism trait, he didn¡¯t need a high amount of points in Wonder to scale with Void Layer. His Void Mysticism trait made it so his enormous points in Mysticism would grant partial scaling to all void-based abilities, intensifying this power even further
Just like that, Zarian flipped his weakness against light-based powers into one where he held the greatest advantage. Now he and Para looked like a ck hole shaped into an armored juggernaut with four arms.
All light. All reality. Everything swirled around the edges of this form. As if the fundamental elements of the world were draining into his all-consuming, voidyered darkness, where there was no escape.
The Shining Mark skill stopped being a factor.
Zarianughed.
Bianca hit him with a giant smiting beam of light and goodness. Zarian got to feel how stupidly busted the good alignment could be. Despite all of his preparations, Bianca¡¯s power rose to a point of nearly matching him.
But it wasn¡¯t enough to eradicate him or ovee his ultimate defense. Zarian and Para stood their ground and absorbed her massive attack while the surroundingndscape was vaporized.
The ground turned into melted g. Fires zed uncontrobly. Smoke stacked into the sky. The remaining kobolds who were nearby turned to ash. Then the attack ended, and Zarian remained standing and unharmed.
Zarian rushed forward with four arms raised. Bianca let out a wrathful scream and rushed forward as well.
With a step and twist, Zarian used a burst of darkness from under his feet to scoot to the side and move out of the way of a powerful sword swing Bianca struck down from overhead.
Hended heavily and pressed into Bianca¡¯s nk. He took another sword swing to the chest and felt it challenge his control over the voidyered darkness.
The armor held out.
Bianca¡¯s attack slid off and left no damage. All light and heat disappeared into the void armor.
Undaunted, Bianca entered a frenzy. She shed at him with the utmost of speed and tenacity. Her light shone with an intensity that drowned out the light from the suns.
Zarian and Para remained as a spot of unyielding darkness in all of the light. Nothing could break through. She couldn¡¯t wipe them away with her all-destroying light.
The duo rushed at her, and for the first time since this started, they forced Bianca to truly back up. She retreated while she kept shing at them with a flurry of attacks.
Nothing could cut through the voidyered darkness and reach the flesh underneath. But each sh kept challenging Zarian¡¯s control and his aura supply.
The time was ticking.
Zarian and Para threw haymaker punches that swung through the air with heavy whomps. Bianca swerved around each of their four-armed attacks and returned more shes in between the punches.
She even threw in short-range sr res, mini sun bombs, and minisers from different angles. She became more creative under the pressure, unwilling to buckle.
The most interesting trick Zarian observed was when she called in clones of herself that attacked with hard light swords. He hadn¡¯t realized that was a possibility. He stumbled a little when he felt Bianca¡¯s illusions strike him with cuts and stabs that would¡¯ve been deadly against anyone else.
Zarian adapted fast. He thrust his hands into each illusion and absorbed them into the void. As long as they weren¡¯t real, his voidyered darkness was the ultimate end of Bianca¡¯s illusions.
At some point, Zarian wondered how long this wouldst. Then, to his relief, Bianca really started to fade. He felt it through his aura maniption.
Bianca had an enormous amount of power, and her supercharged good alignment might¡¯ve fed into her aura supply somewhat, but she couldn¡¯t escape from her fundamental weakness fully.
She had always been an aura guzzler. She burned out fast. Especially against Zarian¡¯s unyielding defense.
To be fair, he was using every ounce of power he could put into his darkness and void spell. He¡¯d already burnt through so much aura he was getting dangerously close to being empty himself.
However, Zarian would be damned if he lost a war of attrition against Bianca. Now it was time to remind her why she called him daddy.
The Madness Wizard hit Bianca with a heavy gut punch and broke a few ribs. Para grabbed Bianca by the leg and raised her up before mming her down into the ground hard, forming a big crater.
Bianca turned into a flurry of lights to escape, but that was a sign of weakness to Zarian. In which case, he was the dominant figure.
That was plenty of grounds for using his Lore Eater trait liberally. He consumed some of Bianca¡¯s surface memories and raced her to the spot where she would naturally reform.
She wouldn¡¯t even know he was doing that. He used Lore Eater to consume her most recent observations to keep her blinded to his next move.
After she reformed, her eyes opened wide in surprise when she found Zarian already in front of her.
He struck her face with a backhanded p that knocked her off her feet. Para¡¯s giant mitt for a hand reached out and caught Bianca by the back of her head.
Bianca screamed in frustration and do-gooder defiance.
Para mmed Bianca¡¯s face into the ground and shut her up. Then, before Bianca could rpose herself, Para raised her up and mmed her face down again and again until the Light Princess stopped resisting.
She fell unconscious.
Zarian was victorious.
Chapter 99: Zarian Dies 2
Woo, fuck, that was a close one! Zarian thought, cutting off all his abilities, especially Void Layer.
That was a close one. He¡¯d nearly bottomed out, and that would¡¯ve been embarrassing. Nobody other than Para understood the panic Zarian felt toward the end while encased in voidyered dark armor.
He must¡¯ve looked like an unstoppable fiend as he endured Bianca¡¯s endless light show and heavenly wrath. He was actually cutting it close toward the end until Para knocked Bianca out with healthy doses of face-to-ground medicine.
Unfortunately, the gods couldn¡¯t help but chime in.
¡°Ah, no. Don¡¯t you dare! Don¡¯t you freaking dare!¡± Zarian growled.
The gods carried on anyway.
¡
Zarian growled as he felt his evil alignment rise. He nearly lost control. He nearly raised his boot and crushed Bianca¡¯s head. Para, thankfully, restrained him as Zarian fought for control against the brainwashing alignment.
The initial change was always the hardest. It seemed like having evil +3 or good +3 hit the limit where anyone could control themselves.
Now Zarian understood why Bianca was so eager to unleash her goodness. She really had it hard. Having +3 in good or evil while under Level 100 was a lot to endure. Any more would definitely lead to total brainwashing.
Zarian refused to lose to his evil alignment while it was only +3.
¡°I¡¯m not evil. I¡¯m evil aligned. Evil is a tool. I¡¯m not evil. I¡¯m not evil. You won¡¯t control me. You won¡¯t change me. I will use you. You are a tool.¡±
Zarian stumbled back as he wrestled more control away from the evil alignment. He stuffed it down further and further into the depths of his profile. After a few minutes, he found equilibrium, but he was far from pleased.
Yes, he was more intelligent. Absolutely cunning, even. Hell, he could connect the dots to a few mysteries that hadn¡¯t seemed so obvious to him beforepared to now. But the price was too high.
The gods meddled far too much.
¡°Well, I¡¯ll dole out some thanks. Shadowfell, Hisscreep, The Dragon, I appreciate your disapproval or inattention,¡± Zarian said darkly. ¡°Everyone else, you¡¯ve goofed up.¡±
Sinfeast, Goldhound, Sickspread, and Kill were officially on Zarian¡¯s godly naughty list. That included Purgehunt, Purehome, Lawkeep, Kingsblood, and Hopnd.
That was nine gods out of fourteen who were enemies for sure, with Sinfeast being at the top of the list. Evil God Sinfeast had the honor of Zarian as his number one hater, after all.
Zarian huffed angrily and shook his head. He looked around at the devastation made from the super fight of light versus dark, good versus evil. It felt both ironic and proper that the biggest fight to this point came from Bianca. He wasn¡¯t mad at that.
He was mad at the gods.
He took some time to recover his mentality and emotions. He had so much Mysticism he recovered plenty of his aura quickly, too. His wizard hat helped with that.
With Bianca scooped up in his arms, he cast Void Step. He found Gilbert on the northern wall, Hannah and Naomi beside him.
¡°Keep her tranquilized. Heal all the damage, please,¡± Zarian said, setting Bianca down gently.
¡°Yeah, I got her.¡± Gilbert knelt down next to their Light Princess.
He applied his Tranquilizer Touch +1. Meanwhile, Bianca¡¯s wounds faded away quickly. She would look like her usual pretty and morous self soon.
Gilbert also extended his Healing Force +1 to heal Zarian¡¯s eyes faster. The recovery sensation was itchy until they returned to normal.
He didn¡¯t open them right away because Zarian was getting better at feeling out his environment and ¡®seeing¡¯ with aura maniption alone. That might grow into being a useful technique the more he worked on it.
¡°So it really happened,¡± Naomi said gruffly, arms folded across her chest. ¡°I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t hold back too much.¡±
¡°I couldn¡¯t really,¡± Zarian said.
¡°How bad was it?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°We were watching from the wall. We didn¡¯t want to intervene, but we were all worried.¡±
¡°She¡¯s stupidly powerful despite some key weaknesses she needs to tidy up.¡± Zarian sighed as Para peeled back the armor and returned them to their usual appearance.
After he gathered his thoughts, he went on to exin his im: ¡°She¡¯s reaching a point where she can nearly be as destructive as me. But her defense is terrible outside of evasion and outmaneuvers. She should¡¯ve formed panels and walls to box me out. Maintaining my Void Layer spell while using Dark Affinity and Straight Darkness as unique armor was the biggest aura drain ever, and if Bianca had been more patient, she could¡¯ve had me in a bad spot.¡±
Hannah hummed. ¡°You know, Zarian, we can¡¯t always multitask like you. I think Bianca pushed herself to the absolute limit just to challenge you with her best style.¡±
¡°You were freaking blinded and that couldn¡¯t stop you,¡± Gilbert said.
Zarian shrugged. ¡°I have spectral spiders looking out from a distance. And I used my aura maniption to feel things out and ¡®see¡¯ by touch.¡±
¡°This freaking guy.¡± Gilbert shook his head.
Hannah sighed before saying under her breath, ¡°Truly a demigod.¡±
¡°I was nearly out of aura, honestly,¡± Zarian said, trying to downy himself.
¡°I would¡¯ve jumped in if things turned for the worst,¡± Naomi said, looking out into the distance where the battle had happened.
The kobolds were massacred in the wake of two titanic adventurers of light and dark, of good and evil. There were wildfires spreading across the fields because of Bianca¡¯s powers and the rampage of the hell gator.
The amount of damage Zarian and Bianca put out was incredible when looking at it from a distance. However, Zarian didn¡¯t let that distract him from what Naomi had said.
He ced a hand on her shoulder. ¡°I would¡¯ve found another way.¡±
¡°I have her tranquilized, but how brainwashed is she?¡± Gilbert asked, still knelt.
¡°Pretty brainwashed. I¡¯m evil +3 now and ¡ it nearly took me over.¡± Zarian grouched and shook his head.
He felt his evil alignment try to break free. He shoved it back down its pit and fought with it.
¡°Are you going to be okay?¡± Naomi asked, the others looking concerned.
¡°I¡¯ll be okay in a sec.¡± Once he was in control again, he said, ¡°She¡¯s good +5.¡±
¡°What?!¡± Rnd screamed.
He, Lora, and some other soldiers and acolytes were standing nearby while trying not to look like they were eavesdropping. Now that the cat was out of the bag, Rnd stepped forward brazenly.
He looked at the Floridians like they were insane. ¡°How are you all acting so calmly about this? Good +5 is unheard of! It¡¯s preposterous, even! That has to be the highest in the Walled Continent! Perhaps across the entire world! She¡¯s a true demigoddess! Is this normal in the World of Swamps and Princesses?¡±
The other soldiers and acolytes reacted nearly the same as they looked down at Bianca with something close to worship. Not all of them did that, however.
Some soldiers and acolytes looked at Zarian with a weird mixture of adoration and fear. It was as if he lived up to be an unstoppable dark god.
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Amabel was near. She watched Zarian like he couldn¡¯t do anything wrong.
Zarian looked at his fellow Floridians. They all shrugged. Then Zarian turned to Rnd and said, ¡°We saw iting.¡±
He hadn¡¯t discussed it aloud very much with the others. But Naomi must¡¯ve picked up on the possibility of Bianca getting pushed beyond good +3. Hannah was perceptive enough. And Gilbert wouldn¡¯t remain clueless for long, not while next to Naomi and Hannah.
Everyone outside of Bianca would¡¯ve realized something like this would happen eventually. But only Zarian was the most prepared for it.
¡°What do we do now?¡± Amabel asked.
Zarian flicked through some of his notifications. He nearly paused when he saw the Parasite Cloak had advanced to +2 along with some other ster gains.
He moved on quickly, knowing he woulde back to checking his earningster. Or maybe not. At least for now, he focused on what the Mythical Regional Event had for them.
¡°Looks like we¡¯re getting a few days off,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I need some time to recover my aura. Let¡¯s take a break. Thenter, we¡¯ll gather bodies and equipment from the battlefield and feed them to the dungeon.¡±
There were no further questions after that. The soldiers and acolytes were eager to have a break. Naomi didn¡¯t have an issue with thatmand either, which was good, because he needed her for something dire.
¡°Gilbert, Hannah, stay with Bianca, please.¡± Zarian turned to his remaining skeletons. He frowned at the loss of Glowy and Hasty. ¡°Guys, can you head out onto the battlefield and make sure no major kobolds are alive? Kill all the survivors if you can.¡±
The skeletons nodded along. They didn¡¯t show any emotions upfront.
However, Zarian noticed how they moved with less perkiness and rattle when they went off to fulfill the order. Goblin skeleton Darko moved with even more sluggishness than the others.
It felt heartless, but he might have to reconsider bumping up the numbers of advanced skeletons he had at his disposal. He doubted he would do more war games like these often, but facing something like a siege was teaching him the necessity of having extra Self-Sufficient skeletons ready for deployment.
That depended on if he would get a chance to make improvements.
¡°Naomi, with me,¡± Zarian said.
She perked up and followed.
They took the stairs down and headed for one of the cleaned up homes that was thergest in the fort. It was probably the home of the vige leader before the ughter of the vigers. The ce was barren after the soldiers and acolytes removed the debris, bodies, and blood.
Zarian stopped inside where the vige leader had arge living room that worked as a reception area for guests. He breathed in and out deeply, wrangling down his evil alignment. He kept his eyes shut for a while until he felt more like himself.
Then he opened his eyes and looked at Naomi.
¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Naomi shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
¡°Can you pull the medallion out of your soul for me?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Sure.¡±
A heavy gold medallion phased out of Naomi¡¯s chest andid over her leather armor. Intricate engravings swirled around its surface where seven different colored gemsy embedded around the edges.
He used his Identify trait.
¡°I still like this charm on you, even though the optimal thing to do is to give it to someone with more Wonder,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Thankfully, you have the Earth-Sky Meditation.¡±
Naomi¡¯s Earth-Sky Meditation raised her Wonder and Mysticism stats. It was a great skill, since Naomi had the lowest Wonder and Mysticism among the Floridians.
Zarian found it brazen of her to rely on Willpower, Strength, and Agility, being hisplete opposite. Granted, she was the only one who could pull off Aura Ignition, making her special in her own way.
She¡¯se a long way too, hasn¡¯t she? Zarian thought.
¡°Yeah, my meditation skill is pretty nice,¡± Naomi said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I want to go off and test this medallion thing against death magic myself, though. I would rather be the one doling out death.¡±
¡°I get that.¡± Zarian looked up as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Naomi shifted her stance again and looked at him suspiciously. She waited for him to speak further.
¡°Did I exin why I got that charm?¡± he asked.
¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re the Honored Outsider, right?¡±
Zarian pulled up the old notification. He read his first achievement aloud for Naomi.
Naomi blinked. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of pleases from the System.¡±
¡°Yeah, well, I think it¡¯s time to cash in on my worrisome origins,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Star System, I think you know what I want. I don¡¯t enjoy operating under the current alignment games. I want a change. Make it so that me and Bianca can still work together without being brainwashed by our alignments.¡±
¡°Are you sure the Star System will respond?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°It has to,¡± Zarian said.
The Star System, however, didn¡¯t respond.
Zarian frowned as he looked into the air. Then he asked, ¡°Are you ignoring me because you don¡¯t want to respond or because you don¡¯t have an answer to changing the alignments?¡±
The Star System didn¡¯t respond.
Zarian sighed. He rubbed his eyes. He nced over at Naomi who was looking more and more worried.
Something clicked behind her eyes.
She had him figured out, and he knew she would.
¡°No,¡± Naomi said.
Zarian smiled a little. ¡°I think it¡¯s time to call in those connections.¡±
¡°The cost is too big.¡± Naomi stepped forward. ¡°We can find another way. Maybe Bianca has to go solo for a while.¡± Naomi gulped. ¡°Or maybe you need to leave us for a while. Then, after we hit Level 100, Bianca would get in control of herself.¡±
Zarian shook his head. ¡°The gods are ying hard ball. More so now than for anyone in the Lesser Worlds, I bet. And it¡¯s because of me. They won¡¯t let things go normally for Bianca or me.¡±
Naomi looked down and balled her hands into shaky fists. She spoke through gritted teeth. ¡°Leave us behind, Zarian.¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°What you¡¯re nning is so colossally stupid we might lose you forever. What makes you think your origins are enough to make a big sweeping change and ¡ and ¡ bring you back to us?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°You¡¯re proposing that solution, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re going to off yourself!¡±
She clutched the medallion with one hand while breathing hard. Zarian had never seen Naomi panic like this.
He didn¡¯t know why he wanted her here for this, either. It would¡¯ve been easier if he were alone. But maybe he needed to see her reaction before making a decision that could change everything.
¡°It has to work,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Either that or the Star System makes another change for me. It did it once. It can do it again.¡±
A blue alert appeared that both he and Naomi could see.
¡°See! The Star System can¡¯t do what you want, Zarian!¡± Naomi shouted. ¡°Please consider other options.¡± She bit the edge of her lip before saying, ¡°Sometimes, we can¡¯t always get what we want. That¡¯s ¡ just how things are.¡±
Zarian looked at her like she wasn¡¯t Naomi Washington anymore. He couldn¡¯t believe the wordsing out of her mouth. It disgusted him a little.
She must¡¯ve picked up on that and backed away, more so out of shame. He hated to see that from her.
There was a long silence. So many things could be said, but they were left unsaid instead.
Zarian sighed and rubbed the back of his neck again. Then he let out a low chuckle that turned into a heartyugh.
Naomi looked at him like the madman he was.
¡°Sorry, sorry, it just hit me that the martyr sses were actually fitting,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I love my friends. Even when you¡¯re not always the best of people, you¡¯re the type I like to be around. I¡¯m willing to sacrifice everything for those types of friends. I¡¯m willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for Bianca, Gilbert, Hannah, and you. So ¡ I can¡¯t ept the idea ¡®that¡¯s just how things are¡¯ when I know deep down I have something that can make a change. I just ¡ have to trigger it. Maybe my real parents will finally show up or something.¡±
Naomi looked at him hard and long. Then she said with a croak, ¡°What if you¡¯re wrong?¡±
¡°What if I¡¯m right?¡± he asked with a grin.
¡°This isn¡¯t the evil alignment talking?¡± Naomi asked. Then she shook her head. ¡°No, the evil alignment wouldn¡¯t do something like this. But Zarian ¡ you¡¯re more likely to be wrong.¡±
¡°I¡¯m Zarian Darkrun, and I like my chances.¡± There was a hint of magic behind his name when he said it with more weight, intention, and meaning. It was enough for them both to feel it.
Naomi shivered. Goosebumps covered her exposed skin.
Ariana Darkrun appeared in the room¡¯s corner behind Naomi. No dream this time. His ghostly little sister was here for a reason, as if what Zarian was about to do summoned her.
Ariana smiled silently. He kept her appearance in his peripherals, not drawing attention to her, while he focused on Naomi.
Naomi shook on the spot, ignorant of the ghost, before striding forward all the way. She grabbed him by the front of his leather armor and lifted him off his feet. She shook him a few times as she growled.
¡°I swear on all the gods, good, evil, I don¡¯t give a damn, that if you screw this up, I will revive you and kick your ass!¡± Naomi threatened, with tears in her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare screw this up, okay? Whatever is on the other side, you get what you¡¯re looking for ande back!¡±
¡°Aye, ma¡¯am,¡± Zarian replied, reaching down to pat her on the head.
She let him go and stumbled back. She looked twitchy. Like she wanted to run in again and stop him.
Her eyes were watery and puffy. She was all rage now, barely held back by her will.
She looked beautiful that way, which was a messed up thought, but Zarian was in a messed up mood. It didn¡¯t help that he had to hold back his evil alignment.
It was no surprise that evil was self-serving and didn¡¯t like major sacrifices of self. He had to fight it the whole time, and he was too stubborn to let it win.
Zarian gave Naomi a two-finger salute. Then he pointed the same fingers against the side of his head.
A gold notification appeared in the open this time.
Ignoring the Star System, Zarian spoke to his literally closestpanion, his cloak. ¡°Sorry, Para, for what¡¯s going toe. I hope you don¡¯t mind sticking all the way through with me.¡±
¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Para said. ¡°We will help our friend ¡ and eat the gods!¡±
¡°Atta girl. You¡¯re really the greatest cloak anyone can have.¡±
Another notification appeared. This time, it was a red alert.
¡°I alone am the Honored Outsider,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I do what I want.¡±
Naomi watched, her tears streaming. Ariana grinned widely and revealed her hidden fangs. And Zarian pulled the trigger.
Chapter 100: Darkness and Freedom [End of Book 1]
Chapter 100: Darkness and Freedom [End of Book 1]
What was power?
Was it the whip of the master striking the ve¡¯s back? Was it the heart of a rebellion? The mes of insurrection? The fight against the oppressor¡¯s oppression?
Was power the freedom to choose what you want and do things however you want? Regardless of what others thought? Regardless of the damage that could be wrought?
What was power?
Was it the destruction of a foe? Was it to see a ce and just go? Was it the secret to increasing one¡¯s life span so you could always have more? Was it the release from earthly burdens so you could be one with your lord?
What if power were all of these things plus more? What if there was power beyond being overpowered?
The answer to these questions was Zarian Darkrun and his worrisome origins.
The moment he shot himself in the head, he delivered so much critical damage he eliminated most of his vitality and life energy. There was still a chance to save him. He had leftover life energy he¡¯d drained from fighting the kobolds.
The person who could save him, Gilbert McDonald, had Healing Force +1 as his best alpha skill for a reason. While the small-town North Floridian was no intellectual doctor, he was still the best keeper of lives in many miles on the Walled Continent.He was the answer to saving Zarian from this death. And rightfully so, since Gilbert was quick to sense Zarian¡¯s demolished vitality and dwindling life energy. He rushed away from the unconscious Bianca Garcia and left her under Hannah Townhouse¡¯s care.
He sent his Healing Force +1 ahead to reach Zarian¡¯s body. Gilbert thought little about how this could be a chance to get rid of the man who¡¯d doomed his fellow officers. Gilbert didn¡¯t care about how troublesome Zarian could be at the best of times.
Zarian was a fellow member of the party, a fellow Floridian. He was someone Gilbert had grownfortable around after months of adventuring in the Infinita Star System. He was going to save Zarian, even if that was thest thing he could do.
He needed to get closer for his skill to be effective against a death strike that was wiping away thest of the wizard¡¯s life energy. Gilbert was already riding his eight-legged steed, whose name was still taking Gilbert some time to figure out.
The Knighted Healer was sure they would make it to Zarian in time. The wizard was one of the toughest around.
Something ghostly flickered into view. A little girl with dark skin. She wore a sparkly white dress and pearly dress shoes, like she was going to church. She scared the eight-legged steed, and nothing had scared the Sleipnir before.
Gilbert had to wrestle his own mount to keep from getting bucked off, breaking his concentration for a moment. That was all it took to lose Zarian.
The ghostly figure of a little ck girl in a white dress disappeared.
Gilbert urged his steed forward until he reached the home of the old vige leader. Naomi Washington was sitting on the patio while cradling a headless corpse.
She had big fat tears trailing down her cheeks. Gilbert had never thought Naomi could cry. It was nearly as shocking as Zarian¡¯s death.
The headless corpse had a lifeless cloak that was all pale white now. Even the cloak looked like a corpse.
Para was dead.
Gilbert dropped from the back of his steed. He hit the ground and staggered to one knee.
He couldn¡¯t believe it.
The person who was supposed to be their rock, their guide, was gone. The insufferable devil was gone.
Gilbert got back to his feet and tried to push his Healing Force +1 into the headless corpse. He even tried to push his healing into the dead cloak to see if he could revive Para.
He tried and tried, but a corpse wouldn¡¯t take his healing magic.
He was not a necromancer.
And the mortal known as Zarian was dead in this instance.
Before Gilbert could utter a word, the skies darkened suddenly. He looked up and felt his heart drop into his cooling gut.
He fell back to his knees, his Willpowerpletely shattered, his hands sped as he prayed to his god from his old world. He kept staring up at the sky, but he wasn¡¯tpletely ignorant of all that was happening around him.
Naomi wasughing now. She sounded like a witch straight out of hell. Gilbert nced at her as she stood with the corpse and pointed at the sky.
The corpse didn¡¯tst long.
Somehow, it became the stuff of darkness and drained away.
Gilbert felt sick to his stomach.
Naomi took it all in stride,pletely out of her mind. She smiled, with tears still streaming down her face. She kept pointing up with glee.
They all looked up at the sky. Not just Naomi and Gilbert. Not just Hannah or Stony the Wall Crusher Master. Not just the soldiers and acolytes.
Everyone across the Walled Continent who had a clear view of the sky was looking up. They were seeing an event that had never happened before.
It was like nothing of the legends and myths of past eras, some of which were lost to the eons of history that went long before the Restart Era.
The Corma Star.
The Star Core.
The two suns were covered in darkness.
As if they were eclipsed. But the darkness was deeper than an eclipse. The darkness had weight. The darkness had gravity.
Together, the darkened suns looked like void-like eyes.
To Naomi, Gilbert, and Hannah, the ckened stars would look like Zarian¡¯s eyes. Though they weren¡¯t the only ones worldwide to recognize the act of cosmic darkness having Zarian¡¯s likeness.
Even while at the eastern foot of the Grimrock Castle Mountains, where Jack Masters ambushed interloping adventurers to sharpen his man-killing techniques, and where Foodie of the Green Hop Explorers hunted monstrous beasts for their delicious flesh and to progress herself, Jack and Foodie both recognized the darkness set upon the suns.
Jack Masters became filled with iprehensible rage. He sent wrath-filled bolts and starry crescents into the sky as if he could strike down the eyes of Zarian.
Foodie, however, took a seat on a mossy boulder with her legs crossed. Shey her best cleaver on herp and watched the end of the Infinita Star System unfold.
She even smiled in eptance. She weed the unstoppable power of the newbie she once fed.
Many others in the World of Castles and Caverns didn¡¯t share in her positive outlook. Not Jack. Not the Grimrock Warlock. Not the barons of Carrowmore, nor the many leaders on the Walled Continent and across all of Corma. The same could be said for the leaders of many neighboring worlds.
They didn¡¯t like what was happening, especially when their own stars darkened.
If one was to view the entire Infinita Star System from the top down, they would see at the heart was the Star Core, which alls could see regardless of their location. Then there were the individual mini-stars connected to every habitable, along with the moons that could number from one to over dozens for each world.
All was bright except for the spreading darkness in the middle. Eventually, in every corner of this contained universe that held billions of habitable worlds and countless living creatures connected to the Star System, their stars ckened.
Infinita turned dark.
Then, when the darkness became whole andplete, Zarian came to life in his true form. He was not fully awake. Not in the sense that would be human and conscious of what was happening. But he was alive as an entity that turned an entire universe dark.
And he was hungry.
Corma was the first world he consumed. Like a single piece of cereal between his shapeless jaws.
It went away with a quiet crunch.
Everyone and everything on Corma died.
Then the same happened to the neighboring worlds.
The darkness that was his formless body had no end to its appetite. Once he had a taste, he couldn¡¯t help but have another. It was like eating the most delicious and nutritious candy anyone could ever have.
Another world disappeared with a muffled crunch, leaving nothing behind.
Another world vanishedpletely and became a part of the abyssal darkness. Another world followed the same fate. Then another and another and another.
He ran through them one by one at first.
Then he took them by the dozens.
By the hundreds.
By the thousands.
By the millions.
Then he took in whole gxy clusters and super gxies.
The hunger wouldn¡¯t subside. The ease he felt when consuming worlds gave him no reason to stop. It was more like breathing, really. But tastier. Each world or cluster of worlds had unique blends of seasoning on them when he paid close enough attention.
Things became more interesting when certain worlds became spicier. They popped and crackled. They had a presence to them that pushed and pinched at his darkness.
Finally, Zarian paid more attention to what was happening before he consumed another gxy cluster. His awareness sharpened. His humanity, an abysmally small figment of his former limitations when he had a mortal shell, had a realization that filled him with shock. Then disgust. Then absolute horror.
He wasn¡¯t helping anyone.
He was hurting everyone.
But nothing could stop him. Not even himself. His hunger refused to be denied.
He consumed the divine worlds and the gods with them,pletely ignoring their pitiful defense at trying to stop him. None survived him.
Except for one.
His darkness couldn¡¯t consume Luciana Shadowfell.
For whatever reason, she continued to persist in his darkness. She did nothing about it. She simply existed.
Where his attention went, she followed, like a shadow of darkness. Zarian had no idea how that was possible. Only Luciana would know. But she and Zarian weren¡¯t the only impossibilities.
Because Zarian¡¯s darkness had outgrown this tiny universe. He was still reeling from what was happening when he felt the futile attempts of the Star System itself trying to contain him.
Zarian felt the Star System as both ancient runic magic and a sophisticated intelligence that was vastly old. He felt it as thest defiant embers of a dying universe that was trying to save all its neighbors from the horror that he wrought.
Zarian stopped existing as a passenger and tried to take control of the wheel. His metaphysical grip slipped away. The darkness was too vast, too unstoppable, too unbound by mortal whims to stop what was its destiny.
The darkness defied Zarian, and it defied the Star System. The darkness broke free and cracked an entire universe open like an egg.
The Infinita Star System died.
Dimensional integrity copsed.
The darkness spread into multiple universes, multiple dimensions. Luciana rode along unbothered, remaining as a small but constant shadow who could go wherever the darkness went.
And they were joined by one more.
Another mass of darkness.
Another world eater, universe breaker, multidimensional threat. But it was smaller than Zarian¡¯s darkness, and it had only appeared once the Infinita Star System was no more.
Zarian had no idea what the other dark entity could be at first. But when his darkness and the foreign darkness intermingled without hostility. He sensed a familiar vibe only he would know deep down.
Ariana Darkrun.
His little sister.
They were the same.
World eaters.
Universe breakers.
Multidimensional threats.
For whatever reason, she couldn¡¯t achieve her true form until now. More importantly, she seemed more in control of herself. She was more disciplinedpared to Zarian¡¯s darkness.
While he ate and ate anything that was edible and caught in his darkness, she watched him.
Ariana, Zarian thought hazily with his mortal mind. Don¡¯t do what I do. Stop me if you can. Please, please, stop me.
Ariana didn¡¯t respond to him, the mortal mind of Zarian.
Instead, after watching his darkness for a while, she turned and spearheaded into a nearby universe. Then she started consuming it from the inside out with ravenous glee. In fact, she was a lot crueler.
She enjoyed ying with her food.
The mortal mind that was Zarian had never known such defeat. He¡¯d never faced such horror as abstract, as limitless, as all-consuming as himself.
He didn¡¯t want this.
He didn¡¯t want worlds of intelligent life to fall to the hunger of his uncontroble darkness. He didn¡¯t want the impressionable darkness of his little sister to be so evil and cruel. He didn¡¯t want unique universes teeming with possibilities to be nothing more than a cosmic buffet for the Darkruns to dine on.
Was this the truth behind their names?
Were they the darkness who would run forevermore?
What about his friends? What about his mortal pursuits?
What was the purpose of all this power?
He didn¡¯t want this.
He couldn¡¯t handle this.
If this was the end, Zarian figured he might as well fade away. All he had to do was let go. Let the darkness win. And be what he was. The darkness that would run forever more with or without his conscious input. Going fully dark would make it less of a torment.
Then he saw a familiar blue marble of a world.
A little ce in ame universe.
It was his home world.
It was the home world of his dead friends.
The darkness was going to eat it.
Zarian was a lot of things. He was a fuck up in many ways. He was a troubled individual hounded by an unfair life. He was once the container of a monstrous entity that he shouldn¡¯t have unleashed with an unworthy death.
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But more importantly, Zarian Darkrun wasn¡¯t a bitch.
He fought and fought. He raged against the darkness, against the dying of the light.
The darkness ate the old world and took every living soul there. The darkness ate the old universe and spread into another dimension, weaving in and out of different ces Ariana¡¯s darkness yed in and consumed.
The Darkruns sometimes shared the same universes to eat together. They sometimes ate their own separate universes. Zarian¡¯s darkness ate the most, and Ariana took her time to y and eat.
And the mortal mind of Zarian kept fighting and fighting. He cussed. He hurled nders. He raged and raged. He didn¡¯t give up. He didn¡¯t back down.
He slowed his own darkness a teensy bit.
It was an insignificant difference. Barely anyone would notice. But Zarian¡¯s mind noticed. So he fought more.
He thought of how Ariana was impressionable and needed to be taught better. He thought of avenging his friends, his world, and even the Star System.
He refused to disappear. He kept fighting a futile battle against an entity that was both him and beyond him.
It was a battle against an entity that was beyond dimensions and universes. It was an entity that grewrge enough to be a multiverse level threat.
Zarian¡¯s darkness broke into a more united multiverse for the first time. The darkness met arger bacsh than any before.
Primordials who¡¯ve existed for tens of billions of years to even hundreds of billions of years used magic and knowledge they¡¯ve honed for all their lifetimes.
There were primordials who imed they could kill anything. There were primordials who imed they could survive anything. There were primordials who could create universes. There were primordials who could make their own system apocalypses. There were primordials who could reshape other multiverses. There were primordials who defied countless natural and supernaturalws. There were primordials who were the supreme rulers of primordial armies.
Cultivators. Living systems. God-wizards. Unbeatable warriors. Apex hunters.
There were many primordials. And they were all considerably overpowered. Many of them have never known true defeat.
Zarian¡¯s darkness broke each primordial who tried to fight him. He consumed them all. The supreme rulers. The apex hunters. The grand defiers. They all fell. They all became food to his darkness.
Ariana¡¯s darkness followed in his wake and ate the lesser primordials and gods. An entire multiverse system copsed to the Darkruns, and Luciana followed along as a shadow of the siblings¡¯ far-reaching apocalypse.
So, the question must be asked again.
What was power?
Was it Zarian¡¯s rampaging darkness?
Was it Ariana¡¯s happiness to follow her big bro?
Was it the mortal mind of Zarian who kept fighting a futile battle?
Was it Luciana Shadowfell who rode along unaffected as the ceaseless tragedy continued?
Or was it the person waiting for a convenient time to intervene based on his own schedule?
From across multiple multiverses, a voice spoke resoundingly:
¡°Geez! I look away for a little while and let things run its course and everything goes down a depressing loop! What is this? A bad anime that doesn¡¯t understand the meaning of gradual power scaling?¡±
What? Zarian thought. Am I hallucinating? Who the heck was that speaking?
Zarian didn¡¯t know how much time had passed. He had no idea how long he¡¯d fought his own darkness and existed with a singr goal of slowing it down.
But he knew he hadn¡¯t heard another person¡¯s voice from the moment this entire mess began. Not even when his darkness was fighting and consuming multiple primordials did anyone¡¯s words reach his conscious mind.
The speaker sounded male. He sounded jovial. He sounded like he could be from Florida, but a different part of Florida.
Central Florida?
He had a Caribbean ent for sure. Zarian could almost catch a hint of something Haitian in that ent. Who was this person?
Shouldn¡¯t he be afraid?
The all-mighty voice spoke again: ¡°I honestly should stick you back in a jar, kid, but the women keep hoping you¡¯ll seed and I like your moxie. You remind me a little of myself. You kept fighting even though it seemed all pointless. That¡¯s worth something even if you¡¯re a colossal fuck up. But who am I to judge? You can say I¡¯m the O.G. of fuck ups. Now, let¡¯s reverse this mess, shall we? Rewind!¡±
The darkness shuddered to a stop. The same happened to Ariana¡¯s darkness. Then everything reversed. Everything moved in rewind, as announced by the all-mighty voice.
For the first time in a long time, Zarian¡¯s mortal mind sat back and went along with the ride.
He watched as his darkness and his little sister¡¯s darkness receded from the multiverses they had invaded. He watched the lights flicker on as stars returned to their shining glory. He watched worlds reappear as if they had never consumed them. He watched the fabric of multiple realities mend wherever a Darkrun had pierced and invaded.
He saw primordials returning to life. He saw gods returning to their thrones. He saw mortals returning to their homes and embracing their families. He saw entire systems of many naturese back online and return to their normal operation, no longer victims of the hungry darkness of the Darkruns.
He saw his darkness shrink back further and further, dropping from multiverse threat to multidimensional threat. Then it dropped to a small multidimensional threat.
He watched his homeworld return to its blue glory.
It had never looked so beautiful to him before.
He watched his own darkness recede back into the egg that it burst out of. He caught sight of Ariana¡¯s darkness contracting and swirling away even faster. She faded behind a hidden pocket in the Star System that blocked his own further observation. Wherever Ariana was kept, it was apparent that she was under seclusion.
He watched the worlds he¡¯d eaten return with all of their inhabitants. He watched the stars be alight all across Infinita.
Luciana hopped off his darkness and returned to her shadowed world. She waved at Zarian¡¯s darkness as if saying farewell for now.
He shrank and shrank and shrank until he was back down on Corma, back in his mortal body. His monstrous darkness shrank down into a small, nearly undetectable bead that was in the middle of his soul.
Zarian found himself far outside of the Ride-or-Die Fort while on his knees.
His entire body was shaking. His mind was filled with too much knowledge and too many witnessed horrors.
He could never be the same again. He was broken again. He looked down at the ground and remained on his knees, stuck somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness, until he noticed there was the shadow of another person standing behind him and out of direct view.
Zarian didn¡¯t look. He swallowed dryly before speaking with a croak. ¡°Who are you?¡±
The cheery man with a hint of a Haitian ent chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m family. Far, far, far up the line. You can just call me your Funnest Granpapa.¡±
¡°Oh.¡± Zarian bobbed his head up and down. ¡°Why did you leave me alone?¡±
¡°It¡¯s part of the family tradition. Or curse. Every male must grow up from the bottom. Every female must navigate responsibility early. It¡¯s a shit tradition, but it¡¯s stuck in our core now.¡±
¡°It really is shit.¡±
¡°Yeah, you can me that on your Biggest Granmama and me.¡±
Zarian licked his dry lips. ¡°This isn¡¯t a dream is it? Did all of that just happen?¡±
¡°It¡¯s not a dream. It all actually happened. And everyone¡¯s going to remember everything up to their death. You¡¯re going to deal with the consequences of that.¡±
¡°Fuck.¡±
¡°Yeah, buddy. Fuck around. Find out.¡± The Funnest Granpapa chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t think that¡¯s just for people we don¡¯t like. That¡¯s something we have to learn for ourselves, too. Especially when you and your crazy little sister are some of the strongest of my lineage.¡±
The Funnest Granpapa snorted. Something swished through the air. Zarian caught the shadow of the moving thing.
Was that a tail?
He was tempted to look directly.
He didn¡¯t look.
The Funnest Granpapa sighed. ¡°There are more of us. There¡¯s the Greatest Granpapa and the Strongest Granmama and more, but we agreed to take turns when dealing with our most troublesome grand kiddos, and I¡¯m on watch for you, Zarian Darkrun.¡±
¡°What now?¡±
¡°Like I said. You¡¯re going to have to deal with the consequences of your rash actions.¡±
Zarian noticed the shadow of his Funnest Granpapa moving away.
Zarian still didn¡¯t look up. He could be polite and rambunctious in equal measure. But this was the one time where he was truly willing to bend the knees.
The power of his Funnest Granpapa was unfathomable. But his otherworldly control had Zarian seized by the heart.
Everything was back to normal. Everything was set perfectly where it had once been. The stars. The dirt. The individual strands and currents of aura. The people. The lives and souls. From the grandest gods to the most insignificant microbe.
The Funnest Granpapa had set everything back perfectly and as smoothly as a maestro of ultimate control.
And the shocking part was that Zarian didn¡¯t aspire to be like him. Not necessarily in the power department. He only wanted enough control where he could live his own life and enjoy the simple pleasures. Like learning spells, leading his party on dynamic quests, andpeting in a thousand-year tournament.
Zarian chuckled.
The shadow of his Funnest Granpapa hesitated from leaving. The old man¡¯s shadow turned back, and he asked, ¡°What¡¯s making youugh, gason?¡± Boy?
¡°I don¡¯t care to be you.¡±
Zarian scooped up some grass and dirt. He squeezed it in his palm. He took a deep sniff of the stuff. The scent of dirt and grass was wonderful.
Zarian nodded slowly before he continued. ¡°I don¡¯t care to have your power. I do want to have more control like you. But beyond that, I want to be here on the ground. I want to go on simple adventures and do fun quests. I want to punch a worldly god in the face. I want to convince my little sister that there are better ways to live than eating universes and primordials. I want the simple stuff.¡±
Zarian held up the clod of dirt and grass higher.
There was a long silence.
The weight of that silence was nearly unbearable.
Then his Funnest Granpapa burst into a roar ofughter. It almost sounded familiar, as if Zarian was hearing himselfugh, but much older, and with a thicker inder ent.
A rough hand pped him loudly on the back. Zarian felt Para waver and move about cautiously, as if she could hardly believe she was alive again. Zarian nearly broke down and cried, but he held it in.
Para hadn¡¯t been there while the darkness rampaged. He¡¯d lost her. Now he had her again. He didn¡¯t want to lose her again.
He took a part of her tattered fabric and hugged it to his chest. He was still holding onto the clod of dirt and grass. Para didn¡¯t seem to mind getting dirty. She quivered with adoration from the hug.
¡°Good,¡± the old man said. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re giving you another chance. You and your little sister failed countless times before. You two end up as multiverse threats no matter how we spin the loop. The worst one was letting you be rich. Never again. That one was really, really bad.¡±
¡°Damn, I really can¡¯t start rich?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°There are few exceptions. But generally, nope. Gotta work your butt off to get past that generational curse.¡± The Funnest Granpapa chuckled. ¡°So maybe, just maybe, for this go around, you¡¯ll actually stop being assholes and do things better. But that¡¯s on you, Zarian. Either be the best that you can be or I guess we¡¯ll stuff you away in a jar. I¡¯m not joking. The jar is real, and it has your name on it. There¡¯s a jar for your sister, too.¡±
¡°So this has happened before. Many times.¡± Zarian nodded slowly. ¡°Any advice on how not to fuck up and get stuffed in a cosmic jar?¡±
¡°Take your time. Train hard and don¡¯t cheat on your adventures too much. Practice, practice, practice control. And rely on some strongpanions.¡± The old man chuckled again. ¡°That¡¯s actually the biggest difference on this go around. For once, you didn¡¯t go solo.¡±
¡°I used to go solo a lot?¡±
¡°The rich version of you was the biggest asshole. That was a diehard solo guy. News sh. He became an outright dark viin and did things I don¡¯t want to mention.¡±
¡°Sounds like I want to punch that guy.¡±
¡°Most people want to punch you now.¡±
¡°Point taken. So having strongpanions is a good strategy?¡±
¡°Almost the most important strategy. Their sess is your sess. They¡¯ll keep you grounded. So keep yourpanions close when you can and make sure they reach godhood, and the high quality kind of godhood. In fact, you¡¯re doing better than me in that area when I was your age. Maybe that¡¯ll help you conquer your darkness and teach your little sister to follow a better example of living.¡±
¡°Okay, cool. That¡¯s a lot to take in along with everything else that happened. But I have to ask, is there anymore?¡±
¡°Hm, there¡¯s always plenty. But this part is important. Make sure to take care of your tail. Chicks dig the tail. And when I mean chicks, I mean chicks for bachelors such as yourself. I don¡¯t have any chicks. Don¡¯t let your Biggest Granmama think that if she asks. You spend hundreds of trillions of years with a woman and she still can¡¯t stop from being the jealous type.¡±
¡°Um ¡ I don¡¯t have a tail.¡± Zarian looked at the shadow tail of the old man. It moved around like it had a life of its own. He tried to feel for anything behind the small of his back. Nothing there. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t have a tail, old man.¡±
¡°You¡¯ll see. You take after your Biggest Granmama in that regard.¡± The shadow of the Funnest Granpapa disappeared, gone with the old man¡¯s exit.
Zarian sighed, already missing his family. The tradition for males to go through sucky lives growing up wasme, but knowing how much of an asshole the rich version of him had turned out tempered Zarian¡¯s attitude toward the generational curse.
At least his family sounded cool. Or at least the old, old man did. They were certainly powerful.
Beyond the multiverse-level, for sure.
Who was the Greatest Granpapa? And the Strongest Granmama?
What did it mean he took after the Biggest Granmama?
And where was his tail? What tail would it be?
A dragon tail?
There was so much to consider and go over for Zarian. But he was also overwhelmed right now. He felt quite humbled, too. So he stayed on his knees under the autumn day and just let himself be.
Yes, he had responsibilities waiting for him. He had plenty of reasons to worry. However, as of right now, he was living in peace, epting the world and reality around him as it was.
He wasn¡¯t alone, after all. Para had him wrapped in the cloak, holding him lovingly while he held her back. This was nice. They stayed like that for a while as blocky white clouds crawled slowly in the blue autumn sky.
Eventually, someone else entered his peaceful sanctuary where he knelt in the dirt and grass.
¡°You killed me twice,¡± Naomi said from beside him.
Zarian turned his head slightly in her direction. ¡°Sorry.¡±
She reached down and pped him lightly on the head.
¡°Only one p?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°That was for making me cry.¡±
Oh.
Fair enough.
She could¡¯ve hit him way harder if she wanted. She was showing a lot of restraint, surprisingly.
She looked at him for a long while.
He remained on his knees, just vibing.
¡°You¡¯ve been through something rough, huh?¡± Naomi said, breaking the silence.
¡°I¡¯m the destroyer of worlds and realities. I went on a rampage that hallowed out the Star System first. Then I broke out like I was emerging from an egg and went on a frenzy. I ate and ate. Ariana followed my example even though she was a smaller darkness of endless consumption. Together, we grewrge enough to eat primordials and multiverses like having a cosmic Thanksgiving dinner.¡±
Zarian nodded to himself before looking up.
¡°The Darkruns, my sister and I, are the ultimate evil. And I have a hidden tail somewhere.¡±
Naomi hummed. ¡°Bianca was right.¡±
Zarian snorted and shook his head. ¡°Yeah, Bianca was right. I¡¯m evil to the core. And not in a morality sense. I¡¯m an existential evil that I can¡¯t control yet. If she were to kill me in battle, it¡¯ll probably end the threat of my darkness unleashing.¡±
A red alert appeared.
¡°Well, fuck, what now?¡± Naomi asked.
Zarian scrolled through his notifications. There was a good amount to look at, such as something called a Thematic Law. He brushed past that until he found the thing that called to him.
It knocked him out of his calming vibe.
¡°I don¡¯t like the look on your face,¡± Naomi said.
Zarian shuddered before saying aloud what he was seeing.
¡°That¡¯s ¡ broken as hell,¡± Zarian said. ¡°This is literally a skill that could kill me and release the darkness all on its own.¡±
Naomi let out a long and insufferable sigh. She kicked at a random rock and sent it flying far, far away. With a huff, she asked, ¡°Can I hear some good news?¡±
Zarian scrolled through his notifications. He found the perfect thing. This one, at least, allowed him to smile again.
¡°How do you feel about spreading some freedom?¡± he asked.
Naomi perked up. ¡°You¡¯re joking?¡±
Zarian told her the good news.
¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s me. Maybe it¡¯s just me. But I think the Star System is mad at you,¡± Naomi said. ¡°But cool. We got what we wanted. Freedom.¡±
¡°Honestly, how are you able to handle all of this in stride?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Other than Tranquil Mind +2? My Earth-Sky Meditation advanced to +1 and lets me meditate on the move or even while fighting. And my two deaths went really quick.¡± Naomi shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just d you¡¯re back and everything seems okay for now. Fair warning, I¡¯m not saving you when Gilbert starts throwing punches. He¡¯s getting raging drunk.¡±
Zarian nodded. He looked up at the twin suns. ¡°Eh, I figured we were bound to have a fist fight eventually. I should really get him a day off to fish and stuff. How¡¯s Hannah?¡±
¡°She would¡¯ve shut down if it wasn¡¯t for Bianca and the kids needing care. I¡¯m here because I need to be here. For myself. And for you.¡±
¡°Thanks.¡±
¡°Yeah, yeah. So, what was it you said about a tail?¡±
¡°I¡¯m supposed to have a tail sooner orter. It¡¯s part of my lineage as the grandson of uber powerful super gods. Or primordial ultra gods. They¡¯re like hundreds of trillions of years old and stuff. My Funnest Granpapa was the one who reversed everything and gave me another chance or I would¡¯ve gotten stuck in a jar.¡±
¡°A jar?¡±
¡°Yup. A jar. It even has my name on it.¡±
¡°Hm. Okay. That¡¯s interesting and all, but what type of tail? Is it a cat tail?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°I don¡¯t know. But I¡¯m hoping for a dragon tail.¡±
¡°Can I touch it first when it shows up? At least before Bianca.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±
Zarian was trying to speak in a joking manner. He noticed that Naomi was doing the same. It sounded decent to his ears while they went through the motions.
They were both trying to keep on keeping on. Like good Marines.
Despite how fucked up the situation was, they used humor to float above water. They could drown in the depths of existential dreadter, with heavy amounts of magical alcohol.
In the background, however, a different part of Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind lit up with a rant:
My real family is insane. Ie from insane people with insane power who can make jokes about the deaths and rebirths of countless lives and worlds like it¡¯s nothing to them. Like ultra rich elites who live way too far above the regr person to know what it¡¯s like to be human anymore. The rules don¡¯t apply to them. Reality is whatever they want it to be.
He didn¡¯t know if he should be mad at them.
He was still relieved to know he had his own people.
He had a lineage. He might not want to be like them. But at least he knew he had a certain starting point.
Now he needed to learn to control his crazy power for good this time. Or his Overwhelming Darkness would break free and devastate the lives of mortals, gods, and systems once again.
He didn¡¯t want to watch countless people and worlds meet their end as he ate like a bottomless pit, savoring the destruction and the taste of life perishing in his endless darkness. He didn¡¯t want to be the ultimate evil, the death of everything and everyone, especially his friends.
Ariana still needed a proper big bro to guide her. She was definitely an evil little sister. But Zarian wanted to save her and redeem the Darkruns.
Okay. Alright. I need to clean up my act. I need to control myself. For my friends and my little sister. And for myself. I need to be better at this than ever before, Zarian thought. I just need to be a better person, a better Florida Man.
No sweat.
To Be Continued
OVERPOWERED WIZARD
Chapter 101: B2: C1: The Dreaded Floridian 1 [Start of Book 2]
Zarian was kneeling on a patch of dirt and grass that wasn¡¯t soaked in blood. He was in a foreign world far from his original world. Hells, he wasn¡¯t in the universe he¡¯d grown up in.
White blocky clouds drifted like fluffy tetris pieces sailing in the wide blue sky. Patches of cobblestone hid under fields of colorful wildflowers. Various creatures, like little drakes and elemental avians, skittered and flitted about around him.
In the distance, he saw a small hill made of fortress fragments with verdant ntlife weaved through its gaps and cracks. There was a small forest to the east where the trees had stone blocks covering their bark. There were many trees like that on Corma, the World of Castles and Caverns, just one in many in the Infinita Star System.
Zarian was kneeling in the grass because he had the biggest humbling anyone could have. He¡¯d be an existential threat across multiple dimensions, to where whole multiverses and armies of primordials couldn¡¯t stop him. His ever-expanding darkness crushed them and consumed them, and his mortal mind could do nothing but fight and struggle to slow it down.
He failed countless times.
He¡¯d watched his own world along with many others get consumed by his out-of-control power. He still kept fighting. He still kept trying. But he was forced to be a passenger for a long, long time.
When it all looked bleak, his Funnest Granpapa had showed up and reversed all the damage. Everything Zarian¡¯s darkness had destroyed and eaten returned to their most pristine state prior to the apocalyptic doom. But not everything was back to normal.
For one, everyone could remember what happened before they died. They would all know that an unbeatable darkness had snuffed out the stars before eating their worlds. The gods might know whose darkness had done that.
How could they not?Zarian wasn¡¯t the most subtle person around.
Zarian looked at his new skill again, the recement of his old straight darkness.
Overwhelming Darkness is the edgiest name ever, Zarian thought.
He almost wanted tough. He held back because a part of him was still reeling from the aftermath of his rash decisions and the consequences. Still, he found some humor in it all.
This new skill is so stupidly broken I¡¯m going to need some control measures before I could learn to tame this bad boy.
Zarian tried to put Overwhelming Darkness in the beta section.
The skill refused to be a beta.
It stayed in the alpha section as the first skill.
Zarian wasn¡¯t surprised even though he hadn¡¯t expected that. With a name like Overwhelming Darkness, why would it let itself be anything beneath alpha?
Still, he needed to subdue this thing safely.
Could Hannah create ability restraints?
Zarian still had the Basic Lawkeep Aura Cuffs. He had to wear them during his party¡¯s first brush with the local humans of Corma. The cuffs reduced the aura of the wearer.
What if Hannah reversed engineered them into restraints made specifically for Overwhelming Darkness? They would have to work on that together most likely. Only Zarian could trace the runes of a skill in someone¡¯s aura.
I¡¯ll have to see if she still wants to be my friend after what just happened, Zarian thought.
Honestly, he had to check in with many people. Before he could do that, he checked in with himself. Specifically, the notifications he¡¯d set aside.
It was clear to Zarian that killing weaker creatures was the most inefficient way to level up in the Infinita Star System. If it wasn¡¯t for the fight against Bianca earlier, he would¡¯ve gained reduced vitality for those two measly levels.
¡°Para, you can be my wizard assistant now?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yes,¡± Para answered with a monstrous hiss, the entire cloak quivering delightfully. ¡°I do magic. I will help you.¡±
The Parasite Cloak was practically Zarian¡¯s favorite skill. She was a tattered, leathery, and monstrous thing. Even though she seemed more like afy nket while she was wrapped around, that didn¡¯t stop her from being dangerous to their enemies
As of this moment, she was being cuddly to her host after having died and revived together. Being reunited was nice.
Zarian smiled at her adoration. He reread the detail where Para now scaled partially with Mysticism. If she wasn¡¯t strong before, she was going to be he strong now.
Maybe she can help me control my darkness.
Was he eventually going to get a magic seal? No lie, that would be cool. Zarian could see himself releasing his sealed restraints to unleashyers of his Overwhelming Darkness. He would need a cheesy line or two.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences elsewhere.
Before his imagination ran rampant, Zarian moved onto the other important notifications.
Zarian let out a low whistle. He couldn¡¯t recall ever getting this many achievements at once.
Despite the circumstances, he did feel special. It couldn¡¯t be helped. He liked the gold notifications. The VIP treatment remained a favorite of his in this Star System life.
That might¡¯ve been something in his past life ¨C when he was a rich asshole ¨C that stayed with him. He was currently living the life of a homeless Marine veteran and Florida Man who became an overpowered wizard.
Regardless of his convoluted origins, he started opening up all his achievements to see what he gained.
Zarian tried not tough.
This was not the time tough. It really wasn¡¯t.
But it was hard not to.
Onto the next.
Zarian felt a familiar and solid weightnd against his chest. It was much lighter than when he first wore the Divine Revival Charm. That was back when he was Level 14 and his mortal shell was much weaker.
He traced his fingers over the intricate engravings on the gold medallion. He touched each of the seven different colored gems embedded in a circle around the medallion.
Yeah, he was going to keep this one. He hoped the others who didn¡¯t have a Divine Revival Charm wouldn¡¯t mind.
Maybe he could pressure the Star System to cough up some more. Not now. Not when the wound was still fresh. But maybeter.
Zarian¡¯s free evil +3 bubbled under the surface, somewhere close to his life energy and soul. It felt like a distinct magic, slightly separated from aura, vitality, and the others.
His free evil +3 called for him to use its power, but it couldn¡¯t do anything more without him reaching for it. He was free to be evil or not be evil. The cunning and smarts were there whenever he wanted to use them.
He would explore thatter.
He looked at the next achievements.
Is it screwed up that I kind of like this new trait? It goes well with Uncanny Valley and Lore Eater, honestly.
Other than that, he didn¡¯t feel like the Honored Outsider fit him anymore. The Dreaded Outsider was more fitting now.
Hell, he could see it in his origins.
The Honored Outsider was gone. The Dreaded Outsider waited in its ce behind his name and tag as a 21 yr-old Human. Behind that was Dungeon Master.
Now for thest achievement
¡°Oh, shit.¡±
Zarian¡¯s heart raced.
He nearly pulled the trigger.
Nearly.
Then he remembered the more his stats grew, the stronger Overwhelming Darkness became. It was a catch twenty-two situation.
He almost wondered if leveling up Overwhelming Darkness first would help him control the doomsday skill. Once he had more control of Overwhelming Darkness, then it would be safer to invest his huge dump of stats.
But how could he deny all of those free stat points?
They were begging for him to invest them all now.
He could imagine how huge and mighty his Mysticism would feel if he ced all 100 Free points there. He would recover so much aura so much faster he would¡¯ve been way better off at the end of the fight with Bianca.
Granted, Willpower was a great choice for the Parasite Cloak +2.
Wonder was a great choice because Wonder was an unfairly amazing stat. Many of his spells scaled with Wonder, either mainly or partially.
¡°I should stay strong,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I should do the smart thing and not invest all the stats. I¡¯m in control of myself, I swear.¡±
I will do better, Zarian promised himself.
¡°You should give yourself a little to bleed the edge off,¡± Naomi advised.
She¡¯d been standing at his side the whole time.
Naomi Washington was a dynamic, no-nonsense, and beautiful ck woman. She was the Marine Recruiter who¡¯d helped Zarian get into the Marines. It wasn¡¯t her fault that he¡¯d fallen out with a bad conduct discharge. She was just trying to help him despite his issues back then.
Now she¡¯d yed up her role as his right-hand woman, sometimes with the wisdom of a twenty-six-year-old, and sometimes as a thrill-seeking freak who wanted nothing more than action and adventure and to rise beyond her mortal limits. She was the atypical murderhobo and big sister of the party.
¡°It¡¯s 114 Free Points. And 14 of those points came from leveling up from 64 to 66,¡± Zarian exined.
Naomi blinked. She was leaning on her Tranquil Mind +2 to keep her cool. Her first skill must¡¯ve advanced recently because Zarian had only known it as Tranquil Mind +1 until now.
Everyone in his party needed to update each other on their growthter. Once they could get past how their party leader was a doomsday threat, the Dreaded Outsider.
¡°Where did all those pointse from?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°For being a freedom leader. Want to be one?¡±
Naomi knelt on the ground beside him. She offered her hand. Zarian epted and thought about the concept of freedom. A blue notification appeared.
He heard an eagle cry in the background. But it wasn¡¯t an eagle. It was a magical bird that didn¡¯t exist back in the old world. Still, he felt a little more patriotic and gung-ho.
¡°Yes,¡± Zarian said.
Naomi gasped. Her brown eyes blinked rapidly while she tried to get used to her alignment change and new position. As someone with the free for real sub-alignment, she was hard for others to figure out or control. That would pair well with her psychic abilities.
Zarian tried to use his Basic Aura Maniption to feel for any outside forces around Naomi without digging into her directly. The alignment magic didn¡¯t work like aura magic even though they could get intertwined with each other.
Still, when he tried to press his aura maniption onto her, he felt major resistance. He could break through if he pushed harder, but there was no need.
¡°Whoa, I felt that. Something trying to break my boundaries and getting repelled. That was you, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°It was. You¡¯ll need to invite me whenever I¡¯m trying to do stuff with your person. Free for real extends against everyone, friends and enemies.¡±
¡°Hm, interesting. I¡¯ll let you inside me whenever you want, okay?¡±
¡°Thanks. I appreciate that.¡±
Chapter 102: B2: C2: The Dreaded Floridian 2
Zarian watched as Naomi scrolled through her notifications. He didn¡¯t see her notifications directly, but he knew she was looking based on how her eyes unfocused from him and twitched. He saw the corner of her mouth quirk up. She¡¯d reached the note for the new achievement.
¡°What? It¡¯s divine! That¡¯s my first one!¡± Naomi barely contained her glee. ¡°Okay. Sorry. I¡¯m going to be a hypocrite with you. I didn¡¯t even think about it. I dumped all one hundred points into Willpower, Strength, and Agility. Thanks, Zarian.¡±
¡°No problem. It¡¯s the least I can do.¡± Zarian smiled at Naomi¡¯s open enthusiasm.
She was more upbeattely. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was her way ofbating the existential dread or if she was putting on a show for him. He wasn¡¯t sure. He could try digging up his free evil +3 to analyze her, but he didn¡¯t want to break further boundaries.
She¡¯d given him a light p for making her cry.
Not for killing her twice.
Just for making her cry.
She could¡¯ve hit him harder, but she hadn¡¯t.
He owed her a lot for putting up with him. Until he could find a thoughtful way to pay her back, Zarian refocused on his own situation.He was still kneeling in the grass as the day waned. He had a lot of things to do.
Wishing for some inner advice, Zarian delved into his free evil +3 for himself. A malicious rmendation immediately hit him.
A twisted part of his Fractured Mind wanted to let Overwhelming Darkness reign free. If he was fast enough to eat as many universes and multiverses as possible, maybe he could overpower his Funnest Granpapa.
Zarian set aside the useless evil ideas.
Those wereme and bad.
He went for the more intellectual introspections of free evil +3. His Fractured Mind parsed out what he needed and what was rubbish. Eventually, he found a line of thought that made sense to him.
He should reward himself with some free points once he found control measures for Overwhelming Darkness. He could feed himself points little by little, almost simr to what Naomi had suggested, as he gained more control of the skill gradually.
He needed mastery instead of more power. He needed to be like the Funnest Granpapa, a maestro of control.
¡°I¡¯m going to save the free points,¡± Zarian decided.
Naomi looked at him in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re serious?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Wow.¡±
Zarian furrowed his brow. ¡°I¡¯m notpletely hopeless. I can learn from my mistakes. I can be patient.¡±
¡°I have my doubts. But if you can manage it, I¡¯ll be proud of you, Zarian.¡± She patted him on the shoulder and left a warm feeling on that spot.
Naomi bounced to her feet.
The difference made by her power spike was immediate.
She left the ground and cleared twenty feet into the air by ident. Her psychic powers snapped and crackled with a slight hum like an electric generator around her. Her body rippled with newfound might and speed, the tension oozing raw physicality.
When she hit the ground again, a sharp smile shed across her dark face. She licked her full lips and looked like she wanted to fight something and dominate.
Zarian loved that look on her.
Despite everything.
Despite him destroying everything.
Despite his Overwhelming Darkness.
Naomi was a simple woman at heart. A murderhobo and thrill seeker.
He added to his growing list to do something nice for her to repay her patience and for making her cry. He couldn¡¯t really recall what Naomi liked outside of training and fighting.
No, wait, there¡¯s dancing.
Well, at least he had a starting point.
As for Naomi herself, she didn¡¯t run off to hunt something down and test herself. Instead, she turned to him and offered her hand.
Zarian looked down at the dirt and grass under him. His cloak quiveredfortably around him.
Naomi waited without making him rush.
With another nce up at the waning day, Zarian inhaled and exhaled deeply before taking her hand. She helped him up gently, showing superb control, and had him back on his feet again.
She looked behind him and seemed slightly disappointed.
He could guess why.
¡°I have no idea when the tail will show up,¡± Zarian said. ¡°It could be tomorrow after we sleep or the next day, or years down the road.¡±
¡°Para, girl, hide the tail from everyone else until I get to it first,¡± Naomi said. ¡°It¡¯s our secret.¡±
Para held her silence.
Naomi squinted. ¡°Para? It¡¯s our secret, right? You can¡¯t tell Bianca.¡±
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
¡°No ha Ingl¨¦s,¡± Para replied.
¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how it is!¡±
Zarian held in augh as Naomi tried to use pitiful Spanish to argue with Para. Unfortunately for Naomi, the Parasite Cloak +2¡¯s fluency in Spanish was much higher.
Para easily ran circles around Naomi and made the epic Rumble Psion look ipetent at thenguage despite the cloak being a four or so months old.
Zarian led the way back to the Ride-or-Die Fort.
By the time they were halfway there, Para was helping Naomi with rolling her R¡¯s better. Zarian enjoyed the background noise as he examined everything in his profile, along with one more new addition that he couldn¡¯t quite figure out.
How did I get this? Zarian wondered.
Thinking about it further, he might¡¯ve gotten this from resisting the darkness for a long time. By not letting his mind fade away, he gained a divine trait that was a universalw.
Nobody could break or lessen his Willpower. Nobody could mess with his mind or emotions. His soul was secured depending on what soul technique an attacker used.
He didn¡¯t really think of that as a major concern until he had another realization. Sinfeast couldn¡¯t screw with him anymore. The same went for many other gods with trippy powers that traumatized people, leaving marks on their mind and soul.
My mind is really a fortress. A Floridian Mindset.
That was going to be important going forward. He was a weapon of multiverse-level destruction, after all.
Zarian dipped into his free evil +3 again and learned of numerous ways evil-doers would try to take advantage of him. There were plenty of ways for do-gooders to try trapping him forever.
¡°What are you thinking?¡± Naomi asked him, bumping her shoulder into his arm.
He smiled at her restraint. She only moved him a little instead of a lot.
¡°A bunch of people are going to want to abuse me or trap me,¡± Zarian said.
Naomi¡¯s abilities crackled and popped around her. Her next step shook the ground with a heavy psychic force. A tremor passed through the earth. Dirt, grit, and rocks flew up around them for dozens of feet in all directions.
She clenched her fists and raised them up. The air bent and warbled around her knuckles as she exuded the epic power of a Rumble Psion.
¡°I won¡¯t let them,¡± she said, huffing. ¡°You¡¯re our Zarian.¡±
Ah, I see, she¡¯s still dealing with what just happened.
He was still dealing with it, too.
It was a lot to process.
Zarian still smiled, feeling a little warm inside, as he traced his finger over the medallion on his chest.
Naomi calmed down as she looked at his medallion. Then she brought her medallion out of her soul. They were matching. Their Divine Revival Charms glinted under the sun, each gem glimmering brightly.
¡°Yeah, well, let¡¯s see if everyone else is on the same page.¡± Zarian absorbed his medallion back into his soul.
Naomi did the same.
They reached the fort¡¯s main entrance.
¡°Stony¡¯s gone.¡± Zarian blinked up at the smashed gatehouse.
There was rubble everywhere. The cubes from Hannah¡¯s Cube Maker Magic +1 were magically tough. But Stony was way tougher.
¡°Stony ran away. He wanted to go home after dying to a darkness he couldn¡¯t fight,¡± Naomi exined.
Zarian frowned.
They¡¯d lost their Level 105 Wall Crusher Master. That was one big and tough-as-hell giant. But Overwhelming Darkness had traumatized the poor guy, pushing him to desert his post.
Losing him like that hurt a little. Not because of the loss of Stony¡¯s giant might, but because Zarian liked Stony.
ncing behind him, Zarian saw the battlefield was still filled with thousands of dead kobold bodies. Nobody had collected them to feed the Dancing Librarian Dungeon.
He currently had no eyes inside of the fort. All of his spectral spiders had expired when Zarian had killed himself without a quick enough revive.
I really shot myself. Man, I don¡¯t hold back any punches.
¡°Let me see how bad it is with my own eyes.¡± Zarian continued forward.
Naomi followed beside him.
The Parasite Cloak +2 fluttered and wavered like a monstrous g behind them. More importantly, the cloak had a small glimmer of reddish purple magic to it now. Almost like dying stars preparing to go out forever while on the edges of the ravaging void.
It was beautiful. It remained so to Zarian, even when the cloak shifted forms.
Para created veiny hands, insectoid scythes, mandibles on long muscled necks, multi-jointed hacksaws, bestial skulls withrge chomping teeth, bone-ted tentacles, tendrils ending with hooks, and other nightmarish forms. Each part of Para¡¯s creative and glimmering body gnashed, snipped, shed, grasped, and whipped at the air around Zarian and Naomi.
Even while under a clear sky day, they looked like a scary pair with a monstrous eldritch entity backing them. Even without Para showing off, Zarian¡¯s profile by itself was scary.
<>Origins: Zarian Darkrun, 21 yr-old Human, Dreaded Outsider, Dungeon Master, Freedom LeaderLevel: 66ss: Madness Wizard (Legendary)Alignment: Free Evil +3Traits: Dark Affinity (Rare), Overpower (Epic), Identify (Rare), Aura Channeler (Rare), Fractured Mind (Umon), Basic Aura Maniption (Rare), Frenzy Zone (Umon), Uncanny Valley Effect (Rare), Void Mysticism (Rare), Lore Eater (Epic), Thematic Law/Floridian Mindset (Divine), The Dreaded One (Epic)Alpha Skills (5/5): Overwhelming Darkness (Level 1), Parasite Cloak +2 (Level 27), Spectral Spider Network +1 (Level 22), Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Exile (Level 24), Summon Wizard Hat +1 (Level 24)Beta Skills (8/15): Grimoire of ck Magic 102 (Level 21), Grimoire of the Dread Mire Hell Gator (Level 19), Tranquil Mind (Level 0), Adrenaline Jolt (Level 0), Willful Might (Level 0), Wondrous Speed (Level 0), Mystic Toughness (Level 0), Rune Alteration (Level 0)Willpower: 244Strength: 39 Agility: 40Wonder: 194Mysticism: 470Free: 114Achievements: Honored Outsider (Divine), SSS Dance with White Silk Reiki (Epic), Heroes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom (Legendary), Divine Knock Knock (Divine), Junior Manughterer (Umon), Initial Pacifist Gauntlet (Rare), First Human Gnoll Elder of Corma (Epic), SSS Genius Beyond the Lore Eater (Epic), Boon Wrecker (Divine), Befriending Gods (Divine), Rare Dungeon Master (Rare), Lizard yer (Umon), Divine Enemy (Divine), Dreaded Outsider (Divine), Freedom Leader (Divine)Spells: Bloody Lifesteal (Umon), Raise Advancing Skeletons (Rare), ck Fire (Rare), Quagmire Pit (Umon), Dread Mire Bite (Rare), Dread Mire Bellow (Epic), Void Step (Epic), Void Authority (Epic), Void Layer (Legendary), Dread Mire Hell Gator (Legendary)<>
Yeah, Zarian was pretty sure his profile was ridiculous for someone at Level 66. He was the Dreaded Outsider with a Floridian Mindset. Might as well call him the Dreaded Floridian, honestly.
Who around his level would fight that?
¡°Zarian!¡± Gilbert roared drunkenly, red in the face.
He was striding across the rubble that was lying around from the smashed gatehouse. He had his hands balled up into big, knobby fists.
¡°Hey big guy.¡± Zarian gave him a cheeky smile. ¡°So, I died. Killed everyone. An ancient ancestor of mine fixed everything. And now we¡¯re all back.¡±
Gilbert entered a run. The former cop and now legendary Knighted Healer charged full steam ahead at the Madness Wizard.
¡°Para, let the boys be boys,¡± Naomi said, walking off to the side.
¡°Okay!¡± Para contracted into a mostly normal cloak that glimmered only a little.
Zarian rolled his eyes before taking a heavy punch to the face. He let Gilbert get six solid, uncontested hits.
Then Zarian stopped being a punching bag. He fought Gilbert man-to-man, fists to fists.
This brawl was a long timeing.
Chapter 103: B2: C3: Evil Little Sister 1
A part of Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind saw the old Gilbert, a big, blue-eyed, straw-haired, stereotypical American that could¡¯ve yed lineman in the NFL. Here in the World of Castles and Caverns, dressed in the runic leather armor of the Wolf Dragon Hunter suits, Gilbert also looked like a half-charming, half-barbaric, warrior prince.
The full beard on his chin fitted him. He shouldn¡¯t shave it anymore. The beard might cushion the force of Zarian¡¯s punches, especially thest one hended.
For some reason, Zarian struck with way more oomph than normal. He was not relying too much on his Level 0 skills for buffing his body, like Willful Might, Wondrous Speed, and Mystic Toughness.
Yet, he knocked Gilbert off his feet and sent him flying back into a small garrison building, busting straight through the stone wall.
¡°Huh,¡± Zarian said, ncing at his knuckles. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be hitting this hard.¡±
¡°Is that because of your ancient lineage showing through?¡± Naomi asked, standing off to the side.
Zarian shrugged.
Naomi continued to watch from the sidelines. There was nobody else nearby except for one acolyte, Amabel.
The girl hid mostly behind a different stone building while peeking out. She shivered when Zarian¡¯s attentionnded on her, but she didn¡¯t run away.She waved her hand shakily.
Zarian waved back. He turned his attention back to Gilbert as the Knighted Healer staggered through the hole.
Gilbert was red in the face from having chug a lot of magic booze and from taking Zarian¡¯s punchess. He was also raging hard, leaning full-tilt into his Berserk Vitality trait and Sacrificial Blow skill.
The more damage he rued, the harder he could hit.
However, Zarian was hitting much harder than normal. As Gilbert lunged over the rubble from the busted gatehouse, Zarian quickly realized why he was hitting so hard.
It was because of his Thematic Law.
Zarian wasn¡¯t just stronger and tougher. He was faster, too, hence dodging the heavy punch Gilbert swung with all of his weight. The whiff kicked up a gale force of wind. Dust and grit flew off into the air and over piles of rubble.
The legendary Knighted Healer turned about slower than the Madness Wizard could circle. By the time Gilbert was halfway to facing him, Zarian struck the big man with an overhand punch and rocked him off his feet again, but at a downward angle.
Gilbert smashed a small crater into the stone floor. His body bounced up into a midair tumble. He iled and roared angrily the whole time as he tried to right himself.
Just when he got his feet under him and touched the floor, Zarian was already there with a shoulder tackle. Zarian nned to pick him up, run him into the cubic wall, and keep the big man pinned.
That didn¡¯t work out as expected.
Gilbert juiced himself with multiple doses of Adrenaline Jolt until he hit a cap. Zarian knew that was happening because Gilbert¡¯s entire body was turning red.
The Knighted Healer¡¯s veins bulged with incredible girth. His eyes turned red around his blue irises. His muscles pumped up with more physical might.
Gilbert wentpletely out of his mind and hulked out. He mmed both fists like mega hammers down on Zarian¡¯s back with a loud thump that roared and echoed off the walls.
This time around, the Madness Wizard truly buckled and felt some pain.
Zarian pushed aura into his Willful Might and Mystic Toughness skills. Only enough for him to endure, and no further than that.
He didn¡¯t want to cheese the brawl. Hell, he was enjoying himself, leaning into the craziness. The two of them went at it like fighting animals stuck in a cage.
Zarian ditched the tackle, hooked one hand on Gilbert¡¯s bulging forearm, and swung up another overhand punch. Boom. It sounded like two fleshy boulders colliding with an explosion.
That would¡¯ve killed most people.
Gilbert, however, ate the punch and stayed standing. He spat blood into Zarian¡¯s face and swung around a hook that struck like thunder on Zarian¡¯s jaw. Any other wizard would¡¯ve had their head smashed apart like a melon.
Unlike most feeble wizards, the Madness Wizard staggered only once. Then he set his feet and returned another overhand punch. Gilbert ate it and threw another hook. Zarian ate. He swung back.
Overhand.
Hook.
Overhand.
Hook.
They traded punches again and again. Neither man gave ground while locked up together. This was a brutal union of frustration and anger and wildness that they both had to get out. Their vitality, stats, and buffs let them strike at each other and endure despite their superhuman devastation. It was like letting Hulk and Superman duke it out without much restraint.
The stone floor cracked and caved under them. Craters formed underneath their heavy and impactful steps. Each explosive blow sent rubble flying away. The thumping impacts sounded like a constant barrage of cannon fire at some point.
Both men had to dig their heels down into the cratered floor and hold tight to each other to avoid flying away from these punches. The area was a mess after Stony¡¯s departure, but now it was bing even messier between the Knighted Healer and the Madness Wizard.
Zarian didn¡¯t even care anymore about why he punched Gilbert and why Gilbert was punching him. He was in the fight just to fight.
Every blow was like fireworks in his cranium or down his arm. His face was cut up and bleeding from multiple wounds. His brain was rattling around in his head hard.
Zarian kept going.
He gave as good as he got.
He kept rocking Gilbert¡¯s head around like no wizard should or could.
The further the brawl went, the hungrier Zarian became. The hungrier Zarian became, the more his other abilities bled out.
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A hint of the Uncanny Valley trait disyed itself, making Zarian¡¯s outline shifty, eerie, and hard to predict. A hint of the Dreaded One showed up, adding a foreboding sense of doom to the air.
Of course, Aura Channeler, Basic Aura Maniption, and his Overpower trait were enormous factors. Without them, Zarian couldn¡¯t push his Level 0 skills higher than their strict beta limits
Zarian became more monstrous. He became less of a magical man and more of the Dreaded Outsider. Eventually, Gilbert¡¯s punches stopped doing much, making the brawl even more one-sided.
Zarian swooped in for the win.
He kicked in one of Gilbert¡¯s legs and brought him down to his knees. He grabbed Gilbert by the hair, yanked his head to the side, and pummeled his face with rapid punches that forced Gilbert to raise his arms and block.
Then Zarian went low with a body kick that threw the Knighted Healer backward like a rag doll across the floor and rubble. Gilbert smashed into the corner of the demolished gatehouse and formed a crumbling pocket for his body to sit in.
He didn¡¯t get up.
A moment of silence passed between them.
Then Gilbert turned over with a groan and vomited. He sat back against the crater he¡¯d ended up in, his chest rising and falling heavily with eachbored breath. He spat bile and blood in an equal measure before looking out with one eye that wasn¡¯tpletely swollen shut.
¡°How are we here?¡± he asked with a grunt.
Zarian didn¡¯t answer right away.
His body was still hot and ready for more action. His hunger was burning like a furnace. He was really warmed up to go the distance and wanted to fight more.
He nearly dipped into his free evil +3 without thinking. It was right there for the taking. It was so, so tempting just to heap on everything that made him ferocious.
Instead, Zarian stood for a while and let himself calm down. He was still running hot when Gilbert¡¯s question finally registered with his Fractured Mind, which was busy getting hyped off the high octane rush provided by his parasitic body.
The parasite and hiswful Floridian Mindset were the reasons he was so much stronger than normal.
The +1 Advancement to Parasite Cloak fused Para with him, increasing his resilience, physicality, and appetite. Para mainly scaled with Willpower regardless of her new partial scaling with Mysticism.
Zarian¡¯s Floridian Mindset improved abilities that were Willpower-based by a whopping 150% added on. The base amount to his Willpower stat was only second to Naomi¡¯s. Having high Willpower and the Floridian Mindset was making the parasitic skill a big deal in Zarian¡¯s profile.
And to think, I chose the cloak mostly to look cool and to use the pocket dimension.
While he kept Gilbert waiting, Zarian looked down at his body.
His sweat steamed off of him in wisps. His muscles felt like they were bulging with thebined might of his physique and the parasitic threads weaved with almost every fiber of his being. If this was a boost for him, Zarian could only imagine how stupidly OP Para was now.
As for Gilbert¡¯s question, Zarian answered with this: ¡°I¡¯m the son of an old lineage of super primordial ultra gods. I¡¯m basically like superman, sent to a mundane world or System or whatever, but on purpose. I think this is all to have me grow mundane before developing my powers.¡±
Zarian sighed as his body cooled off further. ¡°But my development, along with my little sister¡¯s, is not for us to grow the most powerful. It¡¯s for us to control our power. Or we be the ultimate evil siblings around, a pair of spreading darknesses that are world eaters, System usurpers, multidimensional and multiverse-level threats.¡±
Gilbert slowly nodded along. He spat to the side again. He waved his swollen hand for Zarian to continue.
¡°I can¡¯t control my darkness right now. It wants to eat and spread. It¡¯s big and strong. I¡¯ve eaten Corma and you guys. I¡¯ve eaten all the worlds of the Infinita before breaking this universe and eating what remained of the Star System. Ariana broke free after that. She seemed in control of herself. But she was a bit more wicked than me. After watching me for a while, she sought universes to eat as well. The difference between me and her was that I was bigger and stronger while she was smarter and had a habit of ying with her food.¡±
¡°Jesus Christ,¡± Gilbert said.
Zarian grimaced. This was getting harder to talk about. But he needed to say it. He had to get it out there.
He didn¡¯t care about the optics or bad PR.
He¡¯d spent a long time with this stuff even if everything seemed to have reset. He had no idea how many years he¡¯d spent out there trying to fight his darkness as it ate worlds and universes, but it felt like a long, long time.
The horrors and the memories stayed with Zarian.
That was just another consequence Zarian would have to deal with left by the Funnest Granpapa.
Zarian kept going: ¡°So it¡¯s been the two of us for a long time, consuming, spreading, destroying all in our wake. This version of me, my mind, was conscious throughout while I tried to stop myself, my darkness. I slowed it down a little, but not much more. I kept fighting until finally my family intervened and reset everything.¡±
¡°Reset everything? Like, with a snap of their fingers?¡± Gilbert asked.
Zarian nodded. ¡°It was pretty much like that. The one to do it calls himself my Funnest Granpapa. He sounds Floridian and has a Haitian Creole ent. Apparently, a Haitian became a super primordial ultra god. Go figure. Also, I have other family members, or grandparents, known as the Greatest Granpapa, the Strongest Granpapa, and then there¡¯s the Biggest Granmama, who is the wife to the Funnest. I¡¯m supposed to take after the Biggest, and I¡¯ll have a tail because of that.¡±
The following silence was a long one. Zarian filled it with some more words.
¡°I need to work on controlling my new skill, Overwhelming Darkness. If I don¡¯t, it could kill me and unleash the Darkrun Apocalypse again. So, yeah, that¡¯s the gist of it.¡±
Zarian sighed, feeling a little lighter. He should learn to shorten that exnation while telling the most important bits. He figured he was going to repeat that story loads and loads of times.
More importantly, the ones who needed to hear it were here. Naomi was standing off to the side with her hands on her hips. Hannah had arrived during the brawl, her face an icy mask, giving nothing away.
And Bianca was up on her bare feet.
She was mostly back to her usual pretty self. Long straw-colored hair. Amber eyes. An easy, graceful, model-like beauty that could bewitch a man to spending countless money on her.
She¡¯d worked as a rum promoter back in the old world. Still, the neen-year-old could¡¯ve easily be a rich housewife once she got close to the right guy.
Zarian didn¡¯t think she was that type of person deep down. Maybe she could¡¯ve been if she hadn¡¯t be the legendary Light Princess with good +5.
Speaking of her alignment, it was acting funny again.
Bianca flicked her hand to the side and conjured a whirring saber made of hard light. The air warbled around the bright de with radiant heat.
She looked angry.
But even with a scowl on her face, Bianca remained the prettiest girl in miles. She was also the most dangerous girl in miles.
¡°I must kill you. You¡¯re evil. The biggest evil. I must kill you.¡±
Bianca staggered toward Zarian slowly, step by step.
¡°She¡¯s still got some of the tranquilizer in her,¡± Gilbert said.
Nodding, Zarian waited in ce.
Naomi walked in stealthily from Bianca¡¯s blind spot. The Rumble Psion set her hand on the back of the younger woman¡¯s head, almost caressingly, and used a psychic ability or two.
Bianca stumbled to a stop. Her radiant eyes blinked in confusion. Her face twitched with different emotions. Her sabers of light flickered on and off.
Zarian rushed forward with quick strides. He used his Lore Eater trait to remove Bianca¡¯s clear vision of him. But he didn¡¯t stop her from hearing him.
This was a delicate maneuver. He had to dig deep into his free evil +3 to empower his Fractured Mind. Just so he could tamper with Bianca¡¯s head and offer her the invite.
¡°Bianca, you can do even more good as part of the freedom alignment. You must ept being a Freedom Leader. Fight for freedom. It¡¯s the goodest thing to do,¡± he argued.
The words sounded cheesy. But they conveyed a simple idea that could stick in the spots Zarian¡¯s Lore Eater left open in Bianca¡¯s mind.
The process was easier with Naomi¡¯s psychic abilities involved. Zarian wanted to ask for a detailed report on her advancements. He imagined her Tranquil Mind +2 was a big factor.
Between the two of them, they pacified Bianca¡¯s crusader insanity. She still twisted and squirmed between the Madness Wizard and the Rumble Psion before honing her focus elsewhere, such as her notifications.
Zarian¡¯s heart hammered in his chest. His cloak quivered in anticipation.
They waited and waited.
Then, finally, the raging goodness, a bonfire of crusader energy, winked out. Bianca was back to being herself.
Chapter 104: B2: C4: Evil Little Sister 2
To Zarian¡¯s relief, Bianca had joined the freedom alignment. She was free good +5.
She copsed.
Zarian caught her. He helped her down to her knees gently. She shivered in his arms, squirming against his chest, not to get away, but to delve deeper into his embrace.
Para wrapped them both up, providingfort and adoration with her cloak form. As expected, Bianca¡¯s waterworks came, and they sounded traumatic.
Naomi bent down and rubbed her hand over Bianca¡¯s head as the Cuban girl cried and cried. Zarian wondered if he should pass Bianca over to Naomi, but the way Bianca clung onto him suggested he had to y his role as the shoulder for her to cry on. Naomi kept petting andbing through Bianca¡¯s hair.
¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Bianca blubbered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I couldn¡¯t control it! I couldn¡¯t be me. I couldn¡¯t do anything. I was stuck in my head. And that thing took over. I¡¯m sorry!¡±
Bianca transitioned into a rant of Cuban Spanish that was too fast for the non-fluent speakers. Para was just fluent enough to say some simple phrases and keep consoling Bianca.
Zarian let out a long, exasperated sigh.
This was what he wanted. The cost was almost too high. But at least Bianca was herself again.Naomi frowned. One hand curled into a trembling fist. The other kept petting Bianca¡¯s head tofort her. Zarian imagined Naomi was mad because of the gods. Zarian still had his divine naughty list, but the gods seemed so small to him now.
Well, except that bastard Sinfeast.
Bianca kept crying. She wasn¡¯t going to stop crying for a while.
Hannah came over. ¡°Is there a way for us to be that strong? To be as strong as you? Or at least halfway?¡±
She sounded cold.
Withdrawn.
The pale-skinned and mousy brte who had transferred from bama to Florida was the type most people would¡¯ve overlooked. Zarian had seen how brilliant and bold she could be in the heat of conflict. He¡¯d also encouraged and discouraged her dark side in equal measures.
Hannah had an edge to her.
When fully unleashed, Hannah could be more dangerous than Naomi sometimes.
Right now, that edge was showing.
¡°That¡¯s part of my many goals,¡± Zarian exined, still acting as the shoulder for Bianca to cry on. ¡°To make my best friends into high-quality gods. We¡¯ll need to go on our adventures with more nuance. Oh, and you can join the freedom alignment, too. Be a Freedom Leader and get a nice, juicy divine achievement.¡±
¡°I would very much like that, please,¡± Hannah said curtly.
Zarian gave her the offer.
Hannah took it.
Now there was only one.
Gilbert picked himself up and lumbered over to the rest of the Floridians. He looked like a walking corpse. He hadn¡¯t bothered to heal himself.
Maybe he wanted to feel the pain and let his natural vitality do the heavy lifting. Zarian felt the same way.
¡°I think I get it now,¡± Gilbert said cryptically.
¡°What did you get?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°This is my test. From the Big G. Bigger than your grandpapa, grandmama, and whoever. My test is to be your healer. To set you straight. To keep you on the righteous path of redemption.¡±
¡°Does that include my little sister? She¡¯s fairly evil. She enjoys living as the ever-expanding apocalypse, I think.¡±
¡°Oh, she¡¯s definitely a part of the test. She appeared right in front of me when I was trying to save you.¡±
Zarian nearly jolted from hearing that. Ariana had never shown herself to anyone before.
Could she have appeared wherever or whenever she wanted this whole time?
The implications of that were shocking.
He was having a hard time bouncing back after hearing that. He was still reeling when another voice, much younger, much more familiar, interceded.
¡°Oh, darn it, Gilbert McDonald! Why¡¯d you have to say that? Now my cover is ruined!¡± Arianained, appearing between them all.
She was still dressed in her Sunday best. Sparkling white dress. Pearly white shoes. All adorned on a four-year-old body as cute as a button.
She smiled before letting out a cheer. ¡°Big Bro, Big Bro, let¡¯s do that again! Let¡¯s eat! Let¡¯s y! Let¡¯s spread the darkness of the Darkruns forever and evermore!¡±
Nobody could say a thing for a while.
Especially not Zarian.
They all just gawked at Ariana Darkrun. The little sister. The phantom of Zarian¡¯s broken psyche. The ghost who existed in both the old universe and in this universe.
The hits just wouldn¡¯t stoping for Zarian.
Finally, Naomi broke the silence with a drawl. ¡°Zarian, I¡¯m going to have to bend your sister over my knee and whoop that little behind. That is a very naughty girl. I can feel the badness of her.¡±
Ariana ced her fingers to her cheeks, her indexes on her dimples. She shed a simple human smile. Then she sealed her lips before she shed another smile.
This one had wicked fangs.
¡°You¡¯ll have to meet me where all bad little girls stay, Naomi Washington,¡± Ariana said with a demented and creepy voice.
Zarian leaned on his Willpower stat to regain hisposure. He still didn¡¯t know what to say, and he didn¡¯t want to use his free evil +3.
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Gilbert mumbled for the power of Christian God.
Hannah watched with cold fascination.
Bianca sniffled, curling deeper into Zarian¡¯s and Para¡¯s embrace.
And Naomi crossed her arms, head cocked to the side. ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡±
Arianaughed. ¡°In hell! Ha ha ha! You must meet me in Infinita, Hidden Hell, to be exact. But you¡¯re all far too weak for that. It¡¯ll be easier for me to wake up and see you myself. But if that happens ¡ I¡¯m going to be really, really hungry, in a different way.¡±
¡°Ariana,¡± Zarian called.
The evil little sister snapped her attention to him. She softened her features and gave him a cute, bubbly smile with little human teeth.
¡°Big Bro, I know you want to y pretend with these tiny mortals. But we¡¯re bigger, grander, greater than anything they can conceive. We shouldn¡¯t hide from our destiny. We should embrace it.¡±
¡°And get stuck in a jar,¡± Naomi quipped.
Ariana snapped around and revealed her fangs again. ¡°My Big Bro¡¯s favorite little pet, I tolerate you because it¡¯s amusing to see you struggle despite yourck of talent. Do not take my kindness for weakness. All it would take to squish you is the press of my littlest toe.¡±
Ariana smiled venomously up at Naomi.
To everyone¡¯s surprise, the Rumble Psion held her tongue. Naomi could only push so much.
Ariana refocused on Zarian with a human and soft smile. ¡°If you¡¯re concerned about my cement, don¡¯t be. I¡¯m quite fine in hell. It¡¯s a good ce for myme body to sleep. But I don¡¯t care about it much. I don¡¯t care about any of these mud ball worlds or system restraints. We were born to a lineage that far surpasses them all!¡±
¡°Okay. Whew. I think I¡¯ve gotten past the shock,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Good. Now do you agree with me?¡± Ariana pressed.
¡°No, Ariana! You¡¯re speaking like a megalomaniacal viin! You¡¯re so terrible you sound like a Saturday morning cartoon cornball!¡±
Ariana flinched back, surprised. Then she rebounded. ¡°But you¡¯re edgy!¡±
¡°Yes, I¡¯m edgy. But I want to use my edginess to, ugh, do decent things. And regardless of that, I don¡¯t want to be a mass of ever-expanding darkness that only eats and eats.¡± Zarian sighed. ¡°I like having friends and touching grass.¡±
Ariana nodded seriously. ¡°I think your dislike of our destiny stems from not fully embracing it. It¡¯s much better when you embrace it. And just for you, Big Bro, I can contain these little pets and some grass for you using my dark body. I know you can¡¯t control your appetite. But I can. Would that convince you?¡±
Zarian shook his head. ¡°I want us to live to be better people and have some fun adventures. Throw in a training montage soundtrack, and we¡¯re living the life here.¡±
Ariana snorted. ¡°What does being better people meanpared to being the ultimate existence? Who needs adventures? Training? Bah! None of that matters! Only power matters! More and more power! That¡¯s what everyone wants, and we have it! So let¡¯s do the logical thing and be overpowered together and forget the rest!¡±
Zarian had never seen Ariana act so passionately before. She really cared about what she was saying.
His mind was his own because of his Thematic Law. That didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t end up breaking or debuffing his own Willpower from having sheer doubt.
Would free evil +3 make it easier to debate Ariana? Or would that turn against him? Having the choice to dip into his evil intellect or not had its own difficultiespared to having it as a constant presence.
Maybe I should have it on all the time and learn to deal with that.
Before taking that risk, one of his friends stepped in boldly. This came as another surprise.
¡°Being better people is the ultimate existence,¡± Gilbert said with a sudden burst of conviction. ¡°It¡¯s caring for your neighbors. Forgiving those who¡¯ve wronged you without forgetting to hold them ountable. It¡¯s epting the grace of life and the miracles that every day we breathe can bring us. And it¡¯s knowing our lives are finite and making the most out of them. You may scoff at the simplicity of it all, but this right here is the best living we can have.¡±
Ariana scoffed. ¡°You must be joking. I refused to be told off by a hypocritical, dogmatic, religious fanatic like you. Especially one who sleeps with a witch!¡±
¡°Oh, damn,¡± Naomi said.
¡°Sorry,¡± Bianca mumbled.
Hannah held her silence and kept watching.
Zarian felt like he was part of a y. He was both an actor and an audience member. He felt bad for Gilbert, because the one-night-stand with a witch was supposed to be a joke forter.
Ariana, like most evil little sisters, had overheard or discovered the secret on her own. She used it like a dagger for a critical mortal blow.
Gilbert took it without batting an eye. He kept going. ¡°Little demoness, you spawn of hell, I won¡¯t let you make me doubt my belief. I¡¯m a sinner, just like any other. But all can be forgiven by my God and savior. I won¡¯t let you turn me away from my mission. I won¡¯t let Zarian fall off the righteous path. And you will be cleansed into the good little girl you should be.¡±
Ariana staggered back, baffled by Gilbert¡¯s audacity.
¡°I¡¯m with him,¡± Naomi said. ¡°I¡¯ll fight your littlest toe if I have to.¡±
Hannah said nothing.
Bianca hid under the cloak.
And Zarian looked at his little sister sadly. ¡°Yeah, I know. Despite everything, even the witch, Gilbert stays a hardcore, bible-thumping Christian. Even on his best days, he could be annoying about it. But I¡¯m with him.¡±
Ariana took one deep breath in through her nostrils and out through her mouth. She repeated the gesture a few more times.
¡°Okay. It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve gotten too excited. The rush of having the ultimate form and tasting so many juicy worlds while mortals and gods alike be reduced to little delightful seasoning was ¡ well ¡ a trip. I¡¯ve acted incorrectly here. I hope you understand I¡¯m always on your side, Big Bro, and I¡¯m always cheering you on. It¡¯s just ¡ I have my¡¡±
¡°Demons,¡± Gilbert drawled.
¡°Urges,¡± Ariana spat. ¡°I have urges that are more ingrained into me than you, Big Bro. So, yes, your appetite is much more vast and unstoppable. But I¡¯m ¡¡±
Ariana trailed off. She shook her head. ¡°My body will be awake sooner orter. We shall meet again either in the spirit or in the flesh. But until then, I¡¯ll leave you with some helpful news, since I¡¯m the best little sister and very caring for my Big Bro and his little pets.¡±
¡°Can you not call my friends ¡®little pets?¡¯¡± Zarian asked.
Ariana huffed. ¡°When you and your little ¡®friends¡¯ go face the Grimrock Warlock, prepare yourselves to the best of your abilities. She wouldn¡¯t have caught my attention if she had stayed unambitious. But after recent events of the most wonderful kind, she¡¯s not being subtle anymore.¡±
¡°How so?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°I¡¯m not saying specifics. The Creepiest Matant warned me about cheating too much. That¡¯s aunt in Haitian Creole, by the way. You¡¯re lucky you have the Funnest looking over you, because the Creepiest is the most annoying creature ever. Nheless, I must listen until webine forces and be greater than the old ones, Big Bro.¡±
¡°Or until we learn to control ourselves and not be the ultimate evil assholes, Ariana,¡± Zarian grumbled.
She snorted and shook her head. Then, with a sigh, she looked at Zarian adoringly. ¡°Hey.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°I love you.¡±
¡°I love you, too, you evil munchkin.¡±
Ariana giggled cutely before she disappeared.
Zarian looked at the spot his little sister had upied. He wondered if they should set up a runic spirit catcher or something. He might have to consider his little sister as a rival of sorts.
They were having a big debate.
He wanted to enjoy the simpler pleasures.
She wanted to enjoy the darkest urges.
He wanted to see his friends grow.
She wanted power to eat all of life.
If she kills me, she would get her way, Zarian thought.
Despite Ariana¡¯s evilness and maniptions, he couldn¡¯t see her going for the direct approach. That could break their rtionship to an irreparable degree.
Putting aside his concerns for his evil little sister, Zarian turned to Gilbert. ¡°Want to join the freedom alignment as a leader? You¡¯ll be free for real from foreign controls, and you can grow that.¡±
Gilbert looked better now. His vitality was kicking in hugely.
He didn¡¯t answer right away and chewed on the offer. Then he asked, ¡°Do you mean we¡¯re spreading freedom?¡±
A magical bald bird cried out in the background.
Zarian answered, ¡°Yes.¡±
They shook on it like men, and Gilbert joined the freedom alignment as the fifth leader. Two seats remained.
Chapter 105: B2: C5: The Dark Era
Chapter 105: B2: C5: The Dark Era
After eating enough for a dozen men, Zarian was getting sloshed at Reiki¡¯s dungeon coffee bar like he was at a Marine party with unlimited booze.
The ce had warm red and brown tones with wooden furnishings like a tavern set near the entrance to the dungeon. There was the smell of roasted coffee, cooked food, and sweet beer in the air. It was aforting ce, perfect for cutting loose or drowning out one¡¯s misery. He wasn¡¯t the only one.
Gilbert drank like a fish in water. Naomi knocked back as many as Zarian. Bianca and Hannah sipped on their drinks lightly, but they were a few mugs deep.
The Light Princess was still a mess, clinging onto the nearest person with a shoulder to cry on. That was Naomi right now, but at least her psionic abilities helped calm Bianca down. Para reached over with a veiny, leathery hand to keep patting Bianca on the back.
It was evening time. They hadn¡¯t picked up the kobold bodies outside the fort. Zarian knew that would lead to a problem, but it was easy to ignore that while inside the dungeon. He just couldn¡¯t convince himself or anyone to care right now.
Reiki and the dungeon didn¡¯t seem heavily affected by recent events. They kept operating as normal.
The Freedom Leaders weren¡¯t the only ones upying Reiki¡¯s dungeon coffee bar. Soldiers huddled in one corner, keeping to themselves. Acolytes took another corner, keeping to themselves.
Even while on the farthest outskirts of their kingdom, the gender divide remained strong. Maybe they were naturally reverting to what felt normal after having their entire reality shattered and toyed with.
The Floridians had a section to themselves as Reiki flitted back and forth, ying barkeeper, food giver, and venerable host to the shell-shocked humans who¡¯d died and came back to life.Granted, now that Zarian thought about it, Reiki and her dungeon monsters existed in a perpetual cycle of death and rebirth already. It was no wonder that they weren¡¯t heavily affected.
Was all of reality just a bigger dungeon in the backyard of his lineage?
Man, that¡¯s screwy. I¡¯m definitely drunk, Zarian thought.
The others sitting away from the Floridians had their own opinions after enough gossip had gotten around retelling Zarian¡¯s story. His hearing was sharp enough to eavesdrop. He could still hear them sharing their reactions.
¡°Lord Zarian destroyed all of Infinita and everything beyond just to call down his ancient ancestor to create a new alignment,¡± said a soldier on the side for boys. ¡°And all I get is waking up an orphan and getting sent off to be sacrificed to gnolls before the Floridians arrived.¡±
¡°If the business of universal destruction is true, does that mean Lovewar died to Lord Zarian? Is she back to being alive again? Is our goddess okay? Do we still follow her decree to follow the Floridians? What do we do? I don¡¯t know what to do,¡± an acolyte said, growing stressed at the girl¡¯s side.
¡°We should¡¯ve stayed behind the walls and waited to be picked,¡± another acolyte said.
Over at the boy¡¯s side, one soldier grumbled with existential dread. ¡°What¡¯s the point of life? What¡¯s the point of the Star System? What do we do if Lord Zarian destroys everything again because the gods enraged him? What if we don¡¯t get another reset?¡±
¡°I wonder how things are going back down in our old neck of the woods,¡± a different soldier said. ¡°Everyone saw it. Before the end of everything, before the darkness, the suns changed into Lord Zarian¡¯s eyes. How¡¯d that affect things down south in the kingdom proper?¡±
¡°Evil will reign,¡± another soldier imed with a drunken slur.
All the soldiers and acolytes hushed down.
Zarian and his fellow Floridians perked up. All eyes were on thest soldier who¡¯d spoken.
The young guy trembled from the attention, especially when he noticed Zarian looking at him. The guy looked like he was about to vomit from sheer nervousness.
¡°He¡¯s got a point,¡± said a familiar, feminine voice.
Looking back, Zarian saw it was Amabel. Garden green eyes. Freckles. Petite. She was the bold little fourteen-year-old who¡¯d worked in the spa area back in the Lovewar Mansion.
She¡¯d been getting boldertely as a Level 32 War Spy Trainee. She¡¯dted the most kills on Level 40 kobolds among acolytes, which had leveled her up fast.
The highest level among the soldiers and acolytes was Rnd who was Level 39. He could achieve his First ss Advancement at any moment.
That reminded Zarian that they should deepen the depths of the soldiers¡¯ and acolytes¡¯ training before their advancements. The unfortunate part of leveling them up fast was their shallow vitality and shallow options when they advanced.
They would need more time. They would also need to stick with the Floridians, if they were willing.
Zarian waited to see what more Amabel had to say. She was working up to something significant.
¡°It¡¯s Mid Autumn, 1532 of the Dark Era,¡± Amabel said. ¡°This is the era where grand kingdoms forged by adventurers of thest era fall like bundles of sticks. This is the era where evil and viiny are predicted to reign the strongest and those who are supposed to be good fall to corruption and betray their good alignment.¡±
Curious of where this was going, Zarian held his silence. He let the crowd respond in murmurs and hushed conversations. Eventually, a soldier piped up.
¡°Are you saying a bunch of evil bastards are going to take over?¡± a soldier asked. ¡°Who¡¯s going to do that when the biggest evil ¨C er ¨C lord is right here?¡±
¡°Evil doesn¡¯t have to have a purpose or n to spread,¡± Gilbert said drunkenly. ¡°That¡¯s just how it is when the Devil¡¯s out to get everyone.¡±
I¡¯m pretty sure I have a few Christian jokes I can make, Zarian thought. But I¡¯ll wait for the mood to lighten up first.
¡°What Lord Gilbert says.¡± Amabel bobbed her head up and down. ¡°I believe this is a sign that the Dark Era is fulfilling its purpose.¡±
¡°What purpose?¡± a different soldier asked.
¡°Evil will rise with theing of the dark. It¡¯s up to us to war against it and survive,¡± Amabel said resolutely. ¡°Even if that means we must use evil to fight evil.¡±
¡°Or,¡± Zarian said, interjecting now.
The entire coffee bar area fell silent. Zarian took his time to look over the banisters and at the huge rows of bookcases and spider librarians shuffling about. He nced down at a fresh mug filled to the brim of beer Reiki had ced down for him.
¡°We spread freedom,¡± Zarian said.
¡°I¡¯ve been curious about that, milord,¡± Amabel said demurely. ¡°What boon do you grant us after having us destroyed and reborn? What is this freedom of yours?¡±
Zarian ignored the shudders, shivers, and uneasy shifts from most of the soldiers and acolytes. Even Rnd and Lora were keeping away from him and the Floridians.
¡°Free good. Free evil. Free for real. Under the freedom alignment, you can bring forth the power of good or evil however you want without outside influences. And if you¡¯re neutral, the free for real sub-alignment protects you from influences better.¡±
¡°Why wouldn¡¯t we want our gods¡¯ influence?¡± a soldier asked.
¡°Wouldn¡¯t this separate us further from the path? Is this new alignment born from the corpse of Lovewar?¡± an acolyte questioned.
¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± another acolyte said.
Zarian grunted in frustration and drunkenness. The coffee bar patrons fell into a meek silence. Their fear of him was more animalistic and primal now.
It wasn¡¯t this bad before. It was kind of annoying him, honestly. He liked for his enemies to fear him greatly, not the people he worked alongside and watched over.
The buzz he was under from drinking a lot of umon-quality beer was hitting fairly strong. His patience was shorter than usual. It was unfortunate, but he couldn¡¯t deal with the kids right now.
¡°I¡¯m going to peruse the library.¡± Zarian stood up and walked out of the coffee bar. ¡°Thanks, Reiki.¡±
The morous dungeon boss spiraled around and waved at him with three of her six arms. She looked like a drider even though she was the biggest personality of the dungeon.
The author¡¯s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Since the dungeon was set to the base option, Reiki could act as a friendly proprietor, while the dungeon monsters yed as librarians. Sometimes, if anyone looked around the bookcases and lounging areas, they could catch the librarian spiders dancing secretly in the corners.
To his surprise, the other Floridians trailed after him.
Naomi caught his look and raised an eyebrow. ¡°You didn¡¯t say you wanted alone time. And we haven¡¯t run an update yet.¡±
¡°Yeah, sure, let¡¯s do that.¡±
It took more time than usual, since they were all slurring their words a little, but they ran an update on each other¡¯s gains. Zarian had a better idea of how much each of his party members had grown and what areas they needed to improve on.
His Sophisticated Monocle had a new upgrade from Hannah, allowing him to use it as a mini-journal and recorder. With a thought, he updated his mini-versions of the others¡¯ profiles.
Now that Zarian had everyone¡¯s information, and they had his, he realized there was a problem with their current profile setups. He looked up while they were in a lounge area with standing tables and decided to make a request.
¡°Hey, System, can we get Stats Per Level as a permanent addition to our profiles?¡± Zarian asked.
As of now, that wasn¡¯t a thing, and Zarian had to look back at notifications and do the math consistently instead of having it disyed automatically in their profiles.
The System responded with a blue notification above their heads and a soft ¡®ding¡¯ in Zarian¡¯s mind. He was sure the others heard the same.
Zarian saw the new change pop up in his profile now, right between the skills and the stat list.
Stats Per Level: +2 Willpower, +2 Wonder, +3 Mysticism, +7 free.
¡°The Star System seems to serve at your beck and call now,¡± Hannahmented while steepling her hands on one of the standing tables. ¡°Can¡¯t we just ask for whatever we want now?¡±
The System didn¡¯t respond.
Zarian shook his head as he leaned back against a standing table. ¡°That¡¯s too cheesy. We wouldn¡¯t grow properly if we made requests for any little thing. That and I think the System is only amodating the simple stuff for me. It still has its own parameters to follow.¡±
Hannah huffed. ¡°You destroyed all of us just to have a change in the alignments. That was far outside of its parameters. Maybe you have it leashed further now.¡±
¡°We¡¯re all back alive now. Maybe life and death when Zarian loses control isn¡¯t too big of a deal,¡± Naomi said, while still holding onto a sorrowful Bianca.
Zarian grimaced. He didn¡¯t like that mindset. But he had no way to dispute it. His family lineage was powerful enough to reverse things.
So why couldn¡¯t they do it again and again?
Gilbert shook his head. ¡°We can¡¯t treat our lives like cheapmodities. That¡¯s the wrong attitude to have.¡±
¡°And this isn¡¯t the original me,¡± Zarian said.
Everyone¡¯s attention turned to him sharply.
Zarian exined further. ¡°I¡¯m in a loop along with my sister. I don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯ve looped, but apparently I¡¯ve messed up multiple times before.¡±
¡°Do you remember the past loops?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°I don¡¯t. I only remember this life and how I grew up. But the Funnest Granpapa described a version of me who once grew up rich and was a raging asshole. I don¡¯t remember that now. Who knows how many versions of me there were. How many times have I failed?¡±
¡°What happened to everyone in your past lives?¡± Hannah asked with some heat and determination. ¡°Rtionships? Friendships? Followers? Worlds? Did they extract you so you can start anew in another universe before you unleashed untold damage? Or was there so much damage that it couldn¡¯t be reset and they had to shuffle you and your little sister off to another loop? Depending on the answer to that, Zarian, it¡¯ll exin how dire our situation is.¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t know the answers to any of that.
He looked up. ¡°Granpapa?¡±
There was no response.
¡°You know my thoughts on this,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°We should act like this is ourst chance. Miracles happen. We¡¯re living them every day. But the same miracle happening again and again? Even I find that foolish to rely on.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t want to get stuck in a jar do you?¡± Naomi asked Zarian.
¡°No.¡±
¡°Is it simple for them, the super ultra gods of your lineage?¡± Hannah rubbed her finger down the spine of a book that contained old cartography. ¡°Or is there a cost? I can¡¯tprehend exactly, but I want to think there¡¯s a cost. Or there wouldn¡¯t be a reason for there to be loops. If there were no costs, you can let your progeny reset again and again in the same area, in the same loop, can¡¯t you?¡±
Nobody said anything and let Hannah cook. She paced back and forth from between a bookcase and a standing table. ¡°The fact that you don¡¯t remember past versions of you suggests that there needed to be an even harder reset. So, what happened to those around you when you outright failed to where a new loop must start from scratch? Do they still live on? Or have they been thoroughly destroyed with no way of returning?¡±
Hannah stopped and looked dead into Zarian¡¯s eyes. ¡°What if you¡¯ve destroyed countless worlds and universes again and again to the point of no salvation? If I¡¯m wrong, then I¡¯ll appreciate this Funnest Granpapa of yours to step in and correct me.¡±
The Funnest Granpapa didn¡¯t appear.
That didn¡¯t mean Hannah was right.
But they had no idea if she was wrong, and that was horrifying.
Zarian opened and closed his mouth.
The others gawked at Hannah.
She wore a cold face, lips presses tight with focus. Then, after a while, she continued. ¡°I don¡¯t want to feel so insignificant again. I don¡¯t want my life to be a mote of dust on the currents of muchrger forces. I just can¡¯t exist like that. So I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to ascend past my mortal limitations, which means I¡¯ll ask you the hard questions, even if they are ufortable.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have the answers to those hard questions,¡± Zarian said. ¡°My old, old man says I have to deal with the consequences. I guess not knowing is one of those consequences.¡±
¡°Whelp, I say the answer is simple.¡± Gilbert shrugged. ¡°This is the best we have it now. Let¡¯s make the most of it.¡±
¡°The jars are waiting after this,¡± Naomi said, petting Bianca¡¯s back still. ¡°What happens to us? Dunno. But Zarian¡¯s going to be stuck if he fails again.¡±
Hannah huffed. ¡°Naomi, I know your devotion has you head-over-heels as ying the loyal Marine, but we should worry more for ourselves, too. That doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t care for Zarian, but it does mean I won¡¯t stand by and ept things as they are without some reassurance.¡±
Naomi looked at Hannah for a while, the two women having a heated stare off.
Zarian let out a whoop of a breath. ¡°Okay. Let me say this. Your sess is my sess.¡±
¡°That doesn¡¯t give any specifics,¡± Hannah said.
¡°But that¡¯s the truth of the matter. Your sess is my sess. And I want to say the reverse is possible, too. My sess is your sess. I can¡¯t say if any of this around us will continue existing if I screw up again, but I don¡¯t want that. I want to be there with all of you as you rise and be greater. In return, I need help to control my Overwhelming Darkness, especially before we continue the kobold wolf dragon stuff. Before anything, really, I need some serious control measures.¡±
A notification appeared over their heads just when Zarian finished.
¡°Honestly, that¡¯s perfect,¡± Zarian said, picking himself up despite everything. ¡°Hannah!¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°I need your help to develop seals or ability dampeners for Overwhelming Darkness. Maybe that can also expand your enchantment toolbox.¡±
¡°Interesting.¡±
Zarian nodded before turning to the others. ¡°Naomi, I want you to go back to training like crazy and helping the kiddos whenever you can. Gilbert, I want the same from you. If you¡¯re serious about being my wingman in staying righteous, you need to develop yourself further. Bianca, I want you to take some time to ¡ well ¡ look deep inside of yourself and sort things out.¡±
¡°Yes, sir!¡±
¡°Got it, chief.¡±
¡°Si.¡±
Zarian nodded. He looked around him. There were reading materials of all types. ¡°I wish Reiki was here.¡±
¡°Yes?¡± Reiki appeared from around the corner.
Zarian turned to face her, not reacting much to how the dungeon boss could pop up almost instantly in her dungeon. He imagined this was only a thing for the base setting.
¡°All of these books you have. How useful are they?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Some have some tangible magic. You can learn traits if you read enough books on the same thing and drill what you¡¯ve read with practice,¡± Reiki said, leaning dramatically against the edge of a bookcase. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t always work if you have too many traits.¡±
Zarian caught Hannah¡¯s widening gaze. She had the epic Lore Eater trait just like him. The both of them could run through volumes of books faster than anyone else. She might actually be faster since she also had the Swift Research trait.
¡°We should get everyone to read some stuff in the library,¡± Zarian said.
¡°The soldiers can¡¯t read much other than Rnd and some rare others,¡± Naomi informed.
¡°The acolytes can teach them,¡± Hannah offered, sounding less cold. She was warming up again now that they had stuff to work toward. ¡°We need them to be self-sufficient if we want to leave them on their own.¡±
¡°Hm,¡± Gilbert hummed.
¡°What is it, big guy?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°It¡¯s only a week going back and forth from Bramblevale, right?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°And Late Winter is four months away,¡± Zarian said. ¡°We can get stuff delivered as needed, honestly.¡±
The dungeon could provide a lot. Food. Drink. Equipment. Knowledge. But the Dancing Librarian Dungeon wasn¡¯t the type to provide seeds or anything farming rted for amunity to persist on their own.
Additionally, they were heading from fall to winter. It was toote to grow crops for spring and summer. Hell, they were mostly relying on meat made by the dungeon, which Zarian didn¡¯t want to question even though he had a dark idea of where it came from.
Zarian slowly nodded, feeling a semnce of a n and direction finally setting in ce. He was shaking off his buzz, too, so he felt like he had more solid ground under him now.
¡°We have time for once. We can focus on developing ourselves. This is what we need most of all.¡± Zarian looked at the other Floridians, his fellow Outsiders. ¡°Lots will change because all of Infinita had its existence questioned. But our objectives remain the same. We go on adventures and be the best that we can be.¡±
¡°Okay,¡± Bianca squeaked.
¡°Yes,¡± Hannah said. ¡°That¡¯s the most logical action.¡±
¡°Yup.¡± Gilbert nodded sagely.
Naomi took a while to respond. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to up the ante in my training. Hell, you might see less of me depending on what I¡¯m doing if I¡¯m not instructing the kids. I have a lot of hurdles to ovee because¡¡±
Naomi trailed off.
Everyone waited for her, Zarian especially.
She sighed. ¡°I want to be so strong I can survive beyond the universe. Now that I know there¡¯s more out there, everything I do now matters more. So, wish me luck.¡±
¡°I share the same sentiment,¡± Hannah said.
¡°That¡¯s all understandable.¡± Zarian nodded. ¡°I give you all my blessing.¡±
Naomi looked satisfied by that.
Chapter 106: B2: C6: Ramifications 1
Zarian enjoyed working with people on the same page with him. Even when they were all drunk, which made things better sometimes. They were holding nothing back and being true to themselves.
He didn¡¯t, however, like all the responsibilities and hangups of being a dutiful leader all the time. The absence of evil +3 made him realize he¡¯d leaned on evil¡¯s intellect a lot more than he expected.
If I don¡¯t choose to use it, I¡¯ll get soft with it.
Zarian sighed while moving between tall rows of ancient bookcases. Large spider librarians stalked and danced in the background. As he returned to the coffee bar with his fellow Floridians, they nced at him but didn¡¯t pry directly.
¡°I gotta stop being a wimp,¡± he muttered. ¡°I have to train myself on free evil +3 to get used to it.¡±
¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t have to,¡± Bianca piped up quietly. Her voice was still shaky. Her eyes were red and puffy. ¡°Maybe it should just stay buried.¡±
That was another reason he needed to have free evil +3 turned on most of the time. He needed to set an example for Bianca.
Zarian went all in, activating free evil +3 fully, which felt like diving into the deep end. He felt colder. He felt a sharp rise in narcissism, cruelty, paranoia, mistrust, ambition, pride, and many things that could be detrimental when pushed to the extreme.
He also felt like free evil +3 was more internalpared to in evil. There wasn¡¯t much of a palpable force radiating out. There was still a force, but half as muchpared to before.However, he felt like his intellect was more expansive, more capable of thinkingterally as well as vertically. Free evil was more unbound than in evil, but free evil was less tangible as a force than in evil.
Zarian stood still as his Fractured Mind dealt with the power of his sub-alignment, including the obvious negatives and positives. His void-like eyes fluttered. Then he turned his free-evil gaze on the others, who watched him with different reactions.
Bianca shrank into herself. Hannah remained expressionless. Gilbert looked like he was itching to throw some holy water at Zarian. And Naomi had her arms crossed.
¡°Got something evil for us?¡± she asked.
¡°Evil? Not exactly. I just need you to kick the children into gear. We also need two shrines established. One for Shadowfell and one for Lovewar pronto. I¡¯ll try to contact them with the crystal ball,¡± Zarian said smoothly.
¡°You have a bit of your little sister in you when you¡¯re leaning into evil,¡± Gilbert drawled. ¡°That darkness must run deep in the family.¡±
Zarian arched an eyebrow at the pun. ¡°Tell me, dear Gilbert, which part of you burned the most when you slept with a witch out of wedlock? Your pride or your soul?¡±
Gilbert¡¯s mouth pped open and closed like a gasping fish.
Zarian smiled sharply, like a wolf following the scent of blood. ¡°I hope you know the witch lived because I spared her when I had a chat with the evil gods at their altars. In a sense, you finally found relief because of me.¡±
¡°Chief, do you have a thing for beating on dead horses?¡± Gilbertined.
¡°Zarian, stop, you¡¯re being too evil,¡± Bianca whined.
Zarian chuckled darkly. ¡°I apologize. I just had to get that out. I¡¯m honestly bothered that my little sister got to it before me. Truly, she¡¯s the evilest little sister a big brother can have.¡±
¡°Do we need the shrines because of our new freedom alignment?¡± Hannah asked, getting back on topic.
¡°I think so. We might be disconnected. I didn¡¯t think about it until now, but I bet we don¡¯t even have a barrier up. In fact, if we take things to the logical extreme¡¡± Zarian trailed off and waited for Hannah.
She didn¡¯t disappoint him. ¡°We don¡¯t get their boons anymore, do we?¡±
¡°As freedom leaders, do we have boons we can give out?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°Are we gods and goddesses now?¡±
¡°No and no,¡± Zarian said. ¡°We¡¯re just able to invite others into the freedom alignment. I already know who I want for the sixth seat. The seventh seat will stay open for a while until we find someone interesting enough for it.¡±
Zarian led them back to the coffee bar. The children still looked sullen from the weight of existential dread and having their magical reality shattered.
Before delving all the way into free evil +3, Zarian would¡¯ve let them have some time off and deal with their feelings.
Now he realized that would be a mistake. Their feelings mattered somewhat lesspared to progress. They could work out their feelingster.
¡°Naomi,¡± Zarian said, unleashing her.
The dynamic ck woman strode to the front of the coffee bar. She looked like she had drunk nothing and was perfectly bnced, standing straight.
¡°Alright, you boys and girls. You¡¯ve cried enough ¡®boo hoo¡¯s¡¯ and ¡®oh woe is me.¡¯ It¡¯s time to get your butts up and roll out. We¡¯ve got corpses to pull into the fort for our dungeon to eat. There are a lot of weapons and gear out there, too. Most of that could go into the dungeon. Let¡¯s get to it.¡±
Zarian smirked when the children didn¡¯t respond right away to Naomi¡¯s orders.
One acolyte let out a grouchy huff of air. Some soldiers looked at her like she was annoying them. One soldier even went as far as scoffing at her while knocking back another mug of beer.
¡°Reiki?¡± Naomi called.
The dungeon boss twirled into the scene from seemingly out of nowhere. She stopped to give Naomi an appraising look. Then she waved her hand daintily, as if saying ¡®Go ahead.¡¯
Naomi¡¯s psionic power sted out in a force wave and knocked over the nearest tables and chairs. She sent a dozen soldiers and acolytes falling to the floor.
Hands on her hips, her power continued to crackle and pop like a living storm had appeared in the coffee bar area.
Then that invisible and raging storm found its targets andtched onto them, Head Acolyte Lora and Garden Officer Rnd. Without even looking at them, Naomi used her Psychokinesis +1 to lift them into the air, their arms stuck to the sides, as if the invisible hands of a giant held them.
¡°I could yell,¡± Naomi said. ¡°Or I can show you I mean business. And I don¡¯t feel like stressing my vocal chords right now, so I guess I¡¯ll get to practice my abilities on you all.¡±
The acolytes and soldiers watched in horror. They looked at Lora and Rnd, who stayed on the far opposite sides ording to the gender divide, the two floating up, body stiff and locked up in the air. Then, as the cherry on top, Naomi used her High Intimidation trait to dial up the fear factor even further.
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The children stopped being sullen over their existential fate. They remembered Lady Instructor Washington was a more immediate and painful threat.
¡°Get out there and feed this dungeon,¡± Naomi demanded.
She let Rnd and Lora go.
The children ran for it and exited the dungeon.
¡°I¡¯ll go fix the gatehouse. Since we have time, I can make moreplex cube designs,¡± Hannah said. ¡°With the right enchantments, I can make a gate door that moves up and down and other things. Let me know when you want to dive into the library and conduct our research on seals, Zarian.¡±
¡°Will do,¡± he said as his party exited the dungeon.
Gilbert looked up at the night sky. ¡°Ain¡¯t it dangerous to make the kids work in the dark?¡±
Bianca sighed morosely. She raised her hand and narrowed her eyes as she focused.
Her eyes and body shed once with inner light before she created a shining globe that expanded until it was as tall as her. She sent it straight into the air, hundreds of feet above the fort. She made the shining globe brighter and brighter, chasing away the shadows inside and outside of the fortress like a miniature sun.
¡°Do you want a new spider?¡± Zarian asked gently. ¡°I can help feed you aura directly before you run low.¡±
Bianca hesitated. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for killing your spider.¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay, Bianca. You weren¡¯t yourself. All is forgiven.¡±
She nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll take a new spider. But I want to maintain it on my own. It¡¯ll be good practice for me.¡±
Zarian nodded. He liked that attitude. He turned to the others. ¡°I need your permission, since we¡¯re all about freedom.¡±
Once he received their permission, he gave them all new mind spiders. The women took theirs in the mouth. Gilbert chose the direct approach, his spider burrowed into his head.
They split off to work where they were needed. Gilbert summoned his steed, Slip the Sleipnir, and rode off with Naomi.
The two of them would keep a lookout for dangerous creatures scavenging off the battlefield and ensure the safety of the children.
Hannah went to the busted gatehouse to fix it and experiment with her cubes and enchantments.
Bianca walked up floating steps made of hard light projections. She chose the tallest tower in the fort and sat on its rooftop with her legs crossed, as if to meditate.
Zarian used the spectral spider in Bianca¡¯s head to feel what she was feeling.
Biancacked his aura finesse because she didn¡¯t have aura maniption. She relied mainly on the Wonder stat to perceive the supernatural, which included her aura and the miniature sun she created in the sky. She also had the Level 0 Summon Wizard Hat, which appeared as a white and gold feathery fedora on her head.
Still, keeping the miniature sun going while trying to be efficient with the aura expense was difficult for her. Bianca tried anyway.
I¡¯m d, Zarian thought.
He hadn¡¯t realized until now that Bianca could¡¯ve ended up broken and lost all her adventurer determination. She was still a surprisingly bold young woman even without the direct force of goodness pushing her.
This supported a theory Zarian had toyed with a while ago.
Bianca¡¯s the most talented mortal in the party, Zarian thought.
That would exin why Bianca became so powerful so quickly. She had a talent for goodness. She had a talent for her use of magic and her own abilities. She was extremely talented in many areas.
Despite being a person of darkness, literally, Zarian looked up at Bianca¡¯s work with admiration. She was maintaining a miniature sun of her own creation. That was straight up magical.
She would¡¯ve been a true isekai hero if it wasn¡¯t for me, Zarian figured. Then again, it¡¯s because of me she grew so fast and so powerful.
Now if only she could lean into her free good +5 and squeeze it for all it was worth. As of now, she wasn¡¯t using it.
Zarian could tell Bianca needed time and reassurance before she leaned on the power of her sub-alignment. Hopefully, she could keep most of its ridiculous power without going crusader crazy.
If it wasn¡¯t for Bianca, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten to test my best abilities, Zarian thought as he cast Void Step. He walked through the emptiness of the void and came out of wrinkled air on top of the northern wall.
He looked over the battlefield. The death and destruction remained apparent.
The fires had died down to smolders and some smoke. Carrion insects and avians were abuzz in the air. The smell was awful.
Zarian imagined enough airborne diseases could circle around on the wind. Stuff like that would affect anyone in the weaker levels whocked enough vitality to survive a magical sickness.
Evil Goddess Sickspread would be a heinous problem during times like these.
Zarian wondered if she would try something. Killing her as a nearly unstoppable force of darkness didn¡¯t cross her off the naughty list just yet, since it didn¡¯t feel personal enough. But he might reconsider if she reconsidered her approach to him.
There was no free pass for Evil God Sinfeast, however. Zarian remained Sinfeast¡¯s number one hater.
Despite the grotesque mess left behind by war and the drama with the gods, everything worked out how Zarian wanted. He just had to sacrifice everything and get lucky with his lineage, at least up to a point.
The full ramifications weren¡¯t apparent just yet.
Frowning, he looked down at himself. He felt around with his aura using maniption. He traced the System runes for Overwhelming Darkness.
It waspletely differentpared to the old straight darkness. The runes were too fuzzy for him to understand without multiple attempts to trace over them.
There were many runes to examine for Overwhelming Darkness. In fact, the number of runes involved with the troublesome skill was far greater than the sum of everything elsebined in his profile.
It was like he already had the biggest seal possible in containing his burdensome skill, the doom of all life and systems in this universe and beyond. And yet, he needed even more seals for him to use it in a controlled manner.
Zarian sighed.
He continued to maintain free evil +3, putting aside the malicious thoughts for the intellect boost. That helped him with his next spell cast. While under the light of Bianca¡¯s sun, Zarian snapped his finger and spoke the magic words.
¡°Raise Advancing Skeletons.¡±
He didn¡¯t bother with pulling out the grimoire from his soul. He could use its power directly.
A hint of nefarious green light entered the air around him and his targets. Hundreds of skeletons rose from the battlefield with the soldiers and acolytes, who were all scrambling between ditches and over dead kobold bodies.
Zarian used the skeletons he¡¯d already raised once. He also raised up the runic ones who had the Self Sufficient trait.
Loner, Darko, mer, Windy, Icicle, Mighty, Warper, and Blender picked themselves up among the bodies.
To further the clean up and transport of bodies and gear, Zarian raised new skeletons as well.
Dead kobolds stood to their feet, halfway out of their fleshy garments. They peeled off skin, muscle, and tendons. They scooped out organs from their rib cages, ripping free the useless things still clinging to their frames.
Once the skeletons were mainly all bones except for some trickles of blood, Zarian gave out his orders with a booming voice.
¡°If there are any surviving kobolds, kill them. Ensure the safety of our young human friends. Pull out the kobold bodies in the spike ditches and pass them to the spider librarians at the gate. Do what you can to help feed the dungeon. Now get to work. Please and thank you.¡±
All the skeletons saluted. They turned to their grim work.
Fortunately, they would get further help from Zarian¡¯s Spectral Spider Network +1. He¡¯d already sent out hundreds of stealthy spiders to scurry around and help with the scavenging effort.
The aura drain was incredible. But it wasn¡¯t too bad for him as long as he stayed focused.
A majority of his Fractured Mind kept the Raise Advancing Skeletons going. Because of his unusual mentality, he could duplicate and increase the volume of a spell by splintering his mind.
With each partitioned piece of his mind, he maxed out how many magical texts and symbols he needed to raise hundreds of skeletons. It would¡¯ve brutally crushed the mind of most wizards.
Despite the workload, Zarian separated another portion of his Fractured Mind for what could be an ufortable call. He took his time beforemitting all the way, though.
He saw Naomi and Gilbert circle around the giant corpse of the wolf dragon. The Rumble Psion and Knighted Healer were trying to figure out how to deal with it.
Zarian left them to it as he reached into his Parasite Cloak, feeling his hand pass partially into Para¡¯s pocket dimension and immediately touch the thing he wanted. He pulled out an opaque ss orb the size of a baseball.
Chapter 107: B2: C7: Ramifications 2
¡°The anti-air barrier really is gone,¡± Zarian said, looking up.
He could feel itsck of presence with aura maniption. There was no missing the disappearance of a powerful divine working like that.
