“How's your Pantheon Quest going?”
“The next stop should be the last.”
New Ben looked off to the side and seemed to be deep in thought. Without saying anything he stopped walking, sat down on a fallen log and looked out over the river. A river that Alex now noticed was living up to its name, something that was either due to the number of bodies that had been dropped on its banks or the more historical reason. After moving to get comfortable he started swiping his hand around like he was working on a big, invisible tablet.
“What are you-”
New Ben held up a hand to silence Alex and kept going.
“Professor?”
The professor just shrugged, walked over to New Ben’s log, reached out to it and smiled. Then while looking back at Alex she pulled an ethereal log out of their inventory and sat down.
“Why-”
The professor held a hand up imperiously and Alex threw his hands up in the air but stayed quiet.
“Alex?” Ben shifted around on his log seat and waved Alex over. “Why are you over… doesn't matter. I've been syncing my Map with your Earth and updating my Alchemy data to-”
“Was this really the best time for that?”
“Yes.”
“You needed to sit, we couldn't do that while running?”
“I didn't need to sit. You've been going non-stop since I got here, taking a break-”
“Ben.” Alex took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Ben, if the Onix Trono break Viracocha they'll control the unIntegrated Earths. They'll also become the most powerful Pantheon in the Multiverse. To stop that I need to- '' Alex stopped speaking as the quiet rage he was trying to suppress flared and flames covered his arms and Supay's Ember Mantle filled with fire, causing the air around him to heat up dramatically. Taking another deep breath Alex forced the flames down. “I need to rescue him from the UnderVerse. To do that I need to reach level 100, upgrade my Class. On top of that I need to clear Earth 39 of Kyrn. I. Don't. Have. Time. To. Update. Alchemy. Data. While. Sitting. By. The. Fucking. River.”
New Ben calmly listened then looked at the professor.
“Alex, you need to make time. What happens if you get to level 100, upgrade your Class and get to Viracocha?”
“Then I get him out.”
“How?”
Alex opened his mouth to reply but couldn't come up with anything.
“Exactly. You don't have a plan, you have a…” New Ben waved his hand in the air and looked to the professor for support.
“Nothing.”
New Ben opened his mouth to keep talking then snapped his eyes up to the professor's and shrugged.
“I wouldn't’ve been quite that honest, but Professor Ladere is right. You're treating it like if you get to level 100 you'll just walk in and get Viracocha back. Alex, the Onix Trono, their followers, they can all see what you're doing. They know you're coming. You're literally breaking into their… let's call it their headquarters, while they watch your feed.”
“Shit.”
“Good, I was worried you wouldn't take this well.”
“He's not an idiot, he just needs things explained a few times. Being the System's Special Boy means things have been easy.”
“They haven't been…”
Alex trailed off at the looks he was getting from both New Ben and the professor.
“Alex, you're beating creatures, and Adventurers over level 100, and you're doing it easily. Raqqer, he was the most powerful Elite I've seen out of a Dungeon and you toyed with him, then, let’s be honest, you destroyed him. Your Stats, you're a monster. Part of that is Viracocha, you're literally the Chosen of the God of Gods. But still, you're basically the most powerful Adventurer in the Starter Zone.”
“What about you?”
New Ben laughed then shook his head.
“Alex, you're a frontline heavy damage dealer. I'm an Upgraded Rogue who uses obfuscation, tricks and potions. In the same Party we work well together, head to head… level disparity is my only advantage. Something we know wasn't enough recently and you’ve gotten stronger since then.”
“So, off Earth, my Earth… without my War Leader Buffs?”
“I'm sure you'll still be a monster, but against an entire Pantheon-”
“One that hates you.”
“Yes. Again, thank you Professor Ladere. One that hates you. Let’s recap, how was your last fight against a Deity from the Onix Trono?”
“It wasn't a fight.”
“She's in the UnderVerse, waiting for you. Now that she's no longer a Goddess she can kill you without being Sanctioned.”
Alex looked off down the red-hued river and frowned.
“This changes a lot. I was pushing to get the quest done, slip into the UnderVerse, get dad-”
“Till.”
“Viracocha back and then…”
“I'm choosing to ignore that weird slip. What was your plan after that? If it worked. Just to be clear, if you’d waltzed into the Trono territory and made it out with their most high security prisoner.”
