Honestly the teleport gate was a familiar, but still strange event every single time. It was when I first left Tessegog, it was when I went with the others to the Duke's house and back, and it was once again when we drove through the gate and arrived in Clayland.
The town itself was cool, the smell of pottery and water filled the air as we saw dozens of golems ranging from small little bird like things flying from building to building, all the way to what looked to be a massive golem assisting in offloading cargo off of a vehicle.
We had been panning to head out in the morning due to the fact that it was late, and crossing the mountains would be treacherous enough without being able to see.
As we rode looking for a spot to park, everyone was doing their own thing. Yet I found myself stuck in thought about recent events, and more. So I was a bit surprised when we stopped as I had been spacing out.
"Alright, I'll look for a room at the inn, Thalia, do you want to see what you can find for dinner?"
Aiden said as everyone began to hop off. Thalia nodded as Little Fox followed her.
In a bit of a surprise the two seemed to be bonding pretty well as they seemed to be the most quiet of our group and would often ride in silence together.
Aiden and Jax were headed off together with Victor to grab a hotel room which left Liora and I. We had gone shopping together earlier where Liora had bought a new item that expanded her mana capacity while I had bought a new set of heavy plate armor, and yet I still wanted to talk to Liora about something. So as she began to depart, I tapped her shoulder.
"Oh, Selene, what's up?"
She asked with a slight note of confusion in her voice. I quietly shifted in my seat on the vehicle as I asked.
"W-Well, I w-was going to go on a w-walk to clear m-my head a bit and was wondering i-if you could join me."
Stupid stutter, I sound like I'm barely able to speak. I thought as memories of the past weeks flashed through my head. Liora gave me a smirk and wrapped her arm around me as she began to lead me down the road. As we walked Liora began to chat in that way she always could, the light conversation that made it so she could make a situation lighter, but I walked in silence with her for a bit before I asked.
"A-am I redundant?"
This made Liora pause as she turned to me with a questioning look as she lead me over to a small table at a candy shop. As we sat down she looked at me and asked.
"What's on your mind, because something is chewing at you."
I sat silently for a moment before I looked up and in a rush, like the bottled up questions couldn't be quelled I asked.
"Everyone is getting stronger, but it feels like I'm stagnating. Aiden can now hit just as hard if not even harder than I can with his spear, and Jax has only gotten more and more durable as the days have gone on, Thalia from what you said was wrestling D rank monsters around, and you can practically fly. Hell, even Little Fox, who is the weakest party member in terms of level, seems to be growing so fast. It's only a matter of time before she surpasses me."
I wrapped my hands around my head as I banged my forehead against the table. I knew it would look weird, and that people would give me strange looks, but it felt comforting. In a world where everyone was racing around and getting better and better I was crawling to keep up and getting left in the dust and it was too much, and everything needed to let me breathe for a moment and I want to not be left behind, and and and and.
Liora placed a hand silently on my left arm. It wasn't forceful like she was trying to rip my small bubble of muffled sound away from me, it wasn't expecting, like Liora wanted me to do something. It was soft, simple, and anchoring. I grabbed her hand for a moment and just let myself breath and let the world take a moment to not seem so big and complicated before I looked up. It could have been minutes, it could have been two hours, but Liora didn't move, she didn't complain, just gently touched my arm to let me anchor and not spiral into lunacy.
"T-Thank you."
I said quietly as tears were in the corners of my eyes, and yet I was a bit surprised by the sudden grip that Liora used on my arm as I looked up confused, but Liora wasn't looking at me, she was instead looking into the road with a pale look on her face. As I turned I saw a familiar face that sent a shiver down my spine.
Across the road stood a man in a purple suit. His hair covered his right eye as he gave a grin that made me shiver, his pointed teeth showing as Ymer made his way towards us.
"S-Should we run?"
I was already tensed and prepared to throw the table to cover our dashing away, but Liora squeezed my hand.
"Can't, he's not alone."
I looked around and I saw them. In total there were 5 figures who stood, at practically every possible path we could go to escape.
To our left stood a young boy, no older than 13. He wore what seemed to be an open leather vest and riding pants, a set of revolvers at his side as a fox tail swung from behind his back. He didn't have his weapon in his hand as he gave what seemed to be a friendly smile and a big wave, like a kid trying to catch your attention.
To our right was the rumbling of an engine as we turned to see a tall halfblood tiger man. He wore a sleeveless shirt with a trail down the middle all the way to the ground. A chainsaw in hand that he revved as he gave an evil grin, his feet already in a stance in case a fight came up.
