Chapter 17 - The Dojo of the Mountain King - The Unforgettables: A ZeroYear litRPG
"What do you mean with Big Bang? If that were the case, we'd all be dead, wouldn't we?” Liora asked, somewhat perplexed by Vaud's hypothesis.
Mosh stepped forward and responded, "Yes. What's strange is not why some disappeared in what Vaud called the Big Bang, which other people call a cataclysm, but rather why some survived it.”
Vaud spoke at the same time: “With our space folding telescopes, we were able to observe a light show. I just want to see how they will hide the entire sky in Metropolis. In a couple of years, those lights will arrive all over Gate.”
“But, how is that possible? Shouldn’t we be noticing something already?” Silas asked.
"It seems that Gate is close to one center of the universe’s expansion. For now, we can perceive a slight infrared to red background light rising day by day. That's one of the things we were researching to understand it better. Maybe a phenomenon similar to the cosmic inflation period explains why the light of the universe’s creation event takes a while to arrive at one of its centers or inside the bubble of space-time that we are. We still need to understand better how Gate works. Seneca would help in times like this." Vaud concluded.
“Vaud, let's focus on archiving our data with them. And, after that, we’re going to solve our little problem with the King. Then we could properly spend a few days sharing our cosmological hypotheses with everyone." Mosh reminded them, already taking a seat on a counter in the coffee room.
"Perfect, Mosh, let's start by trying to understand what happened here on the mountain. Is Biggus after you?" Petra asked.
"Vaud, Mosh, I opened a universal connector on your comlink to the database on our ship. You can transfer whatever you want there while we’re talking,” Silas said alongside Petra as he finished configuring a secure connection.
Mosh nods at Silas while he begins to transfer the data, as Vaud continues speaking: "Petra, I think that Biggus doesn’t know about us. If he were looking for us, we would have already been sent back to the City of the Dead. Our problem is with the King. He's a shard of an ancestral who came directly from the Underworld through a Tempus portal a few years ago. Seneca had warned us that something like this could happen because the mountain upon which we built our observatory is actually a structural monolith."
"So this mountain is like the houses of the Academy?” Frank asked, remembering what he had learned about Gate.
"In a way, yes. Inside the mountain, there are spacious halls and a huge source of magical energy that we use to power our experiments. Only a few years ago, a permanent two-way portal opened at the heart of the mountain, and this ancestral shard emerged, calling himself the King, and took over the place. The King isn't exactly aggressive, but he’s a difficult person who is out of time. He lives in a world of his own,” Mosh explained.
"We can try to talk to this King, but as we mentioned before, we’re being chased by Golems that are strong but not very fast. They'll take a few years to pass here, and when that happens, the King would probably have to leave the mountain while they’re passing,” Liora warned.
"What exactly are those Golems? Our mountain is the only thing in this region that stands out. Maybe they’ll be passing through here anyway,” Mosh asked.
“We’re not sure. We were cursed after falling into a space-time trap by a phantom that calls herself the Lady of Tempus. The phantom can’t leave where she is. But she can send those Golems wherever she wants. While analyzing the video data of the city where this happened, we saw two of these Golems killing a Metropolis archmage in a few seconds, and there are four of them chasing us right now. With great difficulty, we managed to escape and are still escaping now. As far as we know, they only sense the location we go through. Therefore, if we enter the mountain, they will do the same,” Silas said as he sat down on the counter while serving everyone coffee.
“Well, we need to access the rest of our material on the mountain, anyway. It’s critical research for understanding what’s going on in our world. And, based on what I’ve heard from you now, there's a high chance that those Golems will come directly to the mountain because the structural monolith carries the symbol of Tempus. This place is one of the 12 monoliths in the Tempus route, also called the Phoenix route in Suma tradition. That route begins at the South Pole and ends at the North Pole, passing close to Metropolis.” Mosh said, a little more nervous than before.
Frank thought telepathically to everyone, “I think both of them are trying to convince us. I don’t like the idea of deliberately putting someone else at risk with the Golems." Petra: “Frank, this King invaded their lab. These two have been waiting for help this entire time because their project is important. Are you worried about the King? Well, let’s tell him what’s going on. If he doesn’t want to leave when the Golems pass through, that’s his problem!” Frank: ”I know, but I still don't like doing it," Liora: “Biggus was trying to hide what these guys discovered. If it’s not really a cataclysm like they say, his argument to maintain his position as regent will be completely blown. Let's help these two." Silas: "Mosh's fear is valid. If we go away and leave things as they are, their situation will get even worse. Because the Golems are going to arrive, and the chance is that they will interact with that mountain or the King even if we do not enter the place, compromising both the King and their project. I suggest we go talk to this King and see if we can rationally resolve everything.” Frank: "Well put, Silas, let's try it then.”
After a brief mental conference, Frank answered Mosh and Vaud, who were starting to feel anxious about the pause. "We're going to try to work this out with the King, but I don't want to create more problems than you already have. You mentioned that this King is a shard of an ancestral? And that he emerged from somewhere?”
