The Land: Monsters

by Aleron Kong

  The strength of the dwarves, the grace of the elves, the honor of the sprites, the wonder of the pixies, the passion of the humans; they all combined to make the Mist Village something powerful and unique. It brought its own issues as well, but the reward was more than worth the price. While the draike form was very tempting, he could not become something that his people would hate or fear. The power of one person would always be finite. The strength of people working together was limitless.

  With regret, he moved past the dragon evolution and walked to the final form awaiting his inspection. The light only illuminated another three yards past the draike. At the very edge of the darkness waited a statue that looked much like the first. Richter thought he could see another statue past that, out in the dark, but he couldn’t be sure. The gloom was not simple darkness. Looking at it, Richter had the impression of movement, like it was shifting and flowing, a midnight ocean. He kept staring, and had the distinct feeling that something was staring back at him. Something that did not mean him well.

  Richter remembered Nexus’ simple warning, “Stay in the light.” Assholes and advice, he reminded himself. He abandoned his curiosity and examined the final figure.

  CHAPTER 15 – Day 151 – Juren 2, 0 AoC

  At first, he was confused. It looked exactly like the common ranked, Tier 2 Human. Just a simple human. He walked around it, careful not to stray into the darkness, but couldn’t find a single difference. For this last possible evolution, he had expected something grand, especially after seeing the draike. As impressive as the physical stature was, however, there just didn’t seem to be anything overly special about it.

  Then he looked into its eyes.

  Pools of silver spun in the center of each pupil. The portals to Chaos linked to the seed within him, and Richter suddenly felt compelled to choose this form without even reading the prompt it provided. He could feel endless possibilities pulling him in. Before he knew it, he’d taken a step forward, drawn by the siren song of those swirling grey eyes. Only with a supreme act of will did he stop himself.

  Richter focused, and that kernel of power at his center, his chaos seed, responded. Other beings found looking at pure chaos to be terrifying, but to him it had always seemed beautiful. He had never forgotten the raw danger and power within that realm, however. Using the seed of Chaos that was uniquely his, he was able to firm his will against the pull of this strongest evolution.

  The chaos seed closed his eyes for several long seconds and steadied himself. When he was done, he could still feel the compulsion, but it was weaker. Richter was in control of himself once more. Opening his eyes, he looked the figure over again. It was just as emotionless and remained in the same position, but he noticed something he hadn’t before. Not in its eyes, but near its feet. He could see small swirls of nearly imperceptible dust moving around the figure’s toes.

  Frowning in thought, Richter reached down and grabbed a bit of fine sand from the ground and threw it into the air. Most of it gently floated back down, but some seemed to be pulled toward the figure, moving as if caught in invisible eddies. None of the black sand touched the avatar, but it was clear that it was affecting its environment, just by existing.

  Richter looked at the form’s stats, and saw the amazing orange gleam of a legendary evolution.

  You have found a Legendary-ranked evolution:

  Tier 2 Chaos Lord

  Long has the power of a Chaos Lord been foretold. You are a creature of the Higher Energy of Chaos. The small seed that was placed inside of you when you were brought into existence can now bloom! You have swum in the strata of Chaos and survived. You can become a Chaos Lord!

  The powers of a Chaos Lord are mighty, but their true strength comes from the creatures of Chaos they rule over. You can now collect a cadre of creatures of a nature similar to your own and grow them into a force that even dragons will fear!

  The chaos seed within you has long affected the flows of probability. Assuming this form will place an even greater pressure on the strands of fate, bringing opportunity and change at a much greater rate.

  If you already possess a Chaotic aura, it will be advanced 1 rank.

  As a Chaos Lord, you will invite both loyalty and challenge from other chaotic creatures. While some may choose to serve you, others will be offended by your power, their hearts filled with hatred and jealousy.

  As a legendary ascended form, there are 9 ranks of this evolution: Beginning, Low, Improved, Middle, Empowered, High, Major, Great and Grand

  At the Beginning Rank:

  All Chaotic abilities and spells increased in power by 25%.

  +1 free level when purchasing from the Sea of Chaos

  Advancing ranks will unlock greater power, but > 50% of ranks must be unlocked before Ascendance to a new form will be possible.

  Finally, your emergence as a Chaos Lord will twang the strands of fate. Accordingly, a random Bloodline will be awarded to you upon choosing this evolution.

  Ascension Likelihood: 99.9999%

  Penalty for Failure: -8 points to each Primary Attribute, -8% chance at next Ascension attempt

  Prerequisites: Level 45 Human. Chaos Seed. Chaotic Alignment +2 or greater. Lifetime Collection of Chaos Points must exceed 100

  Evolution Rank: Legendary

  Changes if Tier 2 Chaos Lord evolution is chosen

  Tier 1

  Tier 2

  Body

  Tier 1 Human

  Tier 2 Human

  Mind

  Tier 1 Human

  Tier 2 Human

  Soul

  Tier 1 Human

  Tier 2 Human

  Special

  Chaos Seed

  Chaos Lord

  Aura

  Chaotic Gradient (Greater rank)

  Chaotic Gradient (Grand rank)

  Bloodline

  N/A

  Randomly Awarded

  Attribute Bonus

  N/A

  +5 to all Primary Attributes

  +20% to Luck

  Richter whistled softly. This evolution was truly powerful. It didn’t have the raw combat strength of the draike evolution, but it was commanding in its own right. He still didn’t understand the intrinsic difference between tiers, but he had to imagine that two was better than one. He also got a 20% boost to his Luck stat!

