Lorry was speechless. There was a lot to take into consideration when seeing Murai's ss. Especially when Mindarch fucked up big ti and failed to consider, or reach adequate readings or ideas. Giving that armor to Undead Captain did that to him more than anything else.
Lorry knew such occurrences were rare, if not extre. The upper limit that Murai had was an Undead Captain, but the vision of the last boss was supposed to be unbeatable.
Mindarch was the epito of care and Order in a place full of Chaos and insanity, giving this place the ans of advancent that it lacked.
It went by Levandis's orders and desires, giving this place a rare chance that was a kind of anomaly.
Lorry didn't care for Tori. Slaves such as these were everywhere, but he didn't rember or know the specifics about this excuse of an elf, who was owned by one of the Overlords in Hell who wanted to get rid of him. The reasons were unnecessary. Overlords could even get rid of Extres that failed due to so missions or various problems in many wars.
Tori looked terrible, whimpering like the child he was, even though elves had different rules about their lifespans. This kid should be no more than 12 or 14 in human years, but appearing like 8 years old was the norm for their bloodlines.
Hearing Lorry's offer, Murai glared at him as if he heard an insult. “Perhaps Lisa did speak of so slavery, but not about elves. But soone else did, so why are you eting so paynts or offers, when lives are at stake?” Murai uttered with quite so force, stepping forward in attention and causing Lorry to wince a little back, fearing that Murai was hideously pissed but hid it well.
“What does it matter? Purchasing this slave isn't Lorry's concern. It is just an offer Lorry thought about. Nothing else. What then?”
“I don't like where this goes,” Murai argued.
“No worries, if you don't,” Lisa said behind him. “Lorry has probably so questionable agenda about this, and Tori is just another slave to his life anyway. All Guides are slaves too, after all, but in different ways thanks to their soul and...”
“Shut up!” Lorry shut Lisa down with a crips clutter of teeth and flaring Soul Flas.
Lisa didn't let his shout stop her, but at least she stopped what she was about to say. “How many slaves are in this temple anyway? How many tools to toss against challenges for so-called tests and opportunities? Is getting so freedom possible? Is this all for just entertainnt, or rules that Mindach affects, and Levandis cherishes? Guides follow the rules and so do the slaves, right?”
“Well, Lisa should simply shut it down. Lorry is talking. It doesn't concern Lisa at all.” Lorry said coldly, feeling that the inevitability of this questionable topic wasn't important, but he had already started it so he intended to finish the job. He ought to do it all the ti, regardless if it was a bad or terrible idea.
Tori may be a valuable elf in so way, but a kid with lost Will was terrible to have as a slave. Killing useless slaves, or tossing them into an inevitable situation was very common across the Hell Havens or those in power in general. In this temple, being a part of the Gates was just an inevitable part of failure or hope. Sotis it was a potential reward; other tis a punishnt that ended in the End.
Thus, Lorry couldn't give a shit about Tori or any situation, since Lisa was correct.
And truth sotis hurt.
Murai didn't change anything, or at least on the surface, Tori was the sa slave in anyone's eyes. One shouldn't worry about those that didn't concern them. That was an unspoken rule. A warning, an excuse, and a bunch of other things that spoke of many hidden or clear reasons.
This place had its rules after all.
Lorry didn't know this boy in the slightest, however, but that didn't an he couldn't use his authority as a Guide to do things such as so trades if he was supposed to be dead anyway. If it involved Challengers and points, Guides could do essentially anything if Mindarch allowed that to happen.
That was yet another rule.
Murai had his own sets, however. His bunch of lives too, looming over his mind, resting in his soul, and depth that had almost no bounds. His eyes were often the sa. “Purchasing lives, do you? Are you offering that to ? ?!”
“Well, Murai doesn't have to be worried too much about points or lives anyway. Murai is like that in Lorry's eyes. It is about fascinating interests, so let this be what it can be. Power allows that. Allocates those who touch and make such decisions.” Lorry said and turned his attention to Tori, who had no clue what was happening because Murai was quacking, while the others were talking in human tongue.
“This slave is property of the temple because of wars and rules this world holds. Ownership can change at any ti as long as the contract works. It's flexible. Lorry offers 5000 points for this slave after the completion of the Islands of Greatness. That isn't a bad offer for such an elf. If Murai chose to give up before that, as Lorry explained a couple of days before, points are enough for such an ongoing purchase. Islands of Greatness has incredible rit to points. Murai sho...”
