Chapter 338:
“Whoa,” Aaron breathed.
Alex couldn’t help but internally agree with him. Even though he’d been to the Cracked Steps twice before, there was something grand about them that refused to accept any reaction other than awe. Glowing words shimmered overhead and cast his features in their light.
The Cracked Steps [Ygg Entrance]
Storms of Riftwarped Energy twisted to fill the the sky all around them. Tongues of lethargic purple lightning crawled through their misty depths and the distant rumbling of thunder swallowed up any hopes of silence. The platform beneath their feet was rough and craggy, like someone had taken a great bite out of a city and compacted it together with the earth.
Vague shapes of what had once been something now jutted up from the ground, warped and twisted beyond anything more than an uncanny sense of distant, fading recognition. Massive white roots of bleached ivory rose up from the edges of the platform. They carved through the angry air to reach out for the nearest of the great platforms suspended all throughout the sky surrounding them.
A faint electric energy danced over Alex’s skin like static. He drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. There wasn’t exactly a smell to the Mirrorlands. Sure, there were vague hints of electricity and what might have been considered burning material — but the scent was always fleeting and distant. He was pretty sure that it was the storms destroying things unfortunate enough to be caught within them.
“There will likely be an opponent up there,” Claire said, craning her neck back to follow the path of roots over to the platform they were connected to. “If you have anything you need to prepare, now is the time to do it.”
“Monsters can show up at any point once we get started. We have to be ready to fight for as long as we’re on the platforms,” Alex added. “Though I don’t think we can get attacked by a new group while we’re currently in a fight. Probably.”
“Reassuring,” Aaron said. He cracked his neck, swallowing down nerves as his hands clenched at his side. “I’m ready. Not much I need to prepare, to be honest. Don’t worry. I won’t hold you back. At the very least, I can stay out of the way while you deal with a fight.”
That was good enough for Alex. Aaron hadn’t done anything particularly standout during his fights on the way leading up to the dungeon. He’d been nimble enough — though definitely considerably slower than both Alex and Claire — and had avoided making any painfully stupid decisions.
In short… he seemed perfectly average. Nothing good. Nothing bad. Just average.
But average was nowhere near enough to survive the apocalypse. Not if someone was going out to dungeons like the Cracked Steps and seeking out the hardest challenges they could find. Then again, the only way to stop being average was by doing exactly that.
So, as far as Alex was concerned, Aaron was doing what had to be done. Either he’d make it or he wouldn’t. And maybe it was just the optimism buried deep down in his heart that was desperately struggling to survive the apocalypse itself, but Alex wanted to believe that Aaron was going to manage just fine.
There was only one way to know for sure.
Alex summoned Glint with a thought.
The ringing crack of shattering glass rolled across their platform. Fragments of reality tinkled against the ground as Glint emerged from within his portal.
“Finally,” Glint said. “I was wondering when you’d call me again. Did you forget about me? Do you think I have anything better to do? I’ve been so bored.”
Aaron nearly choked. “It can speak?”
Well, it’s not like we were going to be able to avoid letting anybody notice.
“Yes,” Alex said simply. There was no need to get into any detail. “And don’t complain so much. It hasn’t been that long. I’m not going to summon my other monsters yet. I want to see what we’re up against and have some stuff saved up as a surprise in case it’s intelligent. That means you’re our frontline for the time being. Don’t overextend.”
“Simple enough.” Glint glanced around. Then he approached the edge of the platform and peered over the jagged growths surrounding it to look down into the churning Riftwarped Energy surrounding them. He looked back over his shoulder. “Where are we? This is the Mirrorlands… but I’ve never seen anything like it.”
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“The Cracked Steps,” Alex said. “It’s basically a tournament. Kind of.”
“A Challenge Dungeon,” Glint murmured. “Fun. Very well. Let us advance. What are we up against?”
“Haven’t figured that out yet,” Claire said with a shake of her head. She nodded to the roots. “But it’s up in that direction. If everyone’s ready, there’s no reason to delay. Just make sure you’re ready for a fight the moment we get up there.”
They all nodded. Then they started up the roots.
Glint took the lead, and it wasn’t long before he’d clawed his way up to the platform. He stepped out of view as the rest of them pulled themselves up behind him, all hurriedly readying themselves as they prepared for an attack. Glint had moved to stand several feet before them.
And standing across from him was a rather pompous looking man in glossy golden armor that contoured to his heavyset body. He was bald and round in the chin, and there was an expression etched into his face as if he’d smelled a piece of particularly expensive French cheese. The man held a sword in each of his hands, though their tips were lowered to the ground.
