After watching the violent rise and fall of an entire civilization in a span of 10 minutes, my eyes strained focusing on the list of possible current gods in apparently younger forms to choose to assist in ending their generational wars for good. In truth, it was harder to wrap my head around the insane looking plant and stone people. I didn't even bother considering their terrifyingly vengeful deity, Vashi's sheer power. It was unlike anything I've ever seen, watching a real god exert its wrath upon a society from so close. With Perunious, I'd only seen his ravaging of some rebellious planet from space, never having to see the fear in the inhabitants eyes as a being far greater than themselves rampaged through their world. This? This was…a lot.
"Alright, so that was fucking insane, huh guys?" Korbin said, breaking the silence that hung in the illuminated cave as we sat along the stone bench.
"Is anyone else a little concerned about the fucking ghost flying around above us? Who's to say it hasn't learned to, I don't know, look down?" Derrick added, shooting up from the bench and pacing around the cavern.
"I'm pretty sure they would have said that, considering how gladly they gave such a lengthy synopsis. Honestly, I'm just not sure who we should pick." Cassi replied, narrowing her eyes in thought.
"I mean, we can all rule out the water guys right?" Korbin asked, getting many affirming nods from everyone else, including myself.
"Well yeah, why the hell would we want Uncommon shit? And the points are laughable compared to the other options." I added, scoffing at how obvious that was.
"That and they're like, prejudice." Lonni said, shooting a concerned raise of an eyebrow at me. Everyone's eyes fell on me, throwing rather judgmental glances my way.
"No shit, I'm just saying we're here to win, that's not the priori-…I mean it's important but like…" I fumbled out, trying to make it very clear I'm not anti-mushroom or whatever. If life science taught me anything, it's that we got similar cells anyways, why judge?
"Okay, moving on!" Korbin announced, clapping once before continuing.
"Who else are we thinking is off the table?" He continued, glancing from face to face.
"I mean, I don't think we're settling for Rare either, are we?" I asked, hoping to keep our aspirations high.
"Well hold on now, they said he was the son of their best lithomancer. I'm pretty sure we'll get along just fine, not to mention the type of knowledge he must possess. How could that not help Elysium in the long run?" Derrick countered.
"Really just sounds like you want an excuse to do lithomancy, brother." Lonni chimed in, standing beside Derrick.
"What the fuck, aren't you a metal guy?! You're telling me you won't benefit from seeing this guy turn people into stone and metal people right now?" Derrick rebuked, turning to face Lonni.
"Regardless, Tom's right, you're aiming too low. We're here to win the tournament, not further your profession levels. It's pretty obvious who we have to pick." Cassi said in a rather authoritative tone.
"I agree, we got to go with Hyphaelius." I said, nodding in approval.
"Exactly. And while he may have the inverse prejudices for humans, we can't afford to come off this planet without significant gains to show for it." Cassi replied, taking the words right out of my mouth.
"Really?! Just tell me you don't like people, it'll save us time in the future." Derrick sneered angrily.
"Whatever, so it's settled?" Cassi asked, looking amongst the group. Everyone nodded, a few of us more begrudgingly than others.
"Okay, then Korbin if you want t-"
*ding*
*Planetary Objective Updated!*
Find and assist Zeldrich in exacting vengeance in his disgraced fathers name before Xerinilia's apocalypse.
(14 days remaining)
"Tom, what the hell?!" Cassi said, grimacing angrily my way.
"What, it wasn't me?!" I hollered back, putting my hands up and backing away.
"Well who the fuck decided to choose the only option we might not be able to swing?!" Derrick angrily questioned. Korbin stepped around Cassi, walking straight in front of me smiling, before spinning around and addressing the group.
"It wasn't Tom, it was me."
"What the fuck dude, why did you pick Zeldrich?! The system doesn't even know where he is!" I yelled to Korbin, backpedaling beside the rest of the group.
"We will. It wouldn't be an option if he were dead, it's just a matter of mapping this place out." Korbin said through a grin.
"How exactly do we plan on doing that?" Cassi asked, a tinge of frustration hanging in her voice.
"Read our objective again, does it say anything about helping a single faction win this war?" Korbin questioned back. I opened the notification myself to read it over again.
Planetary Objective: Find and assist Zeldrich in exacting vengeance in his disgraced fathers name before Xerinilia's apocalypse.
