Chapter 354
13 Days (V)
Cain was bored. Not bored in the sense of having absolutely nothing to do, but bored in the sense of having no one to do it with. Even Quinn and Harmony and Nature had wandered off once again, vaguely telling him they were exploring his world, while everyone else was well into the vestiges of the Tower, seeking items. Even Rick had vanished, tossing himself into overwork due to their conversation. Cains only companions were a cat and a thing perched on his shoulders while he sat by the poolside, endlessly bickering with incessantly more annoying voices.
Stupid cat, you will never be a Primal Tiger! To be a Tiger you must roar! But you ow! ow, you stupid cat! Domin had grown quite comfortable, letting his true personality out--and his personality was that he simply never shut up. Whats worse, he was beginning to corrupt even Tegha. While the little cat had a sharp tongue, he wasnt much of a talker. Like most cats, he preferred spending most of his days asleep. Not anymore, however.
Bah, stupid thing! What do you know?! Great Tegha sees all and sees you as pathetic! Of course, great Tegha is a Primal Tiger! You bundle of nothing!
Hah, better be a bundle of nothing than a bundle of lies... you liar!
Great Tegha is not a liar, stupid nothing! Take it back!
Liar, liar, liar, liar!
... and thus the few days passed, with the two bickering over and over. Tegha would occasionally retreat into the inventory to sleep or at least recharge. The young cat clearly had issues keeping up with the chatty Domin. While Tegha rested, Cain beca the newcors target.
Great Master--
Dont call that.
Loving God--
Or that.
Greatest of All--
Just call Cain...
Domin cannot in good conscience call upon my Lights Na in vain!
Im not your light...
But you shine so brightly, illuminating the path I must take! There, by your graces, I see all manner of treasures and coins and gems!
What the hell would you do with any of that?
Give them to you, my Savior! All of them! You can have it all!
I dont want it either...
You are extrely strong, Domin wove around Cains neck, jumping from one shoulders onto the other. Yet starly humbled! And I am humbled to serve by your side!
Sweet Christ...
I may not be as braggy as that stupid cat, but I myself will beco much stronger, too! In fact, in the future, I might just dominate anyone you point toward, Master! I will lock down entire worlds and have them worship you! Not that I would need to--everyone should naturally love you and be awed by you and listen to you! But so things, like that stupid cat, are stupid and blind! And, heh, great Domin will have to teach them a lesson! as much as Tegha had picked up from the little bundle of shadows, Domin had picked up quite a few mannerisms himself from the cat, Cain noticed. By now, having realized that Domin had a mory of a goldfish, forgetting orders within minutes, Cain was practicing to turn the voice into the background noise.
Heh, stupid cat is finally away! Master, keep it away!
Will do, will do...
When we co ahead, great Master, nobody will talk back to us like that! Because the skies will be split by our combined roar, yes, yes! We will be the sword of domination, for certain! Who would stand against us?
I dont know, Cain replied nonchalantly as he suddenly perked up--a newcor. He saw a shadow flicker through the front gates, standing in front of the mansion for a little while, looking about, before noticing Cain by the pool and walking over. It was a young lad, Cain noted, sowhere in his mid twenties, draped in lavish, silvery robes of a priestly healer. He recognized the item, at least shallowly, specifically due to the sigil of the eight-sided star widening across the mans chest. It was a robe only the Antecedent could wear, an Awakened subclass of the Bard, leaning less musically and more toward the holy.
Hello, the young man called out in a calm tone with a faint smile, nodding. He had short, curly, brown hair and a pair of gem-like green eyes frad within a handso face, though also one that seed very limiting in its expressiveness.
Hello right back, Cain waved, smiling. You looking for soone?
Yes, the man nodded. I was told to report here after the trial.
Trial?
For the main raid spot.
Ah, the raid spot, Cain said, taking a sip of so cherry-tasting cocktail. Right, well--co, have a seat, Cain gestured at many of the free chairs around the pool, so hidden in the shade of colorful parasols, and so yet sitting out in the open. Lets have a chat.
If you do not mind asking--who are you? the young lad asked, moving into the shade of the parasol, though never sitting.
Uh, right now, I suppose, Id be a watchguard? Or sothing? See, everyones gone places, Cain said. Running about like headless chickens. The raids pretty hard, you must know, and thus they are very busy.
Yes, I have heard that the raid is incredibly hard. I am up for the challenge, though.
You sure? Cain probed. The last ti they went, they all nearly died, getting out in the nick of ti.
Yes, I am confident in preventing that from happening, Well, goddamn, Cain chuckled inwardly.
Confidence is a good thing to have, I suppose. Alright, Cain said, yawning. Domin, you can finally work out your muscles a bit.
Master? the shadow that stayed hidden and silent thus far snapped to reality, startling the young man who imdiately backed away, whipping out a wooden staff with a silver-tinted orb floating atop of it.
Whats your na, lad? Cain asked.
... Shawn, the man said after a mont of hesitation.
