“The next round… Perception!” Nem announced. “30 seconds~”
No one within the party raised their hands, not for several moments until Basem did so reluctantly.
“Easy order then. Go whenever you want.” Donny encouraged.
“Do you have a ticket?” Shin asked.
“...yeah…”
“Okay.”
Recognizable figures appeared in victory one after the other. Lu Kang, the enigmatic madman Xerxes, Cairo, the blind swordsman of the Saba, Wumei, and Suyin. A boy not much older than Basem named Jima Taejo sparked a reaction in Mujin’s expression, as did an old man bearing the same surname.
Kanda Igarashi won the 8th and the party’s eyes started to turn to Basem, who seemed to be struggling in his mind. But on the 9th, he used his lone silver ticket immediately and came face to face with a prideful fellow archer, one of legendary tier and murim name Bai Lu. Basem struggled and the Lu archer’s prideful expression started to drop and tense. Like a wild beast, Basem thrashed for survival, his legs started to buckle but at the last, the other gave out first and Basem returned.
“Nicely done, younger.” Donny complimented as the last of the category came to a battle. Rama Pandava facing off against a known participant from the previous rounds, one that didn’t make that much of an impact.
“You could run away again.” Miguel taunted the Pandavas archer. “It’s okay to doubt yourself. Maybe you’re not enough.”
Rage filled Rama’s face as the battle began. Both of their expressions tensed in equal but opposite fierceness. Static burst in the air around them as both started to feel the weight of defeat. Closer and closer they sank to it, equally matched. But doubt crept into Rama’s mind. Doubt turned to fear and fear turned to weakness, and Miguel prevailed. Donny glanced over to Kamala though by her indifference it didn’t seem he needed to worry.
“Dexterity!”
Karla, Mujin, and Ashley raised their hands.
“We can just go whenever, right?” Ashley mischievously asked Karla.
“Okay~”
“Is that fine, Mujee? You’re not scared, are you?”
“It’s fine!” Mujin shifted away from Ashley, somewhat flustered underneath the outburst and determination.
“Kay, then~”
“Begin!”
Ashley beat Karla to the punch, appearing on the stage before a boulder of a man who sneered at his lesser known opponent. The pale girl returned an ecstatic welcoming smile and the man was no more. She returned to the booth and Karla took her place, killing her own opponent in an instant.
A string of intimidating figures took the stage one after the other. Leon Moore, Titon Saba, Lu Kang, Genjiro Igarashi. A herculean figure with long red hair followed, the fourth rank Attila Atreus, his performance just as dominant as those before but an air lingered around him of something greater.
Mujin watched with hesitation, preservation waging war against his resolve. But the appearance of a Gunjin Taejo forced his doubts away, and he put in everything he had. An elder of the Narmer stood calm and unwavering. Mujin steeled himself and it was almost not enough. A long tense battle waged before the proclaimant of the Cheon name stood victorious. He returned with labored breath as the final winner Suyin Hua ended the section.
“Agility!”
Karla, Ashley, and after a brief pause, Mujin showed their desire once again. A repeat of the previous round began with minor changes. The winners joining the two dangerous women being Leon, Attila, Suyin, Genjiro, Bando, Renzo, and Xerxes. Mujin fared no easier than before but he prevailed all the same.
“Big up.” Donny encouraged the exhausted spearman.
“Constitution!”
Karla and Donny signalled their participation this time. “Just go whenever.” The grand knight offered.
Leon and Bando beat her to the punch, equally as willing to match with anyone, but she got her chance on the third, coming face to face with the champion of the Pandavas, the gallant crusader Chandra.
“I give.” Tension faded in an instant as the paladin yielded leisurely, only to return the next turn and dominant his battle.
Following them were Eskender, his son Titon, and Shin’s second eldest brother Yugo, all dominant in victory. Donny like Mujin, put all he had down and came face to face with a scion of the Pendragons, arrogant and grand. Donny pulled him down from an honorable duel to a lowborn dogfight and beat him to death.
“That was the crown prince.” Kamala informed.
“He fought like one.”
The final two turns ended as they spoke, the winners two relatively unknowns. One man towering over six feet tall with dark skin, clean shaven with a bald fade, and a boisterous personality within the armor of a knight. The other a badly scarred man with black hair and heavy armor, who Shin had long forgotten. Both won without issue.
“Vitality!”
Only Donny and Karla signalled again, both winning with greater ease this time. Joining them among the victors were Leon, Attila, Genjiro, Bando, Renzo, Ruin, Richard and another baring the Pendragon name called Darius, with golden eyes instead of the typically blue or gray, and as laidback and sleazy as he was dominant.
