Chương 46

The Gang Gets Together We entered the Guild Hall to find Kaelis sitting at one of the tables, empty bowls and glasses littering the surface. The faint aroma of Derek's wife's stew still lingered in the air. My stomach immediately started kicking up a fuss, explaining its displeasure at not having eaten anything decent since leaving Floor Seven through a series of embarrassing rumbles. Kaelis was not alone. Two other Trialists sat at the table. Well, based on the weapons and armour, I assumed they were Trialists.

In terms of appearance, they were about as different as two humanoid creatures could possibly be. One was a tall female, similar in height to me, with a lithe, athletic build. She had pale purple skin, startlingly green eyes, and long, wavy black hair. On one side, it was tucked behind her ear, which I noticed was longer and pointier than would be considered normal – at least by human standards, anyway. She may well have been looking at me and thinking, damn that guy's got some fucking weird ears.

I mean, jeez, look at how short and flat they are. She wore a leather chest piece over a reinforced cloth shirt that wasn't entirely dissimilar to my own, so without even speaking to her I already knew she was a lady of refinement and excellent taste. Her narrow, angular face tilted slightly as she considered me. When our eyes met, her lips curled into a small smirk. I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling a little awkward, and turned my attention to the other Trialist.

He looked to be much shorter – maybe around five feet tall. However, what he lacked in height, he more than made up for in width, being nearly as wide as he was tall. His body was encased in some very familiar plate armour, so it was impossible to tell whether the guy was rocking a bodybuilder physique or one of those strong manual labourer builds that came with a bit of extra padding. Either way, it was damn impressive.

Now, I say the plate armour was very familiar because it was some that I had looted and sold many times. It was forged from metal so black that it was like staring into the void, absorbing all of the light that touched it rather than reflecting it. If that description wasn't enough of a clue, it was the armour dropped by the skeletal knight on Floor Three, so clearly the guy had found some success in the Tower. His skin didn't really look like skin.

It was dark silver with a metallic texture, and unlike his armour, it shimmered softly where the sunlight streaming through the windows caught it. He had a beard, but rather than hair it looked like it was formed from incredibly fine strands of gold. His eyes were blue gemstones that pulsed with a gentle glow.

"Grandmaster! Master!" said Kaelis, standing so quickly that his chair scraped across the floor and wobbled precariously before settling. He turned to face us and bowed deeply.

"I didn't expect you back so soon! Were you successful in your Tower run?" Rel's initial response was not through words – instead, he grinned and lightning began arcing across his fur. As he rose into the air, the light in the tavern seemed to dim, making the effect even more pronounced"You could say that, yes." Based on their wide-eyed expressions, I think it's fair to say that Kaelis and the two Trialists were suitably impressed by Rel's little show.

"A new spell, Grandmaster?" asked Kaelis.

"Where did you find it?" Rel floated back down to the floor, the lightning fading.

"Indeed," he said, shrugging as if it were no big deal.

"It was from the second boss…" He paused, allowing the words to hang in the air for a moment.

"…of Floor Eight."

"Floor Eight?" gasped the metallic Trialist, speaking for the first time. His voice was as deep as you'd expect from a person of his impressive bulk.

"I thought no Trialists in this Division had passed beyond Floor Five."

"The Master and Grandmaster do not parade their success as others do," said Kaelis.

"They are noble individuals who train in the pursuit of growth and power, not to impress people." Considering Rel's lightshow thirty seconds before, I thought that was a rather generous character assessment.

"Indeed, my disciple," said Rel, giving Kaelis an approving nod. He then turned considering eyes on the two Trialists.

"I assume that these are the individuals you have deemed worthy of joining our new party?"

"Yes, Grandmaster. This is Voklum," he said, gesturing first to the metallic Trialist, then to the female.

"And this is Allaria." The two Trialists rose to their feet. Voklum inclined his head respectfully. Allaria, however, took a step forward and crossed her arms.

"You told me he was strong, Kaelis," she said, winking at me, "but you clearly forgot to mention how handsome and stylish he is." Before I could respond, Rel took a step forward.

"I am indeed both of those things," he said casually, reaching up to adjust his wizard hat.

"And while I appreciate you saying so, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you." He took a deep breath and shook his head softly. It had all the gravitas of a surgeon about to inform someone's family that an operation had not gone well.

