A ripple spread across the surface of Lake Michigan as Karen’s thirteenth body broke the surface. Despite months spent waiting in the depths, completely unmoving while she focused on events in the ruins of Minneapolis, there were no signs of decay or atrophy.
A flex of her Domain quickly dried out her clothes and hair, leaving her with the appearance of a woman who had only died minutes before.
Unfortunately for her vanity, the hole in her head was far more stubborn. A wound left by Alice Stirling, it remained completely resistant to any fleshweaving even decades later.
The wound was the reason this body had been left to watch their Eastern borders, as Karen preferred not to remind her allies of her less than stellar record against New Chicago’s Imprinted Witch.
The dungeon born liches had a tendency to forget their place, when she provided them the opportunity. With the upheaval of the past days, there was opportunity in spades, and the dungeon born had quickly turned on Johan behind her back. Weaponizing the newcomer to court, they’d defanged Karen’s support.
With Johan short several apertures and Agnes sent to the front lines to dissuade any invasions, Karen discovered that she was no longer the top dog. She could’ve recalled more bodies to remind the fools why they had left her in charge for decades, but she’d long since Adapted her brain to stifle that kind of emotional response.
Even if she won, she’d just be further alienating her only natural allies. It was better to lay low and curry favor for now, they’d remember how she’d climbed the ladder eventually.
Karen set out for shore, ripples spreading on the lake wherever she stepped. The single aperture this body possessed was not enough to make flight mana efficient, and emptying her stores would be unwise.
She’d never gotten along with the black-blooded filth.
She saw the scouts watching the shore before they saw her, a duo of Neophyte sapient goblins. Both were specialized as lookouts, and she was making no effort to hide her presence, but two full tiers was no small gap in attributes. The reminder of her superiority was enough to bring a smile back to her face as she continued to leisurely stroll towards them.
The goblins surprised her by not panicking. They either didn’t recognize her or were significantly better trained than most of their kind. There were pros to each option. A competent commander would be far more likely to hear her out, while a moron would likely provoke her enough to justify some violence.
Her slow approach gave the goblins plenty of time to react, and she waited at the shoreline while the younger one scurried off. It was likely a sign of hubris that she simply allowed him to leave without demonstrating why gathering a small army to attack her would be ill-advised, but she was here to play the messenger instead of the invader.
Besides, the goblins couldn’t afford to aggravate her. Her scouts reported that their last batch of Imprinted had been even stupider than normal, and were suffering casualties faster than they could afford against the ooze. Already, some of the older chieftains had gone to the Eastern front. A battle to the West would risk ruin for their tribes.
David Alvarez would be far less aggravating if he wasn’t so competent.
The thought of Earth’s champion was always a sour one, so it was fortunate that the lookout returned quickly and with just one Attuned goblin instead of a small army.
Fortunate for them, at least. She would’ve appreciated the opportunity to vent some of her frustration with recent events. The goblins needed her far more than they needed some weaklings, they would’ve gotten over it.
She appraised the apparent commander, and came away impressed. It was incredibly rare for dungeon born to rise above their beginnings, but this one might just manage to ascend to Tier 3 eventually.
“What do you want, lich?” the goblin spoke her title like a curse, significantly lowering her opinion of his intelligence.
“I do not stomach disrespect from my lessers, goblin,” When it came to capacity for vitriol, she doubted there was a being left on Earth who could match her. The younger of the two lookouts recoiled slightly at her tone, bringing a smile back to her face.
The commander clearly also noticed his subordinate’s fear, and a gesture prompted both scouts to retreat. He attempted to stare her down, waiting for an answer to his initial question, but found that he was just as outmatched as the Neophytes.
“My apologies, what brings you to our lands, Lady Everchanging?” She could almost taste the dissatisfaction in his tone, and her grin widened at the small victory. Maybe being the council’s errand girl wasn’t too bad a fate, if she got to put the goblins in their place.
“I bring news, and an offer of cooperation,” the lich replied, “We have learned that the humans plan to invade your territory, settling a new city within your borders.”
The goblin went to spit on the ground, but pulled back out of fear that she’d find the action disrespectful. Karen loved having a reputation.
“Why would I trust this information?” He asked, “They know better than to pull us away from our battle against the ooze.”
