Murai winced on the spot, glancing at the stewards that just appeared. An Encounter was due? He looked at Ceila who appeared collected as always, yet he couldn't perceive a thing from her at all. She seemed to know everything, and tell nothing.
Something weird was going on with the way she was speaking and acting for sure.
And it included quite a lot of things, even though he didn't want to have anything to do with them. Gods can become gardeners for everything that Murai ever cared about.
“You... What is happening, 2nd?” the soft voice of the 1st Sun stated. “You speak so strangely, it makes me a bit uncomfortable, considering the motions of the Anatidae, Blessed figures, various Gods, and the Centralis Kingdom itself. In fact, more powers always move if one moves. It is a cycle, and if we move, others will move. We will move when others do. It is that simple.” she said, still hiding behind her veil.
“Uncomfortable?” Ceila smiled, not really understanding 1st's worries. “Who else would seek this place then a possible start of it all? They move. We do it afterward. It may be strange, but I know the Will of our Lady perceive things that you probably don't yet understand. In this situation that revolves around Blessed, all I can see is just opportunity and many variables. It's a chance to be grasped. That's what our Lady wants.”
“So, it is another Blessed... Centralis Kingdom is making the first move?” Lia stated, glancing at Murai as if he was a toy.
Ceila nodded, stepping toward Lia to see her view clearly. Lia was also quite tall, but not as tall as her. The rest of the Suns were smaller. Still, she towered over Lia's tight, and muscular body that revealed quite a bit of skin.
“I am unsure if what we can perceive will help us, Lia. This little guy has no idea either. I speak on behalf of this summoning and Will of our Lady. I will follow him through the height or lows regardless of anyone's help. I suppose each has their own worries and work, so I don't expect the involvement of each and every one of you. That's what kind of situation this is, and our Lady does not force anything since she is still overlooking the situation for many possible changes. For now, I am to make this happen. A lot of chances can pose a great chance, while the decisions are up to the individual. It's the same as always, Suns. You decide while declining has no cost.” Ceila proclaimed, and then, wanted Murai back into her hand.
Lia dodged her following grab, mischievously smiling. “Nah. Nah. I am interested. Why shouldn't I? You probably made those wordy efforts just for me, didn't you?” Lia stated, patting Murai like a dog, even though he wildly struggled in her embrace. “You are fishing for answers, and I am biting. Isn't this what you wanted?”
“Well...” Ceila sighed after hearing her nice words. “I don't deny nor confirm this. I did what our Lady wanted. Asking everyone, is seeking this chance that could be a road for the future.”
“Future?”1st Sun mumbled behind her veil.
4th Sun appeared as serious and wrinkled in worry. “I don't dare to imagine much sense in this. Other Gods are no puny forces, and Encounters are one of the most complicated things that they can crate. It serves many paths and countries. More powers will get going too. I will wait to see the situation, but If it's our Lady's Will, then the economics of the church will go through me. I will at least help with that.”
The 3rd Sun didn't make any comment. She kept smiling, observing the situation while leaning on her hands as a pillar for her chin.
“I fought plenty of Anatidaes before...” Lia mumbled, struggling with Murai's beak that tried to eat her fingers. It was a futile attempt since her gauntlet was enough against his efforts. “These things are vile, and much to my liking. I think I did tell some stories about them to everyone here. A mission to the Blouding Chackroad. Seeing Blessed Anatidae is once in a lifetime opportunity so I will do whatever I can. Count me in, Ceila.” Lia stated, trying to pat Murai as if he was the precious thing, even though her grip wasn't the lightest.
In fact, he struggled for his life on the line, since he didn't want to remain like a damned pet.
F-freaking woman... Why is everyone handling me like a damned thing!? Murai scowled, giving up on fighting since he could tell he was outmatched by this woman in any power, apart from the soul. His calmness was met with a victorious pat on his head, while Lia found it quite intriguing to pat an Anatidae, for once.
Murai wasn't weak, or strong at the moment, and he knew it. He held a strange situation over his power level. The balance around his power wasn't that firm, as on one hand, his body and magic were weak, but his soul was astronomical.
So, could he afford to be arrogant? Not really.
Against the Somalis Dungeon, he worked fine with what he had, because it was balanced around his rough power, but anything tougher than that would prove to be fatal. The whole situation after the dungeon spoke for itself, as he bled and wept.
It reminded him to follow the path of power and never repeat the same mistake twice.
And this start began long before he went back to walking.
One of the possibilities to get stronger in the past weak was general magic. Murai worked on his mana-centered abilities, improving his control to a large degree since he didn't need to move a finger. All he needed was his mind, mana, and controlling it, and that was it.
