The vista before him was shoreline. On one side stretched a boundless ocean, its waves gently lapping at the land. On the other side stretched a flat plain that was soon lost to the horizon.
Neither had anything on their surfaces. No boats or anything of the sort upon the water. No mountains or trees or grass or anything else at all upon the brown land. Everything seemed empty as far as Ray could see. He even tried using Primordial Gauge and looking at any potential Mana through his eyes. Still nothing.
But then the shoreline changed. There was something. A strange sort of creature, small and difficult to make out, coming out of the water and onto dry land.
Ray tried to approach and see what exactly it was, but he couldn’t move. He was rooted to his spot. Oh yes, he was in whatever plane a Paragon resided in.
Said Paragon appeared before him just a moment later. Another creature crawled out of the water’s surface. It began to change and morph rapidly, turning from a slick, amphibious being into one that rapidly took on humanoid form. By the time it reached Ray’s location, it looked like those musculature manikins displayed in doctor’s offices for young patients.
“So we finally meet,” the Paragon said. His voice had a depth to it unlike anything Ray had ever heard. The sound made his non-existent head vibrate. “You must be Raymond Dominick.”
Ray felt the urge to nod, even though he couldn’t. “I am. And by the looks of things, I’m guessing you’re the Fleshcrafter.”
“Correct.”
“I’m surprised it took this long for me to draw your attention, with how much I’ve been using your Tower Nodes so frequently. What finally caught your attention, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“You simply crossed a certain threshold.”
Ray felt like frowning, though of course, he couldn’t really do so. “Threshold? Of what?”
“Did you not know? Strange. I was under the assumption that, since you possessed Tower Nodes already, you would know this.”
“Know what?”
“The more you use a Tower Node outside of its intended functions within a Tower, the more you spread the influence of the associated Paragon. Tower Nodes are a way to channel a Paragon’s power for the Tower’s purposes without letting the Paragon do anything about it. Unless someone uses the Tower Node outside its intended bounds and function, of course.”
“And I’ve been using your Tower Nodes so much that now you can do something about it?”
“To a miniscule extent, yes. All thanks to you. Thus, our meeting. Are you not awed?”
“I’m slightly nonplussed, is what I am.” That damn Marauder hadn’t told him anything about using Tower Nodes causing a Paragon’s influence to spread. “But thank you for the information. It’s helpful. Do you mind telling me what you’re planning to do, now that you can do something?”
The Paragon leered at him, the muscles of his mouth pulling away to reveal a toothless interior. “Why should I do anything when I have loyal followers such as yourself at my beck and call?”
Ray was surprised at that. “Woah, woah, woah. Who in the world suggested I was your follower? Just because my actions unintentionally benefited you doesn’t mean I did them for your benefit.”
The Fleshcrafter leaned back to stand straight. “As I feared. You aren’t truly one of mine. But fine, then. Why don’t you become one of mine?”
“I’ve got no intention of working for any—” Well, that was a bit of a hypocritical lie. “I’m not in the habit of working for Paragons, sorry.”
“But you haven’t even heard what I have to say, yet. All you must do is simply spread my word, bring people under your fold. Make everyone follow you. You will only need to share with them the bounty that is my power. It is quite simple, believe me. In fact, you won’t have to do anything at all, if you so choose. That is all I ask. And in return…”
“In return?”
He grinned toothlessly again, like he figured he had caught Ray’s attention fully. “In return, I will grant you one wish. Any boon, any power, any greatness that I can give you, you may claim it for yourself.”
Ray was silent for a moment. “What did you mean that I wouldn’t have to do anything at all? You said just a bit earlier that I ought to spread your word, whatever that means.”
“Ah, my word is already spreading. My following grows, day by day, hour by hour. You must simply exercise restraint. You have been helping stem the flow of the Flesh Plague, yes? Cease doing so. Even if your efforts are meagre, even if they will not change the final outcome, it would serve us both well if you finally stopped acting against it.”
“So you want to me to stop healing people from this plague?”
The exposed muscles all over the Paragon’s body writhed. “Yes. Stop.”
