Wish upon the Stars (Original Superhero cultivation sci fi litrpg)

[Malcolm Tent]

Bethy looked bad. Not just devastated (though that too) but tired and slightly thinner. She wilted a bit at my question, but shook it off quick. "I'm SO sorry," she said emphatically. "That was…I've never had that happen before. My bloodlust usually doesn't surge like that, and you've been helping me wear away at it." She subconsciously toyed with her bracelet, seemingly unaware of her own actions.


"It's fine," I assured her. "I'm not dead, which means you weren't really trying to hurt me. I'm under no illusion that I won that fight. I subdued your bloodlust and you decided not to fight me any more. You were kicking my ass."


"I think that was what did it," she said worriedly. "Not me kicking your ass. I think my instincts detected a genuine threat. I've never felt THREATENED before. But I could feel something nearby waiting to attack. It wasn't you though. Or, I guess it was you, but in stealth. I could sense you but couldn't pin you down and my blood lust went crazy."


That was…frankly terrifying. The idea that Bethy was so much more powerful than other people her rank that she'd never felt threatened enough to realize she had a trigger like that only emphasized how fucking strong she was.


Because I knew for a fact that based on the beginning of that fight, I had no shot against her in my current form. Granted, I wasn't anywhere near the peak of my rank, but then neither was she. I reached out a hand, putting it on her head and channeling Zagan into her, hoping to restore some of the lost energy.


"So what happened to you just now?" I asked as I worked on her. "Bloodlust I get, and from what I can tell we just purified at least part of your bloodline, like…permanently. Which is great. But if that's the case why are you so weakened?"


"I was supercharged," she explained weakly. "The life essence I harvested from your clones…it's like spiritual blood. I don't usually mess with it, daddy says it can get out of hand fast. But it's basically like rocket fuel for me. I pumped myself up super big and strong, and when you washed all of it out I was left with just a skeleton of my normal power."


Chelsea, who had come running as soon as Bethy went down, glared at the other girl. She seemed like she wanted to yell at her, but couldn't think of a reason to do so. I felt an amused flash from Callie, who clearly also recognized the sentiment and empathized, I shot her a quick pulse of…well, it was basically the emotional equivalent of sticking out my tongue at her.


My sister, after thinking over the situation, just hugged the small vampire. "I'm glad you're ok. Don't scare me like that. Gabe was about to charge in here to try to help."


Gabe nodded resolutely, and we all winced at the possible disaster we'd averted. Gabe was an Adamant, whose path only worked if he maintained victory. After reaching D-rank he had a BIT more flexibility, in that he wouldn't just lose all his power if he was defeated, but it would still be really bad for him. Bethy, specifically, was a person Gabe NEVER engaged in combat with. Not just because of his very obvious crush on her, but because she was someone he couldn't beat.


Bethy looked abashed. "I didn't do it on purpose," she protested weakly. "But if it helps I don't think this will happen again. Not just because I'm not going to spar with Shane again but because I feel…different. Whatever you did, it wasn't just cleansing my bloodlust. I feel like I've CHANGED somehow."


"I didn't cleanse your bloodlust," I told her bluntly. "I cleansed your bloodLINE. Or a bit of it. Related to some new tricks I picked up. But I don't have near enough power for a permanent fix. At the very least it should help though."


I didn't think it would be possible to purify all the bloodlust. As a vampire, Bethy's predatory instincts weren't a corruption, they were a natural part of her racial trait. That said, SOME parts of her heritage could be mitigated. Her mother's maenad power had mixed with her father's vampirism in a very alarming way. She had a lot of power, but at the high end little control. Part of that was because maenads had a sort of wine madness that was heavily mixed up in bloodlust.


The madness I could purify, at least partly. Without the combination she would have much more control over her vampiric nature, but it would take more than a few attempts to get rid of it all. Not to mention I got the feeling the only reason I'd succeeded at this first attempt was because I'd only just gotten started. Based on the suppression of Bethy's bloodlust we'd tried to do with wishes, this kind of thing got progressively harder the further you went.


For now, everyone was safe and alive and that was all that mattered. We helped Bethy up and Archie offered to carry her back up to the platform. Once we got her up there Chelsea and Gabe took her back to the room she was staying in to get some rest.


Gabe, based on what I could see, wanted her to feed on him, but she'd gotten enraged last time he suggested it. Bethy's bite was agonizingly painful because it literally ripped stats out of her victims. The idea of subjecting Gabe to that kind of agony horrified her. I considered offering myself, sure I could take the pain after my ordeals, but I realized Zagan would probably be just as useful and WOULDN'T inflict mind numbing agony on me.


My wife, who I'd mentioned this too, seemed ecstatic I'd come to a sane and rational decision about the problem, and the attitude made me seriously rethink some of my decisions over the past few months. Most of them I would stand by, but a quick recap of my choices made it clear exactly how much recursion had been affecting me.


Callie stopped me after we split from my sister, Gabe, and Bethy. Benny and Jessie had gone ahead so it was just us. "You alright? I felt…something."


"The staff," I told her. "It's kind of intense. Surprised you didn't sense it last time. I think I might have blocked you from picking it up with Murmur. Subconsciously worried about it affecting you, maybe."


She nodded with interest. "Well I have to admit the results are impressive. I can't wait to see what you can accomplish with that thing after some time to work with it." She stopped, stepping forward to wrap her arms around me and rest her head on my chest. "It feels so good to have you back with me, Shane. Talking through the bond just isn't the same."


I hugged her tightly. "I know. And I still owe you a honeymoon. But with the succession war coming up…"


She just shook her head. "I'm not in a rush. We're going to spend the rest of our lives together. You being safe is way more important than a honeymoon." She smirked at me. "Besides, imagine where you can take me if you become the Wishmaster. I'm thinking a planet entirely covered in delicious food. Maybe a giant fruit orchard."


I laughed but shook my head. "I figured you'd want to hit something like Strega Thirty Seven. It's a giant ocean of random loot. Half of it is worthless, but there's a whole society dedicated to mining that place for treasure. It's at the junction of a bunch of portals leading to destroyed battlefields and objects fall to earth there every day. It's been going on for centuries now, and some of the biggest up and comers in the universe got their start there."


Her head snapped up, eyes intense. I'd been researching possible honeymoon locations on my downtime for a while now. I knew Callie had to wait because of everything going on, but I refused to let her down beyond that.


I knew my wife though, and the loot goblin in her was strong. Forget paradise planets or fruit orchards, the massive interstellar junk yard full of mysterious loot was pretty much her dream destination. Feeling how smug I was, she cleared her throat, looking away. "Sure," she said with faux nonchalance. "That sounds like fun."


"Never change, honey," I said with a laugh. "Anyway, we can worry about that after the succession war. We've got more than a few of our A-rankers, but B-rank recruiting is going to be a pain. As for C-rank and below…well, I wanted to see if we could get a few Dryads onboard. I bet Daysia would help if I asked. Tree Singing would be a huge advantage in almost any survival situation. I still don't know the details of the succession competition but given the WCP in general and my personal experiences in specific, I somehow doubt it's going to be a puppy shampooing contest."


