The Path of Ascension

Chapter 134

With their victory over the now eighth-placed team, Quill expected some pushback from the other top ten competitors. With just a look, the pair prepared themselves to deal with a hostile atmosphere.

As they entered the large and dimly lit lounge room, they were surprised to see only four sets of people sitting around at different tables.

Quill's attention was brought to a team that raised their glasses to them as they entered with a cheer.

Welcome to the club. A woman's voice came out of a violet mask with a stylized flower over one eye.

Quill nodded slightly, but his attention was pulled to the side, where a lone woman sat.

Matt was tempted to go over and have a chat with the woman with an oversized greatsword. It was leaning against her shoulder as she watched videos of swordsmen fighting on the screen that had risen out of her table.

As his gaze lingered for longer than a second, she immediately looked up and asked, Are either of you swordsmen?

At their shaken heads, she sighed and looked back down to her videos. That single look was enough for Quill to get a good look at her mask, which was fashioned into the likeness of a screaming woman that seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it.

Not wanting to blow his cover Matt slipped back into the Quill persona and moved to the table that had welcomed them.

With a lazy wave, he asked, How should I call you guys? Were Quill and Torch. Obviously.

The same woman with the violet mask said, I'm Daisy.

She pointed around the table at the man with a vine etched on his brown mask. Thats Thorn. Next are Primrose and Carnation.

The final two of her team members had more recognizable masks that were both slightly off-gray colored.

With the gesture to sit down, they joined them at the round table.

Thorn was the first to speak. Good fight. Those idiots needed to be taken down a peg.

A quick glance showed the team was ranked fourth, but his glance didnt go unnoticed. With an androgynous voice, Carnation said, Ugh, please don't be obsessed with ranks like these idiots.

Torch shook her head and answered for him. We aren't. Honestly, if they hadn't started the fight with us, we wouldn't have publicly challenged them like that. But we won't roll over meekly.

That earned them a second toast, and Quill asked, What about you guys? Do you care about the ranks?

Daisy laughed. Yeah, we do. Or at least, we will when the tournament actually starts. Until then, who cares? Her mirth dropped like a stone as she leaned forward and added, And fair warning Queen over there

She nodded to the lone swordswoman and said, dont fuck with her. That woman is a fucking monster. She's only rank three because the old rank three was a swordsman, and she fucking eviscerated him in a single exchange. She just doesn't care if you aren't a blade fighter.

Quill turned to take a better look at her.

Now that he heard her mask's name, he was able to place it as a replica of a statue of the Fallen Queen.

The screaming woman filled with despair was iconic enough that he was sure Luna would berate him for not noticing immediately.

It was an old story whose origin was hotly debated, but for all the iterations, the narratives were similar enough. A female ruler was betrayed by her spouse and stabbed in the back, turning as she died to see that her lover was the one to betray her.

Sometimes, she was a leader elected by her people. In other versions of the story, she was a hereditary ruler. In some she was betrayed by a spouse; sometimes a wife and sometimes a husband. Her background was as varied as the people who told her story. Other times, a trusted general or friend were the ones to betray her, though that scenario was rare to come across.

No matter how the details about the story changed, the only thing that remained constant was her being a woman and a ruler of some sort. That, and the image of the screaming, betrayed face. It was based on an old statue found in a ruin, and had been replicated enough to become the official face of the story.

Queen's mask wasn't a carbon copy, but it was similar enough to get the meaning across. It also spoke of implications of her past that he didn't even want to consider.

Primrose's voice was masculine, and he said, That woman is scary. I wielded a sword and shield, which was enough to garner her interest. But after seeing one of my fights, she said I wasn't what she was looking for. Gave me the creeps.

Thorn shook his head. I'd recommend not challenging her. To be honest, she has the best chance of winning this tournament outright if she has some hidden cards. Theres a video going around of her slicing a Tier 12 boss in half with a single swing of her sword.

