Eric couldn’t hold back the laughter slipping free of his lips as he raced for Blue Palace, the contingent of metallic velociraptor extras he had somehow made not quite able to keep up at anything faster than fifty miles an hour. Not without tearing both themselves and the road up, but he knew just where to park his treasures as the magnificent city tower came into view.
ES – Hey Calibro! I’m coming by with fifteen friends! Metallic friends much like your former car! Anywhere you want me to put them?
C – Ernest, my generals have just informed me that the Velociraptor threats have been eliminated from Freetown. You and your Underlord have our sincerest thanks.
Eric grinned at that.
ES – No problemo, Calibro.
C – But please be informed, these are just the fast moving scouts.
Eric blinked at that. “Excuse me?”
C – Multiple mana-warped abominations and anomalies will soon be flooding out of the territory. The good news is that the first monster wave should have burned itself out after a week’s time. After that, we’ll be able to predict the strength and frequency of regular waves. Fortunately, the pair of velociraptors our elite mercenaries were actually able to take down without your help point to potency-rich meat. Such would be unhealthy to eat for extended periods for pure mortals, but seeing as how every citizen within this city is a Professional or a Classer or at least has the potential to be one… (thank you for that miracle!) - we should all be fine. This might just solve our food crisis… or at least abate it.
ES – Wait, so this is just the beginning? More shit’s coming? What exactly?
C – Mana warped abominations. We won’t know details until our scouts report back, but expect these abominations to flood the region soon. In addition to a hell of a lot more velociraptors. But you and your World Eater are making all the difference. You can certainly expect a royal commendation when this monster wave has passed, my friend.
Eric’s jaw clenched.
ES – You don’t have to worry. I’m going to take care of it. Is there anything I should know?
C – Besides that what you’re doing is madness? Yes. My scouts report Elonia Silver and all surviving Sylvan Alliance troops and allies will arrive in Freetown Proper shortly.
ES – What?!?
C – Don’t worry. The goblin assassins swore an oath to leave all Elves and Freetown citizens alone in return for their freedom, as they were sworn to the goblin chartered bank, not the goblin Shamans or Barristers themselves. Once our banking issue was resolved, they were technically our property. I simply asked that they leave the Northeast. I have absolutely no doubt that they will comply. Furthermore, Elonia is well within her rights to hire a Blue Corp ‘escort’ to help with the Monster Surge effort. Fear not, her status as a Contender will not suffer for it, particularly not during a cataclysmic event like this. I was planning on housing her in Blue Palace. Top floors, of course.
Eric swallowed. “Thank you,” he said to the air as he came to a halt right before Blue Palace. His eyes widened with shock as he caught sight of the contingent of artillery experts lead by the mercenary and his half-orc/elven wife that he recognized so well, accompanied by his former adventuring companions Yuki and Jack and Steve, all with serious looks upon their faces as they hovered protectively around the girl already surrounded by four power-armored mercenaries.
Heart in throat, he darted forward, so fast that the mercenaries only had time to blink in surprise, roaring warnings for him to stop before they fell over themselves, and then Eric was there, right there before his suddenly terrified looking sister. Who blinked, smiled, and all was right with the world once more.
“Stop right there, or we’ll open fire!” Roared a tinny voice Eric utterly ignored, a trembling finger gently raising up to stroke Elonia’s cheek.
“You’re here!” Eric swallowed, drinking in her perfect, flawless form. Clad in silvery mail radiating such gloriously potent protective magics, her anxious face was free of the tiny scars and war wounds that stress and addiction had caused, a lifetime ago. Just days ago. All but completely healed, not that she couldn’t hide it all with artfully applied concealer and a boosted Vitality, but no. No need for that. She was flawless, perfect, gazing at him with the strangest look from her emerald green eyes, tilting her head with a playful smile across her lips.
“Is it you?” She whispered with the same gentle voice that had filled him with such hope and comfort a lifetime ago, her fingers flowing in an intricate pattern as his brain pinged with multiple messages. He blinked away tears and nodded, his twin speaking in their secret language that only they knew.
“It’s me.”
