Wish upon the Stars chapter 314

The place Alexander took us was HUGE. I was expecting something like  one of the pubs we had been to before. Something with a bar and wooden  tables and a seedy backroom feel. This new place though...it was really  upscale. It reminded me a bit of Rantano's back in Valen, but not as  obviously geared at mortals.

The new place, Deva, was a  much larger building for one. Where Rantano's was the size of a normal  restaurant, Deva was, at least on the inside, almost as big as a sports  field. I expected given the size they would need columns, but there were  none. It was all a single uninterrupted space except the tables, which  were only about a foot tall and surround by plush pillows with intricate  designs of a dozen types.

The ceiling was arched, but  Despite it being so high up, it was easy to see the pictures painted on  the surface of the domed structure. Gods and monsters battled among the  clouds, hiding behind still images as they threw bolts of lightning and  fire literally out of the painted surface and across the gap to the  other side of the dome. The thing deities and demons would sometimes  die, only to fade into a normal still image upon their demise, while one  of the still images would awaken, some seeming to heal from fatal  damage to begin their tiny war.

Though the place was far  from empty, the sheer size made it feel much more private than it was.  Which was good because we had a HUGE party of people, and everyone  needing to crowd around one huge table was already taxing to the space  without trying to work around strangers. The wolves flopped down on the  cushions nearest the door when we got to the table and the rest of us  set up wherever we could get a spot with someone we wanted to sit with.

"So."  I said as I sat down. "That was bracing." I looked at Callie. "Sorry to  say babe but your dad is every bit as big an asshole as I was  expecting. Sucks you had to put up with him all those years."

Alexander  sighed. "Yes. Paul has gotten much worse. I truly wonder how much of  that was early recursion before he built his reputation as a hero.  Powers like ours are perceived a certain way. It's more than likely he  was unduly influenced before he built his current image." He held up his  hands quickly as if to forestall comment. "Not that it excuses him.  Just...be careful about growing too fast. Recursion can become  overwhelming if you get too much of it at once. Faster growth can make  it harder to withstand."

I hadnt known that actually, but  it made plenty of sense. I suspected we wouldn't have that problem,  however. Most of our points came from wishes which should dilute the  effect quite a bit. We would still have plenty of recursion, but it  should be easier to resist for us at least. Stats were the building  blocks of an ability and a legend, them being the carriers for recursion  was so simple in hindsight I felt like an absolute moron.

Callie  held up a hand. "I appreciate the support, guys, but let's just eat. I  don't want to spend any more time thinking about that bastard than I  have to." She grabbed for a menu on the table I hadn't even seen there.  "So what does this place have. Anything good?"

I smiled as  I grabbed another menu, realizing they were stashing in small  compartments just under the table. Scanning over it I noted dozens of  dishes. "It would be more accurate to ask what they DON'T have. And the  answer is not much. I'm in the mood for gumbo today I think. How about  you guys?" The gumbo looked fantastic, and I was sure based on the  pricing it would be made with high ranking ingredients.

Our  whole party went about ordering. Benny, Jessie, Abel, Zeke, Alexander,  Abigail and her team, Lament and her team, Sydney, Megan, Cark, Melina. I  was wincing internally for Alexander by the time we got to the wolves  because this was going to cost him a fortune. The puppies got steaks,  and Jessie ordered a HUGE to-go box of meat to be prepared right before  we left for Randall. Alexander didn't even make a sound about the  expenditure though, presumably he was much richer than the rest of us  anyway.

Once the food was coming, we turned to Sydney and  Megan. "So, you mentioned knowing something about our opponents for the  first round? I admit I've never fought ghosts before. If it's a racial  trait did they give up their abilities when they made the shift?" I'd  never been clear on that one. Some of the nonhumans I'd met were able to  use jobs or abilities fine, and some seemed to have switched over to an  ability based on their new species. Then again, there was nothing to  say they didn't already have an ability like that which led to them  picking it in the first place.

"They have both." Said  Megan flatly. "Though there are obviously some common powers between  them as well. Things like intangibility. Other than that they have  different tricks. Cold, sound, each one of them developed as a ghost  uniquely, at least from what I heard. I don't know too much about them.  As a D-rank force we never had much interaction with the Hall of Nether.  I just know about them because all of them synergizing the same trait  is considered odd."

Callie cursed. "Damn. We'll need to do  some research on them before the fight. But it's fine, that's more than  we knew before. Now who did you guys end up with? I don't believe that  with a group this big we won't be able to find answers to help out  everyone here. This is a huge pool of potential information. So, who  does everybody have to go up against?"

