The Path of Ascension

Much to his surprise and delight, Matt wasn't placed on cooldown after being healed. He was close, but not quite over the edge.

The good news ended there.

The very night, after they arrived back into the city, they were welcomed with an assassination attempt. Someone was blending in with the wall along a corridor to their suite. A knife slid into Emily's throat, killing her before anyone could react.

Annie lost her mind. She beat the assassin until they were teleported away in a flash. They were sure that she would have continued until their skull caved in, had he not been rescued.

As soon as the hitman was gone, she swore bloody vengeance on him.

That trend continued during their time in the city. On the way to visit Emily, they were hit twice more. After the third encounter, they stopped caring for social niceties, and brandished weapons and armor as they walked.

The next two attacks were thwarted by Conor reacting in time to block an arrow shot from the top of a statue, and Aster smelling someone creeping up on them using some sort of invisibility skill. Liz flooded the area red, revealing the individual standing not four feet away.

They tried to run, but Matt was faster, catching up with two bounding steps. He grabbed them, placed his hand over their face, and squeezed. The message was clear, and the sound of their cracking skull served as the army’s signal to remove them.

None of them were in a good mood when they found Emily leaving the hospital, cursing up a storm.

They got back to their suite without incident, but it set the tone for the remainder of their stay in the city.

***

Team Bucket was forced to wait two weeks for Emily’s healing cooldown before they could go back into the field. They technically could have gone on missions without her, but everyone agreed to wait. With time on his hands, Matt shelled out 50,000 points to hire a melee instructor from the army.

The instructor was not what he expected. He arrived at the training room a few minutes before the appointed time, and at first he thought he was in the wrong room. The only other person there could be mistaken for a child at first glance. She stood a few inches over five feet, if Matt had to guess. But his AI registered them as the instructor he was supposed to meet.

Sheila Benson, Tier 22.

That was it. No other accomplishments or titles listed. But Benson was the instructor listed, so he shut the door behind himself and deactivated his armor.

“Hello?” Matt called out, but the mass of brown curls didn't so much as twitch.

Matt continued to stare at the motionless woman for what felt like an hour, but was closer to five minutes.

Finally, at some unseen signal, the woman pivoted on a heel and strode over to him with purposeful steps.

She got within inches of Matt and glared up at him.

Her first words to him were, “You were early. I didn't ask you to be early. I said 7 AM. Not 6:55.”

Matt was at a loss how to respond, but tried anyway.

“I didn’t know if you intended to move locations, or something like that. I figured a little early was better than late.”

“A weapon is no good if it's not where it needs to be, when it needs to be. A strike should land precisely when it is best applied. Not too early. Not too late. On time.”

Matt saw where this was headed, so he attempted to avoid a lecture. “My timing was right where I wanted it, which is control. The most important aspect of handling a blade.”

Sheila smirked slightly at his response. “A weak answer, but an acceptable one. You hired me for two weeks. What do you want out of it?”

Matt had listed this on the request, but assumed that this was another test of sorts. “Primarily, I want to work on my longsword skills. And maybe polish up my general weapons expertise, if time permits.”

The Tier 22 strolled around Matt and poked various parts of his frame. As she circled him, she asked, “Who trained you, and under what schools of bladework?”

Matt shook his head. “I didn't have any formal education at any martial house or school. I was orphaned, and we were taught basic stances. I moved beyond that with the training aids. I also learned from a few of the trainers at my PlayPen.”

The woman knit her brows slightly. “Well color me surprised. You have the frame of someone trained under the DaResh school of greatswords. I’ve reviewed your last several fights, and you fight like it as well, if a touch sloppily in places. If you say you haven't trained with a proper school, then we’ll start there. Let’s see how much is natural ability, and how much is training.”

A longsword sized to her smaller frame settled into her hands out of nowhere. She stepped back and took a defensive stance.

“Start attacking me. Once I get a feel for your abilities, I’ll start retaliating.”

Matt summoned his sword and took his own stance opposite the tiny woman.

Ten minutes later, Matt had a bruised hand, arm, and face to match his bruised ego.

He expected to lose. The woman was Tier 22 and in the army. An ice cream bunny had a greater chance of escaping Aster than he did to even scratch her. What galled him was that she had spanked him while lowering her cultivation level to below his. During the spar, her speed, strength, and proprioception were all significantly weaker than his, but she still treated him as if she was playing around with a kitten.

As he rubbed at his swollen jaw, Sheila motioned him to sit down, which he gratefully did.

“You're not bad. Better than I expected when you said that you haven't actually trained under anyone. Sometimes, people just imitate moves and such, but they don't understand what they’re doing. You could go far if you want to lean into the art of the blade more.”

