Chapter 74: Into the Unknown

Isolde

Colosseum, unknown Elven Realm date and time

Everything around Isolde felt fake, as if she were in a movie. She lay in the sand of the Arena, tired and dizzy, immobile, just wanting to relax. She saw Sam teleport into the Royal Box, killing the king, and the ensuing fight. Koshchei transformed into a robot, and Dorian mounted inside. The latter was manning the Gatling gun on the left hand, while the former was in charge of moving and the vibroblade in the right hand.

The first wave of Orcs charged. Dorian unleashed an AOE that killed most of them. Other waves followed, accompanied by elves. Cedric and Juniper arrived. The trio fought well together. In the end, a group of about twenty people manifested themselves in the fighting space, appearing out of nowhere. Their Auras were enormously strong. The Champions. Isolde remained on the ground as the monsters passed her by, getting through the forcefield separating the Arena in half like it wasn't even there. One, a giant of a man, stepped over her.

Then, as the Champions were about to engage their friends in combat, a staircase appeared. Somebody said something, and they all turned as one, going back through the forcefield and down the stairs.

Sam and the others came back, and they chatted forever, making Isolde wish she could cover her ears; only her arms felt too heavy.

Please, just go away, let me sleep…

Finally, they left, and she dozed off. When she woke up, she felt fresh, like after a good, long night's sleep. She rose on her knees, yawned, stretched, then stepped up. She was seeing the world from a higher vantage point than before. All her life, Isolde wished to be taller, and finally, that wish appeared to come true.

In the Colosseum, there was Chaos, with a capital letter. People screamed as they tried to exit the place. Just in front of her, in the tribunes, a stampede was ongoing. Or maybe only a bousculade. She couldn't see well. It was in the direction of the Royal Box, behind it.

Next to the box, two people were waving their hands at her: a young girl, barely a teen, and an old man. Wu something, or Pops, by his nickname. One of the Chaos company. He was always nice to her.

"Run!" the girl screamed.

Nice voice, Isolde thought. Very strident.

A rhythm beating in her soles made her turn. A giant bull with a lion head was galloping toward her, its hooves drumming against the ground. It was made of stone, with a tag above its head reading: 'Gargoyle'.

"You are not real," Isolde said, stretching her hand forward, her head tilted. The bull impacted it and turned into dust.

Behind the construct, a massive skeleton followed. Ten feet tall, with red eyes made of fire, it charged toward Isolde with its greatsword raised.

"You are dead," she said.

The skeleton dismembered, falling at her feet. She leaned down and picked up the greatsword. It was rusted, but still a good, functional weapon. From the staircase opening into the ground, more constructs and undead were going out. Curious about what was underneath, Isolde made her way forward, activating her Aura. Every gargoyle or skeleton touched by it disintegrated.

"I wonder what's down there," she said to herself.

First, the stairs arrived in a vast storage room, thirty feet tall, with rows upon rows of shelves. It stretched under all the Colosseum, as far as she could see. She ignored it and went on.

After the first level, the stairs began to whorl like a snail shell, getting smaller as they went down. After a hundred yards, it led into a giant cave, with no end in sight. Rows of different types of dormant gargoyles stretched as far as Isolde could see. The staircase landed in an avenue, ten yards wide, that disappeared into the distance. There were traps at random places, all but invisible, meant to activate groups of gargoyles or summon skeletons. To trip those, though, one had to step on them. Isolde stretched her wings and took flight.

The cave looked endless, but wasn't, Isolde noticed. Its margins twisted on themselves, creating an illusion. Three hundred yards into her flight, she saw five people, guarding a doorway with a blue portal in it. They were dispatching the last remaining members of a group of skeletons and gargoyles. She landed ten feet from them. A man pointed a staff at her.

"Hold your fire!" a woman armed with a shield and a one-handed sword yelled. "She's not a gargoyle. She was in the morning bracket."

"Yes, I remember now. Something's off, the man said. "I saw her die in battle."

"It was faking," Isolde said. "I apologize."

Her cheeks flushed, ashamed, then came the rage. She hated lies. Janosh's lies, Koshchei's, her own's, and the Colosseum's. Flapping her wings, Isolde turned toward the center of the cave.

"You're not real! You are dead!" she screamed toward the next group of incoming constructs and undead. They broke into sand or fell into heaps of bones. The echo of her scream spread, pushed by the wind of her wings, destroying all the constructs in sight.

"That's… some powerful AOE," the man with the staff said. "Conical, I presume. Do you have a System?"

"I have," Isolde said.

"So, should we join the rest?" the woman asked. "We stayed behind to make sure the gate remains open."

"I feel I need to go on," Isolde said.

"I stay behind to guard the passage. You go on with the… whatever she is," the man said. "She looks useful."

"I'm a Valkyrie," Isolde said, checking her Character Sheet. "I need a moment to check my stats."