Either Good Goddess Lovewar wasn¡¯t a friend anymore or couldn¡¯t use her boon for him. He wanted to think it was thetter, but he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Lovewar was unhappy with him. At the very least, he knew of one goddess who would ept his call regardless.
The crystal ball turned shadowy. In its ssy surface, an oily liquid swirled before taking the shape of a feminine humanoid. There were no defining features, but Zarian knew he was looking at what Luciana wanted to show him.
She really liked to y the mystery card, even after they¡¯d spent countless years together as a spreading darkness with an indestructible shadow.
¡°Luciana,¡± Zarian said, some emotion entering his voice.
¡°Zarian,¡± she said in return.
Her voice was maic, inviting, tragic, and shadowy. The way she uttered his name held as much familiarity as the death of countless worlds did, making it sound beautiful despite the horror.
Zarian licked his lips. ¡°Who are you really?¡±¡°Are you sure you¡¯re ready to hear that?¡± she asked.
¡°Yes.¡± He needed to know. While he and Ariana were apocalyptic darknesses, Luciana had hitched a ride and stayedpletely safe the whole time.
Luciana sighed deeply. ¡°Then so be it. The truth of me is that I¡¯m a young goddess, a sacrifice on the altar, a child whose destiny was decided years ago, a girl whose potential is already dead and fossilized, a woman who has but one duty.¡±
¡°What is that duty?¡± Even with free evil +3 active, Zarian felt a hint of worry gripping his heart. He wasn¡¯t sure he was ready to hear the truth like he¡¯d imed.
Luciana chuckled darkly. She was enjoying this, no doubt. ¡°I¡¯m to be the strongest and most powerful of the Shadowfell Family, one who is foretold to usher a corruption that engulfs the hearts of all men in the shadow of sin. I am a most worthy possession, a prize to be sought and used. I am also a gift from my lineage, who are conquered servants to a greater and more powerful lineage.¡±
Zarian slowly shook his head. He wanted to tell Luciana to stop. He didn¡¯t.
The can was already open.
The worms were wriggling free.
¡°Zarian, I am your promised wife, the future bearer of your children, a factory of flesh who¡¯ll produce the most horrific monsters ever seen, all sired by you. This is the truth of my tragic existence, for I am the shadow of darkness. Isn¡¯t that lovely, oh husband, oh master of mine?¡±
Zarian¡¯s mind nearly copsed from the marriage revtion. He couldn¡¯tprehend it personally.
His free evil +3 became too rabid, too merciless. He nearly reduced its power, but when his Fractured Mind struggled to support hundreds of skeletons scavenging around the battlefield, he kept free evil +3 fully powered.
He took a long time to sort himself out. A few hours went by in silence, and Luciana Shadowfell stayed on the other side of the crystal ball connection.
Para kept the glimmering leather cloak wrappedfortably around him, less a dark disy of might and more of a supportive measure for her host.
¡°Can we talk more about this another time?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Your will is mymand, husband,¡± Luciana said.
His stomach did flips. He felt revolted.
¡°My will is not yourmand. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this, but you¡¯re a whole ass evil goddess. You can¡¯t just ¡ bow to me.¡±
He wanted to counter her and the dark thoughts of his free evil +3. He knew how deeply depraved many people could be with this limitless power.
¡°I didn¡¯t bow to you at first because I was waiting to see the truth of you as my husband. The truth has been revealed. You are my master husband, and I¡¯m your servant wife. But if you wish for us to roley as if this is not the case, I can facilitate that for you.¡±
Zarian gritted his teeth. ¡°I didn¡¯t agree to marry you. We¡¯re supposed to start off as friends! What happened to that?¡±
¡°Our lineage. Our family. Specifically, the great matriarchs. The matriarchs of mine kowtowed at the feet of your matriarchs. My matriarchs were taught a lesson. Your family is the strongest. To appease your matriarchs, I¡¯ve been wedded to you with little ceremony.¡±
¡°No freaking way.¡±
Denial, denial, denial. Zarian was in denial.
Lucianaughed again, evil and witch-like. ¡°If you don¡¯t think that is true, then hear my full name. I am Luciana Shadowfell Darkrun, and I am your wife.¡±
Zarian reeled back.
He felt it.
The Darkrun name belonged to Luciana.
Everything she was saying was true.
Luciana was his wife.
He felt frustrated. Horrified. Disgusted. He knew there were more nuances to this situation than he could appreciate now. There were greater ns in motion than he understood.
But he was a Freedom Leader, and this went against freedom.
¡°Is my family forcing you to be a servant?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yes, and no,¡± Luciana said, cryptic as usual. ¡°Yes, because your family is the most powerful. We must serve them in some capacity. However, it¡¯s my family who wishes for me to serve you as if I¡¯m an extra limb you canmand, a ve of your whim. Your family is more cavalier about the arrangement. I suppose now that I have the Darkrun name, I could do things for myself.¡±
¡°Well, I would rather you choose to do what you want. Do you want a divorce?¡± he asked.
¡°No.¡±
Zarian was stumped.
Luciana chuckled softly, yfully, holding onto her shadowy nature. ¡°You¡¯ve carried me with you from one end of a universe to another end of a universe. I¡¯ve witnessed such tragedies that I didn¡¯t know were possible. I¡¯m inspired by you.¡±
He didn¡¯t like the sound of that. ¡°Inspired how?¡±
¡°To be myself. To revel in the joy of shadows and corruption. Of heartache and tragedy. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve done enough evil, honestly.¡±
Zarian opened and closed his mouth. He knew Luciana had acted as an indifferent young goddess, yet she had caused untold damage from merely crying.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
What would she be like if she were more active?
Especially when she was a Darkrun.
The goddess continued. ¡°We are truly living in the Dark Era, aren¡¯t we? Isn¡¯t it my purpose to draw a shadow across the worlds and corrupt the weak, to truly challenge the would-be adventurers who wish to rise to the Adventurer King¡¯s empty throne? Even thinking about it all makes me weep more tears than I¡¯ve ever wept before.¡±
If it wasn¡¯t for the scavenging and battlefield clean up, maybe Zarian would have enough room in his head to deal with this better. As of now, he was absolutely out of his element.
The consequences of his actions were growing bigger and bigger than he¡¯d first appreciated. He would¡¯ve been scared if it wasn¡¯t for free evil +3 keeping him cold enough to focus on his objectives.
¡°Let¡¯s put aside the family drama,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this mess.¡±
He did have time. He just didn¡¯t want to think about the drama anymore, at least for now.
¡°How may I be of divine service, Zarian?¡± Luciana asked.
¡°Can you deliver boons?¡±
¡°Not directly to you. You¡¯re a leader of a new alignment. It¡¯s fresh. And very free from the influence of traditional good and evil. It¡¯s more resilient than neutrality, that is certain.¡±
¡°What about the people under us? We don¡¯t have them added to our freedom alignment yet, but we will soon.¡±
¡°Hm? Free good. Free evil. And free for real? I haven¡¯t yet tested such an attempt to deliver boons to your sub-alignments, but I imagine it¡¯ll be slippery and likely to fail.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°Maybe. I am not sure yet. Your alignment is not as tangiblepared to the old alignments. It would be better if you had devotees of mine who were strictly evil. If not, then those who are free evil will have to devote themselves to my altar freely while under your alignment.¡±
¡°Freedom is all about having a choice, so I don¡¯t see an issue with that.¡±
¡°Hm, interesting and peculiar. This freedom of yours is against the established norms. Are you ready to defend it?¡±
¡°Hell yeah I am,¡± Zarian growled.
He was certain of that, at the very least.
¡°Well, then, if it¡¯s okay with you, Zarian, I will poke and prod at this freedom of yours. There is quite a lot of potential for me to do my work against you. Is that okay?¡±
Zarian took a slow breath in and out. He was still reeling from hearing how much power he held over Luciana, his supposed wife.
If she was truly inspired to be an active goddess, then he could shut that down with a simple sentence. But that would go against everything Zarian was trying to do.
¡°It¡¯ll have to be,¡± Zarian muttered.
People would die from this decision.
But Zarian had some principles. Having people work under him in a mutual transactional rtionship worked for him. Hell, even doling out charities just to provide good vibes and uplift morality worked for him.
But having a whole ass goddess as his servant wife, a ve, and ordering her around to go against her nature disgusted him. Maybe that was the freedom alignment talking, but Zarian was pretty sure this was just who he was as a person.
Besides, he didn¡¯t want to cheat the game too much.
Without challenge or effort, he wouldn¡¯t learn to have proper control of his Overwhelming Darkness.
Luciana chuckled. ¡°You are an interesting man. You have so much power at your fingertips, as if you¡¯re the Adventurer King already. It will be fun seeing how you y this game. Don¡¯t forget that as much as I can challenge, I can also provide support.¡±
Zarian nodded. ¡°That leads to my next point. How¡¯s Lovewar?¡±
¡°She is frightened of you. She came to me just recently, telling me the details of her death, and how hard she tried to fight your darkness.¡±
Luciana released another dark chortle, like she was enjoying gossip while eating the darkest chocte delights with her coffee as ck as oil. ¡°Nothing she did could avert you. She was crushed and eaten. Her memory of that is not so easy for her to shake even as a goddess of love and war.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡± Zarian sighed heavily. ¡°I imagine the same freedom measures apply to her. We¡¯ll need someone outside of a leader to devote to her altar. Hopefully free good works well enough. If not, we¡¯ll find someone traditionally good.¡±
¡°Yes, but she might need time to watch you before she bes a present benefactor again. She¡¯s not your enemy, far from it, but she¡¯s ¡ traumatized.¡± The hint of a grin appeared in Luciana¡¯s voice. ¡°I expect she will return to me and shed as many tears as needed. I never knew she could be broken. I feel we¡¯re bing even closer as friends thanks to you.¡±
¡°Luciana,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Yes, dear?¡±
¡°You¡¯re one sick puppy.¡±
¡°Ah, but you see, I¡¯m your sick puppy.¡±
¡°Yeah, sure.¡±
¡°Will that be all, my dear? I¡¯m feeling whimsical and spirited. Like never before. There¡¯s much work to do, and I¡¯m devoting much of my omniscience to you now. I will stay if you want me to.¡±
¡°Please, go do what wickedness you want. I¡¯ll have altars made for you and Lovewar. And ¡ maybe Hisscreep and Serveserf, if they want.¡±
¡°Hm, interesting, the old frail gods of the traditional alignments have taken some interest in you, haven¡¯t they? I hear littleints from them after theing and going of your darkness, at leastpared to the other gods and divine beings.¡±
¡°Is that so? I guess the old gods are better at bouncing back from huge setbacks,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Hm, perhaps so. I am sure there are ways to mend rtions with those two. But that is for you to figure out, I suppose. Farewell for now, my indomitable dark husband.¡±
¡°Later, gator.¡±
The shadowy figure in the crystal ball faded off. The surface returned to its opaque nature. Zarian tossed it up and down before putting it away in the pocket dimension.
He wondered if he should ask for a divorce. What would happen to Luciana and her family if he did that? Luciana didn¡¯t want a divorce, but he didn¡¯t get a say in the matter.
¡°Funnest Granpapa? Will Luciana stay a Darkrun if I divorce her?¡± Zarian asked.
No response.
Zarian frowned. His family was a pain in the ass. He couldn¡¯t act without getting more information. Or maybe he should just ignore it all and leave it as a problem to fix in the future.
That sounded preferable.
He did a quick check with each of his Floridians by sharing senses through mind spiders.
Everybody was fine, even Bianca. She was doing a bang-up job of maintaining her miniature sun above Fort Ride-or-Die, even without her free good +5.
Maybe Bianca could turn her trauma into a weapon and reforge herself.
It looked like Naomi and Gilbert were putting their heads together by doing the simplest thing, lifting the huge body of the wolf dragon. They were dragging it all the way toward the entrance.
Naomi used Psychokinesis +1 to stabilize the ground, granting them footing. That was a creative use of her ability, which had Zarian wondering how much further she could push herself in the next couple of months.
She still had a friendly rivalry with Bianca, didn¡¯t she? They seemed closer now after recent events. The two of them together could really grow themselves to further heights.
He also wondered if Foodie would be okay with the dy back at Castle Grimrock. How much trouble would the Grimrock Warlock produce with the extra time? How much worse would Jack get?
¡°We¡¯ll make preparations of our own,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Para?¡±
¡°Yes!¡± she growled.
Her voice was clearer now. Still monstrous, but with more notable femininity and humanity. All her practice and fluency innguages was good for her. That and the Floridian Mindset buffed her considerably.
Zarian nodded. A curious thought struck him. He hesitated before letting his free evil +3 push him. He bothered the one person who probably didn¡¯t want to talk to him.
¡°Hey, System, how bad are things?¡±
The Star System, the overseer of the Infinita Universe, replied with a blue notification.
Zarian moved his head from side to side. He pushed a little more. ¡°But how bad is bad?¡±
¡°Uh, no, I¡¯m thinking I really shouldn¡¯t do that again. Just let me know if me and my people can help in any way.¡±
The next notifications came out gold.
¡°Thanks, System. I appreciate the quests. I know we got off on the wrong foot but maybe we can do things better going forward.¡± Zarian tried to sound amicable.
The Star System didn¡¯t respond.
Chapter 108: B2: C8: Zarian’s Party Notes
<>Naomi Washington: Age 26, Level 50, Rumble Psion (Epic), Freedom Alignment (Free For Real).
Traits: Psionic Affinity (Rare), Physical Phenom (Umon), High Intimidation (Umon), Juggernaut Hitter (Rare), Little Giant (Rare), Aura Ignition/First Stage (Epic), Barehanded Mastery (Umon).
Alpha Skills: Tranquil Mind +2 (Level 26), Mind Spike +1 (Level 20), Overclock +1 (Level 12), Psychokinesis +1 (Level 15), Earth-Sky Meditation +1 (Level 11).
Beta Skills: Adrenaline Jolt (Level 0), Willful Might (Level 0), Wondrous Speed (Level 0), Mystic Toughness (Level 0), Summon Wizard Hat (Level 0).
Stats Per Level: +3 Willpower, +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +7 Free.
Stats: 300 Willpower, 200 Strength, 184 Agility, 30 Wonder, 30 Mysticism, 0 Free.
Achievements: Junior Manughterer (Umon), Barehanded Enthusiast (Rare), Perfected First Stage Aura Ignition (Legendary), Cannon Arm (Rare), Lizard yer (Umon), Freedom Leader (Divine).
Thoughts: Naomi¡¯s the best min-maxer of the entire party. Better than me. She can keep Wonder and Mysticism low because of her Earth-Sky Meditation. She has a decent amount of achievements, but I think she¡¯ll need more to fight people and creatures who¡¯ll naturally have her outmatched.At least her traits synergize with what she wants most, being physical whileyering psychic abilities over that. She can pretty much deliver big bad psychic punches to things and blow up their skulls.I¡¯m proud of her for being able to use Aura Ignition, although she can¡¯t use her skills properly while using the First Stage of Aura Ignition. She needs to get to the Second Stage for her to use Aura Ignition techniques based on her abilities.I still haven¡¯t inserted my aura into her while she¡¯s using Aura Ignition.I need to do that. I bet it¡¯ll be glorious.Her alpha skills synergize very well. Tranquil Mind +2 is a nice mood rxer while removing mental debuffs and detrimental effects, and she can also use this for others now. Mind Spike +1 delivers direct mind damage to multiple targets within her vision, which is better the closer they are.Overclock +1 intensifies mind, body, and psionic abilities. Psychokinesis +1 grants her powerful telekic powers around her, which dials up even more when she uses it close up. Then there¡¯s Earth-Sky Meditation +1, which lets Naomi cheat by raising her Wonder and Mysticism so she doesn¡¯t have to put stats toward it.Overall, Naomi is an epic workhorse trying to keep up with the legendary sses. I think she still wants to match up with me, or at least my mortal body. It¡¯s kind of hard to do that. But she¡¯s the type who enjoys the chase and challenge like a proper thrill-seeking murderhobo.Side Note: I want to do something nice for Naomi. But the more I think about it, the more I realize she¡¯s good at putting aside what makes her a person. She¡¯s so focused on bing stronger and keeping up with the rest of us while fighting above her weight ss that she¡¯s not much of a person outside of that.Granted, she can joke, drink, and be aforting friend when you don¡¯t think she can. She¡¯s also good at taking k thrown her way. But between all of that, Naomi¡¯s also ¡ guarded. Or it¡¯s hard to pinpoint the things that she likes or dislikes that¡¯s personal to her outside of adventuring, grinding, and being loyal to others.I need to watch her more to see more of her secretive quirks.<><>Gilbert McDonald: Age 29, Level 49, Knighted healer (Legendary), Freedom Alignment (Free For Real).
Traits: Extra Life (Umon),Shield Mastery (Umon), Health Affinity (Rare), Berserk Vitality (Rare), Knighted Rider (Rare), Stalwart Defender (Rare), Battle Supporter (Rare).
Alpha Skills: Healing Force +1 (Level 24), Adrenaline Jolt +1 (Level 22), Tranquilizing Touch +1 (Level 18), Summon Spirit Steed +1 (Level 12), Sacrificial Blow (Level 9).
Beta Skills: Tranquil Mind (Level 0), Willful Might (Level 0), Wondrous Speed (Level 0), Mystic Toughness (Level 0), Summon Wizard Hat (Level 0).
Stats Per Level: +3 Strength, +1 Agility, +3 Wonder, +6 Free.
Stats: 75 Willpower, 150 Strength, 100 Agility, 250 Wonder, 144 Mysticism, 0 Free.
Achievements: Reliable Tank (Rare), Mass Healer (Epic), Siege Rider (Rare), Constant Siege Support (Epic), Freedom Leader (Divine).
Thoughts: I always get this feeling that Gilbert¡¯scking, but he really isn¡¯t. Yes, he¡¯s not a brutal fighter like Naomi or supercharged like Bianca, but he¡¯s very solid, and he has a legendary ss.I guess what bugs me is that he has it the hardest when killing enemies most of the time. But to ignore how useful his abilities are is the mark of a fool. I hope he gets more achievements. He seems really determined now that he wants to make sure I follow the righteous path, which is interesting.As for his abilities, I still want more for Gilbert. Another trait or two would make me feel at ease. If he¡¯s going to be the big berserker and defender, he needs a trait that straight up raises his toughness. Stalwart Defender is for helping others, and so is Battle Supporter. Yeah, getting him a more powerful toughness trait, or another overall Strength-booster trait is something to work on.His alpha skills are the reason Gilbert is important. They¡¯re useful in many situations. Healing Force +1 is a godsend skill, able to heal and supercharge anyone¡¯s vitality rapidly, so I¡¯m expecting big things from Healing Force +2 or an evolved version. Adrenaline Jolt +1 from Gilbert has no bad side effects and juices people¡¯s bodies up hardcore.Tranquilizer Shot +1 isn¡¯t always useful, but it can save the day, just like how it put Bianca to sleep and kept her sluggish. Last, there¡¯s Summon Spirit Steed +1, which now gives Slip the Sleipnir spirit armor and a ded horn for an extra cost.
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In conclusion, Gilbert¡¯s a work in progress that will leave me constantly frustrated even though he¡¯s a hugely importantponent of our party. I guess I have to ept that he¡¯s not a big damage dealer and works in ways that I have no control over.Honestly, he¡¯s a miracle worker, and he can level up from helping people and healing unlike me.Side note: I have this weird feeling that he wants to be a big brother to me. I don¡¯t know how to deal with that. I¡¯ve never had a big brother. What do you do with those? It¡¯s weird.Maybe I should call Ariana for help. But I can¡¯t. I have to make a barrier of sorts to keep her from spying too much. Okay, tangent over.Side note 2: Big Brother Gilbert is a weird thought to have. Will he make me fish with him?<><>Hannah Townhouse: Age 30, Level 59, Runic Engineer (Legendary), Freedom Alignment (Free For Real)
Traits: Weakness Sensor (Umon), Rune Affinity (Rare), Swift Research (Umon), Lore Eater (Epic), Runic Mystic Intensity (Epic), Runic Inventive Genius (Epic).
Alpha Skills: Enchantment +1 (Level 22), Rune Alteration +1 (Level 22), Rune Scan +1 (Level 20), Cube Maker Magic + 1 (Level 19).
Beta Skills: Tranquil Mind (Level 0), Adrenaline Jolt (Level 0), Willful Might (Level 0), Wondrous Speed (Level 0), Mystic Toughness (Level 0), Summon Wizard Hat (Level 0)
Stats Per Level: +2 Willpower, +1 Agility, +1 Wonder, +3 Mysticism, +6 Free.
Stats: 100 Willpower, 45 Strength, 123 Agility, 200 Wonder, 350 Mysticism, 0 Free.
Achievements: Rune Seeker of the Forgotten Kingdom (Epic), SSS Genius Beyond the Lore Eater (Epic), Enchantment Jammer (Rare), Rapid Fortress Builder (Epic), Freedom Leader (Divine)
Thoughts: Hannah¡¯s scary.I mean, I¡¯m not exactly threatened by her too much, but the more I think about it, the more I can see the absolute danger Hannah poses the more she grows. It¡¯s funny because she doesn¡¯t see how scary she is currently, and I think she¡¯s being cold right now because she wants more and more.The truth of my origins might¡¯ve made her feel insecure when she shouldn¡¯t. She¡¯ll be a powerful goddess one day, I think.But until then, Hannah¡¯s a little tricky to manage at times. I like that she¡¯s being more of herself. Pragmatic, cold, and sometimes ruthless, even when she¡¯s not evil aligned or free evil.It¡¯s probably a good thing that she doesn¡¯t touch evil because she might be a true viiness at that point.The reason Hannah is scary is that she¡¯s highly favored by the System. Hannah can mess with enchantments and runes, which is just a lesser version of what the Star System uses to give us our profiles and record our skills, traits, stats, and other stuff.She can¡¯t mess with the System stuff just yet, but she often gets special quests from the System just for her. She¡¯s able to grow throughbat or by being a builder, crafter, enchantress.She doesn¡¯t seem like she has much, but the sheer potential of what she can do is the highest among the squad other than me. Technically, it¡¯s higher than me, based on sheer potential. I already know how far my capabilities can go.Anyway, I have no issues with Hannah right now. I think as long as I circle my attention back to her here and there, she¡¯ll grow and continue bing a monster.Her traits help her be the main researcher and runic expert. Her alpha skills stack up on top of that even more so except for Cube Maker Magic +1. That one is the only out-of-box skill that seemed like a side-project skill until Hannah created walls made of cubes that follow their own physics. She did that for an entire fortress, all overnight. Hannah¡¯s incredible. I want to see her grow further. I want to help her be a goddess. I just hope she doesn¡¯t lose too much of her heart along the way.I like how uniquely pragmatic she can be, but she¡¯s the wrong person who should fall into being evil. Or Hannah might literally step on the innocent for her own progression.Side Note: Hannah can be cute and bratty when it¡¯s only the two of us. That¡¯s surprising. She acts as the more mature and reserved one among the girls and Gilbert. I wonder why she changes up with me. Would I get to see that side of her again after what happened?<><>Bianca Garcia: Age 19, Level 56, Light Princess (Legendary), Freedom Alignment (Free Good +5).
Traits: Shining Trust (Umon), Light Affinity (Rare), Lesser Smite (Rare), Aura Charge (Rare), Wondrous Princess Regality (Epic), Feathery Grace (Umon), Oveer (Epic), Hellish Endurance (Rare).
Alpha Skills: Searing sh Array +2 (Level 27), Light Step +1 (Level 19), Refraction +1 (Level 24), Light Construction +1 (Level 17), Shining Mark +1 (Level 13).
Beta Skills: Tranquil Mind (Level 0), Adrenaline Jolt (Level 0), Willful Might (Level 0), Wondrous Speed (Level 0), Mystic Toughness (Level 0), Summon Wizard Hat (Level 0).
Stats Per Level: +1 Agility, +5 Wonder, +1 Mysticism, +6 Free.
Stats: 70 Willpower, 40 Strength, 126 Agility, 349 Wonder, 176 Mysticism, 0 Free.
Achievements: Heroes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom (Legendary), Junior Manughterer (Umon), Crusader Annihtion (Rare), First Corma Dragon yer in Many Years (Legendary), Lizard yer (Umon), Hell yer (Rare), Freedom Leader (Divine).
Thoughts: If it wasn¡¯t for my Void Layer spell from Grimoire of the Mad Voidling Exile, I might¡¯ve had to kill Bianca to survive her overwhelming power.It¡¯s crazy how busted being higher on the good alignment can be. It¡¯s an unfair power-up cheat. But it makes me theorize why Bianca is so special. She can get her good alignment raised way faster than the local do-gooders favored by the gods.Then again, that might be because she¡¯s an Outsider and because I¡¯m involved. I guess the gods rarely pay this much attention otherwise. Or they could simply be more into Bianca.The crazy thing is that Bianca¡¯s pretty damn strong as her base self, without the good alignment. But she makes issues more trivial when she intertwines her good alignment with her light powers.Now that she¡¯s free good, she has to summon that huge depth of power herself, and she doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s capable of doing it automatically yet. Unfortunately, she seems heavily traumatized from the good +5 takeover and getting forced to fight me.I¡¯m d she¡¯s back to her regr self, but it¡¯s at the loss of how assertive and mighty she can be when she¡¯s fully confident of herself and her power.Herst two traits are interesting, since one came from killing a wolf dragon, and the other came from fighting my Dread Mire Hell Gator. She can boost her abilities when up against a more powerful force. And her endurance is so much higher now.Her other traits range from being a better maniptor to improving her for being a princess, stacking over each other when she¡¯s being hero material.The alpha skills work well together and are the only skills I really can¡¯t copy because they¡¯re an antithesis to me.Searing sh Array +2 is both a deceptive supportive skill and hugely destructive as the prime skill of Bianca¡¯s annihting style. Light Step +1 turns her into a flurry of lights that can damage enemies she touches or eradicate them. Refraction + 1 lets her control her light and creates light illusions in many flexible ways.Light Construction +1 lets her create hard light objects at a lower cost, and can lead to her own illusions being more solid than most would expect. Then there¡¯s Shining Mark +1, which is the fuck-you skill for anyone who wants to run, hide, or do evil stuff because it makes them easy for her to track while disrupting certain dark or evil powers.Yeah, so Bianca¡¯s scary for most evil-doers. And that¡¯s not going over how she¡¯s picked up swordy andbat faster than what her personality would suggest.Side Note: She¡¯s going to need time and support to recover from her trauma. I hope she¡¯ll take advantage of her free good +5 and be the awesome demigoddess she is meant to be. I¡¯ll do all I can to support and hope the other girls do what they can to build Bianca back up.At least Naomi¡¯s on top of it already. So is Para, who is speaking fluent Spanish better than everyone else other than Bianca.<>
Chapter 109: B2: C9: Late Winter
Chapter 109: B2: C9: Late Winter
Four months after the death and revival of everything, which everyone knew as the Darkrun Apocalypse, Late Winter came around.
Zarian was officially a year older. If this was the old world, it would¡¯ve been February, the month of Zarian¡¯s birthday twenty-two years ago.
He hadn¡¯t had many records of that time surrounding his arrival in the old world. He remembered how his records were dubious and messy while he grew up in the foster care system.
That had been the nature of his down-on-luck life, before the dark magic, before the portal. All because of his family¡¯s ursed tradition. The males usually had to grow up poorly before getting their true power.
It was still 1532 of the Dark Era in Zarian¡¯s new universe. Unlike the old one, the Infinita Star System counted a new year when Early Spring happened.
They weren¡¯t that far away from reaching 1533.
Zarian had learned there were different customs for weing a new year depending on the world or area. In Corma, the World of Castles and Caverns, they held new year festivals throughout Early Spring.
Zarian¡¯s people were already making ns for that back in Ride-or-Die Vige. They were in a festive mood ever since they¡¯d reached Late Winter.
He wasn¡¯t currently back there to oversee anything. Instead, he was out on a solo trip further north-northwest of the vige.Mounds of blocky snow covered thendscape. A wintery chill swept across the batterednds of the former North Crown Peak area.
Minor forests of frosted trees, with stone-covered trunks slick with ice, scraped at the air with their bony branches.
Under the sparse cloud cover and the shining suns reaching their zenith, and amid the snowden ins, minor ice forests, and hillocks of snow-covered fortress mounds, the Level 72 Madness Wizard trekked with afortable gait.
His boots walked over the snow¡¯s surface without leaving a print for anyone or anything to track. The chilling wind parted around him without pushing him, barely touching him.
Snowfall twirled out of his way like someone pulling aside loose curtains for him.
No effect of the mundane weather could break past the powerful enchantments weaved into his gear. Only the Para allowed the weather to have some effect on her.
This was Para¡¯s first winter, and this was Zarian¡¯s first winter where he actually saw snow.
Looking back, Zarian saw his tattered and monstrous cloak whip, p, and curl her many tendrils. Para flicked at the flurry of snow blowing by and formed toothy mouths tough aloud.
She was having a lot of fun while stretched out twenty feet behind him, not touching the ground whatsoever in her defiance of gravity.
She was still reddish like old blood dried on hard leather skin. A supernatural glimmer akin to dying stars on the edge of the void covered the edges of her surface.
Meanwhile, Zarian was dressed in all ck. A lightweight gambeson covered his torso and his upper arms, reaching down mid-thigh. The trousers were lightweight and flexible. The same for the boots.
On the chest was an emblem that looked like a tribal gator¡¯s head. The color was dark red, almost simr to Para¡¯s color.
It was the guild¡¯s crest. And under the crest was the motto written in fancy pensive:
¡®Fuck Around and Find Out.¡¯
His wizard hat was ck with a few traces of the Parasite Cloak¡¯s likeness, such as having a tattered look around the brim. Then there was the enchanted monocle covering Zarian¡¯s right eye, which was as dark as the rest of him.
Zarian smiled as magical disys appeared in his vision and highlighted some footprints in the snow in red.
They were deep,rge. The way they were shaped reminded him of a reptilian.
The tracks led him down a small forest trail where he found broken branches and more footprints.
The tracks were recent.
He was no professional ranger or tracker, but he liked to think his training from the Marines helped. He¡¯d also picked up a few books on the subject in the Dancing Librarian Dungeon.
In a universe with no television or inte, having a magical library dungeon with nearly endless books was a godsend treasure. Reiki¡¯s dungeon was the heart of the Ride-or-Die Vige for many reasons, and the library was chief among them.
Zarian followed the tracks.
The tracks turned fresher.
He was getting closer to his targets.
They weren¡¯t aware of him just yet.
Or maybe they were and had a trap set up for him.
Now, how should he proceed?
One, should he go stealthily from behind like an assassin?
Two, should he go around and set an ambush like a hunter?
Three, should he go forward to fight directly like a warrior?
Four, should he drop a big attack from the sky like a wizard?
Five, should he go in like a Marine and use whatever worked?
Hm. Tricky. Tricky. All these options seemed so viable. How was he supposed to choose?
It was almost an impossible choice, especially since he¡¯d been mostly inactive these past four months, focused on studying and research.
He could call in a friend, such as Para, but the Parasite Cloak +2 was busy ying with the falling snow.
Zarian figured he should y the role he chose for himself a while ago. Option five, he would go in like a Marine and do whatever worked.
He could start off slow to test out things, set traps, then drop a big attack from the sky like a wizard in the end, just like calling in artillery.
Now that he was near his targets, he summoned a few spectral spiders to locate them directly.
Since the past four months bore little action, the Spectral Spider Network +1 had advanced only a little. It was Level 24 now, right at the cusp.
Personally, Zarian was Level 72 because of the multiple side quests he¡¯d aplished. He still had his party¡¯s main quest, which had been updated because of new information.
Then there were the rest of his side quests:
Zarian smiled. There was another reason he¡¯de out here. He was working on getting some nice things as rewards for his fellow Floridians.
The current gift was a long timeing, too. He wouldn¡¯t have known where to find it if he hadn¡¯t looked at maps around the area multiple times.
Zarian sat on a log and pulled out an enchanted mug. He sipped on hot coffee mixed with dark chocte and some alcohol while waiting for his spectral spiders to find the targets andy traps.
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The drink tasted sweet. Absolutely delicious. It felt rich going down his throat. It was like he was drinking ambrosia. It was nearly as good as what Foodie could make.
Reiki had truly outdone herself as the Ride-or-Die Vige¡¯s Dungeon Boss and the proprietor of their chief restaurant and coffee bar. She had some newpetition growing in the vige trying to steal her customers, but they didn¡¯t have her deep resources, and they still hadn¡¯t figured out how to make coffee or chocte.
Nheless, Zarian got a cut of everything passing through Ride-or-Die Vige. The amount of money he was raking intely was nice, and things were only getting more active this month.
He had more money than he knew what to spend on. There wasn¡¯t much he needed, honestly. He could get mostly everything for free.
He didn¡¯t n on shopping for anything much outside of the vige, especially not from anywhere south.
The Eternal Garden Kingdom was in a three-way civil war down there.
Because of that, a lot of traders, merchants, and adventurers were passing through Ride-or-Die Vige with loads of goodies while on their quests going west or east.
Early Spring promised even more activity.
Zarian wondered if his vige could handle it all. What would it be like once Foodie was saved and introduced to his vige?
Zarian had a lot to think about. A ping from his spectral spiders brought him back to the present.
It wasn¡¯ting from the direction of his targets. The ping came from spectral spiders he¡¯d left behind him during his trek here.
Zarian followed the thread leading to the spider who¡¯d wanted his attention. He saw what the hubbub was about.
It wasn¡¯t anything dire. He remained on his log and kept taking enjoyable sips from his cocoa-coffee alcohol drink.
The delicious beverage was rare quality, too, so he could actually get a decent buzz from it, but not too much to impede his work.
A few minutester, a ten-foot form stalked quietly toward his position between stone walls and frosted hedges. Her digitigrade legs sliced through the snow-covered ground without making too much sound. Her head bobbed down gracefully under the grasping, snow-covered ws of the skeletal trees.
Then the elder gnoll stopped by a block of snow.
She stooped down onto her haunches in the shade across from Zarian, out of the re of the winter suns. She seemed to make herself as small as possible while in his presence.
¡°Elder Ezda,¡± Zarian greeted.
¡°Alpha Elder Zarian,¡± Ezda replied in return. ¡°Your spiders are much stealthier. I didn¡¯t notice them as much this time around.¡±
Zarian chuckled. ¡°They¡¯ve gotten some decent practice. The skill for them is one level away from advancing. Perhaps they¡¯ll be even stealthier or have even more interesting abilities.¡±
Ezda nodded before looking off to the side. Zarian studied her, making note of how the massive gnoll female had cleaned up a lottely.
She didn¡¯t smell of rot and old blood. Her fur was pristine and freshened up, all yellow with brown spots that stood out against the white nket of snow.
She¡¯d even brushed her teeth. It was less brown and more yellow. Her long locks of hair had seen a trimming, too, now only reaching down to her hips.
The outfit she wore was newer, far from the frayed rags of before. She had on leather trousers big enough to fit her and leather straps wrapped around her chest to seal up her three pairs of breasts.
She didn¡¯t wear human bones as her trophies anymore, and the same could be said about the other gnoll elders, most likely.
They weren¡¯t here, since Ezda was chief among them, and the most forward, but Zarian had seen glimpses of them from a distance. If Ezda was all cleaned up and looking respectable, they would certainly follow her lead.
None of these changes happened because Zarian asked for them. The gnolls changed on their own gradually.
They always acted in unexpected ways for savages, especially when they¡¯d appeared outside of the vige back in Late Autumn and told Zarian he was the Alpha Elder of the Blood Prairie Savages.
Then they¡¯d left.
Then they¡¯de back to check in.
Then they¡¯d left again before making more trips in and out of the area.
They were much more mysterious than savagetely, to be fair. Zarian wondered if his ¡ wife ¡ was acting in the background, influencing the gnolls. Or were the gnolls looking at him as some sort of grounded deity?
Ezda hadn¡¯t bothered to exin much.
Zarian didn¡¯t bother to force an exnation. He acted as if everything was okay.
¡°I¡¯m going to engage in somebat to test out my new sealing style techniques,¡± Zarian informed. ¡°Do you want to sit back and watch? Maybe even be my cheerleader? Or do you want to join?¡±
Ezda looked at him for a while.
Zarian finished slurping up the delicious drink from his mug.
After a few minutes, the elder gnoll bowed her head. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to wait in the back and behold the magnificence of your new techniques, oh alpha elder.¡±
Zarian was tempted to ask her how Evil God Kill was doing. But he held back since it seemed like the Blood Prairie Savages were in a sensitive transitionary period.
He supposed when Ezda and the other elders were ready to be more forting, he would happily lend an ear and invite them into his vige with open arms.
After all, his power was bending them to his whims without him having to ask. There was no need for him to be rude to his friends.
That and he still owed their rising gnolls some training.
¡°Okay, enjoy the show.¡±
Zarian licked the smeared remains of his tasty drink from his lips. He ced the mug back into the cloak¡¯s pocket dimension and stood to his feet.
The Madness Wizard turned away from Ezda, and his cloak fluttered and pped as twisted streams of glimmering leather and flesh. Some of which traced over the epic Level 91 Blood Brute in a friendly manner.
Ezda silently stood up and stalked after him.
Most humans would¡¯ve feared for their lives to have an elder gnoll, one at Level 91, trail behind them. And Ezda was an infamous elder gnoll, known as the Voracious Blood Beast of the Blood Prairies.
There was a reason Silver Guardian Arnold of Ambrose couldn¡¯t stop himself from attacking Ezda on sight months ago.
Strangely, Zarian feltfortable to have her cover his back. Her presence felt loyal and reserved. Not dangerous at all. At least when around him.
He hadn¡¯t known her true level and ss until she told him weeks ago. It hade up at random.
He thought little of it until he remembered she¡¯d lied about being in the Level 80s the first time they met.
Zarian almost wanted tough at how ridiculous it was to have a Level 91 gnoll act subservient to him of her free volition, while he was only Level 72. His free evil +3 enjoyed it.
They reached the target area.
Zarian blended into his environment. His ck and dark red outfit turned mostly white with off gray to match with the snow and shadows.
Para shifted colors and blended with the environment just like him. She twisted, splintered, and changed around him. She acted like spindly bush nts, bare without their leaves.
She¡¯d even copied the nearby fragmented walls and looked like lumpy, blocky covers of snow.
Together, they became one with the habitat and settled on the upper edge of a downward slope leading into a basin. Hundreds of feet ahead, dozens of kobolds acted as they pleased while on Zarian¡¯s side of the mythical event.
The war between the Ride-or-Die Vige and the wolf dragons hadn¡¯t ended. It was only on pause. Skirmishes had broken out frequently still, at least three to four times a week.
Fortunately, the original two hundred and eight-nine young soldiers and acolytes the Floridians had taken here remained alive. They were flourishing in unique and unexpected ways inside or around Ride-or-Die Vige.
However, neers, some who were passing adventurers from foreign kingdoms, had fallen during kobold skirmishes. There was also something Zarian found strange that his people had warned him about.
The kobolds were abnormally stronger than they should be. And if the kobolds had a quality jump in power, then the same could be predicted for the wolf dragons.
Zarian hadn¡¯t fought them in a while. He¡¯d get to see for himself, which was perfect.
He could finally test what he¡¯d researched for months in the Dancing Librarian Dungeon, digging up its exhaustive catalogs, practically living down there for weeks on end.
He had the gear for all of that hard research. Hannah¡¯s handiwork.
Smiling, Zarian looked down at the thick ck gauntlets covering his hands and forearms. They looked like implements made for tanky bruisers. They were, in fact, the tools that would let him use his Overwhelming Darkness for the first time.
Zarian nodded at the description from his Identify before he checked on his new trait. He¡¯d earned it a few days ago once he¡¯d finished his initial research.
¡°I should be able to use one percent of my true power now,¡± Zarian whispered into Ezda¡¯s ear through a spectral spider on her shoulder. ¡°To be fair, I¡¯m actually using a fraction of my one percent power, but saying ¡®One Percent Power¡¯ is cleaner and sounds more badass.¡±
¡°Let the foolish lizards behold your dark magnificence, oh Alpha Elder Zarian,¡± Ezda said with quiet reverence.
Zarian raised up and started the lengthy sequence to use Overwhelming Darkness.
Was it all an inconvenience? Kinda, yes.
Did he feel cool, like a younger and edgier him? Yes, very much so.
The inconvenience was second to the experience of unleashing the techniques he¡¯d developed in the library and through rigorous study. Too bad the kobolds were aware of him now and rushing to the attack.
That was okay.
While Zarian worked his dark magnificence to fruition, the spectral spiders and Para were prepared to show off what they¡¯d learned the past couple of months as well.
The spiders were out of sight, out of harm¡¯s way. They waited for the ¡®gifts¡¯ they¡¯d left in ce to go off.
The cloak shifted forms once again. She transformed into many arms and hands with slender and articte fingers.
Meanwhile, all three grimoires appeared.
One grimoire phased out of his body. Its rattling spectral chains bound the covers to his soul.
Another grimoire appeared over his shoulder with jagged teeth running down the spine. It came with a hefty and predatory presence that formed like a translucent shade behind Zarian.
Finally, a dark metal grimoire appeared through a portal in front of Zarian. It emitted a metallic hum and slowly orbited Zarian¡¯s body.
Para¡¯s many hands and slender fingers grabbed each grimoire. She cracked them all open, flipped their pages, and traced her fingers over the enchanted text and symbols.
Then Para formed mouths in the palms of her free hands to speak with.
Para started things off by chanting and casting, ¡°Quagmire Pit.¡±
Chapter 110: B2: C10: One Percent Power
Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind had only grown sharper, faster, and more capable with time, especially with all the pressure of establishing his Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style. He could focus on his sealing style and stay highly aware of battlefield conditions.
His aura maniption reached out in a wide sphere, feeling across various strands of aura and magic. He¡¯d gotten better at this, more fine tuned ever since the day of the Darkrun Apocalypse.
He used his hidden spectral spiders to keep a visual on the battle from multiple angles. He¡¯d even had spiders watching his and Ezda¡¯s backside.
Yes, he had Ezda to his rear, whose presence was powerful. But he¡¯d kept some eyes on watch back there as an extrayer of observational defense.
You could never be too careful as a running-and-gunning wizard with a dooms-day power inside his soul.
Meanwhile, he used Identify while practicing subtlety through his spectral spiders, so that none of the kobolds would feel the trait happening to them during the initial rush ofbat. This was something he¡¯d worked on for a while.
He had a good idea of what he was facing the instant they began their onrush and sting efforts. The rumors about the kobolds being significantly stronger than before bore some truth.
Immediately, Zarian noted how the strongest of the three dozen kobolds were part of a tribe or group called Wolf Dragon Enforcers. There were six of those.
The others were much weaker and part of the normal Wolf Dragon Idolizers¡¯ tribe, the ones Zarian and his people had crushed during the first sieges of the Mythical Regional Event.
That could only mean Zarian¡¯s people were facing a new element in the dyed event. The wolf dragons had called in new kobolds, and the kobold enforcers looked fiercer and morepetent than the kobold idolizers.
Before Zarian could focus on more nuances, he had an onrush of twenty kobold idolizers rushing him.
They were in the low Level 50s and high Level 40s. Their sses seemed of lower qualitypared to the enforcers.
Some kobold idolizers were called Wild Burners and used fire-based skills infused with their rusted weapons and gear. Others were more like the wolf dragons, such as the kobolds with the Wolf Chaser ss, and could run across the snow with some blurring speed.
The fastest Wolf Chasers led the rest of the advancing pack. The slower ones, such as the Elemental Shamans, cast magical abilities that shot at Zarian¡¯s position.
Wind torrents that could rip away flesh blew apart every branch in its way.
Ice shards grew into javelins that were as long as humans were tall and shot in volleys that could cut down a toon of men.
The air buzzed, crackled, and pped with whips of lightning thatshed forward over the heads of the advancing kobolds.
All of it flew at Zarian.
Yet, he didn¡¯t dodge any of the ranged attacks from the kobold idolizers. There was no need. Because as Para cast her spells, she revealed why the Thematic Law/Floridian Mindset was overpowered on her.
Parabined a few of myriad hands and arms into multiple bone-ted shields. She deflected the wind torrents, absorbing their power and sending roaring streams breaking off at an angle into the air.
Shebined more of her myriad hands and arms into propeller des and spun them around at high speeds no matter how much she had to twist her strands around. She chopped through the ice spears and sent their fragments flinging off to the side.
Then she formed up giant hands with rubbery flesh and caught the chained lightning bolts with her bare palms and long fingers. She¡¯d formed long bone spikes, punctured them into the icy ground, and sent the excess lightning magic down into the earth.
This was all while the spectral spiders¡¯ traps were going off as Para finished forming the Quagmire Pit spell.
While Para had practiced her mystical side as an intelligent Parasite Cloak +2, the spectral spiders had learned to make more advanced use of their arcane webbing. Apparently, the arcane webbing wasn¡¯t magical for the sake of catching people and ensnaring targets.
The webbing was a catalyst for the spiders to do magic.
The spiders were little wizards and enchanters!
Zarian wouldn¡¯t have known that if Hannah hadn¡¯t asked to study their webbing.
Once she¡¯d realized the truth, she taught the spectral spiders enchantments. Once that was established, well, the spectral spiders¡¯ potential shot up immensely.
Hence the dozens ofndmine webs the spectral spiders buried under a lightyer of slow. The fastest kobold idolizers ran over those and blew themselves up.
The thunderous eruptions echoed off the slopes leading into the basin the kobolds had camped in. The booming retorts sounded louder than usual in the winter wondendndscape.
Screaming kobolds twisted about in the air with mangled legs or everything missing below their hips.
The kobold idolizers hadn¡¯t gotten much smarter even after the seventhndmine blew up. Others kept barreling forward into the arcane minefield.
One of the Wolf Dragon Enforcers, the Dragonized Elementalist, shouted out his skill: ¡°Howl of the Wolf Dragon Wind!¡±
A powerful and fast wind swept around the battlefield like a running wolf dragon. The wind moved smartly to avoid the kobolds and bulldozed over the snow where the spiders hadid their explosive arcane webbing.
More explosions went off like the loudest Fourth of July, clearing the way for the kobolds idolizers rushing at Zarian.
Except for when they ran into the infernal Quagmire Pit, which Para hadid down ahead of the spider minefield. The kobolds¡¯ advance came to aplete halt then and there.
Para had done a good job of transmigrating the ground at thest second. She caught twelve of them before the others stopped. Then she moved onto the next sequence of the folktalebo.
¡°Dread Mire Bite,¡± Para chanted.
As kobolds tried to scramble free of the Quagmire Pit and its infernal mes, an invisible predator rushed up with jaws spread wide. The massive teeth snapped shut.
ming ooze of the quagmire, body parts, and streams of crimson rained down on the remaining kobold idolizers that had stopped before the pit. The kobolds screamed and pointed up at the bloody mayhem, many scrambling back in fear.
The Wolf Dragon Enforcers saw enough.
The Dragonized Wrecker, Dragonized Rusher, Dragonized Dragoon, and Dragonized Assassin rushed forward. The Dragonized Elementalist and Dragonized Wizard stayed back.
The kobold enforcers moved faster and with more coordination, but they fell into another of Para¡¯s trap as easily as the kobold idolizers. They ced themselves within range of the next folktalebo spell.
¡°Dread Mire Bellow,¡± Para chanted.
The invisible and bloody jaws shifted. They became more corporeal, more tangible and real.
Spots of hell-hardened scales appeared amid the blood and infernal sludge of the pit. The jaws opened again, but not to strip flesh away nor snap apart bones.
Instead, an enormous roar sted out from the jaws of the great pit predator.
The roar rolled out as both a traumatic noise and a solidified force wave that sent the still-standing kobold idolizers flying back. Blood spewed out from their throats, from their eyes, and from their ears.
The bellow was so powerful some kobold idolizers died outright. A few others tossed and turned, suffering in the torn-up snow.
The kobold enforcers handled the bellow better, but they weren¡¯t free from its effects. They rolled with the shockwave and slowed their approach to deal with the traumatic aftereffects.
Worse yet, at least for the kobolds, the trauma intensified the power of Zarian¡¯s Uncanny Valley Effect trait, which made him shiftier, more monstrous, more frightening to their perception.
Even if they had better training, abilities, and equipment than the usual kobolds, the enforcers became more hesitant to engage him inbat for a little while longer.
The only ones who had a shot were the Dragonized Elementalist and the Dragonized Wizard. But as they prepared their mightiest abilities, Zarian finally finished all the warm-up drills he¡¯d promised to do before using his Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style for real.
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His heart was hammering.
The memories of his long voyage eating worlds, gods, and universes lurked in the back of his head. The apocalyptic monster that dwelled in his soul waited for its chance to break free and devour everything once again.
I won¡¯t let you win again. I will control you.
¡°Overwhelming Darkness: Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style Technique,¡± Zarian chanted, his voice resounding with grand power.
He motioned his hands carefully up to his face and down to his chest, his fingers forming particr arcane signs, every motion specifically crafted, every gesture a part of the sealing style to guide his apocalyptic power.
The atmosphere darkened. The sky darkened. The surrounding forest and demolished battlegrounds in the basin lost whatever white luster it had prior.
¡°We must stop him!¡± the Dragonized Assassin shouted.
¡°For the Wolf Dragons and Evil God The Dragon!¡± the Dragonized Wrecker roared, breaking free from the traumatic debuff.
A roaring power burst free from the wrecker¡¯s body. It wasn¡¯t Aura Ignition, but it was an ability that gave an almost simr, if subpar, effect.
He was covered in energetic brown embers that buffed him up, straining the oiled scale armor and pelts he wore. He raised his twin maul hammers and moved at breakneck speed to cross the distance to Zarian.
In the meantime, the Dragonized Elementalist finished charging a wind cannon-style st. The attack came out as a powerful torrent that ripped stone trees from the roots and knocked down stone walls in their way.
Snow split apart from under the torrent¡¯s passing in crashing waves. The wind torrent moved with so much power it even dug a furrow into the ground without touching the earth directly.
Meanwhile, the Dragonized Wizard used a spell that raised the spiritual maws of the wolf dragons themselves, or what looked like them. The maws were massive, easily able to snap up a squad of men with a bite each.
They appeared from each side of Zarian and Para with theirrge teeth already mping down, aiming to rip the wizard and his cloak apart. A move like that would¡¯ve caught most dueling wizards blind, since the Dragonized Wizard had cast it from a distance.
Most wizards didn¡¯t have a spell-slinging cloak.
Para chanted, ¡°Void Step,¡± as she formed spider legs to pluck Zarian out of the danger zone.
The wrinkling air was all that remained of them in their prior position.
The giant wolf dragon maws tore up the top of the slope leading into the basin. The super wind cannon hit with a ground rumbling roar that sheared away nearby trees, stoned walls, hedges, and cobbled steps.
A second after that, the Dragonized Wrecker struck down blindly with another meteoric impact that shook the slope even further and sent more debris and stone blocks tumbling down.
Snow fell in huge dumps from the top of still-standing trees. The impact crater was nearly twenty feet deep and fifty wide.
They had nothing to show for their effort, however.
They hadn¡¯t even harmed Ezda.
The Level 91 Blood Brute stood up from the earthy and soggy rubble. A crimson glow shone through her fur, radiating from under her flesh.
She spat some soggy, cold mud from her mouth, shook like a dog to rid more muck from her fur, then she hopped straight into the air with a powerful lunge.
¡°Where did he go?!¡± the Dragonized Wrecker shouted, ignoring Ezda in favor of finding the wizard. ¡°We must kill the source of the Darkrun Apocalypse and im glory for The Dragon!¡±
¡°Wizard, search for him with your magic!¡± the Dragonized Assassin shouted.
The Dragonized Wizard couldn¡¯t respond. Nor could the Dragonized Elementalist.
Zarian and Para now upied their spot, both kobold enforcers of the mystical arts gone. Para had eaten them when she¡¯d appeared behind them with Void Step, catching them unaware.
Some of her mouths that were formed on thick, leathery tendrils were still munching on their flesh and bones. Now that Para was more mystical and willful, she could better enjoy the taste of others who were magical or intelligent.
She seemed to have liked the wizard the most. She was still chewing on his brains.
Meanwhile, Zarian continued with his long-as-hell technique. His voice resounded with even more volume. His hand gestures remained slow but purposeful.
The edges of the gauntlets vibrated. Dark light beamed from the gaps. The twenty small cubes inside the vambraces pushed up from their locking mechanisms. There were twenty in all. Ten on each gauntlet.
¡°Unlock Dark Lock One. The Worm Lurks Buried Deep Under Fabled Myth. One Percent Power Unsealed.¡±
The Dragonized Rusher was the first to reach him at longst. The trauma from the Dread Mire Bellow was gone. The hesitation was gone.
The rusher had a shifting power that turned the nearly human-size kobold into a scaly beast akin to a wolf dragon, but one the size of a bear. Ferocious jaws that could bite through metal bore down on Zarian¡¯s head.
Para stopped ying wizard and became a brawler.
A bone-ted leather fist the size of a bear¡¯s head smashed into the rusher¡¯s jaw with a hard crack. Para knocked the rusher¡¯s transformed body aside and sent it crashing with ground-rumbling force.
Then she swung around a parasitic bone shield and deflected several death-touched knives aimed at Zarian¡¯s chest, throat, and mouth. The touch of death magic went straight for life energy with no regard to Zarian and Para¡¯s vitality.
Para quivered with anger. She wanted to get to the assassin personally.
She turned her attention toshing away the transformed rusher as Zarian finished thest piece with a final gesture and phrase.
¡°Dark bolt.¡±
The mini cubes inside the vambraces moved up and down rapidly. Once they stopped, and Zarian remained alive with the Overwhelming Darkness still under control, he was finally ready.
Para peeled back her many limbs.
The rusher lunged again with jaws spread wide.
Zarian pointed his palm loosely and shot his first Dark Bolt in four months.
The rusher disappeared into far-flung bits of flesh, bone, and droplets of blood that hadn¡¯t outright disintegrated.
The nearest tree tops turned into fine splinters and water particles rushing into the air in the direction the dark bolt had flown.
The nearest snow blew away in rushing waves that blinded the other kobold enforcers while clearing the ground surrounding Zarian.
The noise and confusion for the kobold enforcers were nearly too much for them. They hadn¡¯t evenprehended the death of theirrade.
Zarian had plenty of time to prepare his next move, which was much faster than the initial sequence.
He still had to make some hand gestures while chanting, ¡°One Percent Power Unsealed. Nodachi.¡±
The little cubes on the gauntlets moved up and down again to fulfill his order. Then Zarian formed his familiar nodachi, a seven-foot de of curved darkness.
He hadn¡¯t grown any taller. But fighting like a mundane human worked best for mundane humans.
Fighting like a Level 72 Madness Wizard with a Parasite Cloak +2 worked best for him, hence the outrageously long sword.
Zarianunched at the remaining three kobolds with a powerful jump, leaving a crater beneath him.
His cloak pped like thunder, shifting into many forms, all horrifying or dangerous. She still kept hold of his grimoires, ready to cast any spell from their pages.
The Wolf Dragon Enforcers did the dumbest thing when they saw him falling through the cover of snow. They faced him head on.
Zarian chopped his nodachi down on the Dragonized Wrecker. He split through both maul hammers. He split the metal helmet on the furry and scaly head of the kobold.
He carved straight through like cutting air and exited out the groin between the legs. Then the nodachi mmed into the ground with an eruptive force that sent the Dragonized Assassin and Dragonized Dragoon flying off their feet.
¡°Bloody Lifesteal,¡± Para chanted, wasting no time to whip her bone-tipped tendrils toward the assassin.
The kobold was slick, tumbling away quickly with supernatural grace, but the Madness Wizard was slicker. Or, more importantly, his summonings were.
The ssical arcane webbing appeared behind the assassin and slowed his escape. A group of nearby spectral spiders danced in celebration of their cleverly ced trap.
Para¡¯s tendrils caught the assassin. Her bone hooks and quills dug deep into the flesh, refusing to let go. The crimson glow and magic of Bloody Lifesteal went into effect.
The kobold enforcer shouted in desperation and hacked at the tendrils with his death-dealing knives. He couldn¡¯t cut through fast enough.
Para drained his life through his blood, negating most of his death magic. More importantly, Zarian had the Divine Revival Charm nestled in his soul, so the death magic was even less effective on him.
Still, Para didn¡¯t like it and made it known. She sucked the assassin dry and added to Zarian¡¯s life energy.
As Para finished the assassin, Zarian faced the dragoon. He was thest of the enforcers. There were still some kobold idolizers, but they were heavily incapacitated after the Dread Mire Bellow.
Most kobolds would¡¯ve attempted to run. But the dragoon, who was an inch taller than even Zarian, held his ground and spun around his bronze spear.
The weapon gleamed brightly under the wintery light. It had a metallic polish that was certainly magical. It was probably a highly enchanted weapon.
Zarian figured it was rare in quality for sure.
¡°Nice spear,¡± Zarian said.
The Dragonized Dragoon snarled. ¡°I will kill you with my Treasured Bronze Spear. Your death will be in honor of the wolf dragons and Evil God The Dragon!¡±
¡°You do know killing me will unleash another Darkrun Apocalypse?¡± Zarian asked.
The kobold enforcer hesitated. Then he snarled again. ¡°You lie?! If that was true, then you wouldn¡¯t risk your life in a fight. Unless you¡¯re hiding the truth of your power!¡±
¡°Risking it is part of me controlling it. Then again, I bet there are cults who want another Darkrun Apocalypse. The types who enjoy the tragedy of it all. My wife¡¯s one of those types, unfortunately.¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t know why he was exining all this to an enemy. But it was interesting to get the kobold¡¯s perspective.
The kobold enforcer was just another pawn thrown into a game he didn¡¯t know had very breakable boundaries.
Could the scaly and furry guy think beyond his day-to-day dogma in this situation?
For a second, it seemed like the kobold was trying to think about what Zarian had said. Zarian recognized sparks of critical thinking in the Dragonized Dragoon¡¯s eyes.
Then those sparks went away like snuffed embers. The enforcer buckled down and pointed his long bronze spear at Zarian with more deadly intent.
The dragoon seemed to hone his focus and prepare to strike with his alpha skill and his blessed bronze spear. He¡¯d probably spent years training with the spear while Zarian was mostly out of practice with his giant sword fighting techniques.
The Madness Wizard threw his whole sword to the floor at the dragoon¡¯s feet. The dense sword hit with massive force and erupted.
The ground exploded apart. The nearest trees ripped free from their roots and flung into the air. A thunderous roar resounded for miles and miles across the winter wondend.
Most of the st was focused forward and away from Zarian. He stood mostly unaffected except for having to ride out the aftershocks.
Once everything settled down, Zarian found the kobold enforcer scrambling free from some rubble with both of his legs gone. The enforcer looked like he¡¯d gotten chewed up and spat out by his own wolf dragons. He had done a decent job moving at thest second to avoid the full deadliness of the explosion.
¡°You do have a point. I can¡¯t take as many risks as I used to,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I have to keep living. I must win against my Overwhelming Darkness for myself and for everyone else. So ¡ I¡¯m going to fight dirtier, meaner, and more ruthlessly than ever before, while not trying to cheat too much.¡±
The kobold enforcer coughed up blood before looking into the sky. ¡°Father of wolf dragons. Father of all dragons! Hear my plea! Awaken from your slumber! Take us to your treasured horde by w or fang. And eat the one who holds the power of the Darkrun Apocalypse. Take the power for yourself, Evil God The Dragon!¡±
Zarian waited to see if Evil God The Dragon would respond or do anything.
Nothing happened.
Zarian continued the execution with hand gestures and a chant: ¡°One Percent Power Unsealed. Dark Bead.¡±
The mini cubes moved up and down in another enchanted sequence in response to his request. Then Zarian had a tiny bead of darkness in his gauntlet-d palm. He aimed and shot it through the kobold¡¯s head.
The skull, neck, and upper torso disintegrated. The impact tossed up a ton of rock, stone, dirt, and snow. Then the forest became still again after the explosive echoes faded away.
Para whipped out some tendrils and killed the weakling kobolds that remained.
The battle ended with that, a total victory and some notifications.
More importantly, Zarian hadn¡¯t failed outright.
His Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style worked. At least for now.
Chapter 111: B2: C11: Cultivate
When Zarian started learning sealing and unsealing techniques four months ago, he had to dig up the basic volumes first. They leaned toward the esoteric.
Stuff like ¡®The Four Cornered Square Locking Hand Techniques¡¯ or ¡®Basics of Seals and Stars, A Three Part Volume on Holding Back The Abyss¡¯ or ¡®Everyday Magic Beyond Star System Skills¡¯ were his first reading materials.
There were books with long and tedious names that led to the name of Zarian¡¯s current technique. There were books which had Zarian throwing up what looked like a mix of ninja gestures and gang signs.
There were also books that were more serious and had historical tellings of hell breaks and how to seal those. The Dancing Librarian Dungeon even had books on sealing dungeon entrances for dungeons that had gone wild.
Sealing required some investment in Mysticism, an aura controlling ability and/or tool, and some decent Willpower and/or Wonder as extra insurance. Then everything else relied on the know-how.
It was possible for anyone to cast minor ritual spells or build enchantments, just like it was possible to cksmithmon stuff. But the study was rigorous and the bar for talent was high if the practitioner was outside of a ss devoted to those specific magical disciplines.
Hell, even Zarian had needed Hannah¡¯s help multiple times. Just so they could make sense of the many volumes of umon books they had to absorb for useful information.
If they hadn¡¯t gotten Lore Eaterbined with Hannah¡¯s Swift Research and Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind, then making apetent sealing technique with the gear to match would¡¯ve taken far longer. But here he was, victorious after using Overwhelming Darkness on a small toon of advanced kobolds, and he hadn¡¯t lost control.
The fight had worked out as a good trial run. He¡¯d gone through the sealing technique slowly on purpose. He wanted to make sure he had the basics down pat.He could go faster once he had more confidence. That was the most important part other than finding a gift for a friend.
¡°I need more fights,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I should probably do the cultivation part, though. But let me look at the nice goodies at least.¡±
¡°No way, seriously?¡± Zarian couldn¡¯t believe it.
He put away all of his grimoires. He reread Spectral Spider Network +2 from the top to the bottom. He refocused on the +2 Advancement especially.
If Para was his best skill, the spectral spiders were growing up to be a great skill of their own.
As a freely flowing winter gust blew through the forest opening made from the eruptions of the prior fight, Zarian turned toward a squad of ghostly spiders scuttling closer. They were all stronger now.
Their power and levels were based on his Mysticism and Wonderbined along with some other scaling factors tracked by the System. His Overpower trait yed a part as well, at least stat wise.
¡°How much better are you guys?¡± Zarian asked, kneeling down.
The spectral spiders raised their faces up to him. They formed a pose with their front legs raised. Then they burst into frenzied action.
They moved faster. Almost too fast for most people to track. They coordinated with each other far better than before.
They lunged perfectly into a tower of spectral spiders while bncing on one leg each. Then they tumbled down gracefully and scuttled up and around Zarian like little speed demons.
Para formed hands and attempted to catch them. The spectral spiders skittered past her grasp and kept evading her.
Then they evaded her while dancing about like little lunatics.
Zarian chuckled while watching their antics. Staying knelt in the fresh snowfall covering the ruins of the battlefield, he looked around and enjoyed the peace and wonder.
I don¡¯t mind the library setting, but four months of that can really make a man want some time spent in nature, Zarian thought.
The weather was nice, but the Spectral Spider Network +2 was nicer. Now that the little guys scaled partially with the Wonder stat, their perception and fortune would be greater. The spiders had more faith and luck on their side, too.
More importantly, Zarian¡¯s awareness when observing through them improved. When he tapped into the spiders jumping all over him or hanging out nearby, their vision and other senses reached out further and were more acute.
He did a quick scan with all of his spiders in the immediate area. He smiled at the squad of spiders hauling the bronze spear to him before he gave the weapon a quick look over with his Identify trait.
Yeah, it was rare quality and it could extend and release impact waves after a strike, almost like a gong. Zarian could either feed it to Reiki¡¯s dungeon or get one of his vige merchants to sell it for a price. Or maybe he could keep it as a trophy.
¡°Spears are supposed to be the easiest weapons for anyone to use. They¡¯re mass produced for a reason. Maybe I should learn to use it in case I can¡¯t do my stuff.¡±
Zarian lobbed the bronze spear up and down. It made a metallic hum sound when it collided with his gauntlet-d hand.
Without further ado, he stored it in the pocket dimension inside of Para. Maybe an idea woulde to mindter on what he would do with it.
He looked up as Ezda¡¯srge form crept up to him. With the ground mostly barren except for rubble and fresh snow, she stood far above him.
That was until she crouched down and was basically on all fours. She panted almost like a beast.
He could smell her breath, and it was less rancid than before. It even had a touch of mint. She really had been taking more care of herself.
Damn, I¡¯m curious what the Blood Prairie Savages have been up to, Zarian wondered.
Zarian held back. It would be way more gratifying once Ezda finally opened up to him fully. It was almost another game, but more social.
How long would it take until the former alpha elder revealed everything?
¡°Impressive show of power as always, Alpha Elder Zarian,¡± Ezdaplimented.
¡°It was my first test run. I was very slow. But that¡¯s by design. I¡¯ll speed up the process with more practice.¡±
Ezda looked curiously down at the gauntlets. There was a gleam of excitement and wariness in her eyes. Like she wanted to y with fire, but she was afraid she would get burned.
She spoke around the subject, which picked up on what he wanted. ¡°If you wish for more battle experience, then I rmend a voyage into the Blood Prairies. It is a good time for such. The Fortress Bears will awaken, and so will the Bear Men.¡±
¡°Those sound like interesting targets,¡± Zarian replied.
¡°Yes, indeed. They are both monsters who exist in alliance with one another. It is suspected that the Fortress Bears guard an epic dungeon, while the Bear Men go out to raid and drag back their spoils to feed the dungeon and reap benefits.¡±
¡°And howe you haven¡¯t dealt with them?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°We have tried to deal with them until a more monstrous bear has killed some of our elders. So we only fight the Bear Men and will sometimes fight the Fortress Bears, driving them toward easier prey than us gnolls.¡±
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
A question came to mind that Zarian should¡¯ve asked a while ago. ¡°Do you know Ekri the Tailor?¡±
If Ezda had a humanoid face with bare skin, she would¡¯ve looked as white as a ghost.
Instead, her canine mouth dropped open. Her eyes widened. Her entire body shivered as her fur bristled. Then she let out a low growl that made the air shake for a few seconds until she finally got a hold of herself.
She looked apologetically at Zarian.
The Madness Wizard reached over with one hand. He gave her scratches behind her hyena-ears.
The powerful gnoll elder, a Level 91 Blood Brute, froze up on the spot while on all fours. After a few minutes, Zarian pulled his hand away, but Ezda leaned her head toward him for more scratches.
Zarian rolled his eyes. He provided Ezda with some more scratches. Then he finished things off with head pats before he took his hand back and gave Ezda a hard look that said she couldn¡¯t ask for more.
It took several long minutes before Ezda rposed herself fully and continued the conversation.
¡°I know of Ekri the Tailor. He¡¯s one of multiple barons who rule from the shadows of Carrowmore with thrones made of silk and skulls. He doesn¡¯t seem like a secretive baron. He¡¯s too upfront. Too chatty. But he¡¯s horrifying.¡±
Ezda shuddered, her gaze turning dull, her mind lost to her memories. ¡°I remember when I was a pup when he took the flesh and fur off of my elders and left them alive. The shame was so terrible, they gave themselves up to be feasted upon so a new council of elders would rise.¡±
¡°When you said feasted upon, you practiced cannibalism?¡±
¡°Most evil-born creatures do, even for practical purposes. Sometimes, we must evenmit sacrifices, self or otherwise. But rarely do the elders sacrifice themselves to the next generation. The shame of what Ekri the Tailor had done to them ran too deep for them to endure.¡±
¡°Damn,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Okay. Noted. Ekri the Tailor is that guy.¡±
Ezda shook her head. ¡°I do not think he can withstand the might of your dark magnificence. However, he is still dangerous, my alpha. How do you know of such a powerful creature?¡±
¡°One of my party members ran into him. Ekri gave her a card and an invitation to Carrowmore. We¡¯ll be on our way there once we settle things down here in this part of the continent.¡± Zarian hummed. ¡°In fact, my party member, Naomi, wants to face off against the guy and dominate him for some reason. I guess Ekri the Tailor made her feel too insecure or something.¡±
¡°The savage, fist-fighting human? I like that human. It¡¯ll be a shame if Ekri the Tailor strips her of her flesh and dishonors her, but I suppose humans like her will strive for excellence while under your leadership.¡±
Ezda nodded before continuing.
¡°As for Carrowmore, hm, there are numerous ways to get there. Going straight north through the Blood Prairies is one such way. Or you take the Stone Sea River going north to reach the edges of the Coldbooth Castle Mountains, then find your way down to Carrowmore. That might prove to be a most valuable route once we conquer Castle Grimrock for you, my alpha.¡±
That would depend on how they would ess the Forgotten Kingdom before taking the trip to Carrowmore. But that was a concern forter.
¡°Future ns are nice, but they¡¯re in the future. Let¡¯s do what we can today.¡±
¡°Your wisdom holds no bound.¡±
Zarian chuckled. Ezda was reallyying it on thick. Even Naomi wasn¡¯t this bad when she had ced herself as subservient to him and called him ¡®the sir¡¯ half a year ago.
Zarian stood to his feet and dusted off the bottom of his gambeson. He gestured for Ezda to stand and follow him.
They walked for about an hour. They saw winter beasts prance or prowl through the snowden, stony forest.
Some were like elks or moose with magic antlers. Others were prowling felines that could turn invisible or control the snow to raise veils.
Nothing bothered the wizard and the gnoll. Nothing would dare when Ezda was in the area, who was very much like a beast herself.
Then they reached the area Zarian was looking for.
¡°You must wait till Early Spring to catch the fish here,¡± Ezda said. ¡°Though prepare yourself. The fish can be big and rebellious.¡±
Zarian chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s okay. I have a friend who¡¯s been bugging me about this for half a year now.¡±
Before them was solid ice on top of an expansiveke hidden in a circle of fortress hillocks. Zarian and Ezda walked through stone pathways covered in snow around theke¡¯s bank. They moved past ancient statues and hedge gardens nketed under more of the white winter substance.
They found stairways, leaning towers, ramparts, and parapets on top of dpidated walls that circled around theke¡¯s perimeter. Zarian enjoyed the walk after spending months cooped up in a cubby orying about between shelves in the dungeon¡¯s book cases.
He enjoyed the crisp taste of winter with each breath.
His intelligent Parasite Cloak fluttered and reached out, stroking across the ancient walls and ceilings, flowing as many streams of leathery material, tendrils, and arms. Some of Para¡¯s attention turned to Ezda and provided many pats and scratches.
The gnoll seemed both wary of and eager for more affection from the Parasite Cloak +2.
They stopped on top of the tallest tower above a messy mass of fortresses. The view of theke from here was exquisite. The World of Castles and Caverns didn¡¯t disappoint.
¡°We are being followed by spiritual types,¡± Ezda said. ¡°More monstrous than bestial. They wait for our guard to fall before they strike.¡±
¡°My spiders had already found them.¡± Zarian smiled softly. ¡°Do you have a way to deal with the spooks or do I have to call a buster of ghosts?¡±
¡°Blood,¡± Ezda answered. ¡°My blood skills have enough magic to catch and disrupt spirits, even if they are hard to hit solidly.¡±
¡°Hm. I suppose my spectral spiders can fight them as well. The ghosts aren¡¯t strong, only in the Level 40s. Do you want to beat on them or watch me do my cultivation?¡±
Ezda tilted her head, her ears lowering slightly with uncertainty. ¡°What is cultivation, my alpha?¡±
¡°It¡¯s another style of techniques that involves gathering and cycling and affixing energy. There¡¯s also pills involved for some reason,¡± Zarian exined.
She gave him a questioning look.
Zarian shrugged and continued. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in pill popping for levels. That sounds weak and might low vitality. Besides, the style of cultivation I¡¯m looking at isn¡¯t for generating more power, but it¡¯s for gaining better mastery of my unyielding power.¡±
Zarian raised his gauntlets. ¡°These stop-gap measures are automated to help me execute certain moves. But if I can¡¯t go through the entire song and dance, I won¡¯t be able to use my darkness. So, I need to cultivate so I can start freestyling again. And once I can freestyle at One Percent Power, I might go up another percent or keep it at that.¡±
¡°I see,¡± Ezda said. ¡°You must dominate the darkness with your cultivation so you can use its apocalyptic power upon your whims. Then you can consume and destroy whenever you please and let those who earn your favor exist under your dark grace.¡±
Zarian opened and closed his mouth. He decided not to correct Ezda, because he wasn¡¯t sure if she was right or wrong.
The gnoll stayed nearby instead of hunting down ghostly monsters. The new and improved spectral spiders handled the ghosts themselves.
Ghostlybat filled the battered and snowed-in halls and walkways of theke-perimeter fortresses. Zarian took a quick glimpse and witnessed spiders twirling in the air and performing acrobatic kicks on wraiths who should¡¯ve passed on to the next life a long time ago.
The spectral spiders were helping the monster ghosts along. Sometimes with little flying spider kicks. And sometimes with their highly magical webbing.
Zarian even saw one spider use webbing like asso to wrangle down some ghosts. Who had taught them that?
Zarian shook his head and returned his focus to himself.
He sat on the edge of the crion overlooking theke. He crossed his legs and put his hands together in a particr pose, both knuckles pressed together.
He breathed in and out deeply before going through the entire sequence from the top. His hands moved and gestured quicker than before as the words flowed out.
¡°Overwhelming Darkness: Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style Technique. Unlock Dark Lock One. The Worm Lurks Buried Deep Under Fabled Myth. One Percent Power Unsealed.¡±
Zarian slowed down for thest part. The mini-cubes on the vambraces moved in sequence. Dark light glowed from the gauntlets. The air darkened above theke and fortresses.
Then Zarian uttered thest part: ¡°Cultivate.¡±
Immediately, Zarian was plunged into darkness. Everything was cut off. The world, the universe, even the Star System, they were all gone.
He was in a ce that stretched forever. An endless void with a hunger that was deeper than any abyss.
This was his darkness. This was the overwhelming power that wanted nothing more than to destroy and consume forever and ever.
Even at one percent, Zarian could feel the power trying to break away from him. He barely started, and he was having a hard time trying to move it into a cycling loop.
Overwhelming Darkness was nestled deep into his soul. But in this ce, as he cultivated, it felt like he was inside the fathomless depths of an unstoppable behemoth.
It was as if he was another morsel that his own darkness would consume.
He needed to move it, cycle it, and master it. He needed control of this power.
But the more he tried to grapple it, the more it felt like he was fighting something that couldn¡¯t be defeated. It felt like fighting something that was supposed to break free and reign as an unstoppable force forever.
Zarian kept trying. He kept pulling just to get some measure of sess going. He kept reaching to ovee a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of his monstrous power.
He wasn¡¯t even starting against the entire one percent of Overwhelming Darkness. He just wanted a piece. A thread. A hair, even.
Then after much struggle, Zarian caught hold of that one tiny strand.
In this other world, perhaps a ce of his own imagination and spirit, he remained seated in a meditative pose while the dark strand ran through his midsection, the core of his body. It circled around his body, flowing through energy channels and spiritual gateways described in the cultivation manuals.
Zarian kept that going. He stayed focused despite the pressure squeezing down on him from Overwhelming Darkness.
He denied his own fear of failure. He put everything into cycling the thread again and again. Then, finally, he felt the burden lift off his shoulders.
He cultivated naturally while up against a single piece of his One Percent Power.
When Zarian awakened from his dream state, he found himself fiendishly hungry and thirsty. Deep snow buried the ramparts and crention around him. It was dark now, which was perfectly fine with him.
Ezda remained hunkered down beside him. She lifted her head when she heard his breathing shift.
¡°It¡¯s been three days and four nights, my alpha,¡± Ezda informed.
¡°Oh, I¡¯ve been out that long, huh?¡± Zarian croaked.
¡°Not only have you been out, but more interesting enemies close upon us.¡± Ezda sniffed at the air. Her hair bristled. ¡°The taint of corruption is in the air. Your wife shedded her tears. Now we must deal with those who are deeply stained.¡±
No kidding.
Zarian sensed the corruption in the air using his Basic Aura Maniption trait. Luciana¡¯s divine touch was distinct, powerful, and creepy. Worse yet, the corrupted weren¡¯t making any sounds.
No cries. No howls. Not even a grunt. They were all silent.
This wasn¡¯t like facing the corrupted back at the subterranean floors of Castle Grimrock. This might be far worse.
At the very least, he had a nice gold notification to look at before the action broke out.
The cultivation technique worked.
Chapter 112: B2: C12: Actual Challenge
There was mainly one reason Zarian hadn¡¯t divorced Luciana already. It had nothing to do with their families, at least not for Zarian.
While he had no idea what would happen with his family or Luciana¡¯s family once he divorced her, he didn¡¯t appreciate their elders deciding how to run his love life. He figured he shouldn¡¯t have to be considerate of their grand, ultra outrageous ns in return.
The real reason he held back from divorcing Luciana was because she would dwell in the heartache. Then she would unleash her own version of the Darkrun Apocalypse on Infinita, albeit a smaller one.
Yes, even Zarian¡¯s marriage held an entire universe at the mercy of the Darkruns.
The Funnest Granpapa was probably having augh at Zarian¡¯s expense. The bastard.
I¡¯ll divorce Luciana face to face.
Once Zarian reached the natural peak of power in this universe, he would have more than enough leverage to protect all of Infinita from Luciana¡¯s corrupted tears.
For now, he put up with the weird rtionship and its implications. He hadn¡¯t talked much with Luciana in the past four months, so he had plenty of time to pretend it wasn¡¯t a big deal.
However, that didn¡¯t mean he¡¯d remainedpletely out of the loop. Luciana¡¯s main acolyte at the vige had kept him informed of some tidbits. Evil Goddess Shadowfell wasmitted to what she¡¯d told him on the day of the Darkrun Apocalypse.
She was bing a more active evil force.
And that was scary for everyone, especially the Star System itself. Luciana could stretch further beyond the parameters set for Star System Gods. Her actions had more longsting consequences.
The winter night was clear of clouds above. The many stars and worlds of the Star System glinted in the dark canvas of the systemized universe.
Three moons dominated the night-lit sky ¨C the pale Castle Haunter, the orange Cavern Hellion, and the blue Sea Strider.
Under the moons and stars, Zarian and Ezda stood on the tallest tower on the perimeter of a frozenke surrounded by fortress hills, dpidated pathways, snowden hedges, and ice-coated statues. Theke would serve as a gift to one of Zarian¡¯s fellow Floridians in Spring, but the corrupted creatures had the area surrounded and threatened.
Spilling their blood here would ruin theke.
¡°I¡¯ve never seen them wait before,¡± Ezda said, letting a hint of nervousness creep through her voice.
Zarian was a little surprised to hear Ezda showing fear. Maybe because he was here instead of anyone else meant Ezda was okay with being vulnerable with him.
No matter what, Zarian wanted to ensure Ezda came out of this okay.
¡°I know the corruption from Shadowfell Tears gives more power,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I also know it could drive those who consume the tears crazy and mutate them drastically if they aren¡¯t strong enough. But how they measure the capability of a consumer is beyond me.¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what level you are,¡± Ezda said. ¡°The Shadowfell Tears care not for levels or stats or abilities. It will bury itself deep in you and test your soul. I¡¯ve seen elders fail to master the Shadowfell Tears. We had to put them all down. That¡¯s the real reason we¡¯ve avoided Castle Grimrock. The warlock seems to have a mastery of the substance.¡±
Zarian snorted. ¡°Her daughter says otherwise.¡±
¡°Which daughter?¡±
¡°The only one who matters. Don¡¯t worry about that now. How do you avoid corruption? I won¡¯t be affected.¡±
¡°As long as I don¡¯t ingest it or let it fester in my blood, I will not be corrupted. It is also advisable to not stay aroundrge amounts of Shadowfell Tears for too long. Breathe in its fumes for too long and you will be tested and turned corrupted.¡±
Zarian nodded. There wasn¡¯t much information on Shadowfell and her tears, other than the dangers of its effects.
Luciana was a very new goddess, after all. But so far, there were a few key details everyone knew.
Once someone became fully corrupted, their power would rise sharply at the cost of their growth potential. They would get a new ss. Their abilities would change drastically, falling under shadowy themes. They would be unhinged.
So far, Foodie and one other person Zarian knew were the only examples of people able to ingest Shadowfell Tears ande out greater on the other side.
Foodie had benefited the most, bing legendary at Level 10 with a ss that led to huge bursts of growth. Thus, she was the most prized goblin in possibly all the Lesser Worlds.
However, what Zarian was seeing here went further beyond all that he¡¯d learned of corruption. His spectral spiders had gotten close enough for him to Identify some of the corrupted creatures. He didn¡¯t like what he was seeing.
Luciana¡¯s tears or personal designs had twisted the corrupted into aberrant monstrosities. There were only ten of them. But these ten were the most deeply unsettling foes Zarian had seen that weren¡¯t Evil Gods.
¡°Ezda,¡± Zarian said calmly. ¡°We need to run. We can¡¯t fight here.¡±
Before Ezda could reply or act, all the corrupted spoke as one. Their voices resounded with no hint of their monstrous nature.
Instead, they all spoke in a sultry, shadowy, and darkly maic feminine voice, one that made the end times seem attractive and provocative.
¡°Hello, husband,¡± Luciana greeted through the mouths of her monsters.
Ezda¡¯s fur bristled, herrge frame shaking as she shifted close to Zarian. The ten-foot gnoll was all over him. She even muttered a prayer. ¡°Savage ancestors, one and all, protect me from the voice of the Young Corruptor.¡±
Para twisted the cloak around the frightened gnoll elder.
Zarian remained in control of his emotions. He reached up and patted Ezda¡¯s arm and repeated himself. ¡°We need to run.¡±
Luciana spoke further through her corrupted creatures. ¡°I¡¯ve made many new discoveries with my powers, dear Zarian. I showed them to Lovewar, and she pleaded with me to start slowly. Everyone in Infinita needs time to adjust to my new passions. Even the Star System has its struggles with me.¡±
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¡°Ezda,¡± Zarian grunted with more force.
The corrupted creatures lumbered slowly toward Zarian and Ezda¡¯s location.
Luciana continued. ¡°I will follow some of Lovewar¡¯s advice. I appreciate her. Even if we are opposed in alignments. However, I think you can handle a more authentic approach. Perhaps you will enjoy the challenge. These aren¡¯t my best, but these are some of my favorites who¡¯ve soaked in my new tears very well. Enjoy.¡±
Ezda continued to shake and not act. The Level 91 Blood Brute must¡¯ve fallen to a mental debuff somehow while Zarian remained unaffected.
My Thematic Law saved me, Zarian realized. I¡¯ll have to protect us both.
Zarian summoned all of his grimoires. He was about to cast Void Step when something tore through the air so fast it caught Zarian off guard. The top of the tower smashed apart from the passing projectile that might¡¯ve been a corrupted creature.
Stone rubble, fragments of ice, and drifts of snow flew in all directions. Zarian remained mostly unhurt, while Para kept a protective hold of Ezda, wrapping the gnoll elder up into a big leather balltched onto Zarian¡¯s back.
They careened through the air for a little while until Zarianpleted Void Step. The moment his foot touched arge piece of rubble, he took a stride from the mortal ne and into the dark abyss. The solid footing wasn¡¯t always necessary, but it helped him move with a purpose.
Exiting the void, he ended up a mile away. He could¡¯ve gone further out, but he wanted to lead the corrupted creatures away from theke.
He should¡¯ve gone further.
All ten corrupted creatures stepped out of the shadows and appeared close the split second Zarian got his feet under him. Ezda remained frightened and unable to act, and Zarian needed time to unseal his next darkness move. He hadn¡¯t cultivated enough to freestyle One Percent Power yet.
Wow, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had actual pressure like this, Zarian thought quickly as he pushed his Wondrous Speed to the max.
He shoved more aura into the Level 0 skill than ever before. He also dumped 40 Free points into his Wonder stat for the extra luck and supernatural perception, while making Wondrous Speed more effective.
He snapped his head away from the bite of a corrupted creature that looked like multiple predators fused together. It had eleven legs, three heads, and a partially humanoid torso, with a chest wide enough to epass three average sized men standing shoulder-to-shoulder.
When it moved, most of its bones cracked from the force. It ripped its own flesh apart to lunge at its prey, Zarian.
Then everything that broke and tore apart mended itself with a healing factor so fast that both its vitality and health-based ability must be high. It was only Level 75. Most of the corrupted creatures were in the mid-Level 70s to mid-Level 80s.
Ezda had a higher level, but she was scared into inaction. And Zarian was forced to move at blistering speeds, running ahead of the charging pack that lunged at him with every ounce of their being even at the cost of breaking and tearing themselves apart, only to heal their self-inflicted damages again and again.
He cast Void Step once more and ended up three miles away, Ezda remaining wrapped up to his back and protected by Para. Zarian¡¯s arms moved quickly as he formed the gestures and chanted aloud.
He focused most of his intent on fulfilling the unsealing technique all the way, especially now that he had his heart hammering and his blood flowing hot. He prepared another cast of Void Step just in case with a portion of his Fractured Mind.
¡°Overwhelming Darkness: Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style Technique. Unlock Dark Lock One.¡±
A corrupted creature with a giant ram¡¯s head and the bulging muscled arms of a gori lunged out of the shadows. It rushed Zarian¡¯s side with a headbutt and a piercing scream that hurt his ears. Maybe it would¡¯ve frozen him on the spot, but his Floridian Mindset kept his mind running.
He cast Void Step again and slipped away by the skin of his teeth. He came out on top of arge fortress hill at the edge of the Blood Prairies.
The red sea of long grass glowed like shining blood under the starry and moon-heavy winter night. The snow reflected the same color. Almost everything was crimson here.
Zarian continued his technique.
¡°The Worm Lurks Buried Deep Under Fabled Myth. One Percent Power Unsealed.¡±
The corrupted creatures lunged out from the shadows in the grass. Their lightless gazes burned furiously at the sight of their target, the one married to the goddess who tainted them into abhorrent monsters.
They surrounded the fortress hill from all sides. They had Zarian encircled.
Zarian had them where he wanted them, and he held the high ground.
¡°Unyielding Barrage,¡± he said with a finish.
The mini-cubes moved as expected in the vambraces of his gauntlets. The dark starry night rippled and dimmed, responding to his reign as its lord.
Zarian felt a better grasp of his Overwhelming Darkness while it was under One Percent Power. It was less automated. It was more connected to him.
Dark bolts formed above him and rained down in all directions beyond the fortress hill. He lit up the edge of the Blood Prairies with so much thunderous force it sounded like dozens and dozens of ceaseless thunderps roaring about.
The bolts struck down the corrupted creatures. They struck down the earth. The roaring barrage shook the area like Zarian was the bringer of earthquakes, a phenomenon that nothing could resist.
Except for the corrupted creatures.
They couldn¡¯t outright resist. But the natural way for Zarian to win didn¡¯t wipe them out instantly.
More dark boltsnded. The booming eruptions and pounding tremors continued. Zarian¡¯s aura could keep this up for a while.
But the vitality of the corrupted creatures proved vastly impressive. They rapidly healed. They trudged forward. Then they suffered another hammering blow and another and another under Zarian¡¯s barrage, only for them to repeat the process and gain ground.
¡°The vitality of these things is ridiculous,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Luciana, you¡¯re crazy for doing this. What¡¯s an adventurer to do when they¡¯re not me? Do they at least have weaknesses to offset the massive vitality? Or are you just having fun doing whateveres to mind? You have to consider the bnce on these things, at least.¡±
Well, thankfully, Zarian had a solution against overt vitality. More importantly, Para could help.
Zarian focused on maintaining the Unyielding Barrage while having another Void Step ready to cast.
Para formed a few arms she unwrapped away from Ezda. Then she selected the grimoire with the spectral chains attached to Zarian¡¯s soul.
Para flipped through the pages. She rubbed her fingers over the text and symbols. Some of her hands formed mouths in the middle of their palms. Then she chanted, ¡°ck Fire.¡±
Now Zarian¡¯s Unyielding Barrage had ck and gray mes coating them. When the ming dark boltsnded, the ck Fire consumed the corrupted creatures silently. The war of attrition remained on Zarian¡¯s side.
The corrupted creatures chose to fight smarter. A few slipped into the shadows again and reappeared on the same fortress hill Zarian stood on.
One had a man¡¯s face fused with a horse with fanged teeth. The creature¡¯s body was as bloated and tumorous as a sick boar the size of a minibus.
The corrupted man-horse tried to bite off Zarian¡¯s head.
Instead of running, Zarian poured aura into his Willful Might skill and gave the creature one big uppercut.
The creature¡¯s jaw turned into fragments. The head snapped back. All of its bus-size momentum stopped, while its entire body rippled like dropping a stone on the surface of a tranquilke.
The aged floor beneath Zarian cracked and broke, taking away most of his footing while the corrupted creature he punched tumbled away, still covered in silent gray and ck mes.
Zarian fell into a darkened hole. His Unyielding Barrage ended. The corrupted creatures dove into the hill fortress and filled its shattered, bent, and skewed halls with their roars and screams and savage bloodlust.
The Madness Wizard still didn¡¯t cast Void Step. Instead, he hand-signed and chanted, ¡°One Percent Power Unsealed. Dark Fists.¡±
Then he cast Void Layer on his darkened fists before the first corrupted creature turned the corner on a dpidated and tilted hallway.
When he punched the corrupted creature, he hit with a weighty piece of Overwhelming Darkness and ayer of the endless void. He also struck with the full weight of his Floridian Mindset, Willful Might, parasite-enhanced body, and aura maniption for extra boosts.
The entire hill of fortresses shuddered and crumbled down on Zarian, Para, Ezda, and the corrupted. The Madness Wizard kept going as rubble rained down and the tilted floors copsed from under them. He kept duking it out blow for blow regardless of the environmental destruction.
For the first time in a long time, he had an actual challenge. And they could hit back worth a damn.
They made his heart beat in his chest like the loudest war drums. The blood rushing by his ears sounded like a roaring rapids. The corrupted creatures even made him bleed a little.
He would hate to admit this was a nice gift from his evil weirdo wife.
Chapter 113: B2: C13: Dark Resistant 1
Zarian faced a monster that looked like three wendigoes fused together at the waist, its lower body a bovine hulk the size of a full suburban SUV.
The entire entity didn¡¯t fit in the dpidated hallways of the fortress hill that Zarian found himself in while brawling corrupted creatures covered in ck Fire.
None of them cared about proportions or cramped spacing. All that mattered was violence and madness.
The monster barreled forward destructively, its hooves digging through the crumbled, tilted floor like it was a much softer material. The sharpened antlers on its three heads raked across the stone ceiling like cutting through sand.
Zarian hooked a punch and smashed one head through a wall. He swung an uppercut and connected again, sending another head into the ceiling.
He grabbed the third head by the antlers, stomped his foot on its shoulder, and wrenched with all of his enhanced might as the ck and gray mes sputtered out. The ck Fire spell finished consuming the creature¡¯s vitality, leaving it more vulnerable.
Zarian ripped away the head of one torso and used the antlers to stab the torso of the second and gore it dead. He didn¡¯t get to finish the third torso because a four-headed bear rammed through the walls and tackled him through more walls.
Everything felt like thinyers of ster and cardboard getting smashed apart around him. Zarian¡¯s body was so tough he could endure the punishment, only suffering a few bruises and cuts from the monster¡¯s bites. His Mystic Toughness was proving itself as one of his best Level 0 skills.
The environment couldn¡¯t endure him and the corrupted creatures, however.The hill of fortresses copsed around him and the four-headed bear. Before they tumbled out into the sea of crimson grass, Zarian cast Void Step and took the creature into the air with him.
They separated for a moment before Paratched onto the monster¡¯s limb with a thorny tentacle and yanked Zarian back in. He punched one head and smashed it like a tomato under a hammer. He punched and punched again until he smashed all the heads of the corrupted creature, its body already out of vitality.
Finally, Zarian received the notification he was waiting for.
Seriously, Luciana? Now you¡¯re really messing with these poor adventurers. You¡¯re gonna have them crushed by a thing with a warped teddy bear ss?
Did the Star System make these sses on purpose? Or did Luciana force the System to make the ss for the aberration?
Did Luciana have that much sway over the System? More so than any other god other than The Dragon, perhaps?
These questions mattered. But Zarian was currently falling. So he focused most of his Fractured Mind on the task at hand.
He cast Void Step again and ended up higher in the air. Quickly, he hand-signed and chanted for another one percent move, Dark Javelin.
He cocked his arm back as the dimmed night swirled to answer the demand of their lord. He had to struggle a little with this one.
The 40 point dump in Wonder had added more aura power to him. That increased the likelihood of Overwhelming Darkness breaking free. Thankfully, Zarian¡¯s cultivation from earlier bnced things out.
He was still in control.
The Blood Prairies glowed crimson under him. The stars and moons shone their celestial colors dimly above him. In the middle of it all, the Madness Wizard formed a javelin made from the pure darkness of the night.
He threw it down at the hill of fortresses and the roaring aberrations contained inside. The javelin traced a streaking dark line between the night sky and the crimson ground of the Blood Prairies.
The javelinnded like the strike of a miniature god and blew the fortress hill and the surroundingnd apart. Rubble flew sky high in tumbling heaps. Geysers of earth and snow shot into the air.
Zarian fell through the mess before casting Void Step again. Hended a few thousand feet away in the tall crimson grass.
The grass reached up to his shoulders. One touched his cheek with a sharp edge that would¡¯ve sliced the flesh of a lesser person, but Zarian was too tough for that.
His breath was heavy. Sweat covered every contour of his muscr body. His heart was still hammering hard. He could hear his rushing blood in his ears.
He checked the notifications.
¡°Seriously, is this your attempt at humor, Luciana? I don¡¯t think the Star System would do this on purpose,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Naming these monster sses with silly names when they can wipe out human kingdoms is the height of viiny.¡±
Stolen novel; please report.
Zarian shook his head as he spoke. He didn¡¯t even know why he was scolding his evil weirdo wife. He just felt like he should, for some reason.
¡°Each of these things is tougher and more savage than your average dungeon boss, by the way. You really shouldn¡¯t let them roam around. Give adventurers a chance or some forewarning before they face these monsters.¡±
Criticism aside, there were still four more. Zarian watched them hobble out of the crater from the Dark Javelin.
They ignored the raining debris. They focused on him from thousands of feet away and lumbered forward with screwed-up strides.
They weren¡¯t unbeatable. The ck Fire spell had stripped them of their primary advantage. Now they were slower and more predictable.
¡°Go ahead, Para,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Quagmire Pit. Dread Mire Bite,¡± the Parasite Cloak +2 chanted, casting the spells quickly.
A pit formed under the aberrations and dropped them into its infernal and mucky embrace. They couldn¡¯t get out in time before the great predator of the pit snapped itsrge jaws shut from below and tore them apart.
The remaining aberrations ranged from Level 84 to 88. They were tough enough to have survived the Dark Javelin, but no more than that.
¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± Zarian said, licking his dry lips.
Zarian nearly flipped out. He winced when he felt a deep pang of hunger in his gut. He was also thirsty.
Because of his parasite body, he had an increased appetite that kept up with his rise in levels. Zarian needed more and more nourishment to meet the demands of his monstrous profile, unlike others.
Still, the upgrade from his old void grimoire to the advanced version was terrific. And he could advance a spell, old or new.
Zarian was almost tempted to delve into that now. He¡¯d spent so much time working on sealing and unsealing techniques he hadn¡¯t spent time developing his wizardry the past four months.
He still had a long way to go before learning the gravity spell from his ck magic grimoire.
Wait? Does this mean each grimoire bes an advanced version at Level 25 and resets to Level 1? Zarian wondered, heart pounding with renewed thrill. Does that mean that I can advance any spell I choose when the advanced grimoires are at Level 1, Level 10, and Level 25?
The implications of that were immense. He could make his spells even more powerful. And he could learn new spells from each of the advanced versions of his skill-bound grimoires!
Doesn¡¯t that mean I need to go back to studying like a bookworm? Zarian thought. How much harder will the new spells be? Will they be as hard as that freaking gravity spell?
Zarian¡¯s hunger struck again and pulled him out of his thoughts. He sighed and checked his surroundings.
There were no more immediate enemies. Para ended the Quagmire Pit spell, returning thend to normal where the blood-red grass and crimson snow of the Blood Prairies dominated.
All that remained was destruction and dead aberrations outside of Zarian, Para, and Ezda. The fighting had sent most nocturnal creatures fleeing.
Zarian staggered from side to side woozily. Para unraveled her material from around therge gnoll elder, dropping Ezda into the crimson grass and snow behind him.
The Parasite Cloak +2 formed into a throne of leather, bone, and teeth. Zarian sat back and leaned into thefortable seat.
Ezda shifted about in front of him while remaining on all fours. She didn¡¯t lift her head.
¡°Apologies, my alpha. I¡¯ve made a pathetic disy of myself,¡± she said.
¡°How much Willpower do you have?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°I have 83 Willpower,¡± she answered.
¡°Ezda, that¡¯s irresponsible. You¡¯re at Level 91, and you left your Willpower tonguish?¡±
Zarian shook his head. Even Bianca and Gilbert had 100 Willpower, which was the lowest in Zarian¡¯s Floridian Party. And those two were nearly thirty levels under Ezda.
Sometimes, Willpower seemed like a less regarded statpared to others. The one who used it the most was Naomi. It made sense for her profile as the Rumble Psion. Zarian¡¯s Parasite Cloak +2 needed Willpower as well.
Still, Willpower was part of three three esoteric stats for a reason, which included Wonder and Mysticism. Willpower was important for the mind, soul, and emotions, especially for the cases that they¡¯d just gone through.
Ezda had fallen to fear and was unable to take action. Zarian couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointed by that.
¡°I¡¯ve prided myself on Strength, Agility, and Mysticism,¡± Ezda exined. ¡°Almost all of my abilities scale or enhance those stats.¡±
Zarian sighed.
To be fair, nobody else had Level 0 skills, at least nobody Zarian knew. Naomi¡¯s Tranquil Mind and Gilbert¡¯s Adrenaline Jolt were more than just quality-of-life skills and could help snap someone out of fear or being frozen by external powers. Because of stuff like that, every stat was viable for Zarian¡¯s party members.
This brings up an important point I¡¯ve put aside, Zarian thought.
Would he copy over his Level 0 skills onto others outside of the Floridians?
I don¡¯t want to. There¡¯s charity, and then there are some things that should remain sacred in a small circle. I don¡¯t want what we have that¡¯s special to spread.
That and Zarian didn¡¯t want enemies to face examples or test cases outside of his party. Hannah having abilities outside of what a Runic Engineer should have worked best as a surprise.
¡°Put points into your Willpower, Ezda,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Or do exercises that¡¯ll raise your Willpower stats naturally if you can¡¯t afford the Free Points.¡±
The once proud gnoll elder bowed her head and groveled at Zarian¡¯s boots. He hated to see this from Ezda, but herck of response against some tough foes was concerning.
She would¡¯ve easily dominated otherwise. Or at the very least, she would¡¯ve given Zarian some breathing room to y the wizard easier.
His heart rate was still up.
He was hungry.
His enchanted gear was torn in several ces. The aberrations had broken past the advanced protection of his outfit. They¡¯d ruin the crocodile emblem and motto on the front of his gambeson.
However, his bruises and cuts faded away rapidly because of his own vitality. He was a tough man, after all.
When was thest time he had a challenge like that?
Four months ago? Against Good +5 Bianca?
Yeah, that was thest real challenge.
Chapter 114: B2: C14: Dark Resistant 2
Zarian was tempted to call Luciana through the crystal ball. He was itching to do it. Maybe he would curse her out for throwing all that at him suddenly. Or maybe he would thank her.
The blood rush had felt good.
His heart was still hammering.
He held back from calling her. He didn¡¯t exactly trust himself right now. His free evil +3 helped wizen him up.
The smartest thing was to act unfazed and give himself time to think. More importantly, he should check on his party members.
They were all doing their own thing during the winter lull. Naomi had gone west into the wilds to train. Gilbert and Bianca had gone east, but for separate reasons. Hannah remained in the vige as the chief architect and protector, mostly focused on her own studies, experiments, and consistent stream of side quests.
Because the distance was so great, Zarian would¡¯ve usually remained blind to their activities. That wasn¡¯t the case anymore with Spectral Spider Network +2, which made the distance trivial.
Having a partial scaling to the Wonder stat made the experience of transmitting his attention down the phantom threads smooth and clear. He found Naomi first on the spiderwork, and his heart was hammering again.
He became her. He felt her heart racing, her blood rushing. He felt how her emotions were a cool ze under her tranquil and clear-minded mentality. He felt psychic energy crackle around her flesh while her body worked like a miniature giant of raw vigor.He felt all of that, especially with how smoothly Naomi invited him into her world via the mind spider. She¡¯d learned to influence hers the best because of her Psionic Affinity.
It took a few seconds for Zarian to reorientate and see that she was fighting a lesser aberration of her own. It was in the high Level 70s, which worried Zarian some. Should he use Void Authority to enhance his next Void Step and help?
He held back for now and observed.
The corrupted monster had the face of a man while it had the body of a drake. It was a nightmare to face, yet Naomi brawled it with no hesitation.
Every blow Naominded struck with a shockwave of psionic force and giant might. She turned the aberration¡¯s flesh into mince, its bones into powder.
She sent it tumbling backwards, forcing her to chase at rapid speeds to keep hitting it again and again across the snowdennd. No matter what got in their way, such as trees, walls, hedges, or hills, they plowed straight through.
The creature healed rapidly, but Naomi struck while it was healing again and again. Eventually, she ttened the creature into the side of a fortress hill. She kept raining punches nonstop and burrowed the creature from one side of the hill to the other.
She struck so many times she defeated the speed of its healing. She defeated the creature itself.
Then she came to a stop and acted like everything was perfectly fine. She calmed down quickly, almost scarily so. She had grown a lot the past four months.
¡°I¡¯m okay, Zarian,¡± she said. ¡°Damn thing interrupted my training.¡±
Zarian used her mouth to speak. ¡°I had to face ten of them at once.¡±
¡°Lucky,¡± Naomi replied. ¡°I probably could¡¯ve handled three at once. Any more, and I would¡¯ve needed to use Aura Ignition.¡±
Zarian used her face to smile. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten better.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve been working hard while you studied all day and night,¡± Naomi said. ¡°How are the others?¡±
¡°I¡¯m going to check on them. See you at the vigeter.¡±
Zarian followed another phantom thread all the way to Bianca. He became her. He saw the night sky through her eyes. He heard and felt everything through her.
Blocky clouds surrounded her, with icy winds swirling about, making her colorful elven dress go aflutter. As she looked down, Zarian saw the ground was far below her bare feet.
A thin board of moon light kept her aloft while she held a silverish sword of sharpened starlight. She was looking down at the sliced form of an aberration she¡¯d just in, the two halves twirling around on their descent, corrupted blood pouring out and mingling with the falling snow.
Bianca was okay.
Zarian jumped to Hannah¡¯s Point-of-View.
The Runic Engineer sat on her throne in a room designed perfectly for her. She was looking at screens of magic holograms that fed her livestreams of various areas around the vige where she¡¯d set up her golem eyes.
She was currently looking at a screen that observed a patch ofnd north of the vige. The thump of runic artillery sounded through the magic holographic disy. The vige¡¯s northern guns dumped their payload on several aberrations that were trying to make way to the wall.
The artillery was holding the aberrations back, but the corrupted creatures only needed one shadow step or teleport to get free of the barrage.
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Before the worst could happen, Hannah touched a runic keypad on the armrest of her throne. She changed one of the artillery guns to shoot a different payload.
The night became day. The aberrations screeched from the burning brightness of the sr re artillery shot. Then they became weaker as another salvo of hard-hitting runic guns obliterated them.
It was at that moment Zarian realized why he¡¯d struggled a little. He didn¡¯t want to admit it aloud until he checked on Gilbert.
He found the Knighted Healer face-to-face with an aberration, close enough for them to re eye-to-eye. He felt Gilbert¡¯s rage. He felt the man¡¯s defiance in the face of pure evil. He felt Gilbert¡¯s unwillingness to bend to the fear because of his Willpower and his Free For Real sub-alignment, which had Zarian pumped up along with him.
Gilbert wasn¡¯t alone. He had foreign adventurers cowering behind a copse of snowdeb trees, unable to help against such a powerful entity. Without Gilbert, they would¡¯ve been dead.
Knowing this, Gilbert had gone hog-wild in the fight, even to the point of riding the aberration like a bucking bull.
Slip the Sleipnir ran in while wearing mystical armor that glimmered under the night. The Sleipnir smashed into the side of the aberration with a heavy charge, sending the corrupted creature tumbling with Gilbert still mounted.
The Knighted Healer kept mming his fist into the monster¡¯s face while holding on with one hand, still riding the creature while pummeling it. Zarian felt Gilbert¡¯s growing wrath.
He felt the skills Gilbert was using and noticed the corrupted creature bing more sluggish with time. The aberration¡¯s rapid healing ability and vitality weren¡¯t working as effectively, not against Gilbert.
The Knighted Healer roared, leveraging his advantage, raining down the punches until he burst the aberration¡¯s head.
He didn¡¯te out perfectly fine. But all of his injuries rapidly healed like he¡¯d never suffered a hit.
Zarian pulled back since Gilbert was too juiced up on Adrenaline Jolt +2 for conversation. At the very least, Gilbert was fine. He¡¯d proved capable enough to face the new corrupted creatures Shadowfell had created.
Zarian returned to his own body, regaining his own perception that was familiar to him. He also came away with a profound understanding.
¡°The aberrations are dark resistant,¡± Zarian said.
¡°What do you mean, my alpha?¡± Ezda asked, raising her head slightly. She was still in a groveling pose in front of him.
¡°I was wondering why they were enduring my darkness better than most. I hadn¡¯t realized the most basic exnation was the answer.¡± Zarian reached up to adjust his monocle.
It wasn¡¯t there.
A corrupted creature had destroyed it during the fight.
Whelp. He was back to looking young and foolish now.
Zarian shook his head. He continued his exnation. ¡°They have high resistance to my darkness. That¡¯s why I struggled so much more than usual, which is interesting.¡±
Zarian rested his chin in his palm. ¡°Challengers are adapting to me now. Also, my quote-unquote wife is one of the few who can outlive the Darkrun Apocalypse, so she¡¯ll be one of the best at adapting to me. Eventually, others might learn from her and follow her example.¡±
¡°You¡¯re smiling,¡± Ezda said.
Zarian jerked back while on his throne. He blinked rapidly at Ezda. He didn¡¯t know what to say at that moment, so he snapped out something quick via his free evil +3.
¡°I have the right to smile. Do you?¡± Zarian asked.
Ezda held her head low.
Zarian grimaced. Maybe that was too much salt in the wound.
He didn¡¯t feel like apologizing, however. He let the wind and flurry of snow fill the silence between them.
Looking around, he saw the Blood Prairies dominating thendscape. The crimson glow extended far into the north.
He imagined the territory promised many horrific types of creatures, some that even the gnolls feared. But he imagined few were as fearsome as the new corrupted creatures of Luciana Shadowfell Darkrun.
¡°I have a request,¡± Ezda said, breaking the silence.
¡°What is it?¡± Zarian asked, with a more gentle tone.
¡°I want to join the freedom alignment,¡± Ezda said, licking at her teeth. ¡°I¡¯ve discussed this with the other elders. We wait to see what will happen to me.¡±
¡°What about Evil God Kill?¡±
She shifted nervously in front of him. ¡°You are greater than Kill. You¡¯ve killed all. And had us revived. Let me be the first gnoll of freedom.¡±
Zarian knew this was not an easy decision for her or the other elders of the Blood Prairie Savages.
She was forgoing her way of life. She was practically making herself a sacrifice as an experiment for the tribe.
They had no idea what would happen if one of their own, an elder at that, became a creature of a new alignment. For all she knew, being part of freedom could backfire, then she would get put down by her own kind.
It was brave.
And it made Zarian happy.
The only way for freedom to spread was through its members, which could happen through a leader or any member. It didn¡¯te up as an option when selecting sses during advancements. It had to happen at the grassroots level.
The World of Castles and Caverns was the only world across all of Infinita that held members of the freedom alignment.
There was one cool perk about being a Freedom Leader, however, other than being recognized as a leader. Zarian and the others hadn¡¯t realized until weeks after bing the first people of freedom.
The leaders could swap new members into any of the sub-alignments.
¡°Ever thought of seeing what good feels like, but with the aspect of freedom?¡± Zarian asked, extending his hand.
He heard a screech behind him. It sounded like a certain type of avian with a bald head. Or maybe he was hearing things.
Ezda gawked up at him, her canine mouth falling open. It was like she was seeing the true face of the devil.
After she regained her senses, Ezda stayed conservative. She stuck to what she was familiar with.
She took Zarian¡¯s hand and transitioned from evil +1 to free evil +1. Ezda became the first free gnoll across all the worlds and the entire universe of Infinita.
Freedom was spreading.
Zarian celebrated by bringing out dozens of boxed meals from Para¡¯s pocket dimension. He shared them with Ezda, which worked as an apology for snapping at her earlier.
It didn¡¯t take long for Ezda to see he could keep up with the wild appetite of a gnoll elder. He even out-ate her, which left Ezda quite shocked among other things.
Para ate some of the corrupted bodies and stored away a few forter examination.
Once they finished eating and resting, they left the Blood Prairies and went south.
It was time to head back to Ride-or-Die Vige and check on things.
He was certain the vige¡¯s Head Acolyte for Shadowfell had much to say about the new corrupted creatures. Until he had that conversation among others, Zarian ruminated on the new potential challenges and the possibilities of his advanced grimoires.
Should I advance a spell now or wait until I learn more spells?
Chapter 115: B2: C15: I’m Him 1
Dawn¡¯s light appeared on the eastern horizon of a gray winter morning. Thin beams streamed between the ice-coated trees, frost-covered hedges, and weathered statues.
It was all nice and picturesque, or it would¡¯ve been if Ezda wasn¡¯t moving so fast while Zarian rode on her back.
She was transformed into her more giant bestial form as she took them back south, which was an unnecessary mode of transportation for Zarian. He could move on his own feet fairly fast.
He couldn¡¯t fly reliably well right now, but he could leap far and glide while Para was shifted into her winged form.
Or he could cast Void Authority to enhance his next Void Step, which would¡¯ve taken him most of the way back to the vige. That was something he should learn to abuse more often instead of thinking about it in hindsight.
Yet, there was a certain primal thrill he felt while riding on gnoll elder, a Level 91 Blood Brute. Especially when she was a hulking beast straight out of fantasy.
It was like riding the giant version of a hyena who could eat an entire tavern¡¯s supply of food and some patrons as dessert.
Granted, that matched Zarian perfectly.
He and his cloak could do the same, or more so.As the new winter day turned brighter, the snowden ground trembled under the rapid fall of Ezda¡¯s heavy paws. Thick clouds of snow rose in her careless wake. Smaller and weaker beasts ran in terror or were trampled over by the massive gnoll.
South of the Blood Prairies, everything truly was preypared to Ezda.
Zarian remained perfectly fine while he had locks of Ezda¡¯s hair gripped tightly in his fists. His Parasite Cloak +2 served as his saddle while strapped onto Ezda¡¯s back. Para had even formed a backrest for Zarian¡¯sfort while she flicked forth thin scythes to sh down branches in the way of his face.
Zarian enjoyed the ride without having to concern himself with any of the annoying parts. Hell, he even dug his heels into the gnoll elder¡¯s back and let out a whoop. ¡°Faster, Ezda, faster!¡±
Ezdaughed. She triggered a skill. Her blood glowed brightly under her fur. She buffed up, bing evenrger. Then she ran so fast she became a lotive of destruction.
Zarian had to brace himself. A parasite-made harness reached across his chest and strapped him down, keeping him from getting bucked off.
Ezda¡¯s footfalls impacted the earth and snow so hard she left behind wide craters. Small trees and naturalndscaping fell over from the sheer force of her movements.
Para had to work even faster to sh apart and move aside branches before they hit Zarian¡¯s face. Thankfully, there were plenty of fields or areas with tall trees along the journey. Para didn¡¯t have to overwork herself and could enjoy the ride, too.
¡°Weee!¡± cheered the Parasite Cloak +2.
Eventually, Zarian requested for Ezda to slow down. The crimson glow of her blood faded from under her fur. She dropped to a more casual pace before they broke free of a tree line and reached a road between fortressmunities of the former North Crown Peak.
They were getting closer to Zarian¡¯s vige now.
The other party members were still busy oring back from their own adventures, so he didn¡¯t need to rush any further. There were no more lesser aberrations in the area. Luciana hadn¡¯t followed through with any more trouble, for now at least.
Alright, I think this is the perfect time to choose which spell I should advance.
The ride on Ezda¡¯s back was distracting enough to keep him from over-analyzing the next decision. When ying the role of a wizard with a Fractured Mind, it was easy to go down several rabbit holes and get stuck in all of them.
Zarian had concluded that he shouldn¡¯t wait to learn a new spell before he started advancing spells. At least not at Level 1 for the advanced grimoires.
He could start waiting when the advanced grimoires reached Level 10, since it took longer to reach Level 25, and who knew how long it would take to reach the next skill advancement after that.
There wasn¡¯t any reliable information on that, but Zarian figured it would be Level 50. He could be wrong.
But after spending many years snapping the spines of cosmic systems and having some preview of their setup before his darkness consumed them, he would like to think that his hunch was right.
Granted, that depended on if the skill avoided a total reset to Level 1 because of an evolution. So far, he had a couple of skills working their way up to the Level 50 milestone right now, such as the Parasite Cloak +2 and Spectral Spider Network +2.
Maybe they might reset again from an evolution at Level 50. Or maybe they would keep going to reach Level 100 or whatever.
So, that was the skinny of what Zarian knew or could guess so far on skill advancements. With that out of the way, it was time to avoid overthinking this spell advancement decision.
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Which one would it be? Which one?
Would it be this one:
Or:
Or:
Alrighty, then!
Two epic spells. One legendary spell. The obvious choice would be to make the higher quality spell stronger with an advancement.
However, Zarian wasn¡¯t so sure about that because Void Step was his most used spell from the voidling grimoire. There was also the hidden usefulness of Void Authority that could expand to being even more useful after an advancement.
Zarian assumed that advancing a spell would add a +1 to it instead of making it a higher quality. Or maybe it would be a higher quality.
He didn¡¯t know, and none of the books at the Dancing Librarian Dungeon had that piece of knowledge. At least none that he¡¯d read through outside of sealing techniques.
¡°Ezda, do you have any wizards among the elders?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°No,¡± the transformed gnoll elder growled. ¡°Wizardry requires much study. We do not spend the time studying. There are some gnolls who are magically gifted, but they are few of them. It was always better to progress ourselves with what¡¯s present, with what¡¯s reachable with our own ws and teeth. Or ¡ that was what the evil alignment had made us assume. I¡¯m ¡ not sure anymore.¡±
Zarian waited to see if Ezda would continue. She fell silent while padding forward. She was clearly deep in her thoughts and feelings now that she didn¡¯t feel the constant pressure of the traditional evil alignment.
Zarian was prepared to help if Ezda had a breakdown, but she remained okay for now.
Returning his attention back to his spell advancement decision, Zarian felt more alone in his ss than ever before. Wizards weren¡¯t popr. And from what he knew, they were fairly weak in the Star System, or at least by this world¡¯s standards.
Zarian imagined the studying aspect and necessity to use a grimoire as a medium was not a solid selling pointpared to using a skill that could conjure and throw a fireball instantly.
Additionally, Zarian was an abnormal wizard, and that was regardless of him being an existential threat to multiple universes and dimensions teeming with life.
Most wizards shouldn¡¯t be able to use more than one spell at a time, but Zarian could use three spells at the same time now.
More importantly, wizard spells weren¡¯t usually direct damage dealers. Zarian would be out of luck if it wasn¡¯t for his old straight darkness when he first started adventuring in the Infinita Star System.
Beyond that, wizards were normally slower and weaker, since they had to put more points toward the esoteric stats, Mysticism chief above them. They also fought from the back and would gain little in vitality when leveling up.
Their squishiness would usually get them killed outside of an academic setting.
I¡¯m the most bullshit wizard across all thends, Zarian thought. So I should advance a spell that I want to see more use out of.
Void Step. That was the answer. It might not be a decision others would make, but it felt right with Zarian.
Oh, fuck, it did raise in quality!
Shit!
He might¡¯ve changed his approach if he¡¯d known that. Or if he had waited and tried to contact some wizards somehow.
He¡¯d heard that an empire made of minor kingdoms and tribes to the far west had very knowledgeable wizards. But they would rarelye through the vige. There was some info about an evil human city to the northeast, between the Blood Prairies and the Grimrock Castle Mountains that might have some solid info, but Zarian didn¡¯t pay it too much mind right now unless spies were involved.
Zarian¡¯s vige mostly had foreigners who were adventurers from the eastern kingdoms of the Walled Continent, the ones across the Stone Sea River on the other side of the Grimrock Castle Mountains. None of the eastern kingdom guys were very intellectual, at least not the ones that he¡¯d seen so far.
Maybe if he¡¯d waited long enough, he would¡¯ve seen more people crossing through from the west. He had doubts about the usefulness of people from the south, especially with how things were developing in the Eternal Garden Kingdom with their three-way civil war.
¡°Maybe I should¡¯ve been more patient,¡± Zarian said.
¡°I don¡¯t know what troubles you, my alpha, but it is said that if you are alive to see another day, then all lessons are worth learning,¡± Ezda said.
¡°Mm, yeah. Well. I have another legendary spell now,¡± Zarian said.
¡°A legendary spell?! That¡¯s amazing!¡±
¡°I could¡¯ve had a new mythical spell, however.¡±
Ezda made choking sounds and nearly stumbled over her own feet. Then she regained her bnce and took longer to respond. ¡°My alpha, you are truly one of power beyond this mere universe, even while on the mortal ne. Though, I must ask this. Can you not have that mythical spellter?¡±
Zarian chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I can. I just have to be more patient.¡±
Ezda bobbed herrge hyena-like head. Para reached around with a tentacle and patted Zarian on his head as an extraforting move.
The wizard pped at the tentacle lightly, in a joking manner, which only encouraged Para to give him more head pats until he gave up and epted the treatment. At the very least, he had a new version of an old spell.
Zarian squinted at the description of Void Waltz. Why did he have a lot of dancing quirks rted to him?
Maybe it was a coincidence.
Thankfully, a lot of time spent in the Dancing Librarian Dungeon had led to Zarian picking up a few moves here and there. He should probably consider himself lucky that Void Waltz still included the basic step from the original epic version.
I¡¯ll get to choose another spell to advance once the voidling grimoire reaches Level 10.
And he had new spells to study. He should get on that when he could have a quiet sit down, but until then, it was about time he did aplete scan of the area with his spectral spiders.
Ride-or-Die Vige was an active ce, after all. It was on the frontier between a kingdom in civil war and all the savage things that woulde down from the north, not including the wolf dragons and wolf kobolds.
Chapter 116: B2: C16: I’m Him 2
Zarian had spiders nearly everywhere around Ride-or-Die Vige. Even when there was too much distance for him to receive pings or observe through an individual spider, the spiders could act without him.
Their primary objective was to serve as scouting backup for the two hundred and eighty-nine youngsters who were the core members of the Ride-or-Die Guild.
Zarian and his fellow Floridians hadn¡¯t opened up to the guild for more members yet, since they were still focused on the development of the youngsters. That didn¡¯t mean the spiders wouldn¡¯t help foreigners and visitors in need, but the spiders had their top priorities set on guild members.
Now that he was in the area, he could feel ping alerts much easier, although he¡¯d felt them even from as far out as the Blood Prairies. Spectral Spider Network +2 was indeed a vast improvement, especially when it was a mainstay in his alpha skill section.
Zarian shifted his observation to the most pressing alerts.
To the south of Ride-or-Die Vige, a patrol of fifteen girls and boys came across forty ragged looking men. Zarian entered a spider that was one of several in the area who were monitoring the event.
The spiders sent updates to key personnel back at the vige and other patrols outside of the vige. There was one spider sitting on a girl¡¯s shoulder, which Zarian also patched into for multiple point-of-views, something his Fractured Mind could handle easily.
Zarian recognized Eleanor Sawyer as the one leading the teenage patrol. The sixteen-year-old with a brown ponytail and high cheekbones had a rare ss like the other kiddos.
While she was Level 42, which was at the lower end among the boys and girls, the Star System had deemed her exceptional upon her First ss Advancement. She¡¯d gained an extra free point.There weren¡¯t many who were deemed exceptional and had 6 Free Points per level. Better yet, Eleanor further proved she¡¯d deserved the exceptional recognition by taking a leadership role.
Her ss was Lightning Amazon. That didn¡¯t seem obvious until she filled her body with lightning and grew two feet taller.
Her body shape filled up, making her seem older, more powerful, and more womanly for a sixteen-year-old. A lot of the girls envied her.
Eleanor handled her position and privileges with a cool head, even when standing tall across from some ragged men who were in the Level 20s or low-Level 30s.
They were all Foot Soldier Grunts. No officers among them. Allmon sses, pretty much the bottom of the barrel forbat sses.
Zarian could assume them to be renegades. Maybe they were bandits. Or maybe they were just desperate men in search of a ce to rest and recover after escaping the civil war somehow.
They were all in the neutral alignment, so these interactions could be a roll of the dice, going either way.
Maybe, just maybe, they were decent men.
Then the one at the front opened his mouth.
¡°Under the all-knowing eyes of Good Good Lawkeep, what the Hidden Hell you think you¡¯re doing, girl?¡± the man snarled, a Level 34, the highest among the forty raggedy grunts. ¡°Are you a weed to be removed or a flower to be picked? Get us to your vige or stand out of our way!¡±
The air around Eleanor cackled, snapped, and popped with intense electrical energy. When she turned up the juice, her body sounded like the high-voltage whine of a running generator. Her armor had enchantments that juiced her seven-foot body even further as she looked down at the rude grunt.
She tapped the reddish gator emblem on her ck leather chest-piece. Then she traced a finger across the motto written in fancy pensive that read, ¡®Fuck Around and Find Out.¡¯
¡°If you areing this way, then you must know which lords,dies, and princess we serve,¡± Eleanor said with a youthful, girly voice.
The hum of her lightning-juiced body quieted as she spoke, making her sound clear despite theck of bass. ¡°I promise we are very much stronger than you are. We¡¯ve had more dedicated training in months than the likes you¡¯ve seen in years. It will not end well for you to challenge us, so it¡¯ll be best if we find a more amicable agreement.¡±
¡°What hogwash are you speaking, girl?!¡± the Level 34 grunt shouted. ¡°I know your type. You used to belong to our garden. It does not matter what lords ordies you serve, you are acting out of ce!¡±
Eleanor continued, as if the ragged man hadn¡¯t spoken. ¡°We will dly escort you to our vige as long as you answer to me, who is the current authority present, unless Lord Zarian Darkrun is watching. Then he is the highest authority present. It is also possible that the other lord,dies, and our dear princess can be watching if they are near enough. If so, then they are the highest authorities. If none of them decide to intercede, then I¡¯m the highest authority, and you must adhere to my orders.¡±
Look how much our kiddies have grown, Naomi. Damn, I feel proud of them, Zarian thought, as he stayed in the background.
Naomi had made it part of her duty to establish a new leadership doctrine with an attitude that was militant, hierarchical, and duty-bound.
She drilled Rnd first, who naturally had the background of an officer with some noble bearing. It wasn¡¯t hard to change his approach to things and have him teach everyone else how to act when holding a position of authority.
If it wasn¡¯t Eleanor, the other fourteen teenagers in her patrol could take her ce. Not all of them were the most excellent leaders. But they were all decent enough after four months of doctrine training.
At the very least, the boys in Eleanor¡¯s patrol were in the high Level 40s. One was Level 51. The girls were in the mid to low Level 40s, simr to Eleanor.
The kiddos had done more than leadership training, or they all wouldn¡¯t have their First ss Advancement.
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The North Crown Peak region had fallen to dragons and kobolds. The evil reptilians weren¡¯t waiting around for the mythical regional event to continue without satisfying their thirst for blood and carnage. Their patrols liked to skirmish, after all.
Then there were all the random beasts and monsters of the region along with those from the Blood Prairiesing down. Someone had to cull all of those.
The two hundred and eighty-nine youngsters of Ride-or-Die Vige had seen morebat than most veterans of their former war-struck kingdom. All within these past four months.
None of them had the scars or injuries to tell the stories, however. They had decent healers now, each of which had Gilbert¡¯s approval, although they¡¯d studied way more than the Knighted Healer to get this far.
There was a rare Support Healer in Eleanor¡¯s group, in fact. She was a Level 44 girl who looked just as fierce as the others.
Eleanor looked the fiercest while upfront, of course. She rested her right hand on the war hammer hanging from her gear-belt. She rested her left hand on the pouch holding her shrunken golem.
She tapped the fingers of her left hand over the golem, which only patrol leaders would get to carry.
Zarian wondered if she was going to deploy it. Eleanor was practicing a lot of patience while the Level 34 grunt ranted at her like a lunatic. The forty raggedy grunts were closing the distance, too.
There was a hundred feet between the two groups at first. Now there were fifty feet. The grunts were spreading, some getting off the road, arcing around to cover the nks.
Eleanor remained calm. The others in her patrol acted the same.
The Level 34 waved his chipped sword around in Eleanor¡¯s direction. ¡°Strip down and give us your gear. Everything. You don¡¯t get to tell us what to do. You¡¯ve lived in the walls. I know it. You were an acolyte. All well-bred and well-fed.¡±
The crazed man grinned fiercely at her. ¡°We¡¯ve fought and bled for our kingdom. You ran off to be an evil monster¡¯s whore like the bad weeds you are. If you know what¡¯s good for you, you¡¯ll do what I say, and maybe I¡¯ll make a flower out of you that¡¯s worth picking.¡±
¡°Your boots don¡¯t match your gear, soldier,¡± Eleanor replied, sounding as calm as a a stillke. ¡°I¡¯ve also noticed your men have an assortment of items that don¡¯t fit them. Did you practice banditry on your way here?¡±
The Level 34 and hisrades hesitated.
Eleanor drew her war hammer. She scooped the shrunken golem ball from the pouch. ¡°As the highest authority here, I judge you as unfit to visit our vige, and unfit to remain among the living.¡±
The viinous grunts lunged into the attack. They tried to cross the rest of the distance and attack the teenagers from the front and the nks.
Zarian watched with a grin on the face of his original body as the teens fell back to their training. They used overwhelming power to the point of overkill, which Eleanor started off by throwing the golem ball to her left.
The glove on her left hand glowed with sophisticated enchantments. The golem shed with simr enchantments before expanding to being three feet wide while pulsating with kic force and a hint of Eleanor¡¯s lightning charge.
The descendant of the original Roller Golem flew like a ball out of a cannon. It mmed the ground with an explosive and electrical force amid the grunts attacking from the left.
Just like that, fifteen men died.
Another fifteen died in the next five seconds as fourteen teenagers shed, burned, hammered, eviscerated, and outright ughtered the grunts to the right.
Eleanor herself moved straight ahead. She walked like a terminator and took on ten by herself, including the Level 34 grunt.
Strings of lightning crawled over her arm and down along her hammer. When she swung her weapon, she struck with thunderous force and turned men into hot stters of gore.
It was overkill. It was like using a lightning bolt to pop pimples. Zarian loved every bit and watched from multiple angles because of his lurking spiders.
Eleanor¡¯s expression remained calm and focused, like it was another day at the office for the Lightning Amazon. She smashed aside every weapon swung at her from pitiful and desperate grunts. She blitzed around with swift steps to take advantage of easy openings.
She even kicked a man into the sky with her superior Strength. When a few men started begging for their lives, she struck down with no mercy. She had the authority, and she was exercising it to the fullest.
Then she reached the Level 34 grunt who was trying to backpedal out of her reach.
¡°Stop it! Under the witness of the Good Goods, you must not strike me!¡± shouted the Level 34 grunt, nearly tripping backward.
He looked up with wide eyes and a pale face as Eleanor towered over him with strings of lightning covering her amazonian body.
¡°We hold respect for four gods currently.¡± Eleanor grabbed the man by the throat. Her touch paralyzed him.
She easily lifted him off his feet with one arm and gave him hisst lesson. ¡°The one I know best, Lovewar, is not on your side. Besides, we are of the freedom alignment. I stand for free good, in fact. So I¡¯m not too inclined to bring the matter of gods into what is a rudimentary cleaning of mymunity, not when I serve a lord who can eat the gods at his leisure.¡±
Thest living grunt tried to fight. He tried to resist the lightning paralysis. But there was nothing he could do.
His years of service couldn¡¯t withstand the four months of intense training and killing Eleanor had experienced.
With little fanfare, Eleanor closed her grip on the man¡¯s throat and snapped his neck. Then she tossed him aside like a dirty towel.
She turned off her skill and shrank back down to a petite size, appearing as a young girl instead of a super woman.
¡°That was a brutal way to kill a man, Eleanor,¡± said one boy. ¡°You sure the whole amazon ss hasn¡¯t gotten to you?¡±
Eleanor pouted. ¡°I have to establish my authority by being brutal. That¡¯ll lessen the chance of others making the same foolhardy mistake of thinking themselves above that.¡±
¡°But they¡¯re all dead. We don¡¯t have any witnesses for that.¡±
Eleanor looked about at all the dead men. The Advanced Roller Golem returned to her side and contracted to its smaller form. She ced it back in the golem pouch on her belt and continued to examine the blood-soaked remains of the forty men.
