by David Burke
“Fine, I will try, but no promises. You should go back to your cell before you cause a problem that I can’t smooth over.”
Chapter 31 - To the Victor
A short time later, Kyle was lying in his bed processing what had gone on. He had come a long way in a few days. More than that, during the fighting tonight he had absorbed some essence from the slain monsters. Not a lot but, then again, every little bit counted. A single point in Death and Deceit, and his War Essence rose up from twelve to thirteen.
He was tempted to ask Hilde about how to use Death or Deceit Essence, but he remembered something she had said about needing to condense his Earth Essence before he could go past the first tier. That seemed like a higher priority, since the power growth curve was exponential.
Kyle peered inside himself at the wheel. The War Essence inside of him seemed agitated. That made sense to him. He was feeling tingly, on edge, almost like a coiled spring. The fighting had built up a passion inside of him, and he could feel the need to do more of it. The raw essence levels were the ones that had increased the most. Despite summoning Hilde, he must have absorbed enough from the monsters that his total was now over twenty thousand.
For now though, he focused his mind on the brown spoke of his inner wheel. He turned it around with his mind’s eye to get the best view of it. It seemed full, but it was as though the color inside of it was a vapor, lacking any true density. He tried to focus his mind on it, willing it to compress more densely. For a moment, the vapor seemed to congeal but then it broke apart again.
Hilde said, “That isn’t how you do it. You can’t force it. Well, other than War Essence. All the others require you to work with them. Think about what Earth Essence means to you. Then try to focus on shaping it in a manner like that.”
“Why can’t you just tell me what Earth Essence is like so I can skip ahead to condensing it?” Kyle asked.
“For three reasons. First, it would shortchange you on learning about this. That is the entire reason that we are here letting you train as a gladiator rather than simply trying to get in touch with Krig’s memories. There is more value in learning to do something for yourself.
“Second, there are multiple aspects to every type of essence. Earth Essence can be used to manipulate the ground, increase the durability of an object, grow food, create certain types of minions, and is even part of the blend of Earth and Sea essence that is most commonly used in healing.
“Finally, and most significantly, I am a being of fire and air, Earth Essence is not one that I have mastery of, so I would make a poor teacher. I can guide you in a general sense, but you are going to need to learn to do this yourself. And again, remember you are doing something that none of the other gods have done,” Hilde explained.
Kyle thought through the different types of uses for Earth Essence. Healing powers would be great, but it didn’t resonate with him. He had played a wizard and a druid in two different games but hadn’t stuck with either for very long. There was something that just didn’t feel right about them. He loved having casters in his parties and admired the things that they could do.
The same thing happened when he tried to play a hunter in an older game. Standing back from a distance just wasn’t his style; he preferred to be in the middle of the action. That was how he had been playing video games. It was also how he had been while playing baseball. He never wanted to rely on anyone else.
So, what part of Earth Essence fit with him the best? He certainly wasn’t a farmer. He had already ruled out a mage style. No, it was pretty simple. The ruggedness of earth was what he wanted. The implacable durability to survive in any situation.
Even as he settled on the realization, Kyle’s mind sunk down into the spoke of his wheel. He drew raw essence into it from the ring. A weight settled onto his mind as he tried to push more raw essence in. He needed to convert it faster. Yet try as he might, he couldn’t seem to push it in any faster. It was like trying to dig in loose sand. As much as he pushed and pulled, he couldn’t change the shape of it.
It was both hard to grasp and hard to maintain. His awareness rose and he understood that the Earth Essence needed to be condensed from simple mortal tier to monster tier. He had to find a way to compress it, but again the grains of sand of the essence tended to shift through his fingers.
He warred with it, striving to make it do what he wanted. With War Essence, it always felt so natural, but this was a struggle. It wasn’t that he didn’t know the end result, but rather that he was having trouble finding a way to get there. Then he realized that he was at a fork of sorts.
The part of him that was Kyle understood that sometimes relaxed was actually more prepared than on edge. He was willing to let the Earth Essence do as was its nature. He was content to let it shape and influence him.
In contrast, the part of him that was Krig demanded that the essence obey him. He expected dominion over everything around him. Even the natural world was meant to only be an extension of his will. Why should this be any different?
Kyle struggled between the two paths. The mortal coil stood in conflict with divine will. This instant felt momentous and yet he couldn’t have said exactly why. He simply knew that it was a turning point for him, if not why.
Then the lie became clear to Kyle. He had thought he was meant to be the war god of Verden. He was a reincarnation supposedly of that figure who amounted to one eighth of the reality around him. Krig had always been content with that. But Kyle wasn’t Krig. He was the best at what he did.
A new idea formed in his mind. The gods of Verden, brothers and sisters of Krig that they might be, were not worthy of such titles. The flashes of memories he had from Krig and the tales from Hilde made it clear that they were all corrupt and unworthy. They lorded it over mortals but never really cared about those that they were responsible for.
