Colin smiled. Not the group of Players before him and the rest of his Party could see it.
In the tunnels near the surface, another group of Players had started to make their way down, looking mismatched. That detail did not matter to Colin. It did not matter to him that these five men and a single woman were walking jovially down the tunnel without care.
What did matter to him was that he recognized a single member of this motley crew. Near the front of the pack, behind a huge woman, a young man walked with a cocky saunter. He only wore his cargo shorts lined with copper mesh along the edges and several pieces of enchanted gold about his person. His electric blonde hair was up in the air as if charged with static, and he flexed his arms wrapped in a coil of copper wire.
He never bothered to learn the young man’s name; it was unnecessary then. What he did remember was the demeanor, the attitude, and the power he claimed to possess.
The Gaussian Fist was a Specialized Class he had researched after this young man bragged about what it could do. Electromagnetic skills and abilities were an understatement according to what the lore and books had stated the Class could do. It was a shame that this version of the Gaussian Class series was themed around brawling.
“Oh, hey, hello there!” The woman in the lead called to them as she got close enough to see them. She kept approaching and raised a hand in greeting, then smiled and let out a low whistle as she saw them more clearly from the shadows. “Wow, that is some awesome armor. What is that made from?”
“Does it matter?” The Gaussian Fist asked. “I want to know how it keeps us from identifying them. How did you do that? I thought blocking observation skills was impossible?”
“It should be,” one of the men said in the back. “Never heard of anything like it.”
“And you likely will never again,” Colin said, channeling a bit of Nox into his voice; he spoke with a guttural cockney accent. While speaking, he simultaneously hoped that Nox would never hear this impression. He had a feeling it was rather bad.
“What does that mean?” the woman in front asked, cocking her head. “Come on, we just want to explore. We heard word of a pretty awesome Goblin City down here. There are new monsters, items, quests, and even word about some goddess. We can get down there together. It’ll be safer that way, right?”
Looking at McKenna, Colin nodded and then jerked his towards the group. “I want Blondie. The rest either turn back or die.”
“Hell yeah,” McKenna cheered. She pointed to the group and said, “You heard the man; all of you except Blondie can leave or die. Blondie, try to run or make this more difficult. I will make sure this hurts.”
“What the hell? Why me?” The Gaussian Fist pointed to his face. “You know what? Whatever, I can use the warm-up,” he raised his fists in a boxer’s pose, lowering his center of gravity as sparks danced along his body. “Bring it on, bitch.”
With that proclamation, the battle was waged. The Gaussian Fist charged forward with his clenched hand drawn back and a fierce grin on his face. His aim was for McKenna; apparently, her cutting words interested him in taking her out first.
Colin stepped in front of McKenna to keep her from taking his kill; he needed to be the one to kill the man. He drew his sword cane and stepped to the side, turning away the punch with the wooden sheath. Reflexively, he leaned into the turn and countered with a heavy cut from the sword blade in his primary hand.
The blade met an invisible and pliable force as it approached the Gaussian’s face. It fought against him as he tried momentarily to cut past whatever was defending his face but gave up as the man countered. Drawing back, Colin swung his sword three times, and in two out of three swings, his sword slowed as it approached him. The only commonality between the two was that it would have heavily struck the man rather than simply injure him.
Backing away while the man recovered from Colin’s attacks, Colin contemplated the defensive power and groaned as it came to him; it was a little obvious.
“Electromagnetism, right,” Colin groaned. He sheathed the sword and took in a deep breath, disliking this. Discarding the weapon meant he would not get any Aspects to use or bargain with, but he hoped it would be worth it.
Dropping the Cane Sword into his Dimensional Bag, Colin withdrew a black and red guitar and immediately handled it into position.
“Wait, wait, wait, seriously?” The Gaussian Fist asked incredulously. “You go from a sword to a Guitar?”
“Yes, I did,” Colin agreed, keeping his words short in that Nox-inspired cockney. “And this is no guitar. This is an AX!” Colin crowed, strumming the strings in one quick pulse of Infernal Magic.
