Chương 5: Champion Initialized

Ch. 5: Champion Initialized Champion initialization failed. Already registered as a Champion. Champion initialization failed. Already registered as a Champion. Champion initialization failed. Already registered as a Champion. The voice rang as I punched him three more times. He stared at me in disgust. Completely unfazed by my human strength.

"You touched me," he said.

"You insolent speck."

"You wanted to kill all of us, for what?!" I screamed. His hand was next to my temple before I could blink. He had every intention of jabbing it through my skull. So what stopped him? The demon's hand was gripping Spiros' wrist. The dagger was to his neck. He spoke with this thrumming noise. Spiros sighed and relaxed his hand next to my head.

"Oh, this bloody ritual. Fine! Exactly thirteen dead bodies. Look, the eclipse is starting. Have you dealt with all of them?' The second moon of Tarturus blocked the first sun. It created a dioptic effect. Half the forest had been covered in shadow. The shade enveloped the pile of bodies.

"That's what this is for!?" I said.

"Some weapon!? To be part of a ritual for the demons… you're working with the bad guys for that thing?" Spiros looked at me, unamused.

"I'll kill you when we set foot outside of this place. Your best bet now is to run and hide." I was incredibly mad at Spiros. Too mad. I could not hear that he was right. The best move would have been to run and hide. It was not often that your meager non-existance would be a greater inconvenience for a cabal of man-slaughtering demons. But… I wanted Spiros to be wrong. I wanted him to be bested. I got the demon's attention.

"Count the bodies," I said. The demon looked at me strangely, unable to understand the words.

"Count. Them." I pointed at the bodies and then pointed at my fingers one at a time. The demon turned to a goatman and shouted something at him.

"What are you doing?" Spiros asked. I turned to him, my own fangs showing in the form of a shit-eating grin.

"I evacuated Nelo, the person who saved me. But your follower, Franz? I guess whatever you told him spooked him. He ran with his tail between his legs." The goatman bleated at his lord. Spiros and I both looked. The goatman held up his hands. All six fingers on his left hand were up. And only five on his right hand. 11 bodies.

"Eleven bodies," I said to Spiros.

"They need 13 non-demon bodies under the first sun eclipse by the second moon," Spiros growled.

"And now they can't complete their little ritual," I said.

"You dulbert. You, and I, are two nondemon bodies," Spiros seethed. My smile faded and I said.

"Gotta go." I began to hobble away in the direction of the portal. I walked out of the sun of the split eclipse and into the shadows. The cold pricked my wounds through the half-spell's effects. The goatmen soldiers all stared at me as I did. Each of them smiled as the demon lord deliberated. I gave them a polite nod as I tried to walk past them but two casually stood in front of me with their spears out. The half spell that soothed my pain was racing to its end.

I could feel the waves of overwhelming pain at my shore and the tides were rising.

"Would you handsome boys mind letting an old fool like me- Ahh!" My head pounded as a message was beamed into my head. Welcome, Champion! I am Spiros. You have been chosen as one of my lucky few. You should feel honored. I turned. Spiros and the demon lord were having an intense stare down. This must have been some automated message. You may now choose a class. There are three for a level 1 Spiros follower!

Close-up Caster - Heavy Fighter - Ranged Rogue Please ask me, Spiros, any of the dull questions you might have If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Where you tryna go, meat?" The goatman asked, laughing, "You staying with us."

"Which is going to help me escape these goons?" I whispered. Ranged Rogue"Done," I said out loud as I could hear the god and demon getting into a tense argument behind me. Very good choice, young champion. Now for the tutorial. Spiros' annoying automated message played in my head blaringly loud. Meanwhile, the real god and demon were nearly at each other's throats.

"Give me time," the god said.

"I can get another body. I merely have to step out of the portal..." The demon lord made another thrumming noise. It translated to, "The half-eclipse is here. We need two bodies now." And suddenly, the very knife that had been admired by Spiros, the one that was meant to be his was turned against him. Spiros threw his hands up and sighed.

"Maybe this is for the best. Working with you has been a dreadful experience. However, the knife belongs to me." The goatmen walked toward me.

"Come on, meat. We need the body." I grabbed my head. The waves of pain had started to become a torrent. Even still the noise from the system were cutting through. I said, "Can we turn the volume in my head down?" You're getting ahead of yourself. You'll have to go through the tutorial. Do you see the big tab on your screen?

