The Path of Ascension

The city was bustling when they filtered in. It was a long walk to their rooms through the massive city, and they couldn’t help but notice the divided populace during their trip.

The rightmost half of the city, the side where the Kingdom headquarters was, was filled with celebration and cheer. In contrast, the left side of the main boulevard was home to a decidedly dejected populace. The Queendom general troops, along with quite a few Pathers, were glowering at the partying Kingdom side. But none dared to cross the street, thanks to the Army personnel hovering over the dividing line.

Matt just kept to his side of the street and tried to get back to their suite. They had ordered a taxi, but with millions of troops filing into the city at once, all forms of transportation were overwhelmed. After walking for nearly an hour, and realizing they hadn’t even traveled a quarter of the way to their suite, he called it quits. He walked straight into the next hotel that they came across on the main road.

When he could hear himself think again, he said to his inquisitive team, “Okay enough walking. We deserved a bath and a nice meal yesterday.” He waved around at the marble and gold-trimmed lobby. “So, hotel!”

It was expensive to get a suite of four bedrooms; a Tier 7 mana stone for a single night was a hefty price, even for Tier 6’s. But, the room came with an all-you-can-eat menu prepared by a Tier 9 chef.

Matt would have paid that much for the shower, let alone everything else. So, paying the bill and taking the elevator to their suite was easy.

Each room in the suite had an individual shower, which they promptly took advantage of. It was slightly crowded with two people and a fox in the shower, but the shower was as large and fancy as the rest of the suite. After soaking in the overhead spray, Matt sat on the floor and started scrubbing his bond, who was more irritated at the dirt in her fur than the hot water.

To soothe his whining bond, who treated the hot water as if it was personally hurting her, he turned the sink on its coldest setting and let her lounge in the icy water.

He and Liz were too tired to do anything more than clean off and flop on the couch. They threw on a random show while luxuriating in the fluffy bathrobes that the hotel provided. Their dirty armor was piled up on a cart, along with the rest of their team's, to be cleaned and returned.

After seeing that the armor was already piled up, Emily came out of her room and said, “Thanks for clearing that up.”

“Wasn't us.” Liz half yawned as she slumped over into the side of the love seat.

Annie and Conor came out of their respective rooms in near unison to join them around the living room.

Annie opened her mouth while looking like she wanted to bring up something important, so Matt cut her off. “Food first. Important shit later.”

He refrained from grumbling that the camp cooks had sucked and should all be fired. They had already grown tired of his complaints about that, but he still wanted food. Good food.

They ordered a full on buffet, and even Aster left her ice bath when the food arrived. To everyone's amusement, the hotel had even provided her with a bathrobe as well.

When they were finally done eating, Emily brought up the topic her sister almost had. “I want to buy an upgrade orb.”

Conor, who had at some point fallen on the floor, said, “Is that the best idea with an auction coming up?”

Emily flopped her hand around. “I don't know, but there are only thirteen left, and even if I have nothing to use it on now, I might later. It's too valuable of a prize to pass up. And I could always risk it on my cracked skill, and hope it leans into the cracked, random mana type aspect of the skill.”

That felt a little too risky for Matt's taste, but they were her points to spend.

Liz rotated until her feet were in Matt's lap, and after sighing as he rubbed the sore spot, she said, “Could always sell it. I doubt the army will let you change the price, but I bet you can return it or sell it for...” She yawned and paused, “Half a million.”

Speaking of the points, he checked Aster's total and saw that she was over the half-million mark. He rubbed her until she woke up and said, “See this listing, this is what we talked about before. It will help you out and boost your ice manipulation.”

The fox was half out of it, but the black box appeared next to her. He instructed her on how to absorb it and what to upgrade. She did as instructed, and was the proud new owner of the actual skill, [Ice Manipulation]. As it was her Tier 1 Talent, Matt hoped that she would get the rare variant that acted on its own. From the two seconds of Aster’s testing though, that didn't seem to be the case. It was just stronger, cheaper, and easier to use.

Still, it would boost her growth potential.

The same black box appeared in front of Emily, but she queried into the air, “Can you hold on to that for me? Not sure if I want to actually use it quite yet.”