She waved her hand, and four swords appeared in a row floating between them. The first three were of a similar design, but the final was noticeably different. The first and last were both made from bronze, but the second was iron, and the third was polished steel.

“I participate in the mundane blade competitions, and I’m pretty good.” She tapped the last blade, whose shape contrasted to the other three. “Got thirty-second place in the Empire-wide Tier 20 competition for shortswords.” She waved a hand over the others and said, “Worked my way up in the Vassal level fights to first place. It took over three decades before I even placed in the Empire-wide rankings.”

Matt knew of the mundane blade competitions; anyone who enjoyed melee fighting did. They were duels where no skills or personal gear were allowed, only cultivation. Even powerful Talents would be removed from play by giving participants armor and weapons that precisely counteracted their benefits. If the Talent was too broad or all encompassing and unable to be countered or turned off the cultivator was unable to participate.

The competitions were held every five years, and people anywhere from Tier 1 to Tier 40 participated. The tournaments weren’t really considered serious until after Tier 15, where the participants had eons to perfect their craft.

The fact that the woman had won a Kingdom-level tournament was incredibly impressive. That she’d then gone on to place in the Empire-level tournament? Just scary. Even if she hadn't taken first place, she’d proven to be in the top fifty fighters out of millions of master competitors from thousands of planets.

Inadvertently, he straightened his posture. From just that information, the dark-skinned woman in front of him was someone to respect. It also explained why she treasured the last bronze blade more than the steel one. Getting a top fifty trophy in the Empire was a wide step above getting a first-place steel weapon from any Kingdom. Matt also made a note to search for her fights and review them tonight. They would be somewhere on the EmpireNet, and he wanted to watch.

I wonder if I can get an autograph? Would that be weird?

He hadn’t known the woman existed before this, but he was already thoroughly fascinated.

“So, what can I do to improve?” He was eager.

Sheila grinned at him. “We’ll start with the basics and work our way up. Today, we'll go over various sword forms with a variety of weapons.”

She popped to her feet with an alacrity that Matt couldn't match, and started directing him through sword forms.

The next two days were both the best and the worst of times. Sheila repeatedly pushed him to the brink. And if he didn't show the results she wanted, she kicked him right off the edge more than once.

A healer had to be called in twice when she cracked bones to punish him for repeatedly overextending.

Similar to Annie’s instructor, Sheila was fair but exacting in her demands. From the way she composed herself, and the videos of her duels that he watched during the small breaks he was given, she expected more from herself as an instructor than she did from him as a student.

He strove to meet her own expectations, and she responded by pushing him even further. For the first day and a half, he didn't sleep at all, just relying on [Endurance] to carry him through. When he began flagging despite its assistance, Sheila booted Matt into a corner and commanded him to sleep.

Five hours later, she woke him up and kept pushing him with renewed vigour. From there on out, she forced him to rest for exactly five hours a day. During those two weeks, he lived and breathed the training room, not seeing the outside at all. His whole existence was endless drills and exercises with Sheila.

Matt was torn between feeling he’d made zero progress, and seeing massive improvement. When he was dueling the Tier 22, nothing made a difference. She toyed with him while continuously calling out instructions. When he fought training aids or simulations, he performed at a completely different level than he had before.

His instinctive reactions were being honed, even if it was slightly. He could tell that his predictions of moves were just a hair more accurate.

The training only lasted for two weeks, so the improvements were small, but Matt was feeling good.

***

Liz felt like shit.

Her boyfriend had all but vanished for the last week and a half, only responding to messages once a day before passing out. Being away from him for so long with nearly zero contact was a new inconvenience, but it was one that she could accept. Although Matt didn’t say it out loud, Talous’ greater melee skills had been a wakeup call for him. She was glad that he was working to better himself.

To her endless annoyance, Talous’ reaction to their duel wasn’t quite as mature. At first, he hounded her to find Matt so he could challenge him to another duel. Liz didn't need to see the reports of him raging around once he got out of the hospital to know why he was mad.

He told everyone himself. Loudly.

At every opportunity, Talous told anyone who would listen about how Matt had cheated in their fight, and if he didn’t duel him fairly, he wasn't a real man.

Liz found that funny. Matt had zero problems cheating in a fight, and using a trump card wasn't cheating by any means.

No, what she minded was Talous taking things personally, and creating a rift in the Pathers’ Union.