From behind Ymer two figures stepped out, on his right a lightblood rabbit stood. She wore a ceremonial dress like you would see classic shrine maidens wearing. This would have been slightly soothing had she not been putting on brass knuckles.
To his left a moose lightblood stood, their antlers pointed out as they scowled in a way that said, I am better than you so stop trying. They wore a business suit that seemed covered in flair and more as they seemed to give off a feeling of control.
I thought there were only 5 until Liora looked up as I saw a human man, his entire body seemed to be one big black, charred burn scar as they looked down at us, a head of burning hair flowed where what must have been their normal hair had burned away. Their faces cracked painfully as they smiled down at us.
"What's your game Ymer?"
Liora asked as she stood with me. She seemed to be trying to be nonchalant, but she still seemed nervous as I saw her cross her arms. Yet from my angle I saw her take a small piece of paper, no larger than a pen's width and rip it.
"Well that depends on how cooperative you are."
Ymer said as he began to walk forward, his footsteps caused blood to rise from the ground as we were once again dragged back into his soulskill. The reflective blood lake, the endless red skies. It was all exactly the same as before, however this time, we were in a fight 6 to 2 and had nobody outside who could help us break out.
"W-we didn't come to fight you, we didn't even know you were in this town at all."
I tried hoping it could have been a misunderstanding but knowing it was a longshot. Ymer continued to walk over as he shook his head.
"No, no, I'm aware your not here to fight, but I most certainly am. Yet I am a generous man, so I will offer you a deal."
He looked to me as I took a moment to center myself before I asked.
"T-that being?"
"Well, I recently assembled this team around me, and I want to make sure they are up to snuff, you pick one to fight and you do, you knock them unconscious, we move on to the next one, if you fall unconscious I kill the wind mage. Sounds fun right?"
That's not a competition, it's a slaughter with a timer. Yet before I could voice my opinions on the matter the tiger halfblood stepped forward.
"So much talk, I'm first, so don't die too easily!"
I saw him stepping forward, and yet as he did I grabbed the potion Aiden had given me for emergencies and downed it. The triple energy potion as I lunged forward, there was no time to hold back. This wasn't a fight which meant I had exactly one way to get us out of this, show enough ferocity that they don't volunteer to step forward.
My soul skill would normally cause the mutated muscle on my left arm to swell and become stronger, but I had a new trick, one that Mr. lee had given me that let me wrap my whole body. So as I moved my arm's muscle splayed all over me as it wrapped, and twisted and formed a fleshy purple and black suit covered in spines and radiating power.
I surprised the halfblood as he had only just raised his chainsaw when I swung. My first attack was a strike that I had practiced a hundred times against practice targets at home. A strike to take out the neck, followed by a heavy blow to the sternum to shatter ribs.
I ripped out a handful of fur and flesh as my foot swung around, delivering a harsh back kick to the man's sternum as he flew back and was caught by the moose lightblood before dropping him as if he was trash where he struggled to stand, clutching his bleeding throat where his vocal cords had been.
You have used item Energy Energy Energy Potion(E)
You have gained 26 mutation
Energy potions now have half effectiveness for the next 6 hours.
You have used Soulskill Chimeric Surge(C)
Your strength will be increased by 50 for a time
You have used skill Chimeric Cowl(C)
Your Soulskill is greatly enhanced, your stats soar
You have used skill Claws of the Beast(D)
Your attack has struck a Vital Point, CRITICAL HIT
You have done 101 damage
Your soul Stirs
Your Chimeric Cowl enhances your speed
You have used skill Claws of the Beast(D)
You have done 52 damage
Your soul Stirs
I glared around at the others, waiting food my next opponent as to my surprise, the tiger halfblood lunged at me.
Its hand no longer at its neck as I saw the flesh beneath bubbling and rapidly healing as he laughed at first a horse laugh, but quickly became normal.
"Not bad, not bad, but I heal quick!"
He swung his chainsaw around. My suit writhed as the muscles formed into thick armored plates on my arm as I deflected the chainsaw by the blade. Its teeth spun and sparked as it ran down my plates before tapping the ground. I had expected a kick, but to my horror I watched as a massive burst of pressure rocked out, leaving a massive blade shaped cut in the reflective blood surface that quickly began to fill in.
"The berserker class, the more damage they take, the harder they hit."
Ymer said mockingly as he created a set of blood chairs for the other 4 members of his party.
