Silence prevailed, and most figures kept fleeting or froze in their steps, wondering if they heard him right.
“None give a damn about an Encounter, or your heart, or ears?” Razmund asked again. “Should I speak more about what I desire and know? Some of you should seek the treasures that will surely appear after the world recovers and the Voice returns. There are promises ahead to anyone. A godly desire and Judge spoke to me. It is time to regain a lost heroic share of what Battleworld has to offer! I have slots for Helpers open and there is an Encounter going on in this place. I have my target and spots are open.”
Razmund put his palm high in the air, leaving three fingers straight. He also slammed his claymore to the ground, appearing heroic or safe to approach.
Shouting proved his stance and his following silence spoke for himself.
None appeared interested, still fearing they would be killed. It was fitting for their hearts because Razmund could kill them. Even if the military was around the corner, it didn't mean he should or couldn't do it. Levandis was the Law here, but the power spoke far more quickly if someone was arrogant and weak.
Razmund didn't hate it while becoming a Hunter wasn't too bad either.
The Order provided determined stakes and voices akin to laws. Those who killed those deserving it weren't overreaching the law of the vastness, for they had no direct rules. Lawless places and planets had no time for that, whereas some would uphold some sense of justice by cultures, power, or Gods.
Those powerful enough should not kill or fight those fleeting or much weaker. That was the consent of those seeing countless Paths. It was no official business. It was unwritten and followed in some places.
The consequences of not following it weren't something inappropriate or clever. In the vastness of many planets, it didn't matter. In this world, it did. Doing something terrible would put forth a curse, Wrath of a God, Punishment Act, God's Trial, some sort of task under some church if one killed their subjects, or straight up End from powerful mortals who got excuses to kill the killer.
In some parts, it wasn't a powerful rule. Killing anyone with the right reasons or secrecy often worked just fine no matter the rules. One could also pay for it, bribing some folks and a sense of justice or reason. In Hell, this prose was the worst.
It was acting like a reminder that Chaos was chaotic and lawless for a reason.
But this wasn't it. This place had its share of rules different from that, and no one trusted someone like Razmund to go along with them. Levandis was the one overseeing this place since its creation. She voiced the logic.
There were no hidden masters around. Those wouldn't come so eagerly toward the castle and military, hoping to see, kill, or catch Razmund with their own eyes. Those must've long known what to do. They did not need to get personal so quickly, so they waited.
Which Razmund knew, so he acted first to see and spread his influence. With this place being as sensitive as Lint proclaimed, he shall be a giver of justice as some Gods were.
Some fools could bite and follow the ways of the Old World, while his proclamation of his Encounter and Helpers was his main fresh idea.
“Oh,” Razmund sighed, looking that no one was coming at him, or speaking to him. “It seems my first kill was too effective. How poor of me. Last time, I would have trouble killing that Abomination, I suppose, but this time? Bah! Don't care!” He kicked the halved demon aside, ending it in some corner as if it were trash.
Without anyone being interested, he turned to some street. Lint followed him closely; they soon disappeared into the distance where fewer people would bother them.
In the bloodied street, not far from the castle, a new source of knowledge spread. The one that will drive quite a few beings into harsh and rash decisions. Razmund didn't speak for the military; he doubted the Encounter was public knowledge yet because Levandis and Mindarch must've contained such claims.
So he spread it first, knowing that such knowledge could add many new ideas to this already precarious situation. But not for him. He doubted his claim was a terrible thing. It might even be good since many would rather have nothing to do with the problems stemming from godly plans or grudges, leaving him alone, or helping him instead. But with the Voice gone, perhaps he was promising what was no longer possible.
That was a mistake that Razmun realized after his proclamation that had not that many thoughts put into it. This place will take it for what it could be.
Lint was shaking his head, his single palm spread over his face.
On my Lady, he thought. I knew he would do it, so what have I expected? A sense of duty? Him, going by the rules? Well, what... could happen next? I need to help it. I know I need to, but would this insane Blessed take it? What does he plan? What does Mindarch want from me and us? What about... the Hunt?!
There were still some wonders about these claims that even Lint didn't know. For example, what about the Codex and the sense of information that was prohibited and hidden from most eyes? What would Manager Kil or Levandis change? Lint was unaware of what went behind the scenes, or what Mindarch, Levandis, and Manager Kil plotted.
