The Path of Ascension 5: A LitRPG Adventure

16

Commonly referred to as The Masquerade, the event’s attempt at using an official sounding name had been widely usurped by the colloquialism. Over the course of centuries, it had simply stuck better with time. And now, few people even bothered remembering the original.

It was public knowledge that newcomers would be tested in combat to determine if they were worthy of their masks. If a fledgling member failed to meet the group’s standards, they would not be invited back a second time. Matt and Liz, or rather, Quill and Torch, saw it as an opportunity. They were ready to create a splash and cement themselves as top contenders in this year’s tournament.

To do that, preparations were in order. The duo spent the next day gathering resources for their respective specialties.

Torch sought supplies for her alchemy, and Quill began selling his talismans to help fund their endeavors.

Aster, thankfully, jumped at the chance to hang out with the other beast bonds, so she didn’t need to hide in the apartment while they were busy or don her Lassie the dog persona.

Matt felt bad about excluding her from their preparations, but he was ecstatic to see her spend time playing. This was her first opportunity to make beast friends with advanced sapience at her own Tier. These bonds didn’t quite reach her effective mental age but, at Tier 10, the cognitive gap between her and her peers shrank considerably.

Tier 15 represented a massive upheaval in a bond’s life, since they were sequestered by the Beast Kingdom once reaching it. For the following decade, everything would change for them; their form, their level of sapience, their home, their routines, and the people they could spend time with would be completely uprooted. Sparking these new friendships now would only help lessen the severity of the transition later.

After ensuring that Aster had everything she needed, and the reasonable things she wanted, Matt lingered just long enough to enjoy the sight of the feisty little fox horsing around with an actual horse. He shook his head with a chuckle before rushing back to transform himself into Quill.

Torch was already out raiding the market booths that were selling herbs, and Quill only stopped to check his reflection before using the suite’s teleporter to zap himself into the middle of the market.

Swirling white holes once again adorned his eyes, gazing out through the eyeholes. The manifestation of his Concept stood out brilliantly against the dark mask and silver-etched feather pen.

More than a few people stopped to stare, and Quill brushed past them without acknowledging their presence. Right up until one man stepped directly in his path and refused to move.

The challenge was clear, but not the reason. Quill just c****d his head, waiting for the other man to speak.

The man stayed silent and, after a few seconds, Quill moved to brush past him. His obstacle sidestepped to block his way again. Suspecting the man wanted to expose his abilities, Quill strongly preferred to avoid the confrontation. This wasn’t the ideal time or place to make a splash.

But if the brute insisted…

Matthew Alexander would never rise to such simple provocation, as Talous more than proved.

But Quill was not Matt.

No, Quill was the type of person to send a message. And much like a talisman, it would be the kind of message that was only ever used once because that would always be enough.

Brett Zangari, as Quill’s AI registered him, was a known lackey for one of the stronger masked contestants, Emerald Blade. Or at least one of the stronger contestants who had arrived so far. Brett had egged numerous other masked contestants into fights out of the blue. After seeing Felix fall into the same trap yesterday, Matt had been prepared for such a situation before he donned Quill’s persona today.

For appearance’s sake, though, and his own conscience, he would prefer not to be the one seen striking first in a crowded public area. His idea would work out best if this goon was the one to escalate the situation.

So, Quill made one last token effort to bypass the thug. As predicted, Brett refused to accept that outcome and slapped his hand on Quill’s shoulder as he pushed past, leaned in, and tried to say something.

Quill was prepared and reacted faster than he could speak.

A [Jolt] burst from his shoulder into Brett’s grip. His assailant stiffened, and then toppled to the ground.

With a mocking snicker, Quill theatrically spun back to face him and made an exaggerated spitting sound. “Don’t touch the goods unless you can pay for damages. Next time, I’ll collect the hand as collateral.”

With a slight mental effort, Quill molded a Cheshire grin into the hard outer shell of his mask and leaned forward.

“Now, be a good boy and tell your owner to send a real dog instead of a puppy next time. Or wait until The Masquerade in two days. I’ll put them in their place then. No need to rush the inevitable.”

As he saw the rage boil over on the downed man’s face, Quill was already lifting his leg when his opponent lunged from the ground. As his assailant lunged, Quill’s boot landed squarely in Brett’s face as he followed through, stomping his head hard into the ground.

“Bad dog! Heel!”

Or at least, the stomp was hard for a mage with a normal seventy-thirty cultivation split. In actuality, less than a quarter of Matt’s base physical strength went into the blow, but as Quill, he had worked hard on limiting his physical abilities to plausible levels.

With the opportunity present, Quill spread his arms. “And if any of the big doggies want to come play, I’ll be around. But be warned, I play ruff.” Quill paused for effect. “Get it? Ruff? Like a dog?”

A burning red face and loathing glare were the only response.

His mask’s smile shifted into a cartoonish pout. “Ahhh, you didn’t like that one? Or the heel pun either? Tough crowd. Well…maybe ‘tough’ isn’t the best word to describe you, runt. But, whatever.”

He pointed to the ground. “Now, staaay. Stay!”

Knowing how his wide green eyes with white holes spreading mana would contrast with the mask, Quill performed a refined pirouette and dismounted Brett’s face, staring him in the eyes as he swaggered backwards.

Beneath the Quill persona, Matt felt weird about hitting the man while he was down, but he had started it.

As a melee fighter, the man was undamaged; at least his physical body was. His pride was definitely wounded if the growling was any indication.

Shrugging mentally, Matt reset himself and his mask as Quill.

“Huh. You even growl like a dog. How shocking.” He cast another [Jolt], controlled with [Lightning Manipulation], to let arcs of electricity jump between his fingers.

Switching to making ‘shoo’ motions in the opposite direction, he commanded, “Now, be a good puppy and go home.” When Brett didn’t move, he repeated in a much more hostile tone, “Go home.”

Then, he strutted off into the crowds and messaged Torch.

She had similarly been challenged to a fight and similarly avoided giving away any important information, but Quill sighed.

The masked contestants were far more ruthless to anyone they suspected might be top competitors.

The anonymity that the masks afforded them allowed them to push limits that they normally wouldn’t dare.