Chapter 90

Merder Stadium Safe Zone, Atlanta - 9:07 AM

The deeper I traveled into the safe zone, the more people there were. After leaving the railroad tracks to avoid walking through the station, I crossed over International Plaza on my way to the Georgia World Congress Center. Even though it was still cold out, people bundled in warm clothes sat in lawn chairs or laid on the ground. Kids ran and played though they were always under the watchful eye of adults. It was a shockingly normal scene if you ignored the worried looks on most everyone’s faces.

Between Merder Stadium and the convention center was a tall, thin building. What was once an unfinished hotel now sported a large sign indicating that it was called Champion’s Rest by Frastina. Originally supposed to open next year, it had been under construction for a long time until it was miraculously finished upon the announcement of the Chaos Cup.

It would be important later as it was meant to be a safe place for those who sign up for the games. I had no reason to go in just yet, so I ignored it. Not that I could go in without an invitation, but that was neither here nor there. Passing by the towers and art installations that were set up all over the plaza, I started heading into Building A of the convention center.

The lobby was a long room with a nondescript gray carpet that replaced the colorful one I knew it once had. A slanted glass ceiling ascended far above us, and I ignored the information booth in the center that was being swarmed with people who had come out of the tutorials lacking the knowledge needed to survive. At this time, those working the booth were getting people signed up for informative panels on how the system worked.

There were several more people in here than outside, which was something I attributed to a factor of warmth and feeling safer indoors. Still, the ones I saw in here reminded me of those I had left behind in the Safari Resort. It wasn’t all doom and despair, but the atmosphere persisted despite some pockets of wary happiness. I took some time to listen in on various conversations as I passed by different groups.

“… ghost of some dead guy haunting Edgewood, the whole place has been active at night. I haven’t seen it, but it sounds super creepy…”

“… that damn aquarium keeps spilling over. It’s right outside the safe zone, how come no one’s been able to take care of it yet?”

“… the mall’s still quarantined, right? There’s gotta be a lot of good shit in there. Seems like the thing inside is more active during the day, so maybe if we sneak in at…”

“… angels at North Point, but they flee whenever someone gets close. We should…”

“… weird plant stuff going on up in Emory. Seems like no one’s been…”

The rumor mills were inflamed with gossip of varying degrees of accuracy. Even though so many people called this place their home now, a shockingly small number of people actually left to explore the new world they found themselves in. Most stuck to monsters they knew rather than face uncertainty, which was certainly something I understood. Wandering into the unknown could easily lead to death.

“Alright, Sara,” I muttered under my breath. Despite my low tone I knew my angel would still hear me crystal clear. To everyone else I would look like I was talking to myself, which was fine by me. “Even though I know she’d be great at it and knows my circumstances, I’m not going to ask Kayla to be my manager. Decided that last night because I don’t want to get them involved with such an unscrupulous crowd. Monsters are one thing, but I don’t want them to get targeted.”

Looking around the corridor, I stopped and moved to the side. There were three massive exhibition halls that made up Building A, and all of them were used for Artist Alley. From my spot against the wall, I could clearly see the inside where several rows of kiosks were lined up. Behind me was a door, and I reached out to mark it with my Broken Boundary skill.

“Since I’m going to go stir up the hornet’s nest anyway, I might as well go big,” I continued. “Because Manny already knows I’m with Kayla and Jeff, and we were seen together in the park, that means it’s time to step up my alias game. With what we’ve got going on here in Atlanta, I want you to choose my arena alter ego for me, Sara. Warmonger, Warmind, or Vigil? Do you remember me telling you about these personalities? And can you mess up my stat screen without me growing wings?”

I waited for the answer, which was coming surprisingly slow. That meant she was giving it serious thought. It was nice, knowing that she cared enough about me to not jump straight to decisions. I felt a smile stretching my lips before I could stop it, and one of the groups of people nearby started to move away after giving me strange looks for being the “mumbling and smiling to himself” guy.