Vaud smiled again and said, "Yes. When a multiverse ends, parts of the rational beings that existed there are eternalized in fragments within the primordial monolith. We call them shards because they are parts of a personality or memories of someone. And we call them ancestral because they are from a multiverse prior to ours. These shards become objects or locations in the Underworld. Rarely do they become sentient beings, as shadows of what they once were. That’s the case with the King.” Vaud paused to take a sip of coffee, now cold due to the time it took to utter each phrase, and continued. “We call the world inside the primordial monolith the Underworld, and it's divided into floors, one floor for each multiverse. Before the Big Bang a little while ago, there were eight floors, and now there are nine. But, anyway, we don’t know much about who the King was. Mosh wasted some time trying to study the King's past. He can explain better what he’s discovered."
Petra interrupted. “Mosh, let us align our goals before you start explaining. We’re thinking of trying to convince the King to let you continue your research on the mountain without being bothered. Do you think that’s a good idea?"
Mosh thought about this for a moment, and then he spoke in a more relaxed tone. "It would be one of the best scenarios. In the rare cases when a shard of an ancestral comes to the surface, Gate takes charge of making them physically and mentally complete, but it takes a long time for the shard to realize this. So, there’s a possibility of persuading the King. When we tried to talk to the King, he suggested that we test our worth in combat first. We obviously refused. Despite his not being physically violent, there was no room for more constructive conversations since our refusal.” Mosh now paused to take a sip of his cold coffee. "So, I think that the King might have been a leader of some prehistoric civilization on one of the previous multiverses. His culture valued warriors' ideals, and this is what really matters to them. We, as suma, have extremely fragile bodies in the world of living. Even if we tried to improve our chances with technology or magic to accept the King's terms, the most likely scenario is that we would be destroyed and return to the City of the Dead without our material."
Vaud noticed the tension in the air and said, “We’re not asking for you guys to accept the King's challenge because we think it’s too dangerous. In any case, perhaps you’ll be able to talk to the King and make him realize that he’s no longer stuck in his own past."
Petra stepped forward. “Let’s suppose we agree to this warrior’s challenge. Do you have any information that could help us?”
Vaud thought for a while, looked at Mosh, who shook his head no, and finally turned to Petra, saying, "Neither Mosh nor I know anything else about the King's test, but it seemed like he was very physically strong. What I’m going to suggest is this. We can open a bank account in the City of the Dead for each of you, place funds there, and obtain one resurrection insurance linked to each of those accounts, which means that if anything goes wrong, one of our people will take care of receiving you at a hotel in our city while you’re in the Umbra. And then, we’ll bring you back to life when it’s most convenient. And that's independent of whether things go well or poorly with the King."
Frank interrupted, "Vaud, I appreciate your offer, but we can’t accept it. If things go wrong here, and we go to the City of the Dead, there’s a chance that the Golems will go after us there. Because no one in the Northern Valley can be revived, and that’d be a problem for your city,” Listening to this, Petra started losing patience and grumbled mentally to Frank.
Vaud noticed the impasse and said: “Ok, sorry if Suma customs seems a bit strange to you. Anyway, Frank's observation makes sense. Here’s what we can do. We will add a clause to the insurance policy. Instead of hosting you all in hotels, the professionals will go directly to the Dormant Spirit Field so that you’ll be revived back to Gate from there, which means you guys will never have to go to the City of the Dead if you don’t want to. Is that better?”
"Well, in that case, it seems fine,” Frank replied immediately, as Petra spoke telepathically to everyone, “They actually seem well-intentioned, despite this being the most bizarre life insurance proposal I've ever heard of. In any case, the day is ending, and I’d like to go speak to this King today.”
Liora, a bit disconcerted, expressed her concern to Vaud and Mosh: “I know that this magic of resurrecting the dead also works with Oioi, but let's try to work this out without anyone needing to take a walk in the world of the dead. Let’s leave right now for the mountain and see what will happen. Silas is not going to the mountain and is going to stay with you two to protect the ship and the data you brought with you. And if we don't return, then we will need to be resurrected; I want you both to commit to accompanying Silas until we manage to come back. What do you say?"
Vaud and Mosh looked at each other. Mosh answered: “Actually, it sounds like a good idea. I think you can try to talk to the King now." Vaud added, “I’m using your ship’s universal connector, and I have a direct connection to our city. I’ll send you the policies and the bank account joining contract with the Phoenix Credit Union. Everything will be ready in one or two minutes. Once your accounts are activated, they will materialize an Aethernet connector from the Umbra for you, and you’ll be able to access your accounts from the ship, create profiles, and access our IT public network. I imagine you’re disconnected from the Metropolis network.” Petra and Silas were quite excited to hear this. Silas spoke mentally, “Wow, this connection could be even more helpful to us than the bank accounts. It will potentially allow us to access Metropolis’s network in an incredibly secure way."
