Contest (The Stork Tower Book 6)

by Tony Corden

  Drinking this vial and applying the shroud will implement a permanent change to the player’s profile.

  Minimum: Level 300 (I150, W150)

  Leah read through the message twice, then in one quick motion she removed the stopper and drank the potion of liquid light. It didn’t taste like blood but reminded Leah of a strong fruity nectar. Leah’s throat burned momentarily from the heat but it quickly dissolved into a warmth which flooded through her. She was ready for the mana as it began to ooze through her skin. She directed it to form on the outside of the armour without touching it. Her experience from the three temporary vials she had drunk didn’t prepare her for the sheer volume of mana which began to flow through her skin. After a minute, the amount of mana threatened to overwhelm her, but she gritted her teeth and forced it to continue collecting on the outside of her armour. After two minutes, the shroud was over ten centimetres in depth and still flowing. Leah willed it to compress into a thinner sheet. Slowly under her direction, the mana, which had the form of a bright mist, condensed into a liquid which flowed across the face of her armour. After three minutes, the flow hadn’t ceased and Leah was becoming concerned, when there was a flash of light and Emil was standing in front of her. As he appeared, the flow of mana slowed and stopped.

  Emil smiled and said, “Good morning, Atherleah. Only you would attempt to control a shroud minutes before competing in a duel. I wasn’t as surprised as the other developers. I wasn’t even surprised at the problem you’ve encountered. You seem to find the small bugs and loopholes that we’ve failed to anticipate.”

  Leah said, “Hello Emil. So, what happened?”

  “Your character enabled too many foci, and the amount of mana in the resulting shroud would probably trigger a whole swath of secondary effects, quests and problems for you and us. One of the developers wanted to see what would happen, but the repercussions would be a disaster for Dunyanin. It is possible that if you didn’t burn to a crisp, you might have become one of the gods.”

  “What do you mean, ‘too many foci’?”

  “Well, it starts OK with the Level 2 Light focus and the Level 4 Divine Focus. You triggered the Level 9 Magic User focus, and it turns out you are classified as a Sorcerer, a Mage, an Enchanter, a Cleric, a Crafter, a Warrior, a Magical Being and one of the afflicted. The only thing you aren’t is a Magical Artefact.”

  “How am I a Cleric?”

  “You are Umut’s Champion.”

  “What about a Magical being?”

  “You are classified as a half dragon. But that isn’t all. Your Draconic nature also increased your blood potency and added 'dragon' to your race. You have the skill of mana manipulation, and you can stack spells, etc., etc., etc. No one imagined anyone would, or even could, tick so many boxes.”

  Leah began to speak, but Emil raised his hand and said, “There is more. When the idea of shrouds was developed, the person responsible spent ages trying to create a sophisticated and consistent matrix. The calculations are complex, but you also ticked some additional foci. You are a cleric to one of the Light gods, and this is a divine light shroud and so more power. You are from the light races so more power. There are several others, but I think you get the picture.”

  This time Emil let Leah speak. She said, “Not to be pushy, but what now? I don’t have long and I’ll be pulled into the contest. I have another shroud to equip, and I want to try and manage them at least a little before I’m dragged away.”

  “You’re crazy, you know that. People struggle with one, and no matter what we do, this is likely to be one of the most powerful shrouds created. Why would you want another?”

  “It’ll be cool.”

  “Like I said, you’re crazy. What is the second shroud?”

  “I’m going to take Lord Kötü’s Shadow Shroud.”

  “Are you nuts? Shadow and Light. The dissonance alone might kill you.”

  “I hope not. Feel free to hang around and watch.”

  “Despite the kind invitation, I don’t think I will. However, what we have is another one of those ‘we stuffed up and will you let us off the hook’ scenarios.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I don’t know yet. The developers are trying to work out a solution that maintains the integrity of the shroud scenario. They can’t change things which negatively impacts someone who already has a shroud and optimally we would like no one ever to know about this mistake.”

