“I’ll be sure to tell her you said that. And before I forget, you mentioned that there’s a dark elf that you’re wanting to find.” She placed a mana tablet in my hand. “This will give you information on where you can go to find an organization that might be able to help. They only have one branch in Hallow, but they’re all over the Andheree Raat.”
I scanned it quickly. It seemed to introduce a company that was like a mix between a library and a news organization. It would cost money for any information I requested, but it was much more promising than I thought it would be. I thanked her again.
“Okay, off you go,” she said as if annoyed. “And you better win tomorrow. Better yet, kill him. That way he’s one less person I’ll have to face in the losers’ bracket.”
I replied in the only appropriate way possible. “Every song has to end with some stabby-stabby.”
Beneath her smile, I saw her concern. Grabbing my hand, she gave it a quick squeeze, then spun and skipped away, disappearing into the crowded restaurant.
Alexandria walked over to me now that Eshana had left. She spoke, but not aloud. She sounded slightly bemused in my head. “Jale was right. There’s something different about you. She calls it unique, but I’m not yet sure if it’s a good or bad thing. At least, from what I can tell, you’re honest.”
“Thank you,” I replied. “I think. Did the trade negotiations go well?”
“They think the Shahs and Tirs may be on the brink of war, so of course they look to profit. They won’t deal with us exclusively if war really breaks out, but Lord Kaveh was impressed with you. The fact that you seemed to enjoy Eshana’s company without any sign of wanting to ravage or drain her helped me convince him that we are indeed different than the Shahs. So thank you for that, at least.”
I nodded, not sure exactly how to respond.
“I’ll be leaving first,” she said. “You’re welcome to join us at the Tir residence. It might be wise to remain with us in case someone is of the mind to keep you from showing up at tomorrow’s match.”
“Thank you, but I want to continue honoring my teacher while it’s still possible.” We both glanced over at Shamash in his vampire form. He just stood there as still as death. It made me wonder if he’d been a vampire before he’d become a lich… “If there’s war, then tonight will probably be the last night that I’ll have a choice.”
She bid me farewell and left.
***
Shamash and I flew back, and he was quiet the entire way. Once we were inside, he quickly coated the roof with an extra layer of protection and returned to his lich form.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” he said through mind-speak.
“I did…” I replied tensely. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“No. I’ve neglected the fact that you’re still little older than a child. I should have known that you would be quick to make friends, even if it wasn’t your intention. You’re not a lich, and you’re certainly not a vampire. Perhaps I’ve been thinking about this all wrong. I still think we must leave after the preliminaries, but I’ll try to be more considerate of your nature. If possible, we’ll one day return here. Dueling grandmasters would do you good once you reach that level. Have you decided if you’re going to kill Manu tomorrow or not?”
“I haven’t. It seems like it would be better for the Tirs, and for us, if I could leave him alive. And I’m more convinced than ever that Manu Shah has to have been holding back. His vast mana pool alone speaks to him being capable of much more.”
“You think that your Primordial Cat Form might not be enough?”
“I’m not sure, but I have some ideas that might give him some additional problems without giving away that I’m a Light Mage.”
“Let’s hear them.”
“Well, the music tonight actually gave me some ideas… They all revolve around a little stabby-stabby.”
***
The day had finally come. The moment I stepped into the hotel lobby, I could sense something was different. None of the serving girls ran over to me, but all of them stopped what they were doing to look in my direction. The people being escorted didn’t complain. They also turned to look. If this were the human world of the surface, I would have expected to be surrounded and asked for my autograph. But here it was different. Here they just stared and made you feel awkward.
There was more to it than that. I’d be a fool to not notice that most were also on edge. I didn’t know exactly what it meant for war to break out in the vampire world, but in Hallow I doubted being attacked in the streets was off limits.
With Shamash at my side, I wore the ruby panther fur that the Tirs had given me. I wasn’t sure if it was an actual gift, but while it was in my possession I would wear it out of respect. Instead of the rest of the outfit, my skeletal armor covered me as my only other layer of clothing. I’d grown accustomed to it and I could summon my wings with the cloak on as long as I didn’t fly too fast. Once the fighting started, I would place it in my inventory.
We left a few hours before my fight was scheduled so that we could take our time getting to the Hallow Amphitheater. There were already some losers’ bracket fights going on, so the stands should already be partially full. There was bound to be some traffic, but it would be better than trying to arrive for the first fight.
Everywhere we went, people seemed to recognize me, and these were the people that weren’t even watching the competition. Surprisingly, the attention didn’t make me nervous, but acted like a catalyst to hone my focus. My time with Eshana had greatly lightened my load. Now the time to relax had passed. Unlike a human athlete, there was no danger that nervous energy might wear down my endurance before my actual fight. It was invisible to the eye, but my Advanced Ascendancy gave me a regeneration rate that most vampires would have to actively drain blood to replicate.
As we walked through the city, it was like I was floating through time even though I hadn’t channeled to Mana Sight. My mind and body were at their peak. Little had changed with my stats since I’d made my first big purchase in Hallow right after arriving.