Kyle had played baseball to be the best. The money was nice, he wouldn’t lie about that, but he didn’t play for money. It was great having fans, but he hadn’t played for the fans. Oh, sure, he spent more time doing public signings and other glad-handing events than anyone on his team. His agent continually got mad at him for giving away his time. So, yeah, he liked his fans, but he still didn’t play for them.
He had played for himself. He played because of his innate desire to be the best. Now the field was different. It was so much more serious than a game, but that didn’t change his desire. He still wanted to be the best. He wasn’t perfect, but he could hardly do worse than Krig and the other gods had.
So, he would keep fighting to be the best. Not the best war god, no. He was going to be the best god of Verden. The difference, though, was that he didn’t ever want to do these things alone again. He was going to build a team around him that he could care about and that would care for him in turn. That team was going to shake the heavens and when the dust cleared, there would be one god over all of Verden. He would build a better world, but to get there, he first had to be the best.
This commitment made within himself showed him the path. He learned how to both yield and let the Earth Essence become a part of him and at the same time force it to serve his will. He formed a sphere of that will and forced it to compress the misty essence within even as he funneled in more raw essence.
Kyle pressed and pushed and felt as though he was turning coal into diamonds in his hand but still, he kept at it. He had no idea how long he was at it, but when he finished, the Earth Essence spoke was larger, the essence within it moving like a liquid now rather than a gas, and he saw how much potential there was for growth.
Finally, he heard a voice yelling in his head. It took him a second to realize it was Hilde calling out to him.
“Kyle, are you there? What are you doing? You’re worrying me.” The celestial’s voice sounded almost frantic.
“Oh, I just figured some things out, but what is so urgent?”
“You managed to condense the Earth Essence. Oh wow, you increased your pote
ntial too. That is impossible,” Hilde said and then added, “Sorry. I was trying to alert you because the guards dropped the ladder down. They said that Soren was handing out prizes to the winners, but you didn’t respond to them. I was worried that something happened when you were trying to work with the Earth Essence.”
“No, everything is good. I just have a lot to think about for the future. Thanks for getting my attention though. No point in winning if we can’t get the prize,” Kyle said as he quickly ascended the ladder.
Once at the top, one of the guards said, “You better hurry. Lord Soren isn’t going to wait much longer.”
Kyle didn’t even answer the man but instead strode with purpose toward the normal meeting room where they had done their testing. When he arrived, he heard Soren explaining that all seven of the slaves had been bought and so to celebrate the profits, he would provide a reward.
Just the way the man spoke made Kyle feel sick to his stomach. As though he had done anything. He had played no part in training these fighters. He hadn’t stepped into the arena, risking life and limb. And he most certainly had not fought the Aekor and its minions.
That said, Kyle’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to a group of people against the wall. There was a robed figure that he had never seen before. She was dressed in pink and silver with a hood up to hide her face, but the cut of the robes put her feminine charms on display for all to see. It lacked a certain subtlety. There was too much cleavage showing and the slit up the side of her leg showed all the way up to wear panties should have been visible, if she had been wearing any.
With the hood over her head, hiding her face, it only drew more attention to her other assets. Without seeing her face, it made her appear more as an object of lust rather than a person. Hanging down on a heavy metal chain was a necklace in the shape of a crescent moon with a snake curled around it.
The talisman was not anything that Kyle had seen before, but he still instinctively knew what it represented: Begaer. All sorts of emotions about the goddess of lust went through him. Krig had more contempt for her than any other of his siblings. That came through strongly in the rush of emotion that Kyle felt.
Next to the robed woman was a group of slaves, male and female. All were scantily clad and clearly not in their right minds. Their eyes were glazed over, and their faces were adorned in smiles that never made it to their eyes. If this was the idea of a reward for winning, then Kyle wanted nothing to do with it. Even if he hadn’t decided to focus on trying to build relationships, he had never wanted anything to do with hookers.
He turned to leave but then noticed a figure hiding behind the other slaves. Nyda was there. She was still in her normal slave attire, which was revealing if not as pointedly lascivious as the others, which he took to be some type of temple prostitutes. What struck him though wasn’t the delicate beauty she possessed in contrast with the wanton desirability of the others, rather it was the fear plastered across her face.
When Soren finished talking about how much he had done for them and how kind he was, he nodded to the priestess who stepped up. She pulled her hood down and her face showed a woman in her late thirties or early forties. She was still a beautiful blonde, if perhaps more mature than Kyle’s preference. Undoubtedly, she had been a real looker in her day.
“Grace and delight be to all you, my children. In the eyes of Begaer, slave or free matters naught, all have desires, and she is the answer to every urge. Your hard work, training, and victories have won you the right to a prize. Some of your new owners wanted to take you tonight, but it is a long tradition of the arena that the spoils must go to the victor,” she said as she looked over the assembled gladiators. Her gaze spoke of desire and debauchery.
Then she continued, “We have for your pleasure an assortment of slaves and you may choose which one you wish to enjoy. They will be yours to do with as you please until the sun rises. Sadly, because of the attacks that won’t be as long as we might have otherwise liked, so you will have to make up for the limited time with a greater gusto.
