Chapter 178: 178
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The adventurer camp was divided into three areas. The first was the actual campsite, where opulent tents were set out for the prestigious visiting adventurers. The second was the market tents, plain but large, where Greenstone’s brokers and the returned adventurers haggled over loot. The last camp was also the most modest, where the returned priests had been collected together.
Jason skirted the crowded market area, taking a moment to contact his team via his chat ability. He let them know he would be a while longer and passed on Emir’s advice to not to sell their loot for cheap market prices. Once finished, he made his way through the tents toward the section where the priests and others liberated from the astral space were encamped. He knew that not all the people recovered had been actual clergy, many simply belonged to the divine militant factions of their various religions.
He was getting looks as he passed through the camp. Word had spread about his acquisition of the scythe, and those who had seen him hand it over recognised him and pointed him out to others. No one actually approached him until he was almost through the camp when an adventuring party stepped into his path.
“Something I can help you with, mate?” Jason asked the obvious leader.
“How did you get the scythe?” The man asked without introduction or preamble.
“You remember that archway that took us out, after the trials?”
“Yeah.”
“It could also take you to the location of the real scythe.”
“How?”
“Turns out it had a sexiness threshold. You’re a good looking man, but…”
Jason ran a sensuous hand down his own body.
“…up against all this, you were bang out of luck.”
“You mock me?”
“You don’t have to tell me, mate; I’m the one doing it. Do you not know how mockery works?”
“Do you have any idea who I am?” the adventurer asked.
“My first thought was the lyrical gangster but I just don’t think you’ve got the flows.”
“What?”
The sun was behind the adventurers, leaving the man's shadow under Jason's feet. While he looked at Jason in anger and confusion, Jason dropped through the man's shadow like a hole had opened up under his feet. The adventurer looked around, wildly.
“Where did he go?”
Jason had teleported into a tent whose flap was open just enough for him to see the darkened space inside. It was an extremely large tent, like many others, with an opulently appointed interior. A thick rug covered the floor, while cushions were piled high into lounging furniture. There was also a trio of hammocks on stands, and a low table in the middle of the room. Shooting upright at the sudden intrusion was a trio of women, two of whom drew swords and pointed them with disturbingly steady hands at Jason’s throat.
“Hello, ladies,” Jason said, giving them a friendly grin as he raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry to barge in.”
Body language told Jason that the third woman in the room was the one in charge. All three were celestines, although a different ethnicity than the silver-haired Sophie or the golden-haired locals. Their skin was caramel to Sophie’s chocolate, while their eyes were sapphire orbs. The striking blue was matched by their hair, which spilled down like light passing through a waterfall.
Jason hoped the startled expression he knew was on his face was put down to the swords and not the mesmerising beauty of his captors. They were all garbed in wrap-style clothing that draped loosely, the muted colours flatteringly highlighting the vibrant colour of their hair and eyes.
“You’re Jason Asano,” the woman in charge said, looking him up and down. She tilted her head curiously to the side, as if looking at an animal that had wandered into her tent. Jason had the unsettling impression she was deciding if he was cute enough to be a pet or juicy enough to be food.
“Uh, yep,” Jason said.
“What brings you into my tent?”
“Would you believe happenstance?” he ventured.
She made a dismissive gesture as she moved toward Jason and the other two backed away, resheathing their swords. He could see she knew exactly what effect the sultry gait of her lithe body had and exactly how to weaponise it. She walked right up into Jason’s personal space, looking down as she was slightly taller than his slight frame. He dropped his surrendering hands to his side.
“What price are you going to pay for your rude intrusion, Mr Asano?”
“I suppose taking you to dinner is out of the question?”
The hands of the other two jerked back toward their swords, anger flashing on their faces. They were stilled by another dismissive gesture from their leader.
“You haven’t asked who I am,” she said. “Do you already know, or do you not care?”
“I’m pretty ignorant,” Jason said. “It probably wouldn’t mean anything if you told me.”
She gave him the smile of a snake that just found an unattended egg.
“You are as your reputation suggests, Mr Asano. Hiding behind the face of a fool.”
“What’s wrong with my face?” Jason asked, affronted. He gave it an exploratory poke with one of his fingers.
The woman laughed.
“I can hear an actual fool causing a commotion outside,” she said. “Is that on account of you?”
“I met a bloke who was curious about how I got the scythe,” Jason said. “His approach was a little rude.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“I recognise the irony,” Jason said.
“So, how did you do it?”
“I told the guy outside it was sexiness,” Jason said. “I recognise that trying that here would be insultingly implausible.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” she said.
“I noticed that too,” he said with a sly grin. “What’s your name?”
It was one of the two offsiders that answered.
“You have the honour of addressing her royal highness…”
“I didn’t ask for a job title,” Jason interrupted. “I’m not big on nepotism, in any case. I asked for a name.”
“Does it matter?” the woman in front of Jason asked. “We haven’t decided if you get to leave this tent alive, yet.”
“Oh, I’m going to leave and I’ll be just fine,” Jason said.
