Chapter 433: Nice to see you, too

Mason yawned and woke with a comfortable stretch. He sat up from his booth in the house balcony, a bit surprised he'd managed to sleep. Everyone seemed to be staring at him.

"Mason?" Haley came forward slowly and with a gentle tone, like he was a wild animal. He saw all his players behind her like a shield, clustered together, staring like prairie dogs at a potential threat. Had he shouted in his sleep, or something?

Slowly he started to remember. The arena. The huge sphere and the platforms and the mana balls and constructs. And Blake's mind powers...

The whole fight dripped with painful precision into Mason's brain. He saw himself, saw from his own eyes, remembered how he felt. He saw Blake’s complete focus, his obsession after he’d decided.

The stupid, reckless idiot. What in the name of God had he been thinking? Why had he cared so much if he won?

"I'm alright," he said. Every player stood still or even took a step back as he spoke. He rolled his eyes. "We're in the Neutral Zone. You're literally safe from everything."

"You had crazy fuckin’ eyes, mate," said Seamus. "And you ripped that table up."

Mason realized his booth was completely destroyed. The walls were smashed, the table ripped into chunks, everything covered in scrapes about the size of human fingernails. He glanced at the woodchips all over his clothes and sighed. Didn’t really take a detective.

"Well. I'm fine now. And I guess I won, so where’s my prize? I want out of here."

Haley ran and threw herself into his arms. He gave her a squeeze and a pat on the arm, not nearly as angry as he might have expected. It was more like...sad. Disappointed.

He knew Blake too well to be surprised by anything he did. But he felt a kind of disconnection, a pulling away. Was it a loss of respect? A loss of trust? The last thought practically dinged in his mind like a bell, and he clenched his teeth.

"Well done in there, kid," said Carl with a grin. "Looked messy. Streak was losing his damn mind down on the floor by the way."

Streak. Shit.

Mason had forgotten him entirely once things got wild. He Called through his bond and felt the wolf's hesitation and pain before he appeared. What exactly to the wolf's mind during all those Rends? He had no idea.

"You alright, buddy?" he said, crouching to give the animal a hug around the neck. Streak whined and curled up kind of hilariously considering his size and strength, then stood to lick Mason’s face.

“There he is.” Mason grinned and took a minute to just scratch and comfort the wolf. "Yeah. Well I didn't enjoy it much, either."

A trumpet much like the kill sound blared throughout the promenade, making pretty much everyone jump. This time it was followed by other horns and maybe string instruments, the 'music' building in a crescendo as the whole place filled with sound.

The crest of Mason's house rose in the center of the promenade on a stage. An image of his face followed like a hologram, then the faces of every finalist in a line, followed by the faces of every player from the winning teams.

"Congratulations to our victors!" called the enhanced voice of a system servant. "Any arena points contributions may now be spent in your profiles. All points will carry over to the next season of the games, so please don't feel required to spend them exactly."

The promenade darkened, and multi-colored spotlights waved frantically over everything. Mason squinted and glanced at the others as he rolled his eyes.

"As you can appreciate," continued the servant, coming forward on the platform. "Our victors may not wish their powerful prizes to be known. No doubt some of you will experience them soon. But we can give you an idea of what you might earn next year. Behold!"

More lights shone on a line of pillars displaying gems, weapons and armor.

"Every item is innate," said the speaker. "Every gem power is unique and suited to their players. And there are other, unmentioned rewards for the top individuals. Join me in congratulating our victorious players!"

The speaker clapped, and so did a number of other system servants. How many actual players followed suit was hard to tell. Though the House of Mason definitely cheered. Fake applause surrounded them from every direction.

Mason and his people were pretty much all smiles. Not everyone had succeeded in the individual rankings, but everyone was on a top team. Mason had won the 2s. Carl's team had come in second in the 3s. And Phuong and his group had won the 6s.

Because of the 'house' rules that had let Mason's people avoid each other until near the end of elimination, they'd also largely cleaned up in the top spots there. With the emperor mysteriously vanishing early, and Mason and Blake wiping out some of the top competition in the world, it had cleared up the field considerably.

Whether or not they truly were the 'best' against every other player, Carl and Phuong had come in third and fourth in the individual fights (after Mason and Blake), with the emperor's team mate 'Damian' managing fifth. After that, the eastern 'shadow' rogue, Blake's Swedish friend, and two of their mysterious new eastern friends had also placed in the top 10.

So it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. The top Nassau players were the best in the world, but the emperor and his council were powerful, and nearly their equals. Considering they had literally hundreds of players to support them, Mason knew they couldn't survive a direct confrontation. At least not without losing almost everyone and everything they had.

Which meant they had to change the equation. Recruiting Chinua and his people would be a hell of a start, and hopefully mushroom girl.

