They knew they’d be fighting the Boss in an arena, but they didn’t know what they would fight. Having fully recovered in the waiting area, the party eventually stepped through the portal, arriving in the center of a circular one.
Stone tiles covered the ground with a thin layer of dirt and caked on blood, and pillars were interspersed around the outside of the circular arena, providing cover and obstructions. A giant iron gate stood ahead of them, Nick’s party standing in a line side by side facing it.
The gate opened almost immediately, and Jasmine whined. “Aw, I was hoping I’d have some time to set up some webbing.”
She was in her larger half-spider form, ready to use her bulk to aid in tanking and dealing with larger enemies.
What came out of the gate was an assortment of beasts and people. To Nick’s surprise, there was six enemies. Three large beasts looked at about the level of the elite elemental beasts, strange reptiles giving off an energy of strength and power.
They looked a bit like dinosaurs, or as if a lion or wolf were covered in sturdy-looking scales.
An orc covered in armor led the enemy party, his bulk even more substantial than Lothar’s. There was a hobgoblin archer in the back, along with some form of robed caster.
All of the enemies radiated danger, having some form of Concept, a special weight on reality that couldn’t be ignored.
Nick called out the targets. “Jasmine, Fang, and Jasper each take on a reptile. I’ll take on the orc. Ranged, harass the archer and mage and take them down.”
As Nick charged in to meet the orc in battle, Nick stirred his Path of Kings Concept, his Dominion of Frost and Fealty. His Frost Aura washed over the orc and the three large beasts, the mage and archer just out of his range at the rear of the formation.
Ice began to cover the stone tiles, his enemies slowed by the imposing of his will on the battlefield.
While Nick had two Concepts that he could use, he could really only use one at a time, for now. Each took a sort of mental energy to impose his will on the world, a single pool for his usage of Concepts. Using two at the same time was just too challenging for him at the moment, and it was why in most fights he simply used his Heroic Concept. With practice, he just might be able to accomplish using them both, but the Convergence skill was somewhat like a shortcut. He could manage that, he just couldn’t use the two skills in quick succession.
Thankfully, his Frost Aura had special effects, since the Concept was closely tied to it. The chains still appeared whether he used his mental energy or not. However, when he focused on imposing his will, the freezing effect and the capabilities of the chains improved substantially.
The chains grew sturdier and heavier, the ice they were composed of giving off a bone-chilling cold.
The orc tried to resist the effect with his own Concept, roaring as his body bulked up. But Nick’s will was empowered by his allies present. Their loyalty and devotion enhanced his domain, and all who enter it without greatly overpowering Nick and his party would be slowed by his will.
The orc sped up as a result of filling his body with essence and his Concept, but Nick’s domain left him slower and weaker as a result, frost already spreading up from his feet and hands.
And it was the same for the three reptiles, the cold leaving a thin layer of frost across their green scales. They roared with rage as Nick’s allies crashed into them, his more tanky allies meeting them in combat.
The orc wielded a large maul, and with a leap, he brought it down near Nick’s head was. But the orc might as well have been moving in slow motion, as Nick easily stepped out of the way, and slashed with his Soul Blade at the orc’s armored leg. He scored the cut as he rounded, his blade barely piercing the skin beneath the armor.
The maul crashed into the ground hitting nothing, but with a feat of strength, the orc spun and swung the maul at his waist level, trying to cave in Nick’s chest. Getting a feel for the energy the orc was giving off, he thought the Concept was related to some form of physical strength.
Nick leaped over the maul’s swing, and his chains rose up and wrapped around the orc’s body like serpents, coiling around his limbs and linking. The orc’s body began freezing over rapidly as it tried to break its bindings, and Nick was shocked at how effective the chains became as he imposed his will.
One had also gone to each of the reptiles, and he was pulling his weight in his ally’s fights even as he focused on the orc as chains wrapped around a single limb and restricted them.