She cackled at the image. "You say that, but dogs hate getting baths. Imagine Bethy trying to shampoo Luggage."


"CAN you shampoo Luggage?" I asked with genuine interest. "Because I still don't know what hellhounds are made of. Hell, I don't even know if they have actual fur. I'd kind of like to see that now."


"Do NOT suggest that to her," she said firmly. "That hound might be docile around her, but he's way stronger than most of us. With our luck he'd burn the tree down or something and then we'd have no chance of working with the Dryads. I know you well enough to know what you find amusing, but that would be way too much trouble."


I had to admit to that one, so I just nodded. It sounded hilarious to me. I wasn't sure if this was an example of recursion influencing me or just me being an idiot, but I decided to give myself the benefit of the doubt.


"So, we have this big banquet and then we're heading out," I said with enthusiasm. "Where's the next stop on the recruitment tour? I figure since you've been training with my grandmother you might have heard." My grandpa had planned this whole thing, but I hadn't asked him too much about it, having been so excited to see my friends and family.


"One of the imperial clans I think," she said with a grin. "More than that though, while you were out on your nature hike Bethy got a message from her dad. Apparently Abel has successfully completed the first leg of his training, and Lark is sending him out to gain experience."


I perked up. "Wait, he's finished? Did he succeed? Did he learn anything impressive from Lark?"


"I asked that too," Callie snickered. "Bethy said he must have, since he's still alive. I thought she might be joking, but really it's hard to tell with her sometimes."


That was true, but still I was excited. While apparently Bethy was someone I was completely incapable of matching, I wanted to spar with Abel. My mentor had given me a lot of…personal guidance, over the time I'd known him. It was my duty as his student to show him exactly how much I'd improved.


I briefly worried that Bella might come to a similar conclusion later in life once she had trained more…and then I dismissed it. No way she'd be able to keep up. I was safe. Though I decided to maybe be a little less enthusiastic about recreating my mentor's methods.


Callie and I kept talking as we walked back to our place, enjoying the crisp evening air and the alone time. The breeze carried a faint scent of apples and flowers, and the silvery light of the leaf canopy above (it apparently had a moonlight setting) illuminated the world around us in beautiful relief. It was a good night.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The returning contestants took longer than expected to get back, so they ended up pushing the feast back until the night after. I spent that whole evening with my wife, and then the next day, after stockpiling my wishes, I went to see Benny. I hadn't checked in with my friend beyond our greeting, mostly because…I didn't know what to say. While he was happy to see me, I knew him well enough to notice the hesitation in his mannerisms when we reunited, and I knew exactly what had caused it.


Benny had come on this trip to explore with me, to have my back, and I was slowly leaving him behind. It was inevitable really. Callie had a whole bunch of very lucky encounters (for some value of that word) and was getting a massive income in stats from all the renown, not to mention possibly being able to gain some inspiration from the scythe (I didn't expect her to be swinging that thing around anytime soon, but using it as a roadmap might be helpful, and if anyone could help with that it would be my grandma), and Jessie had her new racial trait.


My best friend probably felt totally useless, and I hadn't known how to help besides just focusing my wishes on him.Of course, I could still do that if I handed over all my scrolls, but unless he could borrow some cash from Celine he wouldn't be able to pay for it all anyway, because I didn't need stored attacks as much, and if he paid with points he'd just be course correcting and not gaining anything.


But now I'd come up with a new plan. Or rather, one had fallen into my lap. "Catch," I called to my friend as I tossed him the fruit I'd been carrying. He did, his hand reaching up casually to snatch the item from the air without getting up from where he was lounging in front of a small pond.


"You brought me a snack?" he said wryly. "You didn't even peel it. Some effort would be nice." Despite the flippant words, I saw his eyes brighten. He could feel the C-rank power in the fruit, even if he didn't know what it meant.


I laughed and flopped down next to him, putting my arms behind my head and staring out at the pond. "Reincarnation fruit. It'll cleanse the soul. There's actually two ways to do that. There's the normal condensation, which increases clarity and improves your odds of forming a Chronicle, and there's a secondary method that cleanses deeper impurities from things like pills and…honestly I don't even know yet. But I've gone through both, once in the Falls of Lamentation and once in a rebirth ceremony performed by the Lady."


Pointing at the fruit, I grinned. "That is supposed to do the same thing as the falls. It should pave the way for you to get into B-rank more easily, and having a purified soul will make Path stuff easier. Your progress forming your Solid Path should be easy as pie, and it'll help you exert way more power with your Path, which will make gaining renown easier. Even I didn't have something like that going into D-rank. I'm a little jealous."


Benny had been training and working the whole time we'd been apart, probably even harder than Jessie had. I knew some of the wishes had gone to him, but beyond that he'd been busting his ass to get stronger, working on his inventions and integrating new tech I hadn't even seen yet, not to mention his Path advancement.


Without Celine around, he'd been desperately pushing to improve, I'd heard as much from Callie. I didn't feel bad for him or anything, we all trained our asses off, but I thought that kind of determination should be rewarded. Not to mention he was my best friend, and I wanted him to have all the advantages he could get. From a selfish perspective, I didn't want to leave him behind, and this might help with that.


I'd considered giving the fruit to Callie, but after thinking it over, she had plenty of advantages already. Benny had been with me since we were kids, and I owed him my support.


He stared at it with a complicated expression. "I want to say no," he said in frustration. "To give this to Jessie or something. But she already got that new racial trait. I considered wishing for one, but I don't have anything I'm suited for like that. Nothing that feels right. I'm just…mediocre. But this will help me in ways you can't imagine. Invention is heavily dependent on the soul. I think that the way it works is reminiscent of randomly generated Paths. With this, I might be able to more easily control what I make."


"Wait, really?" I asked with interest. "How are the Paths generated?"


"It's like…bringing out the inner nature," he said after a slight pause. "The more I work with my Path the more obvious it becomes. Like calling out the renown inside and letting it twist into whatever form it's most suited for. Basically just letting recursion go nuts on a bunch of materials."


I nodded thoughtfully. "I always wondered about that. Invention is…weird. And the high percentage of mad scientists seemed strange when we were starting out. You never really had that issue, so I thought it wasn't that serious and the others were just hamming it up for renown. I guess your soul has always been a bit further ahead, at least since you really got deeper into Inventing."


"Pretty much," he admitted. "I didn't even realize what it was until I formed my Path, and then it started to seem…familiar. I've been experimenting with infusing my Path into my Inventions to change their nature, and I've had some success. It's kind of like a technique. But this will take my control to a whole new level. And going into D-rank…" his eyes burned with an almost manic intensity. "Shane if I can create enough powerful tech and integrate it all, I think I can upgrade my ability that way. Not exactly a racial trait, but close. And one I make myself."


That sounded amazing. "If you need some help I've made my own temporary racial trait and helped with Jessie's. I mean, you could even wish for the catalyst, but it doesn't sound like you want that."


"No," he said firmly. "Stats are fine, but if you help me with this I feel like I won't ever be able to take the next step on my own. I need to do this myself. It's the only way I'll be sure I can keep going. But this…yeah, this'll help. Thanks, man."


