Chapter 163

Chapter 163

Queen smiled as the waiter placed a chocolate lava cake in front of her. The cheery expression melted into a frown when a tall woman with platinum blonde hair and sparkling amethyst eyes sat herself down in front of Queen, in the seat right across the table.

At first, she assumed it was a fellow competitor who was taking liberties to sit down at her table, but her spiritual perception said that this woman was clearly above Tier 20. So, not her competition.

Probably another fucking reporter.

The woman remained silent and only flicked an eye to her dessert.

Unwilling to speak first, or maybe at all, Queen dipped her spoon into the perfectly cooked cake and shoved the spoon through her mask.

The masks were wonderful things. They didnt hamper her ability to eat while still concealing her identity.

Halfway through her dessert, the interloper quietly coughed.

Queen stared down the woman, but she once again offered nothing back.

Queen returned to her delectable snack.

She cleaned the plate and began standing up from her seat when the silent stranger finally spoke. Stubborn one, arent you?

It wasnt really a question, let alone one that warranted a response, so Queen ignored the woman and put away the tray she had been served on. The woman shadowed her out of the bakery before demanding, Really? Are you not at all curious about who I am?

Queen sort of was, but refused to take the bait. No random, higher Tier woman should be prancing around Tur'stals backyard like this, unless she was invited. That might mean she wasn't a physical danger to Queen, but it didnt mean this nuisance didnt have some agenda of her own.

Queen then noticed how no one else was reacting like they could see or hear the woman. People didnt even seem to notice as they all stepped around her when walking down the street.

Yet another reason why keeping her mouth shut was the best choice.

They had reached the teleporter pad which would blink her to her room when the tagalong stepped forward, gestured forwards, and asked, Now hun, arent you going to invite me in?

Queen quirked an eyebrow under the mask as she activated the teleport.

Hell no.This chapter's initial release occurred on the n0vell--Bjjn site.

Then she was gone.

Queen stepped off the platform in her suite when she bumped into someone standing in her path. The tall woman with platinum blonde hair and amethyst eyes.

Immediately, her sword was in hand and cutting down at the intruder, while she howled for Tur'stal and set off an emergency ping on her AI.

Her unwelcome guest simply stood there as her sword pressed up against a repulsion barrier and whistled low. There we go! Now, that's one of the best manifestations Ive seen from a mortal. Period. Very nice! However

Before she could say more, Tur'stal appeared with a put-off expression. While nodding to Queen, the more literal Queen took in a deep breath and then sighed it out while turning to the invader. There are better, easier ways to do this, Carol.

The Royal looked back to Queen and flopped a hand in the self-satisfied blondes direction. Queen, this is Carol, your assigned manager for The Path. Believe it or not, shes quite good at what she does, and she specializes in honing Concepts and Intents for young Pathers, which seemed ideal for you. Carol was even Duke Waters manager back when he was on The Path.

Tur'stal rubbed her tongue across her teeth before adding, As you will come to learn, the best managers often have dare I say asinine quirks and eccentricities that can make them bothersome to deal with. Carol here isnt the worst, not by a long shot, but she likes to introduce herself by seeing how far she can push her new charges before they attack. Often very justifiably. If you want a different manager, simply say so and we will get you one. You wouldnt even be the first to give Carol the boot for her antics. However, she was selected for you in particular because we believe she fits your needs better than anyone else that we currently have available.

After a moment of consideration, Queen nodded at Tur'stal, who then returned the nod, folded her arms, and glowered at the manager.

Carol, do not foul this up. Not today. Freir pulled a similar stunt with his charge in order to and I quote assess the damages. And guess what? Now weve got an increasingly unbalanced Pather with an incredibly concerning Talent-Domain combination who is refusing to even meet with any potential manager or team. Because who needs support systems, right? That disaster is enough of a mess to clean up. Do not make my day even worse by ostracizing yet another elite Pather with known trust and authority issues. Turstal paused and looked over. No offense, child.

Queen just shrugged. It was a fair assessment.

The Royal shot her back a small smile. At least someones being reasonable today.

With a long look at Carol and a final humph, the Royal disappeared.

The other woman let out a low whistle into the empty space and whispered through gritted teeth, Maras tits! Freir, you troll runt. You poke at the curious playful kittens, not the feral rescues.

