NOVEL NEXT Chapter 78 - The goo
That night, Rix and Luna shared their last meal at the Shadow Runner table. Luna had also succeeded in killing her fade, so tomorrow they'd be reporting to the Quartermaster to attempt their tier-ups.
"Off to be a big scary Sparks then," said Huan, idly poking his dinner.
"I'd say he's already pretty scary," said another member, a woman named Chi. She glanced at Rix, her eyes widening fractionally before looking away again. "Unless you think you could have taken out you know who."
Huan raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I know what you mean," he replied pointedly. The woman bowed her head, chagrined.
Rix kept his expression neutral. While he'd done his best to keep a lid on any rumours about he and Han, it was difficult. Han's death was the most interesting thing that had happened in the Farm in a long time. People talked, and even among those that didn't know the truth, speculation ran rampant. A part of him liked the attention. For a boy who had grown up invisible, having people suddenly look at you with respect — sometimes even fear — had an undeniable appeal. For the first time he felt like someone. But that came with a cost. The more his name came up in conjunction with Han's, the more dangerous the situation became for him.
"Sure we can't tempt you to hang around?" Wing said, trying to move the subject along. "Gonna be a good time to be a Shadow Runner down here."
She wasn't wrong. Han's death had left a power vacuum in the Farm that the Shadow Runners were already working to fill. They'd managed to recruit several of the Iron Hand's less problematic members, and they were in the process of securing their territory in the Fractured Realm. Rix suspected that, once the dust had settled, the Shadow Runners would be the undisputed power in this half of the prison.
Rix shot her a half-smile. "It's tempting, but no. I've got itchy feet."
"Fair enough," Wing replied. "I guess I can take some small solace in the fact that Karn will be getting some good people." Karn was the leader of the Shadow Runner branch in the Cauldron. Apparently, the makeup of the gangs on the other side of the prison was vastly different to in the Farm — the Iron Hand didn't exist there, for example — but the Shadow Runners operated in both. From what Wing said, they even had a presence out in the city itself, though Rix had never encountered them in his time on the streets. In any case, as existing members, Rix and Luna would both be welcomed into the fold once they crossed over. Wing had already sent word across to warn of their arrival.
Rix took a certain amount of comfort in that. While he'd arrived with visions of being a lone wolf, Spiritlock had taught him the value of having allies. Not only was it good to have people at your back, but the camaraderie was something he hadn't realise he'd been missing. It was a sad thought that he would be moving on from this group. They'd treated him well — perhaps better than they should have, given what he'd brought down upon them.
"I appreciate everything you've done for us," he said.
Wing grinned, and then her expression turned conspiratorial. "Well, I appreciate everything you've done for us."
Rix shrugged. "I'm just glad I could pay back some of the debt."
The table shared a knowing laugh, but Huan's smile was a little tighter than the others. He leaned forward. "Just be careful up there," he said. "They're not nearly as friendly as all of us down here. Those corporate types just have no manners, you know?"
"I'll keep that in mind," Rix replied. He understood. The Farm had some corporate strays like Yutaro, but a lot of the people here were former mortals just trying to get by. Over half the Whisper population had never dived and were stuck at Low Whisper.
In the Cauldron, it was a different story. The majority of people there dived, and most of them had some sort of corporate pedigree. Rix's mortal origins would paint a target on his back the moment he arrived. He just had to hope having Shadow Runner backing would be enough.
After he'd eaten, there was one more goodbye to make. He found Tolson cleaning up in the kitchen. "You got a moment?"
Tolson led him into the storeroom, the quiet hum of the kitchen muffled by the door. "So, you're finally moving up."
"It's time," Rix replied. Though he hadn't discussed it explicitly with Tolson, he was done being surprised by the way the man seemed to know everything that was happening in the prison. "Nothing else holding me here now."
"You still thinking about trying to shorten your stay?" Tolson asked.
Rix nodded. "If I can find a way. I've been talking to a few people who might be able to help."
It was an idle comment, vague enough that it shouldn't have revealed much of anything, but strangely, Tolson shot him a knowing smile. "I expect they know what they're talking about."
Rix cocked his head and studied the man. "Now how exactly would you know that?" he asked.
Tolson's grin widened. "Oh, you know me. I like to have friends in all sorts of places. It gives me a wellspring of options to call on when I need to."
Rix's mouth dropped open. There was no mistaking that language. His mind ran back over every one of their encounters, seeing them all in a new light. Tolson had been there that first day in the yard when Rix had used his qi to help tip the scales against Yutaro.
"It was you," he said. "You're the reason they…reached out."
Tolson inclined his head. "It's possible."
Rix stared at him. With his System-granted spirit eye he could sense the man's Path, still low as could be. He looked deeper, feeling for any hint of cultivation, but he came up empty-handed. Though he'd felt something from Kokuryu's little array, Breaker had said it was unlikely he'd be able to sense anything in a person until he'd opened his Star Gate.
"Can you…do what I do?" he asked, choosing his words carefully.