Shawn. Simple, clean, nice, easy to rember. Good. Anyway, Shawn--this here thing is a cub of mine that will limit itself to about, what, fifteen-twenty percent? That should be scary enough. He will attack you for thirty seconds. You wont be able to evade it, block it, suck it, whatever you will. You will have a simple job--if you can last all thirty seconds, you will imdiately get into the raid party, will get the best gear we have, and a single wish, no matter how insane. If you can last twenty seconds, you will imdiately get into the raid party, and get the best gear we have.
And if you can last ten seconds, Cain added, ignoring the mans sowhat angered expression. You will get into raid imdiately. Anything less than that, you will just have to stick around and practice. Domin, be gentle. If I see you trying to show off, Ill get Tegha out here and have him yell into your ears for hours while keeping your maw shut. Got it?
Yes, Master! Domin replied excitedly. After all, he didnt care for the intricacies--he was just happy that he could be of help to Cain.
Alright. Dont make a ss. And you, dont worry--if youre about to die, Ill save you.
There is no need-- Shawn was unable to finish his sentence as his lips grew mute. The tiny shadow suddenly expanded into a twenty-feet tall giant that turned the bright day into night. Beyond just the appearance, the atmosphere chilled as his body froze--every instinct he had was telling him to run... or he would die. In the anti, the strange, middle-aged man remained sitting on his chair, sipping away at the drink, and even pulling out a book from nowhere, opening to read it.
Here I co, stupid human! Try to survive, he he he! the grating voice vanished, seemingly summoning a Mana-infested aura that overwheld Shawn imdiately.
He realized right after why the man said hed be unable to block or dodge or do anything about it. It was just a classic raid boss chanic of dealing consistent area of effect damage. However, it was on steroids in comparison to what he experienced thus far. Hurriedly ignoring his instincts of running away, he began spell-chaining heals, so big, so small, so set-ups for bigger ones. Within five seconds, he realized, hed at best last ten. And even that was with several lucky procs in a row. The damage never diminished or grew bigger--it stayed consistent, on half-a-second basis. Just as the ninth second ticked, Shawn saw his health speedrunning toward 0, having no more tools to stop it. Just then, it paused at 63 despite the aura continuing to pulsate. A mont later, the aura vanished, and his health climbed back up to 100%. Glancing at the man, he felt... odd.
Though his pride was hurt, he didnt mind; he was well aware that he was walking into the den of the beast by joining the spearheading party. Everyone in it, he knew, must be a monster--it was just that the world knew very well each and every one of those monsters. In fact, they were world-renowned celebrities. And yet... the man in front of him was entirely unknown. If even he was benched, just how strong were the others? Shawns mind was rattled.
Not bad, the man said as the tall shadow transford into a tiny mote once again and rested on the mans shoulder. Almost ten seconds. With so polish, youll be raid-ready.
Thank you for the lesson, Shawn said humbly.
Lesson? Cain looked at the strange lad with a look askew. Right, sure. Co, sit now. Tell sothing about yourself, this ti around, Shawn listened and sat down onto the chair next to the mans.
I was born in Philadelphia, though moved very early on because of my fathers job. He was a software engineer, by the way. We moved to Austin when I was two, and stayed there through my childhood and until the Towers fell. Because of that, I dont have higher education--officially, at least. I did struggle to study on my own ti and at my own terms, but I am uncertain as to how efficient it is. Ive been told by others that I am cold, insensitive, and rude--I am trying to work on it. Both my mother and father are still alive and are living on this floor, in fact. They are both very proud of , and are always telling their friends about . I visit them once or twice a month because only mother can make my favorite dish--fish soup. And...
... Cain was... floored, to say the least. From one chatterbox, he found another. It was just that this one was even... stranger. Alright, stop. I ant more, like, your class, your strengths, weaknesses, how you rotate your healing and so on. Not your first love, man.
My first love was Tina--
Not your first love, Cain interrupted. Ah, whatever. Youll be my only company for a while. May as well get to know you. So, Tina?
Yes, Tina. Tina McTillen. She was a year senior, and I first t her when I was ten. While I found her absolutely delightful, she found strange and weird. One ti, after I called out her na in a greeting, she hissed at .
Hissed? Like... like a cat?
Yes.
Ouch.
She was very cute doing it.
...
After her, I grew to like Anna.
... Anna?
Anna Reygon, Shawn said. She was also very delightful, but similarly found strange. She did pity , however, and agreed to have sex with .
Nice.
Wasnt very good.
Oh.
After her, I devoted myself to the Tower. Love is secondary.
... right. Well, youll find that in here, love is always in the air.
Really? Isnt competition? Considering how strong the party is? Shawn asked, clearly curious.
Ah, youre an oddball. Youll fit right in and see what I an. Would you like a drink?
Do you have so warm milk?
... no.
Then no.
How about a beer?
I dont like alcohol.
... how about we ditate in silence for a while?
I do like ditating.
Who would have guessed? Cain sighed, closing his eyes. It was nostalgic, though slightly annoying. But at least it confird that he was back to his roots, to who he was at the far core of his being. And... it was good.
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