(14 days remaining)
"No, no nothing about ending the war at all." I said, reading it over twice.
"Exactly, meaning we have the freedom to outsource intel from any faction we want to, assuming this Zeldrich guy isn't just hiding. Even then, knowing where every faction has been will help deduce what sections they haven't explored, only further assisting our search." Korbin explained.
"Still, who's to say his revenge isn't killing Vashi? You think we could handle that fucking monster?" I questioned, seeing the danger in such ambiguity before he ever selected to assist this guy.
"Look me in the eyes and tell me the system expects us to slay a god that currently exists in the real world for the entire multiverse to see." Korbin said in a deadpan tone, his smile dropping all at once indicating he too considered this possibility. Mulling over the idea, I backed off realizing how absolutely asinine that would be. If anyone somehow succeeded, they'd inherently out that god as weak in some format for level 8 to 11 humans to slay them for the sake of a competition.
"I mean…okay. Who do you suppose we seek out first?" Cassi asked Korbin, after failing to think of a suitable rebuttal for his plan.
"Easy. We'll help Andolis even the playing field with Phanthu and his deathly water people. Once they're nice and occupied with each other, we can reach out to Hyphaelius and see what he knows about these caverns. If nothing else, we get plenty of levels slaying out a future plant god, and unlock an entire region to look for Zeldrich safely. By the time we're done, we could have either weakened both of the other factions enough to take both of their leaders out, or find Zeldrich and more than likely do that anyways." Korbin very quickly explained. Derrick and Lonni were already high fiving about helping Adolis and the rock-people known as the Khotunn. Derrick of course would enjoy the free ancient lithomancy techniques, while Lonni just wanted to play with their ores.
In truth, I didn't see too many ways Korbin's plan didn't work out as long as Zeldrich was actually alive. Especially since we'll be using all of our talents to change the tide of this w-
"Except Tom. He'll be infiltrating Phanthu's faction and climbing their ranks until our factions clash on the battlefield. Th-" Korbin explained, though I wasn't about to let that detail just brush past me.
"Now hold the fuck on, why am I the only one going there? I'm not the only water affinity user on the team, why shouldn't Cassi come?" I asked, not seeing why I'd be forced to find these people by myself. Ever since I could remember, my gps got me just about everywhere if I had to drive or walk alone. My sense of direction is just…bad.
"I'll need her with me, as we'll be climbing higher commanding ranks while Derrick and Lonni mingle with the soldiers and civilians. Anything we can to get more information on this planet's caverns, and if anyone's seen or heard of Zeldrich." Korbin answered, making frankly far too many good points for me to rationally rebuke.
"I…probably won't find them on my own down here." I reluctantly admitted, seeing no other choice but to be honest.
"Oh I know, Cassi will take care of scouting for us until we locate both Phanthu's and Adolis's factions. Once we locate Phanthu's deathly water people, we'll drop you off to earn their trust on your own while we buddy up with Adonis. That make sense?" Korbin asked, though I didn't really understand how Cassi would scout for us given she wasn't exactly sneaky with all her armor.
"I…guess?" I replied unconfidently, choosing not to continue arguing against a plan already forcefully set in motion.
"Good, does anyone else have any questions?" Korbin asked the group. The mutual silence was viewed as a big 'no'.
"Okay! Then let's get moving!" Korbin said, mimicking that projection narrator's enthusiastic tone heading further down the large winding tunnel declining deeper into the planet. A chorus of squelching feet marching along the glowing moss behind Korbin filled the air as we followed after him. Cassi jogged ahead to catch up with Korbin, no doubt to further discuss the plan. Meanwhile, Lonni, Derrick and I walked side by side trailing about 15 feet behind them.
"Damn, I didn't expect Korbin to go over our heads like that. Usually he's all for a mutual agreement before doing shit like deciding who we're going to fight and kill for." Derrick said as we paced along deeper into the fluorescent glowing tunnel, its crystals reflecting the moss's light fully illuminating our path.
"He's not hopping into debates to agree with you. Korbin discusses matters until he finds the best solution, which I guess he found without having to ask about it." I replied, knowing full and well Korbin's never been people-pleaser by preference. Neither have I, though he certainly added the appearance of caring to his bag of tricks better than me.
"I could see that, usually our few tactical talks are rather brief." Lonni added, his deep baritone echoing especially loud off the cavern walls.