Then, Carol turned to her new charge and smiled again, while distinctly not moving out of the opening, preventing Queen from exiting through the small, recessed nook containing the teleporter pad.

Seeing that she was boxed in, Queen whipped her sword at the higher Tier again. The cramped space forced her to expend more willpower while twisting space to avoid scraping the walls, but Carol laughed as she dipped back out of the way before bunny-hopping back a step.

You have spunk, hun. And I like it. Drive and determination. The two things I demand in all of my charges. Before we begin, we need to talk about your Talent and skills though. I don't have access to them, but I can make some educated guesses. Id prefer to know for sure though. Would you mind sharing them with me?

The way cleared, the younger woman headed into the suite. After leaning her greatsword on the wall next to her, Queen plopped down on her bed and scrupulously appraised Carol.

Tur'stal recommended her highly, and that certainly counted for something. How much so, Queen wasn't sure. Nonetheless, if this vexing woman trained Duke Waters into a behemoth, she was probably the right woman for the job.

Queen just didnt like her attitude.

Still, Tur'stal claimed that all the best managers had their oddities. It sounded like Carols were more about the initial impression, which was something that she could deal with. If her shenanigans continued, then

That bore some thinking.

After letting the idea stew in her mind for a good five minutes, she finally consented and sent all the details. Queen wanted to complete The Path, and she had heard that a good manager was worth their weight in Tier 50 steel.

Carol bobbed her head and hmmed as she read through the information. Finally, she declared, A good start! And your progress, as noted by Aunt Helen, has been fantastic.

Queen noted that even her irreverent manager referred to the old bird as Aunt Helen, but filed it away when she saw the gleam in the woman's eyes.

I want to get you as good with your Concept as Aiden was at your Tier, and I also want to help grow your Talent. Both are a tall order, but its possible, in my opinion. Then, you'll be a monster of a calibur rarely seen. But first, we need to talk about your progress in the tournament. I dont like how things currently stand. We have a little more than a month and a half left, with only two weeks before the top fifty fights start to really prepare. And I want you to take second place in both the solo and team competitions.

Queens eyebrow shot up. Carol must have seen it, because she said, Yes, only second place. Sadly, one of the other teams has had a management team since Tier 6, because of one of their Talents. Knowing who that manager is, I doubt we have a good chance of winning in the short run. Maybe if it was just about the Talent, but theyre plenty good on their own. Honestly, Id say their natural prowess is at least comparable to yours. Just with decades of professional refining.

Queen clenched her fist. That hardly seems fair. She held up a hand to forestall any comments. I know nothing is fair, but being the only ones with a manager seems like way too big of an advantage.

Carol chuckled, Well first, theyre not the only ones out there with a manager already. They just qualified the earliest, and are the only ones Im overly concerned about. Secondly, that kind of thing comes with downsides, believe me. In this tournament, you're better off than if you had me early. Otherwise, Id have been forced to make you fight with a wooden spoon, and a dull, mildewy one at that.

That information caused her to raise her eyebrows in shock as she considered what their real strengths were but as neither were sword wielders she didn't care and Queen filed that tidbit away before asking, What's your plan then?

Carol smirked. We have a little time now that all the managers have been assigned, and we have free reign to train you. As it stands, I believe youll take second place in the solo fights, and then maybe third or fourth in the team fights. Im okay with that first one, but disgracing yourself in the team battles is unacceptable. I intend for you to win second place there as well. And to do that, well need to change up your training. You need tools to counter some of your more problematic matchups. Additionally, we need to shore up a few weaknesses you have, particularly concerning how you use your Concept.

Carol waggled a finger, and Queen was almost lost in her purple eyes. But first, we need to talk about an opportunity one of my colleagues offered. She's well known for breeding monsters and

Queen interrupted, Another manager? The same one who is training the people you expect to beat me?

Carol nodded. Yes, and I even have permission to tell you who they are. Quill and Torch. Though I imagine you already suspected as much. Their manager wants to send them into Minkalla directly after the tournament, instead of at Tier 13, which is normal, or even at Tier 12, when it's just stupidly risky. She wants them to go at Tier 11, when it's utterly suicidal.

