– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 218, Season of the Rising Moon, Day 2 –
After the threat of the mana-cursed invasion had been repelled, the folded space unfolded. However, before the remaining challengers had a chance to pinpoint the dungeon’s real location for themselves, they were transported out. The location in which they were finding themselves was the same as for all the previous returnees.
While most martialists needed a moment to take their bearings, there were two women alert and composed enough to slip away as soon as they noticed a sky without the three magic moons.
Chalita quickly hid herself and hurried to the familiar signatures of her Shadowed Forest Sect.
Annabelle put on a mask to go with the plain black combat robes that did not show the crest of the golden crow. She bolted away towards a secluded escape route. In contrast to Chalita, Annabelle did not plan to reunite with her Blazing Sun Sect. She only used a communication talisman to inform her brother: [...keep it a secret for now. What better way to catch our hidden enemies off-guard than to make them believe I am already dead?]
[Got it,] replied her brother. [I’ll try to recompense the Arcanian. I’m sure things will go awry soon. I don’t know how much support I can muster, but I’ll do my best.]
“My grandson!”
“Darling!”
Everywhere, people reunited with their sects and families. The number of martialists in the freshly arrived group quickly diminished. The remaining individuals were all gathered around a single person that was lying unconsciously on the floor.
Some affiliated martialists had refrained from rushing to their sects and chosen to stay at Terry’s side instead. This included both Zhang and Chun. They remained where they were and used a communication talisman to call their sect over.
Jason glanced at Rafael. In contrast to the felan, Jason was not strictly an unaffiliated martialist. Technically, Jason still saw himself as a member of the Skyriver Sect. However, his sect had been crushed by Thanatos before the trial tomb began.
While a handful of disciples from the Skyriver Sect had successfully entered the pocket realm, they had made the mistake of trying to rob the Arcanian. Now Jason was the last surviving member of the group. He might as well have no sect at all for what was about to come. He understood very well what would happen, as did most of the others. Jason spotted some people sneak away. He could not blame them. He himself was still wondering if he should leave the Arcanian’s side.
“This will get ugly.” Rafael had put on his mask again. He glanced at those that had abandoned the Arcanian miracle-maker. “If it wasn’t for Terry, they would already be dead.” He left unspoken that the same applied to him. His feet remained right next to the unconscious man.
“The Ironbark Fist Sect seems to be further away,” remarked Guillermo, who was firmly rooted to the floor as well. “However, even if they come, depending on the faction, I don’t know if—”
“We know your reputation,” interjected Zhang drily.
“I’m not worried about some faction from the Ironbark Fist,” growled Rafael. “The thing we have to watch out for is right there.” He pointed towards a tent from where people in white-golden robes were rushing over.
“We could try to take him away?” Chun suggested. She and Zhang were still supporting each other.
“No way they will just let us bring him away,” replied Zhang.
“Him!” Shen’s voice rang over. “That’s him!” He whispered to his mother. “That’s the Arcanian that took away the Third Staff of the Monkey King.”
Mei smiled thinly and walked over with a straightened back. In front of her, there were already others eyeing the new arrivals with unrestrained greed. The question of how this group managed to escape the tomb paled in comparison to what exactly they had carried out from the place.
“Hand him over!” barked a man in yellow and black robes. “This man has murdered fledglings from my Thunderous Palm Sect. I demand justice!”
“Over my dead body,” growled Rafael.
“That can be arranged,” harrumphed the elder.
“I would like to see who dares to lay a hand on my brothers,” growled Guillermo and with a mana resonance, ironbark hands crossed above his head.
“Interesting,” muttered a felan woman with the appearance of a golden tigress from the sidelines. Hom was staring at the unconscious Arcanian and lifted a paw to her chin.
“Should we interfere?” asked an elven man from her sect.
“No, let’s wait and see first,” replied Hom.
“You dare to provoke our Thunderous Palm Sect?!” The elder puffed up his chest. “I should discipline you, little elf, to teach you some manners. Your Ironbark Fist Sect will thank me afterwards.” He stepped forward.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” A group of people in light blue uniforms stepped into the elder’s path. From their ranks, a voluminous man rushed forward to pull Zhang into a bear hug.