¡°Well, I will do better to leave a witness to set an example,¡± Eleanor said. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll report my failing to Lady Instructor Washington when she returns.¡±
¡°Can we not?¡± asked a girl. ¡°If one fails, we all fail.¡±
¡°If we don¡¯t report, and one of them is currently watching, it¡¯s even worse,¡± said a different boy.
¡°I won¡¯t tell,¡± Zarian said through all the spiders in the area.
He smiled with his true body while all the way north, seated in afortable parasite saddle strapped to a giant bestial gnoll¡¯s back. He watched how all the teenagers stood straight and turned their expressions nk, showing no fear or emotion. He caught one or two shivering a little before correcting themselves.
They were doing very well, honestly. Even if Naomi could be such a hardass on them.
Is this what it feels like to be a proud dad? Zarian wondered. Or maybe more like a proud leader of a military unit.
He hadn¡¯t had a great time while in the Marines, but maybe he could make up for that here. These kiddos kept growing on him.
¡°There are enough spiders in the area to deal with the bodies,¡± Zarian said through his spiders. ¡°Continue your patrol. I¡¯m the only one who held witness. Great work, Eleanor. While it seemed excessive, they weren¡¯t the type of men we¡¯d like at our vige or left alive to roam thends. We wouldn¡¯t want them preying on the helpless, would we?¡±
¡°No, milord,¡± Eleanor said.
¡°Then you did a great job. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me. There are more of you doing great things in the name of freedom. But before I go. Let me get an oorah.¡±
¡°Oorah!¡± shouted Eleanor and her patrol members.
¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± Zarian chuckled before turning his attention elsewhere in the snowynds around Ride-or-Die Vige.
Chapter 117: B2: C17: I’m Him 3
Zarian pulled away from Eleanor¡¯s patrol. He jacked into other spiders that were surveying events around Ride-or-Die Vige.
He watched Rnd the Rose Knight lead a grizzled group of ten killers against a nest of monsters that came from the Blood Prairies.
The monsters were blood raptors, a dinosaur-like creature with scales, feathers, andrge talons. The monsters stood as tall as a horse and had big lizard heads with wicked man-eating teeth.
They were migrating from the colder north with nothing much in their way except for the area around Ride-or-Die Vige. They attacked and ate for sport, too, and had the monstrous nature of growing too fast if they set up air.
Thankfully, they were mainly in the high Level 40s to low Level 50s.
However, there were over a thousand of them.
Rnd and his killers pushed as far as they could go before Rnd deployed an Advanced Roller Golem and performed a tactical retreat. The young men had to haul out their wounded as their healer mended severe injuries on the go to avoid getting surrounded by hounding blood raptors.
Other than the spectral spiders diving in to secure their escape, Zarian held back from helping. This was a solid learning lesson for Rnd and the other youngsters.
The kiddos needed to practice tactical retreats to avoid getting themselves killed, and it was great that Rnd knew when to pull out.Besides, they had spectral spiders that were leading them to other nearby patrol units. One of those units was a band of thirty Self-Sufficient skeletons led by mer.
Once Rnd reunited with mer, they waited for other patrols of teenage girls and boys to join them until they had a hundred skeletons and teenagers.
They went back to clearing out the blood raptor nest with a vengeance. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t air or they might¡¯ve gotten something nice out of it from the Star System.
Maybe they should¡¯ve waited for the blood raptors to root down a little more. Zarian might have to add that to the list of gamified lessons the kiddos needed to learn to better survive as a savvy force without the Floridians.
Well, at least they did well.
Zarian turned his attention to a more distant group. He didn¡¯t like what he was seeing.
There were four teenage girls acting alone with foreign adventurers. The teenagers were ying tour guides for six men and one woman. He recognized the girls, Clotilda especially.
Maybe it was a little old-fashioned, but even Naomi and the other women would agree that the young girls should have a boy or two with them. Or at the very least, they should¡¯ve had more numbers in their squad.
The foreigners were from across the Stone Sea River. They differed from people of the Eternal Garden Kingdom, but they were still medieval types. One man acted especially flirty with the teenage girls.
¡°My dears, leave these savagends ande back with me across the Stone Sea River,¡± said the man who was a Level 42 Slick Cuss.
He dressed in loose clothing, almost like a pirate, and had a thin saber as his main weapon sheathed into a scabbard on his side. Zarian wasn¡¯t sure if the man was umon in quality or rare, but the name of his ss seemed to lean toward rare.
His lecherous attitude definitely came with some confidence. Not only did he talk close to their ears, he felt up one of the girls¡¯ backsides.
Zarian took a deep breath.
He took another deep breath.
He tried not to intervene just yet.
¡°Come on now! Don¡¯t act so cold like the rest of this world,¡± said the Slick Cuss. ¡°I hear how in the Eternal Garden Kingdom, they keep beautiful flowers like you trapped. In the Wind Strider Kingdom, you can be your true self. Wild like the wind. I can show you after we¡¯re done here. All four of you, in fact.¡±
The girl he was feeling up on shoved him away and refocused on the job. But the Slick Cuss renewed his attempts minutester. Zarian noticed Clotilda, the leader of the girls, was growing more irritated, about ready to snap.
The other five men and one woman of the foreign adventurers were also in the Level 40s. They had the numbers advantage over the four Ride-or-Die girls. The foreigners had them outmatched, even when Clotilda had an Advanced Roller Golem on her.
The problem was proximity. A fight could start and end within a split second at these levels. They were more than superhuman enough for it.
The girls had screwed up, in Zarian¡¯s opinion. Even if they didn¡¯t need a boy with them, they should¡¯ve had more numbers on their side.
Zarian was going to have to snitch on them. This was something Naomi needed to know and nip in the bud.
There weren¡¯t any other major activities outside of Rnd¡¯s raid on the blood raptors, and that one was well under control. So Zarian¡¯s presence became arger factor around the isted girls and the foreigners. More spiders gathered stealthily near them.
The one in lead, Clotilda, was a Level 44 with a rare ss called Axe Rager. Her best alpha skill was an axe she could summon or stick to her back with no need for support.
The white and red weapon was on her back right now, emitting a wrathful energy. That energy grew more intense with the Slick Cuss¡¯s persistence.
Clotilda stopped while on a game trail used by beasts with mystical fur. The pelts from those beasts were worth some nice amount of coin.
Zarian imagined the adventurers were on a quest for those particr pelts they could sell for a ransom back in their kingdom, if they could get back to their kingdom. There were multiple factors involved when traveling east, such as the issues surrounding Castle Grimrock and the mountains there.
There was also Clotilda¡¯s temper.
¡°Shut up!¡± Clotilda snapped. ¡°Touch us one more time and I¡¯m taking that hand. We¡¯ve got men we¡¯re picking already. We¡¯re not interested in you. Let¡¯s stick to what we agreed on or we¡¯re leaving you on your own.¡±
I honestly think you should leave now, Zarian thought. Maybe we¡¯ve trained too much patience into the kids.
There was some genuine concern that the well-trained and well-equipped kids could abuse their powers. Gilbert had done all he could to drill some moral aspects when acting with authority.
Gilbert¡¯s not wrong, especially when a girl like Clotilda can fly off the handle. But this is that one time when Clotilda should rage all the way. Hit first, figure it outter.
Oh, well. They couldn¡¯t get it right all the time. Thankfully, Zarian was here as the foreigners¡¯ reactions became less than ideal.
This content has been uwfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
¡°Watch it girl. Our friend here is just a harmless romantic. All you have to do is ignore him. But threatening to cancel when we¡¯ve paid you is pushing it too far.¡±
That was the foreign woman speaking, a Level 49 Hawk Huntress. There was a mystical avian circling above right now, acting as eyes in the air and as a deadly focal point for the Hawk Huntress¡¯s abilities.
Zarian was certain the Hawk Huntress was rare quality at the very least. However, could she be more than rare? Could she be epic?
Zarian frowned further while still riding on the saddle strapped to Ezda¡¯s back. He cast Void Authority and felt his connection to the void intensify. Then he cast Void Waltz.
Ezda¡¯s next stride took them from a road north of Ride-or-Die Vige to a road east of Ride-or-Die Vige. Ezda didn¡¯t question it and kept padding forward as his reliable steed.
From here, Zarian¡¯s connection with the local spiders grew stronger. He wanted to be close not to intervene directly, but to try something he¡¯d theorized a few times before. Now was the best time to push the boundaries.
His reasoning was simple.
His spectral spiders were an extension of him. They were awork centered on him. They scaled mainly with Mysticism, but now they scaled partially with Wonder as well.
Mysticism enhanced control of magic and granted greater magical ingenuity. Wonder enhanced supernatural perception, luck, and faith. Combine them together with Basic Aura Maniption and Zarian had the means to push magic through his spectral spiders even better than before.
He wasn¡¯t yet ready to do anything crazy with the spectral spiders. Maybe one day he would try to get them to do the Void Waltz for him, if he could figure out how.
That was a possibility that was more distant from today.
But he could expand his aura out of his spiders and manipte things. And wherever his aura maniption could go, some of his traits could go as well.
Clotilda and her threepanions squared off against the seven foreigners. The hawk in the air circled around tightly, preparing to dive in with mystically sharpened talons ready, which put Clotilda and the girls at a disadvantage. They had tunnel vision, unfortunately, and weren¡¯t mindful of the eighth danger above.
¡°As the current authority here, I¡¯m going to call a severing of our contract,¡± Clotilda muttered. ¡°No, you will not be getting your payment back. Think of it as our fee for putting up with you to this point and for providing you with a map and written instructions as backup. The information is updated. You can take that toplete your quest or stick it up your arsehole. It¡¯s up to you.¡±
Clotilda tried to lead herpanions around the foreign adventurers.
But the Hawk Huntress revealed her talons, the ones she could grow from her fingers, and the ones her avianpanion could use when diving at unsuspecting targets. This would¡¯ve ended up as a bloody fight that might¡¯ve gotten one or more of Zarian¡¯s kiddos killed.
Or maybe had them all killed.
Zarian intervened.
Through his spider.
The one on top of Clotilda¡¯s head.
A dark, uncanny, and dreadful power expanded outward from that lone spider without affecting the young girls. Instead, Zarian¡¯s dreaded aura mmed into the foreigners and had them reeling, eyes flying open, faces paling, their bodies failing them.
The expanding aura reached the diving hawk as well. The bird squawked in surprise and lost control of its flight. The mystical hawk mmed into the frozen ground and knocked itself out.
The Slick Cuss copsed onto his knees and prayed to Good Goddess Hopnd. The other men stumbled back, fell onto their bottoms, or curled up into the fetal position.
The Hawk Huntress stood her ground, eyes wide, sweat rolling down her face. Then she let out a defiant scream and tried to fight the fearsome source of the aura, which was the single hidden spider on top of Clotilda¡¯s head.
The Hawk Huntress swung her talon-tipped fingers in a wild attack.
Clotilda¡¯s axe lopped off the huntress¡¯s arm. Then Clotilda smashed the butt of her axe into the woman¡¯s jaw and shattered it.
The huntress fell into the snow and stayed down.
¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t kill her,¡± said one of the other girls.
¡°They¡¯re paying customers. I¡¯ll give them that much.¡± Clotilda reeled in her rage and returned her mystical axe to her back. She looked around before letting out a huff. ¡°It was supposed to be a quick job, milord.¡±
¡°You messed up,¡± Zarian said through a few spiders in the area.
¡°Are you going to tell Lady Instructor Washington?¡± Clotilda asked, holding her bearing decently. The other girls weren¡¯t as disciplined and showed some fear.
¡°What do you think?¡±
¡°Fuck,¡± Clotilda cussed.
¡°Yup, exactly. Your asses belong to the Lady Instructor. Prep them for when she returns to the vige. Now let me get an oorah.¡±
They gave him his ¡®oorah¡¯ even if it was forced before he watched Clotilda and the other three girls hustle back to Ride-or-Die Vige. A spectral spider turned around a unit of Self-Sufficient skeletons led by Mighty and had them link up with Clotilda¡¯s reckless girls and escort them back home.
¡°I¡¯ll be right back, Ezda.¡± Zarian used Void Waltz and ended up in front of the Slick Cuss. ¡°Give me your hands.¡±
The man gasped like a fish out of water. He didn¡¯t hesitate for long as he looked the Madness Wizard up and down.
He offered his hands.
Para took them both at the wrist and ate them.
¡°Let your friends know that in my vige, no means no,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Especially with my kids.¡±
¡°Yes, milord,¡± the Slick Cuss said between gritted teeth.
Zarian returned to Ezda, and Para assumed her saddle form. Then Zarian did another sweep through his spiderwork around Ride-or-Die Vige.
Everything was going well enough. A few teenagers got hurt on their patrols from bouts against would-be bandits, dangerous beasts, and invading monsters, but it was nothing terrible. It was all great for character-building and raising their vitality. Everybody was learning how to incorporate their own individual approaches to their rare sses and new freedom, too.
Then Zarian observed a group of foreign adventurers run into kobold skirmishers with one spider on the scene. The nearest patrols were too far away to help.
These foreigners were different. Not like the ones from the Windy Strider Kingdom, who were the most frequent visitors. They looked like people from the Stalwart Pdin Kingdom.
Oh, fun, zealots!
Zarian wondered how they would react if he helped them.
¡°Ezda, want to feast on some annoying kobolds?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°Maybe that¡¯ll give you a better feel for your new alignment?¡±
¡°Perhaps,¡± Ezda said huskily. ¡°I don¡¯t yet know how to think of freedom or free evil. The bloodlust is dull. Everything is much duller. But ¡ lighter. I don¡¯t know if I shouldugh. Why do I feel this ache I¡¯ve never felt before?¡±
¡°So, is that a no?¡±
¡°Let us experiment, my alpha. Let us spread ¡ freedom.¡±
Zarian cast Void Authority. He didn¡¯t need to, but he did so for the sake of practice. Then he cast Void Waltz.
Theynded in the middle of the kobold skirmishers with barely a wrinkle in the air, the passage through the void a swift one. Ezda¡¯s giant hyena form swiped down and crushed a kobold under her paw.
Shepped her tongue around her fangs and lips and let out an excited shrill. The kobolds screamed, and Ezda chomped down on them, eating kobolds alive while stepping on them with her big paws.
Clearly, Ezda acted perfectly fine with free evil +1. Or maybe she was fine for now while dishing out cruelty against evil-aligned creatures. Zarian was curious about how she would act in the aftermath or inside the vige.
Para joined in on the fun by formingrge, far-reaching, bone-tipped tentacles from under the saddle. They whipped out from around Ezda¡¯s body and wrapped up kobolds trying to flee from under the massive gnoll elder.
Together, Ezda and Para ate the kobolds or yed with them until they broke like living dolls. The two left a bloody, fleshy mess under them as they rampaged.
From his seat on Ezda¡¯s back, Zarian looked down at the cowering and bloodied adventurers from the Stalwart Pdin Kingdom. He tipped his wizard hat at them.
¡°Howdy!¡± Zarian said.
¡°Who the Hidden Hell are you?¡± shouted an adventurer. ¡°And why are you riding on a gnoll monster!¡±
¡°I¡¯m Zarian Darkrun, lord of Ride-or-Die Vige and the guild of the same name,¡± he answered. ¡°And this isn¡¯t a gnoll monster. This is a gnoll elder of the Blood Prairie Savages. In fact, she¡¯s the strongest gnoll elder, and she¡¯s currently my trusty steed.¡±
The adventurers gawked and trembled even more. One murmured, ¡°Blood Prairie Savages are supposed to be the strongest gnolls of the continent, perhaps even the strongest of the whole world. How can one man tame an elder to those horrific creatures?¡±
¡°Purehome, oh Protecting Mother, watch over us,¡± said another adventurer.
Then a braver adventurer asked the questions they were all probably wondering. ¡°Are you the one who sparked the civil war of the Eternal Garden Kingdom? The one who is said to be the husband of Evil Goddess Shadowfell? And the one who is the reason behind the darkness that had befallen us four months ago, the apocalypse?¡±
Zarian shrugged, staying nonchnt on his tentacle-whipping saddle strapped to a gnoll elder¡¯s back while taking his time to answer.
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m him.¡±
Chapter 118: B2: C18: Dealing with Zealots
The pdins didn¡¯t attempt to kill Zarian.
They had their swords drawn. They had their magic charged. But they stayed put and did nothing as the kobolds suffered very gruesome deaths.
The pdins chose to not throw their lives away to strike at the most evil creature they had ever seen, the Madness Wizard.
Maybe that was a consequence of Zarian riding on a shifted gnoll elder who was about thirty feet tall at the shoulders. Her drooling, blood-coated maw could snap up a whole man. Her extended belly had plenty of room for more after feasting on dozens of kobolds.
Or maybe the pdins didn¡¯t want to mess with the wavering tentacles that were sprouted from the saddle. Unfortunately for them, Para was the type to test their patience. She formed smaller tendrils and feelers that prodded at the pdins yfully, almost tempting them to attack.
They refused to take direct action, which was smart of them. However, that didn¡¯t stop them from acting out in other ways.
Zarian felt a familiar zing against his aura, like someone scanning over him. That was the telltale sign of Identify being used.
Chuckling darkly, Zarian jumped off of Ezda¡¯s back. Para returned to her monstrous cloak form before he hit the ground, his boots sshing in puddles of gore inside the giant paw prints left by Ezda¡¯s stomping.
He reached up with one hand, and Ezda lowered her bloody snout down for scratches. She made happy hyena noises, sounding cute to his ears. The pdins didn¡¯t seem to share his appreciation of Ezda being adorable.Meanwhile, Zarian used his own Identify trait.
Sometimes, people couldn¡¯t feel it, especially if they weren¡¯t magically inclined,cking stat points in Wonder or Mysticism. Zarian had also gotten better at using subtlety to ensure he could get away with Identify on more sensitive targets.
But for this once, he identified the pdins pervasively, and made sure all twenty of them felt it.
¡
Among the fifteen men and five women, sixteen had the actual Stalwart Pdin ss. Two of the pdins were healers, which was clear to see from how they worked quickly to fix up their wounded and promote rapid vitality recovery. Two of the pdins were priests, the head honchos of this party.
From what Zarian knew outside of his tedious studies, it wasmon to say pdin when referring to those from the Stalwart Pdin Kingdom, regardless of their ss.
The pdin people ran their kingdom with more of a theocratic and hyper-religious bent. They also had the most pdin sses, hence them being all called pdins.
The people from the Windy Strider Kingdom weremonly referred to as striders. That was a fitting name for them since they were the most adventurous people of the Walled Continent. There were a bunch of striders at the Ride-or-Die Vige right now, in fact.
People from the Eternal Garden Kingdom were known as gardeners. Although, not all the time. Their women weremonly referred to as flowers by everyone, since the practice of grooming women to remain delicate and weak wasn¡¯t amon one beyond the gardener people.
The case with the Slick Cuss being a flirty creeper wasn¡¯t the first. Striders liked to get invested in the girls of the Ride-or-Die Guild, even though they weren¡¯t so delicate and weak anymore.
The girls were still considered some of the most well-groomed flowers for starting out as acolytes of Lovewar. That kept their desirability high, which could lead to some annoying trouble here and there.
Thankfully, Naomi was the hot-headed mama bear of the Floridians, which kept Zarian from having to put his foot down too much. There was also Hannah, who could act as a cold and scary guardian when necessary, maybe more so as the engineer of the vige.
And Bianca was Bianca, depending on her mood, which was more unpredictable as ofte.
Not all striders were bad, especially when Gilbert liked to get drunk with some of them, but striders definitely lived up to being the most adventurous of adventurers. Maybe that was part of the reason the Eternal Garden Kingdom had ouwed adventurers.
The gardeners certainly had issues with adventurers from rival kingdoms way down south, even while having a civil war. The southerners were far from Zarian¡¯s vige, so they weren¡¯t much of a concernpared to the gardeners themselves.
As for the empire to the west, which was known as the United Nomad Empire, the people from there had the name of nomad attached to them. Zarian wasn¡¯t sure if that name was true since there was ack of nomads flowing through Ride-or-Die Vige so far.
To be fair to them, thends west were some of the harshest outside of the Blood Prairies and Coldbooth Castle Mountains. There was a big desert out there, the Man Hunter Sands, and it lived up to its name based on the limited info Zarian knew. Maybe the nomads were getting held up by that desert and were still on their way.
I have to admit that I had no idea I¡¯d create a vige that would be the focal point of so many adventurers, Zarian mused, ignoring the angry res from some of the pdins.
They definitely didn¡¯t appreciate the pervasive Identify scan that Zarian had used on them.
The Madness Wizard didn¡¯t care and ignored most of them. The one pdin who drew his attention was the man who remained the calmest, the Level 56 Battle Priest, Bernard.
He was a bald and elderly guy, dressed in bronze armor and brown robes. He had a steel mace that was certainly enchanted, probably a rare quality weapon.
Bernard gave off the feeling of someone with a rare ss. The same could be said for the other priest and the two healers. The actual Stalwart Pdins were of umon quality despite their unique quirks.
Even with the pdins being older, Zarian imagined in an equal fight against the kiddos, the kiddos would¡¯ve massacred the pdins. The pdins had already underestimated the dangers of the area and needed saving. Their one positive decision was their caution toward the Madness Wizard, despite the rude Identify.
¡°You used Identify on me,¡± Zarian used.
¡°Not quite. I have a more epic version of that trait that should¡¯ve gone unnoticed.¡± Bernad had the decency to lower his head like a man caught red-handed. ¡°I¡¯m unable to Identify you. We seem to truly be at your mercy, regardless of the ¡ gnoll elder.¡±
¡°Uh-huh.¡± Zarian nodded.
Bernard squinted up at the shifted giant. ¡°That can¡¯t be Alpha Elder Ezda the Devouring Beast, is it? I¡¯ve heard tales of her barbaric savagery. And yet she truly answers to you.¡±
¡°I am no longer the alpha elder,¡± Ezda answered with a guttural voice that scared the pdins. ¡°Lord Zarian is my alpha, and he is the alpha of all the Blood Prairie Savages, although he still needs to conduct the blood rites as is tradition.¡±
¡°What can I say? Ezda just showed up and told me I¡¯m the boss, and that was that.¡± Zarian shrugged at the pdins as they gawked at him. ¡°But I¡¯m no uncultured swine, so I will get those blood rites done soon enough.¡±
Bernard shuddered a little, but not as muchpared to his frightenedrades. They knew of the Blood Prairie Savages, and they knew of Ezda¡¯s infamy. They knew of Zarian¡¯s infamy, especially.
Zarian soaked it all in while ying as the nonchnt lunatic.
Politics surrounded him these days. Yes, he had other people handle that for him while he¡¯d studied his ass off in the library, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to get involved here and there.
Sometimes, politics could be fun.
¡°Do you need any of these bodies?¡± Zarian asked.
Bernard schooled his expression as he looked at the massacre. A hundred kobolds had once stood here for a battle, with twenty of them being enforcers in the high Level 60s. Bernard and his pdins would¡¯ve died if Zarian hadn¡¯t dropped a gnoll elder and a hungry parasite into the mix.
¡°It would be convenient to gather resources from these bodies. Scales, fur, bones, bile, and such. While we don¡¯t officially approve of the disciplines that may use these materials outside of the pure power our faith presents to us, we do recognize that our heathen neighbors across the Stone Sea River would appreciate them,¡± Bernard said.
¡°So, unofficially, you use alchemy and the ck arts of crafting as backup in case the power of Wonder and faith fails.¡± Zarian chuckled as Bernard¡¯s carefully crafted facade cracked a little.
The man probably had some decent investment in his Willpower. But Zarian¡¯s Willpower was no doubt higher, imposing his will on the Battle Priest with ease.
Zarian kept going. ¡°Either way, I doubt you¡¯re only here to collect body parts and sell them off. This ce is a prime location for grinding up levels and to build your reputation. And to dig up info on the troublesome vige where a troublesome man lives.¡±
Zarian smiled sharply at Bernard¡¯s pensive expression. Before the Battle Priest could rebuttal, the Madness Wizard kept on going even further.
¡°Now, now, don¡¯t give me that look. I¡¯m going to share half of what¡¯s remaining of these kobold bodies with you, after all. You just have to entertain me.¡±
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Bernard took his time to respond. ¡°It is good to see that you are a charitable man, Lord Zarian.¡±
¡°The most charitable, perhaps. Now,e on, Bernard. Bring your people and walk with me. Ezda won¡¯t bite as long as you¡¯re a friend. Same for my cloak, Para.¡±
¡°If food is friend, then you stop being food. If you stop being friends, then you are food,¡± Para exined, while picking up bodies and gory remains to store into her pocket dimension.
The pdins watched with a disturbed gaze as Para cleared the entire battlefield in less than half a minute.
Ezdaughed like any giant hyena would. She smiled hungrily at the pdins, then she turned to her alpha and provided Zarian giant nuzzles with her bloody muzzle.
Zarian gave her more scratches and cooed over how much of a sweetheart she was acting toward him.
Maybe her being free evil +1 allowed her to be more affectionate and endearing in ways she¡¯d never acted before. Who knew savage gnoll elders could be so cute.
Zarian led the pdins to the nearest road that would take them to Ride-or-Die Vige. They moved faster from here while the midday sky turned darker with the approach of evening. A more chilly winter wind blew down on them.
Zarian whittled away the time by using his spiders to observe events around the vige as the pdins carried on them plenty of bags for roughing it out in the wilderness. They didn¡¯t rely on any travel beasts, only themselves. A few pdins clearly had solid investments in Strength with how they carried bags so big and heavy their loads would¡¯ve crushed ten mundane men easily.
At the Level 40s and beyond, adventurers usually relied more on themselves. Most kingdoms relied on these adventurers to protect caravans, transport goods, aid in battles, clear nests andirs of monstrous activities, and venture out into frontiers despite the ridiculously high death rates.
There were few actual traders or merchants moving through these frontiernds on their, just adventurers who served as traders and merchants, especially the striders.
¡°How did you know we¡¯ll head back to the vige?¡± Bernard asked calmly.
He was doing his best to ignore the lumbering gnoll giant stomping close to him and his pdins. But that wasn¡¯t nearly as hard as ignoring Zarian¡¯s yful cloak.
Para kept splitting and shifting and taking on different monstrous forms around the pdins. She loved making alien hands with long fingers to further prod at the pdins, just because.
¡°It¡¯s not casting a hex on us, is it?¡± one pdin asked as Para fingered the gaps in his armor.
¡°Purehome, protect us,¡± prayed a female pdin, as Para patted at her dome-shaped helmet.
¡°We must stay strong. We must stay strong,¡± a different male pdin muttered, as Para jimmied the sword on his weapons belt.
Smiling, Zarian took his time to answer Bernard¡¯s question as they trekked over the frozen, cobblestoned road. ¡°After you nearly died in a skirmish with a kobold patrol, you would feel ill-prepared. So the best option is to head back to the vige, regroup, and perhapsbine forces with other pdin parties. Or heavens forbid, you join up with your heathen neighbors, the striders.¡±
Bernard frowned at that strider part.
Zarian had more to add. ¡°That¡¯s assuming you don¡¯t wait in the long request queues in hopes of my kids partnering up with you.¡±
¡°The time we would have to wait for your guild to assist us is considerable,¡± Bernard said. ¡°It would be helpful if the creator of the golems would sell her constructs to us. Wouldn¡¯t that make a difference to the survival of adventurers in this region of yours?¡±
Ezda let out another big hyena-likeugh. She shifted her head from over Zarian to over Bernard. Sticky saliva mixed with blood oozed down from her muzzle and dripped over the pdin.
¡°Speak, Ezda,¡± Zarian said, waving a hand over his shoulder.
Ezda purred. ¡°The rising humans in the care of my alpha have much renown to their name already. They carry knowledge, expertise, and achievements like no other young humans on this continent. They offer their services and their time for measly coins, which is more fair treatment than you deserve. Yet you dare ask my alpha to give away such prized possessions from his war hoard? Call me a savage if you must, but even I can see you are reaching for more than a little snack should.¡±
¡°It is only a suggestion, I swear,¡± Bernard replied quickly, ignoring the oozing blood and saliva that was dripping over him. ¡°Perhaps you are right that we are in need of patience. But the journey here has been long, and it has cost us too much in resources and funds. We¡¯ve also lost another unit of pdins who we were meant to meet before crossing through Bramble Wolf Forest. They disappeared at the foot of Grimrock, I¡¯m afraid.¡±
¡°Mm,¡± Zarian hummed. ¡°You can me that on me, too.¡±
Bernard and all of his pdins shifted with self-contained disturbance and anger.
It took a while for Bernard to respond. ¡°What do you mean, milord?¡±
¡°There is a man on a rampage at the foot of those mountains. He¡¯s someone from my past. Someone who hates me so much, he works with the Grimrock Warlock to see my downfall. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s gotten stronger since I¡¯vest seen him. Maybe he might be able to tickle me if we face off again.¡±
Bernard looked at Zarian for a long while before he asked, ¡°Will you be heading back that way, Lord Zarian?¡±
¡°I will be. To ensure that man is dealt with. And to put down the Grimrock Warlock.¡±
Zarian kept out the part about securing the mythical goblin cook. Foodie was so precious, Zarian imagined kingdoms would rage war over the little goblin if they knew the truth of her abilities.
Thinking about her made Zarian a little sick to his stomach. He and the others had dyed for a long while. It was out of necessity, however.
Zarian had just finished learning to seal and unseal his darkness. The mythical regional event should continue soon. Once that was out of the way, they could head for Castle Grimrock.
¡°Perhaps we can find an ord there at Grimrock,¡± Bernard said. ¡°The warlock has turned aside one holy war so far. My kingdom ns for another. If we canbine our forces, we would surely win against her.¡±
Zarian shook his head. ¡°I have plenty of force already. I won¡¯t stop you from trying to get in a scrap before I do. But once my people get involved, we¡¯re taking care of it our way.¡±
And I don¡¯t trust you guys, Zarian thought. I know you¡¯re looking for an angle to deal with me. But let¡¯s all pretend and smile like we¡¯re buddies.
Zarian was the one with free evil +3, after all. He had an advantage in cunning and smarts in this game, if he wanted to push the political angles further.
That depended on which of the major humans wanted to try their hand at ying hard ball with him and his people. The gardeners? The striders? The nomads? The pdins? Or all of the above?
They really should pay close attention to our motto.
Zarian reached up again as they broke through the forest line. Ezda dipped her head down for more scratches from her alpha. Bernard and his fellow pdins fell silent as they followed a bend around some blocky snowden hills and came into view of Ride-or-Die Vige, or at least the very top of it.
The best way to describe the vige was like ying a game of Minecraft in a medieval setting that wasn¡¯t supposed to have Minecraft. Most first-time viewers would gawk at the impressive height of the Central Library Artillery Tower, a great and hulking cube-made pir that was mainly ck and over a thousand feet tall.
Zarian and the pdins were still quite a distance away, with snow-covered fields and a stretch of road ahead of them. But the Central Library Artillery Tower dominated the skyline for a good while until they drew close enough to see the wall.
Four months ago, it might¡¯ve been possible for something in the Level 50s to leap high and get close to the top of a wall. Nowadays, that wasn¡¯t the case anymore.
The surrounding wall was two hundred feet tall now, the tallest in all the Walled Continent. ssical war machines sat on the walls, each one operated by skeletons with the Self-Sufficient trait.
Zarian waved at one of the nearest ballista skeleton crews. They waved back in recognition of their necromancer, even with the gulf of distance between them.
There were more skeletons on the ground outside the wall as well. They roamed the fields and acted as a show of force that made the numerical advantage necromancy provided something too scary for most people to face.
Who could me them? The skeletons were untiring, cold, and looked out at the world with eyeless sockets and rictus grins.
The pdins clenched their weapons tensely as Zarian led them past several units of skeletons marching around, each one rattling about, letting people hear theming. The closer a foreigner would get to Ride-or-Die Vige, the more automated the security became.
The skeletons also directed people away from the fields that were filled with deactivated traps. They wouldn¡¯t trigger outside of war time, but Zarian and his fellow Floridians could all agree on practicing safety when engaging with many different people, especially striders.
The neat part was how everything was drenched in colors that were simr or exactly the same as their theme, which was broadly ck with sshes of dark red. Great big gs on tall poles wavered in the winter wind, showing off the tribal gator head with the cursive writing of their Floridian motto.
The closer Zarian, Ezda, and the pdins drew to the nearest gate, the more active the road became with adventurers waiting to get in and seek shelter from the oing night.
The adventurers, all striders as of now, looked back and gawked at the monstrous gnoll. Para had to reach out and p down striders who were about to attack Ezda.
¡°Don¡¯t attack, silly food, or you¡¯ll be food,¡± Para exined to each of the striders she smacked.
The striders nodded along and stopped being hostile.
As they continued forward, Zarian noticed there was a gap in the waiting line. Zarian saw why once he drew close enough.
He ignored the gossiping striders and strode off the road where several groups of skeletons set up a cordon.
As Ezda came to a stop on the road, Bernard and his pdins stayed on Zarian¡¯s heels, right up to the edge of the cordon where artillery shots from the tower had bombarded a small group of lesser aberrations.
A dark, oily, and dangerous substance bubbled at the bottom of the craters.
¡°Allow me, Lord Zarian. I have the divine right and abilities to eliminate this foul substance,¡± Bernard said with a tight smile.
¡°Sure, give it your best shot. My wife can always use little helpers to clear away her tears,¡± Zarian replied.
Bernard stepped forward. He thrust out his hands. He chanted aloud for support from his Good Goods. Then he unleashed his skill with a shout, ¡°Holy Cleanse!¡±
A sh of white rimmed by gold covered the bottom of the craters. Zarian looked away to keep from getting blinded. His darkness revolted a little. His skin felt itchy.
He wondered if Bernard used his skill more liberally than he should¡¯ve. The priest probably did.
Zarian¡¯s smile grew a little sharper, especially when the glow faded and the corruptive substance remained unaffected at the bottom of the craters.
Bernard had failed.
¡°What?¡± Bernard gasped. ¡°How could this be? I¡¯ve always been able to cleanse the tears.¡±
¡°Try identifying first before making assumptions,¡± Zarian said.
Bernard clenched his hands into fists. He shook with so much rage that Zarian wondered if the Battle Priest was going to whirl around and strike the reason for all of this trouble. The Madness Wizard waited, as if inviting Bernard to make the attempt.
¡°Countless lives will be lost because of this,¡± Bernard muttered.
¡°I know,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But I won¡¯t take back what I¡¯ve done. I did it for the sake of a friend and for our freedom.¡±
¡°A friend? Freedom?¡± Bernard snarled. ¡°What purpose is one friend and this freedom of yourspared to being of service to the gods? Compared to knowing our ce and having thefort of a world that is right and just? What purpose is there for the darkness you¡¯ve brought upon us in an era that is already dark, if not for the sake of evil itself?¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t answer Bernard¡¯s questions. There was no point. He kept smiling as Bernard and his pdins red at him, forced to watch on the sidelines as Para dipped her tentacles into the pools of Enhanced Shadowfell Tears.
The cloak drained up all the tears and ced it away in her pocket dimension until there wasn¡¯t a drop left. Zarian told the skeletons they could return to their normal standard of operations, which meant twenty-four-seven patrolling that no mortal at their levels could do while remaining sharp and ready.
Zarian returned to the road. He walked ahead of all the foreigners waiting in line as Ezda followed along in her giant beast body.
She didn¡¯t seem inclined to change back, and Zarian didn¡¯t mind whatever form she wanted to use as long as she acted appropriately in his vige.
They reached the towering gatehouse in time, too. Rnd and seventy other kids had just returned from clearing out the blood raptors¡¯ nest. They were hauling carts filled with the monster bodies for butchering or to sacrifice to their growing dungeon.
¡°Lord Zarian, wee back!¡± Rnd greeted, while standing straight in an attentive position.
The other kiddos did the same, girls and boys, all properly trained like magical medieval Marines. It almost brought a tear to Zarian¡¯s eye. Almost.
¡°Children, congrats. Every day you¡¯re out there being the best killers you can be is another day I feel proud to be your lord,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Now let me hear it. And say it like you mean it. I want the gods to tremble when my killers let out their battle cry!¡±
At the top of their lungs, the kiddos shouted, ¡°Oorah!¡±
¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± Zarian cheered. ¡°Now let¡¯s get inside and get you all your special hot chocte. I have things to discuss with Lady Hannah. The others should be on their way.¡±
Chapter 119: B2: C19: Ride-or-Die Village
Chapter 119: B2: C19: Ride-or-Die Vige
Every time Zarian entered Ride-or-Die Vige the mundane way, he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle from how over the top it looked.
Corma, the World of Castles and Caverns, was a high fantasy medieval setting. Yet, a new Outsider wouldn¡¯t know that from the slight futurism Hannah had built into the vige.
There were magic lights shining from the top of magic poles on every street corner. There were magic signs that glowed with colorful neon lights from over entrances and on the sides of various cubic buildings. There were even magic lights that shone from the streets themselves, highlighting when traffic should move, stop, or cross intersections cautiously.
Beyond the lights, there were the buildings. Ride-or-Die Vige wasn¡¯t built wide, it was built high and low.
Most buildings reached up to a hundred and fifty feet into the air, staying well under the height of the walls. However, the length of the buildings extended downward as well, taking full advantage of the ground¡¯s stability and depth.
The neers couldn¡¯t help but gawk around, unless they were pdins.
Bernard¡¯s people looked at everything distrustfully, as if this medieval futurism was the work of devils in the Hidden Hell. They were sourpusses like that. The striders making it through the gate reacted way better.
¡°By the gods, good and evil, I thought this ce would be a shithole from the name of it!¡± a strider woman yelled.
¡°It all looks too amazing to be real. I can already feel my coin bag dwindling away to nothing, and I haven¡¯t bought anything yet,¡± a strider man said.¡°I don¡¯t even want to know the taxes of this ce. How many people have they deployed to make all of this? It must¡¯ve taken thousands!¡± another strider man shouted.
¡°I think I want to live here forever. This is way better than my old vige back in the windy kingdom,¡± a strider woman said.
¡°How can anyone think of this ce as anything but evil?¡± asked a random pdin who was outside of Bernard¡¯s group. ¡°They even let in man-eating beasts.¡±
Ezda had never gone into Ride-or-Die Vige before. She¡¯d only seen things from the outside. Even with her bestial shifted face, Zarian could see the amazement showing through her hanging maw and wide-open eyes.
The giant gnoll was even taking careful steps to not crush anyone under paw while looking about and sniffing at new things. People scattered quickly to get out of her way still, but for the most part, everything was fine with Ezda.
The striders were more amazed with the vige than the deadly gnoll elder in their midst, too. They were quick to assume the Madness Wizard was in control, and they were right to do so.
Zarian was trying not to snicker because the new people had seen nothing yet. There were more unique features and amenities inside of the buildings. Right now, they were crossing through a gatehouse marketce that was filled with hustle and bustle.
Along the sides of the marketce, there were vending stalls. Each hawker and seller had their own designated position highlighted with more lights, some brighter than others depending on the packages they selected when they paid for their permit to sell.
Everybody was mostly on their best behavior as the security skeletons made their patrols around the vige along with rolling golems. Though they were mostly a show of force.
The real eyes and ears on the ground came from someone far scarier than most people in this world could appreciate. Ignorant of Hannah¡¯s reach and power, the striders, gardeners, and the few pdins working the stalls yelled out hoping to make some coin by nearly whatever means that wasn¡¯t too illegal.
¡°Get your anti kobold oil right here! One whiff of this scent and the nasty kobolds might run away!¡± hawked an oily strider.
¡°We have blessed armor here, my friends. Chain mail. Scale. te. And yes, they are all blessed to keep you secure from the foulness of evil! You don¡¯t want to go into the wilds of the frontier without some blessed armor, my friends!¡± shouted an entrepreneurial pdin.
¡°Foreigners won¡¯t know thends like us gardeners do! Get our services to keep you on track toplete your quests. All for a cheap price. We¡¯ll take any coin from strider or pdin, as long as it¡¯s in gold or silver!¡± offered an eager gardener.
Zarian wasn¡¯t a fan of thatst vendor. He didn¡¯t care if it was cutting into the business of the Ride-or-Die Guild. That wasn¡¯t a big deal. The guild had plenty of business.
The problem was that any gardener acting as if they knew the frontier was mostly lying. The first people who knew the area around North Crown Peak had died to the wolf kobolds and wolf dragons before Ride-or-Die Vige became a thing.
Granted, the gardener ying second-rate tour guide could¡¯ve learned from Zarian¡¯s guild first before striking out on his own to take advantage of an opening in the market.
Either way, someone among the Hemlock Family must¡¯ve approved it, and so far, Rhea¡¯s people had done a somewhat decent job at running the vige¡¯s admin side while serving as Hannah¡¯s peons.
¡°Is something a bother, milord?¡± Rnd asked, dressed in armor that looked like weaves of roses, vines, and thorns. He was one of the few young men who had the amazing fortune of getting an epic ss that suited him.
¡°Eh, it¡¯s nothing to worry about,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Well, except for the bird poop on the statue. Poor Stony deserves better.¡±
Rnd turned to look at a pleasantly aesthetic fountain in the middle of the marketce. The fountain had a statue that featured Stony the Wall Crusher Master as the centerpiece.
Of course, the statue was much smaller than the actual giant, but the spirit of the showpiece remained the same. It was Zarian and the others¡¯ way of saying thanks to the giant, even despite his desertion.
Stony hadrgely contributed to their sess when they had to put down defenses for the first version of the fortified dwelling. So they had statues of him made everywhere, which was confusing for neers, because they didn¡¯t find Stony appealing enough to deserve such.
Zarian found it humorous when visitors kept trying to understand why the statues of Stony were so important.
The ditches didn¡¯t dig themselves, Zarian thought. If you¡¯ve never had to dig fox holes and dugouts and trenches, you won¡¯t know how annoying and tedious that can be without major help.
¡°I can clean the droppings off of Saint Stony, milord,¡± said another guild member.
¡°Nah, Osbert, the skeletons will handle it. You go on to the library and get your hot cocoa drink. That goes for the rest of you once you drop off your loot. Now, as for my pdin friends here.¡±
Zarian turned toward Bernard.
The Battle Priest looked back with barely contained contempt. The man was clearly exasperated with a situation that was out of his hands and out of the control of his gods.
Zarian couldn¡¯t help but add salt to the wound, first by dumping half of the kobold bodies in front of Stony¡¯s statue and letting everyone in the marketce see it.
Then Zarian said, ¡°I don¡¯t want payment, friend. There¡¯s nothing you have that I need. Think of this as a charitable effort.¡±
¡°We are deeply appreciative of your aid and continued efforts to conduct yourself for the greater good,¡± Bernard replied by rote, noticing the stares and growing silence from everyone in the gate marketce.
The kobold bodies were worth a lot. More importantly, everyone was paying attention to the conversation.
Zarian dialed up the free evil +3. It wasn¡¯t as scary as before. But he didn¡¯t need to be scary when he could be darkly attractive and convincing, his monstrous cloak fluttering with sudden grace behind him.
¡°For the greater good? Nonsense!¡± Zarian boasted. ¡°This is the power of freedom! I¡¯m free to save your lives when you and your people nearly got yourselves killed by kobolds. And I¡¯m free to help carry these bodies without asking for a price. No greater good necessary, just in old freedom.¡±
Zarian had never thought himself much of a politician. He was leaning on his free evil +3 to help him mostly. But once he was on a roll, it was kind of fun.
Yeah, good had the benefit of power ups.
But evil was surprisingly flexible, while disying cunning and smarts in different areas beyond the narrow scope that good applied itself. In other words, Zarian had the extra juice buffing his finesse, and the old priest was finding himself outmatched.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the vition.
¡°No, no, that makes little sense. Good should define freedom,¡± Bernard tried to counter hastily.
Zarian kept punching down on him with charismatic words. ¡°There¡¯s no need for the old ways of good or evil. Nobody should ever have to feel trapped by that anymore. It¡¯s because we are free that we are thest stand against the wolf dragons and the wolf kobolds. It¡¯s because we are free that striders can make their way here without ridicule from gardeners and pdins!¡±
¡°Hells yeah!¡± a strider shouted.
Zarian winked at the crowd who was reacting positively to his words. Bernard shook with anger as his carefully crafted character of a calm old man was slipping away.
Just when he was about to say something that he would probably regret, Ezda returned to hang over Zarian like a loyal giant of a beast. Bernard hesitated, and Ezda took advantage.
¡°It¡¯s because of freedom that I¡¯m no longer of the evil alignment,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m a free gnoll. I¡¯m not in the mood to eat all of you all the time. Not like before.¡±
The marketce still had some conversations circling about even at a low volume. When Ezda spoke, everyone fellpletely silent, surprised that the giant creature could talk, and even more surprised that a gnoll had joined the freedom alignment.
If that wasn¡¯t a big enough sales pitch, then Zarian didn¡¯t know what else he could do today other than close out.
¡°Well, I better get going. You know how it is? A lord is always busy, especially one who¡¯s spreading freedom. But if you ever want to switch alignments, you can go see a member of my guild at the central library. Or find a friend who¡¯s already in the freedom alignment. Join the winning side and spread freedom!¡±
As an invisible bird cried out with heart and passion somewhere in the background, Zarian walked off with Ezda and his kiddos, leaving Bernard stewing with rage without having much of an outlet. The marketce became a whirlwind of conversation, and most of it was leaning slightly toward the positive about the brand-spanking new freedom alignment.
All it took to move the needle further was making someone else look like a bumbling fool while giving them a ¡®charitable hand¡¯ and a gator-like smile. Who knew doling out charities and being a politician could be so useful, so fun?
Maybe Zarian was being too antagonistic toward the old Battle Priest, but the game of politics was a cut throat business. If Zarian didn¡¯t strike first, then he was giving his political enemies room to do whatever the hell they wanted. If they saw an opportunity to undermine his people¡¯s efforts here, they would take it.
That was part of human nature.
He wouldn¡¯t get to y politician often since he had a lot of studying to do, but he figured he should attempt to throw in political bombs when he could. He was the most impactful figure in the entire universe and beyond, after all.
¡°I don¡¯t like how those pdins are looking at you, milord,¡± Rnd said.
¡°I feel the same. But the alpha enjoys ying with the softer meat,¡± Ezda added.
Rnd looked up at Ezda with a troubled expression, stuck between wanting to be polite and wanting to say how he really felt. The gnoll elder watched the Rose Knight curiously in return, tongue lolling out as she panted over them, her every giant step a soft thudnding beside the parade of guild members.
Zarian said nothing. He figured yesterday¡¯s enemies could learn to be today¡¯s friends on their own. They all served under him, so they had to learn to get along somehow.
With the busy gatehouse marketce behind them, the activity on the streets died down quickly.
Most adventurers and visitors stayed around five main locations. They were either at the center of the vige around the library or staying close to the gatehouses. There was one for each cardinal direction, and different groups usually stuck to their own depending on a direction.
Striders could be seen anywhere because they were so adventurous, but they usually stayed around the eastern gatehouse. Pdins congregated around the central library because the temples for two eptable Good Gods were there. The northern gatehouse area was a mix of everybody.
Then there were the gardeners, especially refugees, who lived at the southern gatehouse mainly. It was the closest gate for many gardenersing up north to escape from the fierce fighting inside and outside of their kingdom.
Zarian tried to avoid going near the southern gatehouse. His appearance was a touchy subject, despite how the refugees were living in his vige. He figured that was part of the package with being a controversial figure, having to make littlepromises that weren¡¯t much of a bother to him.
What he couldn¡¯tpromise on was the general safety of the vige. Crime was still a thing, but skeletons or guild members had a handle on that, especially with the guidance of Hannah¡¯s Magi.
There had been nothing major that drew Zarian¡¯s attention since the start of the Mythical Regional Event. He was too big and busy to deal with the small stuff in the vige.
What were petty criminalspared to lesser aberrations and the horrors his wife might unleash? They certainly didn¡¯tpare to the regional event that might start up at any time or the slight chance of an invading force from an angry kingdom.
So it was on this day when Zarian finally found something so bizarre and out of ce in his vige that his heart rate picked up way faster than usual while in his own home turf. He nearly lost his calm in front of the kiddos and Ezda, and he wasn¡¯t even sure what the problem was exactly.
It was well cloaked, making it difficult for him to feel it out with Basic Aura Maniption. The thing waiting in an empty lot between spare buildings was invisible to his spiders and might even be invisible to Hannah¡¯s golem eyes or even Magi himself.
Zarian was very sure something was there. It was a few blocks to the left of the central street he was on that led to the library.
¡°Everyone, head home without me. Show Ezda around for me, please, if she can fit,¡± Zarian said coolly.
¡°I will use a smaller form, my alpha. But is there a reason you must separate?¡± Ezda asked.
¡°Yeah, but it concerns just me, mainly.¡±
Zarian wasn¡¯t sure if he should raise an rm or not. He had to check things out first.
Rnd and the others didn¡¯t seem to sense anything amiss, or they didn¡¯t mind Zarian wanting to go alone, unlike Ezda who wanted to cling to Zarian¡¯s side. That was sweet of her, but he gave her a look that brooked no refusal of his orders.
Ezda bobbed her big head up and down in acknowledgement and went on ahead with the kiddos. She gave Rnd a crash course opportunity on how to deal with his former enemy and learn to be friends.
It must¡¯ve been quite a strange sight for the few visitors on the street as guild members and one giant hyena-like beast paraded about. Some guild members were still hauling carts of their kills that they hadn¡¯t sold off at the marketce.
Before Zarian disappeared down an alley, he remembered all the magical gear in the pocket dimension and had Para dump them into a semi-empty cart that a young girl was hauling behind her. The bronze spear poked up from the top.
Ultimately, he was better off letting the kids figure out what to do with the enchanted stuff. They could take it as new weapons or feed it to their growing dungeon. Or Hannah might pick out some that she wanted to study if anything caught her interest before she tossed it into the belly of the dungeon.
Zarian would¡¯veughed if it wasn¡¯t for the seriousness of the situation, since he imagined that a bunch of foreign adventurers would¡¯ve choked on air if they knew all of this enchanted gear could end up as dungeon food.
For Zarian and his people, most of the stuff was unnecessary. Hannah¡¯s enchanted crafts were usually better.
Hell, most of the damage on Zarian¡¯s gear from corrupted attacks had already self-repaired itself. Still no monocle, but he could live without it, and he was as prepared as anyone could be as he walked the clean alleys and side streets alone.
Wherever he passed, the magical lights dimmed, submerging him in growing darkness as the dying daylight gave way to the celestial embrace of the night.
A cold winter breeze whistled between the buildings, circling around the mini lot that was empty except for a cloaked figure. The person had their hood up, face covered, while dressed in a mix of forest greens and browns that was more out of ce than it should be.
Standing like a menacing sentry, the cloaked figure had a shining great sword, the tip on the floor with both hands on the wide hilts of the guard. The cloaked figure looked like an executioner waiting for his victim toe to him.
Zarian stopped at the mouth of an alley. He nced at the nearest spectral spiders. They were still blind to the stranger even with Zarian seeing the guy with his own two eyes.
So, was this another Ariana scenario where she would only show herself a select few times? Or did the stranger have a cloaking ability that worked a specific way?
¡°Where are the trees?¡± asked the stranger.
He had an ent that Zarian couldn¡¯t ce. It sounded very affluent and arrogant, like every syble was a chance at putting down someone else without trying.
¡°The architect wasn¡¯t too concerned about thatpared to making a vige habitable and safe for many people.¡± Zarian took a seat at a bench, his cloak fluttering and moving about to Para¡¯s whims. ¡°Neat trick, by the way. Staying invisible to most others except for the specific way I can sense you. So either that was a hole in your cloaking or¡¡±
Zarian trailed off to see if the stranger would finish what he was insinuating. The man didn¡¯t bother, leaving the Madness Wizard to assume the stranger had wanted Zarian to notice, and only him alone.
Is this guy one of the nomads?
Zarian hadn¡¯t seen this high level of meticulous magic and cloaking from anyone else, not from the gardeners, striders, or pdins. Nomads supposedly had some decent wizard types among them, so maybe the stranger was one, which would make this meeting even more interesting.
After some tense silence, the stranger spoke further with his affluent and arrogant ent.
¡°I¡¯ve heard tales from my elders of how thisnd was once flush with towered trees as far as the eye could see. Where fruits were plenty and the beasts were merry. I heard tales where good was abundant, and the shadow of evil was hidden deep underground, never daring to surface for long. Yet here I see the horrors you humans allow to fester without our rule, without our power to put you lowlives in your ce. I see the mongrel who is darkness incarnate be leader of the Dark Era, and no true man raises a sword to fight.¡±
¡°Uh,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Wait a minute, you¡¯re not a nomad.¡±
The stranger reached up with one hand while the other stayed on his weapon. He flipped back his hood and revealed a severely sharp and handsome face with pale skin and eyes so green they could be mistaken for forest leaves. His hair was long spools of gold as bright as the twin suns on a cloudless morning. And his ears were long and sharp at the tips.
Zarian hadn¡¯t used his Identify trait because he figured it wouldn¡¯t work properly on someone so uniquely cloaked. Now he knew for sure that he was meeting someone far greater than anything he¡¯d faced before.
¡°Oh,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You¡¯re an elf.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not just an elf, Dark Lord. I am Prince Ruven, Great Grandson of the Sorceress Queen, thirty-third in line to the throne of the Forever Green Empire, Captain of the Promised Continent yer Scouts,¡± Ruven said, which was only the beginning of an overly long introduction.
Letting the elf prince say his piece, Zarian tried to use the full power of the Void Waltz spell. He had to stand and shimmy around a little, ignoring his rising embarrassment, while his Fractured Mind brought up the mad text and symbols of the spell in rhythm with his moves.
The elf prince stopped to stare as Zarianpleted the desired dance and attracted the void.
¡°What madness is this?!¡± the prince shouted.
¡°This madness is how you get served.¡± Zarian infused the nearby area with the void before taking himself, the elf, and part of the lot out of the vige and into a cleared field north.
That was thest move Zarian would get off rtively easily before Ruven showed him what an elf prince from the Promised Continent could do.
Chapter 120: B2: C20: Elf Prince
Zarian was just about to finish unsealing his One Percent Power, chanting and hand-signing faster than ever before, when Ruven did the unexpected. The elf smashed the shining great sword on the nearest cubic stone floor, which the Void Waltz spell had moved with them into a snowy field.
Everything stopped moving.
The flurry of snow in the winter breeze. The blocky clouds covering the stars and moons of the night. Even the distant sounds of conversation andte-night haggling from the vige.
Everything stopped.
Everything was frozen.
To Zarian, it felt like the freezested forever while also happening within a blink of an eye. Then there was some movement again when broken fragments of the shining great sword swirled around Zarian and Para, bing an arcane cage of sorts, before everything else resumed its flow of time.
Zarian and Para remained trapped and unable to move.
¡°From Grimrock to the Hidden Hell, damn your powers of the void!¡± Ruven snarled. ¡°I still carry dread from when my great grandmother put me through that experience of evil magic. Just so I can be prepared for it. Of course, you¡¯d make her right as always.¡±
Zarian could hear Ruven just fine. He could still see the elf until Ruven walked out of his direct view.Zarian¡¯s eyeballs couldn¡¯t move with the elf. Zarian¡¯s physical body wasn¡¯t his own right now. A powerful type of magic froze him using the broken shards of the shining great sword that Ruven had smashed. The shards of that powerful tool floated in a cage around the Madness Wizard.
But that was not the worst part.
Zarian couldn¡¯t move his aura.
He couldn¡¯t circte it. He couldn¡¯t use it to activate skills. Everything was frozen on the outside and inside.
He would¡¯ve been horrified if he wasn¡¯t able to still think. Maybe that was a strange reaction, since being able to think like this would lead others to panic.
But Zarian wasn¡¯t exactly in the mood to panic. He was absorbing as much information as he could. Every part of his Fractured Mind remained snappy and sharp even though the rest of him was stuck.
Ruven returned to the front of Zarian¡¯s vision and stayed outside of the field of arcane sword fragments. The elf snapped his fingers to the left of Zarian¡¯s vision and then to the right, as if checking to see if Zarian¡¯s eyes would move. They couldn¡¯t move, but Zarian was still aware of being tested.
¡°It¡¯s as I thought. The boonbining Purehome and Lawkeep¡¯s divinity is unmatched,¡± Ruven said, nodding. ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe a great elder of ours needed our help, let alone the help of another god, but who are we to turn down such a request from Purehome. Especially when dealing with a monster like you.¡±
Ruven bent down slightly to look directly into Zarian¡¯s eyes. The vibrant green color of Ruven¡¯s eyes spoke of a refined savagery that most people wouldn¡¯t associate with elves.
Ruven was a killer, through and through.
But he held that part of him back for now.
¡°Congrattions.¡± Ruven straightened and walked out of Zarian¡¯s view. ¡°You will be the first human to set foot on the Promised Continent since the end of the Adventurer Era, years before the Dark Era began. Let¡¯s hope my great grandmother hasn¡¯t grown too rusty from years of being a recluse and still has the power to seal you forever.¡±
Ruven was now doing something in the background that was out of sight, and Zarian was left to do nothing but think. Well, at least he knew how this had alle to be.
The elves were throwing their hat into the political arena. The Good Gods were backing them to sweep their Madness Wizard problem under the rug.
Purehome was the elven ancestor of this world, which made Zarian very interested in visiting the Forever Green Empire and leaving his mark there.
Maybe it could use some sprucing, trimming, and deforestation to get his message across.
First, I need to break free of this fusion-boon from Purehome and Lawkeep, Zarian thought, which would not be an easy feat to aplish. The trap was air tight. But it wasn¡¯t perfect, because Zarian was certain he shouldn¡¯t be able to think. My Floridian Mindset is keeping my mind running. And if I have an active mind, my Willpower stat must still be usable. And if my Willpower is still usable¡
With some prodding, Zarian felt Para¡¯s presence at the back of his mind. She was there, conscious and able. She benefited from the Floridian Mindset as long as they were conjoined as host and parasite.
¡°I can¡¯t wait to get back. The foulness of this continent has tainted me the moment I set foot here,¡± Ruven said from behind Zarian. ¡°Even with the orcs gone, their wretched stink still can¡¯t be extinguished. I can only imagine what it was like before the Dark Era came and before this continent became inhospitable. Maybe that¡¯s why all the humans seem more like swines to me. They have orc foulness in them.¡±
Ruven was a chatty guy, but at least he sounded calm. He wasn¡¯t in a hurry to send them across the world to an entirely different continent. Ruven sounded confident that he had Zarian and nothing could intervene with that.
Zarian focused on Para. He studied her presence with Willpower and his Floridian Mindset alone. He didn¡¯t have Naomi¡¯s psychic proficiency. But he had enough willful spirit to get a reaction from Para.
The parasite threads inside of his skull wriggled around, squirming in the gaps between his brain matter. Para was mobile while inside of his skull, which was nifty to know, because that might be another positive side effect of Floridian Mindset.
Now it was time to have an old fashion jump scare. Zarian waited until Ruven circled around in front of him as the elf finished scrawling runes into the snowy ground. Ruven looked about in satisfaction before moving close to Zarian without touching the boon shards.
Ruven did the finger-snapping eye test again.
Para burst free from every hole in Zarian¡¯s head. Little tendrils pushed out his eyeballs and filled the sockets. The tendrils came out from his nostrils. They exited his ears and his mouth. Then they froze along with the blood spray, making it hard to see or hear Ruven¡¯s reaction.
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Para gave Zarian some impressions of the elf. Ruven was cussing up a storm and rightfully freaked out. But then he went back to the circle of runes he drew in the snow around them and prepared toplete a ritual that would take Zarian away.
n one had failed. The jump scare didn¡¯t convince Ruven to free Zarian from the trap and check on him.
Now onto n two.
The parts of Para inside of Zarian¡¯s brain went on a rampage. She sliced through brain matter and ate the tissue. She hollowed out his skull until there was so much damage his own life energy winked out faster than his vitality.
The moment Zarian died ¨C again ¨C the Divine Revival Charm activated.
The timing was perfect.
A burst of systemized divinity expanded out from Zarian¡¯s body and destabilized the double-boon holding him trapped. The teleportation ritual failed to activate as the divine charm revived Zarian.
Since his revival was the top priority for the Star System while staying within its parameters, the System itself denied the teleportation ritual.
Para remained present during the death and revival. She used the split-second freedom to grasp the ground with her limbs and yank Zarian free of the divine trap.
Better yet, Zarian came back awake while still in the middle of his chant and hand-signing, carrying on through the motions to get closer to the finish.
But Ruven was still on him like a fly on a corpse.
The Elf Prince, Captain of the Promised Continent yer Scouts, moved with zing speed that was nearly too fast for Zarian to track, even with his many abilities and stats. Zarian pushed Wondrous Speed hard, and he still took the butt of a staff swing to the head, the weapon suddenly appearing from nowhere.
Zarian nearly lost his focus. His head rang with a sharp ache. He nearly screwed up the unsealing technique and unleashed the Overwhelming Darkness.
The idiot elf wasn¡¯t giving Zarian anytime to exin or fight properly. Para tried to intervene, turning the cloak into many grasping hands, tentacles, hooks, and des of bone.
But the elf moved like he knew where Zarian would go and what Para would do before the wizard¡¯s Fractured Mind could decide. The elf ced such pressure on Zarian that many of the Madness Wizard¡¯s terrifying traits weren¡¯t working, making Zarian more predictable to the elf and an easier target.
Worse yet, the prince had such martial skill and power in his staff swings that hepletely battered aside dozens of attempts by Para to slow him down. Ruven found his openings, slipping in a thrust to Zarian¡¯s midsection and another swing that clipped him on the edge of his jaw. Zarian reeled from the blows while still having trouble with the One Percent Power unsealing.
Then Zarian grew truly mad and charged forward instead of retreating backward. His cloak wrapped up his body to turn him into a bone armored juggernaut. He was working on casting spells through his mind, but blinding pain and a sudden shortness of breath caught him by surprise.
Zarian found himself flying and smashing across the snowy field at breakneck speeds that would¡¯ve killed a weaker human. He felt every impact through his parasite armor, rattling his hurt body. By the time he stopped, Ruven was already there, swinging his staff around for a big hit.
Instead of dodging, Zarian and Para hunkered down in their most armored form. They were going to take the hit, but Ruven aborted at thest second.
The prince dodged away before a human meteorite of a dynamic woman came crashing down. Zarian staggered back. And Naomi stood in the crater formed by hernding, with powerful psychic energy snapping angrily around her.
The Rumble Psion slowly turned to the elf. She oozed a palpable power that was born from unbreakable Willpower and the highest tier of hard work that would make most others sick to contemte. She looked like a physical phenom, both beautiful and dangerous. Yet, she was still not enough for Elf Prince Ruven.
A narrow beam of moonlight shot across the field for Ruven¡¯s head. He leaned out of the way before having to step back when another moonlight beam shot at his leg. Ruven retreated as a stream of rapid fire moonlight beams assaulted him nonstop.
From the side of the field, a young amber haired woman walked on top of the snow. She moved with the grace of someone born from fairytales and myths, especially with her dress fluttering with her steps and shining peerlessly with myriad colors even in the night.
Bianca looked sharper and more steel-eyed from thesest four months. She kept plucking streams of moonlight from the sky to keep the machine-gun style shooting going as her bare feet came to a stop outside of the crater.
Zarian freed himself from the parasite armor. He gave Bianca a bloody smile.
¡°We found your elf husband, and he¡¯s a prince,¡± Zarian said.
¡°He¡¯s too much of a pendejo. Let¡¯s return this one and find me another,¡± Bianca said coolly. She gave Zarian a hug before providing a kiss to each cheek in greeting. She was still shooting moonbeams and keeping Ruven from diving in.
¡°Did you die?¡± Naomi asked, strutting out of the crater.
¡°Yeah, I did,¡± Zarian replied.
¡°I felt it. Even if it was for a split second. I wasn¡¯t here on time to stop it.¡± Naomi clenched her trembling hands into tense fists. ¡°Bianca,e on. Gilbert¡¯s going to take a while longer. And Hannah¡¯s still too slow.¡±
Hannah replied with the best she could give from afar. An artillery cannon from the library fired with a bright, shy st. Arge ball of enchanted magic blew up the ground Ruven was running around on.
¡°Took you long enough,¡± Naomi grouched.
Zarian didn¡¯t me Hannah¡¯ste response because it was just recently, while Ruven had gone on his attack, that the power cloaking the elf was using had dropped.
Zarian figured under normal circumstances he could see the identity of most creatures, since he held the greatest power of all, even if it was mostly sealed.
The moment the smoke and debris settled, revealing the elf remained upright, Zarian used his Identify trait on Ruven.
¡°You must be sealed away, Zarian Darkrun,¡± Ruven said. ¡°It¡¯s for the greater good.¡±
Hannah replied to that with another artillery shot that exploded the snowy ground at Ruven¡¯s feet. Bianca sighed as she multiplied into a dozen copies of herself, each holding a saber of moonlight. Naomi let out a low, rumbling groan before triggering Aura Ignition, but a different version Zarian hadn¡¯t the pleasure of feeling before.
He would have to get reacquainted with Naomiter. He was finishing his one percent unsealing with thest phrase.
¡°Freestyle.¡±
The mini cubes on his gauntlets moved up and down quickly. The darkness of the night warbled around him, the snowy fields, and for miles beyond.
Overwhelming Darkness pushed at the borders of his control like never before. Like he was going to tear apart from the inside. He hadn¡¯t cultivated enough. He hadn¡¯t gained enough control. But against an enemy like Ruven, he had to y to his best abilities.
Ruven was making his move, dashing past falling debris and snow from the missed artillery st. He was about to swing his staff at Naomi while she was still igniting her aura in a special way. Bianca and her clones couldn¡¯t make it in time.
Zarian intervened with ance of darkness that ran fifty feet deep into the ground. Thence cut straight across the field, snow, forest, and fortress hills for a few miles before it winked out.
Ruven had to abort his attack on Naomi to avoid a death blow from Zarian¡¯s darkness. The Rumble Psion had enough time toplete her new ignition.
Meanwhile, the yer Scout Master lost his arrogantposure for the first time. He even had a hint of horror showing through his vibrant green eyes.
He must¡¯ve known by now that even at Level 112, he was nothing against Overwhelming Darkness, at least in any contest that tested his vitality and life energy on a direct hit.
¡°Oh, sorry, I¡¯m not so good at controlling my One Percent Power yet. Were any of those trees your friends?¡± Zarian chuckled as his monstrous cloak wavered behind him and formed extra limbs.
His trio of grimoires appeared, phasing out of his body directly or through a portal. Many of Para¡¯s extra limbs ended with alien hands and grabbed each grimoire, flipping to distinct pages, ready to cast spells. Zarian kept his Overwhelming Darkness from breaking free and eating everything despite the strain, and he kept trash talking, too.
¡°So your ancient ancestor is on my godly naughty list, and I know I already ate her once, but the first time wasn¡¯t that satisfying, to be honest. I really want to relish it the second time. You think she¡¯ll turn out spicier if I burn your tree-hugging empire down from border to border, have my way with your old as hell elders, and finish what the orcs failed to do.¡±
Chapter 121: B2: C21: Master Ranker
While Zarian spent the past four months studying to seal his Overwhelming Darkness, his fellow Floridians had taken separate routes to advance themselves. Just like him, they¡¯d oftenmitted to tedious, less rewarding tasks.
However, they hadn¡¯t studied volumes of books to create a legendary technique. Instead, they¡¯d dealt with clearing random packs of weaker monsters or lifting rubble from a fallen hill of fortresses off a trapped adventurer. Or, in Naomi¡¯s case, having to pick up something big and lift it a bunch of times in between drills with the youngsters.
That hadn¡¯t seemed like much. And it hadn¡¯t been, especially for Naomi, Bianca, and Gilbert. So to maximize their growth, those three had to find stuff to do day-in and day-out, almost nonstop and with little rest other than the bare minimum.
These simple and well-known words, ¡®Wee to the grind,¡¯ summed up that part of their lives after the Darkrun Apocalypse.
Naomi had focused on her stats and pushing herself beyond her limits. She¡¯d kept developing her physicality and her Aura Ignition with the help of her psychic abilities.
Bianca had focused on dealing with her trauma after being brainwashed by traditional good. She¡¯d gone on adventures to fight and meditate on how free good +5 worked, which was different from traditional good.
Gilbert had leaned more toward being a major support for their young guild members and for foreign adventurers. He¡¯d often saved lives at the expense of being a drunken human meat shield and taking more and more punishment.
Unlike the other three who¡¯d often gone out into the wilderness for multiple days to weeks at a time, Hannah stayed in Ride-or-Die Vige. Hannah¡¯s way of grinding and growing hade frompleting many side quests that were rted with the vige or crafting or enchanting or all three.
The System truly seemed to favor Hannah and went as far as providing enhanced levels with higher than normal vitality when she¡¯d aplished her quests. Granted, she alone had uplifted the sole human bastion standing against the wolf dragons, wolf kobolds, and the savage creatures of the northern frontier.Everyone¡¯s growth hade far slowerpared to earlier adventures. But the time and effort they¡¯d spent on their individual paths allowed them to delve deeper into who they were within their roles and what they did best as they leveled up and progressed.
With each new gain, everyone had kept their fellow Floridians mostly updated, so there wasn¡¯t much they couldn¡¯t ount for with each other except for maybe the most recent changes. Zarian had mostly known what he was working with even after four months of not teaming up with his favorite people.
But knowledge wasn¡¯t always the biggest factor even if it was foundational for Zarian¡¯s Fractured Mind. One of the Floridians¡¯ biggest weapons was their ability tomunicate and stay linked up via the mind spiders inside of their heads.
Thanks to Spectral Spider Network +2, the speed at which information ryed between them was much faster and smoother than before. It was both instantaneous and simultaneous without getting confusing, like a really clear chat call where everyone was locked in and there was nog.
Zarian felt Naomi¡¯s rising anger suppressed by a chilling calm as the aura in the air snapped, crackled, popped, and moved with a frenzy with her new ignition technique. He felt Bianca¡¯s cheerless focus as she devoted her all to support with equal measures of goodness and sadness in her heart.
Zarian felt Hannah¡¯s crisp calctions, which were assisted by Magi¡¯s sharp predictions, as the legendary Runic Engineer sat on her architect throne at the top of the tower andid down suppressive fire from miles away, all with a flex of her runic will. And, finally, Zarian felt the alcoholic burn from the rare beer Gilbert drained all in one go while riding hard on Slip the Sleipnir¡¯s back, like a medieval cowboy racing to get to the action.
And while Zarian was filtering through all the sensations that his friends were sensing, they could do the same with each other and him especially.
They could feel the impending doom encroaching upon them all, like a ticking time bomb of inevitability. All because Zarian had to y the overpowered wizard role against a relentless enemy and keep Overwhelming Darkness from breaking its seals fully.
It was both painful and exhrating, like holding back the tide of ultimate destruction, the end of all life in the universe and beyond, just to use a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of its true power.
Gilbert summed it up best while still riding hard from miles away. ¡°God Almighty, if this is their way of trying to save the universe from Zarian, I think they shouldn¡¯t have sent an elf retard to masquerade as an elf prince!¡±
While also miles away on her architect throne, Hannah replied: ¡°Gilbert, you¡¯re not supposed to say that.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t say what now? God Almighty?¡± Gilbert was bbergasted.
¡°Retard.¡± Hannah sent down another volley of magic artillery that kept Ruven from moving around too easily.
¡°The universe is on the verge of getting eaten again, Hannah, and this is what we care about?!¡± Gilbert shouted. ¡°Fuck it! What do I know? I¡¯m here, and it really looks like I¡¯mte to the shindig!¡±
Gilbertunched off of Slip¡¯s armored back. The legendary Knighted Healernded hard and skidded to a stop close to the edge of a deep ravine Zarian had created while using one percent freestyle.
There were multiple ravines ¨C some short, some deep ¨C thatcerated the snowynd and shed apart the nearby stony forests and fortress hillocks. Artillery fire struck down and shook the earth constantly, filling the battlefield with the roar of violent thunder and bright magical effects that ranged from furious red to frozen blue.
When heavier cloud cover blocked out the stars and moons of the night sky, a new type of magic artillery soared across the air at a slower velocity. The new magic ordnance erupted into longsting yellow res that shone on the battlefield like miniature suns.
Bianca and her squad of clones plucked the artificial lights from the sky and sentsers flying at Ruven¡¯s dashing form. They forced the stubborn elf to zig-zag around them or deflect thesers with rapid swings of his arcane staff.
Naomi moved with she-hulkish speed and power to chase after the elf. A green-blue aura crackled from close around her dynamic phenom of a body, the aura trailing behind her like the long tail of a human-shapedet.
She was moving nearly as fast as the elf at speeds so dizzying it was hard to track. And she was using Aura Ignition in a way that was far different from the usual.
This newer version of Aura Ignition felt too weak to be the true Second Stage. However, it was less of a burden to her body while granting more control, enabling her to use her skills.
Naomi¡¯s stack of abilitiesbined with this smaller form of Aura Ignition was powerful for her, letting her keep up and use her psychic powers.
The blurring forms of Naomi and Ruven hopped over ravines, swerved around piles of rubble, and skipped past craters as dark and elemental powers struck at the ground around the two. The dark powersnded the hardest, of course, since that was Zarian¡¯s forte.
The apocalyptic son of ultra gods stood on a thirty-foot tall boulder Naomi had thrown earlier. He couldn¡¯t move as easily while he focused on controlling a fraction of his cosmic-dooming power.
With every release from one percent freestyle, Zarian felt himself about to tear apart, constantly fighting to stay human. Constantly fighting to stay focused and unyielding to his own weakness, the loss of control.
He refused to let his darkness break free once again. He refused to bring about another Darkrun Apocalypse, which could be thest for all they knew.
Determined, Zarian shed and hacked up thend with giantnces and cleavers of darkness with all the control he could muster. Each of his attacks were sorge, so awe-inspiring, they could¡¯ve executed titans andy waste to kingdoms. Thends north of the vige suffered greatly.
But even with all of this power, it was obviously too big, too unwieldy, and too inurate against an extremely nimble target like Ruven, a Master Ranker.
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The Level 112 yer Scout Master stayed one or two steps ahead of outright destruction. He outran Naomi¡¯s psychic melee attacks. He vaulted away from thumping magic artillery sent by Hannah. And he dodged aroundser beams and hard-light sword attacks from Bianca and her clones.
Nothing could slow the stubborn elf down.
Then Gilbert swaggered into the scene and unleashed an invisible but palpable force that unfolded from around his armored body. That was the game changer they all neededing out to save the day, Tranquilizer Shot +2.
The skill to slow enemies or make them fall asleep had always seemed like an afterthought of an ability. It was always easier to apply as much damage as fast and hard as possible unless the Floridians wanted to capture someone.
On this night, the least favored crowd control skill and its +2 advancement became king.
The big, blue-eyed, and drunken man moved into Ruven¡¯s path. Explosive artillery fell in a line to the right, cutting off that direction. Zarian¡¯s one percent freestyle carved thend to the left, keeping Ruven stuck in a singlene.
Bianca dashed over the air on steps of captured light while unleashing more suppressive light beams at Ruven¡¯s head, threatening him from above. Then there was Naomi dogging Ruven from behind.
Ruven had done nothing but run away from her as she chased him. There was no going back.
So when Ruven inevitably ran into the Knighted Healer, who was standing at the end of the big magical trap, the elf prince couldn¡¯t outright dodge the expanding tranquilizer force. Things only worsened for the ¡®intellectually challenged¡¯ elf from there.
Naomi unleashed a short-range Mind Spike +2 for the first time. She¡¯d bided her time until now to catch the elf prince off guard.
Ruven snarled from the direct psychic damage to his head. He lost his footing for a split second, which sent him tumbling fast past Gilbert.
The Knighted Healer stood with a drunken grin on his face. He tipped his wizardly cowboy hat with a single hand, as if in greeting to the elf prince.
Naomi grabbed Gilbert by the cor like she was plucking a tin soldier off the floor. Held from behind the Rumble Psion, Gilbert let loose a long yee-haw, his tranquilizer energy pervading the air and seeping into Ruven¡¯s body still.
Despite the crowd-control and psychic brain damage, the yer Scout Master corrected his movements with sharp grace. He dodged aside a big, ignited, psychokic punch from Naomi that could¡¯ve broken his head open.
As he slowly but surely became more impaired, Ruven swung his staff at Naomi. She blocked with one hand and returned fire with another powerful punch using the same hand. The elf prince grunted as he deflected her attack with a swing of his staff before returning another hit of his own.
She blocked again and returned fire once more. They traded blows like this, picking at each other, trying to leverage their advantages while poking at each other¡¯s disadvantages.
But in a battle of attrition, Naomi was winning. Ruven was looking slower while running backwards against Naomi and Gilbert.
Bianca joined the party. She dropped clones of herself in the path of Ruven¡¯s retreat. The elf still couldn¡¯t go left or right as Hannah and Zarian demolished thend with magic artillery and apocalyptic darkness just to keep him stuck in thene.
Ruven chose the most predictable escape option, upward. He jumped and twisted into the sky, dodging many of Bianca¡¯s attacks, but not all. Lasers and clones struck him with ncing blows, leaving some marks and keeping him under pressure.
At that point, Para unleashed what she¡¯d been working on this whole time. With Zarian focused on freestyling with his Overwhelming Darkness, the Parasite Cloak +2 kept a spell prepared for the right time. ck and gray mes fanned out across the air in one enormous wave aimed at Ruven.
With everything working against the elf prince, Ruven finally showed off his special abilities outside of staff mastery and super speed.
Green elven runes appeared in the surrounding air as he pointed his staff at the wave of ck Fire.
The surrounding green runes spiraled into concentric circles. Then they released a bright sh, followed by arge wooden trunk that was as tall and thick as a Californian Red Wood.
Ruven conjured more of those giant logs. They punched through the ck Fire and flew down on Zarian¡¯s position. None of them hit as Slip the Sleipnirunched off the ground and kicked his eight legs off the sides of each flying trunk.
The Sleipnir bounded between multiple trunks in the same volley beforending back down in front of the boulder Zarian and Para stood on. Slip released a mighty neigh, as if sounding proud to stand guard over the spellcasters.
That seemed to be the end of the retaliation from Ruven. He was now using light blue runic magic to run across the air, which didn¡¯t stop Naomi whatsoever. She braced herself, while still holding onto Gilbert by his cor, andunched into the air as well.
She stayed in flight by sheer psychic prowess alone, even if she wasn¡¯t proficient at it. At the very least, she could throw herself around like a rocket.
Bianca joined Naomi and Gilbert, the trio hounding Ruven across the sky. Meanwhile, Hannah lit up the air with shockwave sts in front of Ruven.
As for Zarian, he had to turn his Overwhelming Darkness on the giant tree trunks. Apparently, there was a phase two after their summoning, leading to the giant tree trunks transforming into wooden constructs with arms and legs, almost like treants.
Slip the Sleipnir neighed in indignation, as if offended that the giant logs would persist as threats.
The eight-legged and armored horse dashed forward for more action. He rammed into one of the treants and stomped hard with his steel hooves to break off huge bs of bark.
Zarian let Slip battle a towering, trunk-grown monster many times bigger than the Sleipnir. The boy wanted the action, so he could have it.
Meanwhile, Zarian conjured one wide ring of serrated darkness and spread it out with a snap of a finger. He cut down the rest while Slip stomped all over the body of the one he was facing.
Each dying treant struck down with a groan and rumble. Then all became still around Zarian after Slip killed his treant and neighed in victory.
It was right then that Zarian realized something. He couldn¡¯t use Overwhelming Darkness any longer.
He cut himself off from the spiderwork and left the rest of the fight to the others. He focused inward, as if he was going to cultivate again, but not quite.
He cycled his breathing and felt the bead of darkness inside of his soul. This was not an urate showing of how massive and terrifying this entity could end up being, but it was there. And it was raging.
He felt how it wanted to break free and go on a rampage once again. He felt how the darkness wanted to eat everything.
He still remembered the taste of the many worlds, gxies, and universes he ate across multiple dimensions. He even salivated at the thought. He was growing hungry.
Part of him wanted to feast and feast and feast forever and ever and ever, regardless of morality, regardless of all the lives that would end to satisfy his eternal darkness.
However, he still remembered the countless years of struggle against something that was out of his control. He remembered how he refused to quit, forcing him to suffer in spite of himself and his own darkness. For too long he¡¯d carried the burden of having an undying but futile determination, all while losing constantly.
Zarian refused to suffer that again.
He pressed down on the monstrous sensations. He pushed his entire Willpower and Floridian Mindset against the raging darkness inside. He took a risk and dumped all his remaining free points on Willpower, pushing it from 267 to 404.
He felt a surge of power from Overwhelming Darkness, but he stayed locked in as his willful mind refused to yield. He refused to quit. He refused to lose. He refused, he refused, he refused.
He wanted to have control and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. He wanted to grow powerful under his own terms with his friends.
He refused power at the cost of having a fun life.
Zarian wasn¡¯t sure how long it took, but he found equilibrium. Then hemitted to chants and hand-signs for a specific technique, the biggest reason he¡¯d studied the many books about sealing.
¡°Overwhelming Darkness: Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style Technique. Lock All Twenty Dark Locks. The Dreaded Dragon Sleeps Away Inside Imprisoned Legend. One Hundred Percent Seal. Full Control.¡±
The mini cubes in his gauntlets moved up and down before disappearing. The pressure inside faded. The night stopped being his servant to bend and manipte at whim. The darkness stilled.
Zarian released a sigh of relief.
He opened his eyes and saw the others closing out the fight in the sky.
Naomi was getting juiced up by abination of Adrenaline Jolt +2 and Sacrificial Blow +2 from Gilbert. The adrenaline skill was more potent than ever, buffing Naomi¡¯s ridiculous physicality to even more ridiculous heights. The sacrifice skill had a new advancement letting it work on others, empowering Naomi¡¯s next melee blow at the cost of Gilbert¡¯s health.
Naomi punched straight through Ruven¡¯s staff and destroyed it. Her punchnded on the elf¡¯s torso where a barrier of runic power covered him. She smashed the barrier into pieces with a strident crack that resonated for miles.
Her punch didn¡¯t stop there. It kept going, ncing off Ruven¡¯s side as he dodged the full blow at thest split second.
That was okay.
Naomi¡¯s ncing punch turned Ruven¡¯s ribs and half of his torso into one colossal mess. He became a limp thing of broken bones, bruises, and bleedingcerations. He fell hard from the sky andnded with a final, crater-forming thump.
Ruven didn¡¯t get up from that.
He wouldn¡¯t want to, as Bianca stood on a hovering panel of light in the air above. She held aloft arge javelin made of more light and would throw it if the elf budged only a little.
Ruven didn¡¯t budge.
Naomi and Gilbert crashed down together, the both of them looking ragged from the blitzing chase. Naomi¡¯s ignition was gone, leaving her body strained and badly busted.
Apparently, even the weaker version of Aura Ignition could still cause her some damage. Gilbert used his Healing Force +2 to help them both out.
With everything settling down, Zarian nodded at the results.
Thendscape north was smashed, totaled, andpletely ruined for dozens and dozens of miles. But the Floridians had won their first fight against a true Master Ranker.
Chapter 122: B2: C22: Monumental Success
Chapter 122: B2: C22: Monumental Sess
The night was filled with stars, moons, and blocks of clouds drizzling snow across a battered battlefield that extended for many miles.
Zarian was still standing on therge boulder that Naomi had chucked like it was a mere ball. He was soaking in the monumental sess of his party, his heart hammering hard as his Fractured Mind ran through many thoughts.
What a hell of a week. My wife¡¯s casting down enhanced versions of her tears. The strongest gnoll in the world acts like a puppy in my vige. And we just finished beating a damn elf prince from another continent.I didn¡¯t let the darkness beat me this time. I kept it under control. I didn¡¯t let it break away.The others actually came in to help me. For the first time in a long time, I really needed help, and they were there for me. They didn¡¯t let me down. They saved me.Is this what the Funnest Granpapa and the rest of my family want to see? Are they watching? What do they think?Ariana, little sister, look how far these mortals havee. Look how much they¡¯ve grown since their journey began in the Star System. You think of them as bugs. But they will show you how wrong you are.
Zarian looked up at Bianca. She was standing on a panel of light as the winter breeze made her colorful elven dress flutter around her long and graceful legs.
She looked sullen but beautiful, morous but deadly, while hefting a javelin of supercharged light over a conquered enemy. She could execute the elf at a moment¡¯s notice.Zarian looked down at the two who¡¯d acted like the tip of the spear during the fight. They were the ones who¡¯d kept the pressure and dragged the elf down so that his lofty levels, rank, and abilities couldn¡¯t keep him from getting pummeled.
Gilbert was roaring with drunkenughter as Naomi went ballistic from the hype and boasted:
¡°I did that! Did you see me?! I was on that elf boy¡¯s ass and I punched him! I did that! Look at me! I¡¯m a motherfucking, elf-smashing bitch! Oorah!¡±
Naomi kept hollering whileying spread eagle. She should focus on using her Earth-Sky Meditation +2 and resting up, but the adrenaline was still running its course through her body. It didn¡¯t help that Gilbert encouraged her, gassing her up.
But who was going to stop them?
Not Zarian.
He was riding on the highs just like them.
¡°You¡¯re proud,¡± Para said, sounding more sophisticated than ever before. There was only a hint of a creepy and monstrous edge to her voice. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re feeling proud of them.¡±
Zarian turned slightly. He blinked at the thing hovering over his shoulder.
It was a face that he was familiar with. It almost looked like his face, in fact. But it was more feminine, with fuller lips, longer eyeshes, and slightly more pronounced cheekbones.
She would¡¯ve been a truly beautiful human if she had more than a head held up by leathery threads. She didn¡¯t have eyes either, just more wriggling threads inside of empty sockets.
When her plush lips spread into a smile, she revealed needle-like teeth that could cut through flesh with ease. At least her hair was bouncy and long, looking like a girlier version of Zarian¡¯s curly hair.
¡°Para?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yes, it is me, Para.¡±
She tilted her head to the side. Her smile shrank to a knowing smirk. Then she reached upward and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead before backing off a bit. She had him stunned, so she spoke on.
¡°I¡¯m your parasite. And you¡¯re my host. Thank you for making me much, much stronger. And much, much smarter.¡±
¡°Yeah. Sure. Um. What can I say? You¡¯re practically the best skill in my profile. d to help,¡± Zarian said.
¡°We will have to explore the new things I can do. But here¡¯s a teaser.¡± Para turned her face down toward Zarian¡¯s hand.
She squinted her wriggling eyes and furrowed her brow. Zarian¡¯s hand stopped being his own, Para taking over to wriggle the fingers before clenching it into a fist.
¡°I will cause some pain. Is that okay?¡± she asked.
¡°Go for it.¡±
Para made his arm move, holding up his hand. There was a gap in the gauntlets¡¯ gloves where Zarian¡¯s palm showed. He watched as Para made threads under the flesh wriggle visibly against the palm¡¯s skin.
Then sharpened threads pierced out of Zarian¡¯s palm with some blood squirting free. The threads wriggled upward into the air and wavered about.
Zarian understood right away what this meant.
Para had mostly reserved her rapid transformations to doing things on the outside and with the cloak. But that was not the full extent of her abilities, really.
The skill had ¡®parasite¡¯ in the name for a reason. She could change the host directly. She could do things without his say so, if she truly wanted to.
Strangely, Zarian felt no fear. He was actually happy about Para¡¯s growth. The possibilities were nearly limitless now that she could do more things inside his body as well as outside.
Maybe others would¡¯ve feared something like Para having so much power. But Zarian wasn¡¯t like most others anyway.
¡°Thank you,¡± Para said.
¡°What for?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°For trusting me so much. Normally, I would¡¯ve eaten my host from the inside-out by now, letting them think they were in control until I took over.¡±
Zarian snorted. ¡°What stopped you?¡±
Para bopped her head against his and let out a chuckle. ¡°You being you stopped me. You weed me happily. You¡¯ve always tried to keep me fed. You showed me the pleasures of friendship, which is important.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°Yes. As a parasite, these emotionally charged concepts do note naturally to me. But ever since you became my host, I learned them from you. I value friendship because of you. I care about things more and more because of you. I¡¯m even willing to sacrifice myself, which is not what a parasite should do, because of you.¡±
Para bobbed her head from side to side merrily. Zarian¡¯s eyes followed her, mesmerized, while she spoke further.
¡°The gods may look at you as evil, and our powers may be evil magic, but the moment you became my host, I felt your true nature. You are a good person. I can understand goodness without the alignment because of you. I¡¯m interested to see what more you¡¯ll do.¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t know what to say to that.
That was the biggest emotional gut punch he could get right now. Especially after beating a Master Ranker and keeping his Overwhelming Darkness from breaking free again.
He still tried to say something, but his throat tightened. His eyes stung a little. He couldn¡¯t say anything.
Para watched him with a big smile. Then, without another word, she touched foreheads with him again before she unraveled her face into parasitic threads.
She returned to being nothing more than a cloak hanging from around his shoulders and his back. In fact, she stopped forming random monstrous parts. She let herself move to the whims of the natural wind, like any mundane and ragged thing of dark red leather and little beads of glimmering light.
Para had no reason to show off right now.
Zarian looked down at his palm where parasitic threads had burst free. They were gone from sight, having returned under the flesh.
His high vitality must¡¯ve healed up the damage, leaving behind some stters of blood. Or had Para stitched him up regardless of vitality?
Did that mean his health was less of a concern? Could that leave more vitality for his stamina?
There¡¯s only one bad side effect to all of this.
Zarian¡¯s stomach roared like a dangerous beast. His hunger was far, far greater than ever before.
He reached back for Para¡¯s cloak, and the parasite formed a humanoid arm with slender, feminine fingers. She reached into her pocket dimension and passed him a boxed meal of fresh food that was mainly meat.
Zarian chowed quickly, running through multiple boxes. Para used multiple humanoid and girlish arms to pass him more fresh food. She put empty boxes back into the pocket dimension as Zarian ran through meal after meal.
Best skill ever, Zarian thought.
When Zarian ran through enough food to settle down his freakish hunger, he came to a sudden realization. ¡°Damn, if Ruven hadsted a little longer, that would¡¯ve been the perfect time to push the wizardry angle more. We could really learn to work on that without having to rely on Overwhelming Darkness.¡±
¡°Yes, I agree. I want to see how well we cast spells together after my recent improvements,¡± Para said, forming her lower face and neck over his shoulder. She spoke easily just like this. ¡°I think we can even study together and improve our learning. We can certainly multicast spells better.¡±
¡°Four spells at the same time? Five maybe?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°I think we can be more ambitious than that. Especially if we incorporate the spiders. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. We have many things to check on. And it¡¯s hard to think without food, so I will nourish myself now.¡±
Zarian nodded at Para¡¯s blooming brilliance and constant need to eat. She passed him a few more food boxes as dessert while also dumping bodies they had stored in the pocket dimension. She multitasked between feeding him some more and consuming bodies.
Seriously, the best skill, regardless of her ability to eat me from the inside out and takeover, Zarian thought.
She ate quickly and efficiently with blood-sucking tubes, flesh-tearingmprey mouths, and bone-crunching jaws she easily formed with the cloak. Nothing was wasted. She even licked up droplets of blood with tongue-like tendrils.
Then she dropped even more bodies and ate and ate as Zarian ate and ate.
While the duo continued their feast, Zarian nced up at Bianca, who remained on guard. She had done well. But she was still not the cheery young woman from before.
He looked down at the crater where Ruven looked worse for wear, but notpletely dead. They would have to decide on his fate soon, though Zarian had a few ideas.
Naomi and Gilbert were still clowning around, but this time Naomi was mounted on Slip¡¯s back as the eight-legged horse strutted around proudly.
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Hannah remained quiet at the top of the tower while keeping watch from miles away. She was soaking in the moment just like the rest of them, Zarian imagined.
Then Hannah said, ¡°You should check the notifications.¡±
Zarian jumped right on it in between meals.
Nice. That was a huge jump at these levels. They didn¡¯t even have to kill the elf prince to level up. Winning a fight against a Master Ranker while in the lower levels was good enough.
Zarian voiced his level up to the others. They all did the same, regardless of their defeated foe¡¯s presence.
Hannah leveled up from 78 to 79.
Bianca leveled up from 74 to 76.
Naomi leveled up from 73 to 76.
Gilbert leveled up from 73 to 76.
Zarian wondered why he¡¯d gained the most. Then he realized he hadn¡¯t just fought Ruven, he¡¯d also fought the Overwhelming Darkness. It showed in the next notifications.
¡°God dammit, Star System. I know we¡¯re going through a rough patch, but I want to kiss you right now,¡± Zarian said.
¡°And maybe bite you a little,¡± Para added.
The +2 on the wizard hat was a godsend gift. They needed every scrap of studying boosts they could get to cut through the onught of new spellsing their way.
Zarian already had some waiting for him in the advanced voidling grimoire. Grimoire of ck Magic 102 was one level away from resetting and making him have to choose a spell to advance. The hell gator grimoire wasn¡¯t that far behind either.
Zarian informed the others. And they told him of their growth in skills.
Hannah had only seen improvements in her Summon Magical Intelligence +2 skill. Granted, Hannah had stayed far out of the fight, so it made sense that her growth was smaller. She was okay with that since Magi had progressed considerably from this.
The magical intelligence, Magi, was like Para. Hannah had gained the skill-based summoning two months back from one of the newer achievements she¡¯d earned.
All of Bianca¡¯s skills had gone up except for Shining Mark +2. She didn¡¯t get the chance to apply that one on Ruven or it would¡¯ve made the fight easier.
The utility skill not only hindered a target¡¯s vision and focus, it also increased the uracy of allies aiming at those who were marked. She would have tond a solid hit the next time they fought a Master Ranker.
Naomi¡¯s entire roster of skills had gone up. Psychokinesis +2 was the biggest winner with four new levels, from 29 to 33.
She¡¯d used a lot of that skill to help her move around without throwing herself too hard or breaking the ground under her. And she¡¯d used it for a limited but useful flight, too.
Despite all that, Naomi¡¯s more recent discovery was more impressive.
¡°It¡¯s Half Ignition, by the way,¡± Naomi exined. ¡°The thing I did with my aura. I bet you felt it, Zarian. It¡¯s not Second Stage, but I think it¡¯ll get me there.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll be shaking in my boots when you start sting out punches from miles away,¡± Zarian replied.
Naomi let out a happy growl. She was still hyped up. Zarian didn¡¯t me her, but she didn¡¯t take all of his attention. Not when he owed someone his thanks.
¡°Gilbert,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Now, now, you don¡¯t need to roll out the red carpet or anything for me. I¡¯m just doing my job. Like a cop. But for the universe and beyond.¡±
¡°Still, I have to say this, man. You¡¯vee a long, long way. We weren¡¯t winning until you made sure we could win against the elf prince.¡±
¡°Si, you¡¯re ace, Gilbert,¡± Bianca said.
¡°I concur,¡± Hannah said.
¡°Still can¡¯t shoot worth a damn, but you¡¯re the man we need most when we¡¯re really hurting.¡± Naomi reached down from on top of Slip¡¯s back and patted Gilbert on the shoulder.
¡°You stop all of that now. I don¡¯t need this rain of praise.¡± Gilbert tipped his cowboy hat over his face. ¡°I¡¯m just doing the work I¡¯m set to do. It¡¯s you, Zarian, who had to hold it down against that awful darkness inside of you. God gave us a mission that¡¯s bigger than all these false idols and idolizers, and I¡¯m gonna walk with you all the way to see itplete. No matter how many elf retards they send.¡±
Hannah decided not to correct Gilbert on this. Instead, she directed their attention to the next items on the notification overview.
Before Zarian could move on, he got Gilbert¡¯s update. All of the big man¡¯s skill levels had gone up, with Sacrificial Blow +2 being his biggest winner, going from Level 25 to 29.
Then Zarian and the others shared the next notifications they had.
<Your freedom alignment (free evil +3) remains the same.>
Bianca¡¯s freedom alignment (free good +5) remained the same.
Naomi, Gilbert, and Hannah¡¯s freedom alignment (free for real) went up to +1.
That was all they needed to see to know the growth in freedom was based more on their actions now, which seemed to ce weight on defending freedom in some capacity, especially theirs.
Thus, the former neutral types were freer than ever. Or it was much harder for anyone toe in and control them.
¡°Did anyone hear that bird screaming in the background?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°I hear it in my heart,¡± Gilbert said.
Slip huffed and nipped at Gilbert¡¯s head haughtily. Apparently the Sleipnir didn¡¯t like the idea of birds being in his rider¡¯s heart.
The growth in alignment would¡¯ve been the most amazing part if it wasn¡¯t for the final notifications.
¡°Oh, wow,¡± Zarian said. ¡°We can upgrade traits in the Star System.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t upgrade Aura Ignition,¡± Naomi said. ¡°It¡¯s restrictive.¡±
¡°This is a pleasant change of pace,¡± Hannah said. ¡°Perhaps we should hunt down more Masters.¡±
¡°Damn it, Hannah. You tell me I can¡¯t say ¡®retard¡¯ while you¡¯re saying stuff about hunting a bunch of Level 100s. Next up, you¡¯ll make a farm for them,¡± Gilbertined.
Hannah didn¡¯t respond.
¡°You¡¯re thinking of making a farm for them, aren¡¯t you?¡± Gilbert used.
Hannah remained silent.
¡°I¡¯m not sure if this is the right time to make these major decisions,¡± Bianca said. ¡°We must do something about this pendejo who nearly ruined everything.¡±
Bianca had a point. While upgrading a trait was a tremendous boon, Zarian would want some personal time to decide.
Finally, Ruven said something, even if it came out as a croak. ¡°It would¡¯ve been easier if you didn¡¯t resist. It would¡¯ve been for the greater good. But you decided to resist.¡±
¡°There¡¯s a joke in there, Gilbert. Do you sense the joke? Do you? Do you, Gilbert? I bet Zarian senses the joke!¡± Naomiughed like a loon.
Zarian smirked.
Gilbert heaved a heavy sigh, ignoring Naomi¡¯s verbal jabs. He seemed a little more sober now, and he obviously wasn¡¯t happy about that. With slow steps, he strolled over to the crater Ruven wasying in and looked down at the beaten elf prince.
¡°Can we call his great grandma? That one is still world bound, right? I didn¡¯t quite get if he meant Purehome or someone else,¡± the Knighted Healer asked.
¡°I think Purehome is older and separate from his great grandmother. So we can probably negotiate with thetter,¡± Hannah said.
It wasn¡¯t a bad suggestion, especially since Gilbert was keeping Ruven pacified. Healing Force +2 could block the healing of a target. Tranquilizer Shot +2 could keep pumping away from range and pacify targets.
Ruven was stuck, making him the perfect ransom.
¡°So we hand the prince over, then let Zarian have his way with her as part of some major deal?¡± Naomi asked cheekily. ¡°I¡¯m down if I can be there for it.¡±
¡°Now I might still be a little buzzed, but I¡¯m under the impression that he was maxing his free evil there with some trash talk and didn¡¯t mean what he said.¡± Gilbert nced back up at Zarian while the Madness Wizard stayed on the thirty-foot boulder. ¡°You were speaking a bunch of hot air, right, chief?¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t say anything because there was something more pressinging from behind him he felt with his Basic Aura Maniption trait.
The moment he noticed, he and Para finished eating and prepared for another fight.
Para shifted the cloak into a dozen sharpened scythes, hacksaws, wed hands, hooks, bone-tipped tentacles, and even wolfish heads withrge fangs. She formed a dozen hands that grabbed the grimoires floating around Zarian¡¯s body, prepared to cast spells.
It didn¡¯t end there.
Para made changes to Zarian¡¯s body from the inside while he hunkered down. He felt her threads intertwine with his muscles more. He felt her follow his every intent, as if she was wearing his flesh while he was still in control.
Para¡¯s nature would¡¯ve been freaky if it wasn¡¯t for how easily she synced up with him through his Floridian Mindset. With their internals deeply embraced, Para could enhance Zarian¡¯s physicality way more than ever before.
As the finishing piece, threads ruptured from Zarian¡¯s palm with a small crimson spray. They grew rapidly, twisted into shape, and formed a solid handle. Then the handle grew into a curved and sharpened form of dark red color.
The parasite nodachi was born.
Following Zarian and Para¡¯s example, the rest of the party prepared for another battle, even if they hadn¡¯t fully recovered. Bianca was the only one who had to stay on guard over Prince Ruven.
Zarian faced the oing presence with his body and mind braced. He watched as a small form walked across the cold air with nothing under her feet. In fact, she went bare-foot just like Bianca.
She was a small slip of a girl. Or she seemed that way from afar. When she drew closer, Zarian saw she had enough curve to seem both mature and young at the same time.
The petite woman had pale skin that glowed under the lunar lights of the moons, as if she was some faerie creature walking out of the pages of fantasy. She wore a green and brown dress that seemed in at first nce, but that was far from the case. Zarian could feel the high density of magicing from her clothing alone.
Above her shining emerald green eyes, she wore a circlet of vibrant green and gold vines. Her head was further topped by long golden-silver hair that fell like a shiny waterfall past her narrow shoulders and down to her ankles.
Despite herrge volume of hair, Zarian could see the sharp tips of her elven ears poking out from both sides of her head. That seemed to be the cherry on top to what he was facing.
He wasn¡¯t sure if he should assume the worst. But there was certainly some danger.
The elves seemed likete-game enemies in this world, and this elf seemed way more dangerous than Ruven, even if based onposure alone.
Zarian didn¡¯t bother using Identify. He wasn¡¯t in a powerful enough position with Overwhelming Darkness fully sealed.
For now, he held his parasite nodachi in preparation. He waited as the petite elf woman finished her walk across the air and stopped on the boulder he stood on.
She was only ten feet away while Zarian and Para aimed their many abilities and magic at her. She didn¡¯t look at them. She looked down at the crater Ruven¡¯s beaten body wasying in.
Everybody was tense and quiet. Then Naomi let out a frustrated huff. ¡°Should¡¯ve showed up earlier. I would¡¯ve kept the aura ignited.¡±
Naomi¡¯s body was heavily debuffed right now. But Zarian knew she would try to throw down anyway, even if it meant using her psychic powers from a distance.
Do we have to fight? Zarian wondered.
He decided to lean on his Wonder stat. It was decent enough as his third highest stat.
He lowered his parasite nodachi and straightened his posture. Para stayed ready with her many limbs for savage melee and evil magic.
Zarian took his time before opening up.
¡°You know, I was just thinking earlier it would be nice if we get more fights like these. There aren¡¯t many creatures who can push my party this hard so we can have our bigic book team up. Maybe we have to pay the Forever Green Empire a visit for more asions like these.¡±
Zarian gave the elf woman a cheeky grin.
She took her time to respond.
¡°I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± Her voice was on the youthful, girly side. But there was a hint of wisdom that went beyond her appearance.
¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°There are many matters of importance conflicting at once.¡±
Hearing this, Zarian went all in with his political savvy. He ¨C or Para ¨C made the parasite nodachi unravel and slurp back into his palm. Then he reached behind himself and pulled out a cigar case from the pocket dimension.
He took out a single cigar, leaving five remaining in the case.
Para used a w to cut off the end. She fished out a runic lighter from the pocket dimension and lit the cigar for him.
Zarian had a couple of puffs. He enjoyed the smoke fully, letting it roll around his mouth, before blowing gray streams into the wintry wind. He hummed to himself a bit before he went a step further.
He reached back again and pulled out a clean, bone-white skull.
Almost instantly, Para read his Fractured Mind and hacked the bottom of the skull from the top. Then Para pulled out a small cask of beer from the pocket dimension. She pulled the cork from the hole before pouring the beer into the makeshift skull bowl.
Once the skull was filled with beer, Para plugged the beer cask and put it away in the pocket dimension.
The skull wasn¡¯t a perfect drinking implement, but it had a certain style to it. Zarian enjoyed himself. He smoked his cigar and drank beer from the skull of a previous enemy.
Everyone waited for him, and he let them wait while having a few more puffs and sips. He let the silence linger. Then he extended his arms off to the side.
Para formed a head over his shoulder. She still maintained her battle prowess, but she was ready to try new experiences.
Para was way smarter now. More cultured. She could savor the taste of politics, puffing from the cigar before tasting beer from the skull. The parasite smiled with delight.
Smiling in return, Zarian said, ¡°So you don¡¯t have a clue on where to begin, huh? Don¡¯t worry. I have you covered as long as you do what I say. First, start with saying whatever elsees to mind so I can better tell you what else to do.¡±
Chapter 123: B2: C23: This is My Guest 1
The petite elf woman turned away from the crater holding Ruven. She faced the Madness Wizard for the first time, her bright emerald eyes seeming to see straight through Zarian¡¯s soul.
He couldn¡¯t sense if she was or wasn¡¯t. It was a hunch.
Blocky clouds covered the starry sky. Snow flew in flurries on wintry winds. Bianca¡¯s big, charged up javelin glowed across the demolished battlefield, casting a bright light on everyone while drawing long shadows.
Finally, the elf woman said, ¡°My great grandson failed catastrophically.¡±
Zarian nodded. ¡°Your great grandson, huh? So is it safe to assume you¡¯re not Purehome but the Forever Green Empress?¡±
¡°No, I am not Purehome, who is my elder. But yes, I am the empress. Ruler of the Promised Continent and all the kingdoms there. I have many other names in my origins, but I don¡¯t think they matter.¡±
Ruven spoke up hoarsely. ¡°They do matter, great grandmother! You are Corma¡¯s Chosen One!¡±
The empress ignored him. Her bright green eyes kept staring into Zarian¡¯s soul (maybe). He almost wanted to feel ufortable, but free evil +3 kept him secured with his political charisma and edge.
Zarian took another puff on his cigar while Para refilled the skull with more beer. ¡°Well, your great grandson entered mynd. Assaulted me. Caused immense damage that threatened the people of my vige. And is an asshole elf retard.¡±¡°Amen,¡± Gilbert added.
¡°He should¡¯ve been more patient. He could¡¯ve chosen a more diplomatic solution,¡± the empress replied calmly.
¡°There¡¯s nothing diplomatic about trying to seal me away forever.¡±
¡°That was one of multiple options I¡¯ve presented him with. He has the training to do better. But I suppose my progeny let his ego and goodness override his pragmatism. He¡¯s never lost like this before other than to me, and his parents are soft on him.¡±
The little empress looked back down at her great grandson.
Ruven could barely move, but he shrank into the crater anyway, as if he wanted to disappear. The fear in his eyes was intense while under his great grandmother¡¯s scrutiny.
¡°Hey, Naomi,¡± Gilbert said, leaning toward the Rumble Psion and the trusty steed under her.
¡°What?¡± she replied.
¡°Do elves have different meanings to how family works or something? That¡¯s a kid saying she¡¯s an empress and calling Ruven her great grandson up there. I can¡¯t always predict the chief, but he¡¯s ying along with it pretty hard.¡±
¡°Gilbert has to be acting obtuse on purpose. There¡¯s no way he hasn¡¯t caught on. He must¡¯ve at least seen Lord of the Rings and know how elves age,¡± Hannah said.
¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± Gilbert said proudly.
Hannah nearly broke down on her seat in the tower. She would¡¯ve lost her coldposure if it wasn¡¯t for her focus on the most important political meeting happening on the World of Castles and Caverns.
The empress turned her gaze from Ruven back to Zarian and said, ¡°To be fair, he mistook me for being able to seal anything away forever. I spoke confidently about such just to save face in front of my controlling grandmother. I could only keep you sealed for at least two eras maximum. You should know why.¡±
Purehome is her grandmother, huh? Zarian kept note of that.
Aloud, he said, ¡°Yeah, yeah. Seals neverst. They¡¯re degrading the moment you nt them. The degradation can be slow or fast, but it¡¯s constant. The technical term is Sealing Entropy.¡±
¡°Indeed, Sealing Entropy is the bane of all good creatures who must put away unstoppable evil without the proper time or resources to kill them. If you¡¯ve read enough on the subject, you would know who has broken the most seals in all of Infinita.¡±
¡°The Dragon,¡± Zarian answered in between cigar puffs and sips of beer.
¡°Excellent. You are well learned, as evil should be. Or should I say ¡®free evil?¡¯ Hm, I suppose we can get into the semantics another time.¡± The empress nced down and wriggled her toes over the frost-covered stone. ¡°Now we must do the hard part. We must talk, Zarian Darkrun, and see how we can find a solution going forward.¡±
She looked back up at him expectantly.
¡°Yeah, I guess that was bound to happen. But are you sure you want to talk with me, though?¡± Zarian chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m only a petty vige lord. And you¡¯re the empress of an entire continent!¡±
¡°I see you find humor in the juxtaposition of our positions on the surface level. Under normal circumstances, you would be too insignificant to garner my attention. Even your threats to burn my empire and have your way with me would¡¯ve been nothing of note. I¡¯ve heard worse from orc shamans before I had their people go extinct. However, these circumstances are far beyond normal, and I¡¯m the one at your mercy unless I take drastic, shortsighted measures.¡±
Bianca sighed. ¡°Co?o. Why are there always genocides for the greater good?¡±
¡°They don¡¯t leave things to chance in Infinita,¡± Hannah murmured.
Zarian semi-ignored his friends and watched the empress with a straight face. ¡°Well, I still need to have my way with you. So how about this? You have to p your great grandson. Really hard. Then we can talk.¡±
The empress nced back at her fallen progeny with no love, concern, or pity on her face. ¡°You¡¯ve done considerably well against him. Better than anyone at your levels should.¡±
¡°We¡¯re still warming up,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Is that so? Many in my position might find that troublesome. Not only are you a universal threat, your party is remarkably strong. Hence, you¡¯ve defeated someone who¡¯s a Level 112 Master Ranker, which is unprecedented.¡±
¡°So, you¡¯re going to p him?¡±
¡°He is defeated. Why must I?¡±
¡°Because he nearly cost us the entire universe,¡± Zarian said. ¡°So if you want to talk, I need you to show you got some skin in the game.¡±
¡°I could attempt to seal you wholly for a long time,¡± she replied. ¡°I understand your sealing technique. You¡¯re all at my mercy.¡±
¡°But you know that¡¯s shortsighted.¡± He pointed his chub of a cigar at her. ¡°You could make me worse than The Dragon once I bust free. Because I will break free. In fact, I¡¯ll break free sooner rather thanter. I¡¯m already crazy, but who knows how much worse I can get after some solitary confinement.¡±
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¡°Hey, chief, tell her it¡¯s for the greater good,¡± Gilbert advised.
¡°Yeah, what Gilbert said,¡± Naomi added.
¡°Exactly!¡± Zarian cheered as Para giggled from behind him. ¡°It¡¯s for the greater good. You can¡¯t deny the greater good, empress! So p the kid for the greater good!¡±
¡°Great Grandmother, no,¡± Ruven begged, sounding like he was about to break down into tears.
The empress frowned. ¡°The greater good? That is considerable for me when I¡¯m good +4.¡±
Nice, Bianca remains the highest, Zarian thought with a smile. Then he said aloud, ¡°Good +4 is more than enough for this.¡±
The petite elf woman pouted a little. ¡°I don¡¯t like striking my own progeny down outside of training. But I suppose this is the price I must pay for not being more vignt with him in a delicate situation like this.¡±
The empress sighed. ¡°Fair enough. I will pay this price of yours.¡±
¡°Everyone, back off!¡± Zarian warned.
Bianca dismissed her supercharged javelin and flew away in a frenzy of lights. Naomi, Slip, and Gilbert skedaddled lickety split.
¡°Great Grandmother, no! Please forgive me!¡± Ruven begged, unable to move or escape. ¡°Please, spare me, Great Grandmother! Please!¡±
¡°For the greater good,¡± the empress said, pointing her finger at her great grandson.
An intensely bright sh turned the night into day, making Zarian wince and stumble back. He heard roaring magic. He felt a huge earthquake shake the battlefield, forcing him to hunker down with Para¡¯s help. His Basic Aura Maniption sensed so much magic generating and moving Zarian could hardly believe it was happening.
The empress could match his One Percent Power or go beyond it. She could destroy kingdoms andy waste torge parts of a continent. Maybe she could destroy more than that. All with a point of her little finger.
Once the bright light dimmed away, Zarian blinked rapidly to rid himself of the temporary blindness. Then he saw there was an enormous hole where the empress had struck. The sides were red hot with melted g dripping toward the bottom. The depth went down very far.
Ruven was gone.
¡°There. I pped him,¡± the empress said.
Zarian stared for a long while with the cigar in the corner of his mouth. The others slowly returned after running away to safety. They gathered near the boulder Zarian and the empress stood on.
¡°I think you killed your great grandson,¡± Zarian said.
The empress slowly shook her head. ¡°He has an item that rescued him before he diedpletely. He¡¯s back home now. The healers will save him. He¡¯ll be quite traumatized for the next hundred years. But I have other great grandsons and great granddaughters who can pick up the ck. Well, the ones I can count on.¡±
Zarian nodded. The empress was a serious little woman. He didn¡¯t know what else to say. The others voiced their opinion.
¡°You know what? This stuff is getting a little too far-fetched for me. Is this what you call anime nonsense?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°You know about anime but you don¡¯t know about Lord of the Rings?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°I know neither. So this is all news to me,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Scary,¡± Bianca said, staring at the hole.
¡°Amazing,¡± Naomi said, trembling.
¡°Whelp, I¡¯m partially satisfied. But not all the way. I¡¯m still going to work you hard, empress. I need my reparations, and I¡¯m going to get them for sure,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Ready?¡±
The empress bobbed her head up and down. ¡°Bring me to a suitable meeting area. In return, I shall brew you my family¡¯s secret tea as we discuss matters.¡±
¡°Oh, I like tea,¡± Bianca piped up, showing some rare cheeriness. ¡°Also, I just want to say this now before things get serious again. You are not only scary but you are very cute, se?orita.¡±
¡°Is she cuter than Foodie?¡± Naomi asked while still riding on Slip the Sleipnir. Her head was bobbing up and down. She was barely staying awake.
¡°Do not put me in such a position, Naomi. You are being cruel,¡± Bianca replied.
¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m supposed to go on about how this is a bad idea and the mini empress can turn around and betray us and all that. But there¡¯s more beer at the meeting ce. So yeah, let¡¯s go there before things go tits up as usual,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°I¡¯ll ensure the room is prepared,¡± Hannah said. Only the Floridians could hear her through the spiderwork. Or that was what they thought until they realized that wasn¡¯t true.
¡°What a unique style of magic formunication,¡± the empress said. ¡°Also, I¡¯m highly impressed with your runic crafting, young human. I would like to have some time with youter, after I¡¯ve spent some time with the wizard, of course.¡±
¡°She could hear me this whole time?¡± Hannah asked from miles away.
¡°I will question you on the meaning of ¡®Lord of the Rings¡¯ and what that has to do with elves,¡± the empress said. ¡°I am aware of ¡®anime¡¯ already and I would prefer we keep tentacles out of our first meeting.¡±
¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Hannah said shakily.
¡°Tentacles? You hear that, Para, no tentacles,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Noted,¡± Para said.
Zarian didn¡¯tment on the empress¡¯swork infiltration or her troubled knowledge about ¡®anime.¡¯
He figured this entire situation was a consequence of dealing with an overpowered elf. She hadn¡¯t lied when she said she had them at her mercy.
However, Zarian figured he had no reason to fuss. He held the biggest cosmic stick at the universal level. And Sealing Entropy was a real issue that the empress felt concerned about.
It is what it is.
He wondered how many more surprises might crop up. Of course, it didn¡¯t take long for even the Infinita Star System to throw in another curve ball.
¡°Before we go, you must decide on whether the tailor should have an invitation on this unusual night,¡± the empress said.
¡°The tailor?¡± Naomi shot ramrod straight, nearly bucking herself off Slip¡¯s back. She was fully awake again. ¡°No, it can¡¯t be that tailor.¡±
¡°Damn it, Ruvaria, you never know when to let a delightful surprise just y out.¡± A well-dressed drider appeared from nowhere on the ground near Zarian¡¯s party, nearly spooking the Sleipnir. ¡°I was really hoping I could reintroduce myself and hog all their attention. But now I have topete with Empress Ruvaria the Sorceress Queen! That¡¯s not fair!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t care, Baron Ekri the Flesh Ripper,¡± the empress responded.
¡°Oof, not that name. It¡¯s too boorish and unfit for me these days. Tailor works best.¡± Ekri turned his spider-like face toward Naomi, all six arms folded behind him. ¡°My, my, my. Look at you. You¡¯ve grown far faster and far greater than I could¡¯ve ever imagined. The threads of our fate truly have remained strong and blessed, Naomi Washington. Praise Hisscreep, because I¡¯m truly d to see you again.¡±
Naomi didn¡¯t respond.
It was at that moment, something inside of Zarian found a reason to dislike Ekri. Even if only a little. That little dislike grew as Ekri looked up and met Zarian¡¯s darkened gaze.
¡°You better hold on to this one, milord. She¡¯s the type that can really leave an impression, and I can¡¯t help but want to have that to myself. Not for her flesh. No, no. She¡¯s a walker. A wearer. She¡¯ll make my newest andtest inspirations really stand out like never before. You understand?¡±
¡°She¡¯s mine.¡± Zarian flicked away the remains of his cigar. He chucked the beer skull into the pocket dimension. ¡°That¡¯s about it. She¡¯s mine.¡±
Ekri the Tailor chuckled. ¡°Oh, the husband of Evil Goddess Shadowfell isying im to more than one? Harems can be fashionable if you do them right. But you¡¯re of this new and fancy thing that¡¯s getting all the younglings excited. What is it again? Freedom! How can she be yours if she¡¯s free?¡±
Zarian shrugged. ¡°The marriage is one-sided, and I don¡¯t want a harem. I¡¯m just saying Naomi¡¯s mine. She can dispute that if she wants.¡±
Naomi held her silence and disputed nothing. The others stayed out of it.
Ekri the Tailorughed some more. ¡°Well, well, I won¡¯t disabuse an apocalyptic man for standing up for what he believes, despite how dangerous that belief could be. Just know you must be able to defend what¡¯s yours without losing to others. Or to yourself, Zarian Darkrun.¡±
¡°Empress, I¡¯ve decided. He can wait outside,¡± Zarian said.
Ruvaria bobbed her head up and down.
¡°Oh,e now! Are you really going to put out a baron from Carrowmore? There are so many wonderful things I can tell you! Naomi, dear, can¡¯t you make him act more reasonably?¡± Ekri turned to her.
Naomi had a special connection with Ekri. She¡¯d often said she wanted to catch him and wreck him. Tonight wasn¡¯t the night for that. Not while Zarian was upset.
Naomi looked away from Ekri. She kept her mouth shut.
¡°We¡¯ll talkter, tailor,¡± Zarian grunted. Before Ekri could say anything more, Zarian turned to Ruvaria. ¡°Do you have a reliable teleportation spell? If not, you¡¯re going to have to see me dance a little to sweep us through the void.¡±
¡°Most teleportation spells rely on the void. Its emptiness makes it easier to teleport from one ce to another withoutplications,¡± the empress said.
Zarian was going to reply with interest on the subject. He was a wizard, after all. But the words stopped in his throat when his surroundings faded from the battlefield to a lively street in Ride-or-Die Vige.
Chapter 124: B2: C24: This is My Guest 2
There was barely any forewarning that she¡¯d used aplex spell. He¡¯d barely felt the trace of the void, either. She¡¯d moved them instantly to a spot near the center, making it look easy, as if she was merely breathing.
He looked back and saw the others were with him under the glow of neon magic lights, fully returned to their vige. No Baron Ekri the Tailor in sight.
When Zarian looked up, he saw the Central Library Artillery Tower looming above the other vige buildings. The structure stood as a vast monument to Hannah¡¯s crafting prowess and runic engineering while looking like a skyscraping weapon of doom, all ck with the dark red gator head emblem and cursive motto.
¡°I¡¯ve ced a ward around your vige made for Ekri. It would keep him out unless he wishes to attract my wrath. Thest time he did, I made him regret it for years,¡± Ruvaria said.
¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill him?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°That is a story for another time.¡±
Zarian looked back at the others. Nobody had anything to say. Then they nced off to the side as a pair of adventurers from the Windy Strider Kingdom walked drunkenly by them.
The striders were singing about how the world was ending and nobody had time for love except for the Darkness Lord and the Shadowfell Lady. Their love was the end of Infinita.
That was one of a few bawdy songs that turned Zarian¡¯s marriage into aedy, tragedy, dramedy, or all of the above. Zarian didn¡¯t put it past striders to find something to celebrate for even when there was a major doomsday fight miles outside of the wall.Wanting to avoid unneeded attention, Zarian grabbed the empress by the hand and pulled her down an alley. The others followed as Zarian escorted Ruvaria toward the tower. The empress didn¡¯t pull away or correct him.
¡°Thanks for putting up a ward,¡± he grunted.
¡°It is of no trouble to me,¡± she said.
Zarian stopped when a squad of pdins stalked through the alleys suspiciously. It was easy for Zarian to cover himself, the empress, and the others under dark shadows using his Dark Affinity, especially when Hannah or Magi dimmed down the lights around them. They also had advanced stealth enchantments on their outfits that kept them unnoticeable, too.
Once the suspicious pdins moved past, Zarian sent some spectral spiders after them. He moved on with the elf in tow.
¡°I can¡¯t use Identify on you right now, so I have to ask how you can do what you do?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°I¡¯m a Master Ranker at Level 184,¡± she said.
Zarian looked back at the others on the ground with him. None of them interrupted, trusting him to speak.
Even Hannah didn¡¯t dare speak. The observational prowess of the empress still spooked her.
Zarian nodded. ¡°Okay, this has been bugging me. This is a world for Levels 1 to 100 mainly. Yet, there are plenty who are way past that. Why?¡±
¡°Because the remaining Master Rankers and Level 100s chose not to ascend. Whiches with a drastic penalty in experience and other means of growth, as well as more negative attention from the System. Most Master Rankers don¡¯t get above Level 110 if they stay in a Lesser World, anyway. Some would rather let their life energy expire than ascend.¡±
That was more bleak than Zarian had expected. He didn¡¯t let it affect him and kept rolling forward. ¡°So you¡¯re far above most Master Rankers in this world?¡±
¡°I¡¯m the most powerful Master Ranker in the World of Castles and Caverns and in most of the Lesser Worlds across Infinita,¡± Ruvaria answered. ¡°However, I would be considered a small threat if I ascended to a Greater World, forced to grind against even bigger monsters and Master Rankers while hoping to avoid the attention of Champions. I don¡¯t wish for that, and even if I did, it¡¯s toote for me now.¡±
Zarian wasn¡¯t so sure if she was a ¡®small threat¡¯ as she imed, but before he could challenge her on what could be a lie, Hannah blurted out, ¡°Why is it toote for you to ascend?¡±
¡°The First Ascension Star Trial would tear me apart for being this high leveled whileing from a Lesser World. I have the advantage of nearly unending life energy, and many elves in simr positions are more harshly tested, especially if they go too high into the Master Rank from a Lesser World,¡± Ruvaria exined.
¡°So there¡¯s a heavy soft cap in progress after bing a Master Ranker in a Lesser World. And the First Ascension Star Trial is a hardcore test that can scale up with you based on level.¡±
Zarian could see how these measures reduced the chances of anyone reaching the Greater Worlds from the Lesser Worlds without earning it.
The empress sighed. ¡°So instead of dying in a test that would kill me, I stay and live the lifespan of an undying elf and rule at the top of this world.¡±
¡°What about regressors and world bosses?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°If I can get to them in time, the regressors will die,¡± the empress said. ¡°World bosses aren¡¯t easy for me to attack directly because of system parameters, but I have other ways if those who are much weaker than me can¡¯t handle that challenge. Other than that, I stay to myself and live a fine life.¡±
¡°Apologies, ma¡¯am, but that sounds like a coward¡¯s life,¡± Naomi grunted, breaking her silence atst. She remained on Slip¡¯s back, the eight-legged horse clopping across the cobblestone.
For the first time since they¡¯d met her, Ruvaria smiled. The look on her face expressed her many years of experience and wisdom. ¡°Yes, it is a coward¡¯s life. I¡¯m the biggest coward there is.¡±
¡°I think I like her,¡± Gilbert grunted. ¡°She¡¯s got the right type of attitude.¡±
Slip the Sleipnir let out a disagreeable huff. The eight-legged creature was more on Naomi¡¯s side than Gilbert¡¯s. Bianca fell mostly silent again while walking from the back. And Zarian walked from the front while brooding darkly.
This was a lot of great information for him to learn. But he was still upset with Ekri, which was distracting him still, and he hadn¡¯t figured out why. In fact, it wasn¡¯t smart to keep the Carrowmore Baron out. How much was Zarian missing from Ekri¡¯s side of the story?
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Zarian could justify his exclusion of the baron for Ezda¡¯sfort. The gnoll elder had a traumatic meeting with the drider when she was a young pup. But that wouldn¡¯t be true. Zarian simply didn¡¯t like the drider.
Before Zarian could keep brooding himself into a hole, Gilbert shocked him with a pat on the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s alright, brother. It¡¯s only natural. I¡¯ve been there.¡±
Zarian looked up at the big, blue-eyed man in confusion. Then Zarian nced at the others, but thedies were cing their attention elsewhere, especially Naomi.
With a shrug, he put aside his disgruntled mood. There was more to concern himself over.
They were going to cross past the central courtyard at the foundations of the tower. The stone buildings were all decently tall, many reaching slightly above hundred and fifty feet, but the library stood like a titan in the skyline.
Zarian found the alley¡¯s exit. He saw the bustling market surrounding the mostmercial area in the vige.
There were restaurants run by the Hemlock Family who¡¯d invested here first among other adventurous entrepreneurs. There were shops circling around the area run by other entrepreneurial adventurers that had paid a fee to the Hemlock Family, which had fattened the coffers of the Floridians.
Snowkes drizzled down between the stone towers. Magic lights shone on the crowds. Most people would probably stay up for hours longer after listening to volleys and volleys of the magic artillery fire from earlier.
The crowds could be distracting, but they weren¡¯t much of an attention grabberpared to the four temples of the vige, one at each of the corners of the central market.
One temple held Shadowfell¡¯s altar. He felt drawn toward it like being under a darkly maic pull.
Zarian ignored the pull and looked down into the empress¡¯s awaiting face.
¡°I want people to see us. Ready for that?¡± Zarian asked.
Empress Ruvaria sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve lived for three eras. And nothing tortures me more than the dreadful masses. I suppose this is another worthwhile punishment even after the near destruction of my great grandson.¡±
An introvert, huh? Say no more.
Zarian smiled darkly. He pressed his hand to the empress¡¯s back and pushed her forward. He made it seem like he was tossing a cute little girl to the wolves.
All conversation around the center died down quickly.
The silence was deafening.
Then an eruption of activity and voices roaring over each other filled the center. The sight of the first elf on the Walled Continent in over an era was worthy of mythical attention, especially since she was a petite thing.
Ruvaria red straight ahead. She wasn¡¯t happy. But she endured the onrush of gushing and talkative adventurers while holding back power that could wipe out the vige instantly.
Thankfully, Zarian was there. And with his presence, there was the benefit of the Uncanny Valley Effect, The Dreaded One, and Parasite Cloak +2.
Zarian made himself look like a nightmare from the darkest depths of a human¡¯s depraved imagination. Most people looking at him directly turned away fast.
Para spread out with multiple harmless limbs. She put no effort into tossing aside adventurers who focused too much on the petite empress.
Making solid progress on the political walk, Zarian nced back at the others. Gilbert was enjoying the show. Slip the Sleipnir nipped at random hands from people who wanted to touch his majestic hair and figure. Bianca was quiet and dim in the back.
And Naomi was looking at Zarian weirdly.
Her expression was mostly nk. He couldn¡¯t tell what was truly up with her. She was leaning hard on Tranquil Mind +2 to suppress whatever emotions she was feeling.
Maybe he should apologize about what he¡¯d said in front of Ekri the Tailor. While Naomi was his party member and fellow Marine, Zarian could see how he¡¯d sounded too possessive of her. It was kind of hypocritical to act that way as a Freedom Leader, wasn¡¯t it?
Once I apologize, she¡¯ll understand.
Zarian figured that was that. He turned forward and smiled as they reached the many steps up to the front door.
The air felt fresher once they moved under the stone awning. Zarian could almost taste the runic magic and high amounts of aura passing through the mega structure.
The ss doors slid open as they approached. Then a holographic male in a tuxedo appeared.
¡°Wee to the Central Library Artillery Tower!¡± Magi said cheerily. ¡°It is great to be your host, Empress Ruvaria. We can set an appointment for public tours once you¡¯re able. We even have a royal room with state-of-the-art amenities for esteemed guests.¡±
Nice job, Hannah and Magi, Zarian thought. The nicer we present things, the more luxurious we seem. The more luxurious we seem, the more we can leverage how strong and rich and awesome we are to the op elf.
Empress Ruvaria didn¡¯t reply as she examined Magi. Regardless of the holographic body and tux, the magical intelligence only looked semi-humanoid.
His face was smooth. His body, even while wearing a nifty suit, wasn¡¯t proportioned like a real humanoid man. His arms were too long. His body was too narrow.
Magi reminded Zarian of a smaller version of Slender Man. Hannah seemed to prefer him this way.
Before Empress Ruvaria responded. Another decently major political figure ran out. Zarian didn¡¯t recognize the woman until he heard her voice. By then, she already had him trapped in an embrace.
¡°My alpha! I¡¯ve been told to wait while you were on a conquest against a powerful enemy! Who was this enemy you¡¯ve defeated? And did Elder Para eat all of its remains? I would¡¯ve liked a taste if you can spare even a bone,¡± Ezda said, backing off from the big hug.