It went surprisingly well, much to his lackluster Beast Core that remained like a constant source of problems. It made his progression slower for sure, but even through that, all of his abilities and even his level improved.
Will of the Battleworld didn't descend with anything abnormal, but it did provide him with occasional things. Such as improved levels of his abilities or even his own levels alongside the improved attributes.
Right now, he was Level 12. The Rundown of his abilities followed at least his own Level, but not everything was fine, to level, as he lacked the means to use them. His magic was about what he managed to improve. It was a kind of time-consuming process, but through his focus, it went well.
Yesterday and the day before, he tried other things, such as his beak, and general movement but he couldn't do them at full strength. Many limits were there
because of his legs and body in general.
As for the rest of things, or his soul abilities or hidden ones, they weren't as easy to train with, if at all.
Overall, Murai was still weaker than he wished, but at least he improved his basics. Considering the degree of power he wanted to achieve, a step was a step regardless of the length.
When it came to fights within his power level of 25+, he held all confidence he could fight anyone. Win or loss was questionable, and dependable on strategy, but he wasn't fearing a thing. Although, he didn't consider the degree of his power in his beak, since he lacked its uses in the last week. Any hit that traveled through his body hurt, and he needed some rest.
Then, there was the Robust Spirit, which was kind of unique.
He didn't know how to go about it. The Robust Spirit Identity Abilities were something he reconsidered throughout the last week, so he did run some experiments and felt how the Soul Force worked. The powers and limits made sense but Soul Force was hard to get back, so he didn't make any experiments regarding it and his beak in the last days.
He didn't want to get too physical with his damaged body.
Part of it was caused by the result of a couple of new abilities that didn't count for much, but they weren't bad either. After a long time of training in the Dried Woodlands, he achieved the basic structure of his Flaming and Sharpness affinities, achieving beginner abilities.
Each affinity supplied his Beast Core with distinct Shaping to use. Regarding Shaping, the ability was thus granted accordingly to him by Will of the Battleworld.
For Sharpness, it was a Proper Mana Blade. If Murai weren't Shaping swords but used spears instead, he would get Proper Mana Spear instead. It worked with training and shaping in mind, and it was a well-known fact in this world, that Iris mentioned.
She was the one to explain him the rules of this world to him instead of Lisa that remained sleeping all this time.
About abilities and the Will of the Battleworld itself, Murai wasn't all that knowledgeable about it, so having Iris by his side helped more than he thought.
As for the Flame affinity, Murai achieve the basic spell called Flame Shot. It was a basic flowing fireball that he could conjure out of his Beast Core, and Shape it as a ball. Then, shooting it with his Shaping was easy, as he always said.
As for the Water affinity, he wasn't nearly as convinced over the power of the water, so he didn't do much with it. In fact, water was always a curious thing in the Pathway of Magic. It was an intricate element, considering the planets and countless other things were made out of water.
The human body was like that, for example, and now, out of the blue, his Beast Core held a Water affinity without almost no effort. All of this happened because of the Battleworld, and it was as if he wished for that, and suddenly, his Beast Core had 3 swirling elemental waves surrounding it.
Working with the water wasn't something Murai cared for under normal times. He was never a firm believer in trying something that was hard, and special to use. It was almost the same with every element, but he found some easier to use than the rest. Water was one of the toughest, alongside the Earth.
The reason? Shaping and creating Water with one's Mana Core was harder, and for the Earth, it was harsh and heavy to create something so intricate as the Earth itself out of the Core.
Simple rocks? Sure, but it wasn't great power at the start.
It was that kind of element that shined when outside influence came into play. Like Shaping up a river up to one's touch, or holding a mountain-sized boulder like a pebble and tossing it at the enemy. Murai knew all of this, albeit from memories alone, and by no experiences. He witnessed enough after all.
When someone reached a threshold of forming or Shaping minerals, and ores or metals alone, then that was a stage of much-sophisticated powers and spells. It was by no means weak, as difficult things were often worth calling powerful. But for one to reach that sort of power, it would take time and talent.
Highly advanced Earth Shaping allowed the controllability of the earth itself, and the use of what already made it.
It was the case of all elements that all worked in their special ways, rules, and laws. Murai knew all about the high-level knowledge of distinct elements, so he held no incentive to make his already tough life, tougher.
That was why the Flame and special Sharpness were his priority since he was not only familiar with them, but his body worked at a passable level with them. He didn't need to consider his body much, in fact. Shaping both of them was pretty much the same as if he was a human mage, but slightly more annoying because of his Beast Core.