It was funny, I knew Benny well enough to know how his mind worked, and I was aware of how he'd been feeling just from that, but I hadn't seen many signs of it. Benny wasn't the type to show his unhappiness on the surface, at least not most of the time. Now that it was gone though, his previous dissatisfaction was obvious for its absence.


The energy and life that filled his face were the kind that had nothing to do with green fire or stat points, and everything to do with a renewal of purpose. Abel's advice all those months ago about drive and determination flashed through my mind. Maybe this would be even bigger for Benny than I imagined. The idea of my friend being able to catch up to or even surpass me in the short term made me beam with pride, and I hoped this would be as effective as I thought.


"I don't know what this will be like," I warned him. "My experience with this process happened during the course of trials for a goddess of torture. So you can imagine that the sensation might not be what you'd describe as pleasant. I don't know if the fruit will be the same…but I also don't know it won't."


Of course, I had no clue how much of the Falls of Lamentation had been Falls and how much had been Lamentation, so to speak. It was highly possible the actual reliving of my experiences was the only necessary part and all the suffering was just Order of Mercy seasoning. For Benny's sake I hoped so. My best friend was tough, but I wasn't sure it was possible to get through some of the stuff I had without gradually working up to it.


Before I could warn him again though, a message shot through the bond and I cursed. He raised an eyebrow at me and I climbed to my feet, brushing off my armor. "The last Dryad just got back. We're being summoned for the banquet. I have to go schmooze tree people to try and recruit some B and C-rankers."


"Sucks for you," he gloated. "I'm going to go eat this fruit and get way stronger. Bet you wish you could skip like I am."


I snorted. "Dude, I remember going through what you're about to. I'd rather deal with politics all day than go through that again. Have fun spending your next two hours curled up in a ball on your bathroom floor crying and throwing up."


"You cried?" he snickered as we walked away from the pond. "Wuss. I bet I won't make a sound. I've always been tougher than you."


"More delusional at least," I retorted. "Remember when we were fifteen and you broke your toe? You acted like you got eviscerated. You would stare dramatically off into the middle distance whenever you talked about it. I've met literal crying infants with a higher pain tolerance than you."


He bristled. "That was a COMPOUND fracture! Those are extra painful. And I don't want to hear that from the guy who sprained his ankle and told everyone he broke it in three places. I-"


"If you idiots don't hurry up, I'll show BOTH of you what suffering feels like," came my wife's voice from a nearby shadow. "The banquet already started and they're hassling me to know where the big hero is. Daysia won't shut up about how amazing you are and I'm getting mobbed."


I winced. "Sorry honey," I called sheepishly. "I'm on my way." I turned to Benny. "You got lucky this time."


"Please, your wife totally saved your ass," he sniffed scornfully. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go eat this fruit and then casually relax and watch a movie. Then make fun of you for being such a baby." He flipped me off and we separated, me heading toward the banquet and him back toward his tree lodgings. Before he got too far though, he stopped. "Shane?" he asked quietly. I made a sound of inquisition and he sighed. "Thanks. For real. It means a lot. I won't let you down man."


I laughed. "I know that, idiot. Be careful with that fruit. Seriously."


"I will," he promised. "And you kick some ass at that banquet. Snag us some tree people for the trip."


Smiling, I watched him go. I followed the sensation of distress to the banquet hall, and Chelsea met me at the door with a smirk. "You're in so much trouble," she told me with a grin. "Callie has been fielding questions from admiring Dryads, including Daysia who I think has a crush. She is NOT pleased."


I shrugged. "She'll get over it, I can't help being awesome. Someone was bound to notice." I did a fake flex, making sure to exaggerate so it was clear I wasn't actually that conceited. My sister remained unamused. Everyone was a critic.


Sulking because no one appreciated my humor, I made my way over to Callie, slipping in to sling an arm over her shoulder. "Sorry ladies, need to borrow my wife for a minute. I'm lost without her you know."


Callie's shoulders straightened smugly as we walked away, and I triggered Bael as soon as we broke line of sight. "Well," I said with a laugh. "That seemed like fun. Now, who am I supposed to talk to around here to get some backup?" I saw her consider being annoyed, but eventually she just laughed along with me and turned me toward one of the Dryad elders. Hopefully this party wasn't going to go on all day. Maybe Benny WAS the lucky one.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The banquet was surprisingly energetic. Most of the ones I'd been to were somber, formal affairs, but the Dryads were incredibly lively. Dancing, singing, party games. Rather than champagne or wine they served chilled fruit smoothies (though some of the fruits were intoxicating, I avoided those) and everyone was laughing and having a good time.


The group of Dryads who had been looking for me (most of whom had just been hoping I could help them like I helped Daysia, despite my insistence that SHE had helped ME) had all been scared off by Tasha and Alyssa, so we were free to approach the elders and some of the stronger Dryads in peace.


Speaking of Alyssa, Tasha's daughter had bonded with a powerful metal and electric attribute tree called a "Gold Leafed Thunder Spirit Tree", and was glowing literally as well as figurative. The latter glow was mostly because of her date, a smug looking Jessie, who had finally gotten the courage to ask the girl out. I was happy for her, both because I knew that her relationship with Maria was over because of the strain of distance, and because Alyssa seemed like a good match for her.


Daysia, meanwhile, had dragged a very similar looking Dryad woman and a tall Dryad man with lavender hair over to us. "Mom, dad, this is Solomon, he helped me so MUCH. I don't think I could have ever found my tree without him. Solomon, this is my mother Heather and my father Connifar."


It was clear she was trying to pitch me some helpers, and B-ranked Dryads would definitely be helpful. I smiled at the couple from behind my mask. "Nice to meet you. Are…am I allowed to ask what your tree is? Or is that impolite, I don't know the etiquette."


Heather laughed cheerfully. "Perfectly fine, dear. Con is bonded to a Dreamcatcher Oak, and my partner is a Sunshine Maple. Daysia got her attribute alignment from me, I think. Though clearly she's much more compatible with her tree than I was, and already C-rank. It took us both centuries to reach B-rank. I can't thank you enough for giving her this opportunity."


"Is it really that important to have a higher rank tree?" I asked. "I mean I get that it makes ranking up easier, but…"


Connifar shook his head. "You don't understand. The rank up prerequisite is the biggest roadblock to Dryad advancement. Our growth is steady and our foundations are much more solid than normal Ascendants, but the price for our power is slower advancement. Trees are long lived beings, and they grow slowly. There are substances to increase that growth speed, but they're rare and difficult to get in large quantities."


"No to mention the headstart," added Heather. "With her tree already at C-rank, Daysia can continue to help it grow to the edge of B, preparing herself to help it break through again once she ranks up to C herself. Her Dawntreader Elm is near the peak of C-rank as well. Rather than just being a rank ahead, it's closer to two. As long as she doesn't rush herself too much, she'll have no barriers up to B-rank. Especially not with her tree's Path to use as a model for her own advancement. You've completely changed her future."


"She helped me more than I helped her," I said firmly. "The new staff she helped me get, the one she helped shape. Well, my Ten Demons Tree wouldn't exist without her." I called the staff out, enjoying the sensation of it smacking into my palm as it appeared in my hands.


