“So, it seems that the three of you are going to form some sort of Tribunal, and though I disagree on this sort of reliance on one another, many Cultivators far more powerful than myself have done such, and benefited greatly for it, however, the moment I see anything diminish the pace I set forth for Vanish, is when I will retract all assistance being given to those outside of my descendant, he is my priority and any who cannot understand that are free to leave.”
Drake ignored the worried look that Vanish sent in Aurora’s and her direction. The trio stood in a line with plenty of distance between them at the edge of Lilith’s training room, preparing for their first session, and Drake was struggling to keep her temper in check.
We haven’t been to sleep, I’m hungry as fuck, and your wasting our time with this bullshit, come on old lady, either train us or kick us the fuck out of here…!
She sucked her teeth in annoyance, glaring at the woman as Lilith’s eyes flicked in her direction. Drake curtsied at the stern gaze she received, and Aurora chuckled at the interaction.
“Is there an issue with anything I’ve said so far,” asked Lilith, staring at Drake as she asked. Drake pointed to herself, and Lilith gave her a nod.
“Either train us, or stop wasting our time…”
Aurora gasped in shock, and Vanish’s mouth simply fell open.
“Waist your time..?”
“Yes, you may be this powerful Cultivator or whatever, but you have the power dynamic of this situation all wrong,” said Drake. Lilith’s brow furrowed, and she scoffed before chuckling heartily.
“An how is that youngster?”
The room grew colder. Not slightly, but drastically in an instant.
“Vanish doesn’t know you lady, at this point your more likely to kill him than even the dungeon abroad, we only need to become ascended and we can leave, something tells me that you are well above that rank, but your still here, I won’t pry but I guarantee that the reason why you are is a bit of a story, so in all reality, if Aurora and I leave and Vanish wants to come with us instead of staying with your scary ass, guess what, you lose out on whatever it is that you need him for, as I’m guessing it was him being your descendant that woke you up in the first place, or am I wrong?”
Shock flashed across Lilith’s face, but was quickly replaced with blank features as she pursed her lips and scowled.
“I didn’t think so, so get off your high horse and either train us, or quit wasting our time,, as I promise you, Vanish more than likely wants to go home more than anything else,, and that isn’t a part of whatever vendetta you have with my relatives or whoever took your foundation of power or whatever you called it,” said Drake smirking at the woman as the temperature continued to drop, ice forming on the windows of the room.
“And what if I kill you both and wipe his memory of his previous life entirely?”
Silence filled the area and the temperature continued to drop to the point that an icy fog began to gather at their feet.
“You can do that?”
“Like this,” said Lilith with a snap of her fingers.
“Hmm, well you got me there, but I’d be surprised if you didn’t break his mind or something stupid like that,” said Drake, doing her best to not be the one to break eye contact first, or tremble at the violent cold that had consumed the room.
“Could you two tone it down, I am in the room and can speak for myself,” said Vanish, his teeth chattering as he spoke.
Are you wanting to die, asked Aurora mentally.
Shhh, she is going to break first, mortal minds don’t work well after being tampered with, she’s bluffing!
:I’m not going to repeat myself, make your choice old lady, either treat us all as equals, or I walk, my future is no less important than anyone else’s, your blood or not.”
Lilith looked to Vanish and the boy nodded before speaking.
“She’s right, I do want to go home, and if I’m being honest the only reason I’m even willing to stay is to gain the ability to defend myself against those that took me from my family in the first place, but I’m not willing to received any preferential treatment, if anyone of us should get your focus it is Drake anyway,” said Vanish.
“Yeah, wait no, that isn’t what I want, I just want an equal opportunity to learn magic in the realms of Cultivation, that is all, I’m sorry Vanish, I’m glad that we lucked into your ancestor in a desperate situation, but I’m done being treated like a second class citizen wherever I go,” said Drake.
“I see…,” said Lilith sighing.
“So, we good then old lady,” asked Drake and Lilith turned around momentarily.
“Fine, let us begin then, first I will need you all to show me what you are capable of,” said Lilith, waving a hand through the air, causing a portal of darkness and silver light to rip open in front of them.
Six skeletons walked free of the portal and Drake scanned them to find three of two separate kind of monster.
*Scan* - Monster -
Name: Expert of forms
Rank: Adept
Age: ???
Class: Master of Martial Forms
Average Attribute Level: 3.0
Scan Results - This is a minion of the queen of the damned. As a child of Death, her minions have abilities that normal skeletons of their rank don’t have. Additionally this skeleton has countless season cycles of combat knowledge and experience, any encounter with this minion is a fight to the death.
Warning - Interacting with minions attuned to the death affinity has a high potential to cause life threatening afflictions.*
What the fuck, this bitch is really going to try and kill us off…
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*Scan* - Monster -
Name.: Bane of Magic
Rank: Adept
Age: ???
Class: Summoner of Ends
Average Attribute Level: 3.0
Scan Results - This is a minion of the Queen of the Damned. As a daughter of Death, her minion has skills and abilities that normal skeletons of its rank don’t have. Additionally this minion has been trained by an ArchMage of the death affinity, any and all magics used regardless of the element or function will also have a death aspect intertwined.