The box idled there for a moment, but was then replaced by a slip of paper. Emily plucked it out of the air and read out loud, “If you decide you don't want this item before the remaining stock runs out, it can be returned to the store for a full refund. If and when you want the orb for yourself, simply message the reward AI and it will be retrieved from storage. Should you fail to either pick up or return the item before leaving the war, it will be logged as a charitable donation and added to the Army’s contribution store.”

Annie, who was the only one still eating, mumbled, “At least that worked.” She dropped the clean rib and sighed, “I'm going to save my points. We have five months left before we need to Tier up, and I think if some more cities trade hands, I can get [Side Slide]. It's at least a possibility.”

Matt checked his own points. 367,082 wasn't a small amount, but he still wanted to save up for some of the larger prizes. At least with Aster having her upgrade orb, he could look at other things.

He idly used his AI to check the other new additions to the reward shop.

The first thing he noticed was a fresh batch of cracked [Healing Touch]es and [Ranged Heal]s. They were both Tier 14 skills, but they would be incredibly helpful for the team to have. The problem was, the base price was 200,000 points apiece, and most of the cracks were either worthless for the healing spell, or incredibly valuable which drove up the price accordingly.

One [Cracked Ranged Heal] had the bonus effect of increasing the strength of the target for ten minutes. That skill went for half a million on its own. It was damn near one of the chaser items, but it wasn't the most expensive skill on the list.

That honor went to a [Cracked Healing Touch] that had a doubled effectiveness and whose price sat at a whopping one and a half million points.

The rest were cracks that had no real benefit to the healing spells. A healing spell with the added effect of changing one's hair to a random color for its duration was just effectively a normal healing spell.

Getting one for his team was on his list of priorities, but the real question was, who should get it and which spell? It would technically be best on him, until the healing cooldown applied. But until then, he could cast them all day without issue. When he hit Tier 7, he would be able to cast both as well. Unable to decide, he read the description of each normal skill.

[Ranged Heal]: Spend 150 mana to heal the target over five seconds—range of fifteen feet. If the target stays in range of the caster, the spell can be channeled for half effectiveness. As this is an undirected healing spell, it does not require knowledge of the human body to function. It can not heal more than what a Tier 0 body would naturally be able to heal. It simply functions at an accelerated place.

[Healing Touch]: Spend 100 mana to heal the target over ten seconds. If the target stays in contact with the caster, the spell can be channeled for three-quarters effectiveness. As this is an undirected healing spell, it does not require knowledge of the human body to function. It can not heal more than what a Tier 0 body would naturally be able to heal.

[Ranged Heal] had more versatility in its range, since the mana cost wasn't really an issue to anyone on his team. But the lowered effectiveness of the healing meant that they would hit the healing cooldown much faster.

He also wondered if Liz could change one of the skills to something useful. But considering the point cost, he wasn't sure it was worth it to test his theory out. Healing skills were Tier 14 after all, and not cheap.

Either way, he couldn't cast the spells yet, and they had other things to save up for.

He joined his friends in their comatose conversation as they came down from their time in the field, and the talk of points turned to general chatter.

***

The auction was a wild affair. There were half a dozen items previewed, with most possessing hidden effects or special promises. It was shaping up to dwarf the first auction twice over. Everyone was excited, but the queendom was more subdued. With their failed siege of the city, they were at a distinct disadvantage in the upcoming auction.

With fewer points overall, the Queendom was a much more somber crowd. It only increased the fervor of the Kingdom fighters, who had a surplus of points and less competition. The noticeable absences were The Prince and those closest to him, including Juni. It was in stark contrast to Princess Sara, who sat with a moody expression. It didn't take a genius to see the missing Shard of Reality, next to the Queendom’s unclaimed shard. The Princess glared at the podium as a tribute to her failure, it only drove home the disparity in points from the recent failure of the city sieges.

With his usual flair, Javier strode out onto the stage and waved. “Ahhh, my friends! It feels like it has been so long. But my, how you’ve fought!”

He pumped his arm up in cadence with the roaring crowd. “I hope you are all flush with points! If you are, tonight is the night to spend them. Indeed, it is. You will find items crafted by the masters of the Empire proper here tonight.”

