Chapter 282 - A Desperate Gambit

“Fucking bullshit!” Eric roared, fearlessly glaring up at the brooding stormclouds high above, his favorite pair of utility spells assuring him comfortable gravity and eyes free of acid rain once more.

“We killed that fucking overpowered boss tier bullshit, who the fuck cares if we thought outside the box? We did it! Quest fucking complete!”

His rabbit gave his shoulder a sympathetic pat. “I think you did a good job. It’s not your fault you had to destroy the entire tower to take down that asshole baddie. I mean, we’re just one epic familiar and her struggling master. How can we be expected to match a twelve man elite raid team?”

Eric sighed, shaking his head. “And yet somehow you and your ‘struggling master’ were still able to clear out this entire acid-spewing shithole of a place, even if we did nearly die a time or two doing it, before we get fucked over on the final step before victory.”

His bunny nodded. “Duh. In what game have you ever played can group tier dungeons be cleared by solo idiots like us?”

Eric smirked. “Actually I’ve seen you do it a couple times online… just not on the final boss chamber.”

“Exactly my point! And we’re underleveled. Exceptionally badass, but definitely underleveled. And you know what? We still managed to pop octopod asshole’s cherry with a shit ton of rubble! We just sort of um...”

“Broke the anti-grav unit while doing so?”

“Bingo!”

Eric sighed, shaking his head, before he took a deep breath and a second to truly appreciate his environment… an extensive garden behind the mist covered lake that hadn’t been completely destroyed by the massive crater of rubble that was the tower, entire patches glowing with arcane energies clear as day, Eric finally registering the wonders all around him, now that he didn’t have to look over his shoulder every second for yet another ambush predator looking to tear out his throat.

“Eric! This place is chock fucking full of mana-infused treasures! Except for all the plants the tower smushed to pulp, but at least 5% of this garden is completely intact!”

“You know what? I think you’re right, Bunbun. The weather might be shit here, but I think that GPCK device definitely boosted the local fauna.”

Eric smirked at the way his familiar’s ears quivered, darting right to a shriveled little bush absolutely covered in berries radiating the arcane Essence of flame, sniffing and delicately eating several choice pieces of fruit, her ears quivering as Eric sensed her personal Mana increasing another permanent point before she hopped over to another plant, and yet another one.

“Oh, don’t forget those bushes over there. That fruit looks kinda tempting...and those tubers right there. You’re mom’s an elf, right? I’m sure she’ll have a garden somewhere you can put these cuttings! And is that a plumb I see glowing with darkness over there?” Bunbun furrowed her ears. “OR should I say… glooming? A glooming plumb? Cool! I just made up a word!”

Eric rolled his eyes but didn’t begrudge his suddenly highly fruit-focused familiar as they darted about the abandoned hellscape. Because it seemed that the remnants of the mostly obliterated garden were the only treasures they’d be getting from this delve. On the bright side, every last piece of fruit and plant he carefully dug out and claimed for his ES Space was radiating an arcane potency that made Eric’s eyes water from something other than sulfuric fumes.

“Okay, good find, chief! Now bundle all the root systems carefully in their original soil! Even if your ES Space is now able to store magical goodies like these indefinitely without killing them, you don’t want soil shock to do that either. We’re just hoping that 1/5th of its former gravity won’t have any bad effects on it.”

Eric snorted. “With our luck, they’ll all turn into highly sentient super plants.”

“So long as the berries are still filled with sweet, sweet power, who gives a fuck?”

Eric shrugged. “Good point.” He turned around from the crackling gate they were now approaching, taking a final look back at the sulfuric hellscape with it’s bubbling lake filled with lava that no doubt hid a priceless dragon horde’s worth of treasure that he didn’t have a chance in hell of claiming.

Pretty much par for the course here, as far as Eric was concerned.

He smirked and shook his head. The levels and power-ups had been sweet beyond belief, but he already knew he would never be coming back, save in his nightmares.

“You ready to call it, Bun?”

“Damn right I am. Last one out’s on cleanup duty!” His rabbit flashed him a sad smile. “But you’re not going to take the easy route, are you?”

Eric swallowed the lump on his throat, slowly shaking his head. “Nope. I think you already know what I gotta do.”

Bunbun nodded. “Don’t get too upset if it doesn’t work out,” she said, gently patting his shoulder. “You gave them hope, and you did everything you could. Stopping that bad boy boss monster without destroying the tower just wasn’t in the cards. And after the way you took out that band of so called elite mercs, I doubt there’s a team alive in this corner of the world, at least, that could survive that final chamber, let alone clear it any better than you did.”

