The Omen is not the only widespread cult recruiting members to their cause. The Quasimoto Templars, Children of the System, and Sacrifice of the Dragons, are all major cults that have brainwashed and spread propaganda throughout the continent. Some of them have gone defunct, such as the Sacrifice of the Dragons in a joint operation to destroy them by Wisperium and the Church of Pernatia. The cults have collaborated on numerous occasions, although the establishment of their contacts and leaders are still shrouded in mystery. Few have theorized and believe that many of these cults are secretly all part of the same collective, but due to the scattered operations and occasional conflicts between said organizations, the theory isn't widespread.
~ 189 Cults & Conspiracies by Skidmore Landwark
Christopher had informed them a day later that his superiors approved the investigation of the cold iron mine. Negotiation between Chester and the priest occurred over the distribution of their profits, and the illusionist was forced to accept a sixty-forty split, with Chester and Damien receiving thirty percent each of all they gain during the quest. He held his tongue as he didn't want to drive the man away, even though the adventuring duo received substantially less in comparison. Unlike with Lily's father, he didn't have leverage to bargain for a better deal.
The three were riding horses, generously supplied by the villagers who learned of their quest to end the source of these mysterious machines hiding in the mines. Although the illusionist would've liked to have more support with them, Christopher mentioned that the deacons weren't experienced and would otherwise be a burden during this expedition if they were forced to fight. His Attainium was stuck in its usual form as rings along his upper arm, using both hands to maintain a steady position on top of his steed.
Christopher's robes were shorter and more practical than his formal attire that he wore in church. The ensemble maintained the same white and gold theme, and he carried a meter-long staff as his weapon. Chester whistled, seeing the man decked out in high-quality gear. He could see that the church treated their members very well.
MITHRIL FOCUSPOINT STAFF
- Made with mithril, it boasts great hardiness and durability while also being light. Created by an elite craftsman, this artifact boosts any enchantments placed on it.
- All spells transmitted through this staff will have their effectiveness raised by 10%.
- Pernatia’s Blessing (Intermediate): Two targets will regenerate 15% HP instantly. Deals light damage to all enemies and inflicts blindness. 10 Hour cooldown.
- Weight: 0.5kg
The older priest eyed the marbled shield at Damien’s hip. A hint of recognition flashed as the shield’s design glowed with power.
“A holy shield? Curious. I didn't expect our equipment here, especially with you considering your kind's aversion to light.” He commented. It seemed the priest could tell Damien was a vampire pretty easily, but the boy had gotten used to it. He realized that his features were quite unusual and stood out in Elway.
The vampire in question scratched his head. “It’s…complicated. Besides, my family ring prevents the additional damage I’d sustain due to my elemental weakness.”
Damien didn’t know how to explain that Chester had stolen the shield. It was a useful tool for dealing with enemies impervious to his sword strikes. He had tested out the enchantment on the shield and found that it did not harm the user when worn, even if they were a species that would otherwise suffer from its effects.
Chester tried to move the topic along, and asked the priest about how experienced he was in combat. He was curious as to whether or not the priest attained the power from training or through active service. The illusionist didn't know how much training was required to level up, but he figured it would take a lot longer than going around killing monsters (or humans).
The blonde man was humble, and closed his eyes as he reminiscence about older times.
“Although I have experience, it was not much. I had only ever done it out of necessity, working side by side with the vampires in a drawn-out conflict.”
Damien perked up at that revelation. “Wow, when was this?”
“It was two- no, three decades ago. I was only a rookie on assignment at a village nearby. Varya, if I recall correctly.”
“What were you guys fighting against? It must’ve been serious if vampires needed help.”
Chester looked at the boy. The man knew that Damien was worth ten warriors alone. He thought about Joseph Devon, and doubted that a hundred could even bother the swordsman if Damien's praise regarding the man's skills was correct. The enemies they faced must’ve been extremely powerful if a city full of people like Joseph and Damien needed support.
“A regiment of demon contractors were planning a siege on Wisperium. At the time, Dracule Rose was away for an extended period of time and had requested Pernatia for help.”
The religious man had a thousand-yard stare, and Chester grew curious upon hearing about the demon contractors.
“How strong were they? The demon contractors.” The scroll from the warehouse was still inside his bag, waiting to be used. Although he was extremely hesitant with selling something as vague and mysterious as his soul, he couldn’t help but think about the potential powers he could get.
“Very. Each one had sold their soul completely, in exchange for the greatest powers the demons they contracted with could give. I could see spirits leave their bodies, screaming once they had been slain. It was...a surreal experience”
They were enraptured as he described the abilities they received from the demons. Dozens of vampires and priests embroiled in battle against a half-dozen demon contractors and a hundred other mercenaries. Chester commended the man for his story-telling abilities. His voice was baritone, smooth like a fine-aged whiskey. The man wanted Christopher's voice to narrate his life, if possible. Or his eulogy when he inevitably died from something stupid.
