The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 114 - Sparring Match (Patreon)

Piper watched the other matches with interest as she waited for her turn to fight Zenos. First up were two aspirants with silver badges. A woman wielding a spear and shield quickly fell against a much larger man brandishing a two-handed hammer. While size could be deceiving with classes and attributes, fighting anyone the size of a bear usually ended badly for a person.

The next match was between Ophelia and Nikandros. She immediately sensed the flow of celestial energy as her friend activated a skill. At first, she’d been worried that others at the villa would sense it as well. But for some reason, even the high-level adventurers hadn’t taken note of Ophelia using her skills.

Maybe as a demoness she was just more sensitive to celestial energy. After all, they were supposed to be her ancient enemies. A demon should probably know when a celestial caster or angel were skulking around.

She watched as Ophelia plowed forward, ignoring the strikes from Nikandros’ claw weapons. The young man’s face twisted with shock as his initial blows deflected harmlessly away.

Before he could change his strategy, Ophelia struck him on the head with the flat of her sword. The blow staggered him, and a follow-up punch made him sag to the ground. Two servants rushed forward and carried him away from the courtyard. They would bring him to see the healer to have his wounds tended.

Ophelia let out a whoop and spun around with a grin plastered on her face. For someone who was barely above level 1, she was shockingly powerful. However, that was mainly thanks to her skill that converted any damage she took into strength. The more a person hit her, the more dangerous she became.

As Piper watched the next fight, she mulled over her options. This wasn’t a battle against crazy nuns holding her friend hostage, so she wasn’t about to use her entire spell arsenal. Still, she could cast a few illusions to swing the odds in her favor.

To start with, she used [Shifting Veil] on herself. She carefully wove the spell to hide her real arm holding the mace and created a duplicate that she could move independently. There would be no way to counter her attacks because her opponent wouldn’t be able to see them.

“Piper!” Asterion called out. “Zenos! You’re up next. So get ready.”

Piper shook out her limbs, watching as two other aspirants stepped forward. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of facing Zenos. Since leaving Kalmyros, she’d only done some good nature sparring, which she’d mostly lost through holding back. The man standing across from her was the first person to want to hurt her in a very long time.

Kill him, a raspy voice whispered in her mind. Feast on his still-beating heart.

“Nope,” she murmured under her breath. “I’m not doing that.”

The strange voice urging her to commit atrocities still occasionally popped up in her mind. But over the past year it had grown far easier to ignore. She suspected it was because she’d finally found some peace living at this villa in the mountains. Not since her time on Ethel’s farm had she felt this centered.

Or maybe it’s trying to lull me into a false sense of security.

Regardless, she wouldn’t grow complacent with the voice. Any time she felt even the tiniest tentacle of control trying to worm its way into her mind, she pushed back fiercely. Until she could return to the Infernal Realm and talk to Astaroth or Malkazar, she wouldn’t know how to deal with the strange presence lurking in the depths of her consciousness.

Wanting to keep her mind occupied until her fight, she pulled up her character sheet to go over the information. She didn’t have any points to allocate, but she just wanted to remind herself of everything available.

Piper Ashcroft

Race: Shadeling, Level 85

Class: Deceiver (Epic), Level 85

Class: Shadowflame Temptress (Legendary), Level 24

Attributes

Strength – 185

Dexterity – 130

Stamina - 60

Vitality – 100

Perception – 100

Swiftness - 98

Magic - 400

Mana - 3250

Mana Regeneration – 2250

Free Attribute Points - 0

Racial Skills (7/10)

·         Demonic Blood, Level 46

·         Demonic Fury, Level 3

·         Demonic Intellect, Level 16

·         Infernal Resistance, Level 12

·         Quick Claw, Level 35

·         Subjugator, Level 15

·         Tail Strike, Level 36

Skills (10/10)

·         Ambush Detection, Level 10

·         Animal Caretaker, Level 38

·         Archery, Level 34

·         Cooking, Level 15

·         Enduring Casting, Level 21

·         Identify, Level 20

·         Hunting, Level 21

·         Running, Level 30

·         Hammer Wielding, Level 6

·         Subterfuge, Level 39

Deceiver Spells (7/10)

·         False Face, Level 37

·         Phantom Flesh, Level 21

·         Truth Shroud, Level 35

·         Shifting Veil, Level 22

·         Shroud of the Damned, Level 11

·         Umbral Terror, Level 11

·         Wraithskin, Level 21

Shadowflame Temptress Spells (3/10)

·         Misery Crown, Level 4

·         Pit Chains, Level 17

·         Void Silence, Level 9

As Piper glanced over her stats for the first time in what felt like forever, she was still amazed at how many levels she’d received during the battle at the Dawn Citadel. She’d seen huge bumps in her class levels, racial skills and spell levels.

