Chapter. 49: One Sided Bargaining (Patreon)

Retcon to previous chapter:

And before she could react, Arc appeared next to her and kicked.

Gisele felt her ribs break and location change as she fell to the tiled ground. Around her there were shattered buildings, and people taking shelter.

It was the town she attacked.

And then, the crackling of ice brought her attention back to the Heroine of Frost, who was now wearing a magnificent armor of ice covering her full being. She stood over Gisele,

looking down and then she spoke in a pleasant whisper, raising her arm.

“I had a good fight, thank you.”

Gisele paused, and the Heroine of Frost brought her arm down as the judgment of Ice fell on them. Ending her current life right then and there, and Ranedale cheered for her demise.

Chapter. 49: One Sided Bargaining

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Gisele coughed blood, her head throbbed and her heart rushed, all while she tried to get up. She was vulnerable, her body was extremely weakened right now, she just revived! And yet, the Heroine of Frost was knocking at her footstep already; it didn’t make sense to her!

Her ribs ached, and her vision blurred, but she still managed to turn towards the culprit and call one of her skills.

“[Summon Spider: Swipe]!”

A serrated leg broke through the ceiling and slashed down, the Heroine of Frost moved her arm to the side, and with a lazy punch⁠— it shattered. Like shards of glass the leg flew through the air. It was effortless. Gisele hissed, and clapped her hands.

“[Summon Spider: Eat]—”

And the ground exploded as a gigantic Ancient Imera Spider tried to swallow Arc whole, only for the monster to be⁠— stomped. Shattering like glass. Of course, they weren’t real spiders and were just made of mana, but Gisele still gritted her teeth.

She didn’t understand it, how could it be so effortless? How could she just do that?!

“No!”

And she clapped her hands, four gigantic limbs stabbed at Arc from both sides of the cave, and yet with a swipe of both of her arms, the Heroine of Frost destroyed them easily. Gisele stepped back, her mouth bleeding from her broken ribs as she spat.

“Just fucking die!”

She balled her hands into fists and at that moment dozens of limbs and maws sprouted trying to consume the hero before her only for them to⁠— shatter. Their fragments flew through the air, as thin as stardust and all Gisele could do was stare.

What…?

And before she could understand, the white-haired woman was already standing before her. Gisele’s eyes grew wide as the Heroine of Frost raised her arm and⁠— slapped her. She felt  her neck nearly break as she was flung into the wall, what was this humiliation? Why?

Gisele barely recovered and flicked her finger forward, a needle-like limb stabbed but it too was turned to nothingness.

Why?

Gisele watched as the Heroine of Frost drew closer to her, her heart rushing in confusion, she didn’t understand why she was outclassed this much. It was clear to her that the Heroine of Frost was in no good state; she was battered, even if her broken arm had healed the woman was in an awful state, and yet in front of her she seemed insurmountable.

Why!?

Gisele panicked, but the Heroine of Frost loomed closer nonetheless and kicked her into another wall. Her bones shattered as she coughed blood. Gisele didn’t understand it, she didn’t understand anything.

“Why are you doing this?!” She screamed. “If you keep at it I’ll really die! I get it, I shouldn’t have messed with you⁠—”

“That’s the point,” the white-haired woman said. “For you to die.”

Gisele blinked, uncomprehending for a moment.

The Heroine of Frost was really going to kill her?

That⁠— that couldn’t happen!

“What about the keeper of order, Uwell, are you not afraid of his wrath?!” Gisele cried as she was picked up by the scruff.

She was made to meet the ice-cold eyes of the Heroine of Frost, and she shivered as she heard what came next.

“If I cared then, I wouldn’t be doing this, would I?”

The woman raised her fist, and Gisele’s heart skipped a beat.

“W-Wait, we can talk, let me negotiate for my life!”

Though there was no change, and Gisele at that moment saw it⁠ in her eyes⁠— the resolution to kill.

“Every hero wants to get stronger right⁠—”

And the woman, punched. Gisele squealed only to notice the fist was looming right in front of her face.

“Go on.”

She hastily nodded.

“Like I was saying, every hero wants to get stronger right?”

And she swallowed, meeting the woman’s gaze.

“Let me help you.”

* * * * *

“Let me help you.”

The words of the Heroine of Spiders echoed in my mind for a moment, all while she squirmed as I held her by the hem of her dark dress. And then, after a moment I narrowed my eyes, meeting her gaze once more.

“Explain.”

She nodded desperately once more. “I made⁠— created, that Immemorial Emera Spider that you… killed… “She sounded weird towards the end but continued nonetheless. “So, why can’t I make more Ancient Emera Spiders for you to kill? As we both know, as long as you kill things within your tier you level up, so long as they are not too far below you.”

She took a breath.

“And if you grow too strong, I can still create stronger Ancient Emera Spiders given more time.” With that she finished, giving me a meek smile. “What do you think?”

I frowned. “That is fine and all, but how can I trust you won’t just try to kill me then?”

