Chapter 319 - Rewards for Success

Nate watched as the timer ticked down on the World Reaping event. 

World Reaping End: 00:05:31

Almost five minutes to go and he would finally be done with this particular leg of their journey in the Heartlands. The World Reaping had lasted for another sixty-three days after the battle of Molten Fall. That was what the other teams had apparently taken to calling the ambush and subsequent deaths of five Seeds of the major factions. 

Head Merchant Wu To’sama had been sure to let Nate know just how much he was drumming up the story for any Lesser Divine who would listen. Nate and Kiri’s reputations were already tumultuous before the events of Molten Fall, given the waves of assassins they’d dealt with before the World Reaping had even begun. Those reputations were ones of danger but also opportunity. A chance to kill a Second Evolution didn’t come along every day. Now, their reputations caused fear. They were calling Kiri the Unsevered Slayer and Nate the Unmaker. 

Nate was not a fan of his title, though he had enjoyed the benefits that came with it. Ever since the battle any time the Solaris had entered an area, every other team present scattered, fleeing as fast as inhumanly possible. The result was that Nate and his teammates had made out like bandits when it came to Divine Artifacts. After the battle, with the various Divine-tier Orbs and the spatial storage from the various Seeds, Nate estimated that in Divine units they had around two thousand and forty. After another sixty days of uninterrupted searching, fighting and scavenging, that total was now closer to five thousand. Enough for Kiri and himself to advance their Divine Vessels with room leftover for rewards for Jak, Fili and Gwen. That was without even touching the Peak-Grade Artifacts. 

Kiri now had a Refracted Soul Gem which she was keeping for her own cultivation chamber and they had the Pulsing Heart of a Bleeding Spirit for Wulfgar and some other Mid-Grade that should be enough to help the old warrior develop his own Divine Vessel.

That was where the good news for Wulfgar ended. Unsurprisingly he hadn’t been able to keep up with the remaining Seeds when it came to System Challenges. Nate himself hadn’t bothered with them since everyone was simply bringing ‘points’ to him anyway in the form of artifacts. Kiri, Wulfgar and the others had been trying System Challenges as they went though.

Nate brought up the leaderboard for the last time.

Individual Leaderboard (Top 10)

1. Nathaniel Weber - Risen Sun Sect (6382)

2. Kiri Beaufoy - Risen Sun Sect (1731)

3. Captain Borin Vaughn - The Golden Tide (1499)

4. Wu To’sama - The Starbreaking Guild (1375)

5. Gee’k Dumma - Dynasty of the Heavenly Serpent (1188)

6. Wulfgar Bjornson - Risen Sun Sect (942)

7. Natalie Hellfire - The Eternium (919)

8. Mondo Grin Kalim - Blood Wind Sect (897)

9. Baranthios - Flux Industries (870)

10. Sergeant Glick Thompson - The Golden Tide (863)

His position at the top wasn’t even close to being contested. In addition, Kiri had held onto second place with a few more maxed or better System Challenges, though Nate did have to acknowledge that Captain Borin did well. With the deaths of the Seeds at Molten Fall there had been more artifacts available to the wanderers, or the teams from smaller factions who had been far more willing to make use of the Starbreaking Guilds services rather than hold onto Divine artifacts to trade with their own factions. The result, according to Wu To’sama, was unheard of and the bald, old man had seemed positively giddy at the idea of being in the top five of a Reaping.

Nate hadn’t just been gathering as many artifacts as he could get his hands on. After a quick discussion with The System, which had promised not to broadcast what he was doing, Nate had sent a small missive back to Galle. The tiny portal, powered by a little Divine Energy and a lot of mana, had contained some details that he wanted stored in the Artist’s Emporium Vault. The main focus was on the material separator design he had developed but he’d included a few Sigils that he thought might be useful and belonged in his vault. The fact that Luc and Jacque could access the vault was irrelevant, though the twinge of Reciprocity told him The System thought he was toeing a line. Nate wondered if it didn’t punish him but instead changed his debt. Either way, that wouldn’t matter very soon.

Nate glanced at the timer.

World Reaping End: 00:00:03

A few seconds later he found himself back in the stadium from which they had left. The area seemed sealed by a series of magical barriers that each surrounded the remaining teams. Then blue text flashed in front of his vision again.