Eric smirked. “It’s a nice thought, but I somehow get the feeling there are some true elite badasses out there who could pop me in a heartbeat if I start playing the overconfident fuck.” His gaze hardened. “Fortuitous encounters aside, I was effectively trapped for months in a Tier 0 pod doing all it could to drain me dry of all my essences before killing me or turning me into its creature before I finally broke free. That’s months wasted that who knows how many fellow Contenders, or maybe competitors, had to get a monstrous lead I’m still playing catch-up on.”

Bunbun gazed at Eric for long seconds. “Even though you’re now Ranked number one in both Quickness and Spiritual Reserves in the entire Northeastern Quadrant?”

Eric snorted. “Sure. That certainly sounds impressive, until you realize that’s just one tiny corner of the whole fucking world. We both saw the smug looks those assholes were wearing before wiping them off their mugs for good. They thought they were the top dogs, as opposed to big fish in a small pond that had just gotten swamped.” Eric frowned, peering off into the distance. “If we don’t stay hungry, Bunbun, if we’re not always racing forward as fast as we can… someone else will be. And if we ever get comfortable, that’s when we’re dead.”

His rabbit wilted into a droopy puddle of softness on top of his head as they approached the half-hidden entrance in the obsidian cliff face leading to the lush, arboreal sanctuary where the exotic space ship and all her passengers waited for their return.

“That’s a hardcore way of looking at the world, Eric. But what really pisses me off is that you’re probably right. If you’re not on top, it will be some ruthless bloodthirsty psychopath who will be. Because nice guys who don’t have multiple kill-board titles and boons boosting their stats, or who aren’t using forbidden arts of one sort or another to devour the potency of who knows how many territories, or using some other soul-stealing or power boosting techniques we can’t even imagine... are definitely finishing last. Let's be honest, those poor suckers don’t have any place in the rankings at all.”

“Exactly,” Eric concurred. “Nice guys at a fraction of my power are the last thing I need to worry about. Hell, they’re all welcome to adventure in Ashland and make something of themselves leveling up as much as they like, so long as they take the ‘don’t fuck with me and mine’ oath. But anyone I meet near my power level is a hell of a lot more likely to be a ruthless asshole with all sorts of twisted tricks up their sleeves who’d absolutely love to claim my head as a trophy far more than the average Freetown punk.”

Eric’s words died out then as quick feet made short work of the path leading back to the magnificent ship of chrome, steel, and the brilliant hopeful smile of a handful of youths who could have been his friends in high school or college, so close their ages were, for all that gold-tinted skin and metallic hair hinted at exotic origins that filled him with awe, and exotic weapons at wrist and hip that could channel the power of the mind itself filled him with wonder. Yet when he saw Ingrid’s hopeful smile what he felt most was bittersweet regret, swallowing the lump in his throat as he forced himself to look away, hating the thought of the look of dismay he knew would be on her features… all their features. Already on their features as he forced himself to walk the mesh steel plank up to face the solemn countenances of those he would dare call friends… because who said those incredibly powerful, gifted, and warmhearted psionicists needed to lock gazes to read his mind?

Yet it didn’t matter in the last. He’d still say what he had to say.

“I’m sorry, guys,” he said, forcing himself to meet Ingrid’s anxious gaze. “I wasn’t able to get the gravity unit.”

Ingrid and Malin looked crestfallen, voicing fatalistic sighs where the boys cursed and Ulla and Kerstin, their grievous wounds healed so well the only scars were on their psyches, looked on the verge of tears.

“Then we’re doomed,” Ulla sobbed as Oskar held her close, wiping away her tears. “As soon as the wondrous spell you cast leaves us… we’ll be crushed to death over days.. weeks, for the strongest among us. Those of us forged into warriors strong enough protect our colony against almost any threat save mother nature itself will be forced to linger until the very end… or just end it quick.”

Oskar gave an angry shake of his head, silver curls sparkling in the emerald shafts of sunlight slipping through the thick green foliage overhead. “No, Ulla. We will not surrender to such an ugly fate. We have the most skilled and brilliant scientists among our crew. The seeds of what will one day be a flourishing civilization. Our own! So don’t you dare give in to despair. Will find a way!”

“We will,” Kerstin said with a gentle smile, her warm hopeful eyes peering so intently into Eric’ own even as she gently placed a fiercely blushing Ingrid’s hand against Eric’s own. “For our resident captain who actually dared to believe in Malin’s sweet fantasy that even I thought delusion managed to win the heart of a glorious living dream of wonder, who is welcome to stay with us for as long as he likes.” She flashed a brilliant smile. “A lifetime, if he so desires.”