Petra commented mentally, “We've been talking for hours, but everything is sorted in minutes on the business contract.” Liora replied, “The contracts are in suma, which is a rather concise language. And our friends here speak a Dzaobudine dialect, a rather peculiar combination." Silas: "I would never have the head to think about insurance at a time like this. But, it seems to be something routine for the suma. Thinking coolly about it, it's a good solution. The two scientists feed on mana but don’t seem to know much about magic, so they cannot revive us themselves. If anything bad happens, this insurance will bring us back to life.” Liora remembered, "Silas, like I said earlier, it would be a great idea for you to stay inside the ship until we're sure it’s safe. We’ll talk to each other via telepathy. And staying on the ship gives you the option of using that military weapon you’ve been fixing.” Silas concluded, “The weapon’s partially operational, and it will draw attention to the ship. We’ll try not to need it. Anyway, let us follow your plan; I’ll stay here for support.”
Less than five minutes later, a skull-shaped device that must have been that Aethernet connector appeared in front of Silas. He activated it and connected it to the ship’s network. After a scan and security configurations on their respective comlinks, they realized that each of them had an account at the PCU of 12,501 credits, which was deducted in 12,500 credits within a few seconds. Still, then their accounts were topped up to 11,375, and there was a message from a credit assistant that read, "Congratulations! Thank you for trusting the Phoenix Group! Investing in your future and far beyond! I am your credit assistant. The cost of resurrection insurance was 12,500 spirit credits. We did a risk assessment and detected the Lu magic active. This magic guarantees you a 91% reimbursement for risk control.”
Frank commented, “Vaud, we received our insurance. And we got a substantial refund after the risk assessment."
Vaud replied, "Great! You can keep that reimbursement as a token of our gratitude.” Mentally, Petra noticed something wrong with the values. She asked: “Ok, Liora, spirit credit shouldn’t be worth nearly nothing, right?" Liora took a while to process what had just happened but returned to focus. “We'd better calmly talk about that later. We need to focus on what we’re going to do. But it's actually a lot of money." Petra smiled at Frank with gratitude but followed Liora’s suggestion.
The group divided. The martial trio prepared to descend to the mountain in the aircar while Silas allocated the two guests to a passenger room and prepared for action in the firing tower. Liora’s copy stayed at the ship's controls.
Liora, Frank, and Petra focused before setting off. They got into the aircar, a long-time companion of their adventures. They felt a mix of happiness and anxiety as they saw their handprints imprinted on the backseat's fuselage, where they'd held Silas during their escape from the valley. They took a deep breath and left to find the King.
Approaching the mountain peak, they saw the abandoned astronomy tower with two guards at the door. In front of a large metal gate closing off a cave inside the mountain, two other guards near those gates kept observing them coming. These guards were titans three meters tall, wearing clothes made from what seemed to be primitive red cotton cloth. They were wearing nothing else nor apparent weapons of any kind.
Frank asked: "Where’d they get those clothes?" and Liora answered, “Not entirely sure, but if they came through a portal, they must have brought some things with them. I’m saying that because they’re not wearing anything technological. Their clothes are simple and organic. And I don’t see anything that would survive out here in these conditions to make those clothes. Even them. To be OK in this cold without anything to help, they must have trained in Gate powers.”
Mosh said via comlink: "They speak a very modified dialect of Gate’s ancient language. When the King arrived, we were isolated outside, and it took some time for us to discover how to communicate with them properly. I’ve passed the language models to your nano-translators. But you’re going to have to configure it to translate your voices cause those guys have no translators whatsoever. About the clothes, Frank, they all lived together in a room in the Underworld with an environment similar to their time of living, and the portal at the heart of the mountain is two-way."
Liora commented, "I was hoping they’d speak some oioi dialect. If they lived in the multiverse right before the cataclysm, I don't recall any oioi speaking that dialect, and even less of oiois who have shunned technology as seems to be the case here."
Petra answered, impressed, “What? Are those guards oioi? I thought they were just tall humans.”
Mosh commented, "They are none of those things. I think they are a primitive species of the Nî—one of the several species of the Aba Oj galaxy. Similar to us, they can feed on mana. Even though they don’t need to, maybe that’s why they’ve seen to adapt well to the mountain. Anyway, their species effectively use that mana to look like whoever observes them; that´s why Liora sees them as oioi, and Petra sees them as giant humans. Their actual bodies are humanoid and about the height you all see, which is quite different from the peculiar abilities of the modern age Nî."
Frank got curious. “Nî? Is this a species with powers of illusion?”
Liora maneuvered to land the aircar near the guards at the mountain entrance. She realized that they kept watching but were not moving. She responded to Frank: “No, Frank, the nî really take on the form of whoever is observing them, not an illusion. They’re usually quite social."
Frank, exiting the car, “Ah, so, they're metamorphs?"
"Not exactly. It's more complicated," Liora replied, "But I think the modern Nîs are not that similar to their ancestors because those guards have a fixed physical form and a kind of magical illusion to make them appear differently."
“That’s what I was about to say," Mosh replied in Suma language. "Please don’t assume they're that social when dealing with them. But remember what I said about their warrior’s ideal," he said, trying to communicate quickly since the group was now at the gates of the mountain.