“5000 or 10,000, I don't give a fuck. What is even the point of that, huh? If he had died, that would be that. End. I saved his ass not because I wanted anyway, and you want to save him again by purchasing him because you thought of it? Fuck off with that logic, your bony prick. Forget it. That is way out of... Uh.” Murai stopped his statent that Lorry took without surprise, similar to Lisa.
Unwilling to believe that a person's life has a monetary number was a common concept for those who get personal with this idea. It was hypocritical to accept it. So cared about it far too much, and others didn't give it any care.
Power worked in strange ways, and Murai hated it both ways. When given this chance to change Tori's life, he hesitated because of the anger of his heart.
For those who weren't fortunate, slavery was like shackles that Murai wasn't unfamiliar with. When seeing that, or having a chance to stop it, he hated such reminders.
It didn't matter if the reality was often ruthless and exactly how Lorry voiced it. It was the sa with money and business, even if it sounded terrible.
Everything or anyone had a price for sothing they feared or never wanted to think about.
So what if Murai's beliefs were what they should be like? So moved alongside truths or logic. Would they be wrong for so people? What was wrong or right in this world? The universe wasn't acting according to that anyway. It just exists to allow the acts and beings to cherish its existence.
Could Murai solve every slave's fate by himself? Was there soone to help him with his own shackles that kept him in this perpetual loop of agony that never ended?
Never before had he hoped for soone else' touch of help. Nothing helped, he tended to believe.
It was a constant truth that people and countless races were subject to. So things can't change. Or questioned, as Murai often thought when t with botherso choices. Slavery was an issue that went further than he ever liked, keeping him shackled, and pestering him in all of his lives.
This one ended not so different from many of them because the setting was often what made each life miserable or acceptable.
Most often, they weren't so good for so reason, or his body was the issue. So when both of them were shit... Yeah. He didn't take it well. He can influence the outco by his acts, changes, or his outlook, but if the whole universe acted as his prison, what was there to think?
Was positivity a good idea? Murai hated this. Everything. He hated his concept, or even this boy, or what Lorry said.
“Murai can think about it further, but what use does it have? It is a simple purchase, does Lisa disagree?” Lorry looked at her, hovering beside Murai and Tori who was the lost cause.
Lisa shrugged her arms again. “It isn't my place to decide that. It is up to him to think, or we can turn this to the other party.” She pointed to Tori behind her. “He listens as we speak. I can feel it.”
Murai thought of this too, but who was Tori anyway? Murai was a little confused in his anger which was very heavy in his heart, but his Soul Read was still working, and his Will was still pointing to Tori. He can let it work.
“Decide? Are there even so decisions and answers to the madness?” Murai shouted, almost getting to the point of insanity.
“Though so,” Lisa said. “There aren't, but I think a simple choice of yes or no is enough to get a point across. This place will take it anyway, and you can afford that. The boy is... I an, it isn't important for you, I get that. It shouldn't be. That is what I think.”
“Screw that.” Murai picked a fight with the ground, smacking it with his beak. “I don't like it. Why have you offered that!?” He demanded to Lorry, who pretended to be a stubborn haggler
“Would you go lower than 5,000?”
Another smack echoed.
“Calm down.” Lisa made her move, clutching his beak, and stressing her arm as she shook under the thinly glowing beak. A start of the Blitz, she reconned. “You will get plenty of points out of this Gate. above 10,000 is my idea. As Lorry said, this Gate's advantage over 100 kills is large and the point limiter at your level isn't that big, but it is good for you. So don't think. Decide.”
Glaring at her closely, Murai heard them both, but who he was to decide the fate of others when he had no fateful choices either?
He hated it more than he showed, but Lisa nor Lorry didn't know that.
Grunting and forcing Lisa away with a simple smack of his beak, a few cracks were on the floor made of countless bricks.
“Fuck you both.” He snapped sothing in his mind. He stord towards Tori, who, at so point, stopped crying. He opted for silent curiosity, observing what he regarded as a weird Fairy, a duck that was... kind of weird, and a talking skull. Duck talked to them. To a lofty Guide that was looking nacing and crazy in its eyes.
But the duck seed to have the upper hand, quacking in power and slamming its beak to the ground or the Fairy. Why? Tori heard so ideas but lacked the context. The situation shouldn't be simple if Guide was around, and so talks about slavery... or whatever else ca up in Lisa's mouth.
