Chapter 267 (Patreon)

4 Months until I have a job change, then I'll be able to write a lot more frequently. Thanks for reading :)

Chapter 267

Commander Redgar of the human alliance watched in awe as Jorgi the Destroyer and this unknown archdemon laid waste to the underground in sector B12.  Through camera footage, he and a good amount of the officers under his leadership were staring at a few screens on different angles where the titanic monsters crashed into each other with a speed and ferocity that outmatched anything any of them could ever hope to achieve.

Not only that, but Jorgi was slowly losing.  The pompous, arrogant mass murderer was taking blow after blow as the golem was swarmed with spiders created out of frost, electrified snowflakes, razor-sharp red threads, and sharp arachnid limbs that shot out like pistons to throw him back whenever the golem got too close.

In return that axe wielding barbarian was trying to close the gap over and over again, but whenever he got too close the demon would shift into one of her two other forms and disappear - only to reappear with blinding speed to another part of the room before re-emerging in her dryder form to launch attacks that were obviously empowered by her larger size somehow.

To counteract this, Jorgi had turned the room into a molten pit of lava and attacked her with earthen spikes that ruptured from the ground at range - but the demon had repeatedly frozen the lava pit over and was doing a good job in dodging most of the incoming earth spikes.

Commander Redgar caught his breath when it looked like Jorgi was about to land a ‘Cataclysmic Swing’ of his axe, but the dao empowered strike only created a crater in the large underground room and was violently counterattacked with a dryder foot through the back.  The arachnid leg cracked through where a human’s spine would be and out the other side of the golem’s chest, and as Jorgi roared in rage and whirled his axe around to hit the demon - the dryder popped into her blood weaver form and cackled maliciously; before rapidly gaining a foothold and crawling inside the hole she’d just made.

“What… What is she doing!?” One of the officers exclaimed, horrified as others began to cheer or yell out that she should get away.  “The demon knows his body will mend itself, and she’ll be trapped in a molten rock body without a way out!  WHAT IS SHE THINKING!?”

Commander Redgar didn’t disagree, but there wasn’t much they could do.  Their forces were already retreating away from Sector B12 to consolidate at the junction leading into the city as adjoining passages had been lost, and earth golems were pouring in.  “I’m not entirely sure myself… I-”

He abruptly stopped speaking as the golem’s upper body ruptured in a spray of rock as whirlwinds of red blades and bloody strings carved through the softer bedrock of his inner body.  Bursting out of Jorgi, whose lower body crashed to the ground in a heap of oozing magma coming from where his chest used to be, the cloaked humanoid version of the arshakai stood atop his remains with a gleeful laugh.

Sheathing her two swords, the room went into an uproar of applause, before she disappeared from the room down an adjacent hallway and vanished from the cameras that still remained.

***

[Totem of Bloodforged Rift Sparks: The Path of Red and Black has been imbued into this totem, along with three different ability sigils, allowing to to create combination attacks with the following abilities: Black Lightning, Rift, and Crimson Ice.  Due to having a high grade soul imbued into this totem, it is able to move around autonomously and will follow your will to fight or defend.  Elite Tier, Level 1 totem.  Requirements:  90 Willpower, Blood Sub-Pillar, Shadow Sub-Pillar.  Bound to Riven Thane

• Upgrade Downloads are Completing: Graphic of Dark Learning, Graphic of Dark Empowerment, Graphic of Hive Mind.]

Gragle the gnome had been working tirelessly on re-creating the totems Riven had paid him for, and was currently on the last of them.  The fourth one, to be exact.  He’d needed some of Riven’s blood to imbue The Path of Red and Black into the totems and it’d been hard to replicate, but Gragle had completed this particular task and had even gained insight into that path himself through the straining of his mind.

Not that he’d actually been granted that path, but he had started to understand it and would perhaps be able to grasp it in upcoming years or decades.  It was certainly potent, and Gragle couldn’t help but wonder how he’d managed to create such a connection to begin with.  The level of comprehension must have been astoundingly good, which brought his mind wandering back to all the unholy sigils on Riven’s skin that Gragle still didn’t recognize - nor had he found anything in the local library about such sigils in the Unholy section.