The unspoken rule of risk equals reward rang in Queen's ears as she processed Carols words, but she kept quiet.

The sadist has officially invited you to go in with them. While I agree, it's up to you. That place is dangerous, but going in at Tier 11 is the best time for you. I would be hesitant to send you in alone, but with them, I think the risks are minimized. Plus, their lead will only widen further if they go in, but you dont.

Queen mulled that last bit over before asking her own question. What is Minkalla anyway?

Carol's smile twisted deviously. Minkalla is a word from a long-lost civilization. It means forge, more or less. The precise translation is more complicated, and has a bunch of cultural connotations. It simultaneously means forge, anvil, hammer, right of passage, and is a part of the character for refinement. In the modern day, we just say it translates to The Forge for simplicity.

Her new protege looked less than impressed so far, but Carol just rolled on. What were specifically talking about here is a very special place called Minkalla. Its creation predates any known record, but its been theorized to have either fallen from a higher Realm, or to have been the collaborative work of at least nine different Tier 50s in this rock-bottom Realm. Its said that they wouldve used materials from multiple Tier 49 to 50 rifts that no longer exist.

The Pathers attention was hooked now. Carol beamed inside. Time to reel the fishy in.

This Minkalla, or The Forge, is exactly what it sounds like a place to refine the body and spirit before Tier 15. If you want to go, you'll be unprotected, as no one above Tier 14 can enter. That includes spiritual senses. You'll need to fight against opponents as high as Tier 14, and all the other Great Powers have access, and will also be sending in their promising youths. The Young Masters from the Sects. The Heroes from the Guilds. The Alphas from the Monster Collective. The Slayers from the Federation. The Gladiators from the Republic. The Chosen from The Corporations. The Knights from the Clans. Our own Ascenders. Everyone sends in the best and brightest along with their Ascender-equivalent hopefuls.

And the lower the Tier, the better? Queen quizzed.

Yes, with Tier 11 being both the minimum and the most rewarding. Anyone below that gets blocked at the entrance. While there isn't a hard limit on how many people can get the best rewards, there are soft limits based on Tier. The fighting will become brutal, vicious, and completely merciless. Despite what the treaties say, some Great Powers also send in literal death squads of peak Tier 14s specifically to hunt down their rivals most promising fighters. It's why I wouldn't be willing to send you in before Tier 12 normally, but with the other two

Her hand wavered in the air.

Queen pondered for a while before quickly nodding. This Minkalla sounded like an opportunity she couldn't afford to pass up.

I agree. But first, Im not content with settling for second place. What can we do to get me first?

***

The elimination down to the top fifty devolved into brutal battles that pushed everyone to their limits.

Mostly, it came from the losers bracket. Anyone who had been eliminated from the main competition had then been forced to fight in winner-takes-all battles for a static one thousand positions. That repeated every day until the top fifty were decided in the winners bracket.

Those who survived in those brackets, like Kyle, turned into battle-hardened monsters who put everything on the line in every battle. Their friend had experienced a surge of growth in the last few months as he doggedly clung on to any last hope of reaching the top fifty.

He had then slapped it with every endurance rune the monster material could handle without unbalancing the weapon. Sharpness and repair runes were almost secondary, but had also been added.

Taking advantage of the fact that monster parts could hold more enchantments than even wood of the same Tier, he had been able to put one final rune on the weapon.

It wasnt really a true enchantment, but it gave Annie's neutral mana a sharpness sub-aspect, and gathered it around the tip of the weapon. It might look like a typical enchantment or spell buff, but the effects were multiplied. Matt made a mental note to examine the dagger with Annie after this. The item had been tested, but this was its first real world application, and it would need to be inspected then further refined.

Annie had loved the dagger, despite it costing her most of her team's points, but they had all agreed to spend the points to ensure her continued victory. As both sisters were in the top fifty, they would easily earn their points back, as long as they didnt get kicked out now.

Emily was scary herself, consistently one-shotting her opponents. But she had also gotten slightly lucky in the sense that no one who countered her, like Rewind or Adam, had been placed in her bracket. Even so, she had still charred a path through the competition, making most unwilling to challenge her to this point.

Tara, their final friend in the top fifty, was challenged for her spot just seven bouts later.