He waved, and five mannequins were rolled out with dark brown leather armor. “These beauties are a Tier 7, squad-level formation armor. If you wear these and remain within two hundred feet of one another, you can share strength between each wearer.” The high Tier man raised a finger and said, “And if one of you is hit, the damage will be dissipated between each suit of armor. A truly formidable starting item!. We’ll begin the bidding at 100,000 points.”

The first item set the tone for the rest of the auction. Extravagant items were brought out as if they were commonplace.

Nothing particularly interested Team Bucket, so they only paid half attention to the auction as they conversed amongst themselves. Halfway through the auction, their box’s door smashed open, and Alyssa waltzed in. She shut the door with her foot and came in with glasses of alcohol in both hands.

Annie spun and started to growl out, “What the fuck do you think you are doing...”

Alyssa interrupted her with a raised hand and said, “Please just stop. I needed a place to crash, and you were close. After you fucked my plans over, you owe me this much.” She paused to finish the half-empty drink in her right hand before she leaned on the wall and slid to the floor. “This doesn't cover your favor. Just call it interest.”

The thoroughly drunk woman let her head thump against the wall, and just sat there with her eyes closed.

Aster hopped down to investigate the new person in her space, and Matt readied himself in case the drunk woman tried to hurt his bond. But Alyssa just scratched her ears. Aster was more interested in the drink in her hand, and started lapping at the concoction before shaking her head at the dark beer, then going back in for more.

Matt and his party warily watched the sitting intruder as the auction continued on in the background. Alyssa set the cup that the snow fox had taken a drink from onto the ground, which Aster took as permission to continue drinking with gusto. She gave a halfhearted glower at the party staring her down before setting her own empty cup down as well.

Alyssa grabbed Aster as soon as the fox had finished the drink. The peacock blooded woman laid down, and curled up into a ball around the fox bond, murmuring, “Wake me up when the auction is over.”

Matt gave Liz a look, and she could only shrug at the newest development.

They turned their attention back to the auction, which then had two surprising items go up for sale.

The first one that piqued Matt's interest was a collapsible, Tier 7 smithing station. It was only the size of a fist in its collapsed form, but it expanded to a room-sized, fully functional forge. It gave him the idea to get one made up for cooking. Until they had a portable and flying house, the stations would be quite useful.

At the very least, he wouldn't be forced to eat the slop that the army cooks served.

The last item was the most valuable; it was a growth storage ring. Javier brought out the ring on its own stand, but left it covered with a velvet cloth.

“This, my friends, is our final item. And let me warn you, if it doesn't hit our reserve price here, it will be sent to the Empire proper for Tier 15’s to fight over. A Tier 6, growth storage ring, obviously still unbound. This beauty will not be shown, so don't fret about becoming a target! But know that its growth aspect is that the size massively increases with Tier. But that's not all! No, not in the slightest As this miracle of rift creation Tiers up, it will gain a stasis effect applied to stored items by Tier 20.”

The auctioneer laughed, and with a self-deprecating smile said, “Even I don't have a ring that can completely stop time, and I’m Tier 29! That enchantment makes the ring so large, they’re measured in square feet, and reserved for Tier 35’s or higher.”

Hearing that the general audience lost their minds. Even Matt leaned forward to get a better look.

“For our guests' safety, we will be conducting this auction through AI only.”

The starting price was half a million, but in seconds, the anonymous bids had it over a million. From there the bidding slowed, but it didn't stop. The final price was one and a half million points, which just caused Matt to sigh in appreciation. A top team must have put every point they had into the ring.

They tried to wake the two drunks, but Alyssa and his bond were dead to the world.

“I’ll take her wherever she calls home.”

Matt offered to help, “I’ll come with you.”

Liz patted his chest. “It's fine. I'll do some work at the office once I drop her off. Enjoy the dinner.”

“You shouldn't need to babysit her.” Matt tried not to whine. He was looking forward to his night out with Liz.

Liz grinned at him, reading his thoughts. “It's fine.” Seeing his doubt, she laughed and looked down on Alyssa. “Despite her attitude at times, she has helped me out. I owe her at least a little common decency.”

