Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 180

Chapter 180: Showing Off

Lysette took a long and deep breath of the warm Domarkian air as she stepped outside of the palace gates and looked up at the crisp blue skies.  It was still only mid-morning, and yet, the next few days would be hectic indeed.

“I think I’ll meet up with the two of you later,” Serrena said.  “I need to take care of some personal matters and buy a few things before we leave tomorrow.  Doubt we’ll be able to purchase Essence crystals or other Cultivation aids once we get back to Ciricu.  I doubt even more we’ll be welcomed into Tereghenna with open arms after we’ve all but sliced off a portion of land that once belonged to them and claimed it for ourselves.”

“For the people of Ciricu as their own,” Lysette corrected.

“Yes, Lyse.  I’ll concede your point, but that’s not how the Archduke is going to see it.  In any case, I’ll meet you back later tonight, and if I finish early, I’m sure I’ll find you in the cafeteria, gorging yourself on those damn custards.”

Lysette grinned.  “I certainly hope I’ll get an opportunity.”  She pulled thirty platinum coins out of her satchel and handed the rest to Serrena.  “I trust you to use your judgement on how best to spend it to serve our shared ends.”

“Are you sure I won’t just take this and use it for my own benefit?  I am the Demigoddess of Ambition, you know.”

“If you believe that’s the best use of our shared resources, I’m both okay with that and asking you to do so.”

Serrena shook her head and smiled as she jogged off, leaving Mirae and Lysette together to stroll back toward campus.  As the two left the center part of the sky island and made their way back to the southeast, Mirae pinged Lysette with a mental message.

“You really do trust her, don’t you, love?”

“She saved my life by showing up right when she was needed to help me defeat the Chancellor.  She deserves my trust, and besides, I don’t think she’ll do what she threatened.  Her pact with each of us is still in effect, and I think she wants all three of us to grow and become stronger Cultivators and wiser deities together.”

Mirae smiled.  “Changing the subject, who were you thinking of bringing with us?”

“Amalia for sure.  If you or Serrena have someone you feel would serve as your high priest or priestess, those two as well.  After that, Danitha, Kristil, and Nicholas, although I think some or all of them may choose to stay here.  The latter two especially.”

“Hmm…  I’ll have to think about that.  I can’t say I really had many friends as a human, so I don’t know if there’s anyone I feel comfortable bringing into our inner circle.  More likely, I think the first member of my clergy is going to be one of the people of Ciricu.”

“Sounds like a plan.  And I will make sure to support you however you’d have me.”

Mirae smiled.  “So, in every way I can get?”

“If that’s what you’d like.”

The two meandered about for a bit, taking in the sights of Domark for what Lysette imagined would be the last time in a good while.  The opulent fortress-like compounds belonging to the nobility, the bustle of shops and restaurants, the pungent and wonderful smells coming out of the latter, the streets filled with activity as they approached the main commercial district.  There was still an iniquitousness to it, knowing how many people down on the surface were struggling while the elites of Domarian society lived in such wealth and extravagance.  But there was an excitement Lysette had come to appreciate, alongside a harmony— however out-of-tune— of a society working together to transcend the limitations of human ability.

She acknowledged her bias, having been given the very things that these people were dedicating their entire lives to achieving: power which rivaled the gods, a lifespan not barred by time, the ability to shape a future for Aimarion.  And, as she neared the campus, she wondered: what would each of the people here see as their ideal world?  Were they to be gifted divinity or achieve it through their own actions, what Domains would they awaken?

Once the couple stepped foot on the campus, they were stopped by yet more guards, three this time.

“Students?” one asked.  “By His Majesty’s decree, students were to report for training three hours ago.  Make your way to the campus commons at once and report to one of the sergeants for further instructions.”

Lysette held out the letter she’d received from Saffron.  “We are, but we’re on special assignment from the castle.”

“Ma’am, we’re just following orders.  I would advise relaying that note to the Sergeant Major on duty and discussing things with him directly.”

“Understood.  We’ll be on our way then.”

The two continued along their way.  In contrast to the frenetic atmosphere throughout the town, everything on campus was strict and regimented.  One one side of the commons, students and new soldiers alike were being drilled on the basics of armed and simple weapon combat, practicing forms and simple strategies.  In another area, some of the upperclassmen were sparring with blunted and wooden weapons, while other students were watching with great intent.

Near the western edge of campus, a long line stretched out, alongside numerous tables with devices upon them reminiscent of Lysette’s very first arrival on campus.  Lysette paused for a moment, watching with intrigue, until another soldier stopped her.

“Ma’am, have you two been tested?”

“No, I’m–”

“No excuses, Miss.  All students are to be evaluated.  I need you to come with me; we’ll get this taken care of straightaway.”

Lysette briefly stammered, before her face turned to a smirk and she went along with the soldier.  Besides the idle curiosity of seeing exactly what her Essence coefficient was, the malicious compliance would only be good for her recruitment efforts.  She did want five to seven more people to join her on her trip back to Ciricu, and this seemed like a great source of advertisement.

“Gonna show off a bit, love?” Mirae messaged.

Lysette smiled.

“Alright, I trust you remember how these things work?” the soldier said, motioning to one of the Essence-measuring devices.

“I won’t be liable for breaking the machine if I overload it, I hope?” Lysette asked.

“Haha!  A real jokester here.  You manage to do that and I’ll give you ten gold!”

