Duke’s next notification was useful but not terribly impressive. Still, it was progress.
*** You have slain the Contestant, Baslo. You gain half of his earned Contest Points. You now have 87,180 points. Well done. Continue to seek the hidden areas for bonus points!
You gain 95,625 (105,188 with Title) experience for your kill. You are now level 67 and have 1,512 unspent Characteristic Points***
I only got thirteen thousand points for killing that dude? He must not have done much. Maybe he has been hiding out here unable to get back into the city. That would explain the low points. I’m going to have to check the boards to see how things are changing. I’m not going to make it to ten million points anytime soon at this rate. One thing is clear though, I have to spend my Characteristic Points – I’m not as fast as I thought.
Duke dropped one thousand points into his Agility, bringing it up to a base of 6,000. He then dropped 500 points into his Intuition, bringing its base up to 4,000. Finally, the last twelve points dropped into Psyche.
A thought occurred to Duke and he closely examined his new armor to see if the werewolf had damaged it in any way. What he found brought a broad smile to his face. There were no marks, not even a scratch. “Doesn’t even need a RESTORE. This is amazing!”
With a thought, Duke was back in the city to check on the leaderboard. He appeared in one of the dark alleys he had spotted his first time in the city and hoped his Stealth Skill would be enough to conceal his appearance. No one was in the alley that he could see so he hoped that would be a good indication that he was able to come in unnoticed.
It did not take long to find the leaderboards since they were posted all over the city. He found one that no one was using and scrolled through it to see that not only had his ranking not changed, he had fallen even further behind. Zarmouth was now over 11 million points and he hadn’t even broken one hundred thousand.
His sense of urgency flared again, causing him to use his DUNGEON SENSE to scan for outliers again. As before, he sensed thousands of Contestants and tens of millions of creatures around the planet. It was, for the most part, entirely too much information to process quickly. He was trying to figure out how to filter through it all when a voice spoke up behind him.
“Top thousand. Not bad.”
Duke turned around to see a figure wearing a cloak. Its hood was down so he could see the figure’s face. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. The creature’s head appeared to be an oversized blue human skull. Upon closer inspection, Duke could see that there was skin covering the skull, but he was largely distracted by the glowing orbits where the eye sockets were. They glowed with a deep purple flame that was nearly black. Around the creature’s neck was a heavy gold chain that supported an amulet the size of Duke’s hand that was a maze of unknowable carvings in the shape of a cross.
“I see my appearance has startled you. We are few and most humanoids have a similar reaction when they see us for the first time. I am Zeblow and you are Duke, no?”
“I am.” Duke’s caution filtered through his voice. “What is it I can do for you?”
Zeblow looked around them but shook his head, “Not here. Someplace where we will not be overheard. There are too many ears listening around here.”
Duke considered not following the Skull as he departed, but he had two things that pushed him into following. One, he was operating off very limited information about the planet, the Contest, and his competition. Two, he had gotten the sense from the Overmind that no one could violate the non-violence of the city.
Before long, they arrived at what appeared to be a private residence, a rickety two-story wooden building that would have fit in any fantasy slum. Zeblow opened the door that consisted of several thin but wide planks of wood that were barely fit together, leaving gaps in their warped structure. The door creaked loudly as it opened, its leather “hinges” protesting at the motion. As he stepped inside the dark room, he gestured with a single skeletal blue finger for Duke to follow.
This isn’t going to end well, is it? I could just leave. Or I could trust in my Abilities to get me out if necessary. Don’t be a wuss.
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Duke followed after convincing himself and stepped through the doorway. Immediately, he was in a dimly lit stone passageway. Duke looked back to see that the doorway he had just stepped though was an arched stone opening with a thumbnail sized green gem glowing from the peak of the arch. He turned back to the Skull, tensing his muscles for action.
“Be calm and at peace, Duke. We are still within the confines of the city and neither of us could hurt the other even if we desired to do so. The entrance we came through was just an illusion to keep prying eyes from coming to my residence. Follow me and we will be there shortly.”
