Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Chapter 92

The wyrm continued to stare blankly back at him, its imposing figure raising its neck and rearing back like a cobra.

Riven’s eyebrows raised and cleared his throat. “Do you understand anything I’m saying?”

The wyrm’s mouth slowly began to open, and it displayed rows upon rows upon rows of jagged black teeth all around its circular maw. Dark light emitting a pale purple-gray color intermixed with sparks of red accumulated inside the beast, and the power began to form a large sphere of almost palpable energy. In the next instant it roared, striking at him with the ball of furious mana that dissolved his apparitional body as the vision faded and the wyrm disappeared.

[Tundra Wyrm has declined the contract.]

Riven blinked with a confused scratch of his head. He was now back with his already contracted familiars, puzzled and not sure what he’d done wrong as he watched the wyrm’s huge body begin to fade away until there was nothing left of it. “Well... that wasn’t expected. Definitely a little discouraging.”

Athela sighed, holding up her hands to either side with a bemused expression. “We saw the whole thing. They’re truly stupid creatures and it likely just couldn’t understand what was going on. Tragic, but there are better options here anyways.”

“I’ll be your primary tank, no need for stupid worm.” Azmoth stated with a grin and a low, demonic laugh - using his primary jaws as well as the two eel-like appendages extending out either side of his back. “When I get bigger, older, I stomp that parasite into the ground. Do not fret.”

Riven smirked back at them and nodded in appreciation at their words of encouragement before moving on to the beholder demon next. Upon touching the large floating eye demon, he was instantly transported to another visage in the nether realm’s plane of existence – showing a vast expanse of swirling, bright balls of light that scattered in various directions upon his arrival amidst innumerable floating islands of various sizes in the depth of space.

“Hello...” came a sophisticated and confident male voice from the demon in front of Riven, almost with a British accent, and the eyeballs surrounding the central body and maw began to pulse with various lights similar to the ones floating about them. “It is good to meet you, Riven thane. I was hoping for an introduction and am pleased to see that you made the effort to contact me.”

Riven blinked, smiled and nodded in affirmation while crossing his arms. “I’m happy that you applied. What’s your name?”

“Jarmosh.” The beholder said without missing a beat as his floating body circled Riven – examining him with all of its eyeballs. “Shall we begin? Feel free to ask me anything you’d like.”

Riven nodded, taking in his surroundings again with a slow nod. “Yes of course. I’m currently on a newly integrated planet in the early stages, and am now just getting used to this new system. Are you aware of the other demons I already have under contract?”

“I am.” Jarmosh stated with a bob of its floating eyeball-head, smiling widely through a toothy maw as his other numerous eyeballs connected to stalks hovered about him. “I am very excited for the potential to become part of that team.”

“Then tell me what you can offer, and why you’d even want to join in the first place.”

The beholder paused, giving him a curious look. If it could have scratched its head, it likely would have. “Are you not aware of the benefits we receive by taking on a summoning contract?”

“Go ahead and enlighten me as if I didn’t know.”

Jarmosh nodded. “Very well. We gain a form of immortality outside the boundary of the nether realms by taking on a contract and can move straight from the nether realms into the mortal realms of Elysium, instead of endangering ourselves by moving into and through Hell to get there. Many demons of hell prey on one another to level up and grow stronger, devouring the souls of their brethren. I have remained here in the nether realms for some time now and do not intend to put my life at risk by entering Hell just yet... I believe it would be wise to find a quality partner to bring me to Elysium instead. You have not only shown yourself to be competent, but have the ability to formulate prophecies of unique origin. Beyond that you also have shown yourself to be quite capable and unlikely to die when compared to your peers. As with your other demons, I too wish to develop by serving someone competent enough to keep me there a long time... new contracts always take a toll on us demons, and we are not always able to reform them with new patterns immediately after a summoner’s death. So having a contract with one like you that will last would benefit me. Otherwise bonding to a self-serving partner who is uninterested in my personal growth would also be folly, and you do not seem to be that type of person - which is unusual concerning your class choice. That is why I wish to join you.”

Riven shifted his weight, looking the floating creature up and down thoughtfully. “You haven’t answered my question about what you can bring to the team. And I mean long term by that... What will you be able to do in the future if I develop you? What kind of contract would you want?”