  “Don’t forget the impact this might have on the rapidly approaching competition. Imagine the furore if I rock up insanely overpowered.”

  Emil’s avatar didn’t turn pale, but from the look on his face, she imagined it should have. He swallowed and said, “Exactly! I’ve been asked to suggest that you forgo a shroud at the moment and give us time to consider all the repercussions.”

  “Not happening. My equally stupid counter offer is that you leave it as is for now, and we revisit it after the competition.”

  “I didn’t think it was viable, but I was told to ask.”

  “Who by? I had a sensible talk with Erol the other day, and he wouldn’t suggest such a one-sided solution.”

  “Ah, Atherleah, you are learning how to play the game. Great name dropping, you’ve put the people speaking in my ear into a bit of a spin. Any ideas?”

  “Not this time. I’m getting anxious about how much time you’re wasting though. I’ll agree to a provisional limit equal to or greater than other divine Level 2 focussed shrouds. Before my first fight, though, I think this need to be finalised. My negotiator is being briefed as we speak and will be contacting Dunyanin shortly. Now get lost.”

  Emil stammered once or twice and then faded from view. As he did, the Light shroud began to dissipate. When half the mana had disappeared, Leah was left with a thick film of liquid light surrounding her armour. Leah estimated she was left with less than half the light mana that she’d started with. Sub-vocally she said, “Gèng, I assume you took my comment to Emil as a request. Who have you sent as a negotiator?”

  “I sent four. Peter, Leon, Stephen, and Sharon. I imagine your PR agent will help keep them focussed. Peter wants to know what you want as an outcome.”

  “Something fair and reasonable. I don’t want to be stupidly overpowered, and I don’t want to be shortchanged. As I understand it, the shroud is a potent weapon whose strength depends on a variety of factors. If everyone else has only one factor at each level, then apply whichever is the largest for me. I imagine though that Merideath’s shroud is calculated on the premise that she is a warrior and a mage. If that is so, then apply the best two from my list. Tell them I don’t want them to be too hard-nosed about it.”

  Leah checked the time, and her plan of spending twenty or so minutes practising with the shields was no longer viable. She expected to be transported to an arena of some sort in less than ten minutes. Renewing her hold on the light shroud, she forced it to flow down to cover the lower half of her body, leaving her upper body free. Pulling the vial containing Lord Kötü’s Shadow Shroud from her pack and dismissing the almost identical message with only a glance, she drank the vial of liquid shadow. It tasted bitter and was icy cold as it spread throughout her body. As the mana began to flow from her skin, she pictured it flowing up her body and forming outside her armour on her upper torso.

  The rush of shadow mana was almost as strong as she’d experienced with the light shroud, and there were several times when her concentration wavered, and she almost lost control. This time, however, the flow of mana began to slow after a minute. The shadow was nebulous in form and billowed back and forth as if testing Leah’s concentration. Her first struggle was to keep the shadow from touching the dragon armour. The light shroud had basically ignored the armour as it conformed to Leah’s picture. The shadow mana was draconic in nature and was attracted strongly to the armour. Leah felt the attraction particularly across her lower arms where the scales were red and been taken from a fire dragon. Leah willed the mana to pull back from the red scales
and collect over the green life dragon scales.

  Leah's second major struggle occurred when one small tendril of shadow mana escaped her control and came in contact with the light shroud. Leah noticed what was happening just before they came together and clamped down hard on both shields trying desperately to keep them under control. As the shadow mana touched the light shroud, Leah felt her control begin to slip as the light tried to swallow the shadow and began to greedily suck it in. The battle for control raged for over twenty-seconds, and just as Leah felt the light release its hold, the shadow pulled at the light trying to absorb it. Leah redirected her will still trying to separate the two. The battle this time was shorter and ended with an explosion as the light and shadow recoiled from each other. Leah was blown off her feet but managed to maintain control.

