Maou Razonica
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Chapter 111: Gold.
🕑 Added 2024-09-24 16:00:05 +0000 UTCDOCS: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xAmtxwTFTr6ueId8j9zKlUDa7V-aONU5XCK1Svqees8/edit?usp=drive_link
Hey hey! Welcome welcome! A chapter as always. Thank you for your continued support. ANd have a nice read!
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People in opulent clothing found their seats in a large and enclosed theatre. I looked down at them from above, for I and my friends had gotten a private booth for ourselves so that we did not have to mingle with the rabble. We had just reached our first city since Latarus, so we were now taking advantage of the many facilities and accommodations we had been missing.
“Still though. Rise of Jurasca?” I sat down heavily in my full plate armor. I still had to keep it on even now, when everyone else had dressed up for the occasion. At least if something happened, then I would be ready to protect them. “This is prime bullshit!”
“It’s a classic, Haell,” Therick said. “Though it’s definitely propaganda.”
“It has some of the best fights!” Angerly exclaimed. “I haven’t seen this in a while, so I’m already hyped.”
“The Blades on Stage troupe had great fights,” Granuel chimed in. “For this Ascended troupe… it’s left to be seen. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Bah! Don’t be such a spoilsport. I always liked the scenes here, even when done by lesser troupes. Especially that scene when Golex suddenly evolves into a hero and kills sundertop and tyranight alike! You can’t go wrong with that.”
“It’s always interesting to see how they handle him suddenly growing,” Moonwash said. “Straight-up illusion magic gets results, but I enjoy it when they use props to make it work. Even when it looks a bit off.”
Berry was looking lost, so I chimed in. “It’s not my favorite play, but quit spoiling it you guys! Berry here hasn’t seen it at all!”
She looked back at me from the crustecar chair we’d requested just for her. “Ah. Uh… I’m fine. I just… I’ve never been in a place like this before… Is it really okay!?”
“Of course it is!” I patted her on the back quite hard, knowing that she was sturdy. “Just enjoy yourself, yeah? I’ll also do the same.”
~~~
Centuries ago, the unthinkable happened, and archangels fell.
The curtains parted, revealing an opulent throne room upon the stage. In the seat of honor sat a shepherd woman in royal clothing, who was meant to be Empress Shanayah, the ruler of this empire. She wept openly and lamented the lamentations of her Archangel Angelo for the cruel and unjust deaths of his kin.
“Please, rest for now. I will continue your great work while you grieve.”
“Pretty…” Berry commented, and I laughed. The glittering actress’ makeup and other preparations were admittedly top-notch. Potentially better than any other take on her character that I’d seen before.
Empress Shanayah made good on her promise, as she always does. She took the navy that she’s built, and braved the treacherous seas for God and Angel.
The scene changed. The curtains closed for a few moments, and when they opened again, the actors were inside a ship, and real water flowed along the stage. Shanayah was at the lead, and by her side were Talone and Golex. Talone was played by a shepherd like himself, and Grandpa by a human of the same size as my mother, made taller by his large boots.
“I want a ship too,” Granuel mumbled. “What if we extend our tour to the other continents?”
“Relax Granuel,” Angerly rebuked good-naturedly. “Our grand tour has only just begun, and you already want to extend it! One thing at a time.”
Through the blessings of heaven, and the ever-present guiding hand, Empress Shanayah and her crew reached the continent of Jurasca.
Shanayah and her crew disembarked from the ship, and they explored this mysterious and dangerous land. It was a world of grass that rose beyond people, and scattered trees that were even bigger. Peril may hide at every corner, and I took joy at the dinosaur-like animals and monsters they had to fight. The action was well-choreographed, if clearly unimpressive and unrealistic to I who braved the wilds on a daily basis. I particularly enjoyed the costumes of multiple people pretending to be singular dinosaurs. They looked so goofy, and the sprays of red paper as they died added a quaint charm to the play.
After the monsters, they met the true dangers of this place.
Tyranights and Sundertops spilled onto the stage, and they began fighting each other for dominance. Only one for each species was real, while the others with them were several people in costumes like what had been done for the other creatures in this play. It continued to be funny, and I laughed with my friends as the people on stage tripped over each other. Though the two real sundertop and tyranight did add a good layer of realism and choreography, particularly with the harmless yet no-less-flashy spells that they used. That was a hit with the crowd, and they cheered.
The primitive peoples of Jurasca were locked in a constant war. Unsophisticated, divided, and without thought. Our enlightened leaders took advantage of their conflict, striking only at the perfect and opportune times, but leaving them to destroy each other otherwise.
More fights were depicted, I enjoyed them for what they were, and soon my favorite scene approached.
Surrounded by tyranight and sundertop enemies on all sides, a younger Grandpa Golex fell to his knees. A shadow swallowed his form. And when he was spat back out, he was now five meters tall!
The human actor was exchanged for a much larger ogre one, but caked with thick layers of makeup to make him look as human as possible.
I laughed. I was pretty sure that was not how it went. Grandpa did not spontaneously evolve in the middle of a war!