And Tori was alive... What was to beco of him? He heard so ntion of so points, slavery, and offer, but what of it? Slaves weren't supposed to care for such businesses. Especially war slaves of the elven races that were deed enemies across the Surface, Depths, or Sky.
Tori knew his fate wasn't his to decide. It was prone to others, forever left in shackles and powerful hands.
Murai knew it and hated it not because of choices or this offer. It was a principle of how it all resounded in his mind because helping or not won't change a thing. It will trouble him instead.
When Tori heard what Guide said again, offering the points for him, while Lisa pointed to him, sothing hit his mind. Lisa and Lorry were talking openly, so he got so idea just in ti when Murai wasn't talking and opted to do things personally because his Will was still pointed at Tori.
Tori had no clue what he said, as Murai didn't care about him.
So when he looked at the approaching duck that wore a fierce and pissed-off expression, Tori tried to back away.
He failed. There was no coming back from this pissed Anatiade that he hadn't even known existed.
Involuntary or in instincts, he feared this duck that left him a bruise on his head, a headache on top of his head, and who knew what else was inside his mind.
What was he afraid of again, he asked himself, knowing that this duck saved his life and talked like crazy, but who wasn't crazy? The world was crazy.
A duck wasn't? Talking duck, Fairy, or a talking floating skull?
“D-duck? S-sir... W-what? What do you want from this one?” Tori asked as politely as he could, his voice cracking in anxiety when Murai kicked his crawling feet. It didn't hurt him. It was just a statent to stop being a wimp and think of fleeting or jumping from this arena.
“Oh, I am so pissed! You too?” Murai used his Wil again, shaking Tori's head into a painful growl and splitting headache. No tears ca, but his body curved and hands went over his ssed up hair, revealing pointy ears.
Murai frowned, figuring that he was hurting this boy because he used a bit more strength than necessary. But he shouldn't die if he was already processing his Will without dying. He expected worse things would happen if he did this with Iris, but he hadn't tested anything with her, nor did he desire that. Her involvent with Vermillion wasn't fine for any tests.
And this boy had no protection or grace of a God. In fact, he was utterly abandoned, lost, and seeking the End. If he took his Will and it worked twice, a bit more power shouldn't make a vast difference whatsoever.
“Fine. I am brutal, but you deserve it! Try to breathe. That helps if you aren't breathing. it is called common sense. Or you can try to passively stretch the pain by thinking widely? It is rather vague. Sorry. You are just a wimp.” Murai tried to help, but he wasn't good at it.
Not doing anything physical to him was a good start, as he left his wing, beak, and legs out of his reach, neatly folded closer to his torso. His Will was enough when he wanted to get personal with this wimp.
He stopped before shivering Tori, looking closely at his face. He wanted nothing but a talk. It was a step in the right direction, albeit Lorry wondered what he was planning with getting personal with a slave. Lisa had her ideas so he respected his ti and choice by not getting involved.
Hearing the powerful voice akin to a God in his mind, speaking to his soul, Tori was struck with endless pain and panic. That would be anyone's reaction, honestly.
It kept going as if the storm was endlessly cycling in his mind. When he started to stretch his mind as if thinking widely, he did as Murai implied, and it worked by pushing the voice further as if Murai was speaking across the arena. Breathing helped much more with calming his heart, which was seized by pain.
“Good. Keep the breath steady, and a couple of seconds apart. Not further, alright? Your mind will beco mush otherwise. Also, your thinking and mind should remain stretched. It eases the suffering. I do the talking, but you speak between breaths too. Are you better?” Murai asked after a minute.
Tori looked calm in his eyes too, no longer quivering and escaping like a panicking child. He figured that the pain wasn't gone. It was just... everywhere, stretching over his mind, core, and everywhere as he breathed. But each passing breath made it more bearable and manageable.
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So Tori nodded.
“Good. So, have you heard of that insane skull and that annoying-looking ghost from before?”
Tori nodded again, unwilling to speak as it was an act that grew onto his living. Authority. It was all about the subject of power. This duck was well over him. He should be careful, and not trying to piss it off was a clever idea.
“Then, an offer to purchase you has been offered by a Guide of this shitty temple that you are the slave of. Are you pissed like ?”
This ti, Tori shook his head, unwilling to tell the truth that was punishable by the rules of this place.
Once a war slave as an elf, forever a slave. That was the truth of not only his life but other elves he had seen. It wasn't only them. Any war slave ended up badly treated if they were useless or worse.