“You’re confident.”
“No, but I’m good at faking it.”
He held a hand up and a plate piled high with red and white confectionary squares appeared in his hand.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Gem berry and milk nut squares,” Jason said. “You asked about the price I would pay for barging in.”
His arm turned into shadow-stuff, bending around the woman and stretching out to set the plate on the table. One of her offsiders drew a sword and slashed at the shadow arm, the blade passing harmlessly through. Jason retracted his arm back and it returned to normal.
“Once you try those,” he said, “you’ll regret not taking me up on that dinner invitation.”
He made to leave and she didn't stop him, but she spoke up as he lifted the flap to leave.
“Mr Asano.”
“Jason’s fine,” he said, pausing at the entrance to the tent.
“Zara,” she said.
“Zara?”
“My name.”
Jason flashed her a grin.
“It’s been a genuine pleasure to meet you, Zara. Enjoy the slices.”
He left the tent, letting the flap drop down behind him.
“You should have let us cut him for his impudence,” one of Zara’s servants said. “Nothing lethal. Just a lesson in respect for his betters.”
Zara let out a weary sigh. Her party members had been hand-picked by her father for loyalty over intelligence.
“You already tried that and it didn’t exactly accomplish anything,” Zara said. “That was Jason Asano. Cutting him is a quick path to becoming leech food.”
Jason arrived at the priest camp, keeping an eye out for the adventuring team he had annoyed along the way. He was quickly noticed and approached by a small delegation of church officials. He recognised the symbols of the Healer, Dominion and a few others. Conspicuously absent were Purity and Undeath, the two churches he had been told made up the bulk of the forces that had attacked the Order of the Reaper’s lake-bottom fortress.
As the church officials approached, the whole camp was suddenly inundated with a clashing maelstrom of overwhelming auras. One god was bad enough, but the manifestation of several at once, even with their auras tamped down to their minimum strength, threw the camp into chaos.
Some of the iron-rankers with less control of their own auras dropped to their knees, violently throwing up. Many of them lived entirely on spirit coins, consigning them to painful dry heaving. Most of the iron-rankers were fine, however, as the camp was a gathering of exceptional adventurers. This included Jason, who retracted his own aura in tightly and let the divine auras wash around it like an island in a storm.
A handful of figures appeared before Jason. They looked much like the church officials standing behind them but there was no mistaking the power radiating out of them. People were dropping to their knees like a religious Mexican wave before the unexpected appearance of their gods. Soon only Jason remained standing, right in front of them.
“And I thought I had a thing for melodrama,” he said.
One of the gods laughed. Each was wearing the robes of their own orders, complete with holy symbol. Jason recognised the one laughing as Dominion from his symbol. He appeared young and handsome, with a hint of perpetual disdain behind the eyes. His robes were purple and gold and he had a simple crown around his head. The outfit was troublingly similar to what the manifestation of Jason's evil future self had been wearing.
“You don’t fail to disappoint,” Dominion said.
“I’m not sure how to take that, coming from you,” Jason said, getting another laugh from the god. Another God stepped forward, Jason recognising the symbol of the Healer.
“We wanted to give a display of our gratitude for returning our people, long lost to us,” Healer told Jason. “Astral spaces, not being truly of this world, exist beyond our influence. We understand you have complicated views regarding we gods and decided the best gift we could give you was to thank you in person. The simple fact of our having done so should help you establish your reputation as you advance your adventuring career.”
“Setting them loose wasn’t exactly out of my way.”
“I think, perhaps, it was not so simple as you make out, but I shall say no more. We have given our thanks and shall take our leave.”
“No worries, bloke.”
The gods vanished, the sudden absence of their aura felling like ears popping under a pressure change. People started getting to their feet, all eyes on Jason. He looked around, then his shadow cloak formed around him and he teleported immediately through it, leaving the cloak to drift down for a moment before likewise vanishing.
Jason teleported rapidly through the camp, jumping from shadow to shadow. He finally reached the cloud palace, striding inside. Once through the door, he collapsed against the wall, drawing heaving breaths. It had taken everything he had to keep his cool in the face of not just one but a handful of gods, all while people looked on.
The sheer force of multiple divine presences had pressed down on him like the weight of the sky. For the first time he could feel his own soul. Even now, having escaped that inconceivable power, he could feel the pressure. Rather than lessen, he felt like was descending into the ocean depths, every moment increasing the chance that the fragile vessel of his soul would collapse. By the time the pressure finally subsided, he was curled up on the floor of the cloud palace atrium, arms clutching his head.
New Title: [Godless Prophet]
Your aura has been damaged by the direct, concerted focus of multiple transcendent-level entities. The process of damage and recovery has refined the strength of your aura, increasing its suppressive force and resistance to suppression from higher-ranked auras.Your aura signature has changed. An echo of transcendent power can be detected if your aura is examined by an aura sensing power or when projecting your aura.
Jason continued to lay on they floor, letting out exhausted, wheezing coughs.
