COI C24
Altair gathered who are interested about tomorrow’s challenge. They are hoping for them to have another chance, if they managed to persuade either the two, Sork or Cecilla. Everyone who is not interested are resting inside their hotel rooms, including Quail and her co-workers separately. It is kind of surprised they were offered for free, or they didn’t know how many rooms they are with magic rooms. No matter, this meeting still not proven to be legitimate as they are here for any adventurers to join. Thean and Altair are in it. For the others, waiting for them to talk about it.
“Alright, it is already past 2PM. We are here in the lounge to talk about any possibility to have a match with Sork”
Siren is here with her guild, melody guild, that is a part of the city guild. The city guild is an organization or company where other small guilds are called as team providing their service. Thean thought they are as a whole but with a different name. Now he hears their conversation that is connecting their groups. Along with Silfa, from Saint Heroes, Illtended, an actual free agent, and finally Altairrisck, a free agent as well. Siren introduces the one who will be joining the match.
“This is Ode, he is no singer but a musician. So, he is a counter measured support. Meaning he can suppress anyone under his skills”
“Hello, it’s nice to see you all”
Siren never thought this place will be their meeting. But couldn’t believe if there is a chance for another match. The last day of the summer festival is tomorrow, while Ode thought would be a great chance to show off the other abilities of the melody guild. She remained blank remembering what happened, after hearing the complaints by the locals. Her mind grew to rage and thought she could have another chance. Altair was checking her capability to fight, and knows few weaknesses about her. Siren can’t control her tune when she gets angry, if she sings like that, she sings like a banshee, the effects will be traumatic.
She already realized that during her adventures near Purissarwell. An elf showed her weakness by enhancing her voice in a different range from soothing to deafening. Siren must sing out of passion, but if she doesn't, it's weak. Ode wasn’t part of her party, but he believed it might happen again. No one can’t be this cool headed for long after one bad day. Ode skips the introduction and directly on the discussion
“Oh yeah, about the team. What role is your partner be?”
Altair responded
“I think he would be upfront, you can see his two swords”
“Yeah uh, how about those guys. Are they joining as well?”
Illtended shakes his head while the other adventurers say what they are in mind.
“No, but you guys must have a good composition. We are going to fill if you are missing a few roles”
Illtended was the only one didn’t want to join. Silfa asks him
“Then why are you here? They are planning to make a team to fight against Sork’s monster”
“Well uh, I have too much free time and I would like to see what you guys been doing. Honestly, I was watching some championships. I might advise you guys a thing or two, ehe”
They know about Illtended being a gamer except the melody guild and Thean. For Illtended to instruct them to form a comp, they likely agree. First off, they need to know first about the enemy’s side.
Silfa sighs and thought it would be better to think it together, her friends also wanted to make a plan. Altair reviews their comp.
“Ok, we have two supports and one frontliner. Thean what’s your skills?”
“I have to list it all?”
“If we have to work together, we need to know each other’s roles”
“I may complain a lot of things, but just under a half a day won’t be successful to plan a strategy”
The other adventurers responded
“True, but the second match actually did better”
Siren smirks to the other adventurers.
“I was the only one who is out of place in the match. My team was team platinum and the duo of power armored gunners. I honestly get distracted every time that sniper showed something from his inventory”
“Tsk”
Coming from the adventurers who thought they are random, and some admit to be true. For Altair’s match, he joined the team out of curiosity. He thought those two, the archer and hammer warrior, were enough to handle the monster. They were the actual adventurers during the beginning entering this world. However, the newcomers were good, but less acting to their roles. He soon can’t overthink this much longer. Illtended is already discussing about the list of different monsters that Sork should have. One of them is the elk and the totem heads. After presenting it, they soon realize as Illtended almost giving away the bad news.
Ode is bewildered the possibilities of making rituals and curses.
“That’s too much, I can’t prepare against all that curses”
Silfa starts to get interested by the look of all those debuffs, her friends start to think as well.