He and The Princess had contacted all the Kingdom’s top Pathers and offered them a better deal. In and of itself, that wouldn't have been a problem from her perspective. The problem she did have was that their new deal changed the formula with which the Pathers’ general point share was distributed. They halved the one percent that went to everyone and redirected it to the top contributors. Now, the bottom half of the Pathers would get relatively fewer points for their contributions, and the top earners would earn more.

Talous spun it as a great service to everyone, even the people he was screwing over.

Few bought it, and there was an outcry about the unfair treatment. But enough of the top Pathers on the Kingdom side were swayed over by the promise of greater earnings, and switched sides. Albert was public about his anger towards the situation, and refused to make similar changes, calling it a greedy mindset. Privately, he seemed pretty pleased with Talous' changes. The Kingdom was being flooded with requests to switch sides from lower ranked Queendom Pathers and independent crafters.

Albert and Juni were happy with the trade, as the mass defections were nearly crippling the Queendom’s crafting economy. All the independent crafters, still under Alyssa’s guidance, refused to work with the Queendom. More and more, the Queendom needed to rely on their own crafters, slowing their development plans. On the other hand, with a greater share of the top Tier Pathers, the Queendom forces were now hitting harder per person. Ultimately, the Pather split flipped into a forty sixty split, with the Kingdom having more people but the Queendom having the higher quality troops.

Liz was still ticked off. Anyone with two brain cells knew that the Queendom was up to something, as they siphoned away a good portion of the Kingdom’s above average Pathers. But as days went by, no one made any major moves. The leadership eventually eased back their alertness to normal levels. Eventually, part of her figured that maybe Talous just couldn’t handle a loss, and this was his payback. But that seemed too simple and easy of an explanation.

The truly amusing part, at least to Liz, was that the top fifteen Pather teams on the Kingdom side flatly refused to switch. As more mid-tier Pathers defected, the opportunities to earn points increased, and there was less competition for the highest spots. Sara tried to sway them with gifts and bribes, but none of them budged from the Kingdom’s side.

Liz was still inundated with work, trying to get all the new people into rooms and fending off assassination attempts. She was only caught unawares once. While walking to a meeting of the Pather Union, a potted plant turned into a person and stabbed her. Fortunately, she was able to twist enough to make it a nonlethal blow.

She just wished Matt would finish up with his training. His steady presence would make all this stress easier to handle.

***

Luna idled above the neutral city and watched as her newest... challenges worked on improving themselves.

Liz mostly dealt with politics, while training with her new skills and learning their limitations. That was acceptable for the present situation. Her new [Blood Sprites] skill was a surprising and creative addition to her arsenal. She was looking forward to seeing the results during the next siege. Although, she made a note to have Liz work on her control. As devastating as the skill was for her enemies, without proper control, the skill could easily backfire and harm her allies.

Aster was still dealing with her burgeoning intelligence. Switching back and forth from animal to child. The play dates were helping her settle in, so she crossed that off her binder of to-do’s for the little fox. The training with the Ice Wolf was a good call for her. The older canine had even mentioned [Ice Form], and its ability to counteract Winter’s Embrace’s shortcoming of being rooted to one spot. It was always better when information was seeded by others before she needed to step in personally. People tended to be more receptive that way.

Matt was training in mundane swordplay. Not the worst idea, after fighting someone who was actually better than him at it for the first time. She would have found him a better instructor, but Sheila was adequate for his current skill level, so she left it as is.

No need to interfere too early.

She had pulled a few strings to get Annie the help she needed with her skill set. Luna recognized the enjoyment that the girl got out performing a perfect assassination. She had seen it before, and those types often went into the deep end without realizing it. The thrill of executing a flawless plan mutated into the thrill of execution.

Luna had no problems taking small measures to prevent the birth of a sociopath when it was happening right in front of her.

So, she’d called Victor, one of the Empire's better assassins. She had no idea what they were calling themselves these days; they always had a new, clever name that she couldn't be bothered to keep up with. Mechanics, fixers, bureau of adjustments, and the like. They were state sanctioned killers who operated in the shadows. Who cared what they called themselves?

Still, Victor seemed very pleased with the girl. When Annie fell off The Path, Luna was sure that he would quickly be there to recruit her. Victor had even admitted to thinking about stalling the sisters so they would fall off the Path and he could get her early. But Luna just laughed at him and told him that if he wanted to train the girl sooner, he should just become a part of the twins’ management team at Tier 10. If he didn’t, someone else would take the reins on Annie’s training.

He grumbled, but Luna knew that he’d take her warning seriously. He’d already started gently pushing Annie into specialized therapy, which she agreed with. Better to head these issues off now, before they grow to be a bigger problem. An ounce of prevention was worth a pound of a cure.

