Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

In Sorin's memory, Delphi had never been the cleanest of cities. The docks were a mess of salt and fish guts, and the industrial district with smoke and dust. The resulting diseases resulted in a life expectancy that was lower by 5-10 years compared to other parts of the city.

Sorin was therefore unsurprised by the excess rubbish on the streets and the rubble of broken buildings that had yet to be cleaned. The smoke lingering in the air from the many recent arson cases was much less harmful than what came out of a smelter's chimneys, and paled in comparison to the ash-filled winds that accompanied the Parnassus Mountain Range's seasonable forest fires.

What got to Sorin was instead the people—the rich and the poor, the wealthy and the homeless. Outwardly, there was nothing different about them, but thanks to Nemesis and his increased sensitivity towards corruption, Sorin could see a madness in the eyes, the kind usually reserved for cornered animals and starving predators.

Pedestrians kept a healthy distance from one another. Shop owners treated their customers with suspicion and vice versa. No less than three instances of public violence broke out on the way to the arena, with little in the way of police intervention despite the injuries and fatalities suffered.

At first, Sorin had been tempted to intervene, but he held back when he noticed strange tendrils of Madness and Violence being given off by each incident. These 'accidents' weren't accidents at all, he realized. They were traps laid by Delphi's web that would only drag him in deeper should he willingly participate.

It was two hours before midday when Sorin and Elder Marik arrived at the arena. "You'd think it was a holiday or some kind of momentous event, given how they're lining up," muttered Sorin.

"The people have grown bloodthirsty," confirmed Elder Marik. "It's either this or give into their baser urges a different way."

Sorin frowned as he looked at the long lineup. "I'm not too keen on this situation, Elder Marik. It smells like a trap—if we line up here, trouble will inevitably find us."

Elder Marik looked at him quizzically. "Why line up when you can just cut to the front? There's no need to stay hung up on matters of propriety in situations like this."

Sorin agreed that the situation was less than optimal and followed Marik towards the front. A few individuals tried to stop them, but all it took was a flash of Elder Marik's aura to make them rethink their actions.

A few minutes later, Sorin pushed open a pair of double doors in the arena basement, revealing a bear-like man whaling on a boxing bag while wearing several layers of weighted garments.

"Tighter! Faster!" barked Haley as Stephan launched punch after punch while simultaneously ducking and weaving around the bag. He dodged Haley's whip with a slight but practiced movement of his head, avoiding the brunt of the blow but suffering a laceration on his cheek that drew three drops of blood.

"You call that minimalistic evasion? More like giving your opponents the perfect opportunity to poison you. Sorin! Attack him with your best!"

"On it," said Sorin, casually tossing a ball of golden needles at Stephan.

"Holy mother of—" the Beast Shift Warrior immediately adopted Silver Spine Grizzley Bear form and summoned his armor. Most of the needles clanked away harmlessly, but two of them found their marks. Potent neurotoxins proceeded to disable his arms, forcing his training session to an early and abrupt end.

"Sloppy," said Haley as Sorin retracted his needles and pulled the poison out of Stephan's blood. "You shifted and summoned your armor, and even then, you weren't able to block his casual attack."

"He's a God Seed, and he took me by surprise," said Stephan, opening and closing both his hands and testing the mobility of his arms. "Broke through to the fourth forging I see. Or is it the fifth? I really can't tell anymore."

"I could have varied the poison, but I didn't want to interfere with your big match," said Sorin, evading the question. "Speaking of which, that's a brave move on your part, moving up your arena challenge."

Stephan shrugged. "Daphne and Lawrence are already two-star heroes. I don't mind Daphne breaking through first— her breakthrough is well-deserved—but if I don't break through before the Administrator releases Lawrence, I'll never be able to show my face in public. Also, who's the old man? Wait… is that Elder Marik? The Fang of the Kepler Clan?"

"Don't mind Elder Marik," said Sorin. "I told him I was going to the arena and he insisted on accompanying."

"If I didn't accompany you, there's no telling what sorts of troubles you would encounter," said Elder Marik drily. He gave Stephan a once over and nodded appreciatively. "It seems Sorin has a good eye for companions. Your potential is limitless, and your strength greatly exceeds what should be possible at your cultivation level."

"As much as I like hearing compliments about the results of my training regimen, could you two cut to the point?" said Haley, kneeling down to apply dabs of healing potion to Stephan's two wounds. "We're sort of busy right now. Stephan's match is in less than two hours, and he needs every minute of practice he can get."

Sorin nodded. "Bad odds?"

Stephan grimaced. "The arena champion is a peak Bone-Forging cultivator. And not just any Bone-Forging cultivator—he's also a one-star hero, just like me."

"Your opponent has inferior bones, no blessing, and no soul bound treasure," snapped Haley.

"My opponent is a fifth-forging cultivator," Stephan snapped back. "Moreover, his skill set is specifically suited to gladiatorial matches like these. I give myself 20 percent odds of winning at best. That's if he doesn't have a bunch of hidden cards to rely on."

Sorin turned to Haley. "And what do you think?"

"Ten percent," said Haley bluntly. "The only chance he has at breaking through is heroic empowerment."

"Excellent," said Sorin, pulling a vial from his Hero Medal and tossing it into the air. Golden needles smashed the vial apart and collected the thick red poison inside the vial before immediately stabbing into Stephan's bones.

Stephan dropped to the ground screaming. Haley reached for her dagger but paused when Elder Marik's sword popped out of its sheath. "I take it you have a good reason for doing what you just did, Sorin?"

"I suggest you be quiet, lest I make a mistake and accidentally cripple your younger brother," said Sorin. He closed his eyes and focused on the poison coursing through Stephan's body.

