Chương 131: Chapter 207: Evening Before the Hunt

The sun was beating down as hard as it ever did on this Floor, easily warded off by Will's Resistance as he stood out in the wilderness, accompanied by Ghoul and Brianna. Here goes nothing. Will slipped the fingerless glove over his left hand, the missing fingers nubs inside the glove itself.

"Here we go." Will muttered, kneeling down and beginning the three-part combo. Will placed his right hand on the ground, triggering Aspect and solidifying the earth under his touch. Will saw the miasmatic structures shoot out in every direction at lightning speed, practically instantaneous, even to someone with his Acuity. While wearing the Homeland Advantage, the area of the Ability was magnified tremendously, controlling the earth nearly as far as Will could see.

Will placed the remaining fingers of his left hand down on the ground, and began urging his Charge to rise through his hand. It had taken quite a bit of practice to move Charge in his body without actually activating an Ability. Will likened it to teaching yourself to sneeze on command, and then teaching yourself to hold it. Sure, it was possible, but it was weird and uncomfortable, especially at first. Will had always thought Charge was just another form of Miasma, but Ghoul had taught him differently.

Charge was energy. Raw potential that Miasma was able to convert into changes in the real world. When Will asked to explain further, Ghoul had shrugged and explained that he didn't know enough about it to say for sure, but he had some theories. Ghoul's theory was that like every form of stored energy, Charge must be an imbalance of some kind.

Like lightning that travelled from the sky to the earth did so to even out their charge, or air that rushed out of a pressurized bottle to match the ambient pressure, Charge had to be some form of imbalance. The fact that resolving that imbalance resulted in alterations to the laws of physics, states of matter, and produced both matter and energy from nothing, suggested that Charge was the result of an imbalance in reality itself.

'Maybe one day we'll figure it out.' Ghoul had said. The glove Will was wearing served to contain and direct the Charge, preventing it from leaking and directing the Charge straight into Will's fingertips, where he had implanted the snippets of miasma. Will's fingertips glowed with miasmatic light for an instant as the Charge interacted with- 187->172 Charge remaining. Once the connection was established, Charge drained rapidly out of Will, his body shaking uncontrollably.

With gritted teeth and an exhalation of pure effort, Will managed to pull his hand away from the ground, severing the connection before he was completely drained. Without an external structure to control it, it felt like all the Charge was trying to escape his body all at once. Where his fingers had been, Will watched with fascination as the miasmatic structure of Aspect's terrain control were changed, the modification travelling outward like a wave of dominoes.

One changed strand changed the next, which changed the next, until it reached the edge of Will's controlled area, far in the distance. Homeland Advantage 172->171 Charge remaining. Will stored the surrounding terrain then released his hold on it, the miasmatic structures fading into nothing, unable to sustain themselves. Homeland Advantage 170 Charge remaining. The miasmatic structures snapped back into place around Will as far as he could see in every direction. Yes! Now, the moment of truth.

Will pulled out a little vial of Attrition's slime, uncorked it and tilted it just enough to let a single drop touch the ground. The ground burst outward, foaming up violently around the slime as though it had been secretly beer the entire time, forcing the slime out of the earth like puss forcing a splinter from a wound. Excellent. It's time for the hunt. Will thought a moment before a bony hand clapped him on the shoulder.

"Congratulations," Ghoul said, patting Will's shoulder again.

"You're a wizard now, kid. Albeit technically. But technically is a good place to be."

"What makes me a wizard?" Will asked.

"Your criteria are pretty vague." You've got half a dozen cantrips and you made your own Charge-based Ability," Ghoul said, pointing at the foaming ground.

"Wizards don't meekly accept the limitations of their Class. They make something new. I say 'technically' because you used some crutches." He gestured at Will's glove.

"But a win is a win. You understand the theory almost as well as I do, and at this rate, I'm sure you'll be slinging original Abilities left and right in the next twenty years or so." Will blinked.

"Twenty years?"

"Mmyes?" Ghoul said. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"How long did it take you?"

"To make my first Original? About a hundred years, give or take."

"Don't worry about it," Ghoul said, clapping Will on the back one more time before withdrawing.

"Your natural lifespan at this point is what…sixty times…ten, maybe twenty?"

"…Somewhere between six hundred and a thousand." Ghoul said with a nod.

"Assuming I don't get murdered." Will wanted to bring up the fact that with Aspect perfectly healing any damage, he might have even longer, but the number was already so incomprehensible that it defeated the point of getting nitpicky about it.

"Yeah, assuming you don't get murdered."

"…I'll do it in one year." Ghoul looked at Will appraisingly.

"You know, I think you just might, William Oh."

"I had a lot of help. Thank you."

"My pleasure." Ghoul said.

"I'd give you a hug, but you're a rotting corpse." Will said, offering a fist-bump instead.

"Boy, if you weren't a Lord, I would've…" Ghoul chuckled, meeting Will's fist with his own.

"It's been fun, but I've been here longer than I intended, and I'm worried people might be stranded on the Eighth Floor as we speak. Would you mind…"

"Oh, sure!" Open Lord Menu Will scrolled through the categories and went to 'logistics, consumable'. …Purchase Door? The cost of a Door to another Floor is x y Influence. X is the Floor number of the higher Floor, Y is the number of Floors travelled. Can only be used by one Climber. A cooldown is imposed if used on the Lord themselves. Current Influence: 1257"You mind if I foist you off on Bakton?" Will asked.

"I don't really have a lot. The yearly Establishing Quests weren't cheap…" Sending ghoul back even one more floor turned 10 Influence cost into 100.