  Getting to her feet, she found both shields had submitted to her will, she stood for a moment getting her breath back. The shadow was still billowing and Leah, remembering what she had done with the light, willed the shadow to condense into an dull dark-grey or black liquid. Slowly the shadow formed into a film that covered Leah’s arms and upper body. Checking the clock, she had maybe three minutes. She was glad of the experience the day before with the blood and earth mana because she didn’t have the time to experiment. Light and shadow caused more dissonance than blood and earth; however, the most significant difference was the power of the two shields. Each was four or five times as strong as the shields she’d practised with the previous day.

  Carefully picturing what she wanted in her mind, she willed the light mana to move up over her body and cover her whole armour. Simultaneously she willed the shadow mana layer to lift further away and to flow above the light. Several times Leah’s control wavered. Still, in the end she succeeded. None of the green or red of the dragon armour showed through, and the light shield was fully encased by the slightly thinner layer of liquid shadow. As far as anyone looking knew, Leah was wearing a suit of unadorned black armour. Standing still as she continued to wrestle with the two shrouds, a message appeared.

  Atherleah, It is time to begin the first challenge of the Journey to Merkize. You will now be transported to the arena where you will face the other contestants in battle. You will be transported in ten seconds.

  Leah heard a voice which began the countdown.

  Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, transportation commencing now.

  Diary - 17 December, 2073 - Morning

  It was strange realising Conner’s changed, he’s grown up. Or, is it more me who’s changed? Has he become mature because I now see him that way? I suppose by many people’s standards, I’m still a child regardless of what the law says. What is it that makes them treat me differently than a year ago? Has their attitude toward me made me grow up? Have I changed to meet expectations, or is there some genetic switch that gets thrown? I imagine there isn’t an easy answer and it is really a combination of things. Some people I know are old enough to be adults, they are treated that way, but they seem to remain children, or even worse, spoiled teenagers.

  I don’t know why I’m embarrassed, but I am. The financial help Leon and Gèng are giving to find Mum is something I could easily pay for, but instead, they gave it is a gift. I expect people to accept help when I offer it, I don’t even want them to express gratitude really. Why am I embarrassed when they do it for me? Is it because I somehow, and very pridefully, think I’m better than them? Do I subconsciously believe that helpful gifts only go from the one who has more to the one who has less? Is it that I know they recognise I need help? How should I react?

  Sometimes I think my morality is totally screwed up. I see nothing wrong with stealing millions from the Mafia or breaking into someone’s private network, but I worry about telling my mum the truth and think to mislead my brother would be wrong. Is my moral compass mixed up or are there layers of interactions with different rules. Is it be wrong to lie to the police if you know they are corrupt? Or, if you know they will tell people who are?

  I wish I could enjoy exploring Survival. Rushing through just to get to the end is what I have to do, but I really wish I didn’t have to. I’m missing so much. I suppose most people have good reasons when they rush through life. Will I be like Mum and Dad who never quite had enough time for me. I know they loved me. I know they did the best they could. They did more than most. Did they want to help with homework more, read more stories, play sport with me, lie and watch the clouds? Was life just too demanding to give them the time? How can I be different? How, for example, can I give Thad the time I want to when life is so busy. I want to know him better, but life is so busy. Will our relationship never quite be as good as it could because of my rushing through life, or because he has to? How do we make the right choices?

  32

  Chapter 32

  December 17, 2073 - MERKIZE CONTEST - Part 1

  DUNYANIN - CONTEST

  Leah faded from view and appeared in a room just as she had the previous time, although this room was somewhat larger. Eight people sat around a table deep in discussion, and they seemed unaware that Leah had arrived. Sharon, Peter and Steven sat opposite Emil and two women. From their attire, Leah guessed one was a developer and the other a lawyer. The other two people at the table were Dunyanin AI, Jonathan the Mage and Julian the Advocate.

  Peter noticed her first and grinned. He said, “Leah, you are the luckiest player in the history of the game, two shrouds!”