Every cultivator's bones were different and incorporated runes corresponding to their path. In Stephan's case, most of the runes had to do with bears, cold, shadow, and metal. But in Sorin's eyes, these runes became serpents. The poison in his body became counter-serpents that wore away at the weaknesses in those ruby serpents until finally, the entire structure cracked and gave out, revealing a resplendent layer of bronze and tiny silver runes that were just beginning to show.

Sorin confirmed that Stephan's breakthrough was a success before pulling out the needles and handing him a healing potion. "Here you go. Sorin's ultra-fast poisonous healing potion on the house."

"At least warn a guy," said Stephan, chugging back the potion without any hesitation. Blood-red veins appeared on his skin but rapidly vanished as Sorin pulled the excess toxins from his flesh.

"How do you feel?" asked Haley.

"Like a new man," said Stephan, rolling his shoulders. He flickered over to the boxing bag and began attacking the bag at a greatly increased speed.

"Tighter! Faster!" shouted Haley as she cracked her whip. Though she seemed just as angry as last time, a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Haley ran Stephan through a full round of training before sending him off to rest, making it clear that she wanted to speak to Sorin privately. "With bronze bones, he just might just stand a chance. I put his odds at thirty percent—For the record, the ten percent odds I was giving him earlier was being generous."

"I get it," said Sorin, tossing out a vial. "You don't want to affect his confidence.

Haley caught the vial and twisted it open. "What's this?"

"It's an S-Tier version of a new invention of mine called Silver Bone Cracking Tincture," said Sorin. "It causes micro-fractures in one's rune bones, slightly damaging one's combat capabilities. It's not commercially available, and it does damage one's foundation temporarily. Only bone mending potions accompanied by the treatment of a skilled physician can restore one's bones to how they previously were."

"If you're suggesting I poison his opponent, forget it," said Haley.

"I'm not suggesting that you poison his opponent," said Sorin. "I'm suggesting you poison Stephan."

"… go on."

"Though it's a new poison, it's based on something you're likely familiar with," continued Sorin. "Have you heard of the Kepler Clan's Silver Bone Unsealing Tincture?"

Elder Marik began coughing violently, and Haley's gaze turned cold. "You mean that suicidal treatment people occasionally request from the Kepler Clan? Forget it. Stephan can break through on his own." She tossed the vial back.

"Don't be so quick to decide," said Sorin, twirling the vial around his fingers and tossing it back at her. "It's only based on the Silver Bone Unsealing Tincture. In the end, it can only give a slight nudge. The targeted damage to one's bone runes is automatic and finite. Moreover, its potential effects are limited. It can only unseal a maximum of twenty percent of a cultivator's bronze bones, and can never fully unseal them on its own.

"For example, Stephan's bones are already 76 percent unsealed. It would take astoundingly good luck for him to break through in his upcoming match. But if he were to take this poison, his bones would unseal to roughly 96 percent. That last four percent is a much easier target to hit, and if he breaks through, the gains will be astronomical."

Haley thought for a moment before snatching the vial out of Sorin's hands. "Let me think about it. A twenty percent reduction in strength is a big disadvantage."

"The pressure will be much greater," Sorin pointed out.

"I said I'd think about it," said Haley. "There's also a matter of doping restrictions."

"I don't think anyone will say anything about Stephan poisoning himself," said Sorin. Besides, the damage will already be done. No one will be able to trace it, not even me. A detailed physical examination will only reveal targeted bone erosion, nothing more."

"I said I'd think about it," said Haley. "After all, this is still based on that suicidal Silver Unsealing Tincture."

"Loosely based," corrected Sorin, turning towards the exit. "Also, extremely experimental. Stephan will be the first live trial."

"Is that supposed to reassure me?" said Haley, stopping Sorin. "He's my brother, not your lab rat. You know what, I've already decided. Take back your stupid potion."

Sorin chuckled. "I mentioned this fact because as the first user, Stephan will receive the greatest benefit. Remember that hero light is dependent on significant accomplishments and contributions. As a result, 20 percent may not be the limit. It might just give him the nudge he needs to break through during battle.

"Moreover, your brother is falling behind. He's currently the slowest bear on our team. If he wants to catch up and stay relevant, he's going to need to change. Wait, come to think of it, I think he once said near those exact same words to me."

Haley sighed. "I'll talk to him. Let him decide."

"That would be for the best," said Sorin. "I just wanted to clear the matter with his coach first. Otherwise, there's no telling what you'd do to him." Having said this, he turned around and exited the training room.

Elder Marik waited until they were a fair distance away before speaking up. "You weren't exaggerating, were you? A twenty percent unsealing of bronze bones? Also, are you sure about the negative effects?"

"Stephan is my dear friend," answered Sorin. "I would never do anything to put his life at risk. I confirmed the results many times with Ophiuchan Simulation.

"Moreover, there's one other restrictions on the Silver Bone Cracking Tincture: It won't work as intended on anyone whose bones are less than fifty percent unsealed. The poisons need targets to latch onto and attack. It's therefore not as good as a proper unsealing tincture."

"But it's still a huge improvement," said Elder Marik. "Most heroes never break through to the two-tar hero level. It's a dividing line that often determines whether or not a cultivator can eventually become a demigod."

Sorin chuckled. "It's the first of many improvements to the tinctures I have planned, Elder Marik. Let's get out of here."

"You're not going to stay to watch the match?" asked Elder Marik.

"There's no time to dally," said Sorin. "The corruption in the city is starting to reach a critical point."

Elder Marik sighed. "Then where are we off to next?"

"We'll be visiting the South Delphi Military Complex," answered Sorin. "There's someone there I've been meaning to visit. His father once offered an introduction, but I foolishly rejected it. It's time I rectify that mistake."