Part 11 - Order in the Dark
Liz was having a bad few days. She’d been in her class-up straight through the destruction of Heron Lake’s little town. She’d been abducted alongside many other low level children that had been taken, likely to be sold as slaves.
She’d been immobilised via canceler skills, which was one of her biggest fears ever since arriving and learning of their existence.
She’d been punched really hard by a classer way above her level, which was never fun, and her pain setting let her know just how badly that was going to bruise. Only her stacked defensive skills and Vitality had prevented her from breaking multiple bones.
Then she’d been voluntold to join a very sketchy group of so-called freedom fighters who were trying to reclaim the Justiciary.
Really, how long could she have missed while classing up?
It sounded like something that would take weeks or months to happen, but when skills and stats got involved, apparently a military force could root out an entire country within days.
It was a nightmare. She was supposed to be protected while classing up, under complete security and entirely safe. But she’d known that wasn’t true. People were vulnerable while doing so, and that had been the reason for classing up in safe places while protected by those you could trust. Liz wouldn’t trust anyone with that job again. She had no control over how long her class selections took, but from then on, she’d find somewhere in complete obscurity to class up.
When they’d left the strange mushroom circle clearing, her system had returned to normal, which struck her as odd, but she had far too much on her mind to care very much about it.
Her mentors were gone. It didn’t hurt like her real parents did, but she had pushed off the grief over Sylvestre for almost two days now, and she would have to pray for him while she could. She didn’t have the liberty to give him the time he deserved, but she offered a small prayer and promised to offer a full memorial for the entire town at a later date.
Then she resumed focusing on the trek through the woods to the creepy guy’s home base.
The creepy guy’s name was Jayce the Faithsent.
He was apparently one of the [Tenet] faction leaders in the country, and he’d ‘been out on a trip to another region’ when the capital city had been attacked and all his political enemies were assassinated.
How very fortunate for him.
She recognized his name. He’d been in the records of Heron Lake’s library as the leader of the [Faith and Certainty] faction that Arlyen and Sylvestre opposed. Yet another strike against the man.
The problem was that he was extremely high level and difficult to outright oppose. Regardless of how she felt, he was also a chosen of Seira with a unique class to show for it. Meaning he would also have the stats implied by that.
She also had to consider the children she’d been with.
They trudged along, with Liz carrying the injured little boy—still young enough to be system locked—alongside the other children. She was thankful they’d been able to keep the child asleep while they made for the nearest [Healer] at the soldier’s secret base.
She was rather skeptical of the fact this faction had military secret bases to begin with, and even assuming they’d had them so widespread, it was all far too convenient that Jayce would be in this specific area. Coincidences didn’t exist, in Liz’s mind.
Even with her combat skills out in the open, she had decided to put on the facade of a trusting and innocent person, just thankful to be saved. She’d hide her earlier animosity behind her relief at being set free later.
She slid her character on like a second skin, then checked her gains from the fight she’d had.
[*ding* Congratulations! Your class [Acrobatic Templar of Seira] has leveled up from level 74 to level 80!]
[*ding* You have gained the following stats per level! +30 Free Stats, +60 Dexterity, +50 Vitality, +60 Speed, +30 Mana, +80 Mana Regeneration, +50 Magic Power, +50 Magic Control from your class! +4 Free Stats for being Partially Human, +2 Vitality for being Partially Stone Golem! +1 Vitality from your element!]
[*ding* Congratulations! Your class [Fate’s Shackles] has leveled up from level 34 to level 39!]
[*ding* You have gained the following stats per level! +4 Free Stats, +6 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +10 Vitality, +2 Speed, +5 Mana, +5 Mana Regeneration, +4 Magic Power, +4 Magic Control from your class! +4 Free Stats for being Partially Human, +2 Vitality for being Partially Stone Golem! +1 Magic Power from your element!]