  Richter’s Luck was artificially boosted right now. It was clocking in at forty-nine, thanks to the +20 Luck he’d gotten from making the kindir of Verget Kunig his vassals. That large boost would only last for a week, but afterward, he would still get a +4 bonus and his Luck would be thirty-three. If he chose the chaos lord evolution, his Luck would boost back up all the way to sixty-one!

  Now, it was true that Luck was an unknown entity for the most part. It was hard to determine what it did or when it would manifest. Because of that though, Richter had seen that most people ignored the Attribute. It was a hard sell getting someone to invest a precious point into Luck when that same point could give more health, or power an extra spell. There were nine primary attributes, and most races only received three free points to distribute each level. Humans got four to distribute, but less overall points per level. Those were the main reasons that even higher-level enemies might have just ten to fifteen points in the attribute, even though their other categories could be sky high.

  More important than his stats, he would also get a new bloodline. It probably wouldn’t be as good as the rare Unyielding Dragon Flame bloodline of his draike evolution, but then again, his Luck was pretty insane. It might even be better. The biggest differences were the special and aura categories though. His chaos seed would evolve!

  It had always been in the back of his mind; if he was a “seed,” what could he grow into? He didn’t fully know what it would mean to be a chaos lord, but how could he turn his back on something that felt like his destiny?

  There was also the point that his aura would advance to the highest rank. Chaotic gradient was why he’d been able to gather so mu
ch power in a short time. He wasn’t a fool, and he knew that his strength came at the cost of risking his life. If it wasn’t for his ability to be reborn, his story would have ended in the first few days in The Land. And death was not the only danger. He’d been tortured in mind, body and soul. When he thought about the dark aberration, and what could have happened, his heart still raced. Richter was honestly shocked at times that he had been able to keep it together through everything he had endured. Now he knew that was, at least in part, because of his aura.

  No, there was no denying it; the chaotic gradient offered great power, but had brought danger and suffering in equal measure. As he thought about it, Richter realized that his aura was completely consistent with The Land and the Labyrinth. “Danger and reward are close bedfellows.” He’d heard it again and again. It had just never occurred to him that his very nature would fit the saying so completely.

  Yes, his aura was dangerous, but didn’t death stalk everyone? Besides, he was more than a bit dangerous himself. Richter smiled a devilish smile. His enemies had definitely learned that starting shit with him was hazardous to their health. Usually right before they died. Even though he was stuck far underground, in the deep dark of the earth, there was not a doubt in his mind that anything that wanted to come at him would regret it.

  To him, his aura wasn’t something to be feared. It was a loving promise for what he truly craved: power. Power was what he needed. Remembering that, any reservations he might have had about strengthening his aura faded away. If he could advance it from greater to grand, that was something he needed to do.

  Lastly, there was the increase to his Chaos powers. The Sea of Chaos gave Richter access to some of the strongest items he’d ever seen. Currently he was able to buy epic-ranked items from the fourth stratum. Epic items were enough for nobles to declare war.

  Becoming a Chaos Lord would give him access to the fifth. He couldn’t even imagine how powerful the offerings would be for that stratum. Also, Akaton Evolution made his summoned creatures far stronger already. Just what would he be able to accomplish when the spell was 25% stronger?

  Richter walked back to the center of the light and looked at all five potential evolutions again. The common-ranked, Tier 2 Human was obviously not in the running. The Tier 2 Human Telepath wasn’t too bad. The idea of having true telepathy was alluring. He would definitely choose it over the Mist Lord, despite the fact that the psychic evolution was only unusual rank instead of rare like the elemental evolution. The original prompt had been right, that some paths would suit him more than others. The powers of the Mist Lord were great, but he didn’t like the idea of being trapped within the confines of his domain.

  His eyes looked longingly at the draike evolution for just a moment. The power in it called to him. He could envision his talons ripping out the throats of bugbears and his scales deflecting arrows. There was also that awesome bloodline, Unyielding Dragon Fire. Despite all of those things, there was zero doubt in Richter’s mind what the right answer was. The Universe itself seemed to agree, as there was a more than 99% chance of success. The answer was clear.

  The Land would welcome a chaos lord.

  CHAPTER 16 – Day 151 – Juren 2, 0 AoC

  Before Richter made his choice, he had three questions to ask Nexus.

  “Nexus,” he called. There was no response. Sighing heavily, Richter walked directly in front of him with only a foot of space between them. Looking up he repeated, louder this time, “Nexus.”

  This time the Auditor responded. That response was one index finger held up in the universal “just a sec” motion. He didn’t even look up from the phone. He just. Kept. Swiping.