“I… I don't know. I've been on autopilot since… since the Integration started. I haven't stopped to think about what I want.”
New Ben nodded slowly then patted the log and pointed out over the river.
“Then stop, think about it and let's make a plan.”
“I don't… what if…?”
“Till, you need to stop. Even if it's just for a few minutes.”
“But Mama-”
“Understands. She does. She said so, while you were getting the… items… back there.” she looked at New Ben who was intentionally looking away, “She's worried about you. Why do you think she used so much Unu to help? She needed you to stop and think. If you don't, then you'd throw your life away and no one will be able to help Viracocha.”
Alex sat down and held his head in his hands and breathed out slowly.
“I was so caught up, everything that was happening, I didn't stop to put all the pieces together.”
“It happens. It'll keep happening. You're powerful so threads will pull you in a lot of directions. I'm a relatively low level Adventurer on my Earth, but I head up two of the more prestigious Guilds, and only one of those Guilds is open about its membership. I'm lucky, I delegated early and have people I trust.”
“You do as well Till. Me, the Captain, even New Ben.”
New Ben laughed then nodded.
“Not the most ringing endorsement I've had, but it'll do. So, what's your plan?
“I need to finish this quest, the Pantheon one. That isn't far away though. So that's the next step. After that, I need to finish what I started on 39.”
“Agreed, 39 also has such unintended benefits.”
Alex looked up and made a ‘go on’ gesture.
“Once you take out the Kyrn leader and claim the planet… outrageous, you aren't even Level 100. Anyway, once you claim the planet you'll have some real Multiverse authority. 39 has been fully Integrated for years, System knows how they lost to the rats, so your Feed won't be live there.”
“The Onix Trono won't know what I'm doing?”
“They'll know. You haven't really been subtle. But my skills will be of more help if we make our move from 39 instead of here. But what then?”
Alex shrugged and stood up.
“Help this Earth and the Clark County Resistance. I doubt I'll spend all my time here… 39. I want to restore Earth 39.”
New Ben clapped his hands together and the professor smiled.
“I knew we'd get there in the end. You want to restore Earth 39, that's a good plan. A few steps, a lot of parts that are either death or survive, but it's a good plan.”
“Restore Earth 39.”
“Where to now?”
Alex looked south down the river again.
“I'm so sick of this bloody river! It actually looks bloody now. Let's finish the Pantheon Quest and get over to 39 and level.”
With that they set off again.
----------------------------------------
“I still think we should've gone up that Bill Williams tributary, Alex.”
“We can always go back, but the… let’s say group I'm trailing has stuck to the main river so far.”
“Except for the System added area.”
“Thank you professor. That's different.”
“So we're close to-”
“Blythe.”
“We have a Blythe on my Earth… there isn't a river though.”
“There wasn't much of a river before the Integration, it was drying up. It looks like connecting with the Multiverse and having Mama Qucha spend more time here has had some unexpected benefits. Not that the residents of Blythe will be benefiting… shit.”
“Till!”
Alex just pointed, New Ben and the professor looked and both swore softly.
“Professor!”
“Till… they're all, surely they aren't all…”
“Pulse?”
The professor gulped and released multiple Pulses, her Maypi meter dropping quickly.
“No one. Till, what could, what would…?”
The three Party members kept walking and eventually arrived in the decimated city. Buildings had collapsed, bodies lay in pieces and blood stained almost everything.
“Kyrn.”
“How can you tell?”
Alex pointed at a body that was mostly covered by rubble and several bodies that had distinctive Kyrn claw marks.
“I'm guessing this is retaliation. They knew we'd pass through here and wanted to distract me. I'm close to finishing The Quest so they're trying to pull me away to 39. I'm guessing they'll have teams of Kyrn scouring the Colorado for the last site.”
“What do we do?”
“Give me a minute. Professor, can you make sure there is no one alive in the city.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“I did.”
“Just make sure.”
The professor fired off Pulses again, saturating the entire city until she collapsed into her thinking chair.
“No one.”
