Thick black drops of rain poured over the soot-filled ground that was covered in bones, as an essence drifted into the quiet domain.
“It seems I am the last to arrive,” the essence said, transforming into a small red fox and settling on top of a newly formed dry patch of grass untouched by the bones. There were two other essences here already, waiting for him.
“It looks like our conversation will have to wait,” one of the essences said as a pile of bones came together from the dry ground to form a bipedal skeleton. "Good morrow, and welcome to my corrupted world."
The black rain stopped, and thunder rumbled in the distance as the third essence transformed into a long, jagged bolt of lightning. "Hello, Jiǔwěihú, it's been a while,” the lightning bolt said.
“Really?” Jiǔwěihú, the fox, asked, curling around himself. “Hasn’t it only been what, 100 years since the business with your Incarnation's Avatar?”
The skeleton snorted. “You forget that Adtonifulmin is still young, Nine-Tailed. To him, a hundred years is a long time.”
“Well, considering that you spent longer than that as a constellation and I spent exactly zero years as one, I'd expect it to feel long to you as well,” the lightning bolt snapped. "It has been almost 200 years, by the way."
"Arrogant fool," the skeleton said with a laugh. “You’d think your Apostle losing the whole world of Candoria to my lesser constellation would humble you, but no. You're as disrespectful as ever against your seniors.”
The lightning bolt flashed yellow as more thunder raged on nearby. “Well, you know me, Mictlantecuhtli, I don't care for beings that tried to bully me when I was still mortal. Who cares about seniority when I outrank you? And unlike you, I respect my followers’ wishes if they want to pull out of an unnecessary battle. I don't force them into servitude to The Demon Reaper,” Adtonifulmin said. “Tell me, does Aapep’s arse drip karma? Is that why your ugly head is always buried under there, sucking up to him.”
Jiǔwěihú brought out a flax of pure liquid modiaki from his domain and started comfortably drinking it as the two continued to argue like juvenile mortals.
The flare of death essence disintegrated many of the bones remaining in the domain, as Mictlantecuhtli spoke. “We have a mutually beneficial alliance. I don't want to hear about fawning from someone who chases after Lady Unrivalled like a dragonkin in heat.”
“Wow, don't let your new best friend hear your derisive comments about dragonkin, it might sour your alliance, considering the last lover he took was one,” Adtonifulmin piped back. "I think I know the reason why you are being so sour today, Mictlantecuhtli. I bet it's because you know my newest Avatar will obtain more karma points than yours in this Celestial Clash," he said tauntingly.
"How dare you insinuate that I would be wary of The Avatar of a fraud who flaunts another being's power?" Mictlantecuhtli said in outrage.
Oh, the warm modiaki tea was heavenly on Jiǔwěihú's tongue, but what really sparked his tastebuds was the palpable flare of the two opposing types of karma in front of him. He released some essence to fuel it even more.
It was entertaining for Jiǔwěihú to watch them squabble. While he watched them, he took a moment to check how his essence which was currently at war with Vaiśravaṇa was doing. It was going splendidly well and he empowered his constellations and Avatars to destroy half of that universe.
He wagged one of his tails pleasantly as his essence enjoyed the hot modiaki tea seasoned with strife, especially if it turned violent. He wondered if he should further aggravate the two gods in front of him, forcing them into a real battle.
"That's big talk for someone who wasn't worthy of that 'fraudulent' power," The Lackadaisical Herald was saying.
"Fool. You enjoy playing games, don't you? I will take that bet of yours, Adtonifulmin, and when Vos defeats that human of yours, I want you to remove Glaridinus and his army of principalities from Maselion," The Thousand Undead proposed. "Immediately."
"Ho, how daring. Fine, but I have full faith in Langa, so when he brings your Avatar to his knees, I want a drop of the Ambrosia you received from Hades," Adtonifulmin said.
"How do you know about that? But a whole drop? You're mad, you have no idea how many souls I had to pay to get it. You can have half of one pure nektari from Mictecacíhuatl's garden. Final offer."
