Raze (The Completionist Chronicles Book 4)

by Dakota Krout

  Joe looked at the pass and the empty room, deciding to take this chance to go to sleep instead of making any rash choices. After waking up and drinking an amazing coffee in bed, he decided that it might be for the best to go and see what was going on. The location for the zoo was marked on the pass, and it turned out to be in Ardania. In the city proper, which was somewhat confusing to Joe. The city was huge, yes, but a full zoo was in the walled area?

  He popped over to Ardania and went to get some new, fancier clothes. Buying a full set of a dark blue, Noble-style suit, he decided to pay a visit to his mother. It had been a while, and the flashing notification of a completed quest was rather enticing. She must have taken over Odds and Ends, then.

  “Joe!” She ran over to give him a hug when he got through the door. The place was filled with people, and everything was neatly organized and arranged. His ritual was still in effect, then. “So good to see you! We have so much to talk about!”

  They sat and talked while checking people out, eventually getting around to the quest that he was turning in. “Oh, good! I was wondering what it was that Old Minya left for you. Go to the back room, use this key on the chest. Oh, I can’t wait to see what you got from her!”

  Joe walked back, and sure enough, a chest was built into the wall. He placed the blue key into the blue hole and twisted.

  Item gained: Grimoire of Annihilation (Artifact). This is the personal journal of an ancient Waritualist. This book becomes soul bound on use, only accessible to one person until their true death. After binding, the bound creature now has access to many dark rituals that were forbidden… even in their time. Decide before binding if you want access to these rituals, as the knowledge of them will forever tempt you. Accept? Yes / No.

  Joe looked at the blank, black cover, shocked that the old lady had something like this in her possession. He knew that there were things out there like this, and he also knew that there were times that using them would cause people to fear and hunt you. He didn't want to go down dark paths like the ritualists of old… but his current rituals were almost entirely utility. Joe did need attack spells, and… it looked like these would fit the bill.

  He pressed ‘yes’, and the clasp around the dark book sheared off. The book opened, the first page turned, and Joe saw an index of the rituals contained within.

  Ritual of the Insomniac Stalker. This ritual requires two targets, the first creature will target the second. The first creature will no longer receive the benefits of sleeping beyond the absolute minimum to maintain health. Instead, that creature now has an intense animosity for the second target. They will know the direction and distance to the target at all times. When the first target encounters the second target, they must attack the target unless able to resist the compulsion. They must resist every minute the target is in sight, which will grow harder over time. This effect lasts until one of the two targets die. Requirements: blood-stained pillow…

  Ritual of Sacrificial Regeneration. Choose up to four willing creatures, including the target. Whenever the creatures take damage, the target will heal for one half of the health lost by the creatures. Effects last until target falls asleep. Requirements: the fresh-shed blood of a creature with…

  Ritual of the Hidden Shield. Choose up to five willing creatures and a type of damage (see requirements for examples). All but one of the creatures now have resistance to chosen damage, but the final one will have 2x vulnerability to chosen damage, where x = number of protected creatures. This effect lasts for seven days or until death. Requirements: for heat damage protection…

  Ritual of the Ghostly Army. You create a one-hundred-foot-high and a half-mile-long wall of dense fog which appears to have a screaming face in the center. The fog moves at the marching speed of an army and will dissipate after one full day. All sight is reduced to a five-foot range, and all sounds are wildly distorted. Requirements: a small lake…

  Ritual of the Lonely Tree. The caster can summon and plant a seed of the Lonely Tree. This tree will mature over a period of six weeks and will slowly kill all vegetation in a fifty-mile radius. Once mature, the tree will live for one month and will cast the area spell ‘Salt the Earth’ before turning to ash. If ‘Salt the Earth’ is cast, nothing will grow in the impacted area for seven years. Requirements: a willing sacrifice…

