by Seth Ring
Ever since the events in the dungeon, Thorn had been doing his best to keep a tight lid on his feelings, but now the dam had broken. The frustration and anger Thorn had bottled up inside poured out in a storm of strikes, imbuing his rock-hard fists with even more power than normal.
Watching from near the wall, her eyes wide, Athena turned to look at Bluefire
“Don’t look at me. I didn’t teach him that.” The Society of Roses fighter shook her head and held up her hands. “I thought you said that he had a peaceful childhood? That doesn’t look very peaceful to me.”
“I…” Unsure what to say, Athena fell silent, watching as Thorn pummeled the greater devil into a pulp.
Soon the angry bellows of the greater devil were silenced and the body below Thorn evaporated into shining particles of light. Utterly drained, he knelt on the battlefield, too tired to even move. As he gulped in air, he could hear Mina’s screams of excitement approaching. A warm golden light fell on him, removing the weariness from his limbs, healing his wounds.
*ding*
The Cursed Life and Death Contract - Winner
You are the target of an ancient cursed contract created in the Lost Era, before even the gods walked the land. Due to the curse attached to it, this contract may not be refused and the terms of the wager are absolute. However, should the one who initiated the contract lose, they will pay double the price.
You have won the trial of combat
Wager: Life and Death - Winner Takes All
Reward: You have gained the following items, abilities, and resources.
Items: [Nobility Upgrade Token], [Asha’s Vambrace], [Asha’s Boots], [Asha’s Grieves]
Abilities: [The Devil is in the Details], [Shadow Dash], [Language Proficiency: Abyssal], [Intercepting Strike]
Resources: [Legacy Deed: Imperial Mansion], [Legacy Deed: Imperial Mine] x2, [Legacy Deed: Imperial Town]
Alpha Challenge - Completed
A powerful threat to your pack has appeared. You have identified the enemy in front of you as particularly dangerous to your budding family. Per the ancient traditions, you are responsible for facing the challenger, or appointing a champion to face the challenger.
You have succeeded, maintaining your position as Greymane.
You have gained the favor of Hati.
Greater devil defeated: You have gained the favor of Hati.
Thorn’s jaw nearly hit the floor when he looked at the rewards for defeating Ouroboros. He had expected to be rewarded well considering that he had bet practically everything he owned, but four items, four abilities, and four resources were out of his expectation. Especially when he started looking at their details.
First were the three pieces of named armor that Ouroboros had dropped. Each piece was part of the smooth black armor set that Ouroboros had been wearing. Never having seen a named item in his time playing Nova Terra, Thorn was curious as to what advantage they would have.
Asha’s Vambrace - Heavy Armor
The legendary holy warrior Asha fell to the darkness, becoming the champion of the Devil King Malros’Tharn. For countless years he waged war against the forces of good, crushing them in direct combat thanks to his formidable hellplate armor.
Marked with the symbol of Malros’Tharn, Asha’s Vambraces grant the wearer increased physical strength as they kill their enemies.
Set Bonus:
[2 pieces]: +Constitution
[3 pieces]: [Devilish Aura]
[4 pieces]: +Constitution
[5 pieces]: [Summon Helfiend]
[6 pieces]: +Strength, +Constitution
Asha’s Boots - Heavy Armor
The legendary holy warrior Asha fell to the darkness, becoming the champion of the Devil King Malros’Tharn. For countless years he waged war against the forces of good, crushing them in direct combat thanks to his formidable hellplate armor.
Marked with the symbol of Malros’Tharn, Asha’s Boots grant the wearer increased agility as they kill their enemies.
Set Bonus:
[2 pieces]: +Constitution
[3 pieces]: [Devilish Aura]
[4 pieces]: +Constitution
[5 pieces]: [Summon Helfiend]
[6 pieces]: +Strength, +Constitution
Asha’s Greaves - Heavy Armor
The legendary holy warrior Asha fell to the darkness, becoming the champion of the Devil King Malros’Tharn. For countless years he waged war against the forces of good, crushing them in direct combat thanks to his formidable hellplate armor.
Marked with the symbol of Malros’Tharn, Asha’s Greaves grant the wearer increased endurance as they kill their enemies.
Set Bonus:
[2 pieces]: +Constitution
[3 pieces]: [Devilish Aura]
[4 pieces]: +Constitution
[5 pieces]: [Summon Helfiend]
[6 pieces]: +Strength, +Constitution
Immediately, Thorn could see how important having a named armor set was. Just the double increase in constitution that came with wearing four pieces was enough to give a player a huge advantage, to say nothing of the full six piece set bonus. Curious about the other two bonus abilities that the set gave, Thorn opened them up. The [Devilish Aura] added a fear effect to the player’s aura, while the [Summon Helfiend] could summon lesser Helfiends to the battlefield. Thankfully for Thorn, both only activated after killing an enemy, making them useless in the one on one fight that Ouroboros and Thorn had.