“We have a particular way that we do this as we wish to stoke your desires. First, let me say this, the trained pets here are accomplished in all the arts needed to please you. They will not disappoint, but in respect for the might of your arms, we have other options for you.
“Some men enjoy being first more than anything else, and so Nyda the elf is here to offer her maidenhead. You won’t get much skill from her, of course, but some don’t seem to mind that. And on the other end of the spectrum, if one of the winners wishes to know bliss beyond anything they have seen before, you may ask and I just might consent to teach you the ways of my lady, Begaer. I warn you, though, after that, every other lover will seem feeble and half-hearted.
“Now, we allow the losers to pick first but, know this. Whatever you pick can be taken away from you. Desire is best stoked when contested.”
As she finished speaking, she gestured to one of the human fighters who had lost in the first round. He quickly chose one of the pleasure slaves, a tall brunette with cocoa-colored skin and breasts that seemed both impossibly large and immune to the effects of gravity. The second followed suit and chose another of the pleasure slaves.
When it was Burke’s turn, he said, “Lady Priestess, teach me your arts. I chose you.”
She snorted and replied, “But I already made clear that I would only favor a winner. If you want this treat, then you must learn to leave the ring on your feet rather than your back.”
Burke’s face got red. A rage seethed within him and Kyle half expected him to try to attack the woman. Instead, he looked over at Nyda and said, “Fine, I will take the elf. Best she learns from a real man.”
Nyda’s fear only became more evident and instead of sauntering over to stand by Burke as the other pleasure slaves had once chosen, she tried to hide behind the others as though she could make herself small enough to avoid the cruel fate that lay before her.
Skrug was next but left while saying, “Skrug no want skinny twigs. Bring Skrug roasted pig. Then he be happy.”
Kierra bowed to the priestess and said, “This is not the way of my people. Mates must prove themselves.” Then she turned and walked away. Kyle couldn’t help but feel like she had looked at him as she walked away.
Gilthan looked at Burke and Nyda then back at the priestess. His face displayed conflicted emotions. “Priestess, if you are the master of these arts, then I would learn them.”
The priestess looked at Kyle for a minute but when he didn’t make eye contact, she looked away and then walked up next to Gilthan. She ran her hands over his chest and slowly licked the side of his face in a disturbingly sensual manner. “I accept, sorcerer. Perhaps we can teach each other something of pleasure. You have a pretty face.”
Then she looked at Kyle. “You are the last to choose. As the one to make it furthest into the matches you have the final pick. You may choose any that hasn’t been picked or take from one who has already chosen. Know, though, that if you take from another, then they will not get any. Their desires will prove to have been inferior and your desire will be all that much sweeter for the way it has crushed that of another.”
“It is simple. I choose Nyda,” Kyle replied.
“Ah, and so it shall be,” the priestess said.
But Burke wasn’t having any of this. “No, that isn’t fair. I had to fight that monster, Lash. I would have defeated you or any of these others. I am Burke, son of Drun, chieftain of the Kiegor Clan. We shall rise and so shall I.”
“I’m not really interested in who your dad is, or what you think you could do. Actions speak louder than words, and you aren’t going to lay a hand on Nyda,” Kyle said. He stepped forward and gently put his arm around the elf to pull her away from Burke.
“You already had her in your cell for weeks and didn’t do anything about it. Now it is her turn to be with a real man, not some freak of nature.” Burke spat at Kyle as he spoke.
; “Walk away now while you still can,” Kyle said. He moved so that he was between Burke and Nyda. Just as he had been trained, he watched for tension in the muscles that would show the man was about to move. Kyle wasn’t going to strike first, but he surely was gonna strike last.
Then as Burke began to move, the priestess shouted out a word, and suddenly the disgraced gladiator fell to the ground. His body writhing in pain so great that he couldn’t even manage to scream.
Kyle looked at the priestess who simply said, “Such is the bitterness of foiled desire. Enjoy your prize. I shall look forward to seeing more of you in the games.”
Not needing to stay and see what happened to Burke, Kyle started walking towards his cell with Nyda silently following. He descended the ladder before her and when she reached the bottom he said, “I want you to know that you don’t have to do anything. I would never force this upon you.”
She was clearly still scared but replied, “I have offered myself to you already. I owe my life to you. To my people, that means that my life is yours to do with as you wish. We don’t have slaves like the humans do, but we take life debts very seriously. Every moment that I live from this moment on, I owe you.”
“I was only fighting the birds, you don’t have to think about it like that,” Kyle replied.
“No. If you had fought a battle to save many and I was only saved as one of those, I wouldn’t owe you a life debt. But you went into danger on my behalf. You didn’t have to do that. You could easily have escaped without any harm to yourself. So now, my life is yours. I am a slave as are you, so it may be difficult, but in any way that I can, I will be yours. I even understand that you arranged for me to go to House Avarda with you, so you must have some desire for me,” Nyda said. Then she bit her lip nervously.
“I’m full of desire for you, but I also…” Kyle shook his head before continuing, “I guess I also want this to be perfect. I don’t want you because you feel indebted to me. I want you because you have come to like me and are attracted to me. I want more than a fling.”