Character Sheet
Level: 10,013
Health Points: 5,771,816
Current Mana: 30,111,995
Base Mana: 8,855,500
Mana Per Minute: 500,240(8,337.33 Per Second)
Attributes
Strength: 13,658
Dexterity: 13,408
Constitution: 11,485
Intelligence: 17,711
Wisdom: 50,024
Max Mana – 44,277,500
I’d received a few new stats from drinking beast-blood last night, but it would make no practical difference. There was one thing that would make the finals exceptional, though. I’d no longer limit myself to some two million seven hundred thousand MP. If necessary, I’d exhaust the thirty million mana available to me.
Manu Shah was the sole person in the preliminaries that had more mana than I did. With forty million and change, he was the only one that could possibly out-channel me. If I was right and he was hiding his true potential, killing him was my only chance.
A little over an hour later, I arrived at my seat that the Tirs had held for me. Just as I had after they’d saved Sai, I gave them a full bow. It was true that I intended to betray their trust after the match was over, but I felt justified because the lives and wellbeing of my friends were on the line. It was because I knew they would support me if they knew the full truth so I could do nothing but honor them.
As one, they rose to their feet.
What are they doing?
It was only the Tirs that had risen so the entire world seemed to turn away from the current match to see what could possibly be happening. Every one of the Tirs, including those of the older generations, responded to me with a bow of their head.
I was floored. It was a minute later when I realized I’d already taken my seat and Sai was trying to get my attention through mind-speak.
Looking up from where I’d been staring off, I
gave him a smirk. “Sorry if I missed your fight. You won, right?”
He nudged me with his shoulder. “Yeah. Just another Dark Mage.”
“That’s great. Oh, and about what I said about putting in a good word for you with Eshana. She’s too good for you, sorry.”
“What are you talking about? Why would I be interested in a dark elf…” His voice switched to mind-speak a moment later. “What do you mean she’s too good for me?”
“I’m joking. I actually think you guys would work for some strange reason. She has a tendency to look for weaknesses and attacks them even if she’s not trying to cause any harm. Get your thirst under control, or your first date will turn into a torture session. Also, she wasn’t kidding about being expensive. She literally ordered everything on the menu. Instead of dating her it might be smarter to run. Also, watch out for her human friend named Jelly. She practically goes around begging vampires to bite her. I wasn’t able to confirm if she stabs everyone that takes her up on the offer, but I’d be surprised if she didn’t.”
I didn’t notice that the last fight had already ended until my name was announced. I gave Sai a good orc-smack on the back before coming to my feet. Bowing my head to the Tirs one final time, my eyes settled on Jale. It wasn’t a vampire looking back at me but a friend. She was putting on a strong face, so I did as well.
Sai wished me luck and I caught Shamash’s nod as I passed him. He didn’t support me in the same way that my new friends did, but there were no secrets between us. He was also a source of wisdom that rivaled that of a great family. Out of all the different humanoid races, the liches were the ones most unlike humans. All the other ones had their quirks, and appetites, but they were capable of good and evil just like humans were. I wasn’t so sure that was the case with the lich. He seemed to have a sole motivation. I knew vampires and dark elves were capable of self-sacrifice. Even orcs looked to enjoy the stabby-stabby music that spoke of romantic tragedy. In the end, despite all this, he provided me the most help.
As I reached the stairs, I heard a jovial cry. “Zerin of Tir, tear him apart!”
I quickly found Eshana standing on the opposite side of the arena with a whole section of orcs and dark elves that followed her example by standing and suddenly detonating like a bomb of hoots and obscene taunts. What made it even better was that somehow she’d arranged for their section to be right next to the Shahs. The orc and dark elf section was tiny in comparison, but seeing it I almost laughed myself silly. She was crazy, and I loved her for it.
Scanning the Shahs, I ate up their every angry and uncomfortable breach of vampire protocol.
There was one person amongst them staring at me with an ominous glare. Manu Shah had reached the top of the stairs that led down to the arena floor, and instead of ignoring me like he had everyone else, he’d actually stopped. My first thought was to give him my warmest smile and a happy wave. I pushed down my scoffer tendencies and instead stared back at him. There was no doubt that he intended to kill me.
I couldn’t let that happen. There was also the possibility that if somehow my core got cracked, I’d probably be forced to change to my human form. That would be inconvenient. Not all of my nonhuman forms had cores though and I certainly wouldn’t make it easy for him.
Removing the fur from my shoulders, I placed it in my inventory. The skeletal armor fell off of my torso as had become my habit to reveal a physique that only beast-feeders and Truebloods could compete with.
He seemed to want nothing more than to just stand there and glare at me, but I thought it was only appropriate to add a little flavor to the event so I lifted up my voice where all could hear. “Manu Shah. Thank you for not running away.”
The snickers that came from the orc and dark elf section behind Manu seemed to be too much for him. He began his descent.
I didn’t bother to use the stairs. Taking a step forward, I fell.
Chapter 29 – Championship Match
Walking toward my starting place as if unaffected by the world seemed like the most vampirical approach to coming off as a true powerhouse, but then again, I wasn’t a real vampire. My Crimson Incubus Form took shape and my wings sprouted out of my back. I didn’t change because I planned on using the form to fight, but because I could. Even if I couldn’t show my true form, being a Blue Mage was part of who I was. My wings battered the air as I shot toward my side of the arena.