But the orc drew in essence from the surrounding area, his body covered in a ragelike essence. With a roar, the chains shattered as he spread his arms, and then the orc once again continued his assault against Nick with his maul.
Fang howled as she triggered her own Concept Fragment, and suddenly, Nick was empowered with Luna’s connection. Eirwen’s arrow glittering stardust shot over the party and into the enemy archer, and Nick could feel his body being enhanced by one effect after another.
The orc struggled against Nick’s domain, and while he had removed those chains by shattering them, he was still slowed by the frost–it wasn’t removed by the ability, the enemy still chilled to nearly the bone. Nick had no problems parrying and striking the orc back, cutting through the warrior’s armor and into his flesh, sending more freezing energy inside.
The mage had sent out a blast of flames from his staff, but Luna used her new skill and covered everyone with a flaming shield spell. A beam of light suddenly blasted at Jeffrey, but his body reflected the attack around the reptile she was fighting and into the mage, sending him flying.
As the wounds piled up on the orc and Nick’s allies were proving their superiority, he felt vindication in the choices of his Path. Facing against enemies with Concepts of your own and winning was like proving yourself to the world of Orion itself.
Nick’s domain of Frost and Fealty was inexorable, capable of bringing a cold death to any that stood in his way. Meanwhile, it had controlled the battlefield just as he had hoped, his allies getting advantages against their respective enemies thanks to his Aura. As Nick continued his fight against the orc, he tried to push this feeling into his fighting style.
His father had also utilized a form of control with his style of fighting. Using his will and talent, he guided the enemy’s blade just where he wanted it, a special pull on reality from his Concept.
Nick would accomplish the same, just differently. Through the chains of his loyal brethren and the blistering cold, he would control their actions. Then with his large blade and Archaen superiority, he would dismantle them.
The power of control. In his dominion of frost, none would find an advantage against his family, unless he fell. And as master of the battlefield, enhanced by his loyal subjects and lovers, none could be his match.
Nick and the orc traded blows, Nick coming out on top of each exchange with ease. His body twisted impossibly to dodge, and his counters struck hard and hastened the freezing of the orc’s body. While there was some form of healing effect within the orc from his essence, it wasn’t able to work against the immense cold.
The end was near. The orc roared again, his body bulking further, his essence pushed to his limits. Nick pushed his own essence further, his body bulking up as he met the orc warrior’s attack with his Monstrous Blow. Despite the orc’s Concept of Strength, Nick’s blade met the powerful blow and only got pushed back slightly.
Essence converged around Nick, as he triggered the Grasp of Winter. Chains rose up and twisted into a mighty gauntlet larger than a person, and wrapped around the orc. His body started to freeze over rapidly, but Nick dashed and thrust his blade at the orc, his Soul Blade of white light piercing the restricted orc’s skull.
The orc wasn’t the first to die. Fang and Kaya had worked down one of the reptiles rapidly, and had joined Jasper and Birdy on theirs. It turned out the reptiles had some sort of sharpness Concept, which when added to their claws, made their attacks even more deadly.
But Fang’s ice-covered armor and shield managed to withstand the blows, regrowing any ice lost. And Kaya’s axes, powered by her own sharpness Concept, cut through the slowed creature’s frozen limb, debilitating it.
Sable had hunted the archer, eventually using her wraith form and bursting out of the shadows and wounding him significantly with her shadow-covered spear. Irene and Rebecca had each blasted him and the mage with their light of wisdom, Luna and Eirwen harassing them with ranged spells.
All had used their Concepts or Convergence skills, pitting them against the enemy’s Concepts. His girls were all Tested, taking down their challenging enemies.
[Challenge Complete. Reward: Boss Essence, Personalized rewards for each party member.]
[Personal Reward: Blade Soulforge: Spirit Forge Unlocked.]
[Majority of Boss Essence to be sent to Concept Chamber for all members with one assigned. Rest period of 4 hours granted for recovery.]
