Duke was growing increasingly frustrated the more he thought about the Contest. On one hand, it provided him with outstanding growth opportunities but on the other, it seemed like nothing more than a way to cull the powerful youth of the Cosmos. Or it was a pissing contest for the Entities. No matter the true purpose, the whole thing grated on him which bled into his attitude when he decided to return to Sanctuary City for a short break.
He pulled Bloodstorm into his INVENTORY and TELEPORTED to the arrival platform for the city. The grand square in which the platform stood had a sizable crowd gathered which came as a surprise to Duke. When his arrival was announced by some sort of loudspeaker system that Duke hadn’t noticed before.
“And now entering Sanctuary City, standing at the 58th Rank, is Duke, the Herald of Liberation and Favored of the Overmind!”
The announcement was met with cheering and shouts of joy. Duke stood on the platform, thoroughly confused and staring at the crowd like they had lost their minds. A large scaled hand suddenly rested on his shoulder and casually guided Duke from the platform. He glanced over to see Mole walking him down from the platform.
“You have become quite popular, my friend. Especially since you took out Arenstol. Nobody liked him. Now wave to the crowd and I can guide you to somewhere more private.”
“Thank you, Molekethesius, but I’ll take him from here.” The crowd had parted as the Avatar of the Overmind gently pushed its way through. Duke thanked Mole but followed the Avatar out of the crowd. Apparently, no one wanted to follow the pair. Duke wasn’t sure if it was a measure of respect or fear, but he didn’t really care either way. It got him away from the crowd.
The Overmind led him to a nondescript brick building with the only decoration being the crudely arched doorway. The door opened as they approached, and the pair walked in. Duke barely noticed the door closing behind them as he marveled at the entryway. Rather than the bare stone or brick he had expected, he walked a path among the stars. His feet sunk slightly into the black substance of the floor, pushing stars outwards like leaves on the surface of a pond.
The Overmind gestured to Duke, indicating a barely noticeable, chair-shaped part of the starfield. Duke sat down, ignoring how the surface rippled as he settled into the chair.
“Welcome to my little hideaway. It’s nothing special but it suits me.”
“Thanks. I came back to the city to take a break, but I wasn’t expecting to meet you here.”
“I suppose not. But you did receive the notification that we could talk once a day now that you are in the top hundred. Today is a good day for a chat.”
“Sure. What do you want to chat about? Weather’s been pretty nice.”
The Overmind laughed. “Oh, I would stay that there have been a few storms recently. Not all are your fault, but enough are that you have made a name for yourself. Do you see why I wanted to enter you in the later stages?”
“I seem to recall me having to push for a later entry spot.”
“Yes, you did, but you made up for the even later entry by entering in stronger than even I expected. The early days of the Contest are mostly spent in non-lethal tournaments with the occasional challenge or dungeon run thrown in for good measure. The real killing of Contestants doesn’t come until the later stages when it becomes the most efficient way to gather points.”
“I have noticed how quickly I rose by doing so.”
“So did everybody else. If you run into anyone from the top hundred, expect them to either attack you with everything they have or run the hell away as fast as they can. Most of the top hundred are parts of teams that support each other. If you can catch one out by themselves, you should be able to overwhelm them.”
“Those centaurs are a good example.”
“They were pretty tough out in the open, but they actually ran into a dungeon to try and ambush me. Probably the worst mistake they could have made.”
“True, but no one had any idea what your Class was or what you could do.”
“You said that in the past tense.”
“I did. Now that you are in the top hundred, you are always being watched. Funny thing is that they couldn’t watch you in your own dungeon. That frustrated a LOT of folks.”
“Is this a spectator sport now?”
“For those who have no chance of making it to the finals, yes. Only the top hundred make it to the final. You are positioned to be one of them.”
“Is it really worth it? What’s the prize?”
“You know that I can’t tell you what the prize is, but I can tell you that it is worth it. Now, let’s put all that aside. I want to talk about your dungeon designs.”
The next several hours passed with Duke’s eyes being opened up to just how much he had been limiting himself in dungeon design. He had never thought that he could incorporate Earth’s or any other world’s technology into a dungeon. He left the meeting with a new understanding and an additional 40 ranks in his DUNGEON ENGINEERING Ability.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The last words the Overmind had left him with as he ushered Duke to the door still rung in his mind. The only thing that is holding you back is your own fears. Release them and you can win the true prize whether you win this Contest or not.
Duke pondered over that phrase as he absently wandered the streets of the city. How do I release my fears? What is it I’m afraid of anyway? It’s none of these people. No one here has posed enough of a threat that I am afraid of them. Maybe someone in the top ten should scare me but fuck ‘em. Maybe it’s time to do some opposition research.
It took him two hours of wandering and some pointed questioning, but he eventually found an information broker who was willing to give him details about the top ten rankers. He could have watched countless hours of their recorded fights, but he was certain that he would miss something by just watching a recording.
Sitting down with the information broker was an experience in and of itself. The broker was a creature that hid itself within a dark hooded robe. The openings of the robe were enchanted to hide the broker’s features, so they only appeared as blackness. It led Duke through its entryway and into what would have passed for a study in most wealthy homes. The walls were lined with bookshelves that were filled with all manner of leatherbound tomes.
