Chapter 100: Token (Patreon)

(Edited by Radriel7)

The silence lasted for another beat, before Lord Wilbur started screaming in pain. Given how loud he was screaming, I guessed that this was his first time receiving such a serious injury. Lord Wilbur reached out to try and remove Sky’s Dream from his abdomen, but I thrust my sword into the sand beneath him, pinning him to the ground.

“Wilbur!” a woman screamed in a frantic voice.

I watched as one of the women ran out of the House Shelton box and rushed towards the sand pit. Given the panicked expression she wore, I guessed she was Lord Wilbur’s mother, which made her Lady Shelton. Aha! That meant that the man running right behind her was Lord Shelton. Good to know for future reference.

Just before Lady Shelton reached the edge of the sand pit, Priest Davidson stepped in front of her.

“Neither Lord Wilbur nor Lord Gabriel has died or forfeited the match, Lady Shelton,” he said, speaking in a cold voice. “The duel is still ongoing. You cannot interfere.”

“Get out of my way!” Lady Shelton screamed. “My son is dying!”

“No, he’s not,” I called out. “I made sure not to hit anything vital. Your son will live. He’s just in a lot of pain right now.”

Lord Wilbur let out another scream, as if to underscore my point. Now that I had pinned him to the ground with Sky’s Dream, he wasn’t much of a threat to me. Even if he tried something, I would be able to see it coming.

“The duel is over,” Lord Shelton snarled, coming up beside his wife. “Lord Gabriel forfeited the match when he cheated and used a spell. Go down there and heal my son! Now!”

Priest Davidson stood his ground and held firm. Even when the rest of House Shelton arrived, minus the old man, he refused to budge.

“What are you talking about?” I asked in disbelief. “I didn’t cheat.”

Lord Shelton glared at me, his eyes filled with burning hate.

“Don’t you try to lie,” he said. “We all clearly saw you use a spell, which was explicitly forbidden by the terms of the duel.”

I just gaped at him, unable to respond for a few seconds.

“I can’t tell if you’re blind, stupid, or unable to face reality,” I said when I managed to regain my composure.

Lord Shelton opened his mouth to respond, but someone else spoke up before he could.

“Lord Gabriel didn’t cheat, Elliot,” a woman’s voice called out. “That wasn’t a spell.”

Lord Shelton’s eyes whipped towards the woman. I looked as well. Everyone else had exited their respective boxes as well. Everyone except for my friends and family looked at me in shock. Annabelle on the other hand gave me a thumbs up. Her mother studied me with a speculative gleam in her eyes.

Lady Diana stood near the edge of the pit with her arms crossed. She was the one who had spoken up earlier. Lord Asher stood beside her, while Lady Isabella stood a little ways off.

“Exactly,” I said. “The terms of the duel forbids spells. They don't say anything about martial techniques.”

The scions of House Shelton all stared at me, as if they couldn’t understand what was going on.

“Martial technique?” Lord Shelton asked. “But that would mean…”

He trailed off.

“That I’m a cultivator, yes,” I said, finishing his sentence. “I think that would be obvious by now.” I looked at Lord Wilbur. “Also, when are you going to forfeit? You might bleed out if you don’t get that wound looked after.”

Lord Wilbur, who had gotten himself under control and stopped screaming by this point, tried to sit up and glare at me. Tried, being the operative word in that sentence.

“I-…I’ll ki-kill yo-…Ahhh!”

I twisted Sky’s Dream in place, interrupting him and causing him to cry out in pain once more.

“I forfeit!” Lord Wilbur called out.

The moment he surrendered, I pulled Sky’s Dream out of his abdomen and sent it flying back towards me. I used my cleaning technique to clean Lord Wilbur’s blood off, before sheathing it.

Priest Davidson jumped into the sand pit and rushed towards Lord Wilbur, with Lady Shelton following right behind him. While they tended to Lord Wilbur, Lord Shelton gave me a hateful glare and jumped into the pit, looking ready to charge right towards me. While he didn’t have a weapon on him, I imagine that he was strong enough to kill me with his bare hands.

However, just as Lord Shelton landed in the pit, a bolt of Lightning magic struck the ground in front of him. Seconds later, the sound of thunder roared through the arena. Lord Shelton jumped back, before looking out towards my friends and family.

“That was a warning,” Father said, a dangerous edge to his voice. “Try to touch my son again, and I’ll kill you.”

To underscore his point, Father targeted Lord Shelton with his aura. The pressure exerted by the aura of a Fourth Circle at the ninth thread was no small thing. Lord Shelton, a mere Third Circle wizard, paled but remained standing.