  Ritual of Argus. Choose up to five willing creatures, including yourself. Upon ritual completion, an eye spawns on the back of your head. Each creature included in the ritual has dark vision, cannot be ambushed, and can see invisible things. The main target of this ritual will also be able to mystically observe anyone attempting to see the target through mystic means. This lasts for 7 days or until dispelled by the caster. Requirements: 2x Eyeballs of your own race…

  Ritual of Dark Reach. Choose a target. Chosen target’s attack range will increase by five meters when making a physical attack. Requirements: the leftmost finger of the target…

  Joe looked over the rituals quickly. They seemed much more targeted at large-scale conflicts than at individual fighting prowess, but Joe supposed that made sense for a Waritualist’s book. Still, the requirements for the rituals seemed… hefty. He could see how people would look at the preparation for these and see an evil wizard, and that was only for the first needed component shown by the index. All the others were contained on the requirements page of the rituals. Plus… all of these were optimized.

  That meant that these were the most effective ways to cast the ritual, and anything else would produce failures. Joe could see why there was a warning when opening this, as he could see great applications for the rituals, but… did he want to cast them? Could he? That was another concern. Two of them were Master rituals, and the others were high-level Expert-ranked.

  The ritual of the Lonely Tree, a Master ritual, could be really useful for clearing out the forest of Chlorophyll Chaos, but did he want to make a fifty-mile radius barren desert for a minimum of seven years? This was obviously a siege technique, a potent one, but it seemed likely to backfire. Either way, Joe wasn't going to be using them now, so he packed up his book and went out to see his mother. They visited for a short while longer before Joe decided that it was time to get going if he were going to make it to the Zoo.

  Pushing through the crowd, Joe walked for an hour and a half—almost clear across the city—before getting to the outer edge of the Zoo. He read the gilded sign, not sure how to feel about being there, “Grand Zoo of Ardania. Entrance by invitation only.”

  Joe looked around, seeing that he was in a bad part of town. He had seen this earlier but didn't really think much of it. Now, the golden gate and such stood out in such stark contrast that he wasn’t sure he wanted people knowing that he was going in there. It felt like asking to be robbed when he left. Still… he was already here, dressed too nice for the area, and was running out of time.

  He pulled out his pass, and the gates swung open to allow him entrance.

  Chapter Forty

  “Welcome, good sir!”

  As soon as the gate closed behind Joe, a man in full clown attire stepped out to meet him. He honked his nose and did a cartwheel, arriving inches from Joe’s face. “Are we here to peruse the menagerie? See the lost splendor of the lost civilizations? Sample the delicacies of a thousand–”

  The clown stopped dead, staring at the rich black-and-gold of Joe’s pass. “I… am so sorry, sir. I had no idea. Please forgive my ignorance. It is not often that new people are allowed backstage. One moment.”

  A butler came out of the doorway a moment after the clown had entered. Whereas the clown had been energetic, fun, and slightly creepy… this man was geared to be fully regal and subservient. Joe only noticed it was the same person when he spoke. “Again, my deepest apologies. Please allow me to show you the backstage area.”

  Two people came out of another nearby area, pulling a small yet luxurious passenger cart that was stocked with cool drinks and fresh fruits. Joe was motioned toward it, and frankly, he had been walking fo
r a good long time, so he got on. The butler walked beside the cart as the two others pulled it along the roads of the Zoo. “If there is anything you would like to see as we proceed, please allow me the opportunity to make that happen for you.”

  “Ah… of course.” Joe took a grape and bit down, his eyes going wide as juice flooded his mouth. That was the best grape he had ever tasted, and there was an entire bunch of them!

  The butler saw his expression. “I see Sir has found the Floodwater Grapes! This is a Rare fruit exclusive to the city and a gift from the Floodwater family. I do hope they are to your liking.”

