UL1 Book 10 - Chapter 3

Max watched Jazzjak pace back and forth while they waited for the rest to join them.

“You… How I got put with you all… I’m not sure who I offended but surely this is my penance.”

“Why do you say that?” Max asked.

The vorpal bunny spun, his pink nose twitching rapidly. “I… was once like you. A tower climber who chose to forgo attempting the final floors. My offer was to live forever, have power, and serve other gods. As they grow stronger, I grow stronger. Perhaps in time, it was even said I might be able to ascend to the first tier.  It has been… eighty… perhaps almost eighty-five thousand years since that choice, and I am still not any closer to what I hoped might come.”

“Eighty-five thousand years?!” Max exclaimed. “What happened to the other ones like my friends and me?”

“Dead,” Jazzjak junior replied softly. “The highest god I helped managed to make it to the sixth tier. They were smart, but they played a game they thought they understood, only to find themselves destroyed before they knew who killed them.

“I’ve watched the games, tried to offer advice within what I am allowed, and even now am walking a line about what I can share. Too far one way and… well, you saw what happened the day your child was born.”

The Archons watch everything and enforce the rules. His speaking about things he shouldn’t have been talking about was the spark that struck him.

Max knew Bob was right. What concerned him was why they had been given this one as their helper.

Could he be a boon or a curse?

Eighty thousand years or more is a lot of time to watch and see what works and doesn’t. I would suspect most gods did not desire his advice. Even you were pushy about what you wanted, forcing the issue of the arena access.

Hey! We agreed on that! Both of us know that’s the key to climbing faster in this god thing. With the other two black skills having a head start, you and I both know we’re behind and need to get stronger faster.

A cough from their helper brought Max from his conversation.

“Forgive me, I was conferring with my friend.”

The rabbit snorted. “Friend? You call your skill that, yet every other god fears what it will become. What the other two will become? I have lived through one of those moments and the destruction that is done is vast.

“Worlds, systems, gods, even those who thought they were strong enough to weather or control the storm were swept away. And now I find myself bound to you and your skill.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Max asked.

“You ignored my advice, you didn’t listen to me when I said you should take time and grow stronger. I hadn’t realized the power you already possessed as that never comes up till the moment the world spins for the first time and life begins.

“Yet as the price was paid and your DP were reduced, the arena teleporter forming in the area set aside for it, challenges began to flood in.”

“Challenges? What about the three hundred years of protection?” Max asked.

“We should wait for the others,” Jazzjak replied. “This affects them as well.”

***

Seven gods and a baby sat around a wooden table, pilfered from the Golden Axe Faction from their home world.  It had seen use multiple times in the tower and now served as the anchor that reminded them of where they had come from.

Worn grooves where fingers had dug into it were getting new sections scratched away as Jazzjak stood at the end, explaining the current situation.

“As I was saying, before Sog interrupted me, Max’s status differs from the rest of you. Since he has defeated World Champions, his time of protection is no more.”

“But that was before we defeated the tower!” Fowl exclaimed.

“As I told Sog, I cannot control the system's rules, only tell you what it wishes to have carried out. You have heard how all life and the system were born. The Archons sit on the chairs that oversee everything, and their ruling is final. Not even one of the Nine will go against them unless they wish to break a pact and be at risk from the others.”

“So what now?” Cordellia asked. “Other gods can come here and wage war upon our world?”

“In a way, but not exactly,” Jazzjak junior said. “The other six of you are protected, and during that time, your world cannot be invaded. Even if one did invade, they would only be a Champion or a Demigod. Strong or not, most would be foolish to attack a world with seven of you, but the arena works differently.

“A challenge can be made, and Max must accept or reject it within a week. If he rejects it, then the world he owns is lost to him. His ownership is now transformed to the god who challenged. Some gods use this as a way to bully others, having stayed at the lowest rank for as long as possible, gaining power, stats, and skills. When they announce themselves, they try to thin out the ranks of the lower gods, continuing the cycle that is difficult to break.”

It sounds like what the merfolk were experiencing in the tower. It's somewhat ironic that you're now facing a test that was given.

“The only limiting aspect in all this is that a god may only challenge someone else every hundred years,” Jazzjak junior said.

“A hundred years?” Max asked. “I have to wait a hundred years between challenges?”

“You have to wait a hundred years between the challenges you make, but you can be challenged by as many who wish at any time. You get a week of rest between challenges to heal and recover. For some, they are ground beneath the boots of many. As they learn of your strengths and weaknesses, other, stronger gods may challenge you.  Either you grow stronger or die.”

“Well screw us,” Batrire muttered. “How are we to handle this? Should we fight as well?”

“I would not do such a thing as a healer, but there are a few who have,” Jazzjak junior said. “Remember what I told you from the moment we started this. Do not ignore the book you were given. This is an eternity of life and growth if one is careful and makes wise choices. You seven have the chance to be far safer than most as any god who comes and takes this planet must find a way to achieve a treaty or go to war with you all.

“The problem is no god knows this yet. All simply seek to defeat a new champion. Most have no idea the power you possess, just that your name has appeared on the list of challengers.”

So those gods who are strong most likely keep an eye on that list, biding their time and attacking those they believe are weak. You went as Ifrit… and now your name is Max Hoste. This can be very fortuitous for us in the beginning.

