Chapter 108: I’ll Give you a Show!
The crowd’s roar dipped into a strange, electric hush.
Up in the announcer’s booth, a figure leaned casually over the ornate railing, his skeletal fingers wrapped around a black-iron microphone.
The figure’s hollow eyes swept across the arena before settling on Jack.
Valdoren the Magnificent.
The Lich Lord who had once left Jack bleeding in a forest, rcenaries scattered around him like broken dolls, locked his burning gaze on him and waved.
It was as if he was saying hi to an old friend.
Jack could feel the veins in his forehead about to burst from the rage.
A rush of mories flooded Jack’s brain.
The flash of steel as his father defended him.
The burning agony as the blade bit deep, the taste of his own blood as he fought for consciousness while his would-be killers closed in.
The mory of his father losing control and destroying a good chunk of forest in his rage.
[Entity Identified: Valdoren the Magnificent]
[Class: Lich Lord]
[Level: 89]
[Field Boss]
[Threat: Extre]
[Warning: Entity displays hostile attention towards you.]
Lightning prickled along Jack’s skin, responding to the surge of rage that threatened to overwhelm his brain.
His hand moved instinctively toward where his spear would materialize, muscle mory was taking over. Jack wasn’t thinking clearly.
Corvin just looked at Jack, through their bond he could feel the rage building up inside of him.
He forced himself to pause and snapped open his quest log.
[Quest: Learn Who Tried to Kill You]
[Status: Incomplete]
[Reward: ??]
’I’m literally staring at the bastard who tried to murder ,’ Jack snarled internally. ’Why is this still incomplete?’
[Objective incomplete.]
[Additional conditions required for quest completion.]
Jack’s jaw tightened until his teeth ached. ’Additional conditions?’
That could an Valdoren was just the weapon or soone else had been holding the handle. Or perhaps the System needed more than just visual identification.
The idea that the cultists could have lied didn’t surprise Jack, just that he was annoyed with the outco.
Did he really try to kill Jack? What was a level 89 Lich Lord doing on Floor 2 of Tartarus Spire? There were just too many questions Jack had and he couldn’t answer.
Valdoren tilted his skull-crowned head with theatrical curiosity, the grin in his dead eyes daring Jack to make the first move.
The lich’s free hand drumd against the booth’s railing in a rhythm that seed deliberately taunting.
Around them, the crowd began to notice the tension crackling between the Soul Warden and their announcer. Conversations died as beings sensed predators sizing each other up.
A soft hiss of scales against stone broke the mont of deadly stillness.
"Impressive self-control," lania murmured from the seat beside him. "Most mortals would already be scared shitless at a Lich Lord. Or stupid enough to charge right at him.
Jack forced a slow breath. Trying to calm himself. "Give
one good reason why I shouldn’t."
"Because he’d relish it," she replied smoothly, her serpentine tail coiling with lazy grace.
"Valdoren feeds on chaos and violence. Attacking him here, would be exactly what he wants. A public spectacle that establishes him as the victim of an unprovoked Soul Warden assault."
If he acted on impulse, he’d be playing directly into whatever ga Valdoren was running.
"Besides," lania continued, leaning closer so her voice wouldn’t carry to nearby spectators, "you’ll need your strength for more important battles. Rumor has it that Malakai’s hidden chamber, your Soul Warden predecessor’s sanctum, lies sowhere within his castle on the 25th floor."
That snapped Jack’s focus away from Valdoren.
"Wait, his castle was on floor 25? Are you certain about this?’
"Mmm." A small, knowing smile played across her lips.
Why would the God of Death nudge him toward that very floor? Almost as if certain entities wanted him to find what Malakai left behind.
There was no way it was a coincidence.
The thought made Jack’s head spin. If there really was a divine hand guiding his path, then this encounter with Valdoren might be just another piece on a board he couldn’t yet see the edges of.
"How do I even reach the twenty-fifth floor?" Jack asked, his mind already working through possibilities.
"Two choices," lania said, settling back with the confidence of soone who held valuable information.
"Travel as an escort with soone already attuned to a lower floor. Though that might be hard because not everyone wants a Soul Warden or a human on their floor. It’s too dangerous."
Her tail brushed against the stone railing.
"Or," she continued, "defeat the current floor’s champion to unlock the next gate downward. Dangerous, but it would leave you in control."
Her words coiled around him.
Either get an invitation or challenge floor by floor to see what was on Floor 25.
Before Jack could respond, a deafening ROAR split the air like the world was cracking open.
The arena floor erupted in clouds of bone dust and necrotic energy as a massive skeletal form slamd against the obsidian sand. Spectators in the lower tiers scrambled backward as debris rained down from the impact.
The Dread-class Bone Dragon spread its wings so wide that it cast shadows across half the arena, its hollow eye sockets blazing with green fire.
Each bone in its massive fra was etched with runes that pulsed with dark energy.
Across from the dragon, a lone imp darted and shrieked in terror, hopelessly outmatched but apparently too paralyzed with fear to flee.
Valdoren’s amplified voice bood across the coliseum: "BEHOLD THE DREAD OF THE DEEP! THE BONE DRAGON RETURNS TO CLAIM ANOTHER CHALLENGER!"
Necrotic fla hissed between the dragon’s ribs like trapped lightning.
Each step sent tremors through the arena floor that Jack could feel from high up in the stands.
Jack’s fury at Valdoren crystallized into a cold, tactical decision.
The lich wanted a show? Fine. He’d get one that would be rembered for centuries.
[Warning: Current combatants are fighting.]
[Interfering is not recomnded.]
[Arena protocols suggest waiting for official challenge period]
’Yeah, well, I’m not here for recomndations or protocols.’
Before lania could react, before the crowd could process what was happening, Jack vaulted the stand.
Space folded around him as he teleported, landing hard on blood-soaked sand directly between the dragon and the cowering imp.
The crowd’s reaction was instantaneous and overwhelming.
A tidal wave of cheers, screams, and inhuman sounds that had no nas in any mortal language.
[Unauthorized Entry Detected. Audience enthusiasm
35%.]
[Arena betting odds recalculating...]
[Local reputation: Volatile.]
[Reputation
10]
The dragon’s massive head swiveled toward this new threat. It reared back on powerful haunches, wings spreading to their full intimidating span.
Jack activated a skill in response to the proximity of such concentrated malevolence.
’Soul Resonance!’
[Soul Resonance Activated]
[All bound creature stats
20% for 10 minutes]
Corvin burst from shadow with a piercing cry that echoed off the arena walls, violet aura wreathing against his feathers as their bond strengthened and deepened.
Jack felt the surge as their souls resonated, raw power threading through his veins like liquid lightning.
The dragon’s massive head tilted, studying this smaller opponent that appeared before him.
Then its jaws began to unhinge, revealing rows of bone teeth that were twice the size of Jack.
Green flas began building in its throat, growing brighter and more intense with each passing second.
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