Annie stepped forward with an evil grin. “I can take her to her room.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “Stabbing her and sending her to the hospital isn't the same as getting her to her room.”

Annie shrugged. “She'd get there. Eventually.”

Liz just laughed, and with a drunk in each arm, she walked out of the room.

Matt chuckled to himself as well. “Yeah, I agree. But If Liz wants to help, who am I to interfere?”

They moved to eat dinner and enjoyed their time floating amongst the heights. It was a novel way to eat, with their servers floating to each person and their meals trailing behind them.

Everything was going smoothly, when Matt heard a voice call out from behind him.

“I see you finally came out of your hidey-hole.” Talous’ voice echoed over the buzz of conversation.

Matt sighed as he turned to face the man. “What do you want? You must have something better to do than follow me around throwing challenges left and right?”

He really wasn't in the mood to deal with the persistent Pather.

“Yeah, I'm here to challenge you. You’re a coward who hides behind tricks and would have never won in a real duel.”

Matt sighed, he was tired of this game, and he didn't really care about petty insults to his honor. He knew what mattered. This insecure man wasn't it.

Turning to leave with his team, he paused when he heard Talous’ next words. “Where are your two women? Didn't have enough to pay for their time?” He laughed like it was the funniest joke ever uttered, and said something about companionship. “Or are you trading down to these two? I guess twins can be fun.”

Matt had to restrain himself. The asshole wanted to fight, and giving in would only further whatever plan he had. The smartest move would be to just walk away, which was exactly what he did, even though he was sick and tired of the man and his badgering.

Already walking away, he froze when he heard Talous’ follow up remark. “Didn’t your parents raise you with any pride? Or are they just as cowardly as you?”

Those words drilled deeper than Matt was prepared for. Rage bubbled up and drowned out his control.

Matt turned towards the opposite direction of the smart move.

***

Talous was desperate. The irritating man wasn't accepting his challenges no matter what he did. And he needed the man to accept his fight.

Being perpetually annoying to Liz, and the plan to challenge her team had started just as a way to drive a wedge into the Pather Union. All on Sara’s request, of course. If he could bait either Liz or her boyfriend into a public challenge, he could humiliate them, which would only further his own goals. Neither of them had risen to the bait, no matter how disrespectful he had acted, and he’d resorted to tracking them down in the field instead.

But after that first fight, he was desperate to challenge the man again. He had been so close to understanding his Concept during their first bout, and the cowardly piece of shit had cheated to end the fight, just before he grasped it.

If he had just a few minutes longer, he was sure he could have solidified it—both the Phrase and Image in one shot. But no, the man had to surprise teleport and cheat his way to a victory, stealing Talous’ chance to advance.

The war had been nice enough, and had earned his team some easy wealth. But that was nothing he couldn't earn with his brother's help. A Concept would stay with him forever.

When Talous completed The Path, he would prove that he was the best, and would earn the accolades he was due. From his birth, his parents had forged him into a warrior, and he had met every expectation with flying colors. He was the perfect son. Unlike his brother Malous.

Where he was strong, Malous was weak and frail. His younger brother wasn't meant for the sword, like the generations of his family that strived to perfect the art. So, it fell on Talous to maintain the family’s honor.

The weight was something that both of the brothers should have carried together. Despite everything, Talous loved and tried to protect his brother, but he not so discreetly resented him more and more as time went on. Their parents made no secret about the extra training and brutality they put Talous through stemming from his brother's lack of drive. It was as if they blamed him for his brother's failings. But Talous knew the truth.

“The weak have only themselves to blame.”

The younger man stopped even trying by the time they were teens, which was the most infuriating part. If Malous had given it his best effort, their parents would have let Talous off with minimal training. But no, the selfish slouch had refused altogether. He sat back and left it to Talous to earn enough of their parent’s approval for both of them.

It only meant that Talous had to work even harder to appease them. They were ecstatic when his Awakening revealed a Tier 1 Talent for true ambidexterity, and the ability to split his attention.

When his brother received a Talent for meditation, they cast him out and threatened to banish him. Some part of Talous never accepted that. When his parents convinced an acquaintance to sponsor him on the Path, he demanded they make it a team with Malous.

