Ceranai
patreon
SOM - Chapter 20 - Negotiations
🕑 Added 2024-03-27 16:01:58 +0000 UTCFor a moment Luke thought the ratling was going to attack him. They stared at each other for a few seconds until the ratling broke his hateful stare to look down at the jagged wound in its abdomen.
“Ask questions, defiler. Then give me clean death,” the viran said.
“If you don’t try to kill me, and answer my questions then I might not kill you at all,” Luke said. He looked around, and was relieved to see that no other ratlings appeared to have heard their brief scuffle. Then again, maybe they had but ignored it. The ratlings fought so often that the sounds of violence were something they probably just filtered out.
Even if he had yet to be detected, standing right out in the open was a bad idea. Luke knelt down in front of the ratling and kept a watchful eye on his surroundings.
“Ask, defiler, heathen” the warrior said, and the anger in his voice was palpable.
“Sure, I will, but I’m not a defiler. I’ve defiled nothing. My name is Luke, what is yours?”
“My name is forgotten, taken by the Veil, but I still know what you are. You are a defiler. You dirty the Supreme with your very existence.”
“What are you talking about?” Luke asked, feeling the conversation slipping away from him. Considering the nasty gut wound, the ratling would not stay lucid forever. It wasn’t as if he could have a leisurely conversation about life, the universe and everything.
“He who made the Veil, the Supreme. You are not worthy to live in his reality,” the viran spat.
“Ok cool, nice to know. So, what can you tell me about the guys in charge, and where did that giant drill thing go?” Luke asked, deciding not to engage with the pseudo-religious, racist ranting.
“They will kill you!”
“I think I’ll be alright, but who are they, and tell me where that drill went. You wanted a clean death didn’t you? You aren’t being very persuasive,” Luke said. He felt the [Murderhobo] stir within him. He wasn’t feeling particularly inclined to push it down either.
“Maruk, Sanara, and Nemangor. Warlord, prophet, master. Maruk gone on a raid, when he comes back you will die by his hand!” The warrior said with venom in his voice, but his breaths were becoming more laboured as he struggled with the blood loss.
“And when will Maruk be back?” Luke asked.
“One sleep, two sleep. He brings back riches, stories, and slaves for the horde, then he kill you, cleanse you with fire,” the warrior replied. Luke wasn’t sure if it was the time in the veil eroding the marauder’s identity, or if he had always been an arsehole, but he felt no compunction when he smashed the rat-man’s face in.
[You have killed a Level 6 Viran.]
The ratling didn’t drop any loot, but the only loot Luke really needed was that golden ticket. With most of the viran’s fighting force gone, he had an excellent opportunity to take out two of the heads of the Three-Headed-Rat. Perhaps he could even save some of the remaining prisoners in cages that hadn’t been sacrificed. Exactly how long a ‘sleep’ was unclear, but he probably had a bit of time to think and to prepare. Considering this, Luke took stock of the state of his soul.
Luke Evans: Level 9 Human
Attributes
Will: 20
Empathy: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 13
Agility: 14
Strength: 24
Endurance: 21
Recovery: 17
Concepts (Maximum Reached for Mortal Tier):
Forerunner (Bronze, 62%): +2 all attributes. +10% experience gained.
Murderhobo (Gold, 99%): +3 Will, +3 Strength, -1 Empathy. +20% loot.
Warhammer (Gold, 19%): +3 Strength, augments hammers.
Bulwark (Gold 27%): +5 Endurance, augments shields and armour.
Fire (Copper 34%) +1 Empathy
Domain Abilities
Bulwark - Brace - Magnifies your mass and creates an inertial field around you.
Warhammer - Kinetic strike - Amplifies momentum of selected objects.
Having a look through things, Luke was pleased to see his attunements were all still climbing. His [Murderhobo] domain was on the cusp of ranking up. It came with nice bonuses, but he would like to develop it into something a bit more heroic, like the [Slayer] or [Avenger] domains.
