MM - Chapter 163 - COMING HOME

It quickly became clear that the internal structure of Belehorn Tower would take more time to organize than anticipated. Buildings of its size and complexity were not meant to function for long without a centralized primus to oversee operations. Thankfully, unlike the under-maintained primus dock, the drone bay was in perfect repair. It was stocked with over six thousand delivery, maintenance, and repair drones, a veritable army to ensure the first wave of recruits would have guides to their respective offices upon arrival.

Part of the purchase agreement with Alyxson Quron included relocating his regular staff out of Raine’s portion of the building. Mingling was out of the question. The differences between people who had access to ZionLine and those who didn't were too vast. More importantly, they weren't part of Astra Infernum. Since there was no chance of the two groups meshing cohesively, it was best they stay out of the way. When the recruits arrived in the morning, they would find the building empty and receive little in the way of direction. Thus would begin the process of weeding out those who didn't belong.

Meeting them in the lobby with drones would be considered rude, and that was intended. Raine wanted them confused and off balance. The best way to sort out so many would be to observe how they responded to the unknown. Some would present themselves as leaders, others as loners, motivators, creatives, followers, rulemongers, rebels; they would come in all shapes and sizes. With Morty's help, Raine would be watching them all. The only type he would not abide were those who shut down at the first sign of challenge. There was no room within Astra Infernum's walls for the infectious plague known as cowardice.

Raine sealed the primus dock behind him and Celeste. He changed the access credentials to only allow his biometrics entrance, then they headed to the nearest exit. Already, dozens of drones were cleaning out the dirty, stuffed hallway. They flitted about wherever the eye wandered, ensuring the building was empty save for the few effects his people would need, including their new thetadrive headsets.

Celeste was unusually quiet on the way out. Raine dipped his chin at the security team who bowed in response. Celeste didn't seem to take notice of their existence. Her gaze was a thousand kilometers away, on a horizon that only she could see.

Usually, Raine would take the initiative to pull her out of whatever dark hole her thoughts were sinking into. Sometimes, it was best to let people process naturally, and if anyone needed to process, it was Celeste. Her life had been flipped on its head multiple times in the span of a few days, starting with her uncle attempting to kill Raine with a highly illegal flechette pistol, ensuring a grandmaster would eventually arrive in Carter to sentence her entire family to death. Raine's plan to save Celeste from that fate was well underway, but her father's life remained uncertain. On top of that background crisis, Celeste nearly died fleeing from Jedidiah; she reached Genesis and even signed her life away with an uncertain contract. Getting sucked into a cycle of depression from all the mayhem would be natural.

And so, Raine left her to brood until they were outside. When she failed to take note of the change in scenery, it brought him back to the first lesson he'd taught her in ZionLine. She opened the door to her car and sat in the back seat, moving on autopilot, not even remembering that he existed.

Raine's rumbling voice snapped her back to reality, “I'll see you inside later.”

Celeste jerked his direction, realization that she'd been ignoring him widened her eyes, “I-I'm sorry! I was distracted. You don't want me to come back with you?”

Raine's brows rose, a smile tugging at his lips as the perfect opportunity to mess with the girl presented itself. “Oh, and what would we be doing at my house that might require the both of us?”

Celeste's cheeks gave her red hair a run for its credits. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it!” She flipped her hair, turning away, “Not that you could handle me, cripple.” Her attempt at belligerence failed miserably, and they both knew it.

“Says the virgin.” Raine’s simple comeback had her jaw falling open in mock outrage.

Celeste recovered quickly, lifting her chin with a gentle snort, “My purity is a prize only the most wealthy and powerful are worthy of. You… aren’t even in the running.”

Raine scratched at the cast on his injured arm, “Right, I’ll keep that in mind.” His jovial tone vanished in a flash, replaced with gravity that Celeste had only heard a few times. “As for things to keep in mind, I don’t want to see you spacing out in the open again. We made a big splash yesterday. Assassins are coming for us. You can’t save your father if you’re dead.”

Celeste bit her lip, face skewing with the emotional pain that lurked just beneath the surface. She nodded sharply, moisture building at the corners of her eyes. “I won’t. Are we done here?”

Raine tapped the top of her car, signaling she was dismissed. Celeste shut her door, and the bright red sports car zipped away. His ordered taxi was already waiting, a benefit of the late hour. Back at his empty home, Raine found a snack and then dove into ZionLine.

The Ruptured Chaparral formed around him. Its gargantuan insects were loud in Raine’s ears, their sheer size giving weight to the bone-vibrating background buzz they created. The lack of wind and cloying stench of death invaded his senses. Unlike last time, Raine was spotted right away by a trio of the beasts that called the forest floor home.

