Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Serval – Interlude

Chapter 11: Serval - Interlude

 

Serval had to hold back a smirk as he looked at the dumbfounded faces of the high and mighty idiots. He had to give it to Tetsuyumi. The woman knew how to make an entrance.

This was turning out to be a coup. The so-called 'Pedestrian Lords' were making decisive movements right at the beginning. He was proud to be a part of this shindig. Not the empty pride that many of these patrons had just because they were patrons; no. His pride stemmed from the fact that he had achieved his goals, and had once again disrupted the cheer of the ruling class quite successfully. Even though he was a lord now, he never considered himself as such. Neither did the nobles, but he didn't care for their opinions.

There used to be a time when he desperately craved recognition. He needed the recognition and acknowledgment he rightfully deserved. It all died a swift death like some of his relatives did.

He looked up at the screen that displayed the twit sitting atop everyone in a fancy box. It satisfied him greatly how low the K’Wul dynasty had fallen. Reduced to a teen emperor who could barely be considered an adult. Byrone K’Wul would be rolling in his grave if he ever knew the current state of things.

Then again, surely, a precog of his caliber would have seen this coming?

He had to control his facial expression once more to hide how he really felt. Byrone was a proven seer with far-reaching capabilities. But fools who thought that his machinations worked till this day were clowns. He knew of several examples where the dead K’Wul leader's visions should have intervened if they were that far-reaching. He didn't have any problems playing along with the act though. It even gave him proper justification for some of his actions.

Trading the Hollow Crown away because a pugilist became the Pygilist? It must be fated, of course.

It'll get the idiots hook, line, and sinker. Even though the synchronization was the deciding factor; to their eyes, this angle would be even more convincing. It helped that Roland was more than willing to sell the lie.

Under any other circumstance, he would take the Hollow Crown, no questions asked. If he believed in fate, he would say that it was ironic indeed: him landing voyager number one, who went on and picked the Crown. He even used up his entitlement to prevent her from going to other teams. But as things were, he didn’t want the negative attention that the Hollow Crown brought.

Being allied to it was bad enough, but holding that artifact was like holding onto a bomb. Especially in light of some of his recent undertakings.

On the other hand, being allied to the holder of the strongest artifact was a major bonus after all. There were both positives and negatives attached to that choice, just like everything in life.

So, when Roland came with the news that one of his temporary charges had become the Pygilist with a synchronization rate of ninety-eight percent, he did not hesitate. Anything above ninety percent created a monster. A walking reservoir of mana. He was eager to see how Parth would turn out. His numbers were never seen before. He projected Parth to be on the record as the voyager with the most amount of magic, ever. It was a natural correlation. The one with the highest synchronization will be the one with the most mana. Simple.

Moreover, Parth knew how to adapt to the situation and fight. Even though his performance against the golem was not as impressive as Emilia's, it was way above the norm for a Pygilist. Considering that most voyagers didn't even destroy the golems as those two did, it was a win-win situation. Heck, many couldn't even defeat them on account of their artifacts, or lack of sufficient mana immediately after bonding.

Another point of note was that mana took time to build. So he was sure that in time, the mana reserves would make the Pygilist stronger than the Hollow Crown.

That was one of the main reasons why he was happy with things as they were. He already had two powerhouses locked into his faction. Now he just needed to work with Roland and surround the two of them with proper teammates.

There was no question about who would be the leader of the respective teams. They couldn't waste their resources trying to get some other high-tier artifact. The offensive powerhouses were already locked and loaded. Now it was the time to get proper defense and support.

He watched on as a few more patrons and advisors took to the stage and sealed their pacts. Overall, the number of 'Pedestrian Lords' using the entitlement early was high this time. He was a proud member of the aforementioned number.

Some hereditary nobles who had landed some powerful artifacts hadn’t hesitated to use the entitlement as well. The bloody thing was there for a reason after all.

Many just stood by and let perfectly good artifacts pass by because they wanted to hold onto the entitlement as major bargaining chips, or they wanted to enter the redistribution rounds.

Serval personally didn't put much stock into the redistribution rounds. Sure, it would increase the firepower drastically, but it wasn't a guarantee. 

No, his priority was ensuring that his voyagers made it whole and hearty through the dungeon.