It was a spontaneous decision that brought the brothers closer than they had ever been before. But they still weren't friends; not by any means at all. Neither of them really understood why he had made that decision. But it paid off when Malous’ Tier 3 Talent unexpectedly made him a Seeker, albeit an odd one.

It was his brother who had found three new friends that could keep up with them. At first, Talous had felt indifferent. But they formed a team which, over the Tiers and trials, gradually bonded. Now, Talous was the last member of the party without his Concept. He could not stand for being the dead weight of the group. Never.

And the bastard who could give him what he needed simply refused to fight him. Talous had tried fighting half a dozen people at once, but none of them stimulated the spark that he needed. He even went as far as spending 100,000 points for two weeks of army Concept training. They tried to force the realization out with their power, but he felt nothing. Their only suggestion was to repeat the actions that got him close last time.

So, he’d tried to recreate the moment. When the ever calm Liz was out of the picture, he’d sling some of the crassest insults he could think of to try starting a fight. Once again, as usual, nothing he said worked. Then, just as he’d given up, he offhandedly threw out a mild, half-assed dig at the guy’s parents. Somehow, that’s what did the trick.

The man finally turned and lunged for him.

Talous had forgotten how damned fast the man was. He moved like a Tier 7, even at the bottom of Tier 6. Along with that insane armor Talent and Concept, Matt was a frustrating opponent. Exactly what he needed.

Before Matt could close the distance, a towering bald Pather in monk’s robes reached over and stuck a huge melon hammer between them. The charging brute reached to rip the weapon out of the way, but stopped when the monk reminded, “Do battle, but not here. Or you’ll get a long swim to the surface.”

A second, much tinier and equally bald monk glided up next to his larger counterpart. He traveled on a gust of wind while excitedly waving his staff. “Yeah, what Tito said! Take it to the arena, where everyone can enjoy the show. The whole planet has been anticipating this matchup for months.”

Talous made a note to thank the men. Drowning to death would have put a hamper on his plans. He hadn't actually expected the man to accept his challenge after all this time, and was mostly just mouthing off to blow off steam. If he had known that mentioning the asshole’s parents was all it would take, he would have done so months ago.

Matt spat at him over the hammer blocking the way, “There are lines you don't cross.”

He would have passed the statement off as idle chatter, but the man's eyes were flat like a corpse’s. Apparently, a certain someone had mommy or daddy issues. Not that it mattered anymore. With Matt already giving him everything he wanted, there was no point taunting the man further.

They made their way to an arena that was already crowded with spectators watching the ongoing fight. Matt just threw himself over the railing and into the waiting area, landing with a thud. Talous expected him to shove the two people waiting aside, but he just took his place at the end of the line and glared at Talous the entire time. His gaze never wavered as the other matches progressed.

The fights seemed to drag on forever, as the army changed the arena between each fight to clean up. He also noticed an increase in the number of spectators sitting in the viewing stands. Word had been spread. The bubbly little monk was still calling people over too, making a show out of the impending fight.

He smiled to himself under his helmet. The more people who witnessed him beating the large Tier 6, the sweeter the victory would be. Matt had humiliated him by playing that death over and over on his banner, but Talous would make it a million times worse. He would make the man quit the war with the humiliation he was going to deal out.

There was clearly something wrong with Matt. Even as they climbed the ring and the shielding went up, he never broke eye contact. It was almost unnerving.

Talous had fought many people. Some were amazing, and some were passable. The man in front of him was irritating.

His own Tier 3 Talent gave him increased armor penetration with his sword, and blocking power with his shield. Along with his growth belt, he should have been the perfect counter to the man. The problem wasn't Matt’s decent skill with the blade, but his damned Concept, which gave the man near-endless mana.

Some digging into Sara’s records had explained his anomaly. The crazy bastard was suspected of using [Mage’s Retreat]. At least according to one of the spies that the Princess had stationed in the enemy camp. They had heard Liz reference the skill twice in private conversations with Matt.

[Mana Strength] was a better option for most melee fighters, since it was a flat reserve skill. You didn't have to lose too much of your mana to use it effectively, hence its consideration as a mainstay skill. Talous himself used the skill to good effect, but if he wanted to match Matt in strength, he had to increase the reserve to at least 400 mana.

