B6 Chapter 700: The Proving, Finale (Patreon)

Craggy bark splintered under Kaius’s grip as he hauled himself up the final stretch of the jungle-giant’s trunk. He breathed deep, focusing on his own unyielding strength. It wasn’t particularly effective. Deep, aching fury still flickered in his heart.

He’d been on the trail for so long — flitting through ancient history and tearing out the roots of what Onyx work he could. All it had gotten him was a few names. Mortan. Wilting Rose. The tracker, and the man who sent him. They would have their reckoning, eventually. If the latter really was involved in the plot that they’d discovered, he’d find them in the Altier Steppe in less than a year.

But the Onyx were mercenaries and hired blades. They might have killed his father and taken Art in Motion, but they could not be behind the destruction of his house on the foreign continent.

He didn’t know who, but if his house survived, what of the other Lost Heraldries that Kanmost had mentioned? Zras, Temmerian, Domini, Cabsburg, and an unknown fifth house. Who else would have the strength and resources to annihilate a house as old as the Empire, with a full legacy to boot? 

Any House with that kind of strength would have scions and talents, the exact kind of people that would make their way into a global competition. It was a special kind of cruelty, to know that he might well face them without ever even knowing. After all, he couldn’t just announce his dynasty — they’d gone to extreme lengths to see the Untersterns dead, and he didn’t want an ancient Celestine or worse coming after him.

Kaius’s lead hand ripped straight through the bark, a spasm of frustration causing him to crumble the wood in his grip. 

“You alright?” Kenva asked from below, brushing a few shards of bark out of her hair.

“Yeah,” Kaius replied with a sigh. He felt the heat within him, then set it aside. He was angry, but he wouldn’t let it burn him.

Did it even change anything? He’d always intended to win, this was just another reason amongst many. Right now, he needed to focus on the first part — getting as many points for his team as they could manage.

Reaching the lowest branch road, he hauled himself up, his team following in short order. Porkchop came last, gouging deep grooves into the branch as he drove in his claws. 

“Where to now? Just straight in?” Ianmus asked, dusting off his robes.

Kaius pondered that for a moment. They didn’t know where they were — but there was a decent chance the System had placed them somewhere close to their initial starting point. They’d mapped a lot of ruins, something that would save them a lot of time if they could return to that section of the jungle.

He looked to Kenva. “Think you can get above the canopy and figure out where we are? It’d be good if we could get back to our old route.”

She shrugged. “If we haven’t gone too far. If we’re on the opposite side of the ring, my frame of reference will be way off.”

Vanishing into a cloud of wind, she shot upwards. Kaius waited impatiently, scanning their surroundings as he kept a constant eye out for other teams. There were a lot of beasts, and he was damned sure that some of the distant battles he could hear weren’t just over territory — but there was no one he could see.

A few minutes later, Kenva touched back down again. “Good news, we’re close…ish.” She pointed out through the jungle. “Few days that way and we should intersect with our old route. We’ll likely miss a few of the earliest ruins, but we’ll probably run into just as many on the way.”

Kaius nodded, and they set out, running along the lower levels of the canopy. The local wildlife was agitated, hunting birds screeching as they soared, and a wall of growling challenges filling the air — the presence of so many trial takers had upset the balance of this place. He intended to steer well clear of the scattered mesas that tended to house the stronger inhabitants of this place. 

The thought made him realise that they had an advantage over many of their competitors — this place was new to them, while he and his team had the benefit of weeks to grow used to moving through its reaches.

“I assume we’re going to be trying for this Blushing Heart, then?” Porkchop asked as they moved.

“Of course!” Kaius replied. He wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity to double their points, regardless of the dangers that waited. Besides, the System had a tendency to pair risk with reward.

“We’ll have to be cautious, whatever we do,” Ianmus said, maintaining a long, steady gait that set the pace for the rest of their group. “We have to be wary of any hidden powers who have been lurking, as well as the elites of the elves and dwarves. Maybe even the individual who progressed the Integration, should they be from Vaastivar — though that seems unlikely, given what they achieved.”

Kenva grunted her agreement. “We have a lot of advantages, but we’ve only just pressed into Gold. Even ignoring anomalies, it’s possible that some elites at the end of the tier might be a serious challenge.”

Kaius considered it. At some point, it had become almost easy to see themselves as close to unbeatable — as long as they were within a hundred levels of someone, at least. That said, they were facing off against half of Vaastivar — and they were guaranteed to face those who were talented enough to take the first steps onto the Path themselves. Even those without the Path might have still been given the option to be transported. 

They would need to be cautious, especially in any trials that encouraged direct competition, and especially against multiple groups working together. The idea of directly battling other delvers made him pause, and he thought of the wording of the notification they had received.

The System had specifically mentioned that Chips of a lower rank were worth no points — but why would it do that, if you couldn’t even enter trials of a lower rank in the first place?

Unless there was some other method to gather them.

Kaius hissed, drawing the attention of his team.

“We need to be ready for conflict outside of the trials — I think you might be able to take Chips from others by force.”

