Trying to locate who was the origin of this sand, Aelion was sleeping next to Moria, Sofya resting a bit further away, having fallen asleep after she said she was going to get more drinks, despite the fact she had a literal Inventory feature.
The kids ended up completely drunk, between Aelion and Moira fighting for their life and Sofya hanging out with a rather “old timey” robot, she didn’t really have the chance to have fun with people of her age.
As for Valencia, well it had been a real adventure, between making sure she didn’t go fight a sand kraken and stopping her from trying to find the Authority ruling over the Great Desert of Oleron, Akhenamen’s night had been quite full. However he felt… invigorated.
It has been a while since he had to make sure everyone was fine after a very “heavy” party but he still had it in his blood.
“Still got it, David, still got it.”
It had been a while since he thought of himself as David, it was his past self after all, he was now Akhenamen, but he couldn’t just forget or neglect his past. Akhenamen was who he was because of David.
“Didn’t expect a Transcendent to be such a… “
“Drunk? Fun loving soul?”
“Yes. And I suppose you’re the one that has been watching us since… at least last night. If you hadn’t laughed I wouldn’t have heard you.”
“I’ve been watching for longer. But yes you’re correct I've been watching you and the gnome.”
An old man was sitting next to him, wearing a triangle shaped asian straw hat, clothes so old it seemed like they were about to get turned to dust from the smallest touch and an old, ancient looking glaive that he lazily held in one hand, resting against his shoulder casually.
“My [Analyze] skill failed. So allow me to be blunt. Who are you? Are you here with nefarious intent?”
“Please. If I wanted to hurt anyone here. You’d all be dead. Call me Orikon.”
“As in Orikon the Gale Glaive?”
“Yes, that’s me. At least it was my title…for… gods… how many years?”
“Around two thousand and five hundred years old. I hadn’t expected you to still be alive, be an Authority and even find me so easily.”
“At my level, your name becomes more than just a simple word. I know you had a headstart in understanding this didn’t you? Which one of those fuckers stole your name? Let me guess… not Salvator… maybe Gnomia? No, you're helping one of her children. It feels like Ruby-Khon but that’s not her type.”
“Sapphira.”
“She’s alive? Shit. Gotta give it to her, I was certain that one was dead.”
Orikon pulled out a calabash-like gourd, surprising Akhenamen as calabash gourds were also quite popular back on Earth. Drinking big gulps from it, letting out a sigh and whipping some leftover alcohol from his lips with the back of his sleeve.
“Want some? Construct or not you’ll be able to taste that. It’s a peculiar kind of alcohol."
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
[Analyze]
[Soul-Enhancing Coco-Rhum] [Legendary] : This rhum is made from a secret recipe known only by Orikon the Gale Glaive, any being which has a soul is able to taste and drink this rhum. It can only be drunk by Transcendent, as even a single drop would make a non Transcendent’s soul explode.
[Effect] :
- Raise Arcana by 100
“Well that’s some very well made rhum. Your Arcana stat must be insanely high if you can drink that as you wish.”
“It’s a one time only effect. But thank you.”
Akhenamen was too tempted, to taste something after so long, he needed to drink at least one mouthful and 100 Arcana wasn’t something he would spit on.
“Why did you come to find me? Just to see who said your name? Not for some big and grand quest or something?”
“No… I’m old. So old that all my enemies are either too strong to be killed reasonably or dead. No big quest or mystery, just curiosity.”
Akhenamen lifted the calabash and took a swig of it, having created a “mouth” on his face as realistically as he could but it was still a rather rough work. The moment the liquid came out of the bottle it started to dissipate and turn into a soft yet thick white vapor that went directly into his soul.
Saying that this could be “tasted’ was an overstatement from the System. It was more like he could “feel” the alcohol in his very soul but he was still far from “tasting” anything.
“Thank you for the drink. Definitely worthy of its [Legendary] rarity with such an effect but I don’t know if I’m the right target. I can't taste anything. And while I felt it, I don’t think I even tasted any specific aroma."