Adding the Mana Shaping that became Level 10 a while ago, Murai achieved the basic balance he hoped for. Albeit, neither held the terrifying power of his beak and he acknowledged that. His body was his temple—powerful, sturdy, and something that allowed him to live through disasters.
Further improvements were needed across the board. Especially the one regarding his Beast Core. Murai was yet to become comfortable with the use of his body. Beak's Peak, was pretty much his priority, as it had an interesting premise like a spell would, but it was part of his body. Having control over his body was his second priority, right behind his magic.
Murai was yet to know why the progression was so damned slow. It shouldn't be because of his damned Beast Core, right? He calculated it and thought about it a lot since he had a lot of free time. At this point, if he would be a human he would be long a level 20, but then... his age would be different since that sort of New Beginning would be different. That's how unfamiliar the concept of the Beast Core was, regardless of his knowledge of Shaping and Conjuring.
As for his Soul, Will, and Robust Spirit? They did get better, but not by much.
Some attributes improved by almost a dozen points. Will wasn't one of them though, with only +7 Will. Robust Spirit itself achieved 2 Levels ups after his Will endured the painful healing and a couple of dozen mana overdrafts.
Murai considered it his most powerful weapon, reaching the highest might of damage he could unleash. Considering the power of the Soul Force, and the basic structure of its points, he had to be crafty using them. Their power was quite good, even if he didn't use its offensive ability.
When Lia grabbed him with quite some strength, he was so damn close to trying the limits of his Robust Defence, that he almost tried to use his Beak's Peak instead or Indomitable Strike.
Though, it would probably do nothing much to her anyway. Lia was, in his opinion, around the same power as Ceila, if not stronger.
Ceila looked at Lia. “You... Lia. You were the most likely one to agree. I imagined it. Thank you.” she smiled.
“You already knew it, you liar,” Lia said in return, not letting Murai free.
Thus, Ceila and Lia were the only ones who reached some understanding and followed the old steward out of the room.
The rest of the Suns were still somewhat hesitant since they wanted to see a clear picture of this... strange occurrence that they found more than bizarre.
The reason for their hesitation was actually quite sensible. Ceila didn't explain a lot of things, since she didn't know much herself. The fact of the Encounter was a major ordeal, and the 4th Sun knew all about it.
In fact, all of them knew about it, since it was always a topic that appeared on the continent and wreaked havoc once in a while, depending on its premise. Sometimes, just a minor one would involve some organization, but the toughest ones would literary destroy countries.
Suns viewed it simply. It wasn't that it wasn't a bad opportunity, it was just the possibility of danger was quite enormous and Encounter was the higher-grade playground of godly interests.
After all, the core rules of the Battleworld were the following: nothing was free, and every opportunity had dangers, or stakes involved. Power ruled supreme, while rewards came with a price or the following power, achievements, and desirable techniques.
The whole concept of power ran supreme. That was the way of the Battleworld. As for the Encounter and things Ceila believed in, the Blessed parts were quite peculiar. So much so, that even when considering their Lady's approval, the majority of Suns didn't agree immediately.
“What if... Our Lady is testing us? She must think further into it, as 2nd said, and this could be a change.” 1st Sun asked the remaining 2 Suns that remained.
Neither wanted to test their guesses, so they remained seated until the situation would be clearer.
They will see, and then follow up with their respective opinions after the situation outside will solve itself. The basic premise of the Suns was to have a level beyond 70, and a powerful Will, so each and every one of them was a powerhouse on their own.
Lia and Ceila walked with the steward, who remain bowing as they retreated out of this round room.
“You may leave,” Ceila ordered, walking to the luxuries that were in the hallways alongside Lia, who kept pestering Murai in her clutched hand.
“So, did you expect my help in particular?” Lia asked. “You are so careful about everything. I bet she would know more and tell you to act this way but still... Was this also a Will of our Lady then?” she asked Ceila curiously, putting her free arm around her shoulder.
“It is my Will, as my Will is Will of my Lady. Got it?”
“Sounds fair, but then, it is quite poor if that is the case at all times. I wonder what she wants to achieve with this, considering the powerful Centralis Kingdom. I haven't battled their force in 2 years, but I am inclined to try my chances.” Lia smirked in confidence.
“If that's the case...” Ceila frowned suddenly, feeling as if something was wrong. “I don't think you will wait that long for that to occur,” she said and they both arrived before the entrance gate. Grabbing the gate to push them inwards, the gust of wind, along with blood and Woodlands permeated the interiors.
Out of this mansion, in the plains surrounding it, there were the knights present, but all of them were laying on the ground. Some were shitless, others unconscious, and many were dead, with blood and limbs severed and organs scattered on the grass.