[*ding* [Seira’s Tenet of Equivalent Exchange], [Earth Authority], [Earth Manipulation], [Tenacity of Stone], [Mental Partitioning], [Martial Arts], [Combat Awareness], [Roll with the Punches] and [Learning] have remained capped! 74 -> 80]
[*ding* [Rigid Body] has leveled up! 36 -> 44]
[*ding* [Chain Proficiency], [Elegant Chains] and [Chain Reinforcement] have remained capped! 34 -> 39]
[*ding* [F-L Vitality] has leveled up! 1 -> 10]
[*ding* [F-L Mana Regeneration] has leveled up! 1 -> 6]
[*ding* [Identify] has leveled up! 51 -> 58]
[*ding* [Imaginative] has leveled up! 48 -> 53]
[*ding* For attaining level 80 as an [Acrobatic Templar of Seira], [Combat Awareness], [Martial Arts] and [Roll with the Punches] may be merged to create the class skill [Earth Shattering Arts]!]
[Earth Shattering Arts: Your unarmed attacks strike with the force of earthquakes, sundering the earth as your enemies fall around you. Take this skill and put your Earth magic martial arts to the most devastating use they can achieve, all while establishing a personal zone of control in which you, the martial artist, are the solitary peak. -10,000 mana regeneration]
She thought about the new skill, saw no downsides in it, and accepted it.
The changes were instantaneous. It wasn’t as if she could see all around her, but she just knew of everything around her that moved.
She’d not been abducted with footwear, and had been using a sheet of stone for her left foot that clung to her sole instead. Both feet seemed to glide across the earth, ignoring all obstacles and feeding her information of the solidity of her footing upon the ground. She felt at one with the earth beneath her feet and assured by how it welcomed her like a soft carpet.
Every sharp stone or unstable foothold met her with the same softness and comfort. It was heavenly. She even felt sleeping on the floor would be her new choice. She’d gotten the class [Beloved of Earth] as her second base class, and now she could feel what that must’ve meant.
This new skill wasn’t just about a combat style, it had been an art formed in harmony with the fury of the Earth element. She couldn’t wait to test out the combat applications.
She shook her head slightly and focused on any downsides.
And she found one right away. The range of the presence sensing effects within her ‘zone of control’ was quite short before the sheer overflow of information became too much for her. She could feel the movement of every leaf of every small bush. She couldn’t find a way to diminish the sensitivity, and she could tell the skill didn’t want her to diminish her senses by force. It urged her to embrace the beautiful flow of nature. She could sense the order and chaos in balance, one giving way to another, and knew why it had been in her divine class.
Her [Tenet of Equivalent Exchange] embodied the balance of forces in their entirety.
A smile crossed her face as she kept her mind open, feeling she’d eventually get used to the information overflow. She even had General Skill slots open again, so she could solve it with something that way if needed. She closed her eyes and allowed the skill to guide her as she walked briskly across the fair soil, slightly giving up on her theoretical future flight ability plans.
The skill was both a headache and a freeing sensation. Except she had disabled headaches through her pain skill, so all she had was that vague feeling of overflowing sensory input.
She put that out of her mind for the time being and smiled at the boy who was giving her a strange look as he walked beside her.
She could admit it was creepy that she could see him shiver and pull away when she smiled at him with her eyes still closed.
Back to the skill downsides.
This was clearly not her own invented style, but rather something she’d attained through her skills and affinity for the element. Which meant the system driven moves involved in the skill would be new and entirely different from what she’d been internalizing from [Martial Arts]. It was like switching from Karate to Judo without taking the time to learn how to actually use the moves in a fight.
She was already formulating a plan in her head for new exercises and kata.
She’d have to think about it more later. She was able to feel the texture of the earth beneath her feet shifting as cavities and rooms were hidden underground in the area.
Not even a minute later, their guides were drawing back a sheet of leafy camouflage from over a massive bunker door set into a hill and disguised as a boulder covered in moss and foliage.
She sucked in her breath as she felt the facilities beneath her feet and realized it was more like a full military base, housing at least two dozen different moving things inside. The group that escorted her and the children had numbered a dozen more, making the force somewhat formidable.
