The first message from the Squiggles was one of the most confusing that Charlemagne had ever seen. It was an Achievement, which was good, but it came with a dire warning, which wasn’t quite what the rooster had been expecting when he had begun his attempts to replicate how the pangolin’s Momentum Core worked.
The rooster was eminently confused. All he had been trying to do was to figure out how to manipulate momentum, or speed mana, like Phatagin could. The message about having to fight deities made no sense: how could he fight someone like his Patron? Charlemagne, a natural savant with mana, was unaware that what he had accomplished was all but impossible for mortals of his level. The message about the Battle Simulation was also perplexing, but the rooster did not give it much thought. As far as he was concerned, it sounded like the Squiggles were just making excuses to take away something that he had rightfully earned.
Pushing his annoyance at the Squiggles out of the way, Charlemagne spent a long time brooding about what he had accomplished. Could he use what he had just learned to finally clear the Wave 40 Boss? A strange sensation accompanied by a crude rendering of what the rooster understood to be himself fighting the Boss sprang into his mind unbidden. Unfortunately for Charlemagne, ideas are inherently flighty things. The rooster attempted to grab hold of this epiphany too forcefully, causing the entire mental structure to dissipate.
He squawked in frustration and decided to address the other ramifications of the Squiggles’ message. Opening the Party Chat, he spammed it repeatedly until his desired interlocutor made their appearance.
“I’m here, I’m here,” Sirius, the Red Fang, panted after appearing in her quadrant of the dormitory. “What was so important that you had to call for me like fifty times?”
“Bawk,” the rooster answered succinctly.
“You want my advice, eh? Well, sit down and tell me what it is you’re stuck on. You may not understand this, but I owe you quite a debt for helping me evolve that new sonic attack. It’s a great area of effect ability and I’ll be able to put it to good use in my future Quests working for Dog.”
“Bawwk,” Charlemagne explained.
“Oh, so it’s my relationship with Dog that you’re interested in? Well, why didn’t you say so to begin with? I’m always happy to talk about him! What did you want to know specifically?”
“Bawak.”
“Hmmm, that’s a tricky question, and I will confess that I have absolutely no idea. How do you measure infinity? How do you put the universe in a bottle? How do you count the stars in the sky? How do you…”
“Bawk,” the rooster interrupted.
“Ahem, yes. Sorry, I was getting a bit carried away there. The point is, Dog is so far beyond all other canines that we simply cannot bridge the gap. Even Champions like me are dust compared to him. And, don’t forget that the stronger I get, the stronger Dog gets. Everything that I accomplish is also ascribed to his credit.”
“Bawk!” Charlemagne objected.
“Yes, yes, I could see how you might feel that way about your Patron. For one, you’re not the same kind of creature, so you don’t exactly have the same affinity for Grimfalk that I do for Dog. And, forgive me for the comparison, but Grimfalk is not as generous as Dog, at least from what I have seen. If I had been the primary creature responsible for stopping the asteroid, I would have been showered with honors and rewards. You were rewarded, it’s true, but, and again, forgive me for speaking so boldly, you should have gotten more.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
I’ve thought a lot about this, as to a lesser extent I had the same role with my old pack. The relationship between a deity and their Champions is inherently symbiotic: as the Champion grows stronger, the deity is supposed to invest more resources into its development, which then yields more growth, funneling more divinity back to the deity than they expended. The cycle is really supposed to only work if the deity continues to reinvest back into its Champion. But that doesn’t appear to be the case between you and Grimfalk. In fact, it seems like he largely ignored your development and reaped the rewards.”
“Bawk,” the rooster answered.
There was a moment of silence as the canine considered Charlemagne’s position.
“That is true. In a sense, our deities don’t owe us anything. But, if that’s true, we don’t owe them anything in return…they didn’t create us, nor do they aid individuals without the expectation of personal gain. And, in your case, your deity doesn’t have any incentive to help out other roosters: there’s a different deity for that, in case you weren’t aware.”
“Bawk?” Charlemagne asked.
“Well, I’ve been reading the System’s User Guide when I’ve had the time. Many of Dog’s Quests have me travelling long distances, and, since I no longer have a supersonic rooster at my disposal…”
“Bawk.”