She sauntered to the stage as if unworried, but Matt had heard more than his fair share of worries and complaints over the last few days as the nerves started to get to her. Despite being both strong and competent, Tara was worried like a mother hen that kept checking on her first eggs.

Even Emily had slipped away, despite her girlfriend duties, after an hour of her second round of complaints.

Matt had planned on yelling at her for ditching them, but she had returned with a pitcher of Tier 12 beer, and the two of them proceeded to get Tara properly sloshed, helping her to forget about her worries.

Tara stood on her platform, and Quill could almost hear her cursing at her opponent.

Another heavily armored man stood across from her, wielding a massive tower shield that had visible runes carved onto the front of it.

Repulsion runes were an interesting choice, but they were a good counter to an archer or other long ranged attacker that used mostly physical projectiles.

Cataphract, the man who was fighting her, took the first two arrows on his shield before planting his sword in the ground and beginning to cast a long spell. Tara tried to interrupt his casting, but despite leaving deep gouges in the slab of metal, her arrows werent quite able to punch through completely like they usually did.

When Cataphract finally finished his spell, they all understood why he had chosen such a name.

From inside of body, a heavily armored horse made from mana stepped out and grew to massive proportions. It was seven feet tall at the shoulders, and the horse was heavily armored, just as Cataphract himself was.

Even Quill had to whistle at the imposing sight. Whatever Cataphract's Talent was, it was imposing to look at.

Once on the horse's back, he pulled a long spear out of a spatial backpack and brandished it while blocking every arrow Tara shot at him.

With just his knees, he sent the horse into a gallop, forcing Tara to leave her starting area.

It was an awful arena for her, being wide open, but she immediately started to shoot skills at Cataphract's mount to little effect.

The arrows passed through the horse as if it wasnt there at all. Not how most summons or projections worked, but it made for an interesting Talent.

Being forced on the defensive, Quill could now see Tara calming down and settling her nerves. That immediately changed the way she fought, and despite being forced to dodge repeated charges from Cataphract, she started to push the momentum of the battle to a more neutral position.

Neither stopped moving throughout the exchanges, as that would mean certain death against the other's arsenal.

Tara rolled out of the way of the spear and dodged a shield bash, but held her arrow fully drawn, and from the ground, released the crackling lightning arrow. The projectile was again caught by Cataphract, turning his horse on a mana stone, which allowed him to get his shield between himself and the arrow. But Quill had to stifle a fist pump at her success as the arrow punched through the runes effects, and struck the shield directly, pushing through and sticking into the thick metal.

Repulsion enchantments had a weakness against magical attacks, and using enchanted arrows could normally get around such effects, at least to a lesser degree.

It was a pretty obscure rune, and he hadnt been able to tell her the weakness, as Cataphract had only unveiled this new shield once the fight started.

Tara, for all the things she was good at, was no enchanter.

Quill was just happy that she had figured out the answer she needed to beat her mounted opponent.

Still, she was at a disadvantage in height and speed, and was only able to pepper Cataphract while he rode her down or passed by. The problem was, he was learning her dodging patterns, and his spear started to get dangerously close to skewering their friend.

Finally, Tara dodged an attack, but Cataphract made his horse rear its front legs and stomp down as it twisted.

Despite her magical arrows piercing its flesh without issue, the summoned horses hooves landed true, and crushed Taras leg.

Still, she had drawn an arrow and loosed it right up the man's underside.

Everyone cringed as Cataphract tried to stand in his stirrups, but paused and fell backwards to the ground as his summon dissipated.

Quill closed his legs in solidarity. No one missed the arrow sticking out of his clenched legs as Light, who was giving color commentary in the box, laughed.

Ohhh, he's going to feel that today and tomorrow. Healing or not, you don't forget someone shooting an arrow up your taint. Ouch, ouch, ouch. Tara, you vicious woman.

Tara was brought back to her spot, and a healer started to attend to her. She had a place in the top fifty to defend, so she needed to be ready for potential challengers.

She at least had a round of time where no one could challenge her, and that proved to be more than enough time for the healer to fix the powdered bone.

Now that she was mobile again, no one was going to risk getting an arrow in such a sensitive spot, so they chose targets who they considered to be easier opponents.

