AA. 190

The architecture in the long-fallen city continued to resemble ancient Indian stonework. Nil also observed Sumatran influences. He didn't know history well enough to make guesses about time periods, but he had watched Apocalypse Now, Temple of Doom, and old Bollywood films. Udit would often put them on for family movie nights before Nil moved out. He didn’t enjoy the melodramatic storytelling, but Emily's attempts at replicating the cheesy singing and dancing never failed to amuse him.

As Nil approached the battleground and scanned his surroundings, he felt more thankful for Anti-Friction Lattice. Accelerating after stops or changing directions occasionally proved annoying. His feet sunk into the loose powder, costing him valuable seconds. Launching off walls helped compensate and also helped keep extremities warm. Nil occasionally released Expend blasts through his metal-coated feet. Galvanized ensured he didn’t suffer burns but didn't eliminate the heat altogether. It lingered for several seconds, keeping the cold away. The ability seemed to turn the material into an insulator, preventing heat and electric conduction.

I hate the cold.

As Nil scanned his surroundings, he wondered what new ability Silver Ascension would bring him.. Cultivation and Watcher’s fundamentals gave him more than enough offense. Thanks to Brutal Battery and the Source’s flexibility, his only limitation was skill and imagination. He was close to converting Chaos into genuine electricity. Order had a freezing effect. Then, he had the destructive power of his spheres and spikes. If he ever mastered the techniques listed in Master Seer’s scroll, Nil doubted little would survive a direct confrontation.

Between Absorb, Galvanized, Order barriers, Shiver Shield, supercharging toughness, and psychic fortitude, Nil’s defense felt adequate. Beyond learning new Source techniques and practicing what he already knew, he couldn’t think of how else to improve on them. The same went for mobility. 

Almost every Bronze Realm summoned he knew seemed to have a passive ability or two and didn’t rely on as much micromanagement as Nil. He hoped the next ability wouldn’t come with more concentration demands. The only active abilities that felt desirable were something that helped resist the cold or provided more healing than Meatball’s Regenerate. He’d also consider something game-changing like Anti-Friction Lattice.

Cultivators didn’t have power seeds and never used Schema Tokens. Instead, they sought to fundamentally change their physiologies, adapting them to their preferred combat techniques. Someone who wielded the elements or violent energies needed the power to survive, if not resist them, after all. Many also worked to cover their significant weaknesses, much like how Selia had sharpened her senses and developed the arcane echolocation. Her Schema passive improved her flexibility and reflexes, further improving her return from Finesse. 

Nil hoped for something similar. Improved motor skills and reflexes would make up for his martial shortcomings and also push his speed further. Balance and control were the only things currently limiting how fast he could go and strike. Despite supercharged toughness and Galvanized, he still felt vulnerable when using Chaos weapons. More speed would help him stay in attack mode for longer and provide greater security.

I need to be better than Adrian ‘Wildshape’ Wilson.

The words had become Nil’s mantra. Emily was a Summoned, and Sam had started his journey toward becoming a cultivator. However, Udit was still a civilian. If it were up to Adrian, anyone not handpicked by the Schema was lesser than and deserved to live as a second-class citizen. Once the man ascended to platinum, Nil worried that he’d have the necessary power, influence, and backing to do as he pleased. There wouldn’t be many people around to stop him.

Nil needed to get strong enough to stand up to the Wilsons’ incredible physical, technological, and economic strength. The Nexus’s backing and Forge gave him some hope but until he reached Silver or unlocked some incredible abilities, there would be no peace or progress for his world.

Now that he knew that Adrian was also a cultivator—or so Energy Instinct told him—Nil understood how big a threat the man and his people could be. The inability to access the Forge’s magic meant he could only welcome new energy into his system while on quests or in the arena. The Nexus detected no  energy sources powerful enough on Earth that could benefit someone of Adrian’s realm. Otherwise, there was always the chance of his cultivation techniques helping him break through boundaries and ascend without needing Ascension Tokens. Apparently, it was the only thing holding Adrian back.

The man didn’t risk Death Gauntlet but had attempted several Gauntlet of Ten runs. Winning ten consecutive matches didn’t just make someone eligible for the next gauntlet but also earned them an ascension token. The multiversal competition was just that harsh.

“I see an opening,” Zora said. Nil sensed her magic building a couple of hundred meters away. “We’re going to initiate. Do you see anyone or anything else nearby?”

“Nothing on my end,” Selia answered. The couple had sprinted in opposite directions after closing in on the battle and followed a semicircular path around it. They planned on meeting in the middle before dashing in together. “There are a few smaller things lingering around, but they look more like scavengers waiting to feast on the corpses. But nothing concerning.”

“I don’t sense anything worth mentioning either,” Nil answered. “There are a few lingering scuttlers, probably hoping to grow and evolve after feasting. There are a couple of Cursed Beasts as well, but I’m detecting a separate energy signature attached to them.”

“We see some of that over here too,” Shawn said. “It's some sort of body-snatching Void parasite. They’ve taken over a couple of Cursed Ones and are either trying to slaughter and consume or infect the others.”

“Hit hard, get the points, move on,” Zora told the team. “We’re awfully close to the gate. The gate teleported us before entering the rest area. That means there will be more than just one team entering the sector the same way as us.”

It went without saying. They couldn’t afford to stick around. 

The duo met after covering half the perimeter each and then dashed in together. Nil went high, dashing and leaping off crumbling rooftops, while Selia stayed close to the ground, speed-phasing through consecutive walls. From above, it almost looked like she was flying. Between her pale skin and dislike of tans, the woman suited the title of Specter well. If Selia added a veil to her outfit, she’d look like a scorned spirit out for vengeance. Any horror film that cast her would save millions on their special effects budget.

