Chương 65: 64. The Albino Treasure

Veteran hunters claimed that larger trials were filled with hidden treasures. Similar to loot caches, these were actual creatures, more difficult to come by, hidden boss monsters. The creatures didn't provide cards, spheres, or items. In fact, they didn't provide anything at all. When Eleonor had told me there was a creature I had to kill, I knew that she was repeating someone else's words without understanding their meaning. Such creatures were only valuable alive.

That was the other reason I had asked her to come with me. Scorpion guards quickly scurried out of our way. Releasing the queen's pheromones guaranteed that I effectively owned the nest. If I wanted, I could attract and repel any scorpion I wished. If the queen hadn't covered herself in amber, I might have also learned to provide more specific instructions.

"The trial was supposed to take place in the desert," Eleonor spoke as we walked.

"We'd be facing monsters and a few remnants of the original inhabitants." I assumed that to be code for nobles. Turning my head towards her, I nodded.

"Lots of hidden caches, but there's no point in going after those until we've killed at least a third of the creatures." Alternative victory? I waved the index finger of my left hand, forming the number eight in the air.

"I don't know what you're saying." With a nasal sigh, I stopped, then wrote my question on the sandy floor.

"Alternative victory?" she read out.

"Not worth it. This isn't like the cruise. None of us can take a Grand Arcana holder." Part of me knew her to be right, but I remained curious. Maybe because of my successes so far, I wondered what it would be like if I claimed my third Grand Arcana card. The deities would be impressed for certain. Some of the major ones might even honor me with their attention. After a while, the tunnel we were walking along split into three. I stopped and looked at Eleonor.

It was her job to provide the finer details of the here and now, something she was scarily good at. Whatever gift she was given, it was almost worth getting into a pact for. The goth turned left. Before she could take a step, I scribbled something else on the floor.

"Outside?" she read, then looked at me.

"What does that mean?" I could tell by the change in intonation that she knew exactly what it meant. Early on, all the participants spoke about—when they weren't struggling to survive—was their life before they were snatched to join the Grand Arcana. The common word everyone used was "outside" as if we were stored away in some basement. Up to the hundredth trial, even the cynics believed deep inside that there might be a way out of this. One hundred was a significant number, after all.

It was only after the trial had come and gone that they accepted the fact that there was no escape. I tilted my head, indicating I didn't believe her.

"There is no outside," Eleonor walked past me.

"We can only do our best here." For several more minutes we continued along the maze of tunnels with no firm destination in mind until we reached another penta-scorpion chamber. Abandoned for decades, this one didn't even have any trace of pheromones. Withered remnants of the giant scorpion lay half-buried in sand. I could bet that there were at least several thousand more carcasses beneath. Stop. I raised my hand.

"What is it?" Eleonor whispered. There were several entrances leading out of the chamber. That wasn't where we were headed. I could see the bright glow of magic deep below… and it had the outline of a scorpion. I gestured for the goth to move back. The buried scorpion was relatively small—no more than six feet in length—with minuscule pincers, at least as far as aether was concerned. Having a fully developed Gravedigger would have been rather useful about now. Instead, I had to resort to the second-best option.

Moving on top of the scorpion, I methodically drew five marks with my sword.

"What are you doing?" Eleonor asked. I moved my hand in her direction, forming the universal "stop" gesture. The last thing I needed was for her to intervene. At this point, I wasn't sure whether she'd kill the scorpion in an attempt to help me or simply out of spite. Eight marks were on the ground, positioned in a rough circle. There was no way to know how deep the scorpion was, so I had to go all out. Here goes. I activated the Fourteen of Rings, then focused on the Magician card.

Creating combat circles was substantially faster than one could imagine. A mere thought was enough to complete a full spell anywhere on my body. Normally, that would have required me to be in contact with the floor. Few, however, knew that awakened divine weapons were also considered part of one's body. All it took was for the tip of the sword to come into contact with the mark in order to cause a stone pillar to drill further into the ground. Immediately, I stepped to the next spot and repeated the process.

Only that time, I changed the shape, creating an additional wall that connected to the first pillar. Magic, as I was often told, was based on three main things: logic, imagination, and the power to pull it off. Segment by segment, an octagon formed, surrounding the unsuspecting scorpion from all sides and below. All the time I carefully observed the creature's reactions. If it were to try and escape, I'd have to instantly respond.

Thankfully, the insect remained perfectly motionless, as if hoping that whatever was going on around it would blow over. It didn't move once while the stone cell surrounded it. Congrats, I thought. You played yourself. With the difficult part over, I cast a few more circles, forming the upper part of the stone cage. Then came the coup de grâce: a single water circle.

"Clever." Eleonor walked up to me as we waited for the water to force the scorpion to surface.

"I can just kill it, you know." If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. I shook my head.

"It's your prize." She shrugged, her usual confidence seeping back.

"Clearly, you have a thing for pets." She added a chuckle to the end of her sentence, transforming it into an insult. I can easily kill her, Serp offered. Don't. I still need her. Then, I can kill her later? I didn't bother to respond. It took several minutes for the hiding scorpion to feel threatened enough to stir, and a minute more to finally bother emerging from the sand. ALBINO ESSENCE SCORPION Level: N/A Cards: N/A Special: Essence Core Weapon: N/A A white scorpion?

I turned to Eleonor, who only gave me a " what?" look in return. Did she really not know the significance of what she had led me to? Participants could spend years without coming across essence creatures. Impossible to kill and difficult to capture, they were the sort of exotic entities that merchants and deities fell over themselves to acquire. They never attacked, had no cards, weapons, or color. All they did was hide in a secluded spot in the trial and do nothing.

