Knives & Levels - Chapter 123

Colt settled into the hot waters of the bathhouse, feeling the warmth sink into his skin and leave him with a much-needed respite after so many days in the freezing cold that had been his reality for the last couple of weeks. The layer of frost accumulated on his soul melted away in an instant. This marked difference of having time to himself and feeling his muscles actually recuperate was like a day coming after an endless night.

Every time he'd lain down to rest in the Frozen Academy, he'd pictured this very moment. Now, splayed out, he finally got the rest he needed after everything.

It was glorious.

Coffee with a strong note of hazelnut wafted out—someone was coming and bringing him more every couple of hours, and it enhanced the entire moment. Normally, the bathhouse manager didn't allow people to take drinks in with them aside from water, but she'd made an exception for Colt, seeing how he and his group had saved everyone from the dungeon. His reward was the ability to drink a nice warm cup of coffee while in an even nicer bath. 

Some might call him crazy for it, and ask why he didn’t drink an ice-cold drink while relaxing like this. But to him, it felt like every single tense muscle in him unwound as heat surrounded him inside and outside.

In those steaming waters, he lost track of time, his mind going to other places—his Edicts and his soul. He felt like he was surrounded by peace, floating amidst the clouds. To a tired body like his, this was heaven itself.

Hours passed, his lounging and peace only interrupted by the occasional sip of his warm coffee.

And, if he had it his way, the rest of his day would be spent like this. Today, he intended to stay the full duration they were open, probably even longer, until the bath lady kicked him out. It was an essential part of his recovery, and more than that, this was the reward he had promised himself during the hardest moments in the Frozen Academy.

If you'd asked him before the world ended if he would ever opt for a spa-like service or enjoy it, he would have said hell no. 

Colt never thought this kind of self-pampering was for him. It’d always cost too much, and he hadn’t the time. But here? Where money wasn’t an object?

Sure, there was money—currency circulated in New Nashville, instigated by Denny and maintained by people as a way to keep order. Still, he didn’t have much use for it besides paying for his coffee. He always seemed to have enough for that. This bathhouse seemed to be a gift from the city to him, just one perk of being someone who had put his life on the line for New Nashville several times.

He was disrupted suddenly when a new person entered. People came and went, most of them not really drawing his attention, but something about this man stood out. By now, he'd grown used to most of the regulars, and this guy wasn't one of them. He had a lean build with long burn marks down his two arms.

He gave Colt a cocky grin as he slid into the bathhouse and then let out a loud "Ahhh" as he settled into the warm waters.

Colt shifted away, not feeling much like talking to anyone and wanting to enjoy his well-earned rest. However, it seemed that this man didn't have the same designs.

"A place like this is a blessing, isn't it?" he asked.

Colt grunted in acknowledgment, trying to make it painfully obvious that he wasn't really in the mood to talk. When people didn’t get the hint, it might call for beating them in the head with it.

"You know, I get where you're coming from," the guy scooted closer, the water displaced and splashing as he moved. "I heard that you'd been out, and you guys conquered a dungeon. I can imagine the sort of tension that brings, and now I get why you'd come straight here,"

Now he was within arm’s reach of Colt.

Colt looked over for the first time, really taking in the appearance of this man. He seemed, for better words, strong. As Colt flicked to his vision of Edicts, he saw something strange. His Edict wrapped around him like a flickering fire, burning away even in this alternative sight. There was a strong presence to it, putting this guy's mastery of Edicts at least greater than most, if not more. Colt thought he'd grasp how strong most of the guards around here were, and this level of strength far exceeded what he had grown accustomed to with the rest of the people he knew.

Was he new to the city?

As tired as Colt was, with his sole duty of trying to recover, this broke him out of the meditative state that he'd been slipping into.

"Do I know you?" Colt asked, now sitting upright. The water around him was still a welcome comfort, but not nearly as relaxing as it had been seconds before.

The man smiled. "No, but I'm hoping to make your acquaintance. You are Colt, right? I heard that you and your group are the ones who saved this city and overthrew the previous leaders.”