“Jason?” Humphrey’s voice came through the party chat. “We all felt multiple divine auras and then we started hearing some strange things.”
“You should try it from my perspective,” Jason responded weakly. “You should all go ahead and shop without me. I think I’m going to have a lay down.”
“What happened?” Humphrey asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” Jason said. “Just spot me for anything Sophie and Belinda want to buy, alright?”
“I can do that,” Humphrey said.
In the guest wing lounge of the cloud palace, Sophie and Belinda were going over the awakening stones Sophie had chosen with Clive. They had obtained the essences for Belinda but had decided to leave those until Sophie's power set was completed. Although they had found several interesting essences during the trials, Belinda was adamant about the combination of three common essences she had already chosen. They had no trouble trading for the magic, trap and adept essences she wanted.
Sophie also had her remaining awakening stones sorted out. Clive had extensive knowledge of attempting to engineer power sets through stone choices, although he was the first to reiterate that he could make no promises.
Aside from the legendary awakening stones, her strongest acquisitions were a pair of epic awakening stones of the moment. Adventure Society representatives were offering good trades for restricted essences to take them out of the market and Sophie had traded a death essence for the two epic awakening stones.
“These really were a great trade,” Clive said for the third or fourth time since urging Sophie to take them in the first place. He had convinced her by explaining they were perfect for a skill-based power set. The abilities they were known to produce required precise timing but were incredibly impactful.
Rounding out Sophie’s selection were two uncommon stones picked out from the ones they found during the trials. Because Sophie’s power set was very skill-oriented, the awakening stone of preparation would hopefully give her an ability that acted as a failsafe when things inevitably went wrong. They hoped the awakening stone of the surge would bestow a buff power that would help in critical moments.
“The hallmark of a good high-skill adventurer is coming through in the critical moments,” Clive had explained. “If your abilities reflect this, you’ll find yourself far more effective. Be warned, though, that such abilities require skill, judgement and timing. Get them wrong and they may do more harm than good. To you, obviously. Doing harm to the other guy is kind of the point.”
“We should get everyone together to use the stones,” Sophie said. “Asano still hasn’t come out of his suite?”
“Not that I know of,” Clive said. “Having a bunch of gods turn up in front of you would be a straining experience for anyone.”
“You should go check on him,” Belinda said to Sophie.
“Why me?”
“He does own you.”
“He does not own me.”
“A lease is kind of like owning you.”
“It’s not a lease!”
“Still, you should be the one to…”
Sophie and Clive looked at the startled expression on Belinda’s face as she trailed off and followed her gaze to the terrace outside. Jason was wandering along, looking lost. More noticeably, he had a bushy moustache and no clothes whatsoever. Sophie, Belinda and Clive looked at each other in confusion, then went out to meet Jason.
“Uh, Jason,” Clive said. “You aren’t wearing any pants.”
“Fair point,” Jason said brightly.
“I think what Clive meant to ask was why,” Belinda said.
“The topic of this conversation is kind of my thing!” Jason said.
Sophie, Belinda and Clive shared another look.
“Asano,” Sophie said. "Is everything alright?”
“Biscuits!”
“Biscuits?” Sophie asked.
“Biscuits!”
Suddenly, Humphrey’s voice rumbled in their direction in an angry roar.
“STASH!”
Jason’s eyes went wide and he clambered onto the terrace rail, transforming into a puppy before leaping off, into the air. Humphrey then came pounding along the terrace at a run.
“WHAT DID I TELL YOU?” he bellowed before vaulting the rail in pursuit of his fleeing familiar.
Sophie, Belinda and Clive looked at each other one more time.
“Anyone else want a drink?” Clive asked.
“Yes please.”
“Absolutely.”
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The adventurer camp was divided into three areas. The first was the actual campsite, where opulent tents were set out for the prestigious visiting adventurers. The second was the market tents, plain but large, where Greenstone’s brokers and the returned adventurers haggled over loot. The last camp was also the most modest, where the returned priests had been collected together.
Jason skirted the crowded market area, taking a moment to contact his team via his chat ability. He let them know he would be a while longer and passed on Emir’s advice to not to sell their loot for cheap market prices. Once finished, he made his way through the tents toward the section where the priests and others liberated from the astral space were encamped. He knew that not all the people recovered had been actual clergy, many simply belonged to the divine militant factions of their various religions.
He was getting looks as he passed through the camp. Word had spread about his acquisition of the scythe, and those who had seen him hand it over recognised him and pointed him out to others. No one actually approached him until he was almost through the camp when an adventuring party stepped into his path.
“Something I can help you with, mate?” Jason asked the obvious leader.
“How did you get the scythe?” The man asked without introduction or preamble.
“You remember that archway that took us out, after the trials?”
“Yeah.”
“It could also take you to the location of the real scythe.”
“How?”
“Turns out it had a sexiness threshold. You’re a good looking man, but…”
Jason ran a sensuous hand down his own body.
“…up against all this, you were bang out of luck.”
“You mock me?”
“You don’t have to tell me, mate; I’m the one doing it. Do you not know how mockery works?”
