《World Boss: Break the Narrative》 Chapter 1: For the LOLs
Congratulations! Your world has been pulled into the Narrative! You are one of a lucky 100,000 people to receive a minor reward. Please select one of the following options. a) Improve your starting Class one level of Scale. b) Begin with a piece of gear two levels of Scale higher than your starting Class. c) Pay It Forward
That prompt flashing directly into my eyes really made the hangover worse. My headache went from ¡®Oh God, why, why, why¡¯ straight to vomiting into the tub. Mark must have left me here last night. I staggered away from the tub with the prompt still flashing in my vision. None of it really made any sense to me, but the ¡°Pay It Forward¡± option really puzzled my throbbing brain. Wondering about it caused another prompt to blare into existence.
Pay It Forward A gift for the generous, the stupid, or those that believe in others. You ¡°Give up¡± your bonus. Doing this causes the option you received to be offered to three other players in your contacts list. Should they also pay it forward you will receive an increase in your bonus by one level of Scale. This also triggers should any further players pay it forward.
The gamer in me sprang to life upon reading that. As I collapsed on the couch, the min-maxing instincts carved into my very soul could not be denied. ¡°Can I pull up my contacts?¡± I wondered aloud. Another prompt flared.
Contacts Current contact list 4,129 Search:____________ Reply All?
I focused on ¡°Reply All¡± and another window opened. Powering through the pain and forcing myself to not vomit I manage to mentally type out the message:
¡°Hey everyone, if we do this right we could chain this into hilarious levels. Everyone just keep paying it forward. For each person that does, everyone else gets something. Don¡¯t do it for me, do it for yourself and for the lols.¡±
I then selected the ¡°Pay It Forward¡± option. Twenty seconds later I received another prompt.
Payback! One of the people you paid it forward to has also paid it forward. Reward increased by one level of Scale.
Three seconds after that, a goddam hurricane of prompts pounded my psyche like the drummer in a Scandinavian metal band. I passed out. When I woke up I found the strangest prompt yet.
You are the sixth spawn of the Titan of Darkness. You are a titanic Scale race. You will receive a titanic Scale class. You are a world boss. You have been spawned to change the fate of this world! Spawning in the goblin wastes. You will exist in 3¡­2¡­1.
I sat up gasping. I was in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a blizzard. This should have been an immediate problem because I was bare-ass naked. The wind was violent, well over thirty miles-per hour, and ice pelted me, . I expected this to be more uncomfortable, but my skin held up and didn¡¯t even chafe. There is no way the thermostat should read positive. That should have translated to my skin getting frostbite in five to ten minutes, and blistering in an hour or so, but I sat there in the snow completely uninsulated and didn¡¯t even shiver. I have been in weather like this before, and I can tell you that this was not normal. I looked at myself. ¡­that wasn¡¯t normal either. I am not gonna bullshit you guys: I was no major-league athlete before this moment. To be frank, I had gotten dumpy. That was what it was, but now though¡­ I didn¡¯t look like any of the shredded bodybuilders you see in action movies. I was built like the proverbial brick shithouse. I had become a monster truck that walked like a man. I had a barrel chest, tree-trunk legs, and my arms were just massive. My hands and feet were also enormous. I am gonna leave the rest for you to imagine or make jokes about depending on your preferences. I just sort of sat there for at least five minutes. What the hell was going on? Why was I in a different body? What is a Goblin Wastes? Where were the goblins? Was this damn snow going to stop? Seriously, how was the cold not getting to me? Why was I asking myself so many questions? I mean, I didn¡¯t know. ¡°Okay,¡± I told myself, nodding. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s treat this like everything else. First, let¡¯s take stock of the situation. I am naked and afraid in a blizzard. I am getting prompts like I am in a video game. This points to several possibilities. I could be dreaming. The drinking could have finally destroyed my brain or some other physical damage may have done the same thing. The other option is this is happening, or I am at least perceiving it to be happening. If that is the case then perhaps this functioned based on some sort of rules. "Stats screen?"
Name: If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. *please enter Name*
Race: Titan Spawn
Class *Please Select Class*
Level: 1
HP: 60
Power: 8
Mobility: 8
Body: 8
Mind: 8
Face: 8
Magic: 8
I frowned. Were those good numbers or bad? Was this a World of Darkness system or a Final Fantasy system? If this was like WoD, eight in an attribute would be incredible. If this was an FF system, then eight was probably a bit low for level one, but possible to become good with a metric ton of grinding. The other high likelihood was this operated-on Dungeons and Dragons rules, and if that was the case I had horrible stats. I was pretty sure I could puzzle out what each stat did. I focused on the race.
Titan Spawn The second highest rank on the Scale of existence. Your creator is a Titan. You have a level of Scale versus all forms of damage and effects except those aligned with your bane. You also gain an additional level of Scale for all damage and effects you produce on anything of lower Scale. You are aligned with the primordial element of darkness. Your bane is light. Currently, there is no Titan of Light to create spawn. One will rise per the dictates of the narrative.
Everything about that seemed¡­ good. I was trying to figure out what exactly ¡°Scale¡± was when someone spoke behind me. ¡°Are you just going to sit in the snow and stare at your dick all day?¡± a feminine voice asked. I turned and found¡­ a shadow in the shape of a woman. The details were hard to make out, but she was tall and looked to be wearing baggy clothes. She stood with a slumped posture and seemed to be watching me, but with very little interest.
Knowledge: Titans check¡­ successful A shadow avatar is a common ability of Titan Spawn. The avatar is capable of using perks, traits, and skills and attacking. The avatar is always ten levels lower than the titan spawn and is baselined at heroic Scale. Note: traits and perks could raise Scale, or capabilities of shadow avatars.
¡°The hell was that?¡± I asked aloud. ¡°Probably a Knowledge: Titans check.¡± The shadow replied. She sounded so tired as she continued. ¡°Listen, it is technically my responsibility to guide each new spawn into the world. That said, I didn¡¯t have anybody, so you need to listen good. Let¡¯s go down the checklist. One, yes this is real. Two, you are not ¡°BOB¡± -I know that wasn¡¯t our name, but you know who I am talking about - never say the actual name you used to have out loud. If you try, a warning prompt is going to pop up so that should tell you all you need to know about that. Three, you are overpowered, not invincible. Take your time, grind out the levels, and you will basically become unstoppable. That said other bosses are still a thing, and they will actively seek you out to kill you, Demons specifically. We are technically at war with them because we signed a nonaggression pact with the angels, except for Adam, but he¡¯s being a bitch. Also, I am Nadia. I have all the same memories as you and 280 years of extra experience.¡± That was a lot to process, but somehow I felt like I could just¡­ take it in stride. Bizarre. Being told that I was not the man I remembered being, but some sort of copy placed inside a different body and unleashed in a world that ran on game rules, made sense. At least in this very specific scenario. Yes, I am a nerd, why do you ask? The fact that I was talking to another copy of the guy I used to be was actually weirding me out more. Nadia was basically alien to me, but talking in ways that sounded like me. It is hard to explain. ¡°So, you are me?¡± I asked finally. ¡°Not quite, we have the same memories up to the point of spawning,¡± Nadia explained, sagging visibly. She flopped down next to me. ¡°I once was right where you are now. I spawned in confused, lost, and naked. Unlike you I was missing my dick and I had these.¡± If I have to tell you where her hands were, then I just can¡¯t help you. ¡°Okay, but what is the point?¡± I asked. I needed a goal. This was too much weirdness. I needed an anchor. ¡°What are we trying to do?¡± ¡°There is no point, nothing we do matters. We just keep living, as the Narrators change things around us. Don¡¯t fuck with a Narrator by the way. They are just trouble, and they will get the people around you killed. Often in terrible ways.¡± She didn¡¯t even look at me as she spoke. Her head just hung sullenly. ¡°Why is this happening?¡± I followed up. None of the nihilism made any sense to me. Nadia sighed and tipped onto her back in the snow. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. We are just entertainment for sick bastards and the Narrators just turn the screws so the Audience can watch people suffer.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°This is getting boring,¡± Nadia said. ¡°The whole thing is pointless.¡± She rolled onto her side with her back to me. ¡°Just do what you want. I don¡¯t care.¡± Then she was gone. That was weird. I wasn¡¯t really sure how to process that I had elder copies of me, at least one of which was a woman, or in a woman¡¯s body. As odd as that was, the way Nadia talked, and the order information was presented, it truly felt like the way I would have said it. Maybe a lot more fatalistic than I would have been... no, things had been a bit dark before this. The drinking was out of hand months before that message. I shook my head. I really needed to get my shit together before¡­
Attack from Snow Lion¡­ successful! You take 2 damage HP: 58/60
The large cat pounced on me. Four trails of fire ran down my back. Some latent instinct flashed through me and I jerked my head and neck to the side. This caused the lion¡¯s jaws to miss the mark and not crunch down on my spine. The cat jumped back before I could think to retaliate. I got to my feet and the damn thing took a swipe at my leg. Kicking spastically, I managed to avoid getting clawed. Trouble was this put me really off balance with one leg in the air. It needed to come back down or I was going to faceplant and then probably be eaten by a white lion. Given little other option I brought my foot down on the lion¡¯s back while praying it would not maul my crotch. Imagine my surprise when my heel hit the big cat like a sledgehammer. The cat¡¯s spine snapped and its body squished under my foot. Ew!
Attack Successful! Snow Lion takes 30 point(s) of damage Snow lion slain. 8 point(s) of experience earned! 92 experience to next level
The adrenaline high from that fight was unreal. I could not stop my hands from shaking. A giant goddamn lion had tried to eat me. Also, the pain from the claw marks was way worse than 2 hit points should be. I had cut myself on broken glass before, had stupidly stepped on it. Thirty stitches worth of screw-up, and each of the claw marks was the same level of fall-to-the-floor agony I felt when they pulled the glass out. That is how much losing two hit points hurt? Holy shit! I really don¡¯t want to know what being at low health had to feel like. That is when the second snow lion ambushed me. Chapter 2: This Game isnt Fun Anymore
Attack from Snow Lion successful. You take 3 damage HP: 11/ 60
I was a bloody tattered mess. The snow lions just kept coming. Try as I might, I couldn¡¯t see the damned things approach through the blizzard. Things took on a distressing pattern after the first lion. One of the big cats would appear out of the gray blur that was the landscape, take a pound of flesh, and try to kill me. The odd thing was that out of the eleven that I had killed so far almost none of them were able to land a hit after the first. I was not some master of the martial arts before this, far from it. I was one of those big guys that never actually could hurt a fly. So, this violently beating cats to death was starting to wear on my soul. The lion leapt at me again. I wasn¡¯t fast enough to get out of the way, but I was able to get my arms up in between us. I sort of caught the beast which swiped at my face. I instinctively took a step back which did nothing since the lion was in my arms. It tried to eat my face. Again, I tried to flee. That said, this time I slipped. The lion and I crashed to the frozen ground. My shoulder slammed into the cat and my weight flattened the beast.
Attack critically successful! Snow Lion Takes 56 points of damage. Snow lion slain 8 points of experience Earned! 4 experience to next level
The adrenaline spikes and crashes were getting worse. The damage I had taken was nightmarish. Blood ran down my face, neck, torso, arms and legs. The snow around me rapidly turned red as I left a trail of gore. I would have panicked but another notification kept popping up.
Bleed Condition. Titan Spawn are immune to most negative effects of blood loss. This effect cannot harm or kill you. You will continue to bleed until the wound heals or bleeding is staunched. 8 points of healing needed to stop the bleeding.
So as far as I could tell, I had been bleeding for the better part of several hours. Now, I have heard friends in the medical field talk about people being able to bleed truly terrible amounts of blood and not die. That said, there is no way I shouldn¡¯t be dead. I had multiple injuries that were spurting blood. Streams of red flowed from me, ebbing and surging with each beat of my heart. I just couldn¡¯t accept this bleeding as a normal state of being. Untold generations of evolution had programmed the lizard parts of my brain to not be okay with my blood being outside of my body. My stomach churned at the sight of so much blood. I had to stop looking at my arms, stomach and legs. Seeing the shredded flesh and torn organs, well, it was the sort of thing that upset me. The only thing keeping me from losing my shit all together was hope that leveling would restore me to full health. Video games did that all the time. Tabletop role-playing games were more variable with the effects of leveling up. It was also possible that a level could just expand my max health without improving my current health. Technically, it was possible that leveling wouldn¡¯t change my health at all, but I was ignoring that option because that would likely mean I was going to die. I tried to keep my head on a swivel, but all I really could see was more swirling snow. Things seemed to be getting darker. I think night might have been setting in. That terrifying thought was pushed out of my skull by a piss-myself terrifying prompt:
Boss monster spawned. You have killed enough snow lions to spawn a Snow Lion Alpha You are sealed in an arena with the monster. Fight well. Attack from Snow Lion Alpha successful. You take 4 points of damage HP 4/60
This lion was tremendous. It tackled me to the ground with its massive teeth wrapped around my neck. As I fell, I punched it in the ribs.
Attack successful Snow Lion Alpha takes 27 points of damage.
Normally one good hit killed the monster. This time not so much. The Lion bit down on my neck. Its fangs pressed hard and ground against my spine. One of the teeth poked through my windpipe and I felt blood pour down into my lungs.
You have the Drowning Condition. You are immune to all effects of this condition. Attack from Snow Lion Alpha successful You take 1 point of damage. HP 3/60
I punched and kicked with everything I had. For some reason, despite the pain, I never thought I was going to die. Nadia made it sound like I was some sort of unstoppable force. The killing everything in one hit had reinforced that idea heavily. That time I had randomly recovered 8 hit points had also given me even further confidence. Now, I was scared.
Attack successful Snow Lion Alpha takes 42 points of damage.
Ribs splintered and I knew I had literally ripped the front leg off of the cat, but it held on. With its back legs, it raked across my belly. I felt part of my intestines pull free of my torso... even now I cannot fully describe that feeling to you. Part of me has probably blocked the real sensation and dulled the memories. The best I can do to put words to paper is describe it as a tugging that left me feeling empty.
Attack from Snow Lion Alpha successful You take 2 points of damage. HP 1/60.
I honestly do not know what happened after that. My mind must have turned off after reading that message. I was absolutely certain in that moment I was going to die. Spoilers, I didn¡¯t. However, those last moments of the fight with that Snow Lion Alpha are just a blank space in my memory. Everything leading up to it is painfully clear, but I can¡¯t tell you exactly what happened. When I finally came to my senses, I saw a new flashing notice.
Level Up!
Name: *Please Enter Name*
Race: Titan Spawn
Class *Please Select Class*
Level: 2
HP: 120
Power: 10
Mobility: 10
Body: 10
Mind: 10
Face: 10
Magic: 10
Please Select Trait
  • Titanic Regeneration
  • Titanic Speed
I examined Titanic Regeneration first.
Titanic Regeneration Titan Spawn are often beyond mortal concerns. With this perk, your power allows your physical body to heal [Body-2] hit points per second. This will allow you to regenerate missing body parts and overcome damage based conditions.
I selected that power immediately. Not dying was the highest priority. Also, being able to heal 8 hit points a second. Holy shit! That was just broken. Why would they give that to a player? Considering the highest damage I ever received from a snow lion was 4, and I suspect attacks were limited to one per second based on the sort of back-and-forth nature of the fights I was in until now. ¡°Holy shit, I¡¯ve become an unstoppable badass,¡± I said aloud. ¡°Not yet, bro,¡± a friendly voice responded. Another shadow walked into view from the storm. This one looked to be a large man. I may have had a few inches on him, but he had broad shoulders and his muscles had that polished physique of a bodybuilder. Again, fine details are hard to gauge, but he looked to be dressed in a tight shirt and pants as well as some sort of cape. Even as a shadow he certainly looks like a superhero. ¡°Are you Batman?¡± I asked incredulously. He chuckled good-naturedly, ¡°More like Frat-man, bro! Would that make you The Flash?¡± Considering that, except for the blood, I was bare-assed naked¡­ a wave of self-consciousness hit me. I put my hands over my crotch. It was whole and healthy again. In case you were wondering, Thank you, regeneration. Seeing my response, the shadow paused and shook his head. ¡°Nadia didn¡¯t teach you shit, did they?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for an answer. ¡°One moment.¡± A pile of mangled snow lion bodies fell on the ground around him. ¡°I had these in my inventory. Titan Spawn have an inventory that holds our Body stat in cubic yards worth of materials. You try, brother: look at a body and think about adding it to your inventory.¡± I stepped toward the nearest body, the Alpha, and stared at it. Before I could feel weird about it, a new prompt appeared in my view. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Snow Lion Alpha body Loot? Yes/No Add to inventory? Yes/No Destroy? Yes/No
I mentally selected ¡®Add to inventory¡¯ and ¡®Yes¡¯. The lion¡¯s body disappeared. I immediately became aware of its presence in some sort of internal space. Describing the feeling is difficult. It was kind of like having a spreadsheet¡­ in my head. A huge amount of information was at my beck and call, but it faded into the background unless I thought about it. ¡°Good. Grab the rest of them,¡± the shadow prompted me. I did as I was instructed and the list of information expanded to include eleven snow lion corpses and one Snow Lion Alpha corpse. Looking a bit deeper I saw another option.
Loot all corpses? Yes/No
¡°Yeah, now hit the loot all option,¡± my instructor continued. His attention was clearly split. I hit the button and wasn¡¯t so much bombarded with information as the spreadsheet updated. The sensation was surprisingly mundane. I was aware, but no mental strain or thought was required. I suddenly had 11 snow lion pelts (Uncommon), 1 snow lion alpha pelt (rare), 480 snow lion teeth (Uncommon), 120 snow lion claws (Uncommon), twelve snow lion hearts (Uncommon), 2690 pounds of snow lion meat (Uncommon), 576 pounds snow lion organs (Uncommon). That¡¯s a lot of stuff. ¡°Give me the pelts,¡± the shadow said, holding out a hand. He also gestured for me to hurry up.
Trade Invite Give snow lion pelts and Snow Lion Alpha pelt? Yes/No
I hit ¡®Yes¡¯ again. Easy come easy go, I guess. ¡°Cool, one minute. My Craft skill is still only at Trained, but my attributes will carry us through. This stuff will be Rare at least. If we get lucky, I might be able to make something Epic.¡± He looked at me again. ¡°You still haven¡¯t picked a name?¡± ¡°I figured I would just go with¡­¡± The words froze in my mouth.
Warning! You are about to speak the true name of the Titan of Darkness. This action could have extreme consequences. You should select ¡°No¡±. Proceed? Yes/No
I selected ¡°No¡±. When handed clear signs in life, might as well follow the directions. ¡°You can¡¯t select the progenitor''s name, bro. I tried the same thing. It helps to take this as a moment to shape who you want to be. There is power in a name, dude.¡± His words held a surprising weight. I never gave the dudebro type any credit back before¡­ whatever this was. There was still something familiar about the way he spoke and approached things. It was like he was 70% who I was. He placed his surprising heavy shadow hand on my shoulder. ¡°Pick something that you are cool with being. Not called, being. You feel me, bro?¡± I really thought about the name I wanted.
Select ¡°Jim¡± as your name? Yes/No
No, that was someone else¡¯s story. I could feel that, noobish tendencies aside. Hmmm this was way harder than it should be.
Select ¡°Doug¡± as your name? Yes/No
Gun to my head I couldn¡¯t tell you why, but that felt right. I hit yes. The shadow looked at me and nodded, ¡°Can I call you Dougie, bro? Now before you answer, factor in that I am the second titan spawn of darkness. I am taking the time to teach you how this world works, and I crafted these sweet threads for you." He held up his hand again.
Trade Invite Accept: Snow Lion Boots (Rare) Snow Lion Pants (Rare) Snow Lion Shirt (Rare) Snow Lion Gloves (Rare) Snow Lion Coat (Rare) Snow Lion Alpha Cloak (Epic) Snow Lion Boxers (Epic) Yes/No
I hit Yes. Pants, I wanted pants. ¡°Factoring in all those things and that you will probably just call me bro, sure, go nuts.¡± I said. ¡°Cool, Dougie,¡± he said, and I could all but see him grinning. ¡°Now put some pants on, man.¡± I looked at the items in my inventory. Everything except the cloak had the following rough description.
Clothes made of snow lion skin. Crafted by Zach, Titan Spawn of Storms. This item grants 3 points of soft armor, and grants two levels of Scale for all stealth rolls in snowy environments. Grants one level of Scale for all stealth rolls in other environments. Armor: 3
The cloak had a bit cooler description.
Cloak of the Alpha Snow Lion* A cloak made of the skin of a Snow Lion Alpha. This cloak grants the user 5 points of soft armor. It also grants a level of Scale versus damage from all snow lions, and creatures less than rare rank. You also gain two levels of Scale for detecting creatures in snowy environments and three levels of Scale for stealth roles in snowy environments. Grants one level of Scale for all stealth roles in other environments. Armor: 5
That sounded¡­ good. I think. I have no idea what is going on. ¡°What is Scale?¡± I asked. ¡°Goddammit, Nadia,¡± Zach said, shaking his head. ¡°Okay, this world is an abstraction, bro. Now there are a lot of little details that you will not need to worry about. There are a bunch of levels of Scale,like weight classes. Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Heroic, Demigod, Divine, and Titanic. The short answer is that the higher up the tier list of Scale you get, the better life is. We are on the absolute top of the pile, except for Narrators. Everything else is lower than us. So, whenever we make a skill check or opposed rolls we are rolling bigger dice, and keeping more, and they are rolling lower dice and tend to be keeping the lower roll. You know how the lions couldn¡¯t hit you after the first ambush? Scale is why. The difference between your and their Scale was so big they couldn¡¯t roll high enough to hit you. They were stuck with a piddly d4, while you were throwing 3d12 back at them. The only real downside is that we gain experience slower.¡± ¡°That is just¡­ broken,¡± I said. I settled on broken, because stupid sounded confrontational. ¡°The important thing to remember is that the world is not fair. Never was, and it isn¡¯t now. We are in a position of power. I mean, Hell, I am running myself ragged keeping the Gulf Kingdom from being destroyed by the Technacoast, dragons, and some of the more fire-and-brimstone angels. That reminds me, bro. I do not have a lot of time left; I have to get back there. Let¡¯s get you leveled. I mean this power-leveling thing could be quicker, but you nearly died when the boss spawned. Take things slow, man. No one is going to come into this storm after you.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. Dragons and Angels? Didn¡¯t Nadia say something about Demons? ¡°Just focus on your class, you are probably going to have two choices,¡± Zach said. I did what he said. He was wrong, I only had the one option.
Class option: Left Hand of the Titan The first five spawn of the titan of darkness have become corrupt and apathetic. They have become a threat to the world. You will serve as a check upon them. Effects: Gain Trait: Universal Communication. Everyone in the presence of the Left Hand of the Titan can communicate as though speaking their native language. Note: Beings must be able to communicate for this effect to work. Gain Trait: Protection of Darkness. The Titan of Darkness wants you to deal on even terms, with all, free of the threat of force. Gain two levels of Scale versus damage from all sources. Beings of lesser Scale cannot scry your location. Beings of lesser Scale perceive you as being rare Scale unless you reveal your true nature. Other titan spawn cannot affect your mind or senses. Gain Trait: Voice of the Titan: You will soon be able to speak on behalf of the Titan of Darkness. While this power is active all beings will know immediately that you are its Voice. They will be aware of the truth in any statement you make. Gain Trait: Titanic Pact: As the spawn of a titan, our goal is to uplift the people around you. Grant magic attribute beings attribute/5 to all attributes. Note: This requires a pact to be formed between the titan spawn and another being. The titan spawn receives no direct benefit from this trait beyond making the pact. Should the being of lesser Scale break the pact they will be afflicted by the effects of a smite. Gain Titanic Quest: Try
Note: Be wary of Zach. He is likely trying to ingratiate himself to you to gain influence over you.
Select class? Yes/No
My blood ran cold. Now one of the things I was aware of before, came rushing to the forefront of my existence. Zach was way stronger than me. I¡¯m not sure how I was so certain, but I knew if he wanted, he could have killed me with one hit. That whole 70% like-me thing I mentioned earlier, I still believe it to be true. He was doing everything I would to appear friendly. I had at first assumed that was because he was just trying to be friendly. Then I remembered who we used to be. That put things in a different light. ¡°I only have one option,¡± I said. ¡°I was afraid of that,¡± Zach shrugged looking out into the storm. ¡°That said, Cosmic Assassin is probably going to be awesome, bro.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t the class I have,¡± I replied. ¡°What?!¡± Zach roared. He spun on his heels faster than my eyes could see. The force of the movement blasted the storm away from us. For one haunting moment we were in a circle of perfect calm. He stared at me as the blizzard pressed back in. ¡°What class did you get, Dougie?¡± ¡°Are you really yelling at me about this?¡± I asked. It wasn¡¯t so much that I was surprised at the quick turn, but I still needed to stall for a moment to decide on the next step. ¡°Answer me!¡± Zach thundered. The force of his voice pushed the storm back again. He slowly walked up to me. I could tell he was glaring. ¡°You skipped several levels there.¡± I selected ¡®Yes¡¯ before answering: damage resistance might be important in a second. ¡°Left Hand of the Titan. From the description it sounds like the rest of you have been screwing up royally. Between this and Nadia literally throwing me to the lions, I am beginning to think you are all doing bad shit. I also think you need to stop and reevaluate what you''re doing.¡± ¡°Who are you to tell me anything? I am Storm King of the Gulf. I am Demon Killer. I am Dragon Slayer! You are a tiny thing that I can and will destroy! Bow before your king, bro!¡± The force of his shouting was pushing me back.
Voice of the Titan Activated
¡°Go home, Zachary!¡± A voice that rang with the vastness of the cosmos erupted from my mouth. ¡°This one has much work to do. You are needed on the Coast. Your people starve as you rut about! Do you even realize the revolution growing under your feet? Go home! When you return to this one, come in peace or not at all. So says the Titan!¡± Zach stood there for a long moment. Then he was just gone, and I was alone in the swirling snow. The hell was that? Something had used me to talk. Having someone, something, manipulate your body¡­ It is unsettling on an existential level. I sighed, not sure what to do. Where I should go, or what the hell had just spoken through my mouth. Was that me or was that the guy I used to be? Whatever. As I stood there not knowing what to do, I saw another prompt.
Class perk requires selection. Level 1 A) Titanic Armor B) Titanic Weapon Level 2 a) Dark Magic b) Titanic Manipulation
I looked at the first two options
Titanic Armor Titan Spawn are impossibly tough. All armor worn by you has its effectiveness increased by [Body attribute] points. Note: Requires a physical item that is classified as armor which you can equip to function. Effects last [Magic attribute] days after each item is unequipped. Titanic Weapon Titan Spawn are capable of incredible wrath. All weapons wielded by you have their effectiveness increased by [Power attribute] points. Note: Requires a physical item that is classified as a weapon which you can equip to function. Effects last [Magic attribute] days after each item is unequipped.
Flashes of recent memory, my blood flowing from dozens of wounds, made that a nondecision. I picked Titanic Armor. I have yet to have an issue with dealing damage, and again: pain hurts. So I decided to go with every possible option to mitigate harm. The next one was between Dark Magic and Titanic Manipulation.
Dark Magic Titan Spawn of darkness are inherently connected to all things related to the dark. Dark magic is a hungry force with a tendency toward dealing damage and obfuscation. This will open up skills that allow you to wield the forces of darkness. Titanic Manipulation +20 to face skill. Increase the duration of all effects of face-based skills by [Face attribute] days for creatures of lower Scale.
This one was less obvious. On the one hand, magic sounded awesome. On the other hand, increasing what I was pretty sure was my social skill would probably help immensely based on what my class seemed to be. In the end though I wanted to cast magic. Because magic is cool, and I seemed to have attributes that were generalist in nature.
Dark Magic skill acquired. You are untrained You learned the spell: Claws of Darkness. Increase this skill to learn more spells. Claws of Darkness Take [Magic attribute] -2 damage per second. You make one unarmed attack per second. Increase unarmed damage by [Magic attribute] damage per hit.
I had instant buyer¡¯s remorse. That stupid spell would remove my health regen completely, and likely hurt like a mother the whole time. Also, I didn¡¯t need more damage, at least not yet. New rule, take the stuff that is just free attribute increasing powers and just rely on being awesome to carry the day. Upon having this epiphany, I was immediately attacked by three snow lions. Chapter 3: Making mistakes… and a friend? Turns out I might be a dumb ass. Despite being a titan spawn, and having a defense of 25, every time one of the big cats hit me I still took one to four points of damage. Now to be fair that didn¡¯t accumulate like it did before thanks to the regeneration, but the damn things just kept coming. What¡¯s more, every ten to fifteen of the snow lions killed spawned a Snow Lion Alpha. Those damn things could hit me even after the initial ambush. I had a fuckload of pelts at this point. I was considering trying to craft some sort of building. Then I would squat in my lion-proof lair and write a dog-lover''s manifesto on the skin of whatever lions magically appeared inside, which I suspected they could and would do. Night had come and gone, and with it came this truly upsetting prompt.
Titan Spawn are immune to sleep deprivation¡¯s negative effects. Well rested bonus ended. Bonus experience will no longer be accrued.
Now each lion earned me one experience point. The alphas earned me three. That would have been fine, but now that I had a class, the amount of experience I needed to level had increased by an order of magnitude.
Attack successful. Snow Lion Alpha takes 29 points of damage. Snow Lion Alpha slain. 3 points of experience earned. 1813 experience to next level.
After looting the corpse, I saw something unbelievable. Another person just walking through the snowstorm. They had a big red snow jacket with a hood, poofy snow pants, bright yellow gloves and boots. And they were carrying a spear. Except for the spear, they looked like a modern dumbass that wanders in this type of weather. I mean I grew up in a place that froze every winter. I walked through more than one blizzard to buy smokes. That said, Northern folk get a sort of sense for things, and wandering a whiteout like this is something you just don¡¯t do, not if you want to live. Whoever this was, they were either badass or crazy. Whichever way, they were not a feral cat trying to eat me. So I jogged through the snow toward them. ¡°Hey! Hey, wait up!¡± I shouted as I stomped through a soft spot of snow. The person spun at my shouting but didn¡¯t react to me until I was within six feet of them. They acted like I materialized out of nowhere. They pointed their spear at me, and were clearly about to stab me good. ¡°Whoa! Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to scare you. I just wanna talk.¡± ¡°The hell are you doing out here?¡± She said, not lowering the spear. Turns out this new person is a woman¡­with a spear. ¡°I¡¯m lost out here,¡± I explained. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure what is going on anymore. I just want to figure out a way to get away from the snow lions.¡± She looked at me over the tip of her spear. ¡°Snow what now?¡±
Notice check ¡­ successful!
I spotted the snow lion creeping up behind her. Before I could speak, the damn thing pounced. I managed to make it one step toward helping her before I was tackled by the snow lion I didn¡¯t see.
Attack from snow lion successful You take 3 points of damage. HP 117/120 Titanic regeneration plus 8 hit points HP 120/120
I am not going to lie, this was a lot better than before. Between the thick leather, and the Titanic Armor perk the sharp cutting pain of claws and fangs was transformed to a much more manageable dull, crushing pain. That faded quickly when the Titanic Regeneration kicked in. I rolled and caught the lion with my elbow.
Attack Successful! Snow Lion takes 34 point(s) of damage Snow lion slain. 1 points of experience earned! 1812 experience to next level
I sat up in time to see my new associate violently stab her third snow lion to death with the spear. It was weird. Each time she thrust the spear there was a flash of lightning and the rumble of thunder. She was really fast also. She could sort of zip from one cat to the next. By the time I got ambushed by another damn cat she had taken out four more. She seemed to have some sort of supernatural ability to not be constantly ambushed by the camouflaged menaces. Since she was able to avoid swipes from a Snow Lion Alpha, that clearly meant one thing¡­ she was the chosen one. Obviously, she will rid this world of the big cat menace. That said, being an agent of progress I did what I could to help this champion of right. That is my way of saying I punted the Alpha in the head when it dodged the nice lady¡¯s spear and wasn¡¯t ready for me.
Attack successful! Snow lion alpha takes 42 points of damage. Snow lion alpha slain. 3 points of experience earned. 1809 experience to next level.
In the past killing a snow lion alpha meant a few minutes of reprieve. Not this time. No, this time yet another notification popped up just to piss me off!
Boss monster spawned. You have killed enough snow lion alphas to spawn a Snow Lion Pack You are sealed in an arena with the monsters. Fight well.
¡°Have you been grinding?¡± the spear lady demanded. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I feel like any answer I give you is just going to get me stabbed with a spear.¡± I answered, stepping out of spear range. This movement immediately caused four snow lions to attack me. They were coordinated. One clamped its jaws on my left arm, and then the other three clawed the hell out of me.
Attack from Snow lion pack successful You take 8+3+7+5 damage HP 97/120 Titanic Regeneration restores 8 hit points HP 105/120
Holy shit, this was not fun anymore. That was way too much damage. A few more rounds of this and I was going to fucking die. I didn¡¯t want to die, like at all. Now, most of you are probably living in not wanting to die headspace. This was a bit of a realization for me. I did not want to die. As self-actualizing as all this was, no amount of clarity was going to change the fact that 4 of the meanest snow lions I ever saw were mauling me like I was a mint-filled sock. After hearing the rumble of thunder, and its relative distance, told me help was not immediately on the way. Okay, I needed to do something to prolong my life. First, I pulled my arm free. Then I got to my feet. Next was the tricky part. I did not attack any of the lions. I focused everything I had on not getting hit, and keeping the lions in front of me. That may not sound like much to you. But not swinging back at animals that were actively tearing at my flesh, took all the discipline I had. I managed to get my health back up. I spared a glance over to thunder-stab. She had two dead lions near her, but she looked fairly torn up. The fact that the total number of lions looked to have climbed to twenty-three was not promising.
Attack from Snow Lion pack successful You take 3+ 3 damage HP 99/120 Titanic Regeneration restores 8 hit points HP 107/120
This was not forward progress. I need to make a balance of offense and defense. I blocked the first two lions¡¯ attacks with a swat of each arm. Taking a risk, I kicked the third lion in the head. And dropped a knee on the fourth.
Attack successful! Snow lion pack takes 42 points of damage
The one I dropped my knee on was very dead and the other one was leaking blood from its mouth and ears. It sort of flopped about feebly. After blocking six more lions I got a possibly game-changing pair of prompts.
Block skill level up. You are now trained Unarmed skill leveled up. You are now trained. You have unlocked cosmic martial art. You are now able to use Unrelenting Glacier Style. The first stage of this martial art is Crushing Defense those that resist the glacier¡¯s force are often crushed beneath it. Perform a counter attack against Mind attribute opponents you have blocked attacks from per turn.
Things got a bit weird after that. Every time a lion attacked me, my hands would almost instinctively deflect them. There was a flash of shadow. And I found myself either throwing the cat to the ground in a way that didn¡¯t allow them to land on their feet, or I was stomping them, or delivering an elbow to their ribs. My body was sort of moving on its own without my full input. In the space of about two seconds, I had killed six lions. Trouble was another ten of the cats appeared from the storm. If it was just me, I would have been overwhelmed. The constant attacks were working out to a net loss of about 7 hit points a second. Thankfully the stab lady was here. Between the two of us, we were able to kill about thirteen lions a round. Which over the course of four bloody seconds we were able to kill all of those fucking cats. I brought my boot down on the last one, with a splat. I was exhausted. Gasping for air, I managed, ¡°So, what¡¯s a nice lady like you doing in a place like this?¡± ¡°The fuck is wrong with you, Doug!¡± she shouted at me. ¡°How do you know my name?¡± I asked, catching my breath. ¡°I can read?¡± She said it like it was obvious. She looked so confused. Apparently, my question was so stupid that I had derailed whatever anger she had. I looked at her. After a moment a name popped above her head. It said ¡°Angelica.¡± ¡°Huh, that is neat.¡± The spear went to a more relaxed position, but I noticed it could be put into a me-stabbing position fairly quickly. She glowered at me for a solid minute. ¡°How the hell are you grinding in the wastes if you don¡¯t know how to read someone¡¯s tag?¡± ¡°Again, this feels like a question that you don¡¯t so much want the answer to, but will take whatever I say as a springboard for criticism.¡± Rather than stab me, she shook her head. ¡°Seriously, do you have any idea what you are doing out here?¡± ¡°Nope. Apparently killing lions is the wrong thing to do,¡± I answered. I have never seen someone sag with disappointment so literally. The next bit was also new¡­ to me. I have never seen someone scream in frustration to the heavens. Specifically, she was shouting the name ¡°Wilson!¡± Near the end she sort of flailed her arms and stomped her feet. After that she took a deep breath and walked in a circle, ¡°I¡¯m fine! I¡¯m fine! I¡¯m fine!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s¡­¡± I started before seeing another ominous prompt.
You are about to say the name of a Narrator. This action will have consequences. Continue? Yes/No
I selected no. ¡°¡­that person you were shouting about?¡± I asked. ¡°Let''s just get going. He is either going to appear or not. Either way, it is like four hours to the next safe zone.¡± She turned in a circle and then seemed to pick a direction at random, ¡°You coming?¡± Yeah, I was. Being alone with the murder cats was not acceptable. Plus, a safe point sounded ¡­safe. I honestly have no idea what a safe point was. Games were super variable about those. It could be anything from a flashing tile to a city. I was hoping for a city. Preferably one with a bar, or tavern, or pub, or whatever they were going to call it. I needed a drink. ¡­okay I wanted one. Angelica and I sort of fell into a rhythm. She would walk in front. A snow lion would ambush me from behind. Then, she would stab it with her spear, and it would die in a flash of lightning and explosion of gore. I would then regenerate the damage, loot the body, and contemplate what I was going to do with 397 snow lion pelts. The current strategy was to trade them for money. Angelica seemed to be a lot faster and stronger than me, but I seemed to be much better at tanking the hits. There was one really bad bit. The lion ended up on top of me, and Angelica¡¯s spear punched through it and into me.
Attack from Angelica critically Successful You take 118 points of damage HP: 2/120 Titanic Regeneration restores 8 points of damage HP: 10/120 Titan Spawn are immune to shock. You remain conscious.
Words fail to describe the pain of having a spear clip my spine after forcing its way through my stomach, lightning shock through my system, and thunder explode through my torso. ¡°Ouch.¡± I managed to exhale smoke. ¡°Fuck! Oh god, there is so much blood! I am sorry I got a crit and ¡­¡± she paused as she saw the injuries heal over the course of fourteen more seconds. Apparently, the titanic armor perk let this regeneration spill over to my armor. Angelica took a step back. ¡°How the hell did you heal that fast?¡± I sat up. ¡°I have a perk that gives me health regen. It is absolutely the only reason I am still alive.¡± ¡°We need to talk about this¡­¡± she started. ¡°Couldn¡¯t agree more kids. It looks like we are going to have to do some reframing of this adventure to kill the Demon of Frost. I have to say normally I am opposed to late-season additions, but this could be a solid third-act hook. Plus, I will need to balance the whole introduction to the world bit. Audiences always complain about characters doing that. ¡®it¡¯s just crunch talk that we already know¡¯ they whine. Those same pedantic chuckle fucks claim to be confused by basic symbolism or steps in logic.¡± A man with a greasy voice said from behind me. I turned to find a thin man with bright blue skin looking at us through his fingers like he was trying to size up a frame. ¡°Wha-Who are you?¡± I asked. ¡°I am Wilson, kid. For the next few arcs, I am going to be controlling the narrative of your life.¡± He said with an ear-to-ear grin with absolutely no warmth in it. ¡°This is gonna be fun!¡± Chapter 4: Narrative Declaration ¡°Let¡¯s just hit pause on the whole world thing for a second,¡± he said. The storm stopped instantly. Not like the weather cleared. No. Every individual flake of snow stopped midair. The bite of the cold dulled to nothing. It was odd I seemed to be immune to the cold, but now that it faded to a manageable temperature, I felt relief that I hadn¡¯t realized I craved. Comfort is something we take for granted often. For example, you should probably drink some water, right now. ¡°Please sit down,¡± Wilson said with a sweeping gesture to the office table and chairs that appeared behind us. Angelica sat down two chairs from me and Wilson sat down opposite us. He frowned for a minute. Then, he leaned forward. ¡°So, Doug, what kind of story are you trying to craft? I am digging the huge mountain man thing. I like the snow lion pelt armor. I think we can work with stuff like that.¡± I don¡¯t know what I expected from these narrators. That said, having one of them ask me questions like my desperate attempts of survival were some sort of motivation a character might have, wasn¡¯t on the list. I wanted to not die. There weren¡¯t subtle undertones to it. ¡°Leave him alone, Wilson,¡± Angelica said. ¡°I called you because we had an agreement. I was going to have a solo story, and go after the Demon of Frost.¡± ¡°Yep, we agreed to do that. Those were the terms,¡± Wilson said, not looking away from me. ¡°Then what the hell is this guy doing here?¡± she demanded. ¡°Well Angel,¡± Wilson started ¡°Angelica,¡± she corrected. ¡°Of course, the short answer is while you are a valued collaborator with our narrative and the audience has been highly engaged with your arcs, there are other players on this world¡¯s stage. Some of them have been strong performers for centuries. So, in deference to that they are allowed to pitch ideas to our organization. In this case despite my objections. It was decided to bring Douglas here into the goblin waste. No, offense, kid. You look like you have a lot of story in you, but I have been working with Angel here for six years now. This lone warrior in the wastes story is going to be our biggest yet, and having some rookie stumble in is upsetting.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said after a long moment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Wilson said magnanimously. ¡°I can¡¯t blame you for existing. Plus, your circumstances make me being your narrator quite the novel challenge for me. Getting to be responsible for the two of you is quite the opportunity. So then let¡¯s talk through this. What sort of plot thread can we weave into this for you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need a partner,¡± Angelica said. ¡°I gave up a lot to get your hooks¡­ I gave up a lot to work with you alone.¡± ¡°Like I said out of my hand, Angel,¡± Wilson said dismissively, ¡°I think the obvious thing is a love story. You are two people, in constant danger relying on each other in this wasteland. Perhaps feelings could grow from that. Audiences always eat that shit up.¡± ¡°No,¡± Angelica said. ¡°Never again!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Angel, no one is going to remember Hector. That was three years ago. No one is going to care about him anymore.¡± Wilson didn¡¯t even look at her as he waved the idea away. His gaze was fixed on me. ¡°I am not sure I¡¯m okay with that idea either. I am not convinced I can pretend to have feelings for someone while fighting monsters. I am not really good at acting in general, or relationships.¡± I added. Wilson leaned back in his chair, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one is asking for acting chops kid. We can arrange for the chemistry to be completely real. As I said the whole cocktail of life and death situation, and relying on each other that really does make the sparks fly. Plus, a will-they, won¡¯t-they plot can work better. I also like the vague allusions you keep making to your past. Keep teasing people with that, audiences will love it. We haven¡¯t explored that type of story in nearly thirty years.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°No, Wilson, listen to me, we have a good thing going with this lone wolf stuff,¡± Angelica cut in. ¡°Let me just ditch this guy at the last outpost. He can¡¯t even navigate through the snow. He is just going to slow me down.¡± ¡°I mean parting ways at the next town sounds good to me,¡± I agreed. ¡°That would require six days of backtracking, it would bore the audience. I would have to do something to spice that trip up, and then again on your way here. Something like that snow lion pack would need to happen each day and maybe some sort of escalation each week.¡± Wilson shook his head. ¡°I would hate to see the story end that way.¡± ¡°What would you have us do?¡± I asked. Wilson gave me that lupine grin again, ¡°Now, that is a very smart question. I would keep traveling together. Head toward the Demon of Frost¡¯s castle and fight with everything you have. You are probably going to have to engage in some grinding. Doug here seems to be running a plot like that, between the stakes and the comedy potential he has turned that into, it is hard to ignore or change.¡± The carrot and stick summary he laid out was pretty obvious. It was kind of impressive that he was able to make it sound like he was the good guy in all of this. It almost made me look past the whole telling me where I could go, and basically saying that Angelica and I were his dolls to make kiss. The prompt I got when I considered taking a swing put me off my guard.
There is no audience watching Doug. Attack me and I will beat you down and make the next few arcs very upsetting for you. So, sit down, play nice, and get with the program. Play nice? Yes/no
I selected yes. Nadia¡¯s warning was beginning to make more sense. It sounded like these guys had at the very least limited control over monster spawning. I suspect they had pretty strong control if not complete control over any nonplayer characters. It also sounded like there was some sort of group of people they were trying to appease. ¡°Who is the audience?¡± I asked. Wilson¡¯s smile faded. ¡°Let''s not focus on them too much. The short answer is they are the multitudes of people watching this beautiful story playing out. It is their approval Narrators like me try to court by working with you players. They don¡¯t particularly like it when players talk about them or Narrators so it would be best to not talk about us directly outside of these tete-a-tetes of ours.¡± ¡°What should I focus on?¡± I asked. ¡°What you can add to the plot of this great world.¡± Wilson said. ¡°Someone like you is going to have a serious impact, so do me and most narrators a favor, and only kill characters when it is climatic. Also, try not to form too large of a group. It is hell keeping track of all the personalities. Not everyone is a showrunner you know. But for the short term, I can be really lenient. Tell me what goal you were given and I will give you a strong foundation.¡± ¡°Do not do that!¡± Angelica shouted. ¡°If you give him that information he will have his hooks in you forever.¡± ¡°Quiet Angel,¡± Wilson said with a cutting edge to his voice. Angelica tried to say something else but no sound came out. Wilson turned his attention back to me, ¡°Are you the white knight type Doug? Would hearing that I have something on little Angelica over there make you more likely to do something to save her? Because I am in my heart a businessman. If you tell me your purpose, I promise nothing but kid gloves for the sweet angel for as long as you live, which if you stick to the story will be a very long time. ¡° I looked to Angelica. She stared into my eyes for a moment then shook her head. ¡°It looks like she doesn¡¯t want me acting on her behalf,¡± I said. ¡°So sorry, but my goal is my little secret for now.¡± The cold grin stretched his face. ¡°You two are already bonding. I can work with this. You two stick together and I promise you something special. You will thank me in the end. Either way, I think it is time you two kids hit the road. I bet you have a lot to talk about.¡± He waggled his eyebrows. I blinked and he was gone. The storm was slower now, and I could see a path leading further into the snow drifts. Angelica looked at me for a moment, then shrugged, ¡°I guess we are stuck together for the time being then.¡± There was a despondence in her voice. She sighed, ¡°let¡¯s get going.¡± I am not the smartest person in this or any other world for that matter, but I knew now was not the time to press Angelica for information. I have learned that it is best to give people their space. Especially when those people can crit through most of your health bar in a single hit. Their delicate feelings got special deference. We walked for another two and a half hours with only minimal snow lion encounters. Hell, we didn¡¯t even encounter a snow lion alpha. Maybe this whole following-the-narrative thing had its perks. I doubted that immensely, but it was something to consider. Chapter 5: Well this is awkward Angelica and I made it to the first safe zone. It was a concrete bunker built into the ground. It had narrow slits for windows and the door was a massive metal thing that reminded me of a bulkhead or a bank vault. I managed to get it open eventually. The inside was utilitarian and basically empty. Two rooms, a large main room that had two cots lit by a single bulb. The second room was closet-sized with a toilet and sink in it. Angelica closed the door behind her and barred it with a massive iron bar, and several sliding rods at the corners. That door was not budging any time soon.
Notice check¡­ successful
I spotted something on one of the cots. Under the rumpled blanket was a small leather-bound book. I opened it and found handwritten words. Flipping through it quickly I saw most entries had a header like Day 15, or Day 41. ¡°You find something?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°I think it is a journal,¡± I said holding up the book. Angelica raised an eyebrow, ¡°anything good?¡± I turned to the front, ¡°Day 7 Managed to cross the ocean into the frozen wastes. I hate the cold, but this is as close to the Dead Coast and Nada All-Death as we dare get. The mobs won¡¯t approach us. Even they keep their distance from her. ¡°Day 15. We crossed the Rockies and entered the Goblin Wastes. We had three close calls with goblin tribes. The spindly bastards took some potshots at us but we all got away clean. I hate goblins. They set traps, and unlike most mobs will seek revenge. ¡°Day 41. I was separated from the others. I hope they succeed. I know I am completely lost. I saw the spire. That damned edifice. I thank whatever god was listening that the imps didn¡¯t catch me. I don¡¯t know what the tower is for when they are clearly making the slaves dig down into the frozen ground. What is the Demon of Frost up to?¡± ¡°Day 44. Something is out there in the snow. Whatever it is, it has claws and fangs. I found the remains of a goblin village. No goblins, just bones. I think I am being hunted. I am so cold. ¡°The last entry had no date. It just says, ¡®I miss my husband.¡¯¡± I finished. ¡°Is that everything?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°I was skimming, here,¡± I said, offering the little book to her. Angelica took the book, but didn¡¯t open it, ¡°before we get too comfortable, I think we need to get a few things figured out.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I said sitting down on one of the cots. Angelica sat on the other, ¡°Who are you, Doug?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I am anything special. I was born out here. I have spent all my life wandering around this place.¡± I answered. Angelica sat down and seemed to be looking into the middle distance. I realized she was reading a prompt. ¡°Have you been out here all alone?¡± I shrugged, ¡°I have¡­ I guess you could call them older siblings running around, but they are not what I would call reliable. What about you?¡± ¡°I am here to kill the Demon of Frost. I have issues with the Technacoast and Demons.¡± She said. ¡°Wait the thing with the tower from the journal?¡± ¡°Probably, Technacoast has been spreading westward for 80 years at least. I know he has a fortress and an army of Imps.¡± She shook her head, ¡°Do you seriously expect me to believe you aren¡¯t connected to the Technacoast?¡± ¡°I honestly do not know what that is,¡± I answered completely truthfully. Angelica studied me for a long moment, ¡°Huh, then what¡¯s your deal dude?¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t have a deal. Currently, I am just trying to survive.¡± Angelica sighed, ¡°Okay, cards on the table, I have been using skills on you.¡± ¡°Sense motive?¡± I asked. She nodded, ¡°I am not gonna apologize. You came out of the storm covered in gore trailing snow lions.¡± I shrugged again, ¡°That¡¯s fair. For what it is worth. I honestly do not intend you any harm.¡± Angelica¡¯s eyes looked to the middle distance again, ¡°I¡­ believe you.¡± She sounded surprised. She paused for a long moment. I almost figured we were done talking when she said. ¡°I can¡¯t make any promises, I am on a crash course with a serious heavy hitter, but I will do what I can to keep you safe.¡± ¡°Thanks. I will watch your back as best I can too.¡± Angelica gave me a smile that clearly showed she thought that was cute. Angelica sort of clipped from reality for a split second. She went from wearing a bright red coat, thick black snow pants, and yellow boots, to pajama pants and a t-shirt. A dagger appeared in her hand and she proceeded to nonchalantly cut into her other wrist. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°What the fuck are you doing!¡± I shouted. A split second before some of the worst memories I had could rise to the surface. A prompt appeared.
Willpower check¡­ Successful Unwanted memories suppressed.
Angelica looked at me like I was loony. ¡°Ah, damaging myself to optimize training for my health regen.¡± She said this like someone would say brushing their hair. ¡°Oh,¡± I said, not understanding what she was talking about. That said Angelica seemed to know what she was up to. So, I just left that alone. Once she finished cutting into her arm, she wiped the injuries down with a cloth. The dagger and cloth disappeared. She clipped again and a large blanket appeared over her shoulders. It was a massive quilt of varying colors. An energy bar with the label ¡°Starve Away!¡± written in lightning bolt text on it. She took a bite, and realized I was watching her, ¡°Do you want one?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± I said. I laid down on the cot. After a few minutes, I realized Angelica was still watching me. ¡°Sup?¡± ¡°Eh, just watching you,¡± she said. ¡°Because?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing else to watch,¡± she said. ¡°You are hard to wrap my head around. I fought through all sorts of hell to get here. This place is famous for being more or less empty, and I find a new travel buddy. Then there is this journal implying someone else is running around here.¡± She opened the journal and started paging through it. Angelica spent another twenty minutes looking through the journal. Finally, she closed it, and it vanished into her inventory. She stood and reached for the pull string for the light. ¡°You cool if I turn the light off.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, then the light clicked off.
Notice check¡­ Successful!
One of the narrow-slit windows was blackened. After a second whatever was out there moved away from the bunker. ¡°Did you see that?¡± I asked, a chill running down my spine. ¡°Yep,¡± Angelica said. She sighed. ¡°Sleep well, Doug. Not like we can get well rested with crappy cots like this.¡± ¡°Any idea what that was?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Are we going to do anything about it?¡± ¡°Relax Doug, we are in a safe zone. If it is a mob it can¡¯t force its way in. either way we will probably have to deal with it tomorrow. Something outside screamed. It was a terrible scream of anguish and hatred. Both Angelica and I sat up. Something rattled the door twice. Then slammed into it once. Dust fell from the ceiling. After a few minutes, the scream came again. This time it was much farther away. A few minutes after that it shrieked again even further away. ¡°Ah shit, that is going to be a plot hook later,¡± Angelica muttered. "Either way, that is going to be a tomorrow problem.¡± She flopped back down. ¡°Try and get some sleep.¡± I settled back down but kept getting prompts
Notice check¡­ successful Source of noise is now 4 miles away Notice check¡­ successful Source of noise is now 6 miles away Notice check¡­ successful Source of noise is now 5 miles away Notice check¡­ successful Source of noise is now 8 miles away
Over the course of about three hours whatever was out there eventually wandered further away. I didn¡¯t receive any further prompts after the 8 miles away prompt. Had it wandered beyond my ability to hear it? Had it stopped moving and screaming for the night? Was it doubling back quietly? I suspected I was not getting any prompt for failed notice checks. Angelica began to snore. I just couldn¡¯t get to the point where I could relax and conk out. The feeling of lightning burning my flesh flashed through me again. An echo of the pain. This was the first quiet moment I had since¡­ well technically ever. All the memories I had were someone else¡¯s life. Oddly that didn¡¯t really seem to bug me. it didn¡¯t make me happy either. It was just a fact of life. The real problem was quite a few of those memories were effectively useless in this new world, and this new world was full of monsters, and super-powered beings. How on earth was I supposed to stop someone like Zach? His shouting had more force than the blizzard, and that was just his shadow. My guess was the actual guy would be way more powerful. Then there was Angelica. She didn¡¯t want me around. Did I really want to keep hanging out with her? Did I want to head out on my own? No, I didn¡¯t want to do that. The memory of the alpha snow lion¡¯s fang pressing down on my neck made my breath hitch. I also suspect Wilson would retaliate if we tried to go our separate ways. Was whatever was out there screaming, meant to drive home the point that we had to stick together or else? I needed to sort through this. Okay, goals for tomorrow: survive, learn about the world, figure out rough geography, and learn more about Angelica. Seriously what the hell was up with her taking a knife to her arm?
Willpower check¡­ successful.
Best not focus on that too much. She mentioned training her health regen. That probably meant you had to be damaged to improve your ability to heal from damage. That sounded right, but it was probably wrong to assume. She was here to take down a demon of frost. The journal also mentioned slaves. I thought about that for a moment as well. Yeah, if I could, I had to try and help them, whoever they were. I am not going to pretend like I was some saintly figure, but helping whoever was enslaved by a demon was going to be a priority. There was no way being stuck in that situation wasn¡¯t terrible. Okay, now that I had goals, what was the best way to achieve them? Grinding out the levels I supposed. Now from what I could tell, the most commonly spawned enemy in these supposed goblin wastes was snow lions. Killing them would eventually spawn a Snow Lion Alpha. Killing enough alphas would spawn a snow lion pack. If I kept killing that would likely spawn something even more dangerous. That didn¡¯t make a lot of sense, except from the perspective of a show. Watching someone stomping on mooks that can¡¯t hurt them would get boring eventually so having something scary step in at uncertain intervals would keep the audience engaged. It would also force people to mix up activities. One last question popped into my mind. Was I being watched right now? Rather than dwell on that I focused on falling asleep. A prompt popped up,
Sleep? Yes/No
I selected yes. Chapter 6: Hook Baited The next morning was awkward. I woke up before Angelica. I stood up and stretched out of reflex. It took me a brief moment to realize I was not sore in any way. None of the old aches and pains from before were still a thing. I turned my head and nothing popped. I rolled my shoulders and nothing caught. I was in better physical shape than I had ever been. I walked lightly to the bathroom. I had no need to use it. That bothered me for a moment, but then I realized I had not eaten or drunk anything¡­ever. That would mean I would have nothing to empty. It was also weird that I had no need to eat or drink. I wasn¡¯t hungry, or thirsty. To the right of the toilet was a plain sink. Above that was a mirror barely worth describing. I had to stoop to be able to look into it to see the reflection of my face. Huh, that was different. I looked nothing like I had in the past. Now, I was a great bear of a man. The muscled physique had also led to a rough blocky face. I would have probably looked like a dumb goon if it wasn¡¯t for the eyes. I had crystal blue eyes, with a clear focus that added some soulfulness to my appearance. That said, I did have a pronounced case of resting bitch face. But when I forced a smile, my face crinkled with laugh lines. I had short black hair, and a thick black beard of similar length. The realization that I looked like a jacked interpretation of Bluto from Popeye the sailor man gave me a small chuckle. That was a lot to process and I chose not to. Survival before self-actualization. I was also completely covered in blood and gore. That did make me look terrible. I closed the door, and turned the sink on. The water was just above freezing. I scrubbed the gore on my hands.
Cleaning check¡­ failed Gore caked condition remains
I tried again. And failed. A third attempt had the same result. Regardless of how hard I scrubbed or how much water I let pour over the dried blood it clung to my skin. All my attempts seemed to do was smear the gore around. I don¡¯t know what it took to fix this but I apparently was missing something, likely soap. Abandoning the effort, I turned the water off. I opened the door and found Angelica was awake. Once I was out of the way she ducked into the bathroom and closed the door. Fifteen minutes later she stepped out again back in her winter survival gear. She looked at me for a moment. ¡°You good to go?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°For what it is worth, I think whatever was outside wandered off after a while. The screaming sort of kept getting further away.¡± Angelica nodded, ¡°let¡¯s keep on our toes anyways. Snow lions are bound to be out there, among other things.¡± She walked to the door. Before opening it, she turned to me and said, ¡°Stay close, alright?¡± She removed the bars, and had to wrench the door open. The metal screamed as the warped steel door fought attempts to move it. Now it needs to be said. Snow is not solid. Not really. It is mostly loose flakes of ice. Wind will cause drifts to form and flow like waves in the ocean. It had also not stopped snowing all night. So, the footprints we found on the stairs should not have been there. The prints looked like human feet and hands, but the toes and fingers had claws at the end. Whatever left those prints had been here recently. When Angelica turned to close the door again, I saw that the concrete walls had cracked from whatever had hit it. Damn that was concerning. We could see the prints leading both down and up the stairs as well as from the window slit to the stairs. Nothing before that. The path that led from the stairs out into the storm was also obvious, and it was heading in the same direction as the rough path we were apparently meant to follow. ¡°We heading that way?¡± I asked. ¡°Yep,¡± Angelica confirmed. She started walking down the path. I fell into step behind her. We walked for hours. Several times I spotted snow lions walking away from the trail that we were following. It was like the thing that left these prints scared the snow lions, or they instinctively knew to avoid it. Or maybe Wilson was piloting the damned cats away from us for being good actors following the plot. Eventually we found something. First, we could smell the smoke. Something was burning. Then we saw the black ash mixed with the snow. Finally, we found the village. Shortly after that, the bodies. The village was a small gathering of roughly 40 sod houses. They had been dug into the ground with slight bulges for the roof. In the rolling drifts of the wastes, they were all but invisible, except the ones that were burning. This included two larger sod structures that were likely barns or perhaps a town hall of some sort. The worst part was the bodies. Well, the bones were all that remained. In the middle of the town were vast piles of bones. There was a pile of what looked to be fractured femurs, tibias and fibulas. All split open to have the marrow sucked out. A similar pile of humeri, radii, and ulnas, was close by in a similar state. There was also a mound of ribs and vertebras. The pile of skulls gave me pause. All of the other bones had clear signs of being gnawed on, eaten. The skulls were all bashed open, to get to the brains. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°What the hell did this?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Angelica said. I looked at the pile of skulls.
Willpower check¡­ successful Emotions remain in check. Notice check¡­ successful
At first I had been afraid that the skulls had been children skulls. They were so small. But then I saw the teeth. They were not human. They were sharper and pointed. The eyes were also a bit too large. These were not human skulls. I had to tell myself that more than once. I also knew from the skill check that there were 407 skulls. I still needed to keep telling myself, these were not human skulls. Angelica walked toward the pile of skulls. She picked up one of the smallest skulls., ¡°Oh shit, this is a goblin child¡¯s skull.¡±
Willpower check¡­ successful Emotions remain in check
¡°A dead kid?¡± I asked. Angelica looked at me a moment. ¡°Goblins don¡¯t let their kids get caught in combat. They will sacrifice some of their warriors to get the next generation to safety. It helps them launch continued attacks against¡­ well everyone really. They are one of the smartest mobs out there. Whatever did this was able to corral the whole village. That means it is fast and deadly. It killed hundreds of them.¡± ¡°What does that mean for us?¡± I asked. Angelica shrugged. ¡°One less goblin encounter. These things are just mobs that exist to attack players like us. Let¡¯s see if there is any loot." We didn¡¯t find anything of use in any of the small sod houses. The goblins had all sorts of mushrooms in a pantry-like room in each house. We ignored those. They also had chairs, tables, cookware, small knives, and tools. One house had a tiny piano. In the last place, I found a small drawing that looked to be a child¡¯s artwork. It showed twelve goblins standing in a row, and from left to right the goblins grew taller. Each had a basic smiley face. It was tacked to the pantry door. I wasn¡¯t convinced Angelica was right that goblins only existed to attack us. Unless the narrators were sticklers for detail, this felt like a small pioneer town. I needed to say something. As we stepped back into the storm I was struck with a massive fist, and sent flying.
Attack from Bigfoot Brawler successful. You take 9 points of damage HP 111/120 Titanic Regeneration plus 8 hit points HP: 119/120 You have been knocked back twenty yards.
I bounced on the snow and rolled. Then bounced again as I hit a drift.
Acrobatics check ¡­ successful
I managed to roll to my feet. A tremendous wall of fur was charging at me, bellowing with rage.
Attack from Bigfoot Brawler blocked Counter attack successful Bigfoot Brawler takes 6 points of damage
I redirected the thing''s engine block sized fist. The punch shook the ground. I had struck back without thinking. A snap kick hit the thing in one of its massive legs. It was like kicking a tree. I ended up taking a step back since I couldn¡¯t budge the thing.
Attack from Bigfoot Brawler blocked Counter attack successful Bigfoot Brawler takes 9 points of damage.
It swung at me again. I managed to duck below the impact and push the punch off balance. Then I reflexively punched up to put a fist into the thing¡¯s gut. It was like punching sand. That was when Angelica hit the Bigfoot. Her spear impaled the thing¡¯s arm and then with an explosion of thunder took the limb entirely. The Bigfoot howled in pain. It kicked at me, and I blocked the attack again. This caused the massive brute to fall over with a crash. Angelica hit it again, this time in the head. Things got messy when its skull went pop. Okay, pop is an understatement. Honestly it was a gore-splosion. I was also standing in the exact wrong place. I was hit with a firehouse of bigfoot blood and pelted with a hail of bigfoot brains. Angelica somehow had it even worse. When she opened her eyes, they were two white points in a solid layer of red. She spat out a mouthful of debris, ¡°Blegh! Okay, that was my bad.¡± I laughed. She looked so ridiculous. She chuckled too. ¡°Do you think this is what killed all the goblins?¡± I asked. Angelica was still trying to spit all the gore out of her mouth. Eventually, she grabbed a fist full of snow and scrubbed the mess away from her face. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s not right. The thing from last night had been the size of a smaller-than-average person. That bigfoot is huge. If it tried to crush a goblin skull it would have squished them flat. Plus it wasn¡¯t fast enough.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re not alone out here?¡± I asked. Angelica looked at me like I was the dumbest man alive, ¡°Are you seriously going to just hand the universe a line like that? Let¡¯s get to the safe haven before your words catch up to us." Before I could answer, I was attacked from behind by a snow lion. After dealing with that we made our way toward the safe haven, which was apparently different than a safe zone. Occasionally the prints would cross our paths, but as we walked, they became much less frequent. We even started getting attacked by snow lions again. Well, I was attacked by snow lions and Angelica murdered them. The sun set about twenty minutes before the path led us to the safe haven. It looked to be some sort of small settlement with two buildings, one barn, and a house. The place was enclosed by a wall, etched in runes, that I could not read. A sign by the gate I could read said. ¡°No violence will be tolerated. Rest well here in this safe haven. Adora, Goddess of Love.¡± ¡°Mother fucker!¡± Angelica said, reading the sign. ¡°We should just skip past this one.¡± The storm hit us like a wave. The wind flung us into the safe haven.
Event boss summoned. Wendigo the Hungering Cold will wander this area for twenty-four hours. Warning this is a Demigod Scale boss. You are vastly under-leveled for this encounter.
The soul-chilling roar that sounded outside the walls was something that nearly broke me. It was something screaming in suffering that would not end. ¡°I guess we are stuck here for the night,¡± I said. Angelica just sat there looking at me for a long moment, ¡°I hope you liked getting jerked around. You¡¯re on the hook now too.¡± Chapter 7 Dare you enter Wilson’s magic realm ¡°Are we actually safe in here?¡± I asked as the storm swelled and the wind howled. The runes on the wall began to glow a vibrant magenta. Something crashed into the wall. The ground shook slightly from the impact. Angelica was clearly distracted; she was staring into the middle distance reading a prompt. ¡°From the thing outside, yeah.¡± ¡°But, are we actually safe in here?¡± I asked. This was obviously some sort of plan of Wilson¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯m trying to figure that out,¡± Angelica began pacing and muttering to herself. She only seemed to be saying every other sentence out loud. She looked very stressed, and like she wouldn¡¯t want to be interrupted. That is why I left her to it. I looked at the gate. It was two solid doors that swung inwards. Somehow, they had closed behind us, despite the wind blowing them open. Also, a heavy wooden beam had slid into place locking them together. How convenient? I mean I wasn¡¯t complaining. Hearing that thing up close out in the open was nightmare-inducing. The prompt didn¡¯t make me feel any more secure. My mind circled back to the mound of skulls. How deadly was that thing? It killed and ate about a hundred goblins. How quickly could it kill me? probably pretty fast. Angelica seemed afraid of it. Angelica could probably kill me in roughly ten or so hits. So that would be ten seconds. Unless I could out-damage her. Which I doubted I could. That was a dark thought. No point plotting to murder each other with a monster at the gate. That said, how strong was Angelica? ¡°Can I ask you something? I began, only to be cut off by the screams of the Wendigo. They faded and swelled randomly but never ceased. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Angelica prompted ¡°How many hit points do you have?¡± Her expression instantly went from neutral to borderline hostile. ¡°You don¡¯t waste time, do you? What next you want to know my stats? Maybe my core concepts if we have time?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s pretend I am new to this world, and do not know your social customs. Was that question rude?¡± I pressed. She very clearly was not pretending, ¡°Okay! I am going to be using scrutinize skills on you for a bit. Please answer yes and no to the following questions.¡± Angelica¡¯s eyes lit up with pure white light. ¡°Are you a demon?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Are you possessed by a demon?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Have you ever been possessed by a demon?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Are you a demon spawn?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Are you affiliated with demons in any way?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Are you lying to me?¡± ¡°Seriously,¡± I asked. When she just glared at me. I answered ¡°No.¡± Her eyes went back to the normal dark brown, ¡°Cool, sorry, but I had a really bad experience with that. To answer your previous question, yes, it is very rude to ask a person that is not a close personal friend about their stats or character sheet in general. There are some high-Scale skills like Analyze, but people with those skills tend to be ostracized. It is a lot like that X-Ray Specs skill. The one that lets people see through clothing. People get uncomfortable around them.¡±
Analyze check¡­ Successful
Name: Angelica De Leon
Race: ####
¡­Skill canceled
I shook my head. Canceling a prompt was weird. ¡°So how does one inquire about the relative combat effectiveness of their new travel buddy, whilst trapped in a safe haven by an event boss? I¡¯m asking for a friend.¡± Angelica turned toward the barn and gestured for me to follow. ¡°If one wanted to inquire about the relative combat effectiveness of their new travel buddy, they should ask something along the lines of ¡®What¡¯s the biggest thing you ever killed?¡¯¡± She stopped at the barn door waiting for me to answer. ¡°I would say the Snow Lion Pack,¡± I admitted honestly. She looked me up and down for a second. Taking in my height and width, and the fact that I was wearing the pelts of the lions as a cape, cloak, whatever. ¡°that¡¯s not bad. I mean I wouldn¡¯t grind through this area. The fact that you survived to the point of spawning an epic boss is damn impressive. Stupid but impressive.¡± ¡°Would you have done better?¡± I asked. ¡°I would¡¯ve done it differently, I have backing, you met them, ¡°Angelica said, clearly trying skip overtalking directly about Wilson. ¡°It fine tunes conflicts. You are going to need to learn to cope with that. Most fights are going to push you. No more picking on the little guys until a random shit storm spawns.¡± ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s the biggest thing you''ve ever killed?¡± She shrugged. ¡°Lord Herschel, the Two-Faced Avatar of Greed.¡± She said it like I would know what that means. Upon seeing my blank expression, she continued. ¡°The heroic Scale minion of the Technacoast rulers.¡± Seeing that once again nothing sparked in my expression she continued. ¡°A level 32 demon spawn. One of the top players on the east coast.¡± ¡°Oh wow, that sounds impressive,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t patronize me,¡± Angelica said, shaking her head. ¡°It''s okay, you are clearly sheltered. Let¡¯s check the barn¡± The barn was your standard barn. The ground floor was a dirt floor with a central aisle. Four pens on either side each roughly ten foot by ten foot. A ladder led to a loft with several bails of straw, and alfalfa. There were also stacks of assorted grains. The whole place seemed a little too organized, and the lack of scent made me suspect that no animal had ever been in this barn ever. ¡°What are we looking for,¡± I asked. ¡°Nothing really, just making sure no one else is here. If I am going to be stuck in a god¡¯s space, I want to know who I am stuck with. Followers of gods are empowered in the domains of their gods. That can cause some serious bad times.¡± Angelica explained. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. We headed out to the house. The screams of the Wendigo seemed to be getting closer. The outside of the cabin looked to be a quaint old timey log cabin. The inside looked¡­ okay let¡¯s just start from ground up. The interior consisted of a single room. In the very center of it was a heart shaped jacuzzi tub, that bubbled happily. The floor was covered in shag carpet. A huge fireplace was burning with warm flames, and crackled invitingly. There was a small table with two romantic candles and a bottle of champagne was by a window overlooking the swirling snow. A massive heart shaped bed was in the opposite corner and was covered in red silk. The walls were covered in painting of naked people frolicking and doing¡­ other stuff. By the door was a table laden with strawberries, almonds, pomegranates, figs, black licorice, chocolate, honey, whipped cr¨¨me, and oysters. There were also bottles of red wine. Angelica looked at that and then saw the small fridge beyond. ¡°Maybe they have ice cream.¡± She opened the fridge and said, ¡°Hey, they have salad.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not excited over lettuce,¡± I said. ¡°It has peppers also,¡± she shot back. Seeing this did nothing for me, Angelica rolled her eyes, ¡°there¡¯s roast chicken too.¡± ¡°Chicken and salad sound good.¡± I admitted ¡°Need help?¡± ¡°Can you open a bottle of wine?¡± ¡°Wait, is there any chance someone could have poisoned the food?¡± I asked. ¡°Nah,¡± Angelica said dismissively, ¡°We¡¯re in a safe haven. Poisons or anything that can cause a debuff are blocked in here.¡± I shrugged and opened a randomly selected bottle. Dinner was nice. The food was good. It apparently removed the ¡°Starving¡± condition. I hadn¡¯t noticed it because I was immune to the condition. This was similar to the ¡°Hypothermia¡± condition as well. That said, the ¡°comfortable¡± condition was soothing. I was beginning to suspect conditions were going to be a thing. Angelica and I spent the better part of an hour eating, and discussing our mutual hatred of snow lions. We also had another laugh at the gore filled Bigfoot. I was not a wine guy before but this stuff was great. It was sweet, but had a warm glow I normally associated with whiskey. The nanosecond I let my guard down I saw the prompt
Boon of Adora You have the blessing of the god of love and fertility. This grants the divine virility condition Divine Virility. All physical impediment to acts of sex have been suspended for 24 hours. Pleasure sensation at 10x multiplier for 24 hours. Enjoy ??.
A fucking emoji. Of course. The look of horror on Angelica¡¯s face probably mirrored my own. Now, I am guessing some of you are not seeing the big picture here. You are probably wondering what the problem is? It sounds like you just got handed guaranteed great sex with a beautiful woman in a high-quality bang pad, what¡¯s the downside? The rest of you are canny. ¡°What about no debuffs?¡± I demanded. ¡°This isn¡¯t a debuff. I fucked up! I figured they would try for the Love-Struck condition,¡± Angelica said. She grabbed my hands and squeezed. Damn she was strong. Technically the pressure was causing 4 points of damage a second, but my regen canceled it out. Oddly enough the feel of her not quite smooth fingers on my skin felt pretty¡­
Willpower check ¡­successful. You avoided distraction
¡°Okay we need to make a pact. That is the only way we are going to get through this. Understand?¡± Angelica said. ¡°No, walk me through it,¡± I replied. ¡°First, we both agree to select no on the reproduce option should it appear. Agreed?¡± when I nodded, she continued, ¡°You have to say you agree out loud.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± I said. Her eyes blazed with a pure white light. ¡°Second, let¡¯s agree no sex for the next twenty-four hours. The furthest we go is just hand stuff. Agreed?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take this the wrong way, but I don¡¯t want to do anything with you,¡± I said. I could tell by the look on her face she was taking that the wrong way, likely due to the drugs. Rather than deal with the fall out of that, I said ¡°Agreed.¡± Again, Angelica¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Finally, we swear to not talk about this night without the permission of the others present. Agreed?¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± Angelica blazed with a white light that was nearly blinding. When she spoke, her voice rang with something beyond mortal reckoning, ¡°Then the pact is sealed!¡± The silence that followed was deafening. After a moment, I realized I was rubbing my thumb along Angelica¡¯s hand. I let go of her. ¡°What was that?¡± Angelica sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about the hand stuff thing. I misread you and figured I would need to offer a distraction to get you to agree to a no sex pact. Having you turn me down point-blank hurt my pride. It¡¯s childish, but here we are.¡± ¡°I meant the glowing eyes, and voice beyond eternity thing?¡± I clarified. ¡°I am not going to get you to fixate on the hand job, am I?¡± she asked, shaking her head ruefully. ¡°You wanna tell him?¡± ¡°Certainly,¡± Angelica¡¯s blazed with the pure white light again. While it was her voice saying the words the way she continued speaking left little doubt that someone else was talking. ¡°My name is Celeste. I am an angel of the divine host. It is very nice to meet you face to face as it were. Please don¡¯t be intimidated by me. For a manifestation of divine wrath, I am actually quite chill.¡± ¡°Was that a joke?¡± I asked. ¡°The platypus and pangolin are jokes,¡± Celeste explained. ¡°I was being glib.¡± I laughed, ¡°Goddammit. Oops is it all right to cuss in front of an angel?¡± ¡°Fuck no it isn¡¯t,¡± Celeste said. She was able to keep her face serious for about two seconds before cracking up with a luminous grin. I couldn¡¯t help it. I laughed. She was so beautiful with her glowing white eyes, and playful smile. Seeing her in the flickering candlelight made my heart skip a beat. Wait. Did she take my hand again, or did I take hers? Did it matter?
Willpower check¡­ successful! You prevent distraction
Celeste frowned when she saw the look on my face go from a warm glow to troubled concern. I shook my head trying to clear it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Celeste asked. I let go of her hand, ¡°That boon. This is going to be a long night.¡± Celeste looked taken aback. She seemed to read something and scowled. ¡°I am not immune to its effect either. Also, I do not have infinite time in this safe haven. Sorry, Doug, while I have enjoyed this talk and would love to speak with you more, I am going to have to budget my time should Angelica need any extra support.¡± With that, her eyes darkened back to Angelica¡¯s deep dark brown. Angelica shrugged. Before clenching her fist. Her knuckles popped audibly. She took a deep breath, ¡°That was a bit weird. Celeste liked you immediately. Normally she is a bit distant to everyone.¡± ¡°You heard that whole conversation?¡± I asked. ¡°Yep, basically Celeste and I can change who is in the driver¡¯s seat, but we are both along for the ride.¡± She tapped her hands on the table, ¡°So, I am going to take a bath. That means I am going to need you to avert your eyes and keep them averted.¡± I swallowed with an audible gulp. This was going to be a long night. That is how I ended up staring out the window watching the snow swirl around in the darkness of the night. I sat in a loveseat in the corner opposite the bed, and looked out a massive picture window. I sat using all of my mental focus to gaze out the window and only the window. The white flakes danced along the wind into the light from the window before rushing out into the darkness of the night. On the one hand, it was quite pleasing to watch. On the other hand, it was not a beautiful woman, naked, in a tub. Presumably, she was washing herself by rubbing her hands up and down her¡­
Willpower check¡­ successful. Emotional state brought back to controlled levels Willpower is now at Trained level.
So that thing levels up every time I suppress an emotion. Yeah, that was going to get maxed out quick. ¡°Doug?¡± Angelica asked. A second willpower role was required to not immediately turn to look at her. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°In order to get the fresh clean condition from this tub we need to have two people in it together.¡± The tone of dread in her voice was upsetting. ¡°What does fresh clean do, is it really that important?¡± I asked. ¡°It removes negative scent conditions, and reduces monster encounter rates,¡± She answered. The feeling of the snow lion¡¯s fangs pressing down on my neck and blood flooding my lung shot through me. That was followed by the exhausted terror of fighting the pack. ¡°Doug, you have the Gore caked condition. That vastly increases monster spawn rates,¡± Angelica said. That settled it. Channeling all my frustration into hatred for Wilson I clenched my fists. ¡°Angelica, I am going to get into the tub. Chapter 8 No, THIS is awkward While this setup probably sounds like a letter to penthouse forum -ask your parents- the only effective way I have found to accurately describe the incredible awkwardness of the situation was to just summarize the situation. First, I was locked in this place. I was physically trapped. The constant stress that places on people is profound and almost impossible to truly express in words. Next was the fact that I did not fully trust Angelica. Now, I was aware that she seemed to have tried to pull Wilson¡¯s attention away from me. That said, she clearly had a bit of an anger streak. And she could easily kill me. I was trying to be polite about the missed stab with the spear, but it was harder to move past that than you may think. Celeste seemed nice, but I knew next to nothing about her either. All of that translated to wanting to keep a bit of distance between us. So, it was frustrating in more ways than one to be stuffed in a tub with her. The stupid thing was heart-shaped. One of us in each bump, and our legs pressed together. Now, normally I would just be an adult about this. This was happening for a specific reason. One that did not involve her touching me for mutual fun. So, I would just not read into anything. That said both of us were under the effects of divine sex drugs. So, the simple act of forced footsy that the tub required was triggering a seriously distracting response. Then there was the fact that again we were pressed together. The only possible way for both of us to fit, other than one of us sitting in the other¡¯s lap, was for my left arm over her shoulders and her right arm around my back. Every little twitch of either of us caused some skin-on-skin contact that sent tingles of lightning through me. Also, I was harder than LaPlace Transforms without a reference chart. Because of this Angelica and I just sat there. Staring directly into the fire. The reason we did this was because it prevented us from looking at each other. There had been a particular we-don¡¯t-talk-about-this moment when I was getting into the tub. The tub grants the smooth glide condition for everyone in the tub. That reduces the effects of friction by 80%. I slipped. Hands went flying. Eyes had to be opened, and of course, we ended up staring into each other¡¯s eyes. I will say this. Angelica is an attractive woman. She was fit and curvy, her face was beautiful, and her eyes were something I could get lost in at the best of times. In that moment seeing her look at me with that same aching, longing she was irresistible.
Warning you are about to violate your pact! This action will have consequences. Proceed Yes/No
That killed the mood and gave me a chance for a willpower roll. Which I passed. ¡°My bad, I am sorry. I should have told you about the smooth glide condition. Also sorry about grabbing your¡­¡± ¡°it¡¯s fine!¡± I said, needing to pull focus away from her about to say certain words. That would put my mind back on unhelpful tracks. Thankfully another prompt shifted our focus.
Tub of love activated! The two people in the tub will receive the fresh clean condition after 2 hours in the tub. However, shall we pass the time? Time remaining 1:59:12
Angelica screamed in frustration and clenched her fist. She just started repeating ¡°I¡¯m fine! I¡¯m fine! I¡¯m fine!¡± on a loop. Although, the way she was saying it through clenched teeth made me suspect that she was in fact not fine. Looking at the prompt again and seeing Time remaining 1:56:37 was also disheartening. ¡°Tell me something about yourself,¡± Angelica said. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°I need to focus on talking. Tell me something about yourself,¡± Angelica pressed. ¡°I¡¯m a very private person,¡± I offered lamely ¡°We are naked and, in each other¡¯s arms, don¡¯t get shy on me now.¡± ¡°You go first. You¡¯re higher level¡± I shot back. I expected her to balk at this. But we were simply trying to kill time. ¡°Fair,¡± Angelica conceded. ¡°I hate hot chocolate.¡± ¡°How can you hate hot chocolate?¡± I demanded. ¡°It is an excuse to not drink coffee, eat actual candy if you need sugar,¡± she explained. ¡°Your turn.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t hate hot chocolate,¡± I said after a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°Bitch move, try again.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± I had to work to get my brain onto a track about what I was and was not willing to share about myself. ¡°I hate hot weather. Winter is inherently easier to deal with. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that you can¡¯t grow food in the snow it would be perfect.¡± ¡°I have always preferred fall weather,¡± Angelica said. ¡°Bitch move, try again,¡± I shot back. ¡°I currently have five pending marriage proposals.¡± She said. ¡°Only five?¡± I asked. ¡°Shut up.¡± She said clearly flattered. Her next words were more serious. ¡°They are all political. People don¡¯t really care about me, so much as what I could do for them. It is starting to sour my whole perception on love and marriage all together.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been married. It has some serious ups and downs.¡± I said without thinking. ¡°Wait! You were married?¡± Angelica asked.
Willpower check successful Emotional state brought back to controlled levels This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. You are now expert in willpower
¡°I know I brought it up, but could we talk about something else,¡± Images of Marnie flashed in my mind. It actually took another two willpower rolls to shut that all down. ¡°Okay.¡± Angelica thought for a moment, ¡°What happened to your weapons?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any. I have just been using my hands to fight.¡± I admitted. ¡°Really? I mean everyone talks about monk builds. But I have never heard of anyone actually doing it. Is that how you were able to have epic Scale armor?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°The armor was a gift,¡± I explained. Angelica thought about this for a long time. ¡°Can I ask you something kind of personal?¡± ¡°You¡¯re naked in the tub with me, don¡¯t get shy on me now,¡± I said. I was guessing this was going to be something about being married. ¡°How is your health regen so high?¡± she asked it in a strangely quiet voice. Like you would when you inquire about a sick person¡¯s health in the hospital. ¡°I have a perk. It vastly increased my health regen.¡± I explained. Some part of me figured it would be a bad idea to describe the perk in detail. ¡°Did you get that from your class?¡± she asked. ¡°No, I got it from a level up.¡± Silence followed for a long moment, ¡°That is so lucky. I am legitimately jealous. I have been training my regen every day for years, and it isn¡¯t even close to what you have.¡± ¡°It is the only reason I have been able to survive out here,¡± I admitted. Again, after a long moment, Angelica spoke. ¡°I have 700 hit points.¡± Her tone implied like this was a huge revelation. She also sounded vaguely embarrassed like a rich person does when they say they don¡¯t have money to tip. ¡°Wow,¡± I said, legitimately impressed. If she was roughly level 30 that would mean she was getting just over 23 hit points a level. That put things like how much power I got a level into perspective. ¡°Please don¡¯t make a big deal out of this?¡± Angelica pleaded. ¡°For what it is worth I have 120 hit points.¡± I offered. It felt like the right thing to do. I could see gears turning in her head. Part of me felt bad. While everything I said was true, it all pointed to an incorrect solution. ¡°That would put you at high level in the Rare Scale range,¡± she said tentatively. ¡°And you are epic then?¡± I asked. ¡°Heroic,¡± she admitted. After a beat, she added, ¡°please don¡¯t be weird about it.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t if you won¡¯t,¡± I said. This was probably a lot more important than I appreciated, but I was living minute to minute right now with the boon of Adora, and spitefully opposing Wilson¡¯s effort to control me like a toy meant I couldn¡¯t focus on the big picture. ¡°Deal, besides If I am going to make anything weird it is going to the sleeping arrangements. I can guarantee that the bed is going to require two people to get the Well Rested condition.¡± She said pointing. ¡°Let''s focus on unsexy things. What was the least sexy thing you were involved in?¡± I asked. ¡°Escaping the Technacost.¡± She said without hesitation. ¡°The last leg of it was through the sewers. I waded through so much filth, I ended up with the tainted condition. When I hit the ocean, sharks swam away from me, the stink was so bad. It took five clerics and a petition ritual to cleanse that condition. What about you?¡± ¡°My grandmother¡¯s funeral,¡± I said. ¡°I was one of the pallbearers. When we went to carry her to the grave, someone slipped and we dropped her. The coffin opened. She fell out. We had to put her back. In the chaos, I was pushed into the grave.¡± ¡°Okay you win,¡± Angelica said. The rest of the bath, all things considered, was kind of nice. Angelica and I just sort of talked about nothing and slowly ran down the clock. Getting hit with the Fresh Clean condition was¡­odd. In the space of an instant, every part of me was free of dirt, grim, or irritants of any kind. None of that bothered me, but the sudden absence was noticeable and pleasant. I was the first to get out of the tub and discovered a rather troubling issue. The smooth glide condition literally caused all my clothes other than the boxers and cape to fall off. How a shirt could fall off me when I had my head through the collar and my arms through the sleeves was a mystery, but the results are hard to argue with. Angelica had it worse. Since none of her gear was epic level. ¡°How about this? I wear the boxers, and you wear the cape.¡± I offered. ¡°Counter offer, I take the boxers, you take the cape. That way I can lock my inventory, and will have a piece of epic gear covering my ass. That should protect us for the night.¡± ¡°I am not sure I am comfortable just having¡­ it hang free. The odds of it¡­ touching things goes down if I keep¡­ it contained.¡± Angelica thought about that but shook her head, ¡°Our best bet is me, with the boxers, you with the cape. Then you are going to be the little spoon. I will keep my hands above the waistline. The best we can do about¡­ it, is to not address it.¡± That made sense to me. I offered her the boxers and made my way to the bed. Angelica climbed in behind me. The lights dimmed. The room was just dark enough that it felt intimate but still bright enough that you could see¡­ well everything. I had thought the bed was large, but the stupid heart shape meant we had to either press together and share half of it, one of us hang over the side, or sleep in a sort of crisscross pattern. Since the second option would prevent us from being able to get the well-rested condition, and the third was basically a sex position we went with option 1. Having Angelica¡¯s arms around me, and feeling her warm wine scented breath on my neck, caused something in my guts to clench, and my heart to patter. I just stared at the prompt
Bed of canoodling activating Romantic glow condition activated If two or more people lay atop this bed for 8 hours continuously, they will receive the well-rested condition. Sleep not required. ?? Would you like to sleep Yes/No
For whatever reason. I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to hit the yes. I knew it was sad. I knew Angelica and I had no emotional connection and the physical contact was just a necessity. But if I didn¡¯t think, and just let the sensation of being held happen, I could pretend I was with my wife. We had gone to a cabin like this once. We did it before¡­
Willpower roll Successful. Unwanted memory suppressed. Note successive checks will become increasingly difficult.
A faint glow of Celeste¡¯s eyes lit the room. Very quietly she said, ¡°I know you are not asleep. We need to talk.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t doing anything,¡± I said reflexively. Of course, that made me sound guilty as hell. ¡°Relax,¡± Celeste said. She gave me a small reassuring squeeze. ¡°Let me start by saying Angelica is currently asleep. So, this conversation is just between you and me. Okay?¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I said. Absolutely not knowing where this was going. ¡°You¡¯re a titan spawn, aren¡¯t you?¡± she asked. I thought about lying. I thought about running. Then I thought I wasn¡¯t who I was before. I was Doug now. I was going to try and do things differently. ¡°Yeah, is that a problem?¡± Celeste was quiet for a long time, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. No titan spawn has aligned with the host, but I am not going to give you the elevator pitch tonight. That said, I am guessing you are barely level two, and you are able to grind through the goblin wastes. In another few levels, you could become something completely beyond my power to deal with. That is why I am going to say, please be kind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± I asked. ¡°Should there be more?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to threaten me, to not hurt people, or give me some big speech about responsibility, or tell me God has a plan?¡± I all but demanded. ¡°Nope,¡± Celeste said. She nestled her head on my shoulder, ¡°we should get some sleep.¡± ¡°What kind of angel are you?¡± I almost shouted. ¡°One that is done the best she can. I am not perfect. If my mistake is showing kindness rather than contempt to a newborn, then so be it.¡± When I realized I had nothing else to say I hit yes on the sleep prompt. So much for doing things differently. Chapter 9 A Dubious Achievement
New achievement! Awkward virgin You managed to avoid sex while under the effects of Adora¡¯s Boon. Clearly you need some help. You are now 5x more appealing to people already attracted to you. whomever is the first to engage in sex with you will receive the First achievement and a perk from Adora. Don¡¯t worry. Everyone moves at their own pace! You received 2,000 experience points
Level Up!
Name: Doug
Race: Titan Spawn
Class Left Hand of The Titan
Level: 3
HP: 180
Power: 12
Mobility: 12
Body: 12
Mind: 12
Face: 12
Magic: 12
Please Select Perk
  • Boon of the Titan
  • ^Boon of the Titan
I selected a). it seemed the right answer.
Boon of the Titan
Warning This power will be labeled as ¡°Empowered Critical¡±. All beings, including Narrators will see this power labeled as such. Your critical hits will deal 2 points more damage. The actual effects of this power are for 1 hour a day block the effects of Narrators within all current plot threads you are involved in. Note 1: this power is extremely dangerous, and will remove as many protections as it does obstacles. Never use this in spite. Note 2: No one else in existence has this power. Never speak of it. Never abuse it.
That was a strange way to wake up. Then I realized I was cosplaying Hercules in his dick out phase, while a woman wearing next to nothing was pressed up against me. Somehow, over the course of several hours of sleeping, Angelica had gone from grappling me like I was a caber, she was about to toss, to being inside the cloak with me. She was also hogging the cloak. I spent a solid two minutes just contemplating this scenario. Yep, there was no good way to extract myself from this situation. There are few things more freeing than having no good option. I am one of those people that when I know something bad is about to happen, I get calmer. It was all but guaranteed that things were going to get uncomfortable when she woke up, so that became a later problem. I looked at her face because other options were likely to be perverted and just not cool. She looked to be in her late twenties or maybe early thirties. She really was pretty with her short black hair. It took some doing but I found the prompt for going back to sleep. A split second before I selected yes, a woman said, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s sweet that he still wants to give her privacy.¡± My eyes popped back open. Not one but two women stood over us. The first was a gorgeous woman wearing the hell out of a green dress. She was voluptuous and despite being flawless gave off an air of maturity. Her eyes were glinting as she gave me a cat that ate the canary smile. She twirled one of her curly black locks in her left hand as if thinking. She tilted her head and said in a sensuous voice, ¡°I still can¡¯t believe they didn¡¯t just fuck. Talk about letting spite get in the way of a good time?¡± Angelica¡¯s eyes snapped open. ¡°Oh shi¡­¡± she froze like a statue. ¡°None of that.¡± The woman turned to me, ¡°I¡¯m Adora. I am tickled to meet you. Clearly, you¡¯re happy to see me.¡± With a flash of white light Celeste sat up, ¡°Adora, Aella, what sick game is this?¡± ¡°I just bet Adora here, that my newest sibling would be so twisted up from being born that he would pass up a sure thing with a woman perfect for him.¡± The second woman said. She, like Nadia and Zach before her, was a shadow. Unlike them she seemed to either be wearing almost nothing, but some see through clothing or was possibly wrapped in a small cloud of mist. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°That was cruel,¡± Celeste said. ¡°Careful, angel, you are still in my domain. I will not be insulted for trying to be nice,¡± Adora said something dangerous in her sultry voice. ¡°Let¡¯s all calm down,¡± I started. ¡°Ha!¡± Aella cut in. ¡°Says the guy sporting wood.¡± I continued as Adora eyed me with a look that said ¡®eh not bad¡¯. ¡°No one wants to fight. We are just trying to ride out the storm. Do either of you know if the Wendigo is still out there?¡± ¡°Yeah, she IS still out there, and she IS going to keep prowling around until I get some entertainment.¡± Adora said. ¡°Bitch that¡¯s cheating,¡± Aella shouted. She turned to me and spoke each word with some strange force behind them, ¡°You are incapable of arousal.¡±
You are immune to all mental effects from titan spawn.
Upon seeing that her words had no effect on me she proceeded to stare at it. That went from awkward to someone-kill-me territory immediately. It was a lot like having to show it to your parents. You know that situation when something is wrong and you need input from someone you trust. Except, I didn¡¯t trust Aella in any way. Eventually Celeste stopped bogarting my cape, and tossed it over me, ¡°Can we all focus for two minutes?¡± Adora gave Celeste the most condescending smile I have ever seen, ¡°Yeah, because I have just been all over the place on what I want. Please, Celeste of Truth, tell me what I should do in my own domain.¡± I opened my mouth to speak, but Aella put her shadow hand on my shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t get between them. The goddesses are fighting.¡± She whispered into my ear. As Celeste and Adora began a complicated back and forth that seemed to be an ever-escalating way of politely telling the other to get fucked. Aella, despite being made of shadow and having no distinguishable features, was able to convey extremely complex expressions that became a sort of communication all its own. She gave me a look that said, ¡°Testing! Testing! Do you read me! Oh, sweet! Okay, so this is not telepathy. That shit gets hacked and intercepted all the time. If you do not have it you are going to want to pick a perk or trait that lets you block people reading your mind without consent. I just have enough face ability that I can convey my intentions to people at will, or what I want them to think my intentions are. Also, you are welcome.¡± I raised my eyebrows conveying the obvious question of ¡°What?¡± A slight smile from Aella conveyed, ¡°Trolling Adora, duh! Before I got involved, she was just going to half ass things, and when that didn¡¯t work smite you with fire hot genital lesions. I turned it into a game, and had her pulling out all the stops. She is now going to do literally anything to get you laid. Hell, if you can hold out long enough Adora might even put out, but I wouldn¡¯t try for that. Adora is clingy as fuck!¡± My next thought was ¡®Why?¡¯ Aella gave a roll of her eyes that said ¡°I was bored. Plus, I am not going to play kid games, so I am going to toss you a bone to help you power level. If you can bed someone at divine tier you will get an achievement, and if it is your ¡®first¡¯ time you will get an even better one. That will probably get you something like 50,000 experience points. So, I would bang the angel. She is definitely the plain on the streets, freak in the sheets type.¡± When she saw the look on my face, she shook her head. This gesture tossed this set of ideas at me, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you are going on a Paragon playthrough. That is a huge waste of time and it just begs narrators to fuck with you. You need to learn this lesson quick. Get what you can from people, because they are just going to take what they can from you.¡± When I gave her a cold look that said, ¡°What does that mean about you? What are you getting out of this?¡± She took a small step back and that slight motion told me, ¡°Calm down. I am looking to try and set things up like Nadia. Just be left alone to my own devices. In order to do that I am going to need someone to fill the void in the audience¡¯s attention. So, I am going to set up some options to get you big and strong and let you grab attention. Then I am going to fuck off back to the desert and do my own thing. Maybe go see South America.¡± ¡°What?¡± I said out loud. Adora and Celeste looked over to us. ¡°I said I am not going to remove the conditions. You both came here of your own free will. You entered my domain, took my food, and slept in my bed. If you are not going to engage in any rituals of appeasement, then that is your decision also.¡± ¡°Rituals of appeasement?¡± I asked Adora¡¯s expression softened, ¡°Oh sweet moose, I keep forgetting you¡¯re new here. I am Adora. The goddess of love, that means both the emotion and the act. So, what do you think people do to appease me?¡± ¡°Engage in chaste hand holding while talking about baseball?¡± I guessed. Adora handed Aella¡¯s shadow a shining coin. ¡°It¡¯s like he is allergic to vagina. Do you mean to tell me you started out like this?¡± ¡°Ten times worse,¡± Aella admitted. Adora thought about that, ¡°Okay, I am going to adjust my expectations.¡± She turned to Celeste, ¡°You can either help the hapless boy out, or not. That said if you do, there is a divine perk in it for you. The meat suit you got on will get one too. I¡¯m feeling generous.¡± She paused for a moment and when she realized Celeste was going to argue further, Adora cut in, ¡°Let¡¯s let the mortal wake up.¡± She snapped her fingers. The light faded from Angelica¡¯s eyes. She blinked and took in the situation. Celeste had carried herself with all the modesty of the elderly in the gym locker room. Their nudity was everyone else¡¯s problem. Angelica was clearly not okay with being topless in front of people or potentially hostile deities. That said this was a high stakes situation and she was not going to show weakness. ¡°Goddess Adora,¡± She said in a stilted, polite voice. ¡°Why is everybody acknowledging you first?¡± Aella demanded stomping a foot. Which shook the entire house. Adora gave Aella a bit of the side eye, ¡°if you can¡¯t behave, I am going to ask you to leave.¡± She then preened slightly, ¡°Also mortal eyes are drawn to quality. I¡¯ll admit my eyes were indeed drawn. It even told me I had failed a willpower test. ¡­damn, she was a good looking woman. Adora¡¯s smile faded, and she turned to Angelica and me, ¡°Okay I am done, playing games. The Wendigo is going to be wandering around this area for the next few days. You two are welcome to stay here, but there will be a rent for anything passed tonight.¡± She turned to Angelica. ¡°The reason you have the frustrated condition is exactly the reason you think it is. You have been running around alone for way too long.¡± Adora shook her head. ¡°You all would be lost without my help.¡± ¡°So, our options are, do what you tell us, or go fight a boss that will probably kill us?¡± I clarified. ¡°You can¡¯t expect to just push your way into a goddess¡¯s sacred places, and then just leave without saying thank you. Considering how invasive you were, I feel I am being more than reasonable. Besides, you did just cause me to lose a bet with a titan spawn, so the least you two could do for me is put on a show.¡± ¡°Could you at least take off the smooth glide condition so we can go fight this monster with our gear?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°Hah!¡± Aella said. ¡°Pay up, bitch!¡± Adora threw another glowing coin to Aella, ¡°Only because you two are costing me money at this point.¡± Then they were gone. Angelica immediately equipped her gear again. It was like she clipped from the world for a microsecond and snapped back into existence fully clothed. She had a slightly glazed look in her eyes. It looked like she was reading prompts. After a moment her eyes sharpened and she gazed at me, ¡°how the hell do these boxers have armor fifteen?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a guy thing. We are profoundly protective of our nuts,¡± I answered partly out of instinct. I immediately realized that was deflecting bullshit, and since we were about to go fight a high lethality encounter, I decided to level more with Angelica, ¡°I also have a perk that lets me temporarily boost the effectiveness of armor I equip. it is going to drop to five in a few days.¡± Angelica turned to look at me, realized I was still only wearing the cape, and turned away again, ¡°Could you please fully equip?¡± I quickly pulled my pants on and took the cape off to pull my shirt over my head. I also slide into my coat, and pulled my boot on. Each piece of clothing sort of ¡®snapped¡¯ into place. ¡°I¡¯m decent,¡± I said, putting the gloves back on. ¡°Are you spec.ing into being a tank?¡± Angelica asked. The look on her face implied that if that was the case, I was a dumbass. ¡°I like to think of it as a maximum survivability build,¡± I explained. ¡°Being out here on my own made that a high priority.¡± Angelica nodded. ¡°You cool with making a suicide run on a demigod Scale event boss?¡± Chapter 10 Boss Battle! We stepped out into the cold. The blast of ice crystals pelting my everything nearly knocked me down. Before I even had time to shiver, a prompt flashed
Warning: The Wendigo has sighted you. Boss fight imminent.
The thing that came out of the snow was¡­ okay bear with me a second here. The short description is going to sound lame. The main reason for that is the Wendigo wasn¡¯t visually impressive, like at all. The Wendigo was a skeletally thin person. Their arms and legs looked like twigs. Their ribs and collar bone stuck out past their too-tight skin. Their face was a skull with hollow sunken eyes. The eyes were the worst part. They gazed at me with an almost soul deep hunger. It stumbled toward us, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I am just so hungry. Run! Run!¡± There was a level of desperation in its voice that shook me to the very core. ¡°Do we actually have a chance?¡± I asked. ¡°Hard to say,¡± Angelica admitted. ¡°Honestly, I was really hoping you would chicken out. This is a terrible idea. We really should have just had sex like Adora wanted.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± I managed. When it happened, it happened fast. The Wendigo stopped stumbling toward us for a brief moment. They stared at us. The storm even lulled. The wind almost stopped like the eye of a storm.
Attack from Wendigo Blocked! Attack from Wendigo Blocked! Attack from Wendigo Blocked! Attack from Wendigo Blocked! Attack from Wendigo Blocked! Attack from Wendigo Successful! You take 8 points of damage Attack from Wendigo Successful! You take 5 points of damage HP 167/180 Titanic Regeneration plus 10 hit points, HP 177/180 Class of styles! All-consuming Blizzard vs Unrelenting Glacier No conflict observed. No benefits or penalties assigned. Block skill is now expert level
The Wendigo came at me¡­ well like a blizzard. The Damned thing could throw seven attacks a second. That was insane. Now it looked like I was able to handle the brunt of the damage, but that still meant that I was less than 2 minutes from this thing killing me. Angelica struck a split second later despite literally moving like lighting, crackle of electricity and everything,but she missed. The Wendigo looked like a frail skeleton, but it moved like mist on the wind. It bent at unnatural angles and just sort of shot away like a snowflake in the blizzard. It came at me a second time. It tried to claw my face, my neck, my stomach, my groin, my legs, and then it managed to catch my arm. The cuts were deep and the cold made the pain sang across my nerves. The damn things nails were pointed but the edges were dull. They could pierce my flesh easily, but they tore rather than cut my skin. It was much worse than the feeling of the lion claws cutting into me. The sheer pain of it caused me to miss the window to counter attack, at least the first time.
Condensed prompt summary Attack from Wendigo Blocked x6 Attack from Wendigo Successful! You take 7 points of damage. Titanic Regeneration plus 10 points HP: 180/180 You are now bloodied. You have the blood-soaked condition. Counter attack successful! Wendigo takes 14 points of damage.
My fist collided with the creature and knocked it back a step. A hit like that crushed a snow lion¡¯s skull and sent the corpse flying. All it did to this thing was knock loose the rust. It glared at me with a malicious hunger. I actually took a step back just from the glint in its eyes. If it wasn¡¯t for the Wendigo ignoring the opportunity to attack me to devour the pound of flesh it tore from me, that could have been the end of the fight. That was when Angelica hit it like a goddamn train. With a flash of lightning and explosion of thunder the spear collided with the Wendigo¡¯s ribs. It let out a scream that no human or animal could produce. It sounded almost like metal tearing. The storm surged.
You are immune to cold effects of rare Scale.
From there the fight took on a sort of running battle. For whatever reason, the Wendigo had focused me, to the exclusion of everything. Upon realizing that I had gotten lucky on the first few rounds the damn thing was going to be hitting me roughly three to four times a round and each hit dealt 5 to 8 damage. I realized I needed a better strategy. That strategy became: run away. The Wendigo while capable of a flurry of attacks, and it had a pounce similar to the lions it was actually a noticeable amount slower than me. So, by running I was able to turn certain death into prolonged agony.
Attack from Wendigo blocked x 6 Attack from Wendigo successful! You take 5 points of damage. Titanic regeneration plus 10 points HP 137/180 Counter attack successful! Wendigo takes 17 points of damage.
I had to just keep moving. I blocked every attack I could. Time lost meaning. At some point, we wandered into a wooded area. The attacks from the Wendigo and Angelica splintered tree trunks and the crashing boom of falling lumber drowned out the howling of the wind. At one point I tried using a heavy branch to fend off the monster, but it did two points of damage and broke immediately from the Wendigo¡¯s attacks. The pain was starting to get to me. At some point, the thing had clawed my face, and my vision had tinted red afterward from the blood in my eyes. I wanted to try and wipe my face, but I needed my hands free to ward off freezing, tearing death. At least whenever the damned thing would get a truly solid hit in, and take a chunk out of me, it would then spend the next second or so eating the meat. Fuck that is morbid. Eh, at least it kept me alive to have those sorts of realizations. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. When my health dipped below fifty the damn monster¡¯s eyes began to glow. They reminded me of the stars in the night sky during winter. Distant and cold.
You have been marked by the hungering spirit of winter. You are its prey. All others can leave and the Wendigo will not follow until it has devoured you completely. Wendigo speed increased in pursuit of you. Your Scale allows you to resist healing suppression.
I shivered again. The relentless cannibal seemed to meld with the storm. The unnatural chill of the air bit through my clothes and titanic physique. It wasn¡¯t much but this effect was causing damage.
Attack from Wendigo blocked x 3 Attack from Wendigo Successful x 4! You take 26 points of damage Chilled by the Hungering spirit of winter! You take 2 points of damage Titanic Regeneration plus 10 HP 31/180 Counter attack successful! Wendigo takes 10 points of damage.
This was bad. Even as panic crept into my mind, part of me had to appreciate how effective this boss was. It would wander into a group, focus on one of them. Bring the target to low health and trigger the hungering spirit of winter effect. It would damage the target even faster, and encourage their party to leave them for dead to hopefully get away. A cynical part of me also realized that the time this bought was probably minuscule if the Wendigo ate as fast as it attacked. This would set it up to reengage a now crippled party and sweep those remaining one target at a time. That was when Celeste stepped in. Angelica struck with the speed of lightning. Celeste struck with the speed of light, which is a lot faster than four letters'' difference would imply. Angelica¡¯s body burned with the harsh white light. When they hit, it was like standing next to a bomb. The spear pierced the Wendigo''s heart. Six more shards of light appeared and further perforated the wretched thing. It didn¡¯t scream. Instead, the thing slumped and I received a prompt that made me scream in frustration.
Wendigo is a narratively important boss. It cannot die without narrator approval. Arbitration begins in: Five¡­ Four¡­ Three¡­ Two¡­
¡°Angel! Kid! Look at you! Do you know what kind of ratings this is pulling?¡± Wilson called. I looked up to find him standing a short distance from us in his immaculate suit, shark grin twisting his face. I spat out a mouthful of blood, ¡°Wilson, do we have to bargain with you to kill a boss?¡± ¡°Nah kid, you got this all wrong. I am here on your behalf. I am your white knight. This Wendigo storyline has been going on for almost a hundred years. Paul is not going to be happy to see it go. So, he is going to hem and hah about this. If not for me, he would spitefully kill you both with some emersion-breaking bullshit like that prompt you read.¡± ¡°Really Wilson, bad-mouthing a coworking in front of the talent?¡± a bear of a man asked. He wore a collared shirt and business slack. He was pulling a thin naked woman along with him. The guy had the same gray hair and blue skin as Wilson. He even seemed to have the same casual apathy as Wilson. The woman was desperately clawing at the man¡¯s wrist and gnawing on his fingers franticly. That said this Paul guy seemed to not give a fuck about it. ¡°I believe in speaking the truth,¡± Wilson said. He waved an arm to another meeting table. ¡°Shall we talk through this?¡± Paul stomped off to the far side of the table and tossed the woman into a chair. ¡°Sit there!¡± he roared. The woman shrieked in pain as she collided with the table as he pushed the chair tight against it. She started sobbing. Looking at her more carefully I saw her face was pulped and her chest had multiple deep stab wounds. She had a lot of other injuries that match up with the Wendigo we had been fighting. ¡°Quiet!¡± Paul shouted. The woman, despite being wracked with sobs, bit down on her left hand to muffle the sound. ¡°What the fuck is this?¡± I asked. ¡°Arbitration,¡± Wilson almost sang. ¡°The precious few times when I get to kick someone¡¯s ass and have to try. Please sit down.¡± I sat down. Angelica sat down on my left, and Wilson sat down on my right. Paul and the woman sat across from us. Paul glowered as Wilson grinned. I bled profusely. ¡°Are you okay, Doug?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°Honestly, I am in incredible pain,¡± I answered. ¡°Why am I not healing?¡± ¡°Time Stop, Kid. It maintains continuity. The audience hates seeing any breaks in continuity. Try and tough it out the best you can.¡± He tapped his hands on the table. ¡°Okay, Paul, why are you being a bitch about this?¡± Paul¡¯s glower intensified, ¡°My client has been the highest-rated player in the wastes for the last eighty years. To have her killed off with no preamble or build-up is unacceptable. I should have been given a chance to construct the narrative that would be satisfying to the audience.¡± ¡°Interesting, no wait, boring. Also, wrong. Your client was the highest rated. The kid here is pulling numbers twice what Mina there has collected. Plus, she lost despite home field and level advantages. So, pushing for a continuity break is unwise.¡± Paul glared at me, ¡°then perhaps a greatest nightmare plot with a rematch is in order.¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Wilson said snottily. ¡°The way the spirit of the Wendigo works is when the body dies it goes to possess another. One of those two should be possessed.¡± ¡°Three players there, and mmmmmmmm-no.¡± Wilson said as he leaned forward on the table, ¡°These are my clients and nothing will pry them from my clutches. If they die out in the world to firestorms or unlucky dice roll, so be it, but I refuse to let another narrator¡¯s negligent mismanagement of a plot hurt my clients.¡± Paul¡¯s fist pounded the table, ¡°Don¡¯t mock me!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mock me,¡± Wilson repeated, blatantly mocking him. ¡°Please just let me die,¡± the woman, Mina, said. ¡°No one asked you!¡± Paul roared. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. Mina looked at me with eyes that were sad beyond description, ¡°I fucked up. Eighty years ago. I killed someone, and rather than starve I ate them. I have suffered every day since. The hunger never ends. I just keep killing. I just want it to stop. Please let me¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Paul snarled. He struck Mina across the face hard and then slammed her head into the table twice. ¡°Crude as that display is Paul, let¡¯s just go to the standard percentage breakdown chance and move on¡­¡± I lost focus on everything else. Paul and Wilson kept sniping back and forth like it was some game or shitty job to them. This was our lives. Mina was staring at me. I could meet her gaze, but couldn¡¯t hold it. It all hit me at once. The callousness of it all. The fucking indignity. I didn¡¯t know if it would work but I had to try. God, I hope I am doing the right thing.
Activate ¡°empowered critical¡±? Yes/No
Mentally, I punched yes as hard as I could. It took a lot of force to trigger, but it did. The world glitched and suddenly I was back in the frozen field watching Celeste pincushion Mina. I didn¡¯t hesitate. For the first time in the battle, I charged. A split second before the Wendigo could strike my fist collided with its -her- chest.
Attack against Wendigo¡­ Critical Success Wendigo takes 50 damage Wendigo Slain! Level Up!
Name: Doug
Race: Titan Spawn
Class Left Hand of The Titan
Level: 4
HP: 240
Power: 14
Mobility: 14
Body: 14
Mind: 14
Face: 14
Magic: 14
I dismissed the prompts for now. Celeste and I stood over Mina¡¯s body. Some terrible wave of frigid hunger washed over us as something dark rose up from the body and fled into the darkness. ¡°Should we chase that,¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Celeste said. ¡°It is too fast, and we don¡¯t have whatever it is that kills it.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Mina¡¯s voice said. A gray outline of the woman stood in front of me. The shade hugged me, and then Celeste. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s on the other side, but I hope it¡¯s warm.¡± She turned and started to walk away. ¡°Wait,¡± I called after her. ¡°I have so many questions?¡± She didn¡¯t look back, ¡°That¡¯s just part of life. So, is not getting the answer. If you get to the other side look me up. I will do whatever I can.¡± I blinked and she was gone. Angelica patted me on the shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. there is almost nowhere she can go that is any worse than where she was. Let¡¯s see if we can find another safe zone.¡± I fell into step with her and was immediately tackled by a snow lion. Chapter 11 Are you there, Titan? It’s me Doug We had to walk through six hours of blizzard. When we reached the safe zone, it was simply a shed with two cots. We both just collapsed one on each. I just lay there face down on the dusty canvass. I was weary. Between the bite of the cold, the mental exhaustion from the pain of literally being torn apart again and again, and the adrenaline crashes from the fighting. I needed to sleep. Figuring out a way to get the blood out of my everything could wait until tomorrow. ¡°Doug, next time, let¡¯s just fuck.¡± Angelica said. ¡°Is that an invitation?¡± I quipped. ¡°If you want, go ahead. I am just gonna sleep though,¡± she said. She then immediately conked out. She then began to snore loudly.
Go to sleep? Yes/No
I was actually too exhausted to select the button. It took me about seven minutes but eventually, I did manage to hit the button. I awoke less than an hour later to someone poking my face, ¡°Wake up little brother, we need to talk.¡± I swatted an arm vaguely in no particular direction. I then rolled over. Having defeated my foe, I brought up the prompt to go back to sleep. A split second before I hit yes the cot I was on, tipped vertical. I face-planted on the hardwood floor. The sudden shock of pain brought me from asleep too tired and mad about it. I flipped over, sat up, and with great umbrage I opened my eyes. A massive shadow stood in front of me. He looked to be a stout man of average height. Due to the umbral nature of his appearance, it was hard to be certain but he looked to be wearing heavy-plated armor. He definitely had a massive sword slung across his back. He was leaning against the wall watching me impassively. ¡°I¡¯m awake, what do you want?¡± I demanded. ¡°I am Cole Dragonsworn, I have come to recruit you in deposing Zach,¡± he said. ¡°Pass,¡± I immediately said. ¡°You don¡¯t understand¡­¡± Cole started. I held up both hands to silence him, ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand. I am not here to help any of you. None of you need it. I am going to do what I can to help everyone else. So, if you are here to try and get me to kill Zach, pass.¡± Cole considered me for a moment. He stepped away from the wall and sat down in front of me. ¡°I am sorry I came on too strong. Let¡¯s step outside, ¡°He opened the door for me. Begrudgingly I stepped out into the storm. ¡°You¡¯re lucky you didn¡¯t wake Angelica.¡± ¡°I have stealth skills. I could shout in your face and she wouldn¡¯t hear a peep.¡± Cole followed and closed the door. ¡°That¡¯s not important. Please listen. The short story is I am getting desperate between Nadia and Zach the world is beginning to break.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I had hoped Aella would actually tell you something useful.¡± He shook his head. He sat in the snow and gestured for us to sit. When I did he pulled two large mugs from his storage and set them between us. He then produced a bottle and poured two generous helpings, ¡°We never were political people, but our condition forces that to be a necessity. At some point, you will be forced onto the world stage.¡± He took a drink, ¡°Do you even know what is going on in the world?¡± ¡°There is a kingdom in the gulf, there is something called the Technacoast, and gods and demons are walking the world,¡± I said, ticking things off on my fingers. I picked up the mug and examined it.
Analyze check Successful Titanic Brew This is THE drink of the titans. This potent drink will achieve either the Energized or the Buzzed condition. It also tastes great. Warning any being below heroic Scale will face a 50% chance of dying should they ingest this beverage. That said those who have drank this concoction and lived have said ¡°it¡¯s worth it¡± This drink in not poisonous¡­ to you
I shrugged and took a drink
You now have the energized condition. All exhaustion related conditions are removed.
This was like the best coffee ever. I was always a bit of a caffeine fiend before, but my love for this drink was both instant and soul-deep. If the description was correct, it could also be used to get drunk. Now that was an odd realization. The wine hadn¡¯t triggered any fixation, but it also hadn¡¯t allowed me to get drunk, probably due to my body stat, or Scale. This did have the capacity to¡­ No. Nope, I wasn¡¯t going to do that. Not again, the Willpower skill seemed to be an option of last resort but not again.. ¡°Did you hear me?¡± Cole asked. After seeing that he had my attention he repeated, ¡°the narrative is broken into continents. Each is having its own somewhat isolated conflicts. South America is a scifi crucible. Asia is full of every fantasy creature imaginable. Europe is a perpetual warzone. Africa is a land of nature run amok, dinosaurs included. Australia is lousy with vampires and werewolves. Antarctica is full of ruins and horrors that kill everyone, just don¡¯t go there, ever.¡± ¡°What about North America?¡± I asked. ¡°We are in the biggest clusterfuck of them all. North America was supposed to be a Zombie apocalypse. A land of terror and gnashing teeth. That said Nadia, Zach, Aella, and I canceled that whole plot. In the end, Nadia annihilated the entire west coast. The stupid plague zombies are gone, but undead are still a thing. Crush the head of anything you kill. North America became a massive mixing pot. Fantasy running roughshod over bleeding edge tech, soldiers gunning down dread deities, and the titan spawn wandering around.¡± ¡°Okay, and I should pal around with you to kill Zach because?¡± I asked. Before taking another drink. ¡°The elder Titan Spawn are losing their way. Nadia has become a nihilist, Zach a tyrant, and Aella a narcissist.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°And you a rebel?¡± I asked. ¡°A realist,¡± Cole admitted. ¡°The five Dragons have contracted me to contain them, the titan spawn. The reward would be tremendous. I can cut you in on the deal as well.¡± I put the glass down and stood up. ¡°Pass.¡± I stood up to walk away. ¡°You don¡¯t even know what the offer is,¡± Cole prompted. ¡°No offense, but never deal with dragons is a phrase for a reason,¡± I said. I turned my back to him. ¡°You are either with me or against me,¡± Cole warned. ¡°Wrong,¡± I yawned. ¡°We are all family. We just need to grow up and get along. We should do it for the progenitor.¡± ¡°You cannot deny me,¡± Cole said, in the blink of an eye he was standing and lifting me into the air by my neck. ¡°I am the head of the dragons. The world and everything in it will be mine.¡± As his fingers closed around my neck, the memory of the lion biting down and downing in blood shocked through my mind.
Voice of the Titan activated
¡°Cole, you were meant to stop the annihilation of the Dragons not betray the world to them,¡± that voice of cosmic will spoke through me. ¡°The wyrms have bought and sold you as a weapon against the world. Your greed will kill Cinder and Ember. Who is watching them while you plot against your siblings? Do you honestly trust them with your children¡¯s lives after what happened with Tia?¡± Cole froze. Despite his shadowy form, I could see a look of terror distort his face. ¡°You never could tell the difference between cost and worth.¡± The titan said. ¡°I hope my words provide clarity.¡± Cole let me go, ¡°Progenitor?¡±
Voice of the Titan Deactivated
¡°I am sorry, but he is gone.¡± I managed. It was weird having my throat uncrushed. Cole shook slightly slowly, painfully slowly, he let go of my throat, ¡°I have to go. My daughters need me.¡± ¡°Wait, do you mean Kate?¡± I started, but Cole was gone.
Willpower check¡­ failed Memories not suppressed
I fell to my knees, ¡°daughters? As in more than one?¡± No, the titan had said Cinder and Ember. 280 years had passed. Kate had to be as dead as Marnie. Some dark part of me thought that was good, as images of my torn body flashed before my eyes. That dark part of my mind didn¡¯t want her to have to fight in such a cruel world. Then the dad part of my brain kicked in. It beat that depressive bullshit to the side.
New Quest: What any father would do: Learn the fate of Kate.
I had to know. Even if the news was terrible, I had to know. My mind was sort of looping in some unhelpful circles. Basically, it kept cycling between the worst parts of being with Marnie and berating myself. What sort of father doesn¡¯t immediately think about his child? Was I Kate¡¯s dad? 280 years had passed. She was gone. What sort of father forgets his daughter? Was I Kate¡¯s dad? 280 fucking years! It took almost everything I had but managed to stop the spiral. Focus. Approach this like everything else. Establish priorities: I needed to find Kate. Plan 1 try and talk to the titan. It was me. It had fathered Kate. It had been there. If that doesn¡¯t work approach the next person down the line, Nadia. She was the oldest titan and had the highest chance of knowing Kate¡¯s whereabouts. At every level, a titan spawn has appeared to talk with me. If that happened every time, and the pattern held I would have a chance to talk to Nadia at level six. I would also ask Spawn number 5 when I got to level five. How much experience did I need?
7827 experience to next level
Well damn. That was a lot. Like a lot, a lot. That was a full-on grind. Killing snow lions would not cut it. Okay, priority two was to get experience. Option one is to help Angelica and Celeste kill this demon guy. Option two, ask for sex. Aella said that would get me an achievement that would earn somewhere in the ballpark of fifty thousand experience. I shelved that one. I didn¡¯t trust Aella or Adora and if they were telling the truth I may overshoot and be stuck hopping straight to Zach or Aella again. Wait, I leveled. While it didn¡¯t directly help me find Kate, I needed to keep myself alive in the short term to find her in the long term.
Please select level 4 perk a) Improved pact b) Fist of the titan Improved pact Those that deal with you in good faith will be rewarded. Grant [Magic Attribute] beings [Attribute/3] bonus to all Attributes of pact companions. Also grant a lesser version of any perk excluding ¡°empowered critical¡± you possess to pact companions. Note: this requires a pact to be formed with the titan spawn and another being. The titan spawn receives no direct benefit from this perk. Should the lesser being break the pact they will be afflicted by the effects of a smite. Fist of the Titan Unarmed attack ignore Mind attribute points of defense. Increase damage of unarmed attacks by +10 points. Those struck by a titan often do not live to regret it.
Well, now that was a tough choice. On the one hand, that pact thing sounded great. Assuming it rounded down like most games that meant I could add plus five to every attribute to someone that made a pact with me. From what I could tell that was a massive amount, and it would just get larger with time. I could use that to basically put together an ad hoc army out of just about anyone. On the other hand, my damage output in the Wendigo fight was not impressive. With the exception of the critical hit, my damage had topped out at roughly 20 at best. While the plus ten damage would put my damage to 30 in that situation, my suspicion was ignoring a portion of defense would put the damage per hit to 42 in that fight. This would be useless fighting mooks that I was one-shotting but could be literally lifesaving against bosses. In the end, I went with the pact. It seemed the better option long term. While it would tip my hand, helping power up Celeste and Angelica would probably also pay dividends. I don¡¯t know why but part of me didn¡¯t want to tell Angelica I was a titan spawn. A non-stupid part of me also knew that the time of her thinking I was just some random guy was drawing quickly to a close. Then I saw that I still had to select a trait
Please select trait A) Titanic Might B) Mental Resistance Titanic Might Increase Power attribute by +20. Reduce the Scale of any object or structure you wish to lift or break by three levels. Mental Resistance Gain ten levels of Scale to resist all mental attacks or manipulation. Thoughts cannot be read without consent. You will be able to easily resist the effects of pain, or discomfort from altering mental state.
That one was a no-brainer. I suspected but could not prove that Wilson could read my thoughts. Here¡¯s hoping this was a ¡®fuck you¡¯ to him personally. Okay leveling over. I have become OP. Standing outside in the snow I felt like an asshole. After a few minutes, I said, ¡°Hey¡­Titan. Can you hear me?¡± I waited a moment. When no reply came, I tried again, ¡°I know you have some sense of what is going on.¡± I took a deep breath, ¡°I just need an answer. After I get it, I will go right back to trying to get the others back on the rails. What happened to Kate?¡± I just stood there in the swirling snow. Some small part of me was convinced that if I moved it would break whatever spell activated Voice of the Titan. No matter how long I waited, nothing happened. After what felt like hours, I shook my head, ¡°I guess we haven¡¯t changed that much after all.¡± Eventually, Angelica stepped out of the shed, and we moved on. Chapter 12 Conflicting Goals ¡°What¡¯s your deal?¡± Angelica demanded. I shrugged. Our day had been¡­ a day. The fight with the Wendigo had left me blood-soaked. This resulted in me being attacked by a snow lion about every six minutes. Which resulted in an alpha spawning about every forty-five minutes and two snow lion packs just to make things spicy. We had killed so much stuff my inventory was close to full. I had taken so much damage the lingering phantom pain felt like a full body charley-horse. My immunity to conditions was also proving to be bullshit, and not in a good way. Exhaustion would not make me collapse or apply penalties to my stats; it was still uncomfortable. My body felt heavy from literally spiking adrenaline hundreds of times in a day. I had also developed a starving condition and the hollow feeling in my stomach was getting a sharp edge to it. I must have ignored it before by focusing on the constant fear of death by snow lions. Then there was the frozen condition. Apparently, this killed everything below demigod Scale. It just made me wish I was dead because I felt like I should be shivering, but due to my ¡®immunity,¡¯ I couldn¡¯t. So the cold just sank into my bones and stung like fire. The Mental Resistance perk didn¡¯t seem to be doing much. Had Aella tricked me into taking a lemon perk? ¡°You are acting different,¡± Angelica pressed. ¡°Is the cold getting to you?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I said, not wanting to talk about my old life¡¯s drama. ¡°Celeste wants to ride you like a pony,¡± Angelica said offhandedly. ¡°That''s nice,¡± I replied, looting the lions¡¯ bodies, ¡°wait what?¡± ¡°Gotcha!¡± Angelica exclaimed. She pointed at me, ¡°You are in a funk. What¡¯s bugging you?¡± I nearly said ¡®nothing¡¯. Instead, I said, ¡°after the Wendigo fight some things¡­. Things about my goal came into focus. I don¡¯t want to get into details, but¡­ I need to pursue it, but I have nowhere to start from. I basically can¡¯t stop seeing everything we are doing as a waste of time, but I have no better option for my goal.¡± Angelica gave me a complicated look. After a moment she said, ¡°That explains why we can¡¯t find the path forward.¡± I stared at her, ¡°Are we lost?¡± Before she could answer a snow lion tackled me. Almost casually I rolled back to my feet and used the momentum to smash the snow lion head-first into a chunk of ice.
Attack successful! Snow lion takes 38 points of damage. Snow lion slain. 1 point of experience earned! 7682 experience to next level Unarmed skill leveled to expert Cosmic martial has advanced The second stage of this martial art is an ablative shell Glaciers endure constant assaults. Pieces may chip away but the whole endures. Once per minute, you may stack a shell of ice with Face attribute hit points of structural armor. This shell may stack up to 3 times. Note: This is an elemental ability and can be empowered or weakened based on environment.
Huh, that was a word salad. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°Narrative conflict and opposing storylines can result in a sort of pause state. The most common way that happens from our perspective is losing paths and wandering.¡± She explained. ¡°This can get worse if the conflict lasts too long.¡± ¡°Are we lost?¡± I asked again a bit of desperation creeping into my voice. ¡°I think so,¡± Angelica acknowledged. She looked around in the swirling storm. ¡°I think we may have gone too far west.¡± ¡°How can we tell?¡± I asked. ¡°We hit the Missouri river,¡± she closed her eyes and shook her head. ¡°There is no landmark other than that for eighty miles.¡± ¡°Could we backtrack?¡± I asked. Ten hours of fighting most of it at night would be bad but I worried about fighting whatever Heroic Scale cluster fuck that was no doubt imminent if we just kept grinding. Plus, I don¡¯t think Angelica could stay awake indefinitely. ¡°No,¡± Angelica started rubbing her temples. ¡°Fuck,¡± I said eyeing the wastes around us. ¡°Yeah,¡± Angelica agreed. ¡°Should we call¡­ you know?¡± I asked. ¡°I am a little afraid to. Something glitched during arbitration,¡± Angelica said. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I could see how my ¡®empowered critical¡¯ abilities short-circuiting a narrator¡¯s everything was probably quite the mind fuck to her. Sort of like seeing the sunrise in the west and set in the east. Who knows, maybe my intervention might have caused some sort of conflict between Wilson and Paul. Maybe they killed each other. Here¡¯s hoping. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Angel, Daddy Wilson is A-okay,¡± Wilson said. From directly behind me. Almost like he was trying to whisper in my ear. I jumped away from the noise and turned to face him. This cause me to collide with the table that was suddenly behind me. I went up and over the hardwood, and then face-planted on the cold frozen ground. ¡°Get up, kid, we have things to talk about,¡± Wilson said I pulled myself to my feet and then sat down. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°A lot,¡± Wilson sighed. I just realized he looked a bit disheveled. His greased hair was slightly out of place, the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, his tie was loose, and his shark-like grin had the faintest hint of sag to it. ¡°Oh?¡± I asked. Wilson¡¯s eyes sharpened. ¡°I recently ¡®inherited¡¯ some of Paul¡¯s storylines. You would not believe the number of divine tier mobs just sitting around in the cooler doing nothing. That and a bunch of other stories went off the rails all at once. For a minute there I thought someone canceled the whole show. That would have been bad.¡± He drummed his fingers on the table, ¡°What am I doing? You two don¡¯t care about behind the curtain nonsense. Let¡¯s talk about you two and the arc you are building.¡± He paused for a moment looking at us. Finally, I asked, ¡°What about our arc, Wilson?¡± ¡°I am glad you asked.¡± The narrator beamed at us, ¡°so far, your numbers have been climbing almost exponentially. Your GRP is almost 800. That is just unbelievable.¡± ¡°GRP?¡± I asked. ¡°Gross rating points. The total number of members of the audience that have watched you. What¡¯s more most members of the audience only fixate on any one player for about an hour or so, or just the 20-minute highlight we put together for the day. You two are getting about eighty minutes at a time.¡± Wilson grinned at us. He gave us a moment to let the news sink in. Upon seeing this meant nothing to us Wilson¡¯s smile faltered, ¡°artist never appreciate the business end of things. Anyways, while I am super happy with the progress you two are making there are notes.¡± He pulled some note cards out of his shirt pocket. ¡°First, people love the snow lions. There is an unbelievable buzz about the heroic and demigod Scale boss spawns. Plan on seeing more of those coming.¡± ¡°Wilson, no!¡± I said, letting my head drop to the table. ¡°Wilson, yes,¡± the narrator answered happily, ¡°Second, the audience likes it when you ask questions, kid. Keep up doing that. Third, the audience likes it when you answer questions, Angel.¡± ¡°Angelica¡± she corrected, ¡°and I answered every question he¡¯s asked.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re the chosen one,¡± Wilson said. I sat up, ¡°you¡¯re the chosen one?¡± ¡°Save that for the audience,¡± Wilson chided, ¡°Fourth, the romance plot is a fan favorite. I want all of you to keep things friendly.¡± ¡°Listen, Wilson, I get you are trying to help, in your own way, but I am not going to pursue Angelica without her consent. It seems that your pushing to get us together is preventing that.¡± ¡°You misunderstand me, kid,¡± the Narrator said. As he spoke his smile and eyes sharpened further, and his voice became monotone. ¡°I do not care about you two getting together. I do not care if you two do not get together. I only care that what you do is entertaining for the audience. If you having a loving relationship with someone, pleases them, I will arrange that, flowers and all. If having you kill your true love with your bare hands is what they want, there is nothing I will not do to engineer that scenario.¡± ¡°Okay, message received,¡± I said. His appearance went back to normal, ¡°Glad to hear it! Anyways, if you two are going to keep playing coy expect more visits from Adora. Maybe Aella, that one is flakey. Also, Five, the audience is loving the guest star appearances. I am working to arrange visits from a few other big names. Don¡¯t worry they will be short arc visits rather than recurring characters. The last bit is I must tend to a few other things. Like I said, things are crazy at the moment. So, you two either have to go into a safe space for a few days and maybe¡­¡± he waggled his eyebrows, ¡°or I can put you into a linear dungeon.¡± Angelica sighed and shook her head. ¡°I just want to stab the demon of frost to death. This trip was supposed to be fifteen days. How long is this gonna take.¡± ¡°Like a week, two tops,¡± Wilson said he thought for a moment, ¡°maybe three.¡± The idea of three weeks under Adora¡¯s ¡°supervision¡± was concerning. The main issue is the potential consequences. Currently, Angelica and Celeste were my only allies in the world, and Adora seems like the type of person that is not afraid to ruin friendships. Possibly even hurt feelings. ¡°All things being equal I would rather deal with the dungeon than play Adora¡¯s games,¡± I said. Angelica kicked me under the table, hard. It inflicted 10 points of damage. ¡°Shut up!¡± she hissed. ¡°I mean the Adora resort sounds fun,¡± I piped up, failing to follow basic instructions. Angelica put her head on the table. ¡°Stop talking.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. Wilson smiled at us, ¡°Oh relax angel, he¡¯s new. So, I will split the fish on this one. I am going to drop you into a thematically appropriate dungeon that will have loot. Both of you are a little under-equipped, anyways, and we can handle those damn crossover obligations. After that, some R&R for you all to recuperate. Then we can quit with the fucking filler. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep this interesting for everyone.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± I shouted. To my surprise, he stopped smiling and looked at me. Realizing he was actually waiting for me to talk, I said, ¡°Don¡¯t do this.¡± Wilson shook his head and tutted, ¡°No one likes a prima donna, kid. You are lucky I take the time to talk to you. Most players don¡¯t even know Narrators exist. Like I said, follow the story, and I will be good to you. Get out of the dungeon and you will like what you find.¡± With that, he was gone, and Angelica and I were standing in the snow. A split second later, a thunderous ¡°Crack!¡± shook the ground and we were falling into a dark void. We crashed into the ground and the following prompt made me realize I should have never spoken.
You have entered a dungeon, Lair of the Snow Lions. Fight well. the only way forward is through.
Chapter 13: You’re not locked in here with me. I’m locked in here with you. ¡°How bad is this?¡± I asked. ¡°We¡¯re in a dungeon,¡± Angelica said flatly as she watched the hole we fell into slowly closing up, leaving us trapped in a dark frozen cave. Assumedly full of snow lions. This made me realize that Wilson was, in fact, a relentless asshole. ¡°So, how bad is this?¡± I asked again. ¡°We are in a dungeon!¡± Angelica almost shouted at me. Judging from the context clues that made me pretty sure this was actually quite bad, possibly even very bad. I shrugged, ¡°All right let¡¯s take this one step at a time. What¡¯s the first thing we need to do?¡± ¡°We absolutely have to find a safe point,¡± Angelica said with a nod. ¡°From there we are going to have to probe the dungeon and determine what kind of place this is. Then, we will need to map it. From there the crawl begins.¡± She sighed, ¡°We really should have five or six members in the group if we are going to try this.¡± After a short pause, she nodded to herself, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The first thing I noticed is while the dungeon was made of long irregular tunnels, they were dark, but not the pitch black that the cave should be. I couldn¡¯t point to any particular light source, but everywhere we went was in low light. Just enough to see the goddamn lions when it was just too late to do anything about them. I thought the wild was bad. Nope. The dungeon was 2-3 lions a minute awful. That meant an alpha about every ten minutes, and the pack once an hour. So, wandering around this place was a fucking nightmare. Now it did seem that once we cleared an area it would stay empty so backtracking was not instantly punished, but the stakes were much higher. This forced us to institute a strategy I liked to call tankin¡¯ ain¡¯t easy. I would force myself into the thick of the crowd and absorb as much damage as possible so that Angelica could obliterate the hellcats. This had the benefit of keeping Angelica free to deal max damage and mitigated draining her health resources. It had the downside of having me constantly mauled by snow lions. I took so much damage I got an achievement for it.
New Achievement! Unkillable? You have absorbed over 100,000 points of damage without dying, over the course of a month. You are the lowest leveled being to manage this ever. To put this in perspective the average level of players that earn this achievement is 27. You have been taking way too much damage dude. That said you are still alive so you¡¯re doing something right. I guess. Reward: 3000 Experience 3847 to next level
I appreciated the reward, but it was not worth it. Eventually, we found the safe space and I immediately missed the lions. The safe space was a metal door leading into what looked like some sort of dorm. Ten sets of bunk beds lined the walls. Four tables with benches sat in the center. A small kitchenette was in one corner and a ping-pong table was in the other. The place was lit by harsh halogen lights, and the walls and floor were bare concrete. Sitting at one of the tables was a tall athletic man in a crisp black suit. Despite the violent and dirty nature of the dungeon, he was completely clean and looked pristine. He looked up from his document on the table and his eyes sharpened for a moment. I knew he was using some sort of perception skill. When he spoke it was with a precise British accent, ¡°I was beginning to fear I was all alone down here. What brings a young woman like you to such a beastly place?¡±
You are immune to the effects of Proper Charm
Angelica giggled. ¡°I¡¯m Brand, Namith Brand. Of her majesties¡¯ Secret Service.¡± He said standing and offering his hand to Angelica. ¡°I¡¯m Angelica De Leon, it is a pleasure to meet you.¡± She said blushing as she smiled. I am going, to be honest. I am not a jealous person. I had known Angelica for less than a week, and this Brand guy for less than five minutes. That said I did not care for whatever the fuck was happening right now. I cleared my throat. Brand ignored me completely. Angelica¡¯s smile faltered, but after a moment it crept back onto her face. ¡°That is a beautiful name, would you care to join me, I was reviewing the map of this dungeon. Perhaps together we could¡­ advance.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to,¡± Angelica said. She let Brand lead her by the hand to the table. I followed after them. On the table was a large map showing a winding and tangled collection of tunnels. It looked like there were five main tunnels and several offshoots from each of those. It looked like four of the five tunnels were going to circle back to this safe place. There was also a fifth tunnel leading straight to¡­ somewhere. ¡°Honestly this place isn¡¯t too complicated. You have these three sideruns here,¡± he tapped the circular tunnels, each ending with a low-level heroic boss. I suspect each boss will drop a key to open the final boss¡¯s door. Sadly, that is likely to be a midlevel heroic boss. While I am sure someone like you would have no problem with these monsters, the trouble is of course getting there. Would you be able to help with that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I am an AOE striker,¡± Angelica said, smiling again. ¡°Doug is by far one of the best tanks I have ever seen.¡± Brand spared me a glance and a sneer, his eyes sharpened again and he used whatever Scrutinize skill he had, ¡°I am sure, Doug makes the effort.¡± He turned back to Angelica. ¡°Not to argue, but you know as well as I do, that tanking is just not a viable build. Damage is always going to outpace any form of healing. Besides, the pain would drive anyone mad.¡± ¡°And what do you bring to the table,¡± I demanded. Angelica looked at me like I just slapped her mother. Apparently she did not want me taking that tone with our new friend. Brand sized me up for a moment, and then gave me a condescending smile. ¡°I am a ranged DPS, with a slight focus on dueling. While it is not taking hits and laughing, I am sure you can agree that a dead enemy is a controlled enemy.¡± Angelica laughed. ¡°What¡¯s Proper Charm?¡± I asked. A strange blank look hit Angelica. A moment later she punted Brand across the room. ¡°Mind Effects?¡± she roared. Not waiting for an answer, she charged him and clocked Brand in the mouth. ¡°Mother Fucker!¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. It was when she grabbed the spear I tried to intervene. I grabbed her arm and came along for the ride when she tried to impale Brand. He dodged the spear, but my sheer bulk inflicted seven points of damage when I crashed down on him. Note to self: Angelica is much stronger than me. Using me as a cudgel seemed to temper her anger, so while she continued to savage Brand, she did so with her bare hands. After five more good hits, she walked away. Upsettingly Brand looked hardly damaged. He sat up and straightened his suit and spit out a mouthful of blood. He then wiped his mouth and straightened his hair, and just like that he was the suave man of mystery again. ¡°I do apologize, that is a boon from Adora, and I cannot turn it off.,¡± he said, rising to his feet.
Scrutinize check¡­ successful. Nameth Brand is speaking the truth about the mechanics of Proper Charm.
Brand rolled his shoulders, ¡°For what it is worth it only works on people who are attracted to me, and only if I act in a non-hostile way. So long as those two conditions are met people are far more likely to have a favorable opinion of me.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying I wanted to be mind-raped?¡± Angelica demanded. ¡°I am not responsible for whom you are attracted to. I am not particularly a fan of the Amazonian types myself,¡± Brand said. When Angelica stepped toward him, I realized she was somehow half a head taller than him. Was Brand tiny or was I freakishly large? Angelica glared at him, ¡°Spells broken. Give me one reason why I shouldn¡¯t end you.¡± Brand to his credit looked completely unconcerned, ¡°Because, we are all trapped in a dungeon, and we simply will not be able to survive if we do not cooperate.¡± ¡°You hit me with a mind effect!¡± she shouted. ¡°I have no control over it, and as I have explained it requires non-hostility to work. So far, all I have done is offer friendship, explain the layout of the dungeon, and not retaliate for an unprovoked attack.¡± Brand stated. ¡°So, are you someone worth talking to, or are you and your low-Scale ogre just going to get me killed faster?¡± Angelica stormed away to the other side of the room. She paced back and forth for a minute, ¡°Doug, what do you think?¡± ¡°He is telling the truth about the proper charm. That said, I don¡¯t like him.¡± I answered. ¡°You¡¯re asking a background character to weigh in on main character issues,¡± Brand asked with a laugh. ¡°Background character?¡± I asked flatly. ¡°I¡¯m sure you feel like you have some narrative heft, but you are Rare Scale. And while I am sure that is impressive to most people, you just aren¡¯t going to survive in this arena. Frankly, I am surprised you have managed to live this far into the wastes. I take it you have been hiding behind Angelica a lot. I turned to Angelica, ¡°What¡¯s tiny on about?¡± ¡°He is Scale-ist,¡± Angelica said, shaking her head. ¡°And you¡¯re an egalitarian?¡± Brand countered. He grinned condescendingly, ¡°Are you honestly going to claim someone of lesser Scale would be able to accomplish the things you have achieved to get here?¡± Angelica paused, ¡°A lot of ¡®factors¡¯ were involved in the things I¡¯ve done.¡± ¡°You killed Hershel and destabilized the Technocoast. That cut off the Hispania faction from demonic resources in the forever war. I would not be here at all if the relative lull had not allowed our team to make the attempt.¡± Brand¡¯s smile faded. ¡°Look me in the eye and tell me, Scale didn¡¯t play a huge part in all of that.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we need this guy,¡± I cut in, seeing this discussion was both pointless and clearly striking a nerve of Angelica¡¯s for some reason. ¡°The only way out is to turn all three keys held by the sub-bosses at once. Like it or not we are going to conquer this dungeon together or die here together.¡± Brand said still watching Angelica. She sighed, ¡°For just this dungeon, we work together. No infighting, no stealing, no Scale-ist bullshit, and loot is split evenly between all three of us.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Brand agreed. ¡°Do you need rest? This safe space does have cots and a shower, but they only remove debuffs, not add well rested or fresh clean condition.¡± ¡°I need a shower,¡± Angelica said heading toward the bathroom marked with a female symbol. You should wash up also. You are Gore Soaked,¡± Brand said. A large petulant part of me wanted to push back. To pointlessly, spite Brand. Then, I thought better of it and decided I did not want to be covered in awful. I trudged to the bathroom and showered. Two minutes under the water and scrubbing caused me to lose the gore-soaked condition. I got out shortly after that. I did feel like I had a slight film on me but guessed that was the lack of the Fresh Clean condition. I re-equiped and left the bathroom to find Brand reviewing the map, ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± I asked. Brand didn¡¯t answer me. ¡°Yo Brand! What¡¯s the plan?¡± I asked much louder. Again, he ignored me. Cute. Well, if he was going to be petty, I was going to not engage. I opened the fridge and found plastic-wrapped sandwiches, and fuck all else. I took one and unwrapped it, bologna, sad lettuce, and white bread. Not great, but I guessed it would remove the starving condition. Biting into it was like biting into mediocrity. I went to the sink and filled a paper cup with water. After all of that, I was still tired. I wasn¡¯t actually affected by this in any mechanical way, but it did reduce experience gains, so I was probably going to try and sleep. I sat down on a bed, and the springs groaned under my weight. I could already tell this was going to be an issue logistically. Rather than lay down I triggered the Analyze skill
Analyze skill check¡­ Successful
Name: Nameth Brand
Race: Human (Epic Variant)
Class Man of Mystery
Level: 28
HP: 280
Power: 26
Mobility: 35
Body: 26
Mind: 26
Face: 40
Magic: 16
Divine Gift Proper Charm: A gift from Adora. So long as no hostile actions are taken, you are treated as have two levels of Scale for Face based rolls, and adjust all dispositions to amicable for people attracted to you Traits x2 Narrative Ammo Supply: your ranged weapons are always loaded, and will not require reloading except during down times, or climatic battles. You will see prompts for both cases Master infiltrator: So long as you do no hostile actions gain three levels to blend into groups or stealth-related skills Perks x5 Two-weapon fighter: use two weapons simultaneously without penalty Rapid Disengage: automatically disengage from melee combats Epic Presence: gain 5 points of face attribute Evasive combatant: Dodge melee attack using mobility-like ranged attacks. So long as you are not restrained you are entitled to a dodge attempt. This is less effective versus AOE attacks Secret Service Agent: Unlock Espionage Skills and most Military Skills Disposition This person has a low opinion of you. He believes you to be inferior due to differences in Scale. That said he does plan to work with you and Angelica in good faith for the duration of the time spent in the dungeon.
I get why people don¡¯t like having people with the Analyze skill around. That is a lot of information. At first, I did think the Divine gift from Adora was a reason for suspicion. Between my previous interactions with her, and the effect it had on Angelica, Brand did seem less than safe to deal with. Then I reread the disposition, so he was willing to work with us. I planned to play nice, since if Brand was to be believed we had to or we would die. that said he gave me all the wrong vibes for all the wrong reasons. While his stats were quite a bit higher than mine, I knew I would be rolling larger dice. Thinking through it. I was pretty sure I would be rolling 3d12 keeping the two highest results, and he would be rolling 3d4 keeping the lowest. But that was assuming I could hit him. I was not certain of the exact mechanics of the actual attack role. Armor added to your ability to absorb damage rather than make you harder to hit, but always allowed 1d4 damage though, no matter what on a successful hit. I know a roll was required because there was a ¡®random¡¯ chance to crit. That meant that even as we seemed to position and maneuver like a normal fight some system that the narrators could manipulate was used. Either way, I suspect a fight between Brand and me would be a waste of time. I probably couldn¡¯t hit him, and he probably couldn¡¯t hurt me. So that meant I had free reign to talk shit if he started with the background character bit of his. Chapter 14: Somehow, Im Fine I tried to sleep. That¡¯s the truth. I couldn¡¯t get comfortable though. The bed was much too small. This observation had some implications that I was not quite sure how to feel about. You see the average mattress is just over six and a half feet long. I had assumed I was somewhere near that height and all the cots I had dealt with were for children or something. Nope. My legs hung over the edge by a considerable distance. This combined with the need to duck to enter the door, that Brand seemed to be shorter than Angelica by almost half a head, and that she was a whole head and shoulders shorter than me had implications. Holy crap I was gigantic. I had originally assumed Angelica was short, maybe as small as five-foot-nothing. That would mean Brand was maybe four-foot-eight. That seemed unlikely. Let¡¯s go the other way. If Brand was of average height, that would put Angelica at about six-foot. Then I would have to be around seven feet tall. Huh, well then This made sleeping geometrically difficult. I tried laying on my side. Bad idea, that caused the springs to sag deeply groaning from the strain of my bulk. This was so uncomfortable that the prompt to sleep vanished. I sat up causing the springs to scream. ¡°Will you be quiet,¡± Brand snapped. I stood looking at the bed frames. I was as wide as any two of them. Trouble would come from having a metal rod along my spine. Maybe, if I put three more mattresses width-wise across the two, I may be able to sleep. Given there were well over thirty beds this seemed like the best course of action. I certainly wouldn¡¯t be depriving the others if they wanted to make their own mattress fort. I grabbed three mattresses and tossed them into a pile by the frame I was trying to use. I then glanced over to Brand and watched him the whole time I slid the second frame along the ground next to the first. The metal-on-concrete shriek was so loud and piercing that I had to make a willpower check to not flinch. Brand lifted his head to glare at me partway through this and seemed to fail his check. He eventually put his hand over his ears. I saw something dangerous flash in his eyes.
Willpower Check¡­ Successful! You have resisted an intimidation check from Nameth Brand.
I just kept staring at him coolly as I kept sliding the frame along the floor. When it contacted the other frame, I surveyed my work. Yep, that is two frames touching each other. Job well done. Angelica stepped out of the shower. She was rubbing a towel against her short hair and was wearing long shorts and a massive T-shirt. She surveyed the tension between me and Brand, ¡°What¡¯s going on now, boys?¡± she asked walking barefoot over to survey the situation. ¡°Absolute-Unit here is too big for one bed,¡± Brand answered. Angelica nodded. She examined my handy work when she got closer to my double bed. Then, she looked at me. Then she looked up to the ceiling. ¡°You would be more comfortable under the A/C vent,¡± she said. Angelica immediately pushed on both frames raising a din that actually caused me a point of damage. I placed the three mattresses on top of the two frames. Then draped the blankets overtop.
Craft check¡­ Successful! Functional bed completed. This bed grants Well Rested condition should anyone sleep on this bed for 8 hours uninterrupted. It will remove all exhaustion conditions. Note this item is the result of a group effort between you and Angelica. Both shall have maker marks applied. Skill progression will be divided equally.
¡°Huh¡±, Angelica said, getting a similar prompt. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that worked. Brand, we somehow managed to craft a functional bed.¡± He stood and walked over to examine this. ¡°One moment,¡± he pulled earplugs out of his pocket. After stuffing them in his ears, he sighed, ¡°We may as well try again.¡± Twenty tooth rattling minutes later we were able to produce two more functional beds. It turns out they must be located under an A/C vent and have all five blankets to function. Somehow this did not warrant me gaining Trained Level in crafting. I still wasn¡¯t sure how skills worked. It seemed to rely heavily on succeeding a skill check. Willpower and Unarmed were climbing quickly probably because I was literally always using them, but there had to be more factors. I lay in bed long after Angelica and Brand went to sleep. I was hoping for some sort of response from the Progenitor as Cole called him. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you sleeping?¡± Celeste asked. Somehow despite shining brightly and not sneaking in any way, she surprised me. I did not jump out of bed and faceplant. I fell on my back. I sat up, ¡°that obvious huh?¡± Celeste sat down next to me. I felt a slight uncanny valley vibe seeing Angelica¡¯s body moving differently and hearing Celeste¡¯s tone in her voice. ¡°If you want to talk, I am here,¡± She put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze. ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Celeste said. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with you and Angelica?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh,¡± Celeste seemed to expect something else. She thought for a moment. ¡°It is actually kind of embarrassing. I am an angel. I am a divine Scale player. I was on the same level as Adora or Malphea. Then I died. Not just having my avatar shattered either. My essence was extinguished. That said I had a trait, Reincarnate. So, rather than go to whatever afterlife I should have, I was embedded into Angelica at her birth. If we can reach the point that she reaches level fifty I will be fully restored.¡± ¡°What happens to her when that happens?¡± I asked. ¡°No idea.¡± She admitted. ¡°We have been together for thirty years. I have never been closer to anyone¡­ ever in 320 years of existence. I am terrified I am going to be the thing that kills her.¡± That was a lot. ¡°Shit, does Angelica know this?¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t like talking about it,¡± Celeste sighed. We were quiet for a moment. ¡°Avoidance is a common response to both anxiety and grief. When people lose a major attachment figure or are about to, the acute pain can trigger that sort of behavior.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Celeste eyed me, ¡°Where did you hear that.¡± ¡°Grief counseling, after Marnie¡­¡±
Willpower Check¡­ Successful Emotional state maintained.
I could still see her. Sitting in the doctor¡¯s office, staring at the wall. The doctor had just told her that the cancer was back. She kept telling us about the options. Marnie took my hand and stared down at the floor, ¡°We both know I¡¯m not going to live through this.¡± Marnie told me. I took a deep breath, ¡°I spent a lot of time not dealing with things. It took a lot of time away from me. Scratch that, I still haven¡¯t dealt with it completely.¡± Celeste squeezed my shoulder again. ¡°Aren¡¯t you burning through your time?¡± I asked. ¡°It is going to reset for the day. I figured I would take the chance to speak with you.¡± She explained. ¡°Is Angelica listening?¡± ¡°No, she told me not to share any of your secrets with her without your consent,¡± Celeste answered. I nodded. We just sat there for a few minutes. I don¡¯t want to overstate things. That said I could tell we had some common ground. Maybe it was just remembering the world as it was before this Narrative System. Technically, I hadn¡¯t lost anyone, but at the same time, I had lost everyone. Celeste had clearly lost people too. I also got the feeling Celeste wanted someone she could talk to as herself without the baggage of Scale. Maybe it is codependency, maybe it was grief, or maybe we were just there for each other. Like I said I don¡¯t want to overstate this, but her taking the time to be there¡­ meant something. Eventually, time ran out and we both went to bed. The next day was ¡­ okay hell is going to sound over dramatic, but it was hell. If I have to wear the crown of the drama queen to make the claim, then so be it. Two things were making it that way. First was dealing with Brand. That bastard seemed to have the taunt skill at master level and he needle me with it, constantly. It would seem the actions of yesterday¡¯s petty revenge will be met with petulant escalation. I was being forced to roll willpower checks constantly to keep my cool. The spin-up and wind-down were complicated to experience. The second one was this.
Experience cap for snow lion type enemies reached. No more experience gains for defeating these enemies. Skill progression is still possible. 3000 experience to next level
I screamed in pain and outrage as one of the fucking cats hooked its claws in my face. I mashed its skull against the cave wall with my hand pulping it. I then stomped on two more cats and just sort of body-slammed another. This caused the rest to swarm me. At that point, Brand unloaded on them. To his credit. He killed five of them before they could hurt me, and the six immediately after its attack. I blocked and countered a seventh, and then Angelica cut through another eight with her thunder charge. I stood up and waited for the cuts to heal. ¡°How far are we?¡± Brand checked a piece of paper and thought a moment, ¡°I would say two chambers from the challenge room. Have you had time to get your second wind?¡±
Willpower check¡­ Successful
Again, I went from almost enraged to calm but annoyed. Not sure why he felt the need to snipe at me, but every other sentence out of his mouth kept triggering the damned roll. I haven¡¯t done it yet, but I was going to fail or crit-fail at some point. The next two rooms were similar to the previous eighteen. Completely full of pissed-off lions that could come at us from various directions. I kept doing my job the best I could. I would insert myself in the crowds of snow lions, and work to block their mauling attacks the best I could. Brand would gun down an impressive amount, putting out at least two shots a second. He was a good shot too. He never hit me once. Honestly, I never felt like he came close despite shooting in my direction often, and Angelica would bust up the rest with that charge attack of hers. That said the overwhelming amount of big cats would still get to Angelica and Brand. Brand had a nasty bite on his right arm between the wrist and elbow, and four gashes along his stomach. He had bandaged his injuries. Angelica had a series of cuts along her arms and leg. She wasn¡¯t bleeding like I tended to do, nor did she seem to mind the damage. That said I could see that their health was beginning to dip. The bar next to their names over their head had both dipped below the three-quarter mark. We went into the next room and¡­ things well they didn¡¯t quite go to shit, but they took a turn. After stepping forward to stall the wave of lions a massive chunk of rock dropped behind me. This cut me off from Brand and Angelica. I would have tried to get to them, but the cats were on me.
Attack from Snow Lion A Blocked! Counterattack Successful! Snow Lion takes 39 points of damage Snow Lion A is slain Attack from Snow Lion B Blocked! Counterattack Successful! Snow Lion takes 47 points of damage Snow Lion B is slain Attack from Snow Lion C Blocked! Counterattack Successful! Snow Lion takes 43 points of damage Snow Lion C is slain Attack from Snow Lion D Blocked! Counterattack Successful! Snow Lion takes 44 points of damage Snow Lion D is slain Attack from Snow Lion E Successful! You take 3 points of damage Attack from Snow Lion F Blocked! Counterattack Successful! Snow Lion F takes 34 points of damage Attack from Snow Lion G Blocked! Counterattack Successful! Snow Lion G takes 46 points of damage Snow Lion G is slain Attack from Snow Lion H Successful! You Take 2 points of damage Attack from Snow Lion I Blocked! Counterattack Successful! Snow Lion I takes 40 points of damage Snow Lion I is slain Attack from Snow Lion J Blocked! Counterattack Successful! Snow Lion J takes 28 points of damage HP: 235/240 Titanic Regeneration heals 12 hit points HP: 240/240
This was a turning point of sorts for me. Only ten of the feral cats could reach me at a time. It took everything I had but I was able to block the vast majority of their attacks. This let me trigger a counterattack against all of them in reach. So, while I was surrounded by a wave of razor blades desperately trying to tear me apart, I was stalling it and slowly making headway. I have trouble putting it into words. In order to keep up with the impossible pace I had to turn off my brain, and just acted in the moment. I was strangely detached as I physically put my all into the fight. This really misses out on just how violent this endeavor was. I was killing roughly 6 to 10 of the lions a second every second for minutes. A normal human could not have sustained the extreme level of activity. After the first minute, I was sloshing through the ankle-deep blood. After the second both I and the next wave of snow lions were standing on the new floor of corpses. After the third, I found myself on a heap assaulted from all sides. From the fourth minute on the height of the pile just kept climbing. I couldn¡¯t comprehend how the lions just kept coming. I had killed hundreds of them and they charged me in a frenzy. No mammals, not even starving or trained ones, would keep fighting with this level of aggression. Nobody would continue after this level of casualties. Only insects would fight like this. Or enemies in a videogame. Something with no sense of self¡­ these things weren¡¯t real creatures. They had to be some sort of manufactured cannon fodder. Eventually Angelica and Brand punched through the rocks. ¡°Doug!¡± Angelica shouted. It took me a second to realize they couldn¡¯t actually spot me in the mess. Between my fur armor, the ocean of gore, and the fact I was just sitting there, I was more or less invisible. ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± I managed. Despite the regen taking me back to full health, I was exhausted, literally. I had the stupid condition. It couldn¡¯t reduce my stats, affect my rolls, or mechanically slow me down, but it still sucked. I felt heavy and every muscle burned, I had this weird impulse to catch my breath despite not needing to. It was a lot of inputs that caused a sort of white noise in my thinking. Brand shown a light in my eyes. He checked the pulse in my neck. His hands were all over me, doing medical stuff hopefully. It took me a moment to realize he was looking for injuries. ¡°Where are you hurt?¡± ¡°Hard as it is to believe, I am not,¡± I said, realizing the same thing. This was a nightmare made real. I¡¯d been mauled and eaten for minutes. To make it stop, I had to kill en mass. The physical pain was extreme. The mental strain should have been similar. Somehow, I was fine. I am sure the ringing in my ears and the tingling in my limbs would go away any minute now. Chapter 15 Mini-Boss Big Trouble ¡°How?¡± Brand demanded. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°How did a rare Scale player manage to solo an epic Scale boss without taking any damage?¡± Brand pressed. ¡°Oh, I took so much damage. They just kept coming, and I just kept killing them. Beating them to death with my fists kept working, so I just kept doing that, then I healed¡± I admitted. ¡°I don¡¯t buy it,¡± Brand said. ¡°You would have had to have dealt roughly a quarter of a million points of damage in just over ten minutes. That is not Rare Scale damage output.¡± ¡°Brand you need to understand. I¡¯m mean, I¡¯m mean, I¡¯m mean, you know what I mean?¡± I said the last bit in a sing-song voice. Brand turned to Angelica, ¡°He must have missed something,¡± his head went on a swivel, ¡°There has to be something else in here. Something with stealth skills.¡± Angelica took that claim extremely seriously. Then again, the idea of something that could hand out two-hundred and fifty thousand points of damage in minutes, and could do so in a way that avoided detection was¡­ Nope, no skill check required. I still wouldn¡¯t want to face something like that though. I knew that I had factually bludgeoned all of these cats to death, which probably helped keep me from going down a paranoid path. While Angelica and Brand kept glancing about, I examined the mound of corpses. Most of them were Uncommon Scale. But almost thirty were epic. I looted them and received another message:
Inventory 99.2% full. recommend sorting and removal of least valuable items.
I looked through my inventory and saw I had collected a truly ludicrous number of bodies of snow lions. After selecting the option to break down corpses. That took me from having 99.2% full inventory to 92.3% full inventory. I then checked the values of my items. The most valuable item was the Epic Scale hearts, then the epic Scale pelts, then the epic Scale meat, then the epic Scale claws, then the epic Scale fangs, then the epic Scale blood, then the epic Scale guts. This was repeated for the rare Scale material and the uncommon Scale as well. Demonstrating my complete inability to read the room I dumped all the common Scale meat, blood, and guts. While this improved my inventory¡¯s storage to 38% full, it also produced a significant mound of gore from seemingly nowhere. Angelica almost charged the mess. Taking two steps toward it, before stopping short. Brand looked at me in complete disbelief, ¡°Mate, are you¡­ sorting through inventory, while in the field?¡± ¡°It was almost full,¡± I responded almost lamely. When Angelica spoke, it was in a tone of forced calm, ¡°Doug, you need to focus. We are in danger. Brand and I are relying on you. Do you understand?¡± I didn¡¯t need the prompt from the successful empathy check to realize I was being a shitty team member. Looking at it from the outside for a moment. I was looking foolish and unreliable in a high-stakes situation that required complete coordination from all of us. This was piling more stress on my allies and causing distraction. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t think anything with stealth skills is around. I should have said something before digging into the menu screen though. It won¡¯t happen again.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take a moment,¡± Brand stepped in. ¡°Doug has just been through something awful. I admit I didn¡¯t believe he could tank. He can, but anyone would be pushed to their limits after this.¡± He paused for a moment, ¡°Maybe we should turn around for today. Go for a better run tomorrow. The boss and the key will still be there.¡± Angelica looked from Brand to me. I shrugged, ¡°If we are basing this decision on me, and whether I can keep taking damage, I think we should keep going. Are you able to keep going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± Angelica answered. ¡°Brand, you good¡± He unapologetically used some sort of evaluation skill on us. ¡°Okay let¡¯s keep going.¡± Another mostly empty room followed. The only thing of note was the massive doors. Each was roughly 3 times my height and about twice the width of my shoulders. The left-hand door had a carving of three people that looked similar to us. The right-hand door had a rather crude carving of a lion¡¯s paw prints. We sort of stood by the door for a few moments. ¡°Should I open the door,¡± I asked. ¡°¡­yeah,¡± Angelica said. I opened the door.
Heroic Boss White Shadow spawned Arena sealed. Fight well
The wind picked up and snow flared. Suddenly the room was blurred by the swirling snow. I could see Brand and the shadow of Angelica through the icy haze.
Attack from White Shadow successful You take 17 points of damage 2x sneak attack bonus 34 total You are now bleeding Titanic Regeneration plus 12 hit points HP: 218/240
I didn¡¯t see it coming at all. While my regen would of course restore me, I had no defense for that. A few seconds later it hit me again. Shortly after that, it hit me again. This had us in a sort of stalemate of sorts. Yeah, this thing was taking chunks out of me, and it hit hard, but it was slow and methodical. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I can¡¯t see it!¡± Brand said. This White Shadow hit me again. Angelica, charged. The explosion of thunder parted the blizzard. While her attack missed, it partially cleared the storm for a brief instant. In the moments of marginally clearer weather, we could see a slinking cat covered in gray fur that seemed to blend with the rock and snow almost perfectly. Brand managed to clip the damned thing, by the time I reached it the storm closed in again. My fist slammed into a rock. I am amazed I didn¡¯t break every joint in my hand. The rock cracking was also surprising. We tried this again, but the next three charges Angelica made revealed no sneaky kitty. It also hit me exclusively another five times. I suspect it focused on me because I read as having the lowest level. Couple that with the fact it was doing appreciable damage the thing probably believed it was making headway against us. The moment I thought we could eventually grind through this, it hit Brand instead. His health went from green to yellow. Despite the savagery of the attack, Brand all but single-handedly turned the tide. His blood splattered the beast. As it tried to retreat into the snow, Brand flung something to where it was going. A split second later I learned it was a fucking incendiary grenade. With a flash of fire the damn cat had its fur burnt black. Angelica hit it like a train. She slammed the spear into its side. Between the force of the impact, Angelica¡¯s strength, and the thunder and lightning the cat was flung into the wall. Because the De Leon pain train don¡¯t got brakes, she hit it again and again.
Attack from White Shadow (B) successful You take 22 points of damage 2x sneak attack bonus 44 total You are now bleeding Titanic Regeneration plus 12 hit points HP: 208/240
That was when the second cat hit me. More upsetting still was a third cat bearing down on Brand. The big cat had locked its jaw on his leg and was shaking him. Brand, screaming in pain and rage, kicked it with his free leg, while also shooting it. His health kept creeping down though. I did what I needed to do. I grabbed the cat by the neck and pulled it off of him. The trouble was this caused two of the cats to turn on me at once. One hit me out of ambush. The other just turned and mauled me.
Attack from White Shadow (B) successful You take 14 points of damage 2x sneak attack bonus 28 total Attack from White Shadow (C) successful x2 You take 27 points of damage Titanic Regeneration plus 12 hit points HP: 167/240
This resulted in what I will refer to as a bad time. I was not able to block the attacks of these lions. They were not getting the multiplier for sneak attacks, but they just tore into me as fast as they could. This got unsustainable immediately. Without communicating in any way, Angelica, Brand, and I adopted the same strategy of ¡®Get ¡®em!¡¯ In a flurry of gore, we killed the White Shadow (B). Then we turned to White Shadow (C). It again didn¡¯t act like an actual animal despite being injured, outnumbered and an ambush predator, it attacked in a mindless frenzy. While this was absolutely the best way to kill me, it all but guaranteed it would die. It managed to pin me to the ground and lunged to bite my throat. A bomb of images and memories of the Alpha Snow Loin trying to do the same flashed through my brain. Everything went black for a second
[Flag] Delete Message Attack from White Shadow (c) successful x2 You take 38 points of damage HP 0/240 Titanic Regeneration suspended You have died. Prepare to be sent to an afterlife scenario 5¡­4¡­3¡­ All processes halted! Retcon begins in 5¡­4¡­3¡­2¡­1¡­
Everything came back all at once. Angelica impaled the final White Shadow¡¯s head with her spear. The cat¡¯s eyes rolled as blood flowed out of its slack jaws. Brand shot it four times.
New achievement! Heroic opponent! You have defeated an opponent of Heroic Scale! Reward: 1500 experience 1500 experience to next level You gain no experience for snow lion type enemies.
I closed out the prompt to see that my HP was 51. That meant that my hp was likely 3 to 27 hit points. I had been a second from death. Holy shit. ¡­wait no. That wasn¡¯t right. Something felt off. I checked my prompts. The retcon message was gone. Had I died? When did I get on my feet? Angelica was shaking me. ¡°Doug! Can you hear me?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I started. Before I could continue, she pulled me into a tight hug. ¡°Too close. That was too close!¡± ¡°I have the key,¡± Brand said, holding up a large skeleton key. ¡°Let¡¯s loot the boss and get back to the safe zone.¡± A lot could be said about Brand, but you cannot fault his survival sense.
Loot boss? Yes/No
I hit yes.
You have acquired Tighty-Whities You have acquired White Shadow corpse x 3
I waited until we made the short walk from the boss room to the safe space. Just like a videogame, this area led to a path that looped back to the start of the slog. We just had to pull a lever and part of the wall sank into the floor letting us through.
Tight- Whities A heroic Scale pair of undergarments. This item will allow access to blend in, move silently, and ambush skills. Hehehe they¡¯ll never see you coming in these. Armor value 8
I blinked. Is Adora writing prompts again? Admittedly this was better than the current free-balling situation I was maintaining. Not sure if the skills were good or bad. I also had to wonder whether they would fit my build. As we sat at the table Brand pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He slowly pulled one out and put it in the corner of his mouth. He offered me the pack. I shook my head. Angelica thought much longer than me but also said no. He then pulled out a lighter and ignited the tip. He sat there watching the smoke for a moment then inhaled and exhaled. ¡°What have we learned?¡± he asked. ¡°What?¡± I asked. Brand sighed, ¡°Have you never been on a team before?¡± ¡°Not for many years,¡± I hedged ¡°After any mission, it is customary to review what was done. Determine what was done right, and what needs improvement to prevent any sort of tragedy in the future.¡± Brand explained. He took another puff from the cigarette. ¡°Traps are a thing,¡± Angelica said counting off on her finger. ¡°The mini-bosses are heroic Scale. That would imply the boss is likely Demigod Scale. Were you able to get any information from them?¡± ¡°The one White Shadow I was able to size up was level 25. I suspect the other two were the same level.¡± Brand said. ¡°Everyone hit about as hard as the next,¡± I added. Brand nodded, ¡°Anything else?¡± I shrugged. Brand sighed. ¡°We will have time to think. I suspect It will take me more than a day to heal. That reminds me. Based on our previous altercation, we can assume this is not a safe zone. Violence is possible. I suspect it is simply a place the lions cannot spawn. I recommend we rest in shifts. Do either of you mind if I sleep first?¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± I said. Angelica nodded. Brand swapped his equipment from tactical gear to pajamas, nightgown, and cap. He flopped on a bed and immediately passed out. Angelica turned back to me. She took a deep breath, and clenched and unclenched her fists, ¡°you wanna talk about it, buddy?¡± Chapter 16 Hard Truth ¡°About what?¡± I asked. Angelica shook her head, ¡°Something is eating at you.¡± ¡°Snow lions mostly,¡± I quipped. I wasn¡¯t bitter. To the snow lions, I must be delicious. Angelica stared at me flatly. ¡°I hit the limit on experience gains for the snow lions. So, this dungeon is no longer earning me anything beyond skill progression and loot. Also, Brand is bugging the hell out of me. I think he is using some sort of antagonizing skill or something.¡± I admitted reluctantly. Angelica shook her head again, ¡°You and the grinding. Brand isn¡¯t using any skills on you. You¡¯re just taking offense to him because he hurt your feelings.¡± I raised an eyebrow, ¡°You know this¡­ how?¡± ¡°I grew up inland of the Fantasy Coast. I have dealt with people using Persuasive skills and powerful mind effects. Brand was not using either.¡± She explained matter-of-factly.¡°Think about it. Did you have any prompt saying you failed to resist any checks? Like Goad, Taunt, Wheedle, Snipe... did any of the checks say you succeeded in resisting any skills?¡± ¡°¡­No,¡± I said, realizing she was right about this. ¡°That means the stress is coming from you, Doug. The signal is coming from inside.¡± Angelica said without judgment. She walked to the fridge, and took out one of the sad sandwiches. ¡°I get it, Brand isn¡¯t my favorite person either.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you almost spear him?¡± I asked. Angelica paused, considering, ¡°¡­yeah, and that is not a proud moment.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with it.¡± She looked at me for another long moment. ¡°What¡¯s the other issue?¡± ¡°Am I really that easy to read?¡± Angelica nodded emphatically, killing all notions that I had hid my feelings well. I sighed, ¡°I am trying to find someone. Someone I think of as a daughter. We were separated for a long time. I¡­ I am trying to find her, but I have no leads to follow. I am also terrified that if I do find her, she could already be dead.¡± I didn¡¯t want to say the next part, but I think I needed to hear it out loud. ¡°¡­an even more cowardly part of me is scared that I will find her alive, but she¡¯ll no longer see me as her father or want me in her life. This keeps causing a sort of spiral. I haven¡¯t been able to stop it.¡±
Willpower check¡­ Successful. Emotional state kept under control. Note: Repeated rolls will increase difficulty.
Angelica sat down next to me, punching me lightly on the shoulder. ¡°That sucks.¡± After a moment she added, ¡°Celeste says she¡¯s sorry.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I managed. We had eight hours of waiting for Brand to rest. The plan then was to have Angelica and I rest. I spent a few hours trying to find the prompt that mentioned a retcon with no success. It was completely gone. I then spent more time trying to spot any changes in the prompts I still had logged. That became a make-work endeavor. I hadn¡¯t paid the closest attention to them before. The dull buzz of the phantom pain from injuries already healed was fading as time passed. My rough guess is it would disappear in another couple of hours. Ideally, I could just sleep through the worst of it, but I couldn¡¯t sleep, Exhausted condition be damned. To kill time, I decided to look at the skills the new gear gave me.
Blend In This is the subtle skill of avoiding visual detection. Those that master this skill can modulate their movements and adjust their profile so others¡¯ eyes slide past them. Note: This skill does not remove physical presence or sound. Move Silently This is the subtle skill of moving without creating noise. Mastery of this skill allows the user to dampen all noise created from movement. Note: This skill does not remove physical presence or visual form. Ambush This is the subtle skill of beating the hell out of people who don¡¯t expect it. The only thing better than punching out an opponent is sucker-punching the arrogant bastard. Any successful melee attack while undetected will inflict a damage multiplier. Damage starts at 2x and will increase with skill mastery.
Okay, that seemed like a serious combination of abilities. Now, most of you would probably ask yourselves ¡®If you were capable of using these skills, would you try and murder things in cold blood?¡¯ I could absolutely do that to snow lions. I despised them deeply. I loathed them like I had been mauled by them constantly, my entire life. I hated them more than George Lucas hated Star Wars. The moment I got excited about wanton lion murder, I also realized this was not actually that helpful in my current situation. I was the tank. Enemies that could not see me would go and attack others in the group. For the immediate future, I was front and center, for better or for worse. I tried using Move Silently. It would ping a note of success every time I moved. It rendered the squealing of the springs all but silent to my ears. That didn¡¯t really make sense, but I wasn¡¯t going to complain. This did explain why the damned cats were able to constantly sneak up and bite me. Finally, I got up and started trying to Blend In. It was hard to really say what was happening since Brand had his back to me, I wasn¡¯t really causing the skill to trigger.
Blend In check¡­ Failed
My heart jumped into my throat. I spun to find Celeste watching me with a smile on her face. She mouthed the word, ¡°Nerd¡± and stuck her tongue out at me. She glanced over to Brand, who was awake and performing some sort of maintenance on his guns. She shrugged and went back to sleep. I snuck back into bed, but the Failure prompt kept popping up every time I tried to use it. After about an hour, I gave up trying to develop the skill. I got out of bed quietly, but walked over to Brand¡¯s table without making any effort to hide. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Trouble sleeping?¡± Brand asked. He had completely disassembled his handguns. The pieces were all laid out on a cloth. He picked up one piece and applied a few drops of lubricant and then proceeded to smoothly install it into another piece, the firearm rapidly coming together. ¡°I just can¡¯t fall asleep,¡± I admitted, trying to be honest rather than abrasive.. Brand set the partial gun down and looked up at me, ¡°Are you having issues with stress or anxiety?¡± I could tell he was going to use some sort of scrutinizing skill on my answer. ¡°Not like you think. Tanking isn¡¯t going to break me any time soon. I just have a lot on my mind.¡± ¡°Unless it directly relates to surviving this dungeon, you need to push it into some corner of your mind and just forget it until we get out of here.¡± Brand went back to assembling his pistol. I thought about what Angelica said. Had Brand hurt my feelings?
Self-Reflection check¡­ Successful!
Yep. Having him talk down to me, seeing the results of the Analyze skill. Knowing that he thought me inferior, and seeing Angelica almost fawn over him¡­ it all upset me. It biased me to see every future action in a hostile light. This caused me to fall into a sort of outrage feedback loop. Basically, winding myself up. Wait, why the hell did Angelica showing interest in another man bug me? I blocked the skill roll before it could bring up a prompt. I needed to puzzle that out myself. Brand had a point also. That was a once-we-get-out-of-the-dungeon train of thought. I took a deep breath, ¡°I am sorry I have been ¡­confrontational with you.¡± Brand didn¡¯t look up from his work, ¡°No harm done, sir. I was rather standoffish at our first meeting. I am less than proud of how I acted meeting the both of you.¡± He completed assembling the first gun and it vanished into his inventory. ¡°If you are willing, I recommend we simply start again with a clean slate.¡± ¡°I would like that,¡± I said. ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± ¡°Certainly,¡± Brand said, beginning to assemble the second gun. ¡°What are you after here in the dungeon?¡± I asked. Brand didn¡¯t answer for a long moment, ¡°I am after the Heart of the Dungeon Boss. As a Dungeon Boss, its body will be made of McGuffins. The Heart will allow a quest to be completed once I bring it home. If I am unsuccessful, I fear for the Eternal Kingdom and all its people. The Steam Meister¡¯s automatons will not show mercy, nor will Countess Dracul and her minions.¡± He looked up from his work, the gun assembled. After loading it he asked, ¡°You are not affiliated with those groups, are you?¡± ¡°Those names mean nothing to me,¡± I said, meeting his gaze and ignoring the gun. ¡°You have not heard of them?¡± Brand asked, like I just told him I never heard of the sky. ¡°I¡¯ve spent my entire life in the Wastes,¡± I said, watching him watch me. Again, Brand studied me. His eyes glazed momentarily as he read more prompts.
Perception check ¡­Successful
He was working to hide both confusion and some fear. The confusion was from the fact that his reading of the prompts told him: I was telling the truth. A truth that could not be. It would be like if someone had claimed to my previous self to not know about Europe. Like, physically never heard of it ever, in any context. Technically possible, but extremely unlikely. The fear came from the nagging idea that his prompts were incorrect. Which, to my limited understanding, could only happen in a few ways. Perhaps I was a master of Deception. This was probably unlikely, though playing the fool would be one of the best forms of deception since it used some truth. The other option was something else affecting the dice rolls. Which was never good. Huh, Perception is nuts. We sort of shrugged at each other. There was no way around the fact that both of us were still stuck in the dungeon and had to work together. Sure, we were both keeping secrets from each other, but I doubted either of us honestly cared about what the other was doing once we went our separate ways. So regardless of who we were, we were aligned in trying to get out of this dungeon. It was time to change the subject, ¡°Do you know anything about stealth skills?¡± Brand eyed me, looking almost offended at the question. ¡°I know a thing or two. Do you have some specific inquiry?¡± ¡°A piece of gear I got from the White Shadows; it grants access to skills like Blend In.¡± I started. After Brand nodded, I continued, ¡°I tried using the skills, but Blend In is constantly failing, even when no one is watching. ¡°That¡¯s nothing to worry about,¡± Brand said. He briefly flashed a friendly smile, ¡°The skill cannot work without someone watching. You can¡¯t hide if there is no one to hide from.¡± He paused for a moment as he finished assembling the second handgun, ¡°You should get some rest, you are clearly exhausted. Tomorrow is likely going to be¡­taxing.¡± He slid the gun into a holster in his coat.
Perception check ¡­Successful
I didn¡¯t need to see the prompt to pick up on it. Brand¡¯s warning was pretty blatant.The chummy smile was what clued me in before the prompt flashed.If I was failing a stealth skill, I was being observed. When he saw I understood, he gave me the slightest of nods. That put his and Angelica¡¯s unease outside the Mini-Boss¡¯s room in a vastly different light. Something very well hidden was in here with us. Not wanting to draw attention to this, I rose from the table and went back to my bed. I tried to sleep but the prompt would not appear. Fuck it!
Self Reflection check¡­ Successful.
Oh! I was struggling to process the idea of nearly dying. I felt the phantom pain of the fangs closing around my neck. My breath caught like I was trying to breathe blood. Thinking back on the fight with the White Shadows, I now had the feeling of claws splintering my ribs. Before ¡­spawning¡­ I was not a warrior. I¡¯d been in a few fights in my youth, a long time ago, but not the life-and-death kind. In my old life, losing a fight meant eating dirt. Life-and-death combat was new. This kill-or-be-killed situation while having beings like Wilson, the other spawn, and Adora yanking my chain was leading me into a dark place. I felt powerless. I hated that feeling. Treat this like everything else, I thought to myself. Define goals. The goal was to find Kate. In order to do that I needed to get out of the dungeon. In order to do that I needed to not die. In order to do that I needed to grow stronger. The trouble with that was I was no longer gaining experience from killing Snow Lions. Strangely, despite the fact they had mauled me ad nauseam, now that I got nothing from killing them I lost all enthusiasm to bash their heads in. the idea of stomping the life out of them, just sounded like work. I could try setting them on fire, but that was probably more setup than execution. I wouldn¡¯t say no to a Saw-like Rube Golberg lion grating device, if one was available. Okay I was going to keep killing them, but I needed to find some other means of improving my chances. I wasn¡¯t invincible. Sure, I could beat any mook down in one hit, but the fights with the Wendigo and the White Shadows clearly demonstrated I needed to figure something out for the heavy hitters. Why could I block attacks from the Wendigo but couldn¡¯t block attacks from the White Shadows? After a moment¡¯s thought, I realized I just didn¡¯t understand how anything actually worked. ¡­wait a minute! I am a nerd¡­was a nerd¡­ am based on a nerd! Let¡¯s go with that. What¡¯s more, I am based on a nerd who loved figuring out systems and finding ways to optimize characters within them. It was weird. I could remember, clear as day, paging through multiple RPG core books and finding exploits with the system. I understood that the person I had loved tinkering with game systems. I also was now in a system where my ability to maximize my attributes and skills would increase my ability to survive. Why was I apathetic to this system? That didn¡¯t gel logically, but digging into the system felt like a chore. I was not the Titan. I was Doug. The Titan used to love these games and systems. I couldn¡¯t give less of a damn. That said, if I was going to survive, if I was going to help Angelica and Celeste, if I was going to find Kate, I needed to learn. I stood and walked into the bathroom. I looked into the mirror, ¡°Wilson, I need to talk to you.¡± Chapter 17: I don’t know what I expected ¡°I¡¯m not sure you fully understand the nature of our relationship, kid,¡± Wilson said. His reflection stepped into my view of the mirror. ¡°I am here to oversee the little details of your and Angel¡¯s story. Not to be at your beck and call.¡± He pulled what looked to be a cardboard carton of food from the edge of my view. The narrator looked more run down than before:his tie was gone, his shirt was untucked and his shoes were caked in what looked like mud. I turned to face him, ¡°You look like shit.¡± It wasn¡¯t that I wanted to antagonize him. I was just done smiling while he jerked me around ¡°I feel like shit,¡± Wilson admitted. ¡°I haven¡¯t had to run this hard since the first season. Between the apocalypse and Nadia¡­¡± He chuckled. ¡°Back then I was young, I thought I was invincible.¡± He pulled a pair of chopsticks out of his vest pocket despite the pocket being far too small to hold them. With the utensils he pulled what looked to be a chunk of raw meat from the carton and popped it into his mouth, ¡°What do you want, kid?¡± ¡°What the hell is up with the retcon?¡± I cut to the chase. Wilson stared at me for a long moment. Finally, he grinned ruefully. ¡°You took Mental Resistance. That fucking trait. The Background department tried to warn us.¡± He took another bite of meat. ¡°Short answer, someone fucked up, and the higher-ups had to step in and fix it. They didn¡¯t want you dying because some other Narrator can¡¯t control their players. It¡¯s bad stagecraft.¡± ¡°Wait, are you saying I died and then you clowns rewrote reality?¡± I demanded, stunned. ¡°Yep,¡± Wilson said, his grin fading slightly. ¡°It¡¯s just sloppy. We are all just lucky the audience didn¡¯t notice.¡± ¡°So, I got myself killed?¡± I asked. Oddly, confirming the near death experience actually happened didn¡¯t make me feel better. ¡°Not quite,¡± Wilson said, ¡°I agreed with Fiona and Brandon to put you into a dungeon with three level 15 heroic Scale mini-bosses and a level 25 heroic Scale final boss. Imagine my surprise after returning from the Afterlife to find your name on the Dead Player List. You were put in a position where death was all but inevitable¡± He shook his head and took another bite, then looked at me impassively for a long time. ¡°Are you looking for a thank you?¡± I finally asked, getting frustrated. I knew he was going to fuck with me. The fact it was working was what really stuck in my craw. ¡°Nah, I didn¡¯t lift a finger to help you. Like I said before. I am prepared to let you and Angel die to any random roll of the dice. Trouble is that wasn¡¯t random. Fiona claimed she didn¡¯t mean to kill you. I have my doubts. She¡¯s got a history of being sloppy. Brandon panicked when he saw the boss changed from one monster to three, and ran it up the chain. The big wigs put their thumb on the Scale. Anyway, that won¡¯t happen again.¡± ¡°How can you promise that?¡± I asked. I doubted anything he could say would feel compelling. Wilson held out the carton, ¡°Try some Narrator tartare.¡± I was ghoulishly curious about what Narrator tasted like. I am not a cannibal¡­ actually, would it be cannibalism to eat a Narrator? Is the problem that they are sapient? Either way the meat in the carton had a sickly-sweet scent wafting off of it. I shook my head, ¡°Nah, I''m not interested in checking it for razorblades.¡± Wilson¡¯s grin sharpened, ¡°They¡¯re only in the eyes and hands of Narrators. This -unlike Fiona now- is all heart. Let¡¯s quit the foreplay, why did you call me?¡± ¡°I need to learn how this narrative system works,¡± I said, preparing for an uphill fight. ¡°Read the prompts in the menu,¡± Wilson responded unhelpfully. ¡°Teach me,¡± I insisted. ¡°Why would I do that?¡± Wilson asked, sounding genuinely curious. ¡°Because if you don¡¯t, I will make this whole story grind to a halt. I will sit down and ask Angelica, Celeste, and Brand to explain every basic concept of the system in excruciating detail.¡± I challenged. This was a risk. If I was right, this was a bottle episode. Wilson wanted us in the dungeon to briefly do dungeon stuff. From an entertainment standpoint that would be awful. Imagine a story about Clark Kent and Lex Luthor stuck in an elevator in a burning building. Now imagine that story going on for thirty-six issues published monthly. Most of us would probably check out on issue six when they were still dealing with awkward small talk. The mad bastards still reading on issue thirty-five would riot if they were still waiting for someone to get them out, blissfully unaware of the flames. Wilson thought for a moment. Then, clearly stalling for time, he took another bite. After deliberately chewing and swallowing he answered. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll make arrangements, but only because your GRP is above 2300.¡± ¡°So¡­ you are going to teach me?¡± ¡°Fuck no, I am going to make an intern do it,¡± Wilson said. He pulled a napkin out of his pocket, carefully wiped his hands, then pulled out a phone and began texting in a grindingly slow, hunt-and-peck method. He waited for a response, humming to himself. After roughly a minute his phone buzzed. He read the message and nodded to himself, rubbed his chin, and began slowly typing out another message. ¡°You¡¯re stalling just to waste my time now,¡± I pointed out. ¡°You need to understand who the top is in this relationship,¡± Wilson explained. His phone buzzed again. He read the message and chuckled to himself. ¡°Ah, um, you wanted to see me, Mr. Wilson. Sir?¡± someone behind me asked. Why do they always appear behind me? ¡°Yes. Denise, this is Doug. Doug, this is Denise.¡± Wilson said, beaming and gesturing behind me. ¡°What fresh Hell is this?¡± I asked, turning. I felt my fist clench instinctively. I wasn¡¯t prepared for what I found. It was a young woman. Well, it looked like a young woman. It¡­she was a Narrator. Denise was a willowy young adult or at least appeared to be. She had long brown hair and large gray eyes. She was dressed in a smart dress suit but still looked extremely young. You know those young people that know they look too young and are desperate to appear more mature? The trouble is that it makes them look like that teenager whose mother still dresses them when they wear formal or professional attire. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. She was also watching me with the wide-eyed horror of someone that was about to get their head kicked in. Fair, because I was prepared to kick a Narrator¡¯s head in. At least I thought I was. It shouldn¡¯t matter that Denise looked like a kid¡­ but it did. I mean, push comes to shove, I would still do it if she tried to hurt someone, but I guess I was giving her the opportunity. I glared back at Wilson, ¡°You think you¡¯re funny.¡± ¡°I know I am. Now, Denise, Doug is going to be calling you regularly. You will pop in and do what he says. Remember to stop time first, we wouldn¡¯t want you to get eaten alive by Snow Lions.¡± He paused, ¡°That would be just awful. Who would get my coffee?¡± ¡°Uh, what am I supposed to do?¡± Denise asked. Wilson shook his head, ¡°What do you think a big rough goon like Doug would want from someone like you?¡± Denise shrunk away from me, ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°That right,¡± Wilson said, slapping me on the shoulder, ¡°Doug here wants you¡­to give him¡­your intimate¡­ understanding of the inner workings of the system.¡± I almost went to Denise¡¯s defense. I didn¡¯t for two reasons. First, any attempt to shield Denise would likely goad Wilson to further escalation. The second was probably petty. She was a Narrator. I hate Narrators. I was getting a slight sense of satisfaction seeing one suffer. Wait, is that the trap Wilson set? Was he banking on me being paternal or white knight predictable, or was the trap giving me an unhealthy outlet for sadistic impulses? Duh, the answer to that is: Yes to all. Wilson is a relentless asshole. My life used to be so simple. Okay, that¡¯s not true. I was a single parent drowning in grief and uncertainty who was also teetering on the edge of addiction. The better way to say that I used to know when I was fucking up. Wilson patted me on the arm again, ¡°Remember Doug, don¡¯t kill her, unless you do it big. Don¡¯t just smash her head or something. Keep in mind, though, we only have like six or seven more interns before you don¡¯t get anymore.¡± And then he was gone. He had left the carton with the chunked Narrator heart in it sitting on the sink. I tossed it in my inventory. Not sure why. I turned to Denise. She was staring at me, trembling. To stall for time, I tilted my head from side to side cracking the joints, finally, I began with, ¡°So¡­¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t smash my head with those big hands!¡± Denise begged. ¡°Are the hands specifically the problem?¡± I managed. ¡°No!¡± Denise squeaked. ¡°I just really don¡¯t wanna die. Please don¡¯t kill me!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how this is going to play out,¡± I started trying to be comforting. ¡°Oh, God! You¡¯re the type that likes to torture people before killing them!¡± She almost sobbed the last part. I gave her a minute hoping she would calm down, hyperventilate, or get tired in some way. No such luck, apparently Denise had a lot to live for. Finally I asked, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you just run away?¡± Denise caught herself and gazed at me warily, ¡°I can¡¯t leave until you give me permission to.¡± She instinctively took a step back and hit the wall. ¡°Good to know,¡± I said with a nod. Forewarned is forearmed. I leaned back against the far wall, and pulled the mug of Titan Brew out of my inventory. I took a drink.
You now have the energized condition. All Exhaustion-related conditions are removed.
Okay, that feeling was incredible. I could suddenly breathe without effort. My vision sharpened. The white noise in my mind faded. The phantom pain briefly surged before numbing. This allowed my muscles to relax. Weirdly my ears rang for a moment also. The sudden absence of pain and discomfort was like a weight lifting off my shoulders. I looked at the mug and it seemed to be as full as it was before. I decided to Analyze the mug.
Analyze Check¡­ Successful Mug of Infinite Joy This is a lesser artifact made by the Titan Spawn Cole. Any beverage poured into this mug will be infinitely dispensed until a new liquid is poured into it.
¡°Why is that good to know?¡± Denise shouted. ¡°Why is that good to know?!¡± Oops, I had been ignoring her. ¡°Calm down,¡± I said, demonstrating yet again, that I am a dumbass. That literally never works on anyone. Ever. ¡°Get excited!¡± she shouted back, showing no calm¡­ downward direction or otherwise. ¡°Is that really what you want?¡± ¡°No!¡± She squeaked, remembering consequences exist. ¡°Just stop for a minute,¡± I said, momentarily stalling out her panic attack. ¡°I am not interested in hurting or killing you.¡± ¡°Oh, thank god,¡± Denise started. ¡°¡­provided you answer my questions, don¡¯t lie to me, don¡¯t manipulate me, nor endanger my friends,¡± I finished. ¡°So¡­ I get you are new and a player¡­ but you understand I am just an intern, right? I don¡¯t have any Narrative Control. Hell, I only have probationary time-stop abilities, technically I am just piggybacking on Wilson¡¯s authority,¡± she offered meekly. ¡°Good to know,¡± I repeated. I took another swig of the Titanic Brew, ¡°Do you accept my terms or not?¡± She sort of froze for a moment, ¡°¡­ um, yes?¡± ¡°Are you asking me or telling me?¡± This felt important for some reason. ¡°¡­telling?¡± she managed. ¡°Please state the terms and agree to them,¡± I pressed. ¡°¡­shit. Fine. I, Denise, agree to appear when summoned, answer your questions, not lie to you, not manipulate you, and I will not knowingly act in a way to endanger your friends. In return, you, Doug, agree to not actively try to torture, kill, rape, or physically harm me in any way. I agree to these terms. Do you agree to these terms?¡± ¡°Why did you add rape to the list?¡± I asked, vaguely¡­ no, definitely offended at the implication. ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to get raped. Is that really the point you want to debate?¡± Denise shot back. It was not. ¡°Yeah, I agree.¡± We just stood there for a couple of seconds. ¡°Is there going to be a prompt?¡± ¡°No,¡± Denise said, looking at me like she thought I was crazy. ¡°It just really feels like a prompt should pop up,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s just a verbal agreement. Not every interaction is going to work in the system.¡± Denise explained. I nodded, ¡°I am going to use Analyze on you now.¡±
Analyze Check¡­ Successful
Name: Denise Smith
Race: Human*
Class Intern
Level: 0
HP: 2
Power: 1
Mobility: 1
Body: 1
Mind: 1
Face: 1
Magic: 1
Note: This being exists outside the Narrative and has no Scale. No Further information available.
That was less than helpful, ¡°How do you not have Scale?¡± Denise shook her head. She seemed to be coming to terms with the idea that her head was not going to be smashed in by my big hands or otherwise. ¡°Most Narrators don¡¯t have Scale. We are more scope focused anyway.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked. Denise tried to answer but the word CENSORED appeared over her mouth. After it vanished she shrugged ¡°I guess I can¡¯t talk about that.¡± That was troubling. Oh well, best work on getting the information I needed to not die Chapter 18 Crunch time ¡°Let¡¯s focus on things that you can talk about. What is an HP?¡± I asked. ¡°A hit point,¡± Denise replied immediately. I frowned, ¡°What does it represent?¡± ¡°A single point of damage,¡± Denise continued, looking at me like I was being stupid. ¡°What is the equivalency? What would cause one HP of damage?¡± I pressed. ¡°A training dagger,¡± she replied, baffled by my questions. ¡°What does a training dagger do exactly?¡± Denise, growing frustrated, answered loudly, ¡°Inflict one point of HP damage!¡± I held up my hands. I need to try a different approach, ¡°How many hit points does the average level 1 player have?¡± Denise checked her phone, ¡°That is a bit variable. Most players are Common Scale. They average two-point-five hit points per level. Uncommon players average three-point-five hit points per level. Rare players average four-point-five hits per level. After that things gain more structure, epic Scale players gain a flat ten hit points a level. The rate of growth increases as Scale does.¡± I thought about that, ¡°So Common players gain d4 hit points, Uncommon players gain d6, and Rare players gain d8. Why do higher Scale players get so many more hit points?¡± ¡°Because they are higher Scale,¡± Denise said, again like that is self-evident. Seeing that answer meant nothing to me she continued, ¡°They have been selected by the narrative to have greater importance in the world¡¯s story. Plus they are few and far between.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked. Denise checked her phone again, ¡°About eighty percent of the world¡¯s population is Common Scale.¡± ¡°And Uncommon?¡± She checked again, ¡°Roughly sixteen percent.¡± Shit, ninety-six percent of all people were in the lowest two levels of Scale. This whole being a titan spawn, one of six in the world, was starting to come into better focus. That would also imply that Angelica being heroic Scale and Celeste being Divine Scale meant us meeting like we did on accident was so unlikely that it had to have been arranged. I didn¡¯t like the implications. But I would worry about them when I could do something about it. ¡°So how many attribute points do most players start with?¡± ¡°Um,¡± Denise had to check her phone again, ¡°Okay, found it.¡± She frowned. ¡°Uh¡­ so this is extremely variable at the beginning. Common players usually start with a one in most attributes, but they have a small chance of starting with a two and an infinitesimal chance of starting with a three in an attribute. Uncommon players average out to have two points in each attribute. Rare average out to 3, and so on . ¡°Wait, so when I ¡­spawned with eights in every attribute that meant I started out eight times stronger than the average player?¡± I had figured out I was coasting on high attributes but, still, that was nuts. Denise laughed, ¡°No my guy, you started out roughly equivalent to a level sixty-four Common player at point of spawn, assuming we are just factoring attributes. Scale, skills, perks, and traits would probably put you at roughly equivalent to a level eighty common player, if not higher.¡± Well fuck. I honestly thought to this point I was¡­well, not doing great. Again, I knew I was coasting on high attributes. If Denise could be trusted, that meant that success on my end should be the default assumption. What she said had a ring of truth to it. ¡°Why is this system so unbalanced?¡± I asked. ¡°It sounds like my existence breaks the game.¡± ¡°It does,¡± Denise agreed. ¡°This isn¡¯t a game made for balance. It was made for entertainment.¡± Her phone beeped. She looked at the screen, ¡°Oh, I can mention this. Normally a world will only start with people reaching Rare Scale out of the gate. This world was unique in having things accelerate to late stages on day one. Normally at this point, there should only be a few Demigod Scale players, maybe one Divine Scale player. Having Nadia running around on the jump along with a few gods was¡­ challenging.¡± I let that all sink in. ¡°So how long should it normally take for a titan spawn to appear?¡± Denise shrugged, ¡°Depends. The next earliest case was like¡­ six hundred years. Normally it takes longer than that too, what with all the monsters and conflict.¡± ¡°What do you mean? I have been non-stop fighting monsters since I got here,¡± I asked. This place had plenty of conflict. ¡°You are in a dungeon,¡± Denise started. She paused and checked her phone, ¡°A dungeon that has overflowed and broken half a dozen times this month alone.¡± She frowned. ¡°It has been doing that for almost a year.¡± She looked back at me, but before I could ask she continued, ¡°A dungeon overflowing is when the mobs spawn too fast. This causes the difficulty of the dungeon to increase. After it hits a certain point the dungeon will break. When a dungeon breaks, it opens and ejects all the mobs other than bosses and mini-bosses into the surrounding area.¡± ¡°How long does that normally take? A dungeon break, I mean,¡± I was getting a bad feeling about this. ¡°There are another four dungeons in The Wastes doing the same thing. Outside of that, the next fastest dungeon takes more than a year to break, provided no one clears it.¡± This felt important, but I needed to focus. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to attributes. What do they do?¡± ¡°¡­everything.¡± Denise offered. Realizing that was a bad answer she continued. ¡°How about I break them down attribute by attribute?¡± She nodded, ¡°Okay. Power. Power is your ability to apply physical force. You have mostly used it for your melee attacks and damage. Mobility is your ability to move yourself with speed and precision. It also is the main attribute for any sort of direct ranged attacks. Body is related to physical endurance and the ability to resist injury and disease. Mind is your ability to apply mental force within the system as well as the main means of resisting mental attacks. Magic is your ability to apply metaphysical force and defense. Make sense?¡± ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°That sounds like what I could just read off of the prompts.¡± Denise sagged visibly, ¡°What don¡¯t you understand?¡± ¡°Everything. What happens when I punch someone?¡± ¡°Your mammoth mitt clobbers them and they probably die,¡± Denise replied, looking more on edge. I took a deep breath, ¡°What happens systematically?¡± She paused, thinking, then she checked her phone. ¡°In that situation, you would roll an Unarmed Attack roll. The roll will be a number of dice based on the difference in Scale between you and the target. Let¡¯s assume you are fighting a Common Scale player of level 4, and they put everything they had in Mobility and are trained in the Dodge skill. So you would be rolling an Unarmed attack using your Power attribute, with a skill at Expert level against a Common Scale opponent with only Trained. That makes your dice pool 3d12 keep all of them, and add twenty to the roll plus your Power attribute.¡± She consulted her screen, ¡°In this specific example you rolled 25 on the dice. That makes a total of 61 to hit the target. Compare that to the base difficulty of¡­¡± she glanced at her app again, ¡°Four! You would hit.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°So I need to roll higher than four when I start with a plus sixteen base? That doesn¡¯t make sense, I have missed attacks.¡± The sheer lopsided nature of imbalance stunned me. ¡°Not quite,¡± Denise replied, scrolling through text. ¡°You always fail if you roll a critical failure, all ones on the dice.¡± ¡°Oh no, however shall I manage when I miss once in seventeen-hundred-twenty-eight attacks.¡± I scoffed, but that still was way below the amount of attacks I made that did not land. ¡°There is still the response stage of the attack sequence, but you are also forgetting most of the stuff you are missing attacks against are Epic, Heroic or Demigod Scale enemies. The odds of a crit fail would be higher. Also¡­¡± She looked up from her phone warily. ¡°...you have a bad habit of making attacks while the target is out of reach. If you can¡¯t hit, the roll defaults to a failure.¡± ¡°Response stage?¡± I asked. Denise waved me down, going back to reading, ¡°You were the one who wanted to know how things work systematically. If possible most players will try and use some sort of reaction. Like Dodge or Block. In this case, they would Dodge.¡± She pressed a button. ¡°...and they rolled a critical success. ¡°Critical success?¡± I interjected. ¡°Critical successes take primacy over a regular success; they occur whenever someone rolls the highest number on all dice,¡± Denise explained as she pulled the phone closer to her face. ¡°So they would Dodge?¡± I thought I was getting a handle on this. ¡°Nope,¡± Denise answered. Seeing the look on my face she continued. ¡°Their total was ten, yours was sixty-one. You rolled more than fifty higher than they did. So the crit is negated. You hit.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just stupid,¡± I thought out loud. ¡°No, it is the system,¡± Denise pressed on. ¡°So then you would roll damage. Your power attribute plus 3d12 keeping all with another twenty points on top due to difference in Scale.¡± The app rolled, ¡°This causes fifty-five hit points of damage. Let¡¯s assume they have a body attribute of one and are wearing common soft armor with a value of two. Their defense is three total. So you do fifty-two points of damage. Since at most they would have sixteen hit points they die.¡± She looked up at me and smiled like a teacher trying to encourage a struggling student, ¡°Good?¡± No it wasn¡¯t. I still needed to confirm some things. ¡°What if they attacked me?¡± ¡°They would roll an attack against a base difficulty drawing on your difference in Scale¡­ eleven,¡± she peeked quickly at the phone, ¡°They didn¡¯t crit, so they miss, unless you chose to try and block. Which if you did, you would succeed, trigger the counter attack, hit, and kill them.¡± That did roughly track with my fights with snow lions. ¡°So how is a Common Scale player supposed to kill me?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not,¡± Denise said, back to eyeing me like I was stupid. ¡°Wait, if you can use Dodge to avoid melee attacks, then what does Brand¡¯s Evasive Combatant perk do?¡± I asked. Denise sorted through some files, ¡°Oh, that lets him dodge melee attacks like they were ranged attacks.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a distinction?¡± I asked, expecting to be somehow pissed off by the answer. Denise did not disappoint. ¡°Melee attacks have variable difficulties to dodge based on the attack roll. Dodging ranged attacks just needs you to be a flat difficulty based on projectile speed and Scale of the attacker. So he has a much more consistent chance of dodging melee attacks. ¡°Then why are the snow lions hitting him?¡± Denise frowned at her phone, ¡°Because he has limited reactions. Most people don¡¯t have a Cosmic martial art allowing them to annihilate the action economy.¡± I thought about that. While interesting, Brand¡¯s stats weren¡¯t necessarily going to help me function better. I needed to figure out something more beneficial. Maybe skills. ¡°How many skills are there?¡± ¡°Functionally infinite,¡± Denise replied. She smiled seemingly proud of this. ¡°The system is really cool that way.¡± I took a breath, to maintain patience. ¡°What is a skill that could help me in this dungeon?¡± She looked at me, blinking, for a long time. ¡°How would I know?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Narrator!¡± I all but roared at her. ¡°I¡¯m an intern!¡± she shouted back. ¡°I don¡¯t know everything. Stop yelling at me!¡± I felt my fist clench. ¡°What happened to you being afraid of me?¡± ¡°I am afraid of you! I am terrified something I say is going to set you off! The stress is making me snippy! Now I am yelling and I¡¯m scared that if I stop, you will pulp me like a grape!¡± Denise clearly had to force herself to stop. She gulped visibly, swallowing her words. She watched me warily, waiting for me to make a move. I really looked at her. I didn¡¯t try to trigger Perception. I needed to try and see her without any system prompts. Thinking through this logically there were really only two possibilities. Either a) she was being honest, or b) she wasn¡¯t. If she was telling the truth, she was a kid terrified of dying. If she was lying, she was using the excuse of my anger to stall, obscure or redirect the conversation to something they wanted. Both options meant my anger was useless. One meant I was allowing my feelings to take priority over a living being''s welfare. ¡­shit. I had to try and be nice. ¡°I am sorry I yelled at you,¡± I said, forcing my tone to be calm and neutral. Denise blinked at me, ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°I am apologizing,¡± I explained. Denise tilted her head watching me, ¡°Okay¡­ why?¡± I managed to avoid sounding condescending as I explained, ¡°Because, I care about your feelings and do not want to upset you.¡± She put her phone away. ¡°Okay¡­ you get I can¡¯t hurt you right?¡± That question told me all I needed to know about Narrator society. ¡°Let¡¯s just move on,¡± I said. I wanted to get back to fishing for something useful. ¡°No,¡± Denise cut in. ¡°This is important. Do you understand, I, Denise, cannot affect die rolls, events, or the world beyond pausing time to talk to you?¡± ¡°Yeah, Why is that important to you?¡± I asked. ¡°Impersonating a Narrator is a big deal, and the punishment is bad.¡± Denise explained, a truly haunted look in her eyes. She sort of just stood there remembering something awful. ¡°...So, what defensive skills do I have access to that I am not using?¡± I asked, steering the conversation back to hopefully useful territory. Denise pulled her phone out again, ¡°Let me see if I can filter stuff,¡± she tapped at the screen for a minute, ¡°Can you phase through reality, yet?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Fly?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± I said. I tried thinking happy thoughts¡­ nope, apparently not how that works. ¡°You would know,¡± Denise frowned at her phone, ¡°you are using Block. Dodge isn¡¯t going to meaningfully help you more than Block, since it won¡¯t trigger a counter attack.¡± She scrolled some more, her frown deepened ¡°You have the Redirect skill available. That would let you change the target of an attack after you block it¡­¡± she frowned again, ¡°but you have counter-attacks and you punching things will do more damage. Really, the only skill left is Deflect.¡± That has potential, ¡°What¡¯s that do?¡± ¡°It deflects damage using armor,¡± Denise said. ¡°My armor hasn¡¯t deflected any damage,¡± I said. ¡°Did you use the skill after getting hit?¡± Denise asked. ¡°I did not.¡± ¡°There we go!¡± Denise all but cheered. ¡°Okay, so once one of the attacks gets through roll Deflect and if you succeed you will deflect a percentage of the attacks based on your armor.¡± I grinned, ¡°What¡¯s the percentage with the armor I have?¡± Denise checked her phone. She stepped back, ¡°Don¡¯t get mad, but it is three percent.¡± The smile slid off my face, ¡°That¡¯s basically nothing.¡± ¡°Sort of, against the Snow Lion Pride, an Epic Scale boss, using deflect would likely have saved you about one-hundred-and-twenty-five points of damage.¡± she looked up from the phone, ¡°you get hit a lot.¡± I nodded. No point arguing a point that we agreed about. ¡°Wait, you mentioned that a melee attack will automatically fail if the target is out of reach. Is there some sort of skill that will put me out of reach of an attack just after they make the attack roll or is that just dodge.¡± Back to the phone Denise went, ¡°So Dodge is about minimal movement needed to avoid an immediate hit. Technically it isn¡¯t going to reposition you, unless you dodge while already in motion.¡± ¡°Is there some sort of skill that will help me position myself so most of the lions can¡¯t reach me?¡± Denise eyed me, her entire face warped by the sheer amount of dubiousness, ¡°You want a skill for standing?¡± ¡°In the right spot at the right time,¡± I clarified. She tapped away at the screen, ¡°Best I can find Is Parade Rest.¡± ¡°Yeah that is not going to help,¡± I racked my brain. I wasn¡¯t asking the right questions. I felt the lightbulb click on, ¡°How do the snow lions pick their targets?¡± Denise shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I pointed at the phone, Denise begrudgingly typed away, ¡°Okay, so you can hear this. Most mobs have a behavior setup. Snow lions are programmed to target the lowest level player first. They will then swarm the highest Scale player. They also like to attack the player with the lowest hit point total, they like the blood.¡± Her phone buzzed. ¡°Wilson says I need to quit holding up time for today. Can I go?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I started, and before I could say anything else she was gone. Chapter 19: Improvise… The next day was a terrible experience. We had only made it three rooms into the second tunnel when everything went to shit. At first things really did seem to be going our way. Hell, room one started with Angelica getting all of them in one charge. She was showered in gore and somehow Brand was splattered in offal as well. I had to laugh because I was the only one still clean. Room four was when things got rough. We had managed to clear the first wave of snow lions, no problems. I was looting the corpses when Angelica screamed in surprise, pain, and rage. A White Shadow had hit her from behind. Brand managed to pepper it with several shots, before it vanished into swirling snow, but it vanished all the same. We managed to group up but then we were more or less stuck waiting for it to strike again. After a solid twenty minutes of nothing happening, we tried to press on. As we hit the next wave of lions the damn White Shadow pounced on Brand. I was chest deep in a storm of cats. Thankfully Angelica was open. She impaled the damned cat, and flung its corpse into the wall. This is where the second problem hit. Since both of our primary damage dealers were tied up that meant the swarm of lions were mostly free to do whatever they wanted. Which was attack and kill. I was only able to deal with about eight at a time, if they attacked me. The trouble was they were attacking Angelica and Brand. This was basically a worst case scenario. I kept pulping big cats, but it was nightmarishly slow. I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes off their health bars. Angelica¡¯s was yellow and plunging to orange. Brand¡¯s health was close to a sliver when I stomped down and found no more cats. Brand was a tattered mess. He could barely stand. ¡°I think we should turn back.¡± He managed before collapsing. I hefted Brand and we ran. For some reason another wave of cats gave chase as we sprinted to the safe room. Two of the snow lions made it into the room. I blocked both of the attacks almost on reflex. This triggered the counter attacks, and I squished them on the cement floor. I had grown numb to being covered in blood. That said, being covered in Brand¡¯s blood was different. I could tell. The blood of the lion and even that bigfoot had a paint-like feel to them. It felt artificial, manufactured. Brand¡¯s blood felt completely real. The heat of it caused my skin to crawl. The viscosity of rivulets dripping down my arms¡­It wasn¡¯t the first time I had someone''s blood on my hands. Marnie¡­ Boom! Angelica slammed the bar into place. After barring the door, Angelica pushed two tables together. ¡°Set him down!¡± she clipped out for a moment and was now dressed in what looked like scrubs. A bunch of medical equipment appeared on the table from her inventory, some tongs, assorted needles, thread, a mountain of bandages, and several scalpels. I set Brand down, and Angelica set to work. This caused a second odd realization to hit me. I had witnessed truly unreal examples of violence in this world. Hell I had perpetrated about forty percent of them and received just as much. Somehow it was seeing Angelica render meatball surgery on Brand, that made it all real. Me splattering lions across the world, didn¡¯t matter. Seeing someone lying there visibly paling and obviously dying¡­ both times it happened, I have never felt so small. ¡°Doug put your hand here!¡± Angelica shouted through my haze. It was odd. Angelica staunched the bleeding, but didn¡¯t seem so interested in stitching him up at least at first. After about twenty minutes Brand¡¯s health ticked up. I even saw some of the injuries close slightly, others began to bleed anew. Angelica went back to stopping the bleeding, as Brand¡¯s health ticked down again. I did my best to follow her instructions.
