Chapter 61

Conquering A Pillar

When Lykan was fully certain that Nayali was safe, he then proceeded to lay out his plan. This was the same plan they had discussed earlier, prior to entering the jungle basin, but he wanted to make sure she remembered after everything that just happened.

“I am about to interact with the pillar. Rather than taking the power I will try to disperse it.” Lykan began. This was another point of knowledge that he had, thanks to Nayali’s prior melding with the pillar. When you first begin interacting with the pillar there were apparently two options. The first was to try to consume the energy, the second was to disperse the energy to the world. After seeing the shift in personality that happened to Nayali after the last of the vile substance was removed, Lykan swore he would choose the latter option.

Hearing his words, the memories of the plan came back to Nayali’s mind, and she nodded along.

Lykan knew this would not be easy, even from a distance the power had a semi-malevolent nature to it, almost as if the malevolence was a way to protect the energy from anyone not worthy. Taking a deep breath Lykan steeled his resolve to move on with the plan. He did not know what interacting with the dark pillar of power would entail, but he knew these pillars had been placed by the gods as some form of challenge.

With movement that hid the hesitation he held in his heart, he moved forward and with a pounding heart placed his hand upon the pillar.

Zap.

There was an electric pulse as the smell of ozone permeated the air around him. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as the energy that surrounded him attempted to infuse with his very body. Energy swirled around him and into and through him, until finally a message from the gods appeared before his eyes.

Greetings,

You have found an unclaimed World Power Node. There are currently 23 unclaimed power nodes left on your continent. Would you care to proceed? Warning Going forward will require you to make nearly impossible choices.

Note: Just for getting this far you will receive a portion of the power contained within this node.

Blessing Received: Minor Power Node Blessing. Grants a minor bonus to one of your attributes up to the maximum for your species. Error: Subject is already at maximum for species. Finding alternate bonus. Evolving Skills to be one tier higher. Error: Skills already at maximum evolution. Increasing Magic Ability Tier. Error Magic Ability Tier already at maximum. Blessing aborted.

Would you like to proceed: [Yes] or [No]?

After reading the message Lykan couldn’t help but wonder what was happening. Then a thought occurred to him, if anyone who came in contact with the pillar had their skills and attributes increased, then no wonder the dire-bear was so powerful. That moment of realization over, Lykan continued with his interaction with the pillar.

Seeing the options before him, he chose [Yes].

The moment he chose yes, a warning from the gods appeared.

Warning you are about to partake in a trial that could change the very shape of power on your continent. By continuing from this point on your decisions not only affect you but could potentially affect everyone on the continent. This is your last chance to turn back. From this point onward you will be judged based on your decisions.

Are you sure you would you like to proceed: [Yes] or [No]?

Reading the wording he felt this was very specific wording. He wondered if there were similar events happening on the other continents. He wondered that, then quickly dismissed the thought as irrelevant and distracting. He had a job to do, and he needed to do it properly.

Reading through the disclaimer he mentally agreed [Yes] to continue again.

There was almost the sound of something huffing indignantly, but Lykan quickly dismissed that idea as he focused on what would come next.

There are two ways the power in this pillar can be used. Personal Power, and Territorial Power. The first is simple, you select Personal Power you get infused with the power and the process is over. The second involves a battle of skills and strategy. Which do you choose [Personal Power] or [Territorial Power]?

Seeing the two options, the pillar made it seem that Personal Power was the way to go. It never mentioned the side effects of the power upon the individual. Then again it never claimed to represent the options fairly. Seeing the options and the way they were displayed caused Lykan to pause. He never doubted his choice, he would choose [Territorial Power] from the start, but something about the wording caused him to pause.

His mind quickly went into multiple different scenarios while he tried to analyze all the information that was before him. What exactly were the battles of skills and strategy? Secondly, why would that be important when trying to distribute power to the ground? So many things didn’t quite make sense, but he was already committed to this next course of action. Finally, he realized there was no point in worrying about what would soon be apparent. Without any more hesitation he made his choice [Territorial Power].

The power surging through him seemed to pause for a second, then another. After a few seconds Lykan began to wonder if the second option was trap. Just when he began to wonder if he in fact made the wrong decision a message prompt appeared before his mind letting him know that the gods approved.

Greetings Candidate, as the first of your continent to choose [Territorial Power] you have been granted a blessing. Since this is your first time interacting with a pillar of power and you had no way of knowing of this option the blessing granted will be doubled.

Checking host now for acceptable blessing.

