“Holy crap.”
Seth sat in real surprise at the catalog laid out before him.
The group of tier twos had moved over to the storefront at the corner of the arena where a lifeless doll man sat waiting with a tray of tokens for all the participants. Upon taking one, Seth had infused it with his energy and in turn received a screen full of the wares offered by the doll store. Unfortunately, as he looked at the catalog full of items, he couldn’t help but feel completely lost. There were plenty of different treasures available, as he could tell by how expensive they were, but it didn’t help the fact he had no idea what any of them did. His attention was shortly disrupted though as Drake tapped him on the shoulder with a large grin on his face.
“See what I was talking about? This place has treasures that I can’t even find back home in the Thousand Asura Territory! I don’t even know where they would have gotten half of this stuff.”
Seth just looked at him with a lost expression, as he didn’t even know what the stuff in the store was, much less anything about the Thousand Asura Territory. Drake soon picked up on his fickle state, as he stopped gushing for a second.
“Oops, maybe I should explain. It was a bit presumptuous of me to assume you know all the subsidiaries of the Radiance Court. I’m from one of the main branches under their control. The Thousand Asura Territory is a really cool place on its own though, so if you ever get the chance, you should check it out.”
Drake waved off the information of his hometown as he turned Seth’s attention back to the screen in front of him.
“Besides all that, I was talking about how interesting the stuff they are offering up is. Also, the fact they are only available to buy using contribution points is interesting. It makes it so no royal brat with pockets as large as their ego can buy the entire store out.”
He then took the liberty of scrolling down Seth’s screen, completely disregarding Seth’s personal bubble. Although Seth didn’t really mind, as he was still stuck on the new information of some empire called the Radiance Court and how Drake came from one of their territories.
“See these? They even offer original Shaper Transcripts that are independent of any influence from your Umbra. Though, I don’t get why anyone would want to stray from their custom-made transcript that comes directly from their Umbra while in such early tiers. Someone could really screw up any chance of future growth by using a transcript that isn’t compatible with their Foundation Path.”
Seth was yet again struck with another bout of silence as he was forced to process the continuous new information that Drake was introducing.
Thousand Asura Territory? Radiance Court? Shaper Transcript? Geez I really need to spend some time researching more information about the whole political and geographical situation of the Galactic Plane. Also, I should look into some more aspects of the whole process of shaping and developing my Foundation.
“Yeah, that’s pretty interesting. I’m curious though, do you see anything else that looks unique or uncommon? Like for example, what are these? Forgive me if they are commonly known, it’s just that I was kind of sheltered as a child, so I haven’t seen too many items outside of those given to me.”
Seth pointed out a series of expensive items that were unknown to him while giving Drake a helpless look that he didn’t have to fake. Drake was happy to help though, as he adopted a teacher-like tone even though he was younger than Seth.
“Well for one, it’s good you pointed out this item.”
He gestured to a small statue that looked similar to a genderless mannequin.
“The price might seem really steep, but if you identify what kind of item it is, then it is actually incredibly affordable. A good eye can see that this is a spiritual talisman used for concept related breakthroughs. Unfortunately, it can’t create any epiphanies, but it can put whoever uses it into a state of Zen-like meditation. Some talented shapers can put themselves into such a state, but this talisman is especially useful for those that cannot, plus it doesn’t contain any outside influence, so it wouldn’t have any downsides to use. But besides that, looking at the rest of the stuff you pointed out, there are quite a few treasures that are usually out of reach for any lower classed shapers. Concept treasures, affinity enhancers, natural attribute boosters, and even more.”
Seth watched him lean closer to the screen while congealing some energy into his eyes. He didn’t mention this though, as he didn’t want to give away his own optical ability.
“Wow, some of these must have been made by an expert alchemist. The bane levels are impressively low. I might go as far as to say that someone could clear through the entirety of a tier without reaching a dangerous toxin level by just using enough of these pellets. Of course, I still wouldn’t recommend it as that would severely stunt your growth and definitely bar any chance of reaching high tiers.”
Drake continued to list off multiple other items and their effects while Seth listened with rapt attention. Although most of the information went over his head due to his lack of knowledge, he was still able to pick up on some key points Drake was laying down, as well as mark a handful of treasures that he wanted the most. After nearly an hour of checking out all the wares and talking to Drake, Seth had purchased a couple basic items that were available for regular currency before excusing himself.
