Sacrifice Mage

Se-Vigilance was right. Dancing didn’t turn out to be as difficult as I had assumed it might. In fact, there was a neat little trick that really helped me keep up.

“Your focus is particularly intense, Dancer Moreland,” Se-Vigilance noted as we were performing a series of complicated steps.

The phrasing almost threw me off balance. “I’m just trying to make sure I don’t make a mistake.”

What helped was being able to quickly recognize that it was a pattern. For the first few rounds, I was an obvious half-step behind my partner, which was embarrassingly obvious to anyone who might have looked. And I knew there were people staring. A Councillor of Zairgon frolicking with a lowly cultist from Ring Four? Madness.

Still, the pattern wasn’t anything too complex. Step here, sway past the partner there, reach out a hand when the music reached a crescendo, and a dozen other little components that seamlessly melded into one another to form a very elegant little performance.

It was Gutran’s training of all things that actually got me. That was the intensity that the Councillor was referring to. I was very carefully noting the way her muscles shifted moments before she actually moved into the next step of the dance, which quickly helped me figure out where I should be going in turn.

I wondered how amused Gutran would be to hear how exactly I was applying his teachings.

It also made me stare perhaps a little inappropriately at my dance partner, so I tried not to rely on it after the first round or two.

“We aren’t halfway through the dance yet,” Se-Vigilance said. “And you’ve already picked it up! Rather impressive. You aren’t using Sacrifice or something along those lines are you?”

“Nope,” I said. “This is all me.”

I didn’t even know if I could use Sacrifice here. What in the world was I supposed to offer up as tribute? The tiny beads of sweat on my temple? The minute feeling of satisfied euphoria at quickly mastering this dance? Meh. I could do something myself, for a change.

“What did you want to tell me, Councillor?” I asked.

I kept my voice low. It was odd that she wanted to talk to me now of all times. What about a conversation in a secluded corner of the wedding venue? Though, considering the person I was dancing with was half again as tall as I was, while glowing with immeasurable power, I had to admit that any sort of covert conversation would have been pretty difficult.

Which was probably why she was using the dance as a cover. Huh. Now it was starting to make a bit of sense.

“You’ll need to be more wary of Claderov,” Se-Vigilance said. Her voice had lowered too, but it was sharp enough to reach my ears without trouble. “Don’t think that your little duel went unnoticed. I should have words with Lancko for facilitating such a silly confrontation.”

I swallowed. “I knew that guy was from Claderov, but are you saying there was an ulterior motive to that duel?”

“Didn’t you suspect anything?”

“He was being an asshole, so no, I didn’t suspect anything beyond a very general ill will.”

Se-Vigilance’s mouth curled. “For many, their disparaging behaviour isn’t merely prejudice, even if it appears that way. Some use it as a weapon. A mask to hide their true intentions. And in this case, I fear the Claderov lord, Yulien, already attained something of value. More importantly, his master has already obtained something important.”

Master... did she mean that woman who had drawn Yulien away? I couldn’t recall seeing her before, but if she could exercise that sort of power over the man, then she was no doubt terribly powerful herself.

I was feeling a little annoyed at hearing I might have been played. Which, honestly, I had kind of admitted to myself already, right before the duel had actually started.

Bastard had threatened to take the festival away from Ring Four. I couldn’t have just let that stand.

“What could that be?” I asked. “It seems a little inscrutable.”

“I am afraid I don’t fully know myself,” the Councillor said. We both focused for a bit to take care of a few complicated steps in the dance that had us whirling past each other and needed me to concentrate to not mess it up. “But they were clearly gauging you, and I suspect they found what they were seeking. Now, the question remains what they intend to do next.”

Se-Vigilance went on to tell me a bit more about Claderov, especially with regards to their recent dealings with Zairgon. I was a smidge nervous. Some of the things absolutely sounded like stuff I shouldn’t be hearing.

