Sixth Realm

by Michael Chatfield

  "How do they motivate them to fight if they will not get rewards for killing the most powerful creatures?"

  "They don't, the army was only engaged in battle once. With close to a hundred people. they killed thousands of warriors from the Blood Demon Sect. They were supposedly using projectile weapons like the Sha clans."

  "Are they linked?"

  "Not that we were able to find in our research."

  Cai Bo watched as Lord West clapped the Adventurer's Guild leader on the shoulder. The guild leader smiled and laughed, introducing his friend from the Silver Dragons.

  After a quick talk Lord West and the Adventurer's Guild leader walked to the rear of the box. Lord West signalled Colonel Silaz over and the three walked out of the booth.

  ***

  Erik pulled off his mask as he stood in the elevator.

  "Good to see you both again."

  "Having fun with the meet and greet?" Blaze asked.

  "Rather be out there instead of being stuck here," Erik grumbled as the doors opened to the command center. Vuzgal guards checked them and let them past.

  "How are things on your end, Domonos?" Erik asked.

  "I got word of the deployment of the Willful Institute just before I came down to see you."

  "Seems that they are finally getting their shit together, too bad for us."

  "What are your orders?" Blaze asked as they walked into the actual command center.

  "Domonos, send out a leader to take command of the battlefield. Use CPD forces from the units in Alva. If we move too much here in Vuzgal it could be difficult. The Close Protection squads will be your command and control. While the members of the Adventurer's Guild will be your sword and shield. When the battle comes, Domonos I want you leading it. Things can change rapidly down there."

  "I'll send word to Commander Glosil requesting more support. Dominik!"

  With a yell, Dominik who was checking something with one of the aides jogged over.

  "Sirs!" He came to attention and saluted.

  "Dominik, you will head to the Third Realm and work with Jasper and the units. I am sending you to create command and control. Hide units within the Adventurer's Guild to support them in the coming fight in Meokar."

  "Yes sir, I'll get things ready for you and head out right away." He saluted again and jogged off.

  "How many people can we expect from the guild?" Erik asked.

  "The Guild has grown to eight hundred thousand strong. I wouldn't be surprised if we get two hundred thousand volunteers, possibly more."

  "Meokar is now reinforced with a hundred Fifth Realm elders, three thousand warriors from the Fourth Realm and twenty thousand of the Institute's guards with power comparable to the peak of the Third Realm," Domonos said.

  "What about the Grey Peak Sects and others?"

  "They haven't called anyone down from the Fourth Realm. They could win with swarming."

  "Though they're more likely to back out instead," Erik surmised.

  Domonos nodded.

  "Good thing we'll have those CPD squads. Target the elders and people from the higher realms. The Willful Institute operates with the strongest being their leaders. Taking them out, we can tear out their command and control."

  "Yes sir," Domonos said.

  "You were going to do that already, weren't you?" Erik grinned.

  "Yes sir," Domonos smiled.

  "Okay, show us what you're thinking, with Blaze here we can get a preliminary plan sorted out."

  ***

  Rugrat glanced at Erik as he sat down next to him. Around them people were cheering and yelling as people walked out to the hundreds of stages across the Battle Arena complex.

  Rugrat used a sound cancelling formation. "Blaze, Domonos?"

  "Organizing operations. Things moved faster than we thought in the Third Realm."

  "First preliminary matches are about to begin."

  Chonglu stood up and went to the front of the box.

  "Thank you all for gracing my Battle Arena with your presence once again! Today marks the beginning of the Second Annual Vuzgal Fighter's Competition!”

  All of Vuzgal was excited as they clapped, excited to watch the matches.

  “Let the games begin!”

  The yells and applause grew as the fighters that were on their different stages raised their weapons to the crowd before going to meet their opponents and the referees.

  *****

  As the fighters returned to their corners to start the fight, Rugrat saw one turn and throw a dagger.