"You're not my type." Everyone stared at him dumbly. Even Kaelis, who normally gazed upon Rel with nothing short of fanatical devotion, looked a little lost for words.

"It was probably my fur that first caught your eye, yes?" Rel continued.

"How fluffy and lustrous it is? I completely understand. Now, as I feel a little guilty for rejecting your advances so bluntly, I'm going to let you in on a secret." He glanced around the room conspiratorially. Apparently convinced that no one was lurking in the shadows in an attempt to discover his secret, a vial of blue liquid appeared in his paw.

"My fur's perfect condition is no accident. In my spare time over the last few weeks, I've been developing a secret formula. It's made from natural ingredients and fortified with potent arcane energies." Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He paused for a few moments, running a critical eye over Allaria's hair.

"Even though you suffer from the same critical flaw as the rest of your species and those that are similar – a disappointing lack of fur – there's no reason you can't take care of what little you have." His voice suddenly took on a rather ominous note.

"I will give you this vial on one condition: you must not make anyone else aware of its existence. I currently have a patent pending with Galactic Entertainment Corporation under the name Rel'ly Good Shampoo." I had no words. However, as I stood there, my jaw slightly slack, I couldn't help but notice something. His fur really did look fluffier and more lustrous. *"I've mostly been keeping to myself since I arrived in the Trial Zone.

I have participated in several successful Tower runs as part of a group," Voklum said, slapping a metallic hand against his armour as proof.

"However, things tended to fall apart rather quickly. I struggled to continue working with them when…" His words trailed off, so I decided to help him out and finish the thought.

"When you realised most Trialists are colossal assholes?" He stared at me for a few moments, then let loose a great roar of rumbling laughter. The sound had so much bass that I swear the walls of the Guild Hall shook a little.

"Exactly that, Pete. Exactly that," he said, "Since then, I've just been revisiting Floors One and Two, trying to balance the risk of training alone versus pushing my limits to advance."

"Very good," said Rel before turning to face Allaria.

"How about you?"

"Well, let's just say it was a bit of a surprise when I woke up here," she said.

"I guess I'm what some people refer to as one of the Salvaged. The last thing I remember before waking up here was being caught in an ambush. My people are… were… at war? I don't even know anymore." Her gaze fell to the floor for a few moments. She shook her head softly, then cleared her throat and raised her head to meet Rel's eyes once more.

"I was on a routine patrol when the enemy caught us off guard. A spear flashed towards me, and then everything faded to black. I woke up in a log cabin in the middle of a large field and was greeted by my Initiation Guide." She grinned a little at the memory.

"I can tell you one thing for certain – when you come from a planet like mine, where the pinnacle of technological advancement is the windmill, being woken by a talking ball of metal is rather unsettling. I may or may not have spent the first few minutes chasing it around the cabin trying to swat it out of the air." I nodded knowingly.

"And then I'm guessing it electrocuted you, spent several minutes belittling you, and generally acted like an arrogant prick?"

"What?" she said.

"No, not at all. It was actually incredibly patient and helpful. When I'd worn myself out, it explained the situation and did its best to help me understand what was going on. It then spent the next few days escorting me around the local area, explaining how the whole system worked." I had a list of things I wanted to do once Galaxy Showdown was over.

Filling the top spots were many of the things you'd probably expect from the average guy who'd been abducted from his home planet by aliens: reuniting with my family, telling my old boss to go fuck himself, joining the Olympics and winning a gold medal in every sport. However, something new had just moved to the top. Sorry, Mom, you're going to have to wait a little longer to see your favourite son. I've got unfinished business. I have to travel across the galaxy and hunt down my greatest enemy.

The most evil, despicable piece of shit that I have ever met... XCZI-3574 Oh, yes. You're damn right I remember its 'name'. That shit is scrawled across my memory in permanent marker. I smiled evilly as I considered all the things I'd do to it when I found it.

"Pete," said Rel, breaking into my thoughts. I glanced up to see that everyone was staring at me. That was when I realised I'd been chuckling under my breath like some sort of cartoon villain. From the expressions on Voklum's and Allaria's faces, I had the feeling they were seriously questioning their decision to join the party.

"Sorry," I said, reaching up to scratch the back of my head.

"Carry on with your story."

"Yes… okay," replied Allaria.