“Spirit!”
Shin, Dante, and for the first time Kamala made their participation known. Sereth was the fastest yet again and once more claimed her prize without contest. Dante and Kamala each found their way through the sea of titans, though Shin simply waited. Zerah, Yasunori, Amadeus, a young red haired man from the Rhun, and Leon for the fifth time in a row. Yuna appeared 9th and won her battle and Shin finally acted, his opponent retiring for the final turn.
“Strength!”
Donny and Karla teamed up once again. Though, the first to move hinted at the level of competition to come. Leon Moore took the stage, calm and casual, as though nothing could or has ever fazed him.
“Fucking protagonist…” Yen cursed as the Spellsword won his sixth straight Great Attribute.
Karla won next with as much ease as ever and Donny seemed to be hitting a stride as he broke through a powerhouse from the Minamoto. Familiar names accompanied them as seemed to be the trend. Genjiro, Bando, Titon, Chandra, Yugo, and Richard.
“Force!”
Yen took a breath, the anxiety having building steadily since the final round began. Kamala signalled and she followed suit, a messy cluster of nerves and resolve. Sereth moved first once again, and the priestess after, their dominant victories doing little to set her mind at ease. Yasunori, Rhun Prince, and Chandra made appearances once again, but new faces entered the fray. Raina, princess of the Rhun who Shin met in the second stage. Micah, ever foreboding. And a young man who looked to be around Shin’s age, Nagi Kamo. Leon emerged in the 10th to claim his seventh attribute against an unwilling opponent.
“Willpower!”
The last and final round of the Attributes. Only Shin motioned to enter, and everyone else sent him their remaining tokens. But as he had done with Spirit, he only waited. Sereth faced off against Zerah Saba, who reluctantly retired and returned the next turn as if to prove herself. Yasunori, Amadeus, his mother Kurenai Igarashi, Ruin, Micah. All winners passed by but still he waited.
Nagi Kamo entered and won the 8th and finally Yuna claimed the 9th. Shin did not tense nor prepare himself. He simply challenged faster than anyone. Though with greatest bid of the auction so far at 157 million tokens, there were few who could even try. The two faced off against each other in silence, casual and unbending in their own ways. And the crowd held their breath.
“I guess I quit.” An utterly nonchalant sentence from Leon cut all the tension away and he vanished back to his booth. Grace, Suyin, and Thief Girl among his party, accompanied by new faces in Larper and Nagi.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Why did you do that? You would’ve won.” Nagi’s words were laced with disappointment, having known Leon for a short time but long enough to know what he could do. His words parroted by a less mature Ti in the background.
“Who knows…” Leon’s tone was unbothered but that did not dampen the shock of his teammates. “I didn’t like either end.”
In the silence of this booth, Shin returned to his own comrades, though none had time to speak.
“So anticlimactic…” Nem sighed. “It was the perfect finale to end with a bang, too. What is Ate doing…? Well, no matter. Worthless as you are, you’ve served your purpose. I guess I can grant you a small gift. There is no limit to the people invited to a booth. Enjoy~”
Shin was immediately flooded with tens of thousands of notifications and dismissed them all without a glance. Everyone in the party seemed to have invites of their own, Kamala most of all, but no one responded to any. A single invite reclaimed Shin’s attention, from none other than Sereth. He tilted his head in thought for a few moments, then dismissed, deciding to postpone their reunion. Elsewhere in another booth, Sereth smiled knowingly, for the mere few seconds Shin took to consider her.
Jean, Mujin, and Basem looked in front of themselves for longer, with a consideration that seemed to surpass mere invitations.
“You guys get offers from gods?” Yen deduced.
“Seems so…”
“You only get one chance with each batch and there’s a lot of trash, so make sure you pick a good one. Get a Greater Blessing, nothing less.”
Each three considered Yen’s words and made their decisions on their own time, Mujin the last, but all briefly paused and came back with a different air about them.
“So, who are they?”
“Serpent of False Mysteries.” Jean was the first to answer. Yen looked over to Kamala.
“I am unfamiliar.”
“Third Lotus Prince.” Mujin’s tone was not one particularly happy, rather slightly annoyed about something.
“Oh, I know that one!” Yen exclaimed. “Why aren’t you happy?”
Mujin refrained from answering so attention fell on the young hunter, who very much was reluctant to answer.
“Come on, out with it.”
“...the out…law, of… serwood, forest…” He spoke uncomfortable, with building frustration.
“Sherwood?” Kamala asked.
“Yeah!” Basem seemed to want to end the conversation more than actually being certain of the accuracy.