“Enough,” Lady Diana called out. “The duel is over. Wilbur forfeited. Lord Gabriel won. This matter is over and done with.” She looked at Father. “Lord Sturm, please release Elliot.”

Father glanced at her, before he pulled his aura back. Lord Shelton, freed from the pressure, let out a relieved sigh.

I studied the ground in front of Lord Shelton. Father’s Lightning magic had scorched the sand, leaving behind a tube of rapidly cooling fulgurite. I made a mental note to collect the fulgurite. Since it had been created by the Lightning magic of a Fourth Circle wizard, there must be some way I could use it.

“You knew that Lord Gabriel was a cultivator.”

I looked up to find the old man with the spear looking at Lady Diana.

“Yes, I did,” she said.

The scions of House Shelton all looked at her with betrayed expressions on their faces.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“How could you, Lady Diana?”

“We’ve been betrayed!”

Lady Diana’s expression darkened.

“Silence!” she commanded in a sharp voice.

The scions of House Shelton fell silent and shrank back from Lady Diana. Except for the old man. He held his ground.

“All of you seem to be laboring under a misunderstanding,” Lady Diana said in a voice that sent chills down my spine. “House Shelton is a vassal of House Griffin. You serve us, not the other way around, something you seem to have forgotten in your arrogance.”

She nodded towards Lord Wilbur, who was being tended to by Priest Davidson and Lady Shelton.

“This is all on you. You’re the ones who decided to pick a fight with House Sturm instead of resolving this matter peacefully. Yes, Lord Gabriel stole from you. However, instead of asking for reasonable compensation, you decided to strong arm him into a duel. Not only that, but you included that ridiculous term, forbidding the use of spells. Have you no shame?” She shook her head. “You brought this upon yourselves.”

As she spoke, the scions of House Shelton grew paler and paler.

“Surely you can’t blame us all for the folly of one youth,” Gloriana Shelton, Lord Wilbur’s aunt, said. “Wilbur acted of his own volition.”

Wow. It hadn’t taken her long to throw her nephew under the bus.

Lady Diana’s expression grew darker.

“If you think Wilbur acted without your brother’s blessing, Gloriana, then you are a bigger fool than I thought,” she said. “Even if that were true, it doesn’t matter. As the heir to House Shelton, Wilbur’s actions reflect on all of you.” She looked at the old man, who had remained silent this entire time. “Unyielding Resolve, consider this a message from my father. We are done cleaning up the messes caused by your descendants.”

Unyielding Resolve, the old man, narrowed his eyes at Lady Diana.

“Is that how House Griffin-…” He paused and shook his head. “Is that how Clan Griffin repays loyalty? By turning their backs on those who have served them faithfully for countless years?”

Lady Diana snorted.

“It is because of your family’s years of service that you’re getting a warning at all, Unyielding Resolve.” Her expression hardened. “Clan Shelton has abused our goodwill time and time again. We put up with it, out of consideration for everything your family has done for us, but no more. We are done.”

I wish I had brought some popcorn, because I found all of this vastly entertaining. It was like watching a scene from a fantasy show back on Earth; or a historical drama here on Lumina. Considering the number of cultivators involved, a scene like this could have taken place on Spirit Earth as well, if one added in a lot more posturing and people shouting “You dare?!”.

“Do you think we are blind, Black Iron Cleaver?” Unyielding Resolve asked. “We know that you are interested in that Sinclair woman’s daughter. Are you so desperate to acquire her, that you’re willing to debase yourself like this?”

Black Iron Cleaver? Was that Lady Diana’s cultivator name? I pictured her wielding the axe hanging from the wall in Guildmaster Sinclair’s office. Yeah, the name fit. Honestly, the thought of facing Lady Diana, or Black Iron Cleaver, kinda scared me.

“You go too far, old man!” Lady Diana yelled, pointing a finger at Unyielding Resolve.

The two of them glared at one another, their auras clashing like two storms raging against each other. The tension between these two had reached a boiling point, and it looked like violence could erupt between them at the slightest provocation. While Unyielding Resolve was the stronger of the two, Lady Diana had the might of House Griffin/Clan Griffin behind her.

Nobody else moved or said anything, too afraid to attract attention to themselves. Well, everyone except for myself and Lady Thorne, who looked rather amused by everything going on.

“Right,” I said, calling out to Lady Diana and Unyielding Resolve. “You two can sort this out yourselves. I’m leaving now.”

