by David Burke
“Hmm… so if I can make my bonds stronger then I can benefit from this more.”
“I guess. I don’t really understand all of this. But then I’m not a god and I don’t even have a divine splinter. I’m just a faithful servant and not a mage Sea Mage if I do say so myself. But remember, Hav is insisting that you make a pact with her. I’ve seen what you can do for your bonds, just think what she could do for you.”
“Umm, Hav does understand that my method of dual cultivation requires… a… a bit more of an intimate connection?” Kyle asked, suddenly unsure just what Froggy had been reporting to Hav.
“You mean because you cultivate while fucking them?”
Kyle nodded.
“Yeah, I told her that. It was pretty obvious based on the sounds coming out of your room. But why would that be a problem?”
Kyle’s face must have been one of consternation because Froggy added, “Is it because the gods and goddesses are always calling each other brother and sister?”
Kyle nodded and said, “I would think that is a pretty good reason.”
All she said was, “You are too cute.” Then, she walked out of his room.
Kyle thought about detaining her to try to learn more, but Nyda stepped up and kept her out of his hair for a while and that was all he could really ask for.
The most exciting development was when Kierra started learning how to use Space Essence. She finally figured out how to make small jumps through space, to where she would suddenly appear behind her opponent. They celebrated that night because it was a big step forward.
Kyle was still frustrated that he couldn’t manage to tap into new essences himself, but his efforts had born fruit. He had been slowly gaining power as he cultivated through Marie and Kierra. He only wished Hilde was here to provide him another outlet, and a way to gather Fire Essence.
Meeka’s comments about wanting to be made into a goddess had definitely gotten his mind going. He wondered if that was possible. How much stronger would they be, if he was able to help some of his team ascend to another level? If he could get them all firmly into the Demi Tier, it would be a great help—at least against the undead.
He realized that only Divine Tier beings were really going to be able to deal with an invasion of Aekor and void wraiths. Even sealing Verden off from the void had cost the lives of five gods.
As stoked as he was with his progress, it just wasn’t enough. He was no longer feeling the wonder of how powerful he had become. Now, he was only feeling like he should be doing more. Still, each time he looked at his character sheet, there were improvements.
He just had to figure out how to push harder. At least Kyle had managed to reinforce his construct. That increased his Strength, Agility and Constitution stats. His cultivation, especially dual cultivating with Marie and Kierra, had increased the amount of essence he had in several of the available types—though not in any of the formerly lost types.
What he needed was another breakthrough, but it eluded him for now. He worried that if he didn’t get stronger faster, not only would he be unable to save his people, but he would end up either Hav’s subordinate or killed by her. With a groan, he pulled up his character sheet to study his latest growth.
Name: Krig-Kyle Hudson
Race: War Godling/Demi-god of Death and Justice
Stats: (Current/Max)
Strength: 33/42
Agility: 23/42
Constitution: 36/45
Will: 39/45
Mind: 22/39
Charisma: 21/29
Essence: Current/Max
Justice: 25/25 Conversion rate: 1/3 seconds
Death: 25/25 Conversion rate: 1/3 seconds
Sky: 15/25 Conversion Rate: 1/5 seconds
Sea:10/12 (+5) Conversion rate: 1/5 seconds
Deceit:1/13 Conversion rate: 1/8 seconds
Earth:19/33 Conversion rate: 1/2 seconds
War:34/50 Conversion rate: 30/second
Fire: 1/? Conversion rate 1/15
Space: 1/? Conversion rate: 1/15 seconds
Mercy: 1/? Conversion rate 1/15 seconds
Raw Essence: 79,245,377 (construct)
1,402,532,062 (mantle inside you)
Skills:
Flowing Earth Armor 2: 4 Earth
Earth’s Sucking Snare 2: 1 Earth/target
Divine Ability:
Rage Burst 7: 30 War
Reality Shift 4: Variable Raw Essence
Expanded Awareness 5: Passive based upon circulation
Soul Shepherd 2: 700 raw essence
Chapter 25 - Confrontations
Three days went by too quickly, but before he knew it, it was time to meet with the Governor. Kyle wasn’t the least bit nervous about this particular meeting. Why should he be? He was going to have to stare down gods, beings who had slain gods, and even swarms of the undead. Why would a fat, petty nobleman be anything to worry about?
Before leaving for the meeting, Kyle got his usual briefing from the entire team. Saber was going to have the recruits on high alert. They were nowhere near a cohesive unit, but it was the best they had right now.
Most of the members of Kyle’s inner circle wanted to come to the meeting. The only surprise was that Marie didn’t want to go.
“I can’t leave right now,” she admitted. “There is too much going on. My squad needs daily supervision and my investigation just got some new information today.”
