When it came time to head to the feast, Shaun couldn’t hold back his excitement, not because he was going to have to attend another social event, but because over the hours he had worked nonstop on creating the perfect armour from the scales. He had utilised every single bit of the leather, effectively coasting his entire body in the material. When he looked into the mirror he didn’t even recognise who he was looking at. He wore a full sleeves top that clung to his muscles, showing off the definition of his shoulders and torso, the pants similarly clung to him but were double lined in some areas, affording more room for movement, which lead down into his boots which he had made out of the leather, needing to utilise several different materials he had to get a shape and fit.
If that had been all he had done it would have been an impressive piece set of armoured clothing, but he hadn’t stopped there. Shaun had created full circuits of runes, linking in powerful shards throughout the material, which he ended up running and buying as soon as he had the idea. The result was a continuous system of powerful runes and spells aimed at boosting the material, both its durability and flexibility as well as resistance. Like the suit of armour he had made Eric, the armour he wore gave him a boost in stats, a flat 20% bonus to his physical attributes. But what was more was that the circuit of power he had created had taken on a death attunment, seemingly from the material itself, causing the entire outfit to radiate its own aura of death. He didn’t feel the aura when he was wearing it but he knew if he pushed out with his own aura that it would amplify that feeling, causing others to be rooted with fear and expecting their own demise.
Because he was going to a formal event he also decided to make something to put over the top of it. Hanging over his shoulders like a cape was the pelt from the snow leopard boss, which he had made into an impressive piece of clothing, he enhanced the feeling of frost and chilling cold that radiated from it, adding in his own ice element to really enhance the feeling. Where he moved all would feel not only the effects of the clothing but also the chill of death.
When he heard the knock on his door he knew it was time to head out, when he opened the door he found Eric and Gabe both there, dressed in their best attire. The moment they saw him he wondered if maybe he had gone a bit too far with the outfit. Gabe started actually whimpering, looking like he was going to drop into the fetal position at any moment. For Eric it was different, he simply closed his eyes, tears started falling down his face, as if he had accepted that his death was here and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
“Both of you! Snap out of it!” When they didn’t respond he pinched both of them, not gently either, and they both came back to reality, although barely. “Its just the new armour I made, its fine, I’m not going to hurt you.” They seemed to calm down a bit, still hesitant to look at him.
“I felt like I was going to d- die, like actually die just from looking at y-you. You feel like a grim reaper, like you have come for my s-soul.” Gabe got out eventually trembling as he spoke.
“You know this is supposed to be a party right?” Eric managed to get out. “Not some gathering for you to slaughter everyone and everything you can?”
Shaun couldn’t hold back his laugh, his new armour was insane, he tried to pull it back in, dampening the effects which me managed to do quite a bit but no matter what, the effect was still present. “Its cool though, right?”
“If by cool you mean completely and utterly terrifying, sure.” They both seemed to be adjusting now that he was focusing on pulling the aura back in, but it was a slow process.
“Are you guys ready to go?” He was even more excited now than he had been.
“You’re not actually wearing that, right?” Gabe gave him a fearful look. “You realise that no one is going to be able to stand being anywhere near you. But I guess that’s the point?” He just smiled at him, as if Gabe had read his mind, he would be able to get through the night without having to deal with a majority of the people attending, it was perfect.
They were officially running late, not by much, only 5 minutes or so, but apparently that was enough as most people had already found there way in, the tutorial was a ghost town, they saw maybe 2 people the entire walk there. When they did make it there was someone waiting at the door who approached him as soon as he came in sight. The woman, looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here, she couldn’t make eye contact with him and he could have sworn he saw her hands trembling.
“M-m-master Shaun.” She stopped and took in a deep breath, trying to ground herself. He was still holding back the aura of death and still the woman, who was probably in D grade, could barely stand to be near him. “Sir. I have been told to inform you that you will take the seat at the head of the feast. Once you enter all of those present will move to their own seats while you walk through to your own table at the peak of the room.”
“I get my own table? Away from everyone else?” This is perfect!
“Yes sir. All those who wish to approach you will need to approach you at your table. As the Master of Feast it is your decision whether to allow them up to your table or send them away. You will be the one in control tonight, all of those from the major powers have decided not to attend tonight, leaving you in control.”
“Right. Okay.” He didn’t know why they had left this all to him, but there was something at play here with the reps that he couldn’t figure out. “When do I have to go in?”
“In 5 minutes Master.” The woman looked down then, seeming to decide whether she should speak further. “If I may, Sir. Usually when the Master of Feast enters they show all of those present their power using their aura, to prove they are worthy of the title.”
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“So you are saying that when I enter, I should unleash the strongest aura I can manage?” That seemed weird, the last time he released his aura people collapsed, and now it would be laced with fear and death, a combination that would have a huge effect on the other people present.
“Yes sir, but not enough to kill anyone.”
With that she walked away, bowing deeply before leaving. He didn’t understand why the aura thing was important but if it was something that was normal in the multiverse he figured that he should embrace it, even if it was going to go poorly. When the 5 minutes passed, Eric and Gabe having already gone in, he walked up to the double doors which were closed and as soon as he approached, they swung open from the inside, two people pulling them open. From inside he heard the announcement that the Master of the Feast would now grace them with his presence, and that he took as his queue to continue moving forward.