The other two were each honing their skills, but it was mundane. Her charges had lucked into an interesting bunch of Pathers, but her team was usually so much more interesting. Now, Luna was bored. The days were turning into weeks with nothing new happening. After rechecking her training notes for the 9,234th time, she checked on her charges with her spiritual sense.

Again.

Liz was still politicking, so she tuned that mostly out, while watching Matt get toyed with by the little girl. At least that was mildly entertaining, so she settled in to watch.

***

Matt heaved on all fours while he spat out shards of a tooth and phlegm-filled blood.

Sheila stood over him with a presence that belied her physical size. “I told you to keep your guard up.”

He just nodded. As always, she’d warned him exactly twice before she broke something. Grunting, he forced himself back to his feet, to an approving smirk from his instructor.

“Again.” The words were agony to spit out, but they earned a nod, which was enough.

Matt blocked two strikes before lashing out for a probing strike, only to have it blocked casually.

Sheila's follow-up strike was aimed at his jaw again, but he kept his composure this time, and deflected the blade off of his own. He stepped forward and around her, attacking her less protected side.

But she was already gone. His instructor had mirrored his step forward with her own, and swung at Matt’s back with her smaller longsword.

Matt barely managed to raise his own sword up in time. The worst part was, she didn't even consider herself good in longsword techniques. As much as it rankled, it rang true. In comparison to her skill with a short sword, Sheila was almost bad with her longsword. But only in comparison to her skills with a shortsword.

With the shorter blade in hand, it didn't matter what her opponents did. She danced through them, rending flesh with every twist and turn.

Regardless, she was still more than good enough to teach Matt about every weapon he could ask for help with. Even about his longsword.

Only two days were spent training with other weapons. Blunt weapons and axes were the focus, as they covered enough of the damage types that his longsword couldn't.

Sheila also questioned why he was walking the line between longsword and greatsword. It was an unusual line to walk for a swordsman. With his height and reach, his comfortable blade length for any weapon was longer than most. So, he told her how he had to make do with a cheaper weapon at the PlayPen, and adapted to it. Then, there was the addition of being stronger than most at his Tier, which changed his style further. She listened quietly through his explanation and just nodded along. Seeing that it worked for him, she encouraged him to stay the course and create his own style.

While breaking for a quick meal, Matt worked up the courage to ask her why she was even there. That question had been bugging him. She was a good instructor; too good to be babysitting Tier 6s. He was sure that she could have sold her skills instead of joining the army.

She laughed at him. “I'm doing a three century tour with the army to pay for a straight shot of rift locations and spots to Tier 35. Fastest way to advance.”

“Surely a noble or a guild would have gotten you the slots?”

She scoffed at that reply. “If I wanted to sign my life away, sure. For a deal that big, I'd be given an incredibly strict contract with exit clauses I could never afford to pay. It would keep me leashed to them forever. The bigger the reward, the stronger they bind you to them. With the army, at least I can pay them upfront and owe them nothing when it's over. Most of the time, it's easy. I train the troops who want or need help in between combat missions. Matty boy, if you fall off the Path, make sure you don't sign anything without reading the contract over well. Pay a lawyer if you can. Everything has to be in plain language, but that doesn't mean you’ll understand the implications of every phrase.”

Matt just nodded, remembering the contracts he looked over after first receiving the detrimental rating for his Talent. While the contracts were on the surface easy to understand, there were enough ambiguities that made Matt nervous.

“Why do this then?” Matt waved around at the training room and himself.

“Ha. This makes me more than training some noble brat. The Empire offers tax breaks to anyone who trains kids on the Path, and your contribution points also turn into 5,000 army merit points. For two weeks of doing chores away from baby sitting duty, that’s pretty decent remuneration. So, I get to pay half the taxes for one year of my choosing, per lesson I teach. It’ll save me an assload if I do it when I'm advancing.”

She popped back to her feet, and with a wave, the trays of food vanished.

“Alright, I want you to run simulation seventeen, but this time, every kill needs to be with a single blow.”

Matt readed his blade and linked his AI with the simulation room as he walked into it.

***

Matt, Liz, and Aster sat curled up in Melinda’s suite, having finished watching a movie with the other team, when Matt noticed the orbs in their hands.

“Is that an essence stone?”

They looked baffled at his question, but Sam, who was closest to their love seat, extended it with two fingers. “Yeah. Haven't you been using them?”

Matt turned to Liz, who turned to Aster, who just turned back at Matt. None of them had any idea.

“No. Where did you get them?”

Kyle slumped forward. “Dude, they’re five points apiece on the shop. How have you not seen them?”

