“How was I supposed to know that?” Asher asked. Tosh and Tyranis stared at him from the other side of the screen. They mirrored a look that said, ‘are you serious?’.
“We shouldn’t have to tell you, you should know it,” Tosh said. “You don’t say bad things about the System on Prime.”
“You don’t say bad things about the System anywhere,” Tyranis corrected. “You could be at a pub and say that, and end up with a sword in your back.”
Asher shook his head. He had a splitting headache since he was arrested a couple of days ago. “Honestly, I’m not sure why I said it,” Asher admitted. “I didn’t feel like myself.”
“Which is possible,” Tyranis said. “Someone could have been manipulating you. Maybe a chemical in the air released by one of the other Champions. Or the stress getting to you.” His future father-in-law was taking this better than Asher thought he would. He didn’t think the Roktai would want to be related to the guy that said ‘fuck the System’. “You may have to pay a fine, but you should be out soon.”
“Just in time for my next trail,” Asher said sarcastically. The elves nodded. “How are the girls doing?”
Tyranis and Tosh shared a look. “Let’s just say we need to get you out of here,” Tosh said. “Neither is pleased that we went back home without you.” Asher nodded. He had been arrested and shipped off to space time-out since his little outburst. He was still wearing his clothes and he kept his spatial ring, but it did not work. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t pull anything out. Also his skills and status screen were disabled. Not that he much minded without his girls there to use his skills on, but it would have been something to do to plan his future stats.
“Did everyone get the trials finished?” Asher asked. The duo nodded.
“There was very little trouble, and now everyone has 4 or 5,” Tosh said.
Asher nodded his thanks. And with nothing else to say he decided it was time to end the conversation. “Thanks for coming, and I’m sorry,” Asher said.
“I’m not surprised,” Tosh said. “You always find yourself in trouble. I doubt you’d know what to do if someone wasn’t trying to kill you.” Asher wanted to retort, but he didn’t have a good one. Maybe something about killing him and seeing if he was reborn again. The screen in front of him suddenly blinked out. His time now over, he got up and headed to the door behind him. It opened as he got close. He stepped out to the sound of chatter.
Space time-out consisted of a giant white room with a bunch of different species scattered around at benches. Asher had spent the first day there just walking around. He found it so cool to see all the different aliens up close. No one had access to their Systems so they were all as weak as level 0s. Although he didn’t mess with the dragonkin or giants he ran across, Asher still wasn’t too scared of the other species.
“Hey there my prison bitch,” Asher said to the young kid. The short man jumped with the name.
“Stop calling me that,” the kid said. He was some sort of dwarf or halfling, Asher wasn’t sure. He had come crying when he was thrown in and Asher took him under his wing.
“Don’t be like that new kid,” Asher said with a smile.
“Kid? I’m 40,” he said.
“But you’re new,” Asher said. Sitting down at the uncomfortable bench he yawned as he looked around. There was a guy with a shark head giving him a look. The black eyes stared at him. Asher sent him a wink and a kiss.
“What are you in for?” Asher asked again, the kid whimpered. He hadn’t been too talkative, no one had. To Asher it was almost like a vacation. He was having way less sex than he would have liked, but the view was good.
“Hey, baby,” he said as a group of lizard women walked by. He gave a wink, but they ignored him. The fact that both genders were in the same space made Asher feel like he was in detention rather than real prison. Not that he had ever been to detention in high school.
“Are you an idiot?” An older man asked. He had long whiskers and eyebrows, and drooping jowls. Asher was reminded of a bloodhound, although the man didn’t have fur. “You do realize you’re in serious shit, right?”
“What?” Asher asked. “I didn’t say anything too bad.”
“For Prime you did. And it was televised,” the old man said. “I know you’re new to the League and all, but you need to understand. These Prime ass hats look for any reason whatsoever to lock people up.” Asher and the old man had been talking most of his time there. Asher still hadn’t got his name, so he called him old man. “This place is made up of high humans, They’re all holier than thou about the System. Say one bad thing and they could ship you off to their mining planets.”
“You keep saying that,” Asher said, rolling his eyes. “But I doubt they’ll go that far. I mean, if they take too long, the System will just zap me away for my next Trial.” The old man harumped. “How long have you been here?”
“3 months,” the old man said. “The high humans love their bureaucracy, too.”