"A little," Tolson replied. "I've got a talent for seeing others. That's how I help our mutual friends. I'm not good for much, but I can be a stealthy set of eyes."
Rix blinked several times, processing this. "But why don't you progress? Surely, they'd help you."
Tolson shrugged. "They have, here and there, but I've gone about as far as I'm willing. I could push a little more, but what would be the point? I know my limits. I'm never going to be a monster." He gestured to the room around them. "I've gone far enough to take the edge off everything in here. I'm content with that."
That was a sort of complacency Rix would never be satisfied with. Even without a mission to drive him, he couldn't imagine not milking every shred of potential from himself. To do otherwise was to be left always wondering "what if…?"
But his time in the Farm had taught him that a great many people felt differently. "Well, if it's working for you, who am I to argue," he replied.
He drew a deep breath. He'd never been one to express his emotions out loud. There wasn't a lot of room for vulnerability where he was from. But Tolson deserved proper gratitude. "Thank you," Rix said. "For everything. I'd have died several times over if not for your help."
"You're more than welcome," the older man said. "I may not ascend to the heavens myself, but I suspect your story might be different. Hopefully I've played some small part in making that happen."
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Rix nodded, feeling a tightness in his chest. "I won't forget it," he replied, before looking away.
Tolson saved him from letting the moment stretch too long. "I need to finish the clean-up. You be safe, Rix."
"You too," Rix replied.
***
The next morning, they showed up at the Quartermaster's office bright and early.
"Well, isn't this cute," the Quartermaster said, once they explained the situation. "You two arrive at the Farm at basically the same time, and now you leave together too."
"Someone has to take care of this one," Luna said. "Did you know he still fights with a training weapon?"
Rix let out a long-suffering sigh. "I was about to say that I've realised it's good to have friends in here, but now I'm rethinking that position."
Though Luna didn't comment, she visibly brightened next to him as he said that.
The Quartermaster nodded. "You'll need friends where you're going. The Farm has plenty of regular folk just trying to get by, but the Cauldron is a different story. Not many soft hands in that place."
"So I've heard," Rix replied. It didn't matter. He didn't intend to stay there long. The conversation with Scarface had only made escape feel more urgent. Everything had been quiet since the dust settled, but Rix didn't trust that to last.
"Are you ready now?" the Quartermaster asked. "Once you tier-up, there's no going back. Our illustrious owners take the 'no mingling' policy very strictly, so if you've got goodbyes to say, you won't get another opportunity."
"Already taken care of," Rix replied.
The woman nodded. "Very well. Come with me."
The prison had a special area for tiering up. The process was said to be messy, though Rix didn't know exactly what that meant. The woman led them down into a part of the prison they'd never been, opening several doors as she did, until they eventually arrived at a row of small rooms.
"You'll need to take your clothes off. No matter what you do, you can't quite get the smell out of them."
Rix made a face. "Why is it so bad?"
"Tiering up removes all sorts of impurities from the body," the Quartermaster said. "Remember when I mentioned that you'd get a boost to every attribute in your display? Well, part of it comes from that."
"In the sect we did it in a hut down by the river," Luna added. She wrinkled her nose. "Everybody steered well clear of it when it was in use."
"Okay, understood," Rix said. He looked to Luna. "You good?"
She swallowed hard before giving a firm nod. "Let's do this."
This was the moment where her lack of a System style would be put to the test. Should she be judged to not have mastery of her weapon, the tier-up would fail and she'd be left here in the Farm while he ascended. He'd given his word that he wouldn't escape without her, but her failure would make things more complicated.
He'd offered to wait and see if her tier-up worked before doing his, but she'd insisted it didn't matter. She wanted him to move up even if she failed. "Maybe you'll actually pose a challenge by the time I get up there," she'd said, with a grin. "At the very least, you can make a plan to get out of here while I learn one of these silly little System styles."
He hoped it wouldn't come to that.
Sharing a final look, they each moved to a separate room. Rix stripped and sat cross-legged on the floor. He called up his System display.
[Essence: 112%]
[Attempt tier-up?]
Unlike with every other threshold, they hadn't made the jump immediately upon reaching the essence requirement, so they were both well over 100% now. He knew from experience the extra essence would be rolled over once he tiered up.
This was it. He was about to take his first major step along the Martial Path. With his single-minded focus on Han, this had been somewhat overshadowed, but it was a significant milestone on his journey and deserved to be treated as such.
Drawing a deep, steadying breath, he mentally accepted the prompt. Instantly, he felt a rushing sensation beneath his skin — a vibrant, churning heat far more powerful than anything he'd experienced the previous times he'd forged. It surged through him like a storm of molten rock, leaving agony and ecstasy in tandem in its wake.
He felt the urge to try and control it, but it quickly overwhelmed any capacity for action. All he could do was fortify himself and hang on for dear life as all sense of time and space dropped away. It was just him and the torrent of power that suddenly seemed to be his whole world.
The sensation was akin to being adrift in a hurricane, desperately clinging to a lone rock for safety. Could people actually die during their tier-ups? Nobody had ever mentioned that, but in the moment, it felt like a very real possibility.