He felt it was bullishit that the man was able to increase his strength so much with an unconventional method. Anyone could be exceptional with endless mana. But Talous had counters prepared; he would not be losing this time.

Matt stood there as the countdown was called, and his Talent-made armor flickered to life around him. Talous shook his arms to settle his armor and weapons. His pouch of mana stones reserved for feeding his shield was ready, and his blade coursed with mana as well. His enchantments were humming with power.

Talous settled himself as the referee counted down to two. At one, he was ready. When the referee began the fight, he was moving at the instant of command.

A trait his parents drilled into him.

If you moved first, you often won, and he needed to win. His Concept was on the other side of victory.

He stimulated his bottled Concept the best he could, and the strength increase allowed him to close the distance between them in a heartbeat. He was able to duck under the crosscut from his opponent’s longsword thanks to his enhanced speed.

Talous let Matt’s sword deflect off the flat of his blade and activated [Shield Bash]. His left arm glowed with mana as he lunged forward with the spell propelling him.

He met armored flesh and tried to drive the man off balance, but was unable to get Matt to even budge. The ghostly form felt rooted to the ground.

He brought his blade down on the armored man's glowing leg. The poison on the weapon would slow Matt as it worked its way into his body. There was no way the man had a healing spell at this stage. And even if he took [Endurance] like Talous suspected, the man wouldn't have the skill modified that far yet. If by some miracle he did, the man would eventually run out of willpower to fuel his Concept. The poison was perfectly calculated to linger and draw this fight out.

When he won, he would have his Concept, and then he would show this cheater what true power was.

They exchanged blows half a dozen times, and Talous had to reassess. Matt had gotten better. Not a ton, but some of the gaps in his style were closed, or turned into bait.

He was able to get in a few light wounds that he could have turned into finishing blows if he didn't need to drag the fight out. The man was angry and it showed in his fighting style. As they exchanged attacks, Talous noted Matt tightening up his form, but not before he just barely avoided a diagonal slash where he expected an opening.

Talous sidestepped a chop and licked out with his blade, cutting into the flesh of Matt’s left arm. He took a kick to the shield in return that sent him skidding backwards, followed-up by a sword slash that burned a Tier 5 mana stone to keep his shield charged.

Talous kept the wince off his face. That was his portion of a delve stolen away from blocking a single blow. The man was too strong for his own good, and wasn’t afraid to use it. He had no doubt that the man used that advantage to bully most opponents into disadvantageous spots. That tactic wouldn't work on him, his parents had never trained him to fight an equal opponent, this was just another day of sparring for him.

An over-extended leg let Talous get another cut in, but it didn't seem to phase the man. Why Matt wasn't slowing down, he couldn’t answer. But he didn't need the poison— that was just a backup. A way to ensure he could control the fight.

A necessary precaution.

Talous was careful to never fully engage like last time. He wouldn't let the man teleport himself into a victory. If he could bait the item’s use out, that would be ideal, but he didn't expect that to happen. There was no way Matt could win once he did, any teleport item had to be incredibly limited at this Tier. Otherwise, it would be used at every turn instead of saved and hidden.

He just had to be careful of the move.

Talous took a nasty kick to his knee that nearly sent him sprawling. He was able to roll backward, dissipating most of the blow before he was wounded, but it was a reminder that the man wasn't a training dummy.

As he was unable to end the fight without his Concept, he grew more frustrated. He was ready. He had prepared for every contingency. He should have earned his Concept by now. He was defeating the man in their exchanges, which should have brought on the realization of his Concept, but it lingered like a spark in the dark. It was glowing and dimming to a rhythm he couldn't quite hear.

There was something there, a flicker of sorts in his spirit, in both the Phrase and Image. He was prepared to strike and defend…

He was pulled out of his reverie when a spiked fist landed on his shield, and crumbled more mana stones to dust from dissipating the force.

Talous thought the fight was won when he cut deep into the man's ribs, and he felt the ember of his Concept flair up. But a massive glowing gauntlet gripped his forearm and held him in place, stopping the nascent Concept from fully forming.

A hand raised, and flame gushed out at him just inches from his face.