Nevertheless, the gnome was proud with his work.  And due to the large sum of money he’d been paid, he’d even done Riven a favor.  Lighting a candle in the darkening room of his small workshop, he glanced out the window at the setting sun where brilliant orange and yellow hues lit up the clouds.  What a strange sight for Outpost #84, after having been on a relatively dead world for so long.

He turned around and walked over to his short desk and double checked the gift he’d prepared for Riven as a way of thanks.  It was a book, a book he’d written himself on how Graphics worked and what to look for when creating graphics.  Everything Gragle knew about Graphics, but dumbed down so Riven could understand it, was summarized here over the past month.  He’d seen how the young man’s eyes lit up whenever Gragle talked about his ability and for the first time in his life, Gragle felt truly appreciated.  The gangs had even stopped harassing him after Riven had taken care of their top dogs, and now Gragle felt like the weight of the world had finally come off his shoulders - relieving him of a burden he’d been carrying for so, so long.

A tear came to his eye, and he wiped it away with a laugh.  Cleaning off the four metal Icosahedrons that were Riven’s totems, he made sure each rune imbued into the 20 faces of the relatively sphere-like creations were working properly.  The Graphic of Dark Learning and Graphic of Dark Empowerment were boosting each rune as well, though the graphics weren’t entirely absorbed yet, but they could still move around and the soul shards had some minor amounts of self thought.  They wouldn’t have been bound to Riven yet either, at least 3 of the 4 wouldn’t have been, but the Graphic of Hive Mind had changed them into a collective and they’d absorbed the original parent-totem’s alignment quite well before he’d installed the other 2 graphics.

Just thinking about it, Gragle was tempted to create ones just like these for himself if Riven was ok with it.  He still had a small vial of Riven’s blood, which was abnormally saturated with high quality mana from numerous affinities related to the Unholy Foundational Pillar, and it would easily be enough to make another two totems like the ones he’d constructed at the very least.  Possibly even three.

A knock came at the door, causing Gragle to blink rapidly and furrow his brows in confusion.  What was someone doing at his house so late?  He didn’t really have any affiliates other than the other gnome Warden Zuk, especially after the gang he’d once been forced to work for now stayed far away from him in fear of his new employer, so it was certainly odd to get visitors right now.

Grabbing at the door knob at gnome height and swinging the fully human-sized door wide open, Gragle looked up to see an unfamiliar cloaked figure staring back down at him with a toothy grin.  He had an odd, light green complexion that almost looked sick.  His eyes were incredibly bloodshot, with one pointed off to Gragle’s right and the other directly focused on Gragle.  

“May I help… you…?” Gragle asked slowly, reaching for the small stun device on his hip due to the strange, creepy way this man was looking at him.

The stranger, for his part, nodded with a quick and jerky motion.  He reached out a hand from underneath his cloak, revealing gnarled fingers that - for a split second - looked like they had something crawling underneath his skin by the way it wriggled.  “Yes… I have come to trade.  Perhaps we could speak inside?”

The man’s voice was even creepier than his looks by the way it rasped eagerly, but Gragle wasn’t one that liked to turn down money.  “Hmmm.  Alright, you want to have me build you a totem?  Right now it is a bit late.  Could you come back tomorrow and discuss prices then?”

The man shook his head, and focused both eyes on Gragle this time while pushing his way through the door and past Gragle with a grunt.  “I’m afraid not… this is most important and I need it now.”

“Excuse me, sir!?”  Gragle angrily harumphed.  “Listen, I don’t need…”

His voice trailed off when he realized the totems he’d laid out for Riven were now gone from the countertop, gone before either man had come back inside.  Had the totems moved on their own?  If so, then where and why?

The strange, green-tinted man came to a stop in the middle of the room - and started to sniff.  His nostrils widened to abnormal proportions and he took in deep, eager breaths.  The act was almost grotesque, and this time Gragle was certain that his skin was literally crawling as something moved underneath the skin over and over in various places along the man’s arms, neck, and face.

