NOVEL NEXT Chapter 444 – Lord Champion
"If you truly understood what this place was, you wouldn’t be standing so close to the edge," the Champion states in warning.
Something in his voice that makes all of us instinctively take a half step back.
He continues, "You’re not the first to visit. The others… well, let’s just say they were less interesting." A wry smile dominates his face as he manages to look casual despite sitting trapped in a hole.
There’s something about his voice, about that confidence that makes me nervous, but I seem to be in a better state than the others. I’ve met people much more powerful than the man down there.
Even so, I must never underestimate him. Not even for a moment.
His current state might be similar to Niall's when I met her, they may have crippled him before throwing him in that hole. But, given the smallest opportunity, he would be more than capable of killing us all.
“Do you remember us, Lord Champion? We were candidates to be your disciples,” Dravos shouts, stepping before me and pulling his brother closer.
The Champion's eyes move over them for a short moment before he smiles gently and continues in the same soothing voice, “Dravos and Drekar, right? Your father was a Champion candidate before he died.”
“Yes! It's an honor you remember someone as low as us!” Drekar responds, seeming excited, “We have come here to offer our services should you require them. As you can imagine, it was a difficult journey.”
“I appreciate your efforts, young Dravos and Drekar, but who are the people you’ve with you?”
“We are the ones who got pulled into all of this when these two were trying to reach you,” Tess says, interrupting the brothers.
The thylarin's eyes glance at her crown before settling on her face, “And what is your plan, young human?”
“We have been stranded by a storm. In the meantime, we have decided to check our options.”
“Am I one of these options?”
“Yes, and I hope you understand. It's something we need to think about with care, we can't make any moves before we know the risks.”
He nods, “What if the brothers have decided to help me on their own?”
“I will stop them.”
“Just you?”
“It would be my decision, and in the event you escape anyway, I would like to be the sole bearer of your wrath.” As Tess says these words, I know she means them. They carry that peculiar undertone of a [Declaration].
The Champion tilts his head, the faintest flicker of amusement crossing his face, as though Tess’s bold statement stirred something in him.
There’s a tension in the air, a quiet reminder of the power he holds even in this state. His eyes linger on Tess just a moment longer before he finally speaks, “I’m curious, young human. What do you see when you look at me? Do you see a prisoner, or something more?”
“Are you not a prisoner?”
I watch him carefully as Tess asks, looking for any sign of annoyance as she responds with a question of her own rather than answering his. I find none.
“I am, indeed,” he smiles at her. “But young human, you are not the first to come here. Some wanted my help, others wanted my knowledge and guidance. Sometimes, out of boredom, I have fulfilled these requests. And yet here I am.”
“So you don’t think we can get you out?”
“I’m afraid the two brothers, as charming as they are, lack the means to release me. But within your group, there are a few who have a small chance of achieving it - with my guidance, of course.”
“And you won’t tell us who they are?”
“I won’t. I apologize.”
“Then allow us to talk among ourselves before we decide our next steps.”
“Do as you wish, young human.” He says, leaning back, his movements unhurried, as if this conversation were merely a passing amusement.
As we walk away from the hole, dragging the thylarin brothers behind us, the Champion calls after us, "It’s amusing, really, watching people make the same mistakes over and over, but perhaps you will be different?" He then laughs shortly and quietly.
The meaning of these words stays behind with him.
(What now? This fucker seems almost too confident, is he acting though?) Sophie asks, opening the discussion.
(First things first, be careful what you say. We can't be sure he’s listening in somehow. Nat, Sophie, how sure can you be that we are not being listened to?) Tess asks.
(I can’t be sure,) I shrug. (The Cockroach wouldn’t have had any trouble, and a Sub-Champion specialist could probably pull it off, so who knows. Try using Community as much as you can. Oh, and I wanna chat with the guy alone for a bit, I’ll rejoin you on the other side of the bridge later.)
With that said, I temporarily cut off the connection and turn around, leaving the rest of the group behind.
My steps feel weird on this metallic material as I head back to the hole. But as I observe the white grain of sand move around inside me, I start to wonder who he thinks might be capable of helping him.
The main suspect is me, given that I have the most mana and primordial energies that can ignore the sand. Then we have Biscuit with his primordial energy and Tess for the same reason. Then maybe Sophie? Min-Jae perhaps, maybe his eye would be useful? Hell, maybe he meant some other passenger? There are quite a few options.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” the same soothing voice sounds from down there as I plop on the edge of the hole, staring down at him, but still making sure to not move too close.
“What happened to your arms?”
“I used them as fuel for my body in my early attempts to escape. Judging by the state of your left arm, you might understand my willingness to sacrifice them.”
I glance at my pale left arm and then back at him, “Yeah. Do you want me to call you Lord Champion and all that stuff?”
“Do whatever you find most fitting.”
“Sounds good. Am I one of the people who could help you escape?”
“Yes, the one with the second greatest likelihood.”
“What are you going to do if you get out?”
“First, I would reward Dravos and Drekar. They show promise, so I might even consider taking them on as disciples for a time.”
“No such offer for me?”
His eyes glint with a light I can see even at this great distance. Light from my orb reflected in the polished walls of that dark blue metal the hole is made of.
“You, young human, are taken by someone far more terrifying than I ever was.”