Still, most Challengers were public knowledge in existence alone, while further information would be up to information gatherers, companies, or the Network. Mindarch acted with many wonderous things in many parts of these Gates. The best was the acquisition of information. Those with deep pockets could purchase information straight from him, or affiliated companies that worked with his information.
The best was Longing Merchant Groub, or going straight to the source. What Razmund did wasn't simple. He openly revealed the Encounter, which wasn't something that everyone in Hellscape knew about.
The Encounter came, giving them a potential chance to get a tremendous amount of interest, or troubling reality that Judge might be watching. That would be enough for Levandis to swallow some pride, so what Razmund just did wasn't entirely wrong. However, most thought it shouldn't be working and that he was lying. David and Lisa thought the same thing before that Pledge.
If the Voice was gone, what if something related to Gods worked? That was what many throughout the Hellscape began to think once they heard of Razmund's claim.
Since he spoke so fervently about it, even mentioning unnamed Judge's words for it, some were inclined to take his words for granted. The best way to finalize anything was to go straight to the best sources. Not Razmund. Promises and mending of Gods were too liable, so a lot of them charged into the many companies and for Mindarch to voice the truth out loud.
Mindarch had yet to turn many things into public. That included most things about the Surface, or how many Gods began to work on solving the situation, or that the Encounter was something good or bad, or.... possible.
Frankly, it wasn't sounding that good.
With Razmund gone to his own business, soon, thirty hours had passed since Murai arrived at Hellscape.
At this moment, he was long gone from the Helltrim City, but Razmund didn't mind or know it. He stopped beside some empty alleyway, turning his attention to time and overall journey. Some time passed since this whole mess started in his half-death state, and he quickly gathered some intel from the streets about Murai.
“Fuckers... I was stuck in that vortex and battles for an unnecessary amount of hours. Are you kidding me?” he turned his anger towards Lint without being physical.
“Chaos Space is filled with Chaos and unkept space. It is like that. It's nothing strange. It's that kind of place we are talking about,” Lint excused himself, which didn't quench Razmund's anger.
Instead, he decided to forget his manners and opened his left fist, revealing his Destiny Dice.
“One of the few times I will have to do this, I hope,” he said, unwrapping it, before tossing it to the ground without feeding it. Sometimes, this Dice didn't need too much. Now, without Amelis in sight or Islands to obscure it, it was kind of horny, wincing around and hoping for an outlet.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Once again, the Destiny Dice crossed the Fate, flickering in pink colors and dim voices that left Razmund dull.
[Oh!] the Dice softly exclaimed. [Ahhhhh.]
[Clarity. Clarity at last! Fate is near, feeling like shimmering touch and pat like smoking salmon.]
[It is no longer obscured!] a soft voice cheered after Amelius was no longer in the picture. Perhaps Chaos Space and Murais' travels also put this Dice in trouble, obscuring its readings of Fate.
In any way, Dice knew what to do in such a clear place. Cheering, it knew where to go, what to read, and where to head. Left and right, letting shimmering pink mist and light behind, it nearly shot to the distance, but Razmund caught it.
“Not so quickly, Dice. Show me the directions. That is enough.”
Dice chirped as if grunting. It was free to fly in such a Gate. It was happy, yet its meal was up to this foolish human. It accepted the conditions, chirping to demand some more blood and essences.
It was looking ahead to this journey, though it forgot it shouldn't hurry too much. But... it felt so much joy over this Fate for some reason. Much more fiercely than ever before.
Razmund cursed, thinking that he almost lost his Dice completely. The source of the Fate was relatively close, unhindered by the rules of the previous Gates. That was good as far as he desired.
“How far away?” Razmund asked.
[Couple dozen kilometers? East-west, thirty degrees.] Dice was surprisingly docile and clear in its guesses. But they were guesses. Razmund doubted they were very truthful. Its hole was more clear. It pointed east at a slight angle.
Razmund nodded, giving it some thought before Dice calmed down, pointing to an obvious direction: away from the Helltrim City.
“No surprises there. There are only so many directions one could take in this place. The distance matters and I don't know what my target knows or where it is heading. The width and length of the Hellscape also matter. What is the target? Mine is Sector 72, which has only one singular portal, so that leaves me at ease and fear. What of my prey?”
“I doubt you could ever guess it,” Lint said without knowing the answer.
Razmund shot him a repuslive look. “Do you know?”
Lint calmed, letting his hand down. “Of course not.”
“Then shut up.”