Kyle looked at her. She was so beautiful, that he was glad each day that they had worked past their differences. It didn’t hurt that dual cultivating with her was one of the highlights of his day. But there was more to it than that. He respected her and valued her loyalty. “
You haven’t mentioned anything about an investigation,” he said.
“The war god has to keep his mind on the big picture.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to be a distraction. It just seems that for the past few nights, there have been some unexplained disappearances in the refugee camp. I would have reported it to you sooner, but I didn’t know if these were isolated incidents, or part of a larger issue.”
“I trust your judgment, but since you brought it up, can you tell me a little bit about it?” he pressed. “Are you sure it isn’t just people wandering off?”
“As sure as I can be. Almost all the victims are older teens or young adults. And while that might normally be an age where people are thought to be less reliable, each of the people who disappeared did so without out packing any of their possessions and each of them left family behind.”
“Hmm… was there any evidence of a struggle?”
“No, not that I can tell, at least. But the big news I got today, is that the city guard is all abuzz with rumors about six similar such disappearances inside the city. They apparently all match the other disappearances I’ve been investigating in the refugee camp.”
She straightened and gave him a pleading look. “Unless you forbid it, M’lord, I was going to go and speak to the city guard and get more details from them,” Marie said.
Kyle thought for a moment. “I think that is a good idea. But I want you to take Kierra with you. Both of you have different strengths and she might be able to add some new insights.”
The two women smiled at each other. There was still a bit of a competitive rivalry between them, but during play time each night, they’d been quite friendly with each other. He didn’t think anything would get out of hand.
With that settled, Kyle said, “I will be taking Meeka and Gilthan with me to the Governor’s mansion. I don’t want to bring an entire entourage and intimidate the guards.”
There was some light laughter in the room. Although most of the others wanted to come with him, they all bowed to his will. So, after delegating more tasks to everyone, the three of them had headed for the Governor’s mansion.
This time, though, they didn’t walk. One of the reasons he’d picked Gilthan, was that the man was their best fl
yer now that Hilde was gone. Although Kyle wasn’t clear on the capabilities Meeka possessed, he figured she wasn’t about to complain if he carried her there in his arms. He was just glad that he had been able to significantly increase his mastery of sky essence. He didn’t want to be the slowest or clumsiest flyer on the team.
As they streaked in and touched down right outside the governor’s mansion, Kyle noted that the guard had been doubled. Either they were worried about him, or there was more to these rumors of disappearances than Marie had been able to learn. Kyle thought it was more about him though, because as soon as they landed, the guards all had their weapons drawn.
One mage stepped forward and said, “You will need to leave your weapons out here this time. Your work is appreciated, but the Governor can’t go making exceptions for every mercenary.”
Kyle stared at the mage intently. “This is going to go one of two ways. One of those two ways is that you and your fellow guards and mages can learn to serve the people of Nargossa.” He smirked at them. “The other way, you will still serve—though as fertilizer in the fields.” He shrugged. “Either way, you need to step aside.”
The mage’s eyes bulged.
Kyle scanned him. The man had some talent with Earth Essence and Justice Essence, but neither was above the mortal tier. He extended his scan to inspect the others. There were three mages with the guards, and the one speaking was the strongest of them.
Kyle also didn’t sense any essence reservoirs on them. At least that wasn’t going to be an issue. That reminded him, though, that he needed to create some of those for the mortal mages that came over to his side.
“I don’t care who you think you…” the mage began, but Meeka cut him off.
“Hold your tongue, fool, or I’ll rip it out!” She turned to Kyle and looked at him with big puppy dog eyes and asked, “Please, may I?”
Gilthan didn’t ask or wait. He sent out a bolt of lightning. It struck the first mage and then jumped from man to man until it had hit all the guards and mages. It appeared that only the first mage had died from the bolt, but the others lay sprawled on the ground, their muscles spasming as little blue sparks danced along their bodies.
Kyle grinned. “Wow, chain lightning. When did you learn that one?”
“Just something I’ve been working on. Seemed like a good time to test it. Most of them should be incapacitated for a while.” Gilthan growled, “I just wish it worked that well on undead.”
“You and me both,” Kyle said as they began walking through the front door. When Meeka didn’t follow, he looked back at her, “Well?”
She was frowning. “But I wanted to...”
“Fine,” Kyle sighed, “you can have the next group of loud mouths, but do try to follow Gilthan’s example and keep fatalities to a minimum.”
She grinned at the first part and then pouted at the end. “Ah, you’re no fun, M’lord.”
As she was showing more of her true personality, Kyle began to wonder if he wasn’t getting a bit more Harley Quinn than he’d bargained for.
Once inside, a few other guards tried to stop them, but Kyle or one of the others flashed over and took them out. It was simplicity itself, now. For Kyle, fighting normal humans was easier than it would be for a grown man to deal with a toddler. With that image in mind, Kyle found it easier to keep from hurting them too badly.