The Discordant Ax he was holding vibrated as his magic ignited its power. He had nothing fancy to use with this action, so he focused on one portion of the Discordant Axes abilities. To empower and cheapen Bardic Magic when using Infernal Magic with it.
He played the opening bars to ‘Hall of the Mountain King by Savatage’, focusing on the intense and advancing feeling the music invoked. With the magic in the guitar, it changed from acoustic to electric, which worked with the feeling and magic he was bringing forth.
“Oh, hell no!” the Gaussian Fist announced as he closed the few feet away. He skidded to a stop, throwing out a quick one-two punch that burned with electromagnetism.
Before the fists hit him, A spike of virulent red energy formed in his path. It was quickly met with more spikes that Colin launched at the Brawler, hoping to damage, not kill, the man.
Almost immediately after that attack, a pair of arcing scythes that he had to block with his wire-wrapped hands and forearms to avoid the spikes. Yet again, Colin was astounded at how much of a cheat skill Bardic Magic appeared to be. Its magic was cost-heavy and required skill to play the instrument, but otherwise, it was scary.
But this fight was coming along; it was not over yet. The Gaussian Fist muttered something under his breath, likely the name of a skill, and a blast of semi-invisible power shattered the infernal magic. “Mach Sunder!” The Gaussian Fist growled as he lowered his stance.
The man disappeared from Colin’s vision for a panic-inducing second. He did not even get a chance to look around to see where the man disappeared to before he reappeared a little to the side.
You have taken a sundering strike to your side. You take 200 points of damage and now have 675/875 health remaining.
Your Anonymity Armor Piece(Chest) has taken massive damage from a sundering attack. Armor is now at 24/76 durability remaining. Please repair the armor at your earliest convenience.
“Repulse Palm!” the Gaussian Fist shouted as he thrust his palm into Colin’s chest. The impact was strong and sturdy; initially, nothing that felt like an ability hit him.
But before he knew it, he was lifted off the ground and pushed back several feet. Not far, he landed on his feet but was still stunned for a critical moment. One that the Gaussian Fist should have capitalized on.
“What the fuck was that?!” he screamed. “You should have slammed into the wall! How are you cheating that? Do you have an immovable Ability or something! Screw that!” he rambled on. Then he paused, glared at Colin, and shouted, “Die assho-”
Colin had closed the distance. He was holding the Discordant Ax by the top of the neck and was swinging it at the Player. The guitar was glowing with hellish red light as Colin swung, the weapon empowered with an Aligned Strike and body vibrating with a Kinetic Vigor. The Player had no time to dodge, the guitar gaining a maligned and conjured edge that blended with Colin’s other skills.
“Let me finish that statement, Die Asshole!” Colin yelled into his foe’s face as he drew the guitar back and empowered it with a second Aligned Strike. He turned the edge around in his hands and spun in a three hundred-and-sixty-degree swing that Colin poured his all into, aiming for the neck.
Completing the arc, Colin barely felt the resistance as he clever through the Gaussian Fist’s neck.
Your Determination has shown you good fortune in this victory. Hubris has activated and granted you a new skill from the Gaussian Fist Specialized Class! The Dimensional Battery Skill has been added to your Hubris Menu!
Your Determination skill has increased to level 5. Your will has been strengthened, and this skill effect has grown.
Through shown proficiency in the instrument, you have gained the skill, Instrument Mastery (Guitar) Level 3. Your Skill with the Guitar has increased by a small margin, and people who hear you play with real skill will view you favorably.
Your Bardic Magic Skill has increased to level 7. The volume produced Mana efficiency, and relationship points gained increased by a small margin.
Your Bleeding Ears subskill has increased to level 5. The range of this subskill has increased by a small margin.
You have killed The Player, RailGunnar, and your ability Player Killer 1 has triggered. You gain 51,203 EXP out of his held experience points to the next level. You now have 406,377/627,232 until level 26.