Connifar whistled. "That's a beautiful weapon. Lady Tasha's work, I assume? Her Bulwark Bonsai has always had a strong affinity for Sapsteel. There are many trees that can condense it, but hers is the highest quality. May I?" I nodded, passing him the staff. I could recall it into my soul at a moment's notice so it wasn't like he could steal it.


He passed it between his hands, stepping back as he whirled the weapon around himself in a complicated flowing pattern. "A regal piece," he said with a solemn nod, handing it back.


"Oh stop being such a stick in the mud," laughed Heather. "My husband can be a bit somber. We just wanted to thank you, and possibly discuss joining your retinue."


I nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love to talk about that. Though I was curious, how would you all come with us? Don't you need to be like…with your trees? I'm not sure what the limitations are on that."


"There aren't many," she assured me with a warm smile. "The bond between a Dryad and their lifebound tree is a soul connection. I'm told you and your wife have a similar bond, do you have any issues being separated?"


That made a lot of sense. I'd been subconsciously leaning on old Dryad stories for my information. "So, you two want to join my retinue? You realize the succession war is going to be rough. We're allowed ten B-rankers and five A-rankers, so you'll be up against pretty steep odds. I don't even know how many relatives will be IN this competition. I'm guessing probably not just a few."


Which actually explained why the limitations on A and B-rank forces were in place too. I knew there were a hundred S-rankers in the universe, give or take (not counting the ones brought over by the vanished gods), but how many A-rankers were there? Ten times that number? A hundred times? Even if it was a hundred times, that was only ten thousand Ascendants. Letting any competitor field more than five risked taking a large bite out of the top ranked forces if anything happened.


If there were two hundred contestants that was a full TENTH of the A-rank forces in the universe. Granted my numbers could easily be off, but I was still sure that resource scarcity was part of the motivation for the throttling of high ranking forces, at least as much as "fairness" a concept the WCP rarely had any use for.


"So…what do you guys DO?" I asked slowly. "I don't know how the variants of Dryads actually work. Just that bonding to a tree makes you different."


Connifar shrugged. "It's mostly Path harmonization. Makes techniques easier. We get a sort of base power with the racial trait that works like a Job. Becomes a main Skill. The real benefit is being able to mobilize soul power across the bond. It's like having two souls, though plants can't break their shackles."


Even with a lower level soul, having a secondary source of soul strength was pretty useful. I could see why Dryads considered themselves so powerful at the same rank, even if it was harder to advance.


Heather cut in. "At least for us personally, I have a lot of fire and light techniques, and Connifar can use a mental attribute that's incredibly difficult to defend against. He calls it Dreamshadow, and it's sort of a silvery mist that fogs the mind. We're considered two of the more effective B-rankers in the Temple, though admittedly not the top."


"That's Salvang," Connifar grimaced. "Strong man, but not the most humble, and not so easy to get on with."


His wife smirked. "Salvang had a bit of an infatuation with me when we were younger. He used to ply me with gifts. Admittedly, he's also a bit of an ass, but Con is a bit sensitive when his combat prowess is brought up."


"He bound a C-rank tree in his ceremony," sniffed Connifar. "It's just a brief advantage. Another thousand years or so and I'll catch up. Regardless, Salvang is in line for an elder position when he hits A-rank. He wouldn't leave the Temple. We, however, would be happy to be two of your B-rank warriors. If you would have us."


I nodded enthusiastically. "Hell yes, even just Tree Singing would be a huge boon for us. We have no idea what the succession war actually entails, so versatility is key."


In fact, I was on the fence about trying to get an A-rank Dryad, but with only five, I had to be sparing with my invitations. Mom, Zeke, possibly dad. Maybe Killian? And potentially an A-ranked Vampire if Bethy could swing it. Having seen how terrifying my friend was going all out, having someone of that level on my team would be a hell of a comfort.


Most of my picks were more recent A-rankers, but at the A-rank Path mattered more than stats. Mom, dad, Zeke, they all had absurdly powerful abilities for their level, with my dad crushing another A-ranker who had beaten Zeke down and Zeke himself destroying an A-ranker at B-rank, bridging a MONUMENTAL Impact gap. My mom had two abilities, which meant theoretically should have two Solid Paths (even if I wouldn't be able to take that Path due to how overcomplicated and time consuming creating my Domain had become) and could honestly be even scarier than the other two for all I knew.


Whoever my last one or two A-rankers were would need to be elites, and while Tasha seemed nice, I didn't think she was in their weight class.


After confirming Heather and Connifar for two of my B-ranked slots and adding Daysia to the retinue, I decided that my high rank Dryad quota had been filled. Whereas before it seemed like a chore to fill all those spots I had available now it suddenly felt like there weren't nearly enough of them.


Still, with two B-rankers down, I still had plenty of C-ranked slots. Alyssa, being Tasha's daughter, was able to introduce us to the most promising C-rank candidates. There were a surprising amount of them, but sadly most of them weren't willing to come along. I had my pick of about fifteen C-rank Dryads who had been enticed by the promise of power and adventure. I picked five of them.


A tall, teak skinned man with bright purple named Eldrys, a shorter girl with red leafy hair and blue eyes named Naria, a pair of twins named Zelden and Rayda (both pale with green hair and eyes, though Rayda, the sister, had longer hair), and a short, barrel chested man with green skin and a green leafy beard named Kelgan.


The others either didn't want to go despite saying they did or were annoyingly cocky. Given we were meeting back up with Abel I didn't have room in my life for that nonsense.


Once we finished up, I went to find my grandfather. He was outside standing on branch walkway out of the large tree building, staring down into the darkness. "Hey old man," I said casually. "What are you doing out here? Want me to leaf you alone?"


He rolled his eyes. "That was terrible. And no, it's fine. Just thinking. Not that long ago, at least as I measure it, I was here with Tasha, ready to go on an adventure. The seed journey is the next step in the Temple journey, undertaken by new B-rankers. That's when they're considered strong enough to venture out on their own."


"She said it was her fault," I said matter of factly. "Everything with Black Sorrow."


He rolled his eyes. "Despite what my wife would have you believe, her mother is more than capable of causing problems without provocation. Celia loves her mother, and she makes excuses. Not to mention she's a god. It's hard to hold grudges against a force of nature. Of course, that's recursion talking. But it doesn't change how we feel."


"Wait…what?" I said with a blink. "What do you mean?"


He laughed. "Gods are beings beyond human understanding, beyond petty mortal concerns, revered and lionized, they're above reproach. Or at least, that's what they tell us. It's part of their marketing. Kind of like how being an Ascendant makes it easier to do brave or stupid things because we all associate Ascendants with those kinds of actions."


I frowned for a second, then started laughing. Well that certainly explained a few things. "Well, I can't wait to be a god myself then. All I have to do is become the Wishmaster. Guess we ought to get going to our next stop then, huh? I have an army to recruit." The affairs of gods were out of my hands, I could only worry about my own coming troubles. Worry or not though, I would damn sure be prepared.

 

[koya]

possibly discuss joining your revenue."

Click to shrink...

So, you two want to join my revenue?

Click to shrink...

After confirming Heather and Connifar for two of my B-ranked slots and adding Daysia to the revenue

Click to shrink...