“Senior Brother Zhang!” Barnes nearly burst out in tears despite the audience. “I’m so sorry. I’ll do better…”
Next to Zhang, Chun shot Barnes a wistful smile. She herself was not included in the hug. She nodded towards Sheila. The young princess was standing right next to the elders that had stopped the Thunderous Palm Sect.
Zhang only winced and weakly chided his junior: “Barnes, you fool. Can’t you see we’re injured?” He added in a quieter tone. “Be ready to fight.”
Those words seemed to wake Barnes up and he realized the situation they were in. He turned around and placed himself in front of both Zhang and Chun. He glared defiantly at the gathering crowd.
“Are you certain that you want to do this?” growled the elder from the Thunderous Palm Sect.
“Oh yes.” One elder from the Icy Dew Mountain chuckled and softly placed a hand on Sheila’s shoulder. Their young princess had been adamant about protecting the Arcanian.
“And what if I demand you reconsider?” An elder wearing the shimmering robes of the Blazing Sun Sect stepped forth. “That man has caused the death of our scions in Thanatos.”
“Wait, Thanatos? Is that survivor the Arcanian from…” Countless whispers were spreading like wildfire. “I see…”
“I beg your pardon, elder, but that survivor is also my benefactor.” Annabelle’s brother walked into the center. Next to him was another group of elders from the Blazing Sun Sect.
“Peter, you dare put private matters over matters of the sect?!”
“Come now,” a woman next to Peter spoke up. “Saving the life of a sect member is as much a matter of the sect as killing another. Of course, you have the right to demand an investigation.” She smiled pointedly. “Until then, we should all remain civil.”
“Buying time, you damned…”
“I don’t care about your investigation,” interjected yet another elder. “We of the Lightning Feet Sect demand you hand over the Arcanian, dead or alive. The scoundrel has slaughtered our disciples in cold blood.”
Unexpectedly, more people quietly stepped forward to block the elders aiming for the unconscious man. Some of them Terry would recognize as sects belonging to people that had fought with him against the cursed invasion.
Others, he had no chance to recognize.
An imposing woman walked in front of Terry. First, her gaze wandered to the Blazing Sun Sect and then towards the Lightning Feet Sect. “On behalf of my disciples, I owe a debt to this man. I say you let him wake up before any further considerations.” Behind her, there was a veiled woman with a numb gaze and a pair of elves whom Terry would recognize from the Proving Grounds.
Jason’s eyes nearly popped out when he spotted the two familiar elves from his old Skyriver Sect.
“Of course.” Mei stepped into the center with her entourage. “I’ll bring him to my tent and then he can—”
“Bullshit!” snapped Rafael. He extended his claws and glared at Shen next to Mei.
“It is rude to speak like this to your elders, little kitty,” chided Mei sharply. She gestured from side to side. “These people have grievances and these people have gratitude, which means that they’re all biased.” She looked around at the sects standing on the sidelines. “Fairness demands that the Arcanian be taken into custody by a neutral party.”
Even though it was a flimsy excuse, it offered enough justification to press the issue. Mei was counting on this and her sect’s power to force her own will through the conflict. She confidently walked up to grab the Arcanian.
The elders on Terry’s side hesitated.
“Please.” Sheila pleaded with her Icy Dew Mountain.
“They tricked us!” Barnes pointed at Shen. “He made a trade and then they—”
“If you continue to slander me baselessly, I’ll have to ask for justice!” Shen retorted angrily. He glared at the elders next to Sheila. “Is this how your Icy Dew Mountain operates? Throwing around empty accusations and staining the reputation of others?!”
Meanwhile, Mei was getting close to Rafael and Guillermo, who were both circulating their mana to attack. She sneered at them. “I truly wouldn’t recommend that.”
From the top of a tree, a woman wearing a tight pony tail was observing the situation. Apex’s participation among the trials had spread across the martialists and she was aware of everyone’s thoughts about her. She was not an imbecile. The instant she was out she used her trump cards to evade the sights of her enemies.
However, the ongoing conflicts between the different factions had presented good opportunities to enrich herself and eliminate some loathsome pests when they least expected it. That was why she was still lingering around the area.
Apex clicked her tongue. “Unconscious…” Seeing Terry on the floor reminded her of her failed cultivation breakthrough attempt when Vicious had attacked her. She sighed. “I hate owing debts.”
