We arrived at Eden just after dark. Rain greeted us as soon as we were within his patrol radius. The dwarves were too thoroughly exhausted to even be shocked by the drone suddenly landing and transforming into a clothed penguin.
“Welcome back Mr. Gray!” Rain said, with a salute of his flipper. “Are these more friends?”
“They are.” I confirmed. “Would you mind letting Tabula know we need refreshing food and rooms prepared for them?”
“We haven’t much coin...” It was the elderly female. Her name was Balira and along with her husband named Dig seemed to lead this group.
“There’s no charge.” I quickly interjected. “You’re my guests. That said, if someday you’re in a position to comfortably help me out I won’t refuse.” I amended with a smile, sensing that the dwarves wouldn’t lightly accept such a one sided transaction. They liked good deals, not handouts.
With the matter settled, the dwarves were invited to enter EDEN. They reacted with even more shock and awe than what I was used to from newcomers. Their intimate knowledge of crafting and engineering gave them a deeper insight to the structural marvel around them, and they all walked very carefully with their hands clasped to avoid touching anything.
Niiya had sensed my return, and was waiting for us along with Tabula in the lobby. I noticed Jade and Yugal were absent.
“This is Tabula, my right hand woman. She’ll be showing you around and taking care of you for now.” I said, gesturing at the statuesque woman. “That’s Niiya. I adopted her and she’s on her way to becoming an awesome warrior.” I added, shifting my gesture to Niiya.
Tabula bowed as she was introduced, and Niiya gave a small wave.
“I need to discuss something with Karom and Raj.” I said to Tabula before she could lead the group away. “Have they been around lately?” I asked while I returned Niiya’s sudden hug.
“Ms. Raj is on site. She’s currently drafting messages to some of her family in the northern Rakashi Desert. She hopes to learn the state of the place since the kingdom began its invasion. You can find her in the business center. As for the guildmaster, I believe he is attending to matters in Ariel’s Gate.”
“Perfect. I’ll go catch her before she leaves then. These guys look fine but they’re in desperate need of food, a trip to the spa, and rest.” I said, beginning to walk toward the hall that would take me to the business center. Niiya walked easily along next to me.
“You’re gonna leave again?” She asked. Her tone wasn’t sad or whiny, just curious.
“Yeah I’ll head to the cyclops territory as soon as I handle the issue on the border. Human soldiers are attacking anyone trying to escape the war in the south.” I explained.
“I can help.” Niiya said, perking up at the thought.
“You could handle it easily.” I agreed. “Your job as my eyes and ears here is too important to give up though.”
She was mildly disappointed but recovered fast. “Mr. Yugal? He’s strong.”
“He is, and I do hope he’ll want to help out. I think I have a pretty good idea of what to do.” I replied as we reached the business center.
“A new guild?” Raj echoed a few minutes later. She wore a pearl white robe (which wasn’t nearly as revealing as her warm weather attire) to my slight disappointment.
“A guild based in EDEN with perks and rewards above what a regular guild could ever offer.” I began. “Our basic food and accommodations alone could entice just about anyone. There’s only a few teams still willing to operate in Ariel’s Gate, and Hurstag has lost all kingdom funding. Why not dissolve that branch, set up shop here, and start fresh? I have a feeling at least a few strong recruits will jump at the opportunity from among the Cambions and Hellcats alone.” I paused to gauge her response.
“A guild like that would be a runaway success.” Raj answered confidently. “I have spent plenty of time conversing with the women here, and I promise that you underestimate their resolve to please you as well as their individual strength. As for enticing newcomers, your best recruits are likely from those nations opposing the kingdom. Hurstag will agree to this plan instantly. He has voiced a similar desire but didn’t want to impose.”
“I will sponsor the first set of quests myself.” I said, glad that this was going so smoothly. “I need a patrol group of suitable strength to establish a safe zone for refugees fleeing the war on the southern road. I also need a group of messengers to visit the southern territories and spread the word about said safe passage as well as the opportunities for refuge, trade, and work in our territory. Rewards will be in gold, and items from my personal stash for standout performances.” I saw Raj’s face change slightly as I spoke.
“Those quests will be viewed as hostile to the Kingdom. Are we ready to abandon our passive stance so soon?” Her tone was not meant to dissuade, merely to confirm.
“They’re blocking refugees from reaching us, and slaughtering indiscriminately.” I answered. “Yeah we’re done being passive.”
“Excellent.” She smiled somewhat wickedly. “I’ll coordinate with Hurstag. The new guild infrastructure will be assembled and submitted for your approval by this time tomorrow.” She stopped and seemed like she wanted to say something and changed her mind.
“What is it?” I prompted.
“I am concerned about my kin.” She answered. “They’re resilient, but their village was square in the kingdom’s path of conquest.”
