Leveling up the world 4.., p.24
Leveling Up The World 4: A LitRPG Adventure, page 24
And you’re telling me to relax and have a good time…
“Dal?” a voice said a short distance above him.
Dallion looked up to see none other than Hegel—the goth acrobat that had challenged Gloria to the equivalent of a dance-off. She looked somewhat different from how Dallion remembered her. The woman’s entire outfit was long and wavy, made entirely of copper thread. Just looking at her made Dallion wince, remembering how uncomfortable he had felt when wearing silver fabrics. Despite that, a heartwarming smile remained on Hegel’s face, making it seem that she enjoyed performing in such conditions. Using his music skills, Dallion could sense that was true—the joy was very real—but so also was the extreme pressure that accompanied it.
“It’s been a while. What are you doing here?”
Dallion opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, he was shoved by another person in the crowd. That was one of the major problems while walking in the plaza—the moment someone stopped, they inadvertently got pushed by the people moving.
“Come up.” The woman waved to Dallion.
There was no point in refusing. With a single acrobatic jump, Dallion landed on the rope next to Hegel, and to the ovation of a few people, to his great surprise. Apparently, some thought this to be part of the act.
“You’ve learned a new set of skills,” Hegel said, impressed.
“And so have you, by the look of it. Congrats on passing the second gate.”
“Yeah, thanks. It was a bit of a risk, but I finally pulled it off.”
“And right on time for the festival. Is Gloria about? I’d have thought she’d be here to popularize her troop.”
“She’s at the lord mayor’s palace.”
“Wow,” Dallion managed only to say. He didn’t expect such a turn of events. “That’s pretty impressive.”
“The square,” Hegel clarified. “Not at the palace itself. Nobles are more impressed by the hair than any tricks any of us could do.”
There was a clear jab in her words, but also a degree of sadness.
“Oh?” Dallion subtly pressed on, using a touch of music in his voice.
“She’s… I mean…” Hegel’s voice changed into a whisper. As any awakened, she was aware what affect gossip could cause, especially since it could be heard from far away. “She’s been struggling to keep up. She puts in the effort and has the will, but there’s only so much you can achieve as a single digit.”
“Yeah…” Dallion sighed. For some reason, the Luors insisted on remaining at the current level even if they had amassed more than enough funds to pay for their exam. Dallion had long stopped asking the question, but his concerns remained. Now he saw he wasn’t the only one. “It’s been a busy period. They have a lot on their plate right now,” he lied.
“Even so, they can’t keep this up. Granted, the festival isn’t the best time for leveling up, but…” Hegel sighed. “Sorry, don’t know why I said that.”
“It’s okay.” Dallion, in contrast, knew full well he was the cause. That was the scary effect of music; he had finally learned how to use it subtly to nudge people in the direction he wanted. Combine that with combat splitting and it could become a scary tool. Thinking about it, it would be horrifying if politicians had that power…or maybe they already did? In this world, nobles were the equivalent, and their powers were the whole reason that got to such a position. “So what have you been up to? Don’t tell me you’re dancing in front of nobles.”
“In copper?” Hegel laughed. “Just merchant representatives. Call it the second best. It’s a long-term audition. Once the festival is over, I might get invited to a troupe.”
“Good luck.”
“What about you? Did you learn to play that ringchord? My grandfather keeps asking me every week.”
“Actually, I have played a few times.” Not that it was easy. The instrument seemed to have a life of its own. Playing a simple melody was easily achievable. Using it as it was supposed to be used, though, required a combination of high perception, reaction, and combat splitting. Since one of these three elements was lacking, Dallion could only achieve mediocrity. “Still have a long way to go, though.”
“You should come by the shop sometime. My grandpa will be thrilled.”
And he won’t be the only one, the armadil shield said.
Not now, shield. Dallion sighed mentally.
I’m only stating a fact. It’s a fact of life—the higher your level, the more people will be attracted to you.
That’s a horrifying thought. You can’t just equate people to numbers. What about character and personality and—
That’s why I said the higher your level, the dryad guardian insisted on “your.” I know it’s not low self-esteem; you’ve already dealt with most of that flaw. It’s stubborn ignorance. Just because you have someone in you life doesn’t mean that others won’t try to steal you away.
Yeah, right. I’d have noticed that.
Music skills aren’t the answer to everything, or do you think that she’s just combat splitting to avoid falling off the rope?
Dallion didn’t reply. He had seen Hegel split a number of times, although he hadn’t gone through to check the instances she had ignored. Part of him felt flattered by the prospect, although another, far smaller part, felt guilty.
“Sure,” he replied. “The moment the festival’s over.”
Smooth. The shield laughed.
“I must focus on my tournament fights right now.”
“You’ll be in the arena fights?” Hegel asked, far more impressed than Dallion would have liked her to be. “That’s a big deal.”
“Preliminaries,” Dallion quickly added. “It’s still not sure I’ll make it to the tournament proper.” Dallion added a healthy degree of disinterest in his voice as he spoke.
“Ah.” The enthusiasm faded slightly.
