Aries Constellation, The Emperor’s Ascent - 12:09 PM

  There was absolutely no way I was getting the weapon the Soul Shearer was named for even after a successful one on one fight, but what I did receive was a close second. I fiddled with the tattered yet ethereal black cloak that hung from my shoulders all the way to my calves. It weighed nothing and fluttered in a wind that couldn’t be felt. If you looked at it from just the right angle, you could almost see dark smoke and fire cascading across.

  Mercury tried grabbing on to it, but found that his hand passed right through as if it didn’t exist in our reality. “That’s so cool!” he exclaimed, far too excited by the Reaper’s Cloak. “Can I take on the next one? I promise I—”

  Ash reached over and flicked the ninja where his covered ear would be. “Did you miss the part where your sister and a literal Angel told us about how horrifying that fight was?” she asked. “Don’t bring that shit down on us.”

  “Like you’re not already planning on using literal Grim Reaper bones to make some kind of horrifying weapon,” he shot back, rubbing the side of his head. “You were geeking out about those way harder than I am about this.”

  “I just had an idea for a replacement rapier for Jeff, that’s all,” she said defensively, crossing her arms as she jerked her head back towards the knight.

  “Huh? What about me?” Jeff asked, looking up from the accessory I had given him. The Cloak of the Irradiated King, made from the Uranium Rex’s green scales by shapeshifters in Los Alamos, had done well by me but it was time to give it up for something new.

  “Nothing important,” Kayla answered, running her hand along the cloak. “But you may want to share the details, psychic boy. Jamie’s been practically drooling since it got handed over.”

  The Weapon Master blinked and almost subconsciously wiped her face before wrinkling her nose. “The brat’s right this time,” she said, gesturing towards Mercury. “It’s very aesthetically pleasing and Anthony shouldn’t have it because it clashes too much with his Hawaiian trench coat. I’ll gladly take it.”

  “Hey, this coat helped me kill a Soul Shearer, okay?” I scoffed, this time taking my turn to be defensive. “And if y’all keep bashing it then I’m not going to start passing out the good stuff.”

  “Got attached to the damn thing, didn’t you?” Ash asked, arching an eyebrow.

  “Maybe,” I admitted, looking down at the horrible coat. “So what if I did?”

  “Nothing, just share the details,” Jamie said.

  With a snort of amusement, I rolled my eyes and snapped open my menu to send it so the party could see.

  <<<>>>

  [[Equipped]]

  Reaper’s Cloak

  (Growth Item, kill 20 bosses to upgrade; +15 Strength, +15 Dexterity, +15 Constitution, Mark of Excess skill acquired, Mark of Rot skill acquired, Life Eater passive acquired)

  [[Skill]]

  Mark of Excess

  By damaging a living creature with a resource pool, such as your Mental Points pool, you can place a brand on them that increases the cost of abilities and spells using that resource pool by 50%. You may place as many marks equal to half of your Player Kill count, and you can transfer them when attacking a new target. This skill can be reapplied, but it will stop working after 10 minutes.

  [[Skill]]

  Mark of Rot

  By damaging a living creature, you can place a brand on them that stymies their ability to heal. The efficacy of any ability, skill, spell, or passive that restores hit points of the Marked is reduced by 50%. You may place as many marks as you have Player Kills, and you can transfer them when attacking a new target. This skill can be reapplied, but will stop working after 10 minutes.

  [[Passive]]

  Life Eater

  As long as a Marked creature is within one of your auras, apply the following:

  When a target that has been Marked for Excess uses their resource pool, you gain an amount of Mental Points equal to the 50% upcharge.

  When a target that has been Marked to Rot is healed, you heal for a number of hit points equal to the missing 50% they should have received.

  <<<>>>

  “Dang,” Mercury whispered. He and almost everyone else were quiet afterwards, though, showing turmoil in their auras at a question they weren’t sure they would ask.

  So, of course Jamie was the one to ask it. “How many players have you killed?” she asked outright, earning a glare from Kayla. Mercury was translating for Bethany as he did, but stopped midway through.

  I offered a small smile. “While it should have been zero, and then one for Greg, it is unfortunately up to 8 now,” I answered honestly.

  “Really? Only 8?” The Weapon Master furrowed her brow. She opened her mouth before pausing, as if choosing her words carefully. “Based on the way you slaughtered people in training and back at the Chaos Cup, I would have thought you had less scruples about it.”

  There was a question going unasked, but I knew what she was really asking. After as many lives as you’ve had, you still care about killing?

  “Those were games where no one’s life was on the line,” I replied with a shrug. “I won’t go on some tirade about how life is sacred or anything like that. There are some people who will never change and taking their life might be the only way to handle them—Greg, for instance, after his betrayal with Pustibule—but it’s rarely as black and white as it should be. I don’t kill unless it’s necessary, and these ones were.”

  A somber mood fell over the group, and I let them process. The world we lived in was full of death and inequality, not just from the administrators but each other. It was a sad state of affairs, but it was the truth.