Matt flushed slightly as he realized what might have happened. “Well, I mostly sort by cost from highest to lowest.”

That earned him a round of boo’s from the team. Tara even threw a piece of popcorn at him, which Aster snapped up. He patted her for her rigorous defense of his person, but she was more interested in getting more of the popcorn from Tara, and left to join her.

Melinda stared at them. “So you just haven't advanced at all in the last four months or so?”

“Not really.” Matt shrugged, with Liz looking just as embarrassed.

Vinnie flipped them off, saying with a teasing tone, “Must be nice to be that far ahead of the curve.” Kicking his feet up, he asked in his normal voice, “Haven't you seen your teammates using them?”

Liz shook her head. “They’re peak Tier 6, so they had no need either. I just kinda figured that stalling a bit was a part of the whole war game. None of the books I read mentioned anything about it.”

Matt could already see the nasty letters she’d be writing to the authors of all the Pather war books she had read. What a detail to leave out.

Mathew leaned forward, showing off the little orb in his hand. “The ship's captain we were transported here with said that there’s a secret in these. None of us have found anything yet, but it's fun to look for while we advance.”

Matt looked down in question. In the corner of his eye, he saw Liz doing the same. Neither of them had any idea what secret he was talking about.

“Who said this? And have you looked it up anywhere?” Liz hesitantly probed.

Melinda nodded. “The ship captain. And we did, but we only found rumors, nothing concrete. Figured it was a secret.”

Liz pushed off Matt’s shoulder to sit herself up. “I've never heard that one. And I feel like that would be something my parents would have mentioned. Or at least not be able to keep a secret. Even my siblings, for that matter.”

Matt nodded along, but froze as Kyle asked, “Why would they know?”

Next to him, Liz tensed, but only for an instant. He was about to make an excuse for her, but she sighed and said, “It's dumb to hide this. You shared your secrets with me. I should reciprocate. My parents are Leon and Mara, the two royals.”

Her words took a few seconds to register, but everyone’s faces started melting into shock. With one exception; Melinda simply bounced around. “Ohhhh! That explains the double princess nickname! I thought it was just a weird pet name, or inside joke, but that’s sooo much funnier!”

Liz spun and glared at Matt. She poked him in the ribs, “You said that in front of her? You're such a butt!”

Matt had to think back, but he had teased her about the double princess having golden armor in front of Melinda. He hadn't even thought about that.

Tara interrupted them. “Wait, wait, wait... You’re the daughter of two Tier... I don't even know...” Her eyes flicked to the right. “Two Tier 48s. Holy shit. Forty-fucking-eight. Two of them. That's crazy! Why are you even on The Path?”

Liz pointed back at Tara. “That is exactly why. I didn't choose my parents. I don't want everyone thinking all of my accomplishments come from them. It sucks to be under their shadow. Or having people always trying to be my friend so they can cozy up to them. Nothing ever feels real.”

That sobered up the room, and Tara wilted slightly.

Melinda brought the conversation back on track. “Well, thank you for trusting us.”

Liz just beamed at them all, including Tara. “Thank you for being my friend before you knew. I hope it doesn't change anything, but I don't like lying to my friends, so I'm happy to have it out in the open.”

Kyle shrugged, “Yeah, super parents are cool and all, but I'm way more interested in you being half beast. Does that mean you will have a beast shape? I'm sooo jealous. I'd love to have one.” He kicked at the ground slightly. “Stupid humans.”

That brought out a round of questions that Liz answered happily. No one seemed to judge her, and when Tara went to go get more drinks, Liz followed her. They came back with smiles; Liz’s happy, and Tara’s relieved. Matt suspected that she apologized for the rude question earlier.

As his essence stone crumbled to dust, Vinnie finally asked, “So there’s no secret in these?”

Liz put up her hands. “Maybe. But I've never heard of it. Doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.”

Matt quipped as the thought entered his head, “Maybe the captain was trying to keep all of you quiet on the trip.”

Kyle jumped at him and put him in a headlock. “I’ll show you 'keep quiet on a trip!'” And started to rub his fist into Matt's head.

As they devolved into wrestling, the party’s mood returned to what it was before Liz’s revelation.

When they finally walked home, Liz was jubilant. “They didn't treat me any differently when I told them.”

She clung to Matt's arm before bouncing off into a skip and a jump.

“They like me for me!” Her shout echoed off the building and was eaten by the mostly empty streets.

She came back and stole Aster to start a little dance with her as she jumped along.

Finally, she settled down enough to walk normally next to Matt. “Thank you for having great friends to share with me.”

Matt just put an arm around her. “What's mine is yours.”