“I was supposed to check on that now but decided to pass by the plaza before that.” He continued with his music skill. “Catch up with you later?”
“Sure. I’ll be here all week,” Hegel replied, her interest returned to standard levels.
As much as he was relieved, Dallion also felt that he was starting to rely on his music skills too much. From what he had learned, that was never a good sign. In life—here as well as back on Earth—when someone relied on a single thing too much, things tended to go bad.
“I’ll see you soon, then. Good luck with the audition.”
Hegel nodded, then jumped further up, getting back to her acrobatic act. The performance was quite good, though nothing Dallion couldn’t achieve with his present skills. Spending a few more moments thinking about the situation, Dallion then took out the kaleidovrima and looked about the crowd. He had to at least pretend that he was looking.
Thousands of echoes came into view as Dallion scanned through the crowd, so many that they were virtually invisible. Almost everyone had close to half a dozen echoes within their realm. Exceptions were few and far between.
Careful, dear boy, Nil reminded. Your fiancée isn’t here to save you should anything happen.
I know, Dallion replied. The overseer is, though.
Nothing out of the ordinary occurred as Dallion examined the crowd with the kaleidovrima. That was good. However, Dallion’s seer vision let him see something else: several familiars hiding among the echoes.
So they are starting to come out, Dallion thought. If he made it to the actual tournament, it was quite possible he’d have to face some of them. Things were going to become very interesting soon.
THE ARENA
The atmosphere was very different when Dallion went to visit the festival committee. The giant line of tournament applicants was gone, as were any people that weren’t supposed to be there. Instead, there were dozens of people running frantically about, seeing to final details. Among the standard bureaucrats—some of which Dallion had gotten to know by name—there was a large number of temps as well as, to Dallion’s surprise, a noble. She was little more than a child—a girl of twelve at most, wearing a dress of emerald threads. However, even at that age, she was fully awakened. Not only that, but she was a double digit.
That’s Constanza, Nil said. The niece of the lord mayor.
Isn’t she a bit young to be responsible for all this?
Skill knows no age. And it’s up to the noble family to develop their children. Some take it slow, like Falkner; others rush things like there’s no tomorrow. My personal advice, keep your distance. She’s a bit testy. Children tend to be that way when under pressure.
Pressure… Despite the girl’s calm voice and relaxed exterior, she was brewing with it. It was so loud that it almost blocked out the sound of any other emotion in the vicinity.
“Mister Darude?” someone asked. One of the bureaucrats had recognized him and quickly rushed to check the situation. “It wasn’t necessary for you to come so soon. We have arranged for—”
“Oh, it’s all right.” Dallion smiled, adding some joy and eagerness to his words. “I just wanted to come and check out the arena. With luck, I’ll be standing there soon enough.”
“Yes.” The bureaucrat laughed politely. “That’s our great hope. Of everyone in the free tournament, you’re the only remaining seer. It would be heartbreaking if you don’t make it to the starting round.”
“The only remaining?” Dallion didn’t like the sound of that.
“Well, you see, since we weren’t certain of your condition… Some of the final slots have been filled out. Naturally, we were informed of your situation, so an exception was made.”
“Wow, thanks!”
On the outside, Dallion remained cheerful, but deep inside, he was concerned and intrigued at the same time. There were only two groups of people that knew that he hadn’t been in any condition to fight. One group involved the people at the Gremlin’s Timepiece. In theory, it was possible that Hannah had some city connection Dallion wasn’t aware of, but that remained questionable. Rather, he suspected that the Icepicker guild had seen to it that he didn’t lose his tournament slot.
In itself, there was nothing strange about that. All the guilds had an interest in seeing more of their members at the arena, potentially even getting the top spot. What was unusual, though, was the effect the request had had on the committee. No common person was capable of exerting so much pressure on an entire institution that was reserved for nobles.
So, the guild’s backers are nobles, Dallion came to the realization. That had been pretty clear ever since the Stone Garden mission. Lady Marigold had especially been called to observe the group’s progress—namely Vend, Dallion, and the Luors. There had been quite a few nobles that had bet whether Dallion and the rest would succeed or end in failure. At the time, Dallion hadn’t given it too much thought. It was a well-established universal fact that most organizations had powerful sponsors. Even so, Dallion hadn’t expected them to be that powerful. The only people who could freely change the preliminary schedule were the members of the lord mayor’s direct family.
“Oh, you are very welcome,” the man quickly said, sweat covering his forehead. “Things are a bit chaotic right now. Nothing like final touches a few days before the big event.”
“You said it. Any chance I can see the arena grounds?”
A deep silence followed as the man froze in place, uncertain how to react to such a request. Dallion hadn’t guessed wrong that someone important had asked for the changes. The committee, of course, didn’t know to what degree Dallion was close to the noble in question. With the third gate passed, Dallion was starting to tread into noble territory, which meant that more people were starting to keep an eye on him—nobles and servants alike.
“No worries if you can’t let me,” Dallion said, adding more emotions in his favor. “I know I’m just a participant.”