“I see.” I replied. “How should we handle that?”
“We?” She asked dumbfounded. “After you’ve already done so much for me?”
“Have we met? Hi, my name’s Gray and I’m a nosy meddling adventurer that can’t leave anything alone.” I said jokingly.
She laughed. “I was going to ask you for some leave, but that just isn’t possible. My duties as Deputy Governor are far too pressing.”
“How about a compromise?” I began. “If you can be patient for just a little longer while we resolve this issue to the south, I’ll go with you and we can check on your folks.” I finished.
“I’ll be looking forward to that.” She said with a weary smile as some invisible tension left her. She turned her gaze to Niiya, who had been suspiciously quiet and hovering near the door. “I see you’ve brought Niiya for her lesson as well.”
“Oh that’s right, you’re tutoring her.” I turned and saw Niiya looking as though she was being marched to an execution.
“More like torturing me...” Niiya grumbled so quietly that even I barely heard.
“You want to be a great warrior right? Knowledge is the most important part, so you better not neglect it.” I admonished her.
She stuck out her lower lip and let her arms hang limp at her sides as she dragged her feet past me to sit across from Raj. That was a flawless copy of Jade’s dramatic, bored body language.
“I’m gonna go for a stroll.” I announced. “Niiya come find me after your lesson and we can go to the restaurant together.” That perked her back up and she put a look of determination on her face.
I left the business center, and could hear laughter and lively conversation coming from the lobby. Curious, I followed the sound to find Jade and several Cambion women sitting in the stylish bar attached to the lobby.
“You really are amazing Ms. Jade!” One of the women said. She was a shy brunette named Ana.
Thanks to Soulbrand I instinctively knew the name of anyone connected to me, otherwise I would be totally lost.
“We all thought Mr. Yugal was going to squish you flat!” Agreed another from the other side of Jade. She was a platinum haired beauty named Siph.
“Bah!” Jade huffed, clearly loving all the attention. “He has a long way to go before he even scratches me.” She took a drink of some bright purple cocktail and changed her tone. “You guys really are pretty good too, I was surprised. After you get the hang of your demon forms you’ll be able to play with me no problem.”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“We still couldn’t beat Leza and the Hellcats today though.” Leifa lamented from a few stools down.
“Their powers are much more straight forward. Yours are subtle and will take more time to master.” Jade consoled them.
“It’s awesome that we can go all out and not worry about getting injured thanks to your magic.” Ana said. She was clearly a Jade super fan.
Whoa, was everyone here training on their own with Jade and Yugal!? Fucking awesome! I decided not to interrupt their moment, and continued on my walk. I stepped outside of EDEN, and made my way the short distance to the huge canvas tent that was serving as Yugal’s temporary home. There was room in EDEN to accommodate him somewhat but he preferred the outdoors.
The giant was seated on a huge elm log that he had dragged from the nearby woods. He was absently carving a piece of wood, using the dead Gespar’s huge two handed sword like I would use a carving knife. His expression was troubled, and he didn’t notice my approach until I cleared my throat.
“Ah, my lord.” He started to stand but I waved for him to keep his seat.
“We’ll get her back.” I assured him, knowing very well what was causing his distress. His younger sister was imprisoned somewhere in the hells, and only The Warlord knew where to find her. “Tabula is working diligently to break him, and believes that she is close.”
“That is not my only worry.” He confessed, tilting his huge head back to look at the emerging stars. “What if she has already perished? What if we cannot gain entrance to the hells to save her?”
“Your first concern I’m afraid I have no answer for.” I said honestly. I might be able to find out from Ariel but I didn’t want to dangle a false hope. “As for the second... I happen to have met a high ranking devil, an overfiend is what she called herself. I believe she can take us there.”
The chunk of wood dropped from Yugal’s suddenly numb hands. His wide eyes looked down at me in pure shock.
“You are acquainted with an overfiend!?” He rubbed his forehead as though he had a sudden headache.
“Yeah she told me her name and wants me to hang out with her sometime.” I answered, easily picking up the hundred pound stump Yugal had been carving with one hand. “Here you dropped this. Oh that’s badass, it sorta looks like Jade’s tiger form.” I marveled as I noticed what the carving was.
“Thank you, my lord for both the compliment and the reassurance. If you have the backing of one of those infernal rulers then perhaps there is hope.”
I gave a nod, and started to walk away when a sudden wave of intense aggression rolled through me. I physically staggered a bit and the edges of my vision reddened. Fuck me. I checked my status and gulped hard.
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Soulthirst: Consume a Worthy Soul within (0d/7h/59m/55s) to avoid Soulthirst
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I was out of time. I sent Niiya the most heartfelt apology and explanation I could manage, manifested my wings, and shot into the sky flying south.
