Pandora unchained 2 a cu.., p.46
Pandora Unchained 2: A Cultivation Progression Fantasy, page 46
“Sorin, how can I be of serv—” Charles started, only to cut off as Sorin stabbed a poisonous spear at the person standing beside him, Melinoë. The spear punched through three levels of distortion before shattering into a poisonous cloud that was immediately consumed by a nightmarish creature.
“I’m not sure what’s gotten into you, Sorin, but—” Melinoë started, but Sorin stabbed a dagger toward her chest, piercing through a light shield that sprung up to defend her. He was about to continue his assault when he felt a surge of Violence from the side. He dodged, barely avoiding a curse that came flying his way.
Sorin looked at the caster of the curse, Onesca Wayfair. “Onesca, I don’t recall our clans having a bad relationship. In fact, we even cooperate on treatments from time to time. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“You literally just attacked a God Seed out of nowhere, Sorin,” said Onesca. “Why don’t you tell us what the problem is, and we can talk it through?”
“Talk it through?” said Sorin, his anger mounting as a chained serpent appeared in the arena in front of his friends. Under Gareth’s urging, his team adopted a combat formation to counter the monster on the off chance they’d have to face it.
“My friends just encountered two elite combats and are now fighting a floor boss,” said Sorin. “Just before the floor boss appeared, I sensed a wave of distortion. Or are you going to pretend nothing’s happening? That you can’t feel luck in this place being siphoned off by this vile woman?”
Onesca’s expression wavered, and when Michael arrived looking none-too-pleased with Melinoë, the situation became clear to everyone.
“Explain,” said Michael to Melinoë.
The accused woman smiled. “It appears there is a misunderstanding that we need to clear up. Perhaps talking things over will be more productive than resorting to Violence, which will cost the entire group greatly?”
“A misunderstanding?” said Sorin. “Are you telling me you didn’t siphon off their luck? That what I sensed was just an illusion?”
“No, I won’t deny that,” said Melinoë. “I am currently siphoning off their luck, just as I have been during the preceding battles.”
Everyone’s expressions changed, including Michael’s. “Tell me what’s going on. Now.” God Light erupted from the archer and bore down on Melinoë. The clash of two God Seeds forced everyone back. Everyone save Sorin, of course.
“I’ve been doing what’s optimal for the entire group by adjusting the odds based on every team’s performance,” said Melinoë. She waved her hand and revealed a golden container that was filled to the brim with a strange energy. “This is the group’s luck bank, which I have been filling up to use when the most important battles come about.”
“What the bloody hell,” said Fenrig, finally losing his cool. “You’ve been sabotaging our teams this entire time? So that brush with death where my team almost died—that was all your doing?” He was on the verge of exploding and attacking Melinoë just like Sorin had.
“I’m also very interested in the answer to his question,” said Michael, “because this doesn’t just concern those teams who perished. It concerns whether or not the remaining individuals can trust you going forward and risk taking on higher-level challenges.”
68
DIFFERENCE IN STATUS
As Sorin’s team fought the serpent, the remaining Heroes surrounded Melinoë and her ally, Bast. The light mage seemed unsurprised by the situation but expressed his desire for distance between himself and his polarizing patron.
“Perhaps the details should be discussed,” Melinoë said after a minute of silence. “I have never sabotaged a team that was having a hard time and have only siphoned luck from teams that had been doing well.”
“Is that supposed to reassure us somehow?” exclaimed Fenrig. “A bunch of teams that were supposed to do well almost died. Some might have even died because they faced one more elite challenge than they had to.”
“I’m talking about cases like Team ‘We Don’t Need a Life Mage,’” said Melinoë. “They are more than capable of overcoming tough challenges, as they are currently showing us in this match against a floor boss. Notice how half its scales have already been melted off; it’s only a matter of time before their rogue and the Myth Binder unleash a killing blow on the creature through the hole in its hide that their archer and their mage have been creating this entire time.”
“You speak a lot of sense,” said Sorin.
“I’m glad you can see things the way I do,” said Melinoë.