Matt desperately wanted to go over and see what the woman was about, but quelled the urge. If she was looking for swordsmen, she would inevitably seek out his true identity. He just needed to wait.

Checking the video, he whistled. A single swing didnt give the woman's attack justice.

In the video, she was facing a bus-sized wolf, and with a casual wave of her greatsword and no visible skills, the wolf fell into two halves.

Restraining himself, he said, It's a good thing Im a mage.

Morphing his mask into a wink, he added, I think Torch can surprise her.

Torch just shrugged next to him.

Changing the topic, he asked, So whos in first and second place?

Primrose shrugged. We have no idea. Haven't seen them. All we know is that theyre teams strong enough to have held their slots for the last two months since we arrived.

Daisy added, Queen knows them, if you really want to know. But getting her to talk is like pulling teeth. Anywhoo, we just wanted to welcome you to the top teams club. Feel free to make yourselves at home. The royals have this place decked out. The masquerade was created by the competitors, but its earned the recognition of the higher-ups.

With that dismissal, the two of them stood up and made their way over to Queen.

Quill pointed at the open seats and asked, Mind if we sit?

Cradling her greatsword, Queen shook her head, not taking her gaze off the screen in front of her. Sit if you want. I don't have much to say, though.

She proved that true, as she only gave one-word answers to their questions.

Seeing that, they gave up as a new team came in.

This team had a mask and cloak theme going on, which just seemed impractical. They paused to look at him and Torch, and glanced at their numbers before moving to the fifth-ranked table.

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Leaving Queen's table, they sat with the three newcomers and introduced themselves again.

The one with a mountain on their mask made the reciprocal introductions. Im Cliff at the Edge of the World. That's Summer Rain Striking the Grass, and Winter River Burbling Over a Brook.

Winter leaned forward, and with a feminine voice, added, That was a fairly impressive showing. Sapphire Shield's defenses are rarely overwhelmed. Or at least, weve never seen it. When we fought them, we had to take out the others and move on to her last; we had to hit her from every angle.

Summer seemed to be a man by the voice, and he asked, Are you guys up for a spar?

Quill shook his head. If there arent any stakes, we couldn't care less. This is all pointless until the actual tournament starts. Until then, rankings mean nothing.

Cliff tapped the table, and a bottle of liquor was lifted out of an opening that appeared. He poured everyone a glass before nodding. At least you aren't as annoying as the Gem trio. They care far too much about this little club for our liking. If you guys do want to spar, were down nearly any time, but we also recognize that everyone is holding back their abilities. Enjoy your stay at the lounge then.

Moving back to their own table, Torch and Quill sat across from each other and started to go through the functions of the place.

As the others said, there were a number of functions at their fingertips, but everything seemed geared towards aggregating information about the other competitors.

While that was useful, it wasnt something so interesting that Quill felt it was worth the hassle of earning a top ten slot.

As if someone was listening to his thoughts, a message flashed on their pad rapidly.

Auction starts in five minutes.

Looking around, he checked to see if Mara and or Leon were watching him, as that timing was just uncanny.

But he knew he wouldn't see the duo unless they allowed it; his efforts were futile.

After digging through a few menus, he saw that they were given the option to offer anything of value to the auction as well.

That made Quill pause. If this was a completely audience-run auction, good items would be rather limited. At least, they had nothing of true value to put up for an auction. And he doubted that the other teams would be keeping items hidden this late. Especially not before such an important event like the Tier 10 tournament.

Activating the privacy bubble the table came with, he asked, What are your thoughts on the auction?

Torch shook her head and shrugged. Seems odd, but what do I know?

The Gem trio came up and glared daggers at him and Torch, even through their masks. They were sitting at their old table, after all. But the the trio didn't say anything.

Quill debated saying something to antagonize them further, but didnt feel that it was worth the effort. Being mean was hard work.

Sitting in a comfortable silence, they waited for the countdown to finish. When it hit zero, a new window appeared, and the first item for auction appeared.