Emergency Medicine Check¡­ Successful! Subject¡¯s Bleed condition resolved Subject¡¯s Collapsed Lung condition resolved Subject¡¯s Embolism condition resolved Subject will heal at 2x times normal HP for next 3 healing cycles
Brand¡¯s health jumped up about ten percent, still in the red but not almost zero. He gasped and tried to sit up. The gasp exited his lungs as an agonized shout of pain. No words, just suffering made into noise. ¡°Hold him down!¡± Angelica yelled. I did what I could but Brand was strong as hell. It took everything I had to keep him from tearing his wounds open. It felt like so much longer than twenty minutes before his health ticked up again. ¡°Fuck!¡± Brand roared. He kicked briefly. After a moment he calmed down, ¡°God, that hurts.¡± ¡°You have health regen down to twenty minutes?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°I¡¯m from the Eternal Kingdom Miss De Leon. We may not be European, but we still practice the austerity of war,¡± Brand managed. ¡°You would have to have started training your regen at, what, five?¡± Angelica pressed. She seemed horrified. ¡°Infancy,¡± Brand corrected. ¡°For Queen and country we must all do our part.¡± He said that last bit in an unmistakably rote way. I didn¡¯t like it. Brand pulled the package of cigarettes out of his inventory. He placed one between his lips. He pulled the lighter out of his pocket. He tried to ignite the flame, but his hands were shaking too much. I took the lighter and ignited it, ¡°You know those things are going to kill you?¡± Brand leaned forward putting the tip of his cigarette into the flame, he puffed a few times, ¡°I think I will take my chances.¡± He took a long drag from the coffin nail, ¡°It would seem this is not just a dungeon, but an adaptive one. I suspect killing each of the minibosses will cause them to spawn in the dungeon.¡± Angelica packed up the medical gear, and pulled it into her inventory, ¡°Yeah, it does,¡± She agreed. She shook her head, ¡°We need to figure out a better fighting style.¡± ¡°I have several guns I could loan out to you,¡± Brand offered. ¡°How much ammo?¡± Angelica asked. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Three mags on each.¡± Brands admitted unhappily. ¡°I don¡¯t think that will work,¡± She said. She started pacing, after a bit she offered, ¡°I have some explosives.¡± ¡°What kind?¡± Brand asked, hope tinting his tone. ¡°Dynamite,¡± Angelica replied, slightly embarrassed. We all paused to imagine us blowing ourselves up. ¡°I vote no on that.¡± I added, visions of Looney Tunes-style violence flashing in my mind. That coyote knew what he was getting into¡­ at least after the first time. That was suboptimal. ¡°I need to find a way to tank better.¡± I muttered to myself. Brand and Angelica exchanged glances. After taking another puff Brand said, ¡°Doug, you are literally the best tank I have ever seen. I am not sure you can take damage any more effectively or that it will help.¡± ¡°No, that aspect I have,¡± I explained, working through the issue aloud. ¡°Tanking is based on two pillars. Damage mitigation and control of enemy action. I need to find some means of focusing enemy aggression or preventing them from getting access to locations.¡± ¡°That second pillar is a controller role. Mages normally fill that niche,¡± Brand replied. Angelica clipped out of existence again and was back in her regular gear, ¡°You have any ideas Doug?¡± Holy shit! I think I did. ¡°We need to apply principles found in the dog lover¡¯s manifesto.¡± ¡°What?¡± Brand asked clearly lost. ¡°We need to build a shed,¡± I said, consulting my inventory. Brand turned to Angelica, ¡°Are you following this?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± She said, looking cautiously optimistic. Brand sighed with relief, ¡°Good, I was afraid the pain was making me hallucinate.¡± I pulled all the epic Scale pelts out of my inventory. That was a lot. I also pulled all large epic Scale bones out as well. Look at all¡¯a them bones. I pulled a tooth and a claw as well. The lions were uniformly big, each body about the same even with regard to minute details. ¡°Approach this like everything else," I muttered to myself. ¡°First: material. Done.¡± I needed an awl, the fang would do. I also needed a knife. The claw needed some work. It was a good inch long, but after the point it was dull. More for tearing than cut. I ran my finger and thumb along the length of the curve. I wanted to feel the edge. It wouldn¡¯t be great but if sharpened it could cut the skins. I pictured a short hooked blade in my mind ran my fingers along the claw, and thought to use the craft skill
Craft Check¡­ Successful! Epic Scale pocket billhook knife blade created
The curved claw sort of distorted in my hands. It flattened, lengthened, and a dangerously sharp edge formed on the inside of the curve. It was now about two inches long and still hooked. I lifted the tail of one of the pelts. Slicing it off neatly, I carried it over to the table. Carefully I ran the blade against the grain for the fur. It cut clean and even, removing the hair to the skin. I then cut the tail lengthwise. This produced a long thin cord of lion skin. I watched it subtly shift in my hand. Changing from a length of skin to a segment of heavy thread. I nodded to myself. That didn¡¯t make the most sense, but given this whole system seemed based more on spectacle rather than hard rules. Encouraged, I repeated this until I had a bundle. I then pulled a rib. Using the billhook I notched both ends. I wrapped the thread around the bone, and tied the ends together as I went. Again, the material shifted as I worked. The knots faded and formed a continuous line. It also seemed to increase in length as I spooled it. Let¡¯s say I cut a hundred stips. That would mean I should have less than a hundred yards or so of thread. I certainly wasn¡¯t an expert but the spools seemed to contain eight times as much.
Craft Check¡­ Successful! Epic Scale waxed thread produced (850 yards).
Okay, let¡¯s pick up the pace. I picked up the fang and thought of it longer and sharper. it transformed into an Epic Scale Awl as I stretched it in my hands.. I also took a sliver of bone and basically rolled it between my fingers and it slowly shaped into an Epic Scale bone needle. I then took two of the pelts. Breaking the bodies down in my inventory had already left them split along the length of the torso on limbs like an animal skin rug. That''s what I needed. I draped the pelts over one of the tables and went to work using the awl. I punched holes in the skin of the pelt, and stitched them together making a double wide lion pelt. No, lion centipede today. Not now. Not ever. Ignoring the limbs on the outside edges the double wide pelt was roughly ten feet wide and seven feet long. My handling of the pelt had almost merged the material together seamlessly. Time to check this out, ¡°Hey Angelica, Could you grab the other end and pull?¡± She had been quietly watching me work the whole time, ¡°Sure¡± it grabbed the front and rear legs. I grabbed the other side. ¡°Now pull. I want to see how strong this.¡± Angelica nodded and pulled. I planted my feet. The skin pulled drum tight. It didn¡¯t tear. Eventually I slid forward as Angelica''s incredible strength overcame whatever mechanism held me in place. Angelica nodded, ¡°that is pretty strong.¡± she frowned, ¡°How does this translate into a shed?¡± It is going to need some reinforcement. I started stringing the bones together using the thread to bind them. Thankfully, the material warped and fused impossibly to meet my will. This system was clearly asinine but it was biased toward allowing action. This created a big bone rectangle. I held it vertical, ¡°What do you think¡± Angelica walked to the middle of the frame. She pulled on the top side and it bowed immediately. ¡°Is this what you are going for?¡± ¡°No, this needs more structure,¡± I added more structure with some cross members with more bones. Anglica repeated her first test. This time the structure did not bend. She even tried flexing some of the sub frames, ¡°this is pretty strong. I would have to really try to break through something like this.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± I proceeded to drape the double wide pelt over the structure and began to sew it tight. The skin and frame became a flexible, yet solid barrier. I added four more supports so it could stand on its own almost like a lean-to wall. ¡°I see an issue,¡± Anglica spoke up after inspecting it for a moment. ¡°What?¡± I asked. Angelica slapped the barrier. The light structure didn¡¯t bow or break, but it did launch across the room and crash into the wall. It collided with the wall and bounced off like the flimsy mass it was. ¡°It needs some heft.¡± she looked at the support, ¡°I think a short stake at the end would be helpful too. Then it will bite into the ice when pushed from the outside.¡± ¡°Fair points well made,¡± I said, setting the barrier upright. ¡°Any recommendations for weight?¡± She thought, ¡°yeah but you are not going to like it.¡± she paused before explaining, ¡°We are going to need to get some rocks out of the dungeon.¡± Yeah, I didn''t like that answer. Brand did sit out this minor excursion. Fifteen minutes of fist fighting snow lions later we had four large and extremely heavy Rare Scale ferritic rocks. Back in our safe space and two craft checks later I had a bone hammer and chisel. A few good moments inspection and a couple of sharp taps later one of the rocks transformed into a half dozen flat round stone plates that were extremely heavy. Stitching them into the barrier caused
Construction Check¡­ Successful! Epic Scale Barricade has been created
Construction skill rather than Craft. Was This because I pictured something more building-like than a tool. I added that to the list of things to ask Denise about. Angelica Shoulder checked the barricade and it barely budged. She stepped back and nodded. She took three more large steps back and charged it again. It rocked slightly and did slide along the concrete but Angelica bounced off of it. ¡°Are you going to be able to carry this thing around?¡± I gripped the handle on the back, I had to put my back into it but I could lift it and then pull it into my inventory. Two cycles of crafting and construction later I had three Barricades. Each was roughly seven feet wide, and with the angle stood about the same height. In the narrow corridors they would severely bottleneck the lions. They would be less useful in the bigger rooms but that was to be expected. Okay that was area denial. Now to develop a means of controlling aggression. ¡°Angelica, I need you to stab me.¡± Chapter 20: Adapt… ¡°Fuck no,¡± Angelica replied without hesitation, her expression growing hard. ¡°...please?¡± I asked, growing uncertain at the apparent minefield I had just wandered into. ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Now Angelica sounded vaguely hurt. ¡°Mate,¡± Brand began quietly as he sat up, ¡°Let it go. Given her history¡­¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± Angelica cut him off. Her tone was steady, maybe even gentle, but it had a foundation to it that implied any refusal to acknowledge and follow the instruction was simply not an option. She held my gaze, ¡°I won¡¯t attack the people I travel with. Stop asking.¡± I wasn¡¯t the most empathetic man, but even I could tell this was a touchy subject. I could also tell I need to back the fuck away from it. ¡°Cool, but we need blood, a lot of it.¡± ¡°What for?¡± Angelica asked. She was clearly forcing herself to remain calm and collected. ¡°To control the lion¡¯s aggression. They have¡­ a thing for me.¡± I began. ¡°That said, they also like to pile on to anything bloody. If we can get me to the highest level of the Bloodied conditions I hope to get the Snow Lions to focus on me to their detriment.¡± ¡°He does have a point,¡± Brand acknowledged. He lay back down on his bed. After a very tense moment Angelica nodded, ¡°Yeah, he does.¡± ¡°So, what now then?¡± I asked. ¡°We do it the smart way,¡± Angelica took the medical kit out of her inventory. She pulled out a needle, a tube, and a rubber tourniquet. She also pulled a bucket out of her inventory. It was a tin pail. That felt really appropriate for some reason. ¡°Roll up your sleeve,¡± she instructed. I unequipped the jacket and rolled up my sleeve. A quick wipe with an alcohol swab, and a small poke later, my blood was pouring slowly into the bucket. After a few minutes I realized this was going to take a lot longer than a minute. ¡°What is the highest level of Bloodied conditions, I asked. ¡°Gore Soaked,¡± Brand said. ¡°No, there is one past that,¡± Angelica said. She was watching me and would check my pulse occasionally. ¡°The Blood For the Blood God condition. You have to stay Gore Soaked for at least a week. That requires basically non-stop fighting for that whole time. It is a bad condition. Pulls mobs from all over the continent straight to you.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± Brand asked after a moment. ¡°I ended up with it during the demon incursion,¡± Angelica said. It wasn¡¯t quite bragging, but it was close. ¡°Once we got close to the Hellgate it was just a meat grinder. Anyone that survived that, got the Rip & Tear achievement.¡± She wasn¡¯t bragging anymore, ¡°It¡¯s weird that somehow that was a simpler time. I knew exactly what had to be done.¡± She shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s in the past. No sense wanting to be sixteen again.¡± ¡°Level or years old?¡± I asked. Angelica startled slightly, popping out of some memory. ¡°Both. I have been at this for a while.¡± Brand laughed. He heaved himself from the bed and slowly walked over to us. His pain was obvious. He sat down next to me with a sigh. ¡°At that age, I was barely level ten. I had just become a Lieutenant. The sergeants would hide my map from me until I learned how to stop them from stealing it.¡± He pulled a bottle and three glasses out of his inventory. He poured each of us a generous portion. ¡°Rest well, Knockoffs,¡± He said and took a swig. They both looked at me. Ah shit¡­ It¡¯s not that I didn''t want to share information about my past. Okay, I didn¡¯t, but the thing is when compared to literal war, and fighting actual demons, my problems felt different. Not necessarily less, but there was a mundanity to my past. No point in being shy. ¡°At that age, I wasn''t anything impressive. I mostly was just trying to survive. I had run away from¡­ well, not home but my parents. I didn¡¯t think it through. I nearly froze to death one night. Thank God Jo and Hank found me. They had a habit of collecting strays¡­ or at least that is how they put it. That was a simpler and better time, for me at least.¡± I took a drink. It was good. It went down smoothly with the correct amount of burn. It also had a distinct taste¡­ peat? I don¡¯t know. I am uncultured. ¡°You doing okay with the blood loss?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°The regen is preventing any issues,¡± I replied, taking the off-ramp away from memory lane. ¡°Do we have any oil or something to prevent this from congealing?¡± Brand pulled a jar of industrial grease out of his inventory. ¡°Will that work?¡± I mixed some of the grease into the bucket of blood.
Craft Check¡­ Successful! Vitae of Tumult created Vitae of Tumult Made from the blood of a Titan Spawn this crimson grease inflicts the Gore Soaked condition on anyone. For ten hours it will also inflict the Blood Frenzy condition on any predatory mobs that perceive it. Blood Frenzy Anyone with this condition will have attack speed doubled but must attack the source of the condition until it or the bearer of this condition is killed. Craft skill has reached trained level.
I tossed the bucket into my inventory with its contents going along for the ride. That would certainly pull agro, but I worried about my ability to cope with that much attention. Having the cats attack twice as fast would probably translate to the base mobs being able to claw through my health. The bosses could become an even greater issue. Those bastards could hurt me. ¡°I think it may work too well, Blood Frenzy sounds like it could be overwhelming.¡± ¡°I think we may need to adjust tactics slightly,¡± Brand set his glass down, ¡°I have been holding to less¡­ traditional combat doctrines.¡± A combat shotgun, an assault rifle, and a damned grenade launcher appeared on the table. ¡°If we are going to have an old-fashioned row, we might as well go for the full Monty.¡± He examined his tattered clothing and frowned. ¡°It is less sustainable, but it is preferable to the alternative.¡± We both looked at Angelica. She blinked at us, ¡°Unlike you slackers, I have been giving this my all the whole time.¡± She took a drink. ¡°For the most part.¡± She set the empty glass down. Brand poured her another, ¡°And the lesser part?¡± Angelica hesitated, ¡°You know how it is¡­ if I escalate this too fast¡­ the counter move could be worse than what we are dealing with.¡± Brand scoffed, ¡°Do you honestly expect to cause spectacle creep?¡± The image of Celeste¡¯s spears of light striking flashed in my mind. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Brand sighed. His health bar was back in the green but he still looked awful. He pulled the bottle into his inventory and stood, ¡°I am going to clean up and rest, would you be so kind as to keep watch?¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Yeah, I got it,¡± I said with a wave. Angelica finished her drink. ¡°Stay sharp.¡± She went to the other shower. After a moment I stood and took another stab at it.
Blend In Check¡­ Failed!
That was less than beneficial. What was watching for us? I spent about ten minutes trying to trigger either a Perception or a Notice check. No dice. What the hell was in here with us? ¡°Denise, I have questions,¡± I said. ¡°About what?¡± the intern asked behind me. I turned to speak with her, ¡°Did you stop time?¡± Her eyes went wide and she pulled her phone out and pressed a button, ¡°Yeah.¡± I shook my head, ¡°Is this going to work?¡± Denise blinked at me for a few moments, ¡°Don¡¯t get mad, but how would I know that?¡± ¡°You gotta start studying this stuff more,¡± I admonished. ¡°Are the snow lions going to just break through the barricades I made?¡± Denise checked her phone. After reading something she sent a message to someone. Her phone pinged. She looked up at me, ¡°Not likely. The base mobs won¡¯t be smart enough to attack the barricades. Instead, they will try and move around or over. Bosses will be a crap shoot.¡± ¡°What if they are under the effects of Blood Frenzy?¡± Denise smiled at having the answer to a question at hand, ¡°They will attack the source of the condition exclusively, but they will get to attack twice as much.¡± ¡°So would they attack the barricades to get to me?¡± I pressed learning how these conversations go. Denise looked very uncertain. She tried to eye her phone without appearing to do so. This dragged on too long and she realized it made her look dumber than just reading it, ¡°No. They will select the source of the condition exclusively.¡± That sounded like this could actually work. I just needed to double down on fighting defensively. That should free up Angelica and Brand to slaughter the cats. I would just have to enjoy that vicariously. The door to the bathroom opened, and Celeste stepped out toweling her hair and wearing a large T-shirt and shorts. ¡°Doug, are you stopping time?¡± she paused when she saw Denise. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± ¡°Eep!¡± Denise managed. She took a step toward me. ¡°Doug, help!¡± ¡°Are you talking with Narrators?¡± Celeste asked. She looked stunned. ¡°This is an intern,¡± I managed, gesturing to Denise. ¡°Oh, then we can just kill her,¡± Celeste said like the problem had been solved. ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± I cut in. ¡°Denise is working for Wilson, but she is helping me learn the ins and outs of the system. Right, Denise?¡± ¡°Uhhh!¡± Denise sort of croaked. She was shaking and just staring at Celeste. Celeste, deeply unconcerned with Denise, turned to me, ¡°Doug, this is a terrible idea. She may be feeding you answers on how the world works, but she is also watching you and learning everything she can. Do you honestly think that she isn¡¯t telling Wilson everything?¡± ¡°She has to be,¡± I admitted. Denise gazed at me with horror. ¡°Is that any different from whatever other means he is using?¡± I continued. Celeste suddenly looked uncomfortable. ¡°That¡­ is true.¡± she sighed, ¡°You will need to keep your distance. Don¡¯t let your guard down.¡± She pointed between Denise and me, ¡°This setup didn¡¯t work out well for me. It didn¡¯t work out well for Angelica, either. I don¡¯t think it works out well for anyone.¡± ¡°So you are just going to let us keep talking to each other?¡± I asked. ¡°I can¡¯t give you the time you deserve, to teach you the things you should know,¡± Celeste admitted. ¡°If you are going to do this, do not tell her about your goal, your core concept, or your quests. That is how they manipulate you.¡± ¡°Is that it?¡± I asked. I expected more¡­ I don''t know¡­ anger. She looked disappointed, ¡°I¡¯m not here to tell you how to live your life, but I would recommend instead of talking to her, you tell Angelica the whole truth about who you are. She will help you.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± I started but stopped. ¡°Is it wrong that I just want to stay just Doug, her friend, and not be the Left Hand of the Titan?¡± Celeste smiled, sadly, ¡°Not really. Angelica is one of the few people that would actually get that. I still think it would be best to tell her.¡± ¡°I will after we get out of the dungeon,¡± I promised. Celeste flashed a real smile, ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that.¡± she turned and started walking back toward the shower, ¡°I am going to wait for this to be over. Flexing through a time stop gives me such a headache. Be careful.¡± Before she left I called after her, ¡°I am failing Stealth checks in these rooms even when you and Brand aren¡¯t watching.¡± Celeste stopped cold. ¡°I¡¯ll pass it along. Keep quiet about this. Whatever is watching will be listening too. I¡¯ll pass the important bit along, but keep your secrets until we are out of the dungeon.¡± and she left. I turned back to Denise. She was sweating bullets, ¡°You good Denise?¡± ¡°N-n-nope,¡± She stammered before asking, ¡°You have a Divine Scale player with you?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you know that already?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do the research,¡± Denise managed her blue complexion to an unhealthy gray. ¡°Could I go¡­ go do that, now?¡± ¡°Yeah sure,¡± I replied, letting her go. She¡¯d clearly had a big day full of mortal terror. ¡°...Thanks,¡± she said before vanishing. I felt a small thrum as time started up again. The door to the shower Angelica was in, burst open. She was grinning at me. ¡°Dude, are you and Celeste sneaking moments between time? Smooth.¡± She walked over and punched me on the shoulder. ¡°What?¡± I said flatly, very much not following her logic. Angelica just laughed. ¡°That is so perfect. You¡¯re both shy and awkward.¡± I began to follow the conversation. ¡°Oh that. I¡­ you¡¯re not mad?¡± Angelica¡¯s expression turned a bit more serious. ¡°Honestly, I am kind of relieved. I was getting concerned. Celeste tends to be a bit aloof. I was afraid she was getting isolated.¡± Her expression became even grimmer, ¡°If you break her heart, I¡¯ll break your legs.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± I replied simply, still supremely off balance. Angelica smiled again, ¡°Good for you.¡± ¡°Angelica, are we okay?¡± I asked. She frowned at me, ¡°Yeah. With regard to what?¡± I felt something clench inside. This probably wasn¡¯t a smart thing to bring up again, but I worried letting it fester could be worse, ¡°All the stuff with Adora.¡± Angelica laughed again, ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it, man. That sort of stuff happens all the time with those types around. It is always, ¡®Oh no, our clothes are wet¡¯ or ¡°Oh no, there is just one bed,'' or ¡°Oh no there is just the one Tauntaun and the nights are so cold. I guess we will have to huddle together.¡¯ It is always heavy-handed like that.¡± Now the spirit of what Angelica said was important, but I have my priorities. ¡°You have Tauntauns?¡± ¡°We have Star Wars references?¡± Angelica said, slightly confused before eyeing me suspiciously, ¡°Have you seen any of the Hoth series?¡± Uh-oh. I had crossed the fandom. I had only one option: go full sledgehammer, ¡°No. I was more into Star Trek.¡± Angelica looked sad, she closed her eyes and sighed, ¡°I am not mad, I am just disappointed.¡± I tried not to but laughed, ¡°So, good then?¡± Angelica thought for a moment, ¡°Let¡¯s turn this around. Doug, are we good? You don¡¯t have any issues with what happened?¡± I felt my face flush, ¡°I¡¯m not happy with what happened at Adora¡¯s place.¡± Angelica nodded, ¡°Did you have any real choice in going there?¡± ¡°No, but once we were in there¡­¡± I started, only to be cut off an instant later. ¡°Did you want any of that to happen?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°So, you didn¡¯t want to be there, you didn¡¯t want any of that to happen, and I have no permanent damage.¡± she said checking points off on her fingers, ¡°You good?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I managed. ¡°No problem, then.¡± She punched me on the shoulder again. ¡°Don¡¯t sweat the small stuff. Besides, I really want to tease you and Celeste for being all kissy-face in secret.¡± She stood, ¡°Tomorrow we kill another miniboss. Get excited¡­ except calm down and sleep instead. Meh. Good night.¡± As Angelica went to sleep, I just sort of sat there trying to sort through my feelings, and not getting anywhere. Was Angelica right? Did Celeste have a crush on me? Holy shit, high school really doesn¡¯t end. This shouldn¡¯t bug me, but it did. I wasn¡¯t good at this. ¡°Are you alright, mate?¡± Brand asked, appearing from seemingly nowhere. It definitely wasn¡¯t just me navel-gazing to the point of losing sight of the world. I jumped. That¡¯s when things got weird. I hadn¡¯t succeeded on a Notice check so i was surprised. That said I did succeed on the Willpower roll so my heart rate stayed completely level. I was still at 60 beats per minute. Ignoring that odd quirk of my new existence I leveled with Brand, ¡°I was just sorting through the fallout of an encounter with Adora.¡± ¡°My sympathies,¡± Brand pulled the bottle out of his Inventory and poured me another drink. ¡°Sort through it the best you can. Are you good for a watch? I would appreciate a night¡¯s sleep.¡± ¡°Yeah, I got it.¡± Brand nodded. But before he went to bed he said in a soft, serious voice, ¡°Don¡¯t let the gods define you.¡± Chapter 21. …Overcome Trial and error was the name of the game. We didn¡¯t start with the Vitae of Tumult. The concern was that once we used it, things wouldn¡¯t slow down. We also quickly realized a downside to blocking large portions of the tunnel with a barricade. You see, when that happens a large portion of the tunnel is blocked with a barricade. This obscured Brand¡¯s line of fire and prevented Angelica from using her AOE charge. The first time we tried it resulted in a hyper-violent, high-stakes game of whack-a-lion, but with so much cursing. There was also a less than gallant moment when we tried to unclog the tunnel only to find more lions trying to get at us. None of us shrieked in naked terror. Those were battle cries. That is how we all agreed history would remember it. Anyways, we won that fight eventually. The second major clash went much better. I planted the Barricade. Brand made liberal use of his rifle and killed any Lion trying to climb over the obstruction. This caused the corpses to wedge between the top of the barricade and the ceiling. The impromptu setup allowed roughly one killer kitty at a time to come at us from the side of the barricade. I would backpedal and pummel any lone beast trying to murder me. This would produce a conga line of cats for Angelica to slaughter. There was a slight hiccup when yet more cats poured around the barricade to attack her. Luckily, Angelica is a badass, Brand¡¯s shotgun could drive the cats back, and once I inserted myself into the situation, the engagement played out on our terms. It was the third encounter where we figured out the method to sweep and clear a hallway. I would drop a barrier. Brand would seal the top. We would all back up while chipping away at the horde. I would then drop the second barrier, repeat and drop the third barrier. Once the line was drawn out Angelica would Charge, then Charge and Charge again. Between spear wounds and thunder and lightning related injuries most of the lions were killed outright. Brand and I would sprint after her and mop up any stragglers. Trouble was that was when we hit a big open room with lots of points of ingress. We just sort of stood in the entryway surveying the ¡®empty¡¯ room. ¡°It looks clear.¡± I said, hesitating to enter. ¡°Agreed,¡± Brand said. After a brief pause he continued. ¡°Head out there and prove it.¡± ¡°Why do I have to do it?¡± I asked, stalling for time. Sure this run was way less damaging then previous runs, but that wasn¡¯t to say I missed the tender affection of the cats. Oddly, procrastinating wasn¡¯t helping. ¡°Because Miss De Leon is a lady, and I am delicate,¡± Brand explained in that sincere way British people have when they are being profoundly sarcastic. ¡°Seriously?¡± Angelica demanded incredulously. She cocked an eyebrow clearly debating whether to be confused, annoyed, or angry. ¡°I admit to making assumptions with you,¡± Brand snarked, ¡°But I am quite honestly delicate, at least when compared to you lot.¡± ¡°The sass is because I tried to stab you, isn¡¯t it?¡± Angelica asked. She also had that hint of annoyance people exude when they have no viable comeback. ¡°That and I am stalling for time to let Doug rally. The poor man is clearly terrified,¡± Brand nodded to me. ¡°I felt it my duty to cover for him, in his moment of infirmity.¡± ¡°Is it really covering for me, if you point it out?¡± I continued stalling. Brand appeared to think deeply about that, ¡°I don¡¯t suppose it would be. We will just have to allow for small improprieties in these trying times. Besides, you are the type to wear the truth like armor. Vulnerability in strength, and strength in vulnerability.¡± ¡°You got any other platitudes for me?¡± Brand rubbed his chin, ¡°Keep calm and carry on.¡± I sighed and pulled the Vitae out of my inventory, ¡°I think I should use this. Get a short ways in, put my back to a wall and use the barricades to turtle.¡± ¡°Get in position, and then use the Vitae,¡± Angelica instructed, counting the tasks on her fingers. I stepped into the room expecting to be swarmed. Thankfully, that didn¡¯t happen. Yeah, I had to pulp four cats that appeared out of the snow, but not a full swarm. I got to the wall and placed two of the barricades in a wedge shape. Each had one side against the wall of the cave. There was a gap about a foot wide between the two edges. I placed the third on top so I was enclosed. My heart was pounding in my chest. This had all the hallmarks of a bad idea¡­ but I was going to do it anyway. I pulled the bucket out of my inventory. Dipping two fingers into the mixture, I collected a dollop of the Vitae of Tumult. It had a consistency almost like whipped cream, which was all kinds of upsetting. I took a deep breath and then smeared it across my chest. Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. The dollop exploded in a deluge of sticky, crimson, slightly warm, weirdly scentless gore. If I had jumped into a tub of blood and sat in it for hours, I wouldn¡¯t be as thoroughly wetted in blood. Regretting my recent life choices I tossed the bucket into my inventory.
You are now Gore Soaked You are causing the Blood Frenzy condition. ¡­They are coming!
The next few minutes passed in complete anarchy. I lucked out, though. As the horde of lions swelled, some ended up on the roof. Their weight -and my extreme desire to not be eaten- allowed me to keep the lid on things as frenzied felines piled up and pressed on the underside of the roof. I fell into a rhythm of blocking the two to three cats that could reach in at a time, and then kicking them to death, while I dangled from the handle on my makeshift roof. After one almost disastrous lift of the ceiling, I pulled one of the remaining larger rocks out of my inventory. Its added mass was enough to slam the lid shut. I would like to say this was cool in any way, but the accurate description of this was a goon hanging from the ceiling by one hand, awkwardly swinging out of the reach of attacks, while flailing his legs frantically. Another unforeseen concern was the concentration of corpses. The crush of the snow lions¡¯ efforts to get to me was pulping the bodies, like organ-filled lemons in a juicer. Unfortunately, I had selected a relative low spot and this meant the blood was pooling. The tide was rising. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. That was when the White Shadow arrived. It crashed into my enclosure and my shed shuddered, bowed slightly, but held firm. The cat was also throwing four attacks a second at me. Again, my efforts to block it were fruitless. It must be able to roll higher than I could even with Scale advantage. Then again, it did have a lot of levels on me. I did the only thing I could think of: I swung out of its reach when it tried to maul me, and punted it in the head on the backswing. This still resulted in it hitting me about once a second, but that was manageable. It was also profoundly painful. For an unfortunate few seconds it managed to get its claws stuck in my flesh. This resulted in a deeply unpleasant game of tug-o-war. The worst part of this was where it had caught me. I won¡¯t go into specific details, but my shrieking increased in pitch as it tried to pull me closer. Eventually things¡­ pulled free. Regeneration is truly, truly wonderful. Without that pillar of my existence I would have had to come to terms with whatever condition that inflicted on me, possibly for my entire life. Instead, forty seconds of ignoring it caused it to clear from my prompts. Anyways, we soon went back to good old fashioned, wholesome violence. That is when Brand¡¯s shotgun blew a hole in the side of the White Shadow torso. I caught a glimpse of Angelica cleaving through yet more of the lions. The mobs ignored them to try and get to me. Holy shit, it was working. Sure, this was a near fuster cluck, but it was working. Another minute and we had it. The White Shadow was dead. The trash mobs were dead. Brand and Angelica were at well above ninety-five percent. Most of that damage was from the incident unclogging the hallway. When we made all those battlecries. Brave, non-embarrassing battlecries. Also my dick had healed. Job well done. Mistakes were made during the tear down. I pulled the roof piece into my inventory and was showered in dead lions. I had to dig my way out. This was complicated due to looting also being an endeavor. The bodies were not in the best condition. Distinguishing between one body and the other was also not as obvious as I would like. ¡°You good, Doug?¡± Angelica called. ¡°Yeah, I am just stuck under bodies,¡± I shouted back, muffled by the unreasonable weight of deceased cats over top of me. ¡°I believe in you,¡± She called back. I got my head above the¡­ water line and noticed that neither of them were moving to assist. ¡°Are either of you going to help me?¡± I spluttered. You know how people will say they don¡¯t want help? Something about valuing their independence. That absolutely was not me at this moment. Save me. I want to feel safe. ¡°You''re fine,¡± Angelica called back. ¡°And I don¡¯t want to touch you. You¡¯re gross!¡± I put a gore soaked hand on one of the bodies on top. The white fur did not stain white from my touch. Yeah, I was covered in the Vitae, but it had a kind of film around it. That apparently kept me Gore Soaked. What if I wanted to smear the blood onto a ¡®fresh¡¯ body? A surge of blood later and the corpse was coated in a thin layer of candied viscera. I pulled that corpse into my inventory and sure enough, it was an Uncommon Scale snow lion corpse (Gore soaked(Vitae of Tumult)) that required further exploration later. I still had to deal with the problem of being tits deep in snow lion bodies. ¡°The condition only spreads if I actively try to pass it on.¡± I shouted over. I heard Brand and Angelica discuss that quietly for a moment. ¡°Cool story, Bro!¡± She called back, ¡°We are going to keep watch for any¡­ stragglers while you extract yourself.¡± If they were going to be like that, I was going to take a moment and refine the process. We were going to have at least another big room like this on the way to the miniboss. After looting enough bodies to have solid footing, I pulled the barricades back into my inventory. This allowed a wave of blood and guts to cascade out. I then quickly set the three barricades back down in a triangle, with the narrow gap at one corner. Crafting quickly, I managed to make an actual roof for my shed of great justice. This hooked into place and couldn¡¯t be lifted or pressed in without bending the whole structure. I also rigged a harness that would let me lift the spiked stakes.
Lug Check¡­ Successful!
Moving at a phenomenally slow pace the whole thing shifted a few feet. When I set it down the stakes bit into the ice and it seemed sturdy. I tossed all the pieces into my inventory and finished looting the bodies. Sadly, the White Shadow had no gear to loot. ¡°No loot from the White Shadow?¡± I asked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t count as a miniboss if it isn¡¯t spawned in the miniboss room,¡± Angelica explained while toeing the line of the circle of gore. The next hallway was actually slightly easier. The lions seemed to spawn after we crossed set points. So while they were hyper focused on killing me, their numbers never spiked into impossible ranges. Plus once we got the rhythm down, Brand and Angelica could chew through the mobs at a somewhat frightening pace. The second large room wasn¡¯t as bad as the first. Having a fixed roof and lugging the shed into position on a high spot turned what had been a touch and go battle into a killing field. All said and done I only took 53 points of damage in the second big room. I hardly even felt the sting. A big part of that was probably due to no White Shadow turning up. Two more hallways and a third big room later we found ourselves in front of the entrance to the second Miniboss. It was composed of two tremendous wooden doors. One was carved to depict three people that did have a striking resemblance to our group. On the other was the head of a lion snarling ferociously. The top of the doors showed some malignant shadowy figure gazing down at us. The details were all highlighted with some technicolor metal. It gave the door this strange, otherworldly vibe. We stood there gazing at it for a moment. Brand was reloading his shotgun. Angelica tilted her head causing her neck to audibly pop. I took a step toward the door.
[Flag] Delete Message All processes halted! Retcon begins in 5¡­4¡­3¡­2¡­1¡­
That was¡­ bad. Angelica saw the look on my face, ¡°What happened?¡±
[Flag] Delete Message All processes halted! Retcon begins in 5¡­4¡­3¡­2¡­1¡­
The highlights of the door had changed from technicolor to gold. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said, looking around for any other differences, ¡°but I got a bad feeling all of a sudden.¡± ¡°Is that¡­ reliable?¡± Brand asked. ¡°In this case, yes,¡± I confirmed. Why would there be two retcons? Were the narrators fighting again? ¡°Not to sound petulant but our only options are to either open the door or go back to the safe room,¡± Angelica said looking between Brand and me, ¡°I say we go for it.¡± ¡°I agree with Miss De Leon,¡± Brand said with a nod. ¡°Might as well,¡± I sighed, ¡°It¡¯s going to be rough no matter what.¡± I took a step toward the door. That was when the second White Shadow ambushed me Chapter 22 Miniboss 2: Tunnel Run Boogaloo Killing the second White Shadow wasn¡¯t exactly difficult. It was Blood Frenzied and relied heavily on its stealth. This meant that Brand, Angelica, and I could dogpile it and kill it in seconds. That said, it devoted all of that time to mauling the shit out of me. It attacked me relentlessly and tore my stomach open. Moving on. ¡°You ready?¡± Angelica asked. She reached to touch my shoulder but stopped. I was still Gore Soaked. I had fully regenerated about a minute ago. ¡°Let¡¯s do this¡±
Warning! You have entered the domain of Grond, the God of Beasts. Your Scale is suppressed in this area Heroic Boss Megaleo spawned! Fight well!
Another domain, this one was more oppressive than Adora¡¯s. It was subtle, but I felt slight pressure on my skin and minor weight on my limbs. That was a disheartenedly large cat, roughly the size of a truck. When it roared it was like being struck by a wall of sound. It was also clad in massive metal plates. What kind of asshole dressed a giant cat for war? It charged me because of course it did. I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. I actively wanted this. Not now, but in the past. I tried to seek refuge in my shed. The Megaleo crashed into the structure, sending both it and me flying. I pulled the shed into my inventory as I tumbled through the air. Meanwhile, Angelica crashed into the heavy metal cat. She bounced off of it with a ringing gong note. It looked no worse for wear. Brand peppered it with a few bursts from his rifle. The bullets pinged off the armor and flew wild. One hit me. I am not bitter. I hit the ground and rolled. Just as I got to my feet. The Megaleo crashed into me again.
Attack from Megaleo successful You take 39 points of damage Titanic Regeneration plus 12 hit points HP: 213/240
The impact knocked the wind out of me. It also flung me across the room. The momentum this jumbo cat had was not to be overstated. I hit the ice and bounced, then slid. I rolled to my feet just before colliding with the wall. It bore down on me again. I ran. If you wanted to be technical, I used the Sprint skill. Turns out I have acceleration comparable to a muscle car. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t corner well. While I avoided the charge of the Megaleo, I slipped on the ice and face planted into a rock. That stung but no tweeting birds or dancing stars so I must be okay. The Megaleo still got the worse of the exchange. It crashed into the wall so hard the entire arena shook. The ceiling also started to rain down on us. Sharp but still crushing stalactites crashed down temporarily burying the Megaleo but also making our lives more difficult. The first few that hit me did a bit more than chip damage. After a half dozen more hurt me, I forced myself to use the block and dodge skills. I tried to invoke Deflection but despite the skill being successful the damage kept getting through. 3% is only impressive with compound interest. As the Megaleo dislodged itself, we tried some science. Angelica flung a bowling ball sized rock at the thing. It hit with a good amount of force but didn''t cause any visible damage. I tried harsh language. Brand¡¯s shotgun was just as ineffective. Both a blast of shot and the following slug from the next cartridge bounced off the Megaleo¡¯s metal plate armor. ¡°It has Structural Armor!¡± Angelica had swapped her spear with a sledge hammer. She charged, planted her feet, and swung the hammer down. It connected with the top of the Megaleo¡¯s armored head. An explosion of force radiated from the impact, shattered rocks and ice flew everywhere. The lion was still completely unharmed. ¡°It¡¯s Blessed!¡± She roared, running clear of its claws. The Megaleo shook its head, more upset with the sound than the impact, and charged me. Of course it did. I had slathered myself in ¡®attack-me goo¡¯. Instinct took hold. I ran¡­ okay, again I used the Sprint skill. Unfortunately this time I didn''t hit the bricks in time to avoid the attack. Several tons of ferocious feline and iron slammed into me¡­
Deflection check¡­ successful Damage Negated!
¡­ and bounce off me like a wad of paper. We stood there for a good two seconds, blinking at each other. Then I came to my senses and sprinted away. The Megaleo did take a swing at me. I must have been out of reach, because the paw swiped behind me and collided with a large stalactite stuck in the ice. It flew across the arena and crashed through the door to the hallway. Taking my moment to use a Hop, a Skip, and a Jump check followed by a Climb check, I had bounded up a pile of stones and was now hanging from a stalactite. The Megaleo jumped and barely cleared two feet vertically. The heft of the armor apparently meant it was not vertically mobile. ¡°Doug! We need to lure it out into the hallway! Inside this arena we can¡¯t break the armor!¡± Angelica shouted to me. Waving toward the door. ¡°Jump down and run for the safe room! I will hit it to give you some time!¡± ¡°No!¡± I bellowed over the Megaleo¡¯s roars. I adjusted my grip on the stalactite. ¡°You and Brand set a trap for it. I think it is supposed to break the safe room!¡± Angelica visibly did not like this idea. She hefted the hammer but didn¡¯t charge. Brand backed his way toward the door, ¡°Can you hold on?¡± The Megaleo tried to jump up to me again. It was not destined for a career in basketball. ¡°Yeah I¡¯m good,¡± I called back. Angelica and Brand left the room leaving me alone with the Megaleo. After about ten minutes the Megaleo tried standing on its back legs to try and grab me. This brought it nowhere near me. I was just beginning to feel confident when-
Perception check¡­ successful
I saw the gleam of a new intelligence fade into the eyes of the Megaleo. It glared at me with contempt. Then, despite the Vitae, it stopped attacking me and shoulder checked the wall. The stalactite I was on broke free. ¡°Shit!¡± I screamed as I fell.
Acrobatics check¡­ successful
I landed on my feet. I threw the remains of the stalactite into the Megaleo¡¯s face. It bounced off, doing no damage whatsoever. It did force the extremely big cat to blink. Which gave me the opportunity to Sprint away.
Blend In check¡­ successful Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Move Silently check¡­ successful
The Megaleo charged passed me and circled the room. Then it did it again. For a brief, psychotic moment I considered trying to Ambush the Megaleo. Then I came to my senses. Something had changed. The cat was thinking. I was pretty sure something was piloting it. That was suboptimal. I needed to stall for time. After about another five minutes I wondered why whoever was running this beast didn¡¯t just try and sniff me out. I certainly wasn¡¯t going to tell them. I was taking the the stance of fuck snow lions in general and this one in particular. I crept closer to the door.
Blend In check¡­ Failed
The Megaleo roared and charged. ¡°Doug! Run!¡± Brand shouted from outside the arena. There was a loud ¡®Thump!¡¯ and a grenade exploded against the Megaleo¡¯s face. That stalled it long enough for me to bug out. Or it would have, but I tripped on a rock. It sounds simple to keep mentally using skills, but in the heat of the moment things slip.
Attack from Megaleo successful You take 42 points of damage Titanic Regeneration plus 12 hit points HP: 210/240
That could have been bad but whoever was driving the Megaleo was a dumbass. The hit launched me out of the arena. A quick Acrobatics check and I hit the ground running. I hauled ass past Brand. He grabbed me as I surged by and trailed behind me Buster Keaton style. The Megaleo burst through the area gateway. I mean the doorway was too small to accommodate it and it crashed through three feet of solid rock to get to us. It released another basso roar and gave chase. Two things became immediately apparent. First, I had better acceleration and with Acrobatics I had better handling. Trouble was the second thing. The Megaleo had a greater top speed . This meant the Megaleo was going to catch us if nothing changed. I could hear its breath chuffing behind us. I could feel the pounding of its paws hitting the ground immediately behind me. A third Variable entered the equation. Brand pulled some sort of harness out of his inventory. I think it was a tandem parachute harness. I hope that¡¯s what it was. Stranger still he managed to equip me with it. This resulted in me carrying Brand in some sort of papoose with him facing backwards. He pulled something out of his inventory and lobbed it at the Megaleo. He then blasted it with his shotgun. Turns out that was some dynamite. The explosions hit surprisingly hard. I heard a lot of people describe it like getting hit with a giant pillow. That is sort of correct. Except think of it more like being hit by a mattress, on the front of a truck going at least ten miles an hour. The blast lifted me slightly into the air. It caused me to jump forward, but I kept my feet. I was now deafened, and took seven points of damage from the air and noise. The Megaleo was still coming, but its armor now had authentic battle damage. Brand peppered it with several slugs, but the damage seemed minimal. Then we entered the big room. ¡°Jump!¡± Brand shouted. I did. So it turns out I can get serious distance while Sprinting. The Megaleo didn¡¯t try to leap after us. It hit a suspicious part of the ice. Turns out that was several blankets soaked in water to make a stiff plank over a massive drop. The drop led to a solid boulder. The boulder met the Megaleo face to cliff face. To my slight horror the boulder lost that encounter. It shattered as the bulk and force of the lion pushed through. That said the miniboss certainly didn¡¯t win that exchange. The plating on the front legs had shattered, so did the face plating. The armor on the torso was still intact. It glared at us. ¡°Keep running,¡± Brand instructed, elbowing me. He didn¡¯t have to tell me twice. We ducked into the next tunnel sequence. I spotted the dynamite on the walls. Once the Megaleo entered the hall after us, Brand set them off. My ears rang, but it didn¡¯t cause any significant damage to me. Brand did look worse for the wear his health had dipped into the yellow. The miniboss was still hale and hearty. The armor looked to have seen better days. A few near misses in the tunnels and we found ourselves in the second big room. Brand kicked a pipe as we exited the tunnel. That dropped several big damn rocks on the Megaleo.now when I say big rocks, I am describing rocks that were bigger than me. Each probably weighed a ton. It shrugged off the hits disrespectfully. Brand cursed. I kept running and ducked out of the room. We entered the hall. I rounded the corner to find Angelica with¡­ yep, that was a heavily-modified fucking M3. You know, the M3 Anti-Tank Gun. That thing that was an artillery piece, or mounted on vehicles in WW2. It was modified to be a hero-portable rifle. I dodged. The second I was out of her line of fire she pulled the trigger. A 37mm shell erupted from the barrel. Angelica handled the recoil and slid slightly. The high explosive shell crashed into the Megaleo. What happened next happened extremely fast. The beast¡¯s head flattened, and then the body ruptured. I was reminded of seeing a video of a water balloon being popped. The skin rips free. That leaves a relatively intact blob floating for a brief moment. Then the liquid moves. In this case it all exploded outward. The last of the armor turned to shrapnel. Several pieces embedded in me.
You gain no experience for Snow lion type enemies
I sighed. While this was not as close of a call as the first fight with the White Shadows, this was a hell of a strain. Each of the Megaleo¡¯s hits had all the agony of that accidental crit from Angelica. It also seemed custom built to respond to my strategy with the barricades. Was this the spectacle creep Brand mentioned? Brand had unhooked himself from the harness and me, ¡°Mate, Are you alright?¡± I hadn¡¯t been breathing correctly. It turns out sprinting at max speed while not breathing perfectly caused problems.
You have the Exhausted Condition. You are immune to all effects of this condition You have the Hypoxia Condition You are Immune to all effect of this condition
These conditions caused tiny dots to appear in the periphery of my vision, my skin to tint blue, and unless I focused to regulate my breathing my lungs reflexively spasmed. Technically I had a few other conditions, Perforated for one from the shrapnel, but that faded as my regen forced the metal shards out of my body. ¡°Yeah¡­I¡­am¡­fine¡­¡± I managed between gasps. I took three purposeful deep breaths. Forcing the rhythm to appear normal, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us you had a fucking cannon?¡± ¡°What?¡± Brand demanded from me. After pausing for a moment he said, ¡°She had that!¡± ¡°Yeah, this is my tank hunting rifle,¡± Angelica replied nonchalantly, hefting it on her shoulder. ¡°Why do you have that?¡± I asked, still wheezing. ¡°For hunting tanks,¡± Angelica said matter of factly as she pulled the weapon into her inventory. ¡°I only got two shots left. Also, this thing is hard to reload, and aiming is¡­ well there is a reason I was set up at the narrowest part of the hallway. I nodded as I took the Titan Brew out of my inventory. One swig later and I was no longer Exhausted. This let me breathe normally and allowed me to remove the Hypoxia condition. This, in turn, let my mind focus on things other than the unpleasant sensations, ¡°Wait, can we still loot this miniboss?¡± ¡°...probably,¡± Brand said, examining the slurry that was the Megaleo. ¡°It is just a matter of finding a piece of the body.¡± He found a leg and gestured us over. We all looted the boss. I let Angelica and Brand go before me. I don¡¯t know what they got but I got some new things
You have acquired: Juggernaut¡¯s Bangle Megaleo Corpse God Blessed Iron Fragment x 14
The gore and slurry sort of vanished as I tossed the body into my inventory after Angelica and Brand looted the miniboss. This revealed hundreds of the metal fragments. We spent some more time collecting the rest of them. We then had to trek back to the minibosses room for the key.
Warning! You have entered the domain of Grond, the God of Beasts. Your Scale is suppressed in this area
Yep, that was still a thing. Now that I had time to actually look at things, some details became more apparent. Dozens of goblin bodies were scattered around a large circle etched in blood. The circle held a strange sigil in it. It was a three fingered clawed hand. I think. It may have been a really shitty letter ¡®G¡±. Brand looked at it also, ¡°That is a ritual circle. That must be how the Megaleo ended up with blessed armor.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Keep explaining,¡± I prompted, looking closer at the body of a goblin. ¡°Grond is a God of Beasts. He has significant control over animal mobs. His followers can tame some of them. One of them must have used goblins to power a blood ritual. They must have had several ticklish moments getting the lion in the armor.¡± Angelica explained picking up the second key. It looked just like the first ¡°What makes you say that?¡± I asked genuinely curious. ¡°It¡¯s a cat,¡± Brand said, letting the statement stand on its own. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the safe room guys,¡± Angelica said, before she kicked the circle and broke the pattern. ¡°You know all said and done today was a good day,¡± I said. That was when the third White Shadow came out of nowhere and bit me on the ass. Chapter 23: A Quick Review Once we got back to the safe room I immediately tried to scrub myself clean. Trouble was I kept failing the cleaning checks. I even cranked the water as hot as it would go and scrubbed as hard as I could. While the top layer of my skin was coming off. The film of vitae stayed stuck. The really odd bit was when I pulled a piece of gear out of my inventory but didn¡¯t equip it, the clothing was clean. But if I equipped it, it was soaked in gore. Taking it off came away dirty. Tossing it into inventory and then pulling it back out again? Clean. After getting dressed I joined the others. When they saw me still red-tinted, I explained, ¡°I can¡¯t get clean.¡± We sat at a table. Brand was cleaning his guns. Angelica was sharpening her spear. I was twiddling my thumbs. ¡°What have we learned?¡± Brand said around the cigarette in his mouth. He seemed to be falling into the habit of having one after each run. Must be running low. ¡°I think the barricades and the blood work pretty good,¡± I said, drumming my fingers on the table. ¡°Understatement,¡± Brand muttered, shaking his head, ¡°The only gap I can see is lack of utility against Heroic Scale brute-type enemies.¡± ¡°Is that really a gap?¡± Angelica asked, looking up from her work. ¡°I would say that is to be expected,¡± Brand admitted. ¡°Do we think that Megaleo is going to be rattling around the dungeon?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think it will be armored the next time we encounter it,¡± Angelica said. She pulled the spear into her inventory. She clipped out of reality for a second and switched from her red coat and snow pants to jeans and t-shirt with the picture of a winged horse sliding down a rainbow on it. She rolled her shoulders and neck, ¡°Some¡­¡± she stopped herself, ¡°It just doesn¡¯t seem likely.¡± she finished. ¡°Agreed,¡± Brand said quickly. I picked up on the ¡®not talking about how we know someone is in here with us¡¯ bit. I looked at the piece of loot I got from the Megaleo.
Juggernaut¡¯s Bangle Improve Power Attribute by 5. Gain access to the Wrecking Crew skill. While worn gain two levels of Scale while applying force to objects or structures. Wrecking Crew skill The not so delicate science of knocking down those uppity buildings. Use this skill to identify weak spots in a structure. Also successful rolls allow user to negate up to mind points of defense for a building they are trying to destroy.
I pulled it out of my inventory and set it on the table, ¡°Is this any good?¡± Angelica looked at it and whistled. ¡°That cat was twinked out.¡± She pulled a green headband.
Analyze check¡­successful Headband of Impossible Endurance While wearing this headband you are immune to any Exhaustion related conditions caused from extreme activity. Note: without rest Exhaustion condition will still progress at normal rate.
Damn that was huge. We both looked at Brand. He sighed a cloud of smoke. ¡°Fine.¡± He pulled a pair of bracers out of his inventory and set them on the table next to the rest of the gear.
Analyze check¡­successful Rupturing Bracers Ignore twenty points of targets Defence Armor: 14
No wonder that thing was so hard to mitigate. ¡°I am quite happy with my gear,¡± Brand said, pulling the shotgun into his inventory. ¡°I am not exactly interested in trading.¡± ¡°The current distribution does seem fairly ideal,¡± I admitted. ¡°Dungeons tend to be more optimized in distribution of loot,¡± Angelica said, picking the headband back up, ¡°At least until the end. God, I hate that drama.¡± The headband disappeared into her inventory. Brand picked up the bracers and pulled the bracers into his inventory. He took the butt of the cigarette out of his mouth and tossed it into his inventory ¡°Anything else worth discussing?¡± Brand asked. He looked deeply, almost spiritually weary. ¡°I got nothing,¡± that I cared to say, possibly under surveillance. Angelica shook her head ¡®No¡¯. Brand stood and stretched, ¡°I am going to shower.¡± after a few steps he asked, ¡°Care to join me?¡± I was not expecting that. I froze. I am many things. Among them is smooth as 40 grit sandpaper. ¡°Yeah, why not¡­¡± Angelica said flatly. She followed Brand into the shower he always used. ¡°Huh,¡± I muttered to myself. I would not have guessed that would happen. It would probably be a good idea to consider my feelings about what just happened, or¡­ ¡°Denise. I have questions.¡± Avoidant behavior for the temporary win. ¡°Okay,¡± Denise said, appearing behind me. ¡°Can we make it quick?¡± she sounded on edge. I turned to face her. Denise had her head on a swivel. Trying to look everywhere all the time. She also kept eyeing the door to the shower. I raised an eyebrow, ¡°Do you have a problem with that?¡± ¡°I find the whole process¡­ upsetting.¡± Denise said with a disgusted look on her face. She pressed on, ¡°You said you had questions.¡± ¡°Yeah, what were the retcons?¡± I watched Denise closely to see if the question provoked a response. It did but not the one I thought it would. Denise brighted. She all but exuded that energy people have when they talk about that part of their job that they actually like, ¡°That was actually kinda fascinating. Lindsey updated the dungeons AI from lethal to killer mentality. That caused the dungeon to enable a soft lock with the blessing and Domain interaction. You are actually quite lucky you guys went in the order you did.¡± That had a lot of troubling implications, ¡°I take it Lindsey is Fiona¡¯s replacement?¡± Denise nodded with a smile, ¡°Yep. But the second Retcon was where things became almost genius. Wilson suggested letting the arena be open because that allowed for the potential for the Megaleo to destroy the safe zone. Brandon ran with it, because the default scenario would have had the Megaleo reach the safe zone with about six percent of its hit points. That would have forced you guys to do a low resource run to finish the dungeon, but would have prevented an obvious chance of soft locking. At least in a way that would have made the audience feel cheated. How did you figure out that the plan was for the Megaleo to break this place?¡± ¡°I just thought about what was the most assholish reason for opening the door,¡± I explained. She didn¡¯t seem to like my answer. ¡°Am I good to go then?¡± Denise asked. Again she was trying to look everywhere all at once. ¡°I still have questions, How many types of armor are there, and what are the differences between them?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah so, there are three types of armor: Soft, Hard, Structural.¡± Denise said not looking at her phone. ¡°Soft armor is the lightest armor. It almost never has any negative effects for wearing it. But it is the least protective, tends to have the lowest defense rating, and allows d4 damage through should an attack hit. Hard armor is much more expensive to make, and harder to maintain. Beside always having a base deflection rate of five percent at the lowest it only lets one point of damage through to the user per hit through. It takes the remaining of the d4 as damage to itself. So hard armor tends to not stick around that long. Then there is Structural armor. This is the most protective armor with regard to mitigating damage, but it is heavy. Wearing structural armor limits all sorts of mobility skills. The big thing is while you are wearing it, you are not going to take any damage. The armor is taking whatever damage there is. That is why it isn¡¯t going to be around much after a few big fights.¡± she pulled out her phone, ¡°The Megaleo¡¯s armor was Godsteel structural armor. It had one-hundred and seventy-five structural points. Before you ask, Structural points are like hit points but for an object or building.¡± ¡°Could I craft structural armor with the material I have?¡± asked, looking at all the bones I have in my inventory. Denise tapped at her phone for a brief moment then frowned. She tilted her hand from side to side for a moment, ¡°Sota, kinda, not in a way you would like. It would take literally every bone you have in your inventory and about thirty hours of your time to craft a set of Bone-shell armor. The armor will have about 50 structural points and an armor value of 16. It is going to take at least a d4 damage each time you get hit, so you could really only use it for a boss or something. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. That didn¡¯t sound like a great answer. I would almost be better off making more barricades, although that was going to get rough on the inventory space quickly. ¡°Can I please go?¡± Denise pressed. ¡°Celeste isn¡¯t going to hurt you¡­I think,¡± i started ¡°You Think!¡± Denise shouted her fear going from containable to the other thing. ¡°I am all but certain,¡± I tried to explain. ¡°It¡¯s not just her I¡¯m worried about,¡± Denise started but stopped. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, ¡°Let¡¯s focus. What other questions do you have?¡± ¡°Why is my regen ¡®healing¡¯ my armor, would it work with structural armor?¡± I asked. Suddenly I found myself hoping the system would continue to be the clown parade it has been up till now. Trusty phone in hand Denise searched for the answers, ¡°Okay, so the QA team thinks that what is happening is your Scale is causing minor glitches. The power of your regen is getting confused because the Titanic Armor perk marks the gear with your essence. This makes the regen unable to tell where your skin ends and the armor begins so it just heals both. They have patched this so it won¡¯t devolve into a full on exploit. So, no regeneration with hard armor or structural armor.¡± ¡°Lame,¡± I complained. ¡°If you are going to pout I can just leave¡­like right now¡­ please?¡± Denise responded clearly not sympathetic. One last thing, ¡°Why did the material I was crafting bend and mold to my will while I was crafting with it?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re a titan spawn,¡± Denise said. After realizing who she was talking to she elaborated, ¡°You aren¡¯t just a physical being. You are also pushing the boundaries of the system''s ability to handle things on a metaphysical level. You had four levels of Scale on the epic material you were crafting with making things easier as you went. Most players would be at a penalty when trying to work with epic Scale materials, but you get bonuses. ¡°But I wasn¡¯t trained in the skill until after I made the Vitae of Tumult,¡± I said, legitimately confused. ¡°Dang it,¡± Denise muttered, going back to her phone, ¡°Okay. your Scale still meant you didn¡¯t take penalties, but you had high enough attributes and were crafting simple enough things that you made your checks. For the Vitae you did roll a critical success. You just got lucky there.¡± That actually made sense. The system worked for me because I was a titan spawn. Even when things shouldn¡¯t benefit me, being a titan spawn allowed me to ignore the limitation. ¡°Thanks Denise. You can get out of here.¡± ¡°Bye Doug,¡± she said before blinking out of existence. Then it hit me. ¡®It''s not just her I am worried about.¡¯ Denise was afraid of someone else who could act during a time stop. Oh shit. I am not sure why, but I had assumed ¡®gods¡¯ would be more hands off in their dealings. Denise clearly feared someone coming down here and doing stuff. The door to the shower opened, ¡°Doug get in here,¡± Angelica commanded. There will come a day when I will know what is about to happen. It is not that day. Tomorrow didn¡¯t look good either. I really was not expecting Angelica and Brand to get together. This invitation was beyond my imagination. Why would they even want me around for that? ¡­team building exercise? ¡°No thank you.¡± ¡°Now,¡± Angelica insisted flatly. She slammed the door behind her and went back into the shower. I sighed and got to my feet. I was mentally preparing some sort of ¡®it¡¯s not you, it¡¯s me¡¯ speech. Which I should be able to improv by stating the honest truth, that while not sex negative. I was just not in a head space to meaningfully contribute to group sex. Also I just didn¡¯t wanna. The constant violence of the dungeon was something I didn¡¯t want associated with sex. That can¡¯t be healthy. My mind went to an odd place. I was clearly avoiding the current situation, and while that was of course going to result in being pulled back into reality, for the moment I could drift away from that problem. It is the perfect strategy. You know for an extremely finite amount of time. Okay so I won the lottery. No, that is not quite right. Marnie and I won the lottery. She loved playing the game, and bought a ticket each month. I always thought it was silly, but that time I bought the ticket for her. And we won. Now it wasn¡¯t some record breaking jackpot that makes headlines, but it was thirty million dollars. That became roughly fifteen million to our bank account after taxes. We then donated half the money to various charity groups leaving us with about seven million. Marnie was the smart one then. She insisted I pull in my buddy Richard. He was a stock market guy. Not wealthy, but actively building a retirement as he spouted southern fried platitudes about what he could accomplish with a real ¡®warchest¡¯ it turns out that worked out to a roughly seven percent return on investment year over year. Which translated to a four percent growth of the investment and about a quarter of million dollars a year passive income for us, and a hedge fund large enough for Richard to attract other investors. I was at the door. The money didn¡¯t help then. It wouldn¡¯t help now. I opened the door to find Angelica in shorts and a sports bra by the door, and Brand in a swimsuit, standing under the shower. The wall of the shower was covered in carvings and some sort of bloody rune was drawn on the mirror. I closed the door behind me, ¡°Before we go any further, is this a weird sex thing?¡± ¡°No,¡± Angelica said, sliding the lock to the door in place. ¡°Now strip.¡± ¡°Gonna have to ask you why?¡± I said, not stripping. I didn¡¯t even sway to the music. ¡°So we can scrub that horrifying gunk off of you?¡± Angelica explained. She waved her arm toward Brand in the shower. ¡°In you go.¡± I found my attention locked on the cut in her arm.
Willpower check¡­ successful Emotional state kept under control Note: Repeated rolls will increase difficulty.
That is not lessening with time. ¡°Could you please cover that?¡± I pointed at her arm. Angelica looked at the cut, ¡°It¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± ¡°You have your traumas, I have mine. Please?¡± Angelica shrugged and taped up her arm, ¡°Better?¡± I nodded. ¡°If you are finished, we have a lot to do,¡± Brand chided. ¡°I am still not clear on why this needs to be a group activity?¡± I explained, still not stripping. I am a tease that way. ¡°Because we are also going to put together the final plan for clearing the dungeon without surveillance.¡± Brand answered. ¡°Oh, why didn¡¯t you lead with that?¡± I pulled all my gear except my tighty-whities back into my inventory. Angelica wolf whistled. ¡°Really?¡± I asked. Angelica shrugged, ¡°It felt like it would be funny in the moment.¡± The scrubbing of the vitae was not pleasant. It was also not in any way erotic. It was just Brand and Angelica rubbing soap all over my back, chest, legs and arms. Apparently my face was my responsibility. ¡°Why are we all doing this?¡± ¡°Because you are going to need help to get a high enough roll to get the gore off of you,¡± Angelica said, her efforts were scouring in nature. After a few minutes she busted out a pumice stone. While, abrasive it didn¡¯t budge the gore. I was failing every attempt to clean myself also. Shit, was the Vitae Titanic Scale? I did make it out of my own blood. Did that mean that this assumedly common Scale soap couldn¡¯t clean the blood? Wasn¡¯t this only supposed to last ten hours? I looked at the condition. It informed me that I was no longer causing the Blood Frenzy condition. The gore stuck around. I was beginning to suspect that this Vitae of Tumult was something meant to be applied to someone else. That said, I had concerns about applying it to others. It seemed like a death sentence with a cruel and unusual means of execution ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± I asked, as we scrubbed my body. ¡°Are we still clear?¡± Brand checked with Angelica. She paused for a moment before nodding. After getting the all go ahead he continued, ¡°It is highly likely that beating the last miniboss is going to set off some sort of trap that if we do not immediately make for the final boss will prevent us from ever reaching it.¡± That made sense to me. ¡°I take it this room is safe?¡± ¡°For now yes,¡± Angelica said, she was constantly checking on the mirror and having her eyes then stare into the middle distance. ¡°The rune will block magical divinations up to divine Scale.¡± ¡°And I have planted several anti-surveillance devices over my time here. If they can listen in that way, we have no means of opposing them anyways,¡± Brand said ¡°Good to know, because I think a god is messing with us,¡± I said. ¡°What makes you say that?¡± Brand inquired. His tone was casual but I felt him pause at my words. ¡°The Megaleo stopped frenzying and attacking me to knock me off the ceiling, and then hunted me without trying to sniff me out. I am a little surprised it just chased us down the tunnel.¡± Brand sighed. ¡°Damn, I had hoped we were simply dealing with a Priestess of Grond. Possession of a heroic Scale boss is beyond them though. That complicates things greatly.¡± ¡°Is that going to change our plan?¡± I asked. I found my eyes being drawn to the rune on the mirror. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Angelica said after a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°Plan is a bit of a strong word anyways. It boils down to what we have been doing before. Depending on the miniboss you need to hide in the shed and just draw attention. Then we immediately dash for the final boss. I was going to immediately bust out my trump card to wrap this up and be done, but if we have a god, even a relative lightweight like Grond, it is probably going to be best to keep that in the deck.¡± ¡°How likely are they to step in?¡± I asked. Angelica shrugged, ¡°Impossible to say to what degree. He is probably going to try and pilot the last miniboss. The area is almost certainly going to be a domain. No clue what he is going to pull with the final boss.¡± ¡°I suspect the final boss will be a spawning boss with a priestess supporting it,¡± Brand supplied. He stopped trying to scrub the gore of me, and stepped out of the shower, ¡°I believe that will be the real test of your tanking strategies.¡± ¡°I still have the bucket of this stuff,¡± I gestured at myself. ¡°If I get a shot at it, I will try and apply it to the boss. That could turn a bunch of the lions on the boss.¡± ¡°That idea has serious potential,¡± Angelica said, thinking through something. ¡°I hate to say it, but I don¡¯t think we can get you clean.¡± she also stepped out of the shower, ¡°okay, so we will conga through the halls. Doug will shelter in his shed in any big rooms. I will over power the megaleo if it doesn¡¯t have armor. If it does we will run back to the safe zone even if it breaks this place. We have to gamble on the third miniboss, but once it is done we go for the final boss. Brand and I will clear the way for Doug to coat the final boss in the rage goo.¡± ¡°Vitae of Tumult,¡± I corrected. ¡°That is much fancier,¡± Angelica agreed. ¡°Anything else we need to discuss. ¡°I got nothing,¡± I said, turning the shower off. ¡°Leave that on,¡± Angelica said, shooing me toward the door. I turned the water back on before shuffling passed her and stood next to Brand. He put a hand on my shoulder, ¡°One last order of business then. Doug, are you any good at acting in any way?¡± I shook my head, and shrugged my shoulders, trying to get his hand off. ¡°No. I can''t act to save my life.¡± Brand Sighed, ¡°Pity. You will have to be the wronged party.¡± I was just about to ask what he was talking about and if he could take his hand off my shoulder when suddenly his other hand was on my dick. This surprised me greatly, ¡°Brand what the fuck?¡± I roared. Angelica pushed both of us out the door. We flew across the room and slapped wetly onto the floor. ¡°If you are going to fight, fuck off!¡± She slammed the door behind her. Why was she naked? ¡°Way to ruin a good time, mate,¡± Brand said, standing. He stood and flicked the water off his hands before pulling a cigarette out of his inventory and lighting it. I found myself in his face shouting, ¡°You just grabbed me out of nowhere!¡± Brand blew a puff of smoke into my face, ¡°You know what we were doing in there. Honestly, were you being selfish or naive? It is hard to tell with people like you.¡± I almost hit him. Then I realized what just happened. Apparently we were now selling that whatever secret thing happened in that shower was whatever lurid image a voyeur could imagine, but ending in an interruptus sort of way. I even said I couldn''t act. So, actually upsetting me was the way to have that outcome occur. Strangely, understanding that Brand knowingly upset me by violating my personal space didn¡¯t soothe my anger. I felt my knuckles pop. When I spoke my voice was toneless and calm, ¡°Never do that again.¡± Chapter 24: Frustration Time stopped. I knew it by the telltale cessation of all natural movement. All the lights except the one over Brand and I faded to darkness. I found myself staring out into what now felt like an infinite black void. It had to be a Divine Scale player involved. Which one, though? As if on cue, a sultry light burst into existence, the warm glow revealing Adora. She was draped over a lounge, her hair perfectly curled, her makeup flawlessly applied, and her gown holding her curves in an enticing -but clearly staged- way. She wasn¡¯t looking at me, but instead was focused on her nails. Slowly filing away at one. That last detail was what really broke the illusion. The idea that someone would stop time and travel to the depths of a dungeon, but not actually care about what they were doing more than their nails was laughable. ¡°Hello Adora,¡± I said, keeping my tone neutral. ¡°Hello to you too, Sweet Moose,¡± She said after a long moment examining her nails. She didn¡¯t look up from her work. ¡°I am going to have to ask you to not rough up my boy, Brand, there.¡± ¡°He¡¯s your kid?¡± I asked, looking between the two and seeing no resemblance between them. ¡°No,¡± She said unconcerned, ¡°He is just¡­ under my¡­ supervision. He is far too amusing running free to let you just smash him. At least to death.¡± ¡°Why are you actually here?¡± I demanded. My patience with everything was wearing phenomenally thin. Adora tutted, still not looking at me. ¡°While I may not have been able to see into that little room of yours I know you three weren¡¯t actually doing anything of interest. You still have the Awkward Virgin achievement, and haven¡¯t handed out any First achievements either.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hear a question.¡± Adora sighed dramatically, ¡°I go through all that trouble to distract Grond and you wasted the opportunity.¡± ¡°Distract Grond?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh, he is easy to manipulate. There is a reason his clergy are all priestesses,¡± Adora explained. She examined her work and nodded. ¡°Ew,¡± I said without thinking. ¡°I know right?¡± Adora agreed, actually looking at me now. She may be a manipulative psycho, but she had really pretty eyes. Before this moment I had sort of wondered about Mental Resistance. Its effects seemed deeply nebulous and other than locking Wilson out of my mind, allegedly, it didn¡¯t seem to do much. This is when it really demonstrated its value. I felt a passive mental effect hover just outside my ability to detect almost like a hand not quite touching me. You can sense the heat and the faint movement, but you can¡¯t feel contact. What I did feel was a metaphorical hand slap the mind effect hard before it could touch me. It didn¡¯t even raise a prompt. No point drawing attention to the fact that the mind effects weren¡¯t working. ¡°That is such a terrible power imbalance,¡± I continued. I am actually not big on sexual repression, but that setup sounds exploitative. It is coercive for an employer to link continued employment to sexual services. A god withholding favor to people in this world full of literal monsters unless they put out¡­ gross. ¡°...yes, that is the problem I was criticizing too,¡± Adora said unconvincingly. She sat up before continuing, ¡°Let¡¯s cut to the chase. I want Brand out of this dungeon alive. I also want you and the other two to clear the dungeon and stop it from constantly breaking. So, I am going to offer some help.¡± ¡°At what cost?¡± I asked. I did not trust this woman. Any gift she offered was almost certain to be some sort of golden handcuffs, or the fuzzy kind I guess. Adora rolled her eyes, ¡°Don¡¯t be so dramatic. There are four other dungeons like this one in the Wastes. I would like you to go in and clear them. The constant dungeon breaks have caused my Haven to fall into neglect. Petitioners would come from all across the world for my favor. You were the first visitor to make it there in over a year. That just won¡¯t do.¡± Screw that. ¡°I don¡¯t think I have any real interest in going into any more dungeons for quite some time. I am not making any binding promises.¡± That sounded polite. Adora pouted. I felt Mental Resistance fend something off. ¡°Oh don¡¯t be like that. This isn¡¯t just me sending you on errands. Tell you what, you do this service for me, and I will provide some sort of service for you. No strings attached. That doesn¡¯t sound so bad does it?¡± I thought it through. Obviously she was getting something better out of this. That Haven probably mattered to her, but she had to have some other angle in play. ¡°What happens if I say yes, but then don¡¯t clear all the dungeons?¡± Adora shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t provide any payment. I also probably don¡¯t offer you any other gigs. ¡°No systematic punishments?¡± ¡°No,¡± Adora said, shaking her head. Her curled locks swayed. The motion pulled my eyes to her face. As our eyes met, Mental Resistance again triggered and crushed some effect. My heart did skip a beat, but it was more missing a step at the end of some stairs instead of any sort of emotion stirring. ¡°I am probably going to just complete this dungeon, and then just follow Angelica to fight the Demon of Frost.¡± I wanted to see her reaction. It was also the truth but figuring out her goal felt important. The ¡®goddess¡¯ shrugged, clearly feigning nonchalance, ¡°You will find several other gods amenable to that. We want him off the board.¡± ¡°Seriously, what do you want?¡± I pressed. Tired of these circumspect allusions, instead of direct communication. Adora looked disappointed, her stance adjusted slightly. Less pouty and more business. ¡°You are just no fun at all. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll fix that. I know what you think I want, but apotheosis is the furthest thing from my mind. I am with Zach on that one. The best thing for everyone is that no one gets it ever. Cards on the table, I am one of the strongest gods alive. I am just arranging to kick the demons back to the Coast, and setting Grond up to get clowned in his own circus.¡± ¡°By using me,¡± I accused. ¡°Mhm,¡± Adora nodded, completely unashamed. ¡°What do you have against this Grond, guy?¡± I asked. ¡°He thinks he has earned a place among us gods!¡± Adora stamped her foot. ¡°He thinks just because he was able to grind his way up to Divine Scale from Heroic, we should be impressed with him. The stupid man has been a god for less than twenty years. Plus, he knows nothing of the politics of divinity.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget, he is a new kid and therefore smells,¡± I added. The pettiness of her reasoning concerned me. I believed Adora¡¯s boasts of being one of the most powerful players alive. She was both high level and Divine Scale after all. Learning she spent her time shipping real people and excluding new Divine Scale players made me worry about what other gods were like. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°He does smell,¡± Adora wrinkled her nose at the idea. Seeing the look on my face she continued, ¡°You¡¯re different. You were born at Titanic Scale. Us old gods know to play nice. Grond is a dumbass and will try and hunt you if he figures out you are a titan spawn. Since no one has killed one of you. The achievement, plus the First bonus, plus the spectacle would likely be enough to make someone like me or Zack level.¡± She met my gaze for a moment, and in that moment I saw that under the flirty persona was someone truly ruthless, ¡°But I won¡¯t let that happen. Apotheosis is a trap. The Titan must stand alone, forever.¡± That was super dramatic, too bad for me some lack of, apparently basic, knowledge undercut the effect. ¡°What is apotheosis?¡± Adora smiled as she contained a demure laugh. ¡°Oh Sweet Moose, you really are new. Apotheosis is elevation of Scale. Most players can try at level fifty. It will bounce them back down to level 1 but one level of Scale higher. Technically they can try at level 100 as well, to drop to level 50, but I have never heard of anyone managing that trick. Divine players need to reach level 100, then they could rise to the realm of the titan.¡± ¡°What happens if a Titan Spawn hits level one hundred?¡± I asked, curious in spite of myself. ¡°No one knows,¡± Adora admitted. She paced in front of me dramatically, ¡°The likely contender would be Nadia. I don¡¯t know exactly what their level is but odds are good it is in the high nineties. Short answer is, nothing good. They are called All-Death for a reason. No way them gaining power would help anyone.¡± ¡°We are already Titanic though¡­¡± I pondered aloud. ¡°I am guessing they will become a second full Titan. That would likely start some sort of Titan war.¡± Adora did look a little apprehensive about that. ¡°Good thing Nadia just sits on the West Coast slaughtering anything that gets too close.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°Because Nadia is the least happy person alive. God failed to kill them in the night, and they will make that the world''s problem,¡± Adora said, looking strangely tired and also possibly projecting. This was getting unhelpful, ¡°So what do I get?¡± Adora raised an eyebrow. ¡°If I clear these dungeons, what do I get? Are you just going to set me up with another lever for you to pull?¡± I continued. ¡°If you want, my friendly cave bear, I could yank your lever,¡± she grinned at me. She lightly ran a finger across my chest as her smile grew mischievous. Mental Resist was quickly putting in the work. I found myself appreciating that almost as much as regeneration as I stared flatly at Adora. The grin slid off her face, ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°You to stop messing with Angelica and Celeste and drop the forced shipping,¡± I explained as calmly as I could. Adora shrugged, ¡°No worries, I can set you and Brand up. Have it be one of those ¡®at first you hate each other, then you fuck each other¡¯ sort of deals.¡± ¡°Not what I meant. I want you to stop messing with their and my love lives. Also, take away any achievements and conditions.¡± I clarified. Adora rolled her eyes, ¡°No can do there. That would be breaking character and, honestly, you are stuck with the effects of the Awkward Virgin achievement until you do something with someone. That is a hard system rule.¡± ¡°Breaking character?¡¯ I asked incredulously. ¡°Gods like me develop purviews and aspects. I am a goddess of love, desire, and fertility. To work against that is to undermine my own powers and risk allowing another god to take the aspect from me and gain more power. I can¡¯t have that.¡± Adora watched me for a moment to see if I actually understood what she was saying. ¡°So you don¡¯t actually want to meddle in my love life?¡± If she was stuck playing a role, well, I would still be wary of her. That said I can empathize with the specific pressures Narrators seem to apply. Adora paused briefly, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. I am good at what I do. I like helping people. Most just need a little push. You¡¯ll come around with time.¡± I weighed my options. Yeah, I had to do it. ¡°Adora, I do not consent to having you interfere in my relationships. Please stop. Your busybody efforts are not appreciated.¡± I felt the temperature of the room drop as her gaze grew cold, ¡°Oh.¡± Her voice had a lot of ominous implications. I considered apologizing. Then I considered everything she had done. Nope, to hell with that. Still, I wasn''t going to antagonize her beyond what was necessary. Turns out Adora is the type to treat non-capitulation as a form of attack. ¡°You would think, someone like you would be more grateful after all I¡¯ve done for you.¡± When I spoke, I was surprised to hear my voice completely calm, ¡°Adora, you drugged Angelica and me. I agree with Celeste. That was cruel.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t blame me if you don¡¯t like who you were without a filter,¡± Adora deflected. ¡°And of course you agree with the angel,¡± she all but exclaimed, sounding exasperated. ¡°She has you wrapped around her not-so-divine little finger. Given your nature, I am not surprised she was able to misrepresent my efforts.¡± Oh it is actually everyone else¡¯s fault that she drugged us, and me not likely the abuse is actually a character flaw¡­ fun times. ¡°Is that honestly how you see things?¡± I asked. Like Adora had to for me in our last encounter, I suspected I would have to adjust my expectations for her. Adora was momentarily at a loss for words. I think she was surprised that whatever passive mind effects she had weren¡¯t working at all. Finally she just changed the subject, ¡°Let¡¯s focus on the important bit. Grond is going to be distracted for at least the next eight hours. A lot of opportunities there.¡± She winked. Mental Resistance may be able to push back any systematic effect that could alter my behavior, but that wink conveys a whole cavalcade of images and ideas. ¡°This has to do with the bet you and Aella have,¡± I stated. Because it wasn¡¯t a question. She just smiled purposely not answering because she didn¡¯t have to. No real point talking to her anymore. ¡°I will go do something right now, but one of these times though we are going to talk while I am wearing pants.¡± Adora scoffed, ¡°Unlikely, my dear gentle mastodon. I¡¯m like Wonder Woman, I know when I am needed.¡± And then she was gone and the lights clicked back on. Brand came back to life and realized I was several paces from where I had been. He stepped closer, his act slipping, ¡°What happened¡­¡± I grabbed him by the back of the neck and used the Lug skill to haul him back toward the shower. Covering my eyes I barged in. As the door closed I said, ¡°Angelica we need to talk.¡± Angelica¡¯s response came from near the sink rather than the shower, thankfully she sounded confused rather than angry, ¡°Doug, what exactly are you doing?¡± ¡°Can I open my eyes?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± Angelica answered, sounding even more confused now. I opened my eyes to find Angelica standing by the sink one foot on the closed toilet seat painting her toenails. Blue, if you must know. She was also fully clothed. ¡°Adora just showed up. She told me Grond is going to be busy for the next eight hours or so. I think she wants us to bang, but let''s make a run at the last miniboss and the final boss.¡± I was talking fast. I was terrified that vocalizing the idea would mean that someone would stonewall us. It wasn¡¯t just gods we had to worry about. My hope was that the audience would keep outside forces from rewriting anything now since, based on Wilson¡¯s asides, they were probably watching us closely. Angelica was at roughly 85% her max HP, but she clipped from existence and reappeared in her gear, ¡°I¡¯m in.¡± ¡°Are you good?¡± I asked, looking to Brand, He was also fully equipped by the time I finished turning. He tossed two white tablets into his mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, you are the one not dressed.¡± I equipped my armor and the Juggernaut¡¯s Bangle. It was odd feeling my body strengthen. The trip to the third miniboss was both surprisingly quick and ultra-violent. The White Shadows had respawned, and the Megaleo also made an appearance. While this one was without armor it was still huge. The shed did not work against it. That said, Angelica literally tore it in half. Fuck snow lions in general and that one in particular. We were pushing ourselves a bit too fast. That caused a few things to get sloppy. Luckily that mostly meant that I got swarmed. Which, while extremely painful, was also easy to physically recover from. Brand and Angelica did take some stray hits, though. All said and done we found ourselves in front of the final miniboss door. I was regenerating back to full and would be there in about ten seconds. Angelica health had dipped to about 75%. Brand was maybe a little lower on the percentage points but that meant he was a lot lower on the total hit points. The doors again were two massive wooden edifices. On one side were the carvings of the three warriors. On the other was a picture of fangs and claws. Over top of all of that was the looming figure, which I assumed to be Grond. My health topped out as I took a swig of Titanic Brew. ¡°Let¡¯s do this¡± Chapter 25: Miniboss 3: Revenge of the Cat Sith
Warning! You have entered the domain of Grond, the God of Beasts. Your Scale is suppressed in this area Heroic Boss Cat Sith has spawned. You are sealed in the arena with the monster. Fight well!
An oversized lanky black tomcat sat in the center of the cavern licking its paw. This was a big cat, not like rhino big, or lion big. This was a cat about the size of a medium size dog. Think labrador and you''re in the right weight class. It was pitch black except for a white patch on its chest and paws. If you want to be specific it also had amber eyes. I know because the cat looked at us for a long moment as we spread out. ¡°Why isn¡¯t it attacking?¡± I asked. Oddly enough this pre-mauling calm was making me way more anxious. The cat eyed me for a moment before gazing intently at Angelica. It stopped licking its paw and stretched. After several breaths, it grinned. The smile for a brief second looked strangely genuine, if out of place on a feline. Then it grew malevolent. The grin kept increasing until it was a rictus and eventually it all but split the cat''s face. The claws extended. Then elongated into wickedly hooked blades. It was cute to begin with but when it puffed up and hissed it looked demonic. Then shit got weird. The fangs and claws ignited in a baleful blue light and the sound of snow sublimating and rock boiling filled the air. Brand started firing. Brand was smart. Sadly the cat wanted to live and with upsetting agility dodged every one of his shots. Angelica charged, but just before she would have collided she veered off course. If she had continued she would have met all of the claws of the Cat Sith. It flurried a string of attacks that hit the open air where she would have been. Not wasting time, I emulated Waylon Jones and threw a rock at it. It was a big rock. The cat split the stone into five flat chunks with a chaotic swipe of its claws. It then charged me like a furry missile, yowling in an ear splitting pitch. The roar of melting ice and stone added to the din.
Attack from Cat Sith successful You take 22 points of damage You are immune to the Shock Condition Mental resistance protects you from the Extreme Agony condition. You may act normally. Titanic Regeneration plus 12 hit points HP: 230/240
Before I could think of how to react, burning claws dug into my leg. This is one of those things that words don¡¯t do justice. Yes, the claws pierced my skin and then tore a good chunk out of my calf. But the blazing heat in the cat''s claws seared skin and boiled blood. This caused massive instant cell death as steam formed in the vessels of my leg, turning a localized trauma into excruciating burning up to my thigh and down to my toes. I felt blisters rise on my skin and rupture. I don¡¯t know what crack the prompt was smoking either, this was the worst physical pain I had ever experienced. It took everything I had to not collapse to the ground screaming. Instead, I stumbled clumsily away from the literal hellcat screaming and crying. It was ugly crying, too. For what it is worth the cat had obviously expected me to fall forward and had pounced where my head should have been. Then Brand, honorary signatory of the dog lover¡¯s manifesto, shot it in the face with a shotgun slug. This didn¡¯t kill it, further evidence that Justice is dead, but it did knock the damn feline backward. Then Angelica hit it. She had swapped her spear out for a pitchfork. There was a good puncturing of the big cat menace followed by a crackle of lightning and the boom of thunder. This was then met with yowling and flashing claws. The pitch fork was instantly reduced to scrap and flinders. Yeah, that was a problem. Things went pear shaped immediately after that. Angelica took a grazing hit from the cat''s claws. She shrieked in naked agony, stumbled, and the cat seized its moment. It was heading right for her neck with no one close enough to stop it Then it turned my way.
You are now Gore Soaked You are causing the Blood Frenzy condition. ¡­They are coming!
I had done something I was certain I was going to immediately regret. I had reapplied the Vitae of Tumult. The Cat Sith¡¯s eyes, fangs, and claws began to burn red. Oh no, it had turned to the Dark Side. It charged me. I could compare it to lightning, or a bullet, or some sort of malevolent cat that could be a witch in disguise, but my brain was drawn to compare it with something I know could kill me. It charged me like Angelica. I clenched tight because this was going to be bad.
Attack from Cat Sith successful x5 You take 107 points of damage. You are immune to the Shock Condition. Mental resistance protects you from the Extreme Agony condition. You may act normally. You are now on fire! You take 2 points of damage. Titanic Regeneration plus 12 hit points. HP: 143/240
The pain was beyond description: my skin split like a hotdog in the microwave too long. Instead of blood, steam poured from the holes. Strangely the part of my chest that was actually on fire hurt less. In the blind agony of the Cat Sith¡¯s assault I had tried to block its attacks. For the most part this just brought my arms into its reach, but one time I succeeded. Without thinking I counter attacked as well. I don¡¯t fully understand what happened next but the prompt said this.
Attack from Cat Sith blocked. Counter attack successful. Cat Sith takes 11 points of damage. Skills successful without roll. Checking for breakthroughs. Block skill does not succeed on a breakthrough. Unarmed skill does not succeed on a breakthrough. Find a Mentor for greater chance of breakthrough.
I clocked the cat as hard as I could, but it was Heroic and higher level than me. I really did rely on my massive Scale differences for all of my damage. No idea what a breakthrough is, and at the moment I DID NOT care. Then my brain had a brilliant idea. It was so smart, my brain didn¡¯t even tell me what it was. I pulled two of the barricades out of my inventory and slammed them into the sides of the cat, pinning it in place. That sounds more deliberate than it was. Think spastic flailing, and vague hope that walls would stop the mean kitty. It still clawed the absolute fuck out of me, dropping me to 32 HP, but it was trapped. I took a half step back and the cat mindlessly flailed at me. I did inch back a little more. A few errant swipes of the cat''s claws tore through the skin and stone of the barricades but it just kept trying to lash out at me. Brand saw his opportunity and aimed the rifle. Click! That was loud. He cursed and reloaded. Then fired into the Cat Sith. He had the rifle peppering the beast with three round bursts. Even as the hail of gunfire began to tear the creature to shreds it kept desperately trying to reach me. The boss wasn¡¯t delicate. Brand had to reload a second time. He spent actual minutes just unloading into the thing. Angelica had gotten to her feet and was standing near me. She had another pitch fork ready and waiting if the miniboss got free. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. If that happened I planned to shriek like my hair was on fire and hide behind her. I am tactical like that. Eventually the constant abuse did what we all hoped for. The fucking laser cat died.
You gain no experience for Snow Lion type enemies
Bullshit! Snow lions were white, and lions. This was a big evil house cat. The system is rigged. ¡­I guess I already knew that. ¡°What the hell was that thing with the fangs and the claws?¡± I asked, still not prepared to approach the cat. The key appeared. ¡°That was a combination of the Crippling Strike and Fiery Weapon spells.¡± Angelica nonchalantly took the key and looted the boss. ¡°Normally the duration is a single successful attack. The domain must have given the spells an effectively infinite duration.¡± Domains suck. I dislike them. Brand also looted the boss, ¡°We need to push on, I am out of ammo for the rifle.¡± ¡°I thought you had unlimited ammo?¡± I asked. I stopped short after talking. Oops. I could tell by the look in his eyes that Brand had caught me, ¡°No, the perk is temperamental when I fight higher Scale opponents.¡± Oh good, Angelica picked up on this too. ¡°How do you know what his perks do, Doug?¡± ¡°I have the Analyze skill,¡± I admitted. Both of them looked deeply uncomfortable. They did one of those meaningful side-eye no words communication things. ¡°That is really uncool, Doug,¡± Angelica said, she even had that ¡®I¡¯m not mad, I¡¯m disappointed¡¯ tone. ¡°First off, I scanned him when I thought he was a mind raping creep. And I never used it on you,¡± I began doing damage control. Angelica¡¯s expression immediately softened. ¡°Oh, no harm done then. Loot the boss, we have to get out of here.¡± ¡°For the love of the quiet gods, I have no interest in either of you!¡± Brand growled through his teeth. ¡°Then stop grabbing my dick,¡± I shot back and looted the boss
You have acquired Velutinous Bootees Cat Sith Corpse Velutinous Bootees Not only will these little socks make your feet look adorable, they are also extremely comfortable. It is the base material, I tell you. Snow lion fur is the softest, and most pettable fur in existence. Thread made from it is magically even softer. The pettability is affected by who wears the clothing in question. Oh yeah it also increase Mobility by 15 Armor: 6
Why the hell was the description for these socks written differently than all the others? I pulled them out of my inventory. They were little socks that were supposed to reach someone''s ankle. They were mostly black but white at the toes with little kitty faces stitched in. What¡¯s more, there is no way ¡®pettability¡¯ is a word. ¡°What¡¯s better, Attribute buffs or Scale?¡± I asked Angelica. Part of me was a bit self conscious since Wilson told me to keep asking her questions, but I needed the answers. Her eyes had the telltale glaze of someone looking at a prompt. She shrugged, ¡°It depends. Ideally you want both. It is pretty rare to get either though. So if you already have Scale getting gear that compounds that is better, but if you don¡¯t have Scale advantage more attribute points is a more stable way to offset the problem. So if someone has enough time they will try to stack as many small bonuses as possible to try and overcome something with higher Scale.¡± That made some sense, so I equipped the socks. They certainly were comfortable. It was like walking on a cloud made of silk. The next bit was odd. My mobility more than doubled. It was thousands of tiny little sensations. I became, well, not more aware of my body, but I understood the relative position of everything and how it related to my center of gravity. Also thousands of little micro-movements smoothed out and coordinated to better help me balance. Even the world around me subtly adjusted in my reckoning. The feel of the ice changed from slick in all directions to covered in fine ridges. These let my boots catch when I needed, and slide when I wanted. If I stood on a rock I could tell if it was firmly anchored or if it was loose. What¡¯s more, if it was loose I could sense how my weight was shifting the center of gravity and could compensate to keep things level. That was neat. ¡°You good to go?¡± Angelica. She looked a little pale herself. The hits from the Cat Sith had dropped her health into the yellow. ¡°Sorta, if need be I can press on. Are you doing alright?¡± My nerves were at a dull roar from the phantom pain. I felt a slight tremor in my arms and fingers. This was minutes after the injuries had faded. That Extreme Agony condition was something else. Angelica paused for a long moment. I could tell it cost her to admit it when she said, ¡°I need a few minutes.¡± ¡°I have pain killers,¡± Brand offered, pulling a blue tablet out of his inventory. ¡°Numerall.¡± Again she thought carefully before speaking, ¡°No, I don''t want to be high on meds as we wrap this up. Just give me seven more minutes.¡± ¡°Should we divide the keys?¡± I asked, changing the subject. Angelica tossed me one, ¡°We make it together or not at all.¡± We waited a few more minutes and then she said, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here. The door out of the arena was controlled by a metal lever. Brand pulled it and gears turned. Two metal doors leading into a new hallway parted¡­to reveal a second Cat Sith! The evil fucking jedi cat instantly flared up and charged me! I immediately emitted another ¡®battle cry¡¯. Angelica stalled momentarily. Hard as it is to believe she just missed a step. Brand tried to shoot it, but the evil bastard was sly. Then it flailed at me.
Attack from Cat Sith successful You take 18 points of damage. You are immune to the Shock Condition. Mental resistance protects you from the Extreme Agony condition. You may act normally. You dodged attack x 5 Titanic Regeneration plus 12 hit points. HP: 234/240
I dodge, ducked, dipped, dived, and dodged, and then the fucking feline tore me a new asshole. That, again, undersells just how painful it was. I completely abandoned all offensive action and just tried to not get hit again. I had hoped that the miniboss would have not found us again, that we could have just made a run on the final boss, then fuck off out of this dungeon and spread the good word of the dog lover¡¯s manifesto. But no. It had to be here. Then I remember the arena was open, and the horrifying fire claws would fade outside the domain of Grond. I ran out the doors into the hall, and received no message telling me I had left the domain of Grond. I screamed in frustration and pain as the Cat Sith clipped me again. This time it was in the thigh, dangerously close to something even more painful. The heat was unbelievable. The strangely cold feeling that initially followed as nerves died before being able to transfer the burning sensation was nightmarish. I would like to say I came up with a clever plan and turned the tables. I want to tell you I managed to grit my teeth and power through the pain, but that isn¡¯t what happened. I just barely avoided panicking. I understood that if I didn¡¯t keep dodging to the best of my ability this thing would rip me apart in seconds. I also figured out running was the wrong option, that could lead to more snow lions and likely death. So I just kept dodging everything I could, and hoped that Brand and Angelica could help me. Things got a bit hazy, but Angelica was the one that dealt the killing blow. She full on impaled it with her spear. It screeched a hellish noise, and even as it died it tried to maul me. Two thoughts cut through the blizzard of nerve pain clouding my mind. First, if this boss hadn¡¯t been focused on me, the combination of abilities and its tendency to cripple, then pounce, absolutely would have killed one of us. The second was that with the blood frenzy the only reason I was alive was the piece of loot I had just picked up and equipped. That was too precisely the right item. Something that gave me power would have let me counter attack and turned the fight into a glorified mook stomp. This was perfectly balanced. It was just hard enough that it looked like it could have gone either way. ¡°Doug!¡± Angelica shouted in my face. I reeled slightly from the surprise. Shit, I was losing focus. The phantom pain from the horrifying wounds left by the Cat Sith had well exceeded any resolve I had. I had spent whatever mental reserve I had to focus. ¡°Doug!¡± Angelica shouted again. She looked worried. Apparently I wasn''t focusing. Wait, I knew what to do. I pulled the awl out of my inventory and stabbed it into my leg.
You take 2 points of damage Titanic Regeneration plus 12 hit points HP: 240/240
Everything came into focus. The stabbing pain of the awl¡­ well, stabbing into my leg forced my mind to ignore the more unpleasant sensations left over from the Extreme Agony condition. I forget the word for this phenomenon, but it is a thing. Don¡¯t try it unless you have some form of regeneration. Actually no, just don¡¯t do this. It is a bad idea. ¡°What?¡± I asked. Angelica looked at the awl in my leg for a moment before meeting my eyes, ¡°We need to get to the final boss. Are you good?¡± As the burning crept back into my being I twisted the awl, ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s do this.¡± For some reason this didn¡¯t seem to convince Brand and Angelica. They spent a few minutes talking. I am not sure what they were discussing, but several snow lions rounded the corner and we had to dispatch them. This led to us committing to the last stretch. We congaed down the halls, and I turtled in the big rooms. The pain kept coming back. The Titanic Brew didn¡¯t help, at least not the Energized version. Even through the haze though I knew I didn''t want to go for the Buzzed condition. That meant using the awl. While temporary it did push back the static and cool the burn even if that did make my leg hurt. I had to laugh. I was Energized, at full health and better equipped than ever before, but somehow I felt so much worse than I did at the start of the dungeon. Oh, we had made it to the Final Boss¡¯ door. It was a colossal stone gateway. The base of the door had three keyholes: each of these had the outlines of Angelica, Brand, or I. Looming over the outlines was an imposing mysterious figure. On the chest of the figure was that shitty ¡®G-shaped¡¯ rune of Grond¡¯s. I stabbed my leg again. ¡°... interference to clear the way for Doug to apply the Vitae to the boss.¡± Brand said. I must have missed the beginning. They both looked at me. That¡¯s right, I needed to paint the boss red, with the Vitae. That should cause it to be swarmed by the no doubt tremendous amount of cats we would find in this room. I nodded, ¡°I got it.¡± They both looked worried. I was also concerned. I took a deep breath and focused on the here and now. ¡°I got this.¡± I said again. Brand sighed. ¡°Sod it! Howay, I suppose.¡± Chapter 26: The Dungeon’s Final Boss We entered the room and immediately saw the mountain of bones. The room was impossibly vast. The cavern''s roof was hundreds of feet above us with blue glowing crystal dimly lighting the area. Bones, millions of them. Hell maybe billions. The arena looked to be at least a mile square if not more. In the center of this vast underground space was bones. They were the bones of snow lions. They were piled in towering heaps forming a vast labyrinth of skeletons leading to a central mountain of calcium. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± I muttered out loud, not understanding what this was.
Warning! You have entered the domain of Grond, the God of Beasts. Your Scale is suppressed in this area Demigod Boss Mother of All Snow Lions already spawned. Another player is already in this arena. You are sealed in the arena with the monster. Fight well!
Before I had time to ask a question. An earth rattling roar echoed through the chamber. Several of the bones glowed and¡­ okay I will try and describe this, but please understand what we saw was way more upsetting than words will convey. The bones assembled into skeletons that then quickly developed flesh and then skin. This formed lions that immediately assailed us. This was much worse than the tunnels. First there was simply no end to this. Second was that we no longer had a safe front. Cats would spawn with every roar, and they were just as prone to appear behind us as they were to pop up in front. Then there was the fact that they were of higher Scale on average. Most of them were part of the prides at epic Scale. The next most common were the Alphas. On top of all of that was the maze. The piles of bone weren¡¯t climbable. If you tried they would collapse under your weight and likely spawn a lion on your head. They were also too much to just smash through. Angelica and her hammer couldn¡¯t and neither could I with the Juggernaut¡¯s Bangle. Brand dropped all pretext of restraint and fired grenades into the swarm of cats. I did my best to keep the barricades between him and the felines, and Angelica slaughtered them like she was trying to set the record. Honestly, she did carry us at this point. The confined spaces and her area of effect damage build allowed her to shine. It was almost like someone planned that way. Maybe it was hours, but it was probably 40 minutes but we slowly painfully slowly navigated our way through the maze. We got lost often, and dead cats had a bad habit of waking back up when the Mother of All Snow Lion roared. I may have been half mad with pain, and possibly a little drunk, -I am not sure if I accidently selected the Buzzed condition once- but I was also killing an unreasonable amount of cats while chugging away at the titanic brew and lugging barricades about. My overloaded brain kept flashing back to the fight by myself against pride. Then it clicked. ¡°Stop moving forward!¡± I bellowed over the din while stomping on a half dozen lions. ¡°What!¡± Brand asked not understanding. ¡°We use the corpses to hop the walls! Build up and over!¡± I screamed back as a White shadow almost tackled me. I managed to dodge at the absolute last moment. Angelica splattered it with a charge. ¡°That will work!¡± Things got much better after that. Yeah we had to build up a ramp, but the cats were coming to us at that point. Ten wall hops later and we found ourselves at the foot of the mountain. Technically mountain wasn¡¯t the right word. It was a stone deus several stories high with a spiral staircase and a truly impossible amount of bone stacked around it climbing the stairs sucked. If I had to guess, the deus was like six hundred feet up. That doesn¡¯t sound like a lot, because as a horizontal distance it isn¡¯t, but as a vertical distance that is like fifty stories. Yeah that is a bit short for a skyscraper, but that takes some doing, especially while under constant attack by lions without a guard rail. I nearly went over twice as lions tried to tackle me. If you want to be particular I did fall off once, but that was eight steps in and shouldn¡¯t really count, stupid Megaleo. With a lot of blood sweat and tears we managed to get to the top. Things actually became much simpler once we got above the majority of the bones. The lions were behind us and we just ran up the stairs. The top of the deus was a sight. Seeing the massive room with the ocean of bones all arranged in a tremendous ring likely creating a colossal ritual circle was humbling base on the enormity of the effort involved. So many bones. A woman in a red robe stood in the center of another circle on the deus. Next to her was a lion roughly the size of a horse. The thing was skeletally thin. Its fur was dull, patchy, and mangy skin was more prevalent than not. The creature gazed at us with hollow sunken eyes. It tried to rise but it simply couldn¡¯t. Despite its feeble physical form, runes of power burned around it. Each one was red and radiated a primal energy The lady in red was one of those connected to nature types. Think less hippy and more hard core survivalist. She definitely wasn''t the give peace a chancel type. The belt around her waist was laden with knives and a hatch. Her hands and arms were covered in ritualistic scars, and blood, probably from the Mother of Lions based on the chunk carved out of the cat''s back leg. I was pretty sure this woman was lopping chunks off and snacking on it. There wasn¡¯t any food elsewhere. There was also the fact that her face was hidden behind a mask made of a snow lion skull. Shit I should be listening. I twisted the awl. ¡°...think you could challenge me? In this place of my god Grond¡¯s Power?¡± she demanded. Her arms were held high making her robe flair out behind her and it was very impressive. I am sure she looked much larger to most predators. ¡°Can you even see through that mask?¡± I asked. Apparently the pain I had absorbed damaged my inner monologue. The skull mask turned to my direction before turning back to Brand, ¡°Is he slow?¡± ¡°Ableism? Really?¡± Brand chastised with that polite contempt British people have. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that shit,¡± the priestess spat back all the grandiose tone and theatrical flare gone. ¡°He is at least two sentences behind us. Besides you two are the sick bastards using a moron as a tank. I am offended. And one more thing-¡±. ¡°You clearly care deeply,¡± Angelica cut her off, ¡°Not the point though. Step aside. We will kill what¡¯s left of the boss and take the loot. You get to live, no hard feelings. Sound good?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t cut me off you rude bitch!¡± the priestess shouted back. ¡°I am the one in charge here. You have no idea the things I had to do to get where I am!¡± ¡°Grond, right?¡± I asked. Dammit Adora, I am not like you. If she doesn¡¯t try and kill us, I¡¯ll have to apologize. The priestess spluttered for a moment, ¡°Fuck you very much, you giant asshole!¡± ¡°Everyone focus,¡± Angelica said again asserting her most incredible power, being a functioning adult. ¡°Just surrender.¡± ¡°Why would I do that?¡± the priestess asked, clearly planning something. ¡°We have you outnumbered,¡± Brand said. I could tell by the look on his face he knew he screwed up the moment he spoke. ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± The eyes in the skull burned with that golden light seen in predators'' eyes at night. The priestess stabbed the boss. It roared and every bone other than the priestess¡¯s mask transformed into a big ole murder cat. Then they all charged me. What happened next could best be described as ¡®too many cats¡¯. We had to put so many back. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Frantic, a word that used to mean violently mad, as in crazy. Which is fitting because punching the hell out of a storm of lions on top of a massive sacrificial altar in a giant cavern in a dungeon just isn¡¯t sane. Sadly it is also not that fun. Due to my Scale being suppressed it meant my punches were only inflicting my strength plus 1d6 extra damage rather than the normal multiple d12s I preferred. That said I found a clever work around. I kicked the jerks off the side. I am sure they¡¯ll land on their feet. Trouble is that Mother of All Snow Lions kept summoning more. Also, that Priestess was not surrendering. She blocked a blast from Brand¡¯s shotgun with a hemisphere or red magic. Angelica wasn¡¯t able to charge like most fights due to the tight quarters. So, instead she tried to just stab the lady in red. The priestess moved almost bonelessly and sort of folded out of the way of the spear tip. There was a flash of a bloody knife and Angelica was driven back, a deep cut on her arm. Brand unloaded on the priestess, but two lions, eyes glowing, dove in the way to shield the woman. The priestess went on the attack. She moved unnaturally fast. She almost flowed over the bodies of the sacrificial cats, then she hit Brand low. The knife grazed his leg, but the man of mystery sidestepped the hatchet. That is when Angelica brought the hammer down. The explosion of force launched dozens of lions off the side of the dais. It tossed me off too, but I springboarded off an Alpha and landed on the stairs. Luckily, that all happened so fast by the time I realized I had been in the open air about to fall to my death I was already stomping on a snow lion. The dust settled to reveal the Priestess intact under the hemisphere of energy she used before. The bubble of force was cracked and dentented but it had stopped the blow. It was hard to tell but she seemed as surprised as the rest of us that she was still alive.
The eyes of a god are upon you! Tread carefully
The weight of the domain seemed to increase. It wasn¡¯t extreme, but it caused the hairs on my neck to stand on end. I was subtly slower, and my fists ached more with each impact. Claws seemed to dig deeper. The priestess seemed to be having a reverse reaction with much higher severity. ¡°Grond!¡± she screamed half terrified, half ecstatic. Quicker than blinking she was on her feet. Brand dodge the knife on instinct. Angellica wasn¡¯t so lucky. The hatch slammed into her other arm, and bit deep. Angelica dropped the hammer and pulled the spear out of her inventory. She impaled the Priestess through the stomach. Lightning arc, and the explosion of thunder deafened me. Somehow that flung Angelica back. The priestess stood there impaled and burnt, but unbowed. She casually pulled the spear from her body. The wound bled profusely but she paid it no mind. She dropped the weapon before charging Angelica. The priestess was taking swipes at Angelica before the spear clattered on the stone floor. Holy shit, this lady was getting close to Celeste¡¯s speed. I saw it for just a moment, but her shadow was the same as the figure carved into the doors. I don¡¯t think we were alone anymore. I had my own problems. A pair of White Shadows were in the mix of the Pride surging up the stairs. The regular snow lions, and even the Alphas were manageable in this domain, but now the Epic and Heroic Scale cats were outpacing me and I was forced to dodge more of the attacks. This was a problem because as Denise had pointed out my martial art only broke the action economy when I was blocking. I could only really effectively dodge about five attacks before everything started connecting. This meant I was back to being mauled. For about three seconds I tried dodging the attacks from the White Shadow, and blocking the Pride. I needed to try something different. I dropped the barricades by the stairs. This was arguably a mistake. The weight of the cats pushed the Barricade toward us. Quickly turning what was supposed to be a wall into a broom about to sweep all of us off the edge. Angelica and the Priestess cleared the hurdle almost as an afterthought. Angelica was trying to pick up either her spear or the hammer, and the mad woman with the knife and hatchet kept trying to butcher Angelica the second she slowed down. This kept going on either side of the barricades without interruption. Brand made it over with a smart hop and juked a few errant attacks from the cats. That left me and the Mother of All Snow Lions being swept to the edge. The boss looked at me and did nothing. Whatever this thing had been. Constant torture had rendered it¡­ ready to die.
Willpower check¡­ successful. Emotional state kept under control. Note: Repeated rolls will increase difficulty.
The things that get you. What I did was mostly to save my life, but I would be lying if some over-empathetic part of me didn¡¯t do it to stop the stupid thing from dying that way. I pulled the barricades back into my inventory. This caused a surge of the lions, including most of the Pride and the two White Shadows to be swept over the edge. I managed to sort of crowd surf the killer cats enough to not be tossed over the edge. I got my feet under me and went back to trying to control the population. The roaring stopped. I took a moment to check and found the Mother of All Snow Lions still on the platform, still alive, but just watching me. Not sure what that was but my guess is it was no longer entirely on team Grond, or maybe it was simply no longer strong enough to keep roaring. I needed to focus. We needed to do something about the priestess. She had taken the time to cut Angelica up pretty good. Her health was in the red. The priestess had also managed to push her to the edge. With nowhere to run Angelica blocked the strike from the hatchet. She dodged a slash of the knife but that left her open from the followup. A split second before the knife would have gutted Angelica, Brand shot the blade, shattering it. As the priestess charged him, Brand kicked the hammer toward Angelica. He tried to gun down the priestess but both his pistols clicked empty. This was the moment. I wasn¡¯t fast enough. The hatchet buried itself into Brand¡¯s chest as my hand touched the Priestess. I felt the rush of air as Angelica¡¯s hammer swung just over my head. The blast of thunder behind me was enough to push the Megaleo behind me back. Its attack grazed me rather than sending me flying. Angelica¡¯s spear also skewered the head of a White Shadow behind Brand. The priestess didn¡¯t try to pull free of my grasp, instead she stabbed me in the neck.
Attack from Rebecca Priestess for Grond (Snow Lion Aspect) successful. You take 15 points of damage You are immune to the Severed Vocal Chords condition You are now bleeding Titanic Regeneration plus 12 hit points HP: 237/240
The knife hardly hurt as it pierced free of my neck. Rebecca didn¡¯t slide the blade out. She ripped it toward her. The entire length of the blade parted my flesh. That did hurt, a lot. I tried to scream but only a gasp of air came out. I willed the Vitae to mark Rebecca
Rebecca is now Gore Soaked She is causing the Blood Frenzy condition. ¡­They are coming for her!
¡°I am sorry,¡± I communicated. That was weird. No actual sound came out but some aspect of my titanic physiology or maybe the Universal Communication trait won¡¯t be denied by petty things like my neck being almost chopped off. My head certainly wasn¡¯t lolling after the tendons were cut either. It was almost like my existence invalidated natural laws of existence. Everyone also heard it clearly is the main point though. Angelica didn¡¯t slow down. Her hammer crushed another White Shadow. Brand, having taken the spear, warded off three cats and grievously wounded a fourth. I let go of Rebecca. The cat¡¯s tried to swarm her, but she seemed to mentally push them back as she waved her arms and screamed, ¡°Stay Back!¡± she ripped the mask off her face and looked at me, ¡°Vitae?¡± The lions slowly pressed closer to her. Some did try and kill me, but Angelica was very good at Whack-A -Lion. She was definitely going to get the high score. My neck slowly knitted together, ¡°I am sorry.¡± I was too. Another part of me was horrified. Not even a day after realizing this was one of the worst ways to kill someone I could think of, and I was using it on a person. Why hadn¡¯t I marked the damned boss? ¡®Because the grim acceptance of death in its eyes reminded you of Marnie¡¯ a foundationally honest voice replied before I could avoid it. ¡®Because you were able to connect more with the tortured monster than that woman.¡¯ I sort of expected that realization to hit harder. Don¡¯t get me wrong. I didn¡¯t like it. I didn¡¯t know Rebecca, and yes she tried to kill us but as the cats pressed in closer and she backed up to the edge of the circle I became perfectly aware I had killed someone. That is an odd realization. Maybe it was adrenaline or maybe it was seeing Rebecca injure Angelica and Brand. Maybe it was her literally cutting my throat, not sure why that didn¡¯t do more damage. The realization was that seeing her die wasn¡¯t going to bring me any joy, but it wasn¡¯t going to bring me any pain either. That felt wrong. ¡°I said back!¡± Rebecca screamed at a Cat Sith that had slunk through the horde of lions. It kept creeping closer. I wasn¡¯t going to just sit there and watch. I turned to the Mother of Snow Lions. She was still watching me. Still helpless. Still alone. I moved to it and pulled the awl out of my inventory. As I approached, the tormented creature exposed its neck. It¡­ it wanted to die. It wanted me to end it. Brand was shouting something to me, probably to hurry. Angelica was still keeping me clear. I knelt next to the Mother of Snow Lions. I placed one hand on the back of the boss¡¯s head. The entire body was withered and feeble. With the other slammed the awl through the thing''s eye through the back of the socket and into the brain. The thing died instantly, but the light of the runes faded more slowly. Prompts flashed in my view but I dismissed them. I turned to find Rebecca still alive, but covered in burn scars from the Cat Sith. The lions were skeletons again, the flesh simply vanished from the bones. The horrifying mess from the ones we¡¯d slaughtered remained. The stone circle was painted in blood Brand had lost his feet at some point and was kneeling with the hatchet still buried in his torso. He held a pistol on Rebecca, ¡°Surrender¡­¡± he managed. ¡°No, I must¡­¡± Rebecca started her voice desperate. She never finished. Brand pulled the trigger. ¡­better than the Lions I guess. Chapter 27: Dungeon Final Boss Phase 2? Tink! Tink! Click! Crack! Those were the faint, deathly quiet sounds that preceded the cavern''s roof falling. I had a brief moment of empathy with Chicken Little as the sky fell. I had just enough time to think ¡®that isn¡¯t fair¡¯ and then the rocks fell¡­ and nobody died. The rocks didn¡¯t even touch us. The roof fell like a massive plate, except for the circle directly above us. So while I almost soiled myself, we were unharmed. This adjustment of surroundings took us from being high in the air to being on the ground floor. I could even see the distant light of an exit: far above us, up an upsetting amount of stairs, was a line of light. ¡°Let¡¯s get the fuck out of here,¡± Angelica said. She leaned on the handle of her hammer. Brand coughed. He tried to talk, but coughed again. After gasping for breath he managed, ¡°We need to get the heart of the boss.¡± ¡°Doug, toss the body into your inventory.¡± Angelica instructed. She hid it well, but her voice had the faint hint of strain she only had when we talked to Wilson. Was she scared? ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we loot it?¡± I asked, reaching for the body.
Warning! You have entered the domain of Grond, the God of Beasts. Your Scale is suppressed in this area
The locked door leading out of the dungeon burst open. A massive wolf made of bronze with fire exploding from its mouth bounded into the room and passed us before diving into the boss¡¯s body. A brief moment of silence followed. This gave me just enough time to wonder if that was a Tolkien reference. Out of the corpse of the Mother of Snow Lions rose a gaunt man. He was somehow completely free of the gore splattered everywhere. His arms had massive bracers made of some gleaming silver metal. Each one ended with 3 knifelike claws. He had a metal breastplate that was covered in runes that reminded me of the ones surrounding Adora¡¯s place. He looked up from the corpses, and two eyes full of insatiable hunger glared at me from under a wolf head cloak. ¡°You would kill my priestess?¡± This is a bit hard to explain. Grond didn¡¯t so much speak as the dungeon trembled to convey his overwhelming contempt. My health was ticking up, but both Angelica and Brand looked to be on their last legs. Also, this was a fucking God in their own domain. This was going to be a truly bad time. ¡°We need to¡­¡± Brand started, but Grond eyes flashed and all of us froze. The prompt flashed so quick in my eyes I wasn¡¯t able to read it, but whatever the god had done left both Brand and Angelica petrified. ¡°I do not appreciate divine envoys killing my true followers,¡± Grond growled. He stared into me, ¡°You have slaughtered my lions like cattle.¡± The focus of his eyes sharpened like someone using the Analyze skill. He went very still as he read my stats. He slowly moved toward Rebecca¡¯s body. He pressed two of his overlong fingers to her body. They came away red tinted. For a long moment Grond examined the blood. Then he tasted it. ¡°Titan Spawn,¡± he rumbled. That didn¡¯t seem great. ¡°I think we should talk.¡± I started. ¡°You take from me, and now you wish to talk!¡± Grond roared. This wasn¡¯t going well. ¡°We don¡¯t have to be enemies,¡± I tried. ¡°Yes we do, unless you can replace my priestess!¡± Grond demanded. He looked at Angelica for a second of appraisal and scoffed dismissively. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Do you have any idea how valuable she was?¡± the god snarled. That was the limit. I no longer had any interest in making peace with this clown. He clearly was just going to wind himself up before attacking us anyways. ¡°What was her name?¡± Grond stared at me. ¡°Tell me her name!¡± I roared back at him. He didn¡¯t know. In a world where all you had to do was look at someone to see their name, this bastard couldn¡¯t tell me the name of someone that he sent into this dungeon. The contempt displayed on his face was slowly replaced with a lupine grin. ¡°You are fine prey. I won¡¯t have a better opportunity. All the other gods are tied up with the Awakening. Let me slip on an Aspect more appropriate.¡± His cloak changed. Suddenly he was wrapped in white furs similar to mine. He held the skull mask briefly before sliding it over his head.
Warning Grond, God of Beast (Aspect of the Snow Lion) has spawned. You are fighting a Divine Scale Boss in it¡¯s domain! You no longer have Scale! This is dumb, you should run! Arena Sealed! Oh¡­Dear
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Grond charged faster than I could see. It was almost like he blinked out of existence and was suddenly in front of me instead of across the room. He came at me low. The first hit caught me in the stomach, it cut through my flesh and pulled out several organs that looked important. The second hit connected with my wrist and fingers, my pinky and ring finger were just gone and my wrist was cleaved in half. The third came down on my face. My right eye immediately burst from the impact. I felt bone cleave, and teeth shatter as claws etched my skull. The fourth hit was a kick that crunched my chest and sent me flying.
Grond attack Successful x4 You take 87 points of damage You now have the gutless condition You take 25 points of damage You now have the disarmed condition. Right hand and arm are useless until you recover 70 HP You have the Cyclops Condition. You are blind in one eye and your face is fucked up, until you recover 40 HP You have the winded condition. You are immune to the effects of this condition This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Titanic Regeneration plus 14 hit points HP 202/300
Oh shit¡­that was bad. I mean that attack hurt so much that I literally just lay there for two seconds. The damage was awful, the inflicted conditions were so much worse, and the lack of Scale was going to be the thing that killed me. I sat up to see Grond tear Brand almost in half. Grond stabbed his hands into Brand¡¯s stomach up to the wrist and pulled them apart vertically for about six inches. Flesh tore bones crunched, Brand shrieked, and when Grond tossed him to the ground and Brand didn¡¯t move. He just lay there face down in the snow bleeding at a terrifying rate. I had to focus. Brand was either dead or he wasn¡¯t, but if Angelica dropped, we were all done. Before Grond could move I put a boot to his back. The hit did next to nothing. Grond whirled around on me. Through sheer luck the first attack missed me by a hair. I stepped forward at the perfect moment, and managed to block the off balanced follow up. This triggered my counter attack. I clocked the bastard in the throat. It did damage, but nowhere near enough to matter. Grond¡¯s knee came up and splattered my mess of a stomach everywhere. Thankfully the hit flung me from his reach. Angelica is many things. Indecisive isn¡¯t one of them. Grond took a moment to leer down at me. The hammer took the smile off his face and sent him flying back. He didn¡¯t crash to the floor. Instead the ¡®god¡¯ halted in mid air and stepped down to the floor. ¡°Step aside, girl,¡± Grond said contemptuously. He wasn¡¯t damaged at all. Angelica eyed the god dubiously, ¡°How about you just back off, boy.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you talk back to me, you self-important fuckhole. Last chance out of my way or I kill you in the worst way,¡± Grond growled. He kept slowly walking toward her and loomed maliciously as he glared into her eyes. He was so busy being misogynistic and menacing he didn¡¯t even notice the knife appear in Angelica¡¯s hand. The hit punched through his lower jaw and deep into his head. Angelica darted backwards dodging an awkward swipe from the god. As he wrenched the blade free. Angelica pulled the anti-tank rifle out of her inventory. Whatever that thing was loaded with it hit Grond center mass and erupted. Dirt and ice filled the air along with pungent smoke and the scent of burnt flesh. I saw that the attack wounded Grond, but he had a healing factor that made mine look shitty by comparison, or at least in his domain he did. Grond charged Angelica and he shattered the rifle. ¡°Your pathetic toys are so breakable, girl¡­¡± He probably would have kept monologuing, but I took that opportunity to punch him in the head.
Attack successful Grond takes 2 points of damage.
I¡­ could be punching about my weight class. Grond turned to glower at me. ¡°Is that all a Titan Spawn has¡­¡± Angelica impaled Grond through the neck with her spear. Then to further demonstrate that she wasn¡¯t someone to fuck with she levered the spear over her shoulder and flipped Grond head first into the ground. The impact was so tremendous that the god was smashed through the floor and into the depths below. Angelica pulled a bottle with some sort of red liquid in it. She took two deep breaths and popped the top. Then she chugged the beverage. I have no idea what that tasted like but the smell on her breath as she exhaled was septic. Her health did jump back to the yellow range shortly after. ¡°Ugh! This is going to be bad!¡± She looked at me, ¡°Grab the Hammer.¡±
Shell Cracker This epic Scale hammer inflicts [Power]+8 blunt damage on a hit. Increase damage by 5 vs. structures Increase knockback effect by one level of Scale.
This wompin¡¯ stick was hefty. I wasn¡¯t trained in using this thing, but in this domain I wasn¡¯t going to benefit from Scale anyways. ¡°Tanking ain¡¯t easy.¡± The hole in the floor expanded. A massive void of blackness slowly widened. I stepped back onto the circular altar. Two golden malevolent orbs peered out at me. From down in the dark there arose such a clatter. ¡°You would oppose a god?¡± Grond thundered. I shrugged, ¡°You are no god. You are just an asshole.¡± Something massive shifted in the blackness. ¡°You would do well to mind your tongue.¡± ¡°Why, so we can be all civil as you try to kill me?¡± I called back. I shook my head, ¡°Stupid asshole.¡± Something massive crashed against the side of the altar. I kept my feet but only just. The ground sagged slightly. I felt the pillar lower. Oh shit. I really should have watched my mouth. Angelica tossed a bundle of lit dynamite down toward the eyes in the dark. The blast made me blink and flung more dirt and debris into the air. For one brief moment the eyes were gone. Then the smoke cleared. The two predatory eyes narrowed. Something like a horrifying combination of a lion¡¯s roar and the call of a hunting whale reverberated through the arena. Then the ground dropped. Out of the darkness a monumental creature emerged. It was a giant snow lion made out of the bones of the regular sized snow lions below. I was pissed. This was clearly way too much snow lions. Bring back the bigfoots¡­bigfeet? Bring back the sasquatches. Somehow the drop didn¡¯t harm any of us. I took a chance and tried going on the offensive. The giant skele-cat took a swipe at Angelica and missed. The paw hit the ground like a bulldozer and tons of rock and snow. Thankfully it missed me. I swung the hammer at the front leg still on the floor.
Attack successful Grond takes 3 points of damage. Knock back successful.
The damage was still shit but the knock back effect is where the hammer became relevant at least when I wielded it. I sent the leg, well not quite flying, but back. Enough for the whole rest of the kaiju cat to topple. It fell like a rockslide. I would like to take a quick aside. A lion skeleton is roughly 18 to 30 pounds. These were all really big cats. So lets say this bone kaiju was 25 times bigger than one of those. That doesn¡¯t translate to 750 pounds of bones dropping to the ground. The giant skeleton was 25 times taller, 25 times longer and 25 times wider than a normal cat. That means the skeleton weighed roughly 15,625 times a normal skeleton. That meant more than 450,000 pounds of bone was tumbling down when the 100 foot tall monster fell down. Now that is a lot of math with big numbers, but this means something really important. I should have dodged.
You have been crushed by a bone avalanche You take 46 points of damage Titanic Regeneration plus 14 hit points HP 268/300
For a dark and terrible moment I was pinned and completely unable to move. I panicked. Really think about this for a second. Being hurt and immobile in complete darkness, and every attempt to move makes the pain worse. I didn¡¯t realize this was fear of mine, or perhaps this experience created that fear. There was a brief moment of silence. This was broken by an explosion of thunder. After a few seconds the bone ground deeper into me. And then light. The moment I could move I sprinted. The colossal weight of a skeletal paw crashed down behind me. I took a chance. I stopped, spun, and slammed the hammer into the leg again.
Attack successful Grond takes 1 points of damage. Knock back successful.
I Sprinted for my life as the massive weight crashed down. Again I turned on my heels, just in time to see the tremendous maw of the skull rushing to swallow me.
Attack successful Grond takes 4 points of damage. Knock back successful.
On pure reflex my arms swung the hammer. The damage was still utter crap but the impact knocked the jaws off course and kept me from becoming lunch¡­ dinner? Snack? Shishke- That¡¯s when Angelica hit Grond again: she slammed her spear into the eye socket. There was a flash of light out of the eyes, maw, and the gaps in the bones. Then with a blast of thunder the top of the skull popped off,fragments of bones blasting everywhere. Smoke reeking of ash and ozone radiated from the destroyed skull. For a brief second I almost thought we had accomplished something. Then I saw Gond burst out of the bones. His spiked gauntlet slammed into her stomach and tore upwards until it hit her ribs. He lifted her bodily and flung her to the ground. She hit with such force the stone floor cracked. Angelica¡¯s health was so low that for a brief moment I thought it was empty. I turned to Grond and found the ¡®god¡¯ leering down at me, ¡°You are all alone, now.¡± Chapter 28: Godzilla Threshold Well damn. I had nothing. No clever idea. No secret plan. No ace in the hole. Not even a pithy comment. I gripped the handle of the hammer tighter. This bastard was going to come down from the mountain of bone and literally rip me apart. I wanted to live. I doubted I would. I knew I couldn¡¯t take this jerk in a fight. I really only had one option left. ¡°Last chance: surrender. I promise you will not be harmed,¡± I said, somehow managing to keep my voice from shaking. Amazingly that stupid bluff did stop Grond mid-condescension. He eyed me, and after a long pause he asked, ¡°Do you honestly think you can harm me here in my domain?¡± Strangely, this sounded like a legitimate question. I set the hammer down and leaned on it. After a moment, I started stroking my beard, ¡°The thing is¡­ it¡¯s not about what I can do¡­ the issue is you are missing a real deciding factor.¡± Grond¡¯s eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest as he studied me. ¡°What am I missing?¡± I shook my head, chuckling, ¡°Tell me now!¡± Grond roared. He loomed over now, glaring into my eyes. I let the smile slowly fade from my expression and spoke seriously, ¡°Fine, the issue you missed is you are a misogynist.¡± Grond¡¯s glare shifted into a confused look, ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± ¡°It means you underestimate women in general,¡± I explained. ¡°No I don¡¯t and No I am not,¡± Grond argued, ¡°Bruh, you called Angelica a fuckhole for quipping back at you,¡± I explained. ¡°We were in a fight, insults are supposed to be¡­insulting,¡± Grond insisted. ¡°Just saying we are our words,¡± I lectured. I was shocked I had made it this far. There was no reason this psycho shouldn¡¯t have just decked me five sentences ago. So far so good I guess. ¡°Even if I was, which I am not, what does that have to do with me killing you, a male titan spawn?¡± Grond demanded. He grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me down to his eye level. Apparently me being taller than him bothered Grond. ¡°It means you underestimated her specifically.¡± I told him, staring him down. The prick was too busy trying to not blink; he didn''t see what was coming. Celeste may be an Angel of Truth, but she was not above stabbing Grond in the back. She was phenomenally fast. In the space of heartbeat she went from fifty yards away to slamming her spear through Grond¡¯s torso, chest plate and all. Grond bellowed in rage and pain. His health bar bottomed out to nothing as his body went translucent, intense light radiated from the spear. I could see his skeleton writhe in pain.
Grond cannot be killed in his domain. Domain remains intact.
That¡­ wasn¡¯t good. Some would even say it was a problem. Grond¡¯s health bounced back to full immediately. He rounded on her and unleashed a flurry of attacks. Celeste sidestepped the kick, deflected two swipes of the claws with her spear, ducked under another round house kick. She launched up into Grond, impaling him again. Six more spears of light manifested and struck Grond. Or they would have. The slippery bastard slid off the spear and faster than thought was thirty yards away. ¡°Another uppity goddess?¡± Grond jeered. He was steadily increasing in speed as he continued to taunt Celeste. He did take several direct hits at his first question. ¡°No, an angel?¡± He only took a few glancing hits as he began to laugh. ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy breaking you.¡± That is when Celeste hit him with everything she had. The cave shuddered and ice and bone exploded from the impact. Seven spears of light glinted, and Grond dodged two, blocked three and tanked the last two. His health bar nearly bottomed out again, but bounced back to full instantly. He caught Celeste on the shoulder with one swipe of his claws, and caught the leg with another. Then things got fast. I honestly have no idea exactly what happened. Two god-level badasses threw down. Rocks shattered, beasts screamed, snow flash boiled, light blinded me, and blood flew everywhere. I wasn¡¯t completely free of the fight. From time to time claws would catch me, as Grond would use me as a pawn to pull Celeste out of position. I would like to say I gave as good as I got, but over the course of ten nightmarish minutes I was whittled down to 35 hp, and dealt a cumulative 29 points back. I was gutless again, I was blinded, disarmed, and of course bleeding. The prompt informing me that Grond could not be killed in his domain kept flashing in my mind. It popped up at least half a dozen times a minute, every minute, for ten minutes. In any other scenario Celeste could have killed Grond a hundred times over, but here the bastard kept getting back up. Nested in the sea of prompts proclaiming Grond¡¯s invincibility was another prompt.
The Eyes of the Titan are upon you
Before I had time to think about what the hell that meant I heard Celeste lose her powers. The thrum of divine power faded for a nerve-rending moment of silence. The time was up. A blood curdling scream broke the silence before suddenly cutting off. Something landed at my feet. ¡°Angelica?¡± I shouted. When no response came, I felt for the thing in front of me. It was her. Before I could feel if she was dead, a hand like iron grabbed my throat. I was lifted into the air, and slammed into the ground. The impact brought me to six hit points. Grond waited a few moments and then slammed me into the ground again, almost, but not quite killing me. I picked up the broken back and shattered skull condition. He waited again, and just as my vision returned he pulled out my eyes. I heard him chewing, as he laughed to himself, ¡°Oh come on, cats play with their food.¡± Grond purred into my ear. When I didn¡¯t respond I felt him shrug. ¡°Let¡¯s get to the good part then.¡±
You now have the Heartless condition¡­ Hp reduc-
Wrath of the Titan Triggered! The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. You are invulnerable while this condition is active. All negative conditions removed You have temporarily unlocked Cosmic Martial Art: Unfathomable Void The first level is All Encompassing Sight The second level is The Darkness Between Stars Body The third level is Undefinably Vast Strength The fourth level is Reality Bending Movement The final level is Universal Control Time Remaining: 00:00:49
What happened next was the single most terrifying experience of my life. I lost all control of my body. I could still see, hear, and feel, but I was a prisoner in my own flesh. Someone else was in control of my body, and whatever it was¡­ it was Angry. Okay this is one of those things that words fail to fully describe. The obvious bit about burning with the hatred of a thousand suns comes to mind, but that isn¡¯t right. This was that cold, borderline malevolent anger. That kind of thing that gets people to plot for five years and then run someone down with a car some winter night when they knew the target of their scorn was alone, vulnerable, and accessible. That said, it was so strong and so vast that I could feel myself slowly becoming lost to it.
Mental Resistance prevents Mind Wipe. Willpower check Successful. You will remain aware.
All Encompassing Sight activated!
With All Encompassing Sight, I could see that what was before me was not the god Grond. It was a vessel that Grond could use to interact directly with the world. This specific ¡°doll¡± had been dressed in the trapping of snow lions in an attempt to mock me. I knew I could not kill the god Grond here, but I could destroy this aspect, and rob him of a means of interacting with the world.
Voice of the Titan Activated
¡°Perhaps I should use your terms. You would try to take from me, Grond?¡± the Titan demanded. Grond looked deeply uncertain, ¡°I am defending my territory.¡± ¡°Do you know why no god has challenged me, Grond?¡± the Titan asked. Grond made an attempt to answer when the Titan boomed over him, ¡°Because no god CAN challenge me!¡± Grond charged. It would be wrong to say I dodged Grond¡¯s attack. That is probably what it looked like to an outside observer. Instead the Titan merely bent space around me, causing the distance between Grond¡¯s attack and my body to become infinite. Then combining the resilience of a body made from the darkness between the stars, strength that superseded attributes, and again bending reality to draw Grond to my fist at a relativistic speed. The impact mixed with Universal Control removed all of Grond¡¯s abilities to flee. This avatar and aspect were stuck here with the rest of us. Grond was flung back and collided with the side of the arena. The barrier that held us in was even less yielding than stone. I could tell through the All Encompassing Sight that impacting the true edge of an arena hurt significantly worse than any other surface. ¡°What is about to happen is going to be a lesson to all the other little gods who think they can take from me,¡± the Titan explained, slowly walking toward the battered deity. ¡°I just have to run out the clock and then your Left Hand is mine!¡± Grond managed, trying to swagger through the pain. The Titan laughed in his face. ¡°Look at the timer.¡±
Time Remaining: 00:00:12 Time Remaining: 00:00:12 Time Remaining: 00:00:12
¡°What?¡± Grond demanded. The Titan reached further than my arms length and seized Grond by the throat before pulling him close, ¡°Time will only move when I allow it.¡± Grond seized that moment to try and maul my face. He would reach Pluto before he could touch me as the Titan again shaped reality around the attacks. Eventually Grond figured out I was untouchable. I saw the realization of his helplessness reach his face. This seemed to further enrage him. ¡°Fine, what do you want from me?¡± he snarled. ¡°Nothing. I do not care about you at all. Your only value is as a lesson to others.¡± The Titan explained. He paused for a moment, ¡°I am no sadist, but you were the one that made it a point to torture others. An eye for an eye.'''' The Titan inserted my index finger and thumb into Grond¡¯s eye and plucked both it and his ability to recover hit points for the next year out of his head. Grond screamed in both terror and agony. To have someone else use your hands to harm another is such a strange violation. In that moment I was literally untouchable and invincible, but I was also completely helpless. I had no control. It was also an existential revelation that the person who became the Titan, the man whose memories were in my brain, had changed to such a degree. Nearly 300 years was a long time. The Titan wiped my hand on Grond¡¯s furs, ¡°Let¡¯s resolve this matter.¡± It then quickly, methodically and almost gently grabbed and snapped each of Grond¡¯s limbs. Grond screamed each time something snapped. He started with the hands and feet. After that the wrist and ankles. Then the elbows and knees. Finally the Titan casually crushed a vertebra in the ¡®god¡¯s¡¯ neck. Crack! That sound is going to stick with me. It was sharp and clear, but there was a wet tearing underneath it. The reason it disturbed me so much is how controlled it was, precise, almost gentle. I could tell that the avatar was now paralyzed, utterly imobile. The Titan dropped Grond like a broken toy. The Titan nodded, surveying their work. ¡°You¡­ you can¡¯t kill¡­ me in my¡­ my domain,¡± Grond managed, a defiant grin twisting his face. ¡°That is correct, Even someone like me could not kill a Divine Scale player in their domain while it exists.¡± the Titan conceded. It then reached my hands into the air. My fingers clasped the filaments that created the Domain. I felt it break. It was like having a joint pop. A moment of resistance and then the freedom of full motion. It was such a minor effort. I could barely believe how fragile a Domain was. They had so much power. Shouldn¡¯t they be more robust? I could have broken that myself. Grond paled and stared. He probably would have trembled if not for the paralysis. ¡°I will tell you this, Grond. Your ¡®might makes right¡¯ philosophy has met its logical conclusion. I will leave you in the hands of your would-be victim. Remember they offered you the chance to walk away. You refused because you felt superior. Excuse me for a moment, what I am about to say is for the benefit of my¡­ son." The titan walked a few paces away. ¡°Stop looking to me for answers. I don¡¯t have what you are looking for.¡±
Voice of the Titan Deactivated Time Remaining: 00:00:01 Time Remaining: 00:00:00 Wrath of the Titan Deactivated
I looked down at the broken and bloody face of Grond. It would be so easy to just kill him. No! I had priorities. My voice shook when I spoke. ¡°You get one chance. If you have something that will help Angelica and Brand, I-I¡¯ll let you go. We¡¯ll be even. No hard feelings. He laughed, ¡°I thought I could take you. You¡¯re so low level. Oh well, the achievement of dropping your pets will have to do.¡± He saw the murder in my eyes, ¡°You think you can kill me? The Narrators will never let you. Arbitration is going to go my way. Say goodbye to your slut and your fa-¡°
¡°Empowered Critical¡± activated
It would be a lie to say I had never been angry up until this point. This world never missed an opportunity to hurt, confound or belittle me. I tried to always be the bigger man and just deal. This was too far. I was not going to accept having to watch the man who killed my friends laugh in my face. With every syllable I spoke I bludgeoned his head ¡°You! Should! Not! Talk! About! Them!¡± his nose was pulp and teeth floated out with the blood pouring from Grond¡¯s mouth, ¡°We! Aren¡¯t! Supposed! To! Break! The! Narrative!¡± I pummeled his skull until it broke, then shattered. Then pulped. That is when the parade of prompts blocked out my vision. The last one stuck in my view.
New Achievement! God Killer! I bet you feel big! ¡­
Chapter29: Aftermath
New Achievement! God Killer!* I bet you feel big! You have Killed a God! That hasn¡¯t happened in¡­ okay it was 5 days ago, but Nadia did it so it doesn¡¯t count. The last non-Nadia player to do that was Kate, 187 years ago. Reward: you have the mantle of the God of Beasts (Snow Lion). You can not equip this because your Scale is too high. You will also suffer consequences for this. You are now the enemy of Grond. You have been marked as a God Killer. *Please note that the being Grond is not dead. This is just an appropriate name for destroying an aspect that will no longer be available to the player using it at this time of ¡®death¡¯. Having access to a Divine Aspect does not necessarily mean the user will be able to access the Divine Scale and/or Realms.
I tried to clear it but it kept popping up. After the third time, I just ignored it. Brand was closer; he was somehow still breathing, but unconscious. His stomach and most of his other organs were outside of him, in an ever-growing pool of blood. At some point during the fight, he tried packing snow into the wound. There was nothing I could do for him. I tried but a prompt saying:
Emergency Medicine Check¡­ Failed! You require Medical Equipment to succeed on this check.
I found Angelica next. She was actually awake¡­ well kinda. Her arms and legs were in tatters, but she was still trying to staunch the bleeding at her neck with a piece of cloth. As I walked into her field of view my heart dropped. Her Health was flashing critical. Her entire throat had been ripped out. Even with her hand and the cloth in the way, I could see part of her spine. Anyone with a lower Body attribute would have already died. A lot of things flashed in her eyes when she saw me. She held out one of her hands. I took it unsure of what she wanted. She immediately pulled me down toward her. Even like this, she was stronger than me. She tried to speak, but couldn¡¯t make any words. Realizing I was an idiot I activated my skills.
Empathy skill check¡­ Successful! Angelica wishes you use the mantle to heal Celeste.
Angelica slumped as I dug into the menu.
Use Mantle of the God of Beasts (snow Lion) to restore Celeste of Truth? Yes/No Warning: target is already Divine Scale and cannot have Scale increased in this way. This action will also deplete the mantle into a lesser variant.
I selected yes. I felt the Mantle of the God of Beasts (Snow Lion) leave my inventory to be replaced by Mantle of the God of Beasts(Snow Lion) Lesser Variant. Nothing happened to Angelica that I could see. Her health kept trickling down. Oh God! ¡°Empowered Critical¡± had turned off Narrator intervention. Sure, it let me punch Grond¡¯s face apart and hurt the bastard¡­ inconvenience the bastard, but it also kicked the Narrators out for an hour. Maybe the Mantle would have been the excuse for Celeste to revive. Maybe they would have fixed the experience so that Brand and Angelica would have leveled. I killed them¡­ ¡°Do you need help?¡± a woman asked from behind me. I turned to find¡­ a short, stout woman with long red hair. She was clad in heavy metal armor and had both a large axe and a hammer strapped to her back. Based on the weapons, the armor, the shortness, and the¡­thiccness, I was pretty sure she was a dwarf, maybe. She didn¡¯t have a beard, so I could be wrong. ¡°I am gonna heal these people. So, if they are actually marauders or something I need you to tell me,¡± she explained using that tone people use when they are trying to be comforting but a lot of time sensitive shit is happening so people need to move. It is a very specific tone. You¡¯ll know it when you hear. When I said nothing for about a second, she slammed her steel-shod hands together. A chime, clear as any bell rang out. ¡°Stall!¡± the woman said calmly. Her voice was quiet, but it resounded with power. Both Angelica and Brand¡¯s Health stopped depleting. A sphere, a faint crystalline light radiated from her hands. It expanded until it engulfed all of us. As the light surrounded us it revealed two dark shadowy beings reaching for Brand and Angelica. The sphere of light pushed them away. They fought against the barrier but could not find purchase against it. The small-yet-sturdy woman nodded. ¡°They would be here.¡± Pointing from Angelica to Brand she said. ¡°Bring her towards him.¡± Gently as I could I lifted Angelica off the ground and carried her toward Brand. It was strange. The wounds were still there, but they no longer bled. Again, as gently as I possibly could, I set Angelica down next to Brand. Her eyes were open but glassy. She looked¡­. The short woman nodded. ¡°Good.¡± She slammed her fists together and spoke over the ensuing clamor. Something old, and¡­ kind empowered her voice.. ¡°In the name of Mendus, Rise and Reforge these two warriors.¡± As the ringing faded, a second chime from far away responded. Then a third, closer one. Then more chimes. The wind stirred and suddenly a dozen spectral beings clad in similar armor to the woman appeared around Angelica and Brand. ¡°Reforge!¡± the woman and the specters called in unison. There was a deafening thunder as the specters struck out at Angelica and Brand with ethereal hammers. I would have panicked if the aura of this hadn¡¯t been completely antithetical to violence, and I couldn¡¯t blatantly see their health-restoring and wounds healing. Holy shit! Wilson did this. The crazy fucker probably plotted for most of this to happen. He could play-act at the slimy agent, or distracted bully all he wanted. I could see he was a manipulator. The truly upsetting thing was he was competent. The disturbing thing was if he wasn¡¯t, my friends would be dead. ¡°What?¡± I asked, trying to understand what just happened. ¡°I¡¯m Brunhilda, Shieldmaiden of Mendus, and Dwarf of the Shattered Mountain.¡± She said. The way she said it, it was clear that I was expected to know who she was. Upon seeing the complete lack of recognition on my face she shrugged. ¡°Eh, I am a big deal to anyone who isn¡¯t a Titan Spawn.¡± ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t show up as a rare Scale to you?¡± I asked, feeling oddly exposed. ¡°I just watched you beat a god to death with your bare hands. If you¡¯re Rare Scale, I¡¯ma wilting flower.¡¯ She slammed her gauntleted fist into her breastplate. The force of the impact shook the cave and made her point. ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± I admitted. ¡°So how did you end up here?¡± ¡°I was after The Mother of All Snow Lions. I need her blood for a component.¡± She said conversationally. ¡°Take it,¡± I said with a nod. After a moment I said, ¡°Please leave the heart. Brand needs that for a McGuffin.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± she said. Instead of pulling the corpse of the boss into her inventory. She produced a strange container. It looked to be a large hip flask, but it also had a large sharp tap attached to a tube. She stabbed the tap into the neck of the body, and I could see blood flow up the tube. She saw I was trying to watch her and the ghost dwarves reforging Angelica and Brand at the same time. ¡°You seem tense.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I am worried about my friends,¡± I admitted. ¡°This clash turned what was a straightforward fight into a near-total party wipe. It happened out of nowhere. I was just beginning to think I knew how things worked, but this is¡­ I don¡¯t even know how we aren¡¯t dead.¡± She walked over to me. Our differences in heights became shockingly apparent. I was more than twice as tall as her. That said she carried herself with that same effortless confidence Celeste, and to a lesser extent Angelica did. ¡°Yeah¡­ hold onto that feeling. As soon as you forget it something like this will happen again. I have lost a lot of friends that way.¡± After a long pause, she asked, ¡°Not to ask an awkward question, but are you and Zach, the Storm King, at war?¡± ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know,¡± I admitted. ¡°He clearly wants me to help him fight Nadia. I don¡¯t want to do that. Also, the first time we talked ended poorly. Although that seemed to be true of all the conversations, I have had with the other Titan Spawn.¡± ¡°Ah, well then there is only one logical thing to do then.¡±
Ritual of Fellowship triggered Dwarven Exchange of Drinks. Except? Yes/No
I hit yes. Drinks, fellowship, rituals, dwarves. None of this sounded bad. Brunhilda produced a bottle of dark red liquor from her inventory. ¡°I offer Red Dragon Rum, in exchange for fellowship.
Select offering: Titanic Brew Water Snow lion Blood
I selected the first,since water and blood sounded like the obvious wrong choices, and I found myself handing over the mug of Titanic Brew as Brunhilda handed me the bottle of Red Dragon Rum. ¡°Like our ancestors before. Those who drink together, fight together. Those who fight together, die together. Those that die together should live together. And if we are gonna live together, we may as well be friends.¡± ¡°Hang together or hang separately,¡± I added. We clanked our drinks together and both took long pulls. The red dragon rum was ¡­ interesting. Between the alcohol and spices in the drink, this stuff could bite. That said it also had a kind of glow to it. The warmth spread down my throat to my stomach and then to my fingers and toes. Brunhilda was now flushed in the face, and her eyes were cloudy. ¡°Fuck me, that is good!¡± she gasps. ¡°Oh shit, I haven¡¯t gotten this drunk in years.¡± She bumped me with her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m on mana cooldown. We¡¯re friends now. Since drinking makes me horny, I feel I should go for the full-frontal approach. I always liked them tall, and you¡¯re a two-day trip. The fact is I could use a long weekend. You wanna go on holiday with me?¡± She then grabbed my ass. She had quite the grip. The best comparison I have is a pneumatic press or the jaws of life. ¡°I am flattered¡­¡± I started; my voice really high up there. ¡°Sup bro,¡± Zack cut in. ¡°Ah shit,¡± I muttered. Zach being here heavily implied I was now level seven. He shook his head. ¡°Look at you power-leveling by killing a god. That¡¯s actually pretty hard core.¡± ¡°Oh Lord Storm King!¡± Brunhilda said. She dropped to her knee. Despite being blatantly drunk she never even tipped the drink. After a slight bow. She proceeded to sort of hide behind the mug by drinking more. ¡°Hello Brunhilda,¡± Zach said with a slight nod, tone somewhere between regal acknowledgement and dudebro trying to audition in an attempt to get laid. ¡°You two know each other?¡± I asked. Ice hit my veins, driving the warmth from the rum from me. ¡°I make it a point to know all of the demigod Scale beings in my kingdom,¡± Zach said. He took a deep breath, then just sort of stood there awkwardly for a moment, at a loss. ¡°Have you¡­ heard anything else from the Progenitor?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should say. He had something to say to Cole. But I don¡¯t think that was for you.¡± I admitted. ¡°Ah¡­ damn,¡± Zach said. ¡°After what he said¡­ I had hoped to hear more.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked. I just couldn¡¯t tiptoe around things. ¡°It is tradition for the shadows of Titan Spawn to visit each other to celebrate each level. You joining the group makes it once every five levels. It¡¯s meant to build comradery, Dougie. It also was for the most part a relatively rare occurrence. Now that you are here,I suspect I am going to have to adjust my schedule. Which is going to be a bit of pain since I just avoided a coup.¡± ¡°Wait what?¡± Brunhilda and I said at the same time. ¡°Yeah. It was just like the progenitor said. Things had broken down. Turns out the gnomes started holding out on the elves and the border-landers once they heard about the blight. Between that and the encroaching winter. They were running out of food. That said if we can¡¯t fix the blight in the next two weeks everyone is going to be starving.¡± Zach said. He shook his head. ¡°Things were so much easier when I just had to kill dragons.¡± ¡°I have the blood of the Mother of All Snow Lions,¡± Brunhilda said. ¡°I should be able to get back in two weeks if I never stop.¡± ¡°That¡¯s gonna be tight,¡± Zach muttered. He started pacing. ¡°Why not just take it with you now?¡± I asked. Zach sort of froze for a moment ¡°¡­holy shit, Dougie!¡± Zach grabbed me in a rib-cracking hug. He rubbed my head after letting me go. ¡°Toss it here, Babe.¡± Brunhilda stood and collected the large flask from the herald. She lobbed it to Zach regardless of her drunken state and stumbling nature. The flask flew straight to Zach. He tossed it into his inventory. He let me go, ¡°I have 3 gods working for me, and you break the blight while less than a month old. Look at you, killing gods and shit. Not that Grond is exactly a heavyweight, but still I was like level 30 before I managed that.¡± ¡°What¡¯s Wrath of the Titan?¡± I asked, finding a window for prying information I cared about from Zach. He went still. ¡°You¡­ managed to keep your memories during that?¡± ¡°Yeah, what the hell is that?¡± I pressed. Zach paused. He just stood there so long I thought he wasn¡¯t going to answer, ¡°It is an ability of the Progenitor¡¯s. It lets him assume direct control of one of us and wreck the shit out of things. He doesn¡¯t seem to like using it, which is good.¡± He hesitated, ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that, bro.¡± Not wanting to lose momentum I asked the next pressing question ¡°What about Kate?¡± ¡°¡­I, I gotta go,¡± Zach said, staring at his feet. ¡°If you want answers about¡­ about her¡­ you will need to ask Nadia.¡± ¡°Wait! What happened?¡± I was shouting. I was running toward where Zach had been.
Willpower Check ¡­failed Emotions will no longer be suppressed. Memories will not be suppressed Difficulty of checks reset due to failure
The prompt of the failed willpower check resetting the difficulty flashed in my vision. The stress hit me like a train. My knees buckled. My vision blurred. I was having a complete meltdown. I couldn¡¯t breathe, but I was getting dizzy. Looking back, it is more upsetting to me at least, because I physically did not need to breathe. I don¡¯t know how long I stayed that way, probably a few minutes, but eventually, I realized I could roll willpower to suppress emotions.
Willpower Check ¡­Successful Emotions brought to controllable levels
And suddenly I was calm and collected. I wiped the tears from my face and stood up. Brunhilda was politely ignoring my¡­ moment and watching the spirits reforge Angelica and Brand. When I walked up to stand next to her, she gave me the mug of Titanic Brew, ¡°I recommend you take a few minutes every day to let yourself feel. It hurts but¡­ you gotta bend at some point or you break.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I said with a nod. ¡°I am just glad we didn¡¯t have to fight or anything. The Storm King is not normally hospitable to other Titan Spawn. Not since¡­¡± she trailed off and stayed silent. ¡°Yeah, that went way better than I expected,¡± I agreed. ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± ¡°I will heal your friends up, and then I¡¯ll probably tag along until the next safe point. After that, I will head back to the Shattered Mountain. We found a new great vault, just before I left. It was the deepest ever found.¡± Brand sat up and gazed around wild-eyed. Eventually, he saw Brunhilda and me standing around day drinking. ¡°You Idiot!¡± He roared and charged. I legitimately thought he was going to attack me. Instead, he charged right past us to the body of Grond. After touching the corpse he paused, clearly reading prompts. ¡°Get over here and loot the corpse, damn you!¡± Angelica shot past us like a lightning bolt. Brunhilda lobbed me at the body: I face-planted into the snow and looked up at the message
Loot corpse of Grond: God of Beast¡¯s (Aspect of the Snow Lion) Yes/No? Time remaining 00:00:07 Time remaining 00:00:06
I hit ¡®Yes¡¯ as fast as I could. I got a lot of stuff. I tossed the body into my inventory. I did the same with the Mother of Snow Lions, found the Heart. I pulled it out of my inventory and tossed it to Brand. He caught it casually and it disappeared into his inventory. The looting pulled the body into my inventory and triggered several more prompts. I closed them all without looking. It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t care. I had other priorities. Like how Angelica was watching me. Well, shit. That was the ¡®we need to talk¡¯ look. Chapter 30: Heroically mocked for an extended period of time Standing there like a deer in headlights, I took stock of the situation. Despite my best efforts I had all but certainly outed myself as a Titan Spawn. Some na?ve part of me thought I could keep cover and maybe stall Celeste a while longer. Mostly, though a small and deeply scared part of me feared that things would change. Angelica was my first friend. The fundamental lessons she had taught me made it clear higher Scale meant complications in relationships. I felt an instinctive urge to try and use some sort of distraction skill. Shift focus onto Brunhilda. Thankfully I came to my senses. ¡°I am guessing you have some questions.¡± ¡°You are guessing correctly,¡± Angelica said flatly. She turned to Brunhilda, she slammed a fist to her chest, ¡°Hail Champion of the Shattered Mountain!¡± Brunhilda mirrored the gesture, ¡°Hail Hero of the Coast!¡± after a brief pause, ¡°Now that that is over, I assume you two have drama with my new drinking buddy? So long as you have no ill will just pretend I¡¯m not here.¡± She slapped my ass, ¡°Good luck buddy.¡± Balin¡¯s Beard! Her hands were like little hammers. I took another swig of the Titanic Brew and handed it back to her. She took it eagerly and went to sit on a large piece of rubble. She was not far away enough to give the allusion of privacy: this felt more like an audience member taking the good seats. Angelica and Brand turned to me. They didn¡¯t look pissed off, but they definitely weren¡¯t happy. I hitched a thumb at the body of the dungeon boss, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we loot that?¡± ¡°It''s a dungeon boss, it will stay until we leave the dungeon,¡± Brand explained. He eyed me for a moment before using some sort of Scrutinize skill ¡°How do you not know that?¡± I sighed. Might as well just get this over with, ¡°I have been keeping a secret.¡± I stopped. How to approach this¡­ After a moment a strange look crept into Angelica¡¯s expression, ¡°Wait, are you talking about the fact you are obviously a Titan Spawn?¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Brand said, understanding hitting, ¡°That makes much more sense, I thought he was a manifestation of the goddess of war.¡± I looked at myself and then a Brand, ¡°Goddess?¡± ¡°Lola is not opposed to subtlety,¡± he explained. ¡°Subtlety?¡± I asked. ¡°Within the domain of war.¡± Brand hedged. I got what he was saying. A massive, extremely burly dude who can smash stuff with their bare hands is both not what you would expect of a goddess, but on brand for a being related to war. Hell, my body was basically a living weapon. If not for my own incompetence, who knows how dangerous I could be. ¡°Was I really that obvious?¡± I managed. ¡°Doug, let me answer that question with a few questions,¡± Angelica said. ¡°First, do I have a spear?¡± She was holding it in her right hand. ¡°Yeah,¡± I answered. ¡°How do you know?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°I have seen you use it in front of me multiple times,¡± I admitted, seeing where she was going. ¡°How could you be able to figure this out, even if I didn¡¯t specifically tell you I have a spear?¡± she pressed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. I nodded, ¡°I get your point.¡± ¡°What point? We haven¡¯t established if I have a spear,¡± Angelica demanded, waving the spear directly in my line of sight. ¡°How long do you plan to keep roasting me?¡± I asked ¡°I haven¡¯t decided,¡± Angelica replied, ¡°Brand, anything you want to say?¡± Brand paused before answering, ¡°You¡¯ll have to forgive me, but I am still dealing with a sudden shock. I would love to participate in this but I still need to process a few things.¡± He turned to Brunhilda, ¡°Has the Fantasy Coast picked a side in the Forever War?¡± ¡°Sadly, my being here is not an act of support or opposition to any faction in the Forever War beyond the basic stance of both the Fantasy and Techna Coasts mutual agreement of non-involvement in matters outside of this continent.¡± Brunhilda responded immediately in a practiced tone. ¡°Of course,¡± Brand sighed. He turned to me, ¡°I plan to mock you at random intervals for the remainder of our existence. Given that you are basically an infant, I expect a large amount of my jabs will go unnoticed.¡± I thought for a moment. When no good retort came to me I pulled a barrier out of my inventory, putting a wall between Brand and the conversation Angelica and I were having. I¡¯m not petty, you¡¯re petty. ¡°Are we still good?¡± I asked Angelica. ¡°Yeah,¡± She nodded. ¡°I get it. People get weird when Scale gets involved. ¡°Fucken¡¯ Preach!¡± Brunhilda called. Where did the popcorn come from? ¡°So what did I do that tipped my hand?¡± I asked. Angelica eyed me. Clearly she was curious why I needed to know. ¡°I would like to know how to not obviously signal to the entire world that I am Titanic Scale. Not everyone I meet is going to be as friendly as you.¡± Angelica thought for a moment, clearly debating whether to give me more shit or not. ¡°Fine. In no particular order. You don¡¯t know basic things about the world, like where you are. You don¡¯t know about the Fantasy Coast or the Techna Cost. You don¡¯t recognize names like Herschal or the Demon of Frost. You have the Sheltered condition but look to be too old physically to still have it. You have a Goddess and a Titan Spawn interested in you. You can fight Demigod Scale enemies and not die. You can Tank. You could resist the effect of Divine Scale players. You can move during Time Stops. You are using a Cosmic Martial Art. Your fists hit almost as hard as my attacks, at least against lower Scale opponents. You crafted a Vitae.¡± ¡°How is that last one a clue?¡± I asked. ¡°Vitae are only made using Titan Spawn blood,¡± Angelica answered. I sighed, ¡°I really thought I was being subtle.¡± ¡°Doug, you are my friend. God love ya man, but you are as subtle as a trainwreck¡­ on a boat.¡± After a moment Angelica patted my shoulder in a there-there sort of way. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Anything else i should know?¡± ¡°The barricade only blocks line of sight,¡± Brand called over the wall. ¡°I explain this, because you are so young, I am uncertain if you understand object permanence. Which is that things keep existing even when you do not look at them directly.¡± I pulled the Barricade back into my inventory. Before I could talk Brand said, ¡°Peek-a-boo.¡± I am not a smart man. I set myself up for that. Turns out Angelica and Brunhilda are the type of friend that will point as they laugh at you. Brand had outmaneuvered me this round, no sense denying it. ¡°Seriously though, what else did I do that outed me?¡± I was strangely reminded of the casual embarrassment that sort of permeates every aspect of the middle school experience. Angelica forced herself to stop laughing. She took a deep breath. ¡°The underwear you gave me says it was made by Zach. You know, the Storm King of the Fantasy Coast.¡± ¡°So I have been broadcasting my high Scale status constantly,¡± I realized aloud. ¡°In your defense,¡± Brand started gently, ¡°You did not know any better. This world must be alien to you, as the world that was is to us.¡± That seemed strangely sincere, ¡°I thought you were mocking me?¡± ¡°Intermittently,¡± Brand replied. He tried to straighten his coat, but it was basically shredded. ¡°Ah.¡± Joy. Surprise mockery, how very British. ¡°In case you are just pretending to know what that means, a bad habit, by the by. That means at irregular intervals, not continuously or steadily.¡± Brand elaborated. ¡°It helps with the comedic timing, you see.¡± I chose to ignore this, because I am more mature, and not because I didn¡¯t have any clever comeback. It was my maturity, definitely that. ¡°I can always blend in better next time. Everyone sort of shared looks. Dammit they were meaningful looks. ¡°What?¡± I asked. I prepare for this world to find a new and inventive way to piss on my parade. Angelica thought a moment before answering. ¡°You have the God Killer achievement. That is going to be pinned next to your name forever. Whatever Titanic Perk or Trait you have making you look Rare Scale isn¡¯t hiding that achievement.¡± That tracked. I nodded. I wasn¡¯t bitter. No, I was not going to pout about this. I opened my character sheet. I didn¡¯t see any obvious marks. That said maybe I wasn¡¯t supposed to. What I did see was positive.
Level Up! Level Up! Level Up!
Name: Doug
Race: Titan Spawn
Class Left Hand of The Titan
Level: 7
HP: 420
Power: 20
Mobility: 20
Body: 20
Mind: 20
Face: 20
Magic: 20
Select Perks and Traits? Yes/No
I selected no for the perks. Conversation now. Becoming OP later. I decided to look on the bright side. ¡°Oh well, I am not going to complain. That pushed me to level 7. I might as well look at the positives.¡± I turned my attention back to my friends. Everyone, including Brunhilda, looked absolutely stunned. Angelica stared at me wide-eyed. ¡°Holy shit. Are you telling me you did all of this crazy stuff at level six?¡± Oh yeah, I¡¯m overpowered. Probably best not to flaunt that. In other company that may be stupid. Luckily Angelica was an actual friend. Brand seemed to have principles¡­ hopefully. Brunhilda¡­ Here''s hoping drinking buddies don¡¯t tattle on each other. ¡°Before I answer, I need you to promise you will not make this weird.¡± I said, stalling slightly for time. ¡°I won¡¯t make it weird,¡± Angelica promised readily. ¡°I was level 4 throughout the dungeon and 5 while we fought Grond.¡± I explained cautiously. Angelica¡¯s expression remained neutral as she nodded. She kept nodding for a few moments too long. When she spoke her voice was calm and steady, ¡°I lied. I will have to make this weird. Sorry.¡± She nodded again before demanding, ¡°FOUR? Are you fucking kidding me?¡± Brand pulled his last cigarette out and lit it, ¡°I can¡¯t believe we are not dead.¡± He paled even as he puffed. ¡°You''re welcome!¡± Brunhilda cheered, raising her glass. ¡°Thank you!¡± we all called in unison. Angelica turned back to me. I seized the initiative, ¡°You are making this weird.¡± ¡°I know,¡± She said. She thought for a moment, ¡°It is weird being on the other end of this.¡± she took a deep breath, ¡°I mean, I think most people understand Divine and Titanic Scale are overpowered but¡­ fuck me.¡± ¡°Careful with statements like that, If Adora is involved,¡± Brand cautioned. ¡°Shit!¡± she muttered, before checking to see if any bad-touching goddesses were about to sneak up on us. ¡°Are we still good?¡± I was concerned this somehow could affect my relationships with the only people who hadn¡¯t tried to kill me so far. Not to sound codependent but I don''t think I could live without them. There were lions out there¡­ probably. ¡°Yeah, I am just having one of those moments when I realized the dumb thing I was doing was way more dangerous than I thought.¡± Angelica¡¯s hand drifted to her now mended throat. ¡°It was a calculated risk but apparently I am bad at math.¡± ¡°I have an idea, how about we ponder that while we get the fuck out of here?¡± The climb to the exit was now going to be a difficult journey up sheer rock faces. The exit had been about 600 feet above the upper level. Then Grond had pulled the upper level down to the ground floor, so now it was roughly the height of the empire state building above us. This dungeon seemed unlikely to be possible in the world that was. Asshole Narrators make it so you can¡¯t even trust the ground. ¡°From the mouth of babes,¡± Brand said. He clipped for a moment and was wearing a climbing harness. Brunhilda stood, and stumbled slightly. She meandered -staggered, really- our way, ¡°Would any of you happen to have a mobility spell?¡± When we all shook our heads she looked up toward the exit. She nearly toppled over. I barely caught her, the armor somewhere between just as heavy as it looked and weighing as much as a literal truck. After gaining her feet she considered the cliff, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can make the climb, not without having to sober up first. Would any of you happen to have the Construction skill?¡± Everyone else looked at me. ¡°I have it, but how would building stairs be faster than just climbing?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d like the answer, but I knew for a fact I would hate the climb. Brunhilda pulled an odd thing out of her inventory. It was a metal beam with two handles on it. ¡°We just need to exploit the system. Between you being a Titan Spawn, and my stupid stats we should just drag this screed over the stones and shape them like concrete. Instant stairs.¡± ¡°How does that work? My stats are only around 20,¡± I said without thinking. Brunhilda snorted, ¡°When I was level 7 my lowest stat was 9. Again I am going to help you. That will add a bonus equal to a portion of my attributes. Plus I can keep drinking while we do this. Grab a handle.¡± ¡°The hell is this thing?¡± I asked. ¡°A screed.¡± She said then took another swig of titanic brew. ¡°Think stairs and make with the Construction.¡± I did what I was told. So a screed is a tool meant to level wet concrete. This shouldn¡¯t do a damn thing with natural, solid rock.
Construction Check¡­ Successful! Five Stairsteps completed
So of course the screed rubbing on the stones caused the rocks to mold and shape into rough steps sticking out of the sheer cliff face Brunhilda frowned at the steps, clearly unimpressed with the craftsmanship, ¡°I thought you said you had the Construction skill?¡± ¡°At Untrained,¡± I admitted. ¡°Don¡¯t worry buddy, I¡¯ll get you there. No other dwarf has to know,¡± she whispered. Her tone was extremely significant. Then again, Dwarves probably put great significance on stone working. ¡°I am less than a month old,¡± I explained, feeling strangely self-conscious as we ascended, making stairs as we went. Brunhilda considered that, ¡°I still wouldn¡¯t tell any other dwarf you are Untrained in Construction, Craft or Appraise. They just won¡¯t take you seriously.¡± She then chugged from the Titanic Brew and belched. Chapter 31: Level Up, Up, Up and away We quickly fell into a rhythm of making stairs as we walked. We probably could have gone faster but Brunhilda was clearly trying to get me to grind through the skill levels. Even if my stairs aren¡¯t that¡­ well even. They weren¡¯t exactly the most difficult thing to Construct. Brunhilda had a point though, I wasn¡¯t proud of this work. A master of the craft would probably¡­ judge me quietly. That said it didn¡¯t take all of my focus. So, I split my attention. I opened my character sheet and selected ¡®Yes¡¯ on the ¡®Select Perks and Traits¡¯ option.
Level 5 Please select Perk
  • Titanic Works
  • Oracle
Level 6 Please select Perk
  • Titanic Armor 2
  • Titanic Weapon
Please Select Trait
  • Titanic Toughness
  • Prison
Level 7 Please Select Perk
  • Mystical Well
  • Titanic Manipulation
Yep, that was about as word-soupy as I figured. Okay, may as well start digging into the hot, crunchy action.
Titanic Works Titan Spawn are often industries unto themselves. Shaping the world and the materials in it like the playthings they are. With this perk, the Titan Spawn does not require tools for Craft, Repair, Construction, or related skills. Reduce the time required for the skills by [Mind Attribute] x [Difference in Scale] Oracle Oracles are able to glimpse the future and learn information beyond their physical experience. This perk will allow the Titan Spawn to enter a trance and attempt to learn the secrets of the future. The Titan Spawn will also occasionally receive visions of the things including but not limited to: The future*, distant locations, the past. Note 1: Player will not have complete control of this perk Note 2: Vision of the future are of a possible future, not guaranteed to be the one you will experience. Note 3: Observation of distant realms and even the past can be detected by other oracles or significantly powerful beings. Note 4: There are means to block or mislead this skill.
Maybe this is just me, but that seemed lopsided as all hell. Yeah, sure, Oracle had potential to see the ¡®future¡¯ and basically spy on others or dig up their past, but it also clearly was handing the system a way to mess with my head. Wait! Not the system, the Titan! At least I was pretty sure. ¡®Empowered Critical¡¯, Mental Resistance, and the Wrath of the Titan clearly showed that the Narrator''s control of the system was not absolute. That would mean that this was probably a choice being offered not entirely by the system, but at least partially by the Titan. I looked at the notes more carefully. ¡­not having complete control¡­ That did imply partial control. Perhaps I could use this to find Kate. Another insight stuck and brought up the God Killer notification again. It said someone named Kate killed a god 187 years ago. Was that my Kate? That would be a target to start from. Oracle had potential. Still I hesitated. It still sounded like it could open my mind to the system. Even if the Titan had a hand in the perk¡¯s function, it felt wrong. The guy I used to be had changed. That level of hatred was beyond who we were. The way he had dismantled Grond, it was malicious. He had wanted Grond to suffer and be afraid. He didn¡¯t help Angelica and Brand either. ¡­Was I any better? I beat the bastard to death because he spited me. Yeah, that was a high stress moment and I was scared. But in that moment, I knew he couldn¡¯t hurt me. It wasn¡¯t self defense. Morals aside, the real question was would the Titan actually help me? In the end I decided not to take the Oracle Perk. The Titan told me he didn¡¯t have the answers. Maybe that was a warning about this perk? While I was pretty sure I would take the Titanic Works perk, I held off and looked at the next two.
Titanic Armor 2 Titan Spawn are impossibly tough. All armor worn by you has its effectiveness increased by [Body Attribute] points. In addition, improve the deflection percentage of armor by [Magic Attribute] / 2. Note: Requires a physical item that is classified as armor which you can equip to function. Effects last [Magic attribute] weeks after each item is unequipped. Titanic Weapon Titan Spawn are capable of incredible wrath. All weapons wielded by you have their effectiveness increased by [Power Attribute] points. Note: Requires a physical item that is classified as a weapon which you can equip to function. Effects last [Magic attribute] days after each item is unequipped.
Well then that was going to be a tough choice. On the one hand I was initially underwhelmed with Titanic Armor¡¯s performance, but that is because I didn¡¯t understand what I or the perk was doing. The increased defense absolutely saved my life in this dungeon. Several of the minibosses would have dealt out 16 more points of damage a hit. The Cat Sith came to mind immediately. Well the terrible laser claws did, at least. Those will haunt my dreams. That monster seemed to live rent free in my head. Seriously, how is it a snow lion? Anyways, this Perk would crank my ability to mitigate damage by 13%, which would add up quickly. On the other hand punching shit just didn¡¯t really work great against actual threats. Also having had a chance to smash things with a hammer, I now saw the appeal. I think it and the Juggernaut¡¯s bangle interacted to help me knock the big bone beast around. These perks also implied a cyclical nature to perks. So maybe next level the Fist of the Titan option would swing back around. I really did feel more comfortable pummeling things. The constant fighting bare fisted hand ingrained instincts and reflexes in me. What is it worth having a weapon that does more damage but I just keep punching things on reflex? Then again what good was armor that could negate damage if I missed the window to do so? Either one of these perks would require me to actually improve my skills. After one hundred stairs worth of reflection, I felt like Titanic Weapon had a lower floor, but Titanic Armor had a higher ceiling. Titanic Armor was going to be my pick because maximum survivability was still the goal. Again, I held off on selecting anything. Time to look at the traits. It was a bit odd. Leveling up should feel good. I should be excited. I mean getting more power should be fun. I was still going to get this resolved because i needed the edge to survive, but my brain was treating this like work. My instincts and focus were different than the Titans Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Titanic Toughness Titan Spawn have a physical form beyond mortal limits. This perk will grant the Titan Spawn +20 to Body Attribute. The Spawn will also be able to ignore [Power Attribute] / 10 conditions affecting them. Prison Titan Spawn often have enemies that are not easily destroyed. This perk allows the Titan Spawn to place [Mind Attribute]/2 living or undead beings into their inventory. Beings in the inventory are treated as if they were in a Domain under the spawns control. The Beings could escape if they are able to win an opposed roll of the Titan Spawn¡¯s choosing. While inside the prison the being will take up a space equal to their physical volume. The default assumption is they will not be able to interact with other beings or items in the Titan Spawns inventory without the Titan Spawns approval, but significantly powerful beings may be able to do so. The Titan Spawn cannot interact physically with beings inside the prison but can communicate via messaging with beings while they are inside. Abilities like Dark Magic will be usable within the Domain at increased effectiveness.
The choice here seemed more obvious to me. Increased Body Attribute meant more health regen and higher defense, which further mitigated damage. Perhaps this was a hat on a hat idea, but against Grond that would have likely dropped his damage to a d4 a hit and then my regen would have been able to keep pace. Perhaps I could have had a bigger impact on the fight. That said, perhaps I could have just tossed the jerk into my inventory, and had him roll something he was weak in. Then I could turn the Claws of Darkness spell¡­ the Claws¡­ Okay, ignoring the fact that I had petulantly ignored magic. Titanic Toughness would render that viable. I was all but certainly going to select it but I was going to hold off until I reviewed the last two Perk Options
Mystical Well Titan Spawns are not just physical beings but also beings of living magic. While Titan Spawn, like Divine Scale beings, have infinite MP, this perk would give the Titan Spawn an unattached pool of [Magic Attribute] x 1000 MP that can be loaned out to Allies or used to power magical effect. This Well defaults to untyped MP but can be changed to types the Titan Spawn has access to. Current MP types available: Untyped, Dark, Water, and Cold. This Perk also unlocks the Skills: Absorb, Accumulate, and Pervade. Note 1: Access to the Well may also be granted through pacts. Note 2: More Types of MP may be unlocked through various actions, Perk, Traits, or Conditions. Titanic Manipulation +20 to [Face Attribute]. Increase the duration of all effects of Face-based skills by [Face attribute] days for creatures of lower Scale.
Mystic Well was definitely more complicated. Twenty-thousand MP sounded like a lot. No idea what types of MP meant or what any of those skills did. Perhaps reading would tell me¡­
Absorb This skill requires an unattached pool of MP. Whenever the user of this skill is affected by any magical effect they can attempt an Absorb roll. Success allows the user to add the MP cost of the magical effect to the unattached pool of MP. Accumulate This skill requires an unattached pool of MP. The User may spend ten minutes in an area and then roll Accumulate. A success will transfer [Magic Attribute] points of MP into the unattached pool of MP. Pervade This skill requires an unattached pool of MP. The user may select an amount of MP from the unattached pool and then assign a Type to the MP. The MP is then spent. On a successful roll the MP then pervades the area and aligns it to the type of MP used. Repeated uses of this skill is the foundation of a Domain.
That sounded potentially extremely powerful. I did note that Absorb still sounds like I was going to experience any effects being used on me. Accumulate would require a week to fill the pool, and Pervade was just the foundation for a Domain. My guess is that would require some sort of wall, and ceiling. Still, part of me liked the long term potential. Also sharing with Allies sounded potentially helpful in the here and now. Trouble is I did swear to just take perks with bonuses to attributes and let them carry the day. Was I really going to change course so quickly? Especially since the other argument was magic is awesome. I knew the sting of buyers'' remorse for that before. Only one thing to do. Time for truly desperate measures. ¡°Everyone, I need to ask you about leveling up,¡± I said. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go. Get all chummy with your drinking buddy,¡± Brunhilda called as she leaned closer and continued in a stage whisper, ¡°You sure you want to trust the others though? You¡¯ve known them for less than a month.¡± I gave them the summary of the perks and traits I had to pick from. Brand looked gobsmacked. Which is very similar to being stunned but polite and British. Brunhilda sort of nodded along with the information. She was mildly impressed but seemed to expect I would have unbalanced magical powers. That said, she seemed to know Zach. So she probably had a frame of reference. Angelica kicked my shin, ¡°You have magic?¡± ¡°Dark magic yeah,¡± I admitted Angelica kicked my shin harder. ¡°Why?¡± I asked, stepping over a third kick. ¡°You are throwing off the power curve by having it, that causes spectacle creep but you never used it which put you and by extension us behind the power curve. Basically the encounters assume you are using everything you have, but you were sandbagging.¡± She explained. She started off talking but was just short of yelling by the end. Yeah, she was mad. Time to use those instincts I developed being a husband, ¡°I am sorry.¡± This stalled Angelica out. My guess is she expected me to deflect blame or make an excuse. ¡°Okay, I believe you.¡± She said eventually. After another long pause and likely a prod from Celeste she continued, ¡°And I am sorry I kicked you.¡± ¡°Ah, you two are cute together,¡± Brunhilda cooed before taking another drink of Titanic Brew. ¡°Anyways if we are going to talk crunch. Ignore the Oracle Perk. Every person I have seen take it goes crazy, and ends up being some sort of zealot for a god. Plus it would break my dwarven heart if you passed on a crafting perk.¡± I selected Titanic Works. ¡°Be careful with Face-affecting perks,¡± Brand cautioned, tone completely serious. ¡°With your high Scale you can basically have the same effect of Proper Charm running constantly. Come to think of it, you will likely hit that stage eventually anyways. It is just a matter of time,¡± That was sort of ominous. I couldn¡¯t see a hole in the logic either. I selected Mystical Well. Angelica sighed. ¡°I am not comfortable telling you what perk or trait to take. You have to live with them.¡± ¡°I value your perspective. This isn¡¯t about passing responsibility.¡± I explained. This was mostly about how I had no real idea what i was doing. After a short pause, ¡°Take the Titanic Toughness Trait. With the amount of damage you take, you will need it. Plus being able to ignore a condition can be clutch.¡° ¡°How is that different to being immune to a condition?¡± I asked. ¡°Of course you have immunities,¡± Angelica muttered¡­ not judging me at all, ¡°Okay, so immunity is actually kinda trash. Immunity actually means immunity to the systematic effects. So, like, if you had something crazy like Mental Resistance, you would be immune to the systematic effects of the Extreme Agony condition. So no systematic-enforced flailing. Just regular flailing due to the pain beyond your ability to tolerate. In theory, some people could power through that, but in practice nobody really can. Ignoring Extreme Agony would lower the overall pain felt, which would still be a lot but not more than you can handle by default.¡± ¡°So .. ignoring a condition is better than being immune to a condition?¡± I ventured. ¡°Yep¡± Angelica said with a nod. ¡°What if I ignored being on fire?¡± I asked. Angelica opened her mouth to answer, then stopped. She closed her mouth and shrugged. ¡°I know that one,¡± Brunihilda spoke up, ¡°Your clothes keep burning but you don¡¯t. You need to be a bit careful or you could end up showing your ass.¡± I selected Titanic Toughness I made my own decision with the last one Perks. Titanic Armor 2. I am the tank. I lifted the Screed again. Time to make some stairs
Construction Check¡­ Successful! Fifty stair steps completed You are now Trained in Construction
Nice, perhaps now we can pick up the pace. We climbed the latest steps and tried again. Somehow waving this metal bar with handles caused stone more than a hundred yards away to spontaneously transform into a set of steps with a nice railing too. Did it make any sense? No. Was I going to complain about it? Not out loud. Chapter 32: The Narrators are Trying to Mug Me Now that leveling was out of the way, time to look at the loot. Each Construction check was making a lot of steps each roll. The quality of construction was improved too. That made the assent even easier, which gave me more time to read prompts. I opened up my inventory and checked what was new. May as well start with the bodies.
Mother of Snow Lions Corpse -2 (Demigod Scale) This is the body of a dungeon final boss. Two McGuffins have been removed from the body. Any further attempts to remove a McGuffin from the body will have a 50% chance of destroying the body. Due to removal of McGuffins this body cannot be broken down. Attempt to collect McGuffin? Yes/No
I selected no. Best not to screw with that. I hadn¡¯t collected Rebecca¡¯s body. It felt wrong. Angelica did collect the gear, but we just left the body behind. I wasn¡¯t sure how I felt about that. The pragmatist in me admitted that Rebecca didn¡¯t need any of it anymore. Another part of me¡­ it seemed so pointless, but I felt like we should have buried her. Trouble is, funerals are for loved ones. I didn¡¯t know her. Pretending to would have been disrespectful. ¡­because killing her was such an act of respect. I tossed that on the pile of things to process later. My current strategy was to stall long enough that by the time I dealt with any of this shit I would have done all the heavy lifting subconsciously. Then it would just be a matter of unpacking the fact I was capable of murder. ¡­better check out Grond¡¯s body.
Avatar of Grond (Aspect of the Snow Lion) This is a Divine Scale Avatar. A divine Scale player can use this avatar to interact with the world. This aspect has been connected to the Mantle of the god of Beasts (Snow Lion) lesser. Note: this Avatar already has the aspect of the Snow Lion embedded in it. Donning this Avatar will take up said Aspect. Warning: Donning the Aspect of the Snow Lion will put you into conflict with Grond over the Domain of Beasts.
That sounded odd. So it is a car Divine Scale players can drive around. Could I drive this around? I didn¡¯t see an option so probably not. What was that whole mantle thing?
Mantle of the God of Beast (Snow Lion) Lesser This is a fragment of the divinity of Grond. This object allows access to the Divine Scale. Beings at or below Divine Scale can don this mantle. This allow various options to open up. Celeste Angel of Truth has absorbed the majority of this Mantles power. Should any further energy be removed from this Mantle the Aspect of the snow lion will return to the control of the System. That would have consequences. Currently you do not meet the requirements to create a god with this item. Note 1: Creating a god with this item will alter the avatar this item is attached to. Note 2: Creating a god with this item will cause a clash with Grond God of Beasts
That read a lot like ¡®don¡¯t fuck with this, at least not right now¡¯. I should probably ask Celeste about that. It sounds like I could use it more or take the power from it, but we were in a bit of mixed company. Brunhilda honestly seemed solid enough but she was working for Zach. wait¡­ Was Angelica working for Zach? Gonna need to clarify that point too. Did that matter? Zach and I may have backed away from idiot fighting. He was trying to keep people fed. I am going to have to figure out what is actually happening in this world. What did I get from the Final Boss?
For striking the killing blow on the final boss of the dungeon you will receive an Upgrade. One item in your possession will be upgraded to your Scale, or one level higher if the selected item is already at your Scale. ¡­ Arbitration beginning in 5¡­ 4¡­ Error arbitration is temporarily unavailable Ticket submitted.
Okay that¡­ was a prompt. It had words in it and everything. It looks like ¡°Empowered Critical¡± was still messing with things. I didn¡¯t have a clock but it felt like we were close to the hour passed. ¡°What¡¯s an Upgrade?¡± I asked out loud. Everyone froze. ¡°Doug, use the Upgrade now!¡± Angelica almost shouted. Before I could open my inventory¡­
Arbitration begins in 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­
I found myself standing in the doorway of a nondescript conference room. The walls were mostly off-white painted brick. The carpet was cheap gray with the possibility of a pattern in it, but likely was just made of slightly different fibers. A large wood table was in the center of the room with faux leather chairs around it. Wilson sat in one. He had a steel tray in front of him and was grinding a small pile of pills into powder with one of the tumblers sitting on the tray. He looked up at me and grinned almost manically. His eyes still had dark rings around them but they glinted with unrestrained joy. ¡°Doug! Kid!¡± he called, slamming the tumbler down, ¡°Look at you pulling down actual numbers.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the GRP?¡± I asked. I watched the Narrator closely as I stepped into the room and sat at a chair across from him. Wilson paused for a moment and looked to his side, ¡°Just over 6,000,¡± with that he pulled a rolled-up hundred dollar bill and then snorted some of the powder. He slammed his hand down on the table. ¡°I am more impressed with how you have Brandon shitting his pants.¡± He said the next line in a mocking tone, ¡°But what about Europe?¡± Wilson laughed, ¡°And more importantly you got Grace reaming Lindsey right now.¡± ¡°Grace?¡± I asked committing the name to memory. ¡°Lindsey¡¯s Boss.¡± WIlson explained before taking another snort. ¡°She is a real piece of work. She is¡­ well, guess you could say she is my nemesis. She is the champion for intervention in storytelling. Needless to say, I hate the bitch, and I don¡¯t care what she thinks about me..¡± ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± I asked. This candid nature was too cooperative. Another shoe had to drop at some point. ¡°Because when she is done asserting dominance on Lindsey she is going to try and come in here and do the same thing to you.¡± Wilson explained, wiping at his nose. ¡°And you are going to protect me?¡± It was a question but we both knew he didn¡¯t give a shit about me. ¡°Of course, you''re mine.¡± Wilson looked surprised I didn¡¯t understand this. We sat there just long enough for things to get awkward. Just to break the silence I asked, ¡°What the hell is that?¡± I pointed at the drugs. ¡°Oh this is just¡­¡± he paused. ¡°I guess there isn¡¯t a good parallel to anything you would understand. It is basically solidified catharsis. I can¡¯t even imagine what it would do to you.¡± He slid the tray over, a grin twisting his lips again. I slid it back away, ¡°No thanks.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I love about you, Kid.¡± Wilson said before taking another bump, ¡°I can always trust you to be you. How¡¯s the intern working out?¡± ¡°Denise is okay, I guess.¡± I answered not really thinking it through. Suddenly Denise was sitting in the chair next to me. Wilson had a tablet in his hands, ¡°Would you rate her performance as satisfactory or unsatisfactory?¡± he asked. Denise looked terrified. She didn¡¯t say anything, but she was staring at me wide-eyed. Would my answer hurt her? ¡°What is this Wilson?¡± I asked. ¡°Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory?¡± the Narrator pressed. His grin widened. ¡°What happens when I answer?¡± I asked, stubbornly not answering. Wilson flipped the tablet to show me the screen with his finger hovering over the Unsatisfactory button. His finger slowly drifted closer to the screen. Denise started crying silently. She didn¡¯t sob, but tears ran down her cheeks. She clasped her hands together to stop them from shaking. Fuck it, ¡°Satisfactory,¡± I answered. While I didn¡¯t owe Denise jackshit, and frankly she wasn¡¯t that helpful, I wasn¡¯t going to participate in whatever the fuck this was, nor was I going to cause her to suffer just to spite Wilson. He knew that though. Which is why his grin sharpened into that predatory leer, as he selected the Satisfactory button, ¡°Good, glad to hear it.¡± He leaned back and turned to Denise, ¡°What about you, Sport? Having fun yet?¡± Denise nodded, not saying anything. She just sat there staring at the table. I had to fight not to react. That question. Don¡¯t give him the satisfaction. I put everything into keeping my face neutral and my breathing even. How did he know that sentence? Despite my best efforts I found the thumb of my left hand rubbing the tip of the pinky finger. It was a nervous tick. I did it basically every time I was truly stressed. It felt odd since the finger was whole. Before the system, I¡­ the titan was missing the distal phalange, the bone at the end of the finger. Now instead of an atypical callus, I felt the nail. I was not the Titan. Wilson and I watched each other. His message was pretty obvious: ¡®do what I want or I will hurt those around you.¡¯ That was so petty. He could see the moment I understood. He glanced at my left hand, before grinning. The real issue is how unnaturally still he was. The only movement was his ever widening smile. Again, I clamped down hard to prevent myself from reacting. The instant you show them they can get to you, they come at you ten times harder. ¡°Now that we all finished learning some sort of valuable lesson, are we going to get to this loot issue?¡± I demanded. This was becoming a waste of time. Probably already was. ¡°You do not dictate terms,¡± A brusque feminine voice chastised. In proud Narrator tradition she appeared behind me. It is the way of their people, obnoxious and off putting. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Grace!¡± Wilson cheered, before taking another bump of whatever drug he was doing. ¡°It is unprofessional to be late.¡± Grace¡¯s perfectly symmetrical face gave us all a look of perfect disdain. She was blue-gray, with white hair, just like Wilson, Paul and Denise. Unlike any of the others she was completely cold and collected. No feelings, hardly any movement. Grace appeared to be a woman in her mid-forties. Her hair was held in a tight bun. Her eyes were yellow behind horn-rimmed spectacles. She wore a gray skirt suit that managed to walk the line between marmish and hot librarian. Her shoes were practical, and clacked as she walked. Neat trick that, what with the carpet. ¡°Wilson, still pretending to be a human lout, I see,¡± her eyes turned to me, then her head followed. ¡°The new Titan Spawn, I expected someone¡­ more.¡± She pulled out a chair at the head of the table. ¡°Brandon will be joining momentarily.¡± ¡°What about dear sweet Lindsey?¡± WIlson inquired, faux concern laced in his voice. ¡°Lindsey is with Brandon,¡± Grace explained, completely unperturbed. Wilson slid the tray over to my side of the table. It rattled loudly as it skid along the wood. He then stood and walked around the table. As he passed Grace, he patted her on the shoulder. He then sat next to me, ¡°This is going to be fun.¡± He then poured me a glass of water. A full minute passed. Then two more Narrators appeared. ¡°...it¡¯s not a problem until Christmas,¡± the voice I assumed was Lindsey all but growled. ¡°Calm the hell down.¡± ¡°I worry about the potential impact on Europe,¡± Brandon whined. ¡°Things are at a very precarious state.¡± May as well get it over with. I turned to inspect the new pains in my ass. Brandon was THE average dude. Nondescript and unimpressive. His hair was a mess, and his clothes had the rumpled look of someone who slept in them. The rings around his eyes implied he hadn¡¯t slept at all. Lindsey looked like someone who was pushed into a bush. She had twigs in her red hair. Which while different didn¡¯t have the air of menace most Narrators exuded. The nearly feral look of hate she was giving Brandon did up her intensity though. ¡°Sit,¡± Grace commanded. She seemed basically robotic, but at the same time there was a weight to her presence and words. I knew she was powerful, likely in both the political and literal sense. Wilson may put on the show, but he kept an eye on her as she sat impassively at the table''s head. Both of them stopped their bickering and sat across from us. Wilson tipped his head to either side. His neck popped audibly, ¡°Brandon, all you have to do is walk away now, and I won¡¯t hurt you¡­ not too bad anyways.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his bullshit,¡± Lindsey glowered at us. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Brandon managed looking back and forth between them. ¡°I believe Brandon is trying to say he is currently uncertain which of us he is more terrified of,¡± Wilson said. He tutted, ¡°Indecision is a bad look, Brandon.¡± ¡°That is not why we are here,¡± Grace cut in. ¡°We have time,¡± Wilson assured her, ¡°All my stories are basically telling themselves. I can play about for a couple of chapters easily.¡± He blinked at the others, ¡°Are you all having trouble?¡± ¡°How are you not having trouble? Every story I have been running went nuts twice! I thought Nadia finally declared Jihad on us.¡± Lindsey demanded before adding. ¡°That bitch is crazy.¡± ¡°First of all, I run the All-Death¡¯s story. They are honestly quite easy to manage when you understand what matters,¡± Wilson explained in a tone that clearly implied that Lindsey was both stupid and weak. ¡°What are we doing here, Wilson?¡± I asked. I tried to be polite but my tolerance for these clowns was limited. ¡°I am playing with my food. Denise is watching a master work. You are looking pretty at my side. Brandon is floundering and about to lose control of England over family drama. Lindsey is trying to covertly dislodge the stick up her ass after a close call with a high scale Mob. Sadly, the Stick up Grace¡¯s ass is permanently emplaced. Hence why she is trying to mug you.¡± Wilson explained. ¡°I¡¯m being mugged?¡± I asked, genuinely confused. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Why indeed, Grace?¡± WIlson asked, nodding to her. Grace eyed both Wilson and me for a few moments. If looks could kill -something I was uncertain they couldn¡¯t- we may well be in trouble. ¡­nope still alive, ¡°The fact is while the system may be robust, certain actions can cause extreme variation in events and run the risk of derailing multiple story lines.¡± Those were in fact words. The order they were in even implied meaning. To hell with it. I turned to Wilson, ¡°What does that mean in-¡± ¡°Non-boring talk?¡± WIlson cut in. ¡°What Grace is beating around the bush about is that you are now a homeowner! Congratulations!¡± ¡°What?¡± I was not making the connection here. Wilson grinned, ¡°Not surprised. You didn¡¯t dig through your inventory yet.¡± he tsked while shaking his head. ¡°Bad habit, get the loot and scoot.¡± He paused and grinned to himself, ¡°Loot¡¯n¡¯scoot.¡± he laughed. ¡°Sounds funny¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just take it from him,¡± Lindsey growled. Wilson¡¯s head snapped towards Lyndsey. His grin a rictus and his eyes dangerous, ¡°Are you going to meddle with one of my stories Lindsey?¡± His voice had that emotionless, truly inhuman tone. Lindsey leaned back in her chair, but after a moment she glared back and said ¡°If I have to.¡± There was a long beat where no one moved. Wilson slid back into his playful mannerism. ¡°Funny as that bad idea is,¡± he said before taking another bump of the powder, ¡°...if you try and manhandle my client¡­¡¯ he sneezed spaying dust and slime on Lindsey and Brandon. ¡°You¡¯ll what? Stop me?¡± The red-head narrator pressed. ¡°Nah, point and laugh as the Titan literally tears you a new asshole,¡± Wilson said. He took my water and drank it. ¡°You¡¯re full of shit,¡± Lindsey scoffed. ¡°Do you really think that lesson he just handed out was only for fucknuts like Grond?¡± Wilson asked as he rubbed his nose. Lindsey opened her mouth, presumably to talk more shit, but then paused. For reasons that only make sense to her she surveyed me. An almost Wilson-like look crept into her eyes. Upon getting nothing from me, she slowly closed her mouth. I tried to open my inventory. It wasn¡¯t working. Only one real option left. I turned to Denise, ¡°What are we doing here?¡± Denise was strangely calm in this scenario now that Wilson stopped threatening her directly. ¡°They are trying to take away your upgrade because you could use it to upgrade the dungeon core you got off Grond.¡± ¡°Shut your painted hole you little bitch,¡± Lindsey hissed at Denise. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I told Lindsey. I had a realization. ¡°Don¡¯t what?¡± She demanded turning her gaze on me. ¡°Pretend that you have any teeth, you don¡¯t have the authority to do anything to me. Wilson does. I get it you¡¯re mad I beat your boy, Grond, but fake threats are just sad.¡± I may have laid that on a little thick. Also if I was wrong, I was about to be savaged but a small Narrator woman. ¡°You can¡¯t talk that way to me,¡± Lindsey shrieked. ¡°And yet he did,¡± Wilson muttered, looking at me in wonder. ¡°Perhaps the Kid here is some sort of living miracle.¡± he poked me, ¡°or Lindsey is just not good at this.¡± ¡°I can make things very bad for you!¡± Lindsey threatened. ¡°No you can¡¯t,¡± Wilson said. All playfulness had abandoned his tone. He was also back to his focused, predatory body language. ¡°I have access to the best assassin in North America!¡± Lindsey shouted. ¡°Once Lagrang finishes with your pointless Granny Mabel plot, I can chuck him right at Doug.¡± she sneered at us. ¡°Nope,¡± Wilson sneered. ¡°Yeah, Lagrang has Granny cornered, and she is going to die. Very Dramatic, but that is going to keep her grandkids Little Luna and Brave Bobby safe. They will keep going on their little adventure championing the power of friendship or whatever the fuck.¡± ¡°You think those two are going to be able to stop Lagrang?¡± Lindsey Scoffed. ¡°He killed his own family for money. All of them were a higher level and scale than those stupid kids.¡± Wilson sighed. He shook his head, ¡°Somebody tell her.¡± ¡°Tell me what?¡± Lindsey Demanded. ¡°Uh, Granny Mabel has the Balance in All Things Trait. When she dies its influence shuts off. Lagrang cornered Granny Mabel in the depths of the Shattered Mountain¡­ directly beneath the Great Vault.¡± Brandon said. ¡°So?!¡± Lindsey demanded. Wilson sighed. Denise cringed. Brandon flinched. Grace¡¯s eyes narrowed. I was oblivious to what any of that meant. ¡°All right, I''ll be your Huckleberry. What does that all mean?¡± I asked. I was tired of this bullshit. These assholes were more interested in some minutiae of the system than the fact that some little old lady was being murdered by a psychopath. ¡°Denise, explain,¡± WIlson said, not taking his eyes off of Lindsey. ¡°Granny Mabel has a Demigod Scale Trait, Balance in All Things. The trait allows her presence to stabilize all things both from a metaphorical and literal level. Her being beneath the Great Vault is to prevent it from falling back into the Deep Dark. If she dies, it drops directly on top of Lagrang. When he kills Granny Mabel, he is also dying.¡± Denise said. She only had to check her phone a little bit. ¡°Well then, I will call him off-¡± Lindsey began. ¡°No,¡± Grace cut in. ¡°Before this Arbitration began a large portion of the Audience saw Lagrang mark Granny Mabel for death and stab her in the heart. No Retcon is possible.¡± ¡°Which leads to the same issue with the Upgrade,¡± Wilson said, still watching Lindsey. Lindsey looked like she just swallowed a spider. Anyone who has done this will know it. It is the look someone has when they wonder if the thing they just swallowed is going to bite them. It is not a great look. Grace sighed. ¡°The fact is the Audience saw Doug mention the upgrade and Angelica De Leon instruct him to use the Upgrade.¡± ¡°And that means this is happening!¡± Wilson cheered. ¡°I just want Europe to not explode,¡± Brandon said, putting his head on the table. ¡°We can¡¯t have that stupid Upgrade completely unbalance the entirety of all Stories!¡± Lindsey shouted pointing at the table for some reason. ¡°Saying things louder means I will get my way!¡± Wilson bellowed back, slamming his hand on the table. He composed himself, ¡°That is what you sound like.¡± ¡°Can someone tell me why this is a problem?¡± I pressed. ¡°Very well,¡± Grace said, watching me impassively. ¡°The concern is that an upgrade will turn an item in your possession to Titanic Scale. Currently there are exactly nine items in all of this world at Titanic Scale. Of those nine items only six of them are in play. The remaining three have yet to be claimed and all require narrative consequences to be pulled into play. Having a tenth Titanic Scale Relic simply burst into existence would upset the Audience. It would cheapen the others. That is why normally all upgrades gifted to a Titan Spawn have been rerolled per the standard process.¡± ¡°Something I have actively opposed,¡± Wilson said. ¡°Your ¡®let the dice roll as they may¡¯ stance has been made clear,¡± Grace said. ¡°As has the fact that none of the continuity experts or Main Showrunners have agreed to this idea.¡± she pressed a button on the intercom, ¡°Vince, please begin the retcon.¡± ¡°Will do. Retcon in 5¡­4¡­3¡­2¡­¡± a voice responded. Everyone was watching me. ¡°What?¡± Holy shit I do ask a lot of questions. ¡°Oh look at that. Doug, didn¡¯t completely alter reality with a power no one in existence possesses.¡± Wilson observed, eyeing Grace. ¡°This lack of disruption to the system does not mean that the newest Titan Spawn hasn¡¯t developed an unforeseen ability. He possesses Mental Resistance at the lowest level observed on any of the Spawn. Continuing a trend of increased instability.¡± ¡°Incorrect, increased ineffectiveness of your tactics for control,¡± Wilson said. ¡°As these hiccups have proven, my methods handle disruption fine.¡± ¡°I mean you can¡¯t prove that,¡± Brandon said. ¡°The Steam Meister¡¯s assassin is going to step on a landmine six miles from the Queen''s Castle. And despite your finagling of the Countess¡¯s forces, the Peace Ambassadors will meet at the summit. The talks aren¡¯t going to go well because of what is about to happen at the Tower.¡± Wilson informed Brandon. He had that slow loss of personality as he spoke. ¡°You would know all of this if you put the crutch of probability manipulation down. Your forced peace will fail, and the fighting will begin in the Spring. I snapped my fingers, ¡°Focus. This is about me getting a massive womping stick.¡± ¡°Nah, you are thinking all wrong,¡± Wilson said dismissively. ¡°The real chaos would be if you picked the dungeon core. That would create the second Titanic Domain in existence. It would be hilarious. You could also select the Avatar. That would¡­ I don¡¯t know what that would do. A Titanic Avatar.¡± ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± Lindsey shrieked. ¡°Spiting you,¡± Wilson said before turning back to me, ¡°Normally I wouldn¡¯t influence your choice like this, because it is more fun to be surprised. That said, don¡¯t pick a weapon it will underutilize the power of a Titanic Scale relic. Armor could be similar. Tools are better, but the Avatar and Dungeon Core are the apex of fuckery.¡± ¡°I will not allow the upgrade to be used on either the Dungeon Core or the Avatar. Any attempt to do so will be met with extreme consequences,¡± Grace explained. Wilson leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the table, ¡° Let¡¯s just roll the dice and be done.¡± ¡°No, Mr. Smith was clear that the Upgrade was not to be used unaltered by Doug,¡± Grace declared. Denise leaned past me to look at Grace, ¡°Seriously?¡± Lindsey sneered at us like she had won. Wilson put his feet down, ¡°If Mr. Smith said so, there isn¡¯t much to say about it.¡± Linsdey opened her mouth, but he continued before she could talk. ¡°Other than, he certainly said something else about making the deal fair to my client.¡± Grace watched Wilson for a long moment, ¡°Yes, Mr. Smith did instruct that Doug must agree to the deal to rewrite how the upgrade would work. Given that no Titanic Scale being has ever been allowed an Upgrade before. A hidden addendum can be made, even if the finding of the item itself cannot be changed.¡± A lot of back and forth started after this. One of the first things decided was that the Upgrade would from now on be capped at granting increase to Divine Scale at the highest. In a situation like this it would be a random number of items from 1 to 6 would be elevated to divine Scale as well as a random amount of people within the area receiving the effects of the Upgrade. The sticking point was how many of those people should get the benefits. Grace believed a random number of people between 1 and 100 should be selected. Wilson wanted the number to be 10d10 ¡­x1000 because and i am quoting, ¡°Fuck all of you! Unless this comes with a guarantee that Upgrades will be made available to Titanic Scale players this is all just a sad handjob.¡± Brandon had stupidly asked how a sad handjob worked. Wilson was explaining. ¡°Just select all friendlies!¡± I said, as Wilson began explaining the intricacies of heavy eye contact. Wilson took his foot off the table and sat next to me, ¡°That seems fair to me.¡± Grace, unmoved and strangely unbothered by this ¡®display¡¯, checked some notes, ¡°The theoretical output of changing the effective yield to all friendly players within narrative range could consistently exceed the 100,000 max. Your second term of holding to unaltered loot drops rates for clearing Dungeons would result in a 3 percent chance of the spontaneous Upgrading of a nation.¡± Wilson nodded, ¡°Most of that shit would be uncommon Scale. Crafting fodder. It would also send most of the Titan Spawn into dungeons where their impact is lessened. Take the deal.¡± ¡°Sliding Scale to reset every year,¡± Grace countered, ¡°All, then 10d10x1000, then 10d10 then 1d100, then 1d10.¡± Wilson looked to me. ¡°Is this a good deal?¡± I asked. ¡°Pretty good,¡± Wilson admitted. ¡°Then we should probably take it, but can you inform them in a way that upsets them?¡± I asked with a nod. Wilson picked up the glass tumbler, ¡°We¡¯ll take it,¡± He then chucked the glass at Brandon¡¯s head¡­ I was back in the exit to the Dungeon.
Upgrade begins in 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­
Chapter 33: Out of the Dungeon to Become the Worlds Problem
Select¡­4 items to upgrade
I was back in reality. Everyone around me blinked and then immediately dug into their own inventories. I decided to embrace chaos.
Dungeon of the Snow Lion Core This is the core of ownership for the Dungeon of the Snow. The owner of this core can adjust the dungeons parameters and the behavior of the creatures within. Current Scale: Rare
The Avatar was already Divine Scale and the upgrade would not allow them to be selected. Same with the Mantle. Oh well. I filtered my inventory to show all inventory below Divine Scale. That was a lot of corpses. Those were also not applicable either, nor were any of the components that made up the bodies. That left a few options the tools I made were grouped together as
Doug¡¯s Lion Bone Tools Bone tools for crafting. These tools were made from the bodies of Snow Lions and constructed by the Left Hand of the Titan. Current Scale: Epic
I added them to the list. At some point I would craft again: might as well have the right tools. I had two options left. I made an impulse decision. I selected the Juggernaut Bangle, and the Cloak of the Alpha Snow Lion. The bangle would hopefully give me more strength, which would help me bludgeon things to death with my bare hands more efficiently. So many corpses in my inventory. The cloak was¡­ maybe a bit silly. It was one of the first pieces of gear I ever got, I just wanted to make it mine.
Upgrade Complete! Dungeon of the Snow Lion Core This is the core of ownership for the Dungeon of the Snow Lion. The owner of this core can adjust the dungeons parameters and the behavior of the creatures within. This dungeon is now a Divine Domain for the Left Hand of the Titan. Tools of the Left Hand Bone tools for crafting. These relics were shaped by the Left Hand of the Titan and imbued with the energy of creation. Double the difference in Scale for all Crafting rolls used with these Tools. World Breaker¡¯s Bangle While worn, improve Power Attribute by 20. Gain access to the Destruction skill. Gain five levels of Scale while applying force to objects or structures. Destruction Skill This is the skill of entropy. Destruction is necessary for creation to occur. Success with this skill allows the user to unmake objects and reduce them to base components. Godskin Cloak This cloak was once made from the pelt of a Snow Lion Alpha. Due to prolonged contact with the Left Hand of the Titan it has been elevated to the Divine Scale. Gain four levels of Scale for all Stealth related skills. Ignore all damage from Rare or lower Scale Beast-type mobs. Armor: 30
I examined the Bangle. It had changed from a golden wrist ornament into a blackened braided piece of something. Looking at it made me feel something else could see me through it. Something that wanted to tear down reality. Clear the way. For what, I couldn¡¯t tell. The cloak was basically the same. At least to my eyes. At some point I needed to figure out how Stealth worked. Just as I wondered how the whole Domain thing worked I felt my mind connect with the Dungeon. It was a strangely mundane feeling. It was a lot like being in your own home. You know the layout and the contents intimately. There was also the option to alter the place. The cliff wall went from sheer rock to level stairs. The lighting also changed from ominous to adequate. Neat. Brunhilda whistled, ¡°You know, I am not easily impressed, but this is a lot of shenanigan for one day. Good on ya, drinking buddy.¡± ¡°You get anything good?¡± I asked. She shrugged, ¡°A smithy worth my time, trouble is it is in the Shattered Mountain.¡± She thought for a moment, ¡°The foreman is gonna shit Adamantine. Which they would then be able to work into gear¡­¡± she giggled. She took a drink, then eyed it contemplatively, ¡°Take this from me.¡± It took some effort, but I was able to wrestle the cup from her. ¡°I feel the time to leave has long since passed,¡± Brand said, changing his equipment to white winter survival gear. He turned to Angelica, ¡°Miss De Leon are you ready?¡± Angelica started slightly, ¡°... yeah let¡¯s get out of here.¡± We ascended the stairs, ¡°What¡¯s the plan after this, Brand?¡± ¡°I need to get back to the Eternal Kingdom,¡± He sighed. After a few steps he added, ¡°I don¡¯t suppose I could convince you to help me return. Her Majesty would be grateful for your assistance.¡± I think I realized something as we walked. Why was Brandon at the Arbitration? The diary. ¡°Angelica, do you still have the diary?¡± ¡°What? Yeah.¡± She handed me the beat up book. ¡°Brand, does this mean anything to you?¡± I offered him the book Brand examined it for a long time. ¡°This was Seren¡¯s,¡± He examined it for a moment. He pulled a small blue penlight out of his inventory, ¡°Of course she did.¡± a sad smile crossed his face. He turned to me, ¡°She surveilled the Spire, and documented it.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see any of that,¡± I admitted. Brand nodded, ¡°Seren wrote the tactical information in UV sensitive ink. If you did not know to look for that you wouldn¡¯t find it.¡± He read some more of the book. He stopped dead, ¡°They are alive.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Who?¡± I asked, stopping as well. ¡°At least four of the others sent here,¡± Brand said. ¡°The mission was always dangerous, we expected casualties. But as of eight days ago, six members of the team were alive. Yes, under the boot of the demons, but alive at the Spire.¡± He looked up at each of us, and visibly hesitated. I knew that look. He was desperate for help, but didn¡¯t think he had the right to ask. ¡°I am pretty sure we are heading there anyways,¡± I said. Brand did right by us in the dungeon, and honestly I would like to have him watching my back. Fighting demons sounded like a biblically bad time. Angelica walked past us still in her own little world. Not sure what that was about. My guess was she and Celeste were having some sort of conversation. Best let them have the time. Brand nodded sharply, ¡°Thank you.¡± I nodded and went back to climbing the steps. Avoiding emotional moments is a superpower every guy has. Besides, I had the last two pieces of gear to look at.
Claws of the God of Beasts These clawed bracers are equipped with three bladed claws each. Carried by Grond for more than a century, these weapons have grown with the former champion of Adora. The Hero of Passion became the Champion of Lust to transform into the God of Beasts. These Divine Scale weapons provide both incredible offense and defense. Gain three levels of Scale with the Block Skill. Increase the chance of inflicting a condition by 75%. Damage: Power + 20 Armor: 20 Note: This weapon requires either the Knife or Gauntlet Skills, not the Unarmed Skill. Typhon Scale Armor (Broken) Warning this item is broken and none of the benefits below will be granted if equipped. Armor made of scales of a Divine Beast, etched by the runes of a goddess. This armor grants resistance to mind-altering effects, except those involving love. Double this armor''s defense value against magical attacks. Armor: 25
What the fuck¡­ Adora you bitch. Of course Gond is a mess she made. I almost pitied the poor bastard. No, wait, fuck him. That said, a hundred years of dealing with Adora¡¯s bullshit¡­ no wonder he was psychotic. He was probably going to be coming back for these. He had four more dungeons cranking out mobs too. Probably four more priestesses too. Adora, you bitch. I knew Grond and I were going to fight again. He struck me as the proud type. That said, I was not going to apologize. Without her manipulation, would we have actually fought each other? ¡­ Probably. I doubted I would use the claws. They were powerful, but not really my style. The armor was also a non-starter. Yeah, it was Divine Scale, but it had Adora¡¯s fingerprints all over it. Hell, it was probably cursed to make the gap in the armor involving ¡°love¡± be more than a soft spot and cause it to be a constant wound.