Ray shook his head. “I can’t. I already made a deal that I have to honour. I can’t simply renege on it and stop carrying it out.”
“Why? Are you a slave to whoever you made this deal with? Do they threaten your life or that of those you care about?” He leaned forward again, his eyes bulging from their fleshy orbits. “Were you not one who prized control over all else? Why, then, do you allow yourself to be controlled by your word to those who do not even care about you?”
There was more he could have said just then, but Ray got the implication. Why was he determined to stick to his word to people who would have been happy to see him dead? Why was he supposedly not in control anymore?
“Why do you want to keep the plague going?” Ray asked. “How does it help you?”
“Are you interrogating me, little Denizen?”
In their current sizes, Ray wasn’t that little when compared to the form the Paragon was in. But he had to wonder where the godlike being actually was. How big was his real body?
“I want to know the full story before I make any decision,” Ray said. “It looks like there’s already some vital info that’s been kept from me. It’s hard to continue trusting when things like that happen.”
“Hmm. I suppose you do have a point.” The Paragon began pacing, the muscles on his manikin-like body continuing to writhe. “The plague is a symbol of my power. All those who are afflicted with it become vessels for a bit of my power. In essence, the more people afflicted with the plague, the more my influence spreads far and wide.”
“And what exactly are you going to do with this influence? What are you hoping to accomplish?”
“Ah, but that is the question, isn’t it?”
He didn’t elaborate further, but he had come to a stop, facing the shoreline. Ray watched it too, eyeing the point where the waves hammered the beach. More creatures were coming out of it. All amphibious, all some sort of prehistoric creature that could live on both land and in water.
Ray understood all of a sudden. He remembered that writhing, massive piece of flesh he had seen when the Lostcaller had cracked apart one of the giant spiralling growths. “You want all this influence so you can act directly. So you can create some kind of fleshy abomination. A big one. Worse than any of the Elementals I’ve seen so far, even that giant mouth. But why?”
“That one was certainly a piece of work, wouldn’t you say?” He turned back around to face him, smiling again. Ray was really starting to hate that smile. “Did you know that others of my kind have already taken over various Towers?”
“How?”
“The System will not acknowledge it easily, but once a Tower’s function—to raise a set of Denizens as far as they will go—is complete, the guardrails keeping the Paragons in check are… relaxed. And the Paragon at the lead within the Tower is in the perfect position to take advantage.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
That was a lot of shocking information to take in. Ray was about to ask about the reason behind the Paragons’ takeover, but then, the Fleshcrafter spoke first.
“And in this Tower of Forging, I will be the one to rule. I cannot afford not to, not when others of my kind have pillaged Towers across the omniverse.” He stared down at Ray, bringing his full focus to bear. “So what say you, Raymond Dominick? Will you be my loyal servant my mortal disciple, and bring an age of living flesh?”
Ray swallowed. He hadn’t expected to receive so many revelations here. “Is that what you asked your last disciple? He did sound kind of crazy at the end, but it looks like it wasn’t just him. His master was just as insane too.”
“Derrick Orden, you mean? Oh, he was quite enamoured with the idea. It’s an ambitious one, so it appealed to his sensibilities.”
“But this plague isn’t even really yours or has anything to do with you. This plague came from the Sylvans and their unrestricted Growth Mana use. It’s got nothing—”
Then Ray paused. Did it really have nothing to do with the Fleshcrafter? The Sylvans were the originator of this Flesh Plague as the Paragon called it. Specifically, the Floor Lord of the Second Floor was. On the surface, it didn’t look like it had anything to do with the Fleshcrafter, other than the fact that the plague’s effect corrupted the flesh of its victims.
But then, Derrick Orden had been the original carrier of the Fleshcrafter Tower Node. It was arguable that he was supposed to find all of them in the Tower of Forging.
And Derrick Orden had been allied with the Sylvans. The Lord of the First Floor had teamed up with him. Ostensibly, it was to beef up both their forces against the Denizens of the First Floor. At least, that was what most of them assumed. But there was obviously more going on.
When fighting against the Floor Lord, Ray had found evidence that he’d had greater plans. The Sylvan had possessed more Tower Nodes, intending to use them for a grand master plan, and it probably included the Fleshcrafter Tower Node too.