Elves had just it a bit worse because of their reputation. And he, as an elf born in this temple to a female elven slave and so demon or so other scum, his life held different values, even if his Bloodline from his mother wasn't poor.
Tori knew it because it was all he ever learned. He only knew of what elves were from the voice of his mother, whom he loved dearly, as it was the only light of his life. Who was his father didn't matter, but she said it was so sort of human, which was vague. The line between humanity in all Hell Havens stretched to nonsense.
Regardless of it, this temple held more darkness than light. His mother had been imprisoned for years. He hadn't seen her in a long ti, so all he knew was the suffering without knowing the end in sight. At so point, it overwheld everything, engulfing him in complete helplessness when his life got worse and no help or ease was anywhere.
His mind ended up terrible, but the brightness of his hair, hiding behind the filth, was the token of his mother. It was the sa with his eyes, which were the light color of yellow, but usually dull and dark around the corners because of lack of sleep or caused by stress.
They were still bright, and so was his hair, but it was nothing like that in his heart. He heard his mother talk of the glory of the elves. It was almost like a dream, or so he used to tell himself in the past years.
He didn't know much else.
“Why have you shaken your head? Were my words so weak? Should I reach deeper, huh? Do you think so excuses are there? I see your dand soul, you wimp.” Murai said resolutely, sounding angry more than anything else.
Tori shuddered in the increased power of Murai's Will but didn't cry. He focused on breathing and broadening his mind. It wasn't easy, yet he didn't want to cry either.
There was more in him, he believed. Shedding tears after long years wasn't what he wished. It just happened on its own, so he shouldn't cry. It was a bad manner for a slave.
So beings didn't like it. Succubusses especially, because it would just increase the suffering, or crack their anger issues and endless tornt as demonesses of Lust and many other Laws.
He heard and followed Murai's strong voice. It told him pieces of truth that he didn't know, but heard of.
Freedom. It was a weird term, which Murai broke into pieces of his darkness, revealing a hope that was there because of his mother.
Living in the filth of anguish, Tori, nodded his head in hopes of getting his point across. His eyes fird up a little. Murai even saw so motions of tensing muscles and fists. This boy wasn't a lost cause yet. He was close. Far closer to being gone.
“So you know the voice, but knew the questions? I asked sothing. No need for an excuse. Or, do you want sothing? Freedom is fine to want, but managing it is like another layer of shackles because one has to keep it from changing or slipping away. It could cause inner demons to eat you from the inside out. Hope is often devastating to soone unfamiliar with it. It is also about expectations, as freedom and slavery are contradictions that go against one another.”
Tori listened carefully, forcing every word into his mind while ignoring the pain. It went better than he expected.
“Now, I don't want to be an asshole, but I don't personally act like a savior. Do you like hearing this skull talking about your freedom, giving it to my hands? You, being purchased like a tool, that is.” Murai asked a brutal and aningful question.
Tori fell into silence, glancing past Murai who was still giving him so breathing space. Behind him was the floating skull that terrified him, as it should. Aside was a glowing Fairy, but that one wasn't important, as he figured by his ears.
But the last voice was weird. Murai wanted him to speak up. How? It was a Guide! No question ca to his mind, nor did any answers.
Freedom? Slavery, pain, and suffering? It was there. Forever included in his life. Slavery or nothing. Everything was weird or sothing else, or the blissful idea of an End. Murai saw his glaring issues: pain, hesitation, and fear. Soul Read worked way too well on this broken boy with lacking Will.
He felt how unsteady Tori was, and so freedom wouldn't help him achieve anything. It would just gift the inevitable problems that the real world wouldn't fix. He wouldn't gift him anything.
The first thing that should be done was to put freedom inside of him, rather than around him. It was a concept that sounded weird, but that idea was valid. Murai saw way too many words with way too many issues and problems. He took half of it from there, and another half from his head.
Physical or psychological, anyone had problems.
So, Murai asked the final question that tested this boy's spirit. “Do you want to be my slave, or do you want to be a slave?”
Both questions were unlike the other but sounded way too similar in its core. Tori understood sothing hiding in them, so he shuddered his head to look at Murai and answered without any lies.
“I don't want to be a slave.” He said, wincing his head down to seek comfort from the ground. It was his wish, hope, and desire. It was sothing that went against the rules of this place, albeit it was the unspoken hope of every slave.