Congratulations on placing first on both the individual and team leaderboards. Your rewards have been curated based on your goals, achievements, and the total points achieved. Please choose two from the following list:

1. Four Divine Sigils of your Choosing.

2. A Nascent Wisp of Destruction.

3. A Nascent Seed of Creation.

4. Two Peak-Grade Divine Artifacts of your Choosing.

5. Memoirs of Ascendant Horold’son.

6. Divine Regalia Upgrade.

7. Amulet of Absolute Separation.

Nate paused to think about the options, though with the speed his mind worked at he wouldn’t be holding anyone up.

“These seem a little…powerful,” suggested Nate mentally, knowing The System would respond.

“Your points have set a new record for Lesser Divine World Reapings. The rewards reflect the results.”

“Can you tell me about some of these items?”

“Yes. You may ask, within reason, else your debt will be modified. There is a level of Reciprocity that states that you must understand what you are choosing. Details will not be forthcoming.”

“Why are two of them named Nascent?”

“Nascent refers to artifacts that have formed without the influence of mana.”

Nate’s eyebrows went up at that description. That meant these items were from Dead Realms, the Nine Heavens, the Seven Hells, or the Spiritual Realm. Nate wasn’t sure of the relevance of such a factor, but he had a pretty good guess.

“Are they necessary to break through the first barrier in the Path of Ascendancy?”

“Your debt will be impacted by the answer.”

“That’s fine.” Nate didn’t mind, he’d pay far more than that for the information.

“Yes.”

“What about the Memoirs of Ascendant Horold’son?”

“The studies of an Ascendant who was alive when I created the Source in this Reality.”

Nate nodded. An interesting option, especially if Horold’son had managed to get some details on how mana influenced our Reality. Firsthand evidence like that might help Nate better understand what mana was and if so, what he could do with it. But as interesting as it was, that was probably not going to be his choice.

The Regalia upgrade wasn’t tempting at all. Not because Nate didn’t want to upgrade his Regalia, but because he very much did want to upgrade it. He just wanted to be the one directing those upgrades. His Regalia was his second skin and as a crafter the idea of letting The System choose how it was upgraded was absolutely abhorrent. He’d spend some time working on it on the way to their next target.

“And the amulet?”

“An item made from a Nascent twin souled spirit. It can protect you for up to thirty seconds from anything in this Reality. The amulet will take a decade to recharge after each use.”

The idea of being able to protect himself from anything for that long was interesting to Nate. Not because he wanted the amulet, but because it was good to understand what these Nascent items could be turned into. It also begged the question of why they were more powerful than artifacts that had formed in the presence of mana. A problem for later. The decision was ultimately an easy one. The necessary items to break through his looming Divine Vessel breakpoint were more important than anything else.

A moment later the two Nascent items were in his Created Space, protected and hidden. A True Divine would need to violate Reciprocity to get in there so he was safe. With his decision made Nate looked to his teammates. Kiri had a smirk on her face and he felt her reach out with her soul.

“I got a Nascent Soul Spark of an Ancient Titan. You?”

“A Nascent Wisp of Destruction and A Nascent Seed of Creation,” he replied.

“Two?! That sounds like one for each of your Concepts. You’re missing Space though.”

“And you’re missing Enduring. So, we’re not quite there yet. Unless…”

Nate’s mind went to what they were meant to take from Worldhammer’s Vault. The item, or the thing, was supposedly a Lesser Divine Spatial Spirit. But, why would Arikanvil settle for a thing that was only Lesser Divine for his grand undertaking. That seemed, if Nate was being honest, on the weaker side. Unless of course, Nate had been lied to.

“What is it?” asked Kiri.

“Will tell you after I visit Worldhammer’s Vault.”

Kiri nodded and turned to the others. They were each holding onto something. Mostly mid-grade artifacts that fit their Paths, except for Wulfgar who was holding a vial with a drop of blackened blood that was clearly a Peak-Grade. Now there would be no excuses from the old man. He’d have a Divine Vessel soon enough.

As Nate looked around the various barriers sealing each team away began vanishing as everyone received their rewards. At the front of the stadium stood the leaders of the various larger factions in attendance. Grommir, Grand Marshal of the Golden Tide was resplendent in red and gold, towering over everyone else. The half-ogre locked eyes with Nate and gave a small nod.

That reaction was the only act of friendliness Nate received. Chairman Kalim of Flux Industries alternated between staring daggers at Nate, Grommir and Captain Borin. Nate recalled that Sel’kin had been the personal disciple of Chairman Kalim, and thanks to Captain Borin, was now without a pupil. Nate didn’t feel bad about the assassin dying, nor did he concern himself with the Chairman’s ire.