Liz finished the quiet with a devious grin. “And what's mine is only mine!”

She tried to flee, but he caught her and started tickling her until she corrected herself with a lingering kiss. “What's mine is yours.” She pecked his nose before hugging him and saying, “You already have my heart. What else is there to give?”

To Matt's relief, the assassins left them alone to enjoy the walk home. Nothing should have ruined their moment.

***

The war settled down, with each side having taken the easy measures to earn points, and then blocking the other side from doing the same. As the weeks stretched into months, there were no large movements on either side, with only the occasional fort exchanging hands. There was also the odd skirmish that turned into a larger battle as more people flooded in from each side.

All in all, the largest thing that happened at the six-month mark was a grand auction.

The auction was once again held in the same underwater location as before, where they all sat in their auction booths. There were screens displaying various scenes of them fighting throughout the months. Nearly everyone had a moment where they shined, and anyone who rated a private box let it show.

Talous still irritated the hell out of Matt. He hounded him both privately and in public for months about a rematch. To get back at him, Matt widely shared his recording of him nearly cutting the man's head off. Above their auction booth, it was shown on a large screen, playing on a short loop. There were more dramatic and visually impressive clips that he could have shown from the siege, but none so satisfying to share as Talous’ execution.

He'd already received seven threats from the man, and each one brought a petty smile to his face. After everything the jackass put Liz through, he wasn't above showing off the man's only death to everyone watching.

Of course, Talous wasn’t one to sit and do nothing in response. He retaliated by having Matt's single death displayed above the box of the man who’d killed him. Considering that Matt was sitting on the top floor now, and that fighter was near the bottom, he didn't mind. Besides, Matt was pretty proud of that death. It showed him killing two people and beating a third to death while being repeatedly stabbed in the back by a half dozen people.

The impact wasn't the same as having a sword shoved through your head in single combat.

If the man weren’t such an asshole, he would have happily accepted the duel. Matt had learned a lot with Sheila, but he needed to fight opponents nearer his own level to truly realize his gains. Talous would have been the perfect sparring partner.

But with how vindictive the man was, and how mad he was about not getting his way, Matt enjoyed refusing the requests all the more.

He smiled and waved over at the box where he knew Talous was, then chuckled as the man scowled and flipped him the finger.

They were all relaxed in their box; assassinations were strictly forbidden during the auction. Not that it mattered. The attempts had come to a halt after Annie personally and viciously took revenge on anyone who tried to take them out. She didn't just hunt down anyone who attempted to make a hit on them. She hunted their friends, their family, and their bosses. All without mercy. Each time, she made sure that her victims knew exactly why they were suffering in the slowest and most torturous deaths she could get away with, before the army would step in and extract them. After two weeks of knife-work on her part, the constant attempts on their lives had completely stopped.

Emily’s assassin had, very publicly, opted to leave the war right before his two week healing cooldown ended. His nerve had broken after watching his teammates, friends, and commanders end up in the hospital, mutilated and screaming for mercy. Each one had carried a message for him from Annie, with promises of his fate to come. This had earned her a title from the Queendom fighters: “Calamity Annie”.

At the entire team’s insistence, she started seeing a therapist. None of them were comfortable with just how far she’d been taking the kills. Annie had only acquiesced when her sister confronted her about how hard she was taking Emily’s death, and how extreme the level of revenge was.

Matt could understand Annie’s feelings, but definitely agreed with the group. Her methods dove a little too far in the revenge category for his taste. At the same time though, she had watched her sister get knifed through the throat for a tiny bounty. That wasn’t something he’d handle any better, so he could sympathize with her.

If this wasn’t a game with army watchers, Emily could have actually bled out right then and there. As would Annie’s later victims. There was a good lesson here for the other side; anyone they killed might have loved ones willing to go to extreme lengths for revenge.

Matt just didn't want to see his friend lose herself in the shadows.

Annie’s attitude improved after some time away from her personal wetwork, particularly with the end of the constant attacks. Here at the auction, they were perfectly safe. The army made it clear that any violence on the auction house’s grounds would result in the perpetrators being kicked out of the safety bubbles, and no one would be rescuing them. The only place people were allowed to fight was the dueling arenas.

That rule allowed everyone to relax and focus on the auction, which was the entire point. No business wanted their potential customers too afraid to buy things.

Emily was still bitter about her point loss, but had come to accept it. Her death meant that she only had about 200,000 points from the team’s passive gains, along with a few missions, by the time the auction rolled around. However, the rest of the team had offered to help pay for any items or training she wanted, so she wasn’t left destitute.