There were quite a few roads to choose from. Most Challengers would take things calmly and think twice before acting. Depending on their power, it could be very different. One could take it for a decent challenge, or an immense valuable opportunity because this place wasn't simple. One could do business, farming, and killing here rather than going straight to the portal. Without any time-related limits, it was quite open, acting with a single loose goal in mind.
How one did it was subjective. Take it as a rare chance to discover this Gate, Hunt, or various valuables and potential Mana Essences, following the task from the start or later was important. With the way Sectors and this cave worked, there wasn't much to the journey. It was a relatively long cave, but not very wide. The width of about a dozen kilometers in most portions of this cave was enough for cities, while the journey was quite simple.
There were many natural resources in all kinds of Sectors. Some were dull, full of life and treasures, while others were hiding dangers with various difficulties and worthy chances. Depending on where one could go, it could cost someone their life, while success could mean rewards that one could take.
Thus, information gathering about dangerous zones was essential, followed by gangs and demons.
Razmund wrapped the Dice back around his left palm, where it sizzled in hopes and moans. It was becoming more and more unkept as if fed up or wild. He hoped it would remain calm for the duration of this Gate.
“I will get you this time around,” he said, imagining Murai in his mind and hands. A soft and frail duck in his hands. Squeezable. Death or alive. “Clutch your neck and twist it, rather than your wings and leg. That should do the job. Your soul doesn't matter. Your body can still die. You won't leave anything behind. Not on my watch!”
Opportunity and hope were no longer in his mind. He didn't consider any doubts. This Encounter was too important to him for him to consider his Kingdom or Falconers.
Here, he was enough. A Blessed on his Hunt. Nothing else. This was his opportunity to rise, and no one else but some tools would come to his side if he failed.
Securing his intent deep within his hand and eyes, Razmund got to work.
That was to walk around, force or kill some fools, purchase more information, and secure enough responses and resources to get a general sense of the current world or this Hellscape. For the most part, he waited for the Hunt to start, or his offer to bear some fruit. He wasn't sure about everything yet, so getting to know the bigger picture mattered more. Especially since he no longer heard his Voice.
The situation in this Gate was second on his list. So much can change in a couple of years, let alone half a century for a certain ghost, but he had no doubts Illak's worries were sensible and warranted.
Gangs and various assholes will hunt him because of lackling rules, and he might meet some very dangerous demons because of that. Levandis and her military won't stop them. It might be unnecessary work for them.
That was a fact that Razmund knew, but not before the proper course of the Hunt. He discovered it relatively quickly. Mindarch had jet to reveal a word about the Hunt. He probably waited for Razmund to arrive first before it would start.
Which poised as a problem, because this shouldn't... well, he wasn't sure how his little target handled this Gate. Perhaps he will be hunted like an animal too?
It would be fitting in this Gate that held the Hunter Game, codenamed Hunt.
***
In the far distances, dozens of kilometers from the Helltrim City, in the roads that stretched through the jungle. There were living zones and nice locations in most of the surrounding Sectors. Fewer places were problematic and filled with dangers because of them. Some were far from good for the general population, though every Gate had some danger zones that went according to levels. Though Mindarch ensured that denizens were safe, Challengers were a different story thanks to the private journey, challenges, and times in most Gates.
Hellscape was unique because it was specifically set with the denizens and this whole place in mind. Hence, every Gate could provide challenges across the 100 Levels, so there were places in Hellscape that Murai should never visit.
Lisa knew about it, thus she was acting as if she was his Guide. Roads through this jungle were public roads, looking not terrible or good, but many were well outside of some sensible scope like the Surface. Lisa ensured the safety of travel first, before anything else. They went around many hills, valleys, and even some rivers, giving Murai a way to assess this Gate in a new light.
It shocked him with how clean and fresh everything looked, even when this place was kilometers below the ground.
Murai traveled alongside Lisa, David, Ultium, and two new additions that David promised as other Helpers. He didn't find them terrible or worse, but one of them was kind of... unique.
They were two employees under the Lost Brothers. Both were of demonic origin, though both looked like beasts of some sort. Murai expected David to have more... human friends.
The first was a non-human-looking woman called Itrosh. She was a relatively tame-looking demon of humanoid and a bunch of reptilian beast aspects. Her lower body was that of a Dragonian, famous for sturdy thighs and relatively thin rest. Such legs had high explosive power and soft colorful scales, but there were also some feathers and her uniform hid the rest. Her upper body was more slender, filled with thin scales of azure color, while her head was that of a Demonic Eaglesh, a mixture of an eagle, and lashing tigress. This made her a strange mutant, where her eyes were beastly, her mouth was wide and hiding fangs, and her ears were fluffy and enticing.
