Chapter 64
Chapter 64
Max stared at the name displayed on the screen. He could feel the looks everyone was giving him.
“Why do I feel like something is different than usual?” Jazzjak asked. “Is it because we’re just a month or two from you all being here a hundred years? Or perhaps of the party in the tower, that—”
“It’s the name,” Max said, cutting their helper off. “I’ve faced him… Well, I didn’t fight him, but he’s the one I surrendered to when I was the champion of Igarra’s world.”
Jazzjak’s eyes widened, and the vorpal bunny turned his head slowly.
Max could see their helper wince as he saw the tightened eyes and lips of all the other gods.
“Why would he challenge you again? For an easy win?” Sog asked. “Surely he can’t expect you just to roll over this time.”
“Bah, I hate these kinds of games,” Fowl muttered. “Out of all the gods out there, why you, Max?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Max replied. “Why me?”
“Do you believe it’s because he thinks you’ll surrender another world to him?” Cordellia asked. “I mean, would you?” Max didn’t say anything yet. Bob was still going on about his thoughts.
It’s too convenient. There is no randomness to this. For him to challenge you so soon after his last attempt, it suggests something else is at play.
A ploy of the gods? You sure you don’t think it could just be a god who enjoys devouring planets and trying to find an easy meal?
He would have had to see you fight. The only way Zogooruth would know that you are the same is if he witnessed a match you were in and recognized you. If that didn’t happen, then we both know it means something else.
That he was told to challenge me.
Exactly.
“Max? What’s Bob saying?” Tanila asked, her hand touching his.
Max blinked and then frowned. “Bob says it’s too… convenient. Unless Zogooruth saw one of my fights and recognized me, the odds of him challenging me the moment his hundred years are up are almost impossible.”
“Which means what?” Fowl asked.
“Someone told him to,” Tanila replied. “Do you think that’s the case?”
Shrugging, Max studied Jazzjak. “Do you think that’s possible?”
“Possible? Absolutely,” their helper replied. “I mean… you’re an anomaly already, so why should I consider this outside of the realm of what could happen. The question you should ask is who would command a god to challenge you.”
The sound of Sog’s nails carving out a few strips of wood from the table silenced the room.
“It cannot be Death,” the demon said. “And I doubt the dragon would order such a thing, though we know that is possible. Who else could be targeting you? I doubt there are other gods out there who care so much about you.”
“I don’t know if I should be hurt or glad to hear that,” Max replied. “I’m either going to give up a world and turn down his challenge, or I’m going to have to show up to the arena and fight. One way guarantees I lose a world and the DP that comes from it, and the other gives me a chance to earn some.”
“Do you think you can defeat him this time?” Tanila asked.
He turned and looked at her, frowning a little bit as he considered the question and how she had asked it. “Are you saying you’re not sure if I can beat him or just wondering if I believe that I can?”
“A little bit of both,” Tanila replied. “You’re about to face the only god you ever willingly walked away from because you knew you couldn’t defeat him. Sure, you’re stronger now, and yes, you have some advantages that he probably hasn’t gained since the last time you two met, but we don’t have any way of knowing Zogooruth’s real power. You said it last time, fighting a void-based—”
“Did you say void?” Jazzjak blurted out. “As in the god uses void magic or…”
“I believe it’s a void god…” Max said, glancing at their helper. “Its whole body was gigantic and was hidden in some kind of void aura. There was no way I could have fought it back then and won. I knew that then. But why do you ask?”
The vorpal rabbit winced and moved to his tablet, making his padded fingers dance and glide across its surface.
“A void god is rare,” Jazzjak said, pausing between taps to look at something before swiping and moving it again. A few more seconds passed before he grunted, and an image of a swirling vortex with a shape in it appeared on the screen that everyone could see. “Is this what Zogooruth looked like?”
“Basically,” Max said. “I’m not sure how tall that one is, but yeah, that’s what he looked like. Why?”
Jazzjak didn’t respond; instead, he just stood there, silently.
“What’s wrong?” Sog asked. “Why are you acting like that?”
“I need a minute,” the vorpal rabbit replied. “It’s not easy trying to go through every memory you’ve ever had and making sure you’re not wrong.”
“Wrong about—” their demon said.
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“Give him a minute,” Cordellia said, cutting off Sog. “We can wait a minute or however long it takes.”
That can’t be a good sign if he’s acting like that.
Out of all the interactions we’ve had with the helper the system provided us, I’ve never seen him like that. Sure, he gets worked up and occasionally acts silly , but part of me expects a silly rabbit now and then.
They sat there, silently for over five minutes before Jazzjak looked up and frowned.
“In all my time of doing this, I can only remember two instances of void gods doing something at this tier. I know there are a few outside this realm, but they are unique and very… different.”