Analyze Check¡­Successful Typhon Scale Armor (Broken) This item has two hidden effects.
  • Increase the effect of all Seduction Skills by five levels of Scale upon the wearer of this item.
  • Always grant Scale advantage for Adora or followers of Adora over the wearer of this item.
What a shock. Note to self, do NOT take any gift from Adora¡­ ever. We were at the top of the stairs. Twenty to being out in the open again. The wind howled and the cold bit into my skin. Maybe the cold would cause the Vitae to crack. As we stepped out into the storm again, I saw it. A small break in the white wall of the blizzard. Backlit by the sun was an ominous black Spire. That is where we had to go. That is where an army of demons was. What the hell was this all about? I would guess this was probably some sort of good versus evil situation. That said, assumptions were dangerous. Brand¡¯s presence implied politics were in play. Adora¡¯s hand complicated things even more. She claimed to mostly be feuding with Grond but was clearly opposed to the demons, and this storm and the neglected Domain were another thing. Were the demons in the right? I mean, probably not. ¡°You lot heading toward the Spire then?¡± Brunhilda asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± Angelica said. She still seemed to be deep in conversation with Celeste. At least I hope that is what was going on. ¡°There are going to be a few goblin villages between here and there. I had to clear a few to get to this point,¡± Brunhilda said. She thought for a moment, ¡°How about we make a pit stop at a safe place? Well, safe-ish. Safer than any other spot you¡¯d find in this place.¡± ¡°Where are you thinking?¡± Brand asked. ¡°The Mandir of War,¡± She said. ¡°What is that?¡± I asked. Trying to actually learn what the hell was going on. ¡°It is a temple of sorts. This one is for Lola the Goddess of War. She has one on most continents. They are all training grounds of sorts. Monsters don¡¯t spawn there but violence is allowed. Certain chambers prevent death even. This one is probably barebones, but it is a place with beds and heat.¡± ¡°Those are real?¡± Brand asked. ¡°Lola isn¡¯t going to object to my presence?¡± ¡°Probably not, you seem fighty,¡± she didn¡¯t seem that convinced. Brand picked up on that also, ¡°I would prefer not to be smote.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be smitten?¡± I joked. ¡°Smitten is very different, and unlikely,¡± Brand said. ¡°Oh come on, you clearly have a way with goddesses,¡± I teased further. ¡°I am sure Lola is¡­¡± I turned to Brunhilda. ¡°What is she like?¡± ¡°Fierce, powerful, and fuckin¡¯ brutal when she wants to be, which is often. That said, she is known for being unbiased and pragmatic. For the most part she wants to see a good fight.¡± Brunhilda explained. ¡°How hands-on is she?¡± I asked. That description didn¡¯t exactly fill me with confidence. ¡°More than Mendus, less than Adora,¡± Brunhilda answered. ¡°What do you think, Angelica?¡± I asked. Angelica blinked a few times, ¡°Lola doesn¡¯t like the demons any more than we do. That said, she really doesn¡¯t like Nadia or Aella. I think she also had some bad interactions with Zach also.¡± ¡°So I am the liability?¡± I asked. Dammit Nadia, and Zach, and Aella... probably Cole and Adam too. Angelica shrugged, ¡°She may try to kick your ass. Not kill you, but establish a pecking order.¡± ¡°Fun times,¡± I muttered. The image of Grond¡¯s head smashed open by me flashed in my brain. ¡°To hell with it. I probably deserve an ass beating.¡± ¡°If it comes to that, I got your back,¡± Brunhilda said. ¡°Drinking Buddies stand together.¡± She slapped my ass again. I really couldn¡¯t tell if it was a thing with her, or if she was just that short. Either way her hands were still like little hammers. ¡°You¡¯re just saying that to get me into bed,¡± I teased, trying to hide the slight limp. ¡°Nah, If I was trying to get you into bed, I would say: get into the bed you big bastard¡­ please?¡± She shot back. She shoulder-checked me and I had to roll Acrobatics to not crash in the snow. ¡°Wait, what?!¡± Angelica asked. She blinked quickly before focusing on us. ¡°Oh, Doug won¡¯t put out, and ironically because of that, I am put out,¡± Brunhilda explained. Angelica looked between Brunhilda and me. She then clearly pictured something geometrically unlikely. ¡°Huh!¡± She then tried to eject the image, but it would not go. ¡°Eugh.¡± ¡°Thank you for exhibiting the robust nature of the English language, oh great Champion of the Shattered Mountain.¡± Brand said. Clearly not picturing anything. ¡°I have a way with talky-talky stuff,¡± my drinking buddy declared loudly. We walked along for the better part of an hour. Then the storm surged. The light faded. The temperature dropped into what was probably arctic temperatures. All of us immediately began to resent both nature and thermodynamics. No, I was not going to complain. Pain is proof you are alive. Even the ever escalating burning bite of cold. Wait¡­
Ignore Freezing Condition? Yes/No
I hit yes. What happened next was different. I went from shivering in the cold, and suffering from screaming nerves to¡­ vaguely uncomfortable. It was like being in a room that was only sixty degrees while in light clothes. Not great but absolutely, not freezing to death cold. ¡°Why are you grinning like an idiot?¡± Angelica demanded. ¡°I am just happy to finally be done with Snow Lions,¡± I replied, still with that beatific smile. Which is when the big cat hit me from behind and knocked me face first into the ice and snow. The cloak ignored the damage, but my pride was certainly hurt. Chapter 34: Oh Hey Goblins… Wow! They Dont Look Happy ¡°It¡¯s not funny,¡± I pouted as we made our way to the safe zone. ¡°It was kinda funny,¡± Angelica said, smirking. Brand was able to keep a straight face, ¡°The timing was superbly comedic.¡± Brunhilda did an impression of me using my battle cry. She could certainly hit the high notes. I went back to pouting. While the rate of encounters was lower, I was still getting ambushed by snow lions. Yes I could kill them in one hit, and, yes, most of them couldn¡¯t actually hurt me. That said, the cats were still coming. They also always got the drop on me. This honestly ruined my day. My friends, while enthusiastic in laughing at my predicament, were equally energetic in killing the ever loving shit out of the damned rotten kitties. Grond is clearly a sore loser. Fuck him with a rake. Eventually we reached a canyon of sorts. The walls were lined with burnt out huts and the low spaces with the bodies of goblins. The village was razed completely. Even in the dark I saw a few things that worried me. A lot of the bodies with weapons were standing in front of the huts. In the wreckage of one hut I saw a smaller body holding a small cloth toy. ¡°We¡¯re nearly there,¡± Brunhilda called over the wind, ¡°Watch out, Goblins love to turn places like this into death traps. I tried to be through when I came through here the first time, but I know some got away.¡± Brand spate, ¡°I hate goblins. They are almost as spiteful and devious as the demons. Back home I once saw a goblin ignore the rest of our squad to blind a man who cleared out a nearby village of theirs. Normally Goblins fight tactically. This one blitzed us and gave up its life just to maim one person.¡± Angelica nodded, ¡°Same, well not blind¡­ geld. Is that the term?¡± ¡°They do tend to come at you low,¡± Brunhilda agreed.
Notice Check¡­Successful
I saw the small figures moving in the shadows of one of the huts. Four were taller than the other seven. ¡°Over here!¡± someone called from the other side of the canyon. ¡°Look over here!¡± a little goblin stood by the now burning remains of a hut. The flames rose quickly. It was a skinny green thing. It was wrapped in coarse cloth and held a small spear. He had large amber eyes, and big pointed ears. He was nearly cute, almost childlike. No, late teen. The gawkiness was obvious as he danced around. ¡°Come over here!¡± ¡°What¡­the¡­fuck?¡± Brunhilda asked. Everyone else was baffled also. ¡°Did that goblin talk?¡± Angelica asked. She pulled the knife back into her inventory. The goblin sobbed as we walked closer. He took a breath and called to us again, ¡°That¡¯s right! Over here!¡± much more quietly he muttered, ¡°Ignore the children.¡± When I looked back at the shadowy figures, he panicked, ¡°No! No! No! Nononononono!¡± ¡°It is talking,¡± Brand said, lowering his gun. He paled slightly. ¡°Oh no,¡± Brunhilda muttered walking closer, ¡°You poor thing. Did someone curse you?¡± The goblin blinked at her. Through the tears in his eyes he looked confused. Brunhilda pulled the goblin into a hug, ¡°it¡¯s okay. We will get you fixed.¡± The goblin blinked. He tried to pull free but upon finding himself held fast and me still looking at the huddled mass of goblins, he screamed. It was the half mad scream of someone completely lost. He screamed again. Then clearly hyperventilating he took a few breathes, ¡°How are you talking? Others don¡¯t talk!¡± I looked at him closer. A name popped over his head. Spine Spindle-Bite. ¡°Do mobs have names?¡± Angelica paused, clearly checking with Celeste, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then I think this goblin isn¡¯t a mob.¡± I said. Not sure if this was logic on my part of just massive ignorance. ¡°You thought we were mobs,¡± Spine said. A look of horror twisted his face. ¡°Others were supposed to be mobs. You¡¯re not mobs?¡± Brunhilda held Spine at arms¡¯ length. She paled and quickly turned to me, ¡°Please tell me this is just a dream and the Titanic Brew knocked me on my ass.¡± ¡°I am pretty sure this is real, Drinking Buddy,¡± I said, trying to hear what the other goblins were saying. A goblin, one of the kids, begged the others, ¡°We have to help him!¡± ¡°He is trying to save us all,¡± a woman hissed. ¡°You go out there, he dies for nothing and we all die with him.¡± I turned to Spine, ¡°We¡¯re not mobs. I think someone played a very fucked up trick on all of us.¡± Just like dealing with Wilson, I fought to keep my emotions in check. Seeing the bodies of dead children litter the ground. This is what they do. The fuckers arrange atrocities to see us bleed. The only way to win is to not play the game. I kept gazing back and forth between Spine and the other goblins. That¡¯s the hell of it though. I couldn¡¯t just leave them here in the cold. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt them,¡± Spine pleaded. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt my Brother!¡± a tiny goblin screamed. She was wrapped in the same coarse clothing and had nothing but a rock. Monsters don¡¯t sacrifice themselves for loved ones. I waited for her name to pop up. ¡°I am not going to, Janky,¡± I said as she charged. She froze, ¡°You can talk?¡± she looked to Spine, ¡°Mom always said Others can¡¯t talk.¡± ¡°New rule! No one is killing anyone!¡± I bellowed into the night. That is when a snow lion pounced on me. The weight of the thing staggered me, but I kept my feet. I ripped it from my shoulder and snapped it in half over my knee, ¡°Starting now!¡± I dropped the body to the ground. The little goblin girl looked from the body of the Snow Lion Alpha, to her brother, and then to me, ¡°What kinda name is Doug?¡± What could I do but shrug? Nothing against the name Doug, but how do you defend it? ¡°Seriously, what the hell is going on?¡± Spine asked. He was trying to break free of Brunhilda¡¯s grip, but she was clearly an order of magnitude stronger than him. ¡°What he said,¡± Brunhilda managed. She wasn¡¯t exactly tan, but she was visibly paling. It was kinda impressive. How pale can one dwarf get? ¡°I think goblins are people,¡± I explained. ¡°Well Duh! You big silly!¡± Janky piped up. I turned to the little goblin, ¡°It may surprise you to learn we are people too.¡± Her eyes went wide, ¡°No way! That would mean Nanny Shiv is wrong.¡± Oddly enough debating humanity with a child wasn¡¯t advancing my goals. ¡°Brunhilda, could you please let go of Spine?¡± ¡°What?¡± Brunhilda said. She was gazing around surveying the destroyed huts. Her eyes lingered on the bodies. The whole time she held fast to Spine¡¯s arm. ¡°Hey,¡± I gave her a slight shake, ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°I did this¡­¡± she managed. She gazed up at me, ¡°They were people.¡± She let go of Spine, ¡°Doug, I killed these people.¡± Yeah I didn''t have an answer to that. Honestly, I was working extremely hard to focus exclusively on the people, here and now, and what needed to be done to mitigate harm. ¡­yeah I didn¡¯t have an answer to that either. Treat this like everything else. Understand, plan, act. First, I need to figure out what was actually going on. ¡°Spine, are you in charge?¡± I asked. He looked at me like I was nuts, ¡°What? No. My Dad, Phillip, is.¡± Names are bullshit. Ignoring my reaction, ¡°Is he here?¡± ¡°No,¡± Spine said, shaking his head. He was slowly creeping away from Brunhilda toward Janky.¡°I guess¡­ I am,¡± He thought out loud. ¡°Nuh-huh!¡± Janky shouted, ¡°Nanny Shiv is the boss of you, Spine!¡± Spine looked like he was about to argue, ¡°Don¡¯t argue with your family in front of randos.¡± I told him. Mostly because I was tired and just didn¡¯t want to hear them sniping. Ah shit, he looked like he was going to argue with me, best cut that off, ¡°As someone who has lost family, you don¡¯t ever want the last thing you said to them to be something petty, or angry.¡± That sounded kind of threatening. Fuck it, ¡°Nanny Shiv! Can we please talk? I promise you we will not hurt anyone.¡± ¡°If I come out, the kids go?¡± a male voice called. From behind us. ¡°That¡¯s fine!¡± I called. ¡°If I get shot with an arrow, I am blaming you,¡± Angelica hissed. ¡°Janky, please ask the other goblins not to shoot us?¡± I asked. ¡°Okay,¡± she said, taking her brother¡¯s hand. As they turned and walked away she all but shrieked ¡°No Shooting!¡± They walked into the dark. From a different direction than the male voice another goblin, clearly older and arguably infirm, walked into the light. She hobbled up to me leaning on an old, gnarled cane. ¡°Damn, you¡¯re ugly,¡± she muttered with an old smoker''s rasp. ¡°How in the name of Elvis can you talk?¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I move my mouth and words come out?¡± I explained. ¡°And you¡¯re nothing that great to look at either.¡± ¡°I rely on my personality,¡± Nanny Shiv- quipped right back. ¡°Seriously though, is this something new?¡± ¡°I''m not even a month old, but these guys have been talking the whole time,¡± I admitted. The old goblin studied me, and after a long time she said, ¡°You¡¯re like the All-Death, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s not,¡± Angelica said. She seemed to be taking this in stride, ¡°Are all goblins like you guys?¡± Nanny Shiv shrugged, ¡°Every goblin I met other than Jab Brittle-Bone was absolutely a person.¡± ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate,¡± Brand muttered. ¡°Yeah, Jab was a real asshole,¡± Nanny Shiv agreed, ¡°Let¡¯s cut the shit! Are you gonna kill us or not?¡± ¡°We are not going to hurt you,¡± I insisted. ¡°Provided you don¡¯t attack us,¡± Angelica elaborated. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t dream of it,¡± Nanny Shiv agreed. She then unapologetically made several complex gestures to signal the others. Strangely, I understood them to mean ¡®Don¡¯t start any shit. The little one will fucking wreck us.¡¯ She waited a beat, probably to see if anyone fired anyways. ¡°So what are we actually doing here?¡± ¡°Talking,¡± I answered because that filled time, and every moment we spent talking meant we weren¡¯t fighting. ¡°And I¡¯ll admit that is a novel trick, but unlike you murder factories I have to worry about people freezing. So if you aren¡¯t going to kill us, nice meeting ya, but we gotta go.¡± Nanny Shiv said. ¡°Do you have somewhere to go?¡± I asked. Spine was a teen, but Janky was a kid. They weren¡¯t dressed for the weather. Nanny Shiv wasn¡¯t either. Nanny Shiv had a hell of a poker face. She was taking my measure. Maybe using a skill, but given how sharp her gaze stayed I doubted it. ¡°Yeah, but I am not telling you where.¡± That was fair, apparently Brunhilda slaughtered their friends and family en masse. I would be cagey also, ¡°Do you need anything?¡± The goblin looked at me, and I mean really looked at me. Until that moment she was sizing all of us up. I don¡¯t know what she saw but she didn¡¯t seem to like it. She pointed her cane at the Snow Lion corpse. ¡°Do you know what that is?¡± That seemed out of left field, ¡°A Snow Lion Alpha?¡± Nanny Shiv sighed, ¡°That thing is fucking death to my people. When one of these things comes for us, we fight it fifty at a time. Even then we expect that beast to take a few of us with it. You folded it like a lawn chair, and are wearing another like a stupid hat.¡± ¡°Brunhilda didn¡¯t mean to hurt yo-¡± I started. ¡°Don¡¯t bullshit me,¡± She spat immediately. The knuckles of her hand gripping the cane popped. She pointed a gnarled finger at Brunhilda but kept her eyes on me, ¡°That one swept through here tactically. She was after the XP.¡± She paused, ¡°...I believe that you didn¡¯t know we are people. Hell, even now, I am not certain you aren¡¯t people. You are monsters to us. Stop trying to get me to trust you.¡± ¡°How many goblins are here?¡± I asked looking into my inventory. ¡°A hundred¡­ and eight.¡± Nanny Shiv lied immediately. I doubted there were thirty. I looked at the uncommon Scale pelts. Yep I had enough to construct a shed.
Craft Winter Coat, Pants, Glove and Boots: Required: Snow Lion Pelt x 1 Time to Craft: 50 - (20x6) minutes Note: 6 seconds minimum Yes/No?
I hit ¡®Yes¡¯ and a timer started that said the prompt to keep crafting was still up. Hit ¡®Yes¡¯ again, and again. It let me craft up to ten at a time, handy. ¡°Penny for your thoughts, big guy?¡± Nanny Shiv said, snapping me out of my screens. ¡°Are pennies still a thing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a saying,¡± the goblin replied. ¡°How about you answer a question? What do you care about what we are wearing?¡± ¡°...sorry, I am just trying to think of something to say that doesn¡¯t sound disingenuous or sinister.¡± I managed, juggling my inventory. ¡°So¡­ here.¡± I pulled the first ten sets of winter clothes out of my inventory and set them down in front of Nanny Shiv. She looked at the pile of clothes. They did look pretty rough, but functional, and made of snow lion. Each set was proof of one more snow lion removed from the world, which surely made them warmer. It made me feel warmer, at least. After a few beats I set out the second set of ten. Then the third and the fourth. Nanny Shiv watched me much more closely, ¡°And what do you want for this?¡± I knew if I said nothing she wouldn¡¯t take the clothes, ¡°I just want to get to the Mandir of War without having to fight a bunch of goblins.¡± I then set out the fifth set. ¡°And I am expected to believe you don¡¯t want the XP?¡± Nanny Shiv said, blatantly doubting me. ¡°Lady, I just killed a god, and have ¡®murder a demon¡¯ on my to-do list. Do you really think you and your people will be worth my time?¡± I asked, tossing the sixth set out. I may have pushed a bit too far. ¡°And giving something for nothing is?¡± the old lady countered. ¡°Nope, that is me nakedly trying to buy forgiveness for the wrongs of a friend, and soothing my own angst with regards to you folks.¡± I admitted tossing the seventh set of clothes out. Nanny Shiv watched me again clearly using some sort of Scrutinize skills. She kept watching as the eighth, ninth and tenth sets were laid out with the rest. That was a significant pile now. ¡°... and eight,¡± she finished. I set the last set down, ¡°Are there any more goblins between us and the Mandir?¡± Nanny Shiv sighed, ¡°Tell me you are a good man.¡± I could tell she wanted to believe. It was just too cold. They needed the clothes. I paused. The gory image of Grond¡¯s corpse flashed in my vision. Several memories of the Titan¡¯s life crept in on the edges also. ¡°Honestly, I used to be an okay guy. Not good; not bad. Then I came here. In This world, up until this point, I literally solved every problem with violence. I killed someone. They wanted me to, but they deserved better. I tried to kill someone else, but it didn¡¯t stick. If given a second chance I will absolutely try again. But, right here, right now I want to be better. I am trying to be better. More kind, less destructive.¡± The old goblin snorted, ¡°Most folks would try to reassure someone. Not go into detail about how they are a murderous goon.¡± I shrugged, ¡°To quote a great philosopher, ¡®I am what I am.¡¯¡± ¡°Popeye, a great philosopher?¡± the old goblin chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s a specific reference.¡± ¡°Who the bloody hell is Pop Eye?¡± Brand asked. ¡°A sailor man,¡± I explained before turning back to Nanny Shiv, ¡°How do you know that though?¡± ¡°Goblin stuff, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± she thought for a moment. Paced back and forth for another, ¡°Fuck it,¡± she muttered to herself before shouting, ¡°Spine, get back here!¡± The skinny goblin kid tried to walk back nonchalantly, but he over corrected on the determined walk and looked stiff legged and off balanced as he stomped toward us. When he got closer, he also realized he should say something, but had no idea what to say. God I felt that. I could feel all the middle school angst creep back into my mind. Technically that was the Titan¡¯s memory, but holy shit. Being a teen sucks. It gets better. You get older. The evidence slowly gets buried as everyone eventually stops talking about it. ¡°Uh¡­ Yeah?¡± Spine asked, snapping me out of the incident when Becky Thomspon¡¯s braces snapped and ended up piercing my tongue. We wound up stuck together. An unfortunate wire snapped and hooked me. Don¡¯t get too excited: it was a soccer mishap, not kissing gone extra wrong. ¡°You are going to lead these nice murder machines to that big temple full of other murder machines. Don¡¯t show them anything we don¡¯t want them to see,¡± she told him, she had mastered that grandparent trick of not actually bossing the kid around, but not ever leaving room for debate either.. She looked him up and down, and frowned. ¡°You got dirt on your face, hold still.¡± She then took a cloth from her pocket and started scrubbing. ¡°Wait,¡± Spine started before Nanny Shiv all but decked him with the cloth. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Someone¡¯s gotta lead them. I am too old, Brick is too dumb, and I can¡¯t spare Thorns,¡± Nanny said. ¡°These goons could crash into some bad things if we let them roam free. You gotta do this.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± He replied slowly, still confused, and the old lady clearly slipped him a small pouch of something ¡®hidden¡¯ in the cloth. ¡°Could you share with the rest of the class?¡± I asked. Apparently the memory lane stuff kept me in a school paradigm. ¡°Spine is going to lead you to that temple. You lot are going to have to look out for him on the trip.¡± she turned back to Spine, ¡°When your Dad gets back he will meet us at the place. After that we will come get ya. I promise.¡± She turned to me, ¡°You will look out for him.¡± ¡°Like he was my own child,¡± I said, and looked at Spine.
Analyze check¡­ Successful
Name: Spine Spindle-Bite
Race: Goblin
Class: Scout
Level: 7
HP: 17
Power: 2
Mobility: 5
Body: 2
Mind: 2
Face: 1
Magic: 1
Traits: Goblin Mode Goblins can access a group collective. If a goblin knew it before, it is possible for the current user of this trait to know now. Accessing this knowledge requires a [Mind] attribute role. Use of this trait has consequences. Never go full Goblin. Disposition: Spine is both afraid of you and in awe of your strength. He expects traveling with you will result in his death.
Wow, that¡¯s it? Spine and I were at the same level, but absolutely were not at the same level. One good hit from a snow lion and Spine was gonna die. ¡°How old are you?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m a man,¡± Spine said. When I kept watching him impassively he said, ¡°16 years.¡± That is a long time to be one hit away from dying. Yeah, sure, a car could hit me at any time in the World that Was. Or, that night I ran away. I felt the nail on my pinky finger again. I was not the Titan. Either way, this wouldn¡¯t do. I dove into my inventory and selected an Epic Scale Pelt. Over the course of a few secondsI crafted another set of armor. This stuff was Armor six, which would quadruple Spine¡¯s defense. An improvement, but we could do better. I quickly equipped and unequipped the armor: now, because of Titanic Armor II, the gear had a defense of 46 and a deflection value of 12%. That was, for the sake of easy math, a 24 times increase in his defense. Which meant he would probably be taking 1d4 damage from hits while wearing the armor. Which statistically translated as him being roughly seven hits from dying. If he wore the clothes. ¡°Alright, here is the deal, Spine. I am going to offer you a pact. You will guide us to the Mandir of the War Goddess. You will do this in good faith, and will not harm anyone traveling with me, unless in self defense. In return I will provide this armor, my protection, and a boon to improve your healing. Do you agree?¡±
Pact Offered Spine Spindle-Bite: provides 1) Guidance to Mandir of the War Goddess, 2) Nonviolence towards: Namith Brand, Angelica De Leon, Brunhilda Jensen, and Celeste Angel of Truth. Note 1: nonviolence clause is void in case of self defense. Note 2: willingly breaking terms of pact will result in a Smite of Spine Spindle-Bite Titan Spawn: Provides 1) Armor: Epic Scale (Enhanced). 2) Titanic Regeneration (lessened, Heroic Scale minimum) 3) Base attribute improvement (7) to all attributes except Body (14) 4) Protection until returned to Spindle-Bite family. Note: Enhancement to armor is temporary Pending Acceptance¡­
¡°What?¡± Spine asked, overwhelmed. I don¡¯t blame him, it was a big prompt. ¡°Don¡¯t accept anything yet?¡± Nanny Shiv stepped in. She turned to me, ¡°Show me the terms.¡± I thought about how to do that and¡­
Add Nanny Shiv to Pact Negotiation? Yes/No
I clicked ¡®Yes¡¯. The old goblin looked at the prompt. Her sharp eyes widened slightly with surprise. She double-checked the prompt. She was clearly looking for some secret hook or exploit. She checked it again. ¡°I see a punishment if Spine acts up, but what happens if you break the pact?¡± ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. I suspect nothing,¡± I admitted. I shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ve never done this before.¡±
Titanic Lore Check¡­Successful
Yeah. I forgot about that. Apparently nothing would happen to me. I could break faith and the pact would do nothing. Because that is fair. I suspected some other hidden mechanic was waiting to kick me in the dick if I tried. Probably some sort of oath breaker tag or something. ¡°According to the lore check, nothing happens to me.¡± The old goblin mulled that over. ¡°Take the deal Spine.¡± Chapter 35: I May Have Taken A Hostage The rest of the goblins quickly took the clothes and vanished into the storm. Janky hugged Spine tightly before leaving with Nanny Shiv. That left the rest of us standing in the burning remains of a village Brunhilda¡­ depopulated. I looked at the dwarf. She had forced a neutral expression on her face. She saw I was watching her, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± I nodded before turning to Spine, ¡°Which way do we need to go?¡± Spine looked at me and then slowly turned in a circle. He kept turning. After the third revolution I began to have concerns. By the fifth revolution the rest of the group was also losing hope in our ¡°guide¡±. Brand turned to Brunhilda, ¡°Do you know the way?¡± ¡°Yeah, just west of here,¡± Brunhilda said, pointing. ¡°No, not there!¡± Spine piped up immediately. We all paused, when it became clear everyone expected me to ask, I spoke, ¡°Why?¡± Spine froze briefly before explaining, ¡°It is a bad way to go, but there isn¡¯t a goblin village that way. Nope. Not that way. No village at all.¡± We all exchanged looks. I was willing to believe Spine, but it was clear the rest all suspected that there was a Goblin village nearby, possibly to the west. ¡°How about we go close to the not-goblin village, then skim around the edge without starting anything?¡± Brunhilda suggested to Spine. ¡°How about you fuck off and die!¡± Spine shrieked back at her. He immediately realized that was a bad idea and slapped his hands over his mouth. Brunhilda¡¯s expression slid from her normal jovial grin to one of forced neutrality. When she spoke her voice was also forced to a neutral tone, ¡°I don¡¯t normally let people talk to me that way. How about we start over?¡± Spine looked like he was going to snap back. Rather than let this devolve further I stepped in. ¡°Let¡¯s all just back off,¡± I stepped between them. ¡°Brunhilda, cut the kid a break. From his perspective, this situation has to be¡­ well, fucked.¡± I turned to the Goblin, ¡°Spine, please do not antagonize the others. I don¡¯t think I can stop any of them.¡± Brunhilda stepped back. Spine looked at the others. Brand seemed to be thinking I could probably stop him. Angelica looked to be on the fence on which of us would win in a fight. Brunhilda was clearly comfortable in the knowledge she could kick my ass. ¡°Fine,¡± the goblin said in a way that was close to whining but far enough away that if you accused him of whining he could deny it, and then claim you were the worst parent ever. ¡°So which way are we going?¡± I pressed Spine. Spine sighed but stopped himself from rolling his eyes, ¡°I guess we should head west, but we will need to stop after about five miles, and then go north for a bit to then go west some more. Then just for the heck of it we should go southwest before going west.¡± And we traveled. Now you would probably measure distance in meters, or feet, or miles, or rods if you were agriculturally inclined. I measured it in snow lions. Everything in my life can be measured in snow lions. We encountered roughly 4 snow lions per mile. So after twenty violent cat deaths we moved north. That lasted for three more felicides. After that we took a short break in our travels to slaughter a Pride that spawned. The first time Angelica and I fought one of these epic Scale bosses was about 30 minutes of high impact violence. In the dungeon with Brand''s help we were able to reduce that to twenty minutes of mostly me turtling and the others killing when pragmatic. This time I dropped the shed around Spine and me. The cats hyper-focused on me and paid no attention to the little goblin behind me. In the space of about 8 minutes Brunhilda, Angelica and Brand wiped them out. Yeah sure, I bludgeoned a baker''s dozen but then the door got clogged. Spine was trembling as I tossed bodies into my inventory. I had so much more space. No idea what I was going to do with literal tons of bodies, but the gamer instincts were strong. Must loot, I may need 1,318 snow lion hearts later. They could help in a puzzle maybe¡­ in a circulatory dungeon perhaps. ¡°You okay, Spine?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡­ just leveled¡± He managed. ¡°Oh. Cool,¡± I replied. That made me wonder about the mechanisms of experience. Spine had sort of taken part in the righteous massacre of these foul felines, but the level implied he was getting more than 1 point of XP per dead snow Lion. ¡°Three Times!¡± Spine shouted. ¡°I¡¯m level Ten now! I got a perk! Just for standing there! Apparently I just survived an Epic encounter.¡± ¡°...congratulations?¡± I offered. ¡°I am going to die out here!¡± Spine shouted again. ¡°I am going to work very hard to prevent that.¡± I soothed. Spine was unconvinced. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend like you care, you kidnapped me!¡± ¡°Did not!¡± ¡°Then why does the Pact have a Hostage exchange built into it?¡± I made a mental note to not kidnap people in the future,¡°...hostages are different from kidnappees. Technically you came here of you own accord.¡± Changing topics quickly, I asked, ¡°What perk options did you get?¡± ¡°What?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Do you want to die?¡± I asked. That probably sounded threatening. Oops. ¡°I do not,¡± the goblin confirmed. Clearly threatened. I need to work on not intimidating others. I forced my tone to be supportive and patient, ¡°Then let¡¯s focus on doing everything we can to keep you alive. Perks give power. Let¡¯s use that to stack the odds in your favor.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah that makes sense.¡± his eyes went glossy. ¡°Huh. is this normal?¡±
Accept invite from Spine Spindle-Bite to view perks? Yes/No
I hit yes, and examined the prompt:
Note: Perks empowered due to pact with Left Hand of The Titan. Perks will be both raised in Scale and adjusted to elements of the Titans (Dark and Cold) Select Perk Sneaky Git*Bulky** * Note: Sneaky Git will be empowered to Shadow Assassin ** Note: Bulky will be empowered to Heroic Physique.
That didn¡¯t seem normal. Is that something I was doing?
Titanic Lore Check¡­ Successful
¡°Okay so that is on me.¡± I admitted to Spine. ¡°The perks are being changed because you have a pact with me. The first perk you have will default to Heroic Scale. If you get a second one. It will be at least epic Scale, with a fifty fifty shot of it being upped to Heroic. After that it defaults to at least rare, with diminishing chances of Epic or Heroic Scale.¡± ¡°Will the perks go away when the pact ends?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Nope, so long as you don¡¯t break the pact that is yours for life.¡± I explained. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Spine muttered, ¡°You just get all this stuff?¡± I shrugged. ¡°Do you know what you want?¡± Spine thought for a moment, ¡°hypothetically what would you pick?¡± I looked closer at the perks.
Shadow Assassin Servants of the Titan Spawn can be both Cunning and Brutal in their work. This perk will unlock the skill needed to be the thing people fear in the night. Unlocks the following Skills: Blend In, Move Silently, Ambush, Detect Weakness, Terrify, and Manipulate Shadow. Heroic Physique Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Heroes often require an ideal physical vessel as they strive to fulfill their quests. Increase Power, and Body Attributes by 5. Having this perk will also grant an extra level of Scale to rolls for skills based on Power and Body Attributes
I almost answered, but then Angelica¡¯s words hit me. Finally I said, ¡°You have to live with the choice. I don¡¯t feel comfortable telling you what to take.¡± ¡°I think I should take Shadow Assassin,¡± Spine said after a beat. ¡°As a Scout I would get a lot of benefit from the skills.¡± ¡°Do you not already have Blend In?¡± I asked. Spine shook his head, ¡°You start with Hold Still, then move up to Camouflage, then Blend In. It is a lot of work getting to that level. This perk would be a huge shortcut. I would become way better at what I do.¡± ¡°Yeah, that is sound logic,¡± I agreed. ¡°But Heroic Physique would basically give me ten levels all at once, plus Scale¡­ I would be almost as strong and tough as a snow lion, the regular ones anyways.¡± he realized. ¡°That has potential, too,¡± I acknowledged. ¡°But which should I take?¡± He asked. ¡°I am not sure. Let¡¯s walk while you think,¡± I recommended. This led into a cycle of Spine offering one of the perks as a good choice. I would agree. Then Spine would realize the other option was also good. I would agree again. About forty minutes and eight dead cats later Spine finally realized I was going to simply agree with him no matter what he said. ¡°You¡¯re not helping!¡± he yelled. ¡°Not true,¡± I disagreed. ¡°How do you figure?¡± he demanded. I stopped walking, when the others paused I waved them on, ¡°You probably don¡¯t realize this but you are trying to get me to pick for you.¡± ¡°Why would I do that?¡± Spine demanded. He was trying to be confrontational but he seemed to be listening as well. ¡°It is scary when your life changes. Most folks tend to conceptualize that in a negative way. Opportunity causes the same stress. For some reason most of us try to push the choice to someone else. Maybe it¡¯s a defense mechanism. An emergency exit if things go wrong. I didn¡¯t choose this. If you truly want me to pick the perk I will, but do you really want someone else picking parts of your life for you.¡± I paused when I realized I had just quoted Marnie. Technically she was paraphrasing Hank, but that¡­ should have triggered a Willpower roll. ¡°You sound like my Dad,¡± Spine scoffed ¡°Wise? Patient? Ruggedly Handsome?¡± I joked. ¡°More like obnoxiously perfect, oppressively overbearing, and easy to disappoint,¡± Spine muttered. ¡°...You seem like a good kid, Spine,¡± I tried. ¡°That¡¯s the problem! You don¡¯t get it! You can¡¯t! My Dad is Heroic Scale! You¡¯re Titanic!¡± He forced himself to calm down, ¡°I¡¯ll never be anything but just a kid to you guys.¡± There was a lot of stuff I wanted to say. The go-to truth of ¡®it gets better¡¯ came to mind. Trouble with that is while it is true, it always rings hollow to kids. Especially for teens. They have factually seen their lives get worse with time. Sure everyone ages but the teen years just suck. No more carefree childhood, just stress, responsibility, awkward uncontrolled emotions, and that new existential dread. All their experience is shit just gets worse. Telling them three years from now things will get better when three years ago they were happier. It sounds like a con. Factoring in Spine was literally being hunted by monsters and a high Scale player could just annihilate him and everyone he knew, I should probably go with another truth. ¡°You have a pointt.¡± I admitted. Spine hadn¡¯t expected me to agree with him because he started with, ¡°See you are ju-! Oh!¡± I should probably clarify, ¡°About me anyways. I don¡¯t know your Dad. I have been treating you like a kid. How about this? I try to treat you as a peer, and you agree to pick the perk you think is best.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah that sounds like a good deal.¡± Spin managed he was trying to make his voice deeper when he said it. ¡°Cool, let¡¯s catch up with the others,¡± I said. ¡°Do I need to pick the perk now?¡± he asked, falling into step with me. ¡°Nah, take your time.¡± I advised. ¡°Make it feel right to you.¡± We had fallen about two hundred yards behind the rest of the group. Enough space for privacy but close enough to jump in if something dumb happened. That would have been correct except we weren¡¯t banking on something truly bad happening. Crack! Boom! A massive chunk of ice snapped and about a hundred yards of ice collapsed into a dark void. Spine and I were on one side, everyone else on the other. That was inconvenient. Two massive forms appeared from a flash of light. Bigfoots! ¡­Bigfeet? They hefted massive clubs and swung. One at me and one at Spine. Assholes. The correct term for these guys is Assholes.
Attack from Bigfoot Crusher A blocked. Knockback Resisted. Attack from Bigfoot Crusher B blocked. Knockback Resisted.
Ow! Strangely enough, having the equivalent of a baseball bat slammed into my hands didn¡¯t feel great. The impact almost knocked me backward but luckily having two hit from either direction was a balancing force of sorts. These jerks were strong, but sort of dumb. Yeah, the force of the attack almost buckled me, but instead of taking a second swing they just kept pushing. Maybe it wasn¡¯t that dumb. I couldn¡¯t reach them with a kick and my hands were too busy to counter attack. Nope, that was oddly smart, because four more of the big cryptids were charging toward me. That was a problem. A quick glance across the chasm showed me the others splattering north american great apes. While they were fine. Spine and I were in a bit of a rough spot. Desperate times like this require desperate measures. Using all the tools available to me.
Claws of Darkness Activated Titanic Regeneration reduced to 20 HP per second Rough Great Club Destroyed x2
My shadow sort of rose off the ground and draped itself over me. My hands were instantly covered in thick but knife-like claws. They immediately bit into the wood of the Great Club and as the brutes continued to press the wood was simply cleaved into multiple chunks. That was cool. The really nifty bit was the second pair of arms I had made of shadow. Each felt like a natural extension of myself. You would think suddenly having extra arms would be difficult or an adjustment. Nope hyperintutive. So it was really easy to take the tenebrous hands and use the claws to stab the Bigfeet- I am going with Bigfeet - in the solar plexus, hooked their rib cages, and pulled. That brought their necks closer to my actual hands. I used those to tear out some throats
Attack¡­Successful x2 Bigfoot Crusher A takes 67 points of damage. Bigfoot Crusher A is slain. Bigfoot Crusher B takes 62 points of damage. Bigfoot Crusher B is slain.
Really hoping these were mobs, I dropped the corpse. ¡°Spine! Stay Behind me!¡± All of them flung big damn rocks at us. I placed myself between Spine and the incoming ordnance.
Attack from Bigfoot Brawler A-D blocked. Attack from Bigfoot Warpriest successful. You take 2 points of damage. Knockback successful. Titanic Regeneration heals 20 HP HP: 420/420
I swatted the rocks out of the air like wads of paper. Then a fist made of mystical energy clocked me upside the head. It didn¡¯t exactly knock my block off but it absolutely took me off my feet and sent me toward the chasm. That was suboptimal. One of the Bigfoot brawlers hucked a rock at Spine. The other three were planning to pelt me. Now that I could see the Warpriest I was distressed to see it was targeting Spine also. No help for it. I jumped between the magic and the Spine again.
Attack from Bigfoot Brawler C-D Successful You take 7 total damage Attack from Bigfoot Warpriest successful. You take 3 points of damage. Knockback successful. Titanic Regeneration heals 20 HP HP: 420/420
Spine took the first rock to the chest, yeah, he wasn¡¯t instantly killed but that certainly was a lot of blood. Both of us were knocked back. Still closer to a hell of a drop. The Bigfeet Brawlers, having only two hands, had exhausted their rocks. So now they were charging us in earnest. The bigger one with a staff followed behind obviously winding up another mystical punch. I really hope these jerks weren¡¯t secretly people also, because i was going to kill them once they got in reach. The country cryptids were obliging in that regard. This I knew. I got to my feet just as they rushed me.
Attack from Bigfoot Brawler A-D blocked. Counter attack against Brawler A Successful x2 Bigfoot Brawler A takes 125 damage and is slain Counter attack against Brawler B Successful x2 Bigfoot Brawler B takes 136 damage and is slain Counter attack against Brawler C Successful x2 Bigfoot Brawler C takes 114 damage and is slain Counter attack against Brawler D Successful x2 Bigfoot Brawler D takes 120 damage and is slain Attack from Bigfoot Warpriest successful. You take 2 points of damage. Knockback successful.
I was developing a fighting style comparable to being a retaliatory bomb. The claws seemed to be doing well¡­ I had assumed they would double my damage output at the cost of my regen. That wasn¡¯t quite true. For one, it didn¡¯t account for the World Breaker Bangle. Two, while they clearly were adding twenty more points of damage, I was still rolling 3d12 and keeping all of it. So I had about a twenty-five percent increase per hit that swelled to fifty percent per round increase, which then just expanded as the counter attacks piled up. That is a math way of saying my counter attacks split them like pumpkins and they fountained blood in a squall of gore. Trouble is things got less ideal with each suckerpunch. That last hit almost put me over the edge. That said, I was trying to grip the side with my toes. Another hit like that and I was probably gonna fall. The Bigfoot Warpriest leered as it wound up¡­ and then he bellowed in agony. Spine had shot him in the eye with a crossbow bolt after the little goblin popped out of the snow. Strangely, that looked to have done some significant damage. Don¡¯t get me wrong it was a shot in the eye, a notoriously bad place to be shot. But that took a massive brute from happy and murderous to profoundly unhappy¡­ and murderous. It blundered toward Spline but he vanished into the snow. Seizing my moment I charged the big ape. It probably expected me to shoulder check it or punch him in the dick maybe. The warpriest certainly hadn¡¯t expected me to fling a live snow lion at it. It had ambushed me at some point during the Bigfeet brawl. I had ignored it because other things were happening. It basically just held on for dear life after the first hit from the warpriest. It landed claw first onto the warpriest and went straight to the rip and tear. The massive Cryptid not to be outdone, bludgeoned the cat to death with its ¡­ceremonial staff i guess. Nomenclature of the womping stick was less important than what happened next. I struck like an opportunistic goon. Shadowy claws cut deep into the boss monsters spine.
Attack¡­Successful x2 Bigfoot Warpriest takes 105 points of damage.
It tried to clock me but missed. The missing eye must have messed with its depth perception. Spine popped out of the snow and shot him in the other eye. It was like turning off a light. The Bigfoot Warpriest went quiet and fell limp to the ground. ¡°I picked a perk! I went with Shadow Assassin!¡± Spine said a bit too loud. Clearly the adrenaline was pumping. ¡°Yeah. Good choice,¡± I said, proud of the little guy. Chapter 36: An Encounter with a War Goddess A brief jog around the big chasm got us with the rest of the group. After looting the bodies of course. Strangely, the rest of the group wasn¡¯t exactly worried about us. ¡°Not even a little concern?¡± I asked. For some reason their lack of worry hurt my feelings. Angelica punched my shoulder, ¡°Were you worried about us?¡± ¡°No,¡± I admitted. ¡°Why?¡± She pressed. I didn¡¯t answer immediately. Yeah, Let¡¯s worry about Doug, he just ¡®killed¡¯ a god, maybe the ugly gorilla over there is going to murder him. Not likely, ¡°Because you are a high level, high power, pack of ultraviolet hard cases. Honestly my concern was for the Bigfeet.¡± ¡°Pretty sure the plural is Bigfoots,¡± Angelica corrected. ¡°I am going with Bigfeet,¡± I explained, preparing to fight and die on this hill. Angelica shrugged, ¡°You are wrong on pluralization but correct in sentiment.¡± I got what she was saying, ¡°I am telling you Bigfeet seems like the way to go. Brand, what do you think?¡± ¡°The term Bigfoots has a certain ¡®Je ne sais quoi¡¯¡± he replied. He clearly was not trying to spite me, but that somehow made it all the more an affront. ¡°That doesn¡¯t count, he is European, they use the wrong word for things all the time,¡± I said, completely free of any childishness. ¡°British, not European,¡± Brand corrected in a rote response. The words ¡®stupid colonial¡¯ was implied. ¡°Okay.¡± I agreed without really listening ¡°Drinking buddy, what do you think?¡± I asked Brunhilda, totally not rigging anything. ¡°Bigfeet,¡± Brunhilda answered, backing me instantly. Angelica frowned, ¡°You¡¯re just saying that because Doug is your drinking buddy.¡± Brunhilda nodded, ¡°True, but it is Bigfeet.¡± ¡°The important thing is that leaves us with a two to two vote.,¡± Brand pointed out. We all turned to Spine. That was probably unfair. Even Brunhilda could loom over the little goblin. Angelica and I probably towered. Spine, still trying to figure out the best path forward, shrugged ¡°Sasquatches.¡± Anyways, eighteen cats later we reached the Mandir of the War Goddess. Damn. That was a big place. This was a city. That probably doesn¡¯t hit hard to you, but I had spent the entirety of my existence wandering in the snow from small place to small place. Seeing an actual collection of people gave me a small dose of hope that I hadn¡¯t realized I needed. Yes, the goblins had small villages, but both I had seen had been desolate ruins. This place was whole and populated, alive. The whole place was surrounded by a wall. The buildings were a strange hodgepodge of all sorts of stuff. Some looked like American suburban houses, some looked more like pioneer sod, and dozens of other types of building style were everywhere. Eve, a sleek skyscraper was in the mix: so was a mountainous-looking temple building at the center of the city. It was both a beautiful and imposing structure, a massive spire sat atop a central dome. The exterior, at least the parts not covered in snow, were covered in intricate pieces of artwork portraying a female figure battling various inhuman beings. The gate to the place was missing doors. A sign near the entry read in bold and clear lettering: ¡®Warning! This is not a place of peace. This is the realm of the Goddess of War. Monsters roam and Violence is Allowed. Warriors welcome.¡¯ ¡°Is it just me or is that sign kinda ominous?¡± I asked. ¡°Nah,¡± Angelica said, ¡°Ominous signs start with things like ¡®Abandon all hope¡¯, or ¡®woe to you¡¯, or ¡®Terms of Service Agreement¡¯. This is just a polite reminder.¡± ¡°Reminder to?¡± I prompted. ¡°...not fuck up.¡± Angelica elaborated. Her tone sounded like it was self-evident. As we crossed the gate I started to ask, ¡°What is the point of this place?¡±
You have entered the Domain of Lola Goddess of War Mobs will not spawn but may enter the area. Scale is currently not suppressed. You are now under the effects of Warrior¡¯s Suraksha: Warrior¡¯s Suraksha This boon allows anyone affected by it to fight to their hearts¡¯ content. Anyone marked with this boon cannot be reduced below 1 HP by someone also under the effects of this boon while in the Domain of Lola. Permanent injuries will heal over while in the Domain of Lola. Environmental effects and conditions cannot reduce anyone under the effects of this boon below 1 HP while in the domain of Lola. Fight well.
Angelica could tell I got the prompts. ¡°Places like this are a great opportunity for people to up their game in combat and improve their skills. People used to travel from across the continent to learn Martial Arts or break through to Master Skill level.¡± ¡°So it is Fight Club?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Yep, probably has some Project Mayhem stuff happening most days,¡± I joked. Everyone else gave Spine and I the side eye. ¡°So I can¡¯t die in here?¡± He asked, clearly desperate for that clarification. Brand and Angelica turned to Brunhilda. She gestured for us to come closer. When Spine hung back I placed a hand on his back and gently guided him forward. He eyed me but didn¡¯t argue, at least not out loud. Brunhilda spoke quietly, ¡°There are ways around it. Duels being the obvious one. Mobs can also kill you. There are a few more theoretical tricks, but the short answer is ¡®do not rely on that too much.¡¯¡± ¡°Anything stopping Lola from just taking the buff away?¡± I asked, pretty sure I knew the answer.. Brunhilda shook her head. ¡°Let¡¯s not start any fights,¡± I muttered, standing up straight. Spine immediately stepped back from Brunhilda. That could be a problem. I mean I am pretty sure Spine couldn¡¯t really hurt Brunhilda, but if he took a swing at her there is a chance she may splatter him on reflex. I didn¡¯t exactly know him, but some paternal part of me didn¡¯t want to see him become chunky salsa. ¡°Agreed,¡± Brunhilda nodded. She pointed toward the massive temple, ¡°We should introduce ourselves to whomever is home.¡± I saw a few people watching us from down the twisted roads, and through a few windows as we walked to the temple. Most were keeping a cautious distance. Some of the folks seemed to be unconcerned. One lady did lift a toddler up to the window to watch us walk by. I waved back as the kid pointed. The main door to the temple was closed but not locked. The entryway was¡­ okay, I am not a practitioner of the Hindu faith and don¡¯t really know for certain, but the vast mural on the walls had several folks I was pretty sure were in that club.The guy with the elephant head, and the dude with blue skin, and that fierce lady with lots of arms. A bunch of other gods were depicted as well. Noticeably absent for this art piece was the female figure on the outside. That Lady, who I was pretty sure was Lola, had a consistent portrayal of black robes and red hands. None of the beings in the mural seemed to match that. I¡¯m not sure why, but given how prominent she was on the outside, I figured she would be front and center on the inside. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Before another set of doors leading into the temple was a little sign on an easel. It read ¡®This is a place of peace and worship. All followers of the quiet gods are welcome so long as they accommodate others. Violate the tranquility of this pace at your peril.¡¯ That message was written about fifty times. It took a moment but I realized my Universal Communication perk was translating the different languages for me. Before I could ask a question the doors opened, and an older man peered out at us. He was probably somewhere in his sixties but in excellent shape. His hair was gray, and his skin was wrinkled, but his back was straight and he was borderline jacked in physique. He smiled politely before asking, ¡°Is one of you Doug, the Left Hand of the Titan, Humbler of Grond?¡± I raised my hand stupidly. The man¡¯s smile became genuine, ¡°The Lady of the temple would like to speak with you in private,¡± he opened the door further and turned to the rest. ¡°You are all welcome in this place. If you like, my friends can make arrangements for you to stay.¡± He turned to me, ¡°Would you please come with me?¡± I looked to the others and shrugged. They all shrugged back. I shrugged a second time, and received a followup shrug from Brunhilda and Spine. ¡°Your friends will be quite safe, Lola has offered a day of hospitality minimum should you come speak with her,¡± the man said. ¡°Okay, see you guys in a bit,¡± I said. ¡°Doug,¡± Angelica took my arm. I turned and she let go before saying, ¡°Try and be polite.¡± ¡°I am here to make friends,¡± I lied. I was full hypervigilant and expected this to all go to shit. So far the least awful interaction I had with a god involved me beating their head in during a fit of rage. All the other interactions were downhill from there. I¡¯ll just say it: I hate Adora. How much worse was a goddess of war going to be? Female Kratos seemed like a bad time. Focus on important things: get info, ¡°I didn¡¯t catch your name, sir,¡± I said, falling into step with the man. He was about the same height as Brand. Maybe a little shorter, so I towered over the guy. ¡°My name is Sunit Patel,¡± he said as he offered a hand, ¡°It is a pleasure to meet another enemy of Grond.¡± I took his hand and shook it. My big mitt engulfed his, but he wasn¡¯t frail. ¡°You know about that?¡± He nodded as we continued down the hallway. The walls were covered in yet more depictions of what I was pretty sure were the Hindu gods doing¡­ well, all sorts of stuff. There were also several depictions of four men and an older woman doing things too. I would have stopped but I was keeping pace with Sunit. ¡°Yes,¡± Sunit said, ¡°Your shaming of Grond was made extremely public by Goddess Adora. I doubt there is a man alive who does not know of your battle.¡± ¡°And that puts us on friendly terms?¡± I pressed. ¡°Very much so,¡± Sunit replied, his crinkling as he smiled. ¡°I believe you can judge a man by his enemies, and since my Lady the Goddess Lola opposes Grond and his perverse attempts to seize power, you harming his interest serves her. That puts us on very friendly terms.¡± I could understand Lola appreciating me bitch-beating Grond. That didn¡¯t really explain Sunit¡¯s, or the rest of the people here for that matter, stake in this,¡°So you worship Lola?¡± Sunit hesitated slightly before answering, ¡°I follow the Living Goddess Lola, but I also practice the Hindu faith.¡± That didn¡¯t fully make sense to me, ¡°I am sorry if I am being rude, but how does that work?¡± Sunit chuckled, ¡°Very easily. Most of the living gods allow their followers to worship the quiet gods of their choosing. Even here we have followers of the Hindu faith, the Buddhist beliefs, a few of the Abrahamic faiths, and even an atheist. Goddess Lola is more pragmatic than most, though.¡± ¡°I see,¡± I said, pretending to understand what was going on. Brand was right, I really should knock this shit off. The hallway led to a massive room full of shrines, but Sunit led me to a small room to the side. ¡°We are not going in there?¡± ¡°No, Goddess Lola¡¯s shrine is not part of the Brahma pada, she prefers to be at the gate,¡± he said. He opened the door for me, nodding encouragingly when I hesitated. I stepped into a room that was missing any real ornamentation besides two features. In the center of the room was a table with several cushions around it. Also on the opposite side of the room was a statue showing a woman sitting on a throne. The woman was a mature figure that had a clear strength and vitality to her visage. She was wearing armor and draped in ornate cloth. Her face was slightly weathered, but undeniably regal. The door closed behind me. Like a moron I turned to look at the sound. Yep, those doors were closed. ¡°Would you care for some Chai?¡± someone behind me asked. I turned to find the statue gone and a woman matching its appearance sitting at the table pouring herself some tea. ¡°...Sure,¡± I managed. I didn¡¯t approach her though. She looked up from her cup, ¡°I am not like Adora. I will not drug or poison you. I simply wish to talk to you. Since you are about to fight a demon, I want to help. Please sit.¡± After a bit too long to not feel tense I sat down across from her. She poured me a cup of tea, ¡°I wished to talk to you alone.¡± ¡°Why alone?¡± I asked, not touching the tea. Lola sighed, ¡°It hurts my pride, more than a small amount, to ask a Titan Spawn for help.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked. I was trying to be polite but that probably sounded blunt. ¡°Nadia has killed so many of my followers,¡± Lola considered me for a moment. ¡°Millions. Then there is Aella. She has taken thousands of followers from my ranks, often against the will of said followers.¡± ¡°That¡¯s horrifying,¡± I admitted. Everything I kept hearing about Nadia was death and destruction. That just didn¡¯t seem to jive with the listless shadow I met, but I was getting used to missing the full picture. ¡°It is the reality of the world. Your siblings tend to be¡­ disruptive,¡± She explained before taking a drink of her tea. The motion brought attention to her hands, and the dried blood stains on them. She noticed me noticing ¡°I, like you, have become marked by violence. I always have the Blood Splattered Condition.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I managed. Even with my limited understanding of the world, the implications were¡­ worrying. Lola set her cup down, ¡°You seem tense.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t had the best experience with gods,¡± I admitted. She gave me a knowing look, ¡°You have not had the best luck with the gods you met. Mendus is a true paragon. Sims, the God of Cities, is eccentric but fair. The God of Hope¡­ if i hadn¡¯t spoken to them personally I would insist he was a quiet god walking the earth. To stand in his presence¡­¡± a genuine and serene smile crept into her expression before fading. ¡°The world truly lost something dear when Nadia killed him.¡± ¡°I get that, are you planning to break the streak then?¡± I asked. Lola chuckled, ¡°Actually I called you here to ask you a favor.¡± Of course she did. ¡°What would that be?¡± I braced for bullshit. Adora had colored my opinion on deities. Grond had reinforced that opinion. Lola poured herself more chai, ¡°In this domain there is a man, Cohen. Seth Cohen. He is a follower of mine about to achieve apotheosis from Rare to Epic Scale. I would ask you to allow him to teach you about Cosmic Martial Arts. The achievement he would receive for helping you break through to a Master Skill level would allow him to ascend.¡± That didn¡¯t sound bad, ¡°What do you get out of that?¡± Lola smiled a little sadly at my question, ¡°An Epic Scale follower, and to remove a debt I owe to you.¡± ¡°How do you owe me?¡± I asked, genuinely confused. ¡°You cleared one of the five local dungeons. The relative lull in mobs will allow more of my followers to make the journey here. From here they will be able to clear another, further opening the way. You also plan to fight the Demon of Frost. I wish to assist you in that endeavor. Several of my followers are trapped by that fiend.¡± That¡­ seemed a bit too tidy, ¡°What else?¡± A slight look of annoyance flashed across Lola¡¯s face, ¡°Fine. You are also traveling with Nameth Brand. I wish for him to succeed on his mission. That will prevent the Eternal Kingdom, what you knew as the United Kingdom, from falling to the forces of Countess Dacul or the Steam Meister.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ why?¡± I may be pushing my luck here. Lola drank more of her tea, ¡°Fine,¡± she muttered before continuing, ¡°Mostly because the constant war over there feeds me power without anyone I care about suffering too much. You care because it will prevent a few million people from being bombed by a mystical death merchant, or culled by a horde of blood-thirsty vampires.¡± ¡°Is it that hard to just level with me?¡± That was probably pushing it, but if this was going to be anything other than another ¡®god¡¯ pushing my buttons, I had to at least try and establish an expectation of open and honest communication. Lola studied me for a moment, ¡°You seem the type to not approve of such things.¡± I almost just responded but I paused as a thought struck me. ¡°You are from the world that was, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Before the System, I was a¡­ well, not quite poor young woman working in a factory. It was a complicated time, but not a bad time,¡± she explained. It was also clear she didn¡¯t say that much often, nor was she really going to elaborate much further. ¡°Okay I am going to be honest here, I lived decades in the world that was. This new world is strange to me, but not entirely alien. I understand violence. I understand desperation. I also understand I don¡¯t have all the answers here and now. If you want to try and be friends, I am willing to meet you halfway. But if you are going to play games and make maneuvers¡­ I see no positive future between us. Can we start over and just be frank?¡± I watched her closely. I think she expected me to be a dick. Maybe the bad blood from my elder ¡®siblings¡¯ put her on guard. She paused and considered for a long moment before saying, ¡°I would like that.¡± ¡°Good,¡± I said, ¡°I have a few more questions though.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± Lola prompted. ¡°The hospitality you offered, how does that work?¡± ¡°Those under my hospitality will be welcome here, and none who follow me will harm or even hinder anyone who has it. They will be safer here than anywhere else on this earth.¡± Lola said. ¡°How long will that last?¡± Lola shrugged, ¡°How about at least until 48 hours after your party has left this place. So long as they do no harm, no harm will be done to them.¡± Part of me still suspected some sort of manipulation was occurring. That said, level ups and getting another enemy killed probably was what she was after. I thought about pressing Lola for more details, but figured it would be better to just ask Angelica. I trusted her answers. ¡°I have one last question. Are you a good person?¡± Lola hesitated before answering that one, ¡°No, I am not a good person. I have had to live the life of a goddess, one with a violent and destructive purview. Most pay me homage out of fear, but I have stood as a means for people to drive back the monsters. I may not be good, but I am fair. Since you did right by me, I will do right by you and yours.¡± I believed her. I picked up and tried the tea¡­ it was surprisingly sweet. Chapter 37: Getting Kicked in the Dick… a Lot So after establishing that I wasn¡¯t going to wreck the place, and Lola wasn¡¯t planning to kill us all. The conversation wrapped up pretty quick. Apparently She had to attend a Peace conference in Geneva. Which answered as many questions as it raised. Oh well, Sunit led me to the others who actually went to a large lodge type building across the road of the temple. They were also happy to hear that we wouldn¡¯t have to fight the nice people feeding us. We sort of split up after that. Brunhilda said she needed to think. Brand said he was going to resupply, and research the journal. Angelica said she had laundry to do. ¡°Wanna go meet a martial arts master?¡± I asked Spine. ¡°He isn¡¯t going to kick me in the dick is he?¡± the goblin asked. He turned to the side slightly to protect himself. ¡°...I don¡¯t think so. Probably best to not talk shit though. That is a good way to get hit.¡± I said as we left the lodge and made our way to another not quite abandoned building. The wind had picked up again and it caused the snow to flow violently down the lanes between the buildings. This seemed to have driven everyone back inside. Our destination was¡­ well not quite a barn. It was more of a pole shed I guess. Rather than open the two story tall roller doors, Spine and I went to the tiny human door for tiny humans. I knocked. After a fairly long moment the door opened. A guy a bit shorter than Brand peered out at us. He blinked against the bright light of winter day, whiteouts are fun that way. He peered up at me, as I gazed down at him. He was a thin man clearly made of whipcord muscle. His curly black hair was shocked with a few gray hairs. His face had some prominent laugh lines around his brown eyes. Beneath his slightly flattened nose was a massive pornstache. He was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. We spent a moment blinking at each other, clearly neither of us had an actual plan to start a functional conversation. Oh no, I met another introvert. ¡­wait, thank God, another introvert. I had to act, ¡°Hello.¡± there that broke the silence. ¡°Hello,¡± he said back. After a moment he asked, ¡°Can I help you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Doug,¡± I offered. ¡°Nice to meet you Doug, I am Seth,¡± He replied. This wasn¡¯t working, ¡°Lola said I should ask you to teach me Cosmic Martial arts.¡± ¡°Oh¡± he blinked at me again, ¡°Well if she said so, you should probably come inside.¡± ¡°Is it just me or is this strangely awkward?¡± Spine asked. Seth upon seeing a goblin said, ¡°Watch out,¡± like it was a spider and moved to punt Spine. Without thinking I stepped in the way¡­ and was immediately kicked in the dick. And that is the first interaction I had meeting my teacher. It took a good five to ten minutes to deescalate the situation. Spine to his credit immediately moved to help me. By hopping on my back and trying to shoot Seth in the face. Seth dodged the shot, and did his best to pummel the goblin. Again I inserted myself in the way getting several fresh lumps for my trouble. Spine, now that the adrenaline was pumping, proceeded to try and launch a guerilla war from inside my cloak. Of all the things I thought possible to experience in life, a goblin firing an arrow at someone from my person was not on the list. To his credit Seth avoided the vast majority of Spine¡¯s attacks while unleashing a truly punishing chain of counter attacks¡­ which I had to endure because I promised to protect Spine. Eventually I just started blocking all of their attacks while shouting ¡°Stop! Stop! Stop!¡± This resulted in another dick kick and a crossbow bolt stuck under my thumbnail. ¡°That¡¯s a goblin!¡± Seth yelled pointing at Spine. ¡°That¡¯s an asshole!¡± Spine shouted, jabbing a finger towards Seth. Seth paused. He didn¡¯t seem to like being called an asshole, most people don¡¯t, but the twist of having a goblin do it was confusing. He turned back to me, ¡°That goblin can talk, and you are tremendous.¡± ¡°I am beginning to suspect that Lola didn¡¯t tell you I was coming,¡± I said as I healed. A d4 really hurts. If you don¡¯t believe me, step on one. ¡°Goddess Lola,¡± Seth corrected seemingly on reflex. ¡°No, she doesn¡¯t exactly consult me. Who are you?¡± ¡°My friend there is Spine Spindle-Bite, I am Doug. I am the Left Hand of the Titan,¡± I explained. I paused, ¡°Would you be willing to teach me Cosmic Martial Arts¡­ please?¡± ¡°...Sure, I was going to try and catch up on my reading, but why not¡­ you should come inside though. This weather is getting worse.¡± Seth held the door open. The inside of the place was¡­ well I have no idea what a -dojo? I¡¯m gonna go with dojo- was supposed to look like. What I saw was a big empty space with a gravel floor for half the area. The rest was cement. A cot was stuck in the corner next to a little shack that looked like it led to a bathroom. Icicles hung from the bare rafters and frost covered the walls. With the exception of a metal wood-burning stove there was no heat in this place. Well, I guess there was some from the lights. About a dozen electric bulbs were scattered across the rafters, so the shed did have power. No idea how, but it was either magic or it wasn¡¯t¡­ definitely one of those two options. ¡°This place is¡­ kinda shit,¡± Spine said. I nudged him. Seth shrugged, ¡°I am not exactly on the best terms with Goddess Lola. Not since I left the Technacost. Ever since I got out here¡­ well, it is better than anything the authorities there would have done.¡± ¡°The Technacoast has magical martial artists?¡± I asked, having to reassess my understanding of a place I already had no understanding of. ¡°Yeah, they have three of the best schools in the world.¡± Seth thought for a moment, ¡°Maybe another two or three high end ones too.¡± ¡°I could be ignorant, but that doesn¡¯t seem to fit with the supposed sci-fi theme of the Technacoast.¡± I observed. Seth nodded as he pulled a steamer trunk out from under his cot, ¡°You have a point. The Technacoast is less than accommodating to most fantasy creatures or classes, but you are failing to factor in the social lubricant that is political expediency.¡±. ¡°I don¡¯t quite follow.¡± I said. I turned to Spine. ¡°No clue,¡± Spine admitted. He shrugged and I could see the blade he was palming. Apparently he had not reached the ¡®forgive and forget¡¯ stage with Seth yet. ¡°During the third war with the Fantasy Coast, we were about gone. They had so many high Scale and high level fighters... Hell, they had three living gods on their side. Then a wise warrior came down from the Mountains and taught us several Elevated martial arts. Forgive the play on words, but it helped us punch above our weight class.¡± Stolen novel; please report. That sounded like a potential issue. ¡°So Lola is aligned with the Technacoast?¡± Seth popped the clasps on the trunk, ¡°Goddess Lola,¡± he corrected again, ¡°and no. She is above political concerns. Similar to Goddess Adora, or Goddess Debbie.¡± When he saw I didn¡¯t know who Debbie was he continued, ¡°The Goddess of Death.¡± Death is named Debbie?... I am not gonna talk shit. I am named Doug. ¡°Are there any big name male gods?¡± Seth had pulled two heavy metal gauntlets, some real shit-kicking boots, and some less than kind looking knee and elbow pads. They looked like they were more for increasing impact for the recipient rather than protecting the wearer. ¡°Of course, there is God Sims, God of Cities, God Aukai, God of Sailors, and God Dal, God of Agriculture.¡± ¡°Sailors?¡± I asked. Seth was gearing up. Which was slightly concerning, ¡°Crossing the ocean has become quite dangerous. The people that do sail the ocean have the backing of either God Aukai or the dragons. Most people would rather brave the war zone that is Europe. It is safer than the ocean for most. ¡° ¡°Sea monsters?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Seth said. He slammed his metal-covered hands together, ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°For what?¡± I managed just before Seth punched me in the head.
Attack from Seth Successful! You take 4 damage Titanic Regeneration Heals 38 HP HP: 420/420
¡°Ow,¡± I said. ¡°Damn! How high is your defense?¡± Seth kept his eye on me, poised to dodge. He didn¡¯t want me to just smack him back. I checked. ¡°It says 110.¡± Seth looked at me like I had two heads, ¡°That¡¯s a lot.¡± he thought for a moment, ¡°Before you hit me, how high is your Power Attribute?¡± ¡°With gear forty, without twenty,¡± I explained before adding, ¡°With magic I can push to effectively sixty.¡± ¡°Please take off that gear and do not use any magic.¡± He thought for a moment, ¡°You are going to need to ditch the armor too.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I would rather leave the armor on.¡± I muttered. ¡°Don¡¯t be shy, we are just going to be kicking each other in the face. Plus, you are covered in blood. No one is going to make a move on you,¡± Seth instructed. I pulled my armor into my inventory down to my tighty-whities. Seth raised an eyebrow, ¡°What does that drop you to? I checked again, ¡°Eighty-eight.¡± I shrugged. I had a lot of defense. ¡°Oy vey,¡± Seth muttered, ¡°How is it so high?¡± ¡°I have a combination of perks and traits that make all clothing I have become highly effective armor.¡± I explained. ¡°I see. Okay, you will need some training clothes then. One moment.¡± Seth walked back to his trunk. He came back with some clothes folded together in a flat rectangle. ¡°Put these on. They will not count as armor to the system.¡± I took them into my inventory and equipped them. Oof! These were tight. I felt like a sausage. I looked at the clothes more carefully. The shirt was a skintight pink tee with the picture of a unicorn and a rainbow with the word ¡®alpha male¡¯ scribed in glittery letters. The pants were gray sweats. ¡°Why is the word Juicy written on your ass?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Are these women¡¯s pants?¡± I asked. ¡°Of course not. When you wear them, they are man pants.¡± Seth explained. ¡°I am down to forty defense.¡± The clothes didn¡¯t really bother me. Before Jo and Hank, my biological parents had just dressed me in whatever clothes they could get from hand-me-downs or from charities. I had worn ¡®girl¡¯ clothes before. I remember the lack of understanding from elementary students. ¡­Odd. normally stuff like that would have triggered a Willpower Roll. ¡°Alright,¡± Seth said with a nod. ¡°Are we going to fight?¡± I asked. Right as Seth kicked me in the nuts.
Attack from Seth Successful! You take 11 damage Titanic Regeneration Heals 38 HP HP: 420/420
¡°Why?¡± I squeaked. ¡°It is important you are prepared at all times. Okay, I want you to try and hit me. Stop if I tell you to though.¡± So it turns out trying to hit someone that doesn¡¯t want you to hit them is actually really difficult¡­ when they are better at fighting than you. Seth was not exactly visually impressive if you just looked at the guy, but once he got moving¡­ he was an agile little bastard. The troubling bit was he wasn¡¯t doing anything crazy. He would mostly side step, or duck my attacks. When he did block my attacks, which was rarely, he wouldn¡¯t directly oppose my strength so much as redirect my momentum slightly. He had several chances to really put the boot in when he was kicking my ass, but passed on all but a few. Specifically when I dropped all attempts of protecting myself to grab him. That turned into a thing where he grabbed my arm¡­ and I ended up on my back blinking at him. I think he flipped me. That is probably what happened. The other time was when I had a moment of distraction seeing Spine messing with Seth¡¯s stuff. I turned to tell Spine to leave that alone, and was kicked in the back. Hard. ¡°Ow! Time out!¡± I called to Seth, ¡°Spine, don¡¯t mess with other people''s stuff.¡± ¡°You Narc!¡± Spine said, holding what looked to be silverware. ¡°There is no time o- Hey Get away from my stuff!¡± Seth moved to intercept the little goblin. I step forward, and slightly in Seth¡¯s way before telling Spine, ¡°Put it back.¡± ¡°I was just-¡± Spine started. ¡°Is it yours?¡± I press over his objection. ¡°...no,¡± Spine admitted. When I simply kept watching he continued, ¡°...so I will put them back.¡± He placed the silverware back in the trunk. He met my gaze again, and seeing I was still doing the judgemental parent stare referenced a teenage mental checklist, ¡°...I am sorry.¡± I continued staring. Eventually Spine sighed and turned to Seth, ¡°I am sorry I touched your things without asking.¡± Seth was clearly not happy with the apology but was also not committed to making this a thing, ¡°It¡¯s fine, Just don¡¯t mess with any of my art books or pens or pencils.¡± ¡°Just to be clear, I can have the knives?¡± Spine asked, a hopeful grin twisting his face. ¡°No,¡± Seth and I said at the same time. This did result in a slight time out. It was agreed that making Spine sit there doing nothing for prolonged periods of time was dumb. So Seth did produce a notepad and several writing utensils for Spine to draw with or whatever. I had expected some pushback but the little guy took them and sat quietly doing¡­ I was not sure what, I don¡¯t think he was drawing. Oh well, that was better than crime. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go,¡± I said just before Seth kicked my right in the dick again. ¡°You gotta protect them, man,¡± Seth warned. ¡°Okay, I am going to start trying to hit you. You stop me.¡± What happened next was Seth beating me like a drum that had wronged him. For a little guy he packed a wallop. I tried but I was extremely unsuccessful in trying to block his attacks. If I had to guess, his Power Attribute was simply too high for me to consistently block or dodge for that matter. Now this did suck, a lot. However, Seth was the one growing more and more frustrated and angry as we continued my violent beating. The thing is, I could do this all day. Blunt force trauma sure as hell didn¡¯t tickle, and something ruptured inside me causing the Internal Bleeding condition more than once, but I was immune to its effects and it faded after eight seconds each time. Also this wasn¡¯t being literally eaten alive by Snow lions. ¡­fuck them. After about two hours Seth sagged. He was exhausted and covered in sweat. His gauntlets were warped and his left boot had cracked and split, ¡°You gonna give at any point?¡± ¡°That was an option the whole time?¡± I demanded while my nose reset itself¡­ again. Much more surprising was teeth that got knocked loose would re-embed themselves back in my gums. ¡°Yeah, that is how the first lesson always goes. They are stress tests!¡± Seth yelled back. ¡°Were you born yesterday?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve been around for at least ten days now!¡± I spat. ¡°Oh¡­ then I¡¯m Sorry!¡± Seth yelled back. ¡°It¡¯s okay I should have explained that earlier!¡± I roared back. ¡°I¡¯ll adjust the lesson plans!¡± Seth continued shouting. ¡°Thank you!¡± I kept shouting. Not sure why. ¡°Are you guys still fighting?¡± Spine asked. ¡°I am not sure,¡± I admitted, reducing my voice to a regular tone. Seth rolled his shoulders before wrenching one of the gauntlets off, ¡°No. Let¡¯s start at the beginning. How did you manage to get to Expert Skill level in ten days?¡± Before I could say Snow Lions one dropped from the rafters onto me. Chapter 38: I Don’t Know Kung Fu, or How Food Works After seeing me rip the snow lion in half Seth nodded. Another odd observation was that my regeneration seemed to also work on skin-tight casual wear. My teacher sized me up and down, clearly using scrutinizing skills of some sort. He just as clearly couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of what he saw. ¡°What was the first martial art you learned?¡± ¡°Unrelenting Glacier,¡± I answered. Seth opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. He closed his mouth and paced for a bit. Finally he said ¡°I figured out your issue. You have been sprinting your whole life, and you don¡¯t even know how to crawl.¡± ¡°Could you explain that using more words?¡± I asked. ¡°Most people do not start with a Cosmic Martial Art. They start with a style. Something like Aggressive, Strong, or Quick. This is when they are young and untrained in any skills, mind you.¡± He wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve, ¡°From there anyone actually trying to learn to fight will learn a mortal martial art, stuff like Boxing, Karate, Jeet Kune Do¡­ basic things like that. The classification for those aren¡¯t really important beyond how it is a school of thought pulling several combat skills together. ¡° Seth paused to see if understood. When I nodded he continued, ¡°From there, the truly dedicated can break through and unlock an Elevated Martial Art. That is a combination of both physical and often mystical abilities to create a more potent fighting style. After mastering one of those and gain competency in several others Elevated Martial Arts a chosen few can break through to a Cosmic Martial Art.¡± a lot of certainty left his voice as he continued, ¡°These are reality-distorting combat styles that are broad in both scope and power. The big thing is, each facet of a Cosmic Martial Art is a combination of multiple skills.¡± ¡°How¡¯d I manage that?¡± The path Seth described required experience and deliberate action. I had extremely limited experience, and was basically flailing randomly. Seth took a moment to think, ¡°Probably by virtue of fighting high level and scale enemies and just being a Titan Spawn.¡± I keep forgetting that being a Titan Spawn is the answer to the majority of dumb things that happen around me. Probably shouldn¡¯t talk too much shit, it is also the reason I was still alive, ¡°So do I need to learn to crawl then?¡± Seth sort of shrugged, ¡°Actually I think we need to speed you up a bit further and see if we can get you to fly.¡± I mean, I didn¡¯t know what I was doing so it made sense to at least try. ¡°Okay, how do we do that?¡± ¡°Cosmic Martial Arts are more complex than most. They have the staple abilities of Fast Attack, Strong Attack, Counter, but they also have a Utility ability, a Mobility ability and a Mystical ability. It becomes a sort of puzzle for the person using it to assemble the appropriate skills and align them. Some claim this is a sort of path to self-discovery also.¡± Seth explained I nodded, I felt a bit like a bobble head. That said, I didn¡¯t know enough to argue, ¡°And what does that mean?¡± ¡°We need to figure out the ethos of the martial art you have, and then level the skills to fill out the list.¡± Seth explained. ¡°How many abilities have you unlocked.?¡± ¡°Two: Crushing Defense and Ablative Shell,¡± I said. ¡°What do they do?¡± Seth pressed. He had put on a stern teacher''s tone. Wondering if I was a poor student, I explained. ¡°Crushing Defense lets me counter attack people who I block the attacks of. Ablative Shell¡­ lets me stack a shell made of ice. Once per minute up to three times?¡± Probably shouldn¡¯t have said that last bit as a question, but I had no idea what that meant. Seth nodded, ¡°How many people can you counter attack? ¡°Now? Twenty,¡± I answered. ¡°How much structure does the shell have?¡± Seth asked, considering stuff. ¡°Twenty, I think,¡± I said, double checking my prompts. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Seth said. He walked away. He walked over to his bed and pulled a pitcher off the stand and poured himself a glass of what looked to be water. He then drank it to stall further for more time to think. ¡°So to be clear, you can put out up to twenty-one attacks a second without penalty and generate a layer of structural armor that with your defense will absorb eight attacks on average every minute.¡± ¡°Oh, is that what Ablative Shell does?¡± I said, considering my ambivalence to the system again. ¡°I should have been using that.¡± Seth closed his eyes for a moment before saying, ¡°I age greatly each time you speak.¡± I frowned at him. What exactly did he want from me. ¡°The Titan Spawn have been said to be wise and mysterious beings. You come across as¡­¡± Seth hesitated before finishing. ¡°An ignorant child?¡± I offered. ¡°Your words.¡± Seth said before deciding they were his words also, ¡°but yes.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Give me six months, maybe by then I will be all mysterious.¡± Seth smiled almost ruefully. ¡°I am sure that is how it works.¡± He looked down at himself and sighed, ¡°I will have to get my gear repaired before we get too rambunctious again. How about we work through the method to your madness¡­ martially speaking. I can¡¯t help with the other stuff.¡± His eyes looked to a middle distance while gazing in my direction. Clearly he was reading some sort of prompt. He frowned, ¡°Doug, I do not mean to sound judgemental, but your Crushing Defense ability is in your fast attack option.¡± ¡°But it is a counter attack,¡± I observed. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be my counter attack?¡± Seth nodded, ¡°I think that is odd myself, but you are the one with the Godkiller achievement.¡± he shrugged. ¡°How does that work?¡± I asked. ¡°You are combining the skills for Unarmed Attack and Block.¡± Seth thought for a moment, ¡°I would guess you could combine that with any other weapon skill. Come to think of it, that may be a way to blunt the huge difference in Scale between us.¡± ¡°What skills are involved with Ablative Shell?¡± I asked. ¡°Block and Craft mostly.¡± Seth said. ¡°But I didn¡¯t have Craft at Trained until after I unlocked that ability.¡± ¡°My guess is you pushed Block to the Expert level and then due to extreme want, you were able to unlock the Utility ability.¡± My mentor speculated¡­ correctly. I thought about that for a moment, ¡°That sort of feels like my style, The Unrelenting Glacier is more about self defense than, say, hurting others.¡± Seth eyed me with a ¡®no duh¡¯ look on his face, ¡°That is true of almost every martial art ever. You need to dig deeper. The title is a clue to the themes, and the base skills you used should help guide you to at least the Strong Attack.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Block and¡­¡± I started. ¡°No,¡± Seth cut in, ¡°Unarmed. It is an attack. You need an attack skill for an attack slot.¡± I turned to Spine, ¡°Does that make sense to you.¡± Spine looked up from his book, ¡°Yeah. You can¡¯t attack without attacking.¡± He thought for a moment. ¡°Except for traps, explosives, environmental effects, and some other things like dragon breath.¡± ¡°That seems like a lot of exceptions,¡± I mused. ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± Seth insisted. ¡°Dragon breath is a skill, an attack skill.¡± He said that last part more to Spine than me. Spine shrugged and wrote something in his notepad. I considered what Seth was actually saying as my teacher worked to get his boots off. It took some doing and more than some cursing. To a certain extent the answer was obvious. If my Fast Attack was a combination of block and Unarmed, then my Strong Attack should probably be a mix of Dodge and Unarmed. As to what the counter should be¡­ Okay ¡®obvious¡¯ may not be the right word for this. ¡°If my fighting style is more retaliatory maybe the Strong Attack would be a mixture of Dodge and Unarmed skills.¡± I offered. Seth had a brief flicker of excitement dance across his expression, ¡°It is possible¡­ we should,¡± he calmed himself. ¡°It would be best to get my gear fixed first.¡± ¡°I am not sure if I can help, but I do have the Craft skill at Trained level.¡± I offered. ¡°Which ones?¡± Seth asked, considering the idea. ¡°Craft, just Craft,¡± I said. Before I could dig into my screens to see if that was a problem, Seth shook his head, ¡°Of course you have Craft. Not Craft: weapon, or Craft armor, or Craft woodworking. No, just jump straight to a Divine Scale skill.¡± he paused. ¡°Actually that makes sense.¡± ¡°How does Scale work with skills?¡± I asked. Both Spine and Seth looked at me. I knew their question before they asked. ¡°Yes I am serious. I have no real idea how this world works. Like at all. If it wasn¡¯t in the World That Was, I don¡¯t know how it works.¡± Seth and Spine exchanged another look. Seth broke the silence first, ¡°The Scale of skill is mostly a measure of how situationally dependent it is. There are a lot of caveats and loopholes, but for the most part the more basic the skill sounds the higher the scale is. Craft: Basket Weaving is Common Scale, but will only make baskets if you have material to do it. Craft: Energy Weapon is a Rare Scale, or so I have been told. Someone with that skill can create all sorts of weapons and components needed to make blasters and powered weapons. Craft on its own, no qualifiers, is Divine Scale. It basically allows the user to exert their will on matter and shape it as they see fit.¡± I considered that, ¡°So could someone at Common Scale get the Craft Craft skill?¡± ¡°Just Craft,¡± Spine corrected. Seth shrugged, ¡°I have never heard of it, but in theory it is possible, but they would need to master a Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Heroic, and Demigod scale craft skill first.¡± ¡°And Mastering a skill requires?¡± ¡°A breakthrough, or someone with the Mentor skill and a Skill at Master level or higher to teach you.¡± Seth instructed. He thought for a moment, ¡°Apparently some McGuffins could also cause a breakthrough, but I haven¡¯t seen that personally.¡± Huh. ¡°How does a normal breakthrough occur?¡± Seth sat down on his cot, seeing that we weren¡¯t going anywhere soon. ¡°The exact mechanism is argued about, but it seems that once someone levels a skill to expert they need to succeed on a roll. Then there is a roughly one in twenty-three thousand chance that the user will break through.¡± I considered that, ¡°Do they expect someone to roll the highest on result on a d4, a d6, a d8, a d10, and a d12 all at the same time? That would be one in 23,040.¡± When did I become a calculator? Seth looked at me like what I said was more on brand with something a Titan Spawn would say, ¡°That is the proposed math behind a breakthrough, but above Master level, and the odds get flexible for some individuals.¡¯ That sounded like Narrator fuckery. Spine spoke up, ¡°But how do you know all the stuff from the Goblin Mode?¡± ¡°Fight Club actually existed, in the world that was anyways¡± I answered. Spines eyes went wide, ¡°What about Popeye?¡± ¡°Sadly he was a cartoon,¡± I admitted, ¡°And a webcomic. There was also a live-action musical.¡± ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± Seth asked. Spine looked like he realized he had told on himself. Rather than discuss Goblin Mode, I decided to offer some cover. Hell they still had Star Wars. ¡°Popeye the Sailor Man. He is strong to the finish because he eats his spinach.¡± Seth looked at me like I was stupid, but was respectful when he asked, ¡°Is this some reference to the world that was?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± I said, with a nod. ¡°Spinach doesn¡¯t make you strong though,¡± Seth explained. ¡°Of course it does. It has iron in it,"I argued. Spinach is better than lettuce¡­ I said what I said. Both Spine and Seth looked at me like what I said was dumb. Seth was gentle when he spoke. ¡°No, Doug. That isn¡¯t how food works. Not at all. Whoever told you that is being ridiculous.T Vegetables boost Body Attribute and specifically helps with holding off the Starving condition. That is the only reason to eat them.¡± ¡°What about the vitamins and stuff?¡± I asked. Both Seth and Spine gazed at me again. Spine spoke first, ¡°Doug, do you not know how food works?¡± ¡°Of course I do. You eat it to not die,¡± I said. Seth and Spine exchanged a look, ¡°That is¡­ true, but do you understand the base mechanics?¡± ¡°You need so many calories a day. If you use more than you eat¡­¡± I trailed off as they both shook their heads. ¡°In my defense I can¡¯t starve to death. I am immune to the condition.¡± ¡°Talking to you is an oddly uphill experience,¡± Seth muttered. Rather than snark back, I pressed on, ¡°Do you want me to try and fix your gear?¡± Seth considered before saying, ¡°Not today. No offense, but I don¡¯t have backup gear. I want to know what I am getting into.¡± I shrugged. Fair enough. ¡°Is it alright if I go talk to the other people I came here with or are we going to do more training?¡± ¡°Not today,¡± Seth stood. ¡°I am going to need to adjust my methods If I am going to help you master a Cosmic Martial Art.¡± I turned to Spine, when I spoke he penned something, ¡°You good to go?¡± Spine looked up, ¡°I guess¡­ we aren¡¯t going to talk to the stupid fucking dwarf are you?¡± Well shit. Brunhilda was the one I was worried about¡­ although come to think of it Angelica had been subdued since the upgrade. That said, checking to see if Brunhilda was okay while dragging a survivor of her attack along seemed like a bad idea. Brunhilda had done right by me, and I doubted she would have hurt Spine¡¯s Village if she knew. I could still see the haunted look in her eyes. While that certainly wasn¡¯t the behavior of a callus murderer, but I really didn¡¯t know her. I just didn¡¯t know enough. ¡°I do need to talk with her,¡± I admitted. ¡°Of course you do,¡± he spat, the anger boiling to the surface. Wait, perhaps some form of avoidant behavior could resolve this? ¡°I am not going to make you spend time with her. How about this? We find Brand first, he said something about restocking on supplies. If he is willing, you can stay with him.¡± ¡°And if he isn¡¯t?¡± Spine pressed. ¡°I am not going to make you interact with her beyond what is absolutely necessary,¡± I explained. ¡°I can¡¯t make promises for the future, but for today you won¡¯t have to see her.¡± I watched his face carefully. He wasn¡¯t happy. There was anger. Of course there was. Anyone who has had a loved one hurt is angry. There was some fear as well. He was surrounded by people who normally would have attacked him on sight. Dammit. I need to do better, ¡°Never mind.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± Spine asked. I called to Seth, he was dressing for the cold. ¡°Could we just wait here?¡± ¡°Certainly, just please leave my art supplies alone.¡± Seth said before zipping his massive coat closed. His eyes peered at us from inside the fur lined hood. ¡°How about we just wait here?¡± I asked Spine. He glared at me, ¡°You think I can¡¯t hack it?¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t what I said,¡± I managed. Spine cut in, ¡°Not out loud. Let¡¯s go talk to Brand.¡± I tried to keep my voice calm and level: no point provoking him. ¡°Spine, I am not trying to talk down to you.¡± Spine scoffed. That was a poor word choice on my part, but I pressed on. ¡°I am trying to be empathetic to your situation and not make things harder on you. You said you felt like a hostage, and I am sorry for anything I have done to worsen that. So what do you want to do?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go see Brand,¡± Spine insisted. Seth gave us some directions to where a likely candidate for gun stuff -and therefore Brand- would be. The wind had picked up even more. Visibility had dropped to maybe about ten feet. As we wandered the snow I ruminated on what just happened. I had been a parent of a teenager before this. The fact that I had convinced a teenager to accompany me on an errand, and insist to be involved, was breaking my brain. Obviously this was some sort of accident and could not be repeated. Chapter 39: A Coordinated Effort By A Well Organized Force We found the place Brand was most likely to have gone. It was on the opposite end of the town. The place was a brick building. The front facade said ¡°Janie¡¯s Gunsmith & More¡±. A small neon sign flickered in the window behind the bars. The sign said ¡°Open¡± but the lights in the place were off except for a warm glow of yellow light in a back room with the door partially open. Spine eyed the sign for a moment, then cracked the book open and noted something, ¡°So this a gun store?¡± ¡°Looks that way,¡± I tried the door. It opened with the tinkle of a bell. ¡°Oh, Hell,¡± someone in the back said. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± The door opened completely and a willowy woman stepped into the front room, ¡°Listen, I know the sign says¡­ oh dang you are big, and covered in blood. That isn¡¯t going to drip on my floor is it?¡± She had a southern accent of some kind. The Name above her head said Janie Baker. She peered up at me with strangely wise brown eyes. If I had to guess her age I would guess late twenties, but her eyes seemed a lot older. ¡°Sorry about bothering you¡­ the blood seems to be stuck to me, so it doesn¡¯t make a mess.¡± I said, politely. Here''s hoping the tone distracted from the ridiculous words of the statement. ¡°Well, that¡¯s good to hear, I just cleaned the floor yesterday.'''' She buttoned her blouse back up all the way and, taking a band off of her wrist, quickly pulled her long hair into a ponytail. ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t expecting a customer. Is there something I can help with?¡± she asked with that service industry smile. Huh, Janie¡¯s ears were long and pointed. Her flowing brown hair had hid them before. Really, looking at her now, I realized she was about as tall as Angelica. Janie immediately noticed me looking at her ears, she quickly put a hand to an ear, ¡°What? Do I have something on my ear?¡± She froze, ¡°It¡¯s not a spider is it?¡± ¡°No spider,¡± I assured, ¡°I have just never seen an elf before.¡± ¡°Oh good,¡± She sighed in apparent relief. Then the second thing I said must have registered, ¡°...oh.¡± she sounded a lot less happy. After another pause she held her arms apart and said, ¡°Yep, I am an elf. Take it all in.¡± She dropped her hands, and asked much more bluntly, ¡°Is there something you want?¡± She leaned on the counter and put one hand underneath it. That was less than friendly.. Spine who had been standing behind me leaned around, ¡°Is it true you are immortal?¡± Janie blinked at Spine and then looked at me, ¡°Is that a talking goblin?¡± Spine ducked back behind me. Using me as a shield, ¡°Yep. Please don¡¯t shoot.¡± Janie paused for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, but then thought better of it. After another moment she said, ¡°So, you were being more than a bit rude, but I am going to guess you aren¡¯t an ordinary giant man with a talking Goblin sidekick. How about we all agree to not take offense at blunt questions for the next few minutes until at least one of us knows what is going on.¡± ¡°I like that idea.¡± I said with a nod. Janie nodded back, ¡°Great. So what are you?¡± ¡°I am Doug,¡± I said not really thinking through the response. ¡°That can¡¯t be the whole story. I have met Dougs before. They ain¡¯t normally as big as you.¡± ¡°I am also the Sixth Spawn of the Titan,¡± I offered. When she just sort of stared at me I continued, ¡°I am here with Lola¡¯s consent; training with Seth Cohen.¡± That took some processing on Janie¡¯s part. Eventually she asked, ¡°That¡¯s good¡­ just to be clear, you aren¡¯t here to kill us are you?¡± ¡°No, I am technically working to help fight the Demon of Frost, I guess.¡± I shrugged. Janie smiled, ¡°Good. Fuck him. Pardon my French. He is the reason this place is frozen year round. At least that¡¯s what people say. Is that true?¡± I shrugged again. ¡°No Idea. I am new here. So¡­ you are an elf?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Janie nodded. ¡°I lucked out when the system came and was able to select Elf as an option, So now I don¡¯t age, and I get all the side perks.¡± ¡°Side perks?¡± Spine and I asked at the same time. ¡°Yeah, since I was around on day one, I got the tutorial. Sorry I can¡¯t elaborate on that. Also since I am an Elf I can also follow both the Elven Gods, the God of the Sun and The Goddess of the Moon.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t follow Lola?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh, I do,¡± She said. Seeing my confusion she continued, ¡° You can follow as many gods as you have levels. Few people actually max that out. I follow five gods, Lola, Sims, Adora and the Elven gods. I used to also follow the God of Hope, but he died.¡± For the briefest moment, I could see Janie¡¯s actual age. She was truly old. ¡°I am sorry,¡± I managed. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Janie said, forcing another smile that faded quickly. ¡°He died saving both the Fantasy and the Techna Coasts. The All-death killed so many of the gods back in the day.¡± That just sort of hung in the air for a while. Finally Janie continued, ¡°Not to be rude, but are you here for a reason?¡± ¡°Yeah, Is Nameth Brand here?¡± I asked. Janie¡¯s face flushed a bit and her grin had some implications, ¡°Yeah he is.¡± She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. ¡°Is he available?¡± I asked, somewhat dreading the answer. ¡°Oh yeah, we haven¡¯t done anything¡­ yet. We have mostly been wrapping up business.¡± She gestured for us to follow her into the back. Spine trailed after me as I followed Janie. Being inside a building built for regular people was a little tricky. I was both taller and broader than the door. I had to sort of stoop and turn sideways to slip through. The ceilings were a bit low and if I stood at full height my head would thunk against it. So I was standing with my head tilted forward. That probably made me look more looming than normal. The back room was a clean and organized work room. Along one was a series of three benches with assorted tools on shadow boards. To the left was a CNC machine and a lathe, both currently not in use. To the right was a counter with a series of presses. They were being run by three people. The first was a freckled, red haired woman named Lily. She waved as we entered. The second was a short lady with long dark hair, named Carla. She gave us a service industry smile that clearly said ¡®I don¡¯t want you here, but can¡¯t tell you to leave¡¯. The last was a tall, dark man with an impressive physique. His name was Fracis. He gave me a polite nod. They had set up some sort of quick assembly line and were producing bullets at an impressive pace. Brand was sitting at a small coffee table close to their work. He was holding a mug and had been conversing with them before our arrival. He stood and walked over quickly. ¡°Doug, so good to see you,¡± He said in an over-bright tone. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. He grabbed my arm and led me closer to the CNC machine. ¡°You have to help me!¡± he whispered quietly, but his grip tightened. ¡°What?¡± I whispered back on reflex. Spine and the others were talking still. The conversation seemed to be about Spine being able to talk. That¡­ looked like it was going to stay peaceful. Brand pulled my focus back to him. ¡° They are a collective of polyamorous bisexuals who enjoy group sex. Help me!¡± he hissed quietly. ¡°Brand, I think of you as a friend, but only a friend. Perhaps I wasn¡¯t clear in the dungeon, mixed signals maybe, but I am not interested in doing anything sexual with you.¡± There, boundary established. ¡°That wasn¡¯t an invitation,¡± Brand cut in. Oh. Softening my expression, I patted his shoulder. ¡°Lift with the legs, not the back. Communication is key. Be accommodating but firm with your boundaries. Dehydration is the enemy. Things like this are a marathon, not a sprint. It is okay to rest so long as you don¡¯t quit.¡± That was a good list. Although I figured he should know most of this already. Brand gazed at me flatly. ¡°Mate, I am asexual and aromantic. I am not interested in sex with anyone. I suspect that is at least part of the reason I have the Boon.¡±
Perception check ¡­Successful Brand is telling the truth.
That checked out. Adora continued to be the absolute worst. ¡°How¡¯d you get into this situation?¡± ¡°They had Tea. I got distracted,¡± Brand said, sounding slightly desperate. Janie called over, ¡°Doug, would you care for some tea?¡± I turned to find her pouring a mug for Spine, as he eyed it dubiously, ¡°No, thank you. I won¡¯t be staying too long.¡± ¡°Oh! No! That¡¯s a shame,¡± Carla called, almost sounding sincere. Turning back to Brand, ¡°Seriously, aren¡¯t you supposed to be smart?¡± Brand shrugged, ¡°Normally I am able to fend off most advances by gentle rebuke and playing one suitor off of the other. I was not prepared for a coordinated effort by a well-organized force.¡± I nodded, ¡°Have you considered simply telling them ¡®no¡¯?¡± I had literally just done that. It was easy. ¡°Doug, that would be rude,¡± Brand said darkly. Seeing that I was losing patience he continued, ¡°That could be considered a hostile act. More than once that has resulted in a row breaking out.¡± I double checked on the others again. You wouldn¡¯t think ammo productions to be errotic, but there was a handle, heaving was involved, and they were determined. Given that Lily wasn¡¯t wearing much beyond an apron and a smile, and Francis had a shirt tighter than my ¡®alpha male¡¯ shirt there was something for everyone, I guess. ¡°They don¡¯t seem the type to over react to being denied sex. I mean they have other options.¡± ¡°I have been surprised in the past, and I don¡¯t like taking the risk,¡± Brand explained. He looked tired. That¡¯s when I realized. That boon Adora inflicted on him was a constant thing. Every person he met would be affected by it and influenced by it. It would push then lead to either the violent clash we had when Angelica snapped out of its influence, or Brand would have to¡­ yeah nobody won with that. Everything about that was just wrong. What the fuck, Adora? ¡°What do we need to do?¡± I asked. ¡°I need a buffer. So long as I am not the one directly preventing amorous intent, the boon will hold and I can steer things to an amicable parting.¡± Brand explained. That is a fancy way to say, he needed someone to cock block him. Fair enough, ¡°Actually this kind of works. Can I leave Spine with you provided you can guarantee this won¡¯t get violent or the other thing?¡± ¡°It absolutely won¡¯t get violent,¡± Brand answered quickly. Brand thought for a moment, ¡°That could work, follow my lead.¡± He turned and walked back toward the others. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to impose, but Doug has asked if I could protect his ward, Mr. Spindle-Bite for a time.¡± Janie looked less than happy, ¡°Is this just a quick errand?¡± ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. It could take all night. Sorry,¡± I apologized. I was sincere too. They seemed nice enough. No one likes having date night take a detour. Brand, looking the picture of regret and the put upon, said to the others, ¡°Doug and I cleared a dungeon together. I owe him my life as many times as he owes me his. A bond like that cannot simply be ignored.¡± Holy shit! They looked convinced. Face is a busted attribute. ¡°I mean that should be¡­ fine,¡± Janie said. I could see her hopes for the evening dying. ¡°I am not some kid needing constant supervision,¡± Spine spoke up. ¡°Oh?¡± Francis asked in a forced casual way. ¡°Yeah I am Sixteen, almost.¡± Spine explained. Carla stepped away from the press, ¡°stupid thin walls. I¡¯ll find a board game.¡± I could leave Spine here. It¡¯d be fine. I retreated fairly quickly after that. Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned, but the petty vengeance of the cockblocked is not to be underestimated. I had been told that there was a laundromat on the north side of town. Making my way there I managed to get ambushed by another swarm of Epic Scale cats. They may not have spawned in the city but they clearly could just run on in. This town kinda sucks. That said this fight was considerably different from the one in the dungeon. First, this time I was using my Ablative Shell. It formed in an instant. The trick was I had to actually trigger it by name with a mental command. I couldn¡¯t just want armor. I had to think and intend to use Ablative Shell. The highly articulated layer of ice formed over my entire body. The weight was noticeable but manageable. My worries about being slowed or hobbled by the shell were misplaced. I had complete freedom of movement. I was wrong about how many structural points it had. Yeah my Face attribute was twenty points, but then Titanic Armor 2 added my Body attribute to that total, for a grand total of 60 structural points. Which had a Defense value equal to my current Defense 110. So even when a cat could hit me. It didn¡¯t hurt and did minimal damage to the shell. There was also a bit under a ten percent chance that I could just deflect the damage with the skill. Tanking was becoming viable. This extreme increase in defensive capacity allowed me to experiment more. It took a minute and several false starts but I dodged as many of the attacks as I felt comfortable. Eventually though it happened.
Dodge Skill Is Now Trained Cosmic Martial Art has advanced The third stage of this martial art is Flowing Stikes All but the greatest obstacle are swept away by the force of the glacier. Perform a counter attack against Mind Attribute opponents you have Dodged per turn
Hey look at that. I never really considered myself a quick person. Glossing over the fact all my memories were technically someone else''s; I would put most of my reflexes before the system as average. I was one of those people who preferred HORSE to Basketball. Now, though, I was faster than the prompts. As I dodged into the horde, blocking, the vast majority of attacks and then countering, I was killing forty of the kitties a second. The trick was to balance the dodging and block to ensure the maximum amount of targets were available. I just let my mind go still. My vision tinted blue as prompt after prompt flashed. A casual focus on closing them and choosing to react in the most efficient way possible allowed me to just destroy them. Yeah I had to refresh the Ablative shell, twice, but I didn¡¯t take a single point of damage. I took a drink of Titanic Brew as I gazed at the nearly half mile long trail of mangled snow lions. Honestly, I was equal parts impressed, concerned, and disappointed. I had to admit that being able to trivialize a fight that had nearly killed me felt good. The concern came from the violence of it. I did the best I could to keep everything in the street but several buildings were caked in gore and chunks of lions. Before, in the world that was, I had been in some dark situations. I understood there are times when you have to protect yourself and your loved ones. That could be violent, lethal even, but it was always tragic. It wasn¡¯t right. Here though, the violence was so ubiquitous, so foundational, so gamified, I was beginning to enjoy improving at it. That needed to be watched carefully. It would not do to let violence change from a grim necessity to an easy option. The disappointment was more in myself. This display was something I could have done in the dungeon. My disinterest in the system had caused me to neglect my capacity. I had underperformed and put Angelica¡¯s, Celeste''s, and Brand¡¯s lives in increased danger. It was speculative, but the idea that if I could have done more in the final push of the dungeon, perhaps, Rebecca, the priestess of Grond, may have let us pass. I doubted it, but I couldn¡¯t silence that tiny voice of doubt. Next time I needed to do better. ¡°So cool!¡± someone cheered. ¡°Shhh! He¡¯ll hear you! Someone else hissed. Apparently I was not alone out here, on a city street. ¡°What the Fuck is on my wall!¡± a third person screamed. The answer was the insides of a snow lion. I should know, I put them there.
Blend In check¡­ Successful Move Silent check¡­ Successful
Time to go. Chapter 40: Debating Ewoks I was able to slowly creep away from the steadily growing crowd of people. It turns out splattering almost countless snow lion bodies across a residential area does not go unnoticed. Oops. Luckily I was super stealthy. Apparently the armor¡¯s bonus to stealth superseded whatever penalty being coated in gore caused. As more people exited their homes I kept backing away. Several people walked right by me. ¡°Hey, these are Epic Scale!¡± someone exclaimed. For a moment everyone went still. Then the harvest began. The crowd split into groups. One began to collect the bodies and pile them in the streets. The second group began to process the bodies, cutting them into manageable pieces. Once the bodies were piled in the street, half the people who collected them went to get more people, and the rest stayed to help butcher the snow lions. The people were definitely collaborative. If you looked past the fact it was people chopping up bodies, their community coordination was kinda beautiful. I kept inching away. Watching the effort. Were the bodies I had in my inventory worth something? I should talk to Angelica. I backed around a corner to an ally and immediately bumped into someone. ¡°Ouch!¡± they said. I spun and found two young people. Both were wearing white coats black pants and yellow boots. The girl had a pink stocking cap and gloves, the boy had a similar hat and gloves in green. They looked to be about the same age, but I doubted they were related. I read their names: Gisele Carvalho and Bob Smith. Yeah probably not siblings. Gisele gazed up at me with equal parts joy and wonder. Bob looked afraid I was going to step on him again. ¡°Sorry, uh¡­ hello,¡± I managed. Gisele grinned at me and did a sort of excited dance, ¡°We found him! Bob, we are talking to a Titan Spawn!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fangirl,¡± Bob hissed out the corner of his mouth. He watched me while standing rigid. He was clearly afraid I might do something violent, like murder snow lions en masse. Gisele ceased her dancing. And stood rail straight, ¡°Right! Okay.¡± she turned to me. ¡°You¡¯re so cool! I mean, Hello!¡± ¡°Hi, nice to meet you,¡± I replied, glossing over the fangirl-like behavior. ¡°It is so great to meet you, I have been watching you since you got here.¡± Gisele gushed. ¡°You have been following this whole time?¡± That was more than a little weird. ¡°Yes!¡± Gisele said with a nod. Bob facepalmed. ¡°I would think you two would have better things to do,¡± I said, not filtering my thoughts from my words as well as usual. ¡°Trust me, I had other ideas,¡± Bob said, apparently doing something similar. I gazed at him impassively. ¡°Uh¡­ I mean¡­ you see¡­¡± Bob spluttered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Gisele said playfully, punching me on the arm before gesturing at Bob, ¡°He is harmless in that regard. I am the aggressor 98 percent of the time. Frankly, he is a bit too gentle. It wouldn¡¯t kill him to use his nails occasionally. Maybe some light biting.¡± She paused. ¡°Wow, that was an overshare. Sorry, your charisma is doing a number on me.¡± ¡°What now?¡± I asked, growing deeply concerned. ¡°Your Face attribute, it must be really high. I can feel it adjusting my disposition. I normally don¡¯t overshare, except with friends, and Bob¡¯s mom¡­ and with my teacher ¡­ I also was really forward with the Champion of the Fantasy Coast. It may be an issue, but I am sure something systematic is happening.¡° ¡°Can I turn it off?¡± I asked them. It may have sounded demanding. They both shrugged. ¡°If I knew a way I would tell you,¡± Bob explained, slowly soothingly. Like he was trying to calm me down. He still looked scared of me. Why was Gesele responding positively to me, but Bob was terrified? Was I putting out a killer vibe? Wouldn¡¯t that affect both of them? ¡°That''s fine,¡± I said, despite suspecting it was in fact not fine. It may in fact be bad. ¡°Cool,¡± Gisele said with a nod. ¡°Can I fight you?¡± I felt like I missed something, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°To learn,¡± Gisele said like it was obvious. ¡°I mean I am not really good at this stuff yet, I am not sure I could teach you anything.¡± I explained. They both leaned to look past me at the trail of destruction. That could be seen as evidence to the contrary, but I doubted I could teach them to do that. I sighed, ¡°Not right now. Come by Seth Cohen¡¯s place tomorrow. We will figure something out.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Gisele cheered. ¡°Let¡¯s go and help with the recovery effort,¡± Bob said. ¡°Yeah, right,¡± Gisele said as Bob pulled her away. She waved goodbye as they rounded the corner. Once they were out of ear shot, ¡°Denise, what the hell?¡± ¡°What?¡± she asked as she stepped into my field of view. I felt that slow thrum as time stopped. Errant snowflakes hung in the air and the whistling of the wind went quiet. ¡°Is my Face attribute affecting people''s minds?¡± I all but demanded. ¡°Please calm down,¡± she said, pulling her phone out of her pocket. ¡°Let me check.¡± ¡°Can you walk and talk? I have to find Angelica and Brunhilda,¡± I said, peering through the suspended snowflakes. Denise sighed, ¡°Yes¡± she pointed, ¡°Angelica is that way at the Laundromat . Brunhilda is a bit further away in a car wash.¡± We walked for a few blocks. ¡°You can¡¯t control people''s minds yet.¡± That was troubling, ¡°Not yet?¡± Denise stepped a pace further from me as we walked, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you when that could begin to happen.¡± ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you care,¡± She said flatly as she stared determinedly at her phone. ¡°I don¡¯t wish you any harm. I am sorry if my hesitation to answer Wilson put you in harm''s way.¡± Denise didn¡¯t answer for a long time. ¡°Let¡¯s just keep this professional. Do you have any other questions?¡± Fair enough, ¡°Why am I still getting attacked by snow lions?¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Denise didn¡¯t have to check her phone, ¡°Grond cursed you to have them spawn near you and home in on you. You also haven¡¯t adjusted the dungeon spawn rate, so it is still mass producing big cats.¡± ¡°How do I adjust the Dungeon settings?¡± ¡°With the core,¡± Denise explained. Seeing my next question coming she continued, ¡°You need to interface with it. Hold it in your hand and think about settings. That should bring up the Dungeon Controller and Menus.¡± I nodded. I wasn¡¯t going to mess with that just yet. That felt like something I would need supervision to mess with. ¡°How does this curse work?¡± I asked. Denise scrolled through her phone again, ¡°Okay, it causes a snow lion to appear as close as possible to you at random intervals. It still follows the standard progression of boss spawning, and is being affected by the Gore Soaked Condition. It has no expiration and it doesn¡¯t care about the city''s no-spawn rules.¡± Fuck you too, Grond. We rounded a corner and I saw the Laundromat. It was a small single floor structure. Big pane glass windows. A wall of washing machines, half of them marked with signs saying out of order. And another wall lined with dryers. Angelica sat at a table in the corner. She was staring at a small screen, and had headphones in. For some reason a bunch of stuff was piled around the door. Most of them were baskets holding food. One had a bottle that looked to be some sort of liquor. One also had flowers. Fresh flowers in a frozen wasteland. Where would someone even get something like that? I looked at the note: Thank you for closing the Gate. Dad said you saved him then. I know you¡¯ll save us this time too. I reread the note. I was beginning to think I may have underestimated the importance and clout of the people I was traveling with. I looked up from the note, ¡°Can we start time back up?¡± ¡°Yeah, it will start when you enter the laundromat. Just don¡¯t get too reliant on this. Time stops can¡¯t be used for any high stakes moments. The audience hates it.¡± and she was gone. Odd that they let me move through a time stop. Maybe it was to get me here faster. Better find out. I step inside and let the door close behind me.The wind picked up and the snow fell as time started. Oh shit. Angelica was crying. Not like a little either. This was full on ugly crying. I hesitated. Now, I wasn¡¯t big on public displays of emotion. Getting punched in the face for crying after falling down the stairs when I was young internalized in me, or I guess the titan, a specific over stoic response in general to most situations. That said, if a friend needed me, I needed to at least try and be there for them. As I approached I saw on the screen she was watching an elven woman in a hospital hooked up to a respirator. What looked to be a dwarven woman was holding the elven woman¡¯s hand. I could just barely hear the sound from the earbuds. She was humming a lullaby. Angelica noticed me. She immediately wiped her eyes, ¡°I wasn¡¯t crying.¡± She flipped the tablet face down on the table. ¡°What were you watching,¡± I asked. ¡°Porn. Hyper-specific, deeply unapproachable porn,¡± Angelica insisted. ¡°It looked like Steel Magnolias,¡± I said, deeply confused. Angelic sighed. ¡°It is¡­¡± she froze. ¡°Wait, this movie was made last year. The elves said it was an original story.¡± ¡°No, that was a movie in the world that was.¡± I said. ¡°Celeste didn¡¯t know that, how did you?¡± Angelica asked before wiping the snot running down her nose. ¡°Jo loved comedies and dramas. She would watch the film like once a year.¡± I paused. ¡°I watched it with her more than once. The relationship between M¡¯lynn and Shelby resonates with me. Plus you gotta love Dolly.¡± Angelica thought for a moment, ¡°Do you want to finish the movie?¡± ¡°Sure¡± I sat on the floor and next to the bench and table. I wasn¡¯t going to fit in there ever, and I was about the right height this way. Angelica set the table back up but before hitting play she asked, ¡°Who¡¯s Dolly?¡± ¡°Dolly Parton. She was a Musician. Never met her but she seemed like a nice lady. She set up a charity that sent books to children. She played Turvy in the original movie.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the Character Hellen Greenleaf plays,¡± Angelica thought. Seeing that meant nothing to me she continued, ¡°That is who allegedly wrote this. Apparently Elves like to ¡®write¡¯ stories that are just stuff from the world that was.¡± I shrugged. She hit play. We finished the movie. Angelica didn¡¯t cry. Not once. She was quite specific about that. ¡°No one is going to judge you for crying,¡± I said as the credits rolled. Greenleaf was listed a lot in them. Director, actress, head writer, producer. Angelica gazed at me with red puffy eyes, ¡°We both know that is at best an oversimplification. Most people say that, but don¡¯t deliver. Emotions are all well and good until they inconvenience someone. Plus, with who I am, dozens of people are just waiting for a moment of weakness¡­¡± she stopped. She hadn¡¯t meant to say that. I was curious, but she clearly didn¡¯t want to talk about that,, ¡°You said they have Star Wars movies?¡± Angelica took the out. ¡°Yeah¡­ um. I only have the Endor films. Are you interested in a horror movie?¡± ¡°Horror?¡± I asked, baffled. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Ewoks,¡± Angelica said. I thought for a moment, ¡°Ewoks were cute little bear people made for kids.¡± Angelica considered my words for a moment, ¡°Doug, what the hell was wrong with people in the past?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what has happened recently, but in the past they were adorable little furballs used mostly for comedy.¡± I explained. Angelica looked nonplused. ¡°They are violent killers. Apex predators. ¡­what did they do in the past?¡± ¡°In Return of the Jedi, they lived in the woods.¡± I stared. Angelica¡¯s eyes flashed with excitement, ¡°We will circle around to you knowing the plot to one of the lost films. Yep they live in the woods. On the forest moon. What happened then?¡± ¡°The Ewoks captured the main characters.¡± I continued before pausing. Angelica just stared at me for a moment, ¡°Who were the main characters?¡± ¡°A rebel leader, a smuggler, a Wookiee, and a Jedi Knight,¡± I stalled momentarily. ¡°They um¡­ Were going to cook and eat the main characters, until they tricked the Ewoks into believing one of the droids was a god..¡± Angelica clearly thought that sounded horror adjacent. ¡°What happened next?¡± Again I paused. I seem to have outmaneuvered myself. ¡°The Ewoks help fight the Empire, destroy a shield station, and destroy an AT-ST, and basically kill all the stormtroopers. Angelica eyed me flatly. ¡°They all had a huge party after the fight. With a bunch of the storm trooper helmets in a fire used to cremate the dead. ¡­One also used some of the helmets as drums.¡± Angelica nodded, ¡°Doug, what the hell was wrong with people in the past?¡± I shrugged, ¡°You said you had a horror movie?¡± She hit play. Okay, so the fact is the movie plot was boilerplate. People end up stuck on the forest moon. Help is a month away. The cast starts building a shelter. Then Ewoks come, and artistically murder a significant portion of the cast. The final girl, a young wookiee, eventually turned the tide and killed most of the Ewoks with an ax. Special effects have come a long way. I am not certain that they didn¡¯t just have little bear people rip a man apart. A twi''lek was also impaled on a pole and paraded around by the nightmare bears. That said, it was strangely¡­ uplifting? We are still making movies. Yeah, this one was kind of trash, but it is still art. Art means society is at least still around. Well, I guess one person alone will still try to make art, but this was distributed. That takes logistics. ¡°What do you think?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°Hated it. There was no Prime Directive and replicators are cooler than lightsabers.¡± I like Star Trek more. ¡°You are worse than Celeste,¡± Angelica declared. She tried to keep her face deadpan, but the corner of her mouth curled up. ¡°Nerd.¡± The dryer''s alarm went off. She slipped past me and walked toward it. When she opened the latched lid it vomited clothes out. The machine had been packed tighter than humanly possible. It took a good ten seconds for all the still moist clothes to erupt out of the machine. Angelica scoffed. ¡°Ugh! These things never get a load completely dry in one go.¡± She then scooped the clothes back up and pressed them back into the dryer. Metal groaned as she forced the lid closed. ¡°Must be the shoddy construction,¡± I muttered as she started the dryer again. The scream of a slipping belt slowly faded as the barrel painfully began to turn. After a mighty thud I asked, ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t overload it?¡± Angelica shrugged, ¡°Nah, all the clothes fit. It should be fine.¡± she pulled a starve-away bar out of her inventory and nibbled at it. She sort of checked out for a bit there, and stared vaguely at offerings. ¡°You alright?¡± I asked. Angelica was quiet for a long moment. Her expression shifted slightly a few times. I am pretty sure she and Celeste were having a discussion. Finally she spoke quietly, ¡°Yeah. I am fine. ¡­after the dungeon¡­ it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± she shook her head. ¡°Let¡¯s not pretend like you aren¡¯t curious about the gifts outside.¡± ¡°If you wanna talk about them we can,¡± I offered. ¡°What if I don¡¯t,¡± she asked, a bit sullenly. ¡°Then we won¡¯t,¡± I said with a shrug. She looked dubiously at me, ¡°So you just don¡¯t care?¡± ¡°No, I care, but you clearly don¡¯t want to talk about it and I care about you more,¡± I explained. Angelica¡¯s eyes flashed with light, ¡°I told you so.¡± Celeste said. Before fading back. ¡°Oh good she is back to doing that,¡± Angelica muttered rising to the surface. ¡°So what¡¯s up Doug?¡± ¡°I was going to ask Celeste a favor, but now that you mention it I do have some questions,¡± I admitted. Angelica clearly was mentally telling Celeste, ¡®I told YOU so.¡¯ ¡°What you got?¡± ¡°How does food work?¡± Chapter 41: What Is Actually Happening Angelica was doubled over laughing at me. This had been going on for a while. The issue is she would wear herself down as she ran out of breath. Then she would look at me and burst out laughing again. The most recent cycle seemed to be the last. She forced herself to stop, and straightened up, ¡°You killed a god,¡± she managed before bursting into laughter. ¡°And¡­ you¡­ you don¡¯t¡­ food!¡± The rest was unintelligible. Strangely, this wasn¡¯t all that annoying. It was nice to see her smile again. That said, I couldn¡¯t just stand here all night, ¡°Okay, Let¡¯s try a different topic. What are we doing out here?¡± Angelica was eventually able to quit giggling and straighten up, ¡°We are heading to the Spire to kill the Demon of Frost.¡± I nodded before pressing, ¡°Why are we doing that?¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Angelica said, realizing I was new here. She thought for a minute. ¡°Alright, let''s go back to a foundational point.¡± she started pacing as she spoke. ¡°When the system first appeared a very small portion of the population was offered options other than human. An even smaller amount was offered Angel or Demon as an option. Almost no one presented with those options knew what they were getting into, but some people took it.¡± Angelica stopped walking back and forth, ¡°This next bit is important. Both the Angel and the Demon race options come with several significant perks and drawbacks. The main perk is that permanently killing either is extremely difficult for most people. If someone gets lucky but doesn¡¯t meet the requirements, the Angel or Demon player is just sent back to ¡®Heaven¡¯ or ¡®Hell¡¯ with a cooldown to respawn.¡± She put some serious quotes on Heaven and Hell. if this is connected to the system that is probably wise. ¡°Here is the down side. Both are heavily compelled to play to type. If they don¡¯t, they suffer terribly. Angels are compelled to protect, guide, and sacrifice themselves for others. That may not sound bad but it is indiscriminate and unsustainable¡­ for most anyways. It is common for them to end up burnt out and bitter.¡± She sighed. ¡°Then there are the Demons. They are compelled to undermine, corrupt and harm others. So they end up either suffering or making others suffer.¡± That sounded awful. ¡°So they are victims?¡± Angelica made a face. She was less than comfortable, ¡°Yes and no. Like I said, most were tricked when they took the option at the start. Quite a few people have taken it since. They knew what they signed up for. Even the originals have crossed lines that take them from victim to villain. In the early days Demons built strongholds, captured others and made them slaves, and used them to build Spires. Then they used the Spire to corrupt the world.¡± That didn¡¯t sound good. ¡°So they made the world like this?¡± Angelica shook her head, ¡°Nah. The demon¡¯s got their shit rocked. Turns out most people even in the midst of monsters starting to appear weren¡¯t interested in letting that slide. The Angels helped coordinate the efforts. Military groups launched strikes, the few heroic scale folks around at the beginning organized teams and went demon hunting. The God of Hope freed¡­ so many people. Even Nadia All-Death helped shatter Spires and close gates to Hell. Three years after the system took hold the Demons were pushed to the brink of annihilation.¡± ¡°I am glad we fixed that,¡± I quipped. Angelica gave me a rueful smile, ¡°Yeah, the world dropped the ball. The Demons changed tactics. They are for the most part manipulators and infiltrators. Demons can alter their appearance or even possess the body of others. Demons can even form pacts similar to what Titan Spawn can. It didn¡¯t take long and most kingdoms¡­ countries I mean. Started claiming they had eradicated demons within their borders, but worried about demons in other places.¡± ¡°Ah shit,¡± I muttered. I had flashbacks of all the stupid ¡°us vs them¡± infighting that kept happening before the system. Hell, I literally saw people get into fistfights over sports teams back in the day. For the most part I was pretty sure that was dumb tribal mentality undermining people trying to live the best they could. That said, someone with power trying to exploit that¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of me,¡± Angelica instructed. ¡°A bunch of other things were happening at the same time. Old societal norms crumbled as people with extreme power, Divine Scale players, began to openly exert authority. The rise of both the Giants and their cloud cities and the Dragons and their ocean kingdoms hampered travel by air and sea. The rate of monsters spawning increased as dungeons appeared. Vampires took over Australia. Huge chunks of the world devolved into regional wars as the global supply chains broke and resources became scarce. Then some crazy motherfucker launched the nukes.¡± ¡°What?¡± I was horrified. Everyone has seen the videos of a mushroom cloud. Until that point though I hadn¡¯t really thought about one actually being launched. ¡°How many?¡± The image of atomic fire devouring a city flashed before my eyes. Angelica''s answer was meant to be soothing, ¡°Technically all of them. Just wait! It actually wasn¡¯t that bad!¡± She started talking faster, ¡°Zach, Celeste, plus the Gods of Science, Hope, and Justice were able to stop almost all the bombs. Nadia, the beings that would become the Elven gods, along with the first dark spawn were able to restrain Debbie, the Goddess of Death. A bunch of other people were doing stuff too but the death toll was almost nothing¡­ or at least way less than it should have been.¡± ¡°The big thing though is that it kicked off another series of wars that went on for decades.¡± Angelica paused for a moment, head tilted slightly and clearly listening to Celeste, ¡°Technically, that is what started the European conflict that just never stopped. Anyways, fast forward to eighteen years ago. We found a Hellgate in the Fantasy coast, close to the Shattered Mountain. The Demons, upon being found out, launched a full invasion. Thousands of demons charged the surrounding area. Yeah most of them were imps, but since the gate was open anything that wasn¡¯t holy wouldn¡¯t permanently kill them. They would almost instantly respawn at the gate.¡± Angelica walked away from the dryer and sat back down on the bench, ¡°I was there for that. Celeste was able to close the gate. Which was good because Zach and the gods had to repel an invasion from the Technacoast. Upon finding out we had an open gate they declared war. To close the gate only, of course.¡± That last bit had some venom to it. I didn¡¯t want to loom over her, so I sat down on the floor again, ¡°Then what happened?¡± ¡°We spent another ten years hunting demons, and having on-again-off-again conflicts with the Technacoast. We found evidence that Demons were within the Technacoast. There was even evidence of a second gate somewhere in North America. We couldn¡¯t find one anywhere in the Fantasy Coast. Aella insisted it wasn¡¯t in her lands... Celeste believes her. So that left the Technacoast.¡± Angelica sighed and sagged in her seat, ¡°We got in pretty easy. The place is one massive city. If you stick to the lower levels and just keep your head down no one notices. We scoured the undercity for years and couldn''t find anything. No gate. No demons. Then we went to the upper city. Eventually we were found by Herschal. I won. He died. Still no gate.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I went back to the Fantasy Coast. Getting desperate, I even consulted an Oracle. They pointed me to the Goblin Wastes.¡± She thought for a moment. ¡°The line was ¡®You will find your destiny at the Black Spire in the ice of the Goblin Wastes. It rests above ancient horrors dark and terrible. Hunt the Demon of Frost and you will find what you seek¡¯.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°That seems vague and ominous,¡± I said eventually. ¡°Oracle,¡± Angelica agreed. ¡°So the Oracle found this new demon hiding out here?¡± I asked. ¡°Wait, why wouldn¡¯t an army get sent after something like this?¡± Angelica looked deeply uncomfortable. ¡°So, the Demon of Frost has basically been out here for two hundred years give or take a few decades.¡± She saw my question coming and continued. ¡°He made a deal with Nadia, Zach, and Aella, and apparently some of the gods also. He set up his stronghold way out here away from everyone else and serves as a buffer between North America and the majority of the portals that connect to Europe so none of that violence happening over there spills into here. He also helped keep the Mob population down. He sort of acts as a gate to further discourage anyone that would try to approach Nadia as well.¡± I facepalmed. ¡°That¡­ just wow. Wait, where were the Angels during all of this?¡± ¡°They have been spending the entire time trying to stop the world from exploding. It sounds like a lot of them are burnt out and withdrawn. After the God of Hope died they also adopted a more cell-based structure. Celeste once told me they had difficulties connecting to the world. She is the only Angel I have ever met, but apparently the Demon of Frost was just always the lesser of evil and was ignored.¡± That made a bit too much sense. I didn¡¯t like it but it made sense. A hard to solve but relatively small problem will last indefinitely longer than any massive but untenable issue. We cured smallpox, but the common cold is with us probably till the end. ¡­I think. I made a mental note to follow up on how diseases worked. Need to focus on the issue here and now. ¡°So we are likely heading into a fight with this demon, and the Gate is going to have him and a big chunk of buddies infinitely respawning.¡± Angelica thought through it for a bit, ¡°The goals are in order of importance: find and close any gates to Hell, Kill the Demon of Frost, free any prisoners of value to the Fantasy Coast, and acquire any items or information of value and return them.¡± I considered that, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we have Brand with us then. I think if we ask her, Brunhilda will help. It sounds like some of the people here have an axe to grind against the Demon of Frost too. Maybe they could¡­¡± ¡°No,¡± Angelica cut. She had that absolute tone in voice, and her expression had gone stony as well. ¡°What?¡± I managed. ¡°I am not going to let a crowd of people get pulled into this. I am still not sure I am going to allow Brand or Brunhilda to join my quest.¡± She paused for a long moment, ¡°I am not certain you should come either.¡± Oh¡­ oh no. Huh. That¡­ that hit harder than losing twenty hitpoints. My ears were ringing. When did my mouth get dry? Thinking on it now, it was dumb. Angelica and I were just traveling together because Wilson had literally tossed us together. Had anything positive actually happened since we met? We almost died fighting cats. Adora roofied us and nearly had her way. Then we murdered a tortured woman. After that we were imprisoned in a dungeon. We killed another lady and almost got killed by a lunatic. I felt the faint phantom sensation of needles when the Titan took control. Am I actually a person? Two hundred and eighty fucking years. ¡®What about you, Sport? Having fun yet?¡¯
Willpower check¡­ Successful! Emotional state remains in control Skill Successful without roll. Checking for breakthrough¡­ Willpower Breaks through to the Master Level! New Achievement: Master of One Okay normally this achievement is for cool things like a Swordsmanship Skill or Sniping. Hell, I could understand something less cool like Craft: Spaceship or Art: War. Those could be kinda badass. You, though¡­ what the shit? Willpower? You get the skill that allows you to be more consistently less fun. ¡­okay. Reward: I don¡¯t want to give you this but there are rules. 2500 XP 7,237 experience to next level
I snapped back to reality. I hadn¡¯t been breathing. ¡°Doug are you alright?¡± Angelica asked. Nope. I was not. I exhaled, ¡°I assumed we would continue to travel together.¡± Oh good I am talking overly formal. Angelica mulled that over, ¡°I really want you to understand that you have a choice. It is easy to feel like you don¡¯t. You don¡¯t have to do this.¡± That wasn¡¯t as bad. Wait. ¡°What does Celeste think about us splitting up?¡± ¡°I think you should stay with us,¡± Celeste said, her eyes flashing with the light. ¡°Why did we even talk though this beforehand?¡± Angelica demanded. She paused for a moment, ¡°Yes I know he asked you directly¡­ I know¡­ I just wish you would let me handle this¡­ I don¡¯t like arguing with you in front of people. It sounds like I am talking to myself.¡± Celetes flashed to the surface, ¡°I can speak out loud if that helps.¡± ¡°No, it makes us sound crazier,¡± Angelica said, shaking her head. ¡°You don¡¯t want me to go to the Spire with you. Do you?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Angelica admitted. ¡°Can I ask why?¡± Angelica stood and walked to the dryer. ¡°Okay. It isn¡¯t that I don¡¯t like you or you did something. I just worry that what we are heading towards¡­ is too much for you. I don¡¯t think you are ready.¡± I considered that. ¡°I would like to ask Celeste a question.¡± ¡®Go ahead,¡± Angelica replied instantly. ¡°Why do you want me to stay?¡± I pressed. Celeste¡¯s eyes glowed, ¡°I think you are a great help to us.¡± I honestly was a bit dubious of that, ¡°How?¡± The Angel paused for a long moment. She had to think before she spoke, ¡°I am not going to lie. We could have handled the Wendigo. It likely would have run away, rather than releasing the victim it held. Also if you were not with us we likely wouldn¡¯t have been put in the dungeon either. If we had though, I suspect only Angelica and I would have made it out. Grond probably would not have stepped in either.¡± ¡°None of that sounds like help,¡± I pressed. ¡°That wasn¡¯t,¡± Celeste admitted. ¡°Without you though, Angelica and I would probably have wandered the wastes alone. We would not have found the Journal with the proof of life of prisoners, nor whatever other information Brand can learn from it. It is possible Brand could have survived the dungeon and Brunhilda may have rescued him. We did, though, because we were with you. And if Angelica and I were not traveling with you that village and all the people in it would have been left behind in the cold. I think you are a good influence on both of us.¡± Something didn¡¯t feel quite right, ¡°You are holding something back.¡± Celeste sighed, ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Could you not?¡± I asked. For a long time I thought she wasn¡¯t going to answer. I saw some sort of discussion happen between her and Angelica. Finally she said, ¡°I believe I have a responsibility to the world to supervise you. Every Titan Spawn before you has grown into a monster.¡± That sounded reasonable. It was even probably true, but I could tell it wasn¡¯t the whole truth. Celeste had made it a point to be kind and approachable. She had been open and honest. She had honestly tried to be a friend. What she just said technically still aligned with those actions but implied a formality and distance that clashed with what she had said about me helping. I could be wrong, but really did believe that Celeste was someone that just chose to be honest. She would only obfuscate to protect someone. Considering what she just said was kinda hurtful to me, that meant she was most likely protecting Angelica. She saw me have this realization and frowned. Whatever it was, I wasn¡¯t concerned. I trusted Celeste and I trusted Angelica. ¡°Given that this is a major decision with consequences, I think we should all take some time to think it through.¡± I took another deep breath, ¡°If we can¡¯t all agree to travel together then we shouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Well wait a minute,¡± Angelica said, stepping back into the conversation. ¡°I am not kicking you out of the group. I figured you would stay here. I handle the Demon of Frost, and then come back and we¡­¡± She shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take the time we have to think,¡± I said again. ¡°Once the Spire issue is resolved, and if you and Celeste are willing, I would appreciate your help finding Kate.¡± ¡°I would like that,¡± Angelica said. Chapter 42: Random Acts of Property Damage After the second time through the dryer Angelica¡¯s clothes were dry enough. Which was good because it ¡®finished¡¯ its cycle by rupturing and splitting in half. I got my boxers back. There was a brief discussion about doing another armor rotation, but we hadn¡¯t worked out the specifics and eventually shrugged it off. Angelica and I reached the carwash and found Brunhilda sitting there alone in a small office. She sat at the desk in the warm golden light of a lantern, making notes on two columns. ¡°What are you doing there, drinking buddy?¡± I asked. ¡°Making a pros and cons list of staying to help the goblins,¡± she answered, not looking up from the list. ¡°What do you have in the ¡®pro¡¯ column?¡± I asked, stepping further into the room. ¡°I have ¡®I owe them¡¯, ¡®They need help¡¯, ¡®If I don¡¯t I will never forgive myself¡¯,¡± she ticked off the points. Her tone was calm, but it was that forced calm people get when they are about one step away from breaking down. ¡°Those are solid reasons¡­ what¡¯s in the ¡®con¡¯ list?¡± ¡°They hate me. I would have to abandon my family, the Shattered Mountain, and the Fantasy Coast to stay. I cannot communicate with them.¡± She closed the book. ¡°There are dozens of other entries, but they all basically fall under those points.¡± I sat next to her and pulled the Titan Brew out of my inventory. I was more than a little worried: until now Brunhilda had been fairly upbeat and jovial. She gave off an almost invincible aura. This down and dejected tone¡­ well, not to overstate things, but it felt like a red flag. She probably needed a friend about now. She shook her head when I moved to set it down next to her list. ¡°No. Take that away.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know,¡± I said, pulling the cup back into my inventory. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make it better,¡± she said, crushing my dissent instantly. ¡°Some of them were kids, Doug. I don''t mind killing someone in a fair fight, or if I think they are about to start a fair fight, but some lines you don¡¯t cross. I have done it, killed them at least a dozen times. The result trumps the intention.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true too,¡± I acknowledged. While I didn¡¯t fully understand the mechanics of the system, I was pretty sure I could help. ¡°I think if you make a pact with me you can talk to them.¡± ¡°You¡¯d help me with this?¡± she asked, turning to look me in the eye. ¡°You saved my friends. Besides, what are drinking buddies for?¡± She snorted and punched my shoulder. She was clearly trying to be playful but it still packed a hell of a wallop. ¡°What else are you here for?¡± ¡°I was hoping you might be able to help me with the Gore-Soaked condition.¡± I explained. My thinking being that if the mess was Titanic Scale, her being a Demigod might be enough to succeed where others had failed. It wasn''t a glorious quest. Hell, it was a dirty job, and this mixed metaphor had gotten away from me¡­ She sized me up, and after a moment gave me a look that more or less said ¡®hear me out¡¯ before speaking. ¡°I have an idea, but you aren¡¯t going to like it.¡± Brunhilda was right. I hated this idea. She had led Angelica, Celeste, and I to one of the bays of the car wash. She had fiddled with some of the pipes and the valves and had the main wand of the powerwasher cranked. ¡°I have concerns,¡± I called over the dull roar of the water. ¡°Don¡¯t, it''s running well over 1,300 psi. The extreme force will scrape that shit right off ya.¡± She called back. ¡°What if it just rips my skin off?¡± I asked, deeply concerned. I was extremely attached to my skin, you see. ¡°You¡¯ll heal?¡± Brunhilda said with a shrug. ¡°Now get naked.¡± ¡°It is way too cold for the amount of casual nudity we keep dealing with.¡± Angelica said. Her words had that tone of an adult that realized inorder to resolve the current situation they were going to have to do something immature. ¡°What? This would be appropriate if it was warm out?¡± I asked, stalling for more time before I got the hose. That said, the cold was one more reason to not hang dong. ¡°Is me being naked really necessary?¡± ¡°For the sake of fun, yes,¡± Brunhilda insisted. ¡°Please take this seriously,¡± I responded flatly. Brunhilda sighed. ¡°Yes. Clothing applies a fifty percent penalty to any attempt to remove any condition related to cleanliness. So yes, it helps if you are naked. Please take your clothes off. Just¡­ do it slowly. Maybe dance a bit as you do.¡± I turned to Angelica for confirmation. ¡°Dancing wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡± she confirmed. She cracked immediately at her own joke, ¡°Sorry. Sorry. Yeah. You are going to have to be naked.¡± Fine then. Six minutes later Bruhilda had me in a headlock. ¡°Quit wiggling!¡± she yelled at me. ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± I snarled as I both kicked and bit Brunhilda. Angelica was running the power washer and it was taking my skin off. The whole thing was pretty awful in an expectedly gory way. The water wouldn¡¯t just abrade the skin and muscle. Sometimes the water would blast under my skin and lift whole patches off. Needless to say it hurt in ways that necessitated cussing. Most of all because it wasn¡¯t taking the damned layer of Vitae off me. It and my skin would simply bubble back back into place. Brunhilda being my friend, was helping me by not letting me back out of this. After the first spritz from the power washer I had asked her to hold me in place. So she was, while also trying to rub undiluted cleaning agent into the mix. It burned because it was caustic. Thing is, even with all of that the condition didn¡¯t budge. Now this may seem intense, and given my resistance to this you would think my friend would stop. Under most circumstances I am sure they would have, but I being a moron had asked them to try for ten minutes before stopping. Since the cleaning check occurred every few seconds we could try and fish for a crit to succeed. That didn¡¯t happen. After ten minutes and me losing two fist fights with Brunhilda, Angelica spoke up. ¡°Celeste has an idea¡­ butit is a bit out there. You wanna try?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I shrieked. I figured literally anything would be better than this! ¡°Purifying Light!¡± Celeste roared. Her voice echoed with a depth beyond mortal reckoning. It was in that moment, I realized I had done goofed.
Attack From Celeste Successful You have been judged neutral, damage will not be multiplied. You take 135 points of damage You have been damaged by your Bane (Light) You have the Baneridden Condition. Perks and Traits suppressed. HP: 285/420 Titanic Regeneration paused due to Baneridden Condition
Ouch. The feeling of concentrated light smiting me was phenomenally painful. The existential sensation of having the light make a moral judgment about me was dread-adjacent. The damage it did was a sort of burning microwave-like sensation that caused flesh to blister, hair to burn, and my teeth to crack. That last one may have been from clenching my jaw. It also caused an explosion that leveled the car wash. ¡°Did it work?¡± Brunhilda called from somewhere in the rubble. I checked my status. Still Gore Soaked. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Well, fuck it then. We tried.¡± She said, digging out of the debris. ¡°Don¡¯t worry buddy, I am coming to get you.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Baneridden Condition You have been struck by an attack that is from an opposed element. That was a bad idea. You see, your opposed element is bad for you. It causes all sorts of problems for you. All defensive perks and traits are negated for one hour. You also will not be able to use any ability requiring MP or related to Dark Magic.
That was ominous. Then reality set in. it technically wasn¡¯t all that long ago when I was level one and didn¡¯t have regeneration. But I grew used to having pain fade quickly. This was fairly substantial pain, and it was apparently going to stick around. The white noise static of my nerves singing in agony was back also. Note to self: think. Just in general. But also before taking damage specifically. I needed to get up. But there was a fairly significant amount of rock on me. Maybe that Destruction Skill could help.
Destruction Check Successful
Suddenly all the stone, wood and metal on top of me was just sand. While that did nothing to reduce the weight on me it was a lot easier to just¡­ No, wait, it was literally just as hard to move and get out, since that denied me the possibility of ever getting leverage. Brunhilda and Angelica had to dig me out. After a quick relocation to a donut shop on the north edge of town, we took stock. There were no donuts, but the place looked like there could be donuts later. I may need to come back. ¡°We got to quit breaking shit,¡± I said as the stool I sat on collapsed under my weight. ¡°Yeah, in like four days we should quit breaking stuff,¡± Angelica agreed. ¡°What happens in four days?¡± I asked. Angelica looked at me with some small amount of disappointment. ¡°Your Gore Soaked condition becomes the Blood for the Blood God condition and all the mobs come running.¡± ¡°Oh, honestly that works out a bit too well,¡± Brunhilda said, frowning. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Angelica and I asked. ¡°You are in an area that makes it impossible for mobs to kill you, and surrounded by a bunch of followers of Lola. That turns this Blood for the Blood God condition from a borderline death sentence into a prime opportunity to grind without risk for everyone in this city. It would be a huge boon for this place. The achievements alone will probably give most people two or three levels.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why Lola wanted me to stay,¡± I realized. ¡°She is using this as an opportunity to increase the strength of her followers.¡± I shrugged. The phrase ¡®borderline death sentence¡¯ stuck in my head. Then I remembered the mother with the baby. How many kids were here? ¡°There is more to it,¡± Angelica said. ¡°The mobs are a major hindrance to Lola getting more followers in and out of this place. Having all of them from the dungeon breaks funneled here to be slaughtered would clear the way for her people, and set Grond back.¡± ¡°Are we admiring the tactical masterstroke, or annoyed at the manipulation?¡± I asked. Brunhilda just sighed, ¡°For the most part, when dealing with a god, they know something you don¡¯t and will use that to get something from you.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Angelica agreed, looking very tired. I shrugged again and a significant portion of my shoulder sloughed off, ¡°Ugh, the only thing to do then is prepare as best we can.¡± We all nodded at each other. ¡°None of us have a plan do we?¡± ¡°Nope,¡±Brunhilda said, unbothered by the lack of plan, or by my apparent shedding problem. She was still mulling something else over. ¡°No Idea,¡± Angelica admitted. ¡°Is there anything else we need to talk about?¡± I demanded. She wasn¡¯t bitter at my claim at all. ¡°Brunhilda, Star Wars or Star Trek?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°Stargate,¡± My drinking buddy answered. We went our separate ways. Angelica was going to talk with Sunit about the impending doomlike event. Brunhilda was going to figure out a way to fortify the defenses and possibly create a bastion for noncombatants. I was heading to rescue Brand from the amorous attentions of attractive people who knew how to have fun. Equal jobs. All of us were equally serious in our actions. I found Brand and Spine on the roof of Janie¡¯s gun shop. ¡°What are you guys doing up there?¡± I asked. ¡°Part way through playing Elder Sign we realized that Mr. Spindle-Bite here was creating an English to Goblin translation dictionary. This ate time rather well.¡± Brand explained. ¡°Okay, But what are you guys doing up there?¡± I asked again. ¡°Eventually the novelty of linguistics waned and sleeping arrangements were planned. This created a complication. You see, Lily has a birthday coming up, and,¡± he looked to Spine before continuing, ¡®can be very quiet.¡± ¡°Just so everyone is clear, I know what sex is,¡± Spine said, clearly annoyed. ¡°Okay, but what are you guys doing up there?¡± I pressed. ¡°I explained that Mr. Spindle-Bite needed to be tucked in and read a story in order to sleep.¡± Brand continued. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe they bought that lie,¡± Spine said. ¡°I am clearly an adult.¡± His voice cracked at the last bit. ¡°You just aren¡¯t going to tell me how you got up there are you?¡± I said.¡± ¡°There was a ladder. The door shut behind us. I worry trying to jump off could hurt Spine and violate the terms of your pact,¡± Brand said. ¡°I¡¯ll get you down,¡± I said, doing my best not to sound judgmental while pulling the tools out of my inventory.
Construction Check Successful
The snow and ice basically molded to my will and coalesced into a mound before packing themselves into a series of steps leading up to the roof, or down to the ground depending on perspective, I guess. Brand and Spine hopped down and met me on the ground.
Destruction Check Successful
And with a thought the stairs became a drift of loose snow that the wind began to push it down and carrying the ice away. This needed to be explored more. That said time and place. Escape the farce first. Learn how to alter the physical world on a whim later. Those are good priorities. We, being three brave men, then snuck away into the early morning. I followed behind Brand to help screen him from view, ¡°So what was this about a book translating things?¡± ¡°If I listen carefully, I can hear the actual words being said, but I also hear the meaning as well. So I have been creating a dictionary. Since we normally can¡¯t talk to each other, maybe this could help.¡± Spine showed me the book. He opened it to a random page. This was one of the rare times one of my abilities worked against me. I saw things like: Snow = Snow Wind = Wind Shithead = Shithead Craft = Craft ¡°Really? That is¡­ a great idea,¡± I looked to Brand, ¡°Why didn¡¯t we have that idea?¡± Brand sighed, ¡°It just never occurred to me. I suspect you simply do not consider language a barrier. Either way, Mr. Spindle-Bite¡¯s dictionary is currently eclectic but it has helped me gain some small proficiency in reading Goblin text. I am not certain, but I am unable to hear his words as anything other than English. Perhaps the trait is doing that.¡± ¡°Will this get people talking to each other?¡± I asked. Both Brand and Spine looked a bit doubtful. Finally Spine spoke and he sounded young when he said, ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot right?¡±
Blend In Check Partially Successful Move Silently Check Partially Successful Blend In is now Trained Level Move Silently is now at Trained Level
Those partial success prompts kept popping up as we walked through the city. Apparently that is how the system tells you some people can¡¯t detect you while others can. Or maybe it had something to do with me not actually trying to hide from Brand and Spine as we traveled back across the village. Given that in the space of an evening I had splattered cats across several homes, destroyed a carwash, technically vandalized a donut shop, and disrupted the amorous actions of gun owners, I decided discretion was better than dealing with the consequences of my choices. Apparently you get more experience for sneaking around more people¡­ I think. Either way I was glad to be able to just fade into the snow. I may need to be a better neighbor. Eventually we got back to the windward side of town. The prompts came fewer and further between as I kept sneaking while Brand and Spine played Polyglots. The book was getting full. We should probably hurry back to Seth¡¯s¡­
You have unlocked the Elevated Martial Art: Path of the Snow Lion. The first step on the path is From the Snow. You may move at any speed through snowy environments without penalty to stealth related skills. Note 1: this martial art is lower scale that your current martial art Note 2: this martial art is not compatible with current martial art. You will need to switch to this to use. Switching between martial arts is a free action once per minute. Switch martial arts? Yes/No
I selected no. I then worked to bring up the menu for my martial arts and saw
Current Martial Art: Unrelenting Glacier (Cosmic Marital Art) Available Martial Arts: Unrelenting Glacier Path of the Snow Lion
Huh that was another option. Can¡¯t wait to underutilize it. We reached Seth¡¯s place as the sun was just beginning to rise. I knocked. The door immediately popped open. Seth gazed up at me, ¡°Get in!¡± he instructed, I let Spine and Brand in before me, since I had to do the crab walk shimmy to get through the little door. ¡°So I unlocked an Elevated Martial Art¡± Seth paused, ¡°What did you unlock?¡± ¡°Path of the Snow Lion. The fist level lets me Sneak through Snowy environments at any speed without penalty.¡± I explained. ¡°You and your hipster fighting styles,¡± Seth muttered, before continuing, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about that, it will be less powerful in general compared to you Cosmic martial art. We are going to want to focus on unlocking as many options as possible for that.¡± ¡°I unlocked another step of that as well. Flowing Strikes, it lets me dodge and counter attack like Crushing Defense does.¡± I admitted sheepishly. ¡°Let me guess, you also mastered several skills overnight too?¡± Seth sounded -and now looked- exasperated. ¡°Just one. Willpower,¡± I corrected, mentally on autopilot at this point ¡°Anything else you did last night you want to tell me about?¡± my teacher asked. ¡°There may be some rumors about me blowing up a carwash, or slaughtering snow lions and stringing their innards around a residential neighborhood.¡± I replied. ¡°Meh,¡± Seth said. ¡°The carwash was abandoned, and mob bodies are a resource. I was afraid you might have done something silly like accepted a challenge for a duel or something.¡± ¡°Hey Doug! Are you ready to fight? Gisele called from outside. Chapter 43: Fist Fighting Teenagers… with Attitude Seth eyed me with a glare. It bordered on baleful. ¡°Do you understand why I am angry?¡± ¡°No,¡± I admitted. I have little to no idea what I am doing at the best of times anymore. A vein bulged on Seth¡¯s forehead. He took a deep breath, ¡°I had hoped to avoid distractions.¡± ¡°Oops?¡± I managed. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Seth said calming himself, ¡°We will deal with that-¡± he waved at the door, ¡°-and then get back to my planned training.¡± I nodded, ¡°Sounds good. What was your plan?¡± ¡°I arranged for a few others to spar with you and help you work out possible means to unlock more stages of your martial art.¡± ¡°Oh, then this is just on more one the pile,¡± I said. I turned toward the door. Seth stopped me, ¡°Is that guy over there single?¡± He pitched his voice low and just slightly nodded to indicate my British friend. ¡°I am pretty sure you would have to fight Janie and her gunsmiths to get to him,¡± I owed Brand a little interference. I could see gears turning in Seth¡¯s head, ¡°Eh, probably not worth it. ¡­Sorry for the awkward question. I have been a bit lonely since my husband died.¡±
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains in control
The skill roll wasn¡¯t surprising. The fact that the one guy chosen by the Goddess of War in this specific place just so happened to be a widower like me - like the Titan - No! Like me. I may not be the Titan, but I lost Marnie as much as anyone. Either way this felt staged. Like a fictional story. Was it Lola¡¯s work? Did Wilson do this? Did some other Narrator literally rewrite history to put Seth and I in the same room? That wasn¡¯t the important bit right this second, ¡°I am truly sorry for your loss.¡± I almost put a hand on his shoulder, but it felt a bit too forward. Plus my hands are tremendous and it would probably come across more oppressive than compassionate.
Expression check¡­ Successful
Seth nodded, a weak smile on his face. He understood that I was sympathetic and had an understanding of what it is like to lose a loved one. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have made peace with it. I mean, I was the one who had to kill him.¡±
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains in control Note: Repeated rolls will increase the difficulty.
¡°Oh,¡± I managed. This was definitely Narrator fuckery. My thumb touched the nail on my pinkie finger. Don¡¯t let them see this bothered me. I just watched Seth impassively. Seth seemed to realize what he said, ¡°There is more to it than that!¡± ¡°Doug! Are you there!¡± Gisele called. ¡°Yeah. Two minutes!¡± I called back. I focused on Seth again. ¡°Let¡¯s not let this fester pointlessly. Yes or no, did you have a good reason?¡± Seth paled before he answered, ¡°Yes. He did terrible things people for the war against the Fantasy Coast.¡±
Perception check¡­ Successful Seth is telling the truth.
¡°I believe you. After this fist fight stuff, I think we should talk through this more. That okay with you?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± Seth agreed, clearly not wanting to discuss this further right now. Brand and Spine clearly saw something had happened between Seth and me. I gave them a thumbs up, and moved toward the door. I opened it and did the usual duck-and-shuffle out. As I stood I saw Gisele was not alone. Bob was with her. So were three more friends. Well, I am assuming they are friends. Otherwise why would they dress so similar? The first new person was a short lady with a cautious look on her face, and red hat and gloves. The next was a tall young man with a scraggly beard and mustache and yellow hat and gloves. He also looked like this was a bad idea. The last was a skinny lady with long black hair and a blue hat and gloves. She was giving me a strange look. There was a mixture of disgust and horror, and for some reason she was blushing. ¡°Hey Doug! ¡­woah you look like someone boiled you.¡± Gisele said. After a moment she poked my neck. I was surprised and didn¡¯t react, until something burst and gouted blood. ¡°Oh God!¡± Gisele screamed. Her friends screamed. Spine pointed and laughed.
Baneridden condition has expired. Titanic Regeneration plus 38 Hit points HP: 374/480
¡°It¡¯s fine. I will heal.¡± The torrent of blood from neck slowed sputtered to a stop, ¡°See¡± ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Valorie, the short girl with the red hat demanded. ¡°Blood,¡± I said with a dismissive wave. ¡°So you are ready to fight?¡± Gisele asked. She clearly wanted me to say yes but was doubtful I would. ¡°I mean, not this second I would like to establish some rules and probably have a 1, 2, 3, go.¡± I said. The newly grown skin pushed a big scab off my head. It crumbled into dust on the wind. I smiled and gave Gisele a thumbs up. ¡°Okay, I am going to take charge here. Each of you gets one round fighting Doug. This is NOT a duel. It will not be a duel! Everyone will respect tap outs. If you want to stop, say ¡®I give!¡¯ Also, if I say stop, you stop.¡± Everyone but me nodded like that was all really basic and how things should be. Not wanting to be left out, I nodded right along. ¡°I call first!¡± Gisele yelled. ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± I agreed ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Seth muttered, he shivered, ¡°I¡¯m freezing my tits off. I need my coat out here.¡± he marched toward the door and stopped, ¡° 1, 2, 3 Go!¡±
Gisele attack blocked x3
Gisele didn¡¯t need to be told twice. First she aimed a quick jab at my center mass. I swatted it away with my left hand. She turned that into an uppercut, but I caught that with my right hand. Grinning like a mad woman she then tried to sweep my leg. Her shine collided with my knee with hammer force. She all but instantly juked back to avoid whatever counter-attack I had planned. Which would have been smart if I had planned a counter-attack at all. I was more than a bit distracted. Gisele¡¯s attacks were well aimed and executed almost perfectly. Trouble was I felt a systematic force slowing the strike, dampening her strength and giving me more time to react. Gisele saw the contemplative look on my face and the mad grin faded. ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. Still puzzling through this, ¡°Could I do something that could be considered rude before attacking?¡± ¡°Go nuts, I''m not shy,¡± She said. She changed her stance slightly, bracing for an attack.
Analyze check¡­ Successful
Name: Gisele Carvalho
Race: Human (Marked by Power)
Class: Master Martial Artist
Level: 23
HP: 58
Power: 7
Mobility: If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. 7
Body: 6
Mind: 4
Face: 4
Magic: 4
Boon: Pink Energy Coin The chosen bearer of the mystic trooper coin. Allows access to the mystic trooper equipment and locations. Trait: Ideal Bone Structure This perk allows for increased ability to learn martial arts. For the sake of mastering martial arts the bearer of this trait is treated at one level of scale higher. Perks: Battle Joy Some people just like fighting. The bearer of this perk can add the highest of Body, Mobility, or Power to all Mind and Face base rolls to resist mental effects while in combat. Also you get to have fun and feel good while fighting. Cold Weather Acclimated Unlock survival skills related to cold weather environments. Also gain one level of scale to resisting cold. Disposition: Gisele thinks you are really cool, and kinda hot. Normally she isn¡¯t into overly burly guys, but you pull it off. She is also overjoyed at getting to spar with what she sees as the peak of combat power.
Yep, that was the issue. Gisele was pretty high level¡­ I think. That said her attributes were simply too low. The way the system worked she just could not roll higher than I could unless I critically failed. The fact this skill also offered insight into people¡¯s thoughts and mood was still invasive. Wait! Why was she attracted to me if I wasn¡¯t her type? Ah shit, that stupid achievement from Adora. I needed to get that sorted out sooner rather than later. ¡°Okay, I know I said I am not shy, but that may have found the limit.¡± Gisele said, wide-eyed. ¡°My bad, wanna try punching me in the head? See if that makes you feel better?¡± I offered. The look of fear changed to realization, ¡°It would. Don¡¯t hold back!¡± I planned to hold back. She charged. First she tried a quick one-two punch and kick. I blocked both. Then she bobbed down and struck out with a rising uppercut. I dodged that. Her attack flowed into a spin kick. I caught her leg, and without thinking flung her away. Oops, I hadn¡¯t looked where I was aiming. It was right at the wall. I flinched, waiting for the crunch. It didn¡¯t come. Gisele did some sort of hyper-bendy midair flip and landed feet first on the wall of Seth¡¯s shed. She then immediately sprang back at me with a heavy kick aimed at my head. That was surprising. Not enough to stop me from blocking her, but close. Kinda. My hand stopped her cold. She pushed off and landed about ten feet back. Seth stepped out clad in his coat. Seeing the two of us both still standing he scolded, ¡°Quit sandbagging.¡± ¡°I am just level setting,¡± I explained. ¡°Not you. Her,¡± Seth said, adjusting his hood. In about the same time it took me to stare at Set with a dumb look on my face, Gisele pulled a glowing Pink Disk out of her Pocket, ¡°Mystic Trooper Pink!¡± she shouted while posing. The world went dark and a speed metal guitar riff blazed into existence. Gisele slowly lifted into the air and began spinning around as Pink armor materialized around her. Where was the wind coming from? She was in a massive updraft, but this spot at least was fairly sheltered. She was really twirling now. How did she not get sick? I turned to ask Seth ¡®What in the name of Saban was going on?¡¯ but all the others were standing statue still. I walked over as voices sang out about ¡®heroic magic mystic troopers¡¯. Yep, this was a time stop. I poked Seth and nothing happened. Testing something. I pushed him back a step. He slid freely but his body was locked up almost like stone. Weird. There was another flash of light. ¡°Hyah! ¡­uh, where¡¯d you go?¡± Gisele asked. ¡°Fuck!¡± Bob squeaked. ¡°The hell?¡± Seth asked. Both of them jumped a good foot in the air realizing I had materialized in front of them. From their perspective that had to be upsetting. Gisele was clad in a mixture of pink tights and armored plates. Her head was encased in a pink helmet with a black visor. She also had one of those spears with a machete blade on the end. ¡°Seriously, how you get over there?¡± she asked. As she spoke she moved her head a lot and gestured broadly with her hands to better convey emotion, confusion in this case. I shrugged, ¡°We still fighting?¡± ¡°Damn skippy we are!¡± she yelled while pumping her arm. She then hefted her weapon and spun it a few times before charging. Bob screamed again, and the others scattered.
Gisele attack blocked x4 and dodged x2
Okay, this was different. She could really make that weapon of hers move. The first swing would have brought the blade down on my head. When I blocked it Gisele swung the but of the spear sideways right at my face again. Blocking that up over my head meant the blade was swinging up at my stomach. When I slapped that down, she whirled and brought the club end down on my shoulder. When I smacked that aside she did a spin step into my reach and nearly chopped my knees off. I flipped over the attack, planting a hand to then have to jump using my arm to clear the kick she sent my way. I landed on my feet but she pressed me hard. She was almost twice as fast, and hit nearly twice as hard. The systematic influence was also holding to a tighter window. It seemed like she had somehow boosted her stats, and probably scale. Gear is cool that way. Sadly for her it still wasn¡¯t enough. Hands down she was the more intelligent fighter and her technique was superior to mine, but my attributes were higher and the scale difference meant I was rolling bigger dice. So with the deck stacked so high in my favor I merely had to keep blocking and dodging. The opportunities to hit her were everywhere. After each blocked attack and every dodged Strike the Shadow prompts appeared. Ignoring them, I tried to observe her methods. They weren¡¯t bad. Sure, Gisele was extremely aggressive, but she wasn¡¯t dumb. The pole arm gave her some serious reach. If she was fighting anyone shorter than me they would have a hell of a time reaching her. She would also set her attacks up in a chain. The first attack was meant to off balance the opponent, for the second to punish the obvious reaction. ¡°This isn¡¯t enough! Another of you guys get in there.¡± Seth instructed. ¡°What the Hell?¡± Gisele and I demanded. ¡°This isn¡¯t play time!¡± Seth shot back. He pushed Bob toward us. One transformation sequence later and Bob was shooting arrows at me. Now between the two of them they could land the occasional hit. Trouble was my regen was way too high for that to amount to anything. Eventually Seth pushed Tamara, the girl in blue, into the fight. She had a chain with weights on either end. This introduced a new level of complexity. If I blocked the chain it would wrap around an arm or leg and slow me down more than a bit. This would let both Gisele and Bob get a hit in. While that wasn¡¯t enough to chew through my regen it sure as hell didn¡¯t tickle. So i started using Ablative Shell. I also made it a point to exclusively Dodge Tamara¡¯s chain. Then when Bob shot at me I would block his arrow and Redirect the arrow at Gisele.
Bob attack blocked Redirect Check ¡­ Successful Attack against Gisele ¡­ Blocked.
Turns out I wasn¡¯t the only one who could block attacks. Gisele had to try harder than I did though. It wasn¡¯t long before I had a second layer of Ablative shell. It was when I managed to vault Tamara¡¯s chain, catch Bob¡¯s Arrow and throw it back at him, land, grab the Chain and swing Tamara into Gisele that Seth sent Tobias, the yellow trooper into the fight. A crowd had also formed and folks were cheering the kids on. Apparently I didn¡¯t have a fan club. Eh, what can you do? Spine and Brand were¡­ not cheering for me either. Instead they seemed to be taking bets with some members of the growing crowd. I am guessing they were betting on me. I mean, I hope they were. I wasn¡¯t planning on throwing the fight. Tobias had an oversized baseball bat with metal rivets in it. He was a big guy and knew how to be a bully boy. The impact of his attacks, blocked or otherwise, knocked me back a good yard each time. Like I said though Tobias really knew what he was doing. He would knock me into the other¡¯s attacks, which upped their chip damage significantly. Right about the time I could get my third layer of ablative shell up they managed to crack the first, bringing it back to two. I was still hesitant to actually attack these guys. Assuming everyone was a similar level to Gisele most of them could be dropped in two hits. I wasn¡¯t fully informed but I was pretty sure the system would also do something nasty like break bones or something when my attacks connected. They certainly maimed the snow lions something awful. To hell with snow lions.
Deflection check ¡­ Successful x2 Damage negated
That was surprising. Again, because the system thought balance was for bitches, while having multiple stacks of Ablative Shell meant I was allowed to make multiple deflection checks for each attack. Seriously, I was all for never getting into a fair fight, but this was nuts. The impact only ever applied to the oldest layer, but the roll for deflection seemed to occur in sequence. That meant that the ten percent chance to negate damage was actually nineteen percent with two layers and presumably just over 27 percent with three. That is when I realized I was an idiot, and the armor I was wearing would also have a chance at deflecting an attack. This meant fully stacked I had a 35.848% chance of negating all damage from a hit. This reality, plus some minor adjusting in tactics to Block Tobias, Deflect Gisele, Dodge Tamara, and Block plus Redirect the attacks of Bob at the others, allowed me to get the third stack of ablative shell up with more that half on the damaged layer remaining, and lightly pepper the mystic troopers with Bob¡¯s arrows. It didn¡¯t really hurt them as far as I could tell but it scratched the armor hellaciously. Sparks everywhere! Adjusting tactics again, I dodged Tobias¡¯s big swing. Stepped into Tamara¡¯s chain, let it wrap around my arm before pulling it tight. This tripped Gisele who crashed into Bob. I then put my strength into pulling the chain. Tamara held on and went for a ride. I swung her in a loop before crashing her into Tobias. The big guy would have kept his feet but he stepped onto Gisele and Bob. That is when Valorie joined the fray. This was a little different. Her weapon was a red sword that was occasionally on fire. Mostly a split second before she hit me with it.
Clash of Styles! Burning Blade Vs Unrelenting Glacier Burning Blade has elemental superiority to Unrelenting Glacier Burning Blade will gain an additional level of Scale. Burning Blade damage doubled
That is an ominous prompt. The more pressing concern was between Valorie, Gisele, and Tobias all trying to pummel me and Bob and Tamara running interference, my completely defensive strategy was pushed to its limit. To further the inconvenience they weren¡¯t dumb they quickly figured out that Valorie was both more successful in hitting me and her attacks did more damage to my armor. So the others immediately adjusted to open as many opportunities as they could for her to stab, chop and slash me. I kept using Deflection to minimize this, but was hard pressed to find something other than attacking them back as a response. That was a bit of a moot point since with all of them wailing on me at the same time was was
Deflection check ¡­ Successful Damage negated Deflection skill is now at Trained Level Cosmic Martial has advanced The fourth stage of the martial art is Rebounding Force To strike the glacier is to attack a very force of nature. It is rare for such actions to not provoke consequences. Perform a counter-attack against up to Mind Attribute opponents who successfully attack you. A successful Deflection check will allow the counter to occur at a range of Magic Attribute yards. Counter attack¡­ Successful Valorie takes 48 points of damage Damage inflicts the Oh Snap Condition
Muscle memory kicked in when this advancement offered me a new counter attack option. I took it. I slammed one hand up on her wrist and one down on her upper arm. This caused bones to break with a nightmarish ¡°Snap!¡±. To make matters worse, the sword swung back on Valorie and lodged in her neck. We all just sort of stood there for a couple seconds. Valorie screamed. I screamed. Blood spurted out of the injury! The crowd let out a ¡°Ugh!¡± ¡°Do we take it out? Do we leave it in?¡± I asked no one and everyone. Valorie paused her screaming to kick me in the dick. For once, it didn¡¯t do anything because I still had Ablative Shell up. Well I guess it did communicate her feelings toward me. Just as I was about to ask if I could do something to help, a snow lion pounced on me from off the top of Seth¡¯s shed. Chapter 44: Being the Best Type of Bad Parent I grabbed the snow lion by one of its back feet and then bashed its head against the ice like a fish. I left it twitching on the ground. Turning my attention back to Valorie I asked, ¡°Are you going to be alright?¡± Blood kept not-quite-fountaining blood, but maybe that was due to loss of volume. You know, like when the squirt gun¡¯s tank is low. Valorie gave me a thumbs up. ¡°You don¡¯t have to ¡­worry¡­ oh no.¡± she tipped over backwards. With a flash of red lights Valorie changed from an armored being with a faceless visor to a bloodsoaked woman lying motionless in the snow gazing at me with empty eyes.
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains in control Note: Repeated rolls will increase the difficulty.
Despite the skill check my blood ran cold. I was basically back to the second worst day of my life. It is fundamentally impossible to communicate how I felt that day, because even I can¡¯t truly comprehend. The acid burn of dread in my stomach. The leaden weight in my limbs. The distant thud of my heart hammering and a ringing in my ears downing out other sounds. The taste of enamel on my tongue as my teeth ground together. The disturbing absence of warmth of Marnie''s skin. I felt the nail on my pinky finger. I am not the Titan, but I have his memories. Deal with the real people now. I joke about avoidant behavior, and I could tell some sort of moment of reckoning was going to force me to face those memories. That said that time wasn¡¯t this exact moment. ¡°Heal!¡± Brunhilda said, as she casually stepped out of the crowd. Valorie sat up still still covered in blood but no longer leaking. She looked at her arm, it was still extra bendy. She turned to Brunhilda, ¡°Not to impose, but¡­¡± Brunhilda nodded, she stepped closer and in a lightning quick motion pulled the broken part of Valorie¡¯s arm into place and said, ¡°Mend.¡± There was another, slightly less upsetting ¡°Snap!¡± and her arm was whole again. ¡°Oh thank God,¡± I muttered Valroie and Brunhilda both looked at me like I was being overdramatic. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°Did you forget about how we are all protected by the Warrior¡¯s Suraksha? Sure, you got a lucky crit in and that sucked, but we can¡¯t kill each other in here.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t a crit.¡± Valorie and the other Mystic Troopers all gazed at me doubtfully. ¡°That would mean you have just been toying with us?¡± Gisele accused. She pointed at me dramatically. ¡°I mean, you guys weren¡¯t pulling out the giant robots,¡± I quipped back without thinking. ¡°Who told you about the Mechana-Beasts?¡± Bob asked, more than a little concerned. ¡°How else are you going to fight the aliens when they grow giant?¡± I asked with a shrug. Truth be told I was just making jokes about Power Rangers. It looks like the Narrators had stolen more than just mythical creatures to weaponize against us. That would have been kinda funny, but then I had a sudden thought and was deeply worried that some Narrator read Junji Ito. Note to self: Stay the hell away from spirals. ¡°How do you know about the¡­ not important. If you are saying you can just beat us at will, I am going to need to see you prove that,¡± Gisele said. She spun her spear around again, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°No. if you don¡¯t believe me, that''s your business,¡± I shook my head.
Notice check¡­ Successful
Oh good, people had gathered around Brand and Spine. None of them looked happy. I walked from the fight and the crowd parted almost instantly. Folks seemed to be afraid of me. ¡°Let¡¯s not escalate,¡± Brand said. He had that strangely nuanced tone that was polite but could be heard with the punctuation ¡®or else¡¯. ¡°I am not going to treat a mob like people!¡± a young guy, maybe twenty shouted back, ¡°If it doesn¡¯t behave I¡¯ll¡­¡± he stopped when my shadow loomed over him. ¡°You¡¯ll what?¡± I asked. I made it a point to keep my voice neutral. I read his name, Howard. He looked at me. I didn¡¯t like the look on his face. He was terrified¡­ of me. Don¡¯t get me wrong I had my guesses how this guy treated people he wasn¡¯t afraid of, but at the same time I didn¡¯t like the fear in his eyes. Not just his either. Most people in the crowd were hesitant to meet my gaze. After a long moment I asked Spine, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a fucking monster!¡± Spine snarled. When the little goblin moved toward Howard, I placed a hand on his shoulder. Mostly to hold him back. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on the details. Tell me what happened. Slow as you can.¡± I didn¡¯t tell him to calm down. I learned long ago to never tell someone losing their shit to calm down. It will always be taken as confrontational, and honestly, it is a dick move. Upset is a state of being. If you don¡¯t believe me, try telling someone to stop being tired sometime and see how reasonable you sound. To change things I needed to know the underlying reason Spine was angry. Otherwise I would just piss him off more. Which would be counterproductive to calming him down. ¡°He¡¯s killed goblins!¡± Spine yelled he put his hand on my and pulled as hard as he could, ¡°He told me how he did it.¡± I kept my grip on Spine. I am not certain what would happen if he actually got a shot in on Howard in this crowd. Most seemed to be watching me, and would likely respond to whatever I did. Not sure how many friends I had in the crowd. I turned back to Howard, ¡°You must not know Goblins are people,¡± ¡°Goblins are mobs,¡± Howard said belligerently. ¡°You¡¯re the mob!,¡± Spine spat back ¡°We are all people,¡± I spoke over both of them. Both of them glared at me. Good, I had united them. ¡°Think about it: do mobs have names over their heads?¡± ¡°No,¡± they both said. ¡°Do you see the name over each other¡¯s head?¡± I pressed. ¡°Yeah,¡± Spine said. ¡°Yes¡­ ¡± Howard. He wanted to say something else but paused. ¡°Then we are all people. Something set us up to fight amongst ourselves. Rather than do that we should be asking why?¡± I continued. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. A good portion of the crowd seemed to be listening to what I said. But Spine and Howard were obviously still fixing to beat the shit out of each other. ¡°I am not going to let you fight each other,¡± I said. Might as well just end this. ¡°You¡¯re not my dad!¡± Spine growled, trying to break free of my grip. ¡°You don¡¯t get to tell me what to do!¡± Howard said. He tried to bow up to me, but I was tremendous and upon realizing he looked like a petulant kid he stepped back. ¡°Let¡¯s talk through it. I let you beat the hell out of each other, what good does that do?¡± I pressed both of them. They both looked at me like I had two heads. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Spine asked. ¡°What will be accomplished if I let you two fight?¡± I asked both young men. ¡°I kill the little monster,¡± Howard explained. ¡°Nope, he¡¯s not a monster, and he is under the protection of Warrior¡¯s Suraksha just like you,¡± I explained. ¡°But mobs can¡¯t get that,¡± Howard argued. ¡°He¡¯s not a mob,¡± I explained again. The crowd was muttering at this point. A lot of folks looked deeply uncomfortable. ¡°Prove it,¡± Howard argued back. ¡°Prove you are a person first,¡± I flipped it around on him. ¡°I can think, feel, and speak,¡± Howard offered after a few moments. ¡°What exactly am I doing, dipshit?¡± Spine snapped. ¡°It has to be trick!¡± Howard argued again. ¡°Your mom does tricks,¡± Spine sneered. ¡°Spine,¡± I chastised. Technically that proved my point but not in a helpful way. ¡°Fuck you! You little¡­¡± Howard started, he stepped toward Spine but stopped when I held up my hand. ¡°I am not letting you fight,¡± I told the kid. ¡°If you are going to stand in my way then I challenge you to a duel!¡± Howard yelled. ¡°No,¡± I said flatly. ¡°What?¡± Howard asked, baffled. ¡°No, I am not dueling you,¡± I explained slowly. ¡°That means I win,¡± Howard declared. ¡°What do you win?¡± I asked, starting to lose patience with this. ¡°Um¡­ the fight?¡± he offered somewhat lamely. ¡°What fight?¡± I pressed. ¡°The fight to fight?¡± Howard turned it into a question at the end. ¡°Let¡¯s try this a different way. Can you duel a mob?¡± I asked. ¡°No, that¡¯s stupid.¡± Howard answered. ¡°Then why are you trying to duel Spine?.¡± I asked. Howard was quiet for a long time. ¡°I am not going to lie. I feel like you put me in a box here.¡± ¡°All the more reason to walk away,¡± Brand advised. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving because I am scared.¡± Howard said as he backed away. ¡°No one said you were,¡± I shook my head. ¡°Come on Spine. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± Once we got into Seth¡¯s shed away from the others Spine exploded, ¡°What the fuck Doug?¡± Yep, still angry. ¡°You should have just let me handle him.¡± ¡°What would you have done?¡± I asked. ¡°Stabbed the son of a bitch!¡± Spine yelled. He showed me the knife. He held it in one hand and pointed with the other. It was a good knife, very sharp, probably quite stabby. ¡°Then what?¡± Spine blinked at me, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You think that kid, Howard, would just stand there letting you stab him?¡± I demanded. Spine did hesitate for a second, ¡°I could take him.¡± ¡°Even with his eight friends helping?¡± Spine froze for a moment, ¡°He had eight friends?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Spine. How many more people were in the crowd?¡± I cooled my tone. I was pretty sure he was getting my point. Spine was quiet for a very long time. ¡°What are you trying to do, Doug?¡± ¡°Protect you,¡± said honestly. ¡°No! You are trying to teach me something. What and why?¡± Spine insisted. I sighed, ¡°I am trying to teach you to be deliberate. The world is full of people who will try to provoke you. If you let them, they will have control. In your current situation something terrible could happen.¡± ¡°You mean a gang of assholes would murder me,¡± Spine insisted. ¡°Yeah, basically that,¡± I admitted. Spine thought for a moment, ¡°So, you''re saying I should wait until nightfall, sneak up on him while he is alone, and shoot him in the neck?¡± I facepalmed, ¡°No. Why do you want to hurt him, Spine?¡± ¡°He killed goblins!¡± Spine yelled. ¡°Have you killed humans?¡± I asked, keeping my tone calm. I didn¡¯t want it to sound like an accusation. Hell, there was blood on my hands. Spine stopped short, ¡°Well no, but it wasn¡¯t because I didn¡¯t want to. I just never had the opportunity.¡± He didn¡¯t seem to like what he said. I nodded, ¡°Forgot they were people, didn¡¯t you?¡± Spine chewed on the idea for a while, ¡°Is it wrong that even knowing they are people I want to kill some of them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I admitted. That was a difficult question. Sure the easy answer is hatred is a damaging emotion that should be let go. The trouble with easy answers is they tend to not apply to reality. ¡°How can you not know?¡± Spine demanded. I shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to know!¡± Spine yelled, exasperated. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t. Life is complicated. I am guessing most people didn¡¯t know they were killing other players. At the same time someone recently told me at some point outcome trumps intention.¡± I said, more or less stalling for time. ¡°I like that, who said that?¡± Spine said. ¡°Brunhilda,¡± I answered. The goblins face twisted in disgust, ¡°You did that on purpose.¡± ¡°I am not that smart. I don¡¯t know how food works, man,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I thought you were just trolling Seth,¡± Spine said, looking stunned. ¡°Nope, I am actually brand new to this world. It both confuses and enrages me,¡± I told him. ¡°But, every other thing you say sounds like my dad,¡± Spine said. He seemed to be having an existential crisis. ¡°Thanks?¡± I tried. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a compliment,¡± Spine sighed. ¡°I am not really sure how to respond to that,¡± I said flatly. Spine did one of those teenage groans that sort of became a growl, ¡°Gah! It¡¯s like you are trying to make me feel like a dumb little kid.¡± ¡°Spine, I would have stopped you from picking that fight if you were twenty years older than me. Again, I can¡¯t speak for your dad, but would you have let your sister pick that fight?¡± ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Spine scoffed. ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°Because there was a hundred of them! It would be stupid!¡± Spine stopped cold. ¡°This is the shit I am talking about! Stop it! You¡¯re like the worst dad ever.¡± Like i hadn¡¯t heard that before. I just gazed at Spine. Yes it was a dad look, but he needed it. ¡°Fine!¡± Spine said rolling his eyes so hard his head lolled. ¡°This is temporary. Soon we will get you back to your family¡­ actually how are we supposed to return you to your family?¡± I began to worry I may have done a forced adoption. Spine did the ole shifty eyes, ¡°We have ways to communicate.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± I said, relieved ¡°Is there a time frame?¡± ¡°Like, two days,¡± Spine said noncommittally. Then it hit me. Spine saw the look on my face, ¡°What?¡± ¡°How far away can they get after they pick you up?¡± I asked. Spine hesitated, ¡°Like twenty miles. Why?¡± ¡°Because in¡­¡±
TIme until Gore Soaked Condition advances to Blood For the Blood God! 3 days 7 hours 12 minutes 32 seconds.
¡°In just over three days I am going to trigger the Blood for the Blood God condition.¡± I explained. ¡°Okay,¡± Said clearly not knowing what that meant. ¡°That will cause every mob on the continent to head my way,¡± I explained. Spine paled, ¡°Oh shit!¡± Instead of panicking about the impending mass death of Spine¡¯s family, my brain had one of those headaches with pictures, an idea. ¡°Here¡¯s a thought: they stay here! Ride out the mob rush, then we go our separate ways.¡± This could be logistically tricky. Spine caused one dumb kid to try and start shit. 108 goblins may cause some people to do something silly. ¡°I like that idea,¡± Spine smiled. ¡°How many people are coming?¡± I asked. Better get ahead of this. ¡°At least five thousand,¡± Spine said. Well¡­ shoot. No, wait¡­ shit! ¡°Okay, that is what it is. If you can tell them to have everyone get here, I am going to need to figure out a way to get folks to not panic.¡± Chapter 45: Organizing a Child Fight Things progressed a lot faster than I would have guessed. I stepped -ducked and scooted- to get outside Seth¡¯s shed and found the crowd had grown from about a hundred people to maybe four times that. Seth was arguing with an older guy. He was short and had a spark plug build and a face that reminded me of a bulldog. His hands were covered in scars too. When this guy spoke his voice had that rough rasp people that drink a lot of hard liquor get. ¡°... Listen here, you Technacoast reject! You do NOT get to mess with MY students. I am not afraid to¡­¡± He stopped talking as Sunit, Angelica, Brunhilda, Brand, an older woman with iron-gray hair arrived at the scene. Zarina was the name over the new lady¡¯s head. Sunit pointedly ignored that conflict and spoke to me, ¡°Hello Doug, how are you this morning?¡± I kept an eye on Seth and ¡­Travis Madigan -if the name tag was to be trusted- as I spoke to Sunit. ¡°Good to see you Sunit, I am doing quite well. How are you?¡± Sunit smiled and answered loud enough for the crowd to hear, ¡°I am doing wonderful, Goddess Lola has revealed new Followers will be arriving in less than two days.¡± ¡°Doug!¡± Janie called, ¡°What Cain are you raisin¡¯ now?¡± She looked less than happy. The crowd parted to let her through. She seems to almost glide toward me. She stopped a half step away from me and scowled up at me, ¡°Care to explain how people vanished out of my home in the night?¡± Oh right, that probably would be upsetting from an outside perspective. You agree to babysit someone and then find the kid goes missing in the night, in a world with wandering monsters. Oops. ¡°Something came up, I needed Spine and Brand¡­ for Titan stuff,¡± I said, not quite believing the claim myself. One of her eyebrows lifted contemptuously, ¡°And you couldn¡¯t knock, or talk to anyone like a normal person because¡­?¡± ¡°It was a busy night, there was an Epic scale boss, and a time stop, and I forget the middle bit but things were complicated,¡± I explained. Seeing this did nothing to soothe Janie¡¯s ire, I added, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Janie clearly had not expected an apology. She hesitated before responding, ¡°... well I guess no harm done, to me at least.¡± She leaned in conspiratorially, ¡°Carla has one fierce bee in her bonnet over the events of last night. Lily is¡­ addressing the situation, but she is just one woman. Anyway, I am here for the council business, and the book.¡± ¡°Book?¡± I asked, momentarily forgetting Spine¡¯s Goblin-to-English dictionary. ¡°Little ol¡¯ Spine¡¯s codex, Doug,¡± Janie explained, stepping back, ¡°With that I could be the first to discover how to understand the Goblin Language.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t the goblins already speak it?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s a detail,¡± Janie dismissed, ¡°I would be the first elf. Which is a big deal, I tell ya." Distracted from her gripes with me, another thought occurred to Janie, ¡°Where¡¯d Nameth Brand get off to?¡± She spotted him almost as soon as she finished talking. She moved both like silk on the wind and a viper striking its prey. She was quickly standing next to him with her arm interlocked in his. Brand looked surprised but was also feigning delight. That¡­ should be alright for now. I turned back to the others. Angelica was struggling not to laugh. She looked close to losing the battle. Zarina was walking a similar path. Sunit seemed to have no opinions one way or the other. Madigan looked pissed. Brunhilda was clearly surveying the immediate area and unimpressed with the defensive state. ¡°If you¡¯re done, wasting everyone¡¯s time, we have shit to do,¡± Madigan said to me. ¡°Don¡¯t mind him, most of us live for the drama,¡± Zarina said loudly. After a moment she continued, ¡°Did my students hold their own against you?¡± ¡°I was impressed,¡± I started. ¡°That¡¯s because you have a shit teacher,¡± Madigan scoffed. I didn¡¯t really know Seth that well, or even at all really, but Madigan had chosen to be an ass at every opportunity. ¡°I mean, he has taught me three stages of a Cosmic martial art in less than 48 hours. How many Cosmic martials do you know?¡± This caused the response I figured it would. Most of the crowd gasped. Some jeered. Seth looked more than a little embarrassed, he clearly didn¡¯t like being the center of attention. Sunit looked surprised and impressed. Janie, Angelica, and Brunhilda all had a look that said ¡®damn!¡¯ Zarina was grinning in schadenfreude-induced joy at Madigan¡¯s expense. Madigan was turning so red he purpled. ¡°Bet you think you are funny!¡± he challenged. That seemed like a dumb accusation. Why not accuse me of having normal self esteem? ¡°Are martial arts a joke to you?¡± He did not have a pithy comeback to that. So instead he tried to pivot the conversation, ¡°You were disrespectful to my student.¡± ¡°You mean Howard?¡± ¡°Yes, picking on a kid makes you feel like a big man?¡± Madigan demanded. I almost believed he was sincere. Almost. ¡°You don¡¯t care about the kid. If you did, you would have lead with that. Instead you focused on spouting catty barbs at my teacher.¡± ¡°I challenge you to a duel,¡± Madigan growled. ¡°No you don¡¯t,¡± Sunit stepped in. Seeing Madigan was about to argue he pressed on. ¡°Doug is the guest of Goddess Lola. He is under her protection. To challenge him is to challenge her.¡± A vein bulged in Madigan¡¯s forehead . ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get this done.¡± I turned to Sunit, ¡°What are we doing?¡± ¡°Addressing the next few days,¡± Sunit explained clearly not wanting to announce an oncoming day of wrath to the massive crowd¡­ at least not yet. I mean they were probably going to figure it out. There would be signs. Sunit smiled at Seth, ¡°Could we intrude upon your hospitality?¡± Seth looked cornered, ¡°Sure.¡± One duck and shuffle later and Janie, Zarina, Angelica, Brunhilda,, Brand Seth, Sunit, Travis, and I were back in Seth shed. Spine was sitting on Seth''s bed, touching his stuff. After a brief discussion about not messing with other people¡¯s stuff, and talking Seth down from beating the shit out of Spine, I found the others looking unimpressed. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°This place kinda sucks,¡± Janie explained. ¡°Seth, do you¡­ need help?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Seth said, slipping out of my grip. Everyone looked more than a little dubious. Sunit spoke, ¡°Are there any chairs?¡± Seth paused before saying, ¡°No.¡± I pulled out my tools. I quickly constructed a floor. The gravel basically compressed itself into flat stone as stepped around Seth intending to do something to make the Craft skill go. That was awesome. A quick Destruction roll later, and large shapes were instantly carved into the stone. Divine tools are game breaking. One Craft check and we had a big stone circular table and ten stone chairs. ¡°Seriously, what are we doing here?¡± I asked, sitting in one of the chairs. Sunit sat across from me, ¡°We are discussing what we need to do to prepare for the oncoming mob rush.¡± Spine sat in the chair on my left. Seth sat down on his left. ¡°Boss rush?¡± Madigan- no. his isn¡¯t cool enough for that name - Travis scoffed as he sat next to Sunit, ¡°Of course you don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You found out ten minutes ago,¡± Zarina pointed out sitting on the other side of Sunit. Angelica sat one my right. Brand sat next to her and Janie between him and Madigan. Brunhilda Sat between Seth and Zarina. Yep, that seemed peudo-stable. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°I am still playing catch up. Why is there going to be a mob rush?¡± Janie asked. She tried to scoot her chair closer to Brand. It was too heavy.¡± ¡°Doug is perpetually Gore Soaked. He has been that way for four days, and it is going to progress into the Blood for the Blood God Condition soon.¡± Angelica explained. Seth swallowed before talking, ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°This is part of Goddess Lola¡¯s plans,¡± Sunit said. He pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his jacket. ¡°She expects us to battle the mobs and grow powerful from the conflict. She will protect all who fight.¡± ¡°Let me see that,¡± Travis said. He unfolded it and read it. He set the note down, not satisfied, ¡°Is she really only going to keep the Warrior¡¯s Suraksha working?¡± ¡°She will be expanding it to every person within the city''s limits,¡± Sunit explained. He kept his tone polite, but clearly didn¡¯t like the way Madigan was talking. ¡°She expects a handful more than 4,600 people to stop a mob rush?¡± Madigan demanded. ¡°Yes,¡± Sunit said. He turned to me, ¡°What is the timeline?¡± ¡°Just over three days,¡± I replied, checking the timer to make sure no shenanigans had occurred yet. ¡°That¡¯s not a lot of time,¡± Janie acknowledged. She thought for a moment, ¡°We have been running low on supplies, but my crew can provide weapons and ammo to cover about seven hundred people.¡± ¡°The group Goddess Lola sent was four hundred strong, and well supplied. They should arrive roughly a day before the mobs will.¡± Sunit explained. Janie considered that. ¡°I will see what we can do before things get¡­ messy.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Sunit said with a nod. ¡°The real concern will be keeping the greenhouses safe.¡± ¡°Greenhouses?¡± Spine and I asked in unison. ¡°We have two greenhouses south of the Mandir. Roughly eighty percent of the community''s food.¡± Sunit explained before anticipating my next question, ¡°The rest is meat from mobs.¡± ¡°Oh, so we do eat mobs,¡± I muttered to myself. Sunit and Madigan looked at me, both deeply confused. It was a ¡®does he not know how food works?¡¯ gaze. I had seen it before. I accepted I would see it again. Luckily Brand saved me, ¡°Doug hasn¡¯t had access to kitchens being in the Dungeon most of his life.¡± He stage-whispered to Janie. Janie lit up, ¡°Oh, then I am gonna have to invite you to the potluck! I make the best Bigfoot Gumbo. It tastes just like alligator. I haven¡¯t gotten to make any hearty dishes for a while. It¡¯s always just light snacks and bite-sized hand food. Grab and go stuff.¡± That pulled focus from me. ¡°Why not just grow mushrooms?¡± Spine asked. This also brought the group to a halt, Sunit spoke first, ¡°It is too cold.¡± Spine sighed, ¡°You build a hut, you keep it warm and dark. You let the snow roll over it. The heat from the hut will melt some of the snow providing moisture. You then let nature take its course.¡± Janie considered that ¡°It has potential. It would take some fiddling, but Diji and Georgina should be able to figure that out, with a base stock of seed- is it spore?¡± she asked Spine. The Goblin shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Grout, Grime, and Beth were the main mushroom farmers. The rest of us were just helping with construction and harvest.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s that then,¡± Madigan said. He turned to Sunit, ¡°I¡¯ll have three hundred of my best students guard the green houses.¡± ¡°What if those three farmers could show you how to grow mushrooms?¡± I asked. Dipping everyone''s toes into the idea of thousands of goblins showing up. You know to see how they react, and hopefully prevent any potential war crimes. ¡°It¡¯s not like they are going to be here in the next three days,¡± Madigan dismissed. I checked with Spine. ¡°Grime won¡¯t be, but Grout and Beth will.¡± he confirmed. The matter of fact tone he had about confirming the death of someone¡­ words fail, but it was dark. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Madigan demanded. Oh good everyone was looking at me. ¡°So, Spine¡¯s family is heading here to ride out the mob rush.¡± ¡°You want to invite a bunch of mobs in ahead of the mob rush?¡± Madigan asked. He stared at me like I was stupid. ¡°They are not mobs,¡± I said before Spine could say something incendiary. ¡°We have more than 280 years of history saying they are mobs,¡± Madigan insisted. He leaned forward slightly. I guess that could have intimidated most people. Given he was more than eight feet away and just not that intimidating, I was unmoved. ¡°Then you have almost three centuries of incorrect information,¡± I explained. ¡°I think Doug has a point,¡± Janie said. ¡°And I know he is wrong,¡± Madigan said over her. They glared at each other for a long moment. Sunit spoke up before either could snipe at the other further, ¡°How many goblins are we talking about?¡± ¡°Five thousand¡­ish¡± I said. Struggling not to flinch. Angelica facepalmed. Silence sort of hung in the air. It is strange how loud that is. Janie broke the silence, by speaking in a force calm and even voice. ¡°Now, Doug, I am going to say something loudly. I want you to understand, this is because I am a passionate person with deep feelings, and not because I am yelling at you. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Yeah-¡± I started. Before I actually finished speaking, Janie had whisked herself to my side. She grabbed the front of my shirt and shook me as she screamed. ¡°Five thousand!? That is too many! Put some back! That is gonna break the town!¡± I am glad she clarified that she was not yelling at me. Without that I would have made assumptions. Eventually Angelica put a stop to Janie shaking me. ¡°How does people visiting the town cause a problem?¡± ¡°They are mobs,¡± Travis interjected Sunit spoke over him to prevent any of us from arguing back, ¡°This is a holy site. To keep the town and the Warrior¡¯s Suraksha active, Goddess Lola must spend a significant portion of her power. The cost will only increase if the being in question is not a follower. Having the population of the town double with goblins who are not followers of Goddess Lola would likely result in all of us losing the boon of her protection.¡± ¡°We will have to kill ¡®em,¡± Travis said, blatantly ignoring Spine staring right at him. Brunhilda spoke up, ¡°I don¡¯t really consider myself a violent person, but if you try that I will kill you.¡± She watched Madigan. Her posture was loose, not relaxed, ready. ¡°We need to work together,¡± Angelica said, more to Brunhilda than Madigan. I am pretty sure because Angelica understood that Madigan was the sort to not be reasoned with. ¡°There has to be a way to protect those people.¡± I said. The memories of the burnt out goblin village flashed in my head. Small broken bodies. Bones that looked like children. Not again. ¡°They would need to all follow the Goddess Lola,¡± Sunit said. ¡°Is that a big deal?¡± I asked. Janie shrugged, ¡°It hasn¡¯t been for me.¡± Sunit and Madigan did exchange a look. The cost must have been higher for them. ¡°Goddess Lola mostly asks her followers to grow strong, and when needed fight for her interests. This oncoming mob rush would be an example of her requirements.¡± Sunit explained. He was very careful with his tone. He was clearly trying to impress that Lola¡¯s followers had responsibilities without making it sound like people shouldn¡¯t take the offer. I glanced to Angelica and she said, ¡°Lola didn¡¯t become one of the big six gods by being unreasonable.¡± That was comforting sorta, but that did imply that Adora became one of the big six despite being unreasonable or perhaps because of it. I don¡¯t like Adora. Honestly, I was kind of on the fence with Lola. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. They are mobs and I am not letting them in.¡± Travis said. He pounded the table for emphasis, or maybe it had wronged him. ¡°I am tired of debating observable reality with you,¡± I said. I dropped my half-assed attempts at politeness. Before I could turn my attention to Sunit to talk like adults, Travis scoffed, ¡°Too bad, because without my vote your green pets are going to stay in the cold.¡± Brunhilda and I locked eyes for a second. She had my back should this get violent. Brand was clearly less eager. That said, he did lightly place a hand on Janie¡¯s and distracted her, creating a window of opportunity. Angelica was obviously not on board with kicking the shit out of Madigan. Her eyes slowly hardened to a stern glare and she gave me an almost imperceptible shake of her head. ¡­ who am I kidding. That wouldn¡¯t have stopped at a beatdown. It would have been life and death. He was currently unkillable, so someone would step in. Hadn¡¯t I just committed to not letting violence become the easy answer? This wasn¡¯t even the easy answer. I took a breath before speaking, ¡°What will it take to get you to see the truth?¡± ¡°Like you said to my pupil, ¡®Mobs can¡¯t duel¡¯. You have your pet fight my best student. I¡¯ll consider my stance based on the result,¡± Madigan sneered. ¡°Let¡¯s have two kids kill each other to stroke your ego. That¡¯s fucking stupid,¡± I declared. ¡°Sunit, why do we have to listen to this?¡± Sunit eyed Madigan for a long moment, ¡°Because, Mr. Madigan is one of the three members of the council overseeing this town on behalf of the Goddess Lola.¡± A quick glance to Seth told me he wasn¡¯t on the council. Zarina raised her hand, ¡°Janie and I are the other two.¡± I softened my tone, ¡°Oh, that is easy. Could you two outvote him so we can get back to planning for the mob rush?¡± Travis was turning red again, but Janie answered, ¡°No sorry, Doug. Lola mandated that the Council need to rule unanimously.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re getting close to losing my vote forever,¡± Travis growled. ¡°Your goblin fights my student.¡± ¡°Doug, let me fight him,¡± Spine said. He was saying it the right way to. He wasn¡¯t angry, eager, or scared. He said it the way someone prepared to do an unpleasant task would. He didn¡¯t want to do it but was prepared to try. Sunit stepped in again, ¡°If we are going to do this. It will be done right. First, you will agree to give your vote to Doug¡¯s will should Spine win. A promise witnessed by the Hero of the Mandir.¡± Madigan paused for a long moment. ¡°Fine,¡± he snapped, still glaring at me. ¡°Good, the duel will be tomorrow evening at sunset.¡± Sunit declared, before amending smoothly ¡°Should Doug agree.¡± Everyone turned to me again. I hate when they do that. I looked to Spine. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this.¡± Spine eyed me dubiously, ¡°What¡¯s the other play? You and the murder-factory battle it out, wreck the place until Lola shrugs and turns off the protections right before the mobs come.¡± ¡°You have a choice,¡± I said, echoing Angelica. ¡°Even if it doesn¡¯t feel that way.¡± ¡°Would you accept the fight to protect your family?¡± Spine asked. I nodded and turned to Madigan, ¡°Fine. Duel accepted.¡± Chapter 46: The Pupil Becomes the Master... uh-oh You would think the council members would have left all dramatically after the agreed duel to the death. Nope. We spent another hour talking through logistics and plans. This got sticky, because all aid with building fortification or strengthening walls that Brunhilda and I could have offered was now dependent on the town being open to accepting goblin refugees. That was dependent on the goblins following Lola, something they currently did not do. Madigan wasn¡¯t budging. So neither was Brunhilda. She was prepared to sit out the mob rush altogether. Eventually, though, the rough outline of a plan came together. From my perspective it basically sounded like ¡®clench tight, this is gonna be bad¡¯, but it was a plan. It was even on paper. That makes it official. When the others left Seth, Spine, Brunhilda, Angelica and I sat at the table. Brand stood by a window smoking. ¡°What now?¡± the goblin asked. ¡°Now, We stack every advantage in your favor we can to get you ready for duel to the death,¡± Brunhilda said. She was considering something. ¡°How?¡± Spine demanded scowling at Brunhilda. That was better than him cussing at her. Hurray for progress. We all sort of looked at each other for a moment. Angelica shrugged with a ¡®I got nothing¡¯ look on her face. Brunhilda and Brand both clearly had ideas, but frowned as they examined Spine. Seth spoke, ¡°Spine is likely going to fight Howard, the guy from earlier. He is roughly level twenty to twenty-five. Being one of Madigan¡¯s best students, he has probably mastered several of the Elevated Martial arts. He will certainly have the First Step Up the Mountain, a hyper aggressive style focused on burying enemies under the weight of attacks. He will likely have Second Step up the Mountain, that is a more defensive style that will open up opportunities for single devastating attacks. He probably is most of the way through the Third Step Up the Mountain. It sort of merges the two previous steps allowing for extreme bursts of devastating attack while keeping defenses high. I doubt he has that one mastered.¡± ¡°Is that how elevated martial arts normally work?¡± I asked. Seth tilted his hand side to side, ¡°Sort of. People eventually build a base and a structure to grow in power. The Path Up the Mountain is unique in that it does this in a more organized and repeatable way than most. Remember how I said a master came down from the mountains to teach the Technacoast? It wasn¡¯t just that he was powerful. The methodology of teaching it and its many offshoots are why the Technacoast is the military power in the area.¡± Angelica made a face but didn¡¯t say anything. Brunhilda admitted, ¡°He has a point there. Elevated martial arts, and the Technacoast¡¯s ability to produce a large number of soldiers with them, and as a result them having high combat skills, pushed the main armies of the Fantasy Coast back in the last two conflicts.¡± ¡°Okay, so we just need to teach Spine a martial art,¡± I said more or less thinking aloud. ¡°I would prefer to be taught whatever it was Bruce Lee knew.¡± Spine piped up. ¡°Good choice, but consider having Jackie Chan style skills,¡± I said. I am still not certain how Spine knew stuff about the world that was, it probably had to do with Goblin Mode, but at the same time being able to talk about something from that simpler time¡­ it was a relief. It felt low stakes and helped me center my thoughts, even if we were discussing child pit fighting. Also I was determined to not panic Spine. ¡°Wait, I need to get the Keanu Reeves slash John Wick Gun Fu,¡± Spine said as he theatrically rubbed his chin. ¡°I don¡¯t have the beard though.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll make do,¡± I assured him. Everyone else was staring at us like we were stupid. I could see the moment where Celeste translated what we said to Angelica. The corner of her mouth curved briefly before she shook her head. ¡°Time is a factor,¡± Brand reminded us. Spine and I nodded and turned to Seth, looking for wisdom. Seth sighed, ¡°You are one of the greatest tests in my life.¡± ¡°If it were up to me, I would give you an A,¡± I assured him. Tactical brown nosing has its place. Seth glowered at me for a good three seconds. Finally he looked at Spine, ¡°How do you fight?¡± ¡°I sneak up behind things and shoot them in the back,¡± Spine said. He showed us his crossbow. ¡°What combat skills do you have?¡± Seth asked. ¡°Unarmed at Untrained, Knives at Trained, Crossbow at Expert, Dodge at Trained, Block is Untrained also,¡± Spine said. ¡°I also have Blend In, Move Silently, Ambush, Detect Weakness, Terrify, and Manipulate Shadow, but all of them are at Untrained levels.¡± Spine said, sounding less certain the longer he spoke. Seth frowned, ¡°Let me guess, you have multiple survival skills and Perception and Notice at Trained or higher.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Spine said. ¡°Makes sense, you have been living outside a town¡¯s limits your entire life. You had to spread out your skills.¡± Seth said. ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked. Seth shrugged, ¡°He is going to need to improve his skills. That is going to be hard with less than 48 hours.¡± ¡°How would he do that?¡± I asked. ¡°Grind,¡± everyone said at once. ¡°Any other options?¡± I asked. I am all for fair play, but this was time to consider cheating. I mean duels are dangerous. That said, Spine winning meant¡­ dammit. ¡°The Mentor skill can help people break through to Master Level and beyond,¡± Angelica offered. ¡°Is there any reason we couldn¡¯t use that to help him break through to lower levels?¡± I asked. ¡°A few. You can only roll the Mentor skill once per month per skill, and it is technically not beneficial to the person you are teaching. While it ups their mastery and grants scale, using it to break through the lower skill levels is counterproductive.¡± Seth explained. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a big limitation, is everyone here a master in combat skills?¡± I asked. Everyone gave me that look, like when they realize I don¡¯t know how food works. ¡°No, the standard is to have the person looking to break through perform some sort of service for the master, often a year or more of service.¡± Seth said. ¡°Does it cost the user?¡± I asked. ¡°Not really, it is just the standard,¡± Seth said. Gross. I mean, don¡¯t get me wrong, I get not teaching everyone combat skills, and I agree with not unilaterally elevating every random psycho¡¯s ability to inflict harm. That said this had a serious ¡®Fuck you! Got mine¡¯ vibe to it. ¡°Where does that leave us on teaching Spine a Martial Art?¡± ¡°I could try and lay the groundwork for a martial art,¡± Seth said slowly. He considered for a while, ¡°But he is clearly going for a stealthy hit and run style of combat, and everything I know is more direct.¡± ¡°Would ¡®Path of the Snow Lion¡¯ work better? It has a stealth skill in it?¡± I asked. Everyone was giving me that look I get when they are wondering if I am serious. Seth sighed and his eyes flashed with some form of scrutinize skill. He blinked for a moment. Then his eyes went back to flashing. He frowned. ¡°That is a new style. Most people don¡¯t base their methods off of mobs or their methods of fighting. How many of those have you killed. ¡°Not enough,¡± I said in a dark tone. I waited for one to ambush me¡­ nothing. ¡°Anyways, how does it work?¡± Seth sort of shrugged, ¡°It is hard to say. It looks to be some sort of stealth and ambush style martial art. I am pretty sure the fast attack is a melee skill and stealth skills. The heavy attack is ambush and some attack skill. You found the movement one, mixing Blend In, Move Silently and mobility skills. No idea what else it has. This is new.¡± ¡°That sounds good,¡± Spine said. ¡°You sure?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Spine said immediately, ¡°I want you to be my teacher. That was quick. I frowned at him, ¡°Why so quick.¡± ¡°For the XP,¡± Spine said. He stared at me like I was stupid. It glanced at Seth. ¡°He will get an achievement for being the first disciple of a titan spawn.¡± Seth said. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you get an achievement for being my teacher?¡± I asked. ¡°I did. It gave me half a million XP,¡± Seth said. ¡°If I can get you to master your Cosmic Martial Art the achievement should give me another 750 thousand.¡± Realizing that the experience curve was apparently exponential, I paused to consider. That would absolutely explain the disdain for grind against mobs. Those were way bigger numbers than what I got for stuff. ¡°How much would he get if I teach him?¡± I asked. Spine¡¯s eyes were the size of dinner plates. He was shaking slightly. Seth shrugged. ¡°No idea. Not as much as being a teacher.¡± What level are you now, Spine?¡± I asked. ¡°Eighteen,¡± he said. ¡°Holy shit, that is some serious power leveling.¡± Seth frowned, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I was level seven when I met these assholes.¡± The goblin said loudly. ¡°They grow up so fast,¡± I quipped. Seth eyed me. His look was bordering on baleful. He seemed to be wondering if I was messing with him, ¡°Yeah the best path forward is to have Doug teach Spine.¡± Everyone looked at me. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°Teach the goblin martial arts,¡± Seth instructed. ¡°How?¡± I asked sheepishly. Seth took a deep breath before speaking, ¡°use the mentor skill.¡± That made sense. No wait. It didn¡¯t make any sense at all. ¡°How?¡± ¡°God love ya buddy, but you have to quit yanking Seth¡¯s chain,¡± Brunhilda said. ¡°Just use the skill.¡± she pushed me toward Spine. I looked at Spine. He looked at me. I kept looking at him. He kept looking at me. As I looked at him, he looked at me. This was not advancing the plot. I put my hand on his head. ¡­mentor please?
Mentor check¡­ Successful Please select skill to elevate: Unarmed Block Dodge Blend In Move Silently Craft Willpower
That was a list. I selected Blend In. Spline twitched but said nothing. I used the mentor skill again. And selected Move Silently.
New Achievement! Substitute Teacher You are teaching Martial Arts without mastering one yourself. Are you going to Monday morning quarterback next? Anyways this while not a ¡°good¡± idea is entertaining. Reward: let¡¯s hold off and see if your disciple lives to weeks end before handing out any rewards.
The odd tendency for the achievements to be either hyper clinical or extremely flippant was continuing. I suspected this was a Wilson composed prompt. Spine stagger. He was bug eyed, ¡°That is so weird. That caused so much existential dread. ¡°I got a martial art!¡± he yelled. He pointed at a random passer by, ¡°Fuck you I got a martial art!¡± The random person paused and examined the us.eventually they decided to not engage beyond said, ¡°Cool, I guess,¡± and walking away. ¡°Don¡¯t just yell at people,¡± I told Spine. Spine was crouched down slightly ¡°Am I invisible?¡± ¡°No,¡± most of us told him. Angelica did seem to lose track of him. She wasn¡¯t far off but she was looking at a small mound of snow to his right. The rest of us could spot him. That said Seth seemed to be more or less guessing where the little goblin was likely to move and finding him there. ¡°Alright let¡¯s focus,¡± I said after a few moments of Spine trying to see if he could ¡®disappear¡¯ from our vision. ¡°You¡¯re not the boss of me,¡± Spine said. The kid was getting more than a little manic.
Perception check¡­ Successful Spine is using the trait Goblin Mode. He is currently being bombarded with inputs. He is not lost to the network but he is distracted.
Seth demonstrating he was both fast and agile appeared almost instantly next to Spine. Faster than though Seth reached down and flicked the top of Spine¡¯s head, ¡°Respect your teacher.¡± ¡°Ow!¡± Spine said. He seemed more surprised than anything. He was rubbing the spot on his head seemingly confused it wasn¡¯t actually damaged
Terms of Pact with Spine Spindle-Bite not in danger. Blow was Held Back Intent was teaching, not harm You are still in good standing with protecting Spine Spindle-Bite as if he were you own offspring.
That was indeed a prompt. I could tell from the words and what not. Well it seemed to basically say everything was okay. Although I did still worry about some sort of secret consequence should I violate the pact, you know beside Spine possibly dying. ¡°Hey! I am your student. Are you going to let him treat me that way?¡± Spine demanded. ¡°You did mess with his stuff a lot,¡± I countered. ¡°Plus I am his teacher so it would be bad form for him to challenge me,¡± Seth said. ¡°So am I supposed to challenge you?¡± Spine asked Seth. Seth frowned at the goblin, ¡°No.¡± ¡°I think I would be obligated as his student to meet your challenge,¡± I added. No one contradicted me. ¡°So what now?¡± Spine asked. ¡°I have an idea to get you a bunch of sparring partners,¡± I told him. I turned to Seth, ¡°You will not like it.¡± Chapter 47: What Brings a Community Together? Violence Seth did not like my idea at all. I thought it was actually pretty clever. You see, Seth set up for about a dozen people to fight me but a lot more showed up for the opportunity. It turns out a lot of folks had the Gisele mindset. I was a rare chance to battle a titan spawn in an environment that didn¡¯t translate to instant death. So they were gonna try and kick me in the head for the clout, or as a learning opportunity. That said, before anything got out of hand at this training field on the windward side of town, I made a deal with folks. I would fight them if they would provide any good faith advice and spar with Spine after. Several folks balked at this, but most were really gung-ho to battle me. One guy was way too excited. He just sort of stared at me as he lovingly polished his sword. You may think that is a euphemism but no, it was completely literal. Part of me wondered whether or not the euphemism would be less awkward. Anyone who has ridden public transportation long enough has a story of politely ignoring someone¡­ polishing their sword in public. It¡¯s not fun and you are vaguely concerned about getting stabbed, but you also know what you are dealing with. I guess I did now also: a creepy guy with a sword. Anyways, upon word spreading that I was willing to fight anyone that would spar with Spine after, the crowd swelled to hundreds. The only thing preventing Seth from slapping me for being a dumbass was he had invited twelve people, and they then told their friends, who told their friends. So, my dumb choice had compounded rather than caused the current situation. Which was gambling. A cluster of older men, and one legitimately elder woman had set up a chalkboard on an aisle and were taking bets. A lot of bets. As they started they told me I could not participate but they would be cutting me in for ten percent of the total to not rig any one bet. I shrugged and we were off to the fighting. So I knew I was strong, but I quickly had this point driven home to the point of inanity. The first person to fight me had gotten that right by drawing lots. The crowd cheered, either for him or for blood. His nametag read Pablo. He was a thin, wiry man . This became obvious when he took off his coat. ¡°I know I volunteered for this, but hold back a little please. I am here to learn.¡± I turned to Seth and whispered, ¡°What is the skill to not hit as hard as possible?¡± Seth watched me for a moment to gauge if I was serious before saying, ¡°Dampen. The skill you are looking for is Dampen.¡± I thought ¡®Dampen¡¯ really hard.
Dampen check¡­ Successful Please select damage cap for attacks.
The prompt also had a slider that let me select a number. I set the max damage to ten. That seemed like a reasonable number. I nodded, ¡®Ready when you are.¡± Pablo crept up toward me. He stopped about two of my arms lengths away. He stood with his hands up in a defensive posture. The crowd was shouting. Some were cheering him on, others were jeering. All of them wanted something to happen. I waited for Pablo to do something. He was sweating bullets despite the cold. ¡°Fuck it.¡± he said before pulling a damned handgun from his inventory. He then tried to shoot me. Dick move. I can¡¯t tell you why I hadn¡¯t expected someone to shoot at me. I knew guns existed. I knew people here had guns. That said, I was really surprised. I took two shots to the chest. Between my armor and toughness that changed what should have been a near lethal injury into a painful experience. Each bullet was comparable to get hit with a baseball, and not one thrown all that fast either. Having been shot before in the world that was, this was far more manageable.
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains in control. Note: Repeated rolls will increase the difficulty.
That wasn¡¯t a real surprise. That day was a nightmare for a lot of reasons. It was also not my main focus at the moment. Pablo, upon seeing that the first two shots had done almost nothing, committed instead to me not punching him. He backed away quickly as he fired three more times. I was equally committed to not getting shot anymore. That is a lot of words for ¡®he tried to shoot me and I dodged¡¯. The crowd shouted, although this time it was less excitement and more upset indignation. A shimmering green dome encased us and the stray shots bounced off of the edges. Turns out the old gamblers were also magical. I closed the distance and clocked Pablo.
Attack¡­ Successful Pablo take 67 points of damage Dampen check¡­ Successful Damage reduced to 10 points
Several internal parts of my anatomy clenched tight when I saw the original damage total. Turns out I need to roll to dampen my damage every time I rolled damage, but also could adjust it out of combat. I had thought 10 was a measured response. My fist hit Pablo like a sledgehammer. He pinwheeled through the air and crashed to the ground. He sort of laid there in an awkward pose for a moment. ¡°I give¡± he managed. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked, walking toward him. ¡°...I will be,¡± he said. He rolled over and was surprised to see me offering him a hand up. He smiled and took it. Once he was on his feet a little shaky he asked, ¡°How much were you holding back?¡± ¡°I was giving you about 14.9% of the damage the hit should have,¡± I said, calculating beyond my normal ability in the world that was. If the Mind attribute was doing that, why wasn¡¯t I smarter? I mean, I still didn¡¯t know how food worked. I added it to the list of things to figure out later. That list was getting big. ¡°Damn¡­ that knocked me down to 4 HP.¡± Pablo said. He smiled before shifting slightly and immediately grimacing from the pain. ¡°It is going to take hours to recover.¡± I was going to need to turn things down a bit more. I called that over to the people running the betting pool. That caused a flurry of action as more bets were placed and a teenager with a battle axe walked up to me. ¡°You ready?¡± he asked. Before I could answer he was swinging. I dodged the swing and in another moment of muscle memory punted them away.