Ingrid bit her lip, eyes gazing so hopefully into Eric’s flushing countenance, and for all that his mind was numb with desire, regret, and the simple joy of inspiring such a smile in another, the girl saw something that made her eyes twinkle with hope.

“I would love nothing more,” she said, trembling fingers stroking Eric’s brow. “But a faerie dream is a fragile thing. And I came so close to...”

“That’s because we were stupid and careless,” Kerstin interjected. “The last of the utahraptors on the island have been purged. The readings made that clear. Nothing says we can’t build a little home for you and our hero.” Steel blue eyes locked with Eric’s own. “The first house among many, of the first village we will build on this world.” She flashed a bemused smile a blushing Ingrid’s way. “So we will have all the time we need for our scientists to forge our solution, and plenty of time for our hero to perhaps teach us the ways of his arcane arts… or take vows of devotion and pass on the gift to future generations who will learn to thrive and prosper long after we are gone.”

Eric felt his cheeks flush with unexpected heat, heart skipping a beat when Ingrid jerked a nod, squeezing Eric, hand with a Classer’s strength, and a girl’s hope in her eyes.

And however much a tiny corner of Eric’s mind dared to dream wild dreams of turning what was just a System story into pristine reality, his bunny’s sigh told Eric all he needed to know.

“Eric, I’m sorry, but um… I don’t think it works that way.”

Eric swallowed the lump in his throat. “I know.”

“So, what do we do?”

Eric shook his head, flashing a bitter smile for the near dozen youths now gazing at him with such dismay. And fear. Because they were psionic, and he could hide very little from them.

Not even the nature of their own existence.

“No...” Ingrid whispered, lurching back, her eyes filled with fear and betrayal in equal measure.

“I’m not some figment of the past!”

Her eyes flashed with a sudden imperious heat, far different from the sweet, innocent dreamer who had so eagerly welcomed her savior into her bed. “I’m Ingrid Geist, captain of this ship, chosen scion of my clan, one of the very few deemed worthy of spearheading our world’s colonization efforts, the echo of my blood to resonate for countless generations in the empire we would build. I’m not some ‘System’ recorded dream!”

You have failed to save versus Stunning Blow!

Eric winced, surprised to find himself stumbling to the ground when the world started spinning, only to see Ingrid’s horrified gaze before she swept him in her arms once more.

“He’s a faerie, Ingrid. Just like I taught you! Angel’s mercy, you know better!” Malin hissed.

“Eric, I’m sorry! Please, forgive me, I didn’t mean to lose my temper, I didn’t mean to hurt you!”

Eric quickly shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine,” he assured.

“No your not,” Ingrid said with a regretful smile. “You’re head’s absolutely throbbing. I can feel it like it was my own.”

Eric gazed at the girl that, in another time and place, he could have so easily fallen for.

Her cheeks flushed a fiery golden hue, flashing Eric a brilliant smile. “I would hope so, Eric Silver. For I’ve already fallen for you.”

Before her eyes widened as her friends hissed in surprise, when Eric almost ceremoniously sliced open his palm, now holding a handful of his own bright ruby red blood. Blood which refused to spill a single drop upon the loamy forest floor.

“Form a party with me,” he solemnly requested of the handful of young powerhouses who would have formed the bedrock of any future colony, had they been any more real than the phantasmagorical wisps of dream.

A dream which took on the bright hues of living beings, which they had always been, as Eric knew damn well when Ingrid swallowed, wide frightened eyes gazing down at her petite hand now clenching his, smiling so brightly when her own Interface must have given her an unexpected message.

“We… we just formed a party!”

Eric was grinning so hard his jaw hurt, fighting not to shout for joy. “I know,” he said, his voice perfectly controlled as he turned to the others, handsome young men and women who could have been models or the leading characters in any movie his mother had ever produced, all of them gazing at him as if he were the one worthy of awe before gently clasping his hand, one after the other.

“Um… Eric, you do know your Soul Orb is depleting big-time, right?”

His familiar wilted under his gaze. “Yeah, of course you did, ha ha. What goes down in a delve stays in a delve.” Bunbun sighed. “Boy, do I hope this works.”

“Eric?”

Eric felt his cheeks heat up under Ingrid’s imploring gaze. He forced himself to gaze into her eyes and whisper his most fervent hope.

“I recall what you said… about not being able to cross through the rift. My hope is that now, well, you can.”

She blinked, lips curving into a beatific smile. “Your blood… you’re using it as a magical link between my tribe and yours. You think that with it, you can pull us through, and free us from this place!”

Eric nodded. “That’s what I’m hoping. But there’s only one way to find out.”

“But what about the others?” Hans asked with a worried frown. “Not that I wouldn’t do anything to escape, but...”