While the set would not fit him, Thorn instantly thought of his follower, Captain Del’har. Remembering the Wolfkin Captain’s lightning fast sword draw at the Wolfkin camp, Thorn could only imagine how strong the captain would be while using a set of named armor like this.
The other item that Ouroboros dropped was a simple, golden token. Rectangular in shape, the token was embossed with a castle and seven stars arranged in a half circle. The token was four inches tall and three inches wide and less than an inch thick. Despite its small size, Thorn found it surprisingly heavy, as if the game’s automatic weight reduction did not work on it.
Nobility Upgrade Token
Once controlling the entire continent of Angoril, the Holy Empire has fractured, splitting in two. Despite the split, these ancient tokens are still honored, granting an instant upgrade to a noble’s rank.
To apply this token to a title, it must be turned in at the administrative office of one of the existing empires.
The description for the token was brief, but Thorn could immediately see the immense value it held. In his study about the game he had come to realize that the natives saw themselves as different from the immortal travelers who came from another world. This manifested itself in numerous ways, but one of the most obvious was the difficulty that players faced when trying to gain noble positions or raise their noble rank. Ouroboros must have planned to use this token to bypass that restriction.
His brow furrowing slightly, Thorn skipped over the abilities that he had gained and looked at the [Legacy Deeds] in the resource portion of the reward. As soon as he read through them a clear picture of what Ouroboros had intended emerged, causing Thorn to chuckle. It was obvious how much effort Ouroboros had put into this plan, only to have Thorn benefit.
Legacy Deed: Imperial Mansion (Human)
Once controlling the entire continent of Angoril, the Holy Empire has fractured, splitting in two. Despite the split, these ancient deeds are still honored, granting the bearer control of an imperial asset.
This deed allows the bearer to select one property in the imperial city, as determined by the bearer’s noble rank.
To redeem this deed, please proceed to the administrative office of the human empire.
Legacy Deed: Imperial Mine x2 (Human)
Once controlling the entire continent of Angoril, the Holy Empire has fractured, splitting in two. Despite the split, these ancient deeds are still honored, granting the bearer control of an imperial asset.
This deed allows the bearer to select one mine and its surro
unding area within the human empire, as determined by the bearer’s noble rank.
To redeem this deed, please proceed to the administrative office of the human empire.
Legacy Deed: Imperial Town (Human)
Once controlling the entire continent of Angoril, the Holy Empire has fractured, splitting in two. Despite the split, these ancient deeds are still honored, granting the bearer control of an imperial asset.
This deed allows the bearer to select one town and its surrounding area within the human empire, as determined by the bearer’s noble rank.
To redeem this deed, please proceed to the administrative office of the human empire.
Exactly like the [Nobility Upgrade Token] that Ouroboros had dropped, the four [Legacy Deed] papers that Thorn received would grant him official status in the eyes of the empire. Should Ouroboros have been able to control the valley, he could have applied for official noble status and then used the four [Legacy Deeds] and the [Nobility Upgrade Token] to instantly elevate his rank.
Yet now, all his hard work had come to naught, and instead it was Thorn who was benefiting. With a sigh, Thorn could only shake his head and wonder if the game had planned this.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Putting the items aside, Thorn looked through the four abilities that he had taken from Ouroboros. The first was a non-combat ability that seemed like it was tied to Ouroboros’ devil class.
The Devil is in the Details
Common wisdom says to never make a deal with a devil. Experts in the manipulation of rules and legalities, devils are known for their convoluted contracts and misleading agreements.
You have learned to spot details that are not to your advantage in contracts and agreements to which you are party. You have gained the ability to skirt around the letter of the law, operating in the grey areas between the lines without incurring the penalties of the contract.
Curious about how he would know that this sort of ability was active, Thorn made a mental note to ask Velin. Many of his abilities, like the language proficiencies that he had picked up, simply worked unconsciously, but he was not sure if this was the same. The last three abilities were straightforward, so after looking over them he closed the windows and stood up.
Shadow Dash
Borrow the power of shadow to shroud your form as you dash forward. While you are moving, you gain the [Evasive] condition. Your next strike causes the [Bleeding] condition.
Language Proficiency: Abyssal
You have gained proficiency in speaking Abyssal, the language of the Abyss.
Intercepting Strike [level 1]
Swing your weapon in a wide arc, blocking incoming projectiles.
“Thorn!” Running over, Athena was smiling and shouting, ecstatic that Thorn had won. Behind her, streaming from the fortress, Mina and Velin led the Wolfkin and human residents of the valley, everyone cheering loudly.
“Whew.” Thorn breathed out, the tension from the fight draining from him. “It was a close thing, huh?”
[Master, master! That was amazing! You totally beat up that evil blood giant guy!] In a streak of red, Akira zipped past Thorn’s aunt and climbed up Thorn’s bent and scratched armor, jumping around excitedly on his shoulder. [But next time why don’t you bring me? I could have helped you and we would have smashed his smelly face into the ground!]