Down on the floor, Mei was swatting away the ironbark fists and darted towards Rafael before he could unleash his Heavenly Wolf Slash. She knew all about their attack patterns from the intel that her son had gathered. These youngsters, admittedly talented, were no threat to her yet.
A shrill phoenix’s cry pierced the air and the floor in front of Mei was suddenly doused in azure flames.
Rafael used the chance to unleash the Heavenly Wolf Slash towards Mei’s side. The woman managed to dodge, but her long sleeves were cut and she landed on one of her knees, which dirtied the beautiful white.
“Mother!” Shen darted next to Mei and glared at the new arrival.
Apex had landed in a crouched position from her movement technique. She slowly stood up and straightened her back. She cracked her knuckles and wordlessly grinned defiantly at all the people aiming for Terry… or her.
“You dare?!” Mei stared at her own ruined clothes and then at Apex. “Heretic Aparicia, do you have any idea who I am?!”
“Sure.” Apex’s grin turned lopsided and she glanced from Mei to Shen. “You’re the asshole that squeezed out the little shit next to you.”
His anger overwhelmed Shen’s training and his face reddened profusely. He spat: “Heretic!”
“Imbecile!” returned Apex in the same tone as Shen’s. Afterwards, she glared at Mei. “If you want to have a go, come at me, granny. I’ll let you taste defeat at the hands of a rookie.”
“I’ll kill you!” screeched Mei and dashed forward.
“Hold it!” A new group of people arrived. “Or our Shadowed Forest Sect will not show mercy.”
“You…” Mei glared at the arrivals. “You have no—”
“We insist.” A man and woman were glowering at Mei. “There is also the matter of you paying for our daughter’s lost life.” They shifted their gaze from Mei to Shen. “A life for a life.”
“How dare you slander—!” Shen shouted.
“Do not interrupt your elders!” Chalita’s mother used a mana-imbued shout to shut Shen down. She turned to Mei. “Is this how you discipline your son? Perhaps I should lend you a hand.”
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Mei’s face contorted in fury: “These baseless rumors are nothing but—”
“Baseless? We have an eyewitness.”
“Nonsense!” “Who would dare?!”
“A mind-recording.” The words from Chalita’s father inspired a heavy silence. “How is your son going to answer this?”
Mei considered her words. Weighing if it was a bluff or not. “My son doesn’t have to answer to you, and whatever grievances you think you have, we have other matters to attend to right now.” She raised her chin and spoke accusingly. “Could it be that your Shadowed Forest Sect is in cahoots with heretics?” She pointed at Apex.
“What’s with all the yapping, granny? I thought you wanted a beating?” taunted Apex.
Mei’s eyelid twitched but she did not lose sight of her real goal. She pressed Chalita’s parents. “It is you who owes all of us righteous sects an answer! Are you standing with this heretical cultivator?! I believe only some among us are able to recognize Aparicia but even the blind among us can detect her heretical cultivation.”
“Now who is the one slandering others?” An aged felan woman with the appearance of a golden tigress butted into the conversation. She had her daughter Hom in tow, together with several powerful elders from their sect.
More and more factions joined the heated argument on both sides. While no one was surprised about the martialists demanding Terry to be handed over, the amount and diversity of his supporters were beyond expectations.
Many smaller sects were banding together, united by the fact that Terry had allowed their young geniuses to return. Whereas different factions from larger sects found themselves opposing each other, depending on which member had a personal relation with Terry.
“Are you absolutely certain?” A whisper was shouted through the woods.
“Yes, elder. The Inheritor is unimaginably powerful. We have seen it with our own eyes. Our savior must be an unfathomable senior in disguise. We must not offend him. I am certain that even his current state is nothing more than a test for all of us. It would be unwise to fail his expectations.”
“Very well…” And another major faction stepped forth to intervene on Terry’s behalf.
There were even unaffiliated martialists and a few scattered individuals from sects that protected Terry and not because of his actions in the senior’s tomb, but because of his actions in Thanatos. While he had been in the pocket realm, his name had spread among martialist circles as an instigator of the prison break in the Proving Grounds and the subsequent battles.