It gestured with an empty sleeve for Duke to take a seat in a chair that faced its own, if angled slightly apart. Duke took the indicated chair and immediately noticed that this angle afforded him a view of another bookcase that was different than the others. This bookcase was filled with paperback books that offered a splash of color that contrasted greatly with the other books in the room.
“I see my exotic book collection has caught your eye. Perhaps when we have conducted this business, we can speak about them.”
Duke re-centered himself, putting the thoughts of Earth that the books evoked and focusing on the reason he was here.
“Yes, as I am sure you already know, I am looking for tactically important information about the top ten in this Contest.”
“Tactically important. Interesting way to phrase it but I get what you mean. You don’t care where they are from, who they have relations with, or even who sponsors them. You want to know how to kill them or at least how not to be killed by them.”
“That is a good way to phrase it, yes.”
“Very well. Let us begin.”
Although the 100,000 Contest Points dropped Duke down to 61st place, he was sure it was well spent by the time all was said and done. He knew the fighting styles, strengths, and most importantly, the weaknesses of each of the top ten Contestants. He wasn’t sure how he would deal with some of them just yet but at least he knew what to expect.
When they were finished with the content of the deal, the information broker who had finally revealed his name to be Samwise, moved to the colorful bookshelf with Duke. Duke was sure that the name was not real, but it very specifically disturbed him, especially when they made it to look at the books on the bookshelf.
Front and center of the bookshelf was a boxed set of the Lord of the Rings. There were several other titles Duke recognized from Earth. He used every ounce of willpower to keep his face expressionless and to not linger on any books in particular. Samwise’s next statement, spoken behind his ear, shattered Duke’s discipline entirely.
“Coltrane made it out by the way.”
Duke whirled around, his adrenaline spiking as his mind reeled from the statement. He didn’t know what to say or even how to react. Panic, anger, and relief surged through his mind in equal measure leaving him stunned into inaction.
“Duke, my patron is the Eye of Infinity. There is literally nothing that happens that she doesn’t see. Even the times you spend with the Overmind in your dungeons. She is the eldest of the Entities and no one will act against her because she will literally see it coming. But, lucky for you, she views you in a positive light. No one else can observe us so anything you or I say here shall stay here.”
“I’ve heard that line before and apparently it wasn’t true.”
Another voice, distinctly the voice of a sultry woman filled the room, “You can believe it this time, Andy.”
Again, Duke was left stunned. When the entity revealed herself to be a short blonde girl in her twenties that hit all his marks for “cute,” he felt even more vapor-locked.
“Samwise, you have done well to bring Duke here. You may leave us now.”
“As you say,” Samwise quickly exited the building, closing and sealing the door behind him.
“I know you feel violated and spied upon, Duke but I can’t help it. I see everything as it happens and can recall anything I have seen, which is, well, everything.”
Duke finally, broke out of his vapor-lock, “So you know everything…why are you so interested in me?”
“It would not be wise for me to tell you that just yet. I will say this – I have a great interest in seeing you survive this Contest in the top ten.”
“Um, yeah, that’s great, but it doesn’t tell me anything or help me at all. I feel like I’m being toyed with, and I really don’t appreciate it. Samwise? Lord of the Rings? What the fuck is the deal?”
“That was simply to let you know that I know everything. Letting you know that Coltraine lived and made it out of that shitshow as you called it was an olive branch. I wish for you to view me favorably in the future.”
“Still not telling me much.”
“Unfortunately, no. As far as the rest of the Cosmos is concerned, even your Overmind, we have never met, never conversed. You came here and spoke with my Agent and got some information on your competition. Nothing more. I ask you to keep it that way.”
“It’s not like you have told me anything useful.”
“I will tell you this: Save the Reaper until it is truly needed. No one should see that until then.”
“And how the hell am I supposed to know when that is?”
“You’ll know. Now I do have something to give to you but first put the rest of your points into Psyche. You’ll need them for this.”
“Why the hell should I trust you?”
“Because I could unmake you if I so chose. But I would much rather see you win.”
Duke weighed his options but finally gave in, feeling outmaneuvered. He dropped his points into Psyche and waited for the Entity to give him whatever she was going to give him.
She gently placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled him down to her. He resisted for a split second but let her pull him in for a kiss. What passed between them was definitely not a kiss. Duke saw flashes of scenes that filled the recesses of his Psyche so quickly he was completely unable to grasp any of them. It seemed to last for several minutes but finally, she released him to collapse on the floor, exhausted and out of breath.
“You will recover in a few minutes and can leave then. Remember to save the Reaper for the end. Oh, and feel free to take any books here that strike your fancy. They are all replaceable.”
With that, she dissipated into the shadows, leaving him alone. He shook his head violently to clear it, but a sense of heaviness suffused his mind. He couldn’t put a finger on it, but the best description he could come up with was that his subconscious felt overfull and ready to burst. He was hit with a system message:
*** Your UMBRAL REAPER Ability has ranked up to Master 1 ***
Duke shook his head again and proceeded to empty every single book from the bookshelves into his INVENTORY. She said to help myself, right? He left the building, heading for an inn he had passed nearby. He needed some sleep.