by John Nest
Level: 106
Job: Guardian
Loyalty: 100
Favorite Weapon: None
Equipped Weapon: None
Abilities:
Exceed Break: Channeling ability that makes the user’s next attack deal five times more damage
Rage Burst: Temporarily reduces Defense to 0 and adds the subtracted value to Attack
Prestige: Passively increases Defense by 50% and gives a chance to evade magic damage
Maneator Heart: Health Regeneration rate is increased by 300%
Noblesse Oblige: Increases HP of other Maneators within 100 meters by 10%
"Welcome to the family, Adelige," declared Smoke and called the other three Maneators over to welcome her as well. He introduced each of them to her.
Afterwards, he took an item out of his backpack and presented it to her..
“Adelige, as a welcoming gift, I give you Oxen Edge. This double-edged axe has the ‘Minus Force’ ability, which passively adds the difference between yours and your opponent’s Defense to your Attack.”
The golden Maneator accepted the weapon and bowed down to him.
Enlivened by the results of his latest Maneator creation, he readied himself to have another go at it. He had enough materials to make four more Maneators, but his mana could only suffice to make one more at the time.
Again, Smoke prepared the ingredients and placed them onto their respective pentagrams. He put his hands on the casting circle and chanted the same words as before.
However, the red light that was supposed to envelop him didn’t appear. The ingredients were all still there, as well.
"What happened?" Smoke asked out loud.
His Maneators did not reply, as they were also confused.
Smoke took a look at his mana bar and saw that 90,000 points weren’t consumed.
Then, Weise spoke out. "Look, the crystals on the ceiling."
He looked up to see that the blood crystals had lost their crimson color and became transparent.
‘Did they run out of power or something?’ he thought to himself.
“Does this mean you can’t create any more of us?” asked Rasant with a concerned look on his face.
After taking a moment to think about it, Smoke responded, “They’re blood crystals, right? So, maybe they just need more blood to power them. Let me give it a try.”
He equipped his climbing gear and started scaling the walls using Claws of Chiropterra. He moved closer to the crystals and secured his harness. Once safely hanging from the ceiling, he unequipped his gloves and cut his palm on the sharp, pointed end of one of the crystals. He then smeared his blood over it in hopes that the crystal would absorb it, but nothing happened.
"It didn't work," he said out loud, disappointed.
"Maybe we can find a clue to how to revive the crystals somewhere in the laboratory," suggested Weise and started going through the stacks of papers on the tables.
"Good idea," said Smoke.
Together, Smoke and the Maneators searched the entire laboratory, but had no luck at finding anything related to the blood crystals.
"Well, it has been a long time since the Tenebris stopped creating Maneators," he shared his thought. However, his companions looked gloomy.
"Don't worry. I'm sure there's a way to get the crystals working again," Smoke hurriedly added. "I'll ask Darius when we get out of the Labyrinth."
Smoke spent the next couple of minutes lightening the mood but had little effect. He decided it’d be best for them to get out of the laboratory and start moving towards the Maneator Emergence Chamber. But before that, he needed to log out and take his scheduled nap.
* * * * * *
Checking the map, he discovered that the special chamber Guro talked about was on the opposite side of the labyrinth. Although concerned about the amount of time it would take them to get to it, he welcomed the idea of bonding with his Maneators. It took them three days to reach the chamber.
Smoke was puzzled, as he was standing in front of a plain wall. He double-checked the map, and it indicated that the chamber was right behind the wall. He searched for any clues or writings on the wall, but there were none.
He had the Maneators try to break down the wall, but it was impervious to their attacks. He also tried using Earth Manipulation, even though he already knew that he couldn't manipulate the earth inside the Labyrinth.
They had spent more than ten minutes searching for a way inside the wall before it hit him: 'If it's not on the wall, maybe it's somewhere else.' He ordered Igniz and the Maneators to search in the ceiling and the floor.
A few minutes later, Adelige found a keyhole on the far end of the floor. "King Smoke, over here," she called out. In view of the fact that Weise kept calling him “King”, Adelige picked it up as well.
Smoke ardently took out the Labyrinth key that he got from König Mitleid and slid it into the keyhole. The plain wall opened up, revealing a doorway. He took a step forward and tried to enter it but was stopped by an invisible forcefield.
A hooded apparition wearing a gray robe appeared before them.
"Only the Maneators sanctioned by the Tenebris or the Maneator King may enter," said the hooded figure.
"I am the Maneator King," boldly claimed Smoke.
"Indeed, you have the aura of one. You shall now be tested to see if you should be granted access to the chamber," stated the apparition flatly.
"No problem," answered Smoke.
"Listen closely," spoke the apparition. "A group of five explorers enter a cave near the sea. A cave-in occurs and massive rocks block their way out. They are trapped inside the cave."
