Conviction, page 10
“Worry not. That just means that they wish to wait until they have the most to bargain with. For now, just focus on what you can control and enjoy the time you have with myself and each of my sister-wives.”
With that Austru sealed Xeal’s mouth with a kiss, as she made it clear that the time for talking was over as they shifted to more intimate acts. Day 107 was much the same as the day before, except that Xeal was pulled away four times and by the end of it, Austru was chuckling once more at him. He just took it in stride before he finally bid her farewell upon waking on day 108, as he returned his full focus to the main ED world.
This saw Xeal being forced to finally start to fight a few battles in the larger caverns of the subterranean realm. These were not just fights with dark elves, however, as settlements of kobolds, goblins, orcs and even trolls surrounded the area between the main dark elf lands and the rest of the subterranean realm. These settlements only existed because the dark elves allowed them and most were outcasts, or rebels of their kind. Except the trolls. They were just monsters who gathered together with their limited intelligence and attacked anything that wasn’t them. For the dark elves’ part, they used these groups to avoid having to deal with many of the monster attacks that any settlement would have to expect down here. Though all of them, but the trolls, still had to pay a tax for the right to exist under their protection from their own kind.
These fights were mixed in results as the goblins fought to the last, as they refused to even talk and knew that escape wasn’t a real option. There had even been a few tier-7 goblins, which was something Xeal had never seen before and he felt as if there was a great loss in the fact that both had been killed. The exact opposite was true of the roughly 500 kobolds, who upon seeing the four dragonoid women, surrendered to them. It was then that things clicked for Xeal in how the evil dragonoids had been able to maintain a settlement of them. In the end, all of them were sent to Cielo city after Ekaitza said her mother would be happy to add them to those who served in the city. Though she did mention that suitable areas underground for them were limited and that the 500 present would be about the limit.
As for the orcs, things had been tense from the start, but Xeal had held out hope that a peaceful solution could be found. However, it seemed that tempers won out as the subterranean orcs attacked and what Xeal considered the first real battle of the expedition commenced. With over 2,000 orcs, 100 of which were tier-7, the tight tunnels allowed them to put up a strong defense and Xeal didn’t feel confident in using his lightning form to get behind them. So instead, he watched the gathered force fight as they rotated the front line constantly while their opponents did the same. Like this the battle progressed and eventually the orcs faltered and fell to the subjugation force.
Following this, the orcs on Xeal’s side were quick to secure all of the noncombatants, who would be sent to the surface and transported by night to Bula’s tribe. While not as drastic as the dark elves’ issues with the sun, these orcs would need years to fully acclimate to life above ground as they were integrated into the tribe. Despite Xeal’s worries about the integration of the orcs, he kept his thoughts to himself as the increase in women alone was a massive morale boost for the orcs present. It alone would earn many of them renown that would make the orcs invading Habia wish they had fought here instead.
With that settled, all that was left was the group of around 100 trolls of various types, that had gathered in the final area that needed to be cleared before they pushed into the true dark elf lands. Xeal knew that the dark elves had to know that his force was here by now and expected that they would make a move soon enough, but just what that was, still eluded him. With the complications of the queen’s activities, Xeal wondered just what would be sent his way and expected that whatever it was would be truly terrible. Even so, they attacked and killed the trolls relatively easily, and all but a few fell to his use of a massive electrical attack, which the high elves helped him charge up. Then the few who were left were felled quickly by others, as they charged in behind Xeal and overwhelmed them.
Like that the stage was set for things to transition into the next stage of the conflict, as the now level 248 Xeal wore a smile as he saw the news that FAE had reached guild level 54 on day 168. With it came an increase of over 800,000 members, for a total of 6,387,803 members that could fit in FAE. This signaled the recruitment drive which would see FAE solidify its hold on Nium, as they focused on adding players and smaller guilds that were based in what was once Paidhia and Habia. The sudden appearance of groups that had been quietly nurtured behind enemy lines, was sure to create some useful chaos and with it Xeal knew that he would be busy when he next logged in.
(*****)
Morning May12 & ED Year 9 Day 169.
Alex found himself occupied with work when he stepped out of his VR pod on the morning of the 12th. The real-world contracts of those who were about to be promoted with the new guild level needed his approval, as it would see the payroll increase by 8,000 full-time positions. The sheer size of the increase would cost FAE over 1,500,000,000 credits a year. Even though the extra player base that they would be managing would theoretically bring in over 2,000,000,000 credits a year, Alex would normally be against adding them all at once. However, even with the uncertainty of the war and legal issues, hesitating wasn’t an option and the massive hiring effort would project confidence. It would also shore things up such that it would be time to officially name some of the top ten vice guild leaders, who would be responsible for one-tenth of all FAE’s members from that point forward.
