Seth marched through the halls like a lunatic, the corners of his mouth reaching dangerously toward his ears. The ecstasy of his string of victories continued to roar through his body like a drug, unfading just like his grin.
His plan had resulted in a payoff even greater than he could’ve imagined. Seth had won eight consecutive duels, all resulting in hefty point gains. His net winnings had totaled over 40,000, a sum that had took him two weeks to gain previously. In the span of one hour, he had raised his stockpile almost sixty percent, a feat even some of the best day traders on Earth couldn’t achieve.
“These royal brats are even more egotistical than I thought!” He yelped in delight.
Even after beating them one by one, not a single person who came to him for a duel had even thought about researching him beforehand. Seth had truly done his homework, and the efforts paid off handsomely. It seems that even growing up with all the money and power of a galaxy wide empire, you still can’t teach maturity or temper hubris. Seth slowed down for a moment.
“Geez, how am I eighteen years old and feel like the most mature person in this entire place.” His smile faltered slightly in thought.
“Wait, I guess I’m actually nineteen now, aren’t I?”
He let out a laugh before resuming his meaningful stride. “Not like it matters anyway, I’m pretty sure that every tier I go up, I’ll live an extra hundred years or something.”
A couple more minutes of self-gratification later, Seth arrived at his destination. He was aware that the duel aspect of the challenge would be ending in a little less than a half hour, so Seth decided that he would take one last visit to the warehouse sized store that housed all kinds of powerful knickknacks. As he strolled through the aisles of random artifacts, picking up items he had scouted beforehand, Seth lightly wondered why no one else was there too.
It wasn’t an impossibility that the store could still be available during the bonus challenge, but he wanted to be safe rather than sorry. It seemed ridiculous that no one else seemed to have that worry, but then again, what was the random crap in here compared to a bunch of dynasty treasures, right? Seth continued to hurry through the aisles, trying to acquire all of the items he thought would be most relevant to him.
Finally, as the time winded down to it’s last five minutes, Seth sat with his back up against the wall at the entrance of the store, reviling in the pile of treasure he had gathered. He still had a couple hundred points left over, but the meager amount couldn’t buy him anything of use, so he decided to leave them be. Also, he had already virtually filled both his personal cache as well as the little blue wisp that followed him soundlessly.
Seth scrolled through his haul for a little while, wondering if he should use some of the spoils right now. Along with the Class A Concept Treasure he had gotten from Folly’s quest, Seth had amassed a handful of other items that he thought to be important for his future growth.
-Slothful Token
-Red Ogre’s Tears
-Wendigo Femur (Tainted)
-Jeganti’s Lost Blade
Most of his finds weren’t anything that would result in an immediate gain, but Seth was confident they would pay off when used along with the item from Folly.
Essence of the Unending Soul:
-The last product of a forgotten practice.
The item was a small, smoky gray vial. Inside was a clear, viscous liquid, not unlike water. Even using True Sight didn’t reveal any extra hints at the contents, as no purple energy wafted off the item like it had with the Elixir of the Fatigued Hero. Seth wasn’t sure what to make of the vial, but something told him that concepts didn’t exactly relate to the energy that fueled his abilities.
The other four items he had bought also related to attaining a concept, as the token allowed him to attain a heightened state of spirituality, while the other three were supposed to fuel his discovery. His research had told him that each of the items held some sort of mark, or imprint from the concepts that were previously used by the item’s owners. They were supposed to act as a sort of steering agent that would allow him to hone his vision to a specific type of concept.
Seth didn’t know what exactly any of that meant in practice, but he was certain that when it came to attaining a concept; the more treasures, the better.
Seth lifted his head off the wall for a moment, as he began to hear a clicking sound. After a few seconds, he identified the sound as quick footsteps, heading toward the entrance of the warehouse.
Seems a little late to be heading this way. He thought.
As the footsteps drew near, Seth pulled himself upright, curious to see who the newcomer was. As the person finally turned the corner, Seth was surprised to find a wide eyed and slightly sweaty Licht run through the entrance. It took him a moment to spot Seth in the corner, but he quickly rushed forward, grabbing Seth by the shoulders.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” He huffed.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Seth asked bewilderedly. Licht looked at him like he was a complete idiot.
