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Chapter 173: Games (6)
🕑 Added 2025-03-27 00:44:46 +0000 UTCWorld: MSS - Loading...
***
I groaned, the hopes that no one had seen the wreckage of that interaction. Plenty of people had seen it, of course. But most of them either chose to ignore it or didn’t care. Right now, Jared was center-stage. He was taking off the bartender vest, putting on a garment that could only be described as kingly. The asshole didn’t glance at me once.
“Lock!”
Kyrian knelt down, checking me over for wounds. I waved him off.
“I’m fine.”
“I saw the whole thing.” Kyrian helped me to my feet. He said in a harsh whisper, “What happened?”
“I don’t know.” It was the truth. The details of that exchange still weren’t clear. Hell, I wasn’t even exactly sure what part of that conversation was true, false or just pleasantries. “All I know is that you Turinans suck at throwing parties.”
The young mage gazed at the broken countertops. “One would argue otherwise.”
I gave him a flat look, meant to stop him from talking. He shrugged, the beginning of a smile creasing his lips. “It’s not a party without someone getting beat by the host.”
“Were you always like this?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Easy going?”
“Perhaps Skaris is rubbing off on me.”
I looked at the lizard beastman. He had been in the middle of getting up. I shook my head and he carefully sat down, much to the delight of the women around him.
Kyrian walked me towards the back, drawing quite a bit of looks from the younger women all around us. Humans and elves, mostly. They all blushed when Kyrian smiled and tipped his head to them. He spoke so that only I could hear, “So, what did the War Prince want?”
Why the hell was it that Kyrian and Skaris had all the luck with women?
Just what the hell was my hidden [Charm] stat at?
“I don’t know. I still have no idea what just happened there.” Shaking my head threw bits of glass everywhere, much to Kyrian’s chagrin. “One moment, we were talking and the next, he threw me into the bar.”
“Jared Akka Xalud wouldn’t do that without reason. He most likely wanted a moment to talk with you alone.”
“He could’ve done that without whatever the hell that was.” Now that the initial confusion was wearing off, I was starting to grow angry.
Kyran noticed. “Lock, stay calm. You have to.” His eyes shifted left and right, “There has to be a reason to the War Prince, going so far as to dress as a waiter to talk to you. Turinans of his social standing don’t do things like that for a reason. It’s all one big game and behind the rules and the plays are the intentions of the players.”
“I want to leave.” In actuality, I wanted to storm up to Jared Akka Xalud right there and then.
“There’s one thing you learned though, isn’t there?” Kyrian asked.
I swallowed, not wanting to answer.
Jared Akka Xalud was stronger than me. Even in that small scuffle, replaying it back, it’d been like an adult throwing his weight around against a baby.
I couldn’t move a muscle when he grabbed me. He was fast too, fast enough to throw me around before I could counter it. Fast enough to notice when I was trying something and counter it with a move of his own. And that was only with one arm.
Someone might focus on the fact that Jared Akka Xalud only has one-arm. But for me, who's seen the end of what this world has to offer, I knew the truth.
‘At this point in the world, with his power, a single arm is enough.’
There wasn’t an exact power-estimate of when you got to late-game in MSS. It’s a huge range. But there are Cores that favor people with only one-arm. Of course, it comes with its own disadvantages –which your party members will have to work to cover. Against adventurers with four or five Cores, a higher ranked adventurer would have no problem defeating them with only one arm.
“He’s fast. Strong too.” I stated the obvious, Jared Akka Xalud probably had a Knight-build similar to mine. A Blader build, meant to dish out DPS with some ways to increase survivability. “...Probably one of the most balanced Core builds we’ve encountered.”
“How much?” Kyrian asked.
“...I can’t tell.” I answered, “There’s not enough information.” Until I saw his abilities, there were hundreds of Cores he could have absorbed. I also didn’t know what level he was, which meant there was no way of knowing how many Cores he had.
“He doesn’t use poison.”
I raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”
“Rumors.” Kyrian led me to a table. “People who saw his duel in Turina.”
“What’s this duel I keep hearing about?”
“Not sure either. It was years ago, and I was still in the Mage Towers. After that, I joined up with the Akka Xalud Corps and it was a taboo topic. Not that it was a topic I was interested in.” Kyrian handed me a glass of water. “But War Prince Jared was a rarity among the Akka Xalud Scions, not utilizing poison.”