Colin readied the guitar for another attack, turning around with it aimed at the few sounds that remained in the cavern only to find it empty. Larrimortias was on the back of three of the party members stacked on top of each other, the corpses covered in a layer of frost. On each side of him were the women, Rielle on one side and McKenna on the other. They were watching him prune with his fingertips the branches off a bonsai tree made of blue-red HellRime.
“Hey, what happened?” Colin asked as he approached them. He could not find it in himself to blame them for watching Larry work; even walking up, he found the action rather fascinating. The way the HellRime snapped made the material seem delicate.
“Oh, the rest of the party were chumps,” McKenna scoffed. All three helmets were removed, and they smiled at the slimming bonsai. “The one you wanted was the only real threat, and even he was mostly skills-based and not skill. You know,” She shrugged. “You had it. Anything good happen?”
“Actually, yes. I got a new skill from killing him, not one I wanted, but the name is cool sounding,” Colin pulled up his Hubris Menu.
The Menu was something that resembled an empty void. The Hubris Menu was a massive screen outlined and penned with gold. A black background sat behind the lettering, giving the whole thing a grander feel. A grander feel that would be much more fulfilling if more abilities were marked into the Menu. Hundreds if not thousands of slots were grayed out, and only a few were properly named.
Those few were titled ‘Gaussian Fist - Dimensional Battery Skill(50PP)’, ‘Survivor - Advanced Acclimation Ability(50PP)’, ‘Priest - Divine Magic Manipulation Skill(10PP)’, ‘Brawler - Brawlers Durability Ability(10PP)’, Brawler - Fighting Style Skill(10PP)’.
Then, with a smile, Colin pulled up the Pride Points he had gained after his tenure in BriarThorn and the WindFall of PP he had gained.
Unused Pride Points: 781.
Then, with a bit of excitement, Colin pulled up the summary of their powers.
Dimensional Battery(Gaussian Fist) - You gain an extradimensional battery that acts like a Dimensional Bag but for potential energy. Every attack you take and perform an unarmed attack you deal with increases the battery until full. When full, you can release the power in a burst of Electromagnetic Power. 50pp Advanced Acclimation(Survivor) - Your resistance to the elements is something to behold and envy. The longer you are exposed to heat or cold, the higher your resistance to that element becomes. 50pp Divine Magic Manipulation(Priest) - The magic of the divine, the force and the grace of the gods, and their hammer to strike down their foes. You gain the ability to use magic that grants the benevolence and Malevolence of the Gods themselves. 10pp Brawlers Durability(Brawler) - Your physical resistance to nonmagical strikes is marvelous and honed from years of training. You take less damage from nonmagical attacks, all nonmagical attacks. 10pp Fighting Style(Brawler) - Everyone who trains gains a style they developed or learned from their masters. You can choose a single style that you can access, and they are much more powerful when you perform actions with that style. 10pp
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“So?” McKenna asked expectantly.
“It’s called Dimensional Battery; the synopsis says I gain a battery that charges when I take damage or attack unarmed. When the battery is full, it says I can unleash the power; it is unclear how it is released,” Colin explained.
“Sounds cool,” McKenna nodded, turning her attention away from the Demon and his project.
“Okay, I have to ask, what is going on?” Colin asked, stopping next to McKenna and removing his helmet to look at her more directly.
“We made a bet. He bet he could prune an ice bonsai for five minutes without shattering if he managed it; he wanted to be convinced to go hunting for Players on his own. If we win and it shatters, then he owes each of us a single answered question,” Rielle explained. “I know exactly what I am going to ask.”
“Really, what?” Colin smiled.
“I want help finding Slaghtaverty Dolmen,” Rielle smiled.
It took Colin a moment to remember the man in question; they had only met him once, and he hoped never to meet him again. “The guy who gave you your Rogue Base Class, Why?”
“I, uh, I need his advice. Do you remember what he said when I first got the Class? The choices one makes as a Class Trainer also can affect the Trainee. Well, I, uh, I got a new ability that I need to talk to him about; it kind of… disturbing.”