“Ugh,” Asher cursed looking up to the ceiling. “Stupid stoned humans. This is bullshit.” A ringing sound went out through the room. Asher stood up, it was time for fresh meat. A few others became interested as well. Finding his way through the groups he got a good spot on a bench to watch them head down the stairs.
As a group they slowly descended, some were scared, others appeared bored. There was a Lamia, a couple of little giants who looked like adolescent giants, a dwarf, and finally one of the most beautiful women Asher had seen.
She was tall, about his 6’-5” height. Long brown hair that was shaved on one side. The side with hair was in a mess of braids. She had light blue skin, he guessed it was cyan. She wore short leather shorts that showed off her long legs and a black top that showed more skin than anything. Her eyes were a bright purple that scanned the room. Then her eyes locked on him. She smiled and let out a blush. Shyly, she walked straight for him.
Asher caught the scent of lavender as she stopped in front of him. “You’re him aren’t you?” She asked. She pushed out her large bust as she shyly stood in front of him.
“I’m whoever you want me to be,” he said truthfully. So close to him, he marveled at her hair. He could see that it was brown on top, and as her hair got longer it became gray. Normally that meant someone was old, but the girl in front of him was anything but.
She held back a giggle. “Is there anywhere private we can talk?” She asked.
“Oh I’m married,” he said. “And my Comms aren’t working. If you want a round you’d have to ask my wife first.” Asher didn’t mind being upfront about it. He liked to flirt, but he wasn’t about to go off with some stranger. She was nice eye candy though. He wasn’t shy about it as he looked her up and down. He could tell Tiff wouldn’t want to miss a turn with her. With all the headaches he’d been causing her lately, it wouldn’t be too bad of an idea to bring back a gift.
“Not that,” she said blushing. “I wanted to talk.”
“We can do that here,” he said. “No ones paying attention.” He looked around. No one was. Most didn’t know or care who he was, they had their own problems.
“Can we at least go over there?” She asked shyly pointing to a far wall where no one was.
“Well ok,” Asher said. They walked through the crowd the short ways to the wall. When they were close he asked, “So does the carpet match the drapes or-”
She grabbed his collar and pushed him into the wall. “Listen here you little shit,” she said. “You caused me a lot of trouble tracking you down. Now tell me right now, how the fuck did you get in those ruins?”
“Ruins? What ruins?” He asked, lost by what she was saying.
“The Ruins of Loradmere. I found your note,” she spat. “I spent a fucking year in that hell, and you swoop in and steal the best prize.”
Asher slowly understood what the problem was. “Dammit Tiff,” he cursed under his breath. She had switched out the note with the books. So whoever found it knew that Asher Whitmore had been there. Now it was biting him in the ass. The girl began pushing into him.
“Answer you fuck,” she said. “Or I’ll break your neck.”
Asher didn’t mind a little rough, and despite not wanting to hit girls, he wasn’t exactly above it. He had stabbed Atalanta in the hand, and he didn’t lose any sleep over it. Angry now he grabbed the girls wrists and broke their grip on him. Twisting her around he pushed her against the wall.
“What the shit-” She said angrier now. The girl tried to struggle, but he pushed her against the wall harder.
“This place stops Systems, but you can still use mana if you know the trick,” he said whispering in her ear. No mana in your body, there was still plenty in the air. Asher continuously absorbed and used it to strengthen him. Almost a form of cultivation, it wasn’t that hard to figure out with so long there.
She grunted trying to push against the wall, but she didn’t budge. She breathed heavily trying to catch her breath. Then she tried again. Asher drew his hand back and slapped her ass hard. “You done?” He asked. She yelled, and he slapped again. “Calm it down. And we can talk like adults.” She tried to push off again but then relaxed. Slowly he began to release her and stepped away. They had drawn a few stares, but he didn’t care. He glared at the blue woman until she grunted and slowly turned around. She didn’t try to hide her rage.
“You stole my shit,” she said.
“I don’t know about that,” he said. “I got there first.”
“How the fuck did you get there first?!” She yelled. “All the traps were still up. You fucking did something, and I want to know what.” Despite being his height she still looked rather cute as she glared at him. Anger in her eyes apparent the purple pupils drew him in as they leered at one another.