Warning - Interacting with minions attuned to the death affinity has a high potential to cause life threatening afflictions.*
Feeling that she was being set up for failure, Drake scanned the pairs of skeletons in front of Aurora and Vanish.
Yeah, thats what I thought…
Neither of the magical and non magical skeletons in front of her companions had the death affinity, nor the warning of potential afflictions being gained for interacting with them.
“For this I will be testing your current level of skill with minions more appropriate to your current rank, or lack there of I suppose, these minions will be trying to kill you, as any fight in this dungeon is to the death, I will stop them from performing finishing blows, however anything short of that will be accepted, do you need a moment to prepare yourselves?”
Aurora and Vanish shook their heads, while Drake nodded.
Thought I’d be able to wait to try this, but I just may end up needing a trump card.
Drake pulled the skull her minion obtained while she’d retrieved the arm of the Metal Magus, and instantly tried to reanimate the skull. She visualized a skeletal helmet, and didn’t believe for a second that it’d work, but to her surprise, it did. The back of the skull melted away,, flowing toward the front of the skull to form horns similar to a dragon’s or the antlers of a stag; while the eye sockets at the front of the skull briefly flashed a brilliant sunset crimson.
No way that actually worked.
*Scan* - Hybrid - Minion / Armament -
Name: Skull of the Druidic God of Wisdom
Rank: Adept
Age: ???
Class: Druidic Changeling / Armament
Average Attribute Level: 3.0
Offense: 3.0
Defense: 3.0
System: 3.0
Scan Results - This skull once belonged to a wise matriarch of the forest. Throughout countless season cycles, this queen of the forrest dedicated herself to the laws of magic and nature. To the understanding of spiritualism, and even the godly boon bestowed upon mortals known as celestial healing.*
Woah, what happened to the warning, and why is it already Adept rank?
Unlike any of her other minions, she wasn’t asked if she wanted to level up the armament, nor was she able to select upgrades. It wasn’t even until she thought of the upgrades that all the available selections appeared in her vision, her Overlay popping up a familiar menu with far more information than she was used to seeing.
*Upgrade selections* - The skull of the Druidic God of Wisdom -
Offense” The light of Nature*, Horns of the Dragon, Breath of Natures Embrace.
Tier 2: Locked, spiritual refinement too low to access available options.
Tier 3: Locked, Spiritual refinement too low to access available options.
Defense: Aura of Celestial Healing, Senses of Gaia*, Form of the ethereal Primordial.
Tier 2: Locked, Spiritual refinement too low to access options.
Tier 3: Locked, Spiritual refinement too low to access options.
System: Celestial Smite*, Wrath of the beast, Form of Creation & Destruction.
Tier 2: Locked, Spiritual refinement too low to access options.
Tier 3: Locked, Spiritual refinement too low to access options.
Previously selected upgrades are marked with a *. All locked tiers will become available when spiritual refinement reaches an appropriate level.*
Drake smiled, and hung the mask from the mantle of her defensive minion, glad to see twin hooks she wished for grew from the bones of the mantle with a simple thought, Drake loving how the additional construction wasn’t difficult to form, supporting the mask securely, allowing Drake to hang the once skull now mask as if it was meant to be there. The fearsome armament fixed in place by its eye sockets, softly glowing a familiar darkened red that Drake was beginning to feel was the colors of her mana.
“Sorry, about that, I’m ready now…”
…
Lilith didn’t like the mask that now hung from Drakes shoulder. She’d previously been able to scan the girl,, but the moment she hung the mask from her shoulder and Lilith attempted to discern the details of Drake’s new armament, the eyes glowed red, and a growl was heard in the depths of Lilith’s mind.
The moment she tried to scan Drake, the same thing occurred, and as well with every attempt she maid to scan anything else on the girl’s body.
I need to kill this child before she grows anymore powerful…
She didn’t know why she felt this way, but the longer she was around Drake, the more inclined she felt to try and be rid of the child. A fact that she believed the child could sense. Lilith could tell the child was smarter than she’d previously given her credit for, surprised that she'd surmised so much about Lilith by mere context clues.
Yes, it had been Vanish’s presence that had awakened Lilith. Yes, Lilith did need him, as she couldn’t leave this dungeon without appointing another BaneBorn to the council of Ancients to take her place, and yes, she would do anything to leave Vivarium.
I have paid for my family’s choices long enough, it is time for another to take this burden…
It wouldn’t be the first time a Cultivator as young as Drake could sense Killing Intent, and Lilith now knew that there was only one thing that would get in the way of her plans at this point, and that was Drake. So if the young Cultivator could feel that innately, Lilith had no choice.
“Your objective is to survive as long as possible, yes Aurora,” asked Lilith, stopping her explanation to address the girl’s upraised hand.
“Do I truly need to be a part of this test, I doubt I’ll be seen by anyone or even—“
“Tangible, yes you will be both seen and vulnerable in Reliquary, you won’t be the only student with a spiritual body, in fact you have the most to worry about, as you have no physical frame to protect you from soul damage.”