“What’s wrong?! Are you serious? You’re in the top six!” He exclaimed.
Seth’s eyes widened to match Licht’s, and his mouth hung open.
“Oh my gosh! No way!”
He yelped with girlish enthusiasm. He quickly schooled his impression with a impish smirk.
“Nice one man, next you’re going to tell me I’m Bill Gate’s long-lost nephew.” He laughed.
Licht’s face reddened and a vein popped out of his forehead. “This isn’t the time for your crap! YOU ARE IN THE TOP SIX!” He practically screamed.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Seth’s laughter died and his smirk lessened slightly. Uncertainty marred his face before realization dawned on him.
“What happened to the others?”
Licht’s face softened slightly. “The princess goaded them. Not long after you left the main hall, she started arguing with the rest of the top six. She called them all cowards for not challenging anyone of higher ranks. I swear that woman has some persuasion ability because afterward it was like a mosh pit. Less than ten minutes later, the top six folded in like a point vacuum. Now the top three has near double the points of those under them. Because of your weird duel party, you were already sitting in eighth. But after the move from her, you sprung into sixth.” He finished breathlessly.
Seth’s face was fully stricken with shock. “W-what about last minute duels? Someone must be close enough to me to catch up, even with only a couple minutes left.” He sputtered, already knowing the answer.
Licht shook his head as his impatience drained away. “You were too far ahead from your recent gains. The next highest participant is more than seven thousand points behind you.”
Seth was about to continue when a screen appeared before both of the boys.
-One minute left before the Bonus Challenge begins. Duels will be closed upon start of Bonus Challenge.
-Congratulations. You have been locked in as a participant in the Bonus Challenge. The Bonus Challenge area is in a specified temporal field. All physical offensive abilities cannot be used in the temporal field.
The two boys looked up from their differing screens. “So much for someone catching up.” Seth muttered.
It was almost unbelievable. He had known he basically stole his fair share of challenge points from the unwitting participants, but he couldn’t believe his greed had brought him that far up in the rankings. Being in the bonus round was something he hadn’t even thought was an option. Now, he would have a huge opportunity to raise his reward into a possible fate chosen treasure. It wasn’t all fun times and flowers though, as participating in the challenge would bring more attention than he had ever wanted. Seth dismissed the screen and turned his attention back to Licht.
“Who’s the other five?” He asked seriously.
Licht scratched his slightly pointed ear for a second before replying. “It’s Remus, Eminence, Nigel, the Son of Gaia, you said his name was Ty, right? And finally, Princess Caladenia. She ended up swapping places with Galdir in the end.”
Upon hearing the list of participants, Seth became quiet and sullen. Licht continued to talk, but Seth wasn’t listening.
Ty’s gonna be there huh.
The seconds trickled by until finally, a new screen appeared before Seth.
-The Bonus Challenge has begun. Jumping you to the starting area now.
--------
Will stared at the buried palace with open awe.
A large black furred minotaur patted him on the back.
“Goddamn kid, I didn’t think you had it in you!” He praised with deep roar.
Will released a satisfied sigh before his bronze pike collapsed into itself and disappeared.
“What did I tell you Bruno! I could find this place in my sleep!” He exclaimed before striking a victorious pose.
In reality, Will couldn’t even believe he found the place himself. After registering with the Chrome, Will had been recruited by the famous Royalia clan. Apparently, Rynack, Will’s Umbra, was even more legendary than he had previously thought.
According to the members of Royalia, Rynack was one of the most ancient and well known artifact seekers in history. It was very rare for him to make any new members of his clan. This made Will a popular knew asset to sponsor, as well as a great addition to any treasure seeking team. All of this resulted in Will being recruited onto an artifact hunt for someplace called the Palace of Oxuvoz.
He wasn’t sure of all the details, but the way the others had talked about it, the place was a legend among legends. Will would’ve asked more, but he was mostly just happy to be getting so much attention and praise. After finally being dispatched, Will and a large team of high tiered shapers had left through the city through the Jump Junction, which transported them to a town in the far east. After that, they rented a few vehicles equipped for the desert and took off.
