Chrysalis - Chapter 499

Chapter 499: 499
I suppose I shouldn't be disappointed that they turned me down, but I can't help a little pang of emotion run through my mind . Maybe just once, just ONCE, someone would accept the antenna I offered in trust and then walk away . But no . It had to be this crap again . The last time a sapient surface dweller threw my generosity in my face was the Queen of Liria . I responded to that affront in a sensible fashion . I robbed her and her kingdom blind and took every core in their treasury . I wonder what sort of goodies I'll be able to find in the Cult's coffers?





[I'm a bit surprised they shot your deal down, to be honest,] Granin admits, [you display of gravity magic has put every Shaper in the facility in a tizzy . New magic . New powerful magic . It's a potent lure . ]

[Not potent enough, apparently,] I mutter a little bitterly, [what possible reason could they have to turn it down? Honestly . I want to know what would motivate them to deny my request . It's an obvious win-win . ]

A complicated expression comes over Granin's face as he considers his answer . The big and apparently very old Shaper slowly paces back and forth as the little Demon watches him with its piercing green eye .

[I'm not sure . ] He eventually admits . [Something strange is happening, and I don't have any idea what is it, which bothers me . ]

[Bothers you?] I scoff . [How do you think I feel?]

[Not great, I imagine,] he chuckles, [I am sorry that I dragged you into this, you know . I had no idea it would turn out this way . ]





I shrug my antennae .

[Just following orders eh, Granin? Not much, you or I could do about it . I don't hold a grudge . ]

Not against Granin anyway . The Shapers, in general, were subject to my unending wrath! Or at least, the leadership in this outpost . They've surely earned a place on the naughty list . Torrina and Corun had also helped out as best they could . It wasn't their fault that their Cult had gone down this crazy path . If I got the chance, I would make the Cult pay but just getting my thorax out of their grip would be enough for me .

[I appreciate it . I mean that . You've been treated badly, it's almost comical . The question is, why?]

[Any thoughts . ]

[I've been puzzling over it for the last little while,] he said while stroking his granite chin, [it doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you look at it . They want you in the tournament badly enough that they would pass up knowledge of new magic to get it . So they want to you in their little competition, but they sure as hell don't want you to win it, as evidenced by their repeated efforts to get you killed . ]

[So they want me to fight, but they want me to lose…]

[That seems to have been the plan from the beginning . Even now it feels like they're still banking on this strategy to extract Gravity Magic from you . If they can get your core, then they can raise you as a pet and try to learn it that way . ]

That's horrifying!


[Would that even work?!] I shriek .

[Probably not . ] Granin doesn't seem too bothered by the thought of me being raised from the dead . [Raising a creature as a pet doesn't 'bring it back to life', per se, it brings the body back to life, but a new mind is in there, or the previous mind is wiped clean, we aren't sure which . ]

[So even if they did that, I wouldn't know anything in particular about gravity magic since I won't have the knowledge from my own world . ]

[Right . They probably assume you have the related affinity Skill, which would make all the difference since the reborn you would know the spell shapes and such . In reality, they'd get absolutely nothing from it . ]





[Why don't you tell them that,] I point out, [maybe they'll come back and deal with me then . ]

[They wouldn't believe me . The only way to prove it would be let one of them to analyse your core . Feel like doing that?]

[Not really…]

Who knows what shenanigans they might pull if I let them have access to my core?! I'm way too paranoid about it even to allow the slightest chance that they could pull strange ploy . These are people actively trying to make me dead after all .

[That's what I thought . They still appear to want to try and kill you through the tournament for the time being . The question we have is what is motivating them to want you dead . Initially, I thought it was just because they saw your species as inferior, but now I'm starting to have doubts . ]

[You mean you don't think my species is inferior anymore?] Haha! Is the true power of the ant is being spread through my glorious actions?

[Ah, no . Ant workers suck . But at this point, their insistence on your death doesn't make sense if that's the only motivation . ]

We spend fifteen minutes pondering the reason and sharing our wild theories, but we don't get anywhere . Granin isn't much of a schemer, and I certainly aren't any good at it . Best to leave that sort of stuff to the Council, in my opinion . In the end, our strategy remains the same . Keep training my magic Skills and obliterate my opponent with maximum force!

[Remember, they're bound to have a countermeasure or strategy in place to counter your spell of doom,] Granin warns me . [I'm not saying don't use it, but the next opponent will chosen with that spell in mind . I highly doubt they'll be as vulnerable to it as your last foe . ]

[What does that look like, though?] I ask him as he turns to leave . [I doubt someone can take that spell apart before it hits, or be tough enough to survive its effects . What are they going to throw at me?]

[Don't underestimate what's possible in the Dungeon . Even something that can appear overwhelming can have weaknesses . Having said that, my guess is speed . They'll put in something that escape the area of the spell before it can land . That's what I'd do anyway . ]

Granin leaves Torrina and I behind to keep working on my base magic skills and elemental affinities but I can't help but think on Granin's words . If they throw something fast at me, exactly how fast would it be? How would I deal with it? Some of the monsters I've seen have been pretty damn extreme . A monster designed from tier one to utilise speed as a weapon… just what does that look like?