I drank the water, feeling the coldness spread from my throat, chest and settle down in my lower stomach. “Either way, I don’t want to get involved with him anymore than possible. We should focus on getting what we can from the Trader’s League and leaving for Claw’s Nest.”
“Agreed.”
Frowning, I looked around. “Weren’t you with Stole?”
“I lost her.”
“I…” I shook my head. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“It’s your fault for leaving her with me.” He said solemnly without an ounce of guilt. “A Mage trying to keep track of a Wayfinder?”
“She doesn’t even have that many stealth Cores yet.” I countered.
“I’m not going to cast a spell in the middle of a party, let alone in an Akka Xalud castle, just to find Stole. She can take care of herself.” Kyrian looked around, his gaze settling on one of the windows. “I was against her joining up. But you were right. She has talent.”
That piqued my interest. “What makes you say that?”
“I’ve seen some of the best wayfinders humans have to offer. But as you know, humans never make the best Wayfinders or Pioneers. Orcs and Beastman are. I’ve seen my share of Beastman Wayfinders before being inducted into Jason Akka Xalud’s party.” Kyrian nodded, mostly to himself. “She barely has a Core to her name, and already, she’s a better scout than any of them.”
I thought back to the times that Stole proved herself on the boat. “Yeah. Reckon it’ll be hard to get the drop on her.” I sighed, turning to a different matter. “So, do you have some information?”
“Yeah, the Trader’s League is in a state of political warfare.”
“Shit.” I cursed, “That’s what I heard too.”
Kyrian waved a hand, making sure that only we could understand each other. He tried to explain it to me once, that it had to do with manipulating the air, so that my words could only be descrambled his ears and vice versa. Personally, I like to call it Team Voice Chat. After Kyrian cast [Team Voice Chat], I shared with him what Bright-Ear told me.
“So, Zimmskar isn’t interested in the Trader’s League.” Kyrian commented after my piece, “That’s along the lines of what I heard as well.”
“But that’s all I heard.”
“Let me fill in the missing pieces then,” Kyrian began, “There are two main factions in the Free Trader’s League. One could be called the Traditionalists. They’re the descendants of those who settled down in the Free Trader’s League long ago, building up their wealth over generations.”
“The other side is more liberal. Their roots are somewhat… roguish.”
“...Roguish?”
“Freed Slaves. Former Pirates.”
“Ah.”
“They weren’t even a real power until a few years ago. But apparently, one of the liberal traders managed to open up a trade route with the Bada Horde to the North.”
“With the orcs?”
“Yes.” Kyrian confirmed. “That opened up the floodgates, so to speak. Through aggressive trade, they’ve managed to gather power and influence, enough to rival the Traditionalists.”
“Interesting. So I’m assuming the Traditionalists want to open up more relations with Turina while the Liberals want to remain free?”
“No, Lock. It’s the opposite.”
“Huh?”
“The Traditionalists are mostly human and elves. They are descendants of people who escaped the tyranny of Turina. They are in no rush to ally themselves with the empire that their ancestors ran from. Anti-Turinan sentiments run strong among the older families here in the Free Trader’s League.”
“Huh. That’s funny.” Then it struck me. “Wait… you mean?...”
“The Liberals are Beastman and Dwarves and Orcs. They’re the ones who want to open up more relations with Turina.” Kyrian broke the news, eyes darting to make sure no one was listening in. Despite the [Team Voice Chat] spell, I guess it’s become a habit of ours to be nervous regardless.
“That… makes no sense.” I tapped my glass against the table, thinking. How did that make sense? Why would Beastman and Dwarves and Orcs want to ally with Turina? “But they’re the ones trading with Orcs. Why would they want to trade with…”
My mouth fell open.
Kyrian looked like he had bit into a bug. “It’s exactly what you’re thinking. They deal in Slavery.”
The moment he said that, things kind of lined up and fell into place. A moment of clarity in MSS so clear that I knew this would be the moment that I remember as getting a grasp on international conflicts on this scale.
The history of MSS is rooted in Racism and War.
And Slavery was one of the bigger pens to write it with.
