Chương 15: The great tentacle heist

The level-ups dinged in my head. Nice. The notifications faded. I lay in the pod, the top already sliding open. The host's hand visible, motioning toward my pod. Everything froze. The host's hand, the air, the faint hum of the screens. The world caught a pink glaze, then collapsed into petals. Billions of tiny, soft petals swirled from every direction, dissolving reality like sugar in water.

They cleared, and Elsha sprawled across the top of my open pod, her legs dangling over one side, her head propped on her hand over the other. Her goat-like horns curved back into the empty pink void behind her. Her violet eyes sparkled with amusement, and the signature smell of roses and regretful decisions hit me before she even spoke.

"Did you miss me?" she asked.

"In a way." Not her, but I did enjoy the level-ups. I sat up inside the pod.

"Spiritual projection, again. Too busy to come in person?"

"Orgies are exhausting. It's lazy Friday, so I'm resting today." She rolled onto her stomach, her chin on her hands, watching me like a cat watches something it plans to eat.

"With a few succubi. You should join me for the orgies sometimes to know what it's like."

"I'm happy being alive on Earth, thanks."

"Then organize your own orgy and invite me." She giggled.

"Astarielle would love that. Since you took the necromancer node, you can summon an entire orgy worth of succubi."

"Not what I have it for."

"I know. But since you did put points into charisma, as I advised you to, I will forgive the necromancy levels." My cheeks heated up.

"I didn't take them because you told me to." She giggled.

"Of course, of course, it has been just a happy little coincidence."

"What do you know about the tower? There's no way a place like that exists without you knowing all about it."

"A few things here and there. It's pretty cut off and unwelcoming."

"What's Paradise? In terms of the tower." Playfulness flickered in her eyes.

"It's one of the major organizations of the tower. I haven't really been there so I don't understand its inner workings, nor I care to understand them. But the name Paradise comes up often among demons that stumble into the tower, die, and respawn in Hell."

"In what context?" She shrugged.

"I never pay attention to such petty details. My head would be like a balloon if I were to remember every little gossip I hear."

"Can you ask around in Hell to find some details?"

"I could." She grinned.

"But you've been neglecting me for the past quite a few years. Polish my statue, refresh our contract, summon me for some lessons in magic, and then I'll look into it. You're starting to have enough charisma to start learning time manipulation spells which, as my apprentice, you have to learn." I frowned.

"What does charisma have to do with time manipulation?"

"Everything. Charisma is the ability to influence. Time manipulation is influencing time. That's why I told you to spec into it." She really could had led with that. I almost went all-in on willpower.

"I'll think about it. Thanks. Dismissed." The petals rushed in, shattering her image like glass. Reality flooded back. The host's hand still pointing toward me, his smile still calibrated, the dome still humming. I ignored his hand and got out myself.

"And there he is!" the host projected to the crowd.

"The Little Horn emerges from the tower. Six levels gained in a single dive, bringing him to level eighteen!" Liu Wei landed between us, facing the host.

"It has been quite the adventure indeed." What was he playing at? I got out and straightened, stepping toward them. Sarah, Yukiko, and Henrik were only now climbing out of their pods. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The host turned to Liu.

"Now, Liu Wei, I understand your team has not finished the floor. What happened?"

"The floor spread too far for the timer to suffice. But let me assure you, and everyone listening, that our team, the Three Emperors, will clear the floor tomorrow." I snorted.

"Three?" The host asked.

"Yes, three." Liu slipped a side glance toward Sarah.

"Henrik, Damian, and me. The three greatest climbers on Earth." Sarah's face was already heating up, her glare murderous. Yukiko glowered at him too, hand on her katana's hilt. But they didn't rush to the host. Couldn't do that in front of all the cameras. I got the play. Upon entry, Sarah stole the moment with all her religious talk while taking the beacon. Liu decided to not let it be. And my power to summon demons was awfully convenient for it. And I was planning to pour more oil on that fire.

I walked to the host to get closer to the mic.

"And we've brought souvenirs." Astarielle! In a burst of crimson flame, Astarielle appeared, together with both halves of the corroded drone. I motioned over it.