As item after item passed by the auction block, they mostly ignored them. Prices had skyrocketed with the accumulated points people now had to spend. Items that went for 5,000 points in the first auction raked in ten or more times their previous value. Other people were still spending their points, but Team Bucket needed little. Their team never left the top five earners, ensuring a good flow of points from the daily stipends. But with the lack of large movements on the war front, they were unable to save up enough for what they really wanted—the chase items.

Annie was gazing longingly at the store entry for [Side Slide]. But at a cost of one million points, she was still a ways away. Additionally, she and her sister were aging nearer to twenty-seven as each day passed, pushing them ever closer to needing to Tier up to stay on The Path. The moment they did, the twins would be Tier 7 Pathers, and booted from the war. Having just had their twenty sixth birthdays last week, they only had a year left.

Matt made a note to send Annie a [Side Slide] if one ever appeared during his rift experiments. She was a good friend, and the skill would do wonders for her.

The auction closed out with a gauntlet that increased melee damage. As that last item was wheeled away, the junior auctioneer in charge of the auction gave a flourish. In his place,Javier, the Tier 29 representative of Deep Sky Auctions, took the stage.

“Good evening, my friends! Good evening. Today is a special day.” He paced around, nodding. “Yes, it is. It most certainly is. Today marks the six-month anniversary of the start of this vassal war!”

A slight cheer rose, but Javier waved his arms, prompting the crowd into a roar. “Yes, my friends, you have worked hard! You have learned! You have died.”

The crowded hall quieted at that, but Javier just grinned. “Around this time, in most such wars, things tend to be slowing down to a grind. To help push past this, the Empire likes to provide a little extra encouragement. For the fighters on the ground, there are new rewards in the contribution points shop! Next month, even more new surprises will appear in the auction house. I’m sure they will interest a great many of you. As for your daring leaders...”

He waved, and both Sara and Albert were highlighted with orbs of light that raced from his hand. “To the two young generals of the war, the Empire offers these...”.

On the podium next to him, two Shards of Reality sparkled into existence on a plush cushion. “Two perfectly preserved Shards of Reality. For those that don’t know, these are the echo of an Ascension, preserved for later use. Anyone who cultivates under their influence is all but guaranteed to form at least part of their own Concept.”

At the murmurs of appreciation, he nodded. “But that is not all! Not remotely. We will also provide the chambers needed to ensure that the maximum benefit is squeezed out of them. This is a rare treat! Yes indeed! Shards of Reality are not cheap. No, they are not! Ascensions are rare, and Shards of Reality do not last forever, no matter how much we may wish for it. But the Empire has purchased a few just for this vassal war.”

Javier nodded at the two rulers as he said, “Just ask the King and Queen. I'm sure they tried to purchase one, but only a thousand or so are produced per Ascension, and they’re quickly snatched up by those there. These treasures are not easy to get your hands on.”

Both royals nodded in affirmation at the man's words, but they didn't look particularly interested. On the other hand, both Albert and Sara stared at the two shards like ravenous wolves being held back by sheer will.

“What is required of my young friends to earn these prizes? Now that is the question, isn't it?”

He grinned. “Simple! Just fight. Move your troops and make progress. When each side earns twenty million points from new, active sources, these are yours. Send your people out to raid! Send them out to take a city! Prevent a city from being taken! You simply must do!”

Matt grinned as well. This meant that things were going to kick back off, which meant more chances to earn points. These last three months had been far too slow for his taste.

Javier turned as if to leave, before pausing and adding, “Oh! I almost forgot about these beauties in all the excitement.” The two royal rewards, the staff and the gauntlet, flashed into place on either side of him. “The two grand prizes for the benevolent rulers!”

He displayed what Matt could only call a predatory smile. “Each respective side is just under halfway to earning these trophies for their monarchs.”

With that, both he and the items poofed away. The Queen simply placed a hand on Sara’s forearm, but the King turned his head towards his son like a loaded cannon ready to fire. Both of their reactions were still visible on the projection. The look aimed at Albert was borderline hostile. That face held more than simple, naked greed; there was a rabid hunger there that made Matt shiver.

Matt opened and flipped through the new additions to the contribution point shop, still sorting them from most to least expensive by default. The first item he saw froze him solid. Tier 14 upgrade orbs were available for the low cost of half a million points. They were limited to one per person, and only fifty total for sale. A minuscule number for the millions of people participating in the war.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. A lot of contradictory things was said about these orbs, but one thing known for certain was that they were incredibly rare rift drops. Luckily, the store description provided more information directly from the Empire. The Tier 14 upgrade orbs only dropped from Tier 14 to 25 rifts, and could upgrade any Tier 8 or Tier 14 skills to improve them.