Smoke nodded as he intently listened to the apparition.
"The five explorers search for a way out. One of them, Taba, finds a hole barely big enough to fit through. He acts hastily and gets stuck in the hole with his head sticking out." The apparition’s voice showed no emotion. "Taba calls for help. The other explorers try to free him but fail. Seawater comes rushing in due to high tide. Noticing the watermarks reaching the ceiling, the four explorers realize that the cave will be submerged. They will surely drown, except for Taba, whose head is sticking out of the cave."
After a slight pause, it continued, "One of the explorers takes out a small explosive from his backpack. It is not enough to remove the rubble blocking the cave entrance. However, it is enough to expand the hole Taba is in and free the other four explorers, but surely kill Taba in the process."
The apparition stopped talking and faced Smoke. "What would you do? Would you kill Taba and save yourself and three more people? Or would you let Taba live? These are your only options."
Smoke covered his face with his hand while thinking of an answer.
'If I was in such a situation, I would not stop until I found another solution. But this apparition says I only have two choices. Is it testing what kind of person I am?' he wondered to himself.
A few minutes passed and Smoke made his choice.
"I would use the explosive. A single life is important, but the lives of four people outweigh it," he replied somberly, as he didn't like the apparition's question.
"You are a logical and wise King. You and your Maneators may enter," explained the apparition torpidly before fading away.
Smoke wondered what would have happened if he had chosen the other answer. He quickly dismissed the thought and told Igniz to wait for them outside. He asked the Maneators to follow him into the hidden chamber.
Once inside, they discovered a white marble room with a small pool at its center. Smoke estimated that only two Maneators could fit inside it. Then, he noticed a note was written on the wall.
* Maneator Emergence Chamber
Bathe in the pool and embrace your beastial existence.
Smoke ordered the Maneators to remain on the side of the pool while he tested the waters out. He didn't know if there would be any negative side-effects to the emergence ritual. He unequipped his gloves, body armor and boots, le
aving only his accessories and pants on.
He lowered himself into the deep pool and went under the cold water. Rising above the water’s surface moments later, he grabbed onto the side of the pool and ran his hand through his long, white hair. A notification window popped up.
+ Learned Ability: Asterian Aura
(Passive)
Level: Beginner Level 1
Experience: (10/1,000,000)
> Increases your Attack by 10%
> The effect stacks when in close proximity to other Asterian Aura users
> Maximum increase is capped at 100%
While getting used to the temperature of the water, Smoke called for his Maneators to form a line. He ordered them to enter the pool one by one.
After his fourth Maneator finished the emergence ritual, Smoke checked his Asterian Aura bonus and was amazed to see a 50% increase in his attack power.
As they gathered outside the chamber, Weise turned to him. "What do we do next, King Smoke?"
Smoke checked his map. They still had two places left to explore: the Labyrinth Arena and the Surface Entrance.
"Time to go hunting. It's Krampus season," he answered with a devilish grin.
Chapter Five:
A Drop-in Meeting
A full week passed since Smoke and Sierra left Verbrannt. During their absence, Smoke's private army members were tasked to lead specific efforts towards their village's growth.
Guro drilled the ways of the Gladiator into one thousand Farmers of Verbrannt. Some of them already had battle experience, while others only recently joined. They were inspired by Smoke and his private army's action to fight for their home and for the freedom of anyone who were oppressed like they were.
She had the Blacksmiths of Verbrannt manufacture heavy iron castings for their three-pronged spears. Before the sun rose, she had them jog around the village for four straight hours.
After which, they would fight each other in mock combat for three hours. After lunch, she would lecture them on the methods and techniques to efficiently use the spear.
In the afternoon they would toil the farmlands with a heavy plow and pull it by hand. As soon as the sun would set they would all line up and repeat the Ranseurs' forms for another two hours.
At night they were told to rest as they would repeat the same exact day, but only with a weight of five kilos added to their armors.
Meanwhile, the Bowed Fishermen, who had also increased in numbers, now reached seven-hundred-twenty members. Guro also turned her attention to them. She asked Thyrsus, Vijaya, Sharanga and Ichaival to assemble war chariots for them to ride on. Smoke's core members delegated the task to the craftsman of Verbrannt, and provided them with three hundred. The chariots were pulled by one aardwolf and it was big enough so that three people could easily fit inside while still having enough space to attack with their bows.
In the morning, she had them undergo training that involved using their bows while riding on the war chariots. Their targets were a column of poles lined up in a straight line. Whenever a Bowed Fishermen missed the target, they were ordered to jump off the war chariot and fire at the same target on foot until they could catch up to the war chariot.
In the afternoon, Guro asked the trained Ranseurs from Tatlong, Lugar and Pinagsama to help train them. The Ranseurs would charge at their war chariots and tried to attack their vehicle. While the trainees had colored-powder arrowheads and were instructed to stop as many as they could while maneuvering around them. The Ranseurs who got powdered would retire from the chase and were considered dead.
