Zane was a little concerned as he watched them go, but... eh. Evan would be fine. Avery was a little... much... but she meant well.
***
The mid-afternoon sun told him he still had a few hours before dinner. So he went to get settled. He walked down a main avenue lined with runed stone pillars. Banners hung off the top of them, printed with the faces of a bunch of World Rankers attending the event—some serious, some smiling. Little flags dotted the corners; there were a lot of countries here.
Most of the attendees weren't World Rankers though. Most seemed to be what Zane would consider 'upper-middle class' strength-wise. 50s, 60s, some 70s. They were dressed in all kinds of stuff—flowy robes, tight robes, cloth tunics, artsy smocks, hard-boiled jerkins, suits of armor, even—no two seemed the same. At a glance, he must have caught the names of a dozen or two different Factions. He caught a fair few stares as he passed.
Brightly colored wood stalls cropped up here and there; he saw one selling Skill Tomes, another armor plates. He saw a food market down a branching path where a middle-aged man was touting burning fruit big as a human head. There were mangoes crackling lightning on display.
He passed a gathering in a little open-air amphitheater—a Signed woman on a dais was speaking, gesturing intensely. A banner above her read 'Lecture on the Elemental Law of Darkness, by World Rank #19, Tracy Cortez.' "—the core of the matter. Darkness is not merely the absence of light! It is a force in its own right—"
He kept moving. The hotel was up ahead, a gleaming spire of glass and steel where they'd given him a very fancy room. The pamphlet pointed out if he took a little detour down this curved side path, he'd come across an A-rank Steel treasure area.
He took the detour.
It was a crater with a meteor in the middle. A pure black meteor, so black it had no visible features—a 2D hole cut in the 3D world. No light came off it to give it depth. It streamed with dense Laws that buffeted him like invisible winds. They struck at the body and the soul.
𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕣 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝 ℂ𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣
𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕒 𝕔𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕓𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕝𝕠𝕕𝕘𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕣𝕓𝕚𝕥. 𝕀𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕞; 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕝𝕚𝕖 𝕔𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝, 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕥 𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕣𝕒-𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙 𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕪.
The crater itself was split into rings. The outer rings were laced with veins that glowed a soft silver. Tiny metallic flakes floated about like a snowfall suspended, pouring Elemental steel into the world.
The silver veins grew thicker, pulsed brighter as you got to the middle ring. The ground took on a metallic sheen. Strange silver plants curled between the rocks.
The innermost ring was splashed with a steely gloss. And the air around the meteor itself bent and warbled. Little auroras of light traced the meteor's surface.
A hefty crowd had gathered around already. Almost all of them were scattered in the outer ring. They were decently high Level, sixties, 70s. Maybe a few World Rankers there. He saw all kinds of Factions—' the Gold Belt Gladiators,' 'the Wolves of Baja,' 'Nova Roma,' 'Chengdu Fireballs,'—the Harbourmasters, even.
Almost all of them were still. Their eyes were squeezed shut, some trembled.
Curious, Zane strode closer. The pressure grew stronger, denser, an oppressive humidity; the waves of Elemental Steel washed all over him, buffeting him, dragging at him. He walked past a clump of folk—they were physically still, but their souls were brimming with activity. They had to fight just to stay in place.
But Zane had felt Elemental Steel before. And though this was by far the densest concentration of it he'd ever felt, it wasn't enough to slow him. As those thick Steel Laws poured over him, his own held them off; they broke against his skin, washed right over him. He took step after step, striding past more sweating, red-faced people.
By the time he stepped into the middle ring, he was starting to slow. It felt like he was stepping into some giant forge. He wasn't sure what grade that Spirit Steel was, but it was like nothing he'd ever seen. He didn't know you could put that much Law in that small a space. He got a strange impression—like he was feeling a shadow of what steel felt at the heart of a star. He gritted his teeth and pushed on.
He stopped at the line where the second ring met the first. And there his veins stood out purple on his skin; his jaw clenched tight; every muscle in his body strained against the flow. There was no need, physically—it was just an involuntary reaction to the force crushing down on his soul.
He nodded. He took a step back. This was as far as he was willing to go for now. This was just a scouting trip. Tomorrow morning, when he was fully recovered, he'd try this again. And he wasn't stopping until he got a hand on that stone.
"Soon," he murmured. He smiled. He couldn't wait.
As he turned to leave, he noticed most of the crowd had stopped meditating. They were looking up at him, wide-eyed. Whispering in hushed tones. Looking around, he could tell why—he was the only one within thirty feet of the first ring.
He started walking back.
He heard his name a few times as he passed, and his Title—
"That's the Savage Sage!"
"I didn't know he'd come in!"
"He just arrived—my friend works concessions, he sent me a message. He saw the Sage and the Grand Warlock talking on the bridge!"
"Woah…"
"Do you think he'll give a lecture on the Law? I didn't see his name on the event list…"
"What do you think he'll get on the Asura Hell array? I bet third."
"Better than Cain Hastings?! No way…"
On and on it went. He tuned it out and moved on.