A delve slot for a Tier 11 rift from a local guild? Just for a single Tier 10 mana stone?

Quill looked to Torch, and even through their respective masks, he could read the surprise on her face as well.

Tentatively, she asked, Are the local guilds trying to earn their ways into our good graces?

He agreed with that suggestion, but waited as the ninth team bid two mana stones for the slot. A new countdown appeared, and as it hit three, the second team increased the bid by one mana stone.

Not willing to show their hand so early, the two of them waited through the first auction slot. Eventually, the slot went to the second-place team for seven Tier 10 mana stones. Considering that a single Tier 11 mana stone was worth one hundred Tier 10 mana stones, that was a steal.

I think we should get a delve slot if another comes up.

He left unsaid that they were freshly advanced Tier 10s, and running a rift could allow them to increase their power, unlike most of the other contestants. The majority of those participating had long since reached the peak of Tier 10, and had no way to increase their cultivation.

Torch nodded and took his hand as she slid around the table to sit next to him.

As that first auction ended, a second item replaced it.

A second, local Tier 35 guild was selling a Tier 11 mace that was enchanted with a vibration enchantment that would bypass armor.

That was the theme for the next few items. Guilds and corporations were selling items on the cheap to the top ten masked contestants.

It wasnt until the final items that things got interesting.

Torch whistled softly. A guild level information packet on who they suspect to appear in the tournament. I can't tell if theyre ballsy, or just plain stupid. Tur'stal can't be happy with that can she?

Quill offered the other plausible reason, That, or the information is all open secrets, and nothing actually valuable.

Torch nodded without saying anything else, and they watched as the bids rocketed up to fifteen Tier 10 mana stones. Eventually, the first-place team, who was still unaccounted for, upped the bid to one Tier 11 mana stone. That caused a long stall before someone else added a second stone to the bidding.

After a few more rounds of back and forth, the packet of information was won by the first-place team.

Even for the price, Quill considered it cheap. He assumed that, like them, most of the teams were able to delve two Tiers up, and had access to at least some Tier 12 mana stones. As for why they weren't using them in the auction, he wasn't sure.

There seemed to be an unspoken understanding to keep prices down, but so far, nothing truly valuable had appeared yet.

Once again, as if someone was reading his thoughts, a Tier 11 natural treasure appeared up for auction.

Reading the description, Quill leaned forward, with Torch mirroring his action.

Someone was selling a Tier 13 chunk of lightning stone.

If a cultivator wanted to get lightning-aligned mana, all they had to do was cycle their mana through the stone, and they would have elementally aligned mana from then on.

It was one of the easiest ways to earn a mana alignment, and for those without a Concept that forced their mana into that direction, the item was worth its weight in mana stones far higher than the Tier 11 stones the auction started at.

Even he could use the stone for the core of an item. If he built a staff around the lightning stone, he could increase the damage of lighting spells cast through the staff by at least half, and possibly up to double. Though, that would waste the stone in the process.

The stone's price quickly shot up to thirty-two Tier 11 mana stones before pausing slightly.

It took until the countdown reached two digits before the first-place team stepped in once again, and started a three-way bidding war.

The first, third, and sixth teams were all seemingly unwilling to give up the item, and the price skyrocketed to forty-two Tier 12 mana stones before the momentum petered out once again.

In the end, the sixth-place team was willing to pay the most, and the item vanished.

The next item forced Quill to bid.

Someone was selling the nail sheddings of a Tier 15 wind dragon. While it wasn't as ideal of a crafting material as the hide of a monster, it was the next best thing, and its elemental alignment would allow him to create five or six devastatingly powerful wind talismans.

While it was literal scrap to the dragon that shed the nail, it was a useful crafting material for anyone at their Tier, and the bidding quickly raced up to a Tier 13 mana stone.

At that point, Quill sighed and backed out of the bidding.