A new gate had opened up on one of the walls, which at a glance, Nick could see brought them back to the same rest area as before. As for the Boss Essence, only Jeffrey and Irene hadn’t been allocated a Concept Chamber as of yet, and so they were cultivating their essence presently. Nick and the girls all received some, but it wasn’t all that substantial, and wouldn’t take them long to consume it.
The Spirit Forge was a welcome addition. In a way, it was like being granted 5,000 DP as a reward, as that was the cost of the addon for his Blade Soulforge. After witnessing his father’s spirit in their duel, he had of course looked into it.
Using the spirit forge, he could slowly coax a spirit to live within the focus, and shape its existence with his will and efforts. Then, once the spirit was ready, it would need to be awakened using the Awakening Array.
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In a way, this was akin to creating a life. But it was like the life of a golem or automaton, a spirit that embodied whatever he hammered into his focus. Eventually, that spirit could become sapient and sentient, but at first, the spirit’s perception of the world of Orion would be quite limited.
This would allow him to focus his essence and mana within his Soul Blade to embody his Path nearly at the level of a Concept. His Essence Burst was like raw power focused into a beam of light. This would allow him to focus his essence directly into a being that embodied his Dominion of Frost and Fealty, and aid him in battle in more unique ways.
Looking over his party, Nick was happy to see everyone looking over their gains in their hands, with more than a little pride and excitement. His beast and monsterfolk wives’ tails were all wagging or swaying, and Rebecca and Irene’s wings were fluttering.
Jeffrey stared mutely at a shield with reflective properties, and Nick thought it was strange. His impression from his Monsterfolk Empathy seemed to gather that it was crying tears of joy. Just why? His body already did that.
Most received upgraded weapons, and Nick was satisfied with the result. He had previously changed the loot focus of the Ordeal to skills, but realized that this was a waste before they entered for this run.
A majority of the skills earned outside Classes were not that valuable for the elites of Orion, such as his party. They would be better served by creating their own skills by mastering their essence and auras instead.
As an example, Nick had nearly mastered jumping on air, removing the need to use the skill, Double Jump. He currently needed the effect from his cloak to aid him. But soon, he’d be able to accomplish it all on his own, without finding and using the skill called [Air Walk].
When he managed the feat, he would be so much better off–as he’d be easier able to tune the skill and use it in different ways, including scaling it well beyond its original usage easier. In addition, the efficiencies of cost versus performance would be significant.
It was because of that, that he removed the individual floor rewards to enhance personalized rewards from the Boss floors or on Exit. It was like pooling all the rewards into a single, more powerful reward, rather than one for each floor. Of course, it was abnormal to do much more than five floors on a single run, especially in the second stratum. In the third stratum, it would be more common to do a single floor, two if the Ordeal balanced or tuned the challenge based around endurance or similar.
Eirwen received a ring, which the Orion system identified as a [Talisman of the Spirits].
She looked at it with wonder on her finger, her eyes lighting up as she tried to reach out to the elements. “I like this. It seems it helps me connect with spirits of all types. I can even feel Luna’s totems better now.”
Luna received a block of rare wood, which she could carve into a new, special totem. Nick didn’t know a lot about it, but the more magical the wood, the more powerful of a spirit that could live inside, and thus the more spells or effects she might be able to call upon.
Fang received a new spear, its jagged tip giving off frost energy. Because of her short stature, it more looked like a pike, but ultimately, the spear was only a little longer than average for someone of Nick’s height.
Irene received an odd tome. At first glance, it seemed a lot like the tomes they had used to train their auras. But instead, with mana infused inside, it created a defensive aura. A small bubble would shimmer around them that reduced incoming damage for party members slightly–like a weak version of Eirwen’s Omnibarrier, that refreshed rapidly.
She flipped through the pages. “I love it. It’s even got useful knowledge on auras inside!” Irene beamed, hugging the tome to her chest.