The Bowed Fishermen stopped most of their pursuers, but eventually, they would always be caught. Similar to the Armored Farmers’ training, the Bowed Fishermen repeated the same tedious exercises.
This was the life of the Armored Farmers and the Bowed Fishermen for the past few days. Until, the Armored Farmers fought well in formations with their heavy encased tridents and the Bowed Fishermen finally reached a point where they could powder all their chasers without being captured at all.
After their training was completed, Guro turned Verbrannt's Armored Farmers into Ranseurs and the Bowed Fishermen into Arcus, the mounted archers of the Gladiator variants.
As the population of their village was increasing at a rapid pace and was still growing, Smoke's core members from Nanahuatl Thyrsus, Vijaya, Ichaival, Sharanga, Jinggu and Sharur led a mission for land expansion. Only Laernea and Gandiva were not present as Sierra had taken them with her. They brought with them the Banalite Archers, Acolytes and Iron Knights out to the largest forest near their village.
This forest was located in the outskirts of their southern wall and was called Anbau. Tasked to provide more land posthaste, Smoke's ranged core members expeditiously entered the forest.
However, Anbau was home to an army of mandrills. These monsters were old primates that closely resembled that of a baboon, only larger. Their levels ranged from 80 up to 110 and their life bars were well beyond 120,000 HP.
They spent the entire week subjugating the ten square kilometer forest. It was difficult, but their accumulated battle experience allowed them to face the mandrills without suffering any casualties. The only trouble they encountered in this endeavor was when Thyrsus and Vijaya had a lovers' quarrel on which section to go next, and when Ichaival teased Sharanga and he was caught in one of her five trap systems and a group of mandrills attacked them.
Meanwhile, Adder and fifteen of his Condortlian brethren spent the week sharpening their skills on the slopes of mount Engrais. They practiced sword swings, shield blocks and several strategic formations that would ensure their safety. Adder will not allow any of them to go to Mictlan before their time.
Aside from that, they also needed this training in order for them to get to know their new equipment. Adder had asked the Blacksmiths to forge his brothers better weapons.
A Claymore was forged into their bastard swords and made stronger. As a result, they were now thicker, but their weight did not increase by much. As for their shields, they were fashioned into square edges that would interlocked when joined with the same square-edged shield. With this, they could huddle into one solid cube, and could avoid any ranged attacks.
Finally, Ledur and his Tikbalangs used this period to replicate the architectural wonder that was the Gitna Dam, but the dam he created was only less than half of the original one. He used his Earth Manipulation to construct the dam and raised it to a height of forty meters and a span of one kilometer.
Simultaneously, ninety-six Tikbalangs were digging out canals for the irrigation system that would cover the entire farmlands of where the former residents of Tatlong, Lugar and Pinagsama now lived.
As Ledur and his Tikbalang brethren finished earlier than expected, they dug another irrigation system headed in the direction of Anbau forest. He anticipated that Thyrsus and his companions would finish their task soon, and the expanded land could benefit from a clean flowing water supply.
* * * * * *
High noon on the seventh day, Ledur and the Anbau Subjugation Force met outside the walls of Verbrannt.
Smoke's ranged core private members walked over to Ledur.
Thyrsus shook Ledur's hand. "That was very proactive of you to prepare a water source here."
Ledur gave him a small bow in acknowledgement. "It's a basic necessity." He then pointed to Anbau Forest. "It's rather big. It must have been a challenge?"
"It is big, and it becomes even bigger when you have to clear the pesky mandrills inside it," joked Ichaival.
"Oh, stop complaining. I didn't hear you whining when you daringly took on the northern side of the forest with only the Banalite Archers," stated an irritated Sharanga. She pushed Ichaival out of her way as she walked passed them. She headed straight for the village, without looking back.
Ichaival scratched his head. "What did I do this time? We cleared the forest didn't we?" he asked around his fellow core members. "I really don't get that girl."
The twin Ork
Elves walked past him and shook their heads while chuckling loudly.
"Maybe that's why you'll never get that girl," said Sharur subtly.
"But even if you do understand her, it's not a guarantee that you'll still get her," added Jinggu and winked at his twin.
Sharur instantly stopped laughing and slapped his brother's back. "Was that really necessary? My situation is different from—" he stopped talking and stormed ahead.
Vijaya, who stood beside Thyrsus, joined in. "As you can see, Ledur, our subjugation of the forest opened up a lot of… emotions."
Thyrsus looked like he was about to react to what she said, but then saw three war elephants appear out of the clearing instead. "Smoke's here!" he shouted as he pointed to the thunderous noise the massive mounts were making. Sharanga and Sharur stopped walking into the village to welcome their respected leader.