Day 116
Seeing my expectant gaze as Mia pulled on her dark robes, she nodded to that she was ready. Although I had already expected that this Executrix Lana must've already realized that Mia was an Elder Drow when we had been accosted on the streets by those nobles, also including the fact that we hadn't tried to hide her identity during our brief detainnt, I still didn't wish to brazenly broadcast the to public that an unaffiliated elder drow was running around with if I didn't need to. I an, that would literally be like asking for trouble.
Whether or not that Executrix or the guards and other staff that have seen Mia's true appearance ant anything to them was still up for debate though as so far they've all had surprisingly mute reactions. Those cowled assassin escorts, Lana included, had no discernable reaction what-so-ever to the fact, and from everyone else assigned to us, it had only managed to attract stares - mostly unconscious ones at that.
I wasn't sure how to feel about all that though. Initially, now that I couldn't hide Mia's race from the regent and his servants, I had hoped that the status that ca with being an evolved Drow might assure our safety or at least give us so leverage of sorts in our troubleso situation. But clearly, the regent has seed completely unfazed by the fact as nothing about our situation had changed ever since.
Then, on the other hand, the dulled reaction at the fact that she was an Elder Drow might an it wouldn't draw as much trouble from this city lord as I had originally feared. So it wasn't surprising that I was a bit torn about how to take it.
Coming back to reality from my drifting thoughts, I followed the two cowled escorts out of the carriage to et a sight that awed my eyes. Marbled foundation with streaks of violets hazes made up most of the gargantuan plaza, making for a srizing display of architectural craftsmanship.
Snaking roads dotted with armored guards, slanted walls, towering spires, and majestic towers flanked various magnificent buildings of the sa marbled material.
The air was filled with the music of drums and the exhilarating lodies of many different instrunts. It all created an atmosphere of both grandeur and excitent.
Moving along the overflowing streams of monsters, our precession found ourselves at one of the few checkpoints to the main stages. Although I had been expecting a long and tedious process seeing as I had been inford there would be multiple hundreds of contestants, each with their own teams, everything went exceedingly smooth.
Whether that be because of the fact that those two cowled individuals handled all things smoothly or that we seemingly had arrived quite early, I did not know. However, I appreciated it quite a lot as I had never been the one to enjoy lengthy queues, neither in my old life nor in my current one.
As we were led to the waiting area, there were many open-aired booths assigned to the contestants. The whole ordeal was quite lavish in fact, maids and foods at your beck and call as we waited patiently for the festivities to begin.
Having nothing better to do whilst we waited, I scoped out the competition. While not all teams were going to fight on the first day as there were multiple different formats and rounds, the tournant lasting close to two weeks, it was mandatory that all contestants were present for the opening ceremony.
As such, I used Appraisal on each individual I could spot, who could in fact very possibly be my first opponent. This would both act as a smokescreen for leveling Appraisal seeing as even those with divination protection wouldn't be able to protest if my unabashed use of Appraisal failed or was discovered, but it would also let scout the strengths of my competition.
The overall scope of the main plaza was even larger than the Maldrak superstructure that was the Colosseum, but even so, every nook and cranny was quickly being filled up by monsters. Although this tournant would be more than a week-long event, it was still astonishing to see that many monsters gathered for just the opening act.
With that, it was rather hard for to keep up with all the different monsters I wanted to appraise. However, once my gaze absentmindedly scanned over a particular status screen of one of the recently arrived contestants, I all of a sudden froze in my tracks.
[Appraisal - lane]
Na: "lane"
Race: Great Orc
Sex: Female
Rank: D-
Level: 12/50
Health: 630/630
Stamina: 426/426
Mana: 0/0
[Attributes]
STR - 85
VIT - 72
AGI - 45
DEX - 47
INT - ???
CHR - 26
WILL - ???
MAG - 5
[Trait, Titles, and Skills].
Skills - ???
Traits - ???
Titles - ???
[Resistances]
Phy. Resistance - 14
Mag. Resistance - 6
n. Resistance - 8
That na... that aura... it could only be her...
I'd rember that kid anywhere.
Rembering back to the ti where my body was broken and mutilated, standing over the unrecognizable corpse of the demon who had tornted , that cheery and uncaring voice was so vivid even now.
lane, King Maldrak's daughter.
But it wasn't just the surprise of seeing her here that stunned , but rather her growth during the two and a half months since last seeing her.
It was as if she had hit right through the proverbial puberty of her monster race. By all ans, she was still very much in her adolescence, however, how did that make sense? Not only was she already extrely powerful for a great orc at her level, but she clearly still had room for growth as she had yet to hit full maturity.
