MM - Chapter 183 - MISTAKES WERE MADE

Raine couldn’t lift his head. The mental pressure bearing down on him was an ocean of force, impossibly vast, and equally deep. The god that gently alighted before him was far more suffocating than the one he’d glimpsed in the past. Whether due to it being an ancient god or because its focus was entirely on him, Raine had no way of contemplating, for the power bearing down on him crushed all thought.

A flash of light announced the arrival of the same entity who threw them into the Primal Realm to begin with. It knelt before the god, equally unable to resist the overwhelming power. The entity spoke hurriedly, the sounds it produced a discordant jumble that appeared in Raine’s interface.

[This unworthy administrator greets The Infinite Host, offering endless apologies for wasting Your time. The covenant was not broken; the participant lives.]

The Infinite Host's manner of speaking was both better and worse than the administrator's. There was no audible sound. Instead, Raine's own voice filled his skull, echoed a hundred times and refracted back upon itself in a buzzing drone. Each word brought the external pressure the god exuded inside, where it slowly compressed Raine’s skull to the cracking point.

“And yet, had the participant not the power to mend flesh, his essence would now be depleted. Blood once spilled cannot be so easily withdrawn from the soil.”

Raine couldn't even manage a sigh of relief that the ancient god chose to talk rather than shred his soul into a million pieces. Dying to this being would not be a simple end. It would take months, if not years to respawn. The god’s warning was accompanied by a dreadful pulse of omnipotent energy that made the entire Primal Realm tremble. Further attempts to downplay the severity of the situation would not be accepted. The administrator stared hard at the ground, as speechless as Raine.

His original intent had only been to get the attention of the realm’s entities, or administrators, possibly tricking them into giving him what he wanted. Raine didn’t even know the contents of the covenant, and had merely been grasping at straws by shouting that they broke it. The last thing he expected was an actual god to show up. Events had spiraled far beyond what he imagined. 

Suddenly, the immense pressure crushing his thoughts into oblivion faded.

The Infinite Host spoke again, this time with half the echoes. Without the dual assault of the mental pressure, its words were almost bearable. “Speak and answer me this, Child of Earth. Why did you revoke the covenant that has stood for thousands of your lifetimes? It is all that binds this realm from unraveling. This place… holds fond memories for my multitudes, yet you have the right to see it undone, if that is your wish.”

Raine had no need to hesitate. “That was not my desire! I sought to communicate with the administrators and alter this ordeal to better suit my strengths so that I may be pushed to the limit of my capabilities. I did not realize the damage my words could cause. Had I known, I never would have spoken them.”

The warped space around the god surged once before stabilizing. “Good. The covenant stands. You have succinctly distilled the purpose of this ordeal. Bahlbier, see to it that this Child of Earth’s desire for a challenge is fulfilled. I will be watching.”

[It will be so!]

The ancient god left the same way it arrived. Neither Raine nor the hovering light that was Bahlbier could lift their heads until it was gone and the rupture in the sky sealed shut. Colors snapped back into place and time lurched into its usual flow. The Patriarch's reaching arm resumed its forward momentum, speeding toward Raine. Before he could move to defend himself, a glowing shield of energy stopped the hand in its tracks.

Upon contact with the field, the roots comprising the Patriarch’s palm burst into flame. It withdrew the singed limb with a confused roar. Seeing the administrator hovering near Raine, the giant world boss was taken aback. It looked around in bewilderment as Bahlbier’s words appeared in Raine's interface. The fury in its arcane screeching came through loud and clear.

[Tell me, child. What precisely did you hope to gain by compromising our very existence?]

Having just narrowly escaped a doom that would have haunted him for a lifetime, Raine's chuckles escalated until he threw his head back and roared with laughter. He wiped a tear from his eye, unable to look away from the stitched-together sky. “You think I’m stupid enough to lie to… that? I meant what I said.”

The Patriarch’s gaze followed Raine’s, and it quickly pieced together what had happened. Fury caused the vines of its body to writhe as its hands crunched deep into the ground. “Foul blasphemer! Does your impertinence know no bounds? Never again refer to The Infinite Host in such a debased manner, or I will see that your realm becomes as shattered as mine!”

Raine snorted at the giant’s tantrum. “You can't even touch me, and you want to go after my realm? This ordeal is a joke.” Raine ignored the Patriarch, turning to fully face the administrator. “You wanted to push me, right? See what we Earth Realmers are capable of? Well, I want the same thing. I didn’t come here for a safe jaunt through a jungle.”