Her face contorted, it was anger, it was rebuttal but in the end, a snort left her. “Do I look that stupid to you?”

“No, but you look like the type of person that would want to get revenge no matter what.”

She frowned. “That is⁠—”

“Anyway, if you want to negotiate then I have a requirement.” I interrupted meeting her confused gaze. “I want you to dump all of your mana.”

“What…?” she asked, lost.

“I want you to use every ounce of your mana against the depths of the cave, only then will we talk properly.” I frowned. “Otherwise, I’m sticking to my decision of killing you.”

I saw anger in her face. “That is⁠— are you insane⁠—” And she paused.

Her thoughts went into overtime before a long sigh left her.

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

I let her go, as she collapsed on the ground with shallow breaths, before shakily standing up and facing the depths of the egg-filled cave. I saw a small part of her lament the sight, before she attacked.

“Die!” And some eggs exploded. “You pieces of⁠—”

The onslaught inside the cave continued for what felt like a few minutes, all while the Heroine of Spiders unloaded a barrage of curses and insults all to quell her unstable anger. Before, finally, she finished with very shallow breaths.

“That is… everything.”

I shook my head. “Use one more skill.”

“I’m telling you… that is… everything…” She said panting. “If I use one more skill… I will⁠—”

“Do it.”

There was a pause before she nodded and, waved her arm forward decisively⁠— and blood splattered. She broke into a coughing fit on the ground as I nodded.

“We can negotiate now.”

“Fuck… you⁠—cough!”

“So, how can I trust you?”

I watched as the woman continued to struggle in the ground for a few more seconds, before finally, she collected herself enough to reply.

“I’m not part of any of those retarded hero organizations, they all got refused and gave up on me after they realized they stood more to lose than to gain.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

“My goal is… or was simple.” The Heroine of Spiders sighed. “To raze a nation to the ground, and I didn’t plan to stop at nothing in order to achieve it, but now that you’re here I can’t even dream of that lest I wish for death, so⁠— anyway, that is why you can trust me.” She scowled. “I’m not connected to those louts.”

“So I can trust you because you were deemed clinically insane by the other heroes?”

“I’m not clinically insane, or whatever. I am simply someone who has dreams of destruction.” She crossed her arms. “But yes, you can trust me, because even I, Gisele, the insane Heroine of Spiders, still wishes to live. I have unattended business with people in this world too.”

I raised my brow now more curious. “Which people?”

She frowned and turned to me before sighing. “I guess I have to cooperate otherwise I die, huh?” Gisele shook her head and continued, immediately gnashing her teeth. “It’s just one person, the fucking Hero of Arachnids, I hope he flips over and dies.”

“What did he do?”

“Everything, he mocked me, he tried to…” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “And he laughed at my spiders because not all arachnids are spiders so therefore he is superior. At least he got a surprise when his spiders turned against him. Fucking trash.”

I blinked, there was something untold and somehow I had an idea of what it was. But I preferred to not assume anything and let the topic go.

“I see. So, all hero deaths send system notifications even if they revive?”

“I think so?” She thought for a moment. “I’ve gotten them before and see the bastards show up years later.”

“I see.”

I closed my eyes, controlling my emotions. The realization was simple enough, but it also showed and told me why the Hero of Flames hadn’t actually come after me. Perhaps, part of the thing was the keeper of order, but the other part was:

The Hero of Shadows was still alive…

I sighed. “How stupid.”

“It is, but we can’t dictate how the stupid system works, so alas.”

“I see.”

I nodded, and sensed presences approaching; familiar ones. Regis and Ceylon.

“So, what do you say, Heroine of Frost⁠—”

“Arc,” I interrupted. “That is my name.”

Gisele nodded. “What do you say, Arc? Will you spare me?”

“I’ll give you your answer in a few moments. No buts.”

I saw the Heroine of Spiders hesitate but ultimately nod. To be honest, I highly doubted she’d act up or try to escape in any way, she couldn’t after all. And thankfully, even if she evidently had screws loose, she was still a rational human being when it came down to it.

So we waited, and a few seconds later, Regis and Ceylon arrived. Regis paused, and Ceylon looked at me in horror, and then in confusion at Gisele who was still on the blood covered ground.

I nodded at both of them and turned to the Heroine.

“I’ll spare you.”

She paused and nodded, barely containing her smile. “Thank you⁠—”

“But you will have to wait here under Regis’karr’s supervision. I have something to take care of first.”

She blinked, and Regis nodded.

“The Dragon of Flames’ supervision?”

I ignored her question and stepped past her and past Regis.

“If she tries to hurt you or Ceylon in any way, kill her.”

Regis nodded, and before Ceylon could even ask me anything, I left.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t leave the Heroine of Spiders to her own devices.

* * * * *

Jake had set off on his journey, he still hadn’t made it too far away from Rivas, since he wished to try something, and that was to fight the deepest terrors in the Black Forest. Of course, he hadn’t slacked off either in his research, visiting multiple libraries in the journey here, but right now, it was his day off.

