“Eclectic,” Iris said as the door swung open.
“Come in,” a deep, sinister voice called from within.
We entered into a narrow passage that had an impossibly high ceiling. A man floating above us in a red overcoat looked down, squealed in delight, and suddenly he stood directly before us.
“I am Sagelock,” the man said, removing his top hat. His upper body was filled out and muscular, his lower body simply a swirl of mist. He didn’t have legs, and his face, while jet black, had a skull painted across it with red accents that matched his outfit.
The room spun and the five of us now stood in a plush room with velvet couches against every wall. In the center of the room was a pretty awesome spread of food and beverages. There was no door to the room, but there were several floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the valley below.
“This is where you’ll stay before you are called,” Sagelock said with a snarl. His facial expression changed and his voice softened. “Where are my manners?” he asked. “Ah!”
He took a square of silk from his pocket and blew his nose. His voice was suddenly feminine, at odds with his earlier snarl. “Allergies always get the best of me. Welcome to the Manor Tournament! This once a year occurrence pits new Alphas against other new Alphas that are near their level and have similar skill sets. It is a delight to have you here. Everyone is young blood!”
“Thanks for having us,” I said, not sure what to make of the guy.
He doffed his top hat at me. “Flattery will get you somewhere, young man!”
Lady C. chuckled.
“Ah, my lady,” he said, bending before her to kiss her hand. “I absolutely love your outfit. Bonus points. More bonus points. All the bonus points!” He did the same to Aya, and Iris, and gave them both the same spiel.
He spun twice and spread his arms wide, a showman if there ever was one. “Welcome! Enjoy yourselves, and before I leave to greet other guests, let me remind you of the rules and the prizes of this tournament. The rules are simple: the best Alpha in each class wins. Boom! Since you, Chase Knowles, are at Level Three, you will compete against opponents that are up to Level Five. I believe you will do quite well! There will be four matches, and each match will have prizes associated with winning.”
“Sounds good.”
“I agree, it sounds wonderful! You may now select six mythcrea. Remember, though, a battle can only have five mythcrea and two Hunters, so chose the extra mythcrea wisely! After each battle, you will be transported back here, where you can relax or watch battles taking place in other divisions. No sneak peaks for your own division, unfortunately!”
“That’s fine,” I said, slightly mesmerized by his warm features and cheerful expression.
“If you win all four fights, you will receive a wonderful prize. Will you choose entry to EverLife, or will you choose a Monster Hunt code? Only time will tell!”
“I believe I’ll choose entry to EverLife,” I told him. Lady C. gave me a thumbs up.
“Do not reveal your choice now, child, and never count your chickens before they hatch!” he cried. “Focus on winning; you’ve already won me over with your wonderful clothes. All of you look terrific! Black is back, pink is neat, armor is good karma, and glasses are classy. I especially like your skirt,” he told Lady C. as she blushed. He clapped his white gloved hands together. “Alas! I must leave and greet the other contestants. Call your mythcrea now and good luck to you all!”
He faded away and a menu appeared before me.
I selected the six that I wanted to join me in this battle. Ophelia, Magnus, Rose, Fujin, Sun Wukong, and Altsoba. They appeared, and a new prompt asked me who I'd like for the first battle. I went with my normal crew, just because I was more used to fighting with them.
“I'll use you in the next battle,” I told Sun Wukong. The Monkey King smiled at me and took a seat near the refreshments. He brought his legs up so he could cross them under his body, and calmly placed his hands in his lap.
“That's fine by me,” he said with a toothy grin. “I'll just prepare here.”
“Okay, everyone, I'm not going to give a big pep talk here, but the better we do, the better our Dojo becomes, and the more opportunities we have in the future. If we win this tournament, we will get access to EverLife. That is all.”
Ophelia perked up. “EverLife?”
“That's right.”
She leaned into Magnus and whispered something.