[[Patron Message]]

I remember. While I think watching Vigil play out would be a lot of fun, Warmonger makes the most sense. This is the Chaos Cup, after all, so you should go a little crazy with it. Have some fun, beat up some goons, freak some people out.

Just don’t go overboard like the last time you told me about being Warmonger, okay?

And is it really necessary? It seems like it'll add a layer of unnecessary complexity here.

Also, yes, I can hide your stat screen from other people when you haven’t used Break Free. Well, I say hide, but it’s really changing the language from English to Enochian. There shouldn’t be any humans in your area with the ability to read it, so there’s no way they should figure it out.

Sincerely,

Sara

Smiling, I read through Sara’s message. The Warmonger persona was certainly the one that would have the most fun in such a chaotic setting, and I found myself nodding along. When she questioned me, I just shook my head. “It's for the best, complex or not. So I'll be Warmonger, and you'll hide my name when I’m signing up for the Chaos Cup. Then, I just need a few things to get from Artist Alley and I’ll be ready to go. Thank you, Sara.” Leaving my spot on the wall, I walked into the massive exhibition hall.

Rows upon rows of kiosks took up the bulk of the first room I entered. Each was in a cubicle five feet deep and five feet wide, leaving plenty of room to stand, and had a single cash register in it. Only about half or so had people inside and scrolling through various menus that only they could see. I selected one near the middle of the grouping, touched the register, and began scrolling through the shop menu.

The shopping interface was the same one I had seen in Etson Square. It was full of user named items that ranged from exactly what the item was, like one called Sword that phases through organic matter, all the way to items that didn’t offer any indication towards what they did, like lol what the fuck. I scrolled through it for a few minutes, chuckling at some of the names, before filtering the results so it would be easier to search through.

Filtering was a huge help, especially when you had so many people trying to sell things that were mostly junk. Being able to sort it by weapon types, armor types, stat bonuses, skills, and passives was a godsend to other players. I, however, already knew what I wanted.

[[Player Market]]

Ringmaster’s Hoodie; 800 points, sold by L. Stein

fast nylon panst; 700 points, sold by D. Ruben

Voice Changer; 50 points, sold by T. Cooper

Eye color Changer; 50 points, sold by T. Cooper

Spicy paste 20c; 100 points, sold by H. Knoll

Alfie Cheng’s Psychic Gloves; 1,000 points, sold by F. Cheng

Nonlethal Enchantment; 200 points, sold by T. Sander

Soles for sneaking really good if you can’t sneak goo; 100 points, sold by B. Burks

Big HP Belt; 1,200 points, sold by T. Tully

Total: 4,200

You have 7,402 points available. Spend?

Yes

No

I hit Yes after looking through the item list one last time. Everything I needed was here, just as it always was. Pricey, for sure, but I could afford it. As the items fell into my arms, I quickly threw them into my inventory and left the room as quickly as possible.

Leaving through the front door wasn’t my goal. I entered one of the stairwells, closed the door behind me, and activated my Broken Boundary skill. When I opened it back up, I was met with a glowing portal. I stepped through.

The dining car back on the Angel Express was exactly how I left it as I stepped through my permanent doorway. Everything was peaceful in the warehouse as well, though I wasn’t taking any chances. Opening my menu, I increased the opacity of the windows to full tint and started laying out the objects I had purchased one by one.

I started with the Ringmaster’s Hoodie, setting it down on the bar. It was a vivid crimson with a black hood. The back was longer than the front to emulate its namesake’s coat tails, ending just above the knees. The front had a pattern that made it look like the hoodie was opening up to show off a white shirt, black vest, and a red bow tie in the front. Gold trim lined the fake suit pattern and sleeves at the wrist. Picking it up, I looked at the item description.

[[Item]]

Ringmaster's Hoodie

(+5 Constitution, +5 Willpower, Whip Mastery ability, Hyperbolic Declaration skill acquired)

[[Ability]]

Whip Mastery

While wielding a whip, increase accuracy by 8% per level and damage by 4% per level.