Liora went ahead. She waved to the guards in front of them. There was no response. She said, in the dialect that Mosh provided, "Hello! We’ve come to see the King under the mountain.”
The guards didn't say anything. They opened the metal gates that sealed the mountain, never taking their eyes off the three visitors. After they passed through the gates, the guards gently closed the metal doors behind them. They noticed a black stone corridor adorned with rustic, handmade, red tapestries. Many cauldrons with some kind of charcoal lit up the environment.
Liora touched the walls and said, "Impressive! We’re inside a monolith!”
Petra mentally warned, “Everyone, be careful. I think it is the King’s in a hall at the end of this corridor, sitting on a metal throne. He is observing everything we’re doing."
When she realized this, Liora moved forward without losing time, saying nothing more. The group reached a hall that opened naturally at the end of the corridor without a clear division of the spaces. The hall had sand spread across the floor, swept to create a wavelike pattern. Near the wall opposing the entrance, entirely surrounded by the sand, was a throne with the King sitting in an inquisitive pose. He was a figure that looked very similar to the other titans at the gate, wearing exactly the same clothes. If it hadn't been for him sitting on the throne, a visitor wouldn't know that he was the King.
Before the others could speak, the King nodded his head and spoke in a thunderous voice: “So, who are you, and what business do you have here with me?"
Liora said, "We came to ask the King to allow those who lived in the tower next door to return to their home."
The King replied furiously, "Home is for those who defend it, not those who flee. They are not worthy."
Liora rebelled. "They're doing work to overthrow a tyrant who kills his own people. And they're going back to finish their mission. And I'm not going to bow down to another tyrant. They're returning to their home, whether you want to or not!” Frank and Petra looked at their friend, impressed.
The King raised his head and narrowed his eyes but didn't move. He said, more calmly, “You have courage. We shall see if they deserve a place among us. It will be a fair fight. I see more eyes watching me than the three of you. Therefore, you will need to defeat six of my warriors. If you win, you can stay out there to finish this mission, but I warn you. My warriors have trained for more days than you can count, and one of them would be enough to defeat all of you. They will show no mercy. Do you accept this challenge?"
Frank mentally: "He knows how many of us there are in total. But he’s forgotten your copy, Liora." Liora: “If they’re taking on a form based on who observes them, I think they can at least count how many there are. I and my copy probably share the same perception in that case.” Petra: "It’s two against each of us. I don’t recommend Silas getting involved in a fight like this. If they’re really strong, the best thing to do is run away with the ship.” Frank: "Their power is weird. If I focus on my ability to share senses, I can perceive the different forms. Should we try to defeat them?"
Liora said, "I accept your challenge, King. But I don’t want to kill anyone today. It’ll be a combat without casualties.”
The King observed the three of them without answering anything. Six warriors came down a side corridor and greeted the King. They were carrying metal and stone weapons and armor. Half of them carried nunchakus with a small chain of four rings, while the rest carried staves. All weapons seemed to be made of material very similar to the local walls.
Liora said mentally, “Their equipment is simple, but it could be a problem. I don’t know how they did it, but they are really monolith weapons.”
The King asked: “It's just going to be the three of you, right?”
Liora nodded, and the King pointed at his warriors’ staves. Promptly, they handed them to their leader. The King gathered the three monolithic staves and snapped them as if they were twigs, saying, “Now it’ll be a fair fight. You can start!"
The six warriors bowed to the King and their opponents. The three returned the bow and observed the movements. The warriors began their martial dance, with basic movements that repeated but increased in grace and cadence as if inviting them to fight. Frank and Petra made their katas while Liora stood motionless, watching and thinking.
Liora: “They’re naturally flowing between different timeframes. It’s not easily perceivable. Even though they appear primitive, their technique is unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it." Frank: “Let’s not lose the battle before it begins. They have very similar techniques but are acting separately. We have complementary techniques, and our advantage will be acting together.” Petra: "They don’t seem to have weaknesses highlighted by their movements, but they don’t appear to have long-range weapons. The key to victory, perhaps, will be mobility. Let’s try isolating Liora while she’s firing."
The distance between the warriors decreased with each movement. The group, stationary in the center, didn't need to look around because of the shared senses. That kept them calm and focused, which made the King rub his chin, impressed by what he saw.
Petra: "Ok, everyone, they’re getting closer and closer, and they’re inviting us to make the first attack. I'm going to make a gambit move as if I were rushing ahead. I'm going to try to counterattack one of them who aren’t armed. At the same time, Liora will take on two of them who are armed, and Frank will take the other armed one. Ok?" Liora and Frank: "Got it!"
Petra swung her Flexoclava, turning her body into granite and increasing the momentum of her blow. The unarmed warrior had no problem dodging her attack and, letting out a smile, in an acrobatic movement, leaned on his arms and one leg to the ground as he delivered a perfect arc kick with his other leg; Petra returned the smile. She managed to parry the blow, defending herself from the powerful onslaught. Still, she could not cause any damage to her enemy, who, continuing with his fluid kick, as in a dance, stood back up, already assuming another defensive posture in a more forceful style.
