Benjamin – Aico’Ter – Delta Zone#3 Level 80 – 99
You have entered Delta Zone#3 Level 80 – 99
Willing away the notification I’m greeted by a not too dissimilar white bedrock from whence I came.
However when one of me assesses the rest of my surrounds illuminated by a pale green light, from far far above, the world slows as I find myself surrounded.
To colloquially describe what I face on all sides, the phrase that first springs to a mind is ‘Greek heaven’.
Another of me labels it a ‘legion of Octo-peeps’.
Yet to be truly definitive of my foes we must start with the word innumerable and while there would obviously be a quantifiable amount, all of me doubt I would get done counting their specific number before the time for action came.
Next we would use the word 'Ac’ladian’s'.
Again this would do justice to a majority of their number as they conform to what I have previously encountered. However there are a few notable exceptions to the norm, though they are undoubtedly of the same genus, the exceptions seem to fall into two different categories.
The first are like a shark, a human and an octopus walked into a bar and said at the same time ‘let’s have a mutant baby and while we’re at it, let’s make it the size of a fucking house!’.
The shark was generous enough to provide its menacing jaws and trunk like torso, the human decided that giving them eyes and a hand was not enough and threw in a pair of muscular arms as well. Yet the human in question seemed to have forgotten that they were supposed to have five digits a piece as opposed to three provided.
When it came to the Octopuses turn, it decided to provide the traditional 8 legs but throw in wicked looking hooks in place of where the suckers where supposed to be, because it probably deigned in all its world cup prognosticative wisdom that suckers are for…well…suckers.
The second of the exceptions are only slightly larger than their multitudinous white spear wielding brethren, with the most notable difference being their visibly palpitating craniums that release pulses of orange light, in time with their rhythmic undulations.
As if their mesmerizing heads were not enough to unsettle my enhanced loins, instead of wielding white pointy coral things, they have black (presumably coral) staffs, topped with glowing orange orbs, that pulse in unison with their noggins.
Thankfully the couple of thousand of the Octo-house-sharks, sit behind the hundreds and thousands of Ac’ladian Vanguard that sprinkle my vision. Behind them the couple of hundred Octo-disco-dudes float ominously in the acidic pseudo brine that is probably their front lawn.
Now if all that cephlipodery wasn’t enough to give me at least a collective moment of pause, I have yet to mention the leviathan in the not room. Because like all situations that look like there are about to go tits up, my minds have the unerring ability to save the worst for last.
Also because I’m ashamed to admit, I almost universally kinda missed it because of its sheer level of 'what the fuckery'.
And when we say leviathan.
We fucking mean it.
Not ‘Oh look it’s a whale that’s the size of a couple of buses, let’s call it a leviathan!’ type deal.
No.
This acidic son of a sea bitch does not just look imposing because of some refractive trick of the acid soup I’m macerating in.
Nein.
It’s because the Octo-house-sharks are about the size of one of the smaller suckers at the end of its glacially drifting tentacles.
When it comes to the actual physiology of the thing, well there is certainly octopus in there somewhere as evidenced by the tentacles and I would say there are eight but I’ll be damned if I can even make out two and a bit from my puny vantage point.
The next on the ‘what the ever loving shit is that’ highlight reel is it’s eye.
Normally when it comes to intelligent species I would be using the plural, but no, it’s just one and its red. Not the angry inflamed red from too much chlorine in the pool type deal either, but more along the lines of; ‘oh hey it’s the blood moon, oh nah wait it’s just Octo-Leviathan’s angry glowing eye, sizing me up for fucking din dins!’.
The eye itself sits in the middle of the things midnight black skin that is decorated with these weird spiraling red circles, that I’m sure is some sort of interesting pattern, but the fucker is just so ginormous that I’m certain my not so feeble minds can only see about a quarter of his horrific magnificence.
So like any demi-god fearing post human, I collectively finish sizing up my opponent’s frankly absurd army and begin to crouch down in preparation to take out the big guy first. That's right about when one of the Octo-disco-dudes teleports in front of the countless legions of Ac’ladian’s with a flash of orange energy slowly dissipating around him.
Halting my impending rampage, a me notes that the things silver eyes begin to glow red and narrows our eyes in suspicion at what could potentially be a telegraph of a superman-esque eyebeam attack.
However contrary to my unanimous expectations, the thing begins to speak with it’s unsettling mouth in a far too bass rumble.
“WHAT SPUME DARES ENCROACH INTO MY DEPTHS?”
Collectively relaxing slightly as it seems that the ultra violence isn’t going to kick off just yet, a me tries the peaceful explorer card.
“My name is Benjamin, I come in peace...If you don't mind me asking though, Who…or what am I speaking to?”
A tectonic rumble sounds from the direction Octo-Leviathan inhabits and I instinctively tense for an attack as I count three heartbeats before the Octo-disco-dude replies.
“COWER LIMB DEFICIENT, FOR I AM AC’LADION! RULER OF AICO’TER AND ITS MANY DEPTHS!”
