Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Discourse

Chapter 13: Discourse

 

“Kwame and Moira, you both have just gotten your signet rings today. So, I assume that you have many questions for me,” said Celeste.

“Wait, did you get yours earlier?” Moira asked as she turned towards Parth.

"Yeah. I've had both the ring and my artifact for more than a week now," he said.

“How so?” asked Kwame. Moira also nodded in agreement, eager to know why.

“Let me explain that,” said Celeste, drawing everyone’s attention to her.

“Team selections concluded yesterday. But that doesn’t mean that everyone was a ‘free agent’ until then. Every patron has an entitlement available to them. Our patron, Lord Serval Kach used his entitlement to lock a voyager to his team. Then that voyager and Parth switched places,” she said.

“What do you mean by switch places?” asked Kwame. This time though, Moira seemed to understand immediately.

"It's like sports teams, right? You traded one player for another?" she ventured.

“Exactly. Parth was initially under the care of Lord Roland Patcher, who locked him using his entitlement. Since both the lords are allied, they decided to trade.”

“Well, I’m glad to be here. Is Roul your relative by the way? You do have the same last names," said Parth.

Celeste chuckled at the mention of Roul and shook her head.

"Yes, he is my cousin. All the advisors are my relatives. Some distant, some close. It is the duty of the Z’Chi family to act as advisors. That's what we are trained for since our childhood. And you have my condolences for dealing with Roul. Interacting with him as the first person from Viz would have been an interesting experience. I hope he did not make a terrible first impression of our world,” she said.

She then donned her serious mask once more and continued.

"Getting back to the topic at hand, all of you were allotted a temporary advisor when you came here. When you underwent your selection, the patrons who work with those advisors had a window to lock you onto their team. That's one of the main purposes of the entitlement."

"How many entitlements does each patron have?" asked Kwame.

“Just one,” answered Parth. He had done his research, and the answer just came out of his mouth on impulse. He then looked at Celeste and shrugged apologetically.

"It's alright. You've had your time to learn everything, after all. Please tell us what else you know about the entitlements. I'll add to it," she replied.

"Well, I know that the other use for entitlements is to allow a team to go to a redistribution round," he said.

"Quite so. We don't have to worry about it since we used our entitlement right now. The redistribution round is a high-risk situation; a gamble, really. Our patrons were keen on locking in voyagers early if they found the artifacts to be highly powerful. So that's what they did," she said.

“That’s good for us right? It means your artifact is strong,” said Kwame.

“I suppose. Pyrokinesis is good. The magical fire seems more potent than ordinary fire. I can fight at a distance if need be, I can go up close, and I can also set off wide area of effect attacks. And I've had it for more than a week now. I've trained with some friends I made, and I'm fairly confident about fighting the monsters in the dungeon," he said.

Of course, he was still learning how to control the fire once he released it. That was a bit of slow going on his part, but on the other hand, he had gotten confident at unleashing the flames in a controlled manner.

The mana exercises taught to him by the triplets had done wonders for his efficiency.

“Correct. But that is not all. What do you know about synchronization rates?” asked Celeste.

Parth blinked at that term and shook his head, unaware.

“I would have been surprised if you had found it in the public domain. In a nutshell, every person has a level of compatibility with the artifact. The higher the number, the easier it is for them to use it. The voyager and the artifact are stronger and more efficient if their sync rates are high. There is a reason why it picks you; not the other way around. Another known fact is that the higher the sync rate, the higher the overall mana reserves of the person. We still don’t know what determines this metric. We just know that it is what it is,” she said.

“What are ours then?” asked Moira.

"You, Moira, have a sync rate of seventy-two percent. Kwame has a sync rate of eighty percent. Parth is on record as the voyager to have the highest sync rate ever. At a whopping ninety-eight percent," said Celeste.

Parth himself froze up as he heard it. Ever since he got his artifact, he had found it easy to use. He thought it was the same for everyone else. The fact that he could outpace the triplets in terms of mana capacity should have told him something was different. They had been using mana their whole lives, even if it was minuscule before they got their artifacts. It still should have dawned on him that something was peculiar. Fortunately, this was a major boon.

Kwame and Moira looked at him incredulously for a moment before Moira’s expression turned more calculative. Kwame on the other hand looked relieved, for some reason. 