“What else would former Slaves do, Lock?” Kyrian spat, “Think about it. These guys, no doubt some of them are from the Samak Horde after its downfall; or former Battle Slaves who managed to free themselves. What could they do to make a living?”
“Fight. Become an adventurer.”
“You’re one of the rare few who chose that route, Lock. Most of them die within the first month, Lock. Slaves who’ve been force-fed Cores for battle… the lucky ones make it to become adventurers. Maybe make a name for themselves in the Jayu colosseum.” Kyrian shook his head. “But the rest of them? They go right back to being Slaves. Or maybe become a Bandit, or Pirate. Mercenaries. How could Slaves who’ve been taught to fight know anything but the life of their captors?”
“So let me get this straight.” I felt sick while saying it, “You’re telling me, that former Slaves have banded together to find a pirate or bandit company. They capture their own kind, Dwarves, Beastman and Orcs, and have been selling them to the Bada Horde. Now, to make more money, they want to normalize relations with the Turina Empire? To expand that Slave Market?”
“Even since the downfall of the Samak Horde, the Slave Market has been in turmoil. It left a power vaccuum. Jason Akka Xalud has been trying to get the Slave Trade back up and running, but it’s been hard. We weren’t the only survivors of that night, Lock. Just one of the few. Others became wandering bandits, prowling the desert. As a result, Jason Akka Xalud has not been too successful in reclaiming Samak Horde’s share of thet market.”
“And,” I said, continuing from where Kyrian left off. “Those same slaves, some of them got the bright idea to jump into the Slave Game themselves.” I shook my head. “That’s…”
“It’s sick.” Kyrian whispered.
I didn’t expect that from Kyrian.
“People shouldn’t treat others like that.” Kyrian spat, his hand trembling. “I’ve done a lot of sick things under the Akka Xalud corps. I thought that was all there was to the world. But after traveling with you and Skaris… the things I’ve seen…” Kyrian bit his lip. “How can you do to someone else what you’ve gone through yourself? Inflicting the same pain that you’ve felt once?”
“Kyrian…”
“Rumor is that they’re particular about who they kidnap too.” The handsome mage looked down into his hands, speaking all quiet like. “Young women. Children. Maids. Farmers. People that no one would miss.”
He was thinking about his mother.
Kyrian is the more level-headed one of our group. Hell, he’d been the one to warn me about sticking our neck out for the Dwarves. He was always the one who advised me from the side, carefully weighing the consequences of my actions.
So it was rare to see Kyrian speak his mind like this. This rare show of emotion, it wasn’t like him.
And I think it was at this moment that I realized Kyrian had changed too. A lot.
Just like Skaris had changed from the beginning of all this, Kyrian had his own episodes to share. From living in that garbage dump with orcs, to being reprimanded by Dwarves at every turn…
I can’t say who Kyrian had been before we met, or who he was when we met.
But I can say this. The mage in front of me wasn’t the same mage as before.
I had to be careful about how I handled this.
As a party leader, do I let this fire burn and grow bigger or put a stop to it? Kyrian was the Mage of our party. The single most important role. There’s a reason why I can afford not to have a healer; and that was because we had Kyrian. A Mage is just that pivotal to the functions of an adventurer party.
“...Is there something you want to do?” I asked at last.
Kyrian startled, looking surprised. “What do you mean?”
“Uh, I mean,” It was my turn to shrug. “I’m just asking… if you want to… help them… I guess.”
“We already are.”
“How?”
“Didn’t you agree to help smuggle what Slaves we can out of the Free Trader’s League?”
“I did. But that doesn’t put a stop to them going to find more Slaves.”
“I think that’s too big of a task for one man, don’t you think?” Kyrian gave me a smile, somewhat sad and somewhat wistful. Underneath the mysterious mage cloak, he hid that burning passion so that I couldn’t tell if it had been something real or just a momentary outburst of emotion. “Besides, now’s not the time to focus on that.”
“Right.” If this was what Kyrian wanted, I was more than happy to support it. And he was right, there were more pressing concerns. “We need to talk to the others about the auction.”
“I’ll go get the others.”
Watching Kyrian walking away, I had a rare thought.
I wondered how my mom and dad were doing.
I missed them.
Comments
rickeyyy rick
I love the growth AND DAM I NEED TO READ MORE T-T
Nathan Tran
Tyftc