They traveled down the passage and through another stone archway. This one was lighted by a red stone instead. When Duke entered, Zeblow closed a stone door behind him. Moments later, the door merged with the archway, making it become a solid part of the wall. The room itself was still stone, but it was smooth as if the entire room was carved out of the underlying rock. A pair of overstuffed chairs dominated the space before a crackling fireplace with a small table between them.
“Come, join me. Would you like something to drink?”
“No, but I would really like to know what it is you want to talk about? Duke took one of the seats and Zeblow immediately floated over to settle in the other, his flowing cloak hiding his body, including his feet.
“Yes, I suppose you would. I have a problem, and I think you may be able to help me with it and, in turn, I think I can help you.”
“I’m listening.”
“You have only just arrived on this world. Your arrival was announced, and I expect you are likely the last Contestant to arrive which makes you interesting to everyone. The question on everyone’s minds is this: Is your patron playing games, or are they confident in your ability to catch up? Since you have already broken the top thousand, I think it is more the latter although there may be something to the former.”
“Last to arrive, huh? Well, that’s something. And, yes, I really do have a lot of catching up to do.”
“Do you plan to make it to the top?”
“I will make it as high up as I can. If I can make it to the top, then I will make it to the top.”
Zeblow pondered that statement briefly before continuing, “The last five thousand or so to arrive have not been able to leave the city and have had to rely on crafting and similar things to gain points. It is slow-going and will not get any of them into the upper ranks. The true points lie outside the city. But, as I am sure you have discovered, the strongest gangs lurk just outside the gates waiting to prey on anyone foolish enough to step outside.”
“Yes, I did notice that.”
“But you found a way past them, didn’t you? There’s no way you could have accumulated so many points in such a short time otherwise.”
“I may have a way to get past the gangs.”
“Be coy if you like, but here is what I propose: I will give you a quarter of my current points and five percent of any points I accumulate from here on out if you get me safely out of the city.”
“What makes you think I won’t just attack you outside the city?”
“Your soul is not one of deceit. I would not have approached you otherwise.”
“That’s good to know. And you made a decent first offer. How about half of your current total and ten percent going forward?”
The Skull pondered Duke’s counter-offer for several minutes. Duke noted that the Skull held absolutely still when it wasn’t talking. He found it more than a little disconcerting, like it had ceased to be alive if it even was alive. Finally, the Skull moved again, turning to face Duke.
“I have considered your counter-offer and find it acceptable.”
*** A Contract has been established between Duke and Zeblow and will be strictly enforced.
Terms:
Duke will provide safe passage out of the city for Zeblow. He must arrive intact and unharmed and be in an area in which he will not be immediately attacked.
Zeblow will provide Duke with half of his current points and ten percent of his earned points until the end of the Contest.
This Contract is agreed upon willingly by both parties.
***
The immediate result was that Zeblow dropped below Duke in the standings and Duke moved up one spot to 917. He now had over 6 million points. He began counting in his head before a system message arrived.
*** Contest Messaging System Activated. You have received a direct message from Zarmouth.
I warned you. I am coming for you. ***
Duke immediately responded.
*** Contest Messaging System Activated. You have sent a direct message to Zarmouth.
First of all, you can’t find me. And second, if you do, you are going to wish you never had. ***
Duke looked over to Zeblow, “Are you ready? Do you need to gather any gear?”
“I am ready. I have all I need with me.”
Duke fired up his DUNGEON SENSE, noting that it had climbed all the way up to Master 86 from all its recent heavy use. He located an area devoid of activity and locked it in as a target.
“Please do not observe this as my Patron will not be happy if someone else observes me using the device he gave me.” Duke knew it was an utter lie, but he was not about to fully trust a floating skull in a cloak.
Zeblow turned away and Duke TELEPORTED the pair to the targeted location. It appeared to be an empty desert several hundred kilometers outside of the city.
“Well, here we are. Safe and sound. I wish you the best of luck, Zeblow. Especially since that luck will benefit me as well.”
“Indeed, it will, Duke. Now, I must hunt as we are both well behind where we need to get to. Good luck to you as well. You have my thanks.” With that, the Skull began to rapidly float over the desert, scanning the area with his disturbing glowing eyes.
Duke watched him leave and flew in the direction of The Forge. He had things to do himself.