  The referee who had calmly backed up, blurred, appearing in front of the fighter who had thrown the dagger. Holding the hilt of the blade, the referee passed it back to the pale-faced fighter.

  With a smile, the referee's foot snapped out and the fighter was sent flying out of the arena.

  "Looks like there are a few people who don't know how to follow the rules," Rugrat rested his chin on his fist.

  "Gives the refs something to do!"

  Rugrat snorted. Some fights didn't even last a move. Fighters that were waiting at the side were called up and onto empty stages. Hundreds of fights progressed in a similar manner across the stages.

  "The fighters this year are much stronger," Rugrat said.

  "Well, we did have to announce the prizes before the competition started. There were a lot of people that wanted to know beforehand," Chonglu said as he sat down beside Rugrat.

  "I wish I could enter the competition."

  "You already have the best gear," Erik said.

  "Yeah, but like private training suites, membership upgrades, custom weapons and armor, as well as concoctions to cleanse the body and reach Body like Stone? Give that to some motivated troops and see what they do."

  "Why do you think we have them as referees?" Erik checked the sound cancelling field around them.

  "They fight in dungeons after they complete their basic training. They get access to the Battle Arena training rooms, crafter workshops and more. They're training maniacs. There is a reason why they quickly progress their specializations. When they start they might not be geniuses, but hard work and competitive spirit is instilled in their bones. Glosil raised one hell of a military."

  Rugrat sat a bit taller with a small smile hidden under his mask.

  "We lucked out with people."

  "I've never heard of two people getting all reminiscent and thoughtful while watching a fighting competition," Chonglu said dryly.

  "Don't you remember the days that he was calling us lord and bowing all over the damn place?" Rugrat asked Erik and pointed to Chonglu with his thumb.

  "Yeah, he changed."

  "I got to know you two!"

  "Really changed." Rugrat agreed.

  "Tea?" Erik asked.

  "Tea? Chonglu's right this is a fighting competition! It ain't no NASCAR, but hell if I am having tea! Look I brought some beer back from the Sixth Realm," Rugrat pulled out a clay jug and cups, pouring it out.

  "Shit, good to get a day off, do you have spits?"

  "Hell, yeah!"

  Rugrat pulled out a sack of seasoned seeds.

  "Aw shit, you're prepared."

  "Hell yeah, man! Shit we should get a tailgate party going."

  "Don't have trucks."

  "Well, nah a carriage-gate party sounds dumb."

  Erik and Chonglu accepted the beer from Rugrat. Chonglu looking more perplexed than Erik who simply accepted what was happening.

  "Cheers!" Rugrat raised up his cup and they smacked them together, before Erik and Rugrat tapped them on their armrests before awkwardly moving their masks to the side to have a big swig.

  "Need a straw or something. These masks suck," Rugrat complained.

  "Shit that is strong, but good." Chonglu said.

  "Reminds me of moonshine. Yeah, it needs to be strong, stupid fricking body tempering. Hey Erik, you got some mercury leaking down the side."

  "Fucking body tempering." Erik used a clean spell.

  "You
two are strange, even by Ten Realms standards."

  Erik and Rugrat looked at one another and shrugged before getting handfuls of seeds.

  "Nice, spicy dill?"

  "Yeah, my own blend," Rugrat said as they drank and spat out the shells into a second cup.

  ***

  Elise appeared at the entrance to the box to the scene of the three people at the center of attention, drinking beer and chewing on seeds.

  Erik grabbed a few extra cups and passed them out to people, changing the serious atmosphere and making it easier for people to mingle.

  Elise walked down as Rugrat passed her a drink.

  "Good to see you," Rugrat said with feeling, putting his arm around her shoulders.

  Elise let out a sigh as he squeezed her in a sideways hug.

  "It’s been a hectic couple of weeks, but everything is in place."

  "I've been paying attention to the reports. The traders have been the backbone of our operations."

  "It was made clear that we can only trade and do as we want because we have your protection. This is a way for them to give back. I don't think you understand the support behind you. If someone doesn't contribute towards the fight, then other businesses and people will start to learn and shy away from working with them."