This caused the pair of Suns to frown. Especially Ceila took it the hardest since she didn't expect this to occur. This part of her battalion was quite powerful so who did this? What did this?
“Is this what you planned for as well?” Lia asked, scratching her head as she retreated her free hand back to her side.
“I told them to wait and be cautious. I didn't want this, nor did I hear of this.” She frowned, changing her face to one of anger and seriousness. “What happened here? Is there someone?” Ceila walked forward, stating those words with the intention to kill. She even forgot the case of the Encounter.
Amid the chaos in front of the mansion, there was still a single man who didn't lay on the ground, and it wasn't a knight.
He was a bare-chested man who wasn't even that big. He wore an open cloak, similar to the style of Lia's cloth, apart from the rope around the hip and moderate-length sleeves. Trousers on his lower body were quite haggard and had seen better days. He didn't even bother to have the boots, so he was all dirty from the mud and blood.
“Messiah from the Central Church?” Ceila thought, immediately recognizing the madman who was before her. For this sort of madman to appear here, it was quite frankly, a stroke of bad luck.
It was at this point, that Murai in Lia's grip squeaked, letting audible quacks in surprise.
Will of the Battleworld descended to his head, and it was more powerful than ever before.
[Punishment of inactivity is almost due, but your luck is good, as the change in the grand schemes of the Battleworld changed, giving you opportunity instead and instability because of your case]
[You almost got your 2nd Act so be careful not to die, you intolerable duck!]
[As for the change! It is a tremendous one that is hard to come by. It will be a special underlying case of the Encounter, Willed by the God of Battle and the opportunities that fill the Battleworld for dozens of thousands of years]
[Encounter Innitiated]
[Oppening act started: Escape, or defeat messiahs of the Central Church. Hows: Escape outside of the Woodlands. Simple enough]
[The current power: over level 60, so try your luck in this case, or give up]
[Rewards: None you bloody lazy animal]
[Failure: your damned life]
[But here is a catch. Encounter is a two-way thing, undergoing big variables from two sides of the Blessed beings]
[Encounters are initiated by meaningful choices of God's interest alongside their respective Blessed]
[Your current foe, runner, or fateful enemy is no other than the Razmund from the Centralis Kingdom]
[Another huge variable lies in the positions of potential Helpers. Possibilities of these figures are attainable for both sides, providing a better chance, hope, chaos, and strategies by both sides]
[Your case of the Encounter and further information]
[Mixture of reasons: Major Task, forceful Clash, God's Trial, and others]
[Centralis Kingdom is currently in the hold of your God's Gift. By the demands of the Fury and Gods, it is demanded to be back, but rules state that no matter what, gods can't redo or take away what was already given. They are unable to do anything with it, apart from stating Encounters, and using chances to provide entertainment and chances of wealth and might for the sake of the Battleworld]
[Razmund's case?]
[A powerful and mysterious dark mage uncovered your fate, case, and future in limited fate shocks. It revealed variables, unexpected by the gods, and flickered through and against the Greater Sky. Thus, following, and revealing the Wrath of Lordis's wife was a very bad thing. By threatening the Centralis Kingdom, an Encounter was initiated and accepted unconditionally]
[Encounter is timed matter, indicative to the Blessed sides, filled with rewards and opportunities to those interested or not]
[Unlike the Punishment Act, Encounter is a huge opportunity for getting stronger or falling to the bottom of the abyss when one may belong. It forms choices, strategies, and mighty callings and actions onto the Battleworld, giving rise to helpers and chaos]
[It will be the same for you, dear Citizen but the difficulty is set to counterattack your lazy behavior]
[Difficulty isn't set, but the Grade of the Encounter is indicative of the opportunities]
[Current Grade: SS]
[Involvment of God's Wrath could lead to a lot of trouble, so do your best. The opportunities may lead to countless realms of rewards, alongside finishing parts, and secondary, or unrelated objectives]
[Currently, the case for your Encounter is the following]
[Encounters are made into many parts: 1st, 2nd, and so on. Each completion of one part will lead the various Level Ups for any Ability within yourself. A chance for your own Level ups are depending on your achievements and tries, but it stays firm that as long as one survives, the rewards are due]
[Secondly, there is a special rise of a hindrance onto yourself. You will be temporarily unable to achieve major bottlenecks, improvements, and things that one may take to one's advantage, within the specific part of the Encounter]
[Boosts are deactivated]
[Number of parts within Encounter is subjective, hence they vary in a lot of ways, difficulties, reasons, lengths, and so on]
[Opportunity to rise to greater power is huge]
[Think, and use this chance wisely, or give up to die]
[Addition information about your current part is Oppening Act.]