One of the deities I had dealings with had described them as truffles: rare, exotic, and impossible to cultivate. Supposedly, they were the only entities, other than the participants, that the rule-masters didn't create, appearing at random for no reason whatsoever. You bastard, Hypnos. I turned back to the white scorpion. This wasn't a gift; it was a bribe, and bribes always came with strings attached.

"So, what now?" the goth asked, hands on her hips. I changed the pheromones I was releasing, but the insect didn't react. It was said that the creatures were unaffected by most cards, even among the Grand Arcana. Can you kill that? I asked Serp. Hmm. Want me to try? If the serpent blade was hesitating, the answer was probably no. Cautiously, I extended the divine blade and gently poked the white scorpion through the stone openings of the cage. It stayed still with the reluctance of a cat that had been poked.

I moved the blade away, destroying my water circle. From what I had heard, the only way to "obtain" the creature was to physically grab it. So far, I had never seen it done. Having to deal with a scorpion, of all things, wasn't the best way to be brought in, but I went for it anyway. Putting my blade away, I reached through the opening and grabbed the upper part of the insect's tail. Nothing happened. There was barely any reaction.

The scorpion didn't pull away or try to attack me; it only slightly turned in my direction as if silently asking what I was doing.

"Nice catch," a new voice said. I let go of the scorpion and summoned my serpent blade. Eleonor had also extended her hand forward, aiming it at an entity that definitely hadn't been there a moment ago. A blond human in a striped shirt stood several steps away. The smile on his face couldn't be larger unless he had resorted to Harlequinisms. It didn't take a genius to see that the being was a merchant, especially since I had already met it once before.

"Definitely a very, very nice catch." The merchant stepped forward, almost daring me to pierce him with my blade. I quickly unsummoned the weapon.

"I'll give you a good price for it," he said.

"A very good price."

"Merchant," Eleonor greeted him with a polite bow. She, too, had noticed his golden eyes.

"Don't be this formal." The entity waved a hand, amused.

"Sadly, you'll have to wait. There can't be any card trading until after the trial." Unable to speak, I stepped to the side, inviting the merchant to examine the scorpion with my hands. While trading with a dragon in my previous run, I knew just how much merchants wanted to examine anything they deemed valuable before the start of trivialities. To them, it was the equivalent of drinking a beer after a hard day's work.

"Truly magnificent. And to think you'd find it so soon." The merchant reached into the cage, gently patting the scorpion on the head and back.

"It's said that there are between fifty and seven hundred essence creatures hidden throughout the buried reaches. You're the second to have actually found one." Wrong, I thought. I hadn't found it. Rather, I had stolen it from the real person who had. Knowing Hypnos, he had probably peeked into some other unfortunate participant's dreams and handed me the prize for free. Although if that were the case, why hadn't the participant in question claimed it?

"I also see that you have been treating my blades rather well." The merchant stepped back, redirecting his attention toward me.

"Two awakenings, one additional gem…" he nodded as he spoke.

"You'll have them blossom into a work of art in no time." Kind of you to share, I mentally hissed. Merchants weren't supposed to aid or hinder participants during a trial, and yet he had shared a non-insignificant secret with another participant. No doubt he was using some loophole. In the eyes of the rule-masters, we were one group, so discussing information between us couldn't be seen as hindering.

"So, what would you like this time?" He reached into the air. The handle of a suitcase appeared in his grip, quickly followed by the rest of the object.

"I have some magnificent gems you could add." He placed the suitcase on the floor and opened it.

"I can also offer a few spells, if you would like." Never buy what a merchant offers—that was the key rule when trading. Deity or not, every exchange was a test in itself, a verbal battle of wits that determined whether the buyer was worthy of the merchandise or a fool to be taken advantage of. I waved my hands to get his attention, then drew a rectangle in the air.

"A treasure locket," he guessed on the first go.

"That is an option, although is it the best choice? You've no issue with storing things, so it would be more practical to improve your weapons or get some armor." I pointed to the ring on my hand.

"A treasure locket ring," he said.

"Quite the extravagant ask. I like it. I assume you'd like that as a rib ring as well?" I tilted my palm left and right. The truth was that I didn't think I would be able to withstand the pain, not with all the curses involved.

"Don't worry, it'll be on the house," the merchant offered.

"And you can pay the pain in credit installments starting after the end of the trial." Pain installments? I drew a question mark in the air.

"Just something to consider," the merchant brushed off the question.

"Anything else? As I said, this is quite the specimen." I took a silver coin from my inventory.

"Coins?" the merchant asked in disgust, his face distorting like a crumpled piece of paper. I pointed up with my index finger.

"Ingots?" I shook my head, but kept on pointing. There was a moment of silence, after which the familiar smile appeared on his face.

"Ah, I see what you're going for," he said.

"You could be rather devious, indeed. It's a bit beyond your means, even with taking the scorpion into account. Still, you are rather intriguing, and I'd be curious to see how you'll develop." Of course you would. He was a deity, and I was offering him a potential spectacle. No doubt he had already seen my battle against the scorpion queen, and knew exactly what I intended to do. He took a simple gold ring out of his suitcase.

"Everything is inside," he said in a calm voice.

"Could you just lift your shirt?" I obeyed. His hand went into my chest as if I were made of water. There was no pain, no discomfort, only the knowledge that a new ring had been added to my ribs. Now, I owed two deities a favor.