WARNING: Whip Mastery is a class ability that you don’t have. It cannot be upgraded like normal class abilities.

[[Skill]]

Hyperbolic Declaration

Everyone nearby becomes fascinated with your voice. Their attention will be drawn towards you or an object you direct their focus towards. This is a compulsion calculated by your Willpower stat against their mental defense stat or their highest stat divided in half.

Whip Mastery was going to go great with my Writhing Belt Whip as it enhanced the natural damage and that of Eldritch Chomp as a passive specific to the whip itself.

[[Passive]]

Eldritch Chomp: Whenever a blow is struck with the Writhing Belt Whip, there is a 50% chance to deal damage equal to your constitution stat and inflict the bleeding debuff as the whip grows teeth and takes a bite out of your target.

While 4% wasn’t a huge buff, my Constitution was still going to be quite large by the time I left to go do my thing. At 50-50 odds of activation, it would add up fairly quickly. Not only that, but Hyperbolic Declaration would work very well with Jeff’s Fae Flannel being able to keep attention off of him and Kayla’s, well, Kayla’s everything. Double Agents were part Rogue, after all.

Chuckling at the synergy this could have with my friends, I pulled it on. It was comfy, if a little warm. I didn’t bother looking at my stats just yet as the numbers were still going to go up.

The next item I pulled out of my inventory was the Parachute Pants of Agility. The black pants were made of simple nylon, as parachute pants were, though it was far tougher than normal. It made for decent armor against slashing and piercing weapons, though I still wouldn’t want to test it. I started pulling off my current non-magical pants, letting the Writhing Belt Whip hang out of the way around my neck, as I read the description.

[[Item]]

Parachute Pants of Agility

(+20 hit points, +5 Dexterity, +3 Constitution, Slow Fall passive acquired, Parkour Expert passive acquired)

[[Passive]]

Slow Fall

When wearing the Parachute Pants of Agility, you may slow your descent to 10 feet per second. This passive only works when you are approaching the ground feet-first.

[[Passive]]

Parkour Expert

Increase your walking and running speed by 10%. Increase the distance and height you can jump by 25%.

I smirked as I pulled them on. Slow Fall was a neat trick and pretty fun to abuse, but Parkour Expert was what I really wanted. The increase in speed was very nice for me, especially with Divine Messenger and Crash Test operating off of my max speed. They would get a boost specifically because my speed was increased. Not what was intended, but a happy accident.

Even though the parachute pants didn’t have belt loops, I pulled out the so-called Big HP Belt next. It was made from thick black leather and latched together with an enormous gold buckle engraved with the words Big Con Energy. I pulled it around my waist, allowing it to readjust before buckling it tight.

[[Equipped]]

Belt of Overflowing Constitution

(+5 Constitution, Robust Constitution passive acquired)

[[Passive]]

Robust Constitution

Every point you have in Constitution gives you 12 hit points instead of 10.

A simple, but powerful, effect. Well worth the points since I was planning on using the Writhing Belt Whip as my main weapon and that left my belt slot free. Despite knowing that my hit points just skyrocketed, I still didn’t bother looking at my stats. There were still more items to go through. I didn’t bother pulling the Spicy Paste out of my inventory, as it was 20 Con red chili paste. Delicious and spicy.

I pulled the two changers out of my inventory and set them on the bar. They were two simple stones, one green and the other blue, and I started to remove the Kingtin’s Foil from my finger. As I started reshaping it, I brought up their descriptions.

[[Item]]

Party Trick - Voice Changer

This item will merge with any worn item that covers the mouth. For seven days, while worn, that item will change your voice to one of your choosing. This time limit pauses if the affected item is placed into your inventory.

[[Item]]

Party Trick - Eye Color Changer

This item will merge with any worn item that covers the eyes. For seven days, while worn, that item will change the color of your iris to one of your choosing. This time limit pauses if the affected item is placed into your inventory.

