[11:00]
“Hahaha, the Maggots are really something else. Hey, Yong-Su! Your little Chaos Order’s gonna lose at this rate!” Up in the skies, Tritan heartily laughed as he arrogantly rested his legs on the table. He smugly regarded his rival pirate while they observed the various battles below. “Oi, are you regretting joining the wrong side now? It’s not too late to switch, you know? Just bend down and kiss my boots once.”
Yong-Su’s glared at Oni Hill with furrowed brows. He loathed Tritan’s jests, but unfortunately, as things stood, he could not refute them. There was no doubt that the Maggots were performing way above expectations on all fronts.
The Transcendents and other observers had divided the great battlefield into three fronts. The first, and perhaps most important was Oni Hill. Everyone was eager to see whether the super guilds’ coalition could climb the Sin levels fast enough to beat the midnight deadline. The second and most desperate battlefield was the Maggots and three nations’ defense against the undead army. Unlike the first, this was not an offensive battle, but rather, a desperate defense to prevent even a single undead from reaching Oni Hill.
Like a game of chess or checkers, a single pawn reaching Oni Hill, could potentially transform into a terrifying king or queen that would wreck the Maggots’ army and then ambush those in Oni Hill. So far, Absalon and Leila had done an excellent job commanding the various groups to hold the line while also giving back more than they got. Unfortunately, due to the undead’s sheer numbers, Absalon really needed those pincer forces to relieve some pressure.
The final battlefield, if it could be called that, was the chaotic forest scramble. Forces from all parties were desperately raiding dungeons and tombs for loot. The line between friend and foe predictably turned blurry in the face of immense profits. Unlike the first two battlefields, the Chaos Order actually had some joy here. They stoked the chaos and madness by sowing discord, planting spies and disguised assassinations. This caused the coalition to focus more on fighting each other rather than the Chaos Order they were supposed to defeat.
Unfortunately, the Chaos Transcendents were not pleased despite their side’s superiority. How could they when their number one target had treated the forest like their background. Not only did Stryke’s Strike Party raid the best dungeons, but all attempts to pull them into unnecessary conflict failed woefully. Even worse, Stryke’s team made short work of those who chose direct approaches.
Now, Stryke had paired up with a few orcs, and was charging directly at the Lich while the rest of their forces broke off to launch an attack at the undead army’s vulnerable rear.
The Chaos Order’s Transcendents hoped Renark wanted to backstab the Maggots, but so far, nothing supported that possibility.
Yong-Su turned away from the forest to inspect the situation at Oni Hill. Once his gaze shifted over, the mountain seemed to dissipate, revealing a gigantic field that covered ten times the mountain’s width. The field was divided into several identical sections where each member of the three guild’s advance parties challenged the next Sin Floor.
“What a marvel of Magical Engineering.” Damah Dumm suddenly exclaimed with a sigh, drawing everyone’s attention. Sensing the searching gazes, the enigmatic merchant raised his goblet and said with an apologetic smile. “Forgive me. My amazement got the better of me. Even with all my years of experience, I cannot fathom how Oni Hill’s creators made it so we can view the test like this.”
“Mm.” Nornesh observed the Sin Floor with appreciation. Furthermore, the Hill is intelligent enough to differentiate between Transcendents and common folk. The pursuit of such fake intelligence alone is enough to occupy any mage’s research for several lifetimes.”
“Of course,” interjected Onishi Rai. “You seem to have forgotten Lord Razznik is a god.” The monk’s bells softly rang as he looked to the skies with worship in his eyes. “Even as a mortal, he was a being that pursued strength and improvement above all else. It is no surprise that he plundered the gods’ libraries and uncovered their deepest secrets. This little thing is but child’s play to our god!”
“Hm. I suppose you are right.” Surprisingly, Damah Dumm did not refute Onishi Rai’s claim. Instead, his eyes twinkled as he looked at Oni Hill. “Oh? It would seem there’s more to the Sloth floor than we thought. This might be the toughest floor if they do not figure out the trick soon.”
Nornesh frowned. “I am not bothered about Kashi, and the vampire. But that cerulean: will he figure it out?”
Sang-Ki chuckled. “Looks like this is going to be our win after all.”