With that Alex's eyes lit with his Inner Fire, flames coursed across his body and Supay’s Ember Mantle flowed like it was made of liquid fire. Looking over his shoulder Alex could see that it had extended into a cloak of flames. New Ben and the professor watched as unnatural shadows coursed across his face, obscuring his features.
“That’s new.”
New Ben had moved away due to the heat that Alex was generating.
“Alex? What are you doing? You’re controlling shadow.”
“Cleaning up their mess.”
“Alex… stop for a mome-”
Alex used every Buffing Ability he had, then slammed the head of the Volcanic Axe into the ground and created a huge Firestorm which tore through the destroyed city. Hooks of fire picked up Kyrn from the rubble and dragged them into the storm. Ash fell from the tempest as Alex stood in a growing Ring of Fire. Several terrified screeches could be heard as living Kyrn, both injured and those lying in wait were found and hooked.
Rage
The Warrior enters an uncontrollable berserker state that can't be exited until at least one resource is exhausted
All damage is increased by 30%
Warning: The Rage Status is uncontrollable, one it happens once it is more likely to happen during moments of intense emotion
“Till…”
Alex just shook his head, the motion pushing back the shadows generated by his mantle causing both the professor and New Ben to freeze. The barely contained ferocity was boldly displayed on Alex’s face. Every surface was blackened and heat radiated throughout the city.
“Till!”
Alex shook himself then staggered slightly.
“Till? Are you back?
“I think… that was…”
“A lot?
Alex looked at New Ben and nodded, while his eyes drooped like he was tired.
“I…”
Alex looked around himself, pulled the flames from the Ring of Fire into his body and was able to stand up a little straighter.
Alex Till lands Killing Blows on:
Kyrn Rat Warrior (Levels 84-92) x43
Kyrn Royal Guard (Levels 91-98 Elite) x17
725,836 Experience Received
You have overtaxed your Inner Fire
Exhaustion - 58:43 remaining
Exhaustion
All Abilities deal 50% less damage
Lasts 1 hour
Continued use of Abilities will increase debuff time
“That's new.”
“Exhaustion?”
“You've had it before?”
New Ben laughed and nodded.
“A few times. I'm surprised it’s taken this long. It's almost a rite of passage on my Earth.”
“Can't say I'm a fan.”
New Ben laughed again while Alex looked over his HUD. The debuff was prominently displayed but didn't look as ominous as the Radiation Poisoning.
“Till?”
“I'm fine professor, really. I was just angry.”
“Clearly. You're back?”
“Exhaustion has its benefits. I couldn't do anything even if I tried.”
“What about Rage?”
“That was unexpected.”
“Alex, I'm more surprised it hasn't happened before.
Alex took a tentative step, didn't fall, then kept walking.
“We need to keep going. If the Kyrn are here they'll get in the way.”
“Alex, you can't fight.”
“Wrong, I can't use Abilities, but I can fight.”
New Ben stared at Alex then at the professor who just shrugged. Smiling Alex led the way through the scorched and destroyed city. As he trailed behind New Ben withdrew several vials and threw them into the air where the stoppers came off and small amounts of liquid shot in different directions.
“New Ben?”
“It's Corpse Acid, Professor Ladere.”
“Of course it is. Why are you spritzing the area with Corpse Acid?”
“So the Kyrn can't eat their kills.”
“Oh. That's unpleasant. Carry on.”
“If any come back, I can’t imagine why they would after…” New Ben motioned to Alex who was moving quickly and seeed to be deep in throught, “ anyway, I thought I’d close the pantry but don't have enough Corpse Juice. It isn't something I carry a lot of.”
“Alex does.”
With that the professor transferred a stack of 50 large vials of Corpse Juice to New Ben.
“What the… wait, where did these crystal vials come from?”
The Alchemist appeared to be fascinated with the crystal ware and twisted a vial in front of his eyes.
“With the Juice. It was a Trash drop so Alex probably doesn't even know about it. A lot dropped in The Necropolis.”
“This was a Trash drop? These vials are… we use recycled glass. Amazing! I shouldn’t ask, but do you have anything else? Alchemy reagents and the like.”
The professor accessed the Inventory she shared with Alex and applied System default filtering. A screen popped up and provided a bird's eye view of a large storage area that was rearranging itself. Eventually a space devoted to Alchemy Supplies appeared and the professor flicked a list over to New Ben whose eyes went wide.