"Deal, I haven't tasted a life nektari in many years," the lightning bolt pulsed, clearly excited.
The Nine-tailed Fox watched the two of them with interest. He wondered how he could get into the wager and earn himself a nektari too. Would Mictecacíhuatl's garden have fire nektaris?
Unfortunately, before he could ask, The Exuberant Arbiter's essence washed over the domain. "Gentledeities, please have some decorum, and remember why you are here," he said. "The children are waiting to start playing, so please decide what rewards you will give your bonded should they win, or I will make the decision for you."
“You're wasting your time, Arbiter. I doubt that these two will ever agree on anything, let alone a reward for both their bonded," The Nine-Tailed Fox said, hatching another scheme to amuse himself.
He had no desire to meet his reborn Avatar. The last time someone had wronged Jiǔwěihú to the point that he turned his face away from them, he had not interacted with that constellation for over 10 thousand years. How dare that child plead and cry when it had been less than 200 years since he turned away from her? He could not believe the nerve. She barely even remembered those years, so as far as she knew, he'd ignored her for less than a month since her rebirth.
She still had a thousand years of punishment left for betraying him, which was why Jiǔwěihú made a bold suggestion to avoid meeting her. "I think we should just do things the old-fashioned way," he said.
"What do you propose?" The Arbiter asked.
Jiǔwěihú smiled deviously.
*
When Langa woke up, there was a lucent tile under his door with an invitation to a festival held in Sorrento Creek. It was an open invitation to all players in tutorial batch 4, and they could bring two guests. Since today was the day set aside in the Tower to welcome players of batch 4, festivals like this were going to be widespread. The invitation implored all those who received it to invite those from batch 4 that they had in their contacts, so that as many people as possible would come.
Langa could only hope and pray that one of his family members found it, and came. He scrolled through the mana signatures he had on his comcer. He sent the invitation to all the members of their batch whose contacts he had, including Fi Kindaro III. He doubted that the son of a bitch would show his face, but it was worth a try.
He already knew who his guest would be. “Hello, Langa!” Di Etta answered when he called her. “How have you been?
“Great, thank you. How are you?" Di Etta and her friends had helped him on his very first voident hunt at Theria's Hollow and he had promised to treat them once he got to the capital.
"I can't complain... well, actually, I can. I am in the middle of the most boring job in the Tower," she said, sounding annoyed.
"Well, if you want to take a break,” he said. “I’ll be participating in the Celestial Clash close to the capital, so I was hoping I could pay you guys back for helping me out.”
“Really? You'll be in the exhibition match? I’ll ask our Guild Administrator if she has any extra tickets, and I’ll come watch,” Di Etta promised. "Do you want to meet after the match?"
“Yeah, my friend is hosting a dinner party for the Batch 4 Festival at Sorrento Creek. I wanted to thank you for coming to help me back at Theria's Hollow. I was wondering if you, Gria and Gertina would like to come as my guests.”
“I don't know. Gria and Gertina are on the 5th Floor and I’ll be joining them tomorrow, so I have to finish the job today," she said, sounding unsure.
"Come on, there'll be plenty of exotic food you haven't tried before," he said, dangling the bait, knowing that Di Etta could pass up free food.
"Oh, that does sound tempting," she said happily. "Okay, you know what? Screw this job. I'll see you later, let me go find out about the tickets.”
"Awesome." It was a pity that the other two couldn't make it, but this was good enough.
*
It was early afternoon when Langa went down to the tavern, and after helping himself to a plate of food, he spotted Undkese sitting by the window.
"Hey, did your father manage to find the children's families?" he asked, sitting down across from him.
"Oh, Blitzhunter, you startled me," Undkese said looking up at him in surprise. "They've contacted most of the families, and according to the Magistrate, Teyin's mother has arrived at the base. Father is offering them shelter for now."
"Good," Langa smiled. He hoped the other children would see their families soon too. He hoped he would see his family too.
Undkese stirred his porridge absentmindedly as he stared out at the street.