According to Rurik pretty much everything in the omniverse existed as a concept, but more obscure or unpopular ones didn’t produce enough aetheric resonance to be cultivated.
Countless systems existed in the multiverse to categorise concepts. The study, classification, and organisation of them was a common profession in the imperium. Given the game-like aspects of Gaia’s system, and the Saurian method of cultivation it was inspired by, it seemed like something that should have been included in her system. He read through his concepts again, and an odd thing happened. He ‘clicked’ on the [Murderhobo].
Domain Management
[Murderhobo - Type: Meta, Subtype: Title - This title is a rare variant of the more common Adventurer, but with a more ruthless edge. Murderhobos are the kind of people who shoot first and ask questions later, if at all. This is a novel concept with low saturation.]
[Current Rank - Gold 99%.]
[Domain can’t be removed - Gold ranked concepts have been internalised to your aetheric core.]
[Transformation Available - Can be degraded.]
Wait… Was this always an option? Fuck you Gaia! Luke cursed as he thought back to all the hours he spent in agony performing crude soul surgery on his own soul. There was so much to explore in the revelation. He briefly considered a tactical retreat, to return at a later date, but Luke didn’t know how often the viran warlord went raiding, nor if his murder of three skirmishers would prompt a tightening up of security. Unlikely, but it was possible.
Standing up, Luke prepared to shoot first, without asking questions. He knew he was being influenced by his domain, but sometimes being ruthless was necessary. With the rope securely in place he had an escape route, and with how easily it had been to kill the skirmishers, he felt like he could handle himself.
The next group of ratlings saw him coming, and even though Luke was trying to approach stealthily. When the biggest one let out a yell,he activated his [Bulwark] and met the ratling head on. The trio had javelins, and Luke caught the missiles with his shield with little difficulty. With his [Brace] active, the wooden missiles felt like children had thrown them.
Luke greeted the lead ratling with a hammer blow aimed at the ratling’s neck, but it was quick enough to lean away from the blow. Instead of wasting the momentum, Luke activated a [Kinetic Strike], and turned the swing into a low sweep. With the amplified force of the attack, he pulverised both kneecaps of the rightmost viran. The final viran jabbed at Luke with a spear, but he had nothing to fear from such weak attacks. It didn’t even scratch his armour.
With a claw attack, Luke punctured the small ratling’s heart, and lifted it up in the air. As vibrant red blood poured over Luke’s hammer it seemed to almost soak into the weapon, as if being absorbed. A copper tang assaulted his nostrils. He threw the corpse at the bigger viran. This time the warrior failed to move out of the way in time. While it struggled to disentangle itself, Luke finished the kneecapped ratling. It was hunched over, and Luke’s attack crushed its spine against the ground. It wouldn’t he getting back up.
[Concept ranked up: Murderhobo - Platinum, for wanton slaughter. +5 Strength, +5 Will, -1 Empathy, 50% Loot gained.]
[Concept ranked up: Forerunner - Silver, for being one of the first fifty humans to reach platinum in a single domain. +3 all attributes. +15% experience gained.
Power positively pulsed through every muscle fibre in Luke’s body. He felt a general rush from the concepts swelling in his domains. The raw aether surging into his soul made him giddy with power.
[Hello Luke, congratulations for reaching Silver in Forerunner.]
A nearby tent flap opened and a sleepy looking viran looked out, saw Luke and yelled. Apparently he had caused enough of a disturbance to be noticed. Even worse, instead of just charging at him blindly, this one raised the alarm. Luke could feel the situation escalating. He wondered if his ambition was going to get him killed.
[You will be fine.]
Wait… are you actually talking to me?
[Yes, you have performed adequately to warrant individual attention, so I have expended the aether needed to connect to reach your seed through the dimensional barrier of this dungeon. I have allocated enough essence for this conversation to last two minutes.]