“I can't wait to go to EverLife!” Lady C. shouted. “There are so many good bookstores there, I've read about the bookstores there. There are books about bookstores. Nerdy, huh? I love nerds,” she said as she looked directly at me.
The lights began to dim.
“What's going on?” I asked Iris.
“I believe that's our indication that the first fight is about to start,” she said. “So how do we want to do this? Same way as last time? You take the front line, and I deal with the magic users in the back?”
“Yeah, let's do that ... For now. I'll definitely need your help in ways that I don't know yet, so if you see something that needs to happen on the front line, just do it. And one more announcement. Iris is an Alpha now, but she has yet to start her Dojo or recruit her Hunters.”
Magnus nodded. “She will make a fine Alpha!”
Rose, who was so big that she wouldn't have been able to fit at the front of the group, looked up at the light as it dimmed even more.
I am ready to win this tournament, she said in my head.
“We're going to do this, everyone; there's no way around it,” I said as we started to fade away. “We have to win this tournament, and I'm counting on all of you to give it your best. If I could fight out there with you, you know I would.”
Aya chuckled. “While I believe you would die very quickly, I also believe you are being honest. And we will not lose.”
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Our forms took shape in a large room which reminded me of a foyer that had been stretched to its limits. There were still staircases visible at the far end of the room, and at the top, some sixty feet up, was a chandelier, its flames burning purple, blue, and neon yellow.
We were still in the manor, but it had been elongated to accommodate a tournament. It was an amazing usage of space, and as I took in the background, I started noticing people standing with hors d'oeuvres and wine glasses, conversing lightly.
The men wore colorful suits, lavender, turquoise, black with red threading, gold, almost as if they were participating in Mardi Gras, sans the masks. The women had on gowns, their waists tight, and their bosoms on display. Many had their hair up, others had elaborate hats, the kind that the British upper class would wear to a Jubilee.
Floating in the center of the room was Sagelock.
He did a quick spin, his arms wide as he welcomed the applause from the audience. Glittering purple snowflakes fell from the ceiling onto the arena floor, melting into the ground and forming a surface that reminded me of the stuff a tennis match was played on.
It had some bounce to it, and it was also slightly rough.
Standing across from us was a familiar foe, the Level Four Alpha who we had faced off against in a Brawl in Bushwick Inlet Park, the older guy who wore camo cargo pants. He recognized me immediately, and a grin formed on his face.
He wore a WWII era military uniform now, and standing beside him were his two Hunters, the muscular female, and the male chronomancer, Level Seven and Level Nine respectively. The female was in a tight suit over her armor. The chronomancer wore black robes, an hourglass necklace, and gladiator sandals.
I recognized the Level Twelve Grendel, the grotesque creature we faced back in the park with more muscle than brain. The Alpha’s fighting party also contained a leprechaun that was sitting pretty good at Level Eight; a Level Ten screaming skull that was pretty creepy; a Level Six kid with a mask on with a handle that read Billy Blind; and a guy only known as Wildman, a Level Five berserker with a ton of chest hair.
/> “Aya and Lady C., take Grendel out first. Rose, take the wildman. Magnus, the muscle woman. Ophelia, the screaming skull. Altsoba, the leprechaun and Billy Blind. Lastly, Fujin, take out the time mage. Front line as normal, back line follow Iris’ lead.”
My fighting party, all of whom had their backs to me, made some indication that they'd heard what I said. Altsoba’s black skin hardened and turned gray as she grew to twice her size, forming the stone man form that she had originally taken when we first encountered her.
A gong sounded and the fight began.
Lady C. and Aya instantly went for the move that they had picked up in the Dojo.
The Metican warrior provided a brief distraction, threw her swords up in the air, and rolled away, as Aya came down with her borrowed weapons, connected, and ghost-limb-cartwheeled away as Lady C. blasted Grendel with lightning.
The crowd roared with approval, and I saw a flash of red to my right as many in the crowd now waved the red handkerchief.
I looked to Iris and she shrugged.