Langa frowned, a part of him wanting to ignore the situation and eat his breakfast in peace. Then he sighed, cursing his sister for raising him to care about people when all he wanted was to be left alone. "You seem out of it, is something wrong?"
"Am I that obvious?" Undkese sighed, setting his spoon down. "Father wants me to return home and rejoin the Federation Police. He says I can do a lot of good for the people on this Floor, like him."
Langa was no stranger to being weighed down by expectations from family. He'd spent some time on the lucent bus with Undkese, so he thought he knew him quite a bit. "But that's not what you want, right? You want to be out there, exploring the world and helping places like Ginora Village."
“I've made a lot of mistakes trying to prove I'm worthy to be the High Commissioner’s son when he can't even claim me publicly.” Undkese looked down at his hands, probably thinking about his part in trafficking the children. "I do want to be a player, Langa. I want adventure, to be like the heroes in my mother's stories. But I'm Father's only child now and he doesn't want to lose me to voidents or monsters.”
Langa leaned back in his chair, contemplating the halfkin's dilemma. "Undkese, you have to pave your own path. Your father may have your best interests at heart, but ultimately, you decide what's best for yourself. You can't live your life for someone else's expectations, it sucks and drains the life out of you."
That was a lesson Langa learnt the hard way.
Undkese looked up. "But what if something happens to me as I climb? I mean the higher my level, the less time I can spend on the lower Floors. I know Floor Overlords make exceptions for players if the Floor is their home world, but....what if I never see my father again?"
"I can't help you there," Langa said sadly. In the first place, he wasn't the best person to give out family advice. "You have to decide if you're willing to live with that. Life is full of shit, but in my opinion, the worst thing is regret. Don't let anyone hold you back."
Undkese nodded. "You're right. I know, you're right. It's just hard to leave everything behind, I guess. You know, I talk about grand ambitions, but I don't even have a party anymore,” he sighed.
Langa tilted his head in confusion, drinking his tea. “Isn't Synn your partymate?”
He shook his head, putting down his spoon. “No, she joined because we were short one person for the job. As you know, she was actually investigating the Vonelle Heilliege guild for The Maluta Syndicate. She's the type of person who likes to do her own thing, I couldn't ask her to form a semi-permanent party with me as much as I could ask you.”
If Synn wasn't in any guilds or parties, Langa wondered if she would be willing to join Liv's guild. He made a mental note to ask her once they established it. “Maybe you should join a guild,” he suggested.
Undkese visibly shuddered. “I'm a bit wary of guilds now, given what happened with the Vonelle Heilliege Guild. Are you going to join a guild? I trust you, so if you endorse one, I might consider joining it.”
“The guild I'm joining hasn't been formed yet,” Langa said nonchalantly biting into a bun.
Undkese’s eyes widened. “Awesome, you're forming your own guild, aren't you? Please let me join!”
“It's actually my friend's guild. I'll ask him if you can join, though,” he said. Then a thought came to him. “You know, Aquila’s team needs a tank, maybe you should ask them if they'll have you.”
“Really? They seemed really nice when I met them, and they helped the children out. I don't know, though. They don't know me that well,” Undkese muttered.
Before Langa could offer to talk to Aquila about it, someone called out to him, and he received a reminder that he needed to meet up with Zavi, one of the organisers of the Celestial Clash.
*
Tishiba Celestial Stadium was a diamond-shaped area ten times larger than the Moses Mabhida Stadium, where the FIFA World Cup had once been held. The high, silvery wall surrounding it was covered in lucent tiles. There was a large stage made of glowing bluestone, behind which the six of them stood. Strangely, it appeared to be floating in thin air at the centre of the stadium. On the stage, there were eight seats as well as an undecorated altar to The Exuberant Arbiter of Games. Two closed-off compartments that looked like large rooms were floating on either side of the stage.
The bright green field of the stadium gave way to the massive stands that loomed overhead, filled to the brim with eager players and NPCs waving flags and banners in support of the patron deities of the players taking part in the clash. The stands themselves were divided into main areas with open chairs and benches on the ground, where the majority of people sat. Multiple roving square boxes that were suspended in the air, constantly moving around, were also present; these were shining with silver and gold and were occupied by the rich and famous.
