ALL NOVEL 4. Staring Contest
A rumbling echoed through the cave as the stage set itself several meters above the audience. Polished walnut floors and red, yellow, and blue curtains provided some visual relief from the constant florescent lighting that amplified the gray stone walls and polished floors of the big cave. There was no sign of a sound system or speakers, yet the voice of the giant flying bull could be heard clearly and evenly by everyone. It spoke into their being.
The succubus graced the stage from an opening in the curtains and swayed as she walked to the podium. Her tail moved from side to side like a raised pendulum. Reddish black horns gleamed brilliantly in the light to complement her silver-white hair. She wore a black sleeveless evening dress with three-inch heels. Bright red eyes glowed as she put her hands on the podium and surveyed the audience. A smile slowly contorted as it grew upon her face.
The bull swoped from the air to settle next to her and receive a head pat, which made it start to dance. It shuffled around in a circle while waving its long tail. Hooves left the floor as it hopped up and down while turning, mouth moving as if quietly saying something until it settled down and faced the audience.
People began to approach the stage, yet as Alfredo went to move forward Circe put an arm out to indicate they should stay toward the center of the cave, which was still the least crowded despite people moving away from the walls.
“Hi everyone!” Azoria shouted as she spread her hands while holding them in the air
“You killed me!” someone shouted.
Azoria smiled, waving her hands, "No hard feelings I hope!"
Several other people also shouted; a small group had the confidence to level a chorus of boos at the duo. Neither of the two entities reacted.
“Kill is such a strong word,” Azoria said, waving her right hand about, “Besides, if I really killed you, you wouldn’t be saying anything about it.”
She leaned over the podium. The spaded tail raised above her head. Ears twitched. Eyes glowed a bright red that cut through the strong lighting of the cave.
“Do you want me to kill you? I can kill all of you right now. Effortlessly.”
Lips curled into a huge smile once again as a wave of power pushed forth from the stage like a hot wind. Heckling ceased as those near the stage became motionless before looking at each other to make sure they were still alive. Azoria looked bored.
“Okay, moving on. This is my world. I am what you would call the Demon Lord. Your job, pitiful humans that you are, is to be my champions. This world has been a miserable pile of goodie, goodie, sweetness and love for far too long because I've been too lazy to care. So, you’re all going to help me conquer, corrupt, and destroy it the fun way!”
A slightly overweight woman with dark floral tattoos on her arms separated herself from the rest of the audience. She was dressed in a polo shirt and khaki dress pants. Black curly hair clung to her scalp but was cut in a close fade at the side. Arms folded in front of her shoulders as she stared up at the succubus defiantly.
“Let me get this straight,” she said, voice clear and loud, “You tricked us, got us all killed, stuck us in a cave for a whole day with no idea what’s going on, let people kill each other, and now you want us to bow down like we owe you something because you’re going to give us powers. I don’t think so.”
“Oh look, if it isn’t Ebony Rhodes the paladin,” Azoria said, “Paladins- pffftt- there’s always about ten or so and you’re always so easy to spot the second you open your mouths.”
“That’s my name, you obviously know all our names. You’re the one that killed us. Well, I don’t care what you do to me. I’m not helping you do anything, period. In fact, I'm going to get stronger and take you down!”
Azoria smiled at the challenge, eyes glowing as she stared at the paladin and the paladin stared back without flinching.
“That’s the spirit then,” Azoria said, “Do as you like. I’m not going to do anything to you unless you ask for it. It’s not like I need any of you to make this world mine. If you wish to oppose me, that’s your choice. It’s all part of the fun! Though, you will have to survive the tutorial.”
The bull had wandered to the back of the stage where it chewed on the curtains.
“Mogg-dell, those curtains are expensive,” Azoria snapped, “Get over here. Our subjects have questions and we have a poll to conduct.”
The giant bull hopped back toward the front of the stage. It stared outwards blankly as its jaw hung open. No one really dared to look at it for too long. When Circe and Alfredo examined it, even from afar, they felt a disturbing presence weigh on their minds and quickly forced themselves to look away. Nobody in the cave except for Azoria wanted to acknowledge the existence of the giant talking bull.
“Okay, first order of business,” Azoria said, “Each and every one of you has a starting stat pool loosely based off of the experiences in your previous life. These stats are non-negotiable, if you want to improve them use skills and level up if you can. In order to access your stats, use the index skill. You’ll see a player index; you can look up the stats of yourself or any other player.”
A tall man in a long black coat approached the stage. A bandana held dark curly hair that sought to escape into a plume. Dark sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose as he chewed bubble gum. He approached the stage and stared down the bull, lowering his sunglasses to meet it eye to eye.
“I don’t need stats to defeat you or your pet. I’m trained in the way of the sword,”
The katana became unsheathed as the tall man held the hilt with both hands. The display caught Mogg-dell’s interest, as the bull turned its head slightly and stared, eye to eye.