“Welcome to the Shelter.” Elina seemed happy to bring Liz to her new club of literal underground paramilitary forces. The girl was the lowest level of the squad that had saved her, and Liz mentally wrote it off as being excited to not be the runt of the litter anymore.
“I would love to welcome you with open arms.” The creepy man spoke through his sound magic as seemed to be his usual. “But we need to ensure everyone who enters is not a spy or threat. We lost our agent inside that last group during the fight, so we are losing talented operatives that take years to train.” Liz suppressed a flinch at the memory of the [Triple Agent] she had killed in the battle, who’d been moving towards the wagon she and the kids were in.
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“Just get this kid a healer. Poor thing has been in enough pain.” She wondered where her empathy was coming from, but stuffed the musing down, ignoring the emotion she couldn’t allow herself to have.
The group slowly began to trickle into the base through the opened bunker door, where Liz could vaguely feel them lining up before entry.
Jayce slipped into the base and waved for her to enter, “I will allow the child to skip the security verifications to see a healer. Let us make haste, young [Priestess].”
Liz hadn’t opened her eyes in a while. Keeping them closed was helping her process less information at once with her new skill. However, she almost tripped upon entering when her feet settled on the metal frame of the bunker doorway, she opened her eyes in a panic as her connection to the earth simply shut off.
She couldn’t even suppress the small whimper she let out at the feeling of disconnection. Then the bliss returned when her feet landed upon the stonework within the bunker. She was not looking forward to a requirement to be walking while connected to the earth, but the feeling was worth it.
The kids all gave her awkward looks as they hesitated to enter, but she gestured inside with a tilt of her head. “I know how this all seems, but I like our odds better within reach of food than the odds out in the wilderness. And this kid definitely needs a [Healer] before any of us will need food. I’ll do my best to protect you all, for what it's worth.”
The children each shyly made their ways inside and into the security checkup lines as Liz strode forth, following after Jayce and skipping the line to enter.
The child in her arms hadn’t stirred at all since they’d begun their march, and the chill of Elina’s Ice skill had made it hard to tell if the boy was even alive. She’d been able to feel his breathing, but someone being that cold while system-locked didn’t seem safe to her. She had to put faith in Elina’s skills that she simply didn’t feel at the time.
~ ~ ~
Liz handed off the boy to a [Healer] without any fuss, then followed Jayce into what looked like an office after passing at least fifty private living spaces and half that many training halls.
The office was a feminine affair, full of flowers illuminated by some skill from one of the Light elements, as well as lavish displays of jewelry and gemstones. Liz had to admit, she liked the overall impression for an underground lair, and she guessed the humidity of the air was good for the plants.
“Welcome.” A distinctly female voice spoke.
“Uh… Hello?” Liz was surprised as she turned in circles to look around her.
“Indeed. I am Faythe. Many call me the Yamanobori in my homeland.”
Liz finally turned to look at the creepy guy who was the room’s only other occupant.
“You’re… just what is going on here?” She was truly stumped and had to carefully keep a grip on her character role.
“Faythe the Faithsent would’ve been a terrible moniker, no? I am the true face of Jayce.”
Then the creepy man’s appearance changed, revealing a pale skinned woman with fox ears in a distinctly Japanese style of clothing, covered in the depictions of beautiful plum blossoms.
“I have many reasons for the facade I wear. Misdirection. Protection. Manipulation. Leadership. My skill allows me to place Mirages over my subordinates and allows me to see through their eyes when they will it. A careful selection of those with the correct physique and the Sound element allows me to be in many places at once with only a high mana cost. In truth, all of these military sites are places my subordinates allow me to control directly. However…”
Liz turned to face the sensation of the footsteps behind one of the walls, and then the stone of the wall appeared to split apart as a fox-eared woman almost identical to the one over the man who’d been Jayce entered.
Again, she was a beauty to behold, with auburn hair and rainbow rings around her piercing red eyes. The only difference to the image over the man’s body was that this ‘Faythe’ was under five feet tall.