“I see. That is good.” Murai said, retracting his Will from Tori and walking away without changing a thing. “Ti to go to the next Island folks. I am done.” Murai quacked out loud, gesturing for Lisa with his wing to follow him along.
Lorry could do whatever he wanted anyway, so he left him to remain on the spot, clueless about what just occurred. He could fly away and never return in Murai's honest opinion.
Hearing a sudden force escape his mind, easing the pain, Tori's breathing and broad mind remained and confusion littered his mind. He speechlessly strained his head, looking at the walking duck, hoping to say sothing to change it. Why again? He had no authority here. He was nobody to this being who talked like a God he never knew.
But as his Will to speak was up, following the aforentioned willingness to be no slave, another surge of Will clashed at him like slaps. It was much duller, emotional, and flooding. Information about sothing was sent to his mind, but it was so vast and confusing, that it all sounded like gibberish. The sound of words and teachings of an unknown language were elvish but older. Ancient.
This ti, Tori didn't cry as he felt Murai's take to give him his freedom. It may not be in his wings, but who was here to stop him from doing this anyway? Lorry? Mindarch? They both remained silent, either unwilling to act, or they didn't have to do a thing. The possibility of their inability to interfere was also likely.
Murai let it go, leaving Tori be as he walked away, unconcerned about him.
But Tori disagreed, forcing himself to sit on his knees. It was a bit awkward act, as injuries were all over him, and the pain was too much to bear in mind or his body. He noticed so sense in this gift sent from the heavens. He hit his head to the floor, bowing and uttering a single word: "Sachitori" rather weakly.
It was his na. An elven na, but without the surna, which was understandable because he was born a slave.
Murai didn't see his act. He didn't need that, but a glint of a smile at the corner of his beak acted as his satisfaction. He walked to a random choice of those bridges, leading to another Ending Isle. He moved by himself. Lisa didn't follow him because there was sothing left behind. Lorry stayed as well, glaring at Sachitori who kept kneeling.
This fight had been good for Murai, but the aftermath of his success left sothing bittersweet in his mouth.
Alas, Murai did what he did without fear of consequences. He left it all for Fate, thinking that he was correct that he shouldn't handle soone's Fate. He didn't take Sachitori for anything more than a wimp anyway. Why should he consider him as sothing else than a slave to despair because of... others?
As he left, Lisa could only sigh after she heard the majority of his Will that went to Sachitori. It worked at a passable degree when she fully focused on the connection to his mind, but because she was out of his Soul Space, it was difficult.
But not impossible. She just didn't catch the last surge of Will that went like a flood of so intent, mixed with mories. It all went to Sachitori, who didn't crash, so she found that appealing and weird. It must have been so form of mory transfer, or sothing similar that acted because of his soul.
“Well, he refused.” She said to Lorry who seed reluctant to act. He had no idea what Murai was deciding.
“Oh, let's leave then.” Lorry flew away, as if in a hurry.
Lisa smirked, knowing this would've happened. “Apologies if I am taking this then.” She floated down, poking her finger at the glistering armor and axes as if their precious jewels. There were many other things around, and she had all the authority to take them away.
Lorry shuddered and glanced at her before stopping and cursing the heavens. “You! Mindarch!?”
[Shut up already... She can take it by the rules that Citizen M adheres to. It is required and... inevitable. Damned Blessed! Always them. Always...] Mindarch spoke weakly to the both of them, sounding like whispers overlapping with grief and an endless supply of regret.
He wasn't that angry about what occurred here or the armor. He was angry about how his calculation went wrong. Soone will be very pissed off about it. Soone who will soon wake up.
Lorry wished to cry as he watched smirking Lisa, who felt as if she killed what used to be in this armor herself.
She took the armor and the pair of axes to the pouches each that she kept in a single one. They were barely enough for this high-level equipnt.
Lisa had to reshuffle most of the loot around nearly a dozen pouches. At least the armor was no longer working, so they went to the single pouch and the rest of the loot went to others.
Thankfully, Murai found more storage so the lack of it wasn't an issue. If not, then... leaving these treasures here was all there would be to it. Bleeding hearts, disappointing minds, and cursing languages would then spread from both her and him.
Lisa disliked it a bit more because Murai seed to not care about it as he left the Island. Armor wasn't useful to him, unsurprisingly, nor were the weapons or other armor pieces from the rest of his kills.