Host body did not receive initial blessing due to predetermined boundary issues. This has also been added to the weight and measure of blessing being bestowed. Blood of Candidate required to perform further tests. Do you agree to taking of blood? [Yes] or [No].

Candidate already conceded to blood as part of previous agreements to move forward. Blood being extracted.

No sooner had Lykan read the message, then a pricking sensation filled his finger that was connected to the pillar. It took him a second to realize that the pillar was extracting his blood. Why the pillar needed his blood for a blessing was beyond him, as the gods never needed such a thing for their blessings before. Why was this so different? Maybe because it wasn’t the gods, but an instrument of the gods? A smarter semi-autonomous instrument, but an instrument none the less. As these thoughts began to go through his mind the pillar began to glow, as heat began to radiate from the pillar. Then just as quickly as it started, the pillar cooled down, the second it got back to normal temperatures the energy from the pillar once again flowed into him showing him the messages from the gods.

Greetings Candidate. Your blood has been tested. An adequate blessing has been found for you, should you survive the trials ahead. Good Luck.

With that ominous message, out of the way his mind was taken to a different realm. At first glance the realm appeared to be the realms of dreams, but upon closer inspection it was just a different part of his mind. Or maybe a shared portion of his mind that was also being used by the pillar to conduct this so-called battle of Skill and Strategy.

That is when he looked down to see a green velvet tablecloth that had been filled in with sixty-four squares. At the center of the board were four circular game pieces, two white, two black in an alternating-colored square formation.

Candidate has been chosen to play Reversi to determine the outcome of the territory pillar. Conditions are simple: win and the power within the pillar will be given to the ground however you wish. Lose and all your power will be added to the power, for the next challenger.

Reading the options upon winning and losing Lykan felt a tightness in his throat. He had never played Reversi and was unaware of the rules.

Would you like to play in a tutorial session before you begin the true contest? [Yes] or [No].

Lykan instantly chose [Yes] and the rules of the game were detailed for him. Lykan was to go first, and at first, he had a total of four places to move that would constitute a legal move. The game of Reversi was a conquering game, where everyone started off completely equally and only play determined the winner.

He soon realized after losing the first two corners that he was quickly at a disadvantage that soon spiraled out of control. In the end he lost quite handedly and did not feel anywhere near being prepared enough for the real game.

Would you care to practice again? [Yes] or [No].

This time Lykan didn’t pause, as he instantly chose yes and was once again brought into the initial screen where his first four starting moves were laid out for him. He again chose the same square, but subtly changed his play, trying to keep the things he learned in his first play through in mind. This time he managed to capture one of the corners before losing.

Not to be discouraged he tried again, and again, and again.

After a point he no longer cared about this game being the inevitable cause of his death. Instead, he began to use each practice round to understand his opponent, their actions, and reactions. They always chose the correct move, but then again, they likely had the knowledge of the gods to guide their actions. Lykan unfortunately was only mortal and learning a game of the gods.

He had read tales about how the old kings used to settle disputes by Reversi. Those were the stories of the wise kings of old, the ones who did not wish to see their soldiers fight in a duel of the gods and instead wished to settle the matters of state by themselves. These were considered gentleman’s games, but they were all lost after the fall.

Being here, experiencing this game, Lykan felt part of his mind awaken. This was a treasure of a find, as he felt he was being allowed to witness the gods in action. Or if not the gods, then how the gods originally intended this world to be.

Lykan still lost, but each time he lost he felt he had a better understanding of the game. He watched the game as an ebb and flow of life and danger. In a very real sense, it was the embodiment of the struggle of the heavens, the gods of light versus the gods of darkness. The way both fought for influence over the world, but none ultimately could win. For if one truly won, then the game would be over before all the pieces had been played. That happened to him once, early on, he lost every one of his pieces when he attempted to do a turtling strategy of staying within the confines of the net of his opponent. This was a strategy that the pillar used quite effectively but was one he had a hard time focusing on as it required far more understanding of the game’s nuances. When he was in the center, he had to be both subtle and powerful. Often being on the defense at first required finesse and skill for the wrong move could cripple your forces. Similarly, being too strong could also be detrimental for it forced you to play to the defense’s side. It forced you to take the pieces they offered.

He played through dozens of times, each time testing a strategy he saw the pillar employ the time before against him. With his enhanced mind and near eidetic memory such options were easy. He would play through, using the strategy of the pillar against itself, until finally it got to the next part a counter that completely annulled his process. Seeing the pillar effectively defeat itself over and over helped Lykan understand the flow of the game. In the end he got to where he won every time, either by being offense or defensively minded the entire game. Every time he just employed the strategy of the pillar against itself.