  “Very much so.” When he knew no one was looking, he ‘wiped his mouth’, actually storing the seeds in his storage ring. This would be a great addition to the greenhouse when it was operational. Joe was taken past various sparkling enclosures and was treated to the sight of interesting and beautiful creatures as they passed. Unlike other zoos that he had seen on earth, here the creature was always clearly and easily viewable, which must have been accomplished via some form of magic.

  “We are arriving at the backstage area. Please hold on tightly, as there may be some discomfort otherwise.” The butler seemed to tap the air, and a familiar sight greeted Joe. There was a sudden, shining pillar of white light, and the view changed.

  They had just teleported somewhere! The butler and two people pulling the cart were panting and had obviously somehow incurred all the cost of long-range transportation without impacting Joe at all! He needed to learn how to do that. “Sir, we have arrived.”

  Joe looked up and saw an impressively gargantuan coliseum. There was a train of small carts being pulled to it, and Joe surreptitiously checked his surroundings. Beautiful plant arrangements lined the entire path and obscured vision of everything besides the path and the towering building, though Joe could see stars and the last edges of the sun setting behind the building. It was still late afternoon where they had come from… where was he?

  “Would Sir allow me to go over the rules of the Bloodsport Arena?” The butler looked to Joe, who simply nodded. No one wanted to admit ignorance. “Excellent! The arena stands as a testament to when our great city was first founded, and the entire world was embroiled in war. Here, our greatest warriors can train and pay homage to their baser needs! In the classic man versus environment scenario. Our chosen fighters compete with the creatures of the wild.”

  “This allows them the chance to gain fame, following, and great rewards!” The butler’s eyes were shining, and he was obviously buying into his own pitch. “When a contestant defeats a monster, they are allowed to purchase the goods attained at a lower rate than the audience, or they can take the difference as gold when the onlookers purchase the goods.”

  “Now, you are fully allowed to discuss the amazing things you see in the Zoo, but the arena is… special. I am certain that you understand the negative connotations of being on the bad side of the Zoo.” The butler looked pointedly at the pass Joe was still holding, “There is nothing here that is strictly legal, but this is also the favored entertainment of the Nobility. I’d recommend not discussing it with others, and any attempts to bring the guard against us can only end in failure, as there is a special transport system in place.”

  Joe thought over what he was being told, firmly believing that he had made an error in judgment coming here. Something was going to go wrong, and he was going to be blamed for it and have people hunting him again. A cynical outlook, yes, but also looking more and more likely to him. They were approaching the extra-wide doors, and as they passed through them, Joe got a notification.

  Welcome to the Bloodsport Arena! All damage done here by sentient creatures against another sentient creature will halt when reaching ‘one’. This allows blood but as a sport! When fighting non-sentient creatures, there are 50:50 odds that the creature will drop their best loot upon death, but the sentient falling in combat to a creature means returning to the beginning of the previous level. Fight strong, fight deadly, fight smart!

  “I see…” Joe considered the words of the message. If he was reading this correctly, this building would be making a massive profit. Fifty percent odds of the best loot? The best loot Joe could think of was Cores. Was this a Core mill? Or did it mean loot boxes and natural stuff?

  Either way, there was a roaring coming from the building, and it wasn't an animal. There was combat in progress, and the crowd was loving it. A rumbling announcer’s voice reached Joe, “Looks like that’s all! The newcomer has defeated the rock troll! Somehow, a thousand cuts managed to overcome the resistance and regeneration sung about in legends! Let’s hear it for Sam–”

  “Excuse me, Sir!” The butler gestured to the side. “Your seat is this way, and if you hurry, you may be able to bid on the items from the most recent battle.”

  There was a chance that Joe could get some rare Troll’s Blood, a component for the Ritual of Sacrificial Regeneration that he had recently gained. Joe nodded and followed along. He was handed a paddle with a number on it and shown to a small, square box that seemed to be the primary seating method in the arena. There was no stadium seating, no bleachers or standing room: only small, private booths.