[Golathean Mite: (Level 35) (HP ?????/?????)]

When Raine was level 25, an army of the beasts hadn’t been a threat. At level 29, the trio wouldn’t count as a warmup. Few could make such a bold claim. Despite being individually weak, the oversized mites could rapidly form into massive hordes. Worse, each and every one of them had access to a charging stun that could reduce an equally sized army of players into helpless cattle.

Bloodlust exploded outward, canceling his five seconds of login invulnerability and simultaneously activating the cursed ring’s roulette. While the bugs froze in terror, a two-handed mace that used to be heavy appeared in Raine's grip. It was light as a feather now, his attributes having outstripped the mundane materials.

[Negative affliction applied (Enfeared): Enemy attributes reduced by 20% (Duration 4.21 seconds)]

Raine didn’t use any skill. The large mace moved so fast it vanished, and the twelve hits it took to kill each mite came and went. In less than seven seconds, they were pulverized piles of goop that left him frowning.

[Obtained 179,200 Superiority (700% bonus for defeating a monster 6 levels above you)]

[Obtained 35% Attunement (700% bonus for defeating a monster 6 levels above you)]

Needing a hundred and fifty million Superiority to reach level 30 put the gains into perspective. Additionally, Bhima’s taunt of needing a worthy foe for the day to have meaning was loud in Raine’s thoughts. There was no challenge in the executions he’d just administered. It left a sour taste on the tongue. His martial path demanded a stronger foe, and of those, there were plenty within the Ruptured Chaparral.

Raine’s chin lifted, gaze turning to the massive boughs two kilometers above. Leaves the size of houses swayed in the high winds, beckoning him to the creatures that fed there. Ranging in the high 40s, the monstrous birds that lived above were an order of magnitude more powerful than the bugs. Raine would have to be insane to fight them in groups; entering their territory guaranteed that would happen.

As much as the thought boiled his blood, he couldn’t afford to die and lose Bhima’s guidance. Regretfully, Raine's feet remained solidly on the ground.

He blasted away, sprinting around gargantuan trees, eyes peeled for likely hideyholes that might conceal treasure chests like the one containing the valuable Abenaki Powder. He killed the giant mites, bees, and ants he came across, and eventually, an upper denizen was attracted to his path of carnage.

[Golathean Sparrow: (Level 48) (HP ???/???)]

The beast was so large that it was unnecessary to hear or see it coming; the air it displaced when moving created a gentle wind that was warning enough. Connection firmed the ground beneath Raine so that when he jumped with all his might, the ground didn’t cave beneath his feet. He rocketed upward as the sparrow dove. Mace and beak met in a horrendous clash of force that knocked Raine away like a bullet. Despite losing in force and weight, he won in raw damage. [-1,974] [-791]

Flipping midair, Raine landed feet first on the side of a giant tree. The beast’s health bar was still full, while his was down by ten percent, proving that damage was relative and that size really did matter. Outraged that its snack was still alive, the sparrow’s beak opened wide, and a horrific chirp that could level a city block blasted outward.

[Negative affliction received (Paralyze): Restricted movement due to aural shock (Duration: 7.12 seconds)]

Raine’s brows would have lifted if he could move. A seven-second stun conclusively showcased that he was never meant to fight a creature nineteen levels above him. Malevolent eyes bored into Raine, glistening as they refracted the inner light of another skill.

[Negative affliction received (Suppression): Unable to activate skills or abilities due to neural shock (Duration: 38.77 seconds)]

The sparrow wasn’t done. Its wings flapped mightily, releasing dual tornadoes that slammed Raine into the tree, pinning him in place. The raging wind slid harmlessly off armored feathers, having no effect on the beast that unleashed it. The monster jetted forward with a peck that would certainly crit its helpless prey. Beak impacted tree in a crunch that echoed through the forest for a kilometer. 

Against expectations, the sparrow tasted no satisfying meal entering its gullet. Raine vanished the instant its beak blocked line of sight, appearing some distance away.

[Locket of Rendition: (Lustrous Blue) This beautiful necklace contains a glimpse of what could have been and what could be again (Durability 75/75) (Innate skill - Returners Privilege: Teleports the wearer to any location visited in the last 5 minutes) (Cooldown: 1 hour) (Usable in: 23 minutes 57 seconds)]

While his personal skills and abilities were disabled, the suppression effect held no sway over his equipment’s innate skills. Unassailable Aegis could have saved him as well, but Raine didn’t feel like digging himself out of a dozen meters of bark while the cheating bird pecked at him. Besides, that strategy wouldn’t solve the real problem: its control skills.