As one, the two of them turned towards me.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Unyielding Resolve asked, his brow furrowed.

“Home,” I answered, jerking my thumb towards the exit. “This whole drama that you have going on has nothing to do with me or my family. Our business with House Shelton ended the moment Lord Wilbur surrendered.”

Unyielding Resolve opened his mouth to say something, but someone else beat him to it.

“Don’t you dare try to flee, you coward!” Lord Wilbur yelled.

I looked towards him. The heir to House Shelton had pushed himself up to a sitting position. While his clothing was soaked with his blood, his abdomen looked fine. Priest Davidson had managed to patch him up just fine.

Lady Shelton fussed over her son, but Lord Wilbur just ignored her. Instead, he glared at me, his eyes filled with hate. He brandished a round token made from gold at me, holding it in one hand. At first I thought it was some kind of coin, until I saw the symbol of House Griffin carved into it: a fist holding a two-headed axe. Unsubtle, but effective at communicating everything one needed to know about House Griffin.

The gold token was enchanted, since it contained a bit of Lord Asher’s aura, but it didn’t look like Lord Wilbur was trying to attack me with it. That meant that its importance wasn’t in what it could do, but what it represented. I narrowed my eyes in thought. Several different possibilities came to mind.

“You have to be joking,” Lord Asher muttered, before raising his voice to yell at Lord Wilbur. “Wilbur, you idiot! Don’t waste that on something like this. Do you know how precious it is?”

“Yes, I do,” Lord Wilbur ground out. “However, I cannot let this dishonor stand. I refuse to accept Lord Gabriel’s victory, especially after the cheap trick he pulled.”

I stared at Lord Wilbur in disbelief.

“Excuse me?” I asked, just flabbergasted by Lord Wilbur’s sheer audacity. “That’s rich coming from you, especially after what you tried to pull.”

I had met several arrogant young masters over the course of my three lifetimes, but in all my years of existence, I had never met one as pigheaded as Lord Wilbur.

“Wilbur, put that away,” Lord Asher said. “There’s nothing to be gained by antagonizing Lord Gabriel further.”

“The terms of the duel were clear, Lord Wilbur,” Priest Davidson stated, giving Lord Wilbur a stern look. “Accept your loss and move on.”

Lord Wilbur shook his head.

“No.”

A whistle rang out, catching everyone’s attention.

“Will someone explain to me what that coin is?” Annabelle asked, an annoyed look on her face. “And why is it important? The rest of us are kind of lost here.”

Father and my disciples nodded as one.

“I’m not entirely sure,” I said, pinching my chin between my thumb and index finger. “But I think it might be a token, one that represents the right to a favor or a boon.” I glanced at Lord Asher. “Am I right?”

Lord Asher nodded, glaring at the heir to House Shelton

“Yes,” he said. “That token gives Wilbur the right to ask any favor of his choosing from me, within reason, as long as it is in my power to grant.” He clenched his fists. “It is a tradition of Clan Griffin. Each member of the main family has a token, which they can give out to anyone of their choice, often as a reward for a meritorious deed.”

Lady Diana clicked her tongue in disappointment.

“Tch,” she said in a scolding tone. “Asher, why would you give your token to Wilbur? You know what he’s like.”

“I gave it to him after he won the inter-Clan tournament last year. I thought he earned it. If I had known that he would use it for something like this, I would have never given it to him.”

I perked up at the mention of an inter-Clan tournament. Now that sounded interesting. I wanted to ask more, but this didn’t seem like the right time. Annabelle perked up as well. She had participated in several martial arts tournaments back home, and won most of them. The thought of participating in one for cultivators was a dream come true for her. She opened her mouth to say something, but Lady Thorne put a hand on her arm and shook her head. Annabelle sat down with a pout.

“Lord Asher,” Lord Wilbur said, holding the gold token up high. “I ask that you avenge this loss, for the sake of my Clan’s honor.”

I just stared at him. He was either delusional, or just plain stupid. This entire scenario had been set up by Clan Griffin, or allowed to happen to be more accurate, for the sake of putting Clan Shelton in their place. Asking Lord Asher to avenge him was like the stag asking the hunter to get revenge on a hunting dog that had injured the stag; a hunting dog that had been let loose by said hunter.

“Wilbur,” Lord Asher ground out. “Think carefully. You may never get a token from a member of Clan Griffin’s main family ever again. Don’t waste it on this.”

“Wilbur,” Lord Shelton said, looking around with a wary expression on his face. “Lord Asher is right. Save the token for something more important.”