Er, Demi. Her name is Demi, you manwhore, interrupted Mason’s mind. The girl you gave a bit more tongue than anticipated? Try using names.

Mason sighed, hoping they would have had the chance to speak with more western players, but whoever they were and wherever they were exactly from, none had seemed to want to reveal themselves.

It was these complicated thoughts running through Mason's head when the dimming light of the 'award ceremony' went completely black. He blinked and suddenly found himself standing on the stage in front of two glowing pillars with orbs.

"Congratulations, Champion.” The androgenous system servant smiled. “As the victor of the individual competition, and the two man teams, you have earned two separate prizes.

Mason glanced around the 'room' and decided the promenade was either frozen in time or gone entirely.

"They cannot see you," said the servant. "Every award is given privately."

Mason nodded and stepped forward, staring at the orbs. One was black as pitch, the other swirling with green and blue smoke.

"Do I have any choice?" he said. "Does it matter which I take first?"

The servant stared with a blank expression, and Mason sighed. He reached out for the swirling orb.

[Unique Power Modification Orb: One-use only. Searching: unique Power discovered. Modifying: Apex Predator with new active effect. Long cooldown. Activate to produce a fully natural environment in any setting.]

Mason grit his teeth as the orb glowed and shattered, entering his palm just as they had in the Maker hall. He blinked and stared at his profile as Apex Predator flashed. Produce a natural environment? Did that mean...grow a forest, or something? He wasn't sure, but he was sure as hell going to test it.

After a few deep breaths and no reaction whatsoever from the system servant, Mason reached out for the black orb.

[Customized Greater Power Gem: Earthsoul. Innate. Activate to counter or dispel any magic without natural affinity. Enhanced recharge rate.]

The next orb glowed but didn't shatter, instead shrinking down to the size and shape he recognized as a kind of slot for placing gems in a different item, like his Claws or Elven Bow. His Claws still had room, and he figured he'd better leave his bow slots open for something more specifically for ranged items.

He summoned his longer Claw and clicked it into place, the thing vibrating slightly and pulsing with a dark light. The new power entered his mind like a new word he'd just learned, and he felt the urge to activate it but instantly knew he couldn't. It needed magic to smother, but whatever the Neutral Zone was using obviously didn't count.

"Thanks," Mason said, with as much politeness as he could muster. The system servant smiled and bowed slightly.

"Congratulations again, honored founder. If you are ready, we will return you now to your settlement. No humanly perceptible time will have passed. You and all your players and civilians will arrive concurrently."

Mason nodded, and the bright lights and dark platform started to shimmer like they were bathed in heat.

“Wait, didn’t you say there was some kind of announcement?” he managed to say just before the world vanished.

[First Annual Friendly Games: Complete. Reward tier: Champion. Results: Calculating.]

[Title gained: Champion of the Arena. Gain resistance to a variety of debilitating physical and mental effects produced by players.]

[Title Synergy Discovered: First Blood and Champion of the Arena. Champion resistances are now applied universally, and not just against players.]

[Experience awarded: Major. You have earned enough experience to reach level 21! Please select a power for a tier 2 upgrade.]

Mason smiled as he scanned the text, very happy as he felt himself fading from the Neutral Zone. A piece of him wanted to activate Wyrdwalking and see if he could somehow figure out how to come back or leave on his own, but the power seemed greyed out and locked. So he waited impatiently, expecting to open his eyes and see Nassau, which brought a surprising kind of homesickness he would never have expected.

In the meantime, he decided he could at least pick his power upgrade. All his ranger powers were already tier 2 since the Nexus event, so it was really down to druid powers. That left him with three choices: Shapeshifting, Fang Brother, and Strength of the Pack.

All of them seemed like good choices. Streak definitely needed more power support. Strength of the Pack was probably the most ‘powerful’ except Mason was on his own more often than not. In the end, he picked Shapeshifting, hoping it improved his options or at least his half wolf form.

As if it was waiting, the world immediately turned green with plant life, covered by a thick, cool mist. Mason blinked and tried to understand.

He smelled sweat and blood and maybe sex, and little hairs started standing up all over his body as he sensed a predator lurking in the mists.

Horns and green/golden eyes emerged over a maw of yellow fangs. The huge, terrifying figure walked towards him from atop a throne of skulls, its cloven hoofs crushing bones as it stepped closer. It lifted a raw chunk of flesh and took a sizable bite, looking Mason up and down.

"You make it hard to congratulate you, little wolf, looking so...ridiculous. What has Gaia and her whores draped you in?"

Mason took a deep breath and tried to gather his wits. He could feel the moisture on his skin, and smell the copper and salt. This was definitely not a dream. It was happening. He didn’t feel immediate danger, but he didn’t feel safe, either.

"Nice to see you too, Cerebus."