Esper Labyrinth - ESP - Superhero - LITRPG

I said nothing in response to the old frog's offer. Instead, I allowed my eyes to drift around the place again.

It was a simple amphitheater. Made entirely of the oily black stone. Just like the ones I'd climbed on my way up here.

Each of my fellows here had their own raised platform. A podium of sorts. Though they were not at all uniform.

I felt a tug and looked down to see Buddy.

I smiled.

Buddy was still eating away the clothes I'd been wearing with an angry enthusiasm. His tendrils ripping apart the fabric before then sticking to my skin once more.

'Sully!? How could you!? Cheating on me with these filthy things!'

'It wasn't my choice!' I thought into his mind. 'Besides, I didn't buy these clothes, I made them myself. Grew myself a bunch of spinnerets and got to work. It was so weird to be wearing something that came out of me, but I held on Buddy. I would never think of wearing anything else. I didn't even know it was possible to miss anyone as much as I missed you.'

That seemed to satisfy Buddy a whole lot, and I felt his mind purr with delight.

'You should be careful though. I don't know which side they're on.'

I blinked.

'Are you talking about these guys? What makes you say that?'

'They looked through my mind and asked me questions.' Buddy answered. 'They brought me back quickly. But they kept me around. Especially that slimy guy. The one who looks black and yellow. He felt so familiar and I got confused. I felt like I could tell him anything.'

I nodded.

'That makes sense.' I thought to Buddy. 'He's the one who first created you after all. It would be strange if you could hide things from him.'

'Was he?' Buddy asked with some confusion.

'He doesn't feel like that though. I feel like you're the one who made me who I am Sully.'

'Well, there's some truth to that Buddy. But anyway, what did you tell them?'

'The plan for Singing Metals.' He said with some shame. 'The first one you came up with. The one that was supposed to be a secret.'

I groaned internally, but nodded all the same.

It was a bit of a shame, but there was nothing for it. That plan had been put in place when I thought I'd be training my Enhancer side the hard way. Without the use of System-run Instances.

It was a way to buy time, more than anything. That and it would be rather pointless to try that since my own Veiled Prince couldn't be there to finalize the ambush. That, and my Veiled Prince wasn't wrecking things in Pandemonium by boosting people, so the tides of chaos over here weren't making the prospect of manifesting such a complicated ordeal.

As things were right now, it was likely that Singing Metals could manifest at full strength or close to it. Not in the weakened and desperate state that I had originally planned for.

'But they didn't tell Singing Metals.' Buddy said quickly. 'At least, they didn't do it when I was around. I don't know why though. That guy who you say made me, the ones who I felt I could trust, that guy said he wasn't going to tell her because this was her fault. Because this was her mess to fix.'

That was both good and expected.

Living Stitches had been the only Divine I'd reached out to before the whole ordeal with Hazimon. I'd been sending messages through Intruders quite literally at the same time as Hazimon was giving me that verbal dressing down and I had been more worried about him taking offense to boosting Buddy more than anything. It was good that he believed himself neutral in all this. It would be even better if he thought himself on my side.

Cultivating a positive image with the other big five here had been integral to the plan from the very beginning. I'd been very careful to not go after too many civilian targets in the beginning because I'd wanted this exact scenario to play out in my favor after all. Though that plan was somewhat ruined by the sheer scale of destruction the Drake had wrought.

Before things had gotten out of hand, I'd been confident in smoothly pointing out that the Kenari empire was still a large and dominant force, even with their fangs pulled out. That the only thing standing between us all and peace was Hazimon's still beating heart.

That had been the plan. But again, it was hard to say that with a straight face, now that things had spiraled so far out of control.

In a way, this was my fault. Some of my earliest allies had betrayed me because I tried to grab [Eternal Silence]. Out of fear for what I could do. By that same line of logic, a bunch of Masters who should have acted as mediators just straight up died when I kept using the thing on accident while I was a guest of Cultist Sully.

There was no one to sue for peace. Because everyone with the power to do so and actually enforce that peace on the Kenari side was fertilizing soil.

The Kenari had also been attacked on all sides by jealous rivals the second it became clear that they had no great Masters to defend their holdings. Not to mention the damage we caused with our slander.

Those few that remained either bent the knee and switched sides publicly, or else turned into diehard enemies. Doubling down, as it were.

So, me killing so many enemies was rather counterproductive.