“Oh, please.” The man was becoming more and more tense. “You are by no means a mere participant. I just have to—”
“I’ll take him,” Constanza said from across the hall.
An ordinary onlooker would have seen that as a calm, even charming exchange. However, they wouldn’t have been witness to the split skirmish that had taken place. The girl had split into four instances, each of which had addressed Dallion in a different fashion: shouting, sarcasm, intimidation, and cold agreement. In turn, Dallion had countered by creating an equal number of instances, making a point to let her know he could see the splitting in all but the one he preferred. What was more, he had also used music skills during each.
“Of course, my lady.” The bureaucrat stepped away, only too glad to have been given an out from the entire situation.
Knowing he had won the invisible fight, Dallion decided it was better to act defeated, less he antagonize the noble unnecessarily. With a slight bow, he approached the girl.
“Impressive skills,” he whispered. In this world, skill was what was most valued, and admitting that was treated as the best form of flattery. “I didn’t have any until a year ago.”
The childlike nature of the girl shone through for a moment, causing her to bite her lip. There was little doubt that her realm was filled with tutors and relatives commenting on every part of her life. However, if they were anything like Nil, more than a few of them would agree that using splitting needlessly wasn’t a good decision.
“You’re Dallion,” the girl said.
“I’m flattered that you know me.”
“My grandma said you have pure-blond friends.”
Dallion wanted to cry. He had achieved so many things, and still for the nobles he remained nothing but the “guy who has pure-blond friends.” Clearly, the world was telling him that he had to step up his game. Maybe doing well in the tournament was one way to achieve that.
“Yes, I do. Do you want me to ask them over?”
There was a moment of hesitation.
“No,” the girl replied. Whatever discussion had gone between her and her echoes, it was over and a course of action was determined. “I’ll get to meet them when the countess arrives.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Nice to know I’m not the only one arguing with my echoes, Dallion thought.
Very funny, Nil grumbled. On the other hand, if you’re saying that you’re surpassed the mental capacities of a child, then I suppose you are correct.
The young noble went along the hall without warning, expecting Dallion to follow, which he did. People rushed about, placing decorations on the wall. For the most part, the issue was with the banners. Everyone from massive imperial nobles, to individual organizations had to be present and in the correct order. Back on Earth this would have passed as sponsors; here things weren’t so clear cut. Thankfully, that wasn’t a matter that Dallion had to deal with.
After walking through a few halls and massive corridors, Dallion arrived to the main viewing balcony of the arena.
So this is what it looks like from the inside? Dallion thought.
A cross between a stadium and an opera building, the arena was impressive, though not as large as Dallion imagined. There were still a lot of people working on the field itself, sectioning it off into segments.
“They’re constructing the battle grid,” Constanza said. “Each day of the preliminaries, walls between sections will be destroyed until the entire field is empty.”
The way the girl behaved gave Dallion the impression that this was a major improvement. He’d thought it to be obvious, but apparently sports and festivities were something only the “rich and cultured” enjoyed. Theater and operas seemed far more common. Dallion’s village had neither, although once Veil and Gloria returned, it was possible that they built something similar, given Dherma’s increase in status.
“Interesting,” Dallion said. “What is the arena used for the rest of the time?”
The girl stared at him, as if he hadn’t wiped his nose.
“The arena is only used for the festival,” she said after a while. “The rest of the time it’s kept clean and in good condition.”
“Ah, I see.” And also as a club for rich annoying snobs like the general, he thought.
Congratulations, dear boy, Nil said. You’re earned the title of country bumpkin.
I am a country kid, Nil.
Of course, if any of them knew that Dallion had lived in cities, that would make anything this world offered seem like clusters of villages.
“The fireworks will be held there.” The girl pointed. Unsurprisingly, the people in the VIP section would get the best view. “Is there anything you wish to know?”
“Where will the countess be?” Dallion couldn’t help himself.
“Above us. Only she and the lord mayor are allowed to enter there.”
And everyone they invite, Nil corrected.
For someone who hates the festival, you sure know a lot, Dallion said.
Precisely! That’s why I hate it. I know more than one should, so I couldn’t even imagine having fun at it. It’s bad enough that the guildmaster has threatened to add me to the guild section of the event.
I guess you’ll need to take one for the team.
“And you?” Dallion turned to the girl.
Constanza hesitated. This was a question she hadn’t expected. Even so, only after a few moments, a collected certainty filled her, resonating loudly.
“I’m not allowed at the arena before I pass the third gate. It is the wish of my father that the first time I set foot in the arena is as part of the tournament. Until then I’m only to help with preparations.”
Memories of Dherma flashed in Dallion’s mind. The former village chief had also planned out the entire life of his entire family in similar fashion. Not only that, he had pretty much planned out the life of the village itself: no one was to venture to the cities, Gloria was to be married off to the son of a neighboring chief, all awakened were either going to be part of the Luor family or have their powers sealed. At the time Dallion had thought this to be due to Aspion’s character. However, what if he had learned it from somewhere? Unlike the village, the nobles here were all smiles, but they hadn’t lost their powers.