The roving boxes allowed the audience to select and follow one player, for instance, but those in the regular seats could not zoom in or move closer to a scene. As he glanced around, Langa could see the bright lights of the lucent tiles surrounding the entire area, capturing every moment of the scene for viewers at home.
All the people watching were carrying large Lucent goggles. Langa had been interested in how people could watch the Celestial Clash live if it took place inside a dungeon. Depending on the type of seat and the rarity of the lucent goggles, they could see and feel what was happening in the clash as if they were there. It was like watching a movie in 3D-4DX. They would be able to feel the sting of the wind, the muted heat of the fire, and the players as if they were right next to them. The only thing they couldn't do was interact with the players.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Langa stood in a wide room behind a large stage in the middle of the stadium. He was the last player to arrive, and the other five were already standing in individual booths separated by a see-through lucent tile, waiting to enter the stage.
All the players participating in the exhibition match needed to wear armour sponsored by a crafting guild called the Perusia Guild, otherwise, they would not get paid for their participation. Even though he didn't like it, Langa was used to that type of politics, where the sponsors had to be appeased regardless of what the athletes wanted.
Langa selected a red and white light leather armour set that gave +2 to his Agility and provided 120 Defence. It wasn't as good as his jumpsuit armour, but for aesthetics, it was better. He got to keep his boots, gloves and headband on, though. The other players all wore Perusia armour as well, with Vavuciadsforenkka and Coraloa in leather armour like him, while Vos and Synn wore magical robes. Liv wore red chainmail armour, which Langa hadn't chosen because it was way too heavy, and would likely slow him down.
He had been apprehensive when one of the stylists tried removing his headband to wash and style his hair because he'd been using the same products for years. They assured him that the product was specially alchemically formulated for human hair, so he took the risk, and afterwards, his hair smelled and looked good.
The ceremony began as a priestess who was a Disciple of The Flaming Blade sang the Deiwos Clan anthem since the event had to start with praise for the Tower Administrators.
The commentators sat perched at the top of one roving box close to the stage, their voices echoing through the stadium as they discussed the upcoming match. The lead commentator was the demonkin called Zavi, who had invited them to participate in this match.
"Amazing, Matt, I can feel the karma of thousands of Tier 2 players watching from the stands," Zavi said, his voice thundering above the crowds' chatter. "There are even a few Tier 3s scattered around. The Floor Overlord must have been feeling generous today. He usually never gives more than an hour on the 1st Floor to players over level 25."
"Generous? Please, Zavi. It's more likely some modiakis exchanged hands." The co-commentator, a human, said as he laughed. "It's no surprise that the place is packed, it's guild recruiting season and these rookie rankers are the cream of the crop. Batch 4 is already making waves."
"That's wonderful!" Zavi said. "Is there anyone in particular you're rooting for?"
"Well, I am a bit biased today," Matt said. "One of the players is from my home world, so I am very excited about this match."
Zavi glanced at him amidst the muted murmurs from the crowd. "Oh, that's right Matt. I heard you're originally from the 36th Floor. Weren't you Chosen years before the integration of The Third Storey?" the demonkin asked.
"Chosen is a strong word Zavi. I was just out buying groceries one day when BAM! I got hit by a truck, and the constellation Glaridinus had the brilliant idea to bring me into this Tower as a Chosen One," Matt said with a laugh.
Langa tilted his head to get a good view of Matt. He was the first person from Earth that he had met so far, after all. He looked like the typical American unlucky enough to get isekai'd, a white guy with black hair, and blue eyes. He was just surprised his name didn't start with a J.
"Interesting. Well, we've kept you waiting long enough folks. Let's welcome the six members of tutorial batch 4's top ten who will be clashing today," Zavi said. "May the stars of the celestials bring them karma."
" I doubt that anyone doesn't know these players' feats, given that they are all over the various leaderboards for their batch," Matt said. "The introduction will be, as always, in order of their deities' karma rankings."
