223 Domineering (Part 2)
Exile wore a smile as the other leaders returned to the temple with grim expressions. Even Noslin and Beartooth looked unhappy with how things had developed. They studied Exile with wariness as they took their seats.
“Exile,” Noslin said as she let out a sigh. “What you just did was wrong. How can any of us trust you as an ally if that’s how you’re going to treat a fellow leader?”
“And how can I trust you guys when you try to extort a precious resource from my Pantheon? Don’t forget, it was Bynder who threatened to use force first. If he didn’t want conflict, then he shouldn’t have suggested such an action. He can’t blame me because he lost at his own game.”
Exile shrugged his shoulders as the other leaders grimaced. They recognised Bynder’s words for what they were. A negotiation tactic. However, Exile had taken them at face value and acted on the threat. That made dealing with Exile an uncomfortable thought. They would have to be more selective in the words they chose.
“You have to see our point of view. Your Pantheon holds a power that none of us has. We’ve seen it in action, and we know it puts your members in another class when it comes to combat.” Noslin shook her head with a regretful expression. “Add that to your own display of power, and can you then blame us for feeling threatened?”
Exile drummed his fingers on the table as he studied the players that had fought alongside him in the rebel faction. He could see the hesitation on their faces as they nodded along. ‘I see. We’ve fought together, but they’re afraid of Ragnarok’s growth. They’re worried that if we’re left unchecked, we could grow to a point where we don’t need to be afraid of their joint forces.’
“No, I don’t blame you,” Exile replied as he spread his hands on the table. “But none of you considered any alternatives to threatening us for that one piece of our power. Although I said I wouldn’t sell that information, that did not mean I don’t have something else to offer.”
Noslin gazed at him with a curious expression as others frowned. Exile could see them wondering if what he could offer could match the power of the Domain technique.
“What are you offering?” Noslin asked.
“These,” Exile replied as he tossed a couple of the weaker runestones onto the table. “They are disposable items that contain spells. They won’t deplete your DP when you use them.”
Murmurs ran through the temple as the leaders passed the runestones around. Exile could see the mild interest on their faces, but he already knew they would not be enough.
“Ragnarok will also take commissions to upgrade the stats on your equipment. Midas will complete a list of what we can offer and the cost.” Exile said as he noticed that offer caught their attention. “This is a new procedure, so it will take time for us to develop this field. At the moment, we can only offer Tier 0 runestones and a small selection of Tier 1 versions. As for the equipment modifications, we can raise their stats to +16 points of whatever is already on them.”
A buzz of excitement ran through the temple at Exile’s words. However, they knew those services would not be cheap. Noslin was the first to make a connection between the enchanting procedure and Exile’s new status as a Tier 2 player.
“So, it’s safe to assume you learnt how to do this when you reached Tier 2.” Noslin frowned as she considered how long it would take for her to reach that level. “What’s to stop us from waiting until we reach that level? Personally, I don’t think it would be worth purchasing these things in large quantities when they don’t benefit us who are near the end of Tier 1.”
Exile grinned as he glanced around the table before clasping his hands in front of him. “It’s true that I can’t confirm if others can learn this. However, I believe my results will be higher than others considering my Authority is directly linked to this.”
Noslin’s and several other leaders’ eyes went wide at that statement. They could no longer consider Exile’s offer as something meagre compared to the Domain technique. After all, the services he was offering could bring immediate benefits to all of their players. Beyond that, Exile had hinted there was a possibility that even if they learned how to do the enchantments their products would likely be of lower quality. In the worst-case scenario, they would be unable to recreate those effects.
“I’ll leave you with Mikari and Midas to figure out the details. It’ll be first come, first serve as it will take time to produce any of these things. Keep in mind that you’ll have to supply the equipment you want to be modified.” Exile smiled before standing up.
“What about you?” Noslin asked as she saw his confused reaction. “shouldn’t you stay here in case there’s another attack?”
“No,” Exile replied with a shake of his head. “I have to get used to my new power and find a way to fight Nar’Kozz. That boss is still beyond my capabilities.” .𝙘𝙤𝙢
The leaders sighed when they discovered they could not rely on Exile alone to defeat their enemy. They watched as Exile used the altar to teleport out of there. Noslin shot a questioning glance at Mikari when she saw that. After all, as far as those leaders were aware, there was no teleportation feature in the game!
Even if there was, where the hell would Exile teleport to anyway? Mikari groaned when he realised his brother’s blunder. He had revealed that Ragnarok still held secrets they were unaware of. ‘I’m going to kill you for this!’ Mikari thought as he cleared his throat and pretended not to notice the questioning glances.
Meanwhile, Bjorn glared at the stranger as he returned for another session of his stories. The man had refused to answer Bjorn with any meaningful information regarding himself. However, his constant requests for a story most Skardians had never heard of had caused many people to ask for it.
He could not even deny knowing it since the shock on Bjorn’s face when the stranger first requested it told the people he knew the story. Bjorn sighed as the adults and children immediately requested the story. ‘Hm, what should I do?’ He shot a hateful glare at the stranger who had put him in that situation.
“I give up!” Bjorn groaned. “I’ll tell the damn story!”
The people cheered as the stranger nodded at him. “But I warn you! Nobody knows where this story came from. It could be an old children’s tale somebody made up. So don’t take it as the truth! Do you understand?”
Bjorn glanced around as he waited for them to nod.
“Very well,” Bjorn paused as he recalled the story in his mind. “In a time before the mortal races, realms, gods, sun and stars. There was only darkness.”
Bjorn pleasantly noted that several adults did not like the story already. As far as they knew everything was possible because of the gods. So the story was already posing questions outside of their beliefs.
“In that darkness sat an old man with a great grey beard. He had slept for a long time. But something caused him to awaken. The story goes that the man was bored of being alone in existence. This man decided to change that. He used a power that nobody can describe to create the first gods. One for each element.”
“He gave them a command. They were to build a world where new creations could grow as they watched over them. The god of Fire created a giant ball of flames and made it hover in the darkness. His creation lit up the darkness so his siblings and himself could see. Then, the god of Earth summoned his element. He formed a bowl of rock and dirt as the container for our world. Mountains and land rose from the empty bowl as the goddess of Water filled it.”
“The goddess of air created a lid for the bowl out of the air, and the gods marvelled at their creation. However, something was missing. Their creation was missing life itself. And so, for thousands of years, the gods roamed the world, tending to their garden. Plants and animals soon appeared in abundance. Yet the gods still felt as if their work was incomplete.”
“The god of darkness then proposed that they follow in their father’s footsteps and create lifeforms capable of thought like themselves. Each god approached the work separately. Only to fail for centuries. It was the goddess of water who proposed an idea to her siblings. The idea was to combine their elements.”
“The goddess of Light, who was the eldest among them, agreed. However, she decided that not all elements would be equal within each race. She bid her siblings to send portions of their elements to her as she mixed them together. Earth is the container of life. Water, the blood that would carry life throughout the container. Air, is the breath of life and the fuel for the container to live. And fire, the spark and warmth of life. When it came time to add darkness, light offended her brother and decided his element was unsuitable for the lives they would create.”
“It took years to find stability in their first mortal race. However, when they succeeded, the first Elden was born. The gods became excited by this and decided the Elden would be the gardeners of their new world. The race who would guard and protect the balance of the world.”
“As they began their work to create more races, darkness had a sinister idea…”