Buttopia
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Chapter 84: Forests of Illusion
🕑 Added 2025-01-16 22:59:10 +0000 UTC“Dave Imogen, please halt your planned attack and that of your linked core. We do not wish to fight or harm you, only to speak of an unusual matter that we believe you’ve become part of,” pleasantly melodically a voice called from the strange trees. I quickly sent a message to Corey.
“Done, for the moment. Why not come out where I can see you if you wish to speak, though?” I yelled back, not big on the idea of going to them.
“It’s far too bright out there. It would be better for all of us if you came in here,” the voice answered serenely.
I sighed before answering. “Fine,” I said as I walked under the trees, while a message popped up from Corey.
As I got closer to the trees, I still wasn’t entirely sure that that was what they were. Their trunks and limbs were flesh-colored, while the leaves were all jet black. Worse, some of them seemed to be dripping a blood-red sap. It wasn’t the best place to be alone.
“Thank you for joining us, Dave Imogen. Would you like to further join us for a meal before we get down to business?” the voice asked, revealing itself while it spoke. From behind one of the strange trees two, possibly humans, maybe, walked out on their hands and feet. Both of their heads were tilted up, looking toward me with a reassuring grin. The one that spoke pushed itself upward onto its feet with a series of cracks down its spine as it did so, the whole time staring directly into my eyes with that calming smile. I, uh, I wanted something? Had they said something about food? That did sound nice. Ugh, why was an annoying message bothering me? I was hungry
I closed the message and forced Corey back into my System storage. I didn’t need their potential rudeness during the meeting with nice people.
“Thank you for having me. What kind of food is there?” I asked ravenously.
“Oh, we have all the best kinds, but first, why not try some sap tea? It will help put your stomach in the correct place, Dave Imogen,” they said, pulling a small teacup from somewhere and offering it to me.
“Enough of this!” Corey yelled, having removed themselves from my storage, and before I could force their return or grab the offered teacup, smashed it. Corey was being just as rude as I had been worried they would be.
“Dammit, Corey, why?” I yelled, feeling my lip curl. Who did that core think they were? My mana channels blazed to life as I felt Corey’s imbuing orb begin to cast. Immediately, the mallet slammed into the head of the one who had done all the speaking. It disappeared in a flash, and for a second, the strange forest seemed to flicker. Wait, what was going on? Why was I under these trees?
“Dave, focus!” Corey yelled, but something was happening in my head. Everything felt thick. Wait, was that my mana flowing through my body? No, somehow, foreign mana had gotten into my system and it was blurring everything. Taking a gamble, I pushed my soul-core reaction to its limit in an attempt to churn out as much of my own mana and push it through all of my mana channels at once. I felt something briefly ignite inside myself. My body screamed in pain as it happened, but the intruding force was gone. I opened my eyes only to see Corey malleting down into another creature. How the hell had I ever considered taking anything from them? The creature vanished, and with it went the trees and strange ground, leaving in its place a much more normal, if not still a little alien forest.
“What the hell happened?” I said, sputtering half the words. My insides still hurt from whatever I had managed to do to myself, expelling the invading mana. And now my mana didn’t seem to be flowing completely right. The channels felt burnt somehow. I wasn’t sure that was quite right, either, but I didn’t know how else to describe the feeling.
“I believe the members of a squad had managed to place you under their control. I do not know exactly how or when, but as I also saw the land transform when they were removed from the match, I don’t believe that was part of their control over you,” Corey answered.
“Thanks,” I said, still feeling off. Corey had just acted on its own, against my orders, to save me from whatever was about to happen. Had they just been about to attack? It seemed different than that somehow.
“The mana linkage between us feels different, somewhat stronger than before,” Corey said. They were right. I could feel that as well.
“Yeah, it does. Something to talk about later once this is over,” I said, looking back overhead for the arrow. I was having trouble telling how much time I had wasted with those things; hopefully, it hadn’t been too long. Once I had sight of it, I resumed my run towards the goal, with Corey floating after me. Neither of us spotted anyone or anything else until the victory zone came into sight. Strangely, only Elody and Glorp were in it. No one else from our squad or any other were there.