When I originally retrieved the Kingtin’s Foil, it was in the shape of a mask. It had been oval with slanted holes for the eyes and three rectangular slits under the right eye that got shorter the lower they were. I molded it into something similar now. I kept the rectangular slits and the slanted eye holes, but instead of an oval shape I went with something full of straight lines and hard edges. By the time I was done, it looked rather menacing. Exactly the vibe I was going for.

I ran the two Party Tricks across the mask, selecting the options I wanted as they popped up. The stones disappeared by the time I slid them from top to bottom, and I looked at its new description.

[[Item]]

The Kingtin’s Foil

(Malleable Item [Accessory Slot]; +5 Willpower, Voice Change passive acquired, Eye Change passive acquired)

[[Passive]]

Voice Change

For 7 days, this item will change the wearer’s voice to: Enthusiastic Tenor.

[[Passive]]

Eye Change

For 7 days, this item will change the wearer’s eye color to: Ice Blue.

Changing my voice from its usual baritone was easy enough, and my brown eyes would change to a piercing blue. With the hood covering my hair, it was an easy, but effective, disguise. Next, I pulled out the Nonlethal Enhancement Jewel and held it up.

[[Item]]

Nonlethal Enhancement Jewel

This consumable is a one time use item. When run along a weapon, give that weapon the Nonlethal Enhancement. This jewel does not count towards the enhancement limit.

[[Enhancement]]

Nonlethal

On your command, a weapon with this enhancement will not be able to kill enemies struck with it. Instead of death, they will fall unconscious with one hit point remaining. Lingering damage effects can still kill unconscious enemies. Speaking the command again turns off the nonlethal enhancement.

Nonlethal was a stellar enhancement that not a lot of people appreciated yet, hence its low price. It worked with the usual damage dealt as well as the Eldritch Chomp passive. Later on when order began returning, those acting as guards, sheriffs, and police would be gnashing at the bit to get their hands on these types of weapons. It was appropriate for me because I didn’t plan on killing many people here in Atlanta, but I did need to teach some people lessons they wouldn’t forget.

Besides, killing wasn’t a problem for a Warmind; keeping them alive was much harder.

“Only two items left,” I said to myself as I pulled off my Heelies of Hermes.

While the shoes were certainly eye-catching and could get back to me, they weren’t uncommon here in Atlanta. They had their own problem with a swarm of Writhing Recluses that roamed the city. It took a team of people a lot of time to take even one down, but they did fairly well in that regard. The fact that Anthony Franklin and the Warmonger would both have a pair might raise some eyebrows, but it wasn’t far-fetched.

I pulled the soles from my inventory and examined them. They were both made of white rubber and would change to fit my shoe size perfectly. The material would even shift to allow the wheel to lower and raise.

[[Item]]

Party Trick - Sneaky Sole

This item will merge with any pair of shoes. For seven days, while worn, any footsteps made with that item will be completely silent while sneaking or walking. This time limit pauses if the affected item is placed into your inventory.

Not wasting any more time, I applied it. The Party Trick shifted and adhered to the bottom of the Heelies with no issue. Testing them just to make sure, I wheeled back and forth across the dining car at record speed thanks to my new pants.

Nodding happily, I looked at the last new item in my inventory. Just one more to go and I would spend points to increase my stats and abilities. I could have done this back when we left Etson, since we had completed the main scenario, really, but that would have shown my hand when I signed up for the Chaos Cup.

Since Sara could change the language on my status screen, I didn’t mind raising things early. Still had the points to max everything out, though I was still debating how much to keep. There was betting to be had, after all. That was something to think about.

Putting it aside from now, I pulled out the item that had been labeled in the Player’s Market as Alfie Cheng’s Psychic Gloves.

I knew them better as the Gloves of the Warmongering Mystic, an item with the same namesake as the book that gave me the powers of a Warmind.