"I just hope he doesn't start 'pulling a Tom' like that all the time." Derrick said, earning a chuckle from Lonni before they both glanced at me wide eyed, dropping their smiles.
"I'm sorry, did you just reference me as a colloquialism for fucking up?" I asked, sticking my arm in front of Derrick stopping both our paths. Derrick's head fell back facing the ceiling as he let out an annoyed sigh.
"Are you seriously going to be all sensitive right now?" Derrick asked. My fist smashed into his jaw as he finished his sentence.
"Don't start getting all fucking comfortable with talking shit now, Derrick. Last I checked you were my trainee, not the other way around." I hissed as he reeled back, holding his face.
"Fuck you, Tom. Grow the fuck up." Derrick shot back, not showing any signs of wanting to retaliate.
"Me?! Oh that's fucking rich! How spoiled you must have been before all this shit to think you could get away with that shit Scott-free. No wonder you acted so terrified to see me again, you're afraid of a challenge. Tell me, should we start calling people pussying out from a fight 'pulling a Derrick'?" I continued, walking straight up to Derrick hoping to egg him on.
"TOM! That's enough, you made your point." Korbin shouted from ahead. I looked back at Derrick, who angrily kept his eyes down to the floor before walking past me. Lonni smacked my shoulder lightly as Derrick caught up with Korbin and Cassi.
"Dude? Come on man, that wasn't cool." Lonni said, looking down at me with disappointment in his eyes.
"Neither is making a punchline out of my fucking name. I get Korbin makes his jokes at my expense, but I've known that asshole since middle school. The first time I met Derrick, we fought tooth and nail to kill each other." I said, still trying to calm myself down.
"Okay, but that was almost a month of him being our trusted ally ago. You have got to let that go man, I know he has." Lonni replied, pointing at Derrick.
"That's my issue with him. Once he realized he can't beat me, he gave up on ever really trying. He does that for everything he can't immediately be fucking great at, it's a bullshit cop out shared by the unbearably spoiled." I sneered back, still trying to tame the billowing anger in my chest.
"I'm going to be honest with you Tom, that's really not something for you to decide. We all pick our battles, even still. That doesn't mean he hasn't helped, nor that he doesn't care." Lonni replied, shaking his head as he spoke.
"Those 'personal battles' are for him to deal with on his fucking time, Lonni. If I just ran off doing what's best for myself exclusively, I would have left all 4 of you in the dust to find something stronger to kill the moment I landed here. Doesn't that sound incredibly stupid and selfish to you?" I asked Lonni, confused as to how he wasn't understanding the importance of a team while we're here. Lonni just shook his head disapprovingly, leaving me with no more words to counter these thoughts as we paced along the missy glowing corridor.
A memory over a year old flashed across my mind of a discussion I had with Korbin after a long day of training.
"Can I ask you something? Why does it seem like you're only getting harder on me with every training session?" I asked, rubbing the welts lining my calves, legs and ribs.
"Well, for one you're either going to learn to check my kicks as an auto response or I'm removing your leg off of principle alone. That's just how you learn." Korbin said, earning a chuckle from the both of us before he continued.
"Secondly, it's because you're actually excelling in something that kind of matters a lot, at least in my opinion. I'd be doing you a disservice if I wasn't raising my standards with your progress." Korbin said.
"But you get like, angry when I fuck up? It feels like I'm insulting someone before they rip a kick into my thigh." I replied, grabbing an ice pack from the freezer. Korbin sighed, smiling knowingly before answering.
"Yeah, yeah I know. That's a fault of my own, something every mentor eventually runs into. You see, when you teach someone your own fundamental knowledge of something as personal as fighting, you're imparting a piece of yourself onto them in order to nurture their own developing style." Korbin said, grabbing our gallon jugs of water and handing me mine while I iced my legs on the living room couch.
"Along the way, you start seeing yourself in their movements. Not a lot, but just enough for you to identify with their progress to better their development. Well, when your student fucks up royally, the knee-jerk reaction is to take offense for their interpretation of your style." Korbin replied, laughing to himself.
"I guess that makes sense, though it's not like I enjoy fucking up." I replied. Korbin sighed, shaking his head to himself before responding.
"If you stick with this, you'll understand it one day. Just know it's my issue, and a part of me I'm training myself with our sessions. Don't worry about it right now." Korbin answered, as Cassi's voice pulled my mind back to the present.