"Be brief," the woman said. "There are enemy waves every five minutes."

Name: Isolde Samson

Age: 28

Species: Cryptid Chimera, part Human, part Griffin.

Class: Valkyrie*

*By freeing yourself from Koshchei's yoke, you have evolved into a mythical class. Your stats have lost the buffs granted by the Symbiosis with an Old Magic Creature. However, all geases and curses have also been removed, and a small increase in all stats has been granted.

Level: 71 (Third Tier)*

*As a Magical Species and Old Magic Class, your stats are no longer compared to a normal human being. Each point in your Physical and Magical stats is four times that of an average person. Mental stats remain at the same value they had at their Second Tier (average human x2). Applies retroactively. Physical stats will be updated only after you remove all their debuffs.

Physical

Strength: 50

Dexterity: 63

Constitution: 100

Agility: 70

Taken from NovelPhoenix, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Endurance: 75

Speed: 60

Mental

Intelligence: 40

Wisdom: 40

Perception: 65

Knowledge: 35

Focus: 60

Willpower: 50

Magic

Arcane Power: 70

*Truth's Strength: 80

Mana Affinity: 50

Mana Capacity: 50

Soul Resonance: 80

**Paragon: 50

*Griffins are renowned for their sense of valor. As such, you can easily detect anything fake and devious: Traps, Stealth, Disguises, Illusions, Lies, Constructs, Undead, Minions, etc.

You are immune to Mind Control.

**Evolved from Humanity. This stat reflects your actions in saving and adopting more than a hundred orphans and mutated sentients. It will grow or decrease in response to your actions.

Skills: Sure Shot, Fast Shot, Far Shot, True Road (a fusion of Warped Road and Dire Jump), Sleepless Trip, Flight,Griffin Talons,Flesh Savant.

New Skills:

True Damage: Any of your attacks, Aura, or Battle Cry damages Control users, Stealthed enemies, Glamour or Illusion users, or even destroys them instantly if they are two tiers below you. You can liberate people from the effects of Mind Control. This skill's damage is increased by the Truth's Strength, Perception, Soul Resonance, and Paragon stats.

Truth's Aura: Evolved from Magical Shield, this protective envelope blocks attacks and detects Stealth and Disguises. Default radius: 30 feet. Can be expanded to a 90-degree cone reaching as far as 150 feet but consumes 10 times the normal amount of Mana.

Battle Cry: Anything you shout in battle will debuff or damage foes and buff allies. Will do double damage if executed within Truth's Aura.

Battle Heal: For ten seconds, you absorb damage and transform it into healing for you or a chosen target. One use per hour.

Battle Rezz: If you take lethal damage, you will instead be revived at full health. One use per day. You can spend this skill on an ally and precast it on them.

The curses and conditions imposed by being a Baba Yaga have been removed.

As Isolde read through the stats, the dizziness and the haze on her mind started to lift. She was at the same time excited, curious about the new road ahead, relieved of breaking the bond with Koshchei, and sad, missing her old self, the carefree girl.

"With great power comes great responsibilities," she said to herself. "Che sera sera."

"Pardon me?" the woman next to her asked.

"Quotes from movies. Truth hidden in lies," Isolde said. "I'm ready to move on."

"I'll go first," the woman said.

The attack began the moment they went through the gate. A copy of the shield woman and of Isolde's. Isolde's copy jumped the Valkyrie, wrestling her to the ground.

"You're not me!" Isolde yelled. Her attacker transformed into a faceless beast, a gray monster with long limbs. Awkwardly, Isolde grabbed her sword near the tip and pushed it up. The monster shrieked and ran away.

"Harghuz!" the shield woman yelled. She bashed her shield against her copy, killing it on the spot.

"What is this?" another woman asked. She had a bow in her hand, but no arrows. However, when she pulled the string, a blue energy missile appeared, slamming into a copy of herself and disintegrating it.

"You're new to dungeonering?" the shield woman asked.

"Yeah… I'm a… go to hell!" the archer yelled, killing two more copies. "A marksman in the Shaelvar military. This is my first tournament."

Two men in leather armor followed, one wielding a spear and the other a pair of metallic gloves with spikes on the knuckles.

"We met harghuz," the woman with the shield warned them.

"Darn!" the spearman said.

"Where?" the other man asked, looking around.

"Probably biding their time."

"Where are the rest?" the archer asked.

"I feel them about two miles in that direction," the woman pointed. "They're fighting."

"Something's wrong," the unarmed man said, looking around. "This can't be the Colosseum."

Isolde mirrored the man, turning around to inspect the place.An alien landscape. Hills descending toward the shore of a sea. Deep green water, like an emerald. Beautiful. Dark sand with tones of yellow. Giant green and mauve ferns, deep pink palm trees. In the distance, tall mountains with deep blue sky above; volcanoes erupting and lava flowing down their slopes. A giant moon, its cracked surface scarred by deep craters showing the fire of a molten core. Surreal. Mismatched, if compared to the Colosseum.