I flew with all the otherworldly speed afforded by my wings over the mountains below. It was nearly midnight now, and Soulthirst would fully take effect in less than two hours. I still didn’t know exactly what was going to happen but I knew I didn’t want any of my friends near me when it did.
I ignored a few more skirmishes down below like the one I had intervened in earlier. Soulthirst required big game to be satisfied, and I hoped the cyclops territory would provide it. Taller and more jagged peaks loomed in the distance, and on the other side of that foreboding range was my sustenance for this demanding body.
I passed over the giants’ village which consisted of huge igloo shaped stone mounds and tents made from various animal hides. I spotted perhaps a hundred giants milling about and it took a huge amount of willpower not to drop into their midst and attack them. I growled and gritted my teeth, focusing hard on the mountains ahead.
I finally skimmed over the peaks. I sensed I was near my maximum altitude, the air was so thin that I could barely breathe. Below was an incredible sight. The southern valley beyond the range was a thick jungle of enormous trees bathed in moonlight. One tree at the center dwarfed the others like a skyscraper in the suburbs. It reminded me of the mythological Yggdrasil, the world tree of Norse myth.
My instincts pulled me in the direction of the giant tree, and I realized my initial judgment of its scale was way off. I was much further from it than I thought, and it loomed larger and larger as I closed in. I also noticed now that there were thousands of lights, like stars among the colossal branches. As I closed to within perhaps half a mile of the tree, I felt a sudden and violent drag on my flight speed. It seemed like I had slammed face first into a wall of thick liquid. Before my momentum could fully be halted, however the tension released and I felt my movement return to normal. I had taken some damage too, enough that most other creatures would have died instantly. I halted in midair and looked behind me. From inside I could now see the barrier for what it was, an opaque dome that enshrouded the entire area around the tree.
Who had erected such a ludicrously powerful shield, and why? The air was sweeter and more rich in oxygen here. The sound of air rushing over wings alerted me to something approaching very fast. I activated my cloak’s camouflage and dropped elevation, silently awaiting their approach.
“Did something truly get through it?” A voice, smooth as honey and edged with fear and disbelief came from one of the winged humanoids above me. There were two of them, both male and each sporting two sets of huge wings covered in pure white feathers. Finer details were lost in shadow from the bright nearly full moon beyond.
“Lady Saet felt a mighty disturbance from this location, that is all we know.” The other, older sounding one replied. “Perhaps a sleepy wayward dragon merely bumped into it and went on his way with a great headache.” He added hopefully, I could hear the shrug in his voice even if I couldn’t physically see it.
“The great cyclops war engines couldn’t even make it quiver, what beast could so disturb it?” The younger one sounded mystified. “In all my hundred years I have heard no tale of our queen using the term ‘mighty disturbance’ when it came to the barrier. Have you Lord Undris?”
“I have not.” The older winged gent apparently called Lord Undris replied, serious once more. “No trespasser has soiled this place since our ancestors destroyed The Worm.”
“Kutris?” The younger asked.
“Don’t say that name, you’ll get us both a demerit.” Lord Undris scolded.
“That’s an old rule, no one follows it really. Children use it as a curse all the time.” The younger one retorted.
“All the same, I’d rather not hear it. Let’s check the ground level and make sure whatever it was isn’t down there stunned or dead before we make our report.” The voices faded quickly as the two odd beings flew uncomfortably close in a steep dive past me.
I recognized that name, Kutris the Worm. Where had I heard it before? I couldn’t really focus past the blood lust roiling through my body with every beat of my heart so I gave up. I wished I could just ask these guys for directions to a damn cyclops but that didn’t seem like a good idea even in my current half insane state.
I decided to leave the area since by the sound of it I wasn’t going to find any monsters in here, and these guys didn’t seem like a bad sort thus far. I turned away from the great tree and back toward the barrier and flinched reflexively as a woman’s voice from right behind me rang out.
“Leaving so soon, infernal count?” She asked. I put up my hands and turned slowly.
“I’m just hunting a cyclops.” I said, seeing that it wasn’t an actual person but a glowing white orb addressing me. “I broke through that barrier on accident.”
“Sounds sincere enough and you didn’t attack the soldiers I sent which are obviously so much weaker than you. Can a celestial really ignore an infernal noble in her territory though?” The voice didn’t sound threatening, but the weight of the words was troubling.
“It’s a long story, but I was human until recently. I’m not a bad guy and would really like to meet on better terms. That said, I do have a pretty urgent need to kill some strong monsters and soon so...” I took a small step backward and held my hands out as I spoke.
“Sounds lovely, either an infernal gets squished or a cyclops gets destroyed! I win either way. Let’s get to it then.”
“Lets?” I didn’t like her choice of words.
“Obviously I’ll be coming along to observe.” The ball moved up and down as though nodding.
“You’re not worried about getting caught up in the fight?” I asked.