"I got eyes on the Phanthu clan. They're tucked under a waterfall 80 yards ahead, Tom will need to climb down further if he wants to get there." Cassi exclaimed, standing stationary at the end of the tunnel overlooking a massive drop off into a cavern of glowing crystals and moss illuminating dark bodies of water raging below. I walked straight past to Derrick, eager to get my mission over with.
"Alright, make your way down and through that waterfall. Whatever you have to do to convince them you want to help their cause, do it. If all else fails, kill Phanthu and try to find us." Korbin said, pushing me near the edge.
"Good luck out there Tom, we'll see you soon." Lonni said, waving with a kind smile.
"Try to play nice long enough for the plan to work, will you?" Cassi added with a smiling shake of her head. Before turning to find my landing point from the edge, I turned to Derrick. Both of us glared at one another wordlessly before Korbin stepped between us.
"Try not to kill this Phanthu guy before getting intel on Zeldrich. As for that incident back there-" Korbin began, taking a step closer, his voice falling to a whisper.
"Don't worry about Derrick. He needed to hear it." Korbin said, patting my shoulder and gesturing towards the cavern behind me.
Huh, I didn't expect that response.
Resolving myself to viewing Korbin's final words as encouragement, I leapt off the edge while firing my grappling hook at a rocky stone platform 20 feet below. My body plummeted past as the prongs latched into the rock, swinging my body through the air. Recalling my hook, I fell down another 12 feet onto another cliff side, landing beside a small waterfall of dark opaque water. The energies emitted from it had plenty of water mana floating around, though the pungent smell of sulfuric death tainted its blissful natural state.
Gross, it's like if Haden and I combined affinities.
Peering over the edge, the water ran off onto a stone cliff facing the massive waterfall the Phanthu clan apparently resided behind. Come to think of it, I'm not entirely sure what kind of skill Cassi could have used to even find this place, much less know who lived here. Still, the memory of her eyes rolled back scouting ahead for the siege on the Lily, The Bauer clan gave just enough reassurance to leap over the ledge, smacking hard on the stone formation below.
My feet slipped along the viscous dark water crashing off the rock formation as I scrambled to find my footing. After finding balance on one leg, my eyes darted around to find a more stable platform. Only finding the deathly waterfall ahead, I tightly clenched my eyes shut leaping off the cliff. The wind whistled in my ears as I fell into the darkness, firing my grappling hook wildling into the waterfall.
Regret surged through every muscle in my body seeing the dark sea of deathly water quickly growing closer by the moment. As I fell within 50 feet of the surface, a strong yank at my arm arched my descent up above the dark water, pulling me directly into the waterfall.
"Ha-ha!..oh shit." The mix of invigorating success was quickly replaced with fear realizing I was about to slam into a waterfall filled with death mana. My hands braced in front of my face as I balled up, preparing to be invaded by a torrent of skin-rotting energy. As I flew through the waterfall however, the dark liquid merely bounced off my cowl, falling harmlessly off my robes as I broke free into a massive cavern. Glimpses of a huge settlement glowing with bright blue and white light caught my eye as I crashed into the rock formations below, bouncing along the stone surface before being able to find my footing.
"Hey!! Soldier, care to explain why you're out of uniform?!" A bellowing voice barked at me from below. As I peered over the side, a squad of men all wearing dark blue robes stood 30 feet below. One of them had his finger pointed directly at me, indicating they were the ones yelling angrily at me.
"Uh, I'm sorry, sir!" I yelled back, hoping to use this as an 'in' to their faction.
"Get your ass down here, soldier!" The hooded man yelled back, confirming it was his voice. My feet swung around the edge as I scooted off, falling to a knee in front of him.
"Sorry again, sir. Won't happen again." I said to the purple eyed man, who looked me up and down.
"You're damn right it won't, what the hell are you doing out h-..wait." He stepped closer, grasping at my twinblade. I recoiled back, pushing his chest with my free hand.
"Where the fuck did you get that sword? When was he here?!" The man yelled, stepping closer to me with swirling dark water energy twisting in his palms.
"I…I bought it?" I answered honestly. The man scoffed, waving his hand for his half a dozen men to close in around me. "Yeah, last I checked gods don't sell their weapons to an age-grade. So I'm going to ask this once, who the fuck are you?"