Absolutely creeped out now, Gragle decided to keep a very firm hold on his stun weapon at his hip.  “Sir, I told you that now is not a good time.  You need to leave.”

Something about this stranger just felt... wrong.

As if triggered by Gragle’s words, the man shifted his weight and moved towards the vial of Riven’s blood that was stashed on a shelf nearby.  Plucking it from where it was held and popping the cork, the green-tinted man’s eyes widened with delight - and his smile grew to literally reach his ears as his teeth briefly sharpened.

“You see, I am a collector…” The stranger stated, turning back around to give the gnome a predatory grin.  “And the smell coming out of this vial was just too good to pass up.  I do believe I’ll be buying this.  What is your price?”

Gragle raised an eyebrow at the selected item, then glanced at the numerous other totems on display around his workshop that he’d set out for potential buyers in the past.  “You smelled that vial of blood from outside?  How is that possible?”

“I have a very good nose!” The man replied, bopping his nose with a finger and chuckling to himself.

“Alright well… I’m afraid that vial isn’t for sale.”  Gragle said while folding his arms in irritation.  “I was going to use that for a totem I am planning to make for myself.”

The strange man blinked, then began to laugh.  “You!?  For yourself!?  How interesting!  Well let’s just say that I won’t be taking no for an answer.  So, with that in mind, I’ll ask you just one more time.”

In the blink of an eye the man had blurred forward to stand in front of Gragle, towering over him with a looming aura of dread seeping from his soul core.  

Gragle yelped and fell backwards, scrambling for his weapon and pulling out a small iron rod that crackled with electricity as he flipped the switch.

The man didn’t even seem to notice gragle’s weapon as he bent down over him, looking like a shark about to eat its next meal - while holding up the vial.  “How… much… for this?”

Gragle stuttered something unintelligible, before the man sighed and rolled his eyes.

Dropping a small sack of what could only be money, he gestured at the gnome to open it.  “Despite my appearances, little gnome, I am truthfully a fair person in all my dealings… Perhaps this amount would suffice?”

Gaping up at the obviously hostile intruder, Gragle’s fingers slowly itched towards the bag and he opened it to see what was inside.  His eyes widened in shock, and he looked up in obvious surprise - his fear having fled his body in a single instant.  “All of this?  Just for a vial of blood?”

From where one of Gragle’s own soul-based graphics was located, he could feel a karmic tie latching onto his core - connecting him and this strange man in a cord that became stronger by the second as he truly considered the man’s offer.  

The bloodshot eyes of the stranger narrowed approvingly.  “Yes, of course… Just, take the money… and we can part ways here.  What say you, Gragle?”

Gragle looked down at the extreme wealth in his hands, and picked one up just to make sure it was real.  Putting the money back down and shuddering, he considered what Riven would think about it.  Surely the vampire would be fine with Gragle selling some of Riven’s blood to this stranger if Gragle split the profits, right?  Riven would get rich too!  So… why not… right?

Gragle nodded his head, and he felt the karmic tie connect him with the stranger that very next instant.  Though he honestly couldn’t care, because now he was going to be absolutely rich.  He wouldn’t have to work a day in his life even if he did give Riven half.

“I can accept that.  You may have the vial of blood in exchange for this money.”  Clutching it close to his chest as if trying to protect the massive sum of wealth from leaving him should the stranger refuse, Gragle got back to his feet and dusted himself off with a wide smile of his own.  “Nice to do business with you mister… uh… What’s your name?”

Laughing and letting the hostility drain away completely, the green-tinted man held out a hand to shake.  “How greedy you look with that little sack of money!  I love it… As for my name?  You can call me Gambler.”

“Gambler?” Gragle repeated, grasping the man’s hand to shake.  “That’s an odd name.”

“The Gambler, to be precise.”  Replied the taller man with another laugh.  “But it is time for me to go, I have plans and need to get back to them.  Perhaps I’ll meet you again, but for now - good day to you.”