Lisa didn't take everything. So armor was in pieces, while so weapons were beyond repair. So she took what she considered to be enough.
The talk with Lorry and Sachitori left Murai in an erratic mood, so opting to leave wasn't wrong.
Lisa would never let this slide, so she took loot straight up her alley like Murai told her nurous tis. He had no ti or mind for that, so she acted not because of him, but for the overall sentint. She couldn't bear to let them go when she knew how rare this opportunity was.
Slapping this temple' rules felt great as she rembered.
***
anwhile, as the Ending Isles had its fair share of troubles and fights, Razmund had his own Islands to beat.
It had been happening for days already. And he was starting to regret he even started this whole hunting ordeal that ended up in Levandis Temple.
68th Island was his current location; far away from Murai by his unknown calculative risks.
Razmund was fed up with the journey so far, because the resources inside of his pouches were running low, and fighting was starting to get stressful. So far, he hadn't t any opponent like Zao, the Goldsteel Titan, but so were closing on his principles and differences in terms of dangers.
He wasn't lucky enough to et any Shop Island either, where one could purchase things with already accomplished points. It was at least possible from his mory, but perhaps his 3rd-ti status was different, or the path of his Islands were unlucky?
Exchanging points was a possibility in Islands of Greatness since way too much ti went into them. Razmund knew that by reaching so agreent, the Guide would allow points to be used.
Unfortunate as it may be, Murai not only didn't know about it, but he wasn't lucky to et such an Island. It was a possibility that was halfway through the Islands, but since he hadn't t it, Razmund didn't either.
He knew they existed and were kind of a big deal in higher difficulties. It was an easy solution to extract so points or treasures out of the Challengers. Usually, they had no choice but to bite this bait and give this temple what it wanted.
“Fuck . I should've bought more potions from the last Vault. Who knew the Islands would be so tough? I knew it... Yes. Not alone. You!” Razmund turned to Lint who was always close behind. “You knew it!”
“Right. Right. Of course, it is right. 3rd-tirs are all so nosy and strong-willed. They ought to do better, can't they just do that? What do you think you even do?”
“That you are testing my patience?” Razmund said coldly.
“Says soone who has a whole 24 kills down his neck. I fear your lifeline is thinning out, Razmund.” Lint said with the sa amount of coldness because this was partly his responsibility. But it shouldn't be much of a problem, since Razmund poised as a problem of this temple anyway. Not just his.
Razmund sneered. “Say sothing less stupid next ti and then I might listen.”
“HA! Reaping what you sow and hoping for a change, are you? This whole ss that you are part of is putting a lot of people up in arms. They want you dead. And my Lady is like that too! She never lies down the ss that soone is stirring in her backyard. HOWEVER!” Lint added the last word with quite a force. “Gods aren't unconditionally angry.”
“Oh, tell about it,” Razmund said, unimpressed.
“The corresponding chance cos with opportunity. Always! Troubles are part of it, you see. So what if the temple and people under, below, or who knows where, want you dead? It is how it is. Lacking or hoping. They all serve various interests, but this temple is the priority. So what do they matter to you right? You are strong and mighty, hm?”
Lint's sarcasm couldn't be stronger, but who knew if he held so limits in his words? Lint was good at this.
“Dogshit excuses. This Lady of yours is just a filth of the Hell Haven. A God that runs rampant just because she can.”
“Watch your mouth, you punny prick of a human!” Lint shouted, his whole body tensed up as he floated and trembled. His single arm pointed at Razmund, who rested his back against a pillar, right beside the Space Cage to his 68th Island.
“Oh? Hurt your feelings? Sorry, not sorry. Told the truth. What did you want to tell again? An opportunity? I know how it goes in this world. Everyone wants a piece of sothing for themselves. That is the driving force of this whole existence, let alone the Encounter. Everyone with a good head knows it. Oh, sorry.” He laughed.
“Testing uncharted waters, I see. I see. We have been at this for hours. You should overlook this difference, but again, you keep ssing things up by killing and taking my bits of advice for air. As a Guide, you are testing .”
“Why not? Do I look like a wimp to you? Affording it is one thing and I am already closing on the threshold of possible points. A max pool of them, I presu?”
“Where did you hear this?”
“A bird told that.”
“Laughable joke. You are far from the maximum. Mindarch wouldn't allow that... like ever. To reach the maximum would be like laughing at us all, one-shotting everything in one way. Done that? No. Killed more than you should? Not far from that, are you?”