Talous could feel his growth belt’s reserves start to dip, and hurriedly connected it with a pouch of mana stones. He linked them one after another to his belt, preventing the man’s ranged attack from landing. It was an expensive way to fight, but it was his best counter to the cheating mage. What the belt didn't stop, however, was the flames burning all the air away from his face.

Matt only let go after the third shield bash, and Talous stumbled back.

Why isn't this working?

He had planned for everything. His Concept was so close, he could feel it.

Talous set himself to block and deflect a sword thrust that would be followed by a slash, but it was automatic.

He just needed to find his Concept.

He was ready for it.

The tingling grew.

Talous was ready.

The world grew sharp, and everything clicked into its place. His bottled Concept shattered, and vacated the spot in his magical and physical cultivation cores to make room for his new Concept.

His Image was simple. A sword and shield in his hands. Each with a single opposite purpose that could be swapped at any moment. They were all he needed. He was prepared for every encounter. Most importantly, he was ready to strike and defend at any time.

With wild glee, Talous threw himself into Matt, and with his Concept empowering him, he deflected the sword with his shield and stabbed the man in the heart. Or he would have, but there was a repulsion force that resisted his blade long enough for the man to twist out of the way.

Talous laughed out loud and rushed forward to re-engage.

The longsword caught his first blade thrust, but he was fine with that. If his sword was acting as a shield, his shield could be a weapon. He was ready.

He knocked the man off balance and expected to end the fight there, but Matt teleported closer and, just like last time, brought his blade to Talous head.

Still smiling, Talous flexed his Concept and used its added power to get his shield up, just in time to lash out at Matt's chest. With his Concept empowering his enchanted blade, he felt it slice through the man's feeble attempt at armor and bite deep into softer flesh.

The larger man kicked out, and again Talous was barely able to roll with it.

He came back up ready to fight, and brought his blade down on his opponent's own, trying to maneuver it out of position. It worked, but Matt was able to dodge his first slash. He was too slow to fully dodge the thrust to his flank that followed, and Talous felt the enjoyment of whittling down an opponent who had once bested him.

He was better. And now he would show everyone.

Matt readied his sword one-handed, and to Talous’ surprise, a shield formed on his now limp left arm.

So the man could improvise. That was surprising, but nothing he couldn't handle. The length of the blade was good for two-handed styles, but it would hamper a one-handed and shielded style.

Talous’ victory was assured.

Then the man's other skill, [Hail], made its first appearance, and thumb-sized chunks of ice littered the floor, until they were a hazard to good footing. Then, the armored man followed up with a torrent of water.

“Stop the coward shit and fight like a man!” He wanted to punish Matt for withholding his Concept from him for so long, and he intended to finish the fight in the same humiliating manner that he had lost in.

But now, the man was flooding the floor with chunks of ice and water. A cowardly ploy.

Talous understood why Matt made such a move when he saw the armored man standing above the ice and water near his feet.

Talous measured his steps carefully and shuffled his feet, trying not to step on any ice. But it slowed him enough that he was forced to rely on his Concept to block a portion of Matt's heavy longsword. With his return swing, he found the new shield did little more than the original armor, and ignored it to hack away at the man's already injured arm.

If he had to cut the man to pieces, he would. Talous would pay him back for the humiliation of his first loss. He would make Matt pay even more for not giving him this duel sooner.

This was Matt's fault. He was only getting what was coming to him.

Talous had to rely more and more on his Concept to counter the water walking. He thought it was a weird skill, but in one of his brief respites, he could feel that it was actually the man's Concept.

How’s that fair? Nobody their Tier can do that.

Talous didn't have time to curse. Matt refused to die.

Two more heavy hits to the torso failed to put the armored giant down, and he could feel himself tiring. His new Concept fit him perfectly, but it was draining his willpower like a leaky bucket.

He refused to give in, and forced himself to remember his parents' lessons. Losing wasn't an option.

They exchanged blow after blow, with Talous’ blade coming back red each time, but Matt’s armored form did not waver. The amount of poison he’d been dosed with should have put him in a coma by now.

When Matt teleported again, he was caught off guard, and his left knee buckled as the larger Tier 6 stomped on it.