“And how do you know that?”
"There are things you can’t even begin to comprehend yet. But don’t worry, I can guide you without taking your master’s place…I just need you to offer something in exchange."
“And if I refuse?”
“I’ll pick someone else instead.”
“No threats?”
He shakes his head with a soft smile and shifts slightly. His blue body moving under the white clothes, showing off his emaciated body below it all.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to rest. Speak with your companions and decide your next course of action. But be warned - my prison holds greater dangers than you’ve seen so far. If you’re not careful, you’ll regret it.”
As I turn to leave, his voice calls out once more, “And before you go, remember - sleep in this place comes with a price.”
Noname (Hell, group 4) - we should leave the guy.
I send as I walk across the bridge connecting the round platform to the other side.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - don't fall asleep either. I don't know why, but he said to avoid it, and something about this place makes me want to accept that little piece of advice despite everything else.
Sset (Hell, group 4) - we should be able to go without sleep for a few days, probably for a week or two if need be.
Soph (Hell, group 4) - I keep checking just in case, but I don't think he’s using mind manipulation or anything. By the way, Nat, did you notice anything about how weird that hole is?
StrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - even I thought it felt weird!
Sset (Hell, group 4) - for now, we’ll be using the Community to speak. There is a limit and some information might get censored, but consider our link compromised. I don't know how he could pull it off, but we shouldn't underestimate him.
Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - that sounds like a good idea!
NotDennis (Hell, group 4) - how do you like the 6th floor so far?
NotAaron (Hell, group 4) - he’s probably had his ass kicked in a few times by now.
NotDennis (Hell, group 4) - surely
Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - Gary is doing some scary stuff again, I’m just enjoying the view. I might just hire him as a bodyguard once I start building my kingdom.
NotAaron (Hell, group 4) - oh? Not building your harem anymore?
Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - maybe during the second tournament. I'm kind of a big shot, am I not? I did place well in the tournament duels after all.
In an effort to conserve my time, I disconnect from the Community, reconnecting with group 4 with one last boost of kinetic energy. Tess is there already, telling others that they shouldn't be sleeping right now, and making sure to emphasize the potentially terrifying consequences of doing so.
I watch as everyone listens to her, and supported by Famir and Heryd, she doesn't seem to have much difficulty getting them to step in line. Even the thylarin brothers agree the only problem seems to be our last guide who only seems to want to lie down and sleep, but even he takes it seriously refusing to fall asleep.
I, meanwhile, survived 2 weeks without sleep, and it went quite well. Although the exhaustion and constant training towards the end, caused me to forget that I had lost a few limbs along the way, but other than that, it wasn't so bad.
Knowing what needs to be done, I reach Maya and tap her shoulder, distracting her from her conversation with Sophie.
“Are you still up for giving me a beating?”
At that, her face lights up with what’s probably the biggest smile I've ever seen on her face.
In the end, I end up calling in the twins to help, thinking they might be eager to get some revenge for their treatment on the first floor.
And of course, they were.
So with my unique epic, our group moves to the side, and our experiments start, here in this colossal dark tunnel of a prison for the human equivalent of a hydrogen bomb, which is sitting in a hole nearby.
I create batons made of mana, manabloc batons if you will, which they use to lash my thighs. I think the thigh bone is supposed to be the strongest one in the human body, so it feels weirdly logical.
As I take my beating, I come to realize that it isn't even all that painful. Sure, the blows do sting, but without access to body strengthening, they can only use the power of their bodies.
Maya and Lily probably have the highest physical stats in the group, followed by Tess and the twins, then Sophie and Izzy, and me firmly in last.
Maybe I still come out higher with all my free stats from Active Tempering and my use of the Restrictive Training Emblem, which I still refuse to check. There will be plenty of time to process my disappointment later.
So it’s possible that my actual stats are on par with Tess and the twins if not just below? Maybe higher? I could ask them, but given that I refuse to check my stats, it doesn't really make sense.
To be honest, I should have realized it a bit sooner, but this unique passive of mine might be even better than I thought. And that’s saying a lot considering I already thought it was pretty “broken” as the twins would say. It replenishes my mana, allows me to ignore physical damage from blunt force, and weakens blows when they get to be too much for the passive. How crazy is that?
The fact that the word Unique appears in the description says a lot. I made this passive by combining two upper grade epics, and it was tailored just for me. A unique passive, as the name says, implies that either no one else has it, or if they do, it’s extremely rare.
Of course, the mana isn’t truly free, the source of the kinetic energy flowing through me is the bodies of my group members. It’s a resource they’ll need to replenish by resting and consuming food and water. But they aren’t using mana to do it, so in the end, I think it's going to be worth it.
It might feel like a drop in the bucket, but I want to have as much mana available as possible and I need to keep my primordial energies in my vortex core topped off as well.
As we go about this, conversations continue around us, but in the end, we still decide to go back to the ship and use its sensors to get an estimate of the storm’s duration. And then we’ll consider our options when it comes to modifying the ship and leaving.
Dravos and Drekar do not like it, but according to the Champion, they are unable to help him get out. He might be lying though so who actually knows, still, there is no way I’m going to let them free the guy.
The problem is that I'm sure he can still cause a lot of trouble, even in his current state.