Elonia sobbed and wrapped her arms around him. Eric swallowed the lump in his throat as Yuki’s furious glare eased to confusion, her deadly sharp naginata flowing away as if it had never been aimed at his throat, along with Jack’s spear and Steve’s Void-Flame magics.
The quartet of mercenaries got done shouting messages to Caliban through their shortwave radios.
“You must be Ernest Slaughter,” the closest said with no small amount of disapproval.
“That’s right,” Eric managed to say, gently taking Elonia’s hand. “Come, let me show you some of the sweetest pads inside Blue Palace.”
Elonia’s eyes twinkled with warmth, her smile touching his heart. “I’d love that… Ernest. But I have an appointment with Prince Caliban in exactly five minutes. But perhaps you’d like to join us?”
Eric nodded. “OF course I…”
The air erupted with a mournful howl that had everyone save Eric wincing.
“Fuck, what the hell is that?” Snarled Billy, glaring upwards before his eyes bulged at the sight of the Titan Wyrm undulating in the distance.
“Fuck! Those things are real? I thought it was just in those movies… but screw it, the air does spell of cinnamon, spice, and wild magic. So why the fuck not?”
“Shut up, Billy,” Yuki snapped. “That’s a World Eater! The prince said we have a tame one, but let’s get inside. It sure as fuck isn’t… what the fuck are those?!?”
Eric turned around to catch sight at what she was screaming at, and the Bronze mercenaries were aiming their blasters at.
“Oh, those are just some of my velociraptor golems? I guess they’re golems. Don’t mind them. I’m going to leave them here to guard Blue Palace in case shit goes south while I go hunting. Isn’t that right, boys?”
All of the chrome and steel dinosaurs creaked as they dipped their massive skulls in perfect unison.
Eric grinned. “Damn right you will!” He then turned to the artillery specialists. “Looking good, Mory, Yini! You guys need any help setting up your long guns?”
The pair exchanged looks. “Who the hell is this guy?”
“A friend,” Elonia quickly explained. “No, Eric… Ernest. They’ll be fine.” She flashed Eric a hopeful smile and he couldn’t help but rub her silk blond locks just like he used to, earning a frown just like he used to.
“Why do you smell like dino-guts and a girl’s perfume, bro?”
Ernest winked. “Because I’ve been killing dinos and kissing damsels in need of saving, and now if you’ll excuse me, my incredibly awesome and super beloved… friend, I’ve got a city to save and a Monster Surge to stop.”
Elonia’s playful banter stiffened to sudden fear. “Eri… Ernest, no. Please. The southern territory’s evolved! I know you’re strong,” she gave a rueful chuckle, one lacquered finger poking his mithril mail covered chest. “As a Queen, I can sense just how absurdly gloriously powerful you are. But bro… that territory’s no longer Red… it’s now crashed to Black, and it’s in over-surge status.”
Eric flashed his brightest smile. “I know! Chock full of tasty things to CHOMP on. Makes life so exciting!”
Yuki whimpered.
Jack cursed under his breath.
Steve whistled in outright admiration. “That’s totally badass.”
Elonia glared. “Eric, stop it. You’re showing ALL your teeth!” His sister hissed.
Eric winced, wiping his face. “Let’s just pretend I didn’t do that?”
Yuki gave him a look. “What the fuck is wrong with your face? Sharkblood in your family much?”
“Ha Ha, Yuki. Funny. So funny.”
Jack frowned. “How does this cat know all our names? And why does he seem so familiar? Fuck. No, seriously. How is it that your mouth looks like it could fit a fucking World Eater… but it’s, um… perfectly normal?”
Eric gazed up at the massive World Eater in question. “You know Wormy’s tri-fold maw has a fifty yard diameter, right?”
Jack paled. “No shit.”
Eric smirked. “I’ve never fit anything larger than a fellow Contender in my own mouth. I swear.”
“Ha Ha,” Jack snorted, before turning to an awed-looking Steve. “He’s joking, right? Please tell me he’s joking.”
Eric winked at Elonia’s exasperated scowl. “I have to go, Princess of all things sweet and beautiful. Stay here and keep safe, okay? As soon as everything’s taken care of…” Eric clasped his sister’s hand, saying so much with his gaze. “I’ll have a present for you that will blow your fucking socks off.”
