Chapter 185: Huracan
“Who dares to approach my realm?” A voice echoed from the fiery gateway, but the fog merely swirled around the temple, lingering in silence. Coop didn’t dignify the haughty veiled threat with a response.
The deep voice was followed by a growl of frustration, coming from deeper within the temple at the top of the Mayan pyramid. Coop was prepared to enter the building directly, but a moment after the voice escaped, the man himself stepped beyond the threshold, presenting a black silhouette against the bright red and yellow light emanating from beyond the doorway, and casting a giant-sized shadow onto the sea of mists.
Annoyingly, there was a pocket where Coop’s Fog of War was absent where the man stood, burned away by the flames and heat that were emitted by the temple atop the pyramid. Coop’s Presence of Mind wasn’t empowered by the mists where the man appeared. Obviously, the man was the culprit of the flames that came from within, but Coop was forced to get a read on the priest the old fashioned way. While squinting through the mists, he stretched his aura and identified the figure at the top of the pyramid.
[Oathsworn Human (Level 102)]
[Aeromancer (Intelligence)]
[Chosen of the Order of Endings]
[Fire, Wind (Dynamo)]
Coop’s breath caught when he noticed the man’s class. It was Charlie’s class! The man had the same basic class as the mousy park ranger, despite having a completely dissimilar aura to the point that their first impressions were diametrically opposed. The Endless Empire had designated her Aeromancer as a Legendary class, rare enough to demand special attention from their faction, and yet, Coop had stumbled upon another who had claimed the same class. There were some immediately apparent differences, though.
The priest’s mana affinity confirmed Coop’s assumption that the man had been responsible for burning away the fog, but that was only the first distinction between his class and Charlie’s. She had evolved into controlling storms with wind and rain providing the foundation, and lightning eventually providing the final component. This guy had a completely different affinity and had yet to evolve his build into the next stage.
Coop confirmed that the man would be his target, as he was yet another Oathsworn Human, like the Envoy on Ghost Reef and the High Priestess he encountered in the Butterfly Cave. They all had been Chosen by different factions, but they clearly aligned themselves with Chakyum instead. At least aligning themselves with fellow humans made more sense than representing distant aliens, but it wasn’t enough to earn clemency in his mind. Coop couldn’t help but wonder about the man’s build as well. It was almost too bad he would be killing this priest without exploring his potential.
Coop was also momentarily surprised by the high level of the man, though his reaction was nothing compared to finding another Aeromancer. The previous High Priestess had been significantly lower, though her mushroom minion had been exceptionally high, and the Envoy had reportedly started much lower before boosting his levels. It was becoming more and more clear that each priest was pursuing their goals with highly individualized methods. The only constant seemed to be manipulating levels. Coop spared a moment to check the leaderboards, still hidden within his mists to see where this man stood.
Day 86