[It is the very grand opening and includes messiahs of the Central Church and a few other potential henchmen. The following Parts aren't usually any easier so do your best]
[Centralis Kingdom discovered your presence, and because they are fearing the Wrath of a God, they decided to be ruthless. Such cases are filled with opportunity and madness]
[Razmund is the whole reason for everything, as his pain, hope, and dreams are to eclipse over the Heavens]
[Your current actions are simple enough, but rewards may be nothing like that in the end. Variables, depending on the fulfilled encounters, and end results of the Encounters will prove to be hard, but rewarding enough afterward]
[Timer of the Encounter as a whole: 30 days to do what Blessed must do, or when the certain Major Objective is fulfilled]
[Your Major Objective: Surivive]
[Reward: Attribute Rise, Levels, new unique species' abilities, or a certain help in Evolution, Blessing, Title]
[Encounter's Parts will have different timers, reasons, tasks, and difficulties]
[There is a special case of available Helpers, varied to individual rules, parts, and decisions stated by individual Parts]
[The current one for your case is simple enough. 1 Helper can be chosen]
[Helper]
[Each figure of this choice will choose a Pledge and will get a reward, and task depending on the part's difficulty, solutions, and overall doneness. It is subjectively decided by the Battleworld what rewards, tasks, and opportunities will be like. It is outside of Blessed influence]
[That's it, dear lazy Citizen]
[Battle to your Wills, quench the opportunities, and fill this Battlewrold with the glory of your victories]
Then, the whole stretch of intent disappeared away, leaving Murai aghast in Lia's surprisingly soft embrace.
Murai heard it all and wasn't upset.
NO!
He was livid.
“W-what... the FUCK!? I was inactive but how else I was supposed to do anything with my broken body? For fuck' sake this dogshit Battleworlds is wiping my asshole with a screwdriver or what in the seventh hell is wrong with it? What kind of reasonable system is that?” Murai cursed, flapping his wings and quacking like a mad duck.
Ceila observed Murai's reaction and understood immediately what was happening. As she knew, it confirmed her guesses of what her Lady sent her by her foretelling.
“I am sorry for that, Murai, but you are already entangled with the force of Gods. Do you want a Helper?” Ceila sent him her words through her Will, smiling at him meaningfully.
Murai heard her cocky words and could perceive her meanings without even looking at her. He was cornered to utterly shitty situations, and there was nothing but helpers who can help him.
“You knew this would happen...” Murai sent her with his Will.
“Maybe. Is escaping possible? I think the Centralis Kingdom won't let you anywhere since their objective must be quite harsh. For you, that is. I think this is also an introduction or an Opening Act to the Encounter. I can't see your case, but I can guess what it can be. Or my Lady knew it? Who knows? Part 1 of the Encounter itself will wait until this is done, I suppose? The true deal is yet to start, as with every Encounter could involve whole countries and kingdoms.” Ceila explained out loud, appearing fine and collected, even though she forgot one important part.
“Whaaat?” Lia looked in surprise around herself and turned Murai to face her face. “You are in bad luck, aren't you?” she smiled, obvious to Murai's livid mind.
It was at this point, that the messiah turned his attention to the new arrivals after he was done beating a knight to oblivion.
“A simple mission, with uncertainty it was. A Giftee's fate it seems. Kekekekekeeeee....” He laughed like a madman, screeching in his voice. His face was seriously lacking any emotions, apart from madness and bloody murder in his eyes.
“Your time to die will happen. Wait a bit.” Ceila stated calmly, figuring that Murai was more important at the moment.
“Of course. Of course.” Messiah said, mumbling some intangible whispers along with it. He clutched his bare fist, walking towards the pair of beauties. “That's the fate of the Giftees such as myself and you. Mere tools, to quench the desires of mighty beings! How fitting is it? ”
“You are nothing like us,” Ceila said, unwavering before such a weakling. This man didn't kill nor destroy her knights. That much, she already guessed, apart from one fact that was yet to hit her head.
There was no Iris and Timmy around. There were not even their corpses.
“Trueeeee... Kekekeke.” Messiah screeched, finding her words rather funny. “Yet you are holding this Giftee's target. Is this a Helper that was included in the motions of the Ignition of the Encounter? You? SUNS? It is a Will of the almighty GOD! Oh, I won't back down! Nononono.” Messiah mumbled, and his face changed.
Smiling wildly like the lunatic he was, he began crying and charging at his foes with the brutality of a religious freak.