Chapter 52

  It was the longest thirty minutes of my life. We got back to the building proper, leaving the arena, with about fifteen minutes left. During that time, I bought myself another drink from the concession stand, opting this time for something called a Jolt Gulp. By the name alone, I figured it would have caffeine. By the buzz it gave me after three sips of the strangely tangy yet not unpleasant beverage, which reminded me of a cross between a Monster and a Fanta, I was very happy in my choice.

  After, I just kind of hung out. Compared to the battle between Mikael and Julius, a new Tamer battling for a Tier 1 gauntlet upgrade wasn’t all that interesting. There weren’t even options to place bets on my battle. Which… rude.

  Still, after thirty minutes, I finally got the prompt from the system, because I was totally just calling it a system now instead of the world’s power or the building’s special traits or whatnot, and I accepted. A flash of light later, and I was once again in an Arena… albeit one that was maybe a tenth of the size, at least it felt, of the one I’d just been a spectator in. Rude.

  “Welcome, Taylor,” Julius said as I appeared. The man was standing casually before me, looking perfectly refreshed as if he hadn’t just taken part in an epic battle. There wasn’t a spec of dust on his fine clothes, and up close I was made to realize just how large he was. Definitely seven foot in height, at least, based on how I had to crane my neck to look up into his eyes. He gave me a warm, friendly smile. “Are you excited?”

  “After what I just witnessed,” I started, noting Guy was one of about ten people total watching my battle. He waved at me and gave me a thumbs up. “Definitely.”

  “That was a rather intense battle, wasn’t it.” Julius ran a hand through his hair, “it’s not often I lose at the higher Tiers. It’s been years since someone has even challenged me for a Tier 8 battle.” He let out a heavy sigh, “I’d been pretty excited about it as well.”

  “And you aren’t anymore?” I asked, noting a slight shift in his tone.

  “It ended in an anticlimactic way, I suppose.” He looked at his gauntlet, twisting it this way and that. “I don’t get to use those Muns often. My Golden King least of all. Having him taken out after a single turn… it was bittersweet.” He let out a sigh, and replaced the frown that had been creeping onto his face with a smile. “But enough about that,” he looked around, “are you ready to begin? Do you have any questions? Or did you want to just want to start the battle? I know most young folk nowadays are always in quite a rush to just be over with the battle and on their ways."

  Guilty.

  "I’m ready to start now,” I said, my excitement mixing with my caffeine to make me extra jittery. I saw a small bit of sorrow in his eyes, and added, “but, after, I may have some questions… if you don’t mind answering them.”

  “Always happy to help guide new Tamer’s on their journeys,” he said cheerily. There must have been a prompt for him to select, because a moment later, I got a message through my Gauntlet.

  Begin Gauntlet Tier Up Event? Tier 0 – 1. 3 v 3 Battle.

  Y/N?

  I selected yes, and just as with the battle I’d watched, a countdown began. Even with it just being a Tier 1 battle, the monitors on the sides of the arena were still lit, and still showcased the same information as they had for the Tier 8 Battle. So, at least there was that.

  Quickly I selected my Muns and summoned them, having already planned out my team. First, obviously, was my Cogberus. Second, my Graven, because his Gear Grind skill decreased the defense of enemy Muns. And finally, my Pride Cub, because his Glare effect further decreased the stats of my opponents Muns. Annoyingly, I’d realized I didn’t have any Muns with readily available skills that could boost the stats of my Muns. At least, not as a party. Something that I would fix as I leveled them all to level 30, considering most battles against other Tamer’s, I had a feeling, would be team matches.

  As my Muns began to materialize before me, Julius summoned his three. Three familiar forms took shape from the white light before him. A Shimmer-ish, a Gem Beetle, and a Pride Cub. Just as Guy had said, he was indeed only using Muns from around Silver Springs. If I had to guess, depending on the Tier of the Tamer is he was battling, he had different versions of his teams.

  “Oh,” Julius commented as the battle commenced, my Graven up first. “A Cogberus?” His eyebrows raised in surprise as he eyed my three-headed dog. “You must have come from Cogni, and yet…” his eyes took a more critical look of me, “you definitely don’t strike me as the sort.”

  I ordered my Graven to use Gear Grind, and the metallic gears within its chest began grinding, as the metallic black wings flapped wildly. It was even more cacophonic than it had been when he was a Gearow, and I wondered if the effect was increased. Julius’s three Muns shivered as the sound washed over them. Next up, was Julius’s Pride Cub. He analyzed his Mun’s attacks. At level 20, I knew the Mun could choose from Bite, Slash, or Glare.

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  “Glare,” he commanded, and his Pride Cub did its best to focus a glare on its face. The effect seemed to work on my Graven and Pride Cub… but for my Cogberus… the three headed Mun barked angrily, narrowed its eyes, and began to growl. Julius’s Pride Cub flinched backwards. Interesting.

  “Dogs and cats, eh?” Julius said with a knowing smile. “There’s good and bad pairings in these battles. And sometimes their types, and evolutions or standings, can play an effect.” He motioned to my Cogberus, even as my Pride Cub’s turn came up, “no Pride Cub has the fortitude to stand against a Cogberus and look it in the eyes to scare it. After all, from what I remember about that Mun in particular, it’s known as a great guardian. Nothing, will ever make it cower.”