“In recent years you have gone from stopping its advance to slowing it,” Karen’s tone brooked no disagreement, as she wasn’t interested in hearing whatever excuses the goblins had come up with, “They likely plan to handle the problem themselves, before it escalates beyond anyone’s ability to stop.”
The goblin stopped to think about that for a few seconds, “I will bring this news to our leaders, your offer?”
“The humans will seek to take advantage of your inability to commit your strongest warriors to the West. It is unlikely that either of their nobles will take action unless necessary,” She found it unlikely the goblins would believe this part. Alice Stirling may not have raided their borders as frequently in recent years, but her disdain for goblinkind was well documented.
Surprisingly, the goblin nodded, “They hope to take a piece of our territory without escalating to the point we might abandon the East entirely.”
More competent than she’d thought, then. That did sound like a plan David would come up with. Of course, Karen wouldn’t admit that a lesser being had seen something she missed, “Precisely. The Lich Council is not interested in allowing them to expand so easily, however.”
“You would come to our aid against the humans?”
“Not quite,” Karen shook her head, “We are willing to send four of our own Imprinted, and sixty thousand lesser undead, to halt the ooze while you handle the incursion into your territory.”
“I am not able to agree to such a thing myself,” The commander stated, “But I will pass along the offer to my superiors.”
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Karen grinned once again, she had him. The first steps had been taken, and soon she’d stand at the top of the ladder once again. “Actually, I’d prefer to talk to them myself. It’s been a while since Chief Gor-Sitok and I had a chat.”
He clearly didn’t want to agree, but what choice did he have in the face of her power?
****
Instead of providing an exit portal, the Trialbringer teleported Alex’s group directly back to Earth. Even with a warning provided, it was still a bit disorienting. Walking through a portal where he could see what was coming on the other side allowed his brain a moment to prepare, while transitioning from one place to another instantaneously took a second to catch up with.
There wasn’t any vertigo, which was a bit weird, but Alex still had to blink rapidly as the sights and smells his brain processed changed drastically. The issue was exacerbated significantly by the amount of mana in the air around him.
His time as an Aspirant had been spent on Earth, with the exception of relatively short forays into trials, allowing his Sensitivity to adjust to the environment of a Tier 3 planet. The Broken World they’d spent the past weeks on had only been Tier 1, and he’d adjusted to the far less saturated surroundings.
Making things worse, he’d tiered up during his time away, increasing the sensory input significantly.
For a few moments Alex saw but he did not understand. Then, those same attributes that made the mana density so intrusive allowed him to catch up and start processing all that he could sense.
The entire experience was very distracting, leaving him feeling slightly hollow and quite exhausted. His eyes gazed off into the horizon, missing the important details in his surroundings.
“Shit, monster,” Jess called out. The panic in her tone sent Alex into motion, and his sword was in his hand and swinging towards the wolf that he’d somehow failed to notice right in front of them.
His sword smacked into the wolf’s head, hurting Alex significantly more than his target as there was no give whatsoever. His foe gave him an unimpressed look, reminding Alex of an instructor about to lecture him on safety procedures.
“If you’re faced with an Imprinted monster,” The wolf began, “The last thing you should do is provoke it by attacking.”
Alex took a step back as if struck. The voice was familiar, which was odd as he’d never even seen a live wolf before.
“Plato?” Anthony asked.
“Yes,” The former golden retriever nodded, “Now, I’d appreciate it if you all took time to look around.”
Alex did so, immediately noticing the lack of Stirling Tower. That wasn’t a huge surprise, he hadn’t expected Anthony’s parents to waste another two weeks waiting for them, but the next thing he saw was a Defense Forces ATV.
It was a bit further away, and off to the side in his perspective, but still obviously noticeable. He grimaced when he noticed the clearly alive woman behind the wheel.
That detail should’ve been enough to stay his hand until they understood the situation, but he’d reacted on instinct to Jess’s tone.
“My mistake,” Jess spoke up from beside him, “Sorry, everyone. I didn’t see the vehicle.”
“No,” Alex replied, “I let myself get distracted and didn’t think things through. It was my mistake.”