“Am I crazy or why am I excited for joining that match”
“Say Silfa, don’t you think we could join them”
Silfa thought the same, but the looks of Illtended, crossed arms and head down, focusing nothing but the list he presented. He focuses on the most possible monster to ever come from Sork’s. Illtended is not sure and Thean helps his assumptions. Thean pointed out the notes made by other goblins about him.
“I will be expecting he is going to use that doll”
“Doll? What doll?”
Altair didn’t understand what he meant and Illtended himself thought about it too. Nothing much to prove but the fact that Sork is known for.
“I have some thoughts about it too, the doll”
As the name is implemented about the doll, according to their superstition that is taboo to called out its name if someone said it as a goblin. They read the short description as for the adventurers never heard this from the goblins.
“Where did you get this list, Illtended?”
“I got the list from Mountaiwall before the lockdown, and as for the note, I had chat with the other goblins about the list I brought”
Illtended turned to the next page of the list and presents more detail. They almost got bored where they seen that the pages are more than 10 pages, which in his hand it’s the copy. The noted one is thicker which was converted into his device. He almost wanted it to show it to them, then decided to pick the possible choice what Sork will have done. He turned back from the list about the doll.
“Back to the doll, I would expect the doll will be his choice. According to the goblins, that he was the Horde chief’s saboteur. It means he had the rituals to contact predecessors of the Horde Chief”
Where the note shows that they lost count how many of those chiefs, truly coronated, because of the fighting.
Thean suspected it too, where the other adventurers start of thinking of joining the match like the previous match with 7 challengers. He believed it would be too much when facing the dolls.
“Did they mention how those dolls can do? I am certain they won’t let the dolls being out numbered like that”
“That is what I was thinking too, if we tried to outnumbered Sork’s monster again. Treating like a boss, I rather have the simplest maximum of four instead. The traditional 2 by 2, front lines and backlines”
Illtended thought it would be silly to follow like that. The traditional rpg game with only a small group of adventurers doing dungeon and dragons. Everyone didn’t agree to it.
Altair replied
“There was no rules how many joined the challenge as long as the battlefield fit everyone inside”
The other adventurers are also couldn’t agreed
“It would be risky, if we fighting those monsters. They might have the advantage”
“I’m sure it would be fine with more people like S ranks to do it”
Melody guild only watch them talk about what is suited best. Ode and Siren privately talk about the issue together.
“Ode Bass, as long as you are part of their team, can you handle multiple people at once with your music?”
“I don’t know what music I can support them. Sigh* I hope there is a mock training after this”
Illtended continues the argument
“I’m trying to say is that to minimize . . .”
It took them time to decide what party size they wanted to be, then Altair made a condition for it.
“That’s enough, let’s see what will happen after Gordon’s match. When we see the next monster, we will decide who are capable to join. Silfa, is there anything to say?”
“The deciding factor of your team will always be you, Thean, and Ode, right?”
The other adventures and her friends agreed that would be easier to those who join first take the lead. They seem to be more interested the curses can be cleanse. They seem to be undecided which of them will join in with their own abilities. Illtended had only one thing left he can do to help them.
After the discussion, a goblin walks into the convenience store looking for the secret hotel. The counter spotted him with signs carried on his back. It says ‘Train da boyz’ and as he greeted the goblin.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m here to find called Illtended, gamer account number 8724, he calls a tiny a guy that blink with light that is bigger than a card and . . .”
Illtended opened the door and welcome him.
“You’re here, so this voodoo thing works”
“Yeah I dig ya, but why giving me this card for my vooddooo”
The goblin holds a unique trading card, from the power of the voodoo, it turns alive within the picture in frame motion. Illtended gets excited and brings him inside.
Thean sees a goblin with Illtended, to his surprised the goblin look civil because of the sign on his back. It is crazy to see a goblin bringing a sign like that. The adventurers recognized him.
“It’s Train, long time no see”
“I thought all of you are going to leave”
“Yeah, we thought so too until they halted the foundation”
“And I still have your shiny here”
He shows the trading card when Illtended gives a farewell gift after visiting in Mountaiwall. This goblin is one of the exemptions to go through the city illegally, no one knows how he managed to go every crack and corners to get here and there. Yet he is an ok crazy thing.
