Chapter 39

"Hey, I'm Luke." He extended his hand and introduced himself to the Outer Disciple who had delivered the news.

He grabbed Luke's hand as he caught his breath. "Axin."

"Sooo … what did you guys find?"

He grinned. "A griffin. It's why we're here. We heard rumors of one in the area, and Elder Agnella decided to lead an expedition to capture it."

Luke's eyes widened in surprise. "A griffin?" he asked, just to make sure he had heard him right. "That's the thing with an eagle's head and wings attached to a lion's body, right?" he asked eagerly, already imagining what such a creature would look like in real life.

This world is crazy, but they do have some cool stuff, he thought.

Axin grinned in response. "Mmm-hmm."

"What does she want it for?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure. We think she just wanted a steed, but they're supposed to be valuable. I just hope she catches it this time so we can go home. We've been after it for months, but it's really fast, and only the Elder can fly fast enough to chase after it," he explained, stepping back into the main street. "What's your deal, by the way?"

"It's a long story."

"Mmm-hmm." Axin grunted. "Some other time, then. I'm a bit drained for a long story."

"Yeah, I'm dead on my feet, too. Do you mind taking me to your camp? I think I'd kill for a bed and a warm blanket right about now."

And I have a lot of thinking to do. The Olympics, the Rising Sun, the emperor, Arke. There's so much going on, and it all came on so suddenly.

"Yeah, I was just about to head there, too. What was the giant like, by the way? You're the guy that stayed with her, yeah?"

Luke nodded. "I was, and it was scary. Really scary. It was at the Warrior tier. Thing almost killed me." Luke stretched his arms. "Are they all so happy?"

"It was happy?" Axin asked incredulously.

"Yeah … it was trying to kill me, but it was laughing and smiling and stuff."

"But they don't have mouths," Axin pointed out.

"I know, and it didn't, but it did this thing with its eyes, and it was waving and stuff. I don't know, I just thought it was weird." Luke frowned. "And creepy."

"I guess we'll find out if that's normal or not eventually. In the stories, the giants are always mindless beasts, but maybe those are just the Mortal-tier ones."

"Maybe." Luke ran his hands through his hair.

The pair heard the camp before they saw it. Sounds of laughter, and loud conversations proliferated through the night as the members of the Rising Sun Sect celebrated the giant's defeat.

When the camp finally came into view, Luke's mouth dropped open in surprise as he saw Lukeus swaying drunkenly as he stood atop the giant's foot, a mortal woman draped across his shoulder and a bottle full of booze in his hand.

I can't believe they actually dragged its feet here.

"It was the most epic thing I've ever imagined ever seeing!" Lukeus lifted his bottle into the air. The crowd assembled before him cheered, seemingly impressed by his nonsensical speech, and lifted their own bottles in response.

He was in the town, wasn't he? Luke grinned at the spectacle as he walked deeper into the camp.

Everywhere he went, the Inner Disciples had assembled in small clumps and were regaling their black-robed counterparts with already-embellished accounts of what had happened. Who, for their part, were wearing looks of disappointment, realizing that they had not only missed the chance to see Elder Agnella fight the monster, but also how Arke stopped it in its tracks and how Emperor Cyzicus had made short work of it.

Their voices sank to whispers as they recounted the events that took place after.

"Did Lord Cyzicus really call her a mean lady?" a blonde girl asked

"He did, and she got angry, and then my face was in the dirt. She was so strong, but then Lord Cyzicus was like, 'I won't let you harm my citizens, even if it kills me,' and he sounded so scary when he said it, and Arke flew away after that."

"You're telling the story all wrong. What really happened is—" Another Inner Disciple shook his head and interrupted them, interjecting with his own, more correct version of the story.

"Do you have a spare tent for me?" Luke asked.

"You can sleep in that one," Axin said, pointing to an empty tent in a group of those already in use. "It's mine, but I don't need it for tonight." He patted Luke on the shoulder and walked away with a pep in his step.

Luke followed him with his eyes as he made a beeline to a girl on the opposite side of the camp and scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he realized why the tent had been offered so freely.

I really need to start carrying more of my stuff in a physical bag and lug it around. At least until I can get my hands on one of those magic rings and use it to explain my inventory.

Settling into the tent, Luke called up his status.

Status | Skills | Quests | Inventory

Name: Lukas King

Tier: Mortal

Mana: 980/4,648

Rate: 15% per hour

Strength: 109

Agility: 239

Constitution: 112

Arcana: 83

Stat Points: 0

Bloodline: Locked. Conditions not met. (1/10,000)

Charges: 7/10

It has not been a productive two weeks, he thought. I barely improved any attributes other than Agility, and even then, most of that has been from stat points.

It makes sense; I didn't really bother exercising when I was in the grasslands on the way here, so I shouldn't moan about it now. I probably could have figured something out, but it's not like I packed anything that would help me work out, either, so it is what it is. I'll have to make preparations so that I can continue cultivating even in the wilderness from now on, but it might be tricky.