Then all of me feel a tickling sensation within my minds before it vanishes as quickly as we'd become aware of it only to leave me with an informative notification:
You have resisted Lesser Subjugate Mind.
Almost at the same time, the orange strobing of the lone Octo-disco-dude at the forefront of the Ac’ladian host, stuttered in his rhythmic palpitation and lost the glowing red hue in it's silvery eyes. Then as one, a weird kind of ripple went through his allies as they all suffered some form of spasm before regaining their briney composure.
A sound like a foghorn but turned up to eleven, reverberates through everything before there was a rush of water, trying to pull me toward the arrayed cephalopods. Casting a precautionary half strength [Lesser Increase Gravity] on myself, I watched as the army of Ac’ladian’s were chaotically dragged toward what was presumably their overlord, as the leviathan like existence curled in on itself.
Once the brief sea wide current ceased a few heartbeats later, the multi-mountain sized monster unfurled its partially discernable tentacles and released a stream of bubbles whilst the ground itself juddered.
My attention snapped back to the loner at their front as his eyes began to glow red whilst he rumbled.
“ABOMINATION!”
Then the giant tentacle of the Octo-Leviathan moved, sweeping uncaringly though its gathered minions like they were grains of sand before a tentacle come shovel, as it swung inexorably towards us.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Grinning as I was once more in familiar territory, a me protested in mock indignation.
“Rude!”
Just before two of me shot me like a missile that broke the laws of physics by releasing consecutive concussive waves of force as it went toward the oncoming mountain of cephalopod. One of me fervently pointed out that we could finally get to use [Predictive Pondering] upon a worthy foe as I passed through the recently recovered Octo-Disco-Dude rending him in twain with my skull alone:
You have slain Initiate Ac’ladian Malifier level 99, unable to gain further experience due to Phase 1 level limitation.
19,603 Manamotes acquired from Ac'ladian Malifier.
Parasitic Mutator trait activated, do you wish to absorb Lesser Mental Surrogate trait y/n? 4 minutes 59 seconds remaining.
Instantly willing away the notifications, I was collectively nearing the front lines and just figured out the order of skills to unleash on the thing when I reached it when I felt like I had just reached the end of an extremely long bungee jump and was enveloped by blue white light.
The all too uncomfortable feeling of being stretched and drawn in ways that were hard to define, time began to lose all meaning. The next thing any of me were aware of, was tearing through something that felt like a piece of paper and continued on into something that had the feel of cotton wool.
Completely opposed to the tactile sensations however was the *CRACK*ing and *RUMBLE*ing sounds that accompanied them:
You have entered Citadel #1 ‘Keep Out!’.
One of me starts to piece together what probably happened as another of me checks that my everything is still connected, whilst the last me opens my mouth to start sharing expletives with the world at large only to receive a mouth full of dirt for its efforts.
Activating a 1.5meter diameter [Lesser Dimensional Portal] just bellow me, with the destination point being near the ceiling of the insertion chamber, I fall unceremoniously with the surrounding earth for a traveling companion as we both plummet to the rooms whit floor. Managing to save some face I close the portal before more earth decides it wants to join me, and impact the floor with a dull *Thud* before a me takes in my recently redecorated inordinately expensive room.
Finding Gérard cowering off to one side I’m hardly surprised, however what does catch me off guard is his daughter and her golden glowing shield as she stands protectively in front of him. Standing up and absentmindedly dusting myself off, a me demands.
“What the fuck did you do that for? we were just about to get to the good bit!”
Behind the translucent shield the girl blinks twice before her face contorts in reddened anger as she screams.
“WAT ON EARTH ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU...YOU...LUNATIC!?!”
Before turning to her father and adding in a gentle soothing tone.
“Papa, look papa…it iz finally done…it iz ok now papa…y-you can finally rest…”
Then turning a hate filled gaze to me, she demands.
“Are you appy now you monzter! He haz done wat you azked! Look! Look at wat you ave done to my beloved papa!”
Taken aback by her heartfelt berating, a me does a closer inspection of the state of her ‘beloved papa’ and I collectively feel a pit open in my stomach.
As much as all of me wants to refute her words in spite of no doubt having his Vitality greatly enhanced, the happy and beaming (well more like scowling) and vibrant Gérard is no more. Only to be replaced with a disheveled and unshaven wreck of a man, who seems to only just now be registering my arrival.
A tension eases in his haggard and unkempt face, as a look of hope takes root as he stammers.
“M-m-mizter Benjamin! D-d-did it f-finally work? Pleaze t-tell me I do not dream?!?”
One of me try’s to imagine what the poor bloke must have been through, with not knowing what had gone wrong with my shit of a plan.
Trying to assuage the opening pit in my superfluous stomach a me offers.
“Y-yeah mate, it’s alright now. It worked…”
A soft giggle escaped his chapped lips before he covered his mouth, then began to convulse as tears streamed over the black puffy sacks beneath his bloodshot eyes.