As Drake headed back to join his group, Seth went to find himself an open spot near the edge of the arena. Next, he threw down the Camp in a Can as well as the camouflage array for privacy. Finally, he took out a new item that he had just acquired from the doll store. A hand sized crystal clear device appeared in his hand, and he couldn’t help but be in awe at the seemingly bland item that was about to revolutionize his life. It looked kind of like a hair dryer, but it was made of a transparent material that was reminiscent of glass.
It had cost him a whopping 28,000 credits, but that was nothing in the face of Seth’s personal fortune. Not to mention, Seth would have probably paid over 100,000 for this particular device.
Cleanse-O-Matic (Class C):
-Have you been spending too much time bathing in the blood of your enemies? Well don’t worry, we are here for you! Wash away all that gore and viscera with our patented device and continue with your culling unimpeded!
Seth quickly threw up a small privacy wall he had bought as well before stripping himself down. He racked the armor and his undergarments onto a nearby pole before infusing the gun with a steady stream of energy. It softly whirred to life and a soft pink myth glowed right at the base of the handle. Within seconds, Seth was awash with a stream of gentle pink mist that covered him from head to toe. Even the whispers in his mind purred as the mist seemed to make all the grime and blood on his skin slough off like it was nothing.
After a few minutes of bliss, the mist dissipated and Seth inspected himself with wonder. All of the disgusting grime he had become accustomed to was totally gone, leaving behind his pale skin and a nice fruity scent. It felt like the mist was even more meticulous than he had thought, as every nook and cranny seemed to be completely scrubbed clean.
It was enough to push a grown man to tears, and this was especially true for Seth as he gnawed on his lip to prevent himself from full on bawling. He walked over to his gear and was delighted to find that the Cleanse-O-Matic worked just as well on his armor and clothes. As the second round of cleaning was underway, Seth wondered with bemusement over which was more powerful, the creator of the Cleanse-O-Matic, or Mr. Clean.
Maybe they’re the same person.
Seth inwardly laughed at the imaginary conspiracy before putting his gear back on. He wordlessly put away the privacy wall as well as his new favorite item before making his way over to the tent. Although it wasn’t too large, it suited his purposes just fine as he sat down inside and brought up his Index. Talking with Drake made Seth realize just how behind he was. He basically knew nothing about the Foundation or anything else outside of what Greyson had told him. Greyson also hadn’t been a bad teacher in any way, but Seth also wasn’t able to retain half of what he said due to the sheer amount of information he was given in such a short time.
Regardless of the fact he was starting a new and possibly dangerous challenge in just over a day, Seth decided that what he needed most right now was information. There were too many things he didn’t know. This lack of understanding would certainly spell his death in the future if he wasn’t careful. He silently thanked Lyrica for her preparedness as he opened his newly updated index that was full of all kinds of general knowledge. With a determined look, he began scrolling to the bottom of his index where he found the first entry he wanted to examine: Shaping Fundamentals; Empirical Research for The Young.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
--------
“Hey, uh, Seth?”
Seth looked up from his menu for the first time in thirty hours.
Bloodshot eyes met blurry surroundings as his exhausted pupils desperately tried to relax from the pinholes they had been reduced to after copious hours of devouring text. Seth hadn’t even stopped reading while eating or relieving himself. It was like he had been thrown back in time to the familiar all-nighters from back on Earth that consisted of deep dive research on various obscure topics.
The reason for this obsession was due to a realization Seth stumbled upon while reading the first entry in his index: He had absolutely no idea what he had absolutely no idea about.
Seth had been so stupid, thinking that shaping was just a matter of getting powerful abilities, concepts, and raising attributes.
He was so wrong.
He had taken the Foundation for granted, like it was just a gateway that allowed him to build strength endlessly and without limit as long as he pushed himself. As it turned out, that was the complete opposite of the way it worked.
For one, the Foundation was not driven by something as flimsy as hard work or determination. Apparently, to reach anywhere near the heights of higher tiers, you had to have what the entries called Fate Malleability. Meaning that you had to basically be destined to become powerful or had to have a compilation of luck on a universal scale.