Zarian shook his head as he looked up at Ezda¡¯s humanoid form. Her skin was dark. Her hair was shorter while still falling as locks of yellow and brown. She still dressed like a savage woman with leather straps in front of her chest, but now she only had one pair of breasts.
Her pants fitted her looser. And she wore no shoes, disying ws from her bare toes. She had ws on her fingers, too.
When she opened her mouth, her yellowish fangs, although smaller, reminded him of a gnoll. And instead of being ten feet tall, she was a little under seven feet tall.
So she can shift into a giant hyena form and a smaller human form, huh?
¡°Did they treat you well, Elder Ezda?¡± Zarian asked with a small smile.
Ezda seemed to remember having tact. She bobbed her head, her locks failing. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been treated well. The Rnd human remained professional even though I think he should¡¯ve attacked me. It would¡¯ve been easier to let out the passions in our blood that way.¡±
¡°The gnolls truly haven¡¯t changed on this continent,¡± Ruvaria said.
Ezda blinked down at the petite elf woman. The human-shifted gnoll looked with wide eyes at the pointy ears. Then Ezda seemed to muster her boldness and speak haughtily down at the elf.
¡°So you remain alive as a political hostage, hm? Or as the reward for conquest? Excellent. The alpha should have his appetite sated by all types, even the smaller ones,¡± the gnoll elder mocked.
Ruvaria blinked her bright green eyes up at the haughty gnoll. No response.
Someone in the back, Gilbert most likely, was choking on air.
Zarian let out a soft evil chuckle. ¡°Ha ha ha ha ha. Oh, Ezda, Ezda, Ezda.¡±
¡°Yes, my alpha! That is my name!¡±
¡°Would you consider yourself the strongest gnoll in the world?¡±
Ezdaughed like a hyena. ¡°I know I am the strongest across all the Walled Continent. If there are other gnolls elsewhere, I¡¯ll dominate them all! I bet I can even dominate little elves if they meet me in open battle!¡±
Zarian nodded slowly. He gestured a hand at the little elf next to him.
¡°Hm, yes, yes, I suppose you could. Well, let me introduce you to this little elf right here: Ruvaria the Sorceress Queen, the Forever Green Empress, the Ruler of the Promised Continent and all the kingdoms that exist there. She¡¯s the strongest Master Ranker in this world and across the other Lesser Worlds. She¡¯s lived from the Reset Era till now. She¡¯s the granddaughter of Good Goddess Purehome. She once made Ekri the Tailor look like an annoying bug. And she is Corma¡¯s Chosen One.¡±
Zarian chuckled some more after the lengthy introduction. ¡°So, yeah, I will have my appetite sated, but this is not my hostage, this is my guest. Understood?¡±
Ezda turned around and ran away.
Chapter 125: B2: C25: Fractured or Manipulation 1
Zarian was standing with a porcin tea cup in his hand, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the top of the Central Library Artillery Tower. Wisps of vapors rose from the scalding hot tea. It was a dark blend. It had a herbal scent. Slightly minty.
His vige¡¯s most important guest, Empress Ruvaria, had just brewed it for him and the other upants inside of the spacious meeting room.
One might think in a political meeting like this, there was the danger of poison. But Ruvaria was the type who was so powerful the use of poison would be too far beneath her.
It was actually a flex that she could be the most powerful Master Ranker across most of the Lesser Worlds and still serve other people tea.
There were only six of them, the Floridians and the empress, who seemed present.
Zarian could make a case that a few of their skill-summons, Hannah¡¯s Magi and his own Para, could be major decision makers, too. If so, then the choices made by all eight of them could possibly rock the entire foundations of the entire universe and maybe further beyond.
Zarian imagined the man he was a year ago wouldn¡¯t have believed he¡¯d gotten this far so fast. Granted, many incredible things had happened.
He couldn¡¯t me the man he was before for not having the capacity to imagine all of this.
Here he was, holding an entire universe hostage, able to look out the top floor window of a weaponized tower and see many people scurry about under him like ants.In the old world, he used to be down there in the alleys when it rained. He used to look up at the skyscrapers and wonder what it would be like to be up there.
Between him and the scurrying people below were rectangr protrusions along the upper third section of the tower¡¯s sides. The magic artillery cannons have already cooled by now. They were ready to dish out more punishment against any major invading force.
¡°Outsiders never cease to amaze,¡± Empress Ruvaria said.
She looked out the ceiling-to-floor windows while standing next to him. The other Floridians were seated at the giant conference table, which was loaded with food and drinks galore. They were eating while taking sips from the ancestral elven tea.
Zarian hadn¡¯t taken a sip yet. Ruvaria hadn¡¯t taken one either. They looked out the window for a long while.
After rposing his thoughts, Zarian took his first sip of the tea and hummed with delight. It was excellent stuff. High in quality. Magical to the senses.
He felt like he tasted Nirvana as it flowed between his tongue, stomach, and brain. He felt more and more rxed. The tea soothed him.
¡°I guess we can¡¯t persuade you to think we came from the World of Swamps and Princesses, huh?¡± Zarian asked.
Ruvaria shook her head, her long gold-silver hair swishing with the movement. ¡°You can¡¯t. I know Florida is a specifdmass in the mundane world you herald from. I¡¯ve heard of it before, in fact.¡±
¡°Oh, is that so?¡±
¡°It is so. You¡¯re not the first Outsiders I¡¯ve met who came from there. Although, I¡¯ve met plenty who im toe from the World of Anime and Samurai. And those who im the World of Soju and Kpop.¡±
Back at the conference table, Gilbert burst out. ¡°Hey, I got those references!¡±
¡°Impressive,¡± Hannah said dryly.
Zarian couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. He wondered if he would meet any Japanese or Korean Outsiders along the way. Maybe there were other Americans, too.
He might have to watch out for that.
Other Outsiders might have their own OP-ness. Even if his OP-ness trumped everybody else¡¯s right now, all it would take was one crazy Outsider with the right skills to catch Zarian off guard and end everything.
There were already some wildcard factors brewing in the background who wanted to challenge, like Luciana, or seal him up, like Ruvaria¡¯s grandmother.
¡°Good Goddess Purehome isn¡¯t going to be happy with you after this, I imagine?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Our rtionship has always been transactional,¡± Ruvaria answered. ¡°There is no point in pretending otherwise. Family does matter. But even family has be a dreary exchange of favors for power and influence. It¡¯s times like these I prefer to fake my death and disappear for centuries.¡±
The empress gave Zarian a sidelong nce. ¡°But I can¡¯t ignore you. You won¡¯t let me ignore you.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t make me go away easily, either. Well, not without considering the long-term consequences,¡± Zarian said.
¡°We¡¯ve gone over this already. I may be old, but I was never dull.¡± Ruvaria sighed.
Zarian shrugged. ¡°I like the political dance. It¡¯s fun.¡±
¡°Enough performance. Tell me what you want,¡± she demanded, adding some weight with her good +4.
Zarian didn¡¯t let her goad him easily. Without a clearne to crush him like an ant, the empress¡¯s use of good +4 was an empty threat.
The freedom alignment made it hard for anyone else toe in and crush someone of freedom without the force to back it.
In other words, his free evil +3 was better than her good +4, especially in the political arena.
Zarian smiled nonchntly over the brim of his tea cup before taking another sip. He let the empress stew away in her annoyance before she finally took a sip from her own cup. Then she looked down at the dark blend with a hint of surprise.
¡°It¡¯s still awful,¡± she said.
¡°Tastes great to me,¡± Zarian said.
¡°It doesn¡¯tpare to my father¡¯s tea. His tea was the best. He was the best.¡±
¡°Is it too early for me to ask what happened to him?¡±
¡°He died in the First Star Ascension Trial.¡±
Zarian nodded. He supposed he held back long enough. ¡°My condolences, empress. I won¡¯t pretend I knew your father or your rtionship with him, so I won¡¯t say anymore than that. Instead, I¡¯ll make my request.¡±
¡°I appreciate that. And yes, tell me.¡±
¡°Mentor us,¡± Zarian requested.
¡°No,¡± the empress replied.
¡°I figured you would say that.¡± Zarian took another sip. He steadily walked around the petite elf woman. His ragged cloak moved smoothly with his steps. ¡°But I need to know why you would say that before I can haggle.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve mentored enough. I¡¯m tired. I have a garden to tend back home. I have many hobbies I would rather do.¡± Ruvaria took another sip from the tea. ¡°How about you point me at an enemy and let me erase them for you? I can do that much before the Star System attempts to impose its restrictions on me.¡±
Zarian shook his head. No dice. It wouldn¡¯t be cheating to use the empress as a hammer, but it would be too cheesy.
The Funnest Grandpapa had made it obvious that Zarian needed to do the hard work and staymitted to the grind. Zarian needed to stay away from making things too easy for himself and for his party. That would lessen the quality of his party¡¯s growth, which was especially bad.
¡°I guess you aren¡¯t in need of me destroying anything.¡± The empress sounded frustrated. ¡°I can talk to you and your friends. Make suggestions. Give advice. I have my own curiosities I would like to have satisfied. But mentorship requires a deeper rtionship. And I¡¯ve done this enough with adventurers before you. I¡¯m too old for it now.¡±
¡°Do you have anything you have to handle directly back at the Promised Continent?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°No. I made sure it can all run without me,¡± she said.
¡°Then I¡¯d like you to stay in my vige for a while. Be a long-term guest. Ask whatever you want. Everything you want to know is yours to know,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Besides, you know you can¡¯t just vanish. I¡¯m a huge, huge, cosmic issue. Do you want someone else toe into your backyard and mess things up? I¡¯m in your backyard. I¡¯m your problem. Who better to tend to that than you?¡±
Zarian held nothing back. His free evil +3 sang beautifully in this sort of contest. This was where evil shone best, especially his free evil +3.
I want her. I will have her, Zarian thought greedily.
Empress Ruvaria took a slow sip from her tea. ¡°How unusual.¡±
¡°There¡¯s nothing unusual about it. Why hide anything from you when I have nothing to hide? Why turn us away when you can watch over us and see everything with no resistance?¡± Zarian smiled wickedly.
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She pouted like a little girl. ¡°You are being too convincing. You are quite evil.¡±
¡°Evil? No, no, no, empress! What I offer is beyond evil! The schemes? The backdoor deals? The preparations to step on others and backstab up to the top? Yes, those are best used against pitiful yers who bumble their way through the game. But for someone like you? No, no, no, I will not y the game that way with you. I¡¯m going to flip the entire board instead by doing the opposite. By being honest. By giving you what you need. And then by giving you what you will want.¡±
¡°Honesty can be used for evil,¡± Ruvaria said.
¡°Yes, it certainly can. But you can¡¯t resist me when all I¡¯m doing is satisfying your curiosities, handing you solutions to your problems even before they crop up, and putting myself further into your mercy just so you can have more control. After all, I am just another nt in your garden. Despite me being big and prickly, I know and you know that with enough care, this big prickly nt and his nt friends can all flourish and make you proud.¡±
¡°I have heard simr words before. I know this trap. It is a noose to hang my spirit by. Yet I can¡¯t end you. I can¡¯t make you go away. Thus, your presence and words annoy me greatly. I don¡¯t like how you have all this power over me and must parade it as my problem.¡±
Zarian pressed forward until they were tea cup to tea cup. Ruvaria had to tilt her chin up to meet his eyes.
¡°Regardless of what I prefer and what you prefer, I need to control my Overwhelming Darkness. You are the best Master Ranker of the Lesser Worlds, with a bunch of names including Sorceress Queen. So, I¡¯m going to do everything I can to pull you into the fold and have you help me.¡± Zarian let out a low evilugh. ¡°So wee to Little Florida, my dear, a warm and lovely ce that¡¯s perfect for your next forever retirement home. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll take very, very good care of you. We have a decent track record for that.¡±
¡°You make it all sound that I have no choice,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°I can always disappear and hide.¡±
¡°I will find you. And make things inconvenient for you,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll make you so annoyed you¡¯ll identally kill me. Whoopsie daisies. There goes the universe. Again!¡±
Ruvaria turned from Zarian to the other Floridians sitting at the table. She looked expectantly at them, as if they should call out Zarian for being crazy.
They didn¡¯t, of course. Because they were Floridians, and they all had the craziness, Bianca especially.
¡°You remind me of my abu,¡± Bianca said. ¡°You sound like you need someone to take care of you and not make you feel used. Let me help you, se?orita.¡±
Ruvaria blinked, not able to respond right away.
Bianca moved from her seat gracefully, her colorful dress swishing with her long strides. She crossed the distance before crouching down to look up into Ruvaria¡¯s shiny green eyes.
¡°Si, si, I know. I see what¡¯s the problem. I understand. This is why you must stay. It will take time, but you will get better.¡±
¡°You know not what you are babbling, child,¡± Ruvaria said.
¡°I don¡¯t need to know. I just need to feel it. And I can feel it.¡± Bianca smiled brightly. ¡°We will have good times together. You need a spa day. Let¡¯s do a spa day for all the girls.¡±
¡°I¡¯m pampered well enough.¡±
¡°Yes, but no. Not properly. And not well enough to heal what¡¯s wrong inside. We¡¯ll work it all out together.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t need you or anyone.¡±
Bianca nodded seriously. ¡°Do not be afraid. It will be painful, but once you¡¯re on the other side, the wound in your heart will feel a little better.¡±
Zarian had no idea what was happening. But he wasn¡¯t going to stop it.
The exchange between the princess and the empressess had Ruvaria on the back foot, either way. The petite elf woman had an expression that was both unnerved and dumbfounded. She waspletely stumped by Bianca being Bianca.
Unable to handle the Bianca-ness, Ruvaria turned away and looked out the window.
¡°I hate it when things getplicated,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°It was simple in the early days. Evil attacks good. And good ys evil. Rinse and repeat. But two eraster, everything¡¯s moreplex. This is the Dark Era indeed.¡±
Ruvaria sighed. ¡°And I¡¯m the darkest I¡¯ve ever been even with all of my des. I should just go home and ept things as they are.¡±
¡°She sounds like she needs a healthy smoothie,¡± Bianca suggested.
Zarian reached over and patted the Latina on the shoulder. He gently turned her around and sent her back toward the conference table.
It was good to see Bianca¡¯s bubbly personality rise to the top again, but it could be too much without some restraint. At the very least, Bianca knew to listen when Zarian needed her to dial down the Bianca-ness.
Zarian let the silence persist afterward. He finished his tea. They did nothing but look out the tall windows and watched the snowfall and heavy block clouds crawling above the vige. Finally, after an hour of nothing happening, Ruvaria broke the silence.
¡°I will stay until I can make a more permanent decision,¡± the empress said. ¡°I would like to get shown to my room soon, but before I go, I wish to weigh in on your next decisions, children.¡±
¡°Oh?¡± Zarian raised an eyebrow. The others sat up in their seats curiously. They listened politely like well-behaved children in ss.
¡°When upgrading a trait, know that this is a very rare gift from the System. You should use it on a trait that might yield the best rewards for your profile, especially one that helps synergize with many of your abilities and the abilities of others.¡±
Ruvaria spoke in a schrly tone. It was easy to listen to her. They all wanted to listen to her. She really was the best mentor across the many Lesser Worlds. So Zarian took in every word of her advice like the most delicious meal.
¡°Do not waste your upgrade on a trait that has a higher quality simply because it has a higher quality. It is often the lower or mid quality traits who improve the most with those upgrades, which can make the biggest and most positive difference.¡±
¡°How long have you been watching us?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°Forgive me for throwing this suddenly, but it¡¯s been something I wanted to ask.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve been watching you more directly since the moment the Darkrun Apocalypse concluded,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°It¡¯s only just recently that I¡¯ve taken a closer examination. This has led to certain curiosities I¡¯ve had while also giving me some insight into your situations.¡±
¡°Can we ask for more insights before you head in?¡± Hannah asked greedily.
¡°No,¡± Ruvaria answered.
That did not surprise Zarian. Ruvaria had done more than enough for tonight. She had also opened a can of worms regarding her long-term surveince.
Gilbert looked like he wanted to admonish the empress, but then he held back and gave himself time to think. It was probably lucky that he had a self aware moment and kept his mouth shut for once.
Zarian certainly couldn¡¯t say much, not when he had the vige and the wilds beyond covered with spectral spiders. Besides, they were always under surveince in one way or another.
They had done their best to mitigate certain outer influences from looking too closely at them, but they didn¡¯t have an adequate way of stopping it fully.
After thanking Ruvaria for her advice and for deciding to stay over and consider the offer, Magi appeared and guided the empress to her room inside the tower.
With her physically gone, Zarian let out a big sigh and dropped the free evil +3 sub alignment, freeing himself up from ying the role of big, bad politician.
He dumped himself into his seat at the head of the conference table and looked at the otherszily.
It didn¡¯t matter that Ruvaria could observe all of this. Just because he had nothing to hide didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t let himself chill out and act as he pleased for different asions.
Right now was the time to put his feet up on the table and rx.
¡°Been an interesting few days,¡± Zarian said.
The others agreed. There were casks with plenty of beer. There was also more tea in the pot. There were plenty of snacks that remained, which Para grabbed with lengthy limbs to feed her host directly.
Zarian, Bianca, and Hannah drank the rest of the tea. Gilbert and Naomi went for the beer.
The Floridians took their time to hang out, talk about prior adventures that came with important discoveries, and exchange important info. They went over stuff going on with the vige, the foreigners, the guild members, the wolf dragon invasion, and whatever else came to mind.
Other than having a massively overpowered elf in their vige, they had three prominent issues.
One, they had no idea when the Mythical Regional Event would begin again officially.
Two, the situation at Grimrock was getting out of hand.
Three, Zarian¡¯s Evil Goddess wife could cause horrific damages and death with her rise in activity.
¡°Your wife can act in ways that the other gods can¡¯t,¡± Hannah said. ¡°We¡¯ve heard nothing about monstersing from Sickspread or Goldhound except for The Dragon. But that one is asleep while your wife seems to act under different rules. I suppose it makes sense with her origins entwined with yours, Zarian.¡±
Hannah was sitting with legs folded under her. Her Architect Suit and Smart Gauntlets clung to her body more, revealing that she wasn¡¯t the mousy brte Zarian had once known.
Her body had filled outtely, looking better for it. The cold and hard edge to her expressions, however, had remained the same for the past four months.
She was giving Zarian a hard look right now. ¡°You can make her stop. You can order her right now. You can even take control of her, really, if you want to push it that far.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not going to,¡± Zarian said.
¡°I get it,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Really?¡± Hannah asked.
Gilbert shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a forbidden fruit. Take one bite, and you¡¯ll invite a whole heap of sin that will push you too far out into the wastnd.¡±
¡°There will be many deaths if Shadowfell progresses further as an active evil force,¡± Hannah said.
¡°You can¡¯t always see the path in front of you when things seem all dark. But you just have to hold fast to your faith and let that carry you onto the other side,¡± Gilbert said, nonchnt. ¡°I think the chief¡¯s right by not ying into this game his folks got set up with Shadowfell¡¯s family. It¡¯s too obvious. It goes against what¡¯s needed. Defeating the darkness from the ground up is the surefire path.¡±
Hannah huffed in frustration. She waved her hand around her. ¡°Nothing about what we do is from the ground up. Look at where we are now. I¡¯ve created this ce by pointing my hand and making it so. What¡¯s the difference between this and taking the reins on an Evil Goddess when you have the power to do so?¡±
¡°Seems like that now, us being far off the ground. But I don¡¯t think we¡¯re that far off. I still remember every part of when Jack snapped my neck as I cried like a baby,¡± Gilbert said.
There was an awkward silence after that.
¡°Maybe we should get some rest. I¡¯m going to stay in the vige for a while and see if I can help with our elf abu.¡± Bianca stood. ¡°I¡¯m excited about this. She¡¯s not the bad side of good. She¡¯s ¡ hurt. I want to help her. I will help her.¡±
Zarian nodded. He noticed the free good +5 ebbing and flowing around Bianca¡¯s form more freely than before.
The sub alignment was harder to summon up. Free good was the hardest form of all the alignments, in fact. Bianca truly had to pull up the essence of goodness from inside of her to make it work, and it didn¡¯t seem as powerful as traditional good.
It was the reverse of thest situation. No longer could the force of goodnesspel her. She had topel the force of goodness herself, and that came with less power, unfortunately.
Then again, we haven¡¯t seen Bianca push to the peak yet. She¡¯s still figuring it out. I just hope it¡¯s not too big of a setback for her to lose the power from good +5.
Even if she was weaker with free good +5, Zarian couldn¡¯t see her going back to traditional good. Not after all she had done to heal from her trauma.
¡°Buenas noches,¡± Zarian and the others said.
After Bianca left, Gilbert and Hannah bickered over ideologies and opinions surrounding the Shadowfell situation. Zarian didn¡¯t mind the divergent opinions, especially since they were both epting of his bizarre and horrifying marriage.
They both knew what it was like to be in a bad marriage while looking forward to the divorce. Once Gilbert and Hannah were ready to call it quits, the two left the conference room and went to bed.
Chapter 126: B2: C26: Fractured or Manipulation 2
Zarian noticed that Naomi had remained behind.
He had known this would happen. He found himself a little lost for words because he couldn¡¯t read Naomi easily. Out of everyone, she alone could block out certain aspects of the mind spider in her head.
She couldpletely eliminate her emotions, thus making herself the most unreadable. She gave Zarian nothing he could work with as they watched each other.
Before Zarian found something worth saying, Naomi smoothly stood from her seat. Something in Zarian¡¯s brain tripped up as he watched her move.
At first, he felt rmed because he wondered how much of his mental sabotage was from Naomi¡¯s abilities. Then he realized Naomi¡¯s psychic magic couldn¡¯t breach his mind so easily.
Not in a hostile way, at least.
His brain tripping was more on him, which left him confused since he had a huge amount of Willpower. His mind should be a fortress.
But Willpower was a stat that covered more than just the mind. It also touched on the spirit, too, along with emotions.
Something inside of Zarian used his own Willpower against him. His mind wasn¡¯tpletely fortified against everything because his spirit or flesh were reacting strongly.Naomi was dressed in her Psychic Battler Suit, which was like Hannah¡¯s own skin tight suit. But unlike Hannah, who had only recently filled out, Naomi had always been a shapely woman.
Her insane physical training regimen hadn¡¯t taken away from her body¡¯s obvious femininity. It had enhanced all the best qualities if her body, in fact. When she walked around the meeting table with a sway to her hips, it made her prominent features stand out even more.
And the way she was moving was different, too.
More effective.
Zarian clearly remembered how she moved during Operation Domination months ago, which had been dynamic. But this one was more ¡ intimate. More focused. She wasn¡¯t walking for the attention of the crowds. She was walking for his attention alone.
Before he knew it, Naomi reached him where he remained seated. He knew then and there he had lost to her. He was at her mercy, which left him wondering what she would do.
She ced one hand softly on his shoulder before bending at the waist. She stopped and held a position above him, giving him an angle where he had a lot to see.
He hadn¡¯t realized there was a button and p to her suit that revealed her cleavage. It was right there in front of his eyes.
Then she went as far as removing his wizard hat and setting it on the table gently. Zarian¡¯s eyes roved upward until he locked in on her eyes. He still couldn¡¯t read her, but he stayed focused in the depths of her straightforward gaze.
¡°You have more power than you know what to do with,¡± Naomi said. ¡°You hold our lives in your hands. You make the decisions we want to follow. And you say things that have asting impact. You are the most important man in the universe, Zarian.¡±
¡°I know,¡± he murmured.
¡°Then why did you say what you said?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°Without thinking of how that¡¯ll affect me.¡±
¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking,¡± he said.
¡°I¡¯m not surprised.¡± Somehow, her response sounded matter of fact instead of being a put down. ¡°You do what you want regardless of the consequences.¡±
¡°I still have to own up to the consequences.¡± Zarian heaved a heavy breath. ¡°I¡¯m not free of that.¡±
Naomi ced her other hand on his other shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re right. You¡¯re not free of the consequences.¡± She slid closer, one leg on his seat, her knee was between his legs, the meat of her thigh against his crotch. ¡°Well, Marine, you know what this means.¡±
¡°I yed a stupid game,¡± Zarian said listlessly.
¡°You win a stupid prize,¡± Naomi added in rote.
¡°What¡¯s my prize, Staff Sergeant?¡±
¡°I will make you more aware. I know you¡¯ve blocked it off. That¡¯s been okay when things were just us and our little party. But if you¡¯re going to make it known loudly that I¡¯m yours, then you¡¯re going to have to reawaken that part.¡±
She lowered down. Her full and shapely lips, wet with a thin film of saliva, brushed over his lips. He tasted her breath. It was sweet and warm.
He felt an urge in the pit of his stomach. His chest warmed. It became hitchy. His heart pounded very loud. He became tense. He felt like something bestial was rising from the depths.
She hadn¡¯t even fully kissed him and she had this much of an effect.
Her lips brushed over the corner of his mouth. It traced a line across his cheek, soft, delicate, torturous, thrilling. Then her lips stopped close to his ear.
She rubbed the lobe with her upper lip. Then she flicked at the lobe with her bottom lip.
She waited and let her breath pass hotly into his ear.
She was calm. There was no psychic energy sparking off. She was not invading him. She didn¡¯t have to.
She just let him feel her in a way he hadn¡¯t felt before. Then she finally pulled back in reverse. Slowly, too. She only drew away bit by bit.
The meat of her thigh slid away along with the rest of her shapely leg from between his legs. Her hands trailed away. Then she stood and walked off. Zarian remained in his seat, heart hammering, his head feeling light, his body a storm.
Naomi stopped at the door.
¡°I want to love you like a brother or a best friend, Zarian. I shouldn¡¯t do more than that. I have issues. And I have an impossible dream to achieve in this life of ours. I can¡¯t be distracted,¡± she said.
¡°But?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°I¡¯m a dog. I get hungry just like everybody else. I¡¯ve been doing my best staying on the leash. Better than Gilbert, at least. But I can be bad if you keep tempting me. So, you better watch out, okay?¡± Naomi warned.
¡°Why am I getting warned?¡± Zarian asked, weary and dumbfounded.
Naomi didn¡¯t answer. She kept steamrolling. ¡°You need this warning. So you can think about it and be more mindful. Because If you don¡¯t, and you keep ying stupid games like you do, I won¡¯t be able to stop myself, Zarian. And I¡¯m not the only one. There are other women circling in. But they¡¯re more like starved sharks. So you better be a strong swimmer or a big fisher.¡±
¡°I have big responsibilities. I need to be focused.¡± Zarian groaned. ¡°And I¡¯m a married man.¡±
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¡°Then act like it. Or face the consequences.¡± Naomi left.
Zarian sat there in silence for a long time. He felt hungry suddenly. He still felt the echoes of Naomi¡¯s body all over him.
He still felt her lips brushing over his. He remembered the taste of her breath. He remembered how her breath sounded right against his ear.
His stomach growled.
His appetite had certainly renewed.
He needed to refocus elsewhere. He couldn¡¯t let Naomi throw him off so easily. She hadn¡¯t given him the chance to apologize, either. Or maybe there was no point in apologizing.
The damage was done.
Things were different with Naomi now, even if only a little.
More importantly, he didn¡¯t understand why she wanted to awaken something inside of him. He had too many other things to focus on.
Yeah, let¡¯s get to work.
Zarian stood from his seat a little stiffly. After a few strides, he felt closer to normal. He went to a kitchen a few floors below. The tower had multiple, up and down.
Each one had high quality cooks and chefs under employment of the Floridians and their guild. Some were talented adventurers, others were people brought by the Hemlock Family.
He went straight to the meat locker and raided it for sustenance.
Once satisfied, he paid close attention to half a dozen activities in his vige. The suspicious pdins were talking about conducting a holy war and causing some terrorism in the vige. Bernard wasn¡¯t part of this group of pdins. Zarian figured the terrorists were a more extreme sect of pdins.
There was no need to discriminate and hunt down all pdins. He would let the terrorists plot and move about, as if they were sneaky enough, before he struck them down in a showy fashion.
Other than that, nothing else of note reached his attention on the Spectral Spider Network +2.
Going to his spacious apartment, Zarian dragged his feet in and was relieved that there was nobody in there. He had a weird thought about Naomi before he banished it.
Zarian removed his gambeson and stripped down to shorts. He looked at himself in the mirror and marveled at the weight he¡¯d gained in muscle from his chest alone.
Then his cloak zipped straight into his back. Zarian blinked in surprise.
Apparently, he could hold all the parts of the Parasite Cloak +2 inside of him now. It was a little weird not seeing any signs of Para while her skill was still active in the alpha section, but at least he could see his back muscles clearly.
While he did spend four months studying, that didn¡¯t mean he hadn¡¯t exercised. Still, the muscr growth was beyond normal. He imagined this was because of Parasite Cloak +2 getting that enormous boost in Willpower.
¡°What does Naomi mean there are women circling in like sharks?¡± Para asked, forming a talking mouth on Zarian¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Do they want to eat you?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s a metaphor for me being attractive to them. And my attractive actions are making them want to act in a frenzy, I guess,¡± Zarian said.
¡°This is not for eating, I assume. The actions between you and Naomi aren¡¯t about the consumption of each other. I believe you have other needs that aren¡¯t apparent to mine,¡± Para said.
¡°Yeah, something like that. There might be times when I need you to go dormant for privacy. But I don¡¯t want to turn you off entirely,¡± Zarian said.
¡°I can go dormant myself and awaken when you need me.¡± Para went silent. His shoulder returned to normal.
¡°I might need you as soon as we get back to studying for spells,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Maybe the spectral spiders, too.¡±
He felt Para giving him a positive confirmation through their mental link. There were multiple ways for them tomunicate.
He was d he¡¯d put all those points in Willpower. Para seemed way more flexible now, and that was great for her and him.
Zarian chuckled, shaking his head at his reflection in the mirror. He went over to the full bar his apartment came with. He poured himself more beer.
Then he sat on the expansive, half-crescent sofa in the sunken floor section in front of his home-theater System.
There was an entire screen made of magic ss against the wall that he could operate with an enchanted crystal ball. When activated, the screen disyed information he¡¯d inputted himself.
No entertainment, unfortunately. This world didn¡¯t have television shows or any such recordings.
Instead, Zarian had pages upon pages of notes he¡¯d uploaded into his local runework and could disy on the screen.
It helped to have a bigger view of things when dealing with the gravity spell. The graphs and symbols and magical mathematics demanded it.
Despite the difficulty, Zarian wanted to go after the gravity spell once and for all. He felt like he needed a big game changer.
Overwhelming Darkness was in his control for now, at least with One Percent Power. But that was obviously the one direct attack option he had in his magical repertoire.
Other than attacking in melee range, he needed something else to fill that direct damage hole. There would be plenty of times where he wouldn¡¯t want to unleash his darkness. He needed more options.
¡°It¡¯s about time I go all in on gravity,¡± Zarian said, flicking at the brim of his wizard hat while it was back on his head. ¡°The other spells would have to wait. This is too important to set aside anymore. But before I can do that, I¡¯ll have to decide on one of two traits to upgrade.¡±
Zarian had thirteen traits. But only two of them could make the biggest impact on him as a wizard. He had to choose one or the other.
One could evolve his mentality further at the risk of driving him crazier. The other could expand his magical prowess and make it harder for others to get the jump on him.
¡°Fractured Mind or Basic Aura Maniption,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Which one should I upgrade? Which one will benefit me the most right now and for the long term?¡±
Zarian looked hard at the gravity notespiled on therge crystal screen. His heart rate picked up when echoes of Naomi¡¯s touch revisited him.
His imagination veered toward the other ¡®sharks¡¯ in the water. He really had a lot of powerful and avable women inside or around his circle, didn¡¯t he?
He wished he remained unaware of certain aspects. He almost wanted to get angry with Naomi for triggering this so-called awakening.
Thest time he¡¯d pursued anything remotely intimate with the opposite sex, he¡¯d been burned. He¡¯d been burned too many times.
Friendship was easier.
Friendship was safe.
Why was it now that these women wanted him?
That¡¯s the consequence of being overpowered.
Zarian wanted to get angry. Not at the current women around him. But at the ones who¡¯d hurt him without realizing what they¡¯d stepped over or stepped on. Would they have changed their approach if they knew what he was truly capable of?
He couldn¡¯t get too angry with Naomi from how things were in the old world, because she¡¯d done a lot for him. She¡¯d risked her neck to get him in the Marines even though she knew he was unfit. Other than Ariana, Naomi had shown him more kindness and concern than anyone else in Zarian¡¯s life, like a big sister.
But things had changed after the portal incident. They were different people.
¡°Does she know she has a lot of power over me?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°More than anybody else, maybe.¡±
That was dangerous. Yet, he wasn¡¯t sure if he was against it.
¡°We should stay friends. We need to stay strictly friends. Nothing more than that,¡± Zarian mumbled. ¡°So, Fractured Mind or Basic Aura Maniption?¡±
A knock on the door caught his attention.
¡°It¡¯s open,¡± Zarian said.
Gilbert let himself in, dressed in pajamas. Without even saying another word, he raided Zarian¡¯s fridge. Then he tossed himself onto the sofa with one arm filled with snacks and drinks, the other holding onto a few books.
He looked up at the crystal screen and nched.
¡°This nerd stuff?¡± Gilbertined. ¡°Come on, man! We¡¯ve been at this forever. Can¡¯t we rx?¡±
Confused, Zarian looked at Gilbert for a long while. Why was he here? What was he doing?
Instead of asking, Zarian turned to the screen. ¡°I have lots of studying to do. I need another big damage attack for the times I can¡¯t use Overwhelming Darkness.¡±
Gilbert groaned. ¡°Fine. Sure. Go on and study or whatever. I¡¯ve brought some books with me written by a hrious bard. Dude¡¯s got some raunchy stories that will have me praying for forgivenesster.¡±
Zarian sighed. ¡°You won¡¯t get bored?¡±
¡°I probably will. But I figured I can be bored in my ce or be bored here. So why not be here?¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t know why, but he appreciated that. Gilbert gotfortable as he thumbed through a volume he¡¯d brought along and enjoyed himself while eating Zarian¡¯s snacks.
Meanwhile, Zarian kept looking up at the gravity spell notes on the screen. He set aside all distractions, which felt easier with Gilbert around for some reason. He kept debating himself on choosing Fractured Mind or Basic Aura Maniption.
Which one should he choose?
Or:
Which one?
Chapter 127: B2: C27: Unraveled 1
Zarian let out a deep and low chuckle. Then it became a loud and hystericalugh, as if he was a madman who had escaped an asylum.
¡°Heh heh heh heh HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!¡±
Laying on the sofa across from him, Gilbert gawked, his face turning pale. He might¡¯ve dealt with a few crazies in his time as a cop, but none as dangerous as Zarian.
The Madness Wizard experienced a trippy feeling that made him want to lose all control. He felt like he could let go of everything and keep unraveling forever and ever.
He didn¡¯t let himself unravelpletely, of course. His Floridian Mindset and free evil +3 grounded him well enough.
He had a backbone. He had his determination. He had cunning, charm, and smarts. Combined with Unraveled Mind, Zarian had a better understanding of himself without going fully insane.
He¡¯de from nothing, forced to exist at the bottom of everything. Then all of that had changed with some magic and the opening of a portal. He was now at the center of everything.He was bing what he was truly meant to be, and part of that ¡®bing¡¯ was going through the growing pains. He shouldn¡¯t shy away from that.
No, no, no.
He should lean into it.
Go all in. All the way!
If Naomi wanted petty vengeance by awakening something inside of Zarian for having roused her attraction, then why shouldn¡¯t he embrace that? Why stay shy and frustrated because of the past?
Fuck the past!
He was progressing every day.
He was changing every day!
He was living in a tower with magic artillery cannons protruding from the sides! He was securing mentorship from an elf empress who was thousands of years old, a survivor of three eras that even the so-called gods haven¡¯t survived intact! An elf who was known as Corma¡¯s Chosen One, the most powerful Master Ranker across most, if not all, the Lesser Worlds!
She could be his wizard mentor if he yed his cards right.
He had actual friends who epted him for who he was despite how much of a fuck up he could be. He was brimming with so much power and magic that his doomsday, crash-out option was only one part of his power set.
He was the better half of Overwhelming Darkness. He was the one who would reign supreme in the end, not the power itself.
So, yes, he was going through some growing pains. But that made everything matter all the more.
The frustrations wouldn¡¯t go awaypletely. But how he reacted or acted toward obstacles was his to control.
And wasn¡¯t control such a tricky but wonderful thing?
¡°Chief?¡± Gilbert called out nervously.
He was standing now. The books and snacks had spilled onto the floor. Someone was going to have to clean the stains off the rug.
Zarian held his finger to his lips. ¡°Not now, my most sinful Christian friend. I¡¯m having my eureka moment.¡±
Gilbert tried to talk past that. Zarian didn¡¯t pay attention to his words. He watched the man himself.
Gilbert looked tense. Like he was going to use an ability and was second-guessing himself. Zarian predicted what Gilbert would do before he settled on the decision himself.
¡°No tranquilizer,¡± Zarian warned. ¡°Or the next time you go horizontal with an evil strider woman, my spiders will ruffle the sheets. By the way, you have a weird fixation on sleeping with wild and evil women. You might want to check that out.¡±
Gilbert gaped at him. Zarian had thrown him for a loop. At the very least, Gilbert was holding back from using his Tranquilizer Shot +2.
Zarian didn¡¯t me him for being prepared just in case. The Madness Wizard was still getting used to his new Unraveled Mind.
For a rare trait, it had a tremendous impact. Not as obvious as some of his epic or legendary traits, but it almost mattered the most. Almost like a linchpin to who he was.
With Gilbert pacified, Zarian¡¯s unraveling thoughts swept around to something that caught his attention. His mind wanted to pick at the concept of control.
He was obsessed with control.
He needed control.
He couldn¡¯t ovee his Overwhelming Darkness without more control.
But, as ofte, all that lust for control had turned a little detrimental, hadn¡¯t it? He¡¯d allowed himself to get stifled because of the desperate need for control. He¡¯d slowed down. He¡¯d lost some aspects of himself that made his new life fun.
He¡¯d suffered quite the humbling, which had left its mark on him. But that didn¡¯t mean he should let his peddle-to-the-meddle factor die offpletely.
He was made for chaos. He was wild in his heart. He was a man with an impossibly immense lineage, making him an existential threat to all life, yes, but that only made the journey to conquer his own darkness even more interesting.
He was pretty sure his entire ultra god family was filled with chaotic, wild, and destructive individuals. He imagined they were far from perfect, hence why they acted in aissez-faire manner to raising him.
He wanted to control his Overwhelming Darkness so he could do more with it, not less. He wasn¡¯t trying to just control it for the sake of controlling it. Or at the very least, he wanted it to serve as a tool in his tool box just like any other power.
It shouldn¡¯t be bigger than him.
He should be the biggest.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
¡°I alone am the Dreaded Outsider,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I do what I want.¡±
Parasitic threads wriggled everywhere from under Zarian¡¯s flesh.
Gilbert paled even further from hearing those words.
The reality of the world seemed thinner than before. Like it leaned more toward the conceptual than the actual.
Like Zarian¡¯s mind was on the verge of unraveling the dimensional integrity of the universe and slipping into the depths of the abyss far beyond the Star System¡¯s grasp.
Maybe all he needed was a push.
Or maybe he simply needed to push harder.
But that didn¡¯t really interest him. While he did want to loosen up a lot more, he didn¡¯t want to forgo everything he¡¯d worked for.
Chaos was fun. But applied chaos, the type that was focused and purposeful, was even better. So instead of trying to paint far outside of the box, he could make his box the most fantastic thing anyone had seen.
¡°I¡¯ve been going at the gravity spell wrong the whole time.¡±
Zarian touched the crystal ball. After a few inputs, he erased months of work. Just like that. It was all gone.
He turned to the Knighted Healer. ¡°Gilbert, my friend, what is gravity?¡±
¡°Can I talk now?¡±
¡°Yes, you very much can.¡±
¡°Well, I reckon gravity is the thing the eggheads say keeps us on the ground, yeah? I don¡¯t believe that, but that¡¯s what they say.¡±
¡°Close, Gilbert. Gravity is the rtivity of importance. It¡¯s when time, space, and energy are bent to the whims of what matters most. Everything else that is less important falls into the influence of what is rtively the most important.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not much into science, but even that doesn¡¯t sound right to me,¡± Gilbert admitted.
¡°That¡¯s because magic doesn¡¯t work entirely under mathematical and scientific principles taught by human mortals without Systems and without real magic. That¡¯s limiting. In fact, philosophy is just as important as math and science for spellcraft.¡±
Zarian summoned his ck magic grimoire, the spectral chains rattling between the covers and his soul. He thumbed through its pages rapidly. He loved how the pages sounded extra demented the further along he went. He hadn¡¯t paid that little detail much mind before.
¡°For example, the Bloody Lifesteal spell is an attempt at prolonging one¡¯s life at the cost of others. This is a spell crafted by someone who doesn¡¯t believe they can make it to their first ascension without the sacrifice of those around them, whether friend or foe.¡±
Zarian flipped to some other pages. ¡°Then we have the Raise Advancing Skeletons spell, which was made by someone who believed in the superiority of skeletons as a clean, efficient, and pragmatic workforce. In fact, the person who crafted this spell wanted to use necromancy for all the right reasons.¡±
Zarian shook his head with a dramatic sigh. ¡°But it fell into the evil camp because of how gruesome and unholy necromancy looks at certain stages. Don¡¯t pretend that you don¡¯t get the ¡®ick¡¯ when my beautiful skeletons are shedding their useless flesh.¡±
Zarian waved the grimoire around, its spectral chains rattling some more. ¡°Now, back to the original topic. The importance of the gravity spell makes it the biggest in my grimoire. Bigger than all the spells among all my grimoires, really. It¡¯s so big that I do everything I can to study other spells instead. Or I try to understand the gravity spell as linearly and quickly as I can to get it done and over with.¡±
Zarian shook his head.
¡°But that¡¯s the wrong way to approach gravity. The importance of the gravity spell makes all of its parts dense and influential, regardless of me looking at the beginning, middle, or the end. It doesn¡¯t matter how far along I go, I will never finish understanding the spell if I keep thinking linearly.¡±
Zarian scrutinized the pages of his grimoire.
¡°Honestly, I think the spell adds more pages and scripts to itself when I¡¯m not looking. It literally gets denser and denser the further I delve. And that is happening no matter how quickly I try to study in a straight line. In fact, lines are faulty here. Gravity epasses the entire spell like a curve. Or better yet, a sphere. I need to think more circrly to grasp the whole reach of gravity. Maybe even beyond three-dimensional concepts. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±
¡°No,¡± Gilbert said tly.
Zarian nodded rapidly. ¡°That¡¯s okay. I¡¯m d you¡¯re here, buddy.¡±
¡°Uh, sure, man. Same here.¡± Gilbert gulped and straightened up, looking firmly down at Zarian. ¡°Just don¡¯t shoot yourself again, okay? I¡¯m serious.¡±
¡°Yeah, yeah, I won¡¯t. By the way, if Naomi doesn¡¯t give Jack a worthy death, I certainly will. I¡¯ll revive him just so I can torture him and kill him again if the first death isn¡¯t good enough.¡±
Gilbert slowly nodded. He had little more to say.
Zarian was on a roll. ¡°Anyway! I¡¯m going to be busy for a while. I need to start from scratch and be more epassing of the entire gravity spell. Heck, I can already see things I¡¯ve missed on the first pass from trying to brute force everything in a line!¡±
ted, Zarian dove into his studies. He¡¯d never felt so excited about studying before. Studying gave his Unraveled Mind a purpose, because it wanted to solve this long, tedious, andplicated puzzle of a spell that would¡¯ve broken most wizards.
Zarian didn¡¯t mind his mind getting broken anymore. He refused to let that stop him. He was feeling giddy about the aspects of what this spell could do, so a failure was nothing more than a mini pit stop for him.
Hell, the gravity spell could possibly ¡®guide¡¯ his Overwhelming Darkness better than his current options. Maybe it could make his Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style redundant.
Zarian found that funny. The spell that had haunted him for what felt like a long time could be his salvation. Or maybe it was just another fun spell to toss into the mix because being a wizard with OP spells was the best.
Hopefully, there would still be interesting challenges that could make him think a lite once he imed the gravity spell. Or he would have to ask his wife to create bigger and badder monsters for him, which he probably shouldn¡¯t do, since that would most likely backfire, but that might be the better option than letting himself get bored.
Nobody should let a bored son of ultra gods run around unchallenged and unchecked.
By the time Zarian finally took a break to feed himself, it was morning. Gilbert had fallen asleep on the sofa. He stayed even though he had nothing to do but hang around.
Gilbert really was a bro. He had a horrible taste in women, but he was a bro.
Other than that, there was a plethora of new notes on the living room magic screen.
The previous Zarian, before gaining Unraveled Mind, would¡¯ve found it all iprehensible. Most people, wizards included, would¡¯ve seen it all as gibberish, too. But the current Zarian, with his new Unraveled Mind, understood it all well.
He also had an extra guest in his room who understood his notes as well, or maybe even better than him.
Looking up at his notes with a serious gaze, Empress Ruvaria was wearing a light green nightgown that was loose and billowy on her petite frame. Her hair was fizzier than before. She hadn¡¯t even bothered to clean herself up.
She tilted her head from side-to-side, toes curling into the fibrous rug under their feet. With a flick of her finger, she operated his privatework herself and scrolled through his notes on his big living room screen.
Zarian held his breath as she examined his notes and findings.
¡°Impressive,¡± she said.
She approves! Zarian had no idea how tough of a teacher the Sorceress Queen could be. He imagined getting apliment from her on anything magical was a hell of an aplishment.
¡°I¡¯m only getting started,¡± Zarian said.
¡°This is the work of an unsound mind that is immensely gifted. You¡¯ve changed drasticallypared tost night. What trait did you advance with the upgrade?¡± she asked, her eagerness peeking through.
Zarian told her about his new Unraveled Mind. He even went as far as reiterating his thought process from before he gained the rare trait to how he was thinking afterward. The empress nodded along, showing more interest in him as he exined.
When he finished, he waited for her to speak. She took her time.
Zarian and Para starved as they waited. Gilbert got up, made himself breakfast, and went out by the time Ruvaria finished thinking.
¡°Keep going,¡± she said.
¡°I gotta feed us before we can keep going,¡± Zarian said, his body growling with monstrous hunger.
He turned toward the exit. Ruvaria disappeared. Then she reappeared with multiple trolleys stacked with freshly cooked and meaty beasts. She also brought untouched bodies of monstrous creatures as big as three bullsbined.
Zarian was pretty sure these offerings didn¡¯te from the tower.
Where had Ruvaria snatched these from?
And why was she so eager to feed him now?
Wasn¡¯t that a little funny? She was good +4 and ruler of an entire continent, while he was free evil +3 and lord of a little vige on the frontiers. Yes, there were universal and apocalyptic factors, but despite that, Zarian found this budding rtionship with Ruvaria bing quirkier, more amusing.
Chapter 128: B2: C28: Unraveled 2
Zarian was thankful his room¡¯s personal kitchen area was enormous. It had a long kitchen ind that was perfect forying out multiple meals or a few bodies in Para¡¯s case.
The wizard and his cloak ate their ravenous fill. Empress Ruvaria provided more food until their hunger was sated. Then Zarian was back on his gravity spell study, but this time he included Para more.
She worked as his soundboard as he discussed some of his ideas aloud. She either debated with him or pointed out the parts he¡¯d overlooked.
Despite being a parasitic article of clothing, she was hooked up well to his body where she could pull from his senses, his memories, and even his thoughts, which made it easier for her to predict when he was going too far down into the rabbit hole. Then she would pull him out and help him refocus.
Eventually, they included some spectral spiders for experimental purposes. They used their arcane webbing to y with gravity runes that were tiny pieces that made up the whole gravity spell.
There was no other spell that allowed him to try out pieces of itself before learning theplete spell. Only with the gravity spell could Zarian attempt mini trial runs, and he wouldn¡¯t have known to do this if Para hadn¡¯t suggested it.
Hours became days. Ruvaria remained in his room, watching his process. Para moved about with multiple arms and hands to jot down notes or flip through grimoire pages for Zarian while he was making notes on the living room screen.
Spectral spiders looked at the notes and tried to replicate certain runes for practice in their webbing. Most of the time, nothing major happened other than tiny fluctuations of gravity ¨C they once sent a mug flying across the room.
Zarian kept encouraging them to go bigger.When they did, the entire gravity of the room flipped.
Zarian felt his stomach roll and his heart pound hard as he tumbled toward the ceiling with arge sofa following him. He blinked once, felt an enormous burst of magic, and saw everything freeze in ce.
Ruvaria canceled the gravity mishap and returned all of Zarian¡¯s stuff to where they belonged. She even ced him down gently on the sofa, which was surprisingly kind of her.
¡°Be more careful or you¡¯ll throw the entire tower into the sky,¡± Ruvaria scolded.
¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Zarian replied, sitting heels together, left hand left knee, right hand right knee, just like a Boot Marine at boot camp.
¡°Also, you and Para missed certain parts of the temporal section and how gravity affects time. Also, recheck your notes on gravity and dimensions. Redo them if you must. You want to be sure of what limitations you set for yourself with gravity or you¡¯ll attract more than you should beyond the Star System. You¡¯ve already attracted too much attention.¡±
¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Zarian and Para said together. The spectral spiders saluted.
Then Zarian asked, ¡°You know more about the Star System and what goes beyond than someone in the Lesser World should.¡±
¡°I may be a coward, but I¡¯m not dumb. Now go back to studying you foolish and apocalyptic fiend of a child.¡±
¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Zarian said alone.
Later on, Zarian vaguely recalled Bianca bursting into the room and scooping up the empress. Bianca wasining about how the empress was smelly, her hair was a horrible mess, and that the elf abu shouldn¡¯t stay so long in a man¡¯s room without checking in with the girls.
Once Bianca had a hold of her, the empress seemed powerless. She looked to Zarian for help.
There was no help he could provide. Not against Bianca and girl stuff.
More days passed by. Nothing major required his attention on the Spectral Spider Network +2. He¡¯d made some awesome progress on the gravity spell and solved issues that had stumped him prior to the trait upgrade.
Empress Ruvaria¡¯s asional help was a godly gift that kept on giving. Para and the spectral spiders were brilliant assistants, sometimes filling holes in Zarian¡¯s unraveling studying process.
He was no longer bothered by failure and setbacks. He epted each difficult moment as a worthy puzzle waiting for him to unravel unless Para figured it out first.
Then she would tease him a little. She gave him clues instead of outright saying it because he would learn better that way.
So many people were afraid to fail because it seemed like failure was life or death.
He¡¯d thought the same when he was younger, which was an anxious mentality to have. Failure had meant he wouldn¡¯t eat consistently. Or he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold down a job. Or he would end up in jail, or worse, dead.
He was free from those mundane consequences now.
He had more universe-breaking consequences to ovee, but that was a problem forter. All that mattered was the gravity spell. That and when his people wanted his attention.
¡°Hello, my alpha. I¡¯vee to tell you that I must go to report to my tribe now.¡± Ezda shifted from foot to foot nervously as she looked about the messy room. It was as if she was ashamed to break into a sacred ce, one that belonged to her alpha.
Zarian burst free from a small hill of notes Para had made with stencil and paper. His hair was wild and mangy. He¡¯d skipped a few meals, so he was a little skinnier than he should be. And his room had seen little cleaning because the fluctuations of chaos would ruin most efforts to clean it up.
And Zarian felt more creative when it was messy.
Spectral spiders crawled everywhere as they conducted mini magic tests with gravity runes and arcane webbing. A few pieces of furniture were orbiting around the room or clumped together because of some of their practical experiments.
It was less a sacred ce and more of theboratory of a madman.
Now that I think about it, doesn¡¯t me living in a tower as a wizard mean I have a Wizard¡¯s Tower? Zarian wondered as he strolled through the mess.
Parasite limbs swept mountainous stacks of paper out of his way as he approached the humanoid gnoll.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Ezda looked even better than thest time he saw her. She was wearing a dress now with sandals. And her fangs looked even whiter. Her locks were shorter, but now they had red ribbons woven into them.
She looked girlier than ever before, even while standing close to seven feet tall.
What happened to his brutal savage?
She looks happier. Zarian smiled. I guess if I think about it a little, I can infer why Ezda is here in the first ce.
¡°I understand why,¡± Zarian said.
¡°You do?¡± Ezda asked.
¡°You¡¯vepleted your mission by learning to integrate into human society. While other gnolls might be incapable of transforming like you, they don¡¯t truly need to transform to hold back their urges.¡±
Zarian grasped his chin thoughtfully.
¡°It hasn¡¯t been a long experiment, but it¡¯s been long enough for you to see things from our perspective before reporting back to the other elders. From there, you and the other elders will implement ways for your tribe to adapt to the changing times. And you can better convince them to join the freedom alignment while serving under me as your alpha.¡±
Ezda gawked at him.
Zarian reached up and patted the side of her face. Then he pinched her cheek and shook it a little. Ezda buckled a little from the show of affection, leaving Zarian to carry the conversation.
¡°The biggest problem is dealing with your young in the prairie pits and bloodletting. I understand that gnolls breed fast, and without a means to control your own poption, it can get out of hand. I¡¯ve thought about that problem, and while I haven¡¯t been there myself to see things, I can offer a suggestion.¡±
¡°I await whatever advice you have,¡± Ezda said eagerly, snapping out of her shock.
¡°Get a dungeon core and nt it nearby. Let the dungeon deal with your young. Those who survive will not only be better at dealing with dungeons, but they won¡¯t be so intense when dealing with each other or other humanoids. You could also farm resources from the dungeon and make it a mutual rtionship.¡±
This was a messed up thing to suggest. And he hadn¡¯t visited the site to see things himself. But if everything about the gnolls having an outrageous poption issue and needing to cull themselves was true, then there had to be a better option than throwing their young into pits for them to eradicate themselves.
They could eradicate themselves against dungeon monsters, feed the dungeon, and then let the rest of the tribe celebrate the survivors and farm resources from the dungeon.
Despite the gruesome suggestion, Ezda glowed with adoration from hearing his advice. ¡°This is ¡ brilliant! But it is difficult. To get a dungeon core from a dungeon would require great luck, would it not?¡±
¡°Or it would require another dungeon boss who is a glitch in the matrix, isn¡¯t that right, Hannah?¡± Zarian asked.
A few secondster, Hannah¡¯s voice transmitted through the room¡¯s enchanted inte. ¡°Yes, that would be correct.¡±
Zarian imagined Hannah had kept tabs on him consistently. He wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she¡¯d picked up a few new tricks based on his studies and live practices of gravity.
¡°It would be a little inconvenient, but if you¡¯re fast enough, we can lend you our dungeon boss to help you get a dungeon core. I¡¯m more inclined to let this happen since you¡¯re taking a guest with you to the Blood Prairies and to your stronghold, I imagine,¡± Zarian said, looking past Ezda.
The human-shifted gnoll hadn¡¯te alone. Naomi was leaning against the wall near the entrance to Zarian¡¯s room.
She wasn¡¯t as unreadable to him as thest time he saw her. She still had a tranquil attitude, as if what happened weeks ago was an afterthought, but that was all a part of her poker face.
¡°I¡¯m not getting much better staying around our little vige here. I figured Ezda can show me around the Blood Prairies and I can help her improve her Willpower while being a training partner for their rising gnolls,¡± Naomi said. ¡°If there¡¯s a dungeon that you want me to conquer while escorting Reiki to grab a core, I can do that, too.¡±
Zarian nodded. ¡°Sounds like a n. The kiddos will be sad that Reiki¡¯s cafe will be shut down for a while. But it¡¯s for a quote-unquote good cause.¡±
¡°Are you sure you want to do this much for us?¡± Ezda asked.
¡°Yesterday¡¯s enemies are today¡¯s friends. But how do we stay friends? The best way I can think of is making longsting changes that are more helpful than letting things stay the same. That is what you call real progression.¡±
Ezda lunged in for a big hug, sweeping Zarian off his feet. His face was stuffed into her chest for long enough where he was a little concerned about how he would draw his next breath until she finally let go.
Then Ezda went a step further and nuzzled Zarian with her human face. He gave her some head pats and scratches behind her ears until she was satisfied.
Hannah called for Ezda toe down to the basement where the dungeon waited and the core waited. Once Ezda was gone, Zarian and Naomi mostly had the room to themselves as Para and the spectral spiders made themselves scarce.
¡°You smell,¡± Naomi said. ¡°You need to take a shower.¡±
Zarian smirked. ¡°We¡¯ve breathed enough of each other¡¯s funk to tell each other apart by smell. Now you¡¯reining before heading out to the Blood Prairies. Don¡¯t be so weak, Marine.¡±
Naomi snorted. She almost smiled.
Zarian looked Naomi up and down. ¡°You look good.¡±
¡°I do what I can.¡±
¡°You do the best that you can. You hold nothing back.¡±
Naomi arched an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯ve changed.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve upgraded my Fractured Mind to Unraveled Mind. It¡¯s given me some new perspective on things. I even have a better idea of what¡¯s going on between us.¡±
¡°Oh? Do tell.¡±
¡°You dream of being stronger than me.¡±
For the first time in a while, Naomi¡¯s poker face cracked. Zarian grinned as he watched Naomi try to hide the chink in her armor.
Zarian leveraged his advantage and went on the attack ¨C verbally.
¡°We¡¯ve joked about it before. Or maybe it was a subject that hase up in a non serious manner. But it was never non serious for you. Somehow, someway, you want to ovee me and my darkness. Which is why you reacted so strongly when I made my im for you in front of Ekri the Tailor, because he was someone you wanted to step on as you climb up thedder of power.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to step on you, Zarian,¡± she said.
¡°Maybe you don¡¯t. Or maybe you do.¡± Zarian crossed the distance between them. He looked down into her eyes. ¡°Love and war are two sides of the same coin, some would say. For you, Naomi, they might as well be the same thing. Do you really think you can beat me?¡±
Naomi¡¯s brown eyes locked onto his. She didn¡¯t waver. She refused to look away.
She looked like the most stubborn mortal anyone could ever meet.
He liked that a lot about her, despite the futility of her dream.
¡°So you¡¯ve made your choice,¡± Naomi said. ¡°You¡¯re going to be the big fisher.¡±
¡°There wasn¡¯t much of a choice. I am what I am. But don¡¯t pretend that this is all about me. You¡¯re the one who wants to do the fishing, but what you¡¯re trying to fish is unbeatable.¡± Zarian leaned down until his mouth was close to Naomi¡¯s ear. ¡°I¡¯d like to see you try.¡±
He backed off after that. Naomi had little else to say. She left his room without even exchanging a goodbye.
¡°The mating practices of humans continue to confuse me,¡± Para said, using his upper arm to speak from.
¡°Think of it this way, Para. We¡¯re just two unique humans with a unique approach to sharing our feelings. And that¡¯s mostly through the promises of violence, like any good pair of Marines.¡±
¡°I am not sure about feelings like those. They seem less reliable. But in practical applications such asbat, I can think of several ways that Naomi could defeat you as you are now. But if this is a battle where she wishes to fight the entirety of you, including Overwhelming Darkness, then this is impossible. She will be crushed like a bug.¡±
Zarian chuckled. ¡°I think the same.¡±
¡°But?¡±
¡°I really want to see her try.¡±
Zarian continued his studying, but at a more even pace. He remembered to feed himself and Para more while also taking showers and cleaning up.
Eventually, Early Spring arrived. And while Zarian still had more gravity studying to do, it was about time he went outside and got some exercise.
It was Gilbert¡¯s birthday month.
It was festival time.
And the terrorists were going to make their move.
Chapter 129: B2: C29: Early Spring Festival
Zarian found a problem with Unraveled Mind while standing on top of the Central Library Artillery Tower. He was trying to ignore it while enjoying the rooftop view.
It was a wonderful view. Breathtaking even.
The Early Spring suns were rising, turning the eastern skies a white gold color like new loot filled with shiny jewels. The morning sunbeams shone on the lingering ice that was melting off the surfaces of wild castles, tree tower forests, and fortress hillocks of the former North Crown Peak region.
There were new rivers, streams, and moats forming from the melted winter snow transitioning into cool spring water. Budding flowers, wild gardens, and mazes made of hedges were regaining their vivid colors as beasts of thend, rivers, and air became more active with the warming temperature.
Even as a dark entity, Zarian could get behind a view like this. But his Unraveled Mind wanted to uncover all the big andplicated mysteries, impeding the splendor. Ceaseless questions spiraled in his head like a drunk hurricane.
How did they make world themes seem so natural?Gravity ounts for a randomness to what gathers together and forms up but all of this is through intelligent design that holds together seamlessly. Was this the System or the creator of the System? Or did the Systeme afterward?Regardless of the System, the name itself and the belief in this world being natural can be the important glue filling in some of the seams. I wonder what Empress Ruvaria thinks about world creations. Does her grandmother have the power to create worlds? Maybe if I bug Lovewar or Serveserf hard enough, they will answer.
Zarian sighed wearily at his rampant thoughts. He was now seeing how annoying he could be when he was in constant nerd mode all the time.Gilbert should bemended for having checked on him personally from time to time, reminding Zarian to be a human.
Hannah was probably too absorbed with Zarian being a wizardly freak to consider the humane concerns. But Hannah shouldn¡¯t be med for that.
She¡¯d sacrificed a lot of herself to make this vige a functional ce in only a few months. She was still trying to cope after having died, revived, and getting told that her existence depended on the whims of the Madness Wizard, his darkness, and his ultra god family.
Zarian started with his Level 0 Tranquil Mind to smooth things out. Then he used his cultivation technique. He cycled his breath rhythmically as his mind calmed further.
He felt his Overwhelming Darkness stir while threading its monstrous power through his channels and gates for a few slow loops.
He didn¡¯t lean all the way in or he would lose days to his cultivation. He only did enough to help put his Unraveled Mind in check.
His Floridian Mindset acted as a heavy anchor between the spiritual discipline and the mental insanity, which led to his unraveling thoughts stabilizing.
The fractures in his mind only had a few deviations now. He couldn¡¯t stop the deviating thoughtspletely, but he could better mitigate it.
Once he had a better control of himself, the suns were above the horizon. The first parade was already marching through the slick, wet streets, with their horns ring and their performers shouting and singing in the central marketce as they headed down one of the big streets.
Para was finishing her study of a new spell from the voidling grimoire. Unlike the other grimoires, the texts were printed on metallic sheets with deep indents. It was easier for her to read them by touch without Zarian having to look ahead. Granted, Para was still evolving, so with time she would get better and better at stuff that humans take for granted.
¡°I have it now,¡± Para said, her arms and tentacles extended from around Zarian¡¯s waist.
The red and leathery Parasite Cloak +2 was wrapped around his waist instead of her usual spot on his back. The materials and limbs hung over his ck armored legs and boots, which were visible through the opening in the front.
The duo were going for a new appearance and tactic.
Other than the sealing gauntlets and his ck wizard hat, his upper torso remained bare, showing off his muscles. He looked a little bigger after the giant breakfast he and Para had enjoyed earlier.
As the finishing touch, Zarian now had a pair of ck sunsses, which was a gift from Bianca that she¡¯d requested from Hannah to make. The sunsses were enchanted to be incredibly durable and to keep himfortable even while under bright conditions. They also made him look more impressive.
That worked well enough for him, since the Infinita Dark Lord should be a striking figure.
They really love doling out multiple names for the big guys. Now I¡¯m known as Darkness Lord and the Dark Lord, which aren¡¯t the same thing and can have many meanings depending on who you ask. Though, I think Dark Lord is getting more widespread way faster.
Zarian chuckled a little at the quirkiness of his life. Then he turned to the humming, metallic grimoire that Para was holding with three feminine hands.
Thanks to a powerfulbination of abilities and high Willpower, Para could speedrun Zarian through the fourth void spell. Zarian didn¡¯t let his mind unravel except for a few interesting points that caught both his and Instructor Para¡¯s attention.
The void spells were slightly the antithesis to the gravity spell. Especially whenparing philosophies. In fact, there was another way to look at void spells.
They reminded Zarian of the concept of entropy.
Zarian found that interesting since the empress had exined that all styles of teleportation used the void. That could mean every style of spell that defied space and dimensions was basically defying gravity in such a specific way that they were slightly entropic.
Before Zarian fell too deep into that rabbit hole ¨C or ck hole ¨C Para guided Zarian into grasping the new spell in record time, which was incredible. The spell was the hardest void one yet. Now it was officially in their profile.
¡°That was pretty fast,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Then again, we¡¯ve leveled up the wizard hat from all our studying.¡±
¡°I¡¯m curious to see how we conduct ourselves since we¡¯re powerful in this region,¡± Para said. ¡°The terrorists are so weak, it will be a pitiful showing if we don¡¯t give them a chance. They will be less tasty if it¡¯s too easy.¡±
¡°Well, it¡¯s obvious we won¡¯t be using Overwhelming Darkness. And they have a few tricks up their sleeve that make pdins unique,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°I¡¯ve caught a few tidbits here and there because of the spectral spiders. Check some of my memories from the fracture that¡¯s focused on spider recon and surveince.¡±
He felt Para dig around in his mind. Her delight bloomed and sent shivers across Zarian¡¯s flesh.
Multiple mouths from around Zarian¡¯s torso and Para¡¯s limbs ripped open and let out a chorus of horrifyingughter. They spoke in unison, Para¡¯s voice filled with monstrous glee.
¡°This is delightful. I will get to enjoy an exquisite meal if thises to fruition. I hope they won¡¯t disappoint us.¡±
¡°Same. If they do well enough, we can remind everyone why I am the Dark Lord.¡±
The horns from the parade red louder. The performers danced harder, some of them dressed in colorful costumes depicting dragons, griffins, and pegasuses.
Early Spring Festivals in the Walled Continent called for a celebration that the early risers would enjoy, since the dark and night were associated with evil. Seeing a new spring was considered good for surviving the evil things that could lurk in the winter months.
For the Madness Wizard, it was deliciously ironic that the festival was happening in a vige that was considered highly evil because of Zarian being the de facto big bad leader.
The festival was happening in other towns, cities, and viges across the continent, too. Zarian (with a lot of encouragement from Bianca) made sure the event organizers were properly funded to make the Ride-or-Die Early Spring Festival as big and merry as possible so anyone passing through would get something worthparing when they went back home.
Better yet, it was multicultural, including small tidbits from most of the kingdoms.
For the gardeners, they had roses tossed onto the streets and beautiful women dancing about in flower patterned dresses. For the striders, they had pressurized casks that sprayed beer everywhere while bards yodeled thetest drunken tales ¨C a lot of that depicted the Darkness Lord and the Shadowfell Lady having a couple¡¯s fight that could put the entire universe at risk.
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For the nomads, who still hadn¡¯t shown up, they dressed up travel drakes with ribbons and bright paint to honor them, since nomads relied on the domesticated beasts a lot in their empire. And for the chaste pdins, they had a very in float with depictions of the Good Gods.
Yes, Zarian let all the Good Gods get represented.
He really, really liked the irony.
It made this day more exquisite as he worked on hisst preparations.
He checked his stats.
Willpower: 414Strength: 39 Agility: 40Wonder: 267Mysticism: 522Free: 35
He was tempted to devote his Free points to Wonder. Void spells would normally scale with Wonder alone. However, his Void Mysticism trait made that less of an issue. He might as well save the Free points forter.
It was still surprising that he hadn¡¯t gained thatst point in Strength yet to hit 40. Maybe he needed to devote some time to pushing Strength by itself without excessive buffs.
I hadn¡¯t done physical body training with Naomi in a while.
She hadn¡¯t worked on his hair in a while.
They¡¯d been too busy training and progressing or taking care of their guild and vige.
I still need to get her a gift or do something nice for her.
Zarian felt a smidge sad over Naomi being gone to the Blood Prairies before putting it aside. He focused on his alpha skill set up.
Because of his darkness upying the first alpha slot no matter what, he was limited on what he could move around between alpha skills and beta skills.
Parasite Cloak +2 and Spectral Spider Network +2 were non-negotiables. Zarian wanted them in his alpha section forever.
¡°Looks like we¡¯re going to have to nerf ourselves a bit here,¡± Zarian said.
He switched two skills around. Now his alpha and beta section looked like this.
Alpha Skills (5/5): Overwhelming Darkness (Level 3), Parasite Cloak +2 (Level 34), Spectral Spider Network +2 (Level 25), Grimoire of ck Magic 102 (Level 24), Grimoire of the Dread Mire Hell Gator (Level 21)Beta Skills (8/15): Advanced Grimoire of the Voidling Exile (Level 3), Summon Wizard Hat +2 (Level 27), Tranquil Mind (Level 0), Adrenaline Jolt (Level 0), Willful Might (Level 0), Wondrous Speed (Level 0), Mystic Toughness (Level 0), Rune Alteration (Level 0)
Immediately, Zarian felt the difference from Summon Wizard Hat +2 going from alpha to beta. The drastic reduction in efficiency, power, and capability was so sharp he was shocked.
He hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d relied on his wizard hat being alpha for so long he¡¯d forgotten what it felt like as a beta skill. Now he felt way less mystical and powerful, which was himing down closer to a normal baseline.
However, his normal was way above the normal of others, so he could afford the drop.
At the very least, he increased the difficulty for himself and Para. So the pdins had a better chance against the duo.
No, not pdins.
They were terrorists.
There were plenty of pdins who weren¡¯t involved with the terrorists. Old stubborn Bernard and his party were merely adventurers making the most out of the area. Other pdins were just like them.
The extremists were known as the Brothers of Original Good. Zarian thought of them as mainly terrorists.
For thest check, Zarian looked over his list of spells.
Spells: Bloody Lifesteal (Umon), Raise Advancing Skeletons (Rare), ck Fire (Rare), Quagmire Pit (Umon), Dread Mire Bite (Rare), Dread Mire Bellow (Epic), Void Authority (Epic), Void Layer (Legendary), Dread Mire Hell Gator (Legendary), Void Waltz (Legendary), Void Shout (Legendary)
¡°Ready?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yes!¡± Para iled her arms, tentacles, and scythes from around Zarian¡¯s waist.
The leathery article, which now looked more like a red battle kilt with a few sparkling glimmers, pped from around his armored legs. Threads of Para wormed under Zarian¡¯s flesh and around his muscles, his veins bulging with more physical prowess, raising his might, his toughness, and his speed.
Zarian pushed his ck sunsses up the bridge of his nose with a finger. He flicked at the brim of his crooked wizard hat. Then he spoke through a few spectral spiders to inform his people he was starting Operation Dead Terror Parade before he took the first step with his Void Waltz spell.
He ended up at the head of the main parade. The performers had known he woulde, so they didn¡¯t stop parading and celebrating.
The people lining the sides of the streets were shocked into disbelief. Many of them had never seen the Dark Lord before. They had only heard of him or had seen wildly fabricated depictions of him.
They saw how his skin was darker than a nomad in the desert. So dark that many of them thought he had fallen in boiling oil as a crime for being so evil.
They saw the crooked wizard hat, the strange gauntlets, the armored boots and leggings, the strangely shaped dark sses shading his eyes. They saw how everything he wore was ck except for the living kilt pping from around his waist and legs, the ends of Para¡¯s material reaching out with grasping hands and waving tentacles.
They couldn¡¯t believe that such an entity like Lord Zarian, husband of Evil Goddess Shadowfell, could exist while at the head of a parade devoted to the rising of good in the Early Spring.
And he was dancing!
While hecked the years of practice that the performers would¡¯ve had, Zarian leaned on his Wondrous Speed to make him just decent enough to look on point with the performers. And since the style of dance was folksy, the steps weren¡¯tplicated, and the music wasn¡¯t hard to follow.
Zarian felt like he was celebrating in the Scottish Hignds. He whirled about, high stepping, and having a bit of fun while Para showed off by waving her limbs in sync with his movements.
The performers were paid well enough not to bat an eye and keep the parade going. Roses fell around the Infinita Dark Lord. Men and women dressed in bestial costumes frolicked around while presenting ferocious creatures from their own myths and legends.
The bards couldn¡¯t help but join in around the Darkness Lord and throw about an excessive amount of beer. Zarian reached out, snatched a small cask from a bard, and drained it empty while he kept up his dance.
The hint of liquid courage helped him add a little swagger to his steps. It would¡¯ve been better if Naomi were here, but he had the next best thing, which wasn¡¯t Empress Ruvaria.
She hated parades, and they could only push the old elf so hard.
The empress was now in Hannah¡¯s care, watching everything from the architect throne room, the brain of the entire vige. They probably had a better view than even Zarian as Bianca fell from the sky like a shining star.
Her colorful elven dress fluttered tastefully, showing just enough of her slender long legs and bare feet without giving away the most important goods as she dropped right next to Zarian with the utmost of princess-like grace that had the audience swooning with adoration and infatuation. She bowed, blew kisses at the cheering crowds, then turned to Zarian and joined him in the dancing fun.
Seeing Princess Bianca with Lord Zarian was almost too much for some of the audience.
Good?!
Evil?!
Dancing right next to each other while at the head of the Early Spring Festival Parade?!
Many foreigners and visitors were still grappling with the concept of freedom. They still couldn¡¯t get their heads around how it was possible for Zarian and Bianca to coexist, even with their high levels in their sub alignments.
Still, the audience became even more mind-boggled as Bianca¡¯s free good +5 slowly emerged from inside of her. This performance was for a good cause, after all, since it would distract the innocent pedestrians from the violence that was about to start.
Bianca was looking better these days with her efforts to take care of Empress Ruvaria. Her smiles were brighter. Herughter was louder. And she merrily linked arm and arm with Zarian as they danced and kicked about in circles.
Zarian wouldn¡¯t have minded their day carrying on just like this if it wasn¡¯t for his duty to protect the vige and everyone who was innocent and following the rules.
¡°Is it time, papi?¡± Bianca asked in the middle of the performance.
¡°En tres, dos, uno,¡± Zarian said.
He, Para, and their spectral spiders performed a vige-wide spell array centered on him dancing at the head of the parade. At five locations where the terrorists were nning to cause trouble, dancing spectral spiders had already formed runes linked to the Void Waltz spell that used their arcane webbing.
Many principles made the void antithesis to gravity. But there were still underlying principles that kept wizardry a structured practice.
The writings of the mad voidling exile, who was once a prince, had certainly stumped Zarian many times while learning the earlier spells.
But he was a much more learned wizard than before, and his spectral spiders were ster little magic assistants. Add in Para, who was almost smarter than him in some aspects, and the void seemed almost too easy now.
And here was the kicker. They were doing this while the voidling grimoire and the wizard hat were in the beta section, making this feat of wizardry all the harder.
Yet, Zarian seeded. He, Para, and the spectral spiders transferred themselves and the terrorists from their hideouts and into special underground sections under the vige.
These sections were closed off from the public. They were all part of a side project Hannah had worked on when she¡¯d found herself bored making a vige for humans.
So ¡ Hannah had made an artificial dungeon deep underground.
It wasn¡¯t anythingplex. Just some wide underground hallways and several giant atriums filled with enchanted traps and deadly obstacles. But it was still an impressive feat of engineering while servicing a ce for humans.
What was the best part?
Zarian was the artificial dungeon boss.
And he was a boss who could move around instead of waiting for the would-be challengers toe to him. He also didn¡¯t know the full depth of Hannah¡¯s traps, some of which she had worked on hiding from even his senses. So there was some danger for him, too, which he was fine with.
As the pdins recovered from getting snatched up and dumped by a vige-wide void spell, Zarian stood on a pir of hard stone while surrounded by Hannah¡¯s traps and maze-like obstacles. He let out a bellow so loud and monstrous it could be heard in every corner of the artificial dungeon.
¡°PALADINS! PALADINS! Come out! Come out! Come out and y with the DARK LORD!¡±
Okay, in this case, he called them pdins because it was more on theme. But the terrorists were still terrorists, and now they would get to savor a terror like no under while trapped with Zarian.
Granted, that was only one half of the scary part.
Hannah could make changes with a flex of her runic whim. And knowing her, the trapped men and women were less like humans, and more like test subjects for her to y with and eliminate at her leisure if Zarian didn¡¯t get to them first.
The only person who could save the trapped pdins was Empress Ruvaria.
¡°Zarian,¡± Hannah said through a spectral spider on his shoulder.
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°The empress gives us her full approval. We can go full throttle on the terrorists.¡±
Zarian grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s see who gets the most kills, Hannah. You versus me.¡±
¡°Game on, Zarian.¡±
Chapter 130: B2: C30: Into Hannah’s Dungeon
Chapter 130: B2: C30: Into Hannah¡¯s Dungeon
First things first, Zarian checked thework connection between him and the recon spiders while keeping his feet nted in one ce. He also looked around with his own eyes.
His starting location was an enormous chamber that was moving around him. Different size cubes slid, docked, tumbled, and configured themselves like Hannah had merged a death game with the inner workings of a Rubik Cube and a three-dimensional disy of Tetris.
Even the light sources shifted around.
Zarian saw blocks that were solely made for illumination travel along the jagged edges of the ceiling and down the uneven walls. The light sources would sometimes disappear into random recesses that open and closed unpredictably.
The only thing that remained somewhat stable were dark cubic formations and four colored paths.
Zarian had no idea what the rules of the game were in Hannah¡¯s prototype dungeon, but he knew what she¡¯d done here was a feat worth marveling over. He hoped Empress Ruvaria was a little impressed while overlooking everything.
Still, he had to test if he could push his way through thework jammer that was blocking his connection with the recon spiders. The harder he pushed, the more he could get past the fuzz, but it took some considerable concentration.
He reached a point where it wasn¡¯t worth pushing anymore and dropped the recon.
While such an inconvenience might¡¯ve bothered most others, he was actually proud. Hannah had found a way to jam his spiderwork and keep him somewhat blind to other chambers and hallways unless the spectral spiders were in the same section with him.That meant he would have to do a little work to hunt down the pdin terrorists.
¡°Clever girl,¡± Zarian said.
He waited to see if Hannah would respond through the spectral spider on his shoulder. She kept her silence, which Zarian could respect.
Zarian figured Hannah could take out some frustrations while staying constructive here. Or maybe she might rage against him for real.
Either way, Zarian wouldn¡¯t mind. He was okay with her taking her pound of flesh from him if that meant she would warm up again. He missed how much closer they were before the Darkrun Apocalypse.
Maybe they could talk about all of thatter. Now was the time for action, and for Hannah to draw blood from the son of ultra gods while Zarian went on a rampage.
¡°What do you have for me, Hannah?¡±
Zarian examined the four colored paths. There was a red one, a green one, a blue one, and a white one.
The red one traveled on the floor. The green one traveled along the wall. The blue one traveled along the ceiling.
And the white path went wherever it wanted ¨C floor, wall, and ceiling. The start of each path was near his position, giving him a choice without having to tell him directly.
Beneath him was a blocky tower that was fifty feet tall and solid. It hadn¡¯t shifted or budged, letting him get his bearings while most of the death chamber kept rearranging itself and ying with lights and shadows.
It was a simple effect, but insidious andplex in practice. A weaker dungeon crawler would¡¯ve had their visual senses and bnce disrupted constantly.
Zarian was unbothered while noting how the four colored paths seemed the most stable throughout from the starting point and toward the chamber exits.
¡°The white path will be more interesting, won¡¯t it?¡± Zarian asked.
Para didn¡¯t respond. She was going inactive until she was needed directly. She even withdrew her limbs and became a seemingly unspecial battle kilt hanging down from around his waist. No sparkles or glimmers.
This way, she could slow their metabolism and keep hunger and thirst from being major concerns for a long enough time. They had plenty of provisions in the pocket dimension just in case, but it was better to make thosest as long as possible.
Zarian could still use the parasite abilities himself even while she was staying inactive. He also felt small pulses of her in his mind. She was still aware, looking at the world through his senses, even when she didn¡¯t respond directly.
She was agreeing with whatever decision he made, so he chose the white path, which was behind him.
He turned and jumped down from his starting point. His boots hit the cubic floor that was painted white, the Madness Wizard falling into a crouch and waiting for a reaction from Hannah¡¯s engineered dungeon of shifting death.
Nothing happened.
Feeling adventurous, Zarian rested on one knee and used his Identify trait, his Basic Aura Maniption trait, and his Level 0 Rune Alteration skill inbination to mess with stuff.
The entire chamber red wrathfully. A warning yellow light shed from everywhere. A strident xon rm filled the air. The warning lights and rm were so loud Zarian and his parasite squirmed in difort, his kilt pping angrily.
Eyes squinted, Zarian noticed the dungeon¡¯s reconfiguration turning up in speed. It all seemed more menacing and chaotic, like he was waking a beast or rousing the anger of the creator. Zarian¡¯s own path seemed to glow with the promise to retaliate for any further tampering.
He stopped messing with Hannah¡¯s work. Everything returned to normal operation and nothing more threatening happened.
With a heavy breath followed by a chuckle, he nodded at the situation in approval. He was growing more and more impressed.
That was twice that Hannah had made things more difficult for him instead of letting him steamroll as usual. If that hadn¡¯t raised Hannah¡¯s spirit, then she really needed to give herself more credit.
Again, Zarian could only wonder what Empress Ruvaria was thinking.
Personally, Zarian was really starting to like this game.
It¡¯s almost unfair that I learned the perfect spell for screwing all of this up.
Thankfully, the Void Shout spell had a very high aura cost and was demanding in other ways. And his Advanced Grimoire of the Voidling Exile was in the beta section, so it was best for Zarian to keep the powerful spell in his back pocket for now.
Zarian looked ahead. The white path was as wide as a tenne highway. There was plenty of space for him to maneuver around without going out of bounds of the white path.
He imagined going off the chosen path would turn the entire artificial dungeon and its mistress against the crawler who¡¯d fouled.
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It¡¯s tempting to mess around more, but it¡¯ll be more fun to see what Hannah has in store for me under normal y conditions.
Hopefully, all paths would cross or converge, or there were ways to mess with others on different paths. That way, Zarian wouldn¡¯t be too restrained once he found pdins on paths that weren¡¯t white.
Wasn¡¯t white looked at as pure in this world? He would be surprised if the pdins hadn¡¯t chosen white.
Finding nothing else unordinary, Zarian moved forward at a decent jogging pace, which was still blistering fast to most people. He fed aura into his Level 0 Wondrous Speed skill for the extra haste and luck, but he only used a conservative amount.
He kept brushing his aura maniption ahead of him, behind him, to the sides, above, and further out at all times. He wanted to sense any sharp changes in foreign aura as a protective measure against traps going off.
He wasn¡¯t much of a rogue, so he had to handle the threats of traps as a wizard would, with his fingers on the trigger, ready to blow something up. Granted, he didn¡¯t have a bing bang ability he wanted to use down here, so he would have to get creative.
The white path veered toward the right and took Zarian between two dark monuments of shifting cubes. He felt something in his gut, his instincts telling him to slow down a little as he passed in between the shifty monuments.
He heard a loud clunk and felt something was wrong. The patch of white cubes around him glowed brighter.
Parts of the cubic floor dropped away before refilling with another white floor piece that seemed no different at first nce. The weird feeling in the air increased with each section of the floor that quickly shuffled and reced itself.
This was all happening at superhuman speeds, so Zarian was just a tad slow on realizing why the air felt so weird to his physical and mystical senses. Then he realized the strange energy reminded him of Warper, one of Hannah¡¯s first experimental skeletons that wore her runic enchantments heavily.
Warper had the warp enchantment and could do unique teleportation stuff.
Knowing this, Zarian understood one part of the trap: Hannah was going to slow his void spells. She was warping the immediate area as a countermeasure to void abilities, which was freaking brilliant and highly, highly scary of her.
The second part of the trap revealed itself as cube panels sliding open on the sides of the two monuments nking Zarian¡¯s path. From each opening, rectangr artillery guns folded out, their mystical payload already charged.
Zarian recognized the power of one right away, which held a typical load. The right cannon was going to shoot light at him.
The left cannon was different. It vibrated more violently while releasing its payload, which red with such volume that Zarian understood what he was facing, which would¡¯ve doomed most adventurer parties.
The left cannon struck with pure vibrational force. The right cannon unloaded concentrated light energy as a zingser.
There was a roar like one long thunder p along with an explosion of light that shone like a sr re. Then all became still while the cannons made slight readjustments, as if recalibrating per Hannah¡¯s predictions of Zarian.
Not bad. But not quite good enough, because the attack had struck nothing but boggy swamp water.
Zarian was gone!
At least from sight.
Meanwhile, the anti-void energy was much weaker. Zarian¡¯s Quagmire Pit had transmuted the cube sections on the floor that empowered them. Without that warp field, Zarian could use Void Waltz easier and slip free of Hannah¡¯s first major trap for him.
Of course, the Madness Wizard didn¡¯t take the easy solution. Instead, Zarian burst up from the surface like a lunging alligator. His parasite kilt pped behind him like one long tail, the boggy water sliding off of him easily.
He zipped into the air quickly as both cannons readjusted to get a bead on him. But it was toote for them.
Zarian held orbs of furious mes in each palm, but these mes were far different from the embers of his ck Fire spell. They were not ck and gray like they usually would be.
Instead, they were almost ssy, clear, and twisted in such a way that most observers would find them disturbingly wrong. In fact, even Zarian found these mes to be disturbing because they were a danger to even himself if he allowed them to get out of control.
These mes were born from the ck Fire spellbined with the Void Layer spell. For a high expense of aura, Zarian couldy the starved emptiness and madness of the void over an elemental ability. The result of that changed ck Fire from seeking vitality to seeking aura.
Zarian peeled his own aura out of the way before he unleashed twin gouts of the ghoulish void mes from his palms. He doused the cannons in the void mes and watched them make inhuman, almost machine-like screams.
The void mes did its gruesome work plus more. By the time Zarian settled back down on the surface of the Quagmire Pit, the cannons fell apart, and the aura-eating mes began to spread further.
Zarian cast his Void Authority spell and snuffed out the ghoulish mes.
By that point, Hannah had disengaged her first trappletely and gave him safe passage between the artillery monuments. Zarian wondered if Hannah had calcted he could do something like this or if he had caught herpletely off-guard.
Granted, he¡¯d never used a low-quality spell like Quagmire Pit in such a creative way before. He hadn¡¯t even nned for it.
As everything was happening, his mind had found a weird but worthwhile solution to the problem and went all in like any proper Florida Man would.
He felt Para praising him in his mind. She was pleased that they¡¯d avoided the super vibration cannon, which would¡¯ve messed with Para hardcore.
Zarian chuckled as they reached the wall of the chamber and found big and blocky white tforms for him to jump on so he could traverse upward and at a diagonal angle.
¡°Hannah, you are being really scary for me and Para. Aren¡¯t we supposed to be the dungeon boss? I hope you¡¯re not tossing the pdins into instant death traps like mine.¡±
Zarian shook his head.
¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t cheat that hard. I know you would cheat when necessary, but you value the data you can gain more than outright victory. And you enjoy the power trip, even if it means you hold back on outright victory.¡±
Zarian grinned as he pushed his enchanted sunsses up his nose with a finger.
¡°It¡¯s okay, Hannah. You can let it out here. Go on ahead and y dungeon goddess and get your rocks off.¡±
Zariannded on another tform just like the many beneath him. Suddenly, he felt the warp-effect again, but the source came from the walls this time, which made Quagmire Pit useless against them. Zarian looked up as panels in the walls opened up and shoved out a humanoid figure.
The figurended on the next tform he was going to jump on. It looked like a darkly colored character formed out of cubes with two blocky arms and two blocky legs.
From its blocky head was one eye that glowed with an aura-rich blue color. From its blocky fists, the high whine of the lightning element plus some thunderous vibration sounded off.
Zarian used his Identify trait and saw that it was an item instead of a proper creature, which was interesting. So the cube man had no level. Instead, it was epic in quality, which meant it was simr in sentience to Hannah¡¯s usual roller golems.
The proper name was Cube Golem Dummy, and when it shed its two stormy fists together, it looked like it meant business.
Zarian cast the quagmire spell on the golem¡¯s tform and watched it drop into the magical quicksand like a heavy construct would. He only transmuted the middle and was lucky enough that the tforms were made thick for Quagmire Pit to work.
After the golem electrocuted itself and short-circuited, he hopped onto the tform with the magical pit and dove into the boggy water. For the next few seconds, Zarian swam like a predator, grabbed the golem by its blocky shoulder, and punched it in the face a couple of times until it fully broke.
Zarian resurfaced and turned off the spell. The broken golem appeared on the floor in front of his boots. Looking up, Zarian smirked at each of the tforms above him.
Hannah hadn¡¯t changed them to make the tforms thinner. She could probably make the changes to ruin his Quagmire Pit tactic if she wanted, but she was surprisingly a good sport.
Instead, she unloaded more Cube Golem Dummies with different elemental effects. Some had roaring mes around their blocky fists. Others had misty frosts on their fists. Plenty more could extend their fists and shoot brightsers that even came with a ssical sound that reminded Zarian of Star Wars.
Many of the golems rushed down at him instead of waiting on the tforms above. He might have to sweat a little if he wanted to reach the ceiling walkway and finally leave his starting chamber.
This had to be the only human-made dungeon across the Infinita Star System that tried to smash the dungeon boss along with the adventurers.
Please tell me the pdins are getting the kiddie version. If they are having it way easier than me,I would literally fall over andugh my ass off and let them get a few hits on me
Zarian felt like he was unraveling. He used his Willpower and multiple mental abilities to keep his fractures somewhat stable. He fought his way up from white tform to white tform as golem men rained down upon him and threw punches with their magic-lit blocks for fists.
Chapter 131: B2: C31: Aura Cultivation 1
Zarian stayed light and nimble, bouncing from side to side on the balls of his feet. He pushed various strands of aura into multiple buffs, making him grow more and more powerful.
First, his Level 0 skills saw a rise of aura power ¨C Tranquil Mind, Adrenaline Jolt, Willful Might, Wondrous Speed, and Mystic Toughness. Unlike the other Floridians who only received small to moderate bumps from Level 0 skills, Zarian could push the limited skills harder because of his aura maniption.
However, this trick alone wasn¡¯t enough for him.
He buffed himself even further by manipting his Dark Affinity. The trait could never rece Overwhelming Darkness. But with enough maniption, Zarian couldyer his body with the condensed weight of the dark.
He stacked more and more on himself, especially around his fists.
Meanwhile, his body thrummed with a vigorous heat. He was like an engine revving up, his heart pounding like a piston.
When Zarian threw his next punch, with his gauntlet-d fist shrouded by his Dark Affinity, he sent a ming golem man flying across the chamber. The blue runic eye on the construct¡¯s face flickered off while it died from the crater in its blocky chest.
The epic construct was a mere soda can against one physical attack from the buffed up Madness Wizard. Yet another golem man jumped in as a recement followed by many more.
Zarian fought like apact boxer, his fists raised, his steps light. He acted less like a dancer and more like an efficient slugger. In this situation, he stayed ahead of the golems in the movement department because he had the speed advantage.He sidestepped the blocky punches of a golem man with lightning and thunder fists. He dodged another golem with windy cyclones roaring around its fists.
He retreated backward and nearly off the edge. At thest second, he used an enchantment on his boots to stick to the sides of his current tform. He raised his arms and blockedser shots from the more elevated golem men that attacked like murderous droids, but with more uracy.
The walls kept emitting warp energy, an anti-void measure that made it costlier for Zarian to use his void spells. However, the energy was nowhere near enough to stop himpletely.
He retreated further down the side of the white tform. He went under and out of sight of the constructs. They stopped shooting and waited to see where he would pop up from.
The next time he appeared, Zarian had the drop on them from several tforms up after using an expensive cast of his Void Waltz spell.
Zarian mmed down like a mega weight and crushed a construct under his boots. He swung around his arm and smashed the head of another golem man with the back of his gauntleted hand.
Snapping his head aside, he avoided a point-nkser beam meant for his face. He twisted on his heels andnded a metal-crunching gut punch to the shooter, sending the construct careening across the chamber like a ball shot out of a cannon.
In a few seconds, Zarian cleared out the tform of constructs. There was no more above him. The rest came from below, like swarming ants trying to get to the top of the hill.
But Zarian wasn¡¯t an ant.
He was a titan.
He was still warming up as his body became hotter and a little hungrier. The parasitic bonds increasing his physical prowess intensified, leveraging the huge buff that came from his Floridian Mindset.
¡°Come! Come! One and all! I¡¯m barely getting started!¡± Zarianughed as more constructs jumped onto his tform.
They wielded various elemental magic on their blocky fists, throwing punches or shootingsers. But he was so tough at this point he didn¡¯t even have to dodge.
He tanked.
me bolts and punches? They snuffed away like embers on the surface of a wide ocean.
Lightning and thunder? They did nothing but give him a pleasant massage to his muscles.
Misty frost attacks? He was tempted to take out a drink to go along with the nice chill.
Ripping cyclones? Super vibration impacts? Laser beams? The golem men came at him with a wide variety of elemental attacks and couldn¡¯t make anything stick.
Zarian stood against the gauntlet like an unbeatable tank and remained the king of the mountain. He beat so many golems out ofmission, there was no more space for them on his tform, forcing them to spill over the sides.
They rained down on the chamber floor in a heavy deluge. The sound of Zarian¡¯s fistsnding quickly on constructs was like hearing rapid snare drumming. Heughed andughed as he enjoyed himself, using abination of abilities to fight like a warrior even when he was a wizard.
He could use more void mes for the ¡®EZ GG¡¯ but it felt better to save the special stuff for special cases. He did, however, incorporate his Level 0 Rune Alteration more. He scrambled the enchantments on golems he struck with quick jabs, stopping them in their ce to set up his bigger insta-kill punches easier.
Finally, there were no more golems, and Zarian could move on.
The ceiling walkway had columns on the sides holding up the white path. It was more narrow near the ceiling than when the path was on the ground. There were deep recesses above his head and shifting cubes all over just like the reconfiguring mechanisms on the ground.
Zarian looked around for more traps. He was still excited after the warm-up session against the epic golems.
His appetite rose a pinch, but that was more of a feeling than a need. Nothing new revealed itself to him, so he followed the white path while sticking close to the edge.
He liked the view. It was almost bleak, in a mechanical and inhuman way. Hannah really made for a great and scary dungeon designer.
He wondered what it would take to turn an artificial dungeon into a real one. He knew a dungeon core was needed.
But how did thosee to be?
Had Reiki been someone major back in Carrowmore a long time ago? How had she gone from that to being a dungeon boss and the sole personality of her core?
The author¡¯s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
¡°Do you think there¡¯s supposed to be a sacrifice to make a real dungeon with a dungeon core? Or does it happen in the wild through magic? Or is it a System thing?¡± Zarian asked aloud, not expecting any responses.
¡°You can make a dungeone to exist with a sacrifice, but only under rare conditions that are mostly dictated by the Star System.¡±
Empress Ruvaria appeared from nowhere and was hovering next to him as he jogged toward the exit of his starting chamber. She looked pristine and ethereal, her bare feet floating inches above the walkway¡¯s surface. She wore an embroidered green and brown robe that was casual and fitting for someone of her immense pedigree.
The thing that wasn¡¯t fitting was her hair. It was bouncy and filled with rings and curls, which Zarian imagined was Bianca¡¯s work. The cutesy style didn¡¯t match the empress whatsoever, yet Bianca had gotten her way somehow.
Zarian tried not tough.
He did crack a smile.
The petite elf pretended not to notice as she continued lecturing.
¡°Most dungeons are formed in the wilds, especially when strong monsters form a nest. Once that nest bes like arge enough grave for locals and adventurers, it bes a monsterir. If thatir stands to exist for long enough, the boss monster can receive recognition by the Star System.¡±
Zarian reached the opening to a hallway that was painted entirely white. It was bright with little to no corners for shadows to lurk. White lights shone from within ss fixtures and bounced off the walls that had mirror-like polishes, which would¡¯ve irritated his eyes if it wasn¡¯t for his enchanted sunsses.
Other than that, the hallway seemed wide, airy, and open.
Zarian adjusted his sunsses with a finger. He pulled down at the brim of his wizard hat to shade his face a little more. Then he headed forward into the ssy and reflective hallway.
The empress trailed behind him while continuing her lecture.
¡°After System recognition, a dungeon core is formed from the heart of the boss, and the dungeones to exist at the heart of their. Their doesn¡¯t necessarily go away at first, however it is quite often that a dungeon will cannibalize air for sustenance before reaching out for more food to fuel its expansion. This is the main way dungeonse to exist. However, there are exceptions.¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t respond even though he had multiple observations and thoughts spilling between the gaps of his mind. Most of his focus was on the highly strange room and heavily obscured enchantments.
There were invisible walls standing in his way. He bumped into a few that forced him to redirect.
Some were inly perpendicr. Some nked him. Others were weirdly oblique. Then the floor became uneven at odd angles that forced him to rise or fall and maneuver on nted surfaces.
The problem was the translucency of the walls and floors.
With the rise of levels, vitality, and stats, Zarian¡¯s base senses rose as well. While the Wonder stat had the highest influence on supernatural perception, all the stats had their own unique effects on the senses, too.
Willpower seemed to affect the sense of mind. Strength and Agility affected the potency and speed of the senses. And mysticism affected aura senses.
These effects were minor additions on stat choices and builds. They weren¡¯t majorpared to how Wonder dominated perception of the supernatural.
Still, this was valuable information Zarian had seen from the many umon books hoarded inside the Dancing Librarian Dungeon.
This was the reason Zarian had ster senses for the esoteric stuff that covered his mind, the strangeness of the world, and aura. His Willpower, Wonder, and Mysticism were much higher than his Strength and Agility.
This was also why he could sometimes be a little slow when something surprised him in the more physical sense. This was the case when he¡¯d faced the Scout yer Master by himself. However, his physical buffs, especially the buff from Parasite Cloak +2, helped mitigate theck in Strength and Agility in some cases.
But not in all cases.
So he was a little troubled when he faced a more physical challenge he couldn¡¯t outright dominate without leveraging his nuke options.
Granted, he was a wizard, so it made sense to have this problem. It was just unique to face those weaknesses when he¡¯d covered his physical bases in ways that would thwart ny-nine percent of cases.
I¡¯m facing Hannah, and she¡¯s a top one percenter for sure.
The hallway became a maze of see-through material Hannah had somehow dug up and crafted into a devious trap. Because there was carefully obscured magic involved and a physical challenge with little magic Zarian could sense, he was finding more and more trouble progressing forward.
He did feel something change. But it was quick and shifty. By the time he swept his aura maniption around, the effect had already done its work.
The walls had shifted. An invisible wall reced the emptyne in front of him.
When he turned, he saw a distorted tunnel of his own reflection repeating endlessly, all the copies looking back at him. He reached out to what he thought was empty space and found another invisible wall.
Zarian nced at the empress. She wasn¡¯t physically here. This was a projection of her, which could either be a sound and light illusion or a direct projection to his mind.
He felt around in his head to see if she was in there and she wasn¡¯t. She would¡¯ve had to ask permission to be in there anyway.
In other words, she was making an illusion while two thousand feet above him, ignoring the walls and earth in the way. And ignoring Hannah¡¯s enchantments that would¡¯ve normally blocked such projections.
The empress examined Zarian curiously.
He smiled. ¡°Pop quiz time, empress! What do you think I¡¯ll do next?¡±
He would set aside his questions about dungeons forter. He was curious to see how well the empress knew him.
The petite elf blinked slowly. She took her time as always. An hour passed before she answered.
¡°First, we must consider the trap young Hannah has ced for you. Not only has she harnessed the true power of cial Air Stone to its full effect, she did so while retaining ny-nine percent of purity. Most miners haven¡¯t discovered this much cial Air Stone since the past era, and many crafter types would¡¯ve found such work impressive for a young woman who has been in the Star System for less than a year.¡±
Empress Ruvaria rubbed the illusion of her hand across the invisible ceiling above Zarian¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s a material that isn¡¯t just invisible to the eyes but nearly invisible to the aura controlling abilities, so it¡¯s difficult to sense physically and magically. Additionally, she¡¯s made good use of obscurements and alteration blockers to deny you easy ess to her enchantments. I approve of all of her approaches even though I think they are still rudimentary and rough.¡±
The petite elf hovered close to Zarian, face to face. Her eyes shone with an ethereal greenness that was alluring and powerful.
¡°Naturally, you should use your spectral spiders and parasite to find chinks in this trap,¡± she said.
¡°Those are traps as well. Hannah knows I can do that. She would have countermeasures. In fact, she¡¯s goading me to do that,¡± he said.
Zarian traced his finger along the wall. He used his Identify trait and received his own description. He nearlyughed.
The cial air wall had reflected his Identify trait on him.
He¡¯d skimmed a thin book about magical materials, but he hadn¡¯t taken those materials seriously. A while ago he thought about crafting, but he was already juggling enough disciplines already.
Clearly, Hannah had gone the extra mile in the crafting arts.
I should brush up on it just in case I run into more unique craft materials that can do weird stuff.
The empress finished her thoughts before continuing the academic lesson. ¡°You are a more clever wizard than most, I see. That is what I should expect from someone with this free evil of yours. To believe that Hannah has more traps in ce for your usual scouting routines is a very reliable assumption to make. Thus, I must think you would attempt something unique. And if you are a worthy wizard, then you will use your aura maniption ability uniquely. I¡¯ve seen enough of it to know you have it.¡±
Zarian nodded. He looked around. The ce was bright and full of light. The illumination had a magical effect, too. His Dark Affinity was weaker and less reliable here.
There was no warp energy, which was telling. Zarian predicted Hannah was waiting for him to use a void ability. If so, then she would spring a countermeasure against that, too.
With most means countered based on educated guesses, Zarian had to look at his list of options. Then he realized there was nothing else but aura maniption itself just like the empress had said.
He knocked his fist against the wall and nodded. He closed his eyes. He narrowed his focus.
Chapter 132: B2: C32: Aura Cultivation 2
He could¡¯ve upgraded Basic Aura Maniption to something better instead of turning Fractured Mind to Unraveled Mind, which would¡¯ve made this next part way easier. But there was something nice about having most of his options limited while challenged by a friend who was showing her own extraordinary talent and expertise.
Zarian cycled his breath. He focused his cultivation technique on his aura instead of his Overwhelming Darkness. The feeling was weird because he already had fine control of his aura, but now he was looping it around even faster and harder than ever before.
Aura existed inside and outside of him. The same was for everyone else he¡¯d met so far.
The aura on the outside focused more on affecting the outside world and gathering more aura in a process simr to osmosis. The aura on the inside focused more on empowering various abilities linked to the System while heavily connected to his culmination of stats.
However, no single point of aura was necessarily tied down to a specific task. True aura maniption could theoretically move every portion of aura inside and outside of the maniptor.
If Zarian wanted to use more aura outside of himself, then he simply needed to redistribute some of his aura from inside to outside.
As Zarian concentrated and cultivated, he depowered the abilities and skills inside of him that weren¡¯t necessary. He pushed more of his aura from inside to outside.
Because of his Dark Affinity, his aura was naturally dark. But if he honed his focus even more, he could split his aura into two types, dark aura and pure aura.
The splitting wasn¡¯t hard.Maintaining the pure aura without it being consumed by the majority, his dark aura, was hard.
This was necessary because lights, reflections, and very translucent walls filled the trapped hallway. The invisible maze worked against him, leaving barely any shadow to be found.
While Zarian was overpowered in many ways, especially now that he could withstand being out in the sun, he was still a dark type, and the Infinita Star System had a subtle but heavily ingrained rule set that reminded him of Pokemon types. This hallway was an antithesis to him, which was bing an interesting theme on the white path.
Hannah must¡¯ve known he would choose this path. She had spent some time preparing for this, just to see if she could stump him.
Zarian relished the challenge she was posing as he slowly moved his arms in circr patterns. By using motion, with his eyes still closed, he had an easier time rotating his dark aura out of his way.
He cycled the pure aura in front of him. He kept adding more to the pure aura by splitting it away from his heavy supply of dark aura.
He used cultivation for the splitting and maintenance process, which differed vastly from the usual case. But he was d he¡¯d read a bunch of volumes on variant cultivation techniques for this moment.
Applied knowledge was the key to power. But having the knowledge was foundational for a reason.
Finally, when he had enough pure aura, he sent out rippling pulses that spread everywhere with a mental shove. It was like he was a bat using echolocation.
Before the pure aura stopped belonging to him and absorbed into the environment, he could easily sense where his aura pulses went. He noted which section of his aura pulses went the furthest, while other sections slowed down just a little.
cial Air Stone was elusive to the senses and difficult to discover through most aura controlling abilities. It was, however, not one hundred percent perfect, only ny-nine percent per what the had empress said.
If it was perfect, then it would¡¯ve taken a divine act to manipte such a material into these hard-to-sense walls. Instead, a brilliant and legendary Runic Engineer had sourced, mined, and crafted walls out of the material with near perfect results.
The Madness Wizard found a way through anyway.
Zarian followed the path where his pure aura pulses went the furthest. He moved slowly and deliberately, bncing two types of auras through a splitting-style cultivation technique.
Once he had a rhythm going, he kept shooting out rippling pulses of pure aura as easily as he was breathing. He was honestly having fun even while limited to one trick. He was also vulnerable since he had to underpower many of his abilities that weren¡¯t necessary.
Hannah could have royally crushed him if she sprung an aggressive trap at that moment. Instead, she held back, which was rather kind of her, until hisbination of supernatural and aura senses noticed the environment shifting again.
Zarian moved faster to slip past a closing wall. He made it through by the skin of his teeth.
He kept his forward progress without getting heavily obstructed. The journey through the cial air maze took hours, but he eventually made it on the other side.
With a sigh, Zarian slowly stopped his splitting-style cultivation. He let his dark aura consume his pure aura. Then he slowly opened his eyes and found Empress Ruvaria inches away from his face, studying him intensely.
¡°That ¡ was impressive,¡± she mumbled.
¡°It was nothing.¡± Zarian shrugged, a little surprised by her closeness.
Even for a projection, she looked and sounded real. He even felt heat radiating from the body. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was the real empress or not anymore.
He sniffed.
He could smell her floral and herby scent.
Was that really her?
She slowly shifted away, letting him see more of the room past her youthful, elven face and bountiful rings of silver-gold hair. She seemed to study him with a spark in her glowing green eyes.
¡°You are a curious problem, Zarian Darkrun,¡± she murmured. ¡°It has been thousands of years since I¡¯ve seen someone of your talent. If we were to ignore how you could bring an apocalypse down on us once again, your Feats of Adventure are going to be filled to the brim.¡±
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
¡°Feats of Adventure?¡± Zarian raised an eyebrow.
¡°A record of sorts that the Star System keeps. You ever wonder what really grants you ess to the Throne of the Adventurer King?¡±
¡°Feats of Adventure,¡± Zarian replied.
¡°Exactly. It¡¯s more important than your levels, alignment, traits, skills, stats, and even achievements. Those are all shown to you because it is a reliable motivator. But Feats of Adventure belongs to the Star System, and those records aren¡¯t shown. All that matters is if you can aplish enough feats of quality to earn passage to the throne. And those feats can be anything, even something as small as navigating the ultimate invisible maze on a Lesser World.¡±
¡°It¡¯ll be a little unfair if the Darkrun Apocalypse is considered a Feat of Adventure, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Zarian asked.
The empress looked at him long and hard. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be. That is too destructive to the Star System itself and goes against the game. You can rest assured of that. Your other feats, on the other hand, are worthy of recording.¡±
¡°To be fair, I¡¯m the biggest nepo baby around. I¡¯m kind of starting on a strong footingpared to most. Maybe these Feats of Adventures should dock a few points off.¡±
Zarian shrugged again, feeling ufortable from receiving so much praise from the empress. The idea behind the Feats of Adventures, an invisible recording of aplishments that could lead to earning the biggest prize of the Star System, was thrilling. But it wasn¡¯t his primary goal. He wanted control of the biggest power inside and outside of this universe.
The throne was ¡ not really meant for him. He hadn¡¯t even gained anything new after using cultivation on his aura to split it. He¡¯d reached the point where it was harder to gain new traits because he¡¯d solidified himself so much from the rapid growth prior.
He supposed it was a good thing Feats of Adventure existed in the background. Even if he didn¡¯t get a power-up directly, knowing his grandest efforts would get recorded by the Star System counted for something.
¡°That wasn¡¯t Basic Aura Maniption, was it?¡± the empress asked. ¡°Your aura ability. It was quite advanced. It couldn¡¯t be the basic version.¡±
¡°It was the basic version of the trait,¡± he corrected.
¡°You call yourself a nepo baby, hm? Well, it is true. But if we remove your ability to cause an apocalypse with your Overwhelming Darkness, would you still have figured out a way?¡± she asked.
Zarian didn¡¯t know how to answer that.
Without his darkness ability, there were plenty of situations he wouldn¡¯t have survived. Without his scary origins, Zarian wasn¡¯t sure if he would¡¯ve gotten this far.
It was kind of questionable if he¡¯d gotten this far because he had a major leg up or if he¡¯d gotten here because of his hard work. He figured the leg up mattered more, which felt like a bitter pill to swallow.
But he refused to lie to himself and go on tirades about how he pulled himself up by the bootstraps and others weren¡¯t as sessful as him because they didn¡¯t work as hard.
People who spoke about those titudes while having the biggest nepo baby support were a bunch of fucking hypocrites and nitwits.
Zarian may be an idiot at the best of times, but he had some self-awareness about him. He was also aware of how he could go the extra mile and risk it all when most others wouldn¡¯t, for himself and for his friends, so he wasn¡¯tpletely reliant on just what was given to him.
¡°I think by now you¡¯ve already heard of the story of how I killed myself to save a friend. But I imagine you haven¡¯t heard how I first broke my brain,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I didn¡¯t have to. I could¡¯ve relied on my darkness for everything. But I wanted to push myself as a wizard. So I nearly tore my brain apart to cast multiple spells simultaneously at a level I probably shouldn¡¯t have. I nearly killed myself doing that. Wasn¡¯t the first time I nearly killed myself, definitely not thest, but it was a memorable moment among my multiple near-death experiences.¡±
Despite being a reserved elf, the empress had little ways to show her thoughts. She had long eyshes, too, so when she blinked rapidly before leaving her eyelids half closed to match her sidelong look and slight pout, the expression was strangely cute on her.
Her ears evened out, too.
¡°It is strange to say this, Zarian Darkrun, but at this moment, I¡¯m d you survived the ordeal and made yourself a better wizard. You continue to draw my curiosity like none before you.¡±
Zarian slowly nodded. ¡°Um, thanks, empress.¡±
¡°There is no need for thanks. You are indeed a child of immense nepotism. But so are my children and children¡¯s children and the others of my progeny. Yet, theyck a certain spark.¡±
¡°What¡¯s that spark?¡±
¡°The heart of an adventurer.¡± The empress slowly turned away from him. ¡°Now let us move on, since I¡¯ve held you up already. Behold, this next chamber will test you even further.¡±
Zarian could now pay attention to his surroundings better, which was hard earlier since the empress could take up so much of one¡¯s attention. Looking around, he noticed he was in an enclosure with walls made of imperfect cial Air Stone.
He could tell based on how the walls were slightly less translucent, making them more noticeable while pale white. The ceiling was the same.
It looked like Hannah wanted himpletely contained. Outside of the enclosure was another chamber that was cavernous while looking like a massive ypen with different colored tunnels that were also made of imperfectly see-through cial Air Stone.
Many of the tunnels stuck to their own routes along the floor, on the walls, or on the ceiling, which was the case for the tunnels colored red, green, and blue. But the white tunnels branched out in all directions and surfaces.
The point where all the tunnels mostly connected was at the dark cube towers ced around the cavernous ypen. There were dozens of them, almost like a district of towers in the vige above.
How did Hannah find the time to make all of this? It was a mystery to even Zarian. But he saw how nothing was moving, shifting, or reconfiguring here. It was a much more stable ce, despite also being more puzzling.
After a quick scan, Zarian¡¯s eyes focused on the red tunnel far across the chamber to his left. He saw a squad of pdins traversing through the tunnel that stayed on the ground.
They looked bruised up and battered, but they remained alive. Hannah had gone soft on them. Zarian appreciated that a lot.
¡°Okay, back to the game. How do I get my path to theirs or vice versa?¡± Zarian sprinted forward.
¡°You won¡¯t use your void spells?¡± the empress asked.
¡°That would go against the game and risk pissing off Hannah. She might kill the pdins instantly then,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Instead, I need to find how to intersect with them so I can y my role as big bad dungeon boss.¡±
¡°You are showing me the ways of a superb adventurer,¡± the empress said. ¡°I can only imagine how your Feats of Adventure look.¡±
¡°You keepplimenting me like that, Ruvaria, and I¡¯m going to think you either want to adopt me or y with me.¡± He shed a grin at her while he was mid stride.
A tiny red tint colored the empress¡¯s cheeks.
Zarian somehow stumbled and fell over. He quickly rolled back to the soles of his rugged metal and leather boots. He looked up and saw that the empress was gone.
Maybe he shouldn¡¯t have said that.
Or maybe it didn¡¯t matter.
Zarian shrugged and kept running. Eventually, he entered a tower and found an interesting station filled with turned-off screens, buttons, and multiple closed doorways.
The screens turned on with a loud click.
One of them showed the faces of the pdins as if they were looking directly at him. They must¡¯ve entered a simr tower and station filled with buttons and closed off doors. They looked shocked, angry, and murderous.
A different screen showed something that threw Zarian for a loop. It looked like they were going to y a mini-game against each other.
On Zarian¡¯s side was the option for him to dial down the consequences for having losses. Hannah was nice enough to give him that option, with the setting already ced at the maximum output.
Zarian decided to leave it maxed for the sake of being authentic to the game. It looked like victory over the mini-game would let him have ess to the pdins, as if they were treats for him and Para.
¡°Hannah ¡ you are a devious and cruel dungeon mistress,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I can dig it.¡±
Chapter 133: B2: C33: Shock Therapy
¡°Brothers! Sisters! Be not afraid!¡± shouted High Brother Mason Justicier, the leader of a pdin squad trapped in a false dungeon under Ride-or-Die Vige. ¡°We are where we need to be to usher in the end of the Dark Lord! Let our sacrifice put that bastard under judgment for his crimes against all that is GOOD!¡±
High Brother Mason was rousing the spirits of the other sixteen men and three women who were in his squad of Stalwart Inquisitors. Their ss was one of the best the Stalwart Pdin Kingdom could send on short notice across the frontiers and humannds of the Walled Continent.
High Brother Mason¡¯s particr squad and the other squads sent on this secret mission were part of an esteemed chapter called the Brothers of Original Good.
High Brother Mason was a proud servant and leader in his chapter. He believed his chapter to be the most moral, the most righteous, and the most good.
He was once the pious son of a beast shepherd. He remembered how his family were good-fearing people. He remembered his neighbors being the same.
Then the goblins hade and ravaged theirnds.
He¡¯d hid under the floorboards where only his little body could fit. He¡¯d waited with his little hands over his mouth while his family¡¯s blood seeped through the cracks and coated his body.
Yearster, High Brother Mason was no longer that little shepherd boy. He was a tall and mighty man whose own armor seemed to struggle to fit his heavily muscr form.
His hair was graying. He had equal measures of wrinkles and scars on his face. But despite his age, he had a strong jaw as mighty as his muscles. And he was Level 67 with plenty of stat points he¡¯d stacked into his Strength and Wonder.
Most of his fellow brothers and sisters in the chapter were in the early Level 60s. They had to be highly leveled to be here.
While on the mission, he wore armor that was bronze, which was the dominant color of the empire.
However, unlike the brown apparel that most pdins wore under their armor, the Brothers of Original Good wore ck apparel andyers.
The ck represented how the Brothers of Original Good would go deep into the darkness where the greatest evil existed. Then they would fulfill their duty as men and women sworn to their chapter, their kingdom, and their Good Gods.
Even if it meant they would die.
But even in death, they would serve.
Their devotion was carved into each of their backs, after all, making them more than just skillful humans adorned in rare quality armor and weaponry. They were pieces of a cosmic tapestry, a universe-spanning canvas.
Such devotion empowered the will of the Ascended Heavens. Such devotion helped the Good Gods leave a greater mark upon the mortal worlds and spread the grace of goodness across all of Infinita.
For High Brother Mason, the grace of the heavens was more important now than ever while fighting to save a Lesser World from the encroaching horrors of evil. And there was no evil greater than Shadowfell¡¯s vile husband, the source of the apocalypse, the reason for the Dark Era being especially dark, Zarian Darkrun the Dark Lord.
¡°Pdins, oh, pdins, you think I¡¯m the worst,¡± said the horrid fiend himself, his face filling one of the nefarious crystal screen devices made from evil witchcraft.
The device was one of many strange trinkets and mechanisms that filled a room High Brother Mason had led his squad into.
They had found no traps. They had thought the junction was secure enough for them to find some sce away from the trials of the red path.
In truth, this entire false dungeon was a mechanism of ck magic, and High Brother Mason was still uncertain how he and his fellow brothers and sisters had ended up here.
A ckness like no other had captured them, and only the blessed items they carried kept them somewhat whole as they passed through a veil of nothingness before arriving in the false dungeon.
They¡¯d nearly lost one of their own when they tried to step off the red path, which taught them the only way forward was to conquer the challenges of the false dungeon.
They¡¯d ovee multiple smaller trials while following the dangerous red path. But it seemed to High Brother Mason they were going to face a new and more dire trial soon.
He still remembered how the Dark Lord howled out to goad them earlier. The Dark Lord¡¯s voice had resounded across every corner of the chambers and tunnels, driving fear into the inquisitors.
High Brother Mason mustered his bravery and snarled at the face of the Dark Lord while the fiend took up one of the crystal screens. The other screens revealed various images through more means of ck magic. One even made sounds that were strange and foreign to High Brother Mason and the other pdins.
¡°You will face judgment, Dark Lord!¡± High Brother Mason raised his war hammer to prepare for a fight.
He felt the righteous magic of his traits and skills empowering him. His good +2 alignment filled him with the warmth andforting power of goodness itself.
¡°From you? Probably not,¡± the Dark Lord mocked.
He was a youthful man of foreign dark skin. His hair was strangely curly and dark. He wore dark sses that were squarish on his face. His crooked hat was as disturbing as the rest of his apparel.
He didn¡¯t have much, since he remained bare chested, revealing a muscture that was highly unusual for what was supposedly a dark magician.
High Brother Mason hated magicians of all sorts. They relied on magic that didn¡¯te from the gods. They had the arrogance of thinking themselves better for it.
The High Brother¡¯s trusty hammer had spilled the smart minds of many magician types. He¡¯d imagined doing the same to the Dark Lord, but only briefly.
He knew that ying the Dark Lord was thest thing they must do. Their mission here was more delicate and sacrificial.
They¡¯d already failed the first part by not inciting unrest, disabling the operations of the evil vige and weakening the foothold of this ce. The den of the Dark Lord held too much power in an important crossroads between kingdoms and the frontier.
No matter.
They could devote everything to the primary goal.
Defeating the Dark Lord.
¡°You know what¡¯s funny?¡± asked the Dark Lord, a white smile shing across his evil face. ¡°I would¡¯ve just killed you. Maybe even painfully. But it would¡¯ve been quick depending on Para¡¯s mood. However, my friend has made us a game where I¡¯m going to have to work for it.¡±
He tossed his head back andughed. ¡°It¡¯s kind of screwed up! Because the more I have to work, the more you¡¯re going to really regret it when I finally get to you. And I think Hannah¡¯s doing this on purpose regardless of the consequences you¡¯ll face. We¡¯re all part of her experiment. Isn¡¯t that fun?¡±
It was hard listening to a madman.
High Brother Mason was d he¡¯d gathered pieces of intel about the direct servants of the Dark Lord. The most shocking of these servants was the youngdy who wore an authentic elven dress.
She was well known as Princess Bianca Garcia, the most morous and blessed across the manynds and oceans of Corma. She was apparently the most gifted force of good, with an alignment of +5, yet she served the Dark Lord.
High Brother Mason felt sick to his stomach. It was hard knowing that the Dark Lord had used his nefarious magic to enthrall the mind of poor Princess Bianca! Saving the princess only made this mission even more important.
There was also the gant Gilbert, a knight who rode on a powerful eight-legged steed. He¡¯de to the aid of many adventurers and healed them from the brink of death. He, along with Princess Bianca, could find redemption.
The one known as Naomi, the incredibly strong witch whose skin was dark like the Dark Lord¡¯s, was irredeemable from what High Brother Mason had learned.
The one who was the architect of the vige, and most likely the creator of this false dungeon, was a mystery to the High Brother. But it was safe to assume she was wicked for making such torturous and monstrous traps, many of which seemed to direct the Brothers of Original Good in a death maze against the Dark Lord, like mice pitted against a frenzied cat.
¡°High Brother Mason, I¡¯ve discovered the rules of this game contraption,¡± Sister Aveline eximed excitedly.
Despite being of the fairer sex, she was like the other sisters, broadly built and tall like a man. It still saddened High Brother Mason that good women and providers of good pdins would risk their lives in this gritty work.
But Sister Aveline was the smartest of them. She was much needed in this strange false dungeon, which existed without the proper dungeon rules of the Star System.
High Brother Mason snarled once more at the smiling face of the Dark Lord before marching over to Sister Aveline. She directed with one sword and exined how the metallic tables with colorful buttons were part of a game that ten of them could partake in.
Certain buttons could control certain geometric figures on one of the wide crystal screens. They could make the game figures shoot strange dots that made ¡®pew, pew¡¯ sounds. There were solid objects floating in the way, acting like obstacles that were worth avoiding.
One touch equaled destruction of their geometric pew, pew game figures.
High Brother Mason decided not to y.
He waited in the back as Sister Aveline and the youngest and most impressionable members of their chapter stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the metal tables. They each had a set of buttons and took control of their specific moveable figures.
¡°Excellent, you¡¯ve figured out the game,¡± the Dark Lord said in a sinister voice. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be fun if you had no idea what you¡¯re doing. You don¡¯t even have to worry about friendly fire. It¡¯s just the ten of you versus me.¡±
¡°What happens when we win this game?¡± asked one brother.
The Dark Lord looked at them with mocking sadness. ¡°You can only hold back the inevitable. I assume once I destroy all of your spaceships, I¡¯ll get ess to you, if Hannah deems me worthy.¡±
¡°I see him! A ck, spiky shape that¡¯s maneuvering around the fields of floating obstacles!¡± shouted a brother who was ying.
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¡°Everyone, turn and shoot at him together!¡± Sister Aveline directed.
High Brother Mason felt his heartbeat quicken despite the impersonal and alien nature of the game. At the very least, the eight brothers and two sisters ying against the Dark Lord seemed highly invested, which the High Brother thought was important.
They erupted into cheer when volleys of moving dots going pew, pew from their figures destroyed the dark spiky shape that represented the Dark Lord.
A roar filled with enraged pain cut their cheers off. It came from the screen and from outside of the room.
The inhuman roar sent chills down High Brother Mason¡¯s spine.
He gripped his hammer with one hand and ced a fist over his heart. He prayed to all of his favorite Good Gods: Purehome, Purgehunt, Lawkeep, and Hopnd.
Although Purehome was the most pivotal goddess in the kingdom, and Purgehunt was the patron god for the Stalwart Inquisitor ss, Mason¡¯s favorite was Hopnd. It was through hope that Mason felt relief when he saw the pain and suffering of the Dark Lord on the screen.
Apparently, the destruction of his game figure had caused him to suffer a grave punishment. The High Brother was starting to relish the torment when the roaring quieted.
The viewing screen panned around to show the Dark Lord knelt on the ground, with smoke wafting from his body. He was wheezing, as if he¡¯d suffered through an incredible trial.
Then his hard breathing changed to madughter. The heinous husband of an Evil Goddess rose to his feet.
¡°There are some instructions on my side,¡± the Dark Lord said. ¡°There aren¡¯t many of those because Hannah is cruel and devious, but I guess she wanted to warn me.¡±
The Dark Lord sighed merrily. ¡°I¡¯ll get punished every time I lose. I let you beat me in the first round just to test it. News sh, shock therapy is a little on the painful side.¡±
The Dark Lord burst intoughter again.
High Brother Mason firmed up his heart as he heard the wicked sounds the Dark Lord made. His fellow brothers and sisters tried to hide their fear as they watched the madman through the screen.
The Dark Lord acted as if the punishment was nothing when it would¡¯ve harmed any pdin severely.
¡°Don¡¯t worry. You don¡¯t get punished for losing any members. All you can do is withstand the inevitable,¡± the Dark Lord said.
¡°The game is restarting everyone!¡± Sister Aveline shouted. ¡°If we can keep destroying his game figure, we can attempt to shock him into submission!¡±
¡°But what will happen if the Dark Lord seeds?¡± asked one brother who was ying.
¡°Then we will handle things as pdins should,¡± grunted High Brother Mason.
He looked toward one of the metallic doorways that closed off all forward progress. There was no going back, either, since that way was shut off by another metal door.
The mice couldn¡¯t escape. But they had certain tools that could incapacitate the cat.
The game resumed. The tension rose. The Dark Lord¡¯s spiky game figure moved with deftness and skill that wasn¡¯t apparent the first time.
He darted between pew, pew shots from the skittering figures of the inquisitor yers. And just when they were about to entrap the Dark Lord and destroy his figure again, he eliminated a brother.
The game became harder for the pdins. They didn¡¯t seem to have a revival ability in the game like the Dark Lord did.
A second brother fell, and the Dark Lord¡¯s position grew ever stronger. Then, by the grace of the Ascended Heavens, Sister Aveline clipped the Dark Lord¡¯s game figure and demolished it.
The high whine of an electrocution filled the Dark Lord¡¯s side of the screens. But this time, there was no roar of pain.
Instead, there was wretched and hystericalughter that High Brother Mason had once heard from the likes of gnolls.
It was wild.
It was insane.
It was the voice of evil itself.
Even High Brother Mason couldn¡¯t stop himself from shivering in instinctual fear.
The Dark Lord suffered his punishment merrily before the game resumed.
Now it was eight inquisitors versus one Dark Lord, and the evil madman had momentum. Another brother fell. Then another and another.
Now there were five against one. The Dark Lord was even mightier and more formidable with the reduced number of pdins.
High Brother Mason watched the sweaty faces of the remaining pdin yers before hearing a sister scream in frustration after the Dark Lord destroyed her game figure.
Once again, Sister Aveline saved them. She struck the Dark Lord and forced him to endure a punishment created by someone who was supposedly his servant.
¡°Wow ho ho he ha ha ha ha ha!¡± The Dark Lord guffawed. ¡°I would¡¯ve normally hated this pain stuff, but it definitely makes me more excited to see you all in person. How many remain? Just four? Alright, I think it¡¯s time to finish this. Say hello to Para, everyone, because all of this shock therapy has her appetite raised all the way.¡±
Multiple leathery hands formed from the tattered kilt worn around the Dark Lord¡¯s waist.
Sister Aveline emitted a cuss that High Brother Mason would¡¯ve normally admonished her for under different circumstances. Instead, he barked out an order to have his squad prepare for what wasing next.
High Brother Mason looked over his dutiful brothers and sisters of the chapter. Everything was still in order.
He nced at the game and saw that Sister Aveline was the only one who remained. She became the sole adversary of the Dark Lord¡¯s ¡ article of living clothing.
The Dark Lord smirked, his arms folded across his muscr chest, while four feminine hands tipped with bone-white ws pressed the buttons for his game figure. The hands were made from a red and monstrous kilt, and they moved with blurring speed.
Sister Aveline did all she could to avoid outright destruction while trying to thwart the advance of the Dark Lord¡¯s living clothing until the inevitable happened. The Dark Lord destroyed the sister¡¯s game figure under a rain of pew, pew shots.
¡°No! I was going to get another win!¡± Sister Aveline shouted.
¡°Drop the matter and refocus, sister! It¡¯s now time for our original purpose!¡± High Brother Mason shouted.
Just when Sister Aveline joined their formation, a shrilling siren wailed from the corners of the room. A yellow light shed with a heinous warning.
The noise and lights reminded High Brother Mason of the stories that depicted the bowels of Hidden Hell. He had wondered plenty of times what it would be like to experience it himself.
One of the metal doors that was blocking off a passage slid open quickly, revealing a white tunnel curving upward. High Brother Mason looked at the screen where he¡¯dst seen the Dark Lord.
The Dark Lord was gone.
¡°Shields up!¡± High Brother Mason shouted over the shrilling siren wail.
His heart was hammering fast. He squinted through the hellish yellow lights and deep shadows. He saw his brothers and sisters were shaking in their armor.
But one showed her bravery in the face of immense evil.
¡°For our kingdom! For the sake of original good!¡± Sister Aveline shouted, as if to thwart the grip of dread they all felt.
She sounded gant and cheerful. She sounded like a real Stalwart Inquisitor, filling High Brother Mason with pride.
A dark figure stepped out of a wrinkle in the air and appeared in the middle of their formation. High Brother Mason felt the evil presence and the wicked magic before he could give a proper response.
The Dark Lord ced his hand on the back of Sister Aveline¡¯s helmet. He punctured the back of her helmet and skull with something that moved too fast for the High Brother to recognize. Blood, bits of brain, and a smattering of skull pieces sprayed the air and sttered on the armor of the nearest brothers.
¡°Fight, my brothers and sisters, fight!¡± roared High Brother Mason.
He lunged toward the floating spell books that were key tools used by magicians. The High Brother had a skill that could disable manifested spellbooks with a single strike.
Something from the Dark Lord moved with a speed that blurred its form. High Brother Mason turned his hammer around to deflect the attack.
On impact, he noticed the attack came from a bone-ted fist with numerous joints that extended from the monstrous kilt.