“So I got picked for this rather than the artifact itself?” asked Parth.

“It was the major factor in that decision, yes. The Pygilist is not a bad artifact at all. Although, it has had mixed performances in the past. A case of poorly matched users in terms of sync, and sometimes unsuitable users as well. With your sync rate and your performance in the proving ground, they couldn't let you pass up to some other team. Saving an entitlement for the redistribution rounds was not in their minds, because it would be pointless anyway if the team failed before it even got there."

What was left unsaid was that a team that failed to get there would have most likely perished in the dungeon.

"When you mentioned unsuitable users, how do you determine that they are unsuitable? Also, what about us? Are we suitable enough? Are our sync rates good enough?" asked Kwame, battering Celeste with a deluge of questions.

Moira leaned forward, eagerly awaiting the answers to those questions.

"Suitability depends on species. Fairies are more suited to mana-intensive artifacts, which tend to be artifacts that conjure or manipulate something. They don't do well with melee artifacts because their bodies are physically weaker, and lighter; hence needing more mana to perform the same amount of work as other races. Give a fairy and a synthire the same melee artifact, and the synthire will almost always win. On the other hand, give them both the same conjuration artifact — say, the Pygilist — and the fairy will always win.

“Humans are balanced, so they are rarely unsuitable for most artifacts. They have a good ratio of mana and physical strength. Hence, they can do well with most artifacts. On the other end of the spectrum, we the D’Raacs are unsuitable for all artifacts,” she finished with a sardonic smile.

“What about the soldiers that carry magical weapons then? I’m sure they are magical,” said Parth.

"Oh, they sure are. Although, you'd find that all of them have external sources. We can't really bring out our mana. It is rigid that way. Only a very few in our history have ever been able to do so,” she said.

She didn’t even need to mention Byrone K’Wul. Everyone over here was aware of what the man had done. They had been bonded to his artifacts after all.

“Back to the questions. You all are correct fits for your artifacts. Don’t worry about suitability. As for sync rates, anything above seventy percent is quite good. Parth’s absurd number might skewer your perception, but keep in mind that getting a ninety is rare. The average is usually sixty. Anything below fifty is bad. Fortunately, apart from the redistribution rounds, we have never seen a fifty," she said.

“What are these redistribution rounds? You said that we can’t get into one without an entitlement. But what exactly is it?” asked Moira.

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Parth knew what it was, but he decided to let Celeste do the talking once more. Listening to her was way more informative than he thought. He hadn’t known that the D’Raacs were unsuitable to use the artifacts at all. He had only known about the other three races. It did answer his question about why they didn’t use the artifacts when the voyagers were not there. 

"Once each trial is done, you are pulled out for recuperation. For those that did not survive the trial, their artifacts are put up for redistribution. These are the redistribution rounds. Let's not worry about those just yet. We won't be getting into the first redistribution anyway. Although, does this answer your question?" she asked.

Moira nodded wordlessly and celeste began talking again.

"As you all are aware, you'll need to enter the dungeon in a week. Any longer than that will be harmful to you," said Celeste.

“So we have one week to learn how to fight?” asked Moira, her face scrunched up in distaste.

“I assume that you’re also not trained?” Celeste asked Kwame.

“No ma’am. I mean, yes. Not trained,” he sputtered.

“To answer your question, you have one week, yes. Parth, you are trained in a combat sport. You would still need to adapt to a real-world scenario, as the combat inside the dungeon won't be regulated. But from your showing against the golem, we aren't worried. This bodes well for your whole team," said Celeste.

“How so?” asked Kwame.

“A team needs to be cohesive. Everyone needs to know their roles and perform accordingly. We already have a frontline fighter who will fight without any hesitation. His sync rate will ensure that he can fight the longest on the battlefield as well. Kwame, can you guess what your role would be?”

“Ranged. I suppose I’ll be giving him cover fire. Like a sniper,” said Kwame.

“And Moira?” asked Celeste.

"I'm not sure," she said with a scrunched-up face.

“To be frank, your artifact can do almost everything. It is the most versatile multipurpose artifact. Lord Kach had to engage in a massive bidding war to have you on our team. You can do offense, defense, and support. Our team has a good offensive base, so you can be very flexible with your role.”