There was simply no one on the prime material realms left to accept a peace deal and surrender.

Which only left Singing Metals.

Well… not exactly.

It left Singing Metals, and my little surprise. Though I wasn't sure just how effective that would be.

I suppressed the urge to sigh and turned once more to my captive audience.

Voice of Order rested in the middle podium. His fat, bulbous, toad-like body resting atop a pile of fresh rushes. With cushions made of bundled up straw for back support. They did not crack and crumble whenever he leaned back. Which was wasn't odd at all, but it sure looked strange given just how round my host was.

His eyes looked uninterested at first glance, but I wasn't nearly stupid enough to believe that was the case. It was far more likely that he had an ability along the lines of [Solomon's Sociological Regulation X] or even [Social Hunter IV]. The latter had been a right proper menace as far as I was concerned. Even in the pre-merging days, when it was just a level ten power in the 4th Tier. [Social Hunter IV] allowed anyone with a closed-off mind to say whatever they wanted and act however they wanted. Never letting their true feelings show. For all I knew, this rotund little bugger was sweating bullets inside his own mind at the thought of our meeting turning sour.

Then again, perhaps he was just that confident in what I would do. Hazimon had obtained access to all my exploits here in the Labyrinth by virtue of being a High-Enforcer. I was under no illusions that this being had less access to my recorded deeds. At least, while the System had still been active.

He was dressed in a thin, but highly decorated layer of silk-like material. Not a Symbiote, but an actual dress made of colored webbing. Probably one he had spun himself.

His breath came in calm and steady. His nostrils opening and closing with a steady rhythm. On closer inspection, I noticed that he had a small wooden pipe nestled between his mouth membranes. The diminutive thing letting out a small trail of greenish smoke that dispersed into the bog's atmosphere soon after leaving the wooden platform.

To his right was the long, spotted yellow and black salamander. Living Stitches.

His throne was made of living, pulsing meat and bone. As was befitting for someone of his proclivities. Yet this seat was wholly unlike the kind of furniture that the Seeking Drake might use. The meaty bits were not exposed and pulsing, but were instead covered in luxurious coats of fur in striking rainbow patterns. They did not have nerve endings that could feel pain and agony and desperate terror. Indeed, it was not clear to me if the thing could feel pain at all. Those parts that were made of bone had them erupting from muscular fixtures and the bundles of calcium entwined over and over again to create a backrest that ended in a crown of horns. All of whom rested far, far above the spot where the Divine's head would have rested if he leaned back.

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Overall, it looked like the kind of seat a barbarian king might sit upon. Rather than a grotesque display of body-horror like the Drake's own creations.

Fitting, since from what I had gathered, the Divine of Living Stitches was more interested in creating and perfecting new strains of Symbiotes. Rather than, say, filling his home with screaming rugs and curtains that bled freely once or twice per minute.

He eyes Buddy with a curious gaze. His eyes relaxed and filled with a certain mixture of pride and longing. I had originally been worried that he might have taken offense to my modifications, but it looked as if that could not have been further from the truth. No, Living Stitches was looking at Buddy in the same manner as a proud grandpa staring at his grandchild's graduation ceremony. There was love there. Admiration for the lengths Buddy had gone to in order to grow as much as he had.

More importantly, if I was reading the room right, it didn't seem as if he had any interest in protecting Singing Metals or Hazimon. Perhaps it was because the former had done him some dishonor. Or perhaps it was because he was annoyed at how much of a bother Hazimon had made himself out to be.

Whatever the case, he was not bothering to hide his bias at all. Which was a great thing, because he was biased towards me.

The seat further to the right and to the left of Balanced Scales, was empty. It was a simple, leatherbound armchair. A very thick and heavy one that would have looked right at home in my house. My parent's house. Or my student dorm.

Because there was one just like it in my student dorm.

I had gotten it as a gift for myself a couple of years ago. A splurge that I had treated myself to. After I'd gotten backpain from that thrice-dammed bean-bag chair Henry had gotten us to study.

I smiled and walked towards it. Nestling down right as Buddy finished re-arranging himself into a pristine white suit.

I groaned in pleasure right as my tooshie sank into the leather. Then I groaned again as I relaxed my back into the backrest. I had been a little worried that this tension I'd been carrying with me wouldn't be dispelled, since even the control I had over my cells with Shifter didn't quite manage to expunge it. But this feeling was heavenly. Like the feeling of sinking into a warm tub after a day of exercising.