“Alright,” Asher said. “Come on, and I’ll tell you.” He headed back into the crowd. Finding a mostly empty bench close by he sat at it. She soon joined, sitting a seat apart. “Nope, whispers only,” he said, pointing at her to sit next to him. She got the hint. Cursing under her breath she moved next to him. “You start telling me about what you did there, and I’ll tell you how I got the book.” He watched her from the corner of his eye. She didn’t react to the fact that he said one book, so she really didn’t know everything.
“I was in there for a year. Part of one of the original delve teams,” she whispered. “I started with 20 people and ended with 5. We were the ones that found the secret passage down. We spent months going from one dead end to another…what am I saying? If you were there you’d know all this shit.”
Asher saw her point. “I was never there,” he admitted.
“Then how did you fucking get my shit?” She demanded through gritted teeth.
“You’re shit with this. Gotta woo someone before you look under the dress,” he said. “Now keep going or I’m done talking.” He could hear her grinding teeth so close to him. Asher wasn’t quite sure where to go from there. “How about your name?”
“Eliffy,” she spat.
“Ely,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Asher.”
“It’s Eliffy,” she spat.
“I have all the time in the world to not tell you. So if you want information, keep talking. Where are you from Ely?” He asked. Asher leaned back in his chair. He wasn’t bored anymore, and he did feel bad about stealing from her. It took her some time, but she eventually spoke.
“A few Mana Streams away. I practically grew up here. That’s why it was easy to catch a portal, do a minor crime and get down here,” she admitted.
“What are you in for?” He asked.
“Pissing off a high human,” she said. “Easy to do. Pay a fine and a few days here. The best way to get to you after your televised arrest.”
“I’m honored,” he said. She gave him some information, he didn’t mind giving her some in return. “I’m not giving you the book,” he said, she clenched her fists. “It was an Extinct Skill Book called Meteor. Literally a planet killer.”
“So?” She spat. “What? Only you get the money for it?”
“No one does,” he said. “I had it destroyed. I’m not letting anyone have it.” He felt like it was safe enough in Lyola’s hands.
“Then you’re fucking paying me level 39,” she spat. “Or I’m killing you when we meet next.”
“Oh you know that, huh?” Asher asked, not really scared. “What level are you, so you know, I can get scared and all.”
“82,” she admitted like it was supposed to scare him. Asher rolled his eyes, she didn’t like that reaction.
“After this I’m going to another trial where I might die. Then another one after that. Then back to my planet before it Initializes in 5 years. I’ve had my System for less than a year. How many hundreds of years did it take you to get where you’re at? Do you really think that level scares me?”
She spat on the floor. “It should scare you.”
“Well it doesn’t,” he said. “But I do feel a little bad. How much did you get for your share from the Ruins?”
“25,000 Syscos,” she said.
“How much to make you forget about this whole thing?” He asked. “You move on, and I don’t need to worry about you.”
“50,000 Syscos,” she said.
He rolled his eyes. “25.”
“40.”
“32,501,” he said, catching her off guard.
“35.”
“32,502,” he retorted.
“Fine,” she said. He knew she would have received more for the books, but he was done playing.
“Good,” he said. “I don’t have the money now, but give me a little bit and I’ll get it.”
“Oh right, and I’ll believe that,” she said sarcastically.
“I have like 20,000 right now,” he admitted. “You think I can’t get more?”
“Seriously?” She asked, amazed. “How the hell do you have so much?”
“You just said you got 25,000,” he said. He didn’t understand Syscos still, it was annoying. What was a lot? She did not answer. Ash was starting to understand she didn’t really get 25,000 from the Ruins. “Let’s just say I have this skill,” he admitted. “With this skill, I can make things come to me.”
“LIke what?” She asked.
“Like the book,” he said. “I heard a rumor there might be some extinct books at the Ruins. I was able to do the ol’ switcheroo. I leave the note, but I got the book.” She looked at him skeptically.
“You can do this more?” She asked.
“Depends. I have to do this…ritual to get it done. It’s really hard and long, and causes a lot of screaming,” he said. “But yeah.”
She was quiet for a time. Asher eyed her smooth cyan skin. He was on the side that had her hair. He wanted to touch it, but stopped himself. About to get up and walk away he stopped when she asked, “If I told you about other treasures, could you get them too?”