Finally, it was time to go on to the real game.

You have won. Would you care to test your skills for the real game? [Yes] or [No].

Seeing the prompt Lykan accepted, knowing that he had prepared as much as humanly possible to win this game. When he began playing, the real game was somewhat of a letdown. The practice had been nearly impossible to defeat, requiring precise knowledge of where to move and when. The level of effort being put forward for the real game was laughable. It was almost as if he was playing against himself. Or at least the way he played when he first began.

Seeing the moves and mistakes being made, Lykan took corner after corner, border after border. That alone was close to enough to win. Finally, the game ended, and it had come full circle. As handedly as he had lost his first game, was the same way he had won this game.

He had spent hours practicing and preparing, fretting any wrong move would be the end of his life. Had he not practiced he surely would have lost, or at the very least it would have been close. Seeing the results, he was happy he had taken so long to prepare. With the moves and counters set in his mind, he had been as sure as possible in his victory.

Congratulations Candidate. You have successfully defeated your opponent. You now have the option to dedicate the power in this pillar to a deity. That deity, based on their nature will use that power in a way befitting their true nature.

With that a list of all the major gods and minor deities scrolled before him. Each having a list of the names, their attributes they focused on. Their virtues that they could bestow upon anyone. Only the gods could bestow virtues, some of the blessings allowed you to communicate with them to be granted blessings. Others allowed you to grant blessings of your god upon the land. Some of the blessings made it so you had conditional strength. The strength or power being conditional on superficial things like having long hair or praying daily.

In the end none of the virtues truly called to Lykan, not because he didn’t want power. If he was being honest with himself, he would have wanted the powers that were being offered, but many came with costs that were too high, or too trivial. In the end he found himself scrolling through just looking at the names and related attributes of the gods, then to the lists of the minor gods. Out of curiosity he found himself scrolling through the spirits and stopped himself when he saw the third spirit listed. Seeing that this was in fact an option, he mentally selected the target. Then after a moment’s hesitation he confirmed his choice.

You have selected Spirit: Great Forest Spirit to receive the power of this pillar. Since this is one of the lowest forms of power a spiritual being can manifest the being is not capable of bestowing any blessings or virtues on you at this time.

The thought of blessings and virtues didn’t matter. The fact that he could repay the Great Forest Spirit for its kindness made him happy. He felt truly a part of something greater when he had been taken in by the high wood elves. He also felt he would not be the person he was now, had it not been for the help and protection he received from the great forest spirit. Dedicating a pillar of power to them was the least he could do.

With that done, he felt the power of the pillar begin to flow down around him and into the ground.

It was over.

Sighing to himself, he let out a long slow breath. The tension that he had been holding in his shoulders let out, as he let himself begin to relax.

That’s when the final surge of energy from the pillar flowed from the pillar down his still connected arm and directly to his heart.

Blessing Bestowed: Unageing.

Unageing (Epic): This is an evolution of the minor blessing already bestowed upon you by the Great Forest Spirit. This adaptation improves not only your health but the health of your progeny as well. Your body will stay in peak physical condition, you will for all intents and purposes be an immortal. While you can still die, you will not die due to old age, or the complications of living a longer life. Your progeny will be blessed with the lesser version of this blessing, longevity.

Progeny? Unageing? There were so many things to unpack in that. He was seventeen, almost eighteen. He had barely had his class for the better part of twenty months, but now he was immortal. Not only that, but it seemed that he would be able to pass on some of these blessings to his children. Why were such thoughts even options?

So many things were running through his mind, he used these thoughts to distract his mind from what was currently happening within his body.

He could feel the changes taking place within his body, as whatever energy the pillar had pumped into his heart and then began exploding outward throughout his body. It was a warm burning feeling that felt like he was simultaneously being set on fire, while also relieving his muscles of all accumulated stress and strain. With so much pain, all he could do was focus externally on the thoughts of what everything meant. Did this mean he would have elf children? Did this happen to the original elf? He received such a blessing from the gods and was able to spawn a whole species of extremely long-lived people?

Just as he was about to go down further thoughts, the burning sensations in his body finally subsided, as the last of his old blood had finally been burned away, replaced by the newer sample that had been provided by the pillar.

With that exchange of power over, the force that had been holding his hand in place against the pillar released, and Lykan was free to move. As soon as he was free, he tried to take one step, only to find that his entire world was spinning. In a second, he was face first on the ground. There was the distant sound of Nayali screaming. Lykan wanted to rise, to protect her, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even focus, as the rest of his mind burned away into a deep dark slumber.