UL1 - Book 10 - Chapter 27

Max could feel the wind tear across the ridge of the mountain he stood upon.  The arena was a mountain range, similar in some ways to the one he had faced Igarra on so long ago. Stone tops, thin air, and nothing soft as small clouds drifted between them. Across the gap, Dai-Tengu floated above his starting peak, his wings not flapping, almost as if the storm that surrounded him was all he needed to stay airborne.

His opponent continued to rise. Black feathers ring him like the stone or glass daggers Max had used many times in fights, their edges appearing sharp, and sigils burned into each shaft. Lightning kept striking the bird god and breaking apart on contact, crawling over his frame and sketching armor that flickered in and out.

So… this should be an interesting fight.

Max chuckled, staring at the image displayed upon the floating screen above.  

Dai-Tengu’s face looked like a stretched crow skull given a voice. His eyes somehow burn a cold blue even though they don’t glow. They were just blue yet held an intimidating aura.

The bird god plucked another feather, scratched a line of some kind onto it with one claw, and let it fall. The air bent around the falling object towards the stone peak below. As it descended, the feather transformed into a blue flame, shimmering and seeming to wait for something. Another feather joined it a second later, and this time it became an orb of lightning that pulsed red. 

Whatever he is doing, it would appear his feathers hold the key to everything. I’m not sure how many he can use or do that with, but perhaps we can wait till he runs out? Or use the delay between his scribbling those runes on them.

I doubt he’s going to end up like a plucked chicken. Something tells me it would take a long time to make him bald and featherless.  Still, something about his gaze seems… different.

Max nodded, drowning out the announcer who continued to call out titles and names for each of them. As the introductions continued, Max saw Dai-Tengu appear to smile, holding a feather close to his beak. It flared white, and then the bird ate it.

“Max Hoste, care to parlay with me for a moment?”

Max knew his eyes widened slightly when the voice suddenly came from beside him, only because his sonar didn’t register anything. Thankfully, Max was able to keep from turning to look.

“I am willing to talk,” Max replied. “I am honored to meet you, Dai-Tengu. Forgive me if the challenge seems a bit sudden.”

The bird waved a clawed hand in response.

“One learns early that a challenge is sometimes the greatest compliment. You are an odd bird. So new and yet everything about you radiates danger. Had I not watched the replay of what took place between you and Kherbann, I am not certain if I would have accepted this challenge or taken the time to talk.” Dai-Tengu cocked his head slightly after speaking. The display above them showed each other’s actions, and the announcer had gone silent. “You offered Kherbann a chance to surrender. I respect that. Many do not. Some might think they could lose the fight, but you showed it wasn’t the case. Tell me, would you offer me the same thing?”

Max took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “I will. I prefer not to kill people, gods, or others simply to do so. Climbing the tower and becoming what I am required more blood than I want to admit. When I could spare lives, I did so. It is why I own some of the best records for the least deaths in the tower floors after the 60s.”

Both blue eyes blinked twice at Max’s words, the only real reaction the crow-god had given since they had appeared across from each other.  Even with a mile separating them and their mountain tops, the screen above didn’t hide any details.

“So you have honor and mercy,” Dai-Tengu replied. “Not common things for many in this new life. Tell me, why did you become a god?”

Bob?

I don’t believe he is stalling. I think… he could be trying to learn about us. We didn’t get to see any battles that he fought; the few he had participated in were no longer accessible.  His magic might be stronger the longer this goes, and yet… his eyes and gaze seem to be studying us, trying to understand why we chose him out of all the other gods.

“I didn’t want this path,” Max replied, chuckling to himself after his first statement. “I just wanted to be a baker. But sometimes the gods give us skills we don’t want, and that requires our lives to change. Many sought to end my life for who and what I was. So I had to grow stronger to prevent that. I made friends and, in doing so, needed to grow stronger to keep them safe. 

“Eventually, the only way to ensure their safety and my family’s was to be what I am now and now I’ve learned again that even being a god doesn’t guarantee that,” Max said. He stored his artifact and tapped his chest piece slowly with a finger. “In here beats a heart that will always give the option to one I believe is worthy of mercy. Yet inside is also a fire that will burn away anything or anyone, gods included, that threatens my friends and family. Any being foolish enough to think they can do so will find out very quickly I will seek them out and extract a punishment and death far beyond what they can imagine.”

Only the sounds of the wind blew for a good minute after Max spoke.

“IT APPEARS WE ARE–”

Dai-Tengu raised a claw and cut off the announcer who had started to speak after the awkward silence.

“We are not done,” the crow-god growled, eyes turned upward. “A minute, hour, or days are nothing to us, and you will not rush this.”

Oh, I like him.

A chuckle echoed in his head, and Max smiled when silence was the reply from the announcer.

“Why did you choose me?” Dai-Tengu asked. “Why fight? Surely you must know that in doing so, you put your name before others, give them a chance to see your power and decide if they think they can defeat you.”

“Time and the need for Divine Points,” Max replied. “I’m willing to bet everything I have to grow as quickly as possible. Tell me, why would you come and why would you accept if you weren’t willing to battle?”

A cackle echoed through the mountains as the god leaned back slightly, his feathered chest rising and falling as he laughed.

“You are a wise bird, Max Hoste. You play this game well. I have seen the odds and know that something must be amiss for the makers of this game to have them set the way they are. One does not see a 3:1 odds on a new god, with only one fight under their belt, when challenging an older one. Knowledge is power. Might is strength. Wisdom is lacking in many, and patience is a virtue too few possess. I sense that you have all of those to some degree. Would I be right to assume that in a hundred years, you will again issue another challenge?”