Two people stood behind him. They were of similar builds and their forms were entirely obscured by dark robes. A white mask stylized to resemble a bird’s skull covered their faces, and both of them held a large hammer.
Huh. I wasn’t expecting to run into more people. I honestly thought we’d be up against another monster. I mean, we did meet Zeal the first time we showed up here. Maybe this shouldn’t be so odd to me.
“New challengers,” the heavyset man drawled. His expression was unreadable. “Do you follow the Path?”
“The what now?” Alex asked warily, keeping his magic at the ready. He wasn’t exactly sure what the proper procedure was here. The entirety of the Cracked Steps were a tournament. They weren’t going to find friendly faces here — but just jumping a group of random people out of nowhere also felt a bit rude, especially while they were trying to speak.
“The Path,” the armored man repeated. His eyes narrowed slightly. The two masked people behind him readied their weapons, but he didn’t raise his own. “The Path of Honor. Or are you miscreants?”
“Maybe?” Alex hedged, trying to keep his face straight. For some reason, the armored man spoke like he’d gotten waylaid on his route to a LARP event. That was making it remarkably difficult to keep himself serious. Maybe this was his strategy. If it was, it was an effective one. “Depends on if you explain exactly what that is and how it has anything to do with the Cracked Steps.”
“The Path,” the man repeated a third time, as if that was somehow meant to change anything from the previous two times he’d said it. “The rules of conflict agreed upon by all those attempting the Cracked Steps for the sake of bettering themselves rather than slaughter.”
“How about you humor us?” Claire asked. Her stance didn’t show it, but Alex could tell that she was ready to burst into action at a moment’s notice. “What are these rules? We have no desire to fight dishonorably.”
Unless we’re losing.
“It is simple,” the man replied. “Not all those who walk the Cracked Steps seek to kill. We only seek to better ourselves. To reach for the stars. As such, I have no desire to kill any of you should you not force my hand. Instead, I wish only to have an enlightening battle — should you be capable of providing me with such. There is no need for death on either side.”
“Not that I’ve got an issue with some ground rules, but doesn’t that defeat the purpose of this place?” Alex asked. “We’re not going to get anything out of a sparring session.”
“You must have defeated at least one other entity within the Cracked Steps by now, yes?” The large man gave Alex an appraising look. “If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have connected to this platform. Thus, you have a Cracked Coin.”
“And if we do?” Claire asked.
“Then it is simple. We will battle with all the might the gods have gifted us, but shall endeavor to avoid dealing fatal blows. When one side has been defeated, they will offer up their Cracked Coin and items of compensation for their lives.”
“What decides if something is worthy?” Alex asked. “Seems like a great way to just give someone a giant piece of shit and run away.”
“Only if you lack honor,” the man said, anger crossing his smooth features. “Do not accuse me of knavery. I would never do such a disgusting act. My life is that of an honorable man, and there are few things in the universe more valuable than such a thing. Any reward I would give up for my survival would be one worthy as a being as honorable as I.”
I suppose humility isn’t one of the virtues of honor.
Alex exchanged a glance with Claire. They didn’t know how strong the man or his allies were. For that matter, they didn’t even know if the man could be trusted. But the same went both ways. They didn’t actually lose anything from agreeing to play along — at least, for the time being.
“I think we’re good with that,” Alex said. A coy smile pulled across his lips. “It seems a shame to murder each other for no reason if we’re not actually competing for anything. In the spirit of that… what Stage are you?”
“Adept 1,” the man replied without an instant of hesitation. “And you?”
“Adept 2,” Alex said with a shrug. Then a thought struck him. The corners of his lips pulled up. Now that he thought about it, this was actually the perfect opportunity to test something out. Maybe the Cracked Steps had sensed that, or maybe they’d just gotten lucky. “How do you feel about a bit of a challenge?”
“A challenge?” The man tilted his head to the side. “Speak.”
“Champion versus champion,” Alex said. “You versus one of us. No Soul Manifestations. All the other terms are the same. No killing blows and the losing team gives the winner their Cracked Coin and an item worth the value of their life.”
The man tilted his head to the side, studying him for a moment. Then he nodded. “An interesting challenge. But an honorable man does not turn down reasonable terms. I accept your challenge.”
“Good luck,” Aaron said. “You’ve got this.”
“My challenge? Not exactly.” Alex grinned. Then he clapped Aaron on the shoulder. “Why are you wishing me luck? You’re up, champ. Let’s see what you’ve got.”