“What does that mean? Sog asked, leaning forward. “Aren’t all races and gods different?”
“Not like those,” Jazzjak said, slowly pacing the end of the table. “A void god is a world eater. They destroy worlds. Like the leviathan that will devour and destroy Max’s world he lost, these are on a different level. There are many different kinds of world eaters. Each one has its own unique version of destroying the planet, but a void god… it leaves nothing behind when it is done. Some might leave a frozen or burned world. Others might leave a hollowed-out one. A void god destroys everything, down to the last grain of sand.”
“So… besides now scaring the heck out of me,” Fowl said, “Do I want to ask how they even exist or how they defeat the tower or—”
“No and stop asking me questions I can’t answer,” Jazzjak said. “I don’t know any of that. I just know enough about them to tell you that if a void god has challenged you, most wouldn’t even accept the offer, simply turning over a planet and being done with it. If you accepted a challenge without realizing it was a void god, and it appeared in the arena, you would surrender if it allowed you to. Not that it most likely would.”
“And yet Zogooruth gave me that option,” Max stated. “Which means something, doesn’t it?”
The vorpal rabbit nodded. “It does… or it should. What would cause a god to turn down a free meal ? In the end, you’re just DP to it.”
Max felt the concern and dots that Bob was putting together.
Someone sent Zogooruth against us on Igarra’s world.
And someone is doing it again.
Correct.
So how do I turn down a request like this? Can I even defeat something like it?
Bob didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and then Max almost laughed when his skill spoke.
We should consider spending some DP to explore the types of skills that might be available. Perhaps we should acquire something that might help. Just in case.
Max turned toward Jazzjak and grinned. “I’m going to need your help, and I’m going to need access to the skill purchasing options. I can’t turn down this fight, but I also need a way to defend myself if possible.”
“Wait, you’re seriously going to enter the arena with something like this?” Jazzjak asked, his eyes widening. “It’s madness!”
“Guess he hasn’t been paying attention,” Fowl muttered. “Silly rabbit, Max isn’t a kid.”
***
Max scrolled through the lists of thousands of skills, so many that he couldn’t take because his entity didn’t match them. It made sense, but still he was flustered at how nothing seemed to stand out as an actual skill that might hurt Zogooruth if it came to that.
Who knew there were so many versions of sound spells, fire spells, nova, and more? Part of me wishes I had the ability to turn my skin into some other kind of matter, but then I’m certain Tanila wouldn’t like that look.
You need to stop thinking about any of these as a potential option right now. I’m still looking, and you’re not helping by wanting to stop and read descriptions. Besides, some of those abilities cost a billion or more DP for the earliest tier.
But Time Control - T1 does seem worth 10,000,000,000 DP. I mean, imagine—
Stop… please.
Chuckling to himself, Max watched as Bob considered every option that appeared.
“Anything yet?” Jazzjak asked. “I’m not certain you’ll find anything in there.”
“But surely there would have to be something in this list,” Max replied. “Wouldn’t the system have some counter in place to allow others to fight against such a being? Surely there isn’t a single one of the nine that doesn’t have some weakness that the system allows to be exploited against.”
“Exploiting is a dangerous idea,” Jazzjak stated. “While you can find something that might damage a void god, you’re also weak and a low-tier god. You don’t have billions or trillions of DP to invest in an ability. You’re simply trying to find a way to survive to get to a point where you can wait hundreds of thousands of years to get something like that.”
“But I don’t have hundreds of thousands of years right now.” Max grunted, his eyes scanning the list Bob was still looking at. “I have barely two hundred years now, and giving up a planet doesn’t feel like a good decision.”
Jazzjak shrugged and left him to keep looking.
I just wish there was some kind of—
A wave of something Max rarely felt washed through him.
I am impressed! That is a terrific idea! Part of me is jealous I didn’t consider it. The real question is, where could you craft one?
Max smiled and stopped scrolling through the list of abilities, having made a mental note of things to revisit or recommend to his friends later.
“Jazzjak, I’m going to need the full seven days for this challenge,” Max stated. “I’m going to have to take a trip.”
“A trip? Where are you planning on going?”
“Oh, nowhere special,” Max replied, winking at the rabbit. “I just need to go visit planet LYC-58252 and see if my reward they promised is ready.”
An eyebrow rose on Jazzjak’s face, and the rabbit tapped a few times on his tablet.
“What? You’ve been to this place? Wait…” He held up a furry paw and waved it at Max, shaking his head. “I don’t want to know right now. Just go… I’ll tell them you’ll accept and fight in seven days. Anything else I should know about?”
“I once had hair,” Max said with a wink, pushing back the tablet he had been looking at and standing. “I’ll go tell the others what I’m about to do. Perhaps they won’t make your life difficult while I’m gone.”
A snort came from their helper. “Uh… no… It’s often quieter when you are.”