Max grinned and shrugged. “The only way to leverage the game in your favor is to know the outcome before the game starts. While I do not mean to infer that I think you weak or anything else, I chose this fight because out of the ones put before me, I do not fear losing.”

“Even with mountains between us, you still seem unconcerned when facing one like myself, born to ride the wind, to rise higher than many could dream of. Logic dictates that you can fly. Care to prove it?”

He’s fishing for something.

Yes. I believe that Dai-Tengu is considering surrendering.

I was thinking the same thing. This arena is built in favor of one like him. Against a normal person, unable to fly it would appear that he would have the advantage. But if we can remove that advantage, it comes down to a fight he might not like.

Every day, you seem to get smarter. Perhaps you are finally learning.

Max ignored the playful jab from Bob. His feet began to rise as his black skill worked the Wind magic he used to travel.

Dai-Tengu’s head bobbed up and down a few times as Max hovered in the air for a minute, dozens of yards above the stone. “It would appear I was right. Very well. I offer my surrender if you desire it. There will be no need for you to show any more of your power and I would prefer to keep what I can do just as secret. It is those small things that provide us with protection against those who seek to measure up against us. Will you accept?”

Max blinked once, slightly caught off guard at how quickly and easily the crow-god had just tossed in the towel.

Thoughts?

It felt like a low and long grunt took place inside his mind as Bob weighed their options.

The bird is right… we most likely cannot win without showing any more of our power. The secrets of our power and strength are things many will never expect.  He is gifting us a world, a tier one like the planet we had put up. In doing so he took a risk and yet played this game far better than I had imagined one might.  We’re at a place that requires us to think more than simply fight.

Could we defeat him? I believe so. Would we have to show a great deal of our power and potential? Yes. In doing so, we would tip our hands about what we can do. That would then make us weaker to those who might be able to nullify some of our powers.  Is there a part of me that wants to consume the abilities and stats he might have? Definitely, but what if you cannot gain them because you are a different entity? Unless you suddenly sprout feathers, we might find his magic unavailable to us.

Max’s head slowly nodded as Bob gave the reasons why they should accept the offer.

I believe you are right, and if I didn’t accept it, then everything I just said about who I am and how I work would be considered a lie. Dai-Tengu seems to have the upper hand in that as well. Either I now walk a path that offers mercy, or I am seen by all those who watch as a god that twists words and lies to get stronger.

A wise bird indeed.

Unsure if Bob meant that as a joke about himself or Dai-Tengu, Max gave a slight bend of his neck. “I accept your surrender. Know that I do not bear you any ill will and am glad we could end on terms like this.”

Dai-Tengu gave a sweeping bow, his black wings spread wide. As the bird-god hovered, each of the feathers that had been surrounding him returned to his body, melding with the others, their shimmering slowly fading as they turned black. “Then we are done. Moderators, we have agreed. End this challenge and return us home.”

Three breaths passed as the screen above didn’t change, then finally the word Victor appeared above Max’s head.

“I wish you fortune,” Max said as he watched the white disc appear under his feet. “May the wind lift you higher and higher.”

Another cackle came from Dai-Tengu as the bird-god shook his head. “You as well, Max Hoste. May I have the fortune of being on the other side of one of your fights, getting a chance to wager on you. May the winds carry you upward, but stay far enough away from the sun, lest you singe your feathers and fall.”

Max’s vision shifted, the arena gone, and the room he had started in appeared.

“You did it!” Jazzjak exclaimed.

He turned to see his helper hopping up and down on furry feet, the rabbit looking ecstatic.

“I did. Are you okay with how it turned out?” Max asked.

“Yes! Only one power was given away, and that one will make many hesitate. Flight doesn’t come to all gods, and many at your level do not have it. To challenge you presents a problem if they cannot overcome that, especially if you pick an arena like this one.”

“But why wouldn’t someone like Dai-Tengu challenge Kherbann? He can’t fly.”

“Kherbann can’t fly, but what good does it do if someone like that rock-god tunneled under all the stone beneath them? Even the arena has limits. If you want to fly, then the mountains appear. I believe that once Dai-Tengu saw you could fly, he knew that you had made your choice, knowing his one strength would be nullified.”

“But couldn’t he have removed my ability to fly? Or–”

Jazzjak held up his hand as a doorframe began to appear on one of the white stone walls.

As an entrance appeared, a red gelatinous creature made its way inside.

“Hoekamona?” Max asked.

A sound like a wet fart as bubbles rose inside the being, both eyestalks vibrating after he had spoken.

“No! I am Houkeeno! Surely you do not think me that one!”

“Ahh forgive me,” Max replied. “I uh…”

“Forget it,” the gelation-based lifeform said, its body shaking as it spoke. “You have once again caused an upset, and yet… we believe you may be worthy of future fights. You have gained your DP. Know that the odds you are acquiring are going to be reduced again unless another god, whom we believe cannot lose, challenges you.”

[ 60,000,000 Divine Points have been deposited ]

“Is that a bad thing?” Max asked, ignoring the look Jazzjak was giving him.

“It is a… troubling thing as your kind would say,” Houkeeno replied. “Divine Points are carefully controlled and managed. While upsets do happen, you have defied expectations twice now.  Others beyond your friends placed wagers on you. With Dai-Tengu’s declaration, I fear we may not know how to set the odds in the next fight you face.”

“I’m sorry?” Max said, unsure about what else he should say.

“No, you won. Every so often, others come, like yourself, and force the game to adjust and grow. Enjoy the victory. The world Dai-Tengu put up as collateral has been transferred as well. Until we meet again.”

Before Max could reply, Houkeeno’s body was moving back to the open door and sliding along the stone floor.

It appears we’re always causing problems.

Yes, Bob, it appears we are.