Petra's gambit distracted the others just enough for Liora to fire twice without having to turn her head or aim. Using Frank’s and Petra's focused vision, she hit two of her armed opponents directly. But even surprised, those warriors were formidable, managing to interpose their weapons right on top of the point where the antimatter began to penetrate, significantly reducing the damage of Liora’s lethal shot. However, the explosion reached them and wounded them severely, opening a hole in their abdomen and launching their bodies into radial spokes from the explosion’s points of impact. Their weapons survived the shot perfectly, ignoring the attack, which would have sunk an ordinary mountain. Wounded, the two kept a step backward while throwing their weapons to their partners as part of a kata, assuming a totally defensive posture and changing their movements while whispering something to themselves. To Petra's bewilderment, she realized that their bodies were healing at a much faster rate than her; in a few seconds, they’d be perfect.
Four of the six warriors now revolved around the group to gain precious seconds while the other two, further away, recovered. Even after taking a nearly lethal blow, they remained calm and seemed to communicate with each other with their martial dance, combining a plan of action to reach victory.
Liora: “They’re studying us; I'm going to change my strategy.” Frank: “No, they defended your shots with their weapons, but they couldn't dodge it. If you have none of them next, you should keep shooting. Petra and I will enchant your shots with mana to make it hard to block. We need to reduce the numerical disadvantage now.” Petra: “Let's try that, Frank!”
With that, before the warriors could close their circle around the group's triangular formation, Liora fired two more shots toward the two armed warriors closest to her. She intended to create a breaking point. This time, Petra and Frank allowed their mana to flow wildly over Liora, and her shots were enchanted with a trail of fire and earth. As expected, the counterattacks from their weapons were ineffective, allowing the antimatter to hit them directly this time. When their loss was imminent due to the ensuing explosion, at the last gasp of life, the warriors turned into two monolithic statues melding with the mountain under the sands, thereby making their last fight eternal as they became a part of the mountain that served as their arena as statues. The four survivors bowed to their fallen comrades and continued the combat. Immediately, the two who were previously injured advanced to take the place of those who’d turned into stone, taking up the weapons in their hands to use in the battle to come.
The four moved inexorably, now in a full attack kata. Three of the opponents, armed, created a percussive sound that fell into perfect harmony, providing a musical beat similar to a power metal drummer. The effect was devastating. Frank had great difficulty controlling the frenetic positioning of his opponents. Even sharing their senses, Frank managed to hold on to only one and dodge all of its blows against him. Petra only managed to put herself in front of another one of them, parrying his blows. And two warriors descended on Liora. One was armed, participating in the symphony of blows against Liora. The other positioned himself behind Liora, prepared to vocalize the song of death. He widened his eyes in primal fury and yelled, “Iiiii!" as he completed the kata, Liora saw her magic energy sensor skyrocket near the unarmed, screaming warrior behind her. Her magically energized opponent performed a wide roundhouse kick, striking empty air behind himself while looking back at Liora; magically, all the power of his kick was transferred in some way to a point in the back of Liora’s head. She immediately unloaded all of her energy cells to form a defensive energy barrier, mitigating the blow that would have easily knocked her down. Liora was heavily wounded, but she managed to hide this, turning off her oioi pain receptors. It was only by a hair's breadth that she didn’t fall.
Liora: “I can't stand the next one. It will be over for me." Frank: “Petra, I’m going to jump behind you and throw you on top of the energized guy. Hold him while I hit him. I can land a few blows on them if they are stopped parrying with their weapons." Petra: "Ok, Liora. You’ll have to dodge those with weapons." Liora: “No problem, let’s go!"
Frank hit the opponent in front of him on a faint; in the middle of his attack sequence, he jumped behind Petra, grabbed her, and launched her at the unarmed opponent behind Liora. In the air, she increased her mass before making contact. At the precise moment that Petra fell upon the unarmed warrior immobilizing him, Frank used his Flexoclava to launch himself like a bullet against the same grappled target. Frank delivered a mighty blow that brought him down, transforming him into a third statue.
The King, impressed, struggled to understand how that formidable team was able to act as if they were a single opponent. His warriors noticed the same thing, and they all took advantage of the opening to try to take out Liora with their weapons. But, she managed to dodge all their chaku strikes while focusing on dodging at her maximum speed, as in a dangerous ballet, distancing herself from all of the warriors. Their battle plan worked, and they all survived, eliminating the numerical disadvantage. The warriors thought that their frenzied attacks had been ineffective, but they didn't get discouraged. They changed their strategy again, using a fixed position kata, staying motionless, and taking on a defensive, reactive posture. They exchanged looks between each other and their opponents as if looking for another opening.
Liora: "We can’t give them time to think. With none of them near us, we’re going to use enchanted shots again." Petra and Frank: “Roger!”