A rank-up was a tempering, an enhancement. This tier-up felt infinitely deeper, a complete rebuilding of everything that he was. He felt it tear through his entire being, stripping away layers and replacing them with something more. It moved through his bones, his muscles, his tendons, and deeper still into his mind itself and other parts he was only just starting to become aware of. Even his Mountain Gate seemed to vibrate slightly at the sheer strength of the energy coursing through him. As elements of him were scoured away, he was dimly aware of them being pushed outwards by the purifying force of his essence, though with his ordinary senses overwhelmed, he couldn't really feel what that meant.
Eventually, what felt like an aeon later, the storm inside him began to abate, and gradually, the world returned.
And with it, came the stench.
It hit his nostrils before his mind had even fully cleared, causing him to retch. It was a sharp, rotten odour, easily the rival of anything he'd smelled in his time on the street.
Opening his eyes, he spotted the source immediately. He was covered from head to toe in something slick and viscous and black. It was like he'd gone swimming in a bog. No wonder the prison made them shed their clothes.
Thankfully, there were several buckets of cold water, a bar of soap, and two heavy rags in one corner of the room. Wasting no time, he raced over and began scrubbing. Whatever the sludge was, it took some real elbow grease to remove. He went over his entire body three times, and still wasn't convinced he'd got it all, though to the naked eye, his skin looked clean.
When it felt like he could do no more, he dried himself off and redressed before calling up his System display.
Path
Tier - Spark (Low)
Class: Unfused
Weapon bond: Quarterstaff
Style: Foundational Quarterstaff Basics (Mid)
Embodiments: None
Aspects: None
Mana: 360/360
Essence: 0%
Techniques:
Wind Blade (Mid)
Force Hammer (Mid)
Sunspot (Mid)
Body
Agility - 31
Strength - 23
Vitality - 15
Mind
Acuity - 32
Mana Control - 18
Mana Capacity - 18
Soul
Authority - 0
Sovereignty - 0
Though he'd known what he'd find, the sight still caused him to break into a grin. This had been a colossal improvement. As the Quartermaster had promised, every attribute had received an 8-point boost. Given his relatively low starting totals and his lack of any foundation-building alchemical products, the impact was huge. His vitality had more than doubled, and his mana capacity and mana control weren't far behind. The former had increased his mana pool from 200 to 360, and the latter should mean his mantle would be stronger.
Even his focus stats had seen great improvement. With Han behind him, he'd returned to his initial attribute assignment for his free points, putting 4 each into acuity and agility. Stacked with the tier up bonus and both had gone up by 12 points. The stats under his 'soul' pillar still hadn't moved, but he hadn't really expected them to. From what he'd been told, they only came into play when one had acquired an aspect.
In any case, it all amounted to one simple fact: he was now significantly more dangerous in every way.
The Quartermaster looked him up and down when he emerged. "All went well, I trust?"
"Aside from the disgusting black goo? Yeah. I am officially a Spark."
She laughed. "That's the price of progress, I'm afraid. But congratulations! I told you I had a good feeling about you two."
The wait for Luna was agonising, but eventually, she emerged from her own room, an unreadable expression on her face.
Rix stared at her expectantly. "Well?"
She maintained her composure for several seconds, before eventually cracking and breaking into a grin. "Looks like you're stuck with me for a while yet."
Rix released a long breath. He hadn't realised how tense he'd been. "Just my luck," he replied, shooting her a half-smile.
"Well done, both of you," the Quartermaster said. "Your first tier-up is a significant step forward for any Martial Soul. You should both be proud of what you've achieved, especially given your less-than-ideal circumstances. I'm of the belief that hardship can build a strong foundation, so I'm looking forward to continuing to watch your progress."
She led them down to a door down the far end of the room, and through a new set of corridors. Eventually, they came out into a gargantuan open space. It looked like an enlarged version of the yard from the Farm, complete with the same gritty sand and towering stone parapets. A few prisoners turned their eyes towards the newcomers, though there weren't nearly as many people idling here as in the weaker part of the prison. It made sense. The day's dive was likely already underway, and most people in this half would be partaking.
"Welcome to the Cauldron," the Quartermaster said. She opened her mouth to say something else, but at that moment, several unfamiliar guards emerged from a nearby doorway and hurried over.
"Prisoner 503," one barked at Rix, seizing him by the shoulder. "Prisoner 502. You're both coming with us."
Anger flashed across the Quartermaster's face. "Excuse me, but what do you think—"
The guard cut her off. "Orders directly from the Warden. These two are suspected of killing another inmate in cold blood."
Something heavy and frigid settled in Rix's stomach. He felt like he was falling. This had happened too fast.
He glanced around, as though there might be some way to escape, but that was a laughable thought. The other two guards had closed in now, pinning him between the three of them.
Rix looked to Luna. The naked terror on her face mirrored his own.
The Quartermaster was the only one who seemed to still be fully in command of herself. "Where are you taking them?" she asked.
The guard's smile was cruel. "They want to soften them up a little before questioning." He paused dramatically. "They're going to solitary."