Elonia’s eyes widened. “Eric, you can’t be serious! That’s a black-tier…”
He cut off her words with a soft whisper she alone could here. “You’re not out of the game yet, sis. And after this is done… you’ll be the strongest player in the Northeast.”
And before she could say anything that could possibly still Eric’s resolve, he was gone, leaving nothing but a baker’s dozen metallic sentinels that all bowed their heads and cawed in unison before a bemused Elonia and her party.
Yuki gave the dazed princess a long look. “Is there something we should know?”
Elonia turned, locking gazes with the girl she had come to rely on so heavily.
Yuki flushed and lowered her gaze. “Not that it’s any of our business, Your Grace.”
Elonia sighed. “Certainly not what you’re thinking. I love him as fiercely as my own brother, and he just might hold the key to our salvation’s faction. Beyond that, the less you know, the better.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “Wait, he isn’t your secret lover trying to claim your hand or anything like that? And what was up with his teeth?”
“NO, Jack. Nothing like that. As for his dentition… they looked like healthy chompers to me,” Elonia declared as she allowed a deferential seneschal to lead her and the others inside.
Jack frowned. “For just a second, they looked like shark teeth.”
Elonia shrugged. “And for a solid minute, they looked perfectly normal. So let’s not get hung up on exceptions but focus on what matters most.”
“And that is…”
Elonia flashed a pained smile. “Can that glorious idiot actually pull off a win against an ascending hell hole?”
Jack blinked. “Good point. Well fuck. Maybe those teeth will come in handy after all.”
***
0.01 Standard air resistance (and magically easy breathing) means you have successfully broken the Sound Barrier!
Speed Racer II makes inertia your bitch!
Pivot on a dime, slam into anything you like FULL FORCE!
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Eric howled with sheerest delight, no longer hindered by well-meaning blobs of steel, circuitry, chrome and free-flowing wild magic combining with elements of a city that were as much dream as reality, only having existed for a handful of days, which seemed to make it all too easy to unexpectedly animate. Now it was just him howling with the sheer euphoria of racing FASTER than he could have ever dreamed possible, before the world as he knew had ended and a realm of terror, tribulations, and infinite potential had manifested upon the ashes of the old.
Now, even with Battletime, the world seemed to flow around him, Eric savoring interface messages he already knew by wrote, EAGER to see just how fast he could push himself, even as he practiced weaving and juking, truly mastering inertia as he snaked through and darted past buildings, trees, and shrubbery, grateful that his evolved perk meant that even undergrowth effected his traversal no worse than racing across flattop roads as he raced towards his massive Underlord howling into the spicy winds, Eric sensing the dozens of abominations his greatest revenant had already crushed and consumed.
And then he was racing right past his Underlord, laughing and waving at the swarm of velociraptors circling around the titan wyrm like elite fighters around a space carrier… before Eric squeezed his ring and dropped another 35 utterly overpowered velociraptors blinking at him once before rushing over to the third-mile long titan sworn to Eric’s eternal service.
“Wormy! I’m going hunting for CRUNCHYS! You stay here and serve as company leader! Your mission is simple. Any fuckers get past whatever artillery fire my human and elven friends unleash? Devour them. But don’t slam the ground so hard that you jeopardize my city’s structural integrity. And even if I die… you and your troops are NOT to harm or eat the humans or elfies, no matter how juicy they look! Lots of wild beasties in wild territories for that. Okay?”
A single mournful howl of acknowledgment echoed through the air as Eric rapidly approached the barrier between white-tier Freetown’s territory and the black-tier region surging with such wild furious potency that it risked swallowing up all the now far tinier regions Eric had fought so hard to rescue over two overlapping lifetimes, as he now thought of them.
ES – I’m going in, Caliban! Wish me luck!
And that’s when Eric saw it. The sight of a second Titan Wyrm, rearing its massive head as it approached the barrier and seemed to be doing all it could to force its much larger mass through the territory barriers that effected Eric not at all. Though even he felt a spike of dread in his gut when reality itself seemed to crack like brittle glass before the strain.