Should I use my newness to farm stronger opponents and grow in power? But do you think we’ll face anyone who can defeat us?

A chuckle came from within, and Max smiled, the sensation of absolute certainty for the way Bob felt oozing out every part of him.

Ask the questions I am thinking. Let us see what your helper knows. 

“Jazzjak, I’ve got a few questions. First, I’m assuming you know who the first one to challenge me is.”

“Correct. They are… strong. Their body type is one that resists magic and physical attacks well. A being of immense strength and fortitude. Let me show you as I talk.”

The rabbit's tablet was lying on the table, illuminated, and a screen flickered to life on the wall in the white stone room they were sitting in.

A stone being, similar to a golem yet more insect-looking, with a rocky carapace, jagged horns on its nose like a rhino, and clawed fingers, appeared. Its body changed not just its physical shape but also colors. Sometimes it was black, other times green, and then brown.

“This is Kherbann. He has won eight arena matches that he initiated and another five that he did not. He has at least 800 years of fighting experience for those who aren't good at math. That does not include any time before he first entered the arena. Most estimate he is at least five thousand years old.”

“With fourteen words in his possession?” Tanila asked, gently rocking Miranna, who was sound asleep.

“A few less perhaps,” Jazzjak junior replied. “That means if each world he now possesses were giving the base medium amount of DP a day, two thousand, then he is accruing twenty-six thousand DP a day or nine and a half million DP a year.

“Now, there is a side to this you don’t know and that is if he forfeited and didn’t die, then the world he has put up as collateral to challenge would be lost and he could retreat to one of the others he controls.  Kherbann has done such a thing three times that I know of.

“So, wait, if they don’t die or turn down a challenge, then he only loses a single world?” Sog asked. “How is that fair?”

“The system is as fair as it decides to be. Is it fair that you defeated two gods, yet are not flagged as one who can be attacked? Some might say no, but since you were also defeated and under Max's command, the system treated you as a new World Champion.”

Max could sense the shifting of his friends as their helper delivered the bad news to them.

“But you are strong,” Rakonath said, his voice steady and calm. “I know how much you provide to me and the strength of our bond. Surely you can feel the strength it gives.”

He nodded and faced Jazzjak junior. “Do you have any idea how strong this Kherbann will be? I mean, beyond the fact that he is old and experienced. Like stat-wise?”

The rabbit frowned and his ears flopped over as he shook his head.

“I cannot begin to imagine. The Divine Points he could have spent on simple stats would add up over time. He has gained an absurd amount of power if you did the math. Then there are abilities he could level up or acquire. Sure, those cost DP and the costs grow exponentially, but he has been able to enjoy the slow and steady progress.”

“So that’s a no?”

“Gods are different. I know what two of the gods I served before you had and the truth is they were crushed with ease. One cannot sit beneath two thousand in each stat after equipment and hope to survive. Many people do not understand the importance of hitting milestones. Surely, you have all hit at least one of the five hundred milestones. Right?”

“All of us have,” Fowl replied.

“That is a good start. You must work on your bloodline and stats. Those two things will be a boon in your survival. If you can one day reach the one thousand milestone in a stat, you shall find yourself in a much better position. Those who are tier five and above then aim for the next threshold of two thousand and five hundred.”

Did he just tell us that the being we’re facing is that weak?

I could be wrong… but perhaps he did.

“So… Kherbann… he would have what?” Max asked. “Two thousand, three thousand or so in all his stats with equipment?” 

“If I had to guess, most likely closer to five thousand. Depending on the items he acquired in his original world while climbing the tower, and the time he has been here. I would bet everything I have that his stats are above the third major threshold. He might even be closing in on the fourth threshold. From the fights I remember seeing, he crushed, literally, one god beneath his fist in a single strike. I believe from your world it would be… like an ant beneath one's thumb.”

A chuckle came from Max and he turned and winked at Tanila, who shook her head slightly, a wry grin forming.

“Why are you all not taking this serious?! Surely you–”

“Jazzjak, you can’t see my stats, can you?”

“Of course not!” their helper exclaimed. “That is not something I have access to. While I can see your Divine Points and help spend them, I cannot do anything outside your will. Any skills, abilities, or equipment you possess are locked behind a door I cannot see through or open without permission.

Max’s smile grew, and soon all of his friends were laughing.

“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Fowl said. “And we can bet on this fight? Right?!”

The tiny rabbit stood there, one ear flopped over, red eyes darting at the group. “What am I missing?”

“I’ll tell you what,” Max said, moving to stand behind Tanila. “Wager all my DP on myself and tell them I will fight tomorrow.”

“But–”

“Tomorrow, Jazzjak. If you don’t mind, my wife and I need to spend some time with our daughter.”

“Me as well!” Sog announced, his hand crashing down on the wooden table, shattering it.

A cry rose from Miranna from the sound, and the demon’s face showed fear for the first time as Tanila’s gold hair and eyes began to glow.

“Sorry! I–”

“Silence before I burn something off,” their mage growled, her angry demeanour vanishing as she turned back to Miranna. “It’s okay, little star, Mommy will make sure your loud uncle Sog doesn’t do that again.”