“Finding a demon contract is rare; but six of them with their class evolution proved to be near impossible to beat.”
Sunlight shined down on the party as they returned to the mine. Surprisingly, the horses were docile and well-mannered; it was Chester’s first time interacting with the equine creatures and he gave it a firm pat as he listened to Christopher's story.
“I believe you may know this, but Gideon Hellscythe was one of the major contributors in the conflict. His class evolution was enough to turn the tides of battle. Being the main driving force in our ambushes and the greatest defender in the initial siege, Gideon was the sole reason Wisperium didn't fall.”
Damien’s eyebrows shot up in shock. “My father?!”
The priest whipped his head to look at the boy upon hearing the boy’s response. “Gideon Hellscythe’s your father?! You’re from the Rose clan?”
Chester watched on, amused at the interactions. Damien looked befuddled at his father's role in the story, and Christopher was dumbfounded upon the revelation of the younger vampire's lineage.
“I didn’t even know he had a second child. Atleast, one so kind. He was a…rough individual. Very crude and blunt, if I'm being honest. I had not expected such a well-mannered individual to be his son.”
The vampire looked extremely confused, and a hint of defensiveness raised up in his voice. He took offense to the way he described his father. It also attacked Braham's character in a sense, and he disliked the way Christopher talked about his family. “In what way? My father is a stickler for civility. I can’t remember how often he’s lectured me on etiquette and manners. Are you sure that’s the right Gideon? Gideon Rose? Tall, facial hair, slicked back hair? Wears glasses sometimes?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I was frequently assigned to his squads, mainly as support. He must have changed during the time we spent apart.”
“This is nice and all, but tell me more about the fights. You can figure out your dad’s identity later, Damien.” The illusionist said, trying to get the conversation back on track. He wanted to know more about demons and Marbas.
The vampire glared at Chester for interrupting him. The priest complied and continued to tell them about the stories of the battle.
“Well, there’s not much to say. Four of them were contracted with Demigorgon, and were berserkers that had matchless might. The other two contracted with Marbas and Balmund.”
Chester leaned in to hear more about the one contracted with Marbas, almost falling off his horse as he did so. His butt was beginning to become sore after riding on the horse without any saddle.
“The spellcaster with Marbas was a powerful time mage that could predict future events. His strategies were near perfect and we had to sacrifice a lot of our forces to corner them.”
The illusionist guessed that Marbas enhanced the chronomancer’s powers somehow. He wondered if dealing with the demon would strengthen his illusion powers. It was tempting, but he didn't know how his illusion powers could be powered up even further. The idea of having even more life-like illusions hardly appealed to him, as he surmised that such a thing would come as he gained more experience with his class. Hardly a thing he was tempted to sell his soul for.
“I suppose this is where Gideon gained most of his reputation. He had strengthened to the point that he could challenge Balmund’s contractor.”
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“Balmund? Who’s that?” Chester wanted to know more about the powerful demons that could challenge vampires.
“One of the original demons. His powers are centered around deprivation and stimulation of the senses. The contractor had enhanced multiple senses and become a much larger threat than any of the Demigorgons thanks to his superb combat ability.”
“How did Father beat him if he was so strong?”
“Well, multiple bishops were fighting alongside us. Gideon was buffed on top of his new class; Hexblade Warlock. He was able to accumulate souls in his scythe that gave him enough power to overwhelm the last contractor.” Christopher looked at them with a small amount of pride evident in his smile.
“Wow, you’ve got some big shoes to fill, Damien. I didn’t know your dad was such a badass!”
“Shut up. I didn’t even know. Priest Engel, what happened afterwards?”
The priest shrugged. “Well, the invading army collapsed shortly afterward. With our assignment complete, I received a promotion as senior priest and that was that. I've been assigned to humanitarian efforts after requesting that I don't partake in such bloodthirsty conflicts. It never truly suited me, and I learned that during the war.”
Chester hoped that they wouldn’t have to babysit the old man. If his last true fight was over two decades ago, he didn’t know how he’d fare against an army of robots at his advanced age. Before he could ask if the man was truly suited to join them in their journey, a massive wolf had pounced on Christopher’s horse. The animal recoiled, and the adventurer’s couldn’t even unsheathe their weapons before the priest reacted.
With blinding speed, the end of his mithril staff had smashed the wolf on top of its skull. Christopher dismounted the horse smoothly and used two hands to repeat the attack.