“Oh…”
Now if there are no more questions, begin…”
Lilith watched Drake widen her stance, and slowly begin to strafe the two skeletons before her.
“Let’s see what you three got,” said Lilith underneath her breath.
Lilith didn’t expect any of the fights to last long at all. None of the three seemed to be from a fighting background, but Lilith didn’t want to count them out entirely, as they had remarkably accomplished to make it up a mountain that had killed. thousands before they managed to ascend it, and that was even while being unranked.
Her hypothesis ended up being right. She cursed inwardly as Aurora and Vanish were nearly taken out in the same instant.
Vanish sent forward his trio of minions, and the group didn’t even move an entire yard before the melee skeleton they faced dismantled them all, three kicks were sent out in a flash, knocking all three minions into the air before a single move could be made. A bolt of purified darkness lanced through the air from the magic user, leaving a hole through the head of the chair Vanish sat in before his minions hit the ground.
Pathetic…
Aurora did slightly better,, dodging a handful of blows after being charged. She ducked a spin kick even though her enemy moved fast enough to appear before her as if it teleported.
A flurry of punches were barely blocked, before the girl had her legs swept out from underneath her so violently she was sent slightly airborne. A giant hand made from solidified darkness mana then formed in an instant above her, smashing her downward out of the air.
The form expert in front of her stomped a foot down beside her head with a powerful clap. Its leg vibrated the ground around her head with a coating of void energy, Aurora sighing, her own disappointment apparent as she looked at Lilith shaking her head at her; the girl closing her eyes after taking a deep breath.
She may not even make it to Reliquary…
Then came Lilith’s biggest disappointment. Drake wore a smile as she fought. As she swung her hammer like weapon at the martial form master before her; the skeletal arm mounted to her opposing shoulder, blocked, parried, and even struck back, landing blows on the skeleton. Of the weapons she’d seen the girl use so far, the defensive minion strapped to her right side seemed to have the most potential. As it fought the martial form master, the minion learned not only how to defend better, it struck back more frequently.
What surprised Lilith more was that the magical minion that she’d summoned to fight Drake didn’t attack at all. It wasn’t until she told the skeleton to attack, that she saw why her minion had decided not to.
Her minion charged the same style beam projectile that had been fired at Vanish in its hand, and took aim. Lilith was sure the fight would end as her skeleton fired at Drake’s back.
The beam of darkness stretched toward her in what felt like slow motion to Lilith.
What…?
A fraction of a second before the beam struck Drake’s lower back, the two skeletal hands draped down Drake's spine unclasped their hands. The one made of an obsidian metal, caught the beam, as red lightning flowed down the other limb as it lifted itself palm upward toward Lilith’s own minion.
Lilith’s eyes went wide as a crack of red lightning was fired toward her minion, freezing the skeleton in place. Drake turned around and dove away from the skeleton she fought, diving toward the now frozen skeleton seized by red lightning. She cocked back her closed fisted weapon mid air, as her shoulder mounted minion caught her; its hand pressed flat against the ground before it bent at the elbow and pushed, Drake laughing as she was launched upward.
As she swung her hammer like weapon toward the head of the electrified skeleton, the blackened arm at her back fired an identical beam to the one it had caught, shooting it at the martial skeleton she’d just been fighting. Both of Lilith’s minions were struck at the same time.
Her magical minion was smashed into the ground, while at the same time her martial form minion was taken off its feet by a black beam that radiated with even more power than had originally been used when the attack was shot.
It was in this moment, as Drake stood above Lilith’s minions, that she knew both skeletons were going to die.
She is blessed by the dark father…
Crimson energy swirled around Drake’s leg as her foot extended skyward with a powerfully resounding snap; her heel plummeting toward the chest of Lilith’s magical minion without hesitation and its skull was crushed.
In the very same moment a thunder clap could be heard in the air behind Drake, as a powerful sonic boom collided with the head of her other minion before a bolt of lightning was spawned from the air above its head, instantly obliterating the already fractured skull.
Drake turned to Lilith and their eyes met. The girl smiled at her, walking to stand next to her companions, both staring at her in amazement, while she sheathed her weapon between the two magical hands at her back, as they welcomed their sibling into their embrace.
Lilith was just as shocked, but was forced to keep the whirlwind of thoughts that now plagued her off her face. She gave the girl a single nod, as if this was the outcome she’d always expected.
Drake scoffed, and Lilith somehow knew she’d been seen through, watching Drake out the corner of her eye as the girl seemed to be reading something, her lips moving as her eyes narrowed slowly,.
“What is it child, did you get it?”
“Get what?”
“The upgrade to your achievement,” asked Lilith. She hadn’t intended for her to actually defeat the monsters but since she had…
“Yes, and another one called Fraternal Assassin, it also increases my attribute growth per kill, guess I have you to thank for that, honestly just thought you were trying to kill me by making my fight more difficult than theirs, but without the chance of death it seems I wouldn’t have gotten either achievement.”
“No risk, no rewards child, now lets begin…”