After most of the martialists from the Blazing Sun and Thunderous Palm Sects had been captured by Thanatos, others were able to enact their revenge, or to extract valuable information from the crippled elders. There were also all those that had accepted the escaped disciples from the Skyriver Sect.
“Mana shut it!” Apex couldn’t stand it anymore. “Are you all trying to talk each other to death?!” She glared challengingly at Mei. “Step up or shut up, granny!” She presented her fist.
“Insolent brat,” cursed Mei. She was wary of Aparicia. The rookie had grown strong beyond reason for her age. She had heard that the heretic had made another breakthrough, but she had not expected this newfound power to be fully consolidated. However, despite her reservations, her anger had simply become overwhelming. She circulated her mana, which caused a bell sound to resonate while she herself vanished from sight.
Apex reacted by instinct and sucker punched the air. A black-golden flood dragon roared and followed her fist’s movement.
Mei blocked the lightning resonance with her own technique. She visibly hesitated and did not continue her assault. It was obvious that she was re-evaluating Apex’s strength. Instead of continuing the confrontation physically, she shifted back to verbal attacks. “Heretic! A desecration of the sacred beasts!” She glared at the martialist that had stood up for the Arcanian. “Is this whom you associate with? Standing on the same side as heretical cultivators – do you not know shame?”
“Granny, I’m getting bored over here,” taunted Apex and interrupted Mei’s attempts to rile up the crowd. “If you’re too cowardly to put your fists where your mouth is, why don’t you let your pathetic excuse for a son take your—” Apex shifted her gaze to Terry, who was beginning to open his eyes. “About damn time.”
Apex walked past Rafael and roughly pulled Terry up on his legs.
“What…?” Terry stared dazedly at Apex’s chest. He saw a strangely glowing… something. If the color had been more blue and less purple, he would take it for a mana marker that someone had placed.
Terry blinked and consciously turned off his mana sight. Unexpectedly, the strange purple-ish glow remained. When he concentrated, he realized that it was only the center of another fainter glow that—
“Oy! Take another time to discover puberty,” growled Apex with irritation. “Since you’re awake now, you can fight your own battles. I’m not your nanny.” She bumped into Terry’s shoulder and bolted away.
“Heretic! You stay—!”
“Make me if you can, old fart.” Apex retorted without stopping her movement technique.
Terry averted his eyes and realized that he also saw the strange purple glow from Rafael and everyone else around. No, not everyone. A felan next to Hom did not show it. “What…?”
Not the time.
He forced himself to focus on the matter at hand. Apex had shaken things up enough to stall. With so many factions at each other’s throats, there remained a fragile balance that had bought him time, but he was not safe yet.
“I can explain,” said Guillermo. “This is the mother of Shen and—”
“No,” interrupted Terry. He shook his head and finally, the purple glows disappeared. He inhaled deeply and pushed the question away for another time. He looked from Guillermo to Rafael and the others. “Thanks. I know what’s going on.”
Even though Terry had been unable to move his body at all, he had been able to hear and to use his mana sense. He understood the situation. If it had not been for the unexpected purple sight, he would not have been so dazed.
His body felt surprisingly fine now. His mana pool had bottomed out severely and it had felt much worse than even his first mana cultivation training after flunking out from the Arcana Academy.
He could not help but clench his fists and try to further memorize the liquid sensation of the intensely compressed mana running through his body. The way the wave of mana compressed and moved. Another thing to worry about later.
Another of many.
The purple glow. The fact that his body had mysteriously healed. The location he could feel in his mind. The sensation of liquifying mana. And above all, whatever the Wastes had happened with the blue crystal egg and the white dungeon blob.
Was it the same as—? Not the time. Focus.
Terry straightened his back and glared at Mei and then at Shen before sneering: “What? You failed to rob me before and now you are trying to have your mommy help you?” He clenched the king spear and pointed it at the two of them. “Try it then, if you dare.”
“Oi, what are you doing?” Jason hissed wearily. He did not expect Terry to be so confrontational. The Arcanian had never struck him as a hot-tempered person.
Even some of the elders that had been protecting Terry before were frowning now. “Mistress Mei is still an elder. A youngster should show the proper respect.”
“Screw that,” barked Terry testily. He glared with defiance at the crowd of martialists. “I have seen enough of the son to know the mother is far from worthy of my respect.”
“Hear hear!” Someone shouted from further away.