Raine had a solution well before the paralyzing effect faded. He dashed to the side, approaching a retreating line of Golathean Ants. They were much too large for his purposes, but one of them held a squirming, half-dead mite in its pincers. Raine’s mace bludgeoned the smaller insect loose, nearly killing it in the process. The ants responded in unison, releasing thirty jets of Caustic Spray. The instant they chose to attack, Raine’s One Man Army title kicked in.

[Negative affliction resisted: Suppression]

[One Man Army: (Title) (Non-upgradable) Immune to Control effects while fighting multiple opponents]

With access to skills again, repeated air Lunges dodged the incoming streams of pressurized acid. Before the ants could unload another salvo, Raine grabbed what remained of the mite by its armored collar and dashed away. The beast was not happy being hauled around. Raine only cared that it was displeased enough to continue biting at him, thereby ensuring his title remained active.

Raine returned to his original foe, a countermeasure to its cheating skills slung over his shoulder like a trophy. The sparrow tried its same strategy again, and Raine responded by Lunging close, mace glowing like the sun. Debilitating Crush blinded it, cut its Defense in half, and simultaneously smashed its eye into pulp. [-40,202] 

The bird annoyingly responded by fleeing. With one hand occupied holding onto the mite, Raine tried to wrap his legs around some of its feathers, but they were torn out. The sparrow left him behind, flying high and not returning until its debuffs faded. They repeated the same dance a dozen times over the next few minutes. In Raine’s opinion, the bird’s high-level defenses, deep health pool, and raw speed allowed it to survive for far too long.

Worse, at 20% health, it fled entirely. Raine was expecting it. Any creature that utilized tactics was likely to retreat when its health ran low. Abandoning his mitey shield, Raine swapped to the Fraction of Grace and triggered Grace of Nirvana. With a 400% bonus to Move Speed, Raine’s lower half vanished, feet cracking against hardened air in a series of aerial Lunges too fast to hear each individually. He caught up in seconds, mace a blur as it pulverized the last of the creature’s health.

Victorious, Raine rode the gargantuan body down, raging wind, feathers, and blood all around. They crashed into the ground, massive, mangled corpse rattling the forest’s denizens to life. Raine barely took note, his gaze fixated in disappointment at the tome held loosely in his free hand.

Almost two days had passed in ZionLine since the last of Bhima’s passages was revealed. Raine wasn’t surprised that the next was still denied him.

Levels aren’t enough to be counted as a worthy challenge. It either needs to be a fight that pushes me to my limits or, more likely, an enemy with a mental ability. That means nobles and hierarchs, which means raids. 

Raine knew the locations of hundreds of nobles and hierarchs he could fight in open-world zones, like the Ruptured Chaparral. However, they tended to have a minimum level of 100, making them opponents he wasn’t ready to face. Even dungeons didn’t start including nobles as regular bosses until the 70s. Only raids could supply him with a steady stream of low-level nobles to satisfy Bhima.

Oh well. Suppose I’ll get what I came for and leave then.

Raine had roughly thirty-six inside hours before the recruits arrived, acclimated to their headsets, and logged in to create their avatars. Between hunting down treasure chests, finding the last of the materials he needed for the Gromglenn Boomsticks, and reaching level 30, he had plenty to keep himself occupied.

However, he had no intention of going about his tasks alone. Now that he knew the sparrows weren’t enough for Bhima, there was no reason to consider them as enemies. Swapping the Heart of Plutus to its Fraction of Umbra, Raine started his hunt for loot by charming a small band of the massive birds, bending their considerable prowess to his will.

[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 Elemental Might: (Elemental Power +20%) (CNC +20%) Upon command unleash the Elemental Finger dealing 2500% elemental damage in a 15-meter tower AOE (Cost: 200 EP) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

[Fraction of Grace: (FNS +20%) (ACU +20%) Upon command embody the Grace of Nirvana increasing Move Speed by 400% and Attack Speed by 150% for 15 seconds (Cost: 200 Discipline) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

[Fraction of Purity: (Celestial Power +20%) (PHY +20%) Upon command channel the Soul of Reformation to restore health equal to maximum health and further boost maximum health by 200% for 5 minutes (Cost: 200 CP) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

[Fraction of Umbra: (Demonic Power +20%) (PTC +20%) Upon command liberate Umbra’s Snare to charm any living entity (Cost: DP equivalent to difference in level and class) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]