Langa frowned. Adtonifulmin was the youngest of all the players participating today. Their deities had to have more karma and be higher ranked than he was, right? Well, it didn't matter if he was called in last, he would still walk out there proudly.
"Please welcome the Avatar of The Sun God, The Neutriarch of Fire, Leader of the Ter Netjer Pantheon. This player is the overall first-place Ranker in tutorial batch 4! Liv'Kungsadu!" Matt shouted, and Liv stepped forward with a smile as he went onto the stage.
Roars of chants and praise for The Sun God erupted from the crowd as he stood there, oozing charm. Langa rolled his eyes. Liv really loved to play it up for the crowd.
Matt spoke up again. "Moving on, we have the Avatar of The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm, Deputy Leader of our Tower Administrators, the Deiwos Clan. This player is the so-called Blazing Blitzhunter currently leading most of the speed-related leaderboards for tutorial batch 4. Please welcome Langa Zulu!"
Langa stilled, not just in annoyance at the fact that his nickname was sticking, but because he had not expected to be called before Synn or Vos. Both of them were bound to gods he fully expected to have a higher ranking than his master. Hell, Adtonifulmin had Ascended from the Ilhuicatl-Omeyocan Tower, the clan where Vos' god was from.
He walked forward, still perplexed, as he stepped onto the stage. Even though Adtonifulmin had stated that he was holding a lot of his master's power, Langa hadn't thought he would be ranked higher than deities millions of years older than him. If Adtonifulmin was this high-ranking, how powerful was the sleeping god of corruption?
Langa looked around, blinded by the banners the crowd was lifting for him. He gave a small wave when he saw the logo of the Deiwos Clan and the Guardians Guild in the crowd. Were any of his family members here? He saw the Magistrate of Tishiba's Peak sitting in the cushiest roving box, right in the front row, with her guards, her eyes fixed on him. The weight of her expectant eyes made him uncomfortable, as she must be here representing the High Commissioner.
He could not remember the last time he was this nervous before a race; it had to mean that today would be a good day. But what made Langa's heart race even faster was the sight of a short dark-haired, brown-skinned, and beautiful woman sitting in a gold box. Their eyes met, and Liberty smiled at him.
What the hell was she doing here? Was she even allowed to be on the 1st Floor for this length of time? Langa closed his eyes and willed his heart to calm down as he squared his shoulders and stood next to Liv.
As the crowd cheered for him, Langa knew that he could lie to himself and pretend he was doing this only for exposure so his family could see him, or that he was doing it to bring glory to Adtonifulmin but the truth of the matter was that competition ignited his blood. This was something he was doing for himself.
Once the crowd's cheers died down, Matt continued. "Next up is the Disciple of Aquarius, Deputy Leader of the oldest and highest ranking constellation Clan, the Zodiacs. This player is the first in her tutorial batch to receive the Blessing of The Unrivalled Tower Master! Rumours say it's a Higher Blessing, so she might be our next Guardian Knight. Please welcome Coraloa Aquarius Winter!"
The mermaid stiffly walked onto the stage to polite and curious clapping. The flag of the Guardians shone the brightest among those raised for her. Langa knew some constellations had more karma than gods, but he was surprised that the Zodiacs were this powerful.
"Now we have the Avatar of the Mystical Nine-Tailed Demon Fox God, of the Mount Kunlun Clan, The Destroyer of Kafeng. She is his only bonded mortal in this Tower and she currently holds the first place position on batch 4's Pure Mage leaderboard, SynnForessa!"
Synn was smiling as she waved at the crowd and came to stand next to Langa.
"Next up is the Avatar of The Demon King of The Thousand Undead Knights, the Alliance Coordinator of the Ilhuicatl-Omeyocan Clan. This player is the overall second-place Ranker for batch 4 and the newest member of The Hallow Reaper Cult. Please welcome the Second Prince of Raluka: Vos Kindaro II!"