  Leah didn’t say anything, she simply lifted her hands with seven fingers raised. As Peter’s mouth dropped open Leah concentrated. She’d spent some time thinking about the shrouds and wondering how to conceal them. During the last conversation with John, she’d set part of her mind into researching and picturing precisely what she wanted. Un-equipping the armour and changing into a set of dark green clothes in a ranger style, Leah pictured the light shroud forming a set of wings similar to those on Granite except with a feather texture which rustled as if it was gently moving in the wind. She then had the shadow shroud cover the wings, turning them into a matt black colour. The wings were folded against her back with the long primary feathers falling to her calves and the alula feathers near the first digit being almost a metre above her head. She’d hoped to practice with them before coming to the contest but had run out of time. She revised her schedule and decided she could practice between bouts.

  Peter’s comment had made everyone aware of Leah’s presence. Before anyone could speak, a bell chimed and one of the walls transformed to show what was happening on the main stage. Similar to the previous time the event began with music and the Dunyanin logo. The same five figures appeared, this time the large male orc took the lead. His voice was deep and resonated around the room. He said, “Welcome to Dunyanin and welcome to the first step in what promises to be an amazing journey to the hidden continent of Merkize. Over the last virtual-month, billions of people have watched as our ten heroes prepare for the journey. These warriors come from every continent on Dunyanin, and they have already inspired over thirty million new players to enter the fantastic and diverse world of Dunyanin.

  "Before we once more introduce our ten heroes, let me describe today’s competition. Today’s program begins the process which will decide who is the most worthy player in Dunyanin to enter Merkize. At the beginning of the event, they will be ordered based on the Level they have achieved in Dunyanin. At the end of the day, their order will be based on their martial prowess.

  "Today our contestants will participate in a series of one-on-one combat fights. Each fight will end either with a surrender or when one of the combatants is killed. No penalty will be incurred by death during today’s duels. Each player will fight two other contestants chosen at random. After the initial phase, the top eight will be pitted in a sudden-death knockout competition. The highest-ranking player after the initial bouts will fight the player who placed eighth, then second versus seventh, third vs sixth, and finally fourth vs fifth. The winners of these bouts will rece
ive a prize suited to their character and playing style and then be pitted against each other. The winner of the first match fighting the winner of the last match and then the other two winners doing battle. Both of the winners will receive additional gifts before there is a final battle to decide first and second. The winner will receive a third gift in recognition of their prowess.”

  A door appeared on the wall in the room where Leah was. Leah heard a knock and then a man opened the door before beckoning Leah toward him. On the main screen, the Orc continued, “Every Dunyanin month there will be a similar contest to rank players. The lowest ranked player in each of the future competitions will be cut from the competition and no longer eligible to participate in the race to Merkize. Now before we begin, let me introduce our contestants beginning with the lowest ranked player. On Level 411, a full one-hundred-and-fifty-seven levels further advanced than last time, we have Atherleah. Atherleah has amassed an enviable list of titles and rewards in her time playing Dunyanin. She is the fastest ever player to reach 400, and on the way, she not only killed a dragon and a demigod but also one of the most powerful gods in the pantheon. She is head of clan Guàn which is well on its way to becoming one of the richest one-hundred clans in Dunyanin. A full list of her achievements is free for download when you visit her player area in the 'Heroes Foyer' of the 'Introduction to Dunyanin' building.”

  The man Leah was following stopped and pointing to a nearby door, said, “Please head through there and stand on the small raised area furthest from the speaker.”

  Leah nodded and stepped through the door and onto the stage. As she did the speaker said, “Please welcome Atherleah, Presumptive Empress of Vatan, Queen of Yilinlar, Queen of the Dragonblood Dryads, Overlady of the Elfauns, a Noble of the Road of the Kings, Dragon Slayer, Kraken Killer, God Slayer, Slayer of Büyük, Counsellor of the Gods, and newly appointed Guardian of the Lanetli.”