Thean heard the goblin’s side of the story how they met. Even his reason why is coming here to help to face Sork, it was near perfect to see rival tribes battle it out.
“You mean, he will be joining us in the match”
All of them who knows the goblin says a loud voice
“No!”
Siren and Ode were not expecting that. Train notices the two
“Oh, who are you might be?”
Thean forgets that Siren didn’t mention her name and remember only Ode.
“Well, this is Ode Bass the musician and I don’t need an introduction myself, just call me siren instead”
Figures, it was late but she seems do not care for herself.
“Ok, you can see my name on the back of my sign”
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“Train, ok it’s nice to meet you”
They are about to train, and with Train coincidentally is here. Silfa and the other adventurers still wondering how Train know about the situation. Train looks at the card again and sees other adventurers wandering about him. The card ritualized by the far seer spirits. Like his previous daily routine, but now he is here just to please the spirits. After repeating the same idea which monsters will be summoning. Train already knows which, and he has no right to call them.
“The dolls, Sork didn’t have a choice”
“What do you mean?”
Train explains with his card at plain sight. The ritual casts on them in a small radius leaving only who is next to him; Altair and Illtended standing next to him, Siren and Ode are sitting close by. The ritual opened their eyes, images. Siren had experienced from before with the totems but this one shows them the rituals had done during the challenges. Pictures shown and unrecognizable language heard by their ears, as it slowly gives way for them to understand. While the people around and away from them, see brightness come around on them. Thean and the rest didn’t know what he is up to.
Images of carved totems forming pictures during the day of the challenge. Many voices murmuring about the match.
“I hear destruction, I hear destruction”
“Yeah, destruction sounds good”
Showing images of carved statuettes how the first challengers battle out with surrounding lightings change between fights showing the changes had happened. Beautifully aligned showing the curses uphold, they see what they never notice.
“Big boy breaks good, more spirits are coming”
“Loud man scares spirits”
The voice of the mage was heard
“BANISH!”
Then skips later to the Totemic creature
“Spirits are trapped, trapped!”
They found out why it becomes more powerful. The spirits were kept summoning new ones after the old spirits freed from their rituals. Horrifyingly trapped by the battlefield as they can’t get out, later showing the burning screams of the fire. The spirits said
“Bastards, bad spirits using other spirits’ curses”
“They steal curses, curses!”
“More bad spirits coming”
“No, no it’s not spirit”
Something appeared where the statuettes were covered in dark images. Soon a dim light appeared nearly closely to look orange as the sunset. Different totems appeared that is look like goblins. They hear them wails
“Bodies, we need bodies”
The totems sucked itself back to the none existence like smoke air. They return back to their world and Train was backing away, the same moment from the totems’ disappearance. The adventures reach out to the goblin.
“Are you alright?”
Train didn’t respond but quickly told them.
“Did you see visions?”
Siren answered him
“Yes, what’s with the last vision you showed us?”
Train sits up and checks his sign, nothing is sure for him what he envisioned of. Everyone is riled up of what happened, and Train told them.
“The next monster will be the dolls, the spirits are warning us that it attracts goblin spirits”
“Goblin spirits, I thought spirits meaning anything from the dead”
Thean knows it wasn’t true that the spirits of the dead. It must be their own view of it, he explained to them.
“Their spirits, if it was truly the dead. Then it is impossible for them to contact the spirits as they have too much enemies beside on their own race”
“So, those other spirits. What are they?”
“Spirits who accepted the goblin’s courtesies, such as domestic animals and their own race. Culturally, they don’t have grudges among each other. They happily joined as long as they meet their reasons”
Train agrees what Thean said, he added
“Because what happened before, no spirits will face tomorrow’s match except the Goblin spirits”
Illtended expected the worse
“You mean, those previous matches before. The curses before will never be used”
Train nods
“Then it means they are going to face actual goblins”
“Yes, and will be facing forgotten rituals and curses of the dead”
Train pointed out the list the everything they found out so far required the animal spirits. The goblin spirits however, it uses their own abilities. All rituals and curses, nothing will the spirits but their own physical abilities and past equipment. Leaving the team going back from the start, but Train thought otherwise. He first shows the difference between the spirits. Then he said without trapping the spirit this time.