Did you mean retinue here, or was it some sort of money pun?

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Did you mean retinue here, or was it some sort of money pun?

Click to shrink...

I did mean retinue.

 

[Lone-sith]

I think revenue should be retinue

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Our next stop was the Imperial clan descended from Alkem, the Varhana clan. They were a Ducal clan under Duke Darius Varhana, known for their wind attribute abilities. Apparently even in Alkem's time they had a whole legacy of wind based Skills and spells, and often synergized them with their main Skill to create unique capabilities.


It wasn't a bloodline, because they'd never had an S-ranker, but after generations of similar abilities they had a tendency to develop powers in that vein, which was a fascinating little quirk. I had no idea you could achieve that effect without merging with a Saga.


I'd been planning to pick up Sable and Dom, but the two of them had elected to meet us at the Varhana clan home base, a B-ranked planet called Akasha. We'd been approved for meetings with their clans but they would be a week or so out. Ostensibly because they needed time to prepare their hospitality, but Zeke told me it was more of a power play. A-rank factions had a lot of pride, and especially in their own territory couldn't be seen capitulating too easily, even to a candidate.


We didn't have much information on Akasha at this point. Alkem hadn't been back in thousands of years, so any knowledge he had of the planet was completely useless. Even the oldest living member of the Varhana clan hadn't been born yet when he was frozen, and while they HAD already been on the planet, it had been C-rank when he went under.


The only real reason they were welcoming him back so enthusiastically was because of a particularly powerful legacy Skill he practiced that had been lost to the clan for millennia. I didn't dig into it because it seemed like an internal thing, and honestly I didn't need more fucking Skills, I already had way too many if you counted subskills from DS Mastery. Still, his lack of information meant we were flying blind here, so Callie and I were waiting in the bridge to watch the initial descent onto Akasha.


Which was what were seeing now. As we watched, the ship descended into the atmosphere, and on a large screen in front of us, the details of planet Akasha came into view.


It was, of course, absolutely beautiful. Most high rank planets were gorgeous, which made sense given the renown needed to rank them up was as good as terraforming. Still, the strange way that stories could spread and twist, combined with the changes brought on by Ascendant materials, animals, plants, people, and even natural formations, meant that high ranked planets could be pretty unique, and Akasha was by far the most interesting I'd seen.


Firstly, there was almost no land on Akasha. Or rather, no land on the surface. Below us, over a citrine sea of leaping waves, continents floated miles above the ocean, chunks of rock suspended in the air.


The reason for that was pretty obvious at a glance, because among the waves, howling gales of wind raged and whipped across the surface of the planet, hurling the ocean to and fro. The continents were high enough up to avoid the waves and wind, but there were jagged mountains spearing out from the seas that weren't so lucky. As we watched, the wind and waves pounded the dark stone, and based on the pitting and sharp lines on the rock, the water was hitting pretty damned hard.


Alkem, who had been called up when we started our descent, entered, staring down at the planet with a conflicted expression. "The Sulfuric Sea has risen," he said unhappily. "It wasn't this high when I was here last. And some of the continents remained on the surface. Important land with cherished history. To abandon the caverns and labyrinths of the ruined cities in the Valkyr Wastelands, the weeping palaces of the Benretti hills. What could have changed Akasha so much?"


"Time," said Zeke bluntly. "Time changes everything. Even the gods aren't totally immune to time, much less a B-rank planet. Sorry, just following up, that ocean is literal acid? Because time changing things is pretty common but that one is new for me."


My grandfather snickered. "I've seen it before. I visited this one planet where the whole ocean was made of a gelatinous bouncy substance you could sink into. It would digest anyone who fell in. Turned out the whole thing was a giant slime monster. Coastal property values went down pretty drastically after we publicized it."


Alkem chuckled softly. "Yes, it is acid. The Sulfuric Sea is a unique feature of the planet. It's sop powerful the waves actually burn away the air as they crash. It creates pockets of vacuum that disturb the atmosphere, creating the powerful winds that rake the planet.


"They were a staple of Akasha even before the sea expanded." He said wistfully. "It's why the Varhana specialize in wind Skills. The animals in the sea are also shockingly powerful. Fishing is a dangerous but lucrative business. Or at least it was. Who knows how things have changed with the alterations of the climate and environment. Perhaps fishing the Sulfuric Sea is no longer possible."


I nodded with interest, though I suppressed a small chuckle when I saw my wife eyeing the ocean speculatively. She loved food almost as much as loot, and super powerful acid fish was both.


"So, which of these continents are we heading to?" I asked Alkem, gesturing to the screen. "Looks like there's a fair few of them. You've been in contact with your family, right? How did you manage that by the way?"


"Wishes," answered Callie for him. "They used some of the scrolls. They paid in cash."


Alkem smiled. "It was quite useful to be able to reach out so simply. But yes, they told me where to go. We are looking for the highest continent. The one made of golden stone. Its name is Deva. It shouldn't be difficult to spot." He pointed at the display. "In fact, I see it right now."


I did too. Staring out at the screen it was pretty obvious based on the description. In fact, I probably should have guessed earlier, because Deva was the most opulent and majestic of the continents. However, it was also on the other side of the planet. B-ranked planets were big, but being so high up in the atmosphere we had a bird's eye view so we didn't have to go far before more of the world was revealed, and Deva came into view only seconds after I'd asked my question.


My first impression, as we descended toward it, was…gold. Lots and lots of gold. Not normal gold, obviously, because mortal metal would have been crushed into dust on a planet like this, and I could see even as we approached that the metallic…stone, according to Alkem, was at least D-rank.


It was a sprawling palatial city covered in towers, spires, and strange swirling and twisting architecture. Not twisted in a way that an architect could manage, but like someone had melted and shaped the stone itself. Some parts of it had even turned crystalline, making natural windows in the rock that were mostly covered in curtains. "Damn," I said in a reverent tone. "Now that's how you build a house."


Alkem looked similarly impressed. "Golden stone was very rare in my day," he admitted. "Such exquisite workmanship requires abundant resources for practice. I too am impressed by the beauty of this new architecture."


Everyone else nodded along as we approached. Gold is normally a pretty intense design element. It's easy to overwhelm people with it, making your whole project look gaudy and cheap. But because of the melting of the stone and the clean and sweeping lines, this whole continent seemed like one solid piece, and the style underscored the natural beauty of the material, making it seem more, for lack of a better term, down to earth.


Which is where we were now heading, having passed through a large number of floating figures that I was pretty sure were B-rankers. Flight was possible on D or lower planets at D-rank, using Impact to push against the natural suppression of the planet, but since we'd left Callus right after hitting D-rank, I'd never been able to do it without wings.


Except they weren't doing that either. Not really. On closer examination I was able to see swirls of wind beneath them all, acting as a platform holding them up. While eyeballing the Impact of a continent was doable through the screen, estimating the rank of a bunch of random flying people was a little harder.


It was kind of nerve wracking, actually. We had introductions to the Temple when we approached before, my grandpa knew Tasha and we were invited by an elder. Here, we just knew Alkem, and he didn't actually know anyone. Sure he was their ancestor or whatever, but the connection was pretty tenuous obviously. Aside from the first impression thing we were also going in mostly blind here. Only knowing we had my grandparents and Zeke and mom along made me feel a little better about the possible risks.