“How was I supposed to know that?” Asher asked. Tosh and Tyranis stared at him from the other side of the screen. They mirrored a look that said, ‘are you serious?’.
“We shouldn’t have to tell you, you should know it,” Tosh said. “You don’t say bad things about the System on Prime.”
“You don’t say bad things about the System anywhere,” Tyranis corrected. “You could be at a pub and say that, and end up with a sword in your back.”
Asher shook his head. He had a splitting headache since he was arrested a couple of days ago. “Honestly, I’m not sure why I said it,” Asher admitted. “I didn’t feel like myself.”
“Which is possible,” Tyranis said. “Someone could have been manipulating you. Maybe a chemical in the air released by one of the other Champions. Or the stress getting to you.” His future father-in-law was taking this better than Asher thought he would. He didn’t think the Roktai would want to be related to the guy that said ‘fuck the System’. “You may have to pay a fine, but you should be out soon.”
“Just in time for my next trail,” Asher said sarcastically. The elves nodded. “How are the girls doing?”
Tyranis and Tosh shared a look. “Let’s just say we need to get you out of here,” Tosh said. “Neither is pleased that we went back home without you.” Asher nodded. He had been arrested and shipped off to space time-out since his little outburst. He was still wearing his clothes and he kept his spatial ring, but it did not work. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t pull anything out. Also his skills and status screen were disabled. Not that he much minded without his girls there to use his skills on, but it would have been something to do to plan his future stats.
“Did everyone get the trials finished?” Asher asked. The duo nodded.
“There was very little trouble, and now everyone has 4 or 5,” Tosh said.
Asher nodded his thanks. And with nothing else to say he decided it was time to end the conversation. “Thanks for coming, and I’m sorry,” Asher said.
“I’m not surprised,” Tosh said. “You always find yourself in trouble. I doubt you’d know what to do if someone wasn’t trying to kill you.” Asher wanted to retort, but he didn’t have a good one. Maybe something about killing him and seeing if he was reborn again. The screen in front of him suddenly blinked out. His time now over, he got up and headed to the door behind him. It opened as he got close. He stepped out to the sound of chatter.
Space time-out consisted of a giant white room with a bunch of different species scattered around at benches. Asher had spent the first day there just walking around. He found it so cool to see all the different aliens up close. No one had access to their Systems so they were all as weak as level 0s. Although he didn’t mess with the dragonkin or giants he ran across, Asher still wasn’t too scared of the other species.
“Hey there my prison bitch,” Asher said to the young kid. The short man jumped with the name.
“Stop calling me that,” the kid said. He was some sort of dwarf or halfling, Asher wasn’t sure. He had come crying when he was thrown in and Asher took him under his wing.
“Don’t be like that new kid,” Asher said with a smile.
“Kid? I’m 40,” he said.
“But you’re new,” Asher said. Sitting down at the uncomfortable bench he yawned as he looked around. There was a guy with a shark head giving him a look. The black eyes stared at him. Asher sent him a wink and a kiss.
“What are you in for?” Asher asked again, the kid whimpered. He hadn’t been too talkative, no one had. To Asher it was almost like a vacation. He was having way less sex than he would have liked, but the view was good.
“Hey, baby,” he said as a group of lizard women walked by. He gave a wink, but they ignored him. The fact that both genders were in the same space made Asher feel like he was in detention rather than real prison. Not that he had ever been to detention in high school.
“Are you an idiot?” An older man asked. He had long whiskers and eyebrows, and drooping jowls. Asher was reminded of a bloodhound, although the man didn’t have fur. “You do realize you’re in serious shit, right?”
“What?” Asher asked. “I didn’t say anything too bad.”
“For Prime you did. And it was televised,” the old man said. “I know you’re new to the League and all, but you need to understand. These Prime ass hats look for any reason whatsoever to lock people up.” Asher and the old man had been talking most of his time there. Asher still hadn’t got his name, so he called him old man. “This place is made up of high humans, They’re all holier than thou about the System. Say one bad thing and they could ship you off to their mining planets.”
“You keep saying that,” Asher said, rolling his eyes. “But I doubt they’ll go that far. I mean, if they take too long, the System will just zap me away for my next Trial.” The old man harumped. “How long have you been here?”
“3 months,” the old man said. “The high humans love their bureaucracy, too.”