“You dare!” Mei walked forth.
“I do.” Terry extended the king spear and smashed the blunt end into the ground while letting the lightning dance around the pole.
“Careful mother,” whispered Shen warily.
“Aside from showing a false facade and plotting against others, your son seemed to be very fond of information gathering.” Terry tried to show the loathing he had for Shen in his gaze. He was worried that otherwise, his eyes would reveal something else. “Tell me then, what have you discovered about our return from the pocket realm? I’m sure you’ve already investigated from the moment we arrived.”
Terry forced himself to maintain eye contact with Mei. “No one has ever returned after the third orange pulse. Tell me then: What transpired?! Why did we succeed where everyone else had failed?” He reminded himself to emphasize the contempt he felt and sneered: “What could you possibly threaten me with that would be worse than what we just repelled? Do enlighten me!”
Lightning crackled once more around the orange pole and Terry moved his gaze from Mei to Shen. “I’m sure you in particular know that I dare to do a lot of things. In contrast to you, I do not hide behind a mask when I do them either. You, of all people, want to intimidate me? Give me a break!”
“There is no way that those stories are true!” Shen had enough.
“Fool,” spat Guillermo. “Full of yourself, aren’t you?”
“What stories, I wonder? Are you calling everyone present liars?” Zhang smiled thinly. “If you continue to slander us, then it won’t be you that demands justice.”
“You’re not that powerful.” Shen looked doubtfully at Terry.
“Powerful enough, evidently,” retorted Terry. “If you had possessed the courage to stay behind, you could have seen it with your own eyes.”
His words riled up many of the sects that had been mocked before for the failure of their young geniuses. Even earlier on this day, they had to suffer accusations of incompetence because their sect members had failed to make it out.
However, in the way the Arcanian was framing it, incompetence suddenly turned into bravery. What was praised as exemplary performances now carried undertones of cowardice. Many jumped at the chance to reframe the events in their favor and earn some face.
Terry would have liked to get a tally of whom he had in his corner, but he knew that there was a time limit to how long he could keep up the current confrontation. Thanks to his mana touch he had a good idea about the different powerhouses present. He was giving himself good odds of escaping even if a battle broke out, but he honestly just wanted a break.
He was so damned tired.
Tired of fighting. Tired of these martialists. If there was a way for him and the others to get away without a fight, then Terry wanted to try. If he had learned anything in the past year trapped among battle-crazed mana martialists, then it was that they exploited weakness and only respected strength.
In many ways, he was reminded of how his aunt Sigille had talked about some of the imperial censors in Tiv: strong in front of the weak and weak in front of the strong.
Terry had learned enough in Thanatos to understand that he possessed one significant advantage in this exchange: By what every late returnee knew, he had single-handedly incapacitated that enormous army in the pocket realm.
Terry was sure that Shen and his group had heard about that and it was probably one reason why they rushed to make a move on him while he was still unconscious.
It was his greatest advantage that no one aside from himself knew that the power he displayed was not quite his own.
Even though it was a nice glimpse into what I could be in the future, only that— Focus.
Terry did not completely understand what had happened with the dungeon and the way-too-familiar slime. He had neither the time nor the access to his Uncle Samuel to figure it out now.
The asymmetry of information was a powerful tool of persuasion. In order not to waste it, he had to focus on seeming confident. Truthfully, it was not hard to do while visions of acting as the dungeon’s defender were still vivid in his mind and while the feeling of liquid mana inside his channels was still fresh.
“You want my pinnacle item?” Terry pointed at the extended king spear with his eyes. “Come and get it.” He searched for people in familiar lightning-themed robes. “You don’t like how I use the staff? Come and stop me.”
Uncertainty made even Mei hesitate. The stories. The Arcanian’s attitude. Shen’s own reports about Terry’s feats and inconsistent evaluations. The shifting line of supporters and opposition. The enemies that were waiting on the sidelines for an opportunity to weaken her sect.
Terry did not give them more time to think. “I have business back in Arcana.” He was pleased to see that the name of his home made some of his opponents wear a conflicted scowl. He reminded himself to appreciate how much the right background worked in one’s favor in situations like these. “So I’ll take my leave.”