The strike threw the High Brother across the room and into a wall with a heavy m. He had the air knocked out of him, stunning him.
When he hit the ground with a ringing ng, he looked up. He saw several of his brothers falling, their heads rolling away from between their shoulders.
The Dark Lord fought with Agility and Strength that no magican should ever have. His body was a blur of action, unstoppable and savage, while flicking out deadly weapons from the flesh of his palms.
His abilities and stats were unyielding. His form was shifty, dreadful, and menacing, striking fear into each inquisitor like a horrid wraith. Sometimes he would disappear and reappear without warning, making every effort against him useless.
He carved a bloody war path through inquisitors who had trained for years to be an elite fighting force. The Dark Lord dismantled them as if being the best of the best of inquisitors, the Brothers of Original Good, was no matter to him.
And the Dark Lord was chuckling throughout the blood bath, making it all seem like another game to him.
He kicked dear Sister Isolde so hard her breastte caved into her chest. The broken pieces of her ribcage spewed out of her mouth in a bloody jettison made of crushed organs.
He thrust his hand and shot from his palm a thick thread of flesh tipped with bone. The rope-like dart speared through the shoulder gap in Brother Antoine¡¯s armor. A crimson glow shone from the monstrous strand of flesh.
Brother Antoine screamed as the crimson glow consumed him and fed a horrific red energy into the Dark Lord, the evil viin letting out a gasp of pleasure.
High Brother Mason felt sickened to his core. He felt his soul revolt as he climbed back to his feet. He watched more of his fellow inquisitors fall.
Brother Antoine fell dead, his face stretched with horror and pain, hisst moments spent with his life energy devoured by the Dark Lord. Other brothers faced the same fate as the Dark Lord¡¯s living kilt struck out with many monster limbs colored by the evil crimson glow.
Bone-edged scythes hacked off limbs. Tentacles with bone hookstched onto necks and strangled brothers dead. Wolfish heads on long necks snapped their fangs through te armor and leather, ripping out intestines.
The few pdins who remained tried to fight hard and fast, but the Dark Lord moved around them with ease. He made it seem as if the inquisitors had trained for nothing.
Worse yet, when they finallynded a few hits, the Dark Lord shrugged them off.
Only small cuts and welts appeared on his muscr form, and even those injuries were quick to disappear, leaving nosting impression.
His vitality must¡¯ve been enormous! No. Monstrous!
The Dark Lord repaid each ncing hit theynded with ughter.
Brother Julian had his guts ripped out until he was thoroughly eviscerated.
Brother Gaspard had his skull crushed between two gauntlet-d hands.
Brother Tristan threw his life away for a desperate blitz. Now he was nothing but ragged flesh after being drained of all his blood and innards by a hungry tube attached to the Dark Lord¡¯s monster kilt.
Now only High Brother Mason remained.
His squad hadn¡¯tsted a minute.
¡°Oh, yeah, that¡¯s that good stuff.¡± The Dark Lord chuckled. ¡°I think Hannah might¡¯ve gone a little too far with the shock therapy. But at least it gave you a sense of hope. That made you tastier for Para, honestly, and more fun for me. So it all worked out. Now for the dessert, oh High Brother.¡±
High Brother Mason dropped his trusty hammer. He fell to his knees. He ced one fist over his heart. He sped the other hand over his fist.
He began thest prayer he would evermit in this lesser life.
He ignored the shing memories of his family¡¯s death to goblins. He ignored his brothers¡¯ and sisters¡¯ fresh and bloody deaths to the Dark Lord.
In the end, they all knew their deaths were unavoidable. All that mattered was the symbols and texts engraved into their backs. Their flesh served as the canvas where the heavens wouldmit their great work.
He was prepared for the Dark Lord to interrupt him, too. It wouldn¡¯t be ideal, but the miracle for striking down such wicked evil would not allow for half measures while among the living or the dead.
Strangely, the Dark Lord seemed to hold back and let Mason pray.
By the time he neared thest lines, the corpses of his brothers and sisters glowed with palpable white and gold divine energy. The divine light pushed away the red hues, yellow warning lights, deep shadows, and bloody horrors covering the room.
The divine energy even forced the Dark Lord to take a few stumbling steps back.
¡°Oh Good Gods, oh heavenly spirits of the righteous alignment, I give the life and flesh of myself and my brothers and sisters to serve your purpose!¡± High Brother Mason shouted, knowing that he wasn¡¯t just sacrificing the dead.
He was also sacrificing the others who were still alive down here. They all shared the same sacrificial symbols and scriptures on their backs.
They were all pieces of the canvas, tools for the heavens to achieve their great work. Thus, High Brother Mason was fulfilling his duty as a leader of his chapter.
¡°Hear my cry! For I give unto you everything, oh my Good Gods, my kings and queens of the heavens! If what I give isn¡¯t enough, take from the Brothers of Original Good everything you need! And if that isn¡¯t enough, take from the Stalwart Pdin Kingdom everything you need! And if that isn¡¯t enough, every soul of good will ce down their lives. Then evil shall be vanquished!¡±
High Brother Mason felt light. His connection to this mortal world was slipping away. His focus was fading gradually.
He couldn¡¯t see the bodies of his brothers and sisters anymore. They were all white and gold sparks, pieces of light that made up the cosmic canvas of the heavens.
The High Brother, once a son of shepherds, smiled as he said hisst words.
¡°Let evil hear what all men and monsters must fear, Arch Cherub Metatron, the Weing Voice of Good!¡±
High Brother Mason slipped from the mortal coils of his former flesh and whisked away to somewhere else as white and gold sparks. But while on his way out of this life, he heard something that ced a shadow on this glorious moment.
¡°Sweet, I get to kill my first angel,¡± said the Dark Lord. ¡°I wonder how Gilbert would react once I tell him.¡±
Chapter 134: B2: C34: Be Very Afraid
Chapter 134: B2: C34: Be Very Afraid
Zarian had spoken flippantly to hide some of his concern. He¡¯d known ahead of time that certain pdins, the terrorists specifically, could summon an angel through mass sacrifice.
That was perfectly fine with him as long as the sacrifice didn¡¯t harm the innocent vigers, visitors, and guild members.
He¡¯d allowed High Brother Mason to make the prayer and sacrifice because Zarian was interested in testing himself against a lesser angel. But he¡¯d hoped for something at the top of Tier 3 status regardless of level ¨C which was powerful, but not incredibly destructive.
Arch Cherub Metatron, the Weing Voice of Good, was supposedly a low Tier 4, which was highly, highly destructive.
There were umon theocratic books in the library that depicted immortal angels like Metatron, which were creatures that roamed the God Land and the Ascended Heavens.
Hannah had checked out relevant holy books from Reiki¡¯s library before the dungeon went to the Blood Prairies with Naomi and Ezda. Hannah had also gathered some intel from Empress Ruvaria while Zarian¡¯s spectral spiders spied on the terrorists.
After Hannah hadpiled her research notes and gave Zarian a briefing on what he could face before Operation Dead Terror Parade began, he¡¯d expected something smaller instead of Metatron.
Thus, its summoning by thete High Brother Mason was surprising.
The Arch Cherub, a low Tier 4, could wipe out the entire vige and beyond if it could abuse its full power. Even now, with its shy summoning to the lesser mortal realm loading, Zarian felt sick and weighed down. He was forced to retreat into the corner of the room as pulses of goodness and holy sounds rolled over him heavily.
Thankfully, he didn¡¯t stay trapped for long.
The entire game room for the red path copsed. The walls dropped immediately. The tower above his head fell to the side.
Zarian found himself in a crumbling structure, but none of the cubes fell on him.
Hannah was demolishing portions of her own creation on purpose. She gave Zarian plenty of space to retreat.
He avoided the harsh glow from Metatron¡¯s summoning as the divine light grew wider. White and gold sparks scorched the earth and cubes equally.
The entire cavern trembled.
An angelic choir filled the air.
Zarian felt sicker and sicker. His parasite squirmed in difort under his flesh, the kilt pping wildly from around his waist.
Para was already bothered about losing the pdin corpses before she could consume them all, but now she was suffering along with Zarian. And this was before the Arch Cherub showed uppletely.
It¡¯s a good thing we threw the terrorists down here or they could¡¯ve wrecked the vige and killed a lot of people, Zarian thought as he retreated some more.
He was now standing outside of the colored paths and on the dark, cavernous grounds that were sometimes barren of Hannah¡¯s influence. Amid the patches of uncharged rock, there were cube towers, monuments, and more objects of Hannah¡¯s engineering that were shifting rapidly for the uing challenge.
She was going to help him.
Zarian didn¡¯t mind.
The biggest surprise was the elven empress making an appearance, popping up to Zarian¡¯s right. Ruvaria¡¯s bright emerald eyes looked at the vast and terrifying glow of heavenly wrath. She hovered about, slender arms crossed under her breasts.
¡°I¡¯ve always hated it when angels make an appearance,¡± Empress Ruvaria said. ¡°This summoning will kill thousands of pdins who agreed to be sacrifices beyond just the inquisitors. And angels do not understand nuance and will kill tens of thousands for having too much sin, which is not something anyone can measure, so even good humans can suffer its wrath.¡±
¡°Damn,¡± Zarian grunted. ¡°We didn¡¯t read that in the books.¡±
The empress nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t die because of my Chosen One trait. And it¡¯s quite difficult to kill me these days. However, I¡¯ve done plenty of things that have gone against the nature of good, so even I am a target.¡±
¡°But you¡¯re good +4,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have sin that much.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t go backwards in alignments unless you change sses with diverging alignments. And I can¡¯t even do that much. Elves are born into the good alignment just like how evil creatures, such as gnolls and goblins, are born into the evil alignment. We don¡¯t have the option for alignment changes like humans do.¡±
The empress sighed.
¡°Nheless, I¡¯ve been naughty in my own ways. If you cannot stop Metatron, it will have you sealed away before it wipes out the vige. Then it would ensure I¡¯m punished for my many sins. Chief among them is not doing what my grandmother wants.¡±
¡°To have me sealed?¡±
¡°It is a shortsighted and unreliable solution, in my opinion. I have other ns for you and your friends I want fulfilled, even if it means I must go against the will of the Ascended Heavens.¡±
Zarian gawked at the petite elf woman. She was one of the most powerful beings across the many Lesser Worlds. She was the Chosen One of the World of Castles and Caverns. She¡¯d acted like a mentor figure for weeks, even though she once said she didn¡¯t want to be one earlier.
It hadn¡¯t urred to him she was rebelling against the heavens, especially her grandmother, Purehome.
He hadn¡¯t quite pinned down her exact reasons yet even though he was d to have her, but the degree to which she was bing more involved was considerable.
¡°You can destroy it, can¡¯t you? If it tries to harm you?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Good is powerful. But good is highly restricted. Striking against an Arch Cherub from my position would be a sin so dreadful I would rather not suffer it,¡± the empress exined. ¡°Especially when Arch Cherubs are good +7.¡±
Zarian flinched. His heart hammered harder in his chest. He felt Para getting riled up inside of his body, inside of his mind, and through the ragged apparel around his waist.
He¡¯d figured there would be holes in Hannah¡¯s research. The library only had umon quality books, which could only contain so much information. And Empress Ruvaria wasn¡¯tpletely forting about all of her info.
The empress hadn¡¯t told them about the good +7 factor on purpose.
This was one of her tests, which was highly dangerous and maddening for even the Madness Wizard.
Is it possible that Empress Ruvaria could be crazier than me? Zarian wondered. This is the price for getting her mentorship, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m dealing with the most powerful elf around, the queen demigoddess of the Lesser Worlds. To hold her attention means she¡¯s going to throw you in the deep end with the sharks while you are covered in bloody cuts. Then she¡¯ll see if you can swim.
Feeling in over his head once again, Zarian began chanting and hand-signing. The mini cubes in his gauntlets moved up and down as part of the unsealing sequence. He was about to unseal his One Percent Power.
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Empress Ruvaria turned a sharp re at him.
Zarian slowed down.
¡°You¡¯re buckling already?¡± The elf harrumphed. ¡°It may be good +7, but it will be Level 60 at most. It shouldn¡¯t be impossible for you since you have the advantage of a new and more free alignment.¡±
He paused the unsealing process. He only had a few more moves to go. He red back at the empress through his sunsses.
¡°I fought Bianca when she was good +5, and she was pretty freaking strong. Good +7 is immense, Empress Ruvaria. My free evil is only +3, and it¡¯s not much help in directbat. So even if I¡¯m Level 80, and it¡¯s Level 60, that thing is going to be ridiculously strong because of its alignment. I should use Overwhelming Darkness to guarantee victory.¡±
The words tasted bitter in his mouth. He¡¯d orchestrated for all of this to happen, and now he was regretting it quite a bit.
Yes, Zarian loved to aplish crazy things. But the cavern walls weren¡¯t tough enough to contain a fight like this. The vige above them was in deep trouble.
He should use his Overwhelming Darkness.
Yet, he hesitated. His mind was unraveling with possibilities. And the empress was prodding at him on purpose, bringing out the craziness, making it a struggle to do the rational thing.
She pressed closer until they were an inch apart. He felt the heat radiating from her skin. He was ny-nine percent sure this was not a projected illusion.
¡°Are you sure you can¡¯t win without Overwhelming Darkness? You are the most powerful wizard of your level, Zarian Darkrun,¡± she said softly, with a hint of sweetness. ¡°You are not just a child of nepotism. You have the spark of an adventurer, perhaps one destined for the Throne of the Adventurer King. Do not run away from this challenge. Face it head on. Add to your Feats of Adventure. And take what spoils the Star System will owe you.¡±
She was so close to him he felt the glow from her emerald eyes pushing aside the shadows on his face. He could smell the mint on her breath. Despite her age, she remained youthful and beautiful, arresting his attention.
The angel choir sang louder. The entire cavern shook. The glow of heavenly divinity and destructive goodness grew brighter, more intense.
Zarian felt sicker, and so did his parasite. But his attention was fixed on the empress, as if she had cast a spell of enthrallment on him.
She was a powerful figure. She could have anything she wanted.
Yet she was here, trying to push him to ovee a great challenge while defying the will of the greater good. Her belief in him was so palpable it was almost undeniable.
Naomi wouldn¡¯t back down from a challenge like this, Zarian thought, which was strange to consider at the moment. Somewhere out there in the Blood Prairies, my little rival is trying to grow stronger and stronger by facing the hardest challenges she can. I should do the same every now and then.
Finally, he snapped back to focus and made his decision. He dropped his hands and didn¡¯t unseal his Overwhelming Darkness. He secretly cussed at the petite elf, not daring to say it aloud.
Fucking aye, Naomi could learn a thing or two from the empress about instigating, Zarian thought, before letting out a sigh.
Despite the whish in mood, the decision still felt right with him. Zarian wanted to use more wizardry than darkness, at least for now. He could establish control over his darkness through cultivationter.
Right now, after the empress had pushed at him so convincingly, he figured he could learn a lot about himself if he tried to put wizardry first. He could certainly grind up his grimoire skills and have them all advanced for new spell upgrades.
Thus, he had to ask himself an important question.
How would he beat the good +7 Arch Cherub, a creature with Tier 4 civilization-destroying power, without his biggest weapon?
The challenge felt too extreme. But at least he wasn¡¯t alone. And he could make a request from the empress.
¡°Hannah¡¯s going to help. But I need your help, too,¡± Zarian said sharply. ¡°You can¡¯t let Metatron get out of here.¡±
The empress nodded. ¡°I will seal the cavern and keep your fight contained. I will also offer some assistance to Hannah, so she will attack effectively with what tools she has at her disposal.¡±
¡°Thank you, mdy.¡±
¡°No, thank you, milord.¡± The empress disappeared.
He still felt some of her warmth lingering in the air close to his skin. It really seemed like Empress Ruvaria had a lot of vested interest in him, regardless of her true intentions.
Zarian sighed. ¡°Damn, I really have to do my best here. You with me, Para?¡±
¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± Para said through the kilt. ¡°I want to eat the flesh of an angel. I was excited about that. But this creature feels like a natural predator to me.¡±
¡°Sorry,¡± Zarian said.
¡°It is okay. I will do my best as well.¡±
Zarian nodded as he switched around some alpha skills with beta skills. Now his alpha skills included Overwhelming Darkness, Parasite Cloak +2, Spectral Spider Network +2, Summon Wizard Hat +2, and Advanced Grimoire of the Voidling Exile.
He wished he could shove Overwhelming Darkness into the beta section so he could at least have Grimoire of ck Magic 102 in his alpha section. He was tempted to trade out Spectral Spider Network +2, but the little spiders were already hard at work to help him in a big way.
Thus, his ck magic grimoire and hell gator grimoire had to stay in the beta section with the Level 0 skills. At the very least, having Summon Wizard Hat +2 in the alpha section would uplift everything.
With the skills set, Zarian was as ready as he was going to be.
The white and gold glow in the middle of the cavern finally solidified as the singing choir grew so loud it deafened Zarian some. Para did her best to endure.
The singing crescendoed, and an implosion of force scraped away the nearest rocks and cubic formations. Born from the st, a huge psychic wave spread throughout the cavernous chamber and flowed around Zarian¡¯s mind, unable to breach.
The first genuine attack from Metatron would¡¯ve been devastating against anyone else other than Zarian and maybe Naomi, and this was happening while the Arch Cherub waspleting its form in the Lesser World.
Metatron was the definition of ¡®Be Not Afraid,¡¯ which was a total lie. The creature was a giant white sphere of hardened flesh covered in giant mouths with elegant and supple lips. Dozens of huge, feathery, gold wings extended from the sphere of its main body.
Each wing had a mouth that was made from feathers. When the lips attached to the wings parted, Zarian could see teeth, tongues, and even throats that led down to the unknown, despite how impossible that should be when set on the feathery appendages.
Zarian spotted more impossible anatomical designs from the four spiraling tinum rings encircling the Arch Cherub¡¯s giant round body. Each tinum ring had multiple mouths made of the same tinum material ¨C lips, teeth, tongues, and throats included.
It was impossible to fully tell the gender of Metatron, but it was clear the angel had its own uncanniness merged with a biblically urate angel design.
Then the Arch Cherub spoke with a voice that was feminine but otherworldly. ¡°Be very afraid, Dark Lord.¡±
¡°Yes, but no,¡± Zarian said, making one more promise with himself.
I¡¯ll push as hard as I can with just wizardry and my other abilities, but I will use Overwhelming Darkness rather than suffer defeat if ites down to it. I have to think about everyone else, after all.
He had people relying on him. He would hate to disappoint them again.
The Star System made itself seen and heard before the fireworks started, a big golden box appearing against the cavern ceiling. Zarian watched as more boxes appeared, oveying the first, which gave him some clue that this wasn¡¯t just a message for him.
This was being told to everyone around Ride-or-Die Vige. Perhaps even further than that.
***
As Zarian began his battle against Metatron, the Star System was informing all major poptions and leaders around the world about the Divine World Event. Such an event hadn¡¯t happened in decades, ever since the Sixth Divine War of recent history.
Most leaders immediately hoped for Empress Ruvaria to keep the situation contained.
Many of the leaders knew the histories that were mainly kept secret from the public. They knew how major events like these could cause widespread damage, leaving them at Empress Ruvaria¡¯s mercy as per usual.
She was both a nightmare and a hero of epic proportions, a figure who seemed as mighty as an actual goddess of the Lesser Worlds.
Some world leaders, such as the king and council of the Windy Strider Kingdom, went on the offensive against the Stalwart Pdin Kingdom. They were neighbors across the Stone Sea River. The striders were highly aware of the dangerous angelic summonings that the pdins could achieve.
Once again, they butted heads. However, the conflict between striders and pdins, and all the other political events happening around the world, mattered little to Zarian, Hannah, Empress Ruvaria, and the people of Ride-or-Die Vige.
Only the destruction of Metatron mattered.
Chapter 135: B2: C35: Tell Your Gods
Zarian shoved his remaining free points into his Wonder Stat, pushing it from 267 to 302. He felt luckier, more faithful, and more perceptive of the supernatural. Then, with his Basic Aura Maniption trait, he pushed aura hard into his Level 0 Wondrous Speed skill.
He ran faster than he¡¯d ever ran before. His grimoires jerked after him as he became a human streak of luck and speed.
Spectral chains rattled. Metallic hums resounded. A swampy presence groaned. And Zarian grunted as he maxed his physicality and dodged the first solid attack from Metatron.
The Arch Cherub shot a beam from one of its many mouths. The radiant torrent of celestial energy scrubbed the air clean of anything that wasn¡¯t good and struck the cavern floor where Zarian had stood a second ago.
The entire cavern chamber trembled from the single impact.
Rock, sediment, and many high-quality materials became sparkling vapor under a bright and thunderous sh as the celestial beam kept burrowing further down below.
By the time that single beam finished, Zarian could tell it dug thousands of feet into the ground and left its heavenly mark. If that attack had struck the vige up above, multiple towers would¡¯ve fallen and thousands of people would¡¯ve died.
The Arch Cherub pped its dozen wings. Rhythmic storm winds blew out in all directions, all howling deeply with a monstrous bass.
The beating wings and storm winds almost sounded like a choir of deep-voiced men providing the bottom tone of a song. The altos came from the many mouths that covered the hard, white flesh of Metatron¡¯s spherical body.Bybining all its singing voices, the Arch Cherub produced a musical symphony that was like the orchestral tracks Zarian would hear in dungeon boss battles.
But unlike the superfluous mood music a dungeon could provide him, the Weing Voice of Good was singing to invade Zarian¡¯s mind.
It had no shot of seeding there. Zarian¡¯s Thematic Law/Floridian Mindset denied the power of the invasive music. However, the Arch Cherub¡¯s other magical traits and skills weren¡¯t so easy to thwart.
More celestial beams shot at Zarian as he moved around at blurring speeds. His back itched as the bright and thunderous volleys destroyed the cavern floor behind him with rock-rumbling impacts.
Metatron¡¯s beating gold wings sent more bass-filled storm winds around the cavern chamber to slow him down or throw him off his feet. Zarian clenched his jaw, leaned into the storm winds, and pushed through as he ran in zig-zagging patterns with the celestial beams trailing after him along with other mighty powers of the Arch Cherub.
That was all fine with Zarian as long as Metatron kept its attention on him and off the spectral spiders. The little guys were forming a decentlyrge spell array with numerous arcane webs and gravity runes.
While the gravity spell was still a long-term project for Zarian toplete, his studies had borne fruit in other ways, such as teaching the spectral spiders to be their own little wizards and enchanters.
¡°Do not run,¡± Metatron said through multiple mouths. ¡°You will not be destroyed, only harmed and incapacitated. Then you will be sealed for the greater good.¡±
¡°Fuck off!¡± Zarian shouted, throwing up double middle fingers.
Metatron concentrated even more on Zarian. More of its mouths switched from casually singing to shooting celestial beams.
With Metatron fully distracted, the spectral spiders triggered their trap. They created a purplish zone that epassed the entire Arch Cherub.
Heavy gravity fluctuations crashed into the creature from below and knocked it toward the cavern ceiling. Its volleys of celestial beams and beating storm winds died down, letting Zarian nt his feet and focus on wizardry.
In the meantime, Hannah took her shot from the opposite side of the cavern chamber. A massive rectangr barrel fired with a loud thump that nearly challenged Metatron¡¯s choir of voices.
The payload struck the Arch Cherub¡¯s side with a brilliant eruption of heat and force that even Zarian could feel as the st turned the entire chamber from being a dark space to being the brightly lit home of a sr re.
Zarian and Para continued to prepare their spells while observing the results of Hannah¡¯s big bang attack. The light and mes dimmed away. The smoke cleared.
Metatron remained unharmed.
The air around the Arch Cherub looked thick and wobbly. The tinum rings encircling its body were vibrating. They seemed to have conjured a barrier to defend from direct damage.
¡°Lay down your arms and your magic. You must surrender to the demands of the Ascended Heavens and the Greater Good,¡± Metatron demanded, its many mouths speaking with a tone that was more magical and divine. ¡°There is no chance of you defeating me. Lessen your suffering and be sealed away. The Good Gods demand it so, and so it must be done.¡±
Metatron¡¯s orders had no effect on Zarian and Para.
The spectral spiders, however, weren¡¯t immune to the unyielding orders of divinity. Metatron forced many of the spectral spiders to stop their arcane webbing, and the gravity trap lost its consistency.
Without maintenance on the arcane webs and new gravity runes, the spectral spider¡¯s ingenious spell array was breaking down fast.
Metatron kept making orders to crush the will of the spiderspletely.
Eventually, the purplish zone dropped all the way, freeing the Arch Cherub. The horrific World Boss pped its dozen gold wings, stirring up more bass-filled storm winds that propped up its song of heavenly wrath.
It sang with an invasive psychic voice. It shot volleys of celestial beams that curved through the air, now targeting Hannah¡¯s makeshift cannons and Zarian¡¯s position.
The Arch Cherub kept demanding for their surrender. It kept demanding for them to be obedient for the greater good.
Zarian remained disobedient, and he didn¡¯t run this time. Instead, he and Para finished their preparations for a hardcorebination of wizardry. They stood their ground and went all in with their first big countermeasure.
¡°Void Authority! Void Layer! ck Fire!¡± Zarian shouted, his arms thrusting forward, his aura flowing hard, his mind burning.
¡°Quagmire Pit! Dread Mire Bite! Dread Mire Bellow!¡± Para shouted quickly, her hands flipping fast through the gator grimoire.
Casting two void spells with a ck magic spell counted as three simultaneous spells. Para casting the folktale gator spells counted as one continuous spell.
Altogether, that was technically four spells happening at once. And unlike traits and skills from the Star System, multicasting wizard spells together was a ridiculously hard effort.
This was the furthest Zarian had ever pushed, which made Para¡¯s help a great boon for him. Theirbination of mental and aura enhancements supported the great workings.
Meanwhile, Hannah lost some of her cannons, but not all. She deployed more cannons that rolled in on rail-like tracks through openings in the cavern walls. Another newly made cannon fired with a quieter retort, which struck before Zarian and Para¡¯s spellsnded.
Hannah¡¯s newest payload erupted with a warping effect. Metatron¡¯s barriers distorted and unraveled as the air around the tinum rings twisted violently in on itself.
The flickering barriers didn¡¯t fall apartpletely. But Zarian¡¯s void fire technique had an easier time chewing through what remained, especially with how the Void Authority spell enhanced the void fire attack to make it even stronger.
The aura-eating mes consumed the warped barriers. Then the void mes spread fast around the tinum rings and caught some of the gold wings.
Unfortunately, Zarian had to trade blow-for-blow to light Metatron up with the ghastly void mes.
The celestial beams were still raining down on him.
But that didn¡¯t mean Zarian was going to take those hits flush.
A part of his Unraveled Mind split away and focused on pumping aura into his Level 0 Mystic Toughness skill, filling it with as much as it could take. Para toughened every part of Zarian¡¯s body with her parasitic threads.
Then Zarian and Para helped each other even further. Zarian unraveled fractured parts of his mind until it could merge further with Paras consciousness. Para formed mouths on the sides of Zarian¡¯s throat along with extra vocal chords.
Then they both cast Void Shout together, pushing to five simultaneous spells. Theirbined vocals filled the cavern with a haunting and dreadful noise.
It was a sound born from the deepest depths of the void, where only the most horrific creatures of the abyss could lurk.
Zarian burned through so much aura that if it wasn¡¯t for his high Mysticism stat, Aura Channeler trait, and wizard hat skill, he would¡¯ve bottomed out instantly.
Instead, his aura endured while he attacked Metatron¡¯s magical abilities with the void fire technique and Void Shout spell as volleys of celestial beams broke down and became weaker above him and Para.
Consequently, his Unraveled Mind was a swirling, liquidated, barely conscious mess that was spilling further and further into Para¡¯s consciousness. Yet, regardless of the risks, the parasite did all she could to support him as Zarian did most of the grunt work.
At the very least, the spells from the hell gator grimoire were giving Metatron even more trouble.
The Arch Cherub couldn¡¯t suffer the dangers of falling into a quagmire since it was hovering above the cavern floor. But the following Dread Mire Bitetched onto two tinum rings that were covered in ghostly void mes.
The tinum rings would¡¯ve resisted otherwise if it wasn¡¯t for the magic getting burned up inside their structure. The Dread Mire Bite tore away pieces from the two tinum rings, demolishing them and halving Metatron¡¯s best defense.
The invisible predator sshed back down into the quagmire before resurfacing. Then the hell gator emitted a loud and explosive bellow that smashed into the bottom of Metatron¡¯s body.
The Arch Cherub faltered. Its singsong demands for surrender and obedience fell silent. Its volley of celestial beams slowed, which was the most important part.
Void Shout was powerful, but it wasn¡¯t perfect. A few celestial beams still broke through and delivered damage even while reduced from their former glory.
Zarian suffered some.
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Most of his flesh was fried to a crisp. The parasite material around his waist burned away, leaving only some smoldering threads. His new sunsses melted off his face, and so did his eyes, forcing him to see the world through aura maniption alone.
The ground under him turned into a vapor, dropping him into a short crater that disrupted him a little.
He fell to a knee as he felt the horrible judgment and punishment of good +7. It couldn¡¯t invade his mind, but it could certainly leave a mark on his soul, and Para was suffering along with him.
Abination of physical and magical defenses protected him as best as they could. But the good +7 power of an Arch Cherub was almost undeniable.
Parts of his face scattered away into ash. His limbs felt heavy,den with an invisible weight that made everything stiff. He felt like he was being petrified, trapped in his own body, pushed halfway toward death while being turned into a deep fried statue.
It was by far the most painful experience Zarian had ever faced. It was like he was being roasted alive while being forced to turn into a scorched rock that wouldn¡¯t die, granting no escape from his suffering.
The sealing process Metatron was using on him was extraordinarily harrowing, as if the Arch Cherub wanted to be an absolute asshole and ensure maximum torment for the Dark Lord.
That was still not enough to stop Zarian, nor Para. They kept up Void Shout while multitasking more than any wizard at their level could imagine.
¡°Now it¡¯s time to leave the pit and reveal yourself!¡± Para shouted from another mouth formed on Zarian¡¯s shoulder. Multiple limbs sprouted from his back as Para flipped through the gator grimoire once more. Most of those extra limbs crumbled away, but Para still seeded anyway. ¡°With this folktale, I summon the great infernal predator, Dread Mire Hell Gator!¡±
Para, unfortunately, couldn¡¯t make the gator asrge and deadly as Zarian could, especially with the hell gator grimoire in the beta section. But at least she could finish thebo folktale.
A seven hundred foot gator born from the deepest depths of Hidden Hell crashed upward out of the Quagmire Pit. The monstrous hell fiend snapped its giant jaws on its natural enemy, breaking through thest two tinum rings to demolish its barrier defensepletely.
The Arch Cherub screamed, hurt and enraged.
The hell gator¡¯s six orange eyes burned with a furious and malevolent fury that wanted nothing more than to make the Arch Cherub suffer more. Six mighty legs scrambled at the hardened flesh of the Arch Cherub or at the surface of the quagmire. Its huge muscr tail thrashed from underneath, sshing infernal quagmire water everywhere, until the hell gator touched the cavern floor with a foot.
Then the hell gator swung its powerful body toward the cavern floor. It brought the panicking Arch Cherub down from the air to the floor for a kaiju-style body m.
The entire cavern rocked. The Arch Cherub made a sound that was less elegant and more like a bestial scream that pierced the cavern air.
Hannah¡¯s cannons readjusted their angles and drew an urate bead on the Arch Cherub¡¯s thrashing body. Then the cavern cannons unleashed explosive hell that hammered on Metatron¡¯s exposed flesh.
Meanwhile, the hell gator lunged and readjusted the grip of its jaws. It sank a deeper hold with itsrge teeth on the bottom of the Arch Cherub.
Then the hell gator did the thing.
GIANT
DEATH.
ROLL.
The hell gator rotated like the biggest log anyone had ever seen. It even twisted around while turning at an angle.
Instead of rolling off to the side and fouling the aim of Hannah¡¯s cannons, the hell gator rolled mostly in ce, twisting the Arch Cherub about.
Angelic blood sshed onto the cavern floor in great heaps, and the hell gator let out a throaty bellow to celebrate the pain inflicted upon its natural enemy.
Metatron, the Weing Voice of Good, released a high-pitched scream from its remaining mouths. A powerful wave of psychic energy sted outward in all directions and bashed against the hell gator¡¯s body.
The furious creature from the depths of hell hesitated as the psychic energy invaded its own mind. Then the hell gator growled angrily in defiance of its mortal enemy. It mmed all six of its paws down on the cavern floor.
With an upward tilt of its head, the hell gator raised the thrashing Arch Cherub up into the air before mming down. Metatron struck the cavern floor hard enough to form an enormous crater. Fissures spread in all directions from under Metatron¡¯s body like an expanding spider web.
The hell gator raised up the Arch Cherub for another m. Unfortunately, the hell gator couldn¡¯t deliver on the promise of further harm.
While the hell gator was a powerful entity, Metatron was a big threat to civilization for a reason.
Angered, the Weing Voice of Good sucked in a huge breath through its many mouths. Then Metatron released a concentrated sonic howl on the hell gator.
The gator¡¯s face was obliterated. Its scales peeled away like chips of paint. The skull turned into discarded fragments.
Roiling mes spitting out between the cracks in the gator¡¯s body snuffed away. Boiling blood turned solid and cold, likeva ss, while raining across the cavern floor and nearest wall.
The hell gator died,pletely blown apart by Metatron¡¯s strongest ability, its unified voices turned into a sonic cannon of ultimate destruction. Even the wall behind the hell gator stood no chance. The Arch Cherub blew that down and created a tunnel that kept going for a mile.
The following silence was deafening for a few seconds.
Hannah interrupted the silence with more cannon fire.
The Arch Cherub pped into the air and turned its attention on the cavern battery of makeshift artillery. Most of the guns were newly made, clobbered together like they came from arge scale and automated factory of a weapon-focused MacGyver.
Hannah kept the Arch Cherub distracted, pounding away at its exposed flesh and wings. Metatron retaliated with another mega sonic torrent. It sted away Hannah¡¯s entire line of big and loud cavern guns.
The quiet resumed once the echoes died down. The destruction was immense, but the cavern ceiling remained mostly held together.
There would¡¯ve been a cave in by now if it weren¡¯t for Empress Ruvaria. She kept the fight contained underground just as promised.
Zarian wanted to thank her for her help. He also wanted to cuss at her for enabling him to be a masochist again.
Maybe he should do both. He wasn¡¯t sure. He couldn¡¯t think straight after using five spells simultaneously. His mind was an unraveled mess, some of it fused closely with Para¡¯s consciousness.
At least he could sneak in a dozen boxed meals. Para ate a bunch of fresh corpses from her pocket dimension.
They both needed the extra fuel and were thankful to Hannah for having sacrificed her remaining big guns to give them this time window to eat.
Meanwhile, parasitic threads ripped away the burnt and hardened flesh from Zarian¡¯s body, which cleared the lingering effects of Metatron¡¯s torturous attempt to petrify Zarian.
With Hannah¡¯s weapons put out of the picture for now, Zarian figured it was the right time to swagger out of the crater he¡¯d taken a pit stop in and reenter the picture. He had a bright smile, a full belly, and parasitic threads recing all of his lost flesh.
Barely any skin remained except for half of his face. Para could only do so much to fix him after suffering so much severe damage. So she covered him with worming strands of her body and kept his organs from spilling out.
He looked like a living nightmare as he walked toward the damaged Arch Cherub. He was happy to see the void mes were still in effect, eating at Metatron¡¯s outrageous supply of aura and harming it in some ways.
Maybe Zarian was both a masochist and a sadist, because he refused to use Overwhelming Darkness to finish this. He figured he still had plenty in the tank to keep fighting. And he was in a crazy enough mood to unleash his most creative tricks.
Zarian reached into the worming threads covering his chest and pulled out a skeleton from Para¡¯s pocket dimension. The skeleton came from a kobold, and it wasn¡¯t an advanced skeleton, so he had to maintain his necromancy spell to deploy it.
But that was okay.
The skeleton was covered in a unique set of runes Hannah had designed into a special array of enchantments.
Zarian tossed out half a dozen more skeletons with the same enchantments.
The skeletons assembled themselves from their piles of bones, looked at the Arch Cherub, and ran toward it. They made their excited bone-on-bone rattling sound as they charged full tilt at the angelic monster.
¡°Surrender,¡± Metatron ordered, sending out a wave of psychic divinity.
The psychic wave struck the skeletons.
And did nothing.
Skeletons didn¡¯t have working minds even if they could act sentient. The psychicpulsion had no effect on the dead.
¡°Surrender!¡± Metatron screamed, uniting many of its voices.
¡°How about you go back to the heavens and tell your gods to fuck themselves?¡± Zarian snapped his fingers.
The skeletons blew up their legs andunched into the air like rockets. Theytched onto the injured lower half of the Arch Cherub.
Then they eruptedpletely, the enchantments granting them some control of how and when they blew up. Naturally, they blew up all the way.
The suicide skeletons were just one of many heinous ideas Hannah hade up with that fitted Zarian perfectly. The damage wasn¡¯t much.
But Zarian had a lot of spare skeletons with explosive enchantments on their bodies. He also had a lot of spare skeletons with other enchantments for more sacrificial ys.
He reached into the worming threads covering his chest and threw out more. The skeletons assembled themselves and ran merrily at Metatron to fulfill their purpose.
Metatron roared in anger.
Its gold wings glowed a brighter gold. Then the Arch Cherub showed off a new trick and phased out of sight.
Zarian felt a familiar ripple through the immaterial fabric that held reality together. Something nearby kept swimming through the multidimensional folds of the universe and beyond.
It was an ability simr to Void Waltz.
Zarian clucked his tongue. ¡°Tut. Tut. That¡¯s my domain.¡±
He cast Void Authority and yanked the entire Arch Cherub away from a nearby ne of existence and back to normal reality.
The angelic creature screamed in rage at the rude interruption, spinning about as a giant dervish ball of sharpened gold wings.
Metatron shed through cavern stone and suicide skeletons in equal measure. Each time a suicide skeleton fell to the angel¡¯s ded wings, it exploded, even if it wasn¡¯t for much effect.
Zarian smiled as he used Void Waltz in the middle of the chaos. He danced in and out of the void and in and out of the whirling edges of Metatron¡¯s sharpened wings. He kept tossing out suicidal skeletons that exploded themselves on Metatron.
Meanwhile, Para formed de-tipped tentacles from Zarian¡¯s back. Each one glowed with the familiar crimson light of the Bloody Lifesteal spell. Then she took things a step further by coating the crimson tentacles with ck and gray mes from the ck Fire spell.
Fully prepared, Parashed out with her sharpened tentacles while maintaining two spells on her own, which led to the next phase of the battle came ¨C a giant, spiraling melee.
Zarian kept on the move while in the thick of things, only one mistake away from getting cut down and petrified. His skeletons exploded all over as they chipped at Metatron.
Parasite tentacles coated in blood magic and dark mes whipped at the Arch Cherub¡¯s body as Para chipped away at the World Boss¡¯s vitality and life directly. Every time the massive wings chopped through the tentacles, Para grew more from Zarian¡¯s back and kept going.
After a few minutes of this, it became obvious to Zarian that his skeletons and parasite seemed to struggle with leaving an impactful impression. He had the same issue. Without his darkness, he didn¡¯t have a heavy hitter ability.
Zarian and Para kept dancing and chipping at their foe anyway.
Metatron kept spiraling and cutting.
The Arch Cherub seemed to have an endless supply of everything. Hell, its aura was still being burnt by void mes. ck Fire lit up its vitality. Bloody Lifesteal drained its life into Zarian.
Yet Metatron refused to slow down.
This was turning out to be a very long dance. The longest Zarian had ever faced.
Yet, he didn¡¯t mind.
He was too invested now. He might as well y the endurance game and test himself like never before.
All in? Zarian thought with a savage and bloody smile.
He felt a hunger inside him that was stronger than ever. It felt like his body was burning from the inside out.
The next thought came from Para. Yes, all in!
For however long it took, Zarian, Para, and Metatron danced. Things seemed alright for Zarian until heter realized he had one major problem.
He didn¡¯t have a big enough pool of vital stamina in this type of game, which was a big drain on his already damaged vitality.
Vitality was one half health, and one half stamina. Without Gilbert, Zarian¡¯s vitality was sufficiently low in both. And Metatron refused to g still.
Overwhelming Darkness would be the great equalizer right now.
It would win the fight easily.
Not yet, Zarian thought. I can still go further without Overwhelming Darkness.This is bing dangerous. But I will support you as always, Para thought.
We¡¯re going to be the best wizards ever, Para, the absolute best, Zarian thought.
Yeah, he was a child of the ultimate nepotism, but that didn¡¯t have to define him. He really liked being a wizard and wanted to push that as best he could.
Hell, he didn¡¯t even care about the Throne of the Adventurer King.
He was here for the fun times, the big stakes, the adventures with his best friends, and seeing all that Infinita had to offer him. All while having a hell of a crazy time like any proper Florida Man.
Zarian let himself unravel a little further, dangerously so, to grant Para more power. Para took over more and more of his mind, which enhanced his body and made them hungrier.
He became less a man, and more of a beast, more of a suit of flesh for Para to wear. He practically put his life in Para¡¯s parasitic hands just for a bit more juice, trusting her all the way.
Yet, that still wasn¡¯t enough against the unyielding Arch Cherub.
So Zarian unraveled further.
Chapter 136: B2: C36: A Man of Faith 1
While Zarian yed a madman¡¯s game of attrition warfare with a Divine World Boss, Gilbert walked into a heavy metal elevator chute. The soles of his boots thudded across a thick tform that was going to plunge deep under Ride-or-Die Vige.
Hannah was there with him. She brought along three wagons filled with equipment and three softball size golems that were orbiting around her body.
Other than Gilbert¡¯s armor and foldable shield and abilities, that was about it.
¡°Be safe, Gilbert, and My Lady Hannah,¡± Rhea Hemlock said from outside of the elevator chute.
Gilbert tipped his cowboy hat at the Hemlock, who was their main admin errand girl. Gilbert preferred the first name basis with the woman, though the rtionship between Rhea and her direct boss was more strict and hierarchical.
Hannah hummed. ¡°You know what to do.¡±
Rhea smiled and nodded gracefully. ¡°Yes, mydy. Your will is mymand.¡±
The chute doors closed. Purple lights illuminated the space. The elevator tform descended while making a metallic hum and some windy sounds. It was a chilly ride, too.
Gilbert let out a big sigh. It wasn¡¯t his idea to go down there to where a destined son and a powerful false idol were duking it out. It was Hannah¡¯s idea. Gilbert would rather work with Bianca and the guild members, who were staying top side.Just prior, he was quelling unrest on the surface. Striders and pdins had broken out into random fights with each other because of historical issues.
Apparently, the summoning of angel-like creatures usually led to the outright eradication of great swaths of people. Pdins seemed tock a certain amount of concern about that, so Gilbert understood why the striders were raising a fuss.
Granted, Gilbert was in his element when dealing with rowdy crowds and public disorder because of his past work as a cop in the old universe. With his abilities, he was the perfect person for calming widespread anger and securing people¡¯s safety.
Too bad he wasn¡¯t doing that. He was going straight to the source of trouble instead.
Gilbert knew angels coulde in many shapes and sizes. He also knew that devils and demons could masquerade as angels and trick people into thinking their words were the almightyw.
The rise in horror. The rise in violence. The rise in lunacy.
All of that was because of a World Boss known as Metatron, the Weing Voice of Good, which could be a genuine threat to the nearest civilizations, especially their vige. That all sounded pretty damn ungodly to Gilbert, so he wouldn¡¯t me Zarian for putting down a false angel.
He knew Zarian would be a pain in the ass about itter, but that was alright. Gilbert had some jokes prepared for the destined son, since his actions had started riots in his own vige.
They left the safety of the Central Library Artillery Tower.
Empress Ruvaria remained in the best section in the city, the top of the tower, where she could look down on everything. The magical intelligence, Magi, kept the old elfpany while coordinating with guild members like a police dispatcher. Rhea would assist with everything that needed a personal touch, no matter the emergency.
While that all happened above, the elevator ride down felt like a one-way trip to hell.
Maybe Gilbert deserved it. Or maybe it was another test from the Big G.
Gilbert had faced a lot of teststely because of his crazy friends and their oundish objectives.
One thing that kept Gilbert from panicking was knowing how damn great Hannah had be as the Runic Engineer. She¡¯d crafted and enchanted everything!
The gravity enchantments ced into the elevator were done personally by her just like ny-nine percent of everything else in the vige.
How?
Gilbert had heard Hannah exin how, but he remained mostly clueless.
Hannah could work miracles at speeds that Gilbert couldn¡¯tprehend. But that came at a steep price that Gilbert sometimes found troubling.
While the craft and enchantments were ster, the further down they went, the more they could feel the impacts of the divine fight between Zarian and Metatron. The entire elevator chute rattled as they drew closer to the cavernous chambers below.
Gilbert felt his heart pounding harder and harder the further they went.
He nced over at Hannah.
Regardless of her being the oldest, she looked more dynamic and filled out, leaving behind her past appearance as a mousy little woman. The time spent training and eating quality magic food had done its work on her as well as everyone else.
It would¡¯ve been better eating Foodie¡¯s meals, but Gilbert was certainly putting on more muscle than before the portal incident. His arms seemed too big and epic to be real.
He was happy about the positive growth for them all, especially with how they settled down these past five months and raised up a vige for the growing younglings. But the ice cold expression Hannah wore every day was troubling.
Gilbert hadn¡¯t seen Hannah smile in over five months. Not since the day they¡¯d built a home for Stony the Wall Crusher Master. Hannah was happy and warm back then, like any bamian who kept up with their southern hospitality.
Then the Darkrun Apocalypse had changed everything.
Yeah, they shared the mind spiders, and they could all get a decent feel of each other without having to get into each other¡¯s headspletely, but Hannah had picked up a habit of hiding her emotions from the mind spiders as well.
She wasn¡¯t as perfect as Naomi, but Hannah was scarily deft at acting like a machine. All she did these days was magic engineering and side quests, leaving little room for anything else.
Now Gilbert was trying to figure out something stupid to say that would trigger Hannah and make her act a little more human. He¡¯d already yed out the whole ¡®elf retard¡¯ thing.
What would Hannah think if he pointed out how the empress gave him the creeps? The empress wouldn¡¯t obliterate him with a point of a finger if he called her an ¡®old creeper,¡¯ would she?
Hannah beat him to the punch. ¡°I wish I could magically dissect with something simr to the Identify trait. We could learn directly from the anatomy of these fascinating creatures we face.¡±
Gilbert raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yeah?¡±
¡°It just urred to me that someone with the right traits and skills could learn much about divine beings from the corpse of an Arch Cherub, if Para could spare some remains.¡±
¡°Well, I like your confidence in thinking this will be another win for us.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not about winning or losing. Zarian won¡¯t let himself lose. If he did, I would be¡¡± Hannah trailed off.
She clenched her fist and took a deep breath.
Her ice cold expression remained. ¡°We must consider what happens afterward when the Arch Cherub is defeated. Hence why I wish we had someone who could dissect and learn from the cadaver. That would probably require a particr healer ss, I imagine. Such a ss could be useful against the corrupted creatures from Shadowfell and future divine enemies.¡±
Gilbert shifted from side to side with both thumbs hooked onto his belt. ¡°Well, excuse me for not being the nerdy healer guy. I¡¯m more of the healer who¡¯ll ask Jesus to take the wheel and pray that nothing gets fixed the wrong way.¡±
¡°Well, it¡¯s probably best that you rely more on faith and Wonder as our healer, Gilbert. You remain yourself and unbothered. You¡¯re better at that than me,¡± Hannah said.
They were getting close to their destination. Gilbert figures it was now or never to dig into Hannah a little more. He should¡¯ve done this earlier, but something deep down told him now was the best opportunity.
¡°Hannah, what¡¯s wrong?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not good enough.¡±
What? What did she mean she wasn¡¯t good enough?
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Gilbert was shocked, taken aback.
Why would she say that?
Was she not aware of all that she¡¯d created? She¡¯d done great constructive work in months when it should¡¯ve taken years!
Gilbert just couldn¡¯t see why she would be so hard on herself, at least not easily. After further thought, Gilbert concluded there was only one reasonable exnation.
She wasparing herself to Zarian, wasn¡¯t she?
That was ridiculous!
Zarian was a fallen angel, a destined son of greater angels and demons beyond Infinita. There was no way any of them couldpare to that!
¡°Hannah, we¡¯re just people,¡± Gilbert said.
The elevator slowed to a stop. It struck the bottom with a heavy thunk, but Gilbert barely felt the rattle.
He felt the impacts of the fight shaking the cavernous chambers. He heard the cascading roar of tumbling rock and widespread destruction.
He felt stuck, as if he could sense the ceiling copse that was going to happen at any moment and trap him and Hannah. If it didn¡¯t kill them.
He kept his eyes on Hannah while the chute doors were still opening.
¡°Naomi had it right from the start,¡± Hannah said. ¡°We can¡¯t just be people if we want to keep up with the darling son of ultra gods. We have to do more. Be more. Or we will be too puny and insignificant for Zarian and his little sister. And especially for the elders of their family. Hence why I say I¡¯m not good enough. I must be better than this.¡±
There was no more time to talk this out, which was crap. They¡¯d avoided these hard conversations with each other for months.
But just like always, there was something major to do to keep them from hashing things out fully.
For now, Gilbert let Hannah off the hook as she marched out of the elevator chute, her mini golem balls revolving around her rapidly. He followed her and the self-driven carts. He felt tempted to take a drink as he faced a sharp rise of pressure, chaos, and lunacy.
There was a sk on his person filled with high-quality alcohol that would activate his Intoxicated Brawler trait. He held back because he needed to focus on strictly supporting without getting into the thick of the fight.
Gilbert looked around as he followed Hannah and the carts. He heard horrific and monstrous screams, roars, and shouts that made him think they were really at the gates of hell, or what folks of this universe called Hidden Hell.
The cavern floor was filled with cracks, fissures, and craters. The rumbling impact and cascades of cavern-wide destruction shook up everything.
Every step tested his Agility, which tempted Gilbert to summon Slip down here. The Sleipnir was up top, acting as a gant mount for Princess Bianca while she quelled the unrest.
Thankfully, Gilbert wasn¡¯t down here with nobody who wasme. Despite her self-esteem issues, Hannah moved like nothing could stop her.
It was easy to see why.
Vast heaps of cavernous material turned intorge vortexes of tiny grit, no matter if it was giant bs of fallen rock, hill-sized piles of rubble, or entire walls of copsed sediment.
Nothing escaped Hannah¡¯s Cube Maker Magic +2. Once she set her mind on something, she turned it all to dust and absorbed the materials directly into her body.
It was like she had a great fiendish hunger simr to Para, but for inanimate objects instead of flesh.
She was fancy with it, too, clearing out obstacles while snatching up whatever material caught her attention, even to the point of cannibalizing her own cube creations, the fallen parts and the whole ones.
From the dust they were born to the dust they returned, fueling Hannah¡¯s relentless drive.
All of that was already impressive to Gilbert. But Hannah was such an overachiever she couldn¡¯t stop herself from multitasking.
She turned some of that new material around into a perfectly stable highway under their feet.
All within a blink of an eye.
If Gilbert wasn¡¯t already a big believer in the one God, he would¡¯ve thought Hannah was already a walking bamian Goddess.
She went a step further andid enchantments at the same time, damn near instantly. So now the newborn road canceled the harsh tremors and quakes while making their steps longer and faster, like walking forward with a speedy conveyor.
Of course, that still wasn¡¯t enough for Hannah.
She turned around, walked backwards, and deployed her little golem balls. They helped her construct a new cannon from the parts she¡¯d brought on the carts while introducing new materials she converted from the cavern.
Gilbert watched as the golem balls used some tricky gravity magic to make all of Hannah¡¯s stuff float. The slim and stylish smart gauntlets she wore on her hands glowed with bluish runic power as she directed every piece where it needed to go along with arrays of magic runes.
Then Hannah went another step further, because as she emptied the carts of major parts for her new cannon, the carts transformed into a rolling tform for Hannah to ce her cannon on.
From what Gilbert could see, Hannah was definitely the most efficient among the Floridians.
Not everything was hands free for Hannah, however. Sometimes, she needed a fine-tune and direct touch for moreplex enchantments.
Gilbert could help there by administering the right amount of Adrenaline Jolt +2 to make Hannah sharper and faster without it being excessive.
It was unfortunate, but the Level 0 skills were having a hard time keeping up with their overall growth. They were still helpful, but less sopared to before, or Hannah would¡¯ve been fine with her Level 0 Adrenaline Jolt.
Only Zarian could make the Level 0 skills scale up perfectly for him.
Regardless of thoseplications, Gilbert was also here to ensure Hannah made it back fine. She was a tough and powerful woman, but she was nowhere near as tough as Gilbert, Zarian, and the other two crazy women.
Things seemed to be going alright for now. Their enchanted highway went over a giant crater and through an immense hole in a wall that was a divider between one chamber and another in these underground caverns.
Gilbert saw the distant ruins of things Hannah had made for her artificial dungeon. Most of her stuff had fallen to destruction because of the fight between a fallen angel and a false angel.
Gilbert heard his first intelligible word from the divine fight. This one came from the false angel.
¡°Surrender!¡± Metatron demanded.
Gilbert hadn¡¯tid eyes upon the World Boss yet, but he still felt the heavypulsion to surrender. He didn¡¯t, of course, because he had free for real +1 and his Unyielding Mentality, a rare quality trait he had upgraded from the old hopeful version.
He could¡¯ve gone for something else, but Gilbert liked to ensure his faith and his mind were his own regardless of the spider living in there.
Being in the freedom alignment helped with that, but it wasn¡¯t unbeatable. Hence why Gilbert turned to Hannah, focused, and administered his Adrenaline Jolt +2 again, specifically for her mind.
That snapped her free of Metatron¡¯s mind control.
Gilbert was d to help, but the expression on Hannah¡¯s face was the scariest he¡¯d seen from her yet.
Her expression went beyond cold.
On her face was a fury that promised vengeance of a highly intelligent degree. Perhaps to the point of craziness.
Everybody knew Hannah would¡¯ve been monstrous if she¡¯d joined the evil side, free or otherwise. Gilbert could see that quite easily as Hannah dashed past him, with her unfinished cannon chasing after her.
She crafted and enchanted the highway faster. She packed more cubes into her cannon, making it bulkier, greater, bigger. She packed on more enchantments,yers andyers of the stuff.
Then they finally reached the cavern section that was holding the fight.
Gilbert staggered to a stop.
Metatron would¡¯ve been an impressive and awe-inspiring sight even as a false angel if it weren¡¯t covered in so many hideous, bloody wounds. It also had two different mes, one of ck magic and one of more eerie origins, covering its brutalized form, burning it alive.
It had six battered wings that were made of tarnished gold and covered in white blood, although Gilbert could see it must¡¯ve had more before the others were ripped off. It had many bleeding mouths, broken teeth, and ripped tongues, some looking blown apart while others were covered in acidic smoke.
Metatron looked way past dead. Yet, the monstrous World Boss remained in the air, shooting beams and making buzzing passes to slice at its main foe with its remaining wings.
Then there was Zarian, or what was left of Zarian. He was not much of a man anymore.
He reminded Gilbert of thatic book viin with the living flesh suit, the red version of Spider-man¡¯s usual nemesis.
After some thought, Gilbert realized Zarian looked like a more nightmarish and wormy version of Carnage, with tentacles covered in red, gray, and ck magic that whipped at the cherub¡¯s torn-up body.
This was all Gilbert could observe during pauses after a big exchange of blows followed by the cherub asking for them to surrender and Zarian howling like something that crawled out of the deepest pits. Then the two erupted into a furious exchange of wild attacks again, almost like two eldritch cats going at it, before having another pause and taunting session.
Hannah interjected herself with a rapidly built wall that shielded her and Gilbert from the massive cannon. Then, with a growl of cold fury, Hannah fired the biggest magic cannon she¡¯d ever deployed.
It felt like that to Gilbert as the cannon itself exploded entirely and knocked the wall over like a grown man kicking through a sand castle.
The Knighted Healer moved his body where he was needed instantly. He nted himself between near absolute death and the Runic Engineer.
Gilbert roared as he soaked the hits and wrapped up Hannah with his arms and his Healing Force +2. He felt his armor endure all it could before the enchantments hit critical failure.
Then his spine snapped.
The flesh along his back became brutalized.
Numerous organs turned into jelly.
Something, probably a piece of the cannon, inserted itself into the back of his head.
He cked out.
Then Gilbert woke up.
Hannah was wide-eyed and pale faced while still in his arms. He heard something fall and hit the ground behind his head. He heard crunchy, squishy noises from the back of his head as it returned to being whole.
He felt his organs return to normal, and so did his bones and his flesh. He unentangled himself from around Hannah and hacked up some bloody chunks of loose gore and fragments of bone that had gotten into his lungs.
¡°Gilbert, I¡¯m so sorry. I¡¯m so, so sorry,¡± Hannah apologized, still shocked while on the ground.
The rubble from the blown up cannon surrounded them. There was a vast crater where Hannah¡¯s mega cannon once stood.
¡°Did you hit it?¡± Gilbert asked, turning to see if his Extra Life sacrifice was worth anything. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned. You hit it, Hannah.¡±
The Arch Cherub was wailing like a dying animal while an enormous chunk from the top of its body was missing. Hannah had blown away a fifth of the monster and took a few more of its wings.
Now it was pping around erratically while closer to being on the verge of death than before.
Gilbert wondered what Zarian was up to, because it was hard to pin him down. ess to Zarian¡¯s mind spider was either on the fritz or getting blocked.
When he heard Hannah gasping, Gilbert turned to see a naked Zarian crouched over one of Hannah¡¯s little golems that was still working.
The golem switched on aura charging mode. Zarian was all over it like it offered warmth from the cold.
Chapter 137: B2: C37: A Man of Faith 2
¡°I think the fake angel is almost dead,¡± Gilbert said, going with an obvious statement to spark some conversation.
Things were very weird right now. Very, very weird. And that was the fault of Zarian having a wormy body made up of parasitic strands while strangely shaped in ways that bothered Gilbert.
When Zarian didn¡¯t respond ¨C nor Hannah ¨C Gilbert slowly pushed his Healing Force +2 toward Zarian.
¡°Don¡¯t,¡± said Para, who spoke directly from Zarian¡¯s mouth. ¡°Healing me will cement my takeover. If we wish to restore my host, do not heal. In fact, please use your tranquilizer on me, the parasite. But only a little.¡±
Gilbert slowly nodded. He took one nce at therge lumps made of worming strands on Para¡¯s chest. Apparently, the girl version of Zarian had the biggest knockers.
Gilbert didn¡¯t know why that mattered, but he¡¯d juste back to life after having his brain turned to mush by a mad engineer¡¯s irresponsible ident. He did as he was told and used Tranquilizer +2 on Para, but only a little.
¡°Let us finish this.¡± Para stood confidently even with the tranquilizer inside her.
She moved her arms fast to throw up hand signs. Little cubes moved up and down on the legendary gauntlets Hannah had made. Para performed the motions and said the chant to unleash one percent of Overwhelming Darkness.
Gilbert held his breath.Hannah sat dumbly on the floor.
Metatron kept crying and spiraling.
Para sighed, sounding disappointed. She tossed her wormy strands of hair over her shoulder, which made Gilbert wonder where Para had learned that.
Then he noted how Para reached into her chest and pulled out something grotesque and covered in dark, oily blood.
It was the corpse of a corrupted one she had kept in her pocket dimension.
¡°Overwhelming Darkness won¡¯t work for me. I¡¯m not Zarian. Which makes things even more dire. So I¡¯m going to try something interesting,¡± Para said.
¡°Be careful, please,¡± Hannah said shakily.
Para smiled gently down at Hannah. ¡°We will be careful. Come along, Gilbert. I will need you to be my knight.¡±
Gilbert took out his sk and drained it until it was empty, activating his Intoxicated Brawler trait. He kept his head up and his eyes on Metatron while he followed Para.
She was dragging the corrupted corpse behind her without a care for the dripping and spreading mess that was the Enhanced Shadowfell Tears. As they drew closer to the busted cherub, Metatron turned about and let loose a mad howl of sonic destruction.
Gilbert did the only thing he could.
He sprinted forward andunched into the air with all his Strength, adrenaline, and buffs. He sacrificed a bunch of his vital health and drew close to near death again. He waded through the sonic torrent, losing a lot of himself, and reached the middle of Metatron¡¯s body.
Then he punched the false angel with all he had.
His arm exploded from the sheer force andck of vitality. His body fell away like a flipping meat patty.
He cked out.
He snapped awake.
He cked out again.
He woke up on the ground with a sharp spire of rock spearing through the small of his back and out of his guts. Gilbert cussed a storm as he smashed the top of the spire away and shoved himself up and free.
He hit the ground with a stumble and tried to catch himself with his right hand. That was currently gone, still in the process of healing, so he kept falling over.
Hannah showed up in the nick of time. She caught him and held him up.
He grunted out thanks as they turned about and watched Para wrap up the corrupted corpse with skeletons for some reason. Then Para dragged the corpse and skeletons to where the cheruby in a daze between piles of rubble.
Metatron was slowly waking up when Para threw the corrupted corpse and skeleton tagalongs into one of Metatron¡¯s mouths. A secondter, a colossal explosion blew up another of Metatron¡¯s mouths and all that was inside.
Metatron screamed. It convulsed. It tossed and turned. Its battered and torn up body started turning ck like oil.
Then Metatron did the most surprising and unsurprising thing Gilbert could expect.
¡°Please, have mercy! Do not let me be corrupted!¡± Metatron begged with its remaining mouths.
¡°Why?¡± Para asked.
¡°Kill me, now! Please!¡±
Normally, Gilbert would¡¯ve felt ufortable, but he¡¯d nearly died twice and he was still feeling a strong buzz. He also found all that begging to be pathetic from Metatron.
It was truly a false angel, a pretender masquerading as a force of good.
He let Para do her thing, whichprised her waiting as the Arch Cherub twisted and turned, bing more corrupted.
Finally, Metatron cracked. ¡°It is final death! Death rarely holds upon us from the God Land. Not even when we take on these weaker forms to serve as World Bosses.¡±
¡°Or regressors?¡± Para questioned.
¡°Yes! But the evil taint from Shadowfell will turn me and leave me dead forever! Now kill me before I¡¯m corrupted! I won¡¯t resist you! Please, have mercy!¡±
Para formed another pair of arms from behind her shoulders. The new arms formed a long bone-like de that reached up far into the air. Red, gray, and ck magic covered the mega long de.
Then Para chopped down.
And missed.
Metatron released a strangled cry. ¡°Why won¡¯t you kill me?¡±
¡°Because you are a fake authority of good, an entity of true evil. You are the antithesis to civilizations who are open and filled with progress. You are the sworn enemy of what my host and his friends stand for. You are an enemy of freedom.¡±
As Para spoke, Gilbert could¡¯ve sworn he heard a familiar-sounding avian screaming proudly in the background. He ignored that in favor of listening to Para, since she had more to say.
¡°Worst of all, Metatron, you hurt my dear, dear host by torturing him as you attempted to seal him away. So no, I won¡¯t free you from this fate. On this day, let it be known that Metatron dared to fight Dark Lord Zarian Darkrun and the Floridians, and is now no more after his foolish folly.¡±
Metatron howled with monstrous rage. It tried to throw itself at Para, but it froze up and turnedpletely ck.
The Arch Cherub was corrupted now. It turned into something more horrifying.
Gilbert nced away briefly, feeling a little sick, as the horrid monstrosity twisted and reformed itself with new limbs, new mouths, and more grotesque appendages.
Then it stopped moving and spoke with a chilling, dark, and gothic female voice, one that was both alluring and deadly, tempting and sinful. It was the voice of Zarian¡¯s wife.
¡°Hm, Arch Cherub Metatron, how interesting. It always voiced its dissent against me from a distance, never daring to speak to my face directly. Now it is one of mine. How tragic and lovely. What do I owe for the pleasure of having this new toy gifted to me?¡±
Para shook her head. ¡°Nothing, Shadowfell. Because the kill is still ours to have.¡±
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¡°My husband is out of the fight, is he not? I can decide for myself to be against you here. A corrupted Metatron would make for an interesting toy.¡±
¡°Yes, you can. But as long as someone who is ride-or-die with him is in the fight ¡ he, too, is in the fight.¡±
¡°Is that so?¡±
¡°Yes, it is. Which leads me to asking this: have you had the pleasure of meeting Princess Bianca? Apparently, she is the purest and highest form of good, especially with Metatron losing his traditional good.¡±
¡°Wow,¡± Hannah said. ¡°Para, that¡¯s brilliant.¡±
Gilbert watched as Para smiled and spun about. She danced in a way that was too weird for him to watch, but he ended up watching anyway.
Then Para used one of those void spells and brought Bianca down into the cavern with a flick of her hand.
Slip was still up on topside, quelling unrest, which probably meant the Sleipnir was stomping and kicking rioters with a bit of excessive force.
Half an hourter, Para and Bianca finished ughtering the Corrupted Metatron, with Bianca looking brighter and shinier than usual. Gilbert sat back on the sidelines, throwing out some adrenaline support to thebatants while keeping Hannahpany.
¡°I want to hold entire universes in the palms of my hands,¡± Hannah murmured, her arms wrapped around her knees tight. ¡°I want to look down on everything and dictate how all of them run to the tiniest details. I don¡¯t want to be just an in-universe deity. I want to be bigger. Bigger than a multiverse. Maybe as big as I can get beyond all of that.¡±
Hannahy her head on her knees. ¡°I¡¯m scared that it¡¯s impossible for us, and we¡¯ll be nothing but little pet bugs to the grand schemers. Or maybe we aren¡¯t even alive. Maybe we¡¯re NPCs for Zarian and his family¡¯s game. Once they finish ying their game, we¡¯ll get turned off and left in the darkness of inexistence. Forever.¡±
Hannah¡¯s breathing sped up. She trembled. ¡°I don¡¯t want that, Gilbert. I don¡¯t want to disappear as an afterthought. I want to matter.¡±
Hannah broke down and cried.
Gilbert reached over and rubbed around her back. He didn¡¯t know what to say.
He was the type of man to take it one step at a time, very unlike Hannah who thought far, far ahead.
In his mind, if he could help redeem Zarian and Ariana, then Gilbert had done his duty for the Big G. Anything more than that was beyond him as a mortal man.
¡°Gilbert,¡± Para called.
Gilbert swapped ces with Bianca, who instantly broke down into tears to cry with Hannah. There were a bunch of notifications to look at, but none of that mattered now.
Zarian needed him.
Para exined how.
¡°Gilbert, you must use tranquilizer on me gradually. I will encourage Zarian to bring himself back together and depart from my consciousness. Then, when I call for adrenaline, you must direct that to Zarian¡¯s consciousness. Once there is more of a clear division between us, then you can heal the body to finish up. This way, my host will be returned fully to us.¡±
Gilbert nodded. He said the first thing that came to mind. ¡°None of that sounds very scientific.¡±
Para chuckled. Her eyeless sockets held a glint of mirth. ¡°We don¡¯t need a man of science. We need a man of faith to save us.¡±
Gilbert nodded.
That sounded about right to him.
Before they got started, someone creepy walked barefoot out of the shadows.
Everyone turned to Empress Ruvaria, who had a creepy smirk on her face.
Gilbert prepared for a fight. The others might¡¯ve thought grandly of the elf, but she was way too old and crafty for Gilbert¡¯s liking.
Para seemed like the smartest right now, so he followed her lead. However, he wasn¡¯t expecting the direction the conversation went.
¡°One would think this is the perfect opportunity to deal with Overwhelming Darkness,¡± Para said. ¡°Zarian is unraveled. I am the dominant personality. If we can¡¯t put Zarian back together mentally, I might consume him and make Overwhelming Darkness inert.¡±
¡°Why would you consume him?¡± the empress asked.
Gilbert gulped. He looked at Para carefully. They all did. But he was also prepared to hit the empress with Tranquilizer Touch +2.
Para chuckled. ¡°Because I was created to be an evil skill, a parasite, and the purpose of a parasite is to take advantage of the host, sometimes in small ways, and sometimes in ways that would end the host and give birth to a stronger form of the parasite. However, I don¡¯t want that.¡±
¡°Is that so?¡± Ruvaria tilted her head.
¡°It is so. I¡¯ve shared some of my thoughts and feelings about this with Zarian already, but for you, I will say this. I have awareness. I am sapient. I can feel emotions. I care for my host and what he cares for. I may be born of evil, but I have learned to act beyond evil. I dare say that I am truly good. I dare say that I have more true goodness than you, Empress Ruvaria, the Chosen One.¡±
Gilbert opened and closed his mouth.
Bianca covered her mouth. Hannah watched the tense conversation with wide, watery eyes.
Gilbert figured they all were probably thinking the same thing.
When did Para be such a boss?
The empress watched Para for a long while. Then the elf let out a small chuckle. ¡°I have killed, enved, and tormented countless lives for the greater good. I was born in the Reset Era, but I knew the era before the system reset as the Absolute Era. That old era was back in a time before the Alignment System renamed itself as the Star System, lessening the effects of the alignments.¡±
¡°God almighty, no,¡± Gilbert murmured. ¡°It used to be worse than this?¡±
¡°Indeed, it was,¡± the empress said.
¡°Puta madre,¡± Bianca cussed.
¡°Puta madre,¡± Gilbert repeated, because it was worth saying twice.
Gilbert and everyone else knew of three eras so far. They were currently in the Dark Era. Before that was the Adventure Era. Before that was the Reset Era.
Now Gilbert understood why the Reset Era had that name. It was a clear separation of whatever the hell was happening in the eras prior to that.
Ruvaria chuckled again. ¡°Yes, the alignments were much worse back in the Absolute Era and the eras before then. They were much less tolerantpared to now. To be fair to me, the old ways from the Absolute Era had reached into the Reset Era, refusing to die off just yet, so I did what was considered absolute good while Infinita was still adjusting to the changes.¡±
The empress sighed. ¡°Because I was raised on old absolute teachings, I have done things that would give you nightmares. I used to enjoy the tormented screams and shouts for mercy from those I deem my enemy, because they were slightly different and not good enough. I acted in service for what was absolute good many times, having spilled enough blood to drown thesends and make the savage gnolls look like kittens.¡±
Gilbert could barely believe what he was hearing. He always knew this good and evil stuff was hogwash, but he had no idea by how much.
The so-called Chosen One of Corma was truly a monster. Her good +4 meant nothing in the moral sense when she¡¯d done acts of horror like the fantasy version of freaking Nazis.
The empress licked her lips. ¡°The evil alignment acted the same. Perhaps more so. So don¡¯t think ill of only the good alignment. To be honest, it was really all about whose side would win and hold dominance, which was all that mattered in the older eras, before the reset.¡±
¡°It all sounds terrible,¡± Para said boldly. ¡°It sounds unfair and cruel. You are truly evil, regardless of alignments.¡±
¡°Yup,¡± Gilbert added.
The empress snorted softly, which was a strange and unrefined gestureing from her. ¡°It¡¯s always nice to share the truth and histories from a life that goes back over ten thousand years. Only to receive condemnation from children with modern opinions.¡±
¡°Did your ten thousand years or whatever include anything like him?¡± Gilbert asked, waving at Para/Zarian, ignoring the weird stuff.
The empress snorted again. ¡°Fair point, Gilbert, fair point. Now, let us proceed with the original matter. You are wondering if I will foul your chance to bring back Zarian. This is a unique opportunity where I can seal Para, which would seal Zarian, and perhaps that would stick for so long I would die before the seal is undone. But will I do that?¡±
¡°Yeah, that sounds like the gist of it. Will you?¡± Gilbert braced himself to fight an evil elf monster, regardless of alignments.
He would lose, but he would give it his best shot.
Empress Ruvaria turned away. ¡°Go on. Bring back my student. He is amusing, filled with talent, and driven. He has interested me in many unique ways. I would like to explore him at my leisure until it alles crashing down.¡±
¡°Pause. Your phrasing there is weird,¡± Gilbert pointed out.
The empress let loose a beautifulugh that was charming and haunting before disappearing. Nobody did or said anything for a while, then Bianca broke the silence.
¡°Wow, isn¡¯t Abu Ruvaria the best? She¡¯s got a lot of heartache to work on, but I think I¡¯m getting through to her a little. There are so many tears to shed in her future, I can¡¯t wait.¡± Bianca beamed a bright smile while hugging Hannah.
Then the Light Princess turned to Para and kept saying more insane stuff. ¡°So, wee to the girlie club. I¡¯m totally getting you your first bra, and by the look of them, we¡¯re going to have to shop big.¡±
¡°Having these front and back storage units is the best way to hold what I eat while maintaining an athletic shape, staying fueled without sacrificing form,¡± Para exined.
Bianca giggled. ¡°Yes, exactly, everything you said is what all us girlies aspire for, mami.¡±
¡°Can we start now?¡± Gilbert begged, feeling highly disturbed.
Para instructed Gilbert on what to do step by step. Hourster, Gilbert brought Zarian back to being himself, mentally and physically.
Para returned to her original form as the Parasite Cloak +2, wrapping her host up with unfettered adoration and loyalty.
A few more hourster, Gilbert was wandering in the hallways of the tower, unable to sleep. When he saw Bianca pay Zarian a visit at the doorway of his room, Gilbert stopped to watch.
She came with a fewrge sets of bras, some other female undergarments, and more girly stuff such as dresses and ribbons for Para. Zarian epted the gifts before mming the door shut in Bianca¡¯s face.
Gilbert finally cracked. He fell to the floor and howled with madughter. He even shed a few tears fromughing so hard.
When he regained hisposure, he noticed Bianca sitting next to him. She wasughing with full trails of tears dripping off her cheeks.
Gilbert knew she wasn¡¯tughing and crying because of the situation. She was doing it because of him, like some sort of emotional farmer.
Gilbert burst out into moreughter.
It couldn¡¯t be helped.
It was hard to stay sane while surrounded by forsaken sinners, fallen angels, and arisen demons. He was getting older, too, having turned thirty this month.
So letting himself crack up a little kept him from thinking too hard about his life before Zarian and the portal to Infinita. He was, after all, just another sinner trying to find salvation just like the rest of them.
Chapter 138: B2: C38: Prioritizing
Zarian hadn¡¯t done much of anything for a week. Sometimes he would lie in his big andfortable bed for hours. Other times, he would look out his grand and tall windows and observe the vige activity down below.
Things were fine now with Metatron gone. There were fewer pdins than before, many having left after the hostilities and the destruction of a revered angel figure.
The summoning of a Tier 4 Arch Cherub had cost them plenty of powerful pdins back in their home kingdom, apparently. It took a heavy sacrifice of quality humans who were willing, and those didn¡¯t grow on trees.
It was safe to say the Stalwart Pdin Kingdom had taken their shot at Zarian and failed royally. Maybe they might try again with another enormous round of human self-sacrifices, but Zarian doubted they would get another high tier angel figure after losing Metatron forever.
Well, that mattered little to Zarian. His mind was fixed on his experience of being unraveled and held in the hungering jaws of Para¡¯s consciousness.
Most people would find that horrifying. But not Zarian. He looked back at the moment with Wonder.
Despite how nice Para could be to those who weren¡¯t her food, she was still a monstrous entity summoned by a high quality and evil skill. So Para had done great at protecting him from herself.
But Zarian still remembered the sensations of being at the mercy of that insatiable hunger. He remembered the central pir of Para¡¯s inner nature, which wanted to eat him up and then eat more and more.
It felt like he¡¯d gone on a spiritual journey that reached beyond the mechanical system runes attached to his profile. It had been a journey that delve into the essence of the Parasite Cloak +2 skill.What he¡¯d found was something akin to Overwhelming Darkness. An endless hunger. A threat to all things. A parasite that was made to eat and grow, eat and grow, until it could consume worlds, gxies, and perhaps the universe and beyond.
That was the truth of Para.
She was designed to be a big, bad threat, just like Overwhelming Darkness, but on a smaller scale.
Zarian should¡¯ve been turned into another meal while the parasite had the power to do whatever she wanted. Yet, she hadn¡¯t. She lived up to her words instead, turning toward a more idealistic attitude than a monstrous one.
¡°You really chose to be above your nature, Para,¡± Zarian said, hand pressed to the window. ¡°I think by studying you, I¡¯ll get closer to controlling Overwhelming Darkness. But damn it all, there¡¯s so much to study. The gravity spell needs more studying. Then there are all the other spells. And I have to prepare for more political crap flying my way.¡±
The cloak fluttered and moved on her own, wrapping her leathery material around him for anotherforting embrace. Para hadn¡¯t talked much for the past week, only using gestures and mental impressions.
Zarian figured she wanted to give him time to sort himself out without injecting her own personality into the mix. He was thankful for that. Truly, she was the best parasite and article of clothing a man could have.
So far, he felt alright and put back together thanks to Para and Gilbert for having healed himst week. He also had a better grip on his Unraveled Mind trait by feeding his Level 0 Tranquil Mind skill arger supply of aura.
¡°You¡¯re the best, Para,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Come, I think I¡¯ve done enough brooding and being a hermit. Let¡¯s see if the others want to join us for breakfast.¡±
Para was happy to hear that. Zarian smiled a little as he thought about the parasite and darkness connection. He should get back to darkness cultivation, especially now that he had a new epiphany.
He still considered the gravity spell as a major part of his journey. In fact, it could be the biggest factor overall.
Maybe he could go at his Overwhelming Darkness issue from multiple angles, especially with his parasite epiphany.
Hm, I can feel that itch to study and progress, Zarian thought. I lost time taking a week off, but I needed to chill after what happened with the World Boss Event.
Before he could lock himself away again and study, there was other stuff to do. He hadn¡¯t stayed a hermit for the past week without having some major ideas that would change the course of things.
Hence, he needed a group meeting.
¡°I should learn to cultivate while staying conscious,¡± Zarian said, tapping into the nearest spiders close to his fellow Floridians.
Lucky him that Gilbert, Bianca, and Hannah were in the tower, and so were some of their leading guild members.
¡°Hey, guys. I¡¯m heading over to the top kitchen. Come meet me there for breakfast and a chat. Fair warning, some of it will be serious, but not all of it.¡±
Zarian received all positive confirmations they would show.
Naomi was still in the Blood Prairies with Reiki, Ezda, and the gnolls. He imagined Naomi doing badass stuff in those savagends, like any proper Marine.
He was almost tempted to have Empress Ruvaria teleport Naomi back and forth for an update. But he figured he would go see her on the way to fulfill his next major idea.
Zarian left his room wearing somefortable shorts, his gauntlets, and soft-felt shoes. Beyond that, his cloak covered up everything else, now back to being attached to his back.
They would save the battle kilt appearance forter fights.
On the way to the top kitchen, Zarian finally looked over the notifications from the defeat of a World Boss. The rewards were heavy despite Metatron being Level 60 at first.
This was prime proof that fighting something with higher levels wasn¡¯t the only factor in earning experience and other gains. Metatron¡¯s good +7 was the biggest factor.
Leveling up was supposed to get harder at these levels, but Zarian and his fellow Floridians were still zing their way up. After all, four levels in the Level 80s from one event was a pretty big jump there.
Then again, it felt like they¡¯d made bigger strides beating a Master, so the temptation to hunt down more Masters remained.
Now for the skill gains. He focused on the levels first.
Wow, that was an impressive haul. No level ups for Overwhelming Darkness, which was to be expected.
His advanced voidling grimoire was one level away from Level 10, which should grant him another void spell upgrade. Better yet, he had two new advanced skills, which led to his other grimoires evolving.
Zarian had spent part of his week off considering which of his first spells he should upgrade. Each of them had their own merits and could help him greatly in their own unique ways.
But after all the unrest and chaos from the World Boss Event, Zarian knew what to pick. To better secure Ride-or-Die Vige, it was time for his skeletons to get an upgrade.
Huh, that sounds badass, Zarian thought.
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Zarian nodded in satisfaction. He wouldn¡¯t need to maintain the skeleton spell ever again. Each skeleton woulde out Self Sufficient from the start and could advance and level up on their own.
They still had to be humanoid, and each new skeleton was far more expensive now. He imagined turning advanced skeletons into experts would cost even more, maybe to a ridiculous degree.
Granted, that was okay with him. He would rather pay arger aura price for better and more badass undead than spend aura cheaply on weaker undead.
Having skeleton expertise and supremacy was the way to go.
¡°Too bad we spent up all the skeletons we had in our pocket dimension,¡± Zarian said.
Para gave him an apologetic impression.
Zarian chuckled and said, ¡°We will have to get more. All that useless flesh will be yours for the taking when I reap up a fresh batch.¡±
That cheered up Para real quick.
Zarian had walked slowly at first to give him time to review stuff. The top kitchen wasn¡¯t far away, however. It was right on his floor, which contained all the rooms of the Floridians and special VIP guests.
Before he finished reviewing the notifications, he reached the gourmet kitchen.
Everyone working in the tower knew the Floridians had weird quirks. Because of that, the kitchen and dining area weren¡¯t separated. All the noisy and messy parts of turningrge carcasses of beasts and monsters into delicious food became background noise while at the tables and booths.
Zarian sat in the booth against the wall that was out of the way of the well-paid cooks from the Windy Strider Kingdom. Rhea Hemlock had vouched for each one and hired them herself.
Nothing but Level 50s. All different types of rare adventurer cooks. None of them were Foodie¡¯s equal, but they were decent enough.
Zarian watched as various adventure cooks wrestled with a creature with many tentacles that seemed to have revived itself while in the middle of being prepared as a meal.
He chuckled as an invisible spectral spider spun an arcane web with stun st runes close to the thrashing tentacle creature. The stun webbing erupted and struck the creature hard at its center, staggering it. The cooks chopped the creature dead for sure and thanked the spectral spider before the little guy spiraled out of view.
¡°Excuse us for making all this noise, my liege. As always, I hope we aren¡¯t a bother as we serve you the best food across all the Walled Continent!¡± said a greasy and sleazy looking strider man. He was the head cook, and Zarian had kept forgetting to get the man¡¯s name.
He would always say the food here was the best across the continent. Zarian kept holding back from correcting the man, which made him forget to ask for the head cook¡¯s name.
Zarian was about to ask when Bianca blitzed through the kitchen-diner area in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, she was sitting in Zarian¡¯sp, her arms around his neck, her legs kicking off to the side, her feet still bare like an elf princess, while her colorful and glittery dress fluttered with her movements.
Bianca took in a big breath.
Zarian pressed a finger to her mouth. ¡°Wait.¡±
Bianca huffed. Then she sucked in another big breath. This inhale was out of defiance.
Again, Zarian interrupted her with a finger to her mouth. He pressed a little harder on her lips and rubbed from side to side.
¡°Waaaait, por favooooor,¡± Zarian said.
He retracted his hand.
Bianca batted her long eyshes at him and screwed up her mouth. She pouted like a puppy. When that didn¡¯t work, she broke out into tears.
Zarian ignored her crocodile tears. He had to stop Bianca before she got started, or she would distract him from reviewing the rest of his gains.
Meanwhile, Gilbert swaggered in. Hannah came in next with Rhea following obediently at her heels.
The normally proud Hemlock woman was like a shadow to her shorter boss. Then Rnd, Amabel, and Lora came in with differing levels of reverence, since it wasn¡¯t everyday they could sit at the big kids¡¯ table.
The booth Zarian had chosen filled up fast, and that was before Empress Ruvaria made her grand appearance. She stepped out of thin air in a new dress that was pale green, beige, and covered in highly expensive cerulean-colored jewels.
She smiled directly at Zarian. He didn¡¯t know how to react. She had left him alone for an entire week. Hell, she made him a little nervous. He now knew how much of a naughty, naughty elf she was.
I don¡¯t want to be the Adventurer King, Zarian thought. I should tell her that before her motivations be too rock solid to change.
Ruvaria looked refined, regal, and in control, and mostly everyone felt that ¡ until Bianca snatched up the elf. The princess held the empress in herp while still sitting in Zarian¡¯sp.
Ruvaria lost all of her haughtiness, powerless against Bianca.
Burdened by a needy princess and a naughty empress, Zarian ignored the stares from Rnd and the cooks. He ignored Gilbert¡¯s snickers. A whirlwind of conversations spun around Zarian as he examined hisst advanced skill.
Zarian didn¡¯t think about this one for long.
Huh, that is both cool and disappointing, Zarian thought. It seems like the legendary quality is fairly big, so even upgrading a spell within that quality doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯ll advance to mythical quality.
Oh well. At least the new version of the hell gator should be interesting, on top of having four new folktales to add to thebo.
Again, Zarian didn¡¯t mind paying big for the best high-quality spells. However, this was bing a consistent pattern where his advancing spells and abilities were requiring more and more aura.
Hell, even his gravity spell research had given him plenty of warning signs. The aura cost to use the real gravity spell was beyond what he was ready for as of now.
That meant his next decisions mattered a lot more. Thankfully, the Star System didn¡¯t skimp out on the rewards for winning a worldwide event. So there was more to review.
<Your freedom alignment (Free Evil +3) grows: +4!>
He hadn¡¯t used his free evil much the past week, but he imagined he was more cunning now. That would prove usefulter when more political shenaniganse knocking on his door.
Wow, that¡¯s a lot to examine and ponder over, Zarian thought, feeling somewhat thrilled.
Although there was one spot that he found that wasn¡¯t thrilling. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve gained stats from effort instead of levels, and the stat gains aren¡¯t as high as they should be.
It was harder to gain new stats through effort nowadays, not unless he did insane training like Naomi every freaking day. In fact, Zarian was pretty sure Naomi was hitting a wall, too.
They needed a certain someone¡¯s help for more stats, which was very necessary. Zarian was thinking the road ahead was going to require more and more stat growth.
The ultimate death of Metatron wouldn¡¯t stop the gods from going after him. They knew he could be sealed away.
They just needed an opportunity and more leverage.
If the power of traditional good could go beyond +7, then that meant the higher Zarian and his friends rose, the more exponentially powerful the enemies on the good side could be.
It was almost ingenious in a way, which made Zarian wonder how could evil withstand the power of good when good had so many advantages in overall power? The only way he could see them surviving was through underhanded tricks, threats, and overwhelming numbers.
Well, there was the case of The Dragon and Shadowfell, but those were mainly outliers.
Most, if not all, monsters were evil, in fact. There were a lot of monsters. A lot, a lot, which could keep the good side upied.
Then there was Carrowmore, which existed as a dominant evil city nation on the Walled Continent somehow.
Zarian didn¡¯t think Empress Ruvaria left them alone just because they were on different continents. She had a history with Ekri the Tailor, after all. Maybe the barons in Carrowmore had a way of keeping the empress off their backs, unless Empress Ruvaria truly didn¡¯t care.
He had a lot of interesting political and historical lore to investigate once he had the time for it.
I wish I didn¡¯t take a week off. But at least I can think clearer and see what needs prioritizing.
He noticed some concerned nces from the others, which had nothing to do with the princess and empress on hisp. They were still worried about him.
¡°Sorry, everyone, I¡¯m just looking at my rewards now,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I know, I know, I should¡¯ve looked at themst week, but¡¡±
Zarian trailed off, not sure how to excuse being inactive for a week. He knew he¡¯d needed the break, but saying it aloud was weird.
Gilbert filled in. ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin yourself. We understand, brother.¡±
Zarian nodded. He appreciated the sentiment. So he tossed them a bone as the cooks hurriedly brought them food and drinks.
¡°You can fill me in on your changes and growthter. Chew on this for now. First, I want to celebrate Gilbert¡¯s birthday at ake I found. Hannah already has the enchanted rods prepared.¡±
Gilbert mmed his hands on the table. Thankfully, it was epic quality stuff. ¡°You¡¯re not pulling a fast one on me are you?¡±
¡°Kinda. I figure we can make a pit stop at theke while on our way to the Blood Prairies. After theke trip, we can check with Naomi, Reiki, and our gnolls. Then after that, I want to go to Grimrock.¡±
Zarian waited as his fellow Floridians gasped, froze, or looked at him wide-eyed. He carried on after a few seconds of suspenseful silence.
¡°We¡¯ve held back on Grimrock for long enough. It¡¯s time to wipe out the Grimrock Warlock and her corrupted goblins. Foodie needs to be saved. And Jack needs to be put down for real this time. So, yeah, think about that as I finish up.¡±
Zarian refocused on his gains.
Everyone else either burst out into a loud argument or sat in silence over the big news. Obviously, the Floridians were the most animated, which included even Hannah. At longst, they were turning their attention back to Grimrock and all that they¡¯d left unfinished.
Zarian was d to see the passion, even if it led to some friction. Going back to Grimrock now could have them forfeit the Wolf Dragon Mythical Regional Event, which was still on pause.
Zarian could exin his reasoningter.
He had achievements to look over and a decision on which trait to upgrade. He already knew it would not be Unraveled Mind. That one had its time under the sun already.
He wanted to choose something different that was also impactful. He had a strong number one pick already, but he held back to see what the achievements had in store for him.
Chapter 139: B2: C39: Skill Combiner
With everyone else upied, Zarian opened his achievements.
Let¡¯s see what we got.
A heavy object mmed onto the table with a solid thunk. The conversation died down as Zarian squirmed and leaned out from under Bianca and Ruvaria while they were still stacked on hisp.
He had to shoulder aside Rnd a little who was to his left. Thed was doing his best to act appropriately in a very inappropriate setting.
Zarian saw a thick and tinum sk with a bulging body, a long neck, and a cork at the top. When he pressed his open palm on the surface, he felt a powerful warmth radiating from within the sk.
¡°That is an excellent reward,¡± Empress Ruvariamented. ¡°That is normally a reward for those on thest leg to their first ascension. The Level 90s, usually.¡±
¡°Well, when you¡¯re in the Level 70s and 80s, and you¡¯re dealing with Level 100s and Arch Cherubs, I don¡¯t see why not,¡± Zarian said, pulling the sk away before Bianca tried to get her grubby hands on it.She was being extra annoying today, as if she was desperate for his attention. He would have to check on herter.
Hopefully she wouldn¡¯t try to press the girly lingerie stuff on him again. That joke had run its course for the time being.
Food and drinks arrived at the table.
Gilbert and Hannah settled down from their dispute to eat and drink. Everyone else did the same while acting like flies on the wall, listening in to the Floridians talk about the wolf dragons and Grimrock Warlock.
Zarian read the sk¡¯s description with his Identify trait.
Yeah, this is superb. The alchemy in this world, at least for a Lesser World, is weak inparison.
Zarian had checked around a couple apothecaries and alchemist shops to see what health potions would look like. He¡¯d ended up disappointed, but that was months ago. Things could¡¯ve changed since thest time he¡¯d wandered around his own vige.
This sk is going to be very useful for the times I have to pay up more than I can handle naturally.
The Star System was being very generous. Or this was a warning that Zarian should feel concerned about.
Zarian ced the sk in Para¡¯s pocket dimension. He checked the next achievement.
¡°Skill advancement? Skillbiner?¡± Zarian said aloud.
¡°I was waiting for you to get there,¡± Hannahmented in between spoonfuls of a fishy soup.
¡°Check out the next notification,¡± Gilbert advised.
Zarian did as he was told. There was a new pop-up over the world boss achievement.
¡°Oh, wow, that¡¯s not what I expected whatsoever,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you guys got the world boss one. Did you already make your choice?¡±
¡°We were waiting for you!¡± Bianca shrilled.
¡°Oh,¡± Zarian said.
He could see why Bianca was being extra annoying. He¡¯d been out of the looptely.
¡°May I give advice?¡± the empress asked.
Hannah looked sharply at the empress. Gilbert frowned. Bianca giggled.
¡°Of course you can!¡± Bianca hugged the empress even tighter.
The empress sighed as she endured the extraverted torment of Bianca¡¯s attention. ¡°It¡¯s always better tobine skills, especially the Level 0s. I assume the skill runes in your profiles are skills a certain someone has copied from others.¡±
Nobody said anything at first, which was a little silly. It made sense that the Sorceress Queen would have already checked them out without them knowing. It was interesting for Zarian to meet someone further down the magician path who could do the same things as him, but better.
¡°Yeah, you could say that,¡± Zarian said.
Empress Ruvaria carried on. ¡°Well, if you smartlybine certain extra skills into different arrangements, you can have differentbined skills among each other and then copy the differences. And if you need no more copies for now, then it¡¯s always best to declutter and streamline while making improvements.¡±
Zarian frowned. ¡°Is that so?¡±
¡°Very much so. Having extra abilities that don¡¯t serve you well enough or scale with you consistently is a drain on a profile¡¯s efficiency. The mere existence of that inefficient ability costs you aura, concentration, and can even cause slight dys while using multiple abilities.¡±
¡°It is notable how difficult it can be to juggle multiple abilities, especially the ones in our beta section, the Level 0s. In fact, I might¡¯ve pushed too hard on certain asions with my Level 0s and caused mistakes. Though the fault still lies with me more than the abilities,¡± Hannah admitted, ncing guiltily at Gilbert.
The big guy shrugged.
Hannah carried on. ¡°We don¡¯t have a mind for it like Zarian or you, Empress Ruvaria, but we do our best anyway.¡±
Zarian nodded along while still mostly hidden behind Bianca and the empress. He¡¯d heard from the others about the challenge of using beta skills and multitasking before. But he still thought they were selling themselves short.
The others could push fairly hard even without having a fractured and unraveled mess of a mind like his. Maybe they couldn¡¯t push as hard as him, but they could certainly push.
¡°To be fair to you, I am quite impressed by how well you¡¯ve handled the inefficiency,¡± the empress said with surprising kindness. ¡°However, years of testing have shown having fewer abilities that are higher quality is better than having a lot unless you have ways to make the abundance an advantage, such as my case and Lord Zarian¡¯s.¡±
The empress reached down for something leafy and green on the table. After a few small bites, she said, ¡°You should streamline for now, and if you need more, Zarian, you can copy more from the others again.¡±
¡°I can only copy one time from each profile,¡± Zarian said.
Empress Ruvaria finished her snack before she wriggled around like a child. She sat up on her knees in Bianca¡¯sp and looked over the princess¡¯s shoulder to look down at Zarian.
Then, with a haughty tone thatpletely ignored her position on thep of a princess, Empress Ruvaria said, ¡°If you get the advanced version of a certain trait, you can copy a little more along with having ess to other interesting tricks. In fact, forget the copying. The new tricks are more important, especially with a fascinating mind like yours.¡±
My mind is fascinating, huh? Zarian thought.
¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Zarian said aloud. ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate Naomi missed out.¡±
¡°She won¡¯t for long,¡± the empress said.
The atmosphere became tense suddenly. The kitchen darkened. With a neutral tone, Zarian asked, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±
Empress Ruvaria looked off to the side nonchntly. ¡°You have the achievement for Lesser World Boss Killer, yes?¡±
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s where the whole thing with skill advancement or skillbiner came from.¡±
¡°What does it say about World Bosses?¡±
Zarian sighed. The darkness in the kitchen lightened. He was regretting all the interest he¡¯d built up with the empress. She was fullymitted to the mentor role even when Zarian wanted to hear direct answers.
Beggars can¡¯t be choosers, and wouldn¡¯t I know that?
¡°It had something to say about how World Bosses wouldn¡¯t normally die unless a bigger authority, like you, puts them down.¡±
¡°And?¡±
¡°They can either fade or hibernate if nobody ¡ kills them.¡± Zarian leaned back in his seat and sighed. ¡°There¡¯s a World Boss in the Blood Prairies who¡¯s hibernating right now, isn¡¯t there?¡±
¡°There are several in that infamous region, but only one of them is worth a decent battle. No worries, our dear Naomi is tracking the decent one, although it¡¯s weaker than Metatron. Still, she¡¯s uniquely suited to oust it, even if she might note outpletely intact.¡±
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
¡°Well, what are we waiting for? We should head out and help her. Weaker or not, a damn World Boss is too much for one person without an overkill skill like Zarian¡¯s,¡± Gilbert said.
The big and gant blue-eyed blond readjusted his cowboy wizard hat. He looked about ready to ride off and help a friend.
Zarian let out a dark sigh. The kitchen lights flickered ominously before returning to normal.
¡°No.¡± Zarian readjusted from under Bianca and Ruvaria while still acting as their seat. ¡°Leave Naomi for now. If she needs help, I will need you to let me know, Empress Ruvaria. Please. She¡¯s deep enough into the Blood Prairies where I am getting an unreliablework connection for some reason.¡±
Naomi wouldn¡¯t be happy if we all came riding out to help her against a weak World Boss. It¡¯ll be better if it¡¯s only me.
¡°Hm. Okay. I won¡¯t be as harsh on her. You, on the other hand, need to have a formal sit down with me, Lord Zarian,¡± the empress demanded. ¡°You will let me know when. Now go on, children, and decide on what you willbine.¡±
¡°Yeah, we are definitely going to have a sit down, empress,¡± Zarian said before turning his attention to Hannah, Gilbert, and Bianca.
As they discussed what tobine, Rnd, Lora, Amabel, Rhea, and some cooks eavesdropped while trying not to make it too obvious. They dug into their meals, or if they were cooks, they found something to busy themselves with as the Floridians talked.
Zarian learned more about how far the others had grown in the general sense without going into full details. While it wasn¡¯t ideal to share so much in a decently public setting like this, Zarian had spectral spiders following key personnel for this very reason.
They had ways of dealing with spies, especially the ones who had a bad habit of wanting to reveal personal info to the highest bidder. Some of those spies hade from an evil human city called Cross-something, even.
Zarian liked it when there were spies, especially when they were greedy and overreaching. Plenty of them had caused their own destruction and the fall of multiple cells of spy informants.
¡°Okay, I think I know what to do,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I¡¯m going tobine some skills, but they won¡¯t be physical. However, I have to ask this. What would happen if Ibine my grimoires, Empress Ruvaria?¡±
¡°Are they all advanced and maxed out with spell upgrades pushed to their limit? If not, it will be a tremendous loss for you if youbine grimoires. Those skills are best kept as individuals.¡±
Zarian nodded. For this case, he was very thankful for the empress¡¯s wise advice or he would¡¯ve made a huge mistake. Ruvaria was dangerous, but she was incredibly useful.
¡°So, I imagine that means we shouldbine Level 0s for certain,¡± Hannah said. ¡°If so, we¡¯ll go for the physicalbinations while Zarian experiments with the more esoteric ones. Unfortunately, thebiner seems to only ept four of the Level 0s at once and no more. Pity, we will have inefficient leftovers.¡±
¡°That¡¯s for now. The Star System has more upgrade opportunities waiting for us. Hell, I can always go shopping around for more skill copies tobine the next time,¡± Zarian said as he selected three Level 0 skills for a specific oue.
Zarian kept the Willful Might, Wondrous Speed, and Mystic Toughness Level 0 skills. They could scale with him whenbined with his Basic Aura Maniption and Aura Channeler traits.
He also understood that having fewer skills, especially the ones in the beta section, made it easier to multitask. However, Zarian was indeed one of those few adventurers who could maximize the effective use of alpha and beta skills interchangeably.
It was even more impressive that he could stack on spells as well, which was highly, highly rare. The only other person who could pull that off was the Sorceress Queen, Empress Ruvaria.
So, it was definitely better for Hannah and the others to streamline and gain more high-quality spells. Although, Zarian wasn¡¯t against doing the same if he had the opportunity for more skillbiners.
Zarian felt the skill runes in his profile finishbining and bing something new. A skill appeared in his beta section.
¡°Oof, Hannah, I¡¯m sorry, but I think you might¡¯ve missed out big,¡± Zarian said, activating the new skill.
His mind became more structured than ever before. His thoughts came out more crisp, clearer. Even the fractured parts were simpler to organize.
The only sticky point was when he unraveled. The unraveled trait and the mindframe skill seemed at odds with each other, especially with High Rune Mindframe at Level 1.
Still, the skill was amazing to have even as a Level 1. This could be the skill that helped him multitask even more than before, better than before. And it could only grow greater once it advanced and gained new abilities.
¡°What is it?¡± Hannah asked.
Zarian told her.
Hannah bit the edge of her bottom lip. ¡°Ugh. I know I should go physical for the sake of my survival, but that sounds so amazing.¡±
Hannah sighed before saying what she got. Gilbert and Bianca said theirs as well.
Leaving out Tranquil Mind, Hannah hadbined Adrenaline Jolt, Willful Might, Wondrous Speed, and Mystic Toughness for a new skill called Mystic Rush Tank. It was a quirky skill that covered all the physical bases plus more, making Hannah fast and tanky while scaling with Mysticism.
Gilbert hadbined Tranquil Mind, Willful Might, Wondrous Speed, and Mystic Toughness for a new skill called Unified Monk Force. Again, it covered all the bases, but it acted as more of a controble magic field. Gilbert could use it with some limited flexibility. The new skill scaled entirely with Willpower and Wonder both.
Then there was Bianca¡¯s unique choice,bining Tranquil Mind, Adrenaline Jolt, Willful Might, and Mystic Toughness. She left out Wondrous Speed because it was still an effective skill for her even as a beta Level 0. Her experiment gave her a skill called Super Serene Rampage, which scaled with Wonder.
Everybody observed Bianca out of curiosity, awe, or worry. Zarian imagined Bianca being even more cheerily powerful and insufferable than ever before.
It was almost tempting to copy the new skills over as Level 0s, but that would lead to more unneeded clutter. Besides, Zarian still had his physical Level 0s for all the physical areas that his friends¡¯ new skills covered.
Hecked the extra special pizazz that came with Mystic Rush Tank, Unified Monk Force, and Super Serene Rampage. But he had a good thing going with his Level 0s ¨C Willful Might, Wondrous Speed, and Mystic Toughness ¨C at least for now.
Other than two odd skills remaining, the others kept their Level 0 Summon Wizard Hat for its minor but useful aura abilities. That and it was nice that they all had their own wizard hats to match with the crooked conical hat Zarian wore.
Gilbert¡¯s cowboy version, Hannah¡¯s hard hat, and Bianca¡¯s feathery fedora were fun for Zarian to see. It was a little silly, maybe even childish, but who was going to criticize them for that and expect toe out okay against the Floridians?
Now Zarian wondered what Naomi would get frombining her Level 0 skills. She would probably make the same choice Hannah made and hopefully get different results, or maybe she would try something more unique.
¡°Have you looked at thest stuff yet?¡± Bianca asked, bouncing on hisp. The empress let out an annoyed groan as Bianca made her bounce around, too.
Before Zarian answered, Para formed a few arms from the cloak and reached around Bianca and Ruvaria. With utensils in hand, Para cut into the nearest bs of meat and fed Zarian herself.
A few bitester, Zarian realized he was very hungry. He held back from feasting and refocused on thest parts of the review. He had one more achievement.
Zarian shook his head and leaned forward. He groaned against Bianca¡¯s back.
Bianca chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I know, isn¡¯t that so annoying after what happened to us, papi?¡±
¡°Yeah, it really is, mami,¡± Zarian replied.
Para grabbed the new item that appeared on the table. Disgruntled, Zarian red at the new item and used his Identify trait.
The orb was the size of a baseball. It was ck with gold iys that formed a demonic face on its surface. Half of the face smiled maliciously. The other half frowned contemptuously.
¡°You guys for this, too?¡± Zarian asked.
Hannah, Gilbert, and Bianca said yes. Altogether, they had four Good Suppression Orbs. That was a few too many to have, in Zarian¡¯s opinion. Then again, they would probably need the extras down the road.
¡°Well, this thing is certainly nifty.¡± Zarian tossed the orb up and down in his hand.
¡°Ah, yes, one of the many tools and tricks evil loves to deploy,¡± the empress said moodily. She had a lot more to say. ¡°You may think that good is invincible because of our raw power. Unfortunately, that is normally our biggest weakness, an overreliance of those ridiculous power ups.¡±
¡°There has to be another version for evil, I imagine,¡± Hannah said.
Zarian thought the same.
The empress continued. ¡°There are suppression tools for both alignments, which are all high in quality, usually divine, and very hard to find. But the difference is that a dumber evil one is no less deadly, while a weaker good one could be less deadly. Besides, evil ones are quicker to use such items, which is one way of many that evil could outlive eradication.¡±
The empress scoffed. ¡°Well, not all of them have avoided my absolute judgment. The orcs haven¡¯t.¡±
¡°Hm, well, as nice as it is to listen to you talk about the good old times when there were more indiscriminate genocides and the oppression of anyone who isn¡¯t as good as you, we have more modern issues to talk about,¡± Zarian said, knowing very well that the empress was making a rude, udylike gesture as he spoke. He could see her through a spectral spider on the wall opposite of them.
He ced the suppression orb in the pocket dimension and kept talking without a care. ¡°I think we¡¯ll need a few days to settle on a decision about the Wolf Dragons and Grimrock. So, first, get off of me, Bianca. Second, let¡¯s eat, because I¡¯m hungry as hell, and so is Para.¡±
¡°Wait! Did you decide on which trait you¡¯re upgrading next?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°I know what it will be. But I want to save the upgrade for a specific moment. Now let¡¯s eat and debate. Because I¡¯m going to Grimrock with you or without you. But that doesn¡¯t mean you have toe if you¡¯re worried about the vige. I can go on my own and save Foodie if that¡¯s what it takes.¡±
¡°Can¡¯t we ask the Star System about the event?¡± Gilbert suggested.
¡°Yes, but no,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I¡¯m not pushing things with the Star System right now. It¡¯s dealing with big cosmic stuff in the background because of me.¡±
¡°Once you leave, you will forfeit the event, regardless of youing back in the middle. I know you know this, but it must be reiterated, since it will negatively affect the records on your Feats of Adventure,¡± the empress said.
¡°Yeah, I know,¡± Zarian replied.
Gilbert raised his hand.
Zarian blinked. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±
¡°Do I still get an enchanted rod and a birthday at theke?¡±
¡°Yes, Gilbert, you do.¡±
¡°Sweet.¡±
The morning turned into afternoon as the Floridians and their guests held dynamic conversations and debates.
Princess Bianca and Empress Ruvaria finally squeezed into their own seat and off of Zarian. Rnd, Amabel, Rhea, and the cooks continued to y their roles as silent or busy flies on the wall unless the Floridians needed them for something.
Empress Ruvaria interjected herself whenever she pleased. She doled out some useful information now and then. But everyone had to suffer her moments of waxing about the good old days like an elven mega boomer.
Later on, Zarian and Para left the gourmet top kitchen with their hunger satisfied. Behind them, Bianca trailed. Zarian nced over his shoulder.
¡°I got some time to burn before I pay the empress a proper sit down visit tonight,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Hm?¡± Bianca looked at him closely.
¡°I need to make an appearance in the vige. Do somemunity service. Show the people I¡¯m not a big, bad, evil guy who waits on his throne all day. Want to join me?¡±
¡°Yes, I would like that,¡± Bianca said politely.
She was acting tense suddenly. Now Zarian was very sure Bianca had something wrong going on with her. Well, maybe messing around with the mortals in the vige would get her to reveal what she was holding inside.
They both knew she had a tendency to hide her real feelings.
Whatever it is, I¡¯ll try to help somehow.
He had ideas on how to fix the issues with Bianca from prior, which would work as a nice gift for her. But he would have to sacrifice some of his stubbornness.
The things I do for others should be ced on a giant que somewhere. Truly, I am the greatest friend anyone can ever have ¡ regardless of the moment I killed everyone that one time. Or two times, in Naomi¡¯s case.
Chapter 140: B2: C40: Dragon Blood
Zarian was standing in the ground floor lobby of the Central Library Artillery Tower.
Looking around, he saw the floor and gilded furnishings were waxed and polished to a shiny mirror-like finish. The windows were big, thick, and spotless, letting in the unfiltered light of the twin suns on a cloudless, blue-sky day.
The doorways were framed by the hardest high-quality material Hannah and her golems had dug up from below. That worked out great for showing off to visitors who thought themselves important or affluent.
The centerpiece was a wolf dragon¡¯s skull, the same one Princess Bianca had in. It took up a lot of space with fangs asrge as a man was tall, but the lobby area was quite spacious, anyway.
Zarian looked up at the giant skull as various visitors and vigers who had business at the tower gossipped while moving around the lobby. Most of their conversations had something to do with him.
The treatment was interesting. It was very unlike how he was treated when he was once a homeless reject, a dropout from the Marine Corps.
He was far removed from that now, and he had lots of new things to work on. Hell, he was even finding some joy in his political pursuits, such as growing the freedom alignment.
Almost everyone in the lobby who wasn¡¯t in the guild was either neutral, good, or free. In fact, there were more free aligned folks than good and neutralbined, which was a first.
The freedom recruitment drive had kicked up a notch because of the pdins¡¯ gross failure to ruin Ride-or-Die Vige and seal away the Dark Lord. Their lossst week was Zarian¡¯s gain, because freedom was spreading, and that warmed his cold, free evil +4 heart.He liked the freedom alignment a lot. Although, it wasn¡¯t as strong as traditional evil and traditional good in certain areas.
For Zarian, his ability to have more control over his sharp cunning held it back, keeping his evil genius from reaching its full potential. However, he had an easier time directing free evil instead of getting directed by evil.
For Bianca, it was much, much harder to use the full power of free good. Theoretically, she could match the power of traditional good, but she needed to achieve the highest idealization of goodness.
To do that, she needed a sense of selfless purity that went beyond being super good in the moral sense. That was hard. Yet, the princess was doing her best to make it work anyway.
Zarian nced at Bianca. He was still trying to get used to the new look. For the first time in a long time, she wore something else than her eternal garden dress.
Now she wore a dark green and ck dress that was billowy at the bottom. It was covered in gem-like leaves that rustled like a dark forest on a windy, stormy night. The most surprising part was that the new outfit came with roman-like sandals instead of leaving Bianca barefoot.
The dark look even came with a quick redo on her nails, which were all painted ck. The same went for her lipstick and mascara. Altogether, the effect was stunning.
Zarian was dressed mostly ck, from his shirt down to his trousers and loafers. The guild emblem was stitched in dark red on the left side of his chest.
His dark red cloak twisted, pped, and curled like living leather around him and Bianca. Para did a great job of making them look extra out of ce and dynamic.
They had no personal bodyguards or escorts. They didn¡¯t need them. Not when looks alone seemed killer already. Anyone who wanted to attempt an assassination was in for a world of hurt.
It was obvious that some self-important visitors wanted to break the gap and speak with the two. But the double viinous appearance kept them at bay, at least for now.
Zarian took a few seconds toe up with something to say. Then he found the perfect thing.
¡°You¡¯re looking a little dark, aren¡¯t you?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°It¡¯s one of Abu Ruvaria¡¯s epic outfits, and it¡¯s as old as the Dark Era and very pretty on me,¡± Bianca said, with a bright smile.
That one smile from her emboldened the onlookers. No dark dress and viiness appearance could hold them back for long once the legendary Light Princess and her extroverted ways shone.
It was like she had a spotlight following her everywhere.
Zarian let out a dark sigh that made the magic lobby lights flicker ominously. He leaned on his scariest traits ¨C Dark Affinity, Uncanny Valley Effect, and the Dreaded One ¨C to hold back the tide of egoists.
He was almost tempted to use Lore Eater to feast on their surface thoughts, but Zarian knew from experience there were some surface thoughts he would prefer to avoid. Some people, men and women, had some weird fantasies surrounding the Floridians, especially Princess Bianca.
Out of everyone, she only became more beautiful, more morous, and more attractive from the past months of hard training and magical food eating. She had grown a little taller, too, and looked like a walking demigoddess.
Next to the monstrous Dark Lord, the contrast between them was apparent even if they were dressed darkly together. Bianca was bing more of a mythical figurepared to when she first started as a scared, teary-eyed rum promoter.
Bianca stroked her elegant fingers through her long, amber hair. Her radiant amber eyes nced back at the wolf dragon skull, with her pretty and plush lips pressed into a pout. Then she turned away and fixed a brilliant smile back on her face.
¡°You¡¯re a beautiful chica, Bianca,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You can really get yourself an elf husband if you convince the olddy hard enough. I¡¯m sure she has better sons, grandsons, and great grandsons lying around on that continent of hers. All for the picking.¡±
Bianca didn¡¯t respond. She only smiled. She was still a hard nut to crack right now.
Wow. I thought Naomi and Hannah were the hardest to get through when they were upset. But maybe Bianca is on a different level. How do you break past the walls of someone who is a master of making everything seem okay and happy?
Granted, it was more obvious that Bianca was dealing with issues in the months prior. But they had avoided talking about it because of their own progression paths.
Now that Empress Ruvaria was in the picture, Bianca seemed like she was back to her old self, but not quite.
She¡¯s still on the fence about leaving behind the vige and going to Grimrock. I wonder if anything will change if we talk things out.
Maybe they would. Maybe they wouldn¡¯t.
The time for pondering was over. The egoists were champing at the bit and pressing closer.
These weren¡¯t the people Zarian wanted to deal with right now. They were delegates from different kingdoms, different privateer guilds, and unique self-interested nobles who existed on the peripherals.
There were even a few humans who were part of the evil alignment, mostly representatives of criminal syndicates. They wanted to get closer to the universe-infamous Dark Lord for obvious benefits.
Zarian reached around Bianca¡¯s waist. She leaned into him with a grace that was breathtaking for most of the onlookers.
Zarian moved her around, leading as the man, as Bianca spiraled perfectly on beat with him. The end of her dress and Zarian¡¯s cloak fluttered and billowed together as Zarian cast Void Waltz.
With two more steps, he took their dance from the lobby to the south district, which was taken over mainly by gardener refugees.
Usually, Zarian avoided the area. He knew sentiment there was against him mainly for being the Dark Lord and the main me for the civil war.
Today, he didn¡¯t care. He wanted to check on the towers holding orphanages. While he did that, he let Bianca wander and follow any fancy she felt, talking to random people on the streets.
Zarian did all he could to dim his scary factor, which was easier with Bianca shining like a beacon of hope next to him. This part of hismunity service tour was a light warmup, so he could also concentrate on other things in his head.
As Bianca talked with random refugees, who were around Level 10 or below that, Zarian noted how scared they were in the presence of the princess and Dark Lord. But they couldn¡¯t escape even if they wanted to.
Bianca¡¯s sheer personality and charming magic had them caught in a vice grip. It was almost one or two steps away from outright mind control.
It would¡¯ve been worse if it wasn¡¯t for the system suppression that made it easier for Level 80s to interact with Level 10s and below. Or the Level 80s¡¯ sheer presence would¡¯ve crushed those who were far, far weaker.
Zarian wondered if all the magical energies in his and Bianca¡¯s body were palpable enough to have a weight to it, which was a curious idea.
The Level 10s had very low stats. They needed a decent amount in Wonder to feel the supernatural, at least. Yet, the Level 10s could feel the magnitudes of difference between them and the dark-light duo just fine.
Zarian wondered if the Level 10s had the system nudging them, warning them, or at least the ones who had enough stats in Wonder. Most people were faithful folks, so maybe they had enough to feel nudges from the System.
It was either that or Zarian and Bianca were really that scarily powerful even when they were trying to be casual under System Suppression.
There were other little things Zarian found notable. Most of the refugees were close to Level 10 if they hadn¡¯t already passed it with a ss. Even the young children were halfway to Level 10, some further along than others.
After some thought, Zarian concluded that the journey to Ride-or-Die Vige and living in this region was passively boosting experience gains and pushing everyone¡¯s levels to a more reasonable ce, Level 10 and above.
This tale has been uwfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
That might not seem like muchpared to Zarian, his friends, and the guild members. But it was better than the low gains in the Eternal Garden Kingdom.
That was nice to see. What wasn¡¯t nice was how sluggish they all looked, regardless of levels and stats.
Zarian noticed many of the refugees had lost and uncertain looks in their eyes. They all had water, food, and shelter, but they still appeared sullen.
¡°They need work,¡± Zarian muttered, while somehow finding himself buried under a pile of children.
They were out in a courtyard with a garden and some hedges. Bianca had convinced the children to pile up on top of Zarian.
Nobody was going to tell her no, even if the worried adults desperately wanted to. The children seemed unaware of the danger, or they decided not to care about the subtle System nudges.
Thus, the Level 84 Madness Wizard, the husband of Evil Goddess Shadowfell and Dark Lord of the Infinita Star System, ended up beneath a dog pile of reckless kids who were around Level 5 and ssless.
He looked quite defeated as the children cheered and shouted, making victorious sounds children liked to make.
From his perspective, they seemed so fragile a part of him hoped the system¡¯s suppression remained rock solid for this situation to go without a hitch. Or the sentiment toward him in the south district would tank further.
Another part of him realized the gardener¡¯s poption was growing and bing more permanent. The vige was so efficient that it could meet many of the people¡¯s needs.
That was nice for now, but Zarian could already see the signs of despondency, hence why he thought they needed work. The type of work that mattered, paid decently, and encouraged people to reinvest in their lives.
That hadn¡¯t concerned him or the others because of the event against the wolf dragons. But the way things were now couldn¡¯t stay the same.
They needed a more robust economy that wasn¡¯t centered on just entrepreneurial adventurers. They needed to epass regr people in the low levels, which normally was the majority of people.
I¡¯ll bring it to the attention of Hannah and Rhea. In fact, I¡¯m sure the Hemlock woman would be useful there, Zarian thought.
As a part of Zarian considered the economics and societal progress of the vige, a major part of him studied the Parasite Cloak +2. But doing so required him to unravel certain fractures in his mind to get into the essence of Para¡¯s designs.
He did so gently and slowly, not wanting to disturb Para while she was ying with the little orphans.
The cloak formed two dozen hands and tentacles, all gentle, as she yfully chased after shrieking kids and hoisted up the ones who she caught. She even went as far as patting the back of a crying little boy who had fallen over.
The adults in charge of the orphans watched with wide-eyes while caught under Bianca¡¯s inescapable charm.
A lot was happening at once, and Zarian wanted to work on multiple facets at the same time with the utmost of focus. Hence, him having High Rune Mindframe slotted in his alpha section, leaving all of his grimoires in the beta section with his Level 0 skills.
Did it suck that his powerful wizard abilities had to be in the beta section? A little, yes. But the moment Zarian had slotted High Rune Mindframe into the alpha section, he felt its true powere to light.
All the multitasking he was doing prior to having this amazing skill felt sloppy, dangerous, and inefficient. It turned out he was making it all work through sheer Willpower.
Now he felt his fractured and unraveled thought processes happening under safer and more structured conditions. It really felt magical, hence why High Rune Mindframe scaled with Mysticism alone.
It was almost like he had a cybeic enhancement applied to his mind, but the mystical kind instead of a chip.
Thus, Zarian could do multiple key things at once. He could y with a bunch of little orphans. He could use his free evil +4 to think up ideas to create productive vigers, because it looked like the refugees were going to stay for the long run. And he could use arge part of his mind to unravel and flow between the hard rune mechanics of Parasite Cloak +2.
Nobody had a clue of how much mental work and madness it took to explore the depths of Para¡¯s essence and existence safely. How could they?
On the outside, Zarian seemed focused on interacting with the mortals. On the inside, his mind was a hive of activity that would¡¯ve killed most people from the sheer mental workload.
Yeah, that skillbiner oue was clutch, Zarian thought with a different section of his partitioned mind.
When do we get another skillbiner? We already have the Lesser World Boss Killer achievement. Maybe when we be Masters? Or maybe when we ascend? Do I have to kill a Greater World Boss?
After an hour of ying with orphans, they were now walking around the south district. Most gardeners made themselves scarce to avoid them.
Bianca turned to him. ¡°What¡¯s next?¡±
Zarian was thinking about dealing with some passive aggressive hostilities from the striders who were targeting the remaining pdins in the vige. Before he waltzed himself and Bianca over to an area between the central district and north district, he noticed someone on the street corner who he¡¯d seen back in Central Bramblevale.
Zarian grinned and waved. ¡°Hey, old man! Still selling cabbages?¡±
The old cabbage seller turned to the Dark Lord and smiled. ¡°Oh, milord, don¡¯t you concern yourself with me! The cabbage business hasn¡¯t been quite profitable for quite a while now. But I hear up here in these savage frontiers, there are much more interesting opportunities.¡±
Zarian redirected his walk to the former cabbage seller. The old man had some friends hanging around. They looked like they wanted to flee as Zarian and Bianca moved their way.
¡°Hello! You all look so wonderful. I need to grow up like you.¡± Bianca was all over them before they could run. Now they were stuck, mesmerized by her extroverted power.
Zarian chuckled as he patted the former cabbage seller on the shoulder to snap him free of Bianca¡¯s charm. The old man returned a smile that was both nervous and genuine.
¡°What opportunities?¡± Zarian asked.
The old man looked around shiftily. Then he leaned closer and said, ¡°There is a mystical nt that has rxing effects. Great for apothecary and alchemical purposes. And it can help promote the growth of other crops when you recycle certain parts forpost. But it is a dangerous nt to harvest. Hard to reproduce, too.¡±
¡°How so?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°It is said that it grows best in soil that is watered with dragon blood.¡±
¡°No way.¡±
¡°It is true, milord. In fact, I heard word that you¡¯ve in a dragon, yes? If you go back to the soil where its blood wet thend, you may find the Dragon Blood Cloud Flower. But be very gentle. The nt needs to be cared for in a delicate manner.¡±
¡°How do you know this?¡±
The old man smiled, his face wrinkling deeply. ¡°I once heard it in the old stories, milord. And I once heard it from the people who had lived here when I was a young man looking for work.¡±
Zarian nodded. He turned and called out. ¡°Empress Ruvaria? Is Dragon Blood Cloud Flower exactly like he described?¡±
To the great shock and surprise of the old man, his friends, and other onlookers on the street, Empress Ruvaria made an appearance. She wore a very sleek white dress. The hem ending around her pale thighs. She also wore very thin sandals and little gloves.
She scowled up at Zarian. ¡°It¡¯s more impressive than that. But there are more interesting nts and wild crops in this region that most humans cannot understand the significance of.¡±
Corma¡¯s Chosen One, Ruler of the Promised Continent, turned to the former cabbage seller. She graced him with a gentle look that was youthful, beautiful, and kind. A look that didn¡¯t express how she was holding back the immensity of her power by many magnitudes with some help of System Suppression.
The old man copsed onto his knees in front of the empress¡¯s feet. He could barely talk while in the presence of a bonafide elf, the strongest of the Lesser Worlds.
¡°Child of cabbages, you prove to be wiser and more knowledgeable than most of your kind,¡± said the empress ¡°Thus, I will grant you a small boon for being enlightened enough to make me think well of you.¡±
Empress Ruvaria waved her hand over the old man¡¯s head.
Zarian barely caught the subtle enchantment she ced on the man. Somehow, she enchanted the person instead of an item.
Zarian hadn¡¯t known that was possible until now.
The former cabbage seller looked up in awe as the empress turned back to Zarian.
¡°Don¡¯t make it a habit to call me out whenever you want. You know how I feel about these public outings,¡± she scolded.
¡°Yes, yes, sorry, sorry. But thank you,¡± Zarian said.
Bianca was creeping around to ambush the empress from behind. Ruvaria disappeared before Bianca could get a hold of her. The princess frowned, then she shrugged and went back to being her cheery self.
Zarian and Bianca chatted up the elders, warming them up after the eventful appearance of an elf, a creature of myth they only heard about in stories.
Zarian found it interesting how he could call up Empress Ruvaria, and she would respond right away for him. Most people would go their entire lives not knowing or ever seeing an elf, at least in the Walled Continent.
At some point, it seemed like some of the gardener refugees could look past Zarian being the me for their civil war and see that he wasn¡¯t much of a threat to them.
Maybe that was because of Bianca ying up her role at his side.
Or maybe he was doing a decent job improving sentiments by appearing on the street level. That way, the mortals could see and interact with him directly, making him less of a bogeyman.
Either way, he left the south district feeling as if his approval ratings were going up a little.
He was thankful there was no major system mechanic for transforming a vige into an empire. That would upy too much of his attention if there were clear rewards for that other than having a fortified home and some plebs to do with what he wanted, which was mainly to see things improve for everyone who yed by his rules.
After all, the reason Ride-or-Die Vige existed was to leave something for the guild members to take care of and grow old in. Eventually, Zarian and his friends had to leave the vige behind and let the people govern themselves.
Zarian took Bianca¡¯s hand for another waltz. They stepped out from the void andnded outside of the wall near the northwest corner. They stood on a field of vibrant green grass and wildflowers.
Amid the wildflower patches, Bianca turned sharply to a specific spot. Following her lead, Zarian noticed a few nts that gave off a lot of magical energy.
Bianca had noticed them faster because of her investment in the Wonder stat.
The specific nts that caught their interest were orange-red in the middle with ck petals and a golden stem. It looked like a scaly sunflower in shape, honestly.
Zarian used his Identify trait and told Bianca what he saw.
¡°Bianca?¡± Zarian called.
¡°Yes, Zarian.¡±
¡°Do you think Hannah would think of this as a very nice gift?¡±
¡°I think she will.¡±
¡°Great. I have some stuff to bring to her attention, but I can start with giving her dragon flowers.¡± Zarian sighed, looking at the cloudless day. ¡°I also have a gift in mind for you.¡±
¡°Oh, papi, you don¡¯t have to!¡±
Zarian frowned. ¡°Bianca, I¡¯m going to ask my wife to get a message to Earth. You¡¯ll be the first to get a crack atmunicating with your family. If it works, then I¡¯ll invite the others to try.¡±
Bianca said nothing for the next half hour. Then, with a hoarse voice, she asked, ¡°You aren¡¯t going to order your wife, are you?¡±
¡°No. I¡¯ll make a trade with her. Hopefully, whatever Luciana wants isn¡¯t too out there. You know how over the top my wife is.¡±
¡°You shouldn¡¯t, Zarian. Not for me. Not¡¡± Bianca trailed off.
¡°You don¡¯t have to exin yourself. I just want to do this for you. I want you to know I do care, Bianca. And I am sorry.¡±
Bianca fell silent again. She became dimmer and withdrawn. Zarian wasn¡¯t sure if that was a positive sign or a negative sign. He waited for her while they stood in a small patch of epic dragon flowers.
Once Bianca was ready to move on, Zarian pulled her into a waltz so they could continue their tour around the city. He also left dozens of spectral spiders to watch over the dragon flowers until they figured out how to reap them.
Now that they knew they could farm nts using dragon blood, Zarian wondered what other special goods hid in this region and beyond.
They could make a hell of an industry here that would make Ride-or-Die Vige more than just a pit stop and tourist destination for adventurers and foreigners. Zarian could imagine something incredible existing here for the guild after he and the others left.
Foodie should be here to see it, Zarian thought. Maybe she can have a big impact here as well.
Chapter 141: B2: C41: Shadowfell Temple
Lord Zarian and Princess Bianca stepped out from the shadows of an alley as the setting suns reached the end of their arc. The shadows were especially dark around the pair with the shade turning deeper and the light phasing out to create more darkness.
The effect was ghoulish, haunting, and eerily enchanting. Both Zarian and Bianca looked like the most magical beings who walked out of the darkest pages of fabled myth, at leastpared to everyone else.
The crowd of striders stirring up trouble against a pair of merchant pdins quieted down. Already on the scene was a unit of guild members in the middle.
The teenage boys and girls were holding back from opening a can of whoop ass on the belligerent striders. With the arrival of the light-dark duo, the young ones locked up, like professionals awaiting orders. Everyone else shivered with nervousness.
Zarian strode forward with Bianca close behind him until she ced her hand on his shoulder.
He paused and nced back. After reading her expression, he took a step aside. He smirked as Bianca sauntered forward with a spicy stride.
¡°What is the matter?¡± Bianca asked,ing to a stop in the middle of themotion.
¡°Well, mdy princess, the matter we are discussing is about how we good adventurers are offering our services to help these feather-suckers leave the premises of your wonderful vige before they try to eradicate everyone again,¡± a male strider said at the front, leading a rabble of harassers and hecklers.
¡°We are not a part of the Brothers of Original Good. We don¡¯t support the current bishop regime in all of their policies, especially with who they promote as inquisitors. We are a more open chapter of pdins, and we¡¯ve been trying to exin this for days!¡± the pdin woman shouted, looking nervously at the Dark Lord.Zarian shook his head at her. He nodded toward the princess.
¡°Shut your feather-sucking mouth! Don¡¯t think of yourself as anything goodpared to our beautiful and intelligent princess! All we¡¯re doing here is trying to make the vige a safer ce.¡± The leader of the hecklers smiled crookedly.
Bianca didn¡¯t smile.
She was much tallerpared to the humans of this world. It was easy for her to look down upon the heckler leader. He and hispanions shrank back as she watched them like a hawk for quite a while.
¡°Do you know why I follow the Dark Lord, pendejo?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°Pen day hole?¡± The leader said nervously. ¡°Excuse me, mdy princess, but I don¡¯t speak the tongue from the World of Swamps and Princesses. I¡¯d love to learn, if you have a free evening to teach me over some beer.¡±
¡°Silence your foolishness, pendejo. Answer my question.¡±
Bianca applied no magical pressure. Her voice was even and clear. But as she looked dead into the leader¡¯s face, her eyes shone with an intense light, like the twin suns before they set.
¡°Most folks say the Dark Lord, um, has a spell cast over you,¡± the leader said, finding himself singled out as hispanions backed away slowly.
Bianca took a single step forward, lording her height even more over the nervous strider. ¡°No, it¡¯s because it¡¯s very clear with him when he will kill and when he will help.¡±
She took another step forward, closing the gap menacingly. ¡°It is gruesome when he kills. Many of his enemies are torn apart and fed to his cloak. Sometimes they are feasted upon while they are still alive. Yet, I have not seen him kill anyone who doesn¡¯t deserve it.¡±
¡°Uh, well, I see,¡± the man replied dumbly.