“...leader of the merry men?” Jean supposed to the others.
Kamala opened her mouth but no words came out. “It seems so.”
“How is he a god? That’s not even mythology…”
“Folklore.” Kamala stipulated. “As we have two within the party, it seems they are largely relevant as well.”
"Just so we're all on the same page, Lord of Slaughter, Master of the Great Land, Falcon of Two Horizons, Maiden of the Midsummer Lake, Mercenary Queen, King of Stories, complete fucking mystery." Donny spoke up as he pointed to himself, Shin, Yen, Kamala, Karla, Dante, and finally Ashley.
"Reveal yours." Mujin demanded of the pine green haired girl.
"No~"
As they spoke another invite came for Shin, this one from Yuna. Shin dismissed it immediately, knowing full well it was at the behest of the clan, and sent her one instead. Yuna appeared in the center of the room in an elegant modest dress adorned with a few items and trinkets. She glanced across the room gracefully and naturally enough that it sparked no offense.
“It’s good to see you again. I’m glad you’re well.” She greeted Kamala.
“Likewise.”
She turned to Shin. “Have you found what you want?”
“Not yet.”
“I see. I’m sure it won’t be much longer.”
“Yeah.”
Another invite appeared before him, this one from a certain Daphne Rhun. Shin thought for a moment and remembered the little blue haired girl from the first stage. Without warning, he moved from his booth to one filled with several hundred, most of similar complexion, arranged formation as though awaiting his arrival.
He spotted Daphne a bit to the side at the front of the group and waved. A bit nervous and worried, her face brightened a little at Shin’s slight smile and acknowledgment. A good thing, Shin thought. He hadn’t really cared to answer the invitation but she might have been sad if he didn’t. Just behind the girl, he noticed someone else from the past. A steely woman with light brown skin and short dark brown hair with orange eyes.
“Garrison leader.”
“Chavez.”
“I know.”
There was no offense in her tone, simply stating her name for him bluntly, though it wouldn’t have had an effect on him even it there had been.
Raina, seated at the front as the center of importance, cleared her throat. “Thank you for answering our invitation. I will avoid wasting your time. Will you consider joining the Rhun?”
“No.” A simple and immediate response.
“Such disrespect!” A fat middle aged man shouted at her side, the same from the town in the second stage and who Shin had taken his Greater Spirit trait from.
“Uncle.” Raina admonished.
But the veins in his balding head bulged as he continued red in the face. “Not even a shred of courtesy-!”
“Silence!” Raina snapped and the aging man was forced to swallow the rest of his words. She gathered herself, unable to hide her agitation as she faced Shin. “I apologize for my uncle’s rudeness.”
“It’s fine.”
Raina almost sighed with relief. “...how about an alliance of sorts? We could help each other out in some capacity.”
“Okay.” Shin guessed that was fine.
“Then, we are allies.” Her tone was one of rising excitement and celebration.
“Yeah. Bye.” Shin left as abruptly as he arrived.
“He certainly is interesting…” Grifflet, the prince of the Rhun who made his appearance in the Great Attribute bids, broke the silence, his mood relaxed.
“He is a lowborn wretch!” Meirchion roared. “A fiend! Our noble house should not associate with the likes of such things!”
“He is the top ranked player, a friendly relation is to our benefit!” Raina shouted back fiery words as her temper flared. “Uncle, you will listen to my commands until my parents are found.”
“...of course, princess.” The old man controlled himself without appearing weak suspiciously easily. A thorn in the back of her mind, and worse still aggravation that caused ripples within their house. Raina sent out another invitation to her mother and father, not knowing whether they were received or not, and hoped silently they would be found soon, before it was too late. For her house’s and her sister’s sake, she hoped at least one of them still lived.
Back in the party’s booth, a brief silence took hold as Shin disappeared, but that lasted no time at all. “I am not sure if Shin has already mentioned it, so allow me to introduce myself. Yuna Igarashi. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Talks about you a lot actually.” Donny said.
A warm smile took Yuna’s face. “Is that so?”
“Probably because you don’t treat him like shit all the time.” Yen butted in with a somewhat hostile tone, not even attempting to put on her persona. “What’s wrong with your family? Everyone keeps calling him a demon.”
Yuna’s expression mellowed. “It’s not literal.”
“Yeah, no shit, I’m almost entirely sure he’s just a normal psycho. But they act like dicks even when he’s being nice.”
“Shin is hard to understand… Most in the clan don’t spend enough time with him to know better. But I see he’s found people who will stay with him.” Yuna smiled.