“Thanks, Akira. Next time I will, okay. Thanks for cheering for me.” Rising to his feet, Thorn removed his helmet and greeted the cheering crowd, holding up his hand for silence. It took a few minutes before everyone calmed down, but once they had, Thorn’s deep voice carried over the battlefield. “Friends, we’ve won.” An explosion of cheers erupted from those gathered, forcing Thorn to wait until they died down.
“Our valley is safe, thanks to your efforts. Yet now is not the time to relax our guard. Very soon we will see an influx of new Wolfkin arriving in the valley. With them come opportunities and challenges. We have much to do before they arrive and I will need your continued dedication and hard work if we are to grow and improve our land. We have a battlefield to clean up, supplies to restock, building to do, and some rules to organize. Tonight, however, we feast! In honor of our first victory together, let us celebrate by eating and drinking to our hearts content!”
Gesturing for Captain Del’har to lead the cheering masses back into Moon Wolf Citadel to get ready for the celebration, Thorn turned to his aunt. Canceling his armor, Thorn enveloped her in a big hug.
“Thanks for coming.” Thorn whispered, gratitude heavy in his voice. While the Society of Roses had not fought all that much, their arrival had forced Ouroboros into a dead end.
“Of course, kid. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Athena patted him on the shoulder. “Though, judging from that last fight, I don’t know that you actually needed any help. You’ve gotten quite impressive, Xavier. Quite impressive indeed.”
“Thorn! You…” Mina was so excited she was breathless.
“Congratulations on your victory, Thorn.” Placing a hand on Mina’s shoulder, Velin smiled. “That was an impressive display of combat.”
“Seriously, are you sure that you are not actually a native boss?” Oberlin’s voice cut in. Grinning, the thief appeared from among the Society of Roses who had crowded around. “Haha, hey boss. That was something else.”
“Thank you, everyone.” Thorn smiled, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks.
After he had greeted Bluefire and the rest of the Society of Roses, Thorn invited them all into the citadel’s fortress where Captain Del’har and Elder Havva were waiting. Massive tables had been laid out in the entrance to the fortress and many of the valley’s residents were running back and forth, piling food on them. Two huge barrels of wine were rolled out and tapped, and the smell of roasted meat soon rose into the evening sky.
While the food was not fancy, it was hearty and plentiful and, above all, delicious. Thorn, famished from his fight, swept an entire table clean by himself, to the utter astonishment of his subjects. His aunt, used to his eating habits, kept up a steady stream of conversation with the others at the table, entertaining them with stories and funny anecdotes while her nephew polished off two whole roast boars, countless pieces of bread, a whole bucket of mashed potatoes, and a massive amount of fruit.
When she had first met Velin and Mina, Athena had been rather cold, but after talking with them for a bit she gradually warmed up. Despite Thorn’s assurances that his relationship with the girls had been repaired, Athena was skeptical until she saw it with her own eyes.
When he had finally eaten his fill, Thorn leaned back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. The tables were cleared and most of the residents had turned in for the night in preparation for the work that had to be completed over the next week. Noticing that Mina had a sliver of worry in her eyes and was not her normal, excited self, Thorn asked her what was wrong.
“Ah, it is nothing.” Mina smiled stiffly, waving her hands. “I’m really happy about our victory.”
“She is probably worried about what is going to happen when Ragnarok comes back.” Sitting next to Mina, Velin played with the stem of her wine glass. “Even with the Society of Roses here, Ragnarok has a lot of people.”
“Oh, that's right. I completely forgot.” Thorn tossed one of the nuts he had been snacking on at Oberlin to get his attention. “Hey, do you have that thing I asked you to get?”
“If, by ‘thing’ you mean the territory appointment, yes.” Rubbing his head with one hand while he got a stack of papers out of his inventory with the other, Oberlin wondered why the peanut had hurt so much. “Here you go. Just needs your signature to be official.”
“Excellent, thanks.” As Thorn got a pen from his inventory and signed and initialed the papers, Mina crawled over the table to look at the top sheet. Laughing, Thorn pushed the papers to her while he explained to the rest of the table that was looking on with interest. “Before we came to the valley I sent Oberlin down south to act as a guide for the Society of Ro
ses. However, he also had another job.”
“This is an enfeoffment!” Few things could shake Velin’s calm, but when Mina, unable to make heads or tails of the paper, handed it to her, her eyes widened in shock.
“That is correct. The Wolfkin and other inhabitants of this valley have officially applied to be members of the Northern Empire. They have recognized the title of Lord Greymane and granted the holder the rank of Baron, with control over the valley. We’ll be paying taxes to the Iron Fist Duke who oversees this dutchy.”
“Wait a second. You are a Baron?” Mina was skeptical.
“Yup.” Grinning, Thorn shared the notification that had popped up for him.