“Oh, May I ask what?” Colin questioned. Then quickly added, “I understand if you don’t want to. You can tell me no or not right now; I’m just curious, you know?”
Rielle was silent for a few seconds as she thought. “I… I would rather not say until I talk to him. If we can find him, that is,” Rielle looked down. “I, uh, hope you understand.”
“I do, don’t worry about it too much. I hope you will share soon; you piqued my curiosity now. I mean, you are pretty awesome now, Rielle. I wonder what kind of ability would make you hesitate to use it,” Colin shrugged and sighed. “Oh well, I’ll have to wait and find out soon, won’t I?”
Rielle nodded, “yes, please be patient, Walker. I don’t want to hide things from you, but-”
“No worries, just share when you are ready. Besides, how can Larry-”
“Annnnnd, done!” Larry crowed, holding up the HellRime Bonsai in triumph.
Even Colin had to admit that the shaped ice looked almost perfectly like a trimmed bonsai. The only difference between this bonsai and a proper bonsai tree was the color and materials.
Rielle sighed, “Oh well.”
“So, how are you going to do it?” Larry grinned at McKenna.
“Colin!” McKenna called out to him. “What would it take for you to let Larry off the leash for a few hours?”
“Some kind of assurance that he won’t do anything super crazy and murder hobo-ish. Or!” Colin added with a raised voice. “Or sex fiend-like. No orgies!”
“Deal!” Larry yelled suddenly. “I will not do either of those things!”
“What, no haggling? No Bargaining? No arguments?” Colin asked suspiciously. While the Demon was usually very compliant, simply enjoying his time on the battlefield, this felt too easy. “Then what are you going to do?”
“Neither of those two things,” Larry nodded. “I just want to do a few things in disguise for a few hours. Be back later, you know, when you set me loose.”
Colin nodded; because Larry was his Familiar, he felt confident he could press the issue, and the Demon would be forced to respond truthfully. But he also knew that that would lessen the Demon’s enthusiasm towards being helpful or make him belligerent if he pushed it out of him.
“Alright, a little later then,” Colin told him. “When we get back to GrimHold, does that sound reasonable?”
“Oh, yes, it does,” Larry smiled; his Demonic grin was pearly white and full of sharp edges. “What else are we doing here? Let’s head back?” he suggested excitedly.
“Oh, didn’t Hautley tell you? She sent me a message to summon her when we were out of GrimHold. She could meet up with me today to discuss the problems I am having and see if the demons could help,” Colin said, grabbing his Information Tablet.
He pulled up the message that contained a picture of Hautley’s summoning circle and held it up to his eyes. With the image before him, Colin raised his hand and used Heretic Scribe Ability. The infernal power built up under his skin, both warm and cold and energetic. It was interesting; he could feel the power movement under his skin as the Summoning Circle burned into the cavern floor before him.
The benefit of the Heretic Scribe Ability was its speed. In the space of a minute, what would have normally taken at least an hour, the symbol was etched into the hard stone and dust at their feet.
Immediately, Colin began pushing mana into the circle, starting the process of summoning Baal’s Assistant.
“Hautley Rastur, Assistant to the Steward of Hell and the originator of the Chaotic Order. I call you into this world to grant me aid per the covenant made. Answer my call and come unto me. I plead-”
The response from the ritual was almost immediate; the magic that Colin was pushing in was rejected, and the circle kept glowing brighter and brighter. It ran out of his control, and so he stopped the summoning phrases that would bring the Demoness into this world. He had no idea Demons could hijack their summonings, but maybe what was happening here was akin to opening a door, and someone was knocking.
The image of a woman faded into existence, the sound of clacking heels marking her entrance. She appeared in her full pantsuit, this one a deep purple and her face was schooled into a dead and neutral expression. Six-and-a-half feet tall, with long platinum hair with small elk-like horns poking through her scalp. Her dark skin made the silver of her hair and the bright gold of her eyes stick out in the dim cave.