Apparently, Claderov had opened the Nether Vein gate at their city, having been agitated that Zairgon had supposedly violated treaties older than anyone still alive, including that ancient Scarseeker Councillor. Yet, they were also investing in Zairgon itself, to the point that they were willing to share their rail line infrastructure to directly connect the two cities.

I was a little distracted by learning about the existence of rail technology on Ephemeroth, but Se-Vigilance’s words soon dragged me back to what was actually important.

“I am still unaware as to why they are leaving the vast majority of the Nether Vein exploration to us,” she mused. “It is costly, of course, but the rewards to be gained are substantial. Unless…”

“Unless they’ve decided the rewards aren’t worth it,” I said. “For whatever reason.”

“Correct! In fact, we already have suspicions of a reason…”

Right. That man we had seen within the Nether Vein. The one who had somehow integrated himself with the Nether Vein. Se-Vigilance said that he had plenty of proof of having come from Claderov itself.

She hadn’t asked about him directly. Not yet. Apparently, there was a trip to Claderov itself on the horizon and she intended to make inquiries and investigate there directly, rather than relying on the words of a clearly biased dignitary sent to negotiate for Claderov’s best interests. Good plan.

The dance was coming to an end soon. I was a little surprised it had gone on for as long as it had. It wasn’t that I was tired. In fact, a quick look around proved that almost nobody looked fatigued at all.

Even Silver-ranked Vitality was a significant boost to one’s stamina levels, so it made sense the dance had gone for a good amount of time.

“Do you have any news on your progression you wish to share?” Se-Vigilance asked.

“Not really,” I said. “Well…”

I told her about how every time I tried using Reverence Everlife, I ended up feeling something about the people who followed me and believed in me.

“It’s like parts of them flow into me,” I said, finding it a little difficult to express the sensation in words. “Their memories, their experiences, their desires. You know, things that make them who they are. Those sorts of things.”

“Very interesting.”

She didn’t have any further comment on it. I was in uncharted territory here. Gaining insights into all the strangeness of my new mana core wasn’t going to arrive easily.

“Why me, though?” I asked. I caught her arching her eyebrows questioningly during another pass of the dance’s step, so I clarified. “I thought that Claderov lord was coming after me because he had heard about everything I had done and so wanted to put me down a peg or two. But you’re saying it’s because they know about my connection to the Nether Vein. How?”

Unlawfully taken from NovelFire, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Even as I asked the question, I realized it really wasn’t hard to draw inferences that concluded I had something integral to do with the Nether Vein’s inherent power.

It wasn’t a secret that I possessed Sacrifice. I hadn’t hidden the fact that my mana core was powerful, that I had been Sacrificed by the Sun Cult. It was reasonable to assume I had obtained it through a strange Divine Blessing, which was what had happened.

Basically, there were a lot of flags pointing to my connection with the divine, if one cared to properly observe. Which these people had probably done.

“You are a star, Ross Moreland,” Se-Vigilance said with so much gravity that I was forced to push aside my train of thought. “A rising star. Like it or not, you are now in the crosshairs of a lot of people, many of whom will not wish for you to continue succeeding and growing at the rate that you have. You must remember that. All the time.”

Sure. I’d need to remember that. Didn’t mean I had to like it, though.

The dance finally came to an end. I had to perform a fancy bow in the finale. Se-Vigilance thanked me for the apparently scintillating experience, and in turn, I thanked her for teaching me one of the popular dances in Zairgon. We parted afterwards.

Obviously, the whole wedding gathering had noted that we had danced together. I was left wondering what they made of it. How many people were trying to figure out what I had talked to the Councillor about? How many people were agitated by the fact that I was close to at least one Councillor of Zairgon?

Or maybe I was getting too big of a head, arrogantly assuming I was the centre of the universe. Though, the Councillor herself had only just told me to be wary…

Dinner was a nice affair. Even when I was interrupted by annoying noble pests.