Derrick Orden would no doubt have been instrumental in that sense. But since both Derrick and the First Floor Lord were dead, the one to carry out the plan must have changed.
It had shifted over to the Lord of the Second Floor.
Ray wished he still possessed an actual head so he could shake it. It all made too much sense. Why else would she be so insistent to spread this affliction, this Flesh Plague?
Except, Ray was apparently a hitch in their plans. A big enough hitch that the Paragon himself had to come down and try to stop him.
“I could ask any power, you say?” Ray asked.
The Paragon’s eyes seemed to bore into him. “Anything that I can provide, yes.”
“Then what if I asked for the power to rid anyone and everyone of this plague of yours? Don’t tell me that’s not something you can provide.”
The Fleshcrafter turned away from him, walking along the beach before returning to Ray. “I could grant you such an ability. A power far beyond the meagre one you have been executing so far. But of course, it would come at a cost.”
“The cost being that I help proliferate this plague of yours everywhere first.”
“Or simply no longer stand in its way, yes.”
Defeat the plague. That had been his Objective from the System from the very beginning of reaching the Second Floor. It was very likely he wouldn’t be able to advance through to the Third Floor without completing it. And yet, this Paragon was asking him to forego it. To, in a way, rebel against the System itself.
“Tell me something, Fleshcrafter,” Ray said. “Did you ever climb a Tower like I’m doing now?”
The Paragon stared at him with those bulbous, half-out-of-the-orbit eyes for a moment. “How else do you think I climbed to my current position?”
Ray laughed softly. “Then you probably know all the tips and tricks one needs to reach higher and higher.”
“Obviously.”
“Then answer me one more thing—can you climb up to a higher Floor without completing all the objectives you’re set?”
Another piercing stare. When the Paragon spoke again, there was a strong finality to his words. An even greater depth than what he had shown so far. “It seems this conversation was pointless from the beginning.”
“Not pointless for me. I learned a lot. So, thanks for that.”
“I was under the impression your need for control wouldn’t find its limit at an uncaring System, but it seems my assumption was incorrect.”
“You’re mistaken. If the System gave me an Objective to make sure everyone in the world was afflicted with this plague, I still wouldn’t decide to help you. Your assumption was wrong. But it’s not your assumption about my adherence to the System that’s wrong. It’s about my fucking character.”
“So it would seem. Begone, then. My influence shall spread regardless of what you could ever do.”
Ray would have dearly liked to get in the last word, but the strange world of evolution he had been summoned to disappeared. He rocked on his feet, realizing he had returned to the lordling’s bedchamber.
It took him a minute or two to regain his bearings. He was back at the exact spot, both in space and time, where he had left the room. The lordling was still in bed, slowly losing blood as Ray pulled off his corrupted flesh. He focused on his actual job, trying his best to not let the conversation with the Paragon interfere with his concentration.
Good thing the Tower Node of the Fleshcrafter was still working. Ray didn’t feel any strangeness from it. Whatever growing influence the Paragon had boasted clearly didn’t extend to messing with the Tower Nodes directly.
Not yet, at least. Ray would need to be wary of it.
It took almost half an hour before he was done working on the lordling. By that time, he had gained a small audience.
The actual lord had arrived. He had been a little horrified to see all the bloody mess around his son, but Ray had firmly warned him to stay back. Actually, he—and his retainers too, Ray recalled—had come close enough that they were probably infected too. Not good.
Thankfully, they had enough wits not to interfere. They even assisted Ray when he asked for things like moving the afflicted young man around so Ray could reach his patient’s whole body.
Eventually, he was done. He was sweating a little and feeling weirdly weary, but the success made him feel elated enough to ignore the fatigue.
The young man himself opened his eyes and looked around. He was still weak, but not for long. It turned out that he possessed a strong healing skill, one he activated as soon as he regained consciousness.
That more than anything proved that Ray had succeeded. After all, the affliction sealed away the System of all those who were infected.