Jasmine hummed, looking at her new spear. “Hmm, it takes my petrasilk and light essence well.” She shifted it to be covered in stone, and it began emitting light. “Not bad. It’s not a big deal, but it’ll allow me to be more frugal with my Nexus Core’s essence.”
Sable too received a spear compatible with her iceshadow, and Kaya obtained a wicked axe. Rebecca, oddly, received a replacement gem for her staff.
At the tip of the Bishop’s old staff, was a gem of light and darkness, a strange pearl with a smoky haze.
When she tried to channel her faith energy into it, since she was lacking darkness, it seemed there was a detriment to her skills and spells, making it harder or take longer for her to finish her attacks–even the Holy Blow she’d been using. Despite that, such a unique and rare staff, made of superior materials, was still worthwhile to use, so she had continued using it.
With the replacement gem, it was likely to have a significant effect. Now, she could properly use it to speed up her buildup of certain spells, like the Light of Wisdom.
She was holding the gem in her hand, looking over it. “What should I do with the old gem? It seems special.” Rebecca asked.
Nick could feel how special the gem was, and it called to him. “Let’s see if Lumos can do anything with it, but we could just hang onto it. You never know, it might become useful later for you.”
Rebecca looked doubtful. “But…it’s darkness. I’ll never have any of that.”
“Maybe you won’t, but I have it, and you’re connected to me now–forever. You never know.” Nick teased.
Rebecca blushed, her wings fluttering. “F-Forever…” She seemed to enjoy the reminder of their Pact.
He kissed her on the cheek, and that started a cascade of Nick needing to give out head pats and kisses to the rest of his girls, a line forming, the girls all celebrating their victory with Nick.
“You girls all did great. All of you are able to stand strong on your own. You too, Jeffrey. I saw you get in the face of that archer with your shields. Good work.”
Jeffrey buzzed in response, but Nick could tell he was very proud, somehow.
Jasmine towered over him, and he flinched in response. “Yeah, good job, Jeffrey. You’ve been doing very well in your duties. I’m proud of you.”
Jeffrey buzzed a response, but now, it seemed worried somehow.
Kaya looked between the two of them. “What’s the deal with him? Why is he scared of you?”
Rebecca frowned. “I know he’s not the only one, too. Supposedly, others have noticed that all the beetlefolk try to avoid her now.”
Jasmine snorted. “I may have gone a little…tough love on the beetlefolk in the Path of Kings Ordeal. The Ordeal also seemed to get a little mad at me since I was carrying them so hard, so I was forced to… improvise with a little friendly fire. My beams of light attacks may have struck them a bit, in order to kill all the enemies sometimes. These guys were sturdy, and I helped heal them up afterward… anyway, I wasn’t all that mean, it’s just, these beetlefolk were a little cowardly and do not do well with stress, I guess. So when I dragged some of them through the last few stages of the Ordeal… literally, a few of them got a little…traumatized.”
Nick was more than a little shocked, hearing this. “A little traumatized? You didn’t know what was happening to them?”
Jasmine shook her head. “I really didn’t mean to! They are your precious subjects, how could I wish them harm? I mostly have a watered-down version of your Monsterfolk Empathy. I could tell they weren’t happy with how hard I was pushing them, but I had believed it was for their own good. It wasn’t until we got out that I realized how bad it was, for some of them. Jeffrey here was one of the worst, but it actually made him stronger. He wanted to be safe from my beams of light so bad, his body changed in response! That’s amazing.”
Jeffrey had a thousand eye, thousand yard stare into the distance as his body shook. He clutched his new shield with reverence, as if it would somehow protect him from Jasmine.
In all, what Jasmine said was all true. In truth, it wouldn’t be possible for her to intentionally be so hateful and torturous to another Pacter that it would traumatize them, as that would be a form of betrayal. It seemed she really stretched the limits of the Soul Pact, however.