As soon as Vos stepped onto the stage, a strange wail erupted from the crowd as someone started singing a song, followed by the lifting of the Hallow Reaper Cult's flags. Their theme song was creepy but in spite of himself, Langa glanced up at Liberty and found her standing up, singing and clapping.
"Last, but far from least, is the Disciple of The Living Dragon Wing, Leader of the Konissia Clan. He is the preferred heir of the Veskka Nest that once ruled over thousands of enclaves. Please welcome: Vavuciadsforenkka!"
For the first time, the crowd did not erupt in cheers, instead, a mixture of cheers and shouts of outrage erupted from the crowd as Vavuciadsfonkka walked onto the stage. The dragonkin raised his scaly hands and flipped the crowd off, leading to more boos.
"I haven't seen such a cold reaction at the Celestial Clash since Unbound Jareeksha challenged The Artist three years ago," Matt said, shaking his head.
"I don't know Matt, I think The Pioneer saying how boring the match was after single-handedly taking out all 5 of the Rejooveilla players in the Tier 3 Quarterfinals two years ago was worse," Zavi said, shaking his head. "It's understandable though, as a demonkin myself, I'm not too pleased with him. He has continuously proclaimed his support for Queen Kaniraveskka, the leader of a Nests that oppresses our kind the multiverse over."
"Indeed, Zavi. Who knows, maybe he can win the hearts of the crowd with his performance to-" Matt started, but Zavi cut him off.
"Wait! Take a look at that, Matt! Isn't that King Maetrolugy?" Zavi asked, pointing to the stands.
Langa followed his gesture and saw a strange manticorelike figure in a golden box similar to the Magistrate. He had a pale-skinned face, his head resembling that of a human, yet his body had fur like a tiger's and a tail protruded from his back.
"It is! Holy Glaridinus, why is the 1st Floor Overlord here? You'd think he'd be brooding in his castle after the last reprimand he got from The Unrivalled for misplacing players," Matt asked. A low, dark karma pressure emanated from the manticore, there was unimaginable power contained in it but it was not oppressive, just a warning. "Erm.. allegedly, of course."
"Careful Matt, you shouldn't gamble with your life, he could ban you from ever setting foot on the 1st Floor," Zavi said with a short laugh.
"Not if he's learned anything from his past warnings. But that doesn't seem to be the case considering the large number of Hallow Reapers I see in the crowd. Clearly, he doesn't care for the High Commissioner's disdain for the Insurgents if he's giving them passes to stay for over three hours on the 1st Floor," Matt said in a low voice that carried throughout the stands. Some people gasped and others burst out laughing.
"Matt, I swear to The Flaming Blade, man, shut up if you don't want to die," Zavi said. "Anyway, speaking of high-rankers here to watch the rookies..."
Langa's attention was drawn from Zavi when he felt the eyes of the manticore bore into him. The gaze was pointed and intense as if he was searching for something, and it creeped him out.
"Did you offend him somehow? Surely even you aren't dumb enough to provoke a seraphim, right?" Synn whispered next to him.
Floor Overlords were all seraphim, meaning they were past the mortal maximum level of 100, and were collecting stars in order to Ascend to deityhood, even Langa wasn't stupid enough to antagonise such a being.
"I've never met that guy before in my life," Langa said, as the manticore's eyes shifted to his chest.
He felt a deep violation in his karma, as if the manticore was looking deeper than his heart, into the essence of his soul. An inexplicable hunger filled the manticore's face at that moment, and Langa felt a stir in his Void Star. Shit. Adtonifulmin had warned him that constellations and seraphim would be interested in his Void Star. But...the Floor Overlord was physically unable to hurt him, right?
[The Deiwos Clan god: The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm, informs you that he has sent a warning to The 1st Floor Overlord to stay away from you. The Unrivalled will protect you as long as you remain in The Tower.]
Sure enough, the manticore looked up and flinched before he turned away from Langa. Dammit, would Adtonifulmin always have to throw his weight around to protect him? He really hoped this wouldn't be a problem in the future. He couldn't worry about that right now, so he focused on the commentary.
