Chương 91: Chapter 90

Statues We returned to the village to give them the good news. They'd followed our instructions and remained in the feast hall. I had no doubt their imaginations would have been running wild as they'd listened to the distant sounds of our battle against the Dark One.

They'd seemed pretty confident in Rel – sorry, the Great Frostfather's – chances of victory, but I was equally sure that some small part of them had been expecting the doors to explode inwards at any moment and an enormous wolf to duck beneath the frame. It's fair to say that they were more than a little pleased and relieved when the doors were thrown open and Rel and I walked in. There were a few seconds of stunned silence, and then the hall erupted into shouting, cheering, and no small amount of relieved sobbing.

Thankfully, they didn't mob us. I guessed their reverence of Rel as some sort of godly spirit was enough to make them maintain at least a few boundaries.

"We cannot thank you enough, Great Frostfather," said Mayor Slorik after the noise had died down a little.

"Every single person in this room owes you their life." He dropped to his knees before Rel and pressed his head against the floorboards.

"There is little of value that we can offer you, but if there is something you want, you need only ask." Rel waved his paw dismissively.

"It is the sacred duty of any guardian spirit to protect their worshippers," he said.

"You don't need to give me anything..." His words trailed off as his gaze fell on something near the back of the hall. I followed the line of his vision and saw that he was staring at the statue of the Great Frostfather. It definitely bore some resemblance to Rel. It was a rodent-like figure with similar proportions and a large bushy tail. However, there were also some noticeable differences. The snout was a little longer and narrower than Rel's and looked rather rat-like. The eyes were different too.

Rel's were almost circular, whereas the statue's were narrower and more like slits.

"Although, saying that..." continued Rel.

"I do not feel your statue fully captures the majesty of my being. Indeed, it almost makes me look like some lowly rat. The sort one might find scurrying through an alleyway in a city." Mayor Slorik's eyes widened as he looked between Rel and the statue.

"I apologise, Great Frostfather!" he said, pressing his forehead against the floor once more.

"Please forgive us. That statue was carved by our ancestors many centuries ago and has stood pride of place in the feast hall ever since. Stories have been told for generations about its creation. It is said that you personally appeared to model for the craftspeople so that they could capture your likeness." He hesitated and glanced up nervously at Rel.

"Perhaps their limited skill led to some inconsistencies..." Hang on a second... The Great Frostfather had turned up at the village to pose for a statue? They weren't just some mythical being worshipped by the villagers? They actually existed? I scratched my chin. That could be bad… what if they found out that Rel had spent an entire day impersonating them?

What if they found out that Rel had described the statue – the one that apparently captured their likeness – as looking like 'a lowly rat one might find scurrying through an alleyway in a city'? And perhaps most concerning of all, what if they found out that Rel had ordered the thing to be destroyed and remade to look more like a squirrel? I considered the possibilities for a few more moments, then came to a conclusion... Who gives a fuck? If the Great Frostfather really existed, they could fuck right off.

Where were they when their worshippers needed help? If Rel and I hadn't turned up, every single villager in the hall would have been slaughtered, before their souls were harvested and used as some sort of fucked-up arcane fuel to create the Dark One's interdimensional tears. If the Great Frostfather ever turned up and was unhappy that their statue now looked like Rel, well...

they could find us, raise a complaint, and our customer service department – namely, my fists – would help them find a satisfactory resolution. My whole outlook on the nature of gods and divine beings had changed significantly since entering the Trial Zone. Back on Earth, I'd never really been one for religion. It wasn't that I was strongly opposed to the idea of it; I just never gave it much thought.

Despite that, I'd always liked the idea that there was some all-powerful being out there who rewarded those who tried their best to be good people by offering them paradise in the afterlife. But now? I'd seen and experienced too many things. I mean, first of all, look at what Rel and I were capable of after only seven months in the Trials. I could fly. I could obliterate a building with a single punch. I doubted there were many weapons on Earth that could actually hurt me anymore. Rel could control the elements.