“Unfortunately for you, my friends are my reverse scale,” said Sorin, pointing his dagger at her once again. “Return their luck. Now. Or I’ll gut you.”
Melinoë pursed her lips. “Are you threatening a God Seed? Are you threatening a ranking member of this expedition under direct orders from Administrator Pollen? I have good reasons for what I am doing and have explained myself sufficiently well. I’m not going to alter my course of action because one member decides his team needs special treatment.”
“You need to back off now, Sorin,” added Charles. “Otherwise, you’ll give me sufficient excuse to eliminate you once and for all.”
“Calm down, Sorin,” said Michael. “Your friends are clearly able to deal with this situation. And she has a point. Her status does outstrip yours. While I can’t completely agree with her way of doing things, I’ll be obligated to back her if you decide to take matters into your own hands.”
Sorin’s eyes turned cold as Madness and Violence filled his blood and his bones. He knew he was being reckless, and he knew his actions would have dire consequences, but those were long-term worries, and his friends needed help right now.
“So, because she’s a God Seed, she can put my friends in danger,” whispered Sorin. “Is that the way this world works?”
“Unfortunately… yes,” said Michael.
“All three of us could kill you and not face any consequences,” added Charles. “Honestly, Sorin, the only reason I haven’t done so is because I don’t want to jeopardize this mission. You’re still useful, after all. Don’t become a liability to this expedition.”
“Useful,” repeated Sorin, his anger mounting. He no longer sought to contain the corruption in his body and allowed it to fuse with his divinity. The fox head medallion on Sorin’s chest throbbed as it filtered the tarnished gold light Sorin gave off until it was no different than the light emitted by the three God Seeds.
The pressure he gave off was staggering and directly clashed with Melinoë, Michael, and Charles’s subdued auras. Having successfully shocked the surrounding Heroes into submission, Sorin blinked using his Wraith Hate Boots and launched a sneak attack from Melinoë’s rear.
The woman, having expected this kind of attack, struck Sorin with a wave of Madness-infused energy. Unfortunately for her, Sorin had already purchased an S-Tier ring; it absorbed the bulk of the attack, and Sorin, not wanting to let the opportunity slip, took the remainder head-on to strike back at Melinoë with Cobra’s Glare, paralyzing her as his dagger stabbed toward her bare heart.
A shield of light sprang up and intercepted Sorin’s dagger. The shield shattered, but Sorin’s attack was slowed by just enough that Melinoë was able to use distortion to step out of the way and retreat to safety.
“You’re making a terrible enemy, Bast,” said Sorin calmly. “Also, I can keep doing this all day. You can defend her now, but what about later? More to the point, does anyone dare try to stop me, a God Seed cultivating the Ten Thousand Poison Canon? I could probably kill everyone here if I put my life on the line.”
Coincidentally, the situation on the arena underwent large changes during his outburst. Things went exactly as Melinoë had predicted, with Lawrence and Astley, having bided their time for sufficiently long, attacking the serpent boss from opposite directions and lopping its head off.
Melinoë was now in a tough spot. Those who were reluctantly supporting her had promptly withdrawn their support once Sorin revealed his identity as a God Seed. “What do you want?” she asked finally. “The match ended as I predicted. Out of respect for a fellow God Seed, I will hold back from siphoning their luck any further.”
Sorin shook his head. “Fifty percent.”
“I beg your pardon?” asked Melinoë.
“Transfer 50 percent of the luck you’ve siphoned off to my team, and I’ll stop,” said Sorin. “Otherwise, I’ll just fight you to the death. You might not be concerned about dying, since you always end up coming back, but it’s different this time, isn’t it? You have big things to accomplish, big plans that need unfolding. If you don’t accept my proposal, I’ll end your current life at the most inconvenient time.”
“Calm down, Sorin,” said Michael. “Let’s not rush to extremes.” Though his words were relaxed, his posture wasn’t. And for good reason; there was a look in Sorin’s eyes that experienced adventurers would have no difficulty spotting. It was the look of a cornered beast. “Melinoë, do as he says.”