The Patriarch’s amber eyes glowed with barely restrained menace, but a glance from Bahlbier was enough to cow the massive beast. The administrator made its own annoyance known with a burst of killing intent that pressed Raine's soles into the ground. 

[Your claims of seeking a challenge are unfounded. You have not yet seen all that our sprouts are capable of.]

After the wave of pressure passed, Raine lifted his hands, resting them behind his head nonchalantly. “Your ‘sprouts’ have more tricks, eh? You’ve been watching the whole time, so you know I’ve been holding back, too. I’m having to bend over backward to challenge myself here, and that's just sad.”

The ephemeral light that was Bahlbier quivered, mirroring the rage building in the Patriarch. However, neither could refute Raine’s claims. After a few moments, the administrator finally gave Raine the opening he had been aiming for.

[How would you see this ordeal altered to meet your capabilities?]

Bolstered by thousands of backroom deals, shakedowns, and the training of innumerable recruits, Raine’s poker face was impeccable. “Return my equipment.”

The patriarch spluttered, then roared. “Preposterous! How can you allow this—”

[SILENCE!]

The administrator’s form lit up in a kaleidoscope of infuriated colors. Before it could speak further, Raine pressed on, tilting his head at the looming Patriarch. “And make sure to remove the restrictions from this noisy bastard. Let him come for me. If he kills me before the ambient Primal Energy in my body causes me to explode, you win. If I live long enough to activate all the shrines, I win.”

The thought of personally having a chance to kill Raine caused the Patriarch’s demeanor to shift so fast its features actually blurred. It now wore a grin the size of a boat. Eager eyes turned toward Bahlbier, who was only slightly more hesitant.

[The lack of a true death in the Mundane Realm has poisoned your sanity. The consequences for your destruction here will not be so easily cast aside. As you wish. I see no reason to refuse your request.]

With the snap of intangible fingers, a new message bloomed in Raine's interface.

[Ordeal of Survival and Piety (Hard > Nightmare): Survive the pursuit of Zagan the Imperishable until the perils of the Primal Realm claim you. The shrines to the gods of old will be your only respite from his inexorable thirst for vengeance. Items have been sealed until death or the completion of the ordeal.]

In the instant between moments, Raine’s equipment materialized over his form. Power born from attributes burst through his limbs and mingled with the Primal Energy suffusing his body, bringing a sense of near-invulnerability.

Bahlbier floated toward the sky, the light of its body fading from view.

[Your arrogance has doomed you. I will enjoy watching Zagan pull you apart limb from limb.]

Raine hopped in place while throwing a few practice punches. “Yeah, yeah. When it's over, just remember you started all this by playing with my brain.”

The Patriarch lifted its massive arms, cracking knotted knuckles. The treasure chest in its torso pulsed with golden energy. Its voice was packed with yearning. “This turn of events has my venerable self consumed by graciousness. I will grant you a five-second lead before the chase begins.”

“Chase?” Raine released a bark of laughter. “You have no idea what’s coming.” His interface was accessed with blinding speed, and two vital skill purchases were made. In a blink, Raine's helmet and chest armor changed, the new equipment both demonic and menacing. Purple flames erupted from his body but were quickly overtaken by a golden glow that started in his torso and worked its way outward. The Patriarch hissed as the heat billowing from Raine withered some moss on its elbow.

[Elemental Weakness! -120] [-66]

Seeing both sets of damage, Raine’s grin grew wide. Despite the ‘weakness’, the damage from Extreme Immolation was still halved by the boss’s impressive Resistances. The soul flame, however, was dealing full damage.

“You sought to challenge me from the onset?! Absurdity! These puny flames are nothing to me!”

“Finally figured it out, did you? Congratulations.” Raine drolled, taking a step toward the boss.

“Fatuous as your intent to harm me may be, my word is irreproachable. Five.”

Raine shook his head but continued taking slow and steady steps, eyes open wide as he examined every visible centimeter of the massive being before him.

[Elemental weakness! -120] [-66]

“Four.”

[Elemental weakness! -120] [-66]

“Three.”

[Elemental weakness! -120] [-66]

“Two.”

[Elemental weakness! -120] [-66]

[+600] The Patriarch’s regeneration ticked but failed to restore it to full health, exactly as Raine expected. Soul damage was not as easily healed as fundamental forces like flame or ice. No matter the boss’s regeneration, the damage to its soul would not be mended any time soon.