They refurnished the lounge into a small ring, fit enough for Train to summon his spirits.
“I recommend your ideal party size with at least one from Horsin, like you”
He pointed out Thean as what the goblin thought. The team formed, they formed around 5 people. The exemptions were, Silfa, Ode, Illtended, Siren, and the other remaining adventurers. Only Altair, Thean, and Silfa’s friends will test Train’s monster.
“Why didn’t you join? you need to coordinate in order for you to understand their move sets, Ode”
“I would, but it is also an opportunity to watch their moves. I can do choreography with my music too”
Train cut a piece of stick from a potted plant, grabs some pebbles along with it. Brings up his maracas and shake it like a magic wand on it. The ritual inside it starts to fissure around it as it looks distorted, it reached to the piece of sticks and the pebbles and start to formed. The stick grown into a tree stump, the pebbles expand into big rocks but it clearly sees empty from the inside of its holes, lastly a small sapling grew out from the stump. Train explains this transformation
“Remember, the spirits are not alone”
The creature is formed, upper body maid of wood, small feet without having legs, and lastly the saplings grew leaves as the head.
As everyone sees the other version of shamanism, they couldn’t believe that this creature come to life by the spirits. Thean look closely at the spirit where there are also another creature hiding from the stump’s hole. By the look of its deceiving eyes, a small bird playing along as it stares at Thean.
“So, there are other rituals to look natural instead to be monstrous”
“I don’t know about that, powerful rituals should be look terrifying or you’ll be dead before you know it”
“Uh yeah, sorry”
Train checks on the monster and see something joining the other spirits as he whispered to himself.
“Oh, you passed away”
The team is ready, and the creature turned to them. Train watches from a far, expecting them to do anything using large area magic. The team plans out their strategy
“Thean, back us up when it uses it curse. Can you handle it?”
“Yeah, but remember that this fight to test my coordination with you guys. The next monster won’t be using spirits for curses”
“Like what Train says, you will find out the differences facing it and watching the match tomorrow”
“Don’t worry, the final team will be decided before your match even started. Let’s hope we made the right choice”
Without any referees, they start as the creature already release its branches at them. Silfa’s friends are hybrids, mostly known as magic users and fighters, like most Saint Heroes trope they can change roles or classes that depends of their mastery. Somehow, all of them went damage themselves. Thean don’t know why, probably they want to test something. His expectation already did, they surround it with multiple magic circles and tried to blow it up. Without the safety field from the previous challenge, they shown how frail they can be.
Train witnessed the sudden attack, but the spirits persist. The explosion around it shows the lost of their body. The fragments of the pieces are stubbornly formed again as it heals itself, showing what is inside that would rival the neutral mana. Thean sees it before his eyes as the three returned to their party. Altair thought it was predictable, but Train never showed his defeat. Train is different, he had the attitude of a coward and has the heart to convince many adventurers like Altair himself to be friend with. Because he always prepared to help with the best of his abilities.
“We just over did it, I even show them my . . . a bird?”
Altair recognizes the bird, the bird glows like a spirit in sky blue. The differences how it looks bigger than the ordinary birds. That bird can be found up north, a place called Purissarwell. All of the animals within those elven homes are all domesticated from the smallest to the largest creatures, they all have elven magic. The bird spits out the smallest piece of wood and dust from the pebbles, once again, it comes back as it regrown. The bird looks at the team with caution. Thean starts to tremble and Altair pulled closer to him where the rest are staring right at it.
“I have no idea about elven magic, and why you are trembling over a bird”
“You knew that bird is from Purissarwell”
“Of course, but why are you scared?”
“Have you ever faced a duo use mana?”
Altair starts to think where everyone is watching the bird. The presence of the bird already spreading the shamanistic curse, mixing together with elven air floating around it. Elven magic with shaman abilities, it is impressive how the goblins managed to tame these creatures inside the city of the elves. Train recently knew about that bird’s passing, and he remembers the elf who bring to the mountain. How much did the bird learn?