“I’ve made my decision,” Lord Wilbur said, speaking as if he were hammering in the final nail of my coffin.

A beat of silence followed his words.

“Well,” I said. “I’m fine with this.”

Everyone looked at me. Lady Diana and Lady Isabella looked at me with pity in their eyes. The scions of House Shelton scoffed. Unyielding Resolve in particular looked down on me, as if I were an ignorant fool. Even Lady Thorne seemed concerned for me. Only my friends and family shared my confidence.

Lord Asher just looked resigned.

“Lord Gabriel,” he said. “There is a vast difference in power and skill between me and Wilbur. I apologize in advance for what’s about to happen.”

“Good,” I said. “Lord Wilbur and the way he handled his spear left me disappointed. I feel…unfulfilled you might say.”

Everyone looked at me with incredulity, and a hint of uncertainty in their eyes, as if they weren’t sure that they heard me right. Well, most everyone. Annabelle and Aurora covered their mouths to hold in their laughter.

“Size, technique, and staying power,” I said, just to hammer the point home. “Lord Wilbur lacked in all three. I feel sorry for his future partners.”

“You…!” Lord Wilbur exclaimed, unable to finish his sentence, his face bright red.

Father sighed, while Kaylee facepalmed. My disciples just rolled their eyes, used to my antics at this point.

Annabelle and Aurora stopped holding it in and started howling with laughter. At least they got my sense of humor.

The scions of Clan Griffin and Clan Shelton just looked at me with varying degrees of disgust on their faces. Lady Isabella just raised an eyebrow at me.

“How crass,” Unyielding Resolve said, before turning to Lady Diana. “This is who you chose to favor over us?”

“What?” I asked, feigning innocence. “What did I say?”

My attempts to provoke the old man fell flat as he just ignored my words. Spoilsport.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Lord Asher said. He walked over and grabbed the token from Lord Wilbur, who let it go without any resistance, before facing me. “Lord Gabriel, for the sake of avenging Wilbur Shelton, a vassal of my Clan, I challenge you to a duel. As per custom, you decide the time and place.”

“I accept,” I said. “And let’s duel right here, right now. Everything is already set up, so we might as well take advantage of it.” I gestured to Priest Davidson. “We even have a priest from the Church of the Sun, if he would be so kind as to officiate for us.”

Priest Davidson looked at Lady Diana, who nodded at him.

“Very well,” he said, before glaring at Lord Wilbur. “Though I will make sure to inform my superiors about this. They will not be happy about Lord Wilbur’s conduct.”

For the first time since he started this mess, Lord Wilbur looked uncertain. The whole point of this duel was to settle the dispute between House Sturm and House Shelton. By continuing to pursue the matter, even after he lost, Lord Wilbur was in violation of the duel’s terms.

As the ones who often arbitrated disputes between Houses, the Church of the Sun took that sort of thing seriously. As the heir of his House, Lord Wilbur’s actions would affect the rest of House Shelton.

I glanced at Unyielding Resolve. He didn’t seem to care about any of this. His attention remained on Lady Diana. Maybe he was like Grandfather Gabe in that he focused more on Clan matters, and cared little for the House side of things.

“Lord Gabriel, Lord Asher,” Priest Davidson called out. “Make whatever preparations you need. The duel will begin in half an hour.”

***

Half an hour later, Lord Asher and I stood in the sand pit, facing each other. Lord Asher had used the half hour to change into a set of gray robes that were imbued with defensive enchantments. He also carried a massive two-headed axe in his hands, which was a Third Circle magic item. The axe was decorated with knots that looked almost Celtic in design, similar to the one in Guildmaster Sinclair’s office back in the Icefall Adventurers Guild.

Lord Asher pulled all of this out of a storage ring that he wore. When I saw it, I just about turned green with envy.

I used the half hour to retrieve the fulgurite that Father created and handed it off to my disciples.

Once again, Priest Davidson stood at the podium in order to observe our duel. Our friends and family had returned to their respective boxes, except for Lady Isabella, Aurora, and Annabelle. Annabelle and Lady Isabella both sat near the edge of the sand pit, with each carrying a Recording Crystal in their hands. Aurora had wrapped herself around Annabelle’s shoulders.

About five minutes before the duel was set to begin, Lady Isabella had pulled out a Recording Crystal from her own storage ring and declared that she would record the duel.

“Seeing Lord Asher fight is a rare opportunity,” she said. “I don’t want to waste it.” She glanced at me. “Besides, I’m curious to see what Lord Gabriel is capable of.”