Her [Infernal Chains] in particular had seen a huge boost, but then again, she had trapped over twenty nuns in the hellish restraints.

She noted her new skill [Shroud of the Damned] was also rising steadily. But that was mainly because she had to keep it continually active on Ophelia. The spell hid her friend’s celestial class from prying eyes, not that she suspected many people would be rude enough to use [Identify] at the villa.

Regardless, it was better safe than sorry. The last thing they needed was another inquisitor on their trail. The last one had been hard enough to deal with, and she’d only managed to scrape out a victory by having her dreadhulk demon swallow the woman whole.

I really hope that Elissa is having a terrible time in the Infernal Realm.

Piper had been told by Malkazar that dreadhulks digested their prey for thousands of years. While she normally didn’t wish suffering on anyone, she believed that the inquisitor deserved to be punished after all the innocents she’d killed.

Continuing down her character sheet, Piper was surprised to see the number of levels she’d gained in [Animal Caretaking] just from helping at the farm. Sometimes, she felt a little annoyed at how easily a person could raise a non-combat skill.

Meanwhile, the Holy System only seemed to grant new levels for spells and racial skills when she was on the verge of being eaten by a demon.

Shaking her head to dispel the memories of the Infernal Realm that suddenly bubbled up, she realized the fight had finished. A young girl lay on her back, shouting that she yielded as an older boy raised his sword.

Asterion stepped in quickly to end the fight, and a fresh pair of servants carried off the injured girl. The healer was going to have her work cut out for her today. More than a few broken bones and stab wounds were heading the woman’s way.

Piper quickly closed her character sheet and lifted her mace. With butterflies dancing in her stomach, she stepped forward. Zenos did the same and faced her with a silly grin.

She sized up her opponent as she waited for the signal to begin. He stood taller than most men at the compound, though his body was lanky rather than the musclebound look so common among adventurers. He wore his dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, which made his narrow face look even more severe.

From the other aspirants, she’d heard he possessed a class from the Air Realm, though she hadn’t seen him cast any spells yet. Another girl had mentioned he utilized sound waves in his attacks. Beyond that, she only knew that he was skilled in the use of the war hammer he refused to put down. He even carried his weapon with him when he ate or went to the communal baths.

Asterion stepped between them, and after a second, he dropped his hand to signal the start of the fight. He immediately moved back to give them space.

Before she could react, a sonic boom detonated in front of her face. The force of the blast sent her lurching to the side, her ears ringing as the world tilted. She struggled to find her footing, dizziness flooding her mind, while Zenos stood unmoving.

Then the young man almost seemed to blur before appearing right in front of her. Only her [Ambush Detection] allowed her to avoid the descending war hammer. The head of the weapon struck the hard-packed earth and pelted her with clods of soil.

Dodging to the side, she narrowly missed the follow-up attack. She backpedaled away, desperately trying to put some distance between herself and Zenos. She hadn’t taken the fight seriously, and now she was in trouble.

The young man cast another high-pitched spell, making the air ripple around her illusory mace. When nothing happened, he frowned and cocked his head to the side. He then resumed his advance.

Piper cast [Shifting Veil] in front of him to create an illusion of a massive rattlesnake. After the viper had taken shape, she used [Phantom Flesh] to give it form. Hopefully, this would make her pursuer pause so she could launch a counterattack.

Zenos shook his head and pointed his weapon at the snake. “Nice illusion, but you’re not going to fool me.”

Piper smiled sweetly as he tried to walk straight through the viper. But when his foot struck its thick body, his gaze widened almost imperceptibly. Too late, he realized his mistake. The snake coiled up before striking; its teeth sank deep into the flesh of his thigh.

“What in the name of the Abyss?” he cried out, trying to shake it off.

“No heretical talk!” Asterion shouted, crossing his broad arms. “This isn’t some tavern brawl.”

Zenos barely seemed to register the man’s comment as he swung his war hammer down and smashed the viper off. He then charged toward Piper with his weapon held high.