Attack¡­ Successful Francis take 61 points of damage Dampen check¡­ successful Damage reduced to 10 points
The teen was much smaller than Pablo and a kick has better geometry for launching people into the air than a right hook. So Francis took a flight. Bob, of all people, caught the kid before they hit the ice. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Sorry!¡± I called over the crowd. Francis gave me a thumbs up. Another person was already in my face. They had two short swords and were really twirly in their assault. Again, in a world that didn¡¯t work in game mechanics I would not be able to block the slashes. Each one flowed in another. I should have been overwhelmed. Instead I slapped all the away and blade, and decked in right in the snoot. In a beautiful swirl of fabric and blades they fell to the ground. ¡°Ow!¡± they managed. People were still cheering and shouting as two more people approached. They looked basically the same. ¡°We are twins.¡± one said. ¡°We do everything together,¡± the other said. ¡°Okay,¡± I said confused. They nodded in unison. It totally wasn¡¯t creepy. Then one pulled a broadsword out of my inventory and the other a rifle. The shield came up and the crowd roared. Clearly this affected the betting. Sword twin charged me and was actually a lot faster than the previous opponents. Somehow blocking two attacks from the sword and dodging a bullet resulted in me doing a handstand. Not sure how, but instead of analyzing that I kicked sword twin in the head. The moment put me back on my feet and in reach of rifle twin. I punched them also. I expected them to have dropped like the rest but they were still on their feet a bit worse for wear. All said and done it took three hits to put the rifle twin on the ground, and four to drop the sword twin. Not so identical after all. I was just glad to be free of them and their creepy¡­ twinness. It could have been worse. They could have been twin clowns. The fighting randos became my world for a while there. It was a serious mixed bag. One guy threw a crocodile at me. Another lady had a bullwhip. The guy polishing his sword was as weird and inappropriate as I feared. Thankfully violence corrected that issue. From there things got a bit more high fantasy. Several people could empower attacks with lightning, fire, and ice. Another guy had a full on wizard hat and a shotgun. This was followed by a lady who insisted she was a sorceress. I know it had to be true because she told me many times. Checking up on Spine¡¯s progress I found him battered and bloody. That said, his win-loss rate wasn¡¯t terrible. He had one about two-thirds of his bouts with the randos. While that was great for a batting average it left something to be desired in a duel to death environment. ¡°How are you holding up?¡± I asked him. He spit out a tooth, ¡°Pretty good I think. Do you ever get a sort of fuzzy feeling in your everything?¡± he asked. ¡°That is probably the phantom pain from the¡­¡± I frowned, ¡°Hold still.¡± I pulled a knife out of his back. ¡°Fuck basket! Thanks.¡± Spine said. ¡°Anyways, the phantom sensation of injuries seems to linger. I think it is your brain tricking itself into feeling pain because it doesn¡¯t know how to process your injuries healing so fast.¡± Brunhilda and Angelica looked concerned. When Spine got distracted by his tooth regrowing, I met their eyes and raised a thumb with a questioning look. They both shook their heads. Angelica cringed as she watched Spine pull another tooth out of his head. Apparently it had been knocked loose and a new one was growing underneath it. ¡°You making any progress on your martial art?¡± I asked. Spine shrugged, ¡°I have no idea.¡± I turned to Seth, ¡°How¡¯s he doing?¡± ¡°Come over here,¡± Seth said. He pulled me several paces away, ¡°He is going to die, unless we figure out something different.¡± ¡°Got any recommendations?¡± I asked. I caught Brunhilda¡¯s eye and she nodded. Backup plan extreme violence still had its ducks in a row. Trouble was that option was terrible. We would stop people killing people by killing people¡­ fucking for virginity had a higher success rate. ¡°You learned several stages of a Cosmic Martial Art in day. Could you learn an Elevated Martial Art and then teach it to a goblin in an afternoon? He isn¡¯t going to put it all together fast enough otherwise.¡± With an expression of supreme frustration, Seth sighed, ¡°I came out here to get away from kids in combat.¡± I walked back to the crowd. ¡°I am switching to an Elevated Martial Art. Who¡¯s feeling froggy?¡± The answer to that was a lot of people. That said the audience was a lot less enthused with me disappearing using Blend In and then ambushing people. I do admit that was less visually interesting than the guy throwing a crocodile. I don¡¯t understand how he kept it alive in this frozen land, or how it wasn¡¯t hurt when he threw it, but it was certainly visually striking. It turns out Ambush and Unarmed mixed into a heavy attack, and the stealth skills and Unarmed mixed into a fast attack.
Elevated Martial Art advances The second Stage of the martial art is Hunters Grasp Snow lions attack from nowhere and are brutal. If an attack from stealth also successfully triggers an ambush. You will immediately initiate a grapple. This grapple will also grant you a level of scale to knock target prone. Ambush is now at Trained Elevated Martial Art advances The third stage of the martial art is Savage Assault Like the Snow lion you can strike with catlike speed. If you succeed on an attack from stealth you may make a second attack before needing to roll to maintain stealth.
This was something. That really was a mean combo. I could sprint without affecting my ability to hide, then hit my opponent with a quick one-two combo that transitioned into a grab and throw that bought me enough time to go back into stealth before they could do anything to me. Strangely, this hit and run style of fighting was more disheartening to people then my beating them straight up with a Cosmic Martial Art. I suspect seeing me be overpowered was expected. Having me be overpowered in a way that wasn¡¯t obviously understood -like from popping out of the snow and clobbering them before they could even try and murder me- was more humbling. Betting was beginning to sag slightly. Leigh, the old lady running the betting, quickly took me aside to discuss this, ¡°Could you please mix it up a bit.¡± ¡°I am trying to master an Elevated Martial art as quickly as possible.¡± I explained with a shrug. She squinted her eyes, ¡°So you just need to master an elevated martial art and you will go back to fighting folks fair and square?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I agreed. ¡°What do ya got so far?¡± She asked. ¡°I got the fast attack, the heavy attack and the mobility figured out.¡± I explained before remembering that I probably shouldn¡¯t tell just anyone my abilities. ¡°Oh that is easy. When all else fails, mix in magic,¡± Leigh said with a laugh. Before she walked back to the black board she said, ¡°Try magic.¡± I turned to Seth who had come over to see what the problem was, ¡°Is she right?¡± Seth shrugged, ¡°She isn¡¯t wrong.¡± ¡°Will Dampen work with magic?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah¡± Seth said walking away ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot,¡± I muttered. I turned on Claws of Darkness. The lady about to fight me, Brianna, looked concerned, ¡°Oh shoot. You aren¡¯t holding back anymore.¡± ¡°I am trying to,¡± I smiled. I hoped in a reassuring way. Brianna did not look reassured, or even assured for that matter. Then again I would not want to fight a giant with weird magic hands. That would obviously go poorly. Brianna was right to have concerns. The claws were sharp and could cut. Yeah, Dampen was still reducing the damage, but it certainly looked more violent. The crowd was enthused by it. That was a little disturbing. Anyways an hour of literally mauling people with magic claws did result in the following prompts
Dark Magic is now at Trained Level New spell learned Tenebrous Form While obscured from light you can render your form the stuff of shadow. While this ability is active, Reduce health regen by [Magic Attribute - 2]. User also gains a percentage chance equal to [Magic Attribute] to be insubstantial to any successful attack against the user. Elevated Martial Art Advances The last stage is Mauling Claws The true reason people fear the claws of the Snow lion isn¡¯t their sharpness, but the gaping injury they leave behind. When you succeed on an attack using magic, the attack will also inflict the Extreme Agony condition. You have mastered Path of the Snow Lion New Achievement: My Kung fu is strong! You have mastered an Elevated Martial Art. back in the day this was quite the achievement. Nowadays¡­ yeah it is kinda cool, but it is really more you are a loser for not having this achievement. You know this is like: doing a chin up, or being able to jog for a mile, or talk to a woman without looking down her shirt. Reward: you can lord this over the fifteen people around here who haven¡¯t mastered a martial and also care. Experience points withheld. Experience will be awarded once requirements are met.
That was a lot. Experience points withheld¡­ to hell with you too, system. I immediately stopped using my magic claws. That Extreme Agony condition was one of those things I wasn¡¯t comfortable inflicting on someone¡­ maybe on snow lions. Fuck them in general and whichever one I hit with this specifically. Anyway, a quick timeout later using the Mentor skill I managed to get Spine up to Trained level in Ambush and Unarmed. This pushed him to the third stage of the Path of the Snow Lion. ¡°Huh, is this how people normally learn a martial art?¡± Spine asked. He was getting a little pallid. I could tell from the faint glaze in his eyes that he was absolutely dealing with the white noise. ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Seth glowered at us. ¡°This is power leveling and it is a lame shortcut that breeds overconfidence and sets people up to¡­ for failure.¡± Seth was apparently the never say die type, at least when Spine could hear him. I could tell what he meant. ¡°Spine, hold off on fighting any more. You need to rest. The pain only fades if you give it time,¡± I explained. He blinked at me. ¡°Cool. What are we talking about?¡± Well, shit. Chapter 48: Good Walls Incase of Bad Neighbors I put Spine in timeout. Which is to say we set him up by Liegh and the other old gamblers. He sat there quietly, and one of the old gamblers gave him a lemon drop. That seemed fairly stable. I spent another three hours beating the hell out of a few more random people that wanted to try and punch me in the head. A lot of people really focused their attacks at my head. Seth was getting frustrated that the people who were supposed to be fighting me were instead sending their juniors to battle me and watching what happened. They were clearly trying to learn something about my fighting style by observing my technique. Jokes on them though. In order to figure out what I am doing, I would need to actually know what I was doing. Eventually people got tired of watching me completely overpower everyone. The weird sword guy wanted a round two, and rather than deal with him again we basically put an end to everything. We set Spine down in a sleeping bag in Seth shed, ¡°I am not tired,¡± he murmured before immediately conking out. ¡°What do you guys think?¡± I asked. ¡°I am deeply worried,¡± Angelica admitted. ¡°I am pretty sure we need to come up with another plan,¡± Brunhilda thought for a moment, ¡°Besides the backup plan we already have.¡± ¡°Seriously? Just fighting everyone is a terrible plan that won¡¯t help any goblins trying to get here.¡± Angelica insisted. ¡°Got any better ideas?¡± Brunhilda asked. It wasn¡¯t so much a challenge as it was polite curiosity. If Angelica did have a better idea she would probably go with it. ¡°... No. other than getting that Madigan guy to change his mind,¡± Angelica frowned. ¡°Is there any chance he will do that?¡± Seth scoffed, ¡°Not likely. You hurt his pride publicly. He values his pride more than anything.¡± ¡°Would an apology help?¡± I mean the guy was an asshole, but I wasn¡¯t so proud I would let a kid die instead of say ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡¯. Hell, I would even be sincere if it saved one life. Seth shook his head, ¡°Not at this point. If he can¡¯t be seen as being in control he isn¡¯t going to let this go.¡± I didn¡¯t have a good answer immediately at hand. To hell with it. May as well do something useful. ¡°Brunhilda, I know you said you would play hardball and withhold aid, but I think we should still try and set up some walls. Travis is a dickhead but we can¡¯t just leave everyone else hanging in the lurch.¡± Brunhilda thought for a long moment. ¡°Fine, It is just going to give Madigan more leverage to say no. We need to find a way to protect more of the goblins. ¡­Doug, how much mana have you collected for your mystic well? Oops. Shit. That is yet another ability I could be using to solve problems that I simply ignored. ¡°So far¡­ zero.¡± Brunhilda stood. She rolled her shoulders. She pulled a step ladder out of her inventory and set it in front of me. She then quickly ascended the ladder and slapped me upside the head.
Attack from Brunhilda Successful. You take 31 points of damage Titanic Regeneration plus 38 hit points HP: 420/420
Ow. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do that, but you need to stop acting stupid.¡± She put a hand on my shoulder, ¡°Give me a pact for the next five days. I will help you fill up the well, and use the mana to help heal the goblins. I will help build the wall, too.¡± ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Angelica said. ¡°I think we are looking at this the wrong way. We keep looking at it from the perspective of applying direct force. We need to look at it from a social standpoint.¡± I nodded, ¡°What are you thinking? ¡°What if every part of the town had a wall except the part nearest Madigan¡¯s house?¡± Angelica grinned, ¡°That should cause some questions.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that just going to escalate things?¡± I asked, a little concerned. Again plan ¡®extreme violence¡¯ was on the table but it was a bad plan, and I figured it was best to fence around it. Use it as motivation to come up with a better plan. This seemed like it could just be one step closer to a fight. The grin did fade but Angelica pressed on, ¡°I don¡¯t think it will. Yeah it will infuriate him, but it will change the conversation. His people would start pressing him because they are going to want the wall. Messing with outside¡¯s is one thing, but to publicly screw over your people¡­¡± ¡°I like that,¡± Brunhilda was rubbing her chin ¡°We would keep leverage, because we could wall that part of town out if we have to escalate further.¡± ¡°That might be a step too far for me,¡± I said. I was pulling up the menu for the pact as I spoke. I was offering access to the mystic well and related skills. I put in a five day window. It wouldn¡¯t let me offer it.
Pact Unbalanced Recipient must provide some for of service or material benefit. Gifting is not allowed. Recommended options: Eternal servitude Recipient¡¯s soul Marriage
¡°You just need to make the threat,¡± Brunhilda explained. Despite her words she had pulled a piece of paper from her inventory and was mapping out the town. She waved Seth over. ¡°Don¡¯t you always need to mean every threat you make?¡± I asked, still messing with the pact system. Apparently just adding a promise of nonviolence to me was not good enough. The pact wanted something. Even as I internally grumbled I did acknowledge it was part of this system and thus wouldn¡¯t let it be just a gift. ¡°Common misconception. You need to make the person you are threatening believe you will make good on any threat you make,¡± Brunhilda turned to Seth, ¡°What part of town does Madigan live in?¡± Seth pointed out a spot on the map. Brunhilda whistled, ¡°Leeward part of town and close to the Mandir. Rank has privileges.¡± she marked out a circle around the town leaving roughly a thirty degree arc open. ¡°That should leave the noise makers nice and exposed.¡± ¡°She nodded before turning to me, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not get too crazy here. Make the wall out of ice, aim for fifteen feet high. Have the top be four feet wide and the bottom be eight. Outer wall vertical. Sound good?¡± ¡°I can make that work?¡± I agreed. This didn¡¯t feel like enough. I needed to figure something else out. I was able to make the pact work. I would giver her a pact for the next five days, as well as access to the Mystic Well. this would give the skills needed to fill it. She was obligate to add 1 MP to the well, and help build the wall. Ten feet of all minimum to be precise. And the pact went through without a hitch. The Pact system didn¡¯t like gifts, but it didn¡¯t really seem to have rules either, at least for me. Hmmm, this has potential. We had one more brief aside. Brand had to be rescued from Janie and her crew. They had cornered him during my yard fighting. He had managed to distract them for quite some time with the translations from Goblin to English. Janie really liked linguistics. I informed them I needed Brand to watch over Spine before the duel. Carla informed me she was a trained sniper. I don¡¯t think they like me anymore. Building the wall was a lot easier than I thought. A quick Destruction check would cut out a chunk of ice the right size. Angelica and I would lift it up into place and an equally quick Construction check fused them together. We were making amazing time. From what I could tell the town was roughly five miles across and basically a circle. That meant in order to wall off the place we need about 15.7 miles of ice. Taking out the thirty degree arc and assuming Brunhilda took half the work like she said she would meant I was dealing with just under seven and a quarter miles. That should be a fuckload of work, but we were moving at a pace of roughly one-point-five miles an hour. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°So I take it you want to know about¡­ my husband,¡± Seth asked. ¡°I do,¡± I admitted. A tap on the chisel created another massive slab. ¡°For what it is worth I am not judging you until I know what happened.¡± Seth nodded, ¡°He was James Smith.¡± he seemed to think that would mean something to me. It certainly meant something to Angelica, ¡°No way!¡± She let go of the ice slab mid lift. Seth didn¡¯t flinch but he did step back slightly. I managed to get the slab vertical, ¡°Ugh¡­ I don¡¯t know who that is.¡± When Seth stayed quiet for a long moment, Angelica provided a fairly neutral answer, ¡°He is¡­ was the second reason the Technacoast wasn¡¯t wiped out by the fantasy coast.¡± She checked on Seth and stopped talking. Seth Nodded, ¡°He was a scientist. He¡­ he was a genius.¡± he shook his head with a rueful smile. ¡°Even now I worry that everything he did was to protect our home.¡± Seth paused again. It didn¡¯t take an empath to tell he was thinking about where to start. Angelica didn¡¯t seem interested in expositing either. The right thing to do would be for me to provide some form of emotional support. Seth and I were both men who had lost our spouses. That is a common ground. Hell, his loss was clearly traumatic like mine was. Instead I just carved another slab from the ice to stall for time in the hope Seth would find a place to start talking. Seth figured out what he wanted to say, ¡°He worked with the government. At first he was mostly doing things for food production. The Technacoast has about forty million people in it, we figured that was about twice the Fantasy Coast¡¯s population. That is a lot of mouths to feed. He figured out means of growing grains in damaged soil. He even figured out how to get wheat up to Epic scale.¡± Despite himself Seth smiled fondly as he spoke. The smile faded though, ¡°That had to be how he ended up doing what he did. Increasing scale is not easy. There are always rumors about how other places have figured out means of increasing someone¡¯s scale without them leveling through it. For the Technacoast the majority of claims were that people in Asia had figured out how to improve scale, but rumors about South America were almost as common. Those are places that the average person isn¡¯t going to be able to reach easily. Europe is relatively easy to access and other than some obviously fake claims no one really claims anyone is altering scale over there¡­ other than the standard means of hitting level fifty.¡± Seth sighed, ¡°James figured out a means of doing it though.¡± A quick glance over to Angelica and I found her listening with rapt attention. I didn¡¯t have the whole story but I am pretty sure they were from opposite ends of a war. I needed to better understand what was going on in the world. It had echoes here at least. ¡°James and I had met before that. He was a poor researcher, and I was some buck private in the military. We got married because the war was heating up again¡­ it seemed like the right thing to do. Anyways, I survived that campaign and came back to find he was the food guy. That said the Authority, the ruling body for the Technacoat, needed soldiers to compete with the Fantasy Coasts¡¯. Gnomes and Dwarves are Rare Scale baseline. Elves Start at Epic. then all the Dark Spawn¡­ Even with our better industry providing better overall gear and Martial Arts leveling the playing field we were in a bad spot. The Authority reached out to James.¡± Seth¡¯s fist clenched, but he almost instantly hid that behind his back. His next sentence rumbled with anger, ¡°I told to talk to them.¡± Seth took a deep breath and forced his voice calm again. ¡°We needed money. My pay as a soldier barely covered rent. Jame¡¯s pay for research was half the time in the red. He put his money into developing the grain, paying for experiments and soil. In the end he got nothing for it. Someone got rich over the food, but we couldn¡¯t afford groceries. ¡° Seth looked down at his feet. He shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I am complaining about my problems.¡± he looked up, ¡°Anyways. James said he would meet them. I had to redeploy before he spoke with them. I was field promoted and ended up having to stay out for another eight months total. Getting news on the front lines is not easy. For the most part if it doesn¡¯t tell something about what is about to attack you, you don¡¯t hear about it. The Authority doesn¡¯t want us soldiers being distracted with petty details back home. The claim being they had it all in hand and we didn¡¯t need to worry. That sounded bad. I mean I read ahead when Seth said his government had named itself the Authority. What is it with fascist states and shit names? Yeah they can¡¯t all be Orwellen in naming, but ¡®Authority¡¯ why not just call yourself Goose Step Incorporated? I wasn¡¯t going to pretend I was informed on such things, but in the world that was for the U.S. military you could communicate with people back home. Sure the military put limits on it. Like you could tell people your GPS coordinates, and there had to be some hard logistics here, I am guessing folks on Submarines didn¡¯t get regular mail¡­ maybe electronically. However, the ubiquity of stories about U.S. service members getting letters from home meant people were talking. Absolute silence felt like a massive red flag. Seth popped his knuckles with his thumb on his left hand as he kept talking, ¡°Imagine my surprise when I came back home and found a different family living in my apartment. After several minutes of terror I was able to get in contact with James. He was on the top plate.¡± That meant nothing to me. ¡°Dang,¡± Angelica muttered. Seeing I didn¡¯t get it, she checked with Celeste, at least that is what I am guessing her looking up to the left meant, ¡°Think penthouse suite in the wealthiest part of town.¡± Seth nodded, ¡°It gets better. Authority Community Services came to pick me up and deliver me to James. That was nuts. Turns out while I was fighting in the Musical Valley James had found a way to elevate people from Common to Uncommon Scale. I didn¡¯t know it at the time, but he had also figured out how to elevate people who were naturally of Uncommon Scale to Rare Scale. ¡°The Chimeras,¡± Angelica interjected. She seemed to be cutting to the quick here. Seth Hesitated. He seemed to realize where Angelica was from, ¡°Yes.¡± I stepped in. conflict takes momentum. Sure it accelerates faster than most people expect but if you can consistently stall it out people just keep talking, ¡°Angelica could you help me with this slab?¡± one heft later, asked Seth, ¡°What happened next?¡± Seth thought for a moment before he continued, ¡°It is like she said. Chimeras. James was able to elevate food plants by grafting higher scale parts to lower scale stalks. This is similar to what he was doing with soldiers¡­ with people.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. The lack of focus caused the Destruction check to fail. Instead of a large slab of ice. I got a tub of fine powder that the wind swept away almost instantly. ¡°Turns out you can graft Mob parts to a person,¡± Seth said. He was rubbing the back of his neck and slowly turning himself sideways to us. ¡°It is more complicated than you would think. The original method was to improve the heart and lungs. Later muscle and bone grafting also became viable. That was all well accepted. They all looked normal. Just before I left. Things were getting weird. They were grafting wings, claws and other things.¡± ¡°They started making monsters,¡± Angelica said bluntly. ¡°The Authority was always making monsters, it just took the victims of their work coming out ugly for me to realize,¡± Seth said. He seemed to age twenty years as he spoke. Perhaps Scale and active lifestyle hid it, but he was older than I had been in the world that was. ¡°There were always rumors about the stability of Chimera soldiers: mood swings, fits of anger, odd cravings, violence. We mutilated our own people so they could kill other people over there.¡± Angelica elbowed me, ¡°Make a slab,¡± she didn¡¯t seem all that interested in a confrontation anymore. I did, we had to slide it into place before lifting it into place. ¡°I think I can put together what happened next,¡± I said to Seth. His situation was different that mine. Yeah there was clearly narrator fuckery piling superficially like trama on top of each other. Perhaps they don¡¯t fully understand the human experience. Denise seemed deeply human. Wilson was pretty good at putting the face on and only let the Mask slip when he wanted to be intimidating. Then there was Grace. She didn¡¯t feel human at all. That would imply this less than accurate poke at my and Angelica¡¯s feelings may be under the control of a different Narrator. Or it was a double bluff, and this was somehow going to swing around violently and force a failed willpower check. The other option was the Psy Op was complete and I needed to buy a tin foil hat. ¡°No It is worth finishing. I haven¡¯t talked about this for five years.¡± he laughed ruefully, ¡°I was terrified if I talked about it, some¡­ thing would come out of the past and destroy me.¡± ¡°I mean that sounds like a valid fear,¡± I agreed. This place seemed to run on melodrama logic. His here-to-unknown evil twin was likely to come calling any day now. Seth shrugged before he continued, ¡°It took longer than it should have for me to figure out what was wrong. Part of it was me not wanting to see him doing terrible things, but a big part of it was the life it gave us. We used to be hungry, we never had our head above water. But then, we were wealthy. I don¡¯t have words for how good it is to not have to worry about rent, or not need to stress about food, or if someone got we could buy medicine. It made me put blinders on and ignore obvious signs.¡± Seth was quiet for a long moment, ¡°One in ten trees survived the grafting process. The rest died. This was still worth it because any try that survived would provide enough food to feed twenty times the people every year. Grain was a similar story except the seed that survived would be higher scale. Plants tend to be more resilient in general than people.¡± I pretended not to see the tear running down Seth¡¯s cheeks. Seth¡¯s breath hitched, ¡°One- one in fifty. It was actually worse in the beginning. When they were using adults for the experiments. Children under the age of thirteen take to the process more easily. One in fifty. I assumed he didn¡¯t know. I warned him. Jim¡­ James knew. He proposed it. He pushed it. He even had plans to try elevating Rare Scale people to Epic. Something they had tried over a hundred times with no success. Not one.¡± ¡°It was when I realized the man I had loved was long gone, if he ever existed, that I really thought. The Technacoast produced twenty thousand Chimera soldiers. One in fifty people survived the process. He was going to accelerate the process. He was going to¡­ more children. I had to kill him. Then I had to run.¡± He wiped at the tear. The cold and the wind had frozen them to his face. He met my gaze and saw the sentiment fade from his eyes, ¡°Thank you for listening, Doug.¡± Then Seth walked around the wall back into town. Chapter 49: How Did This Become Date Night? Angelica and I spent a good twenty minutes after Seth left building the wall without talking. The wind lessened. The clouds parted. The silver light from an almost-full moon turned our surroundings from frozen hellscape to rolling hills of twinkling snow. One by one the stars winked into existence as the clouds whisked away. It was beautiful. ¡°You alright?¡± Angelica asked. She seemed to be determinedly ignoring the night sky. ¡°What? Yeah,¡± I said. I made another slab of ice for the wall. ¡°I was afraid somehow Seth¡¯s story was going to¡­ directly relate¡­ to me. Are you okay?¡± Angelica wasn¡¯t exactly hard to read on the surface level. I knew when she was angry, the yelling was a clue. That said, she was pretty good at putting up walls. Both metaphorical and real come to think of it. I had a nagging dread creeping into me. If Seth¡¯s past wasn¡¯t meant to mirror mine, then she was the next logical target¡­ or I was missing something. Angelica did pause for a moment. The look on her face said I had been close if not right. ¡°I have been at this for a long time now. You¡¯ll figure out in time, basically everyone is dealing with similar problems. It is the way of the world. It is so easy to feel your situation is unique and special but that just isolates you.¡± I nodded, ¡°But are you okay?¡± Angelica thought for a moment. ¡°Celeste likes you. Like, Likes you likes you!¡± ¡°What?¡± the little gears in my head caught as thoughts shifted. ¡°She likes you¡­ romantically, or at least would like to try and see where dating could go,¡± Angelica supplied quickly. ¡°I am flattered¡­but why are you telling me?¡± While that was a valid question, part of my mind notice that was the least flattering way and things to say. Angelica gave me a grin that only a roommate with the opportunity to talk shit can make. ¡°Because she is a big coward and is just going to quietly pine for you until you realize. I don¡¯t got that kind of time.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re just telling me? Doesn¡¯t that violate some sort of code?¡± I asked, unabashedly stalling for time Angelica wasn¡¯t having it, ¡°There is no Chick Code, Lady Law or Woman Wombat Doctrine.¡± ¡°Woman¡­ wombat doctrine?¡± I asked, growing more confused. ¡°Alliterations on the fly are hard,¡± Angelica insisted. We stood there awkwardly for a few seconds. ¡°Uh¡­¡± I started. Celeste¡¯s eyes flashed, ¡°Okay, I guess we need to talk.¡± We stood there awkwardly for a few more seconds. The silence was broken by romantic music from an honest-to-god string quartet. The night was cold, but the sensuous music was warm. Its tempo was slow but constant and I found myself almost swaying to it. Celeste and I peered around the edge to find four people playing. Upon seeing us the violin player paused, and waved, ¡°Any requests? We practice out here any time the wind goes down.¡± ¡°No thank you,¡± I called, going back to making another slab. Celeste was frowning as she stared into the frozen plains beyond. ¡°This is kinda awkward isn''t it?¡± I said mostly just filling the void in the conversation. ¡°What? Oh the music, the moon, and the sky. That is honestly fairly tame. Not to change the subject but, I no longer have just ten minutes,¡± Celeste said before she casually flipped the multi-ton block of ice in place. ¡°What amount of time do you have now?¡± I asked, making another titanic slab with a gesture. I was listening but after almost two hours of repeating a task sort of made it into a reflex. ¡°Twenty minutes,¡± Celeste said. She blinked, ¡°The mantle.¡± She flipped the next segment into place basically without thinking. ¡°Grond was likely level ten. Any mantle I take would likely have the same effect.¡± ¡°Is that something we can do?¡± my hand clenched into a fist. The memory of crushing Grond¡¯s head¡­ I let it go. Grond deserved what he got, and right now Celeste deserved my full attention. Immediately after fixing another section of wall in place, I put my tools back in my inventory. ¡°Not really.¡± Celeste admitted, ¡°Divine Scale players are difficult to pin down, harder still to actually beat. Looking at it more closely, if information like this got out it would just be one more target on Angelica¡¯s back.¡± Celeste¡¯s expression quickly cycled between surprised, annoyed, and chastened before settling on a faint grin. ¡°She says I need to quit beating around the bush.¡± I nodded along: there was only one possible response to that. ¡°So have they done anything new with Star Trek?¡± I could hear Angelica scream internally as Celeste and I spent a good ten minutes not so boldly rehashing where mankind had been before. Turns out, yes they are still making content¡­ or remaking it. About eighteen years ago the elves remade the original series. It was a sort-of hit and had them making several other shows. The Romulan Chronicles were a dud, but the Next Generation remake was well received. Apparently the Picard remake should be wrapping up this year. ¡°What about Lower Decks?¡± I asked, shaking my head. I did kinda want to see the Klingon Telenovela, ¡®Bat¡¯leth Parmaq¡¯. It would either be a train wreck or strangely compelling. I kept crafting yet another wall segment. ¡°It is on season fifteen. They sort of keep rotating out the cast as they move one to other projects.¡± Celeste said. She flipped another slab into place. ¡°So how would dating work?¡± I asked. Now that we were out of the range of the music it felt less forced. Celeste frowned, ¡°Do you mean physical contact?¡± ¡°Actually, no,¡± I stood before I could make another wall segment, ¡°I have a lot of baggage. I am working through things¡­ But that is true of everyone. My real concern here is that you, and Angelica are my oldest friends. Romance is complicated in general. I am not saying ¡®No¡¯, but there are some logistical hurdles. For example time we spend together like this time you can no longer use to defend yourself. It poses a risk to you and Angelica.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°That is easy,¡± Celeste said with a smile. ¡°All relationships have risks. Yeah, ours would have more direct tactical issues, but we both know when the timer resets. All we have to do is carve out time close to then. No real risk there.¡± ¡°Oh. That¡­ is a fairly elegant solution,¡± I admitted, as I stooped to create another slab. ¡°I have had time to think about it,¡± Celeste said. I paused, but made the square before asking, ¡°What are your thoughts then for the relationship?¡± Celeste casually hefted the segment, voice not shifting from its thoughtful tone all the while, ¡°Well, I figured we would marry in the fall, have four kids, you would work in Sales, and I would be a homemaker. Eventually we would die of old age in eachothers arms. But we would have to be buried separately. There just isn''t room in the family plot for you.¡± I burst out laughing immediately. Celeste had the look of someone relieved their joke landed, ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not sure. I don¡¯t know about you, but it has been¡­ a while since I have done¡­ dating. I figure we start with spending time together. Perhaps try romantic moonlit strolls while building fortifications, and see where things go.¡± I grinned despite myself. Time seemed to slow down as my brain churned through ideas. Of course a glandular part of me, upon sensing an opportunity for sex, internally shouted, ¡°Go for It!¡± A more circumspect part asked, ¡°You don¡¯t actually have all that good of luck with relationships. Remember Karen?¡± Another part that was more rational than helpful brought up, ¡°280 years. No one is waiting for you. You are alone.¡± Then the dark thoughts cut in, ¡°Nothing matters. Everything dies in the end. Drink up! Embrace oblivion.¡± I shut them all down. None of that was helpful. I never met Marnie. Yet I love her, and I grieve. Something Mark told me- the Titan- rose to the surface. ¡°Everyone, even you, deserves happiness, but you have to choose happiness. I am not going to tell you to stop being sad, but it is okay to stop. ¡­Marnie would want you to at least try.¡± I- the Titan- hadn¡¯t taken that well. I am not the Titan. I can do better now than he did then. ¡°I am willing to give it a try, are you okay with being patient?¡± I managed.
Titanic Quest Updated Try Happiness or its pursuit may hold the answer. Don¡¯t lose sight of the true goal.
Interesting as the prompt boxes are some things are more important. Celeste shrugged, ¡°Time is relative. I have existed for three centuries now. I have been basically single for the last thirty-five years. No pressure, dude.¡± I made another slab. Something felt off but I couldn¡¯t place it, ¡°Slightly indelicate question here, why is a lady like you interested in a guy like me?¡± Celeste sighed then flipped the wall into place with her foot, ¡°Okay. Some of this is going to sound dumb, some like ego stroking, and some of it is going to sound¡­bad. I like that you are from the World that Was. It is easy for someone like me to feel isolated. I don¡¯t feel that when you are around. Plus, you like Star Trek, that fandom is few and far between. I am not going to lie, you being high scale also means you are not going to make an issue of my Scale, which is an undeniable plus. Also you aren¡¯t entangled in any old politics.¡± She paused but eventually finished, ¡°I also like that you are taller than me.¡± ¡°I have put a lot of effort into my height,¡± I teased, before making another slab. I realized the wind had completely stopped. Sure, it had calmed before but now everything was completely still. Celeste grinned slightly, ¡°Yeah, that is shallow, but you check the box.¡± she frowned, ¡°You aren¡¯t one of the guys that gets weird about height, are you?¡± ¡°Probably not,¡± I said. I looked around. The place looked like a painting of a snowy evening. ¡°Am I a giant?¡± Celeste smiled fondly with a look that said, ¡®Aw¡­ he¡¯s a himbo¡¯ ¡°There isn¡¯t really a set height for a giant. That said, Titan Spawn are generally larger than life, and you are tall for a Titan Spawn.¡± ¡°I had suspicions,¡± I admitted the other option was I was in Lilliput. Celeste chuckled, but then frowned, ¡°Is time stopping?¡± Rather than make a joke, I listened. The relative quiet had become haunting silence. But rather than the telltale thrum of time ceasing, there was an almost imperceptible arrhythmic stutter of time skipping. I hadn¡¯t spotted cessation before because it slowed so gradually before this almost-halt. A segment of wall about a thousand feet back tipped over.That was a hell of a trick, considering I had fused it into place with a Construction Skill check, and it weighed about a hundred thousand pounds. Also, time was basically stopped, so it moving at all was odd. ¡°Should we go check that out?¡± I asked. I was legitimately unsure. ¡°Have you never seen a horror movie?¡± Celeste asked, before walking purposely toward the downed section of wall. I fell into step with her, ¡°Yeah, but wouldn¡¯t conventional wisdom for that genre be for us to run the other way?¡± ¡°No I am an Angel and you are a Titan Spawn, we need to go over there and beat down any masked slasher or creepy crawler we find. Fuck the formula,¡± Celeste spat that last part as she quickened her pace. Okay, that was hot. I bet she hates snow lions too. ¡°Denise, what is this?¡± I asked. ¡°Don¡¯t call me here now!¡± Denise shrieked. She grabbed a fistful of the fur on my cloak and sort of hid behind me as we ran toward the broken wall. ¡°What is going on? Is it dangerous?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah! We are still in view! This isn¡¯t a normal time stop! A player is doing it while the audience is watching!¡± Denise hissed. After a few steps she added, ¡°I am inserting myself in the story right now. I am breaking Immersion.¡± I had no Idea what that meant. But she was trying to hide under my cloak. Best let her do that for the time being. She was at least quiet then. Denise had some lungs on her. At the gap in the wall we found¡­ I didn¡¯t even know what to call it. It looked to be a large, black letter ¡®S¡¯ or maybe ¡®Z¡¯. It had a mouth piece like a trumpet and a larger bell end decorated to look like a¡­ dog?...dragon? ¡­sea serpent? The mouthpiece looked to be unpainted but still made of some dark iron looking material. There was a message as well, carved in to the ice of the wall. Blackened letters a foot high read ¡®Don¡¯t Kill the Demon of Frost¡¯. The text was slightly rough like it had been gouged into in a hurry.
Notice Check¡­ Successful!
An almost physical force pushed my sight to footprints in the snow and then twisted my neck to see the shadowy figure halfway hidden behind the wall segment we had just set. The outline looked ¡¯feminine¡¯, so it wasn¡¯t Zach or Cole. it was too tall to be Aela. The figure looked back probably sensing my gaze, and for a fraction of a second met my eye with their almost featureless face, before stepping fully behind the wall. What the hell was Nadia doing here? I didn¡¯t exactly pick up on any danger the one time I met her, but the one constant of this world was Nadia killed people. Basically everyone -including Narrators- were afraid of them. The slow, not-quite stopping of time had been subtle. Its restart crashed back to full speed like a wave. The wind went from nothing to a good ten-to-fifteen miles per hour. The loose layer of snow pelted me as it was lifted again. The sound of the string quartet surged. Being fair, they were damned good. The music was legitimately moving. Denise shrieked as stuff started happening again. She then hit a button on her phone with an Audible ¡°Beep!¡±. This caused time to hard stop. it took her some doing to untangle from my cloak but she got free eventually. Celeste basically ignored her and kept her eyes locked on the Horn. When she spoke it was with that voice that reverberated with power, ¡°Doug, pick that up.¡± I didn¡¯t argue, just stooped and touched it.
Arbitration Begins in¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2.. 1..
Chapter 50: Arbitration Blues I was back in the generic conference room. It still had off-white walls, not quite comfortable chairs, a large central table, and beat to hell carpeting. Lindsey in my face, trying to wrench the horn from my grip was new. She had two hands on the horn and planted her foot on my chest. Then she pulled. ¡°Give it!¡± My instincts kicked in immediately. Never do what a Narrator wants¡­ ever. ¡°Never.¡± Lindsey was pretty strong. I had to hold on for dear life to prevent her from getting the horn. Celeste glared at Lindsey, ¡°Let go and back away. NOW!¡± her last word reverberated with power. Linsdey released her grip like it burned her. ¡°Fine¡­ drama queen.¡± I stumbled back and nearly trampled Denise, ¡°Fuck!¡± She shrieked. Her tone could be piercing when she wanted. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± I demanded. I had no idea about Narrators, but given I was marginally stronger than Lindsey made me suspect that if fist came to face, I could take her. ¡°We are in arbitration,¡± Denise answered. She pulled out her phone and checked it. She frowned, ¡°it won¡¯t tell me why.¡± ¡°That you dumb bitch!¡± Lindsey snarled pointing at the horn in my hand. ¡°Why are you here though?¡± I demanded of Lindsey. I made the complaint.¡± Lindsey said flatly. She stepped further away and tried to make a show of being unafraid. The effect was spoiled slightly by her never turning her back on me or Celeste. She managed to get to the other side of the table eventually. I sighed, ¡°Is there a good way out of this?¡± ¡°We could just kill her,¡± Celeste said. ¡°What the fuck Celeste?¡± Lindsey snapped. Celeste slid a faux smile on her face. ¡°Nothing personal, Lindsey. It has been so long. Last time we met you were just Grond¡¯s intern. Look at you now, his Narrator. How¡¯s that going?¡± I never would have guessed that Celeste could be catty. Then again being married taught me many times I was not an expert with regard to women. Hell, even the one woman could routinely surprise me. ¡°I earned my promotion,¡± Lindsey almost growled. ¡°Didn¡¯t your predecessor get killed by Wilson? Fiona right?¡± I asked. That would probably wind her up more, but I wanted to fish for more information. For a brief moment Lindsey looked at me like I had slapped her. She blinked twice. When she spoke her voice was laced with menace. ¡°No one is happier than me that negligent bitch is dead. She kept me around Grond for decades. I earned this. I have the power now. It¡¯s mine. Now I am not going to let you have the Carnyx of Gabriel.¡± While the implications of what she said were in fact disturbing -decades around Grond and Denise had made it clear interns were fairly exposed to high scale players also- the threat drew more focus. That said something else was even more obvious in its need to be addressed, ¡°What is the Carnyx of Gabriel?¡± ¡°The goddamn horn you assclown.¡± Lindsey muttered. She rolled her eyes. Ignoring Lindsey¡¯s insults I asked Denise, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t Wilson be here?¡± Denise blinked, ¡°Yeah, he should.¡± she started texting on her phone. After a moment she looked up and shrugged. ¡°Yeah I don¡¯t text,¡± Wilson answered, mocking Denise''s voice. He appeared behind me. He tapped my left shoulder. I looked and he wasn¡¯t there. He was on my right. ¡°Made you look.¡± ¡°What took you so long,¡± Lindsey sniped. Wilson sigh and gazed at me in mock outrage, ¡°I give you a window to kill her and you talk politely.¡± he shook his head and looked over to Lindsey, ¡°Some do ginger, I an not naming any names, -you- sent a gaggle of interns to go wrangle Nadia. That required my attention. ¡°You blocked them from talking to Nadia?¡± Lindsey accused. ¡°Fuck No! I stood at a safe distance watching and laughed.¡± WIlson smiled to himself. ¡°They are all dead.¡± I hate Wilson. He is malicious. He revels in the suffering of others. That said I am pretty sure Lindsey tried to kill my friends, and me for that matter. Also this is the second time she was messing with my life. Since I couldn¡¯t piss her off more, ¡°What¡¯s our GRP WIlson?¡± He paused for a fraction of a moment before his smile sharpened, ¡°I am glad you asked. You are currently at nineteen thousand and some change. Proud of you, Kid,¡± he gave me a quick pat on the arm. ¡°What are your numbers, Lindsey?¡± ¡°He can¡¯t have Carnyx of Gabriel,¡± Lindsey insisted. Wilson looked at the horn in my hand, and then to Lindsey. He did it again. He made the trek a third time, ¡°I am confused.¡± ¡°Fuck you!¡± Lindsey shouted at Wilson. ¡°Only if you begged me.¡± Wilson responded. He rubbed his chin in thought, ¡°When you do, my preference is you be on your knees dressed as a french maid, or my dad. Dealer¡¯s choice.¡± Not wanting to hear any more of what ever the fuck that was I cut it, ¡°What is this thing? And why are people yelling about it?¡± Wilson turned to Denise. Denise pulled her phone out. Her eyes bugged. ¡°Oh! It is a Titanic Relic. Nadia used it for a couple of centuries. Basically there isn¡¯t a person alive over fifty who won¡¯t have some sort of extreme fear response if you blow that horn. It won¡¯t let me tell you what it actually does because they want you to read the description live.¡± ¡°We just decided he cannot have a Titanic Scale Relic!¡± Lindsey snarled. ¡°No, no, no, no,¡± WIlson disagreed. ¡°Our last little bitch session it was decided that an upgrade could not create an object of Titanic Scale. This item already existed, and has simply found its way into Doug¡¯s hands. Therefore, no issue.¡± Lindsey took several breaths and forced herself calm ¡°I am going to escalate this!¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Going to try going over my head?¡± Wilson¡¯s phone rang, ¡°Hello¡­ yeah let me put you on speaker.¡± ¡°...am I on speaker?¡± a blatantly normal voice asked. It was male and had a pleasant deep resonance even over the tinny speaker. ¡°Yes Sir, Mr. Smith. I do have a slight treat for you. I have both Doug and Celeste in the room.¡± Wilson said. His tone was polite and casual, standard talking with the boss. That said his eyes were locked on Lindsey. They almost glowed with malicious glee. She paled visibly. Denise actually took a few steps back. Not sure what that was going to accomplish but fear does bad things to thoughts. ¡°Oh wonderful!¡± Mr. Smith said. His voice took on a kindly almost paternal tone, ¡°Doug! I hope you and Wilson are getting along. How has your story been going?¡± Celeste met my gaze. She was deadly serious, she nodded slowly. ¡°I guess we are getting along alright. He gave me an intern.¡± I offered. ¡°I am sorry you have me at a slight disadvantage.¡± Mr. Smith laughed to himself, ¡°Sorry, I have grown far too used to people just knowing who I am. I am Mr. Smith. I am one of the Showrunners. I oversee the activities of all the Narrators and such you see working behind the scenes. Speaking of which, you mentioned an intern. How are they doing?¡± An odd look washed over Denise. She paled to an almost gray scale, and her eyes rolled. ¡°Here we go again.¡± she mouthed. ¡°Good, I am very happy with Denise,¡± I said, not opening the door to any strange threats or hidden consequences. Denise flinched all the same. ¡°Splendid. Now Wilson what is this about a relic?¡± Mr. Smith asked. I saw Lindsey brace like she was going to jump into the conversation but upon WIlson holding the phone up to her, with his smile growing to that impossible leer she quailed. Wilson nodded, ¡°Doug has come into possession of the Carnyx of Gabriel.¡± ¡°Huh, wasn¡¯t Nadia sitting on that?¡± Mr. Smith asked. ¡°Yep, but it would seem that has changed,¡± Wilson said. There was a long moment of quiet other than the obvious rustling of paper coming from the phone. ¡°Well¡­ may as well let him have it. Nadia has been extremely boring lately. Let¡¯s see what the young buck does with it.¡± Why did he call me that? That¡¯s weird. ¡°Wonderful, Is there anything else you need sir?¡± WIlson asked Lindsey. ¡°No, I got everything I needed,¡± and then the line went dead. ¡°...so,¡± Wilson started. He had adopted that slow almost still mechanical motion. I didn¡¯t know a lot about narrators but when Wilson and Fiona clashed she ended up with her heart in a box. Had I misread the last arbitration? Was Grace not in conflict with Wilson but just holding him back? I could sense the intent radiating from him. It was murder. The lights flickered and Lindsey was gone. Wilson sighed, ¡°coward.¡± the air of menace faded to nothing. I had some mixed feelings on what just happened. On the one hand Lindsey didn¡¯t get her way. That seemed to be a direct positive to my continued existence. On the other hand that meant Wilson got his way. My mind drifted to the last few moments in the final boss arena. I felt the phantom tremors of the impacts rattle up my arm. Grond¡¯s mangled face, and Rachel¡¯s dead body lingered in front of my mind''s eye. Wilson being happy wasn¡¯t good for me either. Wilson leaned against the table and watched us, ¡°Seriously, you didn¡¯t even consider killing her?¡± ¡°I thought about it. Celeste even recommended it.¡± I admitted. I wasn¡¯t going to do it. I may not like the narrators. I hate them even. Trouble is, they look like people. So long as they aren¡¯t directly trying to hurt me¡­ I just ¡­ it felt wrong.¡± ¡°Celeste is smarter than you,¡± Wilson nodded. ¡°You should listen to her.¡± he waited a beat and when I nodded added, ¡°And plow her like a northern Maine road.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked, like a moron. ¡°Regularly and using the right tools when needed,¡± Wilson explained in a tone that almost sounded helpful. Celeste looked completely unphased. Actually, come to think about it, I am not sure why I thought that would affect her. Adora¡¯s bullshit barely flustered her. It must be nice being comfortable in your own skin. Or has she just dealt with this for so long that it no longer registers. I shook my head, ¡°Listen Wilson, I understand you are pushing Celeste, Angelica and I into a¡­ romantic relationship. But this pressing is just gonna slow things down.¡± that was a basically a polite way to tell him to fuck off. ¡°Who said anything about romance? I am trying to get you to split her like a block of wood,¡± Wilson gazed at me like I was stupid. ¡°Fuck ¡®em. Is that clear enough?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± I started, foolishly trying to appeal to humanity from Wilson. ¡°Oh,¡± he cut in. That is easy.¡± He tapped at his phone. Hardcore pornography was up on the large screen on the wall. I am not going to go into detail but it was that sad almost joyless porn that is clearly no fun for anyone involved. It was explicit though. Denise stared at it. She looked both horrified and disgusted. For some reason rather than look away she kept staring as she backed away from it. I stepped between the screen and Denise, ¡°I understand the mechanics. Could you please turn that off?¡± Wilson pressed a button and the screen went dark, ¡°Then what is the confusion?¡± ¡°Why are you pushing this?¡± I had to force myself to remain calm. I felt adrenaline course through my veins. My heart hammered against my ribs. My face was mostly impassive though. Never let them see you bleed. As soon as they know what hurts you, they attack ten times harder. ¡°¡®Will they, won¡¯t they¡¯ is testing lower than established relationship plots. So let¡¯s speed run the awkward first date bullshit and get to the good stuff like love, and complex emotional interactions, and full penetrative sex.¡± WIlson was losing interest with the conversation. He was blatantly texting someone in front of Denise. ¡°What if I don¡¯t play along?¡± I braced for impact. Wilson clearly loved control. He never missed an opportunity to flex any authority over others.He was going to take this challenge to his control badly. That said I needed to know what I was dealing with. ¡°Huh,¡± he looked up from his phone and shrugged, ¡°Oh if you don''t want to, no worries. There are other stories. That is YOUR choice.¡± he put the phone in his pocket and picked up a pen and piece of paper. He wrote several things down and folded the sheet and handed it to Celeste. She read it. She then frowned, before folding the paper and handing it to Denise. Denise put it in her jacket pocket. Wilson accommodating a basic boundary¡­ this was a trap. I fucked up bad. ¡°What was that?¡± I asked Celeste. My thumb touched the nail on my finger. ¡°Proof,¡± she said. ¡°Denise can show it after twenty-four hours. I was shown it to guarantee it is not tampered with.¡± ¡°Why not just tell me about it now?¡± I asked her. Why was she playing Wilson¡¯s game? ¡°Spoilers get punished,¡± WIlson added. He checked his watch, ¡°Any other questions?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I started preparing to argue further. We were back in the snow and time started
Carnyx of Gabriel This is a Titanic Relic! This item cannot be stored in Inventory This Item is unclaimed. Claim: Yes/No Warning: Claiming this Item will have extreme consequences. Warning: Not Claiming this item will have Extreme Consequences Warning: Any being below Demigod Scale attempting to claim this item will risk a 50% chance of a Smite. To understand this item requires understanding its name. A carnyx is a celtic horn. They would blow it before battle. Between the upsetting noise and the extreme violence most of their enemies quickly learned to dread the blowing of a carnyx. The horn of Gabriel is actually a double reference. Besides been the noise that would kick of the judeo-christian apocalypse it is also a geometric shape with a finite volume but infinite surface area. Now that is true for this Carnyx also. The nifty bit is the true name of every being in existence in the system currently is inscribe inside this horn. No peeking. Seriously don¡¯t. Blowing this horn will start a war, and will announce it to all of the world. Note: Using this item will always have extreme consequences.
¡°Claim it Doug, it is too dangerous to leave out in the open,¡± Celeste said. I hit yes. For a long moment nothing happened. Then it kept not happening. I shrugged, ¡°let¡¯s keep working on the wall.¡± Chapter 51: The Night Before About five minutes after picking up the horn Celeste¡¯s time ran out. Midnight was about twenty seconds later. Either way that left Angelica and I to finish building the wall. I gave us a few more wall segments, before saying, ¡°Sorry we got side tracked, but are you good after hearing what Seth said?¡± Angelica was quiet for a long time, ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I said, making another wall segment. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Angelica demanded. ¡°That¡¯s it. I am not good at subtle hints, but I will respect your answers,¡± I explained. Angelica let out a sound that was equal parts frustration and lament, ¡°Dammit, Celeste said you would say that.¡± I shrugged again. Angelica sighed, ¡°... thank you.¡± I shrugged again. I was doing that a lot lately. A few slabs later Angelica asked, ¡°So¡­ you and Celeste?¡± Oh my god. Highschool never ends. Please send help. ¡°Yeah, gonna try at least.¡± Angelica nodded, ¡°Cool.¡± she nodded again, ¡°You break her heart, I am going to break your knees.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± I admitted. I would heal. ¡°Like multiple times,¡± Angelica explained. ¡°I am just going to keep smashing.¡± I thought about it, ¡°Where do we stand on this?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked as we hefted another slab into place. ¡°Well any relationship Celeste and I have will require your participation,¡± I offered watching her response. Angelica had the realization, ¡°Oh¡­ yeah.¡± We were silent for three more slabs. Finally Angelica said, ¡°It¡¯s her turn.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked not following her meaning. ¡°Celeste has had to be part of every relationship I had, and she hated several, especially Nolan. That¡¯s not important. What is, she never once in my life asked for anything¡­ in that regard. I have watched a lot of Star Trek. So, it is her turn. I want her to be happy.¡± she shrugged. ¡°Okay,¡± I made another block. After another few slabs she added, ¡°For what it is worth, with regard to¡­ other stuff. You¡¯re okay, I guess. If things between you and Celeste go well I am cool with taking one for the team.¡± I paused. Now the implication was there, but I prefer clarity, ¡°By take one for the team you mean?¡± Angelica eyed me flatly. Her face reddened before she said, ¡°You honestly do not understand what I just said?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like making assumptions,¡± I all but apologized. Angelica frowned as her face reddened slightly, ¡° I could have approached this without starting with the threat of violence. That mixed the messages. Anyways I said what I said. Could we drop this for now?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I said, making another slab. Oh good the prompts saved me
Destruction Check¡­ Successful Destruction is now at Trained Level Construction Check¡­ Successful Construction is now at Trained Level Cosmic Martial Art has advanced The fifth stage of the martial art is Moving Mountains The Glacier does not fret for trivial things like topography or matter in general. All can be ground beneath and shaped by the force of the Glacier. Moving Mountains allows the user to make one free Craft, Destruction, and Construction check per turn. The checks may be performed on any object within [Magic Attribute] yard that is not under the direct control of another being.
That sounded weird, but its meaning became apparent almost instantly. Before now I needed to have a clear idea of what I wanted and I needed to make some token effort with my tools for the system to then shape reality to my will. It was goddamn weird. No thought required for the checks, which kept triggering as I looked at the wall: ice melted and the water flowed up into location and hard froze into the shape of the wall, Pink Floyd would not approve. The Construction and Destruction checks flashed by almost in the background of my mind. This was strangely upsetting. I mean, the floor getting up and making itself a wall like some sort of messed up Disney effect, didn¡¯t sit well with me. The fact it just kept happening until the wall expanded to the edge of the twenty yard bubble was something I didn¡¯t love. Angelica whistled, but frowned when she saw the look on my face, ¡°What¡¯s up, Doug?¡± ¡°It just kept happening,¡± I explained. I took a large step forward and the wall expanded. After a moment I took another and more ice melted, the water flowed uphill to the side of the wall and froze into the shape of a fortification. ¡°That would mean you have somehow gotten a skill usable as a free action,¡± She said. She watched me dubiously. ¡°What does that entail?¡± I asked. I held still. Angelica listened to Celeste for a moment before saying, ¡°Celeste says that a free action is any action that does not require any thought. They just sort of happen automatically. She also said you can stop it by thinking about making the skill trigger use only. I closed my eyes and cleared my mind. I felt the system not quite touching my mind.. It resolved into a mental image of a screen with an icon of a circle labeled ¡®me¡¯, a line labeled ¡®interface¡¯ down the middle. A much thicker division marked as ¡®mental resistance¡¯ stood between me and a large assortment of icons making up all sorts of the traits, perks and skills I had. There was one other icon on the same side of the Mental Resistance wall as the me Icon. It was a little blue box labeled ¡®prompts''. While this would require more exploration later I needed to focus. Eventually I found an Icon labeled preferred skills. It included a massive list of skills. Hundreds of entries. The obvious things like Willpower and Unarmed were near the top, but the list included stuff I never rolled like: walking, chew: bubble gum, persuasion¡­ Probably shouldn¡¯t mess with this too much until I understand what it is. A few moments of searching later I found Construction, Destruction and Craft. One by one I selected them and mentally clicked them all to require a direct trigger. I opened my eyes and found that almost no time had passed. Again this raised an unsettling question. My mind wasn¡¯t this mechanical and well organized before the system. What did this mean? I was not the Titan. But what did that mean? Rather than engage in any existential questions, I took another step. The wall didn¡¯t magically spring into existence. Then I mentally triggered the skills and the tools glowed, but the ice didn¡¯t budge. It found it took a gesture, a simple sweep of my hand for the ice to melt. I turned my hand palm up and raised it. The water rose into the air. I clenched my fist and it solidified. ¡°But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked,¡± I muttered to myself. Angelica looked at me confused, she clearly heard something from Celeste before saying ¡°You and Celeste are nerds.¡± ¡°I am just remembering the histories, so the elves can¡¯t claim it as theirs,¡± I said, hand waving more walls into existence. This was much faster. Angelica shrugged, ¡°Are you seriously going to pretend some old book series is history?¡± ¡°Of course not, it was also a cartoon and a movie we would rather forget,¡± I explained. Nerd,¡± Angelica said, dragging out the word into four syllables somehow. ¡°And I guess you are a jock?¡± I pushed back. Angelica blinked at me, ¡°No shit, Doug.¡± We kept walking as I kept shaping the wall. It quickly became almost second nature to me. Like breath in, melt ice, breath out, shape and solidify, and repeat. In the course of a few minutes I could do it without breaking stride. ¡°How¡¯d that happen?¡± I asked. Mostly just making conversation. ¡°Unlike some people, I got laid in highschool,¡± Angelica joked. She tried to sound serious but basically cracked up part way through the barb. It was nice to hear her joking. Don¡¯t get me wrong, in a pinch she was the person I wanted watching my back, but seeing her outside the context of violence was good. Even if she was kind of a shit. I snickered, ¡°High school survived the apocalypse¡­ that sucks. I will have you know I got laid a lot in high school. Not with a bunch of people, but one person a large number of times, which in my opinion is a better path as far as satisfaction goes. That said, I was not a jock.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Marnie, right?¡± Angelica nodded. She realized she tipped her hand a split second later. I saw it on her face.
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains in control Note: Repeated rolls will increase the difficulty.
How did Angelica know her name? I paused, ¡°I don¡¯t recall saying that name.¡± Angelica was quiet for a long moment, ¡°You didn¡¯t. I know it because Zach told Celeste about her a long time ago.¡± ¡°And you didn¡¯t mention this because that is hard to work into conversation?¡± I offered. ¡°... Yeah, plus most Titan spawn are kinda notorious for¡­ violence when you pry into the Titan¡¯s past.¡± Angelica said. She seemed on edge still. Too many things were happening all at once. While this was surprising it wasn¡¯t necessarily something to get bent out of shape over. It certainly raised a lot of questions, but some part of me suspected this was a distraction. ¡°How about this? Tomorrow after we resolve this duel stuff, we sit down and talk like adults. Too much is moving around us. I feel like we are being positioned like pieces on a chess board. We got to start sharing info.¡± I felt a sort of acid burn in my stomach. I joke about avoidant behavior but that is partially because I do that. Hell this was basically a stalling tactic disguised as a commitment. Angelica mulled that over, ¡°Yeah that is probably over due.¡± We built the wall. Brunhilda was not at all salty that I built more of it than her. No claims of cheating were made. There also was a lack of any tantrums that required alcohol to stall out. People were getting wise to the fact that geography was being altered. Rather than talk to people, something I was beginning to realize I was actually quite bad at, we went back to Seth¡¯s place. Making a mental note to examine if my isolation before the System may be leading to an unhealthy level of introversion, I closed the door. Spine was still sleeping. Seth had pulled more of the art supplies out and seemed to be sketching something. He looked up from his work, ¡°done already?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I sat down across from him, ¡°Walk me through duels.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Seth put his pad and pencil down. ¡°The mechanics, rules, etiquette. All of it.¡± I said. If direct violence wasn¡¯t the best path forward. Seth thought tilting his head from side to side trying to figure out a place to start. Finally he said, ¡°The purpose of duels is technically to settle disputes between equals. They aren¡¯t necessarily to the death, but effectively they almost always are, here at least. Most people have grown too used to being under the effects of the Warrior¡¯s Suraksha. Issuing a challenge to a duel is basically an extreme escalation of a disagreement. The last duel fought was over the custody of a child. That whole situation was messy, claims of abuse¡­ that¡¯s not important. Well it is, but the facts didn¡¯t settle things. The duel did. The winner was right. The loser was dead. That was two years ago.¡± Seth mulled over his thoughts for a moment. I could tell he had more to say about that duel, but it must not have really connected to my question because he stayed quiet for a long moment. He sighed and continued, ¡°The mechanics of it are fairly straightforward. A ¡®wronged¡¯ party issues a challenge. The challenged individual is allowed to accept or decline. Declining a challenge is often taken as an admission of being wrong. It also tends to make the person declining the challenge look weak and stupid. Technically you refusing Howard¡¯s challenge was both the correct response and a savage insult.¡± ¡°What?¡± I didn¡¯t follow. ¡°Duels are between equals. Howard may be a high ranking pupil of Madigan, and he has some pull in the community, but you are a Titan Spawn and the guest of Goddess Lola. You are not required to stoop to his level. Rejecting the duel and the way you turned him down highlighted that.¡± While that wasn¡¯t my intention at the time that actually made sense. No wonder Madigan was so mad about it. ¡°So once the duel is issued, and someone says yes. What happens next?¡± Seth frowned, ¡°A lot of things are supposed to happen, but almost never do. Howard being Madigan¡¯s pupil requires that Howard get his master¡¯s approval before things can continue. Pupils are the responsibility of their master, so a master does have the ability to step in. Normally, though, that is handled by the master fighting the duel on behalf of their pupil. This almost never happens, and is controversial. A master preventing someone from participating is equally rare, because that would require an apology.¡± I drummed my fingers on the table, ¡°So it is easier to let people kill each other than force one to apologize.¡± ¡°Of course it isn¡¯t easier, but it is what we do,¡± Seth admitted. ¡°Then the time and place are agreed upon. A neutral observer is selected, and any rules and limitations are agreed upon. In this case it will be the training fields, at sunset, and Sunit. The duel will not have limitations beyond no outside interference¡± That all made sense, ¡°We get to the time and place, then what happens?¡± ¡°The neutral party will call the two combatants forward, outline the grievance and confirm that no one is willing to back out.¡± ¡°So wait, the challenger can just withdraw the challenge?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, but you would look like a stupid asshole. I have only seen it done once, and it was when one master stepped in and the other did not.¡± Seth said. ¡°How about the actual duel?¡± ¡°Here next to the Mandir will cause several things to occur. The Warrior¡¯s Suraksha will be withdrawn during the duel, but it will be replaced with Eyes of the War Goddess. The participants will be protected from any condition or attack that Lola does not allow. Also anyone who interferes directly will be affected by a smite. The actual duel is until one participant either yields or is killed. Most won¡¯t yield because that puts them at the mercy of their opponent.¡± ¡°What happens if one person tries to run?¡± I asked. ¡°Here, Smite, most other places they get branded and an Apostate of the War Goddess. It is a tag visible next to their name. Follower¡¯s of Goddess Lola are obligated to not assist anyone with such a mark. Some make it a point to kill them.¡± That tracked, ¡°So the yielding in a duel, is that basically a death sentence?¡± ¡°Eh not quite,¡± Seth tilted his hand side to side. ¡°Etiquette and Goddess Lola strongly encourage accepting honorable surrender with mercy. That said, a very non-zero amount of times surrender equals death.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I considered what needed to happen next. Stepping into the fight was out. Sure it was an option available but it would almost certainly violate terms Sunit arranged. The optics of that were bad too. I needed to get people on board with accepting the goblins. In the world that was I¡­ the Titan¡­ wasn¡¯t really the kind to win hearts and minds. I didn¡¯t like extorting people with the gap in the wall. It was at best a short term force that would fade as soon as the moment of danger passed. The impending clash between the goblins and the locals was all but certain. It was at least a few hours until sunrise. I need to do useful things.
Accumulate check¡­ Successful 20 MP added to Mystic Well Mystic Well 2750/20000
Brunhilda had certainly primed the pump. I quietly dug into my mind again and found the bundle related to the skill. It let me set it to continuously cycle. As I kept trying to come up with next steps. That prompt kept popping up every ten minutes. Spine was going to need more¡­ well, everything. I had enough bodies of White Shadows, Megaleos, and Cat Siths. I needed to upgrade his armor and weapons. My misgivings aside, Spine would also need the last level the Path of the Snow Lion unlocked. Thousands of lives were at stake. Howard, Madigan¡¯s pupil, was basically nothing to me. I knew next to nothing about him. Moreover, what I did know about him wasn¡¯t exactly impressive. Still, I wasn¡¯t comfortable arranging for him to die. I looked at Spine still sleeping. He needed to win or his people would be stuck outside the city''s protection. He had to give this duel his all. I could not ask him to hold back or try and spare Howard. Trying to hold back in a fight is an easy way to die. I pulled two of the claws of a Cat Sith from my inventory two craft checks later the claws had lengthened and sharpened into curved blades. A rib worked to form to handles and the leather sting bound them
Craft Check¡­ Successful! Malicious Hook x2 crafted Malicious Hook This Heroic scale dagger has been made for one purpose: inflicting horrific damage. This dagger inflicts [Power]+10 cutting damage on a hit. If the damage exceeds the targets [Body] attribute a hit will inflict a bleed condition for five seconds. Also this Dagger doubles the duration of any magic effect channeled through it. Note: This weapon is custom built to enhance the Elevated Martial Art, Path of the Snow Lion. If wielding this weapon with that style the user may wield a second Malicious Hook without penalty. Bleed Condition Targets affected by this condition will lose [damage from attack]/10 HP per second for the duration of the condition. Note 1: Minimum damage per second is 1 HP Note 2: Multiple Bleed Conditions can be applied to the same being. The damage is cumulative and the timers are separate. Note 3: The end of Bleed Condition does not mean health loss will stop. Damage from blood loss will simply reset to system normal.
I stared at the weapons for a long time. I -the Titan- knew a guy who made the lugs for bombs. The ones the U.S. dropped out of planes. Someone asked them if they felt anything moral qualms about making weapons. The guy shrugged, and said, ¡°Not really. It¡¯s not like we see them used. Besides, the other option is street to street fighting.¡± I hadn¡¯t really considered that exchange until now. It would take someone wiser than me to unpack that sort of thing. In this case I was going to see it, and I would be responsible for the outcome. I kept staring at the knives. With these Spine could probably deal some scary damage. Assuming Howard was rare scale and level twenty that would mean he would have on average 90 HP. If every level put one attribute point into Body he would have a defense of 23 minimum. If Spine got the drop on him and Hit twice from Ambush, assuming the last 13 levels translated to at least one more point in strength would work out to a Power of 3 plus 7 from the pact with ten more from the Malicious Hook, and then adding the middle result of 3d10. Let''s make that easy and say 6. So each hit would deal 26 damage which would double to 52 and be dropped to 29 from Howards defense. That meant Spine¡¯s first hits could drop Howard to half his total health. Then two Bleed conditions would reduce Howard¡¯s HP at least an additional 10 over the next five seconds. That sounded devastating but there were too many ifs and assumptions for it to be certain. After the first strike, Spine''s hits would likely be 5ish damage. Spine had a lot of Defense and could heal faster than normal, but he was still fragile. I don¡¯t think he could survive a knock-out dragout fight. I needed to be sure.
Analyze check¡­ Successful Analyze Skill is now at Trained Level
Name: Spine Spindle-Bite
Race: Goblin
Class: Scout
Level: 20
HP: 41
MP 2 (7)
Defense 64
Power: 4 (7)
Mobility: 10 (7)
Body: 4 (14)
Mind: 4 (7)
Face: 2 (7)
Magic: 2 (7)
Traits: Goblin Mode Goblins can access a group collective. If a goblin knew it before, it is possible for the current user of this trait to know now. Accessing this knowledge requires a [Mind] attribute role. Use of this trait has consequences. Never go full Goblin. [Titanic Regeneration] Reduced to Heroic Scale Titan Spawn are often beyond mortal concerns. With this perk, your power allows your physical body to heal [Body-2] hit points per second. This will allow you to regenerate missing body parts and overcome damage based conditions. Note: This Trait is from a Pact. it is reduced to Heroic Scale. Health Regeneration is reduced to [Body-2] HP per minute. Perks Shadow Assassin Servants of the Titan Spawn can be both Cunning and Brutal in their work. This perk will unlock the skill needed to be the thing people fear in the night. Unlocks the following Skills: Blend In, Move Silently, Ambush, Detect Weakness, Terrify, and Manipulate Shadow. Near-Perfect Foundation From a Great Master You have pledged yourself to a Master greater than you. You have rendered yourself a vessel for their teachings This perk allows the user to learn Martial Arts faster. Provided their Master knows the martial art, the pupil is treated as three levels of scale higher with regards to meeting requirements. Also, their Master is treated as Two levels of Scale Higher when using the Mentor or any other educational Skills on the pupil. Note: this perk requires a bond beyond basic Master Pupil. Disposition: Spine is asleep. He is dreaming of green women.
Spine stirred in his sleep but did not wake. He rolled over and murmured, ¡°As you¡­ wish.¡± I frowned. Yeah Spine was probably a wall as far as most people were concerned, and I was probably being conservative on his chances in a straight up fight with Howard. I needed to be sure. I waited for the faint light of the sun rising before I stood and said, ¡°Spine, Wake Up. We need to talk.¡± Chapter 52: Apothe-Oh Sh*t Spine jerked awake and blinked at me. Eventually he managed to get up. He must have picked up on something serious in my tone, or maybe the stress of the upcoming duel was weighing down on him. He walked closer with leaden steps and then after a moment¡¯s hesitation climbed into a chair near me. ¡°I have a moral quandary,¡± I started. Then I realized I didn¡¯t have a good way of vocalizing it. Spine kept quiet and waited for me to speak. I sighed, ¡°I am going to do everything in my power to make sure you can win this duel.¡± to stall for more time to think I slid the daggers toward him. ¡°Please show me your crossbow and the¡­ bolts.¡± Spine placed his crossbow on the table with the quiver of bolts.
Analyze Check¡­ Successful! Goblin Crossbow This Common Scale crossbow fires a bolt as if it had a [Power] attribute of 8. Requires [Power] attribute of 2 to use Goblin Bolt This Common Scale bolt inflicts [Power] plus 1 damage per hit.
Having Analyzed the weapon and its ammo I now understood how it worked. I mean it was a crossbow, not a rocketship, but I knew jackshit before. Using the heavy bones and thickest tendons of a Megaleo I was able to craft a better crossbow for Spine. I used the fangs and ribs of a White Shadow to craft a dozen bolts.
Craft Check¡­ Successful You have Crafted Nail Driver Craft Check Successful You have Crafted Silent Bite x 12 Nail Driver This Heroic Scale Crossbow fires a bolt as if it had a [Power] attribute of 40. Require [Power} attribute of 10 to use. Bolts fired from this weapon ignore ten points of defense. Any target that had the Defense lowered to half of the total damage or less will be pierced through. This could allow the bolt to possibly hit more than one target. Silent Bite This Heroic Scale bolt inflicts [Power] + 5 damage. Gain one level of scale against targets that are unaware of attacks from these bolts. These bolts make no noise when flying through the air. Any attempt to sense them by sound automatically fails.
Again I thought about Howard. I didn¡¯t actually want him dead, but could I weigh his life against thousands? I slid the crossbow and bolts to him, ¡°Here is the deal, Spine. I am going to give you these weapons. I trust you to use them responsibly. The last thing I can do is teach you something. Trouble is I am not sure it can be used responsibly.¡± Spine gazed at the weapons, his eyes drifted to me, ¡°What are we talking about?¡± I cut to the chase, ¡°The final stage of the Path of the Snow Lion is Mauling Claws. It causes the victim of a magical Attack to suffer the Extreme Agony Condition.¡± ¡°Dear god,¡± Seth muttered. He paled, no doubt considering possibilities I hadn¡¯t yet thought enough to be horrified by. Spine looked between us, ¡°I don¡¯t know. It sounds bad.¡± I looked to Angelica. She nodded, and I turned back to Spine, ¡°That Condition brought Angelica down. I felt it too. Even with Mental Resistance the overwhelming pain of the condition¡­ It sticks with me. I am afraid of having to deal with it again. The creature that can do it, a Cat Sith, they scare me. I don¡¯t think it is right to use this ability on someone. Like, ever.¡± Spine nodded. ¡°But you are still thinking about giving it to me?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I admitted. ¡°That¡¯s kinda fucked,¡± Spine said. ¡°Yep,¡± I admitted Spine paused for a beat then said, ¡°Okay, hear me out. Before you teach me, you use it on me once. That way I will know what it is like.¡± Everyone else in the room said some variation of ¡®No¡¯ at the same time. Glad we are united on that. Spine, seeing the room was against him there, changed tracks, ¡°Then what should we do?¡± ¡°Kill Madigan,¡± Brunhilda spoke up as she kept laying on the floor, eyes closed. ¡°No,¡± I said, there was finality in my voice that surprised me. ¡°That is the last resort.¡± ¡°I think you will just have to teach him, and then after the duel, make him swear to never use it again,¡± Seth supplied. ¡°That could work,¡± Spine said. ¡°Don¡¯t do that. Having an option that you ¡®swear¡¯ not to use is just handing the universe a stick to beat you with. I wouldn¡¯t teach him this at all,¡± Angelica cut in. ¡°Spectacle creep?¡± I asked. She nodded, ¡°Best just to let the dice roll. I think we are missing something. We need to think more.¡± My mind drifted to the note Wilson had shown Celeste. Angelica probably knew what it said too. The code was fairly clear. Angelica was against this because of something Wilson had shown her. This was troubling. I trusted Angelica, but I distrusted Wilson. Wilson was as far as I could tell a master manipulator. He seemed to adjust the situation and trust people to be themselves. Wilson even said he trusted me to be me earlier. My instinct was to trust Angelica. She and Celeste had looked out for me multiple times. But Wilson would know that. Was he smart enough to predict their response, and then plan for me to act according to their advice? Yes. Everything I had seen so far was Wilson getting his way. I needed to do something different. ¡°Denise, could you come down here?¡± I said. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Denise asked, appearing behind me. Time stopped with that telltale stillness once again. ¡°I wanted to talk to Celeste without the audience seeing,¡± I explained. ¡°Damn,¡± Denise sighed.
Ticket Entered: Possible Exploit¡­ Review complete. No Exploit detected¡­ To maintain Narrative integrity Intern access will be blocked for the next 24 hours. No further action will be taken. Time Stop will end in: 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­
Denise was gone and time resumed. Well, shit. That was unfortunate. In the future I needed to be more circumspect. Angelica raised an eyebrow. I took a deep breath, ¡°I don¡¯t trust dice.¡± The room was quiet for a moment. Spine broke the silence, ¡°Cool, what does that mean?¡± ¡°That I am going to teach you dark magic,¡± I said before standing. Angelica shook her head. ¡°Are you sure that is wise?¡± Seth asked, stepping back. ¡°Nope,¡± I looked to Spine, ¡°You ready¡± Spine considered for the briefest of moments, ¡°Let¡¯s do this. I put my hand on his head. Time stopped.
Ticket Entered: Possible Exploit¡­ Review Complete. No Exploit Detected
I hesitated.
[Flag] Delete Message All Processes Stopped Retcon begins in: 5¡­ 4¡­
What the hell is this? I was just about to voice some curse in frustration when something moved in the impossible stillness of the time stop.
The Eyes of the Titan are upon you
I froze on reflex. I was afraid. I was afraid of the Titan. What was he going to make me do now?
[Flag] Delete Message Retcon Aborted. Time Stop ends in: 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­
The world started again. I admit I panicked slightly. Between worry about Narrator fuckery and the Titan making me feel like a small battered child again, I needed to do something.
Mentor Check¡­ Successful
I selected Dark Magic as the skill to teach Spine
Ticket Entered: Possible Exploit¡­ Review Complete. No Exploit Detected
What the hell was going on in Narrator land? ¡­fuck ¡®em.
Warning! This action will have consequences Continue: Yes/No?
Everyone was watching me. Spine was impossibly still. Somehow I knew he wouldn¡¯t move until I made a decision. I hit ¡®Yes¡¯.
The Titan has Stayed Its wrath. No Smite will occur. Spine Spindle-Bite will survive
Spine¡¯s eyes went round as hub caps. He began to sweat bullets. He opened his mouth but instead of words a beam of golden light exploded forth. Spine slowly lifted up off the ground, his eyes burning with golden light. Suddenly the light cut off like a flipped switch. Spine fell to the ground. I caught the scruff of his jacket so he didn¡¯t faceplant. ¡°Ulp!¡± Spine managed before projectile vomiting an impossible amount of black brackish liquid. Seriously, Spine was probably just under four feet tall and maybe weighed sixty pounds. He kept erupting for a solid minute. It was gallons. That didn¡¯t seem healthy. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. When it stopped I asked, ¡°You okay?¡± Spine heaved a few deep breaths and spit a mouth full of¡­ stuff, ¡°I just achieved Apotheosis. That shit stings.¡± Everyone was very quiet for a second. Then everyone started yelling all at once. That kept going for a long while. Eventually Angelica put two fingers in her mouth and did that piercing whistle thing some people can do. ¡°Thank you,¡± I managed over the ringing in my ears, ¡°What does this mean? ¡°I am level 1 again,¡± Spine said. ¡°How?¡± I asked. Spine shuffled his feet, ¡°Okay, so when you unlocked Dark Magic for me. Shit got weird. Check this out.¡± He sent us a prompt.
New Achievement! Someone Up There Must Like You Spoiler alert: it is the Titan of Darkness. You are the third non-Titanic Scale being to be granted access to Dark Magic. That is a hell of an achievement. 99.997% of people who tried to get access to Dark Magic ended up Smote. By the Titan. You really do not want that to happen. Also Warning! Do NOT try and teach this to anyone else. It won¡¯t go well for you. Reward: Besides access to Dark Magic¡­ 25,000,000 XP Forced Apotheosis at level 50 Note: XP in excess of Apotheosis will be lost.
That was concerning.
Analyze check¡­ Successful Analyze Skill is now at Trained Level
Name: Spine Spindle-Bite
Race: Goblin (Dark Touched)
Class: Dark Huntsman
Level: 1
HP: 5
MP 2 (7)
Defense 62
Power: 2 (7)
Mobility: 2 (7)
Body: 2 (14)
Mind: 2 (7)
Face: 2 (7)
Magic: 2 (7)
Traits: Improved Goblin Mode Goblins can access a group collective. If a goblin knew it before, it is possible for the current user of this trait to know now. Accessing this knowledge requires a [Mind] attribute role. Use of this trait has consequences. Never go full Goblin. This version works better¡­ as far as you know. [Titanic Regeneration] Reduced to Heroic Scale Titan Spawn are often beyond mortal concerns. With this perk, your power allows your physical body to heal [Body-2] hit points per second. This will allow you to regenerate missing body parts and overcome damage based conditions. Note: This Trait is from a Pact. it is reduced to Heroic Scale. Health Regeneration is reduced to [Body-2] HP per minute. Perks Shadow Assassin Servants of the Titan Spawn can be both Cunning and Brutal in their work. This perk will unlock the skill needed to be the thing people fear in the night. Unlocks the following Skills: Blend In, Move Silently, Ambush, Detect Weakness, Terrify, and Manipulate Shadow. Near Perfect Foundation From a Great Master You have pledged yourself to a Master greater than you. You have rendered yourself a vessel for their teachings This perk allows user to learn Martial Arts faster provided their Master knows the martial art, the pupil is treated as three levels of scale higher with regards to meeting requirements. Also their Master is treated as Two levels of Scale Higher when using the Mentor or any other educational Skills on the pupil. Note: this perk requires a bond beyond basic Master-Pupil. Please Select third Perk Please Select fourth Perk Please Select Fifth Perk Disposition: Spine has had a day¡­ which is concerning cause it is just starting.
It took an actual Willpower roll to not start cussing. I had been worried about Spine when he had 41 HP now he was down to 5. Spine was the one that looked scared. Yeah he was up a level of scale, but he was weaker. ¡°Shit! Shit! Shit!¡± He was repeating that on a loop. ¡°Spine, look at me,¡± I kneeled to get closer to his level. When Spine met my gaze I continued, ¡°This is like everything else. Let¡¯s approach it one step at a time. First define the problem.¡± ¡°I am weak.¡± Spine started. ¡°That is not the problem,¡± I cut in. ¡°Think more basic. Something you can directly act on.¡± Spine almost snapped at me but he paused for a moment, ¡°I have a duel to fight.¡± I nodded, ¡°And you want to be as powerful as possible for it?¡± Spine Nodded. He was clearly still jittery and close to panic but his focus was still locked on me. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the easy things first. You have weapons, and armor.¡± I explained. ¡°I am not strong enough to use the crossbow anymore,¡± Spine said, stress cracking his voice. ¡°So you need more Power. Do you have any available perks that will improve your Power attribute?¡± I asked, forcing my voice to be calm and confident. Me panicking would mess this up. Spine¡¯s eyes glazed as he checked, ¡°yeah¡­ Heroic Physique is an option.¡± ¡°What is the other choice?¡± I asked quickly but still forcing my tone calm. Spine frowned, ¡°Uncommon Strength. It would give me +3 to Power. Heroic Strength is better in every way.¡± ¡°Hold up!¡± Angelica said. ¡°That Perk has a hidden effect. You will get taller and your body is going to end up muscular.¡± ¡°How much?¡± I asked. Angelica blinked at me, ¡°Doug, I am Latina and because of that perk I¡¯m six-foot-five,¡± seeing I wasn¡¯t fully appreciating the statement, she went on. ¡°Alot. I am like a foot and a half taller than the average, something like five-foot-two. It is how I ended up built like a monster truck.¡± Quick number crunching, assuming proportional dimensional chanaged. And Angelica would have been ¡®average¡¯ sized. That meant that she was about 1.242 times taller than average. Cubing it worked to 1.92 times more volume than the stated average. ¡°You would almost double in size,¡± I told Spine. ¡°I am gonna be eight feet tall?¡± Spine asked, concerned. ¡°Just under five feet tall,¡± I corrected. When he gave me side-eye I said, ¡°Trust me.¡± ¡°I am taking it,¡± He said. In the space of about four seconds he was almost a foot taller. Spine was still kinda lanky but he clearly had packed on some muscle. ¡°Do you need help with the other perks?¡± I asked. ¡°No, the choices are obvious,¡± Spine said, his eyes glazing over. Good he was at least feeling in control. In the end he took a perk that improved his Mobility and another that improved his Magic. ¡°Good, Now that weapons and Perks are settled, what about your Martial Art?¡± I asked. I wanted to pile a quick win on this fiasco. ¡°Yep,¡± Spine grinned, ¡°I am a master.¡± I nodded, ¡°And Dark Magic?¡± ¡°I only have one spell currently, but it is a good one,¡± Spine said, before sending the prompt to me.
Dark Strike MP: 4 Duration: 1 Minute Range: Self Empower your next melee attack with the power of darkness. Add [Magic] to the damage of next successful melee attack
Mixing that with an Ambush would definitely do damage. ¡°Good,¡± I said, as Brand walked in. Brand shook snow from his head and coat, ¡°Good News. Janie and I were able to almost complete a Codex of Goblin and English Language.¡± he held up a book, ¡°With some help from Mr. Spindle-Bite¡­ What is going on?¡± ¡°Spine had an Apotheosis,¡± I offered, like it was a fun turn of events rather than a massive pooch screw. ¡°Oh,¡± Brand said, choosing to respond with my lack of concern also, ¡°Would he have the time to help finish the translation? Perhaps two hours? The achievement would likely be significant.¡± ¡°How significant?¡± I asked. ¡°Hard to say, probably around 15,000,¡± Brand said, ¡°His portion at least.¡± I turned to Spine, ¡°Hit the books.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I¡­ I don¡¯t know, sit on your shoulder as you go murder Snow lions?¡± Spine asked. ¡°No,¡± Seth offered, ¡°You are more powerful that any level 1 Uncommon Scale player alive, but you are still fragile. Violence isn¡¯t always the best path forward.¡± ¡°Listen to him, Spine. He has the right idea¡­¡± I realized what needed to be done as soon as the prompts hit.
Mentor Check¡­ Successful Spine Has access to Linguistic Skill Leadership Check¡­ Successful Pupil will have a bonus equal to difference in scale (7) for Linguistics checks for this day. Skill Successful without roll. Checking for breakthrough¡­ Mentor Breaks through to the Trained Level! Leadership Breaks through to the Trained Level! Cosmic Martial Art has advanced The final stage of the martial art is Source of All Rivers The Glacier is not just a force of change and destruction. Its true power is not its resilience, but its ability to sustain life. Water flows from the Glacier and power flows from you. This ability allows you to transfer any or all aspects of this Cosmic Martial Art to any valid combination of beings. This ability requires a WIllpower roll to maintain. New Achievement! A True Master You have mastered a cosmic martial art. Not just that but you managed this achievement fast. Only Three beings have learned Cosmic Martial Art Faster than you. They are -in order- Cole, Aella, and Zach, all students of the All-Death. This is one of those actually impressive achievements. Shame the Martial art isn¡¯t more carnage-based like the Ever Burning Flame, or visually impressive like the Untouchable Wind, or devastating like Wrathful Storm. You should look into that. Otherwise you will end up with something like The Mountain Has No Peak, or Peaceful Eternal Sleep as your next style. Reward: Experience withheld.
Again with the experience hold. Somehow I was learning martial arts by doing things other than kicking people in the dick. Strange but a tomorrow problem. I turned to ask Seth what that meant only to get a face full of black vomit. It actually took Brand and Spine, and eventually Janie about three and half hours to finish the codex they got the achievement and Spine was bumped up to level 5. Trouble was Spine got completely hosed on the level ups. Four levels got him only 9 more HP, for a total of 14. It did get him eight more attribute points. Between them and the attributes from the perks, Spine was significantly stronger. 40 total attribute points versus his previous 25 total excluding the buff he got from our pact. I would have taken him into the storm to beat the hell out of the inevitable swarms of Snow Lions, but there weren¡¯t any. After telling the increasing crowd outside Seth¡¯s place to ask Madigan about the wall, I basically just wandered around in the snow. Denise was still blocked. To hell with it. ¡°Wilson, can we talk?¡± I asked. ¡°What trouble are you causing now, Kid?¡± Wilson asked. The storm froze. I looked through the now still flakes and snow a good mile of mobless space in every direction. Shit. ¡°What is up with the intern ban?¡± I asked. ¡°You are breaking the rules, no spoilers allowed. Since you didn¡¯t spoil anything, nor was any part of the ongoing plot disrupted, it was decided to put Denise in time out so you could think about what you have done, and limit possible risk.¡± Wilson explained. Somehow my bad behavior resulted in Denise getting punished, that sounds like the intern experience. ¡°So you wouldn¡¯t have come down here if Angelica and Celeste were around?¡± ¡°Only if it was funny,¡± WIlson quipped, ¡°Seriously what do you want?¡± ¡°Two things, Where are the mobs, and why is my XP being withheld?¡± I cut to the chase. ¡°Oh the Mobs are being redirected.¡± Wilson said. Seeing the look on my face he grinned condescending, ¡°This isn¡¯t about you. There are quite a few other players wandering around out here. A horde of goblins for example.¡± ¡°Oh shit,¡± I muttered. ¡°Relax, You will never find them anyways. Stay here and tend to the duel.¡± WIlson said. He sounded serious, which was Concerning. ¡°Your XP is being withheld because certain high end players have effectively lobbied to slow your roll until you do certain things.¡± ¡°Like?¡± I asked. ¡°The Angel!¡± WIlson said, slapping his forehead while looking at me like I was stupid. ¡°What else,¡± I pressed. ¡°Another wants you to stay relatively humble until after the mob rush. Apparently there is a concern you could disrupt the natural order. Another wants you held back until the duel is resolved because of balance reasons.¡± Wilson shrugged. ¡°And you are just letting them do that?¡± I asked. ¡°It is about give and take, Kid. I let them exhaust themselves on piddly shit so I can get what I want. Why do you think I am only manipulating your Notice or Perception rolls for detecting Snow Lions? They want you nerfed by having you fail a certain percentage of rolls. I picked my moment.¡± he vanished before I could respond. I braced for a snow lion. But no attack came. God Dammit. I had to wade through the crowd to get back into Seth¡¯s place. Word about the impending Mob Rush had spread, and folks weren¡¯t taking it well. Most were just scared. Maybe it was me being both tremendous, and powerful, but rather than yell at me they were demanding I help them. Some wanted me to promise to protect the Greenhouses, others wanted me to protect the School which would house the children, others wanted me to finish the wall, and a few wanted to fight alongside me when things got nuts. It cost me something to hold back, ¡°Talk with Madigan, He is going to determine whether I help or not.¡± I yelled to the crowd before closing the door. ¡°No luck with the mobs. The wilds are empty now.¡± Spine shrugged. He tried to be nonchalant but he had the too quick jerky movement of a kid with nervous energy, ¡°Oh well, I will just have to win the duel fair and square.¡± Oh shit. Spine didn¡¯t realize you never get into a fair fight. That is a losing strategy. ¡°Yeah, about that,¡± I sat down, ¡°I have a plan to¡­ rig the system.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Spine asked. He sounded hopeful. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you what it is,¡± I said expecting an argument. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Spine demanded. ¡°You need to go into this expecting to fight. Don¡¯t rely on what I am going to try,¡± I advised. ¡°Doug, It is my life on the line! My family at stake! Don¡¯t treat me like a kid! What is the plan?¡± Spine stomped toward me and was glaring up at me. He seemed to realize this wasn¡¯t intimidating and took a few steps back to glare at me without straining his neck. ¡°I understand your concern, but secrecy is needed. Also I need you to train like you are going to fight.¡± I explained. ¡°Tell me what the plan is!¡± Spine all but shrieked. ¡°No, you have to trust me,¡± I implored. Spine wasn¡¯t impressed ¡°Fuck you, Doug! You are back to yanking me around! You don¡¯t get what it is like to be small to be weaker than others. Do you have any idea what it is like? To need to rely on others? What it costs you?¡± He glared at me waiting for an answer. I sighed, ¡°That is a bit of a philosophical question. I have the memories of the Titan. I know the World that Was. All of my earliest memories were people larger and stronger than me brutalizing me. They did it out of neglect and malice. Even now I¡­ I still bear some of those scars. As far as depending on people, I know. If not for the intervention of two kind people I - the Titan- would have died freezing in an alley or worse. It only costs, owing your existence to someone, when they hold it over you. That isn¡¯t what I am trying to do. Surprise is the weapon here. I would do the same with Brand. I know I am asking a lot, but please trust me.¡± Spine looked at Brand. The spy nodded, ¡°I had to do the same for him.¡± He opened and closed a hand. Spine was quiet for a long time, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Thank you. Now stab me,¡± I instructed. ¡°What?¡± Spine asked. ¡°I want you to get used to using the knives, the crossbow, and dark magic.¡± I said as I updated the pact to allow harm during training. Two more hours of training and well¡­ things were as good as they were going to get. Spine could strike to kill. He was pretty fast with the knives. The bolts from the crossbow packed a surprising amount of force. Spine didn¡¯t have any trouble picking up the use of Dark Magic. It took more than a little coxing to get him to actually try and use it. We got him there eventually. The Extreme Agony Condition lived up to its name. I knew it would. I would like to say I handled it in a stoic and macho way, so I won¡¯t admit to shouting profanity for a good three minutes, before I finally realized I had Titanic Toughness. Upon Ignoring the condition it just sat there¡­ waiting. I was going to have to deal with it at some point. Not now though. Suck it, future me. I stopped Ignoring the Frozen condition, and my body immediately dropped to sub-zero temperature, and began to form layers of frost. The last direct force multiplier to mess with, was testing Source of All Rivers. I passed Crushing Defense over to Spine. He was able to use it and Path of the Snow Lion at the same time. Each time he successfully blocked and counter-attacked the prompt popped up.
Willpower check¡­ Successful Source of All Rivers maintained
I transferred everything to Spine. This worked about the same but required a separate willpower roll for each stage transferred. Again it took some monkeying around but he was eventually able to grow an Ablative Shell. Apparently my advice of: think ice armor, while accurate was not immediately clear. This didn¡¯t immediately freeze him or harm him. The armor had a Structure equal to Spine¡¯s Face attribute, but it did include the boost from the pact for a total of 9 per layer. It had no deflection because Spine didn¡¯t have the perks. That said with three full stacks of Ablative Shell Spine would have ¡­41 effective hit points. Fuck me. Chapter 53: The Duel: Intro Eventually the sun approached the horizon. The wind held, which was good. If my plan A didn¡¯t work, and Plan B looked rough I did have a plan C that probably wouldn¡¯t go unnoticed, but would hopefully keep Spine alive. Then there was of course the last resort, Plan Extreme Violence. Brunhilda was apparently ride or die if it came to that. Brand was clearly leary of this, we had things to do after today, like fight a demon, and then get back to England. I wasn¡¯t sure where Angelica stood with regard to picking a fight with the whole city, and possibly by extension Lola. There was also the issue that throwing weight around probably meant the goblins would literally be left out in the cold to mobs. Stepping out of Seth¡¯s House was an experience. I could wax poetically but it is better to be blunt. Somewhere around a thousand people had crammed themselves into the streets around the shed. It was a crush of people. They apparently had been hesitant to kick down the door to get to us, but now that we were out in the open¡­ my god, the shouting. It was just a din. Questions, demands, offers, all of it was lost to the roar of everyone talking at once. Unlike the last time they weren¡¯t interested in being ignored. Also a lot of people wanted to touch me. No idea why, but a lot of people pressed their palms against me. I stalled out as the crowd surged, Brunhilda didn¡¯t, she grabbed Spine in one still clad hand, and placed the other at the small of my back and pushed. She was extremely strong and had good leverage. I quickly became a bulldozer blade as she pushed through the crowd. Angelica followed behind and basically body-blocked the people behind us. Janie whisked away, she could give Angelica a run for her money in the speed department. She came back about five minutes later with maybe three to four dozen people in uniforms that looked official. It wasn¡¯t anything too fancy. They were all wearing dark green shirts and pants, a red sash, and black hats and boots. The guards -I guessed- under Janie¡¯s instruction began to bodily break chunks of the crowd off and send them on their way. Think polite-but-firm bouncers over jackbooted thugs. Then again that could be due to the majority of the crowd following their instructions. It became immediately apparent everyone was heading toward the dueling ground and more than once Brunhilda had to shove me through the crush of people. I kept relatively quiet, and thankfully Spine didn¡¯t throw a fit about Brunhilda touching him. We eventually reached the training grounds, and found the remainder of the town¡¯s population. I hadn¡¯t really appreciated the bowl shape of the field before, but now that it literally had thousands of people crammed into the focus became apparent. Sunit was standing in the central arena with Howard and Madigan standing to one side. The crowd parted sensing the impending clash and parted. Seth materialized out of the crowd and fell into step with Spine and me. I put a hand on Spine¡¯s shoulder as we walked toward the circle. ¡°You nervous?¡± I asked. I could feel him shaking. ¡°Terrified,¡± Spine admitted. ¡°Just ride the adrenaline. If you can, find a balance where you can still think while having the energy,¡± I advised. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Just let me do the talking at the start,¡± I said. Somehow the stress had taken me full circle. Instead of pulse pounding and jittering. I was calm. I probably couldn¡¯t do that on my own, but since Spine, a kid, needed me to be a foundation for him I was rock steady¡­ on the outside at least. We stepped into the circle and everything went silent. Now or never. Before Sunit could speak I spoke loudly, ¡°Are you still going to set on this to happen, Travis?¡± Madigan glared at me, ¡°This is happening.¡± His voice sure could carry. Oh good he was still angry. Angry is predictable. I replied loudly, ¡°I had hoped you would wise up, Travis.¡± Madigan reeled like I had slapped him. The vein in his head bulged and screamed at me, ¡°You arrogant son of a bitch! You think you¡¯re better than us, don¡¯t you?¡± Here it is, the first step. Even as the crowd began to murmur my voice cut through the noise and carried all the way to the back crowd. ¡°No! I don¡¯t think I am better than them! These people are just trying to survive. The mobs are coming and bringing a hell of a fight with them.¡± Madigan tried to get a word in but bellowed over him. ¡°I don¡¯t think I am better than you either! Hiding the threat from your people, delaying the defense, refusing thousands of additional fighters to focus on forcing two kids to fight to the death! I know I am better than you!¡±
Persuasion check¡­ successful Crowd believes Mobs are coming. Crowd believes Travis Madigan knew about the Mobs.
There was a roar from the crowd. People said all sorts of stuff. Some were mad at Madigan. Some were mad at me. Fair, I was being a dick, and I was the source of the impending doom. Some people were mad at the people mad at Travis or me. A shit load of people were surprised, and deeply mad about that. There was a lot of anger. That said most of it was aimed at Madigan, and he knew it, ¡°Better than being overrun by goblins!¡± he roared over the din. The crowd quieted. That was not Ideal, ¡°Thousands of helping hands to help ward off the mobs, protect the green houses, guard the children. You are stopping that!¡±
Persuasion check¡­ partially successful The crowd does not completely believe you.
The crowd had gone almost silent. ¡°I need proof they aren¡¯t mobs!¡± Madigan shouted back. I kept my voice calm, but projected my voice, ¡°So the duel is just to prove it is possible? Because mobs can¡¯t duel?¡± Madigan almost froze. As angry as he was, he wasn¡¯t stupid. He watched me for a moment, ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Cool!¡± I said loudly. I turned my gaze on Howard, ¡°Howard, hear me out. Throw the fight after the duel starts. The point is just to prove Spine isn¡¯t a mob. No sense fighting.¡± ¡°You son of a¡­!¡± Madigan started. ¡°Quiet!¡± I growled at Madigan.
Intimidation check¡­ successful Travis Madigan will remain silent for 20 seconds.
Good. I kept my eyes on Howard, ¡°How about it? Spine won¡¯t hurt you if you Surrender. Hell, thousands of Goblins will owe you their lives.¡± Howard hesitated for a long moment, ¡°I can¡¯t go against my master.¡± ¡°He just said the point of the duel is to prove Goblins aren¡¯t mobs.¡± I replied loudly. ¡°No one needs to die.¡± Madigan glared daggers at me. His baleful gaze drifted to Howard. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. I lowered my tone, ¡°If you do this I will owe you one.¡± Madigan realized Howard was considering my words. He made to drape an arm over Howard, but stopped when he saw Sunit watching him. ¡°This isn¡¯t okay.¡± ¡°The duel hasn¡¯t started, this isn¡¯t interference,¡± Sunit said, clearly uncomfortable, but he still added, ¡°Unlike laying hands on a duelist in the ring.¡± Well that¡¯s good, because I was going to keep bribing the kid. ¡±I can sweeten the deal Howard, You want a Titanic Pact? I can give you regen.¡± ¡°My Master would abandon me if I betrayed him,¡± Howard explained. ¡°How about an Epic Scale master who knows a Cosmic Martial Art?¡± I asked, pointing a thumb at Seth. ¡°As a bonus he won¡¯t force you to fight duels to the death over his pride. Take the deal. I will take care of you.¡±
Persuasion check¡­ Successful Howard ¡­. All processes stopped.
I felt the telltale thrum of time halting. ¡°You mother fuckers,¡± I swore into the impossible stillness. No one reacted and nothing moved. Everything was
[Flag] Delete Message Retcon begins in: 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­
¡°I am sorry, but no,¡± Howard said, shaking his head. ¡°Let¡¯s get this done,¡± Madigan snarled. Holy shit, they just took it away. I felt the phantom fangs of the Snow Lion Alpha pressing down on my neck. My thumb touched the nail on my pinkie. I kept my face and voice calm as I spoke to Spine, ¡°You are ready for this. Find your moment, hit hard, and keep hitting.¡± Spine nodded. His skin went from his normal healthy green to a pale ashen one. He nodded, more to himself than me. ¡°I can do this.¡± he said. He didn¡¯t sound convinced. I almost tried to use the Persuade skill on Spine. Ultimately I decided not to. Besides the ethical issues of messing with people''s brains, there was the practical issue that I did not know what I was doing, and the risk that Narrators could just adjust the die rolls again. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Sunit asked. His voice was gentle but had a slight push to hurry the hell up. I waited for Spine to say yes. He was clearly waiting for me to answer. I could tell because after about ten seconds he started poking me. I sighed and then opened my mouth to speak. ¡°Wait!¡± About a dozen people called. A massive crowd of thousands, myself included, turned to the east and found about thirty battered and bloody people. They were a motley crowd. all of them wearing clothes with a digi-camo pattern based in gray and white tones. A large number of them had guns, long rifles, probably automatics, and pistols on their hips. A few had old-time melee weapons, a few swords and axes, one had a huge spear. The group was a mix of men and women, and they all looked to be in their late twenties or younger. Didn''t have much else in common¡­ other than one thing. All of them had eyes that reflected the waning light of the setting sun. That troubling yellow glow that cat eyes have in low light. ¡°Chimeras,¡± Seth whispered. He almost keeled over, but I caught him. He didn¡¯t even acknowledge me. ¡°Please no.¡± He muttered almost silently. The heavily armed group of soldiers that appeared from nowhere tried to approach us. They were immediately stopped by the crush of bodies from the crowd gathered to see the duel. After several verbal exchanges between them and the crowd one of the soldiers began to gesticulate wildly. The crowd was unmoved. The soldier slumped. After another brief exchange the soldiers tried to sort of push through the crowd. This caused a loud uproar in the area, and the press of people quickly drove the soldiers back. Finally, a shorter woman from the soldiers¡¯ team grabbed two of her cohorts, just ducked her head, and started to power through. The crowd protested, but she fought the mosh like a seasoned concert-goer. Since I was in no hurry to force kids to fight to the death, I just watched the soldiers awkwardly shuffle through the crowd and listened to the increasingly loud -and creative- insults being hurled. Turns out thousands of people can cycle through a lot of insults in rapid order, especially when someone was taking their good spot. Thankfully neither the angry crowd nor the well armed soldiers actually started a fight. Small miracle. The young lady who forced her way through the crowd gasped in effort before managing, ¡°Wait! We have¡­ ho-ly fuck¡­ you really are tall.¡± Rather than say anything quickly I gazed at her dumbly before pointing at myself and waited for her to confirm. Seth stepped behind me. The soldier stooped hands on her knees catching her breath. ¡°Yeah, you,¡± she said at last, and smiled as she straightened up. Her teeth were unnaturally pointed and her eyes had an undeniably cat-like shape. A quick glance at her hands showed her nails were long, tough, and sharp. She took her cap off and quickly brushed her black hair out of her face before slapping it back down. The skin on her brow, back of her hands and on her neck had a textured, almost scaled pattern: built-in armor. The guy on her right had cat eyes but his polite smile showed normal teeth. That said he was hairy as a bear, or maybe a bigfoot. The guy on the left had bulging eyes along with the same scaly looking skin, which in his case looked upsettingly wet. The other bit that was odd was that rather than their names over their heads were tags that read, from left to right, Corporal, Lieutenant, and Sergeant. That was new, and troubling, and likely to be a new pain in my ass. Sunit took charge, ¡°Are you seriously interrupting a duel just outside the Mandir of the War Goddess?¡± He wasn¡¯t so much angry as confirming if these people were really going to be that stupid. The Lieutenant grinned and pulled a red envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Sunit, ¡°Goddess Lola left instructions to open this immediately.¡± Sunit looked at it. His name was written in large black letters with the words: Open Immediately. Sunit shrugged and opened the envelope. The world went dark. In the sky a gigantic glowing form of Lola manifested. She gazed down at us. ¡°Thank you Rachel for bearing my message.¡± Her gaze drifted to a spot about five feet behind Madigan where he would have been standing had he not approached to argue with me. ¡°Travis Madigan, this duel is not needed. I know you wish to serve me as a devout follower, but this is not the way. Withdraw the challenge.¡± The manifestation¡¯s gaze lifted to the horizon and gazed toward some point near the setting son. When Lola Spoke again her voice rumbled with power and shook everything around us. ¡°All who follow me will be welcomed here. Be they man or woman, Fantasy Kingdom or Technacoast, human or goblin: If they follow me I will protect them.¡± With that the manifestation ceased and the crimson light of sunset reasserted itself. The crowd immediately burst into hundreds of conversations. Apparently Lola wasn¡¯t prone to addressing people directly like that. ¡°Withdraw the challenge, Madigan,¡± Sunit instructed. He looked remarkably calm considering thousands of people were losing their shit. ¡°What¡­¡± Madigan asked. He was still gazing up at the sky. ¡°Was that her? Did she actually appear and call me by name?¡± ¡°Sadly, no,¡± Sunit said. He gently placed a hand on Madigan¡¯s shoulder, ¡°That was likely a recorded message Goddess Lola composed earlier.¡± ¡°She gave me the message three weeks ago,¡± the Lieutenant, Rachel, chipped in. She kept glancing over at me. ¡°She can see that far ahead,¡± Madigan said. It was almost a question, but came out more as a realization. ¡°Probably further,¡± Sunit said. ¡°Withdraw the challenge.¡± ¡°Fine, I withdraw the challenge,¡± Madigan said quietly. He paused for a second before repeating much more loudly, ¡°I withdraw the challenge!¡± The crowd cheered. ¡°¡±I love a happy ending,¡± the Lieutenant said. She turned to me, ¡°I¡¯m Lieutenant Rachel Blum of the Technicoast Chimera Core.¡± She held out a hand to me.¡± ¡°You can call me Doug,¡± I said, shaking her hand gingerly, ¡°You have great timing.¡± ¡°We are here to help. The truck has supplies, and we plan to make a run on a dungeon. Hopefully that will help clear a path for people again. This is a holy place after all.¡± She said, smiling. While she was laughably smaller than me she was strong enough to give me pause. She carried herself with that casual confidence Angelica and Brunhilda embodied. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. We have an imminent Mob Rush heading our way, also.¡± I shrugged. Rachel went still for a long moment. She turned to Sunit, who nodded. Rachel¡¯s eyes bugged slightly and she turned to the hairy guy with the title of Sergeant. ¡°Get the group ready. Tell them no leave yet. Shit¡¯s about to get weird.¡± The Sergeant nodded and turned to force his way back through the crowd: he was almost out of ear shot when he started muttering something about not being surprised. ¡°Is that why there¡¯s like thirty-thousand goblins gathering outside the city?¡± Rachel asked. Sunit, Madigan, and I gazed stupidly at each other for a long moment. Spine tried to creep away, but froze when my heavy hand landed on his shoulder. ¡°Any idea what that is about?¡± I asked him, trying to sound curious rather than upset. Spine tried to laugh like it was an amusing surprise, but it sounded more like an awkward cough, ¡°So what probably happened is when I sent out the call to my family to bring everyone here for the Mob Rush, they probably read that as everybody everybody. Hehehe!¡± I blamed myself. I had every opportunity to ask questions but made assumptions. I needed to get better about that. I turned to Rachel, ¡°Do me a favor and leave the goblins alone. They are friendly.¡± ¡°Sure, no problem,¡± Rachel said with a negligent shrug. I almost sagged in relief, ¡°Thank you. I was afraid you would be unreasonable or aggressive.¡± Rachel just laughed, ¡°My god literally just said she would shelter goblins. Besides, I am not here to kill them. I am only interested in killing Seth Cohen.¡± There it is. The shoe dropping. Chapter 54: The Duel: The Shine and Chain Showcase ¡°What?¡± I managed. Madigan had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face. He simply stepped back and took Howard with him. That was one less asshole to deal with immediately. ¡°There isn''t a chimera alive who doesn''t want to avenge James Smith,¡± Rachel explained, her voice even. Menace laced her next words, ¡°I can smell him behind you.¡± Seth stepped out from behind me. He stared at Rachel like he was seeing a ghost, ¡°I¡­ thought you were dead.¡± Rachel''s face contorted with rage, ¡°That''s all you have to say?!¡± She almost charged, but Sunit intervened. He stepped between us and placed a hand on her shoulder. I felt a faint thrum, like when the system stopped time. Sunit''s gentle touch somehow stopped Rachel instantly. ¡°Just a moment,¡± Sunit began peaceably. ¡°What is your grievance with Seth?¡± Rachel glared at Sunit, ¡°Who the hell do you think you are?¡± Sunit smile radiated innocent courtesy ¡°The witness to the duel if your cause is just.¡± Somehow there was a faint hint of potential trouble if the cause wasn''t. ¡°You¡­!¡± Rachel got a handle on her temper. ¡°Seth Cohen is one of the ten most wanted criminals of the Technacoast. He is an assassin and a traitor! He killed James Smith. My dad.¡± I had every opportunity to ask questions, instead I made assumptions. I had wrongly assumed Seth''s backstory had been to mess with me, hinting at darker aspects of my -the Titan''s- past. When it hadn''t rattled my cage I assumed it had been a shot at Angelica. It still might have been, but it was also blatant telegraphing of an incoming fight. Like the journal, the goblin village, and the carvings in the dungeons. Back to being reactionary. Sunit nodded, ¡°I can understand your rage.¡± He turned to Seth, ¡°Do you have anything to say?¡± Seth was sweating bullets: he glanced to Sunit before turning his attention back to Rachel, ¡°I¡­ You look so much like your mother.¡± The hell? Rachel bared her teeth but didn¡¯t respond. I hated to jump in but Seth had helped me. Sure, I had learned most of the Cosmic Martial Art myself, but Seth gave me the little hints I needed, and helped me form the plans to save Spine. ¡°Seth did kill James Smith, but only because Smith''s chimera work was killing people. Tens of thousands, probably more.¡± I said. I braced for Rachel''s response. Strangely she calmed. She scoffed dismissively, ¡°That old lie? It¡¯s just Fan-Coast propaganda. Most chimera are viable for soldiers, but the one who aren''t -the ''failures¡¯, as you would call them- don''t die. They get sent to the northern infirmary: most end up working in the farms or factories.¡± I tried to trigger Perception, but no prompt appeared. I must have failed the check. No system backing today. How was I already dependent on a skill I barely used? ¡°So you have been there?¡± I asked. A brief moment of uncertainty flashed in Rachel''s expression, ¡°No, I- all combat ready chimeras are needed on the frontlines. We are the reason Mad Zach''s monsters haven''t conquered us.¡± I glanced at Seth. Maybe it was as simple as meeting him first, but his story had more truth to it than Rachel''s. ¡°Then how can the Technacoast afford to send 30 of you out here to kill an old man living in a shed?¡± I asked carefully. No uncertainty this time, ¡°Seth Cohen is a traitor. He committed one of the worst acts of terrorism the Technacoast ever had to endure. Him killing James Smith all but ended the Chimera Program.¡± ¡°Thank you, God,¡± Seth murmured. Rachel struck almost faster than thought. Her clawed hand slashed at Seth¡¯s throat. I should have expected it but had been caught completely off guard. By the time I even realized what happened her claws had blood on them. Seth had better reflexes than me, but he was now much lower level. Scale was nice but it had observable limits. Thankfully, Sunit had been both expecting something and ready. As Rachel made her swipe he immediately reacted. He simply pushed her back half a pace, turning what would have been a ripped-out throat into a series of wicked gouges into Seth''s skin. ¡°Do not do that again,¡± Sunit warned. Rachel pressed against Sunit¡¯s arm but didn¡¯t really gain ground. She clearly wasn¡¯t listening, ¡°Say that again!¡± Seth ignored the blood running down his neck, staining the front of his coat, ¡°I thought he killed you, Rachel. No one survived the grafts to elevate a person to Epic scale.¡± ¡°What a shock! You not believing in me! Dad did!¡± Rachel shouted. Seth looked phenomenally tired. ¡°I read his notes. He expected you to die. The plan was to see how your body failed, and learn lessons for the next batch. He just had access to you, Rachel. He didn¡¯t care.¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± Rachel spat. ¡°I have the notes,¡± Seth tried, ¡°They are in¡­¡± ¡°Like I would trust something you had for years!¡± Rachel shouted over him. ¡°You could recognize your dad¡¯s handwriting right?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t looking forward to stepping into this again, but Seth was not making any real headway. Anything he said just angered her more. Rachel snarled as she turned to me, but she calmed noticeably before answering, ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Is Seth capable of forgery?¡± I pressed gently. ¡°Not that I know of,¡± Rachel admitted. ¡°So let¡¯s take a look at it,¡± I suggested. ¡°Nah, it is propaganda,¡± Rachel dismissed. ¡°I get why you are confused. That stuff can work on anyone: best not to look at it ever.¡± The Corporal nodded before adding, ¡°No one is immune to propaganda.¡± Was she talking so calmly to me because of my high Face Attribute? She seemed a little erratic. I understand she had an ax to grind, but the almost instant dulling of her anger when talking to me, or how she didn¡¯t so much as lay a finger on Sunit as he actively stopped her from attacking Seth. Was her rage just that focused? Sunit, seeing Rachel calm, straightened, ¡°I take it you will not recant your claim?¡± ¡°Never,¡± Rachel agreed, her eyes drifting toward Seth. When Sunit turned his gaze on Seth. Seth swallowed. He continued to ignore the blood leaking from his neck, ¡°James Smith was a monster. Rachel, please don¡¯t believe the lie. He used you.¡± ¡°He loved me!¡± Rachel screamed at him, ¡°Not that you could understand something like that.¡± Claws taking a chunk of him didn¡¯t register, but Rachel¡¯s last barb hit Seth like a kick to the stomach. He staggered back and would have stumbled and fallen if I hadn¡¯t caught him. Sunit heaved a long suffering sigh, ¡°These sound like valid reasons for a duel.¡± ¡°Sunit,¡± I started. ¡°I won¡¯t fight them, any of them,¡± Seth said. ¡°That would be forfeiture of the duel,¡± Sunit warned. ¡°Sunit!¡± I cut in. He gazed at me, eyes hard, and spoke slowly, ¡°Doug, this is how things are done. Contained.¡± I considered his words. I had my opinions on duels, but his meaning was apparent. This Mandir was a fragile balance of politics built on a foundation of mutual¡­ I wouldn¡¯t call it faith. That felt wrong. I could feel the subtle weight of Lola¡¯s domain on me. It wasn¡¯t suppressing me yet but its presence was tangible. This is how the followers of Lola could keep things¡­ peaceful. A look of surprise snapped into Rachel¡¯s expression, ¡°Oh, that is easy then. We will just take him outside the domain and beat him to death with a rock.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°You can¡¯t do that,¡± I started. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Rachel said, cutting off my argument, ¡°We got a brick in the truck. We came prepared.¡± ¡°I mean I am not going to allow you to do that,¡± I corrected. ¡°Don¡¯t do that,¡± Rachel warned, her voice still chummy. She gave a nod to the corporal. He clicked his radio. Somehow the words ¡®converge on lieutenant¡¯ were audible in the static. Both the Corporal and Rahel shrugged, before Rachel turned her attention back to me, ¡°Odd, anyway, Doug right? Don¡¯t do that. I am reasonable, but some of the enlisted, they are¡­ passionate people. If you get between them and this traitor¡­ I worry about your health.¡± ¡°Plus he has no reason to intervene,¡± The corporal offered.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, that,¡± Rachel agreed and then turned to Sunit. Sunit watched me carefully, waiting for my answer. I saw the other soldiers shouldering their way through the crowd. ¡°I am Seth Cohen¡¯s student. I am not going to let you kill him.¡± I spoke loudly. The crowd parted as the soldiers reached us. ¡°Doug, don¡¯t¡­¡± Seth started. ¡°I hate to say it but listen to him,¡± Rachel added. She looked sad as she continued, ¡°I get it. He probably was there for you in a moment of need. Maybe he opened some small door for you. But you¡¯ve got to understand, it is a trick. He uses those feelings of obligation to take more than he will ever give. It is manipulation. You got to watch out for that.¡± I just stared at her¡­ she was completely serious. Rachel sighed, ¡°Scan him.¡± The Corporal with his bugged eyes focused his gaze on me. I felt some weird sort of contact as a skill touched me. Then several other brushes of the system as several other soldiers used more skills. ¡°He is level seven. Rare Scale. ¡° he grinned, ¡°Highest skill is Willpower, somehow it says he has over four hundred hit points. Get this, he has the God Killer tag.¡± he burst out laughing. ¡°That¡¯s what I read too,¡± one soldier called out. ¡°Same!¡± a third added. ¡°So standard half-giant trickery,¡± Rachel said. She thought for a moment, ¡°Barns, you up to test the waters. ¡°Damn right,¡± a large man, Barn¡¯s said. He walked into the circle, ¡°I challenge you to a duel.¡± ¡°Goddammit¡± I muttered to myself before speaking to Barns, ¡°You don¡¯t want this. See the God Killer tag?¡± Barns grinned, ¡°Nice use of Deception Skills, but if you are going to pretend to be strong, up the level you present. Otherwise you would have to be a Titanspawn. Don¡¯t worry, I am not going to hurt you permanently¡­if I can help it." He raised his massive fists. ¡°I accept,¡± I said. ¡°Very well.¡± Sunit said. A lot of shit happened all at once.
The Eyes of the War Goddess are on you Warrior¡¯s Suraksha has been removed Fight Well!
The prompt was expected. Having the weight of the domain spike wasn¡¯t. It restricted me and slowed me just like the dungeon did. Shit, I guess Barns found religion at some point. Barns also immediately charged. I braced for impact. I put my hand up to block. Only to find Barns had juked far to my right. The hits came like lightning. His right hand slammed into my jaw. His left into my solar plexus. Then his right foot planted behind mine as he hip-checked me. Big guy I may be, but physics still applied to me¡­ for now. I stumbled. I was able to roll to my feet, and Barns gave me the breathing room. He had meant it when he said he wasn¡¯t going to hurt me more than necessary. ¡°You should have stayed down,¡± Barns chided. I checked and found Brunhilda and Spine on the edge of the circle. She was healing Seth, while eyeing some of the nearby soldiers. They were watching the duel. Barns¡¯s fist crashed into my tender bits again. ¡°Eyes on the fight!¡± he bellowed immediately after hitting me in the dick then my neck. I dodged a kick. But didn¡¯t take the option to counter. Instead I used the Analyze Skill.
Analyze check¡­ Successful
Name: Abel Barns
Race: Human (Chimera: Brawle- Ape/Fishman)
Class: Chimera Corp Grunt
Level: 28
HP: 98
MP 0
Defense 21
Power: 24
Mobility: 16
Body: 18
Mind: 5
Face: 7
Magic: 3
Trait: Big Guy Some folk are just bulky. The bearer of this trait gains an addition 20% mass over their standard growth pattern. They also gain 2 points in Body and Power Attributes. Unnatural Trait: Chimera (Uncommon) This is level independent. This trait increases it¡¯s bearer¡¯s Scale to Uncommon. It will also cause the bearer to show physical attributes similar to those of the Mobs used. Perks: Chimera Corp Soldier You are part of the few viable combat capable Chimera. This perk unlocks skills related to the Soldier Class as well as the Pack Tactics, and has a possibility of Unlock Mob-Related Skills Multiattack Quantity has a quality all its own. This perk reduces the penalty of making multiple attacks by 2. Note 1: Standard progression of stacking penalties still applies Note 2: Standard Maximum total attacks still applies Disposition: Abel Barns is growing concerned. Based off the damage he had dealt, he knows he is not breaking your defense. He also recognizes the sensation of the Analyze Skill. He does not yet realize you are the user of the skill.
This guy was the same level as Brand, but he was definitely not as strong. Now that I had a better gauge of his strength and limits I came up with a plan.
Dampen check¡­ Successful Damage Set to 15 HP max.
I lumbered toward Barns. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have even started this.¡± I got lucky here. My display of aggression had the desired effect. It goaded Barns into another attack. He tried another feint. I almost fell for the step to the right but was prepared for his kick from the right. My knee rose and met his shine in a bone rattling impact. Then when Barn¡¯s right hook came for my lower ribs I swept it away with me left. Anticipating his last jab I turned my torso. The strike glanced off my right arm. That''s when I countered. My right hit Barn¡¯s in the chest with an uppercut that lifted him off his feet. Then, I brought my left hand down on his back. The impact flung him face first into the icy ground.
Attack from Abel Barns¡­ blocked x3 Counter Attack Successful! Dampen Check Successful! Abel Barns Takes 15 damage Attack against Abel Barns¡­ Successful Dampen Check Successful! Abel Barns take 15 damage
I barely paid any attention to the prompt. The important part was the total damage I had dealt. Thirty so far; sixty-eight left before he dies. I needed to get him to quit. Barns was still for a long moment. Way too long: he was stalling. Why? Finally he stirred, he slowly moved his arm, and pushed himself to his knees. He gazed at me as he then staggered to his feet. He grinned, ¡°We got a soft heart here.¡± He rolled his shoulders, ¡°He may be built like a wall and hit like a hammer, but he doesn¡¯t have the killing drive.¡± He started to laugh to himself. ¡°Is that a joke to you?¡± I asked. ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Barns answered, the smile sliding off his face. ¡°But, this isn¡¯t a fist fight. My job isn¡¯t to win. It is to learn, so others can complete the mission. I am relieved to find out I am probably not going to die.¡± ¡°You entered this fight expecting to die?¡± I asked, taking an involuntary step back. Barns stretched his back, ¡°More like prepare, just like everyone else with me. All of us would gladly die for the Technacoast.¡± He slammed his right hand into his shoulder as did most of the soldiers in the crowd. ¡°There is no need for this. Seth is no threat to you anymore. Damage done. He has lived in squalor and exile since then. No one needs to die.¡±
Persuasion check¡­ Failed
Barns¡¯ eyes hardened, ¡°The Authority says he dies. I mean to plant the knife.¡± He kicked a hunk of ice at my head. I slapped it out of the air only to find Barns in the gap in my defenses. I couldn¡¯t block it, so I dodged instead. I half-stepped back, causing his jab to miss me by a hair¡¯s width. I did block his second punch and immediately countered. My left hand balled into a fist and hammered his stomach. I simply took the kick Barns launched on the shoulder. The three points of damage were gone before the prompt cleared my mind. For my attack I merely backhanded him across the face. He spun and blood and teeth went flying. Barns hit the ground again but quickly rose to his feet. ¡°He keeps doing the same amount of damage again and again. He¡¯s holding back.¡± ¡°Just surrender,¡± I implored. ¡°We can talk through this.¡± ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t listen to propaganda,¡± Barns said. He took a step closer. ¡°Let¡¯s just agree to disagree.¡± He held out a hand like he wanted us to shake on it. The instant I looked at it, I knew I fucked up. I had let my guard down. I want to keep talking. The knife slammed into my neck. It scraped my collar bone as it slid between a tendon and my windpipe on its way into my torso. Barns open hand didn¡¯t ball into a fist but instead straightened into sharp locked fingers and slammed into my left eye. Pain and confusion. Those are words that technically describe the experience but I am just going to say they don¡¯t convey the reality. Rather than blur or darken the vision in my left eye tilted to a ninety-degree angle. The knife was both a sharp edge and a burning pressure. The problem wasn¡¯t necessarily the damage it was doing but that it was now preventing me from moving my head and causing greater pain with each beat of my heart. On pure instinct I blocked the Barns''s third attack. I slammed my palm into his nose and kicked him away. Thankfully the Dampen checks succeeded. ¡°Surrender! NOW!¡± I roared.
Intimidation check¡­ Successful!
¡°I give,¡± Barns shouted instantly. His face paled as I watched him. My vision slowly corrected itself. I pulled the knife out of my neck carefully. ¡°Swear you will never try to harm or assist in the attempt to harm Seth Cohen ever again.¡± Barns glanced over to Rachel. When she nodded, he said, ¡°I swear.¡± ¡°Go,¡± I said. ¡°Pretty sure he has Face Skills,¡± one soldier shouted. ¡°He has Unarmed and Block Skills at Expert,¡± the Corporal said plainly. ¡°He has the Dodge skill also!¡± another called. ¡°His health is still at 420!¡± another added. Rachel considered that, ¡°Must be good at Deception to keep the illusion up through a fight. Nothing for it. Going to have to keep wearing him down.¡± She waved off a few of the soldiers, Sarge included. They vanished into the crowd. ¡°That isn¡¯t exactly honorable,¡± Sunit observed. ¡°No, it isn''t,¡± Rachel admitted, ¡°but it is a good strategy.¡± Chapter 55: The Duel: The Heat The crowd was cheering in a slightly-muted way but they were also backing up. The circle available widened. One of the soldiers near the corporal was taking off their coat and attaching some sort of¡­ I don¡¯t know. It was covered in wires. ¡°Popovich, you''re up,¡± Rachel ordered. She didn¡¯t want me watching whatever that was. Three more soldiers moved to body-block my view. A woman with a sword stepped towards me. She rolled her braided hair and pinned it under her at before saying, ¡°I challenge you to a duel.¡± I hesitated. This felt like a losing strategy. Dampen was a skill requiring a roll. That meant it had a chance to fail and I could paste some kid across the ice. It also just let them keep feeding people into fights with me while they refined their strategy. I used Analyze again. Popavich was level twenty-two. She only had seventy hit points. That said her Face and Mind Attributes were higher than Barns¡¯. She was also a combination of Owl-Woman and Fishman. ¡°I accept,¡± I said, finally. Popovich eyed me, ¡°He has the Analyze Skill!¡± she said. ¡°Just surrender,¡± I said, putting the weight of the system into my words.
Persuade check¡­ Failed
¡°No,¡± She thought for a moment. Then she thrust her sword at my face. I ducked to the side and grabbed her arm. She wasn¡¯t exactly a dainty woman, but in my massive hand she looked like a toddler. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you,¡± I started. ¡°Same,¡± Popovich said, right before she shot me in the leg. A silvery gun had materialized from out of her sleeve. The damned thing whirled glowing white hot. Then a ball of plasma exploded through my leg. Now I will admit this hurt like hell. The impact was comparable to a small caliber pistol as it punched right through the leg of my pants and embedded in my thigh bone. The heat instantly cauterized my flesh and just sat there boiling inside my leg.
Attack from Popovich Successful. Attack ignores soft armor. You take 29 points of damage. Mental Resistance blocks the effects of Terrible Pain Condition Titanic Regeneration plus 38 hit points HP: 420/420
While this was in the top ten list of pain I ever felt, it wasn¡¯t triggering any conditions that I couldn¡¯t block. Well my leg was on fire. Kinda. It was more of a smolder. That gun was nuts. That said it melted itself to fire. Popovich''s expression changed from nonchalance to ¡®Oh God he¡¯s breaking my arm!¡¯ that is a profoundly specific facial arrangement. I would recognize it anywhere.
Attack against Erin Popovich¡­ Successful Dampen Check failed. Erin Popovich takes 32 points of damage. You inflicted the Bag of Dirt Condition
My fist clenched and the bones in her arm were rendered into gravel. Popovich¡¯s elbow was basically destroyed. Her hand hung limply from a bend not at her elbow. Of course doing almost half of her health in one second. ¡°I yield!¡± she screamed. I released her instantly. ¡°Swear you will never try to harm or assist in the attempt to harm Seth Cohen ever again.¡±
Intimidation check¡­ Successful!
¡°I¡­ swear,¡± Popovich managed. I felt the scabs of my leg flake off as the skin healed. The clothes sealed over as well. ¡°Go,¡± I told her. ¡°Guys¡­ he has health regen¡­¡± One of the soldiers said. ¡°I saw his health drop. It is back up to full.¡± My nerves stopped insisting that my leg was burning. That said I could feel the first faint traces white noise creep into my perception. Several other soldiers called out other information about me. ¡°I think he has a martial art!¡± one said. ¡°Yep I do,¡± I answered. ¡°I have Mastered a Cosmic Martial Art.¡± Several of the soldiers scoffed. Rachel didn¡¯t, she clearly looked dubious,her voice sagged with Sarcasm ¡°A Cosmic Martial Art? I am convinced.¡± she shouted her next words, ¡°Corporal Jones we got a martial artist.¡± Jones was a tall guy, he had dark hair and skin. He stepped into the ring and tossed his coat to the edge. His hands had hooked blades growing along the pinky finger. He also had sharp points on his elbows. Jones was all whipcord muscle and he didn¡¯t like the cold but he popped some red pill in his mouth and instantly quit shivering. Jones opened his mouth to challenge me ¡°Surrender!¡± I growled again putting system force behind my words. I doubt I was actually scary but the mechanics didn¡¯t care.
Intimidation check¡­ Successful!
Before Jones could be cowed, Rachel let out a surprisingly commanding and stentorian roar, ¡°Corporal, you will fight that man! That is an order!¡± I could sense a clash of her skill and mine. Distressingly I noticed the weight of the domain suppressing my words. The uncertainty left Jones¡¯ face, ¡°I challenge you to a duel.¡± Ah shit. There goes that plan. Then again was using the system to socially batter people to get my way actually superior to physically beating them? I wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°I accept Jones was fast. Not Angelica fast, but absolutely in the same class as Brand. He had flitted from ten feet away to right in front of me in the blink of an eye. He made a grab for my hand and¡­
Clash of Styles! Surging Mantis Vs Unrelenting Glacier. No conflict observed. No benefits or penalties assigned.
¡­ through the backing of the system I was able to dodge the first grab, the blade along Jones¡¯ hand took some hair off the back of my hand but didn¡¯t connect. I Blocked both the followup punch aimed at my solar-plexus and the kick aimed at my leg. A split second after I decided not to counter-attack -without knowing his HP I could possibly crit and kill him instantly- Jones hopped back out of reach almost as fast as he engaged me. ¡°He has Unrelenting Glacier as a martial art.¡± he called. Rachel was consulting some sort of handheld device. It looked like a steel framed smartphone. Both Jones and I saw her expression momentarily locked into a horrified expression. She quickly corrected, ¡°Good job Jones. Just¡­ be careful.¡± ¡°Jones, she just saw that I in fact do have a Cosmic Martial Art.¡± I triggered the Analyze skill. I waited for the look of discomfort to appear in his eye, ¡°You can¡¯t beat me. This whole steady stream of combatants idea isn¡¯t going to result in your side''s inevitable victory. It is going to get a bunch of you killed. I have been handling you all like spun glass. I am going to get clumsy at some point. For your own sake surrender.¡±
Intimidation check¡­ Successful! You are now Trained in Intimidation.
Jones almost quailed under the weight of my stare. ¡°Stay in the Fight!¡± Rachel ordered again. ¡°For the Technacoast!¡± the other cheered. Jones slammed his fist into his chest. He didn¡¯t approach me though. I did the math. Jones was level 24 and focused toward mobility. That said he only had 68 HP. That was more fragile than I was comfortable with, but I was beginning to suspect I needed to display a show of force. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. I charged. Sure I was a big guy but I could move faster than Jones. I loomed over him for length of a heart beat before sticking.
Attack Successful! Dampen Check Successful! Robert Jones Takes 15 damage Attack from Abel Barns¡­ blocked x2 Counter Attack Successful! Dampen Check Successful! Robert Jones Takes 15 damage Attack against Abel Barns¡­ Successful Dampen Check Successful! Abel Barns take 15 damage
I brought my fist down on his head. He bowed but struck with his claws. I slapped both hands away, knocking him half a step off balance. I then countered with a left hook to his floating ribs. Then just to put the boots in I kicked him in the stomach. Jones folded over my leg and for a split second floated in the air stunned. I then seized his leg and flung him across the ring.
Throw Attack Successful! Dampen Check Successful! Robert Jones Takes 15 damage
Jones landed badly and slid across the ice. He ended up face down gasping. Eventually he screamed in pain. Rather than pressure Jones to surrender I looked at the others. ¡°You don¡¯t want to fight me. It is just a matter of time before I kill one of you.¡±
Mass Intimidation check¡­ Partially Successful!
Ten of them looked shaken. Another five looked on the fence about trying to fight me. Rachel looked completely unmoved. The folks hooking gear up to the corporal didn¡¯t seem all that bothered. He watched me carefully. A bead of sweat rolling down his brow despite the cold. ¡°Jones, you give?¡± I asked, still watching the corporal. ¡°...yeah,¡± he managed. ¡°Swear the same oath as the others?¡± I pressed. ¡°Yes!¡± he called. ¡°You next then, corporal?¡± I asked, letting menace creep into my tone. The fish-eyed guy blinked, ¡°You don¡¯t even know what we are capable of.¡± He sighed and checked with Rachel, when she nodded. The corporal turned back to me. He accepted a heavy metal staff. Everyone quickly got the fuck away from him. The corporal flipped a switch on the chest plated and slapped the door shut. Something shrieked and the corporal was wreathed in a corona of crackling electricity. The corporal stepped into the ring, ¡°I challenge you to a duel.¡± ¡°The hell is that?¡± I asked, taking a step back. ¡°Anti-riot rig with an overclocked power source,¡± fish-eye said, grinning. ¡°Fuck you,¡± I said. I braced for bullshit, ¡°I accept.¡± The corporal, unlike everyone before him, hesitated. I felt a series of pings from the system. His eyes bugged as he used some sort of skills to¡­ I don''t know. Eh¡­ when in Rome.
Analyze check¡­ Successful
Name: Jeffery Todd
Race: Human(Chimera: Fishman/Mind-Weasel)
Class: Chimera Corp Half-Screw
Level: 32
HP: 116
Power: 18
Mobility: 12
Body: 16
Mind: 30
Face: 8
Magic: 8
Trait: Tech Savvy You are just better than most when it comes to mechanical and electronic objects. People may scare you, but not predictable, precise technology. You are treated as one level of scale higher when using skills to use, maintain, or understand gear deemed by the system to be tech. Unnatural Trait: Chimera (Uncommon) This is level independent. This trait increases it¡¯s bearer¡¯s Scale to Uncommon. It will also cause the bearer to show physical attributes similar to those of the Mobs used. Perks: Chimera Corp Soldier You are part of the few viable combat capable Chimera. This perk unlocks skills related to the Soldier Class as well as the Pack Tactics, and has a possibility of Unlock Mob-Related Skills ExoSkeleton Proficiency This perk unlocks the Skills Pilot: Exoskeleton, Repair: Exoskeleton, Craft: Exoskeleton Power Weapon Proficiency This perk allows user to apply weapon proficiencies the user already possesses to be used with Powered weapons. Disposition: Jeffery is wary of you. He is planing to inflict as much damage as possible on you.
That was less than useful. We stood there looking at each other. Then we kept doing that. ¡°Kick his dick!¡± Spine yelled. I stayed where I was. Jeffery didn¡¯t move either. ¡°You doing okay there corporal?¡± Rachel asked. The corporal¡¯s eyes bugged again. ¡°Yeah, I just needed to finished the up close checks,¡± ¡°Oh, cool, what do you got?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°I can¡¯t read his race or class.¡± the Corporal said as he kept his eyes on me. ¡°His Might is 42. He also has a Body attribute of 42, and his Mobility is 37. ¡° The corporal paled, ¡°How the hell is your Defense 114?¡± ¡°I have been attacked by a lot of snow lions.¡± I said, like it was an explanation. ¡°You gonna do something?¡± ¡°I am doing something?¡± The corporal said again as his eyes bugged again. I sighed. A stomp of my foot and a Destruction check caused a brick of ice to bounce up into the air in front of me. I grabbed it. ¡°You gonna surrender?¡± ¡°No,¡± Jeffery said. I lobbed the brick at him. The ice went right through the corona of electricity engulfing Jeffery, and despite his effort to block it with his staff, collided with his shoulder.
Throw Attack Successful! Dampen Check Successful! Jeffery Todd takes 15 damage
The impact caused the ice to shatter and the Jeffery to stumble backwards. He hissed in pain. ¡°Fine, try this¡­ asshole!¡± He lunged with the metal staff. For the briefest of moments I considered blocking the attack, but then I saw the faint spark of electricity along the length. I Dodged at the last possible second. Just as I was considering a counter-attack¡­
Attack from Jeffery Todd ¡­Dodged. You are in an Electrified Area of effect. You take 2 damage. You are immune to the Stun Condition Mental Resistance blocks the Terrible Pain Condition. You may act normally Titanic Regeneration plus 38 hit points HP: 420/420
Seizing, burning pain ran down my neck, torso and legs. Small fingers of electricity had jumped from the staff to me. I took a big step back to get out of the AOE. That Terrible Pain condition was nowhere near as bad as the Extreme Agony condition, but it was still fucking awful. Think of it like the difference between having a tooth crack instead of having your jaw smashed with a hammer. Sure one is worse than the other, but you will probably dislike the other as well. I jumped backwards. Jeffery spun the staff, ¡°Too much for you?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± I said, obviously lying. Jeffery charged me. He wasn¡¯t as fast as the others, nor was he as skilled with his weapon as others, but he could absolutely press me. That damn stick had reach. He clipped me about four more times To hell with it. I prepared for the bad time and grabbed the damned staff out of his hands. Since the white noise was already creeping into my senses, I took the chance to discourage him coming any closer.
Attack Successful! Dampen Check Successful! Jeffery Todd takes 15 damage You are in an Electrified Area of effect. You take 2 damage. You are immune to the Stun Condition Mental Resistance blocks the Terrible Pain Condition. You may act normally Titanic Regeneration plus 38 hit points HP: 420/420
I slapped Jeffery upside the head with the metal staff. The impact sent him flying. It zapped me something fierce but Jeffery clearly got the worse for the trade. ¡°You surrender?¡± I asked. ¡°Nope,¡± Jeffery said, mimicking me. He pulled some small cylinder out of his pocket and pressed the button on the end. The staff that I held in my right hand and resting on my shoulder, exploded.
You take 74 damage. You are immune to the Stun Condition. You now have the Pin-Cushion Condition Mental Resistance blocks the Terrible Pain Condition. You may act normally Titanic Regeneration plus 38 hit points HP: 384/420
My ears were ringing. Not because my ears were damaged, but because my brain couldn¡¯t interpret it healing so quickly. I found an issue with having health regen. In this specific situation, being perforated with thousands of hooked metal barbs, my body''s perpetual attempts to heal the damage caused the fiery hot metal hooks to press against the skin and the nerve excruciatingly. Every beat of my rapidly quickening pulse sent fresh waves of static through my mind. I just stood there, in the smoke for a solid minute. People were talking. Well, shouting, but i just wasn¡¯t listening. I almost stumbled as I failed to balance. My brain couldn¡¯t handle receiving accurate information, so it over corrected. The smoke cleared and I saw Jeffery¡¯s face go from smug satisfaction, to existential terror. ¡°I am gonna hurt you now,¡± I told him, a split second before I slapped my spine embedded hand up side his head.
Attack Successful! Dampen Check Failed! Jeffery Todd takes 57 damage You are in an Electrified Area of effect. You take 2 damage. You are immune to the Stun Condition Mental Resistance blocks the Terrible Pain Condition. You may act normally 19 barbs pulled from flesh. You take 19 points of damage You are now bleeding. Titanic Regeneration plus 38 hit points HP: 420/420 Bleeding stopped
This embedded a literal hand full of metal rods in Jeffery¡¯s face. This went a lot worse for corporal than i would have guess. The metal splinters, unlike the staff, caused electricity to arc between them. This seemed to both zap Jeffery and heat up the metal something. The poor dude also wasn¡¯t able to block out the Terrible Pain Condition. He just fell down scream, as he burned and was slowly electrocuted. ¡°Surrender and you get the Warrior¡¯s Suraksha,¡± I told him. ¡°I sur-sur-end-ender,¡± Jeffery shrieked. ¡°Swear the oath,¡± I instructed. ¡°I-uh swah-swear!¡± Jeffery managed. ¡°He can go,¡± I said. I felt the protection of the domain descend. Jeffery kept on burning but screaming. I didn¡¯t exactly enjoy that, but I did have my own issues to tend to. I ripped the remainder of the barbs from my hand. Then I pulled two fistfuls of barbs out of my face. Well honestly, I tore a significant portion of my face off. It certainly looked like a lot of skin. The crowd was screaming. I had finished de-barbing my arm when I realized Sunit was talking to me. ¡°What?¡± I managed. ¡°Are you good to continue?¡± He asked. He had a cautious look on his face, and didn¡¯t stand too close. I guess he didn¡¯t want blood on his shoes. ¡°Yeah, I am fine,¡± I said over the ringing in my ears. ¡°What the hell are you?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°I am Doug, I am not going to let you come in here and kill someone, and I am not sure I can be gentle any longer,¡± I answered
Intimidation check¡­ Partially Successful!
Chapter 56: The Duel: The Come Back I hadn¡¯t meant to toss out a skill that time. That said, It was working pretty well for me. Anyone who wasn¡¯t Rachel looked scared shitless. Apparently, lightly immolating one of their friends in front of them had put them off their game. Or maybe it was the face ripping. It may have been the face ripping. ¡°Doug!¡± Angelica yelled. ¡°Hello,¡± I said, turning to her. What was she doing here? I had suspected she wasn¡¯t going to attend the duel. Yeah, she never said she wouldn¡¯t but¡­ why did I think that? She looked me up and down and frowned, ¡°You have to stop. Someone is going to die.¡± I nodded. This shit was getting crazy. Scifi guns and bomb staffs. That¡¯s nuts. What next? Lightsabers? No, tricorders. I want tricorders. Wait! ¡°Are you going to step in?¡± Angelica paused, ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t. I am not going to fight these people. I did kill them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay, I got it.¡± I said. Angelica said something but I didn¡¯t hear it. Something heavy shook the ground behind me. Why does everything appear behind me? I may have a situational awareness issue¡­ or the phantom pain is making me dumber. The static in my mind was getting observably worse. Turning I found the Sergeant in a goddamn mech suit. The fucking thing was huge. It was head and shoulders taller than me. It was also armed out the ass. It had missiles¡­ or rockets. Either way that was uncalled for.. It was also carrying a massive gun. The spinny one. You know. A brrrrt gun. The mech was basically a coffin with arms and legs. You would think that would make it awkward, but it moved with a somewhat ponderous grace. It could balance easily. I could see the Sergeant¡¯s hairy face glaring at me behind a thick piece of glass. The crowd was backing up a hell of a lot faster than the last time. Apparently the close seats were not cool anymore. Sunit was looking at me. ¡°Did he already challenge me?¡± I asked. Sunit nodded.
Analyze check¡­ Partially Successful
Name: Sargent Majors
Race: Human (Chimera: Bigfoot/manticore/lizardman)
Class: Chimera Corp NCO
Level: 27
HP: 130
Power: 26
Mobility: 23
Body: 23
Mind: 10
Face: 10
Magic: 3
Trait: On The Bounce You may not want to live forever, but you do want to spend as many days as possible in a mech suit. You gain an addition level of scale when piloting a mech suit. Unnatural Trait: Chimera (Rare) This is level independent. This trait increases it¡¯s bearer¡¯s Scale to Rare. It will also cause the bearer to show physical attributes similar to those of the Mobs used. Mild instability. That is probably nothing to worry about. Just keep calm. Perks: You were not able to discern perks Disposition: You were not able to discern disposition
¡°You are a Sergeant named Sargent Majors? ¡­Fuck it, Let¡¯s go,¡± I said. The Sergeant didn¡¯t waste any time. He unloaded a hail of bullets¡­ on the spot I had been. Thank you Dodge Skill. Keep this up and you will be right up there with health regen on my favorite things. I shook my head trying to clear it. I couldn¡¯t screw around anymore. Triggering a layer of Ablative Shell, I ducked in and clocked the mech. Clang!
Attack from Sargent Majors¡­ Dodged. Counter-attack successful! Dampen Check Successful! Sargent Majors take 0 damage.
That did fuck all. I blocked the kick and counter-attacked to no effect. I then Dodged another burst of gunfire and tried punting the big suit of armor. Trouble was the impacts rang like a bell but didn¡¯t do jack. I punched the thing''s arm, hoping the joints were weaker, but even that didn¡¯t register. I dodged a vicious backhand from the mech. Counter attacks hadn¡¯t worked so far but I was willing to see it through to the end. My knuckles ached, and my lungs burned. I was wailing on the Sergeant, but he absorbed the damage like it was nothing. This shit was getting frustrating. Is this what it was like to fight me? Nope. I never missile struck anyone a day in my life. I am classy that way. I had to mix in the Sprint skill alongside Dodge, and Jump, but I evaded the majority of the damage. Oh good, layer two of Ablative Shell. Time to get more aggressive. The mech held a hand for me to stop. I paused. Some may say I skidded to a stop and almost ate shit on the ice. Those people are unkind¡­ but accurate. ¡°Do you know what your problem is?¡± the good Sergeant asked. ¡°I am sure you¡¯ll tell me,¡± I said, stalling for time. That third layer of the shell would make me feel safe. I was ruminating on another idea.
Destruction check¡­ Failed Wolverine Class Mech Suit is not under your control.
Darn. ¡°You have really good reflexes,¡± the Sergeant explained. ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± I blinked. Did I miss part of what he said? The white noise may have snuck up on me. ¡°Let me show you,¡± The iron fist of the mech''s left hand lashed out at me. I dodge the strike¡­ right into a burst of the gun. Each shot could only do 1d4 damage. That said thirty of them punched right through a layer of my ablative shell. When I ducked out of the way of that hail of death, I found myself face to payload with a rocket. The explosion sent me flying. I hit the ground hard, and I landed badly. Then I rolled at least twice and ended up face down on the ice. Is this what I had been doing to people? While I never missilled anyone, I have left a very non-zero amount of folk battered on the ice. ¡°You surrender?¡± the Sergeant asked. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. I climbed to my feet.¡°Do you have any interest in talking this out?¡± ¡°No. Traitor has got to die,¡± he said. After a beat he added, ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you¡­ but I will if you make me. I will send you to meet whichever maker you believe in.¡± That kinda pissed me off, ¡°You will murder me because I won¡¯t let you murder someone else?¡± ¡°This is war,¡± the Sergeant explained, with no real rancor in his voice. ¡°It wasn¡¯t here until you brought it.¡± I accused. He shrugged, and raised the gun, ¡°Give up now.¡± I was wracking my brain to find a way to turn the table. I knew what I needed to do. Not die. The gun needed to go. I dodge the burst of fire. Rather than counter-attack the mech suit directly I jammed my hand into the rotating barrels of the gun. This wrenched my wrist something fierce. I then triggered another layer of Ablative shell. Now my hand went from wedged between two barrels to completely stuck. Metal groaned, something mechanical screamed, and I roared as we fought for control of the gun. A mechanism failed and fragments of belts and a few gears went flying. I smiled with satisfaction just before my feet left the ground. Sergeant Sargent Majors with his big damn mech hefted me, and then flung me like a shot put. I sailed through the air before the rockets honed in on me. Structural armor is awesome¡­ when I have it. The Sergeants structural armor was unfair and stupid. Mine was fair and balanced. Ignore the fact it was Titanic Scale¡­ It was Titanic Scale.
Craft check¡­ Successful One layer of Ablative shell removed. You know have an Ablative Sword
The outer layer of armor rippled into liquid and congealed into a chipped and battered long sword in my right hand. Before I could do anything I felt the thrum of time stopping.
Ticket Entered: Possible Exploit¡­ Please wait¡­ Please wait¡­ Please wait¡­
Keeping track of time in this specific scenario was difficult. I had to resort to counting Mississippis. It was when I reached 1327 that I lost patience. ¡°What the fuck!¡± I bellowed into the sky. When no answer came I turned to the Sergeant. Right now he was helpless. I looked at the sword I had made. I could¡­ That was a dark thought. No. I wasn¡¯t going to murder someone like this¡­ well not the Sergeant. Who knows what sort of crazy asshole I could meet in the future? I wasn¡¯t going to commit to never using this sort of tactic forever. I could meet like¡­ a clown, one from the circus or something. I would stab them for the good of everyone. That said, the Narrators couldn¡¯t read my mind anymore, since I had Mental Resistance. I was pretty sure they couldn¡¯t. Now is a good time to prove that. ¡°Either tell me what is happening right now or I stab him with this sword and completely screw your continuity!¡± I shouted into the air. Sure, I was bluffing, but¡­ ¡°You get we aren¡¯t in the sky, right?¡± a familiar voice asked behind me. I turned around and was around and was mildly surprised, ¡°What the hell are you doing here, Brandon?¡± ¡°Lindsey and Wilson are having a debate. They had to pull in a continuity expert to weigh in on your Craft check. Since you are in Lola¡¯s domain, and she is one of the biggest players in Europe, I am involved.¡± He said. This was on me. I set the bar too low, ¡°Send someone useful, like Denise!¡± I yelled up into the sky. ¡°If you don¡¯t start showing me some respect¡­¡± Brandon started but quickly stopped when I met his gaze. I was not in the mood for Narrator nonsense. People''s lives were hanging in the balance. Mine included. When I spoke it was in a clear and precise voice, ¡°Answer my questions. Why is time stopped?¡± ¡°To resolve the exploit discussion,¡± Brandon said. The twerp seemed to think that was a satisfactory answer. I just glared at him. Brandon, sensing my displeasure continued explaining, ¡°It is a bit of a tough call. On the one hand, generating the structural armor is acceptable. I mean¡­ yeah¡­ it is Titanic scale, but it is fleeting. It is going to break pretty quickly. Plus the System is biased toward attacks and damage. You crafting material is fine also. The audience likes when you get creative. Punching is only so fun. The issue is now you have a Titanic Scale weapon. Yes, it is going to break when you hit someone with it but¡­¡± he paused. ¡°But what?¡± I pressed him. I almost took a step closer, but that would have been too much. Brandon was obviously a coward, and he clearly was afraid of me. Pushing too hard would clam him up. Brandon considered for a moment. He seemed to be able to hear something I could not, ¡°The issue is the damage the weapons will deal is based on the structural points the armor had. Due to your perks the weapon made will have the base damage of the weapon, based on its Scale, for titanic weapons that is 50 for medium weapons, plus the structural points the armor had, plus your Might attribute, plus the dice roll.¡± That made sense. Lindsey clearly wanted to piss me off. She also seemed deeply uncomfortable with me having any significant damage dealing capacity. She didn¡¯t want me growing too fast. That is probably why the lock on my experience. Brandon flinched as my gaze focused on him again, ¡°Who requested and implemented the block on me gaining experience?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that,¡± Brandon exclaimed. I looked at my sword then at Brandon, ¡°What if I test this on you?¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± Brandon paused and looked into my eyes, ¡°Are you seriously threatening a Narrator?¡± ¡°With a Titanic Scale sword,¡± I confirmed. ¡°We are off screen Brandon. I doubt anyone will help you. Ask yourself do you owe whoever sent you here anything besides a knife in the back? It is what they did to you. Why do you think they sent you here?¡± I could tell he considered my words because he grasped at straws, ¡°If you hurt me there will be consequences.¡± ¡°No there won¡¯t. Not for me at least. The Titan scared you fuckers away once when I taught Spine Dark Magic. If you tried to systematically stomp on me, he will slaughter you. Plus any shit you could try and pull would be messing with one of Wilson¡¯s stories. How''d that work out for Fiona? The simple truth is, Brandon, you and your allies aren¡¯t hard enough to take him. If I kill you, you die, and the world moves on uncaring. If you want to live, tell me who put the lock on my XP and for what reasons.¡± Brandon was quiet for a good twenty Mississippis. Finally he spoke up, ¡°Wilson allowed the restriction to be put on you due to concerns raised by Lindsey from several of her players. Wilson mentioned some of his players also voiced concerns. I can¡¯t tell you who made the requests¡­¡± ¡°But¡­¡± I pressed. ¡°Technically you do have a right to hear and provide a counter argument to the claims. If you request to see the claims, the choice is already made.¡± Brandon offered, still watching the sword. ¡°Yeah, sure, I request to hear the claims,¡± I lowered the sword. Brandon pulled a stack of note cards out of his pocket. ¡°The first one first submitted when you were level two says: I worry Dougie could destabilize the narratives of the entirety of the East Coast. Bro just needs to slow down, you know.¡± Zach. I gestured for Brandon to continue. Brandon switched to the next card, ¡°Second at level three: ¡®The boy is hopeless. Without my help we are going to end up with another Nadia. Just hold his experience until I get him a piece of angel cake.¡¯¡± And there was Adora. What a shock. Brandon continued, ¡°This was submitted at level four. ¡®Titan Spawn have a historical bias against my people. Please slow growth until after I have had a chance to speak with this sixth spawn directly. I will collaborate in the meeting as needed.¡¯¡± No idea who that is. Lola? ¡°Another this one at level seven, Says: I am open to having this Titan Spawn shelter through the mob rush but I ask his progression be slowed until after the Mob Rush is completed to prevent any significant damage to my domain.¡± That one was probably Lola. Who was the other one?
No Exploit Detected Time will resume in: 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­
Oh good the motion, chronological time, and violence was back. The Sergeant tried to kick me in the head. I just managed to avoid the metal boot. I was pretty sure. I seized my moment and struck with the sword. Quietly hoping he didn¡¯t have his arm in the Mechs, I chopped at the shoulder!
Attack from Sargent Majors¡­ dodged. Counter-attack successful Sargent Majors take 0 damage.
Ice scattered everywhere as the weapon shattered instantly on impact. It did nothing. We both stood there for a brief moment. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose that was blessed or something?¡± I asked finally. The Sergeant shrugged the shoulder of the mech, ¡°I found religion early in life. It would seem the mechanics at some point did as well.¡± he glared at me for a moment, ¡°You should take a moment to consider it too.¡± I felt Mental Resistance slap the Intimidation check away from me. I did still have a faint beat of anxiety. The ringing from the phantom pain was beginning to drown out sound again. I slammed my fist against my leg. The white noise faded from a roar in my senses to a hiss. ¡°Let¡¯s not beat around the bush here,¡± I said. ¡°You are too tough for me to crack in the domain, but without your gun you can really hurt me either. I mean how many missile do you got left?¡± ¡°Enough,¡± The Sergeant hedged. He didn¡¯t bombard me, taking that as a good sign I continued, ¡°Since violence isn¡¯t getting us anywhere. We really only have one option left.¡± ¡°And what would that be?¡± he asked. ¡°Talk through this like reasonable adults,¡± I almost yelled. ¡°Hard pass. You have been burnt, battered and bloodied. I¡¯ll see you beaten. If you don¡¯t give up you¡¯ll break.¡± The Sergeant charged. He brought his right hand down hard aiming for my head. I blocked the attack and caught it with my left. The Ice cracked under my feet. The Sergeant believed in fighting smarter and threw a left hook at my side. I stepped into the strike and caught the arm at the elbow. We ended up stuck. Neither of us could get a meaningful advantage over the other. I felt the muscles in my back, shoulders and arms tear and mend and tear and mend again. Metal screamed but neither of us budged. ¡°Sunit!¡± I yelled. ¡°Yes?¡± he asked. He looked deeply, almost spiritually baffled that I would pause mid fight to talk to him. ¡°Does the ring matter?¡± I called another Idea forming in my mind. ¡°Not really.¡± Sunit said with a shrug. ¡°It really just serves as a starting point, but once the duel starts the fight can go almost anywhere.¡± ¡°Well to hell with this then.¡± I muttered. I let go of the mech¡¯s arms and let it strike me. Each hit dealt three to four points of damage. I ducked forward and seized the mech in a bear hug. I then used the leverage to push. Step by painful step I pushed the Mech and the Sergeant inside toward the edge of the domain. The white noise roared again. It pulsed and faded as the Sergeant battered me with a parade of hammer blows. They fell one after another onto my neck, shoulders, back arms, and head. I just kept pushing him to the edge. Outside the Domain this thing would be vulnerable. I need to keep going. Just a little further. Focus on each step. I felt the metal plate slide open. Just below the view port, was a little sliding door big enough for a hand. I heard a ¡®Crack!¡¯ of energy the same moment a tiny burn appeared on my chest.
Attack From Sargent Majors Successful You take 3 points of damage You have been damaged by your Bane (Light) You have the Baneridden Condition. Perks and Traits suppressed. HP: 417/420 Titanic Regeneration paused due to Baneridden Condition
Oh. He had a laser pistol. This is my problem with Star Wars. Now my regen was turned off. Fuck a various assortment of ducks. Chapter 57: The Duel: The Big Heat ¡°His health stopped regening! His health stopped regening!¡± two of the soldiers yelled. They sounded far away. No, the white noise was just drowning out sound. ¡°Thank Christ!¡± another soldier said. ¡°Get ¡®em, Sarge!¡± Shit. Shit. Shit. We were so close to the edge of the domain. Why wasn¡¯t the Sergeant hurting me? No sooner had that thought crossed my mind, when I was lifted into the air and flung bodily into a snow drift. While that didn¡¯t inflict any damage, it certainly didn¡¯t tickle. Some of the ice ended up going down the back of my coat. I hate that. I got to my feet slowly and found that the Sergeant and his mech suit had kept their distance. He was clearly preparing to hit me with more missiles, or rockets. Whatever. I am not a rocket scientist. He was twenty yards from the icewall and the edge of the domain. ¡°Just surrender,¡± he said, not quite pleading, ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill you. We have no real reason to fight. Just let us handle this piece of Technacoast business.¡± I stooped, and gathered a massive fist full of snow. I began to compress it into a ball. I slowly shuffled a little closer to the wall. I could sense the wall creeping into the range of my sphere of influence. I made it about seven paces before the Sergeant said, ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± ¡°Plan C,¡± I embraced that I was about to get pummeled with missiles. I saw the prompts about successful Destruction checks flash in my perceptions. ¡°What the hell does that¡­ No. Surrender. You have five seconds.¡± the Sergeant said. I turned and lobbed the snow ball at the not so solid chunk of wall snow is really cool, both literally and metaphorically. One of the really neat bits is the shape. They are hexagon based in their geometry. That isn¡¯t too important until you realize each snowflake, no matter how unique it may be, has a fuckton of surface area compared to its total volume. That means the fifty mile per hour wind tossed all of the newly minted flakes through the air. Forming a light and festive white out. Honestly this worked way better than it should have. There wasn¡¯t even a second of lag. The micro layer of ice holding the wall of snow back, basically exploded outward toward us. Hell of a trick considering the snowball was going the other direction. It did look dramatic though. What am I bitching about? This directly benefited me, the titan spawn. The giant magic man with super kung fu. Another really nifty thing about snow is when tons of it are in the air, missiles don¡¯t fly so straight. Sure no one flake significantly impacted the direction of a missile¡­rocket, but the weight of a white out blizzard knocked them off course. So rather than getting wrecked by missiles, I was lightly peppers with shrapnel.
Attack From Sargent Majors Successful You take 2 points of damage HP: 415/420
This next bit was a bit of a gamble. I switched to Path of the Snow Lion.
Blend In Check¡­ Failed.
Well that is a problem. Oh well. Commit to the bit. A Sprint check and I decked the mech. Still no damage. Before I could make a second attack a metal leg nearly kicked me in the dick. I managed to dodge but only just. This martial art was not as geared toward reaction as Unrelenting Glacier. It was hard to put into words. Think of the difference between squatting and sitting. The difference in effort adds up quickly. I tried to circle around again. Another failed Blend In check. I feel like I should be succeeding. ¡°Quit fucking around. I got infra-red. I can see your body heat,¡± the Sergeant said. He then hit me point blank with a missile.
Attack From Sargent Majors Successful You take 4 points of damage HP: 411/420
As I soared through the air, I had two realizations. The Sergeant was one baby step from Monologuing and I had a way out of this.
You have stopped ignoring the Frozen Condition. You are immune to the effects of this condition Blend In Check¡­ Successful.
And back to that strange suffering. The cold rose up from my core and bones. I realized the issue with ignoring a condition. It was still there, probably progressing, waiting for you to stop ignoring it. Then it hit you all at once. Frost stuck to my now frigid skin. I wanted to shiver, but my body only moved as normal. The burning cold screamed through my nerves but it wasn¡¯t debilitating. It was just thunderously unpleasant. Amazing. All I had to do was stop being stupid. I circled around the Sergeant and hit him from the side. Two ineffectual claw-like swipes did no damage, but led into a grapple. I then heaved with all my might and lobbed the Sergeant in his upsettingly heavy mech about two yards toward the edge of the domain. This turned our fight from a clumsy brawl to a game of cat and Mech pilot. He was the better fighter with more experience. He could predict where I was going to try and hit him with better than average consistency. Too bad for him, I was geared up to be a literal apex predator in this environment and I had better stats then him. Big numbers do things. That translated to me slowly but surely hurling the Sergeant¡¯s not so happy ass out of the domain. Yeah it took me three minutes of doing but I still saw the prompt.
Throw Attack¡­ Successful Sargent Majors takes 19 damage
My grin of triumph quickly turned into a grimace. I had forgotten to keep concentrating on Dampen. Angelica was right. If I kept going like this someone was going to die. ¡­ It couldn¡¯t be that easy. Obviously it couldn¡¯t. I had to deal with the mech before my plan of ¡®talk to someone reasonable¡¯ could succeed. A quick Analyze check confirmed the Sergeants HP hadn¡¯t dropped. The damage I did was to the mech suit.
Analyze check¡­ Successful Wolverine Class Mech Suit Power armor (Epic Scale) Wolverine Class Mech Suit is the premier middle-class power armor suit of the Technacoast. Balancing middle of the road maneuverability, strength and payload, the variant¡¯s selling point is its extreme toughness and survivability. It is also one of the easiest to maintain variants of Mech Suits available While powered, increase the user¡¯s Might by 5 (minimum 30), decrease user¡¯s Mobility by 5 (Minimum 15), and set Defense to 55. SP: 281/300
I switched back to Unrelenting Glacier. I went on the offensive. My fist collided with the glass window. It cracked but didn¡¯t break. I sidestepped the Sergeants snap kick. I punched the mech¡¯s hip on the counter-attack and then I kicked the view port again. A lot of spiderwebs there anymore. I felt the first layer of ablative shell manifest. I blocked the haymaker with my right. I managed to pin the arm a split second before I hit the mech¡¯s elbow with a vicious uppercut. The mech with the sergeant in it went up on their tippy-toes and the joint hyperextended. I took this opportunity to put the boots in and kicked the damaged hip again That was looking more than a little fucked. It certainly made a metal on metal scream as the Sergeant swiveled the mech. This lifted me off my feet. That was a massive metal fist coming my way.
Deflection Check¡­ Successful No damage taken
The impact bounced off my head like a foam hammer, and I took the chance to counter, because fighting is all about the ABCs, Always Be Countering. I gave the window a massive headbutt. It was basically opaque now. I dodged a blind kick. Even before the system, I could have dodged that¡­ probably¡­ as far as you know. I kept my distance and only put in a token effort to harass the Sergeant. Until I got the second layer of Ablative Shell.
Craft check¡­ Successful One layer of Ablative shell removed. You now have an Ablative Sword
Time to end this. I hope. The Narrators may have fucked me. I ducked a punch and struck with the sword.
Attack Successful! Sargent Majors takes 118 damage Wolverine Class Mech Suit¡­ Destroyed. Ablative Sword destroyed
The sword cleaved through the fridge-like front of the mech. It was like watching a rock split. It happened so fast, and was strangely controlled. The sword glimmered momentarily after the cut, and then disintegrated into a burst of snow flakes. The Sergeant was not expecting his powered armor getting opened like canned spam. I wasn¡¯t either, but I seized the moment. Grabbing the front of his shirt,I ripped him from the harness. It was odd that the restraint designed to hold the pilot in place gave before the cloth of a jacket. Again, it benefited me so no bitching. I hefted the guy with one arm before slamming him into the ground.
Attack Successful! Sargent Majors takes 25 damage
A quick Craft check and he had a loop of ice around his neck. ¡°Surrender!¡± I growled. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good,¡± he pulled out the laser gun and fired. Dodging a projectile moving at the speed of light was absolutely beyond me. Moving out of the trajectory the concentrated energy would travel along in the fraction of a second it took him to pull the trigger was manageable. Pucker inducing, but manageable. I slapped the gun out his hand¡­
Attack Successful! Sargent Majors takes 31 damage Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
The gun went flying and his wrist shattered. Fuck, Dampen. Need to use that. ¡°Just give up.¡± I sighed, doing a better job than I would have guessed to hiding the momentary panic of almost killing him. I think. ¡°Never,¡± the Sergeant scoffed. He kept trying to break the ring of ice around his neck with his good hand. I manifested another layer of Ablative Shell and turned it into another sword.¡°Give up or I stab you.¡± The point of the sword was about an inch from his face.
Intimidation check¡­ Failed
¡°Fucking do it, coward!¡± he roared back. To hell with it was not convincing him. This guy was beyond reason. Most of them probably were, if I was being honest. Trouble was the Sergeant was also beyond being intimidated. Hell, some part of him probably even wanted me to kill him in front of everyone. Become a martyr maybe. That really only left one other option. I scanned the crowd. One of them had a big heavy backpack. ¡°You, get the radio going.¡± I instructed, pointing the sword at him. ¡°The what?¡± he asked, completely confused ¡°The radio¡­ isn¡¯t that what you got on your back?¡± ¡°This is a comm,¡± he said pointing with his thumb. He looked at me like I had two heads. How was that the bridge too far? ¡°Okay, use the comm. Get your boss on it.¡± I kept my voice calm but insistent. He blinked at me before he said, ¡°The Lieutenant is right there and fuck you.¡± Rachel waved a look of false politeness on her face., ¡°Why are we talking about the Comm? I am right here. What do you want?¡± Channeling my inner Karen I said, ¡°I would like to speak to your Commander.¡± ¡°Why would I let you do that?¡± Rachel asked. This was a valid question ¡°If you don¡¯t I will kill the Sergeant,¡± I said, resting the point of the sword to his chest. ¡°I don¡¯t think you will,¡± Rachel said. She met my gaze and waited for me to flinch. ¡°He won¡¯t!¡± the Sergeant bellowed. That didn¡¯t exactly help my street cred. Rachel gestured for me to continue, ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°God Dammit,¡± I took the sword away. ¡°Sunit does this count as a win?¡± ¡°He hasn¡¯t surrendered and you haven¡¯t killed him or forced him to quit. the duel is still in progress,¡± Sunit said, stepping out of the crowd. He shrugged, ¡°Sorry.¡± That¡¯s unfortunate. I turned to Rachel, ¡°Would you please contact your commander?¡± ¡°Why?¡± Rachel asked, ¡°I would like to ask them to change your orders,¡± I explained. Everyone had a good chuckle at that. ¡°Unless you are god, no way. ¡° Rachel managed through a laugh. When I saw the prompt I knew what I had to do.
You have activated Voice of the Titan.
When I spoke my voice had the force of the Cosmos behind it. ¡°You will have to settle for the Left Hand of the Titan. Make the call, Rachel.¡± It was odd to hear the voice of the Titan speak my words. Had I made him speak? Somehow the impact of my words washed over the area. Everyone fell silent. For a moment that lingered just long enough to register the storm and wind stopped. Then everything started again.
Voice of the Titan deactivated.
That took a lot out of me. It was worse than the strain from clearing the dungeon. I almost fell to my knees. I pulled the mug of Titanic Brew out of my inventory. A swig of that and I had the Energized condition. Nothing quite like being exhausted and jittery. Normally that works better... Oh. My Godskin cloak had gone back to being a window into cosmic shapes. It fluttered in the wind rather heroically, revealing celestial bodies and cosmic shapes. lt wasn''t flailing like a windsock the way it would if physics was working right. The World Breaker Bangle had slid down my arm and now burned with a menacing red light around my wrist. My tools on my belt also shone with energy, though it was a warmer, almost pink hue. My Ablative Shell and Sword had darkened to an impossible degree. Not quite Vanta black. Probably black 2.0. I always preferred that anyways. I side with Semple in that drama. I turned my gaze back on the Comm guy. He visibly flinched, ¡°Okay! Okay! Just don¡¯t hurt me.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t hurt you,¡± Rachel said. She seemed to be handling the reveal that I was Titan spawn better than most. The soldiers that had been scanning me were all losing their shit in various ways. One girl was just standing there shaking like a chihuahua. Another guy vomited and passed out. A third girl was screaming. The last just stood there staring into the middle distance. ¡°Point of order, the duel protects the participants from outside intervention. Damage can spill over just fine.¡± I pointed out.The Sergeant was still trying to get out of that loop around his neck. A quiet effort of will triggered a Craft check and the loop was whole and undamaged. ¡°Don¡¯t go anywhere just yet.¡± I didn¡¯t like doing this sort of thing. I wasn¡¯t the kind of guy to inflict my will on others. I didn¡¯t want to be feared. Yet I was still doing it. Was this necessity the first step on my road to becoming a tyrant? I believed I was in the right. These folks had been fed propaganda so long they couldn¡¯t recognize the truth. Countermanding their will to murder someone was¡­ righteous. Even if the reality of it was violent and messy. I didn¡¯t worry about today. I worried about the day I stopped worrying about this. If you spend too long knowing you¡¯re right, that is how you end up doing something truly wrong. I glared at the Comm guy, ¡°Don¡¯t make me, make you, make the call.¡± To Rachel¡¯s credit she stepped between me and one of her men. Sure, she would put one of them up against me, but if it wasn¡¯t part of the plan she wasn¡¯t afraid to have her skin in the game. ¡°Cut the shit. You have been trying to avoid violence this whole time. You aren¡¯t going to kill, or maim just to chat with someone.¡± ¡°Am I going to get what I want?¡± I pressed, still glaring at the comm guy. I was being a heel. Rachel had my number but a lot of the others with the exception of the Sergeant seemed to buy into me kayfabe just enough that kept in the role. ¡°Yes. Stein, get Command on the horn.¡± Rachel sighed. ¡°Is it so much to ask for just one mission to be simple?¡± Before I could speak the Sergeant called, ¡°Lieutenant! Please stop handing the universe lines.¡± Now in the movies it cuts to the RADIO operator- they can call it a comm all the want- dramatically flipping switches and maybe tuning some knobs there would be some static, someone will inevitably say: Read me, over, and Niner. That¡¯s the movies. This was not. Stein spent a good ten minutes setting the so-called comm up. The inside of the bag held¡­ electronic stuff. There was a key board, and a screen, and arguably too many wires. A strange wedge bit folded out to be a little satellite dish. Stein powered it on and muttered as he typed and hooked up the various components. Growing more open to the possibility that this was not a radio I watched Stein adjust the small screen, speaker and microphone. ¡°Come on work.¡± he said as he continued to do¡­ stuff. Comm stuff. It wasn¡¯t working. ¡°Would adjusting the disk help? Is it pointing in the right direction?¡± I asked after about twenty minutes of his tinkering. ¡°Yes!¡± Stein shouted back. He was becoming frustrated. Anyone who has dealt with IT issues can relate. ¡°Have you tried turning it off and on again?¡± I asked, looming over Stein. Stein paused, and took a breath, ¡°I have rebooted multiple components and checked everything three times. The Comm is working fine.¡± ¡°So is it the weather then?¡± I asked, looking at the not quite white out condition. I was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t snowing, but there was a lot of ice in the air. Stein was beginning to lose patience with me, ¡°This uses long wave signals, not laser communication. It has multiple frequencies from 10 kHz to 100 gHz. I repaired the ring around the Sergeant¡¯s neck, ¡°There is a term for that¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking dare. Don¡¯t you bring that archaic bullshit to me,¡± Stein warned. ¡°Radio waves,¡± I said. I was right. Let history remember that. This was a radio. Stein had to take a break after that. Fair enough. ¡°Doug, what are you doing?¡± Angelica asked. Shit! I was still loopy from the pain. I pressed my hand on the plate over my chest. The increase in pressure caused the burn to sting. This pulled my mind¡¯s focus back to the real injury. While it didn¡¯t tickle and wasn¡¯t pleasant it dulled all the noise from the injuries that were gone.
Perception check¡­ Successful
The Chimera Soldiers, specifically Rachel, were still watching me. They spotted my actions. They could tell the pain was weighing on me. So much for looking invincible. They also spotted the shift in my behavior. Outing myself as a Titan Spawn probably had the obvious consequence of them figuring out my bane as well. That certainly wasn¡¯t good for me, but I was running down the clock on Baneridden better than I ever thought I would. ¡°I am going to bargain with whoever is in command of these people,¡± I said quietly. ¡°Doug, revealing yourself to the Technacoast to bail out Seth, is the equivalent of burning your house down because there is a spider in the bathroom.¡± she warned. ¡°What were the other options?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s not my point. I didn¡¯t want you killing them, and it¡¯s not like we can just run with the Mob Rush coming.¡± Angelica made me meet her eyes. When she saw she had my full attention she continued, ¡°Whoever you are going to talk to is going to use whatever you give them to hurt the Fantasy Coast and the people who live there. Be careful.¡± I did not think of that. Like the prompts kept telling me, this action will have consequences. Stein was back at trying to get the radio working. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. There is nothing wrong with the equipment, and there is nothing in the background that could cause this type of interference. It should be working.¡± I had my suspicions on why it wasn¡¯t working, asshole Narrators wanting me to fight and eventually kill someone. My guess is Rachel was their main target. It didn¡¯t take a genius to spot the disturbing trend they had with setting me up to be involved in the death of women. Did I want to trigger ¡®Empowered Critical¡¯? No, Narrator intervention could be a two edged sword. They clearly didn¡¯t want me and mine dying any time soon. Removing Narrators from the equations was taking away their protection. What the hell was I thinking? Protection? That¡¯s how they get you. They make you consent to their abuse.
Activate ¡°Empowered Critical¡±? Yes/No
I hit ¡®yes¡¯. Today if I was to be damned. It wasn¡¯t going to be because of what I didn''t do. Suddenly the screen flashed and a woman¡¯s face appeared, ¡°..you read me. Snow Lion something seems to be wrong with your¡­ Oh. Never mind. Hello Snow Lion. What is your status?¡± Called it! ¡°Yeah, Zoo Keeper, we are at the site¡­ but there is a¡­ complication.¡± Stein said, glancing my way. ¡°Uh¡­ Snow Lion are you still mission capable?¡± she asked. Rachel leaned in, ¡°Zoo Keeper, we are mission capable. We have encountered an unforeseen wild animal. We are requesting updated instructions.¡± ¡°Roger that,¡± She said typing and looking at a screen to her side, ¡°Which wild animal?¡± Rachel sucked air in through her teeth, ¡°That is the tricky bit.¡± ¡°Snow Lion there are only four wild animals you have to worry about. Don¡¯t tell me you forgot the code names.¡± Zoo Keeper chided. ¡°Zoo Keeper, there is a new wild animal in play,¡± Rachel¡¯s fist may have clenched but her voice was surprisingly calm. I leaned into view of the camera. ¡°Hello¡­ Zoo Keeper. I am Doug, Left Hand of the Titan. How are you today?¡± Zoo Keeper burst out laughing. ¡°Holy¡­ Snow Lion! You think I would fall for that? Pull the other one. it has bell¡­¡± The screen changed from the jovial woman to a card with the Letter T and C over the backdrop of a mountain. ¡°Sorry to cut in,¡± A sonorous male voice sounded out of the speakers. ¡°I simply felt it best to handle this myself.¡± ¡°And you are?¡± I asked. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Rachel, and Stein both stared shocked at the screen. That didn¡¯t exactly bode well. ¡°There are so many names: The Wise Warrior from the Mountain, The Great Sage, The Hero of the Technacoast. For the purpose of this conversation though, think of me as Authority.¡± He explained. ¡°Well that escalated quickly,¡± I observed. ¡°My hope is to slow things down a bit,¡± Authority continued, ¡°So, Doug, May I call you Doug?¡± ¡°By all means, please,¡± I said, still trying to get a feel for if this was good or bad. May as well pay some respect. It did cost nothing, and it could save several lives. Authority chuckled good naturedly. Despite myself I found this voice personable. Everything I knew about the Technacoast implied their leadership to be mustache twirling -provided it wasn¡¯t a Chaplin Stache- Villains.I didn¡¯t expect to find one of them oddly likable. Can Face skills carry over a radio? I wasn¡¯t feeling the odd sensation of Mental Resistance shutting the effects down. ¡°Thank you. How may I help you, Doug?¡± Authority asked, sounding earnestly curious. ¡°This is about Seth Cohen,¡± I began. I paused to consider. ¡°I am familiar with James Smith¡¯s killer,¡± Authority prompted. His tone gave away nothing of his feelings on the matter. ¡°I would like you to call off the hit or mission to kill him.¡± I managed. Wow. I sounded uncertain. Note to self: in the future have a plan. ¡°Why?¡± Authority asked. Again his tone gave away nothing of his thoughts or feelings. ¡°What?¡± I asked on reflex. ¡°Why do you want me to call off his death?¡± Authority elaborated. ¡°You see, he is my teacher,¡± I explained. This sounded a lot dumber now that I was saying it. ¡°I see. I take it, If I don¡¯t call this off, that would put you in direct conflict with my soldiers.¡± Authority observed. We all looked to the Sergeant still trying to break free from the ice. He was nearly out. ¡°Yeah, I am trying to avoid that,¡± I said. I paused for a beat and added, ¡°Seth can just stay here and you could say you killed him.¡± ¡°Done,¡± Authority said. ¡°Just like that?¡± I blinked. I expected moral flexibility not actual reasonable behavior. I also expected demands. Maybe threats. ¡°I will ask you to remember this the next time we meet. Take a moment and talk to me peacefully should we have some misunderstanding.¡± Authority explained. Where was the trap? When I didn¡¯t see one, a bad sign, I said, ¡°Fair enough. I will try.¡± ¡°Wonderful!¡± Authority said happily. ¡°Snow Lion, I will be transferring you back to Zoo Keeper. She will give you updated orders.¡± Holy shit. That worked? I just had time to think that, but not enough to relax, when Rachel shot the Radio. ¡°Oh no, it broke. I guess we will have to keep to current orders,¡± Rachel all but growled. Chapter 58: The Duel: The Big Comeback The fact that I was disappointed rather than surprised annoyed me more than a little. Oddly enough, most of the soldiers weren¡¯t on board with Rachel¡¯s reasoning. Some were, but not a lot. They were shouting back and forth. Rachel seemed to be winning the argument slowly but surely. Walked back over to the Sergeant, ¡°Did you hear all that?¡± The Sergeant stopped trying to escape the ring around his neck. He sagged visibly as he sighed, ¡°Yeah, I heard.¡± ¡°We done then?¡± I pressed. ¡°I yield,¡± the Sergeant said quietly, before yelling, ¡°Now let me out of this god damn ring!¡± ¡®Fine,¡± One Destruction check and he was loose. I helped him up. For a moment we looked at the crowd of the Chimera soldiers arguing. ¡°You gonna¡­¡± ¡°Try and talk the Lieutenant off the ledge?¡± He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of the mech and lit one, ¡°Yeah, just give me a minute.¡± He offered me the pack. When I declined, he asked in the same low, serious tone he¡¯d surrendered in, ¡°Are you a vengeful man?¡± ¡°What?¡± That seemed a bit out of nowhere. ¡°If I fail to resolve this peacefully, are you going to take that out on the people of the Technacoast?¡± He asked before taking a drag from the cigarette. ¡°I am not going to hurt people. I don¡¯t like violence,¡± I said. ¡°That seems like quite the change of tone considering you challenged me to a duel.¡± ¡°Nothing personal,¡± the Sergeant assured me. He threw the butt into the snow, reached into the mech, and pulled out a small locket, stuffing it in his pocket as he ambled toward Rachel. Angelica poked me. Hard. She then just pushed me back into the domain. Seth was standing next to Sunit: Seth looked exhausted, Sunit looked equal parts concerned for him and amused at my -frankly- stupid antics. Oh hey, Spine was there too. Hard to spot the little guy, with the snow lion pelts and the snow. ¡°Hey guys,¡± I started, ¡°...where are Brunhilda and Brand?¡± ¡°Janie got Brand,¡± Spine elbowed past Seth and Sunit, ¡°Something about cunning linguists.¡± We all ignored that. Best of luck, Brand. ¡°And Brunihilda?¡± I asked. ¡°I think we went to get Brand back.¡± Spine answered with a shrug. ¡°Who are you gonna wreck next?¡± ¡°I am pretty sure Rachel is going to force the issue,¡± I said watching the Chimera Corp have a robust discussion. One of them was waving a book around. Maybe the regulations. They started pointing at a page. ¡°Doug, don¡¯t hurt my daughter,¡± Seth said. We all looked at him. Eventually he continued, ¡°I am her biological father. I had her before I met James, with Samantha Blum. She was a fellow soldier. We would alternate deployments. She never came back one day when Rachel was three.¡± ¡°Huh, I just assumed¡­¡± I started. What were the narrators doing? This seemed over complicated. ¡°That I was gay,¡± Seth cut in, ¡°And like every bisexual before me I let you because I had other shit to do that day. Focus.¡± ¡°Why not tell us about Rachel?¡± I asked. I needed to listen. The gaps in my situational awareness were at least partially responsible for this mess. A large chunk could be due to Lindsey being a spiteful loser. What was the scope of a Retcon? How far back can they change things? Wait! Focus. Seth faltered. He may have been talking to us but his eyes were just staring into the middle distance as memories hit him.¡°I¡­ I wasn¡¯t there for her. Between deployments, and¡­ she wanted to follow in Samantha¡¯s, in my footsteps. I didn¡¯t react well. We fought¡­ I came back to find out James used her for the Chimera Experiments¡­¡± he looked me in the eyes, ¡° I was ashamed.¡± God dammit. ¡°If I don¡¯t stop her she is going to kill you,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I would like to avoid that,¡± Seth said. God dammit! I rested a hand on Seth¡¯s shoulder. I hoped it came across as comforting, ¡°Let¡¯s root for the Sergeant then.¡± Better gather intel anyways.
Analyze check¡­ Partially Successful
Name: Rachel Blum
Race: Human (Snow Lion/Manticore/Dark Dweller/Warbadger)
Class: Chimera Corp Officer
Level: 35
HP: 350
Power: 44
Mobility: 40
Body: 32
Mind: 20
Face: 20
Magic: 4
Traits partially discerned Trait: Unnatural Trait: Chimera (Epic) This is level independent. This trait increases its bearer¡¯s Scale to Epic. It will also cause the bearer to show physical attributes similar to those of the Mobs used. Warning: you are unstable. I am just saying live your life to the fullest, because¡­ you know¡­ just avoid unnecessary stress. Perks could not be discerned Disposition could not be discerned
God Damn it! She was really strong. Level 35 was the same as Angelica. That was not a coincidence. It couldn¡¯t be. The Sergeant didn¡¯t seem to be convincing Rachel. I began to suspect things weren¡¯t going my way when she pushed past him and stormed toward us. Rachel stopped about ten paces from us. She glared at me determinedly, not looking at Seth. ¡°I am killing him.¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°Then I challenge you to a duel,¡± She growled through clenched teeth. ¡°Find Brunhilda, please,¡± I asked Angelica. Angelica was gone like lightning. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s get this over with.¡± I sighed. We both looked at Sunit, He pointed ¡°Get back to the ring.¡± ¡°I thought you said it didn¡¯t matter,¡± I said as I fell into step with him. ¡°I said it serves as a starting point.¡± he corrected. ¡°It will start there.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with,¡± Rachel insisted, walking on Sunit¡¯s other side. ¡°Tell me, are you really going to kill your dad?¡± I asked. ¡°Father,¡± Rachel corrected, ¡°Jim was my dad. Seth, when he was around, was my father. A source of the biological material needed for me to exist.¡± She grew more angry as she spoke. ¡°Other than killing James Smith, what did he do to make you hate him?¡± I needed more information. Keeping her talking was the best shot I had. ¡°How could you understand?¡± You never were a kid with an abusive parent.¡± Rachel scoffed. ¡°Must be nice.¡± The words hit me like a knife to the back. Certain things require priority. This had to be addressed. ¡°You are technically right,¡± I admitted, ¡°I was made. Pretty sure by the Titan. Not important. Wanna know a secret?¡± Rachel didn¡¯t answer, I continued, ¡°I was made with the memories of the Titan. I am sure now the Titan seems like this impossible, insurmountable existence, but before the system he was just a kid. A kid who lived in fear of his parents¡± Rachel stared at me for a long moment, ¡°Why are you telling me this? Most Titan Spawn kill people for trying to dig into the Titan¡¯s past. Nadia would kill people for asking. Hell, there is a reason no one names their kids Ben or Wendy anymore.¡± I was more than a little surprised those names didn¡¯t trigger a bigger response. Then again I -the Titan- did call them dad and mom. ¡°I want you to understand my sincerity when I say, ¡®make me believe Seth abused you and I will hold his arms behind his back while you do whatever you have to.¡± I said. I meant it too. Yes, I had fought all this time to protect Seth. Yes, he did right by me. That said, it wouldn¡¯t be the first time someone was good to me and terrible to others. Kate¡¯s friend Bianca. Her mother was always the picture-perfect parent in public. Behind closed doors she was apparently quite the terror. I never saw it but Jo was there when the woman shouted at her daughter about being a gross pig for eating 1,300 calories that day. Eventually Bianca was able to live with her Father. Thinking back I can''t believe I -the Titan- couldn¡¯t see how thin Bianca was. Rachel studied my face, searching for any trace of deception. ¡°He was never around. When he was, nothing I did was good enough. My grades were too low, my friends were losers, and I needed to control my emotions. Then there was the shit show when I was near my Secondary. I wanted to join the Defense Force. He went nuts and screamed about how I was going to die¡­ just like my mom.¡± She was quiet for a long time, ¡°That is literally the only time he ever talked about her.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Well shit. While that was the abridged format it still painted a picture. She was saying it right, too. That tired, almost dispassionate way people talk when they know what they went through wasn¡¯t okay but aren¡¯t going to articulate the harm, because that would require being vulnerable. If you know, you know. That wasn¡¯t exactly gold star parenting, and I can see how that screwed a kid up. Hell I could even empathize with the anger, ¡°I am sorry that happened, but that is standard bad parenting. Shitty yes. Worthy of death, no.¡± ¡°What do you call abuse then?¡± Rachel growled. ¡°Comparing trauma isn¡¯t really beneficial-¡± I started. I mean no one wins at that game. ¡°You¡¯re so full of shit. What the hell is this, some sick head game?¡± Rachel seethed. This was imploding, ¡°Fine, to me abuse is the willful infliction of violence or cruelty on another. I can¡¯t list every aspect but I can tell you what I -the Titan- went through. Just to go off the greatest hits: his mother told him at age five his birth ruined her life and she blamed him for that. At age seven she told him he was a mistake and no one would ever love him. At age eight she said would watch him sleep hoping he would stop breathing so she could be free. Then there was dear old dad. He had no problem punching down. Broke the Titan¡¯s arm three times in four years. I have the memory of a mouth filled with broken teeth. Thank god they were the baby teeth. Then there was the night he finally snapped. The Titan saw his father murder his mother. It was with a knife. Eighteen times. He then drunkenly tried to finish off the Titan. Nine years old is hell of a time to be certain you are going to die. The boy, the Titan, lived. Lost part of his finger though.¡± I touched the tip of my pinkie finger. I was too distant with that. These were just things that happened. Info that I knew. I had memories of the titan struggling with the fallout of that day. This haunted him. Why didn¡¯t it hurt me more? I was not the Titan. I could see Rachel reading prompts. She was using some sort of skill, ¡°Okay, you win. Your childhood was worse.¡± I sighed, ¡°It¡¯s not about who suffered more. It''s about how we move on.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± She pressed. ¡°I know what it''s like to kill your father. The Titan managed to get the knife away from his father. His mother didn¡¯t exactly go down without a fight. I remember the feeling of the knife sliding on the collar bone before embedding in the spine. I saw the life fade from his eyes. It didn¡¯t make anything better. Rachel, if you aren¡¯t careful you will end up like the Titan: alone in the cold with blood on your hands.¡± We were nearing the circle. ¡°What¡¯s your point?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°Killing Seth won¡¯t make things any better. You don¡¯t have to forgive him, but if you don¡¯t want him in your life just forget him. That¡¯s true power.¡±
Persuasion Check¡­ Critically Failed.
Well that is on me. I did roll the dice. I shouldn¡¯t have tried using the skill at all. The fact that narrator fuckery had no hand in this biting me was just salt on the wound. Rachel glared. ¡°Who the fuck are you to play with my emotions?¡± ¡°Are you ready to begin?¡± Sunit asked. ¡°Sure,¡± and then I saw the prompt. The Eyes of the War Goddess were upon us. The fight began. Rachel decked me right in the face. It didn¡¯t hurt me because of the armor, but came close to rattling my teeth. The microsecond hesitation to not counter with the sword but my free hand was just enough for her to duck my left hook. She then swept my leg and just before my head hit the ground she slammed her elbow into my head. The impact did cause a brief flash, but my armor absorbed the damage. Rachel was certain fast and she was strong, but I had defense stacked to the sky. So she was doing the standard 1d4 damage to the shell per hit. She rolled out of my reach when I slammed my fist down. She was able to turn the roll into a cartwheel back to her feet. I had to do a sit up. A Craft check turned the sword back into armor. I wasn¡¯t planning to use it, so it was a liability. Having two hands free adjusted the flow of the fight. She kicked me in the stomach hard enough that I could feel it. She then had to limbo backwards to avoid my back hand. Planting one hand on the ground, Rachel tried to put a boot to my head. I blocked that with my shoulder, then kicked out in a careful counter-attack. It hit her square in the ribs and launched her back a good three yards.
Counter-Attack Successful. Dampen Check successful. Rachel Blum takes 9 points of damage
Rachel stuck the landing but slid another yard away. Her eyes had the look of someone reading a prompt. Her vision focused on me, ¡°You really are that tough. You don¡¯t hit as hard as I would guess, though.¡± ¡°I am trying to not hurt you¡­ permanently,¡± I explained. I didn¡¯t approach her, instead manifesting the final layer of Ablative Shell. Rachel mulled that over for a brief moment, ¡°I appreciate that, and I really appreciate you taking it easy on my soldiers, but I have to get through you. Sorry I have to do this.¡± She pulled a small metal tin out of her chest pocket, snapped it open, and removed a narrow glass vial. Right when I realized I should stop her, she snapped the vial in half and inhaled deeply. I have no idea what that was, but its effects were obvious. Rachel was fast before, but now she moved with a manic energy and ferocity that shouldn¡¯t have been sustainable.
Clash of Styles! N-th Step Up the Mountain Vs Unrelenting Glacier No conflict observed. No benefits or penalties assigned.
That prompt told me she had ever so slightly sandbagged in our fist exchange. Now, though, this was everything and the kitchen sink. Her knee slammed into my stomach: Deflection stopped the damage. Rachel spun out of the way of my wild punch counter-attack. She used the momentum of her sprint to kick me in the back of the head. The damage to my armor was minimal but it did push me forward a step. Which was just enough momentum for Rachel to flip me ass over teakettle. She then stomped on my face. I took the chance to counter and tried to kick her in the head. While that missed by a mile the movement and momentum was enough for me to roll to my feet. I straightened and was promptly clocked once in the shoulder and once in the neck. I was able to deflect one, but the other did damage. I kicked out against her, but she hopped over the blow, and then kicked me in the chest. She then launched herself off me like a spring board. After doing an admittedly sweet backflip she pulled out her gun and shot at me¡­ like a jerk. She did wing me once, but I was able to dodge the other two shots and close the distance. I managed to smack her hard on the left side. She rolled with the impact and launched herself over my shoulder. Rachel clung to my back and dumped the clip into me. The shell ate the damage but it was beginning to crack from the wear. I managed to get a grip on her leg, and wrenched her from my back. I held on as Rachel kicked and stabbed and eventually shot me. Through her onslaught I managed to strike her once, with a tooth rattling uppercut. I tried to then pin her with my arm, but she heaved with everything she had and tore her leg free. Her face may have been panicked but she ducked my elbow just fine, and was out in the world again. I dodged another few rounds from her, and landed a kick knocking Rackel off her feet. Our eyes met for the split second she was in the air. My fist collided with her stomach the same instant she punted my face. She really liked aiming for my face. Through the course of these back and forths she managed to shatter my outer layer of Ablative Shell. I dealt her a grand total of 38 points of damage. See looked lightly battered but far from beaten. ¡°How the hell are you this hard to hurt?¡± Rachel managed through clenched teeth. I shrugged, ¡±Genetics?¡± I honestly don¡¯t know how that works. ¡°I¡¯ll crack your shell eventually,¡± She insisted. Rather than immediate attack again Rachel took a moment to catch her breath. ¡°That is an opinion you are having,¡± I explained, renewing the third layer of Ablative Shell. Her face contorted with rage. She charged me again. She was just as fast as before, but now there was more rage and brutality. She just kept trying to hammer me with everything she had. Her pointed teeth seemed more fang-like. Her clawed nails had both thickened and lengthened. Her eyes looked more animal than person. I was pretty sure this was the instability Seth mentioned. It would have been nice if I had been smart enough to ask follow-up questions instead of just assuming mental issues. Rachel¡¯s muscles swelled as she kept assaulting me. The knife-like claws chipped away with each swipe as they lengthed. I had a long term plan to address this. It was Plan: ¡®lure-Rachel-outside-the-domain-and-use-my-scale-to-trap-her-in-the-ice-until-she-calms-down¡¯, or¡¯ it worked once and I wasn¡¯t that creative¡¯ for short. Making a mental note to actually learn how to fight in the future, I worked my way toward the edge of the domain. Rachel was actually getting faster with time. She was also getting more animalistic both in behavior and appearance. She tried to bite my neck, but geometry and structural armor thwarted her. I figured she would get tired, but nope. The impacts of her punches, kicks and claws were precipitously increasing. Not enough to increase her damage, -thank you ablative shell- but her might was clearly rising. Luckily her extreme aggression worked against her. I felt the weight of the domain leave me. While the domain and its force may have been subtle, the results of its absence were not. I went from struggling to block Rachel¡¯s strikes to being able to easily swat them away. I caught Rachel¡¯s arm with one hand, and then blocked her follow up with the elbow on the same are and wrenched her off balance in the same motion. This caused her kick to swing wide. I just took a few more hits from her and she cracked through another layer of Ablative shell. I took a step back and swung Rachel like a wrecking ball. She went up into the air, and had a momentary look of surprise cut through the blood rage. Then she slammed into the ice hard enough to leave an unreasonable crater.
Throw Attack¡­ Successful Dampen Check failed. Rachel Blum takes 36 damage. Craft Check¡­ Successful Ice Tomb created.
Craft proved once again to be something I needed to really consider the uses of. The ice surged and encased Rachel. Well, almost. Her face and her left arm just above the elbow were sticking out. I hope she wasn¡¯t claustrophobic. If she was this was kind of a fucked up thing to do. I never figured I would be to sort of person to capture people. Eh, so far I have only done it to violent people. That is a good limit. Otherwise shit like this would definitely need consent. Rachel Screamed in rage. I pulled the Titanic Brew out of my inventory and took a drink. I checked on Rachel. She was still trapped and still angry. Possibly she was angrier than before the Ice-tombing. Yeah that is a fair way to describe what I did. ¡°Let me out!¡± Rachel roared. Her voice had deepened significantly. ¡°You doing alright? You seem to be getting¡± I looked at the thick hair growing on the back of her hand and arm. The scales on her neck were growing darker. Her mouth was filling with fangs. A moment of realization hit Rackel, she glanced at her hand. ¡°Shit, you got to let me out.¡± ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I am having an Instability. I need to get a hit of Stay-Bal. Let me out!¡± She grew progressively more freaked out. I almost let her out, but instead I turned to the crowd. I spotted the Sergeant, ¡°Sarge, Stay-Bal. Over her.¡± The Sergeant dug in his pockets. Had a moment of panic, and then the still-scorched Lieutenant handed him an inhaler. The Sergeant immediately tossed it to me. I caught it easily. ¡°What do I need to¡­ oh fuck me.¡± I turned to find Grond kneeling over Rachel. The hateful son of a bitch had just appeared from nowhere. He gazed down at Rachel with the cold, appraising stare of a crocodile slowly approaching the shore. ¡°You have a whole lot of beast in you. The balance is wrong though.¡± ¡°Get away from her, Grond¡± I started. Grond looked up at me. He was back to his wolf pelt. Without the claws and armor he looked upsettingly thin and lanky, ¡°Fine,¡± he stood and stepped back, hands in the air. ¡°What do you want?¡± I demanded. I hesitated in approaching Rachel. Yeah, Grond was outside his domain, and not as well geared as before, but he was still a god, and probably stronger than me. ¡°To see the Chimera Soldiers,¡± He said casually. He smiled, ¡°All of them are somehow followers of mine. The connection is faint, but it is there. Fascinating really. Shame they aren¡¯t making anymore. Oh well, Smith¡¯s notes still exist.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t interfere in this duel without triggering Lola¡¯s wrath,¡± I said placing the Inhaler in Rachel''s Mouth and giving her a puff. ¡°I need two,¡± she said around the mouth piece. I pressed it again. Grond didn¡¯t touch me. ¡°Interfering with the duel would go bad for me,¡± Grond admitted. He turned to walk away, but stopped, ¡°Do you know what isn¡¯t inference though? Divine intervention¡­ well blessing at least.¡± His eyes blazed with golden light. Rachel Roared and she blazed with the light of Apotheosis.
Analyze check¡­ Partially Successful
Name: Rachel Blum
Race: Human (White Shadow/Megaleo/Cat Sith)
Class: Chimera Corp Officer
Level: 35
HP: 700
Power: 55
Mobility: 51
Body: 38
Mind: 26
Face: 21
Magic: 10
Traits partially discerned Trait: Unnatural Trait: Chimera (Heroic) This is level independent. This trait increases its bearer¡¯s Scale to Heroic. It will also cause the bearer to show physical attributes similar to those of the Mobs used. Warning: you are extremely unstable. I hope you like sunsets. This next one is probably the last one you will get to see. Treasure the moments, I guess. Perks could not be discerned Disposition could not be discerned
What in the name of Akira Toriyama? Rachel was surrounded in a golden aura. She roared as she burst free from the ice tomb. The scales were gone. Rachels claws had changed to hooked feline claws rather than the knife-like blades before. Her hair had gone white. The eyes were still yellow and catlike, but a sharper focus glared back at me.
Clash of Styles! Ephemeral Predator Vs Unrelenting Glacier No conflict observed. No benefits or penalties assigned.
With speed that rivaled Angelica, Rachel appeared in front of me and hit me with a catastrophic uppercut. The impact lifted me off my feet and launched me backward into the domain. In the split second after I decided to roll with the impact but before I hit the ground, a spectral Snow Lion pounced on me. I really hate Snow Lions. I almost voiced the question: what assholes are running this? But I knew. Wilson, Lindsey, and so on. I had no doubt those pedantic blue twits could spine some contrived reason that this didn¡¯t violate the rules¡­ that they made. Chapter 59: The Duel: The Finale Oddly getting mauled by a snow lion, even a ghostly one wasn¡¯t that big of an issue. Sure, it was having a massive cat trying to murder me, but I knew the drill with that. I straightened my fingers and slammed them into the things spectral throat. It vanished as its windpipe crunched. I dodged another ethereal lion, and stomped its head a split second before it touched the ground. It faded instantly on impact. I stepped into a third cat¡¯s swipe, avoiding the claws and punting its head off. It dissolved before it could sail too far away. While swatting two more ghost kitties out of the sky I looked for Grond. ¡°How is this not interfering?¡± Grond all but leered at me as his eyes blazed gold. ¡°I am just providing MP to a follower¡­ well, I also adjusted her connection to me, shifted the beast aspects within her. I am as surprised as you that changed her scale. Odd that it didn¡¯t reset her level.¡± Rachel hit me with a truly brutal shoulder check. I was knocked flying. Depending on how you look at it, I was lucky. While Rachel was now way faster and a hell of a lot stronger, she was not used to it. So what should have been her tackling me and presumably mauling me, instead put me on the edge of the ever growing cloud of phantom felines materializing around her. ¡°Sunit, call the duel!¡± I shouted, totally not panicking. I was completely stoic. ¡°Can¡¯t.¡± Sunit said calmly, even as he lobbed a wheel of fire at Grond. ¡°He hasn¡¯t broken any rules.¡± Oh good, the Ref is just for show. Okay, that is not fair to Sunit. He was putting in more than a modest effort to kill Grond. Sunit had some neat tricks, actually. In the space of maybe three seconds, Sunit threw the wheel of fire, shot a bow, stabbed with a spear, swung a mace, and blocked with a staff. Grond kept his eyes glowing, and seemed to be determined to avoid damage instead of murdering. He wove out of the way of Sunit¡¯s attacks, bending in inhuman ways. No, seriously, he folded like a ferret. He did fling a knife eventually. I would like to have helped but Rachel was still attacking me. Apparently, she was the type to take godlike upgrades in stride. She bounded on all fours, pounced and slammed her hand down on my head. I wasn¡¯t going to speculate on her weight, it wasn¡¯t nearly enough to justify the results. My feet crushed through the ice all the way to my knees. It felt like a train collided with my head. The armor absorbed the impact but the second layer cracked and shattered. On reflex I willed a Craft check to happen. Two columns of ice erupted from the ground: the first slammed into my chest, stopping me from toppling forward. No broken knees today. The second found itself between Rachel¡¯s fist and my face. Her uppercut shattered the ice but was deflected just enough that I didn¡¯t get my shit rocked. I turned the Craft skill back to full free use. Things were getting rough. Letting reality bend around me wasn¡¯t going to make it worse. Instantly all the ice in a massive circle around me turned to frigid water. I was waist deep in the bone chilling liquid. That meant Rachel and her ghost cats were¡­ swimming. They hated that. The physics of ghost cats was put on the bottom of the list of shit I needed to figure out. Today was about more fun times with Craft skill. Another successful check and an inch-thick layer of solid ice formed over about 80% of the diameter of the pool. I then pushed with everything I had and pushed the grinding wheel toward the edge. This was a lot more violent than you may guess. Rachel and a good number of the phantom felines were momentarily trapped in the ice. Then it slid toward the edge. The spoon dull blade of the ice sheet slammed into a good dozen more of the ghost kitties, then pincered them into the solid wall of the pool. The ice sheet chipped and sharpened as it fractured¡­ then it started cutting the damned cats in half. Fuck ¡®em. The phantom cats screamed as they were crushed and bifurcated. They faded as the sheet blade smeared them across the ice. Now normally horrifying violence in general is upsetting to me. That said this was happening to Snow Lions, and was therefore justified, if not encouraged. Rachel, as she drifted toward the edge, had a moment¡¯s terror flash in her eyes. I hesitated a split second before she hit the edge. This was probably a mistake. Rachel, given that moment¡¯s thought, managed to slip free of the ice. She submerged herself before potentially being cut in half. I had just enough time to regret my action when she erupted from the ice. She hit me hard. With one hand she seized the collar of my cloak. The other collided with my stomach. Holy shit. Somehow despite neither cracking my armor nor dealing damage to me, it was so much force that it both knocked the wind out of me and nearly forced me to vomit. It also launched me thirty fucking feet into the air, somersaulting. I took a brief moment to consider my situation, then bitch about it, and then do something about it. An Acrobatics check let me turn the free fall into a controlled landing. Before I even realized I was doing it, I Dodged a phantom snow lion pounce. I basically hopped over it, then as a counter attack I jammed a thumb into its eye. The second my feet hit the ground I swung the cat like a club. The impact scattered three more, and caused my impromptu weapon and its targets to fade. Rachel was about to hit again. Rather than deal with her I dodged another ghost cat and then another and a third. These small steps put me out of Rachel''s reach. But not her out of mine.
Attack¡­ Successful Rachel Blum takes 3 damage.
My fist dropped on Rachel¡¯s head like a ton of bricks. The damage was trash, but it did bounce her off the ice like she was basketball.
Notice check¡­ Successful
For the faintest fraction of a second I saw two things. The first were the fragile but oppressive interconnected stands of the domain. They formed a spider web of power manifested as golden gossamer. The second was a more substantial golden thread connecting Rachel to Grond. This thread blazed with power, and was clearly burning. And then I couldn¡¯t see the damned things again. It is a lot like looking at the specks on a windshield. You probably shouldn¡¯t do it while things are coming at you. Oh yeah, Rachel is trying to kill me. Again, rather than fight her, I used the horde of cats to bait her out. This isn¡¯t cowardice, it is strategy. On paper the capacity to spam a seemingly endless stream of murderous snow lions sounded like an overpowered ability, but in practice the cats seemed to be a Snow Lions Pride in attributes. Super dangerous for most people, but I was able to basically use them as a ladder and satisfying punching bag. Rachel once again missed my face with her claws by a hair''s width. My boot collided with her stomach and launched her into the air. The optics of that may not have been great. Our relative size differences did make that look like an adult punting a tween but I knew the difference. A Craft check turned the snow she was about to land on into hardened and spiked ice. Rachel¡¯s feet and hands were bloody now. That was kinda fucked. The me enjoying her injuries bit, not the injuries themselves. The injuries are really just causality. You are stabbed after you get stabbed. I took a risk to check on Sunit. He wasn¡¯t making headway against Grond. Why was no one helping him? That is when I heard the screaming. Why were there spiders here? What asshole brought spiders. Probably Gond. The domain was swarming with terrifying spiders. These things were absurdly large. The smallest ones were about the size of a pony. Basically these were modestly above-average Australian-sized spiders.
Willpower Check¡­ Successful.
Thank you Willpower. Good job beating back the existential horror boiling from within. Oh shit these monsters were trying to capture people. A spider would toss a bundle of web over a victim and would then reel the poor soul in. My guess this would result in them doing¡­ spider stuff to them. No more fucking around.
You have activated Voice of the Titan
¡°Rachel, is Grond your god?¡± My words hit her like a car. She staggered backwards, she saw the mobs and Grond. She also saw her soldiers, hesitating, ¡°Help the civilians!¡± ¡°Know your place, bitch!¡± Grond bellowed. ¡°Time to let nature take its course.¡± The power radiating through the connection changed subtly. Whatever help he was providing to stave off her Instability was apparently done. Eyes bulging Rachel buckled. She clawed at her chest as more phantom cats spawned. Those damn things then charged everyone but me. Grond truly was evil. He made me resent not being targeted by snow lions. Douchebag. Seriously, how was this not interference? I had just enough time to wonder where Angelica and Brunhilda were when something on the other side of town exploded. Something bad was happening. Once again, I had no idea what was going on. I tossed the Stay-Bal inhaler to Rachel. Then I took a chance. Immediately after manifesting a new layer of Ablative Shell, I crafted it into a chain, and then cleaved through dozens of the ghosts. Second Craft check turned the area around Rachel into a spiked hell: this reduced the flow of them but quite stop it. That wasn¡¯t really the point though. ¡°This way!¡± I called out to the panicked people. ¡°Fall back to the gap in the wall.¡± Speaking this way cut through the din, but bled power from me. Imagine day three on no sleep levels of tiredness. Spine shot one of the Spiders and screamed, his voice only cracking a little, ¡°Help is on the way! Just hold on!¡± He dropped the cellphone in his hand to draw a knife. He ducked through the crowd and cut a man free before stabbing a leaping spider in the face. The crowd was becoming a mixed bag. A small portion was panicking completely and just running in a random direction. The spiders were rounding most of them up. A similar number were competently fighting back against the spiders, trouble was most weren¡¯t exactly armed well. It seemed people had shown up for an afternoon of casual bloodsport, not thinking to simply be constantly armed. Sure the domain protected them, but the spiders were clearly planning to pull people out of its effect. My guess is they would then murder them, almost certainly in terrible ways. Bilbo help us all. In an odd twist of luck, the Chimera Soldiers were ready for this. What they lacked in perspective they certainly did make up for with extreme violence. I will admit I was beginning to undervalue guns. That said, watching a coordinated group of professionals gun down hundreds of mobs did make a case for them. I did also see one unfortunate individual attack a ghost cat. They simply exploded in a wave of gore as a flash of golden erupted around them. This duel was becoming a liability. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Rachel, surrender!¡± I instructed. Rachel was sucking Stay-Bal with every breath. Her body was warping, twisting into a mess of tumors and bone. She was defenseless. It is like the world was handing me an excuse. If I didn¡¯t do something the fucking cats would push people back into the spiders. Anyone that tried to defend themselves from it would face the wrath of the Domain. Instead I tried something stupid.
Notice check¡­ Successful
There was the thread. I seized it, wrenched with everything I had. This bond between Grond and Rachel was not the same as a domain. While it was not as broad in effect as the domain it was extremely robust in comparison. Rather than snap and break, it simply pulled taught. Grond had tried to side step an attack from Sunit, but this surprise lack of mobility held him still. Sunit didn¡¯t need a second chance. He smashed Grond in the neck with his mace before stabbing his stomach with a spear, and Sunit finished his attack with another wheel of fire. Outside of his domain Grond took some actual damage. Half his face was a burnt-out mess. The look of fear on what remained¡­ I enjoyed it more than was likely healthy. Get him, Sunit! Rather than deal with Sunit, Grond glared at me. He pulled and almost ripped me off my feet. And that is how I found myself in a nightmarish tug-o-war. Me on one side being swarmed by an ever-growing swarm of Snow Lions, and Grond on the other getting savaged by a spiritually engaged follower of the war goddess. My armor shattered, my flesh tore. Blood rained. I simply pulled, one hand hold at a time. My health was dropping upsettingly fast. Sunit just kept stabbing. I mean, it was something to behold, watching a man work through a lifetime of anger issues by relentlessly harming Grond. The healing process is beautiful or Sunit was just trying to do a murder. ¡°You can¡¯t beat me,¡± Grond roared. There was more than a hint of desperation in his voice. ¡°Probably not.¡± I admitted. It felt like my throat was full of shattered glass. ¡°Lola, help me kill Grond! He is attacking your people!¡± I should have thought of that sooner and at least tried.
Attack from Phantom Lion belonging to Rachel Blum Successful You take 2 damage HP: 38/420 You are immune to Time Slow
¡°I should kill you, Grond,¡± Lola said. Her voice was calm but the indignation was barely hidden. ¡°You know you won¡¯t. Gods don¡¯t fight gods,¡± Grond sneered. ¡°You are fighting a Titan Spawn, my guest, at one of my holy sites. If you so much as put a toe into my realm I would be honor bound to kill you. Destroy your essence.¡± Lola placed a hand on my shoulder. ¡°The decision is yours Doug, pull him in or let him go.¡±
Craft check¡­ Successful You have made anchor points.