Chester watched, stunned, as the middle-aged priest that had professed himself as lowly support crushed the massive beast's skull in two hits. Its head was misshapen due to the attacks, showing that the priest was hiding some superhuman strength under those robes of his. The two watched from their horses as Christopher flicked the bloody bits off the staff with a small smile on his face. The smile didn't quite reach his eyes, and it prompted a shiver down the illusionist's spine. Any doubts regarding the man's ability to stay in a fight died right then and there.
“Well, shall we continue?”
----------------------------------------
The mining robots had proliferated since they last came. They swarmed every tunnel, digging into the rocks without care. More of the hostile machines tagged along, locking onto the group as they descended. Red orbs and heavy footsteps filled the mineshaft.
"Bolster."
Max HP has risen by 10% for 10 minutes. Minor resistance to status conditions: Stun, Shock, Paralysis.
Your stamina depletes at a reduced rate.
Chester and Damien watched as the priest blessed them. The effects listed out by the system were quite substantial, and their bodies felt more secure than before.
“Hurry so we can get this over with.” Christopher told the stunned adventurers. “Have you never fought with a priest?”
Not needing any more motivation, the two fought against the robots with great vigor. Damien was able to tank attacks and deal out sufficient damage by using the shield. He kept a close eye on the priest, making sure that no opponents came close.
Chester was swinging recklessly, but made sure to keep any robots away from the priest. His attacks dealt devastating damage to any that came near him. Occasionally his Attainium would shift into a hammer when he was in a tight space. Without any armor weighing down his body, he ran circles around the robots.
However, his speed came at a price. With so many enemies, he was unable to account for every single attack. A brutal strike to the back of his head caught him off guard, and stunned him for a moment.
This opening led to a rush of attacks, some catching him despite his massively superior speed. A sucker punch to his stomach, and another to his head while he was being restrained. A barrage of powerful punches and kicks that made him groan in pain. . He shoved them out of the way, breaking the encirclement of robots that surrounded him and escaping from their grasp. Chester successfully knocked one of their heads off with a violent hammer strike, shifting from the flail due to the lack of space.
“Cure Wounds.”
98 HP has been restored.
The priest’s staff began to glow, and Chester could feel his pain ease. His HP had been fully restored. He didn’t have time to do anything more than shout out his thanks before smashing another robot with his hammer.
Damien suffered less damage given the ability to parry and dodge attacks. Although wielding a sword and shield at the same time was an unusual experience, he quickly got a hang of it.
You have learned a new skill: Shield Mastery (Level 1)
The vampire continued his fight, unable to clear the enemies at the pace Chester could, but with superior technique he was able to dance around the clumsy robots with ease. He took the notification in stride, and saw that his shield strikes now held a bit more power than before.
With all of the attention focused on the fighters, Christopher was free to support them and to occasionally throw out the needed healing magic to restore their HP. None of the robots had the intelligence necessary to target the healer first, which meant that the battle was much easier than expected. Whenever one strayed too close towards their support, Chester and Damien immediately attacked.
Christopher was surprised at the quality and talent of these two adventurers. Although he was favorable to Gideon Hellscythe’s son, he had no clue about the mysterious illusionist that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. His fighting ability was very raw and unpolished, but what he lacked in finesse was made up for by his amazing physical ability. With his illusions confusing the robots, they stood no chance. During their walk to the next tunnel, the priest questioned him about his equipment, glistening as it shifted into rings around his upper arm in a neutral state.
“What is your weapon made of? The shape-shifting capability is extraordinary.”
“Attainium. I…got it for a pretty low price.”
The vampire looked at the man in disgust for lying through his teeth.
After half an hour of constant battle, they cleared out the tunnels. Chester and Damien had their stamina refueled by a short rest, and carried the piles of scrap metal onto the minecarts. They didn't bother with the car-sized variants, as they were composed of basic metals. The hostile robots contained much more valuable material.
“We should’ve brought some of the townspeople with us. They could’ve brought these up while we went down to take care of the infestation.”
Together, they traveled into one of the many holes that the miner robots had dug up. It was the same diameter as the car-sized drills that dug through the earth, and the group fit as a single-file line. Chester had to duck his head slightly to get in.
"Well, this is the spot. We all brought supplies right?"
Damien nodded, showing his bag. The priest also had one, but it was designed with the symbol of the church, a golden skull, in its center. Chester was at the forefront, lighting the pathway with his illusion. The priest wanted to learn more about the illusionist, as he wondered about his origins. Christopher knew that those with such great talent like the man were usually recruited into major organizations as soon as they appeared, but apart from his affiliation with the prince of Wisperium, he seemed to show no other connections to organizations. It made him slightly suspicious.
“Chester, you chose the illusionist class?”
The man didn’t look back as he responded to the blonde man’s questions. “Yep, it's pretty handy, all things considered.”
“I don’t recall the class ever being focused on offense. How are you so physically strong? I have seen dedicated combat classes with less ability than you.”