***
As he looped back, he noticed another treasure area en route to the hotel. The other thing that caught his attention.
This 'Asura Hell Array.' He saw it coming a ways off. There was a pretty big crowd bunched around it, murmuring, shuffling in nervous anticipation. The Array itself was a broad steel loop engraved with brilliant runes; a small atmosphere of essence poured off of it. In the middle swirled a psychedelic blend of purples and blues. Some kind of portal?
Guards in sleek Silicon Coven garb sealed off the entrance.
"Stand clear!" shouted one of them, brandishing a staff cackling with lightning. "Coming through. Give him space!"
Zane noticed a massive stone tablet right next to the portal. There were names marked off the top, stretching down. The first three---
ℂ𝔸𝕀ℕ ℍ𝔸𝕊𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾𝕊, 𝟛𝟠𝟚 𝕂𝕀𝕃𝕃𝕊
𝕐𝕌𝕀 𝕌ℝ𝔸𝔹𝔼, 𝟝𝟝𝟘 𝕂𝕀𝕃𝕃𝕊
𝔼𝕄𝔼𝕂𝔸 𝔼ℤ𝔼, 𝟞𝟜𝟚 𝕂𝕀𝕃𝕃𝕊
Just then the number next to Eze's name started to shift. It updated—𝟞𝟠𝟝 𝕂𝕀𝕃𝕃𝕊.
Gasps rang out from the crowd.
Then a man stepped out of the portal. A giant, well-built, strongly featured wall of a man. About as big as Zane. He wore a deep purple tunic, embroidered gold.
Zane could instantly feel something different about him. It was the same as with the Treant. An aura streamed off him like light shines off a star. An aura of Elemental Law. Not one Zane was familiar with. The man walked by, and the crowd parted before him like peasants before a king. He didn't look to either side as he passed; he acknowledged no one. It wasn't even disdain—just that no one interested him. They didn't even register, the way ants didn't register as you stepped over them.
𝔼𝕞𝕖𝕜𝕒 𝔼𝕫𝕖
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟙𝟘
𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖: 𝕋𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙
ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤: 𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟
𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟: 𝕃𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕠𝕗 ℤ𝕦𝕞𝕒
Zane sucked in a breath. So this was the Number 3 in the world, huh.
He had a bad habit. His first thought when he saw someone strong was usually—I wonder what it'd be like to fight him.
The thought hit him now.
It excited him.
It was as though Eze heard what he was thinking—he glanced over. They locked eyes—and Eze frowned.
Then Zane felt a burst of noise in Sage Mind. A blast of meaningless feeling like television static for the soul.
Everyone else's feelings came in clear. But Eze's felt scrambled somehow. It hurt his head just taking it all in.
He thought at first the man was doing something funny. But Eze also seemed confused. Zane couldn't tell by his feelings anymore. Just by the look on his face.
The static faded as fast as it'd come. What was that?
Now everyone was staring at them. Two of the strongest beings in the world, in one place, locking eyes. A nervous tension hung over the crowd; Zane could feel them holding their breaths.
Then Eze opened his mouth.
"Zane Walker," he said slowly. Each word came out smoothly, carefully, very measured. Carefully enunciated, with a trace of an accent. "The little water demon has told me of you."
Zane blinked. "What?"
"Avery Lively."
"…Ah."
"She said your powers are dangerous and unusual. I...see that now."
Zane shrugged, and for a moment Eze was silent, considering him. Then a hint of a smile came on his face. "You wish to fight me."
Zane was surprised—how could he tell? Then the man tapped a fist to his heart. "I see it in your eyes. I understand. I am the same way."
Now that the static had died down, Eze's feelings came through clear again. Like a low hearth burning—he was speaking honestly, from the heart. He knew what it felt too; the whole time they spoke, his soul was kept at a low burn. Ready to flare.
"After you break through the bottleneck, seek me out. I will give you your fight then."
He stepped closer, held out a hand.
And Zane shook it firmly. For some reason he couldn't place, he found himself smiling a little too.
Eze's expression turned wistful. He felt strangely hopeful. "It is rare that I meet someone interesting," he mused. "Please… do not disappoint me."
Then he turned, nodded, and strode away. Zane watched him go.
Well that was weird.
What was that static? It didn't feel like his Sage Mind was blocked. More like… there was some other Skill Eze was using on him. And when they both used their Skills at the same time, they scrambled each other. Weird. He was pretty sure it wasn't another Skill like Sage Mind—he would've felt it.
Instead, it felt like he was getting dozens of different emotions at once, all a little unreal. Ghostly flickers of feeling.
Zane shrugged and went off himself.
***
Once he got to the 'Minas Tirith' hotel, a friendly mustached concierge checked him into the penthouse suite—"courtesy of Mr. Ventor, sir." There he found a room a little too rich for his taste, lots of gold and fluffy stuff everywhere. Along with a B-grade Vial of Essence and the B-grade Law Fruit.
The treasure he pocketed, the essence he drank. It took him halfway to Level 99.
Time for dinner with Avery and Evan. Then sleep.
And then, at last, his breakthrough.