The ensuing battle where the newly born hero demolished the veritable army that surrounded him was admittedly so fucking hype and inspiring nonetheless.
The tyrnaights were conquered in the day, and the sundertops in the night. And thus the Vassal Kingdom of Talonir was born.
The curtains closed, and we all stood up from our chairs to give the troupe their deserved standing ovations. Berry was crying in the end, and so were many in audience moved and awed.
For all my issues with how this related to the real world, it was a great and exciting story by itself, and the Ascended troupe did a good and sometimes hilarious job of depicting it.
~~~
“This is the only quest they have for a level 40 monster,” Granuel showed me the poster for a tyrantula. The illustration was that of a massive spider gnawing on a human skull in the middle of the forest.
Nice touch.
“Let’s take it then,” I shrugged. I knew that the city likely didn’t have a single gold-ranked adventurer. We had one, because Moonwash had actually gotten her badge upgraded during our last stay in Latarus after taking some lessons from the guild. Our party was also considered as having gold-rank capabilities by now because of the feats we’d accomplished, though that was a more complicated system. A city as big as this definitely had parties of a similar designation, but it would take a larger reward to get them to move. Which meant that I could even sell my bloodlust as the benevolence of someone who cared not for gold, but for the safety of the people! “If we do not act now, then how many more will die? A monster cannot be allowed so close to a city!”
My friends looked at me like I had grown a second head. For a second, I checked my neck if it was true. Even Moonwash’s blank gaze had come off as incredulous within the group.
“Okay fuck off! I do care! A little!”
“Sure. Sure, I believe you, Haell,” Therick laughed. As did the others. “But I don’t know about this quest. It could be dangerous.”
“I’ve killed a warsymbol by myself. We’ve killed a vladmonke, tiger, armozard, another warsymbol, and a woremvor of the same level.”
“That doesn’t mean we should run at every single one of them! Tyrantulas are especially dangerous.”
“It’s actually documented to be weaker than a warsymbol,” Angerly spoke of a popular short story and song that recounted one such battle. One of the few of its kind. There were no protagonists to root for so people were usually uninterested. “Its abilities might be more dangerous against us though, than a level 40 tank.”
“I’ll go if you guys do. You know that,” Berry said. “But I’d still rather not take the risk. There’s a reason people normally hesitate to take on monsters of the same level even in a party.”
“Because they’re cowards,” I nodded.
“Not like that!”
“Seriously though,” I chuckled, then paused to scheme. “You’re right. I can see it being difficult. Tyrantulas are just way too adapted to their environment. But we can plan…”
I told them of my idea, Moonwash handled the logistics, and by the end of the hour, we had submitted the quest to the receptionist who looked unsure but also uncaring.
~~~
I arrived with Granuel and Moonwash in front of a large and almost modern-looking building, but even more decorated.
“Welcome to The Talon bank,” a human attendant greeted us elegantly as we walked into the undisputed largest bank in the empire. It was colder inside, as enchantments controlled the temperature and the mild yet soothing flow of air. I sat upon the green couches and chairs with my friends while we waited to be called upon.
It didn’t take long for another attendant to approach us, and they led us to the reception. Granuel showed his card that marked him as a member, and so did I and Moonwash do the same. The human woman processed our requests, from cheques to be exchanged for gold, to gold that we wanted in cheques and bonds. We also made a small deposit, but only a very small amount of a couple dozen gold each. It would be difficult to withdraw this money anywhere else, even in other branches of the same bank.
~~~
“What are you doin?” I asked Moonwash as she was grinding up some very valuable ingredients for a project. We were currently in a workshop that Granuel had managed to rent. “Is that a potion?”
“No,” she answered. There were a multitude of open books and notes around her, because my girlfriend was not actually very skilled in this craft yet. She was just beginning to learn it. “Well, this might actually be considered a potion here, because people think that any concoction using magical ingredients is a potion, but they’re wrong. That’s not what potions are. Everything is magical and mana is everywhere. They don’t know what true potions are.”
“Okay… what are potions then?”
Moonwash burned something in a beaker until she was satisfied. Glass constructs remained expensive, though I was sure that glass itself was far easier to make here than back on medieval earth. “True potions are liquid mixtures that can ‘hold’ specific spells or effects of a specific type of mana. They are incredibly hard to make, and I have not figured out a way to actually create them yet. There are no books on the matter. Even the elves have trouble making potions. Although I have heard of a certain people in the Isla Tropics that are very capable of making them.”
“I see,” I said simply, satisfied with the explanation. “That sounds like my mini-rituals.”
“Perhaps. But your mini-rituals do degrade overtime if you just let it sit, right?”
“Yeah. We’ve tried this. It’s not as strict as full-on rituals that need to immediately be cast, but it definitely degrades. Though part of that is certainly the blood itself degrading, therefore the mini-ritual suffers the same.”
