Mage Tank

Chapter 254: Dargons and… (10)

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SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY: USER NAME [Ruler 4]

ADDENDUM NOTE: There was a comment here. It’s gone now.

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Her Royal Highness Princess Ishi of the Silver Lounge was having an intriguing sort of day. She’d had the privilege of overseeing the evaluations of new Dimensional applicants to the club for some years now, ever since her mother had decided that her daughter was capable enough to serve as the test’s proctor. Her Silver Majesty, Master of the Infinite, had also remarked on how tedious she found the process, but Ishi felt honored that she could relieve her mother of any burden, so great as they were.

In all that time, Ishi had observed many candidates, though not as many as one might expect. Dimensional was somewhat rare as far as attunements went, and applicants only arrived every few months or so. Most who were invited to the club received their invitation soon after leaving their juvenile forms, and while there had been some talented aspiring members, Ishi had never once encountered an applicant she found ungovernable.

Today, however, there were two notable differences from her ordinary testing routine. First, the testing sites had been designated as Dungeons by the System. Ishi was well aware of Dungeons, although she’d not been alive when they last arose. She’d received the phase transition notification like any other individual with Delver levels, and Ishi’s mother had further explained their nature to her in detail.

Ishi had been curious to see how such a designation might affect the tests, but it seemed to have little impact on the process. It was simply a descriptor informing Delvers of the unique nature of the testing environment. Ishi had been glad to see that it wouldn’t cause any unexpected problems, but she’d also found herself disappointed at the lack of novelty. However, she was finding that the second divergence from her routine was providing plenty of novelty on its own.

The testing did not exclude any sentient race, but it was nonetheless unusual for a natural humanoid to receive an invitation. The last she’d heard of was the governess of their southern neighbor, Godking Ayamari. Her performance had been sufficient for the Rulers to overlook that lofty title, bestowed upon the shapeshifter by her subjects.

Then she’d noted that the man was touched by Spiritus. Then she’d noted that the man had trivialized his entire test. And then she’d noted that the feather boa really did bring his entire ensemble together, even though there was no reason it should have worked.

There were tiers to the test, of course, so Ishi quickly advanced him to the next bracket, which he promptly broke. Despite the layers of anti-teleportation and portal magicks Ishi had activated, the man had ignored them as though they were never there.

And then, he’d even resisted her own spells!

It was enough to leave her flustered, and it was a mark of shame that her mother had been forced to take over as proctor. Ishi pushed away that unbecoming feeling and resolved to learn from her mother’s approach. The unusual fellow was now trapped in an ever-expanding spiral downwards, running towards an end that only ever grew more distant. Ishi had been excited to see how he’d handle the problem and nearly as excited to see how her mother adapted to the man’s infuriating spellwork.

Alas, for the last day all she’d seen was a man having a jog. He teleported often and threw his hammer here and there down the hallway, but he mostly just ran. Once, he’d cast some kind of explosion spell, but had so far decided against repeating its use for whatever reason.

Why was he running? Certainly he understood that his objective never grew any closer. At first she’d thought he might be some kind of genius, but now suspected he was a simpleton with an unusual gift for teleportation. It was all very vexing, and she was feeling appropriately vexed as a result.

Ishi bit her lip in frustration as she watched the scrying mirror, then immediately regretted her display of emotion. Her mother would have taken note, and she expected to be redressed for the unbecoming behavior. Just when Ishi thought Her Silver Majesty would chide her from her throne, she was spared the moment of indignity by the arrival of Her Cerulean Majesty.

The ambient mana levels rose dramatically for an instant, until it was so thick as to become a tangible fog, and then the eternal sorceress formed from the mists. The Watcher of Mystics, Eldest of All, floated forth to study the scrying mirror alongside Ishi. Her Majesty’s body glowed and rippled like liquid, casting points of azure light across the ground. Even Ishi was tested by the woman’s mere presence, struggling to maintain control of her own mana pool.