He had no interest in a crippled or fragmented team that went to the finale with the promise of more power. He'd rather have a completely healthy team ready to break down their opposition even further despite some last-minute power-ups on the opposition's part.

He watched on as a few more proven artifacts were locked. All offensive ones.

Right as that thought crossed his mind, the announcer said that old Lyster had locked the Ante into his team. Someone in the crowd had the gall to snort loudly at that. It was a shame that not everyone shared Serval’s views about the artifacts. Some of those might look deceptively weaker in comparison to the powerhouses. But no artifact was useless.

Some people had an elitist outlook toward the artifacts. It was true that some were indeed better than the rest. Yet, no artifact was useless.

Soon enough, the initial claims came to an end. Out of the thirty-four patrons, twelve had used their entitlements. Of course, the poor sap who got saddled with the solo seed had no choice but to do so. Thirty-three teams with three members each. Then there was the one-man team consisting of the artifact that belonged to the last Centurion. Following tradition, that was the closing claim of the entitlements list. The Honored Choker would be the seed, as determined a century ago, and will be fighting alone.

There were a lot of concessions for him and it was a norm for the seed to be allied with other teams and travel with them throughout the dungeon. It was not like the Choker even needed that aid. Given that it was a very balanced artifact that allowed the user a good amount of offense, defense, and mobility.

He knew that Zeten M’Ara would have prepared accordingly. The nobles had been scandalized when the M’Ara family's patriarch married the previous Centurion. It was mitigated since it was not just a voyager, but the centurion herself. But the past hundred years had not been kind to the M’Ara family in some ways.

The patriarch had to step down and give his brother the responsibility. Their reasoning was simple. D’Raacs and humans couldn’t reproduce. In fact, none of the species in Tava could interbreed. The genetics were just not compatible to produce offspring. So, they told him that since he couldn't further their line, he could no longer be the leader.

He did step down, but people who knew the M’Ara would know that those were a loyal bunch. Even though the younger brother became the patriarch, it was in name only. The nephews and nieces loved their uncle and their Centurion aunt a lot. The fact that the other nobles had an issue with their marriage caused a lot of rift between the M’Aras and most other families.

Serval knew the M’Aras quite well and related to them in some way. Another group of fair and caring people who got shit flung at them because some other nobles put their noses where they didn't belong. 

He would confidently say that old Zeten was planning on honoring his grandaunt's legacy by crowning the current holder of the Honored Choker as the next Centurion. Serval sighed in annoyance at the naming sense of Byrone K’Wul. Some of the artifacts were just named in such a way that they changed the meanings of sentences unnecessarily.

As Zeten and his advisor returned to their seats, the announcement went off that the regular auctions would begin.

This was simpler than exchanging an entitlement for political favors and whatnot. The auction was straightforward. They filled the crown’s coffers with their personal wealth for the privilege of renting the artifacts.

After all, that’s what they were; rentals. Once the voyagers died, the artifacts would automatically return to Byrone’s armory.

It was worth it though. The positives of being a patron for a voyager were far too many to list. A simple monetary exchange for that was more than acceptable.

Obviously, the criteria to be a patron were stringent. To be a patron, one needed to govern a sector at the very least. Even then, that alone was not enough. There were a hundred sectors and only thirty-four teams. There were no two ways about it. Political clout, the development index of the sector, and individual contributions to the nation before taking office as the governor were important aspects as well.

Everything Serval had done in his life was for this moment. Every painstaking hour of work, every drop of blood and sweat shed, every single credit earned throughout the years; everything was for this.

The process was simple. Their rings were connected to the projector on their table. The projected screens were obscured to prevent curious eyes from wandering. Everyone donned special glasses that unscrambled the contents of their screens alone. To further keep the people guessing, some gestures could be done on the button at the base of the signet ring. 

To top it all off, the bids themselves were anonymous. Mainly to ensure that people don't see who they are bidding against and manipulate the bids.

 

The first few voyagers listed were all holders of highly offensive artifacts, so he abstained from bidding. After a few more voyagers passed by, something finally caught his interest.

The screen in front of him showed the details of the artifact he was most interested in. He had seen the voyager in action, and the performance was more than satisfactory. Sure, the woman had not incapacitated the golem. Yet, at the same time, she had not allowed it to move an inch from its spot.