The entries stressed that it was technically possible to create fate, but the only real way to do that was by being nurtured with incredible treasures since the day you were born. This was not comforting to Seth in the least, given the fact that he hadn’t gotten the Foundation until he was eighteen, much less basked in treasures since he was born.
To make matters worse, there was also a meta that could be worked out for individuals to be destined to at least raise a decent height in shaping. It was by creating a predetermined set of insanely powerful abilities and adopting a race that had something called Perfect Resonance. This just added another strike to Seth’s list, as he had two abilities forced upon him, one of his choice, and another that was missing. He also had no idea how powerful his abilities were on a scale, nor did he have any idea if they resonated with each other or his race at all.
These discoveries alone had almost caused Seth to lie down and cry right where he sat. There was a clear theme the more he read that just ground him down even further. Every entry he had read thus far basically stated as a concrete fact that those of higher tiers were absolutely free to act as they saw fit. In short, power was the name of the game. Seth had sort of understood this from the beginning, but he hadn’t realized how crazy the barrier was to get there.
That makes sense because clearly if anyone could be that strong, then everyone would. But my god is it even possible for me to reach past tier five?
“Are you in there Seth?”
He was dragged away from his pessimistic thoughts as someone called out to him again. The whispers that had been drowned out by his loud imagination began their crawl back to the forefront of his mind as his brain focused back onto reality.
“I’m coming.” He responded in a deadpan voice.
As he emerged from his dark tent, he noticed Drake, Blair, and Licht standing at the edge of his camouflage array. He swiftly pocketed his camp and the array, allowing the three to see him. Drake’s eyes brightened for a moment upon spotting him, but then turned to concern. It seemed Blair beat him to the punch though, as she was the first to speak up.
“Null’s finger, did you die in there or something?”
It took Seth a moment to realize what she was talking about, but when he did, he had to hold back a glare.
“No, it’s nothing. I have just been reading some rather dour texts, that’s all.” He responded with a pitiful excuse for a smile.
A look of understanding crossed the trio’s faces and Drake turned back to his bright self.
“Ah I see, a shaper technique then. Can’t say I have heard of a method like that my friend. Well I won’t pry, I just wanted to know if you would like to join us for a meal? The challenge will be starting in only a few more hours, and you have been cooped up in your camp for over a day. Forgive my crudeness, but I believe it would be in your best interest to relax and recuperate some energy. So how about it?”
Yet again Seth was pleasantly surprised at Drake’s pushiness as well as the fact he had mistaken his activities for some sort of shaping ritual. The unfortunate news he had been stewing on was partially forgotten as a genuine smile graced his face.
“Well that actually doesn’t sound too bad… as long as you don’t have any pizza Lunchables that is.”
Seth inwardly giggled to himself as he watched Drake’s face become a picture of confusion. He was about to respond but Seth swiftly cut him off with a bow.
“Just an inside joke, but yes I would be honored to share a meal with my young lord.”
This cured the younger boy’s confusion as he pointed over to a rather fancy-looking camp that sat a little ways away.
“Come along then my friend, an evening of joyous company awaits.”
Drake said while mirroring Seth’s joking attitude. The other two didn’t think the interaction was very funny, yet Seth still found himself laughing while they headed over to the camp. As they all sat down and an array of food and drinks were set up, Seth turned over to Drake while munching on the leg of some mystery meat that tasted like olives.
“You know, I hope I don’t sound too rude when I say that you are not like what I expected at all.”
Drake looked up from his food in slight surprise at his words. Licht on the other hand seemed annoyed by Seth’s comment.
“What, did you expect us to be some snotty royals like the majority of the participants?” He sneered.
Seth gave him a grin while pointing at Licht with the meat leg. “You? One hundred percent.”
Drake spit up some of his drink and began to laugh uncontrollably while even Blair who was usually the picture of stoicism started to giggle as well. Licht’s face twisted up and his already red cheeks turned multiple shades darker. “I- uh- that is incredibly rude to say!” He spouted.
His outburst just caused the other three to laugh even louder. After a few more minutes of poking fun at the skinny boy, they all settled down enough for Drake to pipe up.