Yen was a bit taken back by the directness, slightly embarrassed even. “Well, yeah, we’re pretty great.”
“Basically saints.” Donny jabbed.
“Shin said not to fight you.” Karla spoke up, staring with a cheery smile. “Are you strong?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Other two?”
“Shoko and Fuyumi, I presume?”
“Yeah.”
“Not especially.”
The amazon seemed to lose interest.
“Who are they?” Yen asked.
“His nurses.”
“Was he actually sick?”
“Not conventionally.”
“Hmm… I thought it was only you, but I guess he has three people other there he loves.”
Yuna went silent for a brief moment, her expression unchanged. “My brother doesn’t love or hate anyone.”
“...huh?”
Shin popped back into his chair unceremoniously.
“Sereth?” Yuna asked.
“Rhun.”
“...are you still interested in them?”
“No.”
“I see… It’s about time I return. Take care of yourself.”
“You too.”
Yuna smiled and teleported away.
“Hey…” Shin’s face made Yen change her mind about what she was going to say. “...heard a little about your past. You spend a lot of time with your hot nurses?”
“Yeah.” Something about the casual way Shin answered annoyed Yen.
“It’s been fun chatting and all, but we should start talking about the team.” Donny brought the topic to the forefront. “This is the party, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright. Ten is a lot, so we should practice how to fight all together soon.”
“We need a name first.” Yen interrupted.
“Wouldn’t say that’s the first priority.”
“Shut up. We finally have a real party, it’s time for a real name.”
“Guessing you’ve got a suggestion.”
Yen smiled, eagerness and pride obvious in the seconds she waited for the build up. “Chimera.”
Silence greeted her.
“Fuck you!” She yelled, indignant and a bit embarrassed. “It’s perfect, this party’s a bunch of psychos and weirdos all mixed into one monster that’s mostly evil. Chimera!”
“Yeah, I hear you. Any other ideas?” Donny asked the others.
“There’s no other fucking ideas!”
“Monster~”
“Evil~”
Karla and Ashley chimed in, one less sincerely than the other.
“Psychos and Weirdos…” Jean casually leaned his head away from the piece of armor Yen threw at him.
“Scouts don’t get a fucking opinion!” Karla was being mostly genuine, Yen was confident in, and Ashley was mostly crazy, but Jean was purely fucking with her.
“Oi, this is an equal organization, Scout can say whatever he wants.”
“Shut up!” Yen was truly frustrated, enough to consider throwing fireballs. She was completely serious about the name. That it not only wasn’t praised, but they were making fun of her just got under skin.
“Chariot.”
Yen looked over to source of the single casual word, the party’s frontman himself, who seemed to be casually scrolling through his status. The sound of the word lingered in her mind, and she sat with it. The more she considered, the more she liked it.
“That’s pretty good…”
“All in favor.” Donny took the opportunity presented. Everyone raised their hands or voiced approval, Yen included. “Alright. We’re Chariot now. Introductions first then. I know we saw everybody’s name already, but formalities and such.”
Shin looked up at the mention of names.
“Shin.”
[Human Invoker (legendary) - Greater Lord]
“Karla~”
[Human Amazon (legendary) - Greater Lord]
“Donny Knox.”
[Human Grand Knight (epic) - Greater Lord]
“Ashley Gray~”
[Human Reaper (legendary) - Greater Lord]
“Dante Williams.”
[Human Runic Charlatan (legendary) - Greater Lord]
“Cheon Mujin!”
[Human Sohei (epic) - Greater Lord]
“Kamala…”
[Human Pagan (legendary) - Greater Lord]
“Jean-Jacques Dumas.”
[Human Puppeteer (epic) - Greater Lord]
“...Basem.”
[Human Hunter (epic) - Greater Lord]
Yen postured grandly and more enthusiastically than anyone, deliberately waiting to be last. “Yenny Phoenix.”
[Human Pyromancer (epic) - Greater Lord]
A chime flowed through the stage followed by Nem’s voice. “That’s the end of the show~ Did you get stronger? Did you find good parties and guilds? Remember, you’re all still worthless. Don’t get conceited, you upstarts~ Well, it doesn’t matter to me anymore. But do still try to make it entertaining.”
The theater rumbled as Nem’s expression sharpened, like a monster who found a new toy. “See you on the other side~”
Space collapsed around them and the newly minted party of ten found themselves before a dungeon in the middle of a forest. The past day had been rife with danger and thrills but none among them showed any wear or a desire to stop.
“So what’s our next move?” Yen looked to Shin. “You need more souls right?”
“Later.” Shin glanced around with prismatic eyes. “We need items.”