With a simple press of a button, Celeste sent him a preplanned message on their screen. No other words needed to be spoken. They had already discussed which artifacts they were going to prioritize. He placed the initial bid without hesitation and waited for the rest.

The Geometric Legislator was the best defensive artifact out there. In his opinion, at least. Its new wielder was wily enough to catch onto its intricacies during the trial and had walked away without a single scratch. She had a good head on her shoulder and hadn't panicked at the sight of the golem. But then again, when one had the best defensive artifact, one didn't have to fear much. Celeste had reviewed the entire fight and had even pinpointed various timestamps where the wielder had altered her tactics to keep the golem boxed in.

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If she was given sufficient time, she could be up there with some of the stronger voyagers who wielded that artifact.

A decent synchronization rate, and sufficient suitability with the artifact, all good things. One would think that synchronization and suitability would be the same metrics. Alas, they were as different as night and day.

Nobody knew what contributed to the synchronization rate. Some ventured it to be the soul. Serval didn’t believe in souls per se. He kept an open mind nonetheless. Regardless, the synchronization rate was not something one could guess until the bonding happened for real. Till then, it was just a mystery number.

Those with a higher synchronization had higher mana reserves and a higher intuitive grasp of the artifact itself.

Suitability, on the other hand, was easily determined by the species. Fairies had higher mana than the other two. They were hence more suited to artifacts that required large chunks of mana. In this case, the Geometric Legislator was an earring. It couldn’t do anything without mana. The most ideal candidate for it would be a fairy. Humans would do okay with it. Humans were physically stronger than fairies, had an easier time boosting their bodies with mana, and had good mana reserves. They were somewhere in between the other two. A good balance of mana and physical strength.

Synthires on the other hand were unsuited to artifacts like that. Their mana reserves had always been a problem ever since they modified their bodies with implants and synthetic blood. Something about the procedure just stunted their mana. Alas, nothing could be done about it since nobody wanted bloodsucking vampires on and about. The synthires were manageable as they were. They wouldn't be so if they were thirsty for blood all the time. They were suited to the physical artifacts a lot more. Their bodies were superior in their capabilities to the other two. They moved faster and hit harder with the same amount of mana used. The only issue was that there was always a need for more.

In this case, the new wielder of the Geometric Legislator was a human. A fairy would have been more suitable, but they can't control which artifact goes to whom.

He was broken out of his musings as the bid changed, indicating that someone else had made a bid. He immediately raised his bid and kept his eyes peeled on the screen.

Within moments, the counter jumped once again, and he pressed the button at once, countering the bid once more.

And so on it went for quite a while.

He clenched his jaw in frustration and had to stop grinding his teeth with great control. It would not do to display his emotions overtly.

Two hundred million credits. The bid had reached two hundred million credits. At that point, he had to sit back and watch. There was nothing he could do.

Sure, he could cough up the money and get the Geometric Legislator on his team. But then what? He’d have blown through a lot of his budget at that point. He would need to get another good voyager as well, and this would put a damper on it.

It was not like the expenses ended with the auction alone. Preparing the voyagers was almost as expensive as paying for the privilege of renting the artifacts.

If he went ahead and kept bidding for this one, he'd be hard-pressed to deal with other things. So he bowed out and watched as the bid settled down at two hundred and thirty million.

“Voyager number eleven. Now under the…” he ignored the voice of the announcer as his mood soured on seeing who had won the bid.

Of course, it had to be a twit from the T’Ang family. Insufferable braggarts. Coasting through their generational wealth, ruining other people's lives, and acting as if they were saints. He'd take the silver lining. He at least made them pay an exorbitant amount. It wouldn't make much of a difference to them, but it was the principle of the thing.

The entitlement system was in place to curb some of this. Without it, he would have had to sit on a bidding war for either of the artifacts that were currently in his alliance.

He composed himself and watched as the next voyager’s details popped on the screen. It was another mid-range artifact. He didn’t bother bidding for that.

The Pygilist was technically a mid-range artifact. But Parth had been the only one so far who seemed to prefer a close combat approach with the gauntlets. Almost all Pygilists saw the gauntlets as a means of generating and controlling fire. Parth saw them as punching gloves with tricks. Serval didn't know what to feel about that. Either it was borne out of an instinct for combat, or it was the result of a one-track mind.