“I guess that means they approve of your move, or their move.”
Surfing on a gray cloud, Fujin bolted towards the hourglass mage. The mage, his mangled wand in his hand, pointed at Fujin and a flash of magic knocked the Japanese wind god off his cloud.
More cheers from the crowd as Grendel swung at Aya. Unfortunately, the Huntresses’ attack had done little to the creature, his skin thick and his muscles reinforced by craggy, fingernail-like armor.
Magnus gracefully advanced towards the muscled woman.
As if he were auditioning for Black Swan, he performed a spin move and brought his sword around, only to have his attack blocked by her gauntlets.
The undead gentleman stepped away, and came back around with his blade, cutting through her suit and into her armor.
Lady C. came at Grendel from behind, while Aya moved from the front. Both of Lady C.’s blades went through his body, and Aya managed to cut into his heavy armor.
The beast roared out in pain, frothy red spittle spraying from his mouth. Just as he was about to topple over, the hourglass mage pointed his wand at Grendel and healed him.
“Take that mage out!” Iris shouted at Fujin.
The crowd booed as Rose swiped the wildman down, jumped onto him, and began ripping his limbs off his body.
She started with his arm, which she tossed to the right as if it were a frisbee. The arm spun in the air, and hit the ground with a sickening thud, blood pooling around it immediately.
The bearadillo did the same thing to his other arm, and then went for his throat.
One down, six to go, I thought, as I clapped my hands for Rose.
My opponent wasn't as happy.
He glared from the sidelines as Altsoba chased after Billy Blind and the leprechaun. She morphed from a stone man into a panther, jumped into the air, and landed on the leprechaun.
As the leprechaun tried to stab her with a blade, she turned back into the stone man, crushed him, and to be sure he was dead, she lifted his body from the ground and choke-slammed him hard enough to crack the hard court.
This whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
As she did this, Ophelia was trying to take down the screaming skull with a fireball.
The little bastard was fast, zipping through the air like a drunken Snitch, and as he neared her, he managed to cut her down with a blue flash of mana that turned the ground beneath Ophelia into a swirling vortex.
The vortex caught her feet, spun her, and threw her fifteen feet up into the air. She landed hard, and even though Magnus was busy engaging the muscled woman, I could see him strain to see her, anger and fear in his eyes.
Altsoba was cleaning up shop, now chasing after Billy Blind in her panther form.
She skidded to a halt, glanced over at the hourglass mage, and swiftly took his form. She pointed her newfound wand at Billy Blind, who was just about to come around and cast some type of explosive magic, evident in the way his hand was charging.
He froze in place.
“Fujin, punch airstrike!” Iris shouted, pointing at Billy Blind. Rather than go after the hourglass mage, Fujin did a complete 180 and zipped towards the masked youth.
He punched him in the throat, grabbed him, torpedoed into the air, turned around, and body-slammed him against the hard court.
Three down; the crowd sent their handkerchiefs into the air.
A few of them started throwing their handkerchiefs into the arena, which had an odd beauty to it. As the fight waged on, those red handkerchiefs remained in the air, sometimes propelled forward by a swing of a weapon, or the blast of magic.
“Fujin, screaming skull!” Iris yelled.
“Altsoba, warrior woman! Lady C., hourglass mage!”
We needed to take the Hunters out. If we took the Hunters out, their attack power would be cut in half.
Her two blades drawn, Lady C. advanced on the hourglass mage.
He managed to get a shot in, but not before he found himself at the receiving end of two incredibly sharp swords.
With a twist of her wrist, Lady C. cut his body into three pieces. Running along, Rose jumped into the air, caught his head and mauled it, her head whipping left and right.
A blast of icy magic flew across the battlefield, from Fujin’s clawed hand to the screaming skull, freezing it midair.
The skull fell to the ground, Ophelia lit it on fire, the crowd grew even louder.
The only two left now were Grendel and the Huntress warrior.