Just as important to Raine was that his Flame Resistance had been significantly boosted by the points he invested into Physique. Wearing both pieces of immolating armor no longer harmed him. Taking another step forward, he laced killing intent into the flames emanating from his body, forcing the world boss to defend itself in kind. Their mental abilities clashed, filling the air with roiling threat.

A long spear appeared in Raine's grasp. The weapon was feather-light, a relic from lower levels that he was painfully close to replacing. While far from perfect, it would do until Prominence of the Fool forced him to swap.

Not bothering to count the last second, the Patriarch’s giant fist flashed forward at a speed that Raine couldn’t have dodged only minutes ago. “Begone, Insect!”

Sharp eyes tracked the constriction of countless roots within the boss’s shoulder and torso. With his Acuity restored, Raine saw the punch coming a kilometer away. He ruthlessly suppressed a rising desire to become even faster. The Heart of Plutus was still set to the Fraction of Solidity. He left it there in case he needed to swap later.

Raine took a small hop to the side, and the giant’s arm tore past. The resulting gust of wind was unable to overturn the weight granted by nearly a thousand points of Physique.

[Elemental weakness! -120] [-66] As the boss’s arm was gently singed once more, thick tangles of roots along the lengthy limb writhed outward. Granted speed by the punch, they sought to collide with Raine. He combined a sidestep and jump, but the tentacles extended, following him into the air. From above, blotting out the sky, the boss’s other arm came down with an open palm to squash him flat.

A burst of Discipline spiked through Raine’s head, speeding his thoughts into the stratosphere. Spinning off solidified air, he thrust. The tip of his spear flashed with brilliance. Uncanny Acceleration granted impossible speed to his strike. At the exact moment of impact with the center of the boss’s hand, Guardians Bane triggered.

[-331,642] Compared to the Patriarch’s nearly 10 million health, Raine’s thrust only accounted for a few percent. Still, even that should have been impossible. The Patriarch was a world boss. Not some random noble, but a creature standing above all others within its domain. Every aspect of it was superior: Health, Attack Power, skills, killing intent, and especially defenses. It was never meant to be challenged alone. To do so was suicide of the highest order. A lower-level mortal shaving off multiple percent of its health in a single strike was outrageous.

The Patriarch’s car-sized jaw dropped as a hole was blasted clean through its hand. Raine flew through the gap, spear point leading the charge, golden flames gushing from his form like the avatar of deity forged in the heart of a star. The monster’s shock evaporated as Lunge brought him directly toward its head.

[Dark Plate of The Infernal Haskaahl (Plate - Chest): (Marvelous Gold - LVL 25) (Health +300) (Defense +60) (Demonic Power +55) (PTC +50) (PHY +50) (Durability 250/250) (Flame Resistance -15) (Innate Passive - Extreme Immolation: The fierce blaze permeating this chest plate inflicts agony equivalent to 20% Demonic Power to all those nearby)]

[Horns of The Infernal Haskaahl (Plate - Head): (Marvelous Gold - LVL 25) (Health +156) (Defense +51) (Demonic Power +55) (PTC +62) (ACU +62) (Durability 250/250) (Flame Resistance -15) (Innate Passive - Extreme Immolation: The fierce blaze permeating this helmet inflicts agony equivalent to 20% Demonic Power to all those nearby)]

[Heart of Plutus (Accessory - Ring): (Heavenly Amethyst - Damaged) (All attributes +15%) Contains the last remnants of the fallen celestial Plutus. Through it, fractions of his power may be brought to bear. Only one fraction may be active at a time (Cooldown: 10 minutes)]

[Fraction of Solidity: (PTC +20%) (PHY +20%) Upon command personify the sturdiness of the Unassailable Aegis preventing all damage and negative effects for 5 seconds (Cost: 40% of maximum health) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

[Uncanny Acceleration: (Beginner) With any melee weapon, ignore momentum and force while accelerating attack speed by 600% for one attack. Additionally deals 300% physical damage (Cost: 25 Discipline) (Cooldown: 18 seconds)]

[Guardians Bane: (Beginner > Adept) Stab with any melee piercing weapon to ignore 91% > 92% armor and physical resistances. Additionally deals 550% > 600% physical damage (Cost: 18 > 15 Discipline) (Cooldown: 18 > 15 seconds)]