Unchosen Champion-Chapter 314: Hungry Hungry Humans

Coop shook the water from his hair, then wiped off his shoulders and flicked his hands dry before he began his approach toward the Avatar of the System and her worm-like companion. Even he would put a bit of effort into his appearance when it came to the Avatar, though in his case, that just meant drying off a bit.

As Coop walked back up the shore, barefoot, shirtless, and covered in bruises, he watched as the tiny alien creature leaned back and forth, like it was dancing to a slow mysterious rhythm. Lyriel seemed mesmerized, gazing sadly at the little alien through her white blindfold, lined with shining gold runes.

Coop couldn’t see her eyes, but there was something about Lyriel that made him assume they would be enchanting, like she embodied the exact elegance and attitude to give off the aura of a fictional elven princess. She was beautiful and commanding, even at a glance.

He knew she leaned into that impression, holding herself up with the posture of a royal, and clothing herself in the kind of fabrics that might be donned by a goddess while leisurely meddling in mortal plights from the heavens. Light itself appeared to soften when it caressed her flawless skin, providing a celestial glow that established a clear separation from her earthly surroundings.

Even gravity seemed hesitant to affect her. She floated above the ground, preventing her toes from touching the sand while her blonde ponytail hovered across her back. The twin sheer white cloths attached to her shoulders swam through the air in such a way that they could easily be mistaken for a set of beatific wings. Were they scarves or capes, maybe sashes, or veils? Coop had no idea, but even by his unsophisticated judgment, her outfit was understated yet majestic.

It was almost offensive that Coop had mistaken the ghastly Icon of Mana, Fatal Reckoning, for a similarly angelic being. Lyriel was on a completely different plane of existence. He’d be sure not to mention that he had considered whether or not the abomination of mana was her before he started fighting. Somehow, he felt like that was a fact better kept to himself.

Coop broke her trance once he got close enough, still dripping from his river bath. “What’s the little worm doing?” He queried, asking about her companion with a gesture. No matter how magisterial she seemed, no amount of refinement could overcome Coop’s nature.

She flicked her head up, like she had forgotten he was there. She stared at him for a moment, unoffended that he clumsily glossed over her pretenses, almost like she had been anticipating his simple lack of grace, but still judging him regardless. After a moment of solemn silence, she spoke, answering his question clearly. “He is weeping.” She stated, golden bangs masking her own expression.

“Huh? Why?” Coop wondered, looking down at its bowing dance. There were no tears, but its large round eyes certainly seemed sad.

“It is the first time in more than 20,000 years that any of his species has touched a planet, felt real gravity, or experienced a natural atmosphere. It is a momentous and sad occasion. This is essentially a mourning ritual for all of those who didn’t make it to the point where they could return, no matter how fleeting his time will be.” She explained.

“Ah…” Coop looked back down. “I see.” Coop mumbled quietly, nodding his head.

Coop had only been really steeped in the struggle for less than six months, so he wouldn’t even try to relate. He understood that they had suffered an impossibly long time, especially considering how much he missed home after just a matter of days. Never being able to go back would be hard enough that he didn’t really want to imagine it.

“Is he going to be alright?” Coop wondered, watching as the simple dance continued. He doubted that if he was in their situation, he would be.

“For a time.” Lyriel responded, sounding equally regretful. She glanced up toward the sky and squinted slightly before shaking her head. “For a time…” She repeated a bit quieter.

Coop scratched the back of his head, trying to decide how to approach the two newest alien recruits to the Lighthouse. In typical fashion, he just asked what he wanted to know. “So, uh, what are you doing here? Aren’t you stuck now that you signed a contract with the Lighthouse?”

Lyriel turned to face Coop once again, staring from behind the blindfold, no longer in the same rush as she had been on each of her previous visits. “I have decided to aid more personally in humanity’s ordeal.” She proclaimed. “You will find that I am quite formidable, though I alone will not be enough to save your species during the Eradication Protocol.” She clarified, confident enough to be unafraid of seeming boastful.

Though she was maintaining an air of unimpeachable superiority, Coop couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. He felt like he had asked a professional basketball player if they were any good at shooting hoops, but that hadn’t been what he meant. His laughter wasn’t the reaction she expected.