The floating people were NOT stupid enough to attack an S-rank ship, so we slid effortlessly between the buildings, stopping above a large courtyard that Alkem read us directions for off a piece of paper.


When we got there, I was pleased to see that Sable and Dom were already waiting, and more than that, Abel was there, his old black rabbit mask back in place as he lounged in a woven beach chair, wearing a wide brimmed hat with rabbit ear holes punched out and sipping a brightly colored drink from a swirly straw.


As we descended, the air pressure from the ship blew the dust of the courtyard up, and he had to shade his drink with his hand to stop it from being filled with dirt. He glared up at us resentfully, and I grinned, knowing from just that reaction that my mentor was the same as he'd ever been.


I'd worried that hard training from someone like Lark might have changed him, and not for the better. Abel's Path was already based on blood, and training from one of the most feared and brutal beings in the universe was a great opportunity, but it was a lot to handle. Obviously I shouldn't have worried, from his mannerisms, he'd managed to retain that charming devil may care attitude that we all knew and tolerated. Thinking about it, if anyone could handle that kind of pressure it was my teacher. Not to mention I'd been through something similar and come out of it fine, and he was way tougher than I was.


When the ship finally touched down, we all filed out, and I had to admit, despite the increase in pressure, it was nice to be on solid ground. I'd spent so long on B-ranked planets lately I'd developed a bit of a fondness for the stable feeling of hard packed high rank ground under my feet. The whole time back on Callus I'd felt like I was walking on sugar glass.


Abel popped up to his feet casually, ambling over, but he was blindsided by a red masked streak as Mel tackled him from the side, not that he seemed to mind. I had been approaching, but I pulled back, letting Callie meet up with me as the two lovers greeted each other. They'd been separated longer than we had, and we both understood the kind of joy you felt when being reunited with a bondmate, especially one you loved, after such a long time.


Once they finished their reunion, Abel accompanied Mel over, an arm around her shoulder as he greeted us with a wide grin. "Hey kids, miss me? Because man do I have some stories to tell you." I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. It was good to have the gang back together.

 

[Droosh]

What a tease chapter. Reunion but no storytime. LOL

 

[Malcolm Tent]

"So, what have you all been upto?" My mentor asked as he flopped back down onto his chair. "Heard you've had some decent fights. Even killed a C-ranker at early D-rank, that's pretty wild. Punching up is doable, but most people only manage it from the peak of the previous realm. Your new minions were telling me all about."

Dom bristled. "What do you mean minions? We're not his minions."

Sable rolled her eyes. "We're totally his minions. But I'm cool with it. What kind of minions get paid with divine artifacts?"

"Hey, I never got paid with a divine artifact," Abel protested. "I was one of your very first minions. Sure, I don't listen to you or do what you say, and I treat you with middling to low levels of respect and don't care that much about your opinion, but other than that I've been an awesome minion! Where's my god weapon?'

Mel snickered, patting him on the shoulder. "I feel like it you repeat that little speech to yourself out loud you might stumble on the answer on your own."

"I already arranged for you to train with the most powerful mortal Ascendant in the universe," I told him mercilessly, enjoying the karmic retribution/ "You only get one life changing opportunity from me. You're not my wife."

He snorted. "Yeah, thanks for that. Being tortured by an insane vampire for a few months was at the top of my bucket list. How would I have gotten through life without this foundational experience." His tone was dry, which was a good sign, so the rest of us weren't shy about laughing at his pain.

"Oh, is that Adnab?" chirped an excitable voice. "Welcome back! Did you have a good time learning from daddy?" Bethy appeared from seemingly nowhere, beaming at Abel as she brushed off her dress.

Abel actually flinched. "Oh! Bethany. I mean Lady Lark, I mean…your highness. It's nice to see you."

Bethy's winning smile deflated, replaced by a suspicious frown. "That's weird. You don't usually refer to me so formally. Or anyone. You're not a formal person at all. Did someone tell you to do that? It was Sebastian wasn't it? That old busybody. Don't listen to him. He's not the boss of anybody."

"Lord Stein is a noble and generous person," said Abel mechanically as he glanced around the courtyard, his eyes darting in paranoid little hops.

Bethy whirled, looking around in outrage. "Oh, he's HERE isn't he? Sebastian! You get out here right now! You're not allowed to bully my friend! Only I'm allowed to do that." She waited, expression thunderous. "Not coming out? Then how about I tell daddy who stole the spine from that Tomb Lord that he was planning to have made into a whip."

There was a whisper of darkness and a tall man appeared in front of us, his expression apologetic. "Young mistress, there's no reason to do that. I would never STEAL from the master. He simply forgot to let us know of his intentions for that piece of material. He completely forgot about it eventually, and there's no reason to bring it up. How did you even hear about that incident?"

"My mom told me," she beamed. "She said you're a busybody and that I needed leverage to keep you from being mean to me." She jerked a thumb at the man. "This is Sebastian Stein, my daddy's personal butler. He's like…super old, but he's stuck at A-rank because his body is built out of dead person parts."

The older man winced. "Young mistress, that is a GROSS oversimplification," he protested.

"It's your power," she said with a shrug. "If you think it's so gross why don't you try something else?"

His shoulder slumped in despair. "Yes, young mistress. I'll take that under advisement." He turned to smile at us pleasantly. "Good evening, my name, as the young mistress so helpfully informed you, is Sebastian Stein, and I am the butler of the Lark family. The young mistress beseeched her father to send one of her siblings to aid you in your succession battle, but the master decided it would complicate matters politically to allow a high ranking vampire to participate."

Bethy's eyes widened. "Daddy sent YOU? But don't you need to mind the house? He won't be able to travel if you aren't there."

My grandfather cleared his throat. "Regardless of internal business, we're honored to have you on our grandson's side, Lord Stein." He shot me an urging look, and I agreed, thanking him for his assistance.

Sebastian Stein looked…old. Which was saying something for an A-ranker. Bethy hadn't been kidding about his age. Silver hair, close cropped beard, serene blue eyes, he was every inch the elegant butler. The only confirmation of her earlier accusations were a few nearly invisible seams running across his skin at the neck, ears, and on his hands. Seams that could easily be very well applied stitches.

My grandfather stepped up next to me, and I felt a subtle shift as he used some kind of stealth technique. "Sebastian Stein is the most powerful non Lark Ascendant under Morgan's control. He must adore his youngest daughter to dispatch his steward. Stein is a Revenant, a necromantic construct of his own design, and he is one of the most powerful A-rankers I know of. His attendance will be a huge boon to your cause during the succession war." When he saw me start to speak and then stop, he chuckled. "You can just respond out loud, I'll hide your traces."

No one, not even the super scary A-ranker, noticed him speaking to me, though I suppose demi-gods have to have their tricks. "Ok, so this guy is some sort of mad scientist undead? Like that old story about the doctor?"

"Similar," he said with a grimace. "Because of his particular powerset, he's stronger than most A-rankers, but he's never been able to integrate a Saga. Regardless, for our purposes he's basically ideal. With him involved, we've got all your A-rank slots filled."