Immediately, Liora jumped and stopped in a crouched position, switched her weapon between her hands as she shifted far from the center, and fired two shots, nearly aligning two of her opponents. Frank and Petra unleashed their mana again, which their regeneration had already replenished. This time, one of Liora's strikes missed its target because the warrior managed to dodge it in their new stance, but the second one, who’d tried to parry the blow, met the same fate as the others and turned into a fourth statue. Before they could celebrate, the warrior that Liora does not target faked out Petra by leaping toward the new statue, taking a second nunchaku from its hands while jumping, and changing his kata to a highly aggressive form. He took a risk focusing against Frank, who managed to dodge some attacks, while Petra managed to keep close to Frank and parried some strikes. The other opponent that just dodged Liora's shoot, seeing an opening as no one was near him, jumped on top of Frank as he perceived Petra´s effort to parry all blows against Frank, reaching his back and managing to land one single blow against Frank’s head, enough to knock him unconscious.
Petra: "Frank! Frank!” Liora: “Frank’s unconscious, but he’s slowly regenerating. Focus on our opponents. We need to buy some time now.”
With that, the two remaining warriors noticed that, without Frank, they had complete dominance of the arena positioning. One of the warriors grabbed his chaku with both hands and, instead of delivering a strike, positioned himself behind Petra, strangling her neck. Effectively immobilizing her and preventing her from defending herself or Liora, while the other with two nunchakus keeps charging toward Liora, leaving no space for shots.
Petra: “I can’t get out of here, but I can still stay alive for a while.” Liora: “If I fire now, he’ll hit me.” Petra: “Focus on not being hit.”
The King was about to raise his hand, ending the battle with the victory of his warriors. However, he noticed that his opponents were still fighting and refusing to concede defeat. He waited a few more moments but remained with one arm raised, satisfied by what he’d seen until now.
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Frank: "I’m waking up. Damn, I almost bite the dust, but I think I can try something.” Petra: “I’m about to pass out even in stone form. I can't get this bastard off my neck.” Liora: “And I’m about to recharge my energy to defend myself. Wait a few more seconds laying down the floor, Frank, and when I give you the signal, you jump on top of the guy who’s holding Petra while I fire at mine." Frank: "Let’s do it!"
Just before Petra lost consciousness, Frank returned to the battle as Liora gave the signal that her energy had fully restored, leaping over the titan who was immobilizing Petra. The warrior expected it and managed to land a swift, light counterattack, bringing Frank down once more but releasing the grapple. Petra, meanwhile, free of her imprisonment and without losing a moment, took advantage of her opponent’s divided attention and grabbed his neck, reversing the situation. However, Petra assumed her densest form, at maximum potency, inexorably locking her opponent's neck with her stone arms. He still tried to strike blows and kicks against her but to no effect. At the same time, Liora fired two shots from her weapon against the opponent in front of her. He launched a decisive counterattack at the same time. Liora managed to discharge all her energy cells again, parrying some of the impact, but she was still wounded from the previous attack. She couldn't regenerate like her friends, and she fell to her knees while her opponent, who had taken two shots point-blank, transformed into a fifth statue in the arena.
Petra, meanwhile, continued to regenerate. Her opponent, completely grappled, realized the fight was over. He clapped his hands on the ground, kicking up sand in a sign of defeat. With that, Petra released him from his prison. She was the only one able to stand in the center of the arena, with Frank and Liora both unconscious and the last of the warriors kneeling, surrendered.
The King, still with his arms still outstretched, was surprised once again. With a brief nod, he greeted the champion, saying, "Worthy warrior, you may return to the tower with your people,” When he finished speaking, the two guards opened the gates at the end of the corridor. Petra stood up, carrying Frank on her shoulders, and Liora leaned on Petra’s other shoulder. Slowly, they all walked out of the mountain.
Silas: "The guards in front of the observatory were gone. It seems the King kept his word.” Liora: "In the end, it worked out. But I still don’t like the King.” Vaud: “It's complicated dealing with these anachronisms. But, we’ll be in debt to you for taking such a risk." Petra: "We need to rest and talk. The situation’s resolved, but I don’t think the King will cooperate with anything else. At least he's not our enemy."
It took Frank several minutes to regain consciousness. His regeneration powers were still very weak compared with Petra, but at least they’d guaranteed that he'd survive the combat. When he woke, he could barely speak. Even his telepathic thoughts hurt. Still, he asked, “Did we win?”
Liora answered, "Yes. Petra was the only one standing at the end. And I’m going to need some time to recover.”
Liora's copy moved the ship further away from the mountain while Silas, Mosh, and Vaud used the bubble to go to the entrance of the observatory. Vaud commented, “We’ll place our tree next to the observatory. When the Golems get here, we’ll put everything inside and hide until they leave. Now we’re going to go in and see the condition of our things after all this time.”
Silas commented through the comlink, "You guys need to rest. Go back to the ship while I stay here to get the observatory up and running.” Petra agreed with Silas via comlink while she helped Frank and Liora into the aircar’s backseat and drove them to the ship. It was already the end of the afternoon. They went to their rooms to receive life support care. Of the three, only Liora was in a more critical condition and needed medical devices.