"Tsk, cheap." Ghoul clicked his tongue." Me, cheap? Get some Vassals, then you could pay for your own Door!"

"Nobody wants to swear allegiance to this," Ghoul said, motioning to himself.

"True…"

"Hah. A daisy chain through Bakton is fine. He owes you big time for that Relic Seed, so nine Influence isn't even going to register to him."

"That reminds me." Will said, pulling out a glowing yellow gemstone that looked like flickering candlelight given form. Guiding Light Relic Seed. The condensed myth of the guide of the 8 th Floor, who has diligently ferried Climbers through the blighted Floor for generations. When applied to a Relic, this seed creates an affix that protects against corrupted miasma, repels undead, and may trigger Doors when inserted in the Miasma Stream. Affix starts minor, grows as the myth of the Relic does.

Cannot be removed until the myth has taken root. May then be applied to a new Relic without losing its effect on the first. Ghoul's eyes bulged.

"Oooooh."

"Jason was in Akul telling stories about you and this popped up." Will said, holding the Relic seed just beyond the reach of Ghoul's grasping claws.

"Gimmie."

"Two conditions."

"Done." Ghoul said, trying to climb Will to get the Relic Seed.

"First, I never pay tax to go through the Eighth floor again. And I always use this when I come through. I… HATE… having to cut off my hand on the other side." Will said.

"Deal."

"And second, I want you to actively use this to make travelling through the eighth Floor safer. No sitting on it because it threatens your monopoly."

"Technically that's three things, but…Deal." Ghoul said, snatching the frozen candlelight from Will's hand, chuckling ominously.

"Not to worry, lad, I know some of the best anti-theft people in the business. They can bind the Relics to me, and then I can lease them out to travelling merchants. They'll gladly pay twice the tax in order to make it through in one piece every time."

"Eventually I might even be able to automate and retire…" Ghoul muttered, withdrawing into his thoughts. Purchase Door? Yes. Designate Target. Will mentally nodded at Ghoul. Designate Floor. Ninth Floor. Current Influence: 1257->1247 A yellow Door sprung up in front of Ghoul. The lord nodded and turned to face Will.

"I wish you luck getting your worm problem sorted, young man. I look forward to visiting in a few months." Ghoul said, giving a polite bow.

"See you then," Will said, nodding. Ghoul stepped through the Door and disappeared.

"… it's nice you have a friend." Anna broke her silence once Ghoul was gone. Will glanced over at the buxom blonde hiding from the sun under a massive parasol, a picnic platter spread out in front of her, Ria Bee, and Jean. The girls liked to get together and gossip, sharing their experiences verbally. It was a slower, more subtle way of recombining into Brianna, and it had long become more of a habit than a necessity. Bee, Ria and Anna were no longer strictly necessary for Brianna to be a whole person…

but it was what they were used to. Each personality was now a comfortable groove worn into their shared mind. They had taken on distinct personalities, likes and dislikes, and goals. They could combine easily if they needed to, but they were more at ease split up, rather than one. I wonder what it looked like from their perspective? To people who can't perceive miasmatic structures, specifically.

Did it just look like two guys hanging out, meticulously preparing for hours before playing around in the dirt for a few minutes?

"…yeah." He is a friend, though.

"Will's got a thing for older men." Bee said, nodding sagely.

"You four of all people know that isn't true." Will said with a snort.

"Let everyone know to get ready," Will said, joining them underneath the parasol.

"We're hunting Attrition tomorrow. Bright and early."

"Right now, though… just wanna rest my eyes a bit," Will muttered, lying down on the blanket and making himself comfortable against Anna. His eyes had been strained looking at such fine detail for hours every day for weeks. In that time, the Stronghold had been stagnating, limping along with barely enough food to get by, with the less invested Climbers gradually grabbing rides with other Parties to head down to the Ninth Floor to wait out the famine.

They were slowly losing population, and law was holding on by a thread. People were hungry. And pissed. Will needed to catch this thing, and soon, or some idiot would try to steal the Stronghold out from under him again. Actually, I wouldn't try to steal it until the problem was resolved. I would try to ambush Will just as things were about to turn around and then take credit for it. Which meant tomorrow's hunt was the perfect opportunity. That reminds me…

"Does everyone know we're hunting it tomorrow?" Will asked, peeling an eye open to glance at Anna above him.

"Mhmm." Anna nodded. Will leaned his head back and closed his eyes again. Let's see if the news shook loose any opportunists. Phantom Eye. Will scanned the Stronghold in the distance in a matter of seconds, then flipped through the legend in his map. Select: 'fear of plot to Kill William Oh during Attrition hunt being discovered by William Oh' Will spotted a bright bloom of fear that matched that exact terrain on his map.

Just like with the thieves under the vault, he'd managed to catch trouble before it started The question is… how to deal with it?

"Bee, do you have any bodies in the southwest of the Stronghold?"

"Of course."

"Would you mind visiting this building right here?" Will said, creating a physical map without opening his eyes, making the building in question pulse with light.

"Should be some suspicious folk in there."

"Okay, want me to kill 'em?" Bee asked, her fingers elongating into claws. Jean sighed while Ria glared at Bee, her posture tense, hand hovering over her halberd. Anna pretended not to notice." No. Be considerate to the others, Bee. Just tell them I know what they're planning and if they wanna continue breathing, they should rethink their priorities."

"But I can rough 'em up a little bit, right?" Bee asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"If they start anything." Will said with a sigh, eyes still closed.