“I’m just a scrying spell, not much danger unless someone...” She stopped suddenly. “Trying to trick me into divulging my weakness!? That won’t work on me, demon!” She gave a triumphant laugh as she finished.
Was she actually kind of... ditsy? I wondered to myself. “Alright, I’m off. Come along if you want I guess.” I said as I turned back to the barrier once again.
I left the barrier and began to fly west. I had the brief hope that maybe the orb wouldn’t be able to keep up, but that was quickly dashed as it raced ahead to stop me.
“Where are you even going?” It asked condescendingly. The cyclops territory is on the border to the demon kingdom.
“So... south?” I asked.
“Were you really just going to fly aimlessly until you found something? This jungle is huge you know.” It harped.
“It’s my first time here, thanks for the tip.” I tried to keep the irritation out of my tone and changed course to circumvent the barrier and continue south. “Are you at war with the cyclops’?” I asked, remembering the soldiers’ conversation.
“If you can call it that.” Answered the wispy orb. “Every once in awhile they test the barrier, and fail. You must have some crazy strength in that tiny body of yours to punch right through it.” She didn’t sound happy to admit that.
“So what’s the story of that massive tree?” I asked.
“What kinda half assed infernal are you anyways?” The orb now sounded exasperated. “It’s the last uncorrupted celestial oak. If it falls then then this whole forest will become as barren as the Rakashi Desert.”
The jungle thinned out ahead, and several thick columns of smoke appeared on the horizon. My heart hammered faster and my jaw began to clench and relax rhythmically. Huge booming voices and the sounds of drums accompanied a vile smell on the wind as we closed in.
Flat, grazed fields replaced the trees below and the stink of scat intensified. Herds of shaggy, four legged beasts stood in clusters all over the place. There were also thin and sickly looking mountain giants apparently looking after the beasts.
“Slaves and stolen mountain bison.” The orb informed me unnecessarily.
“There.” I growled, finally seeing the silhouette of a massive seated humanoid. Even sitting on the ground it was twice the height of a mountain giant. “Appraisal.”
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Thurg
Level: 131
XP: 8% to Next Level
Life: 2,600/2,600 Soul Energy 20/20
Strength: 1080
Endurance: 1,390
Agility: 277
Soul: 10
Skills:
Colossal: All attacks have a (30’) base Area of Effect. Immune to Tier 10 and lower poisons. Take double falling damage. +10 Endurance and (+5) Strength per Level
Titan Flesh: Immune to normal weapons and weak magic.
Rage: For every (5) Missing Health, Gain (+2) Melee Damage.
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“You might be strong but I think you’d better find one of the weaker ones around here.” The orb whispered. “That’s Thurg, he’s the second in command to Zurg, the ruler of these mongrels.”
“Killed bigger when I was weaker.” I replied, already scrolling through my inventory. “He’s perfect.”
“Well that’s not what I...” She started but suddenly stopped. “Never mind. I’ll just leave it to you then!”
I began my standard procedure for a boss pull. With my high base damage, gear, elixirs, food buffs, and artifacts I could deploy it wasn’t too hard to one shot a boss with less than five thousand health.
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*Equipped: Gorgon MKX - Dark Matter Rail Rifle
(Item Score 900) Skin: Default
Damage: 800 Negative Energy
+5’ Range per (1) Agility
Indestructible
Ammo Capacity (0/1)
Fires Dark Matter Rods
Replenishes (1) Round Per Minute
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The Gorgon was exactly as ridiculous looking as its name would imply, weighing in at around a hundred and twenty pounds unloaded and over seven hundred pounds after producing a dark matter rod. It was loot from a boss in a space themed Abyss. It was a robot that was practically invincible, and after ninety seconds would lock onto you and fire one shot kills with this exact rifle. If you raised your reputation with a certain faction to maximum, a helpful engineer NPC would accompany you. That little guy could produce EMP grenades which disrupted shields and targeting systems, and well you get the idea after that.
A satisfying low humming noise began to rise in pitch, and I could feel the weight of the weapon rising rapidly even though it still felt about as heavy as a cellphone to me. Sixty seconds after equipping it, the sound reached a crescendo and the tiny red light inside the digital scope turned green.
I took several deep breaths, exhaling slowly each time. I aimed squarely for the back of the humongous, pale skinned skull. I exhaled one final time, slowly squeezing the trigger as I did. Then I died. My body was blown into a thousand wet sloppy chunks, and my suddenly free spirit was somehow viewing it in slow motion. I had no time to feel any shock, pain, or anything really before a pale flickering panel appeared before my disembodied gaze.
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Physical Body Compromised. Destroy a Named Soul in your possession to Reconstruct?
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Destroying a named Soul automatically triggers Soulthirst until another Named Soul is consumed.
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Pressing