I looked to the right and took in the last two members present.

Balanced Scales was still curled up into a bundle. There didn't seem to be anything acting as her throne, though her Symbiote made her seem as if she was wrapped in a big blanket. Just as the person herself, the Symbiote was massive. But it was also poofy. Like sheep's wool that had been left to grow for far too long. Or a disgustingly thick ugly holiday sweater.

Her scaly snout huffed and puffed. But not with any kind of indignation. Instead, it would have likened her reaction to those that the Golden Cruelty had displayed when we'd first met. A mixture of curiosity and a desire to tease someone she might decide to eat later. Though from what I had gathered, the Divine didn't have the same reputation for swallowing innocents that the Golden Cruelty had.

Instead, the Balanced Scales had a reputation for being generally earnest and, dare I think it, even honorable. Much in the same way that Hazimon the Dragon had possessed such a reputation.

Next to her, and to the left of Voice of Order, was the Unconquered Sun. Who simply lay prone atop a pile of rocks. There didn't seem to be anything special about them at first glance, but my Projector senses were picking up on heat coming from beneath her. As if there was a heating vent or a small fire below her.

Her features were much too alien for any human to figure out, but I had the feeling that she and Balanced Scales were on more or less the same page. Though I did sense some lingering resentment in the way her legs rustled around the stones whenever she re-positioned herself. I didn't know whether that was aimed at me, but it might have been best to think of her as being on Singing Metal's side for now.

Yet none of then seemed to be in any kind of alarm. Or any state of worry.

There was the fact that they were all a bunch of powerful Divines. All of whom were now at the heights of their power in this place. Which meant that any of them could kill me in a heartbeat if they wanted.

Normally I'd be content in the knowledge that I would re-spawn, but we were in the heart of Pandemonium and that wasn't a complete guarantee either. Even if it was, there was the chance that I would return a year or three after the fact. By which point humanity would have found itself in quite the pickle.

Oh, for sure, I'd boosted my friends and those people I knew I could trust to absurd degrees and there wouldn't be very many people who would want to take the chance, but I had no illusions that Singing Metals would free Hazimon as soon as she was able and that the Dragon himself would scramble for payback.

Voice of Order snorted.

"Your thoughts are not beyond our discerning, Sully Carter. I myself do not even need to chance a wager against your [Corrupting Influence]. You remain guarded, and that in itself reveals your intentions and worries."

He gave me a simpering smile.

"I have some thoughts of my own regarding your encounters with Hazimon the Dragon, but please. Do address the point I made earlier. This whole conversation will flow a lot more naturally if we exchange ideas freely. Bouncing them against one another."

I nodded in turn and brought up his proposal.

"You could certainly do that." I addressed them all. "Keep me here and training. I mean. You could side with Hazimon and with Singing Metals in this issue and you could force me to advance. In another time, in another life, I might have imagined that someone like me could simply refuse."

I recalled Cultist Sully and the way his presence had swirled around me. The way he had somehow overthrown my control of my own Veiled Prince.

"You could also keep me alive against all odds. At least while I remained mortal. I knew this was the case because the Drake managed this against those weaker than him. And because I myself have managed much the same."

I felt my three little piglets squirming beneath my muscles.

Veiled Assassin, Harrowing Wail and Silent Stillness. All begging for death.

"But that sort of misses the point, doesn't it?"

"How so?" Voice of Order asked. His face unmoving.

I forced myself to smile.

"First, as you yourself have acknowledged, we know each other. Not directly, but we all have a pleasant history together. Or rather, all the pleasant history you have known can be attributed to me to some degree. I would argue that I have more or less contributed to all the good things you've enjoyed during your eons in power. I would also argue that this little fact should count for something when deciding who you should side with."

The others chuckled. Living Stitches going so far as to laugh out loud.

Voice of Order allowed himself a smirk, but nothing more than that.

"Such things are outside your control. And have been outside your control. At least, that's what Singing Metals would say, if she were here. I myself know that you have had a great deal of influence on our creation of the System. I also know that you made, or will make, several important concessions for the good of all."

He huffed a puff from the pipe.

"But it doesn't seem like you are in any kind of condition to use those facts to sway us. You do not seem to be the kind of person who would form the System as we know it. You do not seem to the kind of person who would join us to form the System at all in fact. You do seem like exactly the kind of individual who would set the proverbial house on fire behind him. Only to then relieve himself all over the ashes."