  In all honesty, if it weren’t for the fact that I needed to kill someone directly to increase my Player Kill count then it would have been higher. Plenty of my letters instructed people that they needed to take out people who would become warlords, mass murderers, or serial killers before they could accumulate their power. Most of those ended in tragedies, but it was the lesser of two evils.

  When the salvation of the human race was turned into a numbers game, you picked the path that led to the most survivors, no matter how hard or inconvenient it was.

  Quietly, I brought up the aura skill I had gotten from a book to read it over one more time. This one wasn’t just for influencing social events, and was definitely going to see more use.

  <<<>>>

  [[Skill]]

  Black Flame Aura

  This skill can only be used in tandem with any aura ability, skill, or passive. On command, the area inside your aura becomes darker as black flames appear, sucking in the heat and leaving behind a corpse-like chill for all inside. Cold Resistance does not apply. The stats of all living creatures within the aura are reduced by 10%. If they have been Marked by a Reaper skill, then this reduction is increased by another 5% for each brand.

  <<<>>>

  This paired perfectly with my Reaper’s Cloak and its multiple marks. Under most circumstances, I would be using it with the aura from Absolute Awareness. It cost me nothing to keep it active, being a passive and all, but it did come with one downside: it was indiscriminate.

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  I could change the size, but only in broad strokes. If I was fighting with any of my companions then they would be at risk of friendly fire. Tyrant, Peacekeeper, and even Madman’s Will, however, had a very important clause attached to it.

  At your discretion, some beings can be spared the weight of your will.

  It was a free debuff in fights where I was alone and a slightly costly one when I was not. Either way, it was a fantastic addition to my stable of aura powers that I was apparently collecting. Thinking on it, I had more Blanks and Synthesis Pages than I normally would, perhaps it was time to start condensing. That was something for later, though.

  <<<>>>

  [[Patron Message]]

  Alright, you can head inside. Ross just got out of the puzzle room and is heading for the next door. He won’t take long. You’ll have to enter it now if you want to force his door to change so it leads to the competitive one.

  It looks like this will be his 5th floor, but according to the information I’m getting he might make it to the boss room quickly. His next floor is the gathering one, and it’s a tossup on whether he’s going to spend a lot of time there or not.

  <<<>>>

  “Skuld says we can go,” Kayla said before I had a chance to, and everyone started getting ready.

  The only reason we hadn’t gone in already was to avoid the kind of situation the Gemini faction had before. They got stuck waiting for us for nearly twenty minutes in the sweltering heat with nothing to do but wait and hope we arrived sooner rather than later. The mountainside was cool, comfortable, and scenic, making it the superior place to bide our time.

  Now that it was time, I opened the door to the next area. Light flashed all around us, and we were transported to a large pavilion set up like an arena. We were in the stands with Sol Ligatus’ symbols on banners high above us. On the other side of the building they showed a man holding a serpent, perfect for Ophiuchus.

  I looked down at the grassy arena in the middle of the building. A few dozen regular sheep were grazing happily, completely oblivious to our arrival. It was immediately obvious that they were set dressing like the ones back in the gathering section. All in all, aside from the stench of wild animals that made the city folk among us wrinkle their noses, it wasn’t all that bad.

  With no fanfare to announce his arrival, Ross Haverstein appeared on the other side of the building. The burly Orc was still in his Magical Girl outfit, and he glanced around the arena. It was obvious when he took in the smell of livestock, because he reached up to cover his nose. I waved at him, getting his attention, and he gave a small wave back.

  “So, I’m going to throw Mercury to the wolves here,” I said, looking back at Jamie and Jeff.

  “Wait, what?” the ninja asked, startled. “What did I do?”

  “You’re thinking about what we discussed before? In the stealth challenge?” Jeff asked, paying close attention to the opponent.

  I nodded. “Yeah. No offense, but Ross is kind of a counter to you, and I’m pretty sure Jamie doesn’t want to fight a dude in a tutu.”

  “Yeah. If the only thing in it for me is points and glory, then I’ll pass,” the Weapon Master said with a shrug before sitting down. “If a boss shows up, I’m going to jump in though. Can’t let that opportunity pass.”

  “Wait, but why just me?” Mercury asked. “Isn’t this the guy who’s so strong that they didn’t give him anyone to help him out? Doesn’t that put him, like, right below you? That seems like too big a red flag to ignore.”

  “Oh yeah, he’s really strong,” I told him. “But, you need the most practice out of everyone here.”

  “He and I both,” Kayla interjected.

  I nodded, but kept going. “You’re good at what you do and have a good sense of what you’re capable of. Plus, you’re pivoting to support,” I said. “Mercury, as our youngest fighter, needs a moment like this where he’s not fighting Jeff or Jamie or me. It’ll be good for him whether he wins or loses.”

  “But you’ll jump in if I lose, right?” Mercury asked, still sounding nervous.

  “Nope,” I answered with a smile. “If you lose, we’re going to forfeit.”

  “Can’t win them all, I guess,” Jeff said as he sat down. He tugged on Kayla’s sleeve, and she took a second before sitting next to him.