“Don’t worry, that’s fine. Can’t be perfect for everyone.”
“Why did you show yourself? You’re definitely strong enough that my sixth sense is telling me to just run away when seeing even just one of your toes. So why did you allow yourself to be heard or even came to talk to me today?”
The old man softly traced one of the scars on his chest as if remembering a time long past and the event that led to this scar. Staying silent, his eyes staring into the void.
“A scar from my brethren?”
“No. An old dragon. Couldn't kill or find that scaled bastard again so he must still be alive somewhere. Your people left me quite a few nasty scars for sure but I didn’t come here for vengeance.”
“A request then?”
“In a certain way, yes. But a quest for the time being.”
“I knew a quest was involved.”
He smirked and took another swig of his rum and put down the bottle, staring at Akhenamen.
“You’re a Beyonder without any Intent or Laws. This means you’re either favored by the System or a Dominion if I cannot spot even a single hint of an Intent in you. I might not be the strongest authority but I know you’re not a Dominion or you’d have felt me long ago.”
“I will give you a quest, if you succeed, I wish to grant you one of my Intent seeds. To give you the possibility of learning one of my Intent. And before you tell me you can only master a certain kind of Intent, let’s just say you don’t live as long as me without finding ways to exploit and cheat the System. And if the System allows those then it's not an exploit or cheating but a well hidden feature.”
Akhenamen was staring at Orikon, his flicking green eyes betraying no emotion but showing his uncertainty. Why him? This sounded far too good to be true. Couldn’t this old man find literally anyone else more suited for his Divine Laws?
“Why me of all people?”
Orikon snickered and smirked at Akhenamen, his eyes staring at him as if he was staring at an interesting fish on a market stall, one he could buy, butcher or sell as he wished. Those eyes alone were enough for Akhenamen to know Orikon was dangerous and most likely listened to his current whim instead of his reason.
“You’re not unique, brat. You’re not the first or the last to whom I’ve done this proposition. But I will still tell you the quest, you’re free to complete or discard it as you wish, after this talk, and unless you wish to complete this quest and seek me out, we’ll never see each other again.”
“Tell me then.”
“I want you to kill me once you’ll have mastered all you wish me to teach you. If you fail. I will be the one to kill you instead. Now before you refuse outright. It will be a fair fight. Skill against skill. I will seal our strength to the one of a common man and we shall battle using pure skill. No fancy magic, no Intents, Laws or Bloodline. Pure skills.”
The request was surprising. Akhenamen wished to believe this was all a lie to easily trick him into killing him, but why do that? Orikon already knew Akhenamen was well below his strength, so he could kill him right here and right now. But only one question rang inside Akhenamen’s mind.
“Why seek death…?”
Then, Akhenamen understood immediately, in fact he was surprised and disappointed in himself that he hadn’t guessed the first time he had looked at Orikon’s eyes. Those were the same eyes he had when he had when he learned of his family’s demise. He knew because he passed at least a dozen minutes just staring at his phone’s screen, watching his reflection, frozen in shock.
Orikon had the same eyes. Just far, far older and more ancient, a being that had once lost all he cared for and now, for some reasons, sought death in this one peculiar fashion. A being powerful enough that he was just one step away from becoming a god yet only sought to die.
“You know why, Cygilite. I recognise those eyes. Yours might be of burning green plasma, but they carry the same weight as mine. So will you do it then? I know you shall be busy for the coming year from what you said before.”
“The only reason you haven’t reached Cygislax or whichever destination you’re looking for in Oleron is because you are slowed by the gnomish girl. I shall stay here, at this very spot, for one year.”
“If you come during this time, I will teach you all I know for as long as I can teach you. But the moment you have mastered it all, we shall fight as I asked you to. And may the most skilled win and end the other’s torment. If you fail to show, I shall leave and you will never see me again.”
“I will also sweeten the deal as I know it’s only a question of time before you reach Cygislax and learn the Intents there. So I will also reveal to you useful advice for the Players' coming arrival. One that until now, only Authorities and Dominions have had access to.”