"...look at the characters seated inside the third Clelestoseye box! I never thought I'd see the four of them in one room," Zavi was saying. "The Samael Clan's Phonak and The Guardians' First Storey Administrator look ready to risk The Exuberant Arbitar's wrath and kill each other right here. Why in the world would they seat Khalifhari with the man who killed her teacher?"
"Yeah. Whoever seated these Tier 2s and 3s together has a nasty sense of humour," Matt laughed. "But there's an even worse pairing in the fourth box, Zavi. The First Storey Administrators for the Incantatrix Sorcerers and The Hallow Reapers are sitting together. Palinkeru is looking at Liberty like a starving maestril watching karma."
"Palinkeru looks stunning today, but next to Liberty, it's like she's a lucent crystal sitting next to the sun. I'll tell you one thing about that woman, Matt, she may be terrifying but Liberty can pull off a skinsuit, my gods!" Zavi threw out praises like he was paid to. Even though Langa agreed with his assessment, he did not show it.
"Hold your tongue, Zavi. You will die if she so much as breathes in your ear. Don't forget the tragic demise of Stian Huvic," Matt cautioned him. "I can almost feel her poisonous aura from here, and it's freaking me out."
"At least I'll die happy, Matt," the demonkin said. "At least I'll die happy."
"Alright, passing over Zavi's death wish," Matt said. "Shall we give the people what they want?"
"And now, players, NPCs, halfkin and fullrots, it's time for our players to choose teams," Zavi said, arms wide open. "The drawing of straws will be led by a representative of the Anukirtum Federation since they generously allowed us to use Tishiba Stadium for this event. Please welcome, Magistrate Bir Gent of Tishiba Province!"
The Magistrate's roving box travelled through the air and settled down in front of the stage.
"Thank you all for coming. I would like to thank the Perusia guild and the Madeuw Clan for helping us organise this event. I extend a warm welcome to all players of Tutorial Batch 4 to the 1773rd Deiwos Tower," she said. "I won't waste your time since I know you are all eager to start playing."
She held out a goblet with two golden feathers inside it. "The rules are simple, the captains of the two teams will be the top two rankers, Liv'Kungsadu and Vos Kindaro II. Whoever gets the black-tipped feather will pick their teammate first."
Liv and Vos both approached her as she held out the box to them, and they put their hands inside.
"May the light of the Celestials shine over you," she said before closing the box. "Reveal your hands."
Both of them opened their hands, and it turned out Vos' feather had black tips.
"Would you look at that, Liv'Kungsadu has drawn the short straw, which means, Second Prince Vos, you get to choose first. Who is going to be your first teammate?" Matt asked.
Vos turned back to the rest of the players and said without hesitation, "Langa Zulu."
"What?" Langa asked. Why the hell would Vos choose him? He'd been expecting to be on the same team as Liv, so this was unexpected. Still, the audience was watching them both excitedly and expectantly, so he walked over to the dark elf's side.
Liv was frowning since it was now his turn to choose, and Langa was no longer available. "I choose Coraloa," Liv said finally.
Without seeming to need a moment to think about it, Vos said, "SynnForessa."
Synn walked up to Langa, leaving Liv with Vavuciadsforenkka. She was fidgeting with her robes looking rather uncomfortable in them. Her hair was up instead of wild and down, and she kept tugging at it in annoyance. Langa couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease her.
He leaned in and whispered to her, “It's always easy to tell who's not used to fancy clothing."
Her brown eyes narrowed. “It's a white robe. Who the fuck wears white to battle?” she whispered back disdainfully. “If you want to talk about fancy clothing, wait till you see what I’ll be wearing to the festival tonight. You will bow at my feet."
Langa raised his eyebrows and said, “Whoa, don't tempt me, Synn. You're always calling me a simpleton… I didn't know that's what you were into.”
She rolled her eyes. "Argh. In your dreams,” she scoffed, as she tried fixing her hair.
Meanwhile, Vavuciadsforenkka swore under his breath and went to stand behind Liv as if he were being forced to walk into hell itself.