While they had the funds to keep going, he wasnt willing to burn most of their liquidity at their first auction.

They had only been delving Tier 12 rifts at Tier 9, and hadn't made the jump to delve a Tier 13 rift after advancing. They also needed to make sure that their separate identities finances werent mixed. After all, Quill had expenses with his talismans, and spending more than they should would be a red flag to anyone looking.

The final item was a Tier 13 strength potion that could triple the effective strength of a fighter for a few hours.

Torch was interested, but as the price raced past the Tier 12 mana stone cost, she backed out as well.

She tapped the table and said, I can make something just as good for that cost. Or at least nearly so. Damn, we should have bought that rift slot.

He pulled her into a one-armed hug and said, We have next week. And it was good to see that there are some interesting items coming to our attention. I think we should remain a top ten team for the auction, if nothing else. If the guilds want to sell us things to earn our favor, I'm all for it.

Torch sighed and started to play with his free hand as they watched the auction end.

As the potion vanished and the auction ended, he asked, Hows your potion project going?

Torch just sighed as an answer. It was answer enough.

He knew she was working on something, but she had recently hit a stumbling block on using her potions in a fight. She had had a few ideas on how to increase their efficiency, but none of them had panned out, as far as he was aware.

With the auction over, all the other teams started to file out of the room.

Queen stopped at their table long enough for Quill to lower the privacy barrier and said, All auction items will be delivered here. Now that it's over, theres little reason to sit around.

Quill nodded, and Torch thanked the solo delver.

That was a good privacy measure, if nothing else, he had to admit.

A package delivered to any location would paint a massive red flag on anyone who went there, and a neutral room like the top ten lounge was the safest place to prevent spies from gathering information on who the masks were.

Quill assumed that the other teams that had joined the auction remotely would be stopping by at some point and picking up their items.

Getting up from their table, they moved to the teleportation pad and left with the others.

Appearing back in Mara and Leon's apartment doorway, Matt was shocked to see a thirty-year-old looking man sitting in pajamas and watching the pad in the living room.

It didn't take Lizs exclamation of Sam! to realize it was one of her brothers.

The older man raised his arm and pulled Liz into a hug as he teased her. Youve grown up BethBeth. Last time I saw you, you were only as high as my knee.

Liz punched the older man in the kidney, but he didnt even flinch. That's because you haven't been back since I was that tall.

Having removed his own mask, unlike Liz, Matt proffered a hand and introduced himself. Matt. It's good to meet you. I wish I could say I knew anything about you. Liz isn't exactly forthcoming with information about her siblings.

Sam laughed and ruffled his sister's flaming masks hair. Were all a little weird. I'm Sam. The oldest sibling. Nice to meet you.

Liz pulled off her mask and squirmed out of the hair rub to take Matt's hand. This is Matt.

Sam interrupted her. Yes, he just said hello. I have ears.

Liz ignored his rebuke and said, This is my brother, Major General Samuel Moore.

Sam grinned, tapped his nose, and coughed. Lieutenant General now. This break is a part of my change over to a new unit. I have the next three years off before I report in.

Matt let out a long whistle.

A Lieutenant General was the second-highest rank of active officer in the Empire's military.

At that point, promotions were no longer just about Tier, and were more about accumulated merit, as well as a reflection of past actions.

Even a one-star Brigadier General was a rarity, but a three-star Lieutenant General meant that Samuel was one of a few dozen active officers who had proven time and time again they were competent in battle. Someone of his stature had shown that could lead their troops into a war, and get them out again.

Matt nodded slightly and said, It's an honor then, sir.

Sam rolled his eyes and waved Matt down. Were family. And I'm off right now. Don't sir me at home. If you see me in uniform, sure. But here, I'm just an older brother.

Liz was still staring flabbergasted at her brother and shouted, We need to celebrate! A promotion is huge! How can you be so casual about it? This isn't you reaching Lieutenant, or something rote that anyone can reach with enough time. This is amazing!