Then there was the searing flash of arcane shells beyond anything he would have given Caliban credit for, and Eric knew to crouch down and curl into a ball, instantly summoning an undead bulwark he was able to fit in his once more near-empty ES Space, now completely free of any trace of gold, when the world erupted in violet and purple flame.
You have suffered from Extreme Hyperion Radiation Surge.
You have saved versus blindness.
You have saved versus catastrophic injury.
Hyperion Blazer Perk in effect!
You are extremely resilient to all forms of radiation, especially Hyperion electromana radiation!
SEVERE Radiation burst reduced to LIGHT Wound.
You were MADE for this shit!
“Fucking hell, Caliban!”
C – ERIC! Are you there!?! We have spotted a World Eater attempting to break through! ALL artillery has been brought online!
ES – Fucking hell, Caliban. THAT WAS AWESOME! Been awhile since I destroyed any planets with that shit. You telling me that HYPERION BURST bombs are legit?”
C – Ha. Thank heaven you’re healthy enough to joke. And make no mistake, even possessing this artillery is normally highly illegal! Save for ascending worlds and territories adjoining unstable regions, it would be just as forbidden as rogue states owning atomics in your own world, not that long ago. It’s nothing like a Starship core, of course. That terrible prize really could destroy an entire continent, or worse, in the right circumstances. But make no mistake, this is a category X weapon. Now please leave the area if you haven’t already. The World Eater is still alive, and we need to bring it down!
Eric glared up at the titan that was writhing and slamming the ground in agony from the smoking hole in it’s side… but the injury hardly looked fatal, and it was only thanks to Eric’s absurd perks and Finesse that he hadn’t been sent flying by the shock waves unleashed by that creature.
ES – That’s because Titan Wyrms have Rank 2 Essence of Impermeability! At least those from this territory do. You’re risking a radiation backlash poisoning all of Freetown, so I sure as hell hope you have air mages or druids on hand… and it still won’t bring that fucker down!
Eric could all but sense his distant friend’s dismay, glaring at the wyrm he was racing around so fast it was almost dreamlike when it suddenly clicked. His eyes widened, lips curling in a manic grin as he parsed over exactly what Caliban had said, feeling a sudden sense of glorious freedom like he hadn’t in a very long time.
ES – Calibro! Please repeat what you had just said! What allows you to use those Hyperion artillery shells?
C – It doesn’t matter, Ernest. Your points are painfully valid. Impermeability essence, at Rank 2, is beyond our ability to counter. Not with my elite team now out of commission.
Eric blinked, not sure what elite team this was, but obviously all sorts of wild shit had been happening behind the scenes. Or at least behind the scenes his life starred. He shook his head. Because really, that was neither here nor there.
ES - No, Caliban! Stop stressing over bullshit. Just tell me WHY you’re allowed to use Category X forbidden weapons right now?
C – Monster Surge, my friend. In the event a black zone surge is detected, all wars and internecine struggles are put on hold to be violated on penalty of exile or death, and all efforts must be put towards quelling or stabilizing the surge. Furthermore, all restrictions are lifted. Not that the latter is anything but a formality, really. Because there’s no way for anyone not Deep Silver to keep score, as Divination magic and all recording devices are worthless when the mana fields are as wild as the are right now.
Eric’s heart began to hammer. Not with terror, but with excitement.
ES – Is that a fact? So anything, and I mean ANY attack I can bring to bear can be used WITHOUT censor during monster surges?
C – Exactly.
ES – Good to know.
Eric was suddenly before the massive Titan Worm, before it had even registered the tiny mortal closing in on it. Probably not surprising. When a quarter mile long abomination was writhing and crashing against the obliterated basalt after having been painfully stung, despite its near invulnerability, it didn’t care to worry about gnats.
Save, of course, when those gnats packed a surprisingly powerful punch the equivalent of a hand grenade.
Power Strike – Transcendent Strike!
You have successfully struck your target with the essence of obliterating flame!
This flame has been further ENHANCED by the sheer potency of your MIGHT!