They stood in silence for several minutes, all present knowing better than to question Her Cerulean Majesty’s arrival before she’d announced her purpose. Finally, she glanced down at Ishi, who resisted the impulse to tremble beneath the woman’s gaze.

“What is the purpose of this?” she asked, waving a watery hand at the mirror.

“We are testing the Dimensional candidate, Your Majesty,” said Ishi.

“Fool girl, I know that,” said Cerulean. She turned to face Ishi’s mother, who watched from her silver throne, impassive. “Why do you allow him to show such disrespect?”

“Disrespect?” asked Her Silver Majesty. “He wanders my endless spiral, finding no end. I fear his talents are exhausted, but I find no reason to see malice in his failings.”

Cerulean watched Silver for a time, no doubt biting back whatever scathing remark she wished to make. “Your Majesty’s test is now a Dungeon, is it not?”

Ishi’s mother nodded. “This is true,” she admitted.

“And this child is a Delver, correct?”

“Yes,” said Silver, irritation creeping into her tone.

“He runs your corridors for hours on end, making no move to solve its puzzles,” said Cerulean. She turned back to the mirror. “Instead, he casts his spells as often as his mana allows. I daresay the man is training, not facing the challenges you’ve curated for him.”

Her Silver Majesty slowly stood from her throne and stepped down toward the mirror, stopping behind Ishi and placing her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. Silver watched the man throw his hammer, perfectly arcing its path so that it continued down the spiralling tunnel. He then teleported down and through the walls to catch it. He seemed excited by his success, pumping his arm in what Ishi interpreted as a gesture of victory.

“You may have a point, dear sister,” said Ishi’s mother. She flicked a hand and the tunnel began to shift. “We will allow him the pleasure of the next stage. No–” Silver flicked her hand again. “We will advance him by two. Perhaps that will prove engaging?”

“I would advance him to the nether,” said Cerulean. “But it is your test, and your prerogative.”

“It is indeed,” said Silver. “How comes your own petitioner?”

Cerulean went still again in her terrifying way, speaking after several seconds had gone by in utter silence. “She has passed.”

“I suspected as much,” said Silver, ignoring the tension. “Forgive me for my imprecision. I wished to know how you’ve judged her.”

“Her control of mana is adequate,” said Cerulean.

The sound of feathers ruffling came from behind, and His Violet Majesty, Sovereign of Spirits, appeared to Ishi’s left, his bulk filling her peripheral vision. Ishi was now surrounded, with Rulers on three sides and the scrying mirror in front. She focused on her breathing.

“When you say adequate,” Violet began, “do you mean it in an absolute sense?”

“I’ve no patience for qualifiers,” said Cerulean. “Her adequacy has been judged on a universal scale.”

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“Hmmm,” Violet rumbled. “If I recall, you described my own mana control as ‘adequate’.”

“It has been some millenia,” said Cerulean. “But that is an accurate summation of my findings.”

“Then on this ‘universal’ scale, you believe that your petitioner is as talented as myself at controlling mana?” asked Violet.

“Yes,” said Cerulean. “However, it is conceivable that you have improved during the intervening time. Would you consent to another evaluation?”

“No thank you,” said Violet. “But I appreciate your generosity in making the offer.”

“I find myself curious,” said Ishi’s mother, Silver. “What feat could that mage have performed to receive such a rating?”

Cerulean did not deign to reply, but a burst of heat brought with it an answer. The burning form of His Scarlet Majesty’s false body appeared in a plume of fire, so hot as to make curls of smoke drift up from Ishi’s dress.

“The baby mage took control of Number Two’s mana pool!” said Scarlet. He placed his hands on his hips and leaned back, so as to look down his nose at Cerulean. Violet and Silver exchanged rather scandalized looks.

Ishi prepared to become collateral damage, but centered herself by patting at the burgeoning flames on her dress before they could take hold. She then began maintaining a minor Dispel around her to prevent another flare up.