Her brows furrowed at his frivolity. “What is so funny, human?” She demanded with a bit of acid in her tone.

“Oh, it’s just that I asked you to help when we first met.” Coop shrugged. “Just thought it was funny, remembering how you laughed like it was an impossible request, but here you are. I’m glad you can help after all. We’ll need it right?”

“Yes, well, my circumstances have changed rather dramatically. My mission was halted and my preference is to take action.” She clarified. “Besides, our presence would have guaranteed that the forces of mana would take an interest, so interference was an unfavorable notion. At this point, it makes no difference, as you are interesting enough for them on your own.” She smirked at him, apparently finding his appearance amusing. “Truthfully, I doubted your ability to open the window even once more, but you continually impress. Well done.”

Coop smiled at the praise, unsure if it would ever get better than that from the so-called Avatar of the System. “I killed a Region Boss, then an equally ranked Icon of Mana called Fatal Reckoning.” He put his hands on his hips and gloated a bit.

“I suppose that explains the…” She extended one perfectly manicured finger toward Coop and flicked it up and down. “...stains.”

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Coop looked at the worst of his blemishes, a purple bloom that covered the right side of his torso where he imagined his ribs should have broken without his multiple layers of reinforcement. The Icon had blasted right through his armor in that spot.

“They were the first and second Region Bosses to die on the planet.” He argued, not letting her take the wind from his sails. “And I killed them back to back.”

“No, don’t misunderstand me, human. To defeat a Region Boss is remarkable. Depending on its character, even I might struggle against certain variants, regardless of level differences.” Lyriel admitted. “For your planet, so early in an assimilation, it would have been an unprecedented achievement for a million warriors to succeed. To do it alone is quite amazing.”

Coop couldn’t help but beam at the analysis. It seemed like he really had done something amazing.

She glanced back down at Palisteon and spoke on his behalf as well. “We are grateful for the chance to accomplish our goals, and they have been made possible through your intrepid actions. However, it is not a good sign for Region Bosses to be capable of existing on your planet this early in the assimilation at all, let alone one that is followed by an Icon of Mana.”

Coop had an expression that said ‘what else is new?’ It seemed like par for the course to have enemies advancing too quickly in Earth’s assimilation.

“The Primal Constructs had established their own domain and it was uncontested for as long as we were aware of it, could that be why Region Bosses showed up early?” He tried justifying their appearances.

“It’s unlikely for such factors to have made enough of a difference on their own. A Region Boss is far more likely to develop on Day 17,000 than Day 170.” She continued, passively assessing Coop as she spoke. “I suspect that you humans are the cause.”

Coop frowned at how the blame was being placed. “What did we do?”

Lyriel flicked one of her hands gently to the side while placing the other on her hip. “It is merely conjecture, but I would postulate that mana is being more rapidly distributed by your actions as a whole. Humans could be bringing the end upon themselves.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Coop grew a bit defensive. “Kinda feels like you're saying it's our own fault?”

“No, I do not mean to assign blame. It’s more like your species has acclimated to the pressures of the assimilation in a truly remarkable way, and with far greater numbers than normally witnessed. It would be difficult to identify another comparable planet that developed this way, even among the Exiles.” She nodded toward Palisteon as he swayed back and forth. “Neither mine, nor his, had internalized the situation well enough to reach this point, this early, and as you know, both of our species qualified for the Eradication Protocol.”

“Dude, like 95% of us are already dead.” Coop concisely pointed out, remembering his current rank on the leaderboards. “There’s no way we could call that a positive performance.”

“It is an unimaginably better result than 500 of you humans huddled around your last civilization shard, crying out your final goodbyes to the world.” She stood her ground with the authority of experience. “That was, of course, a real possibility when confronted by the Primal Constructs.”

“How would we even have that kind of impact, anyway?” Coop wondered, conceding to her observation and questioning her conclusion from a different angle. He had seen the ley lines in the Underlayer for himself and there was no way he could affect that avalanche of energy.