  “You know about Cogberuses? Cogberi? Uh… what’s the plural?” I asked, confusing myself as I had my Pride Cub do exactly what Julius had ordered his to. With both my Muns applying their debuffs, it was up for my Cogberus to do his thing. And sure enough, he was faster than the Shimmer-ish, and Gem Beetle.

  “I think it’s Cogberi?” Julius answered with a shrug, “and yeah, I’ve encountered a Tamer with one, long long ago. Though," he looked over mine appraisingly, “yours has a long way to go before it could rival his. After all… you’ve only got a normal Cogberus.”

  My ears perked up, even as I ordered my Cogberus to use his Bite Attack on Juluis’s Gem Beetle. The three heads snapped hungrily, the first bite cracking the beetle’s gems, the second shattering them, and the third, tearing the beetle apart until it turned into light. Oh yeah, this was so not fair.

  “My Cogberus can evolve?”

  “Definitely,” Julius answered as he summoned his fourth Mun. “I’m not sure how familiar you are with the Shimmer-ish around here,” he said, as he summoned a second of the fish, “but some Muns have multiple evolution paths. Cogberus are kind of like them, in that there are a variety of different paths you can evolve it through. It will stay, at its base, a Cogberus, mind you, but, with different skills, abilities, changes to its appearance, and so forth.”

  “What was the one you saw in the past?” I asked, as he ordered his first Shimmer-ish to begin that annoying shiny dance Aaron had used. The taunt. The second Shimmer-ish, did the same thing. They were buying time, no doubt, for him to try and attack with his Pride Cub.

  “That one, belonged to a man with a Tier 9 Gauntlet.” His eyes were distant, as the turn order reset, and I began my strategy again, stacking more debuffs with my Graven. “It was level 100, the size of a damned house… covered in dark metal armor, on top of its normal geared flesh… and was on fire.” He smiled as he spoke, the smile betraying the fact he had his Pride Cub taking a bite out of my Graven and pinning it to the ground. Rude. “It was terrifying, but so very powerful. If I remember correctly, it was called an Infernal Gate Guardian Cogberus.”

  “Well that’s a mouthful.” My comment made Julius laugh. The laughter made my face redden as internally I already heard that’s what she said. But then I saw he was looking at his Pride Cub, with its mouth full of my Graven, and I cleared my throat and continued the battle. Another glare from my Pride Cub, followed by another Bite. A Shimmer-ish down, and he summoned a Gembra Foal.

  “I’m sure, with your Cogberus, neither of us is surprised at how easy this battle is going for you,” he said cooly, as if I wasn’t completely decimating his Muns. “Though,” he eyed me, and my Muns, “I will say now I am even more intrigued in our discussion after this battle.” The turn order continued, my Graven using its turn to peck itself free from his Pride Cub once it was its turn again. “Especially since I have to wonder, how you managed to acquire such a Mun, and,” another raised eyebrow, “how you’ve managed to make it here, without the Cult snatching you up.” His lip twitched, and I realized he was a lot more perceptive than he looked. “After all, I’m pretty sure…” he left the statement hanging in the air, but I got the feeling he knew full well I was a Traveler. And knew full well that the Mayor of Cogni, and those who were summoning Travelers, were trying to find someone capable of bringing the cult down.

  “I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be a problem,” I said, remembering my conversation with Sasha. As long as I didn’t try and get in their way, I’d be left to my own shenanigans. And I really had no intention of getting involved in any cult stuff, whatsoever… unless the cult stuff was named Sasha… and….

  “If you’re so confident,” he went back to smiling, as his second Shimmer-ish was devoured by my Cogberus, leaving him to summon his sixth Mun, one of the Gemzelle’s. “Then, hopefully, you’ve a good reason to be. Because the last thing anyone should ever do, is underestimate how… dangerous the Disciples can be, without warning.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said my mood no longer flush with the excited buzz from earlier. I appreciated his advice, and his concern. I really did. But, also, I didn’t like what he was implying. Especially because a part of me knew, deep down, he was probably right. Cults 101, after all, was quick to point out one of the most predictable things about cults… was how quickly they could become unpredictable. Especially when something threatened them.

  Cogberus dispatched a fourth Mun, making quick work of the battle, my Graven and Pride Cub both still using debuffs to keep the stacks up. I watched my Cogberus, marveling at its power, and figured, even if I didn’t want to worry about the Cult… at the very least, it would probably be in my best interest to get as strong as possible. And, he’d just told me my Cogberus could very well be one such way.

  He’d also just revealed to me, another fun fact though. Because… if Cogberus could get so much stronger… what other Muns out there had special triggers. What other types of Muns had secret evolutions, that would then lead to special, powerful forms? I knew about my Glimmer-ish, though getting that to the level for a Golden King felt unreachable for now. But what else was out there. And what about the other regions, other towns, other Keepers. Until I hit Tier 3, I knew I’d have the most freedom to play around with my team. But after that… once I got access to amplifiers, would I need to stop? Would I have to finalize my party? Would I want to?

  These thoughts all rushed through my mind as I practically did the battle on auto-pilot. Cogberus, right now, was just that much stronger. It wasn’t a fair fight, at all. And, I didn’t really care. This fight didn’t have to feel satisfying. It was a means to an end. And, it was only the beginning. Simple, easy battles like this, would surely cease sooner, rather than later. And then… the image of the Golden King falling from the sky flashed through my mind, I’d need to become a Tamer like Mikael, if I wanted to live how I wished to. No… I needed to be stronger, because Mikael, as far as I could tell, was hiding. And I didn’t want to live life hiding. Not here. Not ever again.