Executive Stream

“That was more expensive than I had expected…” Diane mutters as she leans back on the couch directly across from the screens while looking up at the ceiling.

Leo begins to chuckle quietly next to her, only to stop as she elbows him in the side and says, “You’re not one to laugh, considering that you will be paying for a slot yourself as well.”

The man frowns slightly and mutters something to himself before focusing on Wolf’s screen. On the screen, the harbinger can be seen casually leaning up against the outer wall of the arena from atop a small pillar of ice, watching the fights going on without any emotion displayed on his face.

“The loss of that girl seems to have affected him,” Leo mutters, his frown deepening slightly.

Diane looks from the ceiling to the screen before saying, “That’s true. I’m not sure if I’ve seen him smile since.”

A silence fills the room for several seconds, only to be broken as the door opens and Arianais enters the room without a care for manners while closing the door behind himself.

“You here to join us while we’re sponsoring him?” Diane says, tilting her head to look at the water harbinger.

The man simply nods his head and sits down on a nearby chair.

Several more seconds of silence fills the room before Diane asks Arianais, “So what are you going to give to him?”

Arianais just turns to look at her before focusing on the screen again as he answers, “A skill.”

Diane sits still for a few seconds, waiting for him to continue, only to furrow her brows in confusion as he stays silent. “That’s all you’re going to say?”

The man nods his head without a word. Meanwhile, Leo covers his mouth in an attempt to stop himself from chuckling.

‘Why is he even here then?’ Diane thinks to herself before shaking her head and focusing on Wolf’s screen again.

Wolf

A little over half an hour later

I pause in my search through the Player Auction for new skills or items as a notification appears covering every menu on my interface.

“Finally,” I mutter with a frown. It gets boring watching the same monsters fight each other over and over again.

Sponsorship Announcement

One of your sponsorship slots has been purchased by the Administrator: Leo Decayend!

You will receive your sponsored items or skills when all five sponsorship slots are taken.

Within seconds, the announcement message disappears to be replaced by another one.

Sponsorship Announcement

All five of your sponsorship slots have been purchased by the following individuals:

Administrator: Diane Frost

Administrator: Arianais

Administrator: Wilhelm Aust

Administrator: Cyrene Hunter

Administrator: Leo Decayend

Congratulations!

You will now be transported to the System’s Grand Hall to be awarded your items and skills!

Wait, what’s a Grand…

Before I can finish the thought, a deep black light shines from all around me, and I find myself within a very large hall. The hall is black and red in its color scheme and appears to be made as some sort of throne room. There is even a throne at the very end of the hall, on top of a raised dais. One that looks like something straight out of a fantasy book, with large spikes shooting out of the back of the throne towards the ceiling.

Throne aside though, the hall spans much longer than any other hall I have ever seen before – not that I’m much of an expert on halls – and it has a very thick black and red carpet in the center of the hall going straight from the two enormous doors making up the entrance, all the way to the raised dais. There are pillars on both sides of the room directly across from each other, along with a banner on each of the pillars.

A banner with a very familiar symbol. One easily recognizable as the System’s symbol.

I turn back to look at the throne itself again before noticing the large circle with the System’s symbol on the floor in front of it, the long carpet going completely around it, and beautiful rays of moonlight shining directly onto the symbol from a skylight in the ceiling. However, the crescent moon part of the symbol is extended upwards out of the ground, in the form of some sort of table or counter. And floating slightly above the counter is five different things.

On the far left is a long black coat, with a very pale blue trim. The coat’s sleeves appear to be almost ethereal, as I’m able to partially see through it to the counter beneath it. It doesn’t seem to have the ability to button or zip up, but it does have some sort of crest on the back of the coat.

One of my eyebrows quirks slightly as I see the crest. The crest appears to be my head in hunter form, with a beautiful aurora surrounding it, and a light white mist surrounding the aurora. Lastly, it has a black border around all of the crest, with the border stretching out with four spikes, one on each opposing corner of the crest.

That coat must have been custom made…

I take my eyes away from the coat to look at the next thing, which appears to be a red skill orb, floating only about a meter or so away from the coat. After that is some sort of black and white letter, followed by a pair of boots.

The last item floating above the counter is actually a ring. It has a very fancy looking red jewel implanted into it, with the band itself being a beautiful, fiery red.

My observations are interrupted as another announcement appears, covering my entire interface again.

Sponsorship Announcement

Welcome to the System’s Grand Hall!

The following five items and skills have been sent to you through your sponsors and are arrayed in the slot order of the sponsors.

When you wish to return to the dungeon, just focus on this announcement and say ‘return.’

Any items or skills not claimed by the Competitor before they return to the dungeon will be disposed of by the System.

You are being streamed live and forcefully shown to every current viewing room in the System.

The announcement minimizes itself as soon as I finish reading it before moving over to the side of my interface so as to not get in the way.

I’m being forcefully shown to every current viewing room right now? Isn’t that a little… forceful, I guess?

It just doesn’t really seem like something the System would do.

Either way, I look at all five items and skills before focusing on the middle one.

The Ruler only sent me a letter? I would have expected some sort of cursed item, or maybe just a rock.

Then again, for all I know, it might just be cursed.

Best to leave that for last, and to identify it before touching it.

My eyes quickly focus on the black coat. Diane’s sponsorship item.

Soon enough, my other brow raises as well after I identify the item.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Tier 8 Coat of The Winter Wolf:

This coat was crafted by the master craftsman, Tordek Undark, under the direction of the Werewolf Empress, Diane Frost for the specific use of The Winter Wolf. It may only be worn by The Winter Wolf – otherwise known as Wolf Adler – and will begin to freeze anyone else who attempts to wear it.

The coat raises the overall maneuverability of the wearer by 20%, raises the wearer’s physical and magical resistance by 30%, while also granting them a medium physical and magical resistance, and it helps shield the wearer from detection skills.

The crest on the coat increases the overall efficiency of any ice element created by the user and allows the user to repair the coat from any and all damage.

Bonus Effect: If the wearer has 75% or more of their total stamina remaining, then they are able to use the skill ‘Cocytus.’

Note: The sleeves are ethereal and will not get in the way of fighting, allowing the wearer’s hand and arm to pass through them when needed. They also cover the wearer’s arms with a faint illusion so that anything worn under the sleeve isn’t visible to others, as if the wearer was wearing nothing but the coat.

Close

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Okay, that’s a really fucking good coat.

I reach out to grab it while closing out of the menu before feeling the material with my fingers.

The material feels both slick and solid at the same time, while also being cool to the touch. Just like how I like it.

Which might sound odd for a coat, but who cares.

I quickly put the coat on before checking out the Cocytus skill as a strange feeling envelops my body from the coat.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Cocytus

This skill drains half of the user’s total stamina to create a wintry apocalypse for one hundred meters around the user, freezing everything within the radius seen by the user as the enemy.

Note: In the case of an ice harbinger using this skill, the skill will use the harbinger’s specific variant element instead of regular ice element.

Warning: Can only be used once a week.

Close

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

My eyebrows raise even further after reading the skill’s description.

That sounds like a powerful skill. Not to mention a great skill for crowd control. Just one use of it, and I will have eliminated every enemy near me that my eternal ice effect works on.

I close out of the skill’s description before focusing on the skill orb next to it.

Time to see what Arianais got me.