"Overthrow is a bit of a stretch," Colt said, although it really wasn't. They had decided to take down Denny, planned on it, and then enacted that plan with their power. Overthrow was appropriate, even if the motivations and justifications they had made had enabled them to reason it out and convince other people to help them along with it, had, in his opinion, been worth it.

"Sure, sure," the man said, brushing it aside. "I'm not here to argue semantics or something like that. The important part is that you and your friends may be the most powerful here."

“Maybe,” Colt said, his guard up.

He inspected the man.

———

Name: Miles Baker | Race: Basic Human

Icon: Ifrit  | Class: Swordsman (IV) [Uncommon]

 Level: 83

These are basic humans on the path of the Ifrit; they have progressed along the route of a swordsman, nearing the end of their tenure on this uncommon path and advancing to more. Additionally, given their association with Ifrit, they strongly grasp fire and have cultivated a pathway forward through the blade.

Noteworthy Skills:

Rising Sun Strike [Rare] - Level 21

Fire Aura [Rare] - Level 18

Edicts:

Immolate (Greater)

Cut (Minor)

———

Colt's eyes widened a bit as he saw the familiar Cut—and then he activated his Edict Vision again and paid closer attention.

———

Edict Sight (Basic) has gained a level!

———

There it was, the barest bits of Cut, not with the brilliant golden glow he was used to seeing in his own Edict. It also brought up an interesting point. The stronger the source of the Edict, the clearer it was, and it changed, too. Going from invisible-like hard threads to the golden hue he did now.

Then he doubled back and took in the level. 83. Not a level of anyone in New Nashville, save for him and his friends—the strongest guards were in their 50s, and this guy had a whole extra 30 levels on all of them.

"I was wondering if anyone would be strong here," the man continued. "By the way that the Wind Mage had made it sound, there were at least a few of you. Then I found out about the dungeon, and you all are it, aren’t you?”

Colt was starting to piece together exactly what this was. He recalled the conversations they'd had before about a group coming in with the Wind Mage—Denny’s previous right-hand man. This guy must be with them then, meaning they had a meeting tomorrow.

"You're from Atlanta," Colt said.

The man nodded and smiled. "Indeed, I am. In a world like this, I am a long way away from Atlanta. But we heard about your city, and we’re looking for some help. Would you mind doing your neighbors some favors and helping us solve our problems?”

Colt sighed and then shifted away. "We were going to meet about this later, so why are you coming and talking to me about it now?"

"I'm what you might call a bit more proactive. The name is Blaze."

Colt compared the name to the one he saw with his Inspect, and the two weren't the same. Was he using an alias? And why? In a world with Inspect, the gesture seemed kind of pointless. You'd be able to tell right away that it was a fake name unless he’d been confident that his Hide Status skill was strong enough to save him from an Inspect.

Was it a test? Colt wondered, but chose not to comment on it. Miles could call himself Blaze if he wanted.

"I don't know what you've heard about me and my friends, but we're not really eager to get involved in another city’s issues. We're already dealing with the repercussions of the things that happened here." He pointed out and broke the surface of the bath and gestured outward. New Nashville was still coming along, but it hadn't solidified its new government, and even then, who knew what sort of troubles were around the corner. First, it had been this dungeon. Who was to say there wouldn’t be more?

Colt waited for a reaction. ‘Blaze’ nodded with a look of understanding, without a hint of hostility, and then spoke, “We will respect your choices. I just hoped to get ahead of the meeting to fill you in a bit and make your acquaintance. That isn’t to say I wouldn’t love for you to head back with us and make our mission successful, but I understand the reluctance, and also want to apologize if I came across as demanding. See, the situation in Atlanta is a bit of trouble. We have three major dungeons in close proximity, with each group having conquered one.”

"Major dungeons?" Colt asked, wanting clarification.

"Dungeons above the rank of D+. As you might have noticed, once things start getting that strong, the nature of the dungeons begins to shift. They leak more out into the world and offer bonuses to a faction that manages to conquer it. Atlanta is a big city that was also driven by some bigger groups even before we conquered those. Our warlord, Crimson, took 20 men into the C-Rank dungeon when it was spilling lava and threatening to destroy our territory in the city, and then brought it under wraps. The others had theirs within days, not wanting to fall behind. And now, with all three of us jammed so close together, there's disagreement on who can rule the city."