Distracted by the appearance of the bird’s size, the bird flaps its wings towards them. They react quickly and attack it, and they spot the creature quickly reemerge then they split up. The two are attacking the bird, the other one to the creature. Neither Thean and Altair were busy focusing what they are facing. The sudden approached of the two appeared the font and below of the flying bird. With their weapons reaching on it, the bird use it claws to grab it while pecking one of them. Using of its wings, elven magic appeared to its presence and guided the bird to dodge their attacks.
The elven presence prevents the attackers any possible chances to hit the bird, and the adventurer got peck on his hand. There was no pain, instead the magic couldn’t interact between their magic and the elven magic. Somehow a small gap of mana within them is recovering as they fight. They use more magic as the gap is filling with the bird’s curses, as they already sensing the drain of their powers. They pulled back, but the bird chases them back. Meanwhile the creature recovers and tried to fight back, and got easily crushed. This time without fully destroyed its body, it recovers. The adventurer notices it and use the explosion again, also the creature is secretly taking pieces of itself to recover again.
Altair is looking at their stats that a mix of mana, either be elven or shamanistic rituals, are working together to weakening them. Thean finally initiates where the bird kept pecking one of the adventurers. They are not worry about that, but the feeling of their mana being drained are in their heads. Thean flashes in pulled out his hammer, and he breaks the elven presence. The bird flew away and around.
“Never thought I could use my elven weapon now”
The two group up with Altair.
“Hey Altair, can you cleanse us?”
“That would be difficult”
“Why not?”
He opens his UI and showed their health bar. He then tried to cleanse them showing a notification ‘No debuff found’
“What!?”
The bird manages to escape from Thean as he tried to flashes towards it. It flies impressively as a spirit, as it stares at the adventurer it pecks. A miss from Thean’s hammer again and flies at the backline. Altair sees it coming and tries to push it back, but it flies away and around like did to Thean before. The bird is focus, as it was alive, on its prey and that adventurer is ready to defend himself. The bird dives down to him, and two teleported out of the way. The chase continues. The bird is already at the back and those three, leaving Thean focuses first who is in the front. He felt a strange mana filled within him, a mana that is too foreign for him to use.
Carefully, he runs to the adventurer who is facing the creature. The creature multiplies itself after being blown multiple times, causing the curse to be active. The curse manages to replicate the explosion as one of its clones run towards her and exploded. It didn’t affect her with her equipment immune to damage, yet it slowly being curse through the air. Because of its numbers, it pesters her to destroy them all at once. Through great effort, a burst of light appeared and decimate the clones. All gone, she succeeded. She runs back to her team and Thean is already with her.
Thean grabs her hand as she about to fall.
“What’s wrong with me? That magic shouldn’t tire me out”
She brings out her magic again but release a different glow than her usual spell. A foreign mana is within her not coordinating through her will. Train thought, it will be the same like the first two challenges without the field trapping the spirits. It was a big surprised that the spirits alone won’t be able to beat them. It does need more rituals than he thought, and would be a lot shorter too if he hadn’t brought the bird for coming to him. Silfa sees the threat of the bird, she asks him.
“That bird, is it the one using curses?”
“Partially yes, honestly, I didn’t have proper shamanistic rituals on my creature like the other ones Sork has. A lot of shaman magic were put through in his creation”
“Yeah about that, it looks like the same bird is from Purissarwell but it looks bigger”
“Well it depends on the spirit’s choice of form, I have met someone who had birds like that. Never thought that it like to become my spirit”
“I heard all of domestic creatures from the elves are all trained, is there something strong about it?”
“It’s more like that spirit inherit some elven magic and also a spirit from a shamanistic ritual. This is my first time to have one. Let’s stop the match at least one of their team is down”
They slowly chip away from the use of their magic, and being given by a foreign mana with every missing gap they have. Everyone felt their mana strangely, it’s there but won’t cooperate. They thought it was a curse, if what Train thinks about that mana, it should have been a blessing for the elves. The bird starts to understand the use of the curse, and by the sound of it tweeting. It expands foreign mana to further limiting their mana use. After a short moment, the bird didn’t know how far that foreign mana can go. The adventurers’ mana is locked and bounded the foreign mana first to use instead remaining power they had.