Porkchop let out a rumble. “Let them try. We can make use of Chips that others so helpfully donate to our cause.”

The steel in his brother’s words made his blood flow hot. That was true, wasn’t it? Even if there were other elites, they were a cut from a different cloth from most. With the System setting barriers in place to stop higher ranks running roughshod over others, they would only be facing Golds. Even if some could match them, there was no guarantee they would be in the same region of the jungle, or would even act like bandits in the first place.

To his surprise, Kenva let out a displeased groan. Kaius looked back, and saw the woman looking troubled. She met his eye and winced.

“I don’t much like saying this, but what about us?”

“What about us?” Ianmus questioned.

“Us…getting others’ Chips. From them. By force,” she forced the words out, clearly unhappy at the prospect.

Kaius glanced back at her in shock. She just sighed.

“We are some of the few who even know how vital it is to finish the Integration as quickly and completely as possible, and we’re the best positioned to actually do something about it. Things are only going to get worse, and what we saw in those ruins left a bad feeling. If these points can be used to empower us before a global competition, or help ensure our long-term success… I don't know. I don’t like it, but I think we need to at least discuss it.”

Kaius’s soul flared in instant, instinctive rejection of the thought of mugging people. Deep within his soul, the Warrior’s Pride of his Animus found the simple thought of it reprehensible and beneath him.

Then, he hesitated as a flash of his trial of embodiment raced through his mind. An image of Porkchop lying bleeding and broken, because he refused to take what was not his at a cost to no one. The Truth of that pillar had not come in isolation — he knew well the potential cost of rejecting pragmatism out of hand.

Kenva was right. He didn’t like it, but they had to at least consider it. What if the world faced future threats that required power they could have had, if he’d just had the steel to do what was needed now?

“Fuck,” Kaius sighed, staring deep into the jungle as he kept his running pace steady.

“I don’t see the harm. It’s not very pretty, but it’s for a purpose, and it’s not like we have to actively slaughter people. They can always try again, the System said so. Hells, we could even tell them why, and challenge them to a wagered duel or something.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it will go down like spring mead when we start strong-arming people into ‘duels’,” Kaius grumbled.

“This is a gods’ damned terrible idea, even on pragmatics alone,” Ianmus cut in, his voice firm.

Kaius looked back at his friend with an expression that approached desperate relief. Ianmus rolled his eyes.

“Use your brains, please. This is going to be a mash of just about every influential power on the continent. Yes, people will come to blows, and yes, there will be a lot of murk in the water  — but we don’t want to ruin our reputation by resorting to what amounts to outright banditry, no matter the cause. I have my doubts that this Integration will be something we can solve solely on our own.”

“You really think it will matter that much? We’re making a bit of a name for ourselves, but it’s not like we’re famous across the continent. Barely anyone knows who we are.”

“For now,” Ianmus replied. “Even then, people are starting to notice us. We have the ears of a Greenseed Duke, for heavens’ sake! That will continue to grow in step with our power. Headmaster’s beard, this very Proving might be the start of true fame, if the results of this global challenge are spread, and we place highly in it. Everyone is going to be paying attention, and we don’t need our names tied to ruthless marauding. Better we be known for being fair in our dealings.”

“We can’t exactly let others just walk all over us, either,” Kenva pointed out — though Kaius could tell she was just as happy to be talked out of the idea as he was.

“No, we cannot,” Ianmus replied. “Best, I think, to be known to be unyielding to those who move against us, but honourable to all others. If we compete against other teams, we crush them, but act with restraint if they’re just trying to win. That means avoiding maiming and killing. Unless they cross that line first, of course.”

Kaius nodded along — his friend’s point was more than reasonable to him. Thank the bloody gods. He might have been willing to do what was necessary to see the integration through, but he would far rather win by simply being better than the rest.

Mere seconds later, Kenva stopped, kicking up a spray of bark as she dug her heels in. Kaius had his blade drawn in a flash, kicking back to land beside her as Porkchop covered their mage with his Bulk. 

Yet, his friend didn’t draw an arrow like she would have for a threat. Instead, her hand flashed to a belt pouch — pulling free one of the locating sticks that Helena had given them.

“Nast just activated his beacon,” she said grimly.

“How far?”

“Too far. Days, at least.” 

Kaius hissed in frustration, gripping his blade. He hadn’t known the team for very long, but he’d liked them! Hells, Bev was from the edge of the Sea like he was — that practically made him a distant cousin, in his book. 

When Kenva suddenly relaxed, Kaius gave her a questioning look. 

“Helena just activated hers,” she explained. “They’re close, could be as short as a few leagues. It’s hard to tell at this distance.”

“Maybe they were working together before the Proving started?” Ianmus guessed. “If the system’s teleportation wasn’t random, they could have been put close together, and it would explain them activating their beacons.”

Kaius certainly hoped so. Both of the teams were good, but they weren’t as good as him and his. They’d be far safer crossing through the jungle together, even if they did have to separate for their individual Trials.

Sheathing his blade, he nodded down the branch ahead. “Let’s keep moving. The sooner we can find a ruin, the better — this is going to be as much a race as anything else.”