He could bring people back from the brink of death with a single spell. He could summon an army of undead warriors. If either of us were to visit Earth in our current forms, I had no doubt there would be plenty of people willing to worship us as gods. And then there was the whole Zeus-being-a-boss-on-Floor-Eight-of-the-Tower-of-Potential thing. Now, it was entirely possible that he had been little more than an arcane projection, or some powerful lightning mage who'd been hired and dressed up to play the role.

But it was also possible that the same guy had travelled to Earth three thousand years ago and spent some time pretending to be a god. Back when I'd summoned Elirion just before the battle against Lokta'Inif, he'd given a pretty fucking awesome speech in the moments before he'd pancaked Lendoria. One particular part had stuck with me: ' I have been worshipped as a god... and I have brought gods to their knees.' Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Elirion was undoubtedly a powerful badass. One who possessed the remarkable ability to make entirely bizarre combinations of clothing somehow work. But would I consider him to be a god? Not really. The way I saw it, there was a big difference between being powerful enough to be worshipped and actually being divine. The former seemed surprisingly common. The latter? I still wasn't convinced it existed. Peter Brookes, the philosopher.

Essentially, all of that was to say that if the real Great Frostfather ever turned up and caused an issue about the whole statue thing, I'd knock his dumb fucking 'godly' ass out. I pushed the thoughts aside and returned my attention to the present. Rel had commandeered one of the long feasting tables and withdrawn a blank scroll from his inventory. Gathered around him were some of the village's craftspeople – those who would be responsible for carving the new statue.

However, as I walked over and peered over his shoulder, it quickly became clear that Rel no longer intended to replace the original with only a single statue. Scrawled across the scroll were a number of very rough sketches, each with different poses and accessories. One showed Rel leaning forward slightly, a lightning bolt clutched in his paw with his arm drawn back as if he were about to launch it.

Another showed him standing with his arms crossed, a fireball hovering above his tail, and an expression on his face that somehow conveyed great power and even greater smugness. Several others showed him wielding elemental magic in various ways, and there were even a few that involved Commander Osian and Sir Rockington III.

The whole thing might have been one bizarre expression of his monstrous ego, but as I looked over the sketches, I couldn't help but think that GEC could make an absolute killing on merchandise if they played their cards right. Squire Rel action figures and plushies coming to a solar system near you.

"I think four statues will be perfect," said Rel.

"One for each corner of the hall."

"Yes, Great Frostfather," agreed Mayor Slorik.

"That sounds most wise." * The rough sketches soon escalated into hugely detailed, to-scale drawings. I found the whole thing mildly amusing for perhaps two minutes, then sighed when I realised Rel had no intention of being done any time soon. I slipped out of the hall and rose into the air, drifting higher and higher until I hovered hundreds of metres above the village. Elirion the Weaver. Sensei appeared before me, his mildly disinterested expression almost immediately giving way to panic.

With an entirely undignified squeak, he fell several metres before catching himself. He rose to face me, his tanned, scarred face flushed red and wearing a scowl.

"Let me give you some advice, boy," he said, his voice low and dangerous.

"It is considered most discourteous to summon someone several hundred metres above solid ground without giving them warning beforehand." I put a fist into my palm and bowed.

"I'm sorry, sensei," I said, then quickly abandoned the whole respectful-disciple act to scratch the back of my head.

"Yeah… in hindsight, that was a little rude of me. My bad." Elirion glared at me for a few moments before nodding.

"So," he said, his voice noticeably less sharp.

"Flight? That's new." I filled him in on our adventures following the showdown with Lokta'Inif. The fight itself was of little interest to him, which I suppose made sense as I'd not used my Aura. However, I was more than a little surprised by how much he perked up when I made a passing comment about my investigation into the possible existence of Auroria's tail. He chuckled and nodded approvingly.

"Curiosity is one of the qualities I always encourage in my students," he said. Then he leaned in a little closer.

"This Auroria... is she attractive?" I stared at him for a few moments. What the fuck did that have to do with Aura?

"I mean..." I said.