Her nose was weird and fluffy too, but her mouth made her vicious. It was a bit weird to look at her as a whole because she looked like a weird mutant. She even had thin long feathers for her hair, while thin soft feathers were over her shoulders and neck, giving her a Beastfolk look even if she wasn't part of any of their races.
Itrcosh was a high-level adventurer of some dexterity-based Path. She insisted on not telling specifics about it, acting all mysterious as if she didn't want to ruin her image. She was around Level 60, or so David said briefly when Lisa nagged him about her, and where he introduced them to Murai.
Calling Itrosh a highly mutated beast wasn't far from the truth, but she wasn't one bit worse in intellect than any human that Murai met. After all, the evolutions she had chosen for her body and Bloodline weren't small in numbers, while her use of Influence Items wasn't hesitant. Her life in this temple gave her many chances and choices, and David was a surprisingly good help to her, so she owed him more than a couple of things.
Murai was quite curious about her experiences and wisdom because he would never allow himself to look like her.
In this case, he would prefer to remain in a steady appearance of a freaking duck, which was an acceptance that he began to tolerate the more he looked at her. It was better than being some sort of mutant. If he wanted to retain some sense of normalcy and decent understanding, staying the same wasn't a terrible idea, which gave him numerous ideas about Influence Items and his evolutions.
As for the second Helper, it was a rather large demonic beast in all senses of the word.
It was a four-legged Grifhart of quite some weight, sturdiness, and height. Grifhart was a unique mutant-type beast with high intelligence and quite a powerful physicality that stemmed from Griffins. They had as wide and powerful wings as their bodies allowed, giving their sturdy feathers significant importance. They could fly even though they had quite some weight, so they couldn't do it for a very long time.
Vigorous yet flexible legs ensured their movement was quick and mighty, with their bones being relatively light. For them, hundreds of kilograms of weight made up the feathers that were their pivotal and most prized possession, second to their mighty beak and flickering tail.
The one that Murai met was a prime example of an Adult Grifhart, which was an evolution from the Griffin species. Three meters in height, a wingspan of many meters made it very impressive, and its legs looked like that of a pouncing tiger, but much bigger. Long neck ended with an eagle-like head, with a thick beak that ended in a small yet sharp point.
The beak wasn't angled all that much as in eagles. At the further end of its feathered colorful body was a thick tail, which was flexible like a neck or wings, ensuring stability in flight and even battles. It was quite long, ending in sharp bone. Every whip of such a tail was capable of smashing rocks and cleaving humans in half.
In this sense, this Grifthart was among the nicest and greatest beasts Murai had met so far. His name was Bagus and he was at Level 71. The most shocking part was his laughably nice human tongue. The moment Murai met him the first time, that big fella laughed and bowed to him, introducing himself with a mighty tone and nice voice.
Murai was impressed and infuriated at the same time. He wished for a way to communicate like that himself!
How come and why they were here, or what was up with their motivation to work with David? Murai didn't question their past, nor the reason why David had such powerful creatures under his disposal. In fact, he thought of it wrongly. They didn't even question him, nor were some slaves.
Yet they accepted David's conditions straight away after some private conversation that went on behind Murai's ears.
Murai spent more than twenty hours away from Lisa, training and learning what he wanted before leaving Helltrim City. Heavenly Shaping proved its value, similar to his overall upgrades after battling through Islands of Greatness.
The biggest was his Boost. He figured he took its power and effects right before it stopped, and his reliance on it was far too large. Lisa already touched upon this subject quite a lot, so Murai began to reconsider some things and began to shift his attention. His Heavenly Shaping training and this Gate might be the perfect place for it.
Was it suspicious how his Boost came and then halted? Murai wasn't sure.
Overall, this pair of new Helpers became a source of power that was an immense help to Lisa's plan. That was why Murai took them like Ultium and David, while he kept focusing on his own problems. However, their worth was still subject to what and whom they would meet on their ride to Ip'ur Mountain.
Upon closer inspection, clarity, and getting to know them through their latest hours together, neither Itrosh nor Bagus served David. Their interest and work were under the same banner, giving them a sense of teamwork and trust.
They were an adventurer party in a poor sense, with more monetary and closer connection since they had known each other for a very long time.