Jarmosh narrowed his large central eye and gave another sickly smile. “It is good that you ask such questions. I have been watching you... that time that you were nearly killed by the satyr in hell? That wouldn’t have happened if I’d been there. The creature snuck up on you without you having noticed their presence until it was almost too late... so my trait would benefit you greatly there. Stealthed opponents count as those nearby who you are simply not aware of but are still hostile, not just those who are using stealth abilities.”

“Fair point.” Riven waved a hand. “Go on.”

“Other than that, my kind specializes in buffs and long range attacks as the system decreed – but it failed to mention my kind’s ability to be used as a scout. My kind has a natural ability to see into and through close objects or barriers, we can scry and visualize things at a great distance if I become developed enough, and our identification abilities are far above normal. My kind usually generate new abilities every 18 or so levels during the early stages, but it is random like all the others kinds of demons you may get. The current buff I have is a shielding ability, a basic barrier that encompasses a target. My ranged attacks are twofold. The first is a high powered mana beam, and though it is a very high-range attack – it lessens in damage output the farther way the target is. The second attack I currently possess is a pulse detonation surrounding the area around me, it silences all but myself and the one I am bound to and prevents nearby enemies from using abilities for a short time if they don’t resist the effect.”

[Black Barrier (Unholy) – Create an unholy barrier of energy to counter enemy attacks. Your own attacks cannot pass through this barrier either unless broken through, and can form many different shapes depending on your vision of this spell. Short Cooldown.]

[Sin’s Cannon (Unholy)(Tier 2) – Create a very long ranged beam of unholy energy with high speed and piercing potential. Very high damage. High cooldown.]

[Fool’s Silencing Act (Unholy) – Detonate the area around you, with damaging effects ignoring yourself or bound allies. This detonation has a high chance to silence enemy abilities for a moderate amount of time. Very high cooldown.]Nnêw n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com

Riven proceeded with numerous other questions after that. Some personal questions about the life here in the nether realms, what combat experience the beholder had, and various other small talk. The contract Jarmosh wanted wasn't a simple one, and it was very long. It overall stated that Riven would give it opportunities in equal measure to the ones he’d given Azmoth or Athela every once in a while and would not regularly keep Jarmosh from seeking out his own opportunities for growth, lest the contract become null and void. There was a clause in there talking about how Jarmosh also wanted to set aside time for ‘experiments concerning the anatomy of mortals’ as well, though the way it was worded made it sound like the demon would be dissecting creatures alive – and if Riven took this contract he’d be sure to scratch that before accepting.

“It was good to meet you Jarmosh, I’ll get back to you soon.” Riven said with a smile as he accepted a handshake from one of the fleshy tendrils snaking out from the main eye. “I think you’d be a great asset to have.”

The beholder grinned evilly back at him, though Riven was rather certain that’s just how the smiling beholder looked every time he grinned. “The pleasure is mine.”

He vanished out of the beholder’s personal realm with a thoughtful downwards gaze. Jarmosh hadn’t been all that bad, an identifier would be nice, and the abilities were alright. He gave a thumbs up to Athela when she gave him a questioning stare, then silently approached the succubus next.

She was likely about his age, maybe a couple years younger... though this may just be how all succubi looked. He couldn’t be sure and would have to ask Athela about it later. The girl was a unique blend of three colors. There were the black eyes, black horns, black tail, black wings, the long white hair, and the light blue skin. She was easily one of the most attractive women he’d ever seen, but he had to remind himself that this species – according to the system – had a very sad history concerning their treatment. They’d historically been abused and used, and he was hesitant about how to approach this contract because of it. He didn’t intend anything of the sort whatsoever, and was rather focused on her potential for the team he was building, but the implications of even considering a succubus were certainly there.

“I know.”

The two of them stood up, and Riven extended his hand again with a drawn out sigh – still keeping his gaze focused on her face. “Hey. It was genuinely nice meeting you Fay. You’re not what I expected, and I’m glad we got to talk.”

She nodded politely, hand still clasped in front of her, and then she gave a small bow. “It was great meeting you too. How many other interviews do you have left?”

Riven paused as another hologram prompt for him to end the interview appeared in front of his face, his finger hovering over the prompt. “Just one more. It’s with the Blood fiend.”

She made a grossed out expression and stuck out her tongue. “A Blood fiend? Disgusting alligators, those ones. Any chance I can get you to just accept my contract now and be done with it? I promise I will make a good teammate. I’m very low maintenance.”

She winked, but He ignored her obvious attempt at flirting and shook his head with a polite smile. “You’re definitely great, and you seem promising, but no. I want to finish all of these interviews before deciding.”