The man looked back and grinned. “I don’t know, just did a lot of push-ups, I guess. Besides, I’m not that strong.”
Although he was downplaying his abilities, he had gotten humbled in Elway. Chester’s thoughts focused on the female knight that had almost trampled him underfoot. The monstrous strength and speed she displayed were on another level. He guessed that she had hit her second level milestone, like Damien’s father.
‘If I want to protect myself from bastards like those, I need to get stronger. If I reach level fifty, that should be enough, right?’
The time spent walking through the tunnel was uncountable. Seeing the same path had led the group to believe they were inside for hours. Several tunnels branched off, but they all led back towards the cold iron mine. Chester wanted to find the source of the robots and see if he could get any more valuable scraps in the process. The hole had gradually widened, and now it was about two meters wide. Enough to fit the group from end to end.
After stopping to rest, Chester used his bag as a pillow to lie down and take a quick nap. Damien shook his head at how the man could easily lower his guard during such a tense situation. The fact that they hadn't encountered any enemies yet made the vampire more uneasy. Putting his mind off the man's lack of anxiety regarding the situation, he turned to the priest who had crossed his legs in a sitting position. Chester had set his Minor Illusion down as a small orb of light, providing ample illumination in the tunnel.
“Priest Engel, can you tell me more about my father? How was he like when you met him?”
“It has been a long time, so forgive me if I’ve forgotten any details. But when we first met…”
So the man told stories. Tales about a man so far removed from the one Damien originally knew. An uncouth vampire whose sole focus was gaining strength. Christopher described Gideon as an extremely cruel fighter, who doubled as their torture specialist when capturing their enemies.
“One of our priests was a friend of his. When the man was killed during a surprise attack, Gideon went mad and tried to attack their base by himself! We needed four people to hold him back.”
Damien was befuddled. The same man who preached sophistication and passiveness used to be a bloodthirsty warrior. The image of his father didn’t quite compute in his head. He put his hand on his forehead in disbelief.
“I’m sorry, it just sounds so ridiculous. He is much, much more different now. I find it hard to believe.”
Christopher’s eyes twinkled. “Well, I can guess why.”
Damien tilted his head at the obvious mirth in the man’s expression. He didn't have an inkling as to why his father changed so much.
“Having children changes a man’s life drastically. Seeing how you turned out, I could only guess that he wanted to be a proper role model for his sons.”
The vampire didn’t know how to feel about that. He had merely considered his father as a prude hellbent on making things as inconvenient as possible. Damien couldn’t fathom that his and Braham’s birth caused this rapid change in their father’s personality. His opinion on his father changed slightly, and he held the man in higher regard than before. The bitterness he felt from being kicked out lessened, but he still disliked the man's nagging.
“I’d like to know more, please.”
Before the priest could open his mouth, the clanking noises reminiscent of the robots from before alerted them to something approaching.
Chester’s eyes snapped open and he readied his weapon, along with summoning a source of light to illuminate what walked in the dark.
A lone robot could be seen, and the illusionist quickly barked out orders.
“Damien! Take his left arm.”
Together, they disabled the robot by pinning down its arms. Knocking it down flat on its back, Damien used his weight and shield to keep its limbs incapacitated while Chester stepped on the robot’s right arm and bashed its skull in with a hammer.
It only took several seconds before it stopped moving. The two got up and Chester gave him the gesture for a high-five.
Damien looked at him suspiciously, but placed his hand up and braced himself for a hard slap like before. Unlike his expectations, Chester gave him a proper high-five.
“Teamwork, baby!”
They continued to travel forward for several minutes, before coming across something peculiar.
The tunnel had widened into a massive room, about forty-five cubic meters. A massive robot, much larger than the ones they had seen before, was sifting through the piles of insectoid corpses and robot scraps, collecting whatever they needed and depositing them into its chest cavity. It made the robots they've fought look like toys in comparison.
'Did they take this fucker from the set of Real Steel?!'
With a height of two and a half meters, the robot was shaped like a dystopian, steampunk centaur. Where its legs should’ve been were four spider-like limbs that pierced the dirt as it traversed the battlefield. It had three arms, each one with a different tool on the end; a fist, pincers, and a saw blade. It was armed to the teeth, and the size and thickness of the plates protecting its body were like thick slabs. It still had the mismatched texture from being composed of different metals, but it seemed to be composed primarily of mithril and orichalcum.
It turned its head, clearly made of higher quality material than anything they had seen before. Chester stiffened upon seeing it make eye-contact with three, glowing orbs of light on its head.
“Three targets confirmed. Initiate: Extermination Mode.”
The orbs turned from blue to red, and its colossal body shifted, turning the weapons of massacre on its arms against the trio of adventurers. The illusionist only had two words to say in response.
“Oh, fuck.”