“Do you have any idea who I am?” the adventurer asked.
“My first thought was the lyrical gangster but I just don’t think you’ve got the flows.”
“What?”
The sun was behind the adventurers, leaving the man's shadow under Jason's feet. While he looked at Jason in anger and confusion, Jason dropped through the man's shadow like a hole had opened up under his feet. The adventurer looked around, wildly.
“Where did he go?”
Jason had teleported into a tent whose flap was open just enough for him to see the darkened space inside. It was an extremely large tent, like many others, with an opulently appointed interior. A thick rug covered the floor, while cushions were piled high into lounging furniture. There was also a trio of hammocks on stands, and a low table in the middle of the room. Shooting upright at the sudden intrusion was a trio of women, two of whom drew swords and pointed them with disturbingly steady hands at Jason’s throat.
“Hello, ladies,” Jason said, giving them a friendly grin as he raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry to barge in.”
Body language told Jason that the third woman in the room was the one in charge. All three were celestines, although a different ethnicity than the silver-haired Sophie or the golden-haired locals. Their skin was caramel to Sophie’s chocolate, while their eyes were sapphire orbs. The striking blue was matched by their hair, which spilled down like light passing through a waterfall.
Jason hoped the startled expression he knew was on his face was put down to the swords and not the mesmerising beauty of his captors. They were all garbed in wrap-style clothing that draped loosely, the muted colours flatteringly highlighting the vibrant colour of their hair and eyes.
“You’re Jason Asano,” the woman in charge said, looking him up and down. She tilted her head curiously to the side, as if looking at an animal that had wandered into her tent. Jason had the unsettling impression she was deciding if he was cute enough to be a pet or juicy enough to be food.
“Uh, yep,” Jason said.
“What brings you into my tent?”
“Would you believe happenstance?” he ventured.
She made a dismissive gesture as she moved toward Jason and the other two backed away, resheathing their swords. He could see she knew exactly what effect the sultry gait of her lithe body had and exactly how to weaponise it. She walked right up into Jason’s personal space, looking down as she was slightly taller than his slight frame. He dropped his surrendering hands to his side.
“What price are you going to pay for your rude intrusion, Mr Asano?”
“I suppose taking you to dinner is out of the question?”
The hands of the other two jerked back toward their swords, anger flashing on their faces. They were stilled by another dismissive gesture from their leader.
“You haven’t asked who I am,” she said. “Do you already know, or do you not care?”
“I’m pretty ignorant,” Jason said. “It probably wouldn’t mean anything if you told me.”
She gave him the smile of a snake that just found an unattended egg.
“You are as your reputation suggests, Mr Asano. Hiding behind the face of a fool.”
“What’s wrong with my face?” Jason asked, affronted. He gave it an exploratory poke with one of his fingers.
The woman laughed.
“I can hear an actual fool causing a commotion outside,” she said. “Is that on account of you?”
“I met a bloke who was curious about how I got the scythe,” Jason said. “His approach was a little rude.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“I recognise the irony,” Jason said.
“So, how did you do it?”
“I told the guy outside it was sexiness,” Jason said. “I recognise that trying that here would be insultingly implausible.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” she said.
“I noticed that too,” he said with a sly grin. “What’s your name?”
It was one of the two offsiders that answered.
“You have the honour of addressing her royal highness…”
“I didn’t ask for a job title,” Jason interrupted. “I’m not big on nepotism, in any case. I asked for a name.”
“Does it matter?” the woman in front of Jason asked. “We haven’t decided if you get to leave this tent alive, yet.”
“Oh, I’m going to leave and I’ll be just fine,” Jason said.
“You’re confident.”
“No, but I’m good at faking it.”
He held a hand up and a plate piled high with red and white confectionary squares appeared in his hand.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Gem berry and milk nut squares,” Jason said. “You asked about the price I would pay for barging in.”
His arm turned into shadow-stuff, bending around the woman and stretching out to set the plate on the table. One of her offsiders drew a sword and slashed at the shadow arm, the blade passing harmlessly through. Jason retracted his arm back and it returned to normal.
“Once you try those,” he said, “you’ll regret not taking me up on that dinner invitation.”
He made to leave and she didn't stop him, but she spoke up as he lifted the flap to leave.
“Mr Asano.”
“Jason’s fine,” he said, pausing at the entrance to the tent.
“Zara,” she said.
“Zara?”
“My name.”
Jason flashed her a grin.
“It’s been a genuine pleasure to meet you, Zara. Enjoy the slices.”
He left the tent, letting the flap drop down behind him.
“You should have let us cut him for his impudence,” one of Zara’s servants said. “Nothing lethal. Just a lesson in respect for his betters.”
Zara let out a weary sigh. Her party members had been hand-picked by her father for loyalty over intelligence.
“You already tried that and it didn’t exactly accomplish anything,” Zara said. “That was Jason Asano. Cutting him is a quick path to becoming leech food.”