She carried an Information Tablet that she was staring at as she seemingly walked into view, red eyes moving about the screen as she read it.
When she did look up, she put the Tablet to her hip and looked at him with a bored and somehow annoyed eye. “Ah, DevilWalker, Demon Lord Candidate of Pride. I am here representing my Lord Baal’s interests in your growth. Please know that any help we can give you is limited, but you can ask whatever you want.”
There was a short pause where the Assistant did not speak and simply let her words hover in the air. “So, DevilWalker, what do you wish to ask?”
“A need help,” Colin stated, running his hand through his hair. A stress reaction that he was not familiar with. Oddly enough, he paused hideaway through the action and intentionally dropped his hands to his side.
The smile that spread over Hautley’s face was a sarcastic one. “Oh, I would never have guessed.”
“Fine, what do you or the Demons know about the Children of Loki?” Colin spat out at her. He wasn’t sure why he was hesitating, but it had to stop; it was not helping him, and he hated feeling like this. It was one of the things that pissed him off.
“We can discuss that, Candidate,” the secretary stated. “There are six children. Hel, Sleipnir, Fenrir, Jormungand, Narfi, and Váli. Hel, Fenrir, and Jormungand are the children of his union with the jötunn, Angrboða. Sleipnir is the child he bore with the Stallion, Svaðilfari. Lastly, Nari and Váli were his children with the Æsir, Sigyn.”
“Wow, Loki got around, eh?” Larry chuckled, looking at everyone in turn. “Are we sure he wasn’t a fertility god in disguise-”
“Larry,” Hautley said, voice silky and sharp. “Unless you want me to start lying to your mother, please shut your mouth and let me work.”
His lips curled into a snarl, but the Familiar said nothing else.
“Good,” Hautley straightened her back and coughed into her free hand to reorient herself to continue. “Narfi is dead; we know not what happened to Vali. The story goes that the Aesir changed Vali into a wolf and that he immediately ripped Narfi apart. The Aesir then used the entails as a rope to bring him as punishment for the god’s worst crime. The Death of Baldr.”
There was a quiet gasp from Rielle as her hand covered her mouth in horror.
There was a predatory hunger in Hautley’s gaze as she continued. “Oh yes, the Æsir do not fool around.” Then, as quickly as it appeared, the viciousness vanished and was replaced with professional indifference. “The other four are simpler matters. May I skip the description of Hel since I believe you already met her?”
Colin nodded.
“Good. The Lords of Hell know where Sleipnir is; he is wherever Odinn is. In this case, Asgard and the old man never leave his fortress. Asgard is an inaccessible realm without getting permission first and the portal being opened for you by Heimdal.”
“We know that Jormungand is at the bottom of the ocean somewhere, held down by the weight of the waters and by the near-cosmic magic of the Æsir. And we know from legends that Fenrir the Wolf is on the island of Lyngvi, which lies in the middle of the great lake Amsvartnir. He is bound in the chain Gleipnir, forged from impossible materials and concepts.”
Colin looked down at his hands, the appendages covered in the dark Anonymity Armor that he had enchanted to keep others from learning any of the Party’s names. Looking at them, he realized something he had not thought about in years since he retired from his combat work.
“I need a target,” Colin said under his breath.
“Pardon, DevilWalker?” Hautley asked. “I am afraid you will need to speak up.”
Colin pointed his gaze at her face, eyes full of determination. “Miss Hautley, I may be dressed like this, but I am not an Adventurer. I am not enthused or excited by the prospect of digging and searching for things.”
“Oh?” She asked, her left eyebrow-raising. “Then what are you, Candidate.”
Colin’s grin turned his face dark and foreboding. “I am a Killer, Miss Hautley. Plain and simple. I need targets and goals that can be put in single sentences. I need to know what needs to die.”
“And what if you can not kill it?” She asked, intrigued by his forwardness.
“Then I will have to kill it harder,” Colin answered her simply. “And if that does not do it, I will still have to hit it harder. Force can be applied in many ways, and I am very good at finding the right way to apply it.”