Altsoba landed the finishing blow on the Huntress, sending her to one knee and giving Magnus the opening he needed to separate her head from her body.
The Alpha on the sidelines punched his fist into his hand as blood sprayed from her neck. Her mahoosive sword at the ready, Aya tore through Grendel’s stomach, twisted her blade, and then pulled him off her sword with her ghost limbs.
She stepped over his bleeding body and drove her sword through his throat.
“Win!” Sagelock cried, suddenly floating above the center of the arena.
More red handkerchiefs filled the air as he clapped his big gloved hands together. He motioned me forward, and motioned the other Alpha forward as well.
“Didn't expect to see you here,” the other Alpha said as he extended his hand.
“It was a good fight,” I told him.
“Your Huntresses were much better this time. I need to get a new Fighting Party,” he lamented.
“Well, I know that feeling. Good luck out there.”
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Our avatars took shape in the resting area. Sagelock was waiting for us, floating before a treasure box that had been placed on a table.
“That was very entertaining out there!” he said in his unique voice.
The odd thing about seeing him before us in all of his black and white makeup glory was I could also see a version of him outside the window, hosting another battle, with higher level fighting parties. I didn't quite understand the schematic of the place, and how we could be in one area fighting, while another fight was going on in an area that looked the exact same.
You are thinking too hard, I reminded myself. It was a fantasy dream world, anything was possible.
“Enjoy your prize, and get ready for the next fight,” he said followed by a long laugh. “I will see you again shortly!”
My God, it felt good to get some money. The prize was 15,000 Proxima dollars, and three hundred real dollars.
My Proxima bank account flashed.
Proxima Dollars: $16,250
Spent: $24,500
Loan: 0
“Oh, Rickenbacker, I can feel you in my hands now.”
Yes, I was dreaming a bit as I’d still need four thousand more for the instrument, but it was a start.
Iris laughed. “I don't know if that's how you should be speaking to a bass guitar.”
“It's been days, and I’m going to lose my chops if I don’t start playing something soon.”
&n
bsp; “I would love to watch you play music,” Lady C. said as she approached me in her ultrashort black maid’s armor.
“You’d love to watch him read too,” Aya said, trying to make a joke.
“You’re right. Reading is sexy.”
“The food is excellent,” Sun Wukong said as he patted his distended belly. “Just in case any of you were wondering.”
The table full of refreshments looked appetizing, and I wished that I could eat and actually get sustenance in a digital world. There was everything from baked ham, to sweet potatoes, to skewered meats, pies, various cheeses and snacks, and a crystal bowl filled with a bubbling red liquid.
Aya drank from the liquid now, her ghost limb holding a stemless wine glass. Ophelia joined her, as did Magnus and Altsoba. Rose nudged Altsoba, who grabbed one of the baked hams from the table and placed it on the floor so she could eat it.
All of the damage, blood, nicks, or scrapes that they had received in the battle were completely gone. Just coming to this space rejuvenated and healed my Fighting Party.
“Great work back there,” Iris said to me as I watched them eat.
“I was going to tell you the same thing. Three more fights, and even if we lose now, at least we got something out of it.”
Aya glared at me from her place near the punch bowl. “We will not lose this tournament, Chase,” she told me.
“I know, but I just want to be realistic, there's no telling who we will go up against next.”
“I'm not worried about it. We were born to win this competition,” she said with dramatic flair.
Not far from her, Lady C. had taken a seat and pulled out a book. She leafed through it, stopping on several passages to read them again. Sensing that I was looking at her, she glanced over at me and smiled.
The lights dimmed.
Rose snorted, still working on her hambone.
“Sit this one out, Rose,” I told the beast. “Sun Wukong can come with us this time.”
“Yes, I would enjoy that,” he said with a burp. “Pardon me, it's just been ages since I've eaten so well.”
“Same strategy?” Iris asked.
Monster Hunt NYC: A Fantasy Harem Adventure Page 23