"This doesn't fit," she said.

"You're right," the woman said.

"Incoming," the archer screamed.

A dozen Isolde's and as many copies of the rest manifested out of thin air, screaming as they attacked.

"Spread!" the woman with the shield ordered.

"Stay put, I can't defend you if you go too far," another ordered.

"Fire at will, we're too resistant to ne harmed," the man with the spear or a copy of him yelled.

Isolde took flight. Her copies remained on the ground and were prioritized. She observed some of the copies faking attacks on others, pretending they were the real deal.

"Stop lying!" she screamed, expanding her Aura.

Instantly, the doppelgangers transformed back into those gray quadrupeds, trying to run away. The archer got most of them, shooting three energy arrows at a time, which followed their targets.

"We should hurry to join the rest. Maybe they know more. Keep your Aura on; we'll see them coming," the woman with the shield said. "Jabure, be ready."

"Understood," the man with the metal gloves said.

The woman took the lead, running at a slow pace, while the archer and the spearman stayed in the rear guard. There was no trail, but the slope descended gradually, and the terrain was sound. Isolde went near the first woman.

"My name is Gurt," the woman said. "I'm a half-orc, level twenty-seven out of thirty, in our System. I'm what many cultures call a Tank, but I call myself a Guardian."

"I'm Isolde… I'm new at this Valkirie thing…"

"Your class evolved?"

"Yes. There's more to it, but now it's not the time."

"What you did was similar to what Paladins do. They reveal what's hidden and smite evil."

"I like the idea," Isolde nodded. "Don't you have armor?" she asked, because the Gurt's clothes were plain, probably linen.

"Armor is irrelevant; my skin is stronger. Stay near me; I'll mark you and absorb your damage."

"Thank you," Isolde said, making a note to herself to ask more about the absorbing skill.

"You think we're in a Tower?" the archer yelled.

"A Tower with only three levels?"

"Maybe there are more."

"I can feel the core. It's where the rest are."

"What's a Tower?" Isolde asked.

"A very big dungeon. Sometimes so big it includes real worlds. This is not the case."

"But the Harghuz live only in Dungeons and Towers," the spearman said.

"They also live on planets with megafauna."

"No sign of those things," the archer said.

"Maybe they retreated to their colony," Gurt said.

"They have colonies?" Isolde asked.

"They're insects," Gurt said. "If the core is in the middle of a harghuz colony, we'll have to abort."

"How big is a colony?" Isolde asked.

"From a few thousand to millions," Gurt said curtly.

The last number sent shivers down Isolde's spine. Her feeling of being overpowered vanished instantly. The slope went up, following a bend in the hill, and when they arrived on the top, everybody gasped as one.

The rest of the champions were battling a horde of harghuz, trying to advance toward a cove, where the water was of an even brighter color, between emerald and turquoise. The progress was slow, with thousands of the creatures lying dead, but thousands more incoming every second. There was a colony not far from the shore, with towers made of earth, sand, and stones, rising as high as skyscrapers. It was as big as any Earth megacity.

"Why are they persisting?" the archer asked.

"The core is in that cove, under the water," Gurt said. "Jabure, I need Isolde at full Mana."

"Very well."

The man in the gloves stepped forward and jabbed Isolde's ribs. She felt the bones cracking, the spikes entering her flesh, and a jolt of electricity freezing her. She stopped breathing for a few seconds. Then, the man pulled back his fist, and Isolde took a deep breath, the deepest she could ever remember. She had never felt so well, so full of energy, in her whole life.

Active skill applied on you: Full Mana Restore.

Temporary Buff: + 10 Mana Affinity and Mana Capacity. Duration: 30 minutes.

"Whoa…" Isolde exhaled.

"First time you meet a Monk?" Jabure laughed.

"Let's join the battle," Gurt said.

She grabbed Isolde by the arm, and suddenly, there was a group movement skill, and they arrived on the frontline. The incoming doppelgangers started to reveal their true form.

"She's with me!" Gurt yelled. "She has Reveal."

"Great, that will speed things up!" a man twice as tall as anyone else roared. A tag flashed over his head as Isolde looked at him: half-giant.

Isolde began to realize the group was used to such fights. Before she arrived, they spread to avoid hurting each other. The harghuz were too weak to inflict serious damage; the danger came from friendly fire, if they mistook the original for a copy. After she joined the battle and flashed her Aura around, the group came close together, unleashing terrifying attacks. The Monk's gloves were not only for healing; they turned every harghuz they hit into smoke. The spearman moved so fast she could barely track him, leaving behind a streak of kills. Everyone had skills that destroyed the enemies like flies.

The most impressive was the half-giant and his double axe. It mowed through the harghuz with an eerie easiness, destroying dozens at a time, sending waves of force in the lines behind. A minute after Isolde arrived, the attack broke.