[Leader - 738]
“For your case, I am here in the flesh. Now, I would like to negotiate with you, Miss Liz of [Equivalent Exchange]. Your [Tenet] is that of the hero of Lady Seira’s chosen. Every time one has been given that bestowal, they’ve gone on to do great things. My mother was one, and she is why I follow the goddess myself.”
Liz frowned inwardly. The woman was a master of manipulation. Her appearance here may not even be real, and all her skill told her was that there was a person there. The feeling wasn’t defined enough to get exact features. And yet, everything was being calculated to establish a foundation of trust in this fox girl, and Liz had seen these styles of manipulation more than once in Hollywood.
“What would you like to negotiate? I do hope you’ll care for the children regardless of my choices. That shouldn’t affect your willingness to care for innocent kids.” She resigned herself to a dodgy conversation in which she’d have to make no snap decisions. The least she could do was remove the kids as a bargaining chip in their parlay. Liz also had to get information out of the fox girl as well, hopefully about what her [Tenet] would do if she finally repaid the debt the skill mentioned.
“About an alliance. You see, my faction was always a paper tiger. I built these bases and had no means to properly staff them until now. Careful political choices were made to push back the Immortal War that was close to beginning. By giving the nations a target, I have created a situation in which Order may reign for a bit longer. Now the Justiciary no longer needs to maintain diplomacy, and our agents may foster stability around the globe without the messy ordeals of politics. For this, I wish to create an elite force of unique servants of the goddess.”
“Involving what sort of actions on the global scale?” Liz felt her eyes narrowing slightly, a crack in her character. She smoothed her expression back into a contemplative one, but she had a feeling her reaction was caught.
“Of course you’re suspicious of me. Lady Seira put you in the care of two from the [Natural Order] faction. They are willing to wait out the impending war and aid in the rise of Order anew. It is true that the wars are inevitable, and offer chances for explosive level gains. But they need not be so chaotic and destructive.”
“She placed me in their care for a reason, I’d imagine. She is boundlessly wise, after all.”
“Of that there is no doubt. Heron Lake is a peaceful place with accepting values. The capital of the Justiciary is still run by men, mostly, and gnolls above all others. It is the reason I used a male visage for my proxies. You would have been killed before you could be a danger had I not suppressed news of you from reaching the heads of the other factions.”
“How would you even figure out when a new [Tenet] bestowal happened?” Liz phrased the question without an admission.
“When my agent in Heron Lake informed me of your arrival, I was already suspicious, but in the capital there is an old obelisk inscribed with the words of the goddess’ faithful. Every active [Tenet] glows upon the obelisk. The very reason I have so many body doubles. One can simply check at any time to see if I have been successfully assassinated. I have lived for centuries and have no interest in meeting my end anytime soon. Now, I would beg your assistance.”
Liz was having trouble reading the woman. She appeared to be a young girl, and yet her expressions were those of a mature, confident manipulator. No person would mistake her for a child after seeing that expression.
“Order is seeing its wane at long last. By carefully controlling the movements of key figures around the world, an immortal war can be held back for some years yet. For this, elite individuals will be needed. Elina is a volunteer with a unique skill set, but her dual advanced elements at such a young age, likely a gift from Lady Seira, make her an excellent candidate. I would ask you to be another.”
Liz chewed her lip in actual thought, mulling over the idea as she started pacing back and forth.
On one hand, she could receive elite training and all the military facilities she’d seen on her way to the office.
On the other, this was the leader of the opposing faction of her mentors. Based on circumstantial evidence, Liz was somewhat certain this woman had at least sparked the conflict that had gotten Sylvestre killed, and possibly Arlyen as well.
Arlyen wouldn’t have lost to those random soldiers, though. Even she had gone toe to toe with the leader of the attackers. Arlyen’s divine class was in the four hundreds.
Liz could sense it. She’d been abandoned. Regardless of the reason, the gnoll had left her behind and now she was at the mercy of a very high level person who was a master of manipulation.
She didn’t see a way out if she declined. Best case, they’d keep her in the bunker under supervision with the kids and not risk her letting the location of the bunker slip. Worst case, they’d kill her to be absolutely sure.
