Harper gulped down water from his waterskin. He was currently seated in the breakroom, having been allowed back there after completing the trials. The Cosmic Flames had superheated his insides. Though it didn’t literally burn him, it may as well have. It was like pouring candle wax down his throat, times one hundred.
Donahue was watching him guzzle down water from behind the bar. “Breathe, man. You’re going to drown at this rate.”
Harper did as he was told, taking gasping breaths of air. He didn’t realize just how long he’d gone without breathing.
Donahue looked at him with a furrowed brow. “Better?”
Harper nodded. “Much.”
He leaned against the bar. “Tell me the truth: there’s no way that was actually called Cosmic Flames, right?”
Harper grinned. “Sorry, but that’s the name. I guess I’m just special.”
Donahue rolled his eyes. “Screw you. First Void Touch, and now Cosmic Flames? That Clone ability is crazy useful too.”
Harper nodded enthusiastically. “I have such a good skill combo right now! The clones are great at evening the odds in a fight, plus Primal Fury is an amazing defensive skill. It basically makes me immune to pain or fear. Only drawback is how little I can actually control my own actions. Well, that, and how dried out it leaves me.”
Donahue hummed. “Well, either way, you’ve earned this now.” He reached under the bar and put a bay breeze in front of Harper. “Drink up, it’s the only drink I’m allowed to make you before you have to leave.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed the glass and started taking sips from it. If it was the last one he was going to have in a while, he wanted to savor it. Each little sip was like a small taste of home.
Home… I’m probably never going back, huh. That’s fine. There’s nothing left for me there.
He gulped down the rest of the drink. It had turned bitter. He placed the glass facedown on the bar, then stood up.
He held out a hand. “It’s been a pleasure, Donahue. I should probably get moving though. I’m sure my… compatriots are wondering what’s taking me so long.”
Donahue gripped his hand and shook it. “Been great watching you fight. You’ve got a fire in you I don’t think I’ve seen in some time. You’re also just the first person I’ve seen capable of taking down the Beast.”
Harper let out a raucous laugh. “I don’t think capable is the right word. Lucky fits me better.”
Donahue shrugged. “Either way, it was impressive.”
Harper readjusted his new rucksack they’d given him after the old one was burnt to a crisp. They also gave him a greatly improved tunic reinforced with leather plates.
He started to walk off when he felt something grab him from behind. He turned around to see Marik holding something behind his hulking frame.
He smiled at the man. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Marik?”
Marik returned the smile. “I have one last gift for you.” He brought his hand forward to reveal a warhammer.
Harper’s eyebrows raised. “Sir, I appreciate the gesture, but I’ll just lose it when I die.”
Marik shook his head. “Not this one. If you haven’t noticed, I’m handling this with gloves.” Indeed, the man was wearing thick leather gloves to hold the weapon. He proffered it forth. “Go on, touch it.”
Harper reached out and grabbed the hammer. He felt as it vanished into his being without so much as a noise.
Weapon Earned
Warhammer(Rank 0)
Harper’s jaw dropped open when he saw that. He held up his hands and looked down at them. “Warhammer.”
It didn’t gain any experience, but it did apparate into his hands. He looked back up to Marik with wide eyes. “I… I don’t know what to say.”
Marik chuckled, then walked away. “You can start by saying ‘thank you!’”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Harper watched as he walked around the corner, then shook his head and ran forward. “Th-thank you, sir! Is there anything I can do to re…pay…”
When he ran around the corner, Marik was gone. He sighed in frustration, he never thought he’d be victim to the ‘disappears around a corner’ trope. He turned back around and nearly had a heart attack when he saw Marik looming over him with a smile. It felt ominous.
Marik cupped his chin and tapped at his lips. “Why yes, there is now that you mention it!”
Me and my big mouth…
Marik continued on grinning. “You can save the Cosmos.”
Harper’s eyebrows raised as he felt physically pushed back by the sheer ridiculousness of the statement. “C-come again?”
Marik nodded. “You heard me, son, your ears aren’t going bad. Save the Cosmos.”
Harper looked down at his hammer, then up at Marik. No, that would never work, better to just humor the man. “How would I do that?”
Marik crossed his arms. “Good choice, that would not have ended well. Speaking of trying to kill me, that’s step two, but don’t get ahead of me. Step one is simple: Beat all of the Wardens’ battlegrounds. After that, you need to kill every Warden. Don’t worry, we don’t stay dead. And after that… Well, I don’t know. The Cosmic never told me anything more. Oh, and speaking of the Cosmic, he’s probably notified the other Wardens that you won your fight against The Beast.”