Sam just laughed and pulled Liz down onto the couch. Relax. Well celebrate when mom and dad get home. They vanished in a puff of smoke when I told them the news.

He sighed and added, Just don't bring up Annie.

Matt raised an eyebrow, and Sam lightly slapped Lizs head. Did you tell him nothing?

Liz rubbed her head and blew him a raspberry. No! He's with me, not my family. And he'll meet everyone here. That's better than getting stories about people he's never met.

Sam sighed and explained to Matt, Annie is my wife, but she was unable to come because her unit deployed. He looked back to Liz and squinted at her before sighing, Little sister, you need to get over your hangups.

Liz grinned evilly as she asked, Well, when are you going

Sam tackled her and tried to cover her mouth but was unsuccessful, and Liz got out between laughs.

To.

Have.

Kids?

Sam froze while Liz laughed.

Matt froze as well because he noticed the same thing. Two pairs of owlish eyes appeared, hovering in the middle of the living room, along with a pair of foot-tall ears.

Clearly, Mara and Leon were all too eager for grandkids.

As the talk of grandkids paused, the peeping eyes and ears faded into the air as if they had never been there.

Matt began to understand exactly why Travis and Keith had so many hang-ups of their own.

Sam glared at Liz, and as he looked between her and Matt, his glare turned into a smirk.

Baby sister, you aren't so young anymore yourself. You might want to watch what you threaten people with.

Looking to Matt, Sam explained, Annie and I had decided to finally step back and have an actual family when one of us got promoted. We both have enough merits to get the time off and

He looked furtively around, and a pressure of a stronger cultivation encompassed the room before he said, We have a Tier 40 fertility potion that should ensure we succeed.

Seeing his parents didnt appear, the pressure lifted and Sam sighed, But with the upcoming troubles, were going to wait. We want to raise our kids without the risk that one of us will get called away for a century-long deployment. But mom and dad are on my ass about it. So just dont bring it up, please.

Matt probed the power that he had felt, but was unable to get a good grasp on how strong Sam was. He knew that the wars were limited to Tier 35s and below, but that pressure felt way stronger than Tier 35.

Still, it was so much higher than his own cultivation that he had trouble getting a good feeling on it.

Sam changed the subject, and he and Liz agreed not to mention kids again. So what have you two been up to? Also, don't you have a bond, Matt?

That got them chatting about more casual things for the next few hours. Sam seemed happy to listen to their stories of adventure and training, asking all the right questions to keep the conversation going. But he seemed genuinely interested, which somewhat surprised Matt.

With the massive age difference, he had expected Lizs oldest siblings to be distant and removed from her life.

It was nice to see that wasnt the case.

Eventually, their conversation turned to the vassal war and their actions in the battles.

Sam was pestered by his sister until he actually gave real feedback on their actions.

Matt, youre a good team leader, but not a great general. Now, Im not saying you cant develop that in the future, but you don't have the natural ability.

Seeing something on Matt's face, he hurried to add, That's not a bad thing. I sure as anything didnt have the ability when I was Tier 6 either. Shit, I didnt start learning to lead massive amounts of men until I was thrust into the position myself. I'm just saying, you can work on that if you want. On the flip side, youre a natural as a squad or company-level commander. You seem to have a knack for small-unit leadership, which is a fantastic start.

He looked at Liz and tapped her on the nose. You need to trust yourself. You did well with the political shit. Even I don't like politicking, and I grew up when Mom and Dad were just Tier 20. Trust yourself, little sister.

At that point, Aster returned and cocked her head at the newcomer, which necessitated another round of introductions.

Aster had no problems with new people, and quickly situated herself into the man's lap for pets. Meanwhile, she happily chatted about what she and the other bonds had gotten up to.

Matt mock glared at the lap traitor, but had to laugh at the antics she had gotten up to.