She let out an exaggerated sigh of disappointment, then laughed heartily at his look of discomfort. “I’m just teasing you, Riven. Learn to relax. Go get the interview over with and then come back to me when you realize that I’m the best option.”

Riven rubbed his forehead, gave her a final wave that she returned, then he disappeared out of the garden and back into the swirling purple mists.

“Typical succubus.” Athela stated flatly when he reappeared next to his two already contracted familiars. “Always the flirtatious ones.”

“I liked her.” Azmoth stated in an even tone with his four arms crossed. “Her trait would come in handy for our master too.”

Athela bobbed her head left, and then right. “Can’t say I disagree. The trait is valuable to someone like Riven... She probably knows this. I’m surprised her contract wasn’t more demanding. I actually looked it over while you two were talking, Riven. She wasn’t lying, there are no hidden red flags to be wary of and it’s a good deal. Better than the one with the beholder, certainly.”

Azmoth nodded. “The beholder wrote contract so that terms are vague. There are loopholes so can claim negligence on Riven’s part and break it at any time. If you choose beholder, Riven, you need him to rewrite contract – or you need to decline.”

“Agreed.” Athela nodded at the brutalisk in affirmation.

This was news to Riven. He’d not had time to look at the contracts in detail just yet, but he trusted both Azmoth and Athela with his life and would take their words at face value before diving deeper into the subject himself later on. “I liked them both, but I was definitely a little wary of how Jarmosh the beholder wanted to experiment on animals or people. A little weird if you ask me.”

“It’s probably for a craft he has.” Athela replied as she tapped her eight Blooded spider legs thoughtfully. “Now that I think about it... you should ask the Succubus whether or not she is into enchanting. Curses are a subcategory of unholy-related enchanting and can be applied to items a lot like how she’d use them whatever her targets she had in combat. Makes for useful items if done right, but I don’t know enough about it to tell you more than that.”

Riven hummed, thinking back to his briefly lived totem-making adventures when he’d read the manuscript briefly touching on the topic of enchanting. He’d have to pick that craft up again, eventually, when things settled down.

Coming up to the Blood fiend next, Riven reached out a hand and touched the ethereal image of the crocodilian blood demon. In a swirl of light, Riven then found himself on a floating pile of driftwood far out at sea from the closest land mass. Chunks of sea creatures lay half-eaten all around him, and he found the creature lazily basking in the dull light of the sun as it watched him from afar.

It was certainly large, about the height of Azmoth, though didn’t have as solid or thick of a frame and was rather thin in comparison. Its long stinger at the end of its tail flipped back and forth lazily as its long snout lifted into the air, and it began to sniff in his direction.

“Greetings...” The serpentine, hissing voice came out as it opened its mouth to produce the sound from a voice box far in the back of its throat. It sounded like it was straining to speak at all, but still managed to get the words out to a level that Riven could understand it. “Have you come to beg of my assistance...?”

Riven cocked an eyebrow. “Isn’t this supposed to be an interview concerning your abilities, not mine?”

The demon snickered, making raspy gasping sounds when it laughed condescendingly his way. “No. I am a perfect hunter... You need to convince me that you are worth my time... otherwise I will not-“

Riven immediately clicked the prompt and he willed the creature to appear - ending the interview in an instant. He found himself back in the purple fogs of the nether realm a split second later. Orienting himself to the surroundings again, he quickly saw that the Blood demon was beginning to fade away from the remaining three visages of interviewees while yet another prompt lit up in front of his vision.

[Blood Fiend has declined the contract.]

He snorted. “Good fucking riddance. I lasted three seconds before he got high and mighty on me.”

Azmoth gave an amused sneer in the direction of the fiend as the last remnants of the blood demon vanished with a hiss. “The puny alligator did not deserve the opportunity. I am glad you reacted that way. Let him find more desperate mortal to level off.”

Athela let out a laugh and leaned onto Azmoth’s shoulder with an elbow of her own. “The fiend likely didn’t realize you had multiple offers, meaning he wasn’t paying attention to our talks before we started this interview process in the first place. Many summoners only get one or two offers in a single round unless they wait a long time, so it likely surprised him that you reacted the way you did.”

Riven shrugged indifferently. “He can kiss my pale white ass. Now, which of these two to choose...”

At this point, there was only Fay the succubus and Jarmosh the beholder left. He liked both of them a lot, and would have been happy to choose either of them.

Thus he was at a crossroads.