  Anyone who thought the phrase, “his vision went red,” was just poetic license had never actually been furious before. It is a real thing. The medical explanation is that anger triggers the sympathetic nervous system, causing an increase in heart rate and blood flow. That, coupled with selective constriction or dilation of certain vessels, will make the vessels in the eye grow larger, giving a red appearance to the eyes. This same phenomenon can tint a person’s vision. Of course, the last thing on Richter’s mind was physiology. To him, it just felt like an anger demon was trying to claw its way out of his throat and lay waste to the asshole Auditor in front of him.

  With the muscles in his neck tight as steel cables, he forced the demon back into its cage. With his eyes closed, he mumbled, “Do not attack the demigod. Do not attack the demigod. Do not attack the demigod!” After about a minute, he could see straight again. With a tight neck, and pure evil in his heart, Richter waited while Nexus swiped through some sort of cosmic Tinder. What made it worse was that the chaos seed had to listen to the giant’s muttering.

  “Not hot.” Swipe. “Not hot.” Swipe. “Kinda hot?” Pause. “Nah.” Swipe. “Not that hot… then again her mouth is open… is there a bikini pic? Come oooon… Jackpot!” Right swipe!

  Ten minutes. Richter had to stand there for ten minutes. That might have been ten seconds or ten years in the real world, but to him, it was an eternity. At long last, Nexus put the phone away. With a tone that implied Richter was the one that was wasting time, the giant asked, “What?”

  Plastering a fake smile on his face, Richter asked his question through anger-thinned lips, “Can you tell me if I have to make a decision right now, or can I come back later?”

  Nexus rolled his eyes, “Of course you have to make a choice now. Look at your body. You’ve reverted back to a level one noob. Unless your Core is reinserted, you won’t regain your progression. You’ll probably die. I don’t know for certain because no one has been dumb enough to ask me that before.” Richter started to huff in irritated disappointment, but then a gleam appeared in Nexus’s eye.

  “I would be happy to just mark your Rite of Ascension as a failure, if you’d like.” Nexus’s smile could have made a marathon runner diabetic. “If you request it, I am obligated to restore you back to your previous state, with all penalties in place, of course.”

  “Penalties? I didn’t choose a path.”

  Nexus looked at his fingernails, checking for dirt, “In that case, it is within my discretion to choose which path you failed.”

  “No, no,” Richter quickly responded, waving his hands wildly. There was no doubt in the world that Nexus would give him the highest penalty.

  “You’re sure?” Nexus asked with a smile still on his face. “You’d only need to wait until your next ascension opportunity. It shouldn’t take you that long.”

  “No,” the chaos seed replied again. This time with a bit of heat.

  “Come on,” Nexus wheedled. “You’ve got that flying rat to help you get XP.”

  Richter’s hot anger dropped to subzero in an instant. He took a step toward Nexus, closing the space between them. Even though his level one body only came up to the bottom of the giant’s chest, he tilted his head up to look in the Auditor’s eyes. His voice was deadly serious.

  “Watch what you say about Alma. I know that I can’t take you out like I am now. Probably couldn’t even if I had all my power back, but I won’t have you saying a single word against her. From the sound of that thunder before, you’re under review by whatever you call a boss. Insult my familiar one more time, and I will call for a Judgement against you.”

  Nexus eyes widened in shock. Richter nodded at him quickly with a look that could only mean one thing: “Oh yeah, motherfucker. I gotchu!”

  After Richter’s harrowing Trial to become an Enchanter, he’d been thoroughly embarrassed when he found out his own ignorance was the reason he’d had to endure so much pain. Though he’d known it would get him a tongue-lashing, the chaos seed had humbled himself and told Hisako about it. After she tore him a new one, she told him about the beings called Auditors.

  Each section of The Land had at least one Auditor, and they handled Trials and other issues for the creatures that lived there. They were secretive and there was much that wasn’t known about them, but she had confirmed t
hey could regulate time. It was an absolutely necessary ability for them. Otherwise, there was no way one being could meet the needs of thousands of people. As impressive as that was, there were limits to their power. One of those was that they were bound to follow certain rules.

  According to the Hearth Mother, if an Auditor broke those rules, you weren’t helpless. You could invoke an ancient magic to have their actions reviewed. The process wasn’t complicated. In fact, all it took was for someone to speak the phrase, “I call for a Judgement.” That would bring the attention of whatever beings were superior to the Auditor. If they found in your favor, then not only would the Auditor be bound against harming you, but you would also be provided restitution for the Auditor’s poor behavior.

  The downside to calling for a Judgement was that, according to Hisako, the Auditor’s superiors almost never sided against their agents. Also, while you would gain benefits if they ruled in your favor, the consequences of losing a Judgement were, in a word, horrifying.

  Loss of levels was the lightest punishment Hisako had mentioned. She’d also spoken of death, loss of limbs, being returned to the mortal world as an idiot or gaining a permanent debuff. She’d given one example of a woman who had failed a Judgement, and when she came back to The Land, she’d had an effective Charisma of zero. She hadn’t actually suffered the loss of any Attribute Points, but every time she opened her mouth, a wet, cheesy substance would fall out. To Richter, it had sounded like a curse of smegma mouth. It was enough to make the chaos seed promise himself to never call for a Judgement.