Jason arrived at the priest camp, keeping an eye out for the adventuring team he had annoyed along the way. He was quickly noticed and approached by a small delegation of church officials. He recognised the symbols of the Healer, Dominion and a few others. Conspicuously absent were Purity and Undeath, the two churches he had been told made up the bulk of the forces that had attacked the Order of the Reaper’s lake-bottom fortress.
As the church officials approached, the whole camp was suddenly inundated with a clashing maelstrom of overwhelming auras. One god was bad enough, but the manifestation of several at once, even with their auras tamped down to their minimum strength, threw the camp into chaos.
Some of the iron-rankers with less control of their own auras dropped to their knees, violently throwing up. Many of them lived entirely on spirit coins, consigning them to painful dry heaving. Most of the iron-rankers were fine, however, as the camp was a gathering of exceptional adventurers. This included Jason, who retracted his own aura in tightly and let the divine auras wash around it like an island in a storm.
A handful of figures appeared before Jason. They looked much like the church officials standing behind them but there was no mistaking the power radiating out of them. People were dropping to their knees like a religious Mexican wave before the unexpected appearance of their gods. Soon only Jason remained standing, right in front of them.
“And I thought I had a thing for melodrama,” he said.
One of the gods laughed. Each was wearing the robes of their own orders, complete with holy symbol. Jason recognised the one laughing as Dominion from his symbol. He appeared young and handsome, with a hint of perpetual disdain behind the eyes. His robes were purple and gold and he had a simple crown around his head. The outfit was troublingly similar to what the manifestation of Jason's evil future self had been wearing.
“You don’t fail to disappoint,” Dominion said.
“I’m not sure how to take that, coming from you,” Jason said, getting another laugh from the god. Another God stepped forward, Jason recognising the symbol of the Healer.
“We wanted to give a display of our gratitude for returning our people, long lost to us,” Healer told Jason. “Astral spaces, not being truly of this world, exist beyond our influence. We understand you have complicated views regarding we gods and decided the best gift we could give you was to thank you in person. The simple fact of our having done so should help you establish your reputation as you advance your adventuring career.”
“Setting them loose wasn’t exactly out of my way.”
“I think, perhaps, it was not so simple as you make out, but I shall say no more. We have given our thanks and shall take our leave.”
“No worries, bloke.”
The gods vanished, the sudden absence of their aura felling like ears popping under a pressure change. People started getting to their feet, all eyes on Jason. He looked around, then his shadow cloak formed around him and he teleported immediately through it, leaving the cloak to drift down for a moment before likewise vanishing.
Jason teleported rapidly through the camp, jumping from shadow to shadow. He finally reached the cloud palace, striding inside. Once through the door, he collapsed against the wall, drawing heaving breaths. It had taken everything he had to keep his cool in the face of not just one but a handful of gods, all while people looked on.
The sheer force of multiple divine presences had pressed down on him like the weight of the sky. For the first time he could feel his own soul. Even now, having escaped that inconceivable power, he could feel the pressure. Rather than lessen, he felt like was descending into the ocean depths, every moment increasing the chance that the fragile vessel of his soul would collapse. By the time the pressure finally subsided, he was curled up on the floor of the cloud palace atrium, arms clutching his head.
New Title: [Godless Prophet]
Your aura has been damaged by the direct, concerted focus of multiple transcendent-level entities. The process of damage and recovery has refined the strength of your aura, increasing its suppressive force and resistance to suppression from higher-ranked auras.Your aura signature has changed. An echo of transcendent power can be detected if your aura is examined by an aura sensing power or when projecting your aura.
Jason continued to lay on they floor, letting out exhausted, wheezing coughs.
“Jason?” Humphrey’s voice came through the party chat. “We all felt multiple divine auras and then we started hearing some strange things.”
“You should try it from my perspective,” Jason responded weakly. “You should all go ahead and shop without me. I think I’m going to have a lay down.”
“What happened?” Humphrey asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” Jason said. “Just spot me for anything Sophie and Belinda want to buy, alright?”
“I can do that,” Humphrey said.
In the guest wing lounge of the cloud palace, Sophie and Belinda were going over the awakening stones Sophie had chosen with Clive. They had obtained the essences for Belinda but had decided to leave those until Sophie's power set was completed. Although they had found several interesting essences during the trials, Belinda was adamant about the combination of three common essences she had already chosen. They had no trouble trading for the magic, trap and adept essences she wanted.
Sophie also had her remaining awakening stones sorted out. Clive had extensive knowledge of attempting to engineer power sets through stone choices, although he was the first to reiterate that he could make no promises.
Aside from the legendary awakening stones, her strongest acquisitions were a pair of epic awakening stones of the moment. Adventure Society representatives were offering good trades for restricted essences to take them out of the market and Sophie had traded a death essence for the two epic awakening stones.
“These really were a great trade,” Clive said for the third or fourth time since urging Sophie to take them in the first place. He had convinced her by explaining they were perfect for a skill-based power set. The abilities they were known to produce required precise timing but were incredibly impactful.