“It sounds stupid to do that, but it is called bidding for ti, and I suspect your head isn't up there yet.” Razmund countered, having this sort of conversation with Lint for the past day. He was moving steadily onward, even though killing his foes beca harder than defeating them.
“What use are our points to you anyway? You didn't care for them before, did you? At this point, it's not about points whatsoever. You don't care about it either unless you are cornered like a dog. Heh!” Lint taunted him, knowing that Razmund would love so purchases, but Mindarch wouldn't allow that because of what he was causing.
“Now, not so much. I am running out of words to crack your head with, rather than so points.”
“I can see that...” Lint said, viewing the Razmund who was tired after battling his way through the Islands with very little rest.
Lint knew how impressive that was, regardless of killings or not. And the incoming Island was kind of great, but Razmund didn't know that, because Mindarch ignored him for the most part, giving him attention that wasn't even a quarter of Murai's status.
Razmund never asked Lint for any information or help, since that damned half-skeleton was getting on his nerves, and this place was one giant plotting device to eat his treasures and secrets. He realized it. Every foe wanted to kill him, but he couldn't kill them in return. That was as laughable as hypocritical.
So there was no point trying to move an unmovable mountain. Razmund rather focused on a fixed path before him and decided to follow the rules of fewer kills. That ant he would kill if he had to. All he had to do was follow his enemy, whose path may be not good for him, but what was set in Fate was clearer than his hopes.
Razmund hoped to find him sooner, rather than later, but he had no idea how far that damned duck went, or how quickly it was getting into the further Island.
Sighting, he clutched his fists. I am not done. If only the Will of the Battleworld is here! Boost! Those should happen here. Damned Islands! If only! Fuck... He cursed in his mind, knowing that this sort of Gate 2 had a unique style of halting such things, even if he wasn't shackled before.
It was an act that was truthful to this Gate because it held unique aspects of balance and fights, allowing for steadier progression, readings of foes, and proper challenges. It always crept up, forcing challenges to tougher fights and learnings.
Razmund had no shackles before entering this Gate. Well, besides the Encounter's premise of course, which counted for a lot of things since it was connecting so very nasty threads of interest. He was just the starting spark of everything, he reckoned, which ended up in him, being a tool that he accepted. But it didn't an sothing couldn't give him so chance.
He had no connection here, which limited the improvents that he was prone to. Limits about this Gate were relatively known, so that left him in a specific ti that could only improve without Boosts in mind.
That was his swordsmanship and training, which worked well, but he still preferred being unshackled, because he was used to it. He knew of powers that disregarded these shackles, however. Those were the Laws and similar powers. They were beyond the rules of the ga, giving individuals comprehension, sudden twists, ideas, and recollections. Razmund can grow here. He was closing on Level 70.
Without The Voice in his mind to lead him, all that was left for him was his hand, Lint, and Mindarch who wasn't up to his benefit.
Thankfully, Razmund had his head filled with knowledge and information, while his Path worked with the rest. The full picture of the Gates was there, along with secrets, rewards, and what he should be careful of.
From the stories he knew from the forr Blessed, Levandis Temple had its fair share of political aspects made of Overlords, the grand Generals of Levandis Legions, who were all great Extres that were strong. Each had so care around this temple, and each acted under Manager Kil, the current figurehead and managing person of all Gates.
Razmund had no idea how pissed they were down below, or how much his Encounter ssed with this Hell Haven, but it shouldn't be a small matter. He still forced it anyway, went inside, and ford Hell Party, while his Kingdom was taking their stance as well.
He wasn't in a hurry. Without anything to take, loot, essences, or proper compensation later will increase his power after crushing this Gate. That was what eased his mind a little bit.
The potential Boost depended on the results and how well Razmund improved and proved himself. Murai had it the sa, albeit each had their respective threshold and interest over who and what they were.
Razmund accepted that his journey was ant to be less than easy. He battled above his level for most of the Islands, and upon clearing Island 60, he was touching the limits of Level 70.
Who knew what would be against him at the Ending Isles that he knew from stories, but no personal experiences. That section of Islands was terrifying, known for fear and intense challenges for many good reasons. Such were the insane proving grounds that Hell Haven used for its best troops.
It ca as no surprise that Razmund wanted to reach Murai before Ending Isles. Unfortunately for him, he was long past that point without knowing that.
Murai was moving on, leaving him in the dust.
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