“In countless little ways.” She responded. “Defeat a monster, release its upcycled mana. Cast a spell, expend your personally cycled mana. The concentration increases bit by bit on its own, and little by little through its use. Activation is a simple reaction.”

Coop frowned at the explanation. “But, if you’re talking about Region Bosses after 50 years, and we’re seeing them in 6 months, wouldn’t we be pushing through the entire mana build-up of the assimilation in basically one year? That seems way more than bit by bit…” He struggled to accept what she was saying.

She just looked across the sea, assessing the red-tinged horizon with a serious expression for a few seconds.

“Have you not noticed?” She wondered, refacing Coop with her blindfolded eyes.

“Noticed what?” Coop wondered, following her finger as it indicated back toward the horizon. Even though it was morning, he thought that they would probably have another bloody sunset in the evening.

“The atmosphere has changed. The passive concentrations of mana have been much higher each time I have visited. At this point, the air around us is at least as dense with active energy as it had been beneath your mana dome during my first visit. Even those unseasoned by mana should be able to perceive the change.” She observed. “It’s an incredible development.”

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“Incredibly bad, maybe.” Coop shook his head, feeling like the problems just kept coming. He was so focused on the Fallen Zone, he hadn’t really considered the small changes elsewhere. “Could we stop it somehow?”

“Oh, no, no, absolutely not.” Lyriel adamantly objected. “If such progression is truly the result of your species’ actions, it would be miraculous news. The proportion of power would be more in your favor than during any other Eradication in our recorded history. Earth’s inhabitants have done well to prepare thus far.”

Coop squinted at her. From his perspective, humans weren’t that progressed at all, especially when he compared them to the contracted aliens. Other than a few select groups, he really didn’t have that much faith in their ability to rise to the occasion, and that doubt extended to himself after his most recent build progression.

The way he saw it, the more time they had the better. People really needed to get up to speed the way his own residents had, but many of them hadn’t even heard of the Eradication Protocol yet. Things might be moving too quickly.

Lyriel was suggesting the Icons would come at a specific power level, no matter what the timing was, but if humans were so active they were pushing the timeline forward, it meant that they were also making their own gains in the process, accumulating a larger piece of the pie of mana. Basically, if they did nothing, the Icons of Mana would still come and be equally powerful, but humans would be weaker in comparison for a lack of experience.

Coop’s simple mind was imagining hungry hungry hippos, consuming marbles of mana. After a certain number were gone, the threshold for the Eradication Protocol would be met, so the more his hippos had in their possession, the better.

Coop scratched his head aggressively. “I don’t really get it, but I’m not in a position to stop grinding anyway.” He admitted.

He joined Lyriel in staring at the horizon, trying to see what she could. The reddish sunsets and pink clouds weren’t so drastic that they couldn’t have been caused by natural forces. Even Admiral Kayla saw the red skies and attributed them to potential storms rather than supernatural elements. He supposed there really was a haze settling on the entire planet, not just within the various domains.

“Six months though?” Coop questioned.

“It will be more than that, though even I can’t be expected to pinpoint fate.” She reassured him.

Coop frowned skeptically, unsure if he really trusted her judgment. Six months was enough time for a lot to happen when looking back at what the planet had already gone through, but it didn’t seem like nearly enough. Would they be okay?

Coop didn’t like the idea of Earth being changed by mana, but to his eye, things weren’t that far gone. It was looking like it would still be a bright sunny day, one filled with potential. Coop hoped it would be productive.

Lyriel was the one to break their shared silence. “Could you explain specifically what you have done to have been penalized in such a way that you lost consciousness and ultimately regressed? Your original claims were unclear.”

“I didn’t really do anything. I just refused a racial evolution.” He responded.

She raised an eyebrow. “And how did you earn this evolution, specifically?”

“I dunno, it just happened after I took the eleventh Dedication passive skill.” Coop shrugged.

“What?” Lyriel cut off any further explanation with a sharp laugh of shock that drew his attention away from the horizon. “Dedication skill? You completed a mana crucible and walked away from the baptism?”

“Uh, not really? At least, I don’t think so. I just kept leveling up, hoping for some cool new skills, then refused to become some kind of nightmarish tentacled abomination.” Coop brushed her off, ignoring that she was always using terminology he was unfamiliar with.