I was just as excited as he sounded, but sadly I was pulled back into the conversation by Bethy, who was lambasting the older man for "bullying her friend". "Isn't that right Shane?" she demanded triumphantly. It took me a second to replay the conversation in my head, but once I did I could only sigh and nod.

"Yes, Abel is an important member of my team. If he were to change because of your decrees it would make me…sad." My tone was dry, but Bethy ignored that, whooping with joy.

"See! Daddy says you're supposed to help Shane, and making him sad isn't helping, so bullying Alice is ignoring daddy's orders!" She sounded smug, and I had to choke down a laugh at her complete refusal to call Abel by his name, despite being actively defending him at the moment."

Sebastian sighed. "Yes, young mistress, I shall endeavor to treat master Abel with more respect. As a nominal disciple of the master, I suppose he deserves at least that much. His Ragam Blood Body is…acceptable. At least for his level. Perhaps he might one day become a halfway competent Ascendant."

Abel rolled his eyes, clearly less terrified the old man would smite him. "Acceptable," he says. My new form is fucking unstoppable. I based it on your staff art, Shane, creating my own Ragam form out of a fusion of my Path and martial art. I know your fire bullshit is overpowered, but there's no way you can keep up with my Ragam Blood Body."

I just smirked at him. With Sammael and my domains, I wasn't afraid of anyone my own level…except Bethy. I was terrified of Bethy. But her powers were bullshit and didn't count. Still, it was impressive he'd managed to create a form like mine. I'd never heard of anyone else doing anything similar. I wondered if he might eventually be able to make a pseudo Domain, though based on what my dad had told me it was vanishingly rare at my rank.

I was about to retort when I felt something change in the air around me. I tensed, ready for an attack, before realizing my grandparents, mom, and uncle were all here, and the chances of me detecting a threat that they couldn't stop before it smashed me like a bug were pretty much zero.

Looking around, I tried to figure out what was going on, and my attention was immediately drawn to something odd. Namely, a reflection in a nearby glass pane. Except it wasn't a reflection of me, or anyone else nearby. It was someone I knew though. Desria.

When she saw me, she slumped with relief. "Fist!" She shouted anxiously. "Thank the gods I got through. We're in trouble. I used your scroll to reach you. After you left, we stuck around Rackham for a while, but we decided to try to put our scrolls to work elsewhere. We waited like you said, but somehow someone noticed us leaving. We were chased into a nearby dungeon by some priests of…someone, and they're hunting us en masse. Hundreds of D-rankers are after us!"

"Des?" I asked in shock. "That's…ok, give me a second," That was a lot to process. "Where are you?" I checked my ring and sure enough, ten E-ranked chits had been deposited. Apparently messages to the actual wish granter weren't too expensive. Good to know.

"The dungeon is called the Screeching Shoals," she said urgently. "It's not too far from Rackham. We were heading here already when they caught up to us. Fist…I think it might be a trap. We're pretty sure they're luring you in. Ray says not to come, but I couldn't think of who else to call. I can't watch them die."

I shook my head. "It's fine," I told her firmly. "You did the right thing. I'm on my way, just lie low and stay safe."

The connection faded, and I turned to look at my grandfather, my expression solemn. "Ok, this little good will tour is going to have to be put on hold." I explained the situation. "I know that gathering my forces is important, but my friends-"

He waved me off. "No, I get that. We'll take you. With all of us here, unless there's an actual god waiting in the wings nothing can hurt you. But the actual dungeon…based on what she said, I think they're right about it being a trap. A hundred D-rankers is a nasty force. Chances are good no one above that rank can enter. I know you're strong, but those won't be normal D-rankers."

I was well aware. Raxus was most likely trying to get ahold of me to learn the location of the other divine artifacts. He'd send his strongest, and a hundred plus…that was a tall order, even for me. Quantity had a quality all its own.

Abel slung an arm over my shoulder with a laugh. "A hundred? Please. That's child's play. I hope they miscounted, honestly, because I could use a workout. We got this."

I stared at him for a minute, touched. Abel didn't know any of my new friends, and had no reason to take a risk like that. Confidence or not he wasn't stupid. That many presumably peak D-rankers were a danger even to him.

"What he said," I laughed. "You all just take care problems outside. But I'm a little worried. What if one of the Vanished gods show up?" I explained my theory about Raxus.

"Don't worry about that," he said confidently. "Gods can't engage directly so easily, not when we have our own to counter. I wouldn't be surprised if Black Sorrow is waiting in ambush in case he tries." That was something I hadn't considered. My great grandmother had pretty much vanished after I passed her the stone, was this still part of the mission? Was I bait? It didn't matter. My friends needed help, and I was going to help them. And I wasn't doing it alone.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

"So, dungeons," I said as we all settled into the Acheron. 'Are they all like the Moonsong Glade?" We'd just gotten off the damned ship, so it was annoying to have to get back on, giving up the firm security of real ground. I was never quite as comfortable in space as I was on a planet. My grandfather pointed out that ships were basically planets, and that he'd been on ships that were LITERAL planets, but it didn't feel the same.


My grandfather shook his head. "Not all of them. I assume you mean are they inaccessible to higher rank individuals? That was a fairly unusual phenomena, but not unique. Locked dungeons aren't the norm, but I'm guessing the one we're heading to is one of them."


"It is," my grandmother said in frustration. "I just pulled it up on the database. It's a minor D-rank dungeon, so I'd never heard of it, but it's spatially locked. Your friends are right, this is a trap."


I frowned in worry. "That seems…insufficient. A hundred D-rankers seems like a lot, but Raxus knows I'm strong enough to beat a C-ranker. He has to assume I can handle that. Sure, maybe he sent some other D-rankers that could punch up, but no way the god of Deception doesn't know I have friends with me."


"The ring you used is a rare and difficult to source enchanted item," my grandmother pointed out. "It's not UNIQUE per se, but it isn't something anyone your level should have access to. Spatially binding two objects across unlimited distance requires S-rank spatial manipulation abilities, if not outright divinity. My mother made those rings herself."


"Which means that since he probably has some method of divining that I haven't seen her yet, he might assume I still have the artifacts," I said grimly. "That's why she never got in touch with me directly. Do you really think this is a trap she set?"


She sighed. "It might be, but we should proceed on the assumption that it isn't. If she arranged this, she's planning to intercept Raxus personally. The gods have their own arrangements for countering each other. Chances are good that we won't see her even if this is her doing, and if we do it probably won't be for long."


"I don't enjoy being bait," I told her bluntly. "Your mother may be a god, but I'm not super fond of the way she does things."


My grandmother gave me a sad smile. "It's hard for gods to see us as people, Shane. Becoming a force of nature changes your fundamental perception of the world. I only barely understand it myself. They retain some semblance of who they were, but it's not…gods and mortals are the same kind of being, but they're made of different things. You've had a small taste of it at D-rank, but imagine crossing that watershed, only a hundred times more intense."


"Why do you make excuses for her?" I demanded. "I get that there's nothing we can do about her behavior, but can't I even complain? Is she going to snuff me out for daring to criticize? Because honestly, if she is I might prefer it to having to keep my mouth shut!"