"A piece of Tower's technology, completely alien to Earth." After half a second of stunned silence, all hell broke loose. With hypersonic booms, four people arrived at the drones. A bright light flashed, an EMP, knocking out the screens and lights. With a smirk, I unsummoned Astarielle, slipping to the exit. Shields popped into existence all over the hall. Shouting erupted, a hundred different wavelengths of magic cascaded through the air. I left the hall, laughing. Chaos spread successfully.

Now, three things were going to happen. First, they were all going to argue over the alien technology, because everyone wanted that for themselves. Second, they were going to research me, look for leverage, and find all my debt. Third, they were going to scramble to buy as much of it as possible. But since they were five organizations going after the same thing, each organization was going to get a part.

With the debt being spread out among five organizations, no one was going to have enough to really use it as a leverage against me. The afternoon sun hit my face as I left the dome. The sky was clear, the Pacific wind carrying salt and the strong scent of victory. Now that I solved one of my major problems, I had materials to collect to create Ashy's statue. I had the metal for the base, great, but I also needed organic material large enough to carve from. And thirteen gems, for some reason.

I headed to the airport. With everyone that meant something being busy arguing at the main dome, I had the perfect opportunity for a little heist. Yes, i could order things, but those went on a tab, and delivery took forever. The hangars buzzed with activity at all hours. Supply flights landed multiple times a day, bringing everything the islands needed. Construction materials, food, equipment, luxury goods. Five secret societies, twenty thousand people, and an endless appetite for stuff.

The logistics operation was massive, poorly guarded, and operated by people who didn't expect anyone to be insane enough to try larceny in here. But I was on a roll and had no intention to stop. From what items the workers moved, I estimated which depot belonged to the Yamato Syndicate. I walked behind it, finding a door. No handle, so it had one inside. But they had a ventilation shaft nearby. I stopped by the shaft and focused on my power.

My persistent failure to summon succubi with the daily summon had the side effect of filling my storage with a lot of tentacle worms. With a wave of my hand, I summoned five of them. These didn't require any contract, nor did they cost any significant amount of mana. Especially with the Endless Horde passive. The worms were one to three feet in length, each a single tentacle, with a various combination of eyes, a spike, or a mouth. Three eyes, three spikes, and one mouth, randomly combined among the worms.

I motioned toward the vent.

"Crawl inside, and open the door for me." The worms all waved their tail ends in agreement. One by one, I lifted them up and put them to the vent. They crawled in. I waited. In about a minute, the door's handle clicked. The door slightly opened. A chain of three worms hung from the handle. I walked inside.

"Good job." The worms all waved with their tails in celebration. I stepped into the hangar. The workers were busy at the entrance, so here in the back, no one was going to see me. The worms slithered after me. A whole array of crates were piled into five rows in here. I looked over them, spotting a tree peeking from one side of a crate. A Sakura tree, by the looks of it. I walked there, summoning Astarielle. She appeared next to me in a burst of crimson flame, visibly amused.

Her gaze travelled over the hangar, mouth twisting when she spotted the worms crawling after me.

"What's going on?"

"We're stealing a tree and gems." I motioned toward the box with the tree.

"All right, gang, chew the straps to free the tree." The tentacles slithered ahead, fast when motivated. Astarielle remained next to me.

"Tell me you didn't take the necromancy passive to summon tentacle worms."

"I absolutely did." She rubbed her face with her palm.

"I'll find some gems." Her eyes lit up, a soft scanning spell emanating from her. With a wave of my hand, I summoned five more tentacle worms.

"Team two, support Astarielle." With a cheerful wag of their tentacle tails, they slithered after her. I watched team one free the tree from its box. No strap beat the team effort, as the one with the mouth chewed the parts the other four couldn't break off. A few minutes later, Astarielle returned, carrying a box.

"I took some rubies."

"Perfect." I motioned to the tree, now almost fully detached from the crate.

"Have them ready for the next time I summon you." She walked to it, and caught it with her hand. I unsummoned her. She vanished into crimson flame with both the box and the trees. I looked over the worms.

"Excellent work." I pushed a bit more bonus mana to them. All the tentacles waved their tips in excitement. I dismissed them. They all vanished. I left the hangar, and headed back to my place.