It also helped that she hadnt used her Concept or any of the more special arrows she had stored in the special growth quiver Matt had given her.

It showed just how strong her Talent and she herself was by the fact she was holding her own in such a competitive competition against fully armored melee fighters and mages who had proved themselves the best in their class.

Melindas entire team was good but if Quill was behind honesty their team as a collective didn't have the desire to be the best which kept them down. Tara on own for the first time as a cultivator seemed to have learned a little about herself and her motives. Each fight she improved and advanced.

They were approaching the last thirty challenges when Kyle finally had his chance to challenge one of the top fifty; Quill was interested in who his friend would choose.

He hadnt told anyone, but Torch and Quill had a bet going on. As it turned out, they were both wrong. Kyle ended up choosing Fel, a tall melee fighter whod just claimed the forty-third position. Hed won his challenge against an agile twin sword fighter, countering every attempted attack before finishing his foe off with a deadly blow to the head.

Kyle beat the man in four moves. In the first exchange, he purposely let Fel deflect an overhand strike, but instead of resisting the parry, he dropped his weapon and grabbed his chest armor, and took them to the ground.

He took a vicious headbutt, which must have broken his nose from the blood that spurted out of his helmet, but elbowed Fel in the throat twice, which ended the fight in short order.

With blood dripping down his armor, Kyle ripped off his helmet and shouted to the sky.

Even Light joined him and congratulated him. Well that was quite the bloody turnover. After hes healed, even if Fel had another chance to earn a spot back, I doubt he would try to fight Kyle again.

Shadow added, Taking out a challenger is no mean feat, but for how long can he hold onto that position? Thats the real question.

The answer was, not for long.

Emily fell to her first challenger, a rogue type who dodged her charged up attacks and landed a throwing knife in her gut, between the leather plates of her armor. Within a second, she was removed from the arena despite the wound not seeming fatal. Emily later told them that the weapon had clearly felt like a growth item as it sat in her stomach, but the referee pulled her out before its abilities became apparent. Whatever it was, the overseers considered the weapon deadly enough to call the match before it activated.

She had tried to earn her spot back, but her challenged opponent brought out a new shield that nullified all the lightning she sent at it. Before Emily realized the problem, the melee fighter had already closed the distance with an impressive movement skill, forcing her onto the defensive.

Emily put up a good showing overall, but she was kicked out of the top fifty for good when she lost that challenge.

Kyle was defeated by a mage that ranked in the top five of the losers bracket, and lost his position in the top fifty for good after again losing his revenge battle. He was officially disqualified because he took too much damage in his last fight to regain a top fifty position, and was already pushing the healing cooldown limit. It wouldve been his third time to earn a spot, but the accumulated damage added up, and he was unable to participate any further.

Quill knew that they would be having a drunken pity party, as only Annie and Tara were left in the top fifty.

Still, the others would be well rewarded, but their hopes and dreams were crushed with those final losses.

Talous almost made it into the top fifty, but was quickly eliminated after losing the subsequent challenge to take back a spot.

Zeran, from the team who lost to the numbers, earned himself another chance at the top fifty, along with a woman who seemed to change form more than Adam did. Every time you looked away from her or stopped paying attention, she transformed from a large melee fighter with pale skin to a shorter, dark-skinned archer, and everything in between.

No one even really saw how she beat her opponent, just like Adam. She just stood there after the man's throat was cut in an instant.

Considering she never took her eyes off Adam's place on the stage, Quill and the others asked him what was up, and he simply shrugged as if he was unbothered.

Ladies love me, and after a single night, she was smitten. What can I say? Im a pleaser.

None of them believed it, but they also didnt touch on the topic.

Still, with her victory, the shuffling of the top fifty ended, and they had to go through the same thing for the team battles the next day.

It was actually even less interesting. No one was willing to fight Quill or Torch alone, so they certainly werent willing to fight them together.

So, they spent the time with the other top competitors, analyzing the competition.

As night set, the atmosphere of the competition started to boil over with each challenge.

There was still a chance for the loser bracket teams to earn a good reward with the points system. Despite getting points for their placement, the solo and team brackets didnt award more points than taking multiple top spots in other events over many months.

Everyone was burning with desire as their time in the competition was coming to a close.