“May I ask what makes my [Tenet] so powerful or unique? Why do you want me so badly that you’d come here in person?”
“Of course. Every person bestowed with the [Tenet of Equivalent Exchange] has achieved divinity. Well, allow me to amend that. Every person that anyone has heard of with that [Tenet] has achieved divinity. There could be others who simply died before they were acknowledged.”
“Not exactly reassuring to hear that.” Liz had very few choices in the circumstance she’d found herself in, and she got the feeling her goal should be to bargain for the highest rewards rather than roll over in defeat.
“I have conditions. The first of those is that I refuse to have anyone dictate what my choices of skills and classes will be.” Liz hedged her bets that starting reasonable might be the right move, to reciprocate the idea of building trust.
“I agree. Your unique constitution makes your path highly unorthodox, but well worth allowing you to make your own choices. I, however, will make myself available to give advice on anything you do need to deliberate upon in the future, of course.” The woman almost sounded grandmotherly, of all things.
“Second, resources. I need access to a wide range of both facilities and materials for my goals as well as training. I may even need specific teachers for certain fields. Modifying my body may require me to learn the arts of biomancy. My ‘unique constitution,’ as you put it, is included in the healing I receive, meaning I may need that [Permanence] skill I have heard about.”
“Hmm. Earth and Metal, with a focus on self enhancement. Gemstone body modifications? That will be expensive, but well within reason for one with your potential. Making yourself literally one with your element is a fast track to [Gemstone Spirit]. A future I would find very intriguing to witness.”
“Something tells me I won’t be given full information on what you’d be sending me to do. If possible, I’d rather be kept informed of as much information as you can manage. I’ve never been offered a stealth related skill, likely because of my ‘unique constitution,’ so I want you to be aware I’ll make a terrible assassin if that was what you had in mind.” Liz let a bit of an edge drip into her voice at the last part, feeling it would be a troublesome direction for her life.
The woman laughed at her. Uproariously.
“Dear girl, an assassin hardly needs many levels in most circumstances. They are a dime a dozen. What we need are people who can halt an army for weeks on end, delay combat for long periods of time while clearer heads prevail. The worst assassination you might do is of soldiers set to raid a town of innocents, as you’ve just experienced. To halt a war you need time. I plan for you to buy me that time.”
Liz let out a sigh. She somehow felt like she was getting a less than complete picture of things. “Final condition. You’re not going to like it, but Seira has already promised me a divine mission in the future. It should be obvious that nobody should impede my completion of it.”
“Many a [Paladin] or [Priestess] has been tasked with slaying dragons over the years. I know of none who have succeeded. Be careful of leaping into a divine mission. They often will be the end of your mortal life, and should be saved until you are ready to meet your end. And know this. If you ever come to face one of those winged terrors, you should run. The apex creatures end countries in hours. Even the Guardians fall before their might. Be careful of those divine missions. I may require your services until the war becomes reality. I do not intend on occupying your life beyond these years of strife.”
“I see. I’ll keep that in mind. Last thing. Why are you really here, in this region in particular, as the country falls around you?” Liz stopped pacing and stared at the short fox girl.
“I am a member of Nyx’s line of vampires. I remain here most times, keeping vigil over the distorted portal my mentor and master disappeared into, thanks to Arlyen’s mistake.” The venom in the woman’s words was palpable.
Liz was nearly bowled over. Vampires had their teeth in the leadership of the Justiciary. She had brief flashes of different vampire stories and movies throughout her time as an actress. She bit back her mounting fear. Suddenly the underground bunker made a lot more sense.
“I’ll be adding another condition to my list. I’d like to not be assaulted in any way while in your care.”
The fox vampire gave a cute little giggle. “Humans are so very adorable at times. Do not worry, my master owed a great debt to humanity for the earliest years after Creation. I have taken up his goal to protect humanity in his absence. My needs for sustenance are more than satisfied already by willing subordinates.”
She reached into a wooden cabinet hidden beneath one of the rows of raised flower beds, taking out two bottles and a pair of glasses.
“Join me for a toast? Yours won’t be blood wine, of course.”