The woman frowned. “That luck was rightfully earned, and I’ll be putting it to good use.”
“I wasn’t asking,” said Michael. “Moreover, he’s in the right here, and his status now matches yours.”
“I have orders from Administrator Pollen to do whatever it takes to make it through to the third level of the catacombs!” hissed Melinoë.
“And I have orders from my grandfather, Administrator Pollen, instructing me to shoot an arrow straight through your heart if you prove too difficult to work with!” snapped Michael.
Melinoë gnashed her teeth but grudgingly agreed. “Fine.” She swept her hand, and half the tangible reservoir of luck flowed over to Sorin’s teammates, who were exhausted but who had triumphed against the boss monster, securing a bronze wish-fire sphere each.”
Though they’d met their quota, their energy reserves were still high. Ignorant to the show that was playing out, they decided to challenge the wheel another time. It seemed like it was going to land on yet another elite combat, when suddenly it stopped and landed on a rare silver flame. Their wish-fire spheres immediately gained a huge amount of energy, and though they were upgraded to silver spheres, they gained a considerable amount of silver runes.
Surprised at the outcome, the team huddled and decided to stay for another spin. Once again, it was a silver flame, and the team spun the wheel one more time. At this point, the number of elite challenges had doubled, so it wasn’t surprising when they encountered three elite panthers, which they cleaned up without any issues, obtaining silver wish-fire spheres and withdrawing from the arena.
Four teams quickly stepped up after Team “We Don’t Need a Life Mage.” Three succeeded in meeting their bronze quota, while the fourth got unlucky and hit a boss monster early. They barely cleared it, and only succeeded in securing ruby wish-fire spheres by suffering two casualties.
“What are we dealing with, Bast?” Michael asked the light mage as he ran some quick calculations. “How’s our target looking?”
“Not great,” Bast confessed. “It seems we underestimated how the wish-fire scales. Too many defeats have reinforced the disc to the point that we really have no leeway.”
“Be specific,” snapped Melinoë. “What results do we need to meet our target? How many bouts do we need to win?”
“Basically all of them,” said Bast helplessly.
Sorin’s gaze flickered between the remaining combatants. Michael, Melinoë, Charles would naturally be aiming for gold wish-fire orbs. As for Bast, Faile, Fenrig, Joseph, Onesca, and Owen, they would all be going for silver orbs.
“If only we had a massive reservoir of luck to draw on to get everyone through their challenges,” said Melinoë coldly. “But instead, you wasted them on your teammates.”
“Wasted?” Sorin asked, raising an eyebrow. The way I see it, we netted five silver-grade wish-fire orbs. I wonder how well your ploy would have worked if we hadn’t done so?”
“Enough with the infighting,” said Michael. “Surely you’re exaggerating, Bast?”
“My words are more or less accurate,” said Bast. “There are nine of us, and two are allowed to miss their mark by a single tier. At most, one of these can be a God Seed participant. Also, no one is allowed to die.”
“So you’re saying it’s fortunate that we have an extra God Seed participating?” Sorin asked. “That’s excellent news, Bast. It’s a good thing Melinoë didn’t force the issue, isn’t it?”
“We get it, Sorin,” said Michael. “But I hope you understand that the benefits you’ve gained come with serious obligations. If you don’t obtain a gold wish-fire orb, I’m going to have a very hard time explaining my actions to my grandfather, the administrator.”
“I naturally won’t disappoint you,” said Sorin. “Charles, you look like you ate a lemon. Is there something you want to say?”
The pale-faced plague mage was not taking the reveal of Sorin’s status as a God Seed well. “My lunch just isn’t sitting well with me,” he said. “Rest assured that I am fully committed to seeing out this mission and can definitely pull my own weight.”
69
CLASH OF WILLS
With only ten solo combatants remaining and not much leeway, their first order of business was to determine the order of participants. “The previous trend will likely continue, with demons getting progressively stronger with each fight,” said Melinoë. “Given that all remaining participants are those with heroic blessings, I would expect the difference between each bout to become increasingly exaggerated.