“Dave, did you encounter a Jester?” Elody asked frantically the moment I crossed over the line into the zone.
“Was that what those were? Weird clown-like humanoids?” I asked. The name fit if they had been.
“Yes, and this is critical. Did you consume anything they offered?” She answered before asking her next question, her face grim as she looked me over.
“No, I almost did, but Corey put a stop to it and bashed them hard enough to remove them from the match. Why, how bad would it have been?” I asked, my eyebrows narrowing as my concern grew.
“I don’t know. I don’t even understand how they are here. The Jesters don’t have a planet in the Spiral or a faction as far as I know. It doesn’t make sense for them to be a creature on this level, either. I am going to need to discuss this with Mel. Everything I’ve ever read about them suggests that any deal made with them cannot be broken, and deals are tied and bound to the soul once their offerings are consumed, but I have no idea what that would mean for something like the Arena,” Elody explained, rambling slightly, it was the first time I had ever seen her so worried, almost out of her element. The feeling in the pit of my stomach told me my own anxiety was mirroring hers.
“Glorp, how did you manage to get here? No offense intended, but if Rabyn wasn’t able to, I’m a little surprised you could,” I asked, still confused by his presence.
“Well, I do have a courier class, and you know there are a few things it specializes in. Getting to a set target at a rapid speed while dodging potential obstacles, well that’s basically the main one. Since I was alone, I didn’t have to worry about stopping to fight. I just followed the arrow and was here before anyone else!” the little guy said happily. At least someone was.
“I found myself trapped in one of the jester's illusions; luckily, my mind is rathered hardened against them, but it still slowed me down while I puzzled out what exactly was happening. I was worried no one else was as lucky,” Elody said, explaining her own trip here.
Just in time to reinforce Elody’s fears and my own growing anxiety, a booming voice announced that all the other squads had been eliminated. As the hallway came back into view at the same time the experience window did, I was left wondering what that meant for the rest of our squad.
“Um, I think I just maxed my level,” Glorp said. That was also more experience than I had ever gained before, but we didn’t have time to focus on that at the moment, let alone a core fortification for Glorp. It had shot me up to level two-seventy-nine, which was past where I had maxed out at before. I would deal with the questions that the levels had caused later, as the door had just swung open, and we needed to see what had happened to the rest of our squad.
“How in the hell were there damned jesters on a floor?!” Mel shouted loudly enough that I could hear him from within the hallway. Exiting it, I spotted him arguing with several people. Surprisingly, a few shouts were added on our side every so often by Floor Master.
“We have no idea how jesters managed to hijack a squad spot. But I assure you it will never happen again,” one of the men they were screaming at was saying.
“And what does that possibly do fer us in the meantime?” Mel yelled louder.
“You need to bring their squad members out of the infirmary this moment, so they may join the next floor,” Floor Master added.
“Look, I don’t think they are ready for…,” the man started to say before Floor Master cut him off.
“Ready or not, I gave you an order. Are you really willing to disobey me?” Floor Master asked, his pedipalps aggressively shaking as he spoke.
“No sir, sorry, they will be here in a moment,” the man said, grabbing something out of his pocket and speaking into it.
“Dave, listen to me. We won’t have much time once they’re here. You and Elody need to fully scan ‘em on the next floor. Anything out of the ordinary needs to be sealed, cured, or uncursed. Whatever any of ya can do, just don’t let any of it fester. Ya hear me?” Mel yelled from across the room. Floor Master was already heading our way. It seemed time was short. I nodded back letting him know I did.
The courier class is almost never used in a combat or Arena role. Its primary function is to deliver something to a location or person as quickly or accurately as possible. Note, though, that I said almost never used. Glordjral the Tall famously used the courier class alongside his own rift wizard class to amazing effect.
Classes Volume 1 by Zolinjar