You have successfully struck your target for 192 times Base Damage!
Rank 4 Essence of Fire (BLAZING) Trumps Rank 2 Essence of Impermeability!
All immunities and resistances have been bypassed!
You have done CATASTROPHIC Damage to your target!
20 Qi & 40 Soul Reserves Spent!
Vitality Check (at -500) FAILED!
You have dislocated 2 fingers!
You have suffered a hairline fracture of your left Ulna after charging into your opponent at 700 miles per hour and hitting it full force with your bare knuckles!
***
“Caliban! My brother’s out there!”
The Blue Faction prince turned to gaze solemnly at the anxious-looking teenage girl who looked so like the images of their patron founder that it sent shivers down his spine even now, before turning back to the floor-to-ceiling monitor that could make out the massive titan wyrm that had just forced itself out of the impermeable black region. A term coined for any territory flooded with Bronze-tier potency that neither divination magic nor electromana tech could pierce, unless one was actually in said zone, and even then it was both risky and perilous.
“We have no choice but to take out this threat before it approaches the city,” Caliban said in a ragged voice, before thinking outside the box. “I warned your brother to clear the area. At the speed he’s capable of moving, it should be safe to fire a follow-up shot in twenty seconds. And if he could compel his titan wyrm to attack this one…”
“Recommend against that, Your Grace,” said the commander to Caliban’s left, currently overseeing a handful of technicians beside several 3-D graphics displays as they quietly gave orders to the entirety of Caliban’s Bronze-tier elite forces, including their artillery regiments.
“Fresh packs of Velociraptors have slipped past the barriers in the Titan Wyrm’s wake. They have an ETA of under a minute. They possess a quickness we recorded as exceeding 200, and vorpal talons that can shred our power armor. Ernest Edgelord’s minions could mean the difference between life and death for our men. And should our armored units fall…”
“I know,” Caliban said roughly, eyes filled with apology as he gazed into Elonia’s stricken eyes, both of them ignoring the buffet table groaning under the weight of the high end spread of gustatory delights laid out for Command’s benefit. All Elonia had eyes for was the creature that could spell their doom.
Then the monitor abruptly flashed and crackled.
Caliban’s concern turned to instant alarm.
If their communications array had been knocked out… then the stakes were far higher and the enemy far deadlier than even Caliban had predicted.
“Report!”
“Higher order potency surge, Your Grace! Compensating for it now!” barked the commander in charge of comms as he barked orders to his underlings.
Elonia’s petite hands clenched into tight trembling fists before the three monitors snapped back into focus once more. Showing, of all things, a massive smoking World Eater covered in flame.
Elonia’s eyes widened. “Caliban, was that your artillery?”
He turned to his man who solemnly shook his head.
“No, Elonia. It wasn’t.”
Yuki and Steve exchanged looks. “That thing’s covered in bloody craters,” Steve whispered.
Jack whistled. “And look at it’s tri-fold mouth.”
Yuki frowned, the monitor zooming in to do that. “It doesn’t have one. The top of its head looks like it was blown off! Isn’t that what you were aiming for, Caliban… oh, shit! I don’t fucking believe it!”
Jack turned to an awed-looking Yuki. “What?”
“That boy our fearless leader was fearlessly flirting with. He’s right there! How?”
Elonia’s eyes widened. “He did it. I don’t believe it. He actually did it!”
Her friends hooted and cheered.
Elonia sensed the mood of the entire luxury condominium-converted war-room switch from tense panic to jubilation.
“He’s a fucking hero!” Jack hooted, before scowling. “But why’s he hovering over the thing?”
“And covering it in blood runes?” Steve noted. “At least a few. Not that you could cover that much in a creature a third of a mile… oh look! The runes are self-replicating over the entire corpse and it’s bursting into crimson purple flame!”
Yuki blanched. “Do you guys hear that?”
The entire chamber chilled, the air suddenly filling with a whispering crawling static that left all the elves among their number visibly pale-faced and queasy.
Steve frowned. “Strange, I’m not sure if I’m hearing sound or… magic? Spirits? What frequency does your sound system pick up, Caliban?”