Ice engulfed my legs and I hoisted. Screaming in rage, he leaned back and hooked his hand into the ice. Grond was powerful. Hell he was a god, little g be damned. It was a bit surprising when I realized¡­ I was stronger. That realization was met with the equal realization that I was literally pulling him by the metaphysical concept of his bond with his followers. Cognitive dissonance I guess. I still managed to pull him ever closer to the edge of the domain ¡°Fuck this,¡± Grond growled. With his free hand he clawed out a chunk of his torso. The connection pulled slack. And then a moment later struck me like snake
New Achievement! Idolatry? You are now someone''s god. That is quite the trick considering you are not a god. This unlocks the Bless, Boon, Bane, Commune, and Sever Skills Reward: Let¡¯s see if you survive the next twenty-four hours. Gods do not normally allow Idolaters to exist. Warning your follower is near death! Grant your scale to resist Instability Condition through Bless: Yes/No?
I selected Yes and immediately felt an odd pull through the bond. It wasn¡¯t painful, or even uncomfortable, but it was present and obvious. Grond vanished. Time crashed back into motion. The damned ghost cat immediately stopped eating me. I do not plan to forgive them. My hatred for Snow Lions remains. I will have my vengeance.
Warning your follower is low on MP! Grant them 40 MP per second: Yes/No?
Fuck no. The cats all vanished. I did not mist them. I really do need to write that dog lover¡¯s manifesto. ¡°What the hell is happening? Why are you listed as one of my gods?¡± Rachel demanded. She was still on her knees cradling her right arm. It was still twisted and seemed useless. ¡°Get up, people need us,¡± I probably should turn off Voice of the Titan but having it cut through all the pandamonium was just too useful. Side note: people screaming was a haunting noise. ¡°Look behind you,¡± Rachel managed. Sweet Perth, that was a lot of aggressive arachnids. Literally thousands of spiders were coming from the west. ¡°Are you going to do something?¡± I asked Lola. ¡°You¡¯ve done more than enough already,¡± She smiled and pointed. Yep, a good ten thousand spider mobs were scuttling toward us. That seemed like a bad thing, because it was. I am pretty good at dealing with being outnumbered but that was beyond me. Then I saw them. I had made incorrect assumptions about the goblins. Yeah, the village we encountered hadn¡¯t been high tech, but I am not sure if it was a permanent shelter or what it was for. I had assumed that the goblins weren¡¯t all that advanced technologically. This was incorrect. Don¡¯t get me wrong, they weren¡¯t exactly driving spaceships, but they had trucks. Trucks with pintle mounted guns. That said, the majority of the little green men -and women- that piled out of trucks were firing crossbows. Not sure why. Probably some bullshit related to the system. One had a flamethrower. Another had a rocket¡­ missile launcher. Another assumption about the goblins I freely admit was wrong, as I had assumed the goblins weren¡¯t organized. That was way off base. This initial assault from the goblins had 100 trucks hit from the North, 50 swing around on the West, and an additional 50 swooping around to the South. Each truck had about twenty goblins pile out and unload on the spider mobs. This was orchestrated and coordinated. What easily could have been a clusterfuck resulting in people shooting at their friends was instead an efficient killing field. Someone had figured out how to deploy more than 4,000 goblins in the space of minutes. That¡¯s some hardcore logistics. That isn¡¯t an accident. ¡°You¡¯re the Titan Spawn, Doug, correct?¡± a small red goblin asked me. ¡°Yeah, why are you red?¡± I asked the little goblin wrapped in the pelt of a Snow Lion. Something about him was inherently likeable. His determined expression was tinted with a look of concern that I was an idiot. ¡°Not important. Join my party.¡± ¡°What?¡± I managed. Funny how despite my voice radiating cosmic power still sounded hapless.
Join the Party of Philip Spindle-Bite: Yes/No?
Might as well, the last name had earned at least the benefit of the doubt. I hit Tes. After reading a prompt. Philip pulled a phone out of his pocket, ¡°Do it.¡±
Congratulations! Your party has cleared Rage Wolf Dungeon. Reward: Dread Wolf Axe. Note: an ally would like to trade. Trade offer: Rob Shiv offers 1x Upgrade. You offer: Friendly designation to all Goblins in the Alliance of Green. Accept: Yes/No?
I hit ¡®Yes. Everything was suddenly moving at lightspeed, but I had a good feeling¡­
You have received an upgrade 1x item in your possession will be upgraded to Divine scale. 66,000 friendly beings will receive the benefits of an Upgrade. Effect applied in: 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ Please select item to Upgrade
Not wanting to waste time I just selected that axe I just got. It was that or the underwear. It transformed into Sun & Moon Eater Axes. Not important. A lot of people were side-eying the goblins. Something stupid was imminent. I had to step in. ¡°Leave the Goblins! They are players! Kill the mobs! Kill the spiders.¡± My voice boomed over the roar of chaos. Something in my throat tore and blood erupted in the back of my mouth. I would have tried to swallow it but the muscle wouldn¡¯t move. Ironically that let the blood slide down faster than if I tried to swallow.
Voice of the Titan Deactivated.
That is probably for the best. I needed to be careful. I was low on health.
You are no longer Baneridden Titanic Regeneration plus 38 hit points. HP: 76/420
Oh, hello Health Regen. I missed you. Please don¡¯t go away again. I am not smart enough to survive without you. A spider tried to¡­ do spider stuff to me. I really don¡¯t know how they predate. I think it was about to tackle me. But it exploded in a squall of gore and golden light. I gazed at Lola, baffled. She shrugged, ¡°The duel isn¡¯t over.¡± Well that pissed me off. Rather than say something I would regret, I squashed some more spiders. A quick check on Rachel and I found her protecting her soldiers, specifically the ones I beat the shit out of. To their credit they were doing work driving back the spiders and protecting people. Hell, the Sergeant literally ripped a kid out of the jaws of a bigger-than-normal spider. Good luck with the nightmares, kid. Seth was standing at Lola¡¯s side. They were speaking, and somehow I couldn¡¯t hear them. Things wound down eventually. Being in a domain that prevents you from dying does skew things into your favor. I also suspected Grond may have jumped the gun a bit. The Mob Rush was still a bit over a day away. A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran up my spine. I should ignore the cold again¡­ God dammit I am an idiot. I think. Best not fuck with that right yet. ¡°What¡¯s next, Doug?¡± Rachel asked. She looked like hell. Her right arm was this twisted hooked claw. The left side of her face was swollen from the impact. She was also favoring her left leg. ¡°Could you just fucking talk?¡± I managed my voice still in tatters. ¡°Talk! Talk! That¡¯s all you keep saying. What is there to say? He betrayed me! He abandoned me!¡± Rachel didn¡¯t seem interested in listening. To hell with it. Time to just be honest, ¡°No, You feel betrayed, and you feel abandoned.¡± Rachel reeled back. She blinked not quite believing I said that, ¡°Fuck you.¡± ¡°Listen, Please!¡± I gasped. ¡°Seth was a shitty dad, and that made you feel hurt. That doesn¡¯t mean the pain isn¡¯t real but instead that you control its source. None of us get to control the situations we are in but we can control our choices.¡± Rachel gaped at me for a long time, ¡°What the hell does that mean?¡± I gestured vaguely to the general destruction around us, ¡°We are too powerful to put our feelings ahead of people¡¯s lives. Otherwise we will be monsters.¡± Rachel stared at her mutated arm, ¡°Stop pretending that you aren¡¯t just going to force me to do what you want.¡± I almost shouted. After taking a breath I managed, ¡°There is a difference between taking away your choice, and not allowing you to kill whoever you want." ¡°I am not going to stop hating him,¡± Rachel said almost quietly ¡°I am not asking you to¡­¡± language just couldn¡¯t convey the truth. I -the Titan- spent years hating his parents. He carried that weight for so long. It wasn¡¯t so much that he let that go, but slowly year over year his focus changed. I can still remember the day Kate was born. She had been a breach birth. So, she was born by Cesarean section. I can still remember holding her. Kate stopped screaming for a short moment and gazed into my eyes. Words fail. Yeah, Love is a word. It means different things to different people, but for me and the Titan in that moment it meant everything that came before, every petty grudge or ¡®righteous¡¯ anger ceased to matter. The only feeling possible in that moment was love. That manifested as a profound instant of peace, and a sense of wonder to see what the future held. It was just a moment though. I could hear the nurse, ¡°Doctor, before we close, you need to look at this.¡±
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains in control Note: Repeated rolls will increase the difficulty. Commune check¡­ Successful
I felt the memories flow through our connection. I realized Rachel was experiencing the memories. She didn¡¯t seem that moved, ¡°That ended badly.¡± ¡°True,¡± I admitted, ¡°But I would do everything over again, repeat every choice, just to get back to the worst moment. Can you say the same?¡± ¡°No,¡± Rachel admitted. ¡°What do we do now?¡¯ ¡°What do you want to do?¡± I asked. Rachel was quiet for a long, long time, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Watched the smoke rise from the east side of town. Rachel flexed the crooked fingers on her right hand. ¡°... I yield, I will hold to the orders of Authority. Keep him away from me.¡± She whistled as she pointed with her left hand, ¡°Move like you have a purpose. We are putting out fires.¡± Everyone was staring at me. Wounded people cried out in agony. Mob corpses were scattered everywhere. Hurray¡­ peace prevailed. I looked down to talk to Philip and found two small figures covered in Snow Lion fur. One was a strangely red goblin, the other was a snow lion. It stared into my eyes for a moment before biting my knee. Chapter 60: The Backstage Show Where It Is All Rigged. Sunit and Madigan took charge. Sunit set the priorities: confirm the greenhouses were safe, put out the fires, then tend to the injured. That may sound harsh, but in the domain people could not die. Madigan may be a piece of shit, but he wasn¡¯t in charge arbitrarily. He got his students moving. At least a hundred people went to fight the fires from the explosion on the other side of town. A good two hundred went to check the greenhouses. Fifteen minutes later well over half came back with materials to assemble portable structures and medical suppliers. They went to work providing aid and shelter to the wounded. I almost went to help with the effort, but Lola place a hand my shoulder, ¡°Please wait,¡± ¡°I can help,¡± I said. I tried to shrug her off but the strength she had was beyond description. I simply couldn¡¯t oppose the gentle hand on my shoulder. Hell, somehow its presence held my feet in place. ¡°I am certain you can, but they need to have this moment of both fear and resolution. They need to pick themselves up.¡± Lola watched them, her expression impossible to read. ¡°You planned for this,¡± I accused. ¡°Not quite,¡± Lola admitted. She flashed a faintly sheepish smile, ¡°I expected Grond to make his move against this place during the Mob Rush. I also did not plan for so many goblins to arrive, nor for the Techna Coast¡¯s forces to arrive so soon. You surprised me greatly.¡± ¡°And yet you somehow got exactly what you wanted,¡± I realized. Lola kept her hand in place, when she spoke there was a trace of contrition, ¡°I did not mean to manipulate you. I simply recognized you would have both the power and the empathy to resolve this clash between my followers peacefully.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just ask me for help?¡± I felt my fist clench. ¡°Are you going to say if I had just asked you to risk your life to protect the lives of two people you didn¡¯t know just because you would think it is the right thing to do?¡± Lola asked. ¡­it was the cynicism that got to me most of all. ¡°Yes!¡± I shouted despite the rasping pain it caused in my throat. Somehow the crowd didn¡¯t notice this. They were still dealing with the injured. That said somebody should be playing lookie loo. I mean there were thousands of people over there, one of them had to have a rubber neck. Somehow everyone was ignoring their actual god getting yelled at. Lola was quiet for a very long time, ¡°I am sorry, Doug. I misjudged you. I do not believe you will like what is about to happen next.¡± I braced for impact. Surprising me again, Lola turned her gaze onto Philip. I felt a surge of panic expecting violence. Instead she nodded politely, ¡°Hello Philip, welcome to my holy place.¡± ¡°Um, Hello Ms. War Goddess,¡± Philip stated, clearly wrong-footed by the divine revelation. ¡°Please call me Lola,¡± she said magnanimously. ¡°Hello Lola,¡± Philip managed. Lola smiled gently, ¡°I am guessing you are looking for a place to weather the Mob Rush.¡± Philip stared at his feet, ¡°If it is not too much trouble.¡± ¡°This place offers shelter to all of my followers,¡± Lola said. It sounded like an invitation but it could have just as easily been a closing of the door. ¡°That is the hard part,¡± Philip said. ¡°None of us follow any of the living gods.¡± He tensed after speaking. I doubted telling a god ¡®no¡¯ went well for most people. Lola shrugged, ¡°You can change that. I can only shelter followers. I am sorry, but my power is not infinite.¡± The goblin sagged, ¡°Then we are to face the mob rush alone.¡± ¡°Perhaps your people could join my following,¡± She almost sounded coy. It was a small twitch of Mental Resistance blocking some systemic effect, probably a Persuasion skill roll. It sounded reasonable. Hell, you could probably spin it as a quick gaming of the system, paper work even. I don¡¯t think Lola is even the bad guy here. That said she wasn¡¯t the good guy either. The pitch was just a little bit off. It was transactional. There wasn¡¯t any humanity to it. Lola didn¡¯t have skin in this game. She may not want the goblins dead, but she wouldn¡¯t shed any tears if they died either. In this moment before tragedy she was trying to gain. Lola was right: she wasn¡¯t like Grond or Adora, but she wasn¡¯t really better. I pulled up the menu and it let me do what I wanted.
Ignore Gore Soaked Condition: Yes/No?
I hit yes. I felt the film of Vitae vanish. I could see the red tint fade from the skin around. ¡°Please take no offense, but your followers have slaughtered us for centuries. Riding out this disaster together is one thing, joining them as brothers is almost certainly too much,¡± Philip continued not noticing the doom was no longer impending. That may not be true. Lola did notice my pallet swap, she kept her gaze on Philip but the weight of her peripheral vision was substantial, ¡°Our history does not need to be our future. Please, share my message with your people. Anyone who will follow me is welcome here.¡± ¡°I will,¡± Philip promised. He was putting on a brave face but he was obviously dreading telling his people the news. ¡°I must go and prepare for the Mob Rush.¡± He waited for a nod Lola before turning to me, ¡°Do you know where my son is?¡± Even as Lola let me go, the fact that my immediate answer wasn¡¯t yes, caused an icy stab of panic through my system. I spotted Spine a moment later. He had moved to the edge of the crowd. He was standing in the shadow of the icewall watching us. I took a tentative step, and when Lola didn¡¯t stop me I kept going. Philp, not wanting to be left behind, fell into step with me. ¡°Yeah,¡± I managed, ¡°I¡¯ll take you to him.¡± as we walked away from Seth and Lola I said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the Mob Rush. It won¡¯t happen.¡± Philip almost stopped in his tracks, but kept pace. ¡°How? Did you remove the Vitae?¡± ¡°I am ignoring the condition. The clock is stopped until I say so.¡± I made it a point to say it out loud. The system would be coming back and the Narrators would likely want to circumvent this. Best set the precedent on screen for the audience now. Time stopped completely with an almost audible ¡®Thud!¡¯ Huh, talk about crackerjack timing. Fuck you Narrators¡­ also fuck you Snow Lions. Spine and Philip were locked in the moment they spotted each other. In that instant stretching into infinity Spine looked so young, uncertain. That didn¡¯t feel right. Not surprisingly a prompt popped up
Arbitration Begins in¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­
Angelica, Spine, Lola, Grond, and I were in the conference room. Grond and Lola were on the opposite side of the table. I hefted Spine immediately and pulled him behind me. He shouted ¡°Oh Fuh-!¡± Rather than complete his cussing he pulled his crossbow out and proceeded to draw the mechanism back. I readied for the inevitable fight, expecting Grond to attack. Instead he basically ignored us. He nodded to Lola, and sat in a chair. Grond stared at a spot of wall about three feet to my left. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± I asked. Spine had climbed up my back and from the perch on my shoulder he aimed his crossbow vaguely in Gond¡¯s direction, ¡°Yeah. What he said.¡± Spine probably shouldn¡¯t talk shit. He would not survive getting hit. Then again if I had sub-twenty hitpoints I probably would go full honey badger too. Grond just sneered at us. Lola took a seat two chairs away from him. ¡°We are in Arbitration, Doug.¡± Angelica explained. She kept her eyes on Grond and Lola, ¡°Did either of you request this?¡± ¡°Nah, Bitch,¡± Grond muttered. ¡°I did not,¡± Lola replied, not quite glaring at Grond. Everyone looked at me, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me.¡± No point admitting, I didn¡¯t even know how to do that. Besides, life is too short to voluntarily interact with Narrators. A quick glance at Angelica and I saw she had a black eye and there was a lot of blood on her hands. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Huh.¡± Angelica blinked. ¡°Oh, yeah I am fine. Bigfoots attacked the green houses. I took care of it.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Lola looked around, ¡°Normally the Narrators are here by now.¡± Angelica nodded politely but before she could speak we were interrupted. ¡°It has been a challenging time,¡± Denise said, appearing behind me. Seriously, why do they do that? Does it look dumb when they appear? Grond snorted a laugh, ¡°Why do you have that stupid thing on your head.¡± ¡°I would prefer not to talk about that,¡± Denise said, stepping into my view. She had a bright orange top hat on her head. A sign pinned to it read: ¡®Dumb loser cheater timeout hat¡¯. ¡°Then tell me why I am here,¡± Grond demanded. Denise jumped back immediately. I stepped forward. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Or what?¡± Grond scoffed. ¡°I will put you in your place,¡± Lola cut in. Threats aren¡¯t as easy as people think they are. Certain requirements have to be met. For example the target of the threat needs to believe the person handing it out will deliver. No one in the room doubted Lola. No point in gilding the lily. ¡°Doug, who the hell is the blue lady?¡± Spine asked, no small amount of concern in his voice. He hopped off my shoulder onto the table getting more room to move and increasing the distance between him and Denise. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°I am Denise, I am an Intern to the Narrator Wilson. Grace asked for this meeting to drive alignment on recent events.¡± she said. Denise¡¯s voice carried a lot of that customer service energy. ¡°What does ¡®alignment¡¯ mean?¡± I asked. Denise snapped her focus to me, ¡°I am sorry, but due to a potential exploit I cannot speak to you beyond this statement.¡± I frowned, ¡°Are you being punished for something I did?¡± Denise gave me a plastic smile, ¡°I am sorry, but due to a potential exploit I cannot speak to you beyond this statement.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said. I meant it too. Before I could process having empathy for someone directly participating in whatever strange abuse this system was, Grond laughed and said, ¡°Simp.¡± I gave him the fingers, still watching Denise. Spine did as I did instantly. After a short beat Angelica shrugged and flipped Grond the bird as well. A united force of ¡®Fuck you, Grond¡¯. Sadly Lola did not join us. Doesn¡¯t matter, we could probably take him outside of his domain anyways. ¡°I am sorry, but due to a potential exploit I cannot speak to you beyond this statement,¡± Denise said, with an over-polite tone, and a gun-to-her-head smile. The bubbling gurgle of a bong sounded off behind us. I turned to find a new Narrator sitting at the table behind Spine. She had the trademark blue Narrator skin tone. Her short cut hair was black but her eyebrows where white. She had horn-rimmed glasses that dominated her slender face. She was wearing a white t-shirt with food stains visible even under her tweed jacket. She was also wearing skin tight booty shorts, and no shoes. She exhaled a cloud of smoke that stank of cannabis. ¡°Bruh, she isn¡¯t into the apology. Let it go.¡± ¡°Doom Bitch!¡± Spine screamed, his voice going really high. He jumped into my arms and was lucky I caught him. The Narrator laughed, ¡°Yeah, that nickname is killer. Call me Marge.¡± Lola, being just that bit quicker to the jump, asked, ¡°What is your role here?¡± ¡°Me?¡± Marge asked, setting the huge bong down under the table, ¡°I handle Goblin stuff. Mostly slapstick mob death sort of reels, but I do get the occasional emotional arc. The stuff at the Tower or in the Deep beneath the Fantasy Coast,¡± She closed her eyes and sighed before saying, ¡°That is the cathartic tragedy people crave. The audience normally doesn¡¯t care but ever so often a cute one gets hurt¡­ not one dry eye.¡± ¡°Nanny Shiv told us about you,¡± Spine declared pointing, ¡°She said the blue skinned woman would take bad goblins away.¡± ¡°Honestly, I have no moral alignment at all. It is really about ease of access.¡± Marge said as she pulled some sort of small brown bottle out of her pocket. She unscrewed the lid and pulled the dropper out, as she proceeded to drip the liquid into her eyes she continued, ¡°Normally, when we have these meetings we pull in a random goblin. You were selected because you were closest narratively. Gotta say you understanding what I am saying is kind of a trip.¡± Spine almost lunged at her. I held him back. Not because I wanted to protect Marge, but because I knew it would not go well for Spine. He felt my iron grip and paused. I could feel him counting to ten. He almost launched himself at her anyway. ¡°Where are the other Narrators?¡± I asked Marge. ¡°They are dealing with some sort of mess.¡± Marge said with a shrug, ¡°I am kinda surprised WIlson isn¡¯t here already. I learned to handle stories from him. Sure, mine had a few hiccups but some simple course correction and a hard pivot fixed my stuff.¡± ¡°I have actually complicated stories,¡± Wilson explained, appearing behind me. Maybe if I spin really fast in a circle the next one to appear will launch themselves into a wall. Meh, not in front of the War Goddess. Marge shrugged, ¡°You would be amazed with the complexities of quick cutting to a Goblin getting crushed by Sasquach.¡± ¡°Evening, WIlson,¡± I forced my voice to remain neutral, ¡°What are we doing here?¡± ¡°Dealing with little bitches throwing tantrums,¡± Wilson said. He walked past me, and flicked the back of Denise¡¯s hat as he approached the head of the table closer to Marge. He sat down and put his feet on the table, ¡°They are probably going to be a minute.¡± I studied Wilson. He looked about as put together as he did the first time I saw him. He did have some bags under his eyes, but his hair and clothes were neat and clean. ¡°Doug, seriously what the hell is this?¡± Spine whispered in my ear. ¡°A parade of bullshit,¡± I explained. ¡°I prefer to think of this as the Wilson Supremacy Show,¡± Wilson said reclining further in his chair Angelica sat down, ¡°Hey, Lola.¡± The greetings seemed to be something the Fantasy Kingdom put a lot of emphasis on. ¡°Hello, Miss De Leon, It is quite nice to finally meet the Chosen of the Angels,¡± Lola said with a polite smile. I really should follow up on that one of these days. Angelica looked uncomfortable. She was doing that thing where she was trying to see if I was looking at her, without looking at me. Basically this meant we were side eyeing each other in front of gods, and Wilson. He was just leering at the tension in the room. He may have engineered it. ¡°Angels are real?¡± Spine asked. Still in my arms. ¡°That¡¯s actually super complicated. Are you talking about the quiet gods?¡± Angelica said, seizing the out. ¡°Let¡¯s go with the quiet gods thing first,¡± Spine said. ¡°Then I have no idea,¡± Angelica answered. Seeing that this disappointed Spine she added, ¡°My dad is pretty sure they are real.¡± ¡°Mine too,¡± Spine said. ¡°Is there a particular reason you are snuggling with your boyfriend,¡± Grond asked. Spine gave Grond the finger again. Grond stood, ¡°I kill you, you little bitch!¡± ¡°Lola, would you be so kind?¡± I asked. The war goddess seized Grond¡¯s arm in a bone crushing grip. It was like watching a pneumatic press go to town on a stick and a jam jar. Grond howled in pain. Lola slowly, purposely levered Grond¡¯s arm until he lowered himself back into his chair. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, setting Spine down in a chair. I took one myself. ¡°Think you¡¯re a big man, hiding behind Lola¡¯s skirt?¡± Grond growled. ¡°Yep,¡± I said with a friendly smile. I knew that would piss him off more. I also hoped it would trick Grond into saying something incendiary about Lola and she would kick the shit out of him. No such Luck. ¡°...talks are ruined. The Eternal Kingdom is on its last legs. The Steam Meister could possibly knock them out of the fight with the Queen''s condition. Then, he could literally Steamroll the Countess back to Australia.¡± Brandon whined. ¡°Enough,¡± Grace said in her flat voice. ¡°We will deal with this one step at a time.¡± She walked to the other head of the table, her heels somehow clacking on the carpeted floor. Grace seemed to really want people to be aware she was pretending to be a person but was something else. Lindsey glared at Denise as she walked to her chair next to Grond. ¡°What¡¯s up with the hat?¡± ¡°That is the punishment I decided on after you spammed the exploit button, like a coward.¡± Wilson explained, as he examined his nails. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Lindsey demanded. ¡°It demonstrates my commitment to meeting your expectations,¡± Wilson¡¯s smile widened. ¡°That isn¡¯t good enough,¡± Lindsey said to Grace. ¡°Tell you what,¡± Wilson cut in, ¡°You wear the hat for this meeting, and I will beat Denise like a rented mule.¡± ¡°What?¡± Lindsey stared at Wilson. His smile sharpened, ¡°According to you the punishment isn¡¯t that bad. Prove it, wear the hat.¡± Lindsey glared at Wilson, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Cool, moving on to non-petty bullshit,¡± Wilson began. He paused and looked at Brandon. ¡°Sit down, pencil neck.¡± Brandon looked at the chair next to Lindsey and Lola. ¡°I¡¯ll stand.¡± ¡°That is the steady hand that drove Europe to its current situation,¡± Wilson grinned. He turned to Grace, ¡°Go on.¡± Grace gazed at me. She kept doing that. She looked like a fairly normal lady other than being blue, but her gaze was legitimately baleful. I mean it was jam packed with bale. Full of it even. Deeply unaffected by this. Yep, in no way intimidated, I asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°There are still claims that you are somehow responsible for the disruptions to the system we are experiencing.¡± Grace explained. She kept her cold eyes locked on mine. ¡°What makes you say that?¡± I asked. I was legitimately curious. Yeah, I was guilty, but how¡¯d they figure that out? Now, only use this advice for good but the trick to effective lying is to be believable when you lie. Feed into your marks expectations when possible. These clowns were convinced I was stupid and they were only partially right. Still that was enough to trick them¡­ ¡°He clearly fucking did it,¡± Lindsey accused. ¡­ or not. ¡°Let¡¯s work through this¡± Wilson took his feet off the table, ¡°Starting with the least likely candidates for the system failure and going to most likely. The highest Demigod Scale player was on the can. I don¡¯t think she did it. Next, let¡¯s dig through the Divine Scale players. We have four getting railed, eight traveling through the afterlife, two trying to force their way into Antarctica''s dungeon. The rest were doing fuck all. They probably didn¡¯t do it. That takes us to the Titanic scale players. Adam was stopping an antimatter engine from annihilating half a continent. Cole was locked in battle with a Divine Dragon of the Sea in a desperate attempt to wrench his daughters from its stomach. It''s not like he was fighting in the middle of the ocean during that. No wait, he was. Aella was cutting the heart of a Xenocult out of her desert society. That is only the culmination of eight years of effort balanced on the edge of a knife. Then, Zach was pursuing the leaders of the impending coup that nearly took his kingdom from him. If things weren¡¯t locked down there and then, that would have started a civil war killing millions and upset global politics. Nadia was playing Solitaire. No idea what the Titan was doing. Clearly none of them did something to disrupt the system.¡° Wilson turned his sharp eyes on me, ¡°Then there is this maniac. He was talking fun facts about the radio. Truly he must have unique magic powers to enable his master plan to babble inanely. We should kill him before this gets out of hand.¡± ¡°His story was the only one of yours to go off the rails,¡± Lindsey almost shouted. ¡°Huh,¡± Wilson tilted his head. He stared at me for a long moment, ¡°That is damning.¡± Lindsey opened her mouth to say something but Wilson spoke over her, ¡°Unless there is some other connection.¡± Lindsey glared at Wilson, ¡°What are you saying?¡± The smile slid from Wilson¡¯s face, ¡°That every part of this story that has gone off script has your hands on it. Unless you wanna end up like Fiona, get away from my stories, amateur.¡± Lindsey grew disturbingly still. She and Wilson glared at each other, still as statues. Lola slowly leaned back in her chair, so she wasn¡¯t directly between them. ¡°Enough,¡± Grace ordered. ¡°Lindsey, provide actual proof of your claim or drop the issue.¡± ¡°He shouldn¡¯t have followers,¡± Lindsey pivoted as she pointed at me. ¡°Why not?¡± WIlson asked, in a sickly sweet voice. ¡°He is not a god,¡± Brandon piped up. ¡°He finds his voice, but is still just dumb.¡± Wilson tapped Denise¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Read the requirements to be a god.¡± Denise pulled her phone out of her pocket, ¡°in order to be a god a player must¡­¡± she scrolled. ¡°One, have an avatar. Two, have an aspect. Three, have a divine domain. Four, be Divine scale¡­ or higher¡± Denise had to scroll again for that last bit. ¡°There it is,¡± Wilson said with a shit eating grin. ¡°That is bullshit!¡± Lindsey shouted. Her hands slammed on the table. Marge leaned over to Wilson and loudly whispered, ¡°You weren¡¯t kidding. She is way too noisy.¡± ¡°Shut up, Burnout,¡± Lindsey snapped Marge shrugged, pulled a joint from behind her ear, and lit up. Wilson took the hat off of Denise¡¯s head to waft the cloud of smoke away, ¡°Unless someone kills Doug in the next 24 hours, he Is going to get the Real God Now achievement.¡± He then set the hat back on Denise¡¯s head. Everyone looked at Lola. She shook her head, ¡°I see no reason to fight that.¡± ¡°He is going to take away your Mob Rush,¡± Brandon pointed out. ¡°Your followers are going to miss out on so many levels.¡± ¡°Meh,¡± Lola replied. Grond glared at Lindsey, ¡°You were setting me up. The whole building up the mobs. It was just going to go to feed this cuck.¡± ¡°Little-man-says-what,¡± I said quickly. ¡°What?¡± Grond asked. After realizing what he did he yelled, ¡°Fuck you.¡± ¡°Sorry, I am just not into you. I have this thing¡­ standards. So no.¡± I quip back. Grond, being a moron, argued back on reflex, ¡°I am better than any guy you could ever get!¡± ¡°Sir! I tried to let you down gently, but since you won¡¯t stop hitting on me, I will be direct. I am straight. Even if I wasn''t, I still have standards. I will not have sex with you. No matter how many times you beg me.¡± Grond stared daggers at me. ¡°You think you¡¯re funny you¡­¡± ¡°Quiet, both of you,¡± Grace crushed our antics. Somehow while being completely emotionless the threat of extreme pain hung heavy on the words. She gazed at us all impassively. ¡°Marge, do you have any objections with the goblins participating in the next story arc?¡± ¡°None,¡± Marge said, stubbing her blunt out on the table. She gave Wilson a thumbs up. She gave Spine a wink. ¡°I have several concerns,¡± Lindsey said leaning forward. ¡°The goblins could disrupt the¡­¡± Lindsey stopped and glanced at me, ¡°Several established plots.¡± ¡°The Demon of Frost¡¯s storyline has been stagnant for too long,¡± Grace said, dismissing both the concern and Lindsey. She turned her gaze on Brandon.¡±Is the Nameth Brand Storyline essential for the overall integrity of Europe''s plot?¡± ¡°Um¡­ Yes.¡± Brandon managed as he backed away from Grace. After a beat and having his back to a wall, he added. ¡°Otherwise, Someone is just going to win. Probably the Steam Meister.¡± Grace looked at me again for a long moment, ¡°Then it is decided. Doug will win the conflict at the Spire.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry what?¡± I asked. Angelica froze. ¡°The next Arc will be you, the goblins, and Angelica De Leon fighting the Demon of Frost and his allies. You will win,¡± Grace explained. After another moment she said, ¡°I think we are done here.¡± We were back at The Mandir. Philip stopped short about three arms lengths from Spine. ¡°Don¡¯t you have a hug for your old man? ¡°No,¡± Spine said. Shit, more family drama¡­ and impending existential dread. Chapter 61: Beating a God The wind howled. The cries of the injured rang out. Not exactly a chill ambiance to resolve conflict. Philip stood watching his son. For a long time he just stood there arms wide. Finally he asked, ¡°No?¡± ¡°Dad, there are people here,¡± Spine said. He glanced at me before looking at his feet. ¡°And?¡± Philip asked, taking a step closer to Spine. ¡°They will see,¡± Spine definitely did not whine. ¡°Let them,¡± Philip said, stepping closer again and this time pulling his son into a bear hug. ¡°I was so worried. I am so¡­ I am glad you are safe. I love you, String Bean.¡± After a small hesitation Spine hugged Philip back. ¡°...I love you too, dad.¡± Thank Christ. It was just standard teen awkwardness drama. Not to minimize that, but I was not prepared to fight another series of duels to the death to resolve that shit. Eventually Spine struggled free from Phillip, doing his best to look like nothing had happened. ¡°Where is Janky?¡± ¡°Jelly bean is with the main group. They will arrive shortly.¡± Phillip said. A lot of shit was going on around the goblins, but Philip was focused on his kid and nothing else. I -a Titan Spawn- could just as easily be a large tree. The injured people and their cries of agony may as well be cicadas. Loud, but not important. The really small group of primarily young people collecting the bodies of mobs and dragging them to an impromptu butcher line... I don¡¯t know how he saw that but some statement about industry probably came to mind. A metal-clad hand collided with my ass with the force of a sledgehammer. ¡°How¡¯s it going, buddy?¡± ¡°Ouch, Please stop that. That almost knocked my hip out of place,¡± I definitely did not complain. This was a stoic request. Brunhilda considered this for a moment longer than I thought she would. ¡°I can¡¯t hit you any higher, and if I hit you lower it will probably take you out at the knee.¡± I pulled the cup of Titanic Brew out of my inventory and took a swig before handing it over to her, ¡°You could just not hit me.¡± Brunhilda took a long pull from the drink, ¡°Nah, that is basically our thing.¡± ¡°I never hit you,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Yeah, cause you¡¯re a wuss,¡± She quipped before drinking again. I pushed her. She smiled and shoulder checked me. I didn¡¯t quite go flying but it did require an Acrobatics check to not faceplant on the ice. I am not petty. It was just a timely coincidence that Brunhilda fell through the ice into a pocket of water. That said she had true reflexes. Rather than panic, she held the drink above her head so it did not submerge in the water. I took it before pulling her out of the water. I am a true buddy. She spat water that snapped into ice before hitting the ground. Brunhilda watched Spine and Philip talking for a moment, ¡°How¡­ how do I even talk to them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡±¡± I admitted. If I were to make a list of things I was equipped to handle, it would probably be a surprisingly long list. Especially now that I had superpowers. Apologizing for war crimes would not be on that list. That is the sort of thing arguably you shouldn¡¯t be good at. Trouble was, we were going to try. Philip and Spine stopped talking as we approached. Shit, Philip¡¯s expression was hardening visibly as we approached. I mean, that was to be expected. Philp stepped between us and Spine. He watched Brunhilda for a moment before turning his gaze on me. ¡°Do you plan to attack the Spire controlled by the Demon of Frost?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said, wracking my brain. How do you even approach a subject like, sorry my friend burnt your village down? Can you even apologize for the death of a loved one? My mind flipped back and forth between two memories. The first was meeting Walter Kline''s mother. The second was talking to Marnie''s parents after¡­
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains in control Note: Repeated rolls will increase the difficulty.
That didn¡¯t matter. Not now, at least. Before I could say something stupid Philip continued. ¡°Do you plan to save the prisoners?¡± May as well be honest, ¡°Angelica De Leon¡¯s priority seems to be killing the Demon of Frost. Nameth Brand has an interest in saving specific prisoners. I intend to help both of them, and close any gate to hell that could be there. I personally haven¡¯t set a full priority.¡± Philip nodded. ¡°We, The Alliance of Green, would join this campaign. We seek to free our people from the demon¡¯s control. We would follow and fight under your banner.¡±
Become Warlord of Alliance for Green? Yes/No
I didn¡¯t hit the button. Instead I said, ¡°I would take all the help I can get.¡± This was apparently enough for the system to hit the button for me. I had meant to asked a few follow up questions but the prompts hit like wave
New Achievement! Warlord Remember, don¡¯t count your war crimes. Make your war crimes count. You have managed to not just get people organized but to unite them under your banner. Note: you will need to create a Banner. Create Banner? Yes/No As a Warlord you will control objectives, allanances, and organization of the Warband. Your war band currently consists of 35,724 combatants and 92,042 caravan members. Note: Average scale of war band members is Common Scale Warning! Morale is Extremely Low due to: lack of shelter, lack of food, religious tensions, fantasy racial tensions, political infighting. Should Morale fall to nonexistent the War Band will dissolve. Note: Your war band requires a General to be Selected. Select General? Yes/No Note: You have unselected War Band Traits and War Band Perks to select. Select War Band Trait? Yes/No Select War Band Perk? Yes/No Reward: You are now responsible for trying to aim the efforts of over 100k goblins. Their lives are in your hands. That seems like enough of an ¡®atta boy¡¯ already don¡¯t you think. Have fun storming the Spire!
I had just enough time to realize this was one of those actions with consequences that the system kept talking about. I just managed to stop myself from swearing out loud. Internally I was cussing up a storm. Philip bowed his head, ¡°Hail, Warlord.¡± He straightened quickly. ¡°I am sorry to bother you, but the war band has been traveling and soon the main caravan and the Dungeon team will return. We will need a healer.¡± He was pointedly not looking at Brunhilda. ¡°Um, the only healer I have available is my buddy Brunhilda,¡± I said, trying to keep up with everything. ¡°Then there is no choice, at least until the assault on the Spire is finished,¡± Philip said. ¡°Dad, she attacked the village!¡± Spine cut in. ¡°She killed¡­¡± ¡°Think of your mother,¡± Philip soke over him. He wasn¡¯t angry but the stern foundation of his words cowed Spine like a slap to the face. After he was sure Spine wouldn¡¯t Speak again Philip said to me, ¡°Would you mark her as an ally, my lord.¡±
Mark Brunhilda Mendusdottir as an ally of the Alliance of Green? Yes/No
I hit Yes. This triggered another prompt about a Morale Neutral action. Apparently people were really happy that a Demigod Scale Healer was marked as an Ally. They were also equally pissed off it was someone they knew killed them en masse. ¡°Done,¡± I said, blinking more prompts away. ¡°Good. Could you please look after my son? I will introduce the healer to the others. It will be best to move quickly and keep a goal in sight.¡± Philp explained. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of him,¡± I promised. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said. ¡°Come with me, healer.¡± He turned and marched toward the gap in the wall and the growing goblin camp beyond it. ¡°I feel as if I have been outmaneuvered,¡± I said aloud. Brunhilda just shrugged and followed Philip. ¡°Probably.¡± I grew more certain a small goblin had finessed me. I looked down at Spine, ¡°Wanna try and find Brand and Angelica?¡± Spine shrugged and fell into step with me. The mood was shifting surprisingly fast. The vibe had changed from ¡®oh god! I can¡¯t believe we are not dead.¡¯ to ¡®oh god, I can¡¯t believe we are not dead!¡¯ It was a subtle change from horror to adrenaline high. Someone had started handing out what looked to be alcohol to the wounded. Given that people recover their Body attribute in hitpoints every hour, there is a non-zero chance this could somehow turn into a party. Huh, that was a huge hole in the middle of the town square. It was also full of spider webs. I am not one of those ground science people¡­ geologists, but a giant void leading down hundreds of stories into the earth seemed not normal. The honeycomb of tunnels leading every which way also seemed wrong from an earth science standpoint. Shouldn¡¯t the hole be full of dirt? ¡°The hell is that?¡± I asked. ¡°Pretty sure it is a hole,¡± Spine said with a nod. After a short pause he added, ¡°In the ground.¡± ¡°Where does it go?¡± I asked, not approaching the wound in the earth. Spine snorted and hocked a loogie. It made it most of the way to but not down the hole. ¡°You got to kick your leg,¡± Angelica said. She immediately launched a gob of phlegm that went over the edge. ¡°It gives it the extra oomph.¡± The bruise on her face was swelling, one eye stuck closed. ¡°You alright?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah the Bigfoots had a bomb. I took a stray chunk of rumble to the face. It should clear up in a bit.¡± ¡°The Bigfeet had a bomb?¡± I asked. Totally not focused on the correct pluralization for American great apes. ¡°Yeah, no idea where the Bigfoots got it,¡± Angelica said emphasizing her preferred pluralization. She moved on, ¡°Why are you guys just staring into a hole leading to The Dark?¡± ¡°The what now?¡± I asked. I blinked. I the term The Dark was so on the nose that I wasn¡¯t certain she wasn¡¯t just messing with me. Teach me the wrong term so, I say it in front of others. She probably wouldn¡¯t do that. ¡°The Dark,¡± Angelica said. Remembering that I didn¡¯t know basic facts about the world, she continued ¡°The series of tunnels under the surface of the earth.¡± ¡°I am pretty sure that goes all the way down to The Deep,¡± Spine said before hocking another loogie. This time he kicked his leg. It just barely cleared the edge. Spine turned to me, ¡°That is the tunnels beneath The Dark that is full of dungeon and really fucked up mobs, like giant spiders.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying this massive hole in the ground is full of huge arachnids?¡± I asked. I tried to keep my tone casual. I don¡¯t like spiders. Don¡¯t get me wrong they were snow lions, but they scare me alright. Spine and Angelica shrugged. To hell with that.
Craft check¡­ Successful.
I willed the ice to flow and filled the hole. I just kept doing that. After getting nearly eight stories of ice go in the hole. I did this because I did not have the means to fill it with fire. ¡°Speaking of filling holes, does anyone know where Brand went?¡± Spine asked. Angelica and I exchanged a look. We both wondered if he learned that from us. It would not kill us to clean up our language. We made our way to Janie¡¯s gun shop. We entered to find Carla at the counter. She was doing something with a rifle. It was disassembled on a red silk cloth. Now, I don¡¯t exactly know much about guns, but I don¡¯t think burning incense over them does much¡­ at least it didn¡¯t. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The door jingled the bell as we entered. Carla looked up. The service person''s smile immediately faded upon seeing me. ¡°Oh it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°Hey Carla, have you seen Brand anywhere?¡± I asked, trying to keep momentum. Perhaps if I was fast enough I could be in and out with the info before Carla remembered she hated me. She gave me a plastic smile, ¡°I am sorry sir, but this store has a no cockblocker policy. I am going to have to ask you to leave.¡± ¡°Not in front of the kid,¡± I said, frowning. I didn¡¯t move to leave. Carla looked at Spine a look, ¡°Fuck,¡± she said. Then she flinched as she continued to curse, ¡°Shit! I mean- dammit¡­¡° Angelica cut in, ¡°Hey, not to interrupt whatever this is, but did you fix my tank hunting rifle?¡± ¡°Yeah, one second,¡± Carla turned on her heels and went to the back room. She came back with the anti-tank rifle in her arm. Carla was clearly straining from the weight of the weapon. Her face was red and her eyes were bulging. She scurried the little quick steps that got a bit frantic at the end. ¡°Take this. Take it. Take this! Take it!¡± Angelica took it and tossed it into her inventory. The weapon simply vanished from her hand as it clipped out of reality. ¡°Thanks,¡± She held out her hand and a bar of gold appeared in it. Carla took it and immediately buckled under the weight of the precious metal. She dropped the bar of gold on the counter. ¡°I gotta level Might. I will get the ammo.¡± She briefly left to the back again and came back with a dolly loaded up with three crates. Angelica hefted the cart and pulled it and the crates into her inventory. A moment later she pulled the cart back out. ¡°Any idea where I can find Brand?¡± ¡°Him and Janie went to the green houses to ¡®commune with nature''¡¯¡± Carla said, putting air quotes on the last part. ¡°That is a dumb way to say ¡®have sex¡¯,¡± Spine opined plainly. ¡°Cut me some slack,¡± Carla whined, ¡°I am in withdrawal. I have been denied. So, I am stuck here doing this instead of a blond Brit that may as well have been carved from marble. I blame Doug.¡± Everyone was looking at me. I hate it when they do that. Only one option, ¡°I am sorry.¡± ¡°For¡­¡± Carla pressed. ¡°...cockblocking you.¡± I continued, ¡°That wasn¡¯t cool. I shouldn¡¯t violate the bro code like that.¡± Yeah I just lectured her about using the term, but Spine already heard it. Besides, coitus interruptus sounds way dirtier anyways. If I was about to be on the hook for saying shit in front of other peoples¡¯ kids, I would cop to ¡®cockblock¡± before that any day. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. Still sounding pissed. ¡°Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?¡± I asked on reflex. I am a people pleaser. This was a mistake. Carla looked at me, then at Spine, and then my hand. ¡°Don¡¯t make this weird, but could you choke me a bit?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ what?¡± I managed. ¡°Why would you want him to choke you?¡± Spine asked. ¡°He has hands that can palm my head. I am curious, and he knows why,¡± Carla said. ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Spine said. I turned to Angelica, ¡°Can you help?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m open to that!¡± Carla piped up. I did my best not to pay any attention to her suddenly-more-chipper expression. ¡°I know what to do,¡± Angelica said. She then nodded to herself. She then bravely walked toward us, grabbed Spine¡¯s hand, and proceeded to walk out of the building. She kept on walking. She did not look back. She had left me alone, in a mess of my own making. Carla and I stood there. We stared at each other for a long moment. Finally, just to break the silence Carla said, ¡°You made it weird.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± I admitted. ¡°I specifically told you not to do that,¡± She admonished. Somehow we were still trapped in this awkward purgatory. ¡°Yep,¡± I said again. ¡°I didn¡¯t have you pegged as the easily-rattled type,¡± Carla observed. ¡°I would prefer you didn¡¯t peg me at all,¡± I replied a bit too quickly. ¡°Do you just enjoy killing all my dreams?¡± Carla sighed. I laughed. Carla laughed. What the fuck were we doing... ¡°Seriously though, is there something wrong with me?¡± Carla asked eventually as she went back to the rifle. ¡°No, honestly you are just catching me at a weird time. I sorta just got into a relationship. We haven¡¯t set any boundaries, but given that lack of¡­ definition, I am going to err on the side of caution.¡± I explained. Carla shrugged, ¡°No biggy. Thanks for being direct this time.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not mad?¡± I asked. I kinda regretted asking. I mean I really shouldn¡¯t poke at her too much, she obviously would poke back. Carla looked up from the rifle, ¡°For being turned down for sex? No. Doug, I got other options. This stupid dance and leading me on stuff you and Brand did, is not cool. I messes with my head. Don¡¯t do that again, to anyone.¡± Internally planning to beat Brand for this I said, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have done that to you.¡± Carla smiled, ¡°Thanks. Wanna start over, try and be friends?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ just friends.¡± I said. ¡°Fucking tease,¡± Carla grinned as she loaded the rifle. I considered my tendency to associate with dangerous women as I made my way toward the greenhouses and probably Angelica. As I approached the greenhouses I could feel the mood in town shift from post-combat adrenaline high to ¡®let¡¯s keep drinking¡¯. A string quartet was getting going. They were not quite Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but it was getting close to party music. The noise was attracting some of the goblins. From what I could tell my presence seemed to be facilitating communication between them and the residents. Rather than fight they seemed to be cobbling together an impromptu celebration. While better than them fighting, there were going to be some negatives. A fairly large crowd was setting up a Spider BBQ. think a pig on a spit but a nightmare spider rotating and flinging terrible nightmare shadows everywhere in the darkening twilight. The fucked-up display even had the audacity to smell good. I needed to find the others. Approaching the greenhouses made me realize I had ignored a major aspect of the town. There were four of them. Each was a good two stories tall and looked to be about ten yards wide, maybe a hundred yards long. They were protected from the wind by a shelterbelt of evergreens, planted close around each perimeter. I could feel heat radiate from the entire area, and as I moved closer ground, not ice, crunched under my feet. A sign was posted by the path. It read in simple, blocky letters: The food is free. Take only what you need. Do not harm the plants. Damaging a Greenhouse equals death. I found Angelica and Spine lingering outside the one furthest from the path. Angelica nodded to me as I approached. ¡°Did you just choke her out and leave?¡± ¡°No,¡± I stopped short. Holy shit, what did she think I was doing? Angelica flashed a grin bordering on shit-eating, ¡°Oh just you just came and went?¡± ¡°Are you done?¡± I asked, not taking the bait. ¡°Yeah. I basically spent the whole time here coming up with that one.¡± Angelica admitted. ¡°If it makes you feel better, I give you permission to mock me should I ever insert myself in other peoples¡¯ love lives.¡± It was a pretty good jape. ¡°Fair enough. Where¡¯s Brand?¡± Angelica hooked her thumb toward the greenhouse, ¡°In there.¡± After a beat she added, ¡°Go get him, Doug.¡±As I trundled toward the door, she spoke up, ¡°Oh I got one more. Have fun inserting yourself again.¡± I closed the door behind me. I don¡¯t know what I expected, but extreme heat, the sweet scent of pollen, and a tranquil silence were what I got. It was at least ninety degrees in here. That was hot on its own but compared to the frigid chill outside the warmth was oppressive. The stillness in this place was also profound compared to the constant roar of the wind. The absence of the noise left a faint buzz. No, wait, that was the barely audible sound of bees flitting about. The place was full of rows of fruit bearing trees. The gravel path leading down the center aisle looked to be marked with fluorescent blue paint or something that glowed in the dim light of the lanterns dangling from branches. The lack of noise was almost off-putting. I had expected the sounds of talking, or arguing. Or¡­ well you know. Either way, I best find Brand and figure out our next move. It didn¡¯t take too long. About halfway down the path I found him and Janie. Again I don¡¯t know what I expected, beyond finding Brand in a compromised position. Brand and Janie were on a picnic blanket. Janie was lying on her stomach, apparently sleeping. She had traded her heavy coat and dress for a T-shirt, shorts, and Crocs for some reason. Brand in a polo shirt and shorts sat next to her. He was gently rubbing one hand up and down her back in a slow circle as he read through the journal in the other. We stared at each other for a very long time. ¡°What did you do?¡± I whispered. Brand closed the journal, but never stopped rubbing Janie¡¯s back, ¡°Miss Baker and I assisted Miss De Leon in repelling the Bigfoots.¡± ¡°Bigfeet,¡± I hissed. ¡°Them.¡± Brand cut me off while still whispering. ¡°After that we saved a few dozen people from the Spiders. Thank the Lord everyone was at the duel on the other side of town. The swarm could have gotten hundreds.¡± I nodded, ¡°Okay but how did you end up here, and why is Janie unconscious.¡± Brand sighed, but his hand never stopped caressing Janie¡¯s spine, ¡°After the fight and the success with the Translation, Miss Baker thought an amorous retreat among the trees would be fitting. I, not wanting to be rude, agreed. She also had wine, which was delightful, and she is a charming conversationalist.¡± ¡°Brand, why is she knocked the fuck out?¡± I demanded in a whisper. A brief flash of affronted anger blazed in Brand¡¯s eyes. When he spoke his voice carried some reproach, ¡°When Miss Baker suggested physical intercourse. I offered to give her a massage. I am quite good at them. Most people relax so completely, they simply fall asleep.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I managed, not sure what else I really could say. Brand¡¯s voice softened, ¡°I appreciate your concern for Miss Baker¡¯s welfare. We should be fine for the night. As a wood elf she heals faster amongst nature like this.¡± ¡°Do you need anything?¡± I asked, already turning to head out. Brand smiled, ¡°No, thank you. Goodnight Doug.¡± I waved as I crept silently back to the door of the green house. No sooner had I closed the door than time slowed. The music ceased. The wind stilled. Flakes of snow and ice hung in the air. ¡°Seriously, what does it take you for you to take a bite? I have been dangling bait in front of you this whole time,¡± Adora said in a faux-exasperated tone. ¡°You are just Manifesting in Lola¡¯s domain?¡± I asked the goddess. She was still beautiful. Her makeup was now done in blues and greens. Her hair was flowing platinum blonde down to the small of her back, and rather than pink she was clad in a little black dress that despite myself conjured a few bad ideas. She flashed that million-watt smile, ¡°Love and war have never been at odds. But don''t change the subject, are you going to make a move with someone this century? The angel, Carla, Giselle, Janie.¡± She pointed toward the greenhouse. ¡°That was a sure thing you just passed up. All you had to do was speak up.¡± At the best of times, Adora vexed me. This was just beyond the pale. Ignoring the fact that she felt entitled to meddling in my intimate affairs, not to mention those of others, the scope of just how unacceptable what she just said was¡­ rather than enrage me it swung back around to a cold, logical anger. People were not her dolls to make kiss. When I finally spoke it was strangely conversational, ¡°Adora, I am going to give you one chance. Lift your request to reduce my XP and there will be no hard feelings. We can just continue this little game of yours. It can just be how we interact.¡± Adora laughed, ¡°Doug! Baby bear, I love the spirit you just showed, but that isn¡¯t how things work.¡± she brushed a hand along the side of my face, wiping a few flakes of snow away before resting her palm on my shoulder, ¡°You have no leverage. There is nothing you can do to me.¡± Mental Resistance surged like a fucking Kaiju from the ocean. It tore through systematic effect and dulled the brunt of her charisma. The anger provided focus too. Also I was lucky to not be alone. ¡°Get your hands off of him,¡± Celeste told Adora. The Goddess shrugged, ¡°If you are worried about competition, make a move.¡± She did step away from me. The odd bit was the lack of contact caused a tingle to rise up my spine. I swallowed, ¡°Just to be clear, you are saying no?¡± Adora shrugged, ¡°I see no reason to remove the hold.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I said, before taking a breath, ¡°Lola, Could you please come here?¡± ¡°What is going on?¡± Lola asked, appearing next to me. She just popped into existence. ¡°I am technically supposed to be overseeing the farce that is Europe''s peace talks.¡± ¡°I just need you to witness this,¡± I said as I marched toward the edge of the domain. An angel and two Goddesses followed me. My life got weird. When I reached the edge of the Domain
You have activated Voice of the Titan
¡°Grond, come out. I know you are there.¡± My voice rumbling with cosmic energy projected out into the night.
Voice of the Titan deactivated.
Grond simply rose out of the snow. He was still the same wildeyed, lanky bastard, but right now he was wrapped in a pelt that appeared to be made of a bigfoot. He stood good ten yards from the domain. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I would like for us to quit fighting,¡± I said. ¡°Fuck you bitch, give me my gear back!¡± Grond demanded. ¡°Is that all it takes for peace?¡± Honestly that was fairly steep, but if it worked... ¡°No, I don¡¯t make deals with bitches,¡± Grond snarled. ¡°Then no claws for you,¡± I pulled the armor out of my inventory and tossed it at his feet. ¡°You can just have this back. I don¡¯t wear cursed gear.¡± ¡°Cursed?¡± Celeste asked. She and Lola gazed at the armored breastplate. Grond picked it up and clearly used some sort of Scrutinize Skill.
Typhon Scale Armor (Broken) Warning this item is broken and none of the benefits below will be granted if equipped. Armor made of scales of a Divine Beast, etched by the runes of a goddess. This Breastplate grants resistance to mind-altering effects, except those involving love. Double this armor''s defense value against magical attacks. Armor: 25 Warning! This item has two hidden effects. 1) Increase the effect of all Seduction Skills by five levels of Scale upon the wearer of this item. 2) Always grant Scale advantage for Adora or followers of Adora over the wearer of this item.
After a moment of silence he flung it back at me. ¡°You Bitch!¡± He bellowed at Adora. I caught the heavy chunk of metal before it brained me. ¡°He really needs another insult.¡± I muttered. Adora watched Grond impassively. Eventually she picked a response, ¡°Grond, don¡¯t get mad. You know how you get. That was just to help¡­¡± ¡°Control me!¡± Grond screamed. He forced himself to not shout, ¡°The bit that kills me, is even now, I am still surprised. There really isn¡¯t anything you wouldn¡¯t do to get your way. I am just a tool to you.¡± ¡°Grond, listen to me¡­¡± Adora began. ¡°No!¡± he shouted over her. ¡°No more lies!¡± ¡°If you want to be free of her, get Mental Resistance,¡± I spoke up. Adora shot me a look. It was too pretty to be hate, but it was damn close. Grond vanished, taking advantage of the moment¡¯s lack of attention. As Adora watched me I turned my attention on Lola, ¡°Would you please withdraw your request to block my XP?¡± Lola¡¯s eyes unfocused as she looked through prompts, ¡°Done.¡±
Level Up! Level UP!
I blinked the prompt away. Adora and Lola vanished and time sped back up. Celeste blinked her glowing eyes, and Angelica rose to the surface. ¡°Well then. That was a choice.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± I agreed. ¡°You wanna dance?¡± Others had gathered under the eldritch horror of the twisting shadows at the Spider BBQ. between the shifting shadows and the music more than a few couples decided to take the opportunity. Then more folks joined in. Parties are a lot like a riot; they require momentum. This one had a lot. ¡°Yeah, why not,¡± she said, taking my hand and waving to Spine. Angelica is a powerful, brave, and graceful woman. This meant her kicking me in the shin with her boot twice was more than a little painful. I am not going to play innocent here. I did step on her foot, hard. I am also very heavy. It was a bit of a thing. That said, it was still fun. Celeste cut in a few times. Strangely Celeste was not a dancer. She sort of just hung on to me. During a slow song Angelica just stood on my massive feet as I swayed to the music, ¡°Now you can¡¯t do any damage.¡± She teased. ¡°You have been busting my chops a lot tonight,¡± I observed. ¡°Eh, sorry,¡± Angelica looked away, ¡°You¡¯re basically the only friend I''ve got out here. I used to talk shit with people a lot back in the day. I have been alone for a while now. Old habit, I guess.¡± ¡°No worries,¡± I said. Something in the back of my mind made the connections. I met Angelica when she was traveling alone. She doesn¡¯t use ¡®we¡¯ to describe her and Celeste. She flat out told me, ¡®We spent ten years hunting demons¡­ we got in easy¡­ we found Herschal¡­ I won.¡¯ This isn¡¯t an accident. She¡¯d lost loved ones. Like me, she¡¯s grieving. Grace¡¯s words also echoed in my mind. ¡°Doug will win.¡± Chapter 62: Deals in the Dark Revelations aside, the night was pretty good. The trouble is nothing lasts. Angelica was crashing with a nice couple from the Fantasy Kingdom. Tasha and Franklin were from Windrow, apparently a neighboring town to Angelica¡¯s hometown of Millerton. They were willing to keep hosting her but I had to find somewhere else to sleep. Tasha was very specific. This is not a hotel, and no more coed hosting. She¡¯d fixed her last bedframe. That is a fair boundary. Honestly, Adora-adjacent shenanigans aside, my mind was miles away from that sort of thing. Plus I still had Spine with me. I chose to ignore Tasha and Franklin ignoring him. There was almost certainly something to unpack about that but plotting an assault with an army was taking priority. Holy shit! I have no idea how to do that! This was going to get people killed. ¡­fuck. Burying that moment of extreme anxiety I shifted focus to something I could control. I turned to Spine, ¡°Wanna go to the goblin camp and find you dad?¡± Spine had to think about it, ¡°Yeah, yeah I do.¡± I stepped outside the domain. I was not immediately assaulted by mobs. I waited a moment. Spine stayed just inside the domain, ¡°Where is the snow lion?¡± I turned to talk to him, and that is when the big cat hit me from behind. This moment was going to be entered into the dog lovers manifesto. Shit like this is why I hate snow lions. After I ripped the head off of that particular snow lion, Spine and I made our way to the edge of the goblin camp. Damn. Just how busy this place had become was something to behold. Getting ahead of myself a bit: let me give you this. The goblins had sturdy tents as their main dwellings. Each one was about ten feet by twenty feet, the center poles were about ten feet tall but the walls were only about five. At least, that is how they looked from the outside. They were set up by the goblins digging a foot down into the snow or ice. The tent would nestle into the depression and would be bolted down. Each tent housed twenty goblins. So each tent was two hundred square feet and the camp had more than 1,780. That worked out to roughly 357,200 square feet of tent. But that was if they were packed together perfectly like Tetris blocks. They clearly weren¡¯t: yeah, they tried to cozy up to each other, but they still needed paths to get around and roads for vehicles. They also had larger tents for communal spaces and structures for vehicle storage/maintenance. Those factors doubled the camp¡¯s size and doubled it again. All said and done, it was roughly 30 acres. With another 92,000 goblins coming this way, I wouldn''t be surprised if this place swelled to 160 acres or a square quarter mile. I glossed over my brain being able to brute force the number crunching like that. Pre-system me, the Titan, couldn¡¯t have done that, not without pen and paper. While it is true a small portion of me worried that my being able to do this was a product of the system and thus beholden to it, I simply allowed my mind to calculate and extrapolate. Otherwise I would have to consider the overwhelming weight of being responsible for that many people. Anyways, they set this all up in the space of six hours or so. Damn, apparently goblins are combat engineers. The camp was strangely dark. The fires were apparently inside the tents. They also had slight curves to the roof that prevented snow from building up on top of them while also looking more like waves in the snow drifts than obvious built structures. The edge of the camp was no small distance from the Mandir. Spine and I started the trek. Spine didn¡¯t seem to be in a hurry. ¡°You alright, Spine?¡± I asked. ¡°Once I am back with the goblins, the pact is over. I am going to lose so much power.¡± Spine admitted. I hadn¡¯t expected that. Don¡¯t get me wrong, Spine had been more than a sport for most of this adventure. From the kidnap-adjacent start to the duel to the death, he had done his part. Sure there were a few instances of complaining and yelling, but honestly I was pretty sure I was a worse offender in that regard. That said, he was currently getting 49 of his 80 total attribute points from the Pact with me, not to mention the health regen. Hell the Pact even elevated the perks we had access to when he leveled. I am not going to pretend like I didn¡¯t rely on my power, nor would I handle losing more than sixty percent of my attributes particularly well. ¡°That is the downside to Titanic Pacts,¡± Cole said. His shadow had appeared next to me, ¡°They end and people resent the loss. Watch out for that, the power boost is borderline addictive.¡± ¡°Holy¡­¡± Spine choked on his words, ¡°Dr-Dragonsworn¡­¡± Cole gazed down at Spine. Hard to tell with his shadowy appearance, but it seemed to be with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe they can talk.¡± ¡°They are players,¡± I corrected, ¡°Just like us.¡± ¡°If you say so,¡± Cole replied with an odd tone in his voice. He cleared his throat, ¡°I am sorry for our last meeting. I was out of line.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. How are your kids?¡± I asked. Both the Titan and Wilson had made it sound like their situation wasn¡¯t great. Cole sighed heavily, ¡°It has been rough. Jade died trying to protect them. They had an extremely close call with Onamazu. They are safe for now but we are going to have to fight our way out of the Ys and armies of Dahutkin. They are just twelve years old. I don¡¯t think they are ready for this level of combat. It¡¯s basically a dungeon.¡± He didn¡¯t sound all that confident. Dammit. I knew this sort of behavior was a bad idea but had to do it, ¡°Is there anything I can do to help?¡± Cole studied me for a beat. I could tell it cost him, ¡°I need something that can provide a distraction. Ideally, Cinder and Ember need a means of stealth. The Duhatkin are drawn to their golden scales.¡± I checked my inventory. I didn¡¯t have to search far. Tons of snow lion meat wasn¡¯t likely to help. A couple things looked promising.
Vitae of Tumult Made from the blood of a Titan Spawn, this crimson grease inflicts the Gore-Soaked condition on anyone. For ten hours it will also inflict the Blood Frenzy condition on any predatory mobs that perceive it. Blood Frenzy Anyone with this condition will have attack speed doubled but must attack the source of the condition until it or the bearer of this condition is killed. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Sun- & Moon-Eater Axes Every culture has some sort of legend about something terrible happening to the sun and the moon. These axes are the means to that end. Both axes project a field of the Absolute Dark condition. The Sun-Eater Axe is the bane of the God of the Sun. Damage against the God of the Sun is doubled, and will inflict the Baneridden and Manableed Conditions. The Moon Eater Axe is the bane of the Goddess of the Moon. Damage against the Goddess of the Moon is doubled and will inflict the Baneridden and Manableed Conditions. Damage: Power + 50 Note: These axes wielded together are Divine Scale. If wielded separately the weapons are reduced to Heroic Scale Absolute Dark Condition Everything within the effects of this condition will cease to emit, reflect or project light. This will create a sphere of obfuscating lightlessness with a diameter equal to the originators magic attribute. This sphere will also block all light based attacks that try to move through area of effect unless attack is of higher scale.
The Vitae of Tumalt was not exactly precious to me, but it was just too dangerous to hand out haphazardly. This could be used to kill someone in a truly fucked up way, leaving them to be torn to shreds by mobs. The Axes were another matter. These things were incredible. I wasn¡¯t a munchkin, nor was I desperate to make the number go up, but these things were both a major damage boost and a borderline perfect defense against my bane. With them I could be almost impossible to kill. Something of no small value when planning to go to war¡­ against demons. I was going to regret this. I pulled the bucket of Vitae and the Axes out of my inventory. The effect was instantaneous. Everything went black. Strangely I could still see. In this impossible dark, Cole¡¯s shadow form was bright white. The axes were similar. Each was a one-handed battle ax. The handle and flat of the head were engraved with carvings of wolves, snakes, and demonic people. An absence seemed to radiate from the weapons. It was almost like they hungered, whether for light or for blood I couldn¡¯t say. ¡°Who turned out the lights,¡± Spine asked, waving a hand in front of his face. ¡°I did,¡± I told him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± turning to Cole¡¯s shadow I asked, ¡°Would these help?¡± Cole examined the items, ¡°Yeah, they are¡­ basically perfect.¡± ¡°I can loan these to you. I would like these back when your daughters are safe,¡± I held out the items. Cole didn¡¯t take them, ¡°What do you want in return?¡± ¡­alright, we were having this conversation. ¡°Are we family, Cole?¡± I asked, keeping my tone neutral, if not kind. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Cole legitimately did not understand the question. ¡°Exactly what I asked. Are we all the children of the Titan? Would that make us siblings, or are we just absurdly powerful strangers? Am I offering aid to a rival or to my Brother and Nieces?¡± I had committed to providing the help, but I did need to know where we stood. Titan Spawn seemed to be in a PVP mindset. I wasn¡¯t about that, but I wasn¡¯t going to keep sticking my neck out if everyone was simply looking for the chance to cut my throat. Cole thought about that for a long time. It was almost like he was embarrassed, ¡°I would like us to try and be family. I¡­ if you can help me save my children¡­¡± ¡°I get it,¡± I pressed the axes into one of his massive hands, and the bucket in the other. ¡°There must be something I can do,¡± Cole insisted. Asking for help isn¡¯t always easy. Accepting it can be even harder. Some people can¡¯t own others. ¡°Can you tell me where Kate is?¡± my voice was calm but my heart rate surged. ¡°I am sorry, but no,¡± Cole slumped his massive shoulders. ¡°It has been years since I last saw her.¡± He pulled the items into his inventory. Light returned to the world. ¡°Wait! You know she is alive?¡± I could barely hear his answer over the pounding of my heart. My hands were shaking. I felt a bead of sweat roll down my spine. ¡°Of course. She is the first Darkspawn. Kate is the highest level demigod player in existence. Her other nickname is The Knife of Nadia. She doesn¡¯t get hurt, she hurts people.¡± Cole explained. I didn¡¯t even realize it until I heard the groan of metal. I had pulled Cole into a bear hug. ¡°She¡¯s alive,¡± I managed. Cole hugged me back, ¡°Yes, brother. Listen. Kate isn¡¯t the girl you remember. She has lived an entire life without us. If you plan to meet her, remember that.¡± I nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡± I let him go. ¡°When you reach level 11 please come visit me. Meet your nieces.¡± Then he vanished. ¡°What just happened?¡± Spine asked. I wiped my eyes,¡±I learned something important. Kate is still out there.¡± Spine nodded, ¡°Who¡¯s Kate?¡± ¡°The daughter of the Titan,¡± I explained. We started walking to the camp again. ¡°So who is she to you then?¡± Spine asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I have to find out.¡± Admitting that was harder than then I would like to admit. At the same time, though, the moment¡¯s vulnerability provided the clarity I needed to see the truth. I felt the nail on my pinky finger. I was not the Titan. I didn¡¯t need to find Kate because she needed me. I was going to find her because the Titan needed me to. I was all but certain that he could alter the system. Between Empowered Critical and Formless Void, I had seen him bend the mechanics of the world.
Quest Updated Try: You have earned the friendship of Cole Dragonsworn. Next step: Try Quest Update: What any father would do: You have learned that Kate is alive. You also know she is the first Darkspawn, and the Knife of Nadia. That¡¯s Ominous. Next Step: Find Kate.
Yeah that more or less galvanized my resolve. One step at a time though. ¡°Spine, how worried are you about the pact ending?¡± I asked. Spine didn¡¯t answer right away, ¡°I want to keep helping, but I really don¡¯t want to go back to being as weak as I was?¡± ¡°Spine, you were willing to lay down your life to buy a chance for your friends and family to live. I doubt you felt it at the time but that is one of the most powerful things someone can do. I can only think of one action that takes more strength.¡± I paused.
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains in control Note: Repeated rolls will increase the difficulty.
¡°What can possibly be harder than dying?¡± Spine pressed me. ¡°Living,¡± I said. For the first time in my existence I felt bad for the Titan. ¡°To be the one to have to carry on and rebuild. To have the weight of it all on your shoulders. To have people need you both today and tomorrow. The burden only grows with time.¡± ¡°If you say so,¡± Spine didn¡¯t sound convinced. I decided to give it one more try before moving on to the other point, ¡°If you could go back to that day and you had the choice; would you be where you were and have the role you did, dying, or be where Nanny Shiv was and take all her responsibilities?¡± ¡°I get it,¡± Spine said. After a beat he added, ¡°If need be I would try.¡± I liked Spine. He had a good heart. ¡°Tell you what. Once this pact ends, let¡¯s make a new one.¡± ¡°What could you want from me?¡± he asked, eyeing me suspiciously. ¡°I am about to get involved in politics. I¡¯m a warlord now. I am going to need someone I can trust to tell me the truth about goblin culture and the people. Help me.¡± I let him think about it. We neared the edge of the camp. ¡°Are you sure you want me for that?¡± Spine asked. Promising answer, actually. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Can I have a cool title?¡± He asked. ¡°Sure, you can be my Mugwump.¡± I said. I always liked that word. It beat muckety-muck any day of the week. ¡°A what now?¡± Spine asked. He was clearly circumspect of the term. ¡°A political independent,¡± I answered. I saw that didn¡¯t impress him much, ¡°It also means an important person.¡° ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± Spine said as we were met by the guards. ¡°Take me to your leader,¡± I told them. They paused, ¡°Is this a riddle? Are we supposed to take you to you?¡± one asked. His name was Barry Back-Stab. ¡°Who is organizing this place?¡± I asked. ¡°You are,¡± They said, growing more confused. That was on me, ¡°Who was in charge before me?¡± ¡°That would probably be Toad Badkiss.¡± Barry answered. ¡°Let¡¯s go talk to that guy,¡± I instructed. I could already tell. This whole Warlord thing was going to be a shit show. Chapter 63: Diary of a 16 Day Old Warlord Rather than try and track Toad down, Barry recommended that Spine and I go to the Central Command Tent. How that didn¡¯t equate to leadership I don¡¯t know and didn¡¯t care, at least not right this minute. The command tent was a little different from others. Most of the goblin structures tended toward rectangular quonset huts. This was a circular dome. I ducked and entered. This was not built for my proportions at all. Strangely making my way through the tent flap was almost no effort. Once inside was another issue. I hadn¡¯t actually measured myself, but from what I could tell most goblins were between 4 and 5 feet tall. Angelica had informed me she was six-five. That put me around nine feet tall, and anywhere from about 5 to 12 times more massive than a goblin. All that together meant that everything was way too small for me. There is some sort of crash size joke I could make. I am not going to. It just doesn¡¯t quite fit you see. Luckily no one else was inside to see me trip and smash several of the chairs scattered around the round segmented table. Yeah, Spine saw, but if he wanted he could talk shit. He put in the time. He didn¡¯t laugh, ¡°This may not work well. You are...too big." He almost sounded like he was trying to spare my feelings. I had an Idea.
Craft check¡­ Successful
The ground beneath us lowered and compacted. This whole magical AOE Craft skill was a massive game changer. This was way better than digging ditches manually. It was about the time the floor had lowered a foot that I realized my mistake. The tents were more or less large bags. The floor stitched to the walls and the walls to the roof. The whole thing ripped under the weight of me, Spine, and the furniture. Luckily the floor was not attached as securely to the walls as the walls to the roof. ¡°Shit!¡± I cursed. ¡°We need to hide this,¡± Spine said almost reflexively. He took one of the chairs and placed it by the wall. ¡°I am with you in spirit on this, but that isn¡¯t going to work,¡± I said, lowering the floor, other than the spots holding the poles, another two feet. That took things from impossible to manageably low. I then pulled a set of pelts out of my inventory. Spine and I lined them up, then I Crafted them to merge with the wall and floor. The inside of the tent was a thick canvas material with a dense, gray wool-like fabric hooked to the interior. Our patches were aggressively white. Even in the dim light of the lamps and brazer inside the tent they all but glowed. It was about the same effect as a phone screen in the dark except instead of a few square inches this was yards. ¡°Think they will buy it?¡± I asked Spine. Spine moved a second chair from the table and placed it in front of the almost-fluorescent white color. ¡°Yeah, they are definitely going to know.¡± ¡°Then, fuck it,¡± I said as I pulled a bunch of snow lion bones out of my inventory. Time to make a chair. ¡°Do you know anything about this Toad Badkiss?¡± ¡°Yeah, he is a goblin chief. He is one of the main reasons we have any access to The Dark at all. He specializes in large group tactics. He is really smart but has a reputation for being-¡± ¡°I will speak to him myself,¡± A thick, croaking voice boomed outside the tent. ¡°Left Hand, I greet you as an- ooof!¡± Toad swept into the tent with grandiose swagger. Unfortunately for him, Spine and I had not put in stairs. So he quickly found himself falling face first into the ground. He immediately popped up to his feet and then swept into a bow, ¡°-greet you as an equal.¡± Toad was short, even for a goblin. That said, he was broad shouldered and had an endomorphic physique. He looked more than a little pudgy in his fatigues and tactical vest, but he looked solid and strong. Plus, if anything was going to look silly it was his cape and Napoleon hat. That thing was almost as tall as he was. He gazed up at me with wide, not-quite-bulging eyes. He really did look like a frog. The webbed fingers did nothing to break the illusion. Oh yeah I should say something back. ¡°Hey man.¡± Oops. Toad magnanimously ignored whatever that was. He placed his right hand in a shirt pocket and stood before me regally, ¡°I have come to volunteer my services. Your army will need a general and I can say, with all modesty, that you would be hard pressed to find one better than myself.¡± ¡°That seems like a big commitment,¡± I hedged. I didn¡¯t actually understand what that meant. ¡°Could you be more specific as to what you would do with the role?¡± ¡°A shrewd question,¡± Toad observed. He began to pace as he spoke. ¡°As a master of Tactics, Logistics, Bureaucracy, and Leadership with an emphasis in discipline, I will recruit an officer corps and then structure our forces accordingly. We will march upon the Spire and siege it. If necessary I have several plans to raze it to the ground: it will be bloody, but with your power and my mind, victory is assured.¡± It will be bloody. Angelica wanting to attack alone made way more sense. Nestled here amongst thousands of goblins, hearing them talk, seeing them thrive despite it all, it made me loathe to send them into violence. What was I doing? ¡°I need to think before I make a decision,¡± I said. I had to fight to keep my voice calm. If Toad noticed my squeamishness he did not address it, ¡°I understand. It would be improper to make such a decision without first building a quorum. The remainder of our alliance should be arriving with the dawn. I have also taken the liberty of sending word of your arrival to the other leaders.¡± ¡°...is here to help. You don¡¯t have to like it.¡± Philip said. He sounded like he said that way too many times. ¡°People hate her, Spindle-Bite. You can¡¯t expect us to just- ooh fu-!¡± a female goblin said. She was cut off as she too walked right off the cliff of the tent and belly flopped on the floor. The ground with only a thin layer of fabric over dense packed ice and ground, was not forgiving. ¡°Hel- ah!¡± Philip, upon hearing the yelling charged in. He also was not immune to gravity. To his credit he didn¡¯t land on¡­ a goblin named Helen Smith. Goblin names were weird. ¡°I should put in stairs,¡± I realized out loud. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°I would ask you to wait until after Grimset arrives. Tardiness should not be rewarded.¡± Toad said. He walked over to Helen and offered her a hand. He did the same for Philip. ¡°I am already here,¡± a raspy voice declared dramatically. We all turned to the source, a chair in a shadowed portion of the tent. It faced away from us. A skinny goblin in a black cloak hopped out of the chair and -with a grunt of effort- spun it around. He then sat back in the chair and eyed us all archly. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± Toad asked, completely baffled. ¡°I wanted to spin dramatically, but this chair did not swivel,¡± Marvin Grimset explained. Brunhilda peaked through the tent flap, ¡±Hey buddy.¡± She hopped down, ¡°you building a war council in here?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± I sighed and finished crafting my lion bone chair. I sat down. ¡°Let¡¯s get this figured out.¡± As the others took chairs, Grimset spoke up, ¡°I would like to raise my objections to the Titan Spawn being warlord.¡± I mean I respected the chutzpah. A lot of folks tend to mind my feelings, be indirect, or challenge me to a duel to the death. Or, in Adora¡¯s case, roofie me. She really was the absolute worst. My point is most folks didn¡¯t simply voice their concerns like an adult. Then again the system and Narrators seemed to actively push for dramatic violent conflict. Both Philip and Toad glared at Marvin. Helen looked to sympathize with him. Brunhilda hung back and stayed out of it. Spine made it a point to drag his chair to my side. ¡°Okay, just to move this along. Why?¡± He was more than a bit sarcastic. Grimset was unphased at Spine¡¯s disrespect as he kept watching me. ¡°I would rather our people be free. We all know to never deal with living gods, but now some want us leashed to the Left Hand of the Titan. It''s madness.¡± ¡°Think of our people at the Spire,¡± Philip almost growled. ¡°I am sympathetic to their condition, but you would send tens of thousands to save whoever still lives.¡± Grimset softened his tone and continued, ¡°I know why you are so invested. I understand. The demons took my father.¡± Spine glared at Grimset. Before he could speak, though, Philip spoke up again, ¡°The demons killed your father. They took my wife.¡± ¡°That¡¯s kind of the point, though,¡± Helen said, trying to make peace. ¡°You are not impartial. What would you give to get her back?¡± ¡°...anything,¡± Philip admitted. Grimset took no joy in seeming to win the point, ¡°I can¡¯t allow my people to be chained under the yoke of a Titan Spawn for the chance to free others. Even from demons.¡± ¡°I disagree,¡± Toad declared, ¡°The demons torture. To be in their power is to suffer. Nothing I can imagine is worse.¡±He lean forward and gazed flatly at Grimset. ¡°We as goblins have a moral imperative to help our own. Also even if this Titan Spawn were a madman, it is impossible for him to be worse than literal Hell. Now is the time to act. Otherwise we will be driven to The Dark, never to rise again.¡± ¡°Is the Dark so bad?¡± Grimset began. ¡°Yes,¡± Toad interjected bluntly. Grimset continued like nothing was said, ¡°We could be free there. It won¡¯t be like what the poor souls near the coast suffer. Distance from people is our only reliable defense.¡± ¡°He has a point,¡± Helen said. ¡°I know you have seen the numbers. Living in the cold is killing us.¡± ¡°Mobs are killing us. They live in the Dark as well,¡± Toad argued. ¡°We could build a fortress down there, limit access. Like Grimset said, we wouldn¡¯t have to deal with gnomes and¡­¡± Helen paused and eyed Brunhilda, ¡°Dwarves.¡± Brunhilda took no offense to being singled out. ¡°True, My folk dig deep, not wide.¡± Everyone turned to me. I hate when they do that. I felt constantly behind. I needed more time. I needed to better understand what was actually happening. Well, that is not entirely true: one thing needed to be made clear. ¡°If I am going to be your Warlord, I am going to lead willing followers. I am not going to force anyone to fight demons.¡± Helen looked relieved. Toad nodded, his flat face neutral. Philip didn¡¯t seem to appreciate me giving the others an out. Grimset studied me more closely. I decided to give him something to think about. I turned to Spine, ¡°Are these four able to speak for the others who are not here?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± Spine answered instantly. ¡°Normally for big decisions like war, we build a council of five. We have a leader of the warriors, the scouts, the assassins, the engineers, and a representative of everyone else.¡± ¡°Who represents everyone else?¡± I asked curious. Spine shrugged, ¡°Any civilian works, but normally it¡¯s the angriest old lady we can find.¡± ¡°Why an old lady?¡± That seemed incredibly specific. ¡°Nanny Shiv said, ¡®they tend to be harder to convince to send a bunch of dumb kids to war.¡± Spine said, mimicking her raspy voice. Honestly that made a lot of sense. Having an odd man out involved in the decisions forced people to put forward better arguments. It probably had the intended consequence of forcing people to say the quiet part out loud a lot also. I sighed, ¡°Then, there is very little point debating without them.¡± ¡°You are not going to press us?¡± Grimset technically asked. Yeah it was a question, but he clearly already doubted my answer. ¡°It is not my style. I prefer to have a voluntary fighting force. It is too much trouble trying to make people who do not want to be in the battle do what you want.¡± I meant that. I may not know¡­ well, jack shit about running an army, but that bit felt true. Toad nodded along with my reasoning. Philip seemed less convinced, ¡°An assault on the Spire will take everything we have. If they have a gate, our only hope is to drown them in numbers.¡± ¡°It¡¯s talk like that that makes me think this is a suicide charge,¡± Helen replied exasperated. ¡°I¡¯ll fight if I have to¡­ but if we are just throwing bodies at the Spire with no real plan¡­ Just no.¡± ¡°I have a plan,¡± Toad assured her. ¡®What is it? Surround the Spire and then get them?¡± Grimset scoffed. Toad eyed him, ¡°That is the broad strokes, but would you describe your style of combat as simply slitting throats?¡± Grimset opened his mouth but closed it when he realized I was watching him. ¡°It will take everything we have,¡± Philip said again. ¡°My son and the human, Nameth Brand, were able to translate English to Goblin. While doing that he saw several pieces of information. The Spire is surrounded by miles of open field. Then the immediate area is some vast pit leading into the Deep. They have no less than ten thousand imps there.¡± I looked to Spine out of the corner of my eye. He shrugged. I probably should have paid more attention to that. ¡°Philip, with that many demons and a gate we couldn¡¯t take that place with two hundred thousand goblins.¡± Helen said gently. ¡°They are Rare Scale, minimum. Even if we had a good way to kill them, they would respawn instantly.¡± Philip tried to speak, to gainsay that, but no words came. Toad stepped in for him, ¡°Any Demon killed by Doug, a Titan Spawn, would not respawn for days. Those killed by Philip would take roughly half a day. Any we dispatched would, admittedly, be back within the hour.¡± ¡°So your Plan is that the Titan Spawn leads the warband, kills the demons, closes the Gate, and¡­ what, is he supposed to take out The Demon of Frost too?¡± Grimset clearly didn¡¯t have faith I could do all that. I mean¡­ same. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous,¡± Toad shook his head, ¡°The Champion of the Fantasy Coast will kill the Demon of Frost. I would also have the Champion of the Shattered Mountain assist us.¡± ¡°You are quick to lick Dwaren boots, Toad,¡± Grimset mocked. Toad¡¯s eyes bulged with fury, but he spoke like Grimset''s words meant nothing, ¡°You confuse pragmatism with cowardice. A common failing of the simple-minded. If allowing the dwarf among our ranks saves a single life, I will do it. She is a healer, before this is done she will save many goblin lives.¡± Hurray for progress? ¡°My lord!¡± someone outside the tent yelled. ¡°We need your- oh shit!¡± Barry Backstab ran into the tent. He got more distance than I would have guessed but he hit the ground hard. Stairs were needed. Barry climbed to his feet, ¡°Warlord, We need you back at the Mandir of the War Goddess. There has been a murder.¡± Chapter 64: A Soft Touch to Put Out a Hit A.K.A Fun Times with Politics Outside the tent a good two hundred goblins were gathering. They had heard there had been a murder. So everyone spread that info around, until someone had the great idea: let¡¯s go over there. So of course they needed to gather a large group and arm themselves. This is how detective work is done. No, this isn¡¯t a mob. It didn¡¯t have any momentum yet. I needed to stall this out, ¡°Hey everyone, What are you doing, now?¡± It was basically like they had been caught with their pants down. If you have ever experienced that feeling you will know the awkward anxiety when you realize that no explanation you can give as to how you got this way isn¡¯t going to sound good. The hell of it is, even though lying is off the table you aren¡¯t going to tell the truth. The truth looked bad. Much like Becky Thomspon¡¯s parents after they caught us, I planned to take the ¡®I am not mad, I just worried for your safety¡¯ route. It is strangely more intimidating to those with guilty consciences. This actually worked better Than I would have hoped. A mob may not need a leader, but it bled momentum quickly when every individual suddenly tried to blend in with the crowd to avoid consequences. I just stood there channeling the active listening, open, nonjudgmental concern of Becky¡¯s mom. The crowd, much like seventeen year-old me - the Titan- suspected this was a trap. Trouble was, for them, someone had to say something. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± One tried. ¡°I am mildly concerned,¡± I admitted, ¡°Someone could almost jump to the conclusion that¡­ you guys were arming up to go start a fight with a bunch of followers of Lola inside her domain.¡± ¡°So we are just supposed to let them kill us?¡± someone in the back yelled. ¡°So we know it was a goblin who died?¡± I asked. There was murmuring in the crowd. A young female goblin stepped forward, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure. Why would a bunch of humans and elves kill each other.¡± I almost face palmed, ¡°Everyone, those people over there are wackadoo. I spent the entire day stopping them from murdering each other. Seriously, Does anyone have concrete information as to what is going on?¡± ¡°A murder!¡± a bunch of the members in the crowd shouted. ¡°That¡¯s on me. I walked into that. Not to be rude, but are we absolutely sure, a goblin didn¡¯t kill one of them?¡± I amended. Deafening silence followed my question. Better seize the advantage, ¡°How about this,¡± I called to the crowd. ¡°Spine and I will go see what is happening, and you guys wait here. If something ¡­ bad is happening I call you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t got a phone!¡± someone accused. ¡°Spine does,¡± I said, point to my mugwump. Spine held up his phone. ¡°Oh that works,¡± the goblin who spoke up called, mollified. I really thought it would take more than that. ¡°You expect everyone to simply wait on and then believe you?¡± Grimset demanded. ¡°You wanna come?¡± I asked. He didn¡¯t strike me as being as prone to chaos as hundreds pissed off well armed goblins. I could be wrong. He could turn out to be a very rowdy boy. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go, but I insist you bring someone else along to bear witness,¡± Grimset. I shrugged, ¡°Hey Phil-¡± ¡°Fine, I will come,¡± Grimset snapped. ¡°I didn¡¯t even want to be invited,¡± Toad pouted as he walked away. The trek back to the Mandir was not fun. People talk about dread. It has a weight to it. This wouldn¡¯t be the first time I saw a dead body. My mind drifted to the night we had a home invasion. Kate had gone to sleep. I was just sitting in the dark. I didn¡¯t want to sleep. The bed¡­ it was too big. I sound of the window breaking seemed so loud. I shook my head. I needed to focus. Grimset just glared at me the whole time. I ignored that and made small talk with Spine to stay in the now. ¡°So, Spine, I noticed the pact is still going.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Spine agreed. ¡°Do¡­ do we need to do something official to return you to your family?¡± I asked carrying the conversation. ¡°Huh¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± Spine thought for a moment. ¡°Maybe you have to say,¡± He depended his voice to mimic me. ¡°I return your son to you¡­ peasant.¡± ¡°Why would I say peasant?¡± I asked. I was mostly stalling my brain from having to consider that I was heading toward a murder. ¡°It makes it more official,¡± Spine said confidently. ¡°You are both ridiculous,¡± Grimset sighed. I could see the crowd. They had gathered around that eldritch horror of a barbecue pit. Spine Grimset and I approached slowly but methodically. The group ceased chattering. About forty people stood in a circle of a body laying flat in the snow. Another person stood over the body. Oh, no, no, no, no. The victim was a goblin. She looked young. Her left arm was broken above the elbow. Her right hand was smashed. The left side of her face had been crushed in. The eye popped out of the socket staring up at the sky. Shattered teeth fell out the conner of her mouth. Red blood splattered the front of her fatigues. Standing over her was Howard. There was blood on his hands. He just stared at me as we approached. He almost looked resigned. The crowd parted. Spine upon seeing Howard shouted, ¡°The fuck dude!¡± Everyone started talking at the same time. ¡°Quiet!¡± I yelled over the crowd. After everyone shut up I pointed at Howard, ¡°You talk. What happened.¡± ¡°...It just got out of hand,¡± Howard said. He stared at the body. ¡°It was an accident.¡± ¡°Howard, tell me what happened.¡± I insisted. ¡°She didn¡¯t like being called a booger. She pushed me. It escalated.¡± Howard thought for a moment. His expression hardened, ¡°Just do what you are going to do.¡± ¡°I say we kill him,¡± Spine said, knives in hand. ¡°Wait,¡± I picked Spine up and set him down behind me. This stalled out his charge. The crowd made way as I stepped toward Howard. To the kid¡¯s credit even as I loomed over him, he stood there without running. ¡°Let me see your hands.¡± ¡°What?¡± Howard asked, blinking up at me. I seize his arm. For the briefest moment he tried to fight me. Then he noticed I was way stronger than him and fighting me would probably result in his arm getting ripped off. Yeah there was blood on his hands, but¡­ I scrubbed the blood. His knuckles were smooth and undamaged. His skin was unmarred. I checked the other and found it too unmarred. Even my hands looked battered for a few moments after I caved in a snow lion¡¯s skull. I checked Howard more closely. The blood was only on his hands, mostly the palms. He didn¡¯t have blood on his shirt, or his boots or even the knees of his pants. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Howard didn¡¯t do this. He had touched the body, yes, but he hadn¡¯t beaten this woman to death. I didn¡¯t let go of his arm, ¡°Who did this?¡± Howard tried to get loose. When that failed he met my gaze. I could see him thinking. He was considering lying, ¡°I don¡¯t have to tell you anything. Let me go.¡± I almost used Intimate on Howard. Some part of me questioned the difference between doing that and beating answers out of him. It felt wrong so I didn¡¯t do it. I let him go, When I spoke it was loud enough for the crowd to hear, ¡°Don¡¯t go anywhere.¡± Howard, seeing that the crowd had grown and basically closed around us hesitated before saying, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t dream of it.¡± I called out to the crowd,¡± Did anyone see what happened?¡± That was a lot of quiet. An old man with glasses thick as coke bottles forced his way through the crowd. Poking people with a cane to get them to move. ¡°I didn¡¯t see, but I heard what happened!¡± The name above his head read Chino Minoru. Everyone was waiting on me, ¡°Please tell me what you heard.¡± Minoru leaned on his cane and took a breath before speaking. In the borderline gloom of the fire the man looked ancient, ¡°The young folks were having their party or whatever. They were making a hell of a racket. Those four with the string instruments kept me up for hours. Then when they eventually shut up. Someone started playing a Harmonica. Not bad but too loud.¡± ¡°What does this have to do with a murder?¡± I pressed, concerned I was dealing with an old man yelling at clouds. Minoru eyed me almost balefully, ¡°I am getting to that. I am old and dying. Why are you the one in a rush?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for my answer. ¡°Somebody didn¡¯t like the Harmonica music or the person playing it. I didn¡¯t catch the exchange, but whatever was said didn¡¯t calm things down. Next thing I know a young woman is screaming about ¡®that being her fathers¡¯, and ¡®people being cocksuckers¡¯. I think someone tossed the harmonica in the fire. Whatever happened, two people didn¡¯t like didn¡¯t like being called names. One said, ¡®Let¡¯s kill the green cunt,¡¯ thats when the screaming started. Another said ¡®hold her still so I can end this¡¯. She went quiet after that. Howard other there said ¡®stop¡¯ a few times.¡± I watched Howard, ¡°Got anything you would like to add?¡± ¡°You are just going to believe what an old guy who admits he didn¡¯t see anything says as proof?¡± Howard demanded. He was sweating bullets. ¡°I found the Harmonica,¡± Gissele called. She and her friends were standing near the fire. The ashes were spread out and a warped rectangle of metal was visible. Being freakishly tall has its advantages. A musical instrument and some harsh words had cost a life. What the actual fuck was wrong with us? Found myself gazing down at the dead goblin. No name appeared above her head. I guess that only works for the living. Treat this like everything else. I needed to confirm what happened, find who did it, and bring them to justice. I believed Minoru. Howard was the key to identifying culprits. I needed to get him to talk. ¡°Howard who did this?¡± I asked again. I softened my voice. He flinched from my words, and didn¡¯t meet my eyes. ¡°Step away from my disciple,¡± Madigan called. The crowd opened to reveal the bulldog of a man. I expected him to be angry, but a hateful grin twisted his face. He was thrilled this was happening. He strode purposely as he talked. ¡°You are neither a follower of Lola, nor her guest anymore. You are the leader of a warband outside our gates. Attacking one of us would be an act of war?¡± he stopped just out of arm''s reach. ¡°Someone murdered a goblin. She was a person. Her death can¡¯t be ignored,¡± I said. I wasn¡¯t expecting to convince Madigan but I held out hope that stating this truth to the crowd would convince others here. ¡°No one gives a damn about a mob. If it wanted to live it should have behaved in my city.¡± Madigan dismissed the entire thing. ¡°Killing mobs is what we do.¡± ¡°She screamed like a person when she died,¡± Minoru interjected. He pushed his glasses back up his nose, ¡°This was a murder.¡± ¡°You mind the green houses, I will mind what¡¯s important,¡± Madigan all but shouted. This wasn¡¯t important, I turned my attention back to Howard, ¡°Just tell me who did this Howard.¡± Before he could answer, Madigan grabbed him and pulled him behind him roughly. ¡°You don¡¯t talk to him! Talk to me.¡± ¡°Oh so you know what happened?¡± I asked, forcing my voice calm. ¡°Damn right I do!¡± he growled
Perception check¡­ Successful.
I could see it in his eyes. He had arranged this, ordered it. I also saw the moment he realized I knew. Madigan knew he messed up, but still played to the crowd. Sure, he wasn¡¯t going to be able to goad me, but why not stoke the crowd. ¡°A mob died after starting shit. Happens every day, and so long as I am around I won¡¯t let outsiders meddle in our business.¡± The crowd was growing. A lot of them were Madigan¡¯s people. Violence was looking like it would become a phenomenally bad idea. I sighed, ¡° Lola, I would like to ask your permission to do something.¡± Time slowed. The roar of the wind faded. The flickering light of the fading fire locked in place. ¡°This constantly calling on me is not sustainable,¡± Lola chided. She looked like she was only half kidding. ¡°Do you know what is going on?¡± I asked. I probably should watch my step here. ¡°Yes,¡± Lola acknowledged. She didn¡¯t look at the murdered woman, or at anyone in the crowd. She just watched me. She continued, ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to take one of my followers from the Mandir by force.¡± ¡°What if I didn¡¯t use force?¡± I asked. I finally figured out my relationship with Lola. She wanted to be allies. Not friends, allies. I suspected she didn¡¯t have friends. She had interests. No point appealing to emotion or justice. I needed to appeal to pragmatism. Lola considered that. ¡°What are you planning?¡± when I told her she scoffed, ¡°Why would I let you do that?¡± ¡°Because you want that Spire and the Demon¡¯s with it gone,¡± I explained. ¡°This murder is a threat to my morale. I will do something about it. Besides I have already helped you get both an Epic and Heroic follower.¡± ¡°The Heroic follower is somehow your follower as well,¡± Lola pointed out. ¡°I am not sure how that happened,¡± I admitted. Rather than dwell on it I made my case, ¡°My idea leaves the choice in your people¡¯s hands.¡± ¡°Of course they will do it.¡± Lola scoffed. ¡°That isn¡¯t actually a choice.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who can make the choice as to who gets it,¡± I pointed out. Lola paused, ¡°Fair enough.¡± she had made her decision. ¡°Fine. Go ahead.¡± She vanished and time surged back to its normal pace. Madigan could tell I was a little out of place. He knew what that meant. ¡°So you¡¯re saying this is your responsibility?¡± I baited him. Madigan paused too long to appear decisive, ¡°I do run this place.¡± I felt the tension in the air. People were ready for a fight.
You have activated Voice of the Titan.
¡°Everyone, I hold Travis Madigan Responsible for this murder. I declare him a criminal as War Lord for the Alliance of Green. Whoever brings him to the Goblin Camp will receive a pact from me, the Left Hand of the Titan. The benefits will last for a year. All I will ask is that you hold Madigan through the Trial and Sentencing." This was horrifyingly painful. It was edging toward the Extreme Agony condition.
Voice of the Titan Deactivated. Warning! Continued use of Voice of the Titan may cause Mana Bleed condition.
I almost stumbled. Using that power, it had a cost. Mana Bleed didn¡¯t sound good. I¡¯ll have to look into that later. ¡°What the hell do you think you are doing?¡± Madigan demanded. He almost grabbed the front of my coat. ¡°Don¡¯t worry If you are a good leader no one will hand you off to me,¡± I said my, voice raspy. I coughed, ¡°Besides if they do, all you have to do is point us to the killers. Unless they can point out something crazy like you ordering them to do this, you¡¯d be off the hook.¡± Madigan glared at me. ¡°Have a good night. Sleep well.¡± I turned to Howard. There was a lot I wanted to say, but just glared. Where to even start. ¡°What? I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± he said, backing away. I stooped and lifted the body. She was so small. ¡°That¡¯s your problem, Howard. At best you are a good man doing nothing. At best you¡¯re useless.¡± I turned and made my way to leave. Grimset and Spine fell into step with me. ¡°I expected you would be more direct,¡± Grimset said. ¡°If violence could fix this, I may have tried it,¡± I admitted. I had to clench my fist to stop it from shaking. All of this for a Harmonica. No, all of this because of one man¡¯s pride. Grimset nodded, ¡°is that it?¡± ¡°No, make sure the rest of the goblins are back in camp. Also we need to find her¡­we need to find her loved ones, her friends and family. Do you know who she is?¡± Grimset looked at her, ¡°no.¡± ¡°My dad will,¡± Spine said. ¡°She is a scout. That is probably why she felt comfortable being alone.¡± The walk back to the camp was so much further than mere distance. If I was going to lead these people to battle, I needed to figure out what kind of leader I was going to be. First though I need to learn who she was. She deserved that much. No, she deserved better. Chapter 65: A Brief Discussion of Tyranny Philip knew who she was. Her name was Tazia Shiv. no relation to Nanny Shiv. Her mother and father were both recently dead. She had a brother Ticky, who was with the caravan. It and him would be arriving with the sunrise. Until then, I had crafted a coffin out of ice and laid her there. Thankfully it was opaque. I sat alone in the command tent. I could hear others outside debating whether or not to talk to me. I let them debate. I was having one of those low key, not quite nervous breakdowns. 127,766 lives were my responsibility. 127,765 the screen in the War Lord tab had the count updated to show the loss of Tazia. Dwelling on this wasn¡¯t helpful.
Name: Doug
Race: Titan Spawn
Class: Left Hand of the Titan
Level: 9
HP: 540
MP(in well): 6,810/24,000
Defense: 118
Power: 24 (44)
Mobility: 24 (39)
Body: 44
Mind: 24
Face: 24
Magic: 24
You have unselected Perks. You have an unselected Trait.
I may as well select my perks and trait.
Level 8 Perks Titanic MagicTitanic Mind Level 8 Traits Titanic MightTitanic Speed Level 9 Perks Improved Pact 2Fist of the Titan
Oh good it was a lot of titanic stuff. Apparently creative naming was not a priority. Then again I would hate a bunch of esoteric references. I wanted to take my mind off of things. May as well dig in.
Titanic Magic Titan Spawn are beings of magic. This perk will increase Magic Attribute by +20. It will also increase the Scale of all Magic abilities invoked by the the Spawn by two levels, and decrease the Scale of all negative magical effects targeting the Spawn by two levels. Halve all damage taken from magical sources. Titanic Mind Titan Spawn are capable of mental feats beyond those of mortal beings. Increase Mind Attribute by +20. Also allow the Titan Spawn to maintain Mind Attribute/10 mental activities at the same time.
Well then¡­ those were options. Don¡¯t get me wrong, both of those seemed powerful. Yeah I was under utilizing my magic until now, but the Titanic Magic perk would push the effectiveness well over the edge. The damage buff for Claws of Darkness would be immense. It would also turn Tenebrous Form into a flat out busted ability. Phasing through 44% of attacks that I didn¡¯t block, dodge or deflect. That would help with maximum survival. Not to downplay Titanic Mind. Expanding my Mind attribute would increase my ability to dodge, block and deflect in the first place. Taking that perk would literally all but render me incapable of being overwhelmed with numbers. Being able to think through 4 things at the same time also sounded, well, god like. If I could think through my actions, watch the situation, run constant crafting, and carry a conversation all at the same time¡­ I may be able to make a go at this whole Warlord thing. That said, I dreaded the idea of letting anything related to the system inside my head. Also that would literally change the way I think. Who knows how it would change me. Ultimately¡­ pass. While I was basically decided I didn¡¯t select the perk yet. I was going to look at everything before making a decision.
Titanic Might Titan Spawn are creatures of ponderous strength. Increase Power attribute by +20. Reduce the relative Scale of any object or structure you wish to lift, manipulate or break by three levels. Titanic Speed Titan Spawn are seldom limited by mere three-space, nor time for that matter. Increase Mobility Attribute by +20. Double walk and run speed, and triple sprint speed. Gain a number of seconds equal to Mobility attribute each day. These extra seconds can be spent in increments of one second at a time as free actions.
Did I want to be strong or fast? Titanic Might was simple and to the point. My mind drifted back to the tug-o-war with Grond. If I had the extra twenty points of power, I could have just pulled him into Lola¡¯s care. I suspect given the way the system let me stack power on top of power, taking this would further increase my ability to craft things around me. Even if it didn¡¯t affect the magical bubble of crafting I had, at some point, I would be able to just work metal with my hands. I wasn¡¯t sure I hadn¡¯t already passed that point, but didn¡¯t really feel the need to confirm either. Titanic Speed also had its allure. I am not going to lie. Watching Angelica, Celeste, and even Brand to a lesser extent zip around, made me more than a little jealous. This while not as overtly destructive as Titanic Might, it looked to have some massive utility. Free actions also seemed to be a flat out cheat code. Getting an additional 44 seconds in the day may not sound like a lot but given how fast things happened in a fight¡­ yeah that would come in clutch. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. That was harder to decide on. I needed to look at the last two perks before committing.
Improved Pact 2 Those that deal with you in good faith will be rewarded. Grant [Magic Attribute] beings [Attribute/2] bonus to all Attributes of pact companions. Also grant a lesser version of any two perks excluding ¡°Empowered Critical¡± you possess to pact companions. Note 1: this requires a pact to be formed with the Titan Spawn and another being. The Titan Spawn receives no direct benefit from this perk. Should the lesser being break the pact they will be afflicted by the effects of a smite. Note 2: Perks will be reduced to Demigod Scale Fist of the Titan Unarmed attacks ignore Mind attribute points of defense. Increase damage of unarmed attacks by +10 points. Those struck by a titan often do not live to regret it.
Welp, the second step of Improved Pact looked good. I was probably going to take it. The buff that allowed me to hand out was tremendous. On the other hand having now battled high Scale and high level opponents being able to reduce their defense and deal more damage had value. Yeah the ¡®waste¡¯ of overkilling trash mobs was a thing, but that didn¡¯t necessarily matter if some big thing killed me. I also realized that increasing my raw damage would reduce the value of crafting a layer of Ablative Shell into a weapon. Thing is¡­ reducing the need to do that would free up more opportunity to either distribute the shells to protect allies, or simply cover my own ass. I looked at the numbers. Currently I had a Power Attribute of 24. That seemed to be a lot. I hadn¡¯t seen stats that high in anyone that wasn¡¯t both Rare Scale and above level twenty. So in the grand scheme of things I was already very strong for someone in single digit levels. I packed one hell of a punch. Ignoring dice roll since they would be the same regardless¡­ I think. Anyways, I could double my damage per hit with claws of darkness. Cranking the damage to 48. That all but guaranteed whatever I hit was going to die, so long as it was under rare scale or level 15. If I took Titanic Magic, Titanic Might, and Fist of the Titan that would put my damage per hit to 98 while ignoring 24 points of defense. That would be enough raw damage to hurt some feelings. I dismissed taking Titanic Mind. yeah Dealing 74 damage a hit and ignoring 44 points of defense would likely work out to more damage against higher quality enemies, the idea of having something mess with my mind like that seemed¡­ dumb as hell. That was like inviting a vampire into your house because it promised to help you rearrange the furniture. Going full smash bastard had its appeal¡­ except it didn¡¯t. That build would be choosing to become a living weapon. Yeah, I was most of the way there already. Sure, I was heading into a war. Yep, I could solve my problem by beating them down. All that was true, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that I did not want to be that type of person. I wasn¡¯t going to become a victim, nor was I naive enough to think I could talk my way through everything. It¡¯s just¡­ violence needed to stay a grim reality, not an easy option. I kept finding myself needing to do more. I should look for ways to increase my options. I gazed at the prompt describing Titanic Mind. That would increase options. I sighed. I already knew what I was going to do. Delaying was just indulging in my avoidant behavior. ¡­Actually might as well, a little indulgence never killed anyone, ¡°I can hear you out there Spine,¡± I said it loudly. Spine hopped through the tent flap and stuck the landing, ¡°Hup! How long did you know I was out there?¡± I saved his pride, ¡°Not long. What¡¯s up?¡± Spine grabbed one of the chairs he left to obscure our snow lion patch for the tent. He slid it across from my throne, and sat down. ¡°Do you seriously plan to hold a trial?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Why not just kill them?¡± Spine asked. Huh, that actually was a pretty good question. Due to the perception skill, I knew Madigan had effectively put out a hit on the goblins. Who was I kidding? He almost certainly meant to target Spine. He had tried to kill him, again. What good would a trial do? I shook my head, ¡°It isn¡¯t just up to me to decide who lives and dies. Plus the less high minded thing is if I just grab him and beat the shit out of him, a good number of people from the Mandir would step in. It wouldn¡¯t be just killing him. It would almost certainly kick off a cycle of violence. Doing it this way keeps things contained and controlled.¡± ¡°Do you really think they are going to hand him over?¡± Spine demanded. ¡°Oh yeah,¡± I paused. ¡°Madigan isn¡¯t useful to Lola anymore. I don¡¯t have the full story, but a big reason Lola wanted me to work with Seth, besides stopping Rachel from killing him, seems to be Madigan falling out of favor before we showed up. Everything that has happened since hasn¡¯t changed that. She basically shamed him in public when she stopped your duel. Turning him over for a trial will benefit her by getting rid of a liability and get one of her followers a serious upgrade.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Spine didn¡¯t seem like what he heard. ¡°I bought justice,¡± I said with a shrug. I wasn¡¯t exactly proud of that, but the price was within my budget. ¡°So how¡¯s the trial going to work?¡± Spine asked. I considered that for a moment, ¡°You tell me. How do goblins do trials?¡± ¡°It depends. For minor stuff, folks would talk to someone like Nanny Shiv. She would listen and say who she thought was the asshole.¡± Spine scratched his chin. ¡°We tend not to fuck with each other too much, because if we don¡¯t work together, Mobs or Others are gonna kill us.¡± his eyes went wide, ¡°Wait. I remember once when I was a kid. Somebody¡­ well I don¡¯t remember what he did. Anyways he had to present his side of the story to the community. He also had to have others back up his story. Then Aunt Stabby had to talk¡­ about stuff. I wasn¡¯t there. Mom and Dad didn¡¯t let me go. I had to watch Janky and some of the other little ones. After everyone was done talking, eleven members of the community were selected to vote. When they decided Aunt Stabby was right, she got to decide what happened to him.¡± Most of that seemed fairly straightforward. Trial with a jury of your peers. ¡°What did your aunt decide?¡± ¡°She banished him,¡± Spine said, with a nod. ¡°No way that didn¡¯t kill him.¡± ¡°That sounds like a pretty severe punishment.¡± I said. My mind drifted to memories of being alone in the cold with the snow lions. I really should write that Dog Lover Manifesto. Spine shrugged. ¡°He had to have done something fucked up. Otherwise the community wouldn¡¯t have let Aunt Stabby pick that punishment.¡± I nodded. ¡°Why do you need to have the trial though? You know Madigan is responsible.¡± he clearly thought this was a waste of time. ¡°Because¡­¡± I needed to say this right. ¡°This can¡¯t just be my word is law. If I am going to lead¡­ I can¡¯t be a tyrant. We need to build a society that is both stable and equitable. This is a good stress test for that principle. None of us like Madigan, but by having a fair and real trial we lay the groundwork for everyone else.¡± Spine thought about that for a moment, ¡°Doug, this isn¡¯t that complicated. Killing this asshole isn¡¯t going to make you some¡­ I don''t know a dark lord.¡± ¡°Spine, I appreciate your faith in me, but no. You are right, it isn¡¯t complicated. If I make unilateral moves, I normalize that I can. Sure now, while I am paying attention and concerned about it, I probably won¡¯t do anything too extreme. The thing is at some point when things are dire and my back is to the wall, if it was normal for me to just decide for everyone, I could do something terrible and no one would think to stop me.¡± ¡°Like we could stop you,¡± Spine scoffed. ¡°That is a concern as well, but also the main reason I need to have a structure to my authority.¡± I sighed. Grimset hopped out of the chair in the corner and turned it to face us before hoping in it again, ¡°Why not say this in public but privately have this Madigan assassinated?¡± I hadn¡¯t noticed the sneaky bastard¡­ or is it git? I decided to ignore both Grimset¡¯s theatrics and the blatant insult he implied. ¡°I don¡¯t really believe in being duplicitous. It doesn¡¯t fit my morals well. Besides, it often takes more effort to lie. For this situation specifically he is effectively unkillable inside the Mandir, so that idea wouldn''t work even if I did like it.¡± Grimset nodded, ¡°Why not just seize power?¡± Spine looked about to say something confrontational to Grimset. I answered before he could, ¡°Grimset, I suspect nothing I say can convince you. So, I am going to tell you the truth and be done. What you call power, I call responsibility. The current responsibility is 127,765 lives worth. What maniac would want more?¡± Grimset unleashed a bevy of skills. His eyes glazed over as he read prompts. His frown deepened. He clearly didn¡¯t believe my answer, but the prompt showed I was telling the truth. Which was leading him down the spiral of was I telling the truth or such a magnificent bastion of deception that I could alter his prompts? I am not going to lie, this stupid little mind game was basically all the justification I need to keep telling the truth. Chapter 66: Living Someone Else’s Life
Commune check¡­ Successful
Rachel¡¯s right arm hurt. It was a dull, bone-deep ache. The joints were stiff and the muscles pulled in awkward directions. Try as she might, her arm was locked in a bent, twisted hook. Her hand was frozen in an equally useless claw almost touching her shoulder. She rolled her shoulder and found it still had full movement even as her wrist and elbow felt almost pinned in place. ¡°Do I have your attention?¡± Lola asked. Her tone was even, but an edge was hidden in the question. She bowed, she pressed her head to the stone floor of the hidden room in the temple, ¡°Forgive me.¡± Rachel hated the almost whining tone in her voice. ¡°You are forgiven,¡± the goddess said almost dismissively. ¡°I have one more task for you before you and your soldiers go to clear a dungeon.¡± ¡°I am happy to serve,¡± Rachel said, her head still pressed on the floor. Probably best to kiss up a little. Following Lola was normally a lip service endeavor. Every soldier would follow her before going to battle. No one actually expected the Goddess to take interest in them. Hell, half the point of following her was to blend in on the battlefield. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down, or so they say. Rachel wanted to be back at the Technacoast. Her people needed her. She didn¡¯t know the specifics but the war in the Musical Valley clearly wasn¡¯t going well. Zoo Keeper and the leadership behind them had been specific that she needed to move as quickly as possible. ¡°Don¡¯t lie,¡± Lola said. If the goddess disapproved, her voice didn¡¯t show it. ¡°You will do as I command and that is enough.¡± The goddess walked closer, ¡°Please look at me.¡± When Rachel looked up but remained kneeling before her. Lola, her goddess, stood before her, blood on her hands. It looked fresh. Lola continued ¡°The Left Hand of the Titan, your other god, has requested I allow Madigan to be turned over to the goblins. You will deliver him to them.¡± ¡°Yes, my goddess,¡± Rachel agreed immediately. Before Rachel could nod or bow, Lola declared, ¡°You have questions.¡± Rachel hesitated. Was this a trick, or a trap? No, it was a test. Lola had called Doug Rachel¡¯s other god. ¡°I will do as you command.¡± Rachel offered. ¡°Ask your questions,¡± Lola ordered, a small smile curling the corner of her mouth. ¡°Why turn Madigan over?¡± Rachel asked. Lola shrugged, ¡°Two reasons. Madigan has become willful and no longer follows my instructions. Think about that: a follower who does not follow orders. The second is that he is more valuable to this community with the goblins than in charge. New leadership is needed, and this will facilitate that change. Next question.¡± ¡°Why me?¡± Rachel felt a small hitch in the beating of her heart. She dreaded the answer. Lola saw this and did nothing to soften her words, ¡°Because you and your soldiers are not part of the community. You will leave and the division with you.¡± Rachel bit her tongue. She couldn¡¯t trust herself to speak. Her newly sharpened fangs pierced her tongue. The copper taste of blood filled her mouth. She barely noticed though. Her ears rang with the word: ¡°traitor!¡± so many people called her that. Just because her father¡­ Rachel blinked back the tears, ¡°As you command.¡± ¡°There is one last thing,¡± Lola said, unbothered by Rachel¡¯s state. ¡°You will turn Madigan over on behalf of¡­¡± I blinked. That was¡­ Holy shit¡­ Commune was another one of those skills that just felt wrong. I don¡¯t know If I had triggered it somehow or if Rachel had, or if some other factor had. Regardless, the invasive nature of the skill was concerning. I wasn¡¯t what you would call afraid of intimacy -more a healthy respect of it- but the abrupt nature of the connection and tainted nature of anything related to the system caused me to recoil. If Rachel wanted to share these details that would be one thing, but I doubted she had meant to. Seeing inside her head like that, seeing the pain, resentment and fear, felt voyeuristic. Spine standing in front of me waving, ¡°Doug, are you just ignoring us, completely? I get ignoring Grimset, it¡¯s funny when his ego is bruised, but I got actual questions for you.¡± ¡°Sorry, something odd happened with a skill. What¡¯s up?¡± I blinked the prompt away. ¡°Grimset wants to know what proof you have that the Mandir¡¯s people aren¡¯t going to just attack us.¡± Spine said. ¡°I would keep our guard up regardless of the fact that Lola just assigned a Heroic scale soldier to deliver Madigan.¡± Another quick effort of will and I selected both perks and the trait. No sense just waiting on them. ¡°Are you expecting retaliation?¡± Grimset asked. He looked ready to jump to his most pessimistic conclusion. ¡°No, but I have gotten into a fight every day of my life since spawning, why should this one be any different?¡± I explained. Grimset almost argued, but couldn¡¯t find any hole in my logic. I could also see he more or less agreed with the sentiment. ¡°I will make arrangements.¡± he turned on his heels, his cloak flaring out dramatically. He then reached the edge of the tent and had to climb up the lip. It was a bit less dramatic when he had to hop and then climb to get out. ¡°We need stairs,¡± I said standing. I pulled some more bones out of my inventory and willed them into planks. Once I had four steps worth I willed those into a small flight of stairs. ¡°What do you think?¡± Spine looked at the steps. They were observably too big for him. I had crafted them relative to me. Oops. ¡°Doug, I need to speak with you,¡± Philip called from outside the tent, ¡°May I enter?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± I called back, heading to my chair. Philip jumped through the flap. His heels caught on the edge of the final step, and he fell face first on the ground. He lay there for a moment and sighed, ¡°Is this something you do on purpose?¡± ¡°I wish we were that clever,¡± Spine said. He was fighting not to laugh. Kid was going to pull something in his face trying not to grin. I offered Philip a hand, and he took it. He dusted himself off, ¡°The team that cleared the Wolf Dungeon have returned. They would like to offer tribute.¡± ¡°What?¡± I managed. Philip didn¡¯t seem to understand my question. Spine, knowing this world and basically everything in it confused me, explained, ¡°As Warlord you are entitled to 25% of all loot.¡± Oh, rank and privileges. I didn¡¯t necessarily like that. ¡°It isn¡¯t some veiled insult to just let them have it all?¡± ¡°No, the opposite actually, the tribute is meant to ensure an even distribution of resources. A warlord must maintain the warband.¡± Philip explained. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Would they just hoard the loot otherwise?¡± I asked. ¡°No, most of the loot is useless to them. They will gift most of it to the community anyways.¡± Philip said. ¡°Then let them have it. I can still meet with them if they would like.¡± I offered. Philip looked a little uncomfortable, ¡°Honestly, my lord, they have been away from their families for a long time¡­¡± I got his meaning, ¡°I think some R&R would make them happier¡­ and my thanks for a job well done.¡± I said like the idea had just occurred to me. ¡°I will see to it,¡± Philip nodded. I don¡¯t think he expected it to be that easy. He turned to leave. ¡°Before you go,¡± I spoke up. ¡°I officially return Spine to you.¡± Philip froze, ¡°Is my son bothering you?¡± ¡°Love you too dad,¡± Spine chipped in. ¡°No, I am just completing the pact we made.¡± I explained. ¡°Did that resolve it?¡± Spine¡¯s eyes unfocused as he read a prompt, ¡°Yep. I just hit level 19 again,¡± ¡°Huh, that¡¯s a lot. Wanna form another? I still need a mugwump,¡± I said.
Commune check¡­ Successful
Rachel dodged another wild jab. She kicked the legs out from under the girl. Before her attacker could react Rachel stomped down on the girl''s head. The impact cracked the floor and sent blood flying.
Attack Successful. Yuna Leng take 47 damage Warrior¡¯s Suraksha prevents death. You have inflicted the Knocked Out Condition on Yuna Leng
Lucky for Yuna the domain ¡®protected¡¯ everyone. A few days and she would probably be alright. Rachel didn¡¯t like having to fight her way through the chaff, but Madigan was playing tactics. Yesterday something like this may have worked. Not today though. He made the mistake of over relying on the Mandir¡¯s protection. Numbers could have worked in his favor, but most of his students were drunk or indisposed doing other things. Celebrations were fun that way. Sure 25 was less than 600, technically she only had 18 -Dumb Doug, her god, had battered and broken a few- but 9 hours of revelry had all but annihilated Madigan¡¯s students¡¯ combat abilities. She ducked a shotgun blast, and shouldered her way through the now-broken door. Rachel slapped the barrel upward as the man pulled the trigger a second time. She kicked high, catching him on the chin with the ball of her foot, and then brought her heel down again on his torso. This slammed him into the ground hard enough to bounce him off the floor tiles. He didn¡¯t move after that. Rachel snatched the shotgun out of the air. For a split second she considered firing it but trying to rachet the spent shell out would be too much trouble with her twisted arm. Instead, when another guy rounded the corner pistol in hand she simply swung it like a club. The wooden stock splintered as it slammed into his face. The pistol was a valid option as a gun going forward. Rachel simply kneecapped the next four unfortunate students of Madigan that crossed her path. ¡°Madigan, We should really just talk this out,¡± Rachel called. ¡°The fuck is there to talk about?¡± Madigan yelled behind a heavy wooden door. Honestly, nothing. Rachel was going to take him and feed him to the goblins. Nothing Madigan could say or offer would change that. She had only spoken up in the hope he would answer and provide his location. She kicked the door. It held firm. Madigan was calling some insult or another but Rachel didn¡¯t listen. She was simply shaking her head. The door was built to handle a siege. It was thick wood reinforced with metal. The frame it sat in was solid steel. The wall next to it was fucking dry wall. How do you manage to be that dumb? Rachel burst through the wall: the debris was unfortunate. It got in her eyes and clogged her nose. Spitting out dust she took aim and stopped in her tracks. Madigan had three kids standing between her and him. Two other guys, maybe in their early twenties were also with him. Shit, this got complicated. Rachel kept her gun trained on Madigan but let her eyes drift back and forth from the three men. ¡°Just surrender. My men are coming.¡± ¡°I was just about to say the same thing to you,¡± Madigan snarked. A wicked grin twisted his face. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to cleave your way through those kids, and this town isn¡¯t going to be kind to you. This is your one chance to Surrender and keep your head.¡± ¡°You¡¯re using your kids as human shields?¡± Rachel honestly couldn¡¯t believe it. Even the woo-woos in the Fantasy Coast didn¡¯t do cowardly shit like this. ¡°You¡¯re the one putting them in the line of fire,¡± Madigan insisted. He almost sounded like he believed his own words. Rather than reflect on the legitimately sad state of the kid¡¯s situation Rachel said, ¡°Cover your eyes and hum loud kids!¡± Everyone went on edge. Madigan went for his gun. The guy on the right did the same. The guy on the left moved to step between Rachel and the kids. Two of the kids froze and the third did as Rachel instructed. Everyone had expected her to fire the pistol. Instead Rachel manifested three phantom lions. Yeah that crashed her mana, and hurt like hell, but none of the child-endangering losers were prepared for that. Left and right guys were red lined instantly. Rachel guessed they had shit magic attribute. Madigan kept his feet, but dropped his gun. Rachel then emptied the clip into his chest. That wasn¡¯t quite enough to drop the bastard. He was tough. But between the multiple gunshot wounds and the continued mauling he was wide open for her attacks. Rachel hit him with a left hook. She spun with the momentum and swept the leg. The instant he hit the ground, Rachel slammed her right elbow into his throat. She just kept punching with her left hand for a while. The kids were screaming. Rachel managed to stuff Madigan into the cuffs before he could get a second wind. Rachel stood over the other two men, ¡°Either of you guys know anything about a dead goblin?¡± Spine was watching me. ¡°How long was I gone?¡± I asked. Shaking the effects of the skill away again. ¡°Maybe five seconds,¡± Spine answered. That was better than last time. At least from a time lost in the prompt stand point. I sighed. ¡°I think something dumb is going to be happening soon. Let¡¯s go to the edge of camp.¡± ¡°Pact first?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Yeah, sure. Are you willing to work as my mugwump¡­ no, the mugwump for the Alliance of Green and work in good faith to help our cause?¡± I asked standing. ¡°Yep.¡± he said. We shook hands, I added Titanic Regeneration and Mystic Well. That should help him build up his magic skill and keep him alive. Spine and I walked toward the edge of camp. As we walked another prompt came through. This time I managed to stay in the moment as I absorbed the moment. I turned and went where I was needed
Commune check¡­ Successful
Rachel sat in the back of the truck. She couldn¡¯t help but smile. It worked perfectly. Nothing worked perfectly. Hell, this trip was supposed to be a straight forward, and then they crashed face first into a Titan Spawn. This, though, had gone off without a hitch. Hell Rachel had actually managed to get the hat trick. She had been tasked to grab one murderous asshole. Here she was with three assholes in the palm of her hand. She frowned at the mental picture. Ick¡­ Anyway Lola had clearly wanted to cut the head off of the conspiracy to start a fight with the goblins. She had managed to bag the whole snake. Things hadn¡¯t even gotten all that violent. All said and done her team had roughed up maybe 100 people in Madigan¡¯s compound. Those folks would be pissed, but unlikely to give chase. That said even if they did, Rachel and Snow Lion Squad could handle them. The strength and speed were intoxicating. Rachel knew she shouldn¡¯t, but she enjoyed the power. Before she could get too enthused the repulsive sensation of Grond triggering her metamorphosis reared up in her memory. It had been painful, sure, but also gross. Grond¡¯s presence reminded Rachel of the orderly from the clinic where she was made a chimera. She had been basically helpless then for about four months. Back then the pain wasn¡¯t the worst part. She had an orderly, who helped her with everything. It was humiliating, but to make matters worse he was far too eager. He wanted to touch her. He never did anything, but Rachel was pretty sure that was because the guy feared consequences. Grond probably wouldn''t have such concerns. Outside of Lola¡¯s domain Rachel worried about her squad. What Grond had done to her, he could do to them. He had used her to attack the Left hand- to attack Doug, because that is what he wanted in that moment. There was nothing stopping Grond from doing something heinous to the others. Knowing what Rachel knew now, she understood her squad needed Lola¡¯s total backing or whatever dungeon they went to would be their grave. Rachel watched Madigan glare at her and considered Doug. She didn¡¯t like him. He was naive and myopic. He was going to get somebody killed. That was certain. But even on his worst day, Doug was better than Grond. Rachel considered the connection. She read the prompts.
Commune check Successful x3 Your god is receiving your thoughts and prayers. Connection is active.
Aw, shit! Rachel mentally flailed how do you close thi- I laughed as we reached the edge of camp furthest from the Mandir. Rachel¡¯s team, after grabbing Madigan, had immediately moved for distance. They had swung south around the town to avoid the goblins and were approaching us from the west. On the distant horizon I could see more Goblin trucks. Most of them looked to be either freight or mass transport in nature. I could feel the first rays of the rising sun on my back. Today was going to be busy. Chapter 67: I Don’t Want to Kill… The next two hours were¡­ loud. It turns out tens of thousands of goblins are chaotic. Some were shouting orders. Others were moving material. Everyone was trying to get their work done first. This resulted in a din of activity. It was made all the louder by everyone trying to yell over the noise. I don¡¯t even know what I am complaining about. I just sort of loomed over the proceedings. Most folks did not want to approach me. I didn¡¯t feel a strong need to try and help. In order to help, it is best to have the vaguest fucking clue what is going on, or what to do. ¡°Are you just going to keep walking around the lanes of the camp?¡± Spine demanded. I get why he was complaining. I had been walking around. He had been jogging. For two hours in the snow. He was getting a bit winded, and pissed off. ¡°Yeah, I just want to see as much as I can,¡± I explained. I considered the situation, ¡°I could carry you.¡± Spine watched several younger goblins walk by. All of them were staring at him with open curiosity. That seemed to be happening a lot. I think part of it was that people didn¡¯t want to stare at me, because that would be rude. The other part was most of them seemed concerned I might hurt them if offended. That translated to a lot of people staring at Spine so they could keep me in their field of view. That meant Spine was the center of the crowd''s attention. Spine considered his words, ¡°Doug, for the love of all that is good and holy in the world, don¡¯t carry me around like a toddler. If I am actually going to be your Mugwump, and if that is going to mean something, people have to have some respect for me.¡± ¡°Fair enough.¡± I thought about what to do. We couldn¡¯t just stay here. People were slowing their work setting up the camp to watch me. ¡°Let¡¯s go take custody of Madigan.¡± ¡°Probably should.¡± Spine agreed. He rested his hand on the hilt of one of his knives. We had to negotiate the crowd. Sure, most people didn¡¯t want to block my way, and everyone was actively trying to avoid being underfoot, but there were a lot of people and the tents and trucks made the space tighter. All said and done it took us about another forty minutes to walk the half mile to an isolated cluster of trucks belonging to the Chimera Corps. They did not look happy to see me. What a shock. ¡°Morning Corporal,¡± I said to the fish-eyed Jeffery Todd. He still looked burnt and pockmarked from the metal barbs. Actually, that is normal: my healing was weird. Huh. I gave him a polite smile. He glared at me. ¡°I am here for the¡­ prisoners.¡± Yeah ¡®prisoners¡¯ sounded better than ¡®kidnap victims¡¯. Never figured that being one of my concerns ever. I may be in over my head. Between kidnapping Spine and this, I may be a criminal. Nah, Spine is never gonna press charges. Philip probably wouldn¡¯t either. The Corporal kept glaring. He had huge eyes so even with them narrowed like this it was quite the hairy eyeball. I was sensing some hostility, ¡°I would like to speak to Rachel¡­ please.¡± I am a take-charge sort of warlord. I must have said the magic words because Jeffery pressed a small button on his collar and said, ¡°Lieutenant, the big bastard is here.¡± Madigan was thrown out the back of the truck. He almost managed to keep his feet. Three bounding steps later he lost his balance and rolled in the snow. He probably would have done better but his hands were still chained behind his back. He got to his knees and Rachel hopped out of the truck landing next to him. Two of her soldiers helped two more young men step down. The two young men gazed at me in terror. They were maybe twenty, I would be shocked if they were older. One was trying to grow a beard and it simply wasn¡¯t going to happen. The other was painfully thin. I knew their type. The guys that never fit in. The ones always on the outside. The ones desperate to please. The kids an opportunistic authority figure could manipulate easily. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I was going to talk to them before deciding anything. They also fit the profile of people easily made into scapegoats, but there was guilt in their eyes. It is a funny thing, having people be afraid of you. So many people think they want that, because at some point they were afraid of someone. When I was young I mistakenly assumed people who could put that kind of fear in others must feel the inverse of the crippling powerlessness I felt. It took a while and a lot of deprograming on Hank¡¯s part, but eventually I learned that people who like it when others are afraid of them, are scared all the time. I didn¡¯t like the fear in their eyes. That wasn¡¯t the whole truth. Seeing them gaze at me in terror made me realize, the things I was doing were terrifying. I understood I was in a bit of a gray area morally. That was from my perspective. From their perspective¡­ I don¡¯t know but it couldn¡¯t look good. I didn¡¯t like people being afraid of me¡­ especially when they had reason to be scared. If those two weren¡¯t involved, I¡¯d really owe them an apology. I needed to focus, ¡°Rachel, why are there three people here?¡± A glower flashed across Rachel¡¯s expression, before an honest grin replaced it, ¡°That¡¯s an odd way to say thank you. We got the whole conspiracy here. You could mistake me for an ACS Detective. I cracked the whole case.¡± She pointed at the kid on the left, ¡°Killer,¡± She pointed at the kid on the right, ¡°Accomplice,¡± she patted Madigan on the shoulder, ¡°Mastermind.¡± ¡°You know this, how?¡± I asked. It sounded right, but it also sounded like what I wanted to hear. ¡°She beat confessions out of them!¡± Madigan roared. He glared at me as Rachel¡¯s hand tightened on his shoulder. I really looked at Madigan. He was beat to hell. His face was battered, and blood trickled out the corner of his mouth. He was shirtless out in the cold and shivered despite himself. That said his back, chest, and arms were covered in bandages from a patch job. Rachel¡¯s phantom lions left real cuts. Blood was beginning to soak through the gauze. I couldn¡¯t tell if his injuries were just from his capture or if he had extra. I checked the two young men. They were not as roughed up as Madigan. They still had some bumps and bruises. They were patched like their teacher, but each had a heavy coat, the same as the ones the Chimera soldiers wore, draped over their shoulders. I am not saying they had a favorite prisoner, but if they did Madigan wasn¡¯t it. ¡°Is that true?¡± I asked, watching Rachel closely. ¡°Nah,¡± Rachel shook her head. ¡°Official regs prohibit torture.¡±
Perception check¡­ Failed
That prompt was just there to stir shit. While I could spot the Narrator meddling a mile away, I really couldn¡¯t tell one way or the other if Rachel was lying. I almost sighed. Of course this wouldn¡¯t be simple. Who could have predicted putting out a bounty on someone might result in sketchy things happening? Before I could say anything else, my feckless musings were interrupted. ¡°Doug! What in tarnation!¡± Janie yelled over the wind. She was standing about thirty yards from us. She was in her thick full length coat, and had a scarf around her neck. She glared at me under the brim of her hat. In her hands, held ready was a lever action rifle. ¡°What?¡± I said the words on reflex. Basically stalling for time. ¡°Must be the language barrier. Let me try again in north-midwestern!¡± Janie called. She took a deep breath, and then instantly flitted across the distance. She then shouted in my face, her southern accent gone, ¡°What the FUCK are you doing?!¡± She all but instantly flitted back about ten feet. ¡°Criminal¡­ justice,¡¯ I replied almost sheepishly. ¡°Doug, don¡¯t trifle with me right now.¡± Janie said coldly, her accent back in full effect. ¡°Madigan organized a murder. I can¡¯t just let him stay free after that. He might try that again. I have people to look after now. This isn¡¯t ideal but it''s necessary,¡± I explained. I could tell I didn¡¯t sound convincing. ¡°Janie, get Sunit and the rest of the heavy hitters!¡± Madigan yelled. Rachel tipped him face first into the snow. ¡°Quiet.¡± ¡°They have an army on our doorstep! They are going to kill us!¡± Madigan shouted. ¡°Hush, Madigan!¡± Janie scolded. She kept her eyes on me. ¡°He is an ass but he is one of my people. Those boys too. I ain¡¯t gonna just let you kill ¡®em.¡± ¡°I know Madigan ordered the killing,¡± I explained calmly. The soldiers looked to be gearing up for a fight. I spared a glance to Rachel and shook my head. I felt Spine duck and activate one of his stealth skills. ¡°I detected it through a perception check.¡± I didn¡¯t want a fight. ¡°We can talk this out.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. I could see the slight glazing of Janie¡¯s eyes as she read a prompt. She scowled, ¡°That doesn¡¯t give you the right to just take people.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. Lola approved this. Her followers brought Madigan here on her orders,¡± I sounded like a weasel. I was leaning on technicalities. The odd bit was knowing that didn¡¯t change my mind. ¡°So what? Now you¡¯re gonna kill these guys?¡± Janie pressed me. ¡°No, a trial.¡± I answered. Janie scoffed. ¡°You are welcome to watch,¡± I offered. ¡°Get the rest of the heavy hitters you dumb tramp!¡± Madigan shouted. Rachel frowned, before turning to Janie, ¡°He could slip on the ice.¡± ¡°No!¡± I cut in. ¡° The trial is happening.¡± ¡°Doug, give me a reason that is going to stop the small army of pissed off, thick-necked plug-uglies from coming over here to start a fight.¡± Janie spat. Literally she spat on the snow. I thought that was just a saying. That is when the screaming and the gunfire started. Strangely enough no one around me was causing the problem. They also didn¡¯t take the opportunity to cause trouble. ¡°Keep them here. Keep them safe. No trial, No pact,¡± I told Rachel. ¡°Talk to you in a moment Janie.¡±
Sprint check¡­ Successful
The prompt was familiar but the result was different. The gunfire was happening about half a mile from us on the west side of camp. The goblins were trying to fend something off. I wasn¡¯t slow before, but now with titanic speed I was able to cross that half mile distance in fifteen seconds. That averaged out to 120 mph. My acceleration was simply unreal. What was happening became apparent instantly. A Megaleo had forced its way into the camp. The massive brute had tipped a truck and was mauling an unlucky goblin. The goblin was quiet and strangely still. I think the first attack from the creature had killed them. I focused on what I could do now for everyone still alive. I hit it like a wrecking ball. My fist slammed into the thing''s head. The impact rattled my bones. I felt something in my hand tear and mend instantly. The force of the collision sent the solid ton of predator flying. Just before it was out of reach, the umbral claws of my spell tore a good chunk out of it.
Attack Successful x2. Megaleo takes 191 points of damage. Megaleo is knocked back 44 yards. Megaleo is now bleeding.
I had to skidded to a halt and turned to line up my next attack. Deceleration was still a skill issue. I took a moment to manifest a layer of Ablative Shell.
Attack from White Shadow Successful. You phased through the attack. No damage taken.
That was not helpful. There were probably three of them. I needed to do something dumb and something that would hopefully turn out to be smart.
You are no longer ignoring the Gore Soaked condition. Craft check¡­ Successful.
¡°Here, Kitty-kitty,¡± I called out. The Craft check was the real important bit. I shaped the top layer of the ice into a thin and taut skin. It was fragile and destined to break like a sheet of glass. Titanic Magic extended the radius I could reach from 24 to 44 yards. That was huge. The area of effect of my Craft skill had quadrupled.
Notice Check¡­ Successful.
Crack! Crunch! Click! I heard all three of them. One was directly behind me. Another was in front of me but behind the toppled truck. The last was to my right preparing to pounce.
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I mentally selected ten before punching the yes button. The thrum of a time stop triggered. Everything went quiet. The wind stilled. I spun and stuck the closest White Shadow. I said once and I will say it again: Fuck snow lions in general and that one in particular.
Possible Exploit detected¡­ Ticket submitted Please wait¡­ Standard Time Stop attack resolution will be implemented. Attacks will not hit at relativistic speed. Damage will be normal. Targets able to act during time stops will be entitled to all normal responses. Exploit resolved
Of course the Narrators were going to try and mess with me. Although come to think of it an impact at relativistic speed would do¡­ okay I -the Titan- didn¡¯t pay attention enough in physics class to know what that would do. Probably something that would hurt me. No sense dwelling on it. I brought my fist down on the thing''s head, then hit it with a jab, before kicking it to the side. The umbral claws ripped and tore without mercy. The creature barely even flinched as it was dismantled.
Attack successful x6. White Shadow A takes 479 damage White Shadow A is slain. 7 seconds remaining
No time to waste. I had to burn a second to get to the second cat. I pounced on it. The shadow claws tore gouges out of its flesh. I hammered its back with my fists. I felt the thing¡¯s spine break as it simply stood completely still unable to respond to my attacks.
Attack successful x6. White Shadow B takes 476 damage White Shadow B is slain. 3 seconds remaining
I jumped over the truck and landed feet first on the third ninja cat. The ground cracked from the impact and the claws rendered flesh. I all but instinctively wailed on it.
Attack successful x6. White Shadow C takes 471 damage White Shadow C is slain. Free Actions complete
Time resumed. The wind surged, and the White Shadows¡­ ruptured. Ew! That had to look crazy from the outside.
Attack from Megaleo Successful. You phased through the attack. No damage taken.
The biggun was back in the mix. We glared at each other for a long moment. It was when I manifested the second layer of Ablative Shell the Megaleo charged.
Attack from Megaleo blocked. Counter-attack successful x2. Megaleo takes 155 damage.
The tremendous feline bore down on me. It raised a paw bigger than a bear¡¯s and brought it down. I stepped into the blow, and blocked with my left. Force verses force, the impact sent ice flying everywhere. Somehow, I was the stronger of the two of us. The Megaleo¡¯s attack didn¡¯t even knock me off balance. Seizing the moment, I hit it again with an uppercut. The blow lifted the beast onto its back feet. Then the Claws of Darkness tore its stomach open. Blood poured out of it like a broken barrel. There was no more gunfire. Just the people shouting, and the whistling of the wind. This wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°I know you¡¯re out there!¡± I called swirling snow. The smile of the Cait Sith materialized in my vision. The rest of the beast sauntered out of the snow behind it. It stopped about fifty yards away, and leered. ¡°Come on,¡± I muttered. My hands were shaking. Outside a domain, this thing probably couldn¡¯t kill me. That said I had one stack of the Extreme Agony condition being ignored already. I was afraid of the pain this thing could inflict. I didn¡¯t approach it. Its grin widened into that impossible rictus. Then the monster stepped back and faded into the storm. Shit. Shit! Did I just let it get away? That thing was going to kill¡­ it would be my fault. Was this my existence now? Kill, suffer, kill while the people around me got picked off by the monsters I didn¡¯t destroy in time. ¡°Doug¡­ did you just solo four Heroic scale mobs?¡± Janie asked. She hadn¡¯t quite kept up with me, but she clearly saw some of the fight. ¡°I spent a lot of my time thinking, how I would kill them. I don¡¯t care for snow lions,¡± I couldn¡¯t find the Cait Sith. I let the spells go. It was an odd sensation. It felt like I could breathe again. That said I could tell the evil creature was waiting for an opportunity. ¡°So this trial is gonna happen, huh?¡± Janie phrased it like a question, but it wasn¡¯t. She sounded resigned. ¡°It is going to be a fair trial,¡± I said. It was almost an affirmation to myself. ¡°There are two types of leadership, inspirational and coercive. I don¡¯t feel inspired, Doug.¡± she shot back. ¡°I¡¯m not a tyrant,¡± I insisted. ¡°My mistake. The kidnapping confused me,¡± Janie wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°You are welcome to attend the trial. Make sure it is fair, speak out if it isn¡¯t,¡± I offered again. ¡°As much fun as walking alone into someone else¡¯s kangaroo court sounds, pass,¡± she shook her head. ¡°You can bring whoever you want, so long as they will respect peace,¡± I said. ¡°When¡¯s the trial?¡± She asked. ¡°Sunset,¡± I turned to the goblins around us, ¡°Do you have this under control?¡± ¡°Yes warlord,¡± the tallest said with a salute. He shuffled closer, ¡°I think it would be best if you found Phillip. You being seen here alone¡­ it may not look good to some.¡± Janie and I went back to the Chimera soldiers. We moved at a leisurely pace that took us a good two minutes to get there. I am not going to lie, being fast is great. We got back to the Chimera Corps to find a strange scene. Grimset and about 500 goblins were eyeing Rachel, and her prisoners. Rachel was glaring back. Just once I would love for reason and understanding to win out. ¡°Marvin, what are you up to?¡± I called. Grimset considered for a long moment, ¡°These are killers, should be in our custody.¡± he called. Oh good, someone got a bad idea. Was Grimset just fucking with me? ¡°I thought we agreed to have a trial.¡± I said stepping between the goblins and the Chimera Soldiers. ¡°High minded ideas are all well and good, but we don¡¯t have time and resources to waste on prisoners,¡± Grimset said. ¡°Let me handle this.¡± ¡°No.¡± I waited for Grimset to make a move. He glared at me, ¡°You may have the title of warlord, but you aren¡¯t our leader yet.¡± ¡°Grimset, let¡¯s be rational here. Our goals aren¡¯t opposed. We both want justice. Give me the time to do this right,¡± I almost pleaded. ¡°Fine, but if anything funny happens my men will attack these humans,¡± Grimset said. ¡°Fine,¡± I said. That wasn¡¯t so hard. I smiled.
Notice check¡­ Successful.
The Cait Sith was behind Grimset. It leered at me as it raised glowing claws. I should have killed it. I was too far away to stop it. Chapter 68: ...But everything is Out of Control I froze. Looking back on it, the answer was simple. I could have used the rest of my free actions and intervened. Trouble was that it still required a mental effort and I was slow working the menus. That would have undermined my efforts, if the idea had even occurred to me. Instead I shouted, ¡°Grimset! Down!¡± He had just enough time to hear me and look confused before it happened. The Cait Sith stared into my eyes and its malicious grin twisted into a rictus as it brought its burning claws down. Adrenaline surged through my veins. The static burn of the phantom pain shocked through me. I wanted to move, but I stood rooted. My mind spun in circles uselessly. I just let him die. His men were probably going to attack. The Chimeras would absolutely retaliate. This was my fault. I should have killed the damned cat. My pain didn¡¯t equal someone''s life. This was my fault. The moment sort of stretched. It was a fraction of a second, but the Cait Sith and Grimset seemed almost like statues. I knew that wasn¡¯t true. People talk about the sensation of time slowing down, but most of the time it isn¡¯t like that. What happens is in retrospect that moment before the bad things happen sticks in your mind because you tend to blur the rest subconsciously. It becomes a mental touch stone in a sea of suppressed memory and pain. The spear slammed into the side of the Cait Sith¡¯s head. The blade entered without resistance, but once the shaft touched the thing¡¯s skull the entire body whipped to the side almost bonelessly. The spear kept flying for several yards before embedding itself in the ground. The grin didn¡¯t fade from the Cait Sith¡¯s face until the lightning hit. The monstrous cat tattered as the electricity scorched it. ¡°Got it!¡± Angelica called. ¡°Everyone stay calm¡­ or else!¡± My heart hammered, ¡°Grimset, did it get you?¡± Focus on the here and now. Do something right. You can¡¯t rely on others saving you again. Grimset looked to be coming to terms with what just happened. He ran his hand along the burnt holes freshly torn in his cloak as he gazed at the Cait Sith¡¯s corpse smoking on the ice. ¡°Yes. I''m fine.¡± I took a deep breath. I should have stopped this. Stupid. I could have used Craft and put a wall between him and the beast, or I could have transferred a layer of Ablative Shell to Grimset, or maybe just sprinted over to do something, or just killed the fucking thing the first time¡­ I took another breath. Treat this like everything else. Define a goal, understand the situation, and then act. I needed to diffuse this situation, and keep Madigan and his accomplices in the Chimera Corps custody until the trial. The best path forward was to use this moment to talk sense to everyone. I took one more breath, ¡°We don¡¯t have the luxury to argue amongst ourselves. The Chimera Corps can hold the prisoners until the trial. Grimset, you and yours are needed setting up a protective line. The mobs are still out there. We won¡¯t get lucky like this again.¡± Angelica walked between the Chimera Corps and the goblins, not a care in the world. ¡°Doug has a point. We wouldn¡¯t want this to get violent.¡± The goblins seemed to agree at least in principle. About half of them turned to walk away. The others waited to hear from Grimset. Grimset may not like me, and clearly still wanted to just kill Madigan, but he wasn¡¯t stupid. He watched Angelica pluck her spear out of the corpse. Angelica¡¯s spear looked different. The thing used to have a wooden shaft, and only a few runes on the blade. Now, it looked to be made of shining silver, and was positively covered in symbols. She nodded at the spear, and walked to stand next to me. Grimset set his jaw and said, ¡°We will revisit this trial at the war council.¡± He turned dramatically and his tattered cloak sorta whipped every which way. The rest of the goblins followed his lead and left. ¡°Yeah, probably should,¡± I muttered to myself. I turned to Angelica, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°I got your back,¡± She said with a smile. She did something half way between a pat and a punch on my arm. ¡°The spear new?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Angelica''s smile faded. ¡°I got it from the upgrade.¡± Huh¡­ I was missing something. I¡¯d have to follow up on that after this whole prisoner-murder investigation got sorted. ¡°Doug, that''s a terrorist!¡± Rachel shouted pointing her gun at Angelica. Oh for fuck sake. ¡°Rachel, no she isn¡¯t,¡± I argued. Angelica wasn¡¯t the type to hurt people. ¡°She killed over 100,000 people!¡± Rachel shouted. ¡°...It¡¯s a bit more complicated than that. There was a Demon. Lord Herschal-¡± Angelica tried. ¡°Shut up you woo-woo bitch!¡± Rachel was winding herself up. I stepped between Angelica and the Chimera crew. ¡°Let¡¯s all calm down,¡± God dammit. I know that never works. Wait¡­ Angelica didn¡¯t deny killing people. Rachel stared at me for a moment, ¡°You don¡¯t know.¡± I could see her make the roll.
Commune check¡­ Successful
Rachel shrugged her shoulders. The uniform jacket looked great, professional even, but it itched something terrible. ¡°Quit squirming, cadet,¡± Sergeant Conner said out the corner of her mouth. She was a big woman. She loomed over Rachel. Her cat-like eyes stared pointedly until Rachel stopped. Rachel desperately wanted her approval. She knew she wouldn¡¯t get it, but¡­Rachel respected her. Sergeant Conner was part of the first generation of Chimera Soldiers. She knew dad. She knew her father, Seth, too. It felt like a fist clenched in her stomach. ¡°Stand up straight,¡± Sergeant Conner instructed. ¡°Don¡¯t give people a reason to judge you.¡± This was an acclimation day. New Chimeras were unpredictable. So Authority kept them on a short leash. The first few outings were under the supervision of a trainer, Sergeant Conner. Rachel could hear people whispering. They knew who she was. Most of what they said wasn¡¯t kind. ¡°Don¡¯t look at the ground. You are a soldier. Act with dignity, even if they don¡¯t respect you,¡± Sergeant Conner turned down a walkway toward a busier street. The crowd pressed in on them. It was just after shift change. Rachel could smell blood and sweat on the people. Most were laughing and shouting. They were all so close. Thank God the light was low on a mid-level. Still, it was too much. The ¡°Crack!¡± was so loud every window shattered, the ground bucked, and a wall of wind slammed into Rachel. She just barely kept her feet. ¡°Cadet, come!¡± Sergeant Conner ordered. She was standing at the edge of a fracture. The street and the buildings beyond her were gone. The entire level was gone. A building half on the edge half over the void was teetering. The first six floors, anyway, everything above that was gone, collapsed. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Rachel ran through the crowd to the Sergeant. Sergeant Conner pulled the nanowire for Rachel¡¯s control harness out of her sleeve. There was a reason Rachel¡¯s uniform itched. The control harness running through it was full of nanowires and a stun rod. A push of a button and Sergeant Connor could have bound and stunned Rachel instantly. The thing is the connecting nanowire was strong. Strong enough to hold tens of thousands of pounds. Rachel would break before it did. Sergeant Conner looped it through a support on the building¡¯s main door, ¡°Pull this as hard as you can. Hold the building!¡± Sergeant Conner then ran into the building. She came out almost instantly with a man with broken legs. She dove back in. the building lurched. Rachel pulled as hard as she could, her boots slid on the street. She wasn¡¯t strong enough she didn¡¯t have the leverage. Before Rachel could panic, arms wrapped around her, and then more, and then more still. People were helping her pull. Her feet stuck in a pothole, and for a brief instant the building began to tilt back toward the street as everyone pulled. Sergeant Conner exited with an old woman. She went back in again. Crack! The wire bit into Rachel¡¯s arm and hands. Blood flowed. A lot of the people helping pull let go and ran. The building tipped. Slowly¡­ slowly it began to fall. ¡°Cadet! Let go! Drop it!¡± Sergeant Conner bellowed., emerging again with a mother carrying a baby in one arm, and a toddler in the other. The ground gave. Sergeant Conner pushed the mother over the gap to solid ground. She met Rachel¡¯s eye and threw the toddler.¡±Catch!¡± Rachel dropped the wire and slipped out of the jacket as Sergeant Conner fell. The nanowire of the harness hooked her skin and tore lines across her back and arms, but she was free. Almost everyone ran away from the edge. Rachel ran toward it, toward the kid. She caught the little boy, just as the pavement tilted. Rachel held onto the boy''s leg with one hand, and clawed the street with the other. It held. She looked down and saw Sergeant Conner staring up at her from the under level. She was dead. Her catlike eyes were lifeless but stared into Rachel. Rachel looked away. That is when she saw her. The Killer of the Coast, Angelica De Leon. She was burning with white light. She was so fast. She looked to be fighting with her brother, Antonio. Why? The maniacs were breaking the supports holding up the mid and upper levels. ¡°I got you,¡± Rachel told the kid and herself, ¡°We¡¯re okay.¡± I blinked. It seemed like no time had passed. ¡°You back Doug?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± I kept my eyes on Rachel. ¡°What are your orders?¡± ¡°...No,¡± Rachel paused. She took a few deep breaths through her nose, ¡°You are going to stop me?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I nodded. ¡°I can take her,¡± Rachel almost pleaded. ¡°No you can¡¯t,¡± Angelica said softly. She stepped out from behind me, ¡°I don¡¯t think an apology is appropriate. It was to kill a demon.¡± ¡°There are no Demons in the Technacoast,¡± Rachel said in an almost rote way. ¡°That¡¯s just propaganda.¡± That last part didn¡¯t sound as certain. Before that could circle around a second time I cut in, ¡°We all have our goals. You have a dungeon to clear. We are heading toward the Spire. There is no point in fighting until that is done.¡± Angelica waited for Rachel to make a move. Rachel thought for a long moment. She holstered her pistol, ¡°Let¡¯s get this done, so we can be on our way.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I said. ¡°You can thank me by handing out the Pacts.¡± Rachel snapped. ¡°Pacts?¡± I asked. I had only offered one. ¡°Lola figures three criminals equals three pacts,¡± Rachel gave me an icy grin. ¡°One for Chino Minoru,¡± the smile slid off her face, ¡°one for Seth Cohen too.¡± ¡°Who gets the third?¡± I didn¡¯t mind handing out more pacts. Seth was good people. That Minoru guy told the truth, and that may have cost him something. Honestly the buff was the least I could do for him. Plus, I didn¡¯t want to fight with Lola. I can let her win this. Rachel gazed at me like I was stupid, ¡°Me!¡± ¡°Okay, what do you want? Regen is nice,¡± I said, pulling up the prompt. A part of me considered putting a nonaggression clause so Rachel wouldn¡¯t start a fight with Angelica. ¡­that didn¡¯t take long. No. I wasn¡¯t going to be that guy. Coercion is easy but evil. These pacts were dangerous. ¡°I don¡¯t want a pact,¡± Rachel said. ¡°But you just-¡± I started ¡°I know what I said, instead I want you to remove the connection my squad has with Grond,¡± Rachel said. Oh¡­ fuck all kinds of duck. ¡°What?¡± Spine, Angelica, Madigan and I asked in unison. ¡°Whatever you did with me, do with the others,¡± Rachel gestured vaguely at herself. ¡°We are heading into a dungeon controlled by Grond. I can¡¯t have him messing with my squad.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can-¡± I started
Notice Check¡­Successful
What a coincidence. The connections flashed into view. I could see the golden thread leading from their heart toward the west. If you ever want decision paralysis, be confronted with an idea that seems murky, and is clearly something the Narrators want you to do. I knew what I was going to do. I saw what Grond was able to do to Rachel. No one deserved that. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± I agreed. ¡°Thanks,¡± Rachel nodded, ¡°Figaro! Get over here!¡± Figaro was a young man with wavy black hair and a deeply nervous smile. Then again, I would probably be uncomfortable if a blood covered giant was going to rip the faith out of me. My life got weird. I blame Wilson. ¡°Doug, wait!¡± Spine called. He shuffled to get a better view, and was filming with the camera on his phone. ¡°Okay, go!¡± Figaro did not look confident with this. Might as well try. I grabbed the gossamer thread with one hand, and placed the palm of my other hand against Figaro¡¯s chest. I pulled gently at first. ¡°This kinda hurts,¡± Figaro said. ¡°It isn¡¯t coming loose,¡± I pulled a little hard. Figaro immediately started screaming, ¡°Stop! Stop! Stop!¡± He slapped my face. ¡°Sorry!¡± I quit pulling. ¡°I am going to have to try the other way.¡± I turned and gripped the thread with both hands. I then pulled my hands apart trying to break the connection.
Schism check¡­ Successful You have claimed this follower
The thread snapped easily¡­ and immediately buried itself in my chest. We all watched Figaro. He didn¡¯t implode, or mutate. ¡°Nice, it worked,¡± Rachel said, leaning closer to inspect Figaro. ¡°You didn¡¯t know it would work?¡± Figaro demanded. ¡°Why not test this on Lin?¡± ¡°Lin makes great coffee and tea, You lost your gun twice and play death metal on the radio,¡± Rachel explained. Clearly she had picked favorites. ¡°Let¡¯s finish this up,¡± I pressed. Twenty-five Schism checks later and I was now the god of a bunch of indoctrinated, unstable chimeras. How have I not stuck my dick in a hornet¡¯s nest yet?
New Achievement! Mass Converter Look at you, co-opting the faith of others. Normally that takes an Inquisition. Lord have mercy! What sort of lion collects lambs? You have unlocked the Faith and Religion interfaces (Divine Scale). Reward: XP withheld. Contact Narrator for support or -hear me out- pork the angel.
Okay that prompt was almost certainly from Wilson. I guess he wanted to talk to me, but didn¡¯t want to reach out¡­ eh to hell with him. This was more important. ¡°Alright, done,¡± I said. Rachel shrugged. ¡°A ¡®thank you¡¯ would be appreciated,¡± I said. The Chimera Corps were still eyeing me like we were about to fight. ¡°You burned my face,¡± Corporal Fish-eyes pointed out. ¡°That isn¡¯t fair, you started the fight. And set off the fragmentation bomb!¡± I was almost yelling. I paused for a moment. I wasn¡¯t going to apologize, ¡°We should all just move on.¡± Everyone kept watching me. ¡°What?¡± I demanded. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to hand out a bunch of commandments?¡± Rachel asked. A look of ¡®aw shit¡¯ flashed over her face. She realized she shouldn¡¯t have said that. ¡°Fine, first commandment is ¡®don¡¯t be a dick¡¯,¡± I said.
New Achievement! Foundation of the Faith Look at you! Yesterday you didn¡¯t have any followers, and weren¡¯t a god. Now you are recruiting, and handing down edicts from on high. That didn¡¯t take long. I sure hope you don¡¯t go mad with power. ¡­It¡¯s probably fine, it isn¡¯t like power corrupts or anything. Besides you can handle it: everyone looking up to you, relying on you, needing you, worshiping you. Reward: You Received one Religion Perk. XP withheld. Contact Narrator for support, you know you wanna. It may not seem like a good idea right now, but much like bending the angel over, you will be happy you did.
I chose to ignore the prompt again. ¡°Okay is everyone ready to interrogate the prisoners?¡± ¡°Doug, is every minute of your life an unfocused car crash?¡± Janie asked. I thought for a moment, ¡°Yep.¡± Chapter 69: Nice… Cop, Bad Cop, Goblin Cop, Elf Cop So¡­ this may surprise some of you, but I am not a cop, and have no idea how to interrogate people. Well that isn¡¯t quite true. I knew you didn¡¯t talk to them in a group. So the first order of business was crafting three little ice huts about fifty feet a part. Then we place Madigan, and the two young men, Chet and Waldo, in their own little space, with Chimera soldiers supervising. If I was actually smart I would have talked to them alone. I am not smart so this became a team effort. All things considered Spine, and Janie needed to be involved, but Angelica and Rachel were more of a complicating factor. I could feel them staring daggers at each other behind my back. We started with Waldo. He gazed at us from the other side of the ice table. He was the thin guy. He shivered in his icy chair. His shaking didn¡¯t seem to only be from the cold. ¡°What do you have to say for yourself?¡± I asked him. ¡°I¡¯m not going to talk to you,¡± Waldo managed. Spine hopped on the table, ¡°If you don¡¯t talk to him, you can talk to Mr. Stabby and Ms. Slashy!¡± He brandished his knives. I managed to grab the back of his coat and pulled him out of reach before anything violent happened. ¡°We are not hurtin¡¯ ¡®em to get them to talk!¡± Janie hollered. ¡°Yeah, torture doesn¡¯t actually work,¡± Rachel said. I was almost surprised but she continued, ¡°You want to use enhanced interrogation techniques. Yell at him, make him uncomfortable, and not let him sleep. After a couple of days he will talk. Maybe take his shoes.¡± ¡°We ain¡¯t taking the boy¡¯s shoes!¡± Janie insisted. ¡°Why not just waterboard him?¡± Angelica asked Rachel scathingly. ¡°Don¡¯t be dumb, it is too cold for that. The rag would freeze to his face,¡± Rachel snapped back. I was pretty sure she was more upset by the logistics than the implication. I worry about the Technicoast. I worry both for them and that they clearly wander beyond their borders. Waldo visibly paled as he realized that the majority of the people in the room did not have his welfare on their priority lists. I snapped my fingers, ¡°Waldo, you can talk to me, or I can talk to the others.¡± Waldo shrugged, ¡°So?¡± ¡°If Chet and Madigan blame you for everything, and you say nothing, that will look really bad for you at the trial.¡± I explained. ¡°...but I didn¡¯t kill her,¡± Waldo began but stopped. He watched us warily ¡°Waldo, just tell us the truth,¡± I prompted him. I saw the moment reality hit him. He realized just how bad the situation was, and where it was heading. Waldo burst into tears, ¡°What¡¯s it matter? You¡¯re just going to kill us?¡± I had complex feelings over this. On the one hand, it just isn¡¯t fun seeing someone suffering. Most of us have an instinctive urge to help each other. We are a communal species after all. Then there was the other hand. If Waldo did kill Tazia, he probably deserved to feel this way. There was also the possibility these were simply crocodile tears.
Perception check¡­ Failed
Hmmm. That smelled of Narrator bullshit. Spine stomped his foot on the table and leaned against my grip, ¡°You want to know the point you shit weasel? I¡¯ll tell you. If you lie to the crowd and waste their time when they find you guilty they will sentence you to something awful, like feed you to the mobs, or dump you in the Wastes naked, or take you to the tower with us.¡± ¡°Doug, how are cruel and unusual punishments justice?¡± Janie demanded. That was a pretty good question honestly. It was also super inconvenient. I needed to have my priorities straight, ¡°I am trying to find the truth. Spine is correct, If Waldo is found guilty Tazia¡¯s family will determine the punishment pending the consent of the community. Waldo, talk to me. Did you kill her?¡± ¡°No, Chet did,¡± Waldo sniffed and wiped his nose. ¡°Chet killed the goblin.¡± ¡°What were you doing?¡± I asked. ¡°I just stood there,¡± Waldo said, staring at his feet. ¡°Do you know Chino Minoru?¡± I asked. Waldo¡¯s eyes bugged. ¡°I spoke with him. He heard what happened. Would you care to amend your story?¡± I asked, keeping my voice even. ¡°Chet stomped on her head,¡± Waldo piped up. ¡°I understand, what were you doing?¡± I pressed. Waldo hesitated. ¡°...I held her down, but she started the fight. It got out of hand. It was an accident really.¡± I considered what he said. Angelica frowned. She didn¡¯t believe him. Janie also looked deeply troubled. ¡°Did you throw the harmonica in the fire?¡± I asked Waldo. Waldo froze, and began to sweat bullets. ¡°Hear me out, we have a soft bound book in the truck,¡± Rachel offered. ¡°No!¡± Janie and I said together. ¡°It can¡¯t hurt,¡± Spine countered, ¡°Well me at least. Fuck this guy.¡± ¡°No,¡± I said again. I focused on Waldo, ¡°Tell me the truth. What did you do?¡± ¡°Chet grabbed the harmonica. He tossed it to me. I threw it into the fire. The goblin got mad and she attacked me. She took a chunk out of me,¡± Waldo rolled up his sleeves and showed us several deep scratches on his arms. ¡°Chet hit her and knocked her down. I held her down -so she couldn¡¯t hurt me again- but Chet kept hitting her.¡± ¡°What about Howard,¡± I pressed. ¡°He was telling us to stop. He didn¡¯t want us to even talk to the goblin. Chet went anyway.¡± A thought accorded to Waldo, ¡°Did Howard tell you what happened?¡± Rather than answer I turned to Angelica. She sighed, ¡°He is mostly telling the truth, a lot of omissions though.¡± ¡°Is there anything you would like to add?¡± I asked Waldo. ¡°No,¡± he managed. I frowned at him, ¡°Did Madigan order you to do this?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t talk about that,¡± Waldo was back to sweating bullets, ¡°He¡¯d kill me.¡± ¡°Waldo, he is on trial too. Honestly, your best option for getting out of this is telling me everything about Madigan¡¯s involvement.¡± I explained. ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth,¡± Janie chipped in. Waldo considered for a long moment, ¡°Madigan told all his students to try and kill a goblin. He said he would elevate anyone who did a level in a combat skill he had. He is a master of like thirty combat skills.¡± A woman dead over a harmonica and skill advances¡­ Why are we like this? I stood and made to leave. The others followed. I stopped in the doorway, ¡°Don¡¯t go anywhere Waldo.¡± Three of the Chimera soldiers stepped in to guard him. Once we were outside Spine asked, ¡°How¡¯d I do? ¡°You were more than a little out of hand,¡± Angelica said gently. ¡°I know right, I was the perfect bad cop,¡± Spine agreed. ¡°Then Doug came in,¡± he deepened his voice, ¡°I am the nice one talk to me or Rachel will slam your nuts in a car door.¡± ¡°I am not handling that guys nuts,¡± Rachel said frowning. I really wish she objected to slamming peoples anatomy in a car door, but I get her objecting to touching Waldo. The guy was a weasel. Angelica opened her mouth, but didn¡¯t say anything. We reached the second ice hut. Time to talk to Chet. As I stepped in, Chet, the guy with the almost stache, started yelling, ¡°Let me out!¡± ¡°No, you are going to talk to us,¡± I said, Crafting a set of ice chairs. ¡°Suck my dick!¡± Chet shouted. ¡°There is no reason to be rude,¡± I started. ¡°Eat my ass!¡± Chet shouted again. I frowned, ¡°Chet, I am not going to perform sex acts on you no matter how much you beg.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡­ Shut up you giant fag,¡± Chet snapped. ¡°You got a problem with gay people?¡± Rachel demanded. Chet almost answered, but he recognized Rachel, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of you.¡± He said it in a way that basically proved, he had more than a little fear of Rachel. A healthy respect for her at the very least. ¡°Chet, Shut your yap!¡± Janie yelled. ¡°No one here thinks you''re tough as boots, and acting like a polecat ain''t gonna do you no favors.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me that way, bitch!¡± Chet shot back. Janie had Chet over her knee in an instant, ¡°Talk like that to me! Imma! Paint! Your! Back! Porch! Red!¡± She said the last sentence one word at a time as she spanked Chet like a toddler. ¡°No Janie¡­ stop¡­ don¡¯t,¡± Angelica said very slowly. I don¡¯t believe her heart was in it. ¡°I¡¯m confused. Am I still bad cop?¡± Spine asked. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I was pretty sure we were all in fact bad cops. Janie slammed him back onto the chair. Chet flinched from the impact. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the murder,¡± I started. Ignoring that preamble, ¡°What is your side of the story.¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t sides of a story. There¡¯s the truth,¡± Chet said smugly. ¡°What¡¯s your truth then?¡± I pressed. ¡°Ignore the haters, and drink plenty of water,¡± Chet said with a shit eating grin. ¡°Doug, this is pointless,¡± Rachel said, ¡°He already told me he killed the goblin girl.¡± ¡°Yeah after you beat a confession out of me, you technicunt,¡± Chet jeered. I managed to stop Rachel before she pummeled Chet. I really looked at this guy. His face was free of marks. His left arm was mauled badly, but bandaged. Same with his back. His left hand had some gnarly bruises, but other than that I didn¡¯t see signs of a beating. ¡°You like that word don¡¯t you Chet?¡± I asked, watching the guy. ¡°What was it you told Waldo. ¡®Let¡¯s kill the green cunt?¡¯¡± The smile slid off of Chet¡¯s face, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right you said, ¡®hold her still so I can end this¡¯¡± I amended with a nod. Chet glared at me. ¡°Why¡¯d you kill her?¡± I asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill her,¡± Chet scoffed. ¡°That¡¯s not what Waldo said,¡± I watched a flash of panic creep into Chet¡¯s eyes before continuing, ¡°He says you killed her.¡± ¡°Waldo is a lying coward¡± Realization hit Chet, ¡°You only have his word. You don¡¯t have any proof!¡± I leaned back, and looked under the table. Chet¡¯s boots were battered, and the left one had blood on it. ¡°Let¡¯s fix that. Rachel, could you hold him?¡± Rachel moved behind him and with her good arm pulled Chet into a headlock. Chet still had his hands cuffed behind his back so all he could really do was kick. I caught his right foot. The left boot had blood on the top, but the right one had so much more in the recesses of the tread. There was also a white fragment stuck near the heel. I plucked it out of the sole. It was a tooth. ¡°Let me see that,¡± ¡°Spine hopped onto the table. He examined the tooth. ¡°Yeah, that''s a goblin tooth. Look,¡± he pulled his lower lip down revealing his teeth. The fragment in my hand looked like Spine¡¯s teeth, a canine. Goblin teeth were a bit pointier than human teeth, but not oversized like mob teeth. I turned back to Chet. Rachel was choking him. Chet¡¯s face was purple trending toward blue. ¡°Let him go,¡± Angelica said. She had the tone in her voice again. That one that conveyed she would be obeyed. ¡°I don¡¯t answer to you,¡± Rachel didn¡¯t let Chet go. She whispered in his ear, ¡°Talk shit now. Go on.¡± I need to figure out how to not allow this blatantly telegraphed chaos from happening in the future. ¡°Rachel, please let him go.¡± ¡°...fine,¡± Rachel held Chet a beat longer. ¡°Breathe easy homophobe.¡± She let him go. Angelica caught Chet before his head smashed into the table. Chet gasped and kept sucking air. ¡°Everyone stop!¡± I all but yelled. I had hit the table. The thing shattered from the impact. Spine grabbed me rather than hit the ground. Everyone watched me. I set Spine down. I Crafted the ice table back and gave Chet some more time to catch his breath. ¡°Chet, Did Madigan order you to kill a goblin?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Chet managed, ¡°It was all Madigan, I was just following orders,¡± ¡°Anything you want to add?¡± I almost growled. ¡°Waldo, is the one that tossed the Harmonica into the fire, that is what started the fight. She went batshit. She beat up Waldo pretty bad.¡± Chet explained. ¡°So what, you were just defending your friend?¡± I asked. ¡°No, we were following Madigan¡¯s orders. I just want you to understand Waldo isn¡¯t innocent.¡± Chet explained. ¡°What about Howard?¡± I asked, my voice sounding calm again. ¡°He didn¡¯t do anything. He tried to stop us, but the fight started.¡± Chet shook his head. ¡°Pussy.¡± ¡°I think we are done here,¡± I said, standing to walk away. I stood in the light of the cold day and didn¡¯t move. Holy shit¡­ this was ugly. It was petty hate, and mindless destruction. It was my fault. I told the goblins to come here. I antagonized Madigan. I didn¡¯t¡­ Angelica poked me, ¡°Hey! You alright Doug?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I replied on reflex. ¡°Bullshit,¡± She said, poking me again. ¡°Fine,¡± I stepped out of Angelica¡¯s reach. ¡°This is¡­ I had hoped it wouldn¡¯t be this bad.¡± ¡°They¡¯re just evil people,¡± Rachel said. ¡°It¡¯s a grim job, but someone has to deal with them or they do shit like this.¡± Angelica considered that for a minute, ¡°...she has a point.¡± I felt the nail on the pinky finger of my left hand. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that people are good or evil.¡± ¡°Have you not been paying attention to the last few hours?¡± Rachel demanded, ¡°That Chet dillhole is just trash.¡± ¡°Saying people are good or bad is a copout. It lets you be complacent. You did one thing, and now you''re good, so any mistakes you make aren¡¯t a big deal. You¡¯re good. Same thing with bad people. Once someone is bad, that is it. No amount of good they do can change that. They''re bad.¡± I sighed, ¡°I believe we are what we do consistently, but we can change. For good or ill.¡± ¡°Okay but what does that mean with these assholes?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Chet is a murderer, and Waldo is an accomplice.¡± I sighed, ¡°I doubt any jury wouldn¡¯t convict them.¡± Janie frowned but nodded, ¡°You have a point, Doug. Hear me out though. Hand over Chet and Waldo to me as a sign of good faith. We¡¯ll try them. You can have Madigan. He¡¯s the brains behind this. Lettin¡¯ the small fry go and grillin¡¯ the big fish will land better.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t just let them go,¡± Spine spoke up. ¡°They¡¯re killers. People are scared and this Alliance is basically powered by equal parts desperation, faint hope, and the promise to hurt the demons. If you make it look like you aren¡¯t concerned about them or willing to fight the goblins¡­ things will probably go bad.¡± ¡°Plus, they suck,¡± Rachel added. ¡°They do!¡± Spine agreed. ¡°We still have to follow procedure,¡± I insisted. ¡°Even if they suck.¡± ¡°Frontier justice tends to have a lot of revenge killin¡¯s,¡± Janie pointed out to Spine. ¡°We want to do this right, not quick.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk to Madigan,¡± I turned toward the final shed, ¡°I want to hear what he has to say for himself.¡± The security for Madigan was a lot more strict than for Chet or Waldo. He had ten of the Chimera Corps watching him. The sergeant specifically. The vibe in the hut was more intense as well. Madigan was chained to a heavy steel beam. He glared at me with a new black eye. His nose was busted too. Blood ran down his chin leaking from his nostrils and mouth. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Rachel. Janie, and I demanded. One of us may have said the F-word. The good sergeant, Sargent Majors, shrugged, ¡°He tried to escape. Things got a little rough. Don¡¯t worry, we got him under control.¡± he gave a reassuring smile that was gap toothed and bloody. Several of the other soldiers also had bruises I didn¡¯t give them. Dammit. I willed chairs and a table for the ice. I was getting good with the Craft skill. ¡°Please sit,¡± I told Madigan. He spat blood at me. I sat down across from him, ¡°Why did you order your student to kill goblins?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t order anything,¡± Madigan said eventually. He sat down. ¡°Is that the story you''re telling people?¡± I didn¡¯t bother rolling Perception. I could read between the line enough to see the Narrators were not going to let me succeed on a skill for this. ¡°Both Chet and Waldo say you told them to kill a goblin,¡± I was surprised how flat and dispassionate my voice was. ¡°They are both lying twits,¡± Madigan said. I felt Mental Resistance blocked some sort of mind effect. Probably a persuasion skill. I could see doubt creep into Spine¡¯s expression. ¡°So you did not offer to use the Mentor skill to elevate a combat skill to any of your students who killed a goblin? Yes or no.¡± I pressed ¡°Kids, particularly stupid ones like Chet and Waldo get the wrong idea all the time,¡± Madigan shook his head, ¡°Waldo lost his dad when he was three, and Chet¡­ well honestly he is kind of a shithead. ¡°Yes or No answer Madigan,¡± I repeated the question. ¡°The answer doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Madigan spat another mouthful of blood on the floor. ¡°You and your army of goblins are going kill me anyways.¡± he turned to Janie, ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Jane?¡± Janie mulled her answer over, ¡°At some point this becomes political.¡± Madigan scoffed, ¡°That didn¡¯t take long for you to end up under him.¡± ¡°What?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Janie is easy as a two piece puzzle.¡± Madigan considered for a minute, ¡°You could probably have your way if you just rub against her leg a bit.¡± Spine and Janie looked at each other. Spine grimaced, ¡°Don¡¯t take this the wrong way but pass.¡± ¡°No offense taken,¡± Janie said, ¡°Besides you¡¯re like what 15? That¡¯s a nope.¡± ¡°I am almost 16,¡± Spine said immediately. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on the important things,¡± I cut in. Only for one of the soldiers to step in, ¡°wait! Goblins are fuckable?!¡± Spine blinked as four of the soldiers watched him closely, ¡°Only consensually. Anything else¡­ huge curse. It is a goblin thing- don¡¯t question it. Lots of burning.¡± The soldiers nodded, ¡°Lieutenant after this trial, could I go on a fact finding mission? This is for science¡­¡± I turned to Rachel, ¡°Would your organization happen to have roots in the U.S. Marine corps?¡± ¡°Yeah, how did you know?¡± Rachel asked. Shook my head, ¡°Madigan, Answer the question.¡± ¡°Answer my question,¡± He countered, ¡°Did you plan this from the beginning or did this overturning of the Mandir¡¯s society happen on the fly?¡± ¡°You¡¯re here because of your choices,¡± I started. ¡°Bullshit!¡± Madigan shouted over me, ¡°You have gotten your way on everything.¡± He turned to Rachel, ¡°You were fighting him not even a day ago. Now look at you, doing his work.¡± I felt mental resistance block another mind effect. ¡°Don¡¯t try and persuade me,¡± Rachel growled. ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah, propaganda,¡± Madigan taunted. ¡°You haven¡¯t ever left the coast have you? The more you do the more you realize Authority is the problem.¡± He considered Rachel a moment, ¡°or you would if you could see past you massive daddy issues.¡± Rachel stood there for a beat, and then tried to slash Madigan¡¯s throat. I had to burn two seconds of Free actions, but I caught Rachel¡¯s hand. I wouldn''t have been able to do that, but I opened the menu the moment Madigan started talking to Rachel. ¡°No!¡± The Trouble was Rachel was about as strong as I was, and she knew what she was doing. If I just tried to stop her cold, I wouldn¡¯t succeed. I wrenched Rachel off her feet. The momentum flung Rachel back. I let her go rather than twist her arm. She slammed into the wall of the hut. It shuddered but didn¡¯t break.
Throw attack successful. Rachel Cohen takes 5 points of damage.
The tone of the room shifted instantly. I could feel the guns pointed at us. ¡°...Wait!¡± Rachel waved her left arm slowly, ¡°Stand down, it was my bad.¡± She stood. ¡°You cool, Doug.¡± ¡°He wanted you to kill him.¡± I said slowly. I had to speak slowly because otherwise I would have shouted at her. Madigan burst out laughing, ¡°The mask slips. Get used to this everyone. Titan Spawn aren¡¯t afraid to throw their weight around.¡± ¡°Madigan!,¡± that was too loud.
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains in control Note: Repeated rolls will increase the difficulty.
¡°Madigan,¡± I continued, ¡° If you admit that you ordered Chet and Waldo to kill goblins, I will turn them over to Janie.¡± ¡°Doug, that is a bad idea!¡± Spine yelled. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Madigan said. He went silent after that. I had to step outside after another five minutes of trying to get him to talk. Angelica was watching me closely. It was a mix of concern, curiosity and wary caution. Before I could say something Spine piped up, ¡°Would you really have handed those two chumps over to Janie?¡± ¡°Janie, what is the punishment for murder in the Mandir?¡± I asked. ¡°Anyone we think will do it again, death. Dingbats like Chet and Waldo, would get hunting duty for life,¡± Janie explained. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound all that severe,¡± I noted. ¡°They would be forced to leave the protection of the Mandir anywhere from once a week to every day to hunt mobs. It is extremely dangerous work. Normally the system is a lottery. Every adult is part of the pool. The last person to get that punishment lasted eight years before a bigfoot¡­ well you know.¡± Janie shook her head. ¡°What was that about cruel and unusual punishments?¡± I demanded. ¡°People have to eat. The work has to be done. It is harsh, but necessary.¡± She insisted. ¡°What next, Doug,¡± Angelica cut in. it is almost like she knew I was about to argue again. Treat this like everything else. Define goals, come up with a plan¡­ ¡°I need to talk with Tazia¡¯s brother, then that war council.¡± I nodded to myself. ¡°I¡¯ll keep things calm here,¡± Rachel spoke up. ¡°Will probably have to gag Madigan¡­ hey Doug, can I talk to you alone?¡± ¡­why? I looked to Spine and Angelica. They both shrugged. ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± I followed Rachel. ¡­ yeah I needed to, ¡°I am sorry for throwing you.¡± ¡°What? Don¡¯t worry about that,¡± Rachel shook her head, ¡°Here me out. Ditch De Leon. ¡° She pressed on when she saw I was about to argue, ¡°Just listen, the goblins need you, and honestly My squad does too. Let her go after the demons alone. Come with us to the dungeon, and then we all go to the spire together.¡± ¡°Why make this pitch? You don¡¯t like me,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I don¡¯t, but I don¡¯t think it is your fault. You came into this world and got stuck being force feed Fantasy Coast ideas. Maybe if you come with us you could see things from a different perspective,¡± She shrugged. Holy shit¡­ how can she not see it? Chapter 70: Oh God, Im the Adult! I told Rachel I would think about it. It was a bit strange being invited to join a cult. Doubly so since I was technically their god. I was already shopping ways to politely refuse that invitation in my mind. I don¡¯t think ¡®No,¡¯ nor ¡°Fuck off!¡± were the right answer. Rachel did look deeply troubled that I immediately walked back over to Angelica and the others. I needed to figure out a better long term strategy for them. The Chimera Corps weren¡¯t evil as far as I could tell, but they were dangerous. The Technacoast clearly had problems. Sure that Authority person I spoke to seemed reasonable, but that''s just it. They seemed reasonable. They oversaw that place. They shaped it. The Technacoast was their baby, and it was ugly. How can people tolerate that? I wondered this just as a Snow Lion tackled me from behind. Without thinking, I rolled back to my feet, seized the feral cat by the nape of its neck, hooked my thumb into its eye socket, and pulled its head off before throwing the corpse into my inventory. I paused. I could see people tolerating a lot to not be constantly attacked by monsters. ¡°She ask you out?¡± Spine teased. ¡°She kinda did,¡± I admitted. ¡°She wants me to come with them to clear out another dungeon, and then we all go to the demon¡¯s tower.¡± ¡°She invited us to work together?¡± Angelica looked dubious. ¡°You were not invited. She recommended that I ditch you and let you go to the tower alone,¡± I pulled the Mug of Titanic Brew out of my inventory. And took a swig. Angelica watched me drink, ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°I told her I would think about it,¡± I took another pull. The Energized condition had a pleasant jitter to it. The condition was just on the edge of making me feel anxious without actually going over the line. So I felt wide away and ready without any nervous energy. Angelica shrugged, ¡°Maybe you should.¡± I stopped cold. ¡°They need supervision.¡± Angelica continued, ¡°Plus us hitting the Demon¡¯s in two waves may be a good idea.¡± ¡°There is some merit in that idea,¡± Brand added. I hadn¡¯t noticed him approach. No. I am not going to panic about Angelica leaving¡­ not in public. She was still watching me. She knew I hadn¡¯t taken her suggestion well. I wish I knew what she was thinking. Not now. ¡°Hey, Brand. What have you been up to?¡± I asked. I had clearly been standing for too long. Brand ignored the awkward moment I made, ¡°I had planned to spend the morning with Ms. Baker, but someone, I am not naming names, started a whole to-do. Since my morning was¡­ disrupted, I took the initiative and compiled all of Seren¡¯s notes on the tower.¡± Janie put her hand on Brand''s shoulder, ¡°That is so smart, and don¡¯t be mean to Doug. he is having a hard time, and it¡¯s not like he purposely messed with our¡­ date¡­ again.¡± Janie eyed me. Eh, to hell with it, I probably owed Brand for something, ¡°I can be possessive. I am working on it.¡± Janie looked between Angelica, Brand, and me, ¡°I went through a phase like that too. I am just gonna say trust and communication are key, Doug.¡± ¡°Noted,¡± I managed, ¡°...Brand, what did you find?¡± ¡°A lot of things.¡± Brand didn¡¯t look confident, ¡°it would be best to gather leadership of both the Mandir and the goblins.¡± ¡°What time is it?¡± I asked. Janie pulled out a pocket watch, ¡°9 a.m. by my watch.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s meet in my tent at noon. Janie, can you spread word to your people?¡± I nodded to myself. That was the right way forward. ¡°Yeah sure,¡± Janie put her watch away. ¡°See ya in a bit.¡± she turned and bolted, it almost seemed like watching a deer gracefully bounding away. I doubt I looked like that when I was hauling ass. The differences in mental descriptions likely correlated to a deviation in outward presentation. Angelica poked me. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°Was I spacing out?¡± ¡°No, but you were going to,¡± Angelica insisted. ¡°You¡¯re doing fine. Don¡¯t climb in your head.¡± I took another drink of Titanic Brew, ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°What were you doing out here?¡± Brand asked. ¡°We were interrogating Madigan, and his students, Chet and Waldo,¡± I explained. ¡°Didn¡¯t think to invite the counter-intelligence officer along,¡± Brand chidded gently. I face-palmed. Stupid! I joke more than a little about being dumb, but fuck me. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Brand spoke. He clearly saw what I was thinking. ¡°I prefer to talk to prisoners with as few people as possible. I will speak with them. You should take a moment to prepare. You will have to juggle large personalities soon. ¡° ¡°What do I need to know?¡± I said. ¡°The short version, this tower isn¡¯t a normal Demon Spire. It is both old, powerful, and backed by the Three Devils?¡± Brand clearly forgot, I don¡¯t know anything that happened in the last 280 years. ¡°Who?¡± I asked. ¡°Three Divine Scale demon players,¡± Angelica answered. ¡°Malfea, Frausta, and Angor Crux. Are you sure it is all three? Because Angor Crux is dead. The God of Hope killed him.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t demons simply go to hell when they die?¡± Brand asked. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. I could see Angelica and Celeste having a quick back and forth before Angelica spoke, ¡°Normally yes, but the God of Hope¡­ the details are complicated. Angor Crux should be dead and gone.¡± Brand Handed Angelica the diary, ¡°I added notes. Seren observed all three of their sigils burning with power. If not Angor Crux someone else has his mantle.¡± Everyone thought about that. ¡°What was his deal?¡± I asked. ¡°Suffering and despair.¡± Angelica supplied, ¡°He and the God of Hope had a whole history.¡± ¡°Is there anything else you need?¡± I asked Brand. He was right, this needed more than the four of us. ¡°No, thank you,¡± Brand said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll meet you in a few hours.¡± He left to actually question Madigan. ¡°I¡¯ll grab Brunhilda,¡± Angelica pocketed the journal, ¡°Meet you at the tent?¡± ¡°...Yeah,¡± I turned and started walking. My mind drifted back to her saying I should go with Rachel. She had a point. Letting them run free was a bad idea, but that meant leaving her to fight the demons alone. She said before she wasn¡¯t sure she wanted me or anyone along for that. Walking through the crowd of goblins, recontextualized her words. These people were so fragile, it was madness to drag them into a fight of gods and demons. I was going to get someone killed. I saw Hellen, Toad, Philip, and Grimset standing before the Command tent. I looked past them and saw something that stopped me in my tracks. Three goblins stood next to the Coffin of Ice I made for Tazia. I could see the Name over his head, Ticky Shiv. ¡°You okay Doug?¡¯ Spine asked quietly. ¡°Do you know anything about Ticky?¡± I felt the nail on my left pinky. ¡°Sorry no,¡± Spine watched Ticky as he just stared at the rectangle of ice. ¡°I think he is a couple years younger than me.¡± Philip was heading toward us. Grimset and Toad flanking him. I shelved my bullshit. If there is one skill every parent who gives a shit develops, and single parents master, it is taking everything going on inside you, and ignoring it for an hour or two minimum. This allows you to focus on the kid and do what needs to be done. It may not be the healthiest thing, but we can all do it. Philip called to me, ¡°Left Hand, if you have a moment- ¡° ¡°Not right now,¡± I walked past them to Ticky, Nanny Shiv, and an even older goblin woman named Nanny Shank. Ticky was small, even for a goblin. He was thin too. His face looked gaunt as he stared up at me. His large eyes looked older than he was. Kids don¡¯t age with years. They age with trauma. Ticky was ahead of the curve. ¡°Hello Ticky. I am sorry for your loss. My name is Doug.¡± I started slowly. ¡°I know,¡± Ticky cut in. ¡°Why Is Tazia separate from the others? Didn¡¯t she die in the dungeon.¡± Oh god. I fucked up bad. I should have made arrangements. Someone Ticky knew should be telling him this. Not a giant asshole doing it in public. Why is Tazia separate from the others? Angelica feared dungeons. What were the odds the goblins manage to clear one with zero casualties. First thing first, make certain, ¡°Has no one told you how your sister passed?¡± ¡°No. No one told me.¡± Ticky was speaking in a distant numb way. ¡°Nanny Shiv and Nanny Shank said you would be able to tell me what happened.¡± I nodded. It was my responsibility. With a minor effort of will, and Construction check and Ticky, Spine, the Nannies Shiv and Shank and I stood in a small mausoleum of ice. I made the walls opaque, and the ceiling clear. I also made the entrance next to Ticky. I didn¡¯t want him to feel caged. Before panicking Ticky checked with Nanny Shiv and Spine. Nanny Shiv shrugged, and Spine gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Why are we talking? Ticky demanded. ¡°I am sorry to say, Tazia wasn¡¯t a casualty of the dungeon. She was murdered.¡± I flinched internally. There had to be a better way to say that. He blinked, ¡°How?¡¯ The kid took buildings manifesting in stride. That was an odd way to ask. ¡°Two of the humans at the Mandir of the War Goddess killed her.¡± ¡°Well yeah, others kill us,¡± Ticky said. ¡°I am trying to change that. Not long ago you couldn¡¯t speak to each other. Some of them still think goblins are mobs,¡± I explained. ¡°The others think we are mobs¡­ Oh.¡± Ticky put his hand on the casket. ¡°So this was a¡­ bad¡­ misunderstanding? I wish I could have lied to him. I could see the idea giving him the faintest hint of peace. He didn¡¯t believe in pointlessly malicious action. Well not yet anyways. I almost stepped closer, but I didn¡¯t loom over him, ¡°No. Two men on the order of a third, killed your sister. They found her at a celebration in the Mandir¡¯s domain alone. They took her harmonica and threw it in a fire.¡± ¡°Dad¡¯s Harmonica?¡± Ticky managed. I saw a few tears hit the surface of the casket. Sometimes grief is like a weight that just keeps piling on top of you. A lot of the time the weight just fades and can move again. Other times it hits like a knife. One moment you¡¯re fine. The next, you can barely breathe and your insides are burning. Spine rested a hand on his shoulder, and handed Ticky a handkerchief. He did it quick, and stepped away almost as fast, ¡°he looked at Nanny Shiv, ¡°I see you are wearing Snow Lion fur.¡± ¡°Yeah, between the Armor rating and the cold resistance it is pretty hard to pass up.¡± Nanny Shiv admitted. She watched Ticky out of the Corner of her eye. ¡°Doug, did right by us once. I am sure he will do it again.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± I said somewhat lamely. If you ever want to feel powerless, be in a room with a grieving child. ¡°Long long ago, a little green chad said ¡®there is no try. Do or do not.¡± Nanny Shiv eyed me not quite glaring. ¡°Why?¡± Ticky asked. ¡°It was just a movie. It doesn¡¯t have a why?¡± Nanny Shiv said using the feigned misunderstanding to give Ticky a quick side hug. Ticky to a breath and pulled free, ¡°No, Why did someone order people to kill Tazia?¡± Everyone turned to me. Because I spited a monster, ¡°There are a lot of factors. The short summary is because Madigan doesn''t believe goblins are people. He doesn¡¯t want people and goblins to stop fighting.¡± ¡°Makes sense they¡¯re winning,¡± Nanny Shank muttered. Ticky ignored that, ¡°But why are you telling me?¡± ¡°Later today we will have a trial for the three men. If they are found guilty you as Tazia next of kin will be asked to provide a sentence for them.¡± I felt stupid saying it. That¡¯s too much to put on a kid. Ticky thought for a moment, ¡°What even is a fair punishment?¡± ¡°Kill ¡®em,¡± Nanny Shiv and Nanny Shank said together. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ Is it dumb¡­ to think that is what Tazia would have wanted,¡± Ticky asked aloud. ¡°No,¡± I told him. I wasn¡¯t going to tell him what to do in this regard. ¡°What should I do then?¡± Ticky said. ¡°You don¡¯t have to attend the trial,¡± I started. ¡°I want to,¡± Ticky said quickly. I nodded, ¡°Then listen with an open mind and think based of what you here, what would be justice.¡± that was too abstract. I knew it as soon as I said it. ¡°What does that even mean?¡± he scoffed. ¡°Most people agree there are three types of justice.¡± I continued. ¡°Distributive, Restorative and Retributive.¡± ¡°Keep talking big man,¡± Ticky said. ¡°Distributive Justice is like the name implies. It is an ethos of distributing resources in fair and equitable ways to address the uneven nature of existence. Things like, food for the poor, assistance for the disabled, leniency to children¡­ it is proactive and not relevant to this discussion.¡± I stopped talking. Everyone looked at me with that ¡®then why did you bring it up?¡¯ look on their faces. I continued, ¡°Restorative justice is about focusing on helping the victims of crime. Like the name implies it seeks to restore the injured party-¡± ¡°Can you do that!¡± Ticky spoke up. ¡°Can you bring Tazia back?¡± Seeing hope in his eyes cut me to the core. ¡°No. I am sorry, I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­¡± the young man was quiet for a long time. ¡°Is it wrong that I just want to hurt them? The people that¡­ that did this to Tazia.¡± Tears had filled his eyes again. I gently rested my hand on his shoulder, ¡°No.¡± I wasn¡¯t going to tell him how to feel. Not there. Not then. Retributive justice it is. Chapter 71: Listen to Nanny. Line Up for the Stew Shower Ticky was quiet for a long time. He didn¡¯t talk but his stomach growled audibly. ¡°When¡¯s the last time you ate?¡± I asked. ¡°Yesterday,¡± Ticky said. I turned to the Nannies Shiv and Shank. They both shrugged. When I continued staring Nanny Shank shot back, ¡°We¡¯d feed him if there was anything to eat.¡± ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t have food?¡± I checked my menu. Yep it was right there. Imminent starvation. It was seriously affecting morale. ¡°Not enough,¡± Nanny Shiv explained. ¡°One hundred thousand is a lot of mouths to feed. ¡°We could eat the mobs from last night. There were hundreds-¡± I started. ¡°Ate ¡®em¡± Nanny Shank cut in. ¡°Already?¡± I asked. ¡°For breakfast,¡± Nanny Shiv said. I took a deep breath loudly to drown out the voice in my head saying, ¡®you are going to get these people killed, you dumb son of a bitch.¡¯ That wasn¡¯t useful. Wait! I pulled the mug of Titanic Brew.
Analyze Check¡­ Successful Mug of Infinite Joy This is a lesser artifact made by the Titan Spawn Cole. Any beverage poured into this mug will be infinitely dispensed until a new liquid is poured into it.
I looked at the cup more closely. It was made of a dull metal and covered in small little symbols. Wait, why couldn¡¯t I read them? I looked closer. The markings on the cup weren¡¯t writing. It was channels for a thin conduit of a different metal. It was like circuitry, probably why I couldn¡¯t read it.
Analyze Check¡­ Successful This item is made of 90% Adamant and 8% Mithiril. The interconnected weave of the material allows for ambient mana to continuously replenish the material placed inside the cup, provided it is a liquid.
How was that not magic? What was the last two percent?
Analyze Check¡­ Successful The main power source for this item is a Djinn Fire. Djinn fire is a Rare Scale Mcguffin.
Is it really just a matter of taking high scale material, and shaping it around a mcguffin? May as well try. I pulled all the shards of God Blessed Iron. I couldn¡¯t just¡­ will that stuff into shape. Staring at the stuff and wanting it to change shape did nothing. Actually less than nothing based on the prompt.
Craft check¡­ Failed Note: continued failures could result in destruction of material.
Maybe I should try doing this the correct way. I picked up two pieces and pulled the small hammer from my belt. I quickly tapped them with my crafting tools and the fragments merged into a flat plate. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Nanny Shank demanded. ¡°Trying to make a bigger one of these,¡± I said pointing at the mug with my chin before turning back to my work. Nanny Shank opened her mouth to argue, but Spine said, ¡°Let Doug cook a minute.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sass me, young man.¡± Nanny Shank started. ¡°I am a Mugwump, and I will not be cowed by you¡­ ma¡¯am,¡± Spine stood tall and unbowed. Spine also looked prepared to bolt if the old goblin took a swing. She didn¡¯t, but she did squint menacingly at him as she pulled a small pouch out of her dress pocket and offered it to Ticky. It was full of dried meat, and quickly became empty of dried meat. Everyone watched as I worked. I was actually making good progress. About twenty minutes of tapping resulted in a massive cauldron that I could stand in.
Craft Check¡­ Successful God Blessed Iron Cauldron created. This large metal pot was made by the left hand of the Titan. Within every atom of this vessel is the aspect of the Snow Lion. This item is Demigod Scale.
Nanny Shank watched me like a hawk. Ticky watched as he chewed a piece of meat. Nanny Shiv and Spine exchanged looks while I worked. I needed to scribe the patterns into it. This took way more effort. I had to carve the patterns into the surface using the hammer and chisel. It was slow at first, looking back and forth between my work and the cup. When I finished the first sequence, something clicked. After that each strike of the hammer carved the pattern again and again. After about ten minutes the cauldron was positively covered with markings. I needed a second material. This pot was already filled with Snow Lion aspect -whatever that meant- so I might as well lean into the idea. I pulled Cait Sith tendons out of my inventory. Based on nothing other than seeing the Cait Sith actually use magic, I figured it was the most magical version of the Snow Lions. Using the hooked knife I had crafted forever -two weeks- ago, I was able to cut the tendons into webbing. The webbing fitted into the etching of the cauldron easily.
Craft Check¡­ Successful Cauldron of Plenty created. This mystical tool was crafted by the Left Hand of the Titan. It is an item meant to provide sustenance. Any food up to Heroic Scale placed into this pot can be duplicate with 3 MP. Note1: requires non-duplicated food to be placed within the Cauldron of Plenty to begin duplication. Note2: food in this cauldron can be duplicated multiple times with continued MP expenditure. Note 3: a Cooking skill is required to use this item. This item is Heroic Scale
Huh, wonder why the finished product was Heroic Scale rather than Demigod? ¡°Did Jumbo just bang out a magical item that can mass produce food in less than an hour?¡± Nanny Shank demanded. ¡°Told you to let him cook,¡± Spine smiled smugly at her. Nanny Shank kicked his shin, ¡°Nobody likes a wise guy.¡± Nanny Shiv stepped between them, ¡°Don¡¯t rough house my kids.¡± ¡°Thanks Nanny,¡± Spine said. ¡°Adults are talking,¡± Nanny Shiv snapped at Spine before rounding on Nanny Shank. ¡°You don¡¯t get to bend the rules because you are old.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Nanny Shank spat. Ticky pointed at me as I pulled the Mother of All Snow Lions body out of my inventory, ¡°He isn¡¯t done¡­¡±
Mother of Snow Lions Corpse -2 (Demigod Scale) This is the body of a dungeon final boss. Two McGuffins have been removed from the body. Any further attempts to remove a McGuffin from the body will have a 50% chance of destroying the body. Due to removal of McGuffins this body cannot be broken down. Attempt to collect McGuffin? Yes/No
I hit yes. I wanted the meat. There was a flash of light and the flesh was in a pile while the skin and bones landed next to it. I checked the skin and bones. The skeleton was still intact and the skin unbroken. Just all the meat, blood, and organs gone. Into the inventory it went.
Mother of Snow Lions Corpse -3 (Demigod Scale) This is the body of a dungeon final boss. Three McGuffins have been removed from the body. Any further attempts to remove a McGuffin from the body will have a 75% chance of destroying the body. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Due to removal of McGuffins this body cannot be broken down. Attempt to collect McGuffin? Yes/No
I hefted the massive pile of muscles. It held together and hit the bottom of the cauldron with a wet ¡®slap!¡¯ We all looked at the pot. We kept watching. Nothing happened. ¡°Doug, what is supposed to happen?¡± Spine asked. He tried to sound polite, but a hurry the hell up was implied. I considered it for a moment. This thing probably needed to be primed with magic. I checked my Mystic Well. Between Brunhilda and I we had gathered 7,859 MP. Starting slow, I reached out to the Mystic Well mentally. It didn¡¯t take much effort and I could feel the pool. It was immediately at hand, waiting for me to draw from it. I took one mote of MP. A tiny speck of dark energy appeared in the palm of my hand. It was a pinpoint of blackness floating a few inches above my skin. It drifted easily with the slightest thought. As soon as I considered tossing it into the cauldron the mote dropped in. A new prompt appeared.
It looks like you are trying to make an artifact . Note: This action could have consequences. Mana needed 1 of 1000 Please apply mana immediately or artifact will fail.
Hmmmm¡­ might as well. I pulled another 999 MP from the well. So it turns out MP is a lot like matches. One match isn¡¯t a lot of fire. Ten matches lit at the same time produces more fire than eleven lit separately. This compounds. You can cause a pretty big fire, burn down a shed, and get grounded for three months if you light a whole box at once. The ball of power I drew from the well was immense. It radiated energy. The air buzzed. Light faded in the presence of it. Holding it required everything I had. My muscles screamed, my mind buzzed. The core of magical power almost ruptured. My survival instinct circumventing my brain tossed the Mana into the cauldron. Ploop! For a brief moment nothing happened. ¡°I was expecting more,¡± Nanny Shank spoke up. The cauldron began to bubble. It rattled against the ice. And then went still other than the continued bubbling. A legitimately pleasing smell wafted from it. Then the prompts hit.
New Achievement Artificer You have made an Artifact. The first of many. Sure this one is only Demigod Scale, and it is a lame ass cook pot, but you did it. Honestly though Adam made one four hours sooner and it was a fucking siege ram so maybe think of not being so boring and dumb. Reward: You get a new cauldron. Specifically a Lion¡¯s Share Pot. This beautiful and functional appliance provides a near infinite amount of food. What more it is economical too. A mere 1MP provides enough food to feed 10,000. Great for parties, and family get-togethers. Simply serve and enjoy. XP withheld. Contact Narrator for support¡­ or don¡¯t. You waited too long, and instead of banging a hottie, you fucked yourself. Good job. Have fun with the fallout. What happens next is basically your fault.
Oh good, the prompts are threatening me. To hell with it and Wilson. I had people to deal with. The Nannies Shiv and Shank gazed at the pot. Spine reached out to poke it with a stick and both women slapped him without looking. Tichy watched the bubbling surface of the food. I tossed another MP into the pot and crafted a bowl from a snow lion skull. I scooped a portion out the Cauldron. I offered it to Ticky. He took it and began eating immediately. The bowl was almost empty when Spine asked, ¡°Are we sure this is safe to eat?¡± I was not¡­ oops. We all watched Ticky. He didn¡¯t tip over as he finished, ¡°It needs pepper.¡± ¡°Do you need more?¡± I asked. ¡°I am¡­ full?¡± Ticky said, sounding surprised. Nanny Shank put her hand to his forehead, ¡°He isn¡¯t running a fever.¡± I crafted another bowl and scooped another portion, taking the time to actually look at it now.
Analyze check¡­ Successful Snow Lion Daube This slow cooked stew is a hearty blend of meaty, vegetables and wine. Not too much going for it other than being Demigod Scale food and being pretty tasty¡­ other than needing some pepper.