Lysette smiled and placed her hand on the orb atop the device.  It pulled at her, pulling at her stamina, testing the limits of the Essence bonded to her Spark.  But rather than holding herself back as she did the first time, she pushed as much of her stamina as the device could take.  The machine rumbled and heated up, and Lysette kept pushing.  Sparks flew out of the machine as students in the crowd looked on in dismay and excitement, and Lysette kept pushing.  Droplets of sweat beaded onto her forehead and her head went light, and despite the discomfort of it all, Lysette pushed herself to her limits, ready to show to the entire campus exactly what she was capable of.

“I–  I can’t get a good reading!” the tester said.  “The reading is literally off the scale!”

“What do you mean, off the scale?” the soldier asked.

“The machine’s calibration tops out at five thousand, and she’s still going!”

The soldier grunted and shook his head, and Lysette kept going, eager to win the pretentious man’s ten gold.  Her breaths were quick and shallow, and darkness filled the air around her as her vision went blurry and distant.  Even her aurasight deteriorated in resolution, but she continued nonetheless.

“Having fun, love?”

“I’ve… been better?”

“In the Aestori Sanctum?”

“No.  Not then.”

Mirae smirked as the students congregated around her were jockeying about.  Although their whispers were distant and hard to hear with so much of her stamina flowing into the device, Lysette could faintly hear some of the whispers from the crowd.

“So, this is what she’s really capable of?” one student asked.

“No wonder she was beating upperclassmen as soon as she arrived!”

“I’m glad I didn’t challenge her!”  The man nervously chuckled.

“Is she going to break the machine?” a woman asked.

Lysette gripped the orb tighter and let loose, disinhibiting what restraints were left upon her.  Even her left eye’s bindings began to unravel as she pushed the last bits of her strength into the device.  The orb atop the device cracked, and then shattered just as Lysette’s balance wavered and she tumbled backward.  Before she hit the dirt behind her, Mirae ran up and caught her in their arms, carrying her off to a nearby bench to rest.

Before Lysette could fully regain her balance and catch her breath, a man in a decorated military uniform marched up to them at double time, muttering obscenities under his breath.  The soldier from before rose to full attention, quivering slightly as the new soldier began screaming at the first.

“Corporal, what the shit is going on here?  Give me a status update on the double!”

“Y– Yes, Sergeant Major, Sir!  I had located a loitering student who had yet to be tested and processed.  I carried out orders, bringing her forward to be evaluated and then referred to for further processing.  And then she gets up in front of the machine and breaks it!”

“What in the Infernal realm do you mean, she broke the machine?  Why the shit didn’t you stop her?”

“Sir, I couldn’t have anticipated that the woman had an Essence coefficient well in excess of five thousand and overloaded the machine!  Even most of our majors and colonels top out at thirty-five hundred, tops!”

The sergeant major clenched his fist.  “And where is this mysterious woman who broke the Essence Tester?”

“She’s right over there, Sir.”  The corporal pointed to Lysette.

“Come with me, and don’t say a word unless I ask something of you.  Do I make myself clear?”

The corporal opened his mouth, but closed it before any sound came out, instead giving an exaggerated nod that could have passed for a weak bow.  The two marched over to Lysette, and the sergeant major spoke.

“So, Miss!  Corporal Shit-For-Brains right here says that you broke one of my machines.  Is that true?”

Lysette took a deep breath.  “Yes, Sergeant Major.  He instructed me to submit for testing, and before I could object, I was shut down and ordered to the machine.  I carried out his instructions to the best of my ability, making sure I allowed the machine to get a full readout of my abilities as a Cultivator.”

“Even to the extent of breaking one of my machines?”

“I was promised ten gold if I had an Essence coefficient high enough to overload the machine.  I couldn’t turn that down.”

The sergeant major turned to the corporal, rage in his eyes.  “Is she telling the truth, Corporal?”

“I– I didn’t think–”

“First damned intelligent answer I’ve heard out of you today, Shit-For-Brains!  And just who authorized you to make such an agreement?”

“No–  No one, sir.”  The corporal’s head was drooping low.

“Another good answer.  Maybe there’s some gray matter mixed in with all the shit after all!  Now, can someone explain just what is going on here?”

Mirae took Saffron’s letter out of Lysette’s hand and handed it to the sergeant major.  “Apologies, Sir.  The two of us are on a special mission authorized by the palace.  We’ve been instructed to find the Sergeant Major in command and relay our mission details.  Might that be you, Sir?”

The sergeant major looked at the document, then at Lysette and Mirae, then at the document again, and finally glared at his corporal.

“And why didn’t you bring this to my attention?”

“I was following orders and bringing in all students for testing.”

“And did you stop for one second and ask them what they were doing?  And maybe, just maybe, consider the possibility in your shit-laden head that these two individuals were on some sort of mission?”

“No, Sir, I–”

The sergeant major cut him off.  “Corporal, go take your ass and run laps around the city until I figure out what to do with you!  Now!  Get going, move it, move it, move it!”

“S–  Sir, Yes, Sir!”  The corporal sprinted through the students at a frantic pace while the sergeant major continued barking at him.

Once the corporal had made it past the west perimeter of the commons, slipping behind the dormitories and off toward the perimeter trail, the sergeant major turned back to Lysette and Mirae.

“I apologize for my subordinate’s lack of attention to common sense.  Please, allow me to introduce myself.  I am Sergeant Major Niman, chief deputy to Colonel Sanderson, the chief officer overseeing campus affairs for the duration of this operation.  Now then, would you go over what you two need here in greater detail?”

Chapter 179: https://www.patreon.com/posts/110306766

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/table-of-101896170

Chapter 181: https://www.patreon.com/posts/110306776