***
At Oni Hill, the three-guild advance party met their strangest challenge yet. Each of them stood within a vast meadow filled with the most calming breeze. Soft, rustling leaves and the calls of little creatures presented a serene environment where one could not help but want to lay on the grass.
Furthermore, the floor seemed to have an effect on their subconscious. They had to fight off strange bouts of fatigue, and an undeniable urge to lay on the grass.
The scenic atmosphere was only ruined by a tall wisben who stood at the center of the meadow with a sardonic grin.
The three-guild coalition, understanding they were in a rush to beat the clock, each tried to race toward, and defeat the weak-looking wisben. Unfortunately, the unbearable fatigue only got worse the faster they moved. As if this much was not unreasonable enough, anything that moved faster than a certain pace would lock in place for a minute depending on their initial velocity.
This Sloth floor truly embodied the meaning of slow. It did not permit any fast movements. As a result, the three-guild coalition could only ‘walk’ toward the wisben.
However, the wisben could just as easily walk away from them. Due to the meadow’s immense size, there was almost zero chance they could catch up or corner him before the deadline.
Within one of the fields, Gentle Breeze maintained a lackadaisical smile as he walk-chased the retreating wisben.
The young man’s unnerving smile must have ticked off the wisben, because he finally broke the silence. “Has despair rendered you insane? What are you smiling about?”
Gentle Breeze peered at the wisben through his glasses. “I wonder, do you sincerely believe you’ve already won?”
The wisben’s smile widened. “What is this, a psychological attack? Do you perhaps hope I will make a mistake that will grant you an opportunity?” He chuckled. “Sorry, but such childish tricks cannot work on me. You are destined to crawl on this floor until you die.” The wisben paused, and then shook his head. “Alright, that might be boasting. But, none of you will leave this floor until the deadline passes. I have run thousands of scenarios before you got here. There is simply no way out.”
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“That… is where you’re wrong.” Gentle Breeze softly admonished. His gaze carried traces of disappointment and pity that incensed the distant wisben. “How can you not understand the Lord Razznik you all claim to love and worship so much? Do you really believe he would create a floor that cannot be passed?”
The wisben’s smile slightly faltered.
“Do not get it twisted. From what I have observed, Oni Hill’s Sin Floors are not protective obstructions. It is ridiculous to even suggest that Razznik needed protection.” Gentle Breeze cheerfully appreciated a soft breeze that lapped his hair. “Oni Hill is a test… an advanced screening for us challengers to gain the right to battle him. So far, it’s been obvious that Razznik has been testing our strength, smarts, and emotional intelligence.”
“But this floor…” Gentle Breeze gently kicked the ground and then looked up at the distant wisben. “This floor finally made me realize one final requirement to pass Razznik’s screening.” The young man’s smile turned bitter as he complained with a sigh, “Frankly it’s quite frustrating. It’s the one thing no one can train. You could even say we’re born with it.”
The wisben wanted to, but could not hide his curiosity. “What is that?”
“Luck.” Gentle Breeze chuckled as he once again gently tapped the ground with his feet. “From what I know, amongst the eighteen or so of us that came, only three or four of us stand a chance with this floor. It has nothing to do with strength or skill – just pure compatibility. Take my guildmaster for example. Anywhere else, he would destroy me before I can blink. But in here… heh, I bet he gave up long ago, and is lazily chewing on a thistle while waiting for me.”
The wisben’s smile drained even further, and his brows began to draw together into a frown. “So, are you saying you think you’re one of the compatible ones?”
“Oh, I am more than just compatible.” Gentle Breeze revealed a chillingly pleasant smile as a mandala appeared beneath his feet. “I am the most compatible challenger for this floor.” As he spoke, Gentle Breeze tapped the ground, and the mandala suddenly expanded at lightning speed, soon covering the entire field.
“Wh-what!? That’s impossible!“ The wisben’s eyes widened in panic as he sensed the massive energy within the mandala. He did not know what Gentle Breeze wanted to do, but it could not be anything simple. “Nothing can move that fast in here. Not even—”
“Mana, right? Even mana is subject to the rules of this floor.” Gentle Breeze shook his head with an exasperated smile. “It’s so unreasonable, I tell you. Don’t worry. I didn’t break any of the rules. I’m not strong enough for that.”
“But then, how?”