Eventually, Mara and Leon returned, and they went out to one of the more fancy restaurants on the other side of the planet.

The dinner was exquisite, but Matt mostly watched how Mara and Leon acted with their firstborn. For all their playfulness, they were generally concerned with his health and wellbeing, despite him being Tier 35 and having fought in numerous battles through his advancement.

It was touching to see them care so much. And for all that, Liz was smothered by the attention Samuel seemed to happily welcome.

Samuel's arrival put most of their plans on hold, as he and Liz spent most of their days with him. Matt found the older man easy to talk to; he was a good listener, and always had a helpful suggestion to offer.

As one of Lizs brothers, he was let in on their double identities, and was more than happy to spar with both of them under each identity and offer suggestions.

While most of his suggestions werent groundbreaking, they were practical, and always were intended to help them reduce wasted movement and go for the kill.

It wasn't hard to imagine why his combat style had evolved in that way, but both he and Liz took the lesson to heart.

Samuel had spent all of his time from Tier 15 to Tier 35 in the military, honing and perfecting his craft.

One thing that stuck out to Matt was their talk of Intents.

Do you know what you three want? The Tier 35s question came after they had gone through a Concept workout. It was similar to Lunas, but focused more on practical power than the control she usually pushed for.

Liz was the first to speak. Nothing yet. None of us have even finished converting all of our essences with our Concepts yet.

Sam shrugged as if that wasn't an issue. That makes it harder, sure, but there is nothing to stop you from exploring where you want to take your Intent. You can already start trying to shift your personality in that direction. While youll still need to deal with the uniqueness that everyone's Intents demand, theres nothing that stops you from nudging the process along. Tier 24 will be upon you before you know it, and you don't want to get stuck at the end of the race, only to find the door locked shut.

Matt thought about what he needed, and came up with only one answer. Mana concentration.

I'd love for my Intent to give me mana concentration, but I have no idea what my Tier 25 Talent will be. It would be dumb to use my Intent for something that might be solved by my Tier 25.

Sam rolled his eyes, and flicked Matt's forehead hard enough to make him see stars.

Dont be stupid. When I say push your Intent to the end you want, Im not talking out of my ass. Having your Talent solve your mana concentration issue and having an Intent that does that isn't a bad thing. The effects would be multiplicative. Also, your Domains are about finding your own true self amongst the chaos that is the world. If your Intent is farting bubbles on rainy days, and that fits you, that's what you should go for. A fitting Domain is better than a Domain you think is powerful. Seeing Matt's raised eyebrow, he added, Domain being the collective name for a Concept, Intent, and Aspect, if you didnt know that yet.

Sam then leaned in and mock whispered, And with enough mental gymnastics, you can get almost any effect out of any phrase. Sitting up straight, he added, I knew a guy that turned a laziness Intent into letting him practice in his sleep. The man was always working, but somehow was always lazy about it. Find what fits you, then work to make it practical.

That got Matt thinking, but he didn't have any easy answers. His Concept wasnt developed enough to start building and testing images and phrases, but he let the Tier 35s words percolate in the back of his mind.

The idea of using a laziness Concept to work hard gave him some ideas, not for his Intent, but for his talisman making.

Using that idea, he created a slow barrier instead of a hard-shelled barrier like [Mana Barrier]. It was actually far more effective than he predicted. For the same amount of mana, he could slow ranged attacks by creating a barrier of a jelly-like consistency, mixed in with a little repulsive force provided by his Concept.

In their practice, the barrier could last minutes instead of seconds, and with his own reaction time, Matt was able to dodge everything that Sam and Liz could throw his way, both magical and physical.

It also paired well with Torch's up close and personal fighting style. As Matt well knew, melee fighters were at the mercy of ranged fighters, and with just a few of the slow barriers, she was able to fight an opponent and dodge anything shot at her.

As the end of the week came up, they had another masquerade to attend, and they wanted to see if any new top contenders appeared.