Rounding out Sophie’s selection were two uncommon stones picked out from the ones they found during the trials. Because Sophie’s power set was very skill-oriented, the awakening stone of preparation would hopefully give her an ability that acted as a failsafe when things inevitably went wrong. They hoped the awakening stone of the surge would bestow a buff power that would help in critical moments.
“The hallmark of a good high-skill adventurer is coming through in the critical moments,” Clive had explained. “If your abilities reflect this, you’ll find yourself far more effective. Be warned, though, that such abilities require skill, judgement and timing. Get them wrong and they may do more harm than good. To you, obviously. Doing harm to the other guy is kind of the point.”
“We should get everyone together to use the stones,” Sophie said. “Asano still hasn’t come out of his suite?”
“Not that I know of,” Clive said. “Having a bunch of gods turn up in front of you would be a straining experience for anyone.”
“You should go check on him,” Belinda said to Sophie.
“Why me?”
“He does own you.”
“He does not own me.”
“A lease is kind of like owning you.”
“It’s not a lease!”
“Still, you should be the one to…”
Sophie and Clive looked at the startled expression on Belinda’s face as she trailed off and followed her gaze to the terrace outside. Jason was wandering along, looking lost. More noticeably, he had a bushy moustache and no clothes whatsoever. Sophie, Belinda and Clive looked at each other in confusion, then went out to meet Jason.
“Uh, Jason,” Clive said. “You aren’t wearing any pants.”
“Fair point,” Jason said brightly.
“I think what Clive meant to ask was why,” Belinda said.
“The topic of this conversation is kind of my thing!” Jason said.
Sophie, Belinda and Clive shared another look.
“Asano,” Sophie said. "Is everything alright?”
“Biscuits!”
“Biscuits?” Sophie asked.
“Biscuits!”
Suddenly, Humphrey’s voice rumbled in their direction in an angry roar.
“STASH!”
Jason’s eyes went wide and he clambered onto the terrace rail, transforming into a puppy before leaping off, into the air. Humphrey then came pounding along the terrace at a run.
“WHAT DID I TELL YOU?” he bellowed before vaulting the rail in pursuit of his fleeing familiar.
Sophie, Belinda and Clive looked at each other one more time.
“Anyone else want a drink?” Clive asked.
“Yes please.”
“Absolutely.”
The adventurer camp was divided into three areas. The first was the actual campsite, where opulent tents were set out for the prestigious visiting adventurers. The second was the market tents, plain but large, where Greenstone's brokers and the returned adventurers haggled over loot. The last camp was also the most modest, where the returned priests had been collected together.Jason skirted the crowded market area, taking a moment to contact his team via his chat ability. He let them know he would be a while longer and passed on Emir's advice to not to sell their loot for cheap market prices. Once finished, he made his way through the tents toward the section where the priests and others liberated from the astral space were encamped. He knew that not all the people recovered had been actual clergy, many simply belonged to the divine militant factions of their various religions.He was getting looks as he passed through the camp. Word had spread about his acquisition of the scythe, and those who had seen him hand it over recognised him and pointed him out to others. No one actually approached him until he was almost through the camp when an adventuring party stepped into his path.Something I can help you with, mate? Jason asked the obvious leader.How did you get the scythe? The man asked without introduction or preamble.You remember that archway that took us out, after the trials?Yeah.It could also take you to the location of the real scythe.How?Turns out it had a sexiness threshold. You're a good looking man, butJason ran a sensuous hand down his own body.up against all this, you were bang out of luck.You mock me?You don't have to tell me, mate; I'm the one doing it. Do you not know how mockery works?Do you have any idea who I am? the adventurer asked.My first thought was the lyrical gangster but I just don't think you've got the flows.What?The sun was behind the adventurers, leaving the man's shadow under Jason's feet. While he looked at Jason in anger and confusion, Jason dropped through the man's shadow like a hole had opened up under his feet. The adventurer looked around, wildly.Where did he go?Jason had teleported into a tent whose flap was open just enough for him to see the darkened space inside. It was an extremely large tent, like many others, with an opulently appointed interior. A thick rug covered the floor, while cushions were piled high into lounging furniture. There was also a trio of hammocks on stands, and a low table in the middle of the room. Shooting upright at the sudden intrusion was a trio of women, two of whom drew swords and pointed them with disturbingly steady hands at Jason's throat.Hello, ladies, Jason said, giving them a friendly grin as he raised his hands in surrender. Sorry to barge in.Body language told Jason that the third woman in the room was the one in charge. All three were celestines, although a different ethnicity than the silver-haired Sophie or the golden-haired locals. Their skin was caramel to Sophie's chocolate, while their eyes were sapphire orbs. The striking blue was matched by their hair, which spilled down like light passing through a waterfall.Jason hoped the startled expression he knew was on his face was put down to the swords and not the mesmerising beauty of his captors. They were all garbed in wrap-style clothing that draped loosely, the muted colours flatteringly highlighting the vibrant colour of their hair and eyes.You're Jason Asano, the woman in charge said, looking him up and down. She tilted her head curiously to the side, as if looking at an animal that had wandered into her tent. Jason had the