The mana in the room evaporated as Cerulean seized it. Ishi fought to keep her core from imploding, barely managing to stop herself from being fully drained. Her mother squeezed her shoulders, and Ishi knew she’d be protected if the worst came to pass. It was little comfort. If Ishi were forced to rely on her mother, the weakness would not be forgotten. One was not granted the right to exist within the Ruler’s chamber if they were too fragile to bear its eccentricities.

“A crude description, Your Majesty,” said Cerulean, no small amount of venom in her voice.

“Fuck off with that formal shit. Call me Hep like normal, for the sake of the gods.”

“The petitioners have not earned our names,” said Cerulean. “I’ll not breach decorum for–”

“Consider it breached!” said Hep, Lord of the Scarlet Bask and First Among Rulers. “Use your colors if you insist, but no more ‘Your Majesty’ this or ‘Your Grace’ that.”

“Gold is technically in charge of formalities,” said Violet with a chuckle. A few feathers drifted down to Ishi’s feet as the goliath scratched at his horns.

“Well, Gold isn’t here,” said Hep. “She’s off testing her own candidate. She can reinstate the rules when she gets back if she wants.”

“It seems we have at least one exceptional candidate,” said Silver, whose hands had relaxed on Ishi’s shoulders. “Cerulean has a mage of some talent, whereas my petitioner insists on playing jester. How fared your own, Lord Hep?”

Hep marched up to the largest throne in the room and leaped up onto it. His Elemental form looked comically small amidst the titanic seat.

“I’ll let ‘Lord’ slide,” he said. “As for my guy? It was kind of a draw, but my Remembrance gave him the win.” Hep leaned forward and grinned, tapping claws against his fiery knees.

“I assume there is more to it than that?” asked Silver.

“Guess what level my Remembrance was,” he replied.

Violet made a low groaning noise. “If you’re this excited, I imagine it must have been Level 20.”

“Twenty-five!” Hep shouted, the flames on his head dancing higher. “Can you believe that shit?”

“Then there are at least two exceptional petitioners,” said Silver. Hep’s grin turned to a frown as Ishi’s mother refused to play into his excitement. “We’ve yet to hear of yours, Lord Violet.”

“Right,” said the horned behemoth. “I owe you a Domininth.”

Silver blinked as she processed Violet’s statement. “What happened to the one I lent you?”

Violet rubbed at his crown of horns. “She killed it.”

“No, no,” said Silver. “It was a Domininth. They have planar and spatial offsets, along with a litany of immunities and Physical invulnerability, Lord Violet.”

“And almost as much health as me,” Hep added.

“A Level 13 Delver did not kill the Domininth,” said Silver. Her grip was once more tightening on Ishi’s shoulders. “You are mistaken.”

“I immobilized it so it wouldn’t immediately obliterate her,” said Violet. Silver glared at him. “She only needed to survive for sixty-four hours! I didn’t expect her to fight the damned thing!”

“How?” asked Silver. “How did she kill it? Certainly she didn’t hunt down all of its spawn.”

“Yes, well that’s interesting,” said Violet. “She used a spiritual poison, very unique. Hit it with around 20,000 stacks in about two seconds.”

“Fuck!” shouted Hep. “That’s-a big poison!”

“Three

“I know, I know,” Violet replied. “I said I’d replace it. But maybe with something of equal value. Hrmm, how about an Ultra Maggot?”

Silver tsked, then thought. “How near is it to maturity? Actually, no, we’ll discuss this later.”

Violet smiled and shrugged, apparently feeling that he was off the hook for the moment.

“I’ll be interested to learn of Gold’s petitioner when she returns,” said Silver.

“I doubt it’ll be worth hearing about,” said Hep. “She’ll talk about worthiness and conviction and yadda yadda. Who can translate that stuff?” A burst of fire and Hep was standing right in front of Ishi, looking at the scrying mirror. She was completely boxed in. “What’s this guy cooking up?”

The group returned their attention to the mirror, where a thousand Realm Blighters were flanking the flashy man from both directions of the tunnel, which had grown much narrower. He opened a portal at his back, then his shield broke into a dozen pieces. They spread throughout the corridor to block the Realm Blighter’s advance from the opposite direction. Mana danced along his fingertips in quick bursts.