They appeared every two ranks of skill shard drops, and were able to upgrade any skill at an appropriate Tier or equivalent once. Each upgrade used made the Skill eligible for the next available Tier of upgrade orb too. So a Tier 8 skill like [Cracked Phantom Armor] could be upgraded up to four times. First with a Tier 14 upgrade orb, then with a Tier 26, then a Tier 38, and finally with the theoretical Tier 50 upgrade orbs.

The level types of the orb were only theoretical, because there were no Tier 50 rifts to delve, and thus no Tier 50 rewards to earn. If previous trends held, the Tier 38 upgrade orbs were dropped until Tier 49. But the Empire’s highest rift was only Tier 47, so there was no way to know for sure.

Matt was close. With the passive points he had earned from being in a top five team, he was sitting on about 450,000 points. But if he was so close, that meant others would be too.

Even as he was looking, the number available dropped to forty seven, a gut wrenching decrease that spoke volumes for how fast they would disappear.

Using the reference provided in the store description, he quickly researched how upgraded orbs affected cracked skills, and checked the most common upgrades for [Phantom Armor].

Cracked skills could be upgraded, but didn't have set rules they followed like standard skills. Their upgrades were far more varied, and hard to precisely predict. Generally though, the upgrade would somehow parallel one of the upgrades available to the base skill.

[Phantom Armor] was a historically popular choice, with a single, well-established upgrade. The first orb always granted the ability to store a second distinct charge in the skill, which gave the user the chance of blocking up to two life-threatening attacks in one fight.

Matt wasn't sure what that would mean for [Cracked Phantom Armor].The upgrade could range from something that forced him to reset his entire fighting style, to something that made him invincible. There was just no way to tell beforehand.

Even with risk in the randomness, he salivated at the thought of upgrading it.

As the group headed to the dining hall, Matt checked the known upgrades for the rest of his skills, to cover his bases.

[Mage’s Retreat] added a large increase to running speed. The skill’s name was actually derived from this upgrade. At one point, an infamous mage demonstrated this upgrade so thoroughly and effectively, it was widely reclassified as an escape skill for spellcasters. Matt passed on that for now.

[Endurance] simply helped enhance the body's physical fitness while in use. The user could get a ‘work out’ simply by channeling mana into it. No other effort needed. The effects were permanent, but not something Matt needed, so he put it to the side as well. He already went to the gym and enjoyed it. Getting fit through a spell wasn't on his radar of needs.

[Hail] was a weird one, with a trio of possible upgrade paths. But Matt couldn't find any information on how to choose, or if you even could. Two of the options were particularly common though. The first made the chunks of ice ‘sticky’, causing them to bind to an opponent and slow them down as the weight of the ice chunks gradually built up on them. The second made it so the shards of ice contained pockets of hyper-cooled liquid water, and would rupture on impact. It would soak the target in freezing water and cause severe frostbite. A third and much rarer upgrade made the hail blades sharper, and interspersed the storm with massive chunks of ice. However, it would lower the diameter of the spell.

One excelled at crowd control, the other increased the cold damage, and the last upgrade made the skill great against unarmored opponents. The first two were interesting, and possibly very useful for Aster. None of them were anything that Matt particularly cared about more than boosting [Cracked Phantom Armor].

[Fireball] had an increased range, damage, and explosion size on impact. That was more tempting, but still not amazing for Matt as he currently stood. He intended to eventually replace the [Fireball] in his spirit anyway, once he had enough mana to afford a version with the increased base cost and damage. It would outpace the lowered cost version he had now by miles.

[Flamethrower]'s upgrade made Matt pause in deliberation. It increased the fire damage a little, but more importantly, it changed the nature of the fire. The skill’s output gained the quality of a sticky, flaming liquid that lingered on anything it touched, and could be spread on contact. Now that was a nice upgrade that Matt could see a million uses for.

Matt warred with himself over the options. [Cracked Phantom Armor] was his primary skill that had taken him so far, but the cracked nature made it a risky and random choice. The improved [Flamethrower] would be a solid, immediately useful, all-around upgrade. The fact that he intended to shift to a more mage-like style just made the decision more difficult. [Flamethrower] was a short-to-mid-range skill that he wasn't willing to use without [Cracked Phantom Armor] anyway.

He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and enjoyed his floating dinner with his friends. There was no point stressing over it until he had the points anyway. He would talk it over with Liz and Aster as well. This was a big purchase that could affect them as well.

He added the rest of Team Bucket into the conversation. With the upcoming push, he was sure they could all afford it sooner than most.