The Lone Wanderer

Chapter 656 – Tanarill

Just like the previous time, Kassorith slithered to the centre of the circle glowing on the arena floor, waiting alongside the other participants to be teleported to the location of the second special event. Once more, Percy pulled up the scoreboard to confirm where he and his host stood after the completion of everyone’s seventeenth and final match.

‘Zurvanai: 50 points,

Remlat: 47 points,

Kassorith: 47 points,

Azalotheen: 41 points,

Semleni: 36 points,

Falanor: 35 points,

…’

‘Only the event’s left… we have to make it count,’ Kassorith pointed out.

They may have failed to defeat Azalotheen, but the rare draw that they had managed to wrench out of the Maradorian’s webbed digits had given them the point necessary to keep up with Remlat. Sadly, the two-cored Inimit had beaten the Thess’kalan before, so he would be the one qualifying to the next round in case they ended up tied.

The extra point they had earned didn’t change the fact that they had to outperform the winged man in the event, but at least they were now guaranteed to pass if they succeeded. Had they lost to Azalotheen, they could have potentially failed to earn that spot to the elimination phase even if they were to rank first in the event.

‘Good enough. Our fate is in our own hands,’ Percy said. ‘At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.’

Leaving Remlat aside, Azalotheen himself was far below the front-runners, so he wouldn’t be as much of a threat moving forward. Kassorith might not even need to do very well in the event if it happened to be one that the two-cored Inimit was bad at.

It was with these optimistic thoughts that the crimson-scaled Thess’kalan and his spectral companions got whisked out of the stadium, finding themselves on what they assumed to be another new planet.

This time, they hadn’t been separated from the other contestants, the whole group arriving together. Kassorith stood on solid ground, slightly damp dirt giving way beneath his tail. A series of colourful runes dimmed rapidly across a few pebbles that had been scattered in the mud as the teleportation enchantment faded from view, seemingly to preserve the style of the almost-primitive environment.

Tall blades of grass swayed under a gentle breeze to tickle the scales on Kassorith’s stomach. The much shorter Denytes in the group were covered entirely by the plants, with even Zurvanai – the imposing mage who had dominated every single contest so far – looking like a child lost within the dense foliage.

Alien bugs that Percy didn’t have names for crawled up and down the elongated leaves. Others buzzed overhead, some stopping to drink out of glistening beads of dew as a few feasted inside the occasional flower. The fresh scent of spring filled Kassorith’s nostrils, the sounds of chirping birds echoing in his ears.

A golden sun shone brightly overhead, though its rays were partly obscured by dense canopies, painting the forest floor in a crisscrossing tapestry of glares and shadows.

Most notably, every Inimit in the group – Remlat included – seemed more at ease than the others, the tension in their expressions all but evaporating as hints of nostalgia flashed in their pupils. Almost as if they had just returned home…

In fact, Percy was pretty sure that this was exactly what had happened. The second event would be taking place on one of the Inimits’ worlds.

The realization caused him to clench his borrowed fists, his soul flaring with worry. The last thing he needed right now was a contest where Remlat held the home advantage. However, Percy understood that there was nothing he could do, besides gritting his gums and hoping that the organizers wouldn’t force them into an unfair competition.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Percy was broken out of his thoughts when a male Inimit that he didn’t recognize landed soundlessly a dozen or so metres away from the group, moving with enough speed and grace to put even a White to shame.

At first, Percy thought that the newcomer was a god, since he couldn’t detect a mana core in his sternum. Upon closer inspection, he spotted faint traces of the organ in the Inimit’s chest. The winged man’s soul definitely belonged to a mortal, and his face – albeit deceptively youthful – lacked the sort of unnatural perfection that only a true ascension to the Concept realm could bring.

‘He must be a demigod then,’ Percy deduced.

“Greetings contestants,” the Clear mage said, infusing his willpower into his words for added gravitas. Despite his youthful appearance, the evenness in his tone betrayed the dozens of millennia he had undoubtedly weathered.

“Before anything else, let me welcome you to Tanarill. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Void Hand’s history and geography, Tanarill is one of our most important planets. It may not be where we Inimits originated from, but it is the planet we have prospered the most on, as well as the second greatest economic hub in the entire alliance,” the demigod continued.

Percy didn’t need to be told anything else. He still had no idea why they had been summoned here, or whether Tanarill was one of the planets that he could access the Elemental Source of the earth affinity from, but he’d already contacted his main body to get the place marked.

The other participants, on the other hand, appeared more concerned. The winged man’s words caused them to break into chatter, a few going as far as to directly express their displeasure with this arrangement. Clearly, Percy wasn’t the only one afraid that the Inimits in the group were going to receive special treatment.

He did find the Maradorians’ protests a little hypocritical, however. Didn’t most of the tournament take place on their own world? The selfish bastards had nothing to say about that.

Under different circumstances, a bunch of Blues might have hesitated to voice their complaints before a Clear mage, but Percy’s rivals weren’t regular people. As the most talented, most pampered geniuses of their entire generation, they probably didn’t place a regular demigod in their eyes, regardless of how easily he could squash them. They all knew that they would be surpassing him after a promotion or two, and that their factions would never allow any harm to befall them here.

To his credit, the almost-divine Inimit merely chuckled at their rude behaviour, seemingly not taking any offense.

“I understand that many of you are worried about the Inimits among you having an unfair advantage in the event, but I assure you that we have no intention of slighting our guests. Tanarill has only been chosen as the venue for this contest because it houses a unique facility. If anything, you should probably be happy about this, since this event is as much of an opportunity as it is a test. It’s not every year that our alliance can afford such lavish expenditure.”

Percy was quite intrigued, already feeling happy about his decision to mark this planet. The other participants grew silent at once, probably waiting for the demigod to elaborate, though the Clear mage said nothing else, appearing to draw amusement from their suspense. Instead, he took off once again, gesturing for the Blues to follow him.

Shrugging, Kassorith joined the rest as they formed a beeline behind their guide, giving Percy a chance to study the place more carefully.

Initially, he’d thought that the teleportation platform had spat them out in the middle of a forest and, well… he hadn’t been wrong about that. Not exactly. However, it didn’t take him long to realize that there was so much more to this place.

Flying under the shade of towering trees, he leisurely examined their lush canopies, spotting small huts standing atop their thick branches and long, hanging bridges linking each tree to its neighbours.

Upon realizing that there were civilians resting inside some of these treehouses, Percy withdrew his senses and allowed the range of his Sage’s Pond to shrink, so as to respect the natives’ privacy.

Not every Inimit was huddled up at home, however, with several people flying around the strange forest. Children giggled playfully as they chased one another atop some of the larger trees, the adults flying purposefully from building to building as they conducted their daily business. Only a handful of elderly people with weaker cores appeared to have any need for the bridges, their old wings clearly too worn to support their flight.

‘Wow… are all of their cities integrated in forests like this?’ Micky asked. ‘Either way, this place is a million times prettier than Oll.’

Percy nodded through their connection to indicate his agreement. Oblivious to their thoughts, the demigod continued to lead the group towards an as-of-yet unknown location, flying just slowly enough for the talented Blues to keep up with his pace.

Ten minutes later, he stopped at a large, circular clearing, with nothing but a giant flowerbed bathing beneath the midday sun, colourful petals from dozens of species of plants dancing in the air above it.

“Some of you may have realized that this place is under the influence of an infrastructure-type Decree. Previously, we have evaluated your combat skills and your ability to resist or effectively fight back against demonic infestations. Today, we will be testing something else entirely: whether you possess the potential to ascend to the Concept realm and become gods.”