“New Ben, this is going to sound odd, but is the Inventory a physical place?”
“What? Yes, of course” New Ben replied distractedly, “sort of.”
“Helpful.”
“Sorry, sorry. Yes, Inventories are physical places. They just aren't accessible to Adventurers or Multiverse creatures. Every Inventory is contained on a single Earth within the Multiverse. That Earth is… different. It's completely Integrated, but creatures don't spawn there, you can't open a portal to it and it's one of the most secure places in existence.”
“The sort of?”
“While it is an Integrated Earth, “the Alchemist seemed to stress the ‘is’, “no one is born with Abilities. It exists like an unIntegrated Earth. Outside of that, Inventories are managed by one company, DiStore Industries. Their employees are the only ones on their Earth that know the truth… about the Multiverse and the rest of this.” He motioned around them, grimaced at the blackened and destroyed city and bodies that were being consumed by his Acid and went back to reviewing the list of Alchemical mats.
The professor's jaw hung open and she stared absently at New Ben.
“You can't be serious.”
“It's common knowledge on fully Integrated Earths. Every now and then some idiot, or idiots, will try to access it, typically they all die horribly or the System punishes them severely. Like those idiot’s who broke your Earth and forced the Vortalian’s to intervene before this Earth was destroyed.”
“The Vortalian’s intervened? Let’s table that for now, why would anyone want to access it?”
New Ben looked up and gave the professor a confused look.
“Why would someone want to access the Inventories of every Adventurer, alive or dead, in the entire Multiverse? Every Deity. You can't think of a few billion reasons?”
The professor nodded slowly then looked at Alex and New Ben saw the moment she thought about his Inventory being accessed by someone else.
“The Pantheon Quest?”
“Yes. You're sure it can't be accessed externally?”
“Sure? No. But it hasn't been done yet. I'm sure there are some Deities that could do it, but the System would Sanction them so there wouldn't he much point. Now, these items in your Inventory, can I have them?:
The professor waved a hand and every Trash Alchemy item in their Inventory disappeared then popped into existence in New Ben's very Alchemy themed Inventory. If either of them had been watching they would've seen a diminutive figure walk into the now vacated storage area, tap at the air a few times then leave. The area then started to shrink into nothingness.
“These are all Trash items for you? It must be a Profession thing. Odd. A lot of these are B and even A-Grade items. Necrotic Dragon Blood? Professor Ladere, that's almost impossible to get. What is…”
New Ben withdrew an item from his Inventory and looked down at it with wonder and shock.
“S-Grade?”
“It still shows as Trash to me. Going off the colour, that has something to do with Zargath, Alex’s Dragon friend.”
Zargath's Resonant Essence
S-Grade Alchemical Reagent
A rare alchemical reagent from the pure essence of a Reborn dragon with Water and Volcanic affinities dropped during the Reforging process
Purged of all Necrotic Essence, this substance represents the pinnacle of purity, ideal for advanced enchantments and alchemical endeavours
For the Will of the Draconium
“Alex had a Dragon friend? Who gave you this?”
“Alex saved a Dragon that was partially Undead. He infused it with some of his own Essence, a Rejuvenation Elixir and… 10 S-Grade Credits. It was a whole thing and neither of us really knew what to do. It was Reborn as an Ancient Dragon with Dual Affinities, Water and Volcanic.”
New Ben looked even more shocked.
“The sheer ridiculousness of that aside, a Dual Affinity Dragon? I didn't think it was possible. He saved a Dragon? Is he mad?”
“Zargath is… different. Well, as he's the only Dragon either of us have met, I don't actually know if that's true. He was very pious.”
“S-Grade… amazing. Truly remarkable. But yes, piety and madness go hand in hand with most Dragons. I’ve only met a couple both times ended in a mad battle for survival and multiple Adventurers died before we killed the Dragon.”
“I wouldn’t share that story with-”
Up ahead Alex stopped, stretched out his back and sighed heavily.
“Exhaustion has worn off, that wasn't fun. What are you two-”
New Ben jumped like he’d been burnt. Three sets of eyes were drawn to the crystal orb that contained a glowing viscous fluid that alternated between intense heat and a cool temperature, just on the edge of being cold.