All any of me can do is look on and wait for him to finally regain a shred of composure, while his daughter’s eyes burn a recriminating hole in me.
Clearing his through into the echoing chamber he eventually asks.
“W-wat happened?...Pleaze believe m-me when I say I s-spent every day…every single d-day trying to get ze damned console to work! I SWEAR IT! B-but it, i-it wouldn’t and I-I-I..P-PLEAZE DO NO E-EVICT MY PRECIOUS DAUGHTER!!! ”
Anger welled within me at my own stupidity and some me’s moved me next to the man, while the translucent shield shattered into ethereal motes.
Collectively ignoring the shock and budding indignation on his daughters face, a me put a hand on the broken man’s shoulder and supplied.
“Mate you did good…I-it’s not your fault alright, It’s completely mine, I thought I was…never mind… What matters is it’s over now and we can dissolve that bloody contract…”
Transferring his fee plus an additional 50k manamotes to the man, his face went white as he stammered.
“N-n-no! Please mister Benjamin...She cannot survive out zere...I w-will do better next time I pro-“
My vision went a bit blurry for some reason as a me shook my head before replying.
“I’m sorry I dragged you and your daughter into another of my shitty mess’…Don’t look at me like that mate I’m being serious!...You did better than I would’a done, so cancel the contract, you guys are well and truly free and clear now…”
But Gérard was having none of it as he begged.
“I-I promize on my l-life I will do better next time, p-pleaze forgive me!”
Looking in entreaty to his daughter, she looked at me with hatred as a me beseeches.
“C-can you help him u-understand please?”
Giselle continued to scowl at me until something within her gave way and her face took on a look of disgust as her eyes derisively traveled away from my face. However she only got halfway through a snort when her derision faltered and she went beet red, before hastily turning to her father and stammering.
“E-et is ok papa, y-you should do az he says.”
Gérard mechanically nodded as the fight left his rotund frame.
Following which a notification popped into view along with a familiar one vying for our attentions just below it:
Initiate Merchant Gérard wishes to cancel the active ‘Lesser Permanent Contract with Gérard and Giselle’, all terms and conditions will be voided, do you agree y/n?
Parasitic Mutator trait activated, do you wish to absorb Lesser Mental Surrogate trait y/n? 2 minutes 14 seconds remaining.
Having already decided I did not want to be a giga-octopuses’ mental baby momma, a me mentally confirmed ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ to the prompts in question and was rewarded with the anticipated notification:
You have agreed to the cancellation of the Lesser Permanent Contract with Gérard and Giselle, all terms and conditions no longer applicable.
Still feeling like I had just kicked a basket of day old puppies despite disillusioning the agreement with the pair, a me supplied.
“You guys are free to stay and keep access to the spire’s floor…a-and let me know if there is anything I can do to help make amends...anything at all…”
Refusing to meet my gaze, the red faced young woman replied angrily to a curved white wall.
“Ze bezt sing you can do for us now iz to l-leave uz be!”
Sighing resignedly at another ruined potential friendship and the familiar emptiness inside that came with it a me acquiesced by adding solemnly.
“Consider it done.”
Then it opened up [Lesser Dimensional Portal] beneath the pair with the destination of their storefront at about two meters off the floor in mind. However we found no childish solace as the pair went wide eyed while they dropped through the tear in reality beneath them before cutting off their cries of alarm with a swift cancellation of the skill.
Pulling up the administrative menu, I revoked the pairs access to this now holey room and paid the eye watering repair fee of 1,925,309 manamotes without hesitation, to undo the damage done by my impression of an intergalactic rocket. Huffing in irritation as my hard earned currency magically sealed up the hole in the wall in a flash of bluish white light.
Simultaneously one of me, unable to let go of the chance at intergalactic payback, tried to desperately formulate some plan to reliably make use of the room in which I now stood.
Another me thought it was pertinent to draw the triumvirate’s attention to my recently lax oversight of the Citadels delinquent population, leading to a chorus of mental groans to be released in the confines of my enhanced skull.
Looking down at my mud stained naked form I huffed again before summoning [Poh’s Clensing Wash] from Mr Pocket, popping the cap and dumping the whole thing morosely over my dirtied self. One of me pointed out that this went a ways to explaining the forked tongued temptress’s recent bout of bashfulness, which all of me promptly put into the column of ‘Things I could currently not give a fuck about’.
Once the liquid and the caked earth evaporated into the ether, I summoned from the still present aperture for Mr Pocket, more [Green Doi’kol Moss] for prompt nose stuffing, a fresh set of [Elevant’s Essential Gear], and finally [Eij’Don’Tu’s Full Plate of Protection] which I wordlessly donned over top of the fresh creaking leathers.
Once the edgily dark red and green spikily contoured armor was secured, a me took one last look around the currently useless room before summoning the egg elevator to make my way begrudgingly to my minion’s headquarters, for another likely yet deserved, telling off.