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Name: Silas "Archon" Cade Species: Ebex XP: 45+2 / 4 Powers Super-Life Magnitude 1 Super-Energy Magnitude 4 Super-Resistance (ebex) Magnitude 1 Super-Technique Magnitude 19 Unknowledge (ebex) Magnitude 2 Superior Technology: Architect Magnitude 16 Natural Combined Armor (ebex) - Know it all (party) - Skills Traditional Dancing (Dex) +2 Mathematics (Int) +4 Computer Engineering (Tech) +4 Kung fu (Res) +4 (fixed - know it all) - - Essence: Reality +4 Days: 9200 (0) Equipment Superior safety clothes (AC 3) Northern Valley Shielded Bracers (1 parry), resized Silas´ Flexoclava, Damage: d12, melee, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produces 1TP / turn (quirk: Silas got +3 hit bonus when using it) Other 3 credits on Paradiso account 11375 spirit credits on PCU City of the Dead revival service insurance 1x Survival kit (food cube, shelter cube) Flight surveillance drones (1x, normal tech) Airbike, speed +4 (boosted), flight (normal tech): Following 4 Golens Aircar, perception +4 (boosted), flight (normal tech)
Schrogae 5-engine cargo airship: life support +4, capacity +7, maneuver +7, speed up +7, flight (.01c normal tech), space flight (.5c sub-light, normal tech), stealth +3(superior tech 1000/1000), inertial stabilizer +4, gravity engine +7, Energy cells battery x10 (superior tech, 10 TP charge, 100/100), Advanced Auto-Repair (superior tech, prototype bonus+, 20/20, consume 2 TP to regen 20 HP, or make 2 rolls to repair devices except for berserker mode+), Double-layered full armor (superior tech, AC 4, 200/200), 2x Energy positional shields (superior tech, 2 parry, 500/500), Structures (superior tech, 2000/2000 HP, 2000/2000), long-range scan +2 (superior tech, 1000/1000), short-range communicators +2(superior tech, 100/100),
2x turret 9th sentinel artillery/ranged (1/2) (superior tech, 120 fixed, Art.Rng., Hit: Dex/Tech, infinite ammo, 2700/5000),
Main gun - plasma cannon 5th generation shooter x4 (1/4) (superior tech, 10, Rng., Hit: Dex, infinite ammo, 6400/6400),
*berserker mode[*non-newtonian liquid atmosphere +4 (10000/10000), *tech meld interface 4x Tech/Dex/Str/Res (160000/160000), *8th circle retro-plasma saber x4 (2d12+1, Mle., Hit: Dex, infinite ammo, 10000/10000), *Avatar AI (superior tech, all Atts+4, 90000/90000)]
Name: Liora “Stardust” Gorgath Species: Oioioi XP: 44+2 / 4 Powers Super-Life Magnitude 1 Super-Energy Magnitude 3 Super-Dexterity Magnitude 37 Shardify (oioioi) Magnitude 1 Superior Technology Network (oioioi) - Structural (oioioi) - Know it all (party) - Skills Aerolito´s Dojo Training (Dex) +4 Informatics (Wis) +4 Streetwise (Cha) +4 Kung fu (Res) +4 (fixed - know it all) - - Essence: Reality +4 Days: 8645 (0) Equipment Double-trouble (5), ranged, hit: Dex, 2TP\turn, prototype (quirk: +3 hit when shooting twice a turn) Other Secure private network nano-connector Mk1: enables connection with Mag1 safety 2 credits on Paradiso account 11375 spirit credits on PCU City of the Dead revival service insurance 1x Survival kit (fuel cube, shelter cube)
Name: Petra "Warden" Somerson Species: Human XP: 43+2 / 4 Powers Super-Life Magnitude 7 Super-Mana Magnitude 2 Super-Strength Magnitude 1 Super-Resistance Magnitude 21 Super-Wisdom Magnitude 5 Super-Constitution Magnitude 3 Spellcasting Magnitude 2 Skills Aerolito´s Dojo Training (Res) +4 Shooting (Dex) +4 Military Discipline (Mor) +4 Tang Soo Do (Str) +4 (fixed - know it all) School of Transport(v_) (Wis) +2 11/100 - Essence: Reality +4 Days: 5314 (0) Equipment 11375 spirit credits on PCU City of the Dead revival service insurance 1x Flexoclava, Damage: d12, melee, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produce 1TP / turn Sci-lab jacket (AC 3), regen, prototype (quirk: AC 2 to magical defense) Northern Valley Shielded Bracers (1 parry) Other Survival kit (food cube, shelter cube) Trained Magic (vo) ??? (va) ??? Spell Complements - -