"Well, that does seem to be a rather picturesque way of putting it. I don't know if I would…"

"Crash the System?" He offered.

"Try to destroy it permanently." I corrected. "I don't like a lot of things the System does. Especially when it comes to the Tutorial. I would offer a lot of changes. I certainly have a lot of changes and improvements in mind."

"Quite so, I'm sure." Living Stitches rolled his large wide eyes. "Everyone's a critic."

"I would like to remind you that the Tutorial is not a place for wanton cruelty." Balanced Scales quipped. "In the spirit of fairness, the point is to offer advantages to those who are new to the multiverse and the Labyrinth. The death toll within the Tutorials might seem abhorrent at times, but they are largely insignificant when compared to the death rates in the larger and more common Instances."

She used her tail to pat and caress the bottom of her snout. The equivalent of a human caressing their chin.

"There is a very popular Instance that younglings in the Kenari Empire tended to frequent not too far from here. It was a large pit that descended down and down and down via a spiral staircase. With holes and doors every few steps that would disgorge different monsters. It is a known and explored Instance. There are hardly any threats that haven't been documented a thousand, thousand times over. Yet the younglings do die. That is the risk they take in order to advance themselves. Some do die and all of them descend knowing the risks. Almost all will survive the first ten thousand steps, as the difficulty approaches that of the Apprentice Instance of the Tutorial. But not all stop there. In fact, very few commoners see it fit to stop there. Most will descend until the sections that mirror the Adept difficulty of the Tutorial. A fair few delve deeper still. Not caring about the danger. Or rather, accepting it and moving on regardless. It is a threat they are all to aware of, but the rewards come along right along with it. A few of the better prospects will reach level 50 within a month. Progress that is unheard of even within most Tutorial Instances. Tell me, how many young prospects do you suppose die down there, all alone in the darkness?"

"998 out of 1000." I answered at once. "I know because I've seen their minds and memories. That doesn't mean the Tutorial can be justified though. Those younglings you mentioned are teenagers who had their whole lives to prepare for fighting monsters and who had an understanding of Psy and the System drilled into them from a young age. The humans who went into the Expert Difficulty Tutorial had no such advantages. Most of them had never held a weapon before. The very least you could have done is give the people a choice of Difficulties."

The Unconquered Sun laughed out loud.

"What!? Really? So that the talents that could perhaps advance to be the protectors of their species can choose the safe option and miss out on all those levels?"

"If you're worried about people being under levelled then you can extend the duration of the Tutorial. Make it so that each stage after the first increases in difficulty. Like with the staircase you mentioned. Then at least people would know what to watch out for."

"Some Tutorials were like that once." Voice of Order clarified. "What ended up happening was that the real talents were often weeded out. Murdered early on by people with sadistic impulses or the need to be in control of others. Those same people then killed anyone who didn't stagnate past a certain point. Think of that odd fellow, Hakon, from the Adept Tutorial for humanity. If we had done what you said, then he would have simply slit your throat as soon as he was able. Before you had killed a fair few monsters and gained the strength to survive his predations."

"We're getting a bit off topic." I said hurriedly. "My point was, that while I don't agree with a lot of the things the System is doing, I would not say I wanted it destroyed. I merely want to adjust things a little bit. If what you say is true and bad people tend to ruin Tutorials for everyone, then we should perhaps look into not bringing in terrible, chaotic murderers or slavers into the Tutorial in the first place."

"A lot of them do change though." Living Stitches pointed out. "Some of the people that later rose up as paragons of justice were once vicious murderers before their Tutorials. I know a certain Benevolent Mercy who used to set fire to government offices using improvised explosives before she got strong enough to change her planet's ruling class."

"Okay. First of all, those bastards were almost as bad as gnomes. She is still a saint and I would have likely been sneaking into people's mansions and slitting throats in her position."

A flash of memories from Leatherface Sully arose right then and there without me calling on them.

"Second of all, I was just offering an idea. We can work on the specifics later. Right now, we were deciding why you all should side with me and not with Hazimon and Singing Metals."

"Yes yes, of course." The Unconquered Sun said slowly. "Do get to the point already."

"The point is simple." I continued. "If you don't want to think of me as a friend now, then think of me as a potential friend in the future. I, Solomon Carter, deserve your patronage because I am the better option."