This, of course, drew Annabelle’s attention. The thought of Lady Isabella recording me must have triggered her jealousy, because she started to let out a murderous aura. However, Lady Isabella must have anticipated this, because she pulled out another Recording Crystal.

“Do you wish to record this duel as well, Lady Annabelle?” she asked. “I have a spare Recording Crystal.”

Annabelle, torn between her jealousy and her desire to get a recording of me, chose the latter in the end. Without saying a word to Lady Isabella, she grabbed the Recording Crystal and sat down to figure out how to make it work. Aurora flew over to help. It took some fiddling, but they managed it just before the half hour time limit expired.

“Gabe,” Annabelle said as soon as she started recording. “Take your shirt off. I want to see you fight topless.”

Without a word, I ripped my shirt off and tossed it aside, exposing my body. It wasn’t enchanted, so its loss made no difference to me. Everyone here was a cultivator, or knew about cultivators, so I wasn’t afraid to reveal the Spiritblood Hidden Lamp Seal drawn on my abdomen, which kept my cultivation hidden.

Lord Asher just gave me an incredulous look.

“When my lady commands, I obey,” I explained with a shrug.

Lord Asher just shook his head and didn’t respond. After a few seconds, Priest Davidson cleared his throat.

“Now then,” he said, his voice ringing throughout the arena. “We all know why this duel is taking place, so I won’t bother repeating it. However, I must ask. What are the terms of this duel? Are they the same as the previous one?”

“Yes,” I said. “Though I’d like to make a few changes. I want to double the payout. Ten thousand mana stones from House Shelton, and ten thousand from House Griffin. That seems fair to me, considering that this is my second duel tonight.”

Priest Davidson looked at Lord Asher, who nodded.

“I accept,” Lord Asher said. “This duel should have never occurred in the first place, so it’s only fair.” He glanced at the House Shelton box. “However, even if you lose this duel, you owe me nothing. I’m fighting to avenge Wilbur’s loss, nothing more. As far as I’m concerned, you can keep the magic beast you stole.”

Sweet. Even if I lost, I wouldn’t have to worry about House Shelton trying to take Gabriella from us. And if I won, my family would get twenty thousand mana stones. That would be a great boon to our finances.

Honestly, I would have dueled Lord Asher for free. I didn’t lie earlier, when I said that the duel with Lord Wilbur left me feeling disappointed. Lord Asher was at the Second Circle, fifth thread, with affinities for Earth and Metal. If his cultivation was at a similar level, then he would be more of a challenge than Lord Wilbur. Not only that, but according to Grandfather Gabe, Clan Griffin focused more on body cultivation than spiritual cultivation.

In terms of physical prowess, Lord Asher was likely stronger than me.

“I would also like to do away with the term forbidding the use of spells,” Lord Asher continued. “I don’t need such a handicap.”

“Ooh,” I said. “I love a man with confidence.”

Lord Asher’s expression twisted with displeasure.

“Lord Gabriel,” he said. “Please don’t say that when you’re not wearing a shirt.”

I sighed.

“Fine,” I said, before muttering. “I thought it was funny.”

Despite Lord Asher’s words, I planned on minimizing the number of spells and ranged attacks I used for this duel, since I knew that Clan Griffin prized physical prowess above all else. As long as I performed well, win or lose, I would make a good impression on them. Given my goals for the future, earning their respect was vital.

I still hadn’t given up on my desire to befriend Clan Griffin, with the hopes of forming an alliance with them. This duel was the perfect opportunity to do so. That was one of the reasons why I was so willing to duel Lord Asher in the first place, when Lord Wilbur used the token to force the issue.

Honestly, I should thank Lord Wilbur for giving me this opportunity. He had a shitty personality, but his actions benefited me in the end. The least I could do was pay him back somehow. Maybe I would send a technique manual his way.

Priest Davidson looked between the two of us, before shaking his head.

“If that is all,” he said. “You may begin on my signal.”

I drew Sky’s Dream and cast a shield spell. A layer of translucent scales, made from my silvery-violet mana, coated my body. Lord Asher did the same. I saw that his mana was a mix of a gray so dark that it was almost black, and violet. This meant that he had formed a violet dantian, just like me. A smile stretched across my face. Perhaps I’d get to have some fun after all.

The tension between us grew taut as we faced each other and waited for Priest Davidson’s signal. The seconds ticked by, like grains of sand falling in an hourglass.

“Begin!”