The case was the same for most Summoned who went into cinema and television. Their abilities added realism that digital artists struggled to replicate. Apparently, a handful had contacted Bunty to gauge Nil's interest in such fields following the Chase and even more after the Hunt. He had no interest in such endeavors and the time commitment involved. Appearing in marketing campaigns was the most Nil was willing to do, and the hours they consumed were already too much and they always demanded more..

Zora attacked from elevation, raining weapons from high above. They flew much faster than Nil could throw Meatball. Spirals and additional magical abilities significantly added to their power. Dashing into the battlefield was like weaving through artillery fire. He wielded a pair of twenty-five-centimeter-long knuckle daggers. The energy weapons weren’t just longer, but the guard around his knuckles had also grown. It was like having a fruit knife over his knuckles, and the spike over each knuckle was also longer. 

When Nil coated the Chaos in Balance, he only electrified the tip and the slashing edge. The rest only contained the blade and gave it stability. It had taken Nil a fair amount of practice to create and maintain the Source’s third state in two forms. Manifesting it also took a few seconds longer than traditional lightning wrapping. The technique’s base form consumed the crimson energy slower than an unwrapped blade but still faster than the new, more refined version. 

The Chaos weapon sliced through a monstrous leg like butter. The Cursed One, a mammoth-like beast with a rider growing out of the back, roared, momentarily losing stability. Its staggering steps and thick torso closed his escape route within milliseconds of him slipping away. Nil didn’t pause to check whether a Void entity controlled it. He moved on to the next target. More dismemberment followed before Nil slipped out of the battlefield.

Five beasts and the remains of two populated the area. Three —plus the two dead—had the same strange mammoth-like physiology, while two were smaller and humanoid. One conjured and flung javelins made of Cursed Energy. The other had two extra arms and a long monkey tail that ended in a hand. As Nil shot by for another hit-and-run, he found the javelin thrower and two mammoths working together. The remaining Cursed Ones all gave off powerful Void signatures. Nil sensed something along their spine but didn’t get the opportunity to get a closer look.

Nil timed his passes for whenever Zora’s bombardment slowed. Shawn also did the same. Since the team’s mage had the high ground and her rear wasn’t open, she didn’t need any protection. Meanwhile, Selia created obstacles for the enemy. She successfully tripped two three-legged Cursed Ones and also tripped up the many-limbed creature. One of the former fell to Nil as he stabbed a dagger into its torso and let the lightning disintegrate all. Shawn took care of the other. The Source had already ripped past its defenses and damaged one heart. The barrier-wrapped longsword took care of the other. 

The humanoid creatures were considerably harder to take down, proving agile and intelligent as they avoided all attacks. Fortunately, they seemed as obsessed with taking each other down as they were to repel the human trespassers on their planet.

“Slow down for a moment,” Zora instructed as things got too hectic. “How about we work smart? Not hard.”

No one replied. Everyone was busy at melee range, dealing with dancing around Void-controlled, multi-limbed, ape-like humanoid. It zipped around with such speed and agility none of them could keep up with it. The creature threw orange slag every now and again, pushing back anyone that got close. It masterfully dodged barriers, Sunmetal chains, and even the other Cursed One’s javelins.

“We’re fighting on two fronts,” she continued. “Dealing with the bloody behemoths and their master, and whatever that monkey is supposed to be. How about we take a step back and let them duke it out? Maybe focus on one side, then clean up the survivors.”

More silence followed. Nil had pushed the monkey into an alley bordered by two tall walls. Sunmetal chains and Selia’s stalking prevented a vertical escape. Yet the creature managed to evade the pair and fling luminous slag at everyone in the fight, including the other Cursed Ones. It looked like the monster was having the time of its life, cackling and dancing. Meanwhile, Shawn concentrated his efforts on the remaining mammoth and its commander. The fight had moved away from the square, forcing Zora to pause her assault. 

“I’m playing the leader card. This isn’t a recommendation. Disengage for a moment and let the beasts focus on each other. Trust me on this. Another group just came through the Gate. Play smart or retreat. Close. Now!”

Everyone relented and backed out. Selia mumbled unintelligibly in Spanish but didn’t protest further. She sounded frustrated. Nil understood. The Cursed ape was an annoying opponent. Nil didn’t like his chances of facing such a creature alone. The other two had focused on the Void-controlled creature from the beginning, leaving him to wonder whether they hoped to free it and regain an ally.

None of the monsters pursued the group when they climbed to high ground. They continued focusing on one another. Nil scanned their surroundings and sensed no other threats, but he caught signs of the other team rushing toward the battle. They, too, wanted to clean up and claim all the points.

“Now attack the ape from range,” Zora instructed.

Javelins, frost spray sprays from the mammoth, barrier blades, and Source spikes successfully cornered the monster. Then Zora released the most powerful spell Nil had ever seen. It was a greatsword as tall as a lamp post and with a blade broader than Shawn’s shoulders. It missed the simian target, but then blinding white energy burst in four directions from the impact point. The slight delay gave the beast a false sense of security, and it got caught in the attack.

Nil leaped in with a readied Source Sphere. Zora’s spell had taken all the arms on one side, limiting the creature’s vertical movement. He had little trouble catching it and destroying both dense hearts with a single attack. When he turned around to target the others, he found Shawn had already eliminated the mammoth, and Meatball had wrapped her woody carapace tentacles around the javelin thrower's head. The conflict ended swiftly and suddenly.

Team Forge has scored 2 points and needs 3 more to make it through the gate.

“No time to waste. Our pursuers are almost here. We need to move.”

No one protested. The enemy had entered their range, and Nil could feel their energy signature. Scourge Champions were hot on their tale.