Did that then an she had either already hit her growth spurt into the power of a great orc, or would she, with ti, simply grow even more powerful?
But even more worryingly than her status were the people surrounding her. One lumbering and heavily armored ogre, two very similar great-orc females, a single small furry creature of what I had no idea was, and one imnse, and arguably the most terrifying greenskin I've seen to date.
As tall as Bob, lean and heavy muscle, coal-dark green skin, a mane of magnificent black hair like that of lane, nacing armor made of ivory bone, leather, and rough tal like so barbarian knight, this greenskin scread danger on both a physical and spiritual level.
Amongst the many other crazy strong monsters around, his presence quickly cented itself amongst those who were the real monsters.
[Appraisal - Maldrak]
Na: "Maldrak"
Race: High Orc
Sex: Male
Rank: C-
Level: 22/75
Health: 1782/1782
Stamina: 1103/1106
Mana: 0/0
[Attributes]
STR - 205
VIT - ???
AGI - 98
DEX - 92
INT - ???
CHR - ???
WILL - ???
MAG - ???
[Trait, Titles, and Skills].
Skills - ???
Traits - ???
Titles - ???
[Resistances]
Phy. Resistance - ???
Mag. Resistance - ???
n. Resistance - ???
"King Maldrak I assu..." I muttered to myself.
Although the Appraisal had gone through without a hitch, the gaze that all of a sudden t mine from across the plaza took off-guard.
For a long tense mont, all sounds were drowned out as we exchanged cold stares.
But as our eyes broke off each other, I could see the high orc confide in the much smaller great orc to his side, lane, casting a finger in my direction. As she also got sight of , her eyes narrowed for a second then suddenly went wide - and then to blatant mischief.
Seeing that look give an involuntary shiver down my spine, and I hadn't the faintest idea why she got under my skin like that.
Sothing was seriously... off about this girl...
This lasted only a handful of seconds though as they too found their own booths, disappearing from sight and letting mull over why in the ever-living fuck they were here.
However, instead of giving ti to calm down from the unforeseen developnt, another notice perked my attention and yanked from my thoughts.
At first, I frowned in confusion as I could feel in the distance, slowly approaching, the power of my blood; The Sanguine Plague.
I was about to ask the cowled figures why one of the orcs that had been detained with us was coming here, but then realized it was in fact not any of the twenty orcs who followed us to Ebongrave.
This was an unknown resonance... yet... familiar...
As this soone harboring my blood ca ever closer, the monster in question finally ca into sight. And what I saw was anything but what I had expected.
A large group of lizardman, a group who had left quite the sour impression on over the last few weeks. The Sinlore Household.
However, it wasn't just the many noblen who managed to catch my attention, but the single dreary-looking individual who walked in their midst, dragging his clawed feet along the marbled ground with an almost pained expression on his face. Scaled like the lizardn, but distinctly different, this monster was undoubtedly the one who bore the power of my blood within him.
Tall, scaly, and equipped with so mighty-looking horns, this 'lizardman' almost looked more like the draconic side of his reptilian race. His appearance was quite mystical as it was much more humanoid than its more feral-looking lizardman counterpart, but also including the undeniably regal look that he bore in nature with his race.
-Appraisal!-
[Appraisal - Draz'ag]
Na: "Draz'ag"
Race: Lesser Dragonewt
Sex: Male
Rank: D.
Level: 6/50
Health: 565/565
Stamina: 412/412
Mana: 0/0
[Attributes]
STR - 116
VIT - 65
AGI - 42
DEX - 88
INT - 28
CHR - 32
WILL - ???
MAG - 12
[Trait, Titles, and Skills].
Skills - ???
Traits - ???
Titles - ???
[Resistances]
Phy. Resistance - 26
Mag. Resistance - 22
n. Resistance - 12
[Afflicted]
"Christ... his stats are all over the place and way too high for his level and tier..." I thought to myself, wholly bewildered by this.
But the fact that he was afflicted made no sense and I would clearly rember ever willingly giving out my blood to such an intriguing individual - and so would Mia.
Then it finally clicked.
I had t this individual alright... however, even now knowing this, it just invited a whole slew of new inexplicable questions.
If this monster truly was the very sa monster I thought it was, then the implications could be far-reaching, much more than I personally would like to admit.
"It would seem that today is a day of familiar faces - even if you're not your old goblin self..." I muttered to myself, not taking my eyes off this Draz'ag, soone I quite distinctly rembered to be a goblin when I had first given him my blood in the rocky hills.
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