With that, The Gambler stepped around Gragle and began walking down the dark alleys leading away from Gragle’s workshop and home.

Looking after him, Gragle only shook his head - but greedily opened the bag to gawk at his newfound wealth with soaring excitement.  Perhaps he’d go get drunk tonight and celebrate with some of the other gnomes in this city.  He could certainly use a drink, and now that he didn’t have the vial of blood anymore - his previous plan to work on his own totems had come to an abrupt halt.  Hopefully that man would come back sometime after Riven did, so that Gragle could obtain another vial for the man to buy if it really was as precious as the offered sum Gragle had been given this night.

***

“Your stance is wrong.”  Lillith kicked Riven’s knee and sent him sprawling to the floor.

Getting up and feeling the joint snap back into place, Riven didn’t complain as he came back to stand in front of the living legend he’d been sparring with all night.  He dove forward again, only dressed in a thin sparring outfit made of cloth, and slammed his mana-charged elbow into Lillith’s side.

Or at least he tried to, but was sent spinning backwards with another kick to the side of his knee.

“It’s still wrong.”  Lillith said with a shake of her head, ignoring the spectators in the stands that often came to watch even these training sessions despite no actual events going on for the moment.  “You bend the joint too early, it projects your movement in a way that signals what you’re about to do.  When you do move, you need to snap into motion instead of leaning into it first.”

Riven nodded.  “Got it.”

“Do you though?”  Lillith raised an eyebrow and snapped another kick in his direction, but began to clap when the act had been a fake out.  Riven hadn’t actually moved, but had drawn her into a rebuttal despite this when she’d read his projected path.  “Oh!  Very good.  You also canceled out your mana pulse at the last second to stop your body from accelerating, I’m impressed.”

Smiling at the compliment, Riven bowed.  “Thank you, teacher.  I appreciate your guidance.”

“Indeed.  Now, perhaps you can try to utilize the things you’ve learned over these past weeks in another duel?”  Lillith asked, gesturing to the stands where one of the contenders to try and take Riven down was seated.  “Jerakie!  You’re up!”

Lillith vanished and the roar of approval from a distant spectator filled Riven’s ears as a large draconic man smashed into the arena’s floor.  He had no wings, but his scales were as tough as armor and glinted a dark burgundy in the fireballs illuminating the arena from above.  He had vibrant green eyes, clawed hands, and was about Azmoth’s size in terms of both height and muscle.  He didn’t wear anything at all, nor did he carry a weapon, but he nevertheless had an imposing F-grade aura in the LEGENDARY category.

“I, Jerakie, challenge Riven Thane to a duel of supremacy!” The draconic man roared, letting his hands and arms explode with green fire as he entered a martial artist’s stance.

It was a little weird, seeing such a huge, monstrous dragon-man enter a sophisticated stance style Riven had come to recognize amongst many of the humanoids here in the descent.  But that was all the more reason for worry in Riven’s opinion, and he nodded to the challenger as he adopted a stance of his own.

Riven’s stance, the one he was being taught above all others anyway, was called ‘Mage Fist’ and utilized mana in many of the martial acts with up close combat.  The ‘Mage Fist’ stances also called for hit and run tactics, or retreating to use spells at range while utilizing these martial tactics to put distance between himself and the enemy - thus it was mostly a defensive stance that hinged on the idea of a mage using most of his offensive might through magic.  

Riven felt his mana gather within his core, and waited for the announcer to start the fight as his heart began to thud.  He was getting better, and though it was a lot of beat downs he wasn’t used to - his pride allowed it as long as he continued to grow.

When the announcer range a large bell next to Gluttony’s statue overlooking the platform Lillith was now seated on, the fight had begun.  Riven launched himself backwards to keep himself away from the obviously melee fighter and unleashed a torrent of storm razors that ripped out of the air around him like an avalanche, and then blocked an incoming tail strike as the dragon-man’s tail elongated like a whip to lash out at him.

Before he knew it, Riven was in full swing - trying to kite his enemy and fending off blows while sending magical projectiles like a madman as a small smile began to creep across his face.  Yes… he was definitely improving.