While the blow would have crushed the spine of a normal snake, the illusion was bolstered by her Magic attribute of 400. Her spell could endure attacks from some of the highest-level adventurers in the province. A blow from an aspirant’s war hammer was like a love-tap for it.

Piper ordered the snake to slither after Zenos, and it launched itself at him from behind. This time, its mouth latched onto his butt. A ripple of laughter went up from the other aspirants as he desperately tried to rip it free with one hand.

She decided it was time to put him out of his misery. Striding forward, she raised her mace, while placing the illusory version of her arm in a slightly forward position. When she swung her weapon, Zenos tried to deflect the blow, but his war hammer passed straight through the illusion. A moment later, her hidden mace smashed into the center of his chest.

At the last second, she’d pulled back slightly, ensuring her weapon only had enough force to knock him out of the fight. But as the young man spun around in the air and crashed into a pair of nearby aspirants, she realized that she’d hit him way too hard.

The sight of the snake still latched onto his rear end made her hastily cancel the spell. As she did, the snake broke apart into shards of light before disappearing.

Her worries of overdoing it eased slightly when she heard Zenos groan from the pile of bodies. But she grimaced when she saw the injuries the collision had inflicted on the other aspirants. A young man’s leg was now bent in the wrong direction, and a girl was cradling a clearly broken forearm.

Alright, I really overdid that, she thought to herself as she blushed. I’m never hitting anyone that hard again.

 Almost immediately, a gaggle of servants appeared to disentangle the bodies. Two of them carried away the unconscious form of Zenos, while another helped the woman limp toward the infirmary.

“Well done,” Asterion said, clapping his hands together. “Miracles from the Emperor do occur. I honestly didn’t think you had it in you to win a fight. Never mind taking out your opponent, along with another pair of aspirants as well.”

“I didn’t mean to do that,” she said, her blush deepening. “It was an accident.”

“Regardless, I see your potential now. When I let you use your magic, you’re a force to be reckoned with. I’ll recommend that you lead your group tomorrow. And that snake was pure genius. It’s rare to possess a spell that makes your opponent think an illusion is real.”

Pressing her lips together, she hoped she hadn’t hurt Zenos too badly. In hindsight, she probably should have aimed for his arm or leg. Next time, she’d have to be way more careful.

But at least she’d finally won a sparring match. Not that she’d received anything for her victory, other than a chance to stand in Basil’s shoes for once. She silently prayed that she would do a better job than him when the time came for her to lead.

At the very least, she wouldn’t hurl her group into deadly situations over and over again, with no care for their safety. So, that should be an improvement at least.

As Asterion motioned for the next pair of aspirants to step forward, Piper returned to the edge of the circle to stand beside Ophelia. A slap on the back nearly sent her sprawling forward onto the dusty ground. Steadying herself, she turned to glare at Ophelia. “What was that for?”

“That was for winning!” Ophelia cried out, a broad grin spreading across her face. “I knew the brave girl who saved me from the vampires was still in there somewhere.”

Piper’s brow rose in alarm at the mention of vampires. But when she scanned the other assembled aspirants, they were all focused on the ongoing fight.

Anyway, it wasn’t like they were in the Bloodveil Empire anymore. She doubted anyone would care—or would believe—that she had taken on vampires in the past. After all, she was only a lowly aspirant, though at least she appeared to have an uncommon class now.

When the final fight had finished—with one aspirant lying on her back, and the other roaring excitedly while thrusting his axe into the air—Asterion returned to the middle of the courtyard. He raised his hands for quiet as servants carted off the bloodied woman.

“Take the rest of the day for yourselves,” he said, a somber note in his voice. “There’s a reason aspirants are called gravebait. Know that we will do everything in our power to keep you safe. Nevertheless, what some of you will face over the coming weeks will be exceedingly dangerous. If you wish to write any letters to loved ones, do it now. We’ll have couriers bring them to Kalmyros tomorrow.”

Piper glanced around the loose ring of aspirants. The mood had swiftly transformed from almost festive to muted. Everyone enjoyed watching a good fight in the Arissian Empire, but Asterion had just reminded them all of their own mortality. There wasn’t a single person out there who hadn’t heard the stories of aspirants dying like flies.

Her resolve hardened as she thought about traveling to Helidros tomorrow. She’d learned painful lessons from losing her friends to the rot mage in the sewer. And she would make sure to never repeat those mistakes again. No matter what, she wasn’t going to lose a single person from her group.