Then there was a hobgoblin that Nate didn’t recognise, though he could tell the creatures faction. Nate’s Conceptual Sight could easily see the traces of death and fire that surrounded the hobgoblin from The Eternium. Another deathflame user. Nate couldn’t tell if they were Greater or True Divine and though the hobgoblin seemed displeased with Nate the expression the creature levelled at Nate was simply a sneer before his yellow-eyed gaze moved on.

Finally there was Worldhammer, shining like an elven ascetic in a flowing blue and green robe. His robes were mirrored on the stadium as the colours of the Worldforger Sect were proudly put on display for all. The Greater Divine elf’s mouth was twisted in distaste as he met Nate’s gaze. Then Worldhammer was looking away and opening his mouth to give a final speech.

“Congratulations to those of you who remain. You have completed a World Reaping and lived to tell the tale. Not all do, and this Reaping was worse in that regard than most. A true Reaping, if you would, of both Seed and Servant.”

Worldhammer let his words sink in for a moment.

“That said, there can be only one true winner, and as promised, that individual will be allowed to enter my personal vault and take a single item with them. I should not need to tell you what an honour this is, nor the name of that individual. Will Nathaniel Weber of the Risen Sun Sect please join me on the stage.”

Nate floated up towards the stage, a Gravity Control rune etched into his Regalia alongside layers and layers of barriers on everything from his soul, to his mana, and of course his body.

“The Risen Sun Sect,” continued Worldhammer. “A name that few of us knew of before this World Reaping, but I am certain a name few of us will ever forget after this. They have shown us a new path, with not one but two Second Evolution Lesser Divines placed into this World Reaping. Is this new path the way of the future, or doomed to join other such attempts to raise Second Evolutions that we have seen in the past? I, for one, am looking forward to finding out.”

Nate alighted on the stage next to Worldhammer and turned at the elf’s gesture to face the crowd.

“One last cheer for the victor of the World Reaping of the Seventeenth Scale!”

A cheer went up, deafening in its volume and driven almost entirely by the various wanderer teams that had made out like bandits in the absence of so many Seeds.

With the final cheer the teams started separating and leaving the stadium while the faction leaders moved down to collect their teams and to an extent protect their prizes. After all, what better time to try and rob some people of divine artifacts than when you knew they were carrying small fortunes of the items.

Worldhammer began floating away on the wind and beckoned for Nate to follow. No words were exchanged as they floated over the city and then over the Worldforger Sect. A barrier hung in the air protecting the Sect grounds but with a waved token from Worldhammer they passed through without issue.

Nate’s eyes roved over the ordered Sect grounds and after a moment he smiled. It was built like an enchantment with mana running in a pattern that seemed to be intent on enhancing an aspect that Nate hadn’t felt before. The Concept hung in the air though, underpinning everything, and with a pleased sigh he said it out loud. 

“World.”

Divine Energy flowed into him and he saw how Worldhammer jerked in response, before looking like he ate a lemon.

“Your ability to understand Concepts remains…unusual. As does the fact that merely figuring them out seems to be enough for Reality to reward you. Your Embodiment must be an unusual one.”

Nate remained silent, plastering a pleasant smile on his face.

“That alone would make you interesting, however, you deceived me. I thought you were just a Second Evolution, and you encouraged that view in our little interaction. But you’re not just a Second Evolution, are you? You have a Divine Vessel.”

The wind blew coldly, flapping Worldhammer’s blue and green robe as they hung in the air. The Greater Divine’s eyes were deadpan as he stared at Nate. Nate in turn stared back, his Regalia flowing with the breeze, his own painted robes a stark white with dark, purple highlights.

“Was there an actual question in there?” asked Nate. Reciprocity hadn’t triggered and he knew Worldhammer was merely fishing for information.

“You don’t have to answer. I know what I witnessed. A Second Evolution Divine can’t wield that much Divine Energy. But you’re not yet finished developing your Divine Vessel through the first stage. The moment you evolve to Greater Divine, I will come for you, as you suggested. You are not yet my equal.”

Nate could hear the vehemence in Worldhammer’s voice, and in the end, he didn’t care. If Worldhammer wished to test himself against Nate he’d get the chance soon enough.

“Your vault?” asked Nate.

Worldhammer frowned, and then the winds picked up, swirling around them in a tightening fury.

“With me at all times. Go ahead then. I am bound by The System to let you in and let you out. I swear by The System. One item, and one item only. Choose wisely.”

Then a second world opened up in the space between them and Nate was made witness to Worldhammer’s Inner World.