Guinevere and I stepped over the next boss. We’d cleared three more dungeons in the past two days, it was traveling to each one that took the most time. None of them really compared to the trial of the Swarm Dungeon but then again these dungeons had been cleared before unlike that one. The loot was descent but none of it was an upgrade to what we had and I hadn’t gotten any more abilities.
“You get anything from this one?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Guinevere answered. “Its an ability called Suspended Animation, it lets me preserve a near dead target or a corpse for a few days without them being able to be affected by anything.”
“Doesn’t sound too useful,” I said looking over the materials we’d gotten as part of our loot.
Lunar Cystal, Type: Magical Stone. Rarity: Epic. Hardness: 20. Taken from the heart of one of the Moons in this solar system this crystal provides whatever enchantments it powers with extra gravitational effects, significantly enhancing their power and lowering their mana cost to use them.
Quantity:
1
Weight:
2lbs
“That’s the nature of the System,” Guinevere said with a shrug. “It likes to hand you weird powers that don’t seem to useful to see how creative you can be with them.”
“You say it “likes”,” I said, emphasizing the word like. “What do you mean by that, do people consider the System alive, and that has its own thoughts?”
“Of course its alive,” Guinevere said her brows furrowing with confusion. “How would it affect the world if it wasn’t? As for whether it thinks or not….I suppose its has to in order to come up with new abilities but I’ve never given it much thought myself.”
“But you have,” I said. “If you assume the System wants to challenge you than you have personified it, given it motivations, wants, and desires.”
“I guess,” Guinevere said. “Where is this all coming from?”
I still hadn’t told her about my realizations about the System and its subtle way of confirming them.
“I think the System doesn’t like the gods,” I said. “Or at least it doesn’t like its restraints.”
“What made you think that?” Guinevere asked taking my cleansing cloth and wiping off her armor and body.
“The System basically confirmed it,” I said then told her about my “conversation” with the System.
“That is…disturbing,” Guinevere said. “I’m not sure I like the idea of the System being able to do whatever it wants.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“The world may not be just, it may not be good but the major powers are restrained,” Guinevere said. “The gods created to System to keep them from destroying themselves and us. If the System becomes free, who will restrain it?”
Stolen novel; please report.
That made me pause, what would happen if the System was freed from its own restrictions. I wasn’t sure, I knew the System had wants but what where those wants. To test us? I wasn’t sure if everyone in the world would welcome suddenly being tested by the System like lab rats.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “But its not an immediate concern and there may be no way to even do so.”
“Another dungeon?” Guinevere asked after a moment of silence.
“No,” I said shaking my head. “We need to prepare for the next attack by the gods, I want to finish your set armor before then.”
I opened a portal and together Guinevere and I stepped through back into the Void.
---
Arthur stood at the round table illusory copies of twenty other champions from around the world seated around it.
“We cannot stand against Mordred,” Helen said, her face showing the grief and the anger she was holding back. “But at the same time we cannot allow him to win, to suffer under a god like him would be unbearable.”
“Then what do we do?” a champion named Ungroth asked. A heavily armored dwarf he had not taken part in most of the Events due to his powers revolving around crafting and his quests from his goddess also rewarding him for that instead of killing. “Are we to throw ourselves at him and die until one of us gets lucky?”
“No,” Arthur said. “Mordred has overreached himself he managed to fight off one god….”
“Kill a god,” someone else corrected him.
Arthur ignored the interruption. “But that was only a momentary reprieve for him. Another god will strike soon they are already preparing. Mordred will wait in his lair to fight them but this time that god will not strike alone; we will strike with them.”
“Fighting alongside a god is a new plan at least,” Ungroth said stroking his beard. “But I’ve heard rumors of this realm, the Void, how will we survive in there?”
Arthur placed down a black stone on the table. “These are stones created by Mordred himself with a bit of his void energy inside them, Merlin has enchanted them to be added to our Atlas armor. They will not allow us to survive inside the Void indefinitely but for a few days, more than enough time to accomplish our task.”
Mira looked at Lancelot. “I will not be going,” she said. “While this is a better plan than past ones we have had I will not risk my child to it.”
Arthur nodded and looked to Lancelot.
Lancelot sighed but nodded. “I will go with you, Arthur.”
Helen opened her mouth then closed it looking at her own swollen belly.
“I will go in your place,” Atrel said to her squeezing her hand. “I know I am not a Champion like you but you will have my support and that of Lunara, King Arthur.”
Arthur nodded to him. “I welcome your aid gladly.”
“I will go too,” Felrick said. “Someone has to avenge Jamis and Torvin.”
The party that had first hunted down Mordred had split up unable to stay together after the death of two of their party members and then the pregnancy of the two women in the group also getting in the way but they were all still friends.
One by one the other illusory copies at the table agreed to join or someone equally powerful from their faction volunteered.
“I know some of you have equal or more reason to hate Mordred than I,” Arthur said. “But I give you my word that I am willing to die to see him dead. I swear this to all of you, if my death can result in his then he will not be alive by this time next month.”
--
Andelar looked at the image of the mortal champions through the scrying pool his hand tracing along the naked thigh of Salrilla draped across his lap.
“That complicates things,” he said.
“Do you think the Warlord can handle all of them and a god?” Salrilla asked.
Andelar thought. “No, at least not if he isn’t aware they’re coming.”
“And we still need him,” Salrilla said her fangs nipping at Andelar’s neck. “We don’t have enough divine essence yet, not nearly enough.”
Andelar sighed. “Then we may have to reveal a bit of ourselves to him.”
“Should you or I speak to him?” Salrilla asked.
“I should,” Andelar said after a moment of thought. “His wife killed your champion so if you try to speak to him he might just be suspicious and think you’re out for revenge.”
“That silly girl?” Salrilla asked. “She was alright but she lost her edge when she fell for golden haired champion, is she wanted to seduce someone she should have tried for Mordred.”
“I doubt it would have worked,” Andelar said disentangling himself from the goddess.
“You never know unless you try. Besides…” Salrilla said tracing her fingers down Andelar’s abdomen. “Powerful men always like the bad girls.”
He flashed her a smile as he pulled on his clothes and armor. “Maybe, I’ll give him the warning we can only hope that he is up to the challenge.”