The place Alexander took us was HUGE. I was expecting something like one of the pubs we had been to before. Something with a bar and wooden tables and a seedy backroom feel. This new place though...it was really upscale. It reminded me a bit of Rantano's back in Valen, but not as obviously geared at mortals.

The new place, Deva, was a much larger building for one. Where Rantano's was the size of a normal restaurant, Deva was, at least on the inside, almost as big as a sports field. I expected given the size they would need columns, but there were none. It was all a single uninterrupted space except the tables, which were only about a foot tall and surround by plush pillows with intricate designs of a dozen types.

The ceiling was arched, but despite it being so high up, it was easy to see the pictures painted on the surface of the domed structure. Gods and monsters battled among the clouds, hiding behind still images as they threw bolts of lightning and fire literally out of the painted surface and across the gap to the other side of the dome. The deities and demons would sometimes die, only to fade into a normal still image upon their demise, while one of the still images would awaken, some seeming to heal from fatal damage to begin their tiny war.

Though the place was far from empty, the sheer size made it feel much more private than it was. Which was good because we had a HUGE party of people, and everyone needing to crowd around one huge table was already taxing to the space without trying to work around strangers. The wolves flopped down on the cushions nearest the door when we got to the table and the rest of us set up wherever we could get a spot with someone we wanted to sit with.

"So." I said as I sat down. "That was bracing." I looked at Callie. "Sorry to say babe but your dad is every bit as big an asshole as I was expecting. Sucks you had to put up with him all those years."

Alexander sighed. "Yes. Paul has gotten much worse. I truly wonder how much of that was early recursion before he built his reputation as a hero. Powers like ours are perceived a certain way. It's more than likely he was unduly influenced before he built his current image." He held up his hands quickly as if to forestall comment. "Not that it excuses him. Just...be careful about growing too fast. Recursion can become overwhelming if you get too much of it at once. Faster growth can make it harder to withstand."

I hadnt known that actually, but it made plenty of sense. I suspected we wouldn't have that problem, however. Most of our points came from wishes which should dilute the effect quite a bit. We would still have plenty of recursion, but it should be easier to resist for us at least. Stats were the building blocks of an ability and a legend, them being the carriers for recursion was so simple in hindsight I felt like an absolute moron.

Callie held up a hand. "I appreciate the support, guys, but let's just eat. I don't want to spend any more time thinking about that bastard than I have to." She grabbed for a menu on the table I hadn't even seen there. "So what does this place have. Anything good?"

I smiled as I grabbed another menu, realizing they were stashed in small compartments just under the table. Scanning over it I noted dozens of dishes. "It would be more accurate to ask what they DON'T have. And the answer is not much. I'm in the mood for gumbo today I think. How about you guys?" The gumbo looked fantastic, and I was sure based on the pricing it would be made with high ranking ingredients.

Our whole party went about ordering. Benny, Jessie, Abel, Zeke, Alexander, Abigail and her team, Lament and her team, Sydney, Megan, Cark, Melina. I was wincing internally for Alexander by the time we got to the wolves because this was going to cost him a fortune. The puppies got steaks, and Jessie ordered a HUGE to-go box of meat to be prepared right before we left for Randall. Alexander didn't even make a sound about the expenditure though, presumably he was much richer than the rest of us anyway.

Once the food was coming, we turned to Sydney and Megan. "So, you mentioned knowing something about our opponents for the first round? I admit I've never fought ghosts before. If it's a racial trait did they give up their abilities when they made the shift?" I'd never been clear on that one. Some of the nonhumans I'd met were able to use jobs or abilities fine, and some seemed to have switched over to an ability based on their new species. Then again, there was nothing to say they didn't already have an ability like that which led to them picking it in the first place.

"They have both." Said Megan flatly. "Though there are obviously some common powers between them as well. Things like intangibility. Other than that they have different tricks. Cold, sound, each one of them developed as a ghost uniquely, at least from what I heard. I don't know too much about them. As a D-rank force we never had much interaction with the Hall of Nether. I just know about them because all of them synergizing the same trait is considered odd."

Callie cursed. "Damn. We'll need to do some research on them before the fight. But it's fine, that's more than we knew before. Now who did you guys end up with? I don't believe that with a group this big we won't be able to find answers to help out everyone here. This is a huge pool of potential information. So, who does everybody have to go up against?"