The way Alex saw things, these ten would be handed lifelong positions that could only be relinquished by choice, or removed by force after a massive failure. Even if one of them started to fail at their duties, it would take a lot to remove them due to the optics of doing so. To add to the complexity, Kate had told Alex to make her his second and not one of the ten, as it would allow them better to share the burden at the top while not getting weighed down with the day to day. So, after looking over things one last time, Alex felt confident in six individuals who would be good fits and so long as a few of them rose to the challenges of the next few weeks, he would announce them at that time. It was just after he had thought this over, that Alex found his extended break being cut short as he was called on to counter a massive attack that put the others he had been involved with to shame.
When Xeal returned to ED on day 169 to render aid in the battle, he was greeted by a system message.
(Notice: the conditions have been met and Xeal Bluefire and Mittie Alabaster are the last two champions with eight shards of divinity left. As such the two will be forced to fight in ten minutes with the same rules applying as prior challenges.)
As the countdown started Xeal wanted to curse and suddenly, Mittie fearing him took on a whole new meaning and part of him wondered how she had kept her identity a secret. Though he had little time to think about this, as he sent out messages that he was being delayed and for each force to try and hold on as long as they could. Though it seemed that Abysses End and Habia were throwing everything they had at this attack, from the reports that Xeal had. Rather than just players attacking, the attacks also pushed the Nium forces close enough to a noted defensive point that NPCs were able to join in. This had come as a true surprise as over 50,000 NPCs were at each location, which had both been designated as areas to bypass on the current plans.
The more Xeal looked at everything the more he knew that Abysses End had actually pulled off a rather detailed plan with this one and FAE had fallen into the trap. It was while being frustrated by this that Xeal found himself being transported to the special area that his fight would take place. As he took in a frustrated-looking Mittie, the next minute-long timer started and he let his impatience go as he spoke before she could.
“So, did you know that things would work out like this?”
“Unfortunately, I had a deal with Dragon Legion that prevented me from avoiding this. Sorry, but it also means that I have to make this take as long as possible. Thankfully, after you defeat me, my deal will be complete and I will actually be able to negotiate regaining access to that world with you.”
“Oh, and what makes you think that I will let you do that?”
“Do you want to invest in players to pick up naval-based abilities there, as I know that you have ignored it until this point.”
“Ever think that I could care less, as I can just use my lightning form to cross the sea when I want and have just been too busy until now?”
“Not your style. I don’t know all your limitations, but the fact that you still use teleportation gates to move between continents even when alone, tells me that they exist.”
“Fine, I will entertain an agreement with you if you tell me how you avoided others knowing who you are until now.”
“Fair enough. Names are not unique and well, I am not human anymore, despite my current appearance. Rather I am a shape shifter and the form you see now is just my default one.”
As Mittie said that, she changed her face to look completely different before she continued to speak.
“The face is the hardest to do as I can’t see myself most of the time, but I can alter just about anything if I wish. Tell me, ever seen what a pair of breasts the size of your head actually looks like?”
Before Xeal could respond, the clothing on Mittie became tight as it strained to contain the disgusting oversized monstrosities that she was now sporting with a smile.
“What is that look for? These beauties have aided me in so much information gathering in the past, though perhaps they would look better if I shifted my body to fit them.”
Suddenly Xeal was looking at an impossibly proportioned woman, that was likely out of more than one man’s fantasy. The fact that Mittie had even changed her hair to grow and become longer and bleached blond just added to the effect as she smiled and started to talk.
“Just think, if you weren’t so stuck up on not adding any more women to your life, you could play with me like this whenever you liked. Now, I know better than to tease you too long, so please give me a moment to return to normal.”
A second later and the Mittie that Xeal was used to seeing was before him once more as she continued to speak, despite the fact that the timer had long since reached zero.
“The real question I have for you is would you like to work out a deal now, rather than later, as I will promise not to take a few actions that would serve to distract you with my body during our fight if you do.”
“I thought you made a deal to make this match last as long as possible.”
“I did, but making a deal with you that will make the actual fight shorter can be seen as me doing just that, as I can’t promise that I could last five minutes with you even if I pull out every stop. This way if we take five minutes to make a deal, I have already extended the match and put an effort into making it longer.”
“Sorry, but I need Kate for the deal between us.”
“Fine, ugh, please forgive me for the tactics that I am about to use as I don’t wish to, but I have to or I will have reneged on my deal.”
In the next moment Mittie seemed to melt as her clothing fell to the floor and Xeal shut his eyes as he focused on his other senses while activating his enhanced senses. A moment later he heard a cluck of a tongue as Mittie spoke.
“You actually closed your eyes. How annoying. As while that means that I have successfully hampered you, I have a feeling it will be far less effective than my plan. Though if I play things right, this might actually work out better with my abilities.”