“Potions should last a whole longer, from what Elfrafim has told me. Though they should also be weaker than your normal spells, and your mini-rituals are not like that.” Moonwash reorganized her priorities in her head. “We’ll talk about this more later. Can you get me those arigas?” She pointed to a bundle of herbs that we’d harvested just a week ago on the road.
“Aye aye,” I complied with a smile. These recipes were really complicated, and I helped my girlfriend finish and iterate upon them.
~~~
Is this the tree that looks like me when I’m angry…? I thought quietly to myself. It had recently been burned, struck by lightning, and had been split into two, but Granuel’s description was not accurate!
Still, I was here, so I took out my greatsword and began clanging it against my breastplate.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
My shout echoed into the forest, and I did not wait for a second more as I took off at a dead run towards where I had come from.
A soft hiss soon followed after me, along with the scuttling feet of an insectile threat. I looked back to see a massive tarantula in active chase; walking along the ground, jumping from bark to bark, and just being a dizzying kaleidoscope of movement.
That was: A dizzying kaleidoscope of movement that would soon catch up with me!
The blood in my legs ceased to be, and I gained a sudden increase in speed in exchange for breaking myself. The wind buffeted my form, like I would almost be swept away, but my dastardly foe kept up the chase. Eventually, after only a few seconds at most, I saw my friends and reached the clearing where they had been waiting.
I jumped and flew past the big but sparse ritual Moonwash had been making. I reached the other side of the clearing and turned back around just to see it being cast.
“Forest Binding.”
Vines as thick as roots shot out of the ground. They curved to the side in search of their prey… and found no purchase.
“Haell behind you!” Therick shouted, and I finally found out that the tyrantula had not entered the clearing and had instead circled around the trees to get to me.
The monster was mid-jump, with its mouth wide open to bite me.
I decided that I could lose my legs, so long as I got away.
The bones in my legs snapped with my next action as I blurred away from my foe.
I managed to escape the ambush and make it back to my friends. Therick was there to help me up, and Granuel had already began to heal what I had broken by taking advantage of the large and almost useless mass of vegetation we’d created.
Eight baleful eyes glared at me from within the trees, and I hefted my greatsword up as I glared back. I had to push myself just to remain upright, but I did so with courage and dignity anyway.
The clash I awaited never come.
The monster only stayed in the comfort of the forest, until it eventually left.
“Fuck. What now?”
~~~
I drew my sword. I clanged it against the metal of my armor. I shouted my fucking heart out.
The tyrantula came after me just as it had done before.
I too ran away just the same, but not before shooting the damn monster with a ball of curseflame.
I didn’t see the impact because I had already turned around towards where my friends should be, but its outraged shriek was music to my ears. I felt the tyrantula nearly catch up to me a few seconds later, a glance back showed a giant spider covered in black flames, and when I turned my face forward again, my friends were already right there in front of me.
My wings deployed. They carried me across the trees to where Moonwash was drawing her ritualistic creation. We had timed it just right and she was almost done.
“Forest Binding.”
She spoke the ritual’s name just as I flew over her illustrations. I immediately found a tree to kick off against, and its trunk shook and splintered mightily as I turned myself around. Our prey had been caught by the massive vines… but not entirely.
I took another step, my wings folded back again now. Half of the tyrantula’s legs had been caught, but it used its fangs to free one, the other legs to free two, and the last was just torn off as it twisted its body around.
The large burning monster landed on the ground, and immediately pounced for my friends. Berry reacted and got in its way, but the spider only jumped to a nearby tree to circumvent her and go for the others instead.
I would not make it in time.
My aura exploded out of me. My eyes pierced into my prey with undying wrath. The spider paused for but a moment, but it was enough for Angerly to at least get her massive mythril mace in the way.
The tyrantula was pushed off by the head, then repelled by the handle. I arrived at the last moment, just before it bit down on my ogre friend and injected its deadly poison.
My sword swung, and the creature was flung away. Three of its legs were flung in different directions. The tyrantula was still left with four. The black flames would not kill it fast enough, and I didn’t have the time to make more. Infernal flames would actually consume the black instead, for while the curseflame could resist for a time, it would be too busy consuming its own target to fight back.
That was fine. I bombarded the space in front of me with waves of wrath and sickly orange flames.
The tyrantula dodged most of it. I shot off towards where it had jumped, but it still managed to evade my charge. It did not manage to dodge all of Granuel’s projectiles, however, and that gave it pause. Berry tackled the creature where it landed, and Therick managed a stab towards one of the monster’s bleeding stumps. Berry’s shell deflected most of the creature's following bite, but grooves and blood were still drawn across her carapace. Angerly was there next, and a massive swipe forced the spider to dodge. Moonwash summoned seeking vines, which further limited the space where the monster could jump. The one avenue left to it was towards my waiting sword.
The foul creature chose death, and it was cleaved in twine by my blade, but it did not die before it could sink one fang through my armor, and deliver a payload of poison into my bloodstream.
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AN:
Unsure about the play sequence. Was unsure how to handle it. But hey, worldbuilding!
I do like what I did with the fight though. I like to explore different sorts of battles than what they usually engage in.