Bianca¡¯s eyes shone even brighter, like the judgment of the heavens was shining their wrathful light upon the leader of the heckling and harassment. But the strider couldn¡¯t flee while struck dumb by Bianca¡¯s intense beauty and charm.
The man was in the early Level 40s, so the system suppression on Bianca was much weaker in this case, which allowed her to be more of her powerful self. She could, however, negate the system suppression altogether. That would be dangerous for everyone in the area, though.
Both Zarian and Bianca were at a level with enough stats and abilities that made them walking weapons of mass destruction, Zarian especially. So the system suppression, even while around people between the Level 30s and 50s, was necessary.
The leader of the bothersome strider mob struggled to speak his case, fumbling over his words. Bianca shook her head slowly until he fell silent.
¡°You and your friends do not see.¡± Bianca strolled around the petrified man. ¡°Look. That is the Dark Lord. See how he is standing there. Do you see him harming these two pdins?¡±
¡°He, um, isn¡¯t.¡±
Bianca gripped the man by both shoulders, her long ck nails stabbing into his leather pauldrons with ease. It was as if his armor was made of butter, while each of her nails were sharpened knives. She stopped short of drawing blood as she leaned down from behind him, her mouth close to his ear.
¡°If he¡¯s not turning his killer attention to these pdins, then what makes you think you can, pendejo? This makes me think you just want to bother these people for your own pleasure. This makes me feel I must step in and deliver some free good, because you are in the wrong. And if I judge you to be wrong with all my heart, I will not hold back.¡±
Bianca let her free good +5 st out from her body with some oomph. A powerful and wrathful wave of moral force knocked the mob of troublesome striders off their feet.
The man Bianca held onto from behind cried in fear as Bianca¡¯s free good steamrolled over him. Even the pdin pair lost their footing and stumbled back, their faces going white with fear. Their traditional good alignment was no matchpared to Bianca¡¯s free good.
The only ones left unaffected were the guild members and the Dark Lord, of course.
Then, just as soon as it appeared, Bianca¡¯s free good +5 receded back into her. She let go of the heckler leader, like dropping a dirty towel, and strode past the distraught man to return to Zarian¡¯s side.
Zarian enjoyed Bianca¡¯s approach to this issue because it was happening in one of the busier market squares. Everybody there was watching, and Zarian liked to put on a show, so he very much appreciated Bianca warming up the crowd for him.
¡°You heard Princess Bianca. I kill people when it¡¯s necessary. And I do so in gruesome ways,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But if you see pdins still in the vige, then they are fine to be here.¡±
Zarian looked around slowly as his cloak fluttered about in strange and eerie ways. ¡°I like to deal with problems case by case instead of judging an entire people for the choices of the few. Call me evil all you want, but I think I¡¯m the most reasonable and pragmatic guy around ¡ sometimes.¡±
¡°Thank you, milord,¡± the male pdin said, for himself and his female partner.
Zarian nodded before ncing across the market ce and spotting Bernard, the Battle Priest. The old man had remained in the vige despite the hostile political climate.
Bernard grimaced when his eyes met with Zarian¡¯s. Then the old priest lightened up and nodded in appreciation.
Zarian chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t want toe out and police you troublemakers. So please listen to my guild members who are very well trained. Or Princess Bianca would show you what will happen when she judges you as a bad person worthy of her free good power.¡±
Zarian turned to the kiddos. ¡°Keep up the good work.¡±
¡°As always, milord. But when will the cafe open up again?¡± asked a boy from the guild.
¡°We will see about that soon, Obert. There will be big news in a few days. Later, gators.¡± Zarian wrapped his arm around Bianca¡¯s waist, spun her into a small dance, and then waltzed through the void to reach the central square.
Zarian and Bianca looked up at the temple devoted to Shadowfell as crowds of people moved back and forth around therge square surrounding the base of the central tower. Abination of Zarian¡¯s and Bianca¡¯s abilities rendered them mostly invisible and made people want to step around them in avoidance.
¡°Are you sure we don¡¯t have more to do?¡± Bianca asked, a hint of nervousness entering her voice.
Zarian shook his head. They¡¯d checked on various spots of interests, positive and negative. The Dragon Blood Cloud Flowers were secured. The guild member units were all fine except for theck of Reiki¡¯s chocte and coffee.
They¡¯d checked on skeleton units manning the walls or posted on standby. Zarian had sought the skeletons that could most likely be experts and saw none currently.
Loner wasn¡¯t in the vige. He was out on an adventure to power level a batch of skeletons in some decent hunting grounds to the north west. Out of all skeletons, Loner should be capable of bing an expert.
Zarian would see once they linked up before the trip back to Grimrock.
¡°If you don¡¯t want to do it now, we can save it in the bank. You get to go first as your gift. But I would appreciate it if you keep that to yourself for now,¡± Zarian said.
A few passing pedestrians turned toward the source of Zarian¡¯s voice. They felt ufortable while unable to see Zarian and Bianca. They hurried away.
Bianca let out a long and weary sigh. She shook her head at him. ¡°If this works, if Shadowfell canmunicate with my family, then I shouldn¡¯t wait. I know Gilbert has some people he wants to contact. And the others would appreciate the offer.¡±
Bianca reached out and gripped the cuff of Zarian¡¯s shirt sleeve. ¡°Let me pay the price, please. Not you.¡±
Zarian ced his other hand on Bianca¡¯s. ¡°You don¡¯t have to.¡±
¡°I need to, Zarian. You¡¯ve already done more than I can appreciate. You¡¯ve done way too much for me, really.¡± Bianca shuddered. ¡°You killed yourself and destroyed universe after universe because of me. You hurt yourself because of me.¡±
¡°I did it to help a friend,¡± Zarian murmured, remembering his time fighting a useless battle against his own darkness for countless years.
Most of the details were murky now. But he remembered how he felt as everything kept going wrong no matter how much he tried.
He remembered the moments when he nearly let his darkness win. He still carried the memories of his refusal to lose and what that had also cost him.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
¡°Zarian, you¡¯re hurting me,¡± Bianca said.
He jerked back, taking his hands off her. His body was tense, and so was his parasite. He¡¯d held her hand too hard by mistake.
Para came around with little tendrils from the cloak and rubbed over Bianca¡¯s hand. Para also rubbed over Zarian¡¯s, a useless gesture.
The gauntlets were in the way, but the sentiment was appreciated. Zarian shifted his mindframe and ced more of his attention on the current moment. He could multitask with his thoughtster. Things were tense right now.
¡°Sorry,¡± Zarian said.
Bianca shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I lost myself to traditional good. I said things I shouldn¡¯t have.¡±
¡°You could¡¯ve told me about your family and stuff. I would¡¯ve listened.¡±
¡°Maybe I should¡¯ve. But I thought I didn¡¯t want to burden you. Or the others. I didn¡¯t even share that much with the girls. They were moving on, so I thought I should, too. Then it all blew up.¡±
Zarian and Bianca stood side by side for a while. Neither of them took a step toward the temple devoted to Shadowfell.
Eventually, Zarian thought of the night appointment waiting for him and offered his arm to Bianca. She took it gracefully, and he escorted her into his wife¡¯s temple.
Each temple at one of the four corners of the central square had a unique design and atmosphere.
Serveserf¡¯s temple was bare, in, and mainly a clean ce for people to donate what they could give while others could take what they needed. There weren¡¯t many needs in the vige, but the biggest donation drive surrounded children¡¯s toys for gardener orphans. A few pdins liked to visit this ce the most.
Hisscreep¡¯s temple had moist soil set across its floor. There was underbrush, fungi, and the smells of a wild, dark forest. Little creepers crawled around the wild floor, keeping the atmosphere an authentic one for the bug god.
The few evil humans that came through the vige would stop by to pay their respects to Hisscreep or make a request from one of the oldest surviving Evil Gods. Hisscreep, like Serveserf, wasn¡¯t that strong. But he was favored over other Evil Gods for his protection against evil critters out in the wilds.
Then there was Lovewar¡¯s temple, which was more gaudy and attractive, with weapons on disy and a palpable aura that was confident and alluring. Many visitors and vigers woulde through to pray at her temple, hoping to receive favor from the goddess.
Many gardeners prayed for her to end the civil war or have their side of the conflicte out victorious. Many of the guild members liked to spend some time at the temple, especially the ones who had started out as acolytes.
Then there was the temple for Shadowfell. Its aesthetics fit her theme. It had a sharply peaked roof. There was an atmosphere of heavy somber and dread in the air. The brassieres were lit with shadowy mes.
Across the barren and austere space inside, there was a goblet ced on a stone block. Inside that goblet was one of the most feared substances across the Infinita Star System, Shadowfell Tears. The dark ichor bubbled above the brim and spilled over the edges, making a small mess that wouldn¡¯t spread much further.
There was one person already inside before Zarian and Bianca entered. That one person was the only person in the entire vige who had consumed the Shadowfell Tears and came out stronger.
¡°Amabel,¡± Zarian called. ¡°Nice to see you again. We didn¡¯t get to talk much over breakfast today.¡±
Amabel was kneeling and praying in front of the goblet filled with Shadowfell Tears. Once she finished, she stood smoothly and turned to smile.
The young, green-eyed, and freckled-faced girl looked a little more mature now. Especially when she wore the dark, gothic robes of a Shadowfell Acolyte.
Zarian was still a little hazy on how Amabel had transitioned from being a Lovewar Acolyte to being a Shadowfell Acolyte. But since the two goddesses of opposing alignments were still friends, somehow, the betrayal from good to evil, or free good to free evil in Amabel¡¯s case, hadn¡¯t blown out of proportion.
Most importantly, Amabel was one of the few who embraced the free evil sub alignment, had the highest levels among the youngsters at Level 55, and was also sporting an epic ss called Shadow Saboteur.
To be the vige¡¯s only Shadowfell Acolyte meant she truly believed in the Evil Goddess and was freely giving her devotion. Based on the results, things were working out well enough for Amabel.
Yes, Zarian was well aware that certain parts of prior conversations would get fed to his divine wife because of Amabel. But that wasn¡¯t too big of a deal.
Hannah hadid decent enough wards that should make it harder for Zarian¡¯s little sister and the gods to pry into their business inside the central tower. Zarian imagined Empress Ruvaria being there made things even harder for the gods.
Amabel was their biggest leak, but a controble one who remained well within expectations.
Better yet, the Shadow Saboteur had shown some great discernment on what she¡¯d gossipped over with her patron goddess. Most of it was about Zarian and the mundane stuff he did, which was gravely boring for the spectral spider assigned to watching Amabel.
Zarian appreciated the little guy¡¯s sacrifice, since it was sometimes better to give away crumbs to keep the real treats under cover until the time was right.
¡°Lord Zarian, Princess Bianca, the dear goddess has been expecting you on this day, and you¡¯ve arrived just as predicted in her nightmares,¡± Amabel said, smiling.
Zarian reached over with his free hand and rubbed it over Amabel¡¯s head. ¡°Must I remind you each time you try to act all edgy that you are still a cute little brat?¡±
Amabel let out a huff, breaking her shadowy character. She shifted away from Zarian¡¯s hand and looked at him crossly.
¡°I am a Shadowfell Acolyte, and one who has broken a piece of Lovewar¡¯s heart to earn this right. I can¡¯t be looked at as a mere girl anymore by you, milord.¡±
¡°Oh, damn, we have a real bad ass heartbreaker over here. Now I¡¯m really feeling the edge.¡±
Amabel tried to keep from getting flustered. She half seeded. ¡°I am a grown woman who is blessed to carry the burden of tragedy and much more. Please have some respect for that since I alone was invited to drink from her tears and grow stronger instead of being corrupted.¡±
¡°Hm, yeah, I suppose you have a point. Have you told Shadowfell some of our ns?¡±
Amabel lowered her head, her face turning red. ¡°Only the more obvious points. Would you like me to serve as a divine conduit? Please say yes.¡±
Zarian was going to say no, but Amabel rushed forward and practically crashed into him.
¡°Please, Lord Zarian. It would be an honor to be a conduit, and only I can do it,¡± Amabel pleaded.
Zarian sighed. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s you, I guess I¡¯ll stay more focused on business. Are you okay with this, Bianca?¡±
¡°Si.¡±
¡°Yes! Thank you!¡± Amabel retreated and prepared herself to be a human flesh suit for an Evil Goddess.
Zarian could¡¯ve gone with using the crystal ball, but the request felt like it would have more weight if done personally. He hadn¡¯t expected this type of personal oue, but he imagined Amabel being chosen by Shadowfell meant the girl had a need for theatrics, just like his wife.
Zarian nearly had a cursed thought of him and Luciana having a child.
He banished it quickly.
He watched as the shadowy mes flickered suddenly. Amabel knelt down, took the goblet by both hands, and sipped from its dark and bubbling surface. Then she ced it down and rose as Zarian¡¯s wife.
Luciana smiled through Amabel¡¯s face. She spoke with a voice that was both somber and maic, like an enchanting song about the joys of death.
¡°It¡¯s quite interesting how the Star System allows us tomune in different ways. Certain cultures in various worlds have unique approaches tomunicating with us major gods.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t really care, but I imagine you¡¯re going to tell me anyway.¡±
¡°Let me have my moments, husband. Now, in some worlds, they believe they must sacrifice their elderly or their children and speak to their gods through the intestines of their dead rtives. In some other worlds, they believe the gods could only be spoken to by climbing the peaks of the highest mountains for their level, and it must be a mountain that is heavily upied by monsters or painful challenges, just to make the conversation with their gods more worthwhile.¡±
¡°I bet some of those tragic and painful direct messages to your goddess box have you feeling great in all your terrible ways, don¡¯t they, Luciana?¡± Zarian said.
Luciana chuckled darkly. ¡°It does leave one quite thrilled once you decide to lean further into the lunacy of it all.¡±
Zarian tried not to smile. ¡°Speaking of lunacy, your new corrupted toys are interesting. And your tears are enhanced to where a priest in the Level 50s can¡¯t cleanse it. That¡¯s going to cause a lot of trouble for people, you loon.¡±
¡°Luciana the Loon? Mm, I enjoy this pet name. Thank you. As for the spot of trouble, that¡¯s only for the would-be heroes who are strong enough.¡±
Luciana sighed dreamily. ¡°I still remain under a pact imposed upon me by Lovewar, which has grown moreplex as ofte. I cannot disclose what that pact entails, since it is a secret Lovewar would prefer kept between us. Unless you order me to reveal the details as your ve wife, husband, then your will is mymand.¡±
Luciana used Amabel¡¯s hand to press against her chest. She gave Zarian flirty looks that wereughable.
He tried not tough. He didn¡¯t want them to know how silly they looked, especially Amabel. The girl took the edgedy stuff seriously.
¡°Once again, Shadowfell, I will provide you with no orders under those ridiculous conditions. You are not my ve. And you are only a wife under unfair conditions that will be dealt with in the future,¡± Zarian said firmly. ¡°We are here to make a request. And to provide our services as a trade.¡±
¡°It¡¯s me that wants to offer my services,¡± Bianca said. ¡°Please don¡¯t include Zarian. He¡¯s done enough.¡±
Zarian frowned, but he didn¡¯t interject. If Bianca felt she needed to make a few sacrifices instead of him, who was he to stop her? Well, he would stop her if those sacrifices were too big.
Oh, that¡¯s a little hypocritical of me. Zarian struggled a little with that thought. He moved on quickly.
¡°Princess Bianca Garcia, a young woman who sheds her tears for the sake of joy and tofort others. You are my opposite in ways that I find interesting,¡± Luciana said.
¡°I don¡¯t know if I can say the same about the interesting part,¡± Bianca said. ¡°I don¡¯t like how your tears are for corruption instead offort. And your marriage with Zarian is holding him hostage.¡±
I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s the entire universe being held hostage, not me, Zarian thought, keeping his mouth shut.
Luciana chuckled. ¡°I can go on and on about the wonders of my marriage with Zarian, but that¡¯s not your true concern tonight. You wish to contact your family, yes? I can do this for you. I can let them know you are okay and receive their messages in return. But that will cost you one death that you must deliver.¡±
Zarian and Bianca shared a look.
¡°Are you sure?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°I am,¡± Bianca said before turning back to Amabel/Luciana.
The Evil Goddess told them, which was unexpected but not surprising for Zarian to hear.
The Prime Archbishop, the holy royal leader of the Stalwart Pdin Kingdom, had to die. Bianca would¡¯ve refused outright if it wasn¡¯t for one other factor. The Prime Archbishop had further ns to seal Zarian away regardless of the costs.
¡°Many think they can make such ns without the gods knowing as long as they have their little wards to turn away our attention,¡± Luciana exined smarmily. ¡°In most cases, this is true. For me, however, when those ns involve my husband, I can learn things here and there if they don¡¯t take extra precautions. And even with those extra precautions, I still have my ways.¡±
Luciana let out a deep and satisfied breath. The air in the entire temple wobbled. The shadowy mes flickered.
Zarian felt the presence of his wife surrounding them, holding them close, bearing the weight of a power that would crush lesser mortals to the floor. Yeah, she was really into her theatrics these days.
¡°Princess Bianca Garcia, what will you do for the sake ofmunicating with your family? Because the one you must kill is more than just a grave enemy of my husband. The Prime Archbishop is also a powerful ruler holding the pdin kingdom together. To take his life would cause immense strife. Are you willing to sacrifice the lives of others for your own heart?¡±
Bianca looked down at her feet.
Zarian sighed. ¡°This is a little too much, Luciana. We¡¯ve already broken one kingdom. And a trip to the Stalwart Pdin Kingdom is pretty far out of our way.¡±
Luciana chuckled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to go to their kingdom.¡±
Zarian¡¯s heart rate sped up. ¡°Quit the suspense.¡±
¡°Your target will be at Grimrock around the time you¡¯ll get there. No need to rush, they will be entrenched for quite some time. You see, they are short on quality self-sacrificers, so why not a proper crusade to sharpen themselves and grow their ranks before making an even bigger request for some more holy aid.¡±
¡°Oh,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Someone did tell me the pdins were going for Grimrock. Shit. This political stuff is a pain.¡±
Zarian wondered if the vige would be alright after he and the others were gone. How far would others go just to strike at him someway, somehow? The original ns of the pdin terrorists had included bringing sabotage and harm to the vigers and visitors, even at the cost of hurting innocent people.
Things are gettingplicated, Zarian thought. Do I have to make an example of an army or something?
Bianca let out a long sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is out of free good or my selfish desires, but I won¡¯t turn this down. I agree. I will kill the Prime Archbishop.¡±
For the next hour, Bianca made a list of names and messages for Shadowfell to deliver. Zarian tried to figure out how Shadowfell could contact their old world, but each time he tried, Shadowfell asked him if he wanted her to answer him as the ve wife.
Zarian dropped the matter. By the time they left the temple, Bianca was pretty much done and called it a night. She hugged him and went off on her own to her room or wherever.
Zarian stepped in and out of the void. He stopped in front of a door that wasn¡¯t his. He took a few seconds to straighten out his thoughts, putting aside political strife, Bianca¡¯s assassination job, and his marriage issues.
None of that mattered now as he knocked on Ruvaria¡¯s door.
Her voice reached out softly from the other side. ¡°Come in, Zarian. I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±
Chapter 142: B2: C42: Hide and Seek
Chapter 142: B2: C42: Hide and Seek
Zarian stepped into Ruvaria¡¯s room and felt aplex shift between dimensions. He reacted a split second toote and transitioned to a different realm of reality.
His heart hammered in his chest. Adrenaline filled his veins. His body became hot, hungry, and ready for a fight.
His cloak snapped out and sprouted dozens of deadly limbs. Zarian prepared to hand-sign and chant for One Percent Power.
He looked around and saw he was in an old stone hallway. Ancient roots dangled from the cracks in the ceiling. There were rings upon rings of mushrooms that covered the floor, with ayer of thick, loamy, and moist dirt underneath. The doorway he used to get here was gone, reced by a wall covered in thick roots behind him.
Little motes of concentrated energy bobbed around in the air like blue glow flies. The air was rich with aura, more than he¡¯d ever felt before in one location.
There were no immediate dangers he could sense. Zarian and Para remained at the ready as they finally addressed the gold notifications hovering in the air.
Daughter of the Absolute King? Zarian thought in wonder. How much lore do you have packed in you, olddy?¡°It¡¯s not what I expected, but I guess I can fit a game of hide and seek in my schedule.¡± Zarian lowered his hands. ¡°I have to admit, you are crafty as hell, empress. You set a whole teleportation trap I failed to spot and had it triggered before I could counter with my void magic. You really are the Sorceress Queen.¡±
There was also a chance that Empress Ruvaria had grafted the entire dungeon into the VIP guest room right under Hannah¡¯s nose. Zarian wouldn¡¯t put it past the empress to achieve aplex, hairy-brain thing just so she could show off to the human whipper snappers.
¡°I think this is a game I can win, depending on if you¡¯re going to give me a fighting chance,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Ready to y, Para?¡±
¡°As long as we don¡¯t run out of food, I will be happy to y,¡± Para said.
¡°True that, true that.¡±
Zarian studied the hallway with his best abilities. His High Rune Mindframe skill was growing, too, while facing a new challenge.
The mystical structures partitioning his mind became sturdier. His thoughts moved faster and neater.
Para benefitted as she safely merged with the same portion of his Unraveled Mind he¡¯d used to study the essence of her nature. The more of his messy mind he gave over to Para on a loan, the more she could empower his body.
With High Rune Mindframe, Zarian and Para could share more of each other under safer conditions. They could avoid losing oneself to the other, especially in Zarian¡¯s case.
The skill was definitely a high quality one. Zarian had used it from the morning to the night, and it had only leveled up once so far. Which was kind of sad because he was already excited about its first advancement.
It wille to me in due time, Zarian thought as he summoned dozens of spectral spiders.
As the spiders went forth to scout and explore, he squatted against the wall. Para dropped boxes of food and spare corpses in front of them from the cloak¡¯s pocket dimension.
The Dark Lord and Parasite Cloak +2 enjoyed a pre-dungeon-crawl feast as Zarian patched himself and Para into various spiders to see things from their exploratory view.
Some spiders crawled under the mushroom caps where little magical critters lurked. A few spiders couldn¡¯t help but snatch up the Level 8 or Level 9 insectoid beasts while on the move, which was an interesting experience for Zarian.
He could acquire all the senses of a spectral spider when observing through them. But these days, he didn¡¯t shy away from experiencing the taste of whatever creatures the spectral spiders feasted on. He¡¯d grown quite used to it now.
It was also a little interesting to think how just one bug that was the size of someone¡¯s thumb was possibly a danger to some Level 3 human teenager stuck behind the walls in the garden kingdom.
¡°Maybe this is a thing a nepo baby says, but I¡¯m really d I got the head start in this universe,¡± Zarian said. ¡°How would the others feel if theypared their starts as Level 1s to the little bugs in a ce like this?¡±
Then again, levels didn¡¯t indicate how many stats and abilities certain creatures had. So a Level 9 bug might only have a small amount of attributes. Or it had enough to fly like a bullet and kill a Level 1 human in one shot.
Zarian let himself muse about stats and levels using a small portion of his highly organized magic mindframe. Another part of his mindframe was still focused on what the spiders were seeing as they crawled around.
The spiders found a split in the hallway. Some stayed behind and waited. One group of spiders went to the left. A different group went to the right.
Zarian and Para enjoyed their delightful meal. They had plenty more in the cloak¡¯s pocket dimension, too, just in case this turned out to be a long crawl.
By the time they finished, Zarian noticed their firstplication.
The group of spiders that went down the left path had disappeared. The connection with them had blinked out. Thest thing Zarian was able to feel from them were the telltale signs of teleportation and warp magic.
Zarian doubted the spiders had perished. They were probably ced somewhere else and cut off. Or the dungeon had ejected them from its personal dimension, which was a valid way to cut down Zarian¡¯s abilities to explore remotely.
Not bad, not bad, Zarian thought.
He almost wanted to bring Hannah down here for her to see. But he figured Empress Ruvaria wanted him to crawl the dungeon as part of her continuous evaluation of him.
Or is this petty revenge for calling her out into public earlier?
She was very introverted. He should take more care of that.
The spiders that had gone down the right tunnel found another split. They stopped there and waited.
Zarian stood up. Para used little tongue-like tendrils to lick off crumbs and clean him up. Then Zarian removed his shirt while Para slurped into his back.
She appeared as ragged threads and numerous limbs from around his waist as Zarian went shirtless.
With his shirt secured in the pocket dimension, Zarian rolled around his shoulders and felt his muscles loosen up. Then he headed forward at a steady pace.
He looked around with his eyes, taking in the mystical sights of magic dungeon bugs, glowing blue motes of concentrated aura, and thebination of dangling roots around his head and rising mushrooms from the loam-covered floor.
Meanwhile, Zarian pushed his Basic Aura Maniption harder and harder at a gradual rise in intensity. He smiled when he felt some quirky resistance from the epic dungeon.
Even though it was fourteen levels lower than the Madness Wizard, it was high in quality. Thus, the Enriched Faerie Dungeon had unique traits of its own.
The dungeon pushed back heavily against his aura maniption. Zarian felt suppressed while using a trait he prided himself on.
Of course, he could hold his own. He had the Aura Channeler trait that made his aura maniption highly efficient, while also making him resistant to aura disruptions. Then there was his wizard hat, with the skill advanced to +2 and up to Level 34.
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Altogether, he had a frankly powerfulbination of abilities supported by 536 Mysticism. The suppression should buckle against him once he applied enough force.
Zarian kept pushing.
The suppression didn¡¯t buckle.
Huh! I¡¯m actually not getting my way for once, Zarian realized, feeling shocked after five minutes of difficult shoving. This dungeon has some powerful traits. Nothing has kept my aura maniption under constant pressure before.
So far, Zarian couldn¡¯t reliably observe things with his aura maniption any further than a dozen feet in all directions. In fact, the aura suppression was worseing from the walls.
That left him a little more blind than usual.
Was this all of Ruvaria¡¯s intention by having him put in the Enriched Faerie Dungeon? Was he supposed to have all his key aura abilities and scouting tricks removed from y, just so he had a more challenging crawl?
No, that didn¡¯t seem right to him. The empress was known as the Sorceress Queen for a reason.
Zarian wasn¡¯t here to crawl a dungeon in a mundane manner. He was here to use his magic while under more unique and challenging conditions.
Undaunted, he kept going at a steady pace down the hallway and took the left at the T-junction. He summoned more spectral spiders to lead the way in the direction where a group had disappeared.
Para had the bright idea to number the spectral spider groups, which entered Zarian¡¯s head as a thought he could analyze through his High Rune Mindframe. Things remained safe as he kept a portion of his mind unraveled for Para, and that led to unique mental exchanges between them.
It might not seem like much, but the distinction came down to time and rity. Before the new skill, Zarian had to feel out pulses and interpret them within a millisecond.
Now it was down to almost a nanosecond for him to understand Para. That also meant his physical senses and the way the parasite enhanced his body was greater, sharper, and more unified than before.
Zarian kept ying a shoving match against the dungeon¡¯s aura suppression shenanigans. Para helped check on their spider teams.
Team 1 remained at the first T-junction. Team 2 waited at the junction down the other hallway, the one to the right.
Team 4 was leading the way down the leftward hallway, going past the section where Team 3 had disappeared. Nothing seemed to happen, so they kept going.
Team 4 kept searching for traps and using their acute observation and spectral qualities to scout as thoroughly as possible.
Zarian used his Identify trait and found nothing too special other than umon and rare quality mushrooms. The roots were also umon and rare materials that were decent for crafting. The Level 8 and Level 9 bugs remained nonissues.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary for a while. Then things suddenly changed when a spectral spider phased through some mushrooms that looked like any other.
However, something very magical was triggered.
Together! Zarian thought.
Yes! Para replied in his head.
The duo cast their own versions of Void Authority simultaneously. They had never done this exact spell cast together, but they had done double-casts before and saw how that could intensify an oue.
As an oval ring of mushrooms shed with dimensional and warp-like effects, Zarian and Para used two sides of his brain to cast their two separate spells. They unified their casts by being perfectly in sync with their intentions and desired oues, which was made even smoother by the High Rune Mindframe skill, facilitating the timing to near perfection.
Even then, the powerful and warped teleportation trap nearly overcame them. They were almost a hairbreadth toote for their double Void Authority to do anything.
All teleportation magic used some part of the void to transition from ce to ce, which made it possible for Zarian to influence that.
The problem was the addition of high quality warp magic, which made void magic weaker. Somehow, the Enriched Faerie Dungeon couldyer warp magic over teleportation magic skillfully without one canceling out the other. Thankfully, Zarian and Para doubling up on one spell while nearly in perfect sync became the great equalizer against the trap.
The warped teleportation stopped with a thunderous p, like two storm fronts mming bluntly in the atmosphere. The surrounding air warbled as Zarian and Parabined their willful and mystical might even further for a flourishing finish.
They snapped the trap in half and dissipated all the teleportation and warp energy into useless kic force.
The trap sted outward. Roots ripped free from the ceiling. Mushrooms and dirt flew away in scattering waves down both ends of the hallway. Stone pieces from the wall tumbled as fast-moving rubble.
The st rolled over Zarian, and he stood his ground like he was facing a little breeze. Heavy darkness made by aura maniption and his Dark Affinity covered his body. A tiny bit of the st wave got past his darkness, but his parasite-enforced body barely felt anything.
The destruction ended. A crater remained where Zarian and Para had blown up a teleportation trap, with them standing in the middle.
Team 4 was gone, having been sent away before Zarian and Para stopped the trap. Then again, that was probably for the better, or they would¡¯ve gotten blown up.
¡°Heh heh heh,¡± Zarian chuckled. ¡°How much you bet that the olddy didn¡¯t have ¡®self-explosion in a teleportation trap on her¡¯ bingo cards?¡±
Para formed a mouth and vocal chords from Zarian¡¯s bare shoulder. ¡°Bingo cards. I can see from your memories it is a type of game from your birth world in the other universe. This is you joking abouting up with surprising solutions while calling the empress old, I imagine. But as for a literal answer, I am not sure, because the empress has lived for ten thousand years. Maybe she has it on the cards. She has known Outsiders before us, after all.¡±
¡°Huh, you might be right in the literal sense.¡± Zarian nodded. ¡°Geeze, Para, you¡¯re bing so smart. One day you¡¯ll be smarter than me, if you aren¡¯t already. Keep it up. You¡¯re making me feel proud of your growth every day.¡±
Para¡¯s mouth curved into a toothy smile, sharp teeth glinting from Zarian¡¯s shoulder. Then her mouth faded away.
Zarian could feel her happy afterglow from thepliment, which he allowed to bleed into him through a few carefully ced checkpoints in his High Rune Mindframe.
Zarian summoned Team 5 and sent the spectral spiders forward. He kept one spider on the brim of his crooked wizard hat, for just in case purposes.
He kept pushing against the aura suppression. He also turned toward other unique dungeon bugs scuttling or flying about. A distinct part of his partitioned mind had a strange thought that grew more and more reasonable as he unraveled a little.
Zarian knelt down. The parasite kilt extended strands and hairs in all directions and poked at every mushroom along the way. Some strands went deeper into the dirt floor, deeper than the spectral spiders could go.
Para used her magical touch to control some of Zarian¡¯s aura and push it down her strands. She had a hard time against the dungeon¡¯s aura suppression, so Zarian covered her experiments by pushing an even harder wall of aura against the dungeon¡¯s suppression.
Dark blue and greenish blue sparks ignited in the air. Little strings of aura electricity crawled over the roots and mushrooms, leaving some smoky and ckened.
The friction between Zarian¡¯s aura maniption and the dungeon¡¯s aura suppression was like a mini-storm.
It was hard work, and a part of Zarian¡¯s mind was burning up from the heavy aura shoving match. But this was why he had 424 Willpower and a Floridian Mindset, to help him push and endure these almost mental challenges.
He couldn¡¯t stop the dungeon from doling out its powerful suppression. But he could certainly keep going no matter the difficulty and mental burn.
Other than covering Para as she experimented with a side project, he focused on the bugs crawling around under mushroom caps and in the dirt. He gave his spiders an important order. He needed them to dance, so they broke down to boogie harder like never before.
They even formed two rows of spiders. One spider danced down thene in celebration before another did the same.
Zarian could tell the spectral spiders had learned from their fellow spiders in the Dancing Librarian Dungeon that Reiki was boss over. Their studying of ancient moves showed with their rising dance progression.
When Zarian thought they celebrated enough, he grabbed up a handful of moist earth, little mushrooms, and magic bugs. Then he spoke to the handful directly.
¡°Hello, hello, can you hear me, you old creepy crawler? It¡¯s your favorite apocalyptic, evil-doer of freedom. You know, Zarian Darkrun. I haven¡¯t been to your temple in a while, but since this ce is almost part of your domain, I figured the empress can¡¯t keep you out entirely. Any chance you can deliver me some free aid by helping me find an old elf?¡±
Zarian waited to see if anything would happen. After a while, he concluded that the message to Hisscreep had failed to reach or the Leggy Old Man couldn¡¯t help, at least not directly.
That was part of the issue with being a leader of an entirely different alignment that prided itself on freedom. The gods couldn¡¯t provide boons as much as before, at least outside of their temples and altars. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t mess around and still find ways to influence events.
Zarian¡¯s failed experiment was still worth a shot, just to see if Empress Ruvaria¡¯s controls were airtight. They seemed to be. Who else could mess with the gods as much as her while still in the Lesser Worlds?
Well, the answer to that is me, but I¡¯m not fair whatsoever, Zarian thought.
Moving on, Zarian felt Para¡¯s excitement, which made him thrilled. Instead of reading her thoughts as if they were his own, he waited until she formed a toothy mouth on his shoulder.
¡°Thework beneath the mushroom rings differs from what we are seeing on the surface. When you use Identify on the surface, you are not seeing theplete picture,¡± Para exined.
¡°But you can see with your threads while digging down further than the spiders could go. You can use my Identify trait while I¡¯m unraveling for you,¡± Zarian said, connecting the dots.
¡°Yes, which is why I am quite confident about the nature of the traps. And we should prepare to hurry.¡±
¡°Oh, why is that?¡±
¡°The traps are set by a single fungi creature that is a Level 90 Faerie Guardian. Its best alpha skill is Dimensional Network. The creature is in the roots above, too, because those are more extensions from the creature. I concluded it could probably unleash its magic wherever it wants through its expanded and stealthywork of a dungeon-fused body,¡± Para exined.
¡°Oh.¡±
Zarian and Team 5 moved with a hustle. The dungeon¡¯s mushrooms and roots wriggled and squirmed all around them, showing signs of aggression from a singr creature who was done with all false pretenses.
Zarian and Para prepared to cast Void Authority together. They expected the same traps from before, warpyered teleportation to the unknown.
Instead of that, a portal opened at the far end of the hallway they were heading down. Zarian¡¯s eyes widened as dark and highly pressurized water rushed out of the portal and roared down straight at him.
Chapter 143: B2: C43: Dimensional Traps
Zarian was surprised. The heavy gushing water rushing down the hallway at him looked powerful enough to sweep him off his feet.
Then Zarian felt a bonfire of ambitious hunger zing from the middle of his parasitic core. He was unwilling to run away.
Fuck it, let¡¯s ball, Zarian thought.
Para matched his enthusiasm as they switched approaches on the fly.
Zarian cast Void Authority with a section of his mind spiraling with a sh memory of maddening symbols and texts. He pushed the spell to the max.
Meanwhile, Para formed dozens of parasite arms from the ragged battle kilt. She moved the extra limbs with a dancer¡¯s grace as she cast Void Waltz.
The air darkened and flickered around them. Then the roaring water crashed into them with the weight of a tumbling giant.
Under normal circumstances, the water would¡¯ve crushed them. It was water that came from the bottom of a high fantasy ocean. It was one that was deeper, more magical, and more hostile than any ocean from the old world.
The pressure was immense.But Zarian felt none of it.
The water entered and exited the void that darkened the air around Zarian. He stayed within the dungeon¡¯s reality instead of stepping out, choosing to hold his ground and manipte the void into a makeshift barrier.
Most of the water exited on the other side and flooded the hallway behind Zarian, but without the initial force or quantity. Some of the roaring water might¡¯ve gotten lost in transit.
They were holding their own.
But Zarian wasn¡¯t satisfied with that.
He took one step to his right. Then another step to his left. He added a few more moves and matched the festive motions of Para¡¯s many arms.
He danced within his bubble of safety as he paired his Void Authority with his own cast of Void Waltz. Meanwhile, Para paired her Void Waltz with her own cast of Void Authority.
Even while casting spells from opposite orders, the two synced up brilliantly. The void barrier surrounding them grew stronger.
The pressurized and roaring water was no match. Just like that, they danced their way forward as the water went in and out of the void, from the front to the back.
Once they reached the portal, they turned their Void Authority on it and found some resistance.
Portals worked differently than teleportation magic. They were probably far from the reach of void magic. Zarian messed with it anyway, and Para followed his lead.
Theybined the power of their double Void Authority and double Void Waltz to mess with the dimensional foundations of the portal. They moved with a fervor, dancing harder and harder.
Instead of trying to summon rain, they summoned the madness of the void.
They wielded the void like a bludgeoning instrument and bashed it against the portal again and again like the wizardly version of a caveman until it broke. And exploded. Since they were still dancing and keeping up the spells, the explosive force entered and exited the void bubble without hitting them.
The explosion demolished the water-logged hallway behind them and tore up the living features andyers of dirt and stone down both ends of the next T-junction. Once things settled down, Zarian and Para ended their spells.
They were sessful, but the costs were mighty.
That maneuver had used up more aura than Zarian predicted. And the Team 5 spectral spiders hadn¡¯t avoided the rushing water before Zarian and Para dealt with it.
The spectral spiders were gone, swept away no doubt. At the very least, the perfect synchrony with High Rune Mindframe¡¯s help led to a new level up.
There was no new level from the Advanced Grimoire of the Voidling Exile yet, keeping it at Level 9. One more level would lead to Zarian having a new choice for upgrading spells.
However, he should probably gain a few new void spells before deciding on what to spend the next upgrade on.
So much to do, Zarian thought as he summoned Spider Team 6.
For some reason, these spiders came out more grizzled and ready for war. They led the way fearlessly, despite how so many of theirrades had fallen to the dungeon¡¯s tricks.
Inspired by the brave spiders of Spider Team 6, Zarian moved faster and stayed on their little spider heels. The roots and mushrooms wriggled wrathfully. Zarian was almost tempted tobine Void Layer with ck Fire and burn everything up.
He ultimately decided against that approach. He wanted to practice more creative maneuvers against these unique challenges instead of destroying everything all the time.
Of course, he was still brute forcing some of his approaches. He even smiled as he kept smashing his aura maniption against the dungeon¡¯s aura suppression.
Their continuous shes sent aura sparks flying everywhere. Little aura lightning bolts shot out from around Zarian as he followed his speedy Spider Team 6.
After taking half a dozen left turns, a new trap appeared.
This time, Spider Team 6 sensed it the moment it formed. They spun around while mid-run and aimed their abdomens at the growing phenomenon. They sprayed it with arcane webbing.
By itself, the arcane webbing couldn¡¯t do much. But the moment the webbing touched the newest magical trap that formed, the spiders had a better idea of what they were facing.
Consequently, that meant Zarian had a split-second heads up, too. Then the time for preparation was over. The dungeon shot a teleportation wave at him from the front.
Instead of letting Spider Team 6 sacrifice themselves like previous teams, Zarian waltzed ahead. Para moved her arms in sync with him.
Again, they used double casts of Void Waltz and Void Authority. They shaped a wall of dark void magic in front of them to block off the teleportation wave.
That would¡¯ve worked out fine for them, but the dungeon revealed more tricks.
Warp magic struck down from above, below, and from behind. Their void magic weakened, which raised the pressure on Zarian immensely.
He was already under suppression. And his voidling grimoire was in the beta section. Most wizards would¡¯ve buckled at this point.
With a great roar that was bestial and mad, Zarian danced fiercely. It became more of a savage and warlike dance in defiance of the wondrous powers of the dungeon. He met the teleportation wave head on regardless of the warp magic.
Para followed his example, bing even more enthusiastic as she swung and flourished her arms about. She cast her side of the void spells with more oomph. She applied some of her willful nature to push along with her host.
Together, they dismantled the teleportation wave, endured the warp magic, and kept going as the hallway blew up again.
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Mushrooms and roots scattered away as torn up pieces. Stone rubble and dirt tumbled and crashed from around them.
They didn¡¯t know where they were going. But Spider Team 6 was the first spectral spider unit to make it this far and not get removed from y.
Zarian felt that was important. He wanted to see this little team of spiders make it to the end with him.
They went down a bunch more left turns.
Zarian had no idea if they were going the correct way. He figured since they were moving fast they had to stick with a simple strategy.
Either the dungeon would lead them to somewhere important, or they would backtrack. At the very least, the spiders had marked each junction they reached to help with backtracking, if it came down to that.
Something¡¯s wrong, Zarian thought, as they made their fifteenth left turn at another junction that looked simr to thest ones. But there were no markings from the spiders.
Nothing had interrupted them. No outrageous trap with teleportation or warp magic had revealed itself. Spider Team 6 kept scuttling forward, and Zarian kept following them.
Yeah, something¡¯s definitely wrong, Zarian insisted. What do you think, Para?
His friendly, body-sharing parasite chimed in. I believe theck of obvious traps would mean we are facing a more subtle trap. It is highly unusual that nothing has struck at us, and that we¡¯ve been allowed to continue without interruption.
Para hummed inside of her corner of Zarian¡¯s mind. In fact, I have very thin threads spread around us. I believe I¡¯ve touched the same roots and mushrooms multiple times so far. Please see deeper into my consciousness to verify my reasoning.
Zarian did as requested. A portion of his mind unraveled and carefully merged with Para¡¯s consciousness.
He gained memory imprints of her on-the-move experiments. He observed how she¡¯d tracked and recorded details from their environment with tiny, almost near-invisible threads. She recalled the same organisms by touch and magic that they had passed multiple times.
¡°We¡¯re in a freaking loop,¡± Zarian said, looking at a wall that should¡¯ve had spider webbing on it.
He slid to a stop over some dirt and mushrooms. Spider Team 6 came to a stop and looked warily around Zarian.
While the spiders searched around, Zarian wondered if the situation was a magical one or a mechanical one. Had the dungeon changed its hallway designs so the crawlers could end up running in circles? Should they take right turns instead?
Zarian hustled forward and took some right turns instead of left. The spiders marked every turn. They kept going for a while. They ended up facing the same issue, going in loops.
Were the loops physical in nature?
No, that wouldn¡¯t fit the themes of the dungeon. Every dungeon had themes they wanted to follow, like design schemes of a game. Physical changes seemed too mundane for the Enriched Faerie Dungeon.
Zarian concluded that the loop trap was highly magical. However, the trap was so subtle he, Para, and the spectral spiders hadn¡¯t sensed it.
I¡¯m impressed. Nothing other than the walls Hannah had made from cial Air Stone had tricked me this much before, Zarian thought.
He felt a little bewildered.
He also felt excited.
Every new game that challenged him was another chance for him to prove his worth. Although, those games and challenges could also lead to his downfall.
He had decent measures of control and a doomsday device for whenever he needed to crash out, but the cost of doing so was too heavy for him. There was the jar with his name on it, yeah, but he was more concerned about his friends being able to survive his ridiculous power.
In a world and universe that felt fragile, it was nice knowing there were ways for him to push himself without the risk of losing it all. He was honestly happy with Empress Ruvaria for tricking him into this dungeon, although he didn¡¯t want to admit that to her.
Empress Ruvaria had a big enough ego as it was.
¡°Spider Team 6, I need you to run forward and follow the same routes we¡¯ve taken,¡± Zarian ordered.
The spiders saluted him before dashing off bravely to test themselves against the ingenious trap. Zarian nodded and turned his attention to his best assistant.
¡°Para, is there anything else you¡¯ve noticed that¡¯s been strange about this loop?¡± Zarian asked.
Para formed a mouth on his shoulder and let out a thoughtful hum. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed each time I¡¯ve tested the extensions of the Faerie Guardian, the creature itself has retreated too deeply for me to touch directly beyond its most external extremities. Thus, it made itself harder to read.¡±
¡°What else?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Well, during my investigations into the fungi, I noticed all the marks I¡¯ve left upon the mushrooms and roots have disappeared. I reasoned the marks disappeared from a rapid healing factor, returning the extremities to their formerposition to avoid our immediate notice of the loop. But ¡ there could be more to that.¡±
Zarian listened carefully. He waited for Spider Team 6 to loop around and reach them. He could check on them through thework. Nothing seemed wrong.
He could also patch into the senses of the other spiders that had remained behind. So far, the Faerie Guardian seemed more focused on Zarian¡¯s forward progress more than anything else.
Zarian waited. He looked back. He checked on Spider Team 6 through thework. They were still scuttling around, taking left turns, leaving new marks.
They hadn¡¯t looped around to him yet. After a long while of waiting, Zarian realized there must¡¯ve been a newyer to the trap.
¡°Para, you¡¯re able to notice the same fungi despite them healing over the marks, right?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yes, I¡¯m able.¡±
¡°I think I know what type of loop this is,¡± Zarian said. ¡°This might sound crazy, though.¡±
¡°Crazy or not, you will surpass these trials, my host. For you are brilliant and amazing,¡± Paraplimented.
Zarian tried not to smile. It wasn¡¯t easy. Para had struck apliment back at him when he¡¯d least expected it.
When did Para get so good at unexpectedpliments? Who had she learned that from?
¡°Alright, so this is what I¡¯m thinking. It¡¯s a time loop,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Oh, that¡¯s not crazy. That makes sense,¡± Para said. ¡°If it¡¯s a time loop, then that would mean every time we reach a certain point, the entire dungeon resets itself in time around us. That would exin why it¡¯s avoiding our awareness, since it¡¯s not using dimensional magic now.¡±
¡°It could still be dimensional magic or it could be another set of skills and traits,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Does this mean Spider Team 6 is in another stream of time for departing from us?¡± Para asked.
¡°I believe so.¡±
Zarian remembered how faeries in old myths and modern retellings had numerous powers dealing with high concepts. Dimensions. Space. Time. Spirit. And beyond.
He hadn¡¯t thought he would get the chance to face such a tricky foe this early on his Infinita Star System journey, but he appreciated it. Now he and Para could apply some more of their research in gravity against this situation.
¡°Hey bud, we¡¯re going to need your help to throw down some arcane webbing for gravity runes,¡± Zarian said, flicking his finger at the brim of his hat.
He still had one spider from Team 6 hanging out up there.
The spider jumped down andnded in front of Zarian¡¯s boots and performed a spider salute. Zarian gave orders to the rest of Spider Team 6 for them to stop and wait for a change in the situation.
Despite them being in another time stream, they were still connected. This was a very tricky but unique part of the dungeon¡¯s design.
¡°The Faerie Guardian is scary.¡± Zarian chuckled as he summoned his Advanced Grimoire of ck Magic.
Seeing it phase out of his chest, Zarian noted how the grimoire appeared bigger, thicker, and darker. The spectral chains that bound it to Zarian¡¯s soul were heavier and harder. A ghoulish ck light shone from the grimoire¡¯s cover as the spectral chains made deep rattling sounds that resonated with a demented echo.
¡°But we¡¯re scarier, aren¡¯t we, team?¡± Zarian asked, as he willed for the grimoire to flip its pages in front of him.
The ck light turned into a powerful violet and purple that seemed all-consuming and terrifying. Zarian grinned ear-to-ear as he released some controls from his High Rune Mindframe and let his Unraveled Mind dominate a little more.
Once they started, Zarian had no idea how long it took. The tracking of time became more abstract when facing an opponent that could control time.
Actual time magic was by far the most impressive thing Zarian could ever expect from any creature that was Level 90, especially in a dungeon that was supposedly epic in quality and Level 70. That had him wondering how more impressive a legendary dungeon that was higher in level could be.
Then again, the Enriched Faerie dungeoncked dungeon monsters, since it ced all its eggs in the basket of the Faerie Guardian. Maybe that was why it was both not that high in quality and levelpared to Zarian, but still uniquely powerful.
Zarian didn¡¯t muse about all that for long as he, Para, and Spider Team 6 built up aplex gravity array from two sides of the time loop streams. The further they went, the more Zarian felt his gravity lessons, despite them being iplete, were king here.
After all, gravity could affect both space and time at the most basic level.
The spatial part was more clear about how objects and energies fell toward things with more importance. The time factor was less clear, because noticing the difference in time required more extreme measures when gravity was involved, but there was still an effect, even if it was a minutely subtle one.
Zarian did what he did best. He worked on solving a fine-tuned problem by wielding the biggest hammer.
He and Para were still far off from learning the gravity spell entirely, but the lessons were so massive that they could use parts of it. The spectral spiders wrote out specific gravity runes using their arcane webbing, covering the hallway¡¯s surfaces with dozens of runes at first, then over time, they were pushing toward over a hundred runes.
The web of aplex gravity array, one that crossed two time streams, grew and grew under Zarian¡¯s watch. He chuckled like the madman he was.
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Chapter 144: B2: C44: Found You
¡°I think that should do it,¡± Zarian said, shutting the grimoire with an echoing thunk, the spectral chains rattling.
¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± Para said, this time speaking from Zarian¡¯s stomach. She had formed a wide, sharp-tooth mouth there.
Zarian blinked down at the mouth on his stomach. ¡°Huh, that¡¯s honestly one of the freakiest flesh transmutations I¡¯ve seen from you. I guess we should feed the beast.¡±
¡°I thought you would find this impressive,¡± Para said through the mouth-stomach.
Looking over himself, Zarian noticed he¡¯d lost some muscle mass. This usually happened when they¡¯d gone days without eating. He wasn¡¯t exactly sure if it was because of his own ravenous hunger or if a small portion of Para was eating him alive to maintain herself.
Unlike most people who would find that horrifying, Zarian took it all in stride. In fact, they should show this trick off to the others, especially Gilbert.
Para stitched his stomach back to normal and dropped piles of food for them both from the pocket dimension. Zarian tore apart his boxed meals, especially the meaty ones. They were hot, steamy, and decently tasty. The cooks from the top gourmet kitchen were quite excellent as a temporary measure.
Para used tentacles and wing arms covered in mouths to ravage corpse after corpse of beasts, spies, and monsters. She enjoyed the spies the most, taking her time with the human flesh and bones.
Zarian should find more high-quality humans to feed her. He sensed Para was still a little sad that she hadn¡¯t gotten to gorge on the terrorist pdins as much as she wanted.Once they finished eating, Zarian noticed he¡¯d regained his peak muscr form. He shouldn¡¯t let himself forget to eat and feed Para. But even his High Rune Mindframe couldn¡¯t stop him from being hyper focused on fun magic stuff.
¡°There maye a time when you should turn me off, Zarian,¡± Para said, speaking from the hand of a parasite limb made from the battle kilt. She had half a dozen of them encircling Zarian¡¯s waist. ¡°I¡¯m an obvious weakness for you if we¡¯re ever trapped somewhere without food.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll dly bear that weakness,¡± Zarian said.
¡°But, Zarian¨C¡±
¡°Para, we¡¯re in this together.¡± Zarian rolled his shoulders and his neck around. ¡°What¡¯s a man who can¡¯t bear the burdens he¡¯s willing to carry? Is true power to be impervious to all things? Or is it to stand at the top even with your weaknesses?¡±
Para chuckled through multiple parasite hands, all of them turned toward Zarian. The mouths in her many palms smiled.
He smiled in return as he checked with everyone on Spider Team 6. They were ready to go. He turned and examined all the arcane web formations that spelled out over a hundred runes from his gravity studies.
¡°Onest thing, you¡¯re not a weakness,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You¡¯re a part of me. And I¡¯m not weak. So you aren¡¯t weak either.¡±
¡°Hm, I see why Bianca likes to cry. To hear such words brings me wonderful joy that is also painful. You are the best host,¡± Para said with a strangled voice.
¡°I know I am, so don¡¯t you forget it.¡±
¡°I won¡¯t. Shall we proceed?¡±
¡°Hell yeah.¡±
Zarian nodded as he pushed his Basic Aura Maniption harder, harder, and harder some more. He shoved the dungeon¡¯s aura suppression away with so much force, he might¡¯ve caught the dungeon off guard.
The air cracked like miniature thunder ps. Thick strands of aura lightning shot across the space. Aura winds blew hard like hurricane gales, the glowing aura motes in the air caught in a flurry. Zarian roared as he threw back the dungeon¡¯s aura suppression like a giant of magic.
The spider on his side of the time loop triggered the nearest gravity runes, activating one half of the webbed spell array.
A bright purple sh appeared a dozen feet in front of Zarian. The purple sh expanded into a nearly blinding white-purple light. Then it suddenly copsed inward and created a vacuum that nearly pulled Zarian forward.
Para grew ws from her extra hands andtched onto the floor to keep Zarian rooted.
The copsing light contracted further and further into itself until it became the size of a molecule.
The nearest roots, mushrooms, dirt, and stone ripped away from the hallway¡¯s surfaces and swirled around the contracting molecule. The air followed the same pattern and seemed to swirl around like going down a toilet. The same happened to the aura motes in the air, especially that from the dungeon.
Finally, Zarian noticed a break in dimensional integrity. Space and time shifted out of ce. His side of the time loop trap snapped apart. Then he instantly appeared in the other time loop that held the rest of Spider Team 6.
Before the Faerie Guardian could enact a counter measure, Zarian shoved his aura maniption outward even further. He wasn¡¯t alone. He¡¯d been unraveling himself gradually and lending more control to Para to where she could use his Basic Aura Maniption, too.
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Together, they suppressed the dungeon¡¯s aura in return.
The little gravity molecule was about to wink out, having spent its energy to crush one time loop. But then the spiders triggered the other half of the gravity web spell array, which was focused on the opposite end of gravity ¨C entropy.
The molecule expanded rapidly and burst apart with a roar.
The eruption was more than Zarian had expected. He flew off his feet. Para¡¯s arms ripped apart, unable to hold her host down. Zarian tumbled as time and space tore up from around him.
The entire dungeon shuddered. The Faerie Guardian made a bestial roar that resounded from every crack, corner, junction. The dungeon rumbled like it was about to break apart from having the reality of its pocket dimension challenged.
Zarian tumbled and crashed and plowed through wall after wall as the chaotic gravity magic expanded outward and affected more than just the time loop trap. It was making him and other flying pieces of rubble denser and weightier while moving at inhuman speeds that would¡¯ve sttered a lesser person.
Para covered him in bone armor to ease the pummeling as they crashed through many obstacles. Zarian clenched his jaw hard the whole time, his body rattling as he became an object of abuse, until finally it all came to a sudden end when someone caught him in a vice of magic.
¡°You are one of the most ridiculous and foolhardy young men I¡¯ve everid eyes on,¡± Empress Ruvaria said, floating in the air beside him, arms crossed.
The bone armor peeled away from his face. Zarian gave her a bloody grin.
¡°But you haveid eyes on me, and kept them there, so that all counts for something,¡± he said, spitting aside some blood.
He was a little dizzy. His entire sense of gravity was on the fritz. But he was recovering fast.
Once he could see better, he nced at his surroundings. He was in a hidden grove inside of a colossal cove. There was a tree-like entity with white leaves and green, wrinkled fruits standing on a grassy hill that was surrounded by a shining moat of water.
Various mushrooms, some the size of children, covered the surrounding ground beyond the moat. The field of mushrooms extended well beneath him and the empress and toward the immense walls of the cove.
The air was covered in aura motes that shone in different colors and bumbled around. It smelled sweet here. There was a peaceful feeling in the atmosphere.
Zarian blinked as he noticed he was still being restrained by an invisible magical force from the Sorceress Queen. There was a shining purpleyer of gravity magic that still clung to his armored body.
When he reached over toward Ruvaria, the movement felt hard and weighty. He didn¡¯t let that stop him from booping the seemingly annoyed empress on the nose.
¡°Found you,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Young Hannah had described you as insufferable. She is right.¡± Ruvaria kept looking annoyed.
But that soon faded, reced by the hint of amusement that sparkled in her shining emerald eyes. ¡°But you continue to fascinate me, so I suppose that is part of your nature, to be insufferable and fascinating.¡±
Zarian nodded before ncing at some new notifications.
Nice gains, Zarian thought. I¡¯m fifteen levels away from Level 100 and reaching the Master Rank, if the system deems me worthy of being a Master.
There was also the question of the First Ascension Star Trial, but that was something Zarian would get toter, after aplishing some more immediate goals.
The gravity magic finally faded off his body. To his surprise, the empress gently ced him down on the soles of his boots, squishing a few shin-high mushrooms. She continued to hover in front of him, which made him tilt his wizard hat back and look past the brim and up into her eyes.
¡°I lost Spider Team 6,¡± Zarian said. ¡°And the other teams. We have to honor their sacrifice somehow.¡±
The empress snorted softly at him. ¡°There is no need. I saved them all.¡±
She waved her hand, and all of his spectral spiders appeared, including the brave Spider Team 6.
Strangely overjoyed, Zarian turned away and joined the spiders for a quick celebratory dance. Para joined in, waving about some newly formed parasite arms made from the battle kilt. Once they finished their celebration, Zarian left the dance party and returned to the empress.
¡°I know what bingo is, by the way,¡± the empress said. ¡°I¡¯ve learned a lot from my interactions with Outsiders.¡±
¡°Do you know how many people want to reach over and rub your ears like a cat?¡± Zarian asked.
The empress looked at him tly. She turned away, feet still hovering over the mushroom heavy ground.
She was wearing a different outfit. One that was leafy and a little more revealing, almost like lingerie, but for someone who wanted to look like a wild forest nymph.
She looked at the strange tree in the center.
Zarian used Identify.
¡°Hm, no boss fight, huh?¡± Zarian said.
¡°Depending on how you set a dungeon, having a boss doesn¡¯t always lead to a boss fight at the end of a crawl,¡± Ruvaria exined. ¡°This one does his best work by trying to teleport dungeon crawlers into an inescapable prison and drain them of all of their energies. He¡¯s always been good at that, which I found vexing when I was much younger and more absolute in my beliefs.¡±
Zarian thought of the lore surrounding Corma¡¯s Chosen One and connected a few dots. ¡°He was a former enemy of yours. Maybe a really solid one. As part of your revenge, you turned him into a dungeon boss with a dungeon, didn¡¯t you?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Was it a fair punishment? Or was it for your pleasure?¡±
¡°I suppose it was a mix of both. To punish absolutely was to be absolute good, and to be absolute good was the highest pleasure. But all Edulis wanted to do was protect those I would hunt for not being good enough, and for his heroism, I made him into a monster and owned him.¡±
¡°That¡¯s fucked up, Ruvaria.¡±
Para spoke from one of her extra parasite hands. ¡°I understand the pleasure of tormenting an enemy while consuming him, but even I find your actions troubling, empress.¡±
¡°Now, now, Para, let¡¯s be fair,¡± Zarian said. ¡°We can do some cruel stuff, too. Let¡¯s not go too far into being the ones who are the kettle calling the pot ck.¡±
And there might be a day I want to turn someone into a dungeon boss, Zarian thought, with Para hearing it in his head. But we¡¯ll make sure it¡¯s someone who is truly, truly despicable.
¡°Hm, yes, you are wise as always, my host,¡± Para replied aloud.
Chapter 145: B2: C45: Aura Master
Ruvaria let out a long sigh. ¡°I think out of everyone in this universe, you may judge me as harshly as you want. This dungeon, this boss, is one of my greatest regrets. I needed you to see it. So you can understand that Para¡¯s right, I am quite terrible.¡±
¡°Mm, sure, maybe.¡± Zarian could throw a few pebbles. But he didn¡¯t cast anyrge stones from his ss castle.
The empress lowered down from the air. Shended on her bare soles, her toes wiggling into the loamy and spongy floor. She inhaled deeply and looked up into Zarian¡¯s void-like eyes with her shining emerald eyes.
¡°I¡¯m serious. Para wasn¡¯t wrong when she said I was or am quite evil, regardless of alignments,¡± the empress insisted. ¡°You and your friends are well aware of how the alignments work. They are fractions first instead of truly moral forces, even if they intend to control how you act as you grow your alignment.¡±
The empress shook her head. ¡°Nheless, before I awakened to the truth of things, I was very convinced that I was right, and in being convinced, I did many, many terrible things. I still benefit from those terrible things I¡¯ve done.¡±
¡°Do you still have ves over at your empire?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°No, I¡¯ve abolished that quite some time ago, unless you count what I¡¯ve done with this dungeon.¡±
¡°You should probably fix thatst bit. But other than that, I imagine you¡¯ve been working on redemption for a while.¡±
¡°And I¡¯ve failed at being redeemable plenty of times.¡±¡°Are you asking for me to forgive you?¡±
¡°No, I¡¯m not. I won¡¯t ask for it. I still contain too much selfishness inside of me to truly atone for what I¡¯ve done. The fruits of the horrors I¡¯vemitted benefit my family and my people, after all, and I don¡¯t have it in me to tear that all down.¡±
The empress lowered her head in shame.
Zarian reached over and ced his palm on the top of her head.
¡°I forgive you.¡±
The empress¡¯s ears lifted slightly. Her eyes widened in surprise.
¡°There, I did it. I can¡¯t, however, make you forgive yourself. You¡¯ll have to work on that,¡± Zarian exined. ¡°As someone who¡¯s an existential threat to everyone and everything in this universe and beyond, I¡¯ll admit forgiving yourself is tricky. I rmend taking small and positive steps that are actionable and grounded mainly in reality. The little things build up, I believe. I read that in a few books from Reiki¡¯s library, too, so it isn¡¯t all hot air from me.¡±
Zarian rubbed his hand around the empress¡¯s head, frizzing up her bountiful strands of golden-silver hair. He was almost tempted to rub the elf ears, but held back. He would save that forter.
The empress shuddered. Then she burst out into pleasant chuckles that were music to the ears. She epted his head pats for a while before she reached up, grabbed his gauntlet-d hand, and turned it over to look down at the uncovered palm.
She smiled as she tapped her dainty fingers around his palm before tracing over the lines.
¡°Thank you, Lord Zarian,¡± she said. ¡°This moment of ours has been strange and illuminating. It is a moment I will cherish forever.¡±
¡°Oh yeah? I¡¯m your first redemption partner, aren¡¯t I? Score.¡±
The empress giggled some more. ¡°It is much easier to take this from you, since you are a force of nature who is greater than this mere universe. Perhaps that is also foolish of me, but as much as I¡¯ve grown to rebel against my alignment, I still can¡¯t help but look up to certain authorities. And there are none who are greater than you in Infinita.¡±
¡°Maybe,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Maybe the ones who will be are still growing.¡±
Empress Ruvaria smiled brilliantly at him, her eyes twinkling. She kept tracing her fingers over the lines in his palm, as if she was reading them. Then she slowly let go of his hand, and it fell back to his side.
Ruvaria hugged herself and walked closer to him until there was barely any separation. She looked up at him with a tilt of her head. ¡°Putting aside false pretenses, I must say that I was nervous. I want to be your teacher. I worried you would reject me in the end because of what I¡¯ve done. But I sense you will ept me, and I¡¯m delighted by that.¡± ?
¡°Para has to agree to,¡± Zarian said.
The empress shivered. She looked down from his eyes and at the living battle kilt.
Ragged threads, multi-jointed arms, and tentacles wavered about around them. Then, all at once, the points of Para¡¯s extensions turned to the empress. Each of them formed mouths to speak with.
¡°Do not let your old nature win over you,¡± Para said. ¡°There are always times when nature will want to win. But we must be above nature if we want to have what matters most.¡±
¡°You are quite wise for a creature born of pure evil,¡± the empress said.
All of Para¡¯s mouths smiled toothily. ¡°It is because I am evil that I can find joy in wisdom. And it¡¯s in my wisdom that I find it eptable for you to teach my host.¡±
The empress nodded in appreciation.
She took a small step back to look at his face from a different angle. Her hand reached out and gripped the biceps of one arm. ¡°In return for your eptance, I will do my best to make up for the things I¡¯ve done a little at a time with grounded and actionable steps. I will also teach you as much as you want. The lessons I can provide may also extend to your friends and some of your most talented followers, depending on what I have that¡¯s applicable to them.¡±
Zarian was d to see that Ruvaria was making a moral promise along with a business promise. That was a hell of a step forward, which was a lot more than what most people would attempt.
¡°What do you want in return?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°I know you¡¯re thrilled to be my teacher and all, but there¡¯s got to be more to it.¡±
¡°A simple answer to a question.¡±
¡°Hit me.¡±
¡°Will you take the Throne of the Adventurer King?¡±
¡°No.¡±
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¡°I was afraid you would say that.¡± Ruvaria sighed. ¡°Then answer this for me. Why won¡¯t you?¡±
Zarian shrugged. ¡°I think it should go to someone else. I have my way of living and doing things. I don¡¯t really need a throne for it. You can even say I¡¯m bigger than a throne, so it¡¯s unnecessary for me.¡±
¡°Yes, you are bigger than the throne, which makes you perfect for it. It is said the Adventurer King could make great sweeping changes to the universe. The Adventurer King is greater than most of the gods ¡ except for one. The Dragon. If it¡¯s you, then the Infinita Star System could truly change once you take the throne and y The Dragon.¡±
Zarian chuckled. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be me, though. It can be someone else. In fact, I think someone among my friends will be best suited for it. Maybe one of them will be the Adventurer King or Adventurer Queen.¡±
Empress Ruvaria looked away for a second. Then she slowly nodded, her finger tapping on his arm. ¡°Perhaps you are right. They, too, show promise. Hannah¡¯s intelligent and ambitious. Gilbert is true to himself and gant. Bianca is very talented and passionate. And Naomi is unreasonably determined to the point of insanity.¡±
¡°There¡¯s one more, actually.¡±
¡°The one you call Foodie, the daughter of Grabber?¡±
Zarian blinked in surprise. ¡°That¡¯s Foodie¡¯s dad?¡±
¡°Yes, I would know. He came back down to Corma as a secret regressor and paid me a visit first. Then he spent some years on break here,¡± the empress exined.
¡°Really?¡±
She nodded. ¡°He met Wicky, the current Grimrock Warlock, and things went quite well for the Green Hop Explorers for a short time. They had many children, but chief among them is their strongest daughter, Foodie.¡±
The empress let him go tob through a few strands of her long hair. ¡°I recall Grabber speaking proudly about her before he went back to the Greater World. He¡¯s dead now, I believe. It¡¯s a shame. He was quite excited about the Champion Rank, and bing a Champion killed him, the first goblin in quite some time to rise so high.¡±
¡°I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t involve yourself any further because it¡¯s beneath you?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°There are certain cases where I can interject myself. And there are cases where the Star System will treat me as an entire event, with limitations, if I overstep my bounds. I¡¯m too powerful for this world and the others of the Lesser Worlds, and so I have special privileges and restrictions.¡±
¡°Well, Foodie deserves some special attention after all she¡¯s been through,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s she, a little goblin, who¡¯ll sit on the Throne of the Adventurer King.¡±
¡°Quite a bold statement.¡±
¡°Aren¡¯t I nothing but bold? Besides, I¡¯ll find it amusing.¡±
The empress threw her head back andughed. Her voice was rich, singsong, and it made the entire cove brighten.
The mushrooms glowed. The aura motes glowed even more. Then everything dimmed down once Ruvaria regained herposure.
She wiped away a twinkling tear that was probably worth so much gold one could construct a kingdom from it. The kingdom-worth tear disappeared amid the mushrooms.
Zarian regretted not collecting the tear for Bianca. Then he banished that cursed thought.
¡°Fine then, my request for you is to help me develop the one who will take the throne and lead this universe into a new direction,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°I think the Star System would appreciate this. Its reset failed. It hasn¡¯t changed away from being the Alignment System as it should. It needs someone on the throne to help it truly evolve. Someone worthy. Someone we can build together.¡±
A notification appeared in gold above their heads.
Then the notification disappeared.
¡°Huh, that¡¯s honestly a good request,¡± Zarian said. ¡°It¡¯ll be a good way to make up for the Darkrun Apocalypse. I like it.¡±
Empress Ruvaria let out a song-like chirp and a few mystical elven words that came and went before Zarian had a chance to Identify. The effect of hearing those magical, unintelligible words was quite mesmerizing, leaving an impression of beauty and craft of the highest order.
He watched as Empress Ruvaria twirled about, showing a more happy and ssical elven version of herself that caught Zarian off guard. Before he knew it, she was back in front of him, hands on his chest, her face lit with an inner shine that held his attention with a vice grip.
He barely noticed the spectral spiders forming multiple circles and dancing around them.
¡°Now that we are of ord, dear student, you must heed my next words,¡± she said.
¡°I¡¯m all yours, dear teacher,¡± he replied.
¡°Advance your Basic Aura Maniption, please. You¡¯ve pushed it as far as it can go. And I¡¯m interested in what will happen when it¡¯s upgraded, for I think you will see an unexpected result.¡±
¡°What makes you think that?¡±
¡°The way you handled the Enriched Faerie Dungeon makes me believe it is so. Others who have been in your position, many of my progeny in fact, had failed simr tests. Where they have failed, you¡¯ve seeded brilliantly. Now it¡¯s time to advance.¡±
Zarian chuckled. This whole time, he could¡¯ve made his crawl through the Enriched Faerie Dungeon easier if he had upgraded his aura maniption.
He¡¯d held back because he liked the mix of creative and brute-force approaches he had to find while under pressure. He¡¯d even had Para lean more into her mystical side to use Basic Aura Maniption along with him. They¡¯d learned a lot by sticking with the basics and pushing it as far as it could go.
But Ruvaria was right. He¡¯d hit the end of the road with Basic Aura Maniption. It was time for an upgrade. Zarian scrolled back up through his notifications and found the option.
Zarian chose Basic Aura Maniption.
Immediately, he felt a profound change that was much, much greater than he¡¯d expected, just like Ruvaria had said.
It was a change that seemed to fill his entire being with a profound and deep evolution. Pure aura shone from under his flesh and from the body of Para.
Parasite tentacles and limbs wavered merrily from the battle kilt. Para made pleasant cooing and happy sounds, enjoying the evolution in a more novel way.
Zarian trembled as his body felt like less of his own during the evolution. He stumbled around before copsing to his knees in front of Ruvaria¡¯s feet. He could see how she clenched the loamy fungi floor with a lot of excitement.
The empress bent down. She cupped his cheeks with her petite hands and lifted his face upward. Her emerald eyes looked deeply into his eyes.
Then her eyes changed and sparkled with shining motes of pure aura blended with the usual emerald color. It was like he was looking into a starry green cosmos that existed inside of her eyes.
Was his eyes going to look like hers?
¡°Yes, there it is,¡± she said with warmth and adoration. ¡°So beautiful. So wonderful. Just like my father. And just like me. Aura Mastery.¡±
Zarian nodded dizzily before checking his notifications.
Whoa, Zarian thought sluggishly. It skipped epic quality and went from rare to legendary! How the hell?
Zarian kept reading.
¡°Fuck,¡± Zarian said woozily. ¡°This is almost too much for me. Is this what it feels like to master aura?¡±
¡°Yes, my dear student. You are what a few of us call an Aura Master.¡±
¡°Did you say Jedi Master?¡±
¡°No, I said Aura Master. Check your origins.¡±
Zarian did. He had a lot going on in his origins these days. There were recent additions, too. The Star System didn¡¯t make a big deal whenever the origins changed, so the additions would go unnoticed if Zarian hadn¡¯t checked for a while.
Origins: Zarian Darkrun, 22 yr-old Human, Born Late Winter, Dreaded Outsider, Dungeon Master, Freedom Leader, Dark Lord, Aura Master
¡°Huh, well would you look at that? I guess I can work with being an Aura Master.¡±
Empress Ruvaria chuckled merrily as she traced her thumbs around his eyes. ¡°I find it thrilling that someone who is far above our universe can still appreciate the grounded journey of us mere mortals who deem ourselves masters. It must be an insult to you whenpared to your origins.¡±
Zarian chuckled as he slowly regained hisposure, feeling more and more amazing. ¡°I like touching grass. Good for the soul. So don¡¯t worry about the ones I originate from. I bet they don¡¯t touch as much grass as I do and can¡¯t be grass-touching masters.¡±
Chapter 146: B2: C46: Time Chamber 1
Zarian was on hands and knees in front of the shining moat, his shoulders squeezed between tworge mushroom caps. He was trying to see how much he¡¯d changed with his own eyes first, but the water glowed with a bright pearly light.
It was an unsuitable recement for a mirror.
His dear teacher, Empress Ruvaria, daintily skipped from mushroom cap to mushroom cap. She took a seat on a cap beside him, stretched out one leg, and tapped the shining water¡¯s surface with her foot.
She turned a patch of it solid and mirror-like.
Sweeping her bountiful hair behind her, she leaned down next to him while bnced on her seat, like some nymph of the mushroom wilds. She smiled warmly as they both looked at their reflections.
Zarian¡¯s attention was on himself first, his amazement growing. He had little stars in his ck, void-like eyes. The same shone from under his dark skin.
That was a stunning sight for him, but Para looked even more otherworldly as she shifted back from being a battle kilt to her true form as the Parasite Cloak +2, blooming like a flower from his back.
She already had a unique light show effect because she could partially scale with Mysticism. Prior to Aura Mastery, she looked like the red edge of the void as stars dimmed and fell into her hungering maw.
Now she shone even more like she had engorged herself on countless nebe clouds of starry red, orange, and dark yellow colors, which were all trapped within her parasitic limbs and ragged cloak strands. The many stars and cosmic clouds were her prisoners, her toys, her delicious meals. None could escape her all-devouring form as Zarian¡¯s greatest fashion apparel.When Zarian widened his observations, he noticed how Ruvaria had little starlights glowing from under her pale skin, too. Together, the teacher and student looked even more mystical and ethereal than usual.
Together, they were Aura Masters.
¡°I can control these, right?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea that I¡¯m all sparkly all the time.¡±
¡°Yes, you can dim away the superficial effects,¡± she said, smirking. ¡°Still, I hope you like it, Zarian, Para?¡±
¡°Yes, ma¡¯am, I like it very much. Very, very much,¡± Zarian said.
Para spoke through the palm of a new hand. ¡°I can see further. I can see better. I can do more than before. I can really control the aura like its true extension of me.¡±
Para extended another arm made from the cloak and released a pulse of aura.
The aura flowed out bright and visible to Zarian, more visible than ever before. Prior to now, he seemed to have observed aura using old pixel screen technology. Now he was working with thetest supreme quality stuff. It was high definition, ultra 4K, the best.
It was easy for him to see how Para¡¯s aura extension was partially pure, partially dark, and partially something else he didn¡¯t recognize. So, he paid closer attention.
Para¡¯s aura nudged around the aura motes in the air with ease. Some of the aura motes winked away after some time spent under Para¡¯s maniption.
Zarian felt a tiny but very noticeable uptick in his aura recovery. He noticed more aura entering his system as Para swirled around the helpless aura motes and ate them with her own aura.
Ruvaria was nowying belly down on a mushroom cap, her legs kicking idly behind her. She was propping up her face with her hands, smiling like a young and bright woman as she watched him and Para.
¡°You¡¯re looking happy. I almost miss how you would act in only a few settings, cold, haughty, and annoyed,¡± Zarian pointed out, as he moved some of his own aura about while still watching Para¡¯s yful but ravenous aura moves.
¡°Yes, I look happy because I am happy,¡± Ruvaria replied. ¡°It has been a long time since I¡¯ve felt such bliss. The way you are interacting with the world with Aura Mastery is like watching you walk for the first time. I also find this humorous because you are an elite being from beyond the Star System.¡±
¡°Well, as long as you treat me like your favorite student who is kinda masochist and lover of all training montages, I think I can live with how you view me,¡± Zarian said, standing up.
Ruvaria giggled, sounding like elven bell chimes, all musical and magical. The more she acted like this, the more she caught Zarian off guard.
With a big smile on his face, he wandered about the fields of mushrooms. He and Para conducted light experiments.
There was a lot for him to go over. He wasn¡¯t even sure what he was doing. Aura Mastery was a game changer. Everything either felt different, louder, or moreplex than before.
Para was fixed on outside experiments. She swept her aura over mushrooms and feasted on the aura in the fungi, which raised Zarian¡¯s aura recovery.
Zarian turned his attention inward.
He nearly blinded himself. The system runes thatbined Zarian¡¯s spirit with the integrated profile were so bright they were painful for his heightened aura perception. He heard Empress Ruvaria giggling with her musical, elven voice as he iled around and struggled to dial down his aura perception.
Then everything became much easier for him to examine. It was here that his Unraveled Mind and High Rune Mindframe worked brilliantly, because some of the deepplexities involved with runes specific to his profile became more understandable, less fuzzy.
Then he looked past them and deep into his soul and saw a dense and horrifying bead of fathomless darkness waiting to be unleashed. As he looked into the bead of the abyss, the abyss looked back.
Zarian felt truly acquainted with the entity that wanted to take over and consumed everything. He red through his aura and didn¡¯t back down to his Overwhelming Darkness. He made another promise to himself to control it. He felt confident about it now that he had a grand power like Aura Mastery.
After a while, he turned his attention to other interesting things inside of him. Such as his traits! He could see the profile runes more clearly for those. He saw how his traits were deeply grafted onto his soul. Or maybe it was the other way around?
¡°Why are traits and skills so different?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°It¡¯s like the skills are more surface level attachments or engravings. While traits seemed more like extensions of my soul.¡±
Zarian looked over as some mushrooms lost their mystical glow, bing dim andckluster. Para was feasting on aura nonstop, letting her parasite nature go on a rampage. It seemed like she would keep consuming and consuming until all the mushrooms lost their aura. Then a great wave of new aura swept through, and Zarian¡¯s vision turned searing white from how bright it all was.
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Dimming down his aura perception further, he looked with normal vision and saw that the mushrooms were looking brighter and more magical again. He had a hunch that the wave of intense aura came from his teacher, who was stillying on her belly and kicking her legs idly behind her.
She had a knowing smirk on her face.
Paraughed and waved about her extra limbs, her aura chasing after the remnants of their teacher¡¯s aura before it fadedpletely. Zarian waited for an answer from Ruvaria about traits and skills being different.
Ruvaria humored him. ¡°Traitse from within, which the system enhances. Skills are more like tools delivered from the system based on what you should be able to handle or what¡¯s already inside of you.¡±
Ruvaria rolled over onto her back, her hair spilling over the mushroom¡¯s edge like a golden-silver waterfall. She idly reached up and waved her hands around, attracting a few colorful aura motes that danced around her fingers as she exined further.
¡°While skills seem more like attachments, they are a more controble medium for the Star System to evaluate as you grow with experience. Traits, however, aren¡¯t as simple for the Star System to evaluate other than to describe them with qualities. Traits have different factors that are more inherent to us.¡±
¡°Well, if that¡¯s the case, why is Overwhelming Darkness a skill instead of a trait?¡± Zarian asked, confused.
¡°If it was a trait, it would¡¯ve most likely consumed the entirety of your soul. I think there is a more intelligent architect who specifically had your darkness skill made that way to help you,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°Thus, its range of power is narrowed specifically to save you and all of us. That¡¯s my theory. It¡¯s quite fascinating to observe with my peripherals. I cannot look at it head on without flinching. It is horrifying.¡±
Zarian was a little surprised to hear that from Ruvaria. It seemed like the Sorceress Queen could do anything, so she should have nothing to fear. She could technically seal him away for a long time.
But even she was unnerved by Overwhelming Darkness and couldn¡¯t face it directly.
¡°I¡¯m going to control it,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I have to.¡±
¡°Yes, you have to,¡± she agreed. ¡°For now, continue your self-discovery of Aura Mastery.¡±
Zarian did as he was told, following Para¡¯s example of pure aura maneuvers and exploration.
He noticed how certain skills were still restrictive, designed to follow certain parameters, but he could pump more aura into them or use them more finely with a masterful approach. When he experimented with his traits, each one felt more flexible and uniquely influential for his Aura Mastery.
He kept flipping between skills and traits to y with until hended on Spectral Spider Network +2 and fed more aura into his spiders.
Each of their pale blue and ghostly bodies lit up with mini twinkling stars. Each one admitted their own spheres of aura without him having to do much, making them all tiny Aura Masters.
Their aura seemed sticky and stealthy, which represented them well. They blended with their environment even more than already. When they shot out some arcane webbing, they could manipte it with a more masterful approach, making it all seem artful and mystical.
Zarian looked down at the palm of his hand. He focused and gathered some aura into a ball. He noted how most of it was dark except for some little pinpricks of light, which were traces of pure aura.
The dark ball felt weightier without costing him too much effort to create. Then he condensed the dark ball and gathered more from the nearby shadows.
He kept condensing and condensing. Eventually, he had enough for him to aim and shoot a beam of darkness made from Aura Mastery and Dark Affinity.
The two traitsbined weren¡¯t muchpared to his original straight darkness. They had a sliver of a fraction of powerpared to Overwhelming Darkness. But Aura Mastery and Dark Affinity certainly had some push to them, and it wasn¡¯t hard or costly for him.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t focus too much on attacking with that,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°For the meanwhile, focus on enhancing what you¡¯re already doing. Make more out of your current abilities.¡±
¡°Then I guess I should get going,¡± Zarian said. ¡°We¡¯ve been in the dungeon for a while. I need to address everyone and head out.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t have to go yet. We still have plenty of time.¡± Ruvaria giggled again, her voice a musical pleasure.
Zarian thought about it for a few seconds. Then instead of answering he turned his aura perception outward. He noticed the heavy flow of aura and the dungeon runes that made the Enriched Faerie Dungeon possible.
His perception swept over the Faerie Guardian, which remained openly visible to him. He noticed some unique mystical traits that were fused with the entire dungeon.
He couldn¡¯t quite understand what was happening until he thought back to his gravity studies. Hepared his studies to what the Faerie Guardian and its dungeon were doing.
¡°The dungeon is speeding up time,¡± Zarian said. ¡°We¡¯re in a hyperbolic time chamber.¡±
Zarian¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened. ¡°Oh, Gilbert¡¯s God, we¡¯re really in a time chamber. This is like a big bucket list item, and I¡¯m living it.¡±
That was stunning for him to think about.
Everything that was happening was stunning.
Gobsmacked, Zarian stumbled over to his teacher. He fell to his knees in front of her mushroom seat and bowed his head to her. Para followed his example and lowered the cloak and parasite limbs to the ground humbly.
For most of Zarian¡¯s time in the Infinita Star System, he yed the role of the big man in charge. For this asion, he surrendered himself to his teacher fully, releasing all false pretenses of control. There was no need for him to stroke his own ego.
He was living his greatest dreams, after all.
¡°You truly are a dear student,¡± Ruvaria said, sounding honored by the respect he paid her. ¡°Nowe, let us enjoy the splendors of learning.¡±
Ruvaria released a powerful pulse of aura. Zarian and Para raised up sharply as a shiver passed through him and her both. Zarian watched the elfunch into the air. When he looked deeper into her being, Zarian noticed the system runes were so bright it was too blinding for him to examine.
When he expanded his observations, he caught sight of powerful aura currents flowing about that responded to Ruvaria. Everyone had aura inside and outside of them, but Zarian hadn¡¯t grasped how much aura Ruvaria could truly control outside of herself naturally.
From what he could tell, she had a lot going on for her. She was extremely powerful. Too powerful.
¡°Ruvaria, tell me the truth,¡± Zarian said. ¡°How strong are you?¡±
¡°Theoretically, I can defeat a low Paragon,¡± she answered.
¡°That¡¯s crazy,¡± he said. ¡°Paragon Rank starts at Level 300. You¡¯re Level 184.¡±
¡°I have advantages that others don¡¯t. Time and patience in a Lesser World. I have outlived many of the gods while experimenting and grinding consistently for ten thousand years. I am older than over half of the major gods, in fact.¡±
¡°When Lovewar addresses you, does she call you big sister?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Yes, she does.¡±
¡°Wow. Seriously?¡±
¡°I am very serious. If you wish to hear something practical, I¡¯ll say this. I once turned away two Champions in the mid 200s who hadn¡¯t nerfed themselves properly about two thousand years ago. And this was when I was weaker. Now and then you have regressors who slip past the rules of the Star System and try to have their fun without restraint in a Lesser World, especially one as famous as Corma. I¡¯ve done this frequently for this world and for other worlds across the universe.¡±
Zarian nodded slowly, taking it all in. Every time he learned more lore from Ruvaria¡¯s perspective, his mind was blown.
He remembered Arnold of Ambrose saying that nobody had defeated regressors in over three eras. Clearly, Arnold didn¡¯t know everything despite how wise, dignified, and truly good he was.
There was always more to learn. There were more secret lore and hidden aspects out there.
Even though Zarian was technically bigger than the Infinita Star System, being here was a feast for those with true explorative minds and adventurous hearts.
Despite its ws, Infinita was a very interesting ce for him.
¡°Why is Corma so famous?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°There¡¯s me. There is also Carrowmore and their forsaken tournament.¡±
¡°Ah, yes. Is that the reason you haven¡¯t wiped it off the map?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that for now, okay?¡±
¡°That¡¯s fine. There are plenty more amazing things. Like me. And you.¡± Zarian smiled.
Yeah, his dear teacher was stupidly overpowered, which made him a little sad that she had no ambitions to ascend beyond a Lesser World. But her so-called cowardice had led to their meeting, which was a major gain for him.
Chapter 147: B2: C47: Time Chamber 2
¡°What¡¯s next?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°You will learn to fly using Aura Mastery,¡± she said. ¡°Then we will go over how to apply Aura Masterypetently to all of your traits for unique results. I will leave you to self-discover the limits of your skills under Aura Mastery, though you will most likely find you have be much better at what you do already.¡±
As Ruvaria exined, she flipped around in the air casually like she was a zero-g astronaut.
¡°Last, I will help you improve your sealing technique. Hannah would be done with the new sealing items I tasked her with making in secret. Those gauntlets of yours are too crude and rudimentary.¡±
¡°But they¡¯re legendary,¡± Zarian said.
¡°There are certain grades when dealing with qualities, especially when you go into the higher worlds. Those things on your arms are the lowest grade of legendary. We can do better than that, can¡¯t we?¡±
Zarian nodded. It sounded like they had a lot to go over. But they were under a hyperbolic time chamber scenario, where the dungeon sped up time insidepared to time outside, so they could make it all work.
Freaking time chamber, yo! I¡¯m in a freaking time chamber! Zarian thought thrillingly to himself, trying to maintain his cool on the outside.
It was hard not to be excited. He could get a lot done for his personal growth. In fact, he added one more to the list, just to see if they could squeeze in a little more.¡°Can you help me refine my cultivation for controlling Overwhelming Darkness?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°So far, I believe my gravity spell will help a lot in the future. I also believe that Para is a great example of restraint against one¡¯s inherent nature, so I¡¯ve been studying her for inspiration. Now that I have Aura Mastery, and you n to help refine my sealing style, I think I¡¯ll be able to cultivate on the move after some guidance.¡±
¡°Yes,¡± she said simply.
¡°Oh, sweet.¡± Zarian blinked up at her. ¡°You¡¯re really different when you¡¯re nice.¡±
Ruvaria zipped down from the air and circled around him. Then she stopped to a hover with her feet above the spongy ground, her sparkling emerald eyes looking into his starry cosmic eyes.
¡°Just like you have honored me with a show of fealty, it is a pleasure to be of service to you and help you with your growth. To serve you in return as your teacher in the arts of aura and magic is the highest degree of pleasure. Thus, you get a side of me I haven¡¯t shown to others in a long time,¡± Ruvaria exined. ¡°Now, let us get started. And do not worry about food. I will be happy to keep you and Para fed, dear student.¡±
***
Inside the hyperbolic time dungeon, time was harder to track. Anywhere from days to full-on weeks could¡¯ve passed, and Zarian wouldn¡¯t know while following Ruvaria¡¯s lessons.
He didn¡¯t care about time as long as they were on schedule. And he was having a lot of fun learning to be a mystical Aura Master.
First, Ruvaria trained Zarian on how to fly with aura.
It was easier for him under dark conditions because he could infuse his Dark Affinity with Aura Mastery. Then he could jettison around just like he would when he once had straight darkness. Under bright conditions, he had to rely more on shooting pure aura as a force for propulsion. ?
Having Para helped a lot when she could transform into various forms. She wasn¡¯t as great at emitting aura under focused conditions for flightpared to Zarian, but her assistance was like adding on smaller thrusters that made flight even smoother and faster.
Their practice sessions led to Zarian crashing into fields of spongy mushrooms multiple times. But eventually, Zarian learned to zip around the air under bright or dark conditions, with or without Para, and enter a hover smoothly.
He felt special when he stabilized himself in the air with Aura Mastery alone, even if it wasn¡¯t the most efficient way to do it. Nheless, the way Ruvaria smiled as she hovered in the air in front of him made him feel warm and aplished.
Next, Ruvaria sat him down into a meditative pose. They went over his traits one by one. He exined them in detail. She told him how to experiment with them for more expansive effects.
He lucked out by having Aura Channeler, since that helped make his experiments very efficient.
Testing out how Aura Mastery changed when infused with different traits was interesting for Zarian.
For example, when he specifically applied Frenzy Zone and Aura Mastery together, it felt like his aura was bing more ferocious and frenzied. That made it harder to control, which sounded bad.
But he still gained an incredible boost in vitality and toughness anyway, which he could feel a little. He didn¡¯t have to make his body go frenzied. He could trigger the buff by making his aura frenzied, or by making Para¡¯s aura frenzied.
There were other examples of unique changes for traits merged with Aura Mastery, some scarier than others. For example, Lore Eater, when fused with Aura Mastery, could reach out so much farther than normal. It could most likely incapacitate others who didn¡¯t have enough Willpower to defend their minds and their memories.
In fact, now that Para had more aura control, and was better at borrowing Zarian¡¯s traits for herself, Lore Eater was even scarier when used by her. Zarian theorized Para could consume minds in their entirety, especially if she is in contact with a victim. Then she would leave nothing for them to recover with.
And this all was just the tip of the iceberg for them.
Ruvaria kept encouraging these thought experiments and explorations. No matter how evil the results could be, she smiled as she watched her student discover more nuanced and powerful techniques he could deploy with Aura Mastery and his traits.
¡°I can beat people without my skills,¡± Zarian said in wonder.
¡°You should always try to use your skills for experience,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°And try to ce self-imposed challenges on yourself to increase experience. The more, the better. But yes, dear student, you can look at the foolish weaklings who attempt to assault you and kill them on the spot.¡±
Ruvariaughed with a hint of maliciousness, as if she wasn¡¯t good +4. Then again, outside of certain system mechanics, the two of them were beyond the alignments. Zarianughed with her, and so did Para.
It was unfortunate that they didn¡¯t have the time to theorize how everything would change based on variousbinations. Ruvaria had to keep them on schedule since the time chamber wasn¡¯t going to go any fasterpared to the outside.
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At the very least, Zarian thoroughly understood that Aura Mastery was a great base forbination abilities. There was so much flexibility and depth, Zarian imagined most fights would be more experimental for him to see what new things he could discover.
Granted, he would treat the bigger boss fights differently if they were worthwhile.
I would¡¯vested way longer and struck way harder if I had Aura Mastery while fighting the Arch Cherub, Zarian realized. But I don¡¯t think I was ready to get Aura Mastery before this point, so things worked out better this way.
He was fortunate that he¡¯d chosen an upgrade that earned him Unraveled Mind first and remained patient with the next upgrade. He would¡¯ve missed out on Aura Mastery otherwise.
They hadn¡¯t gone into depth with his skills, but Zarian could tell everything was more effective. His Summon Wizard Hat +2 yed arger role with Aura Mastery involved. The beta debuff on his grimoires might as well not exist, because Zarian could truly get past that now.
Next up, Ruvaria removed his gauntlets herself. She had him merge his aura with her aura while using some of his Dark Affinity. She changed a portion of her aura into a dark aura simr to his.
Then she took a seat across from him, her little hands on his, while going over his Bearer of the Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style.
She corrected him on multiple parts of his process, especially the hand signs. She was very tough about that, which was excellent for him. Months prior, he had nobody truly qualified to help him when he¡¯d formed this technique and gained a legendary trait for it.
Ruvaria was very attentive during this process, especially since the gauntlets were off. It felt like Overwhelming Darkness was waiting for its chance to break free, keeping even the Sorceress Queen wary.
Despite the pressure, Ruvaria ensured Zarian¡¯s sealing style saw major improvements.
As a temporary measure, Ruvaria taught him to use his Dark Affinity and Aura Mastery as basic locks for his sealing style. They bound his hands and arms in whorls, symbols, and geometric shapes painted ck on his dark skin, almost like having two full sleeves ofplicated tribal tattoos.
¡°You can cultivate with just this,¡± Ruvaria exined. ¡°Each time you cultivate, reform these seal marks as I taught you, even with the new sealing items Hannah will make you. Items can fail, but your technique must withhold.¡±
¡°Yes, dear teacher.¡± Zarian nodded. ¡°I gotta admit I¡¯m a little nervous.¡±
¡°I am, too. If I fail you, I fail the universe. I¡¯ve seen my fair share of extreme circumstances, but this is by far the biggest. I didn¡¯t think I was capable of this anymore.¡±
¡°Capable of what?¡±
¡°Bravery.¡±
Zarian chuckled. ¡°I think you were always capable. Not because of the absolute teaching. But because you love magic so much you want to keep pushing it, even while on a Lesser World.¡±
Ruvaria lowered her head. Her ears tilted down slightly. A soft blush colored her cheeks. ¡°Yes, well, thank you, my dear student. Now, let us proceed with your cultivation. I hope you find the results of my aid illuminating.¡±
Zarian smiled as he looked through the eyes of a nearby spider. Para was back to using her battle kilt form. Meanwhile, Zarian¡¯s back was covered in various gravity runes formed by spider webbing. The mini gravity spell array looked well done to Zarian, the spiders¡¯ best work yet.
Feeling satisfied, Zarian let a portion of his mind unravel, falling under Para¡¯s care. She drew him into the essence of her existence as the best skill he had in his profile. Then another portion of his mind, which was the biggest chunk, initiated the cultivation cycle for controlling Overwhelming Darkness.
Zarian hand-signed and chanted. ¡°Overwhelming Darkness: Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style Technique. Unlock Dark Lock One. The Worm Lurks Buried Deep Under Fabled Myth. One Percent Power Unsealed. Cultivate.¡±
The webbing shed from arcane blue to bright purple on Zarian¡¯s back. He felt the conceptual weight of his activities increased tenfold.
He felt Para nurture the unraveled extension of him. She acted as the perfect example of how to restrain himself against the hunger of his Overwhelming Darkness, which helped him to cycle the darkness more boldly.
Most importantly, he kept onest part of him present outside of his cultivation.
Zarian felt a slow and tough thread of darkness flowing through the channels of his spirit. It looped through the same channels and gateways in his body that helped connect everything in his profile with his soul.
He felt his profile wobble, as if his system runes couldn¡¯t work properly while Overwhelming Darkness had so much of his attention for the sake of cultivation. Thankfully, he had Aura Mastery, which worked like a buffer that kept everything empowered, even if it lowered his aura recovery and efficiency by quite a lot.
That was okay. Zarian could be present while cultivating this way. It was hard for him to do much other than the basics, sure, but that was better than zoning out for long periods of time.
Slowly, Zarian stood up.
He walked around.
He jumped up and down.
The background cultivation went on undisrupted.
He hopped from side to side, threw out some punches, then formed a parasite nodachi and swung it around. Para formed an extra arm from the kilt and cast the ck Fire spell. She shot out a torrent of gray and ck mes with no problem.
Zarian followed her example. He could do it, too. However, his ability to multicast spells was severely reduced. He could only do one spell at a time while cultivating.
That was okay. Para could cast more spells simultaneously. They could still use his other skills. They could stillbine Aura Mastery with other traits, even if inefficiently.
He was making some major progress. Things could only get better from here.
¡¡
¡°It¡¯s working,¡± Zarian said, amazed at the notifications. ¡°Dear teacher, it¡¯s actually working. You did it.¡±
Ruvaria nodded, looking quite pleased. She wasn¡¯t celebrating like she should. Maybe she was still nervous.
Zarian ran over and hugged her. He tossed her up and down while the spectral spiders danced around them. Finally, his dear teacher let herselfugh with her elven musical voice and be truly merry.
Afterward, they had a big celebratory meal with high-quality drinks. Theyy about among the mushrooms as Zarian finally had a taste of something hard that wasn¡¯t beer. Apparently, the elves kept the lost secrets of magic wine to themselves.
Ruvaria drank a lot more than Zarian and got a little tipsy, which led to an interesting aura game. She created a specific ball of aura inside of her and told Zarian what to do.
He had to use an aura thread to insert into her body and chase after the ball without colliding with her runes. Normally, that would cause someone difort. Maybe even short-circuit their system runes.
However, Ruvaria¡¯s profile was heavily guarded. Each mistake would cause him some painful feedback.
Zarian, of course, was happy to y.
So he entered her body with a tiny thread of his aura. She sent the little ball running just about everywhere, from the crown of her head to the tips of toes and back.
Zarian chased and chased throughout her body. No matter where the little aura ball went, he followed as Ruvariay about, wriggling andughing, ticklish from the entire ordeal.
He ran into her profile runes a bunch of times and suffered the consequences. But he kept going with a relentless fervor, which tormented Ruvaria a little as sheughed so hard she was turning a shade of pink.
In the end, he wasn¡¯t able to get the little aura ball.
But he left Ruvaria breathless and disheveled from all the eager y inside of her body. He was pretty breathless too from how often her body repaid him as an actual challenge.
They drank more high-quality elven wine. She taught him some ancient elven dance moves, which led to them twirling about even more drunkenly after draining some barrels of her stock.
Ruvaria fell into the moat and couldn¡¯t quite get out. So Zarian went in and scooped her petite body into his arms.
Then he slipped and fell.
They gave up and floated in the shining waters of the moat until it was time to go. Ruvaria shared with him a drink that dimmed the effects of the high-quality wine, sobering them up.
Then she dug out the core of the Enriched Faerie Dungeon from under the roots of the boss tree. She offered it to Zarian.
He shook his head.
Sighing, the empress nodded. She stroked her hand over the core¡¯s pearly surface. Then she drove a hard aura spike through the core, shattering it and giving her past victim his deserved freedom. The dungeon faded away forever and returned them to her room.
It was a new morning, which heralded the start of a new adventure. It was time to leave Ride-or-Die Vige for a while.
Chapter 148: B2: C48: Willful Mini Game
Floating in the sky above Ride-or-Die Vige, Zarian ended his cultivation and sealed away his Overwhelming Darkness. He would return to cultivating once they left the vige.
He still maintained the dark seal patterns on his arms. They were for the safety of everyone in the universe and beyond.
They also looked badass, like a pair ofplicated and esoteric full-sleeve tattoos. He also felt warm looking at them, thinking back to how Ruvaria improved upon his sealing style.
Sighing pleasantly, Zarian bumbled around in the air and enjoyed the full splendors of Aura Mastery. He let the aura he controlled outside his body unfold itself and expand further and further out, growing to his full and natural mystical reach.
He could passively reach out further than before because of Aura Mastery, covering thousands of feet in all directions. Multiple vige blocks under him were well within his aura range.
He didn¡¯t, however, let his body sparkle. He even dimmed the little aura starlights in the ck void that were his eyes. Thest thing he needed was for someone topare him to a certain vampire movie from many years ago.
That would ruin his rep.
He did, however, let Para sparkle as much as she wanted while she was back in her base form. It was like he wore a gxy-eating cloak behind him. The ragged and mystical apparel wavered in the morning winds like a nightmarishly beautiful eldritch g.
Para wanted to fuse with the wizard hat and make it sparkle, too. But Zarian kept the hat and the rest of his Dark Lord outfit mostly ck for the sake of being fashionably bnced.And to stop Para from getting too heavy-handed with the sparkles.
Zarian breathed deeply and let out another pleasant sigh. Everything felt great. Like he was breathing fresh air for the first time when everything before was toxic. Like he had evolved from a weaker, blinder, and more foolish form to be greater.
He had a lot to explore.
The more he experimented, the more he realized he was climbing a great and endless mountain of magical mastery. In fact, all he had to do was look up and see his dear teacher floating even higher above.
She was wearing a more modest green dress while weighed down by shiny gold jewelry and green gems on her neck, fingers, and toes. She even wore gold and emerald studs and rings on her ears with hoops on her wrists and ankles.
There was a magic crown on her head that shone like liquid gold, especially under the light of the twin suns. And if all of that wasn¡¯t enough, her hair was braided with gold bands, too.
It was on this morning that Empress Ruvaria embodied the full wonder and power of being Corma¡¯s Chosen One, the Ruler of the Promised Continent, the Sorceress Queen, and the Dear Teacher of the Dark Lord. She showed Zarian the full reach of her aura.
The power of the empress went on for miles and miles beyond the vige. Everyone was inside of her full aura extension, and nobody could see it other than Zarian, hence why she was showing off now.
He was very much impressed.
Awestruck really.
Smirking, Ruvaria held herself proudly like a peacock as she showed off some more for him. She moved aura currents around effortlessly and conjured up strong hurricane winds in the atmosphere above. She made her aura rub together, creating thick strands of mystical lightning bolts and thunder ps under a mostly bright day.
With another minor flex, she swatted away blocky clouds for dozens miles in all directions and made the sky all clear above the vige. The vigers and visitors below were freaking out, deeply confused by the stormy air andck of clouds. ?
Zarianughed.
Ruvaria smiled.
She showed him one more trick, something a little more on the dangerous side. She condensed her aura above the vige and lowered the solid aura until it touched the top of the Central Library Artillery Tower, but no more.
She dismissed the solid aura and let Zarian imagine what she could do at any moment if she wanted.
Zarian figured she could m her aura down and wipe out the entire vige like snuffing out a bug under her foot. Some people might find that horrifying. But Zarian found it all nifty.
He trusted her, and she adored him. So being inside of her aura range was not only safe, but it was another teaching experience.
The power of Aura Mastery was grand and terrifying, which Ruvaria was showing him effectively and safely. Too bad he couldn¡¯t hang around and explore the depths of her aura some more.
He had to hustle. He had a new adventure to embark on with his fellow Floridians.
¡°I¡¯ll round up everyone,¡± Zarian said, guiding his voice with aura. That way, he could speak directly to her ear without having to shout. ¡°Thank you for what you¡¯re about to do for me.¡±
¡°If it¡¯s anything reasonable and within my power, I will do it for you,¡± she said. ¡°I will even do things that are unreasonable for you, if it¡¯s worth it. Now go and take care of the Dragon Blood Cloud Flowers like I instructed, and prepare your younglings for me.¡±
¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Zarian bowed in respect to her before zipping off.
He didn¡¯t fly alone.
Surfing the winds, little spectral spiders used thework to enjoy the splendors of Zarian¡¯s Aura Mastery. They rode on boards they¡¯d spun from their webbing and traveled via the air.
Para transformed into four wide wings spread out from behind Zarian¡¯s back. She thrust out aura currents from behind them, helping Zarian fly under the suns and creating more drafts for the spiders to surf on.
It was like the spiders were a small school of fish traveling with a big fish, but in the sky instead of the ocean. That came at the cost of stealth, but the spectral spiders were having too much fun to care.
When the vigers and visitors looked up and saw them, Zarian found their reactions amusing.
¡°Good Gods! Is that the Dark Lord flying up there? Has he be a dragon now?¡± shouted a gardener man, who was working behind a street food stall.
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¡°This is why I joined the freedom alignment. They have flying spiders! It is said his spiders steal away those who dare go against the Dark Lord and his alignment!¡± warned a strider woman amid an adventurer group. ¡°You all better join up and spread freedom, or the spiders might swoop in from the sky and carry you off!¡±
¡°Is that why he has a temple for Hisscreep? Flying spiders? What¡¯s next!? Will the spiders cast ck magic and spread mass destruction?¡± questioned a pdin merchant on his way to a market.
¡°It¡¯s the Dark Lord, it¡¯s the Dark Lord! Wave for the Dark Lord or his cape will eat you!¡± shouted a wee child among the many orphans running around like wild packs of yful pups. They waved up with all of their low level Strength and Agility at Zarian.
Zarian waved back as he soared around his vige.
He swooped past stone towers Hannah had built in the span of months. He flew over the restaurants, bars, brothels, and more that vigers and long-term visitors started up as part of the growingmerce and economy in this one hub on the frontier.
Then he passed over their mighty walls and the powerful siege weaponry manned by untiring and watchful skeletons.
Zarian and his flying spider squadnded in the dragon flower patch near the wall. The spiders who had remained here on guard saluted the flying spiders before scuttling off to do other stuff. Then the aura-mastering spiders staged themselves near each Dragon Blood Cloud Flower.
Zarian watched as the spiders spun out intricate cages of arcane webbing around each of the flowers. He entered the air again and hovered with his cosmic-lit cloak spread out far to help stabilize him and make him look like he knew what he was doing.
Once the spiders safely enshrouded the flowers in their arcane web cages, Zarian used a specificbination of traits: Aura Mastery + Identify.
Zarian had used Identify for enemies and item qualities mainly. He had also used it to understand othernguages when they moved away from themon English-likenguage of this world.
He¡¯d never gone further than that until Ruvaria had taught him tobine it with Aura Mastery so he could see even deeper than before.
Zarian concentrated. A new info box appeared, oveying thest.
Zarian jerked back in surprise. He lost some stabilization, but he was quick to correct himself and stay hovering above the dragon flowers.
He tried not to look back because he knew Ruvaria was watching him. He imagined she was having some fun with him because she had mentioned nothing about there being a mini game.
She also hadn¡¯t gone over how to work stats with Aura Mastery, which he imagined was on purpose. She must¡¯ve omitted that to have him struggle and learn it on his own.
You¡¯re always so tricky, Ruvaria, you scoundrel teacher, Zarian thought quietly.
He was worried Ruvaria could sense his thoughts if they were loud. Then he realized he was being dumb again.
She can¡¯t sense my thoughts if I don¡¯t let her because of Floridian Mindset. She¡¯ll probably read me based on my reactions.
Zarian rxed and returned his focus to the mini game. He didn¡¯t y it himself. Instead, he used one aura-mastering spider as an avatar.
The little spider raised up its front legs and waved them about as Zarian¡¯s aura expanded out from its body. Thinking about his Willpower, Zarian focused intently on dominating the Dragon Blood Cloud Flower as the game began.
¡
Zarian jerked back again and retracted his aura. The harshly dominated flower crumbled as its aura dissipated quickly.
Thinking back to the start of the game, Zarian recalled pressing forward aggressively for a quick win. He felt some resistance, then the resistance fell apart, and the game was over.
¡°Ah, yeah, I have a lot of Willpower and unique ways to enhance that Willpower,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Whoops.¡±
He felt his teacher¡¯s annoyance. The aura currents around him kicked up some strong winds. There was thunder and lightning in the air without a cloud in sight.
Ruvaria was a little less nice now that she was in a public area and visible to everyone. She was also a perfectionist, which Zarian had noted while in the time chamber dungeon.
In that regard, Zarian and Ruvaria were opposites. He was quite messy and very imperfect. Sometimes, he learned best by failing upward or messing around.
Ruvaria disliked that about him. She had said that multiple times, although not in a way that felt too harsh.
Zarian shrugged, not letting his dear teacher¡¯s perfectionist nature weigh him down too much. He turned his attention to another Dragon Blood Cloud Flower.
Prepared to serve, the next spider avatar waved its legs about in front of the stem.
He began the mini game again and crushed the second flower despite being more gentle.
The strong and angry winds kicked up again. More thunder and lightning roared above Ride-or-Die Vige. He heard a few people screaming in terror.
¡°I¡¯m going to get the third one, I swear!¡± Zarian shouted behind him. ¡°Stop your nagging!¡±
That didn¡¯t help much. Ruvaria kept on nagging him with all the unnecessary aura weather effects.
¡°You can do it, my host,¡± Para cheered from behind him.
Zarian felt a little annoyed. He turned his attention to the third Dragon Blood Cloud Flower. He imagined the willful remnants of the dragon remaining in the flower.
He also imagined that the dragon¡¯s ego was also fragile and needed nurturing whenpelled to follow his lead. Zarian passed his aura and intent through the next spider avatar in front of the third flower.
He carefully wrestled with the flower¡¯s Eternal Will and did all he could to act gently and make it submit. Even then, Zarian was sure he was on the cusp of failing again.
The next notification surprised him.
Zarian had seeded. The stormy winds, thunder ps, and random lightning bolts faded away. Ruvaria was pleased.
More importantly, Zarian figured applying stats with his Aura Mastery wasn¡¯t tooplicated. Maybe there were more mini game scenarios across Infinita that acquired simr approaches.
That¡¯s just one flower, Zarian thought with a sigh. Alright, let¡¯s get all of them.
He went after the fourth. Once he won the willful mini game again, he tried two at the same time. It was a little more difficult, which made it easier to hold back and not crush the flowerspletely.
Next, he took on three at the same time. Then he took on more bunches until he had all the flowers looted. Para formed tentacles and plucked the flowers out of the ground by the top of their arcane web cages.
The perfect amount of soil went along with the roots of the flower, as if winning the mini game preserved enough of what the flower needed to exist.
Zarian decided not to put them in the pocket dimension. He flew with all neen toward the Central Library Artillery Tower. His squadron of aura-mastering spiders flew along with him like they were escorting a carrier ne filled with precious items and VIPs.
Zarian swooped toward the top of the tower. A wide doorway revealed itself as the stone slid out of his way.
Hended on a ledge with his spiders as Para contracted most of her form into a wavering cloak and neen tentacles that were holding the flower cages. He walked into the middle of a serious discussion where Hannah sat with legs crossed on her architect throne while Lady Rhea was kneeling on the floor in front of her.
Hm, what¡¯s going on here? Zarian wondered.
Chapter 149: B2: C49: Later, Gators
Chapter 149: B2: C49: Later, Gators
Looking at the brain station of Ride-or-Die Vige reminded Zarian why it was dangerous for engineers and scientists to get their hands on magic, especially when there was crafting involved.
When the doorway closed behind him, sealing away the bright light of the twin suns, Hannah¡¯sir looked like a proper ce for an evil genius. It leaned more toward magic-futurism with dark blues, deep purples, and some aggressive reds that shone from her self-made equipment.
She had runic disys that gave her visuals caught on her golem eyes. She had runic keyboard stations connected to various doors, hallways, artillery guns, and more.
Everything that Hannah could do with a mystical whim, she made it so that others could manage without her. And if they needed extra help, there was Magi, Hannah¡¯s magical intelligence that she could summon from a skill.
The slender-man blinked into appearance. He was a little fuzzy at first until his outline solidified in front of Zarian.
¡°Hello, Lord Zarian. Would you prefer if I had some golem assistants take those precious flowers from you and store them in a proper environment for analysis and nurturing?¡± Magi asked.
¡°Take eighteen,¡± Zarian said.
¡°As you wish, milord.¡± Magi bowed and stood aside.
Para¡¯s tentacles passed off the flowers to cubic golems that walked like midget-sized lego men. Then Zarian walked up to Hannah¡¯s throne once it looked like Hannah had finished up her conversation with Lady Rhea.He took the remaining flower from Para¡¯s tentacle and offered it to Hannah directly. ¡°A gift to you, because I want you to feel better and I¡¯m still sorry for making you feel bad.¡±
Hannah blinked her eyes rapidly from behind her round, runic sses. She opened and closed her mouth.
Lady Rhea remained knelt with a straight face. The woman had impable bearing. So far, she had served at hand and foot for Hannah and the other Floridians no matter the task.
Ride-or-Die Vige could function administratively because of Lady Rhea, who lifted some enormous paperwork burdens off the Floridian¡¯s shoulders.
Basically, she made sure taxes were collected properly and almost everything was documented neatly. If not her directly, then her army of Hemlock rtives and servants made sure things were prompt and up to code.
Zarian couldn¡¯t honestly say what the codes were exactly, to be honest. If everything looked alright to him, then he was a happy camper with Rhea¡¯s efforts.
That and Rhea seemed to admire Hannah greatly, even if Hannah wasn¡¯t aware. Well, it was hard to notice when Rhea had a solid poker face.
But Zarian didn¡¯t miss how the tension in Rhea¡¯s body rxed as she remained in ce on her knees. It was if she was happy that she could remain instead of being dismissed.
Hannah took the flower by the bottom, sinking her fingers into the dirt-encased roots.
¡°Also, pleasee to Grimrock with me,¡± Zarian said. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be right without you.¡±
¡°I¡¯ming,¡± Hannah said stiffly. ¡°I only disagreed because I didn¡¯t think you needed me and I can serve you better here.¡±
Zarian shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t be that way, Hannah. Please. I mean, yes, I am what I am. But never think I¡¯ll just set you aside like that.¡±
¡°Am I good enough?¡± Hannah asked.
¡°I can¡¯t answer that for you. Because I already know you are more than good enough, but that doesn¡¯t mattering from me.¡± Zarian turned sharply to Rhea.
The noble woman straightened while remaining on her knees.
Zarian snorted. ¡°Hey, I think Hannah trusts you even if she¡¯s a bit cold about it. I think I trust you too even though we haven¡¯t had much time to talk. You¡¯re going to be a key part in keeping Ride-or-Die Vige running, and we both know serving us will benefit your family more than prior arrangements.¡±
¡°This is very much true, milord,¡± Rhea said.
¡°Yup. That¡¯s why you¡¯re getting trusted with a lot of power. You already know what will happen if you betray us, so there¡¯s no need to rehash that. Better yet, I have something positive in mind. I¡¯d like for you to get our vigers more involved with work and fair payment.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve already drafted such ns, milord,¡± Lady Rhea said.
Zarian blinked down at the noble woman in open surprise. ¡°Really?¡±
¡°Yes, but you¡¯ve been quite busy. I¡¯ve kept them to myself while waiting for a better opportunity,¡± she said.
¡°Oh, well, sorry. I approve of your ns. Except for the ones that are dangerous. Those will need the approval of Empress Ruvaria, who is like a secondary leader while I¡¯m gone. If you need help, Lady Rhea, please ask for her. You can also rely on Rnd and Lora. Oh, and Magi, too, if he¡¯s staying.¡±
¡°He¡¯s staying,¡± Hannah said.
¡° Boom, there, we have a n going, right, Hannah?¡±
¡°Affirmative.¡±
¡°Okay, see you outside the north gate. Make an announcement to all the kiddos to get into formation out there for me, please. Send the skeletons on standby to fill in on patrol routes,¡± Zarian requested.
¡°I can do that for you, My Lady Hannah,¡± Lady Rhea said. ¡°I believe you have to attend to your next adventure.¡±
¡°Yes, I do. Um, yes, thank you.¡± Hannah remained seated on her throne with the pretty dragon flower in herp. ¡°Let me just have a moment to recollect myself.¡±
¡°Can I wait here with you, mydy?¡± Rhea asked.
¡°While still on your knees? I guess if Zarian¡¯s saying he¡¯s trusting you this much, then there¡¯s no need for that.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t mind being on my knees for you.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°Yes, really.¡±
¡°Hm, sure, I guess I don¡¯t mind it either. It is a little nice for my ego.¡±
¡°Then all is well.¡±
Zarian nodded at the two as he slowly backed out. ¡°Cool, cool, cool. Gilbert just got out of some new girl¡¯s house. I¡¯m going to pick him up now.¡±
Para reached out with two tentacles and gave Hannah and Lady Rhea some head pats. Zarian waved farewell to Magi, and the slender magical intelligence waved back.
The doorway leading out the side of the tower opened again. Zarian jumped off the ledge with his squadron of flying spiders.
Wings spread wide, Zarian swooped around the vige and found Gilbert strolling out of a building where striders lived. A random woman on the street blew a kiss at him.
The Knighted Healer tipped his cowboy hat at her, failing to see the Dark Lord flying down from above.
Zarian swept across the ground from behind Gilbert. Para created a pair of multi-jointed legs with big dull talons. Right before impact, Zarian used Aura Mastery to cancel as much noise as possible.
They scooped Gilbert off the street like a hawk snatching up a bunny and ignored all of his cussing and fussing as they rose sharply. Thankfully, Gilbert didn¡¯t fight them too hard.
Granted, they were going high up now. He probably didn¡¯t want to fall when they were far above the ground.
¡°Why can¡¯t we do things the normal way, dammit?!¡± Gilbert hollered.
¡°Shut up! You¡¯re going to a niceke I¡¯ve picked out for you!¡± Zarian yelled back.
¡°You can¡¯t keep using that on me!¡±
¡°Do you want to bitch? Or do you want to fish?¡±
Gilbert let the matter go and rxed in Para¡¯s taloned grip. They kept flying up higher and higher.
Gilbert stopped rxing and tensed up as they soared past Empress Ruvaria and kept going upward. The air became a little crisper and colder. The sunshine felt brighter and a little more aggravating.
There was less aura up in the higher altitudes and Zarian¡¯s flight upward struggled. The flying spiders had totch on to Para¡¯s wings using strands of webbing to keep going with them.
Then they finally reached their destination. They entered a hover where Bianca sat with legs crossed on a small ne of solidified sunlight.
She was in the middle of her morning meditation. Before Zarian or Gilbert could interrupt, Bianca opened her shining amber eyes. She smiled warmly at them.
¡°Time to go?¡± she asked.
¡°What do you think?¡± Gilbert grumbled.
Bianca giggled. ¡°Dale!¡± The sunlight tform winked out from under her. She waved her hand at them merrily as she entered freefall.
¡°I bet you one punch she will fly-tackle into Ruvaria,¡± Zarian said.
¡°I¡¯ll take it. I hope you know Bianca¡¯s chilled outtely. She¡¯s not that crazy anymore. She¡¯s matured, y¡¯know? She told me herself,¡± Gilbert said confidently.
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Bianca tackled Empress Ruvaria midair and brought them plummeting down. Gilbert was gobsmacked. Zarian couldn¡¯t help but smile because of a few factors he knew and Gilbert didn¡¯t.
Bianca could make herself semi-invisible even to surface-level aura senses.
Zarian hypothesized Bianca was bending both light and aura around her when she went invisible. He also theorized having high amounts of Wonder increased luck to a ridiculous degree, making stealth easier, too.
More importantly, Ruvaria had a weak spot for Bianca.
Zarian was very sure of that weakness, because the old elf would let Bianca get away with loads of shenanigans more than anyone else without being her dear student. So even if Ruvaria had known Bianca wasing, the elf seemed to y along with the girl just because.
¡°Oh, look, Gilbert, all the kiddos are forming up outside of the vige,¡± Zarian said, rotating his shoulder around. ¡°There goes Hannah with a big tank of a rune cart going outside as well. Looks like Bianca and Ruvaria are going to make a safending there, too.¡±
Zarian spoke darkly. ¡°I bet you¡¯ll get down there before I do to herald my arrival.¡±
¡°Hey, Zarian, I need to tell you something,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°You want to bitch or fish?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°No, seriously, I just need to say this. Being up this high has given me a sort of epiphany. It¡¯s like I have to do this for the sake of my god-fearing soul, y¡¯know?¡± Gilbert bbered.
¡°Okay, okay, say it.¡±
¡°You remember that bullet that was in your back shoulder from a while ago? You remember that, right? I do because it had stayed there for a long time until that fight with the bandits,¡± Gilbert said quickly.
Zarian clenched his fist harder and harder. Multiple abilities poured into his physical power. Excess aura gathered around his fist and made the air wobble. Then the wobbling aura around his fist darkened and became heavier and heavier.
The grin on Zarian¡¯s face widened as he spoke through clenched teeth. ¡°Yeah, I remember that bullet. I still have it in the pocket dimension. I¡¯m nning to toss it somewhere in Grimrock to remember it goodbye.¡±
¡°I think that was my bullet. Been a while. And a lot has happened since then. But, yeah, that bullet thing just came to me recently, and I never thought about it much, and I just let it be. But now it just came back to me and I have toe clean.¡±
¡°So, you¡¯re basically saying you shot me and lodged a bullet in me. And if your aim wasn¡¯t shit, you could¡¯ve killed me.¡±
¡°Well, let¡¯s be thankful you¡¯re still with us after all that, right? We¡¯vee a long way since then and started being like brothers from other mothers. So I bet the punch you¡¯re about to hit me with is only going to be a brotherly love tap.¡±
Zariannded a thunderous whopper of a punch on Gilbert and sent him down like a meteorite. The man hit the ground hard.
While Gilbert dragged himself out of the crater he formed twenty feet into the ground, Zarian hit the ground with a crouch. He rolled his neck around and let out a big breath. Then he turned to the formation of kiddos and smiled at them.
¡°Hey, everyone, I guess you know what¡¯s about to happen,¡± Zarian said. ¡°The Floridians are heading out. We have unfinished business at Grimrock. That means it¡¯s up to you to hold things down for the day-to-day stuff here with our vige. However, you aren¡¯t without some heavy guns and ways to improve even more.¡±
Zarian waved his hand to Empress Ruvaria. She looked regal, shiny, and beautiful. There wasn¡¯t a strand of hair out of ce despite Bianca¡¯s aerial roughhousing.
The empress wore a tough mask on her face, however, as she scanned the youngsters like they were fleas at a flea circus.
The kiddos were well trained because of Lady Instructor Washington¡¯s efforts. They kept their bearing and didn¡¯t budge while under the elf¡¯s evaluation.
Zarian continued. ¡°That¡¯s right everyone, you¡¯re going to have Empress Ruvaria watch over you all. Better yet, I¡¯ve asked her to train you and help you grow even more! Isn¡¯t that all exciting? She says she has a way to help you all gain ten to fifteen levels pretty fast.¡±
¡°Every day, I will take half of you and y with you,¡± Ruvaria said. ¡°You must do all you can to fight me. You will fail many, many times, because I will y roughly with you. I will hurt you, break you, and make you scream and cry until you¡¯ve grown enough and earned some measure of my respect. It might take some time, however.¡±
The kiddos continued to keep their bearings. Zarian could tell some of them were struggling not to react.
They did react when the Star System sent them all a notification. Zarian noticed a slight magical blip around the heads of each guild member, which was the telltale sign of a message from the System.
He also noticed how their eyes slid out of focus to look at a new side quest meant for them.
¡°Any questions?¡± Zarian asked.
Rnd raised his hand.
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°The wolf dragons?¡±
¡°Officially, once we move far away enough, the event will be forfeited for us Floridians. But it won¡¯t be forfeited for you. If the wolf dragons attack while we¡¯re gone, fall back on your training and use everything that Ride-or-Die Vige has prepared for you,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You cannot, however, lean on Empress Ruvaria too much. She has certain restrictions during these events. So, try not to die, and hold out until we get back. Or win the entire event on your own and make us proud.¡±
The kiddoes looked at him wide-eyed and in disbelief.
Zarian didn¡¯t me them. The wolf dragons were scary for them still and they could only grow so fastpared to the Floridians.
Still, Zarian figured having Empress Ruvaria might make a big enough difference. They had all the resources of the well-made vige. They could make use of the adventurers in the vige. That and they would have another army backing them soon.
¡°As for the good news, we¡¯re going to link up with Lady Instructor Washington and our bloody friends. The cafe will return to business soon. And I have four gifts for all of you. I just need you to give me your consent. Do so mentally.¡±
He gave them a second to prepare before he focused his aura on all the guild members. His aura swam through each one carefully, focusing more on batches of two dozen or fewer before he copied over some skills.
As he did so, he perceived numerous traits that were affinities or simr, along with many unique skills. He could copy into his profile a plethora of new skills as Level 0s if he wanted, but he refrained.
He had so much going on he needed more simplicity in his profile and less clutter. The kiddos had plenty of room to mess around, hence why he gave them Willful Might, Wondrous Speed, Mystic Toughness, and Summon Wizard Hat as Level 0s.
By the time he was done copying over four skills from his profile to two hundred eighty-nine guild members, he got to see all of their distinct wizard hats.
Some were more like helmets. Others had elemental changes to them. Many were hats with or without conical shapes.
There were dapper hats, pitiful hats,bat hats, or very mboyant hats. Rnd¡¯s hat had a lot of rose petals and thorns. Amabel¡¯s hat was all shadowy and oily. Lora¡¯s hat had fluff like cotton.
They were part of the wizard hat gang now, and they could use the Level 0 skills at their lower level fairly well. Now they all had serious buffs that no small army should have, pushing them above the foreign adventurers even more. That didn¡¯t include their advanced gear and crafts that few people had ever seen on this continent.
My little killers are growing up so fast, Zarian thought, grinning ear-to-ear. He loved seeing the shocked expression on their faces and how some of them broke their stance to touch their new hats.
Originally, he wasn¡¯t going to do this. But recent events had changed Zarian¡¯s mind. He really wanted the kiddos to have the best he and his friends could offer, so they could survive whatever mighte.
Now he felt a lot better about leaving them on their own for a while.
Zarian cheered. ¡°That¡¯s all, everyone! Now let me hear an Oorah!¡±
¡°OORAH!¡± The kids all shouted.
Zarian nodded merrily, feeling happy tingles everywhere in his body. Then he turned away, his shiny cloak pping behind him dramatically.
He found Gilbert sitting on the edge of the crater. Zarian offered the big man his hand.
Gilbert took his hand and got back to his feet. Bianca frolicked next to them. Hannah sat on the huge, tank-like rune cart as it rolled to their next destination. They left Ride-or-Die Vige behind them without looking back.
Three minutes didn¡¯t pass before they heard screams and shouts of rm. They heard young men and women burst out into horrified cries. They heard roaring hurricane winds, crashing lightning, and other sounds like an entire mountain falling down from the sky. They heard desperate fighting, weapons shing, magic crackling, and more horrors of a grueling and torturous battle against the unbeatable.
Empress Ruvaria had begun her flea-crushing training with half of the youngsters.
¡°Don¡¯t look back,¡± Zarian said through the side of his mouth. ¡°Ruvaria will not be happy if we look back.¡±
¡°You¡¯re pulling a fast one, right?¡± Gilbert asked. ¡°Based on what my ears are telling me, that elf is ready to chew on nails and spit out a barbed fence to keep those kids penned up for the ughter.¡±
¡°Abu Ruvaria is very introverted. So you have to give her time to settle in,¡± Bianca said. ¡°She¡¯s fantastic deep down, regardless of alignments. She¡¯s not as evil as she was before she was absolutely brainwashed, right, Zarian?¡±
Zarian thought back to their creative discussions on how to torture and eliminate enemies with Aura Mastery techniques. He¡¯d seen a little absolute glee shine through his dear teacher¡¯s eyes and a creepy smile on her face during those unrestrained, brain-storming sessions of wicked mysticism and wizardry.
¡°Yeah, sure, she¡¯s totally getting better about that absolute stuff,¡± Zarian said aloud.
They heard a sharp whistle followed by a bomb-like st behind them. Someone shouted out about their leg among the many who screamed for mercy.
Zarian kept walking without looking back, and so did the others.
¡°Are you going to wait until we link up with Naomi to tell us about your new changes, Zarian?¡± Hannah asked from on top of the rune cart.
¡°I¡¯m an Aura Master now,¡± Zarian said.
¡°A Jedi Master?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°No, Aura Master,¡± Zarian repeated.
¡°Can I be Princess Leia?¡± Bianca asked. ¡°But instead of me being trapped in a cage with only a bikini on, let¡¯s put the bikini on Zarian while hees to save me from the cage. I mean, I can wear a bikini too as long as it¡¯s not too tacky. We¡¯re going to ake, right? Please tell me we¡¯ve all brought our swimwear. Hannah, there¡¯s swimwear in that cart, right?¡±
¡°Amid the armors, empty storage crates for loot, my golems, and everything else I can fit for a potential siege on Grimrock and return trip back, you think swimwear was a priority?¡± Hannah asked dryly.
¡°Of course it is! So, you have the swimwear? Si? Si?¡±
Hannah sighed. ¡°It¡¯s next to the enchanted rods.¡±
¡°Yay!¡± Bianca cheered.
¡°Hannah, you¡¯re a doll.¡± Gilbert pointed up at Hannah before turning back to Zarian. ¡°So, you¡¯re really not a Jedi Master?¡±
¡°It¡¯s Aura Master, guys, Aura Master!¡± Zarian waved his arms in frustration.
Hannah hummed. ¡°I guess Aura Master sounds impressive enough.¡±
¡°You are all fools,¡± Zarian hissed. ¡°The dear teacher hears all. Now she¡¯s going to be even more annoyed.¡±
As if to prove the point of her dear student, Ruvaria turned up the terror and pain factor for the kids. There were the sounds of what could be a whole roaring tornado that was being raised behind them. Inside of that roaring tornado, the screaming of the kiddos resonated out. Of course, there was more thunder and lightning to go along with the monster tornado.
¡°By the time we get back, I think the kids are going to need a little extra kick added to their hot chocte,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°Any chance we can loot some cers filled with the magical good stuff along the way?¡±
¡°Gilbert, we just started, and you already want to drink?¡± Biancained. ¡°Well, I think we need to walk faster, anyway, hm? It¡¯s too tense around here and I want to breathe in that new adventure air before I have to smell Gilbert¡¯s beer farts.¡±
Everyone agreed, even Gilbert, so they hurried away from Ride-or-Die Vige. Zarian was feeling keen to face the new adventure head on, regardless of the horrible elf monster he¡¯d unleashed on the kiddos.
I should probably bring Ruvaria something nice for making her do extroverted stuff for a while, Zarian thought as he picked up the pace until they were officially running away.
When they reached the bend in the road, they found Loner walking back with a group of skeletons he¡¯d taken out hunting. He was Level 74 now, and he was clueless of what was happening.
Zarian used his own hands to snatch up Loner and toss the skeleton onto his shoulder. All while he kept running with Gilbert and Bianca by his side and Hannah behind him on the self-driving rune cart.