"I suppose attractiveness is subjective, isn't it? In my opinion, yeah, she absolutely is. But, sensei... I'm not actually sure what species you are. Maybe your true form is some sort of floating cloud of energy. If so, I can't imagine she'll be your type."

"Oh, don't you worry about that, boy," he replied.

"When it comes to my dalliances with the fairer sex, I am all about equal opportunities and keeping an open mind."

"I– that– you–" The words would not come out. Sensei? The super-serious, super-old, battle-hardened badass? He viewed himself as some sort of ladies' man? I studied him for a few moments. As always, his face and hair were the same, but he'd changed up the outfit a little. By his standards, it was remarkably... normal. He wore an unbuttoned, blue linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a white vest beneath.

The lower half of the outfit was surprisingly tame too: stone-coloured chinos and brown leather desert boots. He looked like someone in his early sixties. His forearms were thick and wiry, with the sort of muscle that only came from a lifetime of hard physical labour, and they were covered in coarse grey hair. My gaze returned to his tanned, scarred face. There was a twinkle in his blue eyes that I'd never seen before. Honestly, now that I thought about it, he was a damned good-looking guy.

He had that whole silver fox thing going on, and there were plenty of women who were into that sort of thing. My mind was suddenly filled with several deeply disturbing theories as to how he might go about discovering the truth of the tail situation.

"Very well, boy," he said.

"Since you asked so nicely, the next time you return to this Expedition Centre, I want you to summon me and I shall assist you with your investigation."

"But, sensei, I didn't ask–" I began, but Elirion raised a hand to cut me off.

"I have said all I am willing to say on the matter for the time being. We shall discuss it further after I have had a chance to introduce myself to Auroria. Now, continue with your story." I briefly considered pushing the issue, but decided that sometimes it was better not to know. I carried on with my tale, and he did not interrupt again until we reached the part where I'd used my Aura in the battle against Anokium.

I explained my theories as to why its effects had been limited when I'd unleashed Aura of Dread against the entire band of warriors: possible Aura-protection talismans, a natural resistance to Aura related to their species, or a dilution of the effect caused by the number of targets.

"And which of those do you think is the most likely to be correct?" he asked. I considered my answer carefully. He was looking at me very appraisingly, as though my response might go some way towards either confirming his suspicion that I was an idiot or convincing him that all hope was not yet lost.

"I think it was because there were so many of them," I said. He grunted approvingly.

"That would seem likely. Do not get me wrong, it's important to be aware that there are indeed defences one can employ against Aura. However, they tend to be rather rare items or advanced techniques. It's unlikely that such things would be present at this stage of the competition." He paused and took on that look I'd learned to associate with him rummaging through my memories.

"Think of your Aura as being like a jug full of water," he began.

"There is only so much of it to go around. Imagine each member of Anokium's band as being like an empty glass. If you manifest your Aura and attempt to direct it against each of them equally, the contents of the jug must be divided between them. The more glasses there are, the less water each receives. Eventually, there is simply not enough to fill them all. Based on your description of the fight and the effects of your Aura, I suspect you did little more than quarter-fill their glasses.

It was enough to harm them, but not enough to produce a debilitating effect." I nodded thoughtfully. It made sense. I guessed the size of their 'glasses' was influenced by their relative strength too. I'm sure that if I'd done the same thing against ten weaker enemies like Evalria, it'd probably still have been enough to completely mindfuck them. I voiced the thought.

"Indeed," said Elirion.

"Generally, stronger enemies will be more resistant to Aura-based attacks. It's not quite as simple as that, as there are a number of other factors that influence it, but based on your current understanding, we do not yet need to concern ourselves with them." The rest of the story passed with little comment from Elirion. By the time I finished, he had only two things to add: some homework and a reminder. The homework was fairly simple, at least in theory.

He wanted me to practise using my Aura against multiple opponents simultaneously while controlling how much was directed at each of them. The reminder was even simpler. The next time I visited the Expedition Centre, I was to summon him so that he could participate in my little research project.