“Well,” Plato smiled at them, “At least the last month hasn’t diluted your loyalty to each other. Putting aside our ride, is there any other way you could’ve noticed I wasn’t looking to fight?”
Alex thought about that one for a second, frowning as he didn’t have an immediate answer.
“You aren’t hiding your apertures,” Anthony stated, “We should’ve realized that any hostile Tier 3 monster would be stopped before it could get this close to New Chicago.”
“Not quite,” Plato replied, “While that would’ve been true before the planet tiered up. It’s unwise to assume that level of stability during a time of relative unrest.”
“You didn’t attack us,” Alex stated.
“Correct, you should never attack first against a stronger beast,” Plato nodded, “But not the answer I was looking for. Wolves are pack hunters, and any loners are hunted by other beasts. Realizing I was alone should’ve let you realize I wasn’t hunting.”
“What if your pack was just hiding?” Alex asked.
“Where?” Plato asked, prompting Alex to look over the surrounding plains. The grasses weren’t tall enough to hide a full-grown wolf, and even then he’d be able to notice their mana unless they were specialized in stealth.
“Naturally, that’s a lot to think through in a very short amount of time when you’re potentially under threat from a higher tier beast,” Plato continued, “But as you continue to level, your reactions and thought processes will only grow faster.”
And there was the lesson, Alex nodded his thanks to the wolf for his guidance. While Plato wasn’t a combatant, although he looked quite menacing after his apparent tier up and transformation, he had plenty of experience to draw from to teach them.
Alex had been focusing on pushing the limits of his body as his attributes grew, but that wasn’t the whole picture. He needed to push the limits of his mind as well. He could react faster than any normal human, but could he lower that time further? Could he do as Plato suggested, and add more analysis of his surroundings to his initial reaction?
“You’re a wolf now?” Anthony addressed the burning question now that the lecture seemed to be over.
“Yes,” Plato replied, “I’m sure you’ll all hear several versions of the story once we return to the city. I’d hate to rob you of the chance for outlandish speculation with your peers, so I won’t be explaining why or how for now.”
“Uh, okay,” Anthony’s confused response reflected Alex’s thoughts as well. Was the canine’s fierce new form a source of gossip?
Plato led them back to the ATV, a mana powered car that was lifted to avoid obstructions on the ground. The vehicles weren’t incredibly common, since Attuned didn’t need the assistance with transportation and Neophytes didn’t have the mana to run them for very long, but worked quite well when higher tiers were escorting a group somewhere.
Technically, mana batteries charged from the city’s stores could be used. Alex had heard the complaints of more than a few DF recruits about “stingy” commanders, so he knew that such a thing was rare. Luckily, with Plato around, they had plenty of mana.
“Alex, you’re in charge of powering the engine,” Plato stated, pointing out a port for him to use.
Alex bit back the argument before he could make it, well aware that there was likely a reason for the demand. Besides, all of his practice these past weeks made the task trivial. There was no need to contort his mana as he fed it into the port near the front of the vehicle, and once it reached that entrance the array handled the rest.
The driver wasn’t familiar to Alex, likely a semi-recent graduate from one of New Chicago’s less prestigious schools judging by her face. She seemed more than a bit intimidated by the large wolf who had claimed shotgun, and didn’t greet them with anything but a nod.
“Now,” Plato turned to face them, “How did the trial go? I can’t help but notice the ridiculous number of blank apertures in your packs.”
Used to giving reports to Anthony’s parents, Jess easily took the lead in describing their exploration of the fields they’d been left in. Plato nodded along, clearly interested by the gravesites and their seemingly hexagonal shape.
When he did interrupt, it wasn’t because of their loot, “Alex’s stomach pains stopped, you say?”
“Not completely,” Alex clarified, “They just became less common as we spent less exploring and more on my Refinement practice.”
“Interesting, we will want to confirm with a higher tier healer when we arrive in New Chicago, but I believe it is related to your mana type.”
“Really?” Alex asked, “Is it going to be a problem?”
“No,” the wolf shook his head, “It shouldn’t pose any risk to your health.”
“What do you think is happening?” Alex pressed.
“You are holding an abnormal amount of mana for your tier, and not using it for anything. Without any other directions, your mana is likely acting in accordance with your type, slowly Refining your body.