Talous could feel tendons and ligaments tear under the blow. He was sent sprawling, but rolled to his good foot with an agonized scream.

Fuck! Two teleports in one fight?

No item at their Tier could manage that. It had to be [Side Slide], no wait… an upgraded [Side Slide]. One of the possible upgrades would have been coming off its shortened cooldown right about now. The copy in the store was still there, so the cheating bastard must have lucked upon the skill even before the war, and bought an upgrade orb for it from the market.

He struggled to dig deeper into his Concept, but his cores felt like sponges wrung out one too many times. Just trying to tap into it was giving him a splitting headache.

He had nothing left to give.

That was fine. He had fought his entire life without a Concept. He didn't need one to finish this.

While Talous feebly tried to shake off the pounding in his head from overdrawing his Concept, Matt slipped in a thrust to his chest that glowed with an impending [Mana Charge]. He had to rely on his new skill to stop it. [Phantom Armor] flashed into place around him, and blocked the blindingly explosive blow, just long enough for him to cleave deeply into Matt’s left arm, leaving it lame.

With his Concept drained, Talous found it harder to punch through Matt’s now ornate armor. The thicker plating was resisting his Talent more than last time. Talous panted between their exchanges. For all he was slicing the man up, he was growing exhausted while Matt stood tall as ever.

His flagging energy was only weakened further when a heavily embellished shield appeared on his opponent’s left shoulder, and almost completely blocked his next attack. In a flash of clarity, he realized that the armor must get more effective the more detailed the armor’s moulding became. Otherwise, that slash to Matt’s lame side would have ended this, surprise shield or no.

How is it fair that his armor is so much stronger than even Tier 7 armor? Why does he cheat so much?

In their next exchanges, he was forced to burn more mana stones, as he was drained of mana trying to re-stabilise [Phantom Armor]’s still fragmented structure. It was destroyed after it saved his life from Matt’s exploding blade. He was hoping to piece it back together quickly enough for a second activation, but that massive [Mana Charge] had stressed the skill too much, and it had shattered more thoroughly than usual.

He wasn't used to skills needing to be rebuilt, and it took valuable mental concentration to reform the skill. Let alone filling it with mana while fending off an opponent who could now block some of his blows.

As the fight dragged out further, Talous drew blood twice more in rapid succession. Suddenly, Matt teleported for an unbelievable third time, and shattered his sword arm with a heavy chop. Only his armor stopped the blow from severing his arm. If his leg wasn’t crippled, he knew he could have dodged, but he was slightly too slow.

It had been maybe three minutes since the last teleport. Not even an upgraded version of [Side Slide] could be used that quickly in succession.

What the fuck is going on?!

Talous screamed as he was tackled, and the larger man's heavy form landed on his destroyed leg. He wedged his shield between them, but Matt grabbed the other half of Talous and twisted. He was forced to let go, as the shield acted as a lever, and threatened to snap his other arm. The man was still unnaturally strong.

How is he not out of Willpower yet?!

Sacrificing the shield, he quickly drew a dagger and plunged it into the man's kidney with all his strength. To his horror, the armor’s lower back suddenly became much thicker and more decorative as the blade arced in. The dagger’s enchanted tip simply skittered off the glowing, Talent-made armor, and a spiked gauntlet smashed into his chest.

Talous could feel his breastplate cave in as the spikes penetrated the Tier 7 armor and dug into his chest. The gouges hurt, but the shattering ribs were tortuously painful. His arms crumpled to his sides as one of his lungs collapsed, and he started bleeding out internally.

The fight was over. There was no coming back from this.

He tried to get out a final quip, but he couldn’t even take the needed breath as Matt relentlessly slammed down with his one working arm over and over. He crushed Talous’ ribs to powder, mincing his heart and lungs with the splinters. Finally, he was pulled out of the ring as his vision faded.

The last thing he remembered was the cold faceless visage of his armored opponent, reeling back for yet another killing blow. Talous saw a monster pretending to be a man, who’d uttered not a word as it was sliced to pieces. A beast that would not fall.

In that final moment, the ghostly mirrored helm reflected his own dying eyes straight back at him. Talous shuddered as the darkness claimed him.