“I meant before we arrived here, of course. Anyways, the point is that you and your deity aren’t as aligned as others, and Grimfalk doesn’t seem to care about you the same way that Dog cares about me. Whether or not he owes that to you is a matter of opinion, so you’ll have to decide for yourself how you feel about that. At any rate, I think that you should at least consider talking to your original deity.”
“Bawk?”
“I don’t know their name, sorry,” Sirius answered. “There wasn’t a list anywhere. And I don’t recommend that you bring it up with your patron, either. It’s not like Grimfalk is going to be happy if you decide that you want to chat up your ex-deity. And they probably have some sort of arrangement that prevents your old deity from contacting you, which would make things even harder.”
“Bawk?” the rooster questioned.
“Oh, sure, it’s not really hard to understand. Your previous deity was undoubtedly paid something for you, and then Grimfalk had to pay to make you a Champion. It wouldn’t be very fair if you defected back to your old deity right after he invested a bunch of resources in your development.”
“Bawwak bawk!”
“Well, I guess when you put it that way, you do owe Grimfalk something, at least when it comes to making you a Champion. But I’m sure you would have been fine without his help.”
Charlemagne bawked in disagreement and then commenced to tell Sirius his origin story: how he had been tied to one of the human’s rolling machines, the humans who had attempted to kill him, and the other chickens that had not survived that day. When he was finished, Sirius sniffed and wiped a large tear from the corner of her eye.
“That is a beautiful story of survival, Charlemagne. I hope someday that you develop the ability to write and share it with the world. I imagine that there are many such stories out there, each one a testament to the ability of life to adapt to almost any circumstance.”
“Bawk?” the rooster inquired.
“Oh, my story?” Sirius responded. “Well, it’s not nearly as exciting as yours. I grew up as one of six puppies. My master was named Ibrahim and he raised me like one of his own children. I was the fastest among all my master’s dogs, and he would never leave me behind when he went out hunting, except when I was pregnant with my own pups or nursing. I was between litters when the System arrived, and the humans and most of the other dogs on our compound were killed by a hippo on a rampage. I managed to take it down by avoiding its attacks while inflicting wounds whenever I could, which earned me the title of ‘the Red Fang’, as I was positively coated with blood once the hippo was finally dead. Dog chose me as a Champion that day, and I’ve served him ever since.”
“Bawwk?” Charlemagne asked, curious about Sirius’ offspring.
“Oh, my pups? Well, most of them were killed by the hippo. A few survived and were part of the pack I was leading when we first met. But, to tell you the truth, it was hard to keep track of them once they were grown up. They only needed me for the first two months or so and then they became part of the master’s kennel.”
“Bawk?”
“I don’t think I did. My master would choose my mates for me, and he apparently didn’t want me mating with any of my own pups.”
Switching topics, Charlemagne asked the canine about her progress in the Individual Battle Simulation.
“Oh, well, it’s going pretty well. The dying part isn’t all that fun, but I got Pain Tolerance up to level seven already. That’s a handy Skill to have, by the way. Do you have a Skill like that?”
“Bawk,” the rooster lied.
“I’ve decided that I’m going to keep taking hits, small ones at least, until I get a new defensive Skill or evolve Thick Hide. Do you have a recommendation?”
Charlemagne thought for a moment about his own defensive Skill, Bulwark. It appeared to reduce all damage that made it past his Ember Shield by a considerable amount, regardless of whether it was claw, acid, or even magical in nature. Still, it wasn’t a perfect defense, and it was active all the time. With the self-healing that was granted by his Ember Core and further empowered by his other Skill and Specials, it was more than adequate for the job, but that wasn’t going to be enough for the canine.
“Bawk bawk,” he suggested.
“Oh, that’s a great idea. I like the idea of having a Skill that I can activate to reduce damage. Most of the hits that I take I can see coming but don’t have time to avoid. As long as it doesn’t take too long to activate the Skill, it would be really useful. Hmmm, I wonder if I have a Skill book left…oh, I do! Let me see if I can find a Skill that might be a good starting point for something like that. Thanks, Charlemagne!”
After Sirius had returned to continue her self-imposed quest, Charlemagne decided that he, too, should take advantage of the Individual Battle Simulation and grind his way past Wave 40.
There was just one thing that he needed to do first.