I knew that Callie  had two reasons for doing this, one was definitely to help our friends,  but she could also gather valuable information on people we might have  to fight in the future. Statistically not all of the teams here would  win most likely. Some of them were shoe ins like the Spear Legion team,  but some of them like Silent Dagger's team were local and not  particularly strong. I was sure Alexander had taught them well, but with  so many C-rank forces sending out fighters who wouldn't be well  trained?

Lament held up her card. "I got the Cave Spider  Cult." She paused. "Actually saying that out loud it's kind of a weird  coincidence, but there are so many forces in the Gloryfire System it's  not surprising some of their names would be relevant. Anyway, they're a  D-rank force who mainly use variations on spider transformation. Not a  racial trait, but more like your Beast Lord Garden."

MacGregor,  who was with us for this little powwow (we'd been friendlier with him  after he helped out in the auction fight) nodded. "Truth. The cultists  are swift and dangerous, but should you avoid their projectiles they are  no threat to one such as you. Do not allow them to bleed on you,  however. Their blood is highly toxic and corrosive."

Lament  look unmoved by the information, but Wren nodded in appreciation.  "Thanks." He turned to glare at his captain. "SOME of us worry about  things like that. We appreciate the heads up." Lestri and Vector both  nodded in appreciation, while Falken, who was sleeping on the table from  all appearances, held out a lazy thumbs up without actually sitting up  at all.

That got a snicker from Megan. "We got matched up  with the Dead Iron Brotherhood. No one I've heard of before, so they  probably aren't from any of the planets near our star. Or they are and  they're just super weak. I'm hoping for the latter, given the work we  put in to tweak the drawing in our favor."

Wren nodded at  that. "Bit of column A bit of column B. The Dead Iron Brotherhood are  only a D-rank force, and they're mainly defensive. They use a body  transformation art to shift their bodies into metal. The TYPE of metal  varies depending on the person, synergizing different abilities can  change that kind of thing. They're a pain in the ass to wear down, but  you two are fast enough that they shouldn't be a threat. Just a long  annoying battle."

I noticed that Megan didn't seem pleased  with the news, and I had to hold back a snicker. Looked like her luck  had come through in the most irritating way. Sloane spoke up next. "Sky  Wolf Temple. Never heard of them before either. Not that I was expecting  anything different. Anyone know what they can do?"

Sadly  it seemed no one did, but then, with twenty five hundred teams we were  bound to see some unknowns, and our little alliance mainly spanned three  or four planets. A few of the others spoke up, and some of them  likewise had opponents we didn't know about. Despite the size of our  current group, twenty five hundred teams was far too many, especially  given how many planets were probably involved.

Of  course, some of them we were able to dig up more information on. The  Burning Heaven Abyss was a well known C-rank force that both Lament and  MacGregor had heard of. Cark was up against them, and upon finding out  they used some kind of cold fire immediately started making  countermeasures. After that we all kind of broke off into our individual  groups to converse and try to come up with ideas.

We  discussed all the possible details. As we tried to figure out a  countermeasure to the ghosts though, Jessie perked up. "Oh hey, what  about that dagger?" We all looked at her blankly. "You know? The ghost  stabbing one we got in the Necropolis. That thing was G-rank wasn't it?  Whatever happened to that?" I blinked as I remembered it, then turned to  look at Callie, who had handled the loot.

"We  still have it." She said with a shrug. "Zeke made it sound impressive,  so I kept it when I sold off most of the other stuff. That's a great  idea though Agria. They won't be expecting that I bet. I'll dig it up  and bring it along." She cocked her head in thought. "Although, maybe we  should give it to Apollyon." She glanced at Abel. "Think it would be  helpful?"

To  my complete lack of surprise my teacher just shook his head. "Ragam  isn't a weapon based art. I CAN use a dagger, but it won't be as  effective as my fists. Besides I don't think my manifestations even  count as physical attacks. I should be able to slap ghosts around just  fine."

Callie  nodded. "Fair enough. We can do some training tonight. The first round  is tomorrow, so we obviously need to warm up. The next one will probably  be a few days later. They need time to hold all the matches. Twelve  hundred and fifty fights isn't going to be quick."

I  groaned aloud at the idea of more training, but it was good natured.  After some downtime I was up for some combat. Plus I really did want to  be in peak form for this fight. Once we managed to win we would be going  to one of the local parties, and as much as I didn't look forward to  formal attire, I figured we'd have more chances to try some good food.

As  my gumbo arrived, I dug in, enjoying the delicious stew. I reached down  to pet Jin as I ate, enjoying the sights and sounds of Deva with my  friends as we talked over our next moves. Tomorrow would be the first  fight of the tournament, and I was betting those ghosts had some interesting tricks up their sleeves. We would be ready either way. For now, things were pretty good.