As Mittie talked, Xeal focused on the sounds and judging the distance between them, as he also went through just what race she may have picked up. He also thought over what he knew about her from his last life, and frowned as she was one of those who reached tier-8 and avoided ever revealing many of her cards. Now he felt she had been able to shift her form in that life as well and just moved around in ways that others didn’t know it was her. As far as the ability to disguise oneself went, Xeal expected hers was way up there and with a quick equip skill added to it, it would be almost perfect. Still, it was the ability to change her size that had Xeal the most concerned as it made this fight annoying and so he shifted to his electrical form and sent out a wave of electricity.
“Hahaha, that tickles. You can’t think that I didn’t have a plan to deal with that now did you?”
“You’re a rubber slime, or some other kind of slime that electricity won’t work on,” replied Xeal as he returned to his physical form and dodged the attack that Mittie sent his way. “Interesting. I can’t imagine that you gained that race through normal means and it is probably extremely rare if not unique.”
“You would know a thing or two about single-use opportunities and how beneficial they can be to the one who receives them. Yes, I dare say that I may be the only one to have gotten this boon, but I can’t be sure as it was something I got before even reaching level 20. Kind of like whatever it is you have that lets your stats be so insane and seems to have made you a dragonoid without any cosmetic changes to you. Tell me, can you grow wings if you wanted to?”
Xeal just ignored the question as he swung out with his right blade and felt it connect with Mittie as she let out a short yell, but his follow-up found nothing. That was until he let out a wave of fire breath in a cone through his elemental filtered dragon’s breath skill. That was met with a tiny shriek and Xeal dodged to the side as something tried to attack him from above.
“I see you can divide yourself as well. Tell me, does that ability make you focus on moving both bodies, or does one move automatically?”
“Why would I answer your question if you won’t answer mine?”
“Alright, I will admit it, I need to open my eyes to beat you. Now, will you trade five minutes of talking for keeping your clothes on?”
“Sorry, but clothes get in the way of a few of my abilities.”
“Even the trash clothes we all get?”
“Sorry, but I don’t have those anymore.”
“That means whatever you are has no sex either. In that case, just lose any genitals and nipples and I will make the same deal.”
“Nope, I think I will just keep things going as they are. Besides, while the lack of genitals won’t affect me much, losing the chest would make my movements awkward.”
Xeal just roared as he bit the bullet and opened his eyes. As he caught sight of Mittie, he wasted no time in attacking, as she constantly shifted size and shape to try and avoid him. Mixed with a few magic attacks and what seemed like firing off the substance she was made of at him, she actually succeeded in keeping Xeal on his toes. However, the lack of gear was her downfall and any hit Xeal landed caused massive damage and it wasn’t long before she was putting everything she had into dodging. This didn’t save her as Xeal’s elemental filtered dragon’s breath was enough to foil her efforts and just after ten minutes since the start she was holding her hands up in surrender as she put on some clothing.
“Alright, the next hit you land will kill me. Now I want to make one final trade before I leave here and yes, I am still stalling for time.”
“I should just kill you and get the information in the main ED world.”
“All I want is you to sign a contract that you will offer me a fair deal to maintain access to this world and in exchange I have to tell you all about my abilities, but you can’t share them.”
“No deal. Rather come seek me out and beg me to keep your secret and allow you access to this world.”
Before Mittie could reply, Xeal finished her off by unleashing his normal dragon’s breath at her. At that the system announcements arrived quickly and Xeal sighed as he was forced to listen to them before he could leave.
(Notice: you have been implanted with 16 shards of divinity. Collect the other 48 to increase your control of this world.
Current control: 1/4
Current time allowed in this world: 151,200 seconds every 7 days in this world.
Time here passes the same as in the main Eternal Dominion world.
Time can be stockpiled and will increase continuously.
Current accumulation: 1 second every 4 seconds.)
(Notice: you can bring up to 1600 players with you to this world.
Dominion: You can claim a portion of the quest world as your own and in doing so, keep it safe from demons. Current max 12% of world’s land.)
(Notice: You have defeated another champion and claimed their dominion as your own.
Adding 151,200 seconds to your current balance of time allowed in the quest world.
All players associated with them will be removed from the quest world.
You will be unable to conquer another dominion until you encounter one that is controlled by a champion with 16 shards of divinity.
To signify this, your dominion will gain a gold border that must be crossed to enter it, while all enemies will have a red border unless they have the appropriate number of shards of divinity.)
(Notice: you have two unconnected dominions. Warning: Unable to connect dominions due to no path to do so being available. Due to this you will be given access to a single-use transfer point to each area of your dominion that is unconnected to your main dominion, to include any islands.)
(Notice: you may transfer to the defeated champion’s starting location with up to 40 others once in the next 24 hours. Warning: NPCs in the captured dominion may perceive you as hostile. Exercise caution when approaching them.)
(Notice: you may designate two NPCs native to the quest world as your representative and grant them the ability to move as you do through your dominion.)
(Notice: your representatives and up to seven other NPCs may travel to a designated location in the main ED world once every day and exchange goods between worlds as they do so. Total time in main ED world of each NPC may not exceed six hours in any six-day period. This transfer is free of any charge.)