“I get it,” Eric said. “Don’t worry, I’m not forgetting anyone. But since I already have a strong link with you all, after fighting...”

“And loving,” Kerstin said with a teasing grin sent a blushing Ingrid’s way.

Eric smirked. “After fighting those utahraptors by your side and sharing my gifts with several of you already, I have a connection to you all stronger than anyone else here. So our odds of success are best if we do it this way first. Once we have it down, however, nothing says I can’t come back for everyone else, one group at a time.”

Oskar, perhaps the most powerfully built of the youths, gazed at Eric for long moments. “But what happens if we don’t succeed?”

Eric said nothing, just gave a sad shake of his head.

“Ah… yes. I was afraid of that.”

“You still willing?”

Oskar and all the others nodded. “Of course we are. Since it’s clear you’re not staying...”

“I can’t,” Eric said, Bunbun nodding her agreement, neither saying anything more.

“Then this is the only option for salvation that we have,” Ingrid whispered as they slipped free of their sanctuary, all the youths coughing and wheezing as their lungs were hit with the sulfuric stench in the air, no matter that Eric’s runic chants protected them from acid rain and crushing gravity both, Eric pausing only a moment to permanently store the hidden canyon plug of flesh and steel that had, thanks to the outer coating of lizard scales, been absolutely been impervious to the rain.

“Put on your re-breathers!” Kerstin wheezed, all the armored youths doing just that, before nodding Eric’s way.

Ulla’s eyes widened. “Look at how tall he stands, completely unaffected by the poisoned air. Truly his genetic profile is a prize.”

Ingrid nodded, squeezing Eric’s hand. “I agree.”

“Except for my squishy mind,” Eric quipped.

“True,” said Ingrid with a teasing smile. “But you certainly make up for it in plenty of other ways.”

“Look, the gate’s just ahead!” Said an excited Hans, waving all the others forward to behold the shimmering gate of crackling fire and darkness giving off an eerie hum from between the pair of obsidian obelisks somehow stabilizing the portal.

Hans’s excited smile died, as did everyone else’s, their hopeful gazes turning to uncertainty and fear.

Ingrid gazed at Eric for long moments. “Do you really think this will work?”

Eric gazed at the striking girl before him, baring his mind before her own. “The only thing I know for certain is that if you don’t follow me through that portal… your stories will have come to an end.”

“Or repeat as an endless loop, a System recording forever,” Bunbun helpfully added as metallic gazes widened with a dread so profound, Eric could feel it coming off them in waves.

He frowned down at the blood now dripping from his nose.

“Angel’s mercy, he believes it. He really believes it!” Ulah had gone pale as a ghost, a worried Oskar clasping her before she could faint.

Imploring eyes locked with Eric’s own. “Is there really any hope for us?” she whispered.

Eric swallowed, heart hammering as he dared bare memories he was uncomfortable even acknowledging… a boy and his father pulled free of living dream. A possibility made reality. A death that had never happened, a vile creature that was no more than a faerie tale itself, that goblin utterly obliviated as he balanced the scales Eric dared to tip.

“To have such power!” Oskar’s eyes were saucers. He looked as ready to collapse as the girl in his arms.

“He is my faerie prince. Of course he can save us.” Ingrid said with forced good humor, desperately smiling Eric’s way.

“But we have no sacrifice!” Malin whispered, clearly having read faerie tales Eric suspected might actually be surprisingly accurate, for all that their origins could have been half a galaxy away, understanding so much with whatever she saw in his eyes.

To which Eric slowly shook his head, taking in the entire realm of brooding black clouds, obsidian flatlands, and lakes of fiery red lava. “That’s not entirely true.”

Ingrid gazed at Eric for long moments. “You would doom an entire world?”

Eric flashed a sad smile. “As far as I’m concerned, the only thing real in this pocket realm is you. You and your companions. Because once we step through the gate, you will have always been every bit as real as me.”

“But what about my memories… what about my life up to this point?”

Eric shrugged. “For you, it was your past. For another, it would be the wildest of faerie tales. Every bit as much as magic still seems like an incomprehensible wonder to you. But it doesn’t matter, because the future beyond that gate is one we can all embrace, together.”

All the youths present closed their eyes in unison, Eric almost sensing the hyper-rapid processing of countless possibilities and tangents, as if they had, together, formed a single gestalt mind. Before Ingrid opened what were now definitely glowing eyes, and clasped his hand. “Our lives are in your hands, Eric. Please, bring us through.”

Eric nodded and walked toward the gate, heart hammering in his chest, desperate to hold tight to the sweetest of dreams before they could forever slip away under the harsh glaring light of a new day.