“Ugh,” Asher cursed looking up to the ceiling. “Stupid stoned humans. This is bullshit.” A ringing sound went out through the room. Asher stood up, it was time for fresh meat. A few others became interested as well. Finding his way through the groups he got a good spot on a bench to watch them head down the stairs.
As a group they slowly descended, some were scared, others appeared bored. There was a Lamia, a couple of little giants who looked like adolescent giants, a dwarf, and finally one of the most beautiful women Asher had seen.
She was tall, about his 6’-5” height. Long brown hair that was shaved on one side. The side with hair was in a mess of braids. She had light blue skin, he guessed it was cyan. She wore short leather shorts that showed off her long legs and a black top that showed more skin than anything. Her eyes were a bright purple that scanned the room. Then her eyes locked on him. She smiled and let out a blush. Shyly, she walked straight for him.
Asher caught the scent of lavender as she stopped in front of him. “You’re him aren’t you?” She asked. She pushed out her large bust as she shyly stood in front of him.
“I’m whoever you want me to be,” he said truthfully. So close to him, he marveled at her hair. He could see that it was brown on top, and as her hair got longer it became gray. Normally that meant someone was old, but the girl in front of him was anything but.
She held back a giggle. “Is there anywhere private we can talk?” She asked.
“Oh I’m married,” he said. “And my Comms aren’t working. If you want a round you’d have to ask my wife first.” Asher didn’t mind being upfront about it. He liked to flirt, but he wasn’t about to go off with some stranger. She was nice eye candy though. He wasn’t shy about it as he looked her up and down. He could tell Tiff wouldn’t want to miss a turn with her. With all the headaches he’d been causing her lately, it wouldn’t be too bad of an idea to bring back a gift.
“Not that,” she said blushing. “I wanted to talk.”
“We can do that here,” he said. “No ones paying attention.” He looked around. No one was. Most didn’t know or care who he was, they had their own problems.
“Can we at least go over there?” She asked shyly pointing to a far wall where no one was.
“Well ok,” Asher said. They walked through the crowd the short ways to the wall. When they were close he asked, “So does the carpet match the drapes or-”
She grabbed his collar and pushed him into the wall. “Listen here you little shit,” she said. “You caused me a lot of trouble tracking you down. Now tell me right now, how the fuck did you get in those ruins?”
“Ruins? What ruins?” He asked, lost by what she was saying.
“The Ruins of Loradmere. I found your note,” she spat. “I spent a fucking year in that hell, and you swoop in and steal the best prize.”
Asher slowly understood what the problem was. “Dammit Tiff,” he cursed under his breath. She had switched out the note with the books. So whoever found it knew that Asher Whitmore had been there. Now it was biting him in the ass. The girl began pushing into him.
“Answer you fuck,” she said. “Or I’ll break your neck.”
Asher didn’t mind a little rough, and despite not wanting to hit girls, he wasn’t exactly above it. He had stabbed Atalanta in the hand, and he didn’t lose any sleep over it. Angry now he grabbed the girls wrists and broke their grip on him. Twisting her around he pushed her against the wall.
“What the shit-” She said angrier now. The girl tried to struggle, but he pushed her against the wall harder.
“This place stops Systems, but you can still use mana if you know the trick,” he said whispering in her ear. No mana in your body, there was still plenty in the air. Asher continuously absorbed and used it to strengthen him. Almost a form of cultivation, it wasn’t that hard to figure out with so long there.
She grunted trying to push against the wall, but she didn’t budge. She breathed heavily trying to catch her breath. Then she tried again. Asher drew his hand back and slapped her ass hard. “You done?” He asked. She yelled, and he slapped again. “Calm it down. And we can talk like adults.” She tried to push off again but then relaxed. Slowly he began to release her and stepped away. They had drawn a few stares, but he didn’t care. He glared at the blue woman until she grunted and slowly turned around. She didn’t try to hide her rage.
“You stole my shit,” she said.
“I don’t know about that,” he said. “I got there first.”
“How the fuck did you get there first?!” She yelled. “All the traps were still up. You fucking did something, and I want to know what.” Despite being his height she still looked rather cute as she glared at him. Anger in her eyes apparent the purple pupils drew him in as they leered at one another.