Multitasking wasn’t something Luke was good at. He tried to process what the world spirit was saying as a volley of javelins slammed into his shield. He had let his [Brace] lapse, so he actually felt the force of the impacts drive him back a couple of steps. Before the viran on the ground could regain its footing, he slammed the rim of his shield on its neck. It stopped moving.
I’m a little busy! No disrespect, but can this wait?
[I calculate the odds of survival to be heavily in your favour, as long as you take out the scout NPCs before they call back the Warlord. Unfortunately, this conversation can’t wait. Your Forerunner domain has reached silver, and is entering the integration stage of conceptualisation. The upgrade must take place now or not at all.]
The voice seemed to have some insight into Luke’s current situation, and she was right: he could handle the skirmishers easily enough. One brave soul jumped at him and he bashed it away hard enough with his shield that it went flying and collapsed a nearby tent. Two more ran forwards at him and he killed them both in one [Kinetic Strike]. His swing crushed a skull and continued on to shatter the next ratling’s rib cage.
Though Luke was a human wrecking ball, new arrivals appeared faster than he could kill them. His shield was useful for warding off attacks, but with his armour enhanced by his [Endurance] the weak ratlings could hardly scratch him. He dropped the shield into his storage and went on the offensive.
An upgrade? How?
[A competition of sorts. The nature of the Veil is such that one champion is worth a dozen weaker psions. Thus it is optimal to concentrate power in a few individuals for the greatest chance of our collective survival. Forerunners will be the vanguard of humanity, but the tip of the spear will be crucial. I can evolve your [Forerunner] domain into the [Apex]. Prove yourself and become the champion of mankind. Fail, and I will reclaim the fragment to empower the victor.]
By the time Gaia had finished talking Luke had built a veritable wall of corpses at his feet. He found it strange that despite her maternal voice, the world spirit spoke with a mechanical detachment when she spoke of tearing off a part of his soul. From his experience with soul surgery he knew that such an event would be crippling, if not fatal.
Whilst he considered Gaia’s words, he fought off the growing ratling horde. Though plenty were content to throw themselves at him, a larger crowd was forming on the outskirts. They were happy to launch javelins and other missiles at him from a distance. In response, Luke re-materialized his shield and hunkered down.
Why would I agree to that?
[The greater good of humanity is absolute. Without a champion, humanity cannot stand against the elites of the cluster. These are psions who have had centuries to grow powerful, supported by the resources of multiple worlds. War is coming, and the first wave has arrived ahead of my predictions.]
Luke cared about the fate of humanity, in an abstract way, but he was more concerned with the fates of those closest to him.
You know what is going on outside? You know if my brother is ok? My mum? Chrissy?
As Luke grasped for information a duo of larger, better armed viran pushed their way through the crowd. Not only were they bulkier than most, but displayed more intelligence. These were elites, that for whatever reason had been left behind from the Warlord’s raid.
[I do. Your brother lives, your mother is dead, and your lover is alive, but beyond my reach. I project the odds of your brother’s survival dropping sharply when the second wave arrives in two earth days, just under ten days by your subjective time. I predict your odds of defeating the anchors before that to be low on that timescale without the advantage of this upgrade.]
The revelation that he was living in some kind of time bubble didn’t shock Luke. He had already suspected as much. The rest of Gaia’s revelations were harder to wrap his head around.
Since he moved out of the house, he hadn’t spoken with his mum often. She hadn’t been the best mother, but she had done her best while fighting her own demons. He still loved her. That Chrissy was alive made him feel better than he would like to admit. He wondered if the cryptic wording was on purpose. It was painfully obvious that the world spirit was manipulating him to accept the offer. However, he didn’t think she was lying, nor was he immune to the manipulations.
As the two viran champions were joined by the red-robed Prophet, Luke sighed. He would do anything to protect Nathan. With his mum's drinking and his dad never being home, Luke had practically raised his little brother. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for him.
Fine, I accept.
