Chapter 64 – Floor 7: Part 4

Discipline: Champion

Summary: Due to the interference of the Outer Deity, the selection of Disciplines has been restricted, limiting you to this single choice. As a ‘Champion,’ you have pledged to remove the Fiends and their Outer Deity from this floor. There are no level limits to this Discipline.

Patron Deity: The god of Righteous Subjugation.

Stats: + Body, + Mind, + Spirit

Unique Blessing: None. All Blessings in the Demesne of ‘Righteous Subjugation’ are available for purchase from the shop.

Mathew had selected his new Discipline once he was finished looking over the battlefield with Samuel. They had found the bodies of his companions, and a few of the others were still alive but severely injured.

He had also discovered that items recovered from the bodies of the dead could be sold to the shop for small amounts of Aether, propelling Mathew to the next level and the selection of his new Discipline.

He wasn’t pleased with the stat distribution or the fact that levelling up gave him very little in the way of actual rewards, but it still came with benefits. His mind was sharper, his body stronger, and his spirit became more connected to the patron deity of this floor.

But it was the shop, and the Blessings offered there that drew his attention. Mathew had bought a new set of clothing, just a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, but had finally decided that he needed additional protection from the Fiends.

He had started with leather armour, a breastplate, shoulder, arm and leg guards, and a thick, padded grey jacket that reached down to his thighs.

Mathew had learned that even though he didn’t know how to swing a sword or axe, it helped to have a weapon handy to ‘Catapult,’ so he had picked up a few knives and an axe from the battlefield. He kept them on a belt rather than in his inventory so he could use them quickly.

But it wasn’t just items that he purchased. He also bought a new Blessing with his remaining Aether. Costing over a hundred thousand units, ‘Mystic Bolt’ reminded Mathew of one of the spells that Oriole used against Bargoth on the Sixth floor during their duel.

Capable of sending a bolt of energy at his enemy, Mathew found the Blessing effective the few times he had used it against the Fiends. Their immunity to fire had forced him to adapt, and the trick he had used in the past of trapping and burning his enemies would not be applicable in the mad battles of the Seventh Floor.

Mystic Bolt could also be upgraded at an obscene cost, but the damage of the bolt increased accordingly up to Tier 3.

If this was one of the other Floors, Mathew would think that the hundreds of thousands of Aether necessary to increase its Tier was beyond his means of obtaining, but it was clear after being here for a day that he would need to readjust his perception of how much Aether he could make.

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“We’ve found where the Fiends in this area are coming from.” Samuel informed him several hours after they had finished searching the battlefield for bodies.

The sun had set, and a single moon had risen in the sky above them. Blood red, it cast the ground around them in a crimson tinge. It felt like this entire world was twisted and wrong, with no sense of normalcy or safety to be found.

Samuel had been included in a council of the strongest players amongst the thousands of survivors of the battle. Consisting of a dozen people, the Council organized their defences and planned how they would secure and pacify the area. It was impressive how much they had accomplished in only a few hours.

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“They’re converging around a gorge a few miles away from here. The scouts we sent reported that there is some kind of portal at the bottom. We need to go there and close it before we’re overrun with more of these Fiends.” Samuel explained.

“How many are we going to be fighting?” Mathew asked, and Samuel’s expression shifted slightly.

“That bad?” Mathew asked, wincing as he recognized the look on the other man’s face. He had seen a hint of despair, resignation and something else. Regret?

“Double our numbers, at least, with more joining them every minute. We don’t have time to wait for more players to reach us from the lower floors. We need to strike now, or we’ll be swarmed. But don’t worry. We have a plan to even the odds. Some of our Forgers have built cannons for a bombardment. It should give us an edge.” Samuel clarified.

Mathew ran a finger against the bottle of healing potion in his right pocket while he thought. They had only finished one fight a few hours ago, and now they were heading to another that was potentially worse than the last.

“When do we leave?” Mathew asked, knowing they had no choice. There was no leaving this floor without accomplishing their goal. And if the Fiends could replenish their numbers from a portal without end, they need to destroy it immediately.

“Now. Grab your things.” Samuel ordered.

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The bombardment from the cannons erupted in a deafening cacophony, followed by the blinding light of the explosions and a cloud of dust that obscured the moon.

The Forgers had worked their magic to create objects of destruction capable of obliterating an entire section of the gathered Fiends before the creatures even knew the human had assembled on a hill nearly a mile away from the site of their portal.

Mathew watched from where he stood with Samuel and the tens of thousands of other people that the Zealot had collected from their camp for the expedition against the Fiends. The ground shook with the explosions, and for a moment, Mathew thought they wouldn’t have to fight at all.

But the cannons, as powerful as they were, were unable to stem the tide of Fiends that emerged from the gorge. Their numbers were nearly uncountable, their bodies a darkness against the grey earth as they disappeared into the clouds of dust.

The cannons fell silent. They were either out of ammunition or they had broken from the force of the attack. Mathew didn’t know.

A nervous energy filled him. The mana inside his chest stirred at the thought of fighting these evil monsters once again. His new Discipline, ‘Champion,’ possibly affected his thoughts, making him want to fight, to cleanse this floor from the evil Fiends.

If it was the effects of his Discipline, Mathew welcomed it. Anything to keep himself alive, remove the fear from inside him, and allow him to focus on the task.

He tossed the axe on his belt onto the ground, along with a collection of knives and a multitude of other weapons he had scrounged from the battlefield earlier. He had a pile at his feet, ready to ‘Catapult’ at his enemies. All he needed was for the Fiends to come close enough for his Blessing to strike.

All across the hill, people were readying themselves for combat. The Forgers weren’t the only ones who had been busy. Summoners had brought thousands of animals to fight.

Vitalizers had created Golems from the ground and rock or even from the bodies and blood of the fallen to the battle. Grotesque Flesh Golems shook the ground with each step, their giant figures towering over everyone around them.

There were even Necromancers amongst the players, odd people that Mathew tended to avoid as they smelled of death and were constantly surrounded by Skeleton guards and zombies.

The Disciplines amongst the players were as varied as the people themselves, and Mathew lost track of the different Blessings. All that mattered was that they were all together for a common goal.

Like a wave crashing on the shore, the blade-limbed Fiends charged into the ranks of players, and the chaotic battle began. Mathew’s vision narrowed until he was only aware of himself and the opponent in front of him.

Flicking his finger, he sent an axe hurtling forward, where it struck a Fiend in the chest and knocked it backwards from the force. Not finished, Mathew pointed forward with his right index finger. He felt the mana surge, forming in his chest before sweeping down his arm and hand.

A crackling beam of bluish-white light streaked from his finger and struck another Fiend. Like a lightning bolt, it hit the creature in its shoulder, spinning it around and leaving a burning hole in its body. It twitched for a moment as the shock robbed it of its ability to move before it regained its feet and continued toward him.

The battle became a blur, the lines of skirmish moving back and forth. The night slowly turned to day, and even the players with their bodies and spirits enhanced by Aether, grew tired. The ‘Council’ who was directing the battle rotated their people as best they could, and Blessings occasionally provided a boost to the battling human's stamina.

Mathew spent the first few days on the Seventh Floor amongst his fellow players, fighting through the hordes of Fiends, before they were finally able to close their first Portal.