When he entered he held his head high, the room was full of people, those form Earth and the clans, all mingling together. As soon as he appeared though, all the clan members lowered their head to him, while those from Earth simply stared. As he took a few step in he started to release first the aura that his armour gave off. The effect was instantaneous, all those who were unfortunate enough to be near him immediately paled, the overwhelming sense of fear to much for them. But when he unleashed his own aura into the mix, allowing his full power to be sent into the room, the effects amplified. Many people dropped to the ground, even some of those form the clans, he heard glasses smashing on the ground as people dropped what was in their hands, their only focus on staying standing and not giving into the effect of his aura of death. People started to cry, he even heard someone sobbing loudly. He felt bad for what he was causing everyone to go through, they didn’t deserve it, so he quickly walked through the crowd and reached his table where he immediately clamped down on his aura fully and sat in his chair.
He got his first good look around the room, seeing the aftermath of his entrance. Most of the people present were a mess, many of the clan members that had fared better than others helping those that needed it. People came out from hidden rooms to clean the mess that was made in places, but what was most noticeable to him was that no one, not even his friends, would look him in the eye.
“Once you are ready. Or when everyone else is ready, you can tell them all to sit and make a speech.”
This was said by, who he assumed, was his personal attendant, who had faired better than anyone else in the room, which showed she wasn’t just their to help him, she was there to watch him as well. What annoyed him was the fact he had to make some kind of speech, he hated speeches, he was much more for actions speaking louder than words. Although he had already done that using his aura.
Once everyone looked to be standing, or in some cases clinging, to their chairs, he spoke. “Please, everyone be seated.” Damn that’s weird. Everyone moved when he spoke, pulling out their chairs and taking their seats. “I have been told that I need to make a speech, although I really don’t know about what.” They apparently thought he was joking, or maybe just being polite, as many of the people in the room gave him a laugh, although to him it sounded forced. “So, what I am going to talk about is going to be what we have all been through. It’s been over 2 months since we were all torn from our homes, our planet, and thrown into a kill or be killed situation where we have been forced to play along like in some video game. We all know someone that has died, hell a lot of people in this room have probably been forced to kill someone.” The more he spoke the more the people of Earth nodded along, starting to go deep in thought, reliving their time in the tutorial so far, those from the clans looked on more curious as to where he was going.
“The first message we got from the system told us that if we weren’t strong than we were nothing. If we didn’t fight, we would die. What it didn’t tell us was that we didn’t have to do it alone. I mean, sure, I prefer to fight alone, but what I am trying to say is that when each and every one of us goes into a dungeon, putting our life on the line to gain experience, to get levels, to be more powerful, we aren’t doing it just for ourselves. Each one of us represents Earth, whatever that may look like when we go back there. And when everyone in the multiverse, every person in the clans and powers looks at us they aren’t just seeing one person who is strong, who is fighting for their lives. They are seeing that each and every person from our home, our planet, will do whatever it takes to gain the power to protect ourselves. We have always fought for our people and our countries, the only difference is now, we fight for our entire planet! We are not weak! Every single person here is one of the strongest people to come through the tutorial, you may compare yourself to me or to any of the others that stand at the top, but what you seem to forget is that all of you are also standing at the peak.” He had gone off on some weird tangents so far, speeches were not his strong suit, but he was going to finish with a bang. “Everyone here needs to realise their worth, do not look at the clans and the powers and give up everything we have gained, everything that we still stand to gain, by splitting ourselves up and joining whoever can throw the most money at you or offer you the best deal. We are all stronger together, fighting together, for Earth!”
The reaction from his people, the people of Earth was overwhelming, they stood from their chairs and cheered, they yelled, some even started chanting “Earth, Earth, Earth” over and over again. The reaction from the clans, was less pleasant, he had just said not to give up on Earth for the shiniest clan that walks by, which was probably the exact opposite of what the clans wanted to hear. But he had meant what he said. If the strongest people of Earth all split up and joined any clan that came their way, it would cause mayhem back on Earth, at the very least it would tear the strongest of them away and leave their planet defenceless.
Eventually, once everyone had calmed back down, food and drinks were served and the mood at the feast was incredible. He didn’t leave his table but it seemed that the people of Earth had found reason to celebrate, mostly with each other. At one point he made eye contact with Viv, who just smiled the biggest smile he had ever seen from her back at him, mouthing the words ‘Thank you’, before returning to her own conversation.
“Sir, your presence is requested in one of the private rooms.” His attendant said to him. He just nodded and followed her out, no one really paying much attention to him at this point. When he was led into a room, the woman closed the door behind them, he looked around but there was no one but the two of them there.
“Who am I meeting ex…..” When he turned around to look back at the attendant, the woman standing there was not the same person was the woman who had entered with him. She looked like the same beings that were in the memory, the ones where he had stood in the place of the Nephilim, looking at the queen called Elivasia. “Your…”
“Fae. And we must speak Shaun Clermont, and we do not have long to do so.”