"Why can't you each just rule in equal portions?" Colt asked, not understanding.

“Because the Dungeons associated with factions always want to spread, and we’re running into borders with the other factions, creating conflict. You know, ignoring all the other fighting we’ve all had with each other these past couple of months. There have been disagreements on how things should be run. Our warlord envisions a strong army that can form a strong defense to protect the people we love. We've been gifted more and more from the dungeon we conquered. As you'll see, once you take the benefits of your dungeon and start incorporating it, the faction system will allow further benefits, tying you to a dungeon. It's as if it wants to spill out of the dungeon into the world and use it to power the people there." 

Colt thought back to the faction’s unique purchase ability they'd encountered. He’d thought it was a nice perk to add after a dungeon. But there was more to it? “Go on.” He prompted.

"When you buy one, you can keep upgrading it. Those upgrades will bring more and more benefits to your faction. At some point, you can attune your faction crystal to the dungeon. And then suddenly, you're specialized. The issue is that it will want to expand. And when you're pressing up against three other dungeons, two other dungeons doing the same thing, a natural conflict of interest begins to arise. You know, getting over the disagreements between our leaders and how we want to run things."

"So you're asking me to join a three-sided war," Colt said. "I don't even know who these other factions are. And you want me to come in and help you based on what?"

"Well, we can offer alchemical supplies if you’re looking for a strategic justification. Warlord Crimson has managed to level that skill, and what it can do is pretty unique. I assume you have the same issue as most people, with healers being rare. Alchemy is the solution. Picture it with me, if you will. You have a very limited number of healers, but instead of needing them to tend to every emergency, you have pills that can help people recover. Think about how many lives can be saved in the middle of a dungeon where you can't always have a healer with you." Blaze shrugged.

The bathwater was spilling loose, and now felt a bit cold to Colt. Not nearly as welcoming as it had been moments before, now that he was in this discussion with this strange man. 

"Our Warlord intends to offer a trade of alchemical stuff with Nashville, and we’re decently strong. Training and combat with the other factions have led to fast growth and dungeons. From what I understand of preliminary information gathering, bigger cities tend to have more and higher-quality dungeons. Monuments, especially, appear to be popping up with exceptionally strong dungeons. But that's just been from our preliminary reports. Given our problems, we haven't had as many resources to expand into being able to scout and survey the landscape around us."

That was a lot of information, and confirmed some of his thoughts. It didn’t convince him to get involved in a conflict, even with the promise of trade and alchemical supplies. “We’ll have to discuss that, if what you’re offering is that good. But it doesn’t seem like all of this has much to do with us.” It was a noncommittal answer, but he didn’t want to speak for everyone.

Mostly, he just wanted his bath house back to himself to relax.

Blaze shook his head. "I wouldn't say that it has nothing to do with you. These fights and battles will only escalate over time, which means that eventually, conflict will come back to you guys. This is no longer the world we knew. The peace treaties that we make and the allies that we make today will be the allies that allow us to secure our safety and freedom in the future. People are going to want to come for what's yours.”

Colt grunted a response at that, closing his eyes. Not wanting to think much about the dangers of the future. His mind was already heavy, and this talk hadn’t helped matters much. 

"I'm sorry if I've made a bad impression ruining your bath, I’ll be leaving soon so you can get back to your rest. But I urge you to consider carefully what alliances you make outside of your city. Allies are important, and I hope we can prove to be a good, fortuitous relationship in the future.” With that, he heard Blaze step out of the pool, the dripping water following his retreating feet.

Like that, Colt was back on his own. At this hour, it was just him. And it gave him time to reflect on what the man said. He stretched out in the bath and let out a deep sigh. He just wanted a few hours without getting involved in more garbage, but it seemed like this world wasn't waiting. The more power he accumulated, the more people seemed to want him to get things done, even though he was doing his damnedest to stay out of these sorts of affairs.

Still, the alchemical part was intriguing. And the idea of seeing what Atlanta had become was interesting as well. He'd have to talk to his allies and see what they thought. Though the idea of joining in against a war without knowing all the sides didn't sit right with him, but there might be more time to gather more information later on.