“Who said I summoned this magic circle right now? I’ve been channeling mana into it from the moment I appeared here. It took so long because of the restrictions in this place. All I did was finally make it visible. Unlike everything else, light and sound are not subject to the rules. If not, we wouldn’t be able to see or hear each other.”
The wisben trembled, but then he recalled something and relaxed. “Hehe. So what if you bring down a large scale catastrophe?” The arrogant smile returned as he regarded Gentle Breeze with equal parts pride and condescending pity. “Even an explosion will stop in place. Nothing can move fast enough to hurt me!”
“Indeed, nothing can move fast enough to hurt you.” Gentle Breeze chuckled. “Yet you can easily avoid anything that can harm you while being slow. It should be checkmate for us, but…”
Pa!
Gentle Breeze gently snapped his fingers. Suddenly, a gigantic gale swept up the entire field. But then, everything suddenly fell silent a moment later. The rustling trees, the calling birds and animals, and the whistling wind instantly faded.
Far away, the wisben desperately clutched his throat as he realized he couldn’t breathe. He opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. The stunned wisben stared at the scarily calm Gentle Breeze in shock and disbelief. He could not understand what was happening or why!
“No, it’s not what you think.” Gentle Breeze’s voice surprisingly worked fine. Furthermore, the steady rise and fall of his chest showed he had no trouble breathing. “I didn’t steal the oxygen from around you. Not even I have that kind of power.” Gentle Breeze chuckled as he wagged his finger and approached the collapsed wisben with slightly quicker steps. “I simply utilized the rules of this place to mobilize the air into a faster than allowed speed. Like everything else, it predictably froze in place, losing its ability to interact with anything else. While it is not perfect, you are basically in a poor simulation of space… not that you know what that is.”
Gentle Breeze chuckled after finally reaching the wisben’s side. “It’s been a long fifteen minutes. You made us waste a lot of time on this floor.” Gentle Breeze wanted to say more but then he noticed the wisben’s confused glare filled with confusion, hatred and anger.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot you’re in space. My voice is most likely not reaching you.” Gentle Breeze ‘apologized’ with a smile. “Well, since you can’t hear me, I suppose any further chatting is redundant. Let me send you on your way.”
The wisben’s eyes widened with terror as a blue aura suffused Gentle Breeze’s right hand. He tried to shake, and scream his surrender but his frantic movements resulted in him getting frozen in place.
“Ah, what a pity.” Gentle Breeze remarked as he slowly sunk his sharpened hand into the wisben’s forehead. “I really wanted to see you panic a little longer.”
Gentle Breeze gently retrieved his hand after the wisben’s skull split in two. He then took out a handkerchief and gently wiped his hands as he watched blood pour out from the wisben’s skull. His lips curled mischievously as he recalled a funny fact. “Come to think of it, I never got to see his personal skill. Oh well…”
Gentle Breeze tossed the handkerchief onto the corpse and then walked over it. Amidst his low hums, the wind slowly returned as he walked into the portal that appeared to signify the end of that floor.
***
In the skies above, Yong-Su frowned as he watched Gentle Breeze walk into the portal. He then sighed and shook his head. “How unlucky. Gorioro never got a chance to show his skills. The floor was as much a restriction on him as it was on them.”
“Really? Do you believe it was all luck?” Damah Dumm questioned with an enigmatic smile.
“If not luck, then what? The chances that Gentle Breeze of all people would pick that floor are extremely low, don’t you think?”
Damah Dumm did not argue, but instead turned to look at a certain draconian who walked into the portal with a relaxed expression. Kashi was one of those who did not bother chasing down their wisben clone. For some reason, he was certain there was no need to.
“Rather than relying on blind luck, I believe Razznik was the type to do everything in his power to manipulate luck itself. He would never rely on fate’s whimsy.”
“Maybe so. But not everyone is Razznik.”
“No.” Damah Dumm chuckled as he once again glanced at Kashi. “But those who closest embody his will are the most likely to successfully climb Oni Hill.”
The Transcendents fell silent as they ruminated on Damah Dumm’s words. Could it be they missed something? Did Kashi really embody Razznik’s will? Were they not truly relying on luck so far?
There was only one way to know for sure. The Transcendents watched the ensuing battles with even more eagerness and attentiveness!