“Well done, Raymond Dominick,” the lord said. “Well done indeed. Please, wait in your chambers. We will have a great feast to celebrate my son’s recovery, and you shall be the guest of honour.”
Gone was his frosty lordliness. He looked truly thankful. Ray wanted to attribute his earlier rudeness to the harsh feelings of a distraught father, but comments like dogs and collars and kennels still burned in Ray’s ears.
“I don’t know, my lord,” Ray said. “Do mangy mutts belong at the table of a lord’s feast?”
His words cut through the growing euphoria in the room like the gong of a mourning bell at a festival. Ray blinked. Oh, geez. He had been in medieval-land so long on the Second Floor that he was starting to think of similes medievally too.
The man was starting to look furious again. How dare this stupid alien actually talk back to the lord in such a manner?
But before he could reply, the young man on the bed spoke up. “Pease father. We have no time for feasts and such. Remunerate the man appropriately and then let him go. I must leave as soon as I can.”
The lord immediately forgot all about Ray and turned to his son, starting to fuss and protest his departure. With great stoicism, the son declined all his father’s endeavours and maintained that he was going to leave as soon as possible. Honestly, if Ray was the guy, he’d be doing all he could to get out of this little castle too.
Although, one word did catch Ray’s interest a lot. The young man mentioned something about a war. The war.
Frowning, Ray used Primordial Gauge on the guy.
[Primordial Gauge]
James Colbrook [Denizen]
Path: Path of Divine Valour [Epic]
Class: Crusader [Epic] [Tier 4] at Level 45
Perk: Final Stand
Skills:
Valiant Strike [Tier 8]: Valorous spell enhances your attacks with divine energy, causing a radiant explosion after crossing a threshold. Successful detonation raises the Valour Reputation. At Tier 8, this spell requires 4 consecutive this to activate the threshold.
Divine Bulwark [Tier 7]: Summon a radiant shield that absorbs incoming damage for some time. If the shield is broken, it explodes. At Tier 7, this shield blocks up to Tier 7 attacks and explodes after 14 seconds.
Righteous Bond [Tier 10]: Allies that defeat enemies in your vicinity have all their stats raised. At Tier 10, this spell raises all allies within 20 meters to boost their stats by 10% for every enemy defeated, with each boost lasting 1000 seconds.
Unyielding Conviction [Tier 5]: Passive spell that indicates your unyielding resolve. You are immune to all fear and charm effects up to a Tier above this spell. At Tier 5, all mental affliction attacks at or below this spell’s Tier raises your Spirit by 5.
Consecrated Ground [Tier 8]: Sanctify the ground beneath your feet, healing allies who stand within it and burning enemies with holy energy. At Tier 8, this spell covers a radius of 10 meters, where healing is increased by 10%, and enemies take 5% additional damage.
Ray stared at the notification. This guy…
Not only did he possess an Epic Path and an Epic Class, he was also at level 45. Even the most cursory look through his list of abilities impressed Ray. This guy was an absolute force to be reckoned with.
No wonder he wanted to go to the battlefield as soon as possible. He would end things there real quick if he could properly contribute.
Maybe Cory had sent Ray here on purpose. He wasn’t healing some random noble’s son. Ray had fixed up someone who could really help turn the tides of the Everstead kingdom’s war against the Sylvans. And this was only one guy. How many people like that existed on Cliff One? Was this James a one-off, or were there more just as strong?
“I’ll be fine without a feast, thank you,” Ray said loudly. They turned to him, some of the retainers looking incredulous that he would dare interrupt such an important conversation between father and son. “But I would like to discuss my payment later, if you don’t mind. Perhaps… in a few hours?”
While he ignored the shocked looks, he didn’t shy away from the evaluating glance from the young man. His eyes was keen and intelligent
Yep, people like Cory really wanted this guy on the frontlines. He probably had been on the frontlines before he had contracted the plague. And now, thanks to Ray, he would return to causing whatever havoc had had been wreaking on his enemies.
With a parting smile that he hoped was no less sharp than his words, Ray left the room.
He had to tell Kredevel about the new development, and Gritty too, if she had agreed to the plan. And then, he had a lot of exploring to look forward to on Cliff One.