"Stats!" I cried. You're getting ahead of yourself. You'll have to go through the tutorial. Do you see the big tab on your screen?

"Abilities!" You're getting ahead of yourself. You'll have to go through the tutorial. Do you see the big tab on your screen?" Goddammit, shut up!" I screamed.

"Did you just tell us to shut up?" The second goatman asked.

"Oh, no, meat. That ain't how you talk to us." Did you just say, shut up? That's not how you talk to a god. Do you see-""What is the stupid big tab on my screen!?" That is known as your 'home screen' and it will be where you access such tools as 'stats' and 'abilities.' Remember- I could not hear what was said. The goatman's knife cut through the hologram of the screen and stabbed me in the gut. I fell on my back. The two goatmen stood over me with their daggers and spears.

At the same time, the demon lord lurched toward the kiring god with the knife. Spiros jumped out of the way and clapped his hands. A ring of fire reverberated out from him. The fire ring sliced through the goatmen's waists, causing their torsos to drop lifelessly on top of me. I pushed the body off and sat up as best as I could. All the goatmen were dead. Their bodies sliced in two by Spiros' attack. The demon lord's stomach had a burn, but he was very much standing. Spiros and the demon charged at each other.

Their fight took them up in the air where the clouds and fire of Spiros matched the beams of blue and green from the demon lord. Above me, as I struggled to get up, a celestial fireworks show was beginning. The portal entrance was about a mile away. I took tiny little limps forward. I heard a roar behind me. Oh, right. The grizzlox. The area of effect had unsettled the dungeon's core. And it had gotten up and started following its instincts. Destroy anything not from this dimension. That… would be me.

The grizzlox was injured as well. It lumbered behind me but with the size of its legs, it was catching up. With the battle raging above me in the air, I could only watch in horror as the grizzlox caught up to me. Its mouth opened, revealing two rows of fangs and its musty breath splashed on me like boiling oil on enemy barbarians. I tried to scurry away, but its teeth grabbed my shoulder and squeezed. I screamed in pain as it stopped me from moving. I could see the portal.

I could see the landscape of MacArthur park. Serene, idyllic. I could see the tiniest sliver of a taco truck across the street. As it pulled me closer, I thought of my sister. What would happen? Who would pay for her bills? Care for her dog? Dory would get a visit from the association while in a hospital bed and be left to deal with her illness herself. A comet fell from the light show above and hit the grizzlox square in the back. The grizzlox's mouth opened and I fell back to the ground.

The 'comet' bounced off the back and collided in a nearby tree. It was Spiros, with the blade stuck inside of his chest.

"Sp-Spiros?" I asked.

"Come, boy," he beckoned weakly.

"The blade… It's leaking poison into me. It prevents me from healing." The green jewel at the end was pulsating with light. Each pulse, a little trickle of light would follow along the blade as it delivered poison.

"Remove it. Now, boy." Amber blood gushed from his wound like resin from the gnarl of a tree. I found some well of strength and pushed myself up, and limped toward him.

"Remove it, and I shall slay the demon." I spit blood out of my mouth.

"Why didn't you want to touch me before?" I asked.

"What?" Spiros asked.

"Why didn't you want to touch me earlier?" I repeated. Spiros lifted his hand.

"You are my champion now, it is fate's will."

"No. It was mine. Seriously… why didn't you want me to be your champion? What was… wrong with me?" Spiros stared for a moment, possibly contemplating his thoughts before throwing his hands up, "You're just so… inelegant. But I think you're worthy now. Let us survive. Let us take the knife… and I shall gift it to you as your boon." One of the highest gods in the land, and he was pinned to a boulder. He coughed more amber blood.

"Please. I'm in so much pain. So much… and you did this."

"I'm so sorry," I said as I reached for the sword handle.

"I'm so so sorry."

"That is alright," Spiros said.

"Release me." I kept shaking my head, "I'm so, so, sorry." My mind was working so fast that I couldn't even tell you what I was thinking. Some swirl of… my sister, what he had done to us, that I was a champion against his will. The bastard he would never want. I just apologized again. I gripped the handle and he let out a soft grunt from the pain. But mostly, I thought of this one simple fact. I was now allowed to gain experience points.

"I'm so sorry… but… I've got bills to pay." And with that, I took the knife and twisted it further in.