“When do we find out what each of us can do?” asked Parth. He was eager to spar against his teammates and find out how their artifacts worked.

“Tomorrow. Lord Kach has arranged an instructor for us. We’ll meet both Lord Kach and the instructor tomorrow, and begin your training.”

“And what’s this first trial going to be like? I know that it rotates,” said Parth. He had been able to find the recordings of some of the previous expeditions into the dungeons. Each time, the order changed.

“I’ll explain so that everyone can understand,” Celeste said and Parth nodded in agreement. The others had just got their rings, so they wouldn’t have browsed online about these things. They’d soon find out about it if they searched for it, but it was always better to have it explained by the experts.

"The dungeon is a master of spatial magic. Not only does it pull you all from your home dimensions, but it also has pocket dimensions within itself to protect its physical shell. To counter it, Emperor Byrone built an artifact that was good at spatial manipulation. It was not as good as the dungeon, but it is good enough for us to use it in bursts and peer into the dungeon. It also allows us to target areas within the dungeon and transport people in and out.

“This artifact was what we used to pull you out when the dungeon first bought you here. It is the same one we will be using to safely send you back. Because if the dungeon decides to get antsy and pull you all abruptly, you will not be in fighting condition,” she said.

“So that means you have already seen what the dungeon’s current layout is,” added Moira.

“Yes. This time, the first trial is the trial of the land. I’ll tell you more about it when we begin preparing for it. I feel like if I overload everything into you all at once, it would be detrimental,” she said.

“Can you tell the order of the rest of the trials?” asked Kwame.

"Not yet. We can, but doing so would waste a lot of mana that could be better used to transport you into the dungeon. As I said, our artifact cannot completely overcome the dungeon. Or else we could have removed the dungeon’s hold on you. Once we use it to send you back, it loses a lot of its magical energy. So, each time we fire it, it marks the next pocket dimension and pulls people out. The next time, it'll send people back to the exact spot it pulled them out of. And so on it goes," she said.

“So, it pulled us out of the place that corresponds to the trial of the land. That was our entry point. It will put us right back there,” said Parth.

“Yes. So, for you to be pulled out the next time we fire it, you must have made your way to the next pocket space,” she said.

“And how do we do that?” asked Moira.

“The dungeon is like an onion. Each pocket space is like a layer. The deeper you go, the closer you are to the next level, as it were,” said Celeste.

"Wouldn't that mean that if we missed our slot, we would be stuck in the dungeon?" asked Kwame, and gulped nervously.

“Indeed. That is why time is of the essence. That’s why we call each layer a trial. If you fail to clear it by the time we fire the Byrone’s Boon, you'll be stuck there. You'll have to find your way to the next trial, and stay there in wait for your allies to come back. Then you'd have to clear that area and move to the next one, from where you can be picked up. It is crucial that you clear each trial," she said somberly.

The mood in the room plummeted when everyone realized that they could get trapped there for weeks on end before they made it back outside for a short reprieve.

"So, it will send us next week to the trial of the land. Then once we clear it, we stay in that area until it punches through and pulls us out. Once we are healed and ready, it'll put us back where it took us from. Then we have to clear that area and reach the next one, from where it will pull us out?" asked Kwame, summarizing the entire thing.

"Indeed."

"And the redistribution rounds would be happening in between each trial?" asked Parth.

"Yes. That is why our patrons decided to use the entitlement now itself, and give you a higher chance at success, rather than hinge it all on the redistribution, which you might not even be there to attend. People who are stuck in the dungeon have other priorities, after all. Moreover, a redistribution can further injure you and tire you out. Which eliminates the purpose of you getting proper rest for the next trial."

Nobody said anything for a while as everyone pondered about such a scenario happening to them.

“I promise you that I will do my best to get you all out of it alive. It is what I have been training for, all my life. I won’t fail you. Please trust me,” said Celeste, breaking the silence.

"I trust you, ma'am," said Kwame immediately with a warm smile.

Moira just nodded wordlessly and tried to smile, yet it looked wrong on her face.  

Parth just got up and put his hand out, which Celeste clasped with two of her hands.

“We’ll win,” was all he said.

“Yes we will,” she said as they shook hands.

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