Harper held up a finger. “That reminds me. You told me that I might have to face other prisoners in other battlegrounds. If that’s the case, then wouldn’t they have also beaten The Beast?”
Marik laughed raucously. “Oh, Cosmic no! The only goal is to survive one minute against it! Void, the thing literally uses Cosmic Flames. And now you can use that. Couple that with your Void Touch, Clones, and Primal Fury, and you’re a walking disaster! You don’t realize just how terrifying you really are, do you?”
Harper stared at Marik dumbfounded. “I had no idea… I thought I’d been doing horribly this whole time.”
Marik shrugged. “We always tend to underestimate ourselves. Now, with that being said, get on out of here. I hope to see you back here at some point, and as a success as well! Remember, you only get one shot at each battleground, so make sure you’re ready!”
With that, Marik flourished and vanished in a puff of smoke. Harper waved his hands in front of himself and coughed up a lung. When he looked up, Marik was still standing in front of him.
Harper raised an eyebrow. “Um… shouldn’t you have disappeared?”
Marik smiled mischievously. “Not at all, why would you think that?” He then turned and walked away. “I’m rooting for you, Harper!”
Harper stared after him until he disappeared into a doorway. “What an odd man.”
He shrugged, then made his way out of the battlegrounds. He waved goodbye to Karlos and Donahue, ignored Penelope flipping him off, and walked out through the tunnels. He continued all the way down them up until he reached the very end, at which point he found a doorknob embedded in smooth stone. He turned the knob and walked out into bright daylight.
He shielded his eyes from the light and looked around. He had come out not far from the giant door. He had opened a door that was perfectly flush with the rocky outcropping that surrounded the main entrance. As soon as he closed it behind himself, it vanished from sight.
Speaking of the main entrance, he saw Alvieri and Malgren sitting around a campfire. Both were doing their own thing silently, which didn’t surprise him. Alvieri was making another wood carving with his glimmer, this time pseudocrystals of some kind. Malgren, meanwhile, was writing in a notepad.
Wait, there’s writing utensils here? Where the hell did he even get that? Oh, right, Mold.
Harper walked over with a hand raised. “Hey, I’m back! Miss me?”
Malgren raised his head from his notepad. The confusion was plain on his face as he looked over at the main entrance, then back at Harper. “What? How did you…”
Alvieri, meanwhile, had come back to himself and was looking over his shoulder at Harper. He beamed at him when he saw the new armor he was wearing. “You did it.”
Malgren looked at Alvieri. “He did it? Did what? Wait… no, there’s no way.”
Harper nodded. “Yep. Watch this. Cosmic Flames.” He belched out a plume of rainbow fire and watched as the surrounding color vanished again. He tried his best to smile while his insides felt like they were melting.
Cosmic Flames(Rank 0) RP: 1/10 > 2/10
Both Malgren and Alvieri stared at him with mouths agape. Malgren was the first to speak. “You killed it!? Isn’t the goal to survive a minute? How did you kill it!?”
Harper smirked at him. “I’m built different.”
Alvieri tilted his head and creased his eyebrows. “Humans built? Thought were born?”
He facepalmed. “That’s not what I… nevermind. The point is, I survived, and I killed the Beast. It wasn’t easy though, let me tell you.”
He went over and sat down by their campfire. He then pulled some food from his rucksack and shared it with them. Finally, he regaled them with the tale of his grand battle and victory over the Beast.
Afterwards, Malgren was first to speak. “Primal Fury works to press an advantage as well… Good call.”
Alvieri was still busy picking his jaw up off the ground. “You bones, but Primal Fury means strong anyway?”
Harper cupped his chin, then nodded after a moment. “Pretty much. I’m hoping to get it to Rank 1 soon so I can see how it upgrades. Clone gave me… well, you know what it gave me.”
Malgren, the enormous regenerating Gaer, shuddered. “Don’t remind me.”
Despite himself, Harper chuckled. “Right. Void Touch lets me use it from any limb now. That was super useful, as you heard.”
Malgren nodded, then stood up and dusted himself off. “Right. Well, let’s head out. I’m sure the others will want to hear this.”
Harper did a double-take. “Others? I thought it was just you three?”
Alvieri did his wheeze-laugh again. Harper had to resist the urge to flinch. “On whole planet? Course not.” He also stood up and dusted himself off. He then gestured for Harper to follow behind Malgren. “After you.”