“He’s dispelling the Blighter teleports,” Cerulean mumbled.

“That can’t last long,” said Silver. “And where does that portal lead?” She gestured and the mirror’s view moved to peer into the portal. It revealed a large machine of some kind with a great many cannons poking out of its hulking frame. Behind it, Ishi could make out what looked like an armory.

“Are those Zng weapons?” asked Hep.

Half of the tunnel became a storm of ghastly beams and crackling micro-portals. The machine unloaded on the advancing Realm Blighters in a continuous stream of space-shattering evisceration and necrotic death. Once that side of the tunnel was little more than desiccated corpses and fleshy chunks, the man closed the portal and teleported away from the horde held at bay with his shield. The item reformed and darted back to anchor itself onto his armguard, and the man opened another portal.

This one was only open for a moment, but Ishi spotted a twisted, terrifying visage peeking through it. A powerful shock wave travelled down the tunnel, destroying another swath of the Blighters and sending many more tumbling from the walls.

The man closed that portal as well, then pointed his hammer toward the fallen beasts. Waves of gravitational force emanated from it, sending Blighters tumbling through the air towards the man. Just when the first group was about to collide with him, a wave of frost pulsed down the hallway, smashing into the Blighters and pushing them back, covered in ice. The Blighters lost momentum after sixty feet, began to fall towards the man once more, and were sent flying away with another crashing wave of cold.

“Elemental Barrier,” Cerulean commented. “Mana shaped into a cone, alongside some spatial effect to pull them in. He likely takes lessons from the mage.”

“Is he adequate?” asked Violet.

“Doubtful,” Cerulean answered. “There was no need to point his hammer to activate those spell effects. It’s sloppy casting.”

Almost as if he’d heard Cerulean, the man adjusted his stance and began flipping the hammer in one hand. Another series of pulses arrived with no obvious motions on the man’s part. The vast majority of Blighters did not survive.

Violet chuckled. “Did he just realize he didn’t need to point his hammer?”

“Maybe it was some dramatic flair,” said Hep. “I think he’s having fun with it.”

The man culled the few remaining Blighters with volleys of hammer throws that split and multiplied as they sailed toward their targets. Whenever a Blighter tried to avoid the attack, the hammers turned sharply to follow. When they used their limbs to block, his magicks went through their defenses and erased large chunks from their chests.

Once they were all dead, the man casually leaned back against a wall and tugged off his gauntlets to inspect his fingernails. He brushed them against his boa then looked again before nodding in satisfaction. He ran a hand through his hair and took a moment to finger comb his beard. After some introspection, he pulled out a small bottle of oil to massage into the growth, followed by a brush.

“Nice,” said Hep. “I like this guy.”

“He isn’t even wearing a helm,” said Violet. “That’s reckless.”

“He had one earlier, Your Majesties,” said Ishi. She suddenly realized that by speaking, she’d brought down the attention of all four Rulers. She steeled her resolve and explained. “He removed it after a while and began talking aloud about how he has conflicting feelings over wearing a full helm. He said that, on the one hand, it’s practical and the smart thing to do. But on the other hand, the audience needs to be able to see the main character’s face in order to form an appropriate emotional bond.”

“He knows we’re watching?” asked Violet.

“I think the audience of which he speaks is metaphorical,” said Ishi.

“A metaphor for what?” asked Hep.

“His ego, most likely,” said Cerulean, scowling at the mirror.

“By the hells,” hissed Silver. “Ishi, go in there and humble this man.”

“Yes, mother,” said Ishi. Her response was automatic, as she knew better than to question or deny her mother’s commands. It wasn’t until she was equipping her combat set that she stopped to think about what she was expected to do.

Certainly Her Silver Majesty wished for Ishi to leave the man alive.

Before she could ask for clarity, her mother was already teleporting Ishi into the tunnels.