I had been looking forward to it. The meal, that was, not the annoyances. Just as I had been hoping, we got a huge selection of various gourmet dishes that were the top tier of what was available in Zairgon. As Lord Revayne had promised, they hadn’t held anything back, definitely not when it came to the food.

There was so much of it too. Dishes upon dishes on every table, arranged in a towering pyramid of plates to make as much use of limited space as possible. And even then, the floorspace was taken up by the fancy carts waiting in the wings to bring in even more food when any plate turned completely empty.

I was in gastronomic paradise. It didn’t take long before I was absolutely certain this was even better than anything I had ever had on Earth.

Strange fried meat that melted in my mouth into savoury puddles, flavourful grains that reminded me of rice but stylized like biryani, a crazy assortment of salads, little sweets filled with a sinful amount of sugar, and drinks that seemed to combine all the flavours perfectly.

It wasn’t surprising my enjoyment was cut short by a gang of arrogant nobles sitting down at a nearby table.

“Look at that freak,” one of them said. A rare Scalekin noble in robes that looked more like armour made of scales. “Inhaling the food. That’s what you get for inviting trash from Ring Four. He’s never even seen simple fare like this.”

There was absolutely nothing simple about the food I was having, that was for sure.

“Don’t make me start throwing the plates at you,” I said evenly.

They exchanged quick grins. I had responded. The first stage of whatever they were planning was now a success.

I had seen this before. It was easy to recognize I was being played yet again. But I dove in headfirst anyway. Bastards needed to be taught a lesson, and the best one would arrive when I beat them at their game.

“That’s exactly how you’d expect a brute from the slums to respond,” another noble jerk said, simpering lightly as she fanned herself.

“Mm, yes.” The Plumefolk from Claderov was there too. At this point, I was convinced he was stalking me. “You should have seen him act like a barbarian at the festival. If nothing else, he’s lively.”

“That’s all these mongrels are capable of. Satisfying their base instincts like fighting and eating. You saw how much he was struggling with that simple dance. Made even the Councillor look horrific.”

I burped.

They glared at me. One of them pointed as if to go, you see!

The Plumefolk brought a goblet closer to himself, its contents literally on fire. “Lowly creatures like that would never be able to stomach true culture.” He tipped the contents into his gullet, smacking his beak in relish.

“Correct,” said the Scalekin noble. “I think he’d choke on something like this.”

He pulled off a stringy bit of meat that looked like it had crystallised, before swallowing it whole. The crunching sounds emanating from his mouth made it sound like he was trying to eat glass.

“Bet,” I said, turning to them. “How about we make a bet? You can put your money where your little runaway mouths are.”

“Oh, the cur speaks,” said the Rakshasa woman with the fan. “We should remember to thank House Revayne for calling in such fantastic entertainment.”

Right. That was what I was here. A source of entertainment for these people, though perhaps there was a slight bit more to it with the jerk from Claderov involved as well. But the Councillor had also said their assholery was a disguise. A front to hide their real intention.

But I didn’t need to dig deeper. Not when I was going to stop it here and now.

“If I can stomach whatever crazy food you’ve got to throw at me,” I said. “Then I take all your auction earnings from every single one of you.”

A bold statement. The Zairgon nobles looked like they were about to call me idiotic and refuse the wager, but then the Plumefolk leaned forward, his dark eyes flashing.

“And if you lose?” he prompted.

I shrugged. “I’ll do whatever you say until this wedding officially ends.”

The sheer nonchalance with which I said it incensed them. That, even more than the Plumefolk’s eagerness, got the rest of the nobles on board.

“Fine,” the Scalekin said. “Deal. Now why don’t you swallow this without trying to throw it all up?”

He pointed to the same crystalline meat he had eaten moments ago. Of course, he expected me to go there and take it from his table, like a servant. Thankfully, there was no need. I hailed down one of the nearby servers, then asked if I could get every single item that the other table indicated. Every single one.