“I believe I understand what you mean. I suppose it isn’t too common for young royals to act with as much abandon as I must have shown. I realize that we have just recently met, but I feel like we will be seeing much more of each other down the line, so much so that I found it fit to skip the formalities. Also, when you told us about how you were alone, I couldn’t help but compare your carefree attitude to a friend of mine back home.”
Understanding and gratitude shown on Seth’s face as he processed the details of Drake’s friendliness. He was honestly happy the formalities had been skipped, as Seth had no idea how to properly act in the face of royalty, much less in a normal conversation. The only reason he could act so personable right now was the fact Drake’s presence took a large portion of the weight off his shoulders.
Gradually, the conversation picked up as Drake and him talked about various things such as their experience with the challenge so far, as well as some more personal items of discussion. Soon enough, Blair and Licht began to join in on the conversation and the previous awkwardness of the meal slowly melted away. The three were incredibly surprised to learn that he wasn’t even a royal, much less a member of any prominent sect. They found it hard to believe that a lone shaper without any backing had gotten access to such an event, much less had the confidence to enter. Licht most of all, as he almost choked on his drink upon hearing Seth had only a day or so to decide if he wanted to come.
“You are either an ignoramus of fantastic proportions, or the bravest man in existence!” He had exclaimed after reclaiming his wits.
Seth had only grinned in response, basically confirming Licht’s hypothesis. This went on for hours, all the way up until the timer had finally reached five minutes. As they were way past finished with their meal, Blair cleaned up the mess while Drake pocketed the furniture and surrounding items. Just like the rest of the participants, the four of them had packed up their things and were readying themselves for whatever the challenge might entail.
Seth looked around to find that a dozen or so new participants had also been suckered into the challenge while he had been reading. Ty was found among the crowd, much to Seth’s disappointment.
He better not steal the reward with his stupid Umbra gifted power. Seth thought begrudgingly.
He was also unnerved to find that the lion man he had seen previously was now here as well, although the two twin lizard men were nowhere to be found.
“Steel your nerves.”
Seth looked over in surprise to find Blair watching him. Realizing that he had begun to lose his composure after sighting the lion, Seth quickly righted himself and focused. It was a bit embarrassing to be corrected by the younger girl, but he didn’t show it as he watched the timer reach zero. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, Seth blinked for a split second and promptly found himself standing in a completely different place.
The crowd was now in a large hall that seemed to have multiple screens and consoles layered all over the place. There were also four large screens that hung above them, showing a chart full of names with different numbers placed next to them. It took him a moment to realize it was a ladder, as the top started at one and went in ascending order from there. Besides that, there was a zero that sat on the right of every name shown. It only took a second for the other two screens without ladders to change images. They all sat in silence as an extensive set of rules were displayed for them. After looking at it for only a glance, Seth let out a breath in relief as the details didn’t make it look like a head-to-head tournament style challenge.
Group Challenge
-Earn challenge points by triumphing in coliseum type combat
-Challenge point allocation will be determined by the difficulty of each match as well as success or failure
-Difficulty will increase parallel to the number of participants in a group
-Challenge points cannot be traded, but can be stolen through duels
-Matches will consist of participant(s) against randomized opponents
-There is no limit for the number of matches that can be taken on
-Looting abilities will not be regulated
-Participants with the top six point values at the end of the duration of the challenge will participate in an exclusive bonus challenge that may yield a large amount of points upon success
-Contribution points will be earned at a 1:1 ratio to challenge points
-Fighting outside of scheduled matches will result in a severe deduction of challenge points
-Participants will, at minimum, have to compete in at least one match every 72 hours
-Participants cannot leave the sealed space until the challenge duration expires
-Reward allocation and quality will be determined by the total points of a participant at the end of the challenge
-Reward parameters are as follows: Class F Reward (10,000 CP Minimum); Class D Reward (25,000 CP Minimum); Class C Reward (50,000 CP Minimum); Class B Reward (75,000 CP Minimum); Class A Reward (100,000 CP Minimum); Class S Reward (200,000 CP Minimum); Supreme Fate-Bound Reward (500,000 CP Minimum)
-Time until challenge expires: (30:23:56:42)
“Christ, it’s like an event inside an event.”