¡°Later, gators!¡± Zarian waved back at the skeletons he¡¯d left behind. He made a mental note among many to make more skeletons along the way to Grimrock.
Loner looked back with eyeless sockets and a shaky rictus grin, as if he was second-guessing his necromancer. Then the skeleton seemed to give up on thinking and just allowed himself to be hauled away on Zarian¡¯s shoulder.
That would¡¯ve been just fine if Loner kept his eyes down.
But he looked up and noticed something odd.
There were spectral spiders riding on surfboards made of webbing. They were surfing strong wind draftsing from the direction of the vige.
Loner seemed puzzled about the sight of the flying spiders. But once again, he seemed to give up on trying to understand whatever was happening. That was probably for the best.
Chapter 150: B2: C50: Adventure Outfits
Once they were far enough away from the vige, it was easier for Zarian and his fellow Floridians to ignore the plight of the poor kiddos. They also ignored the growing rampage of an introverted elf monster being out in public among a bunch of weak normies.
Hannah parked the rune cart on the side of the road and opened up the back. Loner held watch while everyone else changed into theirtest adventure outfits.
Zarian slipped into a new pair of trousers and boots, which were all ck except for the dark red emblem and motto on his right thigh. He was going light on the armor and staying topless. At this point, Para served as his best armor.
As for the enchantments, Hannah had designed the leggings and boots for darkness enhancements plus the adventure-necessary additions such as self-repair, self-cleaning, and high durability.
Zarian liked how they made his legs look shadowy even under a bright spring day.
Bianca was his opposite. She wore white and silver except for the dark red emblem and motto stamped on the midsection of her battle dress.
Looking her up and down, Zarian was a little surprised that Bianca was wearing footwear instead of returning to being barefoot. The new shoes were a pair of high-heeled boots with enchantments for added agility plus the adventure-necessary stuff.
¡°No more of the old elven dress?¡± he asked.
¡°Hannah can make my dresses in specific ways that are better for me,¡± Bianca said. ¡°I still love the old one, but I want to be ahead of the seasonal trends and not get stuck on them.¡±¡°This is less about enchantments and more about fashion, isn¡¯t it?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Do not speak about what you don¡¯t know, Zarian Darkrun,¡± Bianca said mysteriously. ¡°A fashionista is like a wizard, you know?¡±
¡°Do I know? Or do I not know?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Those are the questions you must answer to truly understand,¡± Bianca said, trying to sound profound.
¡°Uh huh,¡± Zarian grunted.
Gilbert chuckled before directing his words toward Hannah. ¡°I¡¯m just d you¡¯re not throwing the whole kitchen sink at us again, egghead.¡±
He wore dark heavy armor like a proper pdin or knight. With a flick of his left arm, the brace on his forearm expanded into arge and boxy runic shield. He also had his own nifty and demonic-looking gauntlet on his right arm. The horned and wrathful face of a demon stood out on the back of the hand.
Zarian narrowed his eyes and smiled at Gilbert¡¯s Repenting Gauntlet. Gilbert ignored him and the others when they looked at his gauntlet.
Gilbert added to his original statement. ¡°I never used all those extra bells and whistles you¡¯ve given me, to be honest with you. I solved most issues with the ssic solution of hitting the big bad thing more and more until it dropped.¡±
Hannah sighed while sitting on a crate inside the rune cart. The interior of the self-driven vehicle was orderly and almost futuristic, with lines of runic blue and purple engravings from the enchantments on the surfaces.
The cart matched Hannah very well, especially when her skin-tight, magic smart suit glowed in an array of enchanted colors that flowed down the seams and contours of her body. Six shrunken golem balls revolved around her, as if she was a and they were an array of moons. She readjusted her slim, smart gloves before looking down to examine her lightweight boots.
She looked like she was the main entertainer at a lit up rave party. Zarian could see Hannah being a techno DJ in another life, one where she grew up with a dream to engineer the best music instead of engineering aerospace tech.
¡°I have so many enchantments and unique runes now,¡± Hannah said. ¡°I can almost do anything, even if not effectively. Yet, you all want nothing more than just the simplestyers stacked on top of each other, with self-repair and self-cleaning.¡±
Hannah shook her head in disappointment at them. ¡°I can do so much more for you than just that.¡±
Zarian shrugged. ¡°You know me. I¡¯mplex enough. And look at these two?¡± He stuck a thumb at Gilbert and Bianca.
Gilbert was flexing randomly in his armor. Then he stooped down to jostle around the armor section that was covering his groin.
Bianca looked up into the twin suns directly before randomly spiraling around in her battle dress, making the metallic skirt re out. She stopped and kicked up each leg as if to show off her high-heeled boots to the world.
Hannah sighed. ¡°Yes, point taken. I suppose I can¡¯t help but make my armorplex because it¡¯s my business to do so. Yours enhances darkness entirely, as requested. Bianca¡¯s dress enhances some of her Agility but focuses mainly on her aura recovery and providing extra light if she needs it. Gilbert¡¯s practically a walking fortress. I haven¡¯t remodeled Naomi¡¯s yet, but I assume she wants as many mental boosts as I can add to hers.¡±
¡°Sounds like you¡¯re doing your best work yet,¡± Zarian said, smirking.
Hannah huffed. ¡°Yes, well, I somehow made them legendary without the Star System¡¯s overt help.¡±
Gilbert and Bianca froze. They slowly turned to Hannah.
Zarian chuckled. ¡°Yes, you two, we¡¯re wearing true legendary outfits that Hannah made because she¡¯s so smart and talented and awesome.¡±
¡°Please, Zarian, stop,¡± Hannah pleaded.
¡°Sure, sure, maybe. Other than Hannah being the best, she used some advanced materials Ruvaria had given her, right, Hannah?¡±
¡°She handed them to me plus some extra because I needed to make these for you.¡± Hannah gestured behind her.
One of her six revolving golems released pulses of blue and purple magic. Four half circle pieces that looked alike came flying out.
Zarian used Aura Mastery to create a hardened cushion of air. He took the items from Hannah¡¯s runic control and had them hover in front of him.
¡°Hold up now,¡± Gilbert said, his eyes moving left and right shiftily. ¡°Y¡¯all are doing too much crazy mystical stuff now. This little hat on my head can¡¯t keep up, and now I¡¯m feeling left out.¡±
¡°Maybe you should join me in meditation instead of spending so much time with your girlfriends,¡± Bianca said, smiling behind her hand. ¡°Then you¡¯ll be all mystical like the rest of us.¡±
Gilbert frowned at her. But he kept his mouth shut.
Zarian examined the new items with Aura Mastery + Identify.
Zarian concentrated.
Zarian looked wide-eyed at the crazy lore before ncing up and meeting Hannah¡¯s eyes. From that look alone, Zarian imagined Hannah knew the significance behind the Corma Dwarf Adamantium. There was a strong chance that dwarven magic tech was connected to the golem tech of the Forgotten Kingdom.
Maybe the Forgotten Kingdom descended from the old Promised Dwarven Empire from many years ago. Some sort of cataclysm, which was most likely caused by Empress Ruvaria, had buried the Forgotten Kingdom while wiping out the orcs during the Reset Era. Many years before that, in the old eras before the reset, Ruvaria¡¯s father, an Absolute King, had done the same to the dwarves.
Like father, like daughter, the elven rulers had a huge effect on this world. But what would the Floridians gain in the end?
At this point, Hannah has advanced so fast I can only wonder what more she would learn from the Forgotten Kingdom, Zarian wondered. There¡¯s a real chance that when we finally reach the Forgotten Kingdom, we¡¯ll be too OP for the setting. I hope Hannah doesn¡¯t get disappointed by that.
Looking at the cuffs themselves, Zarian saw how they were ck and split in halves. They were wider and thicker than regr handcuffs and had no chains tethering them to each other. They also had twenty little cubes along the edges, which were Hannah¡¯s defining signature and a necessaryponent for Zarian¡¯s sealing style technique.
The others might notice itter, but there were little cube-shapes in all of their outfits. That was because Hannah had used a mix of traditional crafting and her Cube Maker Magic +2 to create her items in record time.
Zarian hadn¡¯t seen it himself, but Hannah even had her own workshop and forge in the heart of the tower. Because of her traits, especially the ones that intensified her learning speed and memory, she could achieve more in crafting at a faster rate than what others could aplish traditionally.
Hannah, you¡¯re so OP on this world it¡¯s a disservice to you for you to think you aren¡¯t good enough. Even I can¡¯t reallypare my wizard side to Overwhelming Darkness.
Zarian shook his head and rid himself of his thoughts. He smiled at the hovering cuffs before he slowly panned his view around and looked straight at Gilbert.
¡°Well, officer. I¡¯m guilty as charged, I suppose,¡± Zarian said, his smile widening.
The big man sighed before flicking his shield arm and making the armament fold into its brace. He grabbed the halves of one cuff and snapped them on Zarian¡¯s right arm between the wrist and the meat of the forearm. Gilbert did the same to the other arm.
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Immediately, Zarian felt the pressure from his Overwhelming Darkness fade. He¡¯d grown so used to it he was nearly shocked to feel the dark tide being cast away. Zarian then felt a little sad that he couldn¡¯t remain this free for long.
¡°You don¡¯t have to cultivate the entire way,¡± Bianca blurted out.
¡°I should cultivate as much as I can,¡± Zarian said. ¡°It¡¯s my burden to bear.¡±
Gilbert kept his opinions to himself. Hannah closed up the back of the cart with her runic Willpower and a pulse of magic. The double metal doors swung shut for her. Then the cart rolled forward gradually with no visible driver.
It looked like one big metal trailer with six wheels that had the benefit of properly made spring suspensions and enchantments helping it get across any rough patches ahead.
Zarian let the sealing patterns covering his arms fade. He shook his arms about to get used to the weight of the cuffs.
They were much better than the gauntlets for sure. He quite liked them and appreciated having more of his flesh open for future parasite maneuvers.
¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this. All the way from the top,¡± Zarian said.
Para shifted forms from a mystical and glimmering cloak to a super shiny and voracious battle kilt. The spiders swooped down from on top of their webbed boards,nded on Zarian, and applied a freshyer of gravity runes to his back using their smartly woven arcane webbing.
Zarian went through the sequence step by step.
He reformed the dark seal patterns on his arms like full sleeve tattoos. He merged a portion of his consciousness with Para¡¯s consciousness. Hepleted the hand signs and chants as the spiders triggered the webbed gravity enchantment for intensifying the conceptual weight of his actions.
Then he said, ¡°Cultivate.¡±
Two-thirds of his concentration went to cycling around threads from Overwhelming Darkness through his spirit and body. He used Aura Mastery to keep his profile functional and to help him be present in the moment. When he felt the monstrous hunger of Overwhelming Darkness, Para¡¯s influence kept him human and focused.
Once the cultivation was in full swing for a dozen loops, Zarian focused on adjusting to his overt weakness as if he was relearning to walk. He took a few steps forward, back, and from side to side. He rotated his arms around and threw a couple of punches.
The world felt muted. Gray. He felt contained and stuffed. This was indeed a burden, but he wasn¡¯tpletely defenseless. He could still push out Aura Mastery for hundreds of feet. He could still fight. Or at the very least, he could defend himself long enough to seal his Overwhelming Darkness and use full Aura Mastery.
Zaria nodded,ing to terms with the situation. ¡°You all must be wondering if this sucks? Yes. But there¡¯s a bright side.¡±
¡°Oh, I love bright sides,¡± Bianca said.
¡°Other than facing another Lesser World Boss, my training is going to be legendary,¡± Zarian said. ¡°And the same for you guys. I believe we have some new skills to y with, so we might have to reshuffle our alpha and beta skills around.¡±
Hannah sighed aloud as she continued walking on the ground with the others, the rune cart following behind them. She looked up at a mostly blue sky with a few blocky clouds.
River moats and twisting streams babbled around them as fields, gardens, and hedge forests blossomed with new flowers between old courtyards of stone. Statues that were buried under snow and ice from the winter months were now wearing new growths of creeping vines as Early Spring prepared to shift to Mid Spring.
¡°I can¡¯t, Zarian,¡± Hannah said. ¡°All of my alpha skills are important. Enchantment +2, Rune Alteration +2, Rune Scan +2, Cube Magic Maker +2, and Summon Magical Intelligence +2. In fact, I can¡¯t even touch Summon Magical Intelligence +2 or I¡¯ll rip Magi away from the tower. So that must stay in the alpha section and I have a hard time imagining the others as beta.¡±
¡°Put Enchantment +2 in beta and let your Mystic Rush Tank have some fun under the sun,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Besides, you have enough abilities and stats to make Enchantment +2 very viable as a beta skill, even if it¡¯s harder. Maybe you might even find more insight from that if it¡¯s harder.¡±
Hannah looked at him for a long while. Then she crossed her arms and let out a bratty huff before looking away.
Zarian didn¡¯t have to ask if she made the change or not. He could tell by how tense she was that she was following his advice.
Not my fault you cannot understand how strong you are, Zarian thought. I need to keep the pressure on you guys. One of you may be the Adventurer King or Queen.
¡°Mm, I have Searing sh Array +2, Light Step +2, Refraction +2, Light Construction +2, and Shining Mark +2 in the alpha,¡± Bianca said. ¡°I guess I can learn to make Searing sh Array +2 better with it in the beta, so I¡¯ll switch that with Super Serene Rampage.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not putting Healing Force +2 in beta,¡± Gilbert grumbled. ¡°That¡¯s he irresponsible.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve packed up some health potions I bought from a decent alchemist,¡± Hannah said.
¡°You know that stuff ain¡¯t much good. You can¡¯t convince me to put something so life-saving in the beta.¡± Gilbert sounded adamant.
¡°I¡¯ll be extra careful and smart if you put it in the beta. And so will Bianca,¡± Zarian said. ¡°In fact, we¡¯ll share our thoughts with someone else before we have the inclination to go crazy. Right, Bianca?¡±
The Light Princess smiled silently.
¡°Right, Bianca?!¡± Zarian insisted.
She sighed. ¡°Yes, okay, si, fine, fine, papi. I will be much, much smarter.¡±
Gilbert palmed his face. He groaned. ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯m holding you both to it. I guess I¡¯ll drink less just in case. There, I put Healing Force +2 in the beta section. Now I have Adrenaline Jolt +2, Tranquilizing Touch +2, Summon Spirit Steed +2, and Unified Monk Force in the alpha.¡±
Zarian blinked. He opened his mouth, but Gilbert cut him off.
¡°Sacrificial Blow +2 is going in the beta section with Health Force +2. I figure I can work on being a more traditional tank this way without the extra oomph and crazy vitality sacrifice,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°Besides, the only person who makes the most out of Sacrificial Blow +2 isn¡¯t here right now, and even then she hits like a mountain on her own.¡±
¡°Still a bold move to go with only four alpha skills when you have a fifth slot,¡± Zarian admitted.
Gilbert shrugged. ¡°Y¡¯all got way more mystical stuff going on. I do my best work to grow while out here in the wilds or doing stuff that actually helps people. Now, is it safe to assume we have to deal with anything nasty thates our way before we reach thiske of yours?¡±
Zarian smiled. He had spectral spiders already stationed along the route and scouting stuff out. There was nothing crazy like angels or world bosses on their way to the specialke.
They still had some dangerous creatures moving about actively and patrols of aggressive kobolds scouting around. With winter gone, there was more of everything on the frontier in search of prey and bounty.
¡°Nothing crazy. It¡¯ll be a light and easy-going trip,¡± Zarian said.
After several days and a dozen easy fights, Zarian, Gilbert, Hannah, Bianca, Loner, some new skeletons, and the rune cart made it to the perimeter of the bigke Zarian had found in Late Winter. It was Mid Spring when they parked the rune cart in a busted courtyard, leaving the new skeletons to guard it.
They hopped to the top of some dpidated towers and took in the view.
Bianca let out a cheerful scream. Hannah observed theke with silent awe. Gilbert was also stunned into silence. Loner didn¡¯t seem to make a big deal of the view.
¡°Zarian, this is one hell of a birthday gift,¡± Gilbert said.
Zarian chuckled. The view was amazing. The surface of theke was like a perfect mirror reflecting the vine-covered castles surrounding it. The reflection even included white blocky clouds and a blue sky, making it all look quite grand and pristine.
Better yet, Zarian¡¯s consistent cultivation had borne more fruit while on the way here.
Even Para benefits from the cultivation, Zarian thought. She¡¯s acting as my shield against the hunger of Overwhelming Darkness, and that¡¯s a pretty big deal.
Zarian wasn¡¯t sure how much better he was at controlling Overwhelming Darkness, but he figured there would certainly be some improvements. Eventually, he would have to test those improvements on something that was worthy of his One Percent Power.
There was one big issue with cultivating, however. It was hard to study his grimoires and learn new spells. Para had a simr issue, which disrupted her learning prowess.
Certain mental abilities, such as Lore Eater, weren¡¯t as powerful while their attention was so drastically reduced because of the cultivation. In fact, Zarian imagined his Willpower was heavily impaired along with other stuff.
I might have to stop cultivating now and then so Para and I can study properly, Zarian thought. I want to learn some new spells and then get back to working on the gravity spell.
So much to do.
So much to do.
Before he said anything aloud to the others, Zarian felt something through the spiderwork. The others failed to notice, which wasn¡¯t their fault. They didn¡¯t have his Aura Mastery.
Turning sharply to the source of the signal, Zarian gained impressions and feelings that were transmitting from far away. The signal came from the direction of the Blood Prairies, but further north than Zarian had gone.
¡°Guys, I have to go,¡± he said. Everyone looked at him sharply based on the tone of his voice. He didn¡¯t leave them in suspense for long. ¡°Naomi¡¯s calling for me.¡±
They all grew tenser. But then they eased up when he smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s dying or anything. But it must be serious for her to reach out to me like this.¡±
Zarian rolled his neck and shoulders around, feeling ready to head out and face some actual danger. ¡°Go ahead and set up here. I¡¯ll go see how Naomi¡¯s doing. Then once Ie back with her, we¡¯ll have ourselves ake day and do a ceremony for Loner¡¯s advancement as an expert.¡±
Zarian nced at the gold notification hovering over Loner.
It¡¯ll be nice for Naomi to be here for it, Zarian thought. But first, I need to see what¡¯s happening with her.
More importantly, he wanted to know how much Naomi had grown since theyst talked. Zarian was very curious based on how things went before she¡¯d departed. Thinking about that made him feel thrilled and hungry.
¡°Go on, chief,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°We¡¯ll hold things down here while we wait for you two.¡±
Bianca gave two thumbs up.
Hannah nodded. Loner also nodded.
¡°Be back in a jiffy,¡± Zarian said.
His personal squad of aura-mastering spiders rode on his battle kilt as he waltzed through the void. Before he knew it, he felt his heart hammering more and more in excitement at seeing Naomi again. He also gave his profile a quick scan to make sure he¡¯d distributed his Free Points and was properly prepared to fight.
It could be another Lesser World Boss that Naomi was going after. If that was the case, then Zarian wanted everything ready before he sealed away Overwhelming Darkness and stopped cultivating. Then he could test the full might of his new aura abilities against a more appropriate challenge.
The things lurking in the void fled away from him quickly. They could feel his growing hunger like a wild fire turning into a huge inferno.
<>Origins: Zarian Darkrun, 22 yr-old Human, Born Late Winter, Dreaded Outsider, Dungeon Master, Freedom Leader, Dark Lord, Aura MasterLevel: 85ss: Madness Wizard (Legendary)Alignment: Free Evil +4Traits: Dark Affinity (Rare), Overpower (Epic), Identify (Rare), Aura Channeler (Rare), Frenzy Zone (Umon), Uncanny Valley Effect (Rare), Void Mysticism (Rare), Lore Eater (Epic), Thematic Law/Floridian Mindset (Divine), The Dreaded One (Epic), Bearer of the Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style (Legendary), Unraveled Mind (Rare), Aura Mastery (Legendary)Alpha Skills (5/5): Overwhelming Darkness (Level 5), Parasite Cloak +2 (Level 42), Spectral Spider Network +2 (Level 32), Summon Wizard Hat +2 (Level 36), High Rune Mindframe (Level 6)Beta Skills (6/15): Advanced Grimoire of the Voidling Exile (Level 9), Advanced Grimoire of ck Magic (Level 1), Advanced Grimoire of the Hell Gator (Level 1), Willful Might (Level 0), Wondrous Speed (Level 0), Mystic Toughness (Level 0)Stats Per Level: +2 Willpower, +2 Wonder, +3 Mysticism, +7 freeWillpower: 426Strength: 41Agility: 43Wonder: 349Mysticism: 539Free: 0Achievements: Honored Outsider (Divine), SSS Dance with White Silk Reiki (Epic), Heroes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom (Legendary), Divine Knock Knock (Divine), Junior Manughterer (Umon), Initial Pacifist Gauntlet (Rare), First Human Gnoll Elder of Corma (Epic), SSS Genius Beyond the Lore Eater (Epic), Boon Wrecker (Divine), Befriending Gods (Divine), Rare Dungeon Master (Rare), Lizard yer (Umon), Divine Enemy (Divine), Dreaded Outsider (Divine), Freedom Leader (Divine), Master Breaker (Mythic), Attrition Warfare (Legendary), Lesser World Boss Killer (Divine), Arch Cherub Silencer (Divine)Spells: Bloody Lifesteal (Umon), Deploy Expert Skeletons (Epic), ck Fire (Rare), Quagmire Pit (Umon), Dread Mire Bite (Rare), Dread Mire Bellow (Epic), Dreadnought Hell Gator (Legendary), Void Authority (Epic), Void Layer (Legendary), Void Waltz (Legendary), Void Shout (Legendary)<>
Chapter 151: B2: C51: Chimera Tyrant Lair 1
Before Zarian exited the void to reach his destination, he noticed something was weird on the other side. The journey was already a long one, having required multiple stops in and out of the void up to this point, but he hadn¡¯t felt something this troubling before.
Zarian¡¯s excitement turned into sharpened wariness. Free evil +4 merged with his paranoia. He exited the void and dropped into a baseball slide,nding on his back as the sharp crimson grass of the Blood Prairies folded under him.
A split secondter, a crimson energy bolt that was the size of a grain silo flew over him. The bolt struck the ground a hundred feet behind him with immense explosive force.
Zarian rolled with the shockwave. Smoky clods of dirt and grass covered in crimson mes rained down from everywhere. He located Naomi¡¯s exact position and was about to use the Void Waltz spell again, but a heavy field of warp energy mmed down on him and disrupted his spell.
Zarian switched focuses, hand signing and chanting quickly. His battle kilt slipped into his body. Threads of the Parasite Cloak +2 pushed out of his flesh from all over. As Zarian worked his sealing style technique, Para covered his body quickly, fusing with his skin, the wizard hat, the shadow leggings, and his dark boots.
He became an armored juggernaut as more giant crimson projectiles rained down on him. It was a bombardment of an epic degree, a great effort of annihtion that sted him down. The assault kept him pinned and rattled while he couldn¡¯t escape through the void.
Then everything changed when Zarian ended his cultivation and finished locking up Overwhelming Darkness despite the duress.
From there, Zarian and Para unleashed the full might of Aura Mastery.
Zarian reinforced his parasite armor with enhanced darkness. Then he applied his Void Authority and Void Layer spells to enhance his dark parasite armor even more. Now the crimson bombardment had less of an effect, destroying the nearby area around him while Zarian stood to his feet and shrugged off the wrathful attacks.Here, the beauty of Aura Mastery was on full disy.
Zarian had more nuanced control of the functionality and power output of his spells because of Aura Mastery. He could use the exact amount of aura that was necessary and empower his spells more efficiently.
Additionally, he had an easier time keeping the spells going with Aura Mastery. His broadened sense of magic lessened the burden on his mind while using spells, even while in the middle of heated action.
Thus, his High Rune Mindframe skill and Unraveled Mind trait had an easier time observing what was happening during the chaos. The two mental abilities gave him more battlefield awareness while enhancing his creative thinking.
This was further augmented by the heightened intelligence of free evil +4. He could quickly predict Naomi¡¯s actions before she took them. She would want to run out of cover and help him like any fellow Marine would.
He sent her a strong impression through the spiderwork for her to stay put.
He hadn¡¯t meant to miss the mark andnd further ahead of her, but mastery over the void was more of an art than an exact science. Nheless, he would soone to her after Para finished with her part.
Para was turning her ravenous hunger against the warp field itself by using her version of Aura Mastery. Tendrils of dark and hungry aura snapped out and carved into the warp field, eating at the strange and eerie magic in the air.
She also formed a ferocious fanged mouth on the chest pieces of the parasite armor before casting the Void Shout spell. Para emitted an ear-piercing scream that hindered enemy magic.
The warp field weakened, letting Zarian cast the Void Waltz spell atst. They moved through the void and ended up in a freshly made trench where Naomi sat with her legs crossed.
¡°Only you?¡± Zarian asked, his voice deepened behind the armor and darkness.
He lightened up once he stopped channeling his spells. The parasite armor peeled away from around his face.
¡°Ezda¡¯s still alive, is she?¡± he asked, with a hint of concern.
¡°Am I not enough?¡± Naomi asked teasingly. Before he could respond, she continued. ¡°Ezda¡¯s alive. She¡¯s escorting the others out of their since things became a little too hot for them. You should¡¯ve seen the waves of minions we killed just for us to be here.¡±
She smiled at him. That smile, along with the rest of her appearance, spoke a thousand worlds.
Zarian could see that she was happy. Her happiness was deep and cemented. Nothing could shake that right now.
Yeah, there was a powerful antagonist bombarding the area where their trench hid behind some fortress hillocks. They sted up such a mess that they had a constant pitter patter of raining debris falling on their heads. But Zarian could tell Naomi wouldn¡¯t want to be anywhere but here.
She had hundreds of little scars that covered her dark skin, which was mostly bare except for a savage leather top and loin cloth that covered the essentials. But no matter where those scars appeared on her dynamic body, Zarian found them fitting on her, like part of an illustration that made the depths of Naomi¡¯s person all the greater. §²
Beyond that, there was an immensity of power that was raw and physical being held in check. There was also a consistent flow of force that was directed inward, locking her down like she was wearing a psychokic straight jacket.
It took Zarian a few seconds and some help from free evil +4 to realize Naomi¡¯s psychic coating wasn¡¯t for her protection. She had turned her psychic power against herself to strap herself down, like wearing a weighted straightjacket ced all over her body.
¡°How long have you been doing that?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°Since the day I left with Ezda and Reiki¡¯s core. On that day, when you called me out like that, I went a little insane,¡± Naomi said, still smiling.
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Zarian noticed tiny scars across her full lips that seemed to look very good on her. They wouldn¡¯t stay there for long once Gilbert applied his Healing Force +2, but for now, they remained.
¡°You only went a little crazy?¡± Zarian looked up as a boulder covered in crimson mes and smoke fell toward him after getting sted up and down from the bombardment. He raised his hand and caught it before throwing it far out of the trench.
Naomi chuckled softly. ¡°Maybe more than a little. I changed up a few things. I made my training even harder. I even got killed one time.¡±
Zarian nodded, acting unfazed even though he was quite affected to hear that. It was easy to assume the first copy of the Divine Revival Charm had served Naomi well. He still didn¡¯t like hearing how she¡¯d gotten herself killed while far away from him and their friends.
He asked the only question that mattered. ¡°Was it worth it?¡±
¡°Want to hear about how much I¡¯ve grown?¡± Naomi asked.
Zarian shook his head as more ming debris bounced off him and Naomi. ¡°No, not yet. As long as it¡¯s nothing radical that¡¯ll change our tactics, I¡¯ll notice it as we fight together.¡±
¡°Mm, there¡¯s nothing too radical. I¡¯m just way better at what I do. And I can tell that you¡¯re different, too.¡± Naomi nced left and right shiftily. ¡°It¡¯s in the surrounding air. The way it ¨C the aura ¨C is responding. I can¡¯t sense it or feel it as well because of how low my Wonder and Mysticism ispared to everyone else at our level. But I know there¡¯s something different.¡±
She¡¯s probably using her psionic abilities and the spiderwork to sense Aura Mastery at work, Zarian thought. If she can¡¯t sense it directly, she can sense it through me even by ident.
¡°Your mind is more structured, too,¡± Naomi added. ¡°It¡¯s interesting. It¡¯s still a whirlwind of chaos, but way more focused. You¡¯ve really grown a lot, huh?¡±
¡°You¡¯ll see the changes,¡± Zarian said. ¡°There are a couple radical things. But I¡¯m mostly better at what I do, too.¡±
¡°Mm. Well, while I have you here, I might as well burst your bubble.¡±
¡°Can I brace myself?¡±
¡°Nah, I want to give it to you raw. Ekri the Tailor has been here and there and everywhere while I¡¯ve been out and about in the Blood Prairies. I figure I might as well tell you now instead ofter.¡±
Zarian felt angry.
He didn¡¯t let his anger override his senses. But the emotion caught him off guard and required some internal studying. He felt various parts of his mind and sharpened intellect hold a heated argument with each other.
His Unraveled Mind trait wanted to feed into his anger. His High Rune Mindframe wanted to remain structured and objective. His free evil +4 wanted to know what Ekri the Tailor wanted.
Why pester Naomi? Was this because Zarian had rudely turned his back on the infamous drider and kept Ekri out of Ride-or-Die Vige?
Para was no help here. She allowed her host to feel, think, and decide.
Consequently, he realized the best approach was to go kill the Lesser World Boss and continue with his ns. He would deal with Ekri the Tailor eventually.
¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Zarian grunted.
¡°Yes, sir,¡± Naomi said with a giggle.
¡°You wanted to piss me off, didn¡¯t you?¡± Zarian asked as they walked out of the trench.
¡°I like it when you¡¯re angry.¡± She sauntered barefoot through patches of razor-sharp blood grass with most of her body exposed. ¡°You¡¯re going to go harder this way. I want to go hard with you.¡±
Before Zarian could reply, he noticed a significant shift from Naomi¡¯s body. First, she removed the psychokic straightjacket off her body, freeing herself from under immense pressure and force.
Second, her entire body rxed and moved with a fluidity and grace that was far from apparent moments prior. Zarian¡¯s Unraveled Mind and free evil +4 figured out the puzzle quickly before they walked out from behind their mostly destroyed cover.
She¡¯s been tensing her body while using her psychic abilities to weigh herself down. If it¡¯s true that she went a little insane after leaving the vige, then she¡¯s been doing this for several weeks, even when it got her killed.
Zarian¡¯s anger simmered down as he felt amazement. He had thought himself as crazy as any iconic Florida Man. He was now seeing how far Naomi would push to be an iconic Florida Woman.
There was only one problem that Zarian found a little too distracting.
It shouldn¡¯t matter when engaging in a dangerous battle, especially when the once formidable hillocks of ckened fortresses were nearly all obliterated. Only somest few remnants remained as their cover, but he still acted on his whims while they still had some time.
Using Aura Mastery, he gathered a wall of hardened air in front of Naomi. Then he used the wall to pull Naomi back behind cover and toward him.
Naomi didn¡¯t resist him. She looked around at the aura construct and let out a curious hum. She twirled around with a graceful flourish and looked at him with even more interest glinting in her brown eyes.
Zarian summoned some new spiders. Thest ones had died from the bombardment, unfortunately.
The new ones turned around quickly and followed their summoner¡¯s whim, spraying patterns of arcane webbing on Naomi¡¯s chest, hips, and groin area.
Theyyered an intricate two-piece outfit on top of the ragged stuff she wore already. They also wrote out runes with their arcane webbing to reinforce and toughen up the new outfit.
¡°Well, that¡¯s mighty nice of you to spray all of that on me,¡± Naomi said. ¡°Did Bianca give you the idea for this?¡±
¡°We did have a conversation about fashion and wizardry,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I figured you shouldn¡¯t have to worry about a wardrobe malfunction. And if this failster on, I¡¯ll spray more on you as we go.¡±
¡°Mm, well, I wasn¡¯t really worried too much about that. But I see where your mind¡¯s at. I can dig it.¡±
Naomi bounced around, squatted up and down quickly, and flexed her body to get a feel for Zarian¡¯s web clothing. She seemed satisfied by the work of his spiders before she turned back toward iing trouble. Their cover was practically gone by this point.
¡°Do I need to exin anything?¡± she asked.
¡°No, I¡¯ve been running some in-depth observations the whole time. I got the gist of what¡¯s going on.¡±
When Zarian used the full capacity of his mental abilities, he could achieve a lot in little time. Using his Aura Mastery as a far-reaching bar, he¡¯d kept up a three-sixty scanner that passed over a few miles ofnd and fed to him the most pivotal information.
He already knew a lot about their they were in after a portion of his mind concentrated on the expanded details.
Chapter 152: B2: C52: Chimera Tyrant Lair 2
Zarian was almost tempted to bring in the full party after reading the expanded details. This was one hell of air crawl, and it connected to Corma¡¯s lore.
Ruvaria was already a terrifying figure of history, but apparently there was always more to learn. Had she left this orc alone on purpose? Or had the Star System interjected to use the orc as a challenge?
Nheless, Zarian figured Naomi wanted thisir mostly for herself since the others had already benefited from the fight against the Arch Cherub. Besides, despite the unique challenges, this was still a more manageable battlepared to Metatron.
Ruvaria had set him up to face this before she officially became his dear teacher.
The warp energy infused with thendscape that was messing with teleportation efforts was nothing new. He¡¯d faced warp energy while crawling Hannah¡¯s artificial dungeon. He¡¯d faced it again while crawling the hyperbolic time dungeon to prove his worth to Ruvaria officially.
Ruvaria predicted this day woulde and had me trained so I wouldn¡¯t be caught blindsided, Zarian thought. However, I think I¡¯m going to have an easier time than even my teacher would expect. Just like every other monstrous person with lots of power, I bet she underestimated how stupidly determined Naomi Washington can be.
Finally, the bombardment wiped out thest dregs of their cover. Another crimson bolt the size of an intercontinental ballistic missile flew straight at them.
Zarian and Para didn¡¯t bother defending themselves. They let Naomi take over in that aspect. With one step forward, the Rumble Psion became a human streak of power, both psychic and physical.
She punched the crimson missile so hard that all the shockwave from the eruption moved away from her and Zarian. Then she kicked off the air using her Psychokinesis +2 and punched another crimson missile that tried to fly past her.The following eruption struck a third missile that came in behind the second missile. The third one blew up as Naomi kicked off the air again and yed point air defense against the giant crimson energy projectiles.
Zarian nodded in satisfaction at her efforts before turning his attention to the source of the heavy bombardment. He focused his Aura Mastery + Identify down one narrow direction, covering multiple miles, before he caught the missileunching creature from afar.
He couldn¡¯t get a solid physical description of it other than it reminded him of a floating hot-air balloon, but he got the next best thing. He gained some in-depth info.
The new information Zarian could pull from living targets of his Aura Mastery + Identifybo was fascinating.
It would¡¯ve been too much info for the version of Zarian that was younger and less capable at the start of his Star System life.
Now that he¡¯d built himself up, he could treat all of this info as pivotal pieces to hinge his ns on. Or he could just treat it all as nifty lore while his prime focus remained on the creative game ns he coulde up with.
No, he would not use Overwhelming Darkness.
He really didn¡¯t need it this time.
For the case of the godless watcher, he let Naomi get in a workout as she punched against a high level alpha skill that was nearly a +3. Meanwhile, Zarian invited Para to help him create a counter offensive that he could shoot from miles away.
Zarian held his hands apart in front of his chest, palms facing each other. Para formed another pair of arms from behind Zaria¡¯s shoulders. Her w-tipped bone hands hovered over Zarian¡¯s hands.
Together, theybined Zarian¡¯s aura as a guide with Para¡¯s aura as the main weapon. This was because of Zarian having the best control and Para having an extra part of her aura that was directly tied to hunger and feasting on aura and magic.
They poured their two distinct auras, one of mastery and one of hunger, into a tight ball. Then Zarian infused more and more darkness into the aura projectile using his Dark Affinity and the dark enchantments from his bottoms.
Next up, the duo cast some spells together, starting with ck Fire, then Void Authority, then Void Layer. The hard part was keeping half of ck Fire free while the other half of ck Fire fused with Void Layer to create void fire. The original ck fire targeted vitality while void fire targeted aura directly, making them highly effective in suppressing and weakening targets.
Zarian and Para¡¯s arms trembled from the powerfulbination of auras and spells. ck, gray, and ghostly translucent mes licked out from between their hands. A deep and heavy darkness warped the sunlight and the crimson glow of the Blood Prairies from around them.
It seemed like they were ready to shoot theirbined conjuration, but wait, there was more.
The spectral spiders had kept themselves busy around Zarian and Para. The spiders webbed up a set of gravity runes on all four arms and created a specific enchantment. Then the spiders triggered the gravity enchantment, which led to the conjuration glowing with a foreboding purple light while bing many times denser.
¡°Naomi! Get behind me in three. Two. One,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Firing for effect.¡±
Naomi kicked her feet forward and shot down from the air like a rocket. Shended with a heavy impact somewhere behind Zarian before he and Para pushed their hands forward.
A split second before the payload left their mystical grasp, Zarian created a hard aura wall to shield himself and Naomi.
The recoil destroyed the aura wall, sted Zarian backward, and sent him mming into Naomi, who caught him. Then with her mighty Strength, she held onto him while sliding backwards.
A roaring back-st of wind rolled over them, which left Zarian feeling like an armored meat shield, his limbs flopping in a rag doll manner. Naomi kept such a tight hug around his waist that she crushed portions of his torso and gave his ribs a few hairline fractures.
Once the back-st died down, Naomi gently ced Zarian on his feet. Para and his high vitality patched him up at a quick pace. He checked his notification and saw the effect before the sound wave from the distant impact reached them with a dull roar.
¡°That thing is called a Godless Watcher, Level 95 Wrathful Artillerist. It looks like a demon hot air-balloon and can shoot big explosive energy shots. There might be more of those,¡± Zarian said, as a cloak formed from behind his back armor.
¡°Heh, now you tell me after killing it,¡± Naomi said. ¡°Good shot, by the way.¡±
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With a p of the cloak, Para dropped stacks of corpses and boxes of food. Zarian grabbed a few boxes and handed them to Naomi. She took them graciously, sat down, and gobbled down the warm food. Zarian powered through a bunch while Para ate in the background.
¡°Mm, thanks for the food. It helps my meditation skill a lot,¡± Naomi said. ¡°By the way, we didn¡¯t get to say hi, Para. You okay?¡±
¡°I¡¯m quite fine, actually. Thank you for asking, Naomi,¡± Para said, speaking through a mouth on Zarian¡¯s chest te. ¡°I¡¯m not actively speaking in these moments, since I¡¯m focused on observing our surroundings by multiple means. In fact, there will be an attack from below us in about two minutes. Chimera ghouls are burrowing up from underground.¡±
Para could spread little hairs that could burrow just about anywhere. She kept aware of things from weird angles that even Zarian might overlook when he was focused on one particr direction, such as whatever was forward.
Para even gave him some new info using Aura Mastery + Identify.
This use of Aura Mastery + Identify was interesting. The system had given Para and him a sweep of multiple monsters, all of which were Chimera Ghouls burrowing below the surface.
He saw where their levels ranged between. But it looked like the system gave him the best alpha skill of the bunch and its highest advancement and level.
The same went for the best trait and best stat among the bunch. Even the lore spoke of how unusually high their Wonder stat was, although that was probably their third highest stat on average.
That was still significant. They had a good amount of speed and strength paired with some decent luck on their side, making them more faithful and supernaturally sensitive.
Zarian nced at Naomi. ¡°Did a lot of your scarse from these guys?¡±
¡°About a third of them,¡± Naomi said. ¡°They keep getting a lucky hit here and there when they¡¯re fast enough. They also have this acidic energy stuff that can burn through armor both physical and magical. They came at us in huge waves in the beginning when Ezda, the other gnoll elders, and their best fighters were escorting me here. Eventually, it became too much when that godless watcher kept shooting at us.¡±
Zarian nodded. ¡°I wish I was here earlier. I would¡¯ve made a difference, huh?¡±
¡°Yeah, you would¡¯ve. But you¡¯re here now. So what are you going to do about them, hm?¡± Naomi waggled her eyebrows. ¡°You won¡¯t let them add more scars on me, would you?¡±
Zarian finished wolfing down his share of food. Para finished her share of bodies before he summoned more spiders.
Half of the spiders quickly sprayed down the initial framework of arge spell array. The other half sprayed arcane webbing at Zarian directly.
He pushed his aura into the web strands and caught them mid air, which was made effortless by how well Aura Mastery worked with Spectral Spider Network +2. Thus, he held mastery over the spider webbing.
How and when did hee up with that? He hadn¡¯t thought of it before until he felt especially motivated right now.
He shot into the air using more Aura Mastery. Arcane webbing twirled mystically around him as a bright blue tapestry that shed with the crimson glow of the Blood Prairies.
He gestured with his hands like a mystical conductor andy down the strands where he needed them. As half of his spectral spiders finished their part of the gravity spell array, Zarian did his part with the speed and uracy of a well-learned wizard.
Zarianid down thest strand and made a quicknding outside of the trap seconds before the Chimera Ghoul broke through the surface. Naomi jogged to his side, and the spiders activated the gravity spell array. A small mountain¡¯s worth of dirt and rock flew upward along with over a hundred Chimera Ghouls.
Each chimera was a fusion of undead gnolls, wulvers, raptors, and many other predatory pack creatures that called the Blood Prairies home. They iled around with multiple limbs, multiple heads, and multiple legs that wed and snapped about.
When the spell array ended, the rapid ascent of the earth and chimeras slowed before reversing course.
Zarian cast his Quagmire Pit spell on leveled ground that was next to the hole. It seemed like most of the descending debris and the chimeras would miss the pit andnd back in the hole. That was until Naomi walked up under the raining mess and raised her hands.
Instead of using herbined stats and abilities to punch her problems, she formed a solid psychic slope with her Psychokinesis +2. This, of course, was hard for her. Her profile focused onbat at the price of utility, so attempting a more creative approach came with growing pains.
But that was okay, because Zarian was here.
He had multiple ways to help.
He used Aura Mastery to solidify the air under Naomi¡¯s slope, providing her with extra support. Then he used Aura Mastery to pump aura down the spiderwork, straight into Naomi¡¯s mind spider, down into her body, and into the specific profile runes that attached Psychokinesis +2 to her soul.
From there, he provided a steady push that gave Naomi¡¯s skill more power without disrupting her. Thatst part was key. Without enough focus or care, Zarian could jam up Naomi¡¯s skill instead of boosting it.
The results spoke for themselves. Tons and tons of rubble came crashing down on theirbined slope conjuration and sent tumbling rocks and screeching chimeras into the Quagmire Pit.
The quicksand-like bog swallowed up the rubble along with the thrashing chimeras. Some of the chimeras would¡¯ve dyed their sinking if it wasn¡¯t for all the rubble still crashing down on top of them, pushing them under the surface.
Zarian waited until they caught everything in the Quagmire Pit. Then he did a trick he had never attempted before until now.
He handed the spell cast of Quagmire Pit from his structured portion of his mind to the unraveled portion that was merged with Para. He took a step back and let Para cast the next part of the folktalebo, Dread Mire Bite.
A massive maw that was mostly invisible came crashing up with tons of rock and chimeras caught in the wake. The jaws snapped together to demolish and rip apart everything between its teeth.
Then, with no hesitation, Para cast Dread Mire Bellow as a follow up.
The scaly maw of the mighty creature shed into appearance before uttering an explosive roar with such volume, the noise resounded far and wide across the entireir. The shockwave and terror factor curved around Zarian and Naomi, leaving them unaffected.
The same couldn¡¯t be said for the chimeras. The Dread Mire Bellow thoroughly brutalized and traumatized the ones that still remained alive.
Naomi shot out waves of psychic force to knock away debris and body parts. She stayed by Zarian¡¯s side until things settled down. Then she braced herself a little before emitting a small psychic explosion from her feet,unching high into the air.
She hit the zenith of herunch, looked down, and sent her Mind Spike +2 down at the survivors for a quick finish. Multiple heads burst apart like they had small sticks of dynamite going off inside of their skulls.
No level up, I see. We are truly facing the grind now, Zarian thought. I guess this is what you can expect on your way to Level 100.
That was okay. The skill levels were growing. But he didn¡¯t want to look at them now. He would examine them at the end of their crawl.
Naomi fell back down with her bare feet pointed toward a patch of crimson grass. With a twitch of her toes, she shot down a st of psychic force that countered her fall.
She made a softnding and walked over to Zarian with a hand on her hip and a smirk on her face.
¡°I felt that,¡± Naomi said. ¡°The way you went inside of me and made my skill better. I felt all of that.¡±
¡°You like?¡± he asked.
¡°Yeah, I do.¡± She nced toward the heart of their. More monsters, strange dark magic, and other foul things waited for them. ¡°That was crazy what we did.¡±
¡°It¡¯s rare to see you get that creative,¡± Zarian admitted, thinking back to the psychokic slope.
She shrugged at him. ¡°I saw how you set that up. I felt the idea through the spiderwork. I went for it, and it worked. But if there¡¯s one thing I can criticize, big tactics like those remove the grind factor a lot.¡±
Zarian reached out and flicked Naomi on the nose. She blinked in surprise before letting out a small growl. She waited for him to make his case.
¡°You¡¯re tough as hell, Naomi. Scary, too. You¡¯re so determined to keep rising it makes me feel like I¡¯mzy. But don¡¯t get so one-track minded all the time, okay? There¡¯s more to the adventures than the grind.¡±
Naomi shook her head. ¡°I like the grind. I like the impossible pursuit. I might not be as creative as you, but I¡¯ll grow stronger and stronger as I keep grinding. But¡¡±
¡°But?¡±
¡°That stuff we just did was pretty cool. I don¡¯t mind you showing me more of that as long as we can mix in the grind with it.¡±
¡°Sure, I can work with that.¡±
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Chapter 153: B2: C53: Void Pit 1
Zarian could see how facing the monsters of the Infinita Star System would test an adventurer¡¯s power, discipline, and adaptability. It was also a test of game design and bnce under the veneer of philosophy and morality.
All monsters were evil except for special cases, which Zarian knew from having read a few bestiary books inside Reiki¡¯s library.
Evil outnumbered good by a massive degree. That was why good aligned creatures and adventurers had power ups. The stereotypical ¡®good guys¡¯ needed the extra power to survive, and perhaps thrive, against overwhelming evil odds.
This would sometimes lead to the evil alignment being mere fodder thrown against a meat grinder. That was an obvious consequence when quantity wasn¡¯t enough to ovee quality in a ssical fight of good versus evil.
However, things could change drastically when ancient evil grew smarter and figured out ways to really ruin an adventurer¡¯s day. Zarian and Naomi saw that for themselves as the monsters of the Chimera Tyrant Lair used more cunning tactics, turning up the difficulty for the Florida Man and Florida Woman.
They can weaponize warp energy? Zarian thought with some surprise as he and Naomi ran deeper into their.
Warp beams flew in from distant attackers that were well concealed from his senses. Since the duo were on the move, they prioritized forward progress instead of counter attacks, which left them in a hairy situation.
I shouldn¡¯t be too shocked, honestly. I¡¯ve seen how Warper and the other skeletons with warp enchantments use it for unique maneuvers.
But those maneuvers had always remained simple, mostly applied to a few short range teleportation tricks paired with melee tactics. This was the first time Zarian dealt with offensive torrents of warp energy on straight courses for him and Naomi.They dodged aside multiple beams, each one screeching like a thousand banshees getting pushed down a long and echoey pipe. Zarian felt the warp beams create insidious tears in reality on their way past the duo, messing with his link to the void and causing issues for his Aura Mastery, too.
The damages to local reality didn¡¯t stick for long. Zarian could sense the Star System inserting itself to fix the dimensional damages quickly.
But there were other consequences. Wild arcane magic seeped through the tears before they sealed up. The strange magic came from ces unknown while invading an environment that was already wild enough.
The dirt under the crimson ground bled with putrid blood and turned soggy under Zarian¡¯s shadowy boots and Naomi¡¯s bare feet. Multiple, blocky shaped thunderstorms and sudden dark magic tornadoes that were also blocky appeared in seconds.
The stormy weather hurled out roaring mystic winds, cursed thunderbolts, and a downpour of foul rain that was highly poisonous for most people.
In half a minute, the Madness Wizard and Rumble Psion found their patch of crimson grass and ckened fortress hillocks getting dumped on. These sorts of cmities would¡¯ve annihted cities and killed anyone below Level 70 almost instantly.
Zarian pushed his aura into a solid dome to defend against the horrific weather. Naomi encased herself in imprable psychic armor as she led the way toward the heart of their.
¡°Damn, this is wild!¡± Naomi yelled back over her shoulder.
Zarian reasoned that was one hell of an understatement. He didn¡¯t have a verbal response because he and Para were making some calctive preparations for the outright clusterfuck that was about to crash upon them.
There was a reason thisir remained undefeated for a long time, or the Lesser World Boss wouldn¡¯t be here anymore. Unlike Metatron, natural world bosses could only live once, so it was easy to think that many adventurers had died to this world boss.
Zarian was starting to wonder if his dear teacher had lied to him about their¡¯s world boss being ¡®easier¡¯ than Metatron.
I really shouldn¡¯t be surprised when Ruvaria lies, since her way of teaching is to push for perfection and toss mentees into the deep end of the shit.
Hence why Zarian was preparing for the worst now, or at least he prepared as far as he could while Overwhelming Darkness remained sealed away. It was also toote to go back and get reinforcements, so they had tomit.
Thankfully, there was no need to voice his preparations to Naomi since she could read his thoughts with the help of her Psionic Affinity and the spiderwork. She gave him the impression that she was ready to go no matter what.
Her boldness made him smile a little. He dropped his smile as they triggered the main trap, which also triggered a big ambush.
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Below! Zarian thought, keeping in sync with Para while Naomi responded with nog. The psion followed his example even when he didn¡¯t evade. He didn¡¯t go up in the air either.
As his heart hammered in his chest, Zarian slid to a stop in the middle of the trap. The heels of his shadowy boots dug ruts through blood, poisoned water, and mud. Naomi slid to a stop ahead of him as Zarian and Para aimed four arms down at the rising trouble.
The muddy ground was bleeding more profusely, shooting up jettisons of blood like someone had stabbed multiple major arteries hidden under the surface. The blood glowed with a familiar crimson light that was ghastly and dangerous.
Zarian knew this style of magic intimately. It was like the first spell he¡¯d cast when he began his adventure in the Infinita Star System ¨C Bloody Lifesteal. But this older version was at arger scale stretched out for thousands of feet around them, and it was many times deadlier.
Zarian could tell that the spell wouldn¡¯t need to draw blood from any wound. It would simply coat them with magic blood and drain their life energy directly from their bodies, which was a devious twist to Zarian¡¯s own Bloody Lifesteal.
How could Zarian counter this?
He mucked up the spell trap by casting an intensified Quagmire Pit that he and Para worked on together, increasing the reach of the spell. They covered most of the trap with a bubbling bog covered in orange infernal mes and noxious fumes that were harmless to him and Naomi.
Zarian thought that should be enough until he felt a shift from the trap spell. He noticed the enemy spell was trying to take over his own quagmire spell and turn it bloody and against him.
Hell no!
Zarian mmed down his aura and shoved back the bloody takeover. But that was a temporary measure against something established in its own ancient territory.
Still, he pushed and pushed. He gave the battle of spellcraft a lot of his attention, but not all of it.
Zarian used a portion of his mind to scan their surroundings with Aura Mastery + Identify. He fed the information to Naomi¡¯s head as multiple enemies closed in.
There were new godless watchersing down from the stormy sky, three in total. His earlier descriptions of them were fitting. They really looked like hot air balloons, but covered in grotesque, patchy gray skin.
They were armed with a single eye that was mostly ck except for its angry crimson iris and eye veins that shone likeva cracks. Each eye glowed with a harmful red light as they charged up their artillery shot.
Underneath the godless watchers, there was the seemingly endless army of chimera ghouls. They came to a stop outside of the giant Quagmire Pit and howled with their many heads like the twisted demons of Hidden Hell.
The chimeras didn¡¯t move any further since they were aware of the effects of the Quagmire Pit. They were waiting for the bloody takeover before they rushed in as an angry and savage mob with acidic force oozing from their ws, fangs, and talons.
These two monster types were known to Zarian, Para, and Naomi. But there were two more monster types that weren¡¯t known except for the briefest mentioning prior. The new ones were the giant serpents and warp fey, which Zarian examined quickly for key info.
The giant serpents were twice as wide as train carts. They had heavy stone armor and ranged in length from five hundred to seven hundred feet. They moved with a persistent and heavy lotion like someone had rolled up a small mountain and gave it the ability to slither.
They were so big, Zarian almost thought the giant serpents would automatically sink into the quagmire. He knew that wouldn¡¯t happen based on the expanded details.
He still felt a little disappointed when the giant serpents kept moving over the quagmire on a collision course for the puny humans who dared to challenge their master. Unfortunately, the serpents weren¡¯t his gravest concern.
The description for the warp fey as flying midget-sized gremlins was fitting. They had wrinkly bodies like someone took their ancient grandparents and crunched them down.
They had needle-like teeth and sharp ws on their hands and feet. They flew using wasp-like wings, and they had twisted horns on their heads like devils. They had no eyes. Instead, they had little orbs of ultraviolet warp energy spiraling crazily in the sockets.
They were the reason for their being heavily drenched in warp energy. Now there were fifteen of them flying in close while charging warp beams to rip Zarian and Naomi apart. Out of all the present monsters, they were the deadliest.
Naomi did a quick scan of the closing of death and destruction. She gave it all a nonchnt shrug and turned her back on them.
Her eyesnded on Zarian, expecting him to find a solution.
Zarian felt a twinge of embarrassment because he didn¡¯t have a sophisticated solution. All he could do was brute force his way through and try something he¡¯d never done before.
Might as well give it my all!
With a mighty roar that was bestial and far-reaching, Zarian and Para put their all into theirbined wizardry, casting the Void Authority and Void Layer spells on the Quagmire Pit.
They shoved off the bloody takeover. They shoved away the warp energy that was dampening their void abilities. They pushed their mastery over aura to the max and raised their spellcraft to the umpteenth degree in greatness.
They turned the Quagmire Pit into a void pit, making it a giant circle on the ground that was cker than ck. It was so dark, every sh of light, color, and ambient magic was sucked into it. Obviously, that was nowhere near enough to satisfy the void pit.
Chapter 154: B2: C54: Void Pit 2
The first major obstacle to fall to the void pit was the bloody trap spell. The void pit dismantled the ancient spell array and sucked it into its endless depths.
Then the void pit sucked in the chimera ghouls waiting on the edges. Zarian¡¯s spell devoured the chimeras before they could escape.
The giant serpents were the next ones to fall. Their massive physique and enhanced ability to maneuver over difficult terrain was no use against the hungry, hungry void pit.
By this point, the godless watchers were shooting down their explosive artillery sts from high up. But many of the huge magic missiles curved away from Zarian and Naomi and fell into the depths of the void pit.
The godless watchers kept trying, and they kept failing.
Last but not least, the warp fey became the targets of the void pit. Unlike the others, they could defend against its hungering suction to the unknown with their faerie abilities and warp maniption.
They stayed hovering over the void pit, remaining airborne.
But that was at the cost of speed and being able to attack.
Naomi ran up on the warp fey,pletely safe and sound from Zarian¡¯s void pit. Sheunched into flying punches that blew the fey monsters apart like popping old and wrinkly pimples.The warp fey could only scream and il as Naomi rampaged through their ranks and ughtered them one by one.
When the fey tried to fight back with warp attacks, they lost their flight capabilities and dropped closer to the void pit. Fearing the void, they traded offense for survivability and came out losing.
Naomi cleaned them out before they could escape.
Once thest warp fey died, Zarian ended the massive spell and copsed to a knee.
The Star System returned all the monsters that fell to the void pit and made it rain cold, lifeless, void-ravaged corpses. None of the dead monstersnded on him even when massive snake bodies struck the ground like mini mountains.
Zarian¡¯s entire body trembled with difort and stress after performing the biggest spell maneuver he ever used. Hell, he might¡¯ve exerted himself so much he¡¯d burned through the stamina portion of his vitality, so he really needed to catch his breath.
Even with Aura Channeler and Summon Wizard Hat +2, which were two abilities that made channeling aura more efficient, the warp energy debuff hampered them greatly. That was the reason he had to brute force his way through and go about things inefficiently.
Worse yet, all void abilities had high costs already, which made Zarian¡¯s effort to thwart both the blood trap and monster ambush a feat of legendary or mythic proportions. He supposed the records on his Feats of Adventure would love that if he didn¡¯t get any high-quality achievements.
So, yeah, he needed a mini break.
That didn¡¯t mean he waspletely out of the fight and left defenseless. Not when he had Para flicking out long and sharp parasite whips to pop artillery shots before thended flush. ?
Thunderous shockwaves battered him from above, but Para had grown more armor over his body to keep him protected.
While Para defended her host, Naomi flew like a psychic rocket and struck at each godless watcher with a punch or two.
Once she killed them all, shended with a heavy, psychic m that shook the earth like a giant hade down from the sky. She jogged over to Zarian and stood at the ready by his side.
With a big breath, Zarian stood to his feet. He looked around and noticed how the annoying warp energy was thinner in the air.
The wild and alien weather was gone, too, having been sucked into the void pit. The Star System didn¡¯t care to bring back the invasive wild magic that hadn¡¯t belonged here.
Zarian and Naomi looked up at the clear sky as the twin suns entered thest part of their arc, turning the western horizon orange and gold and bruised purple.
¡°You¡¯re incredible,¡± Naomi said, looking left and right at the field of corpses.
¡°I need to be,¡± Zarian said with a sigh. ¡°Because you¡¯re chasing after me.¡±
¡°Nice, nice. I like the thrill of the chase.¡±
Zarian snorted at the crazy woman.
After spending time to recover stamina and aura, he raised some new humanoid skeletons and stored them away in the cloak¡¯s pocket dimension along with spare food for Para. Then they moved onto the next challenge.
This time around, Zarian noticed how theirs¡¯ defenders and traps were less formidable than before. It was as if their had blown their load early on the big blood trap and monster ambush.
There was a significant reduction of warp energy, too. Only a few warp beams would screech through the air and try to mess with them.
¡°Zarian, enhance my Overclock +2 and Mind Spike +2, please,¡± Naomi requested, hopping to the top of a smashed apart fortress.
Zarian held off for a second as his Parasite Cloak +2 swung out heavy whips, de-tipped tentacles, and scythes to hack apart another wave of chimera ghouls. He sted them with his ck Fire spell to wipe out their vitality and ensure their deaths.
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Then Zarian swooped into the air, dodged another warp beam attack from a concealed fey, and did as Naomi requested. He poured aura carefully into two sets of skill runes to empower her. He noticed this was probably the limit for him when targeting another person¡¯s skills for empowerment, at least for now.
Naomi widened her eyes. She turned in a particr direction, her eyes twitching left and right, up and down rapidly. Then Zarian felt her send a volley of psychic attacks that covered the distance almost instantly.
He soon noticed some new notifications that counted a dozen warp fey as defeated. Naomi had killed them all once she scouted them out, despite their concealment.
¡°They¡¯re good at hiding from the mystical stuff you use,¡± Naomi exined. ¡°But I¡¯m mainly Willpower and psychic shit, and those little warp bitches don¡¯t have much Willpower or vitality. So boosting my Overclock +2 helped me see further and truer so I can get the lock on. Then the rest was history once I used Mind Spike +2.¡±
She raised her hands to the sides of her head and pantomimed an explosion. Zarian slowly nodded as he felt the warp energy lessen drastically around their. Now he and Para could use the Void Waltz spell more liberally.
¡°Damn good work, Marine,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Command better get my NAM ready,¡± Naomi said.
Zarian fell from the sky andnded in a pile of dead monsters. He let out a few hard barks ofughter as he clutched his gut.
The inside joke had caught him off guard.
He remembered how some overachieving, boot-licking Marines would do everything they could to get a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and act like they were hot shit. None of that stuff mattered to him and Naomi now, especially with how the Marines had kicked Zarian out.
Still funny as hell.
¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Zarian said between chuckles. ¡°I¡¯ll let the captain know to have that Letter of Appreciation signed and ready. Everybody¡¯s going to love waking up fifteen minutes before fifteen minutes before physical training just to hear how you¡¯re a ster Marine.¡±
¡°Kill babies, eat crayons, motivate, motivate, motivate, rah,¡± Naomi said, ying into the bit of how random and stupid the Marines could be. She made Zarianugh some more.
After they finished joking around, Naomi hopped down from the top of the busted fortress and helped Zarian back to his feet. Para ate up all the nearest corpses and ced extra into the pocket dimension.
The Marine Corps duo continued their venture deeper into their bynd and air. Naomi ran through the crimson grass with powerful strides that rocked the earth as if she was a giantess of war. Zarian flew after her with his Parasite Cloak +2 fluttering behind him like a gxy-consuming eldritch g.
They crushed the remaining waves of chimera ghouls that tried to stop them.
They reached the heart of their.
Naomi stood over a big and cavernous hole leading deep into a dark and rocky subterranean pit. She wriggled her toes over the edge and ced her fists on her hips.
Zarian hovered in the air behind her. He looked down and scanned the things lurking below with his masterful abilities.
¡°Mm,¡± Zarian hummed.
¡°What¡¯s the SITREP?¡± Naomi asked.
Zarian took a second to gather his thoughts about the situation report. Then he said, ¡°Five Blood Simcrums. Three Flesh Golems. And one Deathless Warden. That¡¯s all that¡¯s in the way of reaching the world boss. I can¡¯t get an urate bead on the world boss. But I know it¡¯s at the center of some dark and creepy citadel at the bottom.¡±
¡°And?¡±
¡°They¡¯re all above Level 100, and the Deathless Warden is in the Master Rank. We can assume the world boss is above Level 100 and in the Master Rank as well.¡±
Not all creatures who reached Level 100 entered the Master Rank. Some creatures might¡¯ve grown from age and time and had done nothing spectacr, so they didn¡¯t get the benefits of the rank ups.
Zarian and his friends were on their way to hitting Level 100, where they would get their Second ss Advancement and be Master Rankers based on all the spectacr things they were doing. They were also on their way to having ess to the First Star Ascension Trial, which would let them ascend to the Greater Worlds.
Having adventures and fights against monstrous entities like these would make their rank up and ascension all the better. Hence why they were doing stuff that most people, especially the locals of this world, wouldn¡¯t do. Granted, fighting a handful of Level 100s and two Master Rankers was a challenge that could spell their doom on top of the other bad stuff waiting to trigger.
Zarian continued with his SITREP. ¡°Also, the citadel has magic wards that work like a death puzzle you have to solve. Or some doomsday weapon would activate and most likely kill us.¡±
¡°You still have a life-saving charge with your divine medallion, right?¡± Naomi asked.
¡°Yeah, I do. And you?¡± he asked with a serious tone.
Naomi straightened, her head held high, her backside still facing him. ¡°I¡¯m good. I died eight days ago. We can risk it, sir.¡±
Zarian slowly nodded and rxed a little.
There was the option to reverse course and Void Waltz to their party to gather reinforcements. Gilbert alone would be the biggest boon to keep them healthy and safe. But if they added Hannah? And Bianca?
They would dominate without question.
Zarian looked hard at Naomi¡¯s back while she continued to face away from him. He knew she could feel his stare. He was unsurprised when she started swaying her hips from side to side yfully. She kept wiggling her toes over the edge like an excited kid.
She was teasing him, knowing what he was going to do. Zarian didn¡¯t bother trying to overthink it.
¡°I promised Gilbert I wouldn¡¯t be dumb,¡± Zarian muttered. ¡°So I will not be dumb. We¡¯ll go in carefully and get you the achievements for killing a Lesser World Boss. But after this, we¡¯re going to y things way, way smarter. Thisir turned out harder than I expected.¡±
Why do I keep wanting challenges, but I run into over the top challenges most adventurers would never face? Zarian wondered. Can I get challenges that are in the middle? Not super over the top. But not he boring? Or am I lying to myself and trying to y off as the reasonable one next to this murderhobo woman.
Zarian¡¯s thoughts weren¡¯t secured right now, but if Naomi had read them, his thoughts seemed to have no effect on her rising mood. Or maybe they only made her happier as she twirled around to give him a big, cheesy, and beautiful smile.
The many little scars on her lips and face and the wild atmosphere surrounding her only seemed to enhance how full of life she looked out here in the most horriblends of the Walled Continent.
Zarian looked at her for a while.
She kept smiling at him until he looked away with a frown.
He hated how she was getting better at pushing his buttons. But he wasn¡¯t so wet behind the ears anymore, not after letting his mind unravel so much. He pushed her buttons in return, which he did literally by shoving her off the edge with some aura and condensed air.
Then he flew after her, zipping through the air as she flipped around loosely, making no attempt to help herself. He came around from below and caught her gently, holding her to his chest.
Naomi kept beaming an annoying and cheesy smile at him. Zarian furrowed his brow and frowned at her.
Crazy woman. In fact, I think I¡¯m pretty damn sanepared to her right now. I bet Gilbert would be proud of how sane and reasonable I¡¯m being. Maybe that¡¯s my ultimate form, being the most sane Florida Man anyone would ever meet.
Chapter 155: B2: C55: Research Spiders
Chapter 155: B2: C55: Research Spiders
Jokes aside, I think I¡¯m missing something, Zarian thought, bing more serious as they drew closer to deathly danger. I faced multiple challenges where warp energy was involved. It feels like there¡¯s a lesson I¡¯m supposed to learn, but I keep missing it. I bet Ruvaria is trying to teach me something in a very roundabout and brutal way, but I really can¡¯t see what it is yet.
He¡¯d missed some opportunities to copy the High Warp Maniption skill from the Warp Fey. There were bound to be a few still zipping around somewhere. But Zarian hadn¡¯t focused on that for two reasons.
The Warp Fey were fairly decent at defending themselves from direct aura maniption, at least while inbat. And it was easier to kill them than to capture them while he and Naomi had rushed toward the heart of their.
To be fair to me, I¡¯m not in the mood for more Level 0 skill copies right now. I got a bunch of other stuff to work on first. He could also ask Hannah to help him. She was great at using warp runes and enchantments. That way, he could get in extra study without juggling more powers.
Zarian kept unpacking the warp problem in one part of his mind while descending into an even denser field of warp energy. Hended at the start of a spacious bridge that was covered inyers andyers of ancient dark blood.
After scanning the area with Aura Mastery + Identify multiple times, Zarian concluded they had to start from the beginning of the bridge. That way, they could avoid triggering the wards that were all over the ce, even in the air. Each ward linked to something so devastating, it could wipe out a small country.
This was the true danger of a world boss, a Tier 4 creature that was a threat to hundreds of thousands to millions of lives.
Zarian ced Naomi down. As she settled her feet on the blood-caked bridge, the two scanned their surroundings with their eyes.
The setting light of the twin suns could barely reach down here in the cavernous pit. When Zarian looked up, he noticed how all light dimmed down to near ck because of the inherent dark magic of the ck citadel.Other adventurers might find that horrifying.
Zarian would¡¯ve found it cozy if it wasn¡¯t for the warp energy.
To the sides, and behind him, there were churning blood pools filled with squirming corpses. Each body was humanoid or bestial, or something in between.
Beyond the blood pools, Zarian saw rivulets and streams of dark blood pouring in from gaps and tunnels from the sides of the cavernous pit. The streams fed into the main blood river under the bridge, which contained other half-living wretches that were an amalgamation of oddly fitted bones, taffy-like flesh, and partially rotten organs.
As for the source of the heavy warp energy and destructive wards, Zarian noted how the citadel looked like a shattered fortress that had a rounded dome at the center. The citadel was amid toppled walls, decrepit ramparts, and uneven courtyards filled with skeletons and cursed fungi.
Multiple towersy over the citadel¡¯s dome after falling over from an ancient cmity years ago.
The more Zarian looked at the stronghold of the Chimera Tyrant, the more he believed the expanded details on how the citadel had once existed on the surface.
Fourteen hundred years ago, some twisted wild magic happened here, copsing the citadel from the surface to this pit. This was also when the boss evolved into a league that could threatenrge poptions if it was to leave itsir and roam about.
Zarian dropped all verbal conversation andmunicated with Naomi and Para directly through thoughts, feelings, and impressions. After some practice, Zarian realized he could invite Naomi closer into his mind because of her Psionic Affinity.
It was an intimate proposition, almost risky, but this could help them sync up even better. After all, Naomi¡¯s psychic abilities could scan a scenario in a way that differed from Zarian, and she could gain a more direct benefit from how Zarian saw things.
More importantly, when Naomi held arger presence in his mind, Zarian felt more at ease. Maybe it was because Zarian had a high amount of Willpower and some powerful mental abilities that paired well with Naomi¡¯s profile. Or maybe it was because they had personalities that worked well with each other, finding strongpatibility.
Nheless, Zarian was happy that they could merge consciousnesses a little with no drawbacks.
Para was happy, too, because she liked Naomi and could share impressions more directly with her. Naomi even epted Para¡¯s darker and more fiendish impressions that came with being a man-eating article of parasitic clothing.
Naomi was awesome like that.
Without a word, the militant woman knew where she was needed to help Zarian. She took a few steps forward and ced herself on guard. Para watched their nks with a field of aura and countless thin strands that reached out to scout about.
Nothing came out to meet them at the beginning of the bridge. Nothing came from the citadel to greet them.
There was a rusted gate on the other side that was about to fall free from the crumbled edges of its stone frame. Other than that, there were no true obstacles, only the wards.
With their defenses staged and no hostilities in sight, Zarian focused on tackling the wards first.
There were multiple ways to go about that.
If Hannah was here, she would¡¯ve challenged the wards directly, find their weaknesses, and break them down. Hell, Hannah would¡¯ve turned the wards around to her benefit and use them against the remaining monsters lurking down here in the sunken citadel.
If Bianca was here, she would¡¯ve burned out the wards herself. That was not a scenario that woulde up often, but Zarian had it in mind that Bianca¡¯s powerful abilities and free good +5 could cheat her way through challenges like these with enoughser beams and shy sword princess maneuvers.
That was, of course, a riskier tactic to take. The world boss would¡¯ve faced such adventurers like Bianca before and ced down some countermeasures.
In fact, Zarian could sense some buried traps that were connected to the wards and concealed under heavyyers of warp energy. Because of those warpyers, Zarian couldn¡¯t get a clear scan of the enchantments and their runes.
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It was too risky to take a more brute force approach for now.
Again, the warp energy problem stood in his way. But this time, the warp energy was more concentrated and debilitating than ever before.
He experimented by casting his Void Authority spell and trying to manipte the warp energy directly. He ran into a lot of difficulty. The warp energy functioned on a chaotic frequency that differed vastly from the void.
Warp energy existed perpetually in a gap between three-dimensional reality and the vast reaches of the void.
It was kind of wild to think how Hannah could use warp enchantments and apply them to skeletons as a simple element. Yet, for Zarian and other particr casters, warp energy was a major weakness on arger scale.
The fact that warp users could use teleportation made Zarian think it should fall under the power of his Void Authority. However, it kept slipping from his grasp, rebelling against him and staying unwieldy and wild.
Zarian felt growing frustration as his Void Authority spell failed again and again.
What is it I¡¯m missing here? Do I really need to copy another system skill? Or is it an actual ¡®skill issue¡¯ I¡¯m not grasping?
Naomi¡¯s soothing psychic energy entered his head. She was sharing her Tranquil Mind +2 with him through their link. It helped a lot. A lot, a lot.
After half a minute of Naomi soothing him, Zarian dropped his Void Authority spell. He entered a low hover over the bridge and crossed his legs, cing his hands on his knees.
He meditated on the problem.
Zarian carefullybined the powers of his Unraveled Mind, High Rune Mindframe, free evil +4, and Naomi¡¯s Tranquil Mind +2 during his meditation. Then Zarian took things a step further when he flipped his Overpower trait from boosting all his stats by 25% and focused on boosting one skill by 125%.
Zarian had stopped using the Overpower trait for the one-skill boost because the increase in stats overall paid off more. He also needed a significant adjustment period when he lost the stat boost, which could screw him up in the middle of a heated battle.
It wasn¡¯t a big deal when he had fewer stats in the lower levels. But now the stats were high enough where rapid changes were a hindrance most times.
On this asion, he raised the power of his High Rune Mindframe so much he felt his mind zoom like electricity down a cable.
He made numerous calctions, like aputer, which helped him disregard the heavy drop in overall stats for now.
Eventually, Zarian found a solution to the main issues. But the solution would require him to get really, really conceptual with the rtivity of what existed in between separate dimensions.
Zarian opened his eyes while remaining in his meditative hover. In a sh of ck light, he summoned the Advanced Grimoire of ck Magic.
The spectral chains on the covers rattled ghoulishly. The spell book spread open and flipped its pages rapidly in front of Zarian.
Once the grimoire reached the gravity section, Zarian used the Aura Mastery + Lore Eaterbo. He devoured the study material at a more rapid pace.
Ironically, this might mess up his progress with learning the entire gravity spell. The gravity spell was a tricky, tricky beast that only got harder the further Zarian learned, especially if he tried to learn too fast. With a lot of things involving the gravity spell, time and speed and even the mass of knowledge he¡¯d gained was rtive to its grand scheme.
Still, Zarian sifted through the gravity pages quickly. He put together a series of runes and enchantments that would help him build a particr spell array.
After a few minutes, he¡¯d gathered what he needed. He closed the grimoire and submerged it back into his soul before summoning three hundred spectral spiders.
He passed the series of runes and enchantments to his spiders via the spiderwork. He watched them spin their webs and conduct tiny gravity experiments on the blood-caked floor in front of him.
This went on for thirty minutes. By this point, all light from the setting suns outside disappeared. The Florida Man, the Florida Woman, and their spiders did their work in the deep darkness of the sunken citadel.
The red glow of the foul blood pools and the blood river barely served as much light. That was perfectly okay. Zarian could see just fine, and through him Naomi could see decently, too.
Amid the red glow, orange flickers appeared on the edges of powerful warp fields and warp vents pushed out from the center of the citadel. Sometimes, there were even warp pulses that could scramble delicate magic patterns.
Thankfully, Zarian and his spiders had ounted for the high density of the warp field with their gravity experiments. When the warp energy copsed an experiment, they adjusted their calctions and tried again with more experiments.
Then Zarian noticed one little gravity experiment creating a tiny bead of gravity magic. Inside of that little bead, there were the captured particles of environmental aura and warp energy crushed together.
Zarian directed his attention to the team of research spiders that had developed this sessful model. He received a full briefing from them via the spiderwork and interpretive spider dances.
Then Zarian shared the results with the other research spiders. They replicated the same warp-trapping model.
They found a high amount of sesses.
That was the good news.
The bad news was the scbility. Zarian didn¡¯t have enough aura to make arger and more applicable gravity array that wouldpletely wipe out the citadel¡¯s warp fields.
So he went for a more conservative but daring approach after scanning the wards and making a few adjustments to the models. Then he summoned more and more and more spiders.
He didn¡¯t stop until he had over two thousand of them.
Knowing their assignment, the spiders saluted Zarian and Naomi before skittering out in all directions. There were so many of the pale blue and ghostly fellows that Naomi chanced a look away from guard duty.
She watched them stream past her feet. She prodded at a few with her big toe and smiled a little. Then she wore her serious Marine-On-Guard face again and continued keeping watch at the front.
There were still no enemies.
Zarian appreciated the ethics of boss monsters and ancient evils who grewzy over the years. He waited as his stealthy little guys maneuvered around traps, around trigger sections of the wards, and around billowing vents of warp energy that could st them away.
The spiders had to get creative to avoid the blood pools and blood river. They constructed web bridges and rope swings. They even put down tiny gravity arrays that would send them up into the air, then they would ride on some web boards to get past further obstacles.
They reached the perimeter of the sunken citadel on all sides and began their highly detailed work. They webbed down the framework for a giant, interconnectedwork of runes and supportive enchantments for one big and costly gravity array.
Despite how fast and highly leveled the spiders were, Zarian and Naomi were going to have to wait. Normally, they would¡¯ve filled it with jokes or teases. But the two settled into afortable silence while focused on their duties.
Naomi stood like a powerful sentry who wouldn¡¯t let anything get past her and reach the wizard. Zarian kept his high-functioning brain running to coordinate with thousands of spiders that were constructing the biggest spell array he¡¯d ever drafted.
The work took over an hour to finish the fundamental structures. The finishing touches were exhausting by this point for Zarian.
He felt a crushing pressure on his mind for running it so hard for so long. He felt like he was about to burn out.
Paraforted him from the back of his mind. Naomi remained as steady as bedrock for him because of her Tranquil Mind +2 and reliable personality.
With these two helping him with their warming presence, Zarian felt like he could keep going. He was getting close to finishing the big gravity array.
He smirked a little when he had a quick thought about achievements and his Feats of Adventure he would earn, but he didn¡¯t dwell on that for long. The rewards could wait forter.
Things were going well.
Then Ezda showed up and ruined things.
¡°My alpha! My sigma! I can smell you are close! I¡¯ve returned to help you!¡±
Chapter 156: B2: C56: Best Nepo Wizard 1
Zarian caught sight of Ezda in her giant hyena form. She was running over the edge of the citadel pit with whirlwind speed, and the spider scouts up there weren¡¯t able to signal for her to stop in time.
Descending into the cavernous pit, Ezda had on a big goofy smile as foul air and drafts of warp energy flowed past her. She was heading straight toward one of the ward triggers.
The idiot, Zarian thought wearily.
He was in too deep with the finishing touches for his massive spell array. He couldn¡¯t stop Ezda himself. Naomi tried to intervene, raising a hand and sending a careful pulse of psychic force to catch Ezda.
Unfortunately, Naomi remained an example of whybat prowess at the sacrifice of flexibility and utility could sometimes be detrimental. Naomi couldn¡¯t get to Ezda in time. The gnoll elder¡¯s giant beast body collided with an invisible piece of the wards hovering in the air.
The collision led to a moderate-sized but potent explosion of foul magic. Blood energy, warp energy, and necrotic energy tore at Ezda¡¯s body.
The gnoll howled in surprise as her body redirected away from Naomi¡¯s psychic grab. Ezda hurtled down toward the blood river while the fiendish energies attacked her toughness, vitality, and life energy.
Naomi was going to attempt another psychic grab, but a mental warning from Para turned her attention to something more dire. A deadly attack was flying straight at her back.
Naomi spun around fast and swung her arm. The Rumble Psion deflected a giant spear that was twenty feet long. The impact rocked the bridge and forced Naomi to stumble backward.The giant spear flipped through the air, stopped, then flew back to its handler ¡ the Deathless Warden. The solemn monster had appeared from nowhere on top of the rubble on the citadel¡¯s dome. He stood like a tall and mighty man encased in ck, heavy armor. Red orbs looked out from the eye holes on the face of his big metal helmet.
Meanwhile, multiple blood pools shed with sinister red light behind Zarian and Naomi. Five nearly translucent Blood Simcrums rose from the pools.
On the other side of the bridge near the rusted gate, tons and tons of squirming, half-alive bodies rose out of the river. Theybined into three towering Flesh Golems.
Last, but not least, the magic doomsday device activated. The warp field grew more violent. The maze of wards lit up with green, orange, and ck lights that flickered hauntingly. A caustic and wild cage settled over the sunken citadel, leaving no means of escape.
In just a few minutes, the entire area would explode with such force it would kill Zarian, Naomi, and Ezda. Only the Floridians woulde back alive because of the divine medallions in their souls.
But Ezda would remain dead afterward.
I won¡¯t allow it, Zarian thought wrathfully as the darkness inside of his soul quivered against the seals. Ezda¡¯s an idiot. But she¡¯s my idiot. Nobody will take what¡¯s MINE!
The Overwhelming Darkness quivered again.
Zarian felt very, very hungry suddenly.
This hunger differed from the hunger he felt from the Parasite Cloak +2. This was cosmic hunger. The type of hunger that could eat worlds and gxies, universes and multiverses.
The seals struggled. The pools of darkness around the sunken citadel whirled. Zarian let out a heavy huff and leaned into Para¡¯s consciousness for her help. He stayed on task.
¡°Naomi,¡± Zarian grunted. ¡°I need another minute.¡±
Zarian maintained his meditative hover and focused on his first task, eliminating the doomsday device. Naomi would have to fight eight Level 100s and a Master Ranker without him for the time being.
¡¡
Naomi knew what she was facing. Zarian had already informed her of the primary dangers that she should be wary of. Other adventurers would¡¯ve found all of this too shocking, but Naomi wasn¡¯t the type to turn down a challenge.
¡°Aye, sir,¡± Naomi said, triggering the First Stage of Aura Ignition.
Naomi¡¯s body erupted with arge greenish blue bonfire. A thunderous shockwave sted from her body and bounced off the walls from every direction, which nearly broke Zarian¡¯s concentration.
Her first stage was vastly stronger and vastly crazier than before. It was to where the aura implosion and aura backwash disturbed everything highly magical.
The doomsday device, the warded cage, and Zarian¡¯s giant gravity array got scrambled shortly by Naomi¡¯s Aura Ignition, which both horrified and intrigued Zarian.
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Hell, the Blood Simcrums lost their basic functions and moved about erratically. One simcrum fired a blood beam down the length of the bridge and into a Flesh Golem, taking a chunk off its chest, even.
Despite the brief ignition jamming, the enemy¡¯s ancient doomsday spell device remained active and running. Zarian refocused and kept building his countermeasure while under the clock.
Naomi braced herself to brawl like a savage Super Saiyan, but the odds were still against her. Then the odds equalized a little more when Para hurled out three dozen skeletons from the pocket dimension and raised them to fight. Meanwhile, Ezda stood out of the blood river and looked brutally ravaged while also ¡rger.
Way, wayrger. And way angrier.
A small part of Zarian wondered what was going through Ezda¡¯s head after hertest folly. Could she actually help for once?
***
Ezda of the Blood Prairie Savages believed Zarian Darkrun was the One True God of Absolute Killing. She¡¯d convinced some of the other elders to follow her belief, change to the freedom alignment, and reject Evil God Kill, who was a stupid and puny godpared to the One True God.
Zarian¡¯s godly power was hidden in the flesh of a dark human form. But even that human form was quite wild and impressive, so it was fitting to call him the alpha when he acted as a gnoll would, but more humanized.
She wanted to lead him through the proper blood rites of the central n, the original n that took over all the others to form the Blood Prairie Savages many years ago. Ezda was a descendant of the first gnolls who stood above all gnolls on the Walled Continent.
She knew the rites by heart.
But how could she lead the rites for the One True God of Absolute Killing when she constantly made a fool of herself?
It was hard to understand herself now that she was free evil +1. She could feel more emotions that traditional evil would¡¯ve suppressed.
She regretted how she¡¯d disrespected her hidden god when he first appeared on a throne in the forest. Instead of killing her for her foolishness, he¡¯d disciplined her with his dark and mighty rod.
That was the first time she¡¯d felt a hint of his true power before the Darkrun Apocalypse revealed the truth.
She regretted how she¡¯d revealed more of her foolishness by having low Willpower while up against corrupted creatures, which had her petrified like a weakling. That had been an extremely embarrassing experience for her.
Now down in the heart of the deadliestir of the Blood Prairies, she felt embarrassed for having triggered a trap and making things harder for Alpha Elder Zarian and Sigma Elder Naomi.
Ezda desperately wanted to impress her alpha.
But now all Ezda could feel was hatred for herself.
She wanted her alpha and sigma to y the flesh and fur off her body to punish her for her constant foolishness. But they were kinder than most gnoll elders. She knew they would forgive her even if she couldn¡¯t forgive herself.
Thus, Ezda did the next best thing that came to mind. She pushed past the pain of her fall. She ignored how patches of her flesh sloughed off her while her joints grew stiffer from necrosis.
She engorged on the blood and flesh from the river. She empowered her ss and abilities as a Level 92 and epic Blood Brute.
She grew and grew until she was big and weighty, her shoulders eighty feet tall from leveled ground. And she still kept her bestial form going, which made her super strong and quick down a straight line, even at the cost ofteral nimbleness.
Her giant head rose above the bridge. She towered over the smaller forms of her sigma, alpha, and their squad of skeletons. She dared not look down upon them without respect, for they were doing mighty work.
The sigma was using her Aura Ignition, which was even more powerful than thest time Ezda had seen it. The sigma threw herself like a minget at an armored undead and three fleshy giants standing at the other side of the bridge.
The alpha was covering the cavern walls with giant arrays of spider webs and powerful runic spell craft. Maybe he was going to do something about the deadly traps of their. Nothing seemed to bother him while he sat in the air with his legs crossed like a wizened monk.
Both the sigma and alpha were conducting themselves with great mystical power. Ezda could feel some of this vaguely because of her investment in one of her three favorite stats, Mysticism.
But her abilities weren¡¯t magical, like a magician. She was more of a magic brawler. She needed to hit something directly to be effective.
Ezda searched for a chance to help so she could finally atone for her many misdeeds. She hesitated a little when she felt the power of the monsters. They were above her level. Most likely in the Level 100s. Maybe even Master Ranked.
It was better to fight many, many creatures that were close to an equal level or a little above for growth. Or it was better to fight weaklings for fun. Facing powerful challenges like these would¡¯ve normally scared Ezda into running away.
But that wasn¡¯t the case anymore.
Her Willpower was better now because of the sigma¡¯s brutal mental training from the past couple weeks. Ezda even had a new mental trait and a few achievements that added more stats to her Willpower. She was braver now.
The horror and dread rolled off of her mostly. The pain and embarrassment were an afterthought. When she felt a little nervous, Ezda grew angrier and more motivated.
There! I found where I can help! Ezda thought.
The skeletons were struggling against the ghost-like blood monsters that were based vaguely on ancient humans. Many of the skeletons were kobolds, even, and they fought savagely with lightning strikes, me strikes, and wind strikes. They swung enchanted swords and used other unique elemental abilities based on the runes ced on their bones.
But the ghostly blood monsters howled and zipped around with dizzying speed and dodged the skeletons¡¯ attacks. The monsters struck back with beams, bolts, crescents, and even bombs of blood that smacked the skeletons down. As magician types, the monsters wanted to attack from afar, and their attacks were getting close to hitting the alpha in the back.
Para, the mighty man-eating cloak, formed into a thick and heavy shield to defend the alpha¡¯s back. A powerful blood beam struck and tore off a piece from the starry and hard shield, damaging Para at the price of keeping the alpha safe. But that was still too close, and Ezda couldn¡¯t wait any longer for a perfect opportunity to strike.
Then the Infinita Star System and the spirits of her ancestors blessed her when the monsters arranged themselves to where she had a perfect straight shot at them. Ezda lunged out of the blood river. The first blood monster swooped up while preparing a powerful blood beam meant for Ezda¡¯s head.
She got to it just in time before the monster finished.
Ezda mmed down her fore paw and used her Blood Hammer Blow +3, her years of practice and skill growthing to fruition. The ghostly blood monster copsed under the mega-sized hammerhead formed around her paw.
The hammer blow shook the entire area. All the skeletons fell over. Many ended up crushed under her bulk as Ezda ran down the other blood monsters while using two other skills, Blood Drain +3 and Blood Dash +2.
The first skill absorbed blood rapidly. Since the monsters were made of blood, the creatures ended up stuck to her paws while being drained. The second skill sped her up while it sacrificed excess blood inside and outside of her body.
There was so much blood, Ezda could fly hard and fast while catching the other blood monsters off guard. They had mistakenly stayed in line for her, letting her m down and snatch them up as she kept using Blood Hammer Blow +3 to brutalize them.
Of course, the blood monsters resisted. They tried to reabsorb the blood back from her using their own magic.
They were powerful, as Level 100s should be. But Ezda was angry and motivated, and she was a giant Blood Brute with little blood monsters stuck to her paws.
They were at her mercy.
Ezda mmed her bloody hammer paws down again and again. She used pure might and ferocity to crush the monsters. She demolished the rock shelf under her and created deep craters.
Most creatures would¡¯ve died by now.
The blood monsters, however, remained somewhat functional, even if they couldn¡¯t attack back. She was lucky she could hold them close. Otherwise, they would¡¯ve obliterated her from afar.
Ezda kept hammering them.
Blood Hammer Blow +3 was magical enough to deliver actual damage, hence why she invested in Mysticism. The Blood Prairies had many wild and magical monsters like these that were hard to hit without Wonder or Mysticism.
Of course, Wonder did more damage. But Mysticism let Ezda¡¯s skills hit repeatedly and helped her recover aura faster.
So she mmed and crushed the little Level 100 monsters again and again until she finally wiped them out for good.
Chapter 157: B2: C57: Best Nepo Wizard 2
Ezda copsed with a groan. Her body was dying after being horribly ravaged by the invisible trap and a short but intense battle with Level 100s. Her Shifter Form +2 and Blood Growth +2 could only do so much for her.
Her toughness and vitality had run their course. Ezda knew she was going to die, but she hoped her One True God of Absolute Killing would think of herst moments as decent enough.
¡°Woo, done, finally,¡± the alpha said, setting his feet down. He turned to face her decrepit form, his great cloak pping majestically behind him.
He marched to her wretched face as she panted what could be herst breaths. Regardless of her declining condition, the alpha gave her a ruthless scolding.
¡°Ezda, you idiot. You are so incredibly stupid. You are like the stupidest creature ever.¡±
Ezda wished she was dead. No amount of pain could rece the shame she felt. Unfortunately and fortunately, death hadn¡¯t imed her yet.
And the alpha had more to say. ¡°But it¡¯s going to be okay. I have enough power to ount for your genuinely amazing levels of stupidity. Now tilt your head up a little and swallow all of this, you big dumb-dumb.¡±
The alpha pulled out a mysterious tinum sk from his cloak¡¯s pocket dimension. Then he moved from view as he entered her mouth, which forced Ezda to tilt her head back as instructed.
She tasted a sweet and reinvigorating liquid ssh on her tongue. She automatically gulped it down while careful not to swallow her One True God of Absolute Killing.If that were to happen, Ezda would truly die of embarrassment!
By the time the alpha exited Ezda¡¯s mouth, she felt a bonfire of warmth course through her veins and muscles. The damages healed away rapidly while she gained a surplus of vitality.
Ezda¡¯s life energy was still shaky, but being a Blood Brute came with the benefit of more life energy through the absorption of blood. With her vitality secured, her life stopped leaking away.
The alpha had saved her!
Ezda was in disbelief. Then she heard the mighty crashing and destruction of fortifications. The noises came from the direction of the citadel.
Sigma Elder Naomi moved about like a burning mountain falling from the starry cosmos. She sttered the final flesh giant. Then she turned her attention to the armored undead.
The mighty monster turned his spear into a hammer and swung it. The hammernded on the sigma and deflected off as the sigma smashed herself against the armored undead, catching the monster off guard.
Every impact from the sigma smashing down on the armored undead resonated with a big, metallic, and crunchy noise. Ezda ttened her ears against her head because of how noisy it was when the sigma set her sights on destroying something.
That fight was the least of their concerns, honestly, because a giant trap was going to blow.
¡°My alpha, their is going to kill us!¡± Ezda warned.
¡°Yes, that¡¯s what their intends. So if you want to stop that from happening, dance with me!¡± The alpha ordered.
The Blood Brute didn¡¯t question him. Dancing was important for the blood rites, so she got to her paws and frolicked around.
It was still strange to move about in a festive manner at the heart of the deadlyir. It was even stranger when the alpha spiraled and danced under her, barely avoiding her giant paws from mming down and crushing him.
His cloak formed many arms to swing about and add to their dance. Looking between her legs, Ezda found the sight marvelous. She liked how each limb of the cloak glowed and glimmered as they moved gracefully between her paws.
They danced and danced.
On the other side of the bridge, Sigma Elder Naomi grabbed the armored undead by the helmet. She screamed wrathfully as she smashed her forehead to its armored face and crumpled it, keeping the creature staggered.
Meanwhile, the deadly trap shed with a ring bright orange red all around the sunken citadel, about ready to blow. It seemed like the end was nigh, but then the alpha flipped into the air and stuck a dynamding on Ezda¡¯s snout.
She froze in ce as the alpha snapped his fingers above his head. The intricate, rune-heavy, and beautifulcework of bluish webbing ced in spirals and whorls on the surrounding walls shed an intense ultraviolet purple.
Ezda saw a bright light.
Then she saw darkness until her eyesight adjusted.
She saw a single purple bead hovering in the air above. The strange energies and dangerous threat posed by the citadel were all gone. Then the little gravity bead folded away through a wrinkle in the air, and nothing much else happened. ?
¡°There,¡± the alpha said in weary satisfaction. ¡°I folded the warp energy and doomsday st into a singrity before throwing all that and the enemy spell arrays into the void. Originally, I was only going to disrupt the warp energy, but then I realized it was actually easier to get both since they were interconnected here. Or in other words, gravity magic is the motherfucking king in this bitch! So suck on that, ancient evil!¡±
The alpha pumped his fists up into the air. ¡°I¡¯m going to be the best nepo wizard ever!¡±
¡°Best nepo wizard!¡± Ezda barked gleefully, having no idea what the nepo part meant.
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The alpha lost his bnce and fell off her snout. Ezda caught his cloak with her mouth and set him down gently.
A massive crashing sound and metallic hammering stole Ezda¡¯s attention. She looked up and saw the sigmanding a big flying stomp on the armored undead, driving him into a deep crater.
The armored creature tried to get up anyway, so the sigma sted upward then dove again. She struck another stomp even harder than thest. The entire sunken citadel shook and quaked, rubble falling loose everywhere.
Finally, the armored undead stayed down, which was incredible. That creature was a Master Ranker, and the sigma had won despite the level and rank disparity.
Sigma Elder Naomi, who Ezda had deemed to be the Chosen One of Absolute Killing, marched away from her defeated foe. She looked mighty and intimidating while covered in the green-blue mes of Aura Ignition. The remnants of old monstersy dead behind her powerful body.
She crossed the bridge with a confident stride, but then her Aura Ignition sputtered out. She copsed on her knees next to the alpha, who wasying down wearily. They were exhausted, leaving Ezda sitting tall as a giant sentry over them both.
Ezda was astounded that she was left okay despite causing quite a mess. She held back the urge to lick and nuzzle the small forms of her alpha and sigma.
This was not the time for affection, especially when the dark and heavy doors to the center of the citadel swung open with a groan. A horrifying force and some great foul magic vented out from between the doors as they came to a loud and heavy stop once they were wide open.
¡°My alpha, my sigma, you are both too exhausted for this fight. Allow me to take you away so you can rest and return anew,¡± Ezda urged.
¡°No,¡± the alpha said.
Ezda shut her mouth and prepared to throw her life away if the Lesser World Boss proved too much. The alpha had wasted a powerful vitality elixir on her. She was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice in return.
Then a most unexpected thing happened. As the Lesser World Boss slowly stalked from the foul depths of his inner sanctum, he called out to her, the gnoll.
¡°You know, Ezda, our lovely and passionate friend, Kill, is deeply hurt by your people¡¯s betrayal? So hurt that Shadowfell came snooping around his ce because she thought she could collect his tears. Can you believe that insanity? It¡¯s so ¡ sinful.¡±
That sickly sweet, effeminate, and horrid voice could only belong to one god.
Ezda had heard it once when she was younger, and back then she wished to never hear it ever again. But there he was, the Evil God that was known as the Sinful Wolf and Twisted Bastard, and he was fully present inside of the immensely powerful world boss.
Unbelievable.
The Lesser World Boss, a creature that could threaten vast poptions, had called for the boons of an Evil God.
Worse yet, the world boss had given its body over to the god entirely, which could ultimately kill the world boss in the end. But that would grant the god even more means to unleash his power while acting in a Lesser World.
Until the world boss lost all of its life energy and died from the heavy boons, the god could do whatever he pleased. All he would have to do was to defeat the adventurers that roused him. Then he could exit their and murder, pige, and rape across all the tribes and kingdoms of the Walled Continent!
Ezda was afraid again.
In her heart, she believed this to be an impossible fight. Everyone was doomed.
¡°We should run!¡± Ezda shouted.
She looked down and froze. She had to remember she was not addressing a mere mortal.
There was a deadly and cold rage wafting off of the alpha as he and the sigma stood up. The alpha looked with the utmost contempt at a god that was wearing a world boss as a meat suit.
¡°SINFEAST!¡± The alpha roared like a primal and wrathful beast. His cloak pped violently behind him.
¡°Darkrun, my dear, dear honey! Come to daddy and give me a hug! Trust me, I¡¯ll make it interesting for both of us!¡±
The Evil Godughed, pping his leathery wings and waving his giant scaly tail. The many bestial arms and heads of the original Chimera Tyrant moved about like the squirming appendages of a centipede.
One head was more humanoid while dark red, bald, and armed with tusks jutting out from its thick jaw. This single head at the center of the patchwork body reminded Ezda of youngling stories about the long dead orcs.
Most of those youngling stories warned about a mythical and terrifying elf monster of ruthless good, the one known as Ruvaria the Genocider. It cautioned gnolls not to anger her, because she¡¯d spared the gnoll race while making an example of the orcs many years ago.
That was the root reason gnolls were considerate of their own poption and would avoid heavy wars that would kill too many humans. Or Ruvaria the Genocider would do unto them what she had done unto the orcs.
Yet one orc had survived.
But at what cost?
I¡¯m truly at the whims of mythical forces. Ancient elf monsters! Thest orc! Chimera world bosses! Sinful gods! How can one face such madness in such a brief span of time?!
Ezda felt overwhelmed. She froze as the powerful seduction and sickly sweetness of the Evil God permeated the surrounding air. She felt as if she wanted to be made one with Sinfeast, even if it meant she would get wolfed down as a fleshy and tormented delight.
Ezda doubted the sinful god really cared about her, which led to a somewhat clever idea from her free evil +1. Was Sinfeast¡¯s true aim to consume the alpha? What would happen if the sinful god seeded?
Alpha Elder Zarian and Sigma Elder Naomi didn¡¯t give in to the sinful temptation. They didn¡¯t even flinch or seemed affected. Instead, they looked at each other, nodded, and attacked.
Each other.
The alpha plunged his hand into her chest, ripped out her heart, and crushed it in his fist. The sigma punched through his head and sent gory chunks flying all about, some of which sttered on Ezda¡¯s fore paws.
As the alpha fell over, his cloak formed into a scythe and struck down onest attack. The tip pierced the top of the sigma¡¯s skull and ran straight through her head.
Then the sigma fell over andnded dead on the alpha¡¯s headless corpse. The cloak lost its hard shape and luster, turning soft and pale white, no longer alive.
¡°What the fuck?¡± Sinfeast said from the middle of the bridge.
Ezda felt the same as she blinked down at the bodies in front of her paws. But she assumed her lesser intelligence and the sinful god¡¯s foolishness couldn¡¯tprehend the grand andplex ns of the One True God and the Chosen One.
So Ezda nodded her big head as if everything were perfectly fine.
For this once, she was right as the alpha and sigma revived in a sh of divine light. Their bodies came out intact and well rested with all their energies replenished.
Ezda smiled, feeling bold.
¡°You should run, foolish god,¡± she said. ¡°For you are puny and stupid, and you will be crushed like a bug by my alpha and sigma.¡±
¡°No,¡± said the sigma, taking a step back. ¡°This is the alpha¡¯s fight. All I ask is for him to leave me some scraps to get the achievements.¡±
Taking the correction with utmost grace, Ezda did the smartest thing she could. She shifted back to her regr gnoll form and dumped all the blood she¡¯d used to grow. Back to being ten feet tall, Ezda huddled behind the sigma and stayed out of the way.
A secondter, the One True God and Evil God Sinfeast struck at each other, and the sunken citadel became their victim as nothing but destruction came about.
Wait, not just destruction, Ezda thought, looking at the shifting pools of darkness. Is the alpha ¡ going to unseal his true power again?
Chapter 158: B2: C58: Controlled Darkness 1
A few notifications appeared for the inhabitants of Corma and for many other concerned parties. Zarian cared little for the notifications while filled with nearly blinding anger. But many who thought themselves affluent and powerful cared deeply.
Once again, they found themselves at the mercy of the Darkruns.
There was one powerful being in this Lesser World who could step in and make a difference, and that being was Ruvaria.
She gave the global notifications a curious nce. Then she ignored them in favor of terrorizing the human children left in her care.She was now in the middle of establishing some psychological games by using her aura to nudge them around at night and disturb them when they tried to rest, keeping them tense. She smirked as the children raged and nearly fought among themselves because of fear and confusion.
As for the Ancient World Event, she supposed it was a good thing she left that onest orc alive. Facing this event could serve as a decent measuring tool for her dear student.
***
High Rune Mindframe, Para¡¯s intelligent reassurances, and Naomi¡¯s Tranquil Mind +2 saved Zarian from going past the tipping point and being blinded by rage. Or he would¡¯ve unraveled too much and given Sinfeast what he wanted, a Madness Wizard who lost all sense of strategy.
Then the Evil God would¡¯ve toyed with him. Or worse.
Instead, Zarian delved deeper into his free evil +4 for all the cunning he could muster. Then he bolted down the bridge and went straight at the deplorable god, as if he was tossing all strategy aside.
Zarian cocked his fist back and enshrouded it in heavy aura and darkness. He pumped his physical power up with multiple abilities. He moved in close to Sinfeast¡¯s revolting menagerie of an avatar body.
Then, at thest split second, Zarian bailed out of the running punch and dodged Sinfeast¡¯s many limbs before they snatched him. He flipped up into the air and expanded his Aura Mastery as far as it could go.
Sparks of concentrated starlight darted amid curving dark streams as Zarian¡¯s aura moved to his behest. His deep ck eyes shone with flickering shards of tiny aura lights.
He kept flipping and twisting up through the air like an acrobat who could disregard gravity. Para pped gracefully from behind him as Zarian cast two spells, Void Authority and Void Waltz.
Sinfeast sted out a timely pulse of warp energy from his grotesque body. The warp pulse enveloped Zarian, deteriorating his link to the void, closing out any chances of him slipping away if he wanted to escape. ?
With a collective and nasty smile on his many bestial faces, Sinfeast pped his great wings andunched up after the Madness Wizard. He swung around multiple limbs that ended with ws, talons, and snake fangs.
Worst yet, each monster limb lit up with an eerie and disgusting force. The force was milky white and had a sticky touch when it brushed over Zarian¡¯s expanded aura.
The god reached desperately for Zarian like he was the greatest treasure anyone could have. If Sinfeast could catch the wizard, then he would probably make Zarian merge with his chimera body. Or make him a part of his sinful divinity.
¡°Don¡¯t be a tease, baby! Stop running!¡± Sinfeast screamed, sounding like a coked-up maniac.
¡°Who¡¯s running?¡± Zarian asked before hitting Sinfeast with an entire castle.
Zarian¡¯s link to the void wasn¡¯t entirely gone while under the warp pulse. Not when he could double up on his spells with Para¡¯s help.
Instead of slipping into the void and getting away from the revolting god, Zarian transported an entire ck castle from somewhere on the surface.
That wasn¡¯t much of a problem for an Evil God while wearing a world boss as a meat suit. Sinfeast could crash straight through a castle like it was made of sand.
To prevent that, Zarian used his Dark Affinity and Void Layer on the entire castle as it exited the void and struck. It was like bringing down a twenty-pound hammer on a very hardy ant.
Sinfeast and the castle flew down at an angle and crushed the citadel¡¯s dome roof and half the ancient building under their bulk. Zarian dropped the spells as the castle blew apart and hurtled rubble everywhere.
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He turned his attention to himself and looked inward.
Overwhelming Darkness wanted toe out, and Zarian wanted more power.
Zarian began the unsealing process for One Percent Power. His arms moved in sync with the chant.
As he went through the process, Para removed all parasite armoring from around him. She assumed her battle kilt form, leaving his muscr upper body bare.
The inky dark geometries and runic whorls covering his arms dripped away and faded. The webbed gravity enchantment on his back lost its purple luster and disappeared.
The darkness around the sunken citadel roiled and trembled. Then the darkness made haunting sounds that no darkness should ever make, like a collective groan of something vast that was awakening.
¡°Wow, this is the angriest I¡¯ve seen him,¡± Naomi said, still standing at the beginning of the bridge with Ezda. ¡°I got all these goosebumps all over me. Hot damn.¡±
¡°The Blood Prairie Savages are all your faithful servants, oh alpha, our One True God of Absolutely Killing! Let us worship you!¡± Ezda lowered down to prostrate.
Zarian paid them little mind and kept going until Sinfeast ripped in and out of reality using a warp ability. He interrupted Zarian on thest part of the unsealing process and cast a volley of attacks and spells.
The Evil God was pretty much panic-spamming. It was a somewhat effective move.
Sinfeast unleashed a bloody sick energy that permeated the air like a putrid and crimson fog. Spreading as far as the edges of the sunken citadel, the cursed energy forced Naomi and Ezda to retreat into a hole with blood streaming out.
Sinfeast also conjured burning red artillery shots simr to the attacks of the godless watchers, but at a much greater volume. He surrounded himself with a dozen and sent them flying at rapid speeds while creating more.
Every artillery shot left hellish burn trails and noxious fumes behind them. They could burst apart midair with an awful and thunderous st. It would take more effort to dodge them and avoid being in their proximity.
Sinfeast also summoned a grimoire that looked like patches of beast and human flesh fused together to make the covers and pages. The deplorable god used the grimoire to conjure a crimson tornado that was filled with wild and carnivorous beasts in its roaring funnel.
Many of those creatures were demonic sharks that gnashed their teeth at just about anything that drew too close. The suction from the monster tornado was mystically powerful, and when the tornado moved, it prowled like a predator.
If all of that wasn¡¯t enough already, Sinfeast kept warping in and out of reality. He formed many dimensional breaks and cracks that the Star System had to fix.
The Star System couldn¡¯t outright stop wild magic from leaking and funneling out from the breaks before they sealed uppletely. Green and toxic lightning bolts. Hissing tongues of orange hell mes. Sparkling mist that froze anything upon contact.
Many eerie and powerful elements escaped from the warped reality breaks. Sinfeast created more breaks as he maneuvered around like a chaotic portal maniac to keep Zarian boxed in.
The unfair part was how each of these warping maneuvers sted out more warp energy that would mess with Zarian¡¯s void spells. That would make it nearly impossible for him to teleport along with Sinfeast.
This was all while Sinfeast kept up that milky white and sticky force around his body. The deplorable god wanted nothing more than to cling onto Zarian¡¯s flesh and have them merge.
There was even an additional hint of something far more disgusting inside of that white and sticky force. It was as if Sinfeast¡¯s entire avatar body gave off an additional aphrodisiac element.
The aphrodisiac wanted to allure Zarian and keep himpliant. Then Sinfeast would delight himself in their unholy union.
In summary, the Evil God was throwing everything and the kitchen sink at Zarian to get to him.
Sinfeast used more tactics and abilities in concert than Zarian had ever seen from an enemy before. The coordination of these many abilities and other little nuanced moves and techniques was masterful, in fact.
If Zarian wasn¡¯t so angry and focused, he would¡¯ve been shocked, maybe even impressed.
Instead, hemitted to the best winning strategy ¨C he let Para takeover most of his body and arge portion of Aura Mastery. That allowed Zarian to focus on another tactic.
Para did her best to protect her host against the malefic onught.
Surrounded by the bloody sick energy, Para pushed her version of Aura Mastery, which she also dubbed hunger aura. She ate up the most dangerous parts of the surrounding energy and its foul crimson fog, keeping Zarian mostly intact, but not perfectly untouched.
Some strands of the putrid red fog touched him, sapping some of his life energy and sickening his vitality in equal measure. Still, Para did her best against that problem.
With her controlled takeover of Zarian¡¯s body, Para became far more creative than ever before. She extended spiny bones from his fingers. She created ps of leathery skin that stretched out from between his sides and the tips of his lengthened finger bones.
Para evenbined theyers of the battle kilt into a single tail with a fin for better control and bnce. Then, with some powerful ps like a human-turned wyvern, Zarian¡¯s body propelled faster through the air using aerial lotion and Aura Mastery.
Para piloted him like an aircraft fighter. She guided his body into quick, tight, and fluid spirals and corkscrews.
She dodged multiple artillery shots, even when the artillery shots exploded midair. Para dampened the sts using her hungry Aura Mastery and Dark Affinity for shielding.
Still, the flight around was a rocky one, especially with Sinfeast warping close and snatching at Zarian¡¯s body at every chance the god could get.
Between the air-bursting artillery shots, Sinfeast¡¯s warp grab tactics, and the roaring and gnashing monster tornado trying to suck Zarian close, Para¡¯s defensive maneuvers were exemry. She piloted Zarian¡¯s body like a thread going through the eyes of many moving needles, using the tiniest windows of opportunity she could find to stay out of reach.
But this couldn¡¯tst.
Sinfeast was closing the noose tighter and tighter.
A few mistakes from Para quickened the inevitable conclusion. Some of the artillery sts knocked Zarian¡¯s body off course from where Para intended. Strands from the bloody sick energy slowed him down significantly.
Then a vicious wind torrent blew out from a warp crack before the Star System sealed it. The warped wind shoved Zarian¡¯s body even further off course while the monster tornado¡¯s suction yanked from the other side.
Para overcorrected and drove Zarian straight toward where Sinfeast reappeared from another warp break.
The Evil God spread all of his avatar¡¯s limbs for a big hug. The milky white force turned the middle of the avatar¡¯s body soft like y, ready to ept and transmute Zarian.
¡°I have you now!¡± Sinfeast shrilled.
¡°You have what now?¡± Zarian asked, while ending up behind Sinfeast.
There was a wrinkle in the air in front of the deplorable god where Zarian had used Void Waltz. Using that spell hadn¡¯t been possible because of the god¡¯s heavy warp interference ¡ until now.
Chapter 159: B2: C59: Controlled Darkness 2
¡°No!¡± Sinfeast screamed, whirling around. He desperately struck at the spot where hest heard Zarian.
But Zarian used Void Waltz once more. He stepped in and out of the void midair, ending up behind Sinfeast again. His arms and sides returned to normal as he took over his body.
Para changed the tail into multiple tentacles with scythe-like ends, each one covered by hungry dark aura, Void Authority, and Void Layer. She whipped the tentacles out to pop artillery shots and make them pre-explode before they drew too close.
Zarian pushed the sick red fog away with his own side of Aura Mastery, saving his body from further taint. He also gave the monster tornado a hard shove to keep it back.
Sinfeast whirled around again. He moved even faster, with more rage. Again, he tried to snatch Zarian with his many ws and talons, each covered in moreyers of sticky magic.
The deplorable god even tried to hammer him with a hoof or two. He was growing truly mad, and his many bestial heads reflected that as they bellowed, shrilled, and cawed wildly.
But his efforts were futile.
Zarian slid out of the way of each attack with a backward swagger. He flickered in and out of the void rapidly, like he was a video game character with a very low frame rate.
Further enraged, Sinfeast tried to use his warp ability. He struggled to make it work, as if reality firmed up against him.¡°How?!¡± Sinfeast screamed. ¡°Warp energy beats void! Every bastard who thinks they can get void magic and dominate can never get around warp magic!¡±
¡°That¡¯s your problem,¡± Zarian said, moving his hands to finish thest part of the unsealing process. ¡°You think you can y rock, paper, scissors with a wizard.¡±
The answer to the warp problem was profoundly simple, while also difficult to pull off. This was why Ruvaria had Zarian exposed to warp energy multiple times. Just so he could realize the problem wasn¡¯t as simple as warp magic being better than void.
The problem was figuring out the particr aura frequency that a warp user emitted, which was based on how their aura moved while using warp magic. Zarian wouldn¡¯t have figured it out without Para and Sinfeast¡¯s help.
While the god had kept trying to grab him up as Para piloted his body, Zarian kept studying Sinfeast¡¯s rapid use of warp energy and how it affected him, and more importantly, his Aura Mastery. It was then that Zarian had noticed there was a particr wavelength moving through his aura.
Then, through multiple small tests using Void Authority + Aura Mastery, Zarian had kept searching for Sinfeast¡¯s particr warp energy frequency. The deplorable god was so focused on catching Zarian he hadn¡¯t noticed the little ways Zarian brushed his aura over him on purpose until Zarian finally had a match.
This was specific to Sinfeast and his avatar, so Zarian would have to learn the frequency of the next warp energy case. But for now, Zarian had Sinfeast¡¯s number, and Zarian was going to abuse the hell out of that.
¡°Don¡¯t look down on me!¡± Sinfeast shouted. ¡°I¡¯m a real god!¡±
¡°You¡¯re pathetic, that¡¯s what you are,¡± Zarian said.
Sinfeast rushed him again.
And Zarian weed him with some humble pie.
The thousands of spiders minding their own business on a section of the cavern activated a few gravity spell arrays they¡¯d made.
The spectral spiders hadn¡¯t gone away when Zarian died, because his divine revival was just quick enough to keep them going. So while the fight was happening, the spectral spiders had done their work to prepare something nifty.
Sinfeast¡¯s many eyes widened as his body jerked toward the webbed spell arrays, as if a powerful gravity well had caught him in its wake. When he tried to use a warp dash to escape, he found even more difficulty.
Zarian¡¯s Void Authority + the gravity well trap was heavily effective. Theypletely crushed Sinfeast¡¯s warp tactics.
Angered, Sinfeast released a berserk roar. He changed his milky white force into a raging red force. His monstrous body buffed up with so much physical might, he could easily tear apart an entire range of castle mountains boulder by boulder until none remained.
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He pped his wings harder with great hurricane force. He resisted the gravity well and flew directly at Zarian. Meanwhile, the monster tornado made a mad, spiraling return toward Zarian¡¯s back.
The wizard looked dead into the eyes of the orc head at the center of the chimera avatar. Zarian¡¯s hands picked up where he left off with unsealing One Percent Power. He had a fewst words to say.
Sinfeast roared with fury and was about to unleash a relentless shing and smashing onught of attacks. But that wouldn¡¯te to pass, because Zarian cheated.
Aura Mastery, Overlock +2, Mind Spike +2, Void Authority, and Void Layer.
The mind spider in Naomi¡¯s head was still good and alive after the divine revival. It was easy for Zarian to empower both of her skills while she was looking out from the far side of the sunken citadel.
The tricky part was figuring out how much of Naomi¡¯s invisible psychic skill attack was a maniptable element. In the end, Zarian made the attempt, urging Naomi to hit the single orc head specifically.
Her super-charged, Overclocked Mind Spike +2 ended upyered by the void andnding perfectly fine.
The orc screamed with horror and pain that differed from Sinfeast and the rest of the menagerie of creatures fused into one body. The original owner of the body rebelled as a psychic void spike ravaged his mind.
Zarian wasn¡¯t sure of the exact damage or effect, but it was so distracting that Sinfeast lost control of his avatar. The sinful god veered off course, missing Zarian widely and smashing into his own monster tornado.
Just like that, Zarian had all the time he needed to finish unsealing a small fraction of his true power. He even had a different ending piece for the chant. ¡°Controlled Darkness.¡±
Sinfeast dismissed his monster tornado spell. He had a couple of scratches on his body while back in control of the avatar.
But his situation was far, far worse than before.
All of his wild and beastly parts lost their primal urgency when they saw Zarian and the whirlpool of unfathomably deep darkness surrounding him.
There was nothing but darkness. It was above them. Below them. Everywhere. The sunken citadel was gone from sight. Only darkness existed, along with the two of them. But only Zarian existed as the center of the universe, with how the darkness spun around him like a massive and silent whirlpool.
¡°Interesting,¡± Zarian said coldly. ¡°Overwhelming Darkness is eager to merge with my Aura Mastery, and it¡¯s without my say-so. It¡¯s less of me being in control, honestly. It¡¯s more like I¡¯m barely able to steer this immense monster that wants to keep growing and spreading and consuming and consuming no matter what.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not fair,¡± Sinfeast whined. ¡°I had to work for my power. I had to fight and hurt to keep my power. It¡¯s not fair that you¡¯re born with something you haven¡¯t earned!¡±
Zarian cocked his head to the side before speaking in a dark and hollow tone. ¡°Your weakness is your fault alone. You¡¯ve kept living even though you¡¯re worthless. Instead of that, you should¡¯ve killed yourself.¡±
Sinfeast opened and closed his mouth, barely able to respond. He turned his obvious fear into anger to speak out.
¡°You know nothing, Zarian Darkrun! You¡¯re only seeing a fraction of my real power! I would crush you like a bug with my real power!¡±
Zarian slowly shook his head.
¡°I¡¯m going to excuse you for your inability to understand that you should kill yourself. You¡¯re not speaking mynguage. And I don¡¯t speak whiny bitch.¡±
Sinfeast screamed with all of his wrath and monstrous might. He flew with all his talons, ws, fangs, and hooves extended toward Zarian.
The bloody sickly energy contracted around Sinfeast, turning up its deadly necrotic touch. The bright red rage energy fanned out like a roaring inferno. He even shot more hellish and explosive artillery shots ahead and directly at Zarian.
The darkness rippled between Zarian and Sinfeast.
The red artillery shots disappeared.
There was no sound. No explosions. No light. Not even any trails of hellish mes and noxious fumes. They simply disappeared. Just gone.
The same happened to Sinfeast¡¯s necrotic and rage energy. The darkness rippled close around his body and snuffed away all of his energy, like an ember disappearing under someone¡¯s boot.
The god¡®s anger disappeared as well. The fear returned in full force. Sinfeast pped his wings desperately and tried to reverse course. He even tried to use his warp dash again.
He slipped out of reality and ended up somewhere far worse. He found himself surrounded by the void, and before the Star System could pull him back into the proper boundaries of the Infinita Universe, Zarian stepped out into the void with him.
Sinfeast tried to speak.
He couldn¡¯t.
He turned about in fear as odd, eerie, and alien things lurked about in the void. More horrifying things looked up from the deep, deep abyss somewhere far and close in the void. Sinfeast tried to scream, but he had no voice to scream within the void.
¡°I know this is only a fraction of you,¡± Zarian said, able to speak in the void. ¡°But I like to think you¡¯re dying a little every time I cut you, no matter how small the cut. That¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do to you, Sinfeast, as I make my way up to God Land. I will cut, cut, cut. A temple here. A follower there. Wherever you exist, I will cut. That way, you can keep track of my progress and based on how much I bleed you a little at a time.¡±
Sinfeast tried to scream at him. It almost seemed like he was trying to beg for mercy.
Zarian looked at him for a long time. ¡°I don¡¯t give mercy to naughty gods, Sinfeast. I won¡¯t even give you coals to keep you warm in the coldest corner of hell. Because I hate you. I really want you to suffer. That¡¯s just how it is.¡±
Zarian took his time with the Greater Boon Avatar of Evil God Sinfeast.
He stripped some of the divinity out of the avatar. He experimented with his uniquebinations of traits, skills, and spells. He made sure each step of the way was painful for the avatar.
Zarian took his time.
Chapter 160: B2: C60: Controlled Darkness 3
Once Zarian finished with the avatar of Sinfeast, there wasn¡¯t much left of the body other than shreds of its life energy and a few scraps of divinity that remained inside. Zarian left the divine scraps to send a message to the version of Sinfeast that existed in God Land.
He let the Star System drag the torn apart, close-to-dead body from the void and back into reality. The bodynded on the middle of the bridge, which remained standing despite all the damages the sunken citadel had suffered.
Zarian stood on top of the beaten avatar with his arms folded behind the small of his back, his head held straight. The deepest and ckestyers of darkness from the void draped his body.
Even Para had unfathomable darkness all over her body while back to her cloak form, an eternal drip made from more of the void. The ckened cloak pped from behind Zarian in an ominous silence.
¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I am very, very hungry.¡±
Zarian looked up. ¡°And the stars. They look tasty. Very, very tasty. I¡¯m practically going to drool.¡±
¡°Will Para survive?¡± Naomi said, making a slow and casual approach. ¡°I guess if she survives, things will be alright.¡±
Zarian looked down and frowned. He didn¡¯t answer. Para didn¡¯t answer. She continued fluttering with a silent and darkened presence.
Naomi smiled cheekily up at him, showing no fear. ¡°Hm, funny, no response. Hey, how about this? Why don¡¯t you turn that hunger toward something useful and eat me? Eh? Eh?¡±Ezda made a squawking sound while still prostrating herself. She looked up, gaped at Naomi, then put her snout back down and continued to worship and grovel.
¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying, Naomi,¡± Zarian muttered. ¡°I¡¯m on the verge of giving in. You should take this more seriously.¡±
¡°Maybe I will when I beat some sense in you.¡±
The surrounding darkness rippled. The darkness deepened. The darkness drew closer and closer, like the jaws of a great and unfathomable monster.
From all sides, the darkness trapped Naomi and left her with nowhere to go.
¡°Know your ce, little mortal,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Where¡¯s my ce exactly, huh? The kitchen? Ha, good luck with that. You shouldn¡¯t trust me with ess to knives.¡±
Zarian sighed heavily. ¡°Humility, Naomi. Know your ce by finding humility.¡±
¡°Never heard of her, Zarian. She sounds boring. Not worth your time. Me, however? I¡¯m a Florida Woman. A Marine. A cocky bitch who doesn¡¯t give a fuck. That¡¯s just how it is, because I am what I am!¡±
Naomi triggered the First Stage of Aura Ignition, bing the center of a giant blue-green bonfire.
She hammered her fists down with all of her might on thest remaining heads of the world boss. She finished the scraps of the Greater Boon Avatar with a st and destroyed the bridge from under them with a massive explosion from the sheer force.
With the world boss defeated officially, and the debris of the demolished bridge hurling everywhere, Naomi lunged forward with all her power and threw a punch at Zarian¡¯s chest.
The darkness closed in on her from her nks. The edges turned out dull. But the pressure was immense.
Zarian gently but surely pinned her with a force that would¡¯ve crushed a lesser mortal into blood and giblets. Naomi, however, was just tough enough to survive while being pinned and held in front of him.
Zarian shook his head at her and turned away slightly.
He looked up again.
The hunger was too much. It was taking over him. Para was practically a ve to the darkness now, all personality wiped out.
He wanted to give in. He wanted to give in. He wanted to give in.
He wanted to give in.
He wanted to give in.
Give in.
Give in.
Give in. Give in. Give in.
Give in.
Give in. Give in.
Give.
In.
Zarian lowered his head, his body shaking a little. He felt like a crack fiend that needed his next fix, even if it would be his final one.
He could hear a few dark whispers that nobody else could. They were familiar and alluring, dark and maic, inviting him to give in all the way and let himself fall. Then he would find beauty in the tragedy.
The only thing stopping him was the cuffs on his arms.
But those shouldn¡¯t be too hard to remove.
Zarian focused on the cuffs. He couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He was going to give in.
But the unexpected happened.
A mighty and explosive power erupted like a volcano from near him. He shielded himself with his dark aura and turned to face Naomi. She was pushing apart the dark mps that were holding her in ce.
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He was almost certain she figured out the Second Stage. But that wasn¡¯t the case.
She was still using the First Stage. It was wild. Out of control. She couldn¡¯t use her natural psychic abilitiespetently while the First Stage of Aura Ignition was activated. So she was pushing back Zarian¡¯s dark mps with her own gusto and a more fired up version of her base ignition that was much greater than prior.
That shouldn¡¯t be possible. Her First Stage was way too strongpared to all the past examples that Zarian and Naomi had gathered about the powerful aura ability. But somehow, Naomi was making it re-ignite again and again while still in the First Stage, making that base stage even stronger and stronger.
Zarian applied more pressure through the dark mps.
Naomi¡¯s arms buckled a little. She should be at her limit. Zarian was sure of it.
But then the unimaginable happened.
She re-ignited again!
She surged with renewed might! She pushed the dark mps back some more, inch by inch, and was gradually freeing herself.
Incredible.
She was actually putting up a decent challenge.
Zarian had to actually work against her.
He felt a pressure like no other.
Goosebumps covered his skin.
His heart was hammering in his chest. It felt warm down here in the pit when it should¡¯ve been as cold as the void. That warmth felt scolding hotpared to the void.
Zarian applied more pressure with the dark mps, putting more and more effort. Naomi buckled again and again before re-igniting and re-igniting, like a giant engine hitting higher and higher RPMs, digging deeper and deeper into the depths of her First Stage.
Zarian applied so much pressure he feared for her safety. But he couldn¡¯t stop now. He was too invested. He needed to see! How far could this unreasonably determined and wild woman take it?!
Once more, Naomi found some new level of might and pushed the dark mps off of her while screaming at the top of her lungs. She pushed and screamed, pushed and screamed, breaking her limits again and again with an ascending round of personal records.
The bonfire of wild aura became an inferno that twisted upward and reached so far into the sky it exited from the top of the sunken citadel. The light of that raging blue-green aura shone so brightly the darkness receded some. Para pped with more emotion, as if Naomi¡¯s struggle was reawakening the personality of the Parasite Cloak +2.
Zarian looked in awe at the courageous and determined human spirit of a mortal woman. A woman without talent, without a special bloodline, with little of anything but pure grit.
This was the perfect moment where any lowborn human could stand proud and shout ¡°Fuck Yeah!¡± This was the moment where one of their own resisted the power of a bloodline that came from ultra gods with nothing more than the unreasonable human spirit.
¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± Zarian said. ¡°The most beautiful thing I¡¯ve ever seen in my life.¡±
Finally, her Aura Ignition seemed on the verge of evolving and breaking into the Second Stage. He could tell by how the intense and giant gout was contracting inward and refining itself. It was shifting colors.
Come on, Naomi! Come on, and hit the second stage, Zarian urged, forgetting about his hunger and his dark temptations.
He wanted to see her seed. He wanted to see the mortal spirit ovee what should be impossible. He wanted to see her grow, and then go see the rest of his friends and watch them grow, too.
Just as he realized that, Naomi¡¯s Aura Ignition sputtered out.
She failed to reach the Second Stage, and Zarian¡¯s heart nearly broke out of his chest. He stopped the dark mps from crushing Naomi at thest split second.
With a slow and shaky breath, Zarian released Naomi¡¯s slumped and battered body from between the dark mps. He caught her with his dark aura gently and pulled her close in front of him.
Zarian felt annoyed suddenly. Maybe even irritated. He looked crossly down at Naomi¡¯s slumped body as she floated weakly before him.
¡°You foolish, idiotic, suicidal, crazy woman. What the hell was that? I could¡¯ve crushed you. You could¡¯ve killed yourself. Your heart could¡¯ve exploded. That was so stupid. You¡¯re stupid. Like, really, really stupid.¡±
Zarian huffed, feeling a little better after that rant. Naomi¡¯s reactions, of course, left much to be desired.
Naomi coughed, sputtered, got her air back, and grinned at him. ¡°But did I die? No? Better yet, I bet I¡¯m even way stronger than before. So that¡¯s a win in my book.¡±
Zarian snorted. He shook his head. He got a hold of himself and did what he truly wanted.
He resisted his dark temptations and sealed up Overwhelming Darkness. Then everything returned to normal.
Naomi dropped, and Zarian flung himself forward and caught her with his arms and pulled her into his chest. He ended up off bnce with his body worn out and his aura mostly running on empty. Zarian dropped out of the air with Naomi in his arms.
Ezda stopped prostrating and ran in quickly over the destroyed remains of the bridge. She caught both of them and held them easily because of her ten-foot height.
¡°My alpha! My sigma! You¡¯re hurt and tired again! But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep you safe and warm!¡± Ezda unleashed all of her affection, giving them gnoll licks and nuzzles, unable to hold herself back after all the wild things that had happened.
Zarian and Naomi were both too weak to resist. Hence, they got their faces slobbered over, in between Ezda smearing the mess around with her furry cheeks.
Zarian gave in and tried not to fight it. Naomi didn¡¯t seem to care whatsoever. And Para was back to normal, joining in with the cloak wrapping them all up adoringly.
Using their mind spiders, Naomi messaged Zarian directly to his head: Did you wait to see all the gainspiled? If you did, I think the Star System rewarded us hard core.
Zarian smiled at that, ignoring Ezda¡¯s slobbers and nuzzles.
There was a growing theory that was bing more and more prevalent at theseter levels.
It was better to wait on checking notifications until an entire encounter, crawl, or maybe even a campaign, finished. Because the Star System could withhold those rewards until they reached a critical point in their growth or they finished a major event or series of events.
There was a theory that waiting granted more rewards, even if only a little extra.
In the early levels, it was more important to check notifications as frequently as possible. The new power gains and stats could serve an adventurer right away.
But at thiste stage, it was bing more important to grow overall. If it was possible to grow faster by letting the Star System withhold certain progression notifications after some heavy action, then that was the better course.
The further along you go in the Infinita Star System, the moreyers peel back. The more the Star System reveals its tricks and mechanisms. So how much more is there?
Zarian snorted weakly. He figured now was the best time to check for himself.
The moment he thought that, he mentally heard a deluge of soft ¡®dings¡¯ in the back of his head. He nearly had a stroke from the sheer shock of everything and the implications of some of his most important gains.
Oh shit, I need to go find a few more skill copies. There were some treasure chests waiting under all the castle rubble in the demolished citadel, too.
Zarian directed Ezda to go after the treasure chests. Naomi and Ezda convinced him to have all the rewards and decide what to do with themter. Then Ezda escorted them around the fallenir to find whatever monsters that might¡¯ve remained.
Zarian collected the skills he could get that he found useful without bloating up his beta section needlessly. Then they split away from Ezda, promising to see her back at the central home of the Blood Prairie Savages.
Reiki was still there, after all, and Zarian needed to go through some blood rites for the official alpha status. Naomi had already done her own to be the official sigma.
With that nned, Zarian and Naomi returned to theke and finally got to rx. Zarian fell asleep right away, knowing he would review everything when he was well-rested and more clear headed.