  "I didn't think that people would back this," Rugrat sounded troubled.

  "Strength is power in the Ten Realms. Our enemy is a sect that cares little about others. They attacked our leaders, attacked Domonos. They hunted down and killed a party from the Adventurer's Guild and tried to bully them into accepting it. If we let this go, then it will tarnish on our reputation. How can we say that we stand for everyone, if we don't fight?"

  "You sound passionate about it."

  "I have had a lot of time to think on it and I have been putting in the hours to shift the scales in our favor. I wouldn't have if I didn't believe in it."

  Rugrat patted her on the back and drank from his cup.

  "If another man saw your arm around his girlfriend he'd be scared," Blaze said from behind.

  "Everything sorted?" Rugrat asked Blaze and looked to Domonos.

  "We should be," Blaze said, his faint smile turning grim.

  Domonos nodded.

  "Alright, have a beer, today we relax a bit. Tomorrow we'll deal with what comes."

  ***

  Mistress Mercy kept glancing at the box, her eyes falling on Domonos.

  Why do I have a feeling that he looks familiar? Did I see someone that looked similar to him somewhere?

  "Has something caught your eye?" Her grand Uncle asked.

  "I-I think that I have seen him before," Mercy said.

  "Who, Lord Rodriguez or Blaze?"

  "No, Colonel Silaz."

  Low Elder Kostic lifted his brow.

  "We don't have any information on where he came from, or his family."

  "I'm sorry I might be mistaking things."

  "No, with your cultivation it would be rare that you think you know someone from the past and be wrong," Cai Bo said, having overheard their conversation. "There is a hole in our information on Vuzgal. There has to be a power behind it, something working in the shadows. If not, then how would they get so many crafters. How would they create a trading network so quickly. They had to have contacts and people they already knew. Look at Lord Rodriguez. He is having an important conversation with Elise, the head of the trader's Guild which manages things for the traders that come to Vuzgal. Also Blaze, the leader of the Adventurer's Guild. These two guilds, while they might be separate from Vuzgal in name, based on how they interact, Lord Rodriguez is their leader and they are part of Vuzgal's power."

  "You mean-"

  "Vuzgal is not as simple as we first thought. Where did half of their forces go. Where are these experts, traders and fighters coming from? Look into both guilds and see just how deep their roots are."

  Mercy looked from Cai Bo to her Great Uncle.

  Even if they have deeper roots, they are still weaker than our Willful Institute. She looked around the box that the Willful Institute had booked for them. It was a half step lower than the main box at the peak, where the leaders of different associations were talking with trading mangates and sect leaders.

  "Mercy, see if you can find out more information on Domonos, through your own memories or looking through the records we have on him."

  "Yes, High Elder Cai Bo," Mercy said, standing and bowing deeply to her.

  Cai Bo nodded slightly. Her eyes had never left the stages where fighters were going all out, trying to make it through the preliminaries.

  Chapter: Qualifiers

  "After three days of fighting we have our top two hundred competitors for each category! Now it’s time to start the real matches!" Chonglu's words brought everyone's excitement out.

  "Let’s begin today's matches!"

  A gong sounded out and fighters walked out to the stages.

  Chonglu took a seat next to Erik and Rugrat as people started to cheer for the different fighters that they had come to support in the last couple of days, or who they were associated with, by sect, by business or other means.

  "So, competitors have to be between twenty and forty years old, use weapons that are of the mid apprentice grade and then they have to be within five levels of their opponent?" Erik asked.

  "Yes, at reaching twenty they have been learning to fight for a good few years, their fighting methods have started to mature. By the time one is thirty then one could call them a veteran fighter, at forty most people that have survived that long are powerful fighters. There are exceptions, but most fighters belong in these ages. Also, they usually don't have that many resources because they have been training so heavily. Older than this and they probably have some savings or skills to earn resources and they have established their methods of fighting. Duels are a way to train for them, instead of a source of entertainment. Keeping them inside five level brackets means that they can't use their levels to overwhelm others with too much power. Cultivating one's mana or body will give them a greater advantage. Though these things are learned with effort and are much harder to get than levels."