Lyriel was looking at him more closely, seemingly aghast. “I’ve never heard of a crucible actually being completed. Normally, they collapse after a few ranks as the individual fails to satisfy the evolution, and the individual returns to their normal path.” She turned back to Coop and reassessed him for a moment. “You couldn’t have actually completed one. It would require an impossible amount of mana. I can’t even begin to envision it.”

“You’re probably right, maybe it was something else. I am back on the path I expected, sort of, anyway. Once I catch back up at least.” Coop tried to concur, adding a few caveats. “It did release enough mana to open your window, or whatever it is you needed to beam in, though.”

“You jest!” Lyriel exclaimed, leaning forward. “I thought you said the defeat of Fatal Reckoning expelled the mana.”

“No, that was me, after it was dead and I picked my skill.” Coop continued, not sure why she was growing so animated. “I suppose some of its mana was probably still floating around since I didn’t wait long.”

“A single individual should not be capable of such an accumulation…” Lyriel grew quieter, folding her hands together as she seemed to contemplate the possibilities, then retrieved Palisteon and placed him on her shoulder, his dance completed.

Coop waited for a moment, nodding at the little worm to acknowledge his mood before adding his own two cents. “I mean, it seemed like the Dedication was skimming my experience during the entire last event. I killed something like a hundred million Elite invaders, then it all got released at once. The actual amount didn’t seem that radical to me. It even looked like the mana smoke released by destroyed monsters.”

Lyriel was still staring at him from behind her blindfold. He tried assessing himself, but he felt unchanged. He was still equally hungry to progress, especially given his deflated level, so he doubted it was the influence of the Dedication that had driven him. Knowing that twice as many attributes awaited him was like a cat being teased by catnip, he was as eager as ever. Another hundred million Primal Constructs wouldn’t be bad, but he’d prefer if they started at a lower level so that he could scale with them all over again.

“Wait.” Coop’s eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. “Does that mean I have even more mana inside of me somehow?” He looked down at his hands, a bit nervous about pressure building up, thinking of his volatile spears. “I won’t pop will I?”

Lyriel shook her head. “No, that’s not… Well, I suppose you would provide quite a large amount of experience if you were defeated by someone else. To be honest, I can’t even properly evaluate your status, let alone estimate your level. You are a vessel of contradictions. Clearly more powerful than you should be, but presenting even weaker than is realistic.”

Coop grunted at her assessment, feeling a bit hopeful about his progression. It seemed like Presence of Mind had improved to the point that even the Avatar of the System couldn’t detect his current level. That was quite an accomplishment in of itself, though it might have more to do with his class level being completely out of sync with the rest of his build. Perhaps she was seeing it accurately and not believing it. He didn’t think it was worth lingering on his current level, given how he planned to climb through the ranks anyway.

“What level do you think I am?” He wondered.

“Levels are merely a construct, but you seem to be anywhere between 0 and 200 or so. A respectable amount at the top end for your assimilation, but behind where I would have been.” Lyriel concluded.

“Heh.” Coop didn’t clarify, flipping the subject instead. “What level are you?” He asked, ignoring that it was probably inappropriate.

Before she joined the Lighthouse, attempting to inspect her aura yielded nothing but garbled text, but after she joined his faction, he could read a single line and nothing more.

[Entity of the Lighthouse]

He thought it was pretty strange, almost like she was borrowing official recognition through his faction when she would otherwise be completely outside of the system. It made him wonder about all sorts of things, from her skills to her status and relationship with mana.

“We have no level as we are disconnected from the system.” She clarified, confirming one of his suspicions. “However, I expect I would be the equivalent of someone over level 80,000 given that I survived the full 111 years trapped on my stolen planet.”

“And you can just use mana, despite its, uh, animosity toward you?” Coop questioned.

“So can you.” She responded rather enigmatically. “It is the forces of mana we should be alert for, not so much mana itself, though it is the root of everything we must correct.”

“You being here really isn’t going to make things worse, is it?” He continued, feeling like she should reassure him of that much.

“Things will get much worse, with or without our presence.” Lyriel added with a sway of Palisteon from her shoulder.