  It almost looked like Mercury’s eyes were going to pop out of his sockets. “Why? You can take him, right? Why forfeit?”

  “Because I just got seventy percent of my soul sheared off, man. Baltastasia’s made sure that I don’t get to fight again for a while. It sucks, but she’s obviously got it out for me despite the fact that I only just got here,” I said, waving towards the ceiling as I made sure to draw Patronly attention to those words specifically. “Listen, it’s fine. You’ll do better if there’s stakes. There won't be any death, so it’s just like the training room. You’re used to that. If I say we lose if you lose, then there’s stakes. Pressure. You’ve got much more to prove because it’s not just about your personal growth anymore, it’s about all of us. Sol Ligatus, yeah? So get out there and do your best.”

  “You got this,” Jamie said. She pulled a bucket of freshly popped popcorn out of her inventory and started eating. “Or not. Either way, I’m going to enjoy it.”

  <<<>>>

  [[Emperor’s Ascent: Aries Competitive Room]]

  Ophiuchus Players: 1

  Sol Ligatus Players: 7

  The Aries Livestock Pavilion has been host to many events. Sheep shearing contests, herding adventures, brutal man versus man combat. This grass has seen it all.

  And now there’s been something of a scheduling kerfuffle. The farmers have placed their sheep for a beauty contest here even though the docket specifies that today is being used for death battles. Therefore, this fight has hazards.

  To ensure that no sheep are harmed, they have all been given a protective buff known as Mirror Armor. Any damage dealt to a sheep will be reflected back at the one who attacked it. That means any damage no matter from how far away. If you fireball the flock on the opposite side of the arena, then you’re getting all that damage right back. Resistances and immunities will not be applied.

  Worry not, this is not really a death battle because there will not be any death. Anyone who reaches 1 hit point will be put in suspended animation until the end of the match. Once all members of a team have been defeated or if all active members of a team forfeit, then the match is over.

  Objective: Defeat the opposing team.

  Reward: 1,000 points for the winning team.

  [[Notice]]

  Let the match begin!

  <<<>>>

  We were all teleported into the arena, and those who were sitting down found themselves now resting on sheep. They quickly stood up, making sure they hadn’t caused any damage, before looking at me. I was too busy watching the opponent to tell them that they were fine.

  “Time out!” I yelled, making a T with both of my hands as Ross raised his wand. He hesitated, his eyes scanning a text box in front of him, before putting it down. No doubt his Patron told him exactly what we had just discussed. “Meet me in the middle!”

  I started walking to the center of the arena, maneuvering around the sheep. Bumping into them wasn’t going to be enough to hurt them, but Ross was still careful given his giant physique. He was guarded when we met, and his wand was caught in a tight grip.

  “Anthony. Wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon,” he greeted. “Nice cloak. Ophiuchus told me what you had to go through to get it.”

  “Good to see you, Ross,” I said with a grin. “Yeah, it was rough going there. I’m still recovering. Takes a lot of time to do that when an administrator throws a Grim Reaper at you.”

  He grunted, but didn’t say anything.

  “Right. So, I’m proposing a one on one fight. You against Sol Ligatus’ resident ninja. If you win, you win, if he loses, we lose. How about it?”

  “It sounds too good to be true,” he replied, crossing his arms. He seemed a little less guarded, at least. “Why?”

  “Because he’s the little guy on the team and he needs some real combat experience,” I answered. “Since there’s no life or death, those are the stakes I’ve laid down.”

  “You know he’s going to lose, right?” he asked. While confident, his question didn’t come from a place of malice.

  “I’ll be honest. So long as he gets something out of this, I’m counting it as a win,” I told him in a stage whisper before speaking up. “So how about it? You want to kick around our ninja?”

  Ross took his eyes off of me to look back at Mercury who gave an awkward wave at the Orcish Magical Girl. After a few seconds, he shrugged. “Yeah, sure. I don’t see why not. I’ll try not to lay him out in the first thirty seconds. Really give him a taste of something new.”

  “I think you’ll find that difficult, even for you,” I warned, and he looked back down at me. “He may be lacking experience, but he’s still good. Be wary, man, because a fight with Mercury Moonslayer’s never easy.”

  “Mercury Moonslayer?” Ross snorted. “Man, I thought I had it bad with my class and then he shows up with a name like that. Poor kid.”

  “It’s a cool name!” the ninja yelled.

  “Alright, thanks,” I said while stifling a laugh. “Can our Patrons please put in for a rule change, then?”

  A second after I said it, I was teleported back to the stands along with everyone except Mercury and Ross. I Pulled a piece of Jamie’s popcorn into my mouth before sitting down and making myself comfortable, ignoring her glare.

  “You got this!” I yelled. “Time in!”

  <<<>>>

  [[Notice]]

  The rules of the battle have been changed by both Patrons overseeing the teams.

  This fight between Ophiuchus and Sol Ligatus shall be one on one, with the victor taking all.

  Let the match begin!

  <<<>>>

  “Well, shit,” I heard Mercury whisper as Ross waved his magical wand and our half of the arena was overtaken by a sudden flurry of shooting stars.