"Wonderful! Now, players, you'll see two boxes on either side of the stage. Those are your team's infirmaries. Please change your respawn point to the infirmary, otherwise, if you die in the Clash, you will wake up somewhere else and miss your rewards. Plus, if you set your respawn point here, The Exuberant Arbiter will reduce your death debuff," Matt told them. "If you have no respawns left, well, then I hope you left your affairs in order."
Langa's respawn point was currently Sorrento Creek, so he hastily changed it.
"The infirmary also acts as the teleportation wheel that will transport you into the dungeon. Team Kindaro is to the left and Team Liv'Kungsadu is to the right. Good luck, players!" Zavi said, and before Langa could say anything else, the boxes were opening and he and his team were ushered inside.
It really pissed him off that he was part of something called Team Kindaro of all names, so once they were inside the infirmary, Langa turned to his new team captain. "Why the hell was I your first choice?" he asked.
Vos smiled. "You and Liv'Kungsadu are friends, there is a high probability that you work well together. If you were on the same team, that would be disadvantageous for me, so I simply took the option away from him."
"Diabolical," Langa said with a resigned smile. Honestly, he wasn't too upset about it. This was going to be his first real battle against Liv, and he was itching to show him how much he had grown since the tutorial.
Synn didn't bother asking why she was chosen, instead, she put down her bag and said, "If you have more than the specified requirements for weapons, the system will punish you and take away all your weapons," she told Langa.
He'd almost forgotten that part. According to the rules of the Celestial Clash, he could only keep one main-hand weapon and obviously, he chose Tonare. The harder choice was which consumable item and off-hand weapon to choose. In the end, he chose a level 12 lightning mana core so he would be able to use his divine skill at least once. He also took a set of five throwing daggers, which counted as one off-hand weapon.
[The Deiwos Clan god: The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm, says he doesn’t want to pressure you, but he hopes you earn more karma than Vos Kindaro II because he bet something very important on your performance.]
[All the deities of The Deiwos Clan are watching this match closely.]
[The mid-tier constellation Glaridinus, states that he is invested in your performance because an entire world's fate and religious future rests on the results of this clash.]
"What?" Langa knew that gods had a stake in Celestial Clash matches but why was Vos his competition, not Team Liv? He knew there was bad blood between the Deiwos Clan and the Ilhuicatl-Omeyocan Clan, but was it necessary to compete against his teammate?
There was a resigned look on Vos' face when he shook his hand. “Let me guess, our deities are pitting us against each other?” he asked in that quiet, elegant tone of his.
"At least they are doing something," Synn muttered, looking and shaking her head. "Unbelievable. He won't even wish me luck? What if I throw the match and embarrass him?"
It seemed she was still struggling to communicate with The Nine-Tailed Fox. "Well, who knows how gods think? I wonder why they are pitting Vos and me against each other, though," Langa wondered.
“You do realise this is probably the only time you and I will ever be on the same side of a battle, right?” Vos told him. "We should make the most of it."
Langa frowned. “Just because our deities are enemies doesn’t mean we have to be too,” he said. It would be nice to get along with someone who seemed to have an even bigger grudge against Fi Kindaro than himself.
“Perhaps, but are you not joining the Guardians? Then I'm afraid we would be on opposite sides either way, as not only our deities, but our guilds will be hostile as well,” the dark elf reminded him.
Why did everyone assume he was joining the Guardians?
"I will say, though, that I will get the most karma points in this Clash and bring glory both to my master and The Demon Reaper," Vos declared.
"Oh really? Bring it on," Langa said with a smile. "Alright then, Synn, Vos," he said, reaching out for a handshake to which Vos obliged. "I'm looking forward to working with you."
"You better not drag me down," Synn warned, but she was smiling.
This was his first public showing as the Avatar of The Lackadaisical Herald, and he was determined to show off his power and increase his faith. It was the least he could do for all Adtonifulmin had done for him.
He wanted to have fun and prove himself today. After that, he and Liv would go take on the maestril Gatekeeper inside the Floor Gate.
The teleportation wheel whirred and opened, and then all he saw was blue.