“New Ben is melting the corpses with Acid. So any Kyrn that return don’t have an easy meal.”
“Good. What are you doing with Zargath’s… what is that? I know you’re into some weird stuff New Ben, but please tell me that isn’t…”
“What? No. Professor Ladere gave me some of your Trash Alchemical items and this was one of them.”
“Trash? I had Trash items?”
“When you loot stuff there is typically a plethora of Trash, I scoop it up when you’re done with battles. You never know what will be useful later. Most of the time I just get a ‘Loot All’ option and the System takes care of it. That… stuff, the Resonant Essence was one of those.”
“It doesn’t look like Trash.”
“To you it is. As New Ben is an Alchemist, items are different for him because he can use them. To you, other than looking impressive, you couldn’t do anything with it.”
“Is it his…?”
“What? No. Well, I don’t think so.” New Ben looked down at the item in his hand then shrugged. “Usually Essence drops during intense moments of evolution or progression, as your friend was mostly Undead and you saved him… amongst other upgrades, I’d assume that this was the first draw on his new Essence.”
“So you can use it for something?”
New Ben looked thoughtful, lifted the transparent crystal orb up to his eyes and stared into it.
“A lot of things, this is a powerful reagent. But I’ll need to think on it. It won’t be something I use straight away. This is the kind of reagent an Alchemist creates their Magnum Opus with.”
“As long as it honours Zargath. He’s been through a lot.”
“Of course.”
New Ben reluctantly put the orb away and the magical saturation in the area seemed to drop away noticeably.
“We keep pushing on. Professor?”
The professor shook herself and looked up, then around with a frantic look in her eyes.
“Yes. Yes, I agree.”
Alex looked at New Ben and seemed to ask a question with his eyes and New Ben just shrugged. Alex moved closer to the professor and New Ben moved away to give them some privacy.
“Professor?
“Till?”
“Are you ok?”
“New Ben… he told me…”
“Told you what?”
The professor shook herself again and seemed to regain some control.
“Sorry. It’s nothing, just a surprise. Let me think on it and I’ll tell you. Ok?”
“Of course. Just, talk to me, to us if you have any questions. Eternal Equilibrium may have some answers that you or even New Ben don’t have.”
“That Ability is broken.”
Alex laughed then smiled at the professor.
“I guess you are feeling better. Blame Viracocha, not me. I didn’t choose it.”
“When he’s out of the UnderVerse and feeling better I’ll be have a long discussion with that man.”
“You also need to present your Multiverse Theory to him, maybe wait till after you’ve done that.”
“Of course. He’s still insistent that we shouldn’t talk about it? Even to compare notes?”
“What? Oh.” Alex looked off to the side and and nodded slowly, paused then nodded again, quickly darted a look at the professor who was waiting patiently then nodded again then sighed deeply. Sorry professor. He’s very insistent. Something about the… Epistemological Paradox of Ontological Plurism, or EPOP for short.”
The professor’s eyes went wide again and she mouthed Epistemological Paradox of Ontological Plurism a couple of times then waved Alex forwards.
“EPOP. Understood. EPOP… incredible. Viracocha said that?”
Alex just nodded slowly while he saw New Ben looking over, the Alchemist was also mouthing EPOP and looked exceptionally confused.
“Good. Let’s keep going then. We have two more items to recover then we can head to 39. It should be quiet there, I’ll be able to work on my presentation.”
“Right. Ah, don’t spend too much time on it, Viracocha will be busy when he gets back.”
“I know. But I want to have something ready just in case.”
Alex turned slowly and started running through the southern outskirts of Blythe, again following the Colorado which had an even redder hue now. Alex winced when he noticed all the ash that was on the surface and strewn over the banks in places. Rage was going to be a problem, a curse with no cure that would continue to get worse. Alex started to pant as fear and anger rose up in him, his Inner Fire surged and suppressed the emotions before they could take root. Holding a hand up as he ran showed that it was shaking. Clenching his fist he watched as his fiery chains coiled up his arm and he relaxed, feeling the heat from his chains match the fire within his core. Unclenching his fists he felt the chain sink into his body, the fire that it was made of dissolving and merging into his Inner Fire.