¡°This is Demigod Scale food,¡± I said. The Nannies Shiv and Shank exchanged a look, ¡°Enough fucking around then.¡± Shank said. ¡°Grab this and take it outside.¡± I did what they said. Nanny Shank instantly started barking orders, ¡°Paige, get the rest of the Nannies. Flint, get some shovels. You, yeah you, move those tents. We¡¯re gonna try something.¡± ¡°What is going on?¡± Philip started Nanny Shiv pulled him back away from Nanny Shank and me, ¡°Don¡¯t make her mad. She¡¯s busy.¡± ¡°Move those damn tents!¡± Nanny Shank shrilled. She pulled a pipe out of her pocket and proceeded to start smoking. Once she had a good cloud of smoke she grabbed another goblin. ¡°Get the group shower apparatus.¡± ¡®What, why?¡± the young girl asked. Nanny Shank just stared for a beat, and then took a deep breath, inhaling smoke. This was apparently a bad sign. ¡°Okay, okay!¡± the gal bolted to go do what she was told. Once the tents were moved Nanny Shank told a bunch of the goblins to dig ten trenches. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked, still holding the Lion¡¯s Share Pot. ¡°That thing makes a lot of food, but the only way we are going to actually feed people in a timely manner is if we get it set up to pour into another larger container for folks to then take from.¡± Nanny Shank said before puffing on the pipe. ¡°I figure ten troughs in the ice is clean enough. Set them each 5 feet apart and make them 50 feet long and then pour this into the group shower setup. It is meant to collect water from cave walls and store it until you need it. Throw the lever and it pours out.¡± I did the Construction for everyone. It only took me about 30 seconds, and I could force the ice to rise. This caused the troughs to form above ground level. The goblin got the shower apparatus in place. It was a mess of poles and pipes with a large tank feeding them. I Constructed a set of stairs and a platform while the Goblins removed the shower heads. Nanny Shank nodded. ¡°Line up! Nuts to Butts! Let¡¯s go! Everyone!¡± ¡°What if we don¡¯t have nuts?¡± a goblin asked. ¡°Just get in each other¡¯s business. You¡¯re about to eat,¡± Nanny Shank growled. ¡°Now when you say that¡­¡± A goblin started but quailed under the old goblins glare. Once about 500 goblins were lined up, Nanny Shank called, ¡°Pull the lever, Kronk!¡± A large goblin tilted the Lion¡¯s Share Pot, and pulled a lever on the tank. Stew splatter over the troughs. ¡°Shut it off!¡± Nanny Shank Shrilled. ¡°Stop standing slack jawed. Close your fly catcher and grab your food!¡± In the space of about ten minutes the goblins shuffled through and collected food. ¡°That will work,¡± Nanny Shank observed. She proceeded to organize forty more of the older goblins. Said older goblins proceeded to force everyone through this odd dispensary. Doing some quick mental math if we could keep this pace going would still take 42 hours to feed everyone. ¡°This still isn¡¯t enough, is it?¡± I asked Spine, Philip and Nanny Shiv. ¡°Nah It¡¯s fine,¡± Nanny Shiv said. ¡°That old goat Nanny Shank will have it running full time in like another twenty minutes. ¡°But at the current rate, even if we keep this running constantly it will take more than a day to feed everyone. Don¡¯t people need to eat every day?¡± I asked. Nanny Shiv looked at me like I was testing her. Spine remembered I didn''t know how food works, ¡°If they are eating Common scale food, yeah. This is Demigod Scale food. Most people would probably only have to eat it once a month. I probably would last sixteen days before needing to eat again. Dad would need to eat every other day if we only ate this food.¡± Hmmm. I should probably ask follow up questions¡­ Nope. I might learn something if I do that. Besides, other shit was going on and this seemed to be working alright. We could survive one hungry day. I turned my attention to Philip, ¡°Sorry, what was it you wanted to talk about?¡± Philip, and the others watched the goblins gather, line up, and filter through the bizarre food contraption. ¡°I was going to tell you about the impending food riots.¡± Nanny Shank locked eyes with an old goblin with a massive beard and wizard hat, ¡°Pappy Havok, keep a lid on any food riots. We got a better option. Also tell your kids: get over here.¡± The old goblin nodded. He stroked his beard for a moment, then picked up a large tent pull and wandered into the crowd. ¡°What was that?¡± I asked. Before anyone could answer there was a loud ¡°Bonk!¡± followed by someone shouting, ¡°Why!?!?¡± which was answered by another, ¡°Bonk!¡± ¡°Peace keeping,¡± Nanny Shiv said. I didn¡¯t love the violence that seemed to be baked into goblin culture. Specifically adults laying hands on kids. Maybe I am oversensitive to it, I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t like it. That said, watching the crowd I didn¡¯t see any telltale signs. No closed body language. Nobody being hypervigilant. No battered and bloody kids. I sighed: perhaps goblins were just a full contact society? I needed to know more before ¡®fixing¡¯ anything. ¡°Any other trouble I should know about?¡± I asked, waving to Angelica and Brunhilda as they circled around the crowd. Being freakishly tall has some advantages. Angelica, Brunhilda, and about twenty random goblins waved back. Philip hesitated as they approached ¡°Doug, Why is there a stew shower in camp,¡± Angelica asked. ¡°Logistics reasons,¡± I said. The logistics reasons were I had no idea what I was doing,, no real thought was put into where to do this -by me, at least- and no one had stopped me. ¡°Right,¡± Angelica said slowly, grinning. Dammit she knew. ¡°Not a bad setup,buddy. You absolutely couldn¡¯t do this by the Coast,¡± Brunhilda watched the stew shower function. ¡°The heat and humidity would do bad things to the food, and the bugs would make the process miserable.¡± I nodded, ¡°What is the other issue, Philip?¡± Philip gave Angelica and Brunhilda a brief look, ¡°A lot of people are unhappy to have others right next to our camp. There is concern the soldiers are going to attack. You probably should address that. Now might be a good time.¡± Impromptu public speaking¡­ yep. I was still afraid of that. Fuck it. I can only do this badly the first time once. ¡°Everyone. If I could have your attention, please,¡± I called. They all looked at me. Just keep talking, ¡°It has been brought to my attention that people are concerned the Chimera Corps soldiers at our camp are dangerous. That concern is Valid,¡± Oops! I needed to get to the point, ¡°But, they do not mean us any harm. Just leave them alone. They are holding the prisoners until the trial is done. After that, they are going to go clear a Dungeon.¡± ¡°So they aren¡¯t here to kill us?¡± someone called back. ¡°No, the worst they will do is ask some of you to have sex with them.¡± Why did I say that out loud? That was sure to do nothing to calm people down. Now they were all going to be afraid of¡­ ¡°Are they any good in bed?¡± a goblin called. Or¡­ goblins are apparently down to clown. Meh. I am not going to yuck other people¡¯s yum. Plus not having to deal with a moral panic is a good thing. ¡°How would I know?¡± I asked, rather than say something smart. ¡°Who¡¯s going to tell you no?¡± The first goblin demanded. ¡°I would!¡± The second said loudly, ¡°Even if he is small proportionally¡­ nope!¡± I realized goblins were an¡­ unfiltered people. ¡°Which ones?¡± Another goblin called. ¡°One of them is way better looking than the others.¡± ¡°I am not sure, I just didn¡¯t want any surprises leading to¡­¡± I started. Ignoring the argument about my anatomy. ¡°Should we just go over there?¡± A fourth goblin called. A handful of goblins looked ready to head that way. ¡°Here me out!¡± the first goblin yelled over the others at the second. ¡°For the clout!¡± The second goblin looked stunned, ¡°Clout! Clout! What good is clout if you rupture like a tire!¡± ¡°Everyone! Slow down! That isn¡¯t happening till after the trial.¡± I bellowed over the increased yelling. Things went quiet. I took a moment to collect my thoughts on what to say next. This was a mistake. Another goblin took this opportunity to yell, ¡°Are they into butt stuff?¡± Chapter 72: Examining My Genocidal Tendencies Nanny Shank finished organizing the Stew Shower. While I hate that name, I wasn¡¯t going to complain. That would simply make sure people would repeat the term ad nauseum, or someone would come up with some even worse nickname. When things looked self-sustaining. She made her way toward us. Philip tried to speak to her ¡°Nanny-¡± ¡°Not now,¡± Nanny Shank snapped, her tone softened as focused on Ticky, ¡°Ticky, I gotta talk to this lot. Would you like to hang out with Pappy Terror?¡± ¡°I guess,¡± Ticky managed. The kid wasn¡¯t so much listless as he was being shy surrounded by so many people. ¡°Okay, Let¡¯s get you over there,¡± She smiled gently at the kid before turning a baleful eye on us, ¡°Don¡¯t start anything while I am gone.¡± She took Ticky¡¯s hand and vanished into the crowd. In the silence my mind kinda drifted. All the power I had, and the best I could do was feed an orphaned child. I almost fell back into an unhelpful cycle again. Jo and Hank would say that was a great use of power, better than most even. It just wasn¡¯t enough by my reckoning. Nanny Shank materialized out of the crowd. She didn¡¯t look happy. The old goblin walked over to Philip, Helen, Toad, and Grimset, ¡°What trouble are you damn kids planning?¡± ¡°I mean to wage war on behalf of the Left Hand of the Titan,¡± Toad declared, loudly so that the crowd could hear his noble pronouncements. He also struck a dynamic pose. Quite a few people seemed on board with this. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s shit kick ¡®em!¡± someone shouted back. ¡°Yes¡­ defeat them we shall!¡± Toad said, glossing over the crass nature of the crowd''s encouragement from the crowd. Grimset scoffed, ¡°You would chain us to this creature. We should go into the Dark and find a better place.¡± Toad almost shouted something back, ¡°I will do what is necessary to carve out a place for us. My children will grow up seeing the sun, and the stars. They won¡¯t grow old with rocks above their heads.¡± Grimset opened his mouth to argue, but Nanny Shank spoke over him, ¡°Shut up, both of you.¡± she turned her gaze on Helan and Philip, ¡°What about you two?¡± ¡°I will go to the tower. Alone if I must.¡± Philip said. He took a step toward Nanny Shank, ¡°This is our chance Nanny. We could free them.¡± ¡°Could! Maybe! Possibly!¡± Helen yelled. ¡°This will get us killed. Thousands of us are going to die, and they will be the lucky ones. Never let them take you alive. That¡¯s what they say about demons.¡± Helen stopped yelling, ¡°This is a mistake. I''m sorry Philip, but no.¡± Helen made it a point to not look at me. Nanny Shank sighed a cloud of smoke. She then tipped her pipe over and dumped out the ashes. ¡°So I have to be the tie-breaker.¡± ¡°We simply need one of the Nannies or the Pappies to weigh in,¡± Grimset said. Nanny Shank seized him by the ear and pulled him closer, ¡°Don¡¯t explain the rules to me, Grimset. I changed your diapers. You think you kids are clever and us old folks can¡¯t see what is happening. We knew. I was elected to be the representative before that one,¡± She hooked a thumb at Philip, ¡°called for an alliance.¡± ¡°Noted,¡± Grimset hissed. ¡°May I ask how you vote?¡± Toad inquired. I noticed he only did that after stepping out of the old Goblin¡¯s reach. Nanny Shank let go of Grimsets ear, ¡°I abstain until after the trial. I want to see what this Titan Spawn is. So far¡­ I have some doubts. He hangs out with humans and dwarves.¡± She shrugged, ¡°At least he isn¡¯t buddy buddy with elves.¡± I had just enough time to flinch inwardly when Janie yelled, ¡°Doug! Why am I under arrest?¡± ¡­Why was Janie under arrest? She stood next to Sunit and Zarina. Sunit was clearly not under arrest, no handcuffs on him. He was also carrying his polearm that he almost killed Grond with. He was watching the goblins with a mixture of wary interest and unmask amusement. Other than the goblin that held onto the chain attached to Janie''s handcuffs they stayed about ten feet or more away. In the crowded confines of this camp that was a lot of elbow room. Seriously though, why was only Janie under arrest? That lady, Zarina, the mentor of the mystic troopers, had a rifle slung over her shoulder. She even had grenades on her hip. She didn¡¯t seem to find this funny at all. Looking closer at the goblin leading Janie I saw he was positively spackled with icons of every faith I was aware of, and a bunch I didn¡¯t recognize. ¡°Okay what is going on?¡± I asked. ¡°This thing is an elf!¡± he yelled. ¡°Her name is Janie,¡± I corrected. ¡°People are afraid she is gonna steal their souls,¡± Spine explained. ¡°That is dumb,¡± Janie snapped. Spine nodded, ¡°Yeah Janie is one of the good ones, she won¡¯t steal anyone''s soul. I think.¡± I focused on Janie, ¡°Elves steal souls?¡± ¡°No! Doug, that is just a hurtful stereotype.¡± Janie said loudly. Most of the goblins did not look convinced. ¡°Is this based on anything?¡± I asked her. ¡°Fantasy racism!¡± Janie yelled. ¡°I am disappointed in all of you.¡± Spine looked chastened. Nobody else did. ¡°Okay, why is this a problem now, and not when Janie was here this morning?¡± I asked the crowd. ¡°You mean after you ended four heroic scale mobs in the space of 10 seconds?¡± Someone in the crowd shouted. The goblin holding Janie¡¯s chain spoke up, ¡°Most of us figured you had a Santa/Krampus thing going. Then it-¡± he paused seeing the look on my face- ¡°she started wandering around the camp unsupervised. We got nervous.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s put this to bed, Janie, do you promise not to steal anyone¡¯s soul?¡± I asked. Janie didn¡¯t take this well, ¡°Screw you Doug! I am a wood elf! I can¡¯t even steal souls!¡± Zarina lightly shoulder checked Janie, ¡°So, Doug is asking you to promise to live your life like normal.¡± Janie paused, ¡°Oh, yeah. I promise. No soul stealing. Scout¡¯s honor¡± She held up her shackled hand with three fingers raised. ¡°Good enough for me,¡± I said loudly. A quick Destruction check and I slid the cuffs off. A nascent thought and a successful craft check fixed the shackles. I handed them back to the goblin wearing all the charms. ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down,¡± he said before retreating into the crowd. ¡°You should probably stuff her into your tent,¡± Nanny Shiv said. I looked at Janie. She eyed me, I shrugged, ¡°Would you please step inside the tent.¡± Janie took a breath. Held it a moment, and sighed, ¡°Fine,¡± Janie was not as tall as me, but she was about as tall as Angelica. That she really had to duck to enter the tent. As she almost crawled through the flap she turned as said, ¡°I am not happy how they treated me. We need to -aw shit!¡± she proceeded to tip ass over teakettle as she fell off the side of the stairs. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I need to put railings on those steps. We all followed Janie. No one else fell down the steps. I crafted some more human sized chairs for our human guests- who were not prisoners. This was not a hostile situation. Ignore the armed people glaring at each other. ¡°Okay let¡¯s clear the air? What happened out there?¡± I asked the room. Janie glared at the goblins. Philip and Toad looked more than a little uncomfortable. Helen, and Grimset looked uninterested. Nanny Shiv was watching everyone else. Nanny Shank shrugged. ¡°To hell with it. My give-a-damn''s busted anyway. Everyone panicked because she is an elf. Humans kill us a lot. That said it doesn¡¯t feel personal, mostly fighting over space, or retribution for our retribution. If we back off they leave us be¡­ for the most part.¡± She hooked a thumb at Brunhilda, ¡°Dwarves are meaner. They do screwed up shit like hunt us down. Wipe us out for no reason. On the Coast they even do malicious shit like herd us into the Dark to be some sort of meat shield for their¡­ what even is that thing?¡± ¡°The Hellevator,¡± Brunhilda said. ¡°It is a tunnel connecting the surface and the Deep-Dark together.¡± Nanny Shank nodded, ¡°Yeah, see what I mean. Dwarves are evil. They hate us. But they aren¡¯t nothing to elves. Elves are just vile.¡± ¡°Like you are some saint?¡± Janie demanded. ¡°Goblins will do just about anything to kill elves. They have hunted elves cross country. They want to wipe us out.¡± ¡±Because of the soul stealing,¡± Nanny Shank spoke up. I noticed she didn¡¯t deny anything Janie said. ¡°Not all elves steal souls, you old bitch!¡± Janie snapped. They glared at each other for a long moment. Before either of them could say something likely to start a fight, Sunit asked, ¡°Some elves can steal souls?¡± Janie mulled his question over for a moment, ¡°Yeah, Blood Elves can.¡± She immediately talked over the obvious follow up question. ¡°They give all other elves a bad name. They are all a bunch of psychotic edgelords from the world that was. When the system showed up they all spec¡¯d into mind and status effects. The most powerful of them are allegedly able to steal souls. All of them can do terrible things to your mind.¡± ¡°See, elves are bad,¡± Nanny Shank accused. ¡°Blood Elves!¡± Janie snapped. ¡°I am a wood elf. I am good with trees. Those guys are the sadistic manipulators. Plus they are the ones that had Fantasy Racism bad.¡± ¡°Fantasy Racism?¡± I asked. ¡°It is a phenomenon people have observed,¡± Angelica spoke up when she saw Nanny Shank was about to pick another fight. ¡°It¡¯s basically is the tendency for nonhuman players to be more prone to¡­ animosity with each other than they are toward human players. Some mobs are also more prone to attacking certain players. Like g- I mean Trolls and Dwarves.¡± ¡°Nice save,¡± Nanny Shank snarked. ¡°So what people think it is part of the system?¡± ¡°It is a theory. You would need someone that has High Scale, High Mind Attribute and the Analyze skill at Grand Master level or higher to be able to prove it.¡± Angelica explained. Nanny Shank considered that, ¡°I still don¡¯t like elves. My Nanny would tell me stories about what those Blood Elves would do to us if we misbehaved. That old bitch wasn¡¯t soft like Shiv and I try to be with the kids.¡± ¡°What happened to these Blood Elves,¡± I asked. ¡°They are all Servants of Aella. They tried to gang up on her and turn her into their weapon,¡± Angelica paused. She realized that was probably not well known. ¡°She flipped the script on them, hard. All of them are completely bound to her will. That is how she got the title of Soul Drinker.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t get that title until she let them loose on the rest of the world.¡± Janie corrected. ¡°Those were¡­ dark times. You never could tell if the person you were talking to was your friend or one of Aella¡¯s cultists. In the end all the gods had to work together to round them all up and drop them in the desert. We are on the edge of the dead zone they put around Aella. No one wants her out talking to people.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°Aella used the Blood Elves to steal followers from gods. She almost unmade a few. Eventually they bribed her to just stay in the desert south of here. People sometimes flee the coast to her city, no one ever comes back,¡± Angelica answered. That was deeply ominous. I admit it was a limited interaction, but I didn¡¯t really get a relentless all-consuming horror vibe from the vapid shadow trying to get me laid and spite Zach. ¡°So, what you are telling me is every elder Titan Spawn is basically horrifying and a menace to the world?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Grimset agreed. I didn¡¯t like hearing that. It definitely hit harder sitting in a command tent, surrounded by desperate people, arranging to become their warlord. Yeah that looked pretty bad. ¡­to hell with how it looked. I was going to do what I could to help the goblins and Angelica. ¡°Are there any hard and fast rules for this fantasy racism?¡± I asked. If this was going to bite me on the ass, I would like to know what sort of teeth it had. ¡°It is a theory, but the main thing most people agree on is that the effects are worse the higher the average scale is. Blood Elves were all Heroic Scale or higher.¡± Angelica explained. I considered that. ¡°Well I am a Titan Spawn, technically not human, does that mean this is affecting me?¡± The vibe in the tent shifted noticeably. ¡°Doug, you don¡¯t feel¡­ any urges¡­ to -I don¡¯t know- kill everyone, right?¡± Spine asked, in a forced casual tone. Everyone turned to look at me. They watched me closely. I could feel the weight of scrutinize skills being used. I felt like we skipped several levels here. ¡°Nnnnnnnoooooo,¡± I said slowly. That probably didn¡¯t make them feel better. I hesitated too long. ¡°What about violence instincts or drives for conquest?¡± Zarina asked. ¡°None that I can think of,¡± I said, sitting on a throne made from the bones of my enemies. Grimset scoffed, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. We are here to discuss the execution of your detractors.¡± I did feel something close to resentment clench in my stomach. I almost said something snotty back. I didn¡¯t though. Really thinking about what was happening and it is hard to argue with that interpretation of events. What I said was true, but I didn¡¯t blame people for believing the worst about this. This world was way too high stakes and violent for thoughtless optimism. I needed to convince people of the truth, ¡°I am not a tyrant. We are going to have a trial, following the customs of goblin culture. If you are so skeptical of me, perhaps you should help provide their defense.¡± Grimset scoffed. ¡°I am serious.¡± I continued. ¡°They need a local to help them at least follow the rules and give them the fairest chance to present their case.¡± The Nannies Shiv and Shank exchanged a look before they both gazed at Grimset. Grimset glared back at them. ¡°Take the role, Marvin,¡± Toad said, tired of other people''s theatrics. ¡°We all know the Nannies get what they want.¡± ¡°¡±Fine,¡± Grimset almost growled. ¡°Good that¡¯s settled then,¡± Nanny Shank lit her pipe again, ¡°Marvin and whoever he wants will represent the defense. Doug will be the prosecution.¡± ¡°Wait what?¡± Spine. Angelica, and I all said at the same time. ¡°Did you think you would be judge?¡± Nanny Shank laughed. I had. Honestly that was a hell of a presumption come to think of it. Nanny Shiv stepped in, ¡°Listen to the old bat. You want this to be fair. Nanny Shank will be fair. It is gonna piss everyone off, but she will do it. Besides, people need to see you advocate for goblins.¡±
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I selected 1 and yes. I just needed a beat. I just needed a second. I took a breath. I know I said I needed to convince people of the truth, but this was like talking to a wall. I could feel the bubbling rage building up inside me.
Please select an action¡­
Everything was still frozen. I looked at everyone. Nanny Shiv didn¡¯t look like she was talking down to me. The old goblin looked nervous. She wanted this to work. She wanted to help me. I sighed. The weight of things was beginning to pile up. I doubted that was going to lessen any time soon though. That said, I needed to keep my head on straight.
Please select an action¡­
Yes, people constantly implying I was acting in bad faith was beginning to bother me. I didn¡¯t like it. I hated that my efforts to calm their fears seemed to only prove those fears true¡­ to them at least.
Please select an action¡­
The real pain point was being asked to be the prosecution. Maybe that was just me being naive? No. it was willful ignorance on my part. I had investigated Tazia¡¯s murder. I had identified Waldo, Chet, and Madigan as the killers. I put out the warrant for their arrest. I interrogated them, I charged them with the crime. I may have messed up the order of operations here and their, but this was my case. I was going to be the one pushing for their execution.
Please select an action¡­ Warring: Continued delay will result in free action being lost.
It felt different. Acting to end someone¡¯s life, rather than being around as it happened. This was also different from Mina. She thanked me after killing her, freeing her from the curse. Nor was this like Rebecca or my -the Titan¡¯s- father. Those were desperate and chaotic fights. I didn¡¯t feel great about them, but I wasn¡¯t exactly crying for it either. This was more deliberate. I was choosing to do this. Deep down I knew that. Even as Spine and I had gone to investigate the murder. I could still hear the breaking glass. This was like the time I killed David Clark.
Please select an action¡­ Warring: Continued Delay will result in free action being lost. Last chance!
¡°Are you alright, Doug?¡± Celeste asked gently. ¡°Not really, but I will make do until after the trial,¡± I admitted. ¡°After the sentencing,¡± I corrected. Time started again. Chapter 73: Pre-Trial War Council ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± I said after time started again with a thrum. I ignored the glimmer of celeste watching me with concern. ¡°I¡¯ll be the prosecutor for this trial.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I said,¡± Nanny Shank took a few more puffs from her pipe. ¡°We need to get this done today. Who¡¯s gonna help him?¡± ¡°What?¡± Grimset and I asked at the same time. ¡°The defense gets a goblin. The prosecution gets a goblin,¡± Nanny Shank insisted. ¡°I¡¯ll-¡± Philip started ¡°No,¡± Nanny Shank cut him off. ¡°Not you or your kid, Spine, either.¡± She turned her baleful gaze on Helen and Toad. ¡°Nope, I am not going to do public speaking,¡± Helen said, moving her hands like she could wave the idea away. Toad nodded, ¡°Then I shall do it. As a neutral party I will assist this pursuit of justice.¡± ¡°Neutral?¡± Grimset asked, his question sagged with doubt. Toad met Grimset¡¯s gaze for a long moment, ¡°My loyalty is and always will be to the goblin people. I do not care if the entire world wants to force us down into the Dark. I will do what I must to ensure my children see the sun and stars.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s settled,¡± Nanny Shank spoke over Grimset. ¡°Well¡­¡± Janie spoke. ¡°Not quite.¡± Things got chilly in the tent. ¡°I¡¯m gonna be honest. I want to say something spiteful and mean, but if that is coming from the system, then I have to listen to you.¡± Nanny Shiv broke the silence. ¡°Thank you,¡± Janie began ¡°Shut up! You hateful stick figure!¡± Nanny Shank cut in. she sucked in a deep breath, ¡°I mean¡­ please continue.¡± Janie nudged Zarina, ¡°You wanna handle this.¡± Zarina leaned forward, ¡°We would like to ask that you only try the murderer.¡± ¡°Funny that didn¡¯t sound like a question to me,¡± Nanny Shiv observed. Zarina considered, ¡°We would try the accomplices. You would be welcome to observe.¡± ¡°With all due respect, how can we trust your case will be fair?¡± Nanny Shiv pressed. ¡°We could ask the same question.¡± Zarina pointed out. She wasn¡¯t picking a fight. I am going to skip past the long obnoxious argument that followed. It was basically the last exchange over and over again. At some point things were getting a lot less polite. ¡°How about this,¡± I spoke up. ¡°The trial will be conducted by the goblins. Half the jury will be goblins, half your people.¡± ¡°I hate that,¡± Nanny Shiv said. ¡°It feels like the worst of both worlds,¡± Zarina sighed. ¡°Then it must be a good compromise,¡± Nanny Shank said. ¡°Not to be a negative nelly,¡± Janie cut in, ¡°but what happens if someone we bring over tries to start some shit during the trial?¡± I blinked, ¡°You stop them.¡± They were her people. I was busy trying to manage a literal horde of goblins. Admittedly, for the most part they had been agreeable enough, but I didn¡¯t have it in me to oversee anyone else. ¡°Let¡¯s make the arrangements,¡± Grimset cut in. ¡°What evidence do you have and what witnesses will you call?¡± ¡°What?¡± I managed. ¡°He wants you to outline your case,¡± Nanny Shank said. ¡°Okay.¡± I went over the timeline of events. After that I outline the interviews with Waldo, Chet, and Madigan. For evidence I didn¡¯t have much beyond the marks on Chet and Waldo, the burnt harmonica, and Tazia¡¯s body. ¡°Brand is also talking to them. I would like to call him, Minory, Giselle, Howard, Chet, Waldo and Madigan as witnesses.¡± Grimset frowned, ¡°I object to his lover being a witness.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I gazed at him ¡°Ha!¡± Angelica stifled a laugh. ¡°You and Brand,¡± Janie pointed out. She was studying me intently. ¡°Brand and I aren¡¯t big on labels.¡± I replied without thinking, ¡°Besides he would tell the truth in a situation like this.¡± goddammit. That was stupid. Helping a friend is good and all, but this was a murder trial. No one believed me. Well, maybe Angelica. ¡°I would like to believe that,¡± Sunit said slowly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t change the fact that this Nameth Brand is a close ally with the Titan Spawn. His testimony cannot be trusted,¡± Grimset insisted. ¡°I agree,¡± Zarina adde. ¡°Sorry Doug, No Brand.¡± Nanny Shank said. Damn. I would have liked to have him talk to the crowd. Brand had an absurd Face Attribute. He probably could have swung most hold outs from the Mandir. ¡°Any objections to the others,¡± I asked Grimset. ¡°None,¡± He admitted. ¡°Howard likely will not attend the trial,¡± Zarina said. ¡°Make him. He is a witness to a murder.¡± I was less than diplomatic. Zarina shook her head, ¡°Doug, no. The Mandir doesn¡¯t hand people over. The stunt you pulled with the Chimeras is already more than we should tolerate. He doesn¡¯t want to come to the trial and we will not force him. What next, force him to talk, or maybe force him to say what you want?¡± ¡°He saw it happen,¡± I said quietly. ¡°And if you had just talked to us-¡± Zarina started. ¡°No,¡± I cut her off. ¡°You had a chance to hand Madigan over. You didn¡¯t take it. Lola had to tap the Chimera Corps. You would have done anything. You would have simply wait for us to leave for the tower and let it slide.¡± Zarina looked to Janie. Janie shrugged. I could tell I wasn¡¯t wrong. ¡°I am hearing no Howard,¡± Nanny Shank said. She clearly didn¡¯t like it but she couldn¡¯t do anything about it. That was a problem. Shit. ¡°I plan to call the Chimera, Rachel,¡± Grimset declared. ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°As a witness to the defense,¡± Grimset didn¡¯t explain. ¡°Why?¡± I said again. ¡°To explain how the accused were taken into custody by you,¡± Grimset said. ¡°I object,¡± Toad said. ¡°On what grounds?¡± Nanny Shank asked. ¡°That woman is off putting. People don¡¯t like her. Her talking is bad for my case,¡± Toad said. ¡°Not good enough,¡± Nanny Shank sighed. She looked to me, ¡°You got anything.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°No,¡± I said, trying to figure out where Grimset was going with that. ¡°Then Grimset can call on Rachel, if she will come.¡± Nanny Shank said. She slammed her pipe on the table like a gavel. ¡°Doug? Am I allowed to enter the tent?¡± Brand called from outside. ¡°Yes,¡± I answered. Brand crawled into the tent, and almost had trouble on the stairs but he managed to not actually stumble or fall. He read the room for a split second and decided to sit next to Janie by me. This seemed to be a political statement of sorts because the goblins all exchanged looks and reassessed their understanding of the dynamics. I am sure that stuff mattered, but I just didn¡¯t care, ¡°Hey Brand. You said something about the Demon¡¯s Tower.¡± ¡°Yes, Miss De Leon should still have Seren¡¯s Journal. In it are the translated notes Seren observed about the Tower.¡± Brand started. ¡°I would like to see this journal,¡± Toad piped up. ¡°I do as well.¡± Grimset said. ¡°I am gonna have to see it too,¡± Janie chipped in. Sunit¡¯s mustache twitched from an apologetic smile, ¡°I will admit to a polite curiosity.¡± I sighed. I opened my inventory and broke down a snow lion corpse. I then pulled the skin out of my inventory.
Craft Check¡­ Successful 400 sheets of Vellum created
¡°Let me see it, please,¡± I asked Angelica. She handed me the book. ¡°The notes begin on page 87 and continue until the end,¡± Brand said. I opened the book and realized I needed Ink. I pulled another snow lion skull out of my inventory and set it on the table. It warped into a large pot with a successful Craft check. I then pulled some blood from my inventory and let it drop into the bowl. Another Craft check and the crimson blood darkened into black ink. After that it became a matter of paging through the journal and crafting a dozen copies. This should have been harder than it was. Maybe a minute after starting , I had the documents. ¡°Everyone take a copy,¡± I said ¡°I am not going to be satisfied with a copy you produced,¡± Grimset declared loudly. I glanced at Brand. Seren was his friend, and the journal did contain more than just her observations of the Demon¡¯s Tower. I waited until Brand gave a nod, before I handed Grimset the book. Everyone else took the copies without complaint. For a long moment everyone read through the papers. Nanny Shank was the first to talk, ¡°Christ on Sunday! All three of the fuck-mothering devils?¡± ¡°There are only two devils left. The god of hope killed Angor Crux,¡± Angelica insisted again, still looking at pages. She had spread them out in front of her. They were a mess, out of order and somehow a few were folded randomly. ¡°Why then would all three sigils be powered?¡± Toad asked. He was adding his own notes to his copies. Angelica shrugged, ¡°Not sure. I doubt someone new could take the title of devil though. Not without it being news. Some sort of global event kicking off like when Nadia formed the Cradle of the All-Death.¡± ¡°Demon¡¯s aren¡¯t exactly known for playing fair, are we sure we can trust anything about this?¡± Helen asked. She had a calculator out for some reason. ¡°The notes mention digging into the Deep. We know that to be true.¡± Toad held up another page, ¡°This one talks about them having a camp north of the tower. We know they have that and launch raids on us from it. ¡° he held up a third, ¡°This mentions the gate at the top. That is the baleful light our healers keep talking about.¡± He held up another, ¡°This one talks about a blue goblin¡­¡± Philip''s head snapped toward Toad. Toad handed Philip the piece of paper and continued in a more subdued tone, ¡°most people are not aware of such things. No, we should not trust anything in this as gospel, but it can confirm or deny our suspicions and help us build a truly effective plan of attack. Give me the soldiers and I can break it¡­ with the help of our Titan Spawn friend of course.¡± He added quickly. I kept quiet and listened. Zarina wasn¡¯t really looking through the notes instead she was watching the goblins, ¡°You actually plan to head up to the tower?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Philip answered immediately. ¡°That hasn¡¯t been decided,¡± Nanny Shank put down the papers, ¡°For the sake of this conversation let¡¯s all talk like we are going. If there is a problem, point it out. If you see a weakness, speak up.¡± She shot Helen and Philip a glance, ¡°Even though it isn¡¯t decided.¡± Zarina considered that, ¡°We don¡¯t have a lot of resources. I desperately want you to succeed, but I don¡¯t believe we have any really material assistance to offer.¡± ¡°If they plan to go to the Tower, I will follow them,¡± Sunit said. ¡°You¡¯re going to the tower?¡± Zarina asked. ¡°If they will have me,¡± Sunit nodded. ¡°What do you bring to the table?¡± Nanny Shiv asked. Sunit grinned sheepishly. I am pretty sure. He had a hell of a mustache. ¡°A few weapons. But I am a level 29 Heroic Scale gish with a specialty in fighting demons. I believe the term you would be familiar with is ¡­ Paladin. Last but not least the full backing of Goddess Lola.¡± ¡°Gish?¡¯ I asked ¡°Fighter and caster combo,¡± Angelica said. Sunit eyed me. I shrugged, ¡°Maybe you should make the offer.¡± I told him. Sunit considered that. ¡°Goddess Lola, if willing to offer her protection and support to any who will follow her, goblins included. War is her purview.¡± ¡°No,¡± Every goblin in the tent said. Philip continued, ¡°We are distrusting of¡­ living gods.¡± Sunit nodded, ¡°The offer still stands.¡± We dug through the journal. The quick summary is that the tower was massive. The structure was a massive cylinder 1100 feet in diameter and fifty stories tall. That worked out to just under 950,000 square feet per level. Let¡¯s say you lost 50,000 square feet to walls and stuff. That meant that if each level was actually one story tall this place had 45,900,000 square feet including the roof. That is a lot of room for fuckery, and we were going to have to wade through those floors to get to the gate on the roof. Because the outside was covered in anti-air weapons. The tower was also surrounded by a 40 yard wide¡­ moat¡­ or pit I guess that was at least reaching into the bottom levels of the Dark. The land around that was stuffed full of landmines both anti-personnel and anti-vehicle. This was all contained within a half mile sphere of warped reality. The event horizon of which would likely be destructive to projectiles launched from outside of it. Angelica shrugged, ¡°I think I should just run in.¡± ¡°You would just¡­ run in?¡± Toad asked, in complete disbelief. Angelica shrugged again, ¡°Basically. I can get past the mines, hop the gap, then scale the outside. Then from the roof I can find the Demon of Frost. I should be able to kill him quietly.¡± ¡°And what will you do when he comes back through the gate?¡± Toad pressed. ¡°He won¡¯t come back. I can permanently kill him.¡± Angelica didn¡¯t elaborate. ¡°You can?¡± Sunit asked. ¡°Not the way you think,¡± Angelica said. ¡°Is it the way I think?¡± I asked. I was thinking Celeste as an angel could kill demons forever. Angelica shook her head, ¡°You¡¯re closer but no.¡± Huh, I wonder what that is. ¡°But how does¡­¡± Philip realized he was nearly shouting, he continued more calmly, ¡°How does that free the prisoners.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t,¡± Angelica admitted. ¡°We will need a means of approaching the tower,¡± Toad said. ¡°Trying to sap our way through the minefield is a fool''s errand.¡± ¡°Are you, Toad Badkiss, suggesting we go into the Dark?¡± Grimset asked. Toad stared at him for a long moment, ¡°To break the tower, yes. Those tunnels will no doubt be a twisted nest of traps and monsters, but we can control them and break through to the tower. Crossing the gap will be the tricky part.¡± ¡°Get me close enough and I can build a bridge,¡± Brunhilda spoke up. She had been very quiet till now. ¡°How fast?¡± Toad asked. ¡°Out of stone, five seconds. Another twenty and you could drive a tank across it,¡± Brunhilda said. ¡°Could I do that?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, buddy,¡± Brunhilda said. ¡°Wait if those stupid mines are below the ground, I could maybe push the dirt with the Construction skill.¡± ¡°We do have mines to test that,¡± Helen piped up. ¡°We will after the trial,¡± Toad agreed. ¡°What about the reality warping field?¡± Brand asked. ¡°The controls for it will be on a lower floor, maybe the third,¡± Angelica answered. When she realized everyone was watching her she said. ¡°I have been fighting demons for years now. I know how they work.¡± ¡°So you could turn it off?¡± Zarina asked. Angelica didn¡¯t have a great poker face, ¡°Probably. Entering the tower, especially through any main entrance is a bad idea. The reality warping outside is uncomfortable and disorientating. Inside it is mind bending and possibly lethal.¡± ¡°I do have Mental Resistance,¡± I said. ¡°Holy shit, that¡¯s awesome,¡± Spine said. ¡°Would you be able to turn off the field?¡± Philip asked. ¡°I can sure try,¡± I said, looking to Angelica. Yeah she still had a bad poker face, ¡°It¡­ could work.¡± ¡°You do not have faith in the idea,¡± Toad observed. ¡°This is going to be dangerous. Fighting directly will get a lot of people killed,¡± Angelica explained. ¡°We are dying everyday. I would prefer to die for a cause,¡± Toad insisted. ¡°I would prefer to not die at all,¡± Helen spoke up. ¡°We will need to attack in force,¡± Toad insisted again. ¡°Agreed,¡± Philip said. ¡°I still say a small team of¡­¡± Angelica pointedly ignored Brand, ¡°High scale individuals hitting the tower in a surgical manner could result in the best outcome. I get Doug on top of the tower, he might be able to close the gate. Then we could clear it slowly if we need to.¡± ¡°Why not do both plans at the same time?¡± Spine asked ¡°Because a small team doesn¡¯t need an army,¡± Angelica said. ¡°An army does draw the eye,¡± Toad pointed out, ¡°You could sneak in rather easily with all eyes on us.¡± ¡°I do think this idea has merit,¡± Brand agreed, ¡°I could use that opportunity to try and free prisoners. Several of them are my squadmates. They could be very helpful.¡± Angelica could see her idea of everyone just letting her deal with this was being ignored. I shrugged when she met my eye. ¡°Ideally we would want Doug to clear a space large enough for us to get the vehicles with rockets through,¡± Helen said. ¡°Why?¡± Zarina asked. ¡°We could use those to take out the Anti-aircraft defenses and then we could use the helicopters,¡± Helen explained. ¡°The what now?¡± I asked. ¡°The helicopters,¡± Helen looked at me before continuing, ¡°it is like an airplane but different.¡± Good to know where she gauged my intelligence. Then again considering the amount of incorrect assumptions I was making¡­ yeah she had a point. I don¡¯t know how food works. Chapter 74: Pre-Trial Backroom Deals So, the goblins had helicopters. Six of them. According to Helen one was a hangar queen but could be in the air with a lot of blood sweat and tears. They also had thirty tanks, and a lot of explosives. Like an upsetting amount. Janie looks deeply worried that the arsenal was parked within ten miles of her house. I didn¡¯t understand those risks so I got to live in blissful ignorance. ¡­yay. The rest of the meeting was a lot of back and forth about high level plans. I mean fundamental stuff. We decided that we would try to attack the tower using only soldiers. That classification was fairly broad in goblin culture. That meant of the 127,765 goblins in the warband, just under 36,000 would be going to fight. Toad was working on a more complex strategy beyond Angelica¡¯s ¡®get ¡®em¡¯. I had to walk Janie back to the Mandir. The goblins asked me specifically to confirm she got there and wasn¡¯t just out loose¡­ stealing souls¡­ or children. We were all going to need to work on that. Sunit and Zarina tagged along. Nanny Shank was with us also, to supervise. She was sitting on my shoulder since the old, little goblin had trouble keeping up with us walking. Angelica claimed she needed Brand¡¯s help with something so they had lagged behind in the tent. Not sure what that was about. Spine was with his dad, they had things to talk about. That mention of a blue goblin seemed to be the main subject of their interest. United just to scatter again. There were too many people. Too much to control. One step at a time. Just keep moving forward. I felt the nail on my pinky. I am not the titan. I can do better. Treat this like everything else. Define a goal¡­ ¡°You listening?¡± Nanny Shank elbowed my head. She was less than gentle. I just looked at everyone. ¡°How many people do you think we should bring to this trial?¡± Janie asked. ¡°How many can you control?¡± That was basically an answer. ¡°We will need to have some of Madigan¡¯s students,¡± Sunit pointed out. ¡°Maybe a hundred,¡± Zarina didn¡¯t look confident. ¡°A hundred total or a hundred of this Madigan¡¯s student¡¯s?¡± I asked. That point needed clarity. ¡°Students, I guess. It depends on how we pick ¡®em,¡± Janie said. It clicked. I needed to trust people. Dumb as it sounded, I trusted Janie, and Sunit. Not like we had too much connecting us, but I trusted them to try and be decent people. Zarina and I had said some things, but her students were good kids. That sort of thing doesn¡¯t happen by accident. She was a pragmatist, and she wasn¡¯t going to stick her neck out for me. That said I could tell she wouldn¡¯t let this devolve into anarchy. She understood she would have to live with the consequences. That was a lot more politically savvy than I used to be. I forced myself to not sigh, ¡°I trust you to handle your side of this.¡± That basically wrapped up the conversation. The split second we were alone Nanny Shank started hacking coughing. It was bad. It was a wet cough. She almost fell off my shoulder. I had to help the old goblin by holding her in place. Eventually that stopped and she managed to breathe, she spat a wad of phlegm and blood on the ice, ¡°You¡¯re not what I expected.¡± She took a swig from a little bottle. I could smell codeine. She pulled her pipe out of her pocket and started filling it with tobacco. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to talk about you hacking up a lung?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m old, I smoke, and I am dying. I figured you could just read between the lines on this,¡± she lit her pipe and puffed. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you just smashing your way through every obstacle?¡± I kept walking for a moment. Another dying woman. Don¡¯t get me wrong, everyone is dying, but this felt almost coordinated. Wilson seemed to like to set things up ahead of time. Lay a foundation that seemed stable just so it could drop out from under you. This wasn¡¯t the acute stab of Mina¡¯s death. That would have been worse if the narrator''s manipulation wasn¡¯t so blatant and clumsy. Mina making her wishes known also blunted the edge substantially. If anything Nanny Shanks impending mortality was a gentle nudge. Unless it wasn¡¯t. Was I just seeing patterns where none existed? We were about halfway between the goblin camp and the Mandir. I stopped, ¡°Do you know what real power is?¡± ¡°No, Tell me,¡± She said. ¡°It is the ability to do what you want. In the rare situation where you have to do something, you get to do things the way you want to do them.¡± I watched the goblin in the camp bustling. There were so many of them. I couldn¡¯t imagine me -the Titan- picking things up and trying to travel through a place like this. Were they desperate? ¡°That seems foundational,¡± Nanny Shank exhaled another cloud, ¡°Since you want me to ask, what do you want to do?¡± ¡°In the short term. I want to bring Ticky some closure. I want to make sure something like this doesn¡¯t happen again. That means I want to do this right.¡± Dammit, that sounded preachy. Nanny Shank nodded, ¡°Tell me long term. What do you want a year from now?¡¯ ¡°No bullshit?¡± I asked. You had to lay some groundwork before you say certain things. ¡°No bullshit,¡± She insisted. ¡°I just want to help people,¡± I admitted. ¡°That and find some loved ones. People I -the titan- used to know.¡± Nanny Shank was quiet for a long moment. She took another swig of the little bottle of hers, ¡°God help me. I believe you.¡± ¡°So what do we do next?¡± I asked. ¡°What?¡± she asked around a cloud of smoke. ¡°What do you want me to do? What will help?¡± I asked. ¡°You are seriously asking me?¡± The goblin nudged me to let her down. I set her on her feet, ¡°Who else to tell me what the goblins need? I¡¯ll even listen to what you say.¡± ¡°We have the trial, but Ticky isn¡¯t going to be there,¡± She started. ¡°He said he wants to,¡± I pointed out. ¡°He is also a dumb kid. He thinks knowing what happened is going to bring him peace. It won¡¯t,¡± she spat another mouthful of bloody phlegm. She dumped the ash out of her pipe, ¡°He left a sentencing guide already. I¡¯ll handle it.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± I considered, ¡°How is this trial going to go?¡± ¡°I think it is better than a coin flip. Not to shatter your opinion of us, but every goblin is going to vote to convict. That means your job is to convince the humans¡­ and elves to see the person Tazia was.¡± ¡°How does that work out to better than a coin flip?¡± I asked. ¡°You gotta pay attention to the politics. This Madigan asshole isn¡¯t popular.¡± She cleared her throat, and coughed a few times before taking another swig from the bottle. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°How do you figure?¡± I was confused. ¡°Most beloved leaders, specifically those with a large amount of combat trained subordinates, don¡¯t sit in jail without someone doing something about it.¡± she looked around, ¡°Not one vainglorious dipshit in sight. Let me ask you something. If you were in trouble, hypothetically how long do you think that kid, Spine, would wait before doing something?¡± I could see what she meant. ¡°He would probably try to be the one to hit first, hit hard, and keep hitting. Maybe six hours, if he thought through things and tried to pick his moment. That said, I know he is smart enough to stay out of it if things were too dangerous.¡± The old goblin eyed. ¡°What are the odds everyone in the town there is smarter than that kid?¡± That is sound logic. How was Janie the only person to come over here demanding Madigan be returned? I didn''t like the guy. I was literally going to lobby against him. Come to think of it, if he gets sentenced to death, I was probably going to be the one to kill him.
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains in control Note: Repeated rolls will increase the difficulty.
Yep that that was troubling. The fact that I could not tell which outcome, Madigan being released or sentenced to death, I preferred is what really upset me. Don¡¯t get me wrong. Neither was good, but one had to be better than the other. I should be able to tell which was which. No point dwelling on that. I needed to keep moving. Deal with it when I get there. ¡°What next? I felt the tell tail thrum of time stopping
[Flag] Delete Message All Processes Stopped Retcon begins in: 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­
I looked around. Nothing had changed. Time started again. What did they do? ¡°Well we need to¡­¡± Nanny Shank started but stopped when she saw the look on my face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Doug¡­¡± ¡°Something changed,¡± I said still looking for the change Time Stopped again.
Arbitration Begins in¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­
I was back in that damn conference room again. I decided to test something. I immediately spun on my heels as fast as I could. Let¡¯s see what happens when one of them tries to appear behind me now. Crash! ¡°Ow!¡± Brandon managed. Holy shit, it worked. I finished another half turn and found Brandon and Lindsey haphazardly flung over the table and chairs. ¡°What the hell is wrong with you?¡± Lindsey demanded. I shrugged, ¡°I must be acting out. This pair of idiots keep parking their clown car in my driveway.¡± ¡°You¡¯re joking?¡± Lindsey demanded. She kicked Brandon off of her before getting to her feet. ¡°No, I am mocking you.¡± I corrected. ¡°Do you know what I am going to do to you?¡± She demanded. ¡°Threaten me. Yell and flail. Lindsey, all you do is threaten me. Which is dumb. We both know you won¡¯t do anything because the Titan will come down here and stop you.¡± I walked past them and sat in a chair. ¡°I can hurt your friends. One retcon and someone loses a leg,¡± Lindsey all but hissed at me. ¡°Two things,¡± I held up two fingers. ¡°One if you do. I will make it a point to tell the audience the whole story. I¡¯ll make sure they will know you by name.¡± I dropped my pointer finger and gave her the bird, ¡°Two fuck you and your fake threats.¡± ¡°Well said,¡± Wilson said, patting me on the shoulder. He appeared behind me. ¡°Where were you? Control your client!¡± Lindsey snapped. ¡°I figure Doug would do some sort of silly spinning act. I gave him a minute to tire out.¡± Wilson sat down a few chairs from me. ¡°Doug is getting kind of hostile,¡± Brandon complained. When he spoke his voice was half hearted and feeble, ¡°No Doug. Don¡¯t fight Brandon and Lindsey. If you do that you could kill them¡­ like literally murder them. They don¡¯t have to stats to take you in a fight. Especially Brandon.¡± ¡°Wilson, you asshole!¡± Lindsey shouted. She had been glaring at me and almost looked ready to fight. Not anymore. She took three big steps back away from me. ¡°Why did you single me out?¡± Brandon asked. He didn¡¯t show any sign of fearing for his life. ¡°Shut up! Your barely more than an intern and you know it!¡± Lindsey hissed. ¡°Can we get to the point?¡± I demanded. ¡°What point?¡± Brandon asked. ¡°I keep forgetting, you¡¯re pointless,¡± I muttered. I considered, ¡°Why don¡¯t you want me talking about the retcon?¡± ¡°It breaks audience immersion,¡± Lindsey said. She glared at me like she resented being expected to speak. I nodded, ¡°So¡­ the problem is you two are stupid.¡± Lindsey¡¯s face contorted. ¡°Uh¡­ how do you figure?¡± Brandon asked. ¡°I can see when you make retcon. I don¡¯t like you. Which leads to the obvious question, why would you hand me a stick to beat you with?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you threatening us?¡± Lindsey demanded. ¡°Oh you do that too. Between you and Brandon I have solipsistic narcissism in stereo. Yes, I am threatening you, because you fucked up¡­bad.¡± I gave them a moment to consider that. Lindsey, for reasons that can only be described as foolish desperation, went to Wilson for help, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one who should be advocating for your client?¡± Wilson¡¯s grin widened, ¡°Nah, the kid¡¯s got you bent over the table and pounding you good enough. I don¡¯t need to hold his shoulders so he doesn¡¯t tip over.¡± ¡°Was that a weird sex thing or an awkward bike metaphor?¡± I asked. Wilson shrugged, ¡°The important thing is Lindsey and Brandon are losing.¡± he paused for a beat, ¡°but it was a sex thing.¡± ¡°Stop ignoring me!¡± Lindsey yelled. ¡°Fine, I will focus my ire on you. What are you going to give me?¡± I asked. ¡°For what?¡± Brandon asked. ¡°For not outing you to the audience for retconning my story,¡± I pointed out. Brandon and Lindsey exchanged a look. ¡°So you want us to put it back?¡± Lindsey asked. ¡°Tell me what you changed?¡± I said. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Now we were at the dangerous part. The words yes and no were now high stakes. ¡°It is inappropriate to tell you that.¡± Brandon protested. ¡°Do it anyways,¡± I said. Wilson smiled. ¡°We don¡¯t answer to you,¡± Lindsey said. When she realized she didn¡¯t have anything else to say she just sort of glared at me. Still no killing looks. Which was good for me. I mimicked Wilsons shrug. God that felt dirty. ¡°Okay send me back, Do you prefer to be described as a shrill redhead or shrill ginger?¡± Brandon and Lindsey exchanged looks again. ¡°Fine, we altered the path of several mobs. They would have shown up at the beginning of the trial. The new path will have them on top of you immediately. We adjusted this to prevent pacing issues.¡± ¡°Is Grond messing with mobs again?¡± I asked. I was probably going to have to figure out how to permanently kill a god. Brandon opened his mouth. But Lindsey spoke first, ¡°Don¡¯t tell him anything.¡± ¡°Grond isn¡¯t involved. He off doing stuff over on the east coast,¡± Wilson sad entering the conversation proper. ¡°What¡¯s he doing over there?¡± I asked. That was way to big of a pivot to not be a problem¡­ a long term one at least. ¡°They don¡¯t know, I am not going to tell ya,¡± Wilson said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. ¡°You just told him,¡± Lindsey pointed at Wilson, ¡°I could report you.¡± WIlson smiled at her, ¡°You could, but if you do, I will report you for doing the same thing first. Grace would be quite upset with you.¡± Lindsey frowned. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Stop fucking with my story,¡± I said slowly. ¡°Do you got that?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Brandon said. ¡°We can¡¯t just let stories play out randomly,¡± Lindsey said. ¡°I¡¯ll compromise. Run ideas past me and if I think they are good, I¡¯ll let you do them.¡± I offered. Wilson beamed. ¡°Eat a dick!¡± Lindsey shouted. ¡°We should take the deal,¡± Brandon said. Lindsey glared at me, ¡°Fine I won¡¯t retcon your story directly without talking to you.¡± ¡°Good,¡± WIlson said, still messing around on his phone. ¡°Stop touching my toys.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think I have forgotten you,¡± I told him. Wilson looked up from his phone and grinned at me, ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want you messing with the story either,¡± I told him. ¡°Want in one hand. Shit in the other,¡± Wilson said leaning back from the table. ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± I started. Wilson didn¡¯t let me build up a head of steam. ¡°No, you think you are a big man because you can out smart those two idiots. You can¡¯t pull that bush league maneuver with me.¡± ¡°What¡¯s to stop me outing you to the audience?¡± I pressed him. ¡°A few things. First without me, you go back to dealing with Grace and the heavy hand of her lackeys. Prepare for negligent¡­ Spawnicide if you do. The next bit is I don¡¯t retcon. You complaining about things or trying to highlight plot points is just going to make you sound Meta. The audience may not like it but they won¡¯t revolt.¡± Wilson put his phone away. When he smiled. It was an almost friendly smile. ¡°I am sending you back now. Have fun. Do what you want.¡± Chapter 75: Pre-Trial Panic At Lack Of Courthouse I was back out in the snow with Nanny Shank. The wind changed directions. It was coming out of the West, but lulled and shifted to the south. In that infinitesimal pause the swirling snow cleared. What in the name of cryptozoology was this ugly thing? Something tall enough to look me in the eye gazed at me, a hulking brute of a biped. It was also blurry. Literally, the thing was rippling along its outline. Despite the fact that this thing was both huge and coververt in shaggy red brown fur the distortion effect made it difficult as hell to see. One thing that was clear was the hate filled eyes. The fang-filled gob of its open mouth was also crystal clear. I made a split second decision. I manifested a layer of Ablative Shell onto Nanny Shank.
Attack from Photogenic Bigfoot successful You take 2 points of damage. Titanic Regeneration plus 44 hit points HP: 560/560
The blurry mob lunged forward and bit me on the neck. Fangs pressed down on my throat and hooked deep. ¡°UHmm!¡± the bigfoot grunted. It had expected blood to flow and my neck to break. It tried to gnaw through me but my skin was too tough for its teeth to part and my muscle and bone did not yield to the pressure. It tried to throw me. I did not budge. I turned, pulling the bigfoot with me to find two more of the fuzzy freaks bearing down on the old lady. To her credit she was drawing a handgun to shoot one of them. The second one was gonna try and bash her head in. I continued to ignore my new necktie and decided to step in to help Nanny Shank.
Lug check¡­ Successful Attack from Photogenic Bigfoot B Blocked Counter-attack successful. Photogenic Bigfoot B takes 43 damage. Attack from Photogenic Bigfoot C Successful. You take 3 points of damage. Counter-attack successful. Photogenic Bigfoot C takes 31 damage. Attack Successful. Photogenic Bigfoot C takes 49 damage. Attack from Photogenic Bigfoot a Critical Success. You take 8 damage Counter-attack successful. Photogenic Bigfoot A takes 30 damage.
This immediately devolved into a brawl. I kicked the second bigfoot¡¯s arms. This sent its double overhand slam off course from crushing Nanny Shank. I then hit the jerk with a left hook to the solar plexus. That didn¡¯t kill it but it did cause it to stagger backwards. I then ducked my shoulder over the goblin. The third bigfoot hit me. The impact rattled bone but barely did anything. I slammed my elbow into its stomach as revenge, and then hit it with an uppercut. Jagged teeth went flying but the mob didn¡¯t die. I should have activated Claws of Darkness. Oh well. Nanny Shank put four rounds into the equivalent of the ¡®ten¡¯ ring on the monster''s torso. That killed it. I had just enough time to think, ¡®Good. Fuck him in particular,¡¯ when that first bigfoot bit harder. It turns out ignoring a giant ape monster chewing on your neck was dumb. As the increased pressure cut off my ability to breath, I began to suspect this was how they fought. Sneak up on someone, ambush with a bite to a vital area, pin the target, and then bite harder the next round. Stealth mobs were dangerous. As I had that realization I pummeled its head with my fists. When I didn¡¯t kill it with the first hit, I fought dirty. I placed both hands on either side of its head and gouged its eyes with my thumbs. The creature bit down harder still before it screamed. Crunch! That killed it. It turns out bigfeet cannot survive having their skull split open when you rip the eye sockets apart. The last one would have been a problem but my new go-to dick move of using Destruction to turn the ice to water and then Craft to freeze someone into the ice. That trapped most things instantly. Okay, that is making me sound too smart.I am sure it looked deliberate but this flop and freeze was basically a panic move. However the big bastard was still trapped from the thighs down. Its arms were still free and it chucked a bowling ball sized rock at Nanny Shank. It hit her dead center in the chest, but the armor took the impact fine. She only went flying a short distance. I am a good protector. ¡°Hey, just give up,¡± I stepped between Nanny Shank and the last Bigfoot. As soon as I was within reach It took a swipe at me. I dodged it easily and had to concentrate not to counterattack. That was getting reflexive. Yet another thing to keep an eye on. ¡°I just want to talk to you,¡± I tried again. It lunged at me trying to bite. I blocked with a stiff arm. The shove knocked it off balance. It couldn¡¯t actually fall over in the ice. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Nanny Shank asked after climbing back to her feet. ¡°Trying to talk to it,¡± I kept locked on the creature. ¡°I should be able to talk to it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a mob, a monster made by the system. No one can talk to it. They just kill,¡± Nanny Shank dusted herself off. ¡°How sure were you that humans were mobs a month ago?¡± I asked. ¡°Eh, like 85%,¡± She admitted. ¡°Last chance talk to me or I will have to end you,¡± I explained to the bigfoot. I turned on Claws of Darkness. Might as well make it quick. It tried to hit me again. A block followed by two devastating punches and it was dead. I tossed the bodies into my inventory. It was getting full again. The old goblin was still watching me. After a while she said, ¡°Let¡¯s get back to camp.¡± ¡°Do you want me to carry you?¡± I asked. She shook her head, ¡°Nah. I don¡¯t want the kids to think I am getting too old. Get this ice off me.¡± I got her back to camp in one piece. She went off to reorganize the stew shower. It was getting lazy, apparently. I found Brand and Angelic still in the command tent. ¡°Why were you guys hanging back?¡± I asked. ¡°Separating Brand and Janie,¡± Angelica explained. ¡°You are going to need to actually talk with him at some point to learn what he knows about Chet, Waldo, and Madigan. ¡° ¡°Nanny Shank said he can¡¯t testify,¡± I said. ¡°Testify, no. That doesn¡¯t mean he can¡¯t tell you everything. Then you can use that in the trial,¡± She insisted. ¡°Fair point,¡± I turned to Brand. ¡°What do you got?¡± Brand considered, ¡°Chet is going to be your best witness. Besides the fact he is the one who landed the killing blow, he is not that clever. If you get him talking, he will start saying things that will turn a jury against him. Find a way to imply he is weak and he will argue. Use that to bait him into admitting his crime.¡± I nodded, ¡°What about Waldo?¡± ¡°He understands how bad this is for him. He will sell out Chet, but he is probably too afraid of his teacher to directly accuse him. You need to play on that fear. Trick him into thinking he is just saving himself and you should be able to get him to implicate Madigan. That was a lot less righteous sounding. ¡°And what about the big guy?¡± Brand frowned. ¡°That is the hard one, the man has good social skills. He is going to play to the crowd. He isn¡¯t going to be bullied or goaded easily either. I doubt you can get him to admit to anything or directly implicate himself. He can simply say that his students are lying to push blame on to him. Likely because you pushed them to.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°He is going to make this into you manipulating things,¡± Brand cautioned me. ¡°What do I need to do?¡± I asked. ¡°What are your social skills at?¡± Brand asked. ¡°Intimidation at Trained. Everything else is at Untrained.¡± I said ¡°Seriously?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°Huh.¡± ¡°That¡­ is unfortunate,¡± Brand said diplomatically. ¡°Could you teach me?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t have the Mentor Skill,¡± Brand said. ¡°Can I just teach you the Mentor Skill and then you can teach me,¡± I offered, expecting to be disappointed. ¡°Ooh, abuse the system,¡± Angelica smiled. She took a few steps back to watch the proceedings. ¡°This should be funny.¡± ¡°No harm in trying,¡± Brand said, but the look on his face implied that something could go wrong. I placed my hand on his head. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
Mentor Check¡­ Successful
I then selected the Mentor Skill¡­ nope no ticket from narrators. This was happening. Brand blinked, ¡°I¡¯m shocked that worked.¡± We all waited for the other shoe to drop. Nothing happened. ¡°Teach me your ways, international Man of Mystery.¡± I prompted leaning down so he could reach my head. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Brand asked, stepping back from me. ¡°Don¡¯t you need to touch my head to use the skill?¡± I asked. ¡°No, that¡¯s silly,¡± Brand said. Angelica laughed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t anyone correct me?¡± I asked, loudly. I wasn¡¯t mad. I was embarrassed. Don¡¯t mock me, I''m vulnerable. Angelica laughed louder, ¡°Who¡­ who is¡­ gonna?¡± ¡°Hold still,¡± Brand instructed before placing his hand on my chest. Oh fuck everyone.
Mentor Check¡­ Successful Deceit Skill is now at Trained Level Mentor Check¡­ Successful Leadership is now at Trained Level Mentor Check¡­ Successful Brush Off Is now at Trained Level Mentor Check¡­ Successful Perform: Public Speaking is now at Trained level Perform: Public Speaking has shifted to Perform. Mentor Check¡­ Successful Intimidation is now at Expert Level Mentor Check¡­ Successful Retort is now at Trained Level Mentor Check¡­ Failed Persuasion did not break through.
¡°Well damn,¡± Brand frowned. ¡°Of course it would be Persuasion that fails.¡± ¡°I should be fairly close to breaking through,¡± I considered. ¡°Okay, I know I was laughing, but are we sure mind effects are the best path forward?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°Social skills are mind effects?¡± I was really starting to doubt this plan. ¡°It¡¯s a grey area,¡± Brand said, in that polite British way. ¡°Gray area,¡± I pressed with American bluntness . ¡°With your Scale the force of social skills could override people''s choices. What is your Face Attribute?¡± ¡°26,¡± I said immediately. Brand made a face that implied that was higher than he wanted to hear, ¡°The first big step is at thirty. You will easily roll above that.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying I am two levels away from passively influencing people?¡± I hated the sound of that. ¡°No you have been doing that the whole time, but once your attribute is at thirty the results will be more noticeable.¡± Brand explained. ¡°That does answer a few questions,¡± Angelica said. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°I mean you come across as charming and cute as you lumber around like a giant homeless gorilla.¡± Angelica pointed out. ¡°Hey,¡± I started. Her claims made no sense. Gorillas live outside or in the zoo I guess. Angelica cut me off, ¡°Doug, you are literally living out of your pockets.¡± ¡°Inventory,¡± I interjected. ¡°An inventory full of corpses. Corpses you use to build things. That¡¯s creepy and weird, but when you do it, meh. The fact you never change your clothes has the same energy.¡± ¡°Do I smell?¡± I asked. ¡°Oddly pleasant,¡± Brand answered. ¡°Pretty sure you have pheromones,¡± Angelica added. ¡°Because you smell like sandalwood instead of blood and BO.¡± ¡°He has a hint of brandy and grass,¡± Brand stated. Angelica shrugged, ¡°If you say so.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t use Social Skills?¡± I asked, avoiding the topic of my musk. ¡°Then you will be letting people decide for themselves by the weight of your words alone,¡± Brand said. That didn¡¯t sound great. I was probably going to say something like ¡®shit¡¯ or ¡®bastard¡¯ or ¡®fuck¡¯. That last one was ole reliable, rivaled only by ¡®uh¡¯ and ¡®um¡¯. Still, it felt like the right thing to do. Maybe I was handicapping myself, but social skills seemed¡­like the wrong thing to do. It felt like taking away people¡¯s choice. ¡°Left Hand?¡± Toad called from outside the tent. ¡°I am in here with Brand and Angelica,¡± I called back. ¡°...are you decent?¡± he asked. It is fascinating how a polite society question can have such rude implications. ¡°Everyone thinks I am the IRS,¡± I muttered. ¡°Huh?¡± Angelica asked, clearly not getting the joke. ¡°Fucking everyone, at least in April,¡± I explained. ¡°Come in, Toad.¡± ¡°I have come to arrange our plan of attack,¡± The short Goblin declared as he swept into the tent. ¡°What are you thinking?¡± I asked. Toad descended the stairs, ¡°We must present a confident and logical front. That means we must know the space. Be able to play to the crowd as we also address witness and fend off opposing council.¡± Toad stopped dramatically before asking, ¡°That reminds me, where is the trial to be held? I would like to survey the arena.¡± Oh Shit. I turned to Angelica, ¡°Could you find Brunhilda, and have her meet me half way between the camp and the Mandir.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Angelica crawled out of the tent. ¡°What is happening?¡± Toad asked. ¡°I am going to build us a courthouse,¡± I explained. ¡°Of course. With a few hours before the trial, now is the time to build a court.¡± Toad said. If he was confused he hid it well. ¡°I shall join you.¡± Toad, Brand and I wandered back out into the blizzard. The roar of the wind alone would be too much. Shit, Shit, Shit. This was an oversight. I doubted I could just call time either. Well I could, but that would be a lot of credibility shot. I stopped when we got roughly to the spot of the Photogenic Bigfoot ambush.
Construction check¡­ Successful Ice Wall created
That created a good twenty feet of wall. The ice mold and rose like a wave before solidifying, but the wind simply whipped around the edges and over top. Four more check and I had a hundred feet of wall. Then the wind changed again and we were in the way again. ¡°Hey Buddy, whatcha up to?¡± Brunhilda asked. ¡°Building a courthouse,¡± I said, willing another wall into existence. ¡°Please help.¡± Brunhilda frowned, ¡°Were you going to build it out of ice?¡± ¡°If I have to,¡± I admitted. ¡°That¡¯s a bad idea. Ice is prone to melting from heat, and is only good in compression. You get any of it in tension from say, a bending moment, and¡­¡± Brunhilda moved her hand to indicate a sudden snap. ¡°Do you have a better suggestion?¡± I demanded. I was getting pissy, but I needed to beat the clock. ¡°Yeah, Blood Iron,¡± She answered, ignoring my tone. She pulled a pickaxe out of her inventory and quickly cut about a foot cube into the ice. ¡°Fill that with blood,¡± I dug into my inventory and tossed some blood into the hole. Brunhilda handed me a silvery needle, ¡°Get a drop of your blood too. Toss it in and we can craft it.¡± I forced the needle through my skin. It didn¡¯t really hurt, which was nice. I flicked the blood into the hole.
Craft check¡­ Successful 100x Blood Iron Brick created Blood Iron Brick This is a Epic Scale construction material made from the concentrated iron found in the blood of mobs. Structures made from this will be 30% more resilient to damage, but are more prone to being ominous.
¡°Let¡¯s do it again, I figure 10,000 bricks should work.¡± Brunhilda said. If getting roughly a hundred times the material you put into a craft check was unusual, she didn¡¯t show it. 99 gallons of mob blood and 99 pricks later we had a massive pile of building supplies. Angelica watched me more or less magic gallons of gore into bricks, ¡°This is the shit I am talking about.¡± I ignored her, because I was taking the high road. Any claims of me simply not being clever enough to refute her are simply highly accurate slander. Brunhilda tossed me a bag of sand. ¡°Probably need another five hundred bricks of glassteel. You should be able to make that with a gallon of blood, a pinch of this mana crystal, and a drop of your blood. Think ¡®clear¡¯ as you Craft.¡± She took my hand, ¡°Let me help.¡± I could feel a buzz as she added her stats to my craft check.
Craft check¡­ Successful 50x Blood-Tinted Glassteel plates Blood-Tinted Glassteel plate This is a Heroic Scale construction material made from the concentrated iron found in the blood of mobs and reinforced with mana crystals. Structures made from this will be 30% more resilient to damage, but are more prone to being ominous. Note: Structures made from this material will have optical properties similar to that of glass.
It didn¡¯t take long to make more plates. Brunhilda nodded, ¡°Now for the construction. First the foundation, then the walls, then the roof. Don¡¯t think about windows or interior just yet. Dome the ceiling.¡± I did what she told me.
Construction check¡­ Successful Blood Iron Foundation 80¡¯ x 80¡¯ created.
Brunhilda stomped her foot on the newly formed stone square that was solidifying underneath us.
Warning: Foundation is unsteady. If not address- Foundation is now Steady.
It is good to have friends. I kept building. Another effort of will.
Construction check¡­ Successful 4x Blood Iron walls: 3 Stories created.
That was a more than a bit sinister. The Blood Iron bricks melted and flowed into the shape of reticulated walls. The end result looked like a wave of gore surging and then freezing just before cresting. ¡°Nice. Put a lid on it, buddy,¡± Brunhilda encouraged me.
Construction check¡­ Successful Blood Iron Dome Created
And then we were in the dark. The odd thing is, despite literally being in a seal box with no light, I could still tell exactly where everyone was. Hmmm. Probably something to do with being spawned from the Titan of Darkness. Brunhilda also didn¡¯t have any issue with the dark. She walked over to a wall and hit it with a hammer. A perfect rectangle fell out of the wall. The odd bit is despite the fact she hit it once with a sledgehammer a frame had formed. This let some light in. She looked at me, ¡°Get to making windows. Opposite side, every five feet, three foot window.¡± This required both a Destruction check and a Craft check for me. I also had to be a lot more deliberate. Brunhilda put the doors in and then we had to build a quick scaffold to get at the ceiling, and put three large arc gaps in it. The windows weren¡¯t that hard to fit in place. A fist full of Construction checks and they popped right in. That said once we settled the last window in¡­
Construction check¡­ Successful Red Hall of Justice Created Red Hall of Justice This Epic Scale structure is built on a foundation of the life¡¯s blood of destroyed enemies. That is certainly one way to set the tone for any trial. All Deceit skill rolls will apply one level of Scale penalty with these walls. Any agent of the court carrying out a sentence within these wall will make rolls with two additional levels of Scale. Note: This Structure has the Ominous Condition Ominous Condition This Place is Spooky. Any roll to resist fear or fear effects will apply one level of Scale penalty.
The light of the sun through those windows was tinged with a blood-red hue. It made the shadows of this place twist and darken. I could feel the angry eyes of a predator on the small of my back. ¡°Yep, this place is haunted,¡± Angelica opined, glancing around with a deadpan expression. ¡°What, do you think I trapped the souls of hundreds of snow lions and shaped them into this building and now they are suffering for all eternity?¡± I asked. ¡°Basically. And they are clearly mad about it,¡± Angelica said, clearly not affected by the sanguine architecture. . ¡°Good. Fuck ¡®em. I am going to write ¡®The Dog Lover¡¯s Manifesto¡¯ here one day,¡± I declared. Immediately being bit by a soon to be murder big cat, only deepened my resolved. Chapter 76: The Trial: The First Witness So if you kick a snow lion¡¯s head hard enough -really, really hard mind you- it will detach and launch itself into a wall, bounce off the first wall, ricochet around off two more walls as it almost gets stuck in a corner, and then nearly slam into Brand¡¯s face. Fortunately he is very quick when he wants to be. I put a newly crafted pelt rug over the blood stain on the floor. It was in the center of the¡­ space in front of the jury? The well, so it looked on purpose. Another thirty minutes of scrambling later and Brunhilda and I had installed a judge seat¡­ pulpit¡­ bench. A witness stand was next. Then two big amphitheater style sets of seats. We would have installed a balcony, but frankly we ran out of time. Also, we never built stairs, which I was beginning to realize was a recurring issue. ¡°I would place our table here,¡± Toad said. He pointed at the floor, ¡°and the defense here.¡± ¡°That puts us next to the seats for the¡­ humans,¡± I said. I tried to find a better way to say that. ¡­ nope couldn¡¯t think of one. ¡°Exactly, we will have to convince them of Tazia¡¯s goblinhood. Proximity is key. We need them looking at you, not the killers,¡± Toad insisted. I paused, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little underhanded?¡± Toad shrugged, ¡°Do you have any doubt in your mind they are guilty?¡± ¡°None,¡± I said. ¡°Then it is zealous protection of all potential future victims,¡± Toad pointed out. Moral gray areas aside, I did what he said. A few problems became immediately self evident once people started to show up. Toad was correct that the people from the Mandir weren¡¯t going to sit with the people from the goblin camp. I wasn¡¯t surprised there. I was a bit disappointed, but not surprised. The first real issue that needed to be addressed was that the doors on the sides both lead straight out into the open. If both doors opened at the same time the wind blew through and made a hell of noise. Brunhilda and I crafted two entryways. The wind led to another issue. It was freezing inside this building. The crowd warmed it up about twenty degrees. So that took the interior from minus thirty to minus ten. I could see everyone¡¯s breath. A lot of folks were shivering. It turns out buildings are more complicated than four walls and a roof. Some Blood Iron braziers set up under the seats, and a lot of pelts on the walls, and the room got above freezing temperature. ¡°Not bad, only a little late. We weren¡¯t gonna start on time anyways,¡± Nanny Shank admitted. ¡°Before we get too far into this. Did you two put bathrooms somewhere I don¡¯t know about?¡± When she saw us exchange looks she sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Brunhilda muttered as she trudged outside, ¡°People are gonna have to make due with outhouses. I figure fifty shitters should be enough for 1,000 people.¡± That was going to need toilet paper. I crafted another three rolls of vellum and tossed them to her, ¡°Thank you.¡± She caught and tossed the material into her inventory, ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah.¡± Nanny Shank climbed up the stairs and pulled an actual hammer out of her pocket and loudly slammed it on her tabletop, ¡°Shut up!¡±
Mark Nanny Shank as Judge for Red Hall of Justice? Yes/No
I selected yes. I guess this was my building. I did make it. It took people a while to actually quiet down. ¡°Pappies, make the kids calm down,¡± Nanny Shank said. A small collective of old man goblins stood and basically every goblin shut up. When she saw one of the Pappies heading toward the humans, Nanny Shank called after him, ¡°Pappy Havok, no. You deal with goblins.¡± She scanned the crowd and found Zarina, ¡°Can you get your people to stop talking? Where is the mustache man?¡± Zarina nodded to her students, and then hopped down to the well, ¡°Sunit is staying outside to make sure nothing silly happens.¡± ¡°So you are going to be responsible for inside then?¡± Nanny Shank asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Zarina nodded. ¡°And the¡­ elf?¡± Nanny Shank pressed. ¡°She is staying at the Mandir,¡± Zarina explained. ¡°Good enough,¡± Nanny Shank acknowledged.
Allow Nanny Shank to mark you as Prosecutor? Yes/No
I hit yes. Everyone looked at me. Ah shit, ¡°What?¡± Nanny Shank pitched her voice low, ¡°You going to produce the accused?¡± Ah shit! ¡°I sent for them,¡± Toad announced. ¡°They should arrive shortly. I apologize for any inconvenience, but I expected some delays and decided to let the pieces fall into place.¡±
Mark Toad Badkiss as Assistant Prosecutor? Yes/No
Again I hit yes. ¡°You psychotic bitch!¡± Madigan yelled. To his credit Rachel had just chucked him through the entryway and he had landed hard on the floor. It is difficult to stick the landing when your hands are shackled behind your back. I winced inside. That was going to look awful¡­ also we shouldn¡¯t do that sort of thing, even to people like Madigan. Rachel stepped into view. She stalked after Madigan and seized the collar of his jacket and yanked him to his feet. ¡°Fight me again. Do it. Let¡¯s see what happens.¡± Madigan decided against direct conflict. Instead he turned to the crowd, ¡°This is all a sham!¡± Grimset materialized out of the crowd, ¡°We talked about this. Don¡¯t fight the enforcers. We will have our chance to speak. We need to use it.¡± To my surprise Madigan listened. Chet and Waldo followed. Both were flanked by thick-necked chimera soldiers. The two young men looked like scared kids. Yeah, the injuries had healed, but their clothes were covered in blood and tattered. I should have considered that. Not just because of the optics. It was wrong to simply let people stew in old and damaged clothing in the cold. ¡°Sit there,¡± Nanny Shank told them. She pointed with her hammer.
Allow Nanny Shank to Mark: Travis Madigan, Chet Adams and Waldo Seevers as Defendants? Yes/No Allow Nanny Shank to Mark Marvin Grimset as Defense? Yes/No
I selected yes to both. Should I really have control over this? That doesn¡¯t seem fair. ¡°I do not recognize the authority of this court. This is a sham trial meant to destabilize the Mandir. All of this is just a blatant power grab of the Titan Spawn!¡± Madigan was shouting at the end. A large number of humans cheered. Some tried to stand, but others held them back. Ah shit. This was almost certainly going to get violent. Rachel grabbed Madigan again and placed one hand on his neck and kicked the feet out from under him. She flung him into a chair, ¡°She said sit down.¡± Rachel eyed Chet and Waldo. They dutifully sat. ¡°Nanny, is this trial simply going to be people beating my clients?¡± Grimset asked. The crowd started shouting again. ¡°Shut up!¡± Nanny Shank slammed the hammer again. ¡°If I have to, I will start ejecting people from this court.¡± ¡°You and what army?¡± a young lady from the Mandir demanded. ¡°Yo!¡± Angelica called, with a casual wave. She was standing in the back of the courthouse, leaning against a wall. The formerly-agitated young lady sat down, ¡°That¡¯s a good army.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Things began to quiet. Grimset called over the noise, ¡°Nan- Your Honor, I request my clients be unchained during the trial.¡± Nanny Shank nodded and turned to Rachel, ¡°Take the cuffs off.¡± ¡°Do it,¡± Rachel ordered the other soldier. They dutifully let Madigan and the others out of their chains. There was a very tense moment once Madigan was free. To my surprise he simply sat down. I expected more of a fight from everyone involved in that exchange. Maybe it was an accident on their part. When things quieted down Nanny Shank spoke again, ¡°Let¡¯s get some stuff out of the way. This trial is happening. Everyone here will hear testimony presented by first the prosecution and then the defense. After that twelve of you, six goblins and six members of the Mandir, will be selected at random. Each will offer a verdict of Guilty or Not Guilty. If a majority verdict is guilty the accused will be sentenced. If the verdict is a tie or Not Guilty they go free.¡± Nanny Shank took a breath, ¡°Next order of business. Who here is armed?¡± Basically everyone raised their hands. ¡°What a shock,¡± Nanny Shank muttered before declaring to everyone, ¡°Everyone keep the weapons in your pockets. If you try something stupid, it will go badly for you. I have marked Angelica De Leon, Philip Spindle-Bite and Sunit Patel as bailiffs of the court. Don¡¯t make them make you behave.¡±
Allow Nanny Shank to Mark: Angelica De Leon, Philip Spindle-Bite and Sunit Patel as Bailiffs of the court? Yes/No
The crowd didn¡¯t seem to like that. I did, though, and hit yes. ¡°Good. Let''s get this going.¡± Nanny Shank said. ¡°Opening statement.¡± I almost blue screened. I just kept looking at the faces of the crowd. Toad elbowed me, ¡°Do not be intimidated. Our goal is to seek justice for Tazia Shiv. Tell them what happened to her.¡± I felt the nail on my pinkie finger. I am not the titan. I can¡¯t treat this like everything else. A plan would be great, and I should have prepared more, but this was happening now. No getting lost in my thoughts and outline goals. Toad was right, I needed to tell Tazia¡¯s story. ¡°Tazia Shiv was a young woman, serving her people as a scout. She would go into the wastes and find the safest paths. It was risky work. All of you know the dangers out there. Mobs, the weather, dungeons, none of that stopped her. She was killed because she crossed the paths of two young men, Chet Adams, and Waldo Seevers. We, the prosecution, will present evidence showing that Chet and Waldo approached Tazia, started a brawl with her, and then murdered her on the orders of Tavis Madigan. Tazia should be here now, with her younger brother. She died because of a political grudge. All of us are obligated to listen to this with an open mind, and if necessary as a member of the jury provide a verdict based on the facts. Thank you.¡± A lot of people looked confused. A murmur rippled through the crowd. A lot of it was noise, but one thing did cut through, ¡°Why didn¡¯t he use a skill?¡± I felt the weight of scrutinizing skills press on me. Not sure if people could use the system to actually read my intent. I did have a lot of traits that made that difficult. Nanny Shank pounded with the hammer, ¡°Shut up. You¡¯re here to listen.¡± She turned to Grimset. ¡°Defense, do you have an opening statement?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Grimset stood. When Nanny Shank nodded he continued. ¡°The prosecution sounds so certain. They shouldn¡¯t though. The defense will show that the prosecution has no concrete evidence nor eyewitnesses. They have claims of an old man who did not see anything, a burnt musical instrument, and the testimony of three men abducted from their homes and beaten into confessions. The Prosecution is correct that politics are at play but they are misleading when they imply that the accused are ones engaging in machinations. The defense will show this.¡± Grimset turned to the goblins in the crowd, ¡°Just like the prosecution we ask that you listen and see the insubstantial nature of this case. Tazia is dead, but they have to prove these men are guilty. That requires solid evidence, not implications and baseless assertions from a Titan Spawn. Thank you.¡±
Mental Resistance blocks the effects of Persuasion skill
Grimset¡¯s words had a much more acute effect. Several people from the Mandir cheered. As dumb as it was -this was a trial, not a sport- a similar number of goblins booed. The Pappies stepped in and were less than gentle in quieting their side of the aisle. Angelica shot the crowd from the Mandir a single look, and they stopped cheering. I probably do need to actually develop social skills. ¡­no. Not today. Once things calmed down Nanny Shank pushed things forward, ¡°Doug, Call your first witness.¡± This was happening fast. Just keep moving. ¡°Call Chet first,¡± Toad prompted me. ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked, quietly. ¡°Yes. We want them first, and Minoru last,¡± Toad whispered I stood, ¡°Prosecution''s first witness is Chet Adams.¡± Everyone looked at Chet. He didn¡¯t stand to approach the stand, ¡°Uh¡­I don¡¯t recognize the officialness of this. So¡­ I refuse to participate in this sham trial, because it is rigged.¡± ¡°Get up there or I will throw you up there,¡± Rachel said from behind him lightly kicking his chair. ¡°Rachel stop that,¡± I cut in. She glared at me but stepped back. Nanny Shank eyed me, ¡°The prosecution will refrain from any further outburst like that.¡± She turned to Rachel, ¡°Touch one more person in this court and I will have a bailiff eject you.¡± ¡°Yes your Honor,¡± Rachel said quickly. Apparently respect for authority was drilled into people from the Technacoast. Actually, I really shouldn¡¯t be surprised by that. Nanny Shank studied Chet for a long moment, ¡°You got two options. You can either come up here and testify, or I can compel you to.¡± ¡°What does that look like?¡± Chet asked. ¡°If need be, a bailiff will physically bring you up to this witness stand.¡± Nanny Shank explained. Chet sighed like a teenager, ¡°Fine.¡± he stood and walked to the witness stand and sat sullenly. ¡°Do I have to swear something?¡± ¡°I mean you can lie, but if you get caught doing that it basically ruins your defense,¡± Nanny Shank pointed out. ¡°I would advise against it. Ask your questions Doug.¡± I considered for a second. May as well just go for the main point. ¡°Chet, did you kill Tazia?¡± Grimset stood, ¡°Objection! That question is¡­ Prejudicial.¡± Nanny Shank shook her head, ¡°Overruled.¡± She turned to Chet, ¡°Answer the question.¡± Chet looked to Grimset and Madigan. After they both nodded he said, ¡°I choose not to answer, because I do¡­ don¡¯t respect the¡­ validity of this court?¡± Before I could speak Toad stood, ¡°Objection! That is not an acceptable answer.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a valid objection,¡± Nanny Shank said. ¡°He can say what he wants, within reason, but I am going to warn the defense that the jury could make an adverse inference if the accused refuses to testify.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that mean?¡± Chet asked. ¡°People may think you are guilty because you aren¡¯t providing a defense,¡± Nanny Shank explained. ¡°That¡¯s not fair,¡± Chet complained. ¡°How do you figure?¡± Nanny Shank asked. ¡°Uh¡­ because¡­ that could¡­ fuck me,¡± Chet stumbled through his answer. ¡°Would answering the question have the same risk?¡± Nanny Shank asked. ¡°I guess,¡± Chet admitted. ¡°Then it is fair,¡± Nanny Shank pounded her hammer. ¡°Prosecution, continue.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start a bit more basic.¡± I said. ¡°Is your name Chet Adams?¡± ¡°I do not wish to answer.¡± Chet said. ¡°Okay, where were you last night between the hours of ten p.m. and three a.m.?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to answer,¡± Chet said. ¡°Can anyone vouch for your whereabouts at that time?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to answer,¡± Chet repeated. I shrugged ,¡±Your choice, Let¡¯s try something a little different. Do you regret Tazia¡¯s death.¡± ¡°Objection!¡± Grimset pounded the table. ¡°On what grounds?¡± Nanny Shank asked. ¡°Relevance,¡± Grimset offered. Everyone looked at me, ¡°I would argue the mental state of the accused is at the heart of the issue.¡± Nanny Shank considered that for a long time, ¡°I am going to allow this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s bullshit!¡± Chet protested. ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°Because the whole point of it is to make me look like an asshole. If I say I am sorry I look guilty. If I say I am not sorry I look like a murderer. If I say I don¡¯t want to answer I am just opening myself up to adverse interference.¡± ¡°Inference,¡± I corrected. ¡°That,¡± Chet pressed on. ¡°It¡¯s bullshit. You are pushing it because you don¡¯t have any evidence to talk about.¡± ¡°Okay, What about the tooth we found in your boot?¡± I asked. Chet paled. ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°Where did it come from?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Chet snapped. Yep. That was a lot of people using a lot of skills to scrutinize us. ¡°Prosecution submits the following pieces of evidence.¡± Toad declared to the people of the Mandir. ¡°One Goblin tooth belonging to Tazia Shiv, and one boot formerly belonging to Chet Adams. Note the hole in the sole matching the tooth. Before a verdict we invite any members of the Jury to inspect the material under the supervision of the court.¡± ¡°How did Tazia¡¯s tooth end up in your boot, Chet?¡± I asked, I pressed a lot harder this time. ¡°Well shit¡­ I mean¡­¡± Chet paused. ¡°I am not going to answer that.¡± I decided to throw him a bone. ¡°Chet, I don''t think you have thought out this defense. You realize it leaves you completely on the hook for Tazia¡¯s murder, while basically only protecting Madigan. You see that right?¡± ¡°Objection!¡± Grimset almost shouted. Everyone waited. Eventually Nanny Shank asked, ¡°On what grounds?¡± ¡°It is a leading question,¡± Grimset said. ¡°That¡¯s fair. Don¡¯t answer that question,¡± Nanny Shank said. ¡°Any potential jurors will disregard the question as well.¡± Chet certainly didn¡¯t disregard that question. He was staring at Madigan and Grimset. ¡°What happened, Chet?¡± I asked gently. Chet took a long time to answer. ¡°Things¡­ got out of hand. No¡­ that¡¯s not true¡­ Madigan told us to kill a goblin.¡± Madigan glared at Chet. The young man shut his mouth. ¡°Why did Madigan order you to kill a goblin?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to answer that,¡± Chet said, staring at the floor. ¡°Is there anything you would like to say?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to answer that question,¡± Chet said flatly. I looked to Toad. He shrugged before whispering, ¡°Let him go. We have what we need. Any further question could just make him look sympathetic.¡± ¡°No further questions,¡± I declared. ¡°Does the defense wish to cross examine?¡± Nanny Shank asked. Madigan and Grimset were whispering at each other. Things were getting quite heated over there. ¡°Fine,¡± Grimset snapped, ¡°No questions.¡± ¡°Alright, you can step down.¡± Nanny Shank told Chet. ¡°Could I sit somewhere else?¡± Chet asked. I could hear the crowd muttering about that. Toad was right. We had gotten what we needed out of Chet. I hated that thought. Okay, that isn¡¯t quite true. I hated that I was thinking like that. This wasn¡¯t about winning, it was about justice for Tazia. That had to be the focus. Chapter 77: The Trial: Combat and Cross Examination ¡°Call your next witness,¡± Nanny Shank instructed. ¡°Prosecution calls Waldo Seevers,¡± I said. Just keep moving forward. Ignore the crowd. Waldo stood quickly and walked toward the witness stand almost as fast. He clearly wanted to distance himself from Madigan. I was going to try and start slower this time, ¡°Could you please state your name.¡± ¡°You just said it to call me up here,¡± Waldo pointed out. ¡°Fair enough,¡± I admitted. ¡°What do you do at the Mandir?¡± ¡°Objection: relevance,¡± Grimset called. Nanny Shank looked at me. ¡°I am trying to build rapport?¡± I offered. ¡°Let¡¯s stay on topic,¡± Nanny Shank pressed. ¡°Alright,¡± I turned to Waldo, ¡°What is your relationship with Chet Adams?¡± Waldo looked at Madigan before answering, ¡°We are friends.¡± ¡°Okay, and what is your relationship with Travis Madigan?¡± I asked. Again Waldo checked with Madigan before answering, ¡°He is my teacher.¡± ¡°Could you elaborate on that, please?¡± I pressed. Waldo¡¯s eyes drifted back to Madigan. He waited for a nod, ¡°He teaches me martial arts. I guess you could say he filled in after my dad died.¡± ¡°So you look up to him?¡± I asked. ¡°I guess,¡± Waldo said, after checking with Madigan. ¡°You listen to what he tells you?¡± I asked. ¡°Objection!¡± Grimset shouted. ¡°Okay I get it is more dramatic for me to ask why every time, but you need to start saying why you are objecting,¡± Nanny Shank said, not quite glaring at Grimset. ¡°Leading question, Nanny,¡± Grimset said, flatly. ¡°He has a point, Doug. Do you?¡± Nanny Shank turned to me. ¡°The relationships between the accused are core to the mechanics of the crime,¡± Toad offered when I hesitated. ¡°To understand what happened to Tazia, the jury must understand the dynamics of the accused.¡± ¡°Fine but don¡¯t waste time,¡± Nanny Shank said. May as well get to the point, ¡°Are you afraid of Madigan, Waldo?¡± ¡°Objection!¡± Grimset yelled again. After a moment and a sharp glare from Nanny Shank he added, ¡°Character evidence and relevance.¡± Nanny Shank looked at me. ¡°The character evidence side has been resolved with the previous objection, and as for the relevance. The witness has checked with Madigan before answering every question,¡± I said pointing back and forth from Waldo to Madigan. This did set off a shitshow. A handful of goblins screamed abuse at Madigan. That caused people across the aisle to shout vitriol back. Which spiraled immediately. A lot of folks saw that Madigan and Waldo just kept staring at each other. Nanny Shank kicked the goblins that started the shouting out. Philip and several older goblins had to bodily remove one of them. After that, it took more than a little time to calm things down again. Eventually though order was restored. It was beginning to get dark though. Brunhilda and I spent about twenty minutes of uproar crafting lamps ¡°Let¡¯s get this going again,¡± Nanny Shank banged her hammer. ¡°Doug, get to it.¡± ¡°Waldo, Did Madigan threaten you?¡± I asked. The kid was sweating bullets as he gazed at Madigan. ¡°I don¡¯t want to answer that.¡± Waldo realized he messed up immediately. I didn¡¯t give him time to linger to amend, ¡°Where were you last night?¡± I asked. Waldo looked between Madigan and me several times, ¡°I¡­ was with Chet.¡± The kid was off balance. I hated to do it, but gave him another push, ¡°What were you doing?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Waldo said reflexively. That looked guilty as hell. ¡°What was Tazia doing?¡± I asked, keeping my voice calm. Waldo was trying to not look at Madigan and also concerned with not looking guilty himself, ¡°She was playing a harmonica.¡± ¡°Why did you throw her harmonica into the fire?¡± I asked. ¡°Chet approached her,¡± Waldo said. Before realizing that wasn¡¯t my question. He really was quick to sell other people out. Well people other than Madigan anyway. ¡°And you followed him?¡± I pressed. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill her,¡± Waldo said, ¡°Chet did.¡± ¡°Who did?¡± I asked. This was the endgame of sorts with Waldo. His instinct to protect himself should punch through any instruction from Grimset, and hopefully Madigan. Waldo looked over at Chet. Chet shrugged. ¡°Chet killed her¡­ in a fight,¡± Waldo tacked the last bit on. ¡°Why did he do that?¡± I asked. Waldo took the bait, ¡°He doesn¡¯t like goblins. We are always told to kill them. We were always told to take out the kids first. Stop them from breeding.¡± Waldo actually listened to what he just said. He frowned. After that the crowd got excited again. It took a bit of time for things to calm down again. That was actually a problem for me. Waldo had time to realize he had just gone against Madigan. Nanny Shank restored order. She had to remove one more goblin and eight humans. The lopsided number upset some people. Those people were choosing to ignore that Nanny Shank last time around had ejected only goblins. ¡°We should stop questioning, Waldo,¡± Toad said quietly. ¡°He hasn¡¯t talked about Madigan,¡± I pointed out. Toad nodded, but said, ¡°Every question past this point will simply make him look like a scared child. It will undermine our goal. Let him go.¡± ¡°Do you have any further questions?¡± Nanny Shank demanded. The crowd was beginning to piss her off. ¡°Yes,¡± I said, ¡°Waldo. Did Madigan order you to kill a goblin.¡± ¡°I am not going to answer that,¡± Waldo said. Maybe another pivot would work, ¡°What started the fight?¡± ¡°I am not going to answer that,¡± Waldo said again flatly. ¡°How did you get the injuries on your arm?¡± I asked. Toad kicked in a quick stealthy manner. ¡°I don¡¯t want to answer that,¡± Waldo said ¡°Stop asking him questions,¡± Toad hissed at me. ¡°No further questions,¡± I said and sat. Nanny Shank looked Grimset. ¡°Does the defense wish to cross examine?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Grimset said. He stood smoothly, but had to hop down from the chair because I had stupidly made it human sized. Not to be diminished, Grimset strode dramatically toward Waldo. Before Grimset could ask a question, Nanny Shank demanded, ¡°Did I say you could enter the well?¡± Grimset hopped back a few steps, ¡°No. Sorry Nanny- your honor.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Stay out of the well and ask your questions,¡± She told him. ¡°Very well,¡± Grimset cleared his throat theatrically before asking Waldo, ¡°Tell me about the injuries you received during the night of Tazia¡¯s murder.¡± ¡°Chet, Madigan, and I were attacked and abducted by that woman,¡± Waldo pointed at Rachel. When she glared at him he quit pointing. ¡°She can summon phantom copies of Snow Lions. She had them maul us and then lock us in chains. She also shot and beat Master Madigan.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Grimset nodded sympathetically, ¡°what happened after that?¡± ¡°We were taken out of the Mandir and held as prisoners. They locked us in chains, and held us in Ice huts. It was freezing.¡± Waldo siad. ¡°For how long were you held in these conditions?¡± Grimset asked. Waldo considered, ¡°Twenty hours. Late last night to just before being dragged here.¡± ¡°Did they feed you or give you any water,¡± Grimset asked. ¡°Objection! relevance!¡± Toad shouted. Nanny Shank looked to Grimset, ¡°Where are you going with this?¡± ¡°I ask the court¡¯s indulgence for this question and then everything will be made clear,¡± Grimset offered. ¡°Fine,¡± Nanny Shank said. She looked low on patience. ¡°Answer the question.¡± ¡°No, I was not given any food or water,¡± Waldo said. I was annoyed with Rachel, and mad at myself. I knew who Rachel was. I should have given her clear instructions. Grimset nodded sympathetically, ¡°So in this, injured, hungry, and cold state, Did the Titan Spawn offer you a lighter sentence if you implicated Chet and Madigan?¡± ¡°Objection! Hearsay!¡± Toad shouted, pounding the table. Trouble was he did that a fraction of a second too slow for the crowd to miss Waldo say, ¡°Yes.¡± The crowd went nuts. I mean. I knew I was acting in good faith. I knew Madigan had ordered Tazia¡¯s death. I had approached the investigation and interaction from that perspective. The issue was stepping outside my perspective and things looked a lot less morally simple. I knew proving Madigan¡¯s involvement was going to be an uphill battle, but I hadn¡¯t realized how menacing my action appeared from the outside. While everyone was having a moment. Toad took this opportunity to criticize me. ¡°I told you to let him go!¡± he hissed. ¡°You did,¡± I admitted, trying to sound contrite. ¡°You didn¡¯t listen to me,¡± Toad continued not mollified. ¡°I should have. I am sorry,¡± I apologized. ¡°This is your fault,¡± Toad hissed ¡°Listen, I used to be a happily married man. I am not afraid to admit when I am wrong. I made a mistake. I am sorry. I am not going to do that again. Are you interested in punishing me or finding a solution,¡± we didn¡¯t have infinite time for this. ¡°Did this maneuver help in similar situations?¡± Toad asked. ¡°That depended heavily on how mad I made her,¡± I admitted. Toad thought about this for a moment, and then kicked me hard. He did look around to make sure no one was over fixated on us first. Another twelve people had to be ejected from the court, before order could be restored. Nanny Shank took a swig from the bottle of hers, ¡°Does the defense have any further questions?¡± ¡°No, Your Honor,¡± Grimset said. ¡°We need to call Madigan to the stand,¡± Toad Whispered to me. ¡°I don¡¯t have a good plan on how to handle him,¡± I admitted quietly. ¡°Let me manage him,¡± Toad insisted. I nodded. He stood. ¡°The Prosecution calls Tavis Madigan to the stand.¡± He turned dramatically to watch Madigan. Madigan simply glared at Toad. Grimset was whispering to Madigan to move. Madigan turned his attention to me. I simply waited. ¡°Tavis Madigan, get up here,¡± Nanny Shank ordered. ¡°I do not acknowledge this court nor do I respect its authority,¡± Madigan said loudly. Nanny Shank wasn¡¯t overly interested in entertaining that shit, ¡°Miss De Leon, If you would.¡± Angelica slowly walked from the back of the court house,¡±I am going to ask you nicely once. Please go to the witness stand.¡± Again there is an art to threats. Angelica understood it. So while she made a polite request, the words ¡®or else¡¯ hung in the air like a Sword of Damocles. Madigan silently stood and walked to the witness stand. He sat and glared at me. Toad stepped into Madigan¡¯s view while maintaining distance from the well. ¡°Monsieur Madigan, May I call you Madigan?¡± Toad began amicably. ¡°...No,¡± Madigan snapped. ¡°Very well Travis,¡± Toad said pacing, ¡°Let¡¯s get into the issue.¡± Madigan glared at Toad, and after a moment spat at Toad. That''s not quite right. He hawked a wad of phlegm a good twenty feet and hit Toad¡¯s boot. Several people in the crowd tried to make some noise but the majority shut them up pretty quickly. ¡°You¡¯re Honor, I request permission to treat the witness as hostile.¡± Toad declared, ignoring Madigan¡¯s ire. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem necessary, Your Honor,¡± Grimset tried. Nanny Shank raised an eyebrow before scowling at Grimest, ¡°I am going to allow the prosecution to treat Travis Madigan as a hostile witness.¡± ¡°Big fucking shock,¡± Madigan muttered. Nanny Shank ignored that, ¡°Toad, get going.¡± ¡°Thank, Your Honor,¡± Toad sauntered back into Madigan¡¯s view, ¡°Why did you order Tazia¡¯s murder?¡± Madigan sighed, before repeating, ¡°I do not acknowledge this kangaroo court. I am not answering your question.¡± Toad let that hang for a long time, ¡°You do not care for Doug, The Left Hand of the Titan. He did embarrass you in public. Did you order Tazia¡¯s death to spite him?¡± ¡°Objection! Prejudicial!¡± Grimset stepped in. ¡°The defense is making the claim that this entire trial is based on a squabble between Travis and the Titan Spawn. I invite the defense and the witness to clarify,¡± Toad responded smartly. Nanny gazed unhappily between Toad and Grimset. ¡°Objection overruled. Again Toad simply waited as Madigan said nothing, ¡°Nothing to say? Very well. Did you order Tazia¡¯s death because she was a goblin? What was the quote from young Waldo? ¡®Kill the children first. That way they can¡¯t breed¡¯? Was he quoting you? Madigan glared at Toad. it was a barely contained murder rage. The crowd could see it. Toad impassively met Madigan¡¯s gaze, ¡°Still nothing to say? I must continue asking questions. Tell me about your fear of the titan. Your entire defense hinges on Doug being a master of manipulation and guile,¡± He chuckled slightly, ¡°Care to elaborate on your fears?¡± Madigan clenched his fists. Toad simply gazed peacefully at Madigan. The crowd was muttering again. Nanny Shank pounded her hammer. ¡°Shut up!¡± Toad kept waiting. Madigan¡¯s glare sharpened
Mental Resistance Blocks the effect of Intimidation
The crowd saw Madigan try and stare down Toad. They all saw the little goblin weather the storm. Again people couldn¡¯t help themselves. Some started whispering to each other. Then, some more told them to be quiet. Then, even more people told the second group to be quiet. That started a bunch of arguments. As Nanny Shank tried again to restore order Toad asked quietly so almost no one but Madigan could hear, ¡°Is it because he makes you feel short?¡± Madigan launched himself at Toad. This kicked off an immediate shit storm. Now Angelica was prepared for this. She had Madigan in an arm lock before he so much as touched Toad. Trouble is Rachel felt the need to intervene as well. Her boot met Madigan¡¯s face with an audible ¡°Crunch!¡± This set off a chain reaction. Some people cheered. Some people howled in anger. A third group took this opportunity to take a swing at the other two groups. Chaos reigned. Violence erupted across the aisles. I just put myself between the crowd and Nanny Shank. An enterprise man did run toward me with a knife, but they seemed to think better of it, and when they realized Sunit had entered the building they just sort of jogged out. Philip and Sunit brutally put down the agitators. Apparently maintaining order of the court required some broken knees and hands. All said and done it was eight straight minutes of brawling. That probably doesn¡¯t sound too extreme, but Pro-Boxing tends to have 3 minute rounds with 30 second breaks. This was several hundred people kicking off a full contact endurance match with no breaks. It was loud, and bloody. I wanted to step in, but that was clearly a bad idea. The last thing I needed was to pummel a potential juror¡­ and violence is bad, I guess. Things got uncomfortably quiet as the fight ended. Other than the sound of people breathing and a few unfortunate individuals crying, it was borderline silent. The resonate ¡®Clang!¡¯ of Brunhida slamming her gauntlets together, cut through the rolling din of the crowd. ¡°Mass Heal!¡± she said. I felt the warm wave of healing magic. Watching the injuries fade and wounds close was a hell of a sight.
Allow Nanny Shank to Mark:Brunhilda Mendusdottir as Bailiffs of the court? Yes/No
I hit yes. We needed more bailiffs. After the brawl there was a purging of the crowd. Nanny Shank tossed about forty people out from each side of the aisle. Then she turned her eyes on Rachel. ¡°Why are you beating people in my court?¡± Nanny Shank demanded. ¡°He was gonna attack the little guy,¡± Rachel said gesturing at Toad. Toad was clearly dealing with a serious hit of ego death at Rachel¡¯s words, but didn¡¯t speak up. ¡°Out of my court. Until we call you back in, sit in a snow drift and cool off,¡± Nanny Shank ordered. Rachel didn¡¯t move until the old goblin slammed her hammer down. Rachel¡¯s conditioning to respect authority kicked in. She spun on her heels and rather unceremoniously walked out of the court. The two soldiers who came in here with her looked lost without clear instruction. One of them raised a hand. ¡°What?¡± Nanny Shank asked/ ¡°What should we do?¡± He asked. ¡°Sit there quietly and listen,¡± She instructed, and like that, for the Chimera soldier at least, it was crisis averted. Angelica let Madigan up off the ground, ¡°You gonna behave?¡± Madigan was silent for a long moment, ¡°You¡¯re a pawn. Titan Spawn always turn on their first followers.¡± ¡°Let him go,¡± Nanny Shank said. Angelica considered and eventually released him. Madigan began to slowly walk toward his seat at the defense desk rather than the witness stand. ¡°We are not done with questions,¡± Toad declared loudly. ¡°Madigan, get back on the stand,¡± Nanny Shank instructed. ¡°Or what? You going to have the Titan Spawn make me?¡± Madigan asked loudly. I could feel the eyes of the crowd on me, ¡°I am not some violent goon. I don¡¯t just randomly hurt things.¡± For some reason this kicked off a wave of shouting the from crowd
Notice check¡­ Successful
Oh fuck a snow lion. It must have found its way in during the brawl¡­ or it spawned in here because that is something they can do. Either way, I can''t have something like this wandering around in here. On pure reflex, I snatched it up by the nape of its neck as it lunged at Toad. I then crushed its head with two quick punches with my free hand and dropped the body on the floor preparing for the next attacker. Everyone was watching me. ¡°That doesn¡¯t count. That was a mob.¡± I am sure that convinced them. Chapter 78: The Trial: The Defense are Being Dicks Okay, that was me being negative. A huge chunk of the crowd was on the ¡®violence against mobs is A-OK¡¯ train. I was pleasantly surprised to also learn that my righteous hatred of snow lions was a popular opinion. That said not everyone was cool with this. An appreciable contingent did pick up on the fact that I could almost instantly murder things that scared them. Which didn¡¯t comfort everyone. There was also the one guy who shouted, ¡°Wait a minute. Are you the motherfucker that splattered thirty of these things all over my house?¡± Shit! I did do that. ¡°That is not why we are here!¡± Toad dismissed loudly. He then nodded to Nanny Shank. ¡°Your Honor?¡± Nanny Shank eyed Madigan and Grimset, ¡°The prosecution still has questions.¡± Grimset stepped forward, ¡°Do they, Your Honor, or do they simply wish for more opportunity to harass and bully?¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± Toad took the bait. ¡°We are acting in good faith.¡± Nanny Shank pounded her hammer down. ¡°Defense, Prosecution, approach the bench. Now!¡± Grimset, Toad and I walk up to Nanny Shank. She didn¡¯t quite glare at us. She started with Grimset, ¡°Is your client going to have another outburst?¡± ¡°Can you blame him Nanny-,¡± Grimset started ¡°Yes,¡± She shut him down. ¡°It is hard to control him. He legitimately believes this to be a political hit job meant to kill him,¡± Grimset explained. Nanny Shank considered, ¡°If he has another outburst I¡¯ll have him put in chains.¡± Then she rounded on us, ¡°What are you idiots doing antagonizing people in my court?¡± Toad opened his mouth to speak. ¡°Before you try lying to me, I heard your short joke,¡± Nanny Shank added. ¡°It won¡¯t happen again.¡± I promised. ¡°Goddamn right,¡± Nanny Shank hissed. ¡°If I can¡¯t trust you, I can¡¯t trust you. Do you understand me?¡± The little old goblin may not have any physical leverage over any of us, but she could certainly hold her own politically. Her message was loud and clear too. Run the case above board, or she wouldn¡¯t support me as Warlord. ¡°That was my fault Nanny,¡± Toad admitted. Nanny nodded and scowled at all of us, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s cut the bullshit. Do you have any actual questions to ask, or are you just going to keep making implications while he refuses to answer?¡± Toad opened his mouth, but paused before speaking, ¡°I am willing to end our questioning if the defense is willing to forego cross examination.¡± Grimset looked over his shoulder to see Madigan and Angelica glaring at each other. Things currently were not violent, but they sure hell weren¡¯t peaceful. I don¡¯t know what Madigan was thinking. Angelica had manhandled him easily. Philip was hanging back but mere yards away. He was outclassed and out-numbered. Was that the point? Make this look as lopsided as it was. Grimset did some more mental math, ¡°The defense agrees.¡± Once we were back at our tables, Nanny Shank took another drink from her medicine bottle, ¡°Procesecution, call your next witness.¡± ¡°Wait! They aren¡¯t going to let Madigan have his defense!¡± Someone in the crowd shouted. ¡°Let him speak! Let him speak! Let him speak!¡± dozens chanted. Once they were quiet Nanny declared, ¡°The defense gave up the opportunity for cross examination.¡± This set everyone off. People from the Mandir screamed in outrage. More troubling still some well meaning goblins joined them. ¡°Let him speak! Let him speak!¡± As Nanny worked to restore order Grimset met my eye. He grinned in satisfaction at the result of his maneuver. He wasn¡¯t just trying this case. He was attacking me at the same time. To make matters worse he was pretty good at it. More people had to be kicked out of the court. The place was packed when we started. Now, though, people had elbow room to spare. Each side of the aisle could hold about five hundred people. Looking at it now I would say there were a few over three hundred on each side. Minoru Chino ¡°Call your next witness,¡± Nanny Shank demanded. ¡°We would like to call, Chino Minoru,¡± I said. The old man needed some help getting up to the stand. A woman from the Mandir assisted him walk up to the stand and seat himself. She then darted back to her seat not wanting attention. The old man gazed at me through the thick lens of his glasses. ¡°Could you state your name please,¡± I said. ¡°I am Chino Minoru,¡± He answered, in an even clear voice. ¡°You are a resident of the Mandir?¡± I continued with the soft ball questions. Part of it was stalling, but most of it was I wanted to have the crowd hear him answer a few questions. I could feel the subtle pressure of skills. Might as well let them get a bunch of true answers. ¡°Yes, sir. I have lived in the Mander for 43 years,¡± Minoru said. ¡°What do you do at the Mandir,¡± I asked. ¡°I am the head Greenhouse keeper. I organize the layout, and maintenance of the crops within. That is the main source of food for the Mandir.¡± He explained. Oh shit, I didn¡¯t realize he was a pillar of the community. That was actually kind of a bad thing. I needed to quit asking questions I didn¡¯t know the answer to. ¡°I take it that is why you live close to the greenhouses?¡± I steered the conversation. ¡°Yes. That and I don¡¯t move around as well as I used to,¡± Minoru held up his cane. ¡°Were you home last night?¡± I prompted. ¡°Yes,¡± He said. ¡°Could you tell us what you heard?¡± I asked. Minoru delivered. He told the story well. He clearly and concisely told the audience about being kept awake by the party after the mob attack. He then explained a harmonica continued after the rest died down. He described the altercation between Chet, Waldo and Tazia. He even explained Howard being a witness but not participating in the fight. ¡°What happened next?¡± I asked. ¡°It took me a long time to get dressed. I fell. By the time I got out there, I found you, and Howard standing over Tazia¡¯s body. I could see that her head had been stomped on.¡± Minoru explained. ¡°Did anything else happen?¡± I asked. This was getting dangerous again. ¡°Yeah Travis Madigan showed up and demanded you stop speaking with Howard. When you asked Madigan if he was involved in Tazia¡¯s murder, he lied to you and said no.¡± Minoru answered. ¡°Objection! Speculation!¡± Grimset shouted. ¡°How is he supposed to know the thoughts of my client?¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°A Perception check would clear that up,¡± I pointed out. Grimset scoffed, ¡°maybe those skills are common to you, but everyone below Heroic Scale doesn¡¯t get access to them so easily. Are you going to say he has Analyze next.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Minoru said plainly, ¡°Both Perception and Analyze. I am a Mystical Alchemist. I made a Perception check. Madigan ordered his students to kill a goblin.¡± There was a moment of silence. Again the weight of scrutinizing skills pressed down on all of us. Nanny Shank shrugged, ¡°Overruled. Do you have any further questions?¡± I looked to Toad. he shook his head, ¡°No Further questions.¡± Nanny Shank nodded, ¡°Does the Defense wish to cross examine?¡± ¡°Yes your honor,¡± Grimset stood. He walked toward the center of the room. ¡°Mr. Minoru, Do you know Travis Madigan?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Minoru said flatly. ¡°How would you describe your relationship with Travis Madigan?¡± Grimset asked politely. ¡°Extremely bad,¡± Minoru said. He frowned at Grimset. ¡°Why?¡± Grimset asked. ¡°Travis Madigan is from the Musical Valley,¡± Minoru said. Grimset blinked, ¡°Could you provide more context to that please. Us, goblins do not know the meaning of that.¡± ¡°The Musical Valley lies between the Technacoast, and the Fantasy Coast.¡± Minoru paused and seeing that the goblins didn¡¯t understand continued, ¡°When they fight they tend to class in the Musical Valley. Travis Madigan has a chip on his shoulder for anyone from either location. I am a proud citizen of the Fantasy Kingdom, the inland part of the Fantasy Coast. That upsets Madigan.¡± Thank you,¡± Grimset considered, ¡°Is there any other reason you two would quarrel?¡± ¡°He got my son killed,¡± Minoru said bluntly. ¡°Could you elaborate?¡± Grimset prompted. Minoru sighed. ¡°About eighteen years ago, Madigan, my son, and two others went hunting. Normally hunting parties are ten or more. Madigan insisted they could handle it. My son never came back.¡± ¡°Did you say anything to Madigan that day?¡± Grimset asked,gently. He almost sounded sympathetic. Minoru did not answer for a long time. ¡°Yes. We talked about the events of the hunt.¡± Grimset pressed, ¡°Did you threaten Travis Madigan?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Minoru admitted. ¡°Could you please repeat what you said?¡± Grimset prompted. I felt the floor fall out the bottom of my stomach. Shit! I should have spent more time talking with Minoru. I should have bothered to learn if he had a massive obvious grudge against Madigan. Then again, the list of people who lived in the Mandir, and the list of people who had problems with Madigan were basically the same. Was this actually a surprise to the humans in the crowd? The goblins seemed a lot less certain. Minoru mulled it over, ¡°I told him, ¡®I don¡¯t care how long it takes, or what I have to do. I would find a way to fucking bury him.¡¯¡± That kicked off a rumble of mutterings. ¡°I should have known,¡± I grumbled. ¡°How?¡± Toad asked quietly. ¡°By talking to him?¡± I whispered. ¡°When? After protecting the camp from heroic mobs, but before feeding a hundred thousand goblins?¡± Toad hissed back. He elbowed me hard, ¡°Stay focused.¡± Nanny Shank silenced the crowd, ¡°Do you still have questions?¡± She asked Grimset. ¡°Yes,¡± He nodded. ¡°Mr. Minoru, Why is the Left Hand of the Titan offering you a pact?¡± ¡°What?¡± Minoru asked, baffled. ¡°You don¡¯t know that you will soon be given a year long pact from the Titan Spawn?¡± Girmset asked. ¡°Objection Relevance!¡± Toad pounded the table. That is not a good sign. When the facts were on our side we beat them hard. When the rules were on our side we hammered them. When neither the facts or the rules were on our side, Toad pounded the table. ¡°The prosecution influencing witness seems extremely relevant to me,¡± Grimset pointed out. Nanny frowned at us again. ¡°Overruled. Answer the question.¡± ¡°I do not know about any pact nor was I offered anything in exchange for testimony,¡± Minoru said, sourly. He wasn¡¯t quite glaring at Grimset but he wasn¡¯t happy with the goblin. ¡°Fair enough,¡± Grimset started pacing again, ¡°And, what level is you Deceit Skill?¡± ¡°Objection! Improper Impeachment! The witness has provided no reason to be accused of lying,¡± Toad glared at Grimset. ¡°The witness has shown hostility to my client, and his testimony is based on the results of Skill rolls. The prosecution brought that into play.¡± Grimset argued. ¡°I am going to allow this.¡± Nanny Shank declared. ¡°Stay on topic Grimset.¡± ¡°I will,¡± Grimset agreed, ¡°Mr. Minoru, How high is your Deceit Skill?¡± Minoru sighed. ¡°Grand Master, but I am telling the truth.¡± ¡°How would we know?¡± Grimset asked. ¡°Your Honor!¡± Toad began. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s done,¡± Nanny Shank. She stared down at Grimset, ¡°Do you have any further, relevant questions?¡± ¡°No,¡± Grimset stepped back. ¡°You may go,¡± Nanny Shank Told Minoru. The old man needed help to stand and walk back to his seat. The crowd was muttering again. ¡°Do you have any further witnesses to call?¡± Nanny Shank asked. I was confused for a moment. Nanny Shank had been in the room when we established witnesses. Oh, I guess she wanted me to say we were done. ¡°The prosecution had wanted to call Madigan¡¯s pupil Howard Price, but he is not in attendance.¡± Everyone looked to the door leading into the court. Since literally everyone else had turned I did too. Peer pressure is real. No Howard. Somebody in the crowd flat out said, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t he be here?¡± I was about to think that was stupid, but then I remember a literal pack of blue assholes were actively messing with reality for the drama. People are good at pattern recognition. It actually made sense that after a couple of decades people would begin to expect and even predict melodrama. Pity Howard didn¡¯t show up. I guess we are having this trial run on normal mundane logic¡­ in a room full of magical martial artists and goblins. ¡°Does the prosecution rest?¡± I looked to Toad. He nodded. ¡°Yeah we are done,¡± I said. ¡°Does the defense have any witnesses to call?¡± Nanny Shank asked Grimset. Grimset stood, ¡°The Defense calls Rachel Blum.¡± He was very dramatic. The moment was undercut, when Rachel didn¡¯t walk up to the stand. The blatant stalling of proceedings kicked off more muttering from the crowd. After about a minute of everyone wondering one of the Chimera soldiers raised their hand. ¡°What?¡± Nanny Shank demanded. ¡°You sent the Lieutenant outside. Someone has to go get her,¡± They said. This person had to be an NCO. They managed to state the blatantly obvious past actions of someone in charge to them without sounding sarcastic. That is a required skill in that role. Alright then. So my feelings about Rachel are complex. She is a person. Not just that, but she is the obvious victim of an autocratic regime. This woman had been indoctrinated and mutilated by a state that planned to weaponize her against its enemies. She and everyone like her require patience and empathy as you do what you can to deprogram them. That said as she was testifying, I could help but wish I had hit her harder when we fought. I was desperately trying to will her to shut up.
Commune chec- Skill Roll aborted.
Nope. Nope. Nope. No influencing people through the system. Especially while I was technically their god. That specific line in the sand needs to be respected. Rachel was just the worst¡­ witness for my case. She point by point explained how she attacked Madigan in the night. She spared no detail about the brutality of her raid. She even provided specifics on how she stomped on Madigan several times, because ¡°You got to stomp out the resistance. Otherwise they will keep getting up to cause trouble.¡± ¡°Why did you abduct Madigan? What was the purpose?¡± Grimset asked. ¡°To hand him over to Doug,¡± Rachel answered as she pointed directly at me. Toad let his head drop on the table with a thud. I could feel the crowd turning on us. I will admit hiring a jack booted thug to steal someone in the night, so I could put them on trial, was not a good look. ¡°I see, what is your relationship with the Titan spawn?¡± Grimset asked. ¡°Objection, relevance,¡± Toad challenged. ¡°Again the Prosecution has influenced events throughout this case,¡± Grimset declared. ¡°Where his influence ends and others¡¯ choices begin is the core of the case.¡± Nanny Shank looked to me, ¡°Do you have a counter?¡± Yelling ¡®fuck you¡¯ at Grimset was right out. ¡°No, Your Honor.¡± Rachel shrugged, ¡°Not much. We literally met yesterday. He stopped me from killing Seth Cohen yesterday.¡± ¡°And today he is your god?¡± Grimset asked. ¡°Yeah, it is better than Grond,¡± Rachel nodded. ¡°What about the other soldiers, is the Left Hand of the Titan their god as well?¡± Grimset asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Rachel said. ¡°How long did it take for you and your soldiers to go from fighting the Titan Spawn to being his followers?¡± Grimset pressed. ¡°Like 19 hours,¡± Rachel said. To her credit she wasn¡¯t trying to cause trouble. She was just innately gifted at it. ¡°Thank you no further questions,¡± Grimset concluded. ¡°Prosecution, do you wish to cross examine,¡± Nanny Shank asked. ¡°Yes,¡± I said standing. ¡°Don¡¯t waste time on her,¡± Toad hissed. I paused. I messed up badly once already, not listening to Toad. ¡°I have just one question.¡± Toad considered, ¡°Ask it.¡± he said it like the damage was already done. Fair. ¡°Rachel, Who ordered you to abduct Madigan?¡± I asked. ¡°Goddess Lola,¡± Rachel said, ¡°She told me Madigan had gone against her wishes. She wanted new leadership in the Mandir. She specifically said he should be with the goblins.¡± The silence that followed was thunderous. Maybe she wasn¡¯t that bad of a witness after all. Chapter 79: The Trial: Oh No! It Is Rigged! After that last question. There was the awkward moment where Rachel was kicked out again. It was quite embarrassing¡­ for her. Anyways, the moment eventually passed. ¡°Does the defense have any further witnesses to call?¡± Nanny Shank asked loudly. Grimset and Madigan whispered back and forth for a long time. Eventually he stood straight and declared, ¡°No, Your Honor,¡± She nodded. ¡°It is time for closing arguments then. Prosecution,¡± Fuck that came back fast. I stood slowly. Trying to buy just a bit more time. Toad nudged me gently, ¡°Focus on Tazia.¡± I took a breath, ¡°Soon, after I and the defense finish our closing arguments, twelve of you will be asked to serve as jurors. Now they are going to try and confuse the issue. We all need to remember why we are here today, Tazia Shiv. A young woman, who was murdered. We have shown evidence that she was murdered by Chet Adams, with the help of Waldo Seevers on the order of Travis Madigan. Tazia died from her skull being caved in. her tooth was found in Chet¡¯s boot. Waldo claims to have seen Chet kill Tazia, and Chet admits Travis Madigan ordered him to do so. This is not a conspiracy. This was pointless violence. We all must ask ourselves, is it justice to allow those killed Tazia to walk away free. Thank you.¡± That wasn¡¯t as focused as I would like. Should I have told them to convict?
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains in control Note: Repeated rolls will increase the difficulty.
I felt my heart surge before calming. I needed to keep it together. I felt the nail on my pinky finger as the now familiar weight of scrutinizing skills pressed down on me. Again the question rippled through the crowd, ¡°Why isn¡¯t he using skills?¡± Nanny Shank brought the hammer down, ¡°Quiet!¡± She waited for the whispering to cease, ¡°Does The Defense have any closing statements?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Honor,¡± Grimset stood. He cleared his throat, ¡°Tazia¡¯s death is a tragedy. The prosecution is correct, that is why we are here today. What the Prosecution neglected to mention in their discussion of justice is inorder to convict the jury must believe the evidence presented. All roads lead back to the Titan Spawn. We stand in a hall made by the Titan Spawn. My clients are the prisoners of the Titan Spawn. They were taken in the night on his order. They stand accused on the testimony he influences through Pacts and offers of clemency. Tazia was only at Mandir because of the instruction of the Titan Spawn. Soon twelve of you will be given the responsibility to decide the fate of three people. If found guilty they could be put to death. Ask yourself, is the work of the Titan Spawn truly enough. Today we have have a choice, and we must make the correct one. Thank you.¡±
Mental Resistance blocks the effects of Persuasion skill
I was immune to the systematic side of things. The crowd didn¡¯t have such protections. Also a lot of people on either side of the aisle looked more than a little concerned by Grimsets words. I have to hand it to the little jerk. He certainly did his job. I legitimately don¡¯t think I could have done as well as he did. I understood that intellectually but in the moment I felt quite the strong urge to chuck him out a window. The bit about Tazia being here, and that the responsibility for her death could be laid at my feet¡­ it fucking hurt. The hell of it is I did feel responsible. Yes, Chet killed her. I understood that. I even knew this was Madigan¡¯s doing. That said, I should have known something could have happened. I should have done more. Tazia¡¯s death was my fault. There was still more muttering and talk from the crowd. Nanny Shank spent almost five minutes restoring order. ¡°I am not afraid to eject more people from this court!¡± Silence fell. It was almost like the slight echo after a door slammed. You could feel the change of pressure in the room. I could tell the old goblin was looking through menus. Sunit came back into the court.
Allow Nanny Shank to mark Jurors? Yes/No
I hit yes. ¡°I am going to select twelve jurors, if you receive the prompt, step forward. Anyone who interferes with a juror¡¯s path to the front of the court will be removed by the bailiffs,¡± Nanny Shank looked around. ¡°My patience is officially worn out. Do not test me.¡± Her eyes glazed for another brief moment. Six goblins stood and walked to the front of the court. No one hindered them. The six humans on the other hand¡­ it was both a lot better and a lot worse than I thought. As far as I could tell the people selected were all folks who actually listened and never caused trouble. Gisele was one of the jurors. That was the good bit. The bad bit was that several other folks figured out that none of the hardliners in the crowd were picked. ¡°Hey, they stacked the jury!¡± someone yelled. Sunit stepped in before Angelica could even move. When a man stepped in the way of one of the jurors, Sunit slammed his head into the wall. The sound had a crunch mixed in with the thunderous ¡®boom!¡¯ Sunit set out of the way of the juror, ¡°We are not inside the domain of the Mandir. Act out at your own peril.¡± There was a long pause as everyone looked at the man he had brutalized. He gasped for breath and sat up. I could tell he was hurt phenomenally badly, but he wasn¡¯t dead. That took us back to shouting and several more folks challenging the bailiffs¡¯ conviction. Several somewhat disappointing lessons were learned in the following minutes. Philip was too smart to be baited into laying hands on a human agitator. The hateful jerk legitimately looked furious that he could provoke the goblin to cross the aisle. The crowd quickly learned Angelica was the nice one. She just pulled the remaining Jurors from the crowd and only cracked heads if attacked. Sunit on the other hand was bad cop. He hurt people. Maybe he knew just how hard he could hit them. Maybe he knew Brunhilda could fix any permanent damage. A small part of me, and a bunch of people in the crowd worried that Sunit was prepared to kill someone to maintain order. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. That certainly caused me worry about some sort of perpetual loop of trials. It also, thankfully, made most of the crowd calm the fuck down. I kept one eye on the crowd and one of the jury and Nanny Shank. ¡°Now, your task is to consider the evidence you have seen, and decide if you believe it is enough to find the accused guilty. If the evidence is not sufficient you should find the accused innocent. Now while Chet, Waldo, and Travis were tried together, they will be judged and sentenced separately. So you could find one of the accused guilty and the other two innocent.¡± Nanny Shank Instructed. ¡°Do you understand?¡± ¡°What criteria should we judge by? Beyond a shadow of a doubt?¡± a gruff man asked. ¡°Your standards are yours to decide,¡± Nanny Shank said. ¡°Are we allowed to talk to each other?¡± Gisele asked. ¡°Yes, so long as you are respectful.¡± Nanny Shank explained. ¡°And we are just supposed to discuss this in front of everyone?¡± A middle aged woman asked. ¡°Do you feel that the crowd is going to influence your decision?¡± The old goblin asked. ¡°I guess not,¡± The woman admitted. What happened next was a bit surprising¡­ to me at least. The gruff man said, ¡°I have my mind made up. Does anyone else need time?¡± Almost everyone else basically just shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± A goblin said. Gisele looked disturbed, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we talk through this?¡± ¡°Do you need help making up your mind?¡± The gruff guy all but demanded. Gisele stepped back, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Is there anything I could say to change your mind?¡± He pressed. ¡°I guess not,¡± Gisele admitted. ¡°Then let¡¯s wrap this up,¡± The gruff guy insisted. Nanny Shank pounded her hammer again, ¡°Shut up!¡± Once silence fell she continued, ¡° How does the Jury find Chet Adam for the murder of Tazia Shiv?¡± Nine Guilty votes. Nanny Shank continued. ¡°And how does the Jury find Waldo Seevers for the murder of Tazia Shiv.¡± All six goblins voted to find him guilty. Five of the humans voted innocent. Everyone was staring at Gisele. She kept turning to gaze at Waldo. Finally she said, ¡°I sorry Waldo, but guilty.¡± Waldo more or less collapsed. He had started sobbing. Chet had taken his conviction¡­ well not exactly in stride, but he wasn¡¯t surprised. He watched Waldo cry with a complex expression on his face. Waldo had sold him out, but Chet did like seeing Waldo suffer. I doubted they were still friends, but Chet didn¡¯t seem to hate Waldo. The crowd almost started up again, but quickly quieted. The sudden swell of noise faded before Nanny Shank could lift her hammer. She sighed and continued, ¡°How does the jury find Travis Madigan for the murder of Tazia Shiv. This time everyone looked at Gisele. ¡°Guilty,¡± the young woman said quietly. The word barely cleared Giseles lips when the others all said, ¡°Guilty.'''' There wasn¡¯t an instant¡¯s hesitation. Shit. I am not going to lie. Grimset kicked my ass up and down this court. I wouldn¡¯t blame anyone for thinking that something less than on the level was happening during this case.Then, that just happened. I can believe people would convict Chet. He basically admitted to the killing when he claimed Madigan ordered him to kill a goblin. Waldo getting convicted was a lot more surprising. I doubt if it wasn¡¯t for Gisele being there the night of the murder, he would have been acquitted. Madigan shouldn¡¯t have been found guilty. Well, I mean he should be convicted, but not on the merits of this case. Maybe, one person from the Mandir held a grudge and voted to convict, someone like Gisele honestly believed he did it. This jury just found Madigan more consistently guilty than Chet, the actual murder. There is simply only one way that could happen. This trial was rigged. God dammit. I know I didn¡¯t rig this. As the crowd started shouting, realization hit me. Between the dungeons constantly breaking, ever worsening weather, and the threat of the demon tower Lola was hurting for people in place. She needed it to be filled with both devout and competent people. Based on context clues, Madigan didn¡¯t have both of those qualities. Lola needed him gone, but she also needed someone else to take him out. I had made a mistake. I focused too much on Narrator meddling, and neglected considering the machinations of other players. The more I thought about it the more convinced I was this had been Lola¡¯s plan all along. I didn¡¯t see the appeal, but dozens of people were outraged at what had just happened. Things weren¡¯t quite spiraling out of control but sure as hell were not progressing smoothly. Nanny Shank was ordering people out of the court. That wasn¡¯t going to be a valid long term strategy anymore. I could tell half of the folks being removed from the court were just heading out to get weapons. If they came back, it was going to be a huge fight. It was in that moment of barely contained chaos that Madigan made his move. It wasn¡¯t a bad move either. He stood and yelled, ¡°Now!¡± not exactly subtle or creative but effective. Twenty of the people in the crowd stood and drew weapons. Two of them fired handguns into the crowd of goblins. The rest simply charged. They pushed the crowd, and basically caused a stampede down the amphitheater seats. Madigan used the uproar to make his move. He surged forward, and used the crowd as a screen as he dove toward the window. I didn¡¯t even think to stop him. I pulled Toad out of the way of the crush of bodies, and placed myself between the armed men and the jury. I pulled my constructed barriers out of my inventory. That put the jury, Toad, and Chet and Waldo out of line of sight. Likely due to my greater prevalence, I took three shots to the chest. The bullets slammed into me like hammer blows. Sure the damage never cracked four but the pain was unreal. I would have dodge them, but I wasn¡¯t certain the barriers I built were bullet proof. Madigan met my eye for the briefest instant as he sailed through the air. He closed his eyes before contacting the window. Donk! He slammed into the unyielding surface of the Glassteel. To his credit the glassteel did crack. thousands of spider webs exploded across the clear material. It held though. The look of triumph vanished from Madigan¡¯s face. He had just enough time to look confused as he bounced off the not glass, before Angelica tackled him.
You have activated Voice of the Titan
¡°Stop!¡± I ordered. I was done with this constant violence. I was going to try force.
Mass Intimidation check¡­ Critically Successful!
This is why I hadn¡¯t used skills for social rolls. I didn¡¯t totally understand them. Plus they were based on the roll of dice. The critical failure with Rachel had caused an actual fight. This critical success was also a train wreck but a different kind. The crowd surged again, this time away from me. More than a few people got trampled. After the initial panic everyone went still and gazed at me. Everyone. Even Brunhilda watched me, wide eyed. Her face was pale. Her hands were shaking. It was like I had cast a spell. This wasn¡¯t going to last, ¡°No more fighting. Sit down, shut up, and watch what is about to happen.¡± ¡­ That sounded tyrannical. Chapter 80: The Trial: Three Sentences And A Death Nanny Shank came to my rescue. Well kinda. She was still the judge and in theory in control of this trial. She pounded her.. Gavel¡­ that was the word. Well I think those are mostly ceremonial and made of wood. Nanny Shank had a claw hammer. Eh, not important. ¡°Bailiffs, remove anyone involved in the brawl.¡± Nanny Shank ordered. When the crowd muttered discontent, she continued, ¡°One more outburst and I will clear the court! I want this done open and publicly. However I am not going to expose anyone else to violence.¡± Oddly enough that shut the crowd up. I also noticed that the jurors had slunk away to the corner of the Court between me and the crowd. That was probably for the best. Sunit and Philp struggled to remove the bad actors from the crowd. This was more labor intensive than normal. Part of it was the total volume of people they had to move. Another part of it was that a good number of them were grievously injured. That did lower the risk of dealing with them, but it did mean they needed to literally be carried out of the court. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the Dwarf heal everyone?¡± Someone asked. ¡°None of you are going to die,¡± Brunhilda called back. Nanny Shank nodded, ¡°If she heals you, you won¡¯t learn.¡± ¡°My knees!¡± the guy that shot me yelled as Sunit chucked him out into the snow. This was less than kind¡­ by my reckoning anyways. I really needed to figure out the standards of this world, and then decide if they were worth holding to. Angelica frog marched Madigan back to the front of the court. ¡°Let¡¯s get this done,¡± Nanny Shank pulled a small piece of paper out of her pocket. ¡°This is the sentencing recommendations. They were provided by the surviving family. Before I read them out do you three have anything to say?¡± Waldo was still crying. He wasn¡¯t sobbing but the tears kept pouring down. Chet watched this for a beat and then said, ¡°I take full responsibility for my and Waldo¡¯s actions. Do what you need to do to me, but please let Waldo go. For what it is worth I am sorry.¡± Waldo gazed at Chet for a long time, ¡°Chet-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me,¡± Chet cut him off. Waldo flinched away from that, he looked up at Nanny Shank, ¡°I am sorry.¡± Nanny Shank looked down at Madigan. Angelica let him go but was ready to¡­ intervene should something happen. Nanny Shank sighed, ¡°What do you got to say?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Madigan snapped. ¡°The sentence was made before the trial began. Since you are going to kill me, drop the damn charade.¡± A lot of muttering was going around in the crowd again. I was starting to get a sense for the mutterings of the crowd. This was not exactly good muttering. A lot of people seemed to worry that Madigan had a point. That said a lot of them hated the guy. ¡°Alright,¡± Nanny Shank unfolded the paper, ¡°The sentencing guidelines are as follows.¡± She read a moment, ¡°Any of the accused found guilty that apologize or show some signs of remorse should be turned over to the Mandir. Let their people handle any punishment. Please ask that those in charge consider mercy in any decisions.¡± This set the crowd off again. Apparently it was surprising to a lot of people. I wasn¡¯t exactly shocked. I am not going to pretend like I knew Ticky, but I spent enough time to get a read on him. He was sad. Who could blame him? The loss of loved ones is a catastrophic pain. I could try and put it into words, but you either know or you don¡¯t. For some reason, a lot of people believe survivors of crime or suffering want retribution for their pain. The truth is the overwhelming majority just want the pain to stop. They wish to be made whole. Ticky may be young, but he was wise enough to seek closure. Good for him. Nanny Shank her gavel/hammer. ¡°Quiet! Chet Adams, and Waldo Seevers you will be handed over to Sunit Patel¡¯s custody after the trial is adjourned.¡± She picked the note back up, ¡°Any who do not show remorse. Make them come with us to the tower and fight the demons. If they survive they are free to go.¡± Aw shit. God dammit, Ticky. That is a hell of an ask. ¡°I am not going to that tower,¡± Madigan declared. ¡°It would be best if you went along with us,¡± Grimset said. ¡°The path is not yet set, we may not actually go to the tower. You would likely be released in that case.¡± Madigan kicked Grimset. The goblin went flying and crashed to the floor hard. Madigan clearly wasn¡¯t done, but he didn¡¯t get any more opportunities. Angelica hit Madigan with a vicious palm strike to the throat. Next, she then knocked his block off with a right hook to the back of his head. Not given him a moment¡¯s reprieve, Angelica then kicked Madigan¡¯s legs out from under him. He went down hard and the iron floor was not forgiving. ¡°How about this Madigan, I offer you a pact. You agree to come with us to the Tower and follow the orders of the chain of command. I will give you the stat boost and health regen. Like they said once we are done with the tower. You are free to go,¡± I kneeled down so I wasn¡¯t completely towering over him. I offered a hand. Madigan slapped it away. He coughed, unable to talk. Eventually he was able to get up to his knees. He glared up at me, ¡°You¡­ won¡¯t control me.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t have you running free,¡± I admitted. ¡°You literally had someone killed.¡± Madigan had to struggle to breathe. ¡°Never.¡± That was inconvenient. ¡°Be reasonable. Will you at least promise to not cause trouble?¡± ¡°I will find¡­¡± Madigan had to take a labored breath between words, ¡°every way to hurt you.¡± ¡°Why are you like this?¡± it made no sense. I kept giving him every opportunity. Madigan spat bloody phlegm on me, ¡°you¡¯re a monster.¡± ¡°I am trying to help you,¡± I started. ¡°You¡¯re not trying to help, you just want to control,¡± He rasped.
Willpower Check ¡­Failed.
Now those words probably don¡¯t sound that impressive to you, but to me they were a white hot knife to the nerves. I-the titan-no- I loved Marnie. She completed me. She gave me a daughter. I planned to spend the entirety of my life with her. That isn¡¯t to say we never fought though. Most of them were pretty inconsequential. Apparently I loaded the dishwasher wrong. One fight though was¡­ life shattering. After the cancer diagnosis Marnie fought. It was hell, but she won. Then six years later. It was back. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Marnie wanted to talk about other options. I wouldn¡¯t listen. Of course she needed to keep fighting. We had a daughter. I loved her. She couldn¡¯t leave. I just kept pushing her. Needling, at times even berating. All the while claiming that I was helping. Eventually she snapped and said those words. After that we never were as close as we were before the fight. Things got worse. I could still see the blood pouring from the cut in her wrist. She was so cold. It was my fault. All of that crashed through my mind in an instant. I wasn¡¯t thinking. I manifested a layer of ablative shell and backhanded Madigan.
Attack Successful. Travis Madigan takes 27 points of damage.
The impact lifted him off his knees. I seized the front of his shirt and surged forward.Then I slammed him into the wall. The iron groaned and bent.
Attack Successful. Travis Madigan takes 41 points of damage.
¡°Take the fucking pact!¡± I roared. Madigan laughed. Blood bubbled out the corner of his mouth. ¡°You¡¯ll have to kill me.¡± I could sense people moving to stop me.
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I tossed my entire pool into it. Part of me realized I had literally lectured Rachel about this exact thing. Madigan¡¯s words hadn¡¯t hurt me. I felt angry because of what he said. Not even his words, but because they lined up with something Marnie had said to me- the Titan- long ago. Everything froze with the thrum.
Attack Successful. Travis Madigan takes 36 points of damage.
I slammed my fist into Madigan again. His skin split, teeth were knocked loose, and blood pooled. None of that wiped the smug smirk off his face. Knowing that this outburst was basically my own doing, and being able to stop seemed to be too different things. Two thoughts existed simultaneously in my mind. The first was I should stop. The Second was something sharp would take the grin off his face.
Mother of Snow Lions Corpse -3 (Demigod Scale) This is the body of a dungeon final boss. Three McGuffins have been removed from the body. Any further attempts to remove a McGuffin from the body will have a 75% chance of destroying the body. Due to removal of McGuffins this body cannot be broken down. Attempt to collect McGuffin? Yes/No
The yes button got hammered. I don¡¯t think I pushed it. Don¡¯t get me wrong. I was angry. I had lashed out at Madigan. If this had just been mindless pummeling, I would have to admit it was my doing. This though, was calculated. Even as I moved, my mind considered using more complex free actions.
Craft Check Successful Mother of SNow Lion Bones consumed Ablative Ice Knife consumed 2000 mana consumed You have Crafted Frigidus Mortis Frigidus Mortis One mistake is all it takes. You can do everything right, but one mistake and it all turns to shit. It doesn¡¯t matter how hard you work or what you give, it will never be enough. The dumb whore who baby trapped you with that useless thing everyone calls your son will just keep taking. They never stop. I am hungry. Its cold. I need new shoes. If you don¡¯t work overtime we can¡¯t make rent. No, I am not in the mood. Dad, look at my drawing. Stop buying cigarettes! I hate you! You¡¯re hurting me! And the crying. The constant fucking crying! Neither of them would shut the fuck up! You had dreams. You wanted to do something with your life. You barely heard the stupid bitch as she said she was leaving. She planned to dump the whiny crotch goblin with you. The selfish cow! As you grip this knife, you know what needs to be done. This Divine Scale knife inflicts 30 + Power Attribute damage per hit. A successful hit inflict the Death Marked condition. A successful hit allow a free Eitrkaldr action Death Marked. This condition heralds the end of most bearers lives. Any being below Divine Scale cannot heal while this condition is present. Note: Condition lasts for a number of hours equal to the number of steps difference in scale between the attacker and recipient of damage, minimum 1 Eitrkaldr The cold that poisons. On a successful use of this skill the user may spend a number a mana points. For each point of mana spent inflict [damage dealt] Cold damage onto the target. Note: Note beings that are immune to cold damage will not be harmed unless damage is higher scale.
That description¡­ I -The Titan- often wondered about the thoughts going through the mind of my biological father that night. That summary was basically word for word what we came up with. I could see the knife. Despite being made of ice and bone it was a plain steel boning knife, with a black handle. The slightly curved blade was about as wide as my thumb at its base and quickly narrowed to a relentless point. The thing radiated malevolent cold. Even as I held it, icy pinpricks bit into the palm of my hand. I felt my arm draw back. This wasn¡¯t me. I realized the point of the willpower skill and my fingers tightened around the handle of the knife. This Narrative thrived on drama and violence. A skill that allowed people to brute force control their emotions and their actions seemed counterintuitive at first. Now though it all made sense. Willpower rolls were the mental equivalent to my ability to Ignore conditions. Nothing went away. It just built up, with the difficulty of the roll going ever higher. Like a spring tightening. More and more energy building up. Right until it snapped. The purpose of Willpower checks was to create the opportunity to fail Willpower checks. I felt the gentle but implacable touch of Celeste¡¯s fingers on my arm. She held back the strike. Strong as I was, she was stronger. Maybe I could have broken free, but I did not want that. This was the failed Willpower check, not me. I could see Madigan''s battered but still smiling face. I could see the flickered light of the lamps-locked in a static moment- reflect off the wall. I could see Philip reaching out to me out of the corner of my eye. I don¡¯t know if he meant to help or stop me. Either way he was frozen in the moment. I saw my reflection in the window. Semi transparent, a hulking umbral brute wrapped in stars and flanked by an Angel. I could see the look on Celestes face as well. She was determined to stop me, but in her features there was no anger, disappointment, or event judgement. Ever aspect of her was simply full of love. Not romantic love, but universal love. The uplifting and humbling love that comes from acceptance and kindness in all things. May as well speed run through the rest of this. I felt Celeste hand holding my arm. I felt the cold of the knife. I felt the soft fur of the lining of my armor. I felt the solid foundation of the floor. I could hear the hammering of my heart. I could hear the thrum of stopped time. I heard Celeste say, ¡°This isn¡¯t you, Doug.¡± As I lowered the knife I could smell the acrid stink of the smoke from the lamps, and the pungent reek of people pressed together. Tasting the enamel from my teeth, I turned to face Celeste, ¡°I¡­ I failed a Willpower roll.¡± I am more than any of my emotions, but in that moment¡­ Before she could speak a prompt flashed.
The eyes of a god are upon you! Tread carefully
Somehow I knew to look at the Knife and in the mirror-like surface of the blade I say the impassive eyes of a woman gazing back at me. I stepped back. Celeste stepped forward. The impassive eyes reflected in the blade stayed where they were. The knife moved, but she kept watching impassively. I realized the woman, goddess, had materialized. She was thin, her face almost skull-like, her flowing black hair was adorned with flowers. Her slender form was wrapped in a red cloak. The woman looked at her painted white hands holding the scythe. ¡°This isn¡¯t quite right.¡± she spoke with a dry and dusty voice. Suddenly she was wearing all black. A wide brimmed tall black cap sat on her head. A black jacket covered her torso and hung down over her black pants. Her feet were clad in black boots. Her face was still impossibly white but the skull-like quality changed. A pipe stuck out the corner of her mouth and a large iron hammer rested in her hand. ¡°Hmmm, still no.¡± Her voice now lost the grit and now had a stern foundation to it. Again her form simply changed. She was now a young woman. Her black hair was cut in an erratic explosion of back hair that somehow still looked deliberate and styled. She now wore a sleeveless black t-shirt bearing the name ¡®Otep¡¯. Her artistically tattered black jeans showed off a lot of pale skin. The makeup on her face included that egyptian curl under her left eye. ¡°This feels right,¡± she said, her voice perky and pleasant. ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked She smiled, ¡°Call me Debbie. I am the Goddess of death.¡± Chapter 81: Deus Ex-trajudicial Machina The Goddess just stood there watching us. The pleasant smile sat comfortably on her face. Eventually I said, ¡°Hello, Debbie. I am Doug.¡± ¡°NIce to meet you, Doug,¡± Debbie replied. After another slightly too long pause Celeste asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Do not worry Celeste of Truth. I am not here to collect you. You¡¯re alive again. That whole reincarnation maneuver you pulled juked me fair and square. You¡¯re alive¡­ for now anyways.¡± Debbie did take a few steps closer to us, but she wasn¡¯t really paying any attention to Celeste. Debbie¡¯s eyes were on the knife. I raised my hand holding the knife. Her gaze followed. ¡°You¡¯re here for this?¡± I asked. ¡°Not quite. I am here because of that. You are welcome to keep the knife, but I have to show up when an artifact of death is made.¡± She met my eye, ¡°You gotta keep tabs on them. Some people¡­¡± She shook her head and whistled. ¡°I am confused,¡± I stated. ¡°I can see that,¡± Debbie agreed as she ran a finger lightly along the length of the blade. ¡°This is really good work. I mean this thing is death, Divine Scale. I mean the list of beings this thing can¡¯t kill is really short.¡± My experience with Divine Scale players has been an odd grab bag. Debbie, like every ¡®god¡¯ before her, had me off balance. ¡°Debbie, is there something you want?¡± ¡°What¡­? Oh!¡± Debbie straightened and smiled, ¡°Let¡¯s take it one step at a time. I am here to evaluate this new Artifact. It is just oozing death. I check on all such artifacts. They tend to cause a lot of deaths. So knowing what¡¯s out there helps me dedicate resources.¡± She said the next bit out the corner of her mouth like it was a conspiratorial secret, ¡°Gotta cut corners where you can.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just here to look at the knife?¡± I asked. There is no way I was that lucky. ¡°At first yeah,¡± Debbie nodded, ¡°But, and it¡¯s a big but, I found you, the newest Titan Spawn. That requires special attention.¡± ¡°Get to the point,¡± Celeste insisted. ¡°Sorry, I am always a bit of a scatter brain,¡± Debbie apologized merrily. ¡°You see I am not just here. I am also in the depths of every dungeon. As we talk right now, I am also in the highrise of a San Paulo Hab-bloc. Even as I speak to you, I am gathering souls from the trenches of europe. Right THIS moment as you glare at me, I am also standing in the shadow of cloud city in the African veldt. I am simultaneously in the boiler room of an Elite Academy in Hong Kong talking to a would-be bully with a broken neck, and in the Australian outback waiting for the thralls to find a Daylight bunker. All of those situations take a personal touch, but this right here has my attention.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked. Debbie wore the mask of this bubbly person pretty well, but could tell it was an act. The strange bit was that she didn¡¯t seem to have any malice in her. If anything she was trying to hide how tired she was. Had she taken the equivalent to Titanic Mind? Debbie''s smile grew more sincere, ¡°I hold an affection for all children of the Titan of Darkness.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked again. Debbie took a step back, ¡°Tell you what. You tell me about David Clark, and I will explain myself. I will even grant a boon.¡± That statement had a lot of baggage attached to it. Besides the obvious emotional issues, if Debbie knew about David Clark, she knew about my- the Titan¡¯s- past. That meant something. I looked at her more carefully. ¡°Do I know you?¡± ¡°Because of my aspect I interact with the Titan¡¯s children more than most.¡± Debbie looked me up and down, ¡°Every child of the Titan has told me about David Clark. Each retelling of the tale is a little different. I want to hear your version of the story.¡± ¡°That is a hell of a thing to ask,¡± I said. The shape shifting basically made it impossible to recognize whoever this was. I was trying to read her mannerisms, but that wasn¡¯t giving me any hints either. The smile faded, and Debbie¡¯s posture changed as well. When she spoke her voice was gentle, empathetic, ¡°I know, but it is important. Please tell me about that night.¡± I just stood there for a long time. Celeste took my hand, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do what she tells you.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Debbie chimed in. ¡°This is a request.¡± I studied Debbie¡¯s face. What ever this was, it wasn¡¯t some fucked up power play to hurt me. ¡°All right fine.¡± I said. Where to begin, ¡°It was after¡­¡± ¡°The incident,¡± Debbie prompted. Signalling she knew about Marnie¡¯s suicide attempt and that wasn¡¯t the point of this exercise. ¡°If you already know why do you need me to say it?¡± I asked. ¡°I want to hear you tell the story,¡± Debbie insisted, ¡°I am going to zip my lips.¡± She mimed zipping her lips. After a moment she mimed unzipping them, ¡°Please continue.¡± she then zipped them again. Just thinking about Marnie.
Willpower Che- Skill roll aborted.
This probably needed to be approached in a roundabout way. I just started talking ¡°The thing people often get wrong about trauma is that we equate it to physical injury. I understand why. Everyone understands physical pain. All of us have fallen down, burnt ourselves, or gotten hit. It is a fact of life, a universal constant.¡± I needed to provide more context. ¡°Trauma is universal as well, but the nature of it is unique. Just like no two people are alike, the damage they carry is just as varied. This is what leads to people misunderstanding each other. Comparing the isolating stress of an abusive household, to the crushing weight of a dying loved one, to the relentless emptiness of knowing you are failing your child is pointless. I ¨C the Titan- lived all of those things. I can not quantify those experiences. Saying a broken arm is worse than a paper cut, no problem. You will just have to trust me when I say the night I met David Clarke was the lowest point in my existence.¡± That was enough stalling. Time to get into it. ¡°Marnie was in ICU and we were making plans to transfer her to the Behavioral Health Unit. Kate and I had spent the last two days basically there constantly, and most the previous six days there as well. Marnie¡¯s mother, Renae, had convinced me to go home for the night. There had been a,¡± I paused. I had been squeezing Celeste¡¯s hand. It had to be hurting her. Like I said before not to overstate things, but Celeste was there for me when I needed someone. She didn¡¯t have to do that. That meant something. She squeezed my hand back, ¡°Why does this matter?¡± Her words were calm but the faintest hint of anger touched every syllable. ¡°Ritual is important. Every child of the Titan has told me this story. This has a purpose, and I promise I am trying to help,¡± Debbie was unperturbed and still vaguely friendly. I believed Debbie. Yeah, she was weird, but so was the entire world. Unlike a lot of things though, I don¡¯t think she was acting in malice. I blinked a few times, ¡°Kate heard Renae and Jo talking. Kate didn¡¯t know Marnie had¡­ had tried to kill herself. Kate just didn¡¯t understand. She was six. The idea set Kate off. She felt abandoned. Watching Kate demand Marnie keep living. Screaming that she can¡¯t leave. It¡­ it forced me -the Titan- to reevaluate the situation. It is possible for two people to believe two contradictory things, and for neither to be wrong. One way or another my marriage was ending, and Kate was not ready for her to go. I didn¡¯t know what to do.¡±reflexively my thumb moved to touch my pinky finger, but Celeste was still holding my hand. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. I am not the Titan, ¡°First thing first was getting Kate a good night¡¯s sleep, her screaming at Marnie wasn¡¯t doing any good. We all needed to take a moment.¡± I was rambling. This whole thing was just so bizarre. What was the point of this? ¡°Take your time,¡± Debbie soothed, ¡°I am holding things still. Time is waiting on us.¡± I swallowed, ¡°Eventually I got Kate to go to bed. Once she was sleeping, I -the Titan- just sat on the couch, in the dark. It didn¡¯t seem right sleeping in the bed. I -the Titan- had been sleeping on the couch because of the fighting. Without her there the bed and the room were too big and empty anyways. I realized Marnie was going to die. Liver cancer this time. With treatment she only had a 31% chance to live past five years. With the suicide attempt she was off the donor list. Kate and I probably only had a few months left with her. That hit me there in the dark on that couch.¡± I sighed. ¡°The fact was time was limited, and I -the Titan- wasn¡¯t going to waste more of it fighting. At the very least Kate needed to be prepared. We needed to make the most of the time we had.¡± ¡°And I love that about you all,¡± Debbie chipped in. I blinked. I couldn¡¯t get a read on her. ¡°It was right at that realization I heard the window break.¡± I realized just how hard was gripping Celeste¡¯s hand. Squeezing as hard as I could. She met my eye and nodded. She was fine. She was stronger than me. I relaxed as I loosened my grip. ¡°I thought a branch had broken off the tree in the yard. I got up and checked and found myself face to face with a skinny guy in black clothes, with a ski mask and gloves. He also had a gun. I -the Titan- didn¡¯t quite freeze but we certainly stopped in our tracks. David Clark was a young man from well off parents. Trouble was he had several issues with addiction, pain pills and stimulants, and a lot of gambling debt. Now rather than ask his parents for a bailout, he figured he could rob our house. Morals aside, the idea wasn¡¯t completely idiotic. The house had some pretty good stuff by that time. He also knew we were planning on taking a two week vacation. Tight Knit neighborhoods have their ups and downs. Seeing the house empty for six days straight made him think the coast was clear.¡± I crafted a sheath for the knife. A quick mental effort and the piece of leather was equipped to my belt. I put the knife away, ¡°For the sake of clarity I am just going to keep saying I, when I refer to what happens next. Technically it is the Titan, but they are my memories too.¡± ¡°I gotcha,¡± Debbie assured. She turned to Celeste, ¡°Don¡¯t worry you¡¯re not burning through your time. We are in my domain, effectively anyways.¡± Strangely that statement didn¡¯t calm Celeste. Only Celeste was intimidated by that. ¡­Yep, just her. Better keep this going. ¡°I knew this guy wasn¡¯t a¡­ skilled individual with regard to guns. Rather than keep his distance he immediately stepped into my reach and poked me in the chest with the barrel. Don¡¯t get me wrong. This scared the shit out of me.¡± Even now thinking about it made my stomach clench. He had a .38 revolver. Not the biggest handgun in the world but more than enough to kill me dead. ¡°I told him, ¡®take what you need.¡¯ That didn¡¯t work. He shouted at me,¡¯You''re not supposed to be here!¡¯ David wasn¡¯t prepared for his criminal enterprise to go astray. I just stood there as he jabbed me with the gun. This wasn¡¯t some big dick move mind you. I was certain moving would provoke him to shoot me. Eventually I offered, ¡®Do you want money? I can get you money.¡¯ but the guy was panicking.¡± I shrugged, ¡°I sometimes wonder how things could have gone. All he would have had to do was move to my left. That was toward Marnie¡¯s and my bedroom and the patio door beyond it. Instead he moved to my right, toward Kate. What happened next was beyond adrenaline and beyond conscious thought. I grabbed the gun. That resulted in him shooting me twice in the leg. Once in the thigh and once in the knee. I managed to get the gun from him. Looking back on it now the second shot was probably due to me ripping the gun from him. I degloved his trigger finger, getting it from him. I was on the floor bleeding. I should have been in agony but I was way too terrified to even realize what was going on.¡± I had to take a breath. I wasn¡¯t breathing correctly. That was a lot easier to do since oxygen wasn¡¯t needed to survive anymore. ¡°I told him, ¡®just get out¡¯ as I pointed the gun at him. I had never been so cold as I was the moment I heard Kate say, ¡°Dad what¡¯s happening?¡± David heard that too. He was looking toward the source of the noise. What happened next may have just been bad luck. He took another step to the right, toward Kate. It could have been he was heading toward the hallway and meant to leave, but the moment he moved I shot him four times. Twice in the chest, once in the neck, and once in the head.¡± I was shaking. ¡°Parents want to protect their children. I ended up laying in a pool of my blood next to a corpse trying to calm a six-year-old enough so they could get the phone and call for help. I am alive today because my daughter knew how to call 911 and could tell the operator our address. The shot in the leg tore an artery. Once the adrenaline faded I passed out. ¡­What I did wasn¡¯t protection.¡± Debbie nodded. She was sympathetic. Gently she pressed, ¡°What happened next?¡± ¡°I woke up in the ER in the same hospital we had just left. A quick patch job and some blood and a lot of drugs made me stable again.¡± I smiled. ¡°Mark helped me duck the nurses, get into a wheelchair, and back to Marnie. I told her, ¡®Whatever happens next, we are doing it together, but we had to do what was best for Kate.¡¯ She agreed.¡± I shook my head, ¡°The fucked up bit was a few weeks later David¡¯s parents apologized to me, about what happened.¡± I quit reminiscing. I focused on Debbie ¡°Did I pass your test?¡± ¡°This wasn¡¯t a test,¡± Debbie said. ¡°Every child of the Titan has told me this story. You make the seventh. Your summary is very close to Nadia¡¯s, but they never mentioned his parents.¡± She looked sad for a moment. ¡°You said you would give him a boon,¡± Celeste insisted. I didn¡¯t care about that. Children of the Titan, I was the seventh. She knew Kate. ¡°I did,¡± Debbie agreed. If she took offense at Celeste being standoffish it didn¡¯t show. Maybe it was because she just wasn¡¯t concerned about either of us. It is hard to put into words, but I was beginning to pick up more and more on the general vibe of the relative power level of people I met. Debbie had the most oomph of anyone I met. The fact that Nadia and Zach, or at least their shadows were number two and three on that list, with Lola and Adora fighting for fourth and fifth made me slow to throw hands. Debbie walked towards me. She smiled reassuringly and then touched my shoulder. Gone was the pleasant, goth¡­ punk¡­ whatever. Before me stood a being both ancient and all encompassing. In that moment seeing the constant tumult of her ever shifting form, I realized Debbie wasn¡¯t many, she was legion. She followed the life and death of every player alive¡­waiting. In the fleeting glimpses of her multitudes I could see fragments of the world. Some of them were bloody. Some were peaceful. A few were even beautiful. Many were dramatic. All were inevitable ends. But in them I could not see Kate. When Debbie spoke her voice emanated power. It was a pale shadow to the Voice of the Titan, but it was comparable.¡°I know the uncertainty of that moment haunts you, so I am going to give you certainty now. Janie, Brand, and Howard are at this moment stopping Madigan''s followers from firing an artillery piece into the goblin camp. It would have killed forty people. For what it is worth, Howard spoke up partially because of what you told him.¡± She smiled briefly, ¡°So here¡¯s the deal. If you hand Travis Madigan back to the Mandir they are going to execute him within the hour. If you try to bring him with you to the tower, three goblins die. If you try and sit on him to prevent those three deaths, thousands die in the battle at the tower." She removed her hand. In front of me stood the kind young goth/punk smiling her friendly smile. Debbie took a step back from us. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± I asked. I admit it, I was shell shocked. Debbie nodded the smile back on her face, ¡°Yep, I wish you the best. Use that knife how you will. It was really nice talking to you.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± I shouted. ¡°Where¡¯s Kate?¡± Debbie paused. Eventually she spoke, ¡°She is somewhere I can¡¯t see. That means, she is either off of this planet, in the domain of the All-Death, or in the Final Dungeon in Antarctica.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I managed. ¡°Anytime,¡± Debbie said. She paused a beat, ¡°Maybe next time we meet we won¡¯t have to spend so much of it talking shop.¡± ¡°I would like that,¡± I said and on a lark I added, ¡°Next time could you wear the mask of discworld¡¯s death. Nothing against Gaimen, but Pratchet really nailed the character.¡± Debbie¡¯s smile looked a little sad, ¡°I can try, but getting the eyes and the voice right is hard. I can¡¯t hold the character long.¡± ¡°Then when you visit next, please be whatever is most comfortable for you,¡± no point making things harder. Things started rough with Debbie, but she narrowed my search down considerably. Also in her own round about way she helped me with Madigan. Debbie froze for a moment, ¡°Do you mean it?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll do that then,¡± and she was gone. Reality flickered. I was back where I was standing before I stopped time. Madigan fell to the ground, battered and bloody. The crowd was shouting. Nanny Shank was pounding her hammer. Sunit and Philip were back to cracking heads. I loomed over Madigan, ¡°Will you at least apologize? Ticky¡¯s sentence doesn¡¯t have a time limit. Say your sorry, and I hand you back to your people.¡± Madigan stood and glared at me, ¡°I am only sorry someone hasn¡¯t blasted these fucking monsters off the face of the Earth yet. Fuck apologies and fuck you!¡± I shrugged. Then, stabbed him in the heart with the knife and pumped ten mana into it. He looked surprised. In the end, I don¡¯t think he believed I would kill him.
Attack Successful. Travis Madigan takes 74 points of damage Eitrkaldr check¡­ Successful. Travis Madigan takes 274 points of cold damage Travis Madigan is slain. New Achievement! Rare Breed of Killer You have managed to kill a player of Rare Scale. That is no easy feat well for most people anyways. For you it is a lot like punting a toddler. Regardless of the ease, it was certainly dramatic. Good boy. You get a treat. Reward: Level Up! You are now Level 10!
Chapter 82: Playing a new game Noise and motion. That is what my executing Madigan caused. Despite the pandemonium surging, none of it really seemed to touch me. Sure, a lot of people were shouting at me directly, but no one was actually doing anything. Partially from the residual contact with Debbie I could just see the outline of Madigan¡¯s¡­ soul. He stood over his body. I felt Debbie¡¯s presence descend upon him. The voice of death declared, ¡°Travis Madigan, you are dead. Come, we should not linger.¡± I could just hear Madigan¡¯s response echoing and faint over the noise, ¡°You can¡¯t make me go.¡± Debbie chuckled, ¡°I don¡¯t make people do anything. I mostly just guide folks where they are meant to go.¡± Something similar to static in a digital image flashed through my senses, and they were gone.
You have activated Voice of the Titan.
¡°Stop,¡± despite ringing with cosmic power, my voice still sounded tired. ¡°Go back to your homes or tents. Don¡¯t start any more violence.¡±
Voice of the Titan deactivated.
Then I just walked out of the court. A fairly significant number of humans, and goblins followed me. Both quickly stopped tracing my steps as I continued to walk out into the cold and dark of the wastes. Out there, away from it all, in the dark I sat down and gazed at the stars. I am not sure how long I sat there, but after a momentary thrum of time stopping and brief pause in the roar of the wind Lola sat next to me. She waited a moment, and said, ¡°Solitude is habit forming. I recommend you indulge sparingly.¡± I almost snapped. When I spoke it was in an over calm tone, ¡°I thought you said you wanted to be friends.¡± If Lola felt embarrassed or chastened in any way it didn¡¯t show in her face, ¡°I did and I am working toward that. At our scale we rarely get to be people. We are effectively nations. Nations have stakes, interests and goals. Did I use you, yes, and in doing that I have increased you martial prowess, sheltered your allies, and handed you an army capable of leveling the tower. You, even if you won¡¯t admit it used me as well. We acted to the benefit of each other. If that isn¡¯t friendship, it is as close as people like us can get.¡± I just stayed quiet. Eventually Lola said, ¡°If you want to terminate our relationship that is fine, but I ask you allow Sunit to accompany you to the tower. I also must insist you honor your agreement and make pacts with Seth Cohen and Chino Minoru.¡± That wasn¡¯t surprising, ¡°I will, if you tell me why you did all this.¡± Lola shrugged, ¡°Travis Madigan stopped following my commands. I simply wish to elevate Seth Cohen as a new leader. The Apotheosis has left him weak. The benefit of your pact will allow him to level rapidly enough to be of use. The Mandir recently lost one of its strongest fighters. Minoru is also a gardener. With the death of his child he has no obvious heir. The healing benefits of your pact will stop and de-age him several years. As is. His death is the death of the Mandir.¡± ¡°Why is this place so important to you?¡± I demanded. ¡°It¡¯s not, the people are,¡± after a beat she amended, ¡°with a few notable exceptions. My plan is to endure until after you kill the demon of frost. Once the path is open I will send them back to the coasts.¡± ¡°You¡¯re giving up on this place?¡± I asked. Curious despite myself. ¡°In the last ten years two hundred of my followers have died out here. In that same time six were born, and eight more made the journey out to this place. Excluding the Chimera soldiers. If the Goblins aren¡¯t interested in becoming my followers this place is coming to an end.¡± She sighed. We went quiet for a long time after that. Eventually I pressed, ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Lola studied me for a long moment, ¡°is there something else you want from me?¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t going to apologize?¡± I asked. ¡°Gods don¡¯t apologize,¡± Lola said flatly. ¡°Friends do,¡± I explained. ¡°You hurt me Lola. Playing me against Madigan to engineer this conflict at the expense of others, and causing multiple deaths. That is not okay. I believe you when you say you thought you were working toward our mutual benefit. That said you used me. I would like you to apologize. I am sorry if I made you feel unsafe or like such behavior was necessary, and if possible would like to try one more time to actually be friends.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± Lola asked. She almost scoffed but instead she locked her eyes on me. ¡°Of course,¡± I met her gaze, ¡°I believe you when you say you aren¡¯t like Adora.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I will just manipulate you again,¡± Lola said. The weight of her gaze increased noticeably. Yeah she had a lot of steel in her eye, but there was something human there too. Technically that did nothing to lessen the risk, but still. My mind drifted back to Hank and Jo. They had no obligation to help me. Technically they had every reason in the world to just let me drift off into the foster care system. They went out of their way to save me. I shrugged, ¡°What can I say? It¡¯s what my heroes would do.¡± Mark would have done that for that matter. ¡°A titan spawn has heroes? Who? The Angel?¡± Lola asked. ¡°I respect Celeste and Angelica, but they are not who I am talking about,¡± I shook my head, ¡°Who they are doesn¡¯t matter to. It¡¯s why I look up to them that is relevant now.¡± ¡°You desperately want me to ask why,¡± Lola pointed out, not letting a moment of silence build tension. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°I am not going to lecture you,¡± I said, turning back to the stars. Even in that moment the quiet, cold beauty of the night sky¡­ it didn¡¯t make me feel at peace, but its vast totality certainly took the edge off. ¡°What made them great?¡± Lola asked. She wasn¡¯t demanding. It was a legitimate question. ¡°Oh they weren¡¯t great. They were so much better. They were good people. You had to give them a reason to not help someone. That is who they were, kind. that takes real courge in a world that does¡­ not¡­ care.¡± I turned back to Lola, ¡°Besides, for the immediate future at least, our goals align. I would like to try and do better.¡± We sat in the snow silent for a very long time. ¡°Sorry,¡± she said almost too quietly for me to hear. A nanosecond later she was gone. I should have been figuring out what to do next. Take stock of the situation and plan out next steps. Trouble is any plan required understanding where things stood. I needed to learn how the goblins responded to me forcing the trial, and probably from their perspective rage quitting the proceeding and just doing what I wanted. That said I just didn¡¯t have it in me in that moment. I was burnt out. If this was too much, did I have what it takes to lead people into war? That question needed an answer. Angelica sat down next to me. She waited a beat, and then lightly punched my shoulder. It kinda hurt. Technically it did cause a point of damage, but meh. I healed. There was a lot I wanted to say, but I didn¡¯t really trust myself to speak. I didn¡¯t like that it was easier to trade insults with Grond, or petition humanity from Lola or Adora, than to just be real with a friend. It shouldn¡¯t be that way, but what if I fucked up what we had. Angelica was one of the anchors of my world. Looking at the mental calculus I doubted we were equal. She kept pulling my fat out of the fire, at some point I was probably going to be too much effort. ¡°I get that you are doing the sad brooding thing, and probably processing a lot of shit,¡± Angelica spoke up, ¡°But hear me out. You can do that in the warlord tent. That snowlion you killed at the courthouse Philip is doing a hog roast of it¡­ lion roast. There are barbecued ribs.¡± ¡°I think I will just stay here a bit longer,¡± I said noncommittally. ¡°Kay,¡± She said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you cold?¡± I asked her. ¡°Very,¡± She admitted. ¡°You should go then.¡± I pointed out. ¡°Nah,¡± Angelica shot back. I sighed, ¡°I am trying to romanticize my melancholic isolation.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Angelica said quickly. After a short pause she added, ¡°And that¡¯s dumb. Stop it.¡± Something inside me clenched hard. I had to take a beat to relax, ¡°I just need to be alone. Angelica wasn¡¯t having it, ¡°No you want to be alone.¡± She was technically correct. Some say that is the best type of correct. I wasn¡¯t in the mood for semantics, ¡° Could you please just leave me alone?¡± ¡°Of course I can.¡± Angelica shifted, ¡°I am not going to though.¡± I was in a bad way and snapped at her, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Angelica looked uncertain. After a moment¡¯s consideration she said, ¡°Being someone who is there when you need them. Isolation only makes the pain worse, trust me. You don¡¯t have to talk to me, and if you really need space I¡¯ll give it to you, but don¡¯t run away from people that care about you. ¡­ maybe I am making an assumption but I think you want someone to tell you, you are not a monster. What happened was terrible, but it doesn¡¯t make you the bad guy.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I managed. I probably should have left it there, but I kept talking, ¡°I can¡¯t allow myself to make mistakes like this.¡± Angelica gave me some side eye. When she spoke it was a completely earnest question with no hint of rhetoric, ¡°Doug, are you God?¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. The conversation had taken a turn. ¡°Are you God?¡± She repeated. I had no idea where she was going with that, ¡°Systematically, I am a god.¡± ¡°No¡± Angelica cut me off. ¡°Capital ¡®G¡¯ God.¡± She paused for a moment and thought, ¡°Are you aware of the Christian God?¡± ¡°I know the concept,¡± I explained. ¡°So are you them?¡± Angelica pressed. ¡°No, but-¡± I started Angelica wasn¡¯t interested in indulging me, ¡°but nothing. It¡¯s okay to be human, Doug. it is the only way people like us can actually live.¡± She said that very calmly. Almost like I would announce the time of day. That said there was an underline conviction to it. Angelica believed it hard. I examined the idea. I had to admit, it was a solid idea with no obvious defects. Well except one, ¡°I need to hold myself accountable.¡± ¡°Accountable, sure, but this looks like you¡¯re just punishing yourself.¡± Angelica asserted. Dammit. She had an answer to everything. It was almost like I wasn¡¯t actually accomplishing anything by hiding out here in the snow. Honestly, it was kinda annoying. ¡­wait, this wasn¡¯t miles off from how I acted. Is that why I seemed to piss people off? ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. It was probably time to stand up. ¡°Any time,¡± Angelica said. She hesitated for a second and added, ¡°Debbie let me hear everything during the time stop as well.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ well now I have to misinterpret that. Make things weird and destroy our entire relationship,¡± I quipped. I was kinda stalling for time. Technically none of this was a secret and basically just made it one less retelling of a story. That said it would be nice to have been allowed to tell my friends on my terms. I guess I will have to take solace in getting to trauma dump on Brand at some point. Angelica took it in stride, ¡°Oh can we do that thing where if we just talk to each other for ten minutes uninterrupted we in theory could side step tragedy, but just don¡¯t?¡± ¡°If you want to, sure,¡± I said, ¡°We can do that thing where everything we are saying has double meanings but we each are hearing the other message. It will be very dramatic.¡± I almost froze after I said that. Maybe I could fix this, ¡°Or we can admit we aren¡¯t in a shit over done story, and something different.¡± ¡°Hear me out, Snow lion ribs,¡± Angelica said. ¡°Also holy shit it is too fucking cold to just sit in the snow. Get up. Let¡¯s go.¡± I stood, might as well clear the air, ¡°I know some of what happened at the Technacoast.¡± A complex look flitted across her face, ¡°Well fuck. How?¡± ¡°A Commune Check with Rachel. She was there when the plate fell.¡± I explained. ¡°Oh so, I am sure everything was framed in the best sort of light.¡± Angelica considered what to say next. ¡°We don¡¯t have to talk about it, but if you need someone, I am around.¡± I said. ¡°I appreciate that, but what if we just pretend neither of us know and just keep on keeping on?¡± Angelica asked. I Shrugged, ¡°I am not going to pry. I have parts of my history I am not excited to share with others.¡± ¡°Yeah, but you are like a really closed off person,¡± Angelica shoulder checked me. I just stared at her. ¡°My catastrophic issues do not negate your observable problems,¡± Angelica joked. Like a lot of good jokes it was shockingly profound when played straight. I laughed. God, I needed that. We were nearing goblin camp. I had mulled over a lot of the things Angelica had said. Yeah I needed to say it, ¡°With that thing we are just keeping on keeping on. I don¡¯t have all the details. What happened to you was terrible, but doesn¡¯t make you the bad guy. Angelica, you are not a monster.¡± She missed a step. After a moment Angelica took my hand, ¡°You¡¯re a good guy, Doug.¡± Everything went still. The tell-tail thrum of time stopping echoed
All Processes stopped. Arbitration begins in¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­
What fresh hell is this? Chapter 83: Knight to A6 Just Like that I was in the conference room. No wait, we were in the conference room. Angelica was still holding my hand. I had a complex feeling about that. I wanted Angelica and Celeste here¡­ or at least I dreaded being alone with narrators. That said them being here meant they were in someone''s sights. Paltry protection it may be, but not being visible lessened the likelihood of someone casually lashing out at them. Accessibility is a massive factor of abuse. That one extra step has probably saved untold lives. Whatever happened next, I guess we were in this together. ¡°Where is everyone?¡± Angelica asked. She didn¡¯t let go of my hand. ¡°They are probably waiting for an obnoxious moment to materialize behind us,¡± I answered. Nope. No spontaneous asshole manifestation. Should I be disappointed? An idea occurred to me, ¡°Should we wreck the place?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t¡± Denise begged. She had appeared behind me and stepped into view. ¡°Why? Is someone going to teleport me into the sun if I toss the place?¡± I asked. ¡°No. They will make me clean it up,¡± Denise sighed. She looked like she was coming to terms with the likely need for sweeping. Dammit. I wasn¡¯t sure, but I don¡¯t believe Denise had done me any wrong. She was a narrator - intern- did that distinction matter? I studied her for a moment, trying to determine if she looked guilty. Nope, just vaguely afraid of me. The only difference from the last time I saw her was she wasn¡¯t wearing the punishment hat anymore. ¡°So you can talk to me again,¡± I asked. Denise nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Oh is that why Celeste is annoyed.¡± Angelica looked back and forth between me and Denise, ¡°You don¡¯t want an intern Doug. They aren¡¯t helpful.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Denise insisted quickly. She clearly did not want me thinking she was useless. ¡°Sure,¡± Angelica said, doubtfully. After a beat she continued. ¡°Tell us what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Denise admitted, not quite crying. ¡°Our deal stands,¡± I told Denise. Angelica face-palmed, ¡° What deal did you make?¡± ¡°We agreed to not mess with or harm each other. No system prompts involved,¡± I explained. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not so bad,¡± Angelica admitted mollified. Another thought struck me, ¡°Hey Denise, Does this room get booked for these meetings?¡± ¡°Yeah, ¡° she said. ¡°Does this meeting have a name?¡± I pressed. Denise pulled her phone out. She read it and frowned, ¡°It is titled: Cock Slap.¡± While that was very unhelpful in general, it pointed to this being Wilson¡¯s meeting. Grace, and Lindsey wouldn¡¯t have picked that title. Brandon wasn¡¯t creative enough to come up with the joke. Marge might name something like that, I didn¡¯t have a great read on her yet, but I didn¡¯t see any goblins in the room¡­ ¡°Am I about to get hit in the dick or by one?¡± I asked mostly to fill time. ¡°Let it be a surprise, Kid,¡± Wilson appeared behind me. When I turned to look at him I was surprised to find him looking well rested and in a fresh clean suit. He was also carrying a tray with a bottle of champagne and four glasses. ¡°What the actual fuck is happening?¡± I demanded. I would have lumbered toward him but Angelica held me back. She squeezed my hand hard. Wilson set down the tray and leered. His grin was that impossible uncanny valley smile he favored when dropping his facade at being human, ¡°You finally killed someone!¡± he cheered. ¡°I killed Grond,¡± I argued on reflex. ¡°Nah, you killed one of his several avatars, and we both know that didn¡¯t stick,¡± Wilson snapped back to his jovial facsimile of personhood. ¡°This though was you ending a full and complete being. You snuffed out a sapient life! So folks around here doubted you, but knew you had it in you, Kid.¡± I sighed, ¡°Wilson, this is lame. I get it you are malicious and love to take every chance you can to kick the dog. The thing is, Fuck Madigan. I am not going to celebrate his death, but I don¡¯t regret killing him. I gave him every opportunity to walk away from this, and he just kept being a hateful killer. Fuck him. No one is going to miss him.¡± ¡°Except his daughter,¡± Wilson smiled back. He knew that hit me like a slap to the face. He then put the boots in. ¡°She turns twelve in the spring. That¡¯s a tough time for a kid. Dontcha think?¡± I was silent for a long time. ¡°Stop claiming I can¡¯t hurt you, Kid,¡± Wilson said, removing the foil and wire around the cork, ¡°It is just a waste of our time.¡± I let go of Angelica¡¯s hand. When she held on, I had to pull free. I stomped toward the smaller narrator, ¡°You know Wilson. One of these days, someone is just going to hit you?¡± Wilson, still smiling, popped the cork. It bounced off my shoulder, ¡°Go ahead. Make a move. One free shot. No blow back on you, I will just deal with it.¡± I almost took the swing. That doesn¡¯t convey how close I was. I was on my last nerve. Honestly, when it came to narrators I was looking for an excuse to hurt one. Wilson had taken every opportunity to goad me¡­ That is actually what gave me pause. If he was actually trying to piss me off, now was a moment for patience. ¡°I am gonna bank that.¡± Wilson gave me a genuine smile. The kind a pet owner lavished on a pet that finally figured out a trick. ¡°Look at you, thinking one move ahead.¡± he poured some of the champagne into each of the glasses. ¡°It is a day of first!¡± He offered me a glass. ¡°You expect us to be friends?¡± I demanded. Wilson shrugged, ¡°You could always try and develop a working relationship with Grace. That joyless bitch is gonna come in here and lobby for you to be killed after the tower.¡± he raised the glass and gulped it down. ¡°You really want me to pick a fight with her,¡± I observed. ¡°...No¡­ that would be the worst.¡± Wilson said in a stilted almost pornstar style delivery. ¡°Plus we are all working together in this.¡± He started talking normally again, ¡°Besides, you probably couldn¡¯t take her in a fight.¡± I frowned at him. ¡°Go ahead and use that Analyze skill on me,¡± Wilson encouraged as he picked up another glass and tilted it back.
Analyze Check¡­ Partially Successful
Name: Wilson Jones
Race: Neomen (humanoid)
Class: Smiling Doom
Level: 78
HP: 3,900
Power: Not Available
Mobility: Not Available
Body: Not Available
Mind: Not Available
Face: Not Available
Magic: Not Available
Note: This being exists outside the Narrative and has no Scale. No Further information available.
What a shock. Something related to Wilson was unhelpful, and vaguely threatening. There was a lot to unpack with this character sheet. Level 78 and nearly four thousand hit points drew the eye. The Class Smiling Doom certainly sounded ominous. Hell, even not actually getting any info on stats was troubling. My focus was on the last name, Jones. Rather than engage with the fact that Wilson of all being had the same last name as the Titan, I asked, ¡°What is a Neoman?¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s right you do not know,¡± WIlson said. He leaned in conspiratorially, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you. Spoilers and all.¡± ¡°Why are you level 78, and Divine Scale based off of hit points, and Denise is just level 0?¡± I asked. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I work for a living,¡± Wilson explained, unhelpfully. ¡°Denise was born here and is one of those kids that just doesn¡¯t want to work. That¡¯s why she is still level zero.¡± ¡°I am level 8 now,¡± Denise piped up.¡± Wilson applauded condescendingly, ¡°Congratulations while at no personal risk, you are leveling slower than Doug does. He has multiple holds on his XP, what¡¯s your excuse.¡± rather than wait for an answer he turned back to me. ¡°Speaking of which when are you two gonna hit it raw?¡± I took a step back from Wilson. ¡°Condoms are a requirement,¡± Angelica said flatly, not surprised by this. ¡°Agreed,¡± I wasn¡¯t going to challenge Angelica¡¯s boundaries. Not just because that is a fucked up thing to do. The twin reasons of not wanting to procreate without intent and spiting Wilson also guided my words. Wilson pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted while he spoke, ¡°I am just saying, it would make a lot of people happy if you finally put out,¡± he looked up from the phone, ¡°Is the issue Angel, here is too manish?... not manish enough? Cause Brand is right there.¡± And once again Wilson specific sort of bullshit had me on the back foot, ¡° That is not the issue-¡± I started. Capitalizing on my engaging with his nonsense, Wilson cut in, ¡°is it a power thing?¡± ¡°I mean kinda-¡± I tried. This was a mistake. I should know better by now. Wilson wasn¡¯t acting in good faith. Wilson put his phone away, ¡°Say no more. We can have Denise trussed up like a turkey or a pony in no time.¡± ¡°Ew! No!¡± I snapped. That probably sounded bad. I turned to Denise, ¡°No Offense.¡± ¡°None taken!¡± She replied immediately, slowly creeping out of arm''s reach. ¡°Hold on to the feeling. Nurture it. Internalize it.¡± ¡°Doug, we are losing the plot,¡± Angelica pointed out. ¡°Oh, right, sorry,¡± I replied with a polite nod to her. I rounded on Wilson again, ¡°What the fuck are we doing?¡± ¡°Arbitration,¡± Wilson said, before drinking the third glass. After emptying it, he tossed it over his shoulder. ¡°What are you people trying to change?¡± I growled. I wasn¡¯t going to hit him. If he kept talking shit, I may just devote an unhealthy amount of my life to getting super high level so that when I do hit him, i would fucking hurt. ¡°I was just about to ask the same thing,¡± Lindsey declared. She and Brandon were back. ¡°Wait, is this because of something stupid you did?¡± I asked her, pointing at her. She just glared at me. So I pointed to Brandon. Brandon flinched back, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t request a retcon.¡± ¡°This is Wilson¡¯s meeting,¡± Grace said as she appeared at the head of the table. Everyone looked to Wilson. He gave us all a shit eating grin. ¡°What are we doing here?¡± Angelica asked. The faintest hint of fear in her uncertain tone that chilled me. Wilson pulled out his phone. It instantly started ringing. Wilson was a generic ringtone guy. The screen said ¡°The Boss¡±. He answered, ¡°Hello Mr. Smith. I have you on speaker.¡± ¡°Oh? Who else is with you?¡± Mr. Smith asked. ¡°I have Doug, Grace, Denise and a few others not worth mentioning,¡± Wilson said in a chipper tone. He was being polite to Mr. Smith, but he still took a potshot at Brandon and Lindsey. Lindsey clenched her fists. She took a step toward Wilson, but stopped in her tracks when Grace glared at her. Brandon tried to put Denise between him and the phone, but the intern got her back to the wall before the weasel thought to move. ¡°The whole team then. That¡¯s good.¡± Mr. Smith said. I could hear the sound of paper shuffling. ¡°I am calling to look at your request, Wilson. I gotta say it isn¡¯t something you see every day.¡± He paused a moment, ¡°What is the current GRP?¡± ¡°Almost 60k,¡± Wilson answered. When he saw Lindsey¡¯s face he leered as he added, ¡°This most recent arc accounts for more than twenty percent of the growth.¡± ¡°I do like those numbers,¡± Mr. Smith conceded. ¡°That said, I do have concerns that you may be stretched too thin.¡± ¡°That is quite valid, sir,¡± Wilson said deferentially, ¡°But I do have a plan to elevate some of the more industrious interns to have them function as hands on support for the related stories. Denise for example already has a good working relationship with Doug.¡± ¡°Is that true Doug?¡± Mr. Smith asked me. ¡°Yeah. I would rather work with Denise than Lindsey or Brandon,¡± I admitted. I mean, what choice did I really have? Lindsey was obviously trying to kill me, and Brandon was the negligent homicide poster boy. ¡°Why you-¡± Lindsey started. She managed to stop herself and gazed back at the phone. ¡°I am glad to hear that,¡± Mr. Smith said warmly. I could hear the slow sound of some typing, ¡°I am taking a few notes. If everyone is happy with that arrangement, I see no reason to not move forward then.¡± ¡°I have concerns,¡± Grace spoke up. Wilson frowned at her. uh-oh. ¡°Please tell me,¡± Mr. Smith prompted. I could hear more clacking of keys on his end. ¡°This Titanspawn has derailed multiple story lines,¡± Grace started. ¡°Due to inadequate methods,¡± Wilson chipped in. Grace shot him a look. Her voice remained emotionless but she was about to throw hands. ¡°He threatened Brandon,¡± She looked to me, ¡°with a sword.¡± ¡°And Brandon folded like a lawn chair,¡± WIlson added. ¡°Really¡­?¡± Brandon whined. ¡°That does point to having Wilson and Denise continue working with Doug,¡± Mr. Smith mentioned, still clacking away. ¡°This Titanspawn already has Mental Resistance, and Dark magic. Furthermore The impending edge available is Energy Manipulation.¡± Grace pressed on. She focused on the phone, ¡°These factors mixed with the Crafting capacity could result in the titan spawn having multiple invincibilities. It would be like having a second Nadia.¡± Wilson frowned again. The phone was quiet for a long time, ¡°That is a legitimate problem. How would you handle this?¡± ¡°Death at the tower. Maintain Experience progression holds. After a climax arrange a self sacrifice of some sort.¡± She looked at Angelica, ¡°Probably to save a lover.¡± Wilson laughed, ¡°Holy shit! Those two will barely hold hands.¡± ¡°Technically there are three of us,¡± I added. Not to help Wilson so much as to fuck with Grace. Wilson pointed at me, ¡°Exactly. The angel is dangerously thirsty. Give them half a chance and they would ride any horse to victory, but it is almost like forcing the mood kills the sex drive.¡± Wilson is an asshole. I am not sure what pissed me off more, Grace trying to dictate my lovelife, or Wilson using her manipulation to manipulate me. Fuckers¡­ one and all. ¡°What do you recommend then, Wilson?¡± Mr. Smith asked. He didn¡¯t sound overly amused. ¡°Oh that is easy,¡± Wilson said, ¡°Have the Kid, go to the tower. Probably have three clashes with demons on the way up. One with him, Angel, and that Frosty guy, to build hype and set stakes. Keep the level hold on until after the tower, have the clash, and the fall out. Then If Doug is still standing provide a reason for him to not take Energy Manipulation, otherwise let him have it.¡± ¡°You would just let him have that?¡± Mr. Smith asked, he sounded more curious than anything. ¡°Yeah, Nadia is pretty easy to manage. I have done it since¡­ well since you got promoted sir,¡± Wilson started. ¡°Go on,¡± Mr. Smith prompted typing. ¡°You just let them do what they want to do,¡± WIlson said. Mr. Smith stopped typing, ¡°Why would we even consider that." Wilson shrugged, ¡°I mean I got 60k reasons to let us try. Do you have any other story pulling those numbers?¡± ¡°That is hard to argue with.¡± Mr. Smith conceded. He typed something, ¡°Are sure you want to do this? ¡°Absolutely,¡± Wilson was beaming. ¡°Alright. Ideally we would have teams handling things like this, but if you are willing. I will make Wilson the Official Narrator for the Titan, and all storyline connected to them. He is going to have the final say on all day to day Narrative beats. Grace I expect you to get your team aligned and supporting Wilson in this. What he says goes¡­for now.¡± Mr. Smith¡¯s voice turned stern, ¡°Got It?¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Grace said, still emotionless. ¡°Good,¡± Mr. Smith said, still stern, ¡°Wilson. Don¡¯t mess this up. When you are done putting things back. Come up to my office. We need to talk.¡± The line went dead. ¡®Goddammit,¡± Angelica muttered. ¡°Wait what the fuck just happened?¡± I asked. ¡°I got promoted,¡± WIlson said, picking up the last glass of champagne. He downed it, ¡°Promoted on top of Grace.¡± he smiled at her, ¡°It is just like the rude drawings on the bathroom mirror.¡± ¡°You¡¯re position is precarious,¡± grace pointed out, ¡°all that needs to happen is for Doug to die.¡± ¡°Best of luck with that, the Kid may be rock stupid, but he is country strong. The most inconvenient form of strong.¡± Wilson shot back. He started checking his pockets. ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Lindsey snapped. ¡°Cigarettes,¡± WIlson said, ¡°I really need one.¡± ¡°Stress finally getting to you,¡± she sneered. ¡°Nah,¡± Wilson said pulling a pack out his pocket, ¡°I just want to bask in the afterglow of fucking literally everyone in this room.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to put up with this,¡± Lindsey stated. She turned to Grace as if to confirm that claim. Grace was still watching Wilson. A calculating look on her face. As she spoke her eyes remained on Wilson, ¡°We will of course act in good faith and act in regard to the best story for the audience,¡± Wilson beamed, ¡°Well said.¡± ¡°We are going now,¡± Grace declared as she turned and walked out the door. I was shocked to see a hallway beyond it. Was this an actual building? Brandon jogged after her, and Lindsey walked out in a pace that was clearly a forced slow speed to demonstrate she was not running. ¡°I thought you were already in charge of things,¡± I said watching Wilson. ¡°Your approval is what gets me out of bed in the morning, Kid,¡± Wilson shot back. When I just kept watching him he continued, ¡°I was just the Narrator responsible for the All-Death¡¯s story. Basically a nobody. That story doesn¡¯t have any real viewership and most Narators know Nadia will just kill you if you try and talk with them. That¡¯s part of the reason Angel there sought me out.¡± I looked to Angelica, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The story I was on¡­ it killed my brother. It was going to kill my dad too,¡± Angelica sighed. ¡°Celeste pointed out the option to petition for a change and I asked for whoever handled Nadia¡¯s story. They seemed to be extremely hands off.¡± ¡°I would offer to let you go back to Fiona, but I had to rip her heart out of her chest,¡± Wilson turned to Denise, ¡°Did I chop her head off?¡± Denise flinched at his attention, ¡°No. You chopped Toby, the intern¡¯s, head off.¡± ¡°Right he made the worst coffee,¡± Wilson nodded. ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked. ¡°That his parents probably never taught him anything,¡± Wilson replied before blowing a cloud of smoke in my face, ¡°It is really common in Narrators born into the system. Isn¡¯t that right Denise?¡± Denise looked down at the floor, ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t born into the system?¡± I asked. ¡°Nope, I climbed the scale ladder.¡± He stood arms wide, ¡°Drink it in Kid, you too Angel, if you play your cards right perhaps one day you can be just like me.¡± he laughed, ¡°As if.¡± he stopped laughing, ¡°We are running out of time. Anyways. Welcome to Wilson¡¯s World. I am gonna run the train, and there ain¡¯t no brakes. Sit back and enjoy the ride.¡± We were back in the snow, maybe another five hundred feet back from where we were. Time started again. Angelica tried to keep walking, but I just stopped in my tracks. Angelica looked at me. She pulled my hand, but I just stayed still.
Voice of the Titan Activated.
The titan had taken control of my words again. My movements were also subtly stilled. My vision blurred as my eyes unfocused. Then they saw beyond the veil into the afterlife based off the glimpse of Debbie. Then into something else that I couldn¡¯t make out. The Titan looked at and into Angelica ¡°What I am about to say is not merely for the benefit of you, nor the glimmer of light that hides behind your eyes,¡± The Titan raised his eyes to the night sky and the moon, had it always been full? ¡°This is just as much for those who creep and spy in our world and beyond,¡± he looked around us and things in the shadows beyond the veil flitted away. ¡°You believed yourselves unknown and grew bold. You are overextended and committed. Your paths are set. The Chosen one and my left hand will go to the tower, and you will all learn the true meaning of fear.¡± The Titan had almost growled the last bit. He straightened my back and cleared my throat, ¡°This is my opening move. I await your response.¡±
Voice of the Titan Deactivated.
He was gone. Neither his arrival nor his departure harmed me in any way, but¡­ okay. I could wax philosophically about the existential nature of the dread that caused. It is probably not worth it. I was literally not in control of my own body. It could be taken away at any time. To my knowledge there was nothing I could do to stop it. 280 years. I am not the titan. My vision was still blurred. At first I thought it was because my eyes would not focus, but upon blinking I realized I was crying. Treat this like everything else: understand, come up with a plan, then do. I was scared, because of the weight of everything. There was nothing I could do directly at this time to address the Titan, the Narrators, or any unforeseen problem inevitable on its way. I would simply have to deal with those things as they arrived. That meant my fear needed to be addressed. I need to relax. Spend time with friends, eat, maybe sleep. I wiped my eyes, ¡°You mentioned ribs.¡± Before Angelica could answer, I was glomped by a snow lion. I really needed to write the dog lover¡¯s manifesto. Chapter 84: We’ll Call Them Frigloos I was given just over an hour of time in the warmth to decompress. So¡­ barbecued snow lion ribs¡­ are mid. It turns out cat meat is not like beef or pork, and cooking the same doesn¡¯t work. No Idea why the Lion¡¯s Share¡¯s Pot produced good food. Okay good is a stretch. It was bland, but the ribs¡­ they tasted of sadness, and dry grit. Fuck snow lions. I took another bite. If they were gonna eat me, I was absolutely gonna eat them. Balance the scales. Like I said, the era of low stakes and no responsibility did not last. What broke the peace? Mobs? An angry god? More violence from the Mandir? Nope. it was a truly irresitable force, thirst. Rachel had shown up and informed me both her soldiers, and a large number of goblins wanted to cash in on my offers of a swingers night. Not how I would phrase things, but we had come too far¡­ stop giggling. ¡°What are we doing?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Creating a¡­ space to handle this.¡± I paused, and looked at Spine, ¡°Aren¡¯t you kinda young to be here?¡± Spine eyed me. He knew he had been caught, but he also knew I was stupid, ¡°Outside? There isn¡¯t really a minimum age for that Doug.¡± ¡°You know what I mean,¡± I insisted. I really didn¡¯t want to go into frank specifics about sex with him, or the majority of people for that matter. ¡°I do, but it is funnier to mess with you,¡± Spine punched my leg, ¡°besides this is going to be funny as hell.¡± ¡°You always take me to the nicest places,¡± Angelica observed. She watched the crowd with a dubious look on her face. I shrugged. We kept heading toward the chimera soldiers camp. Once we got to the center of the crowd, I nearly stopped in my tracks. I had to fight not to laugh. It is wrong to laugh at people, but hear me out. They were lined up standing in at-ease staring across a gap of roughly a hundred feet to look at a horde of goblins. Two of the chimera soldiers were in what appeared to be dress uniforms. Their clothes were dark black with red highlights and gold buttons. Think more sith lord rather than Nazi. The rest had clearly tried to clean up and look more presentable to a lesser degree. Two of them had clearly just showered, and because of the cold now had helmets of frozen solid ice-hair. Then there were the three in their underwear. I get the idea. If you have a strong, tone body you can flaunt the aesthetically pleasing nature of it. That said it was super cold and they clearly regretted this choice. I am pretty sure they weren¡¯t gonna die¡­pretty sure. Then there were the goblins. They had clearly approached this with a similar mindset. Just less restraint or maybe focus. It is a bit hard to say. The first obvious difference between the goblin and the Chimera soldiers was head count. For each Chimera soldier ¡­participating¡­ in this endeavor there were approximately thirty goblins. That was a considerable mismatch. Most of the goblins seemed to realize that statistically they were unlikely to succeed in this particular love quest. So about half were just here to watch the attempts of other peoples¡­ attempts to connect. Some of the more industrious were selling alcohol, mushroom wine apparently. The wine thing was kinda interesting but a large group of drunk and horny people did concern me as a potential source of idiocy and violence. Nanny Shiv was standing next to Rachel. Both of them were looking at me, and they didn¡¯t look happy. ¡°Uh-oh, you''re in trouble,¡± Spine observed. He said it in a borderline taunting way, but he did move to have my bulk function as a human shield. ¡°That is becoming my basic state,¡± I admitted to him quietly. ¡°Yeah, but that is because of the consequences of your choices,¡± Angelica teased. ¡°You¡¯re here too,¡± I pointed out. ¡°...yeah, but this is funny,¡± Angelica shrugged. Rachel had that stressed look. You know the one. The one someone gets when they have to be the responsible adult in a situation. Specifically when they desperately do not want to be involved in what is going on, but will get in trouble for what is about to happen. ¡°Doug, why did you do this?¡± ¡°Same question but add like three exclamation points,¡± Nanny Shiv added. ¡°It is too cold for a bunch of stupid people to be messing around in the snow.¡± ¡°I was simply trying to calm the concerns the goblins had about possibly being murdered by Chimera Corps soldiers.¡± I started. I considered, ¡°I didn¡¯t really think through what I said. I mentioned some of your people expressed interest in¡­ relations with goblins. Apparently there was way more interest in this idea that I anticipated.¡± Everyone looked at me like I was stupid. That is always a bad sign. I know I am not the smartest man in the world. As a generally rule you don¡¯t want feedback on your mental capacity. Unprompted unanimous negative reviews implied a need to re-evaluate my actions. ¡°Okay, since we are doing this¡­¡± Nanny Shiv paused to rub her temple, ¡°We need to actually organize this. What the hell are we doing?¡± Rachel looked uncomfortable, ¡°about half of my soldiers would like to have sex with a goblin, consensually.¡± Nanny Shiv nodded, ¡°Some goblins are open to that idea. How logistically do you expect to do this.¡± ¡°I guess just let people talk to each other,¡± Rachel offered. ¡°We just talk to them!¡± A goblin in the crowd roared. This caused the crowd to surge right past the idiots in their underwear. Corporal Jeffery Todd, the fish-eyed looking dude was immediately swarmed by over a hundred goblins. I don¡¯t know exactly what I expected beyond stupidity, but it wasn¡¯t this. The Corporal also wasn¡¯t expecting this sort of attention. He wasn¡¯t quite mobbed but the press of bodies was beginning to buffet the guy. Dammit. I waded into the crowd and seized the fisheyed corporal. With no better idea I simply lifted him into the air above my head. ¡°Let him go you cock-blocking mountain,¡± A goblin shrieked as she kicked my shin. Ow. That hurt. Well my feeling anyways ¡°We are not going to just swarm them,¡± I declared. ¡°Aw!¡± one of the soldiers whined. Rachel, Nanny Shiv, and I ignored that. ¡°This needs more structure.¡± Nanny Shiv pointed out. She looked through the crowd. ¡°Glitzy you aren¡¯t here for sex. You just want attention. Get over here.¡± Glitzy was a goblin in a violently pink suit with a massive pompadour. ¡°Yes, Nanny? He asked in a deep stentorian voice. He really sounded like a game show announcer. Someone how his words cut through the roar of the crowd without effort. Nanny Shiv looked vaguely annoyed at him, ¡°let¡¯s just run this like one of those stupid dating shows. You introduce a human. They say what they are looking for, and we introduce goblins until they find something they like. Then they can go off and do whatever.¡± ¡°Where will they go? Glitzy asked. ¡°Will they be touring our lovely camp? Privacy is at a premium there. Or will our Goblin few be given an exclusive behind the scenes tour of the Chimera soldiers¡¯¡­camp?¡± Nanny Shiv glared at Rachel and me. Angelica was watching with a shit eating grin. ¡°Don¡¯t take this the wrong way, but I am not entirely comfortable with my soldiers just wandering around the camp individually,¡± Rachel said. She was trying to sound professional and collected as we discussed the logistics of ¡­ I wanna say shoreleave. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I get it, and I don¡¯t want goblins wandering too far from the camp either,¡± Nanny Shiv agreed. ¡°We need neutral ground. Somewhere everyone can be comfortable,¡± Spine chipped in. ¡°Actually speaking of comfort,¡± I muttered, ¡°You good Jeff?¡± I asked the soldier I was still holding aloft. ¡°I mean don¡¯t make this weird, but I feel strangely safe in your grasp?¡± the Corporal admitted. ¡°All of you get back on the goblin side of the clearing,¡± Nanny Shiv barked at the crowd. Everyone was looking at me again. I really wish they would stop doing that. Poking the bear I asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Could you make a bunch of structures for people,¡± Nanny Shiv asked. ¡°I guess,¡± I set Corporal Jeff down next to Glitzy. I took a moment to ensure he wouldn¡¯t be tackled immediately. I walked away as Glitzy started to seemingly interview Jeff. ¡°So, Jeff as our most eligible bachelor, what are you looking for?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Jeff managed. I kept walking. I saved him once. He was on his own with this. ¡°Ladies? Gentlemen? A little of both?¡± Glitzy prompted. ¡°Ladies is too much,¡± Jeff replied, ¡°One is probably enough.¡± Do not laugh at people I told myself. We had hit the edge of the crowd and things were getting dark. Spine and Angelica had followed me. As soon as we cleared Nanny Shiv¡¯s line of sight they burst out laughing. ¡°Can you believe that?¡± Angelica managed eventually. ¡°This is such a shit show.¡± ¡°I know, the pretty boy has no clue what to do,¡± Spine added. ¡°Wait,¡± Angelica paused, ¡°You think That guy is good looking?¡± Spine shrugged, ¡°I mean he isn¡¯t my type, but he is clearly good looking.¡± he began squinting at us. ¡°Why?¡± I really looked at Spine. He didn¡¯t seem all that different from most goblins, other than taller and more muscular. Goblins were for the most part just little green people; the tallest goblin was maybe five and half feet tall. They tended toward a bit leaner frames than a human. Goblins also had larger eyes that humans, elves or dwarves. It wasn¡¯t extreme but it was observable. Goblins also had pointed ears like elves. The only other difference from a human face was goblins tended to have a mouth full of pointy teeth. I couldn¡¯t quite figure out why the goblins would find Corporal Jeffery Todd with his carp-like face as the most attractive man in the group. ¡°Just trying to figure things out,¡± Angelica explained, ¡°What about Doug? How does he look to goblins?¡± ¡°Goblins who are into masculine features are really into Doug. There is a lot of interest in his hands and feet.¡± Spine said immediately. ¡°That is specific,¡± I said, determined not to examine my hands. ¡°Huh,¡± Angelica said. She considered for a moment, ¡°What about me?¡± ¡°Most don¡¯t think you are that masculine but a few people are interested in your feet,¡± Spine answered. ¡°I think she was asking if goblins find her attractive?¡± I stepped into the conversation. ¡°Oh yeah.¡± Spine replied, nodding. ¡°She is right behind that Rachel lady on the pretty scale according to goblins.¡± ¡°Wait really? Why?¡± Angelica asked reflexively. I could tell she immediately regretted asking. Spine shrugged, ¡°I dunno, goblins do have a type.¡± I didn¡¯t particularly care about the type that goblins did or did not have. My main focus was to figure out some sort of structure. I considered, ¡°Should I just construct a longhouse? Something like 10 by 20?¡± ¡°You going to have them playing dodgeball in there?¡± Spine asked, shocked. ¡°It isn¡¯t that much space,¡± I argued. ¡°Four on four team dodgeball,¡± Spine insisted. ¡°That is what ten by twenty gets you.¡± ¡°Ten by ten?¡± I asked. I Grew less certain of my understanding of many things. ¡°So they can play hide and seek?¡± Spine asked. ¡°It¡¯s cold Doug. What are you going to do with that much room?¡± Angelica grinned ¡°They are gonna play hide something.¡± she considered for a moment, ¡°Maybe an eight foot half sphere?¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t a lot of space. People would have to huddle up,¡± I said thinking about things from my giant body''s perspective. ¡°Kinda the point,¡± Spine and Angelica said at the same time. I quit arguing.¡°Alright I will try,¡± I said, willing the ice to distort.
Construction check¡­ Successful 1x Igloo created
We all watched the ice swell up and solidify in to a pretty large domed structure with a crawl-in tunnel. ¡°Looks good,¡± Spine said. ¡°Yeah but what about the inside?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°A lady doesn¡¯t ask and a gentleman never tells,¡± Spine quip. Angelica pushed toward it, ¡°Go check.¡± ¡°Only because you told me to, and are clearly in charge of me in specific situations,¡± Spine muttered. He had to stoop to enter the structure. He called out to us his voice somewhat muffled, ¡°It is dark, a little moist, and warm. I feel quite safe. ¡­what do you want from me?¡± ¡°Come on out,¡± I told him. I turned to Angelica, ¡°How many of these¡­flop houses do you think we need?¡± ¡°At least fifty,¡± Angelica said, ¡°and we are not calling them flop houses.¡± ¡°How about Frigloo?¡± Spine offered stepping out into the snow with us. I created another¡­ structure, ¡°I kinda hate that name.¡± ¡°Love shack,¡± Angelica offered vaguely pleased with her idea. ¡°No,¡± I shook my head and Constructed another. ¡°Fuck Bunker,¡± Spine piped up. ¡°That¡¯s too crass,¡± I dismissed, still Constructing. ¡°Plus it would be Bang Bucker, got to go for the alliteration,¡± Angelica pointed out. ¡°The Dougie.¡± ¡°Absolutely not,¡± I hated that one. ¡°You got to toss another one into the ring if you are going to keep shooting us down?¡± Spine insisted. I willed another building into existence, ¡°uh¡­Slamatorium?¡± ¡°That would have to be ten by twenty,¡± Angelica pointed out¡­correctly. ¡°Just accept the fact I was right with the name Frigloo,¡± Spine pointed out after another ten minutes of us Constructing buildings. Considering the latest prompt even said¡­
Construction check¡­ Successful 1x Frigloo created.