“There’s also a matter of how well-suited each participant is to this sort of combat. Those who are less well-suited should go first, and those highly impacted by their opponent will get priority over the remaining luck in my luck bank.”
“I’ll naturally be going last in silver class,” said Fenrig, thumping his chest. “No additional luck required.”
It was Faile from the Atlan Clan, an outsider, who volunteered to go first. “As a rogue, I possess many means to defend myself, but unfortunately, most of my skills are meant for classical dungeon diving. I therefore request an adjustment to my luck as well, just to be safe.”
“I should go closer to last, in my estimation,” said Joseph, the Demon Hunter. “I specialize in slaying demons, after all, and arena combat is right up my alley.”
“I’ll also go near the end,” said Owen, a man of few words. “There’s bound to be more elites and bosses closer to the end. A single strike each is all I’ll need.”
“I hate to admit it, but I’m probably one of the least capable in this group when it comes to direct combat,” said Bast. “I’ll go after Faile, if you don’t mind. A luck adjustment would be greatly appreciated.”
“Then I’ll go after Bast,” said Onesca. “No luck adjustment required for me, thank you very much.”
“Does anyone else require a luck adjustment?” asked Melinoë. “We God Seeds are unable to use them efficiently, so it’s best if one more individual with a silver quota volunteers.” Sorin doubted this statement was true.
“I’ll take it,” answered Owen. “Targets with fewer heads and more elites would be preferred.”
Melinoë nodded. “Then that covers our strategy for non–God Seeds. Faile, you’re up.”
The rogue from the Atlan Clan took out a pair of crossbows and flitted onto the stage. Luck evaporated from the golden luck bank as the wheel spun, eventually causing it to land on a silver flame. Faile’s wish-fire orb was immediately upgraded to the ruby grade.
With the switch to silver grade, there were even fewer normal demon symbols. Each demon symbol now represented ten demons, and each elite symbol represented four elites. There were a total of five boss icons and a corresponding number of silver flames.
Thanks to her upgraded luck, Faile’s first encounter was a group of ten demonic bears, each one being equivalent to a fifth forging cultivator. By using her quick, flexible movement techniques and automatic crossbows with anti-demon bolts, she managed to eliminate them all within a single minute.
Her next three encounters proved more difficult as they were all elite combats. Elites were more difficult for the rogue to face off against, as her Heroic Ability was clearly not a stealth or movement technique. In the end, she was able to come out on top thanks to a few single-use items.
Faile’s last encounter caused everyone to suck in a sharp breath, as the wheel didn’t even spin. A sealed floor boss directly emerged to face her. Fortunately, she still had quite a bit of luck to rely on; the boss turned out to be a lumbering crustacean with powerful attacks but poor perception. By repeatedly targeting the same area over and over for an entire hour, Faile was eventually able to break off a piece of the creature’s chitin and then insert an explosive alchemical concoction into the gap to shatter its carapace.
The remainder of the battle held no suspense, and Faile was eventually able to secure a silver wish-fire orb. Though the option to continue challenging remained, she decisively left the arena.
“Let’s hope I don’t embarrass myself too badly,” said Bast. He moved onto the arena at a sluggish pace compared to the rogue and immediately began laying down spell formations as the challenge disc pulsed.
Thanks to Melinoë’s luck enhancement, Bast encountered normal demons for the first five rounds. Eliminating them using formations was a straightforward task and provided him ample time to layer additional spells over the entire arena.
It was, therefore, an easy task for him to face the elites that came next. All enemies that appeared were instantly reduced to smoldering ash.
“Ironically, he’s probably the one I’d least want to face if he had enough time to prepare,” Sorin commented.
“He’s in a league of his own in his area of expertise,” agreed Michael. “That being said, I think I’d rather face him than you. You’re not like Charles with his insanely aggressive poisons. Given enough preparation time and information on your opponent, I imagine you’d be able to counter just about any opponent.”