After a few days, Will finally got a hold of a unique trail of energy. Two days of trial and error later, the team finally arrived at an indiscriminate spot in the middle of nowhere. With the help of a few talented sand shapers, the team found themselves in an huge underground cavern where they stood now. Will shivered at the large presence he felt permeating the entire cavern and palace. He could feel the presence practically wafting from the ruined emerald palace like a looming fist.
Whatever artifact is in there is crazy powerful. It feels almost as strong as Rynack.
--------
Sydney smacked her dry lips and used the remainder of her extra stamina to uncramp her leg.
Her perch on the stone cross was one that invited no comfort and no rest. Her arms were completely outstretched, barely reaching the small wooden pegs that only rose two inches from the stone. The foot pegs were no better and so high up she had to basically hold a constant splits to reach them. To make the situation worse, both wooden pegs were horribly splintery and the stone was uneven and sharp in places.
“Your resolve is truly something to behold little girl, but I already told you I have no want to share my practices or my treasure.” A raspy voice creaked from above her.
Sydney turned her drooping and bloodshot eyes up slightly, revealing an old hag with purple, saggy skin looming over her. Her balding scalp was scabby and full of knots, just like the disgusting calloused feet that rested less than a foot above Sydney’s face.
Sydney wanted to tell the ugly bitch to shut up, or to eat glass, but instead she just lulled her head back into the resting position on her shoulder. It had been five days straight of holding herself on the pegs with no food or water. She smelled like a corpse and had soiled herself more than once, but she had yet to drop from the pegs.
Sydney wasn’t doing this for fun though.
The grueling task was a mission given by her elusive Umbra. She still didn’t even know the woman’s name, and this was only the second time she ever spoke to Sydney.
“Seek out Uglecia or be doomed to mediocrity.”
It was message that surfaced for only a moment and disappeared without a trace afterward. She almost thought it had been her imagination, but the melodic voice was something that couldn’t be fabricated. For two weeks after, she had dove into research over any mention of someone named Uglecia. Finally, after a trip to a rickety old bookstore that she had stumbled upon by accident, Sydney had found a story about a mighty sorceress that was rumored to live in the Thousand Asura Territory, a subsidiary of the well-known Radiance Court. Sydney learned that the Radiance Court was ruled by several individuals in the eighth tier, a truly unimaginable peak for her.
The book had given her some relatively specific directions of where she might find the sorceress, as well as some advice on how to win her favor. So with the small fortune that was left to her by Origin, Sydney traveled to the far off territory and found leering cliff that Uglecia inhabited.
According to the text, Uglecia didn’t value any material offering, and instead would respond well with a show of resolve. Hence why Sydney had been basically torturing herself for five days. Sydney’s thoughts of simmering rage were abruptly halted as she felt a slimy toe poke her on the head.
“Are you still alive down there little girl? Say something before I remove you from my property permanently.”
Sydney roused her energy and let out a growl before shaking the disgusting toe off her head. The old hag did this constantly. She would come and hound her for hours at a time, then leave for over a day, leaving Sydney wondering if she would ever come back. This time was no different, as the hag continued to berate Sydney for two hours straight. She even began showering her with what Sydney guessed to be her ancient and all powerful piss.
Despite all this, Sydney wouldn’t drop from the pegs, nor retaliate.
At this point it was honestly more of a challenge to rein in her anger than hang from the stone.
She couldn’t even tell what tier the hag was at either, but the fact Sydney couldn’t sense her at all spoke volumes.
Finally, as her stench began stinging her tired eyes and her body shook with exhaustion, she felt a soft pat on her head.
“That will be enough child.”
Sydney felt weightless for a brief moment before tumbling onto a bed of soft grass. Her muscles all screamed for rest, but she resisted the pull of sleep and angled her head toward the hag standing before her.
“I, Uglecia, the forgotten Witch of Wrath and keeper of the Vlene Eye, promise to aid Sydney Ranks and pass down the art of my heritage.”
Sydney grinned in tired victory before her eyes rolled back and she became still.