A tail of bronze slithered out of my lower back as I stretched my wings to stop myself above my appointed starting place. With a spin, I pulled my wings inward until they were tight against my back. Once again, I fell from fifty feet up and landed facing the opposite side of the arena.
My tail extended out until it was over twenty feet long. It wasn’t as thick as it was when I was in my Metal Dragon Form, but I lifted it up and loosely wrapped it around me until its end was well out front then I let it drop. A mighty clang cut through the noise as the powerful metal limb crashed down. I waved its end back and forth as if it were a worm enticing unexpected prey to try their luck.
Both my arms and legs began to transform. Crimson Incubus Form’s defense was at a level that few of my competitors could match, but the molten rock that replaced my limbs could become as hard as stone, and as malleable as melted bacon grease. Even if they were torn off, I could simply grow them back. The stat bonuses were also greater than Incubus. With a good percentage of my body already borrowing from my Primordial Cat Form, changing to it would be that much faster.
Though it wouldn’t directly benefit Primordial Cat, I was convinced that my 100% Fire Enhancement Jewel would also enhance the form and its abilities. Since Magma was a sub-element of Fire, things were about to get interesting.
Not using my Vampire Form while fighting gave me 423,440 MPM, or 7,053 MPS to work with all while 8x In the Buff was active, before I’d even dip into my mana pool. With Primordial Cat form only costing 2,000 MPS now that it had maxed out, I couldn’t just use it indefinitely, but I’d be able to augment it to entirely new levels just as I always had my Incubus Form.
Manu Shah had a larger mana pool than I did, but he also had an Intelligence focus. Having a Wisdom-centric build meant I could do incredible damage without ever tapping into my 30,000,000 MP. I knew he was hiding something. It was time to beat it out of him.
He finally reached his starting point and again began staring me down. I lifted my tail and struck the ground time and time again as if to promise him his beating was coming very soon. It seemed like he wasn’t going to pull out his Dark Demon Form before the announcer started the fight, which was wise on one hand, for it would save a bit of mana, but on the other…
I glanced around the stands one last time. I gave Eshana a nod and would have happily thanked each and every orc and dark elf present if time only allowed. Then I spotted the other top tier competitors that had already lost one match.
Lusa Egotak sat not too far from Eshana’s group and was in the front row to my flank. She was on my side of the arena. I hadn’t gotten to fight her but had hoped I’d have the chance. She’d fought Manu and lost, so seeing her there I nodded to her as well. Making an odd gesture, she touched either cheek before extending her hand like she was offering me something… She was blessing me?
Not to be forgotten, Gansuk of the Meathook Horde stood to his feet. He sat only a few spaces from Lusa, even closer to Eshana’s section, with his group of orcs. It seemed his people had developed some kind of friendship with Lusa’s. There was no fancy blessing from him, only a firm grunt as he looked down his snout at me.
Lifting my hand from my side, I rolled my fingers into a fist and let my magma flare into a brilliant orange. He got the picture.
Jale and the Tir family had a bearing unlike the rest of the vampires. Instead of looking like living statues that feared emotional expression, they met my gaze with confidence and power. I bowed my head to them one last time. As for Sai, I gave him a cynical wink.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I returned Manu�
��s stare as we waited for the proverbial countdown. I wasn’t going to telegraph my first move, but I was sure Sai would approve.
“… And now, it is my honor to initiate the championship match of the Hallow Preliminaries! The winner will become Hallow’s champion and lead a group of the best from our younger generation to the glory of the Festival of Parmida’s stage. Manu of the family of Shah! Zerin of the family of Tir! Prepare yourselves! For the glory of yourselves and your supporting families, honor us by unsheathing the power of your blood! Blood for honor, and honor for blood…”
I’d heard what followed a hundred times before, but even now, after witnessing the starting of countless matches, every word sent tingles through me. I stood center stage with millions of people watching. Across from me was a young vampire with extreme talent that wanted nothing more than to take my life. We were gladiators. Something that no longer existed in the world of men upon the surface. It wasn’t swords or spears that we wielded, but magic with excessive destructive force. The ancient armies of men would fall beneath our attacks like dry leaves to an encroaching fire. There was much that set us apart from those ancient gladiators that were nothing but flesh and blood, but in many ways we were no different. Our lives burned like a constant flame, but if it were snuffed out we’d be dead just the same. Despite the power that flowed through me, I felt the fragility of life in that moment, yet I also breathed in the cheers of the crowd as if they were my very life blood.
The word we’d all been waiting for came out as almost a whisper, but with the penetrating force of a high powered rifle.
“Fight.”
The space between Manu and I seemed to compress as I shot forward, while dragging my monstrous tail behind me. Channeling took time, even if it was only measured in seconds. But seconds were far more than what I’d give Manu Shah.
I’d crossed the short distance between us in a blink. Without slowing down, my tail slingshotted forward and pummeled him. The wall behind him exploded as he disappeared from sight.
Underworld - Scorching Sun: A LitRPG Series Page 25