Then he would make some major decisions for his profile and among other things.
Chapter 161: B2: C61: Morning Review 1
Zarian woke up ravenously hungry and had a panic attack.
Prior to waking, he dreamed of looking down on a world covered in little castles with little caves under the surface. His friends were down there. The Ride-or-Die kiddos were down there. Ruvaria, Foodie, and Arnold of Ambrose were down there.
Then, with no concern or mercy, he¡¯d eaten the entire world along with everyone on it. It had a nice crunch. An array of vors popped and crackled as he chewed.
Then the dream ended.
After waking up from that, Zarian had to sit in his bed for the next five minutes. He had to get a feel for what was real and what wasn¡¯t.
It was both interesting and annoying how someone could grow high in levels and stats, yet their personality remained. Their fears and joys remained.
The only way to change those internal things was to grow as an actual person. The System and its profiles didn¡¯t affect those intrinsic stuff unless there was an overtly game-like or magical maneuver, like empathy or mood magic.
Taking a deep breath in and out, Zarian felt his aura cycle around through him and for thousands and thousands of feet in all directions. Then he focused again on his surroundings.
Zarian didn¡¯t find his enchanted bed as novel as he did months ago. Nor was he as immensely impressed by having a spacious apartment with full luxury amenitiespared to when Hannah had finished up making one for him back at the Central Library Artillery Tower.She¡¯d ensured he had thergest and nicest room in honor of his status and origins, despite the issues from the Darkrun Apocalypse.
His current room had its own mini kitchen and bar area. It had a sparkly bathroom with a shower and bathtub. There was an entertainment area in front of his bed set within a sunken floor, and there was an enchanted crystal disy screen on the opposite wall.
None of these things were novel for Zarian now. In fact, this room was smaller than his room back in Ride-or-Die Vige.
But this room was special on its own. On first nce, it was easy to miss how everythingprised tiny, tiny cubes.
When he rubbed his hands over theforter, it felt like a normalforter. But in reality, it was woven from cubic meshing.
The rugs on the floor were the same, all soft mini cube stuff. The same went for the sofa, the bathroom, the crystal disy screen, the enchanted pipes in the walls that could make water flow and change temperatures, and even the medieval style refrigerator.
Hannah had grown skillfully better with that cube ability of hers. It used to be more obvious before.
The only thing Hannah didn¡¯t make was the actual view. But she constructed their hotel with all the rooms havingke-side views. The structure was also on top of the tallest castle that was part of a blocky ring around the beautiful, reflectiveke.
Zarian rxed further as he looked beyond his wide and tall windows and the spacious balcony. Out there, he saw theke under the pre-dawn, cobalt blue morning of a new day. ?¨¤
Not even a single ripple disturbed the water for quite some time. Then Zarian spotted a brief ssh, which was the telltale sign of something lurking beneath the pristineke surface.
Something to fish.
Zarian had never thought much about outdoor enjoyment beforeing to the Infinita Star System. But he had to admit that the World of Castles and Caverns had some naturally pretty views that went along with its fantastical themes.
As Zarian enjoyed the view, he felt Para¡¯s threads pierce gently out of his skin from around his shoulders and his back. She extended herself until she became a simple dark red and leathery cloak without her glittery aura lights.
For the sake of the peaceful morning, Para remained dimmed down.
Zarian wouldn¡¯t have minded if she continued glimmering like she ate countless gxies and wore them just beneath the skin of the cloak. But he did like how Para could appreciate the peaceful simplicity of waking up to a beautiful view.
Then Para took things a step further by forming some tentacles from the ends of the cloak. The tentacles slithered over the edge of the bed and exited the apartment room, leaving the door slightly ajar.
Zarian could follow along with his aura perception and Wonder, but he let Para do whatever she was doing to be a surprise.
He stayed in bed.
The pre-dawn morning was lightening up.
Because their travel hotel was on top of the tallest castle while facing north, Zarian didn¡¯t have to concern himself over the direct sunbeams of the rising suns. He could take a peek around the corner if he wanted to see.
But even with how strong he was now, he was still a dark-type at heart. He liked the pre-dawn morning a little more than the sunrise itself, honestly.
He heard Bianca¡¯s voice resonating through the hotel and through the open door. She was letting out her typical morning scream, like a rooster crowing.
By now, she would have the coffee finished.
Zarian waited in bed.
Para¡¯s tentacles returned with a giant mug of coffee wrapped up. The dark drink had some magical twists added to it, so it wasn¡¯tmon quality coffee, it was umon quality, making it taste better while giving a buff to focus.
Regardless of the extra magic perk, Zarian enjoyed drinking coffee in the morning, especially after what happened with the Chimera Tyrant Lair.
Zarian took a deep sniff of his coffee. He let it sit in the palm of his hands and felt its warmth.
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The coffee was actually scalding hot, but Zarian was too tough to feel bothered by that. Then he took his first sip and tasted all the textures, vors, and slight magical highlights over his tongue.
He felt a miniscule but weing buzz that gave him some extra perk from the first sip alone. He took a minute to enjoy the first sensations of the first sniff and taste of coffee.
Then he took another sip and turned his focus elsewhere.
He was still hungry. But the hunger was for actual food of the world, rather than to turn the world and its people into food. Still, he and Para agreed to wait a little longer before satisfying their hunger.
It was time for Zarian to assess what happenedst night and look over his gains with a more critical eye. He invited Para to speak if she wanted, but the Parasite Cloak +2 wanted to take the backseat on things for now.
Zarian felt some concern over that.
Did he do something that made Para more reclusive?
He gave her some impressions of his concern.
All he could get from his friendly parasite was that she was okay and she would speak when she was ready, or if necessary. Para didn¡¯t exin any further than that.
Was Para bing an introvert?
Zarian was still a little worried, but he didn¡¯t press Para any further. For now, she acted as a silent andforting presence, wrapping him up with the cloak while he held his mug with two hands and sat cross-legged on the giant enchanted bed.
Zarian nced over at the physical loot stacked on the wooden cube-made study desk. It was in the corner near the wide and tall windows.
While his eyes were on the loot, his thoughts worked over the events from their crawl.
He remembered how excited he was about a challenge before things turned out drastically tough from the start. He remembered seeing how wild Naomi looked while covered in temporary scars.
He remembered the mentioning of Ekri the Tailor before marching out and leading a direct assault on the heart of their. Things had gone right and wrong from there.
¡°We should¡¯ve gone back and got the rest of the party before we jumped down to face the sunken citadel,¡± Zarian said with a sigh. ¡°I broke my promise to Gilbert. That was dumb. No amount of cunning and tactics I can get from free evil +4 can hide the fact that I got he cocky again. I put myself in a position where I had to use Overwhelming Darkness in the worst way.¡±
The results had spoken for themselves.
Yes, things turned out fine in the end.
But Zarian had nearly given in to his dark urges and be an apocalyptic and existential threat again. He¡¯d literally wanted to eat stars and worlds, cosmic systems of gctic and universal size, then work his way up to eating entire interconnected multiverses and their primordial protectors.
The horrifying part was how he¡¯d felt closer to his darkness than ever before during that moment. That had given him more control, more power. An unbelievable amount of power, really.
But the cost of all that power hade with the risk of changing him forever.
Now Zarian had to question if cultivation was both a gift and a curse.
Did having more control over his One Percent Power mean he would continue merging himself further and further with the dark and cosmic hunger that threatened all life?
Was there a point where he could ovee these horrific urges and temptations? Then would he gain all the benefits without the consequences of his massive and terrifying power?
One way or another, he still had to cultivate.
He had to see things through. There might be a breaking point if he cultivated enough.
But he also had to admit cultivation wasn¡¯t exactly a thrilling experience, and it came at the sacrifice of his wizardry studies. It made adventuring a little risky when so much of his focus was on cultivation, making his abilities overall weaker.
There were a few solutions.
One, he could cultivate at night and study wizardry during the day.
He would be more connected with darkness at night. That should ease up the burden of cultivating his Overwhelming Darkness and make it so it was less miserable, and he was less vulnerable.
Then, during the day, he could study his ass off.
He could go a few weeks without sleep at this point. Maybe a little less while grinding away. He would just need to catch up on sleep now and then.
As for the second solution, Zarian thought he should lean on the help of his powerful friends more. He should¡¯ve done that before he and Naomi entered the sunken citadel.
Zarian spoke aloud, mostly for himself to hear. ¡°We risked our health too much when Gilbert could¡¯ve kept us healed. Hannah could¡¯ve crushed that doomsday spell device faster and morepetently. And Bianca¡¯s Bianca, full of talent and always able to help or dominate. Looking back, we should¡¯ve gotten the full party.¡±
Zarian took another sip of his coffee before continuing. ¡°Or hell, we should¡¯ve just bought them along as auxiliaries. If Naomi just wanted most of their for herself and me, the others could¡¯ve followed along in the back and stayed mostly inactive. Then, when shit gets real, they can jump in right away.¡±
The more Zarian thought about it, the more he felt a little angry with himself.
He¡¯d taken a lot of time to develop his party of Floridians. He¡¯d seen them grow from weak Level 1s to the mighty powerhouses they were today.
He hadn¡¯t always been there for everything, especially not in the past couple of months when Zarian had to work on multiple disciplines of study. They¡¯d developed themselves on their own during that time and became all the greater for it.
Still, he¡¯d chosen to live his adventurer life with others by his side. But when he had the option to bring along more, he¡¯d turned that down.
He didn¡¯t me Naomi. She was the only one who had an epic ss among a bunch of legendary sses. She needed to push her limits constantly to avoid falling behind.
But Zarian was pretty damn sure that Naomi was the second strongest of the party now. He hadn¡¯t learned the full details of her changes just yet. He was just sure Naomi had gotten something incredible based on how giddy and delirious she was by the time they went to sleep.
He was d for her. She¡¯d resisted his darkness for quite some time. She deserved whatever she¡¯d gained from that.
However, her joy didn¡¯t take away from how Zarian felt like he had royally screwed up and made a major strategic mistake.
¡°Auxiliaries,¡± Zarian said. ¡°If I ever get the feeling that we¡¯re up against a dangerous situation like that again, I¡¯m calling in auxiliaries.¡±
The idea was simple. There were the main crawlers. Then there were the auxiliaries who would only help during extreme emergencies.
That way, the main crawlers could develop themselves as necessary without going into deadly situations half-cocked. Of course, this could still lead to situations where the auxiliaries had to crawl, too, but that was a necessary evil.
Besides, this was for hypothetical situations. After Zarian and Naomi¡¯s explosive growth, everyone else would want to throw themselves into some crawls and catch upter.
At the very least, Zarian could reference the auxiliary idea for the next time a situation like the Chimera Tyrant happened. Because at some point, even Zarian had to admit the challenges and rewards weren¡¯t worth the potential mayhem and existential end of all that he held dear.
There was the threat of being trapped in a jar, too.
Zarian didn¡¯t really care about that. He¡¯d happily ept the jar treatment if he fucked up again.
¡°Dealing with me is a hell of a problem, isn¡¯t it, Star System?¡± Zarian asked.
A golden notification box appeared in front of Zarian¡¯s face.
¡°Sorry,¡± Zarian said.
The notification box disappeared without another response.
Zarian nodded to himself and took a few more sips of coffee. The pre-dawn morning was on the verge of ending and bing true dawn.
When Zarian saw the first golden ray of sunrise beaming past his windows, he turned his attention fully to his notifications. He rearranged them based on what he wanted to go over first while the fun stuff waited toward the end.
Chapter 162: B2: C62: Morning Review 2
Zarian frowned at the defeat notification for the Greater Boon Avatar. He would¡¯ve preferred his enemy¡¯s true name to be disyed as Chimera Tyrant Ogrul, the Last Orc Shaman.
Sinfeast didn¡¯t deserve any mention, but Zarian told himself to let it go for now. There would be more chances for him to deliver on his promises to Sinfeast and make the Evil God want to kill himself.
Zarian turned his focus to something more dire.
He scrolled through his notifications in his head. He looked back at the one about how Sinfeast had wanted to consume Zarian and take his power.
Was that something only Sinfeast could do?
Or could the other Evil Gods do the same?
Could his wife eat him and take Overwhelming Darkness?
Zarian was inclined to think that the other Evil Gods could indeed take power from others. That would make sense with the evil alignment and how cunning their side could be.¡°So evil wants to eat me and steal my power, while good wants to seal me up for as long as possible, maybe even forever,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Okay, well, all of that is definitely a concern. I¡¯ll have to stay a little more wary when I¡¯m dealing with anyone from the big evil and big good side.¡±
He was saying this even though he¡¯d yed with fire multiple times already.
He had his own overpowered elf mentor/monster back at home who had once been the fantasy equivalent of a Nazi. He was pretty sure Good Goddess Purehome was madder than she was already because Zarian had taken Corma¡¯s Chosen One for himself.
¡°In my ignorance, dumb shit happens,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But in my ignorance, cool shit happens. Thus, we have bnce with this shit.¡±
Nodding like a sage, Zarian moved on to his next notifications that were worth his attention. He had the notifications from all the physical treasure loot he examined using Aura Mastery + Identify.
There were a lot of expanded details and lore. Some really interesting stuff. The details spoke about how Ogrul had searched desperately for a way to defeat the elves and hold theirnd.
¡°Wait, were the elves the invaders and not the orcs?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°Man, that¡¯s a hell of a plot twist. Then again, the elves seemed fairly hardcore out here. Maybe they were expanding territory, and they ran up against Castle Grimrock. Then the orcs pushed back.¡±
He also didn¡¯t believe that the orcs were innocent back then.
Instead, he figured the elves had existed as the strongest, and the orcs were doing all they could to fight a losing battle. But it seemed like the orcs had found some measures of great sess.
Not only they¡¯d ughtered many of their elven enemies, they¡¯d killed some powerful Level 100s using evil tricks and magic that could ovee the power of the elves.
¡°Oh, they killed a few of Ruvaria¡¯s children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.¡± Zarian winced. ¡°Ah, I see. So that was how it went. They used some magic tech from the Forgotten Kingdom, too.¡±
The lore was all connecting now.
The Forgotten Kingdom Dungeon had ended up buried because of Ruvaria in the Adventure Era. The orcs took some powerful weapons from that ce back in the Reset Era, which meant Ruvaria had left it alone for a while until someone or something caused her to sink an advanced magitek civilization. The connection grew deeper because the stuff from the Forgotten Kingdom could¡¯vee from the sophisticated magic crafts of the old dwarves, who were gone now.
Fifteen thousand years ago, Ruvaria¡¯s father, an Absolute King, had wiped out the old dwarves. Why exactly? No idea.
Many yearster, Ruvaria had wiped out the orcs, probably for simr reasons. Or maybe not.
Either way, the lore was crazy deep, which Zarian liked despite how grim it all was. The connection told a story.
¡°Don¡¯t fuck with the elves,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Yet that¡¯s something I¡¯m doing right now. Prior to me, everybody who messed with them got curb stomped. So, yay me?¡±
Shaking his head, Zarian scrolled up and down on the notifications about the items. They were all legendary and filled with intricate enchantments, some of which Zarian was pretty sure that Hannah hadn¡¯t found yet.
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There was a set of legendary armor, some legendary melee weapons, and even some magic sks that contained highly dangerous alchemical draughts. One sk had necrotic poison. Another had a powerful paralysis.
There was a third sk that contained flesh melting liquid that could transfuse two different creatures together who have weak aura and weak Willpower.
Zarian wasn¡¯t sure what he would do with some of this stuff. He was already focused on his ownplex strategies and he needed more simplicity.
There were a few bright spots that were real game changes.
Among the loot, Zarian came away with not one, not two, not three, not four, but five legendary satchels. Those and the scrolls were the best of the best amid the pile of loot.
¡°Sorry, gnomes, but I must find you and pick one off the floor. It can, um, help save the universe at the cost of your dignity and trauma,¡± Zarian said.
The Star System went as far as supporting the achievement hunt with a side quest popping up.
¡°Yup, that works for me,¡± Zarian said.
As for the scrolls, he had three of them.
¡¡
¡°Well, well, well,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Not only does the rabbit hole go deeper, but I¡¯ve found my old world friends, war and profits.¡±
Zarian now understood why Ruvaria didn¡¯t want to talk about Carrowmore. She wanted to destroy Carrowmore.
But it was off limits to her.
The thousand year tournament was too important, so Carrowmore had the Star System¡¯s protection.
That was both interesting and a little awful.
Zarian frowned as he lowered his cooling mug to hisp. He looked out toward theke as sunbeams streamed past his window and shone on the western corner of the ring of castles.
Theke remained pristine, dark, and beautiful.
Zarian didn¡¯t want Carrowmore destroyed. It was one of those ces that was heavily established and enriched with lore that could link it to everything in this world and across multiple Lesser Worlds.
Carrowmore was worth seeing and exploring regardless of it being heavily involved in the business of evil.
He wanted to be a part of the thousand-year tournament. But he still felt sad for Ruvaria, whose great power still had limits.
Unlike Zarian, she couldn¡¯t break past the Star Systempletely. She was merely powerful enough to negotiate more directly with the System while standing as the pinnacle of the Lesser Worlds.
So Carrowmore remained safe from her wrath despite how the people there had crossed Ruvaria.
¡°Sorry, teacher,¡± Zarian said. ¡°We all can¡¯t get everything we want.¡±
Granted, Ruvaria and her people had already ughtered other races and buried multiple ces, if not just one. Maybe they ran out of their allotted genocidal and cataclysm-creating rights. If that was the case, then Zarian would have to admit there was some irony to be found there.
Zarian took another sip from his lukewarm coffee.
He continued with his review. He was feeling a little more excited now.
The rest of the review was fairly breezy and focused on the usual gains. Which was highly unusualpared to most adventurers, but at this point Zarian was quite spoiled.
Though, he was still a little surprised when he reexamined how many achievements he¡¯d earned. He truly hadn¡¯t expected to get five of them, which was a lot at one time.
Chapter 163: B2: C63: Morning Review 3
Zarian blinked after rereading the achievement and realizing he had forgotten how incredible this reward was. He reached into Para¡¯s pocket dimension and pulled out the scroll that the System had delivered to himst night.
He hadn¡¯t aura-identified the scroll until now.
Before Zarian concentrated, he thought how funny it was that they had two people with plenty of ways to use and abuse life energy. Zarian had his Bloody Lifesteal, and Gilbert had a new trait after upgrading the umon Extra Life to something epic, Life Wellspring.
Now that I think about it, it might be time I look at upgrading Bloody Lifesteal somehow. It¡¯s falling behind a little.
That sounded like a no-brainer, but it actually required some major brainstorming. Zarian was thinking of upgrading the umon spell himself, which was something he¡¯d never done before.
It was a simple enough spell. It only had basic symbols and runic text. There were even some nk spots where he could fill in stuff. Maybe he could pull it off. Maybe.Putting experimental wizardry ns aside, Zarian held the scroll up.
It was like the other scrolls. They were a foot and a half long, made of leathery parchment, and had a thick rawhide cord keeping it rolled up and pinched at the middle.
Each one was dark yellowish while the cords were brown.
Under Zarian¡¯s aura perception, each scroll shone with their own mystical power colors and shapes based on their unique runes and arrays. The death blight scroll was dark and harrowing, while the friendship revival scroll was illuminating and weing.
The scrolls also had deeply ingrained runes that were special and guarded by the System.
Zarian could feel the Star System actively shielding the special runes. He assumed these were runes for the game mechanics that kept scrolls as special items.
Zarian pushed hard just to stress test the Star System, and the System resisted all the way sessfully. This was definitely a hard-coded mechanic, so Zarian left it alone for now.
He found it novel that he and his friends reached the point where super high-quality items, such as scrolls of immense power, were now avable.
The weapons and armors were nice, but they were more useful to Hannah. The sks filled with dangerous concoctions could go to Gilbert.
But the scrolls? Those were definitely in Zarian¡¯s wheelhouse.
Zarian grabbed up all the scrolls with his aura and ced them into Para¡¯s pocket dimension. He moved onto the next achievement.
Zarian snorted and reached into the pocket dimension again.
He pulled out the dark, leather bound vial with a bulging hand-sized belly and a cork on top. Something awful and tragic roiled inside of the vial.
¡°Damn, System, when you really want to be ruthless, you really can be,¡± Zarian said, putting the vial back into the pocket dimension. ¡°Much appreciated. I¡¯ll keep this for a really rainy day.¡±
¡°Huh, that sounds cool. I would wonder what that favor could be, but apparently I don¡¯t need to think hard about it. Thanks.¡±
Zarian already had a lot to think about. So the less thinking he could do, the better.
¡°I¡¯m really not an overachiever, but I guess I owe my thanks to the gnolls for stealing what could¡¯ve been my firstir,¡± Zarian said, nodding. ¡°You know what? I¡¯ll even scratch behind some of their ears to show my appreciation.¡±
Some new notifications popped up in front of Zarian. His eyes widened at the messages.
¡°Star System, now I know you are acting wild,¡± Zarian said. ¡°There are a lot of gnolls. A lot, a lot. How many ear scratches and head pats am I supposed to give to aplish the side quest?¡±
The Star System didn¡¯t respond.
Para gave a happy impression in the back of Zarian¡¯s mind. Technically, she was a part of him. She could aplish the quest for him once they reached the central home of the Blood Prairie Savages.
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I have a bunch of leftover quests don¡¯t I? Zarian checked.
Yeah, I cleared out some of the older side quests, but now I have new ones, Zarian thought.
Either way, the rewards were pouring in heavily. The stats had gone up because of the Legendary Lair Conquest achievement.
Zarian could feel the difference in Strength and Agility especially since those were lowpared to everything else.
However, Zarian was physically the second most capable person overall right now because of his Thematic Law/Floridian Mindset. That divine trait buffed Para by a lot, which buffed Zarian¡¯s body by a lot.
Still, building up the base Strength and Agility without having to use Free points was always nice.
Now onto thest achievement, which had given him a slightly ridiculous and troublesome reward.
Zarian sighed. ¡°Oh, Christian God of Gilbert, damn it all. Isn¡¯t my te full enough?¡±
Zarian summoned the grimoire. He waited as something shifted around under the cloak from behind him. The grimoire crept out from under Para slowly while t with the bed.
Humanoid fingers and centipede legs extended from the back cover. Yellow-white patches of fur and horns covered the front cover. Beady eyes of different sizes and types blinked, clicked, and lolled about from the spine.
Zarian blinked slowly at the thing.
The grimoire was certainly weird as it moved skittishly across the bed. Then it turned to Zarian and emitted a gurgling screech before scurrying back under Para¡¯s cloak.
Zarian sighed again. ¡°How am I supposed to learn spells when the grimoire is all timid? Am I supposed to force it?¡±
Para formed a feminine hand, the palm splitting into a mouth. ¡°I can help there, Zarian. I know you are busy, but since this is a basic grimoire, I should be able to read its initial spells quickly and pass the knowledge to you.¡±
¡°Uh, sure, thanks.¡± Zarian hesitated, then asked, ¡°Is everything okay, Para?¡±
¡°I have been thinking about existence and choice and the meaning of life. I have been thinking of many things I haven¡¯t thought too deeply about outside of morality and what I am in the grand scheme of everything,¡± Para said.
Zarian opened and closed his mouth. He didn¡¯t know what to say, so he nodded.
Para turned her attention to the Grimoire of Weird Morphs. She gently caressed the bristly and horned top cover.
The grimoire made phlegmy purring sounds that sounded like someone¡¯s clogged up drainage pipe. The grimoire seemed to like the parasite more than the actual host.
I feel like summoning the other grimoires and letting them toughen this one up. Especially the hell gator grimoire, Zarian thought mischievously.
That¡¯s bullying and hazing and hypocritical of you. Why not build trust first before we add pressure gradually? Para directed through their mental bond.
Oof, damn, you are not holding back when you act like a mother. Fine, fine, use your gentle parenting and see how far that goes, Zarian returned.
At the very least, Para would take a short time to learn the first two or three spells once she could get the weird morph grimoire to cooperate. It was a basic grimoire, too, so it had plenty of growing to do before it advanced like the others.
Leaving Para to tame their new grimoire, Zarian moved on to the juicy stuff. Actual levels, advancements, and new gains.
¡°Oh, yeah, that¡¯s that good, good stuff. I¡¯d snort it if I could,¡± Zarian said, chuckling. ¡°I¡¯m eight more levels away from the big Level 100 and all the cool stuff thates with it.¡±
More importantly, these advancements came with one skill upgrade and some new features that were unique to grimoires.
High Rune Mindframe +1 was more incredible now.
That includes the spiders and everyone who has a mind spider in their head, Zarian thought, amazed. This means everyone can have their brains structured and in sync like a bunch ofputers on awork.
Hannah would lose it once she heard about this.
The only problem was that the aura cost would get heavy if he tried to boost and maintain too many mental workloads at once. It would probably work best when used against extreme problems.
¡°Still a very nice upgrade,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But wait, there¡¯s more.¡±
There it is, Zarian thought. A new element to the game. Apparently, the advanced grimoires can do more than upgrade spells. They can turn skills into spells, which gives me more ess to the runes and designs of those skills. Better yet, they¡¯ll grow stronger with the grimoires rather than individually, making it all more efficient for me as a wizard.
This also yed into Zarian¡¯s new theory. He should be able to advance spells on his own without the Star System¡¯s direct help. Ruvaria hadn¡¯t mentioned it, but Zarian was sure she left it as something for him to realize on his own.
Bloody Lifesteal was the perfect candidate for a DIY upgrade. After all, Zarian had loads of new inspiration from all the bloody magic stuff he¡¯d experienced recently.
Other than that, he had some choices to make for turning skills into spells. Hence why he had gone skill hunting before returning to theke.
Before Zarian made any permanent choices, he checked the new gains from waking up this morning. He was already smiling before he read it.
¡°About damn time,¡± Zarian said.
Chapter 164: B2: C64: Skills and Spells
Feeling hyped, Zarian couldn¡¯t stay in bed anymore.
He drained thest dregs of his cool coffee and used Aura Mastery to send it flying out of his room. He guided it down to the kitchen on the ground floor, where Bianca took it and washed it super fast.
He used more Aura Mastery to send a verbal thanks all the way to Bianca¡¯s ear. When she replied, he used Aura Mastery again and captured the sound of her words to bring it back to him.
¡°De nada,¡± said the air with Bianca¡¯s voice.
He could¡¯ve spoken with her directly with the spiderwork or sent some impressions. But these little Aura Mastery tricks were both fun and great for practicing his fine tune control.
Practicing control was important because he knew what he was going to do with his 74 Free points. He ced them all straight into Wonder, and he felt the change like he had bursting fireworks inside of him and his aura.
Zarian whooped as he flipped off his bed and into the air. He entered a hover and rotated around like a zero-g astronaut.
He closed his eyes and felt a significant expansion in his aura, his supernatural senses, his feeling for lucky encounters, and his sense of faith.
Thatst attribute was interesting, because it didn¡¯t exactly mean all of his fears and worries were gone. It felt like he could have better ess to divine circumstances, which might seem useless to him as a Freedom Leader.Maybe there were other ways that faith could y a part even if it wasn¡¯t overt. Maybe it might y more of a part with how the gnolls worshiped him like a god.
Regardless of that, Zarian wanted his Wonder higher for its best attribute: aura power.
Higher Wonder meant higher aura power. This way, he could strike with more weight while using Aura Mastery. This also had a huge effect on his void spells and hell gator spells.
Honestly, most, if not all, of his spells would benefit because he could push them harder or craft them smartly with Aura Mastery itself, even if they didn¡¯t scale with Wonder.
No, wait, a lot of my spells scale with Wonder and Mysticism. Zarian checked. Huh, I¡¯ve actually been hurting myself by not raising Wonder as much as I should¡¯ve.
He should still focus on Mysticism. He really needed the aura recovery, after all.
There were so many little tricks and nuanced ways to ovep stats and abilities as a wizard, Zarian could only imagine how perfected andplex Ruvaria¡¯s profile could be. His dear teacher was the type who would be the envy of god wizards up in God Land while she was still bound to the Lesser Worlds.
Zarian stopped flipping around and remained floating upright. His cloak fluttered around the entire room.
The weird morphs grimoire scrambled from one long wavering strand to another. Para formed multiple feminine hands and yfully chased and pinched at the grimoire.
Zarian watched them y and bond before turning his attention to his total stats.
Willpower: 453Strength: 52Agility: 54Wonder: 450Mysticism: 573Free: 0
Everything looked nice to him. Wonder had finally caught up to Willpower. He nned to keep those two on par with each other and return more of his focus to Mysticism.
Surprisingly, he didn¡¯t even have the highest Mysticism.
If Hannah was still the same level and had gained nothing from a new side quest, she would be at 583 Mysticism. Her other stats were drastically lower, but that was perfectly fine for her specific build and abilities.
Bianca had the highest Wonder at 683, which made perfect sense for her. That was the main reason her new legendary battle dress needed stacks of aura recovery enchantments. She could burn through aura pretty fast on her own.
Gilbert fell behind everyone else in many small ways, but he didn¡¯t ¨C and shouldn¡¯t ¨C min-max much. For his role, Gilbert could mostly cruise his way up the levels and worlds and still be one of the most vital adventurers around.
Naomi hadn¡¯t talked too much about her changesst night. She wanted to wait until this morning.
He did a quick ping on the spiderwork, asking for her condition. She responded with an impression that she was feeling horrible.
Zarian used Aura Mastery more directly and nudged her on the shoulder while she was buried underyers in her bed. He focused on the vibrations from her open mouth. It seemed like she was moaning in pain.
Yup, that¡¯s what you get for screwing around so much yesterday, Zarian thought, ignoring the fact that he was being a hypocrite.
He was curious about her gains, however. How much stronger had she gotten?
Zarian would go see soon. He returned his focus to himself while Para and the weird morphs grimoire continued ying around. He smiled a little at their antics as he pulled up his profile.
He checked on the three Level 0 skills he hunted for after the fall of the Chimera Tyrant Lair.
Zarian had taken the best alpha skills from a godless watcher, a chimera ghoul, and a giant serpent. He couldn¡¯t find any warp feyst night.
They must¡¯ve flown the coop when their was undone after the Chimera Tyrant died.
I lost out on the High Warp Maniption, but I think Warp Adaptation makes up for it, Zarian thought. Besides, I¡¯m pretty damn capable of beating warp users as a void user now.
Before Zarian made some final decisions, he considered his other options.
He could tell that the grimoires would refuse to turn other grimoire skills into spells. That would t out fail. There were also his older Level 0 skills, such as Willful Might, Wondrous Speed, and Mystic Toughness.
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I still want to keep them, Zarian thought. They scale decently and I can push them fairly harder with Aura Mastery. I also like how I have to focus on my aura and fill in the gaps that are missing because they are Level 0s.
Making these three older Level 0 skills work for him was excellent practice for Aura Mastery. They helped with the day-to-day stuff. Or when he just wanted to show off as an impossibly strong, fast, and tough wizard. They worked very well with his body buffs from Para and Floridian Mindset.
Zarian turned his attention to the balcony and floated over. He used his Aura Mastery to slide the cial Stone door out of his way.
Out on the balcony, he took in the view as sunbeams from the east shone more on the castle structures in the west. The light drew closer to the edge of theke.
He didn¡¯t enjoy the view alone.
The weird morphs grimoire scrambled onto the balcony¡¯s railing. It made gurgling sounds of wonder and amazement as Para¡¯s hands pet over its bristly white-yellow top.
Zarian shook his head and smiled before he sent a heads up impression to the other Floridians. They gave him confirmation in return that they¡¯d gotten the heads up.
He was good to go.
Zarian extended his hand and used the Red Artillery Shot skill.
He pumped aura into the profile skill runes attached to the perimeter of his soul. He filled the gaps where there were missing runes because it was Level 0 and incapable of growing.
Fizzling red sparks gathered in front of his palm before rapidly merging and growing until it was the size of a bowling ball.
He imagined Sinfeast.
His anger ballooned.
The Red Artillery Shot grew to the size of a beach ball. It shone a furious red over Zarian and thekeside face of the hotel.
¡°Hey!¡± Gilbert stuck his head from over the side of his balcony while down below. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot that into theke!¡±
¡°I want to shoot something,¡± Zarian grunted while trying to maintain both the skill and his anger.
¡°Not theke!¡± Gilbert shouted back.
¡°Ugh!¡±
¡°And don¡¯t forget about the back-st!¡±
¡°UGH!¡±
Zarian lunged off of his balcony, which scared the weird morphs grimoire and sent it scrambling backward. Para rescued the timid grimoire and held it in five caring and maternal arms formed from the cloak.
Zarian floated above the hotel until he located a spot far outside of the ring of castles and hills. He saw a lone fort hillock that was quiterge. He turned, hardened his aura around into arge tube pointed forward, and released the Red Artillery Shot.
He suffered the back-st alone while the aura tube funneled most of the recoil forward and back. By the time he could see, he noticed the weird morphs grimoire was screaming and crying in Para¡¯s caring arms.
Then he looked and saw that the formation of forts fused into one hillock was mostly gone. There was a big smoky cloud, a smoking crater, and some debris raining down from all over.
Zarian breathed some slow and deep breaths to cool down. He put aside his absolute hatred for Sinfeast.
Then he thought critically about where Red Artillery Shot would serve best as a spell. Once he came to a decent conclusion, he checked with Para to see if she would object.
¡°I do not object,¡± Para said from a single palm. ¡°I can already predict which goes where and approve.¡±
Zarian followed the entire journey closely. He noticed how his skill decoupled from his soul. Then it winked away far too quickly for him to track.
Before anything else happened, Zarian summoned the ck magic grimoire from his soul. It appeared with a sh of ck light and a rattle of spectral chains that covered the covers and kept it linked to him.
He was right on time to feel a new spell forming in his grimoire at a near blinding speed. Runes. Geometric symbols. Strange and eerie text.
Zarian flipped over to the pages just as the Star System finished jotting down apletely new spell.
The pages glowed with a dangerous orange light.
But he didn¡¯t know the spell.
¡°Oh, of course, I have to study it now.¡± Zarian chuckled. ¡°However, I can already tell this is far more advanced than the previous skill. And it¡¯s likely more flexible, too. Hm.¡±
Interesting. Very interesting.
Zarian pulled up his skill description for the ck magic grimoire.
¡°It used to be three out of seven learned spells. Now it¡¯s three out of eight,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Yeah, I have to get to studying those new ones.¡±
He¡¯d spent so much time on the gravity spell he let the other spells fall to the wayside.
He went as far as he could go with the gravity spell right now. It felt like he¡¯d run into a natural roadblock after what he did in the Chimera Tyrant Lair to defeat the doomsday spell device.
He needed to let the gravity spell sit for a little while. He woulde back to itter, after he grew a little more powerful or gathered some new insight and epiphanies.
Zarian dismissed the ck magic grimoire. He traveled through the void and went out a few miles away from theke. Then he used the Level 0 Wild Acid Force and observed how portions of his aura turned into frenzied radioactive neon green acid energy with a physical presence.
The scary part was how Wild Acid Force could conjure just anywhere, as long as he had his aura present in the location. With some focus, he could specify where most of the Wild Acid Force formed.
He found some Level 60 monsters that reminded him of wendigoes. They were chasing down a Level 65 sheep beast.
He thought of making the frenzied energy fall on the monsters like acid rain. But Wild Acid Force didn¡¯t work that way.
Instead, he gathered enough until he could fill a half-sized pool and shoved it down onto the monsters. The Wild Acid Force struck with a push while eating through the monsters¡¯ flesh rapidly. The force also burst, rippled, and twisted in weird ways that turned the melting monsters into slurries of their former selves.
In a few seconds, Zarian cleaned off their bones, and even those were dissolving under the berserk press of the Wild Acid Force. Then there was nothing left.
¡°Void acid?¡± Zarian asked aloud. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do it.¡±
First, he summoned the voidling exile grimoire. Then he prompted the Star System to do its thing, and he observed as closely as possible.
He paid attention to how the skill departed from his soul before disappearing and ending up printed with a more in-depth exnation of runes, non-Euclidean symbols, and raving texts on the metallic pages of the voidling exile grimoire.
Zarian didn¡¯t bother testing the Level 0 Crushing Constriction skill. Nobody could confuse what that did. He was curious how the hell gator grimoire would take it as he dismissed Voidling and summoned the more predatory grimoire.
Immediately, the weird morphs grimoire scrambled around in fright while surrounded by Para¡¯s caring arms. The hell gator grimoire hovered over Zarian¡¯s shoulder before turning the toothy edges of its covers toward the new grimoire.
Gator could smell the weakness inside of Morph.
I¡¯ve never considered giving them capitalized names before, Zarian thought. But now that there¡¯s four, I might as well. ck. Gator. Voidling. Morph.There, simple and easy to remember.
With that in mind, he went through the motions for Gator.
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Chapter 165: B2: C65: Concepts and Religion 1
¡°There,¡± Zarian said, checking the new folktale added to Gator¡¯s pages. Once he had a decent preview of it, he dismissed the mean and grumpy grimoire. He turned a stern eye to Morph. ¡°You need to toughen up. Gator is going to test you for sure when you¡¯re both out.¡±
The timid grimoire shivered and cried. He scrambled deeper into Para¡¯s many arms as the cloak continued to mother the grimoire.
¡°He will,¡± Para said. ¡°Just give him time. He¡¯s a sweet and innocent grimoire. And he came from a divine achievement, so he must be very special and high in quality.¡±
¡°Fine, fine.¡± Zarian continued to act stern while trying not tough at this quirky nuclear family dynamic.
There was not much else to do now that his review wasplete. So he went off to bother someone else, specifically Naomi.
After a quick jaunt through the void, Zariannded with his legs crossed on Naomi¡¯s bed. Right away, he could feel a high-quality power flowing from Naomi¡¯s body.
Her aura was more energetic and meaner than before, as if she was an intense psionic brain with lightning bolts running through her synapses. She had plenty of new stats to go along with the new level ups.
Zarian could tell her new traits were superb based on how her soul shone while surrounded by her aura. He tried not to pry any further because he wanted Naomi to tell him about the new traits herself.
He only knew about the new skill she¡¯d gained afterbining multiple Level 0 skillsst night. One of those Level 0s hade from Ezda, which Zarian had copied directly to Naomi without having to copy it into his profile.Sitting for a while next to her prone body, Zarian came to a fascinating conclusion.
For the first time, he wasn¡¯t exactly certain how a fight between him and Naomi would go down. He still had some solid contingencies, but the mad woman might¡¯ve grown so tough, so strong, so dynamic, she could pressure him while his Overwhelming Darkness remained sealed.
Zarian imagined he still had a few tricks to shut down Naomi. But he would have to work harder while she could throw herself around like a super rocket and strike directly with little thought, all instincts.
It makes sense, Zarian thought with a calm rationale. She pushed herself to the brink and beyond with no breaks. Herbat-focused and body-centric build benefited from a snowball effect while growing in the Blood Prairies. Now she¡¯s the best warrior in the party after taking every avenue to get this far.
There was no doubt Naomi was way stronger than Bianca now.
Zarian found that strangely ironic and a little funny. He also found thatforting.
Naomi would get to suffer the same issues he ran into when he was too strong for the setting. He could turn around and chase her for the sake of his wizardry if she proved to be powerful enough.
They could work on helping the others with their growth instead of relying solely on him. Hell, maybe Naomi could handle the other three even better, letting Zarian focus more on his greatest concerns, daytime wizardry and nighttime cultivation.
Honestly, Zarian was thankful.
You pushed yourself so hard and went to hell and back to keep up with the rest of us. Well, congrats, Naomi, you are a super big dog now. Maybe a low Tier 4 at this point.
Tiers helped measure the overall capabilities of adventurers. Tier 1 was standard. Tier 2 had some talent. Tier 3 was the best of the best and considered one-man armies ¨C this tier represented Bianca, Hannah, and Gilbert.
Tier 4s were threats torge poptions and pockets of civilization.
Zarian¡¯s Overwhelming Darkness went beyond the tiers, of course. Putting that aside, Naomi was in a simr tier as him. She could hold a midsize city hostage by herself if Zarian¡¯s surface observations of her growth were urate enough. ??
She could confirm for herself. She was stirring awake as Zarian waited.
¡°Hey, sleeping crazy,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Ugh,¡± Naomi groaned. ¡°I feel like I went binge drinking some magic hard stuff with Gilbert before putting myself out there as a punching bag for a giant.¡±
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Zarianughed. He stoppedughing when he heard Naomi¡¯s next words.
¡°I got a ton of badass shit,¡± Naomi grunted. ¡°But the best one is this divine quality trait. It¡¯s a Thematic Concept called Even Further Beyond.¡±
Zarian flipped off her bed and crashed onto the floor.
¡°SAY WHAT?!¡± He shouted.
She slowly pushed up out of bed and red over the side where Zariany in an upside down heap. ¡°Thematic Concept. Even Further Beyond. And it makes me feel like shit afterward.¡±
Zarian slowly rposed himself. He shifted about and settled onto a single knee. He propped his elbow on his thigh, his chin on his knuckles. He held the thinking pose for a while as he took this change with Naomi seriously.
He was pretty sure Naomi wasn¡¯t a true goddess. But she had a divine quality trait, which she might¡¯ve earned from sheer gut effort of resisting Zarianst night.
Her new trait was thematic. But instead of it being aw, it was a concept which sounded flexible and powerful. But it came with a heavy drawback, apparently.
Zarian thought about it and thought about it.
Para continued cradling Morph and gave Naomi her congrattions and some interesting observations about yesterday¡¯sir crawl. Providing some constructive criticism, Para pointed out how Naomi could sometimes act a little too one-dimensional and should stretch her abilities more creatively, just like how she¡¯d attempted to create a psychic ramp.
Para wanted to see more of that, which Naomi took decently on the chin.
Finally, Zarian found the right question that came to mind.
¡°Goku or Vegeta?¡± Zarian asked.
Naomi blinked. ¡°Is that the kids¡¯ show?¡±
Strike one.
Zarian didn¡¯t let his disappointment show on his face. ¡°You must choose. Goku or Vegeta?¡±
Naomi rolled her eyes. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re taking this seriously.¡±
Strike two.
¡°Choose,¡± Zarian said with more emphasis. ¡°This is really serious. For me. Please.¡±
Naomi sighed. ¡°Goku, I guess. He¡¯s the main guy, right? So let¡¯s go with him.¡±
Zarian felt relieved. ¡°Bingo, bango, you get a mango.¡±
Naomi blinked at him. ¡°Where the hell did you get that phrase from? I think I heard you say it when we first met.¡±
Zarian shrugged. He didn¡¯t know either. It was a saying that stuck with him and came up once in a while. Either way, Naomi had passed the test.
Before Naomi opened up more about her changes, Zarian scooped her out of bed with his own arms. She made no fuss and curled into him, acting quite dainty.
That caught him off guard for a split second before he rposed himself. He went flying out of her room through the balcony.
They went down to the ground floor where Bianca cooked a breakfast feast. Hannah and Gilbert were already down there.
Hannah had a stack of books she was flipping through while sitting around the big kitchen ind. Gilbert was admiring his enchanted fishing rod a few stools down.
The kitchen area was open and airy. It had high quality magical amenities Hannah had learned about from books in Reiki¡¯s library. She¡¯d improved on numerous things, of course.
Nobody else could appreciate the craftsmanship of Hannah¡¯s work more than she and Zarian. Gilbert certainly didn¡¯t care about the specifics, as he smiled like a big bearded boy in love with his enchanted rod.
He struggled to rip his eyes away from the rod to nce at Zarian and Naomi.
¡°Well, look what the cat dragged in!¡± Gilbert said boisterously.
Naomi red at him before using her new skill, Primal Huntress Form. She only shifted slightly to grow some fangs and ws while hissing loudly at Gilbert.
Before she canceled the skill, Zarian caught sight of two dark and triangr shapes sprouting from the top of Naomi¡¯s head, her braids shifting out of the way. The triangr shapes disappeared soon after they appeared.
¡°Whoa there, girl, whoa there! Apparently, I got it wrong on who¡¯s dragging who,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°Hable en Espa?ol para el cocinero, por favor,¡± Bianca said, which tranted to her wanting them to speak in Spanish while she cooked.
The wafting scent of food filled the kitchen. Fresh fish from theke. Fluffy scrambled eggs from a wild avian nest. Some fresh wild crops and berries, all chopped and mixed, unless they were blended as juice.
Lastly, everything had some spices involved they¡¯d picked up from merchants and traders back at Ride-or-Die Vige except for the seasoning and condiments Reiki could make from her dungeon.
They had everything an adventurer could ask for while out in the wilds. And out of all of them, Bianca was the best cook. It seemed toe naturally to her.
She still acted like a dainty and speedy princess while she cooked, too, zipping around and illuminating the way from the stove to the kitchen ind and everywhere else. All while adorned in tall heels and a billowy sundress.
Since she was the cook, and she was serving breakfast, her insistence on Spanish was practicallyw for these moments.
Zarian switched to Spanish along with the others.
¡°Naomi¡¯s a big deal now,¡± he said. ¡°A definite Tier 4.¡±
¡°It hurts,¡± she groaned.
Hannah looked at them sharply. ¡°I figured you two have grown much, much stronger. I was curious fromst night, but I suppose you were going to tell us this morning.¡±
¡°Yeah, we definitely have some stuff to share,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But first, I need to say this.¡±
He ced Naomi down on afy kitchen recliner against the wall, giving her a view of theke and everyone else. Then he stepped through the void, returned to her room, grabbed her a weighted nket, and went back to the kitchen to toss it over her. She mumbled thanks, and Zarian turned to look at everyone.
¡°I screwed up again,¡± Zarian said.
Chapter 166: B2: C66: Concepts and Religion 2
¡°We know,¡± Gilbert replied. ¡°I knew it the moment you faced down that Sinfeast false idol and didn¡¯t call on us.¡±
Zarian swallowed his shame and kept speaking. ¡°I want to avoid that for the next time. Things got way out of hand. Again.¡±
He rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°The growth was great. Really, really great. But what it could¡¯ve cost us was too much. So I have ideas about an auxiliary SOP we should use. It¡¯s going to be important now, because we will attract even bigger and badder enemies the further along we go.¡±
¡°They want to eat you, Zarian,¡± Hannah said. ¡°I can tell that much from the worldwide notifications and specte what this means with the evil side. It won¡¯t just be Sinfeast looking for a way to have your power. Maybe not just the major gods, either. Maybe the lesser divine beings would try, too. Maybe there are other mortals along our journey who can consume you and take Overwhelming Darkness.¡±
¡°And the fake good guys want to lock you up and throw away the key, regardless of how that can ruin the sanctity of redemption,¡± Gilbert said, looking out to theke. ¡°It seems like we¡¯re entering the deeper waters, and out here there are a bunch of big critters swimming like they smelled blood.¡±
¡°Yeah, yup, everything you guys are saying is what I¡¯m thinking and feeling,¡± Zarian said. ¡°So I want to try being more careful. Not just because of our enemies, either. My Overwhelming Darkness is evolving as I cultivate it more. It¡¯s bing different, and along the way, it¡¯s bing more personal, and more dangerous.¡±
Bianca stopped what she was doing to look at him. ¡°How can we help?¡±
¡°I¡¯m going to cultivate at night, which will make things easier on me but also still leave me vulnerable. From now on, let¡¯s assume that one or two mistakes can lead to me getting eaten or sealed away for tens of thousands of years. The night time is the best time for our enemies to strike unless I have time to switch from cultivation to Controlled Darkness or get back to baseline.¡±
¡°Ah, then we¡¯ll have to rely on the good old fire watch,¡± Naomi drawled.Zarian snorted before continuing. ¡°During the day, I¡¯m going hard on my studies, and not just for gravity. I have a lot of new spells to learn, and many of them are unique and high quality. They could make a big difference going forward. I¡¯m also upgrading one of my spells on my own. I think that¡¯s something I can try now, DIY spell advancements.¡±
¡°Interesting,¡± Hannah said. ¡°If I¡¯m not busy, I¡¯d like to pick your brain and watch your process. Perhaps I can be your, um, wizard assistant when you go DIY on your spells.¡±
¡°No lie, that was a he cute offer, Hannah. But, yeah, that¡¯s all fine with me,¡± Zarian said.
Hannah nodded stiffly.
Zarian felt a weird and aggressive pressureing from Naomi¡¯s direction. He ignored it and carried on.
¡°I got some stuff upstairs you¡¯ll be interested in looking at,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Mostly legendary armors and weapons. But most importantly ¡ bags of holding.¡±
¡°No!¡± Hannah said, jolting in her chair.
¡°Yes,¡± Zarian replied eagerly. ¡°We have an extra one. Maybe you can do experiments on the extra.¡±
¡°I need that pronto. If I can figure out its enchantments for spatial storage and match them with the notes on Para¡¯s pocket dimension, the possibilities would be ridiculous!¡±
Hannah looked like she was about to jump across the kitchen and shake the bags out of Zarian. She was barely holding herself back, which was funny to see.
¡°So, during the day, you will be okay,¡± Naomi said with a slight snarl, circling back to the main topic. ¡°And at night, you¡¯ll need more protection.¡±
¡°When will you sleep, Zarian?¡± Bianca asked.
¡°We¡¯re at the point where we can go a couple of weeks without it,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But let¡¯s say I take a day off once a week. Going any longer without sleep would lead to exhaustion, lowering my vitality, and that¡¯s no good for anybody.¡±
¡°Amen to that.¡± Gilbert stood up and walked over with his fishing rod in one hand. He pped his other hand on Zarian¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you, brother. You look like you¡¯ve grown up a little more.¡±
Zarian gawked up at the big, blue-eyed blond. ¡°What?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t expect you to be perfect,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°Frankly, I¡¯m ready to meet my maker if things end tomorrow with a wave of darkness. But everyday I can still draw breath means we are still on course to follow our true purpose. And I can see you¡¯re trying, which is all I can pray for. Keep on trying, Zarian. Keep on trying.¡±
¡°Uh, um, okay, sure,¡± Zarian said, flustered, dropping the Spanish.
Gilbert ced his rod on his shoulder and looked back, still speaking Spanish. ¡°Can you do me a favor and take my te out with you, Bianca? Much appreciated.¡±
¡°Go on and fish, Gilbert.¡± Bianca waved him off.
Gilbert sauntered out to theke.
Zarian watched him go. He felt Naomi staring hard at him. He turned and met her eyes before realizing his mistake.
¡°Gilbert,e back! We didn¡¯t even go over the new changes!¡± Zarian yelled.
Gilbert didn¡¯te back. He was zoned out to anything outside of fishing.
Zarian sighed, powered up thework link to Gilbert¡¯s mind spider like he was putting him on ¡®speaker call,¡¯ and turned to thedies. He, Para, and Naomi exined all the key points and events from their crawl yesterday, then they went over their growth.
They both had some incredible changes, but Naomi¡¯s Thematic Concept/Even Further Beyond took the cake.
Despite the debuff, Naomi sat straight with a smug look on her face. She sat straighter and looked even more smug as Zarian showered her with praise.
Hannah looked on with some thinly veiled but understandable envy. Bianca was all sunshine and rainbows, doling out some congrats where they were due.
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Gilbert mumbled some half-ass congrats as he looked out into the water and searched for the perfect spot. Slip the Sleipnir came trotting over to nip at Gilbert¡¯s shoulder, and the man waved off the ster eight-legged creature.
Zarian wondered when the inevitable one-on-one would happen between him and Naomi. As of now, Naomi was too severely debuffed to do much of anything, but knowing her, she was going to want to test herself. Hopefully, her debuff would end in the next day or two so Zarian could see how far she could push in a spar.
Wait, doesn¡¯t that mean the other three would have to protect me and Naomi during our most vulnerable moments? Zarian thought. With great poweres great setbacks, I see. Well, if it¡¯s Bianca, Hannah, and Gilbert, I think we will be okay.
¡°That¡¯s not a spider,¡± Bianca said, handing Zarian a te of fresh and delicious breakfast while looking past him.
¡°No, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s an entity that¡¯s alive while also serving as a book of spells,¡± Hannah exined, looking in the same direction as Bianca.
Zarian nced down at Morph. The grimoire shivered and made gurgling squeaks while scrambling around on the floor.
¡°He is a precious child and needs nurturing before I read his pages,¡± Para said. ¡°I would appreciate it if you help me care for Morph.¡±
¡°D¡¯aw! I love you, Morph!¡± Bianca squealed.
Morph shivered in fear of the tall and morous princess who oozed radiant light and free good +5.
¡°I¡¯m not great with children, but I¡¯ll help,¡± Hannah said. ¡°Though it begs the question of how much is materialized with Morph. The other grimoires could avoid damage or any attempt at tampering most times, but this one seems more physical and present than the others.¡±
¡°Seems like a big weak link. I can toughen him up so he isn¡¯t such a weenie,¡± Naomi grunted.
Para spent the next three minutes scolding Naomi. She did so in fluent Spanish, which made the scolding even worse.
By the time Para finished, Naomi was saying, ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. No, ma¡¯am,¡± like she was a Boot Marine again. That knocked her down from her Even Further Beyond high horse. Hannah pretended not to enjoy that.
Zarian tried not tough while eating his delicious breakfast. It wasn¡¯t as good as Foodie¡¯s, but Bianca had certainly put some measure of love into it.
He perked up further when Bianca swept around and gave him seconds, thirds, and plenty more tes. Para reached into the cabin-sized fridge around the corner and ate the carcasses that were there for her.
Zarian then turned his attention to some freshly squeezed magic juice and enjoyed its heightened sweet vors as he thought about the rest of the day.
Turning Loner into an expert was on the list, which Zarian imagined was a sunset affair. Fishing with Gilbert wasn¡¯t mandatory, but there was some heavy social pressure and expectations to go along with it for Gilbert¡¯s sake, so Zarian couldn¡¯t scurry away and study spells.
Zarian felt annoyed. He felt a little irrational. He felt a little mischievous. Something had ticked him off and made him slightly jaded suddenly.
And it was Gilbert¡¯s fault.
Why?
There didn¡¯t need to be a why.
He made sure the spiderwork shut out Gilbert for a little while. Then Zarian submerged into his free evil +4 and recalled a joke he workshopped months ago.
¡°Zarian, I can sense your sub alignment,¡± Bianca said cheerily.
¡°Let me be, Bianca,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Gilbert¡¯s been too uppity and holier-than-thou. It¡¯s time to shake that up.¡±
¡°But he¡¯s in a good mood!¡± Bianca said with even more squeaky cheer.
¡°It¡¯s going to be funny,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Trust me.¡±
¡°Do it,¡± Naomi hissed.
Bianca sighed dramatically.
Hannah jumped out of her chair and seized Zarian by the arm. She looked hard into his eyes with a fervent fire.
Zarian shivered.
He slowly peeled Hannah off, performed a backward-stepping dance that took him out the clear doors, and dropped all the legendary gear on the floor between him and Hannah, the spatial bags on top. With the Runic Engineer sufficiently distracted, Zarian turned with a mean smile on his face and scurried over to Gilbert.
Slip the Sleipnir kept nibbling at Gilbert¡¯s hair for his attention. The eight-legged horse seemed annoyed. Then Slip turned to Zarian, saw the look on the Madness Wizard¡¯s face, and decided to trot off to mess with the skeletons and spiders hanging out or patrolling all over the ce.
Loner was the only one rxing while in the branches of a tree tower. Facing the pristineke, the longest surviving skeleton sat coolly with his bony arms crossed over his ribcage.
When Loner nced over at Zarian, the skeleton saw the look on the Madness Wizard¡¯s face and already started shaking his head in disappointment.
¡°I know what you¡¯re here to do, Zarian,¡± Gilbert said calmly, his back still turned to the wizard. He practiced some motions for casting the enchanted hook and line. ¡°But I know in my spirit there is nothing you can do to disturb me unless you n to destroy theke.¡±
¡°Why would I when this is a bounty for one of my flock?¡± Zarian asked smoothly.
Gilbert froze a little. He continued to face away. ¡°Now, now, I¡¯m your friend. And I call you a brother in the sense we are brothers of arms and magic out here on adventures. But I am not one of your flock. I am a helper sent by the Lord.¡±
¡°Indeed, you have been called here to serve as such. I know it¡¯s hard to believe, for you have prayed and waited on me for so long without knowing the truth.¡± Zarian took a few steps closer. ¡°But wait no longer, my child, for I am here. I have returned.¡±
Gilbert¡¯s grip tensed around his enchanted rod. He jerked his arm up and down like he was about to throw it, but he stopped himself at thest second and took a deep breath. Finally, he turned to Zarian.
¡°Stop it,¡± Gilbert grunted. ¡°You are a fallen angel in need of redemption. Don¡¯t you dare try to y games thatnded you in trouble in the first ce!¡±
Zarian turned away from Gilbert and looked out to theke. ¡°It is Mid Spring, is it not?¡±
¡°Zarian, stop! I swear to God I will deck you with a mean one!¡±
¡°Oh, Gilbert, one can say that Mid Spring reflects a certain month back in the old world.¡±
Gilbert dropped the rod and squared up.
He sacrificed vitality to raise his hitting power. The process was interesting to observe because Zarian was mainly blind to vitality. He could only see it when there was a transference of one energy type to another that dealt with aura.
With Gilbert sacrificing his vitality for more hitting power, Zarian perceived the intricate nature of vital energy as it became fuel for Gilbert¡¯s Sacrificial Blow +2. Then Gilbert powered up further with Adrenaline Jolt +2, making him look big and mean like a smaller version of the Red Hulk. But wait, there was more, such as Gilbert¡¯s Unified Monk Force. The skill formed a shifting field of colors around his outline, boosting his physicality even further.
¡°Quit it!¡± Gilbert growled. ¡°Not one more word! Let me just have this peace and joy!¡±
Zarian frowned and nodded his head. He looked away, as if he was going to leave. Then he turned fully to Gilbert.
¡°I have returned, my son. All will be well again,¡± Zarian said, his face splitting into the biggest of grins.
Gilbert decked him in the chest and sent him flying like a ball out of a cannon. Para secured Morph underyers of hard armor and soft cushions. She let Zarian earn himself some broken ribs and internal hemorrhaging.
The Madness Wizard smashed into a corner of the surrounding ring of castles and forts and plowed through a bunch of stone structures nonstop. Then he hit some decently hard supports and had a huge tower copse on him.
Once everything quieted, Gilbert looked around at everyone else with a frenzied gaze.
¡°I had to do it! I had to! You all heard the nonsense he was saying! I can¡¯t just let that stand!¡± Gilbert shouted like a crazy man. ¡°I had to! I did it for the real J-man!¡±
Nobody else said a thing.
But there was a muffled voice they could all hear resounding around theke. Rubble from the fallen towers, walls, and stone structures shifted out of the way as Zarian hovered upward.
He extended both arms to the sides, his legs pointed straight down together. Some might consider this a T-pose. Others might see it as a cross.
Both were correct as Zarian roared with bloody mad glee to the chagrin of Gilbert.
¡°REJOICE EVERYONE! ZOMBIE JESUS HAS RISEN ONCE AGAIN!¡±
¡°GOD DAMN YOU, ZARIAN DARKRUN! GOD DAMN YOU!¡±
Chapter 167: B2: C67: Fun and Facts 1
Zarian had to go fishing on the other side of theke away from Gilbert.
The Knighted Healer was still steaming mad after the Zombie Jesus joke. He needed distance from the Madness Wizard before he could finally cool down.
The others milled about near the hotel.
Bianca helped carry Naomi out on the recliner chair and set her by the edge of theke. Naomi was still heavily debuffed and wasn¡¯t in the mood to move much or do any fishing.
Hannah sat on the edge of theke beside Gilbert. She had a short wooden workbench she¡¯d made in front of her.
Equipment in hand, she picked and prodded at the extra spatial bag to tease out itsce of intricate spatial enchantments and gnomish runes. One of her shrunken golem balls had some string wrapped around it with hook and bait while bobbing on theke¡¯s surface.
Then there was Bianca, who sat cross-legged on a tform made of sunlight. She held her fishing rod out with her eyes closed, going about her day basking in the sun and meditating while she fished.
Gilbert flipped open the lid to a cooler and pulled out a small cask of beer. It was still morning, but who was going to tell that to Gilbert?
He popped off the cork and chugged down some of the beer. That wasn¡¯t enough to ease away his anger as he sent a withering re across theke at Zarian.The Madness Wizard smiled and waved back until Gilbert looked away. Chuckling to himself, Zarian paid attention to the epic enchanted rod in his hand.
The rod looked like a simple brown stick that was thicker around the portion where the hands were supposed to hold. The tip was thinner. The line was made of pure solidified aura, attaching the pole to the bobber and hook.
The bait came from the leftover food they had or whatever little low-level insects that Para caught with a tendril and handed over.
That was about it. The fishing rod¡¯s enchantments responded to aura and intentions. Casting and reeling were almost automatic.
Zarian could even point and shoot the bobber and hook out there without having to wind up and cast.
Zarian didn¡¯t really know much about fishing. Gilbert had given him some pointers prior to reaching theke. The big man would¡¯ve taught him some more if it wasn¡¯t for the Zombie Jesus joke, but Zarian could infer the rest on his own.
He could see theke was teeming with a plethora of life with his aura perception.
In fact, he could study the aura of the water itself, which had more magical properties than most bodies of water Zarian had seen so far. Thiske was a precious ce, and the aquatic creatures living in it reflected that.
There was even one big eel-like fish that was in the Level 70s. It was all the way down at the bottom and reminded Zarian of the Loch Ness Monster.
Zarian kept casting his bait into the open water above the big one. But it didn¡¯t seem interested in his bait and stayed lurking at theke¡¯s bottom.
Honestly, Zarian could go down there and try to get it himself. But that would break the spirit of what today was supposed to represent ¨C rest and rxation.
This is kind of hard, Zarian thought, feeling itchy and twitchy.
There was a lot to do.
Foodie was waiting for them.
They were leaving their kiddos to fend for themselves.
There were new spells to learn. He had to cultivate at night and face the deep depths of his Overwhelming Darkness.
There were other little things on the horizon. The issues with his wife, Luciana. The issues with his little sister, Ariana. The issues with the Star System in the wake of what Zarian had done during the Darkrun Apocalypse.
With all of this in mind, it felt wasteful to just sit here and fish.
Zarian looked back and saw Para¡¯s many arms, tentacles, and other monstrous limbs ying with Morph. The grimoire scrambled back and forth while trying to dodge Para¡¯s grabs and pinches.
The spellbook creature, the most lively and materialized of them all, sounded like he was having fun. Para wasn¡¯t in a rush to open his pages and gain mastery over his spells.
Zarian turned back to theke, letting the two enjoy themselves.
He still felt guilty.
I took a week off after the arch cherub fight, Zarian thought. Looking back, I guess I needed the time to sort myself out after nearly losing myself to Para.
They hadn¡¯t talked about it much.
But it was still a slightly sticky point in their rtionship as host and parasite. He¡¯d gone too far in unraveling. She didn¡¯t betray him and made sure he came back alright.
He¡¯de away with some new understanding about hunger and about Para herself. But that didn¡¯t mean he came outpletely alright.
To be fair, he¡¯d never given himself time to check if he was alright with anything in his life. He¡¯d kept himself busy. He kept his eyes on the horizon. He¡¯d never truly settled except for that week after the arch cherub.
Maybe there were more issues than just the big ones. He didn¡¯t want to think about the small stuff. He didn¡¯t even think about them when he took a week off.
He¡¯d rarely given himself time to think and sort through his messy life. He was tempted to ignore it all. He wasn¡¯t a mortal, right?
He was the son of ultra gods. All the crap he¡¯d gone through living like a mortal was behind him. Surely, he could stay on task and keep chugging ahead.
Maybe he should crack open one of his grimoires and sneak in some studying. Or maybe he could just toss aside the rod and jump into theke to go after the bigger prize at the bottom. Anything was better than just sitting here and doing nothing.
He didn¡¯t feel like thinking too much about himself.
Besides, the fishing day was mainly for Gilbert. He needed the time to unwind and enjoy his favorite hobby. That was great for him, but it really wasn¡¯t great for Zarian.
Someone approached him before he summoned a grimoire to study.
Out of everyone, Zarian expected this one the least. He looked up as Loner of all people came to a stop next to him and pointed at a piece of rock that could serve as a seat.
Zarian nodded for the goblin skeleton to sit down. Loner did so with his hands on his knees and with a serene and eyeless expression turned toward theke.
Since Loner and the other skeletons were all bone, they didn¡¯t really have expressions in the traditional sense. But Zarian could kind of tell as a part-time necromancer.
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¡°Out of all the older skeletons, Loner, you¡¯ve survived the longest,¡± Zarian said. Para and Morph¡¯s y session quieted in the background as Zarian continued. ¡°I know I¡¯ve been a messy wizard and necromancer. A bunch of skeletons have fallen along the way, and some of that is my fault. But here you are, at my side. I wonder if rxing days like these are enjoyable for you after all you¡¯ve been through.¡±
Loner slowly turned his head to Zarian before giving him a single nod. The answer was yes. Loner enjoyed days like these.
Zarian looked back at theke. All the way on the other side, Gilbert caught something and was reeling it in.
He was less mad now, and more excited about fishing. Bianca cheered for him. Naomi pumped her fist up and downzily. Hannah was still working on the satchel¡¯s spatial enchantments, but she got a free pass since she was the one who¡¯d made their luxurious living quarters.
Gilbert reeled up a Level 15 fish with a mirror-like appearance that held the tint of a rainbow on its scales. The fish thrashed about and even used some magic to throw a crescent of rainbow-colored water.
The attack sshed harmlessly off Gilbert¡¯s chest. He hoisted the fish up proudly and jumped around in joy with his Sleipnir. The man truly loved his fishing. He was a simple man like that, even when in another world far from home.
Zarian felt happy for Gilbert, even when he felt somber or down for himself.
¡°Things might get heavy andplicated in the future,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Maybe fishing isn¡¯t really for me. But if my friends like it, why not take a day off and let them enjoy it.¡±
Zarian offered his fishing rod to Loner. The goblin skeleton looked at it for a while before gingerly epting the epic instrument.
He seemed genuinely happy. He even went as far as crossing his legs like Bianca as he sat and cast his fishing line out there into the water.
Zarian lingered to watch Loner for a little while before standing up. The wizard went over to a small crop of stone-barked trees withrge boughs and branches made of hardy leaves. There were a few hedges and blocks of natural stone benches under the arch of a bridge that was missing its other half.
Zarian sat in the shade under the trees and broken bridge.
Morph scrambled close to his foot and didn¡¯t seem so scared anymore. Para¡¯s many arms and hands looped around from behind Zarian and turned to his face, her palms splitting into a dozen mouths.
¡°I was wondering what you would do,¡± she said.
¡°I tried it for a bit. Not my thing. I have stuff I want to work on even on my days off,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Look at me. A workaholic. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d get to this point before Infinita.¡±
¡°I wonder if that¡¯s unhealthy or if that¡¯s just how you are,¡± Para said. ¡°Inparison, Gilbert seems to enjoy these simple pleasures. Bianca does, too. And Naomi is actually resting for the first time in a long time. You and Hannah, however, wish to work on your projects that you have a vested interest in.¡±
Zarian nodded, ncing past Para¡¯s many speaking-limbs. He looked at Loner as the goblin skeleton jerked up and started reeling something he¡¯d hooked.
Loner ended up hoisting a Level 5 fish that looked like someone¡¯s waterlogged rug. It was an ugly thing, but Loner seemed proud to have caught it anyway.
A bunch of spectral spiders appeared around Loner and performed a celebratory dance in spiraling circles. Loner stood proudly in the center.
¡°What about you, Para?¡± Zarian asked. ¡°Do you like to rest and rx or do you want to keep grinding away at the projects that interest you?¡±
¡°I think I like both,¡± Para said. ¡°I want to like both. I am, essentially, a constant project who must grow greater and stronger. We are all projects of progression, in fact.¡±
¡°Yeah, this is true.¡± Zarian nodded.
Para continued. ¡°But I do not have the traditional personhood that you have. So I must seek humane pleasures that go beyond my usual hunger for flesh and the pain I can inflict on those I consume alive. In other words, I wouldn¡¯t mind having more hobbies.¡±
Zarian took his time to respond as he thought about Para¡¯s words and her existence. Then he asked, ¡°What would you like to do? Let me know, and we¡¯ll do it.¡±
Para fell silent for a while. When she spoke, it was a whisper. ¡°You¡¯ve never asked me this before. Not in this way.¡±
¡°Yeah, I never have asked, have I?¡± Zarian nodded slowly. ¡°Today¡¯s the perfect day for it. So, what is it you want to do?¡±
¡°I want ¡ to fish,¡± Para said. ¡°Just for the novelty of it. And to attempt new things.¡±
They went to the other side to grab another fishing rod. Gilbert wasn¡¯t ring at Zarian anymore, but he was still a little upset.
Despite that, Gilbert offered a small cask of beer. Zarian took one and thanked him before flying back to his spot near Loner.
For most of the day, Para and Loner fished. Para proved to be an exceptional fishing parasite, able to pull up a Level 35 fish. Loner only got as far as Level 20.
Zarian ended up with Morph in hisp. He learned to scratch the timid grimoire on the belly between all his creepy finger-like and insectoid limbs.
That was enough to win over the Grimoire of Weird Morphs officially and have him crack open its first pages for the wizard. Before Zarian delved inpletely, Bianca called everyone over to change into swim trunks and go swimming.
That turned out to be more fun for Zarian honestly, although he had to dismiss Morph when he refused to get into the water. Once Zarian had on his swim trunks, he dove in.
Bianca ended up holding onto Naomi who was still as limp as a noodle. They dove under the surface in their enchanted bikinis.
Everyone looked great. Bianca remained a wless beauty. Naomi had a fit and dynamic appearance that was worthy of envy.
Though, Zarian admitted to himself he missed how she looked when she was covered in scars. Those were all gone after Gilbert healed her upst night.
Hannah stayed mostly on the surface while on a raft she¡¯d constructed. She was jotting down notes and looking through entries into her many journals.
Gilbert floated around on the surface using a board of web and twigs the spectral spiders had made for him. Slip the Sleipnir swam around in circles while spectral spiders danced on his back.
Various skeletons came and went in groups depending on shift rotations. The off-duty skeletons would join Loner once they raided the hotel for spare fishing rods.
The skeletons seemed to enjoy fishing a lot.
Zarian swam down to face the big eel beast at the bottom of theke. He came to a stop in front of its snout as itsrge, beach ball-sized eyes opened to look at him. Then ¡ nothing happened.
The eel beast closed its eyes and just remainedying at the bottom.
Feeling a little disappointed, Zarian shrugged and went about swimming and exploring theke. He enjoyed the cool, aura-rich water flowing over his body. Then things became even more interesting when Para shifted into a tail-like form with fins extending from the base of Zarian¡¯s back.
With a flick of the muscr tail, Para sent Zarian shooting through the water easily. They swam with various schools of fish and saw some that had elemental abilities. Some fish could twist and spin currents of water around them to fend away predators or catch prey.
Zarian used the fish as examples for him to twist water and form currents using his Aura Mastery. After some trials and errors, Zarian learned some rudimentary but solid tricks for water bending.
Eventually, Bianca and Naomi caught up to him and the three swam around without having to surface. Zarian and Naomibined Aura Mastery and Psychokinesis to create funnels that drew air from the surface and down to them whenever they needed a breath.
Zarian also pushed around rapid water currents from under the surface and to the top to send himself and thedies shooting into the air. Then they let gravity take control as Zarian whooped, Bianca cheered, and Naomi groaned. They sshed back down under the surface and went current-riding and swimming some more.
When sunset came around, everyone gathered in front of the hotel, including most of the skeletons and spiders. Zarian stood in front of everyone with Loner beside him.
Looking at them all, it just urred to Zarian that he actually had fun today. He didn¡¯t do too many productive things other than review his new gains, think, and n for the future.
The rest of his time was spent having a day out in theke. Tomorrow, they would get going again to reach the center of the Blood Prairie Savages¡¯ territory. They would finally get to see Ezda¡¯s home and check on the changes with Reiki.
But that was tomorrow, and tonight was tonight.
¡°Did everyone have fun?¡± Zarian asked.
He received all affirmations. The skeletons rattled the most except for Loner who stood coolly.
Zarian nodded. ¡°Good, because I honestly had some fun today ¨C outside of being Zombie Jesus.¡±
¡°I¡¯m going to murder him when he¡¯s cultivating, I swear,¡± Gilbert grumbled before taking an elbow to the rib from Bianca to shut him up.
Zarian chuckled. ¡°Jokes aside, I¡¯m d you guys had some fun. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have some more fun going forward. But things will get serious, too. I can feel it. We might not be in a rush, because I think we¡¯ll be on time for whatever¡¯sing, but whatever it is will test how powerful we truly are. And part of that testes with being sure that we¡¯re prepared and we have all our ducks in a row.¡±
Everybody nodded and agreed. He was speaking the right stuff. He didn¡¯t even have to lean on his free evil +4 or other intellect-boosting abilities. This was alling from the gut.
Zarian continued. ¡°We haven¡¯t been living the Star System life for long, but I think we¡¯re bing experts, ain¡¯t that right, Loner?¡±
Everyone looked at one of the first goblin skeletons. Loner shrugged at them. Zarian kept smiling as he reached out and patted Loner¡¯s bony shoulder.
¡°Thanks for all your help, Loner. Now, let¡¯s see you evolve and be even stronger.¡±
Chapter 168: B2: C68: Fun and Facts 2
Loner buckled and dropped to one knee. Everyone except for Zarian was more or less open about their concern for their favorite skelly boy, but nobody stepped in. Zarian was already next to Loner and waiting as the goblin skeleton went through a metamorphosis.
His bones ckened and thickened. He grew a few inches taller. Then a sh of white and blue symbols appeared all over his bones, contrasting the dark color.
The ckened bones and new rune enchantments made the skeleton look more impressive. Strong waves of runic power flowed from out of his skeletal body. Loner stayed down for a little while before he shook his head as the changes finished.
Then Loner rose back to his feet again. He stood as tall as Naomi, which was much taller than Hannah and most of the skeletons. He had broader shoulders, too. And he had a demanding presence that oozed authority.
Zarian checked his golden notifications.
¡°Oh, wow,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I know what it means to be an expert. Loner is ranked now. He¡¯s like a mini Master Ranker while still Level 74.¡±The others burst out into cheer for Loner. The longest-living goblin skeleton looked down at himself and took in all the changes. Then he shrugged, acting nonchnt under all the praise before the other skeletons picked him up. They paraded around the goblin skeleton expert, all of their bones rattling the whole way.
¡°I¡¯m so proud of him! Look at our Loner! He¡¯s grown so much!¡± Bianca cried.
¡°It looks like he¡¯s taken the runes I¡¯ve set for him as his own. Interesting. He¡¯s his own runic marvel now, and I have little room to do more for him other than a few more supporting enchantments,¡± Hannah said.
¡°It¡¯s kind of crazy thinking how this guy helped us when we were weaklings in that spider dungeon way back.¡± Gilbert nodded before taking a swig from a small cask of beer. ¡°Look at us now. Look at him. It¡¯s like we¡¯re a Saturday morning cartoon, but on crack-cocaine.¡±
¡°Well, that¡¯s what happens you put Floridians into the mix,¡± Naomi said, ncing over at Zarian with a smile. ¡°Ain¡¯t that right, sir?¡±
Zarian smiled back.
Later, they had a cookout and enjoyed most of the fish they¡¯d caught. Gilbert forgave Zarian, but on one condition. Zarian had to stop throwing around the Zombie Jesus joke. Or Gilbert was going to swing for the fences.
Zarian epted the condition while making ns to ensure his defenses remained up to par. Gilbert could hit harder than Zarian predicted prior. The Knighted Healer remained a unique member of the party.
Zarian couldn¡¯t wait to mess with him again when the time was right.
They got a little drunk.
Naomi was still suffering from the debuff, but that didn¡¯t stop her from dancing near the fire with Bianca. Then they yanked Hannah to dance with them while they were still wearing their bikinis. It was a fun show to watch, especially when the spectral spiders joined in, dancing in circles on the ground or on the girls. There were even a few that danced around on Gilbert¡¯s head in secret, which gave Zarian a few solid chuckles.
Naomi went to bed first. Then Zarian went off to walk around theke and have some alone time.
He found a dpidated hallway through the castles and hills that took him outside of theke area. He walked through the dark forest and flexed some of his power to scare off beasts that were too curious for their own good. ?
The moons were out like the first night Zarian had seen them. The twinkling stars were plentiful. Zarian used the void to help him walk out a little further until he was far enough.
He looked up at the sky some more until he mustered enough bravery.
¡°Para, I¡¯m going to need some privacy,¡± Zarian requested.
¡°Understood.¡± Para disappearedpletely inside of his body, cloak and all.
She shut her consciousness down without the skill turning off, which was a convenient loophole. That way, Zarian remained buffed up because of Para¡¯s physical boosts while she could go unconscious and give him privacy.
Zarian let out a shaky breath. He looked around. Then, with a sigh, he looked straight into the deepest and darkest shadows in this section of the forest.
¡°Happy birthday,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You¡¯re eighteen now. How does it feel to be an official adult?¡±
There was nothing at first.
Then there was a scant white color glinting in the darkness.
Zarian heard a small step on the loamy forest floor. Then he saw more of the white color billowing ominously as a short and childish figure approached.
There she was. Ariana Darkrun. She still looked four-years-old while wearing a sparkly white dress and pearly white shoes, her Sunday best.
She stood with the darkness framed around her, making her seem like a ray of hope in the night. For Zarian, that might be true. For anyone else, he imagined they would face something more horrifying than any nightmare they could ever have.
But here and now, she looked like his bubbly and cute little sister. She hadn¡¯t changed or aged whatsoever for the past fourteen years.
Zarian had turned twenty-two in Late Winter.
Ariana¡¯s birthday month was Mid Spring.
¡°You¡¯re an adult now, Ariana,¡± Zarian said. ¡°So, it¡¯s time to look like one.¡±
Ariana gave him an endearing smile that would melt most people¡¯s hearts. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want to talk to me or see me for a while longer. And isn¡¯t it better that I¡¯m this way for you?¡±
Zarian shook his head. ¡°I need to face facts. It¡¯s better if I do it now rather thanter, especially after today.¡±
¡°Today?¡± Ariana cocked her head to the side. ¡°You and your pets had lots of fun today. Why ruin that?¡±
¡°Because I have problems,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I¡¯m probably loaded with so much crazy fucked up shit in me it¡¯s a miracle Para¡¯s sanity hadn¡¯t degenerated and she¡¯s still a great friend to me. That¡¯s part of the reason I¡¯m doing all of this crap. I want to make this life better than the past, so I need to acknowledge some things.¡±
¡°You wish to acknowledge your demons?¡± Ariana asked, still smiling, still being cute.
¡°Yes,¡± Zarian grunted.
¡°Interesting choice of words. Am I your demon? Yet, you wish to see my ideal representation,¡± Ariana said softly. ¡°Even if that¡¯ll hurt you?¡±
¡°Healing isn¡¯t always fun. It takes some pain. So let me see you for you, Ariana. Or at least let me see the projection that fits you more when ¡ you¡¯re not awake yet,¡± Zarian said.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it¡¯s taken without the author¡¯s consent. Report it.
¡°Okay, Big Bro. And ¡ Thank you. You picked the perfect time for me to be more of what I really am.¡±
Ariana transformed. She grew. Her pearly white dress turned to the color of ash and dark embers. Her pearly church shoes split and unraveled to amodate her more ferocious and risque changes, such as the talons growing from her toes.
Zarian watched as his little sister¡¯s projection became her more ideal self.
He felt like he was dying inside as Ariana transformed.
Ariana stopped being a cute little girl. She stopped being the one he went to when he wanted to feel safe and understood. She became her own entity, even at the cost of burning everything Zarian knew about her to ash.
A tail grew from behind her and snapped around like a bull whip.
She grew up faster. She lost all her bubbly cute youth. She became a dominating and attractive woman. One look from her could break most mortal men. Then she pushed it even further.
Because why not?
Ariana was the daughter of ultra gods, and Zarian could see she enjoyed the benefits that came with it. The women of their family had to wield their power and responsibility from the start, after all.
Her eyes were like roiling mes. Her skin was dark and pristine. She wore a dress that looked like scales and sheets of dark metal woven together, which left little to the imagination outside the most important bits.
Even her shoes had ended uprge and tall, with spiked heels that could pierce a skull, let alone crush it under step.
The surrounding temperature became hotter and hotter. The aura in the air became smoky, with kes of ash seeming to appear from nowhere. The forest floor became scorched under her feet while spreading a ck, burning ring of destruction in all directions, passing under Zarian.
Ariana stopped changing and looked down at Zarian.
Then, with a mouth filled with fangs, she said in a womanly tone, ¡°Hello, Big Bro. This is me. This is your little sister, Ariana Darkrun. And yes, I¡¯m eighteen now. And I¡¯m loving it.¡±
She sounded like a true hellion.
She sounded like destruction and devastation.
She sounded bad to the bone.
Yet, there was still a hint of his little sister in there.
Zarian had to crane his neck back while looking up at Ariana¡¯s staggering stature. This form of hers was over eight feet tall without the heeled shoes. With the shoes, she pushed close to nine feet.
The darkness and the shadows undted behind her, as if they both feared her and worshiped her. The high heat made the air waver and steam from around her. It was like being close to an overheated furnace. Zarian¡¯s skin broke out into sweat.
¡°I think it¡¯s safe to say I¡¯m ny-nine percent sure of what you are,¡± Zarian said. ¡°But there¡¯s just this one issue. The lore doesn¡¯t match up. You¡¯re eighteen.¡±
Ariana chuckled darkly as her tail snapped behind her like a thunder crack. Even herughter demanded respect from everyone who wasn¡¯t family. For Zarian, she still spoke with a hint of adoration and love.
¡°Here, let me confirm it. Let us be done with the mystery. The issue you¡¯re having is that The Dragon, the First Evil King, the First Destroyer is known as the oldest of the gods. Unkible. Immortal. The great big bad creature that the Star System, or the Alignment System, used to wipe out the old so it could usher in the new. Well, the truth is that I¡¯m not The Dragon.¡±
She spread her arms and stroked at the air with her long ws. ¡°Come now, Big Bro. Think about it. What else can I be if I¡¯m not The Dragon?¡±
¡°I can¡¯t say. You have to confirm it. But you¡¯re right,¡± Zarian said, with growing awe and horror. ¡°You¡¯re really not The Dragon.¡±
Ariana closed the distance in two steps. She loomed over him as two mighty wings appeared from behind her back and pped so hard they instantly blew out hurricane winds.
Her eyes spun with frenzied mes. But there was more than just the fire in her gaze. Behind the embers in her eyes was darkness, cunning, vile, and ambitious.
¡°I¡¯m The Dragoness. The Ultimate Queen. The Greatest Destroyer!¡± Ariana boasted andughed, her ws stroking at the air close to Zarian¡¯s face. ¡°Unlike you, Big Bro, I suffered the same treatment as Shadowfell, our ultra families casting the girls into Infinita as babies to fend for themselves.¡±
¡°Sorry about that,¡± Zarian mumbled.
Ariana kept on with a wicked cheer. ¡°Luciana found her way two years before my arrival. I found mine by killing the old dragon. I ate his corpse. Every flesh. Every scale. Every bone. Then I went to sleep to grow. Since then, I¡¯ve slept and slept as my body developed.¡±
Zarian tried to speak again, but couldn¡¯t. He was stunned. The Dragon, the original, had so much lore behind him, Zarian had always felt he was apex. For Ariana to kill the original dragon while she was a mere baby was astounding.
Had she used the power of their dark bloodline to kill the Dragon? Had she tricked the old dragon or struck him when he was weak? Zarian wasn¡¯t sure, but in the end, Ariana had reced the old dragon.
Now The Dragoness reigned as the strongest of the Star System¡¯s gods.
Ariana smirked as Zarian tried to process the revtion.
His voice came out in a low whisper when he found it. ¡°Please, don¡¯t hurt too many people, Ariana. You can control these ¡ urges of yours, can¡¯t you? You were always kind to me.¡±
Ariana softened her gaze as she towered directly over him. ¡°Big Bro, I don¡¯t care. My body will awaken sooner orter. I will feast and feast. I will destroy many worlds to satisfy myself. I will have my fun until we finally break free of this y pen and assume our true forms. The darkness within us is grander and greater than these mere universe-bound roles we y as, but until you decide to assume your true birthright, I will y as The Dragoness and reign supreme.¡±
Shebed her ws through his hair. The heat she emitted was scalding.
How could this be? This was just an illusion. A projection from her mind. Yet a person who was weaker than him, maybe even around the Level 60s, would¡¯ve suffered horrible burns andy dying in pain on the floor.
There were so many things Zarian could say. So many things he should ask. But he couldn¡¯t speak.
It was unfortunate, but Ariana had always been a weak spot for him. She¡¯d been there through the ups and downs of his life. She had a tight hold on him.
This was why he needed to face facts.
He needed to see her for what she was.
He needed this to truly prepare himself and his friends. Because his little sister was a major enemy, and at any moment, she could wreak havoc in their direction.
¡°I love you, Big Bro,¡± Ariana said.
¡°I love you, too,¡± Zarian said hoarsely.
She took one step back and fell into a crouch. Her mighty wings wrapped around her as she propped her head up on her palm. Her tail flicked back and forth behind her inzy motions.
Zarian stood from across from her, not moving. They looked at each other as if there were thousands and thousands of things for them to say.
But they held their silence instead. There was no need to talk. They could understand each other quite fine this way, honestly.
Ariana kept smiling her monstrous smile. Zarian wasn¡¯t sure what expression was on his face, but he felt waves of disappointment, hurt, uncertainty, and fear.
Then, as a new morning peeked over the horizon, Zarian found some fire of his own.
¡°I will find a way,¡± Zarian said.
Ariana tilted her head slightly in question.
Zarian balled his hands into fists. ¡°I will save you, even if it means I have to stop you with force. But I¡¯m going to do that out of love. I can¡¯t abandon you. I refuse.¡±
¡°I will convince you,¡± Ariana said softly. ¡°I won¡¯t aim to kill you. I won¡¯t even do the most obvious thing and eat you for your power. No, no, no. That¡¯s not good enough for me.¡±
Zarian chuckled darkly. He hadn¡¯t even thought of Arianaing after him for his Overwhelming Darkness. It was a revolting idea. He could also see the same disgust written on Ariana¡¯s face.
Despite their diverging moralities, Zarian trusted Ariana not to seek him out for the sake of power. Their rtionship wouldn¡¯t dissolve that easily, which made this conversation hard. Well, for him. As for Ariana, she continued to chat with him like it was her favorite pastime.
¡°I want you to see things my way just like Luciana does,¡± she said with a rumbling purr. ¡°Then we can truly reign supreme once we have a better control of your darkness.¡±
She slowly stood to her staggering height and cast an arrogant smile down at him. For a moment, Zarian saw himself in her face. He also saw the remnants of his little sister from when she was small and cute.
But Ariana spoke on with power and dominance, the air shaking as if it feared her.
¡°The Darkruns took over this universe the moment I appeared. Everyone exists to amuse us or feed us, even the Star System. So ask yourself this. What¡¯s the point in caring for trillions and trillions of strangers you don¡¯t know? Why not focus on the ones who are truly your equals? Why not the few who truly understand you? That way, you can be your true self and nobody important can truly judge you for being you.¡±
Ariana disappeared.
Zarian slowly looked around him. For miles and miles in all directions, the forest had burnt down, with the ash ckened to the darkest degree.
No wildfires had broken out, either. There was no need for that. This site represented destruction of the purest sense. This was what Ariana could achieve with a mere mental projection while she was still asleep in hell.
Could she think of a world and burn it and all of its upants to fine ash? Was the Star System truly in control? Or was it being held hostage by Zarian¡¯s little sister?
Zarian knew the answer to that. He could extrapte based on himself and Luciana, which led to a horrifying conclusion. Ariana wasn¡¯t wrong. The Darkruns ran the entire universe in the truest sense. The Star System was trying to survive while following its parameters.
And everyone else was stuck between a cosmic rock and an existential hard ce.
¡°Wow, okay, alright,¡± Zarian said. ¡°I¡¯m all sorts of screwy. My ultra god family is messed up. I have a weird-as-hell and submissive wife from an arranged marriage. And my evil little sister is scary as hell and has TWO WAYS of bringing about a universe-spanning apocalypse. What the fuck?¡±
Chapter Overpowered Wizard Book 1 is now on Amazon and Audible!
Well, the day has finally arrived. You must¡¯ve seen these headlines and posts before. Either way, I do want to say I appreciate your support, especially if you¡¯ve continued following me after Book 1.
I haven¡¯t talked much about this, but the reaction to the ending of Book 1 was quite harsh from some of thementers and reviewers. But after some thought, I realized doing what I do isn¡¯t familiar with them, and most stories won¡¯t swing with a bang like that. On a site like Royal Road, steady, simple, grind-y progression is the norm. But I have a style that goes a bit against the grain that I find exciting, that helps me write the next chapter, and the next chapter after that.
It is a little sad that I¡¯ve gotten a lot of negativity these past six months, but at the same time, I deeply appreciate the readers andmenters who¡¯ve followed along with the story and enjoyed themselves for what it is. That helped me keep going.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.
The premise is about an OP Wizard and his friends, and I¡¯m going to stick with that premise, for good and bad. So I appreciate you all who understand that.
Anywho, Book 1 is out.
I¡¯m going to take the weekend off ande back with the next chapter on Tuesday. Thest third of Book 2 has some of my favorite training montages, power fantasy action, world building, and crawls! Again, thank you, and enjoy!
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continue reading tomorrow, everyone!
Chapter 169: B2: C69: Push Yourself 1
Theke view hotel was already gone when Zarian returned to tell the others how seriously bad his little sister was. Para regained consciousness by then. She was just learning about the truth, too.
However, Zarian didn¡¯t give everything up at first. He started by alluding to the connection between Ariana and The Dragon, removing prior predictions of her being a demon or devil. He waited to see how the others would react.
¡°There¡¯s a bright side, guys!¡± Bianca said. ¡°We have a knight.¡± She waved at Gilbert. ¡°And the prettiest, most powerful, and prettiest princess in all thends.¡± Biancabed her gauntlet-d fingers through her long amber hair and stood proudly.
Gilbert tipped his hat up while sittingfortably on Slip¡¯s back. He nced at Bianca before looking back toward theke. It was another pretty morning, and it was obvious Gilbert wanted to fish more.
¡°Demon. Devil. Dragon. It doesn¡¯t matter, right? We¡¯ll have to climb our way up and deal with these forces of evil while spreading freedom,¡± Gilbert said, as a strangely familiar bird cried out in the background.
¡°You¡¯re hiding something, Zarian,¡± Hannah called out tly from on top of the rune cart. ¡°There¡¯s more going on than the possibility of Ariana being The Dragon. Because it doesn¡¯t match up with the lore. Unless Ariana is not your younger sister and is actually much, much older.¡±
¡°So how much stronger do I have to be to spank her?¡± Naomi grumbled.
She was still suffering the debuff from Even Further Beyond, but it wasn¡¯t as bad as yesterday. She looked like she was ready to get back to the grind.
Zarian took a moment to gather his thoughts as he reflected on everything from the moment his little sister appeared to the moment she left. Her transformation from a cute little girl to an immense and powerful monstress was still disturbing for him. It was like being subjected to the loss of innocence and trust all in one moment.He told them the full truth with a grave solemnity that he felt as the older brother.
Ariana wasn¡¯t merely The Dragon. That guy with an old and powerful lore was dead. Zarian¡¯s little sister had killed the old dragon, ate his remains, and took his ce as The Dragoness, the Ultimate Queen, the Greatest Destroyer.
She could sleepfortably in hell because she was the biggest bad guy across the entire universe. Then once she woke up, she would go on a rampage and trillions would die for her own hunger and amusement, because nobody could truly stop her.
Gilbert took his hat off and held it to his chest. ¡°Mother of God.¡±
¡°Comepinga,¡± Bianca cussed softly.
¡°You never taught me that one,¡± Gilbert mumbled.
¡°Maybeter. I keep some Cuban stuff reserved just for these moments,¡± Bianca said listlessly. She turned away, her shining metal skirt swaying with each haunted stride as she came to a stop near the edge of theke. ¡°Did she really transform like that in front of you?¡±
Zarian grimaced. He said yes.
Bianca took that the hardest. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Zarian. That must¡¯ve been terrible.¡±
¡°Does that part really matter?¡± Gilbert asked.
¡°Did you ever have anyone adorable in your life? A little niece? A young baby cousin? No? How about you imagine it being your future daughter?¡± Bianca jabbed her finger at Gilbert.
The Knighted Healer held up his hands.
Bianca kept going, passionate. ¡°Imagine someone who held you for years and was always cute and supportive. But then they be a monster right before your eyes. And with no modesty!¡±
Bianca looked at the wizard.
Zarian nodded solemnly.
Bianca looked back at Gilbert. ¡°Think of how painful that stab to the heart would be. Lo entiendes?¡±
¡°Okay, yeah, I understand now,¡± Gilbert said.
¡°I asked to see her true self. I got to see it,¡± Zarian muttered, ncing over at Hannah and Naomi.
Zarian could see both women were stewing away on some intense thoughts, but in intensely different ways.
Zarian figured Naomi was focused on growing stronger and stronger to ovee Ariana. As for Hannah, Zarian predicted she was trying to ovee her insecurity and figure out a way to establish her own base of power that belonged to her, if she could survive long enough to reach that point.
A universe where the Darkruns ran supreme was a dangerous one. Truly, they were in a Dark Era.
¡°She won¡¯t kill us,¡± Zarian said, trying to ease their concerns. ¡°She won¡¯t even aim to eat me. Just thinking that makes me sick, and Ariana feels the same way. Our familial bond will prevent that type of betrayal. But that¡¯s about it. Ariana¡¯s way out of our league, and everyone else is free game.¡±
¡°Is there a way to even get close to her without your Overwhelming Darkness?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°That¡¯s the only option, right? Once you¡¯re able to control that power, you¡¯ll be able to stop her. But until then, there is nothing we can do but let the Star System suffer Ariana¡¯s tyranny, isn¡¯t there?¡±
Zarian let out a big breath. ¡°There is one other option one of you can take.¡±
¡°The Throne of the Adventurer King,¡± Hannah muttered.
¡°Or Adventurer Queen!¡± Bianca piped in.
Hannah let out a mockingugh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m being doubtful here, but based on the universal lore, none of the past Adventurer Kings or Queens could beat The Dragon of yesteryear. They either died or went off on some other adventure beyond the Star System. So, Zarian, can you tell me how that empty and unused throne is supposed to help anyone other than you?¡±
Zarian opened and closed his mouth and thought about it before saying, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be me. It isn¡¯t fair.¡±
¡°There¡¯s no such thing as fairness in any of the situations we find ourselves in,¡± Hannah said, standing her ground. ¡°Let¡¯s be real, Zarian. Your little sister has taken the role of the most powerful evil force in this universe. There remains one way to ovee that, and nobody has ever used it to defeat the previous dragon. You are supposedly more powerful than Ariana once you can reach your full potential, but as of now, she has a huge head start while you still have to grow into your power. In fact, it¡¯s almost fitting. This is like any ssical story of how a young man rises to power as a king.¡±
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¡°We¡¯re with a future king?¡± Bianca said in awe.
¡°Yes,¡± Hannah said firmly.
¡°No,¡± Zarian muttered.
¡°You were a Marine, Zarian. Regardless of what happened, you remembered what it¡¯s like to have a sense of duty, right?¡± Gilbert asked, patting Slip between the ears. ¡°Sometimes we don¡¯t ask to bear the weight of responsibility, but when ites, it¡¯s better to be prepared than to let it blindside you.¡±
¡°There could be another.¡± Zarian tried not to nce at Naomi. He moved on quickly. ¡°But if nobody else can do it ¡ I¡¯ll do it.¡±
He felt awful about that. There were a lot of things Zarian could ept as his birthright for being a massive beneficiary of nepotism.
But taking the Throne of the Adventurer King was a little too much, and Zarian wanted it to go to someone more deserving than him, man or woman.
Which was why he took a deep breath and looked back at his friends with a determined gaze. His eyes spiraled with small aura lights and void-like darkness.
Bianca turned sharply to face him. Gilbert shivered, and Slip stomped around in surprise. Hannah turned pale as she lost herself in Zarian¡¯s darkened gaze. Naomi didn¡¯t budge, move, or react whatsoever.
¡°I¡¯m d we¡¯ve gotten some time off,¡± Zarian said coldly. ¡°Because I¡¯m going to need all of you to train even harder than ever before.¡±
He turned to look in the direction they were going. There was a trail they could take, which led out of the surrounding ring of castles, forts, and hills that bordered the beautiful and tranquilke.
Zarian straightened up and said, ¡°The next break wille when we reach the Blood Prairie Savages¡¯ Stronghold. I¡¯m going to busy myself with studying grimoires and training my aura to grow my Mysticism naturally. I¡¯m letting Naomi do whatever she thinks is best to help you three.¡±
¡°Willpower,¡± Naomi said. ¡°I think that¡¯s the biggest weakness among you three, Bianca and Gilbert especially. We need to shore that up now before we get caught slipping.¡±
¡°My Strength is weaker, but I imagine my Willpower can use some raising,¡± Bianca said.
¡°I have my Unyielding Mentality trait and free for real +2,¡± Gilbert pointed out. ¡°Bianca has free good +5 and that meditation trait of hers. I think we¡¯re solid on the Willpower front.¡±
Naomi shrugged. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. You all need more raw stat points in Willpower just in case. That can matter more than having extra points in Strength and Agility if we¡¯re going to be facing down gods, angels, demons, and Ariana Darkrun.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll do whatever it takes,¡± Hannah said. ¡°I need to do whatever it takes. I don¡¯t want to get caught ¡®slipping,¡¯ as you say.¡±
Hearing that from Hannah, Bianca gave in right away. Gilbert grumbled for a while before swearing himself to fall fully under Naomi¡¯s training regimen. Everyone knew how hard and crazy Naomi could get with training, so they were in for some pain.
¡°Let¡¯s go. We have the gnolls to check on and Grimrock to conquer,¡± Zarian said, his mind rotating furiously on ways to be greater.
He felt Para¡¯s eagerness to help. She also offeredfort through their mental link. She soothed Zarian¡¯s heartache over the deplorable evilness of his little sister.
Zarian believed evil should be used as a tool.
But Ariana looked at evil as something fun and casual she could y with. It didn¡¯t matter how many people she hurt as long as she reigned supreme. And because she had the most power and most control, that was unquestionable.
Not exactly, Para sent through Zarian¡¯s head. Don¡¯t forget that Ariana can¡¯t break free from the Star System. She has immense power, but she¡¯s not as powerful as the whole of you.I see your point, Para, but I¡¯m not concerned about what she can¡¯t do, and more concerned that inside Infinita, Ariana can do a lot. We have to get stronger. We have to be better. We have to be the best, Zarian thought resolutely.
He almost wanted to smile. Zarian imagined the climb up to the top was going to be a more casual affair after Grimrock. But his little sister had given him one gift from this terrible revtion.
A reason to hustle a little more and push further beyond.
And do some crazy, pedal-to-the-metal training.
Since Naomi was still physically debuffed, she rxed on the rune cart mostly as they set out to go northwest. She put a lot of focus on Gilbert and Bianca since they had the lowest Willpower among the Floridians.
Hannah was given more grace so she could work on some of her projects, especially the one surrounding spatial enchantments and magic. However, that didn¡¯t mean she was free from pressure.
¡°Hannah,¡± Zarian called, floating beside the cart.
¡°Yes,¡± Hannah said sharply.
¡°I want to include you in the Mysticism training,¡± Zarian said. ¡°In fact, I think it¡¯s about time you get an aura-based trait. Maybe I can help with that.¡±
Hannah readjusted her seat on the rune cart while having a spread of notes, journals, runic devices, and the Spatial Satchel in front of her. She looked intensely at Zarian before saying, ¡°That¡¯s going to be difficult when our Mysticism is among the highest in the party. It¡¯s hard to grow it naturally. It¡¯s also hard to gain new traits when we have so many already.¡±
¡°I hear you. I didn¡¯t have many ns on how to train it. But recent events motivated me to figure it the fuck out. I realized I just haven¡¯t been creative enough, and I shouldn¡¯t have to wait on Ruvaria to tell me. Would you like to have a sample?¡± Zarian asked.
Hannah squinted. ¡°I said I¡¯ll do whatever it takes. I mean that.¡±
Zarian used pure Aura Mastery to crush down on Hannah¡¯s aura.
The moment it happened, he felt Hannah using decent aura control to defend against his aura pressure. She made the most out of her Level 0 Summon Wizard Hat, her 222 Willpower, her 583 Mysticism, and her innate talent as a legendary Runic Engineer.
But Zarian was a legendary Madness Wizard, and he was better at controlling aura directly while having multiple high quality, high-level abilities that supported such. His crooked, conical wizard hat was Level 48, and Hannah¡¯s hard wizard hat could barely match that.
The only thing that kept him from crushing Hannah down any further was her free for real +2 that prevented outright invasions. But that didn¡¯tst long, because Zarian was also in the freedom alignment with free evil +4, and he was too dominant, too powerful.
Eventually, Zarian crashed through Hannah¡¯s defenses, invaded her profile with his aura, and blocked her skills. He couldn¡¯t affect the traits, since those were ingrained deeply with the soul. But the skills were his to affect once he put enough attention to them.
It was an invasive and ufortable experience for anyone to go through. Zarian didn¡¯t hold back much, which shocked Hannah and set her tumbling onto her back.
Hannah curled up near the edge of the rune cart, panting and grunting like a beaten dog.
Zarian held back the other factors he could add while in this deep inside of Hannah. He could use abination of The Dreaded One, Uncanny Valley Effect, and maybe even the Frenzy Zone with his Aura Mastery. He could throw Hannah into a horrible blender of confusion and domination.
But that would take things too far ¡ on the first day.
¡°I can¡¯t win against you,¡± Hannah said, gasping.
¡°A goddess doesn¡¯t believe in the word ¡®can¡¯t,¡¯ Hannah,¡± Zarian said. ¡°You better remove that word from your vocabry by the time you can hold a universe in your hand.¡±
Zarian was well aware of the type of person Hannah wanted to be in the end. If Naomi wanted to fight the gods, Hannah wanted to sit above gods and boss them around. Zarian would be happy to support that as long as Hannah would work hard for her dreams.
Hannah didn¡¯t respond. She kept convulsing and shaking on top of the rune cart.
Zariannded next to her. ¡°Hannah, look at me. Look up and meet my eyes.¡±
She turned and looked up. She was crying. Her face was red and puffy, her brown hair a messy spool around her head. Hatred burned in her eyes. Zarian smiled softly and soaked in being the object of Hannah¡¯s hatred.
As long as she grew stronger, Zarian would merrily bear the burden of Hannah¡¯s spite. Maybe she would make an even worse artificial dungeon for him next time.
Zarian crouched down and spoke in a low tone. ¡°I need you to push me out. Then I need you to withstand my pressure while you continue working on your projects.¡±
¡°Ugh,¡± Hannah grunted.
Zarian chuckled. ¡°It won¡¯t always be as bad as this, but I will be a constant pressure in your life for a while. I will ease back when Naomi has you under her care. Between me and Naomi, you will work on the foundations to be a badass goddess.¡±
Hannah nodded slowly.
¡°Also, happy birthday month. To you and Bianca. You got a flower. You got to fish. And you get to get your ass kicked,¡± Zarian sang. ¡°Now push yourself.¡±
Chapter 170: B2: C70: Push Yourself 2
Hannah pushed her hands down on the rune cart¡¯s roof and sat up. She breathed hard and deep, eyes squeezed shut, before shemitted her aura in what must¡¯ve felt like an impossible battle against an aura titan.
Zarian stood over her the whole time, barely easing the pressure until he felt Hannah giving it her all.
Only then did he pull back bit by bit, making her work to gain ground and find an equalizing point. After a long enough while, Zarian let Hannah overpower his invasive aura a little. She barely had much room to rest, and pushing Zarian out was slow going.
Still, Hannah used all of her mystical abilities to scramble, w, and shove at Zarian¡¯s aura to get him out. She was practically crying by the time Zarian was finally out of her.
He eased the pressure back some more, but kept pouring a constant stream down on Hannah. He forced her to use her limited aura control to secure herself in a bubble.
¡°I¡¯ve never gone through something so horrible,¡± Hannah muttered. ¡°I think a few blood vessels burst. I might have a hernia or two, even, just from the strain.¡±
¡°Vitality will heal that right up,¡± Zarian said. ¡°Good job, though. I know that was tough, but I think you want it this way. Right?¡±
Hannah red at him before gulping loudly. She slowly nodded. ¡°Yes, please, I ¡ I really want this. I want more power. I must ¡ be a badass goddess.¡±
Zarian nodded and floated away. He barely caught thest thing Hannah muttered under her breath. ¡°Whatever it takes, my insufferable king.¡±Zarian tried not to show how that bothered him. Hannah could be quite determined. Maybe not as much as Naomi, but once she had her mind set on something, whether it was an idea or her perception of someone, it became fixed in her head.
Even when she hated him right now, she still thought of him as the future king of Infinita.
Zarian hoped to prove her wrong with enough hardcore training. Maybe she would be the future queen instead.
It¡¯s most likely Naomi, though.
Zarian nced at his fellow Marine as she sat calmly on the edge of the rune cart. She looked down at Gilbert and Bianca who were sparring harder than they usually would.
The big, blue-eyed, blond raised his shield as Bianca dashed in and struck with a flurry of shes with her sabers of light. Then she dashed away before Gilbert could respond with a shield bash or punch. She dashed back in and forced him to duck behind his shield again as she attacked with both her sword constructs and someser beams.
The force of her blows on Gilbert¡¯s shield created mini-shockwaves, left craters in the old weathered road they were taking between stony trees, and made the surroundingndscape quake as if they were a pair of dueling giants.
Bianca had an easier time than Gilbert because of her build and how she could dip into a small portion of free good +5. But Gilbert had the rightbination of abilities to hold his own just long enough until his tranquilizer skill slowed Bianca and evened the fight out.
Neither of them were having much fun, though, not under Naomi¡¯s watch. The cruel Rumble Psion was throwing her psychic abilities into the mix.
Tears of blood fell from Gilbert¡¯s and Bianca¡¯s eyes. Blood poured from their nostrils. They kept suffering psychic spikes to their minds whenever Naomi couldnd them after a cooldown.
She alsoyered her Psychokinesis +2 on them, making them wear it like a superheavy weighted vest. This was worse on Bianca than it was on Gilbert.
The fight evened out some more to where Bianca had to scramble around to avoid getting crushed by Gilbert. The man couldst for a long while despite him being the ¡®least dynamic¡¯ on their party roster.
It got to where Bianca gged more than Gilbert after a few hours of straight battle training without rest. Of course, Naomi introduced another insidious element to her brutal training regimen.
¡°Heal her. Jolt her up. Keep going,¡± Naomi ordered.
Gilbert healed Bianca and applied his Adrenaline Jolt +2. Bianca snapped awake. She used the extra juice to get back into the fight with another rapid flurry of strikes andsers.
Again, Gilbert dropped back into a bad position. He had to defend as best as he could and endure the powerful hits from Bianca that slipped through.
Then Gilbert ran into a roadblock when he had to save up on aura to avoid bottoming out. He found himself less effective, which gave the Light Princess too much leeway.
Bianca beat the shit out of him while he was low on aura, which was kind of ironic. It was a known issue for Bianca to run low on aura most of the time. But that was an issue she was always working on, too.
It was rare for anything to push Gilbert to the point of wasting all his aura, so Naomi let him suffer for quite some time. Then she asked Zarian to pump more aura into Gilbert so he could hold his own better against Bianca¡¯s intense flow of attacks.
Rapid res and sparks of light showered the area as Bianca rampaged and Gilbert stood his ground behind his shield. Minor fires caught on the hedges and fields of flowers that were around them.
Naomi snuffed out any potential wildfires using her psychic abilities. She kept flinging out her Mind Spike +2. She kept Bianca and Gilbert weighed down with Psychokinesis +2. She made them fight and fight even when they were past the point of exhaustion. Even Gilbert was straining, having taken enough abuse to hit his limits.
Finally, Naomi let them rest. Bianca climbed onto the cart. Fell off. Landed in a heap. Then tried to climb back on andy down like a living corpse.
Gilbert rested on Slip¡¯s back. The Sleipnir had trotted close by the whole time, unless he caught sight of a monster. Then he¡¯d run off to stomp it dead under his hard hooves. With his rider on his back now, Sleipnir let Loner and the skeletons deal with the monster poption.
Naomi nodded at Bianca and Gilbert. Then she turned and said, ¡°Hannah, you¡¯re with me.¡±
¡°Fuck,¡± Hannah cussed.
She looked miserable. She¡¯d been pushing away Zarian¡¯s aura the whole time while trying to work on her spatial research.
She put everything away and jumped off the rune cart. Zarian peeled his aura pressure off of Hannah.
She caught a break, free to stretch and recover while Naomi warmed up from across her. The Rumble Psion still suffered from her debuff, so maybe Hannah wouldn¡¯t get thrashed too much. It was doubtful, but there was still a chance Hannah woulde out alright.
Just like Gilbert and Bianca had earlier, Hannah and Naomi faced off while moving with the rune cart.
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Anyone observing from a distance would see the metallic cart and its six wheels as odd. They would notice the eight-legged horse running about in the fields like a wild thing. Then there were the skeletons following from behind, with a ck skeleton leading them.
If there were observers, they wouldn¡¯t know about the spectral spiders that were spread so far out that most of them were beyond Zarian¡¯s aura perception range. Scouting beyond Zarian¡¯s range was their top priority outside of dancing and conducting webbed spell arrays.
For miles and miles, Zarian had his party covered because of his spectral spiders. That way, Naomi could bully Hannah with little worry. The only monsters that drew close were the ones Zarian allowed in because the skeletons or Slip could handle them.
The Runic Engineer threw herself into the offensive to make use of her newest skill, Mystic Rush Tank. She forwent her smart golems or any pre-made enchanted gear, as demanded by Naomi as they faced off.
Instead, Hannah had to fight offensively while making things on the fly. She had to do it while Naomi liberally threw her Mind Spike +2 into her head and weighed Hannah down with a heavy coat from Psychokinesis +2.
Consequently, Hannah¡¯s existence became nothing but pain and misery. More so than any training exercise they¡¯d done before.
Hannah hit the dirt hard with her face after taking a kick from Naomi. When Hannah picked herself up and swung out her newly made cubic crafts, she watched them get obliterated by an unfazed and unstoppable Naomi.
The debuff didn¡¯t seem to matter right now. Naomi was that scary strongpared to Hannah in this close-quarters challenge.
Naomi¡¯s unrelenting nature despite the debuff was both a testament to how strong Naomi had be and how far out of her element Hannah was. The chance of Hannah having to do much upfrontbat like this was low, too.
But Hannah didn¡¯t quit.
She seemed to recognize that this could only help her, especially in the off chance she was caught in melee situations. So she epted getting her ass kicked and her face shoved into the dirt again and again. She got up again, and she got up again, and she pushed herself.
Meanwhile, Zarian ced some aura pressure on Gilbert and Bianca while they were resting. But he didn¡¯tmit to it as much as he did with Hannah. Helping them grow their Mysticism wasn¡¯t a top prioritypared to improving their Willpower.
He maintained the pressure to keep them ufortable. He slowly introduced them to other traits: Uncanny Valley Effect, the Dreaded One, and Frenzy Zone. Bianca groaned and cried. Gilbert nearly fell off Slip¡¯s back.
Zarian didn¡¯t stop there. He let Para introduce her hungry aura to nibble on their own and drive up the creepy factor.
Yes, both Bianca and Gilbert had their own defenses against Zarian and Para. But with time and persistence, the Madness Wizard and his Parasite Cloak +2 reigned supreme. They made Bianca and Gilbert¡¯s momentary respite a horrendous one.
What of Zarian¡¯s training?
It was quite simple during the day. He selected one of his grimoires, specifically ck, and skipped past the gravity spell to work on the others.
Para took care of Morph with some gentle reassurances despite the loud and semi-destructive training the others did. Eventually, she had Morph open up to her. Then she was tracing her fingers over the runes and symbols of Morph¡¯s first spell, using abination of touch and aura perception to read.
But that wasn¡¯t all. Zarian and Para were also ying a dynamic game against each other.
Zarian had better control and more variable tricks with Aura Mastery. Para had an extra attribute when she used Aura Mastery, her hunger aura.
They wrestled one aura against the other in a constant battle for supremacy.
Surprisingly and unsurprisingly, Para had a slight advantage. The hunger attribute in her aura chipped away at Zarian¡¯s aura. Every bite of his aura made Para¡¯s aura stronger and more gluttonous.
However, Zarian could bend the environment easier than Para could. With his aura, he conjured unique effects that Ruvaria had shown him. His Aura Mastery still didn¡¯tpare to Ruvaria¡¯s, but it was still grand and mystical.
This was all while Zarian and Para studied separate grimoires and used theirbined traits to pressure their party members.
For the rest of the day, thend shook and roared from the impacts of Naomi and Hannah duking it out. The air around the top of the rune cart wavered nightmarishly while Bianca and Gilbert had to endure invasive and dreadful auras pressuring them and their sanity. Then there was the sky above where a wizard battled his own cloak as they studied from two dark and evil grimoires.
Twisted and malevolent darkness covered the skies and feasted on the beaming light of the twin suns. The asional p of roaring thunder resounded.
A mystical, dark bolt of lightning cracked through the air. Sparks of friction and crackling energy gathered around the darkness in the sky.
Bolts of fire appeared from thin air and rained down like drizzling fireworks. A howling twister formed from out of nowhere and sucked up the sparks and smoke.
A ring impact, like a giant pping their hands, reverberated for miles. The twister disappeared like the fingers of a titanic god snuffed it.
These elemental aura tricks were not something Zarian would¡¯ve normally done inbat. It was a colossal waste of aura and highly, highly inefficient. But that was the point. So Zarian unleashed his dark and vengeful wizardry against Para¡¯s hungry, hungry aura while the two studied and pressured their friends.
All the nearby beasts that were mostly harmless fled away from the intense activity. Even the braver and more dangerous beasts, and some of the lurking monsters, turned tail and ran. Anyone who was observing this from a distance would think a cmity or giant Tier 4 event was thumping its way toward the Blood Prairies.
Loner and his fellow skeletons found themselves with nothing to do. After watching the Floridians train and cause immense chaos for a while, Loner turned and threw out sts of runic force at his fellow skeletons, making them train, too.
Slip and the spectral spiders were the ones left mostly on guard duty all the way from daytime to nighttime until Naomi ended the training day. Only then did things settle down.
Zarian switched to cultivating while Bianca, Gilbert, and Hannah gathered on top of the rune cart to sleep. They were beat.
Naomi held watch with Slip, the skeletons, and the spectral spiders lurking about.
¡°I got something for you,¡± Zarian said, floating in the air with his legs crossed, hands pressed together in front of his navel.
Para had assumed the battle kilt form, leaving his torso bare.
Inky, dark, and symbolic whorls of sealing runes covered his arms. An intricatelyid spider web glowed bright violet with gravity magic on his muscr back. And the dark night seemed to ripple and twist around Zarian, as if he was the center of all things that went on in the night.
Naomi looked up at him with her arms crossed, her feet set in a runic circle that drove the cart with intention and minor aura control. She nced around in search of danger before paying attention to Zarian again.
¡°Will it help me grow?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about thattely. I might¡¯ve overdone it in the Blood Prairies. Now I have to wait for a while for another solid grind.¡±
¡°Before I say what I have for you, I was honestly thinking you¡¯ll take a shot at me,¡± Zarian said.
¡°I thought about it. But maybeter. I¡¯m not strong enough, and even without Overwhelming Darkness, you have ways to shut me down.¡± She shot him a glinting white smile.
¡°Clever girl,¡± Zarian said, chuckling. ¡°But do note, the longer you wait, the more I¡¯ll build up my bag of tricks.¡±
¡°Fair. So what do you really have for me, or was that it?¡±
Zarian didn¡¯t say right away. He let his spectral spiders go from invisible to visible around Naomi. There were a hundred of them. That was more than enough for Naomi¡¯s needs.
¡°Ever heard of a gravity chamber?¡± Zarian asked.
¡°No,¡± Naomi said, her smile widening. ¡°But it sounds badass and tough.¡±
¡°I will make you strong, Naomi Washington. I will make you so strong, even I will feel a little scared when I consider your limitless potential,¡± Zarian said.
¡°Just answer me this. Why go so hard for us? Most people want themselves to be the strongest. You¡¯re making me feel he selfishpared to you.¡± Naomi softened, showing some rare vulnerability. ¡°You can just focus on yourself and deal with your sister on your own.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t like my little sister¡¯s moral philosophy. There is no other way to beat it unless I show an example of something else or she¡¯ll be right. I can¡¯t allow that.¡±
¡°Damn, Zarian.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t be all talk, Naomi. I gotta walk that walk. Or I might as well say nothing truly matters outside of my family¡¯s bullshit. I can¡¯t give in to that.¡±
Naomiughed softly. ¡°Yeah, I feel you. That¡¯s what I like about you. You act like a real king.¡±
Zarian rolled his eyes. ¡°It won¡¯t be me.¡±
Off to the corner of the rune cart, while curled up into a tight and tired ball, Hannah mumbled under her breath. ¡°Truly, an insufferable king.¡±
¡°King, king, king,¡± Bianca said tiredly, while curled up next to Hannah.
And over in another corner by himself, Gilbert snored like a truck engine.
Chapter 171: B2: C71: Bearing Gifts 1
Zarian noted it took four days for Naomi to fully recover from her debuff. Having her back to peak performance led to some interesting, brutal, and badass developments.
They were on their third day journeying to the central stronghold of the Blood Prairie Savages. The stony forests and trees became sparser. Patches of crimson grass dominated more often, choking out the colorful wildflowers and wild hedges that were more prevalent further south of the Walled Continent.
Their rune cart and possession of oddities traveled closer to the edge of the Blood Prairies, where the beasts became more cunning, and the monsters became more haunting. Yet, there were few creatures of the prairies as terrifying as Naomi.
She took it upon herself to be the chief trainer and night guard, which she was a natural fit for. She was the least likely to get weary because of her high stat points in Strength and Agility, making her the most physicallypetent without buffs.
Zarian rewarded her by dropping a big rock on her at night for her to lift and carry. Sometimes, the rock would be the size of a small barracks building or muchrger. Loner would have to take over driving the rune cart while Naomi was on the ground with hertest training implement.
Each of these wonderful gifts from Zarian had arcane webbing covering their surfaces that spelled out a runic array. When the spell array shed bright violet purple, gravity magic raised the rock¡¯s weight until it was close to crushing her.
Only then was it perfect for her.
She only trained that way for half an hour straight, three to four times a night at random, while still keeping a lookout for Zarian as he cultivated during the night. Eventually, Loner learned to be the primary cart driver at night regardless of Naomi lifting something huge and incredibly heavy or not.
Without fail, Naomi ousted each big rock they found and came out a little disappointed. Then she sadistically took out some of her frustrations about being too strong on the other three Floridians after breakfast.The way she pressed her will upon Bianca, Gilbert, and Hannah would scare most adventurers or outright kill them, as if she was crushing bugs under her heel. But her fellow Floridians stayedmitted all the way no matter the pain.
Hell, some of them gave in to the insanity. They embraced the suck. Or, in other words, theypletely snapped!
¡°Hit me, Bianca! Just hit me!¡± Gilbert roared.
His legendary armor had deep scorch marks and cuts and half-melted breaks it struggled to self-repair. Even the shield, one of the most advanced defensive crafts Hannah had made, looked worse for wear.
He looked bad, too. Red in the face. Bloodied and bruised.
Gilbert had enough juice in the tank to heal himself quickly. But he learned through trial and error, through blood and sweat, that it was better to stay battered and bruised and maintain that state of suffering. This was optimal for strengthening his abilities with buffs.
Suffering and sacrifice was Gilbert¡¯s nature, so he embraced that as he yelled at Bianca.
¡°I¡¯m God¡¯s realest soldier! I¡¯m out here with the viins and the false idols, with the dragons and the witches! I¡¯m out here putting in the work! So don¡¯t hold back on me! If you care for me, you will hit me with everything and watch me rise, rise, and motherfucking rise again!¡±
Bianca came to aplete stop.
Something unnatural and powerful rippled through the air. Something so unfathomably deep and shocking, it nearly matched the power of Metatron¡¯s good +7.
It was hard to grasp. It was fleeting, almost coy. It was there and not there. But it was like the first crack of a bullet nobody expected, snapping Zarian out of his focused studying and aura training. Para froze up and turned rigid, with the Grimoire of Weird Morphs crying in the grasp of her many hands. ?
Zarian felt a strange sensation.
Uncanny nervousness.
Naomi said it the best in a few words. ¡°Yo, Bianca, chill, don¡¯t kill him.¡±
¡°I hear you, Gilbert. I feel you. We are connecting right now and it¡¯s beautiful. I won¡¯t turn away from what you are expressing. So I will give you everything with love.¡±
The way Bianca spoke with a chilling and kind voice had Zarian covered in goosebumps. Para shivered all down the length of her cloak.
Zarian, Para said through their mental link. I think our understanding of free good was wrong. What if it¡¯s not weaker than traditional good because it¡¯s more free and harder to grasp? What if it¡¯s stronger than traditional good because it¡¯s harder to grasp because free good muste from a ce that¡¯s the pinnacle of goodness itself?
¡°That¡¯s fucked,¡± Zarian mumbled.
Bianca became a supernova of power and light that blinded everyone. Most of that supercharged and explosive light shed forward over Gilbert and burned his eyes out of his skull and dried up his exposed skin to the point of making it crack and ke. He barely had any time to heal when Bianca crossed the distance.
With one sword strike, she sent him skipping across the ground like a stone across ake¡¯s surface.
By the time Gilbert somehow got his feet under him andnded with a heavy skid that drew too long furrows behind him, Bianca had already moved all the way behind him and struck him again, but this time twice. The first one sent him flying again, then she dashed after him and struck him again while he was already mid-flight and careening around.
Zarian was tracking everything through his Aura Mastery, but even that was hard. Bianca¡¯s brightness and intense free good +5 power burned at his Aura Mastery and made it extremely difficult to perceive what was happening.
This was more intense than when Zarian had fought her when she was traditionally good +5, but then again Bianca had grown and developed herself for half a year since then. She was way better now, and Gilbert had done the dumbest and bravest thing of getting Bianca to truly tap into the power of free good +5 all the way.
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Fuck, does that mean she¡¯s like itty bitty Tier 4, maybe just behind Naomi, but only when she can reliably get good +5 to work for her? Zarian thought, trying to keep track of the hurricane and destructive beat down that Bianca dished out on poor, poor Gilbert.
At some point, Bianca became more creative and did something she hadn¡¯t shown before. She conjured a solid light wall to stop Gilbert from flying off.
The man had one saving grace. He struck the wall back first, allowing him to hold up his battered shield toward trouble.
Bianca reappeared in front of him with another shy supernova step. Her intense sr swords brightened and warped the air with so much heat and power, little electrical charges crawled over her arms from the mystical high energy friction from their sheer intense existence.
Bianca brought her swords up.
Zarian looked at Naomi.
She braced herself.
Zarian held back from intervening and winced. Para gave him an impression of worry for Gilbert, but she held back as well.
¡°Damn,¡± Hannah mumbled, as she stopped in the middle of her project and stood to watch Bianca unleash a torrent of strikes like a minigun.
Bianca attacked with so much speed, so much intensity, so much power that for a second Zarian wondered if Gilbert was dead. Zarian knew Gilbert wasn¡¯t. He could perceive that. But the shock factor was as high as the blinding light and shooting sparks rising like a geyser into the sky from Bianca¡¯s rampage.
And she was smiling.
With affection and love.
As if she was giving her best family member a gift that came purely from the heart.
Finally, Naomi jumped in. She swung her arm and sent a massive pulse of psychic force down at Bianca.
Naomi¡¯s eyes widened as Bianca turned and sliced straight through the psychic wave before itnded with a huge, earth-rumbling m like a giant¡¯s hand had struck down. Bianca stood serene and unaffected.
Naomi engaged all the way and threw a punch at Bianca¡¯s chest, but then the darndest thing happened. Bianca¡¯s free good +5 disappeared with a wink.
It was by the grace of something divine, most likely Bianca¡¯s high Wonder, that Naomi pulled back at thest second. She only struck Bianca hard enough to send her skipping through red grass patches, sparse fields of wildflowers, a few wild hedges, and into some wild statues covered in vines.
Naomi let out a huff. She turned to Gilbert.
¡°You good?¡± she asked.
¡°I already told you. I¡¯m God¡¯s realest soldier.¡± Gilbert struggled to push back to his feet. ¡°I¡¯m good. I¡¯m he good. And I can keep doing this shit all day.¡±
He looked terrible. But he was alive. He still had some fight in him.
¡°Nice.¡±
Naomi kicked Gilbert in the same direction where she punched Bianca toward. Gilbert crashed and rolled and tumbled. He thrashed to a stop in a miserable heap, staggered back to his feet, and turned to see Bianca dragging her feet toward him.
¡°Continue,¡± Naomi said.
Bianca moved around again at a much, much slower speed to take Gilbert¡¯s nk. Gilbert moved even slower as he tried to turn and raise his screwed up and tarnished shield to intercept Bianca.
Naomi jumped in and caught Bianca off guard with a punch to her side. She kicked Gilbert behind his leg. Then she pushed her foot against his back and sent him flying once more, but this time straight into Bianca.
The both of them crashed into a dpidated tower in a wide courtyard covered in red grass des. It came tumbling down on top of them in a roaring heap.
¡°Don¡¯t stop, keep fighting,¡± Naomi ordered.
There was no movement at first. Then Gilbert rose out of the rubble with a roar. He held Bianca by the cor of her breastte and jumped into the air before swinging her around overhead for a m that formed a crater beneath them.
Naomi threw a spike into Gilbert¡¯s head, but that didn¡¯t stop him from raging. He lifted Bianca up again and mmed her down. Then he did it again and again to return some of the many hits he¡¯d taken.
Bianca gged, Gilbert kept mming her into the crater, making it deeper, and Naomi held back, allowing Gilbert to get his revenge. When he finally lifted Bianca out of the crater, he shield-bashed and punched Bianca through low-lying walls, wild hedges, and patches of red grass.
He took her from field to courtyard, from castle walls to stony treelines, and back. Then, if that wasn¡¯t enough, Naomi allowed Gilbert to have an even bigger advantage by letting Slip jump in.
That saddened the Sleipnir a little. He liked Bianca. But the eight-legged horse and his rider still jumped the shit out of the Light Princess.
Bianca took it all with a bloody smile and a serene spirit. Her free good +5 had dimmed again, acting unreliably as usual, but what she¡¯d shown when fighting at peak power had left a mark on the rest of the party, especially Gilbert.
Zarian let out a breath he didn¡¯t know he was holding. Para rxed a little at a time. That was the scariest version of Bianca they¡¯d seen yet.
It was much scarier than Bianca when she had good +5. Bianca with free good +5 at its peak felt like facing serenity, love, and nirvana forged together into the sharpest and fastest de.
What would happen if Bianca could do that with free good +6? Free good +7? Or beyond?
Scary.
And awesome.
Zarian felt giddy.
He adjusted his assessment of Bianca. She was the definition of a wild card. Her baseline was high Tier 3. That could change to baby Tier 4 with the right trigger.
Now let¡¯s get back to where we left off, Para, Zarian thought.
Yes, Zarian! Para thought in return.
Above the brutal sparring, the sky turned dark, violent, twisting into turmoil. Angry mystic lighting forked with dark shes. Sudden thunder ps red above like bombs going off.
Water vapors condensed and formed blocky dark clouds. Hurricane winds blew about like banshees on the prowl. Hail fell, some as big as softballs and melons, which added to the troublesome training down below.
Zarian and Para battled each other constantly with their diverging auras. Zarian leaned more and more into his dark mystic aura and conjurations. Para leaned more and more into her devouring aura and predatory tactics.
Zarian bent the elements faster and faster. He formed more lightning bolts. He sted out more thunder ps. He sent howling twisters. One, two, three, sometimes even four at once.
Yet, Para kept hounding him like a determined huntress, an apex predator, a monster of hunger and super intelligence. She snuffed the lightning. She quieted the thunder. She unraveled the twisters.
As Zarian created, Para destroyed. As Zarian bent the elements to his Aura Mastery creativity, Para wiped away the elements with her Aura Mastery hunger. Then Para took a bite out of his aura before getting shoved back and having to work for her food again.
The game turned even more chaotic. The sky twisted with a malevolent and dark fury that most wizards or adventurers couldn¡¯t truly appreciate. Then things got ¡ freaky. Zarian¡¯s thunderbolts came out more wild, with dark sparks of me spitting across the sky like fireworks.
He turned the storm above into multiple high category storms that roared as a dozen funnels formed around him. More mes spat out of nowhere, sometimes joining with the wind vortexes from the sheer friction and magical chaos Zarian caused just to hold back Para¡¯s monstrous nature.
It was a hell of an intense game.
But it didn¡¯t seem that way when looking closely at the two at the center of all the mystical chaos and wild weather phenomena. Zarian and Para held grimoires in their hands, the wizard using his natural own limbs while the cloak had formed multiple from her material. They were studying and learning from the spell pages while causing mini cataclysms that would¡¯ve wiped out the city of Central Bramblevale with enough time and a couple of sweeps around.
Even more astounding was how they battled against each other¡¯s auras, studiedplex wizardry from their grimoires, AND kept Hannah under constant pressure while in terror of having her profile invaded and her aura eaten from the inside out.
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