unsettling impression she was deciding if he was cute enough to be a pet or juicy enough to be food.Uh, yep, Jason said.What brings you into my tent?Would you believe happenstance? he ventured.She made a dismissive gesture as she moved toward Jason and the other two backed away, resheathing their swords. He could see she knew exactly what effect the sultry gait of her lithe body had and exactly how to weaponise it. She walked right up into Jason's personal space, looking down as she was slightly taller than his slight frame. He dropped his surrendering hands to his side.What price are you going to pay for your rude intrusion, Mr Asano?I suppose taking you to dinner is out of the question?The hands of the other two jerked back toward their swords, anger flashing on their faces. They were stilled by another dismissive gesture from their leader.You haven't asked who I am, she said. Do you already know, or do you not care?I'm pretty ignorant, Jason said. It probably wouldn't mean anything if you told me.She gave him the smile of a snake that just found an unattended egg.You are as your reputation suggests, Mr Asano. Hiding behind the face of a fool.What's wrong with my face? Jason asked, affronted. He gave it an exploratory poke with one of his fingers.The woman laughed.I can hear an actual fool causing a commotion outside, she said. Is that on account of you?I met a bloke who was curious about how I got the scythe, Jason said. His approach was a little rude.She raised an eyebrow.I recognise the irony, Jason said.So, how did you do it?I told the guy outside it was sexiness, Jason said. I recognise that trying that here would be insultingly implausible.You didn't answer my question, she said.I noticed that too, he said with a sly grin. What's your name?It was one of the two offsiders that answered.You have the honour of addressing her royal highnessI didn't ask for a job title, Jason interrupted. I'm not big on nepotism, in any case. I asked for a name.Does it matter? the woman in front of Jason asked. We haven't decided if you get to leave this tent alive, yet.Oh, I'm going to leave and I'll be just fine, Jason said.You're confident.No, but I'm good at faking it.He held a hand up and a plate piled high with red and white confectionary squares appeared in his hand.What's this? she asked.Gem berry and milk nut squares, Jason said. You asked about the price I would pay for barging in.His arm turned into shadow-stuff, bending around the woman and stretching out to set the plate on the table. One of her offsiders drew a sword and slashed at the shadow arm, the blade passing harmlessly through. Jason retracted his arm back and it returned to normal.Once you try those, he said, you'll regret not taking me up on that dinner invitation.He made to leave and she didn't stop him, but she spoke up as he lifted the flap to leave.Mr Asano.Jason's fine, he said, pausing at the entrance to the tent.Zara, she said.Zara?My name.Jason flashed her a grin.It's been a genuine pleasure to meet you, Zara. Enjoy the slices.He left the tent, letting the flap drop down behind him.You should have let us cut him for his impudence, one of Zara's servants said. Nothing lethal. Just a lesson in respect for his betters.Zara let out a weary sigh. Her party members had been hand-picked by her father for loyalty over intelligence.You already tried that and it didn't exactly accomplish anything, Zara said. That was Jason Asano. Cutting him is a quick path to becoming leech food.Jason arrived at the priest camp, keeping an eye out for the adventuring team he had annoyed along the way. He was quickly noticed and approached by a small delegation of church officials. He recognised the symbols of the Healer, Dominion and a few others. Conspicuously absent were Purity and Undeath, the two churches he had been told made up the bulk of the forces that had attacked the Order of the Reaper's lake-bottom fortress.As the church officials approached, the whole camp was suddenly inundated with a clashing maelstrom of overwhelming auras. One god was bad enough, but the manifestation of several at once, even with their auras tamped down to their minimum strength, threw the camp into chaos.Some of the iron-rankers with less control of their own auras dropped to their knees, violently throwing up. Many of them lived entirely on spirit coins, consigning them to painful dry heaving. Most of the iron-rankers were fine, however, as the camp was a gathering of exceptional adventurers. This included Jason, who retracted his own aura in tightly and let the divine auras wash around it like an island in a storm.A handful of figures appeared before Jason. They looked much like the church officials standing behind them but there was no mistaking the power radiating out of them. People were dropping to their knees like a religious Mexican wave before the unexpected appearance of their gods. Soon only Jason remained standing, right in front of them.And I thought I had a thing for melodrama, he said.One of the gods laughed. Each was wearing the robes of their own orders, complete with holy symbol. Jason recognised the one laughing as Dominion from his symbol. He appeared young and handsome, with a hint of perpetual disdain behind the eyes. His robes were purple and gold and he had a simple crown around his head. The outfit was troublingly similar to what the manifestation of Jason's evil future self had been wearing.You don't fail to disappoint, Dominion said.I'm not sure how to take that, coming from you, Jason said, getting another laugh from the god. Another God stepped forward, Jason recognising the symbol of the Healer.We wanted to give a display of our gratitude for returning our people, long lost to us, Healer told Jason. Astral spaces, not being truly of this world, exist beyond our influence. We understand you have complicated views regarding we gods and decided the best gift we could give you was to thank you in person. The simple fact of our having done so should help you