Pip has used item Super Heated Chainsaw(D)
Pip has used skill Bestial Retaliation
Pip has increased the power of their next strike by 308
Pip has missed their attack
Your soul stirs
I didn't have time to think as I tried a bit of a hail mary as I used another skill. My fist radiated a strange red energy as I felt the strength of my new skills flowing. I took a step behind Pip, swinging my serrated claws in an upward arc I felt my fingers dance through bone as his left arm flew into the air. My own left arm had curled into a fist and slammed into the side of his head, causing his body to bounce and roll as he came to a stop, a grin on his face before after a moment he looked down at his still severed arm in surprise.
I could feel it to, he was weakened, and all I needed to do was land the last blow, and the anti healing wouldn't last for long
You have used skill Hemoclash surge(E)
Your next attack is filled with your blood that will reduce any healing.
You have used skill Claws of the Beast(D)
Your attack has struck a Vital Point, CRITICAL HIT
You have done 166 damage
Your soul Stirs, a skill has formed from broken fate
Skill acquired: Savage Beatdown(E)
Savage Beatdown(E)
Passive
When you hit an enemy, your next attack is faster against the same enemy as long as the enemy doesn't strike you back between attacks
Your Chimeric Cowl enhances your speed
You have used skill Claws of the Beast(D)
You have done 72 damage
Your soul Stirs
I rushed forward to land the final attack when there was a sound of shattering glass. A massive paw covered in black and red fur slammed down as the blood had returned to cobblestones and shattered under the impact.
As I fell backwards I stared up at the towering beast. It stood at least 100ft tall, with a long white unkempt mane running down its back, and black fur with streaks of red all over. The beast would have made me scared if not for the crystalline legs that made up its back half. Ymer stared up, clearly annoyed, as he asked.
"Victor, aren't you supposed to be stuck on an island full of monsters or in a big tower?"
Victor stood, staring down for a moment before he said.
"My Brrrrrotherrrrr is strrrrong enough forrrr me to be herrre. I need not worrrrrrry with him therrre. And I am cerrrtain, I will rrrreunite with them soon enough."
Ymer seemed to scoff at this for a moment before he glared up at Victor and angrily pointed a finger.
"so then why exactly are you getting in our way, I thought there was a general agreement to not fight among Fateless?"
Victor stood silently for a bit as I looked past his leg to where Pip was grabbing and reattaching his arm, watching me with a curious look as I felt my time for my soul skill and new skill end. Both retracted as I fell to a knee bitting my lip so hard it bleed as I forced myself to silence the groan of pain that tried to escape from the sudden wave of fatigue that spread through me.
Liora rushed over and helped me up while trying to be casual about it, but as I saw the Rabbit eared one start to inch towards us, the ground shot up in a wall to block us off as Victor said.
"I neverrrr agrreeed to any such thing. And even if otherrrrs have, theirrrr rrresponses arrrre not mine. Besides, therrre arrre plenty of fateless fighting, frrrrom the black dawn and the students, to that "farrrrrt shaggy" and the small child."
Ymer shook his head and held the bridge of his nose as he said
"You know exactly what they are, yet your defending them, you know what could happen if they become strong enough to pose a problem to us."
Victor seemed to deflate, returning to normal size as he looked to Ymer and said.
"And arrrre they limited by the hand fate has dealt them, as Fated? Was theirrrrr handlerrr not rrrevived rrrecently? You will not get a good storrrry, simply letting herrrro's follow FATE. They will grrrrrow, beyond the terrrrm of "Fate" or "FateBound""
Ymer just stared at him for a moment before he asked.
"Mother fucker did you just wax poetically say your siding with them?"
Liora and I exchanged a confused glance as we looked to Victor trying to figure out what in the hells he was talking about. Victor Yawned as he said.
"I would not be a verrrry good punk, if I didn't have that airrrr of rrrrebellion and hell rrraising, now would I?"
Victor holds a paw up, the back facing Ymer as he sticks a single claw out. Flipping the middle claw to the vampire
"I will prrrrrove to you all, that they arrre not gonna fit the mold Fate has planned. Afterrrr all, if we've got a thirrrd rate vampire with a fourrrrrth rate soul skill here, then purrrhaps anybody can become Fateless, yes?"
Victor turned and began to walk away as we followed behind him. I could feel Ymer seething as I heard a sound of a building being struck and starting to crumble as he yelled.
"Your mentor can save you now, but just wait until we get to the Plate games, after all accidents can always happen!"
We didn't turn around, and kept walking. While we had survived today, the future seemed to be out to get us.