The adventurer tripped to the ground after he no longer uses his mana. Lie down and wait, the bird reaches it moments. Again, it dives down on him. The ring they had for fighting weren’t that big, and he is now next to the seats of the adventurers. Siren is in front of him. With the bird finally reached its prey, an immense of mana burst out from him as the foreign mana fully fused inside him. That moment happened as it pecks at him. His team decides to stop, all of them use mana and the curse was too much for them. Altair uses a little bit of mana but that powerful release of his team’s mana is showing it not use any more of their magic.
Thean sees a spirit that can take down an adventurer, yet this foreign mana doesn’t harm him nor a curse as it must show harm when in contact. The one is in the arms of Thean where she is now tired of using her magic. Lastly, the other one quits that she already figured out what mana is inside them. The bird had shown its dominance to the fallen adventurer, as its size is big and people see its chubby looking glow. It stares at Siren that can’t comprehend between predator and cute. The bird is on the man’s back and lift one of its claws to its head. Proud of getting its prey.
The woman who besides the fallen man said to him.
“You sense it too, the mana we can’t you use, right?”
“Yeah, what gives”
“It’s elven mana”
“Are you sure? Is this really elven mana?”
Thean thinks about the other types of mana.
“Yeah, it seems like it. Elven magic can only be used as items, not freely using it. That would be a blessing of their gods”
“So then, can anyone use elven magic yet?”
The man still lied down and acting all pathetic where the bird looks at everyone around it. Once it turns its head to Siren, a picture was taken it starts crouch down as it was threatened.
Another picture taken for its expression, Siren didn’t hold back how big and cute it looks. Thean don’t know any other race to use elven magic, even its elven name is not remembered by everyone and called it elven magic. Their powers are only good for infused with magical items and that’s it. Train comes to the bird and pet it. Then raised his maracas to let it leave, he was later stopped by the other adventurers.
“Can you let it stay?”
The bird looks stubborn to never let go its prey, and they look okay with that except for the man lying down.
Sooner than later, he released the bird after interacting with the adventurers. Thean had already shown more secrets than they thought, and Siren had already thought about it from the previous challenge. Siren said to them
“Now we know that there are more spirits with other abilities, but we have no idea will the dolls are”
“She is right, for now Thean is becoming more of a secret weapon like those two arm gunners”
Illtended thought about right trying different things, and Silfa witnessed hardly any curse she would have seen. The problem is now the field will trap the spirit again, leaving the only way is to end it before the curses get into them.
Train explains what is left.
“We just discovered a duo using mana creature, and there is nothing happened like that again for tomorrow. We found out Thean had an elven weapon that will cleanse away curses, I don’t know you people can hold one handed hammer, but to focus what you can do. After experiencing the curses, it only harms that is relating to your mana pool. I know the bird swoops down and treating one of you as prey”
Siren checks on her device with a picture of the bird taken down one of the adventurers with great pose.
“That would be your only weakness, I hope you do your best tomorrow”
Altair, Ode, and Thean are standing together closely.
“For the remaining time, let’s test our magic together”
Silfa appeared before them and said
“Can I join as well?”
“Are you sure? What about the others?”
“I can contact with them after we train. Train did his best to show us”
“Sadly, we lost more time as we test his creature”
“Luckily Thean shows his skills as well”
Everyone left and did what little left they had, a few discoveries wasted their precious time but finding out they can do more than one mana.
Illtended is with Train, talking about other stuff. When Train tells him the truth of coming here.
“. . . The spirits are gathered, sadly more goblin spirits are gathering. Playing their schemes including me to be here”
“Then that’s why you are here. Your spirits want something form us”
Train thought he would be happy to see them again, but he rather his goodbyes with them should have been his last. It is more than just spirits passed by, he explains
“No, it talks differently than you imagined. They want to satisfy the chiefs”