“Alright,” Asher said. “Come on, and I’ll tell you.” He headed back into the crowd. Finding a mostly empty bench close by he sat at it. She soon joined, sitting a seat apart. “Nope, whispers only,” he said, pointing at her to sit next to him. She got the hint. Cursing under her breath she moved next to him. “You start telling me about what you did there, and I’ll tell you how I got the book.” He watched her from the corner of his eye. She didn’t react to the fact that he said one book, so she really didn’t know everything.
“I was in there for a year. Part of one of the original delve teams,” she whispered. “I started with 20 people and ended with 5. We were the ones that found the secret passage down. We spent months going from one dead end to another…what am I saying? If you were there you’d know all this shit.”
Asher saw her point. “I was never there,” he admitted.
“Then how did you fucking get my shit?” She demanded through gritted teeth.
“You’re shit with this. Gotta woo someone before you look under the dress,” he said. “Now keep going or I’m done talking.” He could hear her grinding teeth so close to him. Asher wasn’t quite sure where to go from there. “How about your name?”
“Eliffy,” she spat.
“Ely,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Asher.”
“It’s Eliffy,” she spat.
“I have all the time in the world to not tell you. So if you want information, keep talking. Where are you from Ely?” He asked. Asher leaned back in his chair. He wasn’t bored anymore, and he did feel bad about stealing from her. It took her some time, but she eventually spoke.
“A few Mana Streams away. I practically grew up here. That’s why it was easy to catch a portal, do a minor crime and get down here,” she admitted.
“What are you in for?” He asked.
“Pissing off a high human,” she said. “Easy to do. Pay a fine and a few days here. The best way to get to you after your televised arrest.”
“I’m honored,” he said. She gave him some information, he didn’t mind giving her some in return. “I’m not giving you the book,” he said, she clenched her fists. “It was an Extinct Skill Book called Meteor. Literally a planet killer.”
“So?” She spat. “What? Only you get the money for it?”
“No one does,” he said. “I had it destroyed. I’m not letting anyone have it.” He felt like it was safe enough in Lyola’s hands.
“Then you’re fucking paying me level 39,” she spat. “Or I’m killing you when we meet next.”
“Oh you know that, huh?” Asher asked, not really scared. “What level are you, so you know, I can get scared and all.”
“82,” she admitted like it was supposed to scare him. Asher rolled his eyes, she didn’t like that reaction.
“After this I’m going to another trial where I might die. Then another one after that. Then back to my planet before it Initializes in 5 years. I’ve had my System for less than a year. How many hundreds of years did it take you to get where you’re at? Do you really think that level scares me?”
She spat on the floor. “It should scare you.”
“Well it doesn’t,” he said. “But I do feel a little bad. How much did you get for your share from the Ruins?”
“25,000 Syscos,” she said.
“How much to make you forget about this whole thing?” He asked. “You move on, and I don’t need to worry about you.”
“50,000 Syscos,” she said.
He rolled his eyes. “25.”
“40.”
“32,501,” he said, catching her off guard.
“35.”
“32,502,” he retorted.
“Fine,” she said. He knew she would have received more for the books, but he was done playing.
“Good,” he said. “I don’t have the money now, but give me a little bit and I’ll get it.”
“Oh right, and I’ll believe that,” she said sarcastically.
“I have like 20,000 right now,” he admitted. “You think I can’t get more?”
“Seriously?” She asked, amazed. “How the hell do you have so much?”
“You just said you got 25,000,” he said. He didn’t understand Syscos still, it was annoying. What was a lot? She did not answer. Ash was starting to understand she didn’t really get 25,000 from the Ruins. “Let’s just say I have this skill,” he admitted. “With this skill, I can make things come to me.”
“LIke what?” She asked.
“Like the book,” he said. “I heard a rumor there might be some extinct books at the Ruins. I was able to do the ol’ switcheroo. I leave the note, but I got the book.” She looked at him skeptically.
“You can do this more?” She asked.
“Depends. I have to do this…ritual to get it done. It’s really hard and long, and causes a lot of screaming,” he said. “But yeah.”
She was quiet for a time. Asher eyed her smooth cyan skin. He was on the side that had her hair. He wanted to touch it, but stopped himself. About to get up and walk away he stopped when she asked, “If I told you about other treasures, could you get them too?”