“Whoooo! You tell her, Babe!” McKenna cheered from behind him.
Hautley took a moment to assess what she was looking at when she looked at Colin. Then a wicked smile spread across her face, showing her sharp, almost canine teeth. This change in her appearance reminded Colin that he was dealing with a Demon, not some human residing in another dimension.
“Make your request, DevilWalker, and the Inferno will answer you,” Hautley assured him.
“Who or what do I need to defeat or kill to achieve this mission?” Colin asked his words like steel.
“Quest!” McKenna shouted helpfully.
“Quest,” Colin nodded.
Hautley nodded at the question. “Then answer me one thing, DevilWalker. Which path do you wish to take? The more dangerous road that will mean greater rewards, The rising path the steadily inclines, or my suggestion?”
“And all are different?” Colin confirmed.
She nodded.
“I will take the rising path,” he answered. “Now, who will I need to kill?”
“Each one will force you to slay a god in that pantheon,” Hautley grinned. “To free his mount, you will likely have to slay Odin. To free Jormungand, you must destroy the emplacements bound with Thor’s power. Destroying them will likely summon the destroyer. And the Wolf is guarded by Tyr himself, the man fighting his own guilt in the betrayal that trapped the Wolf there.”
All three onlookers stared with bated breath as Colin thought about it. Admittedly, he did not need to think long. He knew little about these gods and monsters being described and bandied about to him, and these descriptions made this seem less and less likely. He had barely begun walking his own path, let alone ones where literal gods were set to stop him from walking it.
“The one I suggest you consider first is Fenrir because it will nicely set you up for the next one after it. Which I would suggest be Sleipnir and Odin,” Hautley told him. She raised her Tablet and flicked her fingers from the center of the screen off of it.
A map appeared between them; the illusion looked like a high-definition model of the original article, even yellowed with age. The image was zoomed in on a large area that seemed to be a city or a forest; the picture depicted on the map looked like both together. The City or forest was called ‘Vargbunden’; all around it were rivers and forests that blended into a vast wilderness.
“Vargbunden,” Colin asked, the word not flowing off his tongue.
She nodded, “Indeed, the nation is going through a power struggle. It is not at the same level of problem these Goblins are going through, but it is troublesome either way. Sad story: the Queen died, and the line of succession was clear; her Grandson, the Prince would be appointed. But then the Granddaughter appeared, and it got complicated, and the kingdom suffered.”
“Suffers? How?” McKenna asked, walking up and standing next to Colin, arm wrapped around one of his.
“Does it matter? The royal family is the biggest lead to the extradimensional space that holds Fenrir,” Hautley led them on.
Colin smiled, “So we just need to ask them nicely to give us access to the island of-” he paused, the name not coming to him correctly. “Lingvivi.”
“Lyngvi,” Hautley corrected with a sigh. “But yes, you have my suggestion for how to proceed, Candidate. But may I offer one bit of advice on a personal note?”
Confused, Colin did not refuse. He simply nodded, and Hautley continued.
“Settle your affairs here, Candidate. Do anything to prepare these creatures however you see fit, then go. The creatures of Limbo are not to be trifled with, but there is a way to defeat them without overcoming their nature. But you cannot provide it to them now. They will hold the line for a while yet, and now their original hero has returned, they will hold for a while more,” Hautley told him. “And prepare yourself for level thirty, that is when everything becomes dangerous; that is especially true for the Classes of the Narrative.”
Colin took out his information tablet and took a picture of the map with the City's name. Likely, someone in GrimHold could tell him how to get there, but he doubted he could repeat the name accurately again.
“Is that all? Will there be anything else, Candidate?”
Looking at Hautley, Colin found his eyes moving over the subtly inhuman parts of her that marked her as a Demon. The barbed tail, the elk horns that stuck up through her platinum hair, and her golden eyes clearly made her above human.
A grin spread across Colin’s lips as he spoke. “Actually, yes. Is there a way I can wholesale get a bunch of low-level demons?”