Elonia blinked, feeling a sudden surge of worry. She turned to the Blue Prince. “Caliban? I um… I think you should turn the monitor off my brother right the fuck now.”
Yuki blinked. “Wait, he’s your brother?”
“Shut the fuck up, Yuki, and forget I said that!” Elonia glared.
Yuki held her hands up defensively. “Chill, girl. I didn’t here a fucking thing. But is it okay if I admit he’s kind of hot. In a manicky, Joker, psycho kind of way?”
Jack snorted. “So he’s totally your type.”
Yuki nodded. “Pretty much, yeah.”
But Elonia was paying them no mind, eyes firmly on a frowning Caliban.
“Caliban, you need to turn off your fucking—”
Her words were cut off when the feedback turned to a hoarse screech, black ichor now running down the entire floor to ceiling monitor like rivulets of blood, playing odd tricks to the horrified captivated eyes of the observers, as the tiny boyish figure seemed to warp and grow to titanic size.
By a trick of perspective, Eric was now larger than the fallen wyrm who thrashed and struggled in the wild eyed demon’s (that’s my brother!) grip. SQUEEZING the struggling, writhing wyrm that refused to surrender, refused to give in, until Eric’s eyes blazed like twin red suns, lips opening like the event horizon of hell as he chomped down upon the massive titan’s soul and devoured it entirely. Until only the shell was left, and the snarling monster that only looked like Elonia’s brother forced open its maw and jammed his own massive arm down its throat, and somehow Elonia knew he was forcing his own hot blood into the corpse of the dead serpent.
Before it abruptly lurched to life once more.
“Ave Imperator Abedimos!”
The air filled with shrieks as the communication system shorted out and Elonia could feel blood streaming down her ears.
“Caliban shut the fucking system off!” Elonia screamed, though she was unable to hear a single word she said.
Two of the three floor-to-ceiling holodisplays abruptly shorted out. The one now covered in an oily black film that caused Eric to appear larger than life now showed him gazing right at them before his eyes turned jet black like the void, save for twin phoenix blazing to fiery life as the Altopaz window exploded, filling the thirtieth floor with hot mana-rich winds howling into the high-rise, knocking over dishes, plates, and cups and countless dairy products and pastries, and all a crumpled Elonia could here were those three twisted words crawling inside her mind.
She scrunched shut eyes that she knew were leaking tears of oily black blood.
A part of her was shaken and dizzy and horrified beyond belief.
Yet what terrified her more than anything else was the tiny corner of her mind that wondered, had she not been born to take the Ruler’s Profession, just how far she could have walked if she had been wired just a tiny bit differently. Knowing that all it would take was the tiniest push for the horrible loathing she felt at the icky black power now covering both this chamber and the entire city like an oily residue to transform to a desperate hunger.
The stench of pungent tobacco becoming sweetest release. The taste of corrupted power like so many bad habits filling her veins with ecstasy.
And how corrupt was it, really?
It was her heritage.
Her BIRTHRIGHT!
She took a shuddering breath, wild-eyes gazing out at the shrieking desert storm now so close she could feel it caressing her soul like the arcane spice that filled her veins with heady joy.
She ignored her friends curled up in shuddering balls, lurching back to her feet, arms raised high. All but TASTING the power in the air.
Before being caught completely off guard by the interface message now blaring across her mind’s eye.
You have had a PARADIGM SHIFTING BREAKTHROUGH!
Bloodkin affinities detected!
Your Twin Brother walks the path of a Master Necromancer!
Your niece IS a reborn revenant sworn to your service!
You have WITNESSED the forging of an Underking without going mad!
Do you wish to convert your ELEMENTALIST and RULER classes into Dual MASTER NECROMANCER Profession & Class?
You could become an even MORE powerful Lich Queen than your brother!
(You may keep ALL previously earned perks and learned rituals. You may STILL Walk the Path of Rulers and claim territories freely!)
Yes/No?
There is no time-limit to this opportunity! You may now convert your classes at ANY time! Conceptio would be MORE THAN HAPPY to help a favored VIP member’s ‘better’ half ! > _< !
All eyes are now on you, O_O Elonia Silver!