"Well, anyway, once my Initiation Guide left, I started wandering aimlessly, trying to figure out the best way to secure a spot on the leaderboards. As I passed through a small village, the locals mentioned a city called Stonehaven. They sai–""Stonehaven?" interrupted Rel.

"That's the second time we've heard it mentioned today." He proceeded to regale Kaelis, Allaria and Voklum with the tale of our encounter with Grey Fang. I couldn't help but notice Allaria's face cycle through several emotions: surprise, anger, shame, and finally fear.

"You're familiar with Lokta'Inif?" I asked gently. She startled a little when she realised I was looking at her, but her mask of self-assurance quickly reasserted itself and she shrugged.

"You could say that," she said.

"When I arrived in Stonehaven, I was a little lost to say the least. There's a place there called the Expedition Centre that assigns quests to Trialists. You turn up, they have you take several tests, and then assign you a rank based on your performance. The higher your rank, the more difficult the quests you have access to – and, as you'd expect, greater difficulty brings greater reward." The Expedition Centre?

When the auction master said the Trial Zone had other opportunities just as good as the Tower of Potential, that must have been an example of what he meant. I have to admit – I quite liked the sound of quests. The two we'd been assigned in the Tower made a nice change. I'd originally only wanted to head to Stonehaven to ask Lokta'Inif what the fuck her problem was, but the Expedition Centre sounded like another excellent reason to visit.

"The issue was," Allaria continued, "very few of the quests were appropriate for solo Trialists and required a group to complete. As I'm sure you can imagine, it's hard to form a group when you don't know anyone and barely understand how anything works. That's where Lokta'Inif came in. Even in those early days, she'd already made a name for herself. Stories were spreading through the city about how she'd completed higher-difficulty quests on her own and had gained several stat points and some powerful items.

This led to her becoming a bit of a celebrity, and other Trialists started to gravitate towards her – me being one of them. It seemed like the perfect way to make connections and find groups for the more demanding quests. At first, she came across as genuinely decent. She started a guild and began recruiting members, helping organise groups for the Expedition Centre quests. Many of the guild members were exactly what you'd expect from a Trialist – arrogant, selfish and entitled.

However, there were plenty who were not, and I soon made some good friends. We quested together and started making real progress. Things were going well… and then Lokta'Inif's mask began to slip. It started with a guild tax. In exchange for all the help she'd given, she demanded forty percent of everything we made from questing, including rewards sold on the auction house. It was a bit frustrating, but we didn't think too much of it.

After all, if not for her, many of us would probably have died attempting to quest on our own." Allaria's frown deepened, and she began to speak a little faster, anger fuelling her words.

"Because of the guild tax, she was shooting up the acquired wealth rankings and quickly closing in on first place. She'd handpicked the best of the guild members to form a powerful group to complete the most difficult quests. This helped her quickly climb the total stat gain rankings. She was the head of the largest and most successful guild in Stonehaven, which helped her reach first place in reputation and influence. She was undoubtedly the most successful Trialist in the whole Division.

But do you think that was enough? Of course not… guild members started going missing, and guess what was happening at the exact same time?"

"She was moving up the rankings for kill score?" said Kaelis softly. Allaria nodded. Holy shit. I'd thought Lokta'Inif putting a bounty on my head because I'd passed her in total stat gains was fucked up, but judging by Allaria's story, it was just another day at the office.

"They only started disappearing in small numbers at first, so we didn't think much of it – after all, questing is dangerous. But then she began to grow bold, entire parties not returning from their quests. It turned out that she was using the guild's quest assignment information to set up ambushes. Her and her party would lay in wait… and slaughter those leaving or returning to the city." She fell silent for a few moments, the anger draining away, replaced by an equal measure of shame and sadness.

"And then it happened to my party. Draxis. Zerra. Voln. Kaeth. They're all dead. Lokta'Inif and her companions were ruthless. We begged for mercy… it only made them enjoy it more. Once I realised my friends were gone, I ran. They could've caught me easily if they'd wanted to. But by that point, they'd grown so arrogant that the possibility of me returning to Stonehaven to warn others did not even faze them. Not that I had any intention of doing that.

If I wanted revenge for my friends, I knew I needed to get stronger, and that wasn't going to happen in Lokta'Inif's domain. So, I kept running… until I found myself in Oakreach."