¡­ no point fighting reality, ¡°Fine!¡± I said in a way completely free of petulance. Angelica patted my shoulder, ¡°I mean, if the dome shaped ice house fits man.¡± We came back to see about three dozen goblin women lined up in front of Corporal Jeffery Todd. One of the goblin women was doing a handstand while also doing the splits and smiling at the fish-eyed man. He pulled at his collar, his doofy face beat red, ¡°uh¡­ um¡­she wins.¡± The crowd erupted in cheers. Which is preferable to erupting in violence. ¡°Welp pick out a frigloo, they are all free,¡± Spine told the Corporal. He turned to the goblin woman, ¡°Cograts Chastity.¡± ¡°Thanks sweety,¡± She said before smoothly flipping to her feet and stalking sensually toward the Corporal. I hefted Spine, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s fair,¡± Spine admitted. ¡°I get what the Chimera Soldier was saying. I do feel safe in your arms.¡± About three rows into the goblin camp Spine changed his tune, ¡°Put me down!¡± he hissed. ¡°Why?¡± I asked, freezing in place. ¡°Don¡¯t look but on our right is Crafty Shiv,¡± Spine more or less whispered out the corner of his mouth. I am ashamed to admit, I immediately looked, ¡°The young Lady over by Ticky and Nanny Shank?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look!¡± Spine almost yelled. I stopped looking and turned, placing my bulk between Spine and Crafty. ¡°I take it you like her?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I''ve had a crush on her for like three years.¡± Spine admitted. ¡°She''s so beautiful, and she''s the best mushroom farmer I know, and she''s smart too.¡± I nodded, ¡°Have you talked to her?¡± ¡°No,¡± Spine sighed. He thunked his head against my knee in frustration. ¡°I am too shy.¡± ¡°That rough,¡± I acknowledge, ¡°Do you want to talk to her?¡± ¡°Yeah but how?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± I asked. ¡°I guess,¡± Spine said. I immediately grabbed him. Hurried through the crowd and set him down on his feet next to Crafty. ¡°He thinks you¡¯re pretty and smart.¡± I said before rolling Blend In and Move Silently. I vanished into the crowd and around a tent next to Angelica. ¡°I think I did bad.¡± That was way too impulsive. Plus if I messed up Spine''s chance with the girl, I don¡¯t know. Which would make fixing it damn hard. Angelica peaked over the top of the tent, ¡°That girl has a lionine grin¡­. She just asked what about her he thinks is pretty¡­ Ticky and Nanny Shank are walking away¡­ she is laughing¡­ she is touching him¡­ they are walking away together¡­ no wait they stopped.¡± She ducked. ¡°They turned around.¡± ¡°Smooth,¡± I said. ¡°They are heading this way. Hide us!¡± The chosen one insisted. ¡°I tossed my cape over us and thought stealthy thoughts
Blend In check¡­Successful
I glimpsed Spine and Crafty walking past us. Spine did glance down the aisle but his eyes slid right past us. ¡°Thank you,¡± Crafty said. ¡°You also have beautiful eyes.¡± Take that expected consequences of my actions. I was prepared to embrace the never punished lifestyle on this, and fuck off so Spine might actually have some fun. ¡°Are we clear?¡± Angelica asked. She was really close. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Cool,¡± She didn¡¯t immediately move away. She did toss the cloak off her. ¡°We should probably circle back on the Match Game thing.¡± That was fair. I stood and offered her a hand up. She took it. We made our way back to the Chimera Corp soldiers¡­event. Honestly¡­ It was nice to be distracted. Chapter 85: The Safe Word Is Chicken When we got back we found Glitzy talking to Popovich. A good eleven goblins were lined up. Somehow they had gotten a stage and a spotlight. While that was weird the thing that bugged me was Popovich had a rose. She was offering it to a goblin dress us in¡­ okay it wasn¡¯t a chicken suit. It had the same energy, but it was mostly black feathers with a blue chest and some crazy plumes on the top of the head. He was dancing around her. ¡°And love finds a way!¡± Glitzy announced as the chimera soldier, and her amorous feathered friend walked off the stage. The crowd had a bit of a mixed response to this. Apparently the crowd had a one true pairing, OTP, and this wasn¡¯t it. Glitzy was still playing to the crowd, having the time of his attention seeking life, ¡°There is our latest pairing. Ron Astrapios and Erin Popovich. Have fun, you love birds.¡± this did seem to mellow most folks out. Rachel had her head in her good hand, ¡°The things I am learning about my soldiers¡­ I don¡¯t want to know these things!¡± ¡°Your people started this,¡± I pointed out. ¡°You enabled it!¡± Rachel snapped back. Oh good, the spot light slid over to us. Glitzy hopped down. ¡°Doug! There has been a question rumbling in the back of our audience''s mind. Will you be participating in tonight''s events?¡± Angelica had stepped back out of the light before Glitzy had cornered me. She wasn¡¯t quite laughing yet, but she did have a dumb grin on her face. She had ditched me. She clearly had a better sense for this sort of thing than I did. I would have to ask about that at some point. This isn¡¯t that big of a deal, I told myself before saying ¡°No,¡± to Glitzy. The crowd booed! Someone threw a snowball at me. It hit pretty hard. Not enough to cause damage but still, ¡°Hey! Stop that!¡± I called to the crowd ¡°What are you going to do? Not rail me!¡± a goblin yelled. ¡°If people are going to start using violence because they aren¡¯t getting what they want then I am going to shut this down,¡± I told the crowd. No one really called me on that. Somehow hundreds of goblins and a dozen combat soldiers all understood, I could have my way with this. I needed to keep that in mind. Yeah this was low stakes, but with other issues careless words or just throwing my weight around could do some damage. ¡°Everyone, ch-ch-chill! I-I haven¡¯t guh-got my chance yet!¡± one of the mostly naked soldiers shouted. They were beginning to turn blue. This heartfelt plea resonated with the crowd. Also my ability to cockblock was apparently well known. You systematically help a friend, multiple times over the course of several days and people see a pattern. I crafted three cloaks from snow lion pelts and tossed them to the Soldiers. Mild disruption over and things continued. The next Soldier literally picked what was obviously three goblins in a trenchcoat. For the most part this dating game -that¡¯s what we are calling it- went off without a hitch. No one got hitched. The closest thing we had to a SNAFU was once the last of the Chimera soldiers had made their choice. The choice being ¡°I¡¯ll take any twenty who think teamwork can make the dream work.¡± That wasn¡¯t an issue. One Slamatorium later everyone was happy. No, the near miss was when the spotlight descended on Rachel. The Lieutenant went full deer in the headlights. ¡°Well Lieutenant,¡± Glitzy started into his preamble, ¡°Tell us about yourself.¡± ¡°I am lieutenant Rachel Blum. I¡¯m a Leo,¡± she managed. I have never seen someone quail so hard from the weight of public attention. ¡°I am a Gemini myself.¡± Glitzy asked. The bombastic goblin clearly could tell Rachel was nervous and was trying to draw her focus. Make things feel more conversational. ¡°An what are you looking for tonight?¡± ¡°I think we should help her,¡± I said. ¡°Eh¡­¡± Angelica said not enthused. ¡°What if you were stuck there?¡± I asked. Angelica considered, ¡°I would like to think I am too smart to fall into this specific situation. That said, if this happens save me,¡± she thought for another beat, ¡°if you can¡¯t save me kill me.¡± I stepped toward the circle of light. ¡°Doug!¡± I pick Doug!¡± Rachel said wild eyed. She hopped over Glitzy and just latched onto me. Now anyone who has been to a party knows the issue here. No one cares if you take a beer from the fridge, but if you take the last beer a lot of people will manifest opinions real fast. That crowd was mad¡­ at me. Accusations about me being Capt¡¯n Cockblock were made. More Snowballs were thrown. There were also a significant number of rule lawyer types making the point that I claimed to not be participating so I couldn¡¯t get one of the ¡®goofy humans¡¯. Nanny Shiv stepped in, ¡°Bingle, get up here!¡± ¡°Me?¡± a goblin with a top hat asked. ¡°Yes! You!¡± Nanny Shiv snapped. ¡°You always complain about being single. We are fixing that tonight!¡± and the dating game continued. Discretion is the better part of valor. Also, I was tired of this and wanted out. I left. Angelica followed. Rachel was really latched on. Once we got back into the Chimera Corp camp proper. I began shaking my arm, ¡°let go.¡± ¡°I panicked,¡± Rachel explained, not letting go. ¡°It¡¯s cool,¡± I said. Shaking my arm harder. She really had one hell of a grip ¡°You gonna detach any time soon techie?¡± Angelica asked. She took a sip of mushroom wine and frowned. ¡°I kinda hate that I don¡¯t hate this.¡± Rachel let go. Unfortunately she did this while I was still sorta flailing. The Lieutenant was launched twenty feet into the air. I had just enough time to flinch as she fell to the ground. She then landed on her feet. Rachel looked as surprised as I was.It was almost like she had catlike reflexes. She blinked and then stood at ease, ¡°Welp that was a successful¡­ cultural exchange.¡± She coughed, ¡°I think we should probably¡­ uh¡­ get together late tomorrow morning.¡± she paused a beat and quickly added, ¡°To collect the exchangees¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± I turned to leave. ¡°Wait, you''re just leaving?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, confused. ¡°Oh¡­ okay,¡± she said, sounding disappointed. I stopped, ¡°Do you want us to stay?¡± ¡°No,¡± Rachel answered immediately. ¡°Okay I am missing whatever cue you are trying to throw,¡± I said. ¡°Just say it.¡± ¡°I am not trying to throw subtle cues,¡± Rachel muttered. ¡°Okay, see you tomorrow when you are done being weird,¡± I mumbled, not quite quietly enough. ¡°I am not weird!¡± Rachel almost shouted. I decided to engage, ¡°You are heroic scale and part mob, that is weird. ¡°If I am weird then you are very weird,¡± Rachel said, pointing at me. ¡°Extremely weird,¡± I admitted Rachel sputtered a moment, ¡°I insulted you. You are supposed to argue. I was too tired for that nonsense, ¡°if you say so.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t just agree,¡± Rachel snapped. I shrugged, ¡°okay!¡± ¡°Ugh! You¡¯re the worst god ever!¡± Rachel thunked her head against the side of the truck. ¡°I got a lot on my plate. A lot of problems to deal with,¡± I said, a little annoyed. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Like I don¡¯t have problems?¡± Rachel demanded. She gestured to her mangled hand. ¡°This is completely wrecked. That messes with literally everything. Have you ever lost your alone time hand?¡± ¡°That was a bit of an overshare,¡± I said. Rachel frowned at me, ¡°There is nothing shameful about sex man that lives inside my head rent free.¡± I frowned, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just panic over a blind date?¡± ¡°On a stage, in front of a crowd of hundreds,¡± Rachael countered. That was a valid point, ¡°I just figured -well assumed- that you came from one of those sex-is-for-babies societies.¡± Rachel stared at me for a moment, ¡°Yeah, that is where babies come from. I was talking about jilling off.¡± I need to stop talking to people. Rachel specifically, ¡° Do I have a sign over my head that says ¡®tell me uncomfortable truths¡¯?¡± I asked. Rachel blinked and frowned, ¡°I think you must have a really high Face Attribute, and just project an aura of wanting people to be open and honest.¡± ¡°...well shit,¡± I muttered to myself. I did need to quit talking to people. The Sergeant who apparently was happily married eventually just kicked us out. The claim being Angelica made some of the soldiers who didn¡¯t¡­ participate¡­ uncomfortable. I took it for what it was a reason to escape. ¡°So why are we heading back to the nothingness?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°I¡¯m peopled out,¡± I explained, ¡°I just wanna sit somewhere quiet and look at the stars.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± She said, following me. ¡°I am not depressed, you don¡¯t have to come,¡± I said. ¡°Okay,¡± Angelica said again. She stayed in lock step with me. ¡°I mean it is going to be cold,¡± I said, crafting a bench out of ice. ¡°Do you want me to leave?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°No,¡± I said, crafting a couple of heavy blankets out of snow lion pelts. We sat there for about five minutes when Angelica asked, ¡°Can we talk about the ridiculous display the goblins just put on?¡± I laughed, ¡°yeah.¡± We proceeded to talk shit about the goblins and the Chimera Corp for a solid 40 minutes. ¡°I get why the presence of flowers bugs you.¡± Angelica said, ¡°But I am telling you, the bird suit is more concerning. There are two possibilities. Either Ron knew Popovich was into bird stuff, or he didn¡¯t. Think about that a second. He had no way to know. So that means he just had that suit. Doug, that is his go to move.¡± ¡°No way,¡± I argued. ¡°Barring actual crimes, that is the worst move ever.¡± ¡°I mean it worked for him,¡± Angelica pointed out. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make it a good move,¡± I retorted. ¡°Okay, what is your move then?¡± Angelica challenged. ¡°What?¡± I asked. I hadn¡¯t expected this turn. ¡°Show me your move, if you are so capable to judge,¡± she challenged. ¡°Fine,¡± I said rolling my neck. ¡°But first we need to count shoulders.¡± Angelica looked at me confused. I place my left hand on my right shoulder, ¡°One.¡± I put my left hand on my left shoulder, ¡°Two.¡± I gently rested my left hand on Angelica¡¯s right shoulder, ¡°Three.¡± I waited a beat and when she didn¡¯t protest I draped my arm over her and rested my hand on her left shoulder, ¡°four.¡± Angelica burst out laughing, ¡°That¡¯s a terrible move! It only worked because I let it.¡± ¡°That is part of the mystery of the move.¡± I said. Angelica held my hand in place when I tried to move it, ¡°It¡¯s a bad move.¡± ¡°Fair enough, what¡¯s yours?¡± I asked. Angelica slid her foot so that the heel of her boot touched mine. After a moment she rotated her foot so that our toes were touching. I looked down at that. I looked back up at her. When our eyes met she smiled, ¡°Hey.¡± We both cracked up laughing. ¡°Wait, what is Celeste¡¯s move?¡± I asked. Angelica¡¯s smile faded a bit, ¡°She thinks we¡¯re both being chicken shit.¡± I raised an eyebrow, ¡°Meaning?¡± Angelica shrugged, ¡°She said the safe word is chicken. You good with that?¡± Not quite following, I said, ¡°Sure.¡± Celeste¡¯s eyes blazed with white light, she gave me a playful grin and snuggled closer. We had gotten a bit chummy. She then winked at me, and put her hand on my upper thigh. That certainly got a reaction out of me. Come to think of it, I was touch starved. Now was not really the time to think though. ¡°Brave or chicken?¡± Celeste asked. ¡°Brave?¡± I asked. Celeste¡¯s hand moved up my thigh a little. While this move did require some setup, and clarification of consent, it beat the hell out of footsy. ¡°Now kiss,¡± Someone behind us cooed. I did not jump. It was more of a surprised flop. The back of the bench was just ice. So it snapped. Again in a totally non-reactionary way I flung the large chunk of ice at the voice. Adora waved a hand in a dismissive way. A gesture you would use to wave away criticism. This caused the slam of ice to shatter and then basically vaporize in to frozen mist. The goddess had again changed her look. Her hair was luxurious red curls. Her makeup matched the coloring. Her normally extravagant dress was now a tasteful white fur coat with matching hat and muff. Adora grinned, ¡°Don¡¯t mind me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re interrupting us,¡± Celeste said. She turned on the bench. Still sitting next to me but now facing the worst deity ever. Adora rolled her eyes, ¡°Please, Sweet Moose here, was going to say brave twice more, before chickening out. Let¡¯s not pretend like either of you two was actually going to do something. I was gonna say brave twice more. Rather than argue further with Adora I stood and turned to face her before saying, ¡°Okay you win. Nice seeing you. Bye-bye now.¡± Sadly this did not banish Adora. Instead the vexation of my current situation beammed. Adora was happy. That can¡¯t be good. ¡°You know I really misjudged you.¡± I blinked, and then pointed at myself to confirm what she said. ¡°Yes you Doug,¡± Adora walked closer and then sat upon a chair that appeared from nowhere. ¡°I was worried you were a prude. After the cabin, the dungeon, the gunsmiths, and all the other martial artists, hell you weren¡¯t even interested in the twins I threw at you.¡± I shuddered, ¡°I thought they were hunting me.¡± ¡°Not quite,¡± Adora teased, ¡°But then you do this. I can¡¯t think of the last time a follower of mine literally stopped a battle through a mass copulation event. I''m certain it happened, but it was a while ago.¡± A beautiful approximation of a frown graced her face, ¡°I worry I am getting old.¡± ¡°Wait, you''re here because of the ¡­ goblin dating game?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh yes. Most of the Chimera soldiers are followers of mine. Love and War, you know,¡± Adora waited a beat, ¡°Fine don¡¯t tell me I am not getting old. I wasn¡¯t fishing for compliments. It¡¯s not like I came here bearing gifts.¡± Oh no. what fresh hell is this? ¡°What if I do not want your gift?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you really just going to leave her in the snow?¡± Adora asked scandalized. She gestured again, and a woman manifested in another chair. ¡°This is Aiko Sato. She is the one who distracted Grond while you were in the temple. I know you aren¡¯t the sort of man who would abandon someone who bled for you.¡± Oh yeah. Adora is the worst. I looked at the new arrival. Aiko was a small woman, maybe five-two and thin. She was dressed in a classy business casual way. Cream blouse with red flower embroidery, a black jacket and slacks and practical shoes¡­ or they would have been if not for the fact we were in a frozen wasteland. The only thing that was odd about her clothes was the mask on her face. She had a black fabric mask over her nose and it obscured her lower face. It did draw focus to her pretty brown eyes. I also saw the edge of two scarred cuts poking out the top of the mask. Grond had scarred her face. ¡°It is an honor to meet you, Doug, Left Hand of the Titan,¡± Aiko said politely. She sounded calm and friendly. She turned to Celeste, ¡°And you as well, Celeste of Truth. And Miss De Leon too.¡± Celeste frowned. She didn¡¯t exactly ignore Aiko, but she spoke to Adora, ¡°I wish you hadn¡¯t told her my secrets.¡± ¡°I have to protect my followers,¡± Adora argued. She paused like an idea had just occurred to her, ¡°Given Aiko¡¯s history, it just makes sense for Doug to protect her. Grond is not exactly known for being forgiving.¡± ¡°He is¡­tempestuous at the best of times,¡± Aiko agreed. If she feared for her life it didn¡¯t show. Then again other than her long black hair fluttering in the wind she basically ignored the chill too. She probably had a extremely high Face Attribute and was using that to appear calm, or she really just wasn¡¯t bothered. Better check, ¡°Aren¡¯t you cold?¡± I asked her. ¡°It is rather brisk,¡± Aiko hedged. I crafted another blanket from a snow lion pelt. Snow lions were a renewable resource after all. Once it was complete I pulled it out of my inventory and offered it to her. Aiko looked to Adora, and did not move to take it until the goddess gave her a nod of approval. Aiko didn¡¯t exactly lunge for the blanket, but she took and wrapped herself up quickly. I didn¡¯t trust myself to speak. It was odd. I was so angry with Adora that I swung all the way around again to calm. Trouble is it crept passed that to kinda pissed. Again, I was certain I couldn¡¯t take her in a fight. Sure the blocking the ice bench wasn¡¯t too impressive, but she was pulling people out of the air and clearly had some sort of plan. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for games, Adora,¡± Celeste said flatly. ¡°This is very serious. Aiko is being hunted by Grond, she is also one of my high priestesses. She can help build a city, something you are going to want to do unless you enjoy the snow lion attacks.¡± Adora smiled, ¡°You can all work together.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you protect your own followers?¡± Celeste demanded. ¡°My goddess is a being of affection, love and fertility,¡± Aiko explained. ¡°Grond specifically has an unfortunate tendency to circumvent our attempts to placate him. I do not wish for my fellow priests and priestesses to come into harm¡¯s way. If you do not wish for me to travel with you, I understand.¡± Adora patted Aiko¡¯s shoulder in a soothing way, but grinned at me in victory. This was because I spited her by telling Grond about the curse she put on his armor. This offended me. Sure this was basically the same thing Wilson had done by making Denise my intern. The thing is Wilson was more dangerous, and clearly causing harm on a broader scale. That said, Adora was a person, not a narrator. There is no justification for harming and manipulating others for your own amusement, but doing it to your own people was just stupid. I banked on her not being as smart as Wilson. ¡°Okay, Aiko can come with us,¡± I said politely. Celeste and Adora stared at me confused. Aiko¡¯s eyes were much more cagey. I had grown used to people being vaguely afraid of me. I didn¡¯t like it, but I understood where people were coming from. ¡°We will take care of her. Keep her safe from Grond,¡± I promised. Honestly this maybe a good way to start another conversation with Grond. I doubt it would be productive, but there was always the chance he may actually listen. I had to at least try and tell him that Adora was pitting us against each other for her own goals. I mean it made me want to fight him less. Adora actually frowned. ¡°Was there anything else?¡± I asked her. Adora vanished. Did I beat her? Probably not. ¡°May I ask a question?¡± Aiko asked a question. ¡°Sure,¡± I said, looking around into the storm. ¡°Aren¡¯t Traveling with Adora¡¯s Champion, Nameth Brand?¡± Aiko asked. Oh shit we forgot Brand! Chapter 86: Paying Debts And Impending Doom I had to Craft Aiko a pair of snow boots, and some gloves. Frostbite is a bitch, and I was beginning to realize Crafting was free. Construction was also my friend. I probably needed to spend more time fiddling with Destruction as well. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. We made our way back toward the Mandir. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be like a thing. Right?¡± I asked. I was pretty sure entering the Mandir was going to be a thing. ¡°It¡¯s not like one of us killed a pillar of the community?¡± Angelica pointed out. She seemed to be coming more out of her shell, and that meant trolling me. ¡°Is this going to get violent?¡± Aiko asked. She seemed more curious than concerned. ¡°I hope not?¡± I said like it was a question. It probably was going to. ¡°I give it even odds,¡± Angelica said. ¡°Lola clearly wasn¡¯t angry. Most gods are pretty quick on the retribution side of things. That said, somebody is probably gonna try something. Like a drunken brawl.¡± ¡°So we want to get into the Mandir quickly, so when something stupid happens, everyone is protected,¡± I started walking faster. Aiko started jogging to keep up with us. We got to the edge of the mandir no problem. Just one violent encounter with a snow lion. It bit me. So I stomped on it a few times. I hardly broke stride really. After stepping into the effect of the Mandir we were stopped by an unlikely pair of assailants. ¡°Halt!¡± Bob said. The kid looked scared. I mean he kind of always looked scared, but now it was of me. ouch. ¡°Really, Halt?¡¯ Angelica asked. She was trying to not be mean. Gisele looked uncomfortable as well, ¡°We are not supposed to let you walk around her unsupervised.¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s easy,¡± I said not halting, ¡°Come along then.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Bob asked. ¡°You need to supervise us, let''s go,¡± I coaxed. ¡°I don¡¯t think that is the spirit of our orders,¡± Gisele said following me. ¡°Tell them I tricked you,¡± I offered. ¡°Do you guys know where Brand is?¡± ¡°You are being rather blunt,¡± Aiko said, jogging back up to my side. I was being a bit forceful, but it was for the sake of not kicking the shit out of people. ¡°I think he is with the gunsmith. Janie and him took a lot a damage stopping the artillery barrage,¡± Gisele managed. ¡°Are you Angelica De Leon?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Angelica said as we kept walking. ¡°That¡¯s so cool! You¡¯re so cool! Bob, it¡¯s Angelica De Leon!¡¯ Gisele gushed. ¡°Aiko is a high priestess of Adora,¡± I said, before Bob or Aiko could say things that would result in altering my course. ¡°Ooooh!¡± Gisele managed. Wow, that girl¡¯s eyes were round. ¡°Bob, she¡¯s a high priestess. She could marry us,¡± Gisele said, clearly excited. Bob paled. ¡°Logistically,¡± Gisele amended. ¡°I was not proposing. Sorry.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I knew what you were saying,¡± Bob managed. ¡­unless,¡± Gisele began, ¡°nah. That would be crazy,¡± Oh shoot, that is Minoru¡¯s house. I considered for a moment. I made a b-line to his door. I knocked. After a moment I knocked again. ¡°I''m coming, damn you!¡± Minoru yelled. He continued to mutter inside the house, ¡°it is the middle of the night. What sort of stupid assho-oh hello.¡± The door opened and Minoru looked up at me. ¡°I owe you a pact,¡± I explained. Minoru blinked at me, ¡°Would you mind coming inside?¡± I ducked into Minoru¡¯s house. Angelica followed me and closed the door behind us. As the door closed I heard Aiko say, ¡°I will not perform a marriage without performing a basic compatibility test on the would-be couple. How long have you two been together?¡± ¡°Four years,¡± Bob said. ¡®Fifty-three months,¡± Gisele said at the same time ¡®Fifty-three months,¡± Bob said just as the door closed. Minoru¡¯s parler was chock full of plants. A few were wrapped in plastic. The place had a pleasant floral scent. A rocking chair was near a fireplace. A couch faced the fireplace with a coffee table between them. A loveseat also sat next to the table. ¡°Please sit,¡± Minoru said. It took him some doing but he was able to eventually lower himself down into the rocking chair. He settled in, then frowned, ¡°I should light some candles.¡± ¡°If you are alright, we¡¯re fine,¡± I assured him sitting on the couch. Angelica sat on the loveseat. Minoru considered standing then thought better of it, ¡°You said you were here for a pact.¡± ¡°Yes, I am here to form a year long pact with you,¡± I explained. ¡°Why?¡± Minoru asked. The old man seemed almost doubtful. ¡°Lola, brokered the agreement. After Rachel turned Madigan, Chet, and Waldo to my custody, I was asked to form a pact with you and Seth Cohen,¡± I said. ¡°So that is how I found myself being accused of false testimony,¡± Minoru sighed. ¡°I am sorry,¡± I started. Minoru raised his hand, ¡°Don¡¯t be. I would say anything if it meant Madigan¡¯s death. It is fitting all I had to do was tell the truth.¡± He was quiet for a long time. ¡°You killed him, Madigan. He is dead? I was swept up in the crowd and could not see for sure. I have heard rumors though.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I admitted. I considered explaining myself. ¡°Good,¡± Minoru nodded. ¡°You pulled the weed up by the root. What do you want?¡± ¡°Honestly, I just want you to try and teach as many people your skills with plants as possible,¡± I said. ¡°Of course,¡± Minoru agreed immediately. ¡°Is there anything you want from this?¡± I asked. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Minoru shook his head, ¡°You avenged my son.¡± ¡°We need to define terms,¡± I explained. I appreciated him not trying to gouge me on this, but I don¡¯t think he realized the opportunity this could be for him. Minoru considered, ¡°I will accept anything else you are willing to offer, and will submit to any stipulation you require in a pact.¡± ¡°That seems a little one sided. You are just letting me set the terms,¡± I objected. ¡°You avenged my son,¡± Minoru repeated. How do you argue with that? We made the pact. I gave him the regeneration ability, and the increased Body Attribute perk. I just required him to try and teach his skills to others. Just like that. The pact was sealed. As the old man¡¯s attributes surged he gasped. After a moment he spoke, ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± He gingerly poked at his leg. ¡°Lola claimed the regeneration will undo some of your aging. I don¡¯t know by how much, but by the end of the year you should be feeling better than you have in a while.¡± I told him. A sad and profoundly tired look crept into Minoru¡¯s eyes, ¡°that is the problem with living gods. They never let their followers go if they can help it. The quiet may often be still but in the end they let you rest.¡± his eyes drifted to a picture on the wall. I glanced over as well. It clearly was a picture of a much younger Minoru. He had the same balding head and mustache, but his hair was dark black. He wasn¡¯t wearing glasses either. Beside him stood a young woman with curly black hair smiling brightly. She had both her hands on the shoulders of a boy, maybe seven or eight. She was holding the kid still in the picture. The kid had the grin of someone trying to smile because they were told to. A front tooth was missing. In his hands he had a baseball and glove. ¡°I can do another year,¡± Minoru told to himself. ¡°Do you want to talk about it?¡± I asked. ¡°I do not,¡± Minoru said. He was silent for a long moment, ¡°I do not mean to be rude, but could I please be alone?¡± We stepped back out into the night. As the door closed behind us a prompt popped up.
Chino Minoru is now your follower.
¡°You think it¡¯s alright to leave him alone?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think he is going to do anything drastic,¡± I said. I considered touching the connection we had through the Commune skill. No. He promised a year. I could give him a night of piece. Aiko was talking with Gisele and Bob. she had the two holding hands. ¡°Are you marrying children?¡± I asked. Choosing to engage with what ever fuckery this was than consider the emptiness of Minoru home. Both Gisele and Bob were quick to point out ¡°We are not kids!¡± ¡°This is a communication exercise,¡± Aiko explained. She showed no signs of guilt. That didn¡¯t mean we hadn¡¯t just caught her doing something weird. That said, everyone seemed fine. ¡°Let¡¯s go talk to Seth then.¡± I said. I didn¡¯t wait for input from the others and started making my way to his shed. We didn¡¯t run into any trouble on the way there. The other three Mystic Troopers were outside. ¡°Yeah, yeah, ¡° I said when Valorie opened her mouth, ¡°Halt.¡± I walked right past them. I knocked on Seth''s door. When no answer came I turned the knob and entered. Seth was sitting on his bed. He stared down at his journal. He was writing something. ¡°Seth,¡± I said as I approached. He looked up. His eyes were bloodshot, ¡°She¡¯s alive.¡± ¡°Are you alright man?¡± I asked. ¡°She hates me,¡± Seth said. A tear dripped down the side of his cheek. ¡°Seth she doesn¡¯t understand,¡± I started. ¡°I need to talk to her,¡± Seth said as he tried to stand but I stopped him. ¡°I don¡¯t think she is ready to listen,¡± I explained. ¡°What should I do?¡± he asked me. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I admitted. Seth broke down. For a long time he just cried and held onto me for support. It¡¯s funny, not in the haha sort of way, but in the obnoxious reality kinda way. I was supposedly some sort of powerful creature, but the best I could do here was not let my teacher fall on the ground. In the end I just told Seth the same thing I wished someone could tell me, ¡°She¡¯s alive. That means there is still hope. It¡¯s a faint hope, but it¡¯s there.¡± After a while Seth managed, ¡°you¡¯re right. I need to figure out something to-¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take this one step at a time.¡± I cut in. I gently guided him back to sitting on his bed and crafted a chair from the stone of the floor. ¡°You want to reestablish a relationship with Rachel. Right?¡± ¡°More than anything,¡± Seth said, nodding. ¡°That said she has been fed years of Technacoast propaganda and believes you to be a traitor, and some issues from her childhood have clearly festered.¡± I continued. ¡°That seems correct,¡± Seth agreed. ¡°The Technacoast issue may be resolved. Is that Authority person good on follow through?¡± I asked. ¡°So long as not pissing you off and holding that deal you made over your head is valuable, yes,¡± Seth said. ¡°Okay so then it is just a matter of talking to Rachel without her trying to kill you,¡± I observed. ¡°That would be ideal,¡± Seth agreed. ¡°So we need her to come back to the Mandir to talk to you,¡± I continued. ¡°How do we do that?¡± Seth asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I am just work shopping the issue as we go.¡± Seth sagged. ¡°I am going to meet with her tomorrow, well, this morning. Maybe you could write a letter.¡± I offered. Seth shoved the journal into my hands, ¡°Give her this.¡± ¡°What should I tell her?¡± I said, pulling the book into my inventory. ¡°Tell her it is my sketchbook, and it has drawings of her mother. Tell her she is welcome to come speak to me,¡± Seth said. ¡°I will,¡± I promised. ¡°When,¡± Seth pressed. ¡°Later in the morning,¡± I said. ¡°It''s the middle of the night. Get some sleep.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Seth said. ¡°Alright then let¡¯s try something different,¡± I stood and with an effort of will and a successful Destruction check turned my chair to dust. ¡°What?¡± Seth asked. ¡°I am going to try and teach you a cosmic martial art,¡± I said walking to the middle of the room. ¡°Train with me, and I will give the sketchbook to Rachel. Let¡¯s call that part of the pact.¡± Seth stood nodded, ¡°I agree¡± As the pact sealed, another prompt appeared.
Seth Cohen is now your Follower.
I stood before Seth, ¡°The first step of the Unrelenting Glacier is Crushing Defense. The entire point of this martial art is turning defense into a means of attack and punishing aggression turned on you. Try and strike me and I will demonstrate.¡± At first Seth was half hearted, he would sullenly reach out toward me. I blocked these ¡®attacks¡¯ and countered with a slap to his torso. I dampened the attacks to deal zero damage. Seth quickly grew annoyed with this, but rather than withdraw some competitive or driven part of his awoke to the challenge. After a few minutes Seth had his game face one. His punches were increasing in both speed and precision. I continued to block everything he threw at me. Slowly, minute by minute, Seth began to block my counter-attacks. I change incrementally as well. My stance shifted subtly to mirror Seth¡¯s as he became better and better at block. Things narrowed down to a constant exchange of attack, block, counter-attack, block. It was also like a dance. Strike, redirect, strike. As Seth became more capable of blocking my retaliations, my movements became smoother and more efficient. I wasn¡¯t just leaning on the system, I was developing the skill within myself. As I improved, so did Seth.
New Achievement! No Substitute! You are a teacher! Enjoy paying for the school supplies and the 53 hour work week. Seriously though you are one of 5 beings that has taught a cosmic Martial art to another. Normally those are like the secret recipe: a trade secret that you just don''t share. I am sure that won¡¯t be a problem. Reward: XP withheld. Please contact you Narrator for assistance. I wouldn''t bother though. What¡¯s about to happen isn¡¯t going to be stopped because of a level. Something you still haven¡¯t done by the way. Anyways¡­ Have a great summer!
Oh good the prompts were threatening me again. ¡°Will you be okay till I can talk to Rachel?¡± I asked Seth. ¡°I will be¡­ well a mess,¡± Seth admitted, ¡°But you gave me something to do other than just scribble on paper.¡± If something bad was about to happen, I really needed to get the rest of the group together. ¡°If you need me, the Commune skill can get us in touch. I might be too far away, but I will do what I can,¡± I said. I felt like I should be doing more. I understood -well comprehended- what Seth was going through. The weight of dread a parent feels when all they can do is wonder about their child¡­ Seth hugged me. After a moment¡¯s delay I hugged him back. I stepped out into the snow and found Angelica signing autographs. The Mystic Troopers were more than a little star struck. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked. ¡°It''s the Hero of The Fantasy Coast,¡± Valorie almost cheered as Angelica signed her shirt with a felt marker. ¡°Whatcha doing?¡± I asked Angelica. Since everyone else unhelpfully assumed I had the vaguest idea what was actually happening. ¡°Signing shirts,¡± Angelica said, being deliberately unhelpful. ¡°Why?¡± I asked, setting myself up for further punishment. ¡°I am kind of a big deal,¡± Angelica dutifully provided another nonanswer. I could feel the clock ticking. ¡°Let¡¯s go get our Brit.¡± Chapter 87: Wibbles Wobble But They Wont Go Down I was effectively guilt tripped into signing Gisele¡¯s shirt as well. We arrived at Janie¡¯s Gunsmith and More. The door was open. The Mystic Troopers waited outside. I entered to find Francis and Carla waiting for us. ¡°Hey Doug,¡± Carla called. She was just a little over bright. ¡°Hello Carla,¡± I said ducking so as to not hit my head on the ceiling. I tried to nod, ¡°Francis.¡± Angelica and Aiko followed in after me. Francis spoke up before any of us could make inquiries, ¡°Before anything happens. Yes, Brand is here. He was hurt stopping the Artillery strike. He is stable. Lily is attending to him. The Artillery piece has been disabled. Janie should be back in a few minutes. Would any of you want tea?¡± ¡°Tea would be lovely,¡± Aiko chipped in. She stepped around me and approached the counter, ¡°Would you be able to sell me a pistol, or perhaps a machine pistol. I am looking for something with a smaller caliber, but high ammo capacity.¡± ¡°We absolutely can help you out there,¡± Francis said as a comfortable salesman¡¯s cadence slid into his voice. ¡°There are a myriad of options. Carla can show you some of our prebuilts. I¡¯ll be right back with the tea.¡± He wasn¡¯t gone long he ducked out of the room, and came back with one hand holding a teapot and another holding five mugs. ¡°Doug, would you like some tea?¡± ¡°I am fine thank you,¡± I started. I was about to press to be brought to Brand but was interrupted. ¡°When¡¯s the last time you drank something?¡± Angelica asked. I had to think, ¡°I had some Titanic Brew with the Snow Lion ribs. Those were not great.¡± ¡°Okay but when was the last time you drank anything with water in it?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I admitted. ¡°Doug, would like some tea, me as well please,¡± Angelica said with a smile. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we focus on Brand?¡± I asked. ¡°He¡¯s okay,¡± Carla said, handing Aiko a pistol. ¡°Please point it toward the far wall or the floor.¡± ¡°Here you go,¡± Francis offered me a coffee cup. It was full of tea. I took the cup. The warmth of the liquid radiated through the ceramic of the cup. It was pleasant. That said, I didn''t take a drink. ¡°Where¡¯s Brand?¡± The practiced smile faded slightly from Francis¡¯s face, ¡°He is upstairs with Lily.¡± ¡°I want to see him,¡± I insisted. ¡°This is a little awkward,¡± Francis said, his grin turning a bit wooden. ¡°I am trying to stall you.¡± I frowned. ¡°It¡¯s Lily¡¯s birthday, Doug. Brand is fine. Just let them have some time together.¡± Carla implored. I set the cup down on the counter and slowly but purposefully made my way to the stairs. Carla stepped between me and the stairs. ¡°Please move,¡± I said. ¡°No,¡± Carla said. ¡°I just want to make sure he is okay,¡± I only partially lied. ¡°He is fine. He literally cannot die within the Mandir,¡± Carla said. ¡°Would you accept that answer if I tried to stop you from seeing Lily?¡± I asked. Carla sighed, ¡°Alright let¡¯s head up there.¡± she turned and proceeded to stomp loudly up the stairs. ¡°Lily, we have company! Brand, your big beau is back!¡± I don¡¯t know what I expected to find, but somehow I was still caught off guard. Brand didn¡¯t look to be in agony but he was fucked up. He was plopped on what looked to be a goose down bed with silk sheets. He was propped up with several pillows. He had a nasty black eye and split lip. He also had his chest wrapped in bandages. His left arm had an angry blistered red burn on it. Despite the damage he still had perfect hair and radiated an almost regal grace in his injured state. He was also being spoon fed what looked to be tomato soup by Lily. Lily was wearing a Nurse hat with a red cross symbol, a more or less insubstantial slip, and a somewhat worried smile. ¡°Hello, Doug.¡± Brand swallow the small amount of soup, ¡°Greetings.¡± He managed his voice had that slightly strained tone of someone pretending to be okay. ¡°Holy shit, are you okay?¡± I asked. I didn¡¯t enter the room. It wasn¡¯t a large place and I didn¡¯t want to crowd them. ¡°He has several long term conditions, but he is above the yellow line on his HP and is trending upward.¡± Lily said. ¡°It¡¯s hardly anything,¡± Brand assured us both. Lily doted on him again and wiped the corner of his mouth, ¡°Don¡¯t play strong. You were shot and took some shrapnel.¡± ¡°You were shot?¡± I asked ¡°Lightly shot,¡± Brand insisted. ¡°Beside I am getting the best of care.¡± He smiled toward Lily. ¡°You¡¯re a terrible patient,¡± Lily admonished blushing. ¡°I find it hard to rest,¡± Brand admitted. ¡°Do we need to get you to Brunhilda?¡± I asked. Looking at the bandages I could see red literally bleeding through. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend moving him until his health is in the green,¡± Lily said. She may have used the word recommend, but I could tell she wasn¡¯t going to let me move him. ¡°Let her fuss over me some more Doug. I¡¯ll suffer through it somehow,¡± Brand told me. ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Brand insisted. Well that made everything awkward immediately. I turned to Lily then focused on maintaining eye contact, ¡°Thank you for taking care of him.¡± ¡°It is my pleasure,¡± Lily said. ¡°Seriously it¡¯s like a whole thing with me. Do you want to stay? I can clear a space.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t,¡± Brand said to Lily, but I got the message. Also, I really didn¡¯t. Brand had my back, and clearly averted a catastrophe. If he said he needed my help I would do what he needed. That said this situation looked both stable and non-transgressive. Plus he told me twice. I went back downstairs. ¡°We good?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, picking up the tea cup. I made eye contact with Francis and Carla, ¡°Sorry for being dramatic.¡± ¡°I get it,¡± Carla said, taking a crystal from Aiko. ¡°So, Lily has a Nurse hat?¡± I asked. Deciding to fill the uncomfortable silence. ¡°She has way more than the hat,¡± Francis said. He considered for a moment. ¡°Can I show you something?¡± ¡°I guess?¡± I really hope costumes weren¡¯t involved. I took a drink. The tea had a taste of orange mixed in. As I followed Francis into the back I called to Angelica, ¡°I had some Chai with with Lola a few days ago.¡± ¡°Drink more water you dehydrated creature,¡± Angelica called after me. ¡°Look at this,¡± Francis reach behind the CNC machine and pulled out a long metal staff. Well not a staff. It had a central hand hold in the middle and the tips were curved. ¡°A recurve bow?¡± I asked. ¡°It would be. If I could string it,¡± Francis said. ¡°It was a commission from a few years back. It is Orichalcum. A giant asked us to make it. She left the metal and the payment for the work five years ago. She said she or someone who could finish the work would be by soon.¡± ¡°Why show me?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re a big strong guy, and she said it for was killing demons.¡± Francis said, pulling a thin cable from a drawer. ¡°Giants like to make prophecies. I think they get achievements when they come true. Also I think you need a range weapon if you are going to head to that tower and we just don¡¯t have the time to make you a cannon like Miss De Leon has. Honestly if you are strong enough the bow may do more damage.¡± ¡°You want me to try and string it?¡± I turned the bow in my hand. ¡°If you would like to try,¡± Francis nodded and handed me the string. Eh, why not? I hooked the string over one end. The loop settled into the notches. I then tried to pull the wire. The metal was easy to bend at first, but quickly became more than my arms could bend.
Power Check¡­ Failed.
The bow snapped back. Francis looked surprised, ¡°I really thought you could do it.¡± ¡°Let me try once more,¡± I said. I placed the strung end of the bow in front of my foot and stepped through the loop of the bow with the other. I braced one end on my thigh and held the other in my hand. Then using the muscle in my leg and arms I bent the bow again while invoking the craft skill. The tools on my belt blazed with power. My muscles burned. I don¡¯t think I would have managed it, If not for the constant use from my cosmic martial art making me more instinctive at crafting. The system guided my hands and held the metal for a split second allowing me to string the bow.
Craft Check¡­ Successful! Platonic Ideal Bow created Platonic Ideal Bow If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. This bow is worthy of Elizabeth George Speare. Anyway this Orichalcum bow was shaped by Fanics. The string was spun by Lily and Carla. The runes were etched by Janie. Then the Left Hand of the Titan reached out and finished its creations. This Demigod Scale Bow triples the [Power Attribute] of the use for the purpose of damage when used.. Also any projectile fired from this weapon count as Holy and Order based damage for the purposes of overcoming resistance. This is the perfect tool for fighting demons. Fitting since it was made with the power of friendship. Note: Maximum [Power Attribute] to be multiple is 80 Minimum [Power Attribute] to use: 35
Francis whistled, ¡°I leveled from that.¡± He examined the bow using some skill, ¡°No wonder it was such a pain to make.¡± I held it out to him. He stepped back, ¡°Nope. You''re going to need that. I couldn¡¯t even pull the string.¡± Carla, Angelica, and Aiko walked into the back room. ¡°Oh you actually completed it.¡± Carla said. She seemed, well, not quite amazed but close. I sat down on the floor, it sucks standing in a stooped position for long periods of time, ¡°Who left this here?¡± Carla shrugged, ¡°Janie talked with her more, but she said her name was Weird Skuld?¡± somehow her statement became a question. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just read it?¡± I asked. ¡°Deception skills are a thing, one of the best ways to catch someone is just ask them basic questions,¡± Angelica explained. ¡°That,¡± Carla said. I could see her trying to remember, ¡°Plus her name wasn¡¯t in english so¡­ not sure.¡± I considered that for a moment, ¡°Then why did you act like my name above my head was a fact when we first met?¡± I asked Angelica. ¡°Because it normally is. Also you answered to it like a normal person. It is also incredibly rude to not respect the names people have on display,¡± Angelica answered. She paused clearly listening to something Celeste was telling her, ¡°The God of Hope started that tradition. It¡¯s legend but part of ascending to the divine scale is picking a new name.¡± ¡°Titan spawn have to do something similar,¡± I muttered. I think I really did lock in on the real trick to beating the system was to not use the system. Francis pulled ten huge and heavy looking arrows from behind the CNC machine, ¡°Ammo.¡± I pulled them into my inventory. I was better armed for whatever was coming, but I could prepare more. Time to look at the level up. As Aiko, Francis, and Carla began making small talk over tea, I opened my menus. Let¡¯s start by selecting a perk:
Titanic Works 2 Titan Spawn are often industries unto themselves. Shaping the world and the materials in it like the playthings they are. With this perk, the Titan Spawn does not require tools for Craft, Repair, Construction, or related skills. Reduce the time required for the skills by [Mind Attribute] x [Difference in Scale] In addition this improved perk grants a [Mind Attribute]% chance of producing a duplicate of crafted item without need of extra components, and [Magic Attribute]% chance of to increase the final scale of the item crafted. Oracle Oracles are able to glimpse the future and learn information beyond their physical experience. This perk will allow the Titan Spawn to enter a trance and attempt to learn the secrets of the future. The Titan Spawn will also occasionally receive visions of the things including but not limited to: The future*, distant locations, the past. Note 1: Player will not have complete control of this perk Note 2: Vision of the future are of a possible future, not guaranteed to be the one you will experience. Note 3: Observation of distant realms and even the past can be detected by other oracles or significantly powerful beings. Note 4: There are means to block or mislead this skill.
There it was again, Oracle. With that perk I could find Kate¡­ probably. I could also use it to preempt what is about to happen. I have spent my entire life reacting. I knew I couldn¡¯t win that way. Wilson and the other narrators had too much reach and control. If I wanted to change things, I needed to start acting. The best way to do that was to be better informed¡­ That was the trap though wasn¡¯t it? The stupid ominous prompt was meant to rattle me. Push me into taking the Oracle perk. Then the system would be in my head. Not being able to trust what I could see was worse than not knowing what was coming. Besides, maximum survivability meant getting as many options as possible. Titanic Works 2 would have been helpful ten minutes ago. I wasn¡¯t going to sweat the small stuff. Yeah two Divine Scale bows would be better than one Demigod Scale bow but I was happy with what I had. I held off picking the perk for now though. What about traits?
Titanic Retribution Attacking a Titan Spawn is a foolish endeavor at the best of times. Attacking the bearer of this perk is tantamount to suicide. Once per minute the Titan Spawn may rebound the Raw damage they have taken over the previous 60 seconds back at their attackers. When rebounding damage the Titan Spawn must select whether to select a single target or an Area equal to Magic Attribute square feet. Note 1: Raw damage is the total amount of damage before being reduced by defense. Note 2: Damage will be divided equally between every living being in area of effect. Prison Titan Spawn often have enemies that are not easily destroyed. This perk allows the Titan Spawn to place [Mind Attribute]/2 living or undead beings into their inventory. Beings in the inventory are treated as if they were in a Domain under the spawns control. The Beings could escape if they are able to win an opposed roll of the Titan Spawn¡¯s choosing. While inside the prison the being will take up a space equal to their physical volume. The default assumption is they will not be able to interact with other beings or items in the Titan Spawns inventory without the Titan Spawns approval, but significantly powerful beings may be able to do so. The Titan Spawn cannot interact physically with beings inside the prison but can communicate via messaging with beings while they are inside. Abilities like Dark Magic will be usable within the Domain at increased effectiveness.
That choice was easy. An option that makes attacking me a bad idea. Yes. yes, please. Also the prison perk just felt¡­weird and evil. Angelica poked me. I didn¡¯t jump. I also totally didn¡¯t spill my tea. A free craft check turned the liquid to ice. Picking the tea puck up off the floor and dropping it into the cup I said, ¡°Sorry what?¡± ¡°You were lost in your own little world,¡± Angelica said. She was clearly trying to gauge my mood. ¡°I was taking the down time to pick a Perk and Trait.¡± I explained. Then for reasons that can only be chalked up to my own idiocy, I tried to drink the iced tea. It was still solid. It did not work. ¡°So you just do that in front of god and everyone?¡± Carla asked. I stared at her, ¡°That¡¯s the line with you? This is where you get shy?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Carla nodded. ¡°I will admit to a polite curiosity,¡± Francis added. ¡°Eh It takes all kinds to make a world,¡± I said, selecting Titanic Works 2 and Titanic Retribution. ¡°And done.¡± ¡°Oh, no flash of light or burst of energy?¡± Francis asked. ¡°Sorry I am very tired,¡± I said. I then tried to drink my ice puck again. It kinda worked this time. Is this why I stopped engaging with food and drinks? Was I bad at them? I don¡¯t know how food works¡­ The front door opened and closed. Janie called from the other room, ¡°There are teenagers camped out front. Did someone forget to close the curtains again.¡± she walked into the back room. Janie looked rough. She had a bruised nose a black eye, and her knuckles were bloody and raw. She frowned at me as she hung her coat on a hook. Her right arm was covered in red flaky skin that looked like almost healed blisters. ¡°Tea?¡± Carla said heading off what felt like a tense interaction. ¡°I guess,¡± Janie said. She wasn¡¯t limping but she really lost some of the pep in her step as she walked toward us. She sat down between Francis and Carla. She immediately leaned on Francis. ¡°You here for Brand?¡± ¡°Yeah, Lily is¡­ nursing- I mean tending to him. I think in the long run we should get him to Brunhilda, but I figured it would be best to give it some time,¡± I said. Janie sighed, ¡°that¡¯s the worst thing about you Doug. You¡¯re hard to hate.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± I tried. Janie frowned at me, ¡°Every time we cross paths, my life gets a little harder. You¡¯re not doing it on purpose, but you still do it. Folks are at each other''s throats right now. The whole place is a hair''s width from tearin¡¯ itself apart. The claim is the folks that tried to bomb the goblin camp were lone actors but once people found out you killed Madigan. A lot of apologists came out of the woodwork.¡± ¡°Those all sound like valid reasons to not like me,¡± I admitted ¡°Yep,¡± Janie agreed, ¡°but you keep doin¡¯ things like helping Seth, stopping the Technacoast lynch mob, closing the hole to the Deep, and ¡­¡± She gestured toward the roof and toward Lily and Brand. ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± I started. ¡°It¡¯s Lily''s birthday and she is one of the infuriating people that won¡¯t tell you what they want,¡± Janie griped. ¡°I got her mittens. Not important. The thing is she likes taking care of people. Not entirely sure what that is about, but it makes her happy. I¡¯m willing to bet my ass she has that nurse hat on right now.¡± ¡°She does,¡± I acknowledge, growing less comfortable with leaving Brand in her care. ¡°I figure we make nice for another twenty to thirty minutes. Wait for the sun to come up. You all can leave, and I¡¯ll tag in with Lily. Everyone¡¯s happy,¡± Janie explained. ¡°He also completed the bow the Giantess commissioned,¡± Francis said trying to help keep things friendly. ¡°Is that what that prompt was?¡± She asked taking the tea Carla offered her. Janie¡¯s eyes unfocused as she read, ¡°I was stuck dealing with what to do with prisoners. That is also not going to work long term. And I am 60 xp from leveling! This is the shit I am talking about Doug!¡± Eventually it was time to leave. The logistics was a little wonky. Brand was still in extremely rough shape. Him trying to walk the distance to goblin camp would likely open his wounds again. This meant I was basically princess carrying him. Negotiating the stairs was a bit tricky. They were tiny human stairs for tiny humans. I was a big Titan Spawn. You do the math. ¡°Good Bye Brand, you¡¯re always welcome. Goodbye Angelica, come see us if you need any more gunsmithing. Good bye Aiko, it was nice meeting you,¡± Janie called as we stepped out into the cold. ¡°Bye Doug,¡± she added flatley and then closed and locked the door. That¡¯s fair. ¡°She seems upset with you,¡± Aiko observed. ¡°Yep,¡± I agreed. I decided to not engage with her unasked question. The Mystic Troopers walked us to the edge of the Mandir. ¡°I don¡¯t think we will be coming back, at least not until after we are done with the tower,¡± I told them. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be camped out here in the cold all day.¡± Gisele looked at the others. After getting a nod from them she said, ¡°We would like to go with you.¡± ¡°No,¡± Angelica and I said at the same time. Our tone matched too. I am glad we were on the same page. ¡°Mystic Troopers are supposed to fight evil,¡± Gisele insisted. ¡°I am guessing you are supposed to protect people,¡± I argued. ¡°Well yeah-¡± Gisele conceded. ¡°Then you are needed here. Mobs just hit this place hard and I think more voices for stability will be needed,¡± I pointed out. Gisele and the others, even Bob, looked at me with something close to desperation. Gisele was very quiet when she asked, ¡°Do you have any idea how long we have been here, just preparing? Please, give us a chance to do something. We can¡¯t just sit here waiting for some skyfall that Zarina is worried about.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, tomorrow¡­ I mean tonight we can talk through this. Have Zarina here,¡± I said, before turning and walking away. ¡°We can¡¯t have them coming,¡± Angelica hissed. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± I said, thinking through a plan. Maybe if I yelled at them¡­ no. Once we cleared the line of view from the Mandir Brand became much more animated, ¡°Put me down.¡± ¡°I thought you were hurt,¡± I said, doubting his seemingly miraculous recovery. ¡°I am, but not beyond the point of walking,¡± he insisted. ¡°So you were just acting in front of Janie, and her¡­ partners?¡± I asked. ¡°Partners,¡¯ Aiko confirmed helpfully. ¡°Of course,¡± Brand said, completely unashamed. He climbed down and winced. ¡°That¡¯s not very brave,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Didn¡¯t you panic when Carla asked you to choke her?¡± Angelica chipped in. ¡°Didn¡¯t you flee?¡± I asked her. Angelica shrugged. ¡°I was saving Spine from an inappropriate situation.¡± Brand straightened and took a breath, ¡°I am a spy. Bravery is relative, and results matter.¡± ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, favored of Adora,¡± Aiko said to Brand with a polite nod. ¡°The pleasure is all mine,¡± Brand said, taking Aiko¡¯s hand and kissing it. Don¡¯t ask me how, but the move came across as charming rather than fucking weird. ¡°I did not catch your name?¡± ¡°Sato, Aiko Sato, High Priestess of Adora,¡± She said, clearly pleased at the attention. Brand jumped away from her like she was made of fire and hopped into my arms. ¡°Has anyone told you ¡®I feel safe in your arms?¡¯¡± I had to fight not to smile. I managed to keep my voice deadpan, ¡°you aren¡¯t even the first person tonight.¡± When Brand glanced at Angelica, she shook her head, ¡°Guess again.¡± Brand turned to me. ¡°It was that fished eyed soldier during a goblin dating game, and Spine,¡± I explained. ¡°They are not wrong,¡± Brand conceded. ¡°I know right,¡± Angelica added. ¡°It is like being lovingly cradled by the shockingly tender embrace of a war golem¡­ and the snow lion fur is soft and warm.¡± Brand raised an eyebrow. Angelica shrugged again. We kept walking toward the camp. I kept my head on a swivel. A blizzard was rolling in and the light of the sun was fading to a dull gray. This stunted the light from the sun and caused our shadows to blur. I kept my head on a swivel. ¡°You are expecting trouble,¡± Aiko observed. It was not a question. Before I could answer. A large shadow flitted over us. Then something whooshed, and with a thud of impact and a cracking of ice something landed behind me. The prompt while not affecting my mind still caused ice to run through my veins.
Mental Resistance blocks the effects of Aura of Despair from Demon of Frost Mental Resistance blocks the effects of Aura of Dread from Demon of Frost
Chapter 88: When Fighting Someone Else’s Demons… Cold. An impossible cold beyond the frigid bite of the air sent a chill down my spine. These auras the demon possessed couldn¡¯t alter my mental state, but I sure as hell could feel them. It settled like a weight on my shoulders. The pressure slowed me down. I knew where this was going. Everything had been building to this clash. This world was violent. By all measures, so was I. Since I came into existence nearly every problem I faced was ultimately settled by me killing someone. I didn¡¯t like it but I had done it all the same. I could justify it even. That said it was taking a toll. Here we go round again. Before I could turn, the Demon of Frost spoke. It wasn¡¯t his words that froze me mid turn. It was his voice. A deep sonorous thing with a slow thick southern drawl. ¡°It is good to meet you, old friend.¡± It was the voice of Richard. It was the voice of my brother. The ramification of that stopped my heart in its tracks. So much for knowing where this was going. Wilson knew all along. This and whatever was about to follow is why he was always grinning at me. The Titan had to know. Did she know? I felt Angelica tense. In the split second before the inevitable, I considered stopping time. I needed to¡­ to¡­ The telltale thrum of time stopping did nothing to soothe my nerves.
All Processes stopped Arbitration beginning in¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­
Brand wasn¡¯t in my arms anymore. Aiko was gone as well. I was in the shitty conference room and apparently they didn¡¯t get the invite. Angelica was still with me. ¡°How do you know the Demon of Frost?¡± Angelica asked. She wasn¡¯t angry or scared. She was trying to figure out what terrible trick had been played on us. ¡°The titan and I were foster brothers,¡± Richard explained. He was standing in the corner behind us. It was strange. Richard was simultaneously the same as ever and so very different. His crystal blue eyes were the same shade and shape as always but his gaze had iron in it and a cold edge that wasn¡¯t there before. He was always a beanpole sort, tall and thin. Now he was wiry like springsteel. The wings, claws, and horns were new, but the dress shirt and slacks were the same as ever. He leaned his weight on a dark pitchfork. The strange metal was etched with jagged patterns that burned with orange fire. It was a cruel thing, and he held it easily. Angelica looked back and forth between us, ¡°Well that just sucks.¡± ¡°I hope you kids are getting along well?¡± Wilson said appearing from nowhere. He gave me a nod and smiled as he walked to the head of the table and sat down. ¡°Sorry I am late!¡± Denise shouted as she stumbled into view. She was hopping on one foot trying to slip her shoe over her heel. She got it on and stood ramrod straight. She cleared her throat, ¡°I see I am not the last to arrive. Miss De Leon, Doug would you please sit over here. Negotiations are about to start. ¡°What is happening?¡± I asked¡­ I guess the room. ¡°I wanted an opportunity to speak with you,¡± Richard began. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t be talking without your representative in the room,¡± Denise cautioned. Richard ignored her, ¡°Kate is alive. I don¡¯t know where.¡± A pained look wracked his face, ¡°Mark and Jo are¡­ they passed. I am sorry. When the system first hit-¡± ¡°Stop talking!¡± Lindsey yelled. Her shirt wasn¡¯t tucked in and she was pulling her long red hair into a ponytail. ¡°Nice of you to join us, Lindsey,¡± Wilson said looking at his wrist. I suspect early morning was somehow late in Narrator time. I may hate him, but Wilson did look dapper in his grey suit. ¡°You¡¯re not wearing a watch,¡± I told him. ¡°Yet you got the joke, and I somehow have a better sense of time than Lindsey,¡± Wilson said. He tilted his head and cracked his neck. ¡°Let¡¯s get this shit done.¡± Richard shrugged and walked past Angelica and me to sit at the table. I just stared at him. Two very troubling things were occurring to me. The first was people I -the Titan- knew were out and about. Yes, I knew about Kate, but until now everyone I met was a stranger. That shouldn¡¯t matter but it did. Sure Wilson holding a gun to someone¡¯s head would upset me, but him pointing the barrel at someone who sat at the dinner table and was there when Hank died¡­ it was different. The second troubling realization was my memories of him weren¡¯t complete. I had suspected as much after Cole mentioned his daughters and I remembered Kate. It had been like a damn breaking that time. I had remembered Richard, but it was a cliff notes sort of thing. I remembered his voice with the thick accent, his fascination with the complexities of the stock market, and that I trusted him. Now that I saw him so much more came back. It was like being able to see in the flash of a lightning bolt. Richard was telling the truth when he said he had been my -the Titan¡¯s- brother. Technically Jo and Hank weren¡¯t officially his custodians but¡­ Richard lived with us. His mother had left his father because he beat both of them like drums. She picked them up and moved cross country to the town I lived in. We met in middle school. Outsiders tend to find each other. Normally I would have to respect the bravery of a woman picking up everything to escape a cycle of abuse. Trouble is two years later she kicked Richard out because her new boyfriend didn¡¯t like Richard for being gay. I don¡¯t have any respect for that. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Richard smiled, ¡°There it is. You do remember me.¡± ¡°Doug, Please sit down,¡± Denise tried. I am not the Titan. ¡°What are you talking about? You two have never met?¡± Lindsey demanded. Wilson cackled. ¡°That¡¯s embarrassing,¡± I said, moving to sit next to Angelica. ¡°Did you just take over Fiona¡¯s client list without doing any research?¡± Lindsey glared at me. When she spoke it was through gritted teeth, ¡°I don¡¯t have to answer to a player.¡± ¡°But you do have to answer to me,¡± Wilson cut in. His grin had a predatory lean to it. ¡°Let me guess. You figured Doug¡¯s victory is only assured if he reaches the tower, so why not just toss your guy at mine?¡± ¡°That is well within my rights, and there is a lot of narrative potential,¡± Lindsey argued. It also more or less confirmed Wilson¡¯s accusation.¡± ¡°I disagree,¡± Denise spoke up. She cleared her throat again, ¡° If Enkidu were to die now, the climax at the tower would need to be completely reworked. It would require no less than four major retcons. We don¡¯t want them fighting.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight Ri-¡± I started
You are about to say the True Name of a Demon. This action will have consequences. Continue: Yes/No?
I hit no, ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight him.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Angelica said softly. And there are the ramifications. ¡°She has more reasons than most, ¡°Richard said. His voice had that patient almost teaching tone he used when explaining the in and out of IRAs and living trusts. ¡°If you say one more word-¡± Lindsey began ¡°I told you to knock that shit off,¡± I interrupted. ¡°Or what?¡± Lindsey demanded, ¡°Do you know what will happen if you lay a finger on me?¡± ¡°You die?¡± I offered. Lindsey paused and considered for a moment, ¡°I would like to have that logged as a threat.¡± ¡°Doug please stop threatening Narrators,¡± Denise said. She had modulated her tone to be soothing like she was trying to calm a toddler to sleep. I turned to Wilson, ¡°What the hell are we doing here?¡± ¡°What indeed?¡± Wilson asked. He turned his focus to Denise. ¡°I noticed a major adjustment of plot had occurred causing the player Enkidu to know the exact location of Doug. I suspect a leak of information from our end had caused a continuity break. So I filed a request for review,¡± Denise explained. She sounded like she had rehearsed that. ¡°You uppity bitch!¡± Lindsey shouted. ¡°What gives you the right to fuck with my story, intern?¡± Denise took a breath, and her voice only quavered a little when she said, ¡°I am a Narrator just like you.¡± Lindsey sneered, ¡°You¡¯re nothing like me.¡± I am not proud of what I said next, but I am also not going to apologize, ¡°Are you still barking you junkyard dog?¡± ¡°Shut your mouth player!¡± Lindsey looked about ready to burst a vessel. ¡°Or what?¡± I challenged. ¡°Take a swing or shut the fuck up.¡± ¡°I will sanction that,¡± WIlson added. ¡°Doug and Lindsey can fight this out backstage.¡± ¡°What?¡± Denise and Lindsey both demanded. Wilson shrugged, ¡°it is a valid methodology for a Narrator to control a story. Beat them till they learn or fuck ¡®em till they love you.¡± he looked to the middle distance, ¡°I miss the early storylines.¡± The room was quiet for a long moment after that. I spoke first, ¡°Okay. Fine. I will ask. Why is everything either violent or sexual with you?¡± Wilson smiled, ¡°I enjoy sexy violence and violent sex. Don¡¯t yuck others yum Doug. it¡¯s narrow-minded.¡± I shrugged and focused on Lindsey, ¡°pool¡¯s open and the water is fine.¡± ¡°What does that even mean?¡± She demanded. I stood. ¡°Stop talking and do something.¡± ¡°I would like to push for a minor retcon,¡± Lindsey said facing Wilson. ¡°Oh?¡± Wilson asked. ¡°If this is going to devolve to a brawl, it would make sense for Enkidu to have brought some back up. One squad of fire imps inside the veil should suffice. Enough to make thing hectic.¡± Lindsey never took her eyes off of me. ¡°I am not sure that is a good idea. Aiko and Brand would have trouble surviving that encounter.¡± Denise said. ¡°Both of them are below heroic scale. They shouldn¡¯t be punching this far above their narrative weight class,¡± Lindsey said. ¡°They are not your clients,¡± Denise said. She considered for a moment, ¡°If a retcon is to occur. I ask we perform a moderate retcon and simply have Enkidu not be in the material plane and have him be behind the veil.¡± ¡°That would ensure that a fight could not happen,¡± Lindsey argued. ¡°Exactly,¡± Denise agreed. ¡°That is not acceptable,¡± Lindsey spoke up. ¡°Jumbo has mental resistance. He will know everything. There is no way he won¡¯t metagame.¡± ¡°That is why it is important to coordinate with Wilson and me before you make these sort of decisions,¡± Denise pointed out. Lindsey frowned, ¡°Let them fight then.¡± This kicked off a lot of back and forth between Lindsey and Denise. I didn¡¯t give a faintest trace of a damn. I met Richard¡¯s eye, ¡°What happened?¡± I asked quietly. Richard shrugged before whispering, ¡°You know me. I had a chance to be an edgelord.¡± I halfway grinned. I forced myself to be serious, ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you.¡± Richard smiled, but it was a wan thing. A forlorn thing, ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you either.¡± ¡°Doug, I have to kill him,¡± Angelica said. She spoke softly but her voice had the unshakable certainty of someone telling the time. I was silent for a long moment, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°That I am going to have to insist that be explained on screen,¡± Wilson said. He had been watching Denise and Lindsey bicker, but clearly he had been listening to us. Angelica froze. She almost spoke, but closed her mouth. ¡°What do you have on them?¡± I asked Wilson. He leered, ¡°Not gonna tell ya, kid.¡± he turned his focus on Denise, ¡°Make your pitch.¡± Denise took a big breath and spoke fast.¡°Have Enkidu be behind the veil and pull Doug to the other side. That will give them time to talk, while preventing an early fight. It is also more in character for Enkidu as a careful plotter. Plus this will then require Angelica and Celeste to try and reach Doug. raising the question of whether they are trying to save him, or kill Enkidu.¡± Wilson turned to Lindsey, ¡°What ya got fire crotch?¡± Lindsey bit her tongue. She clearly wanted to snipe back, but managed not to. She glanced my way and a wicked smile twisted her face, ¡°The intern¡¯s idea, except still have the fire imp kill squad. Give the audience some blood. Let the Chosen one do what she does best. Fight demons.¡± Wilson leaned back in his chair. He put his feet up on the table, ¡°See that idea I like.¡± Suddenly I was back in the cold. Brand was still in my arms. Aiko was on my left. Angelica was on my right. Presumably Richard was behind me. Time started. The winds surged. For one brief moment that still felt like eternity, everyone was still. Then reality cracked, and Angelica struck like a lightning bolt. In an act of desperation I made a desperate grab as a powerful hand seized my back and yanked. I was pulled into darkness. I really hate Narrators. Chapter 89: ... You Still Have To Deal With Your Devil It was almost like I was pulled into the ocean. The air was thicker, but sound was dampened. A constant roar of the wind had shifted to a dull pulsing. Each of my three footsteps caused the snow to crunch beneath me. The noise was somehow both muffle and yet echoed. Everything was shaded dark. Colors were muted. I still held Aiko¡¯s arm. Denise¡¯s words about them not likely surviving a fight with demons¡­ had that been a manipulation? I could be wrong. Maybe I am under estimating her, but I do not believe Denise is capable of that level of manipulation. Wilson was though. Is this the response the Titan spoke about? I shrug my shoulder to break the grip of the hand pulling me. It let go without a fight. Making another snap decision I manifested a layer of Ablative Shell and transferred it to AIko. Yeah, Brand was hurt, but if push came to shove I knew he could take care of himself. Also if needed I could body block for him. Tanking ain¡¯t easy, but I was good at it. Then the Prompt hit
New Achievement ¡°Temporary¡± Personal Apocalypse You have made it into the land of the dead without dying¡­ yet. That is still pretty impressive. Not smart mind you but notable. Who knows what sort of forbidden knowledge or dark creatures you find. Reward: Let¡¯s see if you make it. Finish this hero¡¯s journey before asking for shit. That said I am not going to lie crossing the veil into death land is tricky, getting back is probably not gonna happen. You made a move into the holy of holies, and now you need to get past one of the greatest goalies. You should probably find a means of protection while you are here. You wouldn¡¯t want to bring back something nasty from death¡¯s domain. You are immune to the Ephemeral Dissipation condition Mental Resistance blocks the effect of Existential Dread. You can not rest in this location. You can not recover HP in this location. You can not recover MP in this location.
Aiko clung to me in desperate fear. Brand Stiffened in my arms. No Attack came. I could see the shadowy outline of Angelica. She looked almost like smudged charcoal drawings. Her details were blurred but the negative space around her was well defined by a dense black cloud. She was in a crouch spear ready. For some reason her weapon burned with an almost blinding light and was striking in its clarity of detail. All around her were dark figures. Tall lanky things with wings and horns. They were almost impossible to discern any detail, other than the dull red glow of a dying ember radiating off of their bodies. Their weapons were also easier to see, but not as clear as Angelica s pear. Most of them had clubs with a metal hook on the end. A few had pikes. The largest of the things had what looked to be a wickedly barbed man catcher. It was a long pole with a metal horseshoe shape at the end. The thing could be looped over someone''s head and then would stay around their neck. It was a tool of capture and pain. It blazed with a smokey orange fire. That was a tool of torment. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time,¡± Richard said. He was still standing behind me. I couldn¡¯t look away. It was Angelica vs dozens, ¡°Let me back. We can talk after she is safe.¡± ¡°No we really can¡¯t,¡± Richard insisted. There was a crackle of lightning and Angelica struck. She surged toward the leader. They had expected that. The pike wielders snapped into a formation in front of the boss and made a wall of jagged points. Just before Angelica would have been skewered she turned. If it wasn¡¯t a 90 degree turn, it was damn close. She impaled her spear into the neck of one of the club swinging demons, and used its body as a shield. She forced her way through their ranks breaking the bubble and getting free. Another crackle of lighting flared as the first blast of thunder rumbled. Angelica cleared a good sixty feet of distance away from the demons and took her unfortunate shield for a ride. Things did not go well for the shield. They cracked into the ice and as electricity surged I saw their skeleton shatter as their flesh vaporized. ¡°I am taking too much of a risk as it is,¡± Richard continued in the moment of quiet. As the demon died I saw a baleful blazing red cloud fled to the west. Toward the tower. ¡°You¡¯re taking a risk?¡± I almost shouted. Despite her trick more demons were bearing down on Angelica. She dodge the first¡¯s attack; it almost seemed easy. She just stepped back. Then the second required her to duck. The third she had to fall backward to avoid. The fourth grazed her arm in the same instant she impaled a fifth attacker with her spear. Hellfire and Angelica¡¯s lightning exploded through the dull mist. The rumble of thunder was undercut by wretched shrieking from the flames. Angelica was in the air. I could tell she was going to literally strike like lightning next. Richard ignored my barb and spoke, ¡°The fastest way back to her is to talk to me. I am trying to save lives.¡± Angelica struck from on high. One of the demons was trying to sneak away into the goblin camp. She didn¡¯t let him get even close. The remaining demons were grouping up and flinging more screaming flame at her. Angelica was good at dodging projectiles. ¡°Fine, what do you want, Ri- Enkidu?¡± I almost said his name again. ¡°Just give me four weeks,¡± Richard almost pleaded ¡°But the tower,¡± I started. ¡°After four weeks it''s yours,¡± RIchard cut in, ¡°use it or destroy it.¡± Angelica was dodging ninety-nine out of a hundred of the fire balls thrown at her. Trouble was that still meant she was burning and would eventually be worn down. ¡°What about the people?¡± I demanded. ¡°They will all be turned over to you, alive,¡± Richard offered immediately. He looked hopeful, like he thought he was getting through to me. ¡°No, what about them right now?¡± I pressed. Richard visibly flinched from my question, ¡°... that is a bit complicated.¡± Angelica feinted to her left before stopping moving all together. This caused the majority of the demons to miss their mark. In the brief second of relative calm she pulled her tank hunting rifle out of her inventory. She braced standing feet wide and fired! Suddenly grouping up wasn¡¯t such a good idea for the demons. The explosion was strangely quieter than her thunder. I sighed before speaking, ¡°Make it simple Ri- Enkidu. Explain it to me like I am five.¡± A very human hesitation crept into Richard¡¯s eyes. He considered for a long moment, ¡°I can¡¯t speak freely. I need them. Their pain generates the power needed for the tower to function. It is for the greater good I swear,¡± tears were welling in his eyes. ¡°They don¡¯t suffer in vain nor alone. I promise. Please trust me. I just need more time.¡± Richard, at least the one I -the Titan- knew, was a gentle soul. He couldn¡¯t stand seeing people in pain. The reason my return on investment with him was only seven percent year over year was because two thirds of the wealth we were generating was being donated. A bunch of different causes but we had focused on buying and forgiving medical debt, and paying for children''s school lunches. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. I did not doubt the sincerity of his words. He believed what he was saying. ¡°No,¡± I told him. Angelica¡¯s fight with the demons was devolving into a brawl. Some after realizing her ranged capacity were desperately charging her. Others were still bombarding her with fire. Another group was clearly trying to pull her focus and making another move for the goblin camp as a fourth moved toward the Mandir. It was too much for one person. ¡°But-¡± Richard tried. I wasn¡¯t having it, ¡°Do they consent to what is happening to them?¡± ¡°What?¡± Richard asked. ¡°I am not going to pretend to be wise, but if you are going to make someone suffer you need to be able to justify it to them, not yourself. Are they your collaborators or your prisoners?¡± I watched him very closely. ¡°They would if I could explain it to them,¡± Richard said. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. ¡°Then no. Send us back. I have a friend in need,¡± I told him ¡°Well said,¡± Brand spoke. He was shivering but the gun he pointed at Richard was fairly steady. I manifested a second layer of Ablative Shell and passed that one to Brand. If things were going to get violent at the very least I had a larger health pool Richard sighed, ¡°The last bit need to be said, before I send you back. If you give me the four weeks, she can kill me, no fight needed. Also in my room in the tower is the means for her release. Tell the chosen one that.¡± That¡­ changed things. I didn¡¯t want Richard dead. Maybe it was selfish, but I knew the guy. He was a connection to the world I -the Titan- lived in. I didn¡¯t want him dead. ¡°Why is this four weeks so important?¡± I demanded A blast of thunder almost like a bomb exploded. Angelica had her hammer out and was trying to get some breathing room from the horde of demons in her face. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you,¡± Richard said. More thunder. ¡°Is someone making you do this?¡± I demanded ¡°I can¡¯t tell you,¡± Richard repeated. More thunder, getting faster. ¡°Tell me what is happening,¡± I said, almost begging. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you,¡± Richard said yet again. The thunder stopped. Angelica was grappling with the demon wielding the man catcher. She held the haft of the demonic weapon in her left hand driving it away from her. The wailing fire was hitting a fever pitch as her hand burned. The demon had seized her throat. It¡¯s hand blazing with yet more hellfire. Angelica had with her right hand slammed a massive dagger through the bottom of the demon''s chin and up into its head. Lightning flared and the screaming ceased. More demons were coming. ¡°Dammit Richard! Tell me the truth!¡± I roared.
You have compelled a demon by use of their true name(partial) Contest of Wills is about to commence¡­ Your order contradicts the orders of another. Contest of Wills is now between Doug and Malfea
Something tremendous in the south stirred. A figure wrapped in billowing shadow rose up. It just kept doing that too. This being clearly wasn¡¯t the size of a mountain, but its presence loomed. Two cancerous blazing green eyes focused on me.
The eyes of a Devil are upon you. Prepare for suffering.
¡°I really wish you hadn¡¯t done that,¡± Richard muttered. A second figure began to rise in the east. It was much like the first. Vast in power. Malevolent in purpose. It too was an impossible spire of darkness radiating evil. Unlike the first, its eyes were a poisonous blue.
The eyes of a Devil are upon you. Prepare for suffering.
Aiko screamed as the gray light of day in this place darken. The wind stopped. The weight of these things'' attention was enough to stop the very air from moving. Ice crack and the baleful light of the hellfire burning in the living world quickly became the only light we could see beside an almost desperate flicker of Angelica¡¯s lightning. Richard was moving his hands in some odd, but clearly deliberate way. Runes made of the hateful flame were manifesting. ¡°They won¡¯t even let you roll for the contest of will. I am going to try and get you out.¡± The devil to the east reached out its hand stretching far beyond distance and snuffed the flames out. Richard kept moving. Where the flame had been crystalline shapes remained. He was the Demon of Frost. I manifest a third layer.
Third Layer of Ablative Shell unavailable. It was used in the creation of a Divine Scale relic. Third layer of Ablative shell will become available again in 6 days.
Holy shit! My actions had consequences. The prompts had warned me. Finger tut faster Richard. The Devil to the south also reached over us. It seized Richard like a doll. The icy runes around him shattered. Its other hand began to descend on us.
The eyes of the Titan are upon you
Everything went black. No that¡¯s not true. Two hard points of celestial existence persisted in the absolute nothing. Each one,a galaxy unto itself, was a swirling nexus of cosmic power. They were beyond¡­ just beyond. Beyond size, beyond understanding, beyond comprehension, beyond comparison. The Titan¡¯s eyes merely looking at us without the protection of the veil simply halted everything. Even the fighting on the other side ceased. For me at least the worst part was despite the inhuman nature of those eyes, I could still sense the contempt in their gaze. The Titan, the man I used to be, was watching us and he wasn¡¯t happy. A few realizations hit all at once. He could destroy us all. It wouldn¡¯t even be hard. If the Titan wanted to he could break the very world to pieces. Perhaps destroy all of reality. That¡¯s why he needed Titan spawn. To interact with the world without destroying it. 280 years alone, watching lesser versions of himself walk this world. No wonder he was so angry. In that space of timelessness I felt the devil¡¯s hand withdraw.
Contest of Wills beginning in¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­
I don¡¯t have a great way to explain what happened next. It was the mental equivalent to getting punted. Whatever we were supposed to be doing I lost. It wasn¡¯t even close.
Contest of Wills over. Malfea wins. Malfea¡¯s orders maintain primacy. Mental Resistance blocks all damage.
The Titan¡¯s presence didn¡¯t withdraw. Instead of nothingness receded and the faded world of beyond the veil returned. I could still see the devils gazing down on us from their distant lairs, and above them the Titan loomed. We all just sort of stood there. Angelica¡¯s fight resumed. ¡°I guess I should return you.¡± Richard managed. ¡°How can I help you?¡± I asked. ¡°Get me the 4 weeks,¡± Richard said. He gave me a sad smile. To hell with it. Time for the hail mary play.
You have activated voice of the Titan
¡°Richard, break free of all compulsions over your mind!¡± I said. The power of the Titan flowed through me. I suspected this once before. Part of how Voice of the Titan worked was it was the actual voice of the Titan. So While I had just technically picked a fight with who knows how many players, the devils included. The system rolled the Contest of Will using the Titan. A blizzard of prompts flashed through my vision all announcing my victory in a Contest of Wills. I would have paid more attention to those, but one prompt held my focus.
Voice of the Titan Deactivated You are under the effect of Mana Bleed. You take 300 HP of damage You are now Bleeding You are immune to the effects of this condition You have been muted You are incapable of healing in this location.
I had suspected Mana Bleed would be bad. I was both right and wrong. Let me give you the bottomline up front here, Mana Bleed is a zero out of ten. I would not recommend. Summarizing the experience is hard to do without defaulting to things like ¡®ouch¡¯ is difficult. The pain was on the same scale as the Extreme Agony condition. The thing is Extreme Agony was a physical condition. This was¡­ spiritual I think, metaphysical at the very least. It was like being crushed, no squeezed. I was shedding energy. Just like my blood though I could leak seemingly endlessly. That said it was like having my soul filled with salt and broken glass while being dipped in acid. I would have screamed but the ragged tatters where my throat used to be produced no noise. Okay that is not true. The air caused a bubbling gurgle through the blood literally drowning me. I buckled and fell to my knees. It took everything to not collapse onto Brand. He had hopped out of my arms to avoid the waterfall of gore. My head swam. Richard stood over me. He looked so sad, ¡°Thank you, and I am sorry. If you get out of here, I need the four weeks. I¡¯m trying to save the world.¡± Then he spread his wings and took off. He flew west back to the tower. The thunder and lightning had gone quiet. The only sound that remained was the screaming of hellfire. Chapter 90: Playing God Things were bad. Brand, Aiko and I were stuck in the realm of the dead. Angelica seemed to be losing the fight with a horde of demons. Also I was egregiously hurt. Between the Mana Bleed Condition, having my throat torn to literal shreds, and being unable to heal I had to fight to urge to panic
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I selected 1 second. The tell tale thrum of time stopping brought silence but no reprieve from the pain. Treat this like everything else. I thought desperately trying to drive back the panic and think through the pain. Define goals. I needed to get Angelica help. I needed to get us out of the land of the dead. This realm didn¡¯t seem supportive of life, but it wasn¡¯t actively trying to kill us. That set the priority. I needed to help Angelica first.
Please select an action¡­
I looked over to Angelica. Her spear was a blazing pillar of light, but she was nowhere near it. I found her near what seemed to be a pyre of demonic fire. Seven of the demons were ganging up on her. Two were holding each arm. One struggling to hold each leg, and a seventh was raising its barbed club to strike. Why hadn¡¯t Celeste stepped in? How much time had we spent together? It was less than a minute.
Please select an action¡­
In absence of information. I need to assume a worst case scenario. Celeste wasn¡¯t going to show up, and Angelica wasn¡¯t going to break free. What could I do? Attack the demons? I doubted that was possible. Everything felt slightly out of step. Several stray fireballs from the demons had come very close to us, and I felt neither nor even a disturbance of the air. I could see and hear the land of the living, But I seemed to not be able to directly interact with it. ¡­not directly.
Please select an action¡­
What indirect options did I have? This entire situation was meant to mitigate all of my physical capacities. One of the demons I could see was clearly looking around confused. They had heard me when I had used Voice of the Titan. Voice of the Titan wasn¡¯t an option because I was Muted. In the timeless moment I tried to speak but no noise came out. Nothing even rattled. I think I obliterated my voice box. That is probably why I had the Muted Condition¡­ wait.
Ignored Conditions: Frozen Extreme Agony Gore Soaked Stop ignoring Frozen Condition and ignore Muted Condition? Yes/No
I hesitated. That was a desperate last measure. Even If I could reactive voice of the Titan and could say something to the demons, would they actually listen? Also would that put a second stack of Mana Bleed on me? Would that do 300 more damage? This had to be something else I could do.
Please select an action¡­ Warring: Continued delay will result in free action being lost.
I was trying to do everything myself again. That was the trap. It wasn¡¯t perfect but there was an option. Ask for help.
Comune Check¡­ Successful You are now communicating with Followers Rachel Blum and Chino Minoru Rachel: Doug? Why can¡¯t I move? Minoru: Time is stopped. Try and relax. Struggling too hard can actually cause something to tear when time starts.
It Worked! I had time.
Please select an action¡­ Warning: Continued Delay will result in free action being lost. Last chance!
Kinda had time. It would seem a god could exploit time stops to speak more freely with their followers.
Doug: Demons are outside the camp. Some are heading toward both the Goblin camp and the Mandir. Minoru, raise the alarm. Rachel, I need you to come here*. Angelica needs help.
I was able to send the image where we were.
Minoru: It will be done. Do you want me to send assistance? Rachel: Oh that is what the noise is¡­ Doug. Why would I help a psychotic mass murder? Doug: Minoru, Only if you know the people you send will be able to handle the fight AND are steady enough to not pick attack anyone other than demons. Rachel, Now is not the time for this. There are enemies at the door. Minoru: I will tell Sunit. His hatred of demons is profound and righteous. Rachel: That sounds like a good argument to hang back and take care of my people.
I about lost my shit. Part of it was the pain, and part of it was frustration with Rachel, but most of it was just pure panic. Reality hit before I could do something unfortunate.
Free Action Lost. Time will resume.
Everything sped back up. Brand jammed a bundle of cloth to the bleeding hole in my neck. Aiko poured some strange liquid on my face. A prompt pointing out healing was not possible flashed in my vision. The demon struck with the club. The crack of wood on bone almost sounded like the noise a baseball bat makes when it knocks one out of the park. Angelica jerked and her right arm almost pulled free. She was alive.
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I selected another second. Yeah, stalling for time was just that, a stall, but I needed the breathing room. I took a breath. I needed to get Rachel moving to help. That meant I needed to convince her. That meant anger, frustration, and stress were counterproductive. I took another breath¡­ What did she want?
Please select an action¡­
I hate those blue boxes. Rachel wanted to kill Seth. That was off the table. I was not going to trade lives. Not like that anyways. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Where was Celeste? Focus. Rachel cared about her people, and her mission. I needed to leverage the mission against her hatred of Angelica.
Commune Check¡­ Successful Your are now communicating with Rachel Blum Doug: Don¡¯t just wait. The majority of the demons are gathered in one location. A preemptive strike now will protect your people. Rachel: Why don¡¯t you help her? Doug: I am stuck in the Land of the Dead Rachel: Oh¡­ that¡¯s not good. Doug: No it isn¡¯t. When time starts you need to move. Rachel: or what?
This didn¡¯t feel like I was making ground.
Please select an action¡­
Oh good. More pressure to act.
Doug: What do you want? Rachel: What? Doug: What do you mean what? What is it going to take to get you to go fight the demons? Rachel: You¡¯re not going to threaten me?
I nearly tried to scream in frustration. We didn¡¯t have time for this.
Please select an action¡­
Focus on what matters.
Doug: No, Rachel, I am not going to threaten you. Rachel: If I let De Leon die you won¡¯t stop the instability rolls for me and my squad?
That actually gave me pause. ¡­no, I wouldn¡¯t do that. I understood part of the tension between Rachel and me. Technically, due to the nature of our relationship every interaction had a looming threat of coercion. That instability roll had crippled her arm. If I simply stopped loaning them my scale the Chimera Soldier would warp and twist until¡­ I don¡¯t know. Death? Something worse? I needed to make Rachel understand.
Doug: No. I promise to never do that. Rachel: What if we end up at crossed purposes like war with the Fantasy Kingdom Doug: I am not saying I won¡¯t physically stop you, if I have to. I am saying I will never just let Instability kill you. That is off the table so long as I am alive. Now tell me what it will take to get you to move?
I took another breath. Don¡¯t hurry. If I pushed her she would just fight me.
Please select an action¡­ Warring: Continued delay will result in free action being lost.
I could swear those were pressing closer together.
Rachel: I want you to come with my team to clear a dungeon, but we have to keep the loot. Doug: Will you go to the dungeon after we clear the tower? Rachel: No. I can¡¯t risk the mission by sending people to the demon tower. We have to get back to the Technacoast and we are on time limit. Honestly we have already wasted more time than I am comfortable with.
Richard said he needed four weeks to do something. He said was trying to save the world. Despite my desire to trust him, my gut told me I had to stop him and time was a factor.
Doug: I can¡¯t promise to go with you. The tower needs to fall. Would you accept a pact? Rachel: What are the terms? Doug: You use the power granted by the pact to act in all good faith to save Angelica and kill the demons. You get the power of the pact until you complete your mission. Rachel: That¡¯s it? What¡¯s the catch? Doug: Rachel, I have no interest in subordinates or followers, or minions, or whatever. I am not trying to control you. Rachel: Then what are you trying to do? Doug: Be friends.
That while true didn¡¯t sound as I hoped. I was aiming for ernest but reading the message again it felt hokey. I glanced at the demons. The one with the club was still frozen ready to swing again. Where was Celeste?
Please select an action¡­ Warning: Continued Delay will result in free action being lost. Last chance!
Dammit! This may have been a bad Idea. I hadn¡¯t reached out to Seth, because his apotheosis had left him relatively weak. Also I didn¡¯t want to lure him out of the Mandir protection with Rachel around.
Rachel: I¡¯ll Take the Pact.
I frantically went through the prompts to create a pact. I selected Titanic Toughness 2 and Titanic Speed. Rachel took the pact. Time started again. Crack! Angelica kicked loose for a moment but she wasn¡¯t able to break free.
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I select 5 seconds. I pulled the bow out of my inventory and nocked an arrow. I wasn¡¯t some great hunter, but I had spent my youth in an area where hunting was common. I had been in shooting sports. Plucking away with a bb gun and third hand compound bow. I aim, drew the string and let loose the arrow. It flew straight and true. It would have punched right into the chest of the demon with the club, but phased right through
Rachel: Why is time stopped? Doug: Can you still move through it? Does the Demigod equivalent of Titanic Speed let you move when I stop time? Rachel: Let me try. ¡­yes Doug: Sprint, use the time! How much do you have? Rachel: Twenty actions Doug: Okay how far out are you. Rachel: Not sure. At the pace I am going maybe 30 seconds? Doug: You have four more of this time stop. Then I can give you the remain 16 the next Rachel: Fifteen. I burnt through one already.
There had to be something else I could do. My eyes drifted to the spear. In this muted place it seemed more real. The light radiating off of it hurt my eyes. I walked toward it. My skin prickled from the intensity of the spear¡¯s corona of energy. I hesitated a moment. If I could touch this would it hurt me? Yeah, I wanted to help, and I certainly was desperate, but crippling myself pointlessly wouldn¡¯t save anyone.
Please select an action¡­
That spurred me into trying. My hand phased right through the spear. Maybe there was the slightest resistance but it was nothing useful. This. This being locked away and unable to help, was hell. I actually felt empathy for the titan. I looked up at the impossibly vast figure. He was still there gazing down at me. I stopped ignoring the frozen condition and ignored the muted condition. That moved the world down a tick. Three left. ¡°Please help?¡± I begged. My voice echoed like it was in an empty room with nothing on the walls. The Titan simply kept watching me impassively. The weight of Contempt had vanished with the devils, but he still terrified me. ¡°Go ahead! Take control! Wrath of the Titan! Rip a hole in the veil so I can help!¡± I screamed. When this provoked no response I all but sobbed, ¡°Please help.¡± The Titan faded away. I collapsed to my knees. There had to be something I could do. What was I missing? My mind was in a spiral. Prompts trying to goad me into action were flashing. I was coming up empty. Time surged forward again. The demon bludgeoned Angelica again. She screamed in pain. The only time I heard her make a noise like that was when the Cait Sith had inflicted the Extreme Agony Condition on her. ¡°Doug?¡± Brand called. From his perspective I had vanished. He locked eyes on me as I got the prompt open again.
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I selected fifteen seconds. I was so useless. Wasn¡¯t I supposed to be powerful? Why did everything lead to me watching people suffer? The answer hit me. The moment of insight rendered me strangely calm. The Titan¡¯s worst memories all related to seeing women suffer and die. Here I was, forced by the Narrators exploiting the system to force me to watch yet another woman suffer. Mina, Rebecca, Brunhilda, Rachel, and Angelica, all of them suffered for crossing my path. Well, because some narrator decided them suffering would be entertaining. This was done to us¡­ for entertainment. I could make it stop. I could swat the Narrator''s hands away from the controls for an hour. Lindsey and Wilson had planned for this. Hell they probably were controlling Angelica¡¯s dice rolls to break free, ensuring she couldn¡¯t quite make it.
Activate ¡°Empowered Critical¡±? Yes/No
I nearly hit yes. At the last second though I paused. Narrator meddling had brought us here, but could possibly carry us through. Who wanted to hear the story about a great demon slaying hero, who immediately before a big climatic battle, died being clubbed by a nameless goon. It would be bad storytelling. Wilson claimed he wouldn¡¯t put his thumb on the scale, but he had also said he didn¡¯t do retcons and here we were. The system wanted us to take nine seconds, probably more, of abuse and offered the faintest illusion of hope that she would survive. Turning off the Narrator''s control meant letting the dice roll. Giving it all to chance. Basically it came down to did I trust Wilson, and Lindsey or did I trust Angelica and Celeste. That wasn¡¯t even a competition. I hit yes. Eventually time started again Crack! Angelica didn¡¯t break free. Crack! Angelica shrieked in agony. Crack! Chapter 91: Fighting For Others Lives Brand fired at the demons. Two shots rang out strangely distorted. His bullets had no more effect than anything I had done. ¡°We need to do something!¡± ¡°Any suggestions? I asked, my voice still had the uncanny feel like the audio was wrong. Crack! The demon struck again. Brand didn¡¯t waste time, ¡°Can you destroy the ice beneath their feet?¡±
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I only selected one second. I was already through nearly half of my time stops. My tools blazed with power. I focused on the ice beneath the feet of the demon with the club
Veil cannot be pierced by physical means. Destruction check ¡­Failed.
Time started ¡°Fuck!¡± I shouted. Blood poured down my front. The demon raised the club and just before they struck a crossbow bolt lodged in their eye. It flailed and screamed. Don¡¯t get me wrong, screw them in particular, but getting shot in the eye had to hurt. Just seeing it made me flinch. What sent panic through me was the idea that a goblin,a specific one, had fired that shot. Spine was not ready for this level of fighting. A lot of things happened all at once. Angelica pulled her right arm free. The demon with the bolt in its eye flung a massive ball of hellfire toward their attacker. Angelica made a desperate grab for her hammer. One of the demons holding her leg decided to bail on trying to restrain her. It fled into the darkness almost as fast as Angelica. The screaming glow of hell fire meant it was also preparing an attack. The goblin jumped backwards as the shrieking sphere of baleful flame bore down on them. A small figure stepped forward holding a heavy metal shield. Brunhilda was here. The goblin aimed his crossbow over her shoulder. Its hands were red. It was Philip. Was that the Narrator¡¯s plan? Had I just thrown everything into uncertainty or had using ¡®Empowered Critical¡¯ allowed this to occur? It didn¡¯t matter either way I was committed. Boom! Angelica struck with the hammer. She hit arrow-eye right in the head. Driving the bolt way deeper into their skull parts. A new baleful demonic cloud manifested in our world. The demons who had been holding Angelica¡¯s arm gave up on that, and were both lunging with their barbed pikes. The one that had fled launched a blast of hellfire at Angelica as well. Philip and Brunhilda were too far away to intervene. ¡°Give her my armor,¡± Brand insisted. He didn¡¯t yell, but he is slightly hurried words had that certainty to them that brooked no argument.
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I selected 4 seconds. My pool of time stops was beginning to run dry. I figured three were need. One to take the armor from Brand. Then I would need to see if anything terrible happened to him for the second action. If there was a problem I would put the armor back, otherwise I would try and transfer the armor to Angelica.
Craft Check¡­ Success Source of all Rivers withdraw from Brand
The armor unlatched from Brand and snapped into place around me. Brand was still standing there staring at Angelica. His face was resolute. He didn¡¯t crumple into dust nor did he look harmed in any way. That said, time was stopped.
Analyze Check¡­ Successful
The wall of data hit me. Brand was still at two thirds of his max hitpoints. He had the Abdominal Laceration Condition, the Torn Annular Ligament Condition, the Mild Concussion Condition, and Severe Burn (Back) conditions. These were all inflicting pain effects totaling up to Serious Suffering Condition, but that was suppressed by the Existential Dread Condition. It would seem you could not heal or recover in this place, but physical injuries caused no pain. He was also Immune to the Ephemeral Dissipation Condition because he had a Corporeal Anchor. I am pretty sure that meant since he had a living body his soul wasn¡¯t scattering in this place. So far so good.
Veil cannot be pierced by physical means. Craft Check ¡­Failed.
Shit! No! No, no, no! Why System? You just let me move a shell from Brand. I should just be able to move it. What was the description?
Source of All Rivers The Glacier is not just a force of change and destruction. Its true power is not its resilience, but its ability to sustain life. Water flows from the Glacier and power flows from you. This ability allows you to transfer any or all aspects of this Cosmic Martial Art to any valid combination of beings. This ability requires a WIllpower roll to maintain.
I should be able to just transfer it. Willpower was no problem. Why wasn¡¯t it working? I could do this. I passed off my buffed Ablative shell no problem. It was basically a reflex. Why didn¡¯t it work now? Think. Think! Think, dammit! This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. I stopped myself. I took a breath. Panicking wouldn¡¯t help. I had to use this time well. I read Source of All Rivers again. I checked the earlier prompts. I didn¡¯t roll Willpower. I had made a craft check. There it was. I had been exploiting the system. I had manifested the Shell on me to give it maximum protection by adding the buff from Titanic Armor 2. I had then used Craft to reshape it onto someone, and then transferred the Ablative Shell ability to them so they could move freely in the armor. I couldn¡¯t do that now. I needed to transfer Ablative Shell to Angelica, and destroy this stack so she could manifest a layer on herself. ¡°I am an idiot,¡± I told myself. I reread Source of All Rivers. I should have buffed Angelica with my cosmic martial art. She could have trivialized the fight with counters triggering each time she dodged, blocked, or took a hit. Now though Angelica¡¯s health was in the red and she was at death¡¯s door because I was moron. ¡°Stop it,¡± I told myself. ¡°Focus on what matters.¡±
Willpower Check¡­ Successful Source of All Rivers grants Angelica Ablative Shell
When time didn¡¯t start up again I realized I still had one second left. I can take a free action nested in the time stop without moving time forward. This time I didn¡¯t mind the System being completely unbalanced. That state of affairs almost always benefited me, but in this moment where I truly needed it, it was a relief.
Destruction check¡­Successful Ablative Shell Destroyed
The ice armor instantly sublimated into a shroud of mist. I had one last action. I really looked at Angelica.
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains under control
At the start of the fight Angelica had looked blurred and indistinct. Now though with her health low she was stark and easily visible. So were the injuries. One of the impacts of the club had peeled the skin on the scalp causing a large flap of flesh to lift free and fold over. I could see her skull. Another had landed on her mouth. Her lips were tattered ribbons of flesh barely concealing jagged shards of broken teeth. Her stomach and arms were covered in burnt rough hewn gouges from the demonic weapons. Her legs were a charred and blistered mess. The skin had sloughed off entirely on her left foot. How was she still conscious? So many complicated and dark thoughts spun in my mind. Seeing people you care about in pain¡­it hurts. Eloquent, I know, but that is kinda the point. Empathy is foundational. It is required for any human connection. That is the true evil of cruelty. It was devoid of empathy, devoid of humanity, and in order to fight it one must become detached, removed from empathy. That is a bunch of words to say that rather than understand the horror of her injuries, I considered which stage of Unrelenting Glacier would best allow Angelica to survive. She wasn¡¯t going to dodge well with her legs burnt and battered. her crippled arm could swing the hammer and while strong, seemed to lack the dexterity she normally had. That took block off the table. It was a bad option. The very idea of Angelica taking another hit puckered my asshole to the size decimal point.
Willpower check¡­ Successful Source of All Rivers grants Angelica Rebounding Force
All said and done the only thing to do was stack the deck as best I could and trust her and the others. Time started. The demon preparing to throw fire at Angelica screamed as another bolt slammed into its eye. Philip seemed to have a preferred target with that crossbow of his. Trouble was he was a split second too late. The demon attack flew straight and true. The screaming blast of hellfire surged toward Angelica. Brand seized my arm just as the blast enveloped Angelica. Don¡¯t get me wrong, my heart was hammering in my chess. It slammed against my ribs like it wanted to bust free, but I saw a flash of pure white light blaze in her eyes and the glint of water crystallize around her a microsecond before damage was applied. The flames erupted in a dreadful burst of orange hellfire. The wailing of the damned drowned everything out for a very long moment. I had just enough time to worry that I had messed up when from the heart of the fire a bolt of lightning erupted. The serpentine chain of energy struck the demon right in center mass. The impact lifted the demon into the air as the lighting impaled the creature. The demon screamed. It wasn¡¯t dead. Its hellfire faded and flickered out of existence. The other demons were no worse for the wear. Angelica''s ablative Shell had melted to nothing. She was bringing the hammer down on the nearest demon. The other was absolutely going to skewer her. The first might get their hit in too. It¡¯d be close. It is tough fighting something that doesn¡¯t fear death. They will pull kamikaze shit like this. They don¡¯t have to win so long as you lose. Boom! Angelica flattened her target. In an explosion of thunder and gore the demon died and another cloud burst into existence here in the land of the dead. It fled to the west immediately. The second demon stabbed Angelica in the chest. The red hot barbed pike ripped a massive chunk of flesh out of her. I could see ribs and the organs beneath them. Why hadn¡¯t Celeste stepped in. Kaboom! Angelica retaliated with her hammer fast as lightning. Her health bar was almost empty. That didn¡¯t lessen the impact of her attack. Her hammer smashed the demon¡¯s head like a pumpkin. The last demon wound up to throw still more hellfire. Brunhilda was charging toward Angelica. My drinking buddy was resolute and someone you wanted with you in a fight, but they weren¡¯t a sprinter. Philip was dashing toward the demon, spear in hand. He wasn''t going to make it either. The hateful star of fire the demon had collected surged toward Angelica and Brunhilda. This attack wasn¡¯t like the first few. Those had been roughly the size of a basketball. A compressed node a torturous flame. This was a screaming mass of baleful destruction at least two yards across. The demon had unloaded everything it had in that attack. A phantom snow lion jumped in front of the ball of hate. The flames engulfed the spectral big cat and erupted in an upsetting geyser of hellfire. The thing is it did that like forty feet from Angelica and Brunhilda. Nothing but the snow lion was hurt. I will repeat that. Nothing of value was hurt. I don¡¯t like Snow Lions. That¡¯s not entirely fair. This one was okay. It didn¡¯t overstay its welcome. Philip tried to impale the demon but it flitted through the dark of night. It wasn¡¯t as fast and Angelica but it was close. The demon was clearly ready to go. Come back another day. Rachel slammed a ka-bar knife into its face. She then did that again¡­ like thirty times. The demon died well before she was done, but I wasn¡¯t going to stop her. I think Rachel had some issues to work through. The Chime of Brunhilda crashing her gauntlets together. Rippled through our world. For a split second everything was crisp and the colors were vibrant. Then the unlife of this place reserted itself. Angelica went from stark to blurred again. We had done it. They had done it. Everyone was going to live. ¡°Thank God,¡± Brand managed. He was still white knuckling his grip on me. Someone behind us clapped and then did that piercing whistle some folks do. Aiko looked behind us and then hugged me like a caber. ¡°As long as I exist I can¡¯t help but cheer every time the living beat death,¡± Debbie said. I could hear the smile in her voice. ¡°This one got down to the wire.¡± I turned and saw Debbie. She looked like a stooped old woman and was leaning on the are of another lady. The woman was maybe a little over average height. She clearly had a few years under her belt, but aged gracefully. She was wearing a simple blue blouse, and a dark grey skirt, and practical boots. Her steel colored hair was in a tight braid. She gazed at us a little confused, ¡°Grandmother?... Who are these people?¡± ¡°Oops,¡± Debbie said, standing up straight. ¡°Sorry Granny Mabel, I really don¡¯t like breaking character.¡± Aiko and Brand hid behind me. Fair. ¡°Wait, is your name Ganny Mabel?¡± I asked the woman. She blinked and her eyes sharpened, ¡°Yeah, and?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± I said. Rather than get clowned by Granny Mabel I turned to Debbie, ¡°Could you helps us out of here.¡± Debbie sucked air through her teeth, ¡°Don¡¯t be mad, but no.¡± Chapter 92: Lets make like Zagreus and get out of hell. Well shit. No free rides. I would have mulled that over more, but a few things interfered with the process. The first was the constant acidic suffering from the Mana Bleed Condition. Then the upsetting constant flow of blood from my tattered wounded neck. The last bit was just¡­ I was tired. Running on adrenaline and desperate terror burns you out. I could be wrong, but everyone on the other side of the Veil looked like they were going to survive. Aiko, Brand, and I seemed to not be in immediate danger. That was leading to a crash. Long term we looked to be in mortal danger but that was fairly constant. Also Debbie seemed¡­ not psychotic. The output could absolutely be the same, but I was happy to deal with inaction instead of malicious attention. ¡°Why would I be mad?¡± I asked. Again I am sure our situation was desperate but it wasn¡¯t immediate, besides it cost nothing to be polite. Debbie blinked. ¡°You know, that could be on me. I just assumed you were going to go down the ¡®begone foul specter!¡¯ or the ¡®You shall not take them!¡¯ or ¡®Take me instead!¡¯ route. I am sorry for making assumptions.¡± she considered for a moment, ¡°you¡¯re not gonna try and put me in a headlock are you?¡± I stared at her. That last question threw me for a loop. I just stood there bleeding. Debbie clearly wanted an answer about potential wrestling events. She watched me warily as she kept her hands on Granny Mabel. ¡°Doug, we need to get out of here,¡± Brand managed. His voice was tinted with barely contained panic. He was clinging to me. Brand was terrified. Don¡¯t get me wrong, things could be better, but that was dramatic for Brand. I looked at Aiko. She was still using me as a human¡­Titan Spawn shield, but she seemed calm. ¡°I believe Brand is suffering from a fear effect caused by this place. For some reason I am not,¡± Aiko said. ¡°Yeah, this place is pretty scary to most people,¡± Debbie said. She considered for a moment, ¡°Contact with me does let me block the effect.¡± Then why wasn¡¯t Aiko¡­ the Ablative Shell. It was titanic scale. Before transferring the shell Brand had been clear minded, and even had the idea to give Angelica a layer of protection. Angelica was looking around. Brunhilda was casting healing spells on Angelica. Rachel was gazing in my general direction. Could she sense me? Was she just ignoring Angelica? Philip seemed to be trying to speak to Rachel as she gazed roughly in our direction but past our relative location. That looked stable¡­ for now¡­ kinda. I hoped it stayed peaceful. I withdrew the Ablative shell ability from Angelica and transferred a layer to Brand. Angelica jerked and looked quite agitated. Brand calmed almost immediately. He took a breath, and then another before letting go of me, ¡°Apologies. I am being rude.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Granny Mabel said. He hooked a thumb at Debbie, ¡°This one is ghoulishly wearing the face of my Grandmother.¡± Debbie considered, ¡°I could change. Would you prefer your mother, or father, or your brother? I try to avoid spouses. You wouldn¡¯t believe the amount of people who upon seeing their husband or wife go straight for the¡­¡± Debbie stopped talking, ¡°It is best to be as platonic as possible.¡± ¡°I would prefer you not wear the skin of my loved ones,¡± Granny Mabel said flatly. ¡°You could just wear your face,¡± I pointed out. Debbie paused, ¡°I don¡¯t remember my face.¡± Things went quiet for several deeply uncomfortable moments, ¡°Could you elaborate?¡± I asked eventually. Brand was back to trying to pack my neck wound. ¡°Oh I died as the system came.¡± Debbie explained like she was discussing the weather. ¡°I got a prompt telling me to pay it forward. I did that, then died, then I was elevated to Divine scale. So I spent most of my existence on this side of the Veil. There aren¡¯t a lot of mirrors here. Then I got a perk that let me shapeshift and¡­¡± she shrugged. ¡°Wait, you got the prompt? Was it the one from the Titan?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, I am pretty sure I was one of the first three to get the message,¡± Debbie nodded. She turned to where the Titan had loomed, ¡°He shows up from time to time. For a while there it was just me and him on this side of the Veil.¡± She sighed wistfully, ¡°It was a simpler time.¡± ¡°Wait, that means I know you!¡± I said, wracking my brain. Who could she be? ¡°Yeah, silly we met at the courthouse,¡± Debbie said. ¡°No, I mean the Titan knew you in the world that was. How''d you know him?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Debbie said, ¡°Sorry I spend so much of my day dealing with people who tend to be confused.¡± Her smile turned into a somewhat panicked look as she gaze passed me, ¡°Go around!¡± I turned and saw a group of I think sailors. Two of them were dressed like stereotypical pirates. One had a big tricorn hat and a cutlass, the other a peg leg. A being that was constantly shifting shapes was guiding them through the dark faded landscape. They were all holding hands like small kids in a museum. The shapeshifter paused, waved back and called in Debbie¡¯s voice, ¡°Sorry.¡± The shifting shape then took a hard right to avoid us. Some of the pirates looked a little confused as they walked around our group. ¡°The hell was that?¡± Granny Mabel and I asked at the same time. ¡°Oh that was the crew of the Public Privateer,¡± our Debbie said. ¡°They sank a few years back fighting fishmen. They were haunting the boat since. The bottom of the ocean is weird. I am multitasking so sorry if I seem a little unfocused.¡± Granny Mabel turned her attention onto Angelica, ¡°She¡¯s seen better days.¡± Granny Mabel blinked. ¡°First thing first. Your actual face. Put that on please.¡± ¡°Like I said, I forgot,¡± Debbie said. ¡°I might be able to help if you tell me how you know the Titan,¡± I offered. Debbie considered. ¡°See that is the tricky bit. I don¡¯t think we, the Titan and I, ever exchanged names. The Titan was the sad man in the hospital. I wandered into the room one day. His leg was hurt. He and his daughter were watching one of the Star Trek movies. He let me sit in a chair and watch it with them. My folks had been fighting, apparently I was very sick, but I thought they were mad at me.¡± Debbie smiled and gazed toward where the Titan had been, ¡°I can still see him, propped up in the hospital bed, his daughter asleep leaning on his chest. He was very kind to me that day. He didn¡¯t have to be but he was.¡± I remembered her. She had been a short girl, and clearly a bit too thin. She had been in the room opposite mine. I was pretty sure her parents were divorced. I could still see her curly black hair, wide owlish brown eyes. She was wearing a shirt with the avengers on it. She was maybe the same age as Kate. I was high on pain meds. I was pretty sure after Mark helped me escape to see Marnie, I got put on some sort of list. He had been kicked out all together. Like she said her parents were fighting. Custody probably became a hot button issue when time became overtly limited. I told her her parents weren¡¯t mad at her. I could see her sitting in the chair kicking her little legs throwing the not so furtive look to the dumb little teddy bear Mark had given me. It had a pink ribbon. When Jo arrived I -the Titan- told her to give the bear to the girl. ¡°Are you the girl with the Avenger¡¯s shirt?¡± I asked. Debbie smiled genuinely, ¡°Yeah¡­ well I lost the shirt, but I do still have the bear¡­ most of it. There was a tragic sandbox incident.¡± she hesitated for a moment, when she asked, her voice was quiet, almost afraid she wouldn¡¯t get the answer, ¡°What did I look like?¡± I told her, and almost instantly Debbie blurred. A brief moment later Debbie''s appearance coalesced. Rather than look like a child, Debbie looked like the girl I remember all grown up. She looked like a woman in her forties. She had the faint hint of crows feet by her now wise eyes. Laugh lines framed her genuine smile. She was wearing an oversized hoodie with a stylized pattern depicting Ironman¡¯s face on the front. She stopped smiling and then said, ¡°Oh god, I have probably just turned into my mother?¡± she waited for a beat, ¡°I am just kidding that would be cool.¡± ¡°Now that you are done masquerading as my loved ones, do you mind telling me, what you are doing to me?¡± Granny Mabel asked. Debbie did not have a poker face. Her face scrunched the way someone caught doing something dumb did, ¡°I was guiding you to the afterlife. One of the ways up is¡­¡± she pointed vaguely north, ¡°We then got distracted when you saw Angelica De Leon.¡± ¡°Well of course I would get distracted. One of my kids is in trouble,¡± Granny Mabel said sternly. She looked at Angelica, ¡°Just look at her. I never should have let her go to the tower alone.¡± her voice softened, ¡°I don¡¯t think she means to come back.¡± ¡°Wait, Angelica is one of your kids?¡± I asked. Granny Mabel studied me more closely. She seemed to pick up on me being gigantic. She also seemed to find my constant fountain-like bleeding less than charming. ¡°And you are?¡± ¡°I am Doug,¡± I said. I offered a hand to shake, but it was soaked in gore. I withdrew it again sheepishly ¡°He is the Left Hand of the Titan,¡± Debbie added. ¡°He¡¯s a good guy.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°That is not as persuasive as you may think,¡± Granny Mabel told Debbie, ¡°Not to be rude, but I don¡¯t quite trust you as far as I can throw you.¡± She said that, but at the same time she didn¡¯t let go of Debbie¡¯s arm. Debbie nodded, ¡°I do try and get folks to their final destination before this sort of thing happens?¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked. The constant pain from the Mana Bleed Condition was clearly blunting my focus. While I really did want to find a way out of here back to the living side of the Veil, I was also just kinda drifting in the conversation. Debbie was juggling untold alter egos, and clearly just enjoying having the opportunity to talk to others, ¡°Ephemeral Dissipation. Souls left on this side of the Veil will eventually degrade into a ghost that haunts and targets living loved ones. If left unchecked for long enough they will tear through the Veil spilling a bunch of unlife into the realm of the living. That can kill a lot of people. The Demon of Frost pulled you all in with a small hole and you can see how hard Brunhilda is having to work.¡± We all looked to Brunhilda. She was still trying to heal Angelica. The first time we met, it was a matter of one spell. Now though she was still at work. I couldn¡¯t tell you how many spells she had cast. Checking my menu I could see she was burning though the MP in the well. ¡°She is one of my favorites,¡± Debbie confided, ¡°I love every healer, but she is one that beat me several times. Like I said, I cheer every time life wins.¡± She turned to Granny Mabel, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Angelica will be fine.¡± ¡°I will always worry for my kids,¡± Granny Mabel said still watching Angelica. ¡°She just shut us all out after her brother died. I¡¯ll never stop worrying about any of them.¡± ¡°If I can get back, I will do what I can to watch her back,¡± I promised. ¡°She is traveling with others again?¡± Granny Mabel asked. ¡°Yeah with Brand and I,¡± I answered. Granny Mabel didn¡¯t look impressed. Eventually she shook her head, ¡°It takes all kinds to make a world, and Angelica is in a rough spot.¡± ¡°We probably should get you upstairs,¡± Debbie said. ¡°You do have people waiting for you.¡± ¡°They can keep waiting. I need to know my kids are okay. I died in a pretty rough situation.¡± Granny Mabel said. ¡°Bobby and Luna are okay. Lagrang died with you. The Great vault fell on him,¡± I said not really thinking through what I was saying. Granny Mabel went from not really impressed with me to extremely suspicious.
Complaint Ticket Filed: Metagaming Ticket will be resolved after current scene
¡°And how do you know so much about me?¡± Granny Mabel pressed. ¡°I am a Titan Spawn¡­¡± I offered just barely avoiding turning the statement into a question. Granny Mabel studied me for a very long time, ¡°I believe you. Is my husband waiting for me?¡± ¡°By the gate if I am not mistaken,¡± Debbie said. ¡°Let¡¯s go then,¡± Granny Mabel said allowing herself to be guided away. Debbie¡­ split in two. One version of her leading Granny Mabel away. Another stay with us. ¡°What do we do now?¡± I asked. ¡°Hang out?¡± Debbie offered. ¡°We can¡¯t stay here forever,¡± Brand insisted. ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry, I will guide you to the appropriate afterlife when you die,¡± Debbie replied. She seemed to think that was comforting. ¡°I would prefer to not die,¡± I started. ¡°Oh you probably won¡¯t.¡± Debbie said with a smile. Her smile faded, ¡°The others¡­ they have a shelf life.¡± ¡°I thought you said you always cheer life on?¡± Aiko asked. ¡°I do,¡± Debbie said unbothered by the accusation in Aiko¡¯s words, ¡°But I can¡¯t sustain life, and I am not going to tear the Veil. It could kill hundreds.¡± ¡°Are there any other options?¡± Brand asked. He immediately added, ¡°To get back into the land of the living.¡± Debbie considered, ¡°You could hop through the gate in the Demon¡¯s Tower, but that seems risky.¡± ¡°How do Angel¡¯s cross the Veil?¡± I asked. Angelica was talking with Rachel. Hurray, progress. Rachel pointed at me. ¡°Oh Angels have this sort of micro domain around them. It lets them pop through the veil without tearing it. Trouble is though that won¡¯t let them pull you through,¡± Debbie said. She gazed past Angelica and spoke to Celeste, ¡°I won¡¯t let you tear the Veil either.¡± Angelica paused. Celeste and her were having some sort of conversation. ¡°Wait, domains. Like a god¡¯s domain. Those can be used to move across the Veil?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, well no.¡± Debbie said. She looked at me, ¡°the domain will push back the anti-life of this realm.¡± ¡°I think I do have one,¡± I looked through my inventory and found the Dungeon Core. I pulled it out of my inventory and into my hand.
You are now in the Domain of the Snow Lion This is your Domain.
I started healing. I missed you old friend, health regen. Let us never part again. Seriously, don¡¯t go. The dungeon core was a large sphere that looked like clouded glass. Inside it was the cat¡¯s eye shape staring out at me. The domain it exuded was maybe a ten foot radius. The area around gained color which was mostly the bright red of my blood. That said, Brand and Aiko¡¯s eyes regained their hue as well. ¡°Um why aren¡¯t we on the other side of the Veil?¡± I asked. ¡°The Veil is basically a membrane. It lets life flow from the land of the living without allowing death to flow the other way. Think like osmosis. The water crosses the barrier without breaking it. Your domain will let reverse osmosis occur. It should work. If an Angel on the side of the living and Titan Spawn on the side of the dead were to push someone through the veil in a divine domain¡­ no problem.¡± Debbie nodded to herself. That was too convenient. Which narrator had planned for this? ¡°What about Doug then?¡± Brand asked. Debbie frowned, ¡°okay one small problem.¡±
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I stopped time again. ¡°Celeste, can we talk this out?¡± I asked. Angelica¡¯s blazed with white light, ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you step in to help Angelica?¡± I asked. ¡°I would have but she told me not to, then when I was going to anyways someone gave us a Cosmic Martial Art.¡± Celeste explained. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have just crushed them?¡± I asked. ¡°No doubt,¡± Celeste looked to Debbie, ¡°The trick when dealing with gods and demons is that it isn¡¯t just the current fight you need to win but the next one also.¡± ¡°Makes sense,¡± Debbie said. She was completely unintimidated and unbothered by the idea of Celeste attacking her.
Please select an action¡­
¡°Okay for today, let¡¯s get Brand and Aiko in the land of the living. We can figure out what to do about me later.¡± I said. Celeste frowned. She hated that idea. It was written all over her face, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°How do gods get people back?¡± I asked Debbie. ¡°That vast majority don¡¯t. It takes two Divine scale players on both sides of the veil to slip someone past without tearing it. Most of the time they just make a deal with one of the devil¡¯s and use a gate to hell. That is also uncommon. Most gods don¡¯t like lowering themselves to making deals.¡± Debbie considered. ¡°Let me give you some perspective. Those two crossing back will make the number of living people to come back from the land of the dead go up by a double digit percentage. It will also triple the number of people to manage that trick in the last hundred years.¡± ¡°Three people in a hundred years?¡± Celeste asked. Debbie nodded, ¡°Yep counting those two. I have gotten pretty good at my job. So long as we ignore that Nadia incident.¡± ¡°The time they crossed over and restrained you as part of the plan to stop the nuclear holocaust?¡± Celeste asked. ¡°Yeah that one. That was not my best day.¡± Debbie snapped her focus onto me. ¡°I have gotten much better at wrestling since then.¡± Not sure what that meant¡­
Please select an action¡­
I shrugged, ¡°Are we good to go.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Celeste said. ¡°I am glad to be a part of this,¡± Debbie said. She did a little excited dance, ¡°I am doing something with people.¡± she went still and continued in a serious voice, ¡°But if I think the veil is in danger I am going to shut this down. I stopped ignoring the muted condition. It cleared instantly now that my throat was healed. Okay not instantly there was a coughing bout and a wad of ¡­ I am going to call it mucus but I am pretty sure it was cartilage. Time started. Angelica stood and limped toward us. Brunhilda almost followed after her. She paused and her eyes drifted fairly close to Debbie¡¯s location. ¡°Ladies first?¡± Brand asked. ¡°I would prefer you go first.¡± Aiko said, stepping back from me. ¡°Certainly,¡± Brand nodded. Celeste shown with divine light. Holy energy radiated off of her. Even through the shrouding cover of the Veil she was crisp and clearly visible. Celeste reached for Brand. They stood less than an arms length apart but somehow the space between them expanded. Ancient Greek philosopher talked about idea. In order to pick a cup. Your hand must travel half the distance between it and the cup. Then half again, and then half again again. The trouble is halving the distance infinitely means that you can never pick up the cup. This isn¡¯t true for most situations, but it was here with the veil in the way. I gently placed my hand on Brand¡¯s back and pushed him closer to Celeste. For one infinitesimal moment Brand was both in the land of the living and the land of the dead. Then something clicked and the distance between him and my hand expanded infinitely. Celeste had him. Despite standing next to me in the domain his colors were faded. He crossed the veil. Getting Aiko across was the same non-effort. Once they were both on the other side I cleared my throat to say¡­ I don¡¯t know what I was going to say to Celeste. Goodbye felt wrong. See you soon, felt over optimistic. It was odd. I spent so little time with her but every moment felt so much more real. I knew so little about her, but at the same time I felt like I knew her. That may sound stupid to you, but just to toss a small piece of evidence to our connection, dubious though it may be. When I decided to just try and make a grab for her she was already reaching out to me to snatch back to the land of the live. Shame that space simply would not cooperate. The tiny distance between us expanded unendingly. So close, yet so far away. I could see the veil, and I could feel Celeste burning some angelic energy trying to rupture it. The veil was nothing more than the faint strings of a divine connection. It was barely the idea of division between life and death. It shouldn¡¯t matter at all. I could sense Celeste radiance burning away at the edge of the veil. I even felt my hand press against something integral to the veil. It was the same as the Grond¡¯s domain in the dungeon. I should have been able to break it like the titan had but something, a greater will, held it firm. ¡°I told you I wouldn¡¯t let you tear the veil,¡± Debbie said, not quite disappointed. She put a hand on my shoulder. I couldn¡¯t move. Celeste was also statue still. ¡°Since you are new to the whole god thing I am going to tell you something important. You need to act within your purview or it will get out of whack and rebound on you. The trick is to guide a little here and there but let it be for the most part. I¡¯ll see you later, buddy.¡± Then gently, ever so gently Debbie Goddess of Death pushed me into Celeste¡¯s arms. It was life stepping out of a freezer. The air felt different. Celeste held me like she thought i was going to fall. I looked over my shoulder. I wanted to thank her. She didn¡¯t have to do that. I couldn¡¯t see her though. I couldn¡¯t see her through the veil. All I saw was a snow lion mid leap. The rotten bastard bit me on the face. Chapter 93: Meeting about Metagaming Time stopped with that distinct thrum. This was different than most times. Celeste moved slightly with me. She tensed momentarily before sagging slightly. I could feel the exhausted frustration for what was about to happen radiate off of her. That wasn¡¯t the unusual part. Now I hadn¡¯t wandered too far afield in a time stop before. I wasn¡¯t going to this time either. The reason for that was because the snow lion was still latched onto my face. The hateful creature was frozen mid air with its fangs clamping down hard. One of the longer ones was hooked under my right eye. This meant I was staring down its throat with one eye and gazing randomly at the sky with the other. This specific snow lion was rare scale or lower so I was ignoring the damage. Trouble is I was pretty sure if I tried to move now I could pop my eye out. Like I said I stayed really still.
Arbitration Begins in¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­
We were in the conference room. Suddenly the substantial weight of a large cat hit. The thing bit down harder and gravity caused it to lever even more against my eye. Rather than develop a new phobia, I let my reflexes kick in. Using both hands I seized the top and bottom of the cat''s jaws. I then pulled them apart until my face was free. After that I kept going until something in the monster tore and then finally cracked. This caused the thing to claw at me. I wasn¡¯t about that life either so I swung the beast over my shoulder and slammed it down on the conference table with all the force I could muster. The table collapsed and the snow lion¡­ splattered. Think a grocery bag full of chili being tossed off a roof hitting the driveway. The violence of that should have been upsetting, but only a snow lion was hurt so meh. The mess twitched so I crushed it more with a chair. This was just practically, and not in any way an act of rage. Also that was the worst chair in this room so I was doing people a favor. ¡°I think you got it,¡± Celeste said. She patted my shoulder gently. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Denise asked behind me. I looked at the now completely liquid snow lion. ¡°...yeah.¡± ¡°I am going to have to put a ticket in with logistics. ¡° Denise said mostly to herself. She was walking around the ever expanding pool of blood. ¡°So you don¡¯t want to just pull every mob up here to chat?¡± I asked. Watching her. ¡°Mob collection with regard to arbitration is supposed to be a very precise and case by case basis. Denise stepped back from the blood and realized she was backing into a corner. She paused briefly and then stepped closer to me. ¡°Controlling low scale mobs is mostly a matter of macro management, but up here micro management becomes necessary. High scale mobs are more complicated to deal with. Boss behavior needs to be more complex and basically requires a full intelligence. The power requirements for direct control are absurd so we talk with them and coordinate. It is like dealing with method actors.¡± She seemed to be telling the truth. There were a lot of questions I could have asked, but I decided to focus on the immediate one, ¡°So why was this one here?¡± Denise shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t want to speculate too much. Either someone on the collection crew messed up, or¡­¡± ¡°They did what they were told,¡± I said. ¡°That is the simplest answer,¡± Celeste agreed. She was watching Denise. She wasn¡¯t being threatening, but she was clearly sizing the new narrator up. Denise stepped away from me into the blood, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it!¡± ¡°I am pretty sure I know who did,¡± I said. I wasn¡¯t trying to comfort Denise, but I didn¡¯t really see any value in upsetting her either. ¡°Would you like to make an accusation?¡± Grace asked. I paused. I had expected Wilson or Lindsey to appear next. Being stuck in a room with Grace was¡­ it is hard to put into words. Every time I ended up in this room was just awful. The blue bastards could alter the world around me, and often did. Every interaction with them was life and death, and the lack of recourse was infuriating. Maybe I could take a swing now, but the same thing that let me sense the relative power of others, probably the Analyze Skill, told me that Grace was slightly stronger than Wilson. That meant a fight would not go well for me. Even if I could kill her though, what was to stop some other narrator in the breakroom or something from spawning a million mobs on top of my friends, or retconning events so that I murder Brand or someone else? The displeasure of the audience was the only thing narrators seemed to fear, besides other narrators. Well, that¡¯s not quite right. Everyone seemed to be afraid of both the Titan and Nadia. The thing is I could consistently leverage none of those options. It is a cold thing being locked in a room with someone that can do whatever they want to you without repercussion. Grace made it more acute. It was always there, but in this moment it heightened. Wilson clearly had long term plans for me and the people I cared about. She wanted me gone. Grace walked past me. Her heels clicked as always. Again the carpet on the floor should have stopped that. The blood on the floor didn¡¯t bother her. She paused momentarily to stoop and lift the broken table. The wood phased through the gore and stayed at the appropriate level. Then Grace walked to one of the heads of the table and sat down. She gazed at me calmly. Her eyes were far colder than any of the nights in the Goblin Wastes, ¡°again, Is there something you would like to say?¡± I decided to bite my tongue. Celeste had crunched the numbers and reached a different output. She pointed at the mob, ¡°That was a petulant attempt at intimidation. So is this. ¡° Denise moved so I was between her and Grace. Grace considered for a long moment. Eventually she shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll adjust my assessment of your intelligence.¡± ¡°Was that a joke?¡± Wilson asked. He stepped into my view completely ignoring everyone other than Grace. ¡°Did you manage that on purpose?¡± Grace frowned at Wilson, ¡°We have work to do¡­ and it was an insult, you cretin.¡± This is going to sound dumb, but having Wilson around made me feel safer. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I knew he wasn¡¯t going to help me. Honestly I was pretty sure he was the source of the majority of suffering. The thing is for the most part the malicious prick was just letting things happen, letting me make my own decisions. He wasn¡¯t going to let Grace hurt me because that would imply he couldn¡¯t stop her. Remember even if you don¡¯t wanna fuck with politics, politics will fuck with you. Grace shot me a look. I shrugged and asked, ¡°What is our GRP at Wilson?¡± ¡°Over 68K¡­ nice,¡± Wilson said, his predatory grin sliding in place. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you say that at 69?¡± Celeste asked. ¡°Nah¡­ I prefer 68. You go down on me and I¡¯ll own you one.¡± Wilson sat at the other head of the table. He patted a chair near him, ¡°Sit down everyone. No sense standing around like jack asses waiting for Feckless and Fire-crotch.¡± To hell with it. I sat next to Wilson. Celeste sat next to me. Denise tiptoed through the blood and wincing sat on Wilson¡¯s other side. Wilson just leered at Grace sitting across the table from him alone. Grace looked completely unconcerned. After what felt like a literal minute of them staring archly at each other, Denise of all people broke the silence. She cleared her through, ¡°Excuse me, but are we going to discuss the issue at hand?¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Wilson tilted his head, and gazed at Grace, ¡°I would love to, but several team members are late.¡± ¡°Did you communicate the meeting start time effectively?¡± Grace asked, raising one eyebrow. ¡°I had Denise send out the invite,¡± Wilson said. He turned on Denise. Denise swallowed, ¡°I sent out the invite and included a five minute early notification.¡± ¡°Are you sure you need us for office politics?¡± Celeste asked. I keep forgetting she is good at that trick. You know where you say something that sounds polite, but has extreme rude implications. Grace shot Celeste and me another Glance before focusing back on Wilson, ¡°We need everyone for this discussion.¡± Wilson tutted, ¡°Sounds like they are filtering your messages. That¡¯s not very professional.¡± he pulled his phone out and typed out a message. He hit send. ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Lindsey shouted a split second later. She fast-walked into view and sat down. Her shirt was inside out. ¡°Sorry I am late. I was- oof!¡± Brandon said. He tripped on my smashing chair, and face planted into the snow lion slurry. Absolutely no one moved to help him. Brandon got to his feet, ¡°I am okay.¡± ¡°No one cares,¡± Wilson assured him. ¡°Brandon,¡± I spoked up. The narrator looked at me, not quite believing I was going to contradict Wilson. I wasn¡¯t, ¡°Your fly is down.¡± Half his shirt was untucked and the tongue of his belt was out of the loop also. Those may have been fashion choices, or Brandon could not know how to dress himself. Either way I didn¡¯t care. This may be my circus, but he was not my monkey. ¡°Oh, no,¡± Brandon panicked and pulled the zipper up as fast as he could. That was a rookie mistake. The look on his face told everyone he hadn¡¯t cleared the teeth. Something sensitive was caught in the zipper. ¡°Sit down, Brandon,¡± Grace instructed. Brandon moved slowly and sat gingerly. Wilson checked the time, ¡°Bitter Ginger this is your bitch fit I believe or do you want to waste more time.¡± Lindsey almost took the bait. I could see she wanted to say something to Wilson, but she realized that¡¯s what Wilson wanted. So instead she pointed at me and said, ¡°He¡¯s metagaming!¡± Everyone looked at me. I know I pointed out the existential threat the Narrators posed, and what I did in response may seem out of character at first glance. The thing is Lindsey was trying to kill me. She nearly got Angelica with that demon horde. I simply wanted to provoke her into making a mistake, ¡°No, Lindsey, my name is Doug. We have met many times. Doug. I¡¯m Doug.¡± Lindsey blinked like I had slapped her. She then sputtered with rage, ¡°Are you mocking me.¡± I looked her right in the eye and said, ¡°Yes¡­ duh!¡± Everything was very quiet for a moment. Linsdey didn¡¯t launch herself across the table. Instead she took several deep breaths before saying, ¡°He stated information he couldn¡¯t know from the audience''s point of view. This is after a previous incident when he tried to get the Intern to help him metagame with the player Celeste of Truth. This is officially a pattern. Some sort of consequences are needed to prevent further incidents.¡± ¡°Point of order, it takes three data points to make a pattern.¡± Denise cut in, ¡°Furthermore the first incident Lindsey cites, no metagaming occurred, and Doug was unaware of the rules.¡± ¡°Counterpoint,¡± Brandon said, raising a hand with one finger extended, ¡°Ignorance of the rules does not mean you are exempt from them.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a courtroom or a debate club. Brandon would know about ignorance. He has broken several big rules. Important ones unlike pointless guidelines like our sexual harassment policy. Isn¡¯t that right Hoover?¡± Wilson said to Lindsey. ¡°Hoover?¡± Lindsey asked. ¡°Cause you suck,¡± Wilson explained, ¡°I know explaining the joke is bad form but when you don¡¯t understand what someone comparing you to a vacuum means we have to make due.¡± ¡°We are here to discuss Doug breaking continuity,¡± Grace insisted. She did not thing our banter was funny. ¡°Exactly,¡± Lindsey pounced on that. ¡°You¡¯re stupid club broke the rules because your pet intern didn¡¯t explain the rules and that means you fucked up.¡± Wilson¡¯s grin shifted into that inhuman rictus. ¡°Are you sure about that? WHO filed the request for the retcon?¡± Grace eyed Lindsey. Denise had the look people get when they realized they dodged a bullet. Lindsey¡¯s face cramped. Wilson continued as he scrolled through his phone, ¡°The last thing I see from Denise is to have Enkidu be behind the veil, have him comune with Doug while being out of Angel¡¯s immediate reach. Then there is your note about a horde of demons and Doug being pulled into the land of the dead. I guess you missed my note from our earlier arbitration over the upgrade. Did the sad handjob discussion draw your focus? I know it did Brandon¡¯s.¡± Brandon, sighed, ¡°Why are you picking on me?¡± ¡°Because any handjob involving you is going to be sad. Isn¡¯t that right Lindsey?¡± Wilson asked. ¡°Quit distracting from the main topic,¡± Grace said her voice was still completely neutral but something dangerous was creeping into her eyes. ¡°This is about the continuity break. Something needs to be done.¡± ¡°I have a great idea,¡± Wilson said. He clapped his hands and then held them wide, ¡°We ignore it. The audience doesn¡¯t catch everything. Honestly hyper focusing on this while probably cause that thing...¡± Wilson paused thinking. ¡°Trouble?¡± Brandon asked. ¡°The Striesand effect,¡± Celeste corrected. Wilson pointed at Celeste, ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± he looked at Brandon, ¡°Stop guessing at things. You aren¡¯t lucky.¡± ¡°You are just trying to cover your own ass,¡± Lindsey said. ¡°You are the one that told him about Bobby and Luna?¡± Wilson nodded, ¡°True after who brought Granny Mabel and Lagrang into the conversation?¡± he gazed at Lindsey for a long moment. He then turned his eyes on Brandon, ¡°And who brought Balance in All Things?¡± When Lindsey spoke she was trying to sound reasonable and collaborative, ¡°We need to focus on solutions. The easiest path forward would be to retcon things so that Doug selected the Oracle perk.¡± ¡°If you do that, I will state directly to the audience that you changed things,¡± I rested my hands on the table top floating in the air. I then clenched them into fists. ¡°I will also find a way to sabotage every story I can. Something that will be easier with the Oracle perk.¡± The last bit may have been too much. The Narrators clearly wanted me to take that perk. Which made me determined to keep them out of my head. ¡°We need to alter one of his interactions with Angelica De Leon so she told him about-¡± Brandon started. ¡°If you try and change any part of my past I will out the retcon,¡± I insisted. ¡°This last retcon is how you got into this mess.¡± ¡°It is also likely that Enkidu was given some sort of off screen knowledge for this¡­incident to occur,¡± Denise piped up. ¡°Provide proof or shut up about that,¡± Lindsey snapped. ¡°Now now, Freckles,¡± Wilson stepped into the conversation, ¡°Denise brings up a valid point. Things aren¡¯t being given the thought they require. Since your last retcon caused a continuity break, I am going to insist from now on that all stories connected to Doug¡¯s are no longer to be retconned in any way. Also any manipulation including smoothing of dice rolls will need to be approved by me.¡± ¡°How the hell am I supposed to manage that?¡± Brandon demanded. ¡°You got three options: Be good, get good, or give up,¡± Wilson told him. Lindsey was staring at Wilson, ¡°you¡­ set me up. You played me like a fiddle.¡± Wilson shook his head, ¡°Fiddles require skill and precision. I played you like a cheap kazoo.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get you back,¡± Lindsey snarled. Wilson leaned back in his chair, ¡°I mean turnabout is fair play, feel free to blow me.¡± ¡°Doug, I need you to confirm, you will participate with upcoming events in good faith with no metagaming, nor deliberate continuity breaks, so long as no further rectons occur?¡± Grace asked. She stared at me passively, almost disinterested. I paused. Part of me considered arguing further, but to what end? That may be the best offer I could get. I looked to Celeste. She shrugged. I sighed before saying, ¡°Yeah, but if you break those terms I may retaliate.¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± Grace said. ¡°Events will continue with no further alteration.¡± She locked eyes with Wilson. ¡°Everything will occur according to the groundwork we have already established. Wilson froze. His grin was inhuman as he glared at Grace. When he spoke his voice was the same unnerving monotone, ¡°I have waited for this opportunity since this show started.¡± Goddammit. I forgot. No Narrator is on my side. Grace''s earlier declaration flashed through my mind, ¡®Doug will win.¡¯ Everyone that went with me to that tower was in danger. ¡°We still need to have resolution for the continuity break,¡± Grace said, unconcerned, ¡°Pulling focus back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy,¡± Wilson said the greasy personality sliding back into his voice and movements, ¡°We just need to have something else happen that is entertaining to the audience.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t have another fight,¡± Denise said. ¡°This close to the last one. It will be spectacle creep. The audience likely wouldn¡¯t engage.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Brandon agreed, ¡°Maybe a new quest.¡± ¡°Brandon, stop trying to think. You haven¡¯t trained for it and you¡¯re just going to hurt yourself.¡± Wilson said the answer is obvious.¡± I was pretty sure I knew where this was going, ¡°are you seriously back to this again?¡± ¡°Doug, you need to take one for the team and eat angel cake,¡± Wilson said, his grin becoming of the shit eating variety. I sighed, ¡°Wilson you have to stop forcing this. I am not going to creep on Celeste and Angelica because you say so. If they aren¡¯t into it, I am not going to force the issue.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say no,¡± Celeste said. ¡°Wait, what?¡± I said, turning to look at her. ¡°Cool! Back you go.¡± Wilson said. And Celeste and I were back in the cold holding each over. It felt a little different. The snow lion was back. When time started, I did several extremely violent things to it. I really hate snow lions. ¡­ I also may need to deal with my hangups in the immediate future. Chapter 94: Thats Convient... A Little Too Convient Everyone was looking at me. I hate when that happens, doubly so because it is almost always my fault. Turn one snow lion inside out¡­yeah upon further review I get it. I tossed the corpse into my inventory. ¡°You alright Doug?¡± Angelica asked. Apparently Celeste had tagged out. Makes sense she had limited time and it was just before sunrise.A lot could happen between now and midnight. Angelica was leaning on me hard. She clearly didn¡¯t want to put weight on that bad foot. Health regen is great. I had one of those idiot moments. Angelica was touching me. Did that mean something? Was this related to Wilson¡¯s dumb plan? Was my fixating on his stupid plan, part of his plan?I needed to focus, ¡°Yeah I am good.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Rachel asked. She pointed at her face. Her right eye specifically. My vision was a little pink. I tried to blink. Only my right eye closed. ¡°I am no longer convinced I am alright. I think something is wrong with my eye.¡± ¡°Lean down,¡± Brunhilda said, walking up to me. I did what she told me. Brunhilda studying my eye, ¡°Ah. Your eye popped out and then the lid closed behind it when the nerve pulled tight.¡± Everything about that sounds terrible, ¡°Can you fix it?¡± ¡°Yeah, just hold still. On the count of three. Ready?¡± She didn¡¯t really wait for an answer, ¡°One¡­ two¡­¡± ¡°Wait, it is- ahh!¡± I managed. I was going to ask was it on three or three and then go, but Brunhilda made her move on two. She pressed her metal clad hand against my face hard. Using her thumb and forefinger she pulled the skin apart with steady but relentless force. Then with her other hand almost gently she prodded my eyeball. It popped back in the socket. I only said a majority of the swear words I knew. ¡°We should get moving,¡± Philip said. ¡°There may be more demons.¡± No sooner had he spoken those words then something substantial exploded in the goblin camp. It was an earth shattering kaboom. I turned expecting to see smoke and flames. There wasn¡¯t though. Instead a massive cloud of ice and water quickly solidifying back into ice was erupting. Whatever went bang didn¡¯t start a fire¡­ nope. There''s the smoke. Angelica Climbed up on my back. Almost in a piggy back fashion, ¡°I can¡¯t run with my foot burnt. Go¡± ¡°I¡¯ll watch out for the others, Bubby,¡± Brunhilda assured me. That was all the more assurance I really needed. I sprinted. To my slight surprise Philip wasn¡¯t immediately falling behind. He eventually lost ground to me, but he wasn¡¯t slow. I guess that did make some sense if he was a ranged combatant Mobility was likely a primary attribute for him. I got to the source of the flames and found a mess. Well that is a bit dramatic. A crowd had gathered, and a good hundred goblins were throwing snow and a burning tent. Toad was leading this effort. There was also a huge crater and in the bottom of the crater was the old Goblin Pappy Havok. He was crushing the charred skulls of three demonic skeletons with his big club. A not small portion of the crowd was cheering him on. ¡°Keep going! I don¡¯t care that the flames are gone. Smother the heat. Make sure the fire is dead,¡± Toad called as some of his workers stopped their efforts to look at me. ¡°Doug, the situation is under control.¡± he paused, seeing Angelica¡¯s injuries. She wasn¡¯t the mangled horror she was before Brunhilda¡¯s intervention, but she still looked like she had lost a fight. ¡°I take it you have also encountered demons.¡± ¡°I tried to stop them from getting here. ¡­sorry,¡± Angelica said. She was watching the firefighting efforts. She opened her mouth to ask something, but didn¡¯t speak. Toad could read between the lines, ¡°You have nothing to apologize for. You clearly bled for us. All we lost was a rocket, and empty tent. ¡°Empty tent?¡± I asked. Toad considered and then spoke in as delicate of a way as he could, ¡°The residents of this tent all are¡­ fraternizing with¡­ the Chimera soldiers.¡± ¡°So nobody died?¡± I asked. That seemed too good to be true. ¡°The demons seem to be dead.¡± Toad said, watching Pappy Havok trundle his way out of the crater. The old goblin was not fast. That said the crowd parted for him as he made his way toward us. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked. ¡°I killed the demons,¡± Pappy Havok said in an impossibly deep basso voice. We all paused at that. I looked at the old goblin he was winded from climbing out of the crater. He was a bit above average size for a goblin¡­ I think. A large portion of the goblins'' physique was hidden by an almost body length gray beard. He also wore a large brimmed off white hat. I didn¡¯t want to be rude, but the little goblin didn¡¯t seem like he should have been able to do that, ¡°How¡¯d you manage that?¡± Pappy Havok spate. The wad of phlegm froze before it hit the ice, ¡°With a rocket.¡± ¡°You just had that?¡± Angelica, the woman with an antitank rifle asked. ¡°Ayup,¡± He said and proceeded to pull a small tube-like device from under his poncho. ¡°I saw them coming. They didn¡¯t see me cause I was outside the camp.¡± ¡°What were you doing outside the camp?¡± I asked. Trying to put things together. ¡°Takin¡¯ a shit,¡± Pappy Havok answered bluntly. I looked at the demons¡¯ skeletons. I have been hit with missiles before. Well I guess they were blasted by a rocket. Either way to hell with them, I hope it hurt. Philip arrived at that moment. ¡°Seems like everyone is okay,¡± I told him immediately. ¡°What about Spine?¡± He asked. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. I didn¡¯t freeze so much as I stopped myself from flailing about in panic. In hindsight tossing someone else¡¯s child at a second kid so they can go off unsupervised in what was effectively a warzone, could be read as irresponsible. ¡°Hey Dad! Hey Doug!¡± Spine called. From the crowd. He was standing next to a young goblin girl with large glasses. That wasn¡¯t Crafty. I looked at the young girl. Her name was Jen Errol Havok. Philip also noticed this, ¡°Son, who is your friend?¡± ¡°Hi, Mr. Spindle-Bite, I¡¯m Jen,¡± She said. She tried to wave with one hand, but that was the hand she had clasping Spine¡¯s. After a beat she waved with the other. ¡°I feel out of the loop,¡± I said mostly to myself. Philip nodded, ¡°I thought you liked the Shiv girl, Crafty¡± Spine flinched. Jen was unbothered, ¡°Yeah he made a pass at her last night. The thing is she and Stabby Screwdriver have been a thing forever, at least a year now. She thought he was cute and seemed like a nice guy. Also I just got shot down when I asked Ben Franklin out, so she introduced us.¡± She leaned forward conspiratorially, ¡°I have a good feeling about this.¡± Philip and I exchange a look. I did not miss the awkward dating stage of being young. Angelica shifted on my back. That sent pins and needles down my spine. Now I was covered in goosebumps. ¡­goddammit. Pappy Havok looked between Jen and Spine, ¡°hmmmm, I think you can do better.¡± Jen frowned, ¡°You say that about everyone.¡± The goblins took almost having a demon hitsquad loose in the camp more or less in stride. That said there was a lot of repeating the same conversation over and over. Yes the demons are dead. Angelica killed most of them. Pappy Havok got to these guys. He got them with a Rocket. Yes, that is cool. No, the tent is empty. Yes, that was lucky. I went through that cycle over and over again. Brand, Aiko, and Brunhilda caught up to us eventually. Brunhilda, a natural sprinter, who was clearly dangerous at short distances, was huffing and puffing as she jogged up to us, ¡°Where¡­ am¡­ I¡­ needed¡­¡± she managed. ¡°Nobody actually got hurt,¡± I assured her. Brunhilda nodded and kept sucking air. ¡°Good!¡± She doubled over. Angelica tapped my shoulder, ¡°We should go check on the Mandir. ¡°Already resolved,¡± Sunit said. He was walking up to us. His jovial smile was back in place. The effect was a bit different this time, because he had several demon heads on his belt. ¡°At least I believe so. I defeated five of the damned.¡± ¡°I got three,¡± Pappy Havok said, still eyeing Spine. ¡°The leader of the Chimera soldiers killed one as well,¡± Philip said. After a moment he added, ¡°after I shot it in the face.¡± Everyone looked at Angelica and me. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill any,¡± I admitted. ¡°Really?¡± Spine asked with more disbelief than disappointment in his tone. I shrugged, ¡°I am a lover not a fighter?¡± Why did I say that? Don¡¯t get me wrong. I was strong, but right now I was surrounded by nothing but people who were way more hardcore than me. The old dude goes to the can with ordnance. Angelica laughed. She wasn¡¯t laughing at me. She thought the joke was funny. When did I get hyper aware of her? Wilson you well poisoning son of a bitch. When she quit giggling she said, ¡°I am pretty sure there were fifty at the start. I got forty-one.¡± Sunit smiled and laughed with Angelica, ¡°Well done Mahout!¡± Did he just call me an elephant? Honestly, that¡¯s not a bad of a burn. ¡°If the demons are dead, then I think we should wrap the last of stuff and make plans to get out of here.¡± I said. Sunits smile faded slightly, ¡°I hate to say it, but that is likely for the best.¡± ¡°We do need to pull the leaders together,¡± Philip admitted. ¡°I need to take care of something too. Meet you after.¡± I looked over my shoulder at Angelica, ¡°We should probably split up.¡± Angelica frowned, ¡°I am not sure we can get away with splitting up constantly anymore.¡± she quickly added, ¡°The Demons know where we are.¡± That is a valid point but I had a counterpoint, ¡°I am going to help Rachel pry the goblins and chimera corp apart.¡± ¡°Oh screw that,¡± Angelica hopped off my back immediately. She landed on her bad foot. ¡°Oh¡­ no. Ouch! Uh¡­ Brunhilda¡­ help please.¡± Her voice had a haunted quality to it. ¡°Why are you standing woman? Your health is in the orange,¡± Brunhilda gazed at Angelica sternly. Angelica being a noble hero, obfuscated blame immediately, ¡°Brand is only in the yellow, and had multi conditions too. He was jogging.¡± ¡°I am going to go¡­¡± I could read between the lines. If I stuck around somehow my friends being as negligent as I am toward self care would be turned around on me. Then Brunhilda would have to yell at me. I couldn¡¯t put my drinking buddy through that. I found Rachel by the Chimera Corp trucks. She was gazing at the frigloos. She held a megaphone in one hand and an aerosol can in the other. The can had Mangle-Bear Spray written on it. ¡°Are you sure you want to go that agro with the¡­ decoupling?¡± I asked her. ¡°Originally I was think stun baton, but you need to get within arms reach to use that, which means going to the frigloo, I hate that name by the way.¡± Rachel shook her head as she eyed be with disapproval. ¡°The silver medal name was Bang Bunker,¡± I told her. ¡°I still think Bear Mace is kinda harsh.¡± ¡°Sarge talked me down from just tossing a flash bang five minutes after last call.¡± Rachel said. ¡°Have we given a last call yet?¡± I asked. ¡°Rachel just kept gazing at the frigloos. ¡°So that¡¯s a no?¡± I asked. ¡°Get off my back. There were zero leadership powerpoints on how to handle this situation,¡± Rachel snapped ¡°I just have to figure out what to say.¡± ¡°Good morning everyone. You have ten minutes. Get dressed and go home. Your frigloo will be turning into water after that?¡± I offered. ¡°...that¡¯s better than ¡®Hey perverts, stop it!¡¯¡± Rachel admitted. Honestly, playing roustabout wasn¡¯t that hard. Other than a lot of awkward conversation and literally everyone wanting a high five it was basically just herding cats. I was rubbing ice shavings on my hands after. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°Did you see anyone else washing their hands?¡± I asked. A look of realization flashed in Rachel¡¯s face, ¡°Egh!¡± she pulled some sort of small bottle out of her pocket and spurted some clear liquid on her hands. She then vigorously rubbed them together. I waited. I need to figure out some way to bring up Seth. Rachel was standing there shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She also was trying to figure out how to say something. We both started talking at the same time. ¡°So¡­ oh did you have something to say? No, you go first. Wow that was weird¡­ ok so¡­ stop talking!¡± We just looked at each other for a very long moment. Rachel cracked under the weight of the relentless pressure of how awkward things became first. She waved her hands to signal that I should talk. I pulled the journal out of inventory, ¡°This has pictures of your mom. It¡¯s Seth¡¯s sketch book. He wanted you to have it.¡± I paused to check Rachel¡¯s reaction. Her eyes were locked on the leather bound book. She didn¡¯t look angry. I continued, ¡°If you want to meet him inside the Mandir, he would like to talk to you.¡± Rachel¡¯s focus snapped back to me, ¡°About what?¡± I considered. It wasn¡¯t my story to tell, ¡°His side of things. It¡¯s not my place to tell, but he believed James Smith had killed you.¡± ¡°My dad would never hurt me,¡± Rachel insisted. ¡°I am not here to convince you. I am just passing you the message,¡± I explained. Rachel went back to looking at the book. When I offered it to her she didn¡¯t take it. Not looking up, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s your stake in this?¡± That wasn''t as hard of a question as I feared, ¡°Seth is my friend, but I am not going to pressure you to talk to him?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Rachel asked. She almost sounded disappointed. ¡°Rachel, Seth is your father, that means he has an obligation to you. You do not have an obligation to him. That¡¯s how parenting works.If you talk to him, do it because you want to. That said, I know from experience life can be better without some people.¡± Rachel took the journal. Chapter 95: Something Odd is Afoot I didn¡¯t hang out with the Chimera Corp for long. Honestly, it was probably a good idea to get out of there. It wasn¡¯t that long ago that we were fighting to the death, and now I was technically their god. Minimum contact was probably necessary. That said I wasn¡¯t exactly rushing back to the goblin camp either. I needed to figure out a plan for what to do with Celeste and Angelica¡­ I mean besides¡­ It may sound dumb, but having other people insist that we have sex really rubbed me the wrong way. Okay that wasn¡¯t the best turn of phrase. My point is if either of them asked me something, ¡®hey, wanna bang?¡¯ I would be tempted. Maybe not right here right now, I think a good time needs something more comfortable than an ice hut. Clearly a lot of the goblins walking with me agreed, a bunch of them were carrying rugs, and blankets. Over the course of the night they had set things up in their frigloos. Like I said I wasn¡¯t negative about sex in general. I just didn¡¯t like the idea of other people watching, and having someone not involved having a say in one of my relationships. That was my other issue. Not to imply that I had such an abundance of suitors and would-be lovers that I could be particular, but I didn¡¯t fully understand how a relationship with Celeste and Angelica would work? Celeste and Angelica clearly were different people but they existed in the same body. Celeste and I seemed to have something. I didn¡¯t want to assume too much, maybe it was as simple as what she said, she wouldn¡¯t say no to sex. I don¡¯t think it was that simple though. It is possible I am projecting. I can only really say for certain what my feelings were, but even though the time I spent with her was limited, I knew she was someone I wanted to be closer to. I had big hopes of getting to talk to her about little things. I wanted to listen to Celeste tell me about her day, develop little inside jokes with her, and hear her curse again. At the end of the day I trusted her. Life can be damn confusing but I have never regretted being surrounded by people that brought me peace. The bottom line was Celeste was someone safe. Whatever happened we could figure it out. That isn¡¯t to say Angelica wasn¡¯t also a safe person, but I couldn¡¯t treat everyone the same. Angelica was someone I wanted to watch my back. She was fun to bicker with. I didn¡¯t mind when she teased me. Angelica was my friend. I am not going to say something stupid like just my friend. I categorically reject the claim that romantic love is somehow greater than another. I never understood how we got to that stage as society in the world that was. I couldn¡¯t tell you who I -the titan- loved more. There was no measure of the depths of ¡­my feelings for Marnie, or Kate, or Hank and Jo, or Mark and Richard. It cheapens all those feelings to compare them in such a way. For example there was nothing noble in that I loved Marnie more than my ex, Karen, and it would say something that had nothing to do with love if I felt the need to proclaim it constantly. That didn¡¯t change the fact that my feelings for Angelica weren¡¯t exactly romantic. At some point the three of us needed to talk this out. I didn¡¯t want some dumb act of capitulation to Wilson¡¯s dictates to ruin things with either Angelica or Celeste. Was that the point of this? What was Wilson¡¯s endgame? Besides beating Grace¡­ I was too deep in my head. We were nearly to the camp. I was at the front of the parade of smiling goblins. Next to me, fully committed to his stride of pride was the goblin in the chicken suit. To hell with it I had to know, ¡°So what¡¯s up with the chicken suit?¡± The Goblin cackled, ¡°It¡¯s funny I thought the whole idea was a bit¡­¡± ¡°Odd?¡± I supplied ¡°Fucking stupid,¡± he corrected. ¡°Thing is my dad insisted, ¡®if you want to get laid with a human two words: chicken suit.¡¯¡± Somehow this answer raised so many more questions. Questions I simply wasn¡¯t willing to ask. When I got to the tent. I could hear what seemed to be a vigorous discussion. We were probably going to decide if I was going to be war lord, yet another thing I had no idea about. No doubt my murder of Madigan after insisting on a trial would undermine any claims I could make about steady handedness. I ducked and entered the tent. Angelica was sitting on a pile of cushions and had her bad foot propped up on a table. It did indeed look¡­ yeah. I am just going to describe it. The skin was gone and a collection of semi-transparent scabs formed an incomplete membrane over Angelica¡¯s foot. I could see the muscles, tendons and bones. It should have been bleeding but it was clearly too burnt. I bring this up because everyone in the tent was staring at Angelica''s foot. She seemed weirdly proud of her gnarly battle scar. ¡°Listen, I am not judging. Everyone has their go to thing. Let¡¯s just stop pretending that you aren¡¯t into feet,¡± Nanny Shank told Toad. she didn¡¯t sound judgemental if anything she had a conspiratorial tone. Toad mortally offended, took a slow breath before answering, ¡°My fascination with Carl¡¯s fantastic feet is well known. That said I resent you implying my appreciation of aesthetic perfection is somehow something so base. Again, it is nothing perverse that drives my fixation on the podological peculiarity that is Miss De Leon¡¯s current situation. I am simply stunned by the wonder of the mechanism.¡± ¡°Is it weird that I kinda want to touch it?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Nah, I am right there with you,¡± Nanny Shank said, trying not to stare at Angelica¡¯s foot. After a moment she added almost like she was talking to herself. ¡°Thing is, that is probably gonna hurt, so don¡¯t do it.¡± Grimset frowned. I expected him to want to focus on yelling at me, but instead he offered, ¡°Perhap a light touch?¡± ¡°What are we doing, everyone?¡± I asked. I looked around, ¡°Where¡¯s Brand.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Waiting on Helen, and the Brit is with the priestess. They went to examine the stew shower.¡± Nanny Shank said. She turned to look at me briefly and clearly found me less interesting than Angelica¡¯s situation. ¡°Not staring,¡± Toad insisted as he stared at the foot. ¡°Looking at my foot,¡± Angelica said, raising her burnt appendage. She thumped it back down on the table. I flinched at the impact, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that hurt?¡± ¡°Not really, Brunhilda gave me some pills.¡± Angelica said. She smiled, ¡°Good pills.¡± ¡°She got soaked in essence from beyond the veil,¡± Brunhilda explained, ¡°for the next few hours it is best to just let her heal naturally. Magic is at a 99% penalty until the death essence disputes.¡± ¡°How concerned about that should we be?¡± I asked the room. ¡°Very,¡± Brunhilda insisted. ¡°Like a 4 out of 10,¡± Angelica offered. Brunhilda shot Angelica some serious side-eye. ¡°Those pills are probably going to outlast the essence, but if they don¡¯t it may do you some good to wait out the last fifteen minutes or so.¡± Things went quiet for a beat after that. Spine piped up first, ¡°So, just to clarify. Right now, touching the foot won¡¯t hurt?¡± Brunhilda frowned but didn¡¯t speak. She looked to me for help. ¡°Let¡¯s not poke injuries,¡± I said. I am the voice of reason. ¡°Agreed¡­¡± Philip said. He was also fixated on Angelica¡¯s foot, ¡°but it does sort of follow you around the room.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°No, it is just visible because it is in the center of the room.¡± ¡°Doug,¡± Angelica cut in, ¡°Touch my foot.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to touch your foot,¡± I said confused. Angelica gave me a shit eating grin and waggled her toes. Her burnt, scabby toes. ¡°Do it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll touch your foot when it has skin,¡± I said. This seemed like a fair compromise or at least a reasonable boundary. ¡°Do it now, coward,¡± Angelica insisted. ¡°Why are you pushing this?¡± I demanded. This seemed out of left field. ¡°I am high, and I never get to tease anyone. I am taking my chance.¡± She raised her foot and whispered, ¡°do it¡­ touch¡­ the¡­ foot.¡± I didn¡¯t want to argue anymore. ¡°Fine,¡± I sigh. I gently pressed my index finger to her big toe. The nanosecond I touched Angelica, she shrieked in pain. It was a blood curdling thing. I jumped backwards. My head hit the roof of the tent, and a lot of things pulled tight. The tent held but ended up tilting on the tent roof and then face planting hard on the floor. I picked myself up to discover Angelica cackling with laughter, ¡°Sorry, Sorry. I couldn¡¯t resist. Gotcha?¡± ¡°If Doug get¡¯s to touch the foot it is only fair everyone does,¡± Toad pointed out. He was staring. It may not just be aesthetic appreciation. ¡°Let¡¯s just get this done,¡± I said. I was done fighting whatever this was¡­ Angelica teasing me¡­ I needed to focus on war. The foot touching ritual didn¡¯t take long. You may think ritual is the wrong word, but I was not convinced the goblins hadn¡¯t formed some sort of highly specific cult. It may just be that we all recognize that you shouldn¡¯t do that, that made the goblins want to touch the foot so much. ¡°Let¡¯s get to business,¡± Nanny Shank said. ¡°Indeed,¡± Grimset spoke up. He glared at me, ¡°I will not follow a tyrant.¡± ¡°I take it you object to my killing of Madigan,¡± I said. It wasn¡¯t worth pretending it was a question. ¡°Damn right I do. You had no right,¡± Grimset said. I¡¯ll give the goblin this, he had the fortitude to stand up to me. ¡°Madigan¡¯s followers tried to attack the camp with artillery. If Brand hadn¡¯t stopped it, who knows how many goblins could have died,¡± I started. Grimset didn¡¯t let me go unchallenged, ¡°That is a great argument for us to leave, not a justification for extrajudicial murder.¡± ¡°He admitted the attack, and was found guilty of murder,¡± I tried. ¡°And sentence to service in our military¡± Grimset spoke louder. ¡°I know you don¡¯t respect our wishes, but don¡¯t condescend by implying we have no memory.¡± I almost snapped back at him. He was trying to goad me. ¡°I did what I thought was best for everyone¡¯s saf-¡± ¡°And what happens when you decide it is best for all of us to live under your boot?¡± Grimset demanded. ¡°I am not trying to rule over you,¡± I said through gritted teeth. ¡°Odd, it doesn¡¯t look that way. Perhaps I am not high enough to see your point of view.¡± Grimset snarked. ¡°You¡¯re out of line,¡± Philip said. He stood but stopped when Nanny Shank held up a hand. ¡°Let them talk it through,¡± She said. She didn¡¯t look all that pleased with either Grimset or me. I just glared at Grimset. The little shit was getting under my skin. I was running myself into the ground trying to help the goblins. I wasn¡¯t perfect. I needed their help, but to have someone spit in my face and claim I thought I was better than others pissed me off. My knuckles popped as my fist clenched. Grimset wasn¡¯t cowed. He almost seemed egged on, ¡°Not used to having someone argue with you? Is this the worst thing you¡¯ve ever dealt with, disrespect?¡± I nearly snapped.
Willpower check¡­ Successful Emotional state remains in control
Rather than slug Grimset and probably paste him, I roared in his face, ¡°You think my life is good! I had a good life! I lived in a world that was safe with friends and family! I had a daughter! That¡¯s all gone! All I do is fight, suffer and kill in this joyless shell!¡± A lot of that was just bottled stress. The constant weight of all the violence and loss was wearing on me. I probably shouldn¡¯t be lashing out at Grimset, but honestly he was being a dick. He was actively trying to hurt me. I was holding the front of Grimset¡¯s robe. He had a knife in his off hand. ¡°If the law isn¡¯t sacred then nothing is. If you can bend now, you can bend it at any time. Why should we trust you ever?¡± We glared at each other. Neither one of us wanted to push things further, but neither of us was willing to back down either. This may sound tense and dangerous, but I cannot overstate how fucking stupid it was. What had started as a robust debate on principle was now two morons staring into each other''s eyes. There was also a real chance someone could get hit and/or stabbed over a matter of pride. ¡°Sorry I am late!¡± Helen called. She entered the tent nervously. ¡°What are we yelling about?¡± ¡°A lot of stuff, but technically Madigan¡¯s murder,¡± Spine said. Trying to put things back on track. Helen nodded, ¡°Okay. Doug, I know you¡¯re angry, but Madigan was dangerous. You can¡¯t blame Grimset for having him assassinated. He was a threat to everyone.¡± The silence that followed her words was phenomenally toxic. Grimset turned a different shade of green. I knew I was turning red. Everyone in the room was affected by it. Nanny Shank broke the silence, ¡°Grimset, would you care to amend you stance on the sanctity of the law?¡± Chapter 96: Nanny, Wow! Im A Warlord Now! That was so disappointing. I am not going to pretend for a moment that I liked Grimset. I nearly knocked his block off. He may still stab me. The thing is though up until a minute ago I earnestly believed he was acting in good faith. Finding out that the sneaky assassin goblin was being two faced was like finding out Santa wasn¡¯t real¡­ I mean being told by cynical adults that Santa wasn¡¯t real. Anyways¡­ the liar was talking. ¡°Everything I have said is true,¡± Grimset said, not the least bit ashamed. He kept glaring at me. I couldn¡¯t blame him. I did still have him by his coat. His toes barely touched the ground. I released him, ¡°I am trying to help you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the terrifying bit, you honestly believe that,¡± He said, stepping back out of my reach. ¡°And you¡¯re different how?¡± Nanny Shank asked. The old goblin was visibly angry, but not disappointed ¡°I am protecting our people,¡± Grimset declared, ¡°by all means necessary.¡± ¡°You understand how that sounds, correct?¡± Toad asked. It was fairly impressive. Toad sounded polite but the unsaid ¡®you stupid asshole¡¯ came through loud and clear. ¡°If the titan spawns arguments all stand on the same foundation shouldn¡¯t they also crumble?¡± Grimset asked. ¡°Are you going to imply that you satirically planned to assassinate someone?¡± Philp phrased his question in a way that Grimset should be deadly serious in his assassination attempt. This kicked off a round of shouting. Grimset shouted at Philip. Toad yelled at Grimset. Helen waded into the argument, only for Philip to step in to counter her. A lot of stuff was said all at once. Apparently Grimset had done things like this in the past. Philip''s desperation undermined his objectivity. Toad was just looking for personal glory. Helen was a coward unwilling to fight for the good of others. I was too tall and that was weird. A lot of accusations were just flung everywhere. Brunhilda placed herself between the jostling crowd and Angelica¡¯s foot. She impassively prevented any direct physical impact to her patient. Spine clearly wanted to participate in the escalating not-quite-a-fight-yet, but Nanny Shank held him back. Just before things got off the rails she did that piercing whistle some folks can do. You know the one with two fingers in their mouth? I can¡¯t do it, but it is very loud. Things went quiet after that. Nanny Shank shook her head, ¡°You are responsible for our people''s lives!¡± ¡°Nanny¡­¡± Philp started but he fell silent under her glare. ¡°Let¡¯s cut the bullshit,¡± The old goblin said. She doubled over coughing. It took her almost a full minute and another slug of her medicine before she could continue, ¡°Grimset, did you plan to kill Madigan, regardless how the trial planned out.¡± ¡°Not if he was sentenced to death.¡± Grimset admitted. ¡°He clearly planned to attack us and hide behind the protection of his patron Lola. I misguessed that his followers would act without him.¡± ¡°And what was your plan to stop them from retaliating when he died?¡± Nanny Shank demanded. Grimset didn¡¯t have an immediate answer. ¡°You are a fool,¡± Toad spat. ¡°Alright you,¡± Nanny Shank said. ¡°What is your actual strategy for dealing with the demons?¡± Toad straightened said, ¡°Give me thirty thousand fighting goblins, and I can break that tower. We will have a distractionary force draw the enemies focus. Then have three teams of sappers break through the defense. This will provoke a retaliation and that is when the main force will counter attack. Doug or the Chosen One can close the gate. If that happens, we win. Our people won¡¯t have to go into the Dark.¡± ¡°What is that going to cost Toad?¡± Nanny Shank pressed him. Toad frowned, ¡°At current fighting capacity I believe we will have twenty-five percent casualties minimum.¡± ¡°You plan on seven thousand of us dying minimum! Toad, that''s madness!¡± Helen yelled. ¡°To buy a future for our children and shut out an evil that has plagued us for generations, I would gladly pay it, my life included,¡± Toad said. ¡°What is the upper end of the casualties?¡± Nanny Shank ¡°That¡¯s not truly the best way to look at it,¡± Toad explained, ¡°Casualties are mainly a matter of likelihood over time. The longer that battle goes the worse things become for us. If we take the tower within twenty-four hours we will be near the minimum. If the battle drags on to forty-eight hours our casualties will rise to seventy percent of our fighting force. By the end of the third day if we do not close the gate we will all be gone.¡± ¡°What are the odds of Doug or Angelica dying?¡± Nanny Shank asked. ¡°My battle plans do not factor them in beyond them closing the gate. Their participation will only work for us,¡± Toad said. ¡°So you don¡¯t know?¡± Helen said, dismissively. ¡°We know for a fact doing nothing will only make things worse,¡± Philip countered. ¡°This is a circle,¡± Nanny Shank cut the argument off, ¡°Philip or Toad, what is the plan after this battle. How are our people going to fight off mobs and ¡­ other threats when basically all of our fighters could be dead?¡± Toad was unbothered, ¡°They are our sons and daughters. We will have given them a chance. That is all they have ever needed.¡± Philip and Spine both looked at me. I could feel the weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders, ¡°If I am warlord, they wouldn¡¯t just be your people. They would be my people, and I will do what I can to protect them.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Grimset scoffed, ¡°Like you did with Madigan¡¯s plans?¡± That was a valid criticism. I had been disinterested in both the realities of Goblin and human politics and ignorant to the threats both sides posed. I allowed my decisions to be based solely on my perspective. As a leader I sure as hell could not get away with that. Angelica was more than ready for it, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about that. First, no shells dropped. Madigan¡¯s plan there was completely stopped. Second, the reason that happened is Doug¡¯s influence on Howard caused him to grow a conscience and flip on Madigan¡¯s other followers, the folks who were going to bomb you. Last, who stopped things? Brand, Dougs¡­man friend?¡± She looked to me for confirmation on relationship status. When I hesitated she continued to keep momentum. ¡°Relationship status is less important than results.¡± ¡°Some could claim that is simply taking credit for good fortune,¡± Grimset said evenly. ¡°They could. That doesn¡¯t change the fact that Doug actively worked to stop violence and an act of violence was stopped.¡± Angelica shot back. Grimset frowned at her. Nanny Shank pulled her pipe out of her pocket. She began packing it with tobacco, ¡°Helen, do you have anything to add.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we should do this,¡± Helen said quietly. ¡°We can build something underground.¡± Toad harrumphed but didn¡¯t speak. Nanny Shank lit the pipe. She took a puff and studied Philip. She thought better of asking him. When she spoke she addressed me, ¡°Are you committed to this?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re not going to the tower, I will go without you.¡± I said. Angelica¡¯s eyes sharpened. She watched me carefully as I continued, ¡°I can¡¯t allow the Demon of Frost to continue to hold people in boundage¡­¡± I almost didn¡¯t say the next part, ¡°I spoke with him. He did make an offer. Give him 4 weeks and he will turn over everything.¡± I met Angelica¡¯s eyes, ¡°Including his head.¡± ¡°Okay everyone else thinks that¡¯s a bad idea, right?¡± Spine spoke up. ¡°Who are you, to talk during this?¡± Grimset snapped ¡°He¡¯s the Grand Mugwump,¡± Nanny Shank said. She exhaled a cloud of smoke, ¡°Tell ¡®em, kid.¡± ¡°Doug appointed me Grand Mugwump¡± Spine started uncertainly. When he saw both Grimset and Helen were about to object he plowed on, ¡°The rest of the young people thought it was kinda funny but pretty cool. They got to talking and thought since, the Old, the Engineers, the Soldier, the Spies, and Rangers all get a rep they should too. I was elected Grand Mugwump by them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s dumb,¡± Grimset said. To Grimset¡¯s credit, he had just been told some giant guy said this kid was important, and the rest of the children agreed, so now this kid gets a voice in government. ¡°That doesn¡¯t give you a right to be here,¡± Helen pointed out. ¡°My invitation does,¡± Nanny Shank said, eyeing both of them. When neither objected she continued, ¡°Honestly the kids have a point. They deserve a voice in things.¡± Philip looked concerned. He clearly wanted to say something. Toad had no reservation, ¡°Agreed.¡± Toad did not miss opportunities to spite Grimset¡­ he may also believe in the next generation. ¡°What next, have the dwarf be part of our council?¡± Grimset said. ¡°Knock that shit off,¡± I said. Brunhilda wasn¡¯t hurting anybody, and I wasn¡¯t going to tolerate abuse being thrown at my drinking buddy for no reason. Grimset glowered at me, ¡°Or what?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stop you,¡± I explained. ¡°Doug it isn¡¯t worth it,¡± Brunhilda still stood implacable between Grimset and Angelica. I could tell the vitriol stung but she continued, ¡°I just want to keep helping them while I can?¡± ¡°Besides depopulating a village, and kissing up to the titan spawn, what good have you done?¡± Grimset demanded. ¡°Healed 87 wounded, restored the sight to 11 and regrew your son''s leg,¡± Nanny Shank replied. ¡°I told you to keep him away from her!¡± Grimset roared. He almost made a move but both Philip and Toad stepped in his way. Helen moved to get clear. ¡°Your wife made a compelling case to ignore you.¡± Nanny Shank said flatly. ¡°What are you going to do, stab me, or play ball with you kid?¡± Grimset was very quiet for a long moment. He turned to Brunhilda, ¡°Thank you.¡± that cost him something. His eyes snapped to Nanny Shank, ¡°Let¡¯s stop wasting time. How do you vote?¡± ¡°I back Doug,¡± The old goblin told him quietly. ¡°Shit!¡± Helen muttered under her breath. ¡°So be it,¡± Grimset sighed. Everyone looked at me¡­I really hate that. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°What are your orders, Warlord?¡± Toad prompted. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to Ri- Enkidu¡¯s offer. Does anyone think that¡¯s a good idea?¡± I asked the room. ¡°No,¡± Angelica said. She didn¡¯t elaborate. I could tell she and Celeste were having some deep conversations. ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Toad said. ¡°Losing surprise is not great, but the more time we give the demons the worse our odds become.¡± ¡°They torture people,¡± Philip said. His eyes told me everything. Grimset sighed, ¡°We need to move.¡± he didn¡¯t look at me when he spoke. He just stood there gazing at the floor. ¡°You''re onboard just like that?¡± Spine asked him. His voice almost sagged with doubt. ¡°Yes,¡± Grimset said. He looked Spine in the eye, ¡°Everything I have done has been for our people. I think what we are about to do is madness, but if I can save some lives, I will.¡± Spine wasn¡¯t entirely convinced, ¡°How can we know you won¡¯t pull some sneaky sh-¡± he glanced at Nanny Shank. He stepped out of her reach, ¡°some sneaky stuff and try and kill Doug or something stupid like that.¡± ¡°The Titan Spawn is not some petty, would-be tyrant.¡± Grimset shook his head, ¡°Now we need the Titan¡¯s spawn. He has nothing to fear from me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not reassuring?¡± Spine said. I mean I wasn¡¯t convinced either. ¡°How capable do you really think I am? My plan to kill Madigan was poison. I wouldn¡¯t even know where to start with something like him,¡± Grimset explained, waving in my general direction. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on the goal,¡± I said, stopping further argument. ¡°How long will it take to get us up and moving toward the tower? ¡°We need the day,¡± Helen said, not comfortable speaking up, ¡°A lot of our vehicles need wrench time. We can be ready at first light tomorrow. Mostly anyways. Some of the clunkers may need to be towed for a bit but we can get them going.¡± ¡°We can get the people ready for that,¡± Nanny Shank agreed. Toad considered, ¡°Give me six hours and my soldiers can help with any tasks,¡± Grimset nodded, ¡°My people are ready now.¡± Philp smiled, ¡°Mine are already finding the way. Two teams went ahead three days ago.¡± ¡°How long will it take us to reach the tower?¡± I asked. ¡°Three to four days depending on weather,¡± Helen said looking at her journal. ¡°What are the main things to worry about on the way there?¡± I asked. ¡°The sasquatch dungeon,¡± Philip said. ¡°We could avoid it but that would likely take another maybe two to circumvent.¡± ¡°Does that matter? Shouldn¡¯t we just not go in?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s an open dungeon. Think like a city made into a dungeon. The mobs can come and go pretty easily. It¡¯s not a good place.¡± Angelica looked me in the eye and shot me a grin before saying. ¡°The place will be swarming with bigfoots.¡± ¡°Grond would determine how that goes,¡± Brunhilda said before I could correct the term to bigfeet. That was more important than pluralization. I nodded. I need to deal with him, something permanent. Wait, was that why Adora had dropped Aiko on my doorstep? That was an ugly thought. Then again, on the inside Adora was one ugly woman. ¡°Alright. Does anyone have anything else?¡± When no one responded I continued, ¡°Let¡¯s go and get these things done.¡± I turned to leave the tent. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Angelica asked. She looked confused. ¡°To tell five teens they aren¡¯t invited to our war,¡± I said. I absolutely wasn¡¯t stalling on any hard conversations with her. Okay¡­ maybe a little. Chapter 97: Organizing a Child Fight… Again Spine followed me out of the tent, ¡°You good?¡± ¡°More or less,¡± I lied. I considered, ¡°you want to help me with something?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± He replied without hesitation. ¡°Not to be rude but what level are you at?¡± I asked him ¡°The fight with the mobs bumped me up to level 20,¡± He said quietly. He glanced around and when he saw no one was all that near he added, ¡°I am now rocking 97 hit points.¡± so he had gotten nothing but 5 or sixes for fifteen levels in a row A less than 1 in 14 million chance. Honestly the fact that everything was working out so I was going to spending a night in camp with nothing to do was way more convenient Convenient¡­ that was the word I was going with. I saw Brand and Aiko through the crowd. It is fairly easy they were not goblins. The crowd parted as Spine and I made our way toward Aikoa and Brand. Brand smiled as I approached. Aiko was unreadable. ¡°Everyone behaving?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, the goblins are very polite,¡± Aiko said. I turned to Brand. He nodded, ¡°We have reached an understanding.¡± ¡°Cool. If I head out for like two hours will that understanding hold?¡± I asked bluntly. ¡°I believe so,¡± Brand said. Aiko looked between us, ¡°Are you implying you are concerned about me harming Brand?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± I admitted tactfully. No wait, that was the other thing. ¡°Doug, I am alone in the heart of your power, while being hunted by an angry god. Why would I provoke you?¡± Aikoa asked. She was completely calm, almost conversational. I double checked my prompt history. No skill rolls listed. Then again, would a failed skill roll show up? This had two possible answers. One option was Aiko was manipulating so well that she was convincing me to do what she wanted, all while allowing me to feel anxious about being manipulated. Presumably she was capable of allowing this unease to sell the idea I wasn¡¯t being manipulated. The other option was I being paranoid. Which is probably what they wanted me to think¡­ or it was the likely situation. Mental Resistance had been a great asset throughout my life so far. One of its best qualities was I could feel it working. Not a tingle dealing with Aiko. ¡°I see your point,¡± I admitted. ¡°I am going to be in a few hours. Try to stay out of trouble, and don¡¯t let any of the goblins pressure you to let them touch your feet.¡± Brand nodded without question, ¡°Understood.¡± Aiko looked concerned. Cool she does express emotions. Spine being the helpful sort added to this, ¡°They will probably try something. Stay on your toes, unless they ask you to be on your toes. In that case stay flat footed.¡± We started heading back to Mandir. I was getting a little tired of this specific walk. Tomorrow when we head out, was I going to get to ride in a car? That would be neat. ¡°So what are we doing?¡¯ Spine asked. ¡°I need you to be my heavy.¡± I said. ¡°That makes sense,¡± Spine said sarcastically. ¡°I need you to beat up the Mystic Troopers,¡± I elaborated. ¡°Do you get off on organizing child fights?¡± Spine asked. ¡°What? No!¡± that was a hell of an accusation. Spine grinned, ¡°You get my confusion. This is the second time you have arranged for me to fight someone.¡± ¡°I would say this is the first time,¡± I argued, ¡°I lobbied like hell to stop you and Howard¡¯s duel.¡± ¡°Also we didn¡¯t actually fight,¡± Spine agreed. ¡°You probably will have to actually have to fight this time. Do you think you can take them?¡± I was growing less certain about this as we walked. Spine considered, ¡°No idea. That is kinda a long train to run on someone Doug.¡± ¡°You need to come up with a better turn of phrase,¡± I told him. ¡°You need to figure out a way to help me kick the shit outta moderately bigger kids,¡± Spine insisted. ¡°I figured I would juice you up with Unrelenting Glacier and hope health regen covers the rest.¡± I said. Spine scowled up at me, ¡°Have you actually looked at your Warlord perks and traits? Actually, no. Doug, select perks and traits.¡± I thought and opened the prompt as we walked
Select Warband Perk? Yes/No Note: This list is filtered to only showing Titanic Scale Perks. Other Perks are available. Level 1 Warband Perks All For One The warband empowers the warlord. A great leader can often accomplish more than thousands of lesser minions can achieve. For every 1000 soldiers on the field the warlord gains +1 [Attribute point]. Note 1: attribute points must be assigned at start of battle. Attribute points cannot be reassigned once battle begins. Note 2: Common scale soldiers count as one soldier. Uncommon Scale soldiers count as 2 soldiers. Rare Scale soldiers count as 5 soldiers. Epic Scale soldiers count as 10 soldiers. Heroic Scale soldiers count as 50 soldiers. Demigod Scale soldiers count as 250 soldiers. Divine Scale soldiers count as 1,000 soldiers. Titanic Soldiers count as 10,000. One For All A Titan Spawn is not just a living weapon but an uplifting force on the battlefield. To march under the Titan Spawns banner is to gain some of its power. Common Scale Soldiers gain +10 to all Attributes lower than the Titan Spawn¡¯s Attribute and grants them three additional levels of scale. Uncommon Scale soldiers gain +5 to Attributes lower than the Titan Spawn¡¯s attributes and grant them two additional levels of scale. Soldiers of Rare to Divine Scale gain an additional level of scale.
Dammit that was going to be¡­ Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I had a rare moment of insight. I was being dumb. I checked my menus and found a breakdown of my soldiers. I could see their scale as well. Things broke down statistically I think. I had six Heroic Scale soldiers in my warband. I had almost 150 Epic Scale soldiers, just over 1250 Rare Scale soldiers, and the rest were Common or Uncommon scale. The math for that meant for the purposes of All For One I would get 47 Attribute points, roughly 4 levels worth the points. Technically it was better than that because I could assign them. Between perks and gear I could crank my Mobility up to one hundred and eleven. I might rival Celeste¡¯s speed at that point. Or I could up my Power to the point that maybe I could just knock the tower over¡­ maybe. The thing is that was good for me, and the benefit for everyone else that followed me into a fight was limited by my ability to protect them. Whereas All For One raised the floor for everyone. The average level in my warband was 24 but that was misleading as hell. The Median was 16, but then there were folks like Philip, Grimset and Toad with levels in the thirties. The thing is that wasn¡¯t overly helpful either because while those three had similar levels, they were all different Scales. Toad was the highest leveled at 38 but was Rare Scale. That meant he had less raw killing power than Philip who was level 32 and Heroic Scale. Not sure where Grimset and his 34 levels at Epic Scale fit in the mix. I was fairly certain the second one was the better option over all. It gave the majority of my army the Common Scale Soldiers ten levels of Attributes and effectively elevated their rolls to Epic Scale. Not that would tip the scales against huge things like me or massive level discrepancies but it gave the most people the best chance to survive. What about traits?
Select Warband Trait? Yes/No Note: this list is filtered. Only showing Titanic Scale Traits. Other Traits are available. Level 1 Warband Traits Army of Darkness The Titan Spawn is not just the leader of their warband but a source of its power. Taking this trait will cause all Soldiers within the warband to gain Elemental Affinity Darkness. This elemental affinity will affect all damage and resistance rolls for the entire army. Note: Taking this Trait will have Consequences A Force of Destruction A Titan Spawn moved to war is not to be taken lightly. The warband is a manifestation of the Titan Spawn¡¯s wrath. All soldiers in the Titan Spawn¡¯s army gain a Scale appropriate variation of the Destruction Skill. All Soldiers will also gain Titan Spawn¡¯s [Magic Attribute] Free uses of granted skill per day. Last all damage dealt by the Titan Spawns warband also deals and addition 20% damage to structures, minimum D10 damage.
That triggered my paranoia immediately. The traits were mysterious thing with caveats and literally the perfect trait for an upcoming situation. I needed to dig deeper into the perk and Trait list. We were rapidly approaching the Mandir. Gisele waved at us. She looked happy to see us. All of the Mystic Troopers had large packs full of gear. Shit¡­ Zarina was there too. She did not look happy. She didn¡¯t have a pack though. Sunit was also there. He was packed up like the Mystical Troopers. ¡°Good to see you again. Are you prepared to go battle demons?¡± Now this is the point I screwed up. I answered Sunits question, ¡°That¡¯s the plan we head out tomorrow morning. You should probably talk to Nanny Shank to get things figured out.¡± ¡°Awesome!¡± Gisele cheered. She adjusted the shoulders of her pack and fell in line with Sunit. ¡°Wait!¡± Both Zarina and I said at the same time. Sunit stopped and Gisele walked right into his pack. ¡°I am not sure you following Doug into a war with demons is a good idea.¡± Zarina said. She crossed her arms as she gazed at me dubiously. ¡°Were you the one who told us we have an obligation to help people,¡± Valorie asked Zarina. Zarina frowned at her students, ¡°You have your mission, the demons are a problem but not necessarily your problem.¡± ¡°By that logic us Goblins should just fuck off out of here into the Dark and the Deep,¡± Spine said. I nudged him to be quiet. Yeah he was right, but I had too many irons in the fire and these five weren¡¯t soldiers nor were they high Scale fighters. It didn¡¯t seem to add up to include them at the possible expense of army cohesion. I basically planned to let Sunit, Brand, Angelica and Brunhilda do what they thought best. Other than communicating their plans in the upcoming fight I couldn¡¯t really justify any further control over their actions. I was not an expert in war, or really anything. Hell, I didn¡¯t know how food worked. ¡°He raises a fair point,¡± Valorie seized on Spine''s words. ¡°We can¡¯t just stay here training. At some point we need to do something.¡± Zarina continuing her tradition of not helping me relented, ¡°You are right. I won¡¯t stop you.¡± They all cheered. I guess I had to piss on their parade, ¡°I haven¡¯t agreed to let you come.¡± Gisele struck like a coiled snake, ¡°but you just said-¡± I had dealt with a toddler and a preteen so I knew this move. I cut in, ¡°That Sunit was welcome to come to war with us.¡± Gisele hit me with doe eyes. I was unmoved. After seeing this she asked, ¡°What do we have to do then?¡± I should have just said they couldn¡¯t come to war with us. Trouble is I knew what it was like to be excluded so I wanted to let them save face. I may have also veen indulging in a chicken shit impulse to not be the bad guy, ¡°Do any of you have permission from your parents?¡± Everyone looked at me for a long moment. ¡°My parents are dead?¡± Valorie said flatly. ¡°Same,¡± Tobias added ¡°Me too,¡± Tamara chimed in. ¡°My parents abandoned me when I was twelve,¡± Bob said, staring at his feet. ¡°You don¡¯t need them,¡± Gisele told him. She then turned to me with a near psychotic leer of victory. ¡°I got a note from my mom and dad.¡± Fuck me running. Gisele stuffed the paper into my hand. I read the note. Dear Mr. Left Hand of the Titan, All of these kids may not be blood, but we raised them the best we could when no one else was around. While we support their choice to go with you, we must ask please watch out for them. Sincerely, Davi Carvalho Rosie Carvalho I looked up from the note. ¡°Let¡¯s confirm some handwriting.¡± The signatures of the Mystic Troopers were all different from the one on the note. I really should have just said no, but I more or less planned on this. ¡°Okay now that we established that I am not going to be accused of kidnapping you. I am still not convinced I am going to let you join the Alliance of Green. ¡°Doug, I spent the last eleven hours with my parents as they bawled their eyes out because Bob and I were leaving. Don¡¯t move the goalpost on me now. I am emotionally exhausted. I can¡¯t take anymore frustration.¡± She leaned in closer, ¡°Bob and I haven¡¯t had a chance to be intimate in way too long. I am not even talking about sex. I haven¡¯t gotten to just hold him and I am over sharing again.¡± she stepped back. Tobais frowned, ¡°Wait a minute! All of us are over eighteen. We don¡¯t need parental permission.¡± ¡°Barely meeting a minimum the standards isn¡¯t exactly a reason to include you,¡± I pointed out. ¡°What do you need to see for us to come with you?¡± Valorie pressed me. She looked up into my eyes unintimidated. ¡°What does going to war mean to you?¡± I asked them. ¡°Fighting for what is right,¡± Valorie said instantly. The rest of the trooper seems to agree with her. ¡°Spine, what does going to war mean to you?¡± I asked. ¡°Needing to kill someone so they don¡¯t kill my friends. After that you then have to deal with half your friends being dead anyway, it being cold, there is no food, and the mobs are coming.¡± Spine said, counting things off on his hand. ¡°So you are assuming you are going to win?¡± I asked him. ¡°I am an optimist,¡± Spine said, as he scratched at his ear. ¡°We¡¯re not dumb kids,¡± Tobias said calmly. ¡°Are you actually prepared to kill or die?¡± I asked them. ¡°Y-yeah,¡± Bob said. ¡°We need to be ready.¡± ¡°So you are willing to step outside the Mandir and fight Spine?¡± I asked them. This caused them to pause and consider. ¡°Don¡¯t you mean fight you?¡± Tamara asked. She didn¡¯t quite look at me. She kinda gazed in my general direction. ¡°Fighting me doesn¡¯t prove much. It is easy to fake killing intent when you know you can¡¯t actually succeed.¡± I explained. I was also terrified I would botch a dampen check and render one of them into paste. I almost thought I had them. They did this sort of huddle thing and talked back and forth for a long time. Spine gave me a thumbs up as he showed me he still had the daggers. Oh shit did he plan to use the Extreme Agony condition to shut the fights down? That would do it. It occurs to me that child fights may not be a moral thing to do. ¡°Okay I will fight Spine, but does winning mean we can go to war?¡± Gisele asked. I thought for a moment, ¡°how do you like your odds?¡± I whispered. Spine shrugged. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I mimicked his shrug. He gazed up at me, ¡°You are the child fight promoter. I am just an extremely smart and handsome child. My success is on you.¡± Zarina called over, ¡°Are we doing this or what?¡± I sighed. ¡°Yes, and yes.¡± Chapter 98: My Kid Can Kick Your Kid’s Ass Gisele stood at the edge of the Mandir. She took a breath and then shouted ¡°Mystic Trooper Pink!¡± One time stop and a seriously great Guitar solo later she was back in her spandex and armor. She spun her pole arm flamboyantly and posed heroically, ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡± ¡°Hold up,¡± I said, raising a hand. Gisele stopped mid-step just inside the Mandir¡¯s field.
Analyze check¡­ Successful
Name: Gisele Carvalho
Race: Human (Marked by Power)
Class: Mystic Trooper (Pink)
Level: 23
HP: 58 (27 ablative)
MP: 9
Defense: 17
Power: 7 (12)
Mobility: 7 (12)
Body: 6 (11)
Mind: 4
Face: 4
Magic: 4 (9)
Boon: Pink Energy Coin The chosen bearer of the Mystic Trooper coin. Allows access to the Mystic Trooper equipment and locations. Trait: Ideal Bone Structure This perk allows for increased ability to learn martial arts. For the sake of mastering martial arts the bearer of this trait is treated at one level of scale higher. Perks: Battle Joy Some people just like fighting. The bearer of this perk can add the highest of Body, Mobility, or Power to all Mind and Face base rolls to resist mental effects while in combat. Also you get to have fun and feel good while fighting. Cold Weather Acclimated Unlock survival skills related to cold weather environments. Also gain one level of scale to resist cold. Disposition: Gisele thinks you are pretty cool still, but not really attracted to you anymore. Watching you murder Madigan in cold blood sort of had her fall out of love with, not that she really considered a relationship with you anyways. She is also absolutely determined to prove that she and her team are ready to leave the Mandir.
¡°Doug! You can¡¯t just spring that on people!¡± Gisele called. After a beat she asked, ¡°Seriously what is that?¡± Oh right. The Analyze Skill is crazy rare and everyone is super uncomfortable with it. I should probably ask permission before doing that. ¡­ or do I need to find a means of hiding that I have the skill. Brand and Angelica did react badly to me admitting to having the skill. Should I lie more? No, I am quite bad at that¡­ also it is wrong and junk. ¡°Weren¡¯t you super hyped to prove you should go to war?¡± I asked in an attempt to change the subject ¡°I mean yeah,¡± Gisele said, taking the bait. ¡°Cool hold that thought. Spine hold still.¡± I said and then immediately used Analyze again. Learning is exceptionally hard when you are trying to beat the clock. Spine did not hold still. He turned to look at me and took a step back before asking, ¡°Why? What are you gonna do? eghk!¡±
Analyze check¡­ Successful
Name: Spine Spindle-Bite
Race: Goblin (Dark Touched)
Class: Dark Huntsman
Level: 20
HP: 97
MP 20 (44)
Defense 98
Power: 14 (28)
Mobility: 39 (63)
Body: 14 (38)
Mind: 4 (18)
Face: 4 (18)
Magic: 20 (44)
Traits: Improved Goblin Mode Goblins can access a group collective. If a goblin knew it before, it is possible for the current user of this trait to know now. Accessing this knowledge requires a [Mind] attribute role. Use of this trait has consequences. Never go full Goblin. This version works better¡­ as far as you know. Titanic Regeneration [Reduced to Demigod Scale] Titan Spawn are often beyond mortal concerns. With this perk, your power allows your physical body to heal [Body-2] hit points per second. This will allow you to regenerate missing body parts and overcome damage based conditions. Note: This Trait is from a Pact. it is reduced to Demigod Scale. Health Regeneration is reduced to [Body-2] HP per 30 seconds. Titanic Speed [Reduced to Demigod Scale] Titan Spawn are seldom limited by mere three-dimensional space, nor time for that matter. Increase Mobility Attribute by +20. Double walk and run speed, and triple sprint speed. Gain a number of seconds equal to Mobility attribute each day. Note: This Trait is from a Pact It is reduced to Demigod Scale. Mobility Attribute is only Increased by 15. No Extra time is gained, but a successful opposed Mobility check between the bearer of this trait and the being stopping time will allow the bearer of this trait to be aware during the time stop. PerksSupport the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Shadow Assassin Servants of the Titan Spawn can be both Cunning and Brutal in their work. This perk will unlock the skill needed to be the thing people fear in the night. Unlocks the following Skills: Blend In, Move Silently, Ambush, Detect Weakness, Terrify, and Manipulate Shadow. Near Perfect Foundation From a Great Master You have pledged yourself to a Master greater than you. You have rendered yourself a vessel for their teachings This perk allows user to learn Martial Arts faster provided their Master knows the martial art, the pupil is treated as three levels of scale higher with regards to meeting requirements. Also their Master is treated as Two levels of Scale Higher when using the Mentor or any other educational Skills on the pupil. Note: this perk requires a bond beyond basic Master-Pupil. Heroic Physique You aren¡¯t just brave and bold you are at peak performance. This perk increases both the Power and Body Attribute by 5. Also gain an addition level of Scale for all skills associated with these attributes. Arachnid Reflexes If you react fast enough you could also seem to be preemptive. You have that. Some may call you a bit twitch but they aren¡¯t going to get the drop on you any time soon. The bearer of this perk gains 10 Mobility and two levels of Scale for reactions. Warlock Magic (Doug) Why develop power when you could Sub-lease it from a bigger power. You are tethered to a source immense magical energy. Gain [Difference between Patreon and perk holder]/2 in levels of scale for magical effect. User also Gains [Patron''s Magic Attribute]/5. Note 1: Patron is entitled to request tasks from the bearer of this perk. Note 2: Patron could deny access to this perk at any time. Disposition: Spine is in a pretty great mood. Things have been looking up for him. He was pretty dubious of you at first but now does see you as similar to a brother. That said he does worry that you don¡¯t understand the world and could possibly kill everyone on accident. That said you could also save everyone on purpose so he¡¯s got your back.
Uh-oh.
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I selected one second. ¡°I may have done a bad thing here.¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°Hey Denise, could you come down here?¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Denise asked. ¡°Why is everybody so weak?¡± I asked. Denise blinked at me. She was clearly trying to figure out if I was stupid. Then she realized I was. Then she mentally switched gears to trying to devise a polite way to say that without me smashing her head. I could tell that last bit because she was staring at my hands as she slowly almost imperceptibly took a series of teeny, tiny, baby steps away from me. ¡°Denise so long as you hold to our agreement I am not going to hurt you,¡± I said. I rubbed my eyes. I was developing a near Narrator headache. Denise gazed at me doubtfully, ¡°The mystic troopers are some of the strongest Common Scale players for their level on the planet. The power coins make them effectively Rare Scale.¡± ¡°So why is Spine almost as strong as me?¡± I asked. The little guy was actually a serious heavy. ¡°Doug, Spine has apotheosed. Less than ten thousand people alive today have done that. He is the only one at Common Scale alive today to do that. He also has nothing but Heroic Scale Perks and Two Demigod Scale Traits. Then all the buffs from your pact. You have put more resources in to him than most nations put into Heroic Scale players.¡± Denise checked her phone. She frowned. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s just Brandon.¡± Denise said looking up from her phone. ¡°Lindsey is being¡­ You don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°Why do you care?¡± I asked. I regretted that immediately. That was involving myself. ¡°I don¡¯t get to meet a lot of people. Brandon has his charms. Did you know he has an idea to end the forever war in Europe? It¡¯s just that no one will give him a chance.¡± Denise stopped. She didn¡¯t like the look on my face, ¡°What?¡± ¡°You can do better than Brandon,¡± I told her. ¡°Seriously, get a pet, or take up rock collecting. The dude is an idiot.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Denise objected. ¡°He¡¯s banging Lindsey,¡± I countered. ¡°First rule of being a guy is never stick your dick in crazy. He messed up rule one. And rule 6 always clear the zipper first. Don¡¯t get involved in that.¡± I didn¡¯t want to deal with finding a new Narrator. The next one might be another Wilson. That would be bad. Denise almost argued with me, ¡°I am not going to discuss my relationships with you. Did you want something else?¡± ¡°How do you craft a training dagger?¡± I asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t,¡± Denise said, baffled. ¡°How would I craft a training dagger?¡± I pressed. Denise sighed dramatically as she checked her phone. Time started after a blizzard of Crafting checks. Technically what I had crafted were two Full Contact Training Daggers, and ten Full Contact Training Arrows. They would each do five damage per hit. ¡°Okay before we get going on this, Spine, take these knives and arrows and give me your normal ones.¡± I held them out. ¡°That¡¯s cheating!¡± Tamara declared. ¡°There is no cheating in war,¡± I said. ¡°Then how do you explain war crimes,¡± Tobias asked clearly unimpressed with my bullshit. ¡°It¡¯s never a war crime the first time,¡± I said, quoting an electrician of non-svelteness. Spine took the weapons I offered and after a moment''s hesitation gave me his stuff to hold. Spine and Gisele gazed at each other for a long moment. Then they kept doing that. The gazing just wouldn¡¯t end. ¡°Are you two going to fight?¡± Zarina called. ¡°Is someone going to say ¡®1, 2, 3, go!¡¯?¡± Gisele asked. Spine, seizing the moment, shot her with his crossbow. ¡°Ow! Dammit!¡± Gisele roared. She was pissed. She charged Spine, twirling her pole arm. ¡°Timeout!¡± Spine shrieked. He held up his hands trying to ward off Gisele. For reasons I can¡¯t begin to fathom, Gisele stopped mid swing. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± I asked. ¡°He called timeout?¡± Gisele said almost whining. She turned to glare at me. Spine took this opportunity to reload his crossbow and shot Gisele in the ass. ¡°Ow! Why?!¡± Gisele shrieked. ¡°There are no timeouts in war,¡± I explained. ¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡± Gisele insisted. ¡°I am going to side with Doug,¡± Zarina said, shuffling a little closer to me, ¡°War isn¡¯t fair.¡± Gisele was not prepared for a united front of Doug-Zarina dickery. She gaped at us stunned. Spine shot her again. ¡°You dick!¡± Gisele roared as she charged Spine. Trouble is Spine had been back peddling during Gisele''s appeals to Zarina and my sense of fairness. She had forgotten that we didn¡¯t want the Mystic Troopers to go to war. Regardless, Spine had the space to make yet another shot. This one hit her in the knee. It also caused an explosion of sparks. There are a lot of things you could say about Gisele, but no one could fault her grit. She kept running with a damn bolt in her knee. I mean I could probably do that, but I would bitch the entire time. With a dramatic twirl of her polearm Gisele clocked Spine upside the head. She then spun on her heels and struck him with the butt of her weapon. Then she just sort of stabbed him. ¡°Nuuuhaaaagh!¡± Spine screamed incoherently as he stepped into another vicious strike from Gisele. The thing is though this got him into stabbing range. Spine hit her with a left and a right. Both impacts caused an explosion of sparks. The second hit also caused Gisele to flip backwards almost in slow motion. With a blaze of pink light she was no longer in her mystic trooper form. Spine bore down on her knives raised. He had one eye swollen shut and the other had a vengeful glint in it. ¡°Spine, Stop!¡± I called. Spine considered for a brief instant and didn¡¯t maliciously stab Gisele while she was down. Gisele raised her head and after a beat slammed the butt of her weapon into Spine¡¯s crotch ¡°Oof!¡± every man other than Spine said on reflex. ¡°Gisele what the hell?¡± I demanded. ¡°You said ¡®there are no timeouts in war¡¯,¡± She shouted back. ¡°Stop!¡± Zarina ordered. ¡°You alright Spine?¡± I asked. ¡°Give me a minute,¡± Spine managed, his voice much higher than normal. When it was clear neither Spine nor Gisele were going to stab the other, I turned to Zarina, ¡°So, Spine wins?¡± Zarina didn¡¯t look happy, ¡°Yeah I would say he did.¡± ¡°I can still fight,¡± Gisele insisted. ¡°That¡¯s not the point you lost,¡± I told her. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say there were no rules in war?¡± Gisele pressed. ¡°I said there was no cheating in war. You absolutely can die. Which having your shell break counts as dying,¡± I was being a bit petulant, but she also totally lost. Spine tossed his hands in the air and whooped, ¡°Hell yeah! I have taken a life! I win!¡± ¡°Does that mean none of us can go to war?¡± Bob asked. ¡°No,¡± Zarina said. That was unfortunate. Mostly because I said ¡°Yes.¡± at the same time. The real issue here is Bob had asked an ambiguous question so either answer was confusing. Also Zarina and I didn¡¯t coordinate. The true kicker was the kids heard what they wanted to hear and took that as a que. Momentum can and often does trump intent. ¡°I¡¯ll take him on,¡± Tobias said, stepping forward with his massive club. Some sweet guitar riffs and a transformation sequence later Tobias was bearing down on Spine. Spine was drunk on his earlier victory and made a crucial mistake. Instead of shooting or getting the hell out of the way of the massive club he gloated, ¡°I am a killer! What are you gonna do-oof!¡± Tobias just womped Spine. The huge club made a Louisville slugger baseball bat on ball cracking sound. Spine went flying. Spine was big for a goblin but still wasn¡¯t actually big. He took off like a rocket ship and sailed through the air like an arrogant stooge about to face check reality¡­ and the ice. Like all things, Spine''s time in the sky came to an end. He bounced and rolled to his feet. He then charged Tobias shouting obscenities. I am not going to repeat them. Mostly because it was a glorious stream of cuss words and I forget the exact order. Also I don¡¯t think Human should be a derogatory term. Tobias¡¯s feeling may have been hurt but that didn¡¯t stop him from hammering Spine with his massive club again. Spine was launched into the sky once more. This time when he landed he started shooting at Tobias. Tobias had a strategy for that. After getting shot the second time he shouted at Spine, ¡°You know only scared little girls just shoot at people.¡± he taunted. Spine paused and considered. He did want to be seen as a big, strong man. After a second he said, ¡°Eh fuck you I am a feminist.¡± He then Shot Tobias again. What happened next could be described as a fight but it could also be described as one kid running away from another kid as he pelted him with crossbow bolts and harsh language. Basically it was like a Benny Hill bit but with way more foul language. Eventually though, Spine struck the final blow. Tobias changed back and had a crossbolt lodged in his arm. Everyone looked at the injury. ¡°Do we take it out?¡± Spine aske reaching for the bolt. Tobias slapped his hand away, ¡°Don¡¯t touch it.¡± ¡°Dude, it¡¯s my crossbow bolt,¡± Spine snapped. He reached for the bolt again. ¡°It is in my arm, jerk¡± Tobias snapped back peddling away toward the Mandir. ¡°Doug, they¡¯re robbing me!¡± Spine yelled. ¡°There¡¯s no robbery in war!¡± Gisele called. She may be just a little bitter from losing. ¡°That¡¯s just not true,¡± Zarina corrected. She was grappling with relief that her students weren¡¯t going to war and disappointment that they weren¡¯t winning the fights. Gisele almost pouted. I caught Spine by the scruff of his neck. I didn¡¯t want him wandering into the Mandir¡¯s effect. Lola and I were fighting, but she absolutely had favorites and Spine wasn¡¯t at the top of the list. ¡°Okay this isn¡¯t great. We are doing best three out of five. If Spine wins one more fight, you can¡¯t go to war.¡± I declared. This triggered another robust discussion about moving the goal post in war. Eventually it was decided that the mystic troopers couldn¡¯t make me do things. ¡°Alright pick your next fighter.¡± I said. We needed to wrap this up. Chapter 99: The Illusion of Choice Valorie glared at me, ¡°What¡¯s the point? You are just going to keep cheating with you overpowered disciple so you can assert your control?¡± ¡°You think I am overpowered?¡± Spine asked. His grin was approaching a shit-eating curve. ¡°You¡¯re only overpowered because a high scale player saw an opportunity in giving you some scraps and now you are paying him back by stomping on us. You¡¯re a sell out,¡± Valorie said. ¡°Hey, I resemble that remark!¡± Spine shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t you mean resent?¡± I asked him. ¡°That too,¡± Spine agreed. He scowled back at Valorie. I turned to the mystic troopers, ¡°This isn¡¯t about my ego.¡± ¡°Are you seriously trying to turn this around on us?¡± Valorie demanded. ¡°If the shoe fits.¡± I said. ¡°What do you bring to the war effort?¡± ¡°We can fight!¡± Gisele said. ¡°I have over 35,000 soldiers. Do you really think you five are the thing that is going to tip the scales? Do you know siege craft?¡± I demanded ¡°No,¡± Gisele admitted, not looking at me. ¡°How about infiltration? Can you circumvent hardened defenses?¡± I pointed my question at Tobias. ¡°Well, no but-¡± he tried. ¡°Exfiltration? Can you bust civilians out of bondaged and get them out of a war zone?¡± I wasn¡¯t giving them room. Valorie and I gazed at each other. ¡°No,¡± Valorie sighed. Just when I thought this was put to bed Sunit spoke up, ¡°I could take them under my wing.¡± I nearly shouted profanities. Instead I asked him, ¡°The current goblin battle plan doesn¡¯t really factor you in. What do you currently plan to do.¡± Sunit smiled. ¡°My current plan unless asked to do otherwise is to hang back through the initiation of the conflict. Break through the weakest defense I can see, and then fight my way toward the captives. They will likely be concentrated in the lower levels. From there I plan to release as many as I can and lead them to safety through the tunnels in the Dark.¡± I could feel the warmth of hope blooming in the kids behind me. I glanced over at Zarina. From the look in her eye, she knew what I was about to do. I felt bad, but it needed to be done¡­
All Processes Stopped.