  "Huh, you've really thought this through."

  "We have a lot more people of different levels and skills this year compared to last. I just stole the information from Klaus," Chonglu shrugged.

  "Work smarter not harder," Rugrat said and pulled out seed shell as he winced. "Ohh, that one had a lot of seasoning."

  "Look Stephan is going up," Erik said.

  Rugrat took a few gulps of water before he cleared his throat. "Tanya was surprised with how quickly he picked up pure magic. He still needs more education on the basics, but he has a solid foundation and has started to create his own spells."

  "How is your own spell casting going?"

  "With Tanya's help I can cast spells faster and four of them at the same time now."

  "Nice. Well, looks like Stephan is up against a bard."

  "A bard, aren't those like singers and music players that get into all kinds of shit. I heard about one that accidentally wooed an orc."

  Chonglu spat out his wine and sputtered as he looked at Rugrat.

  Dude! Come on, just what kinds of mental images are you trying to make in other people's heads?

  "Bards back home are a bit more romanticized than here. Yes, bards can use instruments and sing. Some of the best out there. Though they are verbal spell casters. Their instruments and voices allow them to create spells that are much stronger than regular mages.

  "He doesn't look like a scholar so much anymore," Rugrat said.

  "After his last fights and a few training lessons Stephan realized that only training and not actually having real fights was holding him back. He ran around the realms completing all kinds of missions to get real world experience," Blaze said. "He tightened up his casting, picked out effective spells over flashy ones. Sure robes make you look cool when you are casting a spell, coming up and moving around with the mana movements
. Armor is king so he got armor and plenty of slots on it so he could have mana regeneration potions on hand."

  "He has a short sword as well," Erik noticed.

  "Well, if someone takes you for a swordsman and you're really a mage it can be advantageous to you. In his own words, 'there is no written agreement that people are going to fight me from a set distance'. He's not a great swordsman by any stretch but he's being trained and he has a bunch of buffing spells he can pile up to overwhelm his opponents with power."

  Stephan and the bard walked up to the referee, who explained the rules to them and then sent them back to their own corners.

  Stephan pulled out his sword and gathered the surrounding mana. The bard did the same.

  "Look at that bow, it has an extra set of strings in front," Rugrat said.

  "Smart. Those strings, if I'm not wrong are a kind of instrument as well. That way he can use his bow as a weapon and an instrument." Erik nodded in approval.

  The referee dropped his hand and the match started.

  Stephan's body glowed as he applied a buff. The air around Stephan’s blade shimmered as he cut out twice, and wind blades shot out at the bard as he started to sing. The bard’s fingers plucked the strings at the front of his bow; he shifted to the side, loosing an arrow covered in lines of magical power.

  The wind blades cut past the bard after his sidestep, but several others were still coming for him. A mana barrier appeared in front of Stephan, though it broke under the force of the arrow. Another barrier behind it shattered as well, but the third mana barrier that appeared stopped the arrow. Wind blades attacked the bard while arrows slammed into mana barriers.

  "Why doesn't he use his blade to deal with the arrows?" Erik asked.

  "He's fucking the bard's spell casting up."

  "You know, you're this close to sounding like a sage, and this close to a redneck."

  "Thank you," Rugrat winked behind his mask. "The bard, he makes songs or music to create spells right?"

  "Yeah."

  "So, what is the medium for sound?"

  "Air!" Erik had an epiphany.

  "Right, so if the air is all distorted then it is going to mess up the spell casting. If he was to use his air blades against the arrows, then the bard could use stronger spells. Look at Stephan, he doesn't look stressed but excited. He's holding back to enjoy the fight." Rugrat's eyes were glowing as he pierced through the realm's mana with his eyes.