The server complied. Soon enough, I had a plate big enough to use as a shield bearing a pile of the crystals. Glassy stones that I was supposed to crunch down and eat.

I got to it.

It shouldn’t have been a problem normally. My Attributes were superhuman now. I was pretty sure I could bite off spoons and eat them without any trouble. But the moment I put the crystallized meat in my mouth, it started sizzling. Burning. Ah, now I saw the potential predicament.

The Scalekin was grinning widely, baring all his fangs. His pals were eagerly waiting for me to start coughing, crying, turning into a mess and giving up.

I made a show of swallowing my bite down and then Sacrificed it.

[ Sacrifice

You have Sacrificed 1 [Minor] Partial Meal. Windfall bonus activated.

Reward: Full energy for 2 hours. ]

I continued eating and then Sacrificing, quickly reducing the plate to nothing. Since I was Sacrificing mostly small bites, I didn’t get the usual reward I got for an entire meal, which was full energy for an entire day. Or several days, which was what I got now thanks to ranking up Sacrifice.

Rather, the rewards arrived piecemeal because my offerings were piecemeal. They still combined to give me three days’ worth of energy, though.

“What?” The Scalekin noble was aghast that I had been able to finish the whole plate in mere minutes. “How?”

I patted my stomach. “Not bad.” I grinned at them all. “What have you got next?”

Whatever they threw at me, I “ate” them all. Didn’t matter if it was liquid that resembled lava or berries that literally exploded once bitten into. Sacrifice took care of them all, stuffing me full of energy.

It was a little disappointing that the energy levels didn’t stack. I couldn’t just finish the entire course and then have enough energy to not need to “eat” for the next month. The rewards after the first few ones just overwrote the ones I got earlier. It made sense in a way. I was already feeling a little too full, in terms of energy. I didn’t want to explode.

“How are you stomaching everything?” the Rakshasa woman asked, clearly flabbergasted. “What sort of trick are you using? Does your mouth lead to some extraplanar dimensional space?”

The ridiculousness of that suggestion drew out a loud laugh from me. “Not at all. I’m eating everything. And I’m almost full.”

“Liar. You’ve had enough food to make even gluttons puke.”

“What trickery are you using?” the Scalekin demanded. “Anwer me, now!”

I tutted. “Remember your own deal. All your earnings from the last auction.”

While I was offhandedly dealing with the other nobles, my eyes were fixed on the Plumefolk. On the noble from Claderov. I recognized the look. His eyes had the same cast as the Claderov lord I had duelled against at the magic festival. I realized now that it was an evaluating look.

Just like Yulien, he was trying to learn something about me from this interaction. Something that might or might not have fit in with the overall picture.

The other nobles were making a louder fuss, though. Forget me trying to win my wager, they were calling foul play and demanding I tell them everything. They might have had a point if they hadn’t started insulting me even harder than before, and it got annoying enough that my fists were itching to sock them right in the mouth.

My saviour arrived in a wedding dress.

“I see you are all having a great deal of fun,” Revayne said, observing us all with sharp eyes.

Her sudden appearance made everything cool down immensely. The nobles pretended they hadn’t been calling for my decapitation and the subsequent inspection of my oesophagus and stomach just seconds ago. Instead, they praised Revayne for organizing such a wonderful event.

The slimy, lying, two-faced pricks. Now more than ever I wanted to wring all of their throats.

“If you will excuse us,” Revayne said, nudging her head to the left while looking at me. “I have some business with Cultist Moreland here that is rather urgent.”

“Thanks,” I said after we had left the trio of living cancer behind. “But you didn’t have to step in.”

Revayne shook her head. “I wasn’t lying. I do have business with you.”

“Really? On your wedding day?”

“Yes. It’s regarding House Uralivanth.” She paused very momentarily. “I was right. They are involved in illicit matters, including your issue with the Starlamps.”

I cursed.