At least all that falling improved my Constitution stat … He frowned.

I've been stupid with how I've been spending my points, he suddenly realized.

Saving them up for future emergencies has its place, but not to the extent that I have been. More than that, I need to start prioritizing my mana reserves.

Running out of it today nearly killed me, and if I had spent those points in Constitution and Arcana, then maybe the skill wouldn't have drained me dry. Especially now that I have the boots, not having the mana to use them is beyond stupid.

The normal drain from the stances is pretty small, lower even than my passive regen, but it ups significantly when I use it with intent to kill. I'll have to take some time to map the cost of the skill to the relative strength of my opponents. Maybe see if I can figure out how to judge the amount of mana someone has. Arya and Yjarn were both able to tell after touching me, and there's no reason I shouldn't be able to do the same.

In this particular instance, though, I think that the giant was so far above me in strength that it wouldn't have mattered. Which might be a limit of the techniques themselves. They are, after all, only Mortal-tier skills.

Just another thing to figure out.

He sighed softly as he subtly shifted his posture, listening as the activity outside gradually began to lessen and silence overtook the night.

When he woke up, it was to the sound of excited screams and beating wings as gusts of air rocked his borrowed tent.

He clutched his sword tightly, for a moment fearing Arke had returned before deciding that the odds of that happening, while not zero, were low.

If Arke was really here for me, I doubt I would have woken up.

It's kind of funny, now that I think about it. I've been within spitting distance of her twice now, and she hasn't realized that it was me. Nefkha, I could understand, didn't like the Olympians and didn't want to help them in any way, so he hid my presence, he thought as he got dressed, already having an idea of what the commotion was.

But then, why is Cyzicus so antagonistic toward her? His words were polite, but their meaning wasn't. And he's not scared of her. He acknowledged that she could kill him, but there was no fear.

Arke doesn't seem to be the type of person to take an insult lying down, and she's strong enough to kill a god. So why would she let a hero talk to her like that? Unless it's not Cyzicus that she's worried about. He mentioned the creed and referenced the rules—could that be it?

Do the gods govern themselves? Or is there someone standing above even them, someone that's making and enforcing the rules, so that everyone obeys? Either way, it would make some sense. At the very least, it explains that despite all her bluster, she hasn't actually made a show of her power yet. She's afraid.

Luke grinned at that thought as he stepped out of the tent. A grin that only widened when his earlier suspicion was confirmed.

Lying lazily in the middle of the camp was the most majestic creature he had ever seen. It was big, the size of an elephant, with golden wings tucked into its feline body, while its equally golden, eagle-like head surveyed the crowd forming around it with curiosity.

Wow.

"How'd you get it to be so calm, Elder?"

"I made it my familiar," Nel answered absently, walking around it in a circle as she stroked its fur.

A familiar? Luke thought as he inched closer to the warrior and her pet. His mind darted to the egg he had stored in his inventory as he suddenly realized that he might have a use for it after all.

It would be pretty awesome having a steed like that. Although, he thought grudgingly, an eagle doesn't seem as cool as a griffin. But it is supposed to be an eagle descended from one who ate a titan's liver, so maybe.

"Luke, there you are!" Nel called out to him the second he made his way to the front of the crowd. Reluctantly, she tore her eyes away from the catbird as she parted the crowd and walked toward him.

"Hi," he said. "That's a nice cat you have there."

She grinned in response. "I have something to tell you. Come." She led him out of the camp and toward the river. "I know I invited you to join the Rising Sun, but Grandfather has requested that you join him in the capital."

"What? Really?"

I guess it was too much to expect him to leave me alone. Think about it, my ass, Luke scoffed.

"It's not what you're thinking. Your participation in the Olympics is still your choice, but he thinks that your potential will be wasted doing chores in the Rising Sun. You can refuse and, if you want to, join the sect anyway. Grandfather isn't the type of person who forces others to obey his will."

Luke frowned as he considered her words.

"What's the capital like?"

"It's … the capital. The seat of his power. It's big and they have plays and festivals almost every day. It's lively. I don't know. You'll be fine there."

It kind of sounds like an Earth city.

"And there's really no pressure. I can just not go?"

"Yes." She sighed. "Grandfather said he recognized your type. He won't force you, and he won't try and manipulate you, either. It's why I'm asking you and he isn't. So you wouldn't feel pressured."

"Do you know what he wants from me?" Luke asked. Because I sure as hell don't.

She bit her lip. "I'm not sure, but," she hedged, "I've heard rumors that he's close to breaking through to the next tier, and it's not only the winner of the tournament that gets a prize." She looked at him meaningfully.

"Huh."

So if I'm reading the situation right, he wants me to participate because he actually thinks that I can win, and he wants me to win, because he needs something to break through.

Nel's eyes suddenly widened as she looked past Luke. Following her gaze, Luke was wholly unsurprised to find the emperor standing behind him, idly smelling a rose.

"So, what do you say?" he asked.