establish your reputation as you advance your adventuring career.Setting them loose wasn't exactly out of my way.I think, perhaps, it was not so simple as you make out, but I shall say no more. We have given our thanks and shall take our leave.No worries, bloke.The gods vanished, the sudden absence of their aura felling like ears popping under a pressure change. People started getting to their feet, all eyes on Jason. He looked around, then his shadow cloak formed around him and he teleported immediately through it, leaving the cloak to drift down for a moment before likewise vanishing.Jason teleported rapidly through the camp, jumping from shadow to shadow. He finally reached the cloud palace, striding inside. Once through the door, he collapsed against the wall, drawing heaving breaths. It had taken everything he had to keep his cool in the face of not just one but a handful of gods, all while people looked on.The sheer force of multiple divine presences had pressed down on him like the weight of the sky. For the first time he could feel his own soul. Even now, having escaped that inconceivable power, he could feel the pressure. Rather than lessen, he felt like was descending into the ocean depths, every moment increasing the chance that the fragile vessel of his soul would collapse. By the time the pressure finally subsided, he was curled up on the floor of the cloud palace atrium, arms clutching his head.New Title: Godless ProphetYour aura has been damaged by the direct, concerted focus of multiple transcendent-level entities. The process of damage and recovery has refined the strength of your aura, increasing its suppressive force and resistance to suppression from higher-ranked auras.Your aura signature has changed. An echo of transcendent power can be detected if your aura is examined by an aura sensing power or when projecting your aura.Jason continued to lay on they floor, letting out exhausted, wheezing coughs.Jason? Humphrey's voice came through the party chat. We all felt multiple divine auras and then we started hearing some strange things.You should try it from my perspective, Jason responded weakly. You should all go ahead and shop without me. I think I'm going to have a lay down.What happened? Humphrey asked.I'll tell you later, Jason said. Just spot me for anything Sophie and Belinda want to buy, alright?I can do that, Humphrey said.In the guest wing lounge of the cloud palace, Sophie and Belinda were going over the awakening stones Sophie had chosen with Clive. They had obtained the essences for Belinda but had decided to leave those until Sophie's power set was completed. Although they had found several interesting essences during the trials, Belinda was adamant about the combination of three common essences she had already chosen. They had no trouble trading for the magic, trap and adept essences she wanted.Sophie also had her remaining awakening stones sorted out. Clive had extensive knowledge of attempting to engineer power sets through stone choices, although he was the first to reiterate that he could make no promises.Aside from the legendary awakening stones, her strongest acquisitions were a pair of epic awakening stones of the moment. Adventure Society representatives were offering good trades for restricted essences to take them out of the market and Sophie had traded a death essence for the two epic awakening stones.These really were a great trade, Clive said for the third or fourth time since urging Sophie to take them in the first place. He had convinced her by explaining they were perfect for a skill-based power set. The abilities they were known to produce required precise timing but were incredibly impactful.Rounding out Sophie's selection were two uncommon stones picked out from the ones they found during the trials. Because Sophie's power set was very skill-oriented, the awakening stone of preparation would hopefully give her an ability that acted as a failsafe when things inevitably went wrong. They hoped the awakening stone of the surge would bestow a buff power that would help in critical moments.The hallmark of a good high-skill adventurer is coming through in the critical moments, Clive had explained. If your abilities reflect this, you'll find yourself far more effective. Be warned, though, that such abilities require skill, judgement and timing. Get them wrong and they may do more harm than good. To you, obviously. Doing harm to the other guy is kind of the point.We should get everyone together to use the stones, Sophie said. Asano still hasn't come out of his suite?Not that I know of, Clive said. Having a bunch of gods turn up in front of you would be a straining experience for anyone.You should go check on him, Belinda said to Sophie.Why me?He does own you.He does not own me.A lease is kind of like owning you.It's not a lease!Still, you should be the one toSophie and Clive looked at the startled expression on Belinda's face as she trailed off and followed her gaze to the terrace outside. Jason was wandering along, looking lost. More noticeably, he had a bushy moustache and no clothes whatsoever. Sophie, Belinda and Clive looked at each other in confusion, then went out to meet Jason.Uh, Jason, Clive said. You aren't wearing any pants.Fair point, Jason said brightly.I think what Clive meant to ask was why, Belinda said.The topic of this conversation is kind of my thing! Jason said.Sophie, Belinda and Clive shared another look.Asano, Sophie said. "Is everything alright?Biscuits!Biscuits? Sophie asked.Biscuits!Suddenly, Humphrey's voice rumbled in their direction in an angry roar.STASH!Jason's eyes went wide and he clambered onto the terrace rail, transforming into a puppy before leaping off, into the air. Humphrey then came pounding along the terrace at a run.WHAT DID I TELL YOU? he bellowed before vaulting the rail in pursuit of his fleeing familiar.Sophie, Belinda and Clive looked at each other one more time.Anyone else want a drink? Clive asked.Yes please.Absolutely.