It gave him options though. He didn’t need to bother with any melee artifacts due to Parth. The boxer would do well at both close quarters and mid-range.

As if on cue, the screen moved on to the next bid, and showed him the profile of the person who now wielded the Knuckleball.

Serval sat and watched as nobody placed a single bid for it. It was too early in the auction for the Knuckleball to come up. Most were still scrambling with finding the center pillar for their team. No matter how fancy the Knuckleball was, that artifact was not center pillar material. Everyone was waiting for better options.

"Should we?" he whispered so that only Celeste could hear him. This was not a meeting room with sound dampeners, after all. They hadn't really planned for the Knuckleball. It was not on their list of must-haves. But given that nobody was bidding for it, it was highly tempting.

“Could fit well, sir,” she said and pointed towards a line on his file.

Serval hummed and read it carefully. The voyager was in good shape and hadn't mentally folded. The displacement had affected him mentally just like most of the rest, but he had bounced back quite well. His prominent observed traits were also agreeable and would mesh well with Parth.

"We'll do it," he whispered and promptly accepted the minimum bid. As the timer began ticking down, he hoped that nobody else would bid on it.

Sometimes people ran up the prices just to make it harder for others. But this early, they would be reluctant to do so. Because, if it misfired, they would have paid a lot for an artifact they didn't want nor plan for. Then they'd have to adjust their strategy to make it fit with the rest of the team they had to recruit.

This early, the only people who'd take the Knuckleball were those who had already gotten the central pillar for their team, either via the entitlement or via the auction.

Just as the timer was about to close down, somebody outbid him by a million credits. He betrayed no expression on his face and immediately countered with a bid of his own, giving the opposition no extra time to think.

Whoever it was, waited for a few more seconds and placed another bid. Serval repeated his previous tactic and let the timer tick yet again.

This time, no counterbid came. He had snagged the Knuckleball for nine million credits. It was a steal. That artifact would go for much higher, in the later stages when not many options were remaining. It was his good fortune that it came out so early.

“Voyager number nineteen. Now under the patronage of Lord Serval Kach, and advisement of Celeste Z’Chi: The Knuckleball, Kwame Mutomba.”

He rose alongside Celeste and walked up to the podium to seal the pact once more. He could see many looking at him with calculating eyes. Some even looked with derision. He did not let that get to him and walked on. Celeste on the other hand, seemed to be bothered by the looks. He knew that she'd get used to it though. There was a reason why he picked her as his advisor. The hunger to prove people wrong, to rise above their station; that is the sort of hunger he had, and that is the sort of hunger he expected his subordinates to possess.

Roland was an excellent example of this. Sooner or later, Celeste would show him that she was too. She had a lot to prove to a lot of people. So, she would.

Some time passed, and other artifacts got fought over.

There was even a massive bidding war for the Crylleret, which Roland had won as he planned. Now his alliance was looking good. In Serval's team, they had the Pygilist and the Knuckleball. In Roland’s, they had the Hollow Crown and the Crylleret. Roland's team was even more offense-oriented than Serval's, so he definitely needed some support at his point. Although, the Hollow Crown could double up as almost anything. So it was not like they were lacking in that department.

Serval had a couple of artifacts in mind for his own team, and he planned on winning at least one of those on his radar. If he managed that, his team would be solid.

Meanwhile, another bidding war took place. This time, for the Preeminent Aegis. Many would say that this was the best defensive artifact. Between Geometric Legislator and Preeminent Aegis, the Aegis was far simpler and hence, stronger in its core aspect. But it was not as versatile as the Legislator.

The bid closed at a whopping hundred and fifty million credits.

Things went on in a similar vein until forty-nine artifacts had already been slotted to various teams.

The fiftieth artifact to enter the bidding was the Arbitrary Dealer, and Serval eagerly thumbed his ring, readying himself for what was to come.

The voyagers' fight was physical, while his was monetary and political. Just as they needed to win, he too needed to do so, to give them the best chance.

It would be a tough battle, but he wanted to win here, and form the best team. He needed to do it, both for their sake, and his.

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