Name: Frank "Firebreaker" Summers Species: Human XP: 43+2 / 4 Powers Super-Life Magnitude 2 Super-Mana Magnitude 1 Super-Willpower Magnitude 2 Super-Strength Magnitude 19 Super-Dexterity Magnitude 11 Super-Intelligence Magnitude 3 Super-Charisma Magnitude 1 Super-Constitution Magnitude 1 Spellcasting Magnitude 1 Skills Aerolito´s Dojo Training (Dex) +4 Bar Politics (Int) +4 Power Drinking (Res) +4 Drunken Fighting (Str) +4 (fixed - know it all) School of Communication (l_) (Int) +2 32/100 - Essence: Balance +4 Days: 5034 (11) Equipment 11375 spirit credits on PCU City of the Dead revival service insurance 1x Dual-ray trigger happy riffle (5), ranged, hit: Dex, 2TP\turn Ebexian Flexoclava (d12), melee, hit:Dex Other Survival kit (food cube, shelter cube) Vabala, complete, open Northern Valley Shielded Bracers (1 parry) 2x Northern Valley Guard Armor (AC 2) 2x Northern Valley Stun Rifle (2), hit: Dex, dam: Dex, ranged, non-lethal option, unlimited ammo 4x Trained Magic
(lu) Unforgettables, Assemble! Enchant with telepathy and sharing perception up to Int targets (Int+1 for the Unforgettables party only) simultaneously, enchanted beings opt to turn on and off this power at will at no cost or to filter it as desired. Grants a circumstantial bonus of +Mag on mobility rolls and can share skills to make rolls using the highest within the group. Targets: Mag targets each casting. Range: Indirect perception (only for enchanting or disenchanting; after that, the range is infinite and ignores all). Duration: infinite. Tags: Enchantment, Disenchant (no cost, at will)
(lo) Pub Proxy Projection: Enchant one location so that you can hear/see/taste and speak/be seen as if you were present. You can keep enchanted up to Mag locations simultaneously. You make an Int roll for accuracy (with a +3 bonus for any pub). Range: Knowledge. Targets: A point in relative space and maximum radius of (Int + Mag) meters, expend mana to cast and expand radius if needed. Duration: infinite Tags: Enchantment, Disenchant (no cost, at will) Spell Complements (lu) Self (Frank): Str +4, Res + 4, Dex + 4, Int +4
(lu) Liora: Wis +4, Cha +4
(lu) Silas: Tech +4
(lu) Petra: Mor +4 (lo) Rokatrista Bar "Taco´Bout Trouble Tavern" aka "Triple Ts," Gate, Northern Edge Region
Superior Technology projects People on development Silas 16 research/day People on prototyping Silas 35 research/day People on production Silas, Liora (1 copy) 36 research/day Repair rate 360 / day Blueprints Flexoclava Foundation melee weapon + 1x internal energy generator 20 / 20 Research Sci-lab jacket Foundation main protector + regeneration 20 / 20 Research Dual-ray trigger happy riffle Foundation ranged weapon + energy(2) 30 / 30 Research Prototype Silas´ Flexoclava Damage: d12, melee, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produce 1TP / turn (quirk: Silas got +3 hit bonus when using it) 20 / 20 Research Sci-lab jacket of disbelief AC:3, regenerate (quirk: AC:2 for magical defense) 20 / 20 Research Double-trouble Damage: 5, ranged, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produces 2TP\turn (quirk: +3 hit when shooting twice a turn) 30 / 30 Research Production Flexoclava (complete: 2x) Damage: d12, melee, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produce 1TP / turn 20 / 40 Research Dual-ray trigger happy riffle (complete: 1x) Damage: 5, ranged, Hit: Dex, consumes 1TP / successful hit, produce 2TP\turn 30 / 30 Research
The Unforgettables Assembly (Milestones 4/2) Maneuver: 19+5 (condition: Firebreaker on vanguard) Perception: 5+4 (condition: Warden on perception range) Tactical Insight: 3+4 (condition: Firebreaker on perception range) Vanguard: Firebreaker, Warden Ranged: Stardust Artillery: Archon Combat Totals Char-action life aural hit dam def mdef dodge TP cost extra Warden 70 / 70 63 10 0+4 regen 3/t War - melee 0+4 1(d12) War - parry 21+4 21(d12+1) X-1 X hit/t Firebreaker 20 / 20 WP 2/2 0 0 11+4 regen 1/t Fir - melee 11+4 19(d12) X-1 X hit/t Fir - brawl 19+4 19(d4) bare hands Fir - ranged 11+4 55 X-2 X hit/t Fir - ranged TF2 1+4 55 X-2 X hit/t Stardust 10 / 10 TP 3/3 0 0 35+4 Stardust (self) +10X X reaction Star - ranged 37+4 185 X-2 X hit/t Star - ranged TF2 27+7 185 X-2 X hit/t Star - ranged TF3 17+4 185 X-2 X hit/t Star - ranged TF4 7+4 185 X-2 X hit/t Star - Blast (rng) 37+4 X(d6) X push Archon 10 / 10 TP 4/4 5 0 0+4 Arch - melee 0+7 1 X-1 X hit/t Arch - parry 1+7 1(d12+1) X-1 X hit/t Arch - Blast(art) 19+4 X(d6) X push Arch - Nova(mle) 19+4 2X X all targets