My voice had risen, and everyone was staring now, my wife looking a little alarmed at the outburst. I knew that not questioning divinity was part of the recursion of the gods, but Black Sorrow just kept pushing and pushing. I would have to be an unfeeling machine not to get at least a little pissed after everything she's done.


"I love her," she said with a shrug. "She's my mother. No matter what she does, that won't change. She's still the woman who carried me across star systems to demand my father's disciple heal me when I got slightly sick as a little girl, who created a new species so I could have a pet after I saw a fictional animal I thought was cute in a book. She's complicated and arbitrary careless, but she loves me more than anything."


"Well, she doesn't love me," I said bitterly.


She shook her head. "No, she doesn't. But she respects you. The mission she chose for you, the tools she gave you. They represent an investment. My mother doesn't waste her investments. Sure, she needed someone who could handle the Enshrining Darkness, but it isn't like she doesn't have a dozen younger members of the clergy who are trained with it."


"So I'm supposed to be grateful she chose to fuck up my life instead of theirs?" I demanded hotly.


"No, of course not," she denied. "I'm just saying that if she does come to care for you, which I believe she might be, it'll be a great benefit to you. She's far from impartial. She directly favors those she cares about. My goal in acting as an intermediary has always been to try to add you to that list. Fighting my mother is an exercise in futility, even my father knows that."


My mom snorted. "I personally think she's wasting her time. But I do agree it would be better to have BS on your side than not."


"So you expect me to bow and scrape to her on the off chance that she might be willing to be nice to me?" I snorted. "Because I'll pass. I'm not stupid enough to be rude to her face but I don't want her good opinion."


Celia laughed. "Amusingly, that's exactly the kind of talk that would get it. I understand your position. Just…don't judge her only by the bad. Those rings are unique and precious treasures. She made them for you personally, albeit at my request. To her, that's already showing a lot of care."


"We're getting off track," Callie interrupted. I expected my grandmother to be annoyed, but she just ceded the conversation to my wife. "We need to know everything we can about the Screeching Shoals. If this really is a trap, it's not one we can worry about. At least not at the divine level. We need to worry about what's IN that dungeon, because Shane is right. Either there are way more D-rankers in there than expected, or they sent something truly nasty. Possibly both."


I grimaced. We had no real context for exactly what the forces of the vanished gods could do. I'd seen some scary people among them at the conclave, and during the trial, but those trial members weren't even REAL initiates. The strongest of the vanished god's forces would be those legacy Ascendants from inside their worlds, who had been cut off from the universe and training in isolation since their gods originally fell.


Thinking about the surge of powerful S-rankers that Lark had fought off, I couldn't imagine what the internal D-rankers from the various god worlds might be like. I glanced at Bethy, Abel, Callie, and all my other friends…and part of me was actually kind of excited. We had to be some of the strongest D-rankers for our level. Sure, we weren't peak D-rank yet, and there were probably some five faction bigwigs who were stronger in D-rank by virtue of higher stats, but I'd give us good odds against anyone close to our level.


"Before we can even worry about that," cut in Abel. "We need to get inside. If this is an ambush they might be waiting with high rankers at the entrance. While I'm sure you could all fight them off in a blaze of glory, sitting around in one place while we explore the depths of the dungeon, consistently repelling ever increasing waves of bad guys seems…suboptimal."


Celia nodded. "You aren't wrong. I can slip us past. The Acheron is my personal vessel, and while my husband is perfectly capable of pushing the speed up, its true value is only visible when it's in my hands. They won't see our approach if I don't want them to. More than that, even after you've gone in, if they have some method of contacting the D-rankers in there, they still won't be able to locate us. I could park this ship on the Vampire's nose and he wouldn't notice it."


"Obviously, if a god shows up, especially Raxus, they'd see it instantly," my grandfather warned. "But under these circumstances we should be able to hang around unseen and wait for you to emerge. Once you've come out we'll make our escape."


"That's all well and good," said my mother grimly. "But looking at this particular dungeon, I don't think it'll be that easy. It's not unstable, it's enfolded."


My grandfather bristled, looking at the database, and then cursed. "Fuck, I missed that. Ok, that's bad." Seeing our confusion, he explained. "Spatial locking comes in multiple forms. There are always unique ways to manipulate any force, given how diverse Paths and abilities get. You've seen unstable space before, essentially it's too fragile to withstand higher Impact, directly collapsing if powerful people enter."


"Enfolded space is different," my mother cut in. "It's a similar mechanism, but it's wrapped AROUND the dungeon instead of overlapping with it. While that may seem like a meaningless distinction, it isn't at all. Because while people of a higher rank can't ENTER, they can still EXIST."


My eyes widened. "You're saying my friends are stuck in there with native high rankers?"


She waggled her hand. "Some, maybe. Locked dungeons distort renown, it makes it harder to rank up. There are probably a few C-rankers, but there won't be anything higher. You should be able to handle C-rankers together. If you're careful. But it'll complicate things. There's a difference between a running battle with a hundred random D-rankers and a running battle inside an occupied dungeon with higher ranked natives."


"Ok, I don't want to be the one to say it, but is this really worth it?" asked Abel bluntly. "You just met these people. Like it's not nice to say, but is risking our lives for some people you hung out with a few times worthwhile."


Bella, who had been mostly quiet until now, bristled. She'd been pretty intimidated by all the new faces and had been trying to disappear into the background and avoid notice, but Abel's words, she stiffened and glared at my mentor. "Hey, shut up rabbit-guy!" We all turned to look at her, but she was too busy glaring to notice. "Elena is a mom. She has two kids. Emma and Simon. Simon is eleven and he was really sick until master helped him. We can't just let his mom die!"


"Elena is with them," I confirmed. "They talked her into going along for the resources. Dungeons usually have some decent treasure and Simon's medical care has mostly wiped out their savings. She could have used that wish I gave her for money, but she decided to keep it in case Simon had a medical emergency." I held up a rolled up piece of paper. "This dropped into my pocket as we were entering. It's all the information they could give about their location and who is with them."


I'd only had a chance to scan it before we started this little meeting, but it hadn't been relevant to entry so I hadn't bothered bringing it up.


Abel blew out a breath. "Great. Kids. None of you bleeding hearts are going to let this go. Fine, whatever, as long as I get to punch things I'm happy. I want to really show off my new form."


Despite his carefree words, his tone was somber. Abel didn't give a shit about most things, but he liked kids. He had offered to train Cass to help with her trauma after being kidnapped by the Heartrippers, even if he played it off like a whim. My mentor might be a violent menace, but he was good people.


"Alright, well, now that we've got that out of the way, lets dig into this dungeon a bit more." I cracked my neck, hunkering down for some serious research. We needed to be ready for whatever was coming, because somehow, I doubted the god of deception had set a trap for me without a few nasty surprises.

 

[Droosh]

I don't know why they'd be worried about natives? It seems the far greater and more likely threat are how many of the >100 peak D rankers rank up to C for the fight. Seems kind of obvious though, so I assume the god of Deception has real tricks in store. Seems like a suicide mission for a handful of mid to low D rankers to face 10 times their number of higher ranked. Especially with how rare it is for even peak D to punch up to low C 1 on 1.