  “I will be here if you need anything, sir.” The butler seemed to be a package deal with the ticket. Neat. “Your ticket can be exchanged for up to five hundred gold worth of goods, but if you do not spend at least a thousand gold during your trip, you will lose your chance to attend again without another personal invitation.”

  No wonder this place could manage to afford individual attendees and make this place invitation only. A minimum tab of a thousand gold to come back? Joe was going to scoff at the idea until the Troll was harvested and the available goods were announced. “Looks like we had good luck here today, good people! Not only did we have the standard drops of crafting materials, our collection group has just informed us that there was a special drop! They are authenticating the item now…”

  A minute later, the announcer came back with excitement causing his voice to tremor, “We have had the item appraised, and our new fighter has declined to purchase the item himself! Are we all ready?”

  The crowd cheered, but the announcer hadn't been waiting. “As you all know, while everything is valued against the standard rarity scale, most professions have their own scale as well. What we have here is an alchemical drink, which ranges from a potion at the least to a concoction at the Mythical rarity. This item has been found to be an Ichor of Troll Aspect!”

  Silence reigned as the announcer clarified, “This means that we have an Artifact-rarity drink to offer tonight! This Ichor will increase both strength and constitution by twenty points permanently while giving a week-long boost that will double regeneration of both health and stamina. There is a minor side effect of loss of balance that will clear up thirty minutes after drinking, but minor means just that: minor. We will start the bidding at thirty platinum!”

  Joe paled at the cost. There was a one-hundred conversion between coins, which meant that the starting bid was three thousand gold. That would be about thirty thousand dollars when the game first got going. No wonder whoever was down there didn't jump at the chance to buy this, but they were going to make a good chunk of change anyway. He watched as the price climbed, stalling out at fifty platinum. That was half the amount that he had gained from killing the Archmage and freeing the mages from being slaves after hundreds of years.

  Sickening that people could just casually toss that much money around. He was closing in on a total of twelve hundred platinum in his bank—if he converted everything up—but there was no way he was giving up one twenty-fourth of his total wealth for a boost like this. When the bidding came around for Troll's blood, he was able to get five servings for a hundred gold each—or five platinum—and that still made him ill. The Butler, on the other hand, nodded approvingly.

  Just a short time later, the next battle started. It seemed that this was where all the creatures that weren't better used as menagerie members
ended up. In the short amount of time that the next three battles took, Joe saw enough money pass through here that he could have bought a hundred miles of land from the Kingdom. The announcer came back, and this time, Joe’s ears perked up.

  A hulking man walked on to the field. “Hunter of the most dangerous game, this paladin of a deity has spent his last few weeks taking down his opposition, and tonight, he wanted to show us all his skills once more!”

  “We have a treat tonight, everyone! We were recently gifted a rare and deadly creature that will debut against one of the fan favorites!” The crowd hooted as the man blazed with violent, purple light, leaving the ground around him looking like someone had attacked it with a chainsaw. “As his opponent, we have a Creeping Death Squirrel!”

  Once again, the crowd reacted, but this time, it was in horror. People stood to leave, but the magnified voice cut them off. “Don’t worry, we have trained professionals standing by that will be able to return the beast to its cage if something happens, and besides, the safest place is the arena!”

  Muttering filled the air, but the show went on nonetheless. A small door opened, and all eyes turned to watch the platform the squirrel was trapped on appear in the area. It was remaining in one spot or really close to it. Joe could tell from here that the confinement ritual hadn't been tampered with, and it seemed that they were setting this fight up to make the paladin look good.

  “I wonder if I should do anything here?” Joe wondered very softly. Near inaudibly, really.

  Query (Pray) success! You have been given a divine answer to your question. Message from Tatum:

  ‘Absolutely, you should.’

  Chapter Forty-one

  “Well, that’s clear enough for me.” Joe watched as the paladin charged at the platform in a blaze of purple light. Joe waited, and just before he brought down his gargantuan, two-handed claymore on the creature…