“Hm.” Coop grunted. “Alright, I guess.” He nodded to himself, ready to start building momentum all over again. He had a new target level to chase too, though he wouldn’t admit that to her. “Well, we better get going, but what’s your plan? You gonna come with me? Need directions to Ghost Reef? Do you need to get more experience or something?” Coop asked the Avatar, growing keen to get moving himself.

“We will accompany you.” She answered. “We have no choice in the matter, especially given your state.”

“Cool.” Coop was fine with the company. “I’m assuming you won’t have any trouble keeping up.”

Lyriel scoffed as she nudged Palisteon. “I should hope you would be mobile enough to return to the ark independently, given its importance. I can keep up with that much.”

“Oh!” Coop exclaimed. “That reminds me. What the heck is an ark and where’s that key?”

Lyriel slowly turned back toward him, then gently placed her hand against her forehead and took a deep breath, in her through her nose. “I consistently overlook what I am dealing with when we meet.” She sighed under her breath with familiar exasperation. “I suppose I should be satisfied that you received the message at all.”

“Sure, I got the message, but it just confused me.” Coop continued. “Why does everything you say seem so cryptic?”

Lyriel looked askance at him. “I cannot be sure what will trigger a reaction from you primitives. I have to carefully consider my words so as to avoid creating negative feedback. That’s why there is a script.”

Coop just shook his head at her. “Well, that’s enough of that. You’re stuck here in the dirt with us now.” He spread his arms out, smiling, as if revealing all the dirt, mud, and sand. “Time to get off your high horse, Lighthouse Initiate. Just explain it to me simply.”

Lyriel, a goddess, and possible physical manifestation of the system as far as the galactic community was concerned, just seemed disheartened by how far she had fallen, but the truth was that this was an elevation in status. As a branded exile, she was even lower than an assimilating species. If she had fought against the wretched misery of her existence before, she could keep going. She clenched her jaw as she committed herself to this last chance.

“The last time I visited you in particular, I gave you the key.” She stated confidently.

“I think you’re mistaken.” He interrupted her. “The last time we met you told me you would prepare a key that could free us all, but that was a long time ago.” He rubbed his sideburn with a single finger. “Are you sure you aren’t mixing me up with someone else? Do all humans look the same to you or something?”

She shook her head tersely. “No. I mean after that. You had defeated something in the midst of a sandstorm and released enough mana to open a window.” She stepped forward and grabbed Coop’s hand, causing him to flinch in surprise at the second time she initiated physical contact. She isolated his ring finger and gently pressed, revealing an actual ring. “I gave you the key that time.” She stated, releasing his finger.

“What the…” Coop flipped his hand around to look at it. He tried to feel it with his other hand, but it felt like it wasn’t there at all. “That’s been there this whole time?”

“It should open an entrance to the ark.” She continued. “In theory.” She added.

“In theory?” Coop repeated.

“It has never been done before, but you…” She shook her head as she corrected herself.

“No, we will find out if redemption truly lies inside once the Eradication Protocol begins.”

“What ark, though?” Coop continued, still surprised to have had a magic ring on his finger this entire time.

“You have already gazed upon the one on this planet hundreds of times, I’m sure.” She smiled at him, a sight pleasant enough to make birds sing, if there were any present. “It is hidden within a mountain of crystallized mana, large enough to scrape the sky even after embedding itself deep below the surface of the planet.”

“Oh?” Coop eyed her suspiciously. “Oh…” He muttered as he realized he actually did know what she was talking about.

“When the Eradication Protocol begins, we must attempt to get inside. Until then, we should gather as much strength as possible in order to temporarily withstand the fully charged ley lines.” Lyriel declared.

“Why can’t we go now?” He wondered, unafraid of pestering a goddess.

“It is inert until the Protocol starts, otherwise we would have explored it long ago.” Lyriel shared as patiently as she could.

Coop hummed to himself before turning away. “Alright. Let’s talk about it on the way. I’m supposed to be at a meeting where we decide how to deal with the Fallen Zone.” He looked around for a second at the calm domain. “Guess I messed that up a bit.” He trailed off as they faced the Mississippi Sea together.