“I’d break eye contact with it if I were you, just saying,” Azoria warned.
Many people focused on the staring contest near the stage while others checked their stats. Circe told Alfredo to check his stats if he could. She focused on checking her own by pulling up a holographic looking screen in front of her face.
Circe Oratia Sheffield
Divergent Bookworm
[Skills]
Alteration Novice 01: Can change coloration of another subject’s hair, skin, eyes, or nails once daily. Must make physical contact with target for one minute to take effect. The change will register over the period of an hour or longer depending on mana consumed.
[Curses]
Stat locked: Can not gain experience. Can not gain stat points beyond initial levels in the following categories: Strength, Toughness, Stamina, Speed, Agility, Magic, Spirit, and Luck
[Vital Statistics]
Perception: 33
Sight: 23 Hearing: 93 Touch: 51 Awareness: 23 Spiritual: 97
Strength: 01
Arms: 01 Legs: 01 Torso: 01 Back: 01 Grip: 01
Toughness: 01
Blunt: 01 Slice: 01 Pressure: 01
Stamina: 40
Heart: 52 Lungs: 17 Arms: 04 Legs: 14
Speed: 47
36 Swim: 01 Swing: 05 Run: 44 Think: 75
Agility: 85
Arms: 84 Legs: 86 Torso: 99 Back: 73 Fingers: 92
Fortitude: 27
Magic Defense: 01 Mental Defense: 50 Mental Stability: 50
Intelligence: 99
Emotional: 13 Scientific: 98 Spiritual: 93 Interpersonal: 37 Bestial: 58 Creative: 99
Magic: 01
Fire: 01 Ice: 01 Water: 01 Wind: 01 Earth: 01
Spirit: --
Restoration: 01 Illusion: 01 Life: 01 Dark: 01 Light: 01 Resistance: --
Luck: 01
Money: 01 Combat: 01 Magic: 01 Relational: 01
Upon seeing her stats and her curse, Circe began to sweat. Perhaps her improvised teammate had better stats. With a slight wave of her hand, she scrolled until she found his name. From the corner of her eye, she noticed other people were doing the same. Everyone found the stat database quite interesting, but she couldn’t be the only one with such a ridiculous power. Surely everyone else had equally problematic abilities. She decided to check out Alfredo’s abilities next.
Alfredo Grandioso Delgado
Hell’s Dreamer
[Skills:]
Oni Form Novice 01: Can boost strength and stamina by 10 percent for thirty minutes a day.
[Vital Statistics:]
Perception: 39
Sight: 39 Hearing: 73 Touch: 44 Awareness: 12 Spiritual: 04
Strength: 64
Arms: 76 Legs: 81 Torso: 56 Back: 64 Grip: 45
Toughness: 75
Blunt: 75 Slice: 61 Pressure: 88
Stamina: 37
Heart: 12 Lungs: 39 Arms: 48 Legs: 73
Speed: 47
Swim: 25 Swing: 58 Run: 41 Think: 23
Agility: 9
Arms: 29 Legs: 11 Torso: 02 Back: 03 Fingers: 07
Fortitude: 99
Magic Defense: 99 Mental Defense: 99 Mental Stability: 99
Intelligence: 11
Emotional: 03 Scientific: 04 Spiritual: 13 Interpersonal: 23 Bestial: 11 Creative: 01
Magic: 01
Fire: 01 Ice: 01 Water: 01 Wind: 01 Earth: 01
Spirit: 01
Restoration: 01 Illusion: 01 Life: 01 Dark: 01 Light: 01 Resistance: 50
Luck: 99
Money: 99 Combat: 99 Magic: 99 Interpersonal: 99
Circe glanced at Alfredo as he scanned his abilities. How was any of this fair? He had better stats than her almost every respect and he could improve. He had combat centered abilities and she was stuck with some aesthetic garbage. She scanned the entire cave and everyone, everything, felt so much stronger than her. Play my game! If Azoria wanted her to play this game, why did she give such a terrible stat pool and a non-power!? But perhaps there was somebody weaker.
The man with the katana snickered and clicked his lips as he continued the staring contest with the bull. The people were too engaged with their stats to pay much attention. Though Circe finished early as she didn’t want to see anymore. She heard the man as he started to giggle. Then he began to laugh. The laugh became loud and maniacal as he continued to stare into the eyes of the bull. The bull remained deadpan, staring with its mouth open.
“Ha! Mwhahaha!” laughed the swordsman, “HAHAHA! HAHAHAHA! MWAHAHAHAHA! AAHHHHHHHH! HAHAHAHA!”
His gut began to heave and laughter became broken, louder, hoarse. The swordsman laughed so hard that blood spurted out his mouth down his lip. Unhinged laughter filled the cave. A big wad of gum smeared against the left side of his hair. The sanity bar above the man’s head drained to ZERO. A loud announcement bellowed throughout the cave from above:
Adonis Smith: Delusional Cosplayer: SANITY ZERO! FATALITY!