After the words had left his mouth, Terry frowned because he worried that this might have been too soft. Therefore, he added in a bark towards Shen: “Let’s not meet again, shithead.”
Terry knew that he should hurry, but he still took the time to turn to Rafael, Guillermo, Jason, and the others. “How about you? Are you confident in getting away from here?”
“I know a way,” said Guillermo. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I think I recognize some of my…” Jason muttered and stared at what appeared to be some of his fellow disciples from the Skyriver Sect. People that had long ago been captured by Thanatos and taken away. “But it’s impossible…”
“This one will leave immediately.” Rafael adjusted his mask. “Now that justice has been upheld.”
“Thanks, Rafael,” said Terry before the felan departed.
“What ‘Rafael’?” Rafael adjusted his mask. “This one is called… Celui! Yes, that’s my name.”
“Sure.” Terry rolled his eyes. While the leopard-spotted felan was about to depart, Terry remembered something. He retrieved a jade token from his storage item and hurled it at the masked felan’s head.
Rafael instinctively dodged and then grabbed the object with a paw. “What the…?”
“I don’t have a use for it,” said Terry. The jade token contained the complete sequence of the Heavenly Wolf Slash including the paired movement technique. “If you had stayed around earlier in the pocket realm, I could have given it to you before the invasion.”
“Dude, I…” Rafael bit his lips behind the mask. He put the jade token away and nodded at his former companion from the Proving Grounds. “I’ll make good use of it. Farewell!” Under his breath, the felan added: “...friend.”
Terry made sure that everyone had a destination and confidence in getting away. Most, like Jason, sought assistance from sects like the Icy Dew Mountain or Shadowed Forest to reach a safe location.
Others like Guillermo and Rafael were insisting on making their own way.
Terry himself knew that he could not afford to linger around the others. Even if he got away now, he would continue to have a target on his back. He did not want to trouble them further and he was more flexible alone anyway. Plus, his plan really was to get to Arcana and he doubted that this was a destination shared by any of the martialists.
Before Mei or the other vultures had a chance to harden their minds, Terry darted into the air on translucent golden layers of divine mana. He made sure to pay close attention to all the mana signatures below, both from his opponents and from his supporters.
When he was certain that no enemy had followed him and that his allies had departed safely, Terry heaved a sigh of relief. He retrieved his old five-point inscription ring in order to get his bearings and determine the direction to Arcana.
Terry had entered the pocket realm with a teleportation ticket from Thanatos. The exit teleportation had apparently targeted a location in the south-east of the Free Factions Union.
“Northwest to Arcana.” Terry was getting desensitized to jumping around on the map of his native realm. He had unwittingly crossed another empire, but what could he do about it?
“At least the distance to Arcana has lessened,” muttered Terry while taking in the view from high up in the sky. “I still have to cross the Union northwards until I reach Arcana’s border, but at least it’s not as vast as Thanatos.”
Terry forced himself to not dwell on all the things he had to figure out and instead focused on getting some distance between himself and the martialists. He was certainly glad to leave that madness behind.
***
After a few days of running towards a location where Terry thought to sense folks, he was taking time to replenish his stock of food. He was picking fresh berries in a clearing when his mana sense picked up something bad from another direction.
Death-aspect and… Terry narrowed his eyes. Ichor.
He had sensed such a mixture only once before. He had been with Matteo, Sigille, and Cadence when Emily had her dungeon scavenger ritual of adulthood. After the elven girl had defeated the goo beetle, Matteo and Sigille had persuaded Wallace’s dungeon scavengers to leave the cave, because they had picked up traces of a necromancer.
That necromancer had commanded an undead hellspawn juggernaut.
Terry was still staring, when he sensed other hellspawn aspects mixed with death. From one moment to the other, a whole horde of undead hellspawn appeared in the middle of his mana perception range.
A horde of undead hellspawn had seemingly popped into existence out of thin air.
One might think that by now, Terry was getting desensitized to battling large armies of horrifying creatures…
Wastes no.
“Give me a break!”
Screw this.
Terry bolted away. He chose his path to put as much distance between himself and the trajectory of these undead hellspawn before they got a whiff of his mana signature. He had not the slightest desire to engage them. He just wanted a good night’s rest and a freshly cooked meal. He was so damned tired.
***
– End of Arc 6, Heretical Style –