I knew that Callie had two reasons for doing this, one was definitely to help our friends, but she could also gather valuable information on people we might have to fight in the future. Statistically not all of the teams here would win most likely. Some of them were shoe ins like the Spear Legion team, but some of them like Silent Dagger's team were local and not particularly strong. I was sure Alexander had taught them well, but with so many D-rank forces sending out fighters who wouldn't be well trained?

Lament held up her card. "I got the Cave Spider Cult." She paused. "Actually saying that out loud it's kind of a weird coincidence, but there are so many forces in the Gloryfire System it's not surprising some of their names would be relevant. Anyway, they're a D-rank force who mainly use variations on spider transformation. Not a racial trait, but more like your Beast Lord Garden."

MacGregor, who was with us for this little powwow (we'd been friendlier with him after he helped out in the auction fight) nodded. "Truth. The cultists are swift and dangerous, but should you avoid their projectiles they are no threat to one such as you. Do not allow them to bleed on you, however. Their blood is highly toxic and corrosive."

Lament look unmoved by the information, but Wren nodded in appreciation. "Thanks." He turned to glare at his captain. "SOME of us worry about things like that. We appreciate the heads up." Lestri and Vector both nodded in appreciation, while Falken, who was sleeping on the table from all appearances, held out a lazy thumbs up without actually sitting up at all.

That got a snicker from Megan. "We got matched up with the Dead Iron Brotherhood. No one I've heard of before, so they probably aren't from any of the planets near our star. Or they are and they're just super weak. I'm hoping for the latter, given the work we put in to tweak the drawing in our favor."

Wren nodded at that. "Bit of column A bit of column B. The Dead Iron Brotherhood are only a D-rank force, and they're mainly defensive. They use a body transformation art to shift their bodies into metal. The TYPE of metal varies depending on the person, synergizing different abilities can change that kind of thing. They're a pain in the ass to wear down, but you two are fast enough that they shouldn't be a threat. Just a long annoying battle."

I noticed that Megan didn't seem pleased with the news, and I had to hold back a snicker. Looked like her luck had come through in the most irritating way. Sloane spoke up next. "Sky Wolf Temple. Never heard of them before either. Not that I was expecting anything different. Anyone know what they can do?"

Sadly it seemed no one did, but then, with twenty five hundred teams we were bound to see some unknowns, and our little alliance mainly spanned three or four planets. A few of the others spoke up, and some of them likewise had opponents we didn't know about. Despite the size of our current group, twenty five hundred teams was far too many, especially given how many planets were probably involved.

Of course, some of them we were able to dig up more information on. The Burning Heaven Abyss was a well known D-rank force that both Lament and MacGregor had heard of. Cark was up against them, and upon finding out they used some kind of cold fire immediately started making countermeasures. After that we all kind of broke off into our individual groups to converse and try to come up with ideas.

We discussed all the possible details. As we tried to figure out a countermeasure to the ghosts though, Jessie perked up. "Oh hey, what about that dagger?" We all looked at her blankly. "You know? The ghost stabbing one we got in the Necropolis. That thing was G-rank wasn't it? Whatever happened to that?" I blinked as I remembered it, then turned to look at Callie, who had handled the loot.

"We still have it." She said with a shrug. "Zeke made it sound impressive, so I kept it when I sold off most of the other stuff. That's a great idea though Agria. They won't be expecting that I bet. I'll dig it up and bring it along." She cocked her head in thought. "Although, maybe we should give it to Apollyon." She glanced at Abel. "Think it would be helpful?"

To my complete lack of surprise my teacher just shook his head. "Ragam isn't a weapon based art. I CAN use a dagger, but it won't be as effective as my fists. Besides I don't think my manifestations even count as physical attacks. I should be able to slap ghosts around just fine."

Callie nodded. "Fair enough. We can do some training tonight. The first round is tomorrow, so we obviously need to warm up. The next one will probably be a few days later. They need time to hold all the matches. Twelve hundred and fifty fights isn't going to be quick."

I groaned aloud at the idea of more training, but it was good natured. After some downtime I was up for some combat. Plus I really did want to be in peak form for this fight. Once we managed to win we would be going to one of the local parties, and as much as I didn't look forward to formal attire, I figured we'd have more chances to try some good food.

As my gumbo arrived, I dug in, enjoying the delicious stew. I reached down to pet Jin as I ate, enjoying the sights and sounds of Deva with my friends as we talked over our next moves. Tomorrow would be the first fight of the tournament, and I was betting those ghosts had some interesting tricks up their sleeves. We would be ready either way. For now, things were pretty good.