Jasmine sighed, addressing Jeffrey, who was shivering at her gaze. “I’m sorry, Jeffrey. I’ll make it up to you and your people, I promise.” She turned to Nick. “I felt bad, so I’ve given them tons of essence pearls and delivered them plenty of food, all from my personal efforts–it’s why I took so long to arrive at Silverbrook! All that hunting I do hasn’t been just for me, but for them too. And it has had some positive effects. Some of them have become very motivated, even if it’s just to overcome my tyranny.” She chuckled. “I’ve tried to be nice to all of them, but it feels like they are just waiting for the other shoe to drop, perhaps imagining what would happen if I got them alone in the Ordeal again. But the truth is, I can’t even drag them like I did before anymore, now that I know.”
“Damn. Well, it’s good that you’re trying to make things right… Maybe when they can communicate better, you can give them a real apology and sort this out.”
The party finished absorbing the Boss Essence, and Nick reached the 16th level. As Lord, a large portion of the essence from their overall run would be waiting for him back in his Concept Chamber. That would allow him to refine his Frost Core further and improve his two Concepts alike.
While the essence he received was enough to move forward, it was not quite perfect for his now diverse needs–a core and two complicated Concepts. If he rushed through the levels too fast without spending some time on his Throne, his foundations would be harmed for when he attempted to ascend to the next stratum.
And it was the same for Jasmine. Because her progression was focused on the Nexus Core, she would need to wait to return to her Concept Chamber to level up at all. Even refilling it with pure light energy for her Concept’s usage was difficult here in the Ordeal, taking special resources. Only the Boss Essence could really be used to recharge it, hence why she had been frugal about using her beams of light.
But she was also holding back for another reason. As it stood now, Jasmine was stronger than the rest of their party, even Nick. And it wasn’t just because her petrasilk body was large and strong, or her webbing was overpowered. As soon as she had properly synchronized with her Nexus Core, she was able to manifest her will, demonstrating her mastery over her light Concepts that was far above their current stratum.
She held back because if she just blasted everything dead with light rays of death, then Nick and everyone would not be Tested. Not only that, but if she carried them in this way, just who knows what the Keeper might do to try to scale the challenge? There was no such thing as a free lunch when it came to the Ordeal, to be rewarded for the opportunities it provided required people to take appropriate risks.
This was likely why the Ordeal got mad at Jasmine, for carrying the beetlefolk through. It scaled up the Tests so that while she was carrying everyone, they were appropriately put in danger. From the sound of it, Jasmine was swarmed with so many enemies that she had to ignore line of sight in order to kill them all, injuring those she was protecting–becoming the danger.
It was for that reason that Jasmine would only use her full power if Nick was at risk of dying. Apparently, up to now, she had only used the beams of light without even infusing her Concept into it, with few exceptions. With how strong her beams already were, the thought was rather chilling.
This made him feel even better about dealing with Blackthorne in the future, but she was not at her full strength even still. In the second stratum, it was only possible to reach the middle mastery, at least with a singular concept. With her talent, she could probably blend more than one, however.
She could actually exceed this middle mastery limitation for a singular attack thanks to her true mastery, but it would shatter her Nexus Core. Whatever power she was able to accomplish, it would only be for a brief instant, unless they reached the third stratum themselves.
Thankfully, Eirwen who was stuck for now would have much of her earned essence stored in her chamber as well, as she elected to do so before they entered. There was a limit to how much could be stored within her chamber, but once she was ready to proceed with her Class, she should catch up rapidly. Especially with Nick’s Essence Sharing that he provided his wives, which helped keep their progress relatively even as he desired it.
After resting up for a time in the lounging area, they were eventually ready to continue.
Nick stood up and addressed the party. “So now it’s time for the second stretch of the Ordeal. We’ve made excellent time, but who knows what’s going to come up next. Each level will make a big difference in Frosthaven’s potential and make our future run simpler, so let’s do the best we can.”