The telltale thrum of time ceasing its moment filled my heart with dread. ¡°You know kid, you are starting to really fuck yourself over,¡± Wilson said behind me. I didn¡¯t turn around. I almost said something snotty. ¡°Starting?¡± Grace asked. ¡°This Spawn has almost systematically chosen to limit its power and control. I assume it is defective.¡± ¡°You two are working together now?¡± I asked turning around to survey them. ¡°We have never, not been in a collaborative team,¡± Grace explained. Somehow her near emotionless deadpan sagged with sarcasm. ¡°One big happy family,¡± WIlson agreed. He was gazing at Grace with a vulpine leer. ¡°Yeah I still don¡¯t like you two agreeing,¡± I looked back and forth between them, ¡°What is this about?¡± ¡°For the sake of the greater narrative, we would like you to have the Mystic Troopers travel with you.¡± Grace said. ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡± I demanded. This felt like a trap. ¡°Then, long term you set yourself up for a catastrophic failure. A likely Cancelation level event.¡± Grace explained. She stared into my eyes. She didn¡¯t like me, but she did not want Cancelation. ¡°Alright I will bite, Cancelation?¡± I turned to Wilson. ¡°What it says on the tin,¡± Wilson said. I didn¡¯t like him being serious, ¡°The Audience tends not to like someone winning flat out. It¡¯s boring. They tune out, and then we have to pack up and start over somewhere else. It¡¯s a pain. Also you don¡¯t want that. It will go bad for the earth. Think Chicxulub and you are pretty close, but there will be more screaming.¡± ¡°Extinction? You are seriously going to say, me denying some young adults their misadventure is going to kill the planet?¡± This was a threat. ¡°I am shocked you understood the reference.¡± Grace condescended. ¡°The point still stands. You have made too many mistakes already. You need to take them with you. You will also need to keep them close.¡± ¡°Both you and the Titan said I was going to win at the tower already,¡± I pointed out. Grace sighed, ¡°Talk to him.¡± ¡°There are all sorts of types of winning, kid.¡± Wilson said. Some of that easy sleaze he normally had crept into his voice as he talked. ¡°You are currently on track for a pyrrhic to tragic sort of victory. That is just for the tower mind you. You have hamstrung your side consistently. And just like Mrs. Emotional has pointed out, what you are doing is going to get this whole thing canceled.¡± ¡°How?¡± I asked. WIlson grinned maliciously. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you.¡± he turned to look at Grace and said, ¡°That would be metagaming.¡± They were sniping at each other again. Good. ¡°Alright, how am I fucking up?¡± I demanded. ¡°The most recent ¡®big dumb, what is wrong with you?¡¯ moment was giving away the axes,¡± Wilson explained. ¡°And before that?¡± I pressed. ¡°Creating the axes,¡± Grace chipped in. ¡°Okay this is bullshit.¡± I prepared to become uncooperative. Wilson went very still, ¡°You could have upgraded the structures you made for tanking all the way up to Divine Scale. Four moveable Divine Scale walls meant to stop damage. Could you think of any use for that in the immediate future?¡± Goddammit. They could be telling the truth. Okay that is not true. They weren¡¯t obviously lying. That did not mean they were telling the truth. Everything was a manipulation. So the trick became asking, ¡®to what end?¡¯ and finding the truth there. Neither of them had my best interest at heart. I could probably assume my safety was mostly guaranteed. So, who were they trying to kill?The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Okay, who are you trying to get killed?¡± I asked. I figured the direct approach was best. I doubted they rehearsed this. It actually worked. Grace and Wilson spoke at the same time. Neither willing to give the other any due respect. ¡°De Leon,¡± Grace answered. ¡°A lot of people you don¡¯t care about¡­ Dammit,¡± WIlson frowned at Grace. Shit this was serious. ¡°Let me get this straight. You want me to bring these kids, so that Angelica dies?¡± I watched Wilson very carefully. The narrator hitch on a winning smile, ¡°I make no guarantee that leaving the sailor shitheads behind won¡¯t still result in your main squeeze biting the big one.¡± ¡°I am going to need you two to cut the shit,¡± I told them. ¡°Who dies if I take the Mystic Trooper with me?¡± ¡°We cannot tell you that,¡± Grace said. When I just watched her impassively Wilson added, ¡°You don¡¯t want us messing with things behind the scenes. I don¡¯t either, but that does leave the door open for surprises.¡± ¡°Yet, you can confirm me leaving them behind will result in an extinction level event?¡± I pressed. ¡°Let me flip this around. You leave twenty toddlers alone in a room with a loaded six-shooter. Can you tell me which one is getting shot? No. Can you tell me that gun is going off? ¡° Wilson waited for my answer. ¡°Answer my question,¡± I said flatly. ¡°We do not answer to you,¡± Grace said. ¡°We are wasting time. If he isn¡¯t going to cooperate-¡± ¡°I am not allowing a retcon,¡± Wilson argued, ¡°No do overs.¡± ¡°That¡¯s reckless,¡± Grace said. ¡°No. It¡¯s art,¡± Wilson replied. He stared at me and smiled. ¡°Give me a rough breakdown,¡± I insisted. ¡°We don¡¯t make deals with players,¡± Grace said, something in her almost emotionless voice hinted at danger. ¡°Yeah you can go ahead and make whatever threats you want,¡± Wilson said. He immediately took several large steps away from her. Grace watched him, but didn¡¯t speak. ¡°I am not going to make decisions without discussing this with Angelica and Celeste,¡± I said, trying to circumvent their power struggle. ¡°No,¡± both said at the same time. Damn! ¡°Then I am going to out your interference,¡± I threatened. Wilson grinned at Grace again. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°Wilson¡¯s long term pitch to deal with you is to turn your story into a full Metanarrative. He claims the Audience while likely initially annoyed at the introduction of us Narrators, would eventually see our work as just one more aspect of the story.¡± Grace shook her head as she eye me balefully. ¡°And that it takes away the leverage I have by discussing meta-knowedge is just a happy accident?¡± I asked. ¡°Actually yeah,¡± Wilson said. He briefly laughed to himself, ¡°It is mostly to just fuck with Grace and her crew. Brandon will not do well with the Audience watching.¡± he checked his watch. ¡°Make a smart choice kid.¡± ¡°What choice?¡± I demanded. Grace seized the moment, ¡°Work with me. We can adjust the past slightly to prevent a Cancelation. There are billions of people in this world. You negligence could kill them all.¡± ¡°Or break the fourth wall one too many times¡± Wilson offered. His grin widened impossibly, ¡°Think about it, no rush.¡±
Time will resume in¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­
Something spun me back to my original position. Time surged forward again. That isn¡¯t a bad counter-move. I took a deep breath. Grace wasn¡¯t on my side. Wilson didn¡¯t want me dead, but I sure as hell didn¡¯t want to live under his boot. In the end this was about trust. I sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to invest any in the Narrators. Everyone was watching me, ¡°Tell me Sunit, will having five others you need to look after make things easier or harder for you?¡± Sunit frowned at me. After a long pause and some consideration he answered honestly, ¡°It would be a burden.¡± I turned to the others, ¡°Are you willing to risk other people''s lives and the possibility of their freedom to get what you want?¡± This question required a team huddle. They were debating and we were expected to pretend we couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying. Spine poked me, ¡°Why¡¯d your mood shift that hard?¡± ¡°My mood didn¡¯t shift,¡± I said bluntly. Spine eyed me flatly, ¡°...okay.¡± he did not believe me. He wasn¡¯t going to pry¡­ directly. ¡°Please let me feel unknowable and mysterious,¡± I muttered. Spine punched my leg, ¡°I got you.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. He meant it, and that mattered. The huddle broke. They didn¡¯t look happy. Valorie spoke for everyone, ¡°Fine you win, Doug.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t about winning and losing. This is about doing what we can. I am not saying you are weak or useless, or any bullshit like that. I am just saying this isn¡¯t your moment.¡± That didn¡¯t hit right I could tell. ¡°And you get to decide that?¡± Valorie raised and eyebrow. ¡°No. hear me out, after this is done, Angelica¡­¡± I paused. I assumed she would head back to the Fantasy coast, but Grace¡¯s threat stopped me cold. ¡°I can make arrangements with the Chimera Soldier. They can give you a ride to the Technacoast.¡± Zarina hated that. Her face shifted from relieved to near venomous. ¡°I don¡¯t think that is a good Idea.¡± ¡°We can talk this is done.¡± I said, trying to head off the argument. ¡°You just expect us to wait?¡± Gisele demanded. I shrugged, ¡°Without Sunit this place needs protectors. Minorou needs help with the gardens. Someone needs to guide Madigan¡¯s followers. Hell, I would take it as a personal favor if you checked up on Seth. He needs more friends in his life.¡± Bob seemed to consider that, ¡°This isn¡¯t just you stalling is it?¡± ¡°No,¡± I answered immediately. ¡°I know it is hard but take the time, try to grow.¡± Conversation sort of died after that. Sunit went over to the goblin camp. Spine and I made our way to Seth. I needed to tell him about the journal. That was clearly time sensitive, and it¡¯s not like I could communicate with him across vast distances. I wasn¡¯t stalling with Angelica. That''s silly. I am offended you would even think that. I may have been stalling with Celeste. Don¡¯t judge me¡­ Okay sure that is the point when a normal person would provide a defense for their actions. It would be really nice to have a defense for my actions. I was just scared. Mostly that I would mess things up, or that I wasn¡¯t actually ready for a relationship, or that I was getting ahead of myself with the idea of a relationship. The obnoxious thing was admitting I had those feelings, and being aware of them didn¡¯t magically make them go away. Which was bullshit. ¡°She took it?¡± Seth asked. The luminous smile that washed over his face. ¡°Yes, but-¡± I didn¡¯t want to give him too much hope. ¡°I know,¡± he assured me. ¡°I know, but there is hope.¡± I didn¡¯t want to kill his mood, ¡°Let¡¯s try and teach you another step of Unrelenting Glacier.¡± Seth grinned at me and slowly he was encased in ice as he stood ready. ¡°Okay I am impressed,¡± I admitted. I did the thing with my hand. You know the ¡®come here¡¯ thing all the cool kung fu types can do. Honestly Seth was better trained, more control, and a smarter fighter than me. That said I was faster, stronger, and way tougher. I slid past his strike and cracked his candy shell quickly. The thing is Seth was watching me as I was working to not get kicked in the dick. It didn¡¯t take long for him to start dodging my counters and following up himself. It was a constant ebb and flow and the crushing milling of ice. We were basically honing each other. Raw power showing experience what can be done, and experienced knowledge showing a better way. Eventually Seth was nearing exhaustion but he smiled, ¡°I ¡­ I got¡­ it¡± You should probably sit down,¡± Spine said. He tried to move one of the stone chairs and it barely budged. Seth walked over and sat down. He laughed to himself for a moment. Giddy with the power he was gaining. After a moment Seth shifted into a more serious posture, ¡°Honestly though what are you staying away from?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it,¡± I said a little to quickly Realization hit Spine. He pointed at me and shouted, ¡°You have girl trouble!¡± ¡°Angelica is a woman,¡± I argued. ¡°That is a bigger problem,¡± Spine admitted. ¡°You two seemed fine when I saw you.¡± Seth said. ¡°We weren¡¯t like official then,¡± I explained.I hated how I sounded as said that. ¡°I know what to do,¡± Seth said. ¡°Really?¡± I asked. Seth nodded, ¡°Yes. I am going to tell you what my grandfather told me. He was a truly wise man.¡± he gestured for me to lean closer. When I did, he smacked me across the face hard, ¡°Just sack up and be happy with her.¡± ¡°Yeah, listen to Pappy Cohen,¡± Spine added. Seth rounded on him, ¡°He would tell you to stop treating girls as a problem to solve, and treat them like people to know and love.¡± Spine gazed at him in awe, ¡°Really, Pappy Cohen is wise.¡± Seth considered and hedge, ¡°He might have just yelled some shit about, ¡®who let a goblin in the house?¡¯¡± Spine looked less impressed, ¡°I get it.¡± Chapter 100: An Actual Choice After getting Seth to promise that he wouldn¡¯t do anything crazy, Spine and I made our way back to camp. Spine was revelling in his glorious victory. ¡°Then I let the big yellow guy hit me. I didn¡¯t want to embarrass them.¡± ¡°Then you tactfully maneuvered around him?¡± I asked. Spine studied me for a long moment, he was trying to tell if I was playing along, joking with him, making fun of him, or somehow ignorant. I could see him factor in that I didn¡¯t know how food works, ¡°...exactly. I may have appeared to be running around screaming but it was actually using tactics to¡­ win and junk.¡± ¡°Smooth,¡± I told him. ¡°Do you think anyone else will buy it?¡± he asked. ¡°Polish up the summary to not include ¡®and junk¡¯ and probably,¡± I said. I was still stalling, and while that had worked to prevent me from struggling with my feelings in the short term, we were now entering the middle term. That meant I now had to deal with the crushing weight because my problems hadn¡¯t magically solved themselves. Two negative thoughts kept cycling in my mind. The first was, ¡®You are going to fuck this up¡¯. Everyone who has dated can tell you that the majority of relationships fail. That said a successful relationship ends with you watching your wife die. That led into the second negative thought. It was, ¡®What about Marnie?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t even three days ago and the thought of her forced me to roll a Willpower Check. Now I was thinking about other women. Truly my love for Marnie was something. You are going to fuck this up. That wasn¡¯t inherently true. Both Angelica and Celeste were both adults and had both directly stated they weren¡¯t opposed to sex. Seth was right. I needed to just get out of my own way and try to be happy with the people here. Honestly, a quick discussion about ground rules and it could be a good time. What about Marnie? That was not a simple thing. I loved Marnie. I still do. The thing is the Titan had done something terrible but so easy to forgive. In trying to hold onto the love he had for Marnie, he had let her memory haunt him. The absence of love is an acute and physical pain. Often it can¡¯t last. Instinctually people reach out to others in those moments of grief. What¡¯s more all but the truly alone have others who at least try to help in those times of need. The Titan had made the mistake of preserving Marnie¡¯s absence for fear of losing any part of her. Marnie would forever be in my heart. She had wanted the best for the Titan. She had even said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid to find someone.¡± That¡¯s what she said to her husband. She had literally never met me. Knowing her if we could somehow meet she would probably say something like , ¡°Hey Sailor, where¡¯s Olive Oyl?¡± She wouldn¡¯t want me to fixate on her. She would probably yell at me if I did. You are going to fuck this up. I had been half heartedly helping Spine workshop his account of his glorious victory. ¡°It actually sounds more impressive if you don¡¯t try and upsell it. Don¡¯t sandbag or worse yet try to play it, but try to tell the story like you aren¡¯t bragging or secretly amazed.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get what you mean,¡± Spine said. ¡°So if I said I¡¯m the greatest snow lion killer who ever lived, you would think,¡± I prompted ¡°That is probably true,¡± Spine said slowly. Examining my clothes made almost entirely of Snow Lion pelts. ¡°And that I was being an asshole.¡± I led him to the point. ¡°The trick is to say things like, ¡®I cleared the Snow Lion Dungeon.¡± or ¡°I killed 40,000 Snow Lions in twelve minutes.¡¯¡± ¡°Is that last bit true?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Yeah, Dungeons are nuts. Stay the hell out of them,"I said as we reached the tents. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me twice,¡± Spine said. He turned to walk away, ¡°Welp, have fun. Get out of your way.¡± I stood outside the tent. Then I kept standing there. The stew shower was still distributing food. There was a constant flow of both stew and goblins. I used to be a serious adult with real world problems like grief, and worrying about failing as a father, and alcoholism. Now I was dealing with psychotic things like feeding people by magic contraption, not inflicting the horrors of war on young adults somehow causing extinction, and being pressured into sex by a busybody goddess and a gaggle of blue narcissists. I just need to do what I always do. Understand the situation, come up with a plan, and then do the best I can. That always worked for me in the past. What about Marnie? ¡­ well fuck you too intrusive thoughts. ¡°I hope Pappy Cohen wasn¡¯t just talking shit,¡± I muttered to myself. I ducked and entered the tent. Angelica and Brunhilda were still in the tent Angelica was painting Brunhilda nails. Bright pink, if you were wondering.. ¡°I just never have the time for this,¡± Brunhilda said. ¡°I get that, but this is like fun for me so I make time,¡± Angelica said. ¡°Besides you fixed my foot.¡± ¡°The nails should grow back fine,¡± Brunhilda assured. Angelica looked at her foot again. It was covered in angry red almost sunburnt skin. The thing is each of her toes was also missing the nails. Now I am not like the goblins. Feet don¡¯t exactly do a lot for me. For the most part Angelica¡¯s feet looked functional and¡­well balanced. Cute! I am describing that as cute, like a normal person. Anyway each toe was absent the nail and that made them look off putting and weird. ¡°You could just paint the skin where the nail should be,¡± I offered. Both women looked at me. ¡°I am a man, I try to solve problems to show I care,¡± I offered. Brunhilda gave me a look. Then checked if Angelica was watching her. After confirming that Angelica''s focus was on me she shook her head. Angelica considered, ¡°Doug, what color goes best with new skin?¡± I shrugged, ¡°You looked nice with the blue, but whatever color you like is fine.¡± Angelica sighed. She clearly wanted an easy setup for a reason to tease me. Being denied her fun she slid the bottle of pink nail polish to Brunhilda, ¡°hold onto this. Serious, you really saved my skin.¡± Brunhilda considered for a moment. She looked between me and Angelica several times. Finally she spoke in a stilted almost pornfilm like way. ¡°Oh no my inventory is full. I will have to make room for this.¡± She then pulled three bottles of wine, two red and a white, a six pack of something called Smash-Bastard Stout, and the bottle of Fire Whiskey. ¡°That should do it. Hey Doug, buddy could you come over to this side of the tent and look at this. No need to get up, Angelica.¡± I followed Brunhilda to the corner of the tent. Technically the tent was round. You know what I mean. She immediately elbowed me, ¡°Solving problems to show you care?¡± she hissed. You are going to fuck this up. ¡°Fine it makes me feel smart and useful,¡± I whispered back.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. She elbowed me again, ¡°Calm down. I think you might have shot with her. Take these.¡± She pressed her shoulder closer and pulled a box out of her inventory. She forced it into my hands, I looked at them. The box said Zach¡¯s Prefered Condoms. The line below it said ¡®Ride the lightning without ever have to feel the clap¡­ of thunder.; below that was ¡®The only Condom Brand rated for Titanic Scale lovers*!!!¡¯ three exclamation points seemed like a lot. That said, I didn''t miss the Asterix. I found the explanation in really small text. *99.99% effective when used properly. Not rated for Boon of Adora, Dance of Dragon Union, or similar fertility rites. I pulled them into my inventory, ¡°Thanks.¡± I didn¡¯t sound enthusiastic. My drinking buddy shoulder checked me, ¡°What¡¯s wrong buddy?¡± ¡°I am trying to figure things out,¡± I said quietly. She looked at me wide eyed for a long moment. ¡°Do you mean like logistically?¡± I frowned at her. ¡°Oh right, you are new. Don¡¯t worry I got you buddy,¡± She punched my hip. It did 9 damage. She pulled a book out of inventory and handed it to me. It was titled, Practical Passion: A logistical guide for love between different sized partners. It was written by a Korean woman going by the Pen name Hee V. Ho. Out of morbid curiosity I opened the book. It had a table of contents. The first chapter was titled ¡®One Size does not fit all: Understanding and Communicating boundaries and limits. The second chapter was: There is always time for lubricant. Another was: Leverage is your friend but momentum may not be. I stopped skimming after the chapter: No they aren¡¯t that fragile but a practical guide to the effects of continuous application of weight. Before closing the book I caught a glimpse of the dedication. ¡®This book is dedicated to Peggy Wood and my husband. I love you both and was Inspired watching you climb every mountain.¡¯ ¡°I am touched but how is this going to help me in the immediate future?¡± I asked. It''s not like I had time to read this. Brunhilda considered, ¡°that¡¯s a you problem buddy. I should probably get out of here.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I hissed. Brunhilda paused, ¡°Do you want me to cock-block you?¡± ¡°No,¡± I replied. I wasn¡¯t really sure what I wanted. ¡°We need to quit standing in this corner.¡± She whispered to me. She then turned on her heels and announced, ¡°I have to go be other places.¡± She then marched out of the tent. ¡°You guys are really subtle,¡± Angelica said. She popped the top off one of Smash-Bastard Stouts. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean,¡± I said, tossing the book into my inventory. Angelica considered for a minute, ¡°I believe you.¡± She pulled her small portable movie player out of her inventory, ¡°Wanna watch a movie.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°What do you got.¡± ¡°Star Wars,¡± She said grinning. ¡°And before you bitch this is Episode 22. It is one of the best ones. All the old school fans lost their minds because of the villain.¡± She paused, ¡°I don¡¯t want to spoil things.¡± She patted the cushion next to her. I shelved my biases. Since we weren¡¯t going to boldly go where no man has been before might as well rehash how cool lazer sword fights are. I sat next to her, ¡°Who¡¯s the villain?¡± Angelica popped the top off another Smash-Bastard Stout and handed it to me, ¡°It is a big reveal.¡± ¡°Tell me anyways,¡± I took a drink. It was pretty good. I looked at the bottle . It had a warning ¡®Not recommended for those under 21 Body Attribute¡¯. It was apparently Epic Scale 18% alcohol by volume. I really do need to figure out how food works. Angelica studied me for an instant, ¡°Oh god, you are one of those people.¡± ¡°You are going to need to elaborate,¡± I said, taking another swig of the stout. ¡°One of those people that claims knowing a story''s plot ahead doesn¡¯t affect your enjoyment,¡± Angelica accused pointing at me. ¡°If knowing the story ruins the story it was a bad story,¡± I insisted. ¡°Ugh, you sound like Celeste,¡± she added some gravitas to her voice and spoke like she was revealing dread portents, ¡°Are worst it moves you to the same feel as a second watch.¡± ¡°Celeste doesn¡¯t sound like that, but you are saying she has pretty lights and correct opinions,¡± I argued. ¡°I mean Fight Club isn¡¯t ruined just because¡­¡± ¡°SHhhh! Shut up!¡± Angelica stuck fingers in her ears. ¡°Stop spoiling films.¡± When she took her fingers out I said, ¡°That movie was old in the World That Was.¡± Angelica looked disappointed, ¡°Damn Elves. It is supposed to be a new movie that came out this year.¡± ¡°Maybe it is a different movie.¡± I offered. Angelica looked up to the right, ¡°Celeste did you see the old film.¡± she paused, ¡°That sounds different. What happens¡­¡± Angelica looked like Christmas was canceled. ¡°Wait they¡¯re what?¡± She scrunched her face and held her hands clawed in frustration up, ¡°Why would you tell me that?¡± after another pause she said, ¡°I just told Doug I didn¡¯t want spoilers, and you know me.¡± after another pause she said, ¡°I did ask¡­ no. It¡¯s fine Doug and Brunhilda had a whole conversation without us. He is too polite to call us out on it anyway. It is kinda freeing being able to just talk to you rather than hiding things from people..¡± I let them talk for a bit longer. I needed to figure out a way to tell Angelica and Celeste about¡­ oh wow so much shit. This was complicated. Where do I even start? What the hell am I even doing? There was so much that needed to happen. Angelica poked me ¡°You were miles away.¡± ¡°You and Celeste have my whole focus,¡± I promised. What about Marnie? Intrusive thoughts you need to knock this shit off. I am cool to you. Angelica considered and then poked me with every word, ¡°Or you could talk about it.¡± ¡°Fine, I am concerned I am doing the wrong thing. I just turned Gisele and her friends away. Somehow that gave me a terrible feeling.¡± I stopped her from poking me again. Angelica nodded along sympathetically, ¡°you did what¡¯s best for them.¡± ¡°But what if doing that gets someone else killed?¡± I asked. Angelica got my meaning. She considered for a moment and then leaned over. Her shoulder hit mine, ¡°That is life Doug.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all you got?¡± I asked. Angelica took a long pull of her drink, ¡°Let¡¯s lighting round this. Do you know what is going to happen if they stay?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°What about if they go?¡± She asked ¡°No,¡± I admitted. ¡°Is that true for literally every person alive?¡± She asked. ¡°...Yes,¡± I admitted ¡°Are you trying to do the best you can with what you know?¡± She took another swig. ¡°Yeah, but I am still scared people are going to die,¡± I set my drink down. ¡°That is the hard part. There is a reason I tend to work alone.¡± Angelica admitted. ¡°What should I do?¡± I asked. Angelica shrugged, ¡°No Idea. you did the dumb thing and let people put you in charge. The best option you got is to keep up with that gentle touch of yours.¡± ¡°Gentle?¡± I asked ¡°Yes,¡± She said, reaching toward the play button. ¡°Me?¡± I pressed. Angelica pulled back from the screen without starting the movie, ¡°yeah.¡± ¡°You saw me throw Rachel across the room,¡± I pointed out ¡°And that was hilarious, but you did it to stop a fascist beat down.¡± Angelica killed her beer and grabbed another. ¡°Celeste says it is one of your better features that you are gentle.¡± ¡°Not to argue, but how do you figure?¡± This confused the hell out of me. ¡°Doug you are basically a living weapon, and you constantly choose to talk to people, listen to them and work with them. You could just stomp on most of these people. You don¡¯t. It¡¯s a choice. Get out of your way and try and be happy with her. I put my arm around Angelica¡¯s shoulders, ¡°Shes pretty gentle too.¡± ¡°She says ¡®Bitch I know it,¡± Angelica said with a laugh. I laughed. She slipped my arm, ¡°So I have been thinking about what you said about being trapped in a joyless shell that only suffers and kills. I want to change that.¡± Oh shit. I wasn¡¯t prepared for this. ¡°Angelica-¡± I started with no idea what I was about to say. Then I saw the red box with the frog she pulled out of her inventory. ¡°Are those Honey Smacks?¡± ¡°Nah, Sugar Smacks, the best cereal ever made,¡± she handed me the box and pulled two bowls and a bottle of milk out of her inventory. ¡°These were called Honey Smacks,¡± I said, smiling at the frog mascot. ¡°The mask must have fallen off with time, they used to pretend this stuff was healthy¡± Angelica said. Then like some sort of psychopath she poured her milk into the bowl before the cereal. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± I asked, pouring some of the basically candy in my bowl. ¡°Making cereal,¡± She said, taking the box. She poured the sweetened grains on top of her puddle of milk. ¡°You did it wrong,¡± I said, pouring milk over my god fearing bowl of cereal. ¡°Eat the cavity causers you cretin,¡± Angelica ordered I took a bite. Kate loved this garbage so we always had it in the house. It tasted like Saturday morning. ¡°So who¡¯s the bad guy.¡± Angelica swallowed her cereal, ¡° Palpatine you fun hater. Him coming back as the big bad was controversial but I liked it.¡± she hit play and the text started to crawl. ¡°So Star Wars fans still don¡¯t like Star wars?¡± I teased. ¡°Quiet you. This has a lightsaber fight in a ship being pulled into a gravity well. It is awesome,¡± She said. She took a swig of beer. Her taste in films was a mixed bag, but she knew how to enjoy Sugar Smacks. God this stuff is bad for you. ¡°That does sound cool,¡± I admitted a Twi¡¯lek man was being chased by a Rancor through caves. I probably should have read the text crawl. ¡°Hey, Doug after the movie, wanna bang?¡± Angelica asked around a mouth full of cereal. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. You are going to fuck this up. Chapter 101: Let just be mature and talk about… Sierra Echo X-ray Did I just get Netflix and Chilled? No this is clearly a stored film, and I am not cold. Actually my face felt rather hot. I may have been looking at the screen as space-wizards had one hell of a punch up in a room that was rotating on all axises, but my mind was elsewhere. I wasn¡¯t focused on sex, well not in the way you think. Besides all the HR violations Angelica, Celeste and I had been through, I had only been intimate with three women. Things actually went one step further. Since I was fifteen I spent nineteen years in relationships. That is not some sort of brag. This was a direct admission that I didn¡¯t have any early game. I was good at the established relationship stuff, not the early flirting. ¡°This was all done practically,¡± Angelica said, as an old man on the screen threw lightning at the heroes while the spaceship they were in skipped across the side of a mountain. ¡°Wait, how¡¯d they get the shots then?¡±¡± I asked as the battle continued down the side of the mountain and off a cliff. ¡°Bjorn Elm-Father,¡± Angelica explained, ¡°He is the director of photography, and a mad genius. I don¡¯t have it on this but he is the reason Fast and the Furious 135 is watchable. The bit when they solved the president''s murder by driving a Bugatti through the Pentagon was dumb as hell but it looked so cool.¡± As the movie showed a dramatic sequence of an old toydarian ascending to being a force ghost or something. They seemed to be doing that to stop the film''s planet blower-upper from blowing up the planet everyone was on. I asked, ¡°We still have the Pentagon.¡± ¡°Yeah, well it only has four sides since the thing with Nadia,¡± Angelica said watching the film intently. ¡°Did society collapse?¡± I asked. ¡°All the old people insist it did, but it seems to be a complicated issue,¡± Angelica said quickly. She pointed at the screen ¡°He is gonna say the line!¡± The evil old guy shouted, ¡°Power without limit! He then threw a lot of lightning at people. It was a truly gratuitous amount of lightning. There is probably a word to describe the amount of lightning. Perhaps one that starts with the letter U. Angelica was totally focused on the movie. I was beginning to suspect this wasn¡¯t an elaborate set up by her. She seemed to be a cinephile. I didn¡¯t hate this film. The credits hit. Neither one of us talked. Oh shoot. Angelica looked at me. I looked at her. She kept looking at me. ¡°Am I supposed to make a move?¡± I asked. Angelica nodded, ¡°you are higher scale. Honestly this could be a refreshing change from my norm. It is exhausting always having to be the initiator.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask me to bang?¡± I pointed out. ¡°Old habit,¡± Angelica said. Her eyes snapped to the screen, ¡°the stinger!¡± A bunch of space wizards were gathered around some pyramid thing. It lit up and a person made of light stood in the middle of them. He said ¡°You dare disturb me?¡± One of them said, ¡°They have returned,¡± they then paused for the music to cut out so they could dramatically say, ¡°Revan.¡± Everything cut to black and then the screen switched to a list of films. Holy shit that was so much Star Wars. I ignored the screen. It responded by cycling between colorful movie posters . Angelica closed it. ¡°Doug, what¡¯s wrong?¡± She asked. ¡°You don¡¯t feel coerced?¡± I asked. ¡°Not by you,¡± Angelica said flatly. That was basically a yes. ¡°That¡¯s concerning,¡± I said. Maybe this was a terrible idea. ¡°Okay what about you?¡± Angelica finished her cereal and wiped her chin. ¡°I worry about the effects on our relationship considering the influence and pressure of people like Adora,¡± and Wilson and Grace¡­ I don¡¯t think Denise is involved. ¡°I get it, but what if they weren¡¯t involved?¡± Angelica asked. She seemed concerned about my answer. Then again we were being threatened. There were a lot of things to be concerned about. This needed to be phrased right, ¡°I am willing to do basically whatever you want to do. You¡¯ll have to bear with me a little, I am still sorting through some things, but I trust you both and respect you both. I would be extremely amenable just not right here right now in this tent.¡± ¡°Stew fight! A goblin yelled. Something wet and chunky splattered against the side of the tent. A moment later a body bounced off the tent wall. This triggered even more shouting. ¡°Ditto,¡± Angelica said. ¡°Wait a minute,¡± I said pointing at her. ¡°Is that your trick? Do you just flip hard questions back on people and then take their answers to look wise?¡± Angelica was unphased by the accusation, ¡°No, I only pretend it was my answer when it sounds smart. If it is dumb I argue. It is a great way to look like I have my shit together, and it is a solid method to get ideas from others. When people believe they are being taught their minds seem to expand.¡± ¡°That¡¯s kinda genius,¡± I admitted. ¡°Thanks,¡± Angelica said, ¡°So if we are going to move to somewhere else, could you make me new boots.¡± she held up her bare foot. I crafted some boots from a snow lion pelt. I was beginning to respect the versatility of the snow lion corpse. They were quickly becoming my duct tape. ¡°Here.¡± Angelica frowned at them , ¡°Are these uggs?¡± Her tone implied they shouldn¡¯t be. ¡°Angelica, I am a straight man. I have no idea,¡± I said. She slid them on her feet. ¡°They are comfortable. ¡­So not to sound too demanding but you aren¡¯t going to suggest a frigloo are you?¡± ¡°Would you prefer a slamatorium?¡± I asked. That didn¡¯t feel like a big step in the correct direction. Angelica stood, ¡°Would you be able to make a tent and a bed.¡± After a minute she added, ¡°and candles.¡± ¡°I think I can do that,¡± I looked into my inventory. I had enough snow lion pelts to fashion them into a tent sack. I could then use the bones to provide a structure. The dungeon rocks could weigh things down. Make it a nice large structure and I could actually make something nice long term. Nothing against the warlord tent, but that wasn¡¯t mine. A few Construction Checks and I had a large frame and huge sack in my inventory. We started walking toward the west. The camp was in a busy state. Goblins were heading every which way doing all sorts of things. Eight of them were lugging a large axel down the tent aisles. Several kids were engaging in a snowball fight that was really just a fist fight. A bunch of goblins were sharpening spears, knives and arrowheads. Then there were the ones clearly making gunpowder. We, much like everyone else, stayed a respectable distance away from them. We reached the edge of camp. ¡°How far do you want to go out into the wilds?¡± I asked. ¡°Far enough to imply we want privacy, but not so far that people won¡¯t come talk to us if something important happens,¡± She answered decisively.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°So fifty feet?¡± I asked. As we walked into the wastes. ¡°Further¡± Angelica said. The back of her hand kept hitting mine. I took her hand in mine, ¡°Lead the way.¡± She led me about a hundred and fifty yards out, ¡°Here¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Alright let''s see if this works,¡± I pulled the huge bag made of snow lion pelts out of my inventory. It appeared with one corner in my hand and thumped onto the ice. Angelica looked at the massive crumpled pile of fur, ¡° Is that the floor?¡± I lifted the front of the tent to reveal the inside. It didn¡¯t look that impressive. ¡°I think this should work.¡± I stuck a hand into the tent and then pulled the structure out of my inventory. Everything more or less snapped into place. The massive empty bag went from shapeless to a two story tall forty foot diameter circular tent with a cone top. It sat there perfectly¡­for like two seconds then the wind started to tilt it. I dove inside and pulled several more of the large dungeon rocks out of my inventory and tossed them into the corners- edges- whatever. Slowly the tilting stopped and the floor slammed back to the ground. ¡°Is it safe to enter?¡± Angelica called. She wasn¡¯t laughing at me, but she did sound like it was a struggle. After a bit she added, ¡°The tent I mean.¡± ¡°I am unsure?¡± I called back. The central pole looked like it was bending. ¡°I¡¯m gonna chance it,¡± Angelica said. ¡°It is really dark in here. Also shouldn¡¯t the fur be on the inside?¡± ¡°I think the fur on the outside makes it more weather proof or something. Maybe last longer,¡± I said, deciding that all the poles seemed to bend a little, which seemed to be normal of the structure. Bones weren¡¯t known for being bendy but these were now a tent frame. ¡°Have you made the candles yet?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°Not yet,¡± I admitted. I was crafting a bed. It took an unreasonable amount of snow lion corpses to make a bed. Eleven was just crazy. ¡°That is probably a good thing. You were going to make them out of lion bodies right?¡± She asked. ¡°The tallow yes,¡± I said pulling the be out of my inventory. Somehow I could make a couch out of like three bodies and two night stands out of just one corpse. ¡°You mind mixing this into the process,¡± she held a small bottle. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. ¡°Lavender perfume,¡± She said, ¡°My fear is that without this the candles are gonna smell like burning cat, and cats don¡¯t smell that great at the best of times.¡± ¡°Say less,¡± I said, bringing up my crafting menu. ¡°Apparently making candles that didn¡¯t smell awful cost more material. That said I had so many corpses¡­ probably shouldn¡¯t brag about that. I am the greatest snow lion killer who ever lived. I invite anyone who disagrees to slaughter as many of them as possible. Prove me wrong¡­ Do it! I hesitated to pull the candles out of my inventory. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea?¡± I asked. Something in my stomach clenched hard. ¡°Candles yeah,¡±Angelica deflected. I sighed. ¡°I just don¡¯t want this to be something that divides us.¡± Angelica studied me for a minute, ¡°I know I just admitted to turning things around on people, but seriously, do you want to do this?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said, ¡°but I am concerned that our relationship could change.¡± ¡°Your feelings are valid, but I am standing in the dark.¡± Angelica said gently, ¡°Could you give me the candles so we can light this place up and then talk through this?¡± We spent the next eight minutes lighting candles. I don¡¯t know if you have ever tried to ignite a bunch of candles but it takes forever. Also candles don¡¯t make like a huge amount of light individually. So you need a bunch of them. Don¡¯t get me wrong, it made the place have a warm glow. I could feel the temp in the room -tent- increasing as we worked. I had to admit the low light was romantic. Angelica plopped down on the couch, ¡°Okay let¡¯s talk through this a second here.¡± She patted the couch next to her. I sat down, ¡°I just worry that us taking our relationship to a sexual place may change the dynamic. I have seen it change things with other people, and it can end friendships. I just don¡¯t want that to happen between the three of us.¡± I could see them having a quick conversation. Eventually Angelica spoke, ¡°Celeste says, ¡®We can¡¯t promise that thing won¡¯t change. Relationships change every day. That is normal. But, we promise to communicate and be respectful,¡¯¡± She paused to listen to Celeste. ¡°We are willing to do what you need to feel comfortable.¡± ¡°Why isn¡¯t Celeste saying this?¡± I asked, not quite thinking. ¡°It is 9:30 and Celeste is hoping to bank her time for other activities,¡± Angelica explained. I nodded, ¡°Thank you both,¡± I should have just shut the hell up there but I kept talking, ¡°I just get frustrated when people treat sex like an end-all-be-all of a relationship. They are just like I have touched you with my penis now it¡¯s real.¡± I don¡¯t disagree with the statement, but this is what Pappy Cohen would almost certainly describe as getting in my own way. My complaint was against Adora and the Narrators but it sounded a bit like a shot at Angelica and Celeste. Luckily Angelica and Celeste decided to smooth over my foibles, ¡°Celeste asked, ¡®Do you know why some people treat sex like an end?¡¯¡± ''No why?¡¯ I asked. I realized this was a set up as soon as I stopped speaking. Angelica grinned, ¡°Because ideally it is done to completion.¡± I didn¡¯t quite laugh but I did grin, ¡°That¡¯s pretty funny.¡± Angelica patted my shoulder, ¡°Also I promise not to make things weird after I stick my dick in you.¡± We both burst out laughing. After we quit giggling the mood shifted. Angelica was waiting for me to make a move. ¡°Before we go any further, I think we should discuss green and red flags,¡± I said, calmly. ¡°What now?¡± Angelica asked. She had been leaning close but she snapped back. ¡°Do¡¯s and don''ts with regard to sex,¡± I explained. ¡°Doug, It¡¯s sex. No means yes. Yes means harder. Pangolin means stop.¡± she counted each point off on her fingers. ¡°Pangolin?¡± I asked. That is a choice for a safe word. Sure as hell doesn¡¯t pop up in my everyday speech Angelica shrugged, ¡°Celeste does not like them but she also will not elaborate.¡± ¡°Did it hit her with its skunk spray?¡± I asked. ¡°Seriously, what the hell is a Pangolin?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°It¡¯s like a scaly anteater,¡± I said quickly, ¡°Getting back to my point. What you outlined is a valid way to fuck, but that absolutely leans into stating green and red flags.¡± ¡°I mean we can,¡± Angelica sighed, ¡°It¡¯s not the most romantic or exciting thing to do.¡± ¡°Informed consent is romantic. Permission is exciting,¡± I retorted. Angelica considered, and kept considering. There may have been some speculation and imagination occurring, ¡°Okay¡± she agreed. Then immediately added, ¡°You go first.¡± I told her my list. Angelica blinked, ¡°Huh. I am not going to lie¡­ I thought you were more¡­ vanilla.¡± I shrugged, ¡°Whatever you are comfortable with.¡± ¡°Everything but that lost one,¡± Angelica said. ¡°And your green and red flags?¡± I asked. Angelica gave me a list. One of her green flags was one of my red flags. ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± I said after some quick thought. ¡°But you said it was a red flag,¡± Angelica objected. ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy that but if it is something you want-¡± I explained Angelica cut me off, ¡°Okay fine I put it on the list to shock you. After your list I felt¡­ basic. Please do not do that to me.¡± Thank God! I kept my expression nonjudgmental and asked.¡°Okay, what about Celeste?¡± ¡°I have no idea,¡± Angelica admitted. I saw her face slide into that neutral expression looking up and to the right. Then Angelica''s eyes went wide. She wasn¡¯t exactly horror struck but that was the look someone gets when they can¡¯t unhear something. ¡°Again what you are comfortable with is what we will do. No pressure,¡± I reassured. ¡°It¡¯s just,¡± Angelica started. She looked at me. ¡°One second.¡± she turned away, ¡°Really?¡± The conversation between them went on for more than a second. We got things figured out eventually. ¡­what? Oh yeah. The sex. I mean you have either seen it or you haven¡¯t. No judgement either way. That said it is a lot like most things in life, kinda weird and off putting if you are not directly involved. I am not going to go into graphic details. Honestly that seems counterproductive. I will point out a couple of things though. Yes, having the strength and endurance to do whatever we wanted without getting tired was great. Ten out of ten, no notes. Things smoothly progressed to us enjoying each other. Then at around 11:40 Celeste stepped in. It isn¡¯t the best look to compare partners. The thing is Angelica and I were addressing physical wants, probably physical needs too. Celeste and I established something emotional as well. There was a passion to things that elevated the experience and for a brief and profound moment we were really connected. This was followed by a truly upsetting moment when a snow lion attacked me from behind. That was followed by a moment so violent I can only describe it as a spiritual experience. I crushed it with a nightstand. Again if you weren¡¯t participating words aren¡¯t going to fully describe the event. What followed next was a moment no one is proud of¡­ ¡°Are you still good?¡± Celeste asked. The claw marks on my back had stopped bleeding. I looked up from the snow lion/furniture amalgam. It was beginning to burn. I pulled it into my inventory, ¡°,Yeah.¡± ¡°I only got twelve minutes left with you,¡± Celeste prompted. She didn¡¯t have to tell me twice. Chapter 102: Punching Adora The next morning Angelica and I were in bed. In our sleep Angelica had maneuvered herself to be the little spoon. We were both pretending to still be asleep. This seemed to be happening for a few reasons. The first was neither of us wanted to wake the other. It perpetuated past that because both of us were taking the opportunity to cuddle. Barring hot summer nights it really is one of the best little pleasures to rest in the comfort of another. The last reason was it was fucking freezing outside the bed¡¯s warmth. The candles had burnt down a while ago, and the tent wasn¡¯t heated any other way. I was pretty sure it was close to five in the morning. The sun would be coming up soon. Then we would be heading out to the tower. I hadn¡¯t panicked yet, but the reality of sending thousands of people to go fight and die was settling on me like a massive weight. It wasn¡¯t crushing yet but that was mostly due to me not fully comprehending it. I just needed to focus on the immediate needs, while simultaneously planing for the future in a way that didn¡¯t fuck things up for everyone. It is simple really. ¡°You¡¯re tensing up,¡± Angelica said, not moving. ¡°I¡¯m just preparing for the day ahead,¡± I admitted, ¡°I think it is going to be hard.¡± ¡°Can I help?¡± She asked, not moving from under the blankets. ¡°I don¡¯t know, what are your logistic skills like?¡± I asked. Angelica laughed, ¡°Awful, I was a mid level grunt in the command structure back in my adventurer days.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you an adventurer now?¡± I asked. ¡°Adventurer is a gig in the Fantasy Coast. It is regulated by requiring people to be in a guild. They are basically mercenary companies that hunt mobs and clear dungeons. I am not actually filling a contract right now. Technically I am still a guild member in good standing.¡± Angelica explained. ¡°That makes sense,¡± I said, I prepared to get up. ¡°Really?¡± Angelica asked. She shifted to keep the blanket. ¡°Where there is a need an industry will arise,¡± I said, still not getting out of bed. ¡°It¡¯s not complicated like the mechanics of food.¡± Angelica shook her head, not quite laughing, ¡°Anything else bugging you?¡± I had to ask,¡°Okay there is one thing. The stinger in the movie. How are they talking to Revan? Wasn¡¯t he old Republic.¡± Angelice struck like lightning. She rolled like a crocodile and gave me a similar grin, ¡°Now how would you know something specific to the fandom like that?¡± I frowned. Angelica poked my chest finger her finger as she continued to verbally prod, ¡°Hmmm? Hmmmmmmm? Hmmmmmmmmm?¡± I sighed, ¡°I -the titan- watched basically all of the Star Wars content. Mark and Kate were obsessed with Star Wars. Everything I know about Star Wars is against my will.¡± ¡°And yet you ask questions,¡± Angelica countered. Yeah she could have just as easly ended that with checkmate. I considered my answer. Being out maneuvered this early didn¡¯t bode well for the rest of the day. Angelica just smiled at me. She didn¡¯t say it but it had the energy of someone chanting ¡®One of us! One of us!¡± I really did need to get my game face on. Sure this was fairly low stakes. Oh, now Angelica had another in to tease me¡­ that was just awful, but I was certain that before today was done I was going to fight with one god or another. I needed to be on my toes. ¡°I like Star Trek.¡± Celeste¡¯s Eye flashed , ¡°It¡¯s okay to like both.¡± She said it gently, kindly even. That said I could see the amused glint in her eyes and the grin barely containing a laugh. ¡°Alright you win,¡± I said, giving up this debate, ¡°The movie was cool. Besides I can¡¯t win angst both of you teasing me,¡± Celeste kissed me. A quick peck on the lips. It was a light touch but my heart skipped a beat. After that Angelica gazed back at me with her pretty dark brown eyes, ¡°Teasing is a strong word. I am just having some fun.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said, preparing to actually get up this time, ¡°Good, cause I''m not gonna stop.¡± Angelica said, stealing the blanket. ¡°Are you not getting up yet?¡± I asked. ¡°If I can get away with it, I would like to get a bit more sleep. You know, wait till sunrise.¡± She said, rolling herself up in the blanket. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do,¡± I told her, equipping my gear. I picked up the Carnyx of Gabriel. The thing seemed immovable for a brief instant before snapping into my hand light as a feather. The message carved into the ice flashed in my mind. ¡®Don¡¯t Kill the Demon of Frost¡¯. The people he held were being tortured. That had to stop. I could still hear Richard''s last words ¡°I am trying to save the world.¡± Angelica meant to kill Richard¡­ I stepped out into the cold and closed the tent behind me. The chill bit deep. The camp had changed. Two thirds of the tents had already been taken down. Teams of goblins were rolling them back up and stuffing them in bags. Other groups were following and loading everything into one of the trucks. Against the predawn light I could still see the contraption that was the Stew Shower. ¡°We ride at dawn I guess,¡± I muttered. Heading back toward the camp. ¡°You took someone for a ride last night,¡± Adora said, appearing from nowhere. The fact that she moved like a Narrator really did piss me off. I paused. I guess we are doing this right now. I decided to keep walking. Adora fell into step with me. Today she was rocking meticulously braided brown hair with flashes of red highlights. Her makeup was darker than normal, almost understated. She was wearing a fashionable grey coat that still opened enough to reveal a golden necklace covered in gems. Her hands were wrapped in tasteful gloves. Her legs were clad in black slacks and her feet were in ¡®practical¡¯ shoes that only had two inch heels. She was here on business. She walked across the snow without issue. She did leave footprints but she didn''t sink past the surface. ¡°You know that means I owe you a reward,¡± She weedled. ¡°I am good, thank you,¡± I said, politely. I was just not going to engage. ¡°Talk to me, Sweet Moose,¡± Adora prodded. Literally she poked me hard enough to break my stride. ¡°If you want to pay me back you can apologize,¡± I said, still walking.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°To you?¡± Adora asked, she didn¡¯t understand. ¡°To Angelica and Celeste,¡± I said. I wasn¡¯t a fan of how she was treating me either, but I could take it. Things hit different when it happens to people you care about. ¡°Ew, no. Besides gods don¡¯t apologize,¡± Adora said, shaking her head. I rolled my eyes and started walking faster. ¡°What has you all huffy. I mean all the fun you had last night is because of me,¡± Adora demanded. She did not like my lack of deference. I stopped in my tracks. I had to confront her. ¡°No, what happened last night happened in spite of your interference,¡± I explained. ¡°Oh please,¡± Adora scoffed, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t pushed you, none of you would have done anything. All of you are wound too tight. Has she even told you anything about her past like-¡± ¡°I am not interested in whatever drama you are trying to stir to cheapen what Angelica, Celeste and I have,¡± I shut that shit down. Adora gazed at me in disdain, ¡°Are you going to pretend you are above it all? Like you are the only one who knows love. Was that some great act of romance when you had her-¡± ¡°Seriously, were you just watching us the whole time last night?¡± I spoke over her. ¡°That¡¯s kinda sad.¡± ¡°What I do isn¡¯t your concern,¡± Adora said, her tone dangerous. ¡°And that wasn¡¯t a no,¡± I pointed out. I considered it for a beat then added, ¡°Pervert.¡± Adora rocked back like I had slapped her. ¡°You know, you are talking a lot of shit for someone that is only at level ten,¡± Adora said. ¡°And you rely on the fact most people are too afraid to criticize your fucked up abuse to pretend you are a good person,¡± I pointed out. ¡°If I am so bad then why do I have more followers than any other god?¡± Adora argued. Her body language shifted slightly. She was squaring up for a fight. ¡°Because you have high Face Attribute and branding,¡± I pointed out, ¡°By your argument Nadia is righteous because they can kill anyone who says their bad.¡± ¡°If you think I am going to take this disrespect from you, you are truly mistaken,¡± She warned me. I could sense the power radiating off of her. She was stronger than I was. I was certain a tremendous amount of her attributes were put into Face, but it would be optimistic to say the least to think she didn''t have higher physical attributes than me. ¡°Expecting basic accountability is not disrespect. It¡¯s not my fault you can¡¯t distinguish between other¡¯s inability to stop you with consent,¡± I braced for impact. It came faster than I expected.
Attack from Adora Successful. You take 16 points of damage You have been knocked back 30 yards Mental Resistance blocks the effect of Soft Touch Titanic Regeneration plus 46 hit points HP: 600/600
The back of Adora¡¯s hand collided with my face. This was very much a contemptuous backhand rather than a legitimate attempt to hurt me. It did hurt a lot, but I regened through it immediately. The knock back was a bit of an issue as well. There was some crazy acceleration but a successful acrobatics check and I was sticking the landing just fine. Although I did slide the rest of the distance. The really odd bit was while the pain flashed through me, and my teeth reset themselves as I healed. An idea popped up in my mind. It was an odd one too. It was ¡®I really should be more respectful to Goddess Adora. She has been so kind to me. Really I owe her-¡¯ thankfully around the time I was flying through the air. Mental resistance fell upon that idea and crushed the life out of it. Think and Elephant Seal body slamming¡­ well basically anything. ¡°Violence huh? How kind and loving,¡± I said. This was a bit of a calculated risk. Adora¡¯s first hit was clearly not her best shot, but I am guessing she didn¡¯t rely on her physical damage. I strongly suspected she leaned hard on Face. Adora eyed me annoyed. She hadn¡¯t expected me to keep my feet. She let out a put upon sigh. She then blurred across the distance. Alright we had speed comparable to Celeste, possibly faster. I manifested a layer of Ablative Shell, a split second before she hit me with a wicked jab to the solar plexus.
Attack from Adora Successful. You take no damage, blocked by Ablative Shell. You have been knocked back 30 yards Mental Resistance blocks the effect of Soft Touch HP: 600/600
No tumbling this time for me. I still was knocked back but being ready for it really changed the feel of things. Mental Resistance went straight for the throat of the mind effect and bit down till it got to the gooey center. The shell was cracked pretty good, but such is life. It had held so it had at least one good hit left in it. Cool. Maximum survivability for the win! ¡°Are you done with your tantrum?¡± Adora didn¡¯t take the bait. That said as she talked she removed gloves, a ring and her earrings, ¡°You are the one trying to escalate. Let¡¯s get things back on track, the reward, what are your thoughts on proper charm?¡± ¡°Adora, these sick games you play are disgusting. Stop meddling in my life,¡± I told her. An ugly glint flashed in her eyes, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± When I didn¡¯t take her bait she continued, ¡°You deserve something bigger than an epic scale blessing. Besides, once I turn it on you¡¯ll be powering it anyways.¡± I could see the idea pop into her head, ¡°I know just the thing Great and Terrible. It fits since you''re not in Kansas anymore Dorothy.¡± Oh wow another catty attempt at emasculation, what a shock, ¡°You can call me Dorothy. I relate to her. She killed witches.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get to call me names,¡± Adora said flatly. I shrugged, ¡°If the house fits. Don¡¯t want to be called mean names, maybe try to stop being a bitch or get in good with the Lollipop Guild.¡± Yep. she was gonna hit me hard this time. Hurray. I wanted this. This may not have actually been the smartest decision. That was a lot of fire. I am so glad an indeterminate amount of frozen wasteland was behind me. I tried to dodge. Nope Since her fist was past my defenses meant Block was out of the picture too. Let¡¯s hope this works.
Attack from Adora Successful. Deflection Check¡­ Successful. You take no damage. Mental Resistance blocks the effect of Soft Touch Counter-Attack failed.
Her fiery punch of doom bounced off of my chest and up over my shoulder. As the column of fire launched past me and devastated a snow drift, and all the ground underneath it behind me. I tried so very hard to counter with a good ole haymaker. Adora dodged it with just a quick juke to the right. She did not neglect Mobility.
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I selected one and hit yes. I willed a craft check to wrap around Adora¡¯s feet. Probably wasn¡¯t going to hold her but it might slow her down enough Adora started moving through my time stop, ¡°You get this isn¡¯t going to work on-¡±
Attack Successful. Adora takes 3 damage
I got her with a right hook. The impact did knock the smug look off her face, but didn¡¯t really do fuck all beyond that. Adora was divine scale and high level. Digging in to context clues I was certain she was about level 50, probably above level 75 what with her talk about apotheosis being a lie for gods. Assuming she was level 75 and got 40 HP a level that meant that his had done 0.1% of her total HP. She stepped back. Then flitted out of my reach. She gazed shocked for a moment. I have no idea how long it had been since she took damage. She touched the side of her face. ¡°That didn¡¯t take long. Another Titan Spawn brutalizing a woman.¡± ¡°Gods don¡¯t apologize and they don¡¯t get to play the victim¡± I wasn¡¯t having this bullshit. ¡°Get your hooks out of Angelica and Celeste, and actually take care of your follower Aiko before you even try that shit.¡± ¡°You hit me,¡± She spat back. She had tears in her eyes. I don¡¯t think they were crocodile tears either. HP loss hurt bad. I wasn¡¯t sympathetic. ¡°You are more exhausting than talking to a toddler. Yeah I hit you after you hit me three times. You started a fight. This is a fight.¡± I dropped the teaching voice, ¡°I have given you so many chances. If you fuck with me and mine again, I will fight you every time, and at some point our roles will reverse.¡± I could tell she really didn¡¯t want a fight. Not through any que or tell, but she waited too long to make a move. Power radiated off of her, ¡°If you want to fight, I am not afraid-¡±
The eyes of the Titan are upon you
¡°You forgot about the big guy didn¡¯t you?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t exactly banking on his help, but I was gonna capitalize on it. Adora didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Just get -and then stay- the hell out of my way,¡± I told her. Mostly because I sincerely doubted I could stop her if she got the bright idea to hurt the goblins or anyone else really. Adora vanished into the wind. Chapter 103: That’s How They Get You Angelica surveyed the crater the no longer molten glass was beginning to crack. Something about thermal properties. It wasn¡¯t helped that some of the goblins kids were throwing things at the until very recently glowing thing. Most of it was snow. The balls of ice would bounce off the surface then dance around the surface on a cloud of steam. The layers of glass would occasionally explode in shards of stone. Honestly this wasn¡¯t a rocket surgery smart move, but the kids weren¡¯t unobserved by the not kids. Spine, Jen, Crafty, and assumedly Stabby Screwdriver, and Ben Franklin along with half a dozen more goblins around the same age, were ¡®supervising¡¯. Pappy Havok and Nanny Shiv were also actually making sure no one died. You may ask how I knew which one was Ben Franklin? It wasn¡¯t from reading the names. Instead I made what could be a hurtful assumption that one flying a kite was Ben Franklin. ¡°So you and Adora had a disagreement?¡± She asked. The fight hadn¡¯t woken anyone, but the massive cloud of steam and a small geyser of boiling water that flash froze before hitting the ground. That was pretty cool and very loud. ¡°I think it was boardline an argument. You didn¡¯t hear any of it?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Angelica said. She then lifted a ball of snow roughly five feet in diameter and to the delight of the children lobbed it into the smoldering crater. It steamed and bubbled but did not dance. It basically just sizzled. ¡°I didn¡¯t even hear the explosion. I was poked awake up by the Blessing.¡± I had been ignoring my prompts. I wasn¡¯t afraid. I was concerned that reading them would cause something bad to happen. That¡¯s not fear. That¡¯s anxiety. Totally different. Fear has an external source. This was all from the inside. ¡°It got heated,¡± I explained. I dug into the prompts.
New Achievement! Used Goods You have had sex! Now who will marry you? High five either way. First Time Was a Three Way No one will Believe you. Nice! Heroic Encounter You managed to pull someone of Heroic Scale. Not sure how you managed that. Either way I am sure it was quite the adventure. Just stay away from bridges, malls, and refrigerators, everything should be fine Touch of the Divine One of your partners was of Divine Scale. I am pretty sure that was not what touched by an angel is supposed to mean. This may seem like a great achievement but you should know certain gods kinda try for the record. The number may surprise you. It is the second comma that worries most folks. Anyway you may want to get yourself checked. #Blessed You have received a blessing from the goddess of love for ¡®services¡¯ rendered. You now have the Desirable Trait. Reward: XP withheld. Contact Narrator for support. You are no longer an awkward virgin.* *You are probably still awkward. Blessing: Desirable Something about you just sorta works. Increase Face attribute by 2.
I frowned. The prompts were being crass again. What a shock. Honestly the only thing that really concerned me was the Desirable Trait. That put me at 30 Face attribute. I was concerned that was going to affect how people treated me. It wasn¡¯t too surprising that Adora worked in a parting shot. That was probably better than what ever the fuck Great and Terrible was. ¡°Did You get a blessing?¡± I asked. ¡°Two actually,¡± She said, accepting a rock from one of the goblins. She then hucked it hard at the molten glass. It struck and cracked the top layer of the glass. This caused a massive fissure to split the plate. It made a hell of a noise. Considering the mixed nature of our company I was a bit circumspect with my words, ¡°Are those alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just send you the prompts,¡± Angelica said.
New Achievement! Titanic Spawning You managed to make it with a Titan Spawn. A bold move. Some people have been crushed that way. Also I hope you used protection. Titan Spawn are notoriously fertile people. Look at the Fantasy Coast. Tag Team I mean that is one way to work together. We¡¯ll call it team building. It certainly was exercise. Tag Out I am not going to lie. I never thought you would do that. You do have a tendency toward Main Character behavior. Good for you¡­ cuck. Tag In No more hotel corner chair for you tonight. Take it all in. You are in the driver seat this time. You answer to no one now¡­ except that person railing you. #Blessed x2 You have received a blessing from the goddess of love for ¡®services¡¯ rendered. You now have the Desirable Trait. Reward: 75,000 XP x2 Blessing: Desirable Something about you just sorta works. Increase Face attribute by 2.
¡°So you get obnoxious prompts too?¡± I asked. Watching Pappy Havok frying an egg on the glass. ¡°No, most of them are kinda dry and to the point and in Spanish,¡± She said with a shrug. ¡°Doesn¡¯t really matter, I leveled.¡± ¡°Level!¡± One of the goblins cheered and then everyone else echoed, ¡°Level!¡± Angelica could see the question in my eyes, ¡°Progress is celebrated. Specifics are private.¡± That made sense. No one gets too bothered when you say, ¡®happy birthday¡¯, but asking, ¡®how old are you?¡¯ is more of a hot button thing. ¡°So you got the same thing twice?¡± I asked.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Yep,¡± Angelica said with a shrug. Brand and Aiko showed up as Spine made his way through the crowd. Brand was the first to talk, ¡°Doug, Why have you been marked as a threat to all followers of Adora?¡± When I stood there looking confused Aiko added, ¡°The Goddess Adora sent out a warning that you were unstable and violent. She warned us that you may kill us at any moment. We are to spread the word to all corners of the earth.¡± ¡°The earth is a globe it doesn¡¯t have corners, and you¡¯re telling me this first?¡± I was curious why Aiko was telling me. Aiko shrugged, not interested in a geographic debate, ¡°Brand, recommended I simply be forthright with you. Also given you are currently my patron and protector I believe it is best to ask you directly, do you plan to murder me?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said calmly. If you insist you aren¡¯t going to kill someone with the wrong tone of voice and it sends the wrong message. ¡°So¡­ you plan to sacrifice me to Grond?¡± She asked. She was very calm, I mean considering the consequences for her. ¡°No,¡± I said again. ¡°I am confused. Why is Goddess Adora saying negative things about you?¡± Aiko asked. ¡°I might have made her angry,¡± I admitted. ¡°How?¡± Aiko asked. She stared at me confused on a fundamental level, ¡°The Goddess Adora is one of the kindest and most loving beings to ever grace the face of this earth.¡± We were all quiet for a moment. Brand was very quiet. I wanted to move on, ¡°Maybe it is part of a greater plan.¡± Aiko considered this idea but still seemed troubled. Brand was annoyed by my statement. I could tell. The look of perfect disdain was a clue. ¡°Speaking of greater plans, have you talked with Dad and Toad?¡± Spine asked. ¡°No, I have been messing around with a hole in the ground,¡± I admitted. ¡°That¡¯s valid, but I think we have exhausted all entertainment with,¡± Spine hooked his thumb over his shoulder. We all looked and at this point the goblin kids had piled enough snow onto the warm rock in the crater that it was accumulating. Yeah this wasn¡¯t as fun as it once was. Nanny Shank was putting the teens back to work. If we stuck too long she would no doubt get us too. ¡°Let¡¯s all go to the warlord tent,¡± I said, walking away quickly. Nanny Shiv was trying to make eye contact. We fast-walked out of there. The camp was basically gone. It was replaced by rows of vehicles. Most were either large tractor trailers or huge buses. There were also some more adroit vehicles and more than a handful of what looked like military vehicles. A lot of guns on the fighty trucks. When we reached the Warlord tent I held the flap as people entered. Adora could say I was a maniac, but she couldn¡¯t say I lacked basic manners. ¡°I mean the goddess can be capricious, but this stretches credulity,¡± Aiko said, still troubled by this turn of events. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to tell you,¡± Spine said. ¡°Goblins don¡¯t follow any Patrons.¡± ¡°Goddess Adora is a fount of love and joy,¡± Aiko explained. ¡°Following her has been a life defining experience for me. I am certain Brand can say the same.¡± Everyone looked at Brand. He nodded, ¡°Her involvement in my life has been noticeable. Seldom a day passes without me feeling her hand in my life.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Aiko said, not quite picking up on Brand¡¯s social maneuvering. Spine was not convinced, ¡°My folks told me that in situations like these I should nod politely and then say,¡± he pretended to pull a note out of his pocket, ¡°We are very happy with our religion.¡± He then put the imaginary note back in his pocket. Aiko laughed. Spine frowned, ¡°You aren¡¯t laughing at goblins having religion are you?¡± ¡°No,¡± Aiko said, clearly hurt. ¡°I thought your joke was funny. You told it well.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ sorry?¡± Spine wasn¡¯t prepared for someone to take the high road. Then again until I strolled into his life every other non-goblin to walk through his life¡­ frankly I am impressed he apologized. Aiko waved his concerns away, ¡°Misunderstandings are common. We can move past them and possibly become friends.¡± Philip and Toad arrived seeing Spine and Aiko talking; they simply sat down and let the conversation continue. ¡°What¡¯s your stake in this?¡± Spine asked. He was studying her closely. Aiko didn¡¯t have to think to answer, ¡°For the entirety of my life goblins were thought to be mobs. I see this as an opportunity to break a cycle of violence.¡± Nanny Shank entered the tent, ¡°What¡¯s happening now?¡± ¡°My son and the follower are discussing fantasy race relations,¡± Philip said. The old goblin sat next to me and took a swig of her cough medicine. She then whispered to me ¡°Who¡¯s winning?¡± ¡°So far it seems to be a productive conversation,¡± I said back. Nanny Shank looked less interested. ¡°Why do you want to do that and what can you do?¡± Spine asked honestly curious. ¡°Because I do not want meaningless death to occur. Do you want our people to continue fighting?¡± Aiko asked. ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Spine admitted. ¡°As a High Priestess of Adora I do hold some influence outside of the Goblin Wastes. With the goddess¡¯s blessing of course I can commune with other members of the faith and deliver your message to the world at large.¡± Aiko explained. She looked to me, ¡°Should I survive to do so.¡± ¡°That is cool,¡± Spine said. ¡°I really can¡¯t promise much in return. Our local group isn¡¯t interested in more fighting with Others provided they don¡¯t attack us, but I know other goblins are under direct attack right now.¡± Nanny Shank and Philip nodded along with Spine. ¡°Understandable,¡± Admitted. She sighed, ¡°This is not a pitch, but one of the fastest ways to integrate other goblins is for them to follow a god. Deities are quick to defend their followers especially from their other followers.¡± And that is the trick. Well technically the extortion racket. ¡°Let me guess you know a god?¡± Nanny Shank spoke up. ¡°Honestly, Goddess Lola and God Sims would be better for your people,¡± Aiko explained, ¡°Goddess Adora is beneficial to have the favor of, but given your more direct and martial needs and your reluctance for the idea, I think it would be best to delay any such conversations.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just put this conversation on pause until after the tower,¡± I said. Helen and Grimset showed at and we talked logistics. It turns out you can do that for a very long time. I can joke about the eternity talking about seating arrangements, but this needed to be hashed out. We didn¡¯t want our leadership to all be in one vehicle. In the end Spine was paired up with Nanny Shank. He wasn¡¯t happy about it because he was stuck on a personnel carrier not a APC. then Philip, Grimset and Helen were placed around the convey. Toad was going to ride with Brunhilda, Angelica, Sunit, Brand, Aiko and me. We were going to be in a fringe vehicle that could move to any location in the convoy as needed. ¡°We Shall has out the last of the battle plans as we travel,¡± Toad declared. He pointed to the sky as he did it. That was a bit much. ¡°We should get going. We should have left long ago,¡± Grimset insisted. ¡°I got distracted,¡± I admitted ¡°Doing what?¡± Helen asked. ¡°Playing with a hole in the ground,¡± I admitted. There were way to many witnesses. ¡°That¡¯s understandable,¡± Grimset admitted. He didn¡¯t want to but this seemed like the foot thing. ¡°Was it cool?¡± Nanny Shank asked. ¡°It was actually hot, it was full of molten rock,¡± Spine said helping her up the stairs. ¡°Nice,¡± The older goblin said. ¡°Before we head out I want to do one thing,¡± I said, heading back toward the Mandir. Janie met me by the edge, ¡°No Doug, the rest of the world is that way.¡± she pointed behind me. ¡°Shoo!¡± ¡°Is that artillery piece that blew up important?¡± I asked. Janie frowned, ¡°Yeah. we need to get it fixed.¡± ¡°Let me see if I can fix it,¡± I said, not entering the Mandir area of effect. ¡°This way.¡± Janie said. She turned and gestured for me to follow. The thing wasn¡¯t as bad as I thought. It was one of the long barreled mounted guns. The barrel was split into five arcs that were all rolled back like a cartoon. The mechanism was also slagged. ¡°Go nuts,¡± Janie said. ¡°If I fix this do you promise not to shoot it at us?¡± I asked. ¡°Not today,¡± Janie said. That was a little ominous. I put a hand on the wreck and thought functional gun thoughts. When that didn¡¯t work I imagined the American flag, hamburgers and fireworks.
Craft Check¡­ Successful You have consumed Wrecked M777 and created M777 x2
A second artillery piece crashed down next to first. ¡°Not gonna lie Doug, I doubted you,¡± Janie said. ¡°See I don¡¯t always bring you trouble,¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s an angry god behind you,¡± Janie said stepping back further into the Mandir effect. I turned to find Grond glaring at me. I took two steps to the left and his gaze tracked me. That settles it. He was here for me. I sighed, ¡°Alright let''s punch another god.¡± Chapter 104: You Can’t Threaten Me May as well take the shot here. I walked toward Grond but stopped just inside the effects of the Mandir. ¡°Mornin¡¯ Grond, What are you here to talk about?¡± Grond glared at me. His eyes flicked to the edge of the Mandir¡¯s effects. It was just for an instant. I could see him make the decision that he couldn¡¯t grab me without entering. ¡°What did you do to Adora?¡± I blinked¡­ Seriously? No point lying, ¡°She was interfering in my life, and would stop. After telling her multiple times to leave me alone, Adora escalated our conflict to violence. When she couldn¡¯t beat me and I hurt her, she ran off and it would seem started crying crocodile tears to anyone who would listen.¡± Grond didn¡¯t receive that well. ¡°And you give me shit, hypocrite.¡± No bonding over a shared history of abuse from Adora it would seem. ¡°I thought you and Adora were fighting.¡± ¡°Our relationship is complicated. You wouldn¡¯t understand,¡± Grond said, still studying me. He wanted something from me, and was finding that his started high agro approach wouldn¡¯t work. Just keep talking, ¡°Try me.¡± When he didn¡¯t respond I pressed again, ¡°Adora is from the World that Was, right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Grond admitted, ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you understand her like I do, just because you know that time as well.¡± Ah shit. She had hooks in deep. I felt bad for him. I sure as fuck wasn¡¯t going to drop my guard. It was a long shot but maybe I could resolve this peacefully, ¡°Grond, Adora and I have nothing in common. I don¡¯t want her in my life. Do you even want her in your life?¡± Grond gazed at me for a long time. He pointedly looked at the snowlion cloak I wore, ¡°Stop trying to act like you care. You¡¯re not my friend.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, we¡¯re not friends,¡± I admitted. ¡°We don¡¯t have to be enemies though. Adora arranged for us to fight. I don¡¯t think either of us needs to do what she wants.¡± Grond crossed his arms. He ran a finger along his cloak made of Bigfoot hide. ¡°Prove it then. Give me my claws and my Aspect of the Snow Lion back.¡± ¡°Not until after the tower,¡± I tried to explain. I needed everything I could throw at the place. ¡°More bullshit,¡± Grond snapped. ¡°Look at it from my perspective.¡± I cut in again, ¡°The first thing you did to me was try and kill me and my friends. I am heading to fight demons, and you''re still threatening me. If our roles were reversed would you give me the weapons?¡± After a moment Grond said, ¡°You were in my dungeon. You were ruining my plans. You threatened my follower¡± after a beat he added, ¡°Rebecca. How could I respond with anything other than aggression?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t in the dungeon by choice.¡± I told him. ¡°Adora showed up to tell me to get Brand out of there alive. Our conflict was manufactured, Grond. Us fighting is dancing to someone else¡¯s tune.¡± Grond started pacing. He didn¡¯t like me. He really didn¡¯t like that I was making sense. ¡°So you don¡¯t want to oppose me?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. That had a lot of qualifiers. ¡°You mean not today,¡± Grond scoffed. I shrugged, ¡°If you try something like building a massive army of genocidal mobs to kill as many people as possible, I¡¯ll work against that. What is the end game with that anyways?¡± ¡°Followers,¡± Grond explained. ¡°They don¡¯t need to revere you. Appeasement is just as good. If my followers are the only ones who get a pass on the horror. They¡¯ll flock to me.¡± ¡°You get that¡¯s fucked right?¡± I asked him. ¡°No worse than the things the other gods have done. You¡¯re pal Lola does the same, but globally. Every little boy and girl sent to war bends the knee to her in the hope she won¡¯t allow them to be butchered like everyone else. Ignore the fact that everyone on the other side worships her as well.¡± I wasn¡¯t impressed with that, ¡°So then everything I did to you is justified and normal?¡± Grond stopped pacing. When he didn¡¯t speak I continued, ¡°People aren¡¯t what you can get from them. Even if others treated you that way.¡± After a long moment Grond asked, ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°To get by you without a pointless fight, and then go knock that demon tower the hell over.¡± I explained. ¡°What do I get?¡± He demanded. ¡°The demons gone,¡± I said, not interested in bargaining further. ¡°Where the fuck is Aiko?¡± Grond all but growled. No more beating around the bush. ¡°Why do you want to talk to her?¡± I asked. I braced for an outburst. To my surprise Grond took a deep breath, ¡°That is none of your business.¡± ¡°Do you want to talk to her? Apologize? Kill her?¡± I pressed. ¡°I am not going to talk to you about this,¡± Grond said bluntly. ¡°Then just listen to this,¡± I said calmly, ¡°I am not going to let you see her unless she asks to see you.¡± ¡°Where is she?¡± Grond demanded. ¡°With Angelica and Brunhilda, go ahead and blunder into that,¡± I told him. ¡°If you hurt her,¡± Grond started. ¡°Why is her face scarred?¡± I spoke over him. I could feel rage bubbling inside me. My thumb touched the nail on my pinky. I -the Titan- spent the majority of his life with facial scars. His biological father would punch him in the face. His left eyebrow was split in multiple places. Same with his upper and lower lip. The repeated impacts tear the skin. Do that enough times the scar tissue stacks up. Then there was that night. The knife clipped his little finger and his face from his nose to his left ear. The bone was cut deep.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He lucked out for two reasons. First was the knife scraped along the cheek bone and missed the eye and most of the muscles. Secondly, the cold froze the injuries shut, but it made the scars obvious beyond repair. It was better than dying. People judge you on how you look. It sucks but they do. The strange thing with scars through is some are okay and others aren¡¯t. The ones the Titan had weren¡¯t acceptable. Almost no imperfection on a face is. His though scared people. They didn¡¯t see the survivor of violence and abuse. They saw the violence. One of the most common mistakes I see is people assuming the world has a sense of justice. Hell the prompts keep saying, ¡®this action will have consequences.¡¯ That implies a cause and effect. That outcomes are limited by personal inputs. That someone with a fucked up face did something to deserve it. The people that scar someone else know this. Grond knew this. I could tell by looking into his eyes. ¡°I reacted badly after she betrayed me,¡± Grond said slowly. ¡°I see,¡± I nodded. ¡°I think you should go then.¡± ¡°I am not going anywhere until I get what¡¯s mine,¡± Grond snarled. ¡°Last chance!¡± ¡°Grond, I am the one giving you the last chance here. You can¡¯t threaten me.¡± I told him calmly, almost like I was trying to teach a child. ¡°Come out of the Mandir and say that you big bitch!¡± he shouted at me. I shrugged. I walked out of the Mandir and right up to Grond. I loomed over him. He was a big man but I was¡­ titanic, ¡°You can¡¯t threaten me.¡± I repeated gently. Grond went very still. I could see the gears turning in his mind. He couldn¡¯t take this kind of disrespect, but now that a fight was possible he wasn¡¯t sure he could win. He was angry but still able to see beyond this moment. He understood that winning a fight with me could still result in him losing something else. My advantage was he didn¡¯t understand I wasn¡¯t like him. He believed I saw things the way he did. ¡°Not you. The little gaggle of freaks from the Technacoast. Without them you lose access to your purview and the god options with it.¡± He was also assuming I knew more than I did. He probably assumed I knew how food works too. Either way I could lean into that, ¡°If we are going to start exchanging hostages, remember who I got.¡± I didn¡¯t not have it in me to hurt Aiko. Bad people love to tell on themselves. Grond was terrified someone could take Aiko from him. I doubted that desire was anything close to loving, probably possessive at best. He tipped his hand and called his bluff. Grond stepped back from me, ¡°If you hurt her-¡± ¡°Stop it,¡± I wasn¡¯t interested in doing that loop again. ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah. You threaten me. It doesn¡¯t work. What are we actually going to do today?¡± ¡°I want to see Aiko, I want my aspect returned, and I want my claws back.¡± Grond insisted. ¡°Only if she wants to see you,¡± I doubted it, ¡°After the demon tower, and only if you let the Chimera Corp run the dungeon fairly. No interference from you. I¡¯ll even tell them to leave your followers alone.¡± I offered. ¡°That¡¯s not good enough,¡± Grond growled. ¡°Listen man, I am trying to talk to you like a person,¡± I told him. ¡°I am a god!¡± Grond roared. Two wicked daggers appeared in his hands. Everything happened so fast after that. I didn¡¯t have time to block. I manifested a layer of Ablative Shell. I also managed to toggle on Tenebrous Form. The first swipe of Grond¡¯s knife phased through my neck. The second scraped along my leg. Ice flew everywhere. I actually failed the deflection check. Something behind us exploded. Grond lept backwards. In a fraction of second he went from being up in my face to windmilling his arms a few hundred feet away. I could only see it in retrospect but a six inch diameter piece of ordnance flew past me, just under my arm. It almost hit Grond right in the face, but some instinct of his had allowed him to avoid it. Then there was a massive bang of it hitting the ground. This was followed by a concussive explosion. Janie hollered over the noise, ¡°If you are gonna start shit, do it outta range of me!¡± I looked back to see her turning wheels having the gun swing in Grond¡¯s general direction. ¡°You have three days to hand her over or I will reign hell on you,¡± Grond snarled and then vanished. ¡°Thanks Janie,¡± I called to her. ¡°But I thought you said you were going to shoot at me.¡± ¡°Two things,¡± Jannie yelled back, ¡°First, I shot at Grond. It is not my fault you put your big ass next to him. And second, I said I wouldn¡¯t shoot that one at you,¡± She pointed to the other gun. ¡°This one is a gray area.¡± I could see my ride rolling toward me as fast as it could, ¡°Well I guess this is goodbye, Jannie.¡± ¡°See you next problem,¡± She called back waving. ¡°For the record I am sorry for causing you trouble,¡± I said, not walking closer. ¡°And?¡± She called back. ¡°Is there something I can do to make things up to you?¡± I asked. ¡°Not unless you get cool with a lot of things real quick,¡± She called back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯m just being sore. I¡¯ll get over it.¡± I had meddled in her love life pretty consistently. Cockblocking is a dick move. ¡°I do give good foot rubs,¡± I said as the truck pulled up to me, engine roaring. ¡°Only foot rubs¡± Technically back and neck too, but boundaries are important. Janie considered that, ¡°See you, when I see you, Doug.¡± She turned and walked away laughing to herself. I climbed into the back of the vehicle. Toad was up front with a driver. Then Brand and Aiko were behind them on a bench facing back. Sunit was sitting on a bench to my left. Angelica and Brunihla on my right. I was too tall to stand and ultimately just sat down on the floor and closed the hatch behind me. ¡°So¡­ what went bang?¡± Toad asked. His voice was conversational but I could tell he was concerned. ¡°Janie has a gun,¡± I said, trying to ease the mood. Goblins like references. I meant to follow up with that she wasn¡¯t shooting at us, but Toad immediately slapped the driver¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Get us out of here! That¡¯s the elf!¡± The driver did not need to be told twice and we immediately sped toward the others. ¡°She fired it at Grond,¡± I continued as the driver eased off the gas. Everyone looked to Aiko. Toad slapped the driver again. ¡°Watch where we are going.¡± ¡°I was afraid of that,¡± Aiko said, watching me like a hawk. ¡°He says I have three days to hand you over,¡± I said. I doubted it would shock her and it didn¡¯t. ¡°That will put us very close to the demons, and the sasquatches¡¯ dungeon. Angelica and I exchange a look. The debate was still on. ¡°So four days to get to the tower?¡± I asked. ¡°Three if we don¡¯t stop,¡± Toad said. ¡°We can drive in shifts.¡± ¡°Four days to the tower then,¡± I said. My mind drifted to Wilson¡¯s words. Three big fights leading up to the clash at the tower. Angelica had survived the first one with the horde of Demons. Grond was shaping up to be the third fight. That left one more. A nasty surprise somewhere along the way. ¡°Are there any other known hazards along the way?¡± ¡°This area is not well mapped,¡± Toad admitted. ¡°We aren¡¯t exactly exploring, but aren¡¯t overloaded with information.¡± ¡°There are three portals near the tower. Two leading to Europe and the third connects to Asia,¡± Brand said. ¡°Any guess what they might have?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°On this side,¡± Brand said, considering, ¡°Likely a small forward observing force. On the other side, multiple hardened defenses and enough soldiers to repel an invasion. One leads to Northern Europe, deep in the territory of the Steam Meister. The other connects to South Eastern Europe, near the Black Sea. The Countess controls it. So honestly all sort of mechanized terrors and vampiric monstrosities. ¡° ¡°And the portal to Asia?¡± I asked. ¡°No idea,¡± Brand admitted. When he saw everyone was confused he continued ¡°The portals predate the tower by more than a century. Europe was a massive trade hub before we started warring over the portals. I know it leads to East Asia, but who or what is on the other side could have changed.¡± ¡°So we are probably going to face check something,¡± I said, not happy with the idea. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous,¡± Toad said, ¡°We won¡¯t be¡­ face checking anything. The scouts will.¡± 105: How to Kill A God In Three Very Difficult Steps Toad¡¯s extremely ominous proclamation about the scouts didn¡¯t actually materialize into any horrifying violent encounters. For the most part the journey was ponderously slow. Any who has driven in a whiteout blizzard knows you don¡¯t make great time doing that. Off roading in those conditions was ponderously slow. Don¡¯t get me wrong, we weren¡¯t standing still. I would say we topped out at maybe fifteen miles per hour, and probably averaged something closer to nine or ten. The scout vehicles would drive ahead and find the best path. Then behind them were ten plow-like vehicles that would literally make the way. They had massive blades on the front that cut down drifts and heavy rollers behind that packed and flattened the ice into a makeshift road behind them. Then a mixture of roughly 1000 bus and cargo trucks filled in the middle of the convoy, with a few hundred more military-like vehicles protecting them. The industry of this was incredible to me. A city had packed up and hit the road. The crazy thing was I had been in worse traffic. ¡°You guys just had this ready?¡± I asked. As our vehicle positioned itself more toward the front of the procession. ¡°No,¡± Toad said , shaking his head. He frowned and continued, ¡°This was all assembled for us to make a collective journey to the Dark.¡± ¡°So, we are diverting the soldier to the tower?¡± I asked. Don¡¯t get me wrong the pressure and quiet terror of leading people into a battle was always there, but the reality of it was becoming more real. Toad watched the vehicle for a long moment, ¡°Yes, everyone not going to the tower will continue one to the entrance to the Dark we found. They have enough fuel to return to the tower when we take it.¡± He wasn¡¯t putting on a show. He truly believed we would win, but he wasn¡¯t above hedging the bet. Then again watch my willingness to gamble evaporate into nothingness when children¡¯s lives are on the line. The next thought hit like an icepick to the back. Isn¡¯t that what I was doing? The answer wasn¡¯t comforting though. No, I was going to spend lives. The truly upsetting bit, to me at least, was this realization wasn¡¯t going to stop me. I felt my thumb touch the nail of my pinky. I am not the Titan. Wallowing in anxiety wasn¡¯t going to help Treat this like everything else. Define a goal, establish a plan and then act. I needed to win a war. In order to do that I needed to get to the tower with the capacity to close the gate. In order to do that I needed to get my army past Grond and one other obstacle minimum. For the unknown threat I was doing basically everything that could be done. I had scouts looking and was with a team of hard cases ready to kill anything that threatened us. That left Grond. I had been letting Aiko¡­ stew with unasked questions. I don¡¯t think it was working, or she had the skills to not let it show. Possibly an inconvenient combination of the two. Probably the inconvenient combination of the two, Adora did play a hand in this. I was going to have to actually engage on this subject, ¡°Aiko, what can you tell us about Grond?¡± ¡°Very little,¡± She said, after a brief pause she added, ¡°I am sorry but most of our interactions were as me being a priestess of Adora.¡± I could tell this was going to be annoying, ¡°Meaning?¡± ¡°That basically everything he told me is under the purview of Sacred Silence. The Priests and Priestesses of Adora often are involved in extremely personal issues, and while shame is just a tool for controlling others, it is not our place to share others'' private concerns,¡± I was almost taken a back until she finished, ¡°With anyone other than Goddess Adora.¡± ¡°You tell Adora everything?¡± I asked. Aiko shook her head, ¡°No, only what she asks about. Goddess Adora is very wise. She helps us on particularly delicate issues. She helps us help others.¡± ¡°And Adora holds to this Sacred Silence as well,¡± I asked. ¡°In all but the most extreme cases, yes,¡± Aiko said. That was a lot of words to say no. Seeing the look on my face Aiko continued, ¡°Those extreme cases tend to be imminent threats to others or catastrophic mismatches of partners. Only Goddess Adora can break our order¡¯s Sacred Silence. She is the only one with the perspective to do so humanely.¡± There it was. Leave it to Adora to turn something that sounded like a good thing and make it into something dark and ugly. No, no, you can trust the followers of Adora. We have rules of confidentiality. It totally isn¡¯t a trick to create a spy or blackmail network for Adora while preying on people in a vulnerable state. Adora is just the worst. ¡°Let¡¯s approach this from a different direction,¡± I said, focusing on the here and now. ¡°Grond is demanding to talk to you. Well actually that I turn you over to him. What happens if I do that?¡± Aiko considered that, ¡°He will¡­ I honestly don¡¯t know. I am very concerned about violence though.¡± She didn¡¯t show it. Her words were careful and measured. Then again maybe this was how she looked scared. Being quiet and helpful can be a survival mechanism. This pronouncement caused most of us to exchange looks. ¡°Didn¡¯t he carve your face like a pumpkin?¡± Brunhilda asked, she was trying to strike a balance between empathy and blunt acknowledgement of the truth. That question was where she landed. ¡°Yes,¡± Aiko admitted. ¡°That entire situation was deeply regrettable.¡± She was quiet for a long time, ¡°I had been working with Grond for over a decade. He felt betrayed because of what was happening in the dungeon. He lashed out at me¡± She sighed, ¡°He meant to hurt me. My concern is he is beginning to spiral.¡± ¡°Beginning?¡± Sunit asked incredulously. ¡°The strain of Godhood is incredible,¡± Aiko said matter of factly, ¡°Many of the newly elevated implode within thirty years of reaching Divine Scale. It is tragic and often lethal to those around them. Grond was particularly unlucky upon ascension. His choices of purviews were very limited.¡± ¡°You mean to say Beasts was the best option?¡± Sunit asked. Aiko considered for a very long time, ¡°The others were, Love, War, and Justice.¡± ¡°Fuck me,¡± Brunhilda muttered. Sunit sucked air through his teeth. ¡°I take it those are all bad choices,¡± I said. ¡°Most gods don¡¯t share purviews,¡± Angelica explained. ¡°Picking one of their purviews is a great way to have them crush you. Anyone that picks the Death purview Debbie nabs immediately.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem very just. How does whoever has the Justice purview square that?¡± I asked. ¡°There is no God of Justice, or Commerce, or Communication, or Order, or Hope.¡± Angelica said counting on her fingers. ¡°Nadia killed the originals and killed anyone that tried picking them up afterwards. It is a standing threat.¡± ¡°Those are very specific targets,¡± I observed. No wonder the world was¡­ well like this. ¡°Let¡¯s not dwell on that,¡± Brunhilda said, ¡°Is she trying to defend Grond?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Aiko replied disappointed. ¡°I merely empathize with him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s trying to kill ya,¡± Brunhilda pointed out. ¡°It is possible to empathize with someone while also being a target of their wrath,¡± Aiko said. ¡°I understand him, which is why I am afraid of him.¡± She almost sounded like an animal handler. Someone that worked around hippos wasn¡¯t going to blame the hippo if they got bit. That said they would absolutely sound the alarm if one was loose. I hated that I understood what she meant. I am not shy about my - the Titan¡¯s- biological parents being awful people. They were angry, unstable and often violent. The hard truth is, and it took me a long time to understand this, they were scared, stressed and fighting poverty. My -the Titan¡¯s- mother was sixteen when he was born. His father was all of nineteen. Old enough to be tried as an adult but not mature enough to rent a car. They weren¡¯t ready to be parents, and the adult¡¯s in their lives brow beat and forced them into it and dysfunctional union. My- the Titan¡¯s- grandfather, Jeb, always referred to their wedding as a shotgun wedding. As a kid I didn¡¯t understand, and as an adult I knew it wasn¡¯t a joke. Even now they haunt parts of my mind. I dread their memory, but I understand the damage they did came from weakness. That¡¯s not an excuse. There is no excuse for abuse. Understanding is however the first step in breaking the cycle. I didn¡¯t hate them¡­ most of the time. This is going to sound bad but it helped that they were dead. There isn¡¯t much point in holding on to anger after they are gone. You just want to get past some people. Be free of them. I was pretty sure Aiko was being optimistic though. No disrespect to her, but abusers are universally known for their skill at manipulation for a reason. Maybe she knew something I didn¡¯t, but Grond didn¡¯t strike me as a kid out of their depth. ¡°So you won¡¯t tell us, his weaknesses,¡± I asked, coming to terms with the reality that I was going to have to deal with Grond¡­ violently. ¡°I can¡¯t, without breaking faith with Goddess Adora,¡± She replied. Sunit and Brunhilda exchanged dubious looks. ¡°Let¡¯s talk through the options here,¡± I said before we got off track, ¡°What are the odds he just wants to talk to you?¡± ¡°Basically zero,¡± Aiko said. ¡°So we can¡¯t talk him down from a fight?¡± I had to ask, just to be sure. ¡°Not without him feeling as if he has won an exchange with you,¡± Aiko admitted. She was tensing. I didn¡¯t like that I was gauging whether or not her body language was an act.¡°How valuable are you to him compared to an Aspect and his claws?¡± Aiko fidgeted, ¡°He will claim he wants me the most, but the claws are his highest priority. I probably do rank higher than the Aspect to him.¡± Everyone considered that for a moment. I don¡¯t think she was acting. Toad broke the silence ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll be the bad person and ask the question. Will he go away if we hand you over?¡± Aiko considered it for a long time. I mean several actual minutes of everyone just staring at her. Finally she spoke, ¡°No. I don¡¯t think he will.¡± ¡°That¡¯s convenient for you,¡± Brunhilda said, crossing her arms. ¡°I believe her,¡± Brand said. He had been watching her this entire time, studying her. ¡°So we fight him,¡± I declared. May as well make it official. I trusted Brand, and if he had contradicted my take on Aiko, things would have been very different. ¡°You¡¯ve talked me into it,¡± Sunit chipped in. His moustache twitch with a smile. ¡°You wanted to fight him before I started talking,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I am not saying I was a hard sell,¡± Sunit admitted. ¡°That leads to the next question. How do we kill a god?¡± I asked. ¡°Doug, haven¡¯t you already done that once,¡± Brand asked. ¡°Yeah with his bare hands, it was extremely violent,¡± Brunhilda added she mimed punching the floor. ¡°Sorta, but I am going to go out on a limb and say, I did it wrong.¡± I argued. ¡°He is still alive, you see.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Brand nodded. ¡°That is a hard to argue result.¡± ¡°So how do we kill a god in a way that sticks?¡± I asked. We all looked at Angelica. She looked back at us. After realizing everyone but the driver was staring at her she said, ¡°Okay I know the answer, but you get why I resent the implication right?¡± ¡°Just exposit, woman,¡± Brunhilda goaded. ¡°You know the answer too!¡± Angelica argued. Brunhilda shrugged, ¡°true, but it is kinda funny to put you on the spot.¡± ¡°I gave you nail polish,¡± Angelica said betrayed. ¡°Thank you,¡± Brunhilda said. ¡°Stop stalling.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Angelica said, not quite pouting. ¡°I love you for your mind,¡± I coaxed. Aw shit I said it. I had meant to say we love you for your mind and phrase like a question. Eh, fuck it. Angelica snorted, ¡°Damn right you do. Okay so every Divine Scale player has an Essence. They basically never manifest that on earth and keep it in some divine plane. The reason for that is if that gets destroyed,¡± she gestured her hands exploding apart, ¡°Poof! They¡¯re dead. So they interact with the world through avatars, basically a remote controlled body that can channel the power of their essence. So if you want to kill a god, you basically have to destroy all of their avatars, then force them to manifest on earth, and then kill them.¡± ¡°Destroy their avatars. Force them to manifest. Kill them.¡± I repeated. ¡°That¡¯s how to kill a god in three very difficult steps,¡± Brunhilda agreed. Sunit frowned, ¡°That seems like a god dying is basically an act of negligence.¡± ¡°More like a deliberate and coordinated effort,¡± Brunhilda corrected. ¡°That or Nadia.¡± ¡°Nadia kills everything,¡± Sunit pointed out. ¡°We¡¯re saying that name a lot,¡± Angelica pointed out. ¡°What is Na-their name like the devil? Speak their name and they will appear?¡± I asked. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly Doug.¡± Brand rebuked gently. ¡°They just annihilate anyone they think is going to cause trouble.¡± ¡°How do they do that?¡± I asked. ¡°The current working theory is they can sense everything on the planet,¡± Sunit said. ¡°Our intelligence is well beyond the planet,¡± Brand said. ¡°They do keep attacking the moon,¡± Angelica added. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look different,¡± I said suddenly, very uncertain of that. ¡°The dark side,¡± Angelica elaborated. We all considered that for a moment. I decided the moon was a night time problem. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to Grond. Do we know how many avatars he has?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t be many,¡± Brunhilda said rubbing her chin, ¡°My father only has three, and he has been a god much longer than Grond.¡± ¡°Are you sure we should be hearing that?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°If you fuck with Mendus, you fuck with the Fantasy Coast,¡± Brunhilda pointed out. ¡°He¡¯s the nice one. No one wants the God of the Sun, or the Goddess of the Moon, or the Storm King to step in on his behalf. Those are just the heavyweights. We also have the God of Wheat, Goddess of Corn, Three Gods of Alcohol, a Goddess of Roads, and let¡¯s not forget all the demigods.¡± ¡°You included?¡± I asked. ¡°I am not a daddy¡¯s girl, but damn right,¡± She said. ¡°Let¡¯s assume two more avatars then, are they the same strength as the first?¡± I asked. ¡°They should be,¡± Brunhilda said. ¡°The avatars default to the Divine player''s god level. I think it works different with angels and demons. I almost looked at Angelica, while I am a dumbass, I am not quite that dumb. ¡° let¡¯s focus on the little g, god, before we talk about demons. Would destroying his avatar be enough to goad him into manifesting his essence?¡± Everyone looked at Aiko. ¡°I would say it is a fifty-fifty chance.¡± Aiko replied. ¡°He doesn¡¯t always think things through if he is angry.¡± ¡°This seems doable, so what am I missing?¡± I asked. ¡°Well his Essence is as strong as a level fifty demigod with all his Divine Scale perks and Traits on top of it,¡± Brunhilda supplied. ¡°Mind that third step,¡± I muttered. Chapter 106: Doom Is Best Left Impending Around noon we had to stop. Frankly I was amazed we made it that long. Anyone who has been part of a road trip knows you are gonna have to stop. Regardless of how well you plan, something was going to bring everything to a halt. That assumes you are dealing with a van full of people. This was six figures worth the people. Logistically speaking we never should have gotten started. We stopped for a full hour. Potty breaks and handing out food takes a minute. Toad had stopped us close to the middle of the line. He had wanted to check up on his kids. His wife eyed me from across the distance. I knew the look. It was that ever more common, ¡®you¡¯re the giant that is going to get my family killed¡¯ look. Three other folks were giving me the same look. Most others were purposefully gazing at anything that wasn¡¯t me. Spine found me pretty quickly. ¡°Can you get me off the bus with Nanny Shank? They got me singing kid songs and changing diapers. All anyone over six is talking about is sleeping arrangements and meal prep.¡± ¡°And they are including you?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, after the break, Nanny wants me to hop onto a skipper and pass messages to the other Nannies and Pappies.¡± Spine complained. ¡°You will be off the kid car,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I¡¯ll be a mailman,¡± He whined, ¡°Do you have any idea how cold and miserable it is to hop from one truck to the other. You get icicles in places.¡± ¡°Spine, you understand Nanny Shank is grooming you right?¡± I asked. ¡°What the fuck? Eugh!¡± Spine started. ¡°For leadership,¡± I explained. Spine blinked at me, ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the Grand Mugwump,¡± I told him. ¡°That is not an answer,¡± Spine accused, pointing at me. ¡°Think about it, what is the most important part of any society?¡± I asked him. ¡°I get you¡¯re trying to lead me to a realization, but we don¡¯t have that kind of time,¡± Spine said. ¡°I got to get back and do headcount in like ten minutes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s people,¡± I told him, ¡°and without the next generation there won¡¯t be anymore people. You are being positioned to lead the young while working with the elders. You are in a very powerful position.¡± ¡°Yeah but she¡¯s just handing down orders. I know folks who could knock this list out in like an hour. Nanny Shank thinks this stuff is going to take until the next stop.¡± Spine looked frustrated. ¡°Did you tell her that?¡± I asked. ¡°Kids aren¡¯t supposed to argue with Nanny or Pappy,¡± Spine said. He kicked a piece of ice. ¡°You¡¯re not a kid. You¡¯re a Grand Mugwomp. Don¡¯t argue. Talk with her. Make your case, but take her answer.¡± I told him. ¡°How is that different than just doing what she tells me,¡± Spine asked. ¡°You are looking at it wrong,¡± I told him. Toad had finished with his family and was coming back. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be right. You want to make things better. Take the opportunity to make a case and trust her to do the right thing. Worst case scenario you spend the day doing the things you were complaining about having to do anyways.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it a shot,¡± he said, turning to leave. We spent the rest of the day looking at the layout of the tower. While it is true that technically there were 360 degrees to approach from, circles and all, in practicality there were four options. There were viable paths on the North, South, Southeast and West. The rest of the area was either too rough or exposed. The tower was surrounded by a massive moat-like chasm, and a sprawling web of fissures were in the ground around it. Unless you could fly you were basically stuck knocking on one of those four doors. The Demons knew that too and set the place up so that those four entries were hardened as hell. ¡°It looks like the main entrance is the south gate,¡± Toad said. ¡°That makes sense. There isn¡¯t much north of this place, at least to my knowledge.¡± ¡°So what are you thinking then?¡± I asked. ¡°I think you should hit them at the south gate,¡± Toad said. Then our breaching force will hit the South East. This will get us the best path to extract everyone we can. ¡°You want me to take a gate myself?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes. stand out in front of it. Make a lot of noise. Break the damned thing and pull the demons toward you. If possible destroy this gun overwatching the southeast gate. That will pull focus and allow us to break the Southeast gate, and help you if need be.¡± Toad looked up from the map at Angelica. ¡°I like the idea. That pulls focus from the Northeast, and I will hit them from there,¡± she said. ¡°I was thinking of the same,¡± Brand agreed. ¡°The Southeast gate will be my target.¡± Sunit said. ¡°I will be part of the second wave, and break the back of any resistance trying to stop you, or head off the counter-attack.¡± We talked through a bunch of other things. The minutiae of troop deployment, and contingencies all sort of scenarios. It was becoming increasingly obvious, to me at least, that I was the Warlord, but I was a figurehead. I didn¡¯t know jack about the day to day anything for soldiers. This wasn¡¯t a major blow to my pride. Frankly it was a relief that Toad could read the room well enough to understand he needed to take charge. The way I saw it, the best way I could contribute to this effort was to become the biggest force multiplier possible. Trouble is I wasn¡¯t sure the best way to do that either. Eventually we stopped for the day. The evening turned from twilight to dark in the space of twenty minutes. There were clouds to the north but currently the sky was clear. Stars blinked into existence as everything outside the bustle of the goblin convoy grew still.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I¡¯m concerned something is going to happen tonight,¡± I said. Internally I flinched. I didn¡¯t want to hand Wilson any greater leverage but this needed to be said. ¡°Same,¡± Angelica agreed. Everyone else agreed that risk was high. ¡°How about this,¡± Angelica offered, ¡°I will take up a spot at the front, Doug can take a spot at the back. Brunhilda can take one edge, and Sunit, Brand and Aiko take the other side. That plus the regular guard should at least give everyone else a warning when something happens.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Brunhilda agreed. Sunit and Brand didn¡¯t see any problem either. Aiko clearly had concerns, but didn¡¯t voice them. That left Toad and me at the ass end of the convoy. Which was also down wind of everyone. The air was thick with the scent of diesel. Funny how she volunteered me to be here, while she was in the crisp unscented part of the world. Toad may not have been laughing but I was a little tickled. May as well get some business done. I sent Toad the prompt for Warband perks, ¡°Which one do you recommend?¡± To my surprise he had to consider that for a long time. ¡°The answer is complicated. All For One is honestly better for you. That said One For All will help more of us survive the fight to come,¡± Toad sighed, ¡°Long term it has a broader use and will work as a stronger recruiting tool, but you would be walking away from a significant amount of personal power.¡± I selected One for All. Toad blinked as he checked through his prompts. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Level with me Toad. How is morale?¡± I asked. ¡°Honestly it is getting better, but it is middling at best,¡± Toad admitted. ¡°Because they are afraid of me?¡± I asked, gazing at the stars. ¡°Terrified,¡± Toad said. ¡°Goblins may not have an easy life. Especially not out here in the wastes, but we aren¡¯t under the boot of a Patron. We have watched others be chained and crushed under their control. That is what the so-called gods do.¡± ¡°And I am a Titan Spawn leading you to a gate to hell,¡± I understood the concern. Toad was quiet as he considered his words, ¡°But they are going to follow.¡± We stood there for a while not speaking. Eventually Toad pointed up at the sky. ¡°There¡¯s the north star.¡± His hand traced up, ¡°The little dipper¡± he drew and S through the sky with his finger, ¡°Draco¡± he pointed with his left hand, ¡°Virgo, and below her Leo and next to that Ursa Major.¡± He smiled gazing at the vast mural in the sky. ¡°You really like the stars.¡± I said, to his credit, out here in the dark away from the light of a city the night sky was beautiful, at least until the clouds rolled in. ¡°Of course. Just look at them. They are beauty and grace dancing orderly across the sky. When I was young, my pappy showed me the constellations. As his pappy showed him. They are part of a shared history. He would tell me, ¡®As different as we are, we all live under the same stars.¡¯ It is a small thing, but it is a commonality. I have studied constellations my entire life. Ask me about any of them?¡± ¡°Have you ever heard of the Southern Cross?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Toad admitted immediately. ¡°You have to be near the equator or the Southern Hemisphere to see them.¡± I kind of felt like a dick. I didn¡¯t want to pull some gotcha bullshit on him, but I didn¡¯t know very many constellations. Toad just gazed at me in wonder. He almost sounded child-like as he asked, ¡°There are more stars?¡± Before I could respond something flashed. I turned to look at the clouds rolling toward us. The wind was picking up. It almost felt like a thunderstorm was brewing. Just as I decided it was too cold for that to happen. The deep resonate rumble of thunder hit my ears. We both watched the coming storm. The flickering of lighting was getting more common. The following thunder took on an almost drum like beat. The storm wasn¡¯t going to hit us but it was going to run past us. ¡°Is this normal?¡± I asked Toad. ¡°No, I have never seen anything like this.¡± He said watching it suspiciously. Some¡­ thing made a noise. It was a deep and impossibly loud note that overpowered the rumble of thunder. It continued for almost a minute. As it cut out I realized it was a roar. Whatever was out there, it was bellowing at the storm, issuing a challenge. There was a massive impact. The ground shook. This was followed by another roar. Something massive flitted over the pulsing light of the storm''s electric discharge. Another catastrophic impact rattled the earth. I had to fight to keep my feet. Toad was launched into the air. He seized my leg to not fall. The ice around us shifted and folded as it flowed from the incredible force of what just happened. The noise of this movement was unbelievably loud. Imagine the crash of a sledge hammer crushing a rock. Then multiply it by ten thousand and have it repeat that every second for twenty seconds. That was the sound of whatever creature that was out there made as it slid across the ice. It was so loud I couldn¡¯t hear the screaming. We were lucky. The packing of the ice from the convoy had made a hardened plane in the snow. The creature was moving parallel to our path. So when the monster fell like a building, we were on solid ground as everything around us bucked and rose. Wicked, jagged stalactites of ice erupted out of the ground as the drifts flowed. That is when I saw it. The monster had crashed about a half mile from us. It was massive. It shook off the impact with the ground and let loose another defiant roar. It rose to its feet. This took some time. It just kept standing up until its head was three stories high. No, that under-sells this thing. Whatever it was, it was serpentine. The long coiled body was probably close to two hundred feet long. It had two muscular but relatively stubby legs, maybe arms. But then its wings unfurled, and I stopped short of moving. It had a wingspan of over two hundred yards. On the underside of the wings a vast array of glowing channels of power burned with near volcanic heat. The ice around it melted and began to boil. Energy flowed up the winding neck and concentrated into its mouth. A miniscule sun manifests between the tips of its forked tongue. It was a fuckmothering dragon! With another contempt filled roar it unleashed a column of fire. The flame in front of the dragon was white hot and resembled the almost knifelike focus of an acetylene torch, except it was nearly half a mile long. From there it unfurled into a cone of red and orange burning hate. The dragon launched this attack into the sky at the wall of clouds. It slammed into a barrier of pounding rain and then streams of lightning. Now I am no physicist, but I don¡¯t think you can block fire with lightning even if you chuck some water in beforehand. The attacks clashed and for a brief moment roiled off of each other in an awesome geyser of heat, noise and force. As the attacks pushed against each other we were hammered by the wind. Hail and rain pelted us relentlessly . The scent of ozone was overpowering the stink of diesel. The dragon couldn¡¯t maintain the stream of fire. It brought its wings down faster than a hummingbird could and launched itself into the sky. The damn kaiju dodged lightning bolts. Without the heat the rain became snow and steam flash froze into an icy haze around us. ¡°The hell was that?¡± I asked, as a ringing silence followed. Toad tried to answer but the deafening explosion of thunder drowned his words out. Angelica and the others found us and for the next four hours we watched as a literal goddamn apex predator exchanged fire with a storm that had malicious intent. Thankfully both were uninterested in us and both were drifting away from our location. Also the Goblins had refrained from firing on either. Maybe it was good sense or maybe they had been stunned like I had been. Either way we weren¡¯t stuck fighting one or both of these things. ¡°I think that is Verechelen,¡± Brunhilda shouted over the noise. ¡°That or Lindworm!¡± Brand called back. ¡°What¡¯s it fighting?¡± I asked in a pause of the thunder. ¡°Giants, they live in the clouds,¡± Angelica said. ¡°They trade with Zach and he hates dragons so¡­¡± a roar drowned out the last of her words. In another moment of relative silence she added, ¡°This is going to be a very long night!¡± It was too. Oddly enough the quiet after we could no longer see or hear them was way worse than the noise. These things were fast, powerful and had a hell of a reach. Zach claimed to kill these things. I think Cole worked with dragon. The Titan made it sound like they paid Cole. Maybe I should watch my mouth around them more¡­ maybe. Chapter 107: I Have Seen Enough Horror Movies The next morning came and no one was exactly rested. A big part of that was the near miss with a dragon. The other side of this was we had crammed everyone into the vehicles. That was phenomenally cramped. Most people don¡¯t know how rough it is to have no space for yourself. The worst bit is everything gets worse with time. The noise, the smell, and knotted tension all just fester. We were going to drive slower today. Taking more breaks. Hopefully the kids would sleep tonight. We were going to travel less distance anyways. The battle between the dragon and the giant¡¯s cloud city had fucked up our path pretty bad. We tried winding our way through it, but it was too slow. We ended up backtracking three times. So we altered our course and swung wide of it. That meant when we hit our first stop. We had traveled a long way and gotten basically nowhere. I watched goblins milling around. It was still ruthlessly cold but everyone needed to have some space. ¡°What are the odds that the dragon comes back?¡± I asked. ¡°Depends,¡± Angelica said. ¡°It and the giant¡¯s were heading South and East. The dragon isn¡¯t going to want to keep going that way. It doesn¡¯t want to get too close to Zach so it is going to head north at some point. Where it turns is going to affect those odds.¡± ¡°What was it doing out here?¡± I asked her quietly. People were scared and I was doing my best to not look over concerned. ¡°The dragon was probably finding old towns from the world that was. A lot of them got buried in the ice after being abandoned. Items can become higher scale with age. Since this place is Rare Scale the odds are higher still. Who knows what sort of treasure is buried out here.¡± Angelica replied. Spine showed up out of the crowd. I nodded to him, ¡°How¡¯d yesterday go?¡± Spine raised his hand and tilted it side to side, ¡°Nanny Shank let me assign the tasks to people. Seven out of ten went off without a hitch. Two of the last three got done. The last one would have been an issue but everyone got distracted.¡± ¡°Is the last thing done?¡± I asked. ¡°Now yeah. I spent the morning scrambling to take care of it,¡± He said, not happy with it. ¡°That¡¯s pretty good for a first outing,¡± I told him. ¡°What are you talking about? I screwed up a third of it.¡± Spine argued. ¡°Thirty percent,¡± I corrected. ¡°Did all the work get done?¡± ¡°Yeah but-¡± Spine started. ¡°Did anyone get hurt?¡± I asked. ¡°No,¡± Spine said. I nodded, ¡°You know what you need to do next, right?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± Spine said, shaking his head. ¡°Talk with Nanny Shank, tell her what worked and what didn¡¯t. Then get her feedback on what to do better next time,¡± I told him. He blinked at me, ¡°Admit mistakes?¡± ¡°You are trying to grow, not pretend to be perfect. Everyone knows you are new to this. Take the opportunity to learn as much as you can,¡± I said, doing my best to not sound like I was lecturing him. Spine considered that, ¡°That makes a lot of sense. Thanks.¡± ¡°Have you talked to Janky?¡± I asked. ¡°Not today?¡± He said. I put a hand on his shoulder,¡°Take time for that. I think your dad is stuck trying to find us a path. He would appreciate you doing that.¡± ¡°Will do,¡± Spine said. He turned and waved as he walked away, ¡°See you next stop.¡± Once Spine was out of earshot Brunhilda shoulder-checked me. She was gentle this time and didn¡¯t knock me down, ¡°Look at you being a big brother and all.¡± I picked up on the hint and heft her into the truck. She didn¡¯t like climbing. I stepped out of the way for the others and said, ¡°He had my back when it mattered. Besides I can¡¯t count the number of times I wished someone, anyone, would help me. So few people ever did. The thing is I want to be like those people. If I can, I want to help.¡± Our new path got us moving at an appreciable rate again. We stopped at roughly midday. I was concerned to find out that the stew shower had been upgraded. Someone had scrubbed out the interior of a fuel truck. So they could then fill its two thousand gallon tank with stew and from there fill drums. Apparently that was the one thing Spine had to scramble on. People hadn¡¯t cleaned out the drums. So the first 126 gallons of stew had a bold diesel flavor. He was afraid the big tank hadn¡¯t been cleaned. That would have been a huge waste. This is how the new terror of the Stew Crew Cab was born. Honestly it was a fairly ingenious creation. That central tank could fill a drum a minute give or take. That worked out to about 47 drums in an hour. Assuming each person got 8 ounces of stew. That worked out to 512 servings per barrel. So that meant this thing could produce enough food for 24,000 people in an hour. Distribution was still the hard part, but lugging a barrel was manageable. Ladling meals out from there would make cooks work but they could do it. Goblins were clever people. I never would have thought of that. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. We were looking at the three barrels that hadn¡¯t been cleaned. ¡°Should we just tip them over and clean them out?¡± Spine asked. ¡°Probably the best answer,¡± I said. ¡°What do you guys make the fuel out of?¡± Spine shrugged, ¡°Vegetable oil, grease, and fat from mobs.¡± ¡°Biodiesel then,¡± Brunhilda said. She stuck her finger into it and tasted the concoction, ¡°So hear me out. It adds some flavor to it.¡± ¡°Are you sure you should be doing that?¡± I asked. ¡°I can¡¯t be poisoned and I strongly suspect I can no longer get sick,¡± She said. She pulled a bowl out of her inventory and scooped out some stew.¡± Shit like this is why I am a sandwich man. In the end we dumped those three barrels of danger strew. Specifically because we found out that people had dubbed the barrels danger strew. I am not going to pretend I know everything about goblins, but I knew enough to understand this is how someone got food poisoning. I was not going to deal with that today. The rest of the day was concerningly uneventful. We stopped early because we hit a massive crater. Angelica had been right. Something had dug into the ice to reveal a town. The dig was a rough square, maybe a rectangle roughly three miles wide on each side. It was also about twenty feet deep. In the tremendous hole I saw the remains of a small town. I doubted the population of this place at its height ever topped a thousand. But it had a bog standard Main Street, lined with small shops. Some of the buildings were damaged but the place was mostly intact. The Dragon seemed to have taken great care not to harm the place. Except for one place, the graveyard. That had been reduced to a molten wreck. The dragon had slagged it. I had seen enough horror movies to be deeply concerned about this entire setup. ¡°I think we should loot the place,¡± Helen said. Clearly she had never seen Phantoms. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that anger the dragon?¡± Grimset asked. He nudged a small piece of ice over the side of the hole. It fell down and we heard it shatter on the exposed pavement below. Toad nodded, ¡°We should simply load up and drive through the night. Better to sleep during the next morning.¡± Now this guy was genre savvy. ¡°My scouts are working to find a path. I worry we might get ourselves cornered if we try and press on now. Plus we are getting close to the Sasquatch Dungeon. ¡° Philip spoke up. Nanny Shank lit her pipe as she puffed on it and said, ¡°Tomorrow is going to suck.¡± She looked at me. ¡°That Grond fella gave you three days right?¡± ¡°Yeah, yesterday.¡± I said. Grond shouldn¡¯t be back till the day after tomorrow. ¡°Which makes this day two. I am guessing he is going to be the type to short you on time,¡± She said. That sounded pretty true. I gazed at the area, or would be better to call it an arena. ¡°I think we should at least survey this place, but I don¡¯t think it is a good idea to send a bunch of people down there.¡± Brand frowned at the town, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be more circumspect? This is America. That village is old, are we sure there isn¡¯t any risk of undeath?¡± ¡°The viral version was on the west coast,¡± Brunhilda said. She considered, ¡°Whatever zed-word things that could happen would be mystical.¡± Her eyes glazed a moment, ¡°I am not picking up anything beyond the normal necrotic energies.¡± ¡°We know to decap and ash,¡± Helen said. The shadows were lengthening inside the draconic excavation sight. Small town USA was taking on a distinctly more menacing American Gothic vibe. I was mentally running through the scenarios. Option one, there was something bad down there. That meant it was all but certain to come out of that hole and wreak merry hell on us when the sun went down. So the play would be to go down there now. Option two, there wasn¡¯t anything bad down there. This had two likely sub outcomes. A, this was a trap. In that case us messing with this could piss off the dragon or something and we should fuck off right now. Trouble was option b, it only looked like a trap. Which meant it was probably trying to scare us away. Which meant we should stay. As I gazed down at the still ice encrusted town. My eyes lingered on the church. The front door had been smashed open. In the dark beyond something glinted in the dimming light of the setting sun. The pinpricks of light snuffed out. The sun hadn¡¯t moved enough for that. Something was down there. I turned to Angelica, ¡°What do you think?¡± She¡¯d been watching the town the whole time, ¡°I think you and I should check that,¡± She pointed her spear at the church. ¡°Everyone else should get ready for whatever spills out of there.¡± It looked like we were going with Option one. No one had any objections. Time was never on our side anyways. ¡°Would you like my assistance?¡± Sunit asked. ¡°Nah, but if it looks like we are having trouble feel free to step in,¡± I told him. I willed stairs into the side of the cliff. Angelica and I descended in silence. Abandoned houses have¡­ I guess energy to them. Or maybe the absence of energy is the better way to describe it. On a fundamental level we all understand that a house is someone¡¯s home. People live there. So when we see one clearly empty it feels like a drain. It isn¡¯t right. The emptiness is like a vacuum. It¡¯s unnatural. Seeing a town abandoned is so much worse. In order for that to happen something truly terrible must have occurred. Looking through the open door of a house I saw coats still on hooks and shoes in the entryway. There weren¡¯t many cars in driveways though. People must have fled in a hurry. The church was one of those old timey prairie type houses of worship. It was wood construction. The outside was painted white. The roof was covered with gray shingles. A steeple on the front housed a bell. The windows were small but intricate stained glass. Plain concrete steps and a wheelchair ramp lead up to the doors. The large double doors lead into a single room with five pews and an altar and pulpit beyond them. A large plain wooden cross was on the far wall. This must have been a Protestant church. No Jesus was nailed to it. Angelica and I stood just in the doorway. The interior was dark. An organ was in one corner and stairs leading down were in the other. Over the door someone had scrawled in black paint ¡°God Is Great!¡± Someone had later painted a red X over great and then written Gone. ¡°That¡¯s ominous,¡± I muttered. I looked at the inside of the kicked in door. It was scored with hundreds of bloody splintered furrows. I put my hand up to them. My hand was too big but they were clearly scratches from human hands. Someone had tried and failed to get out from the inside. We both looked at the stairs leading down. ¡°You wanna head down there first?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°Not really no,¡± I said reading the message above the door again. That was when the snow lion hit me. It was one of those great big Alphas. A good five hundred pounds of mauling feline knocked me off my feet. Angelica screamed. She was not prepared for the jump scare. I wasn¡¯t either, frankly. To tell the truth I was relieved when I realized it was just a snow lion biting down on my neck. I seized the scruff of its neck and pulled it free, ¡°You jump scaring motherfucker!¡± A good right hook and it was dead. I sat up expecting further attack, but none came. I turned to Angelica, ¡°You scream?¡± ¡°I was surprised,¡± She admitted. She then decided to change tracks, ¡°And I am going to claim it was a battle cry.¡± ¡°Tell you a secret, I would have screamed too,¡± I told her, getting to my feet. ¡°The damn thing came out of nowhere.¡± We both looked around. ¡°I am not going to say it,¡± I said. ¡°Good, don¡¯t,¡± Angelica agreed. Neither of us was going to say something that would no doubt cause the terror in the basement to rise up and attack us. Like I said, I have seen enough horror movies to know where this was going. Chapter 108: The Narrators are Fighting The tense instant stretched into a moment of quiet dread. From there it became an awkward silence. It settled into a confused interim. Yeah, now was the time. I considered one last time, this was high risk. I looked out at the shell of a town, ¡°Denise can you come down here?¡± I felt the telltale thrum of time stopping. Crystals of ice stayed suspended in the air and glimmered in the red light of the setting sun. It would have been pretty if we weren¡¯t standing in the dead husk of an abandoned town. ¡°What¡¯s up Doug?¡± Denise asked. She had appeared behind me inside the church. ¡°I have a few questions about this whole planned trip to the tower.¡± I turned to face her. I waited a moment and Celeste¡¯s eyes lit up. She blinked and looked back and forth between me and Denise. She nodded and checked a prompt, ¡°This isn¡¯t eating my time.¡± I nodded, and pressed on, ¡°Was that clusterfuck between the giants and the dragon our second fight?¡± ¡°Doug, there are rules about metagaming.¡± Denise explained. She kept her tone calm but quickly took a series of tiny steps. Her goal was to keep her distance from me, but also have a pew between her and Celeste. ¡°Those rules prevent me from saying things like: you are going to be attacked tonight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not helpful,¡± I told her. I wasn¡¯t surprised a Narrator wouldn¡¯t help me. ¡°It would be cheating if I could say things like¡± Denise shrugged in a greatly exaggerated way and when she spoke her voice was over emphasizing every word ¡°You are going to be attacked tonight.¡± Celeste and I exchanged a look. I knew I was kicking the hornet''s nest. I was surprised that Denise would stick her neck out for me. This wasn¡¯t exactly a massive head start, but still better than nothing. That said, I wasn¡¯t taking back my words about Narrators being unhelpful. ¡°You bitch!¡± Lindsey yelled. In proud Narrator tradition she had appeared behind me. This meant she was outside on the steps leading up to the church. Lindsey tried to storm up to Denise but I was still standing in the doorway. I didn¡¯t move for her. She tried to push past me but she couldn¡¯t manage it. She glared at me, I gazed back at her unconcerned. Lindsey blinked and then clipped through the wall before stomping up to Denise. ¡°I should wring your scrawny bitch neck.¡± ¡°Threats aren¡¯t going to get you anything, Lindsey,¡± Denise said in a voice that shook only a little. She took a few steps back and continued, ¡°I am not afraid of you.¡± I am no expert, but I sensed some fear of Lindsey in Denise. Also if they fought it would be Lindsey winning ten out of ten times, at least a physical fight. Denise could possibly hold her own in the arena of shit weasel politics. ¡°I don¡¯t have to threaten anything. Grace is going to gut you like a fish when she hears you told players they are going to be attacked tonight.¡± I chose sides. Denise wasn¡¯t my friend, but Lindsey was my enemy. ¡°Wait, I am going to be attacked tonight?¡± I asked loudly. ¡°That is what Lindsey said,¡± Celeste responded, matching my volume. ¡°That is unfortunate,¡± Wilson added. He had appeared sitting on the bench of the organ. He grinned at Lindsey but his eyes had a cold crocodile glint to them. He then played the ¡®dun-dun-duuuuun!¡¯ music sting on the organ. ¡°Oh you backbiting son of a bitch,¡± Lindsey growled. ¡°You should stop talking,¡± Grace said flatly. She had appeared at the pulpit. ¡°Her words to god¡¯s ears!¡± Wilson proclaimed like a televangelist. ¡°This is not amusing,¡± Grace said, eyeing me angrily. ¡°This new Titan Spawn is clearly a major source of Narrative disruption.¡± ¡°That¡¯s bullshit,¡± Wilson argued. ¡°We did your test. Had a whole show with thunderbolts and lightning. Sure that was very, very frightening, but nothing went wrong. Not one little blip in the system.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because Marge wouldn¡¯t let any of the damage spill over onto the goblins,¡± Lindsey complained. Wilson went very still and he spoke with that emotionless monotone, ¡°Funny how you keep doing things that jeopardize our Narrative. We are building to a bloody clash at the Demon¡¯s Tower. Two armies slaughtering each other. Yet, somehow you keep undermining my story.¡± Anger crept into his words, ¡°You force a premature meeting. You suggest irreparable damage to our attacking army. You break the metagame rules!¡± ¡°Your pet lickspittal did that!¡± Linsdey shouted pointing at Denise. ¡°Before you interrupted I was handling the situation. No metagaming. We can review the transcripts. It will show Doug suspected nothing until you told him what was about to happen,¡± Denise said. She really tried to look hard nosed but flinched when Lindsey turned. ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± I added, trying to sound helpful. Lindsey didn¡¯t deck Denise. She shot me a hate filled look before turning to Grace, ¡°This is a setup. You have to see that.¡± ¡°If this is so obviously a setup, how did you fall into it?¡± Grace asked coldly. Her eyes weren¡¯t looking at any of us. Instead she stared into a middle distance. I am pretty sure she was reviewing the transcript. She frowned and shook her head. ¡°Mental resistance is such a profound pain.¡± ¡°She has been under a lot of pressure,¡± Brandon said. He appeared walking up the stairs leading to the church''s basement. He jogged over to Lindsey. ¡°The fuck are you doing here?¡± Lindsey hissed. ¡°Trying to help,¡± Brandon said quietly. He tried to put a hand on her shoulder but Lindsey shrugged him off. Yes. Yes. Fight you blue bastards. I kept my mouth shut, and shuffled a bit closer to Celeste. ¡°Brandon you only think you are helping because you are rock stupid, I don¡¯t give a shit about her situation,¡± Wilson said shaking his head, ¡°What about you Grace.¡± ¡°I only care for results,¡± Grace answered. ¡°Lindsey needs to learn to take direction. What punishment do you want, Wilson?¡± Brandon and Lindsey froze. Denise stepped further away from them. She was dangerously close to sidling up to Celeste and me. Wilson considered. He tilted his head to one side, ¡°Hmmmm.¡± He pursed his lips, ¡°Hmmmmmmm.¡± leaned back on the bench, ¡°Hmmmmmmmmmmm!¡± ¡°Stop pretending to be a buffoon,¡± Grace said. ¡°Fine, fun hater,¡± Wilson grumbled. An orange traffic cone appeared in his hand, a piece of paper with the words, ¡®dumb bitch cheating loser¡¯ written on it. ¡°Wear the hat.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Grace asked. She was suspicious of the clearly nonlethal outcome. ¡°Because every second of every day she has to wear that hat she will know¡± Wilson turned to Lindsey, ¡°That I made her wear it. That I can make her do what I want.¡± He turned back to Grace, ¡°So will everyone that sees her wearing it.¡± His grin was full on shiteating. Lindsey marched slowly to Wilson. When she reached for the hat Wilson moved his hand. Lindsey glared and tried to snatch the traffic cone ¡°Oh! Ope! Oop! Take the hat!¡± Wilson taunted as he continued to juke her attempts. ¡°Enough!¡± Grace almost shouted. Wait. Grace has actual emotions¡­? Lindsey took the hat and placed it on her head. The traffic cone was too tall and she needed to either stand perfectly straight or hold it with a hand. She clearly tried to do some sort of Narrator fuckery to hold the hat in place, but it didn¡¯t work. She caught the cone and Glared at Wilson. He grinned back. ¡°Are we done here?¡± Grace demanded ¡°Nope, I have questions about my experience being withheld,¡± I said. Grace glared at me. I once again wondered if looks could kill. So far they hadn¡¯t but I had been surprised before, mostly by snow lions. I could tell she was doing mental math about killing me. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Grace finished her computing, ¡°That is a matter between you and your Narrator.¡± ¡°Okay. Denise and I can just talk though this ourselves unsupervised,¡± I declared, trying to sound helpful. ¡°Exactly,¡± Wilson agreed. He then played the da-da-da-da, da-da charge! Music sting on the organ. ¡°Wait! Shouldn¡¯t this be something with full arbitration?¡± Brandon said. When everyone looked at him, ¡°I mean his next level will have an Edge and that will impact everything that happens next. He could trivialize the next¡­¡± he stopped talking. ¡°I mean.. That is to say.¡± ¡°Lindsey already leaked spoilers just talk,¡± Wilson told him. Lindsey glared at Wilson. Then at me before settling her ire on Brandon. Then the cone fell off her head and she had to pick it up. ¡°Depending on the Edge he takes he could completely trivialize the next fight. I must insist that this matter go to arbitration. The margin for error is too small.¡± Brandon said. ¡°And you think your involvement will decrease error?¡± I asked. ¡°Hey I don¡¯t bust your balls,¡± Brandon whined. The Narrator who was actively meddling in my life whined to me. What a stupid prick. ¡°Doug makes a good point though,¡± WIlson said, texting on his phone. ¡°Brandon is a sloppy soup-sandwich.¡± Grace didn¡¯t deny that, ¡°Arbitration does require all invested parts.¡± ¡°Fine, I pinged Marge,¡± Wilson said, putting his phone away. We were in the conference room. ¡°Hey Doug,¡± Spine said with a wave. He was sitting next to Marge. Marge was puffing on a blunt that was comically overlarge. It was like four rope-like cigars braided together. The scent was unreal. Wilson took his seat at the head of the table, he patted the chair next to him, ¡°Angel¡± If Wilson¡¯s bullshit bothered Celeste, she wasn¡¯t showing it. I sat next to Celeste and Denise was between me and Spine. ¡°Do you have a nickname?¡± Spine asked Denise ¡°No,¡± She told him shortly. ¡°Yeah, she does,¡± Marge said as she exhaled a cloud of smoke. ¡°Denise¡¯s nickname is Timid Bitch.¡± Lindsey laughed as she sat down. ¡°You think that is funny Dumb Bitch?¡± Marge asked, eyeing Lindsey¡¯s hat. Lindsey stopped laughing. ¡°Do I have a nickname?¡± Brandon asked. ¡°Everyone calls you dumb,¡± Marge said, taking another puff. ¡°You¡¯re a mean drunk,¡± Brandon muttered. ¡°I am high, not drunk. Also you should see me sober,¡± Marge said before blowing a cloud of smoke in his face. Brandon coughed, ¡°you¡¯re more mean?¡± ¡°The word is meaner, and no I¡¯ma fuckin¡¯ delight,¡± Marge claimed. Wilson drummed his hands on the table, ¡°Alright enough banter. Doug, here, thinks the block on his Xp should be removed.¡± ¡°The claims to hold my XP were about Ri-Enkidu and I meeting and talking, and Adora wanted me to have sex with someone. Both those tickets should be cleared,¡± I said. ¡°So you claim,¡± Lindsey said. That was an odd counter argument. ¡°I was there too,¡± Celeste said. She smiled and added ¡°Vidi, Veni.¡± Holy shit. She makes jokes in latin. She is so out of my league.¡± ¡°We need Narrator confirmation for such things,¡± Grace said. Everyone looked at Denise. ¡°I can confirm that¡­¡± Denise stopped and swallowed something down. ¡°That Doug and the players Angelica and Celeste¡­¡± a haunted look washed over her face. ¡°That they¡­¡± Denise cleared her throat. ¡°That-,¡± She almost retched. Wilson shook his head, ¡°What Denise is trying to say is that Doug to the pounding pull to Tuna Town, and she saw everything,¡± Ew. What a terrible way to describe things. Celeste snorted, ¡°Tuna town? That is the term of a man who never had sex with a woman.¡± ¡°I mean I never saw the point in nailing any of you players. Sure in these communicative forms we have are compatible, but you folks are set up dumb. It is kinda funny actually.¡± Wilson said, chuckling slightly. ¡°The dumb shit you people think is erotic.¡± ¡°Wait, you guys don¡¯t look like this?¡± I asked, pointing in Wilson¡¯s general direction. ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry about the specifics. This is just so we are more approachable, and so you folks can anthropomorphize us.¡± He said gesturing toward himself. He leaned back, ¡°Hence why I don¡¯t care to go to tuna town or bop the bologna but will do some truly violent things for Narrussy.¡± I hated that term, and the statement around it, and Wilson, and Narrators in general, and let¡¯s not forget Snow Lions. I despised those damn cats. I really need to write the Dog Lover¡¯s Manifesto. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on the issue at hand,¡± Grace cut in. Wilson leaned forward again, ¡°Fine, Blueberry Pie. Anyone object to Doug getting his XP.¡± Brandon raised his hand. ¡°Of course I object,¡± Lindsey said. Everyone looked to Grace. She was studying me again, ¡°I must insist we continue to withhold XP. This Spawn already requires too much attention. ¡°I- uh disagree,¡± Denise started. She paused for a beat and continued more forcefully, ¡°Doug, does not require the micromanaging that is being used. He is going to the tower and will cause the desired fight. Our other midpoint conflicts are guaranteed to happen as well. Less intervention would be better. Things are progressing organically.¡± ¡°You call a random fucking dragon crashing out of the sky organic? Then you have them bumbling face first into a dead town with no telegraphing? This is sloppy as hell.¡± ¡°The um vibe I have been trying to build for Doug¡¯s travel is meant to call to the other human travel stories like Homer¡¯s the Odyssey. Random things occur in a living world.¡± Denise explained. ¡°That is so stupid. You¡¯re pulling from the Simpsons?¡± Lindsey scoffed. ¡°I mean that show has a lot of content to draw from,¡± Brandon pointed out. I burst out laughing. ¡°What?¡± Lindsey demanded. I kept laughing. Denise nudged me. ¡°Doug, this is serious.¡± ¡°Lindsey thinks Homer Simpson wrote the Odyssey.¡± I said pointing as I continued to laugh. ¡°Didn¡¯t he?¡± Brandon asked. ¡°No,¡± Grace said. ¡°That¡¯s why they have those nicknames,¡± Marge stage whispered to Spine. Spine kept his mouth shut. ¡°Who cares who wrote the movie?¡± Lindsey demanded. ¡°Epic Poem,¡± I corrected. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter!¡± Lindsey shrieked. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not like your job depends on understanding our cultural touchstones and motivations,¡± I shot back. Lindsey sputtered. She was so angry she seemed to have lost the ability to talk. Denise nudged me again, ¡°Doug, stop.¡± ¡°Yeah knock it off,¡± Wilson scolded. Everyone stared at him confused. He shrugged, ¡°I like seeing people fight. This is just him murdering her by words.¡± Lindsey was shaking in rage. Her blue skin was turning a lighter shade of blue. She was blushing. That was upsettingly human. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I didn''t regret anything. Lindsey was trying to kill me and working to control everyone on earth. Fuck Narrators in general and her in particular. Brandon put a hand on Lindsey¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Ignore them. I think you are smart.¡± That was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. Lindsey screamed in rage and then coldcocked Brandon. She then seized the front of his shirt and hip threw him onto the table. She wrapped her hands around his throat. As she strangled him she bounced his head on the table. As Brandon¡¯s head thunk-thunk-thunked on the solid wood a couple of things happened. Spine slid back from the table. Marge started cackling and began to film Lindsey¡¯s assault with her phone. I nodded in satisfaction. I expected my goading to provoke Lindsey against me. I figured I could withstand it, and then Wilson would use that as an excuse to kill Lindsey. That would chip away at Grace¡¯s power and force her to more directly oppose Wilson. This was dangerous but I felt it in my bones that Grace and Wilson in conflict was my best path for actually helping others. Celeste was completely unbothered by Brandon¡¯s beating. She poured herself a glass of water and took a small sip. Wilson had locked eyes with Grace. They watched each other both waiting for the other to make a move. Neither willing to expose a moment¡¯s weakness. ¡°Doug she is going to kill him,¡± Denise told me. ¡°Yep,¡± I agreed. ¡°We need to do something,¡± Denise hissed. I pulled a bone dagger out of my inventory and set it in front of Denise, ¡°Do what you got to do but you should go for the eyes.¡± I was a little surprised my inventory worked. ¡°You need to do something to stop this,¡± Denise almost pleaded. ¡°Won¡¯t there be consequences,¡± Celeste asked her. ¡°I¡¯ll take responsibility,¡± Denise promised. Celeste shrugged, ¡°I am acting on behalf of Denise.¡± She then grabbed Lindsey¡¯s hair and chucked her across the room. Lindsey shrieked in surprise and pain. Brandon also went for a ride as well. His attacker had quite the kung fu grip. They did separate midair though. Lindsey smacked into the wall hard and hung there stuck for a moment before sliding down to the floor. Brandon hit the floor and slid face first across the carpet. ¡°I am okay,¡± Brandon managed. ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Wilson assured him. ¡°Get back to the table, both of you,¡± Grace ordered, still watching Wilson. Once everyone was at the table Marge said, ¡°I think it would be funny to let the Titan Spawn level. Otherwise he needs to do more with his god stuff.¡± ¡°God stuff?¡± I asked. Marge nodded, ¡°You meet the requirements to be a god. Pitch to the goblins to follow you. If you get enough you could have the Goblin purview. That shit would get hilarious.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone would take that offer,¡± Spine said. ¡°That¡¯s the drama,¡± Marge told him. She exhaled another cloud of smoke, ¡°The thing is though. God¡¯s have to follow the dictates of their purview or bad things happen. If you get him connected to the Goblin Purview as a people¡­¡± Spine didn¡¯t seem convinced. ¡°What a twist, an even tie,¡± Wilson said, still laser focused on Grace. He just sat there with a wicked grin twisting his face. ¡°Do I have to say it?¡± Grace asked unimpressed. ¡°You saying it is a huge part of it for me.,¡± Wilson said. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s just roll a die and let that decide it.¡± Grace said in her emotionless monotone. Wilson was quiet for a long time. He just sat there basking in some little victory. Eventually he spoke, his voice shaking slightly with satisfaction, ¡°Doug, odd or even?¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°Odd or even?¡± Wilson repeated in his normal voice a d6 in his hand. ¡°Odd,¡± I said. I Immediately regretted my choice. Wilson tossed the die onto the table. I rolled along the wood clattering loudly. It slowed and settled on a six,. Wilson shrugged, ¡°Oh well. Tough Titties, Doug. You don¡¯t get to level until after the tower. Have fun with what happens next. You should have listened to me and Grace earlier. What happens next is your fault. ¡± We were back in the church. Angelica blinked as Celeste caught her up. Something in the basement stirred. The sound of slow, unhurried footsteps approached the stairs. Someone was coming. Chapter 109: Elijah Would... The footsteps slowed on the stairs becoming lighter still, hesitant even. The noise stopped. No one stood in the doorway. Whoever was there was staying out of sight. Angelica and I exchanged another quick look. She held her spear ready and I manifested a layer of Ablative Shell No horror came out of the church¡¯s basement. I listened and heard the breathing of something small. It was the uneven, and slightly hitched breathing of someone about to cry. I heard the shuffling of little feet. ¡°Is someone there?¡± I called over. I tried to keep my voice gentle. Every sign pointed toward this being a horror show in the making. Hell, the Narrators confirmed it was. ¡­But they were manipulative assholes. Had they told me about cancelation just to goad me into a more proactive and violent line of thinking. I was ready to fight but I wasn¡¯t committed just yet. Whatever was on the stairs moved back a few steps. Angelica seemed less convinced this was an imminent conflict. She still held her spear, but in a lower way rather than ready. I shrugged and called again, ¡°We can hear you. Please come out. We just want to talk.¡± Everything was very quiet for a long moment, then a tiny voice asked almost desperately, ¡°You promise?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t try to hurt us, we won¡¯t try and hurt you,¡± Angelica said loudly. I was just gonna say yes. Probably need to be more aware of that. I can make pacts. Other stuff probably could too. After another brief pause the little voice managed, ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯m gonna come up the stairs.¡± I didn¡¯t hear any other whispers. So I don¡¯t think whoever was down there was communicating with others. Not out loud at least. They absolutely could have exchanged meaningful looks. I know because Angelica and I used the time to do that. It was a look where we agreed no immediate murder, and we should probably hold off on any murder for the next minute or so. We weren¡¯t completely committed to no murder at all in this encounter, but the drive simply wasn¡¯t there in that moment. Believe it or not, none of this involved murderous looks. Tiny steps started again. In the doorway a small child appeared. It was a little boy, maybe five or six, probably younger. They were in their Sunday best, black dress shoes, with matching pants, a white button up shirt and smart blue suit jacket. All of the kid¡¯s clothes were rumpled, dirty and tattered. The kid''s face was pale. Not naturally pale, but instead the child¡¯s skin was paper white. His hair was charcoal black but dusty. The hands were bruised and the nails torn. All of those details were big ole red flags that this wasn¡¯t a normal human kid. For me though what truly gave this thing away was the eyes. They were green and perfectly human looking. Most of the time they were wide and scared. They watered slightly like the kid was trying to hold back tears. That was most of the time. For a brief instant when this thing first ascended the stairs they were clear, sharp, and scrutinizing. This thing read us like a book. That level of calculation was simply beyond any kid this young. I didn¡¯t know what this was, but it wasn¡¯t a child. Angelica pulled her spear into her inventory. She crouched down slightly as she watched the child. When she spoke her voice was calm and overly friendly, ¡°Hey. I¡¯m Angelica. What¡¯s your name?¡¯ I looked at her. Was she playing along with this thing? Was this a double trap? The ¡®little boy¡¯ sniffed, ¡°I¡¯m Elijah.¡± he rubbed his eyes trying to wipe tears away. Over his hand he watched me carefully. Angelica saw that but instead of standing up or getting her spear again she said, ¡°That¡¯s Doug. I know he looks big and scary but he is a teddy bear.¡± I manifested a second layer of Ablative Shell, ¡°Angelica, what do you see?¡± She frowned at me, ¡°It¡¯s a kid, Doug.¡± ¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± Elijah added. ¡°He¡¯s scared,¡± Angelica repeated. ¡°Do you remember when we first met Brand,¡± I said. I watched the not kid. Our eyes met and I felt Mental Resistance stir. When it dealt with Adora influence, the Trait was a territorial creature hunting and killing interloping external thoughts. This was different. Now my mind felt like a boat at sea. Mental Resistance was like the navigator dealing with an unexpected current. The current wasn¡¯t trying to stop the ship, just change the course a few degrees, alter the destination. This thing wasn¡¯t as powerful as Adora¡¯s mind effects, but it was infinitely better at using them. It felt older than Adora. Not just more mature, older. The implication of that was trouble, and not just because of what it was doing to Angelica. ¡°What does that have to do with anything,¡± Angelica asked. She stood up and blinked at me. ¡°Is the dragon gone?¡± Elijah asked. Angelica turned back to him, ¡°Yeah. Giants in a cloud city chased it off. If we hurry we should be able to get you out of here before it could even come back.¡± She took a step toward the kid. I grabbed her shoulder, ¡°Angelica! Listen to me! That isn¡¯t a kid! It looks like it is from the world that was! No kid could survive out here alone that long.¡± Angelica almost shrugged out of my grip. She stopped mid attempt. ¡°No¡­ more mind effects.¡± The fear slid off of Elijah''s features. The creature pretending to be a little boy stood before us straight backed and proud. When it spoke, its voice took on a calm almost familiar cadence of a salesman, ¡°Had to take the shot. I don¡¯t want to fight you. I simply wish to leave here.¡± Angelica pulled her spear from her inventory, ¡°I really hate mind effects!¡± The thing is though she didn¡¯t attack. Elijah held up his hands not quite in surrender but to show he was unarmed, ¡°Look at it from my perspective. I was trapped here, and then a dragon appeared. After that you show up.¡± He pointed at me, ¡°That one flexed through my pheromones like they were nothing. You have a Divine Scale weapon. You scared me.¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°And you fucked with my head,¡± Angelica said flatly. She didn¡¯t seem as angry as she had been a second ago. ¡°To get away,¡± Elijah said again. ¡°Let me go, and I promise you will never see me again. Hell, take what you want from here. Just leave me be, and I won¡¯t bother you.¡± ¡°What do you think, Doug?¡± Angelica asked. She was still eyeing Elijah but she was also sweating bullets. She didn¡¯t trust her thoughts. I still felt the shift of currents that Mental Resistance navigated. ¡°What are you?¡± ¡°That is a very complicated question. The best way to explain that you would understand is, I am a wounded creature. I am missing part of me. It reduces me to,¡± Elijah gestured toward himself, ¡°A small child.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you are older than most things on this planet,¡± I told him. I manifested another layer of Ablative Shell. ¡°There are more ancient things around than you would guess,¡± He said before looking up at the sky meaningfully. Did he mean Narrators? ¡°You know what I mean,¡± Elijah confirmed. That gave me pause. Wilson and Grace had insisted that I was going to do something wrong with apocalyptic consequences. They claimed the Mystic Troopers would be key and they had to be part of this. What was it Gisele said? Waiting for some skyfall? I really should have asked more follow up questions.
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I paused¡­ well everything else. I selected one second and hit yes. I needed to treat this like everything. Understand the situation, define goals, come up with a plan, and then act. This thing was dangerous, but that didn¡¯t mean it was a threat. Wilson and Grace implied I was going to mess this up and that would cause everyone on earth to suffer. This thing was throwing out mind effects. Angelica was immune to them. This creature Elijah hadn¡¯t attacked us, but that seemed to be a matter of convenience rather than real intent.
Please select an action¡­
This all still translated to needing to get out of this without letting my friends die, or letting the world be put on a long term path to annihilation. Yep defining the goal sure was easy. Doing was the hard part. I felt the nail on my pinky finger. I was not the Titan. A lot of the uncertainty in the current situation all hinged on Grace and Wilson¡¯s interference. Their warning hid the implication that I shouldn¡¯t act like I normally would. This would be troubling if both weren¡¯t actively trying to force me to act against my nature. In most situations I would try to de-escalate. I would keep people talking until I understood what was happening. Gisele and her friends were good people, but they were young and impulsive. That meant that Wilson and Grace wanted this to escalate immediately.
Please select an action¡­
Elijah knew about the Narrators. Wait! It knew about the Narrators. That was its manipulation. It was implying we had a shared enemy, but it never said that. This thing was a threat. It was pulling the whole enemy of my enemy con. However it was also an opportunity. It knew about the Narrators. They didn¡¯t want me talking to it. That changed things. The goals were: survive, protect my friends, get information from Elijah¡­ and stop the world from dying. Technically that last point was really high up the list but it was also a hyper nebulous thing. I was almost certainly going to have to revisit that one as things progressed.
Please select an action¡­
Okay that made the plan a lot easier. Talk to Elijah, get the info I can, and if this thing tried anything, kill it dead. I looked at Angelica. She was here with me. That was a comfort, but also a responsibility. Elijah was able to affect her mind. Could I justify leaving her in this situation? Celeste¡¯s light flashed in Angelica¡¯s eyes, ¡°What¡¯s the plan Doug?¡± ¡°I think I need to talk to it,¡± I said. I wiped my face. I was sweating now too.
Please select an action¡­ Warring: Continued delay will result in free action being lost.
Celeste nodded. ¡°Will Angelica be okay with me taking the time?¡± I asked. If Celeste said no, I would use this time to create an Ablative Weapon and hit Elijah with a cheap shot. ¡°She trusts you, Doug. She handed you the lead as soon as she realized her perceptions were compromised. If something is wrong, talk directly to her, but call my name if things get out of hand.¡± She answered immediately. I nodded. Celeste¡¯s light faded and Angelica went still. No sense wasting the opportunity
Analyze Check¡­ Successful. This is the corpse of a dead human male. The body has been altered to preserve the flesh and nervous system. Due to alterations this body is Rare Scale
Time started. Elijah opened his mouth wide like he was yawning or trying to make his ears pop. He stuck a finger in one ear and wiggled it, ¡°You guys feel that?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked. ¡°Call me Elijah,¡± He said flatly. ¡°Elijah, who are you?¡± I pressed. He frowned. His face almost looked sad, ¡°I don¡¯t think you are going to believe me, the closest thing to the truth is a lost child in a far away land looking for their parents.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not selling this well,¡± I pointed out. Elijah shrugged. ¡°What can you tell me about them,¡± I said, nodding toward the sky. Elijah sighed, ¡°Not a lot. All of this,¡± He gestured around broadly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. None of the fighting is important.¡± ¡°What is important then?¡± I asked. ¡°Getting everything and anything you can, while you can,¡± Elijah explained. ¡°That doesn¡¯t exactly make me think letting you go is a good idea,¡± I told him. ¡°Hey Doug, ease off,¡± Angelica said. ¡°You¡¯re still doing mind effects?¡± I all but growled at Elijah. ¡°I am telling you that fighting is a waste of time. Let me go, just walk away with your friend and the rest of your people and we all benefit.¡± The thing insisted. That sounded less like a soft sales pitch and more like a threat. ¡°Stop using mind effects now,¡± I told him. The knuckles in my hand cracked loudly as it curled into a fist. ¡°Doug, maybe you should calm down. You¡¯re scaring Elijah.¡± Angelica said. She turned her back on the monster. She seemed baffled by my actions. ¡°Angelica, Elijah isn¡¯t real. It is something controlling the dead body of a child,¡± I told her gently. Angelica shook her head. An instant a fear jolted through her features. She spun around and gazed at Elijah, ¡°Fuck! ¡­ Fuck you.¡± ¡°Stop it, Elijah,¡± I said again. Something very close to hate crept into my voice. ¡°Let me go!¡± Something rumbled from the basement. What a shock? This didn¡¯t go well. Part of me felt that Elijah learned more than I did. All said and done though. I was convinced this thing had to die. I shook my head, ¡°No.¡± The ground shook, ¡°This place was where you¡¯re kind went for shelter. Their,¡± it said the next word mockingly, ¡°faith shielded them from the undead. It did nothing against me.¡± The thing¡¯s laughter caused the ice to crack as the wood structure heaved. ¡°You¡¯re not special. You are a commodity, and your lives are cheap.¡± The windows darkened. Not just from the setting sun but because something was out there. ¡°Is this a demon?¡± I asked Angelica. ¡°No,¡± She said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what this is.¡± Chapter 110: Things Like This Don’t Happen In Dallas Or Cleveland I looked toward the door. The slammed shut. They had been hanging off the frame and were now wedged in there good. The wood structure of the church groaned, popped and then cracked. Whatever was out there seemed to have subsumed the building. Elijah- I really feel that name should have air quotes around it- stood statue still with a blank look on his face. I considered chucking a pew at the not-actually-a-kid, but decided not to. It would be petty and it was clearly not vital. Also it vanished a nanosecond after I decided not to. The body was yanking into the darkness and down the stairs. It moved like a bit of cloth floating in the water suddenly being pulled by a hook. I got a fleeting but deeply upsetting glimpse of the body wiggling bonelessly with unfocused eyes and a slack mouth before it was just gone. Don¡¯t get me wrong, the adrenaline had absolutely hit by this point. I activated both Claws of Darkness and Tenebrous Form. With three layers of Ablative Shell I could and probably should use this magic. I was as ready as I could be for a fight. The thing is, all of this made me so fucking tired. Maybe I pressed too hard but I couldn¡¯t just walk away from whatever this was. I didn¡¯t want this battle. Hell, Elijah even pointed out this was pointless. He could very well be right. ¡°You ready?¡± Angelica asked. She had swapped her spear for her hammer. Before I could speak a neon blue ichor began to seep through the walls. ¡°I was,¡± I admitted not making a move. Angelica sighed, ¡°That is ¡­ yeah.¡± She didn¡¯t want to touch it either. The glowing goo didn¡¯t just run down the walls. Instead the droplets began to flow together. Tiny rivulets moved lateral and even slid up the walls to form dozens of shining puddles. From there the puddles began to bubble. The surface roiled and then formed a skin. That skin was immediately distorted and distended as a reptilian face pressed against each and every one of them. A dreadful wet ripping noise preceded dozens of human sized creatures bursting forth. That was really goddamn weird, but the spawning process did reflect the final product. Every monster glared at us. All of them had two sets of bulbous, luminous eyes on their heads. One set forward facing, and another set aimed sideways. Their skin was scaly and resembled armor with finned ridges running down the spine and along their tails. They stood upright on two legs, but were hunch backed. They also had four arms ending in clawed, webbed hands. Several of the creatures hissed almost like a snake. Others opened their Telescope-fish-esque maw to reveal rows upon rows of jagged fangs. There were dozens of these things. Each was about the height of Angelica. We were completely surrounded. All of this would have been extremely intimidating if they didn¡¯t then proceed to do a prolonged choreographed dance with a lot of broad gestures and snappy motions. When it was finished each struck a menacing pose and hissed ¡°Ictheys!¡± They then stood there waiting. ¡°What?¡± I asked to break the silence. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to transform?¡± One asked, its voice not hissing at all. ¡°No,¡± Angelica said bluntly. Clearly feeling the ick with these guys. The Ictheys were deeply disappointed. A bunch of them scoffed. A few sagged visibly. One rallied the rest, ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter! Fire weapons. Stone Shields! Kill!¡± There was a snap of energy, similar to that microsecond clipping of equipping gear from inventory. Now all the weird fish men had flaming pole arms and rock great shields. In the shows this resembled, one -maybe two- mooks would attack a hero at any given time and the rest would dance around in the background. These guys didn¡¯t do that. They ganged up on us.
Attack from Ictheys Blocked x7. Weapon is Fire-type. Ablative shell takes 7 damage. Attack from Ictheys Dodged x 9. Attack from Ictheys Deflected x 5. Weapon is Fire-type. Ablative Shell takes 5 damage. Attack from Ictheys successful x 2. You phased through the attack. No damage taken. Weapon is Fire-type. Ablative shell takes 9 damage. Counter-Attack Successful x 23. Ictheys Ablative Stone Shields take 623 damage. Ablative Stone Shields destroy x13 Ictheys A -J take a cumulative total 571 damage. Ictheys C has the Shattered Knee Condition. Ictheys F has the Bocken Jaw Condition. Ictheys H has Missing Arm Condition. Ichteys A, B, D E, G, I, and J slain. Attack Successful! Ictheys C takes 49 damage. Ictheys C is slain. Attack from Claws of darkness Successful Ictheys H takes 24 damage. Ictheys H is slain. HP: 600/600
I always heard about how a clear mind is the key to marital success. There is a lot of philosophical discussion about inner peace and clarity of purpose leading to superior results. What I was finding was removing the opportunity to overthink and forcing myself to match the violent intent I faced resulted in clockwork Orange Style Ultraviolence. It was a horror show, not Clockwork Orange horrorshow, just the regular kind. The bad kind. This is why I don¡¯t reference high art. I am delaying. I¡¯m just not proud of the fact that I can deal out wholesale slaughter. Everything happened all at once. Five of the fishy fellas charged me. Then they tried to impale me with the point¡¯s of their flaming weapons. I slapped them out of the way fairly easily. This knocked them off balance. Rather than counter them, I put the hurt into the second group coming up behind me. My first kick shattered one shield and sent its user flying. Used the momentum to turn and shatter another with a punch and third with a back hand. I snap kicked a forth but they got the shield between my foot and them. I slapped the last one¡¯s shield out of its hands to be a completionist. Five counters, five broken shields. The Ictheys kept pressing their attack. And I kept doing what I do. Block, dodge, and deflect before countering. This resulted in me wrecking most of the shields of the crowd in my immediate vicinity. All of that happened in a fraction of second. The length of time it took them to swing the polearm. These guys were actually fairly tricky. The swipe with the blade lead into a followup with the butt of the staff. Against most opponents that would have been a nasty surprise likely resulting in some real damage. Sadly for the fish dicks that just gave me another swing at their pinata. In the shows this whole situation seemed to reference impacts resulted in a lot of sparks flying and some cool backflips as people were stricken to the ground. Here though bone crunched and blood flowed. Most of the things I hit without shields died outright. I stomped one¡¯s leg and bent backwards. Another whose chin I clipped didn¡¯t lose their lower jaw, but that was only because it only tore loose on just one side. I ripped the arm off of one when it grabbed me. Seven dead, and three crippled in another fraction of a second. I dislodged the hand still holding onto me and used the severed limb to club one with the broken leg over head. It died as its head split open. Eight dead in a second. The dark, shadowy claws swirling around me the entire time had tipped the scales. They pried apart the cracks in the shields. Tore open the flesh of the fish men if pummeled, and severed the ligaments in one''s shoulder whose arm I ripped off. They even took the free action to rupture the thing¡¯s eyes. Nine dead. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Like I said, I am not proud that I can do that. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I sure as hell ain¡¯t ashamed either. Any moral superiority that could be held by nonviolence would ironically only be a cold comfort after being stabbed in the face with a flaming halberd. I had mostly come to terms with being a violent person, but standing in a pool of my victims'' sickly sweet smelling blood was a grim reality. These Ictheys acted more human than any mob I met until the fighting started. Once we got going they didn¡¯t react to having their kind slaughtered in front of them. I understood their resolve not buckling but the lack of anger was surprising as well. These things fought with the relentless determination of Snow Lions. Fuck Snow Lions by the way. Angelica may have been having similar mediations about the nature of ictheys and the morality of violence against them. It didn¡¯t show. She was doing her Norse goddess of thunder impression. She swung the hammer side to side in an extremely loud, and profoundly violent game of whack-a-ictheys. She was probably going to get the highscore. She definitely was going to be way up there on the combo count. The unfortunate fish bois she clobbered were launched into walls and they tended to¡­ splatter. All said and done in the space of about ten seconds we killed about sixty of these things. That would have been a good thing, but they then dissolved and more climbed out of the blisters. So actually this was negative progress despite our success on the first wave.
Construction Check¡­ Successful Stone Shield Fragments have been consumed. Ablative Stone Dome was created.
¡°Hey! No Fair!¡± One of them shouted from outside the dome. This was followed by the sound of them wailing on the structure. ¡°We need a new plan,¡± I declared, crouching under the impromptu roof. ¡°We had one?¡¯ Angelica asked, able to stand. Rather than argue, I asked,¡± Got any ideas?¡± ¡°Yeah lift the this up a bit,¡± She told me as she rolled her shoulders. ¡°Like this,¡± I stood and lifted our protective shell up off the floor. ¡°Yep,¡± She said before charging. Her shoulder slammed into the side of the dome causing a resonant thunk noise. This launched the massive stone disk into the front doors. It was too big to fit through the doors. So rather than crash through them. The dome pushed and took the whole wall with it. This took the steeple with it and it all crashed to the ground with an almost ceramic crash as the dome broke. ¡°Run,¡± Angelica told me. She immediately zipped out of the collapsing church. She didn¡¯t have to tell me twice. The ground was beginning to shake. The whole thing fell in on itself just as I got out from under the roof. The building was encased in layers of amorous glowing blue-white flesh. We probably would have kept running we found ourselves surrounded by hundreds more of the Ictheys. I talked shit about the posing earlier but when an entire army does it¡­ okay it still looks a little dumb but it hits different. Basically it is the understanding the stupid assholes are going to try and hurt you. That is the threat, not the posing. I may still be talking shit. Apparently this is a hill I am willing to die on. They were certainly willing to kill me on it. Why was nobody helping us? I understood people not kicking down the door to the church to get to us. Besides, things just happen fast. It was a long way to get to the church. This was a bunch of creepy fish men attacking their warlord. Wait goblins really liked that fish faced Chimera Corp soldier. They thought he looked great, the universe''s gift to goblins. Perhaps the goblins were hesitating because they thought Angelica and I were killing an army of eye candy types. From the ground that deep voice rumbled, ¡°Help me! Come closer! Everything is safe!¡± Angelica stopped running and looked at me. ¡°Mind effect,¡± I told her. ¡°Shit,¡± She shook her head and then pointed, ¡°Doug look!¡± A large number of the goblins were simply walking down the stairs. Some of the ictheys were heading toward them, weapons at the ready.
Expend Free Action? YEs/No Note: You must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I selected one second and hit yes. I felt the telltale thrum of time stopping ¡°Fuck, fuckety, fuck, fuck!¡± I muttered out loud. That was not helping. Okay, I needed to figure out a way to deal with the mind effects Elijah was throwing. He said something about pheromones. That said Angelica could just shake the effects if I told her she was being misled. Was it that simple?
You have activated Voice of the Titan
¡°Don¡¯t be deceived. Elijah is not a friend. Defend yourselves!¡± My voice rang with vastness of the cosmos
Leadership check¡­ Critically Successful! All followers are freed of mind effects. Voice of the Titan deactivated.
Time surged and almost instantly the gunfire started. This wasn¡¯t the checkmate I hoped for. While Angelica and I could cleave through the mooks. Other people had to put more effort into things. Those stone shields they used were fairly bullet resistant. That said thousands of goblins was more than hundreds of flamboyant fish folk. So while we didn¡¯t automatically win we absolutely turned the tide. I saw a lot of weird shit as battle started. Angelica impaled and armor shark-man. The icthyes began returning fire with rifles shooting lightning. That wasn¡¯t great. Massive blisters bubbled up out of the ground and tremendous, flying jelly fish rose into the sky. They sprayed acid and lightning everywhere. A yellow goblin covered in dry ran past me. His arms were full of hastily rolled bundles of copper wire. All the while Angelica and I killed ictheys and made our way towards the rim. We needed to get between these things and our people. They kept changing up elements on their attacks trying to see if anything worked better. These guys were throwing everything at us. I got hit by the standard things: Earth, wind, fire, acid, poison, and electric. They went for weird stuff: psyonic, divine, profane, magnetic and gavitonic. ¡°The only thing left is light!¡± an ictheys shouted, gesturing wildly. The ground shook. ¡°I shall handle it then.¡± A mountain of armored blue something erupted from the hole where the church had been. The nightmarish face of an angler fish gazed at us with eyes burning with power. Its head was wreathed with a crown of corpse all in their Sunday best. Now say what you will about goblin¡¯s sense of aesthetics but you cannot fault their survival instincts. They tried to bombard that thing as soon as it¡¯s showed it ugly and/or pretty face. Trouble was those big flying jellyfish were running interference. They had the Gravitonic stuff too. So Elijah was free to collect power. With an ominous hum the colossal eldritch horror lit up. Ah shit. With a roar a massive pillar of light bore down on us.
Dodge check¡­ failed Weapon is Light-typed. Tenebrous Form has no effect. You are protected by Spectral Protect. Damage Mitigate
Just as I scrunched my face as the resounding clear chime of Brunhilda¡¯s gauntlets slamming together. I looked up. A three story tall semi-transparent armored dwarf stood between me and the hateful beam of light. The bearded ghost thing held a massive shield in our defense. The laser fractured and an aurora of every color washed off the edges of the shield. ¡°I can¡¯t do this forever buddy!¡± Brunhilda called. She had fought up to me through the crowd of fish folk. The timing was convenient, a bit too convenient, but I wasn¡¯t going to bitch about just now. I could tell she was pulling mana from the well. Oh wow. She was drinking deep. I turned to Angelica. ¡°I am going to pull agro. Can you kill it?¡± Angelica nodded. I sprinted one way and Angelica went the other. When I was far enough away and didn¡¯t have people I cared about behind me, I did something stupid.
You have activated Voice of the Titan
¡°Hey Elijah! I¡¯m over here, you fishwife!¡± My voice boomed. Not my best insult but hear me out there just aren¡¯t that many ocean related taunts. At least I don¡¯t know them. I grew up in the middle of a continent so I could avoid¡­ Well basically, exactly this.
Taunt Check¡­ Critically Successful. All enemies will target you.
Elijah stopped firing and then turned to me as he charged for another attack.
Expend Free Action? Yes/No Note: You must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I immediately selected one second and hit yes. The thrum of time stopping was welcome. The existential dread of a wall of light stopped in time an inch from my face was not. Well I guess it was better than getting nuked. I got the hell out of the way. I just kept running. Time started again. The colossal laser slammed into the ice and flash boiled tons of it. There was an explosion of steam. Elijah tried to walk the beam toward me, but I managed to stay ahead. I saw a flash of Celeste¡¯s divine light and heard a terrible scream from something through the fog. And Angelica said I didn¡¯t have a plan. That¡¯s when the ground gave way beneath me. I was falling into the Dark. This is unfair. It¡¯s not like I gloated out loud. Chapter 110: … Oh Right… Night I fell for a good distance. I am not sure of how far but I was in the air long enough to wonder if the fall was going to kill me, just before I hit the water. It hurt a lot. I would have cursed but the impact knocked the wind out of me and then on reflex, I inhaled¡­ two lungs full of water.
You are now Drowning! You are immune to the Drowning Condition
So, drowning was just awful. I tried to cough out the water, but each forced exhale was followed by another reflexive inhale. This was a vicious cycle that hurt quite badly. The other issue was the water wasn¡¯t still. It was flowing with a swift and strong current that seemed to take joy in smashing me into rocks. I nearly panicked but then remembered, I was overpowered.
Craft Check¡­ Successful 250 gallons of water consumed. Ice Boat created.
I stopped tumbling as the water around me solidified into a shape vaguely similar to a row boat. I had made a big one that could hold my bulk. The ice rose up like a cork. Not only had it manifested suddenly, but it was also substantially less dense than the water it was submerged in. The boat and I burst through the surface of the water. I then coughed up the water in my lungs. That stopped the Drowning Condition. This was forward progress but only just. Like I said the water was moving. I was riding violent rapids leading down into the Dark. This was not what I wanted. I looked back and saw the hole leading back to the surface. It was disheartenedly far away. The distance quickly grew even further. Everyone else was fighting a battle with horrifying monsters and I was stuck in a shitty splash mountain knock off. To punctuate this errant thought a large explosion on the surface burst into view as it shook the tunnels. A couple of problems quickly became apparent with my new Ice Boat. The first was it was full of water and that caused it to barely float so it kinda bobbed along the surface and didn¡¯t really sail in a way I could control. The second big issue was I didn¡¯t know dick about boat making and my ice boat was clearly flawed on the conceptual level. It really wanted to roll. Me leaning hard was stopping that currently, but this was not a real solution. The last issue was the visible waterfall I was heading towards. It was probably some sort of subterranean cliff. It was a deep one too. I could see dry land about twenty feet past the edge of the water. I decided to jump the gap. The trouble was, standing caused the boat to roll immediately. I was able to get it to¡­recapsize¡­decapsize?... be right way up¡­ but the fall was getting close. There wasn¡¯t time to do that again.
Notice check¡­ Successful!
I saw a thick, sturdy, and most importantly solid tree root hanging down from the top of the tunnel, poking out from between two large rocks. I didn¡¯t have a better idea so I grabbed it. The boat stopped as my arm pulled tight. The root held my weight¡­ for a brief moment. The root pulled down and a tremendous stone fell from the ceiling in front of the boat. It almost crushed me. The root kept pulling free and rocks kept falling around me. The boat and I reached the edge and I went over it. That was when the root pulled taught again and I with the ice boat swung across the gap. I made a snap decision and at the height of the swing let go of the root. Me and my ice boat sailed through the open air. This lasted for like three seconds before the boat and then me crashed down hard on the ground. My foot had hooked under one of the benches when the boat rolled and now momentum levered my leg hard against the bench. It hurt profoundly but the boat broke before I did. That is my way of telling you my boat crashed and then I face planted into the boat. I ate ship. I got to my feet and brushed dirt and ice crystals off of me. I cleared the gap and was on solid ground. That beat the hell out of falling into the Deep. I frowned at the flowing water. It wasn¡¯t ebbing. I looked up at the ceiling. Yep, that was definitely tons of dirt and rock. Could I craft a tunnel back up? Another massive rock fell. It made a hell of a noise and I was splashed pretty good. I blinked the mud out of my eyes. ¡°Holy shit.¡± The roof wasn¡¯t just blank rock. Above me was¡­ pictographs. The first showed a world in flames. The second showed Earth not in flames. The third showed the Earth surrounded by eyes. There were so many at first I thought they were stars. The fourth showed the world surrounded by great beings. One of the figures resembled the depictions of Lola on the Mandir. Others looked angelic and a few resembled the devils I saw beyond the veil. They were the Divine Scale players. The fifth showed the world and the gods with it held by two hands one shadowed and one shining. The shadowed hand was a right hand. That was the Titan. The sixth showed the Earth surrounded by a fang filled maw. The gods were gone and the hands had let go of the world. There were words carved next to this. Even as I read them I knew the letters were some alien and unknown language, at least to humans. They read: Wait. This is when we strike. This is when we take everything. The pictographs were arranged in a great circle around an intricate carving of twisted fish men. The sixth icon led back to the world on fire. I followed the loop again, and then again. I stared at the world in the mouth of something. One of the first prompts I ever read proclaimed that Titanic Scale was the second highest rank on the Scale of Existence. Was this a prophecy? If so we were at stage four. A second hand meant a second Titan right? I was the Left Hand of the Titan¡­ If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Oh fuck you guys,¡± I don¡¯t know if I said that to Elijah and the Ictheys or to the Narrators and the Audience¡­ probably both. I needed to get back to the surface. I looked around and there was a snow lion, because of fucking course there was. The evil cat glared at me just before it pounced. Its feet left the ground. I wasn¡¯t going to react in time. The damned kitty was going to knock me down the damn hole. It was at the exact moment I mentally began to complain something unexpected happened. Something good actually happened. A spear-like beak of a large mechanical bird impaled the snow lion. Then a steel mecha-foot clawed the cat. Between the talons and the beak the snow lion split open horrifically and died. I gazed at the tremendous metal bird that gazed down at me. It looked like a heavy metal crane, the bird one not the construction equipment. I understand the confusion. They both have long necks. This was a great big war machine bird. The bladed and armored bird was also hot pink. That didn¡¯t dial down the intimidation factor much. That isn¡¯t to say this creature scared me. It was obviously a righteous creature of justice. It had murdered a snow lion. ¡°Are you a Mechana-Beast?¡± I asked the big bird. It nodded its head and with a foot grabbed the snow lion''s body and tossed it off the cliff. ¡°I take it you are Gisele¡¯s¡­partner?¡± I asked. It tilted its head. It clearly wanted to know more about Gisele. ¡°She has the pink coin,¡± I explained. The big bird liked that. It danced a jig before hopping around in excitement. I pointed up the tunnel, ¡°Can you get me out of here? My friends are in a fight with these things called ictheys.¡± The bird quit dancing. It gave me a meaningful look. It then lowered its body to the ground. ¡°Do you want me to ride you?¡± I asked not yet approaching. It nodded again. I climbed up on it, ¡°Just wanted to be sure. Certain things require consent.¡± Why did I say that? The bird kept nodding. The robotic bird was a proponent for informed consent, or it was too polite to call me on my awkward dumbassery. Your guess is as good as mine. It swung its head around and pointed with its beak to a hand hold. When I grab the handle. It nodded and then swiveled its head before standing. ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± I asked the last part of my question was drown out by the sound of jet thrusters The crane was about the same rough size as a pickup truck, but it was a lot longer and more narrow. It also knew how to swim. That is the term I am going to use for the Mechana-Beast hopping the gap and skimming across the water like a jetski. As we got further upstream the tunnels widened. The bird spread its wings and we took off. This world I woke up in was violent, confusing, upsetting, and so often disappointing. That said for one brief moment I got to enjoy the wonder, thrill and joy of flight. Then we started going faster. Things got sketchy on my end when we pulled up and began to fly straight up like a rocket. I had to hold on tight. I may have shouted in sheer adrenaline, or it may have been in fear. Fear of falling hundreds of yards to the ground. We were so high up! The Mechana-Beast must¡¯ve assumed I was doing a battle cry, because it let loose a robotic sound ¡°Caw!¡± and began to dive toward the fight. Elijah turned its battered and burnt face toward us. Maybe shouting loudly to announce our presence before attacking was a bad strategy. I could tell it was charging up another beam attack. Just as Elijah fired my feathered friend and/or conveyance juked hard. The pillar of light lit up the sky, and thankfully missed us. I really should have asked this bird''s name. I am going to go with Pinky. Pinky took me on a wild ride. We wove past several of the giant lighting and jellyfish Elijah¡¯s beam followed us the whole way. That somehow worked out to be a good thing. It pulled Elijah¡¯s focus completely away from the goblins. It also caused the lantern-eyed horror to mystically nuke several of the big jellyfish. The creatures ruptured like water balloons. The primordial ooze splattered on the ground and began to drift toward Elijah. The doom beam cut off as Elijah roared in pain and rage. Celeste hit the big ugly again. She punched through its head like a large caliber bullet through the head of a nameless goon in an R-rated action film. I almost thought we had won when the monster¡¯s face reformed. Celeste zoomed up to me and Pinky, ¡°This thing doesn¡¯t want to die.¡± She looked at my mount. ¡°Who¡¯s your friend?¡± ¡°I call them Pinky,¡± I called over the wind. ¡°Caw!¡± Pinky squawked, clearly appreciating being called Pinky¡­ I am pretty sure. They weren¡¯t mad cause if they were they could have just dumped me. ¡°What do you mean it doesn¡¯t want to die?¡± I called. ¡°The prompts keep saying I killed an Ichtheys but then it just keeps reform -on you left!¡± Celeste dove and Pinky banked right as another massive beam of light cut through the night. I pulled the snow lion string out of my inventory and crafted it into a harness that looped through the handhold. Okay now I could do something. Pinky did a barrel roll. Why that may have been a pro strat for Star Fox, for me it was disorientating. Luckily I was bad at taking care of myself and hadn¡¯t eaten for¡­ a few days. I wanna say two ish. I didn¡¯t vomit due to lack of food to upchuck. As Pinky went back to circle strafing the doom beam, I concocted a plan. It may have even been a good plan. I pulled the bow out of my inventory.I then manifested another layer of Ablative Shell.
Craft check Successful One layer of Ablative Shell consumed. Ablative Arrow x 3 created.
I then crafted an arrow. Okay three arrows. Not sure why that is. When I made a sword it was one sword. Maybe it was something to do with volume. I tended to craft big swords. I had only expected one arrow though. I was able to grab two. The third fell out of reach. After a few seconds a prompt popped up.
Attack Successful. Ictheys AAZ takes 135 damage. Ictheys AAZ is slain.
Eh screw that guy. I then nocked the ice arrow and drew back the string. Pinky flew steady. I lined up the shot at Elijah¡¯s barn sized head, and then let loose.
Attack Critically Successful. Ictheys ABA takes 264 damage. Ictheys ABA is slain. Range Attack Skill is now at Trained Level
The ice arrow flew straight and true. Yet again Titanic Scale took physics out behind the woodshed and old-yellered it hard. The attack impacted the massive fish monster and caused roughly half of it to solidify into jet black ice. The crystalline parts rippled and then bucked as they fell with a crash. The meaty bits also fell over with a thud. I looked over to Celeste and she pointed back at the monster. Yeah that tracked. The ice melted and then flowed back to the meaty bits. the abomination got back up and then roared. It was loud enough to push Pinky and me off course. It was a roar of defiance and challenge. It was answered by the roar of the dragon. Call me a pessimist but I didn¡¯t think the dragon coming back was actually a good thing for us. The realization hit me soon after. Elijah picked a fight sunset. The Narrators said we were going to be attacked at night. Chapter 111: Fighting a Dragon The response to the dragon¡¯s roar was immediate. The goblins who were already walking back their front line out of the pit, began a full retreat. This was a turn and run moment. From My high vantage point I could see that our convoy was still in a long line. That would be an easy target for the dragon to strafe and burn. The ictheys also shifted priorities hard. Elijah¡¯s horrifying fish face had a strangely relatable ¡®ah shit¡¯ look twisting its feature. The giant abomination shook its head as it seemed to absorb energy from all the monsters around it. power flowed into its lantern eyes. Eventually its entire skull burned bright. It radiated colors like an ominous aurora borealis. Then the kaiju reeled back and hucked a phlegmy wad of glowing goo at Pinky and I. The Mechana-Beast avoided the roughly car-size blob fairly easily. I realized a split second afterward that it wasn¡¯t an attack and it wasn¡¯t aimed at us. The target was the hole leading into the Dark and Deep beyond. An escape route the dragon couldn¡¯t follow easily. The blob congealed, contorted and finally formed into a towering fishman. It had the four arms and eyes its smaller brethren enjoyed. This thing had some extra bells and whistles. It had two wing-like fins that it used to sail gracefully out of sight. It also appeared to have all of the magical power of this army. I felt the energy radiating off of it as it passed us. That was the biggest reason I mistook it for an attack.
Expend Free Action? Yes/No Note: You must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I selected one second and hit yes. Time stopped. I sat on my vantage and looked around. All of the ictheys soldiers¡¯ elemental weapons had vanished. The tremendous jellyfish no longer crackled with electricity. They were currently suspended in the air due to the time stop, but they were falling from the sky. Then there was the kaiju thing. It was still a looming fish-head tower of muscle and terror, but the light had gone out of its bulbous eyes. I gazed at the new escaping big fishman. It gazed back at me. In its eyes was calculated concern. That was Elijah. I was pretty sure killing that thing would end this part of the fight. There was still the dragon to deal with.
Please select an action¡­
I nocked the last ice arrow and took aim. I then pulled the string back and let loose. The arrow flew quickly toward the target. I had just enough time to worry that this collection of hopefully vital bits would actually die from this attack, when Elijah dodged time stop be damned. Its body flowed like water and bent around the arc of the arrow¡¯s flight.
Attack¡­ Failed!
I am hesitant to admit but for a brief moment, I thought it was unfair that the terrible fish monster kept moving when I stopped time. Even as time started Elijah was already moving. It leered at me for an infinitesimal instant before vanishing into the Dark. I didn¡¯t have the opportunity to give chase. The kaiju struck. Its neck elongated like a snapping turtle and the massive fang filled maw surged toward Pinky and me. Pinky deftly avoided the attack. The metal bird banked to the side hard. This turned us almost instantly to a new vector. The horrifying fish bit down on nothing but air. As Pinky turned nearly sideways. I had to grab hold of the handle to stay balanced. That was when the dragon struck. It is incredible how fast the thing was given its size. In a fraction of a second the dragon surged past us. Its taloned foot seized one of Pinky¡¯s wings and then clamped down. The metal crushed under the dragon''s grip. Pinky¡¯s wing pulled free. The Mechana-Beast shrieked in agony as we immediately began falling. The ground rushed up to meet us as it spun around wildly. Maybe we were spinning. I was distracted my the terror from the rapidly approaching impact.
Destruction Check¡­ Successful!
The ice immediately beneath us turned into water. I hit the surface first. Pinky¡¯s bulk slammed me down to the bottom of the bowl I had made. The impact with the water hurt exactly as bad as the last time I hit the water, that fall into the Dark. Both instances didn¡¯t inflict the damage they should have. Not even a broken bone slamming into the surface of the water. Pinky crushing me into the ice at the bottom of the bowl did do three damage and pinned me under the big bird. Pinky got us out of the water. The bird collapsed a few steps later. I pulled the harness back into my inventory and hopped my big ass off Pinky¡¯s back. Sparks shot out of the torn joint. Some of them were hot pink. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked Pinky. Pinky shook its head no. Of course not, their whole wing was gone. They weren¡¯t holding my idiocy against me though. ¡°Are you dying?¡± I asked, looking at a fluid leaking out Pinky¡¯s side. Pinky shrugged. This caused more sparks to shoot out of the injuries. A quick Craft check and I had manifested a layer of ice over Pinky¡¯s wounded side. The Mechana-Beast wasn¡¯t leaking any more. I checked in with Pinky. The bird nodded like this was forward progress. Celeste touched down next to us, ¡°The ictheys changed. It¡¯s like they went feral.¡± I didn¡¯t have as good of a view on ground level. The fishmen were climbing the side of the ice cliff and trying to swarm the goblins. I say trying because between a hail of arrows, and small arms fire my army was keeping them at bay. Goblins may not be OSHA compliant but they were natural born survivors. The convoy had gotten the vehicles going, thrown everything in reverse, and were backing the fuck up. This made the dragon''s arrival more of a call for urgency rather than a major change of plans. Speaking of the dragon it was an equal opportunity menace. The terror had landed on the ice opposite me. The hole was more than a mile wide but it didn¡¯t feel that far right now. The dragon did what dragons do. It unloaded an apocalyptic gout of flames. Night turned to day as flames blanketed the area. We were far enough away that the heat of the attack was just oppressive. The ictheys within range were incinerated. The fish men crumpled into ash. The giant jellyfish boiled before bursting and boiling. The big kaiju didn¡¯t take all of its buddies being roasted alive lying down. It struck. Again I need to make this point. The dragon and kaiju were truly massive creatures, but the threat they posed was compounded by how fast they moved. What happened was a blink and you missed it kind of event. The kaiju¡¯s jagged teeth seized the dragon and pulled it into the pit. They both crashed into the ground, smashing several buildings. The sound of the impact was deafening. The force of it caused ice to shatter and the ground to buckle. The world heaved and tilted toward the battling monsters. That was bad. What was worse was the Dragon had done some sort of great wyrm jujitsu and shoulder thrown the colossal fish monster¡­ directly at us. Celeste thinking quickly grabbed me and got the hell out of there. I didn¡¯t think and just on reflex grabbed Pinky by the hand hold. He just cleared the tower of flesh as the Kaiju slammed into the ice. They say the bigger you are the harder you fall. I am not going to argue that because the kaiju¡¯s acute meeting with the ground went about as hard as it is possible to go. Celeste, Pinky and I were launched into the air. Which was probably a good thing because everything around us fell as the tunnels in the Dark collapsed. I am from the midwest. The ground isn¡¯t supposed to shake except for the occasional 3.2 earthquake every decade to scare the shit out of everyone that was aware it happened. This was probably a bigger number on the Richter Scale at least locally. ¡­I don¡¯t know how the Ritcher scale works. Celeste was physically stronger than me, and could fly at almost impossible speeds, but she didn¡¯t actually have as much lift as I had hoped. She couldn¡¯t stay airborne trying to lift both me and a truck sized metal animal. We didn¡¯t really crash to the ground but the landing was fairly rocky. I had let go so she wouldn¡¯t cash too, but Celeste held fast. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Our Draconic interloper wasn¡¯t one to waste time. It charged up and blasted fire the moment it pulled free of the kaiju¡¯s jaws. The wall of burning steam hit me like a giant pillow going seventy miles per hour. I greatly appreciated being encased in an armor of ice as it was knocked backwards. I should do the same for everyone.
Construction Check¡­ Successful! Ice Wall Created Construction Check¡­Successful! Ice Wall repaired
That prompt kept flashing in my eyes. I willed a wall of ice over Celeste, Pinky and me. Then I had to put everything into mentally maintaining the barrier. Every second the wall of ice was reduced to a liquidus membrane before solidifying again. I could see through our makeshift defenses. The ground melted and flowed toward us as the dragon burned the giant fish monster. The creature didn¡¯t scream in agony. Instead it mindlessly tried time and again to right itself and try to attack the dragon. It died -no broke- like an automaton that suffered too much abuse. I looked over to find Celeste and Pinky, both gazed at the dragon through the wall in the ice. ¡°I would have my prize,¡± The deep thunderous voice spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t make me crack your little shell to get it.¡± I got to my feet, and willed the ice away. The acrid smoke laden air hit me. I eyed the tremendous dragon standing on the red hot, still glowing ground. Ah shit it really was a big fuck off dragon. I walked to the edge of the ice. Rivulets of water ran past me and boiled on the ground. ¡°Hey, I am Doug.¡± ¡°You will be dead if you do not hand over what I demand,¡± The dragon threatened with a rumbling growl. I felt my right hand clench into a fist. The knuckles popped. Why can¡¯t just one of these assholes just talk to me like a person? These petty power moves would be tiring if people didn¡¯t die when some maniac threw a tantrum. I kept my tone neutral, ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Give me the metal bird. I claim it as salvage,¡± The dragon lumbered closer. It towered over me, ¡°Now!¡± ¡°What do you want with Pinky?¡± I asked, making it a point to not show fear. ¡°You do not question me!¡± The dragon roared. Its fang filled mouth was very close to me now, and it was quite obvious I could fit inside his jaws. I also saw that his neck was covered in deep tears from the giant fish monster''s teeth. None of them were bleeding anymore. ¡°It is my trophy and I will have it. Out of my way or I will take everything from you, ice giant!¡± I hesitated for a moment. Not a long moment but it was big enough for me to feel it.
You have activated Voice of the Titan
¡°No! Fuck off!¡± I shouted. With the backing of Voice of the Titan. My words literally knocked the dragon on his ass. It studied me for a moment. A lot of nonverbal communication happened all at once. I had surprised the dragon, I saw that flash in its eyes. The look in the dragon¡¯s eyes hardened near instantly. It knew I had seen it rattled. It hated that, and by extension me. It righted itself and loomed over me. It was still within its striking distance but it wasn¡¯t as close as before. ¡°You are very loud for a little giant.¡± Its eyes flashed. I think it hit me with the Analyze skill. Some oppressive, invasive and upsettingly intimate. ¡°Too loud for level ten.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you,¡± I declared. Thunderous volume did a pretty good job of implying if pressed I still would. Trouble is the dragon didn¡¯t seem too impressed, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to fight me either, not with ice. This has been an interesting diversion, giant, but I will be taking what is mine.¡± ¡°Pinky, Do you want to go with the dragon?¡± I didn¡¯t look away from the fire lizard. ¡°They are shaking their head!¡± Celeste shouted. ¡°That means no,¡± I informed the Dragon. The temperature of the air rose noticeably as power began to burn under the dragon''s skin. ¡°Last chance!¡± ¡°I said, fuck off!¡± my rebuke again hit the dragon like a slap in the face
Intimidation check¡­ successful Tuliwyrm will remain silent for 20 seconds.
¡°I am going to give you one last chance,¡± I warned the dragon, ¡°I am a violent man. Not a bad man. Not an evil man. I am a violent man. Attack me, and I will defend myself. Threaten my friends and family again and I will put everything I have into killing you.¡± I didn¡¯t expect that to work and was actively pulling up my menus as I spoke. That said, Tuli was still faster off the mark. He struck faster than I could even react. His claw arm lashed out. It crashed down and hit me hard enough to shatter the newly frozen ground.
Attack from Tuliwyrm successful. You phased through the attack. No damage taken.
Thank you Tenebrous Form. Keep this up and you will be right up there with Mental Resistance and Titanic Regeneration.
Expend Free action? Yes/No Note: you must select the total number of seconds spent before activating.
I selected ten as debris exploded around me. I wasn¡¯t going to half ass this but I also didn¡¯t want to completely burn through one of my most powerful resources. Tuli froze in place. He was preparing to unload fire on the goblins. I warned him. To be honest I was gonna try and kill him for attacking. I just wasn¡¯t going to feel bad if I succeeded now. I pulled THE knife out of my inventory. Frigidus Mortus was heavy and impossibly cold. I felt the veil twitch in anticipation. I looked at the damage in Tuli''s neck. Too far away. Besides, I knew what I needed to do. I jumped into his mouth. That was an odd sensation. It was ominous standing -well crouching- inside the fangs of the massive monster. The blazing hot ball of flame in the back of Tuli¡¯s throat would have been unbearable, except Frigidus Mortis¡¯s aura of deathly cold pushed it back. The roof of the dragon¡¯s mouth was not armored. It does look tough like leather boots, but certainly not like tenfold shields. I checked my Mistic well. Brunhilda and I had been trying to fill it up and had made pretty good progress. Before this battle started it was over 32K worth the MP. now though it was just over twenty-nine-thousand. I was going to drain further. I read the description of Death Mark and Eitrkaldr, while ignoring the text related to the knife.
Death Marked. This condition heralds the end of most bearers'' lives. Any being below Divine Scale cannot heal while this condition is present. Note: Condition lasts for a number of hours equal to the number of steps difference in scale between the attacker and recipient of damage, minimum 1 Eitrkaldr The cold that poisons. On a successful use of this skill the user may spend a number a mana points. For each point of mana spent inflict [damage dealt] Cold damage onto the target. Note: Note beings that are immune to cold damage will not be harmed unless damage is higher scale.
I was going to pump 1000 MP through Frigidus Mortis and hopefully. Kill Tuli dead over kill be damned. This was also my plan to deal with Grond. While I hated to use a trump card early -Angelica did warn about spectacle creep- other people were in danger.
Activate ¡°Empowered Critical¡±? Yes/No
This was the risky bit, but honestly I didn¡¯t want anymore Narrator fuckery tonight. Yeah, there was a risk that Lindsey and Grace could get wise to me. That was a risk I was willing to take. I hit yes. Activated Claws of Darkness, and then stabbed upwards.
Attack¡­ Critically successful. Tuliwyrm takes 84 damage Eitrkaldr triggers. 1000 MP spent Tuilwyrm takes 84,000 cold damage Tuliwyrm resists 99% of cold damage. Actual cold damage 840. Tuliwyrm has been slain.
I felt it. The moment Tuli¡¯s soul crossed the veil. The instrument of death in my hand pushed it right through the barrier. It was a close thing actually. The veil resisted at first before parting, and the soul really didn¡¯t want to go. In hindsight the dragon had a point trying to kill something that breathed fire with ice was silly. That said, I committed to the bit, so who¡¯s laughing now? Not me.
New Achievement! Serial Killer You have killed people on three separate occasions. Mina, Travis, and now Tuliwyrm. I am guessing you thought this was a monster, but you need to understand. Every dragon is the descendant of people who chose the Dragon race when the system came. They are people. That was murder, and at this point it''s a pattern. Keep this up and maybe one day you can snag the Mass Murderer Achievement. Follow in Nadia¡¯s Footsteps. ¡­
¡°We need to have a talk, Doug,¡± Debbie said. She stood next to me. Behind her I could see Tuli¡¯s wraith take flight with a draconic duplicate of debbie. I closed my prompt. I wasn¡¯t sure how Empowered Critical interacted with time stops but guessed it wasn¡¯t in my favor. ¡°Can it wait. I need to check on my people. ¡°Six hundred and forty-three goblins died in the fight,¡± Debbie told me. ¡°I will make sure they get where they need to be.¡± Shit¡­ that was so many dead. The reality hit me even as a heavier thought pressed down on me. It could have been worse. It will be next time. Wilson said it a long time ago. The audience likes blood. ¡°Thank you,¡± I mumbled numbly. Debbie put a hand on my shoulder, she wasn¡¯t smiling, ¡°Let¡¯s have that talk.¡± Chapter 112 Deadly Warnings and Doomsday Weapons Debbie¡¯s stern facade cracked a little when she stood up straighter, brushed her hand through her curly black hair only for her hand to touch the roof of Tuliwyrm¡¯s mouth. She frowned and wiped her hand on her pant leg before hooking a thumb over her shoulder, ¡°Could we talk outside?¡± I shrugged and hopped out after her, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Debbie hesitated a moment considering the best way to proceed. ¡°Have you noticed anything weird?¡± ¡°Not really, but I am not exactly great at picking out weird,¡± I said standing next to the corpse of a dragon frozen in time. I looked at the army of goblins backing away from the remains of the ruined town.they were also frozen in time. I also checked in on my angel girlfriend standing next to a wounded robot bird. She waved at me. I waved back. ¡°You haven¡¯t done anything that could upset reality have you?¡± Debbie asked. This was a question not an accusation. I had just turned off narrator intervention for the fifty some minutes. Well, only for stories connected to mine. It occurred to me that I did not know what the definition for most of that meant. Given that Debbie and I were currently shooting the breeze it is possible that our stories may have some overlap, ¡°Could you be more specific?¡± ¡°Some¡­thing has changed beyond the veil,¡± Debbie added. She was being a little cagey. ¡°I did just kill a dragon using that knife,¡± I offered. Debbie shook her head, ¡°Not that,¡± She flicked the knife with her finger, ¡°That knife was made to kill things. It works. Something else is happening. It is almost like a tectonic shift is starting.¡± That sounded like Empowered Critical may be messing up the afterlife. I still clung to the hope that I wasn¡¯t to blame, ¡°Could you maybe give me some more concrete details?¡± Preferably ones that exonerate me. ¡°I am sorry, but I need to be a little coy. I don¡¯t tell anyone who hasn¡¯t crossed the veil about the other side,¡± Seeing I was about to point out I had crossed the veil she continued, ¡°And there is also stuff I don¡¯t talk about with tourists.¡± In this circumstance I was willing to answer to tourist. If possible I would like to have Debbie prepared to let me duck back out of the land of the dead should I end up there again, ¡°I did just let a terrible fish monster get away. I worry that may have ¡­consequences.¡± Debbie picked up on my word choice. She considered that. Another Debbie appeared and phased down through the ground. After a beat she said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that is it either. Something bad might be waking up. Something that could upset the balance.¡± ¡°The balance of?¡± I asked, feeling something inside me clench. ¡°Life and Death,¡± Debbie confirmed. She could have done that in a way to make me feel stupid, but she was just outlining the stakes. I frowned, ¡°That¡¯s ominous.¡± Debbie nodded, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m worried.¡± The avatar of death was worried. ¡°That is upsetting,¡± I mumbled. Debbie nodded, ¡°If you think of anything could you call out my name. Otherwise I should probably get back to Europe. Everyone is pushing hard before the peace talks.¡± she paused. ¡°Actually before I go, could you do me a favor?¡± ¡°What do you need?¡± I asked. ¡°Could you walk over to Celeste? The dragon¡¯s body is going to blow up when time starts.¡± She explained as she started walking away from the dragon corpse. I fell into step with her, ¡°Are you altering my fate?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Debbie tried to push my shoulder, but she ended up knocking herself off step. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t kill you. It would just hurt badly and I hate seeing anyone suffer.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I managed. It was rare to see purposeful kindness. That meant something. ¡°Any time, See you later,¡± She vanished back into the veil. I felt bad withholding information from Debbie. She had been good to me. Not just that, I was all but certain she was just a good person. The dragon exploded like a beached whale. Chunks of gore rained down all around us. The smell was¡­ indescribable. Bad doesn¡¯t do it justice. The stink was causing the water from the melted ice to boil. A white hot pillar of fire remained burning like a monumental road flare, or maybe a welding arc would be a better comparison. That may be what was causing the water to boil. I was supremely glad to be out of the blast radius. To hell with burning. It was also time to move upwind. Celeste put a hand on my shoulder, ¡°You good?¡± ¡°Yeah, what about you?¡± I asked, her hands had blister on them ¡°Minor damage. Pinky is hurt worse than Angelica.¡± She showed me ¡°Are we going after the fish guy?¡± I looked over my shoulder the fire was still going even as water from melted ice rolled into the sunken bowl of newly solid rock. I could probably punch a hole down into the Dark again, but then the water would flow and Elijah would probably be able to just ride the wave further away from us. Also I knew better than to chase a horror movie monster into the dark. I don¡¯t care how many super sentai poses they did, they were still aberrant terrors. They killed hundreds in less than thirty minutes. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. It was a massive stroke of luck that neither the big fish nor the dragon decided to nuke the goblins. Then again the narrators were pretty clear that they wanted to have a bloody battle at the tower. ¡°I am going to save the time I have then. I¡¯ll talk to you later. Stay safe,¡± Celeste quickly stepped close and kissed me, before the light faded from her eyes. Angelica stepped back and punched my arm, ¡°Did you one shot a dragon?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think it was close, the thing resisted most of the damage,¡± I said, looking at the knife. ¡°This thing is a doomsday weapon.¡± Angelica helped Pinky get to his feet. After confirming that the bird wasn¡¯t going to collapse, she turned to me, ¡°It is pretty dangerous, but doomsday is a stretch.¡± I fell into step with her and Pinky, making our way to the convoy. ¡°I did almost eighty-five-thousand damage.¡± If you rounded up. Angelica and Pinky exchanged a look. They clearly agreed that was a big number. ¡°Before or after damage reduction?¡± She asked. ¡°Before,¡± I sighed. Even if she wasn¡¯t impressed I still thought it was a lot. Then again I didn¡¯t know things. For example, how does food work? Angelica shook her head emphatically, ¡°Then that knife isn¡¯t a doomsday weapon.¡± ¡°It can do more damage. I only put a thousand MP into the attack.¡± Angelica and Pinky exchange another look. They seemed to be working out if I was serious. I was pretty sure they realized with some concern I was. ¡°That isn¡¯t really a standard amount of MP most folks casually throw around.¡± Angelica pointed out. Before I could argue she pressed on, ¡°Ignoring that you can, how do you overcome the main design flaw?¡± I blinked, ¡°What flaw?¡± ¡°Let me demonstrate,¡± Angelica said. She pushed me over away from Pinky. She kept pushing. Eventually I was a good ten yards away. She zipped back to walking next to Pinky. She then poked lamely in my direction with her spear. She kept doing that as she missed me by a huge distance. With each failed attack she said, Do... You... See... The... Limit... Of¡­ Melee... Weapons?¡± I considered the dragon flying around and how its breath attack could hit hundreds of targets at once, ¡°I see your point, but why did you have to push me? Couldn¡¯t you have just stepped back?¡± ¡°No,¡± Angelica said quickly. Pinky also shook his head. We were nearing the convoy. Now that the fighting seemed to have stopped. A lot of the people had gotten off the buses. This meant thousands of people were milling around. That isn¡¯t to say no one was busy. Scouts were setting up a perimeter. Mechanics were trying to fix damage on the fly. A bunch of folks were handing out food and drink. It was loud, chaotic and alive. Most people were very happy to be alive. Except at the front of the convoy. Things were quiet there. Toad and Nanny Shank were overseeing the work. The dead had been gathered there. It was a stark sight seeing them laid out in twenty-six rows by twenty-five columns. Debbie had told the truth the gaps in a few spaces meant six hundred and forty three goblins had died. About a dozen goblins were walking down the rows. One was documenting who had died. Others were stripping the bodies, taking any and all gear that could be used. Then another equally grim goblin was decapitating the bodies. De-cap and ash, was what someone said earlier. The first time I saw the remains of dead goblins I had mistaken them for humans. As dark as this was, people were tending to the dead. Again seeing them in such a state drove home the point that these were people. Nanny Shank puffed on her pipe. She nodded to me as I approached, ¡°Doug. Stand vigil with me.¡± I stayed quiet. I just stood with the old goblin. Angelica and Pinky stayed close but hung back. Brand and Aiko joined them as well. ¡°The casualties were less than I feared.¡± Toad said. It was more a statement of fact. ¡°Let¡¯s see where the night takes us before we celebrate,¡± Nanny Shank countered. ¡°What about the injured?¡± I asked. I dreaded the answer. I saw Brunhilda and Sunit across the way. Both looked at the proceeding in grim stoicism. ¡°Not that many. These things didn¡¯t really leave injured. Something in their attacks caused damage over time,¡± Toad explained, ¡°Anyone below rare scale that took a solid hit¡­¡± I nodded. ¡°Do we need to make funeral arrangements?¡± Nanny Shank coughed and spit out a wad of bloody phlegm, ¡°No.¡± She took another puff before continuing, ¡°Mourning the dead is a very personal thing. A mass funeral is not a goblin idea. It is tradition for any goblin that leaves the group to be considered dead. It is a joyous thing to see them again. It is easier in most cases to be pleasantly surprised when someone comes back. Plus it makes us think things through, be more circumspect.¡± They were going to send tens of thousands with me. That is not quite true. They were going with Toad and Philip. Helen and Grimset were also in charge of things if we were exact. That didn¡¯t change the weight I felt. I wasn¡¯t so far up my own ass that I convinced myself the dead were my fault. The Ictheys had killed them. I knew that. I also understood that the world we lived in was phenomenally unsafe. There was no guarantee that any of the dead would be alive if they hadn¡¯t followed me. I still felt responsible. Even if I could hand off the obligation of leadership by being a figurehead, I was the muscle here. I should have protected them better. How I don¡¯t know? But as I watched the others pile the bodies and prepare the pyre, I felt it in my very core that I should have stopped this. I killed Tuliwyrm in one hit. I just had to quit fucking around. Elijah and the Ictheys in general seemed to be made of more resilient material but I hesitated to really try and kill them. Perhaps I needed to be more proactive¡­ ¡­but how can a square that without letting violence become the easy answer? I was dangerously close to quoting Nietzsche already. Nadia¡¯s words from my first moments of life popped into me head, Don¡¯t fuck with a Narrator by the way. They are just trouble, and they will get the people around you killed¡­ often in terrible ways.¡± I gazed at the dead. All of my friends were fine¡­ for now. Grace¡¯s statement that I would win at the tower because Brand needed to get back to England, meant bad things for Richard. The implication was Angelica and Celeste might be in trouble as well. Last but not least Wilson kept pointing out the battle at the tower was going to be bloody. A number of the goblins around me were meant to die, at least according to the Narrators. It all swung back to the Narrators. They weren¡¯t exactly the source of all of our problems. Tuliwyrm and Grond were not exactly unheard of in the world that was. Hell even, Adora¡¯s brand of hateful coercion wasn¡¯t without precedent, admittedly more among the men of privilege but it existed. The system then much like the System now insulated them from consequences. The pyre was lit. we weren¡¯t alone anymore. Funerals may be private but hundreds of the soldiers had gathered with at least a thousand more other goblins joining them. In the flickering light I realized us players killing each other was the waste Elijah claimed it was. The System needed to die. The Narrators were the embodiment of the System. I would keep trying to get them to turn on each other. I was almost there. But if that didn¡¯t work, I would kill them. I could turn off the system for an hour a day. I needed to do that more. Activating it in the conference room kicked me back to the world, but what if I triggered it when they wandered down here¡­ It would be risky, but it was an idea. Chapter 113: Rest Well, Because Tomorrow Is Gonna Suck The bodies didn¡¯t take too long to burn. I didn¡¯t know anything about cremation and if I did, it would have been rules for the world that was but after a little over an hour the flames were dying and the bodies were gone, ash on the wind. Nanny Shank could claim goblins wrote their own off, all she wanted. It was cope. People need that sometimes. The crowd had grown as the pyre burned. At least a few thousand had come to watch, to say goodbye. This was different from Tazia¡¯s death. Everyone had been hopeful for a new era of peace between all people. We just finished a battle with monsters. There wasn¡¯t any sense of betrayal now. That didn¡¯t lessen the loss though. I felt the eyes on me. A lot of the crowd was watching me in particular. I whispered to Nanny Shank, ¡°Should I say something?¡± ¡°No, let Toad speak,¡± Nanny Shank then kicked the general. Toad to his credit no sold the hit, and muttered out of the corner of his mouth, ¡°I am prepared to speak, but it would be helpful to know what we plan to do in the next twenty-four hours.¡± ¡°Grond is going to attack,¡± I said quietly. ¡°I think we should hunker down and get ready for the fight. Unless you have a better Idea.¡± ¡°I do not,¡± Toad admitted. He turned toward the crowd and spoke loudly. ¡°Everyone! We have won this night! Now, take some time and rest! Tomorrow, here, we fight a Patron! And with the Titan Spawn we will win!¡± I was down right competent at reading crowds anymore. Toad¡¯s little pep talk hit fairly well. It isn¡¯t just what is said, but what was heard. A bunch heard we weren¡¯t going to be traveling tomorrow. That meant that they didn¡¯t have to pack tight in the vehicles. That meant someone needed to set up camp. Some were already moving to do that. Others heard we were gonna fight tomorrow which meant jack shit was happening tonight. That meant free time. A few folks heard the scary part of Toad¡¯s words. We were going to fight Grond, and victory was dependent on me. I had my doubts too. Morale was middling. Strangely though this most recent clash had improved things. People had seen me stand up to a dragon. They sure as hell saw the dragon die. Living next to an elephant can be¡­ concerning. They are big and dangerous. Furthermore, if you cross its path on a bad day you can wind up flattened. That said, watching it stomp some wild dogs chasing after your family can shift its place in your mind. It wasn¡¯t just an unpredictable animal. It was your unpredictable animal. Turns out the same principle applied to Titan Spawn as well. It certainly helped that to a lot of the goblins, I was beginning to seem down right predictable. ¡°I¡¯m going to bed,¡± Nanny Shank said. She poked my leg, ¡°Get some rest. You¡¯re our heavy in the next fight.¡± The goblins were setting up tents. As well. It would seem if you were over a certain age or under another you were expected to get your own place to sleep set up. I didn¡¯t hear much complaint. Elbow room seemed desirable. I was disturbed from my observations by a not too gentle poke to my knee. I looked down and found the yellow goblin I had seen down in the abandoned town before. ¡°Hey Boss, I¡¯m Rob Shiv. I gotta favor to ask you for?¡± He smiled at me. He was thin even for a goblin. That said he balanced a massive pack on his back like it was nothing. His clothing didn¡¯t quite fit the weather. He wore worn, but well maintained leather armor. He was also covered in pouches and tactical rigging. The loose bundles of copper wiring he had yanked out of walls was now bound in a tight loop bundle. ¡°What do you need?¡± I asked him. ¡°Can I and my other loot goblins head back down there and poke around?¡± He asked. Pointing into the hole. The flames were beginning to die. ¡°Why do you need my permission now? You were down there after I said for everyone to wait,¡± I kept my voice neutral. I wasn¡¯t exactly angry that he was down there, but having people not follow orders is how friendly fire happens. Rob was unbothered by any hidden accusation in my words. ¡°I didn¡¯t get those orders. By the time you found the town. The wayfinders had known about it for an hour and I had been down there for probably fifteen minutes.¡± he pulled a flask out of one of his pockets and took a drink. As he offered me the flash he said, ¡°No disrespect intended. Just bad communication and luck is all. ¡° I took the flask, whatever was in it was a lot stronger than the mushroom wine. This wasn¡¯t my preferred drink, but it wasn¡¯t bad either. I handed it back to Rob, ¡°Go ahead. Just don¡¯t go alone and don¡¯t do anything silly like wander into the Dark.¡± ¡°Sure thing Boss,¡± He turned to leave but paused, ¡°If we find anything how do you want us to hand it out? I don¡¯t suppose you want first look at everything.¡± ¡°Hand things so they go where they are needed most, Except any of the metal that belongs to Pinky. It will be by the dragon.¡± I told him. ¡°You got it, Boss,¡± He said, before letting out a piercing whistle, ¡°You heard the Warlord! Let¡¯s get to work!¡± ¡°Everything down there is burnt,¡± One of the goblins complained as they fell into step with the others. ¡°Wood and clothes go up in ash, but metal doesn¡¯t burn. I doubt dragon bones burn either,¡± Rob said. He produced a pick ax from his inventory. ¡°Make like dwarves and get ready to dig a hole.¡± Was that fantasy racism? I looked over at Angelica. ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± She asked. I turned to Brunhilda. She shrugged, ¡°I am just gonna let them have this one, buddy.¡± She yawned. ¡°Are you gonna set up your tent, or do I need to figure out a different place to bunk?¡± ¡°There is space,¡± I confirmed. I willed the ice flat and pulled the tent and the frame out of my inventory. This time the weights were hooked to the frame so the wind didn¡¯t pick the whole thing up. I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I do learn. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I frowned at the door and turned to Pinky, ¡°I don¡¯t think you will fit inside. Do I need to build you a structure?¡± Pinky Shook his head. ¡°Are you okay being outside all night?¡± I asked. Pinky nodded I still felt bad. They were missing their wing. I turned to Brunhilda, ¡°Can you help me fix Pinky?¡± The bird perked up at the question. Brunhilda looked at Pinky. I don¡¯t know what skills she used but I saw her vision shift to the middle distance as she read a prompt. ¡°Damn, that would be tricky. Pinky is a Mechana-beast. I am not entirely sure what that means. There are a lot of unique labels out there. The hard thing is Pinky is treated as both living and mechanical. So my healing won¡¯t work, and your Craft Skill won¡¯t work. We need to find someone who matches up with them. They¡¯ll be able to help. I added contact Seth on my list of mental tasks. Gisselle should probably know about Pinky. I was suddenly very tired. Part of me understood it was a purely mental thing. My body simply didn¡¯t get tired. It also couldn¡¯t bleed to death, starve or suffocate. Maybe I wasn¡¯t that different from Pinky. That was a tomorrow problem. Who was I kidding? I could kick that can down the road indefinitely. I ducked into the tent. I pulled the couch and end tables out of my inventory. Then the candles and handed them to Angelica. She started lighting them and set them around so we had some illumination. A couple of craft checks later And I tossed a bed out of my inventory for Brunhilda. I did the same for Angelica and I. Two beds hit the floor. Angelica looked at the two beds for a moment then slid them together. ¡°Oh,¡± I said without thinking. Angelica froze and looked uncertain, ¡°Is that a problem?¡± ¡°No, I just didn¡¯t want to assume,¡± I explained. ¡°That said, I need to check my bed owner''s insurance.¡± ¡°Bed owners insurance?¡± Angelica asked, confused. ¡°My concern is if my blankets are stolen I won¡¯t be covered,¡± I explained. Angelica grinned, ¡°That is a valid fear.¡± she leaned in closer and whispered conspiratorially, ¡°There are people out there who would do such a thing, and not even feel bad.¡± ¡°Not to interrupt but may we enter?¡± Brand called from outside the tent. ¡°Yeah sure,¡± I told him. Come to think of it, I should send an invite to Sunit also. Otherwise the guy might think he wasn¡¯t included. Brand and Aiko entered the tent. Brand scanned the room quickly and frowned at the lack of beds. He Turned to Aiko, ¡°I must insist you take the couch. I will sleep on the floor.¡± I saw a quick conversation between Celeste and Angelica take place. Angelica spoke slowly but surely, ¡°Brand, I have been taking a lot of Doug¡¯s time recently. I don¡¯t mind if you would like to be close to him.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°No one cares,¡± Angelica added, quickly stating Celeste''s stance on things. Brand laughed. Somehow he could even do that in a polite way. ¡°I thought you knew. Doug is my beard.¡± Angelica looked confused. ¡°He is kinda¡­ big and manly to play beard for a notoriously prolific bisexual fuck boi.¡± Brand was still smiling in amusement, ¡°I am asexual, actually.¡± ¡°Huh,¡± Angelica nearly said something else, but paused and considered, ¡°huh.¡± ¡°Seriously, you didn¡¯t know?¡± I asked. ¡°You laughed when Grimset said Brand and I were lovers.¡± ¡°Because the shocked look on your face was funny,¡± Angelica explained. ¡°You looked caught. Titan Spawn tend to be¡­ free in their affections.¡± ¡°I can attest with regard to myself, Doug was simply being an ally¡± Brand confirmed. ¡°Now, I don¡¯t want to be rude, but I would like to pelt you with a bunch of questions,¡± Brunhilda said. Brand nodded, ¡° That tends to happen. Go ahead.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Bruhilda started. She asked with utter disbelief. ¡°Yes, I am aromantic and asexual.¡± Brand confirmed. Aiko stared at him like he had just announced he had four heads and could fly. ¡°So nothing at all then?¡± Brunhilda asked. ¡°I am sorry but no,¡± Brand apologized. Brunhilda considered, ¡°Not for anyone?¡± Brand shook his head, ¡°No.¡± ¡°And that requires a beard?¡± Brunhilda asked. ¡°Also what''s a beard?¡± The dwarf rubbered her chin, ¡°In this context¡± ¡°In my case, yes. In many others, also sadly yes.,¡± Brand said. He took the chair I pulled out of my inventory. ¡°A beard is a slang term for someone posing as a partner to make another appear passing. Most commonly used to describe a woman making a gay man seem heterosexual.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Brunhilda asked. She seemed like these ideas were news to her. Then again she did say she was from the Shattered Mountain. Maybe that place had small town rural midwest energy. They would have internet any day now. Brand sat down, ¡°Historically the queer community cycles through greater and lesser acceptance with time. We are in a time of middling to declining acceptance.¡± Brunhilda considered for a long moment. Eventually she nodded. She hopped off her bed and slapped my leg, ¡°Make him his own bed, buddy.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I grunted through the pain of the charlie horse she just caused with her hammer-like hands. Angelica hopped into the conversation, ¡°So is your rep as a serial bedpost notcher is just smoke and mirrors?¡± Brand considered his answer, ¡°Not entirely but some exaggeration does exist. In the past I tried to correct people¡¯s misunderstanding but that actually fed the stories more.¡± ¡°Are you sure you just haven¡¯t found the right person?¡± Angelica asked. A small crack in his patience showed. ¡°Now you sound like an anime fan?¡± ¡°Could you elaborate?¡± Angelica asked. ¡°Whenever you tell an anime fan, you don¡¯t like anime, they just assume you haven¡¯t watched enough yet. To stretch the metaphor, I assure you I have watch nearly everything, from action to tragedy, and even the weirdest of hentai, and at the end of the day, I would rather just watch cricket on telly.¡± Brand explained. Aiko was still staring at Brand. She couldn¡¯t seem to square what Brand had told her with her worldview. I was tired of people talking about this, ¡°Generally it is polite to listen to people when they tell you who they are.¡± Now to change the subject, ¡°We still got anime?¡± ¡°Yeah, why wouldn¡¯t we?¡± Angelica asked. She had that look she got when she knew I was going to misunderstand something foundational about the world. ¡°I just figured with the state of thing international distribution was hard. I also worried that something happened to Japan. A big lizard maybe.¡± ¡°What does Japan have to do with anime?¡¯ Brand asked. He clearly chose to ignore my lizard comment. ¡°Japan makes anime,¡± I said. That is like a big part of their exports. Well actually other than the cartoon I really wasn¡¯t sure what Japan all exported. It was probably a lot. Unless a big lizard wretched the place¡­ there were dragons. Everyone looked at me. I really do hate it when they do that. Angelica broke the silence, ¡°Doug they make that in Just Kingdom of Righteous Progression. You would know it as Korea.¡± That¡¯s gonna piss someone off. I pulled three more beds out of my inventory. ¡°I am going to sleep. Someone tell Sunit he can crash here. If he wants.¡± Angelica flopped onto the bed next to me, ¡°Wanna know how One Piece ends?¡± ¡°Not tonight,¡± I muttered, opening the prompt. I would have stayed up if she knew the end to Berserk. Chapter 114: The Trouble With Roommates I had hoped the night would pass without any more drama. Want in one hand I suppose. I awoke to being poked. My eyes snapped open and I found Celeste¡¯s shining eyes watching me. She was wrapped in all the blankets. Angelica had in fact stolen them. Angelica may not have felt bad, but Celeste took pity on me. She untangled herself from the covers and tossed them over me. ¡°Hey,¡± I said, not entirely sure what was up. I would have whispered but Sunit snored. Now angelica -when she wasn¡¯t sleeping on a bed- snored, but the noise Sunit made¡­it was close to tooth rattling. So my voice in the relative din was mostly unheard. Celeste smiled, ¡°Slow down this isn¡¯t that sort of visit.¡± Sunit continued to produce noises comparable to that of a wood chipper. ¡°I kinda figured,¡± I told her. ¡°I am glad we are clear,¡± Celeste said. She snuggled closer, ¡°Any idea what the hell that thing was?¡± ¡°Elijah? No,¡± I considered, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I am going to regret not killing it.¡± Celeste considered, ¡°Probably. Its ability to manipulate¡­¡± She paused, ¡°It scares me.¡± ¡°Do you have Mental Resistance?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, but just recently, last level,¡± Celeste didn¡¯t hesitate to share her secrets. I keep hearing there is a lot of baggage with sharing info on stats. I got it too. You weren¡¯t just telling someone your strengths, anyone with a mind to and access to the knowledge could figure out your weakness too. In a world as violent as ours a sense of mystery was a type of armor all its own. ¡°Angelica doesn¡¯t have access to it though.¡± ¡°It said it had pheromones and they didn¡¯t work on me. I think it was telling the truth. Even with Mental Resistance I could tell the thing was gently influencing me. Nothing crazy, but enough to matter.¡± I paused, ¡°Should I have gone after it?¡± ¡°And left us to the dragon?¡± Celeste pointed out. Seeing that didn¡¯t fully answer my question she added, ¡°I could have killed it but not before it would have gotten a few shots in at the convoy. Brunhilda could block one, maybe two, but not three.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t really sound like a yes or a no,¡± I said. An acidic burn of anxiety had settled in my core. ¡°There are no easy answers in life,¡± Celeste commiserated. Sunit¡¯s snoring intensified. I kinda worried for his health. Something must be deviated. ¡°To hell with this,¡± Brunhilda muttered while getting out of bed. Her night clothes were plaid pajamas under an iron chain shirt. She also had a teddy bear. ¡°Between you¡¯re sparkling and-¡± Sunit¡¯s snoring drowned out her gripes. In a moment of relative silence between Sunits breaths Brunhilda declared, ¡°I am going to sleep outside.¡± ¡°I am being dumb. There is no sense regretting protecting people,¡± I repeated that internally a few times. ¡°We will just keep doing that, come what will.¡± Celeste¡¯s hand rested on mine. Her thumb drew a small circle along my knuckle, ¡°That leads into the other thing I want to talk to you about¡­¡± She considered again. ¡°The fight with Grond,¡± I offered. ¡°Yeah,¡± her hand stopped, ¡°We need to be smart about it. Some nasty surprise is coming.¡± ¡°I figured. So you want to kill him?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Celeste admitted. She went quite trying to put justification into words. My mind snapped to Grond not knowing Rebecca¡¯s, his priestess¡¯s, name, and the veil hiding Aiko¡¯s face. Don¡¯t get me wrong, Grond planned to build an army of mobs and chuck it wholesale at people to inflict horrors. All so he could force recruit followers. That was objectively worse by nearly every moral measurement. The thing is, it read like a cartoon villian¡¯s plan. It didn¡¯t feel real. Maybe it was because I saw the people Grond abused, but the personal petty nature of those personal acts of malice stuck with me more. ¡°By all means take the first shot,¡± I told Celeste. Celeste paused. She had been about to make her case, ¡°That''s the tricky bit. We need to bait out his essence. If I just stomp his avatars, the coward will probably just run.¡± ¡°I am pretty sure that is why I am here,¡± Aiko said calmly. I jumped and despite being fully clothed pulled the covers up to my neck, ¡°Is anyone in this tent actually sleeping?¡± Sunit let loose another rumble of snoring. ¡°Brand is,¡± Aiko answered unbothered by apparent shyness, ¡°I hope Sunit is sleeping otherwise what he is doing is some sort of act of abuse.¡± ¡°You are comfortable with being bait?¡± Celeste asked. ¡°I am bait,¡± Aiko said. ¡°Sorry for interrupting.¡± She quietly walked back to her bed and sat down. She then laid down and wrapped the pillow around her head. I am not going to pretend like I could read Aiko. I didn¡¯t know her, and I hadn¡¯t done all that much to learn about her. I was going to need to talk to her come sun up. Celeste rested her head on my shoulder.. ¡°Is there anything else you want to talk about?¡± I asked. I figured time was at a premium. ¡°You and Aiko bait out Grond¡¯s essence, I will do what I can to kill him,¡± She sighed. She didn¡¯t like the idea much. Killing Grond was necessary, but it was still murder. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I didn¡¯t like it all that much either, ¡°Would you give me one chance to try and talk Grond down. Provided no one else is in danger?¡± Celeste was quiet for a moment, ¡°Do you think you can?¡± ¡°Probably not, but if I can make him see this is Adora¡¯s manipulation¡­ I would like to try,¡± I said. It was true. I had no love for Grond. Hell, in the world that was he was the type of guy I wouldn¡¯t piss on if he was on fire. That said, killing someone is very different than being willing to let them die. The other bit was this wasn¡¯t the world that was. If I could get Grond to turn on a Narrator, specifically Lindsey¡­ ¡°Try,¡± Celeste agreed. After another moment, ¡°Could you please hold me?¡± I could. She was already nestled in one of my arms. I hugged her. It may seem like a little thing, but any chance you have to be there for someone you care about, be there. Celeste didn¡¯t stay that long. After about three minutes she faded back and left a sleeping Angelica. I pulled up the prompt to fall asleep and hit yes. I had to press it a few times. Sunit¡¯s snoring rivalled a diesel engine. I awoke again to someone poking me. Angelica this time with her elbow, kinda hard. She was still trapped in my hug. Somehow she had managed to once again steal all the blankets. I couldn¡¯t be mad. It was impressive really. I don¡¯t know how she managed it. The thing is she had wrapped herself like a burrito in the blankets and now with me hugging her she was basically trapped. I could see a crack of sunlight through the tent flap. ¡°Morning,¡± I said to Angelica as she kept poking me. ¡°I gotta go,¡± She said urgently. ¡°Where?¡± I asked, confused. Angelica elbowed me, ¡°I have to go.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I moved my arms. She rolled free and zipped out of the tent. The flash of light woke Sunit. He sat up and yawned. He saw Brand and Aiko still sleeping. He turned to me, ¡°Did I snore?¡± ¡°A little,¡± I told him. I stood. If the sun was up, that meant I had things to do. I should really figure out what they are. The early dawn light was still blinding relative to the gloom of the tent. ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± Brunhilda asked. She was tending to Pinky. She had scraped off the ice bandaged I had used and rigged up a large leather and metal¡­ sling to hold Pinky¡¯s damaged side. A slagged lump of pink metal was set on the snow in front of them. Pinky stood and balanced. The mechana-beast hopped around once, twice, and a few times more testing its ability to move. Pinky nodded in approval. ¡°That does look better,¡± I said, walking over. Brunhilda hopped off her bed she had simply taken with her out into the snow. ¡°Of course it is. Ice is ephemeral, not a building material, Bubby. Tell ¡®em, Pinky.¡± Pinky shrugged, showing off out the metal sling covered his wounded shoulder and helped him balance. ¡°It is hard to argue with that,¡± I admitted. ¡°Listen Pinky, I am so sorry this happened to you.¡± The Mechana-beast blinked. It walked closer and balanced on one foot and with the other patted my shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re not mad?¡± I asked. Pinky shook its head. ¡°We¡¯ll figure out something to fix you,¡± I said. Pinky nodded. I sat down in the snow, ¡°Let me try and get some things figured out.
Commune Check¡­ Successful You are now communicating with Follower Seth Cohen Doug: Hey, Seth are you awake? Seth: I am. What do you need? Doug: Could you tell Giselle we found a Mechana-beast? I am pretty sure it is related to her. Seth: How can you tell? Doug: It is pink Seth: it? Doug: Pinky is a giant metal bird. Seth: shouldn¡¯t you use he or she? Doug: if you want you can come over here and sex the robot bird. Seth: I will pass it along. Doug: Thank you. Seth: Anything else? Doug: I am going to send you some images of some creatures calling themselves Ictheys. Could you draw them and show everyone. I have no idea what they are, but they are dangerous. Seth: Yeah No problem. Doug: Thank you. Seth: Can I ask you something? Doug: Sure. Seth: How is Rachel? Doug: I''ll have to check. She hasn¡¯t reached out to me. Seth: Could you? Doug: Of course.
It took a few more Commune checks to send Seth the images. I opened my eyes and found Brunhilda, Angelica and Pinky watching me, ¡°I told people near Giselle that we found you. I can point you to where she is.¡± The Mechana-beast shook its head. ¡°You want to stay with us?¡± I asked. Pinky nodded. ¡°I mean we need all the help we can get,¡± I said. Pinky nodded emphatically. It would hurt my feelings but the mechana-beast was earnest and very correct. ¡°Doug, eat!¡± Angelica said. She tossed me a cloth wrapped bundle at me a split second later. I unwrapped it eh bundle and found a¡­I don¡¯t know. It was a wrap made of mushroom. The inside cooked down meat and vegetables from the stew. I shrugged and took a bite. It wasn¡¯t great. Not bad though. I ate it as reached out with Commune
Commune Check¡­ Successful You are now communicating with Follower Rachel Blum Doug: Good morning, Rachel. Rachel: What fresh hell are you bringing me? Doug: Just checking in. Rachel: Because? Doug: I care about your welfare. Rachel: ¡­ We have reached the Dungeon of the Dread Spiders. We are going to clear it. Doug: You are choosing to go into a dungeon full of spiders? Rachel: Dread Spiders and we would have preferred to go to the wolf one. That was cleared. You and¡­ your friends cleared the Snow Lion Dungeon. The Murder Ursa Dungeon is known to require a sacrifice so fuck that. That leaves this place and the Bigfoot Dungeon. No one has ever cleared the Bigfoot dungeon. So we are signing up for a bug hunt. Doug: Do you need help? Rachel: I don¡¯t know. The dungeon has clearly broken recently but from what we can tell. It is almost empty. Doug: That is ominous. Rachel: yep, what about you? Doug: I encountered some weird shape shifting fish men things calling themselves Ictheys. Have you ever heard of them? Rachel: Nope. Sorry. ¡­ I got something else I have to say. Doug: Okay. Rachel: You have to be quiet and just let me talk. Rachel: Okay, so since we established a connection with you. Stability has been the best it has ever been. Normally most of my people would be half baked on anti-anx and the other half jittered on stims. Right now no one is on more than the minimum to prevent withdrawal. Doc is over the moon but waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am pretty sure this is because of you. Thank you for helping my people. Doug: your welcome. Rachel: I told you to be quiet. You ruined the moment!
I broke the connection. That went a lot better than I thought it would. An empty dungeons¡­ that probably boded poorly for me. I forwarded most of the information over to Seth. He thanked me and said we would get the drawings done as soon as he could after talking to Giselle. Aiko stepped out of the tent. She took in the scene of Pinky, Brunhilda, Angelica and I sitting in the snow eating odd food. I watched her watch me. She was thinking through something. She had almost made up her mind and settled on a strategy, she abandoned it. After another few moments she clearly decided to just go with the obvious answer. She walked up to me and said, ¡°I need to talk to you about Grond¡­ and Adora.¡±