And he was fighting one of the terrors.

[Fenrir of the Black Forest. Tier: S]

It was the Fenrir, a mythical beast, and this one was at the peak of S Tier and yet⁠—

“[Deadly Impalement]!” Jake thrust.

And the beast⁠— exploded. Frozen gore burst in all directions, as all the trees in a kilometer radius were broken and lightly frozen. It hadn’t been a fight, and worst of all, he even gained a level from killing the beast.

It wasn’t fun, it wasn’t even a challenge. Jake looked down at the spear of ice in his hand and dismissed it into his [Storage Ring]; something he was still getting used to for his weapon storage needs. But that didn’t matter, at this moment, he only cared about one thing and that was struggle.

Jake watched as the last of the chunks of flesh hit the ground, and in the end, he had two realizations. One was that he couldn’t use the spear as fun as it was because it just made every single fight easy, and the second realization was…

No fight in decades for him had been like that.

A sigh left him. “I really miss Arc⁠—”

“Huh, that’s a nice sentiment, I hope that you’re not in love or anything though.”

Jake shivered and moved to the side only to see the familiar woman, except⁠— she was all bloodied? No part of her was untouched, even her hair was messed up. For a moment, he was lost, what could’ve even put her in that state considering he struggled so much to even injure her.

“What happened to you?”

“Not important,” she dismissed. “Our deal has changed, I need your help.”

“Wait how did you even⁠— no, you said you could sense the ice crystals.” Jake shook his head. “What do you need help with?”

“I need you to control a hero, keep them in check basically.”

“Keep a hero in check?” Jake blinked and then shook his head. “Impossible. While I think I am the favorite to win against even some SS Tier heroes ⁠— mostly thanks to your spear ⁠— there is absolutely no way I can keep a hero in check.”

Arc nodded. “Which is why, I will give you this.”

And a sword appeared in her hand as she dropped it to the ground.

“And this.”

Then a staff appeared.

Jake thought that was the end of it, but he watched as Arc conjured dozens of ice weapons onto the ground much to his shock, and just as he thought she was done she decided to add spares in case they shattered.

“Just what the fuck am I keeping in check?”

“I’ll keep it simple.” Arc met his gaze. “This hero will create SS Tier monsters for me to kill, which is why you need to keep them in check; so that they don’t go on a rampage and destroy a town, and so you can kill them if they decide they want to try for revenge or something.”

Jake slowly nodded. “I see… I can do it, but I have a request.”

He turned to the weapons of the ground.

“After everything is done, in a few years, can you only let me keep one of these? I cannot keep accepting them.”

Arc nodded. “Sure, no problem.”

“Thank you.”

Jake crouched and immediately stowed all of the weapons in less than a minute. With that, he was ready.

“Take me to the hero.”

Arc nodded once more and extended her hand. Jake touched it and suddenly, he found himself in a very dark cave illuminated by a single flame. To which he turned only to see a red-haired boy, but his eyes grew wide as he saw the person on the ground.

“Gisele?”

The Heroine of Spiders blinked. “Jake?”

* * * * *

I blinked taking in the situation as their conversation started.

“Didn’t you say you’d be SS Tier when we met again?” Jake asked mockingly. “What happened?”

“Shut up, you’re also the same stinky S Tier as well.”

“So you guys know each other?” I asked in confusion.

Jake nodded as Gisele crossed her arms.

“It’s a bit complicated, but I fought her some decades ago and after I came out victorious she swore to me she’d become SS Tier before me.”

The Heroine of Spiders huffed. “I’ll have you know I’m five levels away.”

“I’m now four levels away.” Jake grinned.

“Well, I am a mere three levels away.” Regis interjected randomly only for the Heroine of Spiders to snort.

“No one cares.”

“Hey⁠—”

“I guess this will make things easier,” I said simply, interrupting Regis. “Since you guys know each other and all.”

“Easier?”

“Jake will be supervising you in your promise, that is the only way I can spare you,” I explained.

“I do want to be spared, but to be monitored by Jake⁠— that is… there must be a workaround⁠—”

“No workaround, don’t argue with me anymore.” I met her gaze. “Take it or die.”

She swallowed. “I will accept this, but⁠—”

“Ah shut up,” Jake said, stepping forward. “I know the arrangement, so I’ll just take her away before she gets more annoying.”

I nodded.

“Hey, what are you⁠—”

And before she could react, she was hefted like a sack of potatoes and carried out of the cave, protesting like a child all the way through.

A sigh left me. “At least that is done.”

I could feel a pulsating headache, and my body was still tired, but it was over. Finally, I relaxed enough to look at my notifications.

[ You have defeated: Immemorial Emera Spider. Tier: SS. ]

[ You have leveled up. ]

[ You have leveled up. ]

…

And I paused.

“I learned an SS Tier skill…?”

Before I could process anything further, my active skills came to an end and I:

Fainted.