The succubus, still in her Meeka illusion, would rush across the floor far faster than any of the guards could react. She grabbed them and then leaned in to give them a kiss on the check. Their eyes would roll back in their head and without fail, each of them passed out. The expression on their face was one of dumbstruck bliss.
After a couple times watching Meeka do her thing, Gilthan turned to Kyle with a low whistle. “What the…” he began.
Kyle held a hand up to stop the sorcerer to stop him and shrugged. He ended up telling Gilthan to let her handle the rest of them.
“Out of curiosity, what are you doing to them?” Gilthan asked.
“Oh, just a bit of deceit essence,” Meeka replied. “They are simply living out their own fantasies in a pleasant dream. It will fade within an hour for most of them. Men are so easy to mesmerize.”
“You haven’t ever done that to any of us, have you?” The elven sorcerer asked. He peered at her closely with a stare that bordered on distrust. “I never knew you were a mage.”
Kyle jumped in, “Lady Meeka is more than you assumed she was, but so far she has been upfront about it with me. I don’t see what she is doing as any worse than you electrocuting them, to be honest. I’m sure they are far happier with her touch.”
“Very well, M’lord.” Gilthan looked between the two of them. “If you trust her, then I will trust her too.”
Kyle chuckled. “Oh, I didn’t say I trust her, but I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt until she does something to lose the respect she’s earned. And I’d appreciate it if you keep what you see about Meeka today to yourself—she deserves the opportunity to show everyone her true self on her own terms.” He paused, thinking about it, “or at least on my terms.”
“As you wish, war god,” Gilthan said.
“Thanks.” Kyle smiled at his friend. “One of the reasons I asked you to come today was because I knew I could trust your discretion. But that doesn’t mean you have to blindly trust her. She isn’t part of our inner circle yet.”
Meeka stood there watching the entire time as they talked about her. Kyle had his back to her, but his other senses were keenly aware of her. She didn’t display any reaction that he could detect; he hoped that meant she was taking his extension of grace seriously.
After another couple of minutes, they ran out of guards trying to interfere with them. Then, it was just a matter of opening the doors to the great hall where the Governor had been planning on greeting them.
Before Gilthan opened the door, Kyle said, “Wait, let me go in alone. They have about twenty guards inside, and almost as many mages. A couple of them are even strong enough to reach Monster Tier. So, I think it would be better if I deal with them.”
The elven sorcerer only nodded, but Kyle felt him gathering his essence for a strike. Before Kyle could open the door though, Meeka laid her hand upon his arm.
“Let me cast a glamour on you,” she said. “It will make everyone who sees you be in awe of you. I know you restrict your aura, but this would accomplish the same thing as letting it out more.”
“Thank you, Meeka. Show me how you do it, then. I’d like to be able to accomplish the same thing on my own.”
“Yes, M’lord.”
As Meeka wove a net of deceit essence around him, Kyle watched intently to learn how it was done. Deceit was the essence he had the least control of—at least from the core eight. It was also the one he felt was most at odds with his personality. Both when he’d been a ball player, and even more now, he preferred to let his actions speak for him without any guile or deception.
Gilthan had to deal with a couple of stray guards while Meeka showed it to him a second and a third time.
Finally, he gave up. “Thank you for being patient with me.”
She looked back at him with an odd expression on her face before saying, “A fish for a fish or serpent for a serpent.”
Kyle didn’t understand at first what she meant, but as he allowed it to sink in, he realized that she was repaying his kindness from earlier. Every time he thought he had Meeka figured out, he realized there was more to learn.
For now, though, he focused on his War Essence. He couldn’t unleash his full aura, for fear that the other gods would learn of his location—even with Hav’s pendant. But what he could do, was radiate a level of deadly intent that should make the average mortal piss themselves. That didn’t require deceit at all, since it was how he felt.
Once he was ready, Kyle pounded on the door. The power behind his blows shattered the wooden beam that was keeping the two doors shut, and even knocked one
door off its hinges. He could definitely get used to this Demi Tier strength.
Kyle simply walked in. Guards raised weapons, but never for more than a second. Kyle allowed his aura to wash over them and they soon were all cowering on the floor.
Even the mages were affected, while the Governor was practically sobbing. Only two people remained standing. The city’s Archmage cringed a bit, but was able to force himself to resist the effect. Kyle’s senses revealed the man was gathering Justice and Sky essence for some type of attack.
But the one who caught his attention the most was the priestess. This time, unlike before when there had been two priestesses